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Squad: Mendes McConvey Kelly Sobal Pires O'Brien Mullen
Result: Top 10
Thoughts: Jose Mendes wasn't fully in form yet in the season opener, but we still got an acceptable points haul from it. Conor McConvey was our best placed rider in 6th, followed by our captain in 7th. All in all the race was an okay way to start our season, but it did show what seems to be a little weakness when it comes to our hills team. Still, we got a decent amount of points from it, and I'm sure things will improve once the guys find their form more.
New Zealand Cycle Tour
Squad: Drapac Gudsell Harrison Laidler Hawkins Mullen Petrie-Armstrong
Result: Top 10 GC
Thoughts: Damion Drapac opened his season here, but it was all a big dissapointment, truth be told. The break got away way too often, and Drapac just couldn't find his legs in the organised sprints. The only bright spot was Tim Gudsell doing well in his home TT, and taking home a Top 10 in GC. So all in all, a race to forget for the team.
Great Ocean Road Classic
Squad: Drapac Gudsell Harrison Laidler Hawkins Horton Petrie-Armstrong
Results: Top 10
Thoughts: This turned out to be a complete continuation of what happened in New Zealand. The team wasn't strong enough, and the breakaway won. Drapac did manage to win the peleton sprint, too bad it was only for 8th though. This did continue to show us one of Damions strong points: winning an unorganised sprint, which shouldn't be something we should care about too much, since he should normally be in a fairly organised bunch sprint, if we manage to catch the breakaway.
Despite of not being happy about your result you still have scored consistently due to top 10s in every race. If that continues like that and perhaps add a GC or a classic win then you end up very high in the ranking. Things dont look as bad as you said (imo)
knockout wrote:
Despite of not being happy about your result you still have scored consistently due to top 10s in every race. If that continues like that and perhaps add a GC or a classic win then you end up very high in the ranking. Things dont look as bad as you said (imo)
Well, I'm not unhappy as such, just feel a bit like January was the month of missed opportunities. Still, very happy with the rankings, especially because it's the exact opposite of what I was expecting: Leaders underperfoming a little, but minor riders stepping up to take valuable points themselves.
Squad: Drapac Gudsell Harrison Laidler Hawkins Horton Petrie-Armstrong
Objective: The squad that was in Australia already for the Great Ocean Road classic travels on to Hong Kong, for our first C1 race. Expectations naturally aren't very high, especially after what happened in Australia. Given that this might well end up in a similar fashion, a man in the break is a must. Of course this isn't quite as flat as Great Ocean Road either, so it's not even clear if Damion will manage to stay in the peleton, and then even sprint well. So our goal is a Top 15, which should be around what's achievable in a sprint against the PCT's best.
Target: Top 15
BeNeLux Challenge
Squad: Drapac Sobal Hamilton Harisson Horton Barclay Mullen
Objective: In Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg we have what surely is one of the most interesting races on the calendar, ToNE's little Brother, the BeNeLux challenge. It's hard to say how this will pan out, so we brought a sprinter in Drapac, a cobbled sprinter in Harrison, a punchy cobbler in Hamilton and a puncher with a strong sprint in Sobal. All of this taken to account, our goal of a stage win should be achievable, with Drapac obviously being the most likely to get this, on one of the sprint stages.
Target: Stage Win
Gisborne GP
Squad: Mendes Hamilton Kelly Sobal Pires O'Brien Dunne
Objective: Gisborne is our next hilly race on the calendar, but like the Tour of the South China Sea and unlike our previous hilly race in Cuba, this is C1. That means that Mendes will have to battle it out against the best riders of that division, including guys like Froome or Dowsett. He does however have experience at that level, after all he helped Prio-Porto to promotion from there. Without knowing where he stands yet, we reckon a Top 10 should be achievable if the team works well together.
Our palmares has been fully updated, as of Istrian Spring Trophy, Stage 2. Four wins so far is satisfying, as are the streams of smaller performances flowing in. What's not so good on the other hand is the way we completely failed the Sean Kelly Classic, our win goal.
Part II of our updatings, this time back with a new edition of #StatsHub. Jose Mendes skyrocketed up to 2nd in the CT rankings, uped his win count to three, got bags of top 10 finishes, and averages exactly 15 PPRD.
Meanwhile, Damion Drapac has been pretty underwhelming since the last update, falling thirty places to sixtieth in the rankings. His win count remains at one, with 8 top tens and 2,07 PPRD.
Connor McConvey has been even worse, that however is mainly down to the fact that he's played superdomestique to Mendes quite often. He remains winless, still with three top tens, but dropped just outside the Top 100, with 1,32 PPRD. Here's the full list:
Tour of South China Sea
A flat classic in Hong Kong for Damion Drapac, but given its rating we were never going to win. In the end the win went to our fellow British Isles CT team Eddie Stobart, while none of our guys could get involved in any way.
Benelux Challenge
The Benelux Challenge saw Sam Harrison get his best result of the season with a second place on day one, and frightfully little else. The only other noteworthy result in this admittedly not very important race to use was Nic Hamilton finishing fourth on stage two. A very average result for a race we had low expectations for.
Gisborne GP
We travelled here in hopes of getting maybe a Top 10. In the end, we may have failed that goal, but 16th for Jose Mendes is still very respectable, given that he was fighting against some of the best riders of the next division up. If we can't get a nice surprise result in one of these C1 /HC races though, these trips might prove a bit pointless.
Tour de San Luis
The Tour de San Luis was our first season highlight, with Damion "The Tasmanian Devil" Drapac getting his first win of the season in the sprint (what else) of stage 2. Other than that, he podiumed both Stage 7 and the points classification. Our GC ambitions here were lead by Connor McConvey, who proved to be the right choice of leader, bagging a Top 10 GC and a Top 10 on stage three for us.
The Sean Kelly Classic - Seskin Hill
This was the big one, our win goal, and well, what should I say, we failed it. We didn't just miss it by a place or two, but Mendes was our best rider, finishing down in 8th. He was the best puncher in attendance and of course the top favourite - failing to do well in this race was simply unacceptable.
Volta ao Algarve
Immediate reconciliation here for Jose as he delivers duly in his home race, taking both stage three and the GC for us. He didn't take yellow immediately however, as he only took it of Geschke (EVO) on the finishing TT, where he managed a fantastic sixth place. To make our points tally even better, Pete Hawkins podiumed the first stage, his best result of the season, thus far.
Tour de Beauce
Very anonymous. Paidi O'Brien gets the only result of note, a second place from the breakaway on stage six, showing his beautiful Irish NC Jersey (once again thanks to Aidan). Other than that, a waste of race days.
Tour d'Rwanda
"Damion will surely be the best sprinter here with Himmerlandt on at the same time. The hills can't be that bad."
A 5th and a 9th place determine that was a lie.
GP Oudenaarde
It was foolish assuming we could get anything out of this with Nic Hamilton, and alas, that was proven true.
Ruta America del Sur
A race of mixed feelings. Jose Mendes got a stage win and a stage podium, but he missed the GC win because a breakaway took too much time. Still, that was down to the team not working enough, not to any fault of his. Sprints were inexistent for us, with all our Top 10s coming from punchers.
Tro Bro Leon
A few cobbles, could end in a sprint - perfect for our British youngsters! In the end it was another Brit stealing the show, Kevin Barclay got a very nice 5th from the breakaway. He could have gone on to win it, he has the sprint, but the cobbles had drained him too much.
Istrian Spring Trophy
Another race seemingly made for Jose, and again, he did not fail to disappoint. Allthough we had hoped for the race win, finishing second on stage three and in the GC is still a good result. He also took fourth on stage two, and as an added bonus, Yauhen Sobal started showing up for real, getting a 4th and a 6th place.
Melaka's Governor Cup
And another C1 sprinters classic, surely this time we can do something of note!
Actually, no. Double D doesn't feel like sprinting, finishing 63rd, so it's left to Pete Hawkins to sprint to a meh-ish 18th place. It was okay going by his abilities, but it should have been Drapac going for it in the first place.
Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt
Again Big D was the man the day called for, but sadly, it was not to be. The break succeeded, and Pete Hawkins was our best finisher in a poor 24th place.
5 Jours de Dunkerque
We went here with little hopes other than developing our youngsters, and for four stages it looked just like that. But on the fifth and last day, Tobyn Horton went in to the BotD, and got us a shock victory at HC level.
Criterium Hainleite
Yet another classic won from the break, highlighted by Nic Hamilton paying tribute to the mighty Brewers, finishing 11th.
Lincoln GP
Word on the team bus was that Brewers was in the crowd, so Sam Harrison couldn't resist to finish 11th, just for him. Tormud Jacobsen also decided to prove that he hadn't gone lost along the way, finishing 17th from the break, behind Hamilton in 15th.
Circulo de Juarez
A pan flat race to perfectly suit The Tasman Devil, who duly took stage one for us. Sadly that was the only stage he could really perform on, but he still took away a podium finish in GC. All in all a good race for us.
Tour of Taihu Lake
A C1 race for sprinters, what the hell was I thinking. A few days to write off.
Bucks County Classic
We didn't get mentioned in the preview, I didn't see ourselves on the score at the top, only when writing this did I realise we were actually in it. Says it all, doesn't it?
GP Onda-Boavista Jose had eyed this race, him being a puncher from Portugal it looked ideal. He tried as best as he could, but he was just one level below the best, finishing 13th. Still, a respecable performance.
So, here we are, more or less half way through the season, and we're looking good for our initial goal, which was a Top 10 in the standings. Of course many things can happen between now and the end of the season, but with us sitting seventh in the rankings now as well as eigth in the predicted rankings, we're very optimistic about this one.
1
1
Team Vontobel
1067
2
2
Team TomTom
931
3
3
Grupo Nutresa
915
4
6
Risa - Ergon
912
5
4
Evonik - Signal Iduna
901
6
5
Bonsucro
886
7
8
Bank of Ireland - Irish Cycling
767
8
7
Fletcher-Garneau
680
9
10
Azteca-NBCSN
663
10
15
ONCE-Eroski Cycling Team
652
11
9
Team Nordeus
629
12
11
Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo Cycling Team
617
13
12
Team ASDA-Savers
598
14
13
Siam Cement - Lenovo
556
15
14
In-n-Out Racing p/b Auchan
556
16
16
Team Carlsberg - Danske Bank
474
17
21
Maloja Mountain Nomads
467
18
23
Sauber Petronas
440
19
17
Team Ameriabank-Novatek
387
20
18
Euskaltel - Bavaria
375
21
19
Eddie Stobart Pro Cycling
349
22
20
Dell - 361° Racing
334
23
25
Alpina - Avianca
297
24
22
Team Chiquita-Universal
297
25
24
Wounded Warrior
295
26
26
Team Live Nation
222
We are projected to drop down one place come the end of the season, to 8th, however there's still time enough to not just not drop, but actually rise in the standings. A good GC for Jose Mendes in the currently underway Vuelta a Guatemala would be a great way of starting things off.
Team
Total
RD
PpRD
Proj
1
6
Bonsucro
886
73
12.137
1821
2
1
Team Vontobel
1067
95
11.232
1685
3
3
Grupo Nutresa
915
82
11.159
1674
4
2
Team TomTom
931
87
10.701
1605
5
5
Evonik - Signal Iduna
901
85
10.600
1590
6
4
Risa - Ergon
912
94
9.702
1455
7
15
In-n-Out Racing p/b Auchan
556
62
8.968
1345
8
7
Bank of Ireland - Irish Cycling
767
86
8.919
1338
9
10
ONCE-Eroski Cycling Team
652
74
8.811
1322
10
13
Team ASDA-Savers
598
71
8.423
1255
11
9
Azteca-NBCSN
663
84
7.893
1184
12
11
Team Nordeus
629
81
7.765
1165
13
12
Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo Cycling Team
617
80
7.713
1157
14
8
Fletcher-Garneau
680
91
7.473
1121
15
14
Siam Cement - Lenovo
556
75
7.413
1112
16
17
Maloja Mountain Nomads
467
70
6.671
1001
17
18
Sauber Petronas
440
70
6.286
943
18
16
Team Carlsberg - Danske Bank
474
84
5.643
846
19
20
Euskaltel - Bavaria
375
70
5.357
804
20
21
Eddie Stobart Pro Cycling
349
70
4.986
748
21
19
Team Ameriabank-Novatek
387
84
4.607
691
22
24
Team Chiquita-Universal
297
70
4.243
636
23
22
Dell - 361° Racing
334
79
4.228
634
24
25
Wounded Warrior
295
73
4.041
602
25
23
Alpina - Avianca
297
77
3.857
579
26
26
Team Live Nation
222
73
3.041
456
Jose remains second here, but again Guatemala is were things can be changed. A good result there would bring him a lot closer to Marcel Wyss of standout perfomers Vontobel. Behind that, we have three others in the Top 100, and 11 in total in the top 200.
Vuelta a Guatemala
Should we fail to promote, I think I'll have to single this out as the race where promotion was lost. On 8, mostly hilly stages, Mendes failed to get a single win, whilst a good GC position was lost on the last day, the only mountain stage. We should definitely have taken a win here, but sadly, it was not to be.
Giro del Capo
Just like Guatemala, this was a race Mendes had to deliver in, and he duly did. Winning both stage four (by a landslide) and the GC (still by a good margin), he showed just what sort of a havoc he can wreck at CT level. Definitely one of the best races for us this season.
Barcelona Classic
I was sure sending Drapac to this pretty hilly classic was a huge planning mistake, but he proved all his doubters wrong and won it. He had an exceptionally good day and survived the sort of hills that are normally way too hard for him, obviously with the motivation of keeping up with Jose's win count.
Rutas de America
Of course this was a pan flat sprinter classic, and after Barcelona, nothing but a win was expected of Damion. Sadly Cameron Wurf interfered with our plans, taking another breakaway win for Stobart. In the end, the Tasman Devil was still beaten by three others in the sprint, so a fifth place was all we could bring home from Uruguay.
Tour de Pologne
What I said about Guatemala is even more true for our experience in Poland, especially as we had a Top 5 goal here. The race was absolutely perfect for Mendes, and the only goal I was very confident we'd achieve. Well, one stage top ten and missing our GC Top 5 goal by an absolute landslide says it all.
Manx International Mullen in the breakaway is the only positive we could take from this HC race, where we didn't even pretend to be there for anything but the development.
CycleArmenia Classic
This was a race Mendes definitely could (if not should) have won, so there's no excuse for only finishing 10th. Still, could have been a worse off day.
Tour d'Indonesia
A squad just doesn't get more "development" than this, so seeing Paidi take a breakaway win on stage four was more than welcome. Sadly he had forgotten to pack his NC jersey and had to race in the most Irish jersey the could find - a white t-shirt with a shamrock on it! This was also special because it was the teams 10th win, so having our NC win it made it even more special.
Tour d'Azerbaijan
For a long time it looked like this would be a complete disaster, but on the last stage, which was perfect for him, Yauhen saved the race for us, winning from a breakaway. Some good points from what could and maybe should have been one of our worst races, may yet come in very helpful.
Baltic Chain Tour
I won't dedicate more than a line to two 11th places. It sucked.
GP Tokyo Damion slightly disappointed here, after finishing third last year, with a sixth place. To compensate, Petrie-Armstrong took some points in 10th. It was great to see one of the true workers of the peleton getting a result, however minor it is, for himself too.
Hmm seems you're in a similar situation to mine.
Took a big hit in the past months, and now fighting for the remaining points.
As I did with some other rivals, I wish you good luck, but not too much good luck.
You probably can get quite some points in the remaining hilly classics,'if Mendes is riding that is.
We are very happy to announce that Bank of Ireland signed another one year extension on the sponsorship contract. Due to the success we've had in bringing Irish riders in to pro cycling, they would have liked to give us a longer running contract, but they didn't want to commit large sums due to the current financial situation, especially should we promote. They did however say the contract is valid regardless of the division.
But that isn't the only sponsor news we can bring you. Two micro sponsors from last year, Guinness and Aer Lingus, have taken the step up to become minor sponsors, thus getting themselves a spot on our jersey as well. The extra money we will be getting will come in handy should we manage to promote, as we are currently expecting.
With the step up a level we also thought it would be time to expand a little. Last year we already relied on foreign riders to supplement and even lead our squad, so we thought it was only right that we also signed some foreign based sponsors. The first of these is gapyear.com, a popular internet site for young people wishing to volunteer or go backpacking. They hope to reach both youths in Ireland and the UK, and what better a team than us to do that?
The second foreign sponsor is from a bit further afield, but given one of our biggest stars, Damion Drapac, comes from there, it was only right we got an Australian sponsor. We looked at a few ones for this, including companies with past involvement in cycling, like Rebel, but in the end we found one that suits our whole team philosophy superbly. Triple J is one of Australias biggest radio stations, heard and adored around the globe. They thought it was time they built a bigger presence in europe, especially GB and Ireland, so we gave them some space on our jerseys, against some cash which will surely come in handy should we promote. It has been said that their music was listened to in the team cars even before the deal was struck, so it really is a perfect fit.
Luckily, all those deals are secured regardless of our division. It's great to know already that we have enough budget space to be competitive at PCT level or to pretty much guarantee promotion to it next year.
Spoiler
@Jesley We are indeed in a similar situation, and your prediction about Mendes is spot on too. He really did well in those hilly classics, and got us very close to promotion indeed. Hope you do well in your remaining races to follow us up.
@TMM No, please don't.
@JT Thanks.
Yeah, he's been doing pretty well. Very allround rider, attacking too, and from a logical nation. Can't imagine he was too good for you at PCT level thoug.
Nice to see some sponsor continuity. Looks like there could be a couple of good Irish riders heading to the free agency, though I guess you would need to look elsewhere for leaders if you do make it up to PCT. (And I'm hoping all of the ~12 CT teams in that top battle do make it)
Good to see sponsors stepping up to support the teams success in its first season. Pint of Guinness on the jersey - pure genius (showing my age! ).
Does the Oz sponsor mean that Drapac will remain even if you promote? I think he'll potentially have a harder time in the PCT, but would be interesting to follow all the same!
@SN Yep, it'll be great to have a chance of getting all those Irish riders Lotto have been hoarding. Also Magna disbanding will make BoI the premier (and possibly only) Irish team. Think Speirs was their only Irishman though anyway. As for leaders, I was actually looking at Jaguar.
Not only Bennett, but also Dowsett would be great signings given the sponsors region. We'll definitely be talking about those two (and maybe a few more) come transfer season.
@Scorchio Yeah, just can't beat a good pint of Guinness.
And as for age, that says nothing. I'm allowed to drink here in Germany, yet you're probably still twice my age.
Drapac I'm unsure about. If you look at our palmares on the first page, he was good, but not great. Can't see him do anything at all at PCT level, but he's also not really a good leadout due to his HI stat. A move back to the CT may be on the cards.
Clasico San Cristobal
Mendes
McConvey
Sobal
New Zealand Cycle Tour
Drapac
Harrison
Tour of the South China Sea
BeNeLux Challenge
Hamilton
Tour de San Luis
Tour de San Luis
Tour d'Rwanda
Ruta America del Sur
Tro Bro Leon
Istrian Spring Trophy
Melaka's Governor Cup
Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt
Circulo de Juarez
Tour of Taihu Lake
Bucks County Classic
Vuelta a Guatemala
Giro del Capo
Barcelona Classic
Rutas de America
Tour de Pologne
CycleArmenia Classic
Tour d'Indonesia
Tour d'Azerbaijan
Baltic Chain Tour
GP Tokyo
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
).
