I'm Pieter de Vries, Vacansoleil's latest signing. For now I'm still under contract with Lotto-Belisol, but decided to leave the team and join a team from my own country. After a disappointing season so far I had already expected to go down a division, but luckily I did manage to find Vacansoleil, or actually they found me. I'm glad I've been offered this opportunity and I'll show what I can next season. I won't mind being a rouleur, as I feel it suits me very well, although I wouldn't mind going on the attack once or twice.
So we are come to the point where we can present 2 new signings for the 2014 season and both of them represent the new project we have here on Vacansoleil. They are both considered bright talents for the future and we hope to give them the best conditions possible. They are both Dutch and will fit into the rest of the team like butter on bread.
In Nicky we have a young all rounder with his main focuses on the cobbles and is also very good on the hills. In Pieter we also have a all rounder that both can go for victory in breakaways, but also support both the GC contenders and the Sprinters too.
Nicky Van Drenthe
He will be 22 years old next year and is going direct into our Cobbles team and will provide support for Juan Antonio Flecha whom personally requested us to look into this dude. And Flecha's days a almost over in what involves being able to compete on a high level, so we will do anything to make sure that Nicky learns everything for him, and that he one day will be able to take over this role.
We won't put pressure on Pieter , and with a quick season in the PCT where he can get into the swing of things, before being able to race those races he do best in.
Pieter de Vries
Despite his young age Lotto was quick in spotting this young lad , but with a quite season for both, he wanted to continue on a team where he had more free chances to involve quicker and then one day he will be better than anyone at his age.
We will do anything to help him too and he will go into a long learning curve of getting introduced into several positions, so we can see where he do best and how he can support the team in the future. As the last of two long term signings , we won't expect him to do great right from the start, but just his presence in races will make our life easier.
He also fits the team and our ambitions and one day he will perhaps even get the chance to ride in a GT, but lets not get too greedy. We expect a quick year in the PCT and once we're back in the WT we see this dude as a strong asset.
Edited by TheHoeke on 20-09-2014 18:29
Welcome to our first Team Update. With the new signings we were unfortunately not ready to go for victories in the Vuelta this year, so the rest of the season, will be about getting some honor from the WT before the season end. The Transfer renewals are soon coming and our first priority should be to set 3 captain that we will build the team around.
We do have a strong Transfer Plan in the works and we won't go empty handed away from that. The Draft will be very important for us too, so there is definitely happening a lot of exciting stuff all the time. So lets get into business and for the first news is that most of our team roster feels resposible for the lack of results and don't want this on their concious for more that it is. So we finally have some good news.
Lieuwe Westra , Wout Poels and Juan Antonio Flecha will be our captains for the next season. They will be a part of a team that has 3 main focuses : Hills , Cobbles and Sprints. These categories are what we will focus on and our goal is to be superior to alll the other PCT teams next season. Stay tuned for more news as they happen and we hope to get a good experience out of this ending of the season.
Race Startlists
The ending of the season is not boring, in fact there is nothing boring about this time of the year and with an exciting drama unfolding between the buttom WT teams are really intense.
Startlist
Nationality
Name
Role
Johnny Hoogerland
Leader
Wesley Kreder
Sprinter
Pim Ligthart
Lieutenant
Rob Ruijgh
Lieutenant
Wauter Mol
Helper
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Helper
Martjin Keizer
Helper
We have many possibilities in this race, Wesley Kreder is on our team if we need a pure sprinter and with Pim Ligthart as a backup with his puncher abilities and his descent sprint. Hoogerland can attack both at the early and later stages of the stage and Ruijgh is an excellent support for these two also
Goal Top 5
Startlist
Nationality
Name
Role
Lieuwe Westra
Leader
Danny Van Poppel
Sprinter
Mirko Selvaggi
Lieutenant
Marco Marcato
Lieutenant
Boy Van Poppel
Helper
Björn Leukemans
Helper
Willem Wauters
Helper
Frederik Veuchelen
Helper
We go into this race with a strong team that can win both from the sprint and through a breakaway. My two sons are the main competetors if the race will end in a mass sprint. Westra can both be the key man as a leadout, but he can also take advantage of the terrain and show his strong skills there
Goal Top 10
Startlist
Nationality
Name
Role
Pim Ligthart
Leader
Danny Van Poppel
Sprinter
Marco Marcato
Lieutenant
Sergey Lagutin
Lieutenant
Björn Leukemans
Helper
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Helper
Maurits Lammertink
Helper
Wesley Kreder
Helper
The World Championship route that became a race of it's own is also on our Schedule and once again Pim Ligthart may take advantage of the two climbs , but our main competetor will be Danny Van Poppel, with Maurits and Wesley he has a strong leadout and they will probably carry him through the final climb
Nicky Van Drenthe 
