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Team NTT Pro Cycling Thread

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They're registered in Italy, and I think conti-teams are automatically registered in the country from which they have the most riders.
Of course, I don't know which came first: Are they registered in Italy, because they have majority of Italian riders? Or, do they have a majority of Italian riders because they - for one reason or another - wants to be registered in Italy?
The team, at least the WT one but probably is the same, has the main facility in Lucca.
 
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"BMC-Mercedes" would be a pretty good name for a bike team, though. Otoh, it might be a bit confusing to explain to people that this "Team BMC" has nothing to do with the old "Team BMC".
"BMC 2.1"?

It would still be less confusing than the 2022 Efapel team not being the same as the 2021 one.


It's true that the CT team hasn't had as many African riders since it became Italian, but nowadays it still has more than the WT team. And sure Dlamini has an interesting story, but he doesn't seem to have the same talent as some the riders they had in the past, which is also why I don't really care much about the team anymore. For me it lost it's identity when Riis joined, cause he was only ever interested in buying his way in and get exposure for his two Danish partners (it doesn't help that I don't really like those either) through having a Danish WT team at the Grand Départ in Denmark. Ryder obviously did what he had to in order to save the team back then, but in hindsight it wasn't a fruitful relationship.
 
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The Qhubeka development team seems to have been saved for at least another year.
As long as they can continue to develop African cyclists and something good for the local communities, I don't really care much for the WT team anyway.

I care for the riders who will be out of work.
 
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Also I think if a team is not competitive enough it's no use to keep it hanging on a string.
I wonder, though, why a company like Mercedes does not just pump money into a team like this early in the season and picks up some really good riders. The money should be peanuts for them. Probably because only a Tour win counts as something and they wouldn't have a chance... oh, this sponsoring model is working so badly...
Companies that have hopefully been asked: Budweiser/ Beck's; MTN; Nestlé/ Roche... :p
I mean, come on, what does a name sponsor have to pay in cycling, if they have two sponsors... 10 million for a very decent mid-size team... 5 for a small one?
Of course cycling has its issues, but maybe the men's WT is also just too big.
 
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The best riders shouldn't struggle to find contracts somewhere else (most of them already have), but people like Stokbro and Vinjebo, who wouldn't have been WT riders if Michaelsen hadn't been part of the team, will probably have to drop back to Conti level unless Uno-X steps in.

Dlamini has a great story and his ride in the Tour was admirable, but there are many riders who are just as good or better than him.
 
I care for the riders who will be out of work.
Most of the riders either would have been without a contract this season already without the team continuing at the eleventh hour, or will be able to find a new team regardless. Of course you have to feel for the couple of riders who will fall between these categories, who might have been able to continue their professional careers had they known to look sooner. Ultimately, however, cutting some chaff from the WT teams to reinforce the procontinental scene with more and better riders and wildcards would improve the sport as a whole, IMO, that's another reason why the team won't be missed too much especially if the development team survives.
 
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I just wish they had known earlier, that way everyone would have had a better chance at looking around elsewhere.
Now, especially after NextHash came and promised five years, people probably thought they were covered.
Pozzovivo after Lombardia said that when they first announced the struggles was when he heard it for the first time so he didn't search anything since he has, well let say had, a contract for next year and he thought the team would go on.
 
Sad end to what begun as a charming team with a nice concept. And often more than decent jerseys.

Highlights: Ciolek's Sanremo, Tour stages with Cavendish (4), Cummings (2) and Boasson Hagen. And maybe Nizzolo's European title, altho that's team Italy.
They strayed a little too far away from being the African team which had gotten them a lot of publicity and just became another background team of journeymen who were not that exciting.
Would be nice if they can at least salvage enough to reform at their old MTN level.

Also Nexthash always felt like a bit of a scam
 
Sad end to what begun as a charming team with a nice concept. And often more than decent jerseys.

Highlights: Ciolek's Sanremo, Tour stages with Cavendish (4), Cummings (2) and Boasson Hagen. And maybe Nizzolo's European title, altho that's team Italy.
Daniel Teklehaimanot holding the climber's jersey in the 2015 Tour for a couple of days was a big highlight for me, the first African rider in that jersey, and the response back in Eritrea was massive.
 
Also Nexthash always felt like a bit of a scam

I can't say it always felt like a scam to be, but of course no one - team management, or individual riders - looked elsewhere, if they believed they were set for five more year.
Besides, it might not have been a scam as such; NextHash might truly have believed they were gonna make it big, but forgot that it's a bit hard making it big selling something barely anyone knows what is.
 
First years I had a lot of sympathy for this team. It became less and less over the years. Then when they even didn’t sign a super talented African rider like Ghirmay I was kinda done with them.

In less than a decade they moved from one of the most interesting and likeable teams in the peloton to the most meaningless team in the WT for me.
 
Rumour has it that Doug Ryder is still angry at the UCI for not being willing to wait for him to receive his sum of 25.5 millions USD Dollar from barrister John Barosa (or Warosa) of the United Nation (singular).

 
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