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

[RedheadDane]

Thankfully I got my mother's hair, otherwise going bald/pulling a Valverde would really be in the cards...

Hold on, you got your mother's hair?
She's bald?
Did you steal it?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I assumed the other leg is shorter in contrast then.

People with otherwise gifted bodies must get so fed up of people making assumptions about them, as if they don't have a big enough burden to bear.

My heart goes out to Mayomaniac for his courage in sharing his tale of woe. But that doesn't mean the rest of me recoils from him.

 

[Valv.Piti]

If Mayos legs where normal, he'd be doing zone 2 training at 300 watts taking it easy and spinning the legs with Pogacar while us other mortals are proudly telling all our friends and families that we managed to barely squeeze out a 300 FTP. And then, when you suddenly have golden legs and manage 310, you think you'll win next year's TdF, but then just gotta remember that Mayo is a 60 kg menace whose doing your FTP sipping cool electrolytes on and breezing through the landscape on a warm summer ride in Tirol and at worst is doing 2 w/kg more than you.

 

[Mayomaniac]

If Mayos legs where normal, he'd be doing zone 2 training at 300 watts taking it easy and spinning the legs with Pogacar while us other mortals are proudly telling all our friends and families that we managed to barely squeeze out a 300 FTP. And then, when you suddenly have golden legs and manage 310, you think you'll win next year's TdF, but then just gotta remember that Mayo is a 60 kg menace whose doing your FTP sipping cool electrolytes on and breezing through the landscape on a warm summer ride in Tirol and at worst is doing 2 w/kg more than you.

Nah, nowadays I'm more like 71-72kg when in shape, I put on some size because of working out a bit and XC skiing during the winter. Haven't been 61-62kg since I was 16 years old....

But yeah, if my legs were normal I'd be pn training rides with Felix Gall all the time.

 

[Roku]

Meintjes confirmed to stay with Intermarché for next year.

No confirmation for other current out of contract riders (Aimé De Gendt, Rui Costa, Julius Johannsen and Loic Vliegen). Negotiations in place with some of them and other riders.

 

[DNP-Old]

Where is AJ? In recent months August has been linked with a direct move to INEOS, then to Axeon before going pro with INEOS, only now to be linked with a direct move to INEOS once more. Btw, don't believe that clickbait non-story from Logan Jones-Wilkins.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Meintjes confirmed to stay with Intermarché for next year.

No confirmation for other current out of contract riders (Aimé De Gendt, Rui Costa, Julius Johannsen and Loic Vliegen). Negotiations in place with some of them and other riders.

Julius Johansen has confirmed he isn't getting a new contract.

 

[Roku]

Surprised about that, I think he is/was quite valuable for Thijssen lead-out train

 

[Ricco']

Meintjes confirmed to stay with Intermarché for next year.

No confirmation for other current out of contract riders (Aimé De Gendt, Rui Costa, Julius Johannsen and Loic Vliegen). Negotiations in place with some of them and other riders.

The team is reported to be having some financial constraints due to the new betting ads regulations in Belgium that will make Circus halve their contribution. They also have been paying their wages with some delay in the most recent months.

Portuguese media reports that before the Vuelta Rui Costa was very close to renewing but right now he attracted a lot of offers.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

And Mayomaniac could start conversations with "one of my legs is Danish".

Wait, you guys still have both your legs?

 

[RedheadDane]

Wait, you guys still have both your legs?

I was never part of the leg-trading ring...

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Gorka Izagirre has now officially been Cofidised.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1705145449592639756

View: https://twitter.com/TeamCOFIDIS/status/1705145449592639756

 

[Tim Cahill]

Ineos usually announce late, August is 'heavily linked' and likely skipping juniors, Albert Philipsen also in talks for 2025. You think if he was going elsewhere they would've likely announced, although Jumbo-Visma have a spot open with Van Hooydonck's retirement so perhaps they will try and swoop in.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1704380159862726713

 

[Rackham]

Gorka Izagirre has now officially been Cofidised.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1705145449592639756

View: https://twitter.com/TeamCOFIDIS/status/1705145449592639756

Carlton Kirby would say "he looks like he's on cloud nine here!".

Bad photoshop demands bad puns.

 

[Lexman]

Yentl Vandevelde from TDT Unibet has to leave the team despite the one being with the biggest win of the team

Profcarrière wordt Yentl Vandevelde niet gegund bij Tour de Tietema: “Ze hebben me aan het lijntje gehouden”

Yentl Vandevelde kreeg van de ploegleiding van het Tour de Tietema-Unibet Cycling Team te horen dat hij niet wordt opgenomen in de kern van het Pro Continentale Team voor 2024. Vandevelde boekte voor de Nederlandse ploeg de mooiste zege met ritwinst in ’s Heerenhoek in de eerste rit van de ZLM...

www.nieuwsblad.be

And Ruben Apers is looking for a new team as well, can't stay at Baloise

https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2FRuben_Apers

And Milan Fretin from Baloise will ride for a WT next year but let the team make the announcement (apparently Cofidis)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1699342033742180815

View: https://twitter.com/OdvartJames/status/1699342033742180815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1699342033742180815%7Ctwgr%5E62b220a17ba8acf2080eb495755a853b3b69cee6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Flegruppetto.fr%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D12p%3D3231923

 

[Lexman]

G.Pollefliet l Lotto-Dstny Development ➜ AG2R Citroën

Rumour

 

[Lexman]

Someone heard about the possible end of these teams ?
Van Rysel - Roubaix
Bolton

 

[Valanga]

Ineos usually announce late, August is 'heavily linked' and likely skipping juniors, Albert Philipsen also in talks for 2025. You think if he was going elsewhere they would've likely announced, although Jumbo-Visma have a spot open with Van Hooydonck's retirement so perhaps they will try and swoop in.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1704380159862726713

US sensation AJ August linked to Ineos: ‘He’s Remco, but probably with more power’

American 17-year-old turns down Axel Merckx for an immediate WorldTour future

www.globalcyclingnetwork.com

‘He’s Remco, but probably with more power’​

That doesn't sound very fair for the others.

 

[pastronef]

Someone heard about the possible end of these teams ?
Van Rysel - Roubaix
Bolton

yes, both have budget/funds problems and are looking for backers for 2024

 

[Lexman]

yes, both have budget/funds problems and are looking for backers for 2024

Bolton is curious since they stepped just up to pro-conti this year

Van Rysel stepped in for this year...

 

[Squire]

G.Pollefliet l Lotto-Dstny Development ➜ AG2R Citroën

Rumour

Surely the parent team has to promote him? He's looked good this season. Or does this mean they've lost the battle for his signature to AG2R?

 

[Lexman]

Surely the parent team has to promote him? He's looked good this season. Or does this mean they've lost the battle for his signature to AG2R?

from what i've read or he stays at Lotto but AG2R was also pushing...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Bolton is curious since they stepped just up to pro-conti this year

Van Rysel stepped in for this year...

I'd say they're another one of those like Funvic or ONE Pro where essentially they were strong at the Conti level but were helped by a very fortunate niche in terms of some races that not too many ProTeams entered and a career season from a couple of riders which was unlikely to be replicable just because it was coming from riders who weren't young improving prospects but proven commodities like Aaron Gate who had a career year by getting his best form at the right time to profit in a number of races that suited him.

They were however never really going to be at the front of the queue for invites to major races, with a roster of riders where a good few have decent talent but not as much in terms of name value, and being a largely Kiwi team they didn't have local interest to many races either. So while they may have felt ready for the step up after a brilliant 2022, they were then confronted with the treble whammy; the ProTeam licence costs a lot more than the Conti licence; the ProTeams have to be biopassport compliant so have to pay those costs as well; and in order to comply with the requirements of the level as well as to service the extended racing calendar they needed to have more riders on the books, which drove costs up.

Can't help but feel that the additional exposure from Gate managing 12th in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was probably not enough to offset those increased costs, especially as they got to do a good few PS races but nothing else WT level, and their only wins at the PS level came in the Tour of Taihu Lake. As such, they didn't really offer enough of an upgrade on the likes of Burgos-BH, Euskaltel, Bingoal or Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise to justify getting selections for major races over them, so they've essentially become an expensive Conti team.

There are plenty of teams that have done OK and been able to survive at that level with this niche, but those tend to be ones that have the safeguard of home interest for major races, so they tend to be Belgian, French, Spanish or Italian - Human Powered Health and before them United Healthcare showed it can be done, but the cost of that step up is pretty severe if you don't get those invites that make it worth it, as a number of short term ProTeam/ProConti teams who've either disbanded or dropped back down after a single season can attest - people like Drapac (both versions but especially that of the late 2000s), Mitsubishi-Jartazi, Champion System, ONE Pro, PSK Whirlpool, Verva-ActiveJet, Scott-Marcondes César, Spidertech, Stölting, Cult Energy, Team Roth, Soul Brasil, Aqua Blue Sport (they even managed it despite getting the invites in the first year, primarily because that led the owner to think that it was easy and throw the toys out of the pram when they didn't get handed every invite on a silver platter a year later) and Holowesko...

 

[Potomac]

Ineos usually announce late, August is 'heavily linked' and likely skipping juniors, ...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1704380159862726713

Now I have just gone from never having heard of AJ August to very impatient to see him race for a WT team next year.

 

[DNP-Old]

This nonsense needs to stop.