Aquarius97 wrote: Kragh Andersen and Wurtz Schmidt should be forbidden! What a couple of talents
This.
My envy of your Danish talents can be smothered for a while to congratulate you on an awesome title campaign. Gonna be a stacked PT with 3 Scandinavian teams! EBH carried you obviously, but all these talents make sure that a lesser season by him will not ruin you going forward. Great squad to follow. And of course, we have you to thank for Juul-Jensen, so we're forever connected. Good luck!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Mountains haven't been the terrain where we have had our strenght since the start of the team, but after a turn of events, this might be about to change.
The main man for the climbs will be Dan Martin, who signed from the FA for a wage of 830,000 euros.
In Martin we have a rider that is good in both mountains and hills, and also sports a decent time trial. At the age of 32 he is at the absolute top of his prime and is looking to do good with his fast kick in both classics, stage races and Grand Tours.
Daniel Martin | 32 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 830,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
70
82
77
73
77
78
78
55
65
76
72
63
71
And we have good support for him! Sigurd Nesset and Vegard Stake Laengen both came in from Aker-MOT, while Mikel Iturria came in on a swap deal with Kristoffer Skjerping going out.
The last man we will often see around the mountains is Cristian Raileanu, who is loaned in for the season from Fablok.
Vegard Stake Laengen | 29 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 110,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
70
76
73
76
76
75
75
60
62
67
71
75
77
Sigurd Nesset | 27 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 100,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
69
78
73
69
77
76
74
54
64
69
60
68
69
Mikel Iturria | 26 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 85,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
71
77
73
72
77
74
76
63
60
61
69
66
73
Cristian Raileanu | 25 years old |XP: 4.07 | Wage: 50,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
66
75
75
63
74
72
75
56
59
68
67
67
65
So, is that all the riders Grieg-Eftel have signed this transfer season? Nope! Tune back in tomorrow for more news and updates.
Mountains haven't been the terrain where we have had our strenght since the start of the team, but after a turn of events, this might be about to change.
The main man for the climbs will be Dan Martin, who signed from the FA for a wage of 830,000 euros.
In Martin we have a rider that is good in both mountains and hills, and also sports a decent time trial. At the age of 32 he is at the absolute top of his prime and is looking to do good with his fast kick in both classics, stage races and Grand Tours.
Daniel Martin | 32 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 830,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
70
82
77
73
77
78
78
55
65
76
72
63
71
And we have good support for him! Sigurd Nesset and Vegard Stake Laengen both came in from Aker-MOT, while Mikel Iturria came in on a swap deal with Kristoffer Skjerping going out.
The last man we will often see around the mountains is Cristian Raileanu, who is loaned in for the season from Fablok.
Vegard Stake Laengen | 29 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 110,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
70
76
73
76
76
75
75
60
62
67
71
75
77
Sigurd Nesset | 27 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 100,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
69
78
73
69
77
76
74
54
64
69
60
68
69
Mikel Iturria | 26 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 85,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
71
77
73
72
77
74
76
63
60
61
69
66
73
Cristian Raileanu | 25 years old |XP: 4.07 | Wage: 50,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
66
75
75
63
74
72
75
56
59
68
67
67
65
So, is that all the riders Grieg-Eftel have signed this transfer season? Nope! Tune back in tomorrow for more news and updates.
That's a solid climbing core right there - Norway has such an abundance of great support-type climbers. Martin could be an absolute weapon too if planned correctly
Our off season started with a bang. After a sensational season last year, Edvald Boasson Hagen had too high demands for the management of Grieg-Eftel. Despite being offered a raise on his former wage three times, a deal could not be agreed on.
Despite that, the Norwegian was our number one transfer target for the transfer season. Unfortunately, Boasson Hagen found himself a new home in KLM-Air France.
That meant we had to go further down on our list of targets - and the next on in line was Jan Bakelants.
Bakelants is a similar rider to Boasson Hagen. A bit weaker on the hills and in the time trials, but again better in the mountains. With our goals being focused around the hilly classics, Mr. Bakelants will be our main man there.
In the sprints we had Luke Rowe last year. We really like Rowe, but he showed many times that he's not a lead sprinter. Even though he's also good on the cobbles, a wage of 265k was not something we could justify for a below average sprinter in the PT.
After testing our luck on a couple of sprinters, we managed to sign Kris Boeckmans in the end. Also a decent rider on the cobbles, Boeckmans have a significantly better kick and should also be a rider that competes for the win in the flat races on a number of occasions this season.
To bring in more support for the Northern Classics, we brought in two riders. Jo Kogstad Ringheim was along with Vegard Breen one of our early targets in the transfer season. In the end we managed to sign Ringheim, and we hope to see him as a valuable helper for Lukasz Wisniowski.
In the last turns of the transfer season, we also brought in the veteran Jos van Emden. Mainly with the Tour of Northern Europe in mind.
The two last additions to the team are the loanees Stefan De Bod and Aidan van Niekerk.
That means that we say goodbye to Calvin Watson, Shane Archbold, Josh Atkins, Kristoffer Skjerping and Luke Rowe this season + Mads Würtz being loaned out. Especially Watson will be missed, but he had to make way to make sure we could take Lukasz Wisniowski to altitude camp before this season.
Watson have been with us since our inagural season, and according to reports, the departure of the three best riders in the team from Australia/New Zealand, could mean that a change in the sponsorship will happen after this season.
I think that's a very solid team for a promoted team. Well done!
Those four leaders should be able to do very well. Martin's backup stats and strong acceleration should make him better scorer than most 82 mountain riders, and Bakelants should be a consistent top 3 rider on the hills.
Must say Wisniowski looks like a beast after his training, and he should also do better than his cobble stat alone suggests. Then there's also his potential for the flat classics and flat races, like he has proven in the past.
Also hoping Nesset, Ringheim and Stake Laengen will give you some nice depth points here and there. Guess Ringheim's potential might be the biggest, as his sprint could see him do great in a cobble race or two, like he did last year.
Now we only miss Per Mandagsfjord coming back to work on the inside stories from the Grieg-Eftel camp. Any news on when he'll be back?
Where will they be? Will they achieve our goals? That will mainly be down to Jan Bakelants, given the win goals in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. Dan Martin could also had an opportunity to win the Tour de France, but he will not be racing there. Together they will fight to achieve our goal of a top 5 place in the standings.
To start of with Dan Martin, who's been allocated 43 race days. That means he could race two Grand Tours, but we have only opted for one for him. Of the three, the Tour de France is probably the best fit. Knowing that he isn't amongst the top five in the division, we fear that the competition would prove to fierce for him. So effectively it came down as choice between Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. Surpringsly, the route in Spain turned out have the least hills with a bunch of flat stages. In the end we still opted to go to the Vuelta, hoping for a lesser field. Also helped by making it possible to race in California, a race we hope to see Martin delivering a top result.
So the schedule for Dan Martin in 2018:
Paris-Nice - PT - 8rd
Pro Hallstatt Classic - PTHC - 2rd
Tour of California - PTHC - 7rd
GP Liechtenstein - PT - 2rd
Vuelta a España - GT - 21rd
Giro di Lombardia - PTM - 2rd
It's even less race days for Jan Bakelants, who's limited to 36. He will mainly be focused around the classics, having a big responsibility for our goals.
Bakelants will be present at the following races:
Badaling International - PT - 2rd
Tirreno-Adriatico - PT - 7rd
Vuelta al Pais Vasco - PTHC - 6rd
Ronde van Nederland - PT - 3rd
Amstel Gold Race - PT - 2rd
Flèche Wallonne - PT - 2rd
Liège-Bastogne-Liège - PTM - 2rd
Colombo Classic - PTHC - 2rd
Balkans International - PTHC - 8rd
Giro di Lombardia - PTM - 2rd
For the cobbles, Lukasz Wisniowski is of course our main man. That being said, still after going to all flat classics and northern classics, he still had plenty of his 50 race days left. We therefore decided to send him to the Giro d'Italia, where we hope he can win the opening prologue and take the maglia rosa. Tour of Qatar and/or Ronde van Nederland could have been possible races for him, but we see the prologue in the giro as a once in a lifetime opportunity for Wisniowski to have the leaders jersey in a GT.
Wisniowski will race the following races:
Milano-San Remo - PTM - 2rd
Strada Appia Antica - PT - 2rd
Ronde van Vlaanderen - PTM - 2rd
E3 Prijs - PTHC - 2rd
Paris-Roubaix - PTM - 2rd
Giro d'Italia - GT - 21rd
Riga-Jurmala GP - PTHC - 2rd
Rund um Koln - PTHC - 2rd
East Midlands Cicle Classic - PT - 2rd
Tour of Northern Europe - PT - 8rd
Tour of the Battenkill - PT - 2rd
GP Moscow - PT - 2rd
Kris Boeckmans is our main man in the sprints and also for him the planning came down to which GT he should attend. The Vuelta is clearly the best for him, given all the sprint stages. But as with Martin and the Tour, we don't expect him to be strong enough to fight against the best sprinters in the Vuelta. Therefore we decided to send him to Tour de France, hoping to see him fight for stage victories.
Boeckmans in 2018:
Tour of Qatar - PT - 6rd
SAA Tour d'Afrique - PTHC - 4rd
Ronde van Nederland - PT - 2rd
Riga-Jurmala GP - PTHC - 2rd
Tour de France - GT - 21rd
Rund um Koln - PTHC - 2rd
Tour of Northern Europe - PT - 8rd
GP Moscow - PT - 2rd
Edited by tastasol on 11-08-2018 20:50
Only four races against Bakelants for Bobridge, I count this as good news. Balkans as one of those, which could end up a too risky move from my side. But hey, it's a race that I had to try with Bobridge, even without any TT kilmotres to be ridden.
Really interested in what Wisniowski is going to show this year. I had quite some fun reporting his races last season
Rebranding, renewals and a legend leaving the team
It's been a long time since the last update here in the Grieg HQ, so we can bring you a number of news. After a decent season, we stayed in the PT, but after the team lost most of the riders from Australia/New Zealand before the season, Eftel opted to end the sponsorship.
The management therefore decided to search for new sponsors in Scandinavia, and with a couple of the biggest Danish talents in our squad, we now the the big Danish company Maersk as a new sponsor. Maersk already have a good relationship with Grieg since they are both in the shipping industry and we are sure the two main sponsors will enjoy their time with the team.
So now we are starting to get ready for the new season. During renewals we had five who didn't sign a new contract with the team. The demands from Kris Boeckmans was simply too high after what we believe was a poor season.
We also let go of some long serving members in Øystein Stake Laengen, Johan Lindgren and Michael Olsson, and last years new addition, Jos van Emden.
Especially not having Olsson in the team was a tough decision, but after an amazing season where he took his biggest win in his life when he won the 9th stage in the Tour de France, he wanted to leave the team on a high.
Michael has been with us since the start in 2013 and he won us our first race when he won the GC in Tour de Bretagne the same year. He has since been an important part of our squad, known for his many breakaways and a couple of spectacular wins.
Your ageing leaders at least took wage cuts. Interesting to see both of them available, especially Bakelants should still be a great points scorer in the PT. Admittedly, I'm more interested in some of the less known names with lesser wages. I'm sure our paths will cross and we'll talk this transfer season
After we signed our first proper climber last year with Daniel Martin, this year we went big and splashed out on of the finest GC riders in the peloton. We thank both Jan Bakelants and Martin for their efforts, and for the freed cap space, we decided to make an offer to Taylor Phinney.
We are very happy that he accepted our offer and we look forward to having such a great cyclist in our team!
Taylor Phinney | 29 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 1,580,000
FL
MO
HI
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SP
ACC
FI
DH
PRL
73
83
77
83
77
74
76
58
72
75
68
71
83
We have also brought three riders in on loan. Mads Pedersen joins from Netia-Vónin and will be a great addition. Especially in the classics, where he will be a key man around Lukasz Wisniowski with stats like 75 flat, 77 cobbles and 76 stamina. He should also see some chances for himself in sprints in tougher races with his 76 sprint.
We will be paying 200k of his 250k wage.
For the classics we have also loaned in Clenne Morvan Moulingui from GCN. With 76 cobbles he will also be an important helper for Wisniowski. We will be paying his 50k wage.
The third loanee is Niklas Eg, who joins us from our Danish friends Carlsberg-Danske Bank. With 75 mo, 70 hill and 73 tt, we expect him to ride several stage races during the season and probably also a GT. We will pay 0 MG euros of his 50k wage.
And lastly, our "sprint captain" for next season is Swedish! Christian Bertilsson signed as a Free Agent on a 60k wage. With a 79/77 sprint/acc combo and a decent 69 hill, we hope he can show his qualities in a few sprint this year.
Really a strong team although the lack of a decent puncheur worries me a bit. There is every possibility that you’ll end up High in the rankings nonetheless! Is more riders coming in our does this conclude the team in terms of Leader material?
@bbl Thanks, but I have to say it's a big number Looking forward to having Eg on the team, I'm sure he will do good!
@ember: Who knows, it might be some
@Tamijo: Thanks! Looking forward to having him on the team.
@Viking: That would be awesome, so certainly hoping for something similar!
@knockout: I just hope flat riders are still pretty good with PCM18 Haha, I will look forward to more messages about Wisniowski
@SotD: It worries me too! I've been trying to at least bring in someone useful, but looks unlikely at the moment. A few more riders coming in, but with just 17 riders under contract now and a bit limited wage cap, it won't be the biggest of moves.
Daniel Martin | 32 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 830,000
Vegard Stake Laengen | 29 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 110,000
Mikel Iturria | 26 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 85,000
Cristian Raileanu | 25 years old |XP: 4.07 | Wage: 50,000
Jan Bakelants 
Lukasz Wisniowski 
Mads Würtz 
Rhys Gillett 
Michael Vink 
Taylor Phinney | 29 years old |XP: 4.100 | Wage: 1,580,000
