Disclaimer: I made the points system for CT before the transfer season started. It is based on last season (and how different types and level of riders did), my thoughts about PCM24 and some pure guessing. That also means I did most of my transfers based on this points system, naturally I will rank my own team high (on top tbh) as my decisions were based on the same system I base the preview on and thus making it biased towards my team. In general I see that total score across the division(s) are lower than last years score, so I most surely undervalue some riders and terrains, as an example cobble scores will be interesting in CT with the weak field. I also did not, at all, consider how teams look in total (2+2=5 for points) but only purely on points from riders.
I am posting a preview for every division For CT the preview is, as said in the disclaimer, based on me giving every rider an "expected CT pts" before transfers started. For PT and PCT I did this after transfers and only for riders in PT and PCT. I will give some comments on talents, but in general I haven't searched too much for loan outs and might forget some
So without further ado, lets do some riders ranking to start. Might be some of these are a bit boring, but gives everyone a feeling of the pts setup. Riders with several skills will get ranked higher some places (Prl riders with good sprint, sprinters with good hill, climbers with good tt etc as that will give extra points. In general you will get an idea of how my points system has ranked riders)
Top 10 climbers riders according to my system (Mon is highest main stat):
Position
Last name
1
Meintjes
2
Galta
3
Masnada
4
Habtemichael
5
Smith
6
Prado
7
Schultz
8
Borisavljevic
9
Munoz
10
Tejada
Top 10 puncheurs riders according to my system (Hill is highest main stat):
Position
Last name
1
Moscon
2
Turgis
3
Korosec
4
Lafay
5
Lagane
6
Paez
7
Stocek
8
Vincent
9
Luchshenko
10
Sagan
Top 10 TT riders according to my system (TT is highest main stat):
Position
Last name
1
Thomas
2
Kaczmarek
3
Christodoulos
4
Sütterlin
5
Campbell
6
Oka
7
Hennis
8
Belevics
9
Croes
10
Dulanjana
Top 10 Cobble riders according to my system (Cob is highest main stat) (With Polderstrijders disbandment this is a dire list...):
Position
Last name
1
Darbinyan
2
Sanogo
3
Campbell
4
Van Lerberghe
5
Kuroeda
6
Basso
7
Noppe
8
Richardson
9
Nielsen
10
Kaislavuo
Top 10 Sprinter according to my system (Sprint is highest main stat):
Position
Last name
1
Bol
2
Manninen
3
Norbert
4
Harrison
5
Walscheid
6
Perera
7
Silva
8
Major
9
Gibbons
10
Kiskonen
Top 10 Prl riders according to my system (Prl is highest main stat, ignoring some riders mentioned on other lists, like Prado, Thomas, Manninen etc):
Position
Last name
1
Chavanne
2
Ciccone
3
Kopfauf
4
Oka
5
Frame
6
Hennis
7
Cattaneo
8
Main
9
Barta
10
Ganjkhanlou
Top 10 wage effective riders according to my system (pts/wage):
Position
Last name
1
Luchshenko
2
Sagan
3
Rota
4
Gabburo
5
Chavanne
6
Harrison
7
Habtemichael
8
Silva
9
Kaczmarek
10
Vincent
Top 10 OVL effective riders according to my system (pts/OVL):
Position
Last name
1
Galta
2
Meintjes
3
Moscon
4
Habtemichael
5
Masnada
6
Turgis
7
Korosec
8
Smith
9
Prado
10
Lafay
Top 10 riders according to my system (Points):
Position
Last name
1
Meintjes
2
Galta
3
Moscon
4
Habtemichael
5
Masnada
6
Turgis
7
Korosec
8
Smith
9
Prado
10
Lafay
I hope some finds these interesting. Teams will follow!
Now lets start on the teams, as with any good showrunner we start last and work our way up. As there will be 16 teams in CT this year and I would like to do this in 3 parts we start of with 16->11
16 Kone - Nordea
Best rider: Matti Manninen
Other scorers: Kiskonen, Noppe
While I Place Kone - Nordea at the bottom I like the idea and focus of the team with mainly signing riders of the focus nationality. However I believe the team generally lacks quality.
Manninen is a great rider (2nd ranked sprinter), and I love that he has a 75 prl in addition to his sprinting. I have Kiskonen scoring over 100 pts with his energy stats, and with the weak cobble field Noppe can pick up some good points (overperform my points score on him) but the team lack a lot behind these 3.
I would put this season down as a learning season and development season for the young local talents and then start building a strong squad for next year.
15 THE ONE - Fox God
Best rider: Verschaeve/Raileanu
Other scorers: Kuroeda, Petelin
THE ONE (or the fox god?) has decided to make a team based around japanese riders, unfortunately they arent that strong (yet?).
Belgian Verschaeve and Moldovan Raileanu will have to bear the brunt of the points scoring and while they are both strong riders they are not top of the division in their fields they are good riders. I specially like Verschaeve's energy skills. Kuroeda might become the best scorer in the end with him being my 5th ranked cobble rider, being quite a good sprinter and among the best hilly riders of the top cobblers, all things considering.
The team got quite a few local talents developing and with a young top leader I think there are some potential for future seasons in the team, it just needs time. For this season I believe they will fight at the bottom of the division.
14 Air New Zealand-Prada
Best rider: Milos Borisavljevic
Other scorers: Fabbro
Air New Zealand-Prada got 2 strong leaders in Borisavljevic and Fabbro, who will be the main scorers this season.
I really like Borisavljevic with his TT ability, thought I am a bit more concerned about Fabbro with a bit lower energy stats than I like. Petilli will be the main domestique for them both I guess. ANZP also got good depth on the hills with Lilovski, Fritsch, Visser, Drizners and Jung, but in my eyes none of them are top point scorers. Could still be that the tactic with many puncheurs can yield some good points.
Using nearly 50% of the total budget on talents might be the main reason for coming low on the table, with Piganzoli among them on 150k. The future should be very bright with the youngsters and we believe the team will finish 14th this year.
13 Tafjord Kraft
Best rider: Lucas Eriksson
Other scorers: Kaczmarek, Hoelgaard, Belevics
Tafjord Kraft has a good leader in Lucas Eriksson (right outside the top 10 puncheur list) trained this year. I really like his stamine and hill stats and might be he should've been ranked higher. Among the riders most likely (imo) to overperform my list.
Kaczmarek is another rider that I love and at 65k I believe he is a steal, he's 9th on my pts/wage scale! Hoelgaard is another good rider, but I am afraid his stamina and the addition of former weak mon riders becoming stronger with the MM, will make him weaker this year. Same with Dyrnes who I'm pretty sure I value lower than many. Belevics is an interesting case. He got great TT, PRL and Flat, but lacks hill or sprint to really do well in TT-stage races, he might also be a riders scoring much more than I believe if he gets one or two lucky races.
As we see in many of the lower ranked teams quite a lof of money has been spent on talents. Here we have 3 main talents in Hansen, Feldmann and Fredheim taking up 350k wage cap. There are great riders that I really look forward to seeing maxed, but at the moment they wont get Tafjord many points.
12 Glanbia
Best rider: Louis Meintjes
Other scorers: Plowright and O'Loughlin
Lets just talk about it at once, Meintjes in CT is awesome. He is in my opinion the strongest rider in the division and most likely to win the individual rankings, great climbing, great hills, great energy stats. The problem however is the rest of the squad, I considered setting none on other big scorers.
Plowright is an okay sprinter, but lower acc than I would like and no other stat to really help him. O'Loughlin and Oram are good time trialist but also lack other stats to help on other stages. Ben Healy with good stamina and some nice hill/mon/tt could surprise and steal some points, and maybe the team can get some juice out of Warbasse and Dunne?
In general this is a team looking forward to every race Meintjes participates in, and then roots for the BOTD everywhere else. Meintjes himself will score enough points to keep them away from absolute bottom, but I see little potential for climbing the table and fighting for promotion.
11 Team Zappes Kölsch
Best rider: Harold Tejada
Other scorers: Budyak, Walscheid, Rivera, Carr
I like how this team is built with depth in climbing and hills with some pretty nice leaders and a main sprinter.
Tejada is the main climber even though you could've wished for a tiny bit better energy stats. With okay TT ability he should be able to score some good points for the team. They got a stong support squad with Rivera, Strong, Kenyeres and Majoral that should be able to score depth points and trouble other teams. Budyak leads a nice hilly squad with Carr as the nr2. As with Tejada I would've loved to have some extra stamina and resistance on them, but with Budyak at 65k I think it is great value. Walscheid is one of the better sprinters in the division (5th ranked). That could be both great and a curse this year as he have no train at all, I pity the team if they try to make a train for him....
With Behrens they got a great local talent that should become the main leader of the team in the future. I see this as a good start for the team and with only Walscheid declining next season a squad to expect good stuff from!
Best rider: Rachid
Other scorers: Oka, Frame, Main, Merchan, Barta, Montenegro
A team built more around depth than big leaders with several good climbers, puncheurs, sprinters and prologue specialists, but the team really lack the big scorers and thus they end up in 10th.
The team also in general lack stamina which I believe will be a problem for them. Merchan might look like the main climber, but I rank Rachid and Main before him. Rachid is a strong time trialist while being able to climb and at 90k I think he is good value. Main and Barta is weakerer versions of Rachid. Merchan might seem like one of the best climbers in the division solely on main stat, but with low stamina, low flat and low acc I believe he will never be able to use his climbing skills.
Montenegro and Senyenov are okay puncheurs, but I think the field will be too strong for them and that they will dissapoint. When it comes to sprints and shorter races I believe SEE Turtles will shine. They have 4 good tickets in the sprinting lottery and specially Oka (4th) and Frame (5th) are great prologue riders. Thus they should be able to do very well in races with flat stages and prologues.
SEE Turtles would've been one of the hardest team for me to place if I just did this by looking at the teams as there are many riders that could overperform my points, I have them 10th for now but have this team as a team with potential to surprise!
9 Parmalat - Ecopetrol
Best rider: Gabburo / Ciccone
Other scorers: Cattaneo, Velasco, Mosca, Van der Lijke, Quintana
In 9th we find another new team in Parmalat - Ecopetrol.
I have Gabburo and Ciccone pretty close by eachother on points scoring. Gabburo a good puncheur with nice flat and sprint should get some good results, and is great value at 55k (4th ranked). Ciccone is a good cimber with a great prologue to give him just that extra edge.
Both in the mountains (Cattaneo, Quintana, Pereyra, Manfredi) and in the hills (Velasco, Mosca, Restrepo, Zordan) the team got great depth, and they add some good time trialists aswell to help in TTTs. Another really interesting rider is Van der Lijke with a good sprint and hill stat. His energy stats are gone, and his acc is bad but I still believe there are points in the old Dutchie.
While the team has managed to build a strong squad I really like the feel of the team aswell with a majority of Italians and Colombians, and some nice talents in Pinarello and Avila to top it up. I see a good season from Parmalat finishing in the top 10!
8 Euskotren - Pays Basque
Best rider: Lafay / Stocek
Other scorers: Berthet, Darbinyan, Rochas, Dieteren, Politt
A team that while picking up many good talents have been able to create a strong squad aswell.
Lafay and trained Stocek are the headliners. Both good puncheurs with Lafay being the better climber and Stocek having better stamina and acc. Will be really interesting to see how they are used over the season. Dieteren is a great support for them, and there are several lower ranked riders who can do a job.
Berthet is together with Rochas the climbers on the squad. A bit lacking in energy and time trial ability but good riders who should score well during the season. The big wildcard on the team is Darbinyan. With the weak cobble field I rank him as the best cobble rider in the division and he should score very well this season. I have not updated any expected points on CT riders to avoid biases, but he would be the one with the biggest upgrade! Politt and Weinstein should score some points in TT races.
A last note on this team is that with riders like Rondel, Castellon and Huitouze the future looks bright!
7 Euskadi-Murias
Best rider: Turgis
Other scorers: Munoz, Serrano, Marin, Sütterlin, Eaton
We are closing in on the promotion spots and on 7th I rank Euskadi-Murias.
Turgis should be the big leader of the team, and one of the strongest riders in the division. He is a strong puncheur with a good final kick and good energy stats. I believe the addition of MM is a good thing for Turgis! Serrano is a very good nr2, like a weaker Turgis. I would try to split him and Turgis as much as possible to max the points, and if that happens the depth is pretty weak, which might be a problem.
Munoz is a good climber, not at the very top, but I rank him 9th in the division. He should score good points. Sütterlin has the highest pure TT stat in CT, and should do well and Eaton is a good nr 2 (and Sterbini nr 3). Marin looks to me like a great sprinter on this level. Talking about sprinters they also have Carsi, but I believe he will dissapoint and is bad value at 95k.
The team has some nice talents for the future, and none of the 3 best riders will decline next season. My guess is (without disbandments) Euskadi will fight for promotion this season, and then promote in 2 years.
6 Podium Ambition
Best rider: Lagane
Other scorers: Ortega, Norbert, Major, Campbell, Mayer, Hennis
Last spot before direct promotion and newly relegated Pirates take the posistion.
Lagane is the team leader, great punchy sprinter, or sprinty puncheur? I rate Lagane, but I am afraid that he will dissapoint in the hilly classics as his energy stats are on the low side. That is the main reason for not putting Podium Ambition higher up on the table.
The depth of the squad is great with good climbers (Ortega, Gonzales), puncheurs (Ortega, Mayer, Le Court), timetrialists (Campbell, Hennis, Croes, Cole), sprinters (Norbert, Major, Hennis, Sinclair) and cobble riders (Campbell and Richardson). This is a team that should have no problems senting potential scorers to every race!
Richardson is the best pure cobble rider in the division but I still rank Campbell as having the best ability to score points in those races. combined with a great TT stat there should be no problem using him well over the season.
In general I think energy stats are a bit too weak looking at the entire squad, and if I am wrong here they should raid their way to promotion.
Best rider: Prado
Other scorers: Paez, Rojas, Silva, Filutas, Tanovitchii
First thing first, I do not rank Seboka. He looks great with 80 Mon, but everything else is just too low for me. At 55k however I can understand the lottery ticket. With that out of the way I love ranking a newbie on a promotion spot! I really love what Nisky147 has done with the team!
Prado is a great rider with good TT, okayish energy stats and 72 flat is great on a climber. Riders like Dulanjana, Alexander and Charello are also awesome support for him. Then we have Paez who is a good puncheur (6th ranked) with good sprinting and also nice flat. Here we have riders like Rojas, Filutas and Tanovitchii who will score good depth points in the races. Behind the climbers and the puncheurs Nihal Silva is a good sprinter (7th ranked) at 50k. Great value! With the cobble field I would send him to some of the flat cobble races aswell.
I have stated earlier that I love the singing of De Paula as a talent, and he will spearhead a good squad for the future, together with Gonzales and Woronieski. A future which I guess will start in PCT next season. If anyone thinks I am crazy, remember that Jesus is in this team!
4 Ethiopian Airlines
Best rider: Sagan
Other scorers: Gladysh, Chavanne, Buitrago, Perera, Svab, Laas, Vendrame
My first thought about Ethiopian Airlines is that it is a squad with many potential scorers.
I am worried about Sagan, even though I ranked him high as his energy stats are weak. I still think the value at 65k is very good. Gladysh is a good nr2, and in general the hilly depth here is very best, if not the best in the division. While that didn't work last season for Cervelo, it could work this year or it could be a weakness in my ranking with all the riders taking points from eachother.
Chavanne is the best prologue rider in the division and should be great this season. I love the combination of high prl stat and sprinting stat to keep the good results from the prologue for a good GC spot. Buitrago is a good attacking climber who should pick up some good results, and Perera is a great sprinter. He also has a prologue stat to fit well with Chavanne in those races.
In general a team with many potential scorers which I believe ends in 4th.
3 Bianchi Enel
Best rider: Moscon
Other scorers: Korosec, Smith, Rota, Gibbons, Watson, Conti, Basso
Another squad with many potential scorers, but headlined by some of the best riders of the division aswell. This is a team I could also see win the entire CT, but I have to follow my rules and place them 3rd.
Moscon is one of the very best riders of the division in my opinion. Great hill stat, combined with very good energy stats will make him a nightmare. Korosec did very well last season and that might lead to me ranking him a bit highly this season, but he is an awesome punchy sprinter! Bianchi has followed the love for puncheur depth that we saw last season in Cervelo with riders like Rota (A steal at 50k that could end up being the steal of the season imo), Watson, Conti, Miltiadis and Langellotti. Bianchi should be able to score very well on all hilly races!
Dion Smith, supported by Conti and Miltiadis will be one of the best climbers of the division (I rank him 5th). For sprints Bianchi has Ryan Gibbons, with his flat stat and some prologue he should be able to score well. On first glance their cobble leader Basso might not look like much, but he is an awesome allrounder that I beleive is underrated and will score well, specially on the harder cobble classics.
In the end I would like to point out that Romele will become a good rider in the future, I will be surprised if his development will not continue in PCT next season.
2 Kraftwerk Man Machine
Best rider: Habtemichael / Masnada
Other scorers: Bol, Evans, Harrison, Gall, Christodoulos, Sanogo, Rumac
The only reason I do not rank Bol as the best rider of the squad is that he is a sprinter and those races are more lottery than others, Bol is the best sprinter in the division and should be a great rider this season. A very good pickup for Kraftwerk.
Habtemichael and Masnada looks very much alike and headline the team for me. Good climbing, good hill and TT, good energy stats. I believe they both will score very well and be in the top 10 of the division. Evans, while weaker energy stats, is also a great GC rider and should together with Gall do well in the shadow on the leaders. To support the climbers there are also several good timetrialists for TTTs who should help increase the score even more.
Sam Harrison is another good sprinter, will be interesting to see if he will ride on his own, or as the last leadout for Bol. He should do well in both cases. Riders like Rumac and Sanogo should also give the team some good points. With the weak cobblefield I rank Sanogo as the 2nd best cobble rider with his hill stat.
1 Peugeot - Bancolombia
Best rider: Galta
Other scorers: Vincent, Schultz, Luchshenko, Thomas, Lerberghe, Russo, Vogt, Kopfauf
As said in the disclaimer I built my team based on the same scores I use for this preview, thus I end up on top. I find that kind of embarrasing to be honest..
If I had done this purely on looking at the teams and ranking I have to be honest and say I would put both Kraftwerk and Bianchi over myself, and maybe also Podium Ambition. With that out of the world I am pretty happy with my own team.
Galta is the big headline, I rank him top 2/3 in the division and he will be my main point scorer. Behind him I love Vincent, Luchshenko and Schultz who should provide a lof of extra scoring for my team. Thomas I rank as the best TTer in the division as he is also a nice sprinter and I believe he will do well for me, and with the cobble level of the division I really believe in Van Lerberghe aswell. I hate that Chavanne has joined the division, but still think I should get alot out of Kopfauf.
In general I think I've built a good squad that should end in a promotion spot, I have focused on riders I believe will score well and riders with good energy stats. I see some challenges both with lack of depth (cobbles) and too much depth (could Vogt or others be a problem for riders like Vincent?) and that scares me.
----------------------------
This gives us the following table
Position
Team
1
Peugeot - Bancolombia
2
Kraftwerk Man Machine
3
Bianchi Enel
4
Ethiopian Airlines
5
IncaLine Pro Cycling
6
Podium Ambition
7
Euskadi-Murias
8
Euskotren - Pays Basque
9
Parmalat - Ecopetrol
10
SEE Turtles
11
Team Zappes Kölsch
12
Glanbia
13
Tafjord Kraft
14
Air New Zealand-Prada
15
THE ONE - Fox God
16
Kone - Nordea
A few ending notes: 11th to 14th I have within 80 pts of eachother, 8th to 10th I have within 5(!) pts, same with IncaLine and Podium Ambition where IncaLine is 5 pts over Podium Ambition for promotion. You can pretty much set the table in brackets. I have top 3, then Ethiopian a bit behind that, then Incaline and Podium Ambition close together. Then 7-10 very tight and a jump before 11-15 again very tight. Kone a bit under there again
Edited by Heine on 19-09-2025 07:15
Appreciate this! Definitely feel like the rationale behind my team is accurate, but hoping my planning can make things work. We definitely aren't the team for super long races, but I think that's generally accounted for in the planning.
Merchan is definitely not our leader for most races, as I see him as a better version of Seboka, moreso than a clear leader in most instances. One or two exceptions, but let's see how PCM treats them.
Best rider: Prado
Other scorers: Paez, Rojas, Silva, Filutas, Tanovitchii
First thing first, I do not rank Seboka. He looks great with 80 Mon, but everything else is just too low for me. At 55k however I can understand the lottery ticket. With that out of the way I love ranking a newbie on a promotion spot! I really love what Nisky147 has done with the team!
Prado is a great rider with good TT, okayish energy stats and 72 flat is great on a climber. Riders like Dulanjana, Alexander and Charello are also awesome support for him. Then we have Paez who is a good puncheur (6th ranked) with good sprinting and also nice flat. Here we have riders like Rojas, Filutas and Tanovitchii who will score good depth points in the races. Behind the climbers and the puncheurs Nihal Silva is a good sprinter (7th ranked) at 50k. Great value! With the cobble field I would send him to some of the flat cobble races aswell.
I have stated earlier that I love the singing of De Paula as a talent, and he will spearhead a good squad for the future, together with Gonzales and Woronieski. A future which I guess will start in PCT next season. If anyone thinks I am crazy, remember that Jesus is in this team!
4 Ethiopian Airlines
Best rider: Sagan
Other scorers: Gladysh, Chavanne, Buitrago, Perera, Svab, Laas, Vendrame
My first thought about Ethiopian Airlines is that it is a squad with many potential scorers.
I am worried about Sagan, even though I ranked him high as his energy stats are weak. I still think the value at 65k is very good. Gladysh is a good nr2, and in general the hilly depth here is very best, if not the best in the division. While that didn't work last season for Cervelo, it could work this year or it could be a weakness in my ranking with all the riders taking points from eachother.
Chavanne is the best prologue rider in the division and should be great this season. I love the combination of high prl stat and sprinting stat to keep the good results from the prologue for a good GC spot. Buitrago is a good attacking climber who should pick up some good results, and Perera is a great sprinter. He also has a prologue stat to fit well with Chavanne in those races.
In general a team with many potential scorers which I believe ends in 4th.
3 Bianchi Enel
Best rider: Moscon
Other scorers: Korosec, Smith, Rota, Gibbons, Watson, Conti, Basso
Another squad with many potential scorers, but headlined by some of the best riders of the division aswell. This is a team I could also see win the entire CT, but I have to follow my rules and place them 3rd.
Moscon is one of the very best riders of the division in my opinion. Great hill stat, combined with very good energy stats will make him a nightmare. Korosec did very well last season and that might lead to me ranking him a bit highly this season, but he is an awesome punchy sprinter! Bianchi has followed the love for puncheur depth that we saw last season in Cervelo with riders like Rota (A steal at 50k that could end up being the steal of the season imo), Watson, Conti, Miltiadis and Langellotti. Bianchi should be able to score very well on all hilly races!
Dion Smith, supported by Conti and Miltiadis will be one of the best climbers of the division (I rank him 5th). For sprints Bianchi has Ryan Gibbons, with his flat stat and some prologue he should be able to score well. On first glance their cobble leader Basso might not look like much, but he is an awesome allrounder that I beleive is underrated and will score well, specially on the harder cobble classics.
In the end I would like to point out that Romele will become a good rider in the future, I will be surprised if his development will not continue in PCT next season.
2 Kraftwerk Man Machine
Best rider: Habtemichael / Masnada
Other scorers: Bol, Evans, Harrison, Gall, Christodoulos, Sanogo, Rumac
The only reason I do not rank Bol as the best rider of the squad is that he is a sprinter and those races are more lottery than others, Bol is the best sprinter in the division and should be a great rider this season. A very good pickup for Kraftwerk.
Habtemichael and Masnada looks very much alike and headline the team for me. Good climbing, good hill and TT, good energy stats. I believe they both will score very well and be in the top 10 of the division. Evans, while weaker energy stats, is also a great GC rider and should together with Gall do well in the shadow on the leaders. To support the climbers there are also several good timetrialists for TTTs who should help increase the score even more.
Sam Harrison is another good sprinter, will be interesting to see if he will ride on his own, or as the last leadout for Bol. He should do well in both cases. Riders like Rumac and Sanogo should also give the team some good points. With the weak cobblefield I rank Sanogo as the 2nd best cobble rider with his hill stat.
1 Peugeot - Bancolombia
Best rider: Galta
Other scorers: Vincent, Schultz, Luchshenko, Thomas, Lerberghe, Russo, Vogt, Kopfauf
As said in the disclaimer I built my team based on the same scores I use for this preview, thus I end up on top. I find that kind of embarrasing to be honest..
If I had done this purely on looking at the teams and ranking I have to be honest and say I would put both Kraftwerk and Bianchi over myself, and maybe also Podium Ambition. With that out of the world I am pretty happy with my own team.
Galta is the big headline, I rank him top 2/3 in the division and he will be my main point scorer. Behind him I love Vincent, Luchshenko and Schultz who should provide a lof of extra scoring for my team. Thomas I rank as the best TTer in the division as he is also a nice sprinter and I believe he will do well for me, and with the cobble level of the division I really believe in Van Lerberghe aswell. I hate that Chavanne has joined the division, but still think I should get alot out of Kopfauf.
In general I think I've built a good squad that should end in a promotion spot, I have focused on riders I believe will score well and riders with good energy stats. I see some challenges both with lack of depth (cobbles) and too much depth (could Vogt or others be a problem for riders like Vincent?) and that scares me.
----------------------------
This gives us the following table
Position
Team
1
Peugeot - Bancolombia
2
Kraftwerk Man Machine
3
Bianchi Enel
4
Ethiopian Airlines
5
IncaLine Pro Cycling
6
Podium Ambition
7
Euskadi-Murias
8
Euskotren - Pays Basque
9
Parmalat - Ecopetrol
10
SEE Turtles
11
Team Zappes Kölsch
12
Glanbia
13
Tafjord Kraft
14
Air New Zealand-Prada
15
THE ONE - Fox God
16
Kone - Nordea
A few ending notes: 11th to 14th I have within 80 pts of eachother, 8th to 10th I have within 5(!) pts, same with IncaLine and Podium Ambition where IncaLine is 5 pts over Podium Ambition for promotion. You can pretty much set the table in brackets. I have top 3, then Ethiopian a bit behind that, then Incaline and Podium Ambition close together. Then 7-10 very tight and a jump before 11-15 again very tight. Kone a bit under there again
Edited by Heine on 19-09-2025 07:14
Great previews Heine and putting yourself first isn't embarrassing I think you have the strongest team and I'm expecting great seasons from Galta and my former high-scoring CT rider in Thomas. All the best mate
Great previews Heine, thanks for your analysis and insights.
I agree with the CT title being a three horse race and could see an argument for the top 3 to be in any order, a bit of confidence in your own team is good to see
I think it will be a really exciting title race to follow.
Thanks Heine awesome read, I 100% agree that we will end 3rd behind yourself and Dave, though planning is going to be a huge factor this season and any mistakes could prove costly for sure
I got lucky really that the change in PCM has really helped Moscon and he should score much better this season for sure which gave me a big step up compared to other in the division
I feel like Kraftwerk, Bianchi, Peugeot might end up the correct order but as Dave said it's so close
As said in the disclaimer I built my team based on the same scores I use for this preview, thus I end up on top. I find that kind of embarrasing to be honest..
Quite logical that a scoring method you used for your team building decisions also rates your team high.
Overall very interesting read, i enjoyed this a lot.
Definitely a very interesting read, although we'll have to see exactly how it plays out. I wish that I could've found myself in the top 10 of climbers with Rachid, but I know how the division is lining up.
Not surprised to see my team with 5 of the 10 prologue slots, even with some surprising folks in that category though. Just hoping we can out perform, as I do think we could end up in the promotion spots in the right situations.
Definitely a very interesting read, although we'll have to see exactly how it plays out. I wish that I could've found myself in the top 10 of climbers with Rachid, but I know how the division is lining up.
Not surprised to see my team with 5 of the 10 prologue slots, even with some surprising folks in that category though. Just hoping we can out perform, as I do think we could end up in the promotion spots in the right situations.
100% agree with this if the TT stage races go your way and you get the luck your team has the big potential to score massively in some races. Think as Heine says though if they don't go your way it could be another mid-table but your definitely the team with one of the highest upsides this season just with how the division has played out
I like Heine's team better than my system ranked them so definitely agree putting yourself first was very reasonable. I love Thomas, was a great pick up and was pretty close to making him more expensive for you.
If Rota is the steal of the year I am going to feel dumb since I let him go when he wouldn't renew at like 60k.
Energy stats A known weakness of the team, dammnit i tried to suggest high energy low main riders too, we just didn't get them.
Hopefully the CT plays to that and we can just press on through. Lots of options (the more i read previews, the more i realise my team is one of the most deeply varied in the division) so surely that translates to scoring... You got us 6th, around there is ok because around there is promotion possible - and one surprise result can do wonders from there.
Kone - Nordea
THE ONE - Fox God
Air New Zealand-Prada
Tafjord Kraft
Glanbia
Team Zappes Kölsch
SEE Turtles
Euskotren - Pays Basque
Podium Ambition
IncaLine Pro Cycling
Ethiopian Airlines
I think you have the strongest team and I'm expecting great seasons from Galta and my former high-scoring CT rider in Thomas. All the best mate 
