As the transfer season is finally over and this seasons squad is complete, we’re ready to take a look ahead and show you our plans for our talents – those who were with us last season already as well as those we just signed including our stagiaires.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Joris Delbove	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
2024 3>4	65	74	72	58	67	72	74	62	60	69	71	72	58
2025 4>max	65	76	74	58	67	73	75	62	60	71	73	72	58

Delbove is going to be a decent mountain domestique who’ll just have to avoid any TTs.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Arman Garibian	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
2024 3>4	69	74	70	71	72	73	76	55	60	70	66	70	71
2025 4>max	70	76	71	73	74	75	78	55	60	71	66	70	73

Garibian will be a nice stage racing domestique with some really nice backup stats.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Matis Louvel	73	64	70	69	70	74	68	71	67	66	66	65	69
2024 3>4	75	64	71	71	73	76	69	74	67	67	67	66	71
2025 4>max	77	64	72	73	75	78	70	76	67	67	67	66	73

Louvel is our biggest (and still only) talent for the classics. He’ll be a good cobbler at least and a nice TTT asset as well. Given his backup stats he’s also a promising target for training.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Alan Boileau	66	72	72	64	66	69	71	62	66	72	64	66	63
2024 3>4	67	73	75	65	68	70	72	62	67	74	66	67	64
2025 4>max	67	75	77	65	68	71	73	62	67	76	68	67	64

Boileau will develop into a Teuns kind of rider and probably take over from him once maxed out – though with some weaker backup stats.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Alex Baudin	65	66	66	66	68	66	67	63	63	66	67	65	63
Stage Race max	66	73	71	73	73	71	74	63	63	67	68	65	70

Alex Baudin can be developed into a stage racing domestique though he’ll never be a race winner in his own right.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Hugo Toumire	68	67	66	63	65	65	63	60	62	64	67	64	62
Stage Race max	69	74	71	70	70	70	70	60	62	65	68	64	69

All in all Hugo Toumires development path is comparable to Baudins, but with slightly better mountain and worse TT stats.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Valentin Paret-Peintre	64	66	66	56	66	64	62	50	60	60	68	57	56
Climber1 max	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57

He’s not the kind of talent his brother is, but VPP can be a mountain domestique or even stage hunter one day.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Evan Russell	66	64	66	63	67	69	64	63	66	69	68	65	64
Stage Race max	67	71	71	70	72	74	71	63	66	70	69	65	71
Hills max	69	67	74	64	74	73	67	63	67	74	73	66	65
Sprint max	73	64	67	63	72	70	69	68	73	76	68	66	64
Track-Sprint max	73	64	67	64	68	74	68	66	73	76	68	66	71

Russell doesn’t have an obvious development path, he could be developed to a domestique for stage races, the hills or a sprint leadout. We’re curious if someone will take the time and effort to do so though as he won’t be an overwhelming domestique in any case.

	FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Kevin Vauquelin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67
2024 1>3	68	73	67	72	68	72	70	58	68	68	71	70	71
2025 3>4	69	77	69	74	70	74	73	58	68	69	72	71	73
2026 4>max	70	79	71	76	72	76	75	58	68	70	73	71	75

And finally our biggest (and most expensive) talent: Kevin Vauquelin. The natural way to go here is developing him into a stage racer, though he’ll always fear the hilly stages.

And just to show his versatility here are some other possible paths for his development:

Start	End		Race	Cat
09.01	09.01		Gisborne GP	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Clement Chevrier	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
	Felix Gall	67	77	76	63	70	71	72	58	61	72	70	64	62
	Olivier Le Gac	70	69	77	60	73	74	71	52	64	69	74	73	60
	Aurelien Paret-Peintre	72	76	77	72	73	75	73	63	72	74	72	70	72
	Maurits Lammertink	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
	Daniel Paulus	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
	Dylan Teuns	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
	Kevin Vauquelin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67

The hilly one day race is our first goal race. We’re aiming for a Top 5 result. And to achieve this we brought everyone who is punchy: APP and Dylan Teuns are probably our best bets for a good result, especially with Gall, Paulus, Le Gac and Lammertink working for them – though we wouldn’t mind one of the latter to get a result himself.

Start	End		Race	Cat
13.01	18.01		Tour Down Under	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Joris Delbove	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
	Arman Garibian	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
	Olivier Le Gac	70	69	77	60	73	74	71	52	64	69	74	73	60
	Clement Russo	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
	Dylan Teuns	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
	Dylan Hopkins	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
	Panagiotis Karatsivis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67

Staying in Down Under, we’re heading for the TDU to compete on C1 level. Russo will hopefully be able to compete in the sprints given that those stages have some bumps before the finish. Teuns and Le Gac are our captains for the hilltop finishes and maybe even the GC.

Start	End		Race	Cat
21.01	30.01		Vuelta al Tachira	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Clement Chevrier	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
	Joris Delbove	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
	Aurelien Paret-Peintre	72	76	77	72	73	75	73	63	72	74	72	70	72
	Zhihui Jiang	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
	Kevin Vauquelin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67
	Panagiotis Karatsivis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67
	Reuben Thompson	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62

We hope for APP to shine in Venezuela and get a good GC result as well as maybe a stage win. His support cast is led by Chevrier and further consists of Delbove, Vauquelin, Karatsivis and Thompson. Not the biggest names nor the best riders (yet), but hopefully their sheer number will help. Oh - and maybe Jiang can show himself in one of the sprints.

Start	End		Race	Cat
25.07	27.01		Hong Kong Challenge	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Arman Garibian	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
	Olivier Le Gac	70	69	77	60	73	74	71	52	64	69	74	73	60
	Maurits Lammertink	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
	Daniel Paulus	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
	Dylan Teuns	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
	Dylan Hopkins	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64

We have a pretty similar set up like in TDU here – just Lammertink replacing Russo. Teuns, Paulus and Le Gac are our riders for the two hilly stages and maybe the GC if they don’t lose too much time in the medium TT. And we wouldn’t mind seeing Lammertink in a break or two.

Start	End		Race	Cat
30.01	30.01		Clasico San Jose	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Arman Garibian	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
	Olivier Le Gac	70	69	77	60	73	74	71	52	64	69	74	73	60
	Maurits Lammertink	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
	Daniel Paulus	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
	Dylan Teuns	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
	Dylan Hopkins	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64

The exactly same squad as in Hong Kong, but with better chances given the lower category of this classic and the (obvious) lack of a TT. We have high hopes here as Teuns, Paulus, Le Gac and maybe even Lammertink should be able to score some nice points.

kandesbunzler26 wrote:

Start	End		Race	Cat
13.01	18.01		Tour Down Under	C2

Staying in Down Under, we’re heading for the TDU to compete on C1 level. Russo will hopefully be able to compete in the sprints given that those stages have some bumps before the finish. Teuns and Le Gac are our captains for the hilltop finishes, though both are probably not competing for the GC given their lack of TT skill.

Race	Cat	goal
Gisborne GP	C2	Top 5

The hilly one day race is also our first race of the season. We’re aiming for a Top 5 result. And though we don’t know the competition yet, we think our goal is realistically achievable, especially as we bring everyone who is punchy in our squad: APP and Dylan Teuns are probably our best bets for a good result, especially with Gall, Paulus, Le Gac and Lammertink working for them.

Race	Cat	goal
Tour of the Middle East	C2	Top 10

We’ve done well here last season with Teuns finishing 4th in the GC, so we assume he (or APP or Gall) could do equally well in this year’s edition and at least finish in the Top 10. To ensure this, we bring our entire mountain squad to this race.

Race	Cat	goal
GP Izola	C2	Top 5

Another race we did well in last year (Alaphilippe finished second last year), so we target another good result this season. And though we chose the goal with Alaphilippe in mind, we are still optimistic to still finish in the Top 5 with options like APP, Teuns, Le Gac, Lammertink or Paulus – and not the least with Alaphilippes replacement Russo, who incidentally is the winner of the last edition.

Race	Cat	goal
Badaling International	C1	Win

We combine our two mandatory goals (C1 and Win) in another hilly classic, though with less optimism as we’ll probably face some top PCT riders here. And while we won’t compete for the win, we nonetheless hope to see our riders fighting for a good result here, bringing the same squad as in GP Izola.

Race	goal
Team Standings	Top 10

A Top 10 finish in the Team Standings isn’t very ambitious as it’s the lowest possible bar we could set. But we think we could actually finish in the Top 10 this year and as we’re not actively seeking for promotion this season we aim for achievable goals to set us up well for next year.

All in all we should be able to achieve up to 4 of our goals and thus giving us some great base for the next transfer season. We’ll need it if we really want to compete for promotion in 2024.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
09-Jan		Gisborne GP	Top 5	Top 10

We went here with a Top 5 goal and nearly got it as APP finished in 7th after multiple attacks from him and Teuns. Though we missed our goal we only did by a small margin, already improving our last season performances (goal-wise) by miles.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
13-Jan	18-Jan	Tour Down Under	-	stage win

The first stages were quite qualm for us with Teuns managing to finish in the main group at all stages. Stage 4 was our highlight of the race with Karatsivis pulling up a surprise win from the break of the day. Garibian tried the same the next day, but failed due to some bad tactical choices from the break In the final. Russo got a Top 10 finish in the sprint of the final stage. Meanwhile Teuns lost time on the last stages, finishing 26th overall.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
21-Jan	30-Jan	Vuelta al Tachira	-	GC Top 5; stage win; 4 stage podiums; 3rd KoM; 3rd U25

The longest stage race in C2 was our highlight of the month. After some decent sprint finishes by Jiang in the first half of the race (15th, 2x 11th and 9th) our race really began when the peloton went uphill. A 3rd place from APP in stage 4 was just the start, he added a 2nd place in stage 8. But the big surprise rider was Chevrier. Signed as domestique he showed himself in the breaks in stage 7 and 9. And while he finished 3rd in the latter stage, he and our youngsters Vauquelin and Karatsivis put up a show in stage 7, resulting in Chevrier winning and our Greek loanee taking the final podium spot. The TTs weren’t a success in itself, but as APP didn’t lose too much time there (he actually gained some positions there) he finished 5th in the GC, while Karatsivis got 3rd in the U25 and Chevrier 3rd in the KoM.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
25-Jan	27-Jan	Hong Kong Challenge	-	stage podium; GC Top 25

The race started great with a 2nd place from Teuns but got progressively worse from there. The TT wasn’t a success (as expected), but Teuns not showing up in the final stage and even losing some time for 21st in GC was kind of a disappointment.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
30-Jan		Clasico San Jose	-	Top 10

The race profile was quite similar to Gisborne and the result was as well. With APP busy in Venezuela, it was all on Teuns’ shoulders and he finished 8th after another aggressive race from him.

Start	End		Race	Cat
15.02	20.02	() Volta a Catalunya	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Clement Chevrier	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
	Joris Delbove	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
	Aurelien Paret-Peintre	72	76	77	72	73	75	73	63	72	74	72	70	72
	Clement Russo	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
	Kevin Vauquelin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67
	Dylan Hopkins	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
	Panagiotis Karatsivis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67
	Reuben Thompson	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62

Our first race of the month is in Catalunya and while we’ve got no real chance in the GC regarding the long TTT, we have quite a good squad to contest all the other stages. Russo should be a contestant in the flat stage and maybe in the hilly stages too as they finish flat. APP should be a threat for the hilly stages as well, but we also expect him to attack in the mountain stages (as he’s done all season). Vauquelin, Karatsivis and Chevrier have all been in a couple of breaks this season with the latter two already accumulating a win and another podium from breaks each.

Start	End		Race	Cat
28.02	28.02	Coppa Placci	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Joris Delbove	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
	Arman Garibian	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
	Zhihui Jiang	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
	Clement Russo	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
	Dylan Teuns	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
	Kevin Vauquelin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67
	Panagiotis Karatsivis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67

In our second (and last) race of the month we head to San Marino to a race we should be well equipped for, as it’s a hilly C2 classic. Teuns will be our leader here, though Russo could be a threat if the uphill finish won’t be ridden to hard. They are mostly supported by youth riders.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
15-Feb	20-Feb	() Volta a Catalunya	-	GC Top 5; stage podium; 3rd in points

The profile of this race was nearly perfect for our riders - if it wasn’t for the long TTT it included. APP had a great start regarding the GC as he gained about half a minute on all other GC captains in the hilly finale, though finishing 4th from a small group was a bit disappointing to be honest. The flat second stage could have been better as Russo wasn’t a factor in the only sprint stage of the race. It was followed by the TTT, which wasn’t a success (as expected) but we were able to reduce our losses to the other GC contenders so APP was still less than 2 minutes down afterwards. Then it came to the mountains where Chevrier showed his skills again in the break and gathered some KoM points (though he wasn’t able to compete for the jersey later on) and though without a chance against the likes of Berhane or Chiarello APP still finished 7th. The next stage was another hilly stage with a flat finish and APP got 3rd there. The final mountain stage surprisingly had no impact to the GC, so APP got another 5th place in a GC (we have finished higher just once in the team history) and a 3rd place in the points classification (the first time we got a podium in this classification), making the race a quite good one in total.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
28-Feb		Coppa Placci	-	Top 5

Another of the hilly C2 classics where we should do fine, Teuns was our only real threat here and he delivered with a 4th place. This is just a bit tarnished by the fact that a rider with a pretty similar skill set won the race with Bordeaux’ Lafay.

Start	End		Race	Cat
05-Mar	10-Mar	() Vuelta al Pais Vasco	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Joris Delbove	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
	Arman Garibian	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
	Olivier Le Gac	70	69	77	60	73	74	71	52	64	69	74	73	60
	Zhihui Jiang	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
	Maurits Lammertink	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
	Clement Russo	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
	Kevin Vauquelin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67
	Reuben Thompson	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62

We start our month in the Basque Country, where - apart from the PCT competition - a TT and a TTT will provide any of our riders from getting a good GC result. So we expect our squad to be ever present in the break and maybe go for the KoM jersey (we’re looking at you, Olivier and Maurits). Depending on how selective stage 2 and 3 are ridden, Russo could get in the mix for a good stage result there as not many sprinters will be at the start.

Start	End		Race	Cat
12-Mar	15-Mar	Tour of the Middle East	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Clement Chevrier	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
	Felix Gall	67	77	76	63	70	71	72	58	61	72	70	64	62
	Aurelien Paret-Peintre	72	76	77	72	73	75	73	63	72	74	72	70	72
	Maurits Lammertink	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
	Daniel Paulus	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
	Dylan Teuns	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
	Dylan Hopkins	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
	Reuben Thompson	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62

Our second race of the month also is our second goal race of the season. We finished 4th in the GC last year with Teuns (still our best GC result to date), so we aim for a GC top 10 and expect this to be our first ever achieved goal as we not only send Teuns but everyone in the team who can climb. The first two flat stages will only be about not losing time, but stage 3 and 4 should see Gall, APP and Teuns going for the stage and GC (and some depth scoring too). It’s probably the race we start with the highest expectations in the entire team history.

Start	End		Race	Cat
17-Mar	20-Mar	Tour of Guadeloupe	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Joris Delbove	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
	Zhihui Jiang	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
	Maurits Lammertink	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
	Clement Russo	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
	Kevin Vauquelin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67
	Panagiotis Karatsivis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67

We confess: we’re just here because Guadeloupe is officially a part of France and we had no better (i. e. hillier) races left in the planning process. We have no expectations whatsoever for stage results or the GC, but we hope for our riders to be in the breaks and go for the KoM points.

Start	End		Race	Cat
30-Mar		GP Izola	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Olivier Le Gac	70	69	77	60	73	74	71	52	64	69	74	73	60
	Aurelien Paret-Peintre	72	76	77	72	73	75	73	63	72	74	72	70	72
	Zhihui Jiang	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
	Maurits Lammertink	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
	Daniel Paulus	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
	Clement Russo	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
	Dylan Teuns	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
	Panagiotis Karatsivis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67

We end the month in Slovenia with our next goal race. We told our sponsors we could get into the top 5 here and that should be well possible. We bring last years winner Russo as well as our hills squad with APP, Teuns, Le Gac, Paulus and Lammertink, so a top 5 should not only be possible but the least we’re content with - weren’t it for the fact that about half of the CT has chosen this race as a goal, probably resulting in every puncheur of the division being here.