Pearl Adidas | 2013
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cio93 |
Posted on 17-12-2012 01:24
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I would know if De Haes rides for me this season, you made a new deal with HTC
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SotD |
Posted on 17-12-2012 08:32
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How you managed to come out nearly as good as you came in, is anyones guess. Great team mate! Will be looking forward to racing against you and your french armada in the future.
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p3druh |
Posted on 17-12-2012 11:40
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cio93 wrote:
I would know if De Haes rides for me this season, you made a new deal with HTC
Sorry, I had the original team in my transfer sheet, forgot to update it after Alakagom's offer.
SotD wrote:
How you managed to come out nearly as good as you came in, is anyones guess. Great team mate! Will be looking forward to racing against you and your french armada in the future.
After paying 1M€ in fines for being over the cap after the renewals, I always thought someone big was going to have to leave (apart from Velits who would always be leaving). Turns out Guarnieri and De Vocht were enough to put the cap space in the green and leave something for good domestiques who will hopefully have a lower salary next year.
I honestly believe the team will not be any worse than the team we had last year. The riders that have left put up 1142 points last year and I hope Sicard alone is able to put up close to 900 points compensating for Velits and De Vocht's points. The others are better riders than the ones who left so if they manage to get the same number of points (and there's no reason why they shouldn't baring crashes) and the money spent in training is enough to compensate for the fluke wins by Vastaranta and Joseph last season, I hope this team is enough to make the podium in the team standings.
And, of course, being able to have 3 out of 5 leaders a whole lot of helpers from Portugal or France is also something that's really cool for me. I'm looking forward to the next dozen TdFs with Sicard and Lecuisinier
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SotD |
Posted on 17-12-2012 11:59
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Yeah the TdF in 3 seasons will be very very interesting, although Sicard has the upperhand of being trained a lot next season I reckon... Even without training he would still be the better of those riders, and having the advantage of two years training will be too much for Lecuisinier to catch I think. This season Sicard is going to top 10 TDF atleast, and then he will probably win it for the next 5 years easy. Then Lecuisinier can perhaps be fighting him
True you are probably better this season than last, but you did have some very peculiar wins and top results that wasn't all that bad for your final positions, such as Vastaranta and Joseph, but also Vanderbiest overperformed a bit if we are to compare with similar sprinters.
This season is a transition for me, so top 5 will be very hard. I do hope, however, that Ulissi can keep his level, Contador aswell, and Fothen being considerably better (He should atleast double his points without crashes). And then I have the big questionsmark of Guerao. How well can he do with the training i'm considering for him.
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p3druh |
Posted on 17-12-2012 12:20
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SotD wrote:
Yeah the TdF in 3 seasons will be very very interesting, although Sicard has the upperhand of being trained a lot next season I reckon... Even without training he would still be the better of those riders, and having the advantage of two years training will be too much for Lecuisinier to catch I think. This season Sicard is going to top 10 TDF atleast, and then he will probably win it for the next 5 years easy. Then Lecuisinier can perhaps be fighting him
True you are probably better this season than last, but you did have some very peculiar wins and top results that wasn't all that bad for your final positions, such as Vastaranta and Joseph, but also Vanderbiest overperformed a bit if we are to compare with similar sprinters.
This season is a transition for me, so top 5 will be very hard. I do hope, however, that Ulissi can keep his level, Contador aswell, and Fothen being considerably better (He should atleast double his points without crashes). And then I have the big questionsmark of Guerao. How well can he do with the training i'm considering for him.
I doubt Sicard will be able to top-10 at the Tour this year. I think he could be close but a top-10 in the TdF with 80MO (albeit with the home bonus) would be over performing if we look at this years Top-10. Yes, Vastaranta and Joseph put up much more points than I was expecting them to (850 together) but Vanderbiest not so much. In fact, he had the worst season he's ever had since joining the team (2 stage wins throughout the season, one top-10 in the classics and only 494 points [almost half of what he had in 2011]).
I thought last year would be a transition year for my team too. Ended up in second place when Top-10 was the expectation. And you're team is no worse than what mine was last year...
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SotD |
Posted on 17-12-2012 13:36
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The problem for my team is that I don't have a top top rider like you do. Bakelants scored 1000pts more than by best rider and still he is only at the same wage of Contador. I have to add Diego Ulissi to get the same amount of points as Bakelants. And I reckon none of those will get the same amount of points they did last season. Contador 2nd in the Vuelta and other good results and Ulissi winning the Milano-San Remo won't happen again.
And chances are that Bakelants will score the same amount of points since Schleck is getting worse - Hagen is getting better so should be equal.
So I will have to rely on my team not crashing nearly as much this season - If they do I will probably be in relegation battle. If they don't I can put up a 5th place battle again.
Mauricio Ardila came 12th last season with significantly worse stats than Sicard. John Gadret even came 15th. So Sicard should be able to finish 10th or slightly better. Giving his national bonus I reckon he would be at the level of Kashechkin and Popovych last year. Obviously if all the heavy gear is out he will struggle to do top 10, but I think some of the heavier competition might go the the Giro because of the TT's and some of the better climbers to the Vuelta because of the lack of TT's (and usually a weaker field).
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Rin |
Posted on 17-12-2012 13:48
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SotD wrote:
Yeah the TdF in 3 seasons will be very very interesting, although Sicard has the upperhand of being trained a lot next season I reckon...
No, Sicard isn't allowed to be trained 2014 as he will be fully developed this season and gets stats increase for 2014. When you get a stat increase you can't train these then fully developed rider. So Sicard will be allowed to be trained 2015.
Team Bianchi - 2012 Man-Game ProContinental Tour Champions
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Ad Bot |
Posted on 21-11-2024 19:09
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p3druh |
Posted on 17-12-2012 14:18
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SotD wrote:
The problem for my team is that I don't have a top top rider like you do. Bakelants scored 1000pts more than by best rider and still he is only at the same wage of Contador. I have to add Diego Ulissi to get the same amount of points as Bakelants. And I reckon none of those will get the same amount of points they did last season. Contador 2nd in the Vuelta and other good results and Ulissi winning the Milano-San Remo won't happen again.
And chances are that Bakelants will score the same amount of points since Schleck is getting worse - Hagen is getting better so should be equal.
So I will have to rely on my team not crashing nearly as much this season - If they do I will probably be in relegation battle. If they don't I can put up a 5th place battle again.
Mauricio Ardila came 12th last season with significantly worse stats than Sicard. John Gadret even came 15th. So Sicard should be able to finish 10th or slightly better. Giving his national bonus I reckon he would be at the level of Kashechkin and Popovych last year. Obviously if all the heavy gear is out he will struggle to do top 10, but I think some of the heavier competition might go the the Giro because of the TT's and some of the better climbers to the Vuelta because of the lack of TT's (and usually a weaker field).
I wouldn't overestimate the importance the Schleck's decline in stats. He's still a 80M/83H guy. The rest of the competition is certainly getting tougher. If someone needs to step up and score more points this season, it certainly won't be Bakelants (as he's not getting trained).
About the rest, we'll see how the season unfolds. Too much unpredictability at this point. Namely how the change to a new game will affect the gameplay with this DB.
@Rin:
I think SotD was talking about the 2014 season.
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SotD |
Posted on 17-12-2012 14:20
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Right. He will still have the upperhand from being 3 years ahead of Lecuisinier though.
Lecuisinier got the advantage of being able to win the white jersey for 2-3 years though aswell as getting a potential podium one or two years. Sicard needs to take the white jersey this season to ever get it.
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p3druh |
Posted on 17-12-2012 14:25
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SotD wrote:
Right. He will still have the upperhand from being 3 years ahead of Lecuisinier though.
Lecuisinier got the advantage of being able to win the white jersey for 2-3 years though aswell as getting a potential podium one or two years. Sicard needs to take the white jersey this season to ever get it.
He won't. Madrazo, Phinney and Tenorio (and perhaps Alarcon) are all better riders right now and at least two of them should be doing the TdF.
Edited by p3druh on 17-12-2012 14:27
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SotD |
Posted on 17-12-2012 14:34
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p3druh wrote:
SotD wrote:
Right. He will still have the upperhand from being 3 years ahead of Lecuisinier though.
Lecuisinier got the advantage of being able to win the white jersey for 2-3 years though aswell as getting a potential podium one or two years. Sicard needs to take the white jersey this season to ever get it.
He won't. Madrazo, Phinney and Tenorio (and perhaps Alarcon) are all better riders right now and at least two of them should be doing the TdF.
I would be very surprised if Phinney turns up at the Tour seeing how well the Giro suits him. And Tenorio isn't better than Sicard in France I think. Alarcon hmm... Potentially. I would actually be more concerned with Eastman potentially being trained into a monster But right you are. Madrazo will probably ride the Tour, and either win it or become 2nd (3rd at the very least). So yeah - No white jersey for Sicard unless crashes occurs for his biggest rival(s).
Oh well, that is a scalp for Lecuisinier to have - Once he maxes then Phinney is 26, so I only have to worry about the new crew of riders, and Eastman
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p3druh |
Posted on 21-12-2012 16:02
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Pearl Adidas are proud to present the final roster for the 2013 season. While no major changes have been made since last season, the board feels this roster has a good chance to continue with the slow yet continuous improvement of the overall value of the team, with the added bonus of being even more focused on attracting French and Portuguese talent.
We will now present every rider of our team, with their news stats and a small introduction on what's expected of them for the upcoming season.
Jan Bakelants
The undisputed leader of the team. Jan is a top puncheur with secondary stats that ensure he is always in it to win it. With his preparation focusing on the hilly classics, Bakelants will lead the team in 3 Monuments, every other hilly classic and could look to pull off an upset in small stage races that favor riders like him. For this, Bakelants marginally bettered his TT skill during this offseason.
Tiago Machado
Tiago is another rider the team counts on heavily for the upcoming season. A large investment has been made in his offseason training and, as a result, he has a become a bigger threat in the Mountains. This investment was made to guarantee Machado can be able to have even better performances in the Giro and the Vuelta than he did last year. Hopefully, this increase in stats can result in a less Bakelants-dependent team in terms of points.
Romain Sicard
Romain Sicard is the golden boy of the team and this year he will get a chance to make a debut for Pearl Adidas. Not much is expected from the youngster but he will have to deal with the pressure of leading the team in the French Stage Races throughout the year, culminating with the TdF. He is expected to surpass the number of points Velits produced last season, and if he can achieve that goal while being able to get a top-10 at the Tour de France, there's no way this team could ask for more.
Romain Vanderbiest
Romain Vanderbiest is coming off the worst year he's had while on this team and has a make or break year in 2013. While he is highly valuable for the team as the best french sprinter in the business, he has to compete with Jacopo Guarnieri who will become a top sprinter next season. The team has not given up on Vanderbiest by any chance though and have invested in training for the French sprinter who should now be a tiny bit less weary of small climbs.
Enrico Franzoi
Franzoi is the last leader of the team but has the hardest task. He will get to lead the team in every cobble race, once again, but will have to do so with enormously worse core of helpers than what he had last year. While he is expected to be a top-10 in every cobble race, his presence on next year's team is not guaranteed even if that goal is achieved. It will be interesting to see how the Italian would deal with this new situation.
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Stijn Joseph
After being the 3rd guy for the cobbles (behind De Vocht), Joseph is now promoted to main-helper for this kind of races. While this comes after a very surprising win by Joseph in one these races last year, he is not expected to repeat that kind of performance.
Tanel Kangert
Tanel is heading for his 3rd season with the team and for the 3rd straight season he is going to be the best TTer on the team. While he is not expected to produce many points for the team singlehandedly, given his amazing all-round stats he will be asked to be always ready to protect his leaders. Given some scheduling constraints, he might even be able to lead the team in some minor races as a token of appreciation for all the work he has put up for the last couple of season and has been invested on by the team with regards to his TT skills.
Petar Panayotov
Petar will once again be the biggest reference in terms of helpers for the mountains. The team's giant will not get to go for the GC in any race but if a repeat of what happened in Catalunya is to happen, he has the stats to be backed up by the team.
Jukka Vastaranta
Jukka has been with the team since the beginning and has always been an interesting rider in all terrains. He's been able to podium in the TdF, he's been able to win races at the Pro Tour level and could be a leader in the Continental Tour but all that is asked of him is to always be alongside Bakelants. In return, we will see Bakelants leading out Vastaranta in smaller sprints like we saw last season.
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Eric Berthou
Berthou is another rider that has been with the team since the beginning has always been a nice surprise, proving to be a strong fighter and a better rider than what his stats show. This is the last he will be with us because of his age but he will still be a strong presence, especially in the French races.
Guillaume Blot
Riding with Pearl Adidas for the first time, Blot will be the number three in the totem pole in regards to cobble races, behind Franzoi and Joseph.
Manuel Antonio Cardoso
Cardoso is another rider that has been with the team since the beginning, being able to be a good teammate in the Continental Tour but rather useless in the Pro Tour. Despite of his nationality, this season's performances will be watched carefully and can result on a change of scenery for the Portuguese "sprinter".
Armindo Fonseca
Armindo is heading for his first season with the team and will play the role of lead-out man for Vanderbiest although not much is expected of him in the first season except being able to get enough experience to achieve his full potential next year.
Jose Goncalves
Jose was brought into the team to improve the depth in regards to TT. Given his particularly good ability to deal with tougher inclinations, he will be a good for the team in the future and will look to gather enough experience this year to be at full force next season.
Morgan Kneisky
Morgan is the only rider on loan for this season and will be a strong domestique for the flat, while providing depth for TTT.
Olivier Le Gac
Olivier was brought in to the team to be Berthou's replacement. While he still has much to learn before being able to fill those shoes, he will get a shot with the team for this season.
Tom Leezer
Leezer is a good allrounder who has been with the team since the beginning. He will provide depth and nothing more.
Jocelin Maillet
Last year, only Panayotov, Samoilev and RodrÃguez were able to help our leader in the climbs and that proved to be costly. This year Maillet was brought in to add depth to that department.
Lloyd Mondory
Along side Fonseca, Mondory is expected to be lead-out for Vanderbiest.
Florian Morizot
Morizot is a rider that is very similar to Samoilev, ie, he can do well in the mountains and in the TTs, two areas where the team was lacking depth.
Yohann Offredo
Offredo is, like Leezer, a good allrounder who is in the team only to work for others, adding depth.
Jackson RodrÃguez
Jackson has been with the team since the beginning and was always thought to be a good domestique for the climbs. Unfortunately, he has failed to deliver in the Pro Tour and will be under close inspection during the year.
Branislav Samoilev
Samoilev will look to repeat his role from last year: help out in every terrain while not being particularly good at anything. While that does not sound like a good rider, Samoilve has never failed to live up to our expectations.
William Walker
William is one of only two riders on the team who do not come from Europe and will be here to do what he does best: work for others.
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These riders are only going to be with the team starting August and won't get many race days but will enjoy the experience of riding in the Pro Tour.
Daniel Freitas
André Mourato
João Pedro Mendonça Pereira
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Jacopo Guarnieri
Jacopo is on the verge of becoming a top sprinter. After a year in the Pro Tour, the team felt it would be better to be an influential rider in the Continental Tour than to be on the shadow of better sprinters in the Pro Tour, and so the team decided to loan him out. He will be riding for Vespa-Aprilia Racing next year and will, no doubt, be keeping a close eye on what Vanderbiest is able to achieve this year.
Fabio Silvestre
Fabio is one of the best Portuguese prospects for the upcoming years but still has very much to learn before being ready to take on the Pro Tour. After spending a year in the PT without gaining anything, he has been lent to Isq-Adira Project where he will have less pressure to preform and will get to rider various C1 and C2 races.
Edited by p3druh on 21-12-2012 20:30
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roturn |
Posted on 21-12-2012 16:19
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This is a great team. Machado being trained should help you a lot.
And somehow I totally missed out on Fabio Silvestre. What a talent he is. |
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p3druh |
Posted on 21-12-2012 17:36
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roturn wrote:
This is a great team. Machado being trained should help you a lot.
And somehow I totally missed out on Fabio Silvestre. What a talent he is.
Machado is now a great climber but misses the secondary stats to pose any kind of threat. Hopefully he'll get more points but I'm not expecting much.
And I think the fact that one hour into the transfers Silvestre was already at 100k could have helped you miss that one
Edited by p3druh on 21-12-2012 17:36
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Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 21-12-2012 21:05
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Nice layout that's pretty unique. Congrats for that
And Machado has to be the most improved rider in the last couple of seasons
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Mresuperstar |
Posted on 21-12-2012 21:10
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I really like the layout, and I was going to go after Fabio Silvestre but he was off the table before I was ready to offer him more money, he is a very nice signing.
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p3druh |
Posted on 21-12-2012 23:06
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Gustavovskiy wrote:
Nice layout that's pretty unique. Congrats for that
And Machado has to be the most improved rider in the last couple of seasons
Thanks
Yeah, Machado went from 78 or 79MO to 84 in one season of racing. Too bad he's still not a top Stage Racer. I wanted to do that but it would cost me three or four seasons budgets.
Mresuperstar wrote:
I really like the layout, and I was going to go after Fabio Silvestre but he was off the table before I was ready to offer him more money, he is a very nice signing.
Thanks, yeah he will be a good sprinter with good secondary stats and still a large margin for training. It's just to bad that he wasted a season riding in the PT without gaining a single XP point.
Edited by p3druh on 21-12-2012 23:06
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alexkr00 |
Posted on 21-12-2012 23:19
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Very nice presentation.
Last year, Machado almost finished in the top 5 in both Giro and Vuelta. I guess that won't be a problem this year and he might even be a podium candidate. His secondary stats keep him from the 1st place fight, but a rider that can top 5 in a GT must be a top stage - racer
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p3druh |
Posted on 21-12-2012 23:53
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Thanks
I guess it's just a mater of opinion because I agree with all you wrote When I wrote that, I was thinking that a top Stage Racer is one that is always an obvious candidate for a podium and right now I think Machado is still short of that.
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p3druh |
Posted on 22-01-2013 14:14
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Edited by p3druh on 22-01-2013 14:15
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