Lidl-Trek 2024 Preview | Lanterne Rouge Cycling Podcast

In the last episode of 2023 Patrick Broe and Benji Naesen preview Lidl-Trek

Our merch has dropped! Custom designs painstakingly crafted by Louemans on t-shirts, mugs and hats with all your favourite catchphrases from the podcast. Check it out at ⁠⁠https://shop.lanternerouge.com⁠⁠

If you enjoy LRCP please support us by subscribing and leaving us a like and comment! You can also send us a tip here https://ko-fi.com/lanternerougecyclingpodcast 🤗

LRCP
Tweets by LanterneRougeCP

Lanterne Rouge
https://www.youtube.com/c/LanterneRougeCycling
https://www.instagram.com/the_lanterne_rouge_
Tweets by LanterneRougeYT

Benji Naesen
https://www.youtube.com/c/BenjiNaesenTV
https://www.instagram.com/benjinaesen
Tweets by BenjiNaesen

Credits:
Photos | Cor Vos (unless stated otherwise)
Data | FirstCycling

Welcome back to l r cycling podcast for the preview of little Tre formerly Tre segafredo their 2024 season now this team I think is owned by Tre as in the bicycle company Tre has an interest in the team but they’ve got a big corporate sponsor in maybe the biggest fish

Actually that someone’s landed in in the world tour in a long time little is a big company uh multiple billions of billions of Revenue what is what does y little is a big company oh true yeah they punch above their weight anyway uh we’re going

To as normal do a recap of their 2023 season their transfers with all that new money they’ve got and some Grand Tour winners coming in as well as previewing what their schedule looks like we already know what some of their Riders will be doing and doing their over under predicting what

How many wins they’ll have in 2024 uh but how do you assess their 2023 season uh Beni which looks a little bit like inos I’d say a little bit lighter it’s interesting because they also don’t start with the same setup as inos does so I don’t necessarily judge

Them in the same way as in eight world to wins of 27 total wins that number is relatively similar but then we look at the individual wins and we’re looking at Miss Pon winning a stage in the jro Miss Pon winning a stage at the T FR Jor

Winning a heavy Lea for KW at the toour France then eventually La welta came along as well and what did Tre achieve in LTA because that’s the one thing I’m missing I don’t believe that much actually if I recall correctly did Pon go uh no that’s the one thing he didn’t

And I don’t recall any stage Wis either at the VTA so not the best ground tour for them there I would say one day races it’s it’s heavily on on Peterson of course third at rvv four at R six at mzar and Winning bamer Side Classics and

I got to talk about that one for a second that was one of the most impressive wins I’ve seen all season I reckon because you’ve got the m to scored Victory early season where he he was first head of the pelaton and then he got caught but he started sprinting

Early and then he printed for basically from the last corner to the finish line for like 400 500 met and he still beat the sprinters from the pellaton and that was impressive but the way pison won the bamer side classic was basically there was a break ahead he was in the pelaton

He knew the pelaton wasn’t going to catch everybody in the Breakaway so he started solo chasing the Riders ahead and then sprinting past them by the finish line and was a really impressive Victory but skel mza second at flesh I had completely forgotten about that completely and I feel

Like there’s this thing with magnol and with skelos where you’re kind of on the edge of they’re not really good enough to do GC at Grand tours based on what they’ve done so far they might be in the future with scal Mo’s case mechol is a

Bit of a I don’t know at the moment but when it comes to the hilly classic One Day races those wers I am pretty hyped about and scal scal could even like top five the championships in zi I reckon yeah who’s really good in the world championships in Woolen gong I

Think him and Schmid were very very good and Chone like in Le age I think there was some some some weirdness no with him and skela where they were they did better than their results indicate from memory when Remco went on rud with uh or was it a Russ F I can’t

Remember I think he went on R dude anyway let’s just say he did Pig goes with him I swear Chone and Skil moza were like fourth or fifth in the line at that moment in the race little bit strange how it sort of worked with them but their results actually

Don’t show how strong they were at that moment now still he you know results are important but yeah they were look really really good in the hill Classics um and also with skiler the one of the only rers to win a world tour GC race Swiss

That isn’t on UAE isn’t Remco and isn’t r ferard or cous so like the only other person to do that was Mor at to the P the rest is UA Yambo and rco the thing that I’m curious about about ski M and swiss is that when it

Comes to hisor of France or when it’s when it come to his ground tours in general that he’s writing right now the stage where he’s not really the most prominent Rider and seems to kind of fall through the cracks were the ones where there were multiple mountains in

It and then in t the Swiss there were also multiple mountains in it so is it because he Peak too early for toward the Swiss or or is it just because the competition at the tour the fronts starts going hard from further out well I mean Felix G was also there

And that was kind of his big breakout too and he was able to carry through is he just a Simon SPAC uh probably that difference that’s [ __ ] harsh what sham SP like won three World Tour GC races wasn’t thewi every time no and romendy point made stage in stage in do stage in

Swiss Frankfurt yeah obviously not the hill Classics uh and Sprinter SK but yeah maybe just as you said like he’s speaking there and and others aren’t uh but still it’s still pretty it’s hard to win a world tour GC race and he actually did uh which is pretty impressive for

Them so what else stands out from their season yeah Patterson just completely carries their Classics Y and Sprints frankly like he he carries this team apart from Chone and and schilo when you look at the points uh he has I think as a proportion of their team overall

Points mhm just about the same ratio as Remco and everyone says quick steps to One Man team he has like 4,66 which is only a th000 less than Remco so he is um so so so important like more points than vpol this year what percentage would you put on that if

You take a look at the total team how much of the total track team would that roughly be oh let me do quick maths uh uh 4606 this is great this is great audio me typing into a calculation about 25% um okay okay okay 16467 28% uh which is

5631 Remco was I think more closer to 30% so it’s a lot nearly 30% of your points from one Rider uh he didn’t get that big Classics Victory he was pretty damn close at Flanders I don’t think he could have ridden a better race tactically and he was super strong there

He was the best of that lead group uh which didn’t have the sort of the pre-race favorites and if he if that gets a little bit more leash and Yambo don’t help alerson maybe he gets over the pober with poy and who knows what could have happened so yeah anything

Else from their season Benji km at the tour I like that I think that’s a good thing as well I feel like mes Bon would have won more monuments if he was born in a different era does that make sense as in he’s in this era of the

Pogachas the vanderpols the the wild fan ards and I feel like if he was born even even 10 years ago this might have looked very different for him because W to ofers in like 2019 2019 betal no that’s 2018 right or 2016 I don’t even remember 2019 I don’t he

19 tster won it just ahead of Pon yeah like if peton had been on quickstep in 2018 he wins tour of Flanders he’s sandwiched on on the podium by the quick steppers in that 2018 really young still I think I feel like he was ahead in the same way that

He was anticipating in 2023 Edition he was anticipating and then they eventually called up with him at least their threed so um but I agree if if he was this age in 2019 2018 those years we might have seen a lot more victories when it comes to monuments for uh for

Miss Pon but hey that’s the card he was given and he’s doing relatively well for it still regardless of the fact that he’s not necessarily winning but let’s take a look at the the transfer for a second because the little arrived as new sponsor little budget increase comes

With that obviously they didn’t sign Riders Midway through the season when the sponsor arrived so they had to do it at the end of the season and they did some shopping but before we talk about those let’s talk about the riders that went out and I got to be honest half of

These Riders I was like why did they sign him in the first place as in Yuri I’m pretty sure we were not very positive about that signing back in the day because to me that felt like a rider that was a pro team Sprinter a second division Sprinter and he didn’t really

Do anything for this team which is what you should expect when a witer team tries to sign someone like Yuri and he’s going back to a pro team you always Cel so and he was like he was 30 two when they signed him yeah after being a pro for a long time like

Is he no sense I don’t know I don’t know it’s it’s in T’s jeans to sign family members looking at their de team but anyway NE the Neo babies facts Tony gpan retiring um at first I thought he didn’t really do much for this team to be honest since his

Signing but apparently was a good road Captain for skill over so I guess that role is laid out for him I do think that gpam might be a pretty expensive Road Captain based on his history he’s one thir of on stage if I recall correctly he topped 10 the W in

2017 is my pure guess uh kenis is going to codus we spoke about in the cofes uh preview about that like elison’s a good Rider to have for breakaways but I also feel like it’s kind of come to the point where they’re not getting the best out of it

Anymore G zabir is leaving were you surprised by that uh kind of yeah I feel like he’s had a got a B unlucky with some crashes and certainly there’s some Mountain domestics they’ve brought in or Riders to fill that role who are going to be significantly more expensive than him

And he’s better than them so okay that’s surprising to me uh maybe there’s lingering injury issues that I don’t know about Marcus Hoggard also uh leaving he joined the team when he was having an amazing season on unox but it never really came out at at Trek and I wonder what the

Reasons for that Anan to kind of the same story I remember the days where was it the 2018 or 2019 tour the France where toll Hook was a really bloody good domestique for um was it rit in that tour to France I don’t remember uh but he he was really

Good back in the day and now he’s going to sub subg anicolor I don’t even know what that is so it’s probably a Cony team somewhere so a very major step down Indonesian or Malaysian team oh that’s pretty crazy I’m looking forward to seeing that because he might be cleaning

Asia a lot oh no sorry I lied I lied I lied it’s Portuguese team sub go I just thought would be would be uh Indonesian but no it’s a Portuguese this is uh this is glass drive this is the boys this is a fapple really yeah yeah yeah they changed name glass

Q8 and and with and with the w52 wat bombers out of the out of the game Portugal cleanup yeah these are the grand they got to sweep the grandis baby um so yeah uh leapin is going to DM Tiber is going to gadel which is bahin bonini

Memat and Mark Brena is leaving to Ken Fara and that kind of the overview like Boni never really came out because of his injuries which I feel like a lot of these writers on his list never really came out to what the team expected of them so hey that’s it incoming transfers

On power of course so I think oo who writes a lot of the articles on lanon ro.com he was looking through BR branger power data and he I think he he saw and i’ I agree or I surmise that they signed him in part based on he did like 500 WS for 40

Minutes or 30 minutes or something according to the power meter and it’s like impossible did that happened impossible that’s like Ghana I don’t think can do I think GH can 500 for 30 is like the Max and that’s people Gana by the way our record order so um I don’t know maybe there’s

Some other results but yeah just uh be wary of the old Power meters is it of the gamble just in case it is correct no it’s not because if someone can do 500 for 30 dude they F in U23 that we [ __ ] cleaning up you won’t

Need to look at the power meter you just you sign them off cuz they won World Championships by seven minutes so no you don’t need to take the risk sometimes if two if 2 plus two doesn’t equal four then you don’t have 2 plus two you have some other

Numbers think about it uh anyway hopefully hope I mean he’s she’s all right I think AO K farm is a good level for him to get some opportunities himself agree incoming Benji the big one t gagen Hart I understand that you know this was probably done or at least

Talks were before he crashed in the jro so you can’t be like oh they’re taking a huge risk they didn’t know that I believe when they when they signed him uh but he had the big crash in the jro in which he looked extremely good he said as well in an interview recently

That was it on like podcast maybe uh I say so I’m just I think because he’s British uh that he he was like best form ever and in the alums he looked really really good too Valencia he won a stage look really really good too do you think this

Is a good gamble for them to make a grand tour winner in his 20s this time it’s always risky when it comes to injuries as in when a when a rider has injuries and so forth It’s always unsure whether he’s going to back to that same

Level after what he showed in the jro which to me was a high level then I would argue that I would consider gambling on that and I don’t necessarily mind him signing for Trek either because hey I got I got to go back to the point

I made in the inos podcast because in the inos podcast I made the the maybe [ __ ] take that there’s five teams that I would rather sign for as a GC Rider than inos no hold Al on the more I think about it the more I think that there’s at least three to

Four teams that that that’s the case because is little Tre a more attractive team than anyel let’s look at this for a second little tr’s budget is going upwards enos’s budget is going downhill that’s one point for little enos’s handling of the Carlos Rodriguez situation that wasn’t good that that

Lacks proper Management in my opinion but also lacks proper long-term vision is how I see that too so that’s two Z for little Tre I won’t necessarily say that Trek had long-term Vision when they signed abasan Brena and so forth but that doesn’t support my case so I will leave that to the

Side and TT set up TT set up nice weather outside um traditional hierarchy and tactics have bit neas multiple times in 2023 and there’s more GC opportunities at little Trek than at inel at the moment that’s true so you don’t think it’s 4 Z and on Gag and Hart right have they

Have they said he’s their tool leader for GC little Tre already little Tre has said it yeah so I’m not sure to your point he would have got that at inos y they got C Rod they got Pitcock so I’m not sure they would say in December unfettered tdf leadership

It’d be like I mean maybe he’d be the best and win it in the doofan a but it’s also it is a clearer path for him I feel like we’ve roasted Tre for the last three year not roasted but we’ve noted the criticism that they were lacking a

GC Rider that could in the future fight for GC it might have been a financial thing looking at it now but gagin Hart coming to this team kind of fills that role so it’s kind of like a good move for both parties if hard can get back to

The level that he was in the J last year or this year 2023 I think the gagen har signing is a good one when they signed him he was the only Rider on the market who was a former Grand Tour winner R obviously came later onto the market uh I have no

Problem with it and to your point Beni re money you’d think you’d think if the money was equal he stays at inos you’d think well I just made a great list of reasons why not well reason number one was Cash I would I would say he would have stay I

Don’t know but I’m guessing if the money was equal he would have stayed at anyos uh so I got no problem with it I think perfectly good signing uh take a risk CU you can’t just wait and be like oh let’s wait for Remco wait for enco you might

Never get him you got to move on with your life uh the other ones I have I I’ll I’ll do the next positive one really good signing and they did this early in the year uh Jonathan Milan they Itali from Bahrain Victorious Bahrain didn’t really know what to do with him

They were trying to make him lead out um the what’s your man’s name rovic ranov rajovic rajvi yeah they were trying to make Milan lead him out in the Saudi tour and then the second stage Milan came out of the whe of grov and [ __ ] dumped 2,000 Watts on his head

And won that and came fifth on GC good Turner omope you know helped vanalo win but he was still active you know he’s still like there doing stuff as a young young man 23 guangji won like and the jir obviously won the Chino was an Italian but I’m pretty sure they were

Into him uh before then big big numbers like he’s a huge unit I think his five minute his five minute power is really really good like uh even on a relative basis for someone so big and I think he’s just special Rider it’s just a few things is positioning keeping him calm

In the Sprints and um getting him a bit more AO because frankly he Sprints he Sprints so upright uh but he’s it’s a it’s a fantastic signing because mads pson was having to do so much of the workload in the Sprints he was having to go to too many races sometimes getting

Sick and whatever now you got the jro bang who better to Target Sprints in the jro than the existing chck lamino winner I will say however I wonder where his limit lies as in I agree he’s got a good five minute power but does that

Mean he might be able to compete in MSR in the future because when I think about apodo it’s not that far of a five minute effort so I don’t see why not it’s a long race I don’t see what certainly kerer can fa him and omlo

I really think like he should be good at those races um the question mark is is positioning and handling in the bunch he doesn’t seem very natural in the bunch to me uh but certainly Trek is a good place to help him with that three-year

Deal can’t knock it uh and they I think they I don’t think they got enough credit for it because it looked like they just signed him after the jro but I think they we’re a bit earlier than that so good on them for that if they were earlier then they’re probably not paying

Him what he would have costed after the jro right true yeah well I mean Italian there’s no Italian World Tour team who where do all the Italian go guys go right UAE and and T aana aana aana yeah Hol wasn’t wasn’t filipo podach looking at building an

Italian oh okay yeah later on other transfers big Italian names there’s four Italians actually on this list Andrea boli from sudal quickstep an inconsistent Rider but certainly very talented 24 years old had a very nice ENT the Italian Classics uh all end of the season third and coper B noi behind

Vanard winning gr Pi Monte uh Led Out by Benji’s Aaron Buu and second in lombardia behind Pacha winning the small small group Sprint of RIT and vazov so certainly I think his Sprint is very very good we saw that there we saw that in Montreal where he nearly beat vanart

To Second behind pogy in Canada last year uh I just my question marks are he’s he he climbing over 8 minutes is not good enough no for someone to win Le age or or frankly even at sort of six seven minutes that we’ve seen so far I

Mean I say that but then Lombardi he second but I can’t remember where he was on that final 20-minute climb but inconsistent but again Benji I think it’s uh I think it’s just a worthwhile risk for them I just I don’t have a problem with giving a 24 year old who has some

Decent results and money exactly and worst case he can win a ground through stage from a break then I see that of as possible but it’s just that he’s inconsistent to the point that you don’t know when he’s going to show up so for example remember that to the last stage

I think that he won against rit in like a bit of a Sprint like yeah yeah when that stuff shows up you’re like oh he can compete for a VTA stage or a jro stage and like when you when you think of all the other things he’s done you’d

Say second Lombard that means that he can win a breakaway jro stage stuff like that so yeah when I think of baj joli he should be able to win more than he does so I hope the move to Tre can unlock that that’s how I perceive this cuz it’s

Just is it a bit of an e hater stagnation that he had until he had was second um I actually think he had a pretty good year it’s to me the the weird stuff is so like third and for Drome is fine a few top 10 in bass

Country is okay like he just lost a Sprint behind the G you know no shame in that am sixth bance e I’ll take that for him think that’s impr and he was good for the rest of the year like pretty decent but my question is like

Toro random stages like stage six uh the osimo stage like why is how is he now everyone can have a bad race but how’s he losing 14 minutes there like it’s yeah it’s a puncher sort of sort of stage uh but so yeah as you said the

Consistency uh but again I I got no problem with it I think if you can if you’re a sort of a lot of Italian staff on an Italian Rider 24 years old with some results and also he’s not won a grand toour stage yet he’s not won a

Monument he’s not and probably they sign him before lombardia too so uh it’s not like they’re going to be paying him 2 million either uh I like that an Italian different riter on this team that is also joining Fabio Felina I got to be honest I went through a phase when I

When I looked at the transfers of little tribe because I knew about most to them there’s one that I had forgotten about and it’s Fabio felin where first of all I thought this dude had retired already second of all I was shocked to find out he’s only 33 because I swear this man’s

Forever and thirdly the memories that I have of f are so bloody good three jro stages back in the 2014 era roughly that that era he he was such a he was a really bloody good Rider a really solid domestique as well and I feel like he’s kind of AB the

Way he’s he’s moved backwards a bit to the point that he’s now a a road Captain is that viable to say it’s a bit generous maybe just getting around you know I was going to be pretty positive about him but okay expensive he’s on track before um

And I think he’s finishing this is like a oneyear deal it’s onee deal maybe he does his director’s course at the end of the year doesn’t show much and he goes into the staff uh would be that would be my assumption but as you said probably a

Low salary uh the last Italian Simon conson because they brought in a new Sprinter they poor old Alex K was [ __ ] having do like a lead out of five people for pedon so they had to get some more lead out guys in uh they bring in Simone

Consone I actually don’t raate him that much uh as a lead out same uh but he did win a s to Sprint he’s just quite small like he’s he doesn’t give you a big draft like him leading up Milan will look very very strange I must say uh and

Then Ryan Gibbons now he did do a good lead out for aaman and he’ll be in the lead out for uh he was practicing today with Kish M and pedison I saw on social media so maybe he’s in the pedison group he was quite good last he’s pretty good last

Year uher came from sudar quickstep Le said he got more uh money than quickstep could afford to pay him sorry I didn’t give you a chance to talk about the lead out Benji first of all conani the only memory I have of him as a lead out is

When there was this random French race when he was leading out Vivani at cofidis and he deviated conani deviated into another Sprinter to make sure viani could win so not exactly a great memory to have of a of a lead out as a as if you were that want some safe sprinting

Um outside of that I would say that I am not as bullish on Gibbons as you are as in a feel like he’s a very versatile Rider but despite that one lead out rockmon that I remember I just don’t see him as the man he’s it’s not him for me he’s not him

And I don’t see him necessarily doing that in this team either so I don’t expect that switch to I don’t think he’s going to move the needle is the point I’m trying to make while the CL guy I hope we kind of seen unleashed the

CTIC in some shape or form yeah one rise where he can go for himself why not but outside of that I feel like he’s going to be the similar desty that we saw at quickstep depending on how he comes back from the issues he had was it injuries

Or uh the heart thingy that he he had but we skipped a few Riders still because his list is [ __ ] long of incoming transfers it’s 10 Riders it’s a third of the roster incoming that’s a lot of turnover yeah some Alman from Yambo visma I won’t lie he wasn’t

Necessarily a great D at yma in my opinion in the past he was good at at son before Tom Duma but yozma really never really came out in my eyes patri Conrad from Bora Conrad I find it interesting as in Conrad is the type of Rider that I might have gambled on

Depending on the budget if he was relatively cheap then I would have considered yeah I know stage if he was relatively cheap then I would think of okay he want a Tour stage but he also top 10 the jro if I could recall correctly if you can get that Rider in s

Similar fashion as in the old days then he’s a pretty solid domestique in the mountains but it’s um I don’t remember nope just I feel like the memories I have from him in Bas country Catalonia was Bora fighting against each other a bit wasn’t German Twitter mad because rajb bubbled

Mad cuz he didn’t wait for kemner in the jro I don’t remember I think that happened uh Conrad kemna jro looks up cont you you should add controversy next to it it will help yeah they can’t they they they do lose me on the on the omen and Conrad

Signings as well as the Verona signing um now maybe because kinato reps boli and Milan and also Verona he was like when Enos pulled the plug he was like come on I’ve sent you two really good good Riders can you do me a solid uh maybe they just liked Verona I don’t

Know but he he was supposed to be going to inos I think uh so they got Verona he can sort of I think he can replace the Kenny alisand role I must say there’s been a lot of races he is he is like so this my point like for a lot of races

The last two years Tre have brought climbers to a bigger fight so we going to do the Welter preview straight after this so like a medium Mountain Stage with a 5k 5% climb trying to chase the break away with a plateau and some flat afterwards they’ve been using juampe Kenny or mmer

To try and close like a ruler break and it’s many many times not worked perona’s better at that Conor will be better at that certainly Verona will be very very good in that role uh the clerk will be better at controlling the initial Breakaway did they sign them for that in

The first place I somewhat feel like they might have signed them for Mountain ntique more than that role even though it will work for that as well so I agree with your point I feel like it’ll work for that but I also believe that Verona is just a good domestique in the

Mountain as well yes he might be more expensive than you’d want to spend on a ride like that but that’s kind of also a side effect of the market no there’s not many people like down on the market little little treer got money they have look at compare their signings

To inos maybe not total budget but in terms of available spend yes in this transfer window little Trek maybe number one of any team ex or Bora Bora Martinez plus rogich yeah it’ll be between those two I would say yeah so but anyway they’ve got they certainly

Have cash uh let’s talk that’s their transfers Benji uh some good some uh less good I think their release schedule we have Milan pison Stan in the classics skelm MOA to the Arden no gagen Hart to the Arden although maybe they just didn’t say no Chone to the ardin

And did they not say Bol is doing the ardin to be clear so far they mentioned the classics the jro the Twitter FR nelta and scalos in a separate interview said he was going to the Ard Dan the press release of track of their schedule didn’t mention the ardens at all so I

Just had to look for other sources and I only found scale M all right okay so yeah they’re probably the some other guys will be doing it then yeah okay uh it all Mak sense the classics uh those those three Riders are sort of the leaders the jro though it’s the Italians

And I think it’s three very very good riders for it you have a Climer who might go for GC and Chone you have Jonathan Milan for the Sprints and you have boli for uh Punchy Sprints for breakaways and I’d love to see him take his first US AG sturing also going Benji

Um yeah intriguing first up in 2017 it said in the press release and actually don’t know why he’s going maybe he wants to win the gravel stge just mix it up yeah maybe just wants to do something different that’s possible and that also means that he’s probably going to be

Lead out for Milan no ah true Milan needs a lead out yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah but he’s not lead out for Peterson then No so s Milan’s lead out at jro together with bajol and Chone and then you see the twit front see gagh hard and Miss Pon and I wonder what team’s going to be build surrounding Pon k for me has to go yeah yeah K and Gibbons I think we’ll

Go that’s not that’s just what i’ if they’re doing the practicing the lead out with Gibbons that’s what that indicates Verona I’m guessing will be going yeah the clerk depending on how he goes in the classic expect the cler to go to the classics as well for break formation control stuff like

That who Wells can go to the to the tour like it’s it’s Mountain domestics you said gag right does Juan have to go hey no disrespect to El Patron ah he’s got a fter to win I’m just saying he should be on altitude [Laughter] then um I’m trying to look at the other

Guys to s to the tour Conrad I guess Conrad is a mountain doque he going to be heavy on the new signings I feel like where’s Quinn Simmons What’s happen oh skun oh sk’s a great writer skun also classic uh right now he is in the US

Doing some some training nice but yeah what’s happening with him I’d expect him to join the classics or the ardans depending on what he wants to focus on but outside of that more hyped who is more hyped Simmons coming out of Juniors or Albert philipson ooh I feel like Albert Phillipson more

Because I feel like there’s more teams that are now on the level of like let’s figure out what juniors are doing Simmons yeah but was he had the Rivalry with brener no was that the same year there were two people at that time now it’s like one person that everybody’s hunting

Yeah anyway I just a reminder that like Simmons was is a huge Talent he’s only 22 years old he does he trains the house down and St in the off season yeah St but uh I’m interested to see what they do with him because they’ve got boli

Coming in they have uh they have tibon like what we haven’t we haven’t even spoken about tibon once a guy who he won to Norway stage yeah what he’s got to do at least s then right I think combination of the two bra am and flesh

Not lbl Y and a few of the C rers E3 T of Flanders the Cobble team is not that deep yeah correct so I would I don’t know what his his plans are this year he’s a cycle cross Rider but is he does he do mountain bike or anything like that

Uh I have no clue I think it’s s cross and road if I recall correctly just [ __ ] talented on the road as well like if you look at his 2023 season he won a stage of the tour of Norway which was in Stavanger and the only thing I remember from Stavanger is

The hammer series which is dead now he podiumed the stage of romandy like he’s a to that I could see winning ROM the stage already or St definitely definitely Ely like if you look at his Sprint in Canton Theon a however have you say it in Switzerland won their race 1-1 so

You know not the highest categorization but there’s actually really good Riders there like Bahrain UAE were there as well alongside Italian Classics I want to see he he like he put Hy and Bill baell on a gap he didn’t just went down a b he cooked them in that string so his

10 second 15 second was per kilo would be really really very good um I’m saying it Italian Classics and send them to you know what kind of schedule I do I would look into would you rather send this guy to omo or to those French drum

Classic races that boli won a few years ago cuz I don’t know if he could do something but it’s it’s curious I mean at the renui tour he wasn’t too good but I guess that’s the end of the season Baza Belgium Tour the last two St he was on the podium on both

Stages on these punches don’t sorry yes sorry uh behind vandol who soloed on the on the fourth stage and the the Brussel stage he was third in a in a bunch Sprint behind yakobson and philipson so I would send him to kop as you said and uh just mix

It up like if Yambo were sending seven hitters you you got to fight fire with fire I think you and you can’t just it’s poor old Pon remember inen he had to solo bridge to the van honort group to save his race yeah after the first time

Camberg got to have other guys to do that uh so I believe when it comes to ton that I indeed want to see him in those Classics like you said also in the braon sels of the world want to see him in Catalonia and Roman D which this

Means that he can’t go to kendam and so far he does Catal schedule the stage races he’s Farms yeah and towards the end of the year I’m doubting between sending him to the VTA to clean up or to fight the low competitition Sprints or you send them

To the Italian Classics like kopa and so forth where I believe that he could actually combination with classic yeah I’ll set him on that schedule personally uh and and speaking of Welter they saying peton and and shelm mo is not doing neither the jur nor the tour he’s

Focusing properly on a GC bid at love Welter I would say that is the tour I just don’t see at all uh and the his TT is it’s pretty good it’s pretty good yeah uh so I’m not saying he couldn’t do the jro either but I guess the

Wel ah the V is still tough uh which we’re going to get to in a second but that’s their indicative schedule gagen Hart as you said you know to be told GC leader in the tour in December I has to have been attractive to him and him and

Pison is a nice uh Duo I’m sure they’ll uh surround them with with some pretty good Riders so what’s realistic goals for them next year Benji for me it’s win a cobble classic okay win an Arden classic mhm including I’m including Bon I’m sneaking that in uh

And when two stages in each Grand Tour and Podium the tour to France with gagen Hart okay I agree with Bing the to the fronts with gagen Hart I agree with winning multiple ground stages Jero to the fronts at least one in each I think for the VTA your aim is to

Top five with ski moza that’s kind of what you’re looking at if you send them for GC to lalta in my opinion it’s tough sixth or seventh is already okay let’s be clear about that yeah yeah but like if you’re 10th then I’m like you might as well have

Gone in the break away got a stage win and accidentally popped up in the top 10 um actually a stage win in each ground tour is how I perceive it as the goal and when it comes to the classics I feel like they should be able to P him

At least two monuments and if they can do that then I would make one of your goal win a monument true win win Ru especially Ru right Ru but also MSR comes to mind oh yeah and Podium puming lbl is possible but winning I don’t think

Is I would I mean all the like Boli’s profile suggests he should do really well at lbl yeah to Podium but not to win but he Sprints really good it’s really really good yeah but if pogacha and Remco show up then I’m like yeah not happening unless they all fall over that same

[ __ ] hole in the the the road that pogacha fell true usually that’s like poor Mike Woods in in leage is usually in like a select group of seven yeah and and and comes seventh because it’s like Valverde Pacha R Al people [ __ ] can Sprint out

Of their minds so yeah uh I think Milan winning chiclamino is another one uh I I Chone is the really outstanding one Benji what what does he want to do I think he’s going for GC I listened to again an interview on maybe radio cycling uh where he said

He wanted to he’s like in the second tier of GC Riders and so I think he’s going for GC at the jro by the way is chicone in the second tier of GC Riders he was saying I’m a b tier GC Rider okay I think he’s a CER GC Rider

But don’t want roast him too much either I kind of on the edge of should I go for GC or should I go for stages and I think the jro outside of the time trial is a good opportunity when it comes to the kind of races to go

For GC how deep will the field be he’s not going to win so why does he care he doesn’t care if pogy there try to go for top five yep he’s already won a stage try to win a stage in the process though yeah as backup because you never know you might

Fall to in week three so pretty lofty goals which is top five the jur of Welter Podium the tour win a win a monument a of the f a spring monument and win stages in all three grand Tours if they achieved all of them that’s probably a top three team in terms of

Results next year uh just from that alone unless Remco is out of his mind so uh but I’m sure little are expecting that uh and they brought in 10 New Riders so that’s with all the spending that’s the plan oh they stay obviously on way Tre and Shram I don’t think

There’s any other big equipment changes for them says that is doing the full preparation for the jro which that one I don’t see I don’t get that I don’t get that especially since our Den’s combined with some Cobble Classics is also what I’m looking at for

Him we’re not going to do the classic spring maybe the following year the ardens really appeal to me so he’s doing Ard Dan J when that’s a combination where I’m like small boys can do Classics yes we know this the guy that won Tour of Landers last

Year is a GC Rider and weighs 66 kilos okay and came third in E3 so TBO Nace he can yeah I personally would say I would sooner see him cutting his teeth at opening weekend than at the jro where you can already have a boli you have Milan going for Sprints you have

Chone whereas boli I don’t see in those Cobble Classics you know like uh 64 Kil Italian is just not going to happen on opening weekend so that’s surprising to me uh really is but especially as a Belgian but maybe we’ll see in 2025 yeah he is right he’s

Belgian yeah but L is also Belgian and bra so technically flash is he is he won or fling flamish okay well I feel like you’ve made more political statements about I didn’t make one I didn’t make one I just asked maybe that’s why he want to do Le

Age but that’s not the case so it’s even more strange yeah I’m biting my tongue uh hot takes time Benji okay what’s yours you’re hoping I’d say it first so that you could have time to think but we’re not having that here ah don’t really know I don’t really

Like have a hot take for them like they they spend a lot they probably going to be a bit better than last year they might score more points than anyos and quickstep I think they’re still quite a way behind UAE and yumbo Bora might have more points

But like it’s not a hot take to say gagen Hart won Podium the tour no I’ll accept it though if you want it but we’re allowing mild takes here I guess I’ll say they they don’t Podium a monument okay that’s actually a pretty hot take in my opinion they then they

Don’t top five a grand tour I think they’re going to pum Monument but that’s why it’s a hot de so yeah I’ll accept it I um you reckon Milan will write and so forth yeah but he won’t win cuz the Lee will win envelope because

Otherwise no arope is on the list for me so I can’t put him there either what else can Milan do what else can skelos what else can anyone do here they’re all destined their faith has already been decided and there’s pH philosophical phase I will say

That I don’t [ __ ] know man no no Grand Tour stages no they’re going to win ground tour stages that’s the problem that’s my I’m I’m adding another one I’m saying they they won’t be a monument Tom skin is their best place rider in the Olympic road race Bon actually a really good rider

For the Olympic Road Race yeah so she the Danish team surrounding Al and so forth so I’m going to go and no I can’t say that either because uh can I just give up can I tap the buzzer you give up you tap up you if you

Don’t if they don’t come to you they don’t come to you uh eight World Tour wins in 2023 uh I’m going with 10 in 2024 okay I’m going with 11 you don’t have a good you don’t know you you don’t know what you you think will happen with TK H I know when

It comes to our victories that I expect more I know roughly what they can achieve but nothing’s hot as in it’s not hot when I say that I believe that gain hard like you won’t Podium the T FR it’s not hard when I say that Jonathan Milan

Can win a stage at the jro that Pon can win a stage at the T FR and a and they’re probably all likely to do that it’s not hot when I say that skel M might B him a one day race actually my hot take is that skelos is gonna win s

Sebastian oh there we go I’ll take that we’ll take that might not even ride it but I’ll take it anyway yeah as I guess that’ be the start of his Welter prep ah because he’d come in against all the guys who had fogged from the tour and

Who were skipping it to do the Olympics he might be riding against yon abber asri and Mark brener exactly uh yeah okay that’s a smart one all right that’s our little Trek preview for 2024 lot of changes 10 riders in including a a big new Sprinter and a big new GC leader for

The Tour of France uh let us know what you think will it work out for them do they need what do we expect from them in 25 even who they’ll go after maybe they’re not done shopping excuse me indeed they we didn’t even mention that they signed Albert Phillipson who will

Be staying in the Juniors for another year next year I think uh because you can’t he can’t ride in World Tour yet and then he’ll be joining uh Trek in like 2025 so he’s a hotly uh touted uh Danish I think class Rider personally uh but anyway that’s we’ll

See so they also they’ve been shopping even for the future but hope you enjoyed it and we’ll see you with uh maybe the vter preview next until then ciao