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Teams & Riders EF Pro Cycling

Page 78 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Conversely, there are some great riders who just are not winners. I always pointed to Bardet, who could (and sometimes still can) climb with the very best and hang tough in hard classics, something like 9 victories in 10 years as a pro.

Or to keep this EF, Uran, a GT podium finisher, who has 12 wins in 15 years. I'm sure there are more extreme examples. Carthy could be that kind of rider in the long run.

Interested to see how EF does today. Would love to see Powless in the final selection (or wheelsucking Remco to the line...:))

And they still have/had very good careers! That was just my point in it all. It is very hard to win bike races. If you have been on the podium at a GT in your career. You got further than 98% (this it not factual but you get what Im saying) of all cyclists. It was not a disappointment! :)

Yes, maybe even Higuita can do something today. 6th in Tre Valli Varesine showed he is alive at least!
 
I didnt say they were the same . I think you misunderstood.
Well, I had said that Carthy was limited and then you said Mollema was limited, so whatever your definition of "limited" was, it was logical for me to point out the difference.

Interested to see how EF does today.
Apart from Higuita, pretty poorly. Most of their riders are clearly not in form in this part of the year. Uran and Carthy look particularly drained lately and Powless seems to have peaked for the WC and then declined sharply.
 
Well, I had said that Carthy was limited and then you said Mollema was limited, so whatever your definition of "limited" was, it was logical for me to point out the difference.

Okay... I hadnt seen that or was not speaking to you about that.

I think everyone that has seen Mollema ride would say he is "limited" or looks limited when he rides on the bike. That doesnt mean he is not a great rider and the results/career he has had, while being limited.

To me Carthy also looks sort of "limited" when he rides. Thats only why I put that in there. Agree or disagree.

Comparing them like for like or saying they are equal or that Carthy will be as good, I was not saying at all.

I think we was talking about different type of limited or what we each meant by that.
 
A little surprised that Craddock is out the door. I hope he has a WT contract somewhere. He is a handy domestique. I’m a huge fan of the alternative calendar and a fan of both Morton and Howes, but I don’t know how I would feel if they were extended and a repercussion from their extensions was that Craddock did not have an opportunity to stay. To be clear, Craddock may have left of his own accord, and Howes and/or Morton may not be extended. I don’t know. I just hope Craddock was not a casualty of the alt calendar.
 
Craddock’s goodbye Insta post says he’s “extremely excited to head into a new environment for 2022,” which sounds to me like something someone would say as they prepare to follow Reijnen, Boswell, Ten Dam et al into the gravel circuit.

Except you’d think he could do that as part of the alt calendar, but maybe he’s expected to still ride some UCI-level road for that and doesn’t want to?

It just doesn’t read like a “JV doesn’t want me any more” message.
 
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There you have it: https://www.efprocycling.com/jonas-rutsch-renews-with-team/

Happy to see him extend with the team as I was certain at one point that he would go to Bora. I guess that's a lesson to not believe some random posts on a forum without a source. :p



Great news. I hope he and Bissegger along with Bettiol can revive the EF cobbled classics squad. While EF were collectively abysmal this year, Rutsch and Bissegger both showed the potential to be threats in the near future.
 
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Great news. I hope he and Bissegger along with Bettiol can revive the EF cobbled classics squad. While EF were collectively abysmal this year, Rutsch and Bissegger both showed the potential to be threats in the near future.
Unfortunately, Bettiol struggles with chronic health issues and Bissegger completely imploded every time he had a chance for a good result this year (apart from TTs and a stage win from a weak break at TdS), so I'm not overly optimistic. I'll put my hopes in Valgren having no health issues in the build-up for the springs classics the first time in a while. Hopefully they'll put together something for the cobbled classics with under the radar riders like they have done almost every year.
 
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Unfortunately, Bettiol struggles with chronic health issues and Bissegger completely imploded every time he had a chance for a good result this year (apart from TTs and a stage win from a weak break at TdS), so I'm not overly optimistic. I'll put my hopes in Valgren having no health issues in the build-up for the springs classics the first time in a while. Hopefully they'll put together something for the cobbled classics with under the radar riders like they have done almost every year.

I was impressed with Bissegger at both Flanders and Roubaix. He was in the early break and rode out front longer than most of his companions in both. I think the break is a great way to experience the cobbles of Flanders and the pave of Roubaix for the first time. There is reason to believe that with a proper diagnosis, Bettiol’s health issues can be managed. But yes, you are correct. I forgot about Valgren, though I do rate him much higher for Flanders than Roubaix.
 
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It's funny how they made almost no contract announcements for 2 months and now they're starting to make them daily.
And one more after just one day indeed (Sean Quinn): https://www.efprocycling.com/sean-quinn-joins-the-2022-roster/
Someone suggested that they wanted to space out the announcements but it really doesn't seem to be the case. :p

I was impressed with Bissegger at both Flanders and Roubaix. He was in the early break and rode out front longer than most of his companions in both.
Yeah, but the problem is that he always implodes at some point. In Roubaix he was able to carry on with the break for so long that you would think he would've been able to finish in the top30 or something. Some of his breakaway companions that were dropped earlier than him did. But nope. He was 62th. Completely blew up in the final kilometers. And it was a repeating pattern this year. Something went wrong with his training I guess. It works great for TTs but otherwise he can't keep up towards the end of races.
 
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Here's a list of EF riders with uncertain future:
Sebastian Langeveld
Jens Keukeleire
Fumiyuki Beppu
Alex Howes
Lachlan Morton
Jonathan Caicedo
Tom Scully
Hideto Nakane
Julius Van den Berg
Logan Owen
Will Barta
James Whelan
If the rumorus about James Shaw and Łukasz Wiśniowski are true, at least 4 of them will leave, but probably more than 4 (I don't think EF will have 31 riders next year, and you can't rule out additional new signings).

Who of these do you think will be kept for 2022 and who will leave?

Only 2 Americans with confirmed contracts so far, I don't think they've ever had fewer than 6.
 
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In order of priority:
Keukeleire- by a mile top priority
Van den berg
Owen
Morton
Howes (alt calendar reasons for both Morton and Howes)
Langeveld
Caicedo
Scully
Barta (if healthy)

The rest, I can’t make a strong argument that they have anything to add at the WT level at present…
 
Only one who I'm sure is out is Whelan. Plus Beppu/Nakane in case Nippo leaves.

Howes could be another one gone on sporting merits, but as you said he's american and with the team since forever.

Owen and Van den Berg both have one big result this year, not sure if that saves them or if they are important engine room pieces that EF want to hang onto.
Scully, Langeveld and Keukeleire should be safe imo. Morton too doing his stuff.

Barta and Caicedo both didn't have their best years, but showed only last year how good they potentially are.

Definitely not easy to get this right.
 
If EF was willing to let Craddock and his Stars and Stripes TT Jersey go, I wouldn’t bank on being an American saving Howes. It’s going to come down to how important the alt calendar is to EF. Does it merit two roster spots? Or is one enough?
I don’t think it’s like for like. I think Craddock would be staying at EF if he wanted to. Apart from the TT jersey he’s also been a pretty reliable “off the front, late in the race” breakaway type for them this season; he’s shown off the jersey, even if he hasn’t got the results.
 
If EF was willing to let Craddock and his Stars and Stripes TT Jersey go, I wouldn’t bank on being an American saving Howes. It’s going to come down to how important the alt calendar is to EF. Does it merit two roster spots? Or is one enough?
A potential solution for the gravel riders is secondary sponsors who could pick up some of their salary. Although Cannondale have always been very self contained.
 
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If EF was willing to let Craddock and his Stars and Stripes TT Jersey go, I wouldn’t bank on being an American saving Howes.
Craddock might have left for a better offer, not because they didn't want to keep him at all.

But yeah, being American is not enough to save your place in the team. Nathan Brown, for example, was still relatively young and a solid domestique for years (way better than Howes recently), yet didn't get an extension after 2019 and had to step down to PCT.
 
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In order of priority:
Keukeleire- by a mile top priority
Van den berg
Owen
Morton
Howes (alt calendar reasons for both Morton and Howes)
Langeveld
Caicedo
Scully
Barta (if healthy)

The rest, I can’t make a strong argument that they have anything to add at the WT level at present…
Honestly, the last two riders I really cared about were Rutsch and Craddock.

I've read that Keukeleire apparently has never been able to fully recover to his pre covid level (I've read that on an F1 forum, go figure). At 33 (next month), it's totally possible that he is only going to get worse from now on. Did very little this season. Had 0 results and the only thing I remember he's ever done was to lead Cort out ot a stage win. That's not a lot for a full season.

Van den Berg and Owen are two riders who've had a good few years to show what they're made of and both turned out to be disappointments after promissing u-23 careers. Both had an uplift of performance towards the end of the season just as I was starting to lose any hope for them so maybe they deserve another shot but I don't really expect big breakthroughs for them looking at their career trajectory.

Morton and Howes have done nothing on the road for a good few years now and the only reason one would keep them was for the fan engagement of their outside activities.

Beppu and Nakane not really WT worthy riders at this point and they're only there for Nippo.

Langeveld has been on a sharp decline in the last few years, completely invisible outside of PR i n2021. Turning 37 in January, it's unlikely his next season will be any better.

Scully is another one who's had the worst season in years and might be on a decline.

Whelan is another one of those who's not delivered to his u-23 promise despite having a good few years to do so.

Caicedo has been very inconsistent ever since turning pro, without a particularly high ceiling either. Has not shown much progress this year.

Will Barta- well, someone has said that he had experienced health issues this year so maybe he's worth giving a next try but I don't really expect anything great from him in the future

There's not a single rider in here I would expect to be among 12-14 most useful EF riders next year.
 
Might it be sponsor related? Didn’t EF pick up some French sponsors last year?
Not the most exciting reason for sure, but it happens.
Yeah, but if it was as simple as the sponsor wanting a French rider, there are so many French pro riders around that you shouldn't need to sign someone as anonymus.

Either there's something more than meets the eye about this rider or it's an extremely random pick. Or maybe there are so many French pro teams that it's difficult to convince them to join a non-French team? In fact, I don't remember any French rider in a WT team that's not from France or Belgium other than El Fares at the moment.

EDIT: there are a few at ISN but generally the point stands that few of them venture outside of the Francophone sphere.
 

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