@cio - 3/5 now, even... sure we'll talk about something during transfers

@whitejersey - Colour me intrigued - hope you're around early

@Fabianski - Don't go to the quadsas school of negging tactics, let's just have a nice negotiation - talk to you soon!

@redordead - I suppose it might be entertaining from the sidelines but not so for me - but if you want to get involved hit me up! That is the plan for sure, hope you are right

jandal7 wrote:

@knockout - I mean... yeah

It's not easy to be a young Kiwi climber on George Bennett's team but following in the footsteps of Mr. Xero, and more recently James Fouche, is Corbin Strong. Signing for the minimum wage and dodging the normal regional tax, Corbin is a versatile rider with a fast finish and good skills uphill who could be trained either direction or as an all-rounder, however currently the team see him as a climber with a kick and a lot of toughness who can relieve pressure on his leaders by chasing KOMs and stages, as well as being a valuable domestique in the peloton.

@Jakstar - Somehow I don't think we ever have really clashed in transfers after my first year Thanks, looking forward to him developing too!

@Abhishek - Nice one - he's not quite your new home talent but pretty happy with him

@DarkWolf - Can't agree more about the last point, we haven't always done our part (this will be only our fourth Kiwi talent to develop through) and hope the first one is right - he'll be handy for sure even if it'll be a muted role with the amount of climbing depth we'll have in the future

@Croatia - You know what it's like to develop home grown talent, great feeling! Corbin would be the weakest (ha ha make your Schomber jokes) guy we brought all the way through if we do but will be nice to do our bit for Kiwi cycling and have a home grown local domestique (especially if the DB plans work out and 75/74 with that RES means more in five years than it does now).

Henri Vandenabeele is far from your typical Belgian rider - not a cobbler, puncheur or flat beast and unlikely to ever win a race on home soil, and not one for the classics as he doesn't enjoy long days. Henri specialises in the high mountains and long sustained uphill efforts, and will one day develop into a very handy climber. This year he will join us at the Tour de l'Avenir and in some races from August, and attempt to prove himself worthy of a full contract in 2023.

@Abhishek - Thanks was my #2 option by the time stagiaires rolled around and happy to have got him done. Not sure yet on retaining him from next year, will come down to the renewals picture I guess

@Nemo - Can't say I was thinking about Avenir but I guess so yeah Indeed trying to do a bit more for NZ cycling (though it can be hard with the talent levels coming through). Yeah I am still as in love with the_hoyle's work from 2017, feels like a part of the team to me now and super super grateful for the great work Ezeefreak did to ensure we could continue with it while changing a few sponsors