We're pleased to annouce the following 6 riders we were able to renew with in round 1.
Lars Croket Nacer Bouhanni Jonathon Thire Jasha Sütterlin Jetse Bol Tom Dumoulin
Rumours are that none of these riders are definately riding for the team next season, with interest shown in Thire and especially in Croket and Bouhanni, while Sütterlin, Bol and Dumoulin could be loaned out.
The team manager however stated that "it's nearly certain Jetse and Tom are riding in our kit in 2013".
Furthermore, he added that "it will be important to head for agreement with Bennati soon, and it is satisfying that no rider found our offer to be ridiculously off."
The team management was aware that its expectations expressed in round 1 were probably a bit too agressive concerning several important riders.
While it is necessary to save cap space wherever possible to make the team competitive on a higher level, the offers for round 2 were more generous than before.
This resulted in the re-signing of 8 additional riders for the 2013 season, amongst which is the most important one, Daniele Bennati!
Olivier Le Gac and Pierre Rolland are most certainly going out, with high-profile teams expressing their serious interest in them earlier.
While we refuse to give exact numbers yet, we can assure the hereby adressed managers that negotiations went very well!
This means we're still in talks with 3 riders.
Thomas Vedel Kvist Jocelyn Bar Enrico Gasparotto
It is reported that the Frenchman's initial offer suprised everyone and will be attempted to reduce as much as possible, while the opposite seems to be the case for the two top-class leadout riders.
However, knowing that it'll be difficult to acquire similarly gifted riders in this year's highly contested transfer season, and the fact that such riders are definately needed to bring Bennati to the line, the mentioned riders might be rewarded for their patience and concessions.
In the last round of renewals, the last 3 pending signatures were made.
Thomas Vedel Kvist Jocelyn Bar Enrico Gasparotto
are part of our team next season as well.
Bar is linked to several French teams, although a deal has to be quite appealing to be sealed, as we see a lot of potential in him to succeed Gasparotto as ideal lead-out man.
Kvist and Gasparotto are very important in our season plan, although their rather high wages might limit our financial freedom in the transfer season.
Yet, we doubt to find adequate replacements for significantly less money, but every offer will be listened to.
Overall, we conclude this renewals rather happy.
All riders who we wanted to renew did so, and we hope it is legal to add that we managed to reduce the wages of the 17 riders still under contract by a whopping 447.000€ !
The current pre-transfers roster including the respective transfer status can be found in post 3, the wages, especially important for the riders heading out, will be added as soon as it is appropriate to.
Edited by cio93 on 29-11-2012 02:31
We are especially pleased to inform any manager interested in one of our "transfer listed" riders that we were able to greatly reduced their wages wherever possible in order to facilitate the talks.
Rolland and Croket are worth pointing out, with wages of 115k and 100k now.
Furthermore, we're satisfied with the way the renewals went regarding our highly paid riders. Bennati accepted 115k less, while we were able to nearly half Kelderman's and Vogt's wage.
Sligthly tempering the delight was Gasparotto's manner, whom we have to pay 40k more than last season. If someone's interest in him is not harmed by this, we might listen to the offer closer than we expected.
Overall, our approch turned out to be a good one. There was no decision we regret, and we leave renewals with a solid 7-digit amount of cap space left.
Edited by cio93 on 03-12-2012 12:50
That definitely ends my interest in Rolland, with Peraud available as a free agent, unless his wages end up sky high. The other Frenchmen look interesting though.
It's everyone's free will And I'm sure we'll be able to find a deal for one or several others.
One thing I want to point out though (without the intention to push you back to Rolland, just as help if you might have missed that) is that Peraud won't have a single stat above 70 next season.
cio93 wrote:
It's everyone's free will And I'm sure we'll be able to find a deal for one or several others.
One thing I want to point out though (without the intention to push you back to Rolland, just as help if you might have missed that) is that Peraud won't have a single stat above 70 next season.
I know that, but as a one season rider who can do Mountains, Hills and TT's, he's a decent choice.
20 minutes ago, we were able to seal our first deal of the transfer season.
We welcome Mattia Pozzo on a one-year loan from Cisco.
We hope to see him win in a similar fashion from 2014 onwards thanks to the experience he'll collect in our team!
We also thank Cisco Cycling Team for the friendly negotiations, that impression will surely help in future talks.
Edited by cio93 on 10-12-2012 14:04
We're incredibly happy to announce the signing of 4 riders, amongst which are 3 of the 5 riders marked as "top priority" on our shortlist!
Arnaud Demare is probably the biggest prospect outside of the GC department this transfers had on offer!
He is capable of developing into a sprinter not fearing a medium-sized hill in his way to a win.
Alternatively, he might become a better Bettini, a great puncheur crushing everyone who arrives at the finish together with him.
While he would probably benefit more from a PCT loan, we're not sure yet whether we'll loan him out, as calculations showed he wouldn't be better off at any stage of his development.
Wage: 260.000€
Dominik Nerz was the best German stage race talent available on the FA market and therefore the perfect rider to join us.
He is already a very good domestique, probably doing the last bit of work before leaving his captain alone, and luckily, he's not maxed yet!
Wage: 175.000€
Francesco Bongiorno is probably a rather unimpressing climber now, but be aware he'll be the best luxury GT domestique the world has seen so far
We expect him to end up on a level slightly below elite, but his superb secondary stats are already visible and will only get better.
Wage: 90.000€
Johannes Heider is our last signing for today, and he's a solid mountain domestique. And just like his three predecessors, he has room for improvement left, so he'll be stronger next year and be able to do a great job on penultimate mountains.
Wage: 50.000€Edited by cio93 on 10-12-2012 22:59
Pierre Rolland and Lars Croket will be remembered as important factors for promotion.
Rolland's Beauce win gave us motivation mid-season, and Croket collected our last points of the season in Faso, coping with the pressure and putting us in the promotion ranks.
Jonathon Thire was a rather anonymous part of our team, but noone was unimportant for us. Olivier Le Gac has a bright future ahead of him, but having two better prospects in Kelderman and Vogt, we didn't want to interfere with his development. Nacer Bouhanni will be a great sprinter, but with Demare arriving, there was no way he'd be a leader fo us.
Arriving at Team Puma - SAP are three riders, with several others close to be sealed.
Nick Nuyens is our undisputed cobbles leader. He is capable of achieving a Top5 in any cobbles race with a certain amount of luck, and we'll try to provide him with a decent support in the remaining transfer season.
Wage: 320.000€
Fabio Felline was signed unexpectedly, with a rather low bid of 55k being sufficient to get him. He's an okayish domestique right now, but he'll develop into a very decent puncheur with an awesome kick.
Either he'll serve as luxury domestique then, but he would make a great team leader in PCT division as well.
Wage: 55.000€
Hubert Schwab came in exchange for Croket, and thus we finally have a national champion! His NC win last season proves his ability, and we are sure he can convert that to the demands of a PT luxury domestique. He'll be seen protecting our GC leader wherever we field him.
Wage: 70.000€Edited by cio93 on 12-12-2012 17:48
Only three riders were signed since the last update, but amongst them is finally a mountains leader!
Jurgen Van den Broeck is our highlight of the transfer season. 2m is an enormous price for him, but we are glad we have a GC rider now.
He'll be our leader wherever the road rises, and we try to work out a plan for him to maximize his points haul.
Wage: 515.000€
Rasmus Sterobo was signed to strenghten our TTT squad in future years.
He might even be a reasonable mountain domestique besides that, so he could definately become a regular in GT lineups!
Wage: 50.000€
Dylan van Baarle is a similar rider to Sterobo, on first sight.
He'll be decent in hills rather than mountains though, and maybe we'll even switch his primary focus to that. Either way, he will possess great secondary stats and be a useful helper in many races.
Wage: 50.000€
Both van Baarle and Sterobo will be loaned out this year.
Today was a very happy day for Nick Nuyens, because he finally got the helper he demanded.
Additionally, three young riders found a team to develop better in this season, as we feared to not give them the chance to prove themselves in ProTour.
Maarten Wynants is a brilliant cobbles domestique and will be the main helper for Nuyens in all his races.
Wage: 85.000€
Now to our talents:
Arnaud Demare joins Magna - Ryanair, saving us half of his wage for 300.000€ in return. Francesco Bongiorno will help out Iberia - Comunidad Valenciana, strenghtening their mountains squad.
Both riders could play a good role in the many C2 races they'll enter, but we'll actually see them in two HC races as well.
Dylan van Baarle only takes one step down, joining airBaltic - Endura in PCT. He'll learn to be a flexible helper there.
He led us to promotion last season, and he's expected to be our best points scorer this season as well. All of our goals based on single races were designed for him, and we can still support him the way he needs. Expect 7 riders working for him in any race he enters.
Nick Nuyens Wage: 320.000€
With more cobbled races than ever, we decided to have a go at a leader for these races, and rather surprisingly, we were able to sign Nick Nuyens.
He'll have few, but valuable helpers in Wynants and Sanz, and several strongmen like Meersman will be at his side as well if our season planning allows us to.
Jurgen Van den Broeck Wage: 515.000€
We heavily invested in VDB to develop into a team visible in mountain stages as well. While he's sub-top at the most, we hope to increase his points haul with smart race day distribution.
Luxury Domestiques
Mountains
Dominique Nerz Wage: 175.000€
The best German stage racer the FA market had to offer this season, and with a serious need of such riders, he was a main target in transfers.
He's already a good helper, and we expect him to hit his peak next season.
Hubert Schwab Wage: 70.000€
The Swiss RR champion came in exchange for Croket, and we're happy to field a national champion this season. VDB can count on his help in all his races.
Cobbles
Maarten Wynants Wage: 85.000€
In our thin cobbles team, Maarten is our versatile rider for any situation where Nuyens needs water or a relaying domestique.
Sprint
Enrico Gasparotto Wage: 270.000€
The Italian superduo is back! All of you saw their team work last season, and even though the competition is different now, we are confident we'll see Enrico leading the field inside the last 3k.
Thomas Vedel Kvist Wage: 195.000€
A quite similar rider to Gasparotto, Kvist has the same tasks. We know races develop in unexpected ways, and we heavily rely on Bennati, so we decided to play safe and field 2 great leadout men whenever Bennati is present. And if everything works out, you'll see both at the front, forming an hopefully unbeatable train.
Domestiques
Mickael Delage Wage: 70.000€
Responsible for most of our surprising breakaway results, Mickael will try the same this season. When he's not on the attack, he'll be an important part in Bennati's team to ensure a bunch sprint.
Gianni Meersman Wage: 60.000€
Gianni is our workhouse for both Bennati and Nuyens and will be seen relaying a lot.
Sebastien Minard Wage: 55.000€
Sebastien was kept to back-up Kvist and Gasparotto in extreme race situations, and will do a good leadout if that situation occurs.
Alternatively, he's a good helper on the flat.
Talents
Jocelyn Bar Wage: 70.000€
Jocelyn will take over the leadout duties of Gasparotto in two years when he's maxed out.
Jetse Bol Wage: 50.000€
He's our future Jens Voigt light and will be a nightmare for all breakaways.
Tom Dumoulin Wage: 50.000€
An important part of future TTTs, Tom can be a valuable domestique with good secondary stats.
Fabio Felline Wage: 55.000€
Considered a steal amongst the staff with 55k wage, Felline looks forward to race against Bellis and similar riders in the future. Great puncheur with good sprint, an important points scorer soon.
Johannes Heider Wage: 50.000€
Heider is the most experienced of our talents, and he'll be a good mountain domestique once fully developed.
Wilco Kelderman Wage: 150.000€
Our most anticipated talent signed last year. Everyone should know what he'll be capable of in a few year's time.
Mattia Pozzo Wage: 50.000€ (loaned in from Cisco Cycling Team)
Our only loaned in rider this season (and thus in fact our first ever), Mattia came to us in a very smooth negotiation. While his primary task is to gain experience, he'll be included in VDB's mountain squad as often as possible.
Mauricio Sanz Wage: 50.000€
Signed only for cobbled races, Mauricio should only be seen in these races. While it's a pity to not be able to field him more often, he's our third best cobbler and will be very valuable for Nuyens.
Jasha Sütterlin Wage: 50.000€
2012 U23 WC ITT medalist. You know what to expect.
In the meantime, he'll help in TTTs.
Mario Vogt Wage: 80.000€
Being just as good as Kelderman when it comes to pure hill climbing, his rather weak secondary stats determine his future to be one of the best puncheurs amongst hilly co-leaders.
(and he can sabotage flat races by appearing in Mark Cavendish's jersey )
Loanees
Francesco Bongiorno Wage: 90.000€ (65.000€ paid)
2013 team: Iberia - Comunidad Valenciana
A future favourite GT helper for any leader with enormous secondary stats. Francesco will ride for the mountain-heavy Iberia squad.
Maxime Daniel Wage: 110.000€ (110.000€ paid)
2013 team: Evian - MIAT
Possessing a perfect mix between cobbles and sprinting ability, Daniel probably won't ever be a PT leader, but a constant points scorer in cobbled races for sure.
Our most overpriced talent this season, but he'll be worth every cent! Either developing into a top puncheur with a sprint far better than anyone in this region, or into a world class sprinter with the abilitly to survive most hills on the way to the finish line, Demare will be a feared rider in a few seasons and leading many startlists as the main favourite for the win.
Christian Mager Wage: 55.000€ (25.000€ paid)
2013 team: MTN - World Bicycle Relief
Looking forward to be a valuable member of our hilly department, our only German talent newly acquired needs some time to make an impact.
Every team needs riders that do their work longer and more enduring than others without demanding a huge paycheck. Victor is exactly such a rider, with the determination to be the seen at the front of the peloton for many hours every day.
Rasmus is set to be a great TTT member or a good PCT leader for TT-heavy stage races. Additionally, his decent ability in the mountains will make him a sure member of many GT squads.
Intresting team you have. Bennati has a strong supporting cast around him and should be able to get you some great results. Nuyens and VdB are not the best riders in their particular categories but you will need them if you want to avoid relegation. The future for this team looks bright though. With Keldermann, Vogt, Bongiorno and Demare (Already decided how you will train him? )
Edited by Spilak23 on 23-12-2012 17:01
Great presentation. Along Project 1t4i, my favourite team in PT Well done on assembling very nice team, full of talent ( understatement ) and experienced riders. You have a chance of staying up, and even if you don't, it's not the biggest worry.
I'll be very likely on look-out for a possible transfer next year of Daniel and Baarle. Edited by Alakagom on 23-12-2012 17:02
Spilak23 wrote:
Intresting team you have. Bennati has a strong supporting cast around him and should be able to get you some great results. Nuyens and VdB are not the best riders in their particular categories but you will need them if you want to avoid relegation. The future for this team looks bright though. With Keldermann, Vogt, Bongiorno and Demare (Already decided how you will train him? )
Spot-on
Demare's future is really the most undecided yet, although he'd fit better in our current team structure as a sprinter, and I am and always was a fan of this type of sprinters.
Alakagom wrote:
Great presentation. Along Project 1t4i, my favourite team in PT Well done on assembling very nice team, full of talent ( understatement ) and experienced riders. You have a chance of staying up, and even if you don't, it's not the biggest worry.
I'll be very likely on look-out for a possible transfer next year of Daniel and Baarle.
Thanks a lot Unsurprisingly, HTC is one of my favourite PCT teams as well
I don't mind relegating at all, season planning is more demanding in PCT imo, and with the team I could field there next season, it might be even more fun.
As you can guess, even though I'm always reluctant to sell talents, keeping all of them will be tough, and you as well as all others are very welcome to inquire next off-season.
Still, Daniel will be a top PCT cobbler, so you need a good offer, but who knows...
alexkr00 wrote:
Good luck, cio. Expect some offers for your Dutch talents next year, especially Dumoulin.
Thank you
We probably have too many TT talents, so he could be available if we can use the money well.
Edited by cio93 on 14-01-2013 19:47
Lars Croket
Nacer Bouhanni
Jasha Sütterlin
Jetse Bol
Daniele Bennati
Thomas Vedel Kvist
Hubert Schwab
Mauricio Sanz
Victor Shishelov
)
