I think that depth is the difference. Moser had 3 riders that could score points. UBS have 5-7. I think you are locked in if you plan Kudus well enough, and have enough relevant GC races to also maximize Godoy.
Easily a better team than mine - so I hope you are clear
Pretty amazing depth you manage to have while having the most expensive rider ever. Very interested how Jacobs does post-training - nothing but pure cobbles and flat power but a fan of the energy stats. A true cobbled classics rider, no need to be like these fancy youngsters who like to sprint or time trial
Muller is the question mark for me in the team - think he could have left instead of Perera given they have also the same wage. I know I'm maybe too biased against that type of puncheur (especially with MedMo stat this year), but just don't like him as that final mid-wage piece if you're thinking about a rankings fight - especially with Buchmann already there.
Best of luck, will always root for Kudus especially now I am resigned to never being able to afford him after his training. As always the national focus is very strong and love to see you maintain such a quality core of your guys year-over-year
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
There were a lot of questions going into the season about Merhawi Kudus and his massive contract, but so far he has answered them resoundingly. Kudus started his tenure in UBS colors with a dominant performance at Tirreno - Adriatico, where he checked off one of our pre-season goals with an overall GC win, taking 3 stage wins in the mountains along the way. He followed this up by claiming the Maglia Rosa. This was a lot more tenuous as the GC win was barely achieved at the end, and was done without any individual stage wins along the way. This marks our first grand tour win in 16 years as a team, which to me as a manager makes the contract worth it already. It feels a bit like when we could rely on Andrei Amador to be a contender in races at the highest level. As it stands, Merhawi is undefeated in the races he has entered this year with two of the biggest goals out of the way. The final test will be in the Criterium du Dauphine later this year.
Merhawi Kudus storms to his first of 3 stage wins in on day 4 of Tirreno Adriatico on his way to the overall victory.
Kudus celebrates his victory on the final podium of the Giro d'Italia.
While our marquee rider has flashed the brightest, the team has also seen success through many of our other riders:
- Alexandre Balmer - While Kudus was focused on the overall win at the Giro, Alexandre was impressively able to secure the white jersey while riding in support of our team leader (maybe this is why we didn't win any stages?). He also found the podium in the queen stage of the Volta a Portugal.
- Patrick Müller - Home-grown talent Patrick has also shown signs of life in the PT with a stage podium in Paris - Nice and a top-5 in a stage of the Tour of Tasmania.
- Caio Godoy - Had an excellent start to his season by finishing 2nd in the Vuelta a Colombia, with 2 stage podiums along the way. We're eager to see how he will perform in the Tour and Vuelta later this season.
- Johan Jacobs - Perhaps the most satisfying given his consistent performances. He has demonstrated that he can be a reliable top-10 threat at the PT level in classics as evidenced by top 10 placings in RVV, E3, Cheshire, and 13th at Paris - Roubaix. The long-term goal is still to continue to develop him, so we'll see how he can build on this next year.
Goal Tracker
Target
Goal
Result
Giro d'Italia
Win
1st - Kudus
Tirreno Adriatico
Top 3
1st - Kudus
Tour de France
Win
-
Vuelta a Espana
Top 10
-
PT Team Standings
Win
-
So we're off to a good start, though I imagine the most exciting part of the season may be mostly behind us as Kudus has limited racing left in his calendar. The hope right now is to survive relegation so we have the opportunity to build on our success next year. I think this is attainable right, but we'll see. Thanks for reading.Edited by Bushwackers on 08-01-2026 18:30
