In addition to the two signings from other teams in Kron and Sossa, we are also delighted to announce the signing of two Free Agents for the upcoming season: Frank Van den Broek and Marco Frigo.
Frank Van den Broek was in fact our first new signing for the 2024 season, but we preferred to postpone his announcement until we knew for sure whether he will ride for us this season or be loaned out to another team.
Frank is one of those hybrid climbers that everyone wants a piece of these days and he will be a great help of our leaders in the future whenever the road will go up.
Frank Van den Broeck
3.50xp
24yo
Climber
€50,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
69
72
71
63
70
70
70
60
58
66
72
69
63
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
70
76
75
65
72
73
74
60
58
69
75
69
65
If Frank was our first new signing for the 2024 season, Marco Frigo was our last. Frigo is in his best element on short climbs, but can handle longer climbs as well, bringing some power on the flats and time - trials as well. Marco will be a great domestique in the future no matter the terrain.
Marco Frigo
3.50xp
24yo
All-rounder
€50,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
71
69
71
69
69
67
67
64
59
64
71
70
68
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
72
73
75
71
71
70
70
64
59
67
74
70
70
We were very close to fulfill the Belgian cycling prophecy and bring Remco Evenepoel and Ilan Van Wilder. Unfortunately, that deal fell apart and Xero decided to sell Van Wilder to Puma. Part of the initial deal was also that Joren Bloem will be spending his last development year with Xero and even though the Van Wilder deal did not materialize we decided to go ahead with the loan deal for Bloem as he had already packed most of his bags by the time Van Wilder's destination switched.
2024 Team stats
In the last couple of season we were caught deep in the relegation battle and it wasn't until the very race of the season that we were 100% sure that we'd be staying up.
With keeping the core of the team and some of the young riders developing further, we felt this season will be a bit less stressful from the relegation point of view, but looking at how strong the newly promoted teams look, it looks like we are set for another long season.
Below you can find Rabobank's 2024 full abilities stats:
I think you should be fine, though a lot of it will depend on the sprinters again, which I reckon may end up being a little frustrating to watch if fine in the end. Cool that you already have guys like Evenpoel, Champoussin, and a wave of young depth waiting behind your current top leaders, so no need to secure them later. I would think this team will look much different at the top next year.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Evenepoel is the archetype of a rider I'd love to have, really looking great already - and maxing just in time for a likely big overhaul next transfers, with all of Gerts, Formolo and Grosu starting their decline. Remco and Champoussin are definitely looking ready to take over, though, with the latter being even punchier than Formolo.
Formolo is a good keyword, though - as it's the one of your riders I'm afraid might most suffer from new arrivals, maxed riders and trainings - Areruya, Higuita, Aranburu, Ardila, maybe also the likes of Vansevenant, Amezawa, Novak could all take points from him. There surely were also declines, but in general I feel like the hybrid category has gotten much more crowded this offseason.
On the other hand, I think Gerts should still have more scoring potential than what he got last year, and the same definitely holds for your sprinters. And then it's indeed Remco who could be a difference maker, bringing you out of the dangerous zone - but sadly, I don't view it as granted just yet. I too think your roster has gotten stronger overall - but I feel like others have done so, too. And apart from my team (and maybe one other), I think the newly promoted teams are also pretty strong this season...
Good luck anyway, see out out there on the road
Yes, the plan to replace the current leaders with the young guns from next season onwards is looking good at the moment, but we'll have to see if it will go as smoothly as I'm hoping.
As for your point, Fabianski, about the influx of hybrid climbers coming in this season to the PT, I didn't really think about it so far, but you are right. There's a good chance Formolo's points tally will take a hit this season. But, so far, he always seemed to be able to be landing on his feet, so I hope that will be the case this year as well.
Anyway, I think we are in a much better shape in case we get relegated now that if we did in any of the past two seasons. Because we would not be in a position to try to keep at least one of the old leaders and the young guns in our team on a tight budget if we wanted to bounce back right away. The youngsters should be well develop to take over leadership duties themselves.
