Ollfardh wrote: Ciao Colombia! It's a me, Mario! I already wanted to introduce myself for to you, as I'll be riding for the team next year. I'm a 18 year old Italian sprinter, with a few top 10 results so far, but you may know me best from my breakaway in Milan - San Remo this year.
Attacking
Attacking some more
I had a great first year with MTN Qhubeka, but it felt it was better to find a new team. It's great to ride with a superstar like Gerald Ciolek, but we are targetting the same races. After a year of being a leadout, I think I should get my own chances in my prefered races. I did learn a lot from him, but we would clash in the future over leadership.
So why Colombia? It's a big change I know, but Colombia is a team that has a connection with Italy, which was very important to me. I got contacted by the manager who said he believed in me as main sprinter for next year, and since I received no counter offer from MTN, I decided to sign here. It will be weird to ride here between those Colombian climbers, but it gives me leadership in the sprints.
In the remaining part of the season, I hope I can get some more results with MTN. After that I'll move to Colombia and train there with the rest of the team. For the next year I have a few goals, Milan - San Remo being the biggest one. I know I won't wi nit, but I want to be there when the sprint starts.
Until then!
~ Mario
Hey,don't forget the Luxembourgish puncher Bernard
And also Bernard will be the leader in MSR if the Pompeiana gets included.If Pompeiana isn't on the route than he won't race or he will be a free role.
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan' Gracias Alberto.
Now guys take it easy the management will take both of you into consideration when we decide the team and joint leaders is still a possibility as Teams in the last have proven it is productive to have both a climber and a sprinter so I believe that this is likely to be the role we take. However Mario will be the main leader as it is generally a sprinters race, although we may include two Ardennes specialist one being Gregory as a back up plan.
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Now that the transfer season is upon us we thought it was time to look at the riders coming into the team for the 2014 season, as well as asking Team Manager, Joseph Armstrong about which riders he is looking to bring in from other teams, and the free rider market.
Bringing in the New......
Even though they transfer season has just begun, Team Colombia have already signed all of their young riders for the 2014 season, so we thought it was time to introduce you properly to them, as well as telling you our aims for them for next season.
The first signing we made was Gorka Nieve who is a young basque cyclist, and when people say basque it immediately means that he is a thoroughbred climber, cast from the same mould as his distant cousin Mikel Nieve, Iban Mayo and Joseba Beloki, who have all proven to be among the best climbers in history. However as Gorka is only young we don't expect him to be able to rip up the climbs at the Tour, like past riders, so we plan to nurture his talent and build upon his strength as a pure climber, as these skills may prove to be his biggest asset when it comes to winning races, as he has a strong kick meaning he is an explosive rider like Joaquim Rodriguez. Team Manager Joseph Armstrong said For next year I hope that Gorka can show his talent on the climbs by maybe getting some top 10 results on stages, and top 10 in the young rider rankings at races such as the Tour of San Luis. We are going to give him a free role, in races such as the Tour of San Luis, Tour of Turkey and we would love to give him opportunities at races like Paris Nice, however he will first have to prove himself in the smaller races, as we don't want to race him to hard to early.
The next signing we made was Christian Muriel he is a powerful and promising Colombian natural talent, who can climb with the best in the world, and still has a decent sprint when it comes to a bunch finish. This makes hims prefect rider to lead our GC hopes in races, we believe that he has the potential to win races such as Tour of San Luis, and maybe even get a stage win in a grand tour, however we know that he needs to be nurtured to become the best rider he can. Therefore we intend to give him leadership in small tours to get him used to leading a team, with him potentially getting a ride at the Giro or Vuelta. Team Manager, Joseph Armstrong said, Christian will perform a key role in our team as we lack climbers who can time trial well, so we wish to give Christian as many opportunities as possible. For me I'd love to see him win a stage race as we know that he has the talent, however its just finding the race that suits him best, although as he is young he isn't as strong as the Chris Froomes, however we believe that he is capable of keeping up with them. Id like to see Christian get a Top 10 on GC at a WorldTour race, and maybe a Top 5 at Prestigious Continental races such as the Tour of Langkawi, or Tour of California.
The next signing that we have made is Soren Berg who is a super strong Danish time trial list, and therefore a rare breed on our tam as not many of our riders can time trial very well, meaning that he will become a key member on flat stages as he will be called upon to ride on the front and to help us to control breakaways, however his main asset to the team will be in a team time trial as he will hopefully pull the team forward and prevent us from losing to much time to stronger teams. Soren will also be a key leader in his own right as he will be given a few leadership opportunities in races that will be decided by strong time trials. Team Manager, Joseph Armstrong said, Soren was a key signing for us as it showed we were adapting to the European peloton. We are known for not having any great time trailers, so to bring in a rider like Soren is a key to our new way of thinking, however we are very happy with his signing as he has a lot of talent for the future so we intend to nurture him to the best of his abilities.
The next signing we made was Mario Guido who is an Italian thoroughbred sprinter, and a rider who we were very keen to sign as we have strong links to Italy, with the teams main base being based there and we have strong links with the Giro, therefore we knew we had to sign another Italian talent as we want to get into the Giro, so with Mario on the team (who is managed by the UCI boss Although this wasn't the reason we signed him.) We feel that we are more likely to get into the race, therefore we intend to have Mario ride the race as a way of gaining experience against the best in the world. Mario we believe could be the next big sprinter, so we feel very honored that he has chosen to join our team as we knew that after the collapse of previous signings we had to make this one stick, and we are very happy that he has joined the team as he is a great talent, so we are very glad we can experience this over the next year. Team Manager, Joseph Armstrong said, Mario was a rider I was desperate to sign as we have monitored him this year, and we realised that after his breakaway in Milan San Remo, that he is a very determined rider, and determination is the thing a young cyclist needs to become the best. For me I'd love to see Guido get a top 10 in a stage in the Giro as I know he is capable of this, I'd also like to see him get a win, and I know its only a matter of time before he breaks through onto the scene.
Gregory Bernard The Luxembourgish Puncheur was another key signing for our team, as we needed a rider to lead the team at the Ardennes Classics, so the signing of Gregory now allows us to compete with the best in the world when it comes to the Ardennes, therefore Gregory will be our unrivalled leader for these races as we aim to provide him with the team he needs to propel him to victory. However Gregory is only a first year pro so we know that is unlikely that he wins them in his first year, however we aim to provide him with a base of knowledge for next year when he will be a lot stronger and wiser. Gregory may also lead the team in races such as the Tour Down Under, which suits a rider of his skill type as there are no big mountains or time trials meaning that the race will be decided on climbs like Old Willunga Hill, which is very similar to the type of hills in the Ardennes classics. Team Manager, Joe Armstrong said, We knew that as soon as Gregory came up for offer we had to get him on the team as we only had one place left on the team, yet we didn't have anyone who could target the Ardennes Classics, so when Gregory told us that was his aim for the season, then we knew he was the rider that we were looking for, however I think he may also be a decent lead out man as he has a strong kick so that may come in useful in bigger races. Personally I'd like to see Gregory get a Top 10 in one of the Ardennes Classics, however I think he would be a good rider for the Tour of Lombardy, realistically a Top 20 is more likely although you have to have big ambitions to win, so that is what we want from him this year.
As well as the signing of Guido who will be our main sprinter, we signed another key sprinter Fabrizio Harrini the Moldovan sprint king, as we aim to bring in a range of talent from all nations, as we aim to widen the scope of the team. We also wanted to bring Fabrizio into the team as there are not many cyclists from Moldova meaning that he is a rare talent, which we believe that could become a strong rider in the future and we believe that we have to play a role in developing future talent especially to get rid of the doping culture that cycling has had in the past, and we have a strong history of developing talents and a strong anti doping stance where we don't allow riders to use needles or to take any unprescribed medication. Fabrizio however is a great talent that with the right nurturing could rove to be a very strong rider, and we believe that he would be well suited to the difficulties of a Grand Tour, however if he did ride a Grand Tour it would probably be the Giro as a teammate for Guido, as he is slightly stronger than Fab. Directeur Sportif Luis Herrara said Fabrizio was a rider I really wanted on the team, as I saw the talent he has and wanted to make sure that he had the best environment to express that, and I think that on our team he will get the opportunities to have a go for the own, but we know that he hasn't go many results yet yet we think he can get a win this year as he has a lot of talent, we'd also like to see him get a top 10 in a World Tour race, but that isn't key.
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I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I'm Christian Muriel, a 23 year old stage racer from Colombia and next season I will be racing for Team Colombia!
You may or many not know me but I'm currently a neo-pro rider at French team AG2R. I have be plying my trade across Europe to take my racing to the next level and to continue to raise the profile of Colombian cycling.
I have been working as a team-mate for fellow Colombian Carlos Betancur and I find myself currently racing the Tour de France of all races! Earlier in the season I have had the opportunities to ride prestigious races such as Milan San-Remo and I thank AG2R for that by I feel that being leader of Team Colombia will help me achieve my potential next season when I join as I become 24.
I will restrain myself from writing more while I am still contracted to AG2R, however I look forward to taking Team Colombia and myself forward in the season of 2014!
My name is Fabrizio, and I have joined your team after a failed venture at Cofidis. While I was there, I was able to get good results in the Tour of Turkey, but not much else, with the team not having much success overall. I am the dual Moldovan Road Champion, and have been for 5 years. That's right, I was the National Champion at age 14!
As you can probably tell, there are not many cyclists from my country. This always made me a bit different from everyone else, but that aided me in my development as a person and as a cyclist.
I hope to improve my hill ability, because right now it is very common for me to get dropped when the road rises. I have the sprint skills alone to compete with some of the best, but the rest of my abilities aren't quite there yet. Since I will not race anymore this season, I will fly to Colombia where I will start training on high roads.
Team Colombia would like to announce that it intends to renew the contracts of all the riders currently on the team for the 2014 season, as we aim to build upon our strengths and move forward for next year.
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Team Colombia would like to announce that we have decided to withdraw from the Tour of Hainan, due to a sickness bug that is running through the team. However we have also decoded to do this as we don't have enough riders with race days left to be able to meet the entry requirements.
Thanking You Joseph Armstrong
Team Colombia ManagerEdited by JoeArmstrong13 on 25-10-2014 08:13
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With a double serving of Alpe d'Huez today, this round obviously favours the climbers, and in terms of nations, it seems to be the Colombians who will fight it out for victory today. However the Peruvian brothers may cause the biggest challenge to the Colombians.
The Favourites
*** N. Quintana
** R. Uran, C. Betancur
* D. Johnson, J. Johnson and F. Duarte
The Race.
The first attack of the day came from Kamyshev (AST), who was immediately followed by Hunter (GRS).
Kamyshev then distanced Hunter on the first climb of the day and then set off alone.
Haedo (CAN) then attacked over the top of the climb and made up a decent lead on the bunch.
On the first time up Alpe d'Huez Johnson (AST) attacks and builds up a decent lead over the rest of the field. Over the top of the climb Johnson has a lead of a minute and a half over Quintana, Betancur and Duarte.
At the foot of the final climb Johnson has a lead of over a minute and a half on Quintana who has left Betancur.
Under the 5 km to go banner Johnson just has 30 seconds on Quintana, can he hold him off.
2km to go and Quintana catches Johnson, Betancur is now 2 minutes down.
Quintana wins the race to the summit of the famous Alpe d'Huez.
Overall Standings to follow Later.
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Anyway good to see the series up and running. Missed when P-R came up but nice to see the orange jersey showed there even though it would have been better if it were by the rider actually allowed to compete here
The season is almost over and as the winter is coming, the Track racing season starts! I am currently in Switzerland for three weeks where I'm going to participate in 3 Jours d'Aigle and GP Velodromes Romands #2, where I won the Time Trial in the first edition.
3 Jours d'Aigle
CL3
The pace was high and I was caught in a bad position all 4 sprints of the Points Race
Only highlight of today was that I won the final sprint, which gives 2x points than the others, so with that I took a 3rd place and yet another Bronze Medal
I will be racing for Colombia in World Championships, not the trade team but the national team. Since I came 25th Overall in the Tour de France I haven't done much racing but I have done enough it seems to be given captaincy for the Under 23s Road Race. I feel the terrain suites me and I will be going for the gold.
I hope to do my country proud and to get off to a good start at Team Colombia also!
Team Colombia would like to wish Christian Muriel the best of look in the World Championships, and we hope that he can take the victory after a strong season, and it would be an honour to have the Under 23 World Champion on the team.
We would also like to wish Soren Berg the best of luck in his next few track races, and we would like to offer him a Team Track Bike for the remainder of his track racing season, as well as one of the team Mechanics to tend to his needs, and as the Teams racing season is almost over we would love to have Soren representing the team on the track racing circuit.
We were also wondering if Soren would be interested in racing the 6 day calendar with experienced track racer Leonardo Duque, who has told us, "To race with Soren in the 6 day races would be a true honour, as he is a talent of the future and I think that together we will have both strength and experience."
We would also like to wish Darwin Atapuma and Fabio Duarte luck as they compete in the Elite Road race, however we understand that they will not be the team leaders, although they will aim to perform well in what appears to be a super strong Colombian team.
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Just as a side note does anyone know if it's possible to get Madison racing onto PCM, as I was hoping to simulate the 6 day racing season to post here in the coming months.
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This week I was able to race for the Colombian national team at the World Champions for the first time today, first of many I hope!
I managed a solid top 20 result which is okay consider the great competition such as Po-Ding & Birtles for instance. This was only a warm up though as the big goal comes later.
Attack & attack where the plans for the U23 road race, I knew if it was to come down to a small group I would lose out. Unfortunately I wasn't able break out for long but managed 6th amongst the very best in young riders.
In the elite road race I'm happy I could play a vital role in Uran's strong result, I'm proud to be on the front of the peloton in the colours of Colombia however I can't wait to be leader at Team Colombia for 2014!
I was able to plan my last role at AG2R at the end of the season at the Tour of Beijing where I was able to help Bardet to the overall classification victory. I would like to say thank you and good luck to them once again.
I now have sometime off before I return to Colombia for training, see you next season...
Hi,
It is me ,Gregory,again.
I am doing my training camp at the hills of Belgium,Netherlands and Luxembourg or in other name I am training in the hills of Ardennes.I have done the next year's Ardennes classics route.I am very happy to be friend with Gorka,Christian,Fabrizio,Soren and Mario.I have also done the route of next years Il Lombardia as well after going Italy before the training in Ardennes.In Italy I have met with Jose Alarcon who was also sponsored by Akdeniz Sports Mangement who was trying to find a team.Later I have learned that he has signed with Caja Rural.I am very happy for him as well.
Training continues.
Bye
Edited by Forever the Best on 07-12-2014 14:27
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan' Gracias Alberto.
Christian Muriel
Christian Muriel
