Three quite different races are in store at Xero this month, which will see all four divisions of the squad on show and every member of the roster race. Whilst the four divisons have had great, okay, not so good and bad returns so far we're hoping for some good racing on all fronts. It's also the month of our C1 debut for the year in De Panne.

Startlist

	Anthony	Roux	Leader
	Tom	Diggle	Co-Leader
	Geremie	Nzeke	Lieutenant
	Marvain	Kossouhorou	Domestique
	Tom	Davison	Domestique
	Matthew	Lloyd	Domestique
	Dylan	Kennett	Domestique
	Rei	Onodera	Domestique

We've seen two wins from two races so far in the hills and so there's a lot of expectations on the team here. They can't win everywhere but it is the aim to go for a third here. Roux has been fire-hot this season but his co-leader Diggle has dissapointed a bit in the hunt for minor points, and with no climber cameos in San Marino we might be a bit dry on points from the supporting cast.

Startlist

	Stijn	Vandenbergh	Leader
	Simon	Clarke	Sprints
	Jamalidin	Novardianto	Free Role
	Carl	Ngamoki-C	Free Role
	Matthew	Lloyd	Free Role
	Hamish	Schreurs	Free Role
	Marvain	Kossohorou	Free Role

This race first and foremost is about aggression and so we'd like to see maximum breakaways in search of a possible stage result. Some editions of the race have seen no breakaway success but some have even seen two stages won by the morning escape. We have no idea what to expect really. Also in action are Vandenbergh and Clarke for any surprise points in cobbles and sprints from the bunch respectively, but neither have much pressure on them.

Startlist

	George	Bennett	Leader
	Igor	Antón	Co-Leader
	Jonathan	Salinas	Co-Leader
	Simon	Clarke	Sprints
	Egijudus	Juodvalkis	Domestique
	Dylan	Kennett	Domestique
	Rei	Onodera	Domestique
	Jamalidin	Novardianto	Free Role

The flipside here, a lot of expectations. Tachira and somewhat Trentino were misfires despite some promoising stages so we can hope and expect an actually great race from our "main" focus. Only two mountain stages neither of which would be the most suited to our guys but nevertheless they should do well. Simon Clarke will also be on the prowl for some "success", hopefully with more joy than in Bayern.

I'm starting to regret being so negative/mixed about January and February - it didn't leave enough room below on the dissapointment scale to account for March and April.

Receiving no help from the other teams because they're stupid!

Roux on the attack, too far behind the breakaway

Roux is the strongest favourite in 9th so this race can double do one

1	Federico Rocchetti	Campari - Super Dry	4h52'14
2	Ole Haavardsholm	Telia-Brussels Airlines	+ 40
3	Lucas Manuel Gaday	SanCor	+ 1'00
9	Anthony Roux	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 2'25
29	Tom Diggle	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 3'37
33	Geremie Nzeke	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 4'13
68	Tom Davison	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 6'37
72	Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
111	Rei Onodera	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 15'16
113	Dylan Kennett	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 15'32
122	Hamish Schreurs	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 20'41

A race where it seems Roux could have taken another win again ends with us in the lower top 10 like in every fricken race probably the rankings too oh god we'll never promote will we?

1	Cedric Lebris	Goldcorp - Nordstrom Rack	12h47'12
2	Lukasz Wisniowski	Grieg - Eftel	+ 1'29
3	Sam Harrison	World Cycling Centre	+ 1'39
39	Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 20'48
50	Jamalidin Novardianto	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 22'09
56	Stijn Vandenbergh	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 22'25
65	Hamish Schreurs	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 22'53
72	Carl Ngamoki-Cameron	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 26'05
116	Tom Davison	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 49'00
123	Simon Clarke	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 57'22

Yeah we were forced to ride some C1 races, this one could have been fun but wasn't. A pretty crappy race but no harm done, until you see the massive result for our rivals Goldcorp and WCC in the GC.

Loanee Watch

Our loaned-out riders this year are Jordan Schleck and Nils Schomber, both of whom race for Statoil Pro Cycling. March only saw the former race as he took the the startline of Bayern-Rundfardh. He was a bottle carrier for his team and personally managed to keep himself off the bottom place on GC by about 20 positions.

As high as he can without actually getting points - that's Clarkey's sweet spot - Stage 2

Bennett finally breaking free of the pack to join the leaders up front - Stage 3

An injured Anton falls behind early - Stage 5

This race sucked. I have a deadline for this so I won't rant about Bennett getting screwed over by the race jury and how this stuff always seems to happen to him and it's the third fricken time this year and JUST ONCE CAN THE MOUNTAIN TRAIN GET A FRICKEN PODIUM ON GC WITHOUT BEING SCREWED OVER IN SOME WAY I SPENT SO MUCH TIME AND MONEY ON THIS JUST FOR SOME BAG OF S*** OLD FARTS TO SAY THAT THAT RIDER OVER A MINUTE BEHIND BENNETT DESERVES THE SAME TIME ARE YOU KIDDING ME USE YOUR EYES YOU PRICKS NO WONDER HE COULDN'T BE ARSED ON STAGE 5 YOU'RE KILLING HIM

Screenshot of the Month

Yeah whatever he did well this is just hard for me to give because he earned it in Langkawi...

On his way to a respectable GC place - Tour de Langkawi

After a pretty bad time in the last couple of months we're managing to somehow stay within touch of promotion - however many teams are also leaving us behind. May provides a way back to more success (we said that about April though) with a race that should actually suit Vandenbergh and two hilly races. The former will see where our Belgian's abilites really lie in the CT, whereas the latter could see some big points if Roux continues with the strength he's shown so far this year.

Startlist

	Anthony	Roux	Leader
	Tom	Diggle	Co-Leader
	Geremie	Nzeke	Lieutenant
	Marvain	Kossouhorou	Domestique
	Tom	Davison	Domestique
	Matthew	Lloyd	Domestique
	Dylan	Kennett	Domestique
	Jamalidin	Novardianto	Free Role

A regular C2 hilly line-up for us, with Novardianto replacing Onodera in the only change from San Marino (where the squad worked well but not well enough as they weren't getting help) to bolster our attacking or hilly sprint depth. If we can make the race difficult and end up with a small group like in Gisborne then the short hill in the finish could suit Roux very well - however the more riders the worse it could become, with Haavardsholm especially having shown strength this year, and even sprinters could hang on. Still we know we're capable of a win here and that's the goal.

Startlist

	Anthony	Roux	Leader
	Tom	Diggle	Co-Leader
	Geremie	Nzeke	Lieutenant
	Simon	Clarke	Sprints
	Tom	Davison	Domestique
	Dylan	Kennett	Domestique
	Rei	Onodera	Domestique
	Jamalidin	Novardianto	Free Role

A similar squad travels to the Basque country for the first hilly stage race of the CT season. Onodera comes in for some experience (replacing MTK in a terrible planning decision) whilst Clarke comes in for the two sprint stages. We're looking for the win here but Roux will have to be at the top of his game in what should be a packed field.

Startlist

	Stijn	Vandenbergh	Leader
	Simon	Clarke	Sprints
	Carl	Ngamoki-C	Domestique
	Marvain	Kossouhorou	Domestique
	Hamish	Schreurs	Domestique
	Rei	Onodera	Domestique
	Jamalidin	Novardianto	Free Role

Pure flat cobbles should be right up Vandenbergh's alley but honestly I'm not going to make too many statements about this race because I have no idea how it'll pan out.

May. Before the month began, a.k.a. the Maynaissance. After the month had finished, a.k.a. one step forward seven steps backwards.

If you add in April and March, it's a.k.a. one step forward, one step screwed by the race jury and twenty-four steps backwards. a.k.a. Croatia is a bad influence on my positivity towards results. Who's in for a petition to end the season back in February?

Roux kicks off festivities with 24km to go

Nzeke gets some consolation in tenth

1	Marcel Wyss	Philips - Continental	4h23'53
2	David Boily	World Cycling Centre	s.t.
3	Arthur Vichot	Kulczyk - DMTEX	s.t.
10	Geremie Nzeke	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
13	Tom Davison	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
14	Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
23	Anthony Roux	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
31	Tom Diggle	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
54	Hamish Schreurs	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
103	Dylan Kennett	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 5'35
116	Rei Onodera	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 7'47

To be honest I'm not angry or dissapointed with a single rider on this team - it wasn't Roux's best profile and he could have beat the other favourites to a quiet fourth or what have you but instead he dropped them all, made a fist of it but burned out. Nzeke, Davison and Kossouhorou all picked up a few points for consolation. I am extremely bitter about the result.

Kennett got a pat on the back for doing a stunning job so that Clarke could actually make it into the fricken top 10. No points but lots of dissapoints - Stage 1

He actually tries! But after flat races in March and Race Juries in April it's the wind that hates us this month - Stage 2

1	Andrii Bratashcuk	Campari - Super Dry	16h26'43
2	Johan Esteban Chaves	Azteca-NBCSN	+ 13
3	Anthony Roux	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 38
29	Geremie Nzeke	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 8'23
31	Tom Davison	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
38	Tom Diggle	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 9'02
76	Rei Onodera	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 22'55
94	Simon Clarke	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 29'50
98	Jamalidin Novardianto	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 31'48
118	Dylan Kennett	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 48'51

A fantastic stage win for Roux on stage three as he perfects the tactic attempted in Cacak and took the GC lead in fine style. A shame to see him struggling on stage four though, and given the Diggle and Nzeke let-down in terms of a second and third scorer it's not a great race for us points-wise. Still the obvious strength of Roux in three not so great races now in San Marino, Cacak and Euskal gives us hope he can get us lots more points yet.

1	Sam Harrison	World Cycling Centre	8h26'39
2	Yoeri Havik	Kulczyk - DMTEX	+ 7
3	Scott Thwaites	cycleYorkshire	+ 11
16	Stijn Vandenbergh	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 37
43	Hamish Schreurs	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 4'36
64	Jamalidin Novardianto	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 17'26
68	Carl Ngamoki-Cameron	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 17'57
81	Marvain Tognama Kossouhorou	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 24'15
82	Thanawut Sanikwathi	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
83	Kevin Barclay	Wiggle p/b Boardman Bikes	+ 24'47
84	Dylan Kennett	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	+ 24'47

This is a great race. But not this year, and especially not for us this year. Intent shown from Vandenbergh was nice at least.

Screenshot of the Month

Only really one choice, the man who showed the biggest heart and best legs in the team this month...

On his way to a respectable GC place - Euskal Bizikleta

We firmly deny any accusation of a "forced" crash with the intention of ruining the promotion hopes of a team that isn't even ahead of our team in the CT rankings. And if we ever had the intention of doing that, we wouldn't try to make a rider like Novardianto to crash, as that wouldn't have any effect; we would have gone after Roux. Anyway, Prado isn't a full-Repsol rider, as he's on loan from the PT leaders, Moser - Sygic, so any blames to them

jandal7 wrote:

You know the drill: I'm a dissapointed manager, get me out of here! Here being this life I lead where my riders dissapoint me all the time.

Startlist

	Stijn	Vandenbergh	Leader
	Carl	Ngamoki-C	Domestique
	Marvain	Kossouhorou	Domestique
	Hamish	Schreurs	Domestique
	Rei	Onodera	Domestique
	Tom	Davison	Domestique
	Dylan	Kennett	Domestique
	Jamalidin	Novardianto	Free Role

Really the best race for Vandenbergh all season, if ever he got a result here would be the time. A usual assortment of bottle carriers, talents and actual cobblers will be backing him up, with Davison and Kennett replacing Clarke after a mixed Faso.

Startlist

	Simon	Clarke	Leader
	Carl	Ngamoki-C	Domestique
	Hamish	Schreurs	Domestique
	Dylan	Kennett	Domestique
	Stijn	Vandenbergh	Domestique
	Rei	Onodera	Domestique

Many of the cobbles riders join Clarke for one of only two 6-man squads for us this season in Mexico. Let's be real here it's gonna suck. Hopefully somebody can defend our unexpected KoM win from 2016.

Startlist

	Geremie	Nzeke	Co-Leader
	Tom	Diggle	Co-Leader
	Tom	Davison	Domestique
	Matthew	Lloyd	Free Role
	Dylan	Kennett	Free Role
	Hamish	Schreurs	Free Role
	Jamalidin	Novardianto	Free Role

Ooh look Roux has two spare race days should we send him to our home hilly race? No let's send him to the hardest cobbled race on our calendar, he should do well there. Hopefully somebody joins a break in one of only two home races for us this year.

Startlist

	George	Bennett	Leader
	Jonathan	Salinas	Co-Leader
	Igor	Antón	Co-Leader
	Egidijus	Juodvalkis	Lieutenant
	Geremie	Nzeke	Domestique
	Matthew	Lloyd	Domestique
	Marvain	Kossohorou	Domestique
	Hamish	Schreurs	Domestique

Our third team goal and hopefully, hopefully, the race where we finally get ourselves back on track. Pure climbing, non-Venezuelan or Malaysian race juries, lots of pressure on the boys to succeed, a strong mountain squad. Top 5 is the sponsor goal, of which we should be capable, but the podium is the big target. It should go well, we may even put pressure on Reps-oh crap.

It should go well, we may even put pressure on Reps-oh crap.

Aquarius97 wrote:


Don't you want to finish that phrase?