You're a dick for outbidding me all the time, why couldn't I have both?
ACC and RES maketh man
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
4 Riders remained, 15 riders joined. Here's the new Team Reddit!
The Jersey
New season, new equipment. Credits to hillis91 for creating this jersey!
The Leaders
Alexey Lutsenko 26 | Maxed | 1,050,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
69
73
81
68
76
73
70
54
72
81
69
70
68
Does he still need an introduction? 2017 Paris-Nice winner Alexey Lutsenko is already quite famous in the MG universe. A decent puncheur profile heavily boosted by his incredible acceleration skillset. This guy is going to be one hell of a rider in the PCT.
For the people who are scared of him already, we will guarantee: You better be. From this season on, Lutsenko will only improve. How well is entirely based on himself, as all goal races have been set based on this signing.
Marlen Zmorka 25 | Maxed | 250,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
74
59
65
82
74
75
72
61
62
70
67
60
82
Hoewever, Team Reddit is no one-trick team. In Lutsenko's shadows, we also signed Marlen Zmorka for a hefty €1,077,000 fee. Zmorka is currently the best young TTer in the MG universe. With 82TT and 82PRL, he will likely be the top time trialer for our team for many years to come.
As things stand, only Coppel will be able to beat him in the PCT time trials, but the white jerseys he will rack up will compensate for that. Expect him to stand up in most of the flat TTs on the calendar!
The Baroudeur
Peter Varga 25 | 3.53 | 50,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
74
61
65
61
73
72
67
65
62
76
81
73
63
With a slightly weaker sprint lineup, some more attackers on the flat were very welcome. Therefore, Peter will be exactly what we needed. Useful already, but he will keep growing to a staggering 78FL, 79AC and 85FTR. Can't wait to see him in the breakaways.
The Puncheur
Willie Smit 26 | Maxed | 80,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
72
69
75
69
76
72
71
54
68
74
81
67
70
For a rather high wage of 80,000, Willie Smit is obviously expected to help Lutsenko over the earlier hills in races, though his skillset is likely too low to add some depth points himself. In other races he will have a free role, so he can benefit from his eagerness to enter breakaways. This includes C2 races, too!
The Climbers
Andrea Manfredi 26 | Maxed | 65,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
69
78
65
65
68
73
72
54
62
73
77
73
65
Pedro Sequera 27 | 4.28 | 65,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
68
74
72
69
76
74
70
55
58
68
70
73
69
Kilian Frankiny 24 | 3.29 | 25,000 (loan)
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
68
73
71
63
70
73
73
53
61
71
66
65
66
Spoiler
From a Sky train to a hopeless team on the climbs. That's the awkward, yet planned situation of Team Reddit. Most of our old climbers weren't able to achieve anything in C1/HC races, therefore the team had to change. Manfredi remained as the only PCT-worthy climber, and will hopefully benefit from his free role to hunt for KoM jerseys.
Despite lacking a stage racer this year, Reddit is well-prepared for an addition next season. Pedro Sequera was signed to make sure that implementation will succeed. Maxing out next season, he will become a very decent lieutenant at 77MO/74HI/71TT.
Kylian Frankiny joined us from Sauber for a year, too. With his young age, he is certainly allowed to join a few breaks and perhaps give us some under 25-points. We hope that the freedom he recieves with us will allow him to evolve into one of the best Swiss stage racers in the future.
The Time Trialers
Daniil Formnykh 27 | Maxed | 50,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
74
56
67
77
74
71
68
54
64
69
61
63
76
Faycal Hamza 26 | Maxed | 50,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
74
52
63
76
74
73
70
50
56
68
69
63
79
Metkel Kiflay 27 | Maxed | 50,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
74
63
68
76
73
70
68
63
66
69
64
72
77
Freddy Cruz 29 | 4.31 | 50,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
73
54
62
76
67
70
67
62
68
70
67
69
76
Morne van Niekerk 23 | 3.51 | 50,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
72
60
65
74
70
71
69
64
61
67
69
64
73
If you sign someone like Zmorka, you have to try and get a TTT train too! Therefore, we have signed five more pure time trialers, all having their separate identity. Formynkh will share a room with Lutsenko, Hamza will pursue victories in prologues, Kiflay is probably the most useful one outside of TTs, Cruz is our long-awaited domestic signing and Van Niekerk is the biggest talent of the bunch.
Together with Bester and Meyer, this would put our TTT squad at a maximum of 606 this year, and at least 613 next year. Not bad.
The Cobblers
Lucas Manuel Gaday 25 | 4.0 | 280,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
69
67
74
65
74
71
70
76
71
73
59
64
68
Bob Schoonbroodt 27 | Maxed | 70,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
72
63
75
63
75
73
67
74
68
72
61
74
63
Oscar Riesebeek 26 | Maxed | 60,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
74
70
73
67
73
75
69
73
69
72
76
71
71
Shaun Nick Bester 27 | 4.27 | 70,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
71
68
72
72
72
70
69
72
71
71
71
69
71
Cyrus Monk 22 | 1.0 | 10,000 (loan)
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
69
60
65
64
69
65
67
69
61
69
71
77
64
The cobbles department is the only one that gave us some setbacks when signing riders, as targets like Debesay went for a much higher fee than expected. Still, we signed a leader with some growth potential: Gaday. The Argentinan is a very atypical cobbler, with much higher potential on the hills than the flat. Lucky, pre-season scouting proved that this won't block him too much. Gaday is expected to be dominated by riders like David on his favourite type of races this season, however, he will become a solid leader on all cobbles next year.
His main domestique will be Bob Schoonbroodt, last year's cobble leader for us. With his nice hill stat, he will obviously also join most of Lutsenko's races, though his inability to climb over mountains will limit him a bit. Also, with his 74,43 OVL, he'll certainly get some C2 races to lead!
Oscar Riesebeek joins the fray as well, preferring the relative freedom in our team over PT team Puma - SAP. Despite being more of an all-around rider, he has a clause in his contract that will make him the leader of one very particular race...
Just like Riesebeek, Shaun Nick Bester is an all-rounder, too. He might be too weak to achieve much this year, but some "Fabianning" will give him one of the best HIL/TT/COB combos in the PCT. Therefore, this year's results in these kind of races will hopefully be a sign of what's to come.
And last but not least: Cyrus Monk join on loan from tsmoha's Bennelong-Mitchelton! It's not a secret that he was only acquired to reach the minimum rider limitations, but being a top 5 cobbler in this team, I'm sure he will enjoy racing all cobbled races to gain some valuable experience. We're hoping he can "pull a Kaislavuo" and get a break victory in one of those - hey, we can dream, right?
The Sprinters
Cameron Meyer 30 | Maxed | 105,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
72
57
61
73
70
65
74
63
80
76
59
62
78
Hersony Canelon 30 | 4.28 | 50,000
FLA
MON
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRL
75
50
57
53
64
67
69
52
76
81
56
74
71
The fierce competition in the PCT when it comes to sprinters convinced me not to invest in our sprinters squad this season. Therefore, Cameron Meyer will keep being our main sprinter, with Canelon being his main leadout. If there's one positive thing to note, all other sprinters have left the team, so that there's less interference in this train. Despite knowing very well that Meyer will be one of the weakest main sprinters in the PCT field, we hope he can repeat last year's Tour of East Java performance and give us a C1 stage win!
2018 Roster - Stagiares TBA
Global representation
Team Reddit does not focus on specific regions, but we do try to sign riders from all over the globe. Here's what our team looks like on the map:
Words from the manager
Despite not being the most talkative manager (I try, it's just not my personality...), I took this transfer window very seriously. I hadn't played any PCM since 2012, and made a lot of errors last transfer season, including valuing RES over ACC. Therefore I spent a lot of the last weeks figuring out how stats and the AI work. Having just graduated, I was lucky to have enough time to do so.
In the end, I created a vision that I feel like would give me the most enjoyment: Aiming for the future, signing young riders without having to wait 3-4 years for talents to excel. Therefore, Lutsenko was our #1 target, with Zmorka rising fast after his availability was announced. Not signing Debesay hurts as he was our #2 target, though with some cognitive dissonance I'm very pleased with Gaday as well.
I'm fully aware that this isn't a top PCT team yet, and I lack some depth too, despite being convinced that support on the hills isn't very valuable. Therefore surviving and reaching our goals will be the most important, so that we can keep and train Lutsenko next season. But with seven riders improving and expecting some wage cuts, I hope to aim for promotion next season already.
Once again thanks to the MGUCI for organising this competition, and see you in Down Under. We'll make sure Meyer and I will have a signature session there Edited by Vien on 26-07-2018 14:22
Great team there Vien! I had Lutsenko as #1 target as well but with only 650k salary budget after renewals he quickly became unobtainable
Some minor improvements for next season and you're one of the main contenders for a PT spot in 2020! For this season, you should easily survive and if everything goes you way you might even challenge the promotion spots already imo.
I really like what you've done moving up, Lutsenko is a very very cool signing who should be one of the top puncheurs in the PCT and has some amazing potential for training, Zmorka is quite nice as well and you have some great talent, particularly Gaday is a really cool signing. Interesting TTT set-up as well, best of luck in the season!
Is going to be interesting to see whether or not Lutsenko's scoring is going to be enough to keep you up. If you manage to avoid relegation you have a very solid rider to build on, that's for sure!
Really achievable goals for Lutsenko, with the only problem being Pologne being a Win Goal, but he can still make it. Will see if your high bet on him pays off, because tbh, i don't think he's yet the best puncheur in PCT (Kinoshita), so to me you should be in the relegation fight unless Lutsenko is in Hagen's level last year, which i don't see happening. But good luck
Aquarius97 wrote:
Really achievable goals for Lutsenko, with the only problem being Pologne being a Win Goal, but he can still make it. Will see if your high bet on him pays off, because tbh, i don't think he's yet the best puncheur in PCT (Kinoshita), so to me you should be in the relegation fight unless Lutsenko is in Hagen's level last year, which i don't see happening. But good luck
I +1 this sentiment, that said if you stay up it's going to be exciting because you have a ton of young guns that are going to be good for a while so hopefully lutsenko carries a ton
@Both: 100% agreed. Kinoshita should at least perform the same, also a lot of riders can be better than him if trained this year. That said, five puncheurs in the top 11 of the individual standings last year is hopeful. Especially because EBH stole a lot of points from them.
In case we do relegate, everyone except Lutsenko can stay, and we can use his transfer money to train up Zmorka.. So I'm excited no matter what!
The eggs seem firmly in the Lutsenko basket - not the worst basket to be in. Really like the overall presentation, and it seems we'll be in similar situations this year. I like the focus on young-ish riders as well - wish I could've managed a few more youthful prospects, but the market was wild this year.
All of your goals are certainly reachable, which could help Lutsenko to scary levels in the future if more training is in order
Thanks, Booker. Seems everyone agrees with my future plans.. Good sign!
2018 NC Jerseys
Exotic riders means exotic jerseys! Despite having spent all of our budgets on transfers, we were able to order some cheap NC jerseys for our team. thanks for hillis91 for creating them - as usual this year.
Gaday furious over "contract breach" as Reddit's wildcards have been announced
Just a few days after the team presentation, Reddit's team cohesion seems to have taken a massive blow already.
25-year old puncheur/cobbler Lucas Manuel Gaday, who has recently joined the team, has talked to the media about the team's inability to obtain a GT wildcard.
"Riding a Grand Tour was needed to reach my full potential. Now it's going to take me another year to become a competitive rider", he said. "Reddit has promised to obtain a GT wildcard for me, otherwise I would have never signed with them".
Reddit has more riders who haven't quite reached their potential yet. However, being further in their development, not riding a Grand Tour likely won't affect their improvement over the season.
Despite the chaos Gaday has caused, some positive news also reached the team. Alexey Lutsenko will be able to join Paris-Nice, a race he won last year. Despite the profile not suiting him too much anymore, he will certainly spice the race up a bit. Lutsenko will also lead the team at the Amstel Gold Race, a classic that should suit him very well. Marlen Zmorka will be seen at the Tour of Tasmania and Chrono des Herbiers. Zmorka will also race Copenhagen-Malmo together with his TTT lineup. Lastly, Cameron Meyer will get a shot at PT glory in the GP Moscow.
A higher division means that all riders have to survive speedbumps. Therefore, the following two riders have recieved extra attention from our trainers this offseason:
Zmorka training +1 to hills is a small but subtle difference that could well make the difference in a couple of key races between falling away and scoring heavily. Of course doesn't guarantee front-group on hilly terrain, but if it slides him forward one group on the road, then better potential to unleash his TT, will be money very well invested. Of course a wee bit better over the undulations can't hurt TT performance either!
Two massive figure-heads for Reddit this season in Lutsenko and Zmorka; they are carrying a large weight of expectation on their shoulders. I very much think their respective seasons will dictate Reddit's overall performance as below these two, the squad looks a little 'light-weight' in terms of consistent point-scoring.
Good luck for the season ahead, and enjoy having a couple of genuine 'big-hitters' in your ranks!
@Knockout: Yep, sucks for next season but especially for his training availability after that. Oh well. More training attention for Lutsenko then!
@Scorchio: I guess that's the best yet a very obvious analysis of our team, good luck to you as well!
Team Reddit confirms Tour of America participation
Team Reddit has announced their participation in the 2018 Tour of America.
Their confirmation is slightly surprising, given that Reddit lacks a stage racer and last year's performance was extremely disappointing. Only Alexis Vuillermoz was able to score a reasonable amount of points, winning the KoM jersey.
When asked for a statement, team manager Vien replied: "We can't field leaders in all of our races. If we're going to have to rely on breakaways, we might as well do it in our home country, with HC point scales".
The 21-day stage race will take place in September. Last year's winner, Warren Barguil, will be ineligible to defend his title due to his decision to join a ProTour team this year.
According to our sources, Team Reddit is only the second team to confirm their participation, after CT team Adastra - Argon 18. We are hoping more teams will hype up the ToA by confirming their participation in the upcoming days.
Hmm maybe Gaday should have gone to a team willing to take proper care of him?
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
@Jandal: Like a team that lets him be a lieutenant for a sprinter?
2018 Race Schedule Announced
Below you can find the races which Team Reddit will be participating in in 2018.
The season will start off slowly, with only 60 race kilometres in January. This leaves enough time for the team to get to know each other, which is crucial as February will already be an important month for our future. Especially Pologne (win goal) and Besseges are races we are aiming to score victories in.
Just like the start of the season, the end will also be quiet for us. With Moscow and Tasmania as PT races, we will only be able to score points in the final race (Japan Cup). We hope to be as far away from the relegation positions as possible by the end of September, so that we can save our nails while sitting on the sideline for the other vital October races.
Alexey Lutsenko
Marlen Zmorka
Peter Varga
Willie Smit
Andrea Manfredi
Pedro Sequera
Kilian Frankiny
Faycal Hamza
Metkel Kiflay
Freddy Cruz
Lucas Manuel Gaday
Bob Schoonbroodt
Cyrus Monk
Copenhagen-Malmö TTT
Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne
Tour de Pologne
Viana do Castelo
Paris-Nice
Pro Hallstatt Classic
Vuelta al Pais Vasco
Vuelta a Colombia
Tour of Southland
Tour of Vancouver
Tour of Cyprus
Cheshire Cycling Tour
Berlin ProRace
GP Kigali
Riga-Jurmala GP
Monterrey TTT
Kenya Mountain Classic
Tour of Beijing
Rio Vista Chinesa
GP Moscow
Japan Cup
