@Shonak - Thanks mate, you're one of those well-equipped to judge a potential promotion-winning team, so your encouraged is gratefully received. I hope the variety of riders will be enough for promotion, though I have no idea this season with such a strong CT division...

@SportingNonsense - Well, Bennett looks like he's our winningest rider, thanks to that win database! A couple more wouldn't be viewed negatively.

Like you say, Kulczyk - DMTEX has versatility, which could be very good or very bad without the overpowered support of some other teams in a specific discipline. It all depends on the rookie manager's race planning and the PCM gods. Hopefully they smile down kindly upon the Poles

With the season approaching and CT teams primarily all angling for promotion, it is time to introduce the 2017 Kulczyk - DMTEX roster! This team will be brought out to the team's training base in Zakopane, Poland, at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. The altitude will provide ample preparation for the team to tackle the demanding C2HC, C2, and C1 calendars.

Despite hyper strong competition in the CT mountains, Penasa has to still be considered one of the top stage racers in the division. Though Eastman and Valls should be superior to PPP, his acceleration makes him intriguing, particularly when it comes to stage wins. His burst will potentially allow for a punchy end to the summit finishes we see across the CT calendar. Pozzo and Cieslik are more than capable domestiques to assist the Italian, culminating in an interesting mountain contingent.

Though Arthur Vichot, similar to Penasa, lacks some of the skills of other top riders in the division, his burst and combativeness is what sets him apart. Last year, he pulled off some aggressive attacks in the Giro d'Italia and took a breakaway victory in stage 3 of the Criterium du Dauphine Libere. He is, however, limited with regards to his recovery and overall hills ability compared to others in the division, meaning the multi-day races will be out of his comfort zone. The team is targeting hilly one day races, and stage victories for year one of the Kulczyk - DMTEX project.

Hollenstein and Gradek are able deputies, though they also bring the flexibility to contribute on time trials as well.

Sam Bennett and Jiri Hochmann will have to fight over leadership duties, should Hochmann make it to the end of races. Both have impressive bursts and sprint abilities for the CT division, and a useful leadout rider in Dabkowski. The Pole will help both get to the line, with his flat abilities, and slightly better capabilities over the hills. Though Bennett wasn't our first choice as a leader, we invested heavily in Penasa on the mountains at the expense of sprints, but we are confident that the Irishman (or Czech) can deliver the goods on occasion.

With only the Windhoek ITT as the specialised time trial race of the CT calendar year, Ryan Mullen and Vojtech Hacecky will have a dearth of opportunities to win a full race. However, multiple races contain TT's, so the pair will be traveling to many tours with TT's interspersed. This will lead to a slightly wasteful riding calendar for both, but with several opportunities to pick up a stage win. Their abilities in the team time trials will also provide valuable assistance to Penasa in his search for major tour wins.

Yoeri Havik is the out-and-out leader on the pavé, but Jerome will need to be of assistance on multiple cobbled courses this season. With some very strong cobblists across the division including Van Keirsbulck, Bush, and Drucker, Havik will need to rely on his superior kick (sensing a theme here?). Jerome provides the push on hilly cobbled courses, and may just push further up the road if his captain cannot follow on some of the more difficult hills like those found at Geraardsbergen-Bosberg. This can be considered a budget sector of the team, but with potential to score some big results if Havik is placed at the right position for a sprinting finale.

Hart, on loan from Fablok, is the standout of this group, but in the end, he is on loan. He is useful in multiple terrains, and we plan on using his abilities to more than meet the loan clause of raising him a level. Eryk Laton was the top Polish "youth" talent available this year, and Kulczyk rightly snapped him up. Paluta and Konwa are more speculative additions, but their race days have come in handy when sorting out the team's calendar. With the goal of expanding the Polish base to the team, their additions are an investment in the future.

Overall, team management is very pleased with the first transfer window for the Polish addition to the CT division. Clear leaders have been brought in for multiple terrains, but the hills will give the team some trouble. Without a competent sprinter or cobblist who can traverse the hills, the team may struggle in certain areas.

The national focus has also meant certain riders (looking at you, Dabkowski) are less than ideal fits for the team, but the sponsors are proud of the makeup of the team, and believes the project will shift some thinking domestically and internationally about cooperation with the European Union. The entire roster is made up of European riders, not exactly the most difficult task, but it was another positive development for the project.

However, the team believes it will be in the hunt for a top 10 place, if it is not a direct promotion candidate. Much of the transfer emphasis has been placed on acceleration at the expense of more well-rounded riders like those found on Philips-Continental's roster. This approach opens the door for multiple victories, or multiple disappointments. This will be either a fruitful year, or a frustrating one, or possibly both!

@AbhishekLFC - Looking forward to the racing as well! In all honesty, I think the team should be challenging for promotion, but with so many quality riders across the division, it's tough to be that presumptuous. Your team has many of those, mind

@Tamijo - Thanks mate! Hopefully your faith is repaid with some great results

@knockout - It's the British mindset, mate, rather be polite than anything else. Not going to come out all guns blazing in the predictions when we see Eastman and Valls clearly above Penasa, Martin clearly above Mullen, many above Bennett, Havik, and Vichot, etc. The top 2 are clearly In-n-Out and Azteca, but beyond that it seems a bit of a crapshoot.

However, I'll admit we've been very successful for the first transfer window, and thank you for the positivity

@jandal7 - I think where you'll really see our squad shine are those one-day races with a punchy finish (if PCM allows it). I think you're right about Bennett and Hochmann, didn't really plan that very well.

Thanks for the overall kind words and Xero is one of the teams I'm expecting to be frequently frustrated by, as you've been putting together quite the squad yourself! Congrats to you, mate

Ian Butler - Thanks very much for the well wishes! Of course we'll be out of SanCor's way, we'll be at the front of the pack

@dev4ever - Thanks mate, hope so!

Croatia14 - Oooooh, glad to know Kulczyk - DMTEX is the source of some backroom gossip Thank you for the support, we'll be following the lime green Eastern European brethren during your PCT campaign as well!

Hoping we can back up all these positive endorsements, it sure won't be easy.

As you may have noticed, no Tour of America! There's a complete focus on one-day races and shorter events, with the Tour of Bulgaria taking the "win" goal for the season. Gisborne GP and Course de Solidarnosc take the remaining two goals, which thankfully leaves the riders free of pressure in most other races this season. The home crowds at the Course de Solidarnosc will hopefully take Sam Bennett home with a win.

We had a plan before transfers started to target a top rider, and we thankfully ended up with Pierre Paolo Penasa. Therefore, the top 5 goal in the individual standings is attainable. We also had no conception of how we would complete a roster, so the top 10 team standings call was a shot in the dark.

The team is looking forward to dodging the top riders in the division who are going the Tour of America. Every additional team to send their stars to the States is a win for Kulczyk - DMTEX. Bring on the season!

Booker wrote:

@Croatia14 - I think the schedule is super balanced! Potentially too much so, as we run the risk of not taking advantage of Penasa's skillset enough. Hopefully the way we've planned to season is able to get our riders in great positions for solid finishes in most of the C2 and C2HC races though, something we really wanted to focus on as a promotion-chasing team.

@Ian Butler - Joking, obviously I have so much respect for how you've built that SanCor roster, and am actually quite surprised at some of the talent you've been able to develop/retain on the squad. Best of luck with the continuing project, and I'm sure the likes of Richeze, Diaz and Gaday will give the division some challenges throughout the season!

jandal7 - Yeah, I tend to view the C1 races as more of a luxury for the CT division teams, so we wanted to stay out of that calendar as much as possible. Unfortunately we've had to miss out on the Euskal Bizikleta, but have hit almost every other event! I'm hopeful about the Olympia's Tour, as I think our train will be able to upset the apple cart a bit.

We looked at the quality of Tvetcov last year and thought, well, it's doable to challenge the likes of him with so many free agents on the transfer market this past season. We didn't count on so many of them (along with transfers) falling to the CT division! It's going to be a tricky goal, you're right.

@sutty68 - Looking forward to it mate Good luck with the upcoming season (whenever it ends up starting )