Start	End	Race	team goal	results
05-Mar	10-Mar	() Vuelta al Pais Vasco	-	GC Top 25

The profile of this race should have met the qualities of our riders who were expected to show the team jersey in the breaks, though a good GC result wasn’t realistic due to the TTT, the ITT and no actual leaders at the start. The riders followed this plan by being in one break and further riding for Russo in the GC, who perfectly used his hilly sprinter skillset by ignoring the hilly sprints and trying to stay with the favourites in the GC stages. At least this approach resulted in a 22nd place in GC for him, though there should have been more promising approaches to this race.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
12-Mar	15-Mar	Tour of the Middle East	Top 10	GC Top 10; stage podium; U25 win; 3rd team classification

We had high expectations for this race (apart from achieving the Top 10 goal) and our riders met most of them to make this a historic race for the team: we achieved our first ever race goal (6th by Gall in the GC), we won our first ever U25 jersey (Gall again) and fought for the team classification for the first time (3rd in the end). APP added an 11th overall and a 4th place on stage 3 as well as Teuns who got 3rd on the same stage.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
17-Mar	20-Mar	Tour of Guadeloupe	-	-

The only French stage race available for CT teams (apart from Avenir) and how did we show our colours? Not at all, and that’s no exaggeration. No appearances in the break, no participations in sprints, not a single mention in any race report. Just lower the curtain of silence over this race.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
30-Mar		GP Izola	Top 5	Top 10

Our next goal race was held in Slovenia and we should have been well equipped to achieve a Top 5 result here, but as we already feared in our March preview we weren’t the only team with this goal and approach. In the end APP finished 8th with the rest of the team riding mostly anonymously. This result is okay, the goal was only missed by a small margin (like in Gisborne) and given the competition it could have gone worse, but somehow it still feels disappointing. Once again, damn those expectations …

Start	End		Race	Cat
20-Apr		Badaling International	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	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
	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
	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 head to China for our combined C1/Win goal this season. The competition consists of some superior puncheurs from CT and PCT, but only few of them are better hybrids than our riders. It’s unrealistic to really expect a win here, but at least a Top 10 should be well within reach as we once again send our entire puncheur squad, so that it’s quite realistic that at least one out of Teuns or APP can stay at the front with a really good and deep support as they have done in every other hilly classic so far (though the big results are yet missing).

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
20-Apr		Badaling International	Win	Top 5

Our preview for this race was indeed quite accurate. We didn’t win, but APP finished 5th continuing our streak of good (though not great) classic results this season after the team worked all day – not too bad in a C1 race. And though we already missed our third goal this season and the gap increased in every goal race, it was the third time we just missed it by a small margin and the gap increased from 2 to 3 to 4 places. Given that we achieved the fourth race goal and are on a good way regarding the team standings goal, we already have great hopes for our budget next season.

Start	End		Race	Cat
03-May	08-May	Tour de Romandie	C1

		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
	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
	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

We come here with a mixture of youngsters to gain experience and some wildcard riders who could snatch a result or leave without being seen at all. Russo could be a wildcard in the two sprint stages depending on which other sprinters are at the start. And we have our sole two winners of the season here with Chevrier and Karatsivis, so we at least hope to see some breakaway appearances in contrast to Basque Country or Guadeloupe.

Start	End		Race	Cat
18-May	24-May	Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
	Felix Gall	67	77	76	63	70	71	72	58	61	72	70	64	62
	Arman Garibian	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
	Daniel Paulus	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
	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
	Reuben Thompson	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62

This is our only C2 race this month and the only one where we could realistically hope for some results. Gall should be our leader and he’s already shown at the Tour of Middle East he’s capable of a GC Top 10 though the 24 TT km in the final stage might prevent him from a really big result. But he should nonetheless at least be a candidate for the white jersey once again. His strongest support is Paulus, the rest of the team is here to gain experience while helping the two Austrians in their home race.

Start	End		Race	Cat
19-May		1 Jour de Dunkerque	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
	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
	Panagiotis Karatsivis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67

This is another one of those filler races we only participate in because there weren’t enough hilly race days in the calendar (and it’s a French race, too). Russo is the only rider who can at least barely ride on cobbles and even snatching a Top 25 result would be far above expectations. So the goal is to get some TV time.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
03-May	08-May	Tour de Romandie	-	stage Top 5

Russo was our biggest hope here to snatch some results in a rather weak sprinter field. And he delivered a 5th place in stage 2 as well as a 7th place in the final stage which was disappointing nonetheless as he actually won the sprint of the field which wasn’t quite able to catch the break. So our highlight of the race was Vauquelin wearing the KoM jersey in the 4th stage after taking the lead a day earlier.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
18-May	24-May	Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt	-	stage win; 2nd KoM; 3rd KoM; 3rd U25

Our only C2 race this month was also the race with the highest expectations as we brought the two locals Gall and Paulus for some stage hunting and potentially a GC Top 10. The latter was already obsolete after the first stage where Gall lost nearly 6 minutes. But he made up for it with an impressive win from the break in stage 2, our first win since January (thus surpassing our win record of last season). He also took over the KoM jersey, but for some reason stopped going into the breaks to defend the jersey while Paulus took over KoM duties. The result was a 2nd and 3rd place in the KoM classification which is weirdly disappointing. The further stages only brought some minor Top 10 stage result by each Austrian.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
19-May		1 Jour de Dunkerque	-	-

We came here without any hopes and our riders delivered: Delbove and Le Gac made it into the break and the latter was dropped on the first cobbled sector while the former just lasted a bit longer. Russo was our best rider in 65th, thus perfectly reflecting our cobble skills this year.

On a side note our loaned out talent Matis Louvel only narrowly missed his maiden win in Norway when he was just caught by one sprinter after an impressive effort from the break to finish second. A great result in a HC race that gives us big hopes for his future with us.

Start	End	Race	Cat
02-Jun	08-Jun	Tour of Vancouver	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Chevrier	Clement	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
Delbove	Joris	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
Gall	Felix	67	77	76	63	70	71	72	58	61	72	70	64	62
Garibian	Arman	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
Hopkins	Dylan	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
Jiang	Zhihui	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
Lammertink	Maurits	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
Thompson	Reuben	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62

This is the race of the month for us with Gall a reasonable Top 10 contender in the GC. His chances profit from a MTT instead of a regular ITT and most teams bringing TTT lineups that aren’t much better than our own (bad) one. His climbing skills should be sufficient to compete against most of the CT competition, so we expect a result more in the ToME region than in the Osterreich one.

Start	End	Race	Cat
18-Jun		Frankfurt Eschborn C1

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

This is one of the races where we could only realistically expect some major points from an overperformance – but given the rather demanding profile of the race it’s reasonable that Russo will be among the better sprinters in a reduced field if the race is hard enough. And he has shown in Romandie he can be a threat in such a situation.

Start	End	Race	Cat
23-Jun		Monterrey TTT	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Delbove	Joris	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
Garibian	Arman	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
Hopkins	Dylan	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
Jiang	Zhihui	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
Karatsivis	Panagiotis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67
Lammertink	Maurits	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
Thompson	Reuben	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62
Vauquelin	Kevin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67

Though we don’t have any TT rider to speak of we take part in a TTT classic – but why? Well, with only 15 teams participating we’re guaranteed some points here and given the lineups even a result up to 12th could be realistic (and from 11th upwards we would actually reach our PpRD goal of 7-8 points). But the truth is we are only here because it was a replacement race and the reasonable points we could get here are a nice side effect.

Laurens147 wrote:
Hoping to see APP/Gall performing again in Vancouver?

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
02-Jun	08-Jun	Tour of Vancouver	-	3rd KoM; 3rd U25

Our journey to Canada was a disappointing one. Gall already showed weakness in the opening MTT and only got a stage Top 10 later and a 21st place in GC. The 3rd place in the U25 looks nice, but gives only small points and was the worst result in this classification that was reasonably possible. Jiang added another two stage Top 10s from sprints, but again only 1 point in total. Chevrier showed himself in some breaks and ended 3rd in the KoM, but again that’s only a handful of points. And once again we missed the one big break that came through. With outings like this we won’t be able to achieve our Top 10 goal in the team standings in the end.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
18-Jun		Frankfurt Eschborn	-	-

We were hoping for an overperformance from Russo here, surprising after a hard race where some of the other sprinters are dropped. Instead, most of the sprinters made it over the hills but Russo was dropped himself. At least Delbove was in the break to get us some TV time.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
23-Jun		Monterrey TTT	-	Top 10

We’re not famous for our TT lineup, but the 6 youngsters and 2 draftees we sent here surprised us (for once positively) with a 9th place, beating some higher rated TTT squads. That doesn’t amount for many points, but it still only missed the points haul of Vancouver by a tiny margin. That’s more a sign of the weakness of our backup scorers than of our TTT skill though.

Start	End	Race	Cat
09-Jul	11-Jul	Tour of Eritrea	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Chevrier	Cle-ment	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
Delbove	Joris	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
Gall	Felix	67	77	76	63	70	71	72	58	61	72	70	64	62
Hopkins	Dylan	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
Paulus	Daniel	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
Teuns	Dylan	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
Thompson	Reuben	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62
Vauquelin	Kevin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67

This is the first race in ages where we send a reasonably competitive squad. Teuns should be a good option for the hilly second stage, as he’s one of the best hybrid puncheurs at the start and has a good support with Paulus, Le Gac and Gall. The latter should also be our GC option, and though much more than a Top 25 isn’t realistic he could actually compete for a good U25 result (or even the classification win). And maybe some of our puncheurs even makes it to the break in stage 2 and gets some nice KoM points out of it.

Start	End	Race	Cat
20-Jul		Paris Tours	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Delbove	Joris	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
Hopkins	Dylan	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
Jiang	Zhihui	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
Karatsivis	Panagi-otis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67
Russo	Clement	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
Thompson	Reuben	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62

This is another of those filler races where we have nothing to hope for than a surprise result by an overperforming Russo – and he hasn’t even done much this season so far. Our lineup represents this, so really the goal has to be in the break in another of our home races.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
09-Jul	11-Jul	Tour of Eritrea	-	3rd KoM

We had some hopes for this race as we sent some of our better riders here with Teuns, Gall, Paulus and Chevrier. Those four were indeed major disappointments as they weren’t able to keep up with the best on the hills and mountains by far and weren’t seen in the breaks either – and thus performed much worse than they should have been able to. So it’s been up to our youngsters to get us some action and results. Hopkins and (at least for a short time) Vauquelin were in the break in stage 1, with the latter taking the white jersey because of a time bonus. Thompson did the job in stage 2 and took enough KoM points to finish 3rd in this classification – another result that looks nice in the letterhead, but doesn’t give many points.

Start	End	Race	team goal	results
20-Jul		Paris Tours	-	-

Delbove in the break, Russo finishing 59th. That’s it.

Start	End	Race	Cat
01-Aug	05-Aug	Tour de Vineyards	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Baudin	Alex	65	66	66	66	68	66	67	63	63	66	67	65	63
Delbove	Joris	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
Gall	Felix	67	77	76	63	70	71	72	58	61	72	70	64	62
Karatsivis	Panagiotis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67
Paret-Peintre	Valentin	64	66	66	56	66	64	62	50	60	60	68	57	56
Russell	Evan	66	64	66	63	67	69	64	63	66	69	68	65	64
Toumire	Hugo	68	67	66	63	65	65	63	60	62	64	67	64	62
Vauquelin	Kevin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67

If only someone had told us how weak the sprinter field in this race would be – Russo or even Jiang could have done reasonably well here. Now it’s only about being in the breaks in the three flat stages and with our four stagiaires at the start for the first time we have a lot of riders who - while not really well suited for this terrain – should at least be keen to show they deserve a place in the squad next year. With the final TTT a top 10 GC result is unrealistic as well. But with a really poor U25 startlist (apart from our completely U25 eligible squad) anything less than Gall (or one of our much weaker youngsters) in the white jersey would be a disappointment – and even a 1-2-3 in this classification is pretty realistic.

Start	End	Race	Cat
07-Aug	09-Aug	Giro del Trentino	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Baudin	Alex	65	66	66	66	68	66	67	63	63	66	67	65	63
Chevrier	Clement	65	75	74	57	69	69	69	50	60	67	77	60	57
Garibian	Arman	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
Jiang	Zhihui	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
Paret-Peintre	Aurelien	72	76	77	72	73	75	73	63	72	74	72	70	72
Paret-Peintre	Valentin	64	66	66	56	66	64	62	50	60	60	68	57	56
Russell	Evan	66	64	66	63	67	69	64	63	66	69	68	65	64
Toumire	Hugo	68	67	66	63	65	65	63	60	62	64	67	64	62

Another TTT will spoil our GC chances once again, but with this handicap right in stage 1 there’s a good chance that our riders will get some freedoms in the two mountain stages. Chevrier has shown to be a good option for those and guess who’s back? APP will race here for the first time in four months (and the only time in August) and if the last stage isn’t one for the break he should be a serious contender for the stage win with his superior sprint abilities. And with our stagiaire army here as well this means he’ll at least spend some lovely family time with his brother.

Start	End	Race	Cat
10-Aug	15-Aug	Tour du Maroc	C1

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Delbove	Joris	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
Hopkins	Dylan	68	68	68	67	69	70	63	61	57	65	66	70	64
Karatsivis	Panagiotis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67
Lammertink	Maurits	73	67	75	65	73	71	72	59	67	67	80	72	67
Paulus	Daniel	69	74	77	64	71	68	73	56	62	71	73	67	64
Teuns	Dylan	68	75	78	64	73	73	76	50	66	72	70	65	60
Thompson	Reuben	71	68	66	63	67	71	66	57	67	68	62	73	62
Vauquelin	Kevin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67

Our second C1 race this month has again three sprint stages and a rather weak field of fast men – and again none of them is ours … We aim for the hilly and mountain stages – especially stage 4 and 5. The latter should be a good chance for Teuns (or Paulus) from the field, the former is a decent chance for a day in the break. In total we have no real expectations here given the season so far, but we sure hope for some positive surprises.

Start	End	Race	Cat
17-Aug		GP Plouay	C2

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Baudin	Alex	65	66	66	66	68	66	67	63	63	66	67	65	63
Jiang	Zhihui	72	61	66	65	69	73	72	62	75	75	65	73	79
Karatsivis	Panagiotis	69	72	68	68	70	71	70	60	64	71	71	67	67
Paret-Peintre	Valentin	64	66	66	56	66	64	62	50	60	60	68	57	56
Russell	Evan	66	64	66	63	67	69	64	63	66	69	68	65	64
Russo	Clement	73	65	73	65	73	73	76	68	76	78	66	64	65
Toumire	Hugo	68	67	66	63	65	65	63	60	62	64	67	64	62

Plouay is back in the calendar after quite some time and we won’t miss a chance to race in France (which could also be our new slogan). The race is rated flat and if it’s ridden like that we won’t stand a chance. But given the many small hills we hope for a hard race and a reduced field because Russo is once again one of the best punchy sprinters on the startlist and this could be his time to shine. But regarding the experiences of this season he’ll probably end in 48th place …

Start	End	Race	Cat
23-Aug	31-Aug	Tour de l'Avenir	U23

		FL	MO	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR
Baudin	Alex	65	66	66	66	68	66	67	63	63	66	67	65	63
Delbove	Joris	64	72	70	58	66	71	72	62	60	67	69	71	58
Garibian	Arman	68	71	68	69	70	71	73	55	60	69	65	69	69
Laurance	Axel	69	59	71	61	69	66	66	67	65	71	63	73	67
Paret-Peintre	Valentin	64	66	66	56	66	64	62	50	60	60	68	57	56
Russell	Evan	66	64	66	63	67	69	64	63	66	69	68	65	64
Toumire	Hugo	68	67	66	63	65	65	63	60	62	64	67	64	62
Vauquelin	Kevin	67	69	64	68	65	69	66	58	68	67	70	70	67

There are no points on offer here, but it’s France again and even more important a category where we will always be wanting to shine as working with young riders is a core piece of our teams identity. We send all of our own eligible riders plus one guest with Axel Laurance from JEWA Tirol, a rider we would have loved to see in our colours for the entire season as well. We don’t have any GC favourite here as Vauquelin will only be strong enough for a shot at the GC next year, but we have some good climbers in him, Delbove and Garibian. Laurance should be a good option for hilly finishes. And with no sprinter we’ll be happy with some of our riders in the breaks in the flat stages. But apart from all expectations we just want to enjoy this race which is already one of our favourites in the entire calendar.

Fabianski wrote:

Interesting that you seem to know already how the sprinter fields in Vineyards and Morocco are going to look like - wouldn't be against this in Vineyards tbh