It looks like Centovalli has a very realistic shot at promotion this year, grabbing points everywhere they went so far Congratz on a very fruitful January!
Despite Moscon being a bit below expectations in Gisborne, two in the top 11 should be pretty good and im especially glad that Lienhard also got some points added by finishing top 20. Season looks good so far for you
Those Gisborne results are amazing, considering how strong the competition was. Not that they are more standout than your other results, who are all quite remarkable!
cunego Yeah, can't really explain what happened there. I mean, the support team was strong and we showed last year that we can put up a decent train. Maybe Scully was just considered too weak, although he really has some good stats for such races. I definitely do hope he'll shine elsewhere - he needs to if we want to have a shot at the Top 5!
Nemolito Yeah, we might have. But so far, we were very lucky in DUC, and had races suiting us well. There will be cobbles, ITTs, mountains... But it's definitely a great base to build upon! Thanks for the congrats!
knockout I was sure you would notice Lienhard's result He should have more of a free role in stage races, where Moscon will obviously not be there. I'm hoping for him to collect some KoM points - and maybe some wins from a breakaway
Guave Sure, I know I can be happy about these results! I just don't like that much Moscon being beaten by someone like Eiking, but as I said, if he isn't even able to outsprint Pernsteiner, he must have been on a not-so-good day. The other results - except for GORC - are really great so far, I agree!
Getting pcm to attack with the right riders can be tricky but i hope that pcm gets it right and sends him on the attack a couple of times. He should have great stats for that if he gets unleashed
With January having been a big month for us point-wise, we can attack February having a good base already - and especially a lot of confidence! Not everything worked out perfectly - there's always room for improvement - but we definitely are higher up in the rankings than what we expected with just 8 race days spent so far!
Before we'll have one of the season-defining months in March - containing 24 race days - we take it rather easy once again in February. 12 race days are on the menu - including the first 2 of 7 cobbled RDs, and our first goal race. Although we increase our activity by 50% compared with January, we do not have a single race clash - making it one of only three months where we can send full squads to all races!
But now, let's actually talk about these races:
Feb 06 | Gent - Wevelgem (C2HC)
Spoiler
Whereas the first January race was one we were looking forward to, this one will probably be one to forget. It's not that there are too many hills - we could have easily handled this. But there are way too many cobbles.
Let's take a look at the poor souls who will have to go to Belgium for this one:
Rider
Cob
Hi
Spr
Sta
Rider
Cob
Hi
Spr
Sta
Leonardo Basso
73
72
71
78
Max Walscheid
61
62
74
69
Gino Mäder
64
68
67
70
Cyrille Thièry
60
74
72
73
Issiaka Cissé
63
63
78
73
Stefan Bissegger
60
66
69
66
Benedikt Mundle
62
65
59
69
Nico Brüngger
55
72
63
68
There are exactly 25 better cobblers than Leo Basso in the division, who will be our "leader" on this terrain, as we decided not to strengthen the cobbles department after swapping out our great talent Gamper.
However, even though he'll certainly not challenge for the top positions, Leo is actually a very well-rounded rider - and will definitely be one of the riders with the best stamina in the race. He can ride the hills as well, and he can sprint - all in all, we actually have some hopes for minor points even in this race.
And if the race should be very, very slow, we bring Issiaka Cissé for a sprint - although we know it's highly improbable he'll finish in the Top 25.
Expectations: Top 25
Best result so far: N/A
Feb 08 - 10 | Hong Kong Challenge (C1)
Spoiler
We will then head East for our first stage race of the season - and one we have great memories of! After winnnnig the first stage here last year, Jan André Freuler was our first (and to date only) rider wearing a GC leader jersey.
However, the race has been bumped up from C2 straight to C1, meaning the competition will be much stronger this time. But so are we, as shows a look at our roster:
Rider
Hi
TT
Mo
Rider
Hi
TT
Mo
Gianni Moscon
79
66
73
Leonardo Basso
72
72
67
Hermann Pernsteiner
77
61
75
Gino Mäder
68
71
73
Fabian Lienhard
75
66
66
Stefan Bissegger
66
69
64
Mirco Saggiorato
73
66
77
Andrea Manfredi
65
65
78
Had it still been a C2 race, Gianni Moscon would definitely have been a Top 10 candidate. With the PCT competition, we still hope for two great stage results by our lead puncheur. The ITT will likely keep him - and all our other riders - from a good GC result, but maybe his good resistance and decent prologue stat can save his day on stage two.
On the final stage, the last climb might be a tad long for him, and so Hermann Pernsteiner could jump in - in any case, we expect a strong showing from him after a mixed start of the season! The downhill to the finish line on stage 1 could be a great plus for him.
And of course, we will hope for our chief fighter Fabian Lienhard to attack - on one hand to have a shot at a good stage result and maybe the KoM jersey, on the other hand to make the race hard and avoid work in the pack. Let's see how it all works out!
Expectations: GC Top 10, 2x Stage Top 10
Best result so far: 15th GC, stage win
Feb 20 | Colombo Classic (C2)
Spoiler
We'll stay in Asia for our next punchy race - our first C2 outing of the year! In Sri Lanka, we're expecting a rather hard race, with 9 laps containing a steep hill each, and the biggest obstacle being on the last lap.
Of course, we'll again send a strong puncheur squad, led by - guess whom?
Rider
Hi
Acc
Spr
Rider
Hi
Acc
Spr
Gianni Moscon
79
73
59
Nico Brüngger
72
66
63
Fabian Lienhard
75
76
73
Gino Mäder
68
63
67
Cyrille Thièry
74
73
72
Benedikt Mundle
65
69
59
Leonardo Basso
72
69
71
Max Walscheid
62
75
74
Of course, Gianni Moscon will again lead us in this race. At C2 level, he doesn't have to fear many opponents - except for one, of course. The last hill being longer than the previous ones should suit him well, too - with his great resistance, he'll be really hard to drop, and could even do an attack that hurts the others.
However, if the race should end in a reduced bunch sprint, our better guess might be Fabian Lienhard. With Moscon present, he'll likely not join the breakaway, but could use his good sprint to get a very valuable result. The same holds for Cyrille Thièry, who has already shown last year that he likes such finales.
Expectations: Top 5
Best result so far: N/A
Feb 22 - 24 | Ras Tailteann (C2)
Spoiler
Another C2 race, another one we haven't participated in so far - but this time one for the sprinters! Three pan flat days in Ireland - only our 2nd race in Europe this year!
Of course, we bring our fastest man here, whose task will be to try to win that race - although the competition will surely be hard! But if you can take a 4th place in an HC race, you should be able to win a C2 one, right?
Rider
Spr
Acc
Res
Rider
Spr
Acc
Res
Theo Reinhardt
79
84
66
Max Walscheid
74
75
70
Issiaka Cissé
78
77
67
Stefan Bissegger
69
70
69
Pedro Merino Criado
77
79
68
Nico Brüngger
63
66
70
Manuel Stocker
76
77
73
Benedikt Mundle
59
69
73
With that many good sprinters, we'll decide based on daily form who will lead out Theo Reinhardt on each stage. In theory, it should be Issiaka Cissé and Pedro Merino Criado, meaning Manuel Stocker can rather focus on chasing breakaways and setting up the sprint together with flat beast Benedikt Mundle. But Stocker has also done great leadouts last year - so we'll see who does what.
In each case, we'll have to make sure to not deliver Reinhardt too early, given his sub-par resistance. However, with his great acceleration, a late start is anyways perfect for him - let's see how it all works out!
And please, please, Benedikt: don't do a GORC-like attack again - if you attack, make it work till the line!
Expectations: Top 5 GC, Stage win
Best result so far: N/A
Feb 28 | Trofeo Laigueglia (C2HC)
Spoiler
The third straight race we participate for the first time in - and this time it's even a first appearance in the MGUCI calendar since 2007! A hilly classic in our secondary nation - of course, this is our first goal race! Our sponsors expect a Top 10 result here, but given our massive puncheur squad, we'll definitely aim higher!
We really bring pretty much our best possible puncheur squad, with only our talent outside the 70s concerning hill stat:
Rider
Hi
Mo
Spr
Rider
Hi
Mo
Spr
Gianni Moscon
79
73
59
Mirco Saggiorato
73
77
58
Hermann Pernsteiner
77
75
61
Leonardo Basso
72
67
71
Fabian Lienhard
75
66
73
Nico Brüngger
72
71
63
Cyrille Thièry
74
70
72
Stefan Bissegger
66
64
69
Of course, the profile is once again not perfect for Gianni Moscon, as the race will likely end in a reduced bunch sprint. Furthermore, one lap has been cut from the original course - meaning the race was shortened by about 25km. Nonetheless, his physical stats along with his almost unmatched punch (in CT) should definitely allow him to get a great result.
Furthermore, there's quite a lot of climbing in the first 2/3 of the race - something Hermann Pernsteiner certainly won't be afraid of. The original course has almost 4,000m of climbing, so we're surely still way above 3,000m - too much for some pure puncheurs?
We'll see. If so, Fabian Lienhard will have a hard time; else, we'll expect him on the attack, as always. And maybe we even decide ourselves to make the race really hard on the first climbs - Mirco Saggiorato would be perfectly suited to cause some damage.
So we are positive to be ready for all kinds of scenarios - but one thing is sure: We need that Top 10 result! And we want it!
Expectations: Top 5
Best result so far: N/A
That's all for this month. 5 races with a total of 12 race days - let's keep the points coming in!
Reinhardt is scary. Like Abhi said, you have a good chance of finishing (very) high in the races you go to, except for Gent-Wevelgem normally. Good luck this month!
knockout Sure, breakaways are often quite a lot of luck. However, I do hope that the fighter stat will give a hint to PCM of which one to choose Then, whether it's Thièry or Lienhard, I don't care that much, as both are well suited for this job. With the latter obviously even stronger in KoM fights, due to high Acc.
Abhi Aim high - shoot low; well, I don't hope so. Rather aim high and just fall short, that would be OK. I do hope that there won't be too many guys left up front in the hilly races, as Moscon's sprint isn't getting any better. And the sprinter races... well, although I've got some confidence in Reinhardt, sprints really seem to be pretty much random. So fingers crossed he'll deliver. But you're right, it should be another good month for us. Should.
Nemolito There surely are better rounded sprinters in CT, but yes, his acceleration is a secret weapon. That should be used wisely, however, as he can't really afford to make long-range sprints with his rather low resistance. Let's see, looking forward to this month! Good luck to you as well
The race in Belgium was the first of three cobbled outings this year - all of them mandatory ones, of course. As we said in the preview, we didn't have any high expectations - if anything at all, we were hoping for Leo Basso to make good use of his great stamina and get a notable result.
But first, we were even able to send Issiaka Cissé up front, in the breakaway group. Which was our best possible choice, given that he was by far our best sprinter present. Unfortunately - but not unexpected - he wasn't able to hold on too long, and was caught and left behind far before the decisive stage of the race.
And it looked even worse for us, as Leo Basso was distanced as well - but somehow fought his way back. Later on, he even launched an attack - to no avail, unfortunately. And it used up his last energy reserves, so he lost conctact with the remaining "peloton" once again. But he finished in 21st place, which still means we leave Belgium with some minor points in the bag - you never know when they'll come in handy!
But now, let's focus on the hills again, where our expectations are much higher. Hong Kong Challenge starts today - fingers crossed we'll take more than 3 points home from there!
Sure, you are right - the official name of the race is "Challenge", but the title we chose is unfortunately much more fitting for our team's performance.
We had really high hopes pre-race, given last year's success, and given our strong roster both for hills and climbs. But we made one mistake: we sent a junior DS to Asia, assuming he couldn't to anything wrong with a clear team leader and strong support.
However, the first stage was one of our most frustrating ones ever. Team leader Gianni Moscon was dropped early and lost five minutes to the pack. It's not that he was too weak. Weaker puncheurs and weaker climbers finished in the first group. Even Fabian Lienhard did, who is all but a climber. Hermann Pernsteiner stayed with the peloton as well - but that was expected. But without a notable stage result and with Moscon out of contention, the race was over for us by the end of the first stage.
It's not that the boys didn't try on the next two stages. The TT actually went pretty well for us, with Gino Mäder taking 50th. And even Gianni Moscon did a good job, beating stronger TTer and later race winner Kelderman and other stronger time trialists. But the two riders who finished inside the pack on day one lost plenty of time, dropping outside the point scoring GC places.
At least, they tried something on the third stage. Even though having Andrea Manfredi in the breakaway wasn't exactly the best choice, given his lack of punch - but at least we were there. Gianni Moscon tried to join the breakaway, too, but to no avail.
And maybe this attack even cost him a top stage result, as he was close to the front, but not quite there in the end. A 17th place on the third and final stage is the best we achieved in this race - which is absolutely underwhelming.
The only positive note of this race came from Gino Mäder, who finished 8th in the U25 standings - scoring one single point. The only one we got from this race.
What do we take from here? First of all, we need to be more aggressive, as we definitely should have sent someone in the breakaway on stage one. Then, we shouldn't sent a junior DS to a race, even when we assume it should be a walk in the park for him. Finally, we obviously didn't bring the optimal rider for this race. Given wo the race went, this might be a great race for Masnada next year - if we return to Hong Kong after this year's disaster.
Our puncheurs now have 10 days to prepare for their next race - and they better redeem themselves soon!
No great shot of our jersey, but we can still vaguely discern Andrea Manfredi leading the chase over the hilltop
Our first C2 race of the year brought us to Sri Lanka, meaning the puncheurs stayed in Asia after the underwhelming result in Hong Kong.
Although we sent a very strong squad to Colombo, we didn't really know what to expect. Sure, we would be strong on the hills - but races ending in a descent are always tricky.
And so was this one. Even though we and four other teams worked hard, it apparently wasn't hard enough, as five breakaway riders made it through. Which was really, really bad.
What our boys made out of this unlucky situation was however pretty good, as many of them were still close to the front of the pack after having done their work, and so Cyrille Thièry, Fabian Lienhard and Gianni Moscon all sprinted for a result - and they got 9th, 10th and 11th, giving us still a decent points haul out of this race.
Furthermore, Ivan Basso and Nico Brüngger took 20th and 22nd, making it five riders in the points. The team result obviously was great (we took 4th to 6th considering only the peloton), but the top result was once again missing. Let's get that one in the next race in Ireland, where the sprinters will show their fat legs!
Cyrille Thièry, Fabian Lienhard and Gianni Moscon sprinting to 9th - 11th
After our first C2 race of the season - the Colombo Classic - ended in an unexpected way and without a top result, our hopes were very high for this three-day sprinting festival in Ireland. Moreover, the organizers decided to give Bib number 1 to Theo Reinhardt, hence seeing him as the top favorite of the race.
But while this sounded good in theory, it didn't work out in the races. Not. At. All.
To make it short: Theo's best stage rank was 21st, and he brought home 0 points. ZERO! Which is absolutely underwhelming for a rider with his skillset.
However, it would be wrong to put all the fault on him. As we already saw in Australia (GORC), bad team decisions can break a whole race - and so they did here. For whatever reason, our DS decided that Issiaka Cissé should be our lead sprinter for this race - which obviously wasn't the greatest choice.
Sure, things started very well, as Cissé sprinted to 2nd place on the opening stage! But we failed to properly prepare a sprint - despite having brough great leadout riders - and so he only got 14th and 9th on days two and three. For a team as heavily relying on their top sprinters as we are, this was almost a worst-case scenario.
Fortunately, it wasn't as bad, as Issiaka Cissé still was able to take home a 7th place in GC. Which is below our expectations, but we'll take it.
Plus, Max Walscheid joined the breakaway on the final day, collecting enough bonus seconds on the intermediate sprint to finish 16th in the GC, while Manuel Stocker added one more point with his 24th place.
And as we still somehow managed to always have several riders in the front part of the peloton, we even won the team standings, adding another 15 points to our score.
So all in all, while we're unhappy about the decisions taken during the race, and about the stage results in general, it wasn't too bad of a race points-wise. But we definitely expect the team to train those sprints, so that this line-up will work out much better next time! We can't afford to have a 130k man chilling around in the pack - we want him to win!
Now, let's see how the month closes with our first goal race in Laigueglia, before entering a very sprinter-heavy month that will be March for us!
Issiaka Cissé narrowly missing out on the stage win on the opening day, taking 2nd place
Absolutely unexplainable that Reinhardt phoned it in in what should have been a prime race for him. Cisse's surprise at least was some consolation, but still, just a terrible display by a favorite.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Harsh the way things developed for Reinhardt. Good thing you managed to claim some points with Cissé. That team classification is a nice compensation as well. Fingers crossed Reinhardt bounces back soon!
hillis Thanks, all the best to you as well! Although you don't seem to need it - you're lucky anyway so far
bbl I fear that Reinhardt is just not as much stronger as the game would need him to be so that Cissé would really be his leadout. I'm pretty sure that it could work out well with Appo or AKA, or maybe I should have gone for Bouhanni instead. Guillén, despite being much worse overall than Reinhardt, had Spr 81 last year, which apparently was enough of a difference to Cissé's 78. Reinhardt only has 79, so maybe PCM considers them to be equivalent. Which would also explain why Cissé was nowhere to be seen in DUC. If that should really be the case, I can forget about any decent leadout train, and it will be 50-50 if Reinhardt or Cissé participates in the sprint... Which is a nightmare and makes it likely that I'll have to go for a "faster" sprint leader next year But we'll see, the sample size isn't large enough yet.
Guave Yeah, didn't really understand how and why it happened, but it did. The points were OK, could certainly have been worse with a leader on strike.
redordead We'll see in Barbados - if he wins a stage over there, I'll totally forget about what happened in Ireland
Not many races this year will take place closer to our headquarters than Trofeo Laigueglia, at the Ligurian coast, about 300km south of Locarno. A race in our co-sponsor Fiat's country - of course, it was our first goal race of the year! The sponsors were kind with us, though, "only" expecting a Top 10 result.
But when the goals were fixed, we had no idea yet that we could count on Gianni Moscon in this race - without any doubt one of the division's star puncheurs.
As our DS once again decided to not send anyone in the breakaway, we had to work hard back in the peloton, knowing one of today's favorites in our ranks. And how we did work! On the last ascent, things looked like this:
Fabian Lienhard and Cyrille Thièry were following Storer, preparing the terrain for their leader. And indeed, once the Aussie was done, Gianni Moscon attacked - and shook off one rider after the other! He broke away together with Felline and Quevedo - but unfortunately didn't get any support on the final kilometers.
Felline would finally drop - but Quevedo didn't. He took our chief puncheur's wheel all the way, not leading a single meter - and finally stole us our first ever win in a one-day race on the final meters. Of course, Gianni was not amused at all - but it is what it is. The strongest not always takes the win, sometimes it's the most clever one...
However, getting a 2nd place in a home race is still a great result for us - and that wasn't even all! In fact, we brought four!!! more riders in the Top 20:
12. Fabian Lienhard
15. Cyrille Thièry
16. Leo Basso
17. Hermann Pernsteiner
What an amazing team result, after the team already showed its overall strength in Colombo Classic - but this time, we got the cherry on top of it, with Gianni Moscon strong 2nd place! Congratulations to all who contributed to this superb end of month!
Gianni Moscon losing the sprint for the win - but taking 2nd place in our home race!
February Summary
An eventful month ends with a very encouraging result. While the start was as expected - very little points out of a cobbled race, we then had an underwhelming show in Hong Kong. Gianni Moscon couldn't live up to his true qualities in this race, and the others didn't shine, either. In Sri Lanka, we then messed up the chasing work together with other teams, hence missing out on a top result, but still getting some good depth points.
Ras Tailteann then raised very mixed feelings. On one hand, we were happy about a podium finish on stage 1 - but we were and are still worried about chief sprinter Reinhardt not participating in any of three sprints. This definitely has to improve very quickly - by tomorrow, to be precise!
The final race, Trofeo Laigueglia, clearly saved our month - yielding about as many points as the other four races combined! Which means that we're still pretty much on track - but we shouldn't only rely on Gianni to do well!
That's it - the March preview is going to follow pretty soon...
Congratz on a very fruitful January!
He should have more of a free role in stage races, where Moscon will obviously not be there. I'm hoping for him to collect some KoM points - and maybe some wins from a breakaway 
Gent - Wevelgem (C2HC)
Hong Kong Challenge (C1)
Colombo Classic (C2)
Ras Tailteann (C2)
But we'll see, the sample size isn't large enough yet.
