Can Blanco be the next HTC?

[the asian]

Of course they are. If HTC with all those wins and all that exposure can't find a sponsor, then a Dutch team with the current media sure has no chance at all. If they find a new sponsor this season, it is more or less guaranteed to be one from outside the Netherlands, probably outside Europe.

Giant might be their best bet. With Vacansoleil and DCM also ending their sponsorship this year It will be very hard.
At least one of the two will fold.

 

[theyoungest]

Of course they are. If HTC with all those wins and all that exposure can't find a sponsor, then a Dutch team with the current media sure has no chance at all. If they find a new sponsor this season, it is more or less guaranteed to be one from outside the Netherlands, probably outside Europe.

Yes, that's why all of their communication is in English now. Maybe some rich bloke in Dubai would like a cycling team?

 

[the asian]

Yes, that's why all of their communication is in English now. Maybe some rich bloke in Dubai would like a cycling team?

The Emirates Pro Cycling team

Complete with Citizenship offers for Gesnik, Boom and kelderman

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Of course they are. If HTC with all those wins and all that exposure can't find a sponsor, then a Dutch team with the current media sure has no chance at all. If they find a new sponsor this season, it is more or less guaranteed to be one from outside the Netherlands, probably outside Europe.

The Dutch identity might be a help in getting a sponsor though, even in the present climate. It's how Movistar survived Caisse pulling out, while HTC, without any fixed nationality or identity, couldn't survive, because they couldn't appeal to that.

 

[the asian]

The Dutch identity might be a help in getting a sponsor though, even in the present climate. It's how Movistar survived Caisse pulling out, while HTC, without any fixed nationality or identity, couldn't survive, because they couldn't appeal to that.

But will Dutch companies touch it as cycling is getting a pounding in the Dutch media.
I fear it will be a repetition of what happened to the German teams.

 

[Froome19]

Bos is not in the same boat as Guardini. Did any of you really follow last years races I wonder?

Like theyoungest said, Bos is getting better. As for climbing ability he is way above guardini (not hard). But he even won some fairly difficult races last year

Not in terms of ability but in terms of failing to achieve their ability as it just does not add up and they waste the opportunity, too many disappointments for Bos I find. The Giro was a prime example.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Bos had his best season to date last year with 7 victories including his first WT stage victory.

The Giro came too early because in the winter he had had leg artery operation. Plus in the Giro he fell very early and then continued 3/4th of the giro with a broken vertebrae

For someone who tries to be well informed, you're badly informed this time, Froome19

 

[Leendert82]

how to use the post,
the answer is no but not because of Stapleton, Aldag and Holm
HTC was a sprinters team with a few good time trialers.
Blanco is a good group of young riders with talent in each area
Grand Tours: Gesink, Mollema, Kruiswijk, Ten Dam
Short Hilly climbs: Mollema, Nordhoug, Slagter
Cobbels: Boom, VanMarcke, Tjallingi, Wynants
Sprints: Bos, Renshaw
TimeTrials: LLS, Clement
Prologue: Boom
Young talents: Kelderman, Slagter, Hofland, Goos (last 2 are neoprof and excellent talents from Rabo's development team)
Captains: Tankink, Garate, Brown,

 

[Leendert82]

Not in terms of ability but in terms of failing to achieve their ability as it just does not add up and they waste the opportunity, too many disappointments for Bos I find. The Giro was a prime example.

Bos has 1 problem in the sprints and thats placing before the sprint starts. Allot of the times he drops to far back.
Now he has his own leadout men and he has learned allot last year from Renshaw. Immediately you saw him picking up and winning bigger sprints.
Bos will get their I know it.

The Giro was bad luck for Bos, he fell in the 2nd stage of the Giro and broke his back (vertebrae). You try to sprint or even cycle when you break something and see how you fair agains Cavendish and Goss and more top sprinters.

 

[Ferminal]

Is someone supposed to turn from track sprinter to elite road cyclist overnight? I'd even give him a couple more seasons before he reaches his peak.

 

[Pentacycle]

Is someone supposed to turn from track sprinter to elite road cyclist overnight? I'd even give him a couple more seasons before he reaches his peak.

Still this season might be his last with Renshaw in his team, so he'd better make the best out of it. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent some kind of sprint train to the Tour with Boom/Vanmarcke/Tjallingii/Bos/Renshaw. They need an alternative for their climbers. Boom and Vanmarcke are strong baroudeurs too.

 

[theyoungest]

Still this season might be his last with Renshaw in his team, so he'd better make the best out of it. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent some kind of sprint train to the Tour with Boom/Vanmarcke/Tjallingii/Bos/Renshaw. They need an alternative for their climbers. Boom and Vanmarcke are strong baroudeurs too.

Bos and Renshaw ride mostly separate programs.

 

[TheEnoculator]

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post. I wasn't asking if Blanco will be like HTC in a sense in terms of sprint victories. I'm basically asking if Blanco will be a Cinderella team like HTC when they got ditched by T-Mobile.

Blanco is a stage race and classics team, can they deliver on those fronts as opposed to sprints?

 

[El Pistolero]

OPQS is the new HTC - they have Bert Grabsch, Tony Martin, Mark Cavendish, Peter Velits, Martin Velits and Frantisek Rabon alongside Brian Holm as DS.

The difference is QS have a less good lead-out train(I think so at least), but a better team for the classics with Sylvain Chavanel, Tom Boonen, Nikki Terpstra and maybe some day Zdenek Stybar.

 

[Gloin22]

OPQS is the new HTC - they have Bert Grabsch, Tony Martin, Mark Cavendish, Peter Velits, Martin Velits and Frantisek Rabon alongside Brian Holm as DS.

The difference is QS have a less good lead-out train(I think so at least), but a better team for the classics with Sylvain Chavanel, Tom Boonen, Nikki Terpstra and maybe some day Zdenek Stybar.

Why are you rating him so highly I wonder ?

Also as you have him ( stybar ) in a maybe, dont you think that Guillaume Van Keirsbulck will be great cobbler in few years as well ?

 

[GP Blanco]

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post. I wasn't asking if Blanco will be like HTC in a sense in terms of sprint victories. I'm basically asking if Blanco will be a Cinderella team like HTC when they got ditched by T-Mobile.

Blanco is a stage race and classics team, can they deliver on those fronts as opposed to sprints?

Their main riders have reached the age that they can deliver results in the big races. So there is a chance that they will win more quality races than in the last years.

 

[greenedge]

Still this season might be his last with Renshaw in his team, so he'd better make the best out of it. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent some kind of sprint train to the Tour with Boom/Vanmarcke/Tjallingii/Bos/Renshaw. They need an alternative for their climbers. Boom and Vanmarcke are strong baroudeurs too.

If that happened i think Brown would have to be there too. Mollema, Gesink, LLS and LTD wuld have to go though.
Also i thought Vanmarcke doesn't like the GT's

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

It's no secret that Blanco wants to be the next HTC. Blanco can pose threats in all aspects in the WT, and the fact that they are so desperate for a sponsor should take their competitive spirits up a notch. But the question is: can they deliver the results necessary to be a Cinderella team like HTC, assuming they will exist beyond this season?

is this a joke topic?

 

[Ferminal]

Why are you rating him so highly I wonder ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niZPTetZR3A

 

[karlboss]

http://www.cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/team_palm.asp?year=2009&teamcode=thr&podium=1

NO.

 

[cineteq]

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post. I wasn't asking if Blanco will be like HTC in a sense in terms of sprint victories. I'm basically asking if Blanco will be a Cinderella team like HTC when they got ditched by T-Mobile.

Blanco is a stage race and classics team, can they deliver on those fronts as opposed to sprints?

All would've been clear if you would've replaced HTC by OPQS. Maybe ask a mod to change it? Although, still the answer is NO.

 

[TheEnoculator]

All would've been clear if you would've replaced HTC by OPQS. Maybe ask a mod to change it? Although, still the answer is NO.

I wouldn't compare Blanco to OPQS. The latter is a super team as a result of a merger of two major sponsors, exactly the opposite situation of Blanco.

 

[TheEnoculator]

is this a joke topic?

No, sir. I don't troll here.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Is this a joke?

Rank Prev. Team (Code) Country Points
1 - BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM (BLA) NED 157
2 - EUSKALTEL EUSKADI (EUS) ESP 91
3 - MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) ESP 87
4 - SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) GBR 79
5 - RADIOSHACK LEOPARD (RLT) LUX 63
6 - LAMPRE-MERIDA (LAM) ITA 24
7 - LOTTO BELISOL (LTB) BEL 19
8 - ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) AUS 11
9 - FDJ (FDJ) FRA 8
10 - BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) USA 2
11 - TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF (TST) DEN 2
12 - GARMIN SHARP (GRS) USA 2
13 - ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) KAZ 1
14 - OMEGA PHARMA - QUICK-STEP CYCLING TEAM (OPQ) BEL 1
15 - VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) NED 1

 

[theyoungest]

Blanco and Euskaltel, clearly the two strongest teams in the world

BTW if Argos can't even pick up a single WT point in a race like TDU, I fear for their survival in the WorldTour.