Two days ago, we've seen who will be riding for us this year. Today, let's take a look at where we'll ride - and more specifically, which goals our sponsors would like us to achieve!
You might be surprised that for the 2nd year in a row, none of the Swiss races are included in our goals list! Of course, the sponsors would have loved to see us do well in all of Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie and GP Lugano (and they'll love it anyway, sponsor goal or not).
However, the two stage races were quickly dropped. Just because both are PTHC races, and we didn't have nor intend to sign a strong enough stage racer to make success likely enough. Sure, Darbellay is a good stage racer, and with some training he might indeed have been able to get a Top 10. But we weren't sure enough. In hindsight, we could have easily accepted a Top 10 goal, though, as we believe that Godoy could get there.
And Lugano looks nice on paper, a hilly race should be perfect for Schmid. Sure, but not this one. The flat finish makes the outcome way too random unless you have a rider like e.g. Madouas - or Paez. The latter only joined us during transfers, though, and so we turned down this goal as well, as there are much better fits for Schmid.
Instead, we went all-in on Mauro, proving him the faith we still have in him, despite everything ugly that happened last year. But what does that mean? Which races did we pick? Here they are:
We don't like to pick win goals, but it's mandatory to pick one. So we reserved the Top 5/10 goals for races where there's a pretty realistic chance to reach them, and spend the win goal on a rather unlikely option.
Of course, anything can happen on this route, a bit like in Lugano, but at a bigger scale. So it's not completely excluded that Mauro will fight for the win in Canada. But Top 10-15 is definitely more likely. Wait for another year and more stamina training, and the Top 5 will be a much more realistic scenario, though!
Besides the stamina, the lack of support could be an issue for Mauro; given the flat finish, Paez wanted to be our leader in this race if participating, but the race will definitely be a tad too tough for him - if it was C1 level, sure, but PTHC - no. So Mauro doesn't get his strongest supporter. Instead, we're sending this squad:
Rider
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Mauro Schmid
72
77
79
80
68
73
78
73
69
70
79
78
74
66
Jake Stewart
77
62
67
72
68
74
77
73
76
76
71
67
68
70
Lorenzo Delco
73
72
73
73
70
75
74
75
67
64
72
68
77
71
Stan Van Tricht
72
69
71
72
62
73
73
70
65
72
77
71
65
63
Nils Aebersold
68
69
71
72
60
70
70
70
60
63
69
68
66
62
Robin Donze
66
72
71
69
59
70
72
69
57
69
71
67
65
58
Jan Christen
69
67
68
68
67
68
71
63
66
59
69
73
66
69
Bjoern Koerdt
70
63
68
64
63
66
69
68
63
63
69
68
70
63
Mauro Schmid obviously is the leader, as he'll be in all of our goal races. Jake Stewart and Lorenzo Delco are his most well-rounded helpers, and in particular the former could be important in the first half of the race, as he should be able to protect Mauro very well on the long flat roads between the climbs. Lorenzo is the most solid uphill domestique, with Stan Van Tricht not far behind. One of these three will hopefully be able to stay with Mauro for as long as possible!
The talents are mainly here to gain experience, potentially also by joining the breakaway. We're looking forward to see how close Mauro can come to our win goal in this probably too long race - but after all, he might have gained some confidence until we actually get to Canada!
Goal #2 | Balkans International | PTHC | Top 10
Spoiler
Mauro has now become a very strong hybrid climber, with his strengths lying particularly in the hills and in medium mountains. Among all PTHC stage races, Balkans should actually suit his skillset best. He already finished 15th here last year, so we're pretty positive that he can jump up 5 spots!
It was actually very tempting to send Godoy here as well - but the Brazilian wouldn't agree to "only" co-lead the team or even playing second fiddle to Mauro. He might have less downside, being more solid on the physical side. With Mauro, it might happen that he completely breaks down and gets us no result at all. But Mauro does have more upside, given that he can be in the mix for high stage results thanks to his great kick.
So in the end, we unfortunately had to decide to leave Caio at home - or rather, send him to other races. So this is what our lineup looks like:
Rider
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Mauro Schmid
72
77
79
80
68
73
78
73
69
70
79
78
74
66
Gergely Szarka
77
62
65
67
61
72
73
76
60
78
78
64
66
72
Lorenzo Delco
73
72
73
73
70
75
74
75
67
64
72
68
77
71
Stan Van Tricht
72
69
71
72
62
73
73
70
65
72
77
71
65
63
Nils Aebersold
68
69
71
72
60
70
70
70
60
63
69
68
66
62
Roman Holzer
72
62
62
62
64
69
66
68
66
73
72
65
63
66
Joshua Golliker
69
69
72
68
66
70
69
65
66
61
68
76
72
64
Jan Christen
69
67
68
68
67
68
71
63
66
59
69
73
66
69
In the end, we didn't even send Paez to support Mauro Schmid, as we also had enough other interesting races for him - and so we could definitely ensure that there was not going to be any dispute about leadership even on particular stages.
But this obviously means that the support cast for Mauro is very thin. We do believe that our leader can still get a Top 10 on GC, but things would have been easier if he got some more help. Just like in Canada, Lorenzo Delco will be his main supporter, with Stan Van Tricht being a pretty solid domestique as well. Other than that, Nils Aebersold is the only rider who can somewhat handle those climbs - with Joshua Golliker being a good option for the longer uphills as well.
Given that there are two flat stages as well, we opted to bring our best sprinter to this race, hoping for Gergely Szarka to get some results. Having specific expectations is difficult as we don't know the field, but we think that he might be among the faster men here. Which is why we also bring Roman Holzer, who could make sure that Gergely gets a somewhat decent leadout if required.
Top 10 is the goal - is it a feasible one? We do think so, yes - but the lack of support might be an issue - a recurring pattern across most of our race previews this year...
Goal #3 | Clasica San Sebastian | PTHC | Top 10
Spoiler
Yes, another hilly PTHC classic! Another long one - more than 200km. So one where Mauro should struggle?
This might indeed happen. However, his track record here shows that it could still be a realistic goal: 2nd, 1st and 10th in the last three years. Of course, the top results came in the good old PCM22 version, but 10th place last year shows that he still likes this race a lot. Can he do even better after a great training camp?
Well, we'll see. What we know is that the support cast will - once again - be weaker than last year. Which could very well end up breaking Mauro's race. But we're still hopeful that this squad can do well in the Basque Country:
Rider
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Mauro Schmid
72
77
79
80
68
73
78
73
69
70
79
78
74
66
Lorenzo Delco
73
72
73
73
70
75
74
75
67
64
72
68
77
71
Stan Van Tricht
72
69
71
72
62
73
73
70
65
72
77
71
65
63
Gustas Raugala
72
70
70
70
75
71
74
69
54
58
65
66
71
76
Nils Aebersold
68
69
71
72
60
70
70
70
60
63
69
68
66
62
Robin Donze
66
72
71
69
59
70
72
69
57
69
71
67
65
58
Jan Christen
69
67
68
68
67
68
71
63
66
59
69
73
66
69
Bjoern Koerdt
70
63
68
64
63
66
69
68
63
63
69
68
70
63
Once again, Mauro Schmid gets what we can offer in terms of support, apart from Paez. Which means that Lorenzo Delco and Stan Van Tricht should be his strongest domestiques, and we hope they can hold on for as long as possible. The others will try to join the breakaway or fetch bottles in the first part of the race.
We just have to hope that Mauro shows some smart riding here, saving as much energy as possible for the final kilometers - if he's still in the mix, we all know how punchy he is, and anything could be possible!
Goal #4 | Tour de Pologne | HC | Top 5
Spoiler
We had to pick a goal in the HC category as well - and with classics depending more on daily form and even some luck, we decided to not go for Strade Bianche, Badaling or Emilia, but for the Tour de Pologne! With its short and medium length climbs, it feels like a perfect opportunity for Mauro to showcase his skillset.
We have good memories of this race, with two stage wins and a 7th GC place as our best result - now it's up to Mauro to improve on the latter. We think he should be able to do it, and this will be our lineup:
Rider
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Mauro Schmid
72
77
79
80
68
73
78
73
69
70
79
78
74
66
Jake Stewart
77
62
67
72
68
74
77
73
76
76
71
67
68
70
Lorenzo Delco
73
72
73
73
70
75
74
75
67
64
72
68
77
71
Stan Van Tricht
72
69
71
72
62
73
73
70
65
72
77
71
65
63
Nils Aebersold
68
69
71
72
60
70
70
70
60
63
69
68
66
62
Robin Donze
66
72
71
69
59
70
72
69
57
69
71
67
65
58
Joshua Golliker
69
69
72
68
66
70
69
65
66
61
68
76
72
64
Jan Christen
69
67
68
68
67
68
71
63
66
59
69
73
66
69
Not much of a surprise there. Once again, we decided to send Paez elsewhere, so Mauro Schmid is really the undisputed leader. On all stages, given that we don't even bring a sprinter (even though Jake Stewart may try his luck in reduced bunch sprints).
The pair of Lorenzo Delco and STan Van Tricht once again are his primary domestiques, with Stewart having more of a free role. The talents will hopefully be busy chasing breakaways, once Mauro gets into a good overall position - which he hopefully will.
Goal #5 | PCT Standings | Win
Winning the division is a truly ambitious goal, and it will take some luck and many things falling into place for this to happen. But it might not be impossible; all predictions and projections so far see us finish among the division's Top 5, which we'd take any day. Taking the win would be awesome, though - and definitely something the sponsors would love to see after the underwhelming 2025 season!
Our own projections are far more pessimistic, though - let's hope we are wrong and everyone else is right!
2026 Calendar
Let's just take a quick look at the calendar and some of our schedule's particularities.
- As you see, we don't have races like Colombia or Maroc, that would have been perfect for Godoy. We did our schedule planning with Darbellay as our main climber in mind - hence we don't even have enough mountainous races to have the two on separate schedules. More details on their planning in the coming days.
- One thing that really hurts is that we had to decide between Deutschland Tour and Post Danmark Rundt, meaning that one GC race for TTers simply goes down the drain (and there aren't many of them anyway). We decided for Denmark and against Germany (and Slovenia, given the PTHC band), given that Bissegger should fight for Top 3-5 in Denmark but for a lower Top 10 at most in Germany.
- We were 99% sure pre-transfers that Groves would leave the team, so we avoided Juarez. Which sadly also means missing out on Lugano, but given the clash with Milano - Torino, it's clear anyway where Schmid would have gone ^^
- Given our lack of TT depth, we kept our TTT count to the bare minimum - Romandie and Catalunya. This is a trend we definitely want to reverse in the future, but it won't be possible without any foreign support - hence it wasn't exactly a priority this year.
- C2 is all-in on the cobbles, with Sommer being our leader for these 12 RDs.
That's it on goals & team schedule - stay tuned for the rider schedules!
I think some of your points tallies are on the conservative side and could definitely see you outscoring that total.
And you've got to stick around now, can't give up on the Christens, you just know they'll get split up if you don't keep them.
I agree; I also wrote that this should probably be the floor, so we could definitely go higher. How high? Difficult to say, in particular with the division's resize (and PTHC wildcards as well!).
I think it wouldn't be much of a problem for Bush to reunite the Christens But yeah, hoping to keep them and to have them as solid scorers - but will need some even bigger talents to be able to rely on a Swiss-only core, in particular in PT.
We've published our team schedule, we've published our goals - let's dive into some more details about rider planning!
We'll start with the climbers today, with subsequent posts covering the Puncheurs, the TTers, and finally the Sprinter and Cobblers combined. Let's dive in right with this window's top signing (in terms of immediate scoring potential):
Caio Godoy
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
68
81
79
76
67
75
76
77
54
59
75
71
68
67
2026 Calendar
Start
End
Race
Category
03-Apr
Badaling International
HC
05-Apr
10-Apr
Tour de Romandie
PTHC
12-Apr
17-Apr
Tour de Langkawi
C1
---
12-May
25-May
Tour of America
PCT GTM
---
12-Jun
18-Jun
Tour de Suisse
PTHC
---
25-Jul
29-Jul
Tour d'Andorra
HC
---
17-Oct
Giro di Lombardia
M
That's really not many races! But 40 RDs just isn't a lot - and in particular when you didn't set up your schedule for a pure climber.
The options we had was sending Caio to California and Portugal instead of the ToA, but both races clearly have too many ITT kilometers with just a single climb to potentially make up time. No other mountain races for us. Balkans and Pologne would have been options as well, but this wouldn't have been a wise choice, only bringing confusion about team leadership.
So it is ToA. It's our very first participation in the People's Grand Tour. We intended to send Castrillo here, to join breakaways. Now we're sending Godoy, who would easily be a Top 5 candidate without the two TTs. But we believe that even with those time trials, he can still get a Top 5 (which would have been unlikely in California and Portugal). He will get the best possible supporter here, as Darbellay will join him in the Americas - if that's not good enough to rock the mountains, we don't know what else it would take (apart from more climbing depth)!
Darbellay will also join him for his PTHC appearances, the two Swiss stage races. The Tour de Suisse really was a straightforward pick. Sure, there is a TT, but it's short and basically just up and down, so Caio should be right in the mix for a good GC position. Could he even get us the best ever result in our home race (2x 6th so far)?
Romandie is a more tricky selection. Not because of the MTT, where he'll lose a couple of seconds to stronger TTers, but because of the TTT. We can be pretty much sure that Caio will not be among the Top 4 finishers, and hence he'll lose time - in trainings, we've seen him lose between 10 and 30 seconds to his teammates. But given that we send a rather decent TTT squad (for the only time of the year), we believe that Caio will still be very much in contention. Not for a podium, probably not for a Top 5 - but a Top 10 can definitely be on the cards, in particular if Darbellay can provide him a perfect launchpad on the tough stage 4.
We're afraid that Caio will struggle even more in his other stage races, Andorra and Langkawi - just because he doesn't have any good climbing support. And here we're speaking of 76+ mountain stat - which only Darbellay does provide. And he'll not be supporting Caio there. So he could still finish high up - but he could also finish outside the Top 10 in these races if he runs out of steam too early.
Finally, Badaling is the only race where we have Caio racing alongside Mauro - definitely as a support rider, and not a leader, though. We'd have loved to send him to Euskal Bizikleta instead, where he'd do great, but he'll be racing in America at that time. So it's Badaling, and we'll see if he can get some kind of depth result there.
It remains to be seen what he can do in his only wildcard appearance of the year - in the season's final monument - in the Giro di Lombardia. He definitely has the climbing skills to get a strong result there - but does he have the punch to keep up with the others on the final uphills? We'll see - and we'll be pretty relaxed, as this year we'll be there just for fun!
Valentin Darbellay
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
69
79
75
71
76
73
75
77
64
67
65
70
67
76
2026 Calendar
Start
End
Race
Category
14-Mar
18-Mar
Tour of Norway
HC
20-Mar
22-Mar
Tour of Ukraine
PTHC
---
05-Apr
10-Apr
Tour de Romandie
PTHC
---
12-May
25-May
Tour of America
PCT GTM
---
01-Jun
07-Jun
Tour of California
C1
12-Jun
18-Jun
Tour de Suisse
PTHC
---
01-Aug
06-Aug
Volta a Portugal
C1
---
17-Oct
Giro di Lombardia
M
Compared to Godoy, Valentin has a couple of additional races. However, his role isn't very clear in some of them.
What is clear is that he's Caio's main domestique in ToA as well as Romandie and Tour de Suisse. And Lombardia, but with his rather mediocre medium mountain and bad puncheur skills, we'll see what he can do.
Then he'll be our leader in Portugal and California - but both races aren't quite straightforward for him, given that he'll need to survive some hills. With Paez going for stage wins in both races, this might not be trivial for Valentin, but we hope he has learnt from last year's mistakes and will ride somewhat smarter, avoiding stupid time losses. If he can avoid them, he should be in for some decent GC results.
It's a similar story for Ukraine and Norway. In Norway, he'll most likely not be our main focus rider, given that the hills aren't too hard, and our main TTer could handle those rather well. But Val could still get a nice result if he can keep up with the front group.
On the other hand, Ukraine is more of a filler race - if he handles the big hills on day 2 well, he could also get some nice scoring - but he'll need to step up his game compared to last year!
Given this schedule, you might understand why our points expectations for Val are pretty low this year. But he has the potential of getting more points, that's for sure - and even if he "just" helps Godoy getting even better results, that will be incredibly valuable as well!
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 
Balkans International 
| 
Clasica San Sebastian 
| 
Tour de Pologne 
Down Under Classic
Tirreno - Adriatico
Tour of Norway
Tour of Ukraine
Gisborne GP
Badaling International
Tour de Langkawi
GP Herning
Paris Tours
Amstel Gold Race
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
Tour of Northern Europe
Tour of America
Lisbon Classic
Scandinavia Open Road Race
Tour d'Andorra
Riga - Jurmala GP
Japan Cup
Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha
I think you could score quite a bit higher, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
But yeah, hoping to keep them and to have them as solid scorers - but will need some even bigger talents to be able to rely on a Swiss-only core, in particular in PT.
Caio Godoy 
