[PCT '23] McCormick Pro Cycling
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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 02-09-2023 00:14
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McCormick Pro Cycling is proud to announce 3 riders will wear their National Champion's jersey for us this year. That exceeds the total number in our 4 prior seasons of two (which was the same jersey, so maybe 1).
Fikri Azka Mohammad won the Indonesian Time Trial championship while riding in McCormick colors at the end of last season. Jhonatan Narvaez won the Ecuadorian Road Race title and Guillaume Boivin the Canadian Road Race title while riding for other teams. Regardless, McCormick is very happy to help these riders celebrate their victories.
Thanks also to Hillis for these beautiful variants on his classic McCormick design.
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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 02-09-2023 00:24
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So been noodling on Simmons dev path. He starts with pretty balanced stats and is Pot 7 so a lot of options
Name | FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Cobbles | 76 | 67 | 71 | 60 | 77 | 78 | 76 | 77 | 74 | 74 | 71 | 70 | 60 | Classics | 76 | 67 | 76 | 60 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 76 | 66 | 72 | 78 | 73 | 60 | Hills | 72 | 72 | 80 | 63 | 75 | 75 | 76 | 67 | 69 | 80 | 76 | 72 | 63 | Climberv1 | 72 | 77 | 77 | 61 | 71 | 76 | 79 | 67 | 66 | 79 | 77 | 72 | 61 | Sprinter | 77 | 68 | 71 | 60 | 75 | 74 | 80 | 74 | 76 | 79 | 68 | 72 | 60 | Sprinter/Co | 77 | 67 | 71 | 60 | 76 | 75 | 78 | 76 | 75 | 78 | 69 | 72 | 60 |
Hills path uses Cv1 for level 1 to get an extra AC and MT at the cost of some ST. That is the obvious path with the best rider at max, but not the most interesting one. Also I signed Narvaez and Bagioli who give us strong puncher options.
The other paths set up some nice combo options. I like the Sprinter/Co path as with a little training you have a very solid cobbler with good back ups and strong finishing skills. The Cv1 path would create an awesome GC breakaway specialist.
Thoughts?
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knockout |
Posted on 02-09-2023 01:32
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Grand Tour Champion
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I agree with you that Hills is the strongest version of him at maxed stats but the others might have similar strong potential for training. Depends a lot on how much you intend to invest in him long-term if you already have any ideas for that and whether you intend to keep Bagioli & him or plan to sell one of them.
The two versions i would definitely not do are sprinter and cobbles because the sprinter/co one looks superior to them. I'm not a fan of the Classics version either.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters!
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Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 14:06
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baseballlover312 |
Posted on 02-09-2023 03:32
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I'm always gonna be biased towards seeing a red stat, but Hills genuinely looks best to me. Knockout is right that some other paths look cool with training, but from my view, there are 5-10 teams in the PT that can look at a 77 main stat guy as a future leader and know they'll have enough money to make it happen. For the rest of us, it can't always be so creative with talents. Take the 80 hill, and he becomes a top leader in any division with 2 or 3 rather than 5 or 6 trainings.
I'm definitely against Climber V1 though. You can't control breakaways. Doing that would really minimize the impact of his sprint and cobble, and because his TT is so bad, he'd never be a GC guy. Whereas if you choose cobble or sprint, his solid climbing abilities will still be useful across his calendar.
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liefwarrior |
Posted on 02-09-2023 03:59
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I'd definitely lean towards the Hill route, with a Classics variation my favourite if you're willing to pour the money in to train him into the next Tim Wellens. However, I'd suggest taking the Level 3→4 ClimberV1 training. Worthwhile swapping +3MT for -1HL/-1SP (and physicals). Compare:FL | MO | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | 72 | 72 | 80 | 63 | 75 | 75 | 76 | 67 | 69 | 80 | 76 | 72 | 63 | 72 | 75 | 79 | 63 | 73 | 76 | 77 | 67 | 68 | 79 | 77 | 72 | 63 |
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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 05-09-2023 02:06
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Thanks for the thoughts. My head was telling me that hills makes the most sense but was hoping someone would help me justify going with something weirder. But all very practical arguments for the hill path. Luckily I have a year to think about it.
@lief - good point on the Cv1 - definitely seems like the 75-79 combo opens up more races.
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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 12-09-2023 00:49
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McCormick Pro Cycling releases short lists for goal races for 2023
Team manager Ulrich Ulriksen explained the teams approach, "With a rider like Brandon on the team we agreed with the sponsors it made the most sense to focus our goals around him. We were glad the calendar allowed us to do this while also selecting two of the most important US races as goals".
Tour of America, Goal: Win
Nat | Age | Rider | | 25 | Brandon McNulty | | 33 | Lawrence Warbasse | | 29 | Gregory Daniel | | 29 | Sepp Kuss | | 26 | Alex Hoehn | | 26 | Thomas Revard | | 30 | Charles Matte | | 27 | Zeke Mostov |
Team Comments: We focused the squad around the climbers. Warbasse will be the road captain and a key domestique. Daniel and Mostov will help keep us competitive in the TTT and protect McNulty on the flats. We felt having a climber of the quality of Sepp Kuss in the team more than outweighed his weakness in TTT. We are also proud to field an all North American team as Brandon goes for the win.
Tour of California, Goal: Top 5
Nat | Age | Rider | | 25 | Brandon McNulty | | 33 | Lawrence Warbasse | | 32 | Ian Boswell | | 29 | Sepp Kuss | | 26 | Alex Hoehn | | 29 | Roman Seigle | | 27 | Edoardo Affini | | 34 | Guillaume Boivin |
Team Comments: Warbasse, Kuss and Hoehn provide support in the mountains behind McNulty. We hope defending champion Warbasse can also achieve a solid GC. Boswell and Seigle are added due to the challenging punchy stages (Boswell won the Laguna Seca stage in 2021). Affini will see what he can do in the time trials and Boivin in the sprint stages.
Tour de Suisse, Goal: Top 5
Nat | Age | Rider | | 25 | Brandon McNulty | | 33 | Lawrence Warbasse | | 29 | Sepp Kuss | | 26 | Alex Hoehn | | 26 | Thomas Revard | | 30 | Charles Matte | | 24 | Andrea Bagioli | | 27 | Fikri Azka Mohammad |
Team Comments: The entire Tour of America climbing squad will wil prep for their big goal by riding together in the Tour de Suisse. Bagioli and Mohammad join the squad to help out on the punchier stages and the flats.
Tour of Ukraine, Goal: Top 10
Nat | Age | Rider | | 25 | Brandon McNulty | | 33 | Lawrence Warbasse | | 26 | Alex Hoehn | | 26 | Thomas Revard | | 30 | Charles Matte | | 26 | Jhonatan Narvaez | | 29 | Gregory Daniel | | 27 | Edoardo Affini |
Team Comments: With the two TTs Kuss drops out of the climbing squad for Ukraine and is replaced by Narvaez, who is punchier and better on the TT bike. Daniel and Affini come in for the TTs. With all the riders at competent climbers and TTers the team will hope for some depth scoring behind McNulty.
Ulriksen summarized, "We think Brandon should be competitive in all these goal races and we tried to make sure he had a good team behind him should it be needed. We are also pleased that most of our riders will get a chance to contribute to at least 1 goal race and that we continue our commitment to riders from our focus regions with at least 6 of the 8 in each race from those regions."
The team also released it squad for McCormick's first ever Grand Tour appearance, the Tour de France, where McNulty will look to test himself against the best in the world. Said Ulriksen, "No points at stake here but we felt it was important to bring a strong team to respect the race." McNulty is joined by all of his top climbing domestiques plus Narvaez for the punchier stages. Matsuda and Bagioli come to gain experience and provide support on the flats.
Tour de France, Goal: Enjoy the scenery
Nat | Age | Rider | | | 25 | Brandon McNulty | | 33 | Lawrence Warbasse | | 29 | Sepp Kuss | | 26 | Alex Hoehn | | 26 | Thomas Revard | | 26 | Jhonatan Narvaez | | 24 | Andrea Bagioli | | 24 | Shoi Matsuda |
Edited by Ulrich Ulriksen on 12-09-2023 01:04
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baseballlover312 |
Posted on 12-09-2023 04:10
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"Enjoy the scenery" is a weird way to describe potentially winning the white jersey.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
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redordead |
Posted on 12-09-2023 08:14
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It seems like you had a similar idea as me with planning goals for McNulty while I did it for Pogacar. The only problem for me is that McNulty is much better in PCT than Pogacar is in PT
Also have I ever mentioned that I 'hate' McNulty
"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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MacC |
Posted on 12-09-2023 08:19
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A very cool ToA team, I think McNulty will have enough to beat Eastman based only on his teammates
Enjoy "Le Tour" too
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Nemolito |
Posted on 12-09-2023 09:21
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I am in non of your goal races, which means Aular and McNulty will not see each other a lot. And I like that. Hope you can achieve as many goal point as possible Already looking forward to an interesting ToA
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 12-09-2023 12:31
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Three very achievable goals for McNulty I think, while Ukraine could be a gamble worth taking as well. Will be rooting for him in the ToA for sure Not so much in California!
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Fabianski |
Posted on 12-09-2023 13:09
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Goals are heavily relying on McNulty, without the least surprise. ToA is an ambitous yet definitely realistic goal, but from what I've seen so far there will be quite some competition with Reis, Eastman, Ranaweera or Powless all there as well - and probably some more. Let's see if leaving Affini or Matsuda at home in favor of some climbing depth will pay off - especially Affini for Kuss could've made a difference in the TTT... But the fully North American lineup obviously is great to see!
California, Suisse and Ukraine will be some painful clashes with McNulty for us, as he should do well in all of these (at least we'll escape him elsewhere, as he should only have 3 other RDs left -> Eritrea?). California should be a rather easy goal for him, whereas Ukraine and especially Suisse will be more challenging. But as you said, you should at least be competitive (more than us, for sure), and although I don't know about your team standings goal, this could be a very successful year for you
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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 13-09-2023 04:42
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@Red - Sorry about your McNulty feelings. I wasn't in love with Pogacar when you said he was going to Ukraine - was hoping to dominate the young rider competitions even if we fail on the race gaols.
@Mac - not sure how much teammates matter, some extra strength in the MT and a few TTers might matter more. We will definitely enjoy France.
@Abhi - I guess that means no Choi in ToA, will miss him.
@Fab - Agree that is the confirmed riders for ToA. I thought Choi, but look like a no, I expect there are some others. I debated putting another TTer in the TOA team. But it is Stage 13 so hoping the pure TT guys on other teams will be suffering on recovery and the TTT isn't that long. And didn't want to suck up 21 RD for Affini. Hong Kong is the other race on McNulty's calendar.
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liefwarrior |
Posted on 13-09-2023 05:45
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Brandon McNulty on course to win a whole trove of youth classifications? Between him, Eastman and Powless maybe this will be the year that we finally see an American winner of the People's Grand Tour.
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jandal7 |
Posted on 13-09-2023 05:56
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Only two clashes between Fouche and McNulty looks good to me Looking forward to seeing him taking on two GTs far away from us, yellow in his home country and white in La Grande Boucle would both be special moments in a young career.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
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redordead |
Posted on 13-09-2023 07:31
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Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
@Red - Sorry about your McNulty feelings. I wasn't in love with Pogacar when you said he was going to Ukraine - was hoping to dominate the young rider competitions even if we fail on the race gaols.
I never said Pogacar is going to Ukraine, you assumed I did
"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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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 15-10-2023 00:13
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McCormick Pro Cycling congratulates Brandon McNulty on winning his first stage race at the 2023 Hong Kong Challenge. McNulty's win, which also included a stage victory on Stage 3, marks his continued progress since he signed with McCormick as a neo-pro in 2020. McNulty first experienced stage victory at the 2021 Vuelta al Tachira and added another stage win at the 2022 Giro d'Italia while riding with MOL. McNulty has also won a number of U25 jerseys but his victory in Hong Kong marks an important new milestone.
The team also congratulates McNulty's great supporting cast who made sure he was well protected throughout the race while also taking 2nd in the team's competition. In addition to McNulty the team included Andrea Bagioli, Jhonatan Narvaez, Sepp Kuss, Roman Seigle, Edoardo Affini, Fikri Azka Mohammad and Shoi Matsuda.
Clear road behind as McNulty wins Stage 8 of the Vuelta al Tachira
McNulty pulls away from Geoghegan Hart and Amezawa on his way to victory on Stage 20 of the 2022 Giro.
McNulty celebrates the stage and GC win in Hong Kong.
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Nemolito |
Posted on 15-10-2023 10:41
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Congratulations on the new milestone! On many more to come
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Fabianski |
Posted on 15-10-2023 15:29
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Big congrats, great race by McNulty in Hong Kong! Didn't expect him to overcome the likes of Higuita on that stage, but he was just far more clever than the others - and unlike my own team, yours used the puncheurs to perfection to prepare the road for that great stage and GC win!
I'll happily admit that I'm a bit jealous, but it's honestly great to see your expensive initial commitment pay off already in his first maxed year, without any kind of training! If you can fund his training, he should definitely grow into a potential GT winner - winning in HK was the first step towards even greater things
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