The cycling season 2013 is nearly done for us, with only a shit race in the smog and the World Championships remaining, we've decided to dedicate the next days/weeks/centuries at looking back at our season as well as giving you some information about next year.
To start of, we take a look at next years roster. We can't say much about riders joining/leaving, but both Alex Fischer and Pieter de Vries have decided to leave the team. Alex has decided not to continue, Pieter will move to his own country at Vacansoleil. We wish the best to both of them.
To compensate that, we can announce that we've signed the 18-year old German stage racer Paul Rosanski. Our scouts noticed him in the youth races in Saxony and saw his talent immediately. His biggest dream was to win Paris-Roubaix, but he sucks at the cobbles, so he changed it to winning the Tour de France. We expect great things from him!
I want to thank Lotto-Belisol for the year I could be with them. I've learnt a lot from the other riders, and despite being very anonymous I'm glad I could ride with these guys and I learnt a lot. I will hopefully do well next season, a step down, at Vacansoleil, but this team will have a small space reserved in my heart.
After a pretty much failed part 2, here's an overview for part 3.
Vuelta a Burgos Top-10 GC
We send Jurgen here in preparation for the Vuelta, so a top-10 should've been possible. He decided to finish 12th.
Dutch Food Valley Classic Top-3
The most important race for the manager, as it is his hometown race. Therefor we send Andre to win this easily, but to be on the safe side we want a top-3. And Greipel won the bunch sprint, for third place. Thank you everyone else for not chasing.
Tour de France Stage win
It took exactly 1 stage before Greipel scorred our first point and victory in a GT and in season part 3.
Vattenfall Cyclassic Top-3
Podium goal shouldn't be imposiible for Greipel, but even in his own country he can't do it thanks to Stybar and Vanmarcke riding away and Kristoff beating him in a sprint. At least he beat his eternal rival Kittel.
Tour de Wallonie Top-3 GC
6th place for Roelandts in the GC, quite good but not the goal we were looking for.
/Eneco Tour Top-5 GC
De Clercq in 30th, not even close. Greipel did win stages 1 and 4 though
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Also, we would like to congratulate Kenny Dehaes with his stage victory in Austria a few months ago!
The way things look right now, we'll opt for the same tactics as last year, which means you'll be the absolute leader for Le Tour. With Greg, Marcel and Tosh we gave you a decent train last year. You won a stage and finished third in the points classification. We see no reason whatsoever to change that for the coming year. Maybe the wagons willbe different, we can guarantee they'll have the same, maybe more power to get you over the line in first place!
With recent negotiations, we have decided not to renew the contract of the following 6 riders: Dirk Bellemakers, Joost van Leijen, Maarten Neyens, Vicente Reynes, Jurgen Van De Walle and Frederik Willems. We want to make some space for new riders and thus we had to let some riders go. We wish them the best of luck for the remainder of their careers, whether that's in or outside the world of professional cycling.
Where some go, some will come to fill their places. We're glad to announce we have signed the promising Dutch climber Daan Olivier. Daan is 21 years old and will make his pro debut this season at us. With Paul and him, we believe we have two of the most talented climbers of their generation.
We had already let go 6 riders, whose contracts we didn't renew, but during the transfer season two more riders have left us. Tosh Van der Sande left us to ride at the other Belgian WT-team, Omega Pharma-Quick Step. It has been rumoured they have paid us close to 20 thousand euros, though we won't confirm nor deny that. Lars Bak has sought his luck elsewhere, to the north at Vacansoleil.
We did get some riders in return. Involved in the Bak-deal was Kenny van Hummel. This Dutch sprinter will serve as a valueable part to Greipel's sprint train this season. Martijn Maaskant joins us from Garmin, and Iljo Keisse as new cobbler domestiques to replace the Dane. Rasmus Quaade is Danish time trial talent to keep the Danish mood in the team.
Apart from our previous signings Olivier and Rosanski, we have signed some more talents. Jesper Hansen and Loic Vliegen join our pool of talents. We are very thrilled to have some of tomorrow's stars in our team!
CT.5 Tour de Gabon [13-19 January] WT.4 Tour Down Under [21-26 January] CT.4 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad [1 March] CT.5 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne [2 March] WT.3 Paris-Nice [9-16 March] WT.3 Tirreno-Adriatico [12-18 March] CT.6 Nokere Koerse [19 March] WT.1 Milan-San Remo [23 March] WT.4 Volta a Catalunya [24-30 March] CT.4 Dwars Door Vlaanderen [26 March] WT.2 E3 Harelbeke [28 March] WT.2 Gent-Wevelgem [30 March] CT.6 Driedaagse De Panne - Koksijde [1-3 April] CT.6 Volta Limburg Classic [5 April]
We got all the wildcards we wanted! The Belgian classics, a classic just across the border in the Netherlands and a stage race in Africa, to show our support for the globalisation of cycling!
Goals:
Tour of Gabon
Stage win
With Roelandts it should be doable.
Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne
Top-10
We have a classics department capable of doing this.
Santos Tour Down Under
Stage win
Greipel is going Down Under, so we have a decent shot.
Volta a Catalunya
Top-5 GC
Could've actually been a hard goal. We hope Van den Broeck can do his best and with a little luck he can perhaps do this.
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke
Top-3
Hard, but not entirely out of the question. Roelandts is capable of riding a finale and we could try to guess on a mass sprint, which should be Greipel's
Gent - Wevelgem
Win
Same story as E3, but we need a victory here. Greipel will need to make it to the final kilometre and then we have a shot!
Edited by Marcovdw on 27-01-2015 20:43
So, the first race of the new season, and we're going to Africa to participate in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Our leader here is Jürgen Roelandts in preparation for the cobbled season. Tim Wellens came along as free element, while Jesper Hansen, Kenny van Hummel, Martijn Maaskant and Loic Vliegen all made their debut for the team, the latter even had his professional debut. Olivier Kaisen and Jonas Vangenechten complete our roster.
There was some strong cometition in Gabon, stronger than we had anticipated. Movistar brought Calzone, Sky came with Wenschenbach's debut, along with Henao. And then there's Cervero, Cristobal Riquelme, Verboven. It was to become a great race, if it wasn't for something else. The bosses of cycling told us we need a stage win here. And in all fairness, there are some better sprinters here than Roelandts.
Stage 1:
The first stage already caused a stirr because it turned the peleton took it a bit too easy. The break took almost 4 minutes on the peleton, with the winning Hägg taking the leader's jersey. And as you can guess, we didn't put a man in the break.
Stage 2:
Although we would focus on Roelandts in flat stages, we decided that, after yesterday's farce, we put a man in the break as well. Maaskant was the lucky one. Yet this time, the break could not succeed, and Wenschenbach took the victory. Roelandts finished in a respectable 7th place. Yet it ain't what we need...
Stage 3:
Yet we try again the very next day, this time with youngster Vliegen. And this time the break did make it to the end, yet he was dropped in the finale. He still finished 14th, in his second ever pro stage! Gastauer won the stage. Roelandts lost some time over some other contenders like Cervero and Henao but we didn't come here for the overall. We came here for stage victories
Stage 4:
No rider from us in the break today, but they couldn't stay out anyway. Ricardo Martinez Machado won the stage, Roelandts finished 40 seconds down in 10th. Hagg still leads the overall.
Stage 5:
Look, it's Roelandts, beating the other sprinters! Does that mean we have achieved our goal? Nope, there still was a breakaway in front of him, causing him to actually finish third. Slagter and Geslin can burn in hell!
Stage 6:
Roelandts again wins the sprint. Is it a yes this time? No, it's a no. Zordan wins the stage, the break was over a minute clear.
Stage 7:
The final stage saw Hansen sneaking into the break, which again made it 'till the end. Yet he couldn't deliver us our first win of the season, or our first goal. He finished eight, while Roelandts finished 11th. Bilbao won the stage, Hagg kept the GC lead.
Law 2: The bikes aren't upside down on the other hemisphere
First 'big' race of the season, Tour Down Under in Australia. A 6-day WT-race, with chances for sprinters and punchers. After a kinda failed Gabon, we came here desperate for points! And who else could bring us points other than the man himself: Andre Greipel? Facing competition from Cavendish, Hanzen and Kristoff, it won't be a cakewalk, but certanly doable. His leadout will be the veteran Kiwi Greg Henderson
The fifth stage features a traditional finish at Old Willunga Hill, for which we brought Jelle Vanendert. He finish 6th in the GC last year and was close to a stage win, a feat we hope to repeat this year. His brother Dennis Vanendert and local guy Adam Hansen will support him. Daan Olivier will make his pro debut, and Marcel Sieberg will be here for the bottles.
Stage 1:
Hansen tried to get away, but failed. Greipel manouvred himself in a decent position, but ended up finishing third behind Wensenbach and Kristoff.
Stage 2:
The small hill didn't cause any trouble for the sprinters, yet Greipel finished 4th.
Stage 3:
Villela wins from a break, Vanendert not near the front runners...
Stage 4:
Mohoric wins from a break, Greipel in 9th, only behind Hanzen in the actual sprint.
Stage 5:
Vanendert finished in the big first group (14 riders), in 8th place and up to 15th in the GC. Gasparotto won the stage, Kristoffl eads the GC.
Law 3: Always carry missiles on your bike, just in case
Our first semi-classic of this year, and our first race on home soil as well as it being the first cobbles race: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Time for us to test our cobbles departement, which will stay the same all the way up to the Hell of the North.
The cobbles squad is co-led by Jurgen Roelandts for the heavier duties and Andre Greipel for the sprints. Marcel Sieberg and our new acquisitions Iljo Keisse and Martijn Maaskant will serve as cobbled heavyweight. Jens Debuscchere will feature as back-up sprinter/leadout, while youngster Loic Vliegen is here to gain experience. Gaetan Bille will have to do the early work.
We tried to place Vliegen in the break, but that plan backfired. We had to fully rely on Greipel and Roelandts. The latter didn't follow any attacks and placed himself in a good position gor the sprint, yet Greipel wasn't on his wheel. They both rode a great sprint, with Jurgen finishing fifth and already securing our top-10 goal. Andre was flying, but he was blocked by the empty Pedersen. Stybar and Demare finished ahead of him. What if that Norwegian wasn't there. What if?
Law 4: The winner is the one who crosses the line first
Usually, Omloop is raced the day before Kuurne. However, in an odd set of circumstances, it was raced a few weeks later. We don't know why, but we're glad we could show our colors in Belgium again. As this is a cobbled race, we came here with our cobbled squad: Gaetan Bille, Jens Debusschere, Andre Greipel, Iljo KeisseMartijn Maaskant, Jurgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg and Loic Vliegen
With less than 10 kilometers to go and the break caught, we still had 2 riders in the main group (Greipel and Roelandts). However, Sagan attacked and got away. Greipel did as best as he could to close the gap in a very, very long sprint, but couldn't reach him. He finished second though, which still carries a lot of points. Roelandts finished i 8th.
Nokere Koerse is a small race in Belgium. With only 3 World Tour teams (and sursprisingly not our Belgian colleague of Omega Pharma-Quick Step), we saw a chance of a great result with our traditional cobbles squad: Gaetan Bille, Jens Debusschere, Andre Greipel, Iljo KeisseMartijn Maaskant, Jurgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg and Loic Vliegen
However, the race was ruined by the break. IAM and us tried to chase down the break, but no one was willing to co-operate with us, Therefor, Claeys of Belgian continental team Crelan took the victory. Roelandts finished 14th, and would've been 4th if we discounted the breakaway.
The first monument of the season, Milano - Sanremo. We want to win of course, and therefore we come here with Andre Greipel and his leadouts Greg Henderson and Marcel Sieberg, accompanied by future star Jens Debusschere. They'll have to fight against the crème de la crème of the sprinters world. Jelle Vanendert would be here as well in case of attacks on the Poggio, together with his brother Dennis and Adam Hansen. Gert Dockx completes the team.
Even though we had a clear favourite in Andre, we elected to put Gert in the morning break. However, we decided to help out in the chase as well, with Adam setting the pace in the beginning, and Jelle later as well. Gert was caught on the Poggio, but still a great performance from him.
Chavanel attacked and had a small margin going into the downhill. Jelle led the troops, including Andre and his main rivals, within close distance to him. Jens offered his service as leadout, because Greg had been dropped on the Poggio. Sagan, Kittel and Hanzen were all decently placed near the front whilst Chavanel was still out there.
The Frenchmen was caught a good 500 metres from the line. Andre fought as hard as he could, but jn the end finished fourth behind Kittel, Sagan and Hanzen. Jens took 17th place after his leadout. It's not the victory we had hoped for, but it still brings us some valuable points in case of a battle against relegation.
Law 7: Second class riders won't give first class performances
The race to the Sun, Paris - Nice is here. Last year, Jurgen finished 6th in the GC, but opted to go the Tirreno this year instead. Our squad here was led by his 3 deputies: Bart De Clercq, Francis De Greef and Paul Rosanski, who will be making his professional debut here. Jens Debusschere is here to look for a possible top-10 in a sprint. Gaetan Bille, Adam Hansen, Kenny van Hummel and Frederique Robert complete our roster.
Stage 1:
A quiet first stage for us. None of our riders made the break and Jens sprinted to 17th in the bunch sprint won by Cavendish. On the other hand, our leaders sticked with the peleton.
Stage 2:
You have to feel for Paul! In his first race and only second stage, he hit the ground. We tried to bring him back, but it was to no avail. Cavendish won again, Jens in 22th.
Stage 3:
Jens improved, finishing 14th in a stage Kristoff won.
Stage 4:
Martin won the first 'tough' stage. Bart lost about 1 and a half minute to the rest, whereas Francis and Paul lost more time due to their crash on stage 2.
Stage 5:
Adam figured the best way to put something out of this race would be going into the break. He was caught, but his compagnion Devenyns won the stage. Jens was the one who scores some actual points for us by finishing 5th.
Stage 6:
The queen stage, won by Mollema. Bart and Paul lost more than 10 minutes, putting our hopes deep into the ground. But who would blame the young German after his crash.
Stage 7:
However, Bart did some effort on the next stage and finished 26th in a group with some big-ish names. Muriel won the stage.
Stage 8:
Not much to be told about the last stage apart from everyone keeping their bikes straight and Stetina winning the stage. Bart became our best GC finisher in 59th, more than 15 minutes behind Valverde.
While 8 riders were in France, 8 were in Italy as well for the Tirreno - Adriatico. Last year, we left here with 0 points, but we are desperate to change that his year. That's why we brought Jurgen Van den Broeck here, accompanied by Jelle Vanendert and his brother Dennis. Kenny Dehaes will take care of the sprints. Brian Bulgac, Gert Dockx, Daan Olivier and Tim Wellens complete the squad.
Stage 1:
Team time trial, but we haven't brought any real TT-specialists here. It resulted in a 20th place, 44 seconds behind Omega Pharma - Quick Step
Stage 2:
A split in the peleton caught a lot of riders of guard, including our riders except Brian and Jurgen. Hanzen won the stage and took the leader's jersey due to bonifications.
Stage 3:
Tim was our guy in the break today. The break was caught however and Guido won the sprint with Kenny in ninth.
Stage 4:
First mountain stage. No guy in the break, but Jelle attacked midway. In the end he finished 10th, 2 minutes down to Froome. Jurgen didn't show himself and finished 27 (+3'44)
Stage 5:
To make matters worse, Jurgen was involved in a crash the next day. He finished nine minutes behind Quintana, in 22nd place.
Stage 6:
Sprinters stage, with Kenny kinda disappointing with a 17th place. Viviani won, Quintana leads over Froome by 7 seconds.
Stage 7:
Short TT. Our best finisher was Jurgen (33th), about 40 seconds behind Froome, who took the overall victory as well.
Vuelta a Burgos Top-10 GC 
Dutch Food Valley Classic Top-3 
Tour de France Stage win 
Vattenfall Cyclassic Top-3 
Tour de Wallonie Top-3 GC 
Tour de Gabon [13-19 January]
Tour Down Under [21-26 January]
Tirreno-Adriatico [12-18 March]
