Climbers [â—€ UNCHANGED]
No major losses in this department as M. Giannoutsos stays with the team and M. Mavrikakis receives some training in order to successfully step into the secondary stage racer role formerly occupied by R.A. Carapaz.

Puncheurs [â–¼ WEAKENED]
The loss of C. Koretzky leaves the team effectively without a puncheur-leader. It might be asking too much for Z. Soulious to step into the role.

Timetriallists [â—€ UNCHANGED]
Perhaps the duo of N. Ioannidis and I. Kiriakidis can benefit from the Frenchman's departure, both having the potential to score well in the hilly stage races. The team couldn't retain P. Vlatos but the department has been strengthened overall by the arrival of E. Affini and development of P. Christapopoulos.

Flandriens [â–² STRENGTHENED]
Despite not being amongst the top tier of riders for the terrain, both M. Kortsidakis and G. Stavrakakis performed admirably last season. The training devoted to the former and the addition of D. Summerhill should bolster this department, despite the American's ongoing decline.

Sprinters [â–¼ WEAKENED]
The main change from last year's lineup is the absence of B. Coquard. He represented a not insignificant part of the team's scoring last season. There must be some hope that his departure opens up better scheduling possibilities for S. Farantakis, who has big shoes to fill. The job is made harder by the fact that in A. Koumpetsos and A. Edmondson the team doesn't exactly have the most prestigious secondary options.

Climbers [â–¼ WEAKENED]
The team that relegated wasn't exactly flush with big names for the mountains and it doesn't look as though anything has changed over the off-season. D.F. Martinez, G. Sendeku and J. Osorio will be hoping that their potential will be unlocked by the absence of T. Pinot and F. Bongiorno.

Puncheurs [â–¼ WEAKENED]
A. van Niekerk steps into the leadership role following the departure of P. Vakoc. He hasn't exactly struggled historically, so this newest round of training should make him a more than fitting replacement. There will be some worries with E. Sepulveda now on the decline but he ought to have at least one more good season in him. I don't put too much stock in the arrival of J. Edmondson given his failure to set the CT alight.

Timetriallists [â—€ UNCHANGED]
No major changes here as both D.A. Ferreyra and N. Dlamini have stayed on. They will be hoping that the .HC and .1 calendar is more suitable to their capabilities than the .PT one was.

Flandriens [â–² STRENGTHENED]
Neither E.M. Chokri nor A. Sanogo are riders who are likely to set the pavés alight. They're more well-rounded domestiques than fully-blooded thoroughbred competitors. Fortunately, L. Owen has been freed from supporting roles and arrived to provide some leadership to the aforementioned duo.

Sprinters [â—€ UNCHANGED]
Another department that was almost entirely unaffected by the team's relegation. Having followed up his '22 overperformance with a significant underperformance in '23, perhaps can C. Ewan continue the trend by overperforming again. The secondary duo of S. Harrison and E. Contreras will be hoping to repeat their own performances, although that might not be possible on a ProContinental calendar.

Climbers [â–¼ WEAKENED]
It isn't only the supporting cast around M. Cattaneo and A. Vosekalns which is looking worse than it did before the winter break. Time is catching up to the Italian, who is definitely no longer the superstar that he once was.

Puncheurs [â–¼ WEAKENED]
Relegation was clearly insufficient to shake the Minions' faith in their core crew as the hills are set to be the concern of another aging superstar. T. Kinoshita has historically been one of the best and his decline is not nearly as pronounced as that of Cattaneo. Unfortunately, the continued degradation of R. Dennis has resulted in his departure; his hilly stage race schedule now likely falls to N. Brown, who is himself getting rather old.

Timetriallists [â–² STRENGTHENED]
R. Dennis is included under the puncheur label because the TTs are undeniably M. Bjerg's area of expertise. Investment in him has made him into one of the best young TTers in the division. Not only has his individual calibre been upgraded, but so too has the TTT received reinforcements. Z. Sipsos, A. Vorobev and J. Casillas should make this squad one tough customer.

Flandriens [â–¼ WEAKENED]
The Minions weren't the biggest fans of the cobblestones last year but this year it has transformed into a truly solitary affair. Not much can be expected from M. de Witte, even if D. Matthews can offer some contributions. The absent I. Bolivar and L. Marcos might not have revolutionised things but they would have offered marginally stronger options.

Sprinters [â–¼ WEAKENED]
Following the trend established in the hills and in the mountains, an elderly statesman that led the team to relegation has been retained. This time the culprit is J. Ahlstrand. Last time he rode at this level he was the best rider in the ProContinental Tour. That was two years ago though; a lot can change even in such a short time. D. Kalaba carries on as the secondary option, whereas A. Hodeg and R. Barbier are gone.

Climbers [â–¼ WEAKENED]
Indosat Ooredoo were ever so close to securing automatic promotion last year, missing out by just eight points. A. Yates was a one prong of their leadership trident, squeezing in to the Top 10 of the Individual Standings. One unfortunate aspect of operating under a salary cap is that success, where it isn't rewarded by promotion, is instead punished. Thus, Yates is gone, with one J. Tenorio arriving in his place. Although the replacement can undeniably boast a stronger set of palmarès, many of his greatest rides are now a good few years behind him. He is still a strong leader; just not quite of the same excellent standard.

Puncheurs [â–² STRENGTHENED]
A true puncheur was absent from 2023s leading trio, with P. Bilbao offering a pale imitation at best. In contrast, A. Bagioli was already tearing things up despite being just 24 years old. Now, having completed his development, he has arrived at Indosat Ooredoo to offer a new angle of attack.

Timetriallists [â–² STRENGTHENED]
E. Dunbar was the second best rider in the ProContinental Tour '23. Not only has the only rider to outscore him been promoted to the top tier but Eddie has also been the recipient of even more investment in his TT expertise. The TTT squad backing him is slightly weaker, with B. Canty having to cover both J. Wolf and M. Kochetkov. That won't be a problem for him though.

Flandriens [â—€ UNCHANGED]
Was not a consideration last year. Is not a consideration this year.

Sprinters [â–¼ WEAKENED]
In his sophomore season Mh.I.H. Abdul Halil offered excellent scoring at an extraordinarily low wage. This performance was reflected in negotiations to renew his contract. Doubtlessly, this higher salary demand was the driver of the shift of the third prong from the sprints to the hills. Although his presence will be missed, one could do worse than S. Nur Hasan when it comes to selecting a replacement.

Climbers [â—€ UNCHANGED]
A great man once said that if it ain't broke then don't fix it. L. Meintjes was one of the best ProContinental climbers last season and he ought to be one of the best ProContinental climbers his season. V. Ndayisenga and B. Uwizeyimana also carry on as strong secondary scorers.

Puncheurs [â—€ UNCHANGED]
It wouldn't seem right to categorise I. Izagirre as anything other than a puncheur, despite the fact that the majority of his success comes from his cross-disciplinary capabilities. Even in a weakened state he still managed to score rather solidly last year; but having suffered from a third decline he was never going to manage a repeat performance. Instead the newly maxed N. Tesfatsion and the newly arrived D. Teuns will be hoping to fill the void. I'm not 100% sold on either rider but, taken together, they should be up to that task.

Timetriallists [⤵⤵⤵ SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKENED]
Having included those stage racers who combine timetrialling with capabilities on the climbs in the prior two categories, only the pure TTers are left for consideration. At least, they would be, if they hadn't all departed. Although it lacked anyone capable of dominating at the individual level, there was actually a fairly respectable TTT squad on the books last year: C. Verona, N. Politt, J. Hadi, S. Mugisha, and D. Young. Now there is only R. Uhiriwe, and he is more of one for the future.

Flandriens [â—€ UNCHANGED]
J. Stallaert, to the shock of absolutely nobody, had an incredible time last season. He is getting up in years, to the point where time is starting to catch up with him, but I doubt that will impact his scoring potential just yet. He will miss the companionship of T. Okbamariam but with M. Teggart staying on and J.E. Habimana growing into a capable domestique there should be more than enough protection on the cobblestones.

Sprinters [â–¼ WEAKENED]
There is no more F. Silvestre and, for all that he remains the division's strongest flandrien, J. Stallaert will be significantly less competitive in the mass sprints. The future is secure in the form of J. Willems - who could nab a decent stage finish or two - with K. Feiereisen serving as the team's primary ticket into the sprinting lottery.

Climbers [â—€ UNCHANGED]
K.H. Choi was a solid performer last season and I am rather sad to see him go, but the arrival of D. Olivier more than makes up for his absence. They don't quite fit within the same archetype, with the new Dutchman adding some more punch at the expense of quite some capability on the TT. Looking at their performance last season, they ought to be mostly interchangeable.

Puncheurs [â—€ UNCHANGED]
He has become something of a franchise rider, was there ever any doubt that it would be T. Benoot would be leading the line in the hills? I am also excited to see what (the still developing) M. Van Dijke can achieve if he is given any opportunities.

Timetriallists [â–² STRENGTHENED]
I am not sure how often B. Jungels and M.A. Ahmad Zamri were riding in TTT support Choi, but neither of them were particularly strong scorers. Things have changed though. D. Howson and A. Cataford have arrived. They both racked up more than 300 points last season - not that you can directly compare scoring between PT and PCT - and they should be capable of some rather impressive results this year as well. I am especially looking at Cataford, who won't have to worry about any climbers getting in the way.

Flandriens [â–¼ WEAKENED]
I have already mentioned T. Benoot once but, given he is one of the most prominent hybrid riders in the peloton, the time has come to mention him again. Nobody has come any closer to matching his specific skill combination over the off-season, so I shouldn't expect any lesser results from him. The issue is the absence of J.K. Ringheim, he brought in 241 points last season, which I don't think even the Kuroeda brothers can replicate.

Sprinters [⤵⤵⤵ SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKENED]
No D. Vesely, no bueno. The Czech sprinter was just outside the Top 20 last year. It is difficult to determine exactly what A. Kulikovskiy will achieve given he has developed from last year, but I can't imagine he will be knocking on the Top 20. I like his capabilities on the hills but I'm not sold on the mediocre flat rating.