Intermarché – Wanty 2024 Preview | Lanterne Rouge Cycling Podcast

In this episode Patrick Broe and Benji Naesen preview Intermarché – Wanty.

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

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:25 2023 Recap
10:13 Outgoing transfers
13:56 Incoming transfers
20:46 Goals and schedules for 2024
26:57 Over-unders & hot takes

Welcome back to Lantern Rouge cycling podcast for the Anto marhe wanty preview they have been progressively cutting uh words out of the name since 2022 we’re down from 4 to 3 this year down to 2 in 24 I thank you Anto marhe for your service uh but yeah it’s the

Preview of this team they were sort of The Darlings of the underdogs in 22 two with especially with B’s story that was fantastic to see 23 a little bit less in the headlines uh and not so high up on the table but I think actually not a bad

Season All Things Considered Beni how would you assess it I agree I agree it’s not a bad season four Welter wins 20 total wins those four Welter wins that’s that’s good that’s good for a team of the standard this is not a high budget team I’d expect this team to be the

Lower tree team teams of the of the World Tour most likely one of the lowest if not the lowest in world I would dare to consider so Anto Marche Wy wy’s been along for the ride for a long time siru is gone but great start to the season

And I feel like I feel like it’s something they do on purpose I can’t remember what AA VB said in the interview we had with him early 2023 altitude or something or prep for the February races yeah actual preparation for the February races which pays off two vict by kobson at the morca

Challenges then rosha doing the same thing also a stage win there herbin Tyson winning Belgian chat GPT generated races so they are delivering in that standard on the races that are below World Tour but are still relatively notable because let’s be honest about it mayorca CH is going to be watched a lot

More than the Tex price VI I would expect no there’s no there’s no live coverage in M Rises there was I saw KOB hon in 2023 there was yeah oh yeah so I don’t I don’t work in January um crazy this man wasn’t watching dedication zero anyway wter

Wins Kos to beat Chon gagen har vov Landa in GC true correct and a stage win and Bam won the Sprint against yeah so [ __ ] was on in February yeah or January that was when gag Hart said his power minist he did a wasila for 20 minutes on the on the clown that

That stage and people like you I think the old shimo are not working but um Zim on point that the do won a stage there I recall him being was it did he also go to the jira or am I dumb where did he go tour to yeah he was good on

Gold six last last eight rid okay bam on a stage in Swiss was a Sprint against W fard and so forth good Sprint by bam T won a stage of R tour completely missed the stage have no clue what happened there but I did say he would win a stage in 2023 my

Looks it was a breakaway I think okay so we’ll pretend it was a glorious Victory want to Stage that’s the only that’s the only stage race in in that’s the only World Tour stage race in yes in uh Belgium like for a Belgian team it’s pretty big win and Luke’s now

Correcting me saying it was a group of favorites Axel Axel Zangle young talented French Rider on coford his third there so that’s a nice win yeah that’s a nice win and like for Walter wins they’re they’re not it’s not like they clean up four bologa Sprints against Joffrey soup you know it’s like

Poor old soup hey he has a beard he can handle it zon bam turnis and kosa those are good victories throughout the season that’s what you want to deliver and it feels like did their underw Tour results come at a cost of their world tour victories

Is that a weird thing to say or is it because bam didn’t deliver that I’ve got a feeling that I think it’s I didn’t see them as much as I expected them to but then again we said bam wouldn’t deliver on the expectations because he was going

To the tour I think it’s B in that first of all a it’s so much like you got a short window and um it it’s of like this with horse racing this analogy degenerate analogy I know but like if you got a horse you like and you and

You’re pretty sure you’re on it and no one else knows yet and you get a big price for it it and and it is actually good it better do the business and actually win you the money in that race cuz it’s no good it’s showing how good it is and coming second

Because the next race the odds will will be lower and you don’t get that value the same thing you have a short window in cycling where you’re underrated and also very good and people don’t know yet so you better and if you if you’re vpol doesn’t matter cuz you’re so good you

Win anyway but if you’re like that sub tier you want to be it’s really good to be disrespected and good but you better win in that period and now B’s not a rider where he gets into to a group with Jasper sturen when he Wen him and they

Roll turns with him surely that wouldn’t happen anymore yeah true M Pon who the [ __ ] is that I’ll take fourth I will say however I will say however what you’re telling me sounds like binam lost this year on purpose to reset his his reputation to before he

Won ham to be reputation of Underdog again I’m saying he unfortunately gets treated with the big boys now and that makes it harder to win I don’t think that’s the reason I think his schedule is the reason in 2023 I agree that his reputation is higher and as a

Consequence he’ll have a harder time winning races but I think he’s in a position where he went to a torrons you mentioned it before we started recording here that it was a to fron that did not fit bam not at all and the fact is

That was there really a gr tour that fit punchers in 2023 uh I can’t remember the Welter got to say all I can remember is people try to kill sepkus on the angler that’s that’s the only thing as to my memory is the attempted assassination of

The eagle of the Durango uh jro was kind of a lot of flat Sprints like even the Napoli stage is kind of soft yeah [ __ ] man he could have won that DAV by stage up to Campo every R Rider could have won that oh leave him alone uh you just roasted

Him yeah to be honest you’re right it just wasn’t like even and they couldn’t get the positioning right cuz there were a couple of Sprints that were okay for him the uh stage three the one on the Moto circuit I think was supposed to be

Okay for him but I think I agree with you there I do agree with you but we are giving him a bie a par because he was bad in a lot of races he’s usually the favorite for almost britania classic dnf I don’t remember what happened there par T

14th uh CH Belgian chat GPT races no better than seventh Quebec 38th these are the races that really you know he should be winning one or two of them and being in the top five of at least half so it’s not just the two even the ones he suited to he wasn’t as

Good first of all he was accidentally run over by a number of riders and a crash into a flounder so yes not ideal I think he a crash with three kilm to go deter the chances for bam at britan Classic yeah correct okay well but I don’t think

That’s all bad luck either I agree when even when he was having a really good year uh he crashed a lot I think he I think in P I can’t remember when he’s being moved up I’m not sure he’s the best in the bunch so crash in s

Sebastian too yeah did he this year y wow so that’s a problem uh and I don’t think that’s all bad luck so uh this was a longer point I think about we still think B is really good but there they didn’t have the jro and the welta wins that they had the three

Grand tour wins in 2022 but they only won four less races overall as compared to 2022 so it’s these are fine margins and I think it’s still uh an okay to good season for them as a team points 14th uh yeah it doesn’t look good to be 14th

But you have more World to wins than a few teams ahead of you and to be honest the Gap to the relegation zone is 3 and half thousand points so you know it’s not like they’re on the pressers either were they also not hit by the fact that

Taco had a horrible season because he had a concussion because of his crash to Flanders and he’s he was still recovering in November from that so that seven months of recovery because of a concussion that’s seriouss are always underrated and that takes away Rak could get that wter Victory yep definitely and that’s

Especially in the grand Tours he’s so good in those uh you know mixed stages those midweek stages okay transfers outgoing ruy Koster Cashes in on his great season it goes to EF education easy post uh Nicolo bonao go to corch fle to bingo bingo Al sorry uh correct pronunciation fic bam Benji’s favorite

Rider to group fdj Amy De to cidus Lawrence wh H H to AR BNB oel and Julius Johansson I think to the track don’t [Laughter] know the trash it’s like you’re sending him to a farm or something oh no is that lass and Norman Hansen um I think they both do it Julius

Johanson was the was the track Rider that rode into someone on the track remember all the same all the same to me brother um so who are they going to miss there I I mean to me it makes no sense if EF have actually paid a bit of

Cash for ruy ker to me it makes no sense to match that so got to let him go the others uh are all pretty IR replaceable apart from bom’s a solid enough Rider um I don’t know what they’re paying him though at group I think uh I vaguely

Remember it was somewhere between two 2 230 270 he just doesn’t win you know and I think inter Mar like winning which I also agree is the goal of cycling most of the time uh the one who I thought it would have been nice to keep would have been uh Lawrence whis H

Because yeah he’s not going to win the Tour of France but yeah he’s 25 as he’s Belgian you know he’s there or thereabouts in GC I just think it would be nice to keep him but if AR have offered him you know 300 plus then yeah you also can’t match

That you don’t reckon I I don’t reckon they ARA gave gave him 300K now I don’t see that but in must give him an offer I don’t know I can’t tell you maybe he wanted to go to a different place wanted try something different maybe he sawo and was like oh my friend

Is gone and he said I want is team Woon or or Flemish uh oh God I should no this an is a um a wonan French supermarket and Wy grar sounds like it was founded in West flounders but it might not be Woon yeah it s yeah it’s probably W Woon

But sounds very flish to me want H that sounds like how I’d pronounce anything in was flamish uh anyway maybe maybe we’re thinking a bit too much about how the politics behind Lawrence s maybe anyway that’s all fine you involv politics here I was talking about Brands

I have to it’s like a checklist I have to always talk about the Divide through Brussels every the owner of the team of an Mar oh God what’s his name again the slightly older um I can see his head bald dude um oh God what’s his name I’m so

Dumb yes of course the goat to Goat I think he’s going away oh no I mean I think VP runs it dayto day anyway so uh but incoming Riders I think the context for these signings is I don’t think there’s much budget here and the incoming Riders R to

Mention I think it’s evidence of that there was riders or or staff rather staff complained to the UCI this year that’s why it became public about late payment of wages in I think July August and September the team responded to cycling news saying that it was just a

Late payment of it was a cash flow issue on on the three occasions where the payment was 10 to 14 days late because the sponsors paid their quarterly sponsor payments late so it’s was just a cash flow issue but still that indicates that well you’re you’re you’re month to

Month your your coffers are literally month to month so not a lot of free cash and then the riders coming in are all literally on like the the guys from the U23 team are on the minimum Neo Pro is good enough that he might not be on the minimum I

Think who isn’t that the kind of Alexi for isn’t that the kind of Rider quickstep development team could have signed let me just have a look at his fell is 15 next 20 he’s not [ __ ] at all no he’s he’s decent why didn’t any the French team sign this

Guy this is if you want to see the case in point of the value of a development team no [ __ ] way inter Mar would have got this guy if he wasn’t on their Dev team yeah and he’s decent and they probably got him for 45 Grand I take

Your point he I don’t think he’s on very much I think he on 4550 Grand yeah yeah um and because he doesn’t he doesn’t win and yeah I think fifth in lavenir is different but fifth in the jro baby jro you don’t get paid as much but future French J of France winner

Here maybe but um that’s a nice rider for sure and that’s the value of their development team uh paying dividends uh busato is the guy who was decent in the Oman Sprint but he was riding up whilst he was on the Conte team he’s 21 he won agu 23 in handy fashion

Uh he’s also a good Rider multiple top fours or no sorry five top 10 in to laer so he looks like a puncher with a decent Sprint you won the Italian u23s another one who probably if he wasn’t on the dev team you know all of a sudden maybe

They’re lucky there’s no Italian World Tour team but Tre might have taken him so they’re good uh who else they got coming in Benji Kevin Kon from um jco Lula and I remember your take your take in the past that you were not very happy about Kevin Kone being signed by Jake I

Think it was a very talented rider in the past he’s 24 he hasn’t necessarily shown that he can step up to the plate when necessary though so I feel like the only role I can see him right now is a domestique for this team but he’s yeah maybe he can step up but

There’s there’s a ton of riders like this that could be signed and I think you mentioned SE berbick back in the day as potential better option than Kevin Kone and I don’t know I think yeah I don’t I don’t see what they see in Kevin K only at the moment that’s

How I pronounce it VTO I would yeah go ahead oh I just want to repeat that yeah like the guy’s 15 UCI points hasn’t sniffed being competitive in any World Tour race let alone like yeah he’s some middling GC results in 22 I don’t see a 2-year deal as well don’t know about

Like Bock 400 UCR points still Aero stage to the enemy so we’ll see which one ends up being a better R burck would have been a better signing than Kon hands down 100% but Vito Bratz is kind of a weird transfer as well at first s but to me he feels like

Uh remember that Milan Menon for lotto stepped up in 2023 yeah I feel like VTO BR is a riter that could step up in the way that mil and stepped up in 2023 oh is he a Mis Sprinter yeah oh that’s nice no they need you need they need Riders like that

He came top 10 in GR in in GP mser and L men so he um yeah they need Riders like that again going to be cheap and to get points to do well in these Belgian GP chat gpg races someone has to be able to

Sprint and bie can’t do all of them uh I’m going to need Luke to give us the down low on on Roll then St Martin’s deck which means sprinty time I think easy I recall britan let me check to the britan cist he got a few top 10 and he won the final

Stage which seems to be a Sprint so I’m going to guess he’s a bit of a sprinter he’s DOD so Luke is the expert yeah but yeah he’s just uh he’s also on their Dev team so I think the combined cost of all of the Riders so their incoming transfers

Combined cost five Riders 300K 300 Grand yeah so like yeah and the outgoing EF probably paying Costa more than that I’m saying the outgoing is [ __ ] man like 800k yeah I mean sometimes you could be absolutely shocked what a team will pay a 37y old I think B

On n i 800 no way they pay him 500 J no way they pay him 500 but sometimes I see the and I’m like no I can’t believe that happened let’s say 200k minimum can’t have been less than 100K I reckon am would have been on 100K

Already as well so we’re 400k there plus Costa 300K maybe 700k one F Johansson I’d say 800 900k was the combination of the outo transfers in my guess but it also depends on whether employed or self-employed you know yeah and that’s not what they’ll probably being paid out

Into Mar either uh so it’s not necessarily net netting 500 Grand uh but certainly you can see the way the wind is blowing in terms of that uh let’s do their quickly their goals Benji because it’s I don’t think it makes too much sense outside of bie to I

Think Lou Mankey should do the tour and well to try top 10 I think he was unlucky with crashes this year particularly in the tour he was in good place they extended mes I think that was the right thing to do uh cuz he can just

On his own top 10 a tour I think that is that is valuable the tour a top 10 is like actually valuable uh but for bie what would you do with him this year I try and get him a schedule where he can start winning again so in my head

That looks at Roman Le Catalonia with a ground tour that fits him which if I take a look at the grand Tours then I think the VTA comes in mind and the Jiro I would do they won’t do it but jro I don’t like I’ll do the first week of all three grand

Tours the first nine stages I like the idea and renei tour I would include with that yeah and he’s supposed to be good in Canada in Quebec mayor challeng the lighter Italian Classics but make sure he doesn’t have too many rest uh too many uh race days

Either like yeah but Roman and Catalonia I think he or must have forbion with a classic yeah op Vasco yeah um okay so bie a lot on bie as well for this team turnis though still had a nice result in rui uh realistic goals for them Benji I think realistic goals for this

Team I would look at i’ say winning a stage in all three grand Tours I think so B could win a Jiro stage he’s actually decent can I be honest this doesn’t look like a world tour team anymore especially with bam and the Curran State this is RKO 2.0 looking at the

Team in my head yeah they you don’t think they’re better than ARA just 2024 ARA no how many wins K get in 20 Zimmerman’s good though Zimmerman can win a ground Tour stage so that WI a win a ground Tour stage with Zimmerman like just at least

One ground Tour stage possible so you’d have to hope for two if bam steps up to the play again so I agree that your goal needs to be win a ground Tour stage in every ground tour but I also think overalla I’ll take vocala over anyone on

The inter Mar roster except maybe except benie um yeah HT also I feel like need to step up a little as in he was good in the past as in like the earlier Victor he had in 2022 and so far but in 202 was a bit missing for me so I’m expecting for

That for that real step up to come in 2024 for example so yeah I agree a world tour a ground tour victory in every ground tour plus overall try and get more World Tour wins be more competitive on that schedule and try and compete for chat GPT races in Belgium to make sure

You got a victories there um it’s kind of it you know what else yeah I I think they I think they’re more likely to win like a jro stage than an ARA you know like agree maybe maybe shampoo sounds like a flashier name than some of

These Riders but in the end I think they actually Target them a bit better um also cuz thear won’t go to the jro if thear goes to the jro they can win a general stage yeah exactly uh and then there’s Riders like maybe is Lorenzo Rota

Who is he can he win a jro stage I think I think yes like I think he has the capacity to do that but he have to get a bit lucky um yeah of the issue yeah but I think if I was running down goals it would be consolidate the

Points position is kind of number one and try and move like even don’t let ARA back in the fight and make sure and put some distance between yourself and and the DSM and so really that’s number one is really make sure that third year you’re already safe B win stage all

It’s a big it’s a difficult goal but they need more money they do need more money like it’s so hard to compete against not I’m not talking the Visas of the world but like ag2r have probably doubl their budget if not more it’s not great for the STA but imagine the combination of

Antoine Lotto Ando delay yeah I think I don’t know but yeah you’re right they need they need more money like it’s it’s all well and good trying to Money Ball and do your best but it’s it’s a lot easier when you got when you got money because then if you don’t have the

Money then when like I know they extended bie but when uh yor Zimmerman’s out of contract when Mattis Michels is out of contract uh Rota turnis you’re going to have to let them go if you can’t afford them so because they’re going to cost more than their

What they were before uh so bit of Doom and Gloom but that’s just a commercial reality I still think they had a good season I think they can have a better one next year actually if beanie clicks and some of these Neo Pros are good but

It’s also it’s tough out there with some of the other teams you know like getting da cathlon in as a sponsor uh who are behind them in the table uh hot takes Jesus Christ um Bry wins a ground Tour stage yep I think okay no yeah yeah of

Course Lou manes wins at two to France stage I would like it but I don’t see it so it’s a hot T yeah and kin Tyson wins H priz is that H take or no it’s probably a hot take no [ __ ] yeah that’s a hot take okay 7 K PR uh I think

I think mtis Michels yeah I think he’s their best Classics rather send him to the Vault or no I think he’s yeah I think he scores over 750 UCI points maybe maybe more I think he’s guangji incident aside which what’s he got did he get suspended I think they actually to do

Education as well but anyway even um that stupid incident aside which you know yeah well like it’s a lot of teams right would be like do we want someone like that on our team who like literally doesn’t live in the real world um but realistically he’s also a good Rider so

Um anyway I think you’ll have 750 UCR points he ultimately is extremely talented uh that’s my hot takes to Benji yes I’ll accept it I’m going with I’m going with four World Tour wins again okay I’m going with four Welter wins 2 we’re on the same pitch yep all righty thanks for

Listening to the an Mar wanty uh preview hope you enjoyed it and we’ll be uh back with someone else to starting maybe soon until then ciao