I didn't try this last season as I had no knowledge as to what the results could be but this season I have decided to take a crack at what the CT will look like come the end of the season.
For each team I have given my opinion and if you don't agree then that is fair enough. After all it is all just a bit of fun. There may be some relatively harsh comments but take them as positive criticism for next Man-Game Season.
The previews will come in alphabetical order and once they are all done I will post my predicted final rankings.
The first thing I thought when seeing this team was that it is somewhat similar to my own team last season plus a few extras. With 11 71+ MO riders there is clearly some good depth in the Mountains. Schwab and Nakane the two top climbers but those below may bring more points. The trio of Morabito, Ikibe and Marentes could well bring a large number of unexpected points with a bit of luck. On the other side Kuboki is a very interesting rider to have at CT level, his wage of 130,000 is definitely worth it as his ability so sprint well, time trial as well and even go over hills will lead to him being one of the top riders of the division. He is helped by Vitoria who's Hill stat will also be useful. As normal, no good cobbled riders.
Akzonobel - Statoil
Manager: Cavendish-Fan
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Bert-Jan
Lindeman
NED
73
55
64
60
72
69
66
76
74
76
64
61
60
Kevin
Seeldraeyers
BEL
69
74
69
69
73
75
78
58
63
70
73
62
69
Alessandro
Proni
ITA
71
70
74
65
72
70
70
51
61
75
79
64
65
Thomas
Bontenackels
GER
67
72
62
76
70
71
74
53
66
67
64
62
76
Deiber
Esquivel
CRC
63
75
66
59
64
73
72
65
55
63
71
76
59
Kevin
Eeckhout
BEL
72
55
61
54
71
71
61
77
64
57
68
74
54
Frederik
Wilman
NOR
69
72
70
72
66
67
70
54
55
69
66
61
72
Khayabkhyrvaa
Uugunbayar
MGL
70
57
62
58
70
66
75
51
77
75
61
64
70
Simon
Galle
SWD
70
63
72
57
72
65
68
52
73
71
60
57
62
Baptiste
Planckaert
BEL
73
54
62
64
71
72
70
68
74
74
64
62
67
Philip
Vandaele
BEL
73
57
63
61
70
67
69
72
72
71
59
62
62
Ruben
Ibanez
BOL
68
70
71
72
70
68
67
50
63
65
57
59
72
Morten
Reckweg
DEN
76
52
64
74
76
71
72
67
68
72
75
71
74
Roy
Eefting
NED
69
50
60
65
70
67
72
66
75
74
60
54
72
Casper
Jørgensen
DEN
71
51
60
75
65
65
71
55
61
75
61
61
75
Jure
Kocjan
SLO
69
63
67
71
71
66
69
61
74
73
68
64
71
Lars
Andersson
SWD
68
70
71
60
72
67
66
70
63
61
77
71
60
Roy
Goldstein
ISR
71
55
60
75
67
68
69
52
58
61
59
56
75
Berden
De Vries
NED
68
57
60
74
70
67
68
64
63
66
69
62
74
Cornelius
Van Ooijen
NED
72
56
65
72
70
65
66
61
63
68
71
61
72
The team is interesting to say the least. With the maximum 20 riders from 12 different nations the team has great diversity. The team could however have a few issues with scoring points this season. With Lindeman and Eeckhout they have without doubt one of the top cobbled duos in the CT, but even they may struggle with average back up stats. Their Mongolian sprinter will have a lot on his shoulders but he can barely get himself over a speed bump so there could be issues there. Their top 2 climbers will be dropped on the hills. Old Bontenackels could however be a saviour in the TT's and along with Casper and talented Goldstein they do have a few strong riders in that discipline. They lack it elsewhere though.
Alpina - Avianca
Manager: Stromeon
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Mauricio
Soler
COL
70
76
74
66
73
74
73
51
54
71
67
67
66
Janier Alexis
Acevedo
COL
69
72
76
64
72
71
68
52
63
69
71
61
66
Cleberson
Weber
BRA
70
75
74
71
70
69
70
54
68
76
72
69
67
Juan Pablo
Forero
COL
71
56
61
69
70
69
79
55
80
75
61
68
69
VÃctor Hugo
Orozco
COL
64
76
66
61
68
71
68
52
61
76
75
61
61
Gilber
Zurita
BOL
66
76
69
58
68
70
65
58
51
69
60
54
58
Sergio
Godoy
ARG
68
74
75
65
72
71
67
56
58
63
67
64
66
Juan Esteban
Arango
COL
71
56
63
61
72
66
77
55
76
75
68
61
61
Miguel Angel
Rubiano Chavez
COL
67
73
69
61
67
73
72
52
58
74
75
62
61
Robinson
Chalapud
COL
68
73
72
59
71
69
71
51
63
63
61
65
59
William Germán
RodrÃguez Parra
COL
71
61
60
74
70
72
73
54
72
73
64
59
74
Edison
Bravo
CHL
68
68
71
63
69
71
68
55
63
66
68
70
65
Fulgencio
Bru
CUB
66
57
72
53
67
63
61
55
65
68
59
67
53
Carlos Henrique
Cancellara
BRA
69
59
67
65
69
67
61
55
73
71
69
61
65
Murilo
Affonso
BRA
66
69
68
67
66
66
68
56
54
67
73
52
67
Sebastian
Henao
COL
64
69
69
62
68
70
65
53
63
64
61
66
63
Royner Grover
Navarro
PER
66
68
68
63
64
67
65
52
61
67
62
65
61
he first CT team who was part of last year's new bunch, the Colombians have certainly got stronger. Their top climber, Mauricio Soler, was bought in on a wage of 120,000 and will be expected to do well. Not all pressure is on Soler though as Weber should be a good stage racer for the team which should give them a good number of points in the mountains. In the hills Godoy and Acevedo should score well although Godoy isn't the ideal sprint finisher. In the sprints they do however have two of Colombia's worst climbers with Forero and Arango, neither of them look like they have ever seen a hill but on the flattest of stages Forero will be expected to perform. And by the way, in case you can't see, their top COB rider is 58 so no points there. Sebastian Henao is the top young talent and will max out in a few years time as a good climber at this level.
BelarusBank Pro Cycling
Manager: Ste117
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Ochoa Quintero
Richard
VEN
67
77
73
66
69
77
67
52
62
70
75
62
66
Hutarovich
Yauheni
BLR
71
52
62
65
75
71
78
58
78
80
63
59
65
Thorsen
Daniel
AUS
61
52
54
60
63
56
69
57
82
85
51
53
72
Kankovský
Alois
CZE
65
52
59
61
66
65
64
55
80
83
51
59
75
Bazhkou
Stanislau
BLR
70
67
74
74
71
73
69
53
63
63
67
61
74
Masuda
Nariyuki
JPN
67
74
72
64
70
68
67
50
64
65
72
67
64
Clarke
Simon
AUS
66
52
55
62
67
61
70
57
79
78
70
61
62
Papok
Siarhei
BLR
72
54
65
59
72
66
69
64
76
75
62
67
63
Polanc
Jan
SLO
70
54
64
58
76
71
64
76
61
53
63
71
58
Capecchi
Eros
ITA
72
57
70
65
71
68
69
54
74
75
72
63
65
Van Hummel
Kenny
NED
72
58
66
66
71
66
77
62
75
71
69
63
66
Tsikhanau
Alexei
BLR
67
72
70
64
67
70
66
51
63
70
63
70
65
Sakalou
Andrei
BLR
65
71
70
64
61
70
68
54
60
68
72
61
64
Van Baarle
Dylan
NED
69
58
68
72
69
71
69
55
57
62
68
61
72
Klimiankou
Konstantin
BLR
67
69
70
65
67
65
70
56
60
67
59
69
65
Shamsonau
Yauheni
BLR
62
63
60
68
64
61
60
52
59
63
54
52
68
Stoltz
Yannick
LUX
78
58
63
63
66
71
64
65
60
58
85
73
63
Clearly the top flat sprinters team in the division. 3 of the top sprinters, none of which can go over a hill, and the top Belarussian sprinter who is decent at going over a hill. On a more serious note Thorsen, Kankovský, Clarke and Hutarovich are scary, any CT team focusing on the pure sprints will be having nightmares because 78, 79, 80, 82 Sprinters would create a hellish sprint train and combo for their opponents. Polanc, the only cobblers, won't max out at the end of this season with 78COB and without support this season he will be left to fight for himself. In the mountains Ochoa Quintero should do well in races with limited TT kilometres and will have to depend on Masuda for support. Bazhkou will also be a useful rider with 74HIL/74TT but if he was loaned out to try and max this season he would arguably be more useful next season.
Unfortunately for bbl and his piss drinking team the strong focus on the great Danes has probably made the team somewhat weaker than what it could have been. After a tough first season they have improved, I think. They have a bunch of sprinters who can't go over a hill but they will get left for dust by the BelarusBank riders. The one single Cobbler will struggle this season with a poor hill and TT but he does at least have a few useful domestiques to help him along the way. Climbing wise Koep will score a few points but not many more than his 50,000 wage deserves. In the hills De Maar will be the leader but I struggle to see how he warrants a 100k wage, although he could perform well and will need to pull clutch to save his team in their beer pong battle.
After a pretty woeful first season, to be perfectly honest, it seems that Dave and his army has decided they may try get a few better riders this season, but only a few. Cuban stage racer Martinez escaped the fall of disgraced Team Nordeus and ended up here somehow. He is without doubt the top rider here and will need to prove that if his team is to do better than last season. Haga should fight to a few top 10s in the TT stage races. The hilly trio of Selander, Duggan and Kinney are being paid 330,000 bananas between them and will need to perform or they will be a costly investment to the minions. A couple of talented riders such as Haga and Selander would be better off on loan elsewhere to max out but they will have to stick around in the CT for another season.
Compal - Merida
Manager: Bjartne
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Abolfazl
Gilanipoor
IRN
69
77
71
68
74
71
73
53
56
73
67
73
68
Trent
Lowe
AUS
70
76
73
71
73
75
73
61
59
72
72
74
71
Michael
Matthews
AUS
75
59
64
64
72
67
73
66
79
79
65
64
64
Aleksandr
Dyachenko
KAZ
67
76
74
70
73
70
67
56
60
67
71
63
70
Jack
Bauer
NZL
76
65
73
76
74
73
70
64
70
70
80
68
76
Alexandre
Shushemoin
KAZ
68
74
75
62
75
71
73
60
56
72
64
67
62
Behnam
Khalilikhosroshani
IRN
70
67
75
67
72
68
70
53
65
72
70
70
67
Yin Chih
Wang
TPE
67
74
71
72
73
70
68
56
59
65
65
66
72
Christopher
Sutton
AUS
73
58
62
64
73
66
79
63
77
77
67
64
64
Dmitri
Kozontchuk
RUS
74
65
71
69
75
72
74
74
68
70
79
67
69
Ruslan
Tleubayev
KAZ
72
56
66
63
70
70
73
63
77
77
62
61
74
Sung Baek
Park
KOR
70
56
63
60
71
68
74
54
78
77
58
69
60
William
Walker
AUS
72
69
74
71
74
74
72
65
59
69
72
64
71
Kun Hung
Hung
TPE
70
63
74
63
72
67
68
53
63
71
70
66
63
Chan Jae
Jang
KOR
71
59
64
58
70
66
72
53
75
74
53
71
65
It's pretty clear that the former PCT team will certainly be up there in the rankings come the end of the season. They may not have the best rider in any discipline but they have very good riders in most terrains who will score points. In terms of the mountains Gilanipoor should score well but more importantly, in the stage races the ageing duo of Dyachenko and Lowe will no doubt be the men to beat with good MO, HIL and TT stats. In the time trials strong Kiwi Jack Bauer should score points consistently despite the fact that he isn't the best in the division, his more than useful hill stat is bound to help him. This team also has top sprinters with Matthews as the main man, backed up by Park, Sutton and Tleubayev, although the CT has strong sprinters these 4 should be up there with the best of them. The only terrain they are short on is the cobbles but with the lone Kozontchuk they may get lucky and score points here and there. Certainly a team to watch out for once the season begins!
DeLaval - Kitikori
Manager: Atlantius
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Winner
Anacona
COL
69
79
74
66
75
72
74
50
53
61
53
57
66
Jukka
Vastaranta
FIN
73
64
76
69
73
72
76
69
75
78
61
66
69
Branislav
Samoilev
BLR
71
74
74
73
71
75
74
52
52
67
68
63
73
Chris Anker
Sørensen
DEN
71
76
74
59
71
74
73
62
62
65
69
61
59
Ignacio
Sarabia
MEX
68
69
74
69
69
71
68
52
67
76
76
63
69
Samuel
Pökälä
FIN
70
64
71
76
75
73
73
64
60
65
62
64
76
Sergiu
Cioban
MOL
68
65
75
64
70
66
67
62
64
66
72
70
63
Bernardo
Colex
MEX
67
74
65
71
66
69
68
51
61
67
62
61
71
Linus
Dahlberg
SWD
71
52
66
58
73
68
71
69
76
75
60
59
73
Mattias
Westling
SWD
70
53
56
60
69
64
75
60
78
74
57
59
70
Mateusz
Taciak
POL
67
72
66
73
74
71
67
54
62
71
66
60
73
Viktor
Renäng
SWD
70
55
56
76
69
70
72
52
53
56
62
59
76
Sami
Tiainen
FIN
71
51
62
59
71
68
72
54
73
74
55
61
71
Sakari
Lehtinen
FIN
66
71
69
63
70
66
67
60
65
64
64
70
58
Essa
Khalifa
UAE
67
62
68
63
67
67
65
57
58
59
65
63
63
Risto
Aaltio
FIN
70
61
65
65
62
65
68
62
60
59
65
62
66
Matti
Manninen
FIN
65
55
62
65
65
62
61
61
60
67
71
61
65
Having collected the prize of being the worst Man-Game Team last season Atlantius will be hoping and expecting better things this time round. The team that was woeful last season has learnt a thing or two and become one of the better teams in the division on paper. They have the CT's strongest climber in Colombian Anacona but whether or not he will be a winner this season is yet to be seen, along with Dane CAS they should fight hard for victory in the mountains. Anacona could dominate the whole division but then again he may not. When they acquired Vastaranta for a wage of only 60k they must have thought they were dreaming because he also could conquer the whole CT with his ability to climb hills and sprint, there is no doubt he will be a great leader. Pökälä and Renäng (have fun with those names) should be a useful TT duo especially the first one who's hill stat could help him bring in the points. This team on paper should really be able to promote but race selections are vital so we will only know at the end of the season, either way, anything less than a Top 10 would be bitterly disappointing.
Elta - Hellenic Post
Manager: roro_352
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Jaroslav
Kulhavy
CZE
68
76
73
62
68
74
68
55
63
73
71
82
62
Juan Carlos
Rienda Segura
ESP
62
76
68
56
66
63
69
54
68
77
68
60
56
Perikles
Ilias
GRE
67
68
75
63
68
72
69
52
64
68
76
73
63
Vassilis
Adamou
CYP
68
73
67
72
70
72
71
56
61
67
69
66
72
Vasileios
Simantirakis
GRE
68
74
70
65
71
70
69
59
63
73
70
68
65
Apostolos
Bouglas
GRE
71
65
67
57
72
68
73
66
76
75
69
63
70
Christos
Volikakis
GRE
65
50
55
59
62
62
62
52
78
82
50
74
72
Georgios
Karatzios
GRE
74
58
70
59
72
68
66
73
60
65
70
61
59
Neofytos
Sakellaridis
GRE
70
66
62
75
72
71
66
56
62
71
65
62
75
Ioannis
Tamouridis
GRE
69
69
70
61
70
68
65
50
74
71
64
62
61
Aleksei
Saramotins
LAT
69
61
67
67
68
66
77
70
74
68
73
73
67
Petros
Gkazonis
GRE
68
72
72
59
68
57
58
50
57
57
65
65
59
Christos
Katrakis
GRE
70
64
61
73
67
72
65
56
55
66
70
66
73
Ioannis
Drakakis
GRE
74
60
61
67
75
68
72
67
70
71
70
53
67
Clive
Ebejer
MLT
67
62
70
62
65
66
63
52
64
67
65
70
62
Konstantinos
Efstathiou
GRE
68
57
62
71
68
67
69
51
70
71
57
58
73
Georgios
Bouglas
GRE
67
62
67
58
67
63
63
51
71
72
61
66
58
Timotheos
Skettos
CYP
68
50
58
56
67
67
65
58
73
70
59
61
56
Kyriakos
Skettos
CYP
66
57
56
57
67
64
66
52
70
69
58
63
59
An interesting team with a great regional focus that should be able to finish around mid to lower table this season. In the mountains their lone leader is Kulhavy who could certainly throw in a few surprises this season, as he did with ONCE last season. The Greek Ilias is their rider for the hills but he is likely to struggle with quite average back up stats and especially considering the other hilly riders in the CT this season. The main sprinter on their team is no doubt fast but he will have to work hard to reach the finish in the first place with a low flat stat and awful MO/HIL stats, on a 50k wage at least he isn't overpaid. I personally hope that Cypriot Vassilis Adamou will do well for the team alongside the Skettos duo, he may bring in a few decent results this season.
Fablok-Dunlop
Manager: sgdanny
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Anthony
Lavoine
FRA
73
60
60
62
71
64
77
65
80
78
62
79
62
Mathieu
Drujon
FRA
73
55
66
64
75
74
73
58
78
78
71
64
72
Julien
Berard
FRA
66
76
68
61
68
74
71
62
63
68
61
77
61
Gracjan
Lejman
POL
62
65
77
58
72
64
63
51
59
68
85
58
58
Brice
Feillu
FRA
67
75
74
60
70
72
72
57
63
70
78
58
60
Kamil
Zielinski
POL
70
70
74
60
71
67
70
64
70
74
70
68
61
Kristijan
Durasek
CRO
70
71
75
74
74
72
69
52
60
59
61
58
74
Bartlomiej
Matysiak
POL
68
64
73
63
73
68
67
56
76
74
65
65
70
Wojciech
Pszczolarski
POL
73
60
70
74
68
72
67
53
71
72
68
65
77
Juraj
Sagan
SVK
75
60
68
75
73
71
74
56
61
69
74
61
75
Lukasz
Owsian
POL
65
73
73
61
70
69
72
56
55
67
65
63
58
Blazej
Janiaczyk
POL
71
58
66
62
71
69
75
63
75
74
63
61
70
Michal
Podlaski
POL
66
70
73
63
68
72
70
54
56
60
63
65
65
Gasper
Svab
SLO
66
72
71
64
70
69
66
54
58
67
64
70
64
Adrian
Kurek
POL
70
56
64
63
67
66
70
58
73
73
66
67
63
Klemen
Stimulak
SLO
69
59
64
73
68
69
66
57
70
73
64
61
62
Stephen
Vicelich
AUS
67
55
58
73
63
67
65
54
51
52
62
56
73
Markus
Kilsgaard
DEN
65
63
64
69
66
65
63
54
61
64
71
71
68
This new team from Poland, which features quite a few Frenchman, could do pretty well this season. The French duo of Lavoine and Drujon will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with in the sprints but only in those that are pretty flat, because they both struggle once the road goes up a bit. Lejman with his 77HIL stat and 80k wage may be expected to do something good but he won't, he will attack with his 85FIG stat but that doesn't do a lot when your Flat is 62 and you can't sprint. Durasek is likely to be more of a threat with his ability to climb and time trial and could actually do really well this season having been in the PCT last season. Matysiak and Zielinski could do quite well together with their hill and sprint combinations and may need to for this team to do well this season. Feillu is probably the top climber and will need to perform better than last season if the team is to score points in the mountains.
As could be predicted, Jakstar has come into the Man-Game with an Australian team. After having issues with budget during the transfer period the team is now likely to have issues with results during the season. The main leader of the team, unusually, is De Vocht who is a cobble rider. His wage of 105,000 is unlikely to be paid back for due to cobbles being a difficult terrain to score highly on in the CT. He does at least have a good supporting rider who funnily enough will probably do better this season in Steegmans. The team has tried to focus on the sprints and Giacoppo might score points because of his TT stat being higher than that of other sprinters but guys like Davis and Teruel are not getting any younger and are unlikely to do anything this season. Roe on a wage of 95,000 is pure insanity because although he isn't maxed he won't be able to this season in the CT and as a leader is unlikely to bring in more than a handful of points this season. With the average age of their top 10 riders being 30.5 this team will also struggle to have a base next season, they are in for a long season.
One other thing, signing Chavanel for 90k from In-n-Out is possibly the worst transfer I have seen this transfer window. FLA66, MO67 and HIL69 he is unlikely to score more than 20 points this season. In-n-Out, I congratulate you on getting 90k for such a rider.
Fred Whitton Racing Team
Manager: JoeArmstrong13
Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Cameron
Meyer
AUS
72
57
60
73
70
65
74
63
80
76
59
62
78
Zakayo
Ndbri
KEN
65
76
68
62
74
67
67
52
57
65
75
56
62
Daniel
Moreno
ESP
70
75
70
65
71
71
69
53
69
69
70
69
65
Ian
Field
GBR
70
58
65
65
69
71
64
74
65
72
67
59
71
Carter
Jones
USA
69
73
72
69
71
70
67
53
63
66
73
68
69
Richard
Handley
GBR
70
67
73
71
73
69
66
62
64
68
74
63
71
Aggrey
Sebright
USA
69
56
60
77
64
70
68
52
54
51
67
56
77
Edwin
Orozco
COL
65
73
66
65
65
70
69
51
60
74
67
64
65
Mustafa
Carsi
TUR
67
51
54
67
65
66
71
52
76
78
52
68
68
Alex
Coutts
GBR
66
73
70
62
68
68
70
55
52
62
57
67
62
Robbie
Hassan
GBR
67
65
72
62
72
67
67
61
66
71
72
65
65
Tom
Last
GBR
70
52
62
61
66
65
64
69
74
77
56
69
61
Graham
Briggs
GBR
70
56
63
61
70
68
69
54
75
74
63
66
61
Justo
Mayo
ESP
63
61
70
58
64
60
60
52
61
67
85
68
58
Javier Joaquin
Navarro
ESP
68
58
60
55
71
67
63
52
72
70
55
50
55
Well, a decent team, one that may be good on paper but not when it comes to the real thing. As the 5th highest paid rider in the division, Cameron Meyer will have to perform very well and he should able to. He has some decent supporting riders and his high 78PRO stat should help him to do well in stage races as well as sprints. Moreno is paid 100,000 and will have to perform higher than what he should if he is to be the good climbing leader that the team needs him to be because Ndbri will be useless for GC results. For the flatter time trials they should also get a few top 10s with Sebright but he too could struggle. The races with no Meyer could be painful viewing for young Joe.
Gatorade - SIS
Manager: nacho63
Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Tyler
Brandt
USA
67
76
69
73
74
69
72
62
60
66
66
71
72
Ben
King
USA
75
63
65
67
73
71
79
63
78
73
75
61
67
Javier
AramendÃa
ESP
71
60
67
77
70
69
72
52
58
62
63
58
77
Andoni
Blazquez
ESP
67
69
74
63
72
68
66
50
68
69
58
69
63
Joseph
Biziyaremye
RWA
66
74
71
69
70
68
72
50
52
61
57
75
62
Ethan
Weiss
USA
74
58
73
67
74
68
69
54
67
77
79
64
67
Luis Angel
Mate
ESP
65
72
73
61
72
71
68
53
53
63
63
65
61
Wes
Sulzberger
AUS
74
57
70
63
74
71
69
62
73
73
77
66
63
Robby
Squire
USA
67
72
72
64
68
68
72
65
61
67
71
64
64
Caleb
Fairly
USA
68
65
74
59
73
68
70
51
52
62
65
59
61
Ryan
Roth
CAN
71
56
65
71
72
69
67
72
66
70
75
65
71
Mauricio
Ardila
COL
60
73
68
64
66
69
62
50
57
65
72
61
64
Anton
Varabei
CAN
69
68
70
62
71
68
66
56
71
74
75
69
61
Peter
Pancake
CAN
67
72
70
64
76
67
68
51
52
68
69
70
64
Gavin
Mannion
USA
67
72
67
63
69
73
62
55
61
68
63
60
63
Ricardo
Delgado Rubio
ESP
73
62
69
69
71
66
72
67
71
69
68
69
69
Luke
Grivell-Mellor
GBR
69
65
66
62
70
68
68
53
63
61
70
57
62
Jonathan
Dibben
GBR
66
63
62
67
64
66
64
61
66
69
65
67
65
The second USA and UK team could be good or bad, it really depends. American Tyler Brandt is likely to divide opinions with his wage and stats. Although he can climb well and has a pretty good TT stat his flat and hill stats are likely to lead to him not being worth his quite high 125k wage. The other climbers on the team provide some sort of depth but they aren't particularly strong. The main strength of the team is arguably in their lone time trialist Aramendia who should get consistent top 10s and even top 5s but it will be hard for him to score the points the team would want from his 130k wage. Another American Ben King is also an interesting rider, his 78SPR/73ACC could have an impact on his ability to finish strong depending on how PCM takes his acceleration. How nacho decided he was worth a 120k wage is a good question to be asked. This is another team that could definitely struggle this season and will finish closer to the bottom than the top.
Generali - Kronenberg 1664
Manager: matt17br
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Pierre
Rolland
FRA
70
74
70
77
72
71
76
52
58
68
72
63
77
Rudy
Molard
FRA
68
71
75
64
73
73
73
65
70
75
73
67
66
Manuele
Boaro
ITA
72
67
71
77
73
71
67
54
61
70
64
62
78
Davide
Malacarne
ITA
67
75
73
70
72
71
73
68
57
69
73
68
67
Mauro
Finetto
ITA
70
72
74
70
74
72
69
53
70
72
72
70
72
Edoardo
Girardi
ITA
67
75
67
71
69
73
76
54
58
68
63
66
71
Moreno
Moser
ITA
70
53
67
70
73
68
75
62
78
77
63
54
70
Alberigo
Passalacqua
ITA
63
63
76
58
71
63
63
52
62
69
80
69
58
Fabien
Taillefour
FRA
77
56
57
65
70
70
70
78
54
55
59
64
65
Moris
Possoni
ITA
66
74
73
62
66
72
72
51
61
69
65
61
62
Manuel
Belletti
ITA
70
62
67
58
73
68
72
54
76
77
74
67
70
Daniele
Ratto
ITA
79
51
59
59
74
66
77
55
75
73
55
61
59
Fabrice
Jeandesbosz
FRA
71
68
63
67
71
69
69
73
65
66
70
61
67
Thomas
Vauvourzeix
FRA
70
65
72
58
70
65
67
53
66
71
65
57
64
Giuseppe
Fonzi
ITA
69
57
62
54
72
69
71
69
75
70
53
60
54
Luca
Sterbini
ITA
65
53
63
72
70
68
63
63
57
66
68
64
72
Davide
Martinelli
ITA
64
53
63
64
67
66
65
54
69
71
60
64
64
Attilio
Scodeller
ITA
64
66
62
64
60
60
60
56
51
55
58
68
64
New manager matt17br has found a way to create a potential division winning team out of nothing. This team is likely to fight for the title but if not should at least be gunning for promotion to the PCT. Pierre Rolland on a 150k wage is a high price but will likely be worth it as he is one of the best climbing time trialists in the division. In the mountains they have Malacarne who isn't the best but he should bring in consistent Top 10 results which means points. The one real danger of this team is the hills, Molard and Finetto are a great duo at this level and with their ability to sprint should together bring in consistently good results throughout the season. For flat stage races they have Rolland of course as well as Boaro so they have two strong TT riders in the team which no doubt stands this team out from others. The likes of Moser and Beletti should bring in top 10s in the sprints although it absolutely kills me that Moser isn't in the PT this season because he would be a great rider maxed out. Not a single rider from outside Italy and France makes the team even easier to support.
Indosat - ANZ
Manager: Eden95
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Darwin
Atapuma
COL
66
78
73
62
71
72
68
52
60
73
70
63
62
Gian Piero
Signorini
ITA
59
78
69
65
66
72
73
53
56
74
68
62
65
Aidis
Kruopis
LTU
73
64
70
71
73
76
75
69
78
77
70
64
76
Mikel
Nieve
ESP
67
76
73
67
73
74
75
51
57
64
64
67
67
Kouhei
Uchima
JPN
70
68
74
51
75
66
70
53
72
74
67
64
55
Robin
Manulang
INA
68
73
70
74
71
68
70
60
53
66
64
71
74
Yousef Mirza
Banihammad
UAE
67
73
71
70
66
70
73
53
64
73
56
61
70
Peerapol
Chawchiangkuang
THA
73
74
70
64
72
68
70
58
69
73
80
73
64
Federico
Rocchetti
ITA
68
63
75
64
70
65
68
54
65
64
79
57
64
Wei Cheng
Lee
TPE
71
61
65
70
70
65
74
73
74
75
63
61
70
Hossein
Nateghi
IRN
68
63
66
62
71
67
74
54
77
75
64
67
70
Cameron
Bayly
AUS
71
72
72
67
70
71
68
58
65
72
76
73
65
Wenlong
Zhang
CHN
74
63
68
57
70
66
72
58
75
74
68
62
62
Hyeong Min
Choe
KOR
71
71
73
71
70
69
69
57
61
64
63
63
69
Parno
Parno
INA
65
70
72
62
71
69
69
52
60
67
73
66
60
Endra
Wijaya
INA
67
55
64
60
71
70
65
56
74
74
70
62
72
Seung Kwon
Lee
KOR
65
63
66
56
65
68
64
51
63
65
69
66
56
Sam
Spokes
AUS
65
59
63
66
65
65
62
63
67
70
62
64
68
Depth in the mountains is what you see in this team, which for an Indo-Aussie team is unusual. No nationality focus could actually pay off for this diverse team. In Darwin Atepuma and Mikel Nieve they have one of the highest paid riders but they also have a deadly CT climbing duo. The two of them could tear up the CT division in races without a TT which seem to be plentiful. Signorini, who is a top rider in the Mountains, almost gave me piss myself when I saw his flat stat. He will be dropped on any stage that has 20kms of flat which to be honest won't be very useful. The third main weapon of the team is Kruopis with his strong sprint, decent hill and decent TT he could be a very useful rider for the team and has support in sprints from Nateghi and Zhang. This team is certainly one to watch out for. It will also be interesting to see whether our 59FLA man finishes in the Top 50 of any race.
The team is somewhat better than last year. The first talking point is Novak who arrived from Becherovka for 849,000!!! How they could even afford such a fee is beyond me and it really is a huge fee to pay for a rider who isn't the best in the division. There is no doubt he will be up there with the best in stage races but he will have to be because he is the rider on the team. Hardy and Gaimon will also have to chip in with good results here and there if this team wants to promote. Their few cobbled riders are a bit of a waste of space. They do have a few good sprinters, but a lot of teams do. Sonnery could do really well with his MO and HIL stats but will divide opinion with his 78SPR/73ACC as to whether he will be able to sprint to victory over his rivals. Sweeting on a wage of 140k is also a bit strange because with that money you could get better.
One last thing, please make your team name shorter next season because it is currently ridiculously long and annoying to type out. Thanks.
Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo Cycling Team
Manager: Ollfardh
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Matteo
Pelucchi
ITA
74
56
68
65
74
70
75
62
78
77
68
68
65
Kevin
Peeters
BEL
72
52
62
64
71
68
75
68
79
77
59
64
64
Stijn
Joseph
BEL
74
60
66
64
76
70
70
76
66
70
72
77
64
Francis
De Greef
BEL
69
74
72
71
70
74
71
70
61
70
69
61
71
Nikita
Umerbekov
KAZ
67
69
74
63
72
66
63
56
69
71
67
67
63
Diego
Rosa
ITA
67
74
73
66
69
68
70
55
62
72
73
68
66
Manuel
Senni
ITA
69
72
70
70
72
75
71
59
65
70
65
72
70
Konrad
Dabkowski
POL
73
59
66
62
68
66
74
60
74
75
60
60
68
Jasper
Stuyven
BEL
68
61
72
57
70
65
66
62
64
69
75
67
57
Josef
Cerny
CZE
69
68
70
67
70
65
64
61
72
75
71
65
70
Daniele
Dall'Oste
ITA
69
71
71
66
69
72
71
56
58
67
68
70
66
Greg
De Winde
BEL
70
55
64
64
70
68
64
72
66
65
69
65
64
Jens
Debusschere
BEL
69
59
65
62
70
68
66
66
74
72
69
64
70
Louis
Verhelst
BEL
68
56
70
65
69
67
66
70
62
68
63
70
65
Edward
Theuns
BEL
67
67
70
65
68
70
70
52
61
69
64
67
70
Arthur
Vanoverberghe
BEL
65
67
68
67
68
68
67
65
63
68
64
68
67
Michele
Viola
ITA
67
61
65
62
68
70
68
56
71
70
71
64
63
Maksym
Vasilyev
UKR
65
57
60
60
68
66
63
63
72
71
56
66
66
Domagoj
Breznik
CRO
67
58
64
65
68
68
65
61
70
70
65
63
68
Another team who comes from last year's CT. This team will depend, rely and have to put their survival down to three riders. A lot of pressure is on the shoulders on Joseph, Pelucchi and Peeters. Joseph could and will probably do pretty well in the cobbles and he is one of the better riders in the CT on the terrain and will be able to sprint decently well. Don't expect too many long range efforts though as his TT is weak. Peeters is no doubt a good sprinter but he doesn't have the support other leaders do and his low 62HIL stat will be a killer for the manager. De Greef and Rosa are the other two riders who could score points but not many. The one bright spot is certainly Pelucchi who has a decent hill stat and a good sprint stat and could be the one to help this team fight for a top 10 or mid table finish.
Netia - Norske Skog
Manager: trekbmc
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Andrey
Zeits
KAZ
69
73
77
59
73
68
65
50
64
71
68
67
59
Karol Andrzej
Domagalski
POL
68
75
71
74
70
69
75
54
62
65
65
62
71
Zsolt
Der
SER
67
73
75
70
73
70
67
50
68
70
72
65
70
Adam
Stachowiak
POL
73
62
75
61
71
67
64
62
68
71
75
69
63
Michael
Mørkøv
DEN
75
59
74
69
72
70
68
70
74
70
68
67
70
Patrik
Sinkewitz
GER
68
72
76
62
74
71
69
50
50
66
60
59
62
Kristian
Sobota
DEN
72
54
60
67
74
65
76
61
78
78
58
61
67
Markus
Fahnert
GER
68
68
74
67
73
70
69
51
63
71
74
61
67
Mariusz
Gil
POL
70
62
65
63
71
67
65
74
72
73
70
65
72
Tomasz
Marczynski
POL
68
74
73
67
70
69
72
51
56
67
60
63
64
Pawel
Franczak
POL
72
62
63
57
72
68
73
60
76
76
63
76
71
Jaroslaw
Dabrowski
POL
66
74
71
61
70
70
71
52
58
66
67
60
61
Adam
Pierzga
POL
70
54
63
64
72
65
70
52
75
77
74
59
70
Piotr
Mazur
POL
68
60
65
75
67
70
67
51
57
56
69
66
75
Krister
Hagen
NOR
68
52
65
71
67
70
67
60
73
72
75
62
73
Christos
Loizou
CYP
65
59
64
60
65
64
62
63
67
67
61
65
60
Lukas
Varhanik
SVK
65
60
63
57
64
66
60
58
59
58
60
68
57
The Polish Norwegian team is somewhat like the Gazelle from 2 years ago. They have a good core of strong riders for hilly terrain which as many experienced managers know is very useful in the CT. In Zeits they have one of the best hills teams in the division, along with Der, Sinkewitz, Stachowiak and Fahnert. This group of riders could easily dominate the majority of races that the team participates in and could quite possibly lead them towards promotion. They have a couple of fairly decent climbers, notably Domagalski. There is also a decent sprint team led by Sabota that should be capable of a few nice results. The one cobbler in Gil could potentially surprise in a couple of the cobbled classics as well. All round, a very nice team with a strong Polish core that is likely to find themselves well up in the rankings at the end of the season.
Novatek - Panarmenian.net
Manager: Selwink
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Frantisek
Rabon
CZE
73
69
76
69
73
73
72
57
72
77
80
59
69
Aleksandr
Serebriakov
RUS
74
54
61
64
73
67
79
60
80
77
57
62
72
Chu Thien
Sinelobov
KAZ
60
76
67
65
65
65
71
51
57
67
84
72
65
JÃri
Hochmann
CZE
70
52
54
65
66
61
73
57
79
80
58
63
75
Sergey
Rudaskov
RUS
68
75
72
65
73
74
70
51
56
68
61
73
65
Kirill
Pozdnyakov
RUS
72
67
73
65
72
71
70
65
75
74
70
67
71
Jiri
Hudecek
CZE
68
73
74
72
71
66
68
54
53
60
67
70
72
Valentin
Iglinski
KAZ
67
64
71
64
70
68
73
58
75
74
72
70
64
Vyacheslav
Kuznetsov
RUS
76
63
70
66
75
73
69
69
72
75
76
70
66
Martin
Velits
SVK
72
64
69
74
69
67
65
67
71
72
74
64
74
Evgeni
Popov
RUS
71
70
69
64
70
71
71
58
73
73
71
66
64
Arman
Kharatyan
ARM
69
62
73
51
70
67
65
65
54
64
51
58
51
Jan
Barta
CZE
71
63
70
72
71
70
63
58
66
68
74
67
72
Mihkel
Räim
EST
67
62
66
60
68
68
66
55
73
73
58
67
71
Roniel
Campos
VEN
68
69
66
63
68
68
66
53
61
62
58
64
63
Evgeny
Shalunov
RUS
67
68
65
64
69
67
67
61
64
62
64
71
62
Mihran
Avetisyan
ARM
65
67
67
64
66
65
64
57
62
67
59
63
57
Another of the existing teams from last year, this team has got stronger but not by as much as they would have hoped. The sprints are clearly the strong point here, Serebriakov is a strong sprinter but his wage of 250,000 is an absolute joke. His main lead out man is Hochmann on a wage of 60,000 which is much more reasonable. In the hilly classics they have Czech rider Rabon who could do very well this year. His ability to climb, his decent TT, his pretty good sprint and his high fighter stat may very well lead to him being one of the big forces of the season. His main helper Hudecek is a pretty handy rider himself, while the third best hilly rider can also sprint quite well which came at a 135,000 price tag but could end up being a valuable asset to have.
OTP Bank - Slovnaft
Manager: jihardy
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Julien
Simon
FRA
71
64
76
67
75
74
70
60
72
74
64
65
70
Luka
Mezgec
SLO
71
61
67
60
73
70
76
58
79
77
62
68
70
Clemens
Fankhauser
AUT
69
67
75
61
70
68
73
59
70
74
70
67
66
Martin
Mahdar
SVK
70
67
73
65
73
72
72
53
72
72
75
63
67
Gabor
Fejes
HUN
74
66
70
75
70
72
66
54
58
70
68
68
75
Matej
Jurco
SVK
69
69
72
71
71
74
72
52
71
72
71
66
71
Jonathan
Millan
COL
66
68
72
63
70
70
74
52
74
75
59
57
63
Patrik
Tybor
SVK
73
67
72
63
73
68
69
54
72
73
73
66
65
Krisztian
Lovassy
HUN
67
63
64
56
67
68
69
72
75
75
74
71
56
Marek
Canecky
SVK
65
73
71
65
72
70
70
50
66
69
69
64
65
Peter
Kusztor
HUN
73
68
71
72
71
69
71
59
70
71
72
66
70
Pavel
Potocki
CRO
66
72
69
66
70
68
71
54
62
63
65
68
66
Ino
Ilesic
SLO
69
53
55
59
67
68
71
54
76
72
59
62
59
Zoltan
Sipos
HUN
67
66
69
72
72
69
67
55
61
63
69
67
73
Paulius
Siskevicius
LTU
69
63
69
62
66
69
66
50
62
65
62
61
62
Istvan
Molnar
HUN
66
65
66
63
71
70
65
55
50
67
66
63
63
Peter
Simon
HUN
63
67
66
54
65
65
64
50
53
54
58
59
54
A team relatively similar to Netia. Their main leader is Frenchman Julien Simon who, not unlike others, could be one to dominate the division but then again he may not. His ability to sprint well will be key to the number of points he gets. In Frankhauser he has a good supporting rider who can also sprint just as well as he can and isn't much worse at going over the hills. In the hills their depth is quite fantastic (9 70+ HIL riders) with many domestiques who will attack but only the two leaders. In the mountains they have very little in terms of points scorers, the young talented Potocki is one to watch out for in the future in other divisions. The big thing that shocks me here is that Mezgec has a wage of 250,000! He is a good sprinter, but there are better in the division, his HIL stat is decent but certainly not good, there is nothing I can see that makes him deserve a 250k wage other than his nationality. He will however score points this season, Lovassy as his main helper who could do with developing his ability in the PT.
The arrival of Ian into the Man-Game was an almost momentous thing for Daily and we were all in great anticipation as to what he could do straight away. I'll tell you what he did, he got the B World Champion into his CT team! Richeze is one of the top sprinters in the CT and he will receive strong support from an unusual South American team, one that has a focus on the sprints. Andriato is the second best sprinter in the team and is pretty good himself, he is also only one of two in the team's top 10 sprinters that isn't Argentinean. This team should do extremely well in the sprints, provided they avoid Thorsen and co. In the mountains they have 3 good climbers with other decent supporters, as us from the CT know from last year you don't need to the top end climbers to bring in the points. In the hills they have a rider or two who may benefit from mid stage attacks. Definitely a team I personally will be following because you have to appreciate what Ian has achieved.
Severstal - Mercator
Manager: Silvio Herklotz
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Jose
Mendes
POR
69
68
78
69
72
68
67
51
68
65
70
67
69
Grega
Bole
SLO
71
64
74
64
74
67
71
63
76
74
71
61
64
Jan
Hirt
CZE
68
75
70
69
73
75
74
52
65
74
72
66
69
Gabor
Kasa
SER
70
71
72
74
74
70
71
58
63
66
67
65
74
Esad
Hasanovic
SER
67
74
67
70
71
70
68
60
62
61
67
70
70
Emanuel
Kiserlovski
CRO
68
74
71
66
73
67
70
57
55
69
75
67
66
Ivan
Balykin
RUS
73
57
61
66
68
66
73
56
76
75
52
62
71
Dmitriy
Ignatiev
RUS
71
58
69
75
70
72
71
57
56
67
66
67
74
Michal
Golas
POL
71
65
71
67
72
70
71
58
74
72
75
62
67
Aleksandr
Mironov
RUS
73
55
62
68
71
65
70
55
75
74
80
64
68
Mathias
Belka
GER
64
67
72
62
70
70
66
53
60
66
71
64
61
Luka
Pibernik
SLO
69
62
69
59
69
65
65
61
65
68
68
66
61
Alexander
Foliforov
RUS
70
68
68
64
73
73
70
50
61
58
66
72
64
Luka
Grubic
CRO
64
66
68
69
67
69
64
55
51
54
63
70
68
Ivan
Savitskiy
RUS
65
52
62
69
69
69
65
56
69
70
61
67
73
Dalibor
Grželj
SLO
60
68
61
56
60
62
62
53
53
63
79
54
56
Robert
Jenko
SLO
65
56
60
56
65
64
63
59
67
70
53
72
56
Despite losing a good rider due to the fact that their manager can't read and calculate numbers correctly, this Russian team run by a Putin-like figure is a decently good team. Featuring two of last year's top riders, Mendes will be expected to work his magic once again as he is the top rated hills rider in the division, while Bole will also be expected to deliver now that their other top man has disappeared. But other than these two there is only one other rider worth talking about. Jan Hirt will be a beast but not yet, this season he should be a consistent Top 10 GC guy. Whether he is worth the 112,500 that Severstal are paying of his wage could be argued either way. The problem with this team is that outside this trio there isn't a lot to offer and besides the hills I don't see anywhere this team will score decent points.
They have one of the top time trialists in the CT in Andrew Tennant and he can go over a hill better than most, alone he can bring in a good chunk of points from the disciplines that many others ignore completely. Elia Favilli is one of the better hilly sprinters in the CT and is likely to perform very well for the team, the help from Belmokhtar will certainly help him. There is also ohter good supporting hill depth that one could easily miss, this is one of the top 5 teams in the hills in terms of depth. Corioni and Dupont could do decently well in the sprints and will be expected to bring in a few points. The main strength of this team however is in the cobbled classics. Dutchman Langeveld is one of the top in this terrain in the CT and with De Backer as a co-leader it gives the team two great options on the cobbles. 4 other 70+COB riders will also provide the much needed support to help the leaders get over the line. This team may score a lot of points in the areas where others will not. The only weakness is there are no worthy climbers.
Team Type 1
Manager: jsh213mufc
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Thomas
Peterson
USA
66
75
68
73
68
72
74
51
59
69
70
62
73
Chris
Barton
USA
65
73
65
75
71
73
73
61
59
66
68
74
75
Martijn
Verschoor
NED
73
60
64
67
74
71
75
68
76
75
70
62
72
Dan
McLay
GBR
71
56
66
55
72
70
75
70
75
76
62
66
55
Maarten
Wynants
BEL
73
58
64
66
72
67
65
75
62
62
73
69
66
Andrea
Peron
ITA
71
57
64
57
72
69
74
59
75
74
56
56
66
Craig
Lewis
USA
69
71
70
71
68
73
69
51
58
65
61
56
71
Florian
Bissinger
GER
71
60
71
70
70
66
69
64
67
73
76
68
70
David
Lozano
ESP
66
72
70
57
71
68
66
52
52
69
70
72
57
Joonas
Henttala
FIN
65
70
65
69
70
69
68
50
60
66
62
71
69
Phil
Bauhaus
GER
70
55
60
56
67
63
67
64
73
71
59
62
60
Tomas
Swift-Metcalfe
GBR
67
70
65
62
70
66
66
55
57
71
65
65
62
Joe
Eldridge
USA
69
66
64
71
67
72
65
52
65
68
67
66
70
Bradley
Wiggins
GBR
68
57
62
72
61
60
60
57
56
67
65
57
72
Javier
Mejias
ESP
68
52
52
60
66
64
63
54
73
72
57
61
60
Stephen
Clancy
IRL
66
65
68
61
65
68
65
56
62
66
65
68
61
James
Glasspool
AUS
68
59
67
65
69
64
68
56
70
68
71
61
65
Simon
Strobel
GER
66
57
60
69
64
67
65
52
57
60
64
61
69
Ruud
Cremers
NED
64
54
56
59
66
65
63
66
62
61
66
72
59
Team Type 1 may unfortunately have an awful season as I see no rider here worth getting excited about. Stage race leader Peterson isn't very good and can't go over a hill very well. The second highest paid rider is a time trialist in Barton who can climb and time trial but he can't go over a hill and will funnily enough probably be dropped on flat stages. They have 3 sprinters who will struggle to get a result worth being happy about. The only potential point scorer is an ageing Wynants whose back up stats are pretty poor to say the least. The team does have a bunch of talent but it is unlikely for the top ones to develop, at least this season anyway. They are certainly contenders for the spoon this season, and not a shiny gold one.
Verkefnid Iceland
Manager: The Hobbit
Team Nationality:
First Name
Last Name
Nationality
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FIG
DWH
PRO
Yoann
Bagot
FRA
68
76
73
65
74
69
69
51
58
64
71
61
65
Amadou
Bakari
GAB
58
53
54
54
58
56
59
81
61
60
58
59
54
Ingvar
Omarsson
ISL
70
71
74
73
71
67
72
65
68
72
68
73
72
Michael
Vanderaerden
BEL
72
54
61
58
71
65
78
63
79
75
56
59
58
Andreas
Landa
NOR
66
75
67
68
68
73
67
56
53
71
68
63
68
Ã…smund Romstad
Løvik
NOR
71
75
72
61
72
73
69
60
58
66
71
68
57
Bruno
Lima
POR
70
53
64
69
69
69
77
55
76
80
74
63
69
Jonas Aaen
Jørgensen
DEN
73
57
59
58
64
61
70
60
78
73
52
62
58
Alo
Jakin
EST
71
59
68
68
72
71
69
63
75
74
74
69
76
Kari
Brynjolfsson
ISL
71
61
68
70
70
65
61
73
66
68
67
69
69
David Thor
Sigurdsson
ISL
71
59
67
61
68
68
69
64
74
74
66
69
63
Oskar
Omarsson
ISL
72
67
70
64
70
69
67
65
68
71
70
72
66
Gunnlaugur
Jonasson
ISL
70
62
69
71
64
68
67
63
58
59
54
62
70
Runar Örn
Agustsson
ISL
68
58
63
70
68
69
63
53
60
61
63
65
70
Hlynur
Thorsteinsson
ISL
64
53
56
71
54
68
59
53
53
55
52
58
72
Anton Örn
Elfarsson
ISL
70
54
59
69
63
61
62
54
68
70
54
59
71
Helgi Pall
Einarsson
ISL
69
62
66
59
63
64
66
62
64
65
70
68
60
Runar Karl
Elfarsson
ISL
69
57
65
61
68
69
67
64
62
68
68
67
62
Gisli
Olafsson
ISL
64
53
63
52
64
61
60
60
60
67
75
66
59
Does it really matter how good or bad this team is? It is by far the coolest team in world cycling and will gain support from many of the neutrals. Despite the fact that they have 11 riders from Iceland it is still a pretty decent team. They have three pretty good stage race leaders in Bagot, Løvik and even Omarsson is likely to score a few points here and there. In the sprints they are led by Vanderaerden and Lima who are two more than useful riders for racing in the CT and I see this as the main strength of the team. In the cobbles they have the best rider in the CT by some distance in Man-Game legend Amadou Bakari. The 28 year old from Gabon will look to ride for the nation of Africa as he represents them in the CT after years in the higher divisions. You just have to like this team, not only are they from Iceland but they have Bakari. The support for this special team will be unheard of! Hopefully they can do well this season.
As always, this is by far the most difficult part of pre-season previews. There are some teams that you know will finish in in the top few or bottom few but there are some teams where you have no clue at all.
Anyway, here they are!
1. Generali - Kronenberg 1664
2. Compal - Merida
3. Netia - Norske Skog
4. DeLaval - Kitikori
5. Severstal - Mercator
6. Alpina - Avianca
7. BelarusBank Pro Cycling
8. Strava
9. SanCor Cycling Team
10. Indosat - ANZ
11. In-n-Out Cycling Team Powered by Carrefour
12. Actavis - DKSH
13. OTP Bank - Slovnaft
14. Novatek - Panarmenian.net
15. Fablok - Dunlop
16. Verkefnid Iceland
17. Fred Whitton Racing Team
18. Chiquita - Universal p/b Minions
19. Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo Cycling Team
20. Carlsberg - Danske Bank
21. Gatorade - SIS
22. Elta - Hellenic Post
23. Akzonobel - Statoil
24. Sodexo Pro Cycling
25. Fox Sports - Golomt Cycling
26. Team Type 1
Another Top 20 for Carlsberg
I would argue what you said about De Maar's wage though. I can see his all-around stats paying off in CT and definitely being worth 100k. His ACC alone will give him an edge on most other punchers
Also, you call Verkefnid's focus awesome(rightfully!) but Team Type 1 has a nice one as well, with all those diabetic guys
Generali as division winner is an interesting shout. Wonder if they can live up to that
Joseph could and will probably do pretty well in the cobbles and he is one of the better riders in the CT on the terrain and will be able to sprint decently well. Don't expect too many long range efforts though as his TT is weak.
This part was a bit confusing though. I'm not sure if it affects the long range attacks
Wow, big difference in the Belarusbank predictions here
Glad to see us being tipped at the top again, but I'm afraid the predictors are overrating us. I only have 15 riders, so in several races I have either not a full squad, or climbers in flat races and opposite.
Our goal is top 5 nonetheless, but I really doubt to win the division or being a runner-up. For that I would have needed a slightly bigger squad I think.
Nice preview, again a bit lower then I expect our team to finish. But maybe I'm just to optimistic about my management skills with Belkin doing so well in EPIC. We managed to go a lot higher then the predictions last year, so I'm hoping we could do the same this year
Same as SN this could really improved presentation wise. Splitting each preview into 2/3 shorter paragraphs and either replacing the stat tables with screenshots or by coloring the key stats would make it look a not nicer and make it a lot easier to read.
The content itself is good and interesting though!
And in last year's field, Ostergaard was really good. 
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
