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Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers, Extensions, and Rumours Thread

Page 288 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Soudal Quick Step is not really better than this year, only Landa and a lot of youngsters who aren't able (not to be expected) to help Remco out in a TdF...
I think it's enough quality to build a team that can support a GT winner if the leader is strong enough.

I'm thinking Landa, Van Wilder, Cattaneo, Alaphilippe, Asgreen, Hirt/Vervaeke/Vansevant and Cerny/Lampaert/Pedersen is good enough. I think both Vingegaard and Pogacar would've been going into the Tour feeling pretty happy about such a team.

What QuickStep as a team really is missing is a rider like Van Baarle (or a rider like Benoot, Laporte or Kung). that could be a contender in the cobbled classics and a asset in the GTs. Or a rider that maybe would be more towards the climbing part but also very good in the classics, like Jorgenson or Powless.

Of course another super climber would be great, but there aren't many of them, a guy like Poels would be ideal.
 
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I think it's enough quality to build a team that can support a GT winner if the leader is strong enough.

I'm thinking Landa, Van Wilder, Cattaneo, Alaphilippe, Asgreen, Hirt/Vervaeke/Vansevant and Cerny/Lampaert/Pedersen is good enough. I think both Vingegaard and Pogacar would've been going into the Tour feeling pretty happy about such a team.

What QuickStep as a team really is missing is a rider like Van Baarle (or a rider like Benoot, Laporte or Kung). that could be a contender in the cobbled classics and a asset in the GTs. Or a rider that maybe would be more towards the climbing part but also very good in the classics, like Jorgenson or Powless.

Of course another super climber would be great, but there aren't many of them, a guy like Poels would be ideal.
Asgreen could be that guy, but he's not consistent enough.
 
Gijs Leemreize, Bram Welten & Timo Roosen to DSM!

Welten is exactly the signing you need to do when you want to build a sprint train for Jakobsen! Workhorse. Out of contract.

Leemreize rode a decent 2022 Giro d'Italia. Not as superb as Koen Bouwman. But his climbing was certainly convincing. He's been fully absent performance wise this season. Looking at Arensman DSM could actually be a fruitful move for Leemreize to get his act back together. Either as a breakaway artist or a helper for Bardet at the Giro d'Italia.
 
I think it's enough quality to build a team that can support a GT winner if the leader is strong enough.

I'm thinking Landa, Van Wilder, Cattaneo, Alaphilippe, Asgreen, Hirt/Vervaeke/Vansevant and Cerny/Lampaert/Pedersen is good enough. I think both Vingegaard and Pogacar would've been going into the Tour feeling pretty happy about such a team.

What QuickStep as a team really is missing is a rider like Van Baarle (or a rider like Benoot, Laporte or Kung). that could be a contender in the cobbled classics and a asset in the GTs. Or a rider that maybe would be more towards the climbing part but also very good in the classics, like Jorgenson or Powless.

Of course another super climber would be great, but there aren't many of them, a guy like Poels would be ideal.

but if a Yates, Majka, Vine, Kuss, Kelderman or Wva start to rattle and start to set a serious pace, an Evenepoel will soon be alone with those riders. Vansevenant has been hanging around for 2/3 years and I don't see him making much progress. Hirt is hugely overrated, at Intermarche he won a mountain stage and entered the top 10 after a whole day in the break. I have never seen Hirt do anything in the Giro and this Vuelta that made me think wow! Cattaneo has to have an even pace, but when acceleration comes from Majka or Kelderman, I can see him letting go if the group consists of 20-25 riders. Lampaert and Cerny are not at the same level as Van Baarle, Laporte or Bjerg and next year Politt. Vervaeke is a good rider, but he prefers hill rides and not rides with multiple cols. van Wilder is a very good last man. the only question is that young one is bursting with talent. Won't he also want to try the Giro as leader? he has to find his limits and boundaries somewhere.

so no, I don't think Soudal Quick Step is reinforced at all.
 
but if a Yates, Majka, Vine, Kuss, Kelderman or Wva start to rattle and start to set a serious pace, an Evenepoel will soon be alone with those riders.
That’s were Landa comes in to the picture and are supposed to make the whole difference.

Forgetting Landa means the whole post is kind of meaningless, for example with Landa in squad Van Wilder shouldn’t be the last man. And if Cattaneo drops when the group is still 20-25 it’s not a problem if both Landa and Van Wilder is still there.

Guys like Lampaert are there to give protection on flat stages, I don’t see an issue with them dropping early on mountain stages as long as you still keep 3-4 doms.

I’ll give you Hirt, he’s been very disappointing since winning Oman and the Giro last year.

In the end it comes down to if Remco is strong enough. If he’s isolated with Pogacar, Vingegaard, Kuss and Adam Yates it’s not really a problem if he’s strong enough, because neither Vingegaard or Pog will let Kuss and Yates go away to win the Tour imo. Landa should be able to stay with him for a long time and it will come down to if Remco is strong enough or not.
 
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If this merger happens it will be interesting how they solve the whole “we have like 50 riders on contract” and “we have a whole lot of staff on contracts”

It should be possible to get rid of some riders that other teams would like to take, for example Alaphilippe to a French team.

Then I assume the best solution is to set up a development team and put a bunch of riders there but where they keep their contract/salary and then hope to clean up the mess after next season when more contracts runs out.
 
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