Despite another Top 3 finish for Team Puma - SAP, the team management is not content to keep the squad together entirely and try again in the same fashion, therefore there are plenty of riders whose future within the team isn't secure yet.
A short overview of the riders in question, with a very rough estimate of their availability:
Riders with a MAYBE column are essential to the team in one way or another and would likely require a failure to sell the riders denoted with YES to become available for regular market prices.
A solid swap offer or cash offers beyond our initial estimate for these MAYBE riders could definitely convince us to change plans though!
In general, cash offers are preferred this season, at least until a certain threshold has been passed.
Please approach me via PM to initiate talks as early as possible, even if you cannot start negotiations with a precise offer yet, as gauging initial demand could well see some riders change from YES to MAYBE and vice versa.
We're happy to discuss the details along the way!
We offer a bit more insight into the riders who are definitely available for sale below.
Nikias Arndt
4.100
30yo
Climber
€280.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
71
79
76
56
77
76
72
63
71
75
61
64
56
Nikias Arndt has been a Puma staple for many years, always providing us with scoring opportunities in tough, but not massively selective races thanks to his brilliant sprint abilities.
To provide context, he's the only rider in the world not named Phinney who combines 77+ MO and 71+ SP!
This combination of skills has been enough to consistently make the Top 100 in the PT individual standings, but we do believe it's even better suited to the PCT and even CT ranks.
In PCT, a wide variety of races allows for his season to be entirely planned without running into the dreaded TTs, which further maximizes his scoring potential alongside the lesser depth of the competition.
A very good comparison would be the one to Adam Yates, whose 2020 season helped Farfetch promote:
They both sport the exact same FL/MO/HIL, with Yates having a slight energy stats advantage compared to Arndt's significant +4 SP. These stats allowed Yates to finish 15th in last year's individual PCT standings, ahead of riders like Beltran, Cattaneo, Ewan and Trentin!
And with a relatively manageable wage of 280k, he's very much CT eligible as well, where he could very likely be a Top 3 climber in his own right with easily the best punch of the division.
Jasha Sütterlin
4.100
29yo
Time Trials
€110.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
71
59
64
80
73
77
67
56
59
60
76
73
80
Jasha Sütterlin could very well stay in the team if his sale isn't required for budget reasons, but we prepare for all eventualities and transfer list him as well.
Starting his 2020 season with a bang as the winner in the Qatar epilogue, Jasha had a fruitful year overall with a 300+ points score at the end of it.
As a brilliant TTer with great resistance, he's capable of being in the Top 5 of any time trial on a decent day.
While his other main stats look somewhat lacking in comparison, he has shown a resilience beyond these values as one of the few TTers to never have been dropped in Praha-Karlovy Vary-Praha's tough final stage, the gold standard for pure time trialists in the top division.
With four more years on this level, he's very much a long-term leader on his terrain and can elevate a TTT lineup to the next level if there are not enough races on the calendar where he can shine individually.
Marcel Aregger
4.100
31yo
Sprinter
€75.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
73
64
71
68
72
71
77
62
78
77
65
67
78
Marcel Aregger has been a solid final leadout in Demare's sprint train this season, helping the Frenchman win the maglia ciclamino in impressive fashion.
He's one of the most durable leadout riders in the world thanks to his good hill stat, and he's definitely a wildcard for a surprise prologue result in addition to his sprint duties!
And if he's planned to avoid the obvious sprint opportunities by racing stage races with less flat stages, he can easily join the sprints himself!
On a 75k wage, his versatility and reliability to perform regardless of how hard the race is ridden certainly make him stand out amongst the crowd.
Christian Mager
4.100
29yo
Puncheur
€65.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
70
74
77
62
68
70
71
56
60
71
68
70
62
Christian Mager has had a long tenure in the team and we're definitely not transfer listing him for a lack of effort, but we do believe he's a rider even better suited to a lower division, either as a superdomestique for a PCT puncheur or a Top 10 candidate in his own right in CT for about the cheapest wage you can field a captain there.
His 74mo certainly help him conserve energy and perform above expectations in those races.
And even in PT, he's a great breakaway rider for the Grand Tours and similar stage races with a decent chance for a stage wins and KoM jersey success.
Especially last season, he made great use of his opportunities, being part of the famous Malecki breakaway in the Giro to hold a Top 5 GC spot for a week and finish 26th overall at the end of the race, as well as coming across the line in second place in a Vuelta stage.
You can have all that scoring potential for just 65k wage!
Patrick Bevin
4.100
30yo
Stage Racer
€55.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
68
74
73
76
68
64
73
53
64
74
74
69
72
It's sort of a running gag by now: Yet another year, yet another transfer listing for Patrick Bevin!
Trust me, the Kiwi really is the perfect addition to any team seeking stage race success as he comes with a great 76TT for any TTTs along the way, while also providing good climbing support.
For a salary barely above minimum wage, he's great value.
Not only being a reliable domestique for any sort of climbing lineup, Paddy is also not averse to attacking himself if there is no clear leader to support.
That fact became very visible on stage 18 of the 2018 Tour de France, where his successful breakaway attempt resulted in an amazing third place going up the famous Tourmalet.
If he even gets to lead a squad in smaller races with long TTs, he can surprise the opposition if they are unable to drop him sufficiently in the mountains, which he showed two years ago with a Top 10 in the Tour de Pologne.
Particularly in CT, good planning could see him capitalize on his skillset very well, as pretty much all of the better TTers in that division would certainly struggle to keep up with him uphill.
We've been extremely happy with his performances throughout the years, consistently scoring 170-190 points in a very competitive ProTour, but believe there are plenty of teams out there that could be even more accomodating to his strengths.
Guy Sagiv
4.100
27yo
Rouleur
€60.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
77
63
73
60
73
71
77
66
72
72
66
71
70
Guy Sagiv is the Israeli RR champion and would bring a unique jersey to your team, which should already be as good an argument as you need!
Breakaway success in flat to lumpy stages with a decent shot at a stint in a KoM jersey is the specialty of Sagiv, but he's also a great addition to any sprint lineup that needs a powerhouse to chase breakaways and need a backup leadout rider for energy-draining stages where a pure sprinter might struggle to be of much help to his leader.
His 60k wage is a representation of said stage win and national championship success, but usually you can negotiate the minimum wage with him.
Edited by cio93 on 13-09-2021 16:52
The offer to faciliate PT loans in our team stands to a lesser degree now, with promising loan deals already having been agreed to and some others being discussed.
We see expectedly see significant interest in our potential leader duo of Arndt and Sütterlin, but there hasn't been an entirely convincing bid for either of them yet.
That means you're very much still encouraged to inquire about them if you're a PT team looking for a solid points scorer, a PCT team looking for a leader or even a CT team looking for the best rider on his terrain!
Similarly, we are in talks about Bevin and Mager that you can still join as no decisions have been made there either, with our desired transfer fee yet to be reached.
And last but certainly not least, both Aregger and Sagiv are not close to a deal yet and can be great depth additions for a rather cheap fee!
The situation at Puma remains mostly unchanged if you still want to get into the mix for these great value riders!
While Arndt, Bevin and Mager are moving in a decent direction regarding concrete offers, all of them can still be convinced to join your team for a fair price.
And for Aregger and Sagiv, we might be willing to accept their respective minimum wage fees of 75k and 60k if interest remains low!
Nikias Arndt could very well be yours for a clean 1m fee!
He's definitely worth that in PCT and can be utilized nicely in PT too.
And if you can find that kind of money in CT, your team is halfway towards promotion already.
Patrick Bevin is likely to leave for 300k tomorrow if you don't feel like he deserves more than that (we certainly do!).
Christian Mager is yet to have a finalized deal on the table, but it's getting close at around the 250k mark, while Aregger and Sagiv have become more popular thanks to the latest news of potential minimum transfer fees.
The latter two are still easily worth 100k+, so feel free to chime in with a slightly improved bid to the 75k and 60k on the table respectively!
The status of the aforementioned riders remains the same with the deal window approaching.
Especially Arndt for 1m could turn out to be a steal in hindsight, considering a one-year-and-done leader like Spilak appears to be worth 50% more than that at this very moment!
Arndt in comparison will serve you well for 3 more years before the word "decline" even comes up in your plans.
We're happy to open a deal thread for Christian Mager for a 145k offer now, while a 205k offer guarantees the deal straight away.
Christian Mager
4.100
29yo
Puncheur
€65.000
Fl
Mo
Hi
TT
St
Rs
Rc
Co
Sp
Ac
Fi
DH
Pr
70
74
77
62
68
70
71
56
60
71
68
70
62
I'd like to remind you that he finished second on a Vuelta stage last season and had a strong Giro, you likely won't find a better value deal for a rider with those kinds of results at the moment.
He's an ideal low-wage leader for a CT team and a great superdomestique for your puncheur star in PCT.
Sagiv and Aregger are still available for minimum fee deals as well, that's 60k and 75k respectively.
With Sagiv having a 60k deal posted and several loan movements in and out, we're no longer in any financial need to sell riders.
Feel free to still inquire about any rider that catches your eye, and particularly swap deals of riders with similar wages that come without a significant fee attached are still potentially of interest for us.
Do you still just lack that tiny bit of training funds to make your new star rider come true?
And do you have a great value rider at up to €75.000 wage in your team that you're willing to swap for a still very decent rider to get that cash you're missing?
