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

[pastronef]

Uijtdebroeks to FDJ is pure fantasy. he'll stay with Bora

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The usual suspects have entered the silly fight for Outofhiscontract.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1711732758781804855

View: https://twitter.com/dnlbenson/status/1711732758781804855

 

[RedheadDane]

The usual suspects have entered the silly fight for Outofhiscontract.

Don't you mean "Outofhiscontractbutnotquiteyet"?

 

[JRanton]

Francois Bidard (Cofidis) retires: https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/francois-bidard-31-zet-punt-achter-wielercarriere/

The French World Tour peloton has taken quite a big hit from retirements this year. That’s the 9th announced so far following Gallopin, Pinot, Bouhanni, Cherel, Pichon, Perichon, Bouet and Ladagnous.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Don't you mean "Outofhiscontractbutnotquiteyet"?

That name sounds made up.

Also Kristen Faulkner joins new EF.

 

[yaco]

That name sounds made up.

Also Kristen Faulkner joins new EF.

Her comments in the EF press release very much backed up Colonel and I suggesting she is a difficult customer - In saying that, Jayco should have grinned and beared her foibles because they need talent on their team.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Her comments in the EF press release very much backed up Colonel and I suggesting she is a difficult customer - In saying that, Jayco should have grinned and beared her foibles because they need talent on their team.

Well I don't think riders should be afraid to speak their minds, and it's of course easier for someone like Faulkner, who can easily walk away from cycling, to do that than someone who has more to lose.
Whether she's usually right is obviously a different matter.

Hopefully her relationship with Tromp won't grow sour and she'll be able to make a great comeback next season, cause the more riders who are able to challenge SD Worx the better.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

@Samamba will be dancing in the streets if this goes through...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1711837178307793367

 

[pastronef]

Well I don't think riders should be afraid to speak their minds, and it's of course easier for someone like Faulkner, who can easily walk away from cycling, to do that than someone who has more to lose.

why that? and which comment did she make in the EF press release?

 

[Samamba]

@Samamba will be dancing in the streets if this goes through...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1711837178307793367

Not really true. I'm kind of fed up with him, but also still think he's pretty good when he actually tries and he still gives you a 1000 UCI points. It's octobre, Lotto can't replace him anymore. this would've been perfect if the QS actually folded. Now, meeh positive and negative effects for Lotto. They won't be able to replace him, but they will be able to use his money to renew guys like Van Eetvelt, Van Gils and Vermeersch asap hopefully.

Especially wondering wat Groenewegen thinks of this tho.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Not really true. I'm kind of fed up with him, but also still think he's pretty good when he actually tries and he still gives you a 1000 UCI points. It's octobre, Lotto can't replace him anymore. this would've been perfect if the QS actually folded. Now, meeh positive and negative effects for Lotto. They won't be able to replace him, but they will be able to use his money to renew guys like Van Eetvelt, Van Gils and Vermeersch asap hopefully.

Especially wondering wat Groenewegen thinks of this tho.

I cannot imagine Ewan will be ahead of Groenewegen in the picking order after their respective form the past 2 years.

 

[Mina.S]

Well I don't think riders should be afraid to speak their minds, and it's of course easier for someone like Faulkner, who can easily walk away from cycling, to do that than someone who has more to lose.
Whether she's usually right is obviously a different matter.

Hopefully her relationship with Tromp won't grow sour and she'll be able to make a great comeback next season, cause the more riders who are able to challenge SD Worx the better.

As a women from Australia I probably follow the jayco women’s team more than most and I get the feeling/ vibe that she was always very out of place there. She’s has a pretty terrible year by her standards even before her crash.

I think the team will miss Ane more. It will be a big year for Urska who seems to be being pushed towards gc rider/ leader.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Her comments in the EF press release very much backed up Colonel and I suggesting she is a difficult customer - In saying that, Jayco should have grinned and beared her foibles because they need talent on their team.

I'm a bit confused as to the direction they're going, they either have a huge amount of faith in Urška Žigart or they are just moving entirely away from GC racing, since they've basically allowed all of their climbing talent to walk. I know Faulkner may have a reputation for being difficult and yes, she's had a down season, but she's only a year removed from winning two stages of the Giro and finishing on the podium of the Tour de Suisse, while Ane Santesteban may not win you much (or in fact anything, with one solitary nationals win in a 12 year pro career) but she's a very consistent customer, with near identical banks of points on CQ and PCS in 2018, give or take race day issues with pandemic cancellations, and has been in the top 10 of both the Giro and the Tour this season. Otherwise, it's a heavy reliance on Ruby Roseman-Gannon and a lot of hope that Alex Manly can replicate her 2022 season or that Letizia Paternoster can get back to what her teenage self looked like becoming. Obviously the year before that they lost Amanda Spratt and her capability as a GC leader, as well as Ari Fidanza who has promptly had a career year with Ceratizit, while the year before that they lost Grace Brown as well as two capable secondary GC riders in Lucy Kennedy and Janneke Ensing, although both were retiring, in fairness.

However, it does paint a picture of a team that is either deliberately tilting away from GC contention or is unable to attract or keep them. Even if they do come to rely on Žigart and feel she can take up that mantle, who is supporting her in the mountains with Faulkner and Santesteban gone, unless they step in to pick somebody up?

Looking at who is available and not yet signed for next season, the obvious leader in terms of GC capabilities would be Erica Magnaldi. Other support type options who are reasonably solid climbers are Sofia Bertizzolo, Krista Doebel-Hickok, Omer Shapira and Elizabeth Banks (depending on how her health has recovered). However, with many of those riders who are available, the likelihood of moves are relatively limited and it's just that extensions haven't been announced yet. Hell, Tiffany Cromwell is not signed yet at Canyon, but she has studiously avoided the Jayco team throughout her career.

 

[Mina.S]

I'm a bit confused as to the direction they're going, they either have a huge amount of faith in Urška Žigart or they are just moving entirely away from GC racing, since they've basically allowed all of their climbing talent to walk. I know Faulkner may have a reputation for being difficult and yes, she's had a down season, but she's only a year removed from winning two stages of the Giro and finishing on the podium of the Tour de Suisse, while Ane Santesteban may not win you much (or in fact anything, with one solitary nationals win in a 12 year pro career) but she's a very consistent customer, with near identical banks of points on CQ and PCS in 2018, give or take race day issues with pandemic cancellations, and has been in the top 10 of both the Giro and the Tour this season. Otherwise, it's a heavy reliance on Ruby Roseman-Gannon and a lot of hope that Alex Manly can replicate her 2022 season or that Letizia Paternoster can get back to what her teenage self looked like becoming. Obviously the year before that they lost Amanda Spratt and her capability as a GC leader, as well as Ari Fidanza who has promptly had a career year with Ceratizit, while the year before that they lost Grace Brown as well as two capable secondary GC riders in Lucy Kennedy and Janneke Ensing, although both were retiring, in fairness.

However, it does paint a picture of a team that is either deliberately tilting away from GC contention or is unable to attract or keep them. Even if they do come to rely on Žigart and feel she can take up that mantle, who is supporting her in the mountains with Faulkner and Santesteban gone?

The way Urska has been talking about Ane spending the past 3 years mentoring her as a cyclist and the fact she’s been wearing the 1 for the team in the past few races gives me the feeling she will be the leader but won’t have any support. She only has one more year on her contract and I’m sure the UAE women’s team which is practically her old team will be throwing money at her. They seem keen to get her to complete the sports washing of cycling 😅.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

why that? and which comment did she make in the EF press release?

She used to work in venture capital, and she also did some work for her old employer during the last off-season, because she didn't feel like her brain was being fully utilized in cycling alone.

Her comments in the press release were about how she questions how things are being done on her team to make sure they're not making mistakes, which, according to the other posters, had led to clashes with the Jayco management.

Kristen Faulkner signs with EF Education-Cannondale | EF Education-EasyPost

‘At the end of the day, I just want to win with this team’

efprocycling.com

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The way Urska has been talking about Ane spending the past 3 years mentoring her as a cyclist and the fact she’s been wearing the 1 for the team in the past few races gives me the feeling she will be the leader but won’t have any support. She only has one more year on her contract and I’m sure the UAE women’s team which is practically her old team will be throwing money at her. They seem keen to get her to complete the sports washing of cycling 😅.

Why, was being on a team sponsored by a Saudi tourist project not sportswashing enough?

 

[Samamba]

I cannot imagine Ewan will be ahead of Groenewegen in the picking order after their respective form the past 2 years.

That would mean Ewan agreed with skipping the Tour. It's possible ofcourse.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The way Urska has been talking about Ane spending the past 3 years mentoring her as a cyclist and the fact she’s been wearing the 1 for the team in the past few races gives me the feeling she will be the leader but won’t have any support. She only has one more year on her contract and I’m sure the UAE women’s team which is practically her old team will be throwing money at her. They seem keen to get her to complete the sports washing of cycling 😅.

Current UAE is more like the old Valcar than the team she rode for though. The move made sense when UAE originally took over the team, but nowadays I'm not sure it's necessarily the best fit.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

That would mean Ewan agreed with skipping the Tour. It's possible ofcourse.

I don’t think Ewan has a particularly strong negotiating position these days, certainly not compared to the one he had when he signed his current contract.

 

[Mina.S]

Why, was being on a team sponsored by a Saudi tourist project not sportswashing enough?

If you put a quintessentially Australian caravan company ahead of the sports washing state in your name apparently no body cares 😂.

It’s actually just shows how little Australians care for cycling considering how critical we have been of other Australian based sports washing attempts.

 

[RedheadDane]

I suppose there will be an announcement from his future team soon.

 

[claude cat]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1711984859931987981

View: https://twitter.com/GreenEDGEteam/status/1711984859931987981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1711984859931987981%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

 

[yaco]

I'm a bit confused as to the direction they're going, they either have a huge amount of faith in Urška Žigart or they are just moving entirely away from GC racing, since they've basically allowed all of their climbing talent to walk. I know Faulkner may have a reputation for being difficult and yes, she's had a down season, but she's only a year removed from winning two stages of the Giro and finishing on the podium of the Tour de Suisse, while Ane Santesteban may not win you much (or in fact anything, with one solitary nationals win in a 12 year pro career) but she's a very consistent customer, with near identical banks of points on CQ and PCS in 2018, give or take race day issues with pandemic cancellations, and has been in the top 10 of both the Giro and the Tour this season. Otherwise, it's a heavy reliance on Ruby Roseman-Gannon and a lot of hope that Alex Manly can replicate her 2022 season or that Letizia Paternoster can get back to what her teenage self looked like becoming. Obviously the year before that they lost Amanda Spratt and her capability as a GC leader, as well as Ari Fidanza who has promptly had a career year with Ceratizit, while the year before that they lost Grace Brown as well as two capable secondary GC riders in Lucy Kennedy and Janneke Ensing, although both were retiring, in fairness.

However, it does paint a picture of a team that is either deliberately tilting away from GC contention or is unable to attract or keep them. Even if they do come to rely on Žigart and feel she can take up that mantle, who is supporting her in the mountains with Faulkner and Santesteban gone, unless they step in to pick somebody up?

Looking at who is available and not yet signed for next season, the obvious leader in terms of GC capabilities would be Erica Magnaldi. Other support type options who are reasonably solid climbers are Sofia Bertizzolo, Krista Doebel-Hickok, Omer Shapira and Elizabeth Banks (depending on how her health has recovered). However, with many of those riders who are available, the likelihood of moves are relatively limited and it's just that extensions haven't been announced yet. Hell, Tiffany Cromwell is not signed yet at Canyon, but she has studiously avoided the Jayco team throughout her career.

An excellent summary as usual - I will add that their placement of riders during the years this year was confusing and bewildering - An example is that their three best riders Manly, Faulkner and Roseman-Gannon did not ride Paris Roubaix - Outside of the compulsory WT races, they failed to choose a calendar that suited the ability of their team - They should have been riding more of the lesser races and then Roseman-Gannon could have got one or two wins - The issue of climber types is vexing because nearly all possible contenders are contracted, so its been a difficult task to attract these riders - I'll also add that is disappointing that they dont have Fisher-Black on their team, especially after she had no team at the end of 2020. I also doubt the tactical nous that comes from the car as they have two first year D's in the car. Finally, at least they've picked a decent team for the upcoming Chinese races.

 

[yaco]

My first reaction to the Ewan news is that Jayco don't think they can Groves back in 2025. Their two targets for 2025 were Plapp who seems to be delivered for 2024 and Groves - In a perfect world, Groves would be a better fit alongside Groenewegen BUT I suspect that outside of Ewan's ability to win big races, Jayco is looking at collecting UCI points, especially in one day races - I'm not concerned about who rides what GT as this will work itself out over the course of the season and the team has proven they can support both GC and sprinters at a GT. Jayco also has enough riders to support a sprint train for two riders - Mezgec is an excellent lead-out rider and Stewart can fulfill this role,

 

[OlavEH]

So, Plapp and Ewan to Jayco? Nice additions for the 2024 season.