As a manager who has never made it into the division, I obviously have a lot of thoughts about things (because I’m opinionated!). Still, there’s a lot of areas where I lack expertise in the PCT world (impact of PTHC bands, impact of lacking in one discipline, etc). However, my vibes are impeccable so…
My ranking scale will be:
1.
Title Contender = Promotion should be assured, anything outside top 3 would be a disappointment
2.
Promotion Candidate = Top 5 should be the goal, but anywhere Top 7 would be the expectation
3.
Upset Pick = Probably closer to a Top 10 expectation, but should be a major thorn in the side of promotion candidates all season
4.
Mid-Table = Generally reliable results, but reaching top 10 should be the goal versus expectation.
5.
Survival = While this might not be their year, staying in PCT is the expectation. Underperformances risk relegation.
6.
Rebuild/Development = Sometimes, the cards are simply not in your favor and this might be that year for a points-only evaluation. Hopefully good rider development, race planning tactics, and a lot of fun come from the year
Like I said for the CT preview, I look forward to hearing where I go wrong and what you want to hear more about. Hope many teams prove me wrong, unless I predict you to do well (then make me look great)!
Bacharu Mamachari Faito!
Moving up into the PCT and completing throwing away a regional focus, BMF! is trying to find their new identity. One thing this team has is sprinters galore. Hopkins will lead the way in that category with Zhao as the backup while the leadouts are endless for this team. Kuroeda is another star for this team along with Lukas Spengler – a cobble duo who should really be able to combine well together. The Swiss star will be heading into the front groups while Kuroeda will be ready to sprint for the minor placings or a surprise top result in less challenging races. Hofstetter is the third option both as a sprinter and cobbler for a great value pick.
The GC situation for BMF! is interesting. At the CT level, Reis with Abdurrahman and Quinn and a strong TTT would be fantastic, but I’m not sure exactly how I feel about them at PCT. Either way, if they’re looking for GC results, I think that the TT heavy races are their go-to. Leemerize will then need to focus on the climbing only races, although I don’t love his stat line. Heading to the hills and Lagane is the star as he tries to live up to his expectations as the island-style Demare. Eriksson joins the punchuers on an enormous wage, but the stamina probably makes the risk worth it for at least one year.
Verdict = Survival No division beater in any category, but no huge gaps in the teams. Spengler finding success will be crucial for this newly designed team, but what I fear will be underperformances in the traditional GC races could bring this group down. Lagane needs to show he can be a true star outside of CT.
Bianchi Enel
If there’s a team that’s done testing on their riders, this is it. Van Poppel joins as a top sprinter in the division after clear planning to find a rider who won’t need a major leadout. That’s clearly a risk if races end up undersubscribed and he ends up needing to put riders near the front. Moscon can still be a monster for the team in the hills although his support is much weaker than last season. Van der Poel should likely be heading to different races and has some of the highest potential placings in races like Strade and Viano.
Cataford is a cool addition, although I’m not sure exactly how well he can do outside of decent GC results in a few races. Stavrakakis is much more versatile with eyes on the cobbles as well and I think he alongside Lapeira will end up deciding how this season goes.
Verdict = Rebuild Just because I don’t quite understand how this team will score enough points for major success doesn’t mean it won’t happen if they’ve found surprise scorers that I can’t see. However, staying up feels like a risk for a team with so many unmaxed riders. I feel like the plans for the future are well underway here. The future is simply not now.
Bralirwa - Cegeka
BINIAM! Some cobble training this offseason makes the Eritrean an absolute beast and selfishly I am happy to avoid him on his favored terrain. I may be overestimating his ability, but I feel a top 10 individual point result for him this season and a potential to dominate the cobbles, especially in HC/C1 opportunities. Habimana is a very fun lieutenant that should grab a number of points on his own as well.
Sprinting options outside of Girmay also include Willems and Perera. Perera sadly had to take a decline after his absolute beast year in CT last year, but should still develop decent points at the right races as he’s now C2 eligible. Willems will hold his own in the other sprints.
Outside of Girmay though, the strength of this team is when it goes uphill. Amezawa is a beast in races without a TT bike, Van Eetvelt will similarly hold their own and be racking up tons of youth points while new signing Madouas will be crucial on the hilly races. Could see him finding some surprise victories in Pais Vasco, South Africa and similar parcours.
Verdict = Promotion Candidate This feels like the year for a return(?) to PT for the Bralirwa – Cegeka squad as I really can’t see how a newly improved Girmay leads this team anywhere else. Amezawa doesn’t have a clear weakness on his proposed terrain either as long as he can avoid the TTs – which is true for the whole team really.
Duvel - Tsingtao
Benoot of course has the lead the evaluation here as one of the best riders in the division. His combination of hill and cobbles should never be overlooked as it opens up major opportunities to target exactly the right races. Hopefully he can make great use of his final maxed year. Faglum Karlsson is a leader after my own heart as he loves the prologue while can make him a surprisingly strong option in places like California and other races with a TT component. I’d suspect seeing him in ToA with his deep energy stats is also likely alongside some strong domestiques.
Outside of those two, I don’t love this team although Lyu will represent his home sponsors well in the hills and Hesters will get some decent results in the sprints alongside Barbier. Benjamin Thomas will lead the TTs and prologues for some good results throughout the season.
Verdict = Survival Without Benoot, I’d be sending this team to rebuild, but I think there’s enough star power to stay up. Overall, there just aren’t enough leaders to make a huge difference in the division.
Ethiopian Airlines
We’ve all heard about the battle of Kamna at this point and sadly it didn’t head Ethiopian’s way. That leaves them with really only two disciplines to succeed in the sprints and hills. Ewan will need to basically carry this team on his back the entire season as the top sprinter in the division. He’s got leadouts galore, so it shouldn’t be a major issue, but if he falters more than he wins…
In the hills, Gebrezgabihier, Formolo, Gladysh and others will share the load in trying to make the most of their opportunities. Lots of C2 eligible riders here too and someone like Vendrame or Stork finding surprise top results there could make the difference for the team. Chavanne finding prologue results could be another savior.
Verdict = Rebuild There simply aren’t enough saviors to keep this team in the division after such a challenging transfers. They invested in Del Grosso who should be a major piece for the future, but there’s simply not enough talent to keep that in PCT for next year I don’t believe.
Everesting
It’s new leadership (and a new jersey) for Everesting as they gain Latour and Errazkin in free agency. There’s some debate already about what level of improvement they were over the previous… but what is done is done. Latour is obviously a huge threat in many races and has a capable TT to handle opportunities in those without a major solo effort. He’s a potential favorite for ToA with his energy stats as well. Errazkin will also be focusing on MM and HI efforts, potentially with a small TT impact (Pais Vasco or South Africa for example). The supporting riders for each are a bit weaker than I’d prefer.
Sprinters include Adomatis and Willwohl as the major impact riders here. Both can nickel and dime points throughout, but I’d say 2 wins between the two of them would be an overachievement. Schreurs as the cobble specialist was a great option in a duo or trio, but I’m not sure how much he’ll bring the team alone.
Verdict = Rebuild There’s definitely some fun riders in the team including Silva and Fung who didn’t get a mention above, but I’m not sure that two leaders can basically pull a team by themselves. It’ll be a battle for sure this season.
Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team
A full Scandinavian setup for Gjensidige had the potential to make things very challenging for this squad and while I have some concerns, I like many of the options available here. Eiking as a hill leader with Wandahl as a backup is certainly worth putting some stock into although the competition is fierce. Bjerg and Knotten will thus have to lead the most impressive area in the time trials – something no team yet in our analysis has deeply invested in. Bjerg should be attempting to take top TTer in the division honors while Knotten can absolutely rack up points as well.
Heading to the weaker areas, I wish there was another sprinter alongside Waersted to share the load throughout the season. For GC, Vingegaard has not yet matched his real life namesake, but could surprise occasionally with a top 10 or two. Lunke as another option there and in C2 GCs is a very strong opportunity for this team. Beyond the stars, lots and lots and lots of talents look ready to develop here.
Verdict = Mid-Table Potentially a bit high, but I am going to put my trust in Eiking this year and especially trusting of Bjerg. Somehow I think this squad will put together exactly what is needed for a good result. Much more likely for this team to fall below these expectations though than above them.
Grieg-Maersk
It’s our first relegated team of the PCT evaluation with a team that clearly shows why they were in the PT. While it’s no Pedersen this year, David Per will be flying for the Danish squad reminding all why he’s one of the best cobblers in the world. An absolute beast, Per should be a top 3 favorite in every race he enters, which is normally a great sign of success. He’s got a huge group of domestiques behind with Bohli, Pithie, Abrahamsen, and Jansen all above 75 cobbles which might actually be a bit too much depth for the investment at the PCT level. But if you’re going to invest in a top division favorite, better to give them the necessary support than not.
Foss will lead the rest of the squad as a very strong GC option and potential TOA champion given his TT ability. He’s not the best rider in the division on the climbs themselves, but he should be able to limit those losses over a longer race.
Now looking at those two leaders, I’d normally be looking at a top result, but it’s tough to know where else points are going to come from. The TTT squad in support of Foss is less than ideal, there’s not true sprinter, and there’s really no puncher option to compete at a top level.
Verdict = Mid-Table I wanted to put them near the contender category, but two leaders is simply not enough for me to believe in a team at this level. Yes, Per can potentially win every race he enters, but that’s too much to place on the Slovenian.
Jura GIANTS
It’s tough to look at a Fabianski team and be disappointed… and I’m not! This is probably the most exciting team as I view it of the evaluation so far, with basically no leaderless categories. Schmid is the obvious starting point and on paper, you have to absolutely love the guy even though 2025 races did not. Down a division, he should be prioritized enough to make an impact even with a small stamina issue compared to the top guys. I also love his primary domestique in Andres Paez. Paez has the punch to remain as a final domestique and to sprint for his own result when given the opportunity. Overall I think this is a match made in heaven.
Heading to GC leaders, another duo appears with Godoy and Darbellay. If I haven’t stressed this enough in my previews, I love a duo leadership strategy for climbers because of race prioritization. Godoy can avoid the TT heavy races while Darbellay can head to a ToA, California, and other TT/TTT heavy options as a fantastic option. That’s not to say Darbellay will be the favorite anywhere, but sometimes racking up consistent top 10s is simply all you need.
Heading to the TTT team, Bissegger leads the way for a very solid squad. Some training makes him an especially challenging rider for the rest of the field and he should be expected to bring home major points throughout. Sprinters include Szarka and Larsen, the later also specializing in the prologues. Fabio Christen will learn from the Dane this year before taking over that role in the future. For cobbles, Stewart and Sommer are not killers in any capacity, but they can represent the team well in required races before assisting in other ways!
Verdict = Title Contender I’m not sure I’m ready to give them the favorite role for the division quite yet, they have to be in the conversation. Too many all-stars to head their races that even underperformances should bring useful results. Overall, this team just has the balance I look for most in a promotion candidate.
Lierse SK – Pizza Ullo
Two of my favorite leaders in the division, Oomen and Gamper are absolute stars (which is no news to anyone in the division or the entire MG universe). Oomen has potential to be the top GC scorer in the entire division as he has a stellar combo of MO, TT, and energy stats. Even a pretty rocking prologue! I think Oomen being a clear favorite through most of the C1/HC calendar he appears at will be a huge benefit to this team.
Gamper is the other killer for this squad in a relatively heavy cobble field. He always fights a good battle, is attacking enough to not miss the top groups, and is simply very consistent. He’s a clear favorite for cobbled time trial combos although sadly for him and the Fabian types it is not nearly as plentiful as I’m sure Gamper would love.
There’s good GC depth and support as well as a rocking TT setup for both Gamper and Oomen which can be a 200+ point difference in GC results across the season easily. Marezcko will need to handle the sprinting alone this year and that focus should very much be on stages as opposed to classics.
Verdict = Promotion Contender Two great leaders, but one more true high scorer would make a big difference moving into the top category. Still, this group feels top heavy enough to push high up the leaderboard.
Lotto-Caloi
This team is interesting because I feel like it has a bunch of red stats in all the wrong places! That’s not to say I don’t love 80 acceleration for Buitrago, but I’d rather it be in MO or ST! The two flat beasts of Veyhe and Cherkasov will surely get a chance or two to use this strength, but with two decent sprinters on the team, I worry they’ll end up in support as well. Sadly those sprinters are mid-pack options though with Zingle and Wouters needing to be stage options and not classics killers in my opinion.
Kyeng Ho Min and Vakoc should be leading the team in the mountains and hills respectfully, but both need to overperform in order to bring this team to success. While I think they both have potential (Min > Vakoc), there’s still way too many fearsome foes in the divisions they need to overcome.
Heading toward riders I love, Girdlestone and Currie are my stand-out riders. Currie might not yet be at the top level of TTers but he’s a great young option while Girdlestone has an awesome TTT GC bid. Wish he was a bit better uphill to earn his wage, but should be a good long term investment.
Verdict = Rebuild Probably a bit harsh, but I think this is a team with pieces that will build toward a great team AFTER a forced restructure. Too many riders with too little expectations (but lots of upside) alongside riders with too high expectations.
McCormick Pro Cycling
It appears that this will be the last season of sponsorship for the McCormick brand, but boy does it look like a good year ahead! Ivan Sosa returns again as the team leader to really attack MM stages and punch toward great results in GC and classics. He’s one of the riders that really outperforms his statline (which is already good) and that should continue to do so this year. He is joined in the GC category by Aular on loan. Aular is a 2nd/3rd favorite in most races at this level and should be expecting to bring McCormick onto the podium many a time this season. His TT is serviceable and easily supported by the TTT squad McCormick has this year.
Simmons will be the x-factor for this team as a strong development program places him as one of the top young puncheurs in the game! He’s got great acceleration and tons of deep support on this squad from Barthe, Peters, Godon and more. Two other components of note are Konychev and Riabushenko. They’re two other skillful signings that seem to always make more of an impact than you’d expect. Let’s see how they line up this season, but they could be a strong factor.
Verdict = Promotion Candidate Having 3-4 strong leaders and good supporting casts is a fantastic way to build a team. Yes, there will be some races surely without much opportunity, but there’s tons of quality riders here and the depth at the top to handle business too.
Minions
Another team I’ve loved throughout my time in the game, the team wearing overalls is strong… overall! Rodrigues is the clear opponent for Oomen and Aular at the top of the GC, even though he often gets outsprinted for the stage results. He’s a very consistent rider and will do very well for the Minions this season, especially with support like Borisavljevic.
Jakobsen isn’t the top sprinter in the division, but he’s one of the folks who will ALWAYS be in the top placings. I have no doubt that he will contest every sprint with a fantastic leadout (4-5 great options) lower in the lineup. Kalaba will also get his fair share of chances and he’s no slouch either when it comes to the flat stages.
Overall season success must come from Van Niekerk to bring this team to glory. As one of the more versatile puncheurs and one of the most likely to make a late attack, the South African needs to be right behind Schmid and Hirschi in the hills all season long.
Verdict = Title Contender I feel crazy, but I feel right. Every sprint stage will get a result, Rodrigues will gain a quiet individual top 10 ranking, Van Niekerk is going to have a smashing year.
Peugeot
Possibly my personal favorite rider in the entire division leads Peugoet in Suranga Ranaweera. The Sri Lankan is my absolute dream and stands out as the best combination of MO+TT in the entire division. Again, like Rodrigues, he doesn’t always have enough to outsprint at the finish line, but the GC results come in like clockwork. The other Ekoi 2025 leader to find their way here is monsieur Paret-Peintre. He’s a fantastic puncheur with great stats the entire way through the statline (just forget cobbles exist). APP had a number of wins last season, but it will be crucial for them to get them again.
The rest of the leadership relies on Rutsch in the cobbles and a prominent duo of Coquard and Zabel in the sprints. Both should be consistent scorers based on the speed alone, but the variability in results from them should be getting wider this season. Good leadouts for both of them is another good sign though.
Verdict = Upset Pick We saw what Ranaweera and Paret-Peintre can do for a PCT team last year, but I have to imagine that was the absolute ceiling for that pairing. With those two likely not bringing quiet as much firepower this season, I think it will be a solid stable result for this crew.
Philips - Hero
A team that looks very different from last season after a close relegation from PT, overall I think they’ve done a very good rebuild heading into the season. Zmorka is the highlight for me as one of the top TT riders in the division. There’s tons of great race options for him, especially as also a 81 prologue rider. Behind him, the TTT setup is rock solid with 6 others at 75 or better. Two of those riders are Leo Hayter and Nicola Conci who serve a very similar purpose as TT heavy GC riders. Conci is better on the more versatile races while Hayter should focus on higher mountains and short stage races.
The TTT lineup is also filled with cobblers as Lampawog joins the squad alongside Daan Houle and Scotson. For those types of riders where it’s tough to actually use all of your cobble RDs, I think these are three great options to maximize their potential.
Up to now, we’ve ignored Mick Van Dijke, who I don’t know exactly how to evaluate. He feels like an even stronger version of APP, but somehow I don’t know how to rank him. This will fall to better managers than me to know exactly what should work for Mick, but with the right planning there’s some great options!
Verdict = Title Contender I thought about going as low as Upset Pick, but Zmorka really pushes this team up for me. Van Dijke is controversial for some, but I can’t help but think there’s at least 5-6 races that are very well set-up for him. Two good GC riders, cobble options, and good sprints available from Kulikovskiy should work.
Riders of Rohan
A team after my heart! Come on TTT! Erdenebet leads a TTT squad of 10 riders above 74 TT, including two fantastic GC options in Eastman and Habtemichael is a structure that should be very well organized to ensure they have proper support. Now Eastman had some major trouble last year as a leader, so figuring out his planning this year could be a significant challenge. Habtemichael did very well on the CT calendar, but he’s a bit riskier at the higher levels as the top leader. Evans will be there to support them both as the perfect climbing TT domestique.
Cobbles should be a great option for this team as well with Henri Uhlig leading the squad. Matangos will be the primary domestique while Sam Harrison was fantastic last year as well. Harrison could find some major surprise points on the C2 calendar although he may get dropped before the line. Kalf will also be there with a very strong stamina stat for the cobbles.
The top rider for the team is of course Cees Bol. Bol is a top division sprinter in the right races and this team is very well situated to give him a great leadout. Demare is the secondary sprinting options with 76 hills still to crush races like TDU.
Verdict = Upset Pick I love the set-up of this team and want to go as high as Promotion Candidate, but my skepticism on Eastman drops them below. Lots of fantastic options for many different opportunities and I suspect there’s been some great planning to prioritize opportunities.
Sauber Petronas Racing
There hasn’t been great luck for this team over the previous seasons, but I think that the gap between Sauber and the relegation zone will be bigger this season. Hirschi is the absolute star and he has TONS of support – De Bie, Kron, Scaroni, Kanerva are all very strong hill options to work in support of the Swiss star. Some of those, in particular Scaroni and Kron will want some of their own opportunities, but their clear first priority needs to put Hirschi into the best position possible to be a potential individual title candidate that has yet to materialize.
Mushin Misbah is another fascinating rider – his TT/MO combination has allowed him to punch above his weight many a time and should not be underrated, especially with this team’s TTT ability behind him. Tiberi as a combo co-leader/domestique can actually do well later on as well and a hopeful for some youth points.
Sprinting, Einhorn will lead the team alongside Nommela . Cobbles won’t be a major problem either with Rossi, Nareklishvili and Giuletti trying to score points when he needs to. However, these two disciplines will need to play second fiddle to the uphill races, although I might be underselling Einhorn’s ability.
Verdict = Upset Pick It’s not enough for this team to be near the top, but Hirschi has to come good eventually and this is the year. There is so much support for the top rider that even if Hirschi can’t find the success, maybe the helpers will grab the points on his behalf. Einhorn will rack up points as well alongside the TTers. Let’s hope that the curse on this team doesn’t continue.
SparkNZ – Liquigas
This team is Carlos Rodriguez and that’s about it. Rodriguez should be the best U-25 rider in the entire division and potentially a top 6 GC rider. With the extra young rider scoring, that could put him even in the top ten overall scorers. He’s got support from Daniel Felipe Martinez, Power, Roson, and Thompson. If I were managing, I’d be going for the role play Tour of America win since promotion simply cannot be on the table this season.
Sprinters will need to pull the rest of the points with Bonifazio and Prasad the next two top riders. They’ll be trying to split most of the sprint options throughout the season, but not sure if they can take the top results that they would need.
The story of this team has to be the amount of talents. With this number, you can see what the focus is for the year.
Verdict = Rebuild There is simply not enough depth around Rodriguez to put this team anywhere other than this bottom category. Only 5 riders above the C2 OVR barrier is not enough to get points throughout the season. Still, I think there’s a great multi-year plan here that should not be deterred by this season’s results.
Trans Looney Tunes
Mark Padun leads this team for another year as the best climber we’ve evaluated yet. He’s a killer on the medium mountains as well and should be avoiding the TTs. His support will likely come from Rucigaj and Knox, while Mavrikakis should be trying his own results as a sub-tier GC option.
For me, this team has always thrived on the hills and cobbles even more than the mountains though. Govekar surely misses his pal Korosec, but he’s supported by Bettiol, Debesay, and Hamilton to divide and conquer the many hill races throughout the season. The cobbles will be loaded with Tediashvili, Moulingui, Kolev, and Centrone. They certainly won’t be the favorites, but they should be finding their way into good attacks which will allow them to slowly filter back into good results.
Zabel departs this team while Liu takes over as the top sprinter. Let’s hope the Chinese star can represent well in the flat classics.
Verdict = Mid-Table Most of these leaders have just a bit too many question marks to fully believe in for EVERY race, but you know they’ll come strong many times throughout the season. Decent depth scoring in the right places as well.
Tryg - Eni
This is a team I believe I rated to win the division last year and while there’s some improvements in the leaders, I realize my failure. Ovsyannikov comes up as a 80 cobbler and should be the primary battler with Girmay as the primary cobble sprinters in the division. The biggest issue in my opinion is that there is no primary domestique for the Kazakh. A 75/76 cobbler to keep him company deeper into the race would have done wonders I think in protecting the potential for this star.
THJ remains as the GC leader in a very crowded field. I doubt he’ll take a GC win throughout the year, but top 10s should be coming in like clockwork. Just like Ovsyannikov, THJ doesn’t have great support which worries me as well.
When it comes to folks with support, Walls does get a leadout rider in Pedersen and should do well in the division. Lots of TTers and prologue riders feature in the team, but without a major rider to support. Maybe Riley Sheehan will significantly overperform in some races, but I’m not sure if that will happen.
Verdict = Survival I really do like the top three leaders for Tryg-Eni but the domestique work really surprises and concerns me. They’ll need depth scoring that I simply can’t determine to be majorly successful.
UBS - EDP
If I were more professional, I would go back and edit some other teams to diminish their GC leader write-ups because I forgot Joao Almeida was here! Almeida is clearly the strongest rider with a whopping 83 MO and good MM, TT and energy to support. I can’t imagine he’s going to be challenged by more than 2-3 riders in an HC race or lower; but where he fits in the PTHC calendar is its own challenge. Especially with Arensman also looking great for HC/C1 GC results in the right races, this should be considered the best GC team in the division. They’re well supported by a TTT team as well that can strengthen their results.
Muller underperformed at the PT level, but down at PCT, he should be a well performing leader to hoover up top 10 results in classics throughout the season. Brun and Goncalves are the right types of support him without risking any chance of overshadowing. Moving to the cobbles, Johan Jacobs will be joined by Schappi to make sure that those RDs aren’t a waste while Blum will do the same thing in the TTs being sure to actually rack up significant points.
Now for a team with all these leaders, I’ve still not discussed their 2nd top rider in Dylan Groenewegen. He’s a pure flat sprinter without a high flat rating, but he’s above almost everyone else in the division. Put down many a top 5 result and a few wins as well.
Verdict = Title Contender When a team has a top leader in every single discipline, that is simply a formula for amazing success. Love Almeida as the team leader and Groenewegen as a team leader would even be enough for most groups. Everyone mentioned should grab decent points and even the sub-leaders will be thorns in many other teams’ sides.
 
Zwift – Newton Foundation
Every time I look at this team I get more confused about how to rank them! Jorgenson and Elosegui are a fantastic duo to handle classics and GC races with Jorgenson obviously the more versatile rider. Elosegui as a ToA champion and long race killer should make a huge difference to allow Jorgenson to target the right races. Both can get support from Lopez, Pronskiy, Crncevic, Canal, and Dlamini. Dlamini probably the most likely to get his own results from that group as a versatile TTer who is C2 eligible. Also C2 eligible is Jimenez Retana who should be a great option to take sprint stages in whatever stage races they’ve chosen.
Zwift has rather quietly developed a fantastic TT squad as well behind Jorgenson as Vernon and Jussaume are both 79 TTers with Vernon also now at 80 PRL. Combine them with a few 75 riders and they can grab TT results as well or push Jorgenson to GC success. Vernon is also an oddly strong sprint option in an weirdly limited group. Maybe he’ll also end up as a leadout to the final leader in Enger as a 80/77 sprinter. Enger will be the leader for races like Tropicale Amissa Bongo as he can also grab a prologue result.
Verdict = Upset Pick I like most of the support riders and development happening, but I just can’t see Jorgenson and Elosegui grabbing quite as many points as needed for a top 10. There’s simply too many races well suited for Jorgenson to find exactly which ones won’t be well subscribed. Enger and Jimenez Retana will overperform if I had to guess and the TTers will pull their weight too.
Thanks Sean. Looks like Minions is your against the conventional wisdom. Not sure McCormick's TTT squad is very good but luckily we don't ride many of them.
Interested you categorized TOA as a TT race, I think that is right as there aren't that many mountains stages. On the other hand the mountains come late, with the queen stage on 14, so it feels like there could be come big gaps versus what you get in a 20k TT. I could see a weaker recovery guy blowing up and losing big time.
