Cycling: In Germany, Etixx – Quick-Step 2015 made some headlines. First with Tony Martin's emotional roller coaster ride at the Tour de France, a few months ago with the announcement of Marcel Kittel's move. But the German sprint ace is not the only newcomer who is supposed to compensate for the many departures.
Etixx – Quick Step – Overview
Etixx-Quick-Step racked up 54 victories in the 2015 season, giving the Belgian team the most wins of any World Tour team. However, their failure to achieve a truly major triumph was often due to bad luck and injuries. A prime example is Tom Boonen's season: the classics specialist was considered a strong favorite for races like Roubaix and Flanders – but things didn't go as planned. The 34-year-old crashed at Paris-Nice shortly before the finish line and dislocated his shoulder . After a largely disappointing Giro d'Italia, the Belgian's class shone through during the season at the Eneco Tour, with his impressive performance in the Richmond team time trial , and with his victory at the Münsterland Giro in Münster, before a serious crash at the Abu Dhabi Tour brought Boonen's season to an abrupt end.
But the Belgian team's immense talent allowed them to compensate for the absence of their classics specialist in the spring. Michal Kwiatkowski won the Amstel Gold Race , and Stybar took the Strade Bianche . The Giro d'Italia was a mixed bag – Rigoberto Uran managed a respectable thirteenth place, but the gap to the leaders was surprisingly large. At least Iljo Keisse's stage win provided some cause for celebration . The Tour de France was a mixed bag for Etixx – Quick-Step. Tony Martin missed out on the opening time trial victory but then claimed the yellow jersey , only to be forced to abandon the race due to injury after a crash at the end of the sixth stage . However, three stage wins – by Tony Martin , Mark Cavendish , and Zdenek Stybar – are certainly something to be proud of.
The Belgian team has suffered a significant exodus for 2016. The departures of Mark Cavendish , Rigoberto Uran, and Michal Kwiatkowski represent a considerable loss of quality. New signing Marcel Kittel is expected to fill Cavendish's shoes and deliver some sprint victories. Dan Martin, together with Tom Boonen, who recently extended his contract, forms a formidable duo for the Classics.
Etixx – Quick Step – Transfers
Departures: Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), Michal Golas (Team Sky), Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data), Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Garmin)
Additions: Rodrigo Contreras (Neo), Laurens de Plus (Neo), Fernando Gaviria (Neo), Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin), Davide Martinelli (Neo), Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin), Bob Jungels (Trek), Max Richeze (Lampre-Merida)
Etixx - Quick-Step - Team bikes and equipment
Team bike: Like all WorldTour teams, Etixx – Quick-Step will stick with its bike supplier in 2016. Marcel Kittel will therefore be racking up his sprint victories on a Specialized Tarmac next season. Depending on the conditions, course, and rider preferences, we'll certainly also see the new Specialized Venge . With the Specialized Roubaix, as the name suggests, there's another bike available, designed and built for the cobblestones of the world. For time trials, the Etixx pros will be using the Specialized Shiv.
Components: This is where it gets interesting. The components on Specialized bikes will again come from Shimano and FSA next season. This year, they had planned to use FSA's newly developed, in-house drivetrain, but it wasn't ready in time. So, the FSA K-Force crankset was combined with Shimano shifting components. FSA's own groupset, presumably wireless like SRAM's eTap, isn't quite finished yet, but it should be ready for market later this season. In other words, we'll undoubtedly see the tried-and-tested FSA/Shimano mix on the Etixx bikes at the beginning of the year, but this could give way to a purely FSA setup later in the season.
Disc brakes: The riders of Etixx – Quick-Step can approach the topic of disc brakes with complete peace of mind. Specialized offers two race-proven road bikes with disc brakes: the Tarmac Disc and the Roubaix. Both Shimano and, later, FSA could supply the corresponding brakes, and wheel manufacturer Roval also has suitable products in its range. So we will likely see one or more riders from the Belgian team riding disc brakes.