The Combuijs Capers

[Combuijs]

We have a whole Binck Bank Tour to catch up with. Luckily this is not a three week Tour. The first stage finished in Aywaille and Adam Neekens started well with a 13th place. In the third stage to Lanaken Carlo Bemelmans could go for his own chance and he managed to pick up some points with place 29.

In the last two stages all pundits predicted a podium place for Chester Laybutt, but we had other plans as we were interested in a GC place for Adam Neeskens, who had trained especially for this event. In the stage to iconic Geraardsbergen Adam was 5th, a perfect good result, with Chester on place 19.

In the last stage to Sint Pieters Leeuw Adam Neeskens proved we can trust on him as he finished second behind winner Estevao Espirito (Thorboassonarvesen). Our third podium place, although UCI staticians don't count Arjen Rutte's third place in the Tour de France as such. Chester Laybutt finished 22nd in helping role.



In the GC Adam Neeskens got 16h place on 2 minutes from winner Flying Wheel Gascogne Carrera. That was a bit disappointing, but still happy with his performance. He just needs to improve his sprinting abilities.

Division standings after the first stage of the Vuelta:

1º      AJFactoryCycling   9318   2   2   2   
2º      CyKings   8668   2   2   6   
3º      Flyvende_hjul   8624   1   3   2   

10º      SentinelChickens   5952   3   3   1   
11º      Combuijs   5868   0   1   1   
12º      Thorboassonarvesen   5646   5   1   0   

It's pretty close at the top. Some headless chickens are blocking us from a top 10 position... Sportlife is two places above the red line, so still in danger. But trust him to win a huge amount of points in the time trial World Championship.

Our mechanic Tigran Filin recently got some compliments about his fiddling with our equipment. Especially downhill our bikes are really superb. And we need that as our riders rarely train on downhill sections.


We have agreed with both Johannes Overmars and Adam Balogh to go seperate ways. We will need space to accomodate better talented riders.

[Vos]

It's pretty close at the top. Some headless chickens are blocking us from a top 10 position... Sportlife is two places above the red line, so still in danger. But trust him to win a huge amount of points in the time trial World Championship.

Two places up after stage 2, now 27th. 
I suspect my team is (and was) not in danger because of the expected points in the Vuelta and the WC RR.
But true, it is just a suspicion so I could be wrong, and officially it is at this moment not sure my team will stay in 1A.
In the WC TT my Dutch time trialist will also score points, but I have just 1 flat TT specialist (this season 50th in the NT time trial).
The Australian time trialist with a silver icon is a climb TT specialist.
Maybe you overlooked that and that is why you thought my team will score a huge amount of points in the WC TT. Unfortunately not.



Good luck in trying to beat the Chickens, Combuijs !
The picture shows that this could not be easy. Also the name (sentinel) shows that that team can maintain its position very well.

[Combuijs]

We have scored our first points in the Vuelta. Better, we have scored our first 13 points in the Vuelta, with the 30th place of Yvo de Cleer in the stage to the Bola del Mundo.



In the GC Yvo is now 15th on more than 3 minutes from, yes he is there again, Cyking Mike Bauer.

Admittedly de Telegraaf was not far behind for once, because yesterday evening I noticed we have our first silver mountain rider: Tristan Prins.


In an extended article about our team de Telegraaf highlighted that as well.


They also think Chester Laybutt is not only an iconic cobble rider, but also an iconic hill rider.


And last but not least they rated us 25 stars in a rather vaguely star counting system. The maximum is 50 stars, so in a way we are halfway...


Already 4 teams have approached Adam Balogh, so we are very curious how much they want him...

[Combuijs]

In the cobble stage to Cariñena Julius Maalderink took 15th place. He could not do better because we are in wine country, not in beer country...



In the GC Yvo de Cleer is holding out on place 13, almost 6 minutes behind Mighty Mike.

Arjen Rutte and Eelco van der Laan have been called up for national services. Arjen is no surprise, but Eelco is. He must have been called up to gain experience, which we can only applaude.

Ørjan Henningsen is now an iconic rider as well, the last (but not the least) of our bunch of 21 years old cobble hill riders.

[GinneR]

Arjen Rutte and Eelco van der Laan have been called up for national services. Arjen is no surprise, but Eelco is. He must have been called up to gain experience, which we can only applaude.

Indeed, glad I could do this for Eelco and Combuijs Capers.

[Combuijs]

In stage 7 Oliver King could act as leader and he did very well. He finished 8th in Cerler.



In the GC Mike Bauer lost the red jersey but he reclaimed it in Cerler. Yvo de Cleer is now 15th, Oliver King 22nd. After the time trial we will decide who can claim leadership for the two final stages which they both don't like at all...

Adam Balogh is now a Milanese inhabitant after a transfer of almost 3 million to Pro Continental Tour team Milanezen. That team might promote to World Tour Level this season however.

Johannes Overmars will be fitted out with a poncho after his slightly less expensive transfer to Pro Continental Tour Team Ponchocycling RSC. May they both prosper...

There was no succes for the Dutch national coach in the last race of the season. He of course had had bad luck that Arjen Rutte focused on hill training this season instead of sprint. The Dutch team finished just out of the top 10, but before Belgium! Just as we will finish just outside the top 10 on the World Tour, but before Bloemen aan de Mitte...

Winner was Norway with a margin of 10 points on Hungary. If the national coach of the latter had only selected Adam Balogh for the appropriate race...

[Mitte]

Just as we will finish just outside the top 10 on the World Tour, but before Bloemen aan de Mitte...

Are you sure???

[Combuijs]

In the time trial to Zaragoza Robert Brubaker gets his first top 10 position, which is not surprising as he has extensively explored the parcours.



In the GC Yvo de Cleer is now 13th with more than 11 minutes behind Mike Bauer, Oliver King is now 20th. They won't keep that place in the last stage though, but let's hope for some points. Mike Bauer perhaps won't keep his place either as Flying Wheel Robrecht Kemperman is only 26 seconds behind. In the final stage around Vigo everything will be decided.

In an interview in UCI Weekly we have stated we are confident we can keep second best Belgium team Bloemen aan de Mitte behind us. In the photograph that came along the article you can see surprised and unbelieving faces of Oliver King, Robert Brubaker and Thomas Freitag in the background during that interview.

In the Tour of Lombardy these riders will have to beat Bloemen aan de Mitte:

101 Oliver King
102 Carlo Bemelmans
103 Sam Parker
104 Tristan Prins
105 Eddy Room

These riders will be tasting sand in the WC time trial in Doha:

101 Robert Brubaker
102 Koen Helder
103 Oliver King
104 Sam Parker
105 Julius Wiegel

These riders will try to beat Wilfried Bentinck under the sun in Doha:

101 Thomas Freitag
102 Ørjan Henningsen
103 Eelco van der Laan
104 Julius Maalderink
105 Midas van Veldhuizen

[Combuijs]

The third season comes at an end, time to recapture the last stages. In the Giro de Lombardia Oliver King just missed out on the podium after a very good race. He placed a ferocious attack on the only mountain in the race, which gave him a 4th place in the end. His helper Tristan Prins finished 20th. Unfortunately these were the last points of the season as Robert Brubaker finished on place 34 in the time trial and our sprinters were nowhere to be seen in the world champions race. Who did we see in that race?

1º   Seb Walkins   21   SaulSalinasTeam   0: 00"   1000   500000
2º   Rafael Engelberts   21   SPORTLIFE   0: 00"   800   450000
3º   Wilfred Bentinck   21   Yvo_Meppelink_ProCycling   0: 00"   650   400000
4º   Lorenzo Ferreiro   21   Zatarra   0: 00"   550   350000
5º   Nicolas Tirado   21   AJFactoryCycling   0: 00"   500   300000

Wilfred Bentinck on the podium, but he must have been very disappointed as he really had focused on this race. Good results for Sportlife and Zatarra.

For the time trial we only have the result of the first section which is not that helpful.



Just at the end of the season we have bought Russian rider Valentin Litenko for a limited fee from Continental Pro Tour team Turrones. Valentin stated that he was happy he could ride on the World Tour level now. He apparently forgot that Turrones will be acting on that level too next season as they have just been promoted.

Time for some statistics to close the season:

Division standings at the end:

1º      AJFactoryCycling   12344   2   5   2   
2º      CyKings   11998   3   3   6   
3º      Flyvende_hjul   11017   1   3   2   
4º      Yvo_Meppelink_ProCycling   10465   12   4   6   
5º      CobbleCrushers   8417   3   6   4   
6º      °Peachy°Melocotons   8172   8   2   2   
7º      Atlantico   7916   1   5   3   
8º      SaulSalinasTeam   7838   5   3   1   
9º      Rekutxuteam   7439   2   1   0   
10º      Wiggo_pupils   7327   3   3   1   
11º      Combuijs   6631   0   1   1   
12º      BLOEMENAANDEMITTE   6583   2   1   1   
13º      Psychoedge   6447   0   1   3   
14º      SentinelChickens   6387   3   3   1   
15º      IKIBASQUE   6286   6   2   1   
16º      SPORTLIFE   6136   2   4   4   
17º      Zatarra   6032   0   1   2   
18º      CC_Porco_Jones   5991   7   2   4   
19º      Thorboassonarvesen   5981   5   1   0   
20º      Codex   5980   2   3   1   
21º      Oska   5926   3   1   4   
22º      Denver   5866   0   3   3   
23º      CrossAndGo    5841   2   1   5   
24º      Vitimper   5722   4   5   2   
25º      ProdopingPong   5353   1   3   1   
26º      Matterhorn   5080   3   1   2   
27º      Caracoles   5048   3   2   0   
28º      DeRodeVod   4933   1   4   4   
29º      CaptainOrange   4926   0   2   1   
30º      LOSRAYOSDELARRY   4732   0   1   3   
31º      Pomilles_Balears   4593   0   2   3   
32º      PDM_cycling_team   4426   1   0   5   
33º      FaltososDeChigre   4280   0   1   3   
34º      KunTeam   4153   0   1   0   
35º      ClubCiclistaLaFallera   4131   4   3   1   
36º      Marcatone_Due   4051   0   0   1   
37º      ValeronIdolo   3113   1   1   1   
38º      Ares   3044   0   2   2   
39º      FlyEaglesFly   2855   0   0   1   
40º      Jumanji   2457   1   2   1   
41º      BorinotTeam   2432   0   2   1   
42º      Dutch_Lions   1700   0   0   0   
43º      Wizards   1516   0   0   2   
44º      Legendaryks   1342   0   0   0   
45º      MortoviaCycling   1128   0   0   0   
46º      Flandria   699   0   0   0   
47º      CAO   667   0   0   0   
48º      CojoNudos   490   0   0   0   
49º      Amezola   406   0   0   0   
50º      CR7Team   8   0   0   0   

As predicted we could not finish within the top 10, but we could leave Bloemen aan de Mitte behind us, so still a satisfying season... Warm congratulations to AJFactoryCycling who did a terrific job to win the title with in the end a comfortable margin of 346 points. What a brilliant manager he is! The Wilfred Bentinck Pro Cycling team just missed out on the podium. A pity, but still a good result. The PDM Cycling Team will act a level lower next season, which they don't seem to mind as they are focusing on training. De Rode Vod and Captain Orange could in the end buy their World Tour tickets again, but it was perhaps a bit too close for comfort.

These are the top riders of the season:

1º      Adam Roethlisberger   21   5415   Rekutxuteam   2   1   0   
2º      Mike Bauer   21   4740   CyKings   1   0   3   
3º      Seb Walkins   21   2986   SaulSalinasTeam   5   2   0   
4º      Ed VanVliet   21   2818   AJFactoryCycling   1   2   1   
5º      Ketil Fossum   21   2730   Thorboassonarvesen   4   1   0   

22º      Arjen Rutte   21   1723   Combuijs   0   0   1   
29º      Chester Laybutt   21   1354   Combuijs   0   0   0

Nice to see a different winner this season in Adam Roethlisberger.

Our team points overview at the end of the season:

Arjen Rutte   21   1723
Chester Laybutt   21   1354
Tristan Prins   21   605
Oliver King   21   560   
Garret Rose   21   472   
Julius Maalderink   21   387
Adam Neeskens   21   363
Yvo De Cleer   21   359
Eddy Room   21   238
Robert Brubaker   21   162
Thomas Freitag   21   160   
Carlo Bemelmans   21   155   
Ørjan Henningsen   21   60

Adam Balogh scored some points too, but he is not at our team anymore.

Right, on we go to season 4!

[Combuijs]

We have bought Specialized equipment again as Robert Brubaker was not happy with his material and we all know what can happen if a renowned time trial specialist is not happy with his material...

The first cup round will be in Italy against an Italian team, so we are in trouble. We are doing the mountain time trial to Santuario di Oropa and we fear that motorists will severely favor Euska Piero.

These riders are going to try to stay as close to their motorist as possible:

1 Sam Parker
2 Robert Brubaker
3 Yvo de Cleer
4 Oliver King
5 Tristan Prins

The season starts this time in Lobethal and we send everyone a new seasons greetings from there:



These riders will not spend their Christmas home, but are preparing for the Tour Down Under:

101 Carlo Bemelmans
102 Eelco van der Laan
103 Adam Neeskens
104 Eddy Room
105 Midas van Veldhuizen

Carlo will be our leader, Midas might have some luck in the sprinting stages.

We wish all teams a very inspiring season and just that little bit less success than we might have...

[Combuijs]

In the first round of the Cup opponent Euska Piero did not show up, so even the motorists could not prevent Sam Parker from winning the stage. Next round sees us against Pro Continental team Spitz. They specialise in climbers and hillers and unfortunately we have gotten a mountain hill race from the Itzulia. Could be a close race, hopefully they don't have a rider which combines both.

First stage of the season and the first points of the season. Carlo Bemelmans finishes on 16th place in Stirling. A good start for us and an even better start for Team RHB where 21 year old (!) Arno Verbeek wins the stage. Very well done that!



We are in Australia now and the Lobethal Courier remarked that Sam Parker, apart from an iconic time trial rider, is an iconic mountain rider too.

[Vos]

We wish all teams a very inspiring season and just that little bit less success than we might have...

Good luck and have fun this season, Combuijs.

[Zatarra]

We wish all teams a very inspiring season and just that little bit less success than we might have...

Good luck and have fun this season, Combuijs.

Copy that! Let's make it a splendid season. I'm more active again, so hopefully will be able to compete with you seriously!

[Combuijs]

The Tour Down Under stage to Lyndoch saw another Dutch victory. It was a sprint race so you can probably guess who won it...

According to the Paracombe Daily Carlo Bemelmans was a light in an ocean of otherwise murky tactics. Anyway, it gave him a 10th place, just behind snooker legend Ali Carter who apparently has chosen a different career. Eddy Room proved to be a brilliant helper (to Carlo, not to Ali).




No Arno Verbeek this time, probably due to his celebrating his first victory on the highest level he was thoroughly asleep in the first half of the race. In the GC Carlo Bemelmans is now on 14th place and while the last race does not suit him very well, he could finish in the top 20.

At the moment we are happy to report that both Sportlife and Zatarra are keeping their side of the deal as they are below us in the division standings. Wether they can keep restraining themselves remains to be seen.

We will ride de Omloop het Nieuwsblad with:

201 Arjen Rutte
202 Ørjan Henningsen
203 Chester Laybutt
204 Julius Maalderink
205 Adam Neeskens

Very important will be the Strade Bianchi for which the Russian Sberbank will donate us half a million if we can reach the top 8:

201 Arjen Rutte
202 Koen Helder
203 Ørjan Henningsen
204 Chester Laybutt
205 Julius Maalderink

These riders will be looking for a nice tan in Paris-Nice:

201 Oliver King
202 Robert Brubaker
203 Yvo de Cleer
204 Chester Laybutt
205 Arjen Rutte

Oliver will be our leader, Chester has his eye on the cobble hill stage.

[Vos]

At the moment we are happy to report that both Sportlife and Zatarra are keeping their side of the deal as they are below us in the division standings. Wether they can keep restraining themselves remains to be seen.

Well, then I predict you will be happy for a long time or even the whole season. 
Because my team has no cobblehills- and hills-riders. 
So unfortunately, my opponent will not be Combuijs, but probably the real opponent will be the "relagation ghost" :