The following story will be about the brothers Bart & Jan Dejaeghere, two (fantasy) Flemish riders.
I've used a realname database and edited the stats myself how I found them realistic, but during the career, I will change stats with PCM Fast Editor when necessary. The difficulty of racing will always be hard. The finances of the team are not important and therefore I will edit the budget with Fast Editor so I can afford some decent scouts, trainers and doctors.
In an effort to keep this story alive for a very long time (like the incredible Petronas - Monster Energy story from dienblad), I will mainly do as I please, not as I think the readers want. By saying this I won't feel pressure of making reports every day and if necessary I could even take some (minor) breaks. I hope that won't be necessary but, you know, people do have lives where shit can happen.
I will ride with the Omega Pharma - Quickstep team. I will add the two fantasy riders and remove two other riders. I’ve opted for Levi Leipheimer and Bert Grabsch. The only reason being that they are the oldest riders on the squad.
The three banners are created by Jakstar22, who did an excellent job, I think! So thanks for that.
Well, there's nothing more to say then, except thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!
Welcome to our site. We are Bart and Jan Dejaeghere and, for those who are wondering, yes, we are brothers. Since our younger brother (Jeff) is studying ICT, he insisted on making a site for us, so we talked about what site we wanted. Since we're both cyclist, and we will ride for the same team this year, we decided we might as well make the site about our professional career in cycling. So, once again, welcome to our site!
Bart Dejaeghere - Profile
Name: Bart Dejaeghere Nationality: Belgian Place of Birth: West-Flanders, Belgium Date of Birth: 16/08/1986 Height: 186cm Weight: 76kg Marital Status: Married Place of Residence: Herentals
Personal Introduction
Hi, I'm Bart, the eldest of the Dejaeghere brothers. We were all born in Diksmuide, that's in West-Flanders, Belgium. Our parents were hardworking people trying to give us the life they never had. We never had much money and spent out holidays at home or, at a rare occasion, at the Ardennes or very rarely in the Netherlands.
We didn't have a television so most of us did sports. I started mountain biking when I was about 6 years old.
I was pretty good at mountain biking and I was quite skillful with any bicycle. My main strength was my power, though. Quite soon I started running, too. The step to Triathlon was not a big one to take, then.
I married a beautiful woman and we've been together for years now. She is a cashier at a local shop and we're very happy together. We just moved to the Kempen, a northern region in Belgium, best known inhabitant: Tom Boonen. I try to be with my wife as much as possible, but I also train very much. So I don't have many hobbies, except cycling and family. Once in a while I still do some triathlon, but I mainly focus on cycling, now. Every year I still go to the Ardennes for a week to ride my mountain bike.
Professional Career Introduction
As much as I enjoyed mountain biking and triathlon, I felt the road was my future. I wanted to become a cyclist. In our family, this was not an option, so after months of fighting, our parents finally gave in and gave me one year to become something in the cycling-world. When Jan said he wanted to follow in my footsteps, well, you can only imagine what a storm that caused in the house.
I ended up in a team called Jong Vlaanderen.
Jong Vlaanderen was an excellent program for young riders to develop. I quickly learned my specialty is Time-Trialing and being a work horse. I made a decent income of 2000 a month and moved out of the parental house with my wife. In 2008 I was offered a contract that I couldn't believe. I had never imagined that moment and when it finally came, I was starstruck. I signed a contract with Omega Pharma - Quickstep. I've been with them since then. My biggest professional victory is the GP Jef Scherens 2009. Fortunately, I don't need victories to contribute to the team. I'm mostly a worker. I'm pretty good on the cobbles and in riding fast, hard and long.
I'm proud to announce that from 2012, I will be included in Tom Boonen's main lead-out train. This is an important year for me, as I've become an important radar in the well-oiled machine called Omega Pharma - Quickstep. It’s also the reason I moved to the Kempen, so I could train with Boonen on a regular basis. A small excerpt out of a local newspaper:
(...) Bart Dejaeghere, who is know thought to be an essential rider in the Quickstep team. Tom Boonen thinks very highly of him, saying that he "is a very strong rider and always does what's required of him, a selfless worker and very easy to work with. He mostly keeps to himself but you know you can always count on him."
However, my biggest achievement is probably getting my younger brother, Jantje, on the team. He will ride with us from now on. I'm sure he'll make something of it!
About Jan
Jan, or how we mostly call him in the family, Jantje (because he's the smallest in the family) is very enthusiastic and talented. He's full of life and most people he meets seem to like him. He very optimistic and friendly, but sometimes he lacks professionalism. He's too much of a joker at times, but mostly that just bothers me. I hope he'll grow up a bit more, but that'll probably happen here with the team. However, overall he's a great guy, and very trustworthy. He can work hard, but he'll never forget about his friends, and he likes to go out once in a while. I think everyone at Quickstep will like him.
Jan Dejaeghere - Profile
Name: Jan Dejaeghere Nationality: Belgian Place of Birth: West-Flanders, Belgium Date of Birth: 22/02/1990 Height: 179cm Weight: 75kg Marital Status: Single Place of Residence: Diksmuide
Personal Introduction
Hi, I'm the middle brother of the Dejaeghere family, but I'm the smallest. I'm 179cm, which isn't small, but Bart is 186cm and our youngest brother is 192cm. That's why they started calling me Jantje, and now all my friends do so at well.
Bart taught me to ride a bike when I was very young. Our parents were always busy and we didn't have much to do, so sport was pretty much all we had. I developed an interest in two sports: football and cyclo-cross.
I spend 10 years of my life playing for the junior football team in Diksmuide, a provincial football team, who I still root for, by the way!
I also joined a cyclo-cross team a couple of cities away, so to get there I already had to ride 46km, but it was worth it. Riding back after training was a lot harder! But more about this in the career introduction.
My main hobbies are doing sports and hanging out with friends. I'm not much of a drinker, but I like to go out anyway, most of the time I drink water, then. Our parents have bought their first computer a few years ago and I've even saved up enough money to buy a play-station. I play a lot of Fifa and Pro Cycling Manager. Another thing I enjoy once in a while is watching series, The Sopranos being my favorite one.
I don’t have a chain and balls yet, which means I’m not married. Currently I’m single, but that situation changes a lot. I won’t turn this site into a soap, but at the moment I’ve no interest in marriage whatsoever.
Professional Career Introduction
So back to the cyclo-cross:
I was quite successful in cyclo-cross and when I was 18 I got offered a contract to go and ride professionally.
I joined Jong Vlaanderen in 2010 on a contract that allowed me to ride the cyclo-cross season and also some minor races on the road.
At the end of the season, Topsport - Vlaanderen approached me with a great offer. I took it and again spent most of the time in the field, with the occasional road race in the autumn.
I rode a great season and became World Champion in the U23 Championship. But I had my first great experiences on the road and I decided I wanted to move my focus to the road, like Stybar will do this year. So now I was looking for a contract on the road. However, I'll still ride some crosses in the winter, but more to warm up for the new road season.
And there I was, looking for a contract (as a world champion it's so much easier, though!), when Bart brought me to Wilfried Peeters, a Quickstep sportdirector. They tested me and I got offered a two-year contract as a young rider! Remind me to send Bart a big holiday card this winter!
I'm very excited to go riding for one of the biggest teams in the world. I actually owe my place to Levi Leipheimer, who decided to end his career early after giving testimony about Armstrong.
About Bart
Bart is quite introvert, calm. He's mostly minding his own business, but is caring at the same time. I don't think he'll be talking about his private life a lot on this site, most of the time he'll just talk about his job: racing. He's a real work horse, one of the best in the peloton, I think. He's a very serious guy and doesn't like kidding around too much, but most people seem to like him anyway. He can be quite old fashioned at times, but I forgive him, he was the first one to be born and parents mostly ease up with next kids, so he had a tough time, working on the field with them. Anyway, he's already proved to be an important rider in one of the strongest cycling teams in the world, so that says more about him than I can tell you...
Welcome once again as we will present the team of Omega Pharma - Quickstep today.
The Team
Quickstep has a rich history in cycling. It started sponsoring the professional cycling team in 2003 and grew out to the Ruler of the Classics, having won 16 Monumental Classics in its history so far. This year Omega Pharma comes into the picture, having parted from the other major Belgian sponsor Lotto.
Omega Pharma - Quickstep is mainly a classics team, but it's looking to become world class on every aspect, also stage races. Levi Leipheimer would've helped a lot, but he retired early after giving testimony about Armstrong, revealing his own mistakes once made.
The Squad
Marco Bandiera
An Italian rider, Marco is an excellent worker. He enjoys our Belgian roads and the cobbles that come with it.
Tom Boonen
A famous rider if there ever was one. Tom is extremely talented and a true winner. He's been off a bit in the last 2 years and is looking to strike back. Despite his great talent, he's always managed to stay modest, a true champion.
Matthew Brammeier
A fan of Liverpool and The Beatles can't be bad! He chose the citizenship of his hero, Sean Kelly. He's starting the 2012 season with both national jerseys!
Dario Cataldo
Dario is an Italian climber, and quite successful at that! He's got a love for painting, which earned him the nickname Picasso. We'll be surprised if he never rides a top 3 place in the Giro!
Sylvain Chavanel
The French National Champion, Chavanel is a classics expert. He loves to attack and that makes him exciting to watch!
Francesco Chicchi
A bit like Jan, Fransesco is always quick on the jokes. A great personality with fast legs!
Gerald Ciolek
Gerald is a very promising sprinter. He became National Champion at the age of 19, and years later he's ready to become one of the greatest sprinters in the peloton!
Kevin De Weert
Kevin is a hard worker and a stage racer. He'll be getting quite some chances this year to ride for his own classification, and we have no doubt he'll do great at them! Finishing 13th in the Tour last year, he's bound to strike that top 10 any moment!
Dries Devenyns
Dries is also a stage races, but prefers the hills more to the longer mountains. He loves attacking and is not bad on the cobbles himself!
Andrew Fenn
Andrew is a sprinter who loves Forrest Gump, enough said, no? A great guy!
Michal Golas
As most Polish people, Michal isn't afraid of dirty work. He's known to be a team player and he will prove no different this year.
Iljo Keisse
Among the best of the world in the "Six Days" on track, he's also a strong rider on the road. He currently holds 4 wins at the Six Days of Ghent, very impressive!
Michal Kwiatkowski
A talent greatly watched. He's a Time Trialer, but shines on any terrain, really. He'll probably peak for Tour de Pologne.
Nikolas Maes
Nikolas is a great athlete with the proper motivation to make it in the world. He's been obsessed with cycling forever and will prove worth his pay check in the sprints!
Tony Martin
The reason the team changed equipment, Tony Martin is probably the strongest Time Trialer in the entire world. Only Cancellara can really challenge him. He comes from the disbanded HTC - Highroad and will be an absolute leader within the team.
Serge Pauwels
Serge had an unlucky season in 2011 and will be looking to make it up this year. He's an intelligent fellow with a master's degree in applied economics.
Jerome Pineau
Jerome is a real stage hunter, and has an impressive palmares so far.
Frantisek Rabon
Following his father, he became a cyclist at the age of 13. He's a strong rider and rides well against the time.
A World Champion in cyclo-cross, Stybar is making the official transfer to the road this year. He's had some considerable success on the road and will follow Lars Boom's example.
Niki Terpstra
Niki is a young and talented classics rider. He's a born attacker and will definitely shine this year. He riders incredible on the cobbles and hopes to win Paris - Roubaix one day.
Mateo Trentin
Mateo was in the breakaway of his first ever race. That pretty much sums him up!
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Guillaume is a promising young rider, who's always wearing a smile. He's a fast man who can manage to survive those dreadful cobbled sections quite well!
Stijn Vandenbergh
Stijn was a basketball player, who made the change to cycling on his 17 years, quite old. He's a great domestique and a strong classics rider. We hope he can get a personal victory as well this year!
Kristof Vandewalle
Kristof is a decent Time Trialer and an attacker. He used to play football, like Jan, until he got a serious knee injury.
Martin Velits
Twin brother of Peter, they are the only other brothers on the team. He loves the Foo Fighters and you can't dislike him for that!
Peter Velits
Said to be more talented than his twin brother Martin, Peter is an all-rounder with an aptitude for stage racing. In 2011 he managed a 19th place in Tour de France, that asks for more!
Julien Vermote
Julien is another young gun. Talented in riding prologues, his biggest dream is winning E3-prijs, and that would be coming home!
And of course, let's not forget those two:
Bart Dejaeghere
Bart is a hard worker and rides quite well against the time. He is dreaming of riding the World Championship Time Trial one day.
Jan Dejaeghere
Jan is a young one, looking to prove himself in his first season. Jan is said to be fast at the finish and can handle the bike quite gracefully on the cobblestones.
Probably our final post before the actual racing starts. We have one more major thing to announce and then it’s radio silence until season kick-off! And that thing is: our schedules for 2012.
Here’s my schedule for this season, note that this schedule is not definite yet, but it gives me a grand idea about my 2012 season.
Schedule February: Qatar, Omloop het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne March: Driedaagse van West - Vlaanderen, Milan - San Remo, E3 - Harelbeke, Gent - Wevelgem April: Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris - Roubaix May: / June: Halle - Ingooigem, National Championship (TT & RR), Tour de France July: Tour de France August: Eneco Tour, Classic Hamburg, Classique de Plouay, World Port Classics September: Paris - Brussel, GP de Namur, WC TT* October: Binche - Tournai - Binche, Paris - Tours, Chrono des Nations
*If I’m selected.
Goals
Well, looking at this calendar, it’s been confirmed, I’ll be an important helper for Tom Boonen, even to try and get him the Green Jersey in the Tour. It’ll be my first tour, so I’m excited about that. However, if I’m to set one personal goal, it has to be getting selected for the World Championship Time Trial. I’m lucky to be automatically selected for the National Championship, being part of the Tour de France outfit. I’ve grown a lot these last years and I think I’m ready to fight for the National Jersey, and maybe that’ll get me selected for the Worlds.
Other than that, I’ll be looking to launch Boonen into many wins, and maybe I’ll get my chance for a win, too, this year, but that’s minor.
*participation will depend on earlier personal results
Goals
I must say I’m pleasantly surprised. I didn’t expect such a great schedule. The team’s really placing a lot of trust in me, if I perform well I’ll even get a chance in the Ronde, that in me debut year! Of course, it would only be to help Boonen, but still! I hope to learn a lot from him by riding with him. The training so far has been very educational, he’s a great, experienced cyclist!
I’d like to have my first professional victory, outside of cyclo-cross, of course. I’ll be peaking for the cobbled classics, obviously. I also have some minor goals, like being part of a team victory. But the main thing is about finding myself on the road, as well as I did on the field. After this season I’ll decide permanently whether I’ll stay on the road or return to the field.
I guess that’s it. I’ll see you in Italy, so start my professional career on the road with Omega Pharma - Quickstep!
Great, great, great introduction! We know you are the master of the two riders/brothers stories, so i am really looking forward to this and will follow closely.
Jan seems like he will the favourite from the brothers for me, i hope he and Stybar will show how great preparation is cyclocross, if you want to be successful at the road.
Jesleyh: Glad to be back with such an enthusiastic welcome
Avin Wargunnson: I hope I won't disappoint you with this! I'm very glad to hear that you'll follow closely!
Jakstar22: Thanks (and thanks once again for the banners)
TheManxMissile: Well, you as a story writer must understand that it's not that easy finding the story that lasts a long time. It's a process of searching, starting stories, stopping. I hope this one is it.
Wild Dog: Thanks!
sutty68: Yeah, it's pretty soon, but I won't do it as intensely as some of my previous stories. I really hope to keep this going a long time, so I'm gonna take it easy, too Glad you liked the introduction!
SSJ2Luigi: I wanted to give the people a story they'd enjoy and one that kept going at a steady pace, yeah.
Good luck Ian, good to see you back! I hope returning to the brothers are going to be successful, and you'll shine as you did with the Tale of Two! No pressure though, do it as you want, I'll always be reading!
Marco Bandiera
Tom Boonen
Matthew Brammeier
Sylvain Chavanel
Gerald Ciolek
Andrew Fenn
Michal Golas
Frantisek Rabon
Niki Terpstra
Martin Velits
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
