Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers and Rumours Thread

[Bonimenier]

I'd be surprised if Pidcock moves before the next Olympics as Ineos are very flexible in allowing their star riders to pursue other disciplines, effectively 3 months out of his season for MTB this year. I imagine that after 2024, the idea is he'll concentrate on the road, with very light MTB and CX schedules?

What I've read was that the team that approached him have a big American bike brand sponsoring them. Pidcock would be ideal marketwise for them, just like van der Poel with Canyon, so I would imagine he'd get the freedom to do other disciplines.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Seems that Domenico Pozzovivo will be riding for Intermarche Wanty for 2022. He has been training in Tenerife at his own expense.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1493227322979274754

View: https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1493227322979274754?t=2DKBXE1Fka06hMw_r7MbBg&s=19

 

[RedheadDane]

And it's official!

Domenico Pozzovivo in support of his new teammates - Intermarché Wanty Gobert

Italian rider Domenico Pozzovivo reinforces Intermaché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux and will wear the colors of the Belgian World Team starting this Wednesday at the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol (2.Pro, 16-20/02). The climber from Basilicata starts his eighteenth season as a...

intermarche-wantygobert.eu

 

[TMP402]

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gazprom-rusvelo-riders-on-the-market-as-team-suspends-all-activity/

Quite a few interesting riders, many Italian, who have results in the last two years. Perhaps the brightest prospect would be 19-year-old former cross-country skier Mathias Vacek? Already a win in a WorldTour race this year.

 

[RedheadDane]

It appears Bingoal has quietly signed A. Viviani. He's on the preliminary startlist of Dwars for them.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

It appears Bingoal has quietly signed A. Viviani. He's on the preliminary startlist of Dwars for them.

Not that I had noticed it either, but it was apparently made official a week ago.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1506253756807192576

View: https://twitter.com/bingoalpauwels/status/1506253756807192576

 

[RedheadDane]

Yikes...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1511693499883737090

 

[Roku]

Kukrle is the first rider from Gazprom fo find a new home. He is already winning races with Elkov-Kasper.

Hopefully more to come.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Kukrle is the first rider from Gazprom fo find a new home. He is already winning races with Elkov-Kasper.

Hopefully more to come.

I hope so, Canola recently went on an anti-UCI rant on social media because of the whole situation...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I can't comprehend why somebody hasn't taken a flyer on Kevin Rivera. He might have already had his time with the two remaining Italian ProTeams, but he's still only 23 and his struggles have been largely the product of injury and struggling with Covid. If the 2019 version of himself is still in there he'd be a great addition to any wildcard team and a good few WT teams. Realistically the only WorldTeams which have open roster spots and that he might be suited to would be Astana, Bahrain and Movistar (the latter seems enticing, he is the kind of reclamation project they've taken on in the past, while Bahrain obviously now have an extra open slot with their fallout with Osorio). Not sure if he left Bardiani on bad terms, but if not they've just opened up a spot with Visconti retiring; he'd be a huge step up in calibre of rider for Burgos-BH in the Vuelta too seeing as there's no Caja Rural this year - likewise Caja Rural might want to pick him up and try to cover that gaping hole in their calendar by taking on those 2.1 races like Romania and Croatia that he's gone well at in the past.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I can't comprehend why somebody hasn't taken a flyer on Kevin Rivera. He might have already had his time with the two remaining Italian ProTeams, but he's still only 23 and his struggles have been largely the product of injury and struggling with Covid. If the 2019 version of himself is still in there he'd be a great addition to any wildcard team and a good few WT teams. Realistically the only WorldTeams which have open roster spots and that he might be suited to would be Astana, Bahrain and Movistar (the latter seems enticing, he is the kind of reclamation project they've taken on in the past, while Bahrain obviously now have an extra open slot with their fallout with Osorio). Not sure if he left Bardiani on bad terms, but if not they've just opened up a spot with Visconti retiring; he'd be a huge step up in calibre of rider for Burgos-BH in the Vuelta too seeing as there's no Caja Rural this year - likewise Caja Rural might want to pick him up and try to cover that gaping hole in their calendar by taking on those 2.1 races like Romania and Croatia that he's gone well at in the past.

There's bad blood between him and Bardiani, he said he suffered from long Covid last season, they are saying he just wasn't motivated to train, so a move back there is probably not on the table.
But yeah, I've been thinking about Caja Rural and Burgos-BH as an option for him.
But also guys like Jose Manuel Diaz, Andrea Piccolo, Conci, Mathias Vacek, Fedeli and Malucelli (just to name a few) are all good enough to be a nice addition at PCT level.
The least the UCI could do is to give the remaining PCT and even WT teams an exception when it comes to the maximum number of riders so that signing those who recenty lost their team gets easier.

 

[will-10]

I can't comprehend why somebody hasn't taken a flyer on Kevin Rivera. He might have already had his time with the two remaining Italian ProTeams, but he's still only 23 and his struggles have been largely the product of injury and struggling with Covid. If the 2019 version of himself is still in there he'd be a great addition to any wildcard team and a good few WT teams. Realistically the only WorldTeams which have open roster spots and that he might be suited to would be Astana, Bahrain and Movistar (the latter seems enticing, he is the kind of reclamation project they've taken on in the past, while Bahrain obviously now have an extra open slot with their fallout with Osorio). Not sure if he left Bardiani on bad terms, but if not they've just opened up a spot with Visconti retiring; he'd be a huge step up in calibre of rider for Burgos-BH in the Vuelta too seeing as there's no Caja Rural this year - likewise Caja Rural might want to pick him up and try to cover that gaping hole in their calendar by taking on those 2.1 races like Romania and Croatia that he's gone well at in the past.

Only other thought I had was perhaps Visa issues, but otherwise I'd agree. Suspect he will end up on a Conti team hitting the Asian calendar

 

[Roku]

Rivera is a bit of a gamble. He hasn't really shown anything but glimpses of hope in traditional races. Digging up in his results, except a couple of notable placings (9th in Milano Torino against Top competitors and a 5th place in a MTF in Vuelta a Burgos), all his results came in asian and eastern europe races, so there is a huge question mark on him.

However, I agree for the minimum wage he would be a good recruitment for Spanish Pro Conti Teams.

Vacek is certain to find a spot for 2023. The italian riders of Rusvelo, especially Fedeli and Malucelli should be nice additions to any italian PCT. Scaroni, Carboni, Conci and JM Diaz could range from good to decent mountain support for WT teams short of manpower.

Zakarin, despite his notable decline, deserves also a farewell on the roads.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Yikes...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1511693499883737090

So apparently Osorio's departure is because of a breach of Covid protocols, which he claims was due to a misunderstanding, and he's seeking legal action against the team for wrongful termination.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1512320945549103105

View: https://twitter.com/Domestique___/status/1512320945549103105

 

[SafeBet]

Rivera has the renowned problem of being completely incapable of riding in a pro peloton, hence spending an outrageous amount of energy during phases of a race when everybody else is resting. He has been tested a number of times (once in comparison to Ivan Sosa of all people) and the results show he never improved since turning pro in 2017. That's why he gets dropped so often on the flat and that's why he can underperform in races which should suit him on paper (Unipuerto stuff).
He's the epitome of a one tricky pony. If every race in cycling was a MTT he would likely be a star.

I'd take a flier on Piccolo over Rivera any day of the week.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Rivera has the renowned problem of being completely incapable of riding in a pro peloton, hence spending an outrageous amount of energy during phases of a race when everybody else is resting. He has been tested a number of times (once in comparison to Ivan Sosa of all people) and the results show he never improved since turning pro in 2017. That's why he gets dropped so often on the flat and that's why he can underperform in races which should suit him on paper (Unipuerto stuff).
He's the epitome of a one tricky pony. If every race in cycling was a MTT he would likely be a star.

I'd take a flier on Piccolo over Rivera any day of the week.

If we still had the US stage races with their wide roads and a much less hectic peloton Rivera would be the kind of guy that I'd sign to be competitive in those.
I agree with will-10, I've also thought about him riding for an Asian CT team, if you're somewhat of a name the pay is usually better than at PCT level (unless you're the start of the team/a bigger name on a French PCT team).
Potential wise I have to agree with you, Piccolo all day. Do we know what happened to him at Astana last year?

 

[Armchair cyclist]

The least the UCI could do is to give the remaining PCT and even WT teams an exception when it comes to the maximum number of riders so that signing those who recenty lost their team gets easier.

They let Sky (or was it already Ineos by then?) exceed the maximum to take on Dunbar when AquaBlue folded: it would be grossly inconsistent to apply maximum number of riders now against the Gazprom escapees.

 

[SafeBet]

If we still had the US stage races with their wide roads and a much less hectic peloton Rivera would be the kind of guy that I'd sign to be competitive in those.
I agree with will-10, I've also thought about him riding for an Asian CT team, if you're somewhat of a name the pay is usually better than at PCT level (unless you're the start of the team/a bigger name on a French PCT team).
Potential wise I have to agree with you, Piccolo all day. Do we know what happened to him at Astana last year?

He first had some health issues that were quickly fixed, but then the team wouldn't let him ride anything without further explanation. He said he kept training and then asked to get out of his contract so he could ride for another team. Astana agreed.

 

[Mayomaniac]

He first had some health issues that were quickly fixed, but then the team wouldn't let him ride anything without further explanation. He said he kept training and then asked to get out of his contract so he could ride for another team. Astana agreed.

Thanks for the info, looking at his results with the Italian NT at the end of last season I'd sign him in a heartbeat.
The problem with Rivera is that he lacks the endurance on multi-mountain stages (all his best results have come easy stages with a big climb at the end), but he also suffers on the flat when the tempo is high. With him I'd probably think about putting on some muscle mass (no way he's 54kg) to increase his overall power output so that he'd keep his powder dry before the final climb.
Just my 2 cents as an armchair ds...

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

Sloveen Jan Tratnik onderweg naar Jumbo-Visma (vooral voor Roglic en een beetje voor Van Aert)

Het lijkt erop dat Jumbo-Visma straks in augustus met Jan Tratnik een eerste inkomende transfer kan communiceren voor 2023. Het management van de Sloveen is in vergevorderde onderhandelingen met de Nederlandse World Tour-ploeg.

m.nieuwsblad.be

Thanks to the help of google translate to decode some of this information. The first big rumor for the 2023 cycle, with Jan Tratnik in advanced talks with JV. If this were to end up being true, he would likely help in the classics if he can have similar form as this year and in a grand tour.

 

[Bonimenier]

DVB is now also rumoured to go to JV. Are they planning to build the most ridiculous classic squad?

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

DVB is now also rumoured to go to JV. Are they planning to build the most ridiculous classic squad?

Probably. They might just use Benoot for the Ardennes instead of cobbles though he still brings insane strength.

 

[Mayomaniac]

DVB is now also rumoured to go to JV. Are they planning to build the most ridiculous classic squad?

DVB has to be one of the most underrated riders in the world. A really good cobbles rider and an outstanding workhorse on alll kinds of terrain as a domestique. The guy is worth his money

 

[OlavEH]

DVB is now also rumoured to go to JV. Are they planning to build the most ridiculous classic squad?

Strange if Ineos don't take advantage of Pidcock's talent and the emergence of Sheffield and Turner to focus more on the one day classics the coming years, instead of filling the voids in the squad after Porte and possibly other GC contender departures by other GC contenders. They still will have a load of top GC riders, but should prioritize keeping Van Baarle and perhaps signing even one or two more good classic riders. Kragh Andersen and/or Pedersen should be obvious options.

 

[Offline]

Van Baarle rumored to UAE Team Emirates and apparently over matching Jumbo's offer.

UAE Emirates aast op Dylan van Baarle

Niet alleen Jumbo-Visma heeft de jacht op Dylan van Baarle geopend, ook UAE Emirates heeft een riante aanbieding aan de nummer twee van de Ronde van Vlaanderen en winnaar van Parijs-Roubaix gedaan. Binnen de Nederlandse ploeg vrezen ze dat ze niet op kunnen tegen het bod dat de ploeg van...

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