Season preview for 2012

Team NetApp is competing for its third season this year. In an interview, Team Manager Ralph Denk talks about the first races of the season and the athletic goals for 2012. 

What are Team NetApp’s first races in 2012?
The team will start with the Tour de San Luis in Argentina in January, followed by the Mallorca Challenge and then on to the first Belgian classic races, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. In addition to those races we still expect to receive the go-ahead from race organizers in Spain and Italy. If that works out, then we’ll really have a fantastic start to the season. 

With which expectations will the team be competing at the first races in January and February ? 
In Argentina, there's a high-caliber field with five WorldTour teams competing. There we’ll be coming up against Contador and Nibali, among others. Our riders will be taking along with them a very demanding goal because we want Jérôme to finish in the top 10 in the overall classification. The seven stages include two mountain finishes and a 19-km time trial. That profile suits him very well. Because the Mallorca Challenge is made up of what, in effect, are five one-day races, we will focus more on the sprints. André and Daniel can draw some initial attention to themselves there. If all goes according to plan, then Markus, Timon and Jérôme should be in good early form at the first classic races in February. The goal is to make a considerably better showing there than we did last season.

What are the major athletic goals for this year? 
Of course we want to score good results at all of the races where we’ll be competing. Last year, we took some good podium spots. This year, we intend to get some wins!

And the team will continue to improve. After three WorldTour races in 2011, we hope to be on the receiving end of organizers' goodwill this season as well. We hope to receive invitations to the major classic races, such as Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and Ghent-Wevelgem. Those would be enormous goals for our riders who specialize in classic races.

That would also apply in terms of the tours, whether it be the Giro or the Volta Catalunya, the Tour de Suisse or the Tour de Pologne. An invitation to the Giro would be an absolute highlight. We’re confident that we can handle a Grand Tour in what will be the team’s third year. Now it’s in the hands of the organizers as to whether they will give us that chance.

At the training camp on Lanzarote all of the riders gathered together for the first time as a new Team NetApp. What was your impression regarding the team's mood?
I was surprised at how quickly the new recruits integrated themselves. The new team is in tune not only on a personal level. They are also in synch when it comes to training.

I have the feeling that this is the best Team NetApp that we’ve ever had. What has changed in terms of Team NetApp compared to last year? The level of athleticism has increased significantly. Many riders from last year have made enormous strides forward in their development. Added to that are the new riders that we signed on specifically with an eye to their experience, successes and potential.

A very visible change is that we now have riders on the team who exude a lot more maturity. Experienced riders, like André and Markus, have been riding in the peloton for more than 10 years. But also young riders, like Matthias and Jérôme, have already gathered experience at major races. The team will no doubt profit from that.

From which riders do you expect the most this season?
Among the new recruits, a lot of expectation centers around Jerome and Matthias. I think that Jérôme will be able to make a breakthrough at the classic races. He’s already placed among the top 25 at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and at the Amstel Gold Race, and he has the potential to do much better. I’m sure he’ll deliver results.

The same goes for Matthias. At last year’s Vuelta he offered very strong support and played his part in securing the win at Cobo. That support is an enormous advantage for our tour riders. In addition, Matthias will also look for opportunities now to ride for himself.

Those examples demonstrate that we have set a season goal for each one of our 17 riders. Everyone knows what we expect of them. Everyone has a role to play. Everyone is ambitious and wants to improve continuously.