Transfers and Rumours 2016 > 2017

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

Saramotins is the key classics domestique Sagan was lacking so far. Good signing. McCarthy's qualities are obvious as well. I'm not too sure about Pelucchi, he's kind of limited in his abilities. On a good day he can compete with the best sprinters on pan-flat courses, but lately these good days have been rare. And I can't see him either being part of a sprint train for Sagan, Bennett or even Ackermann.

I'm surprised to not see Paul Voß in the 2017 squad - this was his best season so far, I'm curious were he will end up next year.

 

[Stilletto]

Martin Elmiger ex IAM to Team BMC

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

Bora picks up Saramotins, Pelucchi and McCarthy

With Aleksejs Saramotins and Matteo Pelucchi another two new riders arrive from IAM Cycling. Saramotins will be an important domestique for the Classics, Pelucchi will strengthen the group of sprinters. Also Jay McCarthy joins the team coming from Tinkoff. The young Australian will be built up for one week tours. Dominik Nerz has to quit his career.

http://www.bora-argon18.com/en/news/argonnews201610kader-final/argonnews201610kader-final/2041197

Good pickup by Bora. Saramotins has had some very good classics rides lately and McCarthy has been steadily improving. Apparently he also gets along well with Sagan. If Pelucchi can recapture past form Sagan will have a solid team at his disposal.

 

[BalearicBeats]

Re:

Martin Elmiger ex IAM to Team BMC

Good and experienced domestique for GVA, who can also go his own chance, I like it!

 

[Squire]

Re: Re:

Bora picks up Saramotins, Pelucchi and McCarthy

With Aleksejs Saramotins and Matteo Pelucchi another two new riders arrive from IAM Cycling. Saramotins will be an important domestique for the Classics, Pelucchi will strengthen the group of sprinters. Also Jay McCarthy joins the team coming from Tinkoff. The young Australian will be built up for one week tours. Dominik Nerz has to quit his career.

http://www.bora-argon18.com/en/news/argonnews201610kader-final/argonnews201610kader-final/2041197

Good pickup by Bora. Saramotins has had some very good classics rides lately and McCarthy has been steadily improving. Apparently he also gets along well with Sagan. If Pelucchi can recapture past form Sagan will have a solid team at his disposal.

What happened to McCarthy this year after the spring? Injuries/illness? Or the curse of peaking for TDU?

 

[Tych23]

Sad end for Dominik Nerz - something was clearly wrong for the last two year. I wish him all the best in the future.

 

[el chava]

Re: Re:

Bora picks up Saramotins, Pelucchi and McCarthy

With Aleksejs Saramotins and Matteo Pelucchi another two new riders arrive from IAM Cycling. Saramotins will be an important domestique for the Classics, Pelucchi will strengthen the group of sprinters. Also Jay McCarthy joins the team coming from Tinkoff. The young Australian will be built up for one week tours. Dominik Nerz has to quit his career.

http://www.bora-argon18.com/en/news/argonnews201610kader-final/argonnews201610kader-final/2041197

Good pickup by Bora. Saramotins has had some very good classics rides lately and McCarthy has been steadily improving. Apparently he also gets along well with Sagan. If Pelucchi can recapture past form Sagan will have a solid team at his disposal.

Yeah, overall an interesting roster although I have hoped for one or two extra mountain domestiques. It will be interesting to see how they will manage the co-captains König and Majka, however.

 

[Lexman]

Elmiger to BMC

http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/1.2726900

 

[WheelofGear]

BMC's classics team for Flanders and Roubaix finalised: GVA, Oss, Elmiger, Ventoso, Drucker, Quinziato, Küng, Schar

 

[Norks74]

Sad end for Dominik Nerz - something was clearly wrong for the last two year. I wish him all the best in the future.

Anyone know what caused this?

 

[BalearicBeats]

Re:

BMC's classics team for Flanders and Roubaix finalised: GVA, Oss, Elmiger, Ventoso, Drucker, Quinziato, Küng, Schar

No Dillier if he's in good form?

It's an insanely strong team tbh.

 

[carolina]

Sérgio Paulinho is thinking about retiring, because he can't find a team. He's not very happy with Contador...

Contador told him in the beginning of the year that he would take him to his next team. After the Dauphiné he said that to Paulinho again. However, Contador hasn't talk to him since. He feels hurt, because Contador didn't even phone him to say he should look for a team.

http://www.record.xl.pt/modalidades/ciclismo/detalhe/sergio-paulinho-sentido-com-contador.html

 

[Beech Mtn]

Re:

Sérgio Paulinho is thinking about retiring, because he can't find a team. He's not very happy with Contador...

Contador told him in the beginning of the year that he would take him to his next team. After the Dauphiné he said that to Paulinho again. However, Contador hasn't talk to him since. He feels hurt, because Contador didn't even phone him to say he should look for a team.

http://www.record.xl.pt/modalidades/ciclismo/detalhe/sergio-paulinho-sentido-com-contador.html

If that's true, AC has some explaining to do. That's jerk behavior.

 

[BigMac]

Re: Re:

Sérgio Paulinho is thinking about retiring, because he can't find a team. He's not very happy with Contador...

Contador told him in the beginning of the year that he would take him to his next team. After the Dauphiné he said that to Paulinho again. However, Contador hasn't talk to him since. He feels hurt, because Contador didn't even phone him to say he should look for a team.

http://www.record.xl.pt/modalidades/ciclismo/detalhe/sergio-paulinho-sentido-com-contador.html

If that's true, AC has some explaining to do. That's jerk behavior.

I wouldn't call it jerk behaviour. Sure (If it's true), Contador could have at least told him to find a new team, but it might happen that Alberto saw himself stuck too. He was probably confident he could bring Paulinho with him to Trek, but once he told the team managment they likely denied. He might have been embarassed or ill-at-ease to tell Sergio that, afterall, he'd not be going with him.

Let's be honest, Paulinho is not WT material any more. His fans and Portuguese commentators try to argue that he does a lot of work in the beginning of stages and that that is why people never see him, and that his critics are missplaced, but that's obviously not true. He has little to offer to any top team. He should have done some introspection a long time ago and realize all this by himself, that way he'd have started looking for a team sooner. But he has no insight. He was ranting on Portuguese Eurosport during the Tour about how he should have been selected for the team. Says it all.

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

Bora picks up Saramotins, Pelucchi and McCarthy

With Aleksejs Saramotins and Matteo Pelucchi another two new riders arrive from IAM Cycling. Saramotins will be an important domestique for the Classics, Pelucchi will strengthen the group of sprinters. Also Jay McCarthy joins the team coming from Tinkoff. The young Australian will be built up for one week tours. Dominik Nerz has to quit his career.

http://www.bora-argon18.com/en/news/argonnews201610kader-final/argonnews201610kader-final/2041197

Good pickup by Bora. Saramotins has had some very good classics rides lately and McCarthy has been steadily improving. Apparently he also gets along well with Sagan. If Pelucchi can recapture past form Sagan will have a solid team at his disposal.

Yeah, overall an interesting roster although I have hoped for one or two extra mountain domestiques. It will be interesting to see how they will manage the co-captains König and Majka, however.

Koenig for TDF GC, with Majka riding a free role like he has been the last 3 years and also targeting Giro or Vuelta. That would make the most sense. Majka could ride the Ardennes and some of the Spanish stage races while Koenig can have his pick of the French stage races.

I can see it working out fine.

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

He might have been embarassed or ill-at-ease to tell Sergio that, afterall, he'd not be going with him.

And just that is callled jerk behaviour. I can understand your explanation, but even than it doesn't make it look like non-jerk behaviour.
WT or not WT material; that probably doesn't have context anyway.

 

[carolina]

Maybe Contador didn't want him on a rival team?!

It's weird, they always seemed like good friends. Paulinho was very disappointed to miss the Tour, maybe it has something to do with that.

 

[42x16ss]

More likely that Trek only wanted Contador and put their foot down. Meanwhile Contador probably told Paulinho that he'd sort things out.

 

[BigMac]

Re: Re:

He might have been embarassed or ill-at-ease to tell Sergio that, afterall, he'd not be going with him.

And just that is callled jerk behaviour. I can understand your explanation, but even than it doesn't make it look like non-jerk behaviour.
WT or not WT material; that probably doesn't have context anyway.

Not in my town, it's not.

 

[Velolover2]

Bahrain only have 19 riders. Don't they need some more for the cobbled classics?

The only classics rider they have is Haussler.

 

[Jancouver]

Re:

Maybe Contador didn't want him on a rival team?!

It's weird, they always seemed like good friends. Paulinho was very disappointed to miss the Tour, maybe it has something to do with that.

Maybe there is something to Oleg's allegations on Alberto's personality and issues within the team.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Sad end for Dominik Nerz - something was clearly wrong for the last two year. I wish him all the best in the future.

Anyone know what caused this?

No, but whatever the cause, that there is a problem has been obvious for a long time. He was signed by Bora to be their new GC leader after Konig moved on and then didn't even make their Tour team.

Saramotins and McCarthy are good signings. Pelucchi is an odd one. They now have four sprinters and little in the way of dedicated sprint support. Similarly they have two GC leaders and little in the way of dedicated mountain support.

 

[Anderis]

Re:

Bahrain only have 19 riders. Don't they need some more for the cobbled classics?

The only classics rider they have is Haussler.

Bozic also had some decent results on the cobbles in the near past and there are some other guys who rode some cobbled races this year, although without success.

Of course they'll hire some more riders but there's not much quality left on the market. Unless they buy someone out of his current contract, like they did with Izagirre.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I wouldn't call it jerk behaviour. Sure (If it's true), Contador could have at least told him to find a new team, but it might happen that Alberto saw himself stuck too. He was probably confident he could bring Paulinho with him to Trek, but once he told the team managment they likely denied. He might have been embarassed or ill-at-ease to tell Sergio that, afterall, he'd not be going with him.

Let's be honest, Paulinho is not WT material any more. His fans and Portuguese commentators try to argue that he does a lot of work in the beginning of stages and that that is why people never see him, and that his critics are missplaced, but that's obviously not true. He has little to offer to any top team. He should have done some introspection a long time ago and realize all this by himself, that way he'd have started looking for a team sooner. But he has no insight. He was ranting on Portuguese Eurosport during the Tour about how he should have been selected for the team. Says it all.

More likely that Trek only wanted Contador and put their foot down. Meanwhile Contador probably told Paulinho that he'd sort things out.

I think you two are both right, I've heard Alberto suggested a lot of riders to the Trek management but they didn't agree. They refused Hansen, Bennati and Tosatto and probably also Paulinho. I agree that Berto could/should have told Paulinho, but at the same time we don't know the full story, we don't know the ins and outs. I'm sure there's more to it.

PS: Alberto posted a picure 3 weeks ago of him and Paulinho drinking coffee during training, that's 1 week after the Trek deal was announced, at that point surely Paulinho must have had at least an idea.

 

[davebqvst]

Sad end for Dominik Nerz - something was clearly wrong for the last two year. I wish him all the best in the future.

Anyone know what caused this?

No, but whatever the cause, that there is a problem has been obvious for a long time. He was signed by Bora to be their new GC leader after Konig moved on and then didn't even make their Tour team.

According to this article, it's health problems. He says he underwent "intensive medical examinations" that leave him no other option but to retire. Sounds quite serious.