Thanks a lot for the interest and encouragement. Still working through some plans and options regarding the new direction of the team, including a couple of outrageous ones. Expect more updates on this as the season progresses!
Will be interesting to see which direction you move forward too. There is now a lot possible ways, lets see what you come up with.
For our team thats not so bad news just means potentially less competition for japanese riders
Will be interesting to see which direction you move forward too. There is now a lot possible ways, lets see what you come up with.
For our team thats not so bad news just means potentially less competition for japanese riders
We are falling behind with our updates as real life, both personally and professionally, has been challenging. But here we are, catching up and hoping to stay on track for the rest of the season.
Till March, we've been just about hanging on near safety. April was a month of multiple races and a chance to keep our season on track and in touch with safety.
Paris - Roubaix
Hofstetter joined the break. Rossi was a part of a long range attack but none of these were fruitful. Owen was dropped from the lead group with around 30 km to go. The results were once again disappointing.
General Classification
33
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
+ 5'20
52
Logan Owen
Sony - Force India
+ 9'26
68
Daan Hoole
Sony - Force India
+ 10'28
84
Hugo Hofstetter
Sony - Force India
+ 15'17
85
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
+ 16'06
97
Jo Kogstad Ringheim
Sony - Force India
+ 17'26
124
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 26'58
137
Mick Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 33'34
Giro d'Italia
Holm Jorgensen was a part of a few breakaways.
Hofstetter finished 5th on Stage 2.
Van Dijke finished 5th on Stage 5. He led the U25s at this point. He lost it on the next stage.
Van Dijke finished 3rd on Stage 7.
Van Dijke did the same on Stage 8 and reclaimed the White Jersey.
Elissonde joined the break on Stage 9 but was dropped in the closing kilometers.
Roson finished 10th from a reduced bunch sprint behind the break on Stage Stage 13.
Van Dijke was 8th on Stage 14, in another reduced bunch sprint behind the break.
Elissonde and Roson joined the break on Stage 17. Neither would survive till the end.
Roson joined the break on Stage 18 as well. He finished 3rd on the stage. Van Dijke finished 6th from the pack.
Van Dijke joined the break on Stage 20. He couldn't hang on over the hard climbs.
General Classification
63
Jaime Roson
Sony - Force India
+ 3h20'31
65
Mick Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 3h22'01
77
Dinmukhammed Ulysbayev
Sony - Force India
+ 4h09'18
93
Bryan Raul Obando
Sony - Force India
+ 4h31'06
104
Mikel Agirrebeitia
Sony - Force India
+ 4h53'02
106
Kenny Elissonde
Sony - Force India
+ 5h00'34
137
Hugo Hofstetter
Sony - Force India
+ 6h02'45
Tour of Slovenia
Alben finished 2nd on Stage 1. Haig and a couple of others lost more than 4 minutes.
We lost 33 seconds in the TTT on Stage 2.
Zmorka couldn't survive the hills on Stage 4 and our GC hopes were gone!
Zmorka finished a poor 14th in the ITT.
General Classification
16
Jack Haig
Sony - Force India
+ 8'03
28
Marlen Zmorka
Sony - Force India
+ 9'37
44
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 11'30
52
Daan Hoole
Sony - Force India
+ 13'20
67
Leo Hayter
Sony - Force India
+ 15'40
89
Naveen John
Sony - Force India
+ 24'03
135
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
+ 30'43
151
Esow Alben
Sony - Force India
+ 36'14
Tim Van Dijke finished 5th in the U25s with Hayter in 7th.
GP Liechtenstein
Allegaert joined the break but he can't really climb, so it didn't go anywhere. Leemreize can climb, but apparently not these mountains!
General Classification
69
Gijs Leemreize
Sony - Force India
+ 27'22
90
Lennard Hofstede
Sony - Force India
+ 38'04
91
Ricardo Broxham
Sony - Force India
s.t.
131
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
+ 51'50
144
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
+ 54'51
145
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
s.t.
149
Hayden McCormick
Sony - Force India
+ 58'41
169
Esow Alben
Sony - Force India
+ 1h13'31
Veenendaal - Veenendaal
Arias Villanueva joined the break but he was caught a long way from the line. Kulikovskiy finished a decent 11th. Cherkasov picked up minor points in 41st.
General Classification
11
Alexandr Kulikovskiy
Sony - Force India
+ 43
41
Nicolay Cherkasov
Sony - Force India
s.t.
51
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
s.t.
70
Hayden McCormick
Sony - Force India
s.t.
80
Esow Alben
Sony - Force India
s.t.
89
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
s.t.
105
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
s.t.
108
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
s.t.
Amstel Gold Race
Obando joined the break. Van Dijke attacked with 41 km to go, and then again a few kilometers later. He wasn't strong enough to stay at the front.
General Classification
61
Mick Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 5'03
80
Nicolay Cherkasov
Sony - Force India
+ 6'07
110
Lennard Hofstede
Sony - Force India
s.t.
147
Hayden McCormick
Sony - Force India
+ 8'40
150
Ricardo Broxham
Sony - Force India
+ 9'54
155
Bryan Raul Obando
Sony - Force India
+ 10'39
161
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
s.t.
173
Kenny Elissonde
Sony - Force India
+ 12'33
April was a horrific month! Veenendaal was the beat result overall, while Van Dijke made some good attempts on the stages in the Giro. Other than that, nothing went well for us, and it was another failed race for our talisman Haig in Slovenia. We just hope things pick up after this.
After a poor month in April, it was time for the team to turn it around. It was absolutely necessary actually.
Fleche Wallone
We didn't join the break. Mick was dropped in the first notable spilt in the peloton, and that was the end of our challenge.
General Classification
87
Mick Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 4'54
99
Hayden McCormick
Sony - Force India
+ 5'41
114
Nicolay Cherkasov
Sony - Force India
s.t.
131
Lennard Hofstede
Sony - Force India
+ 7'16
148
Bryan Raul Obando
Sony - Force India
+ 8'42
168
Kenny Elissonde
Sony - Force India
+ 10'53
170
Ricardo Broxham
Sony - Force India
s.t.
189
Adam Holm Jorgensen
Sony - Force India
+ 18'12
Liege - Bastogne - Liege
Cherkasov joined the break. Van Dijke was dropped with around 15 km to go. We got a better result, but nothing to write home about.
General Classification
48
Mick Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 3'08
131
Nicolay Cherkasov
Sony - Force India
+ 9'10
133
Hayden McCormick
Sony - Force India
s.t.
142
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
+ 9'32
143
Lennard Hofstede
Sony - Force India
s.t.
153
Kenny Elissonde
Sony - Force India
+ 10'39
165
Ricardo Broxham
Sony - Force India
+ 12'06
174
Bryan Raul Obando
Sony - Force India
+ 14'13
Tour of Northern Europe
We didn't have a sprinter for the first two stages.
We did some chasing on Stage 3, with Mick finishing in the pack.
We got two Top 20s in the ITT on Stage 4, courtesy Rekita and Tim VD. Mick moved up to 7th in the GC.
Mick attacked with 12 km to go on Stage 6. He didn't get away but finished 10th, in the pack behind the surviving break. He moved up to 4th in the GC.
Van Dijke finished 4th from the reduced bunch on Stage 7. He moved up further to be an impressive 2nd in the GC! He also claimed the win in the U25s.
General Classification
2
Mick Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 1'17
76
Daan Hoole
Sony - Force India
+ 31'41
81
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
+ 33'00
84
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 33'28
123
Jo Kogstad Ringheim
Sony - Force India
+ 45'23
146
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
+ 52'44
156
Szymon Rekita
Sony - Force India
+ 55'42
176
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
+ 1h05'16
Tour of the Battenkill
Ringheim joined the break. He was caught with 58 km to go. Owen and Rossi were part of the enxt attacking group. Although this group did not survive, Rossi eventually ended up 7th, with Owen in 11th, making this our best cobbles result of the season so far.
General Classification
7
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
+ 3'50
11
Logan Owen
Sony - Force India
+ 3'58
31
Daan Hoole
Sony - Force India
s.t.
41
Jo Kogstad Ringheim
Sony - Force India
+ 8'15
53
Hugo Hofstetter
Sony - Force India
+ 15'03
83
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
+ 19'43
96
Kenny Elissonde
Sony - Force India
+ 21'21
103
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 23'31
May didn't start well, but the second hal of the month made up for it, with MVD once again stealing the show for us. Rossi ws also impressive, with Owen finally showing some form. We need more months like this and more to have any chance of survival.
July was a short month with just two races on our schedule. However, it includes our possible season highlight, the Tour De France.
Rund um Koln
Our sprinting didn't improve much as Kulikovskiy failed to get involved.
General Classification
30
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
s.t.
35
Alexandr Kulikovskiy
Sony - Force India
s.t.
91
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
s.t.
104
Nicolay Cherkasov
Sony - Force India
s.t.
105
Hayden McCormick
Sony - Force India
s.t.
120
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
s.t.
127
Esow Alben
Sony - Force India
s.t.
148
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
s.t.
Tour de France
The race started off in the worst possible way. Haig, and others, lost more than 4 minutes on the flat Stage 1.
Our first highlight came on in the TTT on Stage 5. We rode a great stage to finish 3rd.
Our first breakaway appearance was on Stage 9, with Zmorka. Expectedly, he didn't make it far. Haig finished in the lead group.
Leemreize joined the break on Stage 10. He stayed at the front all through the stage, picking up KOM points and eventually following the winning move. He edged out Chaiyasombat for the stage win!
Hofstetter finished 9th on Stage 11, his only Top 10 of the race.
Leemreize joined the break on Stage 13. He picked up more KOM points, including a summit win. He would finish 6th on the stage. Haig gained time on some of his rivals.
Leemreize joined the break on Stage 14 as well. He would be dropped on the penultimate climb.
No break action on Stage 15, but after they were caught Leemreize powered through the uphill finish to take another stage win! Haig got 4th, his real contribution of the race, other than the TTT.
Haig followed all the right moves in the closing slopes of Stage 16, getting another 4th place finish, and moving into the Top 10 of the GC for the first time in the race.
Haig stayed with the front group on Stage 17 and claimed 6th.
Stage 18 was relatively uneventful for our leaders, although Haig did gain another place in the GC.
It was all hands on deck to protect Haig on Stage 19 with only Zmorka going into the break. A fruitless effort! Haig, with a couple of other GC contenders, would catch most of the break on the climb to the finish. Haig would finish 8th on the stage, now climbing to 6th in the GC.
The ITT on Stage 20 went perfectly to plan. Zmorka was at his best, taking the stage win. Rekita finished 10th. Haig finished 16th and moved up to 3rd in the GC.
Stage 21 didn't throw up any results, or surprises, for us.
Leemreize finished 7th in the KOM. Hayter was 2nd in the U25s. We finished 9th in the Teams classification.
General Classification
3
Jack Haig
Sony - Force India
+ 5'26
22
Gijs Leemreize
Sony - Force India
+ 28'17
52
Leo Hayter
Sony - Force India
+ 1h28'40
57
Dinmukhammed Ulysbayev
Sony - Force India
+ 1h46'30
78
Naveen John
Sony - Force India
+ 3h09'23
139
Hugo Hofstetter
Sony - Force India
+ 4h44'17
156
Marlen Zmorka
Sony - Force India
+ 5h13'26
176
Szymon Rekita
Sony - Force India
+ 5h58'35
Our month went quite well with the TDF going to plan after a horrendous start. Haig shortcomings were made up for by his teammates. Leemreize, especially, was a revelation, making us feel a whole lot better about his off season training. We need to keep this momentum going for the rest of the season to have a chance to survive.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 25-03-2026 09:38
Huge race of vindication for the trust in Leemreize as you say, a standout not just for you but of the race in general. And Zmorka and Haig succeeding to the benchmark even if the latter had to go the long way round. Big Tour for you and moves you closer to the red line. I know you've said the schedule isn't in your favour for the run-in, obviously hoping there's some magic in the air for you and the lads can pull out all the stops for survival!
Spoiler
And if not, first PT stints are overrated anyway
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
It was good to see Haig make it to the Tour podium in the end despite his awful start, but especially Leemreize stepped in pretty well. Relegation will be a danger til the end of the season, but at least it's not impossible to avoid. Best of luck there!
@Caspi: Team did well to recover. We'll need some luck for sure!
@knockout: Pretty anonymous season from Haig as it turned out! Rest of the team delivered.
@jandal: Leemreize doing well is definitely a huge plus. Hoping for more of the same from him in the Vuelta. We'll need all of that and more to be able to survive.
kb: Thanks, we'll have to grind till the end, and at least we're now making a fight of it. Final result was fine for Haig, but the journey surely wasn't. Leemreize made up for it somewhat. We'll need the rest to step up for the remaining races.
Leemreize is a really crafty rider! Pretty much the perfect GT guy for attacking throughout, which he showed in France. Happy to see low stamina is not a killer for climbers in those types of stages. Ultimately you're probably better off for Haig's early troubles, as it may be the reason Leemreize was able to go in the breaks and get those wins, and in the end Haig still plugged his way onto the podium too.
All that said, I know how frustrating it can be to feel like your team strategy and performance is not making any sense even if the luck bounces back in other ways.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
@bbl: Had modelled Leemreize on Carboni, who was on our team for a season. Good to see Leemreize also capable of pulling out similar kinds of results as his 'mentor'. Maybe Haig's initial hiccup did help us in the end, we'll never know. Glad it turned out to be a good race eventually.
Allegaert joined the break. They were caught after the penultimate cobbled section. Rossi managed to get 15th without ever being in the spotlight. Hoole got 50th. We managed to put three more riders into the Top 100.
General Classification
15
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
+ 2'08
50
Daan Hoole
Sony - Force India
+ 5'11
60
Logan Owen
Sony - Force India
+ 6'39
67
Mick Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 8'22
83
Jo Kogstad Ringheim
Sony - Force India
+ 12'53
103
Hugo Hofstetter
Sony - Force India
+ 15'10
122
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
+ 21'26
129
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 24'19
Ras Tailteann
Arias Villanueva joined the break on Stage 1. He picked up some important intermediate sprint points.
Kulikovskiy did better on Stage 2, but was still outside the Top 10.
Stage 3 was worse!
General Classification
21
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
+ 55
35
Alexandr Kulikovskiy
Sony - Force India
+ 58
92
Esow Alben
Sony - Force India
s.t.
115
Hayden McCormick
Sony - Force India
s.t.
117
Nicolay Cherkasov
Sony - Force India
s.t.
139
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
s.t.
141
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
s.t.
143
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
s.t.
East Midlands Cicle Classic
Owen survived in the lead group till the last cobbled sector. He could only manage 32nd as our best placed finisher.
General Classification
32
Logan Owen
Sony - Force India
+ 3'24
58
Daan Hoole
Sony - Force India
+ 4'44
59
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
s.t.
72
Piet Allegaert
Sony - Force India
+ 7'32
75
Jo Kogstad Ringheim
Sony - Force India
s.t.
79
Hugo Hofstetter
Sony - Force India
+ 8'57
131
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 31'36
151
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
+ 46'08
Deutschland Tour
The race started in an underwhelming fashion with Kulikovskiy managing 10th on Stage 1 as the best of the first two stages.
Stage 3 was the important one! Zmorka was in red hot form, delivering an excellent 2nd, outperforming a couple of more fancied rivals in the process. Rekita contributed as well, getting 12th.
Beyond this, it was all about protecting the GC. Kulikovskiy got 6th on Stage 4 and 10th on Stage 5 as a bonus.
General Classification
2
Marlen Zmorka
Sony - Force India
+ 39
13
Szymon Rekita
Sony - Force India
+ 2'07
51
Tim Van Dijke
Sony - Force India
+ 3'18
61
Naveen John
Sony - Force India
+ 3'47
71
Sergio Arias Villanueva
Sony - Force India
+ 4'23
80
Diego Rossi
Sony - Force India
+ 5'20
133
Alexandr Kulikovskiy
Sony - Force India
+ 9'23
145
Esow Alben
Sony - Force India
+ 11'46
Tim got 7th in the U25s. We finished 3rd in the Teams classification.
Earlier in the season, the Team Management at Sony - Force India announced that both Sony and Force India would be stepping aside at the end of the season, from their roles as the primary and secondary sponsors, respectively, of the team. The management have been involved in a lot of discussions since the earlier announcement, scouring the globe for potential sponsors, who would be able to take the team into the future, irrespective of how the season ends up. We were originally looking at doing something completely new, leaving behind all the past links and associations for a new start. However, the deeper we searched, the more apparent it became that our team identity is still deep-rooted in all the work we did in the initial years of our foundation. With that being said, and with a huge kick of nostalgia to boost us along, we were able to finalize and tie down the contracts of both sponsors heading into the next season and beyond.
The Old Identity
Spoiler
Philips returns as the primary sponsor of the team. Together, the team and the management have achieved great things and were very successful in nurturing Dutch talent for many years. We hope to be able to continue that success story for many more years to come, restarting again from next season.
The New Beginning
Spoiler
Hero Cycles is based in Ludhiana, India and is one of the world's largest manufacturers of bicycles, producing 18390 cycles per day. The company exports to more than 70 countries including Germany, UK, France, Poland, Finland, Argentina, Mexico, and Turkey. They come onboard in our quest to keep Indian cycling alive and kicking while also helping us maintain our interest in cyclists from the whole of the Asian continent!
Focus Regions
Our focus regions will largely be based in Europe and Asia, with our Headquarters moving back to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, in the same neighbourhood as our primary sponsors.
Jersey Ideation
Spoiler
An early glimpse of how our jersey for the 2026 season might look like. We are still looking for a designer who might be interested in making our vision come alive.
