Hello, here is the 8th edition of the ING Cycling Magazine. The season is about to start, we’re just a few days short of the Santos Tour Down Under. We’re so excited. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience of not having an edition last week. But of course, we’re back this week. We’ve got a season prediction for you this week, along with the latest news, interviews and more.
Part 1: Latest News
Part 2: We’ve got reviewed
Part 3: Season Prediction
Part 4: A few startlists (again)
Part 5: Interview
Part 6: Tommy the Mascot
Latest News
Of course, things happened in the last two weeks. Most notable is the Continental team switch.
Sporting CP turns TAP – Michelin
This is the biggest news in the last two weeks. We told you about the fact that Sporting CP didn’t want to continue in Cycling. They had some arguments with the UCI, but that isn’t really important. At first, it would result in team Carrefour – VisitPortugal. But the UCI didn’t really support them, and a new, more promising sponsor wanted to join cycling. It’s TAP – Michelin. They are now a French team, with Portuguese influence from TAP Portugal. Still, it isn’t Michelin – TAP, since that didn’t sound well. The team will of course be CT. Their most promising riders are Zoltan and Costa.
4500 views
We recently got 4500 views, after reaching the 4000 milestone a bit earlier. We didn’t give a prize. We might give a prize at 6000 views though, we’re not sure. We just hope that you don’t visit our HQ just for the prizes
Reviews
The new UCI, led by director TheManxMissile, has done a massive review about the WT teams. There have been some disappointed teams, and some teams happy with the mark they got. We’ve got an 8, which is decent, but our main-rivals, Lierse – Pizza Ullo, got a 9. That makes us sad. You can find our review right below this.
We’ve got reviewed
As said above, the mighty TheManxMissile reviewed our team. Here is the review:
Dutch main sponsor and registered, with a bit of Belgian help. Lots of possibilities lay before this team at the start. It was eagerly awaited to see which way they went. Was it the right way to go?
Surprisingly balanced to start with. Boonen is the king of cobbles and headliner. He can do well on his own but with great support from riders like Boom and the cobbles seem like they are his to lose. But also on the flat roads they have acquired Veenhof who is definitely a good sprinter to look out for. While he lacks a decisive lead out there are a whole bunch of riders who can at least help get him in the mix. It really is a nicely set up team for any kind of flat roads.
But they also pack a punch for the steep roads. It’s hard to pick a top guy out so you can choose from Voeckler, F.Schleck and Ruiter. All three are very good climbers that can grab a lot of results and jerseys. And they come with a set of capable support riders. Not as many as some other teams, but enough with quality to certainly cause trouble when the road goes up.
Another team wither potential all round but as a weakness it once again age that sticks out. 3 of the top5 riders are over 30, and a fair few others are that way as well. There is a decent chunk of youth so perhaps this won’t be that big a deal as for some others.
Key Rider: Boonen
But not on the cobbles. It will be his sprinting that will make the difference. If he can fire his legs up then those extra points will add up and really boost the team onwards.
Strength: Cobbles
While strongish in several areas it’s the cobbles that stand out. A large number of potential team-mates on the bumpy roads will help spread the load over the races. Plus it should keep his rivals shackled.
Weakness: Age
While not a major issue thanks to a few youth talents it is the biggest problem. Not now, but in a couple of seasons they could really start to struggle under the declining weight of former legends.
Rating: 8/10
A very good well rounded squad that will be up there all over the place. Would be higher but I’m not sure whether riders like Veenhof and F.Schleck quite have that little bit to make them special yet. But they will certainly be fighting at the top end of the rankings.
As said, we’re not massively happy, but okay with this. Honestly, we hoped for a 8,5/9, especially in comparision to Lierse, which got higher than we got. It’s our job to prove TheManxMissile wrong I think.
Season Prediction
As announced, here is the prediction of the WT. We think the ranking will look like this. After each team, we explained a bit why they are positioned here. We can’t let everyone be happy, and this is just a prediction. It will probably not look like this, but it will at least get close.
Right, here it is, starting from 16.
14. Pro Team Haier Another weak team, where I wouldn’t be surprised if they relegated. This team is a bit more allround though. With Van den Broeck and Montfort, they’ve got some good stage-racers. Hagen and Vansummeren are both very strong in other things. Vansummeren can ride a Top 10 on the cobbles, and Hagen, well, he can do nice things on every terrain, and is a very good sprinter. We don’t like the Belgian influence, most of their Belgians were on our list
13. In ‘N Out – Original Joe’s A team based around Sagan. Yes, Sagan is a star, but he’s all alone. With Iglinsky, the team got a good puncheur, and with Danielson and Coppel, they’ve got some decent, possible Top 10 GC guys. Sagan and Iglinsky will be the only guys capable of getting a nice amount of points. They can probably secure a 13th position, but not more than that
12. Pure Black – Genesys A team full of Aussies and Kiwi’s. With Goss and Evans, they’ve got some top-class riders in their speciality. Evans will be declining soon though. Still, Goss and Evans can secure many points for the team, with Evans also capable of doing great in the Ardennes. After Goss and Evans, the level drops, with Renshaw and Ten Dam. Still, I think they’ve got a secret weapon. He’s named Taylor Phinney, and can be very good at the cobbles, but especially able to get at least a Top 3 in TTs, and some wins in smaller stage race TTs.
11. Tulip – Guiness They’ve got a massive superstar, Chris Froome. He can bring a GT win, and maybe a Top 3 in another GT. That will get Tulip a big amount of points. The strange thing of this team is that the team doesn’t have any guy who can ride a lot of Top 5s. After Froome, there’s Kristoff, Thor and Breschel. Both capable of a few Top 10s, but only occasionally Top 5s or wins.
The Scandinavian aspect of the team is of course great, but won’t benefit the results, so this might be a struggling team if Froome doesn’t deliver.
10. Globant – Telefe A bit in the same situation as Tulip is. Only one big leader, but I must say that it possibly is the best stage-racer of the peloton. Will probably win the GT that he enters. After that, there is a gap in level to the Nr.2 of the team. Still, guys like Po-Ding and Van Garderen can grab quite a few points, more than I estimate Kristoff, Hushovd and Breschel(all Tulip) to do.
8. ITV Pro Cycling Team A pure climbing team. Schleck, Valverde, Hoogenboom, Mollema, Vanendert. They will all do great in GTs and the Ardennes. The problem of this team is just that they can’t do anything else. No sprinters, no serious cobblers, just only climbers. If you look at the climbing level of the team, they’re one of the best. But they just won’t get any points in flat/cobbled/TT stages. The climbers that this team got, can’t TT very good. That means that the TdF is probably out of reach.
7. SGL-Magix Completely different than ITV. A pure sprinters team. Those sprinters can get a lot of points, but this team will surely have some trouble with GC wins. Klöden is their best GC rider, and he won’t Top 3 even a smaller GC, let alone winning. With Greipel and Kittel, this team can get serious wins. Guardini and Hutarovich can get some nice results too. The lack of wins when the road gets uphill will be a serious problem though.
6. Caterham – Austar
[i]They’ve got Wiggins, which will bring them serious points. I don’t think he can win a GT, but he can get a Top 3. Besides Wiggins, there’s Degenkolb, who can do things on the sprints, especially the uphill ones. With Pinot and Brajkovic, there is a big chance that they can get a few Top 10 at GCs, and even better results at smaller stage-races. Moreno and Hammarling can get some points in the monuments, but probably no wins.
5. Motorex – Credit Suisse With Cancellara, they’ve got a real beast, capable of cobbles and TT wins. They’ve got great support for him, with Pozzato and Turgot. Gesink and Geisinger can get a Top 5 at a GC, same goes for Albasini, who can get a Top 5 in the Ardennes. There is no good sprinter in the team though, with Viviani only capable of a Top 10 in a stage of a smaller stage-race. This team might be a bit too much focused on classics, but the team is definitely able to finish high at the ranking.
4. ING – InBev Cycling Team We think fourth is a realistic prediction for us. With Boonen and Boom, we’ve got a strong cobbled team. Voeckler can get a KoM win and is one of the favourites in the Ardennes. Veenhof and Boonen have a strong enough finish to win a few GT stages, and Schleck, Quintana and Ruiter are great climbers, capable of riding a good GC and winning summit finishes. We’re allround, and that could be our strong point, but also be the pitfall for the team.
3. Allianz – BMW Simply the best climbers/GT team out there. Rodriguez will definitely win one or two Ardennes classics, and can win a GC. Samuel Sanchez and Scarponi can do the same. Nuyens can ride strong cobbled classics, while Van Avermaet will be peaking at the Ardennes. The sprinter area is the weak spot of the team, but since the team can send 2 GC favourites to every GT, I think this team will get a huge amount of points.
2. Lunar Industries – Umbrella Cooperation A very strong team on multiple areas. They’ve got the best sprinter in the world, Mark Cavendish. He will win most of the flat races he enters. After Cav, they’ve got Flecha and Chavanel. This team is the strongest cobbles team besides Motorex and us. Chavanel can do more than cobbling alone though, he will secure some TT wins, especially prologues. With his flat and hill stat, he might even win a smaller stage-race. The major points scorer of this team will still be Cav. With Leipheimer, the team got a Top 10 GC contender, and Bouhanni and Farrar grants the team even more chances in the sprint
We decided to reveal our startlists from the races left before Paris – Nice.
Since we’ve already revealed the Algarve and Langkawi, here are Omloop & Bianche.
Omloop het Nieuwsblad
Lars Boom Stefan Van Dijk Koen de Kort Dirk Bellemakers Tom Leezer Bram Tankink Maarten Wynants Constantino Zaballa
No Boonen. That might be remarkable, but this race didn’t fit Boonen’s calendar. It doesn’t matter, Boom will do a good job here. Only thing that we’re afraid of here is that Cancellara does participate, since Motorex participates in Omloop. We’ve brought a few strong domestiques for Boom here, for example Wynants
Strade Bianche
Johan Veenhof Koen de Kort Dirk Bellemakers Tom Leezer Bram Tankink Barry Markus Grega Bole Juraj Kocjan
A strong line-up. A lot of (south-European) people see this as the opening of the real season. We just want to win this one. We’ve got a very strong sprint train with us, and Johan Veenhof simply wants to win it. Uphill sprinters Bole and Kocjan will probably be the leadout, but can also go for a nice result themselves.
Interview
Today, we’ve got an interview with a Dutch youngster, Bert-Jan Lindeman. The interview was held in Australia, where Lindeman is doing his TDU preparation.
Thijs Zonneveld: Hi Bert-Jan, how ‘re you doing?
Bert-Jan Lindeman: I’m doing fine. Man, it’s really hot out here. TZ: Yes it is. It’s just 2 degrees Celsius in the Netherlands, so that’s a huge difference. Is the preparation going well?
BJL: Yes. Trying to climb to Stirling and Willunga Hill the fastest of the team was the most fun until now. We did something like a race. It’s impossible to win though, since Voeckler participated too.
[b]TZ: About Voeckler, is he a bit nice to you?
BJL: Well, he got a bit of an annoying attitude, but he’s okay. He tries to learn me quite a few things, and I’m sure I get better because of those things. TZ: What do you think that you can manage here in Australia?
BJL: I don’t have too high expectations. A Top 20 in the Willunga Hill stage should be nice. Basically, I just want Voeckler to win the GC. TZ: What are you going to do after Tour Down Under?
BJL: Algarve, Langkawi, Paris-Nice. It might sound weird, but I look forward to riding Pologne and Beijing. They suit me perfectly. TZ: What can you achieve there, you think?
BJL: Maybe some stage top 10s. I basically will try to get in the breakaway. I love attacking. TZ: Not as much as Roy loves attacking I think?
BJL: *Laughs* No, that guy can be crazy sometimes.
Spoiler
I refer to the great ING Magazine #5 interview
TZ: I think that’s about it. One last question, will you ride the Ardennes?
BJL: Of course. I will be supporting Schleck and Voeckler the best I can. I hope on a Top 25 there, but helping Voeckler or Schleck grabbing the win would be amazing. TZ: Thanks for the interview Bert-Jan
BJL: You’re welcome Thijs.
Tommy the Mascot
Tommy, as you know our Siamese mascot, can’t wait for the season to start. Unlike other cats, he really loves travelling. He went with us to Australia. He was able to move freely in the plane(We’re flying first-class), and curious as he is, he explored the whole plane. And yes, he almost did that 24 hours long. He only slept for a few hours. While exploring the plane, he got a bit in trouble. He jumped in the toilet. That wasn’t funny for the janitors, but Tommy had some fun I guess. We’re now in Australia, and he’s now eagerly awaiting the season to start. Here’s a picture:
Next up in ING Cycling Magazine
- The latest news
- The Tour Down under results
- (Finally) Rider of the week
- (Maybe) a CT prediction
- More startlists
- And much more
Edited by Jesleyh on 02-02-2013 13:45
We decided that it's a good moment to reveal the schedules of a few riders. These riders are our Lead-Sprinter Johan Veenhof and our best climber Mathijs Ruiter.
It's now finally racing day. The first day is a pure sprint. Here's the profile:
It's an 149km stage from Prospect to Claire. It's fairly flat, and I don't think that there are a lot of sprinters who won't survive, since the max slope we climb today is a slope of 4,9%.
Veenhof will be looking for a nice result today, a Top 3 should be achievable. We couldn't really see Veenhof's form yet, but I think he can do a nice job today. A win? Maybe, but Goss is here.
Kris Boeckmans will be a great leadout for Veenhof, and that can maybe be decisive.
In other news, some of the guys who weren't in Australia, did enter a small criterium, the Criterium of Santander. The guys who entered were Bole, Kocjan, Pietropolli, Roy and Hoogerland. We weren't able to show ourselves though. Kocjan was our best guy, grabbing a 11th position. That's a decent job for Jure. Jeremy Roy was second best with a 19th spot.
Disappointments of the day were Bole & Pietropolli. This route suited Bole best, but he got 30th. Pietropolli was even worse, with a 69th place.
It's now finally racing day. The first day is a pure sprint. Here's the profile:
It's an 149km stage from Prospect to Claire. It's fairly flat, and I don't think that there are a lot of sprinters who won't survive, since the max slope we climb today is a slope of 4,9%.
Veenhof will be looking for a nice result today, a Top 3 should be achievable. We couldn't really see Veenhof's form yet, but I think he can do a nice job today. A win? Maybe, but Goss is here.
Kris Boeckmans will be a great leadout for Veenhof, and that can maybe be decisive.
In other news, some of the guys who weren't in Australia, did enter a small criterium, the Criterium of Santander. The guys who entered were Bole, Kocjan, Pietropolli, Roy and Hoogerland. We weren't able to show ourselves though. Kocjan was our best guy, grabbing a 11th position. That's a decent job for Jure. Jeremy Roy was second best with a 19th spot.
Disappointments of the day were Bole & Pietropolli. This route suited Bole best, but he got 30th. Pietropolli was even worse, with a 69th place.
It's now finally racing day. The first day is a pure sprint. Here's the profile:
It's an 149km stage from Prospect to Claire. It's fairly flat, and I don't think that there are a lot of sprinters who won't survive, since the max slope we climb today is a slope of 4,9%.
Veenhof will be looking for a nice result today, a Top 3 should be achievable. We couldn't really see Veenhof's form yet, but I think he can do a nice job today. A win? Maybe, but Goss is here.
Kris Boeckmans will be a great leadout for Veenhof, and that can maybe be decisive.
In other news, some of the guys who weren't in Australia, did enter a small criterium, the Criterium of Santander. The guys who entered were Bole, Kocjan, Pietropolli, Roy and Hoogerland. We weren't able to show ourselves though. Kocjan was our best guy, grabbing a 11th position. That's a decent job for Jure. Jeremy Roy was second best with a 19th spot.
Disappointments of the day were Bole & Pietropolli. This route suited Bole best, but he got 30th. Pietropolli was even worse, with a 69th place.
It's now finally racing day. The first day is a pure sprint. Here's the profile:
It's an 149km stage from Prospect to Claire. It's fairly flat, and I don't think that there are a lot of sprinters who won't survive, since the max slope we climb today is a slope of 4,9%.
Veenhof will be looking for a nice result today, a Top 3 should be achievable. We couldn't really see Veenhof's form yet, but I think he can do a nice job today. A win? Maybe, but Goss is here.
Kris Boeckmans will be a great leadout for Veenhof, and that can maybe be decisive.
In other news, some of the guys who weren't in Australia, did enter a small criterium, the Criterium of Santander. The guys who entered were Bole, Kocjan, Pietropolli, Roy and Hoogerland. We weren't able to show ourselves though. Kocjan was our best guy, grabbing a 11th position. That's a decent job for Jure. Jeremy Roy was second best with a 19th spot.
Disappointments of the day were Bole & Pietropolli. This route suited Bole best, but he got 30th. Pietropolli was even worse, with a 69th place.
Today was the first day of the season. It was the first stage of the Santos Tour Down Under
As expected, it was an exciting race. The last 10km was a spectacular downhill. There didn't happen any crashes though, maybe that's surprising. As expected, the breakaway was reeled in just in time, with 8km to go.
We had high hopes for today. We've taken a strong sprinting train with us, including Boeckmans, a great leadout. We said that a Top 3 was our goal for today. Some teams (secretly) thought that we were too ambitious with that, but Veenhof clearly proved them wrong. Our sprinting train(Wynants<-De Kort<-Boeckmans<-Veenhof) did a great job. In the last km it was between Goss, Greipel and Veenhof. Greipel was clearly superior. Veenhof managed to outsprint Pure Black's Goss though, and secured an amazing second place.
It was a great start for the team. Johan deserves a lot of credits for this.
Stage 2
For tomorrow we expect a very unpredictable stage. It's a hilly stage to Stirling, finishing uphill. There are multiple options for tomorrow. There is a possibility that a hilly sprinter(like Veenhof) wins the mass sprint. Another possibility is that a late attack of a puncheur(like Voeckler) grabs the stage win. We've got high expectations once again.
We had high expectations for stage 2. Voeckler was simply one of the better hilly riders of the field. But the team massively disappointed today. We were still leading the pack at 5km to go, but it all went wrong. We can't even explain to you what happened, this was just too bad.
We have to aim for stage wins now, and maybe Voeckler can win some time at Willunga Hill for a GC Top 10.
Currently, he's 66th. What an horrible result for us, since no rider of our team finished in the Top 50.
A day to forget.
Stage 3
Tomorrow is a 134km long flat stage to Victor Harbor. Veenhof seems in a great form, so he can do something maybe. It would be better if the sprint is a little bit uphill, but Veenhof proved that he can do this too.
I don't see this stage ending different than a bunch sprint. We hope we can build up a great sprint train, just like stage 1.
Paulinho will be as depressed after that race he will consider stopping cycling 
