FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR	Age
74	52	63	76	74	73	70	50	56	68	69	63	79	31

Start	End	Race	Category
15-Feb	20-Feb	() Volta a Catalunya	C2
03-Mar		Isle of Man TTT	C1
05-Mar	10-Mar	() Vuelta al Pais Vasco	C1
27-Apr	30-Apr	USA Pro Cycling Challenge	C2
04-May	09-May	Olympia's Tour	C2
02-Jun	08-Jun	Tour of Vancouver	C2
09-Jun	13-Jun	La Tropicale Amissa Bongo	C1
23-Jun		Monterrey TTT	C2
01-Aug	05-Aug	Tour de Vineyards	C1
07-Aug	09-Aug	Giro del Trentino	C2
04-Sep	24-Sep	Tour of America	C1
06-Oct	10-Oct	Herald Sun Tour	C2

Even as our time trail leader, Hamza will be a work horse for us this year. He rides his maximum race days, - 72 - and maximizes those days by only visiting 1-day races for the two TTTs on our calendar. When not leading our TTT squads, Hamza should be found on the front of the peloton as our strongest rider on the flat. We're cautiously optimistic that Hamza will come away with at least one win this season in a prologue or by leading our team to victory in Monterrey.

FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR	Age
73	65	67	74	71	72	73	64	76	76	67	64	79	28

Start	End	Race	Category
15-Feb	20-Feb	() Volta a Catalunya	C2
03-Mar		Isle of Man TTT	C1
27-Apr	30-Apr	USA Pro Cycling Challenge	C2
04-May	09-May	Olympia's Tour	C2
02-Jun	08-Jun	Tour of Vancouver	C2
09-Jun	13-Jun	La Tropicale Amissa Bongo	C1
23-Jun		Monterrey TTT	C2
01-Aug	05-Aug	Tour de Vineyards	C1
01-Sep	05-Sep	Tour of Britain	C1
16-Sep	20-Sep	Tour of San Luis	C2
06-Oct	10-Oct	Herald Sun Tour	C2

It is absolutely no shock that Oka covers much of the same schedule as Hamza. Oka hopes to contribute to a strong TTT in both solo races and then aim for a prologue win along the way. Oka will also serve us as a sprint challenger on the flat stages of the many hilly stage races on our calendar. With some potentially diminished fields, Oka may grab some good results there as well. Oka's #1 must be The Tour of San Luis with hopes he can make it over the hills and hold onto a strong prologue GC result.

FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR	Age
70	63	67	63	68	78	76	56	77	78	72	68	72	28

Start	End	Race	Category
12-Mar	15-Mar	Tour of the Middle East	C2
17-Mar	20-Mar	Tour of Guadeloupe	C1
30-Mar		GP Izola	C2
27-Apr	30-Apr	USA Pro Cycling Challenge	C2
10-Aug	15-Aug	Tour du Maroc	C1
17-Aug		GP Plouay	C2
04-Sep	24-Sep	Tour of America	C1
28-Sep		GP Lugano	C1
06-Oct	10-Oct	Herald Sun Tour	C2
12-Oct	15-Oct	() Euskal Bizikleta	C1

Tivani represents our best sprint hope throughout the season, although he's still probably an outsider for top results most of the time. Having underwent a minor hills training this off-season, he hopes to make it over any minor climbs that could drop the true fast men. Izola and Bizikleta will be goal races in support of team goals, but Tivani truly hopes to surprise in the Tour of America with a few strong results. He begged and begged for this opportunity to race in his home country of Argentina and we simply could not deny him. Let's hope he can deliver at the C2 level at least.

@Ulrich: I also worry just a tad that Oka will be just below the level needed as both a TTer and sprinter to make the real difference. Obviously he can play a huge factor in prologues but we'll be reliant on good RDC across the entire schedule or we're in deep trouble.

@liefwarrior Glad you like the trio as I know it is risky to place them together. Especially for the goal races, having them together looked to provide the flexibility needed. I definitely see each of them having the roles you describe with Duchense as the central hope in all cases.

@TheManxMissile I'm not surprised we're sharing the same major races but I hope I can avoid Mayer and Lagane at least a couple times. At least if we find ourselves together, maybe we can find simultaneous success for the region.

@Nemolito goal strategy will definitely differ next year, but I can sleep happy thinking that 1/5 is more likely than 0/5 although I'm sure that's jinxing myself

@redordead thankfully they get to practice being together early and often. Maybe they'll at least figure out teamwork by season's end

FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
66	70	77	57	67	66	59	50	64	69	72	64	56

[Start	End	Race	Category
09-Jan		Gisborne GP	C2
30-Jan		Clasico San Jose	C2
28-Feb		Coppa Placci	C2
30-Mar		GP Izola	C2
20-Apr		Badaling International	C1
27-Apr	30-Apr	USA Pro Cycling Challenge	C2
18-May	24-May	Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt	C2
10-Aug	15-Aug	Tour du Maroc	C1
04-Sep	24-Sep	Tour of America	C1
28-Sep		Milano - Torino	C1
12-Oct	15-Oct	() Euskal Bizikleta	C1
18-Oct		Zuri Metzgete	C2

Betancourt is the only member of our puncheur trio to head to Tour of America where he should have freedom to attack on a hilly stage or two. Hopefully his lack of GC ambitions there provide the options we're looking for while also providing some assistance our better climbers. The lack of energy stats makes Betancourt a risky solo leader anywhere, so he will team up with others to provide competitive teams as opposed to taking the team on his back... I mean, shell.

FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
70	67	77	68	73	72	67	56	69	79	71	51	68

Start	End	Race	Category
09-Jan		Gisborne GP	C2
25-Jan	27-Jan	Hong Kong Challenge	C1
30-Jan		Clasico San Jose	C2
28-Feb		Coppa Placci	C2
05-Mar	10-Mar	() Vuelta al Pais Vasco	C1
12-Mar	15-Mar	Tour of the Middle East	C2
17-Mar	20-Mar	Tour of Guadeloupe	C1
30-Mar		GP Izola	C2
12-Apr	18-Apr	Tour de Pologne	HC
10-Aug	15-Aug	Tour du Maroc	C1
01-Sep	05-Sep	Tour of Britain	C1
16-Sep	20-Sep	Tour of San Luis	C2
28-Sep		GP Lugano	C1
12-Oct	15-Oct	() Euskal Bizikleta	C1
18-Oct		Zuri Metzgete	C2

Duchesne should be our strongest rider across the season, although we know he will face stiff competition almost everywhere he does. We'll certainly be relying upon him most heavily in our season goals, but Duchesne will want success in the final race of the season Zuri Metzgete and all other one-day races on the calendar. Duchesne may also be able to make a splash at our solo HC race Tour of Pologne. 4 hilly stages should offer up ample opportunity to earn points at the higher level. He may not be our top point scorer on the season if TTT strategy works out well for our mountain GC men, but we have the most faith of any rider in Duchesne.

FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
70	64	75	65	75	69	73	57	73	76	70	67	73

Start	End	Race	Category
09-Jan		Gisborne GP	C2
25-Jan	27-Jan	Hong Kong Challenge	C1
30-Jan		Clasico San Jose	C2
28-Feb		Coppa Placci	C2
30-Mar		GP Izola	C2
12-Apr	18-Apr	Tour de Pologne	HC
18-May	24-May	Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt	C2
17-Aug		GP Plouay	C2
01-Sep	05-Sep	Tour of Britain	C1
16-Sep	20-Sep	Tour of San Luis	C2
28-Sep		GP Lugano	C1
12-Oct	15-Oct	() Euskal Bizikleta	C1
18-Oct		Zuri Metzgete	C2

Trillini was not quite as lucky as his countrymate as Trillini is forced to take the alternative schedule, missing opportunities in a home grand tour. Still, the veteran is excited to represent the team in a number of 1-day races. Outside the team's major goals Trillini sees an opportunity on our first race day of the season at Gisborne GP. Hopefully the length of the race combined with the flattening finish might just allow him to reach the top of the final climb with a reduced group. Otherwise, Trillini should be a contender throughout the season, but mostly challenging for outside placings.