|
[PCT] Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling 2014
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 18-03-2014 20:07
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
@jt - Plain Sprinter is my favorite because i've got a number of Puncher talents stacked now
@valv - That sounds gre... hey wait a minute!
The Great Big Transfer Post - Part IV
We only plan on doing five of these as we've only got two deals still to complete at this point. Today we added another two riders taking us up to 23 Riders while adding more future security. It has come with complete acceptance of relegation with as much effort going into planning next seasons renewals as into transfers now (btw it's down to 1.4mil based on current wages). Right onto the new riders.
1)  Stanimir Cholakov
Age: 23
EXP: 2.0
RD: 88
Wage: £50,000
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | Sta | Res | Rec | Co | Sp | Ac | Ftr | Dh | Prl | | 67 | 51 | 63 | 59 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 64 | 71 | 66 | 58 | 65 | 64 |
This means we now have one more Bulgarian than last season. Stanimir is a nice talent from the region and should be a nice addition to the sprint team in a few seasons. Like many rides not going to be great this season, but it's not why we signed him.
2)  Sven Fritsch
Age: 20
Exp: 1.0
RD: 88
Wage: £50,000
| Fl | Mo | Hi | TT | Sta | Res | Rec | Co | Sp | Ac | Ftr | Dh | Prl | | 69 | 64 | 68 | 64 | 66 | 64 | 67 | 61 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 67 | 68 |
A second Luxembourgian talent. Sven will be a nice Puncher in a few seasons time. This year it's not really going to be anything but he might slide into the cobbles team behind Thomas, or behind Lloyd in the hills. Some non-development options as well. We think he's a great steal.
Just the two riders signed in today. Currently got two more waiting and we hope we'll know by tomorrow what our final squad we look like. Once that's finalised we'll do another Great Big Transfer Post to present the final team and look at our chances for this season. We'll also go through some of the development options and thinking behind the team at the time.
|
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 19-03-2014 09:40
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
The Great Big Transfer Post - Part V
So here we are at the end of our transfer period. The one remaining deal is awaiting confirmation, but we don't expect anything to change between now and then. As such we can present what the team looks like following the transfer period!
| Last name | First name | FL | MO | HL | TT | STA | RES | REC | COB | SP | ACC | FTR | DH | PRL | AVG |  | Thomas | Geraint | 75 | 51 | 60 | 63 | 75 | 70 | 69 | 79 | 74 | 78 | 71 | 63 | 63 | 75.83 | | Panayotov | Petar | 67 | 78 | 72 | 68 | 71 | 76 | 73 | 50 | 64 | 72 | 77 | 65 | 68 | 74.58 |  | Lloyd | Matthew | 67 | 73 | 76 | 64 | 70 | 74 | 73 | 53 | 64 | 71 | 75 | 64 | 64 | 73.67 |  | Izagirre | Gorka | 68 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 69 | 70 | 53 | 62 | 63 | 76 | 65 | 70 | 72.75 | | Grashev | Martin | 68 | 72 | 69 | 64 | 73 | 72 | 68 | 75 | 65 | 73 | 65 | 63 | 64 | 72.50 | | Mihaylov | Nikolay | 70 | 56 | 62 | 74 | 68 | 70 | 67 | 59 | 70 | 73 | 69 | 59 | 74 | 71.58 |  | Sarmiento | Cayetano | 65 | 76 | 66 | 54 | 70 | 74 | 70 | 58 | 51 | 66 | 76 | 78 | 54 | 71.50 |  | Capecchi | Eros | 72 | 57 | 70 | 65 | 71 | 68 | 69 | 54 | 74 | 75 | 72 | 63 | 65 | 71.25 |  | Routley | Will | 68 | 62 | 74 | 61 | 69 | 68 | 70 | 70 | 64 | 63 | 70 | 66 | 61 | 71.00 | | Yates | Simon | 70 | 68 | 71 | 67 | 70 | 67 | 65 | 51 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 62 | 70 | 70.75 | | Georgiev | Georgi Petrov | 68 | 74 | 70 | 64 | 67 | 72 | 68 | 55 | 63 | 67 | 66 | 64 | 64 | 70.75 | | Chicchi | Francesco | 71 | 50 | 56 | 53 | 70 | 63 | 72 | 62 | 77 | 76 | 53 | 68 | 53 | 70.67 | | Gyurov | Spas | 69 | 55 | 65 | 73 | 68 | 68 | 67 | 70 | 66 | 69 | 71 | 62 | 73 | 70.42 | | Sparling | Jamie | 69 | 56 | 64 | 60 | 71 | 67 | 67 | 74 | 64 | 66 | 78 | 71 | 60 | 70.00 | | Hristov | Stefan | 69 | 63 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 67 | 66 | 73 | 63 | 70 | 68 | 64 | 66 | 69.75 |  | Bardet | Romain | 65 | 70 | 67 | 58 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 51 | 52 | 69 | 60 | 70 | 58 | 68.75 | | Ewan | Caleb | 68 | 61 | 68 | 60 | 66 | 68 | 65 | 65 | 74 | 73 | 63 | 70 | 73 | 68.25 | | Bolivar | Isaac | 66 | 61 | 64 | 69 | 68 | 65 | 66 | 69 | 59 | 68 | 65 | 74 | 69 | 68.08 | | Robov | Momchil | 68 | 68 | 68 | 64 | 65 | 69 | 66 | 50 | 68 | 67 | 72 | 65 | 64 | 67.67 | | Fritsch | Sven | 69 | 64 | 68 | 64 | 66 | 64 | 67 | 61 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 67 | 68 | 67.42 | | Aleksiev | Aleksander | 65 | 67 | 69 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 63 | 56 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 55 | 65 | 67.17 | | Stoenchev | Valentin | 67 | 66 | 65 | 67 | 68 | 66 | 65 | 58 | 63 | 62 | 58 | 60 | 67 | 66.83 | | Cholakov | Stanimir | 67 | 51 | 63 | 59 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 64 | 71 | 66 | 58 | 65 | 64 | 66.25 | | Losch | Max | 66 | 51 | 64 | 62 | 65 | 65 | 63 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 78 | 62 | 66 | 65.83 |
Geraint Thomas
Our season is built around the British classics specialist. Any hope of survival will be resting on his shoulders. He doesn't have the raw cobbles ability of some of his rivals, but finish as a group and few specialists will be match his sprint.
Petar Panayotov
The other half of our season is based on Petar. The teams best climber might have an ok season. Hopefully he can perform well and consistently and scare a few of the stronger teams. It be his only season 'at home'.
Matthew Lloyd
We weren't planning on having a real Hills leader, it just kind of happened. Unlikely to win we just hope for some surprise results and aggressive riding. Will be a great tutor to the young guns for the year.
Gorka Izagirre
Our first ever Spaniard will be hard to manage. His time will be split between supporting Petar and leading on his own, and deciding when to do each role will be key to his season. A nice rider to have onboard.
Martin Grashev
The Cobbles super-lieutenant for G. Not likely to get a result this season because of the stop up in division but if he can boost Thomas enough we'll be happy. His climbing ability opens up a few alternatives as well.
Nikolay Mihaylov
The squads best Time-Trialer is not going to have a fun season. Will be massively outclassed in the races and relegated to domestique the rest of the time. He gets to wear the TT NC and that's his aim this season.
Cayetano Sarmiento
Colombian Road Race Champion. Can either be that last man helper for Petar or lead on his own or just go long through a breakaway. It's some nice options but unlikely to score big. He is needed though.
Eros Capecchi
A bit of an odd signing now. Not a great sprinter but can get over hills better than most, and it gives him a slight edge. Also for a sprinter he's attacking so breakaways could deliver for him. Keeps Chicchi company as well.
Will Routely
One of the Canadians and key to the sponsors, being from just over the border outside Vancouver. Will be nice support for Lloyd in the hills, and can then switch over to the rough roads to help out Thomas.
Simon Yates
The first of our future investments. A pretty all-round kind of rider but weak for the division. This season will not be about scoring but about experience. Down the line he'll be very nice indeed.
Georgi Petrov Georgiev
Following a poor season last year hopefully Georgi can step it up a bit to provide solid and consistent support to the better climbers. He is 100% pure helper this season and probably in the future to.
Francesco Chicchi
Italian fastman brought our first ever win, then proceeded to do nothing all year long. Gets a second chance to impress but probably not against the insane number of sprinters now at this level. It's gonna be a long year for him.
Spas Gyurov
Teams second best time-trialist and constant challenger to Mihaylov. Once he's done against the clock it's all about helping Thomas on the cobbles and trying to repeat some of his breakaway efforts.
Jamie Sparling
The second Canadian and another support rider for Thomas. He also loves to attack and hopefully this can take the pressure off the main man and deliver a nice surprise or two along the way.
Stefan Hristov
National Champion for Bulgaria. Hoping this year to develop up and become a better helper. He's another part of Geraints support set-up and like many of them will be looking to chance his own arm at times.
Romain Bardet
The only Frenchman actually in our colors for the year. Another of the future investments as he looks to grow as a climber and learn from the experience of riders like Sarmiento and Izagirre.
Caleb Ewan
The most expensive rider and for good reason. This year will be a bit of a dud, however his talent is enormous! He will be one of the best sprinters in a few years so for now it's all about developing.
Isaac Bolivar
Second Colombian. Still waiting that final confirmation on the deal with him. Part of Thomas support team and a nice looking signing for the future.
Momchil Robov
The biggest Bulgarian talent around. He is incredibly versatile and can handle pretty much any race. Numerous development options down the line, and for now he'll just learn from the more experience leaders.
Sven Fritsch
The first Luxembourgian. Sven is a nice and promising Hills talent and can learn a lot from Lloyd this season. Another of the future investments meaning this season is not much to talk about.
Aleksander Aleksiev
Aleksander was part of the revolution last season representing Bulgaria at both the U23 worlds and Avenir. This year is going to be tough. Unlikely to really develop and not much in terms of support.
Valentin Stoenchev
The more promising of the duo. Looking to really grow this season and return to those landmark events. Scoring is a dream for now, as is providing quality support, but he's here for the future.
Stanimir Cholakov
Another nice Bulgarian talent. He already is quite good at the longer races and his speed will surprise some people. Down the road he'll be a good rider and will get there quicker than some.
Max Losch
The second Luxembourgian. Max just loves an attack right now. He can develop in a number of ways and that attacking nature will make him very interesting to see in a few years time, or perhaps this season.
Predictions
We fully accept this is not going to be a good season. Relegation is expected for the squad, and probably in 30th position right at the bottom. Anything above that we can consider a good season, and avoiding relegation will be truly incredible.
This however does not reflect in our expectations for goals. Top 5 America tour probably won't happen now. But Winning Bulgaria is still very much a possibility. Vancouver will be a tough fight but is possible. Winning Battenkill was toughish anyway and that hasn't changed. Finally Top5 in 5Jours is exactly the same and a very reasonable goal. We could relegate and still achieve 3 of 5 goals.
When we relegate we will have to more than halve our wage budget, so a number of our new signings will probably only be one-season riders. It will probably also mean a restructuring of our sponsorship and long term commitments to Bulgarian cycling. But that's all many months away
What we do have to a secure and solid base of talents to develop and work with for a number of years. Ewan could win the PCT division in a few seasons, while Yates would also score nice and highly. Behind them Robov, Cholakov, Stoenchev, Fritsch, Bolivar, Losch and Bardet will all be possible scorers and solid support riders.
The future is bright, the future is Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 19-03-2014 09:52
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
So jealous that you have Geraint  |
| |
|
|
| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 19-03-2014 09:55
|
Team Manager
Posts: 33046
Joined: 08-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
|
Nice to see a couple of Luxembourgers in your team. Hopefully your team in general can find more wins than you did last season!
Interesting that you chose Dunkerque and Battenkill as goals for Thomas though - they are the two more hilly cobbled races, which isn't as much of a strength for him.
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 07:46
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| Smowz |
Posted on 19-03-2014 10:00
|
Team Leader
Posts: 6479
Joined: 09-04-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
I don't think it is the worst PCT squad I have ever seen. Certainly Panayotov, Lloyd and Thomas are good leaders - I don't feel there is such huge depth in those three areas as their may have been before in PCT. With the HC extension it may make more sense to spread around specialities.
Certainly good enough to avoid relegation with a bit of luck - one or two other promoted CT teams I feel could be weaker.
|
| |
|
|
| Ollfardh |
Posted on 19-03-2014 10:03
|
World Champion
Posts: 14563
Joined: 08-08-2011
PCM$: 9100.00
|
If that is a bad team, I'm afraid of the good teams i'll be facing 
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
|
| |
|
|
| Roman |
Posted on 19-03-2014 10:06
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4386
Joined: 29-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
|
You have a decent team IMO. Will be surely a long season for you, but you could avoid relegation indeed, the key will be results of Thomas, Panayotov and possibly Lloyd, they need to overachieve a little bit at least. But I like the future of your team, Ewan especially will be an amazing rider. 
|
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 19-03-2014 10:36
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
@Sutty - I was lucky SN sold him to me last season. Now he'll be around for a while
@SN - Shouldn't be hard to get more wins, and thought you'd like the Luxembourgian's. We Top5'd 5Jous last season so it's doable, and then Battenkill because it fits with the sponsors. But yes something like E3 or Arenburg would have been more logical.
@Smowz - Certainly Thomas is amongst the best, but there are not that many points available on the cobbles. Luck will be needed, and we didn't get a lot last season so perhaps it was being saved up.
@Oldfart - You're CT you're fine 
@Roman - It's not good if you're relying on overachieving imo. Future is solid though yes 
|
| |
|
|
| jph27 |
Posted on 19-03-2014 10:52
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7339
Joined: 20-03-2010
PCM$: 900.00
|
I'll be back for Bardet at some point. Just you wait  |
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 21-03-2014 11:32
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
@jph - Bring cash and beer
New National Champion
Colombian National Road Race Champion Cayetano Sarmiento will be wearing this all season long. Isn't it beautiful!
|
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 31-03-2014 20:41
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
Full calendar is now updated! Goals are highlighted in Blue and come fairly close together. Going to be a long season with races in both the first and last weeks, and then fairly consistently throughout.
Planning is also completed, with Thomas, Panayotov, Lloyd, Izagirre and Grashev all with pretty much full schedules. Our planning ended up being a rough compromise between development and competition. We tried to give our young guns as many days as possible, but at the same time trying to keep strong race teams for a half possible maybe glance at safety.
The seasons busiest riders will be Ewan, Yates and Robov
|
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 22-04-2014 08:46
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
| January | | | | | HC Asia | Down Under Classic | 10th |  | C1 America | Vuelta al Tachira | 22nd - 31st |
In The Dumps Down Under
Our first regular season race was not great. It started brightly when new signing Max Losch attacked from the gun and made it into the days breakaway. He put down a good ride lasting a very long time out front, but it was always going to end in a mass sprint. Here we watched as Chicchi completely lived up to expectations by not making the Top100. Capecchi was much more promising sneaking into the Top35.
Top of the World in Tachira
Our second race could not have been more different! With a big focus this season on the America tour standings we sent along a top notch team designed around stage races. We had hopes of a Top10 in GC and maybe some breakaways, around 30-40pts in total. Well...
Stage 1 Simon Yates started brightly and formed a significant part of the days breakaway. He swept the IS's as he defied the peloton until the 11km mark. From here the sprinters took over and Boeing rolled in calmly.
Stage 2 Robov Momchil wasn't going to be outdone as he attacked to breakaway. It was day dominated by the sprinters teams so not much else to talk about.
Stage 3 Simon Yates was back at it on day 3. Again he was in the breakaway and again he swept up the IS's. Caught early but those bonuses moved Simon into 3rd place overall!
Stage 4 Gorka Izagirre attacked with a mid-day move. Unable to follow the best of the attackers Gorka worked hard to stay away and finished the day with 4th place and a sizable gain over the main favorites.
Stage 5 Momchil Robov had the bit between his teeth. Attacking early and being in the breakaway was a good start. With the peloton struggling to organise a full chase Robov moved with 4km to go. From there he soloed to a historic victory! His first and the teams first of the season.
Stage 6 Cayetano Sarmiento showed of his bright new Champions jersey in the breakaway. Under orders to not waste too much energy he didn't follow the late attacks and finished the day in 6th place
Stage 7 Matthew Lloyd kept the string of breakaways going. On the long final climb he dropped his breakaway companions, and as the favorites toyed with each other grew his lead. A strong ride took him to a solo victory! Boeing now have as many wins in one race as from the entire last season!
Stage 8 Matthew Lloyd was not just happy with that and went attacking again. In the end it was the favorites who dueled for honors, but Lloyd did enough to take the KoM lead. Panayotov finished strongly in 5th place having countered the late moves.
Stage 9 Cayetano Sarmiento went with some mid-day moves up front. Then Panayotov was again strong in the finale to finish 4th and move up the GC rankings. Today also saw Lloyd lose the KoM lead.
Stage 10 Gorka Izagirre attacked hard all day. He raced hard to finish 3rd place, while Lloyd also finished well in 7th position. Panayotov missed a split to lose some GC places.
| 1 | Jocelin Maillet | La Vie Claire | 31h16'11 | | 9 | Gorka Izagirre | Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling | + 3'34 | | 17 | Petar Panayotov | Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling | + 4'25 | | 40 | Matthew Lloyd | Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling | + 7'55 | | 58 | Cayetano Sarmiento | Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling | + 14'43 | | 83 | Romain Bardet | Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling | + 29'51 | | 84 | Momchil Robov | Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling | + 29'59 | | 90 | Simon Yates | Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling | + 36'46 |
Vuelta al Tachira - 4th Stage 4 - Gorka Izagirre
Vuelta al Tachira - 1st Stage 5 - Momchil Robov
Vuelta al Tachira - 6th Stage 6 - Cayetano Sarmiento
Vuelta al Tachira - 1st Stage 7 - Matthew Lloyd
Vuelta al Tachira - 5th Stage 8 - Peter Panayotov
Vuelta al Tachira - 4th Stage 9 - Peter Panayotov
Vuelta al Tachira - 3rd Stage 10 - Gorka Izagirre
Vuelta al Tachira - 7th Stage 10 - Matthew Lloyd
Vuelta al Tachira - 9th GC - Gorka Izagirre
Vuelta al Tachira - 3rd KoM - Matthew Lloyd
Vuelta al Tachira - 1st Team - Boeing
10 Days, 10 Breakaways, 2 Stage Wins, 7 Top10s, Top10 GC, Top20 GC, 3rd KoM, 1st Team
|
| |
|
|
| Alakagom |
Posted on 22-04-2014 10:45
|
World Champion
Posts: 10891
Joined: 19-11-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Incredible. I've never seen one team go into practically every break in a race. And how it turned out for you. 2 stage wins and good GC. If you don't want to get relegated, This is the start you wanted.
Edited by Alakagom on 22-04-2014 10:46
|
| |
|
|
| admirschleck |
Posted on 22-04-2014 10:48
|
Team Leader
Posts: 6690
Joined: 11-10-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Alakagom wrote:
Incredible. I've never seen one team go into practically every break in a race.
If you followed CT enough in January, you would notice that Eddie Stobart (Sutty) is doing absolutely the same - getting stunning results and some wins - all from breakaway.
Anyways, perfect start of the season, TMM!
|
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 22-04-2014 16:50
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
@Alak - It was incredible to watch! But the attacking nature goes further, as we've attacked in ever single race day including the pre-season Criterium event! That's 15 days in a row with a man down the road, and odds are to see more of the same in China.
@Admir - Sutty is also currently on the wave. Green, red and white was clearly the color combination to chose!
@All - Anyone else thinking Lloyd (last picture) looks really odd? Like his shoulders are so oddly sized and his face doesn't seem quite attached to his neck
|
| |
|
|
| admirschleck |
Posted on 22-04-2014 16:52
|
Team Leader
Posts: 6690
Joined: 11-10-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
I saw that alot of times when I was taking pictures of winners for my story and story-games. Just PCM being PCM, I guess.
|
| |
|
|
| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 23-04-2014 06:49
|
World Champion
Posts: 14236
Joined: 20-06-2011
PCM$: 300.00
|
Cmon, we know there is some DNA doping going on, when riders look like that.
Fantastic January for Boeing, congrats on that!
|
| |
|
|
| aidanvn13 |
Posted on 23-04-2014 06:53
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 2797
Joined: 06-11-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Amazing points haul in Tachira! Was really nice seeing the Boeing guys so active all the time. Well deserved
|
| |
|
|
| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 22-09-2014 19:52
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
|
Fair to say i've been neglecting this HQ somewhat and for that i apologise. As part of my MG day i am now going to attempt a great big catch-up post to bring my-self up-to-date just before a few more of our Goal events go past.
|
| |
|
|
| The Rider |
Posted on 22-09-2014 19:58
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4543
Joined: 29-02-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
TheManxMissile wrote:
Fair to say i've been neglecting this HQ somewhat and for that i apologise. As part of my MG day i am now going to attempt a great big catch-up post to bring my-self up-to-date just before a few more of our Goal events go past.
Would be good to see a complete list of your races for this season, so I can see if Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling will be turning up at any Bonsucro races. |
| |
|
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
