Written by Velosipedska at 14:58 5/2-2021
Greetings to fans, press and other readers. Since the team was reshaped into a climbing squad, we have had less time for frequent press releases. With only a climbing squad in rotation there is simply less to report. When Press Officer Vujadin Mileski let slip that he was paid per press release, the board unanimously decided to limit the amount of press releases in the next season. For now, we will discuss how season 55 unfolded for our Macedonian team.
---TEAM NEWS---
There’s not much team news, we can only report on some new sponsor deals with Hyper-Bahn GmbH and Nairobi City Bank, who will give us financial support in the next few weeks. Apart from that, we’ve summarized our financial position below. Velosipedska are delighted to see a steady income to cover our expenses. The team is financially healthy, perhaps for the first time ever we have money to spare to train new talents as soon as they arrive.
Summary of our economic position after S55:
Income
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Starting Balance: 352,117
Funding: 0,00
Rider Sales: 966,561
Prize Money: 98,000
Jobs: 77,500
Sponsors: 101,000
Merchandise: 35,263
Expenses
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Team Upgrades: 48,000
Supplies: 25,000
Staff: 225,000
Scouting: 1,000
Rider Hires: 477,063
Training: 343,800
Net Balance
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322,900
---RIDER NEWS---
In the last press release, we said goodbye to our old sprinting squad. Today, we want to (re-)introduce you to our current climbing squad. You know some riders, we will say goodbye to some this season, and we can introduce a few new riders. Consider this our team introduction for S56.
Gjorgi Beqiri is our oldest serving rider, which brings us to the end of his cycling career. Gjorgi will be participating in his last race on day 1 of S56, the Jebel Hafeet Challenge. Luckily, he will still be around, for Gjorgi will be our first trainer, starting next season. We are sure his experience on the bike will be invaluable to our younger riders in the coming years. We will dedicate a special press release to his retirement, telling you all about his exploits in 106 races for Velosipedska.
Slobodan Meglenski will be one of 2 remaining founding members after Gjorgi’s departure. The dedicated water carrier has participated in 91 races so far, reaching 2 top-9 finishes himself. We will rely on his road captain skills and supporting prowess for a few more years.
Riste Nikolovski is the other founding member. Riste is still a team leader and will be racing his 100th race in Gjorgi’s retirement race next Monday. With 260k in prize money, 903 OCM points and 17 results, Riste is the backbone of our team. He will be a captain for many more seasons and is currently in his prime.
Jordan Spirkoski is still the new kid on the block, but he’s achieved a few top 9 finishes in his second season with the team. Jordan will be aiming for youth classifications if we can join a tour that suits his abilities. Apart from that, Jordan is a strong support rider for Riste. With just over 53 races, Jordan is one of only 3 riders with 50+ races for Velosipedska, after Gjorgi’s retirement. Hopefully, we will see him many more times.
Eftim Nastevski joined us a day after Jordan, and the two have become great friends. Jordan is the climber, Eftim prefers the flat roads and downhill sections. We might come across a few races that allow Eftim to take a shot, but for now the youngster is guiding our captains through tricky downhill sections. Eftim is set to make his 50th appearance for us on day of S56, becoming the 11th rider to reach that amount.
Nikola Shaqiri joined us a bit later than some of his younger teammates, but he’s a valuable climbing support teammate. He joined us on the same day as super talent Jovan Georgievski, and will be riding alongside him for many more seasons. In his first professional season, Nikola reached 2 top-9s himself, and helped both Riste and Jovan gain important victories. His brother Angel Shaqiri is currently training with us to be a wind breaker, but will leave the team soon.
Jovan Georgievski joined Velosipedska for a record fee of 260k at the start of the season but had a bumpy start. Jovan was injured for almost 2 weeks and needed some time to recover. Adding the team break following the sprint team sale, Jovan has had few opportunities to shine so far. Still, Jovan managed 2 top-9’s and his first every victory at Atacama Ascension. This superb climber will surely reach greater heights next season.
Dragi Stavrevski joined us at the start of the season, leaving his home team of Alpinisti na Ohrid. As a replacement for Gjorgi Beqiri, we expect him to perform as a climber, but also guide our less experienced riders through tough situations. He has already raced 27 times for our squad, we’d like to see him reach 100 as well.
Blagojce Mojsov is an enthusiastic, but less talented rider. He was bought to replace Slobodan Meglenski, but an influx of talent recently could indicate his departure. Still, he has been a great ambassador to the team, generating at least 30k with his promotional activities off the bike. As ambassador and water carrier, Blagojce is invaluable.
Elvis Sljivancanin is the last graduate from our training program. His progression has slowed somewhat, but he is still easily one of the 10 best climbers in Macedonia. He’s only been with us for a month and a bit, and has only raced with us 7 times. We expect Elvis to support our team captains in the next couple of seasons.
Angel Shaqiri is temporarily joining our training program. He is not much of a climber, especially compared to his brother Nikola Shaqiri. After learning from the best, being paired with Eftim Nastevski, he will join Vaduz as a wind breaker and flat road specialist. We are delighted that another young Macedonian rider will be joining the pro peloton, and happy to have played a role in his training. We are currently looking for climbing riders but are glad to train any talented Macedonian.
---RACE NEWS---
Because of the team break and reshuffle, Velosipedska did not have an amazing S55. It was difficult for our single squad to win races in div 4, but the last 2 weeks have shown that div 6 is a bit too easy for our climbers. Unfortunate off-days in Race of the Minutemen meant a lack of special results, but 3 top-9 finishes in the Bali Classic brought us a spectacular ending to the season.
Riste Nikolovski was and remains our main leader. With victories at Altdorf - Ems and Salida Climbs and a couple top-9 finishes, Riste has had a decent season. Here’s a rider top-3 by points gained this season:
Riste Nikolovski: 288 (2 victories)
Jovan Georgievski: 72 (1 victory)
Nikola Shaqiri: 34
Next season, we will be aiming quite a bit higher, our first main target will be the Monte Rosa Tour. This tour has eluded us a couple seasons in a row, this time we will try to be in division 5 at the proper moment. Riste, Jordan and Jovan will be delighted to conquer the Swiss mountains.
To conclude this statement, we’d like to express our confidence in this climbing squad. Every month, we seem to find a new addition to this team. And with Gjorgi’s retirement this season, and Dragi’s retirement coming up soon, we need strong Macedonians to fill their shoes. If you’re Macedonian and think you can ride fast, feel free to contact us! We hope to see all of our fans at the roadside in season S56, the riders thank you all for your eternal support.
Kind regards and thanks for reading,
KrMees (Manager)
Vujadin Mileski (PR)
Subscribers: 10
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Comments
For those interested, the Gjorgi retirement post is up
Good job Velosipedska
Thanks for the comments, stopping Namibia has been tricky in the mid-tier tours recently! It might be early for Spirkoski, but in TF he could do it.
GL in Monte Rosa, will be watching the event.
Nice post! Look forward to reading the Beqiri tribute :)
Great press release. And good to see that your focus on climbing pays off! Very decent squad, I am sure they will do well in Monte Rosa. Aiming to end the Namibian hegemony in the YC over there?
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