A fifth season in the PCM.Daily ManGame, and we start Season 2 under the GCN ProTeam banner. Last season was rebuilding the team after relegation from the PCT Division in 2017, and we finished the 2018 season in 11th place. Ironically, we scored more points than the last time were in the CT Division and yet finished lower than when we did promote.
Building on last year is key, and the aim as always is pushing for promotion. Automatic spots will be key, and promotion via disbands is not an option at all. We have done that in the past and look where we ended up...
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.:Team History:.
2018 GCN Pro Team Finished: 11th in CT | Points: 1340
The off-season renewals are out of the way, and we head into the Transfer period with a squad of 16 riders under contract.
The main core of the team is still present, with only those in saturated role or just not making the grade after last season leaving the team. Pinot, Keukeleire and Pieters all happy to renew, and with the first pair on a reduced wage from last season, which pleased the investors.
Elsewhere, domestiques and 2nd tier leaders have been renewed for a similar wage to 2018, with only incremental increases for those deserved after their performances.
Last name
First name
2019 Wage
2018 Wage
+/-
Anguilet
Charles
€ 52,500
€ 55,000
-€ 2,500
Burke
Steven
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
Cuming
Michael
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
Gibbons
Ryan
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
Haddi
Soufiane
€ 60,000
€ 70,000
-€ 10,000
Hategeka
Gasore
€ 60,000
€ 60,000
€ 0
Hussein
Mujtaba
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
Jacobs
Pieter
€ 55,000
€ 50,000
€ 5,000
Keukeleire
Jens
€ 275,000
€ 300,000
-€ 25,000
Krul
Stef
€ 50,000
€ 10,000
€ 40,000
McLay
Dan
€ 70,000
€ 50,000
€ 20,000
Minoungou
Oumaru
€ 50,000
€ 0
€ 50,000
Moulingui
Clenne Morvan
€ 50,000
€ 50,000
€ 0
Ngandamba
Geoffroy
€ 52,500
€ 55,000
-€ 2,500
Pinot
Thibaut
€ 175,000
€ 200,000
-€ 25,000
Potocki
Pavel
€ 70,000
€ 50,000
€ 20,000
Sadly, we have to say goodbye to 3 riders; Ahmed Youssef Belgasem, Chris Opie and Michael Thomson. Whilst all had more than valid, minimal wage demands during the renewals process, we were unable to fit them into our overall budgets.
All have parted on good terms, and we wish them all the best for the future.
Seeing you having a full cap already, do you expect this to be a rather quiet transfer season without a lot of moves or do you plan to make some major actions?
knockout wrote:
Seeing you having a full cap already, do you expect this to be a rather quiet transfer season without a lot of moves or do you plan to make some major actions?
Expect to be quiet in all honesty. A small number of targets and we will look to move on 1 or 2 riders through loans and lower cost sales. Looking at 1 type of rider to come in and bolster the squad really.
With the transfer season set to open in less than 12 hours time, we thought it would only be right to give an overview of the GcN ProTeam.
Two riders are definitely available for loan deals, with the PT and the PCT the target destination for them respectively.
Clenne Morvan Moulingui (PT Loan) is looking to continue his development and would make a fine domestique in any Cobbles line up. Only holds a € 50,000 wage so is a cheap option!
Ryan Gibbons (PCT Loan) is the next man available, again looking to aid his development as a Sprinter. Another man on a € 50,000 wage, he would be a good addition to any PCT sprint train, especially as an early lead out man.
As for the rest of the team, we will listen to offers. No rider has a 'Not for sale' tag against them, so if anyone is of interest, then get in touch!
Banking on continuity instead of a rebuild seems like a refreshing approach to see. With riders like Pinot, Keukeleire and Potocki leading the team means promotion is always close at hand.
With the first deals of the transfer season being struck and confirmed by the MGUCI, GCN ProTeam are delighted to reveal their first new face of the 2019 season.
Rui Pedro Vinhas | | 4.100 | € 50,000 | Climber
The Portuguese Climber Rui Pedro Vinhas has joined GCN ProTeam from Duolingo for a fee of € 300,000. Seen as the new Lieutenant of Thibault Pinot, he will be the last man by his side all mountain stages, and hopefully pulling off some surprises of his own throughout the season as well.
Dubbed 'Mr Party Pooper' by those in the PCT and PT divisions, he comes with only a € 50,000 wage, which is fantastic for a rider of his calibre.
*****
We also say goodbye to Clenne Morvan Moulingui, who joins Greig-Maersk on a season long to finalise his development as an African Cobbles star. Learning from the likes of Wisniowski, he will come back to the team next season ready to lead our campaign on the pavé.
Probably the biggest deal in the history of Sodexo/La Poste Gabonaise/Haute Route/GCN ProTeam happened in this MG transfer window. Not necessary the biggest fee (that is still held by Thibault Pinot when he signed from the then Ayubowan! team), but it certainly one of the best ability wise.
Erik Mohs | | 4.100 | € 300,000 | Sprinter
Erik Mohs, the German Sprinter, joins GCN ProTeam from Fablok and will go from fighting the best in the PT & PCT divisions over the past 3/4 seasons to leading us in the sprints at CT level. Seen as our key to promotion this year, pressure will be huge on his shoulders, but I'm sure he can handle it.
Just a fee of € 450,000 was enough to bring the German to the UK. A bargain in our eyes certainly!
*****
Again, we have to say goodbye to one of our riders in this update, but it is only for the season, as Ryan Gibbons joins PCT Team Philips to continue his sprints development. We wish him luck for the year and hope to see him back a stronger rider.
Erik Mohs in CT is kinda scary. Happy to see him continue in a good team, he certainly did a lot for us and he finished a good season for us and secured us promotion to PT. Now he is in CT.
Dunno if he there's enough points to get in order to finish number 1 in the rider standings in CT by the end of the year. He's surely a contender!
Thanks guys - Mohs is a huge coup for us and I really hope it pays off. Keukeleire was there or thereabouts last year so hope Mphs will just go that one step further and bring home the big points.
Final part of the transfer reveals for GCN ProTeam, seeing as Transfers finished many weeks ago, and a few office commitments and filming schedules meant we just could not get the content out in time!
Gaeten Bille | | 4.100 | € 50,000 | Classics
One of our prodigal sons has come home, as Gaeten Bille re-signs from Generali. Part of the team that promoted in 2016, we were more than happy to take him back for just a fee of € 150,000.
The Belgian will be a key rider and road captain, acting as domestique and leader depending on the terrain and race situation.
Sandor Szalontay | | 4.100 | € 50,000 | Sprinter
The signing of Mohs meant a sudden urgency to add to our Sprints train. Coming available as part of an exchange with Mujtaba Huusein with ENI-MOL, Sandor Szalontay filled this role perfectly. Minimal wage and zero fee was perfect for us, and he will be the right hand man of Mohs all year, along with Dan McLay.
Gracjan Lejman | | 4.100 | € 0 | Puncheur
Signed as in the First Round of the CT Draft, Gracjan Lejman joins to an alternative to Gasore Hategeka in the Hilly Classics. No pressure to perform, any points picked up during the season will be a bonus really.
Geremie Nzeke | | 4.100 | € 0 | Puncheur
Our Round 2 CT Draft pick was Geremie Nzeke, who like Lejman joins the team to bolster a lacklustre Hills team. No pressure to perform agian, any points gained over the season will be a bonus. We will have him wearing the colourful Cameroonian jersey this season as well which just looks fantastic!
James Knox | | 1.00 | € 10,000 | Stage Racer
Our one and only stagiare signing for 2019, Briton James Knox will ride for the team from August. A man for the future when the roads begin to steepen, his development could take him in many directions. Pure climber, hilly classics man, stage racer? He could be any of them!
Bram Welten | | 1.00 | Loan | Classics
Signed on loan from Podium Ambition, we will aim with the early development of Bram Welten as he starts his career in cycling. A domestique all year, expect a lot fo race days from the Dutchman.
Michael O'Loughlin | | 1.00 | Loan | Time Trialist
Another loan signing for this year, Michael O'Loughlin has come on board from Repsol - Netflix. A future Irish TT star, we are more than happy to have him onboard and aiding with his development.
*****
With so many riders coming into the team, it was only inevitable that we would see more riders leaving the team. As part of the deal for Sandor Szalontay, Majtaba Hussein joined ENI-MOL to add to their TT squad, and we finally said goodbye to Jen Keukeleire as well.
The Belgian, who never really found his feet and consistancy with the team over 2 years, will be in the PT and part of the Sprints squad of Podium Ambition for 2019.
Finally, sadly we said goodbye to Soufiane Haddi, who was deemed surplus to requirements after the purchase of Szalontay, so we was released from the team with a few days left of transfers. He would be picked up by Aker-MOT for a minimal wage, and he will be another former rider mixing with a PT peleton in 2019.
We wish all the rider the best for the future and thank them for your services during their time with the team.
With the Transfers finished and done with this season, the designers at Assos quickly got working on the National Champions jerseys for all the riders who will get to wear a special jersey in 2019. I think you agree, they have done a great job as always!
As the 2019 is just around the corner, we felt it was good time to reveal our full calendar for the season.
It will see us travel across the world in the CT Division, and hope to bolster our promotion plans with C1 and HC races over the year.
Date
Race
Country
Jan
10
Down Under Classic
Australia
10
Clasico San Cristobal
Cuba
22-31
Vuelta al Tachira
Venezuela
31
Great Ocean Road Classic
Australia
Feb
1-7
Tour de Langkawi
Malaysia
7
GP Herning
Norway
10-12
Ras Tailteann
Ireland
25-27
Hong Kong Challenge
Hong Kong
Mar
5-9
Circulo de Juarez
Mexico
18
Geraardsbergen-Bosberg
Belgium
22-27
Tour of Eritrea
Eritrea
Apr
4-9
Tour de Vineyards**
New Zealand
18
Betonexpressz GP
Hungary
26
Lincoln GP**
Great Britain
May
1-5
Cheshire Cycling Tour
Great Britain
4-5
Windhoek ITT
Namibia
7
1 Jour de Dunkerque
France
12-14
Tour du Faso
Burkina Faso
19-21
Giro del Trentino
Italy
Jun
2-6
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
Gabon
4-5
Lillestrom GP
Norway
13-19
Tour of Vancouver
Canada
Jul
16-20
Tour of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
17
Sakartvelo Trophy
Georgia
23
Vilnius GP
Lithuania
27-30
USA Pro Cycling Challenge**
United States
Aug
1-6
Benelux Challenge
Belgium / Netherlands
20-21
Grands Prix Cyclistes
Canada
Sept
1-5
Philadelphia International Championships
United States
2-22
Tour of America
United States
10-13
Euskal Bizkleta
Spain
24
Ronde van Het Ijsselmeer
Netherlands
24
Transfagarasan GP
Romania
29
GP Yekaterinburg
Russia
Oct
1
Heistse Pijl
Belgium
6-10
Herald Sun Tour
Australia
6-9
Course de Solidarnosc
Poland
18
Zuri Metzgete
Switzerland
Italics** indicates goal race
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A spread of terrains for the Goals as always this season. Cobbles, Sprints and GC Stage race all planned, along with the Individual & Teams Standings. Let's see how many of the 5 we have as successful come the end of the season...
Lincoln GP | Win
The top goal for GCN this year is inevitably a home race. Last season, we had a Top 10 position with Pieter Jacobs, and we are hoping he will have the legs to hit the top spots. Plans to bolster our Cobbles squad went the way side during transfers, so it is all on Jacobs for this one!
USA Pro Cycling Challenge | Top 10
A new focus nation for GCN, and with it comes a new goal nation as well. A flat course means we are all in for Erik Mohs to take a Top 10 GC finish. Initially we planned the goal with Keukeleire, so here's the hope Mohs can go much better than a Top 10.
Tour de Vineyards|Top 5
A new race for the 2019 season and we are here for a Top 5 GC goal. The MTF on stage 3 will be key, and we are hoping that Thibault Pinot will be able to add enough time so that he can survive the ITT final stage.
Individual Standings | Top 10
Last season, we had Thibault Pinot finish 10th on the Indiviual ranking, and if we want to promote come the end of the season, we will need him and most likely Mohs to be in the Top 10 as a bare minimal. Probably one of the easier goals for GCN, but we only just scrapped in last year...
Team Standings | Top 5
Promote is key this year. It is PCT or bust for GCN! Top 5 team goal will secure that without the need for disbandments, and we are aiming for it hard!
Oumaru Minoungou - RR & TT
Geremie Nzeke - RR & TT
Pavel Potocki - RR
Geoffroy Ngandamba - RR & TT
Sandor Szalontay - TT
Australia
Cuba
Venezuela
Malaysia
Norway
Hong Kong
Mexico
Eritrea
Namibia
France
Italy
Canada
Bulgaria
Georgia
Lithuania
Spain
Romania
Russia
Gasore Hategeka
GP Herning
