The list of goal races is rather similar to last year, with a few alterations, which is basically a fully copied line from last year. Olympia TTT remains on the calendar with an improved position this year in a Top 5 expectation while Tropicale Amissa Bongo was our 2nd option. After that, it was going to be a challenging choice but with TTs in mind Danmark was 3rd on the list. I share this just to say that heading into transfers we knew that we needed to keep a highlight on the TT prowess of the team while also expecting Montenegro to leave and not knowing what other priorities we would have.
Monterrey TTT keeps its position but we are banking on a victory this year! We've failed to win the race in the past, but if this isn't the team that can do it, I'm not sure we ever will. Knowing that we went into this season thinking that it was promotion or bust, any questions we had about guaranteeing a Top 5 were thrown to the wayside. Finally, Isle of Man ITT takes a top 5 spot just as it did last year. Looking at the lineup, we assume that we'll end up Top 10 without a Top 5 slot depending on who attends, but even if we don't fulfill the goal, we expect a good point haul here. This was another one where we knew that it was impossible to win sadly, so a Top 5 felt like the right risk to take.
One major difference this season is the desire to go for stage wins as a goal. We didn't know what we would exactly prioritize this year, but with a major priority on finding an all-star leader and the likelihood of picking up a surprise or two, going after the budget through a stage win goal felt great. Having picked up Kennett, Nikiema, McCarthy and our TTT squad, we think this is certainly possible.
Monterrey TTT - Win
Olympia's TTT - Top 5
Nat.
Name
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Wage
Mario Gonzalez Salas
68
55
57
58
78
71
73
62
58
59
51
76
59
78
50000
Julian Cardona
73
64
64
63
77
72
74
68
62
64
67
62
65
77
65000
Jake Marryatt
71
61
65
68
77
67
74
67
57
60
58
67
63
77
55000
Similo Nyoni
69
56
59
62
77
67
72
69
52
70
68
71
64
77
60000
Damien Howson
68
56
59
62
77
68
69
67
55
61
63
69
60
77
50000
Kent Main
68
75
73
71
74
72
75
76
58
63
69
73
71
74
60000
Atsushi Oka
73
65
66
67
74
71
72
73
64
76
76
67
64
79
55000
Joshua Kelly
73
66
69
72
74
69
73
60
60
71
72
72
62
76
50000
No surprises here that our two TTT goals share the same squad and it's the best teams we could physically put up. One thing that I think our team has lacked a bit is the ability to handle the hills of the TTTs and well... that will still be true. Still, I think our team will handle the flatter sections better than anyone else by far and we've seen from previous years that being able to bring a full team into the second half of any TTT is crucial. Wish we had more to say here, but I think our team will be basically unmatched at the CT level and only a few teams in PCT can battle us at Olympia (Riders of Rohan and Philips - Hero on quick standout)
Isle of Man ITT - Top 5
Nat.
Name
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Wage
Mario Gonzalez Salas
68
55
57
58
78
71
73
62
58
59
51
76
59
78
50000
Julian Cardona
73
64
64
63
77
72
74
68
62
64
67
62
65
77
65000
Jake Marryatt
71
61
65
68
77
67
74
67
57
60
58
67
63
77
55000
Who else would come here? Cardona is our only returning rider to the race, but he's joined by Marryatt and of course Gonzalez Salas. The Spaniard is our best shot at the Top 5, but Cardona grabbed a 7th here last year to jump ahead of most of the other 77ers by just a second. If we miss the top 5 it'll be a disappointment but still a worry use of RDs.
Prediction - 4/5 Goals
Our full schedule can be found at the beginning of our HQ. I think that we've done a great job improving again and really putting leaders into the squad. While I do think we will come up short on the Team Standings Win, I think we'll make it close and the others feel relatively reasonable for us. 4/5 and a hopeful promotion seems like a great chance for us.
Edited by seancoll on 15-09-2026 16:30
Not the most optimized calendar for our new mountain leader sadly, but we have 4 major target races for the Colombian addition. He'll look for major successes in Vuelta a Tachira, Tour of Vancouver, Giro del Trentino and Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt where he can really use his climbing and TT ability. This is especially true in Trentino and Vancouver, he'll be supported by the TTT squad, just as he will be in Tour of South Africa where he will hope to find some additional points. He will also serve as a luxury domestique and surprise climbing option in races such as GP Wallonie and Tour of San Luis, where if the race somehow changes toward the climbers instead of our hill stars - Osorio can pick up the pieces and find a major success.
Jay McCarthy
Name
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Jay McCarthy
68
65
73
80
56
77
72
65
67
63
71
69
69
56
Start
End
Race
Category
08-Jan
Clasico San Jose
C2
12-Jan
17-Jan
Tour Down Under
C1
29-Jan
Hong Kong Challenge
C2
01-Feb
Coppa Placci
C2
05-Mar
Strade Bianche
HC
07-Mar
GP Izola
C1
20-Mar
24-Mar
Tour of Britain
C1
31-Mar
Geraardsbergen - Bosberg
CT GTM
01-Apr
Gisborne GP
C1
25-Apr
GP Wallonie
C1
07-May
10-May
Tour of Luxembourg
C2
22-May
25-May
4 Jours de Dunkerque
C2
10-Jun
Frankfurt Eschborn
C2
26-Jun
28-Jun
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
C1
27-Jul
29-Jul
Tour of Lithuania
PTHC
01-Aug
05-Aug
Tour of San Luis
C2
22-Aug
GP Lugano
HC
23-Sep
GP Yekaterinburg
C2
26-Sep
30-Sep
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
17-Oct
Zuri Metzgete
CT GTM
McCarthy was a big signing this offseason and joins to lead the hilly squad throughout the season, especially in the hilly classics. We think he'll start us off strong in Clasico San Jose and should provide our best opportunity in many of the longer classics. He's also going to try to play spoiler in a few races including Geraardsbergen-Bosberg, 4 Jours de Dunkerque, and Strade Bianche. We'll be honest that we didn't even try to run models, but hopefully we can combine the hill impact with McCarthy's stamina to lessen the struggles he'll face on those cobble sections. In an effort to honor his incredible career, McCarthy will also take part in our two PTHC races in Lithuania and Slovenia.
Bachirou Nikiema
Name
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Bachirou Nikiema
69
70
74
77
62
72
74
72
65
70
76
74
71
63
Start
End
Race
Category
12-Jan
17-Jan
Tour Down Under
C1
29-Jan
Hong Kong Challenge
C2
01-Feb
Coppa Placci
C2
07-Mar
GP Izola
C1
14-Mar
18-Mar
Tour of Norway
HC
20-Mar
24-Mar
Tour of Britain
C1
25-Apr
GP Wallonie
C1
07-May
10-May
Tour of Luxembourg
C2
22-May
25-May
4 Jours de Dunkerque
C2
10-Jun
Frankfurt Eschborn
C2
26-Jun
28-Jun
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
C1
01-Aug
05-Aug
Tour of San Luis
C2
22-Aug
GP Lugano
HC
23-Sep
GP Yekaterinburg
C2
26-Sep
30-Sep
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
17-Oct
Zuri Metzgete
CT GTM
Nikiema also joins the team to completely redesign the hill squad heading into 2026. He targets a similar schedule to McCarthy to ensure that the Turtles get priority placing in the peloton, regardless of what is needed in the particular hill race. On his own, we see him as a priority option in the stage races with hopes of a potential GC win in places like Tour of Britain, Tour of Luxembourg, Tour of San Luis and USA Pro Cycling Challenge. He'll also be ready for the sprint finishes in Frankfurt Eschborn and GP Lugano. Given the strength of the TT field, it won't be an overall result in Norway, but we hope that there's potential for a stage result there.
Dylan Kennett
Name
FL
MO
MM
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Dylan Kennett
75
58
62
65
69
73
76
78
62
79
78
67
68
78
[table=100%]Start
End
Race
Category
22-Jan
26-Jan
Circulo de Juarez
HC
01-Mar
05-Mar
Herald Sun Tour
C2
26-Mar
29-Mar
Tour of Guadeloupe
C2
01-May
05-May
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
C1
22-May
25-May
4 Jours de Dunkerque
C2
03-Jun
Betonexpressz GP
CT GTM
10-Jun
Frankfurt Eschborn
C2
01-Jul
Torshavn GP
C1
03-Jul
06-Jul
Uppsala Classic
C2
19-Jul
GP Plouay
C2
27-Jul
29-Jul
Tour of Lithuania
PTHC
16-Aug
20-Aug
Post Danmark Rundt
C1
13-Sep
17-Sep
Baltic Chain Tour
C1
26-Sep
30-Sep
Tour of Slovenia
PTHC
I think we had about 75 RD planned for Kennett on first planning, so finding the exact correct schedule was a major challenge. He looks to get us off to a strong start in Mexico in the battle of the sprinters. He then targets the TT/sprint stage races with Herald Sun, Amissa Bongo, and Uppsala Classic as well as a few classics. We also think he'll be a top 3 favorite in Guadeloupe. Kennett will also appear in both PTHC races to see if he can get a top result against the best in the world. Kennett's goal this season needs to be carrying our stage win goal while the TTT team deals with the individual races. Of our leaders, he also has the highest opportunity per race day, so we hope to see Kennett in the top ten positions in 75% of his race days if not higher.
Shoutout to Fabianski for the inspiration and formatting, heading back to the 2023 season at least!
Clasico San Jose
Hong Kong Challenge
Vuelta al Tachira
Tour of Britain
GP Wallonie
Tour of Vancouver
Tour of San Luis
Giro del Trentino
Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt
Coppa Placci
GP Izola
Tour of Luxembourg
4 Jours de Dunkerque
Frankfurt Eschborn
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Tour of Lithuania
GP Lugano
GP Yekaterinburg
Bachirou Nikiema
Tour of Norway
Circulo de Juarez
Tour of Guadeloupe
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
Betonexpressz GP
Torshavn GP
Uppsala Classic
Post Danmark Rundt
