Aker-MOT is a new team in the world of top cycling. Last season the Norwegian outfit managed to promote to the Pro Tour, and here they are. The Norwegian flag shines through when looking at the team and the first recognizable name in the team is also from there. Edvald Boasson-Hagen. Having had his education at the Team B&O team he decided to join the logistic preference in the Norwegian team. And by the looks of it, that switch has paid off. The team is putting everything on one board for EBH, and we are certainly going to see a lot to him this season.

Overall the team isn’t all too competitive, but one other top name is amongst the riders. Former Tour de France winner Simon Spilak is here to compete with the best. Spilak is one of the absolute top guns in the pack, but he seems to lack the edge to be the very best. He is a rock solid climber, puncheur and a TT’ist, but in neither of the categories is he among the best. Spilak should be in line for a good season with a lot of pressure put on his shoulders. His main helper for the task will be John-Lee Augustyn and talented ukrainean Artem Topchanyuk.

The team lacks versatility which is probably going to mean that we will see this team in a lot of attacks, but also with limited results in most races. Kobe Vanoverschelde and Daryl Impey might strike oil now and then, but is still among the subtop of sprinters.

The team is not one to look for in the cobbles, and there is a lot of pressure on the captains, which means that this is a team that could ultimately be battleing against relegation.

Last seasons 5th placed Pro Tour team is easily recognizable as they have been among the best teams for a long period of time. Team Festina lacks a top top rider, but has a great team depth which has kept head above water for them a lot of times.

This season the team decided to switch focus, and as such the team has spent a vast majority of the team’s funds to gather French talents – Most of whom are loaned out to the lower levels at the moment. With the current team, though, are the Vuelta runners up from last season, Alberto Contador. Contador is arguably the best rider in the team, and with some more luck he could be a top 10-15 rider of the overall season. He needs a strong Vuelta performance for that to happen though.

His partner in crime, Markus Fothen had a disastrous last season, which can only be better this time around. As helpers the team have signed Danish climber Chris Anker Sørensen, and together with Ioannis Tamouridis and Tim Dees that should be sufficient in most races. In the highest mountains, the team might struggle though, isolating their leader early on.

In the hills the team have the reigning Milano-San Remo winner Diego Ulissi as the team leader. He will be supported by lesser riders such as Chris Anker Sørensen and Bauke Mollema. Ulissi is not in the elite, and should aim to pick up top 10s here and there.

Unlike last season the team is yet again in hold of a top sprinter, and this time a young one aswell. Óscar Guerao is not the strongest rider in the pack, but he is lightening fast and is bound to give the team some easy points in the flat races – And possibly at the Vuelta. Guerao is supposed to be supported by the French 1-2 from the National Road Race: Benoît Sinner and Anthony Lavoine. Both can occasionally perform a top 10 also.

In the cobbles, Geert Steurs was one of the top 10 riders last season, he will be aiming to duplicate that result to make the team capable of getting results everywhere. Another small bonus is that the team should be able to do well in the TTTs. Not a top team, but a very allround team that could be somewhere between 5th and 10th.

Heineken is a newly promoted American team that is a nice mixture of young and old riders. Riders that can go up, and down, and ride a TT bike, while sprint and cobble is also decent. None of the areas are very strong though, which could indicate that the team might struggle to get the results needed to survive the Pro Tour.

For the Grand Tours, and smaller stage races Janez Brajkovic should be easily sufficient to get good results. The Slovenian rider is very good against the clock, on the mountains and is a very resistant rider. On the downside he is not going to compete for a Grand Tour win, as he’s simply not strong enough up the mountains. There are too many riders similar, or better than him which means that he should probably be happy to even get a top 5 in one of the Grand Tours.

Ryan Eastman is a younger, and slightly worse edition of Brajkovic meaning that he could get good results, but is probably looking to gain more experience in the Pro Tour. His manager seems to have picked him out as the next star to watch, though which could indicate that he could become the teams ultimate leader already next season. Eastman is a rider that is going to scope up points from getting young rider podiums here and there, which means he could be an important asset for the team.

In the hilly section Filippo Pozzato was a bit here and there last season, but everyone that has followed cycling for a while know that he can never be ruled out, and for this seasons Milano-San Remo he is likely to be one of the top guns to follow. Going into the hardest terrains Pozzato lacks the final strength though, hence he will only be classified as a subtop rider. In most hilly races he will be alone, which suits him well. The team is able to setup a nice TTT train for Brajkovic which means that Janez might have a little bit to give away in the mountains.

In the sprints the team will be relying on Argentinean Haedo to perform, which is probably a bit tough for him to cope with. Haedo have performed decently in prior seasons when sniffing to the Pro Tour though, and he might be able to get a couple of stagewins over the run of the year. In the cobbles the combination of Pozzato and Langeveld is bound to give us some interesting races. Both know they aren’t able to stay with the best, so in order to go for the chance they will be attacking from way out, which could initially make the pack go to smitherines.

An interesting team, but with too few top riders it could be a long season in aggressive fight to survive.

The former Team Sony Ericsson is now known as Koenigsegg, but is still a very strong overall team. Koenigsegg has a good setup for every possible scenario eventhough their two GT captains are not among the best.

Alejandro Valverde is on the decline, and despite the fact that he is a wonderful versatile rider he is not climbing with the very best anymore. He is a fast finisher, and needs to rely on bonus seconds in order to beat the very best, but he could be able to do that still.

Walter Pedraza have been underestimated for a vast majority of his career, and he isn’t a top rider. But he still does manage to produce a heavy amount of points for his team over the season with his decent amount of racedays available.

The team can feature a nice mountains lineup also including Yuri Trofimov and Robin van der Hugenhaben. Both of whom have a really nice kick up the hills aswell. Trofimov is among the very best puncheurs in the world, and the combination of Trofimov, Valverde and capable support from Hugenhaben and Anza makes this team possibly the strongest in the tough terrain.

We can expect Koenigsegg to be right up there on every occasion in the one day races with hills or mountains. The team also managed to equip a very strong Timetriallist capable of getting a huge succes due to the lack of top timetriallists in the Pro Tour this season – Jacob Fiedler. The young german is a very strong rider, which could potentially put him in the top rankings of small, fairly easy stageraces.

The team also lines 3 decent sprinters. Granjel Cabrera as the top sprinter of the team has shown his abilities in a mass sprint is sufficient to put him right behind the best sprinters in the league, while Grillo and Meyer must be submitted into the lower subtop category. Both do, however stand a chance for momentary glory.

In the cobbles the aging superstar Alessandro Ballan is in line for one last bid for glory. The overall qualities have been better, but he is still a magnificent engine, and a fighter of god’s mercy, and with the help from Kevin Fouquet and Bert-Jan Lindeman he might be able to go for top 10s in most cobbled races.

Overall the team is quality, but the edge of the Grand Tour riders might be slightly challenging for Koenigsegg. With the right preparation they could be in the battle for a podium though!

The Lotto team did amazing last season, with great punch in the finishes of every race. This time they will be in for a challenge, as they face tough competition – The effort needs to be maximized and the timing must be spot on. But they do have qualities.

Damiano Cunego is the Legend of all riders, and having him should guarantee a Grand Tour win – Preferably the Giro, eventhough this season is not exactly a match up for Cunego. Having the perfect line of helpers he should be able to win almost every race he rides, as Cobo, De La Fuente, Lloret, Moschella and Dueñas are all top helpers in the climbing areas. We should expect Cunego to win atleast 1 GT, 1-2 small GC races and a bunch of classics.

In the classics the team have another great perspective in the young Claeys who will definitely benefit from having the king of hills in the team. But also Cobo, and Monfort can follow the nextbest up the hard terrain. It will be very interesting to see how those helpers ride their own chances because Cunego can’t do it all for them. Against the top riders of the world, they will need to find something we are yet to see in order to help the team gaining enough points to be safely inside the “stayzone�, but the team isn’t just Cunego.

The team also have a list of subtop sprinters, that matched with eachother, could potentially be a thread in some races. Gerald Ciolek have a nice kick towards the finishline, but he lacks the ability to climb and downhill, and sometimes he looks lackluster to even give it a go.

In that area the secondbest sprinter of the team, Lars Croket, might be more of a “handyman� for the team. And with a sprinttrain featuring William Bonnet, Michael Vanderaerden, Andreas Stauff and Maciej Ulanowski we are probably going to see Lotto-riders fighting for positions in the sprints.

Overall the team needs some better top riders. The depth is there, and that might prove enough to get somewhere around 10th – but a lot is depending on how Cunego will perform. If he crashes out of the GT he will be riding, this team is doomed, but if not it might be good.

The Czech Milka team is lining up to show what Czech riders are made of – But the talents are not really cooked just yet. Instead we are going to have a wonderful time watching the Colombian duo of Úran and Henao Montoya fight their way up the mountains with the very best.

Úran has a very unnormal quality – He can timetrial very well, and with a magnificent TTT squad in his back he might actually be able to put a top result in one of the large races of the year. Henao Montoya is a more typical Colombian climber. He has a nice kick to his attacks and fights all the way to the top, unfortunately he will be struggling on the short steep climbs and the timetrials is not his favorite area. The duo have a decent line of helpers, but there is a gap.

Kulhavy and talented GC riders such as König and Nepomnyachsniy should be able to support the climbers in almost all types of terrain, and especially the two latter will be interesting to follow in the future.

In the hills Milka is putting all their faith in Frantisek Rabon, but it seems to be unrealistic that he will even get close to a top result. Rabon would have been a decent helper, or a decent CT leader, but he does not have the qualities needed to perform at PT level.

A rider that does have the potential is Jerome Coppel. Coppel is among the very best timetriallists in the world, and he should be able to score massively this season. I suspect Coppel to be leading the Tour de France for atleast a couple of days, and he will also be able to win a small relatively easy GC race this season. The team can also feature riders such as Kreuziger, Sergent and Bouet for a TTT.

In the sprints there is one man, and one man only – But good he is! Sam Bewley is looking to overtake the sprinters and cobbled crown from Tom Boonen, and this season might be the last step towards that. Bewley will get decent support in the sprints from Forero, Nepomnyachsniy and Howard, but he should be able to make things happen himself in case they are not present.

In the cobbled sections Evert Verbist, Nepomnyachsniy and Stybar should be able to position their leader well enough to be right there at the end to deal with things himself.

Milka is a good team, but the lack of a hilly rider and the fact that their GT riders are not the best out there is probably going to put them somewhere in the middle of the field.

Pearl Adidas is a very interesting team. Not only do they have a great amount of talent within the team, they have also spent a significant amount of money in making their riders better.

Because of that we can probably expect Tiago Machado to be one of the top GC riders of the world. He is one of the best climbers of all time, and combined with a great hilly punch he should be right up there with the best on every occasion, probably battleing for 2nd in the Vuelta a España amongst other top results.

The team also hosts one of the most talented Grand Tour riders ever to be brought up in the ranks, in Romain Sicard – and although Sicard is not yet among the very best, he still have a great versatility and should be able to put in a serious bid for a top 10 TdF. The two monsters are heavily supported in the mountains by riders such as Panayotov, Maillet, Rodriguez and Kangert.

In the classics Jan Bakelants is one of 3 superb riders to follow, and he should without a doubt be winning a couple of punchy classics this season. Also Bakelants is in for a nice amount of support, from Kangert, Vastaranta and Samoilev.

Looking down the list of quality riders we also stumble across Enrico Franzoi, one of the better cobbled riders out there. Franzoi shouldn’t be able to pose a serious bid for the cobbled wins, but on a good day he could top 5, and should consequently be in the top 10s. Also Franzoi has a decent amount of support, from the likes of Stijn Joseph, who shockwon a classic last season, but also Offredo and Blot should be able to position him well in the early parts of the races.

Looking at the sprints, one man stick out – Romain Vanderbiest. He is no way near the best sprinters in the world, but he is obviously a fast man, and the team can actually provide some quality in the trainbuilding. Vastaranta is a very strong man to support the sprinters, but also Cardoso, Mondory and Fonseca should be able to provide sufficient support for Vanderbiest.

This team is overall a very strong bid for the Pro Tour crown, and it will take something special to beat them in the overall. A little questionsmark is how Sicard will do in the small GC races, as top results from him could take the team to the very top.

Pendleton’s debuted on the world scene last season, and did well. This season will be the difficult 2nd run, and eventhough the team doesn’t seem significantly improved or declined the Tour itself has improved dramatically and so it will be a difficult task to achieve the same amount of points as the team did last season.

In the mountains the team is well equipped, but from Dan Martin and Bernhard Kohl and up to the best in the world there is quite a gap. Dan Martin is the best Grand Tour rider in the team, but even on a good day he will struggle to achieve 10th in the GTs this season – The same can be said about Bernhard Kohl who is a very strong climber, but is probably going to have a hard time perform at top level.

Should we give the team some credit for the GC riders it is that also Thomas Faiers and Konstantin Siutsou are quite good and versatile climbers, hence we could eventually see Pendleton’s get a massive amount of 10-20th positions which is clearly better than being forever 8th with just one rider. So the depth of the climbings should keep Pendleton’s up there in the pointshaul.

In the hilly sections Philippe Gilbert should never be underestimated, but to rely entirely on his punch to give the team a good PT rankings is probably going to be an upset. Gilbert is a quality rider, but unless he makes the early attack he is going to struggle against 8-10 better riders and without any real top riders to help him it could be him against the world.

On paper the team has a nice cobbler, but recent years have questioned his ability to want to win. Vladimir Gusev is a top rider, but ever so often has he left his manager hairless in the team car. This season in a new team could be his resurrection season, and with help from Mertens, Mourey, Minoungou, Rast and possibly even Gilbert he will have all the support needed to stay at a low heartrate for the majority of the races. All eggs in one basket on Gusev to perform, though is quite a gamble.

The team is lackluster to sprint, hence we will be able to have a look at the Pendleton’s jersey in most races, due to BotD attacks. Pendleton’s is a team that is easy to sympathize with, but in all respect they are going to struggle this season. Relegation or not, this is a nice team though!

So what are we to expect here? Pokerstars.com is a team eager to perform in every flat terrain there is to compete at, but will the Pro Tour competition be to fierce for this newly promoted team? Time will tell, but from the looks of it, the team is going to struggle in many races this season.

José Rujano is probably going to get a couple of good results in the mountainous races this year, but having only Christophe Kern by his side it will be difficult for the team to keep the captain safe on the narrow roads. Rujano will have to do everything by himself, and while he is a top climber, he is also a horrible finisher and timetriallist, so his recuperation is going to be forced to the max this season.

In the hilly races only Jelle Wallays is going to have any chance to perform, and his chances will be slim-to-nothing to begin with. The history repeats itself when we look at the timetriallists of the team. Only Stef Clement puts his nose out there, but with some way near 50 better timetriallists than him in the Pro Tour, the team can not expect him to do them any good.

But what’s good about this team then? Sprints! Oh yes! Tom Boonen has been brought into this, already strong sprinting team, and having a possible train consisting of Erik Mohs, Dan Holloway, John Degenkolb and several subtop sprinters every flat stage is a gift to Pokerstars.com. It will be interesting to see how the team will combine the sprinters, and how many times the line is up for Boonen, but basically the team will have a top sprinter for every single race out there.

In the cobbles the team is almost as complete as the sprints. Tom Boonen is still going to be the man to beat and with fellow man Frederik Nolf, Roger Kluge, Anthony Geslin, Kevin van Impe, Timothy Dupont and Nick Ingels he should really put in a solid performance time and again for the team.

So what are we to expect here? A team that will win a lot of stagewins, and some classics, but is that enough to survive a long season in the Pro Tour? I doubt it.