Transfers and Rumours 2016 > 2017

[HelloDolly]

Sorry to see NFTO lose sponsorahip ....A good team and with cycling at the height of popularity in the UK ?

Sad that they cannot get a sponsor

Was it not last year they said they were aiming for world tour ??

 

[Radeon]

I think it was ONE who said they were aiming for WT.

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

TJ Sport becomes UAE Abu Dhabi and got a WT license.

I don't know if this is worse or better than the original plan.

Probably worse, but I'm happy for the riders and everyone who's working fo the team.
How'd you rate the various WT teams (I wouldn't include Bahrain Merida, it's a brand new team and I don't know if Bora stepping up to WT should count) when it comes to their signings, who comes out of this transfer season the srongest and who has lost some firepower?

 

[kev1n]

Re:

Sorry to see NFTO lose sponsorahip ....A good team and with cycling at the height of popularity in the UK ?

Sad that they cannot get a sponsor

Was it not last year they said they were aiming for world tour ??

They were talking Pro conti at one time. The team was built by John Wood using part of his private wealth. They developed a strong team quickly by paying way over the odds for domestic British 3rd div riders and occasionally, riders with experience at the higher level who were struggling to stay there eg Downing, Blythe, Van Hoff. The majority of their season involved non UCI races, but some riders were paid more than guys who were riding the Classics, Grand Tours and the Worlds. In turn, in order to recruit or retain riders other teams were obliged to increase their salary rates leading to a significant escalation across the British scene. John Wood decided to pull out for 2017, although Aberdeen were prepared to remain, but only if the team was UCI registered. A headline sponsor was needed to add a further 300 to 400k but did not materialise. There were also rumors that Raleigh were on reduced funding for 2017. Given the number of their signings who are not even currently at 3rd div level, this would appear true.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

Sorry to see NFTO lose sponsorahip ....A good team and with cycling at the height of popularity in the UK ?

Sad that they cannot get a sponsor

Was it not last year they said they were aiming for world tour ??

They were talking Pro conti at one time. The team was built by John Wood using part of his private wealth. They developed a strong team quickly by paying way over the odds for domestic British 3rd div riders and occasionally, riders with experience at the higher level who were struggling to stay there eg Downing, Blythe, Van Hoff. The majority of their season involved non UCI races, but some riders were paid more than guys who were riding the Classics, Grand Tours and the Worlds. In turn, in order to recruit or retain riders other teams were obliged to increase their salary rates leading to a significant escalation across the British scene. John Wood decided to pull out for 2017, although Aberdeen were prepared to remain, but only if the team was UCI registered. A headline sponsor was needed to add a further 300 to 400k but did not materialise. There were also rumors that Raleigh were on reduced funding for 2017. Given the number of their signings who are not even currently at 3rd div level, this would appear true.

That's very interesting. Does all of this add up to a weaker domestic scene in Britain next year? It seems for instance, with problems for ONE, the disappearance of NFTO and budget cuts at Raleigh, that there will be notably fewer relatively well paid contracts available for riders at the top end of domestic racing?

 

[Roku]

Gazprom completes its roster with the last-minute addition of Anton Vorobyev.

They have assembled a pretty good roster, in my opinion. Probably one of the strongest team in PCT. They have a powerful sprinter for flat stages (Porsev), a consistent sprinter for reduced fields, like the italian classics .1 (Tsatevich), a good time triallist (Vorobyev), a good leader for minor week-long stage races (Firsanov), young climbing prospects (Nych, Foliforov), and some riders for stage-hunting (Lagutin, Brutt, Rovny).

 

[kev1n]

Re: Re:

Sorry to see NFTO lose sponsorahip ....A good team and with cycling at the height of popularity in the UK ?

Sad that they cannot get a sponsor

Was it not last year they said they were aiming for world tour ??

They were talking Pro conti at one time. The team was built by John Wood using part of his private wealth. They developed a strong team quickly by paying way over the odds for domestic British 3rd div riders and occasionally, riders with experience at the higher level who were struggling to stay there eg Downing, Blythe, Van Hoff. The majority of their season involved non UCI races, but some riders were paid more than guys who were riding the Classics, Grand Tours and the Worlds. In turn, in order to recruit or retain riders other teams were obliged to increase their salary rates leading to a significant escalation across the British scene. John Wood decided to pull out for 2017, although Aberdeen were prepared to remain, but only if the team was UCI registered. A headline sponsor was needed to add a further 300 to 400k but did not materialise. There were also rumors that Raleigh were on reduced funding for 2017. Given the number of their signings who are not even currently at 3rd div level, this would appear true.

That's very interesting. Does all of this add up to a weaker domestic scene in Britain next year? It seems for instance, with problems for ONE, the disappearance of NFTO and budget cuts at Raleigh, that there will be notably fewer relatively well paid contracts available for riders at the top end of domestic racing?

I believe that some of the stronger NFTO riders were signed by competitors before the demise of the team was evident, so they may have negotiated good deals. Logically, the loss of one of the main "overpayers" should rationalise things. One complication could be the decision of the ToB organiser to limit the number of domestic UCI teams and create a series of season long ranking events. As ToB is a big draw for the teams/sponsors they will need to remain competitive in order to qualify, which may influence salaries.
As to the strength of the domestic Conti scene, some riders have moved up and away and there may be a few less foreign riders signed, but this could be balanced by ONE riders coming back down, so maybe not much change.

 

[Stilletto]

Songezo Jim ex Dimension Data signs for Kuwait - Cartucho.es
Anton Vorobyev ex Katusha last rider for Gazprom

 

[postmanhat]

Better news for the UK domestic scene. Team Wiggins look likely to be sponsored by Skoda now, securing the teams future after Sky withdrew sponsorship. Jon Dibben and Owain Doull left for Sky, while Mark Christian has joined Aqua Blue

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re: Re:

TJ Sport becomes UAE Abu Dhabi and got a WT license.

I don't know if this is worse or better than the original plan.

Worse probably, gives even more power and importance to oil barons.

there are no oil barons in the UAE

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re: Re:

Sorry to see NFTO lose sponsorahip ....A good team and with cycling at the height of popularity in the UK ?

Sad that they cannot get a sponsor

Was it not last year they said they were aiming for world tour ??

They were talking Pro conti at one time. The team was built by John Wood using part of his private wealth. They developed a strong team quickly by paying way over the odds for domestic British 3rd div riders and occasionally, riders with experience at the higher level who were struggling to stay there eg Downing, Blythe, Van Hoff. The majority of their season involved non UCI races, but some riders were paid more than guys who were riding the Classics, Grand Tours and the Worlds. In turn, in order to recruit or retain riders other teams were obliged to increase their salary rates leading to a significant escalation across the British scene. John Wood decided to pull out for 2017, although Aberdeen were prepared to remain, but only if the team was UCI registered. A headline sponsor was needed to add a further 300 to 400k but did not materialise. There were also rumors that Raleigh were on reduced funding for 2017. Given the number of their signings who are not even currently at 3rd div level, this would appear true.

That's very interesting. Does all of this add up to a weaker domestic scene in Britain next year? It seems for instance, with problems for ONE, the disappearance of NFTO and budget cuts at Raleigh, that there will be notably fewer relatively well paid contracts available for riders at the top end of domestic racing?

that's brexit for you

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Re:

Better news for the UK domestic scene. Team Wiggins look likely to be sponsored by Skoda now, securing the teams future after Sky withdrew sponsorship. Jon Dibben and Owain Doull left for Sky, while Mark Christian has joined Aqua Blue

Sky will also stopped sponsoring British Cycling from january onwards. Are they focusing their budget on Team Sky, or slowly stepping away from cycling?

 

[StryderHells]

Re: Re:

TJ Sport becomes UAE Abu Dhabi and got a WT license.

I don't know if this is worse or better than the original plan.

Worse probably, gives even more power and importance to oil barons.

there are no oil barons in the UAE

A third of the UAE GDP is from oil revenues so you could argue that the UAE is one giant oil Barron.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Re: Re:

TJ Sport becomes UAE Abu Dhabi and got a WT license.

I don't know if this is worse or better than the original plan.

Worse probably, gives even more power and importance to oil barons.

there are no oil barons in the UAE

yea, all dates and oil from the palm tree......

 

[pastronef]

Re: Re:

Better news for the UK domestic scene. Team Wiggins look likely to be sponsored by Skoda now, securing the teams future after Sky withdrew sponsorship. Jon Dibben and Owain Doull left for Sky, while Mark Christian has joined Aqua Blue

Sky will also stopped sponsoring British Cycling from january onwards. Are they focusing their budget on Team Sky, or slowly stepping away from cycling?

Focus on Team Sky until 2020
they announced they won´t continue with British Cycling 3 months ago, in mid September. HSBC will be the new sponsor of British Cycling

 

[Kazistuta]

What's happening with Dion Smith?

He was supposed to stay at ONE, but he's not on their roster for 2017 in the announcement from yesterday: http://www.sport.co.uk/cycling/one-pro-cycling-announce-2017-roster/8166942/

He deserves a PCT/WT spot, but which team has snapped him from the jaws of continental racing? No news on his Twitter either.

 

[janraaskalt3]

Re:

What's happening with Dion Smith?

He was supposed to stay at ONE, but he's not on their roster for 2017 in the announcement from yesterday: http://www.sport.co.uk/cycling/one-pro-cycling-announce-2017-roster/8166942/

He deserves a PCT/WT spot, but which team has snapped him from the jaws of continental racing? No news on his Twitter either.

Former Lampre still has some spots to fill. Dion Smithy as a helper for Ben Swift?

 

[yaco]

Re:

What's happening with Dion Smith?

He was supposed to stay at ONE, but he's not on their roster for 2017 in the announcement from yesterday: http://www.sport.co.uk/cycling/one-pro-cycling-announce-2017-roster/8166942/

He deserves a PCT/WT spot, but which team has snapped him from the jaws of continental racing? No news on his Twitter either.

They had to release two contracted riders once they dropped from PCT to CT, though Smith is not one of those two riders - Posted around a month ago there may be trouble at One - I still suspect things are not yet at 100%.

 

[jandal]

Re: Re:

What's happening with Dion Smith?

He was supposed to stay at ONE, but he's not on their roster for 2017 in the announcement from yesterday: http://www.sport.co.uk/cycling/one-pro-cycling-announce-2017-roster/8166942/

He deserves a PCT/WT spot, but which team has snapped him from the jaws of continental racing? No news on his Twitter either.

They had to release two contracted riders once they dropped from PCT to CT, though Smith is not one of those two riders - Posted around a month ago there may be trouble at One - I still suspect things are not yet at 100%.

Think I read at Road Cycling NZ that it was simply he needs to be at PCT or WT level and with ONE's drop he obviously can't do that. Mind you, he is running out of time and breaking contract - there may have been a must stay PCT clause - though I guess ONE will be OK with it anyway (they have brought in riders as well).

 

[Ricco']

Nuno Bico signs with Movistar.

 

[Moviestar]

Re:

Nuno Bico signs with Movistar.

Yet another product of Klein Constantia after Vakoc, Alaphillipe and Mas.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Nice, he should be pretty decent in a kind of all-terrain helper way that Unzué loves, good in punchy hills. Kind of surprised he was still available this late, but given his 11th place in the Björn Leukemans Classic aka Druivenkoers-Overijse he'll probably serve his apprenticeship at Abarcá in the northern Classics once more.

I think that leaves Roman Lehky as the only Klein Constantia guy without a contract, given his youth I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back to lower level/U23s for a year or two. CCC have taken the other Czechs, An Post have taken Kasperkiewicz and Bokeloh, Quick Step obviously have had their chance to take the pick of the bunch with Mas, Schachmann and Cavagna, Bahrain have Iván García and the others have gone to other development teams.

 

[Jancouver]

Re:

Nice, he should be pretty decent in a kind of all-terrain helper way that Unzué loves, good in punchy hills. Kind of surprised he was still available this late, but given his 11th place in the Björn Leukemans Classic aka Druivenkoers-Overijse he'll probably serve his apprenticeship at Abarcá in the northern Classics once more.

I think that leaves Roman Lehky as the only Klein Constantia guy without a contract, given his youth I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back to lower level/U23s for a year or two. CCC have taken the other Czechs, An Post have taken Kasperkiewicz and Bokeloh, Quick Step obviously have had their chance to take the pick of the bunch with Mas, Schachmann and Cavagna, Bahrain have Iván García and the others have gone to other development teams.

Roman Lehky is joining the Lawi-Author team ... something like Czech national development team managed by René Andrle (ex Klein-Constantia)

 

[anarson]

Truls Korsaeth joins Astana Proteam

- To become a professional rider of the WorldTour level has been my biggest dream for a long time. In 2017, this dream will finally become a reality thanks to Astana Proteam, which has believed in me and asked me to join their team in its big project. This is a huge step ahead, so I'm really exited and grateful for the opportunity. I would also like to thank Team Joker – Byggtorget, where I've spent the last seasons, for allowing me to develop as a rider and giving me a chance to reach a professional level with Astana Team. Now, all my thoughts are about my first season in the WorldTour! – said Truls Korsæth.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Re:

Nice, he should be pretty decent in a kind of all-terrain helper way that Unzué loves, good in punchy hills. Kind of surprised he was still available this late, but given his 11th place in the Björn Leukemans Classic aka Druivenkoers-Overijse he'll probably serve his apprenticeship at Abarcá in the northern Classics once more.

I think that leaves Roman Lehky as the only Klein Constantia guy without a contract, given his youth I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back to lower level/U23s for a year or two. CCC have taken the other Czechs, An Post have taken Kasperkiewicz and Bokeloh, Quick Step obviously have had their chance to take the pick of the bunch with Mas, Schachmann and Cavagna, Bahrain have Iván García and the others have gone to other development teams.

where does narvaez go then?