Cycling: 2015 was a good year for the Italian team of Lampre-Merida. Seven stage wins at Grand Tours and numerous other victories earned the team twelfth place in the WorldTour rankings. In 2016, the conditions are good for repeating this achievement or even improving it.
Lampre-Merida overview
At the end of the year, the Italian team from Lampre-Merida ended up in 12th place in the WorldTour rankings and is thus slowly climbing out of the midfield towards the top (the racing team has regularly ranked 14th in previous years). So those responsible can be quite satisfied with the performance of the drivers – in addition to a few smaller races, the team was also able to celebrate seven Grand Tour victories in 2015.
With stage wins at the Tour of Oman, the Tour of Turkey, and Paris-Nice, the Italian team got off to a very good start to the season. Rafael Valls, in particular, showed excellent form – Sacha Modolo and Diego Ulissi also delivered promising performances and seemed perfectly prepared for the Giro d'Italia, which has always been the highlight of the season for the Italian team. At the end of the three weeks through Italy, they had secured four stage wins, and Sacha Modolo, in particular, brought great joy to the team with two sprint victories in Lugano and Jesolo .
This was followed by a stage win each at the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse, and a rather mixed Tour de France from Lampre-Merida's perspective. Spaniard Ruben Plaza rode solo to victory on stage 16 – further stage wins eluded the Italian team at the 2015 Tour de France. Nelson Oliveira and Ruben Plaza again each added a stage win to close out the season.
So where is the journey going for Lampre-Merida 2016? The performance of the previous season was extremely promising and certainly a good basis for further successes this season. With the two Iberians Nelson Oliveira (to Movistar) and Ruben Plaza (to Orica-GreenEdge), however, the team loses two of its strongest riders, who were also responsible for almost half of the Grand Tour successes in 2015. Can the newcomers Louis Meintjes and Matej Mohoric make up for the loss in quality? Both the South African Meintjes and the Slovenian Mohoric are still waiting for their first Grand Tour success - but maybe that will change in 2016 in the colors of Lampre-Merida.
Lampre Merida – Transfers
Departures: Niccolo Bonifazio (Trek), Ruben Plaza (Orica-GreenEdge), Filippo Pozzato (Southeast), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Max Richeze (Etixx-Quick Step), Jose Serpa (Orgullo Antiqueno), Rafa Valls (Lotto-Soudal)
Additions: Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar), Simone Consonni (Neo), Marko Kump (Adria Mobil), Louis Meintjes (MTN-Qhubeka), Matej Mohoric (Cannondale-Garmin), Simone Petilli (Neo), Edward Ravasi (Neo), Federico Zurlo (UnitedHealthcare)
Lampre-Merida - Team bikes and equipment
Team bikes: As in 2015, the Lampre pros will be riding the two top-of-the-line Merida bikes, the Merida Scultura and the Merida Reacto. The new Scultura only premiered last year – incidentally, it was presented to the public one day after Lampre pro Polanc's stage win at the Giro d'Italia – now that's what we call good timing. We were able to thoroughly test the qualities of the Scultura road model ourselves in Velomotion . For the time trial, the pros will be riding the Merida Warp.
Components: The drivetrain on the Lampre-Merida team bikes is a Shimano/Rotor mix. While the shifters, brakes, and grips come from the Japanese specialists, the Italian team relies on Rotor's expertise for the crankset and power meter. Will the pros switch to the hydraulic Rotor UNO groupset , introduced in 2015, next season ? There are no indications yet, unlike with their Rotor counterparts at Dimension Data . As in previous years, the wheels are from the Italian manufacturer Fulcrum.
Disc brakes: Although manufacturers like Shimano and Rotor could supply suitable brake systems, and Fulcrum now offers compatible wheels, we will likely only rarely see Lampre-Merida pros with disc brakes in 2016, as Merida doesn't yet have a corresponding road bike in its lineup. Neither the Scultura nor the Reacto are available in a disc version – only the Merida Ride endurance bike comes with disc brakes and is perhaps an option for the occasional race with long cobblestone sections.