The Russian WorldTour team Katusha presented its roster for the 2014 season yesterday in Koblenz. The location of the presentation was carefully chosen. The fifth anniversary of the Russian Global Cycling Project was celebrated in the halls of bicycle manufacturer Canyon, the team's equipment supplier.
The presentation began with a review. The guests and fans present were not only familiarized with the image of the team via video, but also got an impression of the most important moments of 2013.
Following the video presentation, Igor Makarov, president of the Russian Cycling Federation and owner of Team Katusha, was the first to speak. "The team has developed into one of the most important in professional cycling in recent years ," said Makarov, who later added: "With this team, we have managed to make one rider the number one in the world. And several times over." He was referring to the Spaniard Joaquin Rodriguez.
The winner of the WorldTour standings also played a key role in Canyon CEO Roman Arnold's considerations. "It was certainly bitter that he narrowly missed out on the World Championship title last year. But the fact that he then became world number one again demonstrates his character and also underscores our motivation: Pure Cycling." Arnold wasn't just referring to Rodriguez, but also to Team Movistar, which has also been riding bikes from Koblenz since this year. When asked how this commitment complements each other, he said: "With our brand, we are one of the leading brands in Europe. For me personally, our involvement in cycling is also about a passion for the sport. That's why we support both teams."
However, Movistar played no further role as the evening progressed. Rather, each driver of the Katusha team received a personal introduction. Starting with drivers like the Latvian Gatis Smukulis, the German Rüdiger Selig, the Austrian Marco Haller, the Italian Luca Paolini, Alexander Kristoff from Norway and Rodriguez. The latter emphasized several times how comfortable he felt in the team and that he was looking forward to the next two years in the red and white outfit.
The goals of the team are clearly outlined. In addition to some classics such as the Fleché Wallone and the Tour of Lombardy, Rodriguez will mainly concentrate on the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta. The classic group around the experienced Paolini will mark the one-day races in the calendar.
The top priority is defending Rodriguez's leading position in the WorldTour. "Back to Number One" was the mission last year, one that the diminutive Spaniard, along with his team and equipment supplier Canyon, pursued relentlessly and achieved 100 percent. Following his success in 2012, the wiry Catalan again demonstrated his dominance in the most important WorldTour races in 2013, securing the top spot once more after an exciting season with his victory in the Tour of Lombardy. Fueled by the success and the team's fighting spirit of recent years, completing the hat trick is at the top of the list for 2014.
// The 2014 squad
Maxim Belkov, Pavel Brutt, Giampaolo Caruso, Sergei Chernetckii, Vladimir Gusev, Marco Haller, Petr Ignatenko, Mikhail Ignatyev, Vladimir Isaychev, Pavel Kochetkov, Alexander Kolobnev, Dmitriy Kozonchuk, Alexander Kristoff, Aliaksandr Kuchynski, Viacheslav Kuznetsov, Alberto Losada, Daniel Moreno , Luca Paolini, Aleksandr Porsev, Joaquim Rodriguez, Alexander Rybakov, Rüdiger Selig, Egor Silin, Gatis Smukulis, Simon Spilak, Iurii Trofimov, Aleksey Tsatevich, Angel Vicioso, Eduard Vorganov, Anton Vorobyev