Perhaps this is some weeks late, as the calendar of Team Carlsberg - Danske Bank has been confirmed and in the front posts for a few weeks, but was never formally announced. Now it has been!
"As team manager I admit we went wrong in several ways. For instance, I must have been extremely intoxicated when I signed us up for every cobbled race in C1, but hey, I guess Niki just has to win from an early break now. Overall I'm pretty happy with our selections."
The season has started and that includes Carlsberg's! The team participated in only 2 races, both classics: Clasico San Cristobal and the Great Ocean Road Classic.
Clasico San Cristobal
Well we started the season off just like I wanted, we attacked. Jesper Hansen popped away with the 1st attack of the C2 season! Great type of riding!
In the end the early break wasn't successful which drastically reduced out chances! but Schoffmann still put in a great ride for 14th to score us some points!
Great Ocean Road Classic
The only other race in our January calendar didn't go as planned exactly, although we featured a lot during the race. We didn't get a rider in the break, but we worked on the front and had what looked to be good chances.
But it all went wrong in the sprint. We had Niki and Sebastien in a great order... if only Rasmussen was behind them. instead he decided to sit on the front of another train. What was he thinking?
In the end Niki managed to snag 15th, but it was disappointing for us to be honest.
January was a short month for us, but February brings up one of our first goals: the Benelux Challenge. It should be exciting for the team!
- Manager baseballlover312
Edited by baseballlover312 on 12-05-2014 02:00
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
All February races are over for Carlsberg, so it is time to look back on the team's showings in the 2nd month of the year.
Benelux Challenge
The team's first season goal was a top 5 here. However, it didn't really go as planned.
In the very first stage, team leader Niki Ostergaard finished behind the peloton and lost any chance of that top 5.
The team didn't feature in the next day, but on stage 3 we decided to actually be productive and Mortensen went into the break.
But of course that went nowhere and all that came of the stage was more guys losing time. Finally, in stage 4, Rosseler attack late and got the team a good finish in 4th place.
Stage 5 saw Schoffmann attacking and getting 7th on a the stage, a good result.
On the finals stage Niki Ostergaard finally put in a move for the team. He couldn't be up there with the winners, but he managed another 4th place for the team. Behind, Rasmussen sprinted to 12th.
In the end, we didn't come clsoe to our original goal, and the beginning of the race was a disaster. But we pulled through and salvaged what we could by the finish.
Bahir Dar
Due to the postponing of the Tour of the Middle East, the only other races for the team this month were C1 level cobbled classics, the first being Bahir Dar.
However, the team completely failed. Ostergaard had a rough day and Stevenson ended up being the highest place rider in 24th, while the rest finished mostly between 30th and 40th.
Dwars Door Vlaanderen
The final race for Carlsberg in February was Dwars Door Vlaanderen, which went much better than Bahir Dar. Niki got aggressive and attacked mid way through the stage!
It didn't work out, but he still got 18th and showed Carlsberg's presence.
The team is still winless and in fact lacking a solid result in general through the first two months of the year. We hope to change that and turn it around in March! This includes Himmerlandt Rundt, the team's second goal.I for one am looking forward tot he upcoming races.
- Manger baseballlover312
Edited by baseballlover312 on 12-05-2014 02:01
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
3 months into the 2014 Management Game campaign, Carlsberg finally have their first win in team history!
Christopher Stevenson has won stage 5 of the Tour de Beauce from a break.
The win come only days after Lasse Bochmann was barely beaten in the TT, finishing 2nd, only 8 seconds behind. The time gains moved him to 8th in the GC.
Stevenson got in an early break of 6 rider, who stayed away on the stage.
They worked well together and managed to create an unbridgeable gap.
When the attacks started firing off, Stevenson followed every one but didn't hit the front, biding his time.
But on the final climb, he was in the perfect position, with a huge amount of energy, and blew past every cracked rider, soloing away!
And he won it! The first win for our team! It feels absolutely amazing!
Thanks to our supporters. Hopefully Stevenson holds his form for the cobbled season and helps Ostergaard a lot!
- Manager baseballlover312
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
baseballlover312, 06-03-14 : "Nuke Moscow...Don't worry Russia, we've got plenty of love to go around your cities"
Sarah Palin, 08-03-14 (CPAC, on Russian aggression) : "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke"
Big thanks to jdog for making this AMAZING userbar!
Congrats for a great result. The first win feels like something special. I am glad that I already experienced it and now another one could get this achievement.
Failure for Carlsberg in Opening CT Cobbled Classic
Team Carlsberg - Danske Bank were very much looking forward to the start of the cobbled classics season in the Continental Tour. The team is built around these races, and were hoping they could obtain a high placing or a win with their strong team to kick off the period.
But all did not go so well. They did a lot of work, but in the end there was too much flat after the cobbles, and the favorites only made their moves then. When a lone breakaway rider won, followed by a small group of favorites, leader Niki Ostergaard could only manage 6th. From the group behind, their next best rider could only get 19th, despite the team having 4 riders in that group.
Team manager baseballlover312 says that the team will not panic, and must simply work of forcing more selection earlier in the upcoming races. However, if the team can't must great results in the rest of the cobbles season, they will struggle immensely to not finish in the bottom 5 of the year end rankings.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Over the last few weeks, Team Carlsberg - Dankse Bank have pulled off 2 more stage wins! The first was achieved by Jesper Hansen.
After putting in a strong attack, he held off another one of his breakaway companions to take the win!
The next win came in stage 7 of the Tour de Bretagne! Sebastien Rosseler was able to attack ahead of the rest of the breakaway on the cobbles and hold on ahead!
With these two wins, Team Carlsberg - Danske Bank are happy to be advancing forward in cobbles and breakaways, two disciplines the team really thrive on.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
After a small patch of failure in classics, Carlsberg - Danske Bank has achieved much success int eh Tour of the Middle East, culminating in an Alex Rasmussen win on stage 7.
The leadout of Ranneries and Sabatini worked to perfection, and in a flat sprint Rasmussen has a deviating kick. he was able to finish it off for the victory.
Carlsberg have also achieved many other podiums and placings throughout the race thanks to their consistently aggressive riding. In addition, Rasmussen did not abandon through the mountains and the train will have a final chance tomorrow in a pan flat sprint: Rasmussen's specialty.
It's been a good month for the Danish team, with a successful 4th and 12th place finish in the C1 Avila Classic.
More coverage on the entire Tour of the Middle East to come!
Edited by baseballlover312 on 02-10-2014 03:14
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
baseballlover312, 06-03-14 : "Nuke Moscow...Don't worry Russia, we've got plenty of love to go around your cities"
Sarah Palin, 08-03-14 (CPAC, on Russian aggression) : "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke"
Big thanks to jdog for making this AMAZING userbar!
baseballlover312, 06-03-14 : "Nuke Moscow...Don't worry Russia, we've got plenty of love to go around your cities"
Sarah Palin, 08-03-14 (CPAC, on Russian aggression) : "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke"
Big thanks to jdog for making this AMAZING userbar!
It's been a period of slow times for Carlsberg - Danske Bank, after success the Tour of the Middle East.
Alex Rasmussen ended up taking the final stage of the race, and then stage 2 of Circulo de Juarez,, making his participation worth quite a bit, but since then, the team's successes have been few and far between. They lost Himmerlandt Rundt, and the team's classics season was extremely sub par due to the amount of breakaway wins on cobbled stages.
However, the team is still reaching its motto of attacking in each and every race. They have picked off a few wins from that, and that is what Carlsberg is all about. be a fight and put yourself out there. Even when the results are drying up, the team can be successful in doing that.
In other news, the team got a new update of where some of there young talents can be. Due to not being able to secure a loan in the transfer season for riders like Ranneries, Hansen, and Wengelin, they have not been able to improve much this season. However, some riders have. Marc Christian Garby's development has been especially good news for Carlsberg, a team lacking in climbing. He has improved well, and there is still more room for improvement. Another loan should be in order, but he could be a force to be reckoned with in 2016.
The season is still far from over. Carlsberg are near the bottom of the division, but above where most predicted them to be. They are out there every race on a mission to prove their point: aggressive riding can and will win races.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Carlsberg Fails Again - Goes Winless in Cobbled Classics
Carlsberg have had a tough time throughout this cobbled season, with breakaways and lack of selection being the main culprit. The team is based almost completely around the discipline, but has found no success this year in it.
The Cigar City Brewing Twilight GP was the last chance for Niki Ostergaard and the team to that coveted win on the pave, but again they failed due to disobeying clear team orders.
The team worked cautiously all day, keeping the break in striking distance. Their orders were to keep it all together and blow the race apart as the cobbles got difficult.
But instead, when the favorites attacked at 22 km to go, Carlsberg's train was gone from the front, and Niki was forced to follow on.
But Ostergaard didn't follow on when De Haes attacked again, and he was left behind the chase group.
But that break was quickly caught, and though Lilholt put in a dig at the end, he faded and would end up the team's highest finisher in 12th. They failed to even place in the top 10, despite having 7 cobbles capable riders in the final selection.
This is just another terrible outing in a string of them for Carlbserg since June. The team's goals have all turned in failure's and their only successes came in the form of sporadic breakaway victories, earlier in the season.
Luckily there is no division to demote to under CT, but it is yet to be seen if the team's utter disaster of an inaugural season will have an effect in the sponsor or personnel department.
Only 5 races remain from here, and it doesn't look like any are going to end well for the Danish outfit.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Season Drawing to a Close - Both Sponsors Renewing
There hasn't been much success for Carlsberg this season, and with the Tour of Utah being the last race for them this week, it seems that's the way it will end. The team struggled in both their focus of cobblestones and every other discipline this year, and look to finish the season in 23rd in the CT standings: almost last place.
The team's lack of success caused rumors about their future to fly around. But now, it has been confirmed that they will be back next year, and once again supported by Carlsberg Beer and Danske Bank. Although the sponsors were disappointed with results, and give a smaller budget for next year, they also voiced their satisfaction with exposure, voicing approval of the team's many breakaways.
September and October were very quiet months, with Carlsberg being absent from most of the months racing. After Utah wraps up, the team will have several riders supporting Denmark and another representing Sweden in the World Championships, and sends their own squads to the national championships around the globe.
The sponsor news will brighten spirits and morale as the shadow of a potentially gigantic transfer season looms over the riders and staff.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
and its nice to see you have the same supplier as me 
Clasico San Cristobal
Great Ocean Road Classic
Benelux Challenge
Bahir Dar
Tour of the Middle East
Scandinavia Open Road Race
Seskin Classic
Volta ao Algarve
Tour de Beauce
Himmerland Rundt
Ruta America del Sur
Tro Bro Leon
Rund den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt
Lincoln GP
Circulo de Juarez
Transfagarasan GP
Vuelta a Guatemala
Giro del Capo
Oberosterreichrundfahrt
Rutas de America
Tour de Pologne
Hill Classic
Tour de Slovenie
Tour d'Azerbaijan
GP Tokyo
