Tour of America is always a bit of a gamble and you needed to get the best out of Novaks season to stay up. If that one big race goes wrong for a team thats very depending on their top leader, that's very tough to cancel out. Not having the necessary luck of big surprise results elsewhere, obviously isnt helping.
I like that your spirit seems a lot better than in past relegations and you are already looking at your options. Whether you keep Novak or plan to rebuild without him, he should be the best trade material you ever had to swap for another leader (on a cheaper wage) or a strong cornerstone of both your 2026 and 2027 teams to build around - depending on which option you end up picking.
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
CT is more fun anyway!
But seriously, another rebuild incoming could be a good opportunity for a fresh start, but it also could be the source of another very frustrating transfer period. At least Novak should be either a great cornerstone for a bounce back or a nice trade asset for transfers. I'd probably go with him as a really strong climber / stage racer has proven to be a great strategy for CT success, but you obviously can still test the market.
Novak in CT would probably be like Jorgenson last year, but anytime there is a need/opportunity for major change is the most fun in the MG. You seem to have found the way, along with TMM, of ensuring there’s always a need for roster renewals!
But seriously, it’s been a gruelling season and unfortunately luck hasn’t been on your side this time around, but no doubt you can take some learnings from the experience and look to bounce back straightaway, as I believe you’ve done before at least once? All this said, it’s not over until the fat lady sings, so let’s see how the rest of the season pans out…
Commiserations for the tough year so far. I think your team was put in kind of an unfortunate place this season with the AI shift. Seems if you don't have a favorite the rest of your team can be way too passive, which doesn't really help teams with good depth and attacking philosophies. Though I'm particularly disappointed in Cataford as I've always liked this makeup and expected a much better year from him.
Novak in CT would be a very fun year if you can swing it, though you'd be relying on him completely. Would be interesting to see!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
September races are underway, but right now the team's fortunes took a turn for the worst. The recent Olympia TTT ended up as one of the worst TTT performances the team had ever endured and had put a stain on a reputation in this field which seemed almost spotless. After being just 4 seconds shy of the top time, the crew, led by Alexandor Cataford and Michal Kukrle lost over 2 minutes and ended up 12th out of 13 teams! What's worse - only four riders (Cataford, Kukrle, Oleksandr Golovash and Carlos Verona) had finished with the same time. Lukas Postlberger finished 5 seconds after the quartet, while the remaining trio of Willhelm Wallinder, Jakub Otruba and Alec Segaert was nearly 20 minutes behind!
This was a disaster on multiple levels which basically confirmed what has been known for a while. With the projected score by the end of the season, the team is going to end up 23rd - second to last in the PCT standings and guaranteed relagation. Olympia's result only reinforced this. What hurts the most was that this race was one of the five goal races the team has set given IESE's reputation in TTT events with 3 wins in the lower level Monterrey TTT - a race the team could've entered if they wanted to, but chose not to. And it was for the best to be honest - a humuliation there would've been worse.
The devastation will also have a huge rammifications on the contract situations. Cataford and Kukrle are two of the biggest earners this season and this performance basically puts their renewal prospects at great danger as IESE cannot justify giving each 150k+ - money which for a CT team don't grow on trees. A potential extensions for both + Novak's large for CT payday would strain the finances even bigger. There's a chance the two to be signed back once they hit the free market, but that hides additional risks such as bidding wars which may compel the team to retain at least one - either the versatile Cataford (who will enter his first year of decline which is its own set of issues) or Kukrle to satisfy the quota for Czech riders (he'll enter the final year maxxed out in 2026). This could force the team to either part ways with Novak completely or renew him and flip him for money, riders or both (easy said than done). Speaking of Novak...
The team's final goal set for the season is Tour du Maroc. Given the profile and the lack of a TT stage, this presents a perfect chance for Novak to end the season on a high note, which will be really helpful for raising the morale after the Olympia embarrasment.
IESE boss talks about the end of the season and what lies ifor the future
Shortly after Giro dell'Emiia IESE boss ivaneurope did an interview for DSN News about yet another shortlived PCT campaign and plans for the future.
DSN Reporter: Thank you for accepting this interview. How would you describe your season overall.
Ivaneurope: If I'm really honest with you, this season has once again proved to be disappointment. Our expectations were for at least Top 15 finish, but as you know, we are 23rd out of 24 teams.
DSN Reporter: That really feels devastated, but where do you think things really started to go bad.
Ivaneurope: Can't say where I can pinpoint the exact moment where everything went wrong. But if there's one moment where I knew we were toast was Tour of America.
DSN Reporter: Yeah, Domen Novak was in the lead before the TT stage and then experienced a monumental collapse to the point that even Top 10 was not a sure thing. Did you have any idea what went wrong?
Ivaneurope: No, I had no idea what really went wrong - I knew he wasn't a TT specialist, but had a decent TT stats compared to riders similar to the skillset. I think he just had a bad day, but it really stung for him as he has leading the overall classification and was due for a really high rankings score.
DSN Reporter: Another devastating result for you was Olympia TTT - your team were on a provisional podium pace after the first checkpoint, but something went wrong. Can you tell us what actually happen?
Ivaneurope: I'll not blame the riders or equipment - it happens. But we came here with the hope of finish in the Top 5 at least, even though we've set this as a win in the season goal picks as we know how to win a TTT with 3 Monterrey wins. To not only lose, but to finish second to last among all teams had been demoralizing.
DSN Reporter: You had moments to smile in Morocco and South Africa these past few week, but I can tell it was too little, too late. Now with return to CT is all but confirmed at this point what are your plans for next season and onwards.
Ivaneurope: For now we will only concentrate on the 2026 season, but with our limited budget that we're going to have we have to make difficult decisions. We would like to keep Novak, but we also know that without a massive salary reduction it will put a huge strain on our cap next year - as things stand his salary will take 25-30%. We don't know how much other riders would want either.
DSN Reporter: You speak about only the 2026 season as if you're not sure if you're willing to go beyond. Is there an explaination about this shift?
Ivaneurope: Our backers are contracted until 2026 - we don't know if they'll remain commited to the team beyond that. And if I'm really honest, after the last few years when I bounced between CT and PCT, my motivation is getting lower. I think next season will decide what the future holds for this team.
DSN Reporter: I think that would be all. Thank you for joining me for this interview.
