Amazing detail in these stats Abhi! Obviously love to see Saber up on the board. You had a great market last year and I'm sure this year will be equally as good!
@knockout: For now, Kelderman is grudgingly up there on Mount Rushmore, but it's something we hope will change in the near future. We do have high hopes from Benoot after last season, so let's see how that goes in the next couple of seasons.
@KaiserAdler: Saber is probably one of my favourite signings, if not the favourite other than Benoot! He was great with us but relegation made it necessary to sell. We hope you are right about transfers
Yay, love it love it love it! Real ones remember Marcel Wyss as one of the best low wage riders ever and glad his legacy lives on in your wage-per-point stat
Kelderman leaves a very complex legacy obviously but seems clear he had some huge moments for you and at the very least exemplifies the spirit of "you fuck it, you fix it" in a sports team by earning that promotion after the tough 2019 season he was a face of. Saber and Penasa perhaps more uncomplicated names in your history alongside single-season heroes like Keinath, Henao and currently Choi. Benoot obviously has the world at his feet to establish himself as your GOAT.
Interested in the discussion knockout started about the Mt. Rushmore (for you and other teams) too - would be a fun project
Spoiler
Wish mine was more of a discussion but it's a total non-argument with four clear standouts with a large gap to fifth at this point in our history at least, unless you went very contrarian to try and pick Roux for his short stint I guess
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
@jandal: Wyss was great, as you say. Best 55k wage I ever spent I think
Already spoke about Kelderman and how all that played out. You rightly point out Saber and Penasa as probably being the two consistent performers in our history. Hoping that Benoot and Choi can significantly add to their first season this time around.
It is time to share with the world how our rider contract discussions turned out this off-season.
Rider
2022 Wage
2023 Wage
Difference
Ki Ho Choi
410,000 €
400,000 €
-10,000 €
Tiesj Benoot
375,000 €
390,000 €
15,000 €
Pierre Paolo Penasa
240,000 €
230,000 €
-10,000 €
Pascal Eenkhoorn
150,000 €
140,000 €
-10,000 €
Cristian Raileanu
125,000 €
120,000 €
-5,000 €
Tom Van Asbroeck
195,000 €
Released
-195,000 €
Saya Kuroeda
100,000 €
110,000 €
10,000 €
Simone Velasco
115,000 €
110,000 €
-5,000 €
Riccardo Minali
100,000 €
100,000 €
0 €
Shiki Kuroeda
90,000 €
90,000 €
0 €
Ide Schelling
25,000 €
95,000 €
70,000 €
Jan Xandri
95,000 €
85,000 €
-10,000 €
Gijs Leemreize
50,000 €
80,000 €
30,000 €
William Barta
90,000 €
70,000 €
-20,000 €
Dan McLay
65,000 €
Released
-65,000 €
Mick Van Dijke
80,000 €
50,000 €
-30,000 €
Tom Dumoulin
50,000 €
50,000 €
0 €
Joonas Henttala
50,000 €
50,000 €
0 €
Marten Kooistra
0 €
50,000 €
50,000 €
Yannick Stoltz
50,000 €
Released
-50,000 €
Clement Champoussin
45,000 €
0 €
-45,000 €
Oscar Samuel Galvan Ramirez
0 €
0 €
0 €
2,500,000 €
2,220,000 €
-280,000 €
Three riders have been released this off season. Tom Van Asbroeck's decline made his skillset surplus to requirements, and we let him go after two excellent seasons for us. We're sure he'll still be useful for whichever team picks him up. Same is the case with the legendary Luxembourgian Yannick Stoltz. We are privileged to have been able to give him a great final send-off last season. Dan McLay was also released after a single season with us.
Clement Champoussin and Oscar Samuel Galvan Ramirez return to their parent teams after their loan spell with us.
Among the retained riders, Benoot receives a small increment, which was to be expected with the training and the incredible season he just had. Ide Schelling was out on loan last time, and has also maxed out, which explains his higher salary. Leemreize too has leveled up while Kooistra returns from loan. Saya Kuroeda was the only difficult negotiation, with his wage increasing slightly despite not having the best of times last season. We were able to cut down the wages on all other riders, including our leaders Choi and Penasa. We are quite please with how renewals have gone, having retained all riders that we wanted to, and having cleared up some wage space as well.
Stay tuned for the availability post coming soon...
I know he was still coming down from his FA signing but only 15k gained for Benoot after training last year and the season he had is a great result for you, as are the small cuts on the other leaders. Interested what the plans are with the new wage space and presumably more to come with some selling
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
@jandal: Quite happy to keep Benoot that low for sure. There will be sales off course, as we need to consider the new focus and such. Gonna be another busy transfers I think.
@bbl: Thanks! Took a chance and it paid off.
@Ulrich: Great to have been able to do a good renewals. Would say that a promotion push would still depend on a good transfers. Too early to make that call I think.
As the transfer window rapidly approaches, the team management takes this opportunity to present our availability list for everyone interested:
Name
Wage
Available?
Ki Ho Choi
400,000 €
No
Tiesj Benoot
390,000 €
No
Pierre Paolo Penasa
230,000 €
YES
Pascal Eenkhoorn
140,000 €
Maybe
Cristian Raileanu
120,000 €
YES
Saya Kuroeda
110,000 €
No
Simone Velasco
110,000 €
YES
Riccardo Minali
100,000 €
YES
Shiki Kuroeda
90,000 €
No
Ide Schelling
95,000 €
YES
Jan Xandri
85,000 €
YES
Gijs Leemreize
80,000 €
No
William Barta
70,000 €
YES
Mick Van Dijke
50,000 €
No
Tom Dumoulin
50,000 €
YES
Joonas Henttala
50,000 €
YES
Marten Kooistra
50,000 €
No
For Sale
Name
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Pierre Paolo Penasa
70
80
74
70
75
72
77
50
57
76
68
64
70
Cristian Raileanu
66
77
77
63
74
73
76
56
59
70
69
67
65
Simone Velasco
73
72
76
60
75
71
68
64
69
76
75
69
62
Riccardo Minali
73
52
58
57
70
74
79
59
79
79
62
74
70
Ide Schelling
72
77
72
70
76
74
72
63
62
67
72
67
72
Jan Xandri
68
76
73
73
68
74
72
60
60
69
75
74
71
William Barta
69
76
72
73
71
74
70
54
72
67
65
56
75
Tom Dumoulin
70
58
67
77
74
75
68
51
64
66
65
59
77
Joonas Henttala
66
74
68
73
73
72
72
50
60
67
63
71
73
Penasa's record speaks for itself as a part of our team! Having saved us from sure relegation in 2021 by scoring just under 450 points, he kept up his performances to score 400 points last year, that too as the second climber on the team, often going to non-favoured races. We believe it is time for him to find a new team where he can continue being his great self.
Raileanu has been a solid domestique for us for the past two seasons, both on the mountains and the hills, but we will be listening to offers for him as the younger crop are ready to take over.
Velasco was a late late signing last season but proved to be worth every penny with his superb domestique displays for Benoot throughout the season, and also in ToA, where he turned into a leadout rider extraordinaire for Van Asbroeck.
Minali exceeded our expectations last season with his points return as compared to his wage, but we feel it is time for him to find a new home where he can prove to be just as useful.
Schelling has just maxed out and is still U25 eligible. He is an excellent option for a top domestique in whichever team wants to take him on. The main reason to sell him is to accommodate new riders for our change in focus.
Xandri is a useful stage racing domestique, who was an integral part of our mountains setup last season.
Barta is one of the riders we thought long and hard about before placing on the transfer list! His unique skills made him an excellent domestique last season, with the ToA being his highlight race of the year, even finishing 2nd in one of the stages! He did well in the Tour of California as well, finishing 4th. He seems to enjoy his home races!
Dumoulin has served us very well in his time here, but age has caught up to him and it feels the right time for him to have a go at probably a lower level.
Henttala somewhat similar to Dumoulin, and would be a useful stage racing domestique in any division.
Maybe Available
Name
FL
MO
HI
TT
ST
RS
RC
CB
SP
AC
FG
DH
PR
Pascal Eenkhoorn
71
78
73
69
76
77
80
65
64
71
69
67
75
The hardest decision to make for us this transfer season is the fate of Eenkhoorn. He has been with the team from the 2019 season, riding his way up the levels. We managed to get a decent return from him last season, despite not being able to get him much leadership chances. We are however open to selling him if a good offer/swap comes along.
We are always talking anyway but there are some interesting names up there. It feels like our transfers have mostly gone your direction in the past, maybe it's time to change that?
Love him although my team is pretty well supplied with climbers who can TT a little so probably need to resist the temptation to mindlessly accumulate US climbers. Still maybe something will work out.
Overall, the shift in focus regions is clearly making your transfer season more exciting than it might have been.
“...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
@Ivan: Like I said, Barta wasn't an easy decision to put up for sale, but it comes from making space for the focus region change. You are welcome to have him, his wage is also lower than last time
@knockout: If someone interests you, be my guest for sure And yes, I'm sure we'll talk transfers again in detail.
@SotD: Always interested to talk during transfers
@Ulrich: Always willing to listen to whatever you have in mind. Indeed, the big availability list is a direct consequence of the focus region shift!
@Imladrik: If you make a choice, or two, let me know
@Eden: Both are available, so no reason why it can't happen
More available riders than I expected to be fair, with several strong riders and sublime points per wage scorers among those available. No latin Americans sadly, but I might have to make an exception
Gutting the stage race squad - what is he cooking?
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
Wow, that's a whole lot of the climbing department on the list... some of whom are looking pretty intriguing indeed Or maybe I'll choose to go in the opposite direction and target a former loan-in for the full flats?
Ki Ho Choi
Tiesj Benoot
Pierre Paolo Penasa
Pascal Eenkhoorn
Cristian Raileanu
Saya Kuroeda
Jan Xandri
William Barta
Dan McLay
Joonas Henttala
Yannick Stoltz
Clement Champoussin
Oscar Samuel Galvan Ramirez
