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Rabobank ● 2023
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 21-08-2023 13:36
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World Champion
Posts: 13915
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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With the transfer window now officially closed it's time to see who are the other new names who will join the team for the 2023, in addition to Gesink and Kooij which were handled in the previous update.
It is the first time in the team's history we didn't sold anyone. And in addition to that we only bought one rider.
Perhaps the biggest name to join us beside the Dutch duo this window is the Danish lead-out man and prologue specialist Casper Pedersen. Casper will become a vital part of our sprint train and given his age we expect him to play in important role in what shall be Kooij's train as well and not just for Grosu and Van Poppel in the near future.
Another Dane who will be joining the team is Asbjorn Hellemose, a hot young prospect in terms of climbing. Both on the big mountains as well and the shorts and steep hills. Asbjorn is the only rider that won't be joining us from the FA market this window. He will be joining us from Evonik where he felt the opportunities for a young climber to show himself are not as many as they once were.
Speaking of opportunities for climbers, given our very weak depth in that department, everyone in our team should get the opportunity to shine this year. To strengthen that department we brought in the French climber Guillaume Martin. But with Dima, Vader and Hellemose all leveling up next year, the Frenchman will really have to prove himself if he wants to be offered a contract beyond this year.
Marijn Van Den Berg was brought in to increase the number of Dutch talent in our lines. And given his age and his abilities, he is all set to become a long term domestique in the team. Our latest signing of the window was the Hungarian young rider, Erik Fetter, but he will be joining us as a stagiaire and will only be competing in races from August onwards. He should also provide a helpful hand to Remco in Avenir this year.
| | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | XP | Age | Pot | Wage |  | Robert Gesink | 63 | 73 | 71 | 70 | 64 | 66 | 66 | 56 | 51 | 54 | 62 | 56 | 70 | Max | 37 | 7 | 50k | | Olav Kooij | 70 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 73 | 68 | 65 | 65 | 71 | 73 | 64 | 66 | 70 | 1.0 | 22 | 6 | 250k | | Marijn Van Den Berg | 67 | 62 | 64 | 58 | 67 | 70 | 63 | 63 | 67 | 69 | 67 | 63 | 61 | 2.0 | 24 | 6 | 50k |  | Casper Pedersen | 76 | 61 | 67 | 67 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 63 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 69 | 78 | Max | 27 | 4 | 100k | | Asbjorn Hellemose | 66 | 71 | 71 | 59 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 61 | 62 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 59 | 3.92 | 24 | 5 | 50k |  | Guillaume Martin | 68 | 75 | 72 | 66 | 74 | 71 | 75 | 52 | 59 | 71 | 63 | 65 | 67 | Max | 30 | 4 | 50k |  | Erik Fetter | 65 | 64 | 68 | 66 | 66 | 69 | 63 | 61 | 65 | 68 | 68 | 62 | 63 | 1.63 | 23 | 4 | 10k |
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| SotD |
Posted on 21-08-2023 20:29
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World Champion
Posts: 12188
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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Casper P is a brilliant 100K signing. Really surprised he didn’t catapult towards 200. Well done! He’s already a fantastic leadout for Grosu, and one that Can make his own glory. With a bit of training he will be very dangerous.
Also of course Olav Kooij is amazing :-)
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 21-08-2023 21:02
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World Champion
Posts: 13915
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Don't think I'll have the money to ever train Pedersen tbh. He'll directly lead out Van Poppel more this season. With Grosu, he'll be part of a trio which also includes van der Kooij.
But, I agree, the 100k wage seems like a steal. Really glad to get him that cheap.
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 21-08-2023 22:48
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2905
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
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Casper P was on my list of riders that could be picked up. He is a great leadout!
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| DarkWolf |
Posted on 22-08-2023 09:02
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1025
Joined: 21-09-2020
PCM$: 700.00
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I never was much of a fan of Dutch riders in real life, don't ask me why. But here is another matter and I'll admit that you have a very nice team. With some bright, bright future ahead of it (which I am a fan of  ). Good luck in the new season!
And I am always a fan of Eddy Grosu. 
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 22-08-2023 13:57
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10438.70
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Love Casper as well. if he had lasted another day in FA you may not have gotten him so cheap tbh. 
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 22-08-2023 17:28
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World Champion
Posts: 13915
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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One day in the FA market is an eternity though
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 01:51
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| OlegTinkov |
Posted on 29-08-2023 17:11
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2666
Joined: 31-12-2007
PCM$: 450.00
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Preview Rabobank 2023 accessories
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 29-08-2023 20:22
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World Champion
Posts: 13915
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Thanks, Oleg! These look great
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 11-09-2023 10:48
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World Champion
Posts: 13915
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Robert Gesink to retire at Vuelta a Espana
All good things must come to an end eventually. And this year will be the last year of Robert Gesink's professional career. We are delighted that he will be spending it with us. It will be a great celebration of the wonderful period we shared together between 2011 and 2017. And what better way to end the celebration that with the race that marked Robert's career - La Vuelta a Espana.
Gesink took part in 5 Vuelta editions, never finishing lower than 10th. In three of those occasions he finished on the podium. Out of those 3 podiums, 1 is the amazing GC classification he took in 2016 by beating Alexandr Pluchkin, which was at that moment rated by most experts as the best Grand Tour rider in the peloton. And it wasn't just any win as more than 6 minutes separated the two, with only 11 riders finishing less than half an hour behind Gesink in the GC. In that edition Gesink also took 3 stage wins along the way to secure the green jersey as well.
Gesink's record in La Vuelta | GC | Stage wins | Points | KoM | U25 | Teams | Team | | 2008 | 10 | - | N/A | N/A | 2 | N/A | France Televisions | | 2009 | 2 | x1 | 8 | 6 | 1 | N/A | France Televisions | | 2015 | 3 | x2 | 5 | 11 | - | 2 | Project 1t4i | | 2016 | 1 | x3 | 1 | 5 | - | 1 | eBuddy | | 2020 | 4 | x1 | 6 | 15 | - | 24 | Duolingo |
While La Vuelta it's the only Grand Tour he won and despite a three 3 year hiatus where he focused on one week races, Gesink also had some impressive performances in the other Grand Tours as well, finishing on the podium in each of them, twice in Le Tour and once in Il Giro. If it wasn't for his Grand Tour debut in Giro 2008, Gesink would have finished all the Grand Tours he took part in inside the top 10.
Gesink's Grand Tour record | Tour | Vuelta | Giro | | | 2007 | - | - | - | | | 2008 | - | 10 | 36 | | | 2009 | - | 2 | - | | | 2010 | - | - | - | | | 2011 | 10 | - | - | | | 2012 | - | - | - | | | 2013 | - | - | - | | | 2014 | - | - | - | | | 2015 | - | 3 | - | | | 2016 | - | 1 | - | | | 2017 | 3 | - | - | | | 2018 | 3 | - | - | | | 2019 | - | - | 3 | | | 2020 | - | 4 | - | | | 2021 | - | - | - | | | 2022 | - | - | - | |
Gesink's final season will start with a race that marked our team's identity by winning it 3 times in a row in our first 3 seasons in the PT. We are talking about the PT TTT event, first held in Eindhoven and then from Copenhagen to Malmo.
He will then continue with 2 stage races, Paris - Nice and Ronde van Nederland. While he won the first one in 2009 while riding for France Television and finished second in 2012 while riding for our team, he will actually be making his debut in his home race!
We are then back to one day races, as Robert will look to strengthen our climbing squad in Liechtenstein before moving to the Ardennes classics. Along the years Robert did not enjoy must success in these races, except for Fleche Wallone where he finished second in 2011 and played a big part in Chavanel's amazing success from 2012.
And then everything will come to an end to La Vuelta a Espana! So, please, join us in celebrating the final races of Robert Gesink's career throughout the season.
Gesink's 2023 racing programme | Month | Category | | Race | Best result | Year of best result | | February | 1.PT | | Copenhagen - Malmo TTT | 1 | 2011*, 2012, 2013 | | February | 2.PT | | Paris - Nice | 1 | 2009 | | March | 2.PT | | Ronde van Nederland | - | - | | April | 1.PT |  | GP Liechtenstein | 4 | 2017 | | April | 1.PT | | Amstel Gold Race | 8 | 2011 | | May | 1.PT |  | Fleche Wallone | 2 | 2011 | | May | PTM | | Liege - Bastogne - Liege | 5 | 2013 | | May | GT |  | Vuelta a Espana | 1 | 2016 |
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| Nemolito |
Posted on 11-09-2023 11:38
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3367
Joined: 20-04-2020
PCM$: 425.00
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As somebody who joined the MG a bit later it's always enjoyable to read rider/team stories like this. Obviously he won't finish top-10 this time, but it's great to see him end his career with a monument followed by his final Vuelta
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 11-09-2023 15:37
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4670
Joined: 29-09-2018
PCM$: 185.00
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Hadn't realized that Gesink once won the Vuelta - I only joined MG in his first year of decline, the year of his final GT podium. Great writeup of his MG career, though, and as Nemo said, definitely a worthy end of his long and successful journey!
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| redordead |
Posted on 12-09-2023 07:11
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4881
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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I've only ever really known of Gesink from Duolingo. I've never been at the Vuelta before so never paid too much attention to it, until now.
My first close encounter with him was at the 2019 Pais Vasco which he won in dominate fashion ahead of Beltran
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 13-09-2023 09:16
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World Champion
Posts: 13915
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Quite a lot of Gesink's top performances are missing from the post. I tried to focus on GT/Vuelta only and what he is riding this year.
He has plenty of one week races under his belt. That Pais Vasco win must have been his third in the race as he also won it twice while riding for my team. And he was also the World ITT Champion in 2017.
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