Written by Emerge at 04:15 27/11-2011
When we sold Avery (The Red Lobster) Nijholt to Greenride it was decided that Emerge cycling team would switch to a predominately Climbing approach, however in order to make use of the remaining leadouts we brought in cobble giant Billimoria, to try and keep a two pronged attack on races.
At the start we had some success with this approach, in Division 3. The problem came once we were promoted to Zyte Division, with the cobble team just being too weak, and the climbing squad not able to compete with the best around, due to a few weak links.
It then came to our attention that POM Wonderful may consider selling young Hill giant Joachim Lowik, who has experienced top success in tours previously with weaker teams. A hill rider was exactly what we were looking for so we set about negotiating with Bolt for Lowik. It was a simple negotiation in which Lowik would arrive at Emerge and Billimoria plus 50k would go the other way. This move was seen as beneficial to both parties, provide added depth to the Emerge climbing team, and provide a new leader for POM Wonderful’s new Sprinting philosophy captained by another former Emerge rider Konrad Eager. We wish them success with this new venture, and hope these two former riders can help catapult them up the divisions.
As a result it is with great pleasure we unveil Joachim Lowik to you today.
“Joachim, welcome to your new team. What attracted you to come to England and ride for this team, and what do you hope to achieve here?”
“Firstly, I would like to say thankyou to Bolt and Blue Bolt for making this move a reality. When I first heard of Emerge’s interest I was very excited. This is a team who is starting to make a name for themselves, with experienced stars like Pietryzyk and young riders like Retzlaff. This is a team who share my motivation to be at the top of the sport and I hope to contribute to that in the coming years. Also the fact of a guaranteed ride at MRT next season is a huge bonus for me. I was disappointed with my ride this season, it didn’t go as planned, but I will be firing on all peddles next season to help my new team win the tour.”
Aswell as Lowik we have signed highly experienced Spaniard Martinez Mezo who was a free agent having been released by Team Saxo Bank II. He has been brought in for the short term, to be a teammate while Pietryzyk is taking a deserved holiday, in preparation for next season. He will also be a mentor to young trainees Ethan Derrick and Abner Banks.
Looking ahead to next season, squad for MRT will be: Pietryzyk (captain), Retzlaff (going for YC/teammate), Lowik (teammate), Huson (teammate), Areosa (teammate) and finally young Englishman Ethan Derrick (teammate). We hope for big things from this talent and this will be a good test as to how far in the sport he can go. As far as aims for the General Classification go, we aim to win it. Pietryzyk has finished 3rd in the last 2 seasons, however he will have a much stronger support team this time, and we hope that will make the difference.
One final point before we conclude this press conference surrounds young Englishman Steven Yearsley. This rider was brought in just before the departure of Billimoria, with a bright future in sprinting. It is now apparent he doesn’t fit in with the team currently and as a result if we were to receive a big offer he would be allowed to leave. It is important for the National side that talents such as this are allowed to achieve their potentials. This being said if we don’t receive a satisfactory offer, he will be kept and trained here.
Steven Yearsley
Potential:
CL: Good
DH: None
HL: Small
SP: Very good
FR: None
CB: Small
TT: Small
TQ: Good
Subscribers: 4
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Comments
thanks for the happy thanksgiving :)
good luck with Lowik and Yearsley
Gd 2 hear, and thanks... Took alot longer than I was planning. Soz 4 the wait ;)
I know i did!(: Great article!
Also we want to say that we hope all our American friends had a gr8 Thanksgiving
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