Transfers and rumours

[wakemalcolm]

Ganna in talks to go to Lidl-Trek a year before his contract finishes. Ineos are undeniably skint.

Doesn't quite look like a good fit. They've already got 30 listed for next year, although at 30, he'd bring some youth to their squad.

Unless he's going back to his knitting to focus on TTs again, I don't see his role their either. Does Mads need a bottle fetcher deluxe?

Time will tell.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Doesn't quite look like a good fit. They've already got 30 listed for next year, although at 30, he'd bring some youth to their squad.

Unless he's going back to his knitting to focus on TTs again, I don't see his role their either. Does Mads need a bottle fetcher deluxe?

Time will tell.

I think he's got enough quality he'd be a good fit pretty much anywhere tbh.
Alao, their age profile is actually pretty healthy imo, Mads P the oldest of their core riders at 30 (I'm not really counting Ciccone as core any more - and he might be the one on the way out that makes space for Ganna), the rest are mid to late twenties with a couple of youngsters on the up. We tend to forget that Ayuso has only just turned 24, for instance, because he's been around forever (we also tend to judge him on how long he's been around rather than how old he actually is)

This bit looks pretty good to me in terms of age and talent tbh

 

[M.R.M]

I'd expect Ganna to go to Q36.5 sooner than Lidl Trek due to the Pinarello connection.

 

[wakemalcolm]

There's not many top teams with a Filippo shaped hole in their roster, unless Visma are ganna show Laporte the door.

I'd expect Ganna to go to Q36.5 sooner than Lidl Trek due to the Pinarello connection

 

[No Ta Doctor]

There's not many top teams with a Filippo shaped hole in their roster, unless Visma are ganna show Laporte the door.

I think I've found the Ganna shaped hole in Lidl-Trek

The race Mads P most wants to win is Paris-Roubaix. He'd take any monument gladly, but if you offered him just the one - P-R, with not a millisecond's hesitation.

As far as I can see, there are a only few riders that have experience of Paris-Roubaix, especially at the sharp end. Edward Theuns got an 8th place in 2017 (GvA won! Now that's a blast from the past) and the incoming Meeus got an 8th as well, though coming in close to 5 minutes down on MvdP in 2024 (winning a sprint from a small group).

That's it for top tens throughout the team, other than Mads P himself. Now there are riders that could go on to be very good in P-R, but they've not been there yet - Withen Philipsen and Söderqvist in particular have a lot of potential. Stuyven, who left the team this season, had three top tens in the bag already and then got a podium this year.

So the Ganna shaped hole? Paris-Roubaix. He's only got the one top ten (a 6th place three years ago), but we know he's a monster on the cobbles that can put down really impressive power, and who can be at the pointy end of a long and hard race. Perfect Lieutenant for Mads.

 

[wakemalcolm]

I think I've found the Ganna shaped hole in Lidl-Trek

The race Mads P most wants to win is Paris-Roubaix. He'd take any monument gladly, but if you offered him just the one - P-R, with not a millisecond's hesitation.

As far as I can see, there are a only few riders that have experience of Paris-Roubaix, especially at the sharp end. Edward Theuns got an 8th place in 2017 (GvA won! Now that's a blast from the past) and the incoming Meeus got an 8th as well, though coming in close to 5 minutes down on MvdP in 2024 (winning a sprint from a small group).

That's it for top tens throughout the team, other than Mads P himself. Now there are riders that could go on to be very good in P-R, but they've not been there yet - Withen Philipsen and Söderqvist in particular have a lot of potential. Stuyven, who left the team this season, had three top tens in the bag already and then got a podium this year.

So the Ganna shaped hole? Paris-Roubaix. He's only got the one top ten (a 6th place three years ago), but we know he's a monster on the cobbles that can put down really impressive power, and who can be at the pointy end of a long and hard race. Perfect Lieutenant for Mads.

Unless he thinks he can Devolder his way to victory, I hope he has greater ambitions than escorting a lucky world champion around Northern France.