4 of our riders reached the end of their natural development during the last season.
Thanakhan Chaiyasombat, 25, 4.100 XP
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
74,57
69
76
72
70
71
74
74
52
66
72
71
69
70
76,23
69
78
74
70
71
75
75
52
66
74
73
69
70
Rune Herregodts, 26, 4.100 XP
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
74,44
73
73
74
75
73
77
69
65
67
70
74
66
78
76,81
73
75
75
77
74
78
71
65
67
70
74
66
80
Shoi Matsuda, 25, 4.100 XP
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
72,16
74
65
70
75
69
74
65
60
71
71
60
64
77
74,86
76
65
71
77
70
76
67
60
71
71
61
64
79
John Salazar, 26, 4.100 XP
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
71,54
74
70
69
69
72
72
72
68
69
71
68
68
71
72,86
76
71
70
70
74
73
73
69
70
73
70
69
72
Renewals and Availability
Despite our subpar season renewals proved to be quite a challenge with a lot of riders demanding a significant raise. Unfortunately this meant we couldn't retain Chamorro and Sirironnachai.
OVL
Wage
Change
Available
Varsham Darbinyan
74,35
65.000 €
€ 0.000
Maybe
Rune Herregodts
76,81
190.000 €
€ 120.000
No
Milan Menten
74,92
100.000 €
€ 10.000
Unlikely
Michael Vanthourenhout
73,37
60.000 €
€ 5.000
Maybe
Ivan Sosa
77,84
350.000 €
€ -20.000
Likely
Juan Ernesto Chamorro
74,92
Released
-
Ka Hoo Fung
75,19
100.000 €
€ 0.000
No
Ho San Chiu
74,38
70.000 €
€ 0.000
Unlikely
Chun Wing Leung
74,11
100.000 €
€ 40.000
Maybe
Shoi Matsuda
74,86
90.000 €
€ -60.000
Unlikely
Yevgeniy Gidich
79,71
700.000 €
€ 100.000
No
Dylan Van Baarle
75,18
125.000 €
€ -95.000
Yes
Ronnilan Quita
76,82
180.000 €
€ 10.000
Maybe
John Salazar
72,86
55.000 €
€ 5.000
Unlikely
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz
78,07
360.000 €
€ -20.000
Maybe
Jose Fernandes
75,93
130.000 €
€ -30.000
Maybe
Ricardo Ferreira
75,39
115.000 €
€ 0.000
Yes
Yuttana Mano
77,31
280.000 €
€ 95.000
No
Thanakhan Chaiyasombat
76,23
140.000 €
€ 60.000
No
Sarawut Sirironnachai
74,46
Released
-
Sakchai Phodingam
73,95
50.000 €
€ 0.000
No
Hsuan Ping Hsu
77,02
240.000 €
€ 0.000
No
We'll be actively looking for deals for Ricardo Ferreira and Dylan van Baarle. Depending on how transfers go, Any of the riders listed as likely, maybe or unlikely could be available.
Another transfer season done. We were not very active on the free agency, but still managed to shake the team up a bit with some deals.
#1 Departures
The most emotional departure was the one of Sarawut Sirironnachai who was with the team since its foundation in 2014, when he joined as a young talent. He is also the rider that gave us the first victory when winning the 2014 Great Ocean Road Classic from the break. It remained his only big victory, with other successes including three King of the Mountains jerseys, the last one at the 2020 Tour of Norway. Sirionnachai will spend his last season with peak stats at Zain - Omantel.
Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz is the biggest name leaving. Kasperkiewicz has been the cobbles leader of the team for four years in which he delivered 5 victories, including twice the Cheshire Cycling Tour and the East Midlands Cicle Classic. In the upcoming season he will lead PCT team Specialized.
Other names leaving are Colombian climbers Ivan Sosa, who impressed us with a very strong 2022 season including a stage win at the Vuelta, and Juan Ernesto Chamorro, who left already during renewals. Sosa will get more chances at leadership in the upcoming season at McCormick Pro Cycling and Chamorro was picked up by newly founded CT team Ethiopian Airlines. Loyal cobble stone domestique and leadout Varsham Darbinyan is leaving after 5 years on the team to Euskotren - Pays Basque. Finally, Portuguese duo Ricardo Ferreira and Jose Fernandes left the team as part of deals with pro tour teams Polar and Lidl, respectively.
#2 Arrivals
7 riders leaving means we can also introduce 7 new names into the team. As the standout signing we proudly welcome Brandon McNulty to our team, who joins us from McCormick Pro Cycling as part of the deal with Sosa going the other way. McNulty has already proven his quality last season, in which he among others narrowly missed out on the victory at his home race Tour of America and was victorious at the Hong Kong Challenge. McNulty steps up to the PT with King Power this year with the clear target to develop into a GT podium contender.
Brandon McNulty, 26, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 410.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
77,76
72
80
74
77
75
77
77
61
64
68
71
67
75
As our leader in cobbled classics, to replace Kasperkiewicz, we managed to strike a deal with Grieg for Rasmus Tiller. After being a crucial part of Mads Pedersen's support squad, Tiller will get the chance to step up and take a leadership role within our team. Also here he has big shoes to fill with the departure of Kasperkiewicz, but we are confident he will grow into the role.
Rasmus Tiller, 28, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 190.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
76,85
74
65
70
67
76
75
70
79
74
73
69
70
69
Always on his side will be our next new signing Jodok Salzmann who joins us from Lidl with Fernandes going the other way. Besides supporting Tiller, Salzmann is also a rider that can go for strong results himself, evident by his 452 points scored in PT last year.
Jodok Salzmann, 29, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 140.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
75,38
73
63
71
64
77
76
71
77
67
71
70
69
64
2 Colombians left the team, 1 joined. Like his compatriots Einer Augusto Rubio excels when the road rises. We count on his attacking spirits in GTs and as a support for McNulty. Rubio was swapped for Darbinyan with Euskotren - Pays Basque.
Einer Augusto Rubio, 26, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 105.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
75,32
67
77
74
64
76
74
75
60
60
73
73
65
64
Our new secondary sprinter Thanawut Sanikwathi is a known face. He was part of the team for one year back in 2014. In the 9 seasons in between he was part of various teams with CT team Strava being his last one. A return was on the cards various times and we are happy that we could secure an agreement after all these years.
Thanawut Sanikwathi, 31, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 75.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
74,46
72
58
66
65
70
67
75
72
78
78
66
72
68
Onto our talent signings: Thomas Gloag joins us from Newton Foundation and has a bright future as a strong climber. In 2024 he will ride on loan for his home team cycleYorkshire. We are looking forward to see him back stronger and ready for bigger tasks already next year.
Thomas Gloag, 23, 3.57 XP, Wage: € 125.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
72,18
70
73
71
60
72
73
71
55
65
71
62
69
61
2026
71
78
76
61
74
75
75
55
65
75
67
70
62
After a few years without this year we decided to try and sign a level 1 neo pro again. Timetrialing prospect Lorenzo Milesi joins us after long and exhausting negotiations from the Free Agency. Besides timetrials, he also knows how to ride the cobbles. In the upcoming season he will be out on loan at McCormick Pro Cycling.
Lorenzo Milesi, 22, 1.0 XP, Wage: € 175.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
68,02
68
55
61
71
70
68
71
69
60
65
71
66
70
2027
75
56
62
80
77
73
76
73
60
65
74
67
79
#3 Training
With an underwhelming 2023 season, our funds don't allow us to perform all the training that we have hoped for. It was enough to improve our new stage racing leader McNulty's climbing skills.
Brandon McNulty, 26, 4.100 XP, Wage: € 410.000
OVL
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FI
DH
PR
77,76
72
80
74
77
75
77
77
61
64
68
71
67
75
**
**
78,32
72
81
74
77
75
77
77
61
64
68
71
67
75
Further Yevgeniy Gidich worked on his finishing ability. Last season he missed out closely many times, we hope this will increase his chances. Unfortunately the small improvement will cost him one raceday.
Outstanding team. Agree with Croatia that this is one of the top teams for the next season and with barely any declines on the horizon, its here to stay for a while!
Happy that the Kaspa fee was put to good use! The greatest thing to me about this team is the age profile, incredible balance and also a great young leadership core in McNulty, Mano and Gidich!
This is a brilliant team. Happy to see McNulty hasn’t stopped progressing after leaving McCormick. Also I’m kinda pleased with him not being in PCT anymore. Also very not pleased with Sosa being there :-)
Echoing WJ, amazing to see how young your team is on average I thought I had a rather healthy age structure, but that's nothing compared to yours. As mentioned by knockout, that's a team that should stay at the top of PT for quite some years, even if you don't do many changes!
The McNulty training was obviously coming, and I'd say he should already be among the Top 15 stage racers (if not better) with these stats. Also a bit frustrating to see that a 81Mo/77TT rider has a lower OVL than my 79 puncheur ^^
Speaking of puncheur, Gidich had an amazing 2023 and should be able to score in the same regions. Mano was rather disappointing and should do better - these two plus McNulty are amazing leaders to have, and so young still! Last year was disappointing for you (in particular after the 2022 podium finish), but I wouldn't be surprised to see you back on the podium this year!
Looks like the Pogacar vs McNulty rivalry is just getting started. Although the one with almost 1.5 lower OVL can more easily have a more efficient output.
Season number 11 done and dusted for King Power, so it's time for another season recap. After a subpar season in 2023, we wanted to strike back and be in contention for a podium again. Following these ambitions we made some changes to our squad, bringing on Brandon McNulty and Rasmus Tiller as leaders for stage races and northern classics respectively. All season long we were in the fight for a podium spot and were able to achieve it with a strong performance on the very last day of the season in Lombardia:
Pos
Last
Team
Total
RD
PpRD
1
1
Gazelle
7345
180
40.81
2
2
Tinkoff Team - La Datcha
7296
180
40.53
3
5
King Power
7078
180
39.32
4
3
Polar
6995
180
38.86
5
4
Evonik - ELKO
6903
180
38.35
...
3rd place in a very competitive PT is definitely a great achievement for the team. The other side of the coin is that we only managed to get two stage victories all season.
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
Stages
2
9
8
10
12
7
8
11
4
8
GC
0
1
1
3
2
0
4
1
3
0
Classics
0
1
3
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
Total
2
11
12
15
16
8
13
13
7
8
Victories is what makes us happy and makes the sponsors happy so this analysis of our top 10s throughout the season also leaves us feeling slightly disappointed about the season. Out of 25 podiums this season only 2 were a victory. The close misses of a podium in 4th and 5th were even more frequent. Often we manage to get involved when races are decided but we are missing the edge to turn that into more victories. Something to work on for 2025. Let's dive into a deeper analysis of our results. We'll go through them by department. A full overview over our results can be found in post #2.
Puncheurs
20
Yevgeniy Gidich
1225
106
Ronnilan Quita
344
Team leader Yevgeniy Gidich did not manage to satisfy his ambitions establishing himself among the very best puncheurs. He delivered consistent results in stage races and classics, including a decent Ardennes campaign, but the standout success is missing this season. 20th in the individual rankings is the result of that. Ronnilan Quita rode the Giro d'Italia this season aiming for stage victories. Unfortunately for us stronger puncheurs with the same goal were also present. At Giro di Lombardia Quita managed to redeem himself with a podium place finish. Adding to that Gidich's 3rd place in Liege we have to monument podiums this season.
3rd
Classic
Liege - Bastogne - Liege
GTM
Yevgeniy Gidich
3rd
Classic
Giro di Lombardia
GTM
Ronnilan Quita
4th
Classic
Fleche Wallonne
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
4th
Classic
Giro di Lombardia
GTM
Yevgeniy Gidich
5th
Classic
Amstel Gold Race
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
2nd
GC
Tour of Lithuania
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
4th
GC
Scandinavia Open Road Race
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
7th
GC
Tirreno - Adriatico
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
7th
GC
Balkans International
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
3rd
St. 4
Tour of Lithuania
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
3rd
St. 3
Scandinavia Open Road Race
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
3rd
St. 4
Balkans International
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
4th
St. 3
Tirreno - Adriatico
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
4th
St. 6
Tirreno - Adriatico
PT
Yevgeniy Gidich
4th
St. 5
Tour de Suisse
PTHC
Ronnilan Quita
5th
St. 2
Tour of Ukraine
PTHC
Yevgeniy Gidich
5th
St. 1
Balkans International
PTHC
Ronnilan Quita
____
_______
___
____________________________
____
___
___________________
Stage Racers & Climbers
36
Brandon McNulty
842
105
Thanakhan Chaiyasombat
344
195
Ka Hoo Fung
156
256
Sakchai Phodingam
122
259
Einer Augusto Rubio
121
Brandon McNulty had a decent first season with the team. At the Tour of Slovenia he got one of our only two stage victories. He got very close to his first GC podium with our team in three instances - sometimes only missing out by seconds. We are optimistic that in the upcoming season with some offseason training McNulty will be able to take that next step to get onto a stage race podium. Only 9th at the Tour de France was a bit disappointing for the team. The breakaway squad did not manage to turn their efforts into any stage wins this season. Thanakhan Chaiyasombat got himself two white jerseys including the one at the Vuelta.
4th
GC
Paris - Nice
PT
Brandon McNulty
4th
GC
Tour de Suisse
PTHC
Brandon McNulty
5th
GC
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
Brandon McNulty
8th
GC
Tour of Ukraine
PTHC
Brandon McNulty
9th
GC
Tour de France
GTM
Brandon McNulty
1st
U25
Paris - Nice
PT
Than. Chaiyasombat
1st
U25
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Than. Chaiyasombat
1st
St. 4
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
Brandon McNulty
2nd
St. 7
Tour de Suisse
PTHC
Brandon McNulty
3rd
St. 3
Paris - Nice
PT
Brandon McNulty
3rd
St. 2
Tour of Ukraine
PTHC
Brandon McNulty
4th
St. 19
Tour de France
GTM
Brandon McNulty
5th
St. 7
Tour de France
GTM
Brandon McNulty
____
_______
___
____________________________
____
___
___________________
Timetrialists
Our time trial squad lead by Yuttana Mano contributed strongly to our good overall performance with consistent scoring. Mano became the second Thai GT stage winner taking the time trial victory at the Vuelta a Espana ahead of Egan Bernal. Prologue specialist Chun Wing Leung had a great season, but consistently being beaten by Soren Kragh Andersen. Dylan Van Baarle achieved his 3rd consecutive Top 100 PT ranking result despite a disappointing result in his favorite race Tour of Northern Europe. His highlight was a podium finish at the Chrono d'Arenberg. Finally Rune Herregodts deserves a mention with multiple strong stage and GC results, including a third place at Tour of Lithuania.
61
Yuttana Mano
597
81
Rune Herregodts
471
93
Dylan Van Baarle
410
108
Chun Wing Leung
335
135
Shoi Matsuda
251
3rd
Classic
Chrono d'Arenberg
PTHC
Dylan Van Baarle
5th
Classic
Great Ocean Road Classic
PTHC
King Power
3rd
GC
Tour of Lithuania
PTHC
Rune Herregodts
5th
GC
Tour of Tasmania
PT
Yuttana Mano
7th
GC
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
PT
Yuttana Mano
7th
GC
Tour of Lithuania
PTHC
Dylan Van Baarle
9th
GC
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
Rune Herregodts
9th
GC
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Yuttana Mano
1st
U25
Tour of Qatar
PT
Shoi Matsuda
1st
St. 8
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Yuttana Mano
2nd
St. 6
Tour of Qatar
PT
Chun Wing Leung
2nd
St. 3
Tour of Lithuania
PTHC
King Power
2nd
St. 1
Tour de Suisse
PTHC
Chun Wing Leung
2nd
St. 1
Tour de France
GTM
Chun Wing Leung
3rd
St. 1
Paris - Nice
PT
Chun Wing Leung
4th
St. 7
Tirreno - Adriatico
PT
Rune Herregodts
4th
St. 1
Tour de Suisse
PTHC
Shoi Matsuda
4th
St. 4
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
Rune Herregodts
4th
St. 4
Tour of Northern Europe
PT
Dylan Van Baarle
5th
St. 3
Tour of Ukraine
PTHC
Yuttana Mano
5th
St. 1
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
PT
Chun Wing Leung
5th
St. 3
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
PT
Yuttana Mano
5th
St. 1
Tour de France
GTM
Rune Herregodts
5th
St. 11
Tour de France
GTM
Rune Herregodts
5th
St. 2
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
King Power
5th
St. 5
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
Yuttana Mano
____
_______
___
____________________________
____
___
___________________
Sprinters
97
Hsuan Ping Hsu
387
255
Thanawut Sanikwathi
122
Close misses is the story of our sprinters this season as well. Hsu, a three time GT stage winner already, and Sanikwathi were four times second in GT sprint stages.
8th
Classic
Rund um Koln
PT
Hsuan Ping Hsu
2nd
St. 8
Giro d'Italia
GTM
Thanawut Sanikwathi
2nd
St. 1
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
2nd
St. 4
Tour de France
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
2nd
St. 5
Tour de France
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
3rd
St. 6
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
3rd
St. 2
Tour of Northern Europe
PT
Thanawut Sanikwathi
4th
St. 5
Vuelta a Espana
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
4th
St. 1
Deutschland Tour
PTHC
Thanawut Sanikwathi
5th
St. 2
Tour de France
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
5th
St. 3
Tour de France
GTM
Hsuan Ping Hsu
____
_______
___
____________________________
____
___
___________________
Northern Classics
91
Rasmus Tiller
425
122
Milan Menten
296
153
Jodok Salzmann
219
189
Ho San Chiu
163
243
Michael Vanthourenhout
130
267
John Salazar
118
Before the season Kasperkiewicz left our team for PCT leadership with Specialized. We managed to compensate his departure with strong depth scoring in the cobbled classics this year. The team was lead by new signing Rasmus Tiller. The squads best result did not come in a cobblestone race but at Great Ocean Road Classic where Milan Menten was 2nd from a successful breakaway. Tiller only managed to get two top 10s all season. However, it was in the two monuments, thus the races that mattered most. To understand the teams success we have to look outside the top 10. In cobblestone classics, we managed to place riders in position from 11th to 20th 15 times during the season.
2nd
Classic
Great Ocean Road Classic
PTHC
Milan Menten
6th
Classic
Ronde van Vlaanderen
GTM
Rasmus Tiller
7th
Classic
Paris - Roubaix
GTM
Rasmus Tiller
____
_______
___
____________________________
____
___
___________________
Talent Development
In the previous season 4 riders completed their development with us. In the offseason we signed two new talents. Both riders spent the season with loan teams. Milesi joined McCormick Pro Cycling and Gloag cycleYorkshire. Thanks to them for the cooperation. Here is how the two developed.
Actually very impressive that you managed to finish third in the PT with only two stage wins over the year just proves that your team is incredibly deep. Looking forward to see how you will develop this team to challenge for the title!
Congrats on a good season. I think McNulty was excellent except for the TDF. Unfortunately that is big except for. Looking forward to see him post-traning.
Great comeback season after a disappointing 2024. The team leaders are still quite young, so the base is there for continued success for many years to come!
Good to see the team do so well after a slow start. It looks as though all facets of your team performed really well (with the exception of the sprinting department), but just didn’t quite go that extra mile you would have needed to properly fight for the title. If McNulty’s TDF went a little differently, and Gidich was at the pointy end of the results sheet a little more often it could have been a proper title run. Goes to say that it should be totally possible next season if you can keep the team together though hope renewals go well!
Great season you had as others have said! Enjoyed the overview of the different team units and their performances.
Only two talents but two great ones, Gloag is a really nice MO/HI guy to have in GTs or certainly could command a good fee from a P/CT team. And Milesi should be an awesome (and still undervalued with the new OVL which is good) part of a TTT unit who can score himself, and I love the useful COB stat in filling his racedays, should be a powerful domestique in the first half of those races (once you find the proper Kasperkiewicz replacement ). And of course I'm sure McNulty is also still developing too which is a scary thought.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
I thought I had a rather healthy age structure, but that's nothing compared to yours. As mentioned by knockout, that's a team that should stay at the top of PT for quite some years, even if you don't do many changes!
hope renewals go well!
). And of course I'm sure McNulty is also still developing too which is a scary thought.
