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[PCT] Simba Cement – Tanga Fresh
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 09-06-2025 09:37
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 12681
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1961.50
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Congrats on the promotion. Hope you settle into PCT fast! Great to see Kozhatayev contributing handsomely in your promotion quest 
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| Caspi |
Posted on 10-06-2025 15:49
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Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
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Laurens147 wrote:
Congrats with the promotion, very well done! 
Impressive depth in your CT squad. I hope you can get the right pieces in to have a good season in PCT. All the best!
Thanks Laurens. We definitely promoted due to great depth - no riders in the top 10 of the individual standings and only 1 in the top 20.
AbhishekLFC wrote:
Congrats on the promotion. Hope you settle into PCT fast! Great to see Kozhatayev contributing handsomely in your promotion quest
With tons of old farts still in the team it's going to be tough to stay in PCT. Kozhatayev was indeed one of the most important pieces on the team, but he's also one of the old farts...
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| Caspi |
Posted on 12-08-2025 12:03
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Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
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Renewals
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good
Almost 100k saved on wages. It’s mainly due to decreases from Zariff, Schomber, and Carpenter. The latter isn’t as strong as he used to be though, which means we expected a decrease in his wages. The willingness to cooperate wasn’t expected from our two leaders, but it’s very appreciated and could be key in our fight for survival in PCT.
The Bad
25k wage increase by Page. A small increase was fair enough after his performances last season, but 25 % was a bit more than we had hoped for.
We also had to say goodbye to our best rider – at least if you look at the individual ranking. Although it’s a big loss for the team, Kozhatayev was not looking as strong in the offseason as he did in the beginning of last season, and it was probably the right time to say goodbye.
The Ugly
Only 9 riders renewed (50 %). Especially Seboka and Nikiema will be missed. Seboka wasn’t contributing a lot pointwise so we couldn’t offer him a big paycheck. On the contrary, Nikiema was a key rider last season, and we would have loved to see him in our colors in PCT. However, a 50 % wage increase wasn’t enough for him, and we’re not sure how well he can perform in PCT, so we had to part ways.
Availability
One big yard sale
● strong intention to keep | ●●● open for offers | ●●●●● clear intention to sell
| Nat. | Name | TT | RS | PR | OVR | Age | Availability |  | Nils Schomber | 74 | 76 | 81 | 71,84 | 31 | ● |
You can't afford him.
| Nat. | Name | FL | SP | AC | OVR | Age | Availability |  | Nur Aiman Zariff | 70 | 80 | 80 | 75,65 | 28 | ●● |  | Dylan Page | 75 | 78 | 79 | 75,56 | 32 | ●● |
We would like to keep both Zariff and Page, but one of them could find a new team if the right offer is made. We prefer to keep Zariff, but let's see how the market evolves.
| Nat. | Name | MO | RS | SP | OVR | Age | Availability |  | LM Kulindwa | 71 | 71 | 58 | 70,71 | 24 | ●●● |  | A. De Comarmond | 62 | 73 | 72 | 70,51 | 23 | ●●● |
Both of our talents can stay, but they are also open for both a sale or loan.
| Nat. | Name | HI | AC | FG | OVR | Age | Availability |  | Adel Barbari | 63 | 79 | 76 | 73,72 | 32 | ●●●● |  | Willie Smit | 74 | 72 | 80 | 73,19 | 33 | ●●●● |
We don't mind keeping Barbari and Smit, but they can both play a bigger role in CT, and we are willing to let them enjoy their last season(s) as professional cyclist with some more responsibility.
| Nat. | Name | MO | HI | FG | OVR | Age | Availability |  | Robin Carpenter | 75 | 75 | 71 | 73,87 | 33 | ●●●●● |  | Andrea Manfredi | 77 | 64 | 76 | 73,04 | 33 | ●●●●● |
They are already yours. Carpenter is a decent hybrid, and Manfredi the perfect KoM chaser in CT, however, both have seen their first decline and are actively looking for another team. |
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| redordead |
Posted on 12-08-2025 12:09
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Team Leader
Posts: 5511
Joined: 18-10-2017
PCM$: 200.00
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Good boy Zariff!
Obviously a lot of work to do, but this looks like a really nice starting point
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Imladrik |
Posted on 12-08-2025 12:57
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1112
Joined: 05-10-2021
PCM$: 700.00
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Welp, that leaves you some room to try and build a team.
Good luck for that and all the best for the upcoming PCT season!
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 12-08-2025 13:37
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3800
Joined: 03-07-2012
PCM$: 300.00
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Are you sure 2 dots is right and you didn't miss some off?
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 05-12-2025 20:03
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| cio93 |
Posted on 12-08-2025 14:16
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World Champion
Posts: 10616
Joined: 29-10-2007
PCM$: 500.00
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Actually, if certain ideas of mine materialize, there's plenty of reason to chat this transfer season, about riders you wouldn't expect! 
Good luck elevating this solid core into a PCT-level squad over the next few weeks.
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 12-08-2025 18:45
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Sprinter
Posts: 1809
Joined: 07-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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There's lots of work incoming for you in transfers with no leaders for most terrains already on the roster.
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| SotD |
Posted on 12-08-2025 20:11
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World Champion
Posts: 12631
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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I think you'll be in for a fun off season with plenty of work ahead of you, but also a couple of cool assets for trading
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 13-08-2025 12:10
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World Champion
Posts: 11621
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1120.00
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Congrats on the promotion, awesome to see you moving up. Glad to see Schomber getting his appreciation from a team after I could no longer keep giving it to him
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
5x  x5
1x  x1
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| Caspi |
Posted on 13-08-2025 16:54
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Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
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@redordead
Indeed, a very good boi!
@sammyt93
All dots are - unfortunately - correct 
@cio93
Uh, exciting! Looking forward to discuss further.
@jandal7
Thanks, hope we can stay up. We would like to keep Schomber around for at least another season regardless.
@Imladrik @kandesbunzler26 @SotD
Thanks for the well-wishes, and I agree with all of you: there is plenty of work to be done
Edited by Caspi on 14-08-2025 14:52
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| jph27 |
Posted on 14-08-2025 13:12
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Team Leader
Posts: 7374
Joined: 20-03-2010
PCM$: 900.00
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Didn't expect to see the talents available, so possibly something to discuss there depending on how transfers shake out! |
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 14-08-2025 13:27
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3930
Joined: 29-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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Overall some nice renewals, you must be doing something right regarding team culture if your leaders are willing to take a pay cut after promotion! Will be interesting to see what kinda team you can build during transfers - I have a feeling the blank slate you have at the moment could give you the chance to build a good platform to stay in the PCT for years to come.
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| Caspi |
Posted on 15-08-2025 14:06
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Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
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@jph27
Open for all sorts of deals
@Dippofix
Overall, we are happy with renewals, but on the downside, we also saw a lot of riders leaving the team (probably due to lowballing their wage demands). |
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| Caspi |
Posted on 02-09-2025 21:31
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Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
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Our HQ is updated with new requirements from the sponsors: Simba Cement & Tanga Fresh.
-20 % or more African riders on the team
- Currently 26 %
-At least one Kenyan or Tanzanian rider in the squad
- Both a Kenyan and a Tanzanian rider on the roster for 2025
-Two of the next three years in PCT
- Time will tell
Roster for our first stint in PCT
The team consists of 27 riders for the upcoming 2025 season. A few too many if you ask the financial department, but management has been promised some peace and quiet to work after the new three-year strategy was agreed with the sponsors.
GC leaders
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Age |  | Richard Antonio Carapaz | 69 | 80 | 76 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 50 | 56 | 65 | 71 | 61 | 72 | 32 |  | Ki Ho Choi | 69 | 79 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 73 | 76 | 61 | 57 | 65 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 34 |  | Oscar Rodriguez | 69 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 55 | 63 | 73 | 72 | 64 | 74 | 30 |
Carapaz and Choi probably won't ride many races together, but rather split leadership responsibilities amongst them. That also means that Rodriguez won't have many chances as sole captain - if any.
TT Department
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Age | | Stefan Bissegger | 74 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 78 | 73 | 77 | 72 | 60 | 72 | 73 | 64 | 71 | 77 | 27 |  | Daniel Turek | 73 | 64 | 66 | 68 | 77 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 58 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 60 | 76 | 32 |  | Bob Jungels | 71 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 77 | 73 | 74 | 67 | 53 | 62 | 62 | 71 | 69 | 77 | 33 |  | Kristian Vanderpool | 68 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 77 | 63 | 64 | 61 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 62 | 62 | 76 | 30 | | Nils Schomber | 73 | 54 | 56 | 58 | 74 | 66 | 76 | 68 | 50 | 69 | 69 | 65 | 64 | 81 | 31 |
With the loan in of Bissegger - and a little help from our talents Moiruri and Demiri - we should be able to assist our GC leaders sufficiently in the TTTs. However, I'm not sure how we rank in pure TT strength compared to other PCT teams?
Hill Squad
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Age | | Muhamad Zawawi Azman | 69 | 76 | 77 | 77 | 63 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 50 | 65 | 75 | 76 | 69 | 64 | 31 |  | Xandro Meurisse | 72 | 73 | 75 | 76 | 66 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 67 | 70 | 76 | 71 | 67 | 67 | 33 |  | Sean McKenna | 70 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 64 | 69 | 72 | 71 | 61 | 65 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 64 | 31 | | Robin Carpenter | 66 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 51 | 65 | 70 | 71 | 68 | 67 | 33 | | Willie Smit | 71 | 68 | 71 | 74 | 68 | 74 | 70 | 69 | 53 | 67 | 72 | 80 | 66 | 69 | 33 |
Azman has been bought to contest the tougher hilly races but will also be mountain domestique alongside Carpenter in certain races.
Meurisse on the other hand might play a role in races where the pavement is bumpy.
Cobble Guys
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Age | | Olivier Lecourt De Billot | 75 | 58 | 64 | 69 | 64 | 74 | 73 | 65 | 75 | 61 | 74 | 81 | 64 | 68 | 32 |  | Mekseb Debesay | 72 | 64 | 68 | 71 | 69 | 70 | 74 | 65 | 76 | 66 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 34 |  | Aviv Yechezkel | 74 | 55 | 60 | 64 | 65 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 76 | 64 | 73 | 70 | 69 | 65 | 31 |  | Nipuna Shira Manamalage | 80 | 50 | 54 | 58 | 51 | 69 | 62 | 54 | 76 | 56 | 54 | 63 | 60 | 56 | 33 |
We never found a suitable leader, but that just means that everyone will have plenty of chances to fight for their own success. Management hope to see a surprise or two during the season even though expectations are low.
Sprinters & Leadout
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Age | | Yacine Hamza | 77 | 60 | 64 | 67 | 60 | 73 | 72 | 78 | 63 | 77 | 77 | 65 | 65 | 63 | 28 | | Jaume Sureda | 73 | 63 | 67 | 71 | 61 | 71 | 69 | 75 | 65 | 77 | 79 | 72 | 65 | 61 | 29 |  | Thanawut Sanikwathi | 72 | 58 | 62 | 66 | 65 | 70 | 67 | 75 | 72 | 78 | 78 | 66 | 72 | 68 | 32 | | Adel Barbari | 71 | 62 | 63 | 63 | 68 | 70 | 69 | 78 | 58 | 76 | 79 | 76 | 62 | 70 | 32 | | Pavel Bittner | 70 | 58 | 64 | 69 | 62 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 67 | 74 | 75 | 66 | 61 | 67 | 23 |
We have a strong leadout, but we lack a top-end sprinter. We couldn't afford to train Hamza, but Sureda and Sanikwathi should be able to score some points under the right circumstances. Bittner should also develop into a top sprinter for us within a couple of years.
Domestiques / Talents
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Age | | Lameck Marco Kulindwa | 67 | 71 | 71 | 70 | 64 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 56 | 58 | 71 | 68 | 71 | 59 | 24 | | Henri Vandenabeele | 66 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 60 | 63 | 71 | 70 | 60 | 63 | 68 | 66 | 68 | 60 | 25 |  | Moses Moiruri | 68 | 59 | 61 | 62 | 72 | 66 | 69 | 68 | 60 | 60 | 67 | 70 | 65 | 72 | 24 |  | Mikel Demiri | 69 | 53 | 53 | 53 | 71 | 66 | 66 | 65 | 55 | 67 | 74 | 80 | 64 | 71 | 25 | | Roman Holzer | 69 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 64 | 67 | 66 | 66 | 64 | 70 | 69 | 65 | 63 | 66 | 22 |
Focus for our domestiques is mostly to learn from the more experienced riders, but perhaps they will get a chance to shine in a C2 race or a Classic.
Loaned out
| Nat. | Name | FL | MO | MM | HI | TT | ST | RS | RC | CB | SP | AC | FG | DH | PR | Age | | Aurelien De Comarmond | 71 | 62 | 65 | 68 | 63 | 68 | 73 | 69 | 58 | 72 | 72 | 62 | 63 | 69 | 23 |
De Comarmond is loaned out to the newly established IncaLine Pro Cycling where I expect he will be a decent leadout. |
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 02-09-2025 22:26
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Sprinter
Posts: 1809
Joined: 07-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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You have assembled a really well-rounded team with most terrains covered by decent leaders and reasonable depth. Carapaz might not live up to his MO stat (given his recent seasons), but Choi is still a solid GC leader in addition. Your TT core looks impressive, even more so when Bisseggers training is taken into account (which sneakily isn't worked in yet ).
I think staying in the division should be well possible with this squad, maybe even more?
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| Caspi |
Posted on 03-09-2025 13:47
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Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
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@kb
Shhh, we aren't ready to present our off-season training yet
Our official sponsor objectives will be presented shortly, but unofficially, we aimed to build a well-rounded squad that would be able to avoid relegation. So, it's nice to hear that it's not completely off the board, even though we have some obvious weaknesses. |
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 03-09-2025 15:39
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Sprinter
Posts: 1524
Joined: 26-04-2020
PCM$: 900.00
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Very balanced team I must say. You should have no problem staying up. I think the biggest challenge will be to sign some guys in the 26-30 age bracket next seasons to secure a long term PCT base.
Best of luck this season mate!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 03-09-2025 19:14
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3800
Joined: 03-07-2012
PCM$: 300.00
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I'll be excited to see how Azman does after stepping out of Hirschi's shadow to lead his own team and your climbers are looking strong even if they are starting to age.
Also didn't realise you had a second Sauber Alumni in Lecourt De Billot
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| Caspi |
Posted on 04-09-2025 12:50
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Domestique
Posts: 705
Joined: 22-09-2022
PCM$: 15500.00
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@Laurens
But we're allergic to riders in their best age 
Good luck to you as well!
@Sammy
I'm also excited to see how much of a threat Azman will be in the hilly classics.
A lot of responsibility on Lecourt De Billot's shoulders, as he is one of our strongest riders on the cobbles. |
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