cycling4freaks.com

New rider for June 20

Second talent for June. Really nice skills. Since the classics I liked were bought for high prices I went to buy this one.

ThomasKjer Olsen - Denmark
Name: Motocross rider
Starting skills (age 21): 48-71-79-50-53, 48, 71,9 pave (bought for 1.540.100; ~96-97%)
Role/Goal: He will train mountain and flat to be become a decent pave rider for Spring 21. Possible leader for PR. Would be nice if gets over 55 mtn and at least 87 flat.

May 2020 - Review:

It was all about the Giro in May. In the beginning of May I had some good results in smaller races - one win with Hugo.

Giro - Looking at the group it was hard to get the results I wanted. The goal was to get one stage win and a top5 result in GC. For the stage win I was just not smart enough. Most of the time I did a mistake with the sprint settings. Or I just overestimated my riders. I had a lot of "good" day results but I am still mad of myself that did not get the wished win.

My team was far from being competitive. With just one classic and a 60-80 it was always hard to get Hamish two helpers. This at least, worked very well as in the first two weeks I was able to get in the escapes almost every time. So for GC Hamish was in the hunt quite often. He did not lose much time in the mountains and did his work in the ITT.
Stage 18 - the Stelvio stage. This marked the day with topform for Hamish. As expected Lorient made it very hard with his two 88 climbers. So Hamish fought very. Too bad Nardi did the mountain training... Hamish did not get to the top. He was siebed about 4km before the summit. Until then he lost a lot of energy. But also, he did gain some minutes against his contenders for top5 in GC. Hamish lost about 2min to the top climbers.
Stage 19 was just to recover as I lost 4 riders the day before and Hamish was very much out of energy. Stage 20 - upt to Sestriere - it could have been the day for the stage win. It was hard to help Hamish all the time but with the hard climbs early I could get him at least one helper all the time. CC did a great attack with Branko but it was not enough in the end. Gala's attack forced Lorient to ride with Nardi. After Hitoshis attack Hamish and Debreuil (leso) rode and I hoped to for the stage win. I was going for the last km attack with my good flat skill. I hoped that CC and Toto follow each other so that I can beat just leso in the sprint. Unfortunately CC and Toto followed and I missed the early sprint. I thought I set the sprint for 150m but Hamish just followed. But even with the sprint from 100m he was not even strong enough to get next to Toto. Maybe I just had to not ride before...
Last stage - ITT. It was about seconds in the end. 7 sec to place 3 in GC. This was far more than expected. But if I did ride better, I could have been on the podium. Hopefully I will be smarter next time...

Finances: + 385.233 (27 races)
Division: 22nd in Div1 and relegated to Div2

Rider of the month May 20- Hamish MacDonald
Obvious. He was the clear leader for Giro. He delivered more than expected. 4th in Giro with lots of 87+ climbers.

June 2020 - Review

Not much time and mood to ride much. Tour of Belgium was ok since Finn won stage one. Dauphine was bad since I was not attentive and did not take the chances I got with Hamish - just 7th in the end.

July will be not so much riding for me. More cycling in real life. I am looking for the next rider this month since in June there was not much to buy - and the good ones were too expensive.

Finances: + 980.598 (16 races)
Division: 9th in Div2 and relegated to Div1

Rider of the month - June 2020: Finn Iles
the only winner

New rider for July 20

Got back from my bike trip and got a new rider - a little surprise noone else bid on him.

Emil Johansson - Sweden
Name origin: Slopestyle pro
Starting skills (age 21): 55-71-79-48-56, 39, 67,4 pave (bought for 1.644.000; ~97%)
Role/Goal: Classic rider who needs to train flat over average... I would like to get sth like a 71-80...

July 2020 - Review

Just two races, but also two wins. GP Cerami and another one. 237k earned. I even did less races than expected. This continues in August as I will be on holidays again.

No GC captain for 2021 until now. Not a lot of suitable riders on the market - and the good ones just overprized. So I'll wait and see. Maybe 2021 will be like 20, good team for the spring and GC just one team to fill the group.

August 2020 - Review

9 races - around 600k earned. Two wins. Hamish at Fleche Jurassienne and Toby at CZ-Tour. Both nice wins.

Emil the new young team member. A future classic rider...? We will see, training in general not a big success.

Good riders are getting old and the youth market can improve. I hope for some new young riders in the near future.

New rider for October 20

Finally! Finally I found a suitable climber for the upcoming season. I overpaid just a little bit, around 97% instead of 95%.

Wyn Masters - New Zealand
Name origin: MTB pro - The wheelie king
Starting skills (age 21): 73-55-78-48-46, 39, 55,3 pave (bought for 3.111.000; ~97%)
Role/Goal: Leader for GT and other stage races. With 87-60 I would be fine...

Very nice! Hopefully we see you more frequently again now that you have your future leader

Bear wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:08 pm

New rider for October 20

Finally! Finally I found a suitable climber for the upcoming season. I overpaid just a little bit, around 97% instead of 95%.

Wyn Masters - New Zealand
Name origin: MTB pro - The wheelie king
Starting skills (age 21): 73-55-78-48-46, 39, 55,3 pave (bought for 3.111.000; ~97%)
Role/Goal: Leader for GT and other stage races. With 87-60 I would be fine...

Very nice climber

el Galactico wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 7:30 am

Very nice! Hopefully we see you more frequently again now that you have your future leader

Probably I will do more races again in winter and spring.

Bye bye Arminas and Finn!!

Retired riders

As Arminas and Finn were kind of riders who were the face of the team for the last months they need some more text to say goodbye. Both came into the team on 01.09.2019. They were the leading duo for the spring pave classics. Arminas went up to 88 flat, 62 sprint and 84,1 cobble skill. Finn became a 60-87-79 with 84,3 cobble skill.

They attacked a lot. Most of the time as a duo. Just like Harelbeke when they went one and two. Unfortunately they also had to swallow some big losses. For example Paris Roubaix (Arminas 3rd), Tours (Arminas 2nd), Omloop Het (Finn 2nd). Most of the time it was not because they were not strong enough, but because of the tactics. A very nice win was at Tro Bro Leon as everything went as planned and Arminas could take the win in a sprint of five against FL's King Karl. For sure it was only possible because of the help of Finn.

Now it's time to say goodbye to this brilliant duo because they dont have any goals left for the season and they want to make room for new talents. Hopefully Tyler Medaglia, ThomasKjer Olsen (TKO) and Joel Robert can somehow get in the footsteps of Finn and Arminas.

New rider for November 20

As a very short termed transfer, I got a future 60-80 or 55-85. It will depend on his training results. With more sprint skill as usual he might a guy for escapes. Normally he will be a helper for hilly terrain in stage races. With possible 75+ pave in his older days, he might be a useful helper for pave races as well.

Otokar Kotrba - CZ
Name origin: former Enduro rider
Starting skills (age 21): 49-72-79-46-57, 46, 66,6 pave (bought for 1.513.700; ~95%)
Role/Goal: helper in hilly terrain

New rider for December 20

Since I dont want to pay a big amount for a classic rider I opted for a new flat rider with pontential for hilly terrain. He could become a 60-80, 55-85, 50-87... I will see what could be possible. With 52 sprint and some reg he could be also a nice rider for escape groups. This was the kind of rider I was missing for some time. Furthermore he can become an important helper at the cobblestone races with 75+ pave skill.

Harry Everts - BE
Name origin: former Enduro rider
Starting skills (age 21): 49-71-78-51-52, 47, 66,8 pave (bought for 1.480.000; ~95%)
Role/Goal: depends on training

Bear wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:27 am

New rider for December 20

Since I dont want to pay a big amount for a classic rider I opted for a new flat rider with pontential for hilly terrain. He could become a 60-80, 55-85, 50-87... I will see what could be possible. With 52 sprint and some reg he could be also a nice rider for escape groups. This was the kind of rider I was missing for some time. Furthermore he can become an important helper at the cobblestone races with 75+ pave skill.

Harry Everts - BE
Name origin: former Enduro rider
Starting skills (age 21): 49-71-78-51-52, 47, 66,8 pave (bought for 1.480.000; ~95%)
Role/Goal: depends on training

Fine rider, I would train him to become 60-8x, with the downhill and some reg he is pretty good to use than, going in attacks (not too much or less sprint), use him for bigger attacks out of escape (downhill is important there too).

Yap, that's probably the best plan. I hope he will do fine and becomes a 60-85+. Maybe the only type of riders who train really well in my team.

Retired riders

Hugo Svard just retired. He was an important and more or less successful rider. Starting with 46-72-76-47-56 he became in his best days a 48-87-81-47-55. He won 4 stages in his career, most of the time out of escape groups. And he was also a great helper in a lot of races. But now with 35 he has to make place for new riders.

New rider for December 20

One Finish rider is gone and in December there will be already his successor. Very similar skills and hopefully with good trainings as well. The team is getting younger again and training in offseason will be key to have some kind of competetive team for 2021.

Petri Pohjamo - FIN
Name origin: former Enduro rider
Starting skills (age 21): 46-71-78-47-55, 57, 66,8 pave (bought for 1.520.192; little more than 95%)
Role/Goal: flat helper, escape guy

November - review

28 races - 2.913 points - 4 wins - 1.389.982 earned

Many starts since a long time. Not a great month. But 4 wins above average for me. 4 different riders also nice. The wins of Hamish and Tyler at the Andes tour were really great ones. First Andes Tour in teams history was very successful - 5th overall and the 3 stage wins.

Moneywise it could have been better. Some days I was just doing bad and missed some good results.

With new riders coming and old riders in retirement the team becomes younger again. Now it's just about building the team for 2021 and earning some money.

December - review

17 races - 2.590 poinnts - no win - 1.223.009 earned - remained in Div1

No win is bad but I am used to it with my riders. Hamish 2nd in GC and Wyn 1st in YC at Hum... Tour was fine. So the month was average for finances and points were not too bad either.

No new riders for January. That's planned for Feb again. Pol will be replaced soon by a younger flat guy and then there is still some money for somebody who can be a rider for a stage race. But it depends on the market...

Training: Brilliant!!! Shout out to free team
2/4 mtn trainings with Wyn. Now he has to produce some low percentage trainings and he is fine.
Helpers doing good and Tyler did very well with a flat training.

Goals and wishes for January:
MIT hopefully. Maybe with a stage win. Real races coming up as well - so more motivation.
Flat training of TKO to keep up with Tyler. Joel improving would be also nice to have a better contender for RVV.

New rider for February 2021

It seems to be not very important for my climbers if they start with 73 or less, so I decided to buy a cheaper rider with nice B skills. Ok, he sucks in downhill, but rest is really nice. And most likely he takes some downhill low percentage training anyway. Matteo will be 24 in May... he trains for Giro 2021 - if it will take place in May as usual. I hope to be more competetive with two climbers this year, or at least be able to attack more. As usual, he will train mtn and flat, everything better than 83-60 would be nice.

Matteo Pavoni - ITA
Name origin: Enduro rider
Starting skills (age 21): 70-56-76-50-51, 47, 57,5 pave (bought for 2.510.824; little less than 96%)
Role/Goal: climber

Hamish MacDonald retires

Since the team started at San Juan there are no more races for Hamish. With Pavoni coming into the team next month the future duo is Masters/Pavoni. Hamish was one of the faces of the team after the comeback. Never the best skills, but lots of good results. Especially at one of my favourite races, he did very well: 1st Fleche Wallone, 2nd Giro dell Emilia, 3rd Lombardia. At some races there was even more possible. But manager mistakes were part of his career.

8158 points // 112 races // Best skills: 84-63-78-55-52 // Started: 71-55-77-54-52

New riders for February 2021

Two new riders for the new season. Both are only helpers/flat riders. Kees will be trained to something like 50-86 so that he also has a nice pavé skill. Loic for sure, has to train downhill first, and flat. He is planned to become a 50-82-75+.

With both riders the team can start cheap if needed and some flat guys will retire soon. Loic is typical for early chasing if I become favourite in any races some day. Kees is just a really nice rider.

Kees VanDerVen - NED
Name origin: former Motocross rider and Le Touqet winner
Starting skills (age 21): 49-72-79-51-50, 37, 67,8 pave (bought for 1.339.900; low 95%)
Role/Goal: flat rider

Loic Larrieu - FRA
Name origin: Enduro rider
Starting skills (age 21): 46-66-73-47-43, 55, 59,7 pave (bought for 1.278.300; low 95%)
Role/Goal: flat rider with reg

Pol Tarres retires

Pol was a good helper in pavé and gravel races. Unfortunately his training was just average so that he never reached a leading role. During the last weeks he was only a cheap helper. With the real season starting, it's time to let the young guys on the roads.

378 points // 170 races // Best skills: 47-81-77-49-48 // Started: 47-69-72-49-48

Team presentation 2021

Since the real season is already running, it's time to present the squad which will ride the upcoming races. Training had some highs and lows but after some good ones the last weeks the team looks to be ready. Obviously a big goal will be the Spring (cobble) classics.

Wyn Masters - New Zealand - 25y
Current skills: 85-61-79-48-46; 59,5 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 73-55-78-48-46, 39, 55,3 pave (bought for 3.111.000; ~97%)
Role/Goal: GC leader / since GTs will be hard with his skills, he would be ok with winning a less important stage race

Matteo Pavoni - ITA - 21y
Current skills: 73-59-76-50-51; 59,6 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 70-56-76-50-51, 47, 57,5 pave (bought for 2.510.824; little less than 96%)
Role/Goal: co leader in stage races // winning the youth classement in an Italian stage race, or winning overall

Tyler Medaglia - Canada - 29y
Current skills: 60-89-79-51-47; 84,5 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 53-73-79-53-47, 48, 73,3 pave (bought for 1.959.999; ~95%)
Role/Goal: leader in (hilly) cobble races/ winning a monument

Joël Robert - Belgium - 30y
Current skills: 57-77-78-51-60; 78,2 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 49-61-78-53-60, 40, 67 pave (bought for 1.364.000; 95%)
Role/Goal: co leader in easier cobble races/ win one classic

ThomasKjer Olsen - Denmark - 29y
Current skills: 52-86-80-50-53; 82,4 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 48-71-79-50-53, 48, 71,9 pave (bought for 1.540.100; ~96-97%)
Role/Goal: co leader in cobble races / if not PR, than maybe Tro Bro Leon

Emil Johansson - Sweden - 27y
Current skills: 71-78-80-48-57; 72,3 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 55-71-79-48-56, 39, 67,4 pave (bought for 1.644.000; ~97%)
Role/Goal: classic helper for Wyn/Matteo / win a GT stage

Otokar Kotrba - CZ - 24y
Current skills: 51-84-79-46-57; 75,0 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 49-72-79-46-57, 46, 66,6 pave (bought for 1.513.700; ~95%)
Role/Goal: helper in cobble races, flat guy / ???

Harry Everts - BE - 23y
Current skills: 54-81-78-51-52; 73,8 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 49-71-78-51-52, 47, 66,8 pave (bought for 1.480.000; ~95%)
Role/Goal: helper in flat and slightly hilly terrain / ???

Petri Pohjamo - FIN - 23y
Current skills: 51-81-78-47-55; 73,8 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 46-71-78-47-55, 57, 66,8 pave (bought for 1.520.192; little more than 95%)
Role/Goal: flat rider and escape guy / many escapes

Kees VanDerVen - NED - 21y
Current skills: 50-75-79-51-50; 69,9 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 49-72-79-51-50, 37, 67,8 pave (bought for 1.339.900; low 95%)
Role/Goal: helper

Loic Larrieu - FRA - 21y
Current skills: 46-69-75-47-43; 61,8 pavé
Starting skills (age 21): 46-66-73-47-43, 55, 59,7 pave (bought for 1.278.300; low 95%)
Role/Goal: helper


Other riders are not mentioned because they will retire soon...