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[PCT 24] ELCO - ABEA
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 11-08-2024 23:11
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4548
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Ouch, all these riders released is really rough. But if you can indeed sell Coquard (which could be easier now than last year with his wage being 100k lower), you should be able to bring most of them back indeed.
And while it clearly was the right call last year to not get Coquard spending all my money/wage, he might be one of the missing pieces for me to survive in PT, who knows ^^
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 12-08-2024 00:33
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World Champion
Posts: 11356
Joined: 17-12-2014
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Coquard fee will be bank-breaking for sure, will be fearsome training you get to do with that - maybe taking some of your Greek Warriors for a dip in the River Styx  Even though the post-relegation renewals is, as you say, one of the worst things you can experience in this game, I'm excited for the freedom that PCT might give you to fully realise this project - and when it comes back to PT it will be very very special.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| redordead |
Posted on 12-08-2024 08:38
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4800
Joined: 18-10-2017
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It's gonna be fun to see where Coquard finally winds up.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 12-08-2024 14:26
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2855
Joined: 07-08-2011
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Really exciting to see where Couqard ends up and what happens to the money he will be bringing in, at 600k he can more or less slide into most teams in the top 2 divisions so should be really fun to watch in unfold!
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| knockout |
Posted on 13-08-2024 07:10
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7661
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 400.00
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At that wage coquard should be more attractive to others than in other years.
Im gonna assume that most of the released greeks will find their way back to you
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| liefwarrior |
Posted on 14-08-2024 23:37
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 847
Joined: 04-07-2019
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I don't think I'll be partaking in the scramble for Coquard, but I am very excited to be riding head-to-head with the Greeks. Perhaps there presence will be enough for Kaloniatis to get homesick.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 16-08-2024 23:59
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16362
Joined: 27-07-2011
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Coquard scramble will be very interesting. Insanely high scoring potential, now on a good wage. But also 32 years old and a sprinter who has clearly been volatile in recent years. I'm interested to see the swaps you cook up.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| SotD |
Posted on 18-08-2024 10:40
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World Champion
Posts: 12145
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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@Fabianski
Indeed, it did hurt to let some of these guys go, but I opted for a "no fine" situation, and then hope I can free up enough cap space to bring the vital ones back.
Feel free to hit me up around Coquard once the transfers open. I'm sure we can figure something out 
@jandal7
It will be very interesting to ride at the PCT level. Also I hope this will give our greek riders a little bit more succes here and there.
I don't think our training options will be great this season, even with a Coquard sale. We had a rough last season in terms of goals so we need a new level of optimism to get anyway close to what our initial plans for the season was.
@redordead
Indeed. I hope to get a couple of interesting swap/cash offers.
@whitejersey
I agree. 600K is more suiting for his qualities, and he should be a division breaker if treated right and the new inventions for making sprints more reliable works.
@knockout
I sure hope so too... Not all of them is likely to get a new offer, but some definately will!
@liefwarrior
Hehe, Kaloniatis is always welcome. Homesick or not
@baseballlover312
I agree... High potential scorer, especially if the sprint shinanigans are fixed. The wage is about right compared to many others I have seen renewed. There is the age thing indeed, but at 33 he should still be a top rider and the PRL stat is still in the top tier. I could see him being a savior for a promoted PT team. He has saved our guts numerous times, and almost did it last season aswell. Definately wasn't his fault we relegated
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| SotD |
Posted on 27-08-2024 21:27
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World Champion
Posts: 12145
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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It is official! Bryan Coquard has announced his leave of the team. While the contractual parts isn't finalized just yet we have confirmation, that he is leaving the team behind.
We can also bid welcome to a new talented rider.
 | Mats Wenzel | 1.00 | 22yo | Stage Racer | €50.000 |
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | St | Rs | Rc | Co | Sp | Ac | Fi | Dh | Pr | | 67 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 70 | 69 | 67 | 60 | 58 | 70 | 65 | 68 | 70 | | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | | 68 | 75 | 72 | 74 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 60 | 58 | 71 | 65 | 68 | 75 |
Mats Wenzel isn't greek or cypriot, but he is very talented. In stats he shares quite a bit of resemblances with our own Alexandros Agrotis whom we are very fond of. With a very solid package of MO, TT and physical he even adds a very decent acceleration that makes him a solid trainable asset for the future. With +3 or above MO he should be a very competitive GC rider.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 27-08-2024 21:30
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2855
Joined: 07-08-2011
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A rider on my shortlist, he's going to be a great asset in the future!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 28-09-2024 22:26
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| Booker |
Posted on 27-08-2024 21:53
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 829
Joined: 03-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice signing, on a nice wage. Good luck with his development. I'm sure it's not any sort of compensation for going into PCT, but at least you can manage his development in-house now 
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 27-08-2024 21:57
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1044
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Nice signing! He was on my list too, but too far down as it seems. It seems like it has been so with others, too. And it shouldn't be too hard to make his name sound a bit more Greek once he's been naturalized 
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 28-08-2024 08:46
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3280
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Definitely a nice talent, would have thought he was going to a more regional team, but I think he won't mind living in Greece instead of Luxembourg at all
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| SotD |
Posted on 28-08-2024 10:08
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World Champion
Posts: 12145
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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Thanks guys. Yeah he was one of those "He might just sneak under the radar"-riders that I hoped to pick up. If I had another focus where he fit in better he would probably end up at 80MO
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| SotD |
Posted on 28-08-2024 21:58
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World Champion
Posts: 12145
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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We can welcome a number of riders to the team here tonight. First lets have a look at the two talents joining our setup.
 | Alexandros Matsangos | 4.29 | 25yo | Cobbler | €55.000 |
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | St | Rs | Rc | Co | Sp | Ac | Fi | Dh | Pr | | 71 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 73 | 70 | 62 | 74 | 61 | 68 | 66 | 67 | 70 | | ↓↓↓ | | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | | ↓↓↓ | | 73 | 68 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 71 | 63 | 75 | 62 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 71 |
Alexandros Matsangos have been with us before, but we had to temporarily let him go due to the relegation. Matsangos is a solid cobbled rider that can also climb fairly well, and actually is also a decent timetriallist. He doesn't excel anywhere, but he can feature in almost every race without ever being a useless asset.
 | Ioannis Varotsos | 1.00 | 22yo | Roulleur | €100.000 |
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | St | Rs | Rc | Co | Sp | Ac | Fi | Dh | Pr | | 73 | 62 | 66 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 64 | 63 | 67 | 68 | 72 | 68 | 70 | | ↓↓↓ | | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | | ↓↓↓ | | 80 | 62 | 68 | 77 | 74 | 74 | 69 | 63 | 71 | 70 | 73 | 68 | 77 |
Ioannis Varotsos is easily the biggest talent we will get our hands on this season. He has a monster of an engine, and can work well in races that combine flat finishes and timetrials. He is fairly quick on the line so if he does get ahead, he should be competitive in a sprint in a small group.
Next up is 3 fully developped riders.
| | Zisis Soulious | 4.100 | 28yo | Puncheur | €100.000 |
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | St | Rs | Rc | Co | Sp | Ac | Fi | Dh | Pr | | 69 | 74 | 75 | 66 | 76 | 75 | 69 | 51 | 71 | 78 | 63 | 76 | 66 |
Similarly to Matsangos, Zisis Soulious was also one of the riders that had to take a temporary sit down after the relegation, but we have kept talking as it was always the intention to bring him back. Soulious is a very strong and fast puncheur. He lacks a little bit to be among the final contenders in the one day races, but he does have a strong physique, and you don't want to bring him to the line.
 | Danny Summerhill | 4.100 | 35yo | Cobbler | €80.000 |
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | St | Rs | Rc | Co | Sp | Ac | Fi | Dh | Pr | | 74 | 62 | 69 | 55 | 70 | 66 | 60 | 79 | 66 | 67 | 77 | 69 | 55 |
Danny Summerhill is a veteran and a legend. And while he doesn't have the level he used to, he is still a strong road captain and cobbler. He joins to help Greek cycling get a better grip of the cobbles, and could be riding a couple of those as a free rider himself. He will also take part in the flatter races to build up for a sprint with Farantakis.
 | Alexander Edmondson | 4.100 | 31yo | Cobbler | €75.000 |
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | St | Rs | Rc | Co | Sp | Ac | Fi | Dh | Pr | | 73 | 58 | 64 | 64 | 72 | 71 | 77 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 67 | 64 | 74 |
Much like Summerhill, Alexander Edmondson joins to give the cobbled department a lift. He is also joining our team as part of the lead out train for Farantakis, where we have degraded our team after the departure of Coquard and Bouglas.
Our team is slowly coming together, and we don't expect massive changes at this point.
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| redordead |
Posted on 30-08-2024 07:27
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4800
Joined: 18-10-2017
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I don't remember your team ever pouring so many resources into cobbles. Should be fun as something different and of course cobbles are fun by themselves.
Varotsos is a really cool rider
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| ivaneurope |
Posted on 30-08-2024 07:49
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2927
Joined: 09-05-2011
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Love your approach towards Greek and Cypriot riders
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| SotD |
Posted on 30-08-2024 08:20
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World Champion
Posts: 12145
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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@redordead - No it's a first for sure I thought that with the amount of decent greek cobblers I already have I would try to make an actual cobbled department. Initially I was looking for a real leader (80+), but that would have to include the original Coquard deal. Unfortunately nothing came as a solution, so I had to try something different. Yeah Varotsos is one of the most interesting greek talents in quite a while. Need some training to become a great rider, but that's possible.
@ivaneurope thanks a lot mate. Hopefully I can invest more in them in training
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 30-08-2024 08:37
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3280
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I do want to express my fondness of Varotsos again, probably my favorite talent in the DB this year, but of course tastes can differ. It could be worth it to evne go for the 81 fl 76 tt option perhaps, but if you're planning on pure TT training afterwards the 77 tt would make more sense I assume. Interested to see how Summerhill will do on the pct cobbles this year.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 31-08-2024 07:28
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18168
Joined: 12-05-2012
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Danny boy! And Edmo too, neat little pickups. Varotsos being the standout, such a good rider
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
