Drapac and UnitedHealthcare: 2015 Report Cards

Image 1 of 6

The new look Drapac team kit on display(Image credit: Mark Gunter)

Team: Drapac Professional Cycling
Oceania Tour ranking: 2 (Same as 2014)
Win Count: 9
Top Riders: Wouter Wippert, Brenton Jones, Lachlan Norris, Will Clarke

The 2015 season kicked off with a bang for Drapac Pro Cycling when Wouter Wippert claimed the sprint victory on the final stage of the Tour Down Under, punching well above his weight in the WorldTour race. Understandably, the victory over such a class field put enormous pressure on the 24-year-old Dutchman for much of the season. He took four more wins - two in Tour de Taiwan and two in the Tour de Korea. Although he claimed two fine second places in Tour of California stages - behind Peter Sagan in Avila Beach and a frustratingly close miss in Los Angeles to Mark Cavendish - it was clear Wippert had the potential to do much, much more.

The Australian team is still building toward its aim of joining the top tier in 2018, and spent much of its season racing overseas. The team did a big block of racing in North America, starting at the Tour of the Gila in May. Kerby finished third in the time trial, while Wippert again showed his speed with a photo-finish loss to Sebastian Haedo in Silver City. The race was good preparation for the Tour of California, and in addition to Wippert's strong showings in the sprint, the team was represented in several breakaways with Clarke taking out the most aggressive rider prize after his time off the front on the first stage.

Drapac shed a number of riders who did not perform in 2015, and picked up a pair of riders from the WorldTour - Nathan Earle from Team Sky, and Jens Mouris from Orica-GreenEdge. The team is expecting their experience to give the team a boost. Certainly Mouris, a time trial powerhouse, will provide an important throttle for the lead-out train, and Earle's potential went largely untapped by Sky. He's shown himself to be a capable sprinter from small groups and an aggressive rider. Expect to see Earle showing himself at the pointy end of the races in 2016.

Although Earle and Mouris could be considered to be the biggest name signings for Drapac, with Mannion's results he's certainly the best add. Just 24, Mannion has years of international racing experience thanks to the US national team and his time with the Trek-Livestrong and Bontrager development teams. Though he failed to win a contract in 2014 with Garmin after racing as a trainee, Mannion showed this season that he's ready to step into the role of team leader and has the legs to make it work. He's a rider of enormous potential who only needs the opportunity.

Obviously losing Wippert is a real blow for Drapac. The Dutch rider has been the team's go-to rider for victories over the past two seasons. They may struggle to fill that gap in the short term, but their new signings, including Kiwi Thomas Scully, and returning riders like Jones, and Kerby, give them plenty of options. Under the guidance of experienced pros like Graeme Brown, Travis Meyer, Bernie Sulzberger, Mouris, Earle and Clarke, the team should be able to compensate.

It will be interesting to see if Drapac will provide the atmosphere for Mannion to develop into the GC rider that he has the potential to become. His ride at the USA Pro Challenge was consistently strong - he was up near the front in every stage finish, with the exception of stage 2 to Arapahoe Basin, and his fifth place in the Breckenridge time trial, only 39 seconds shy of Rohan Dennis, showed that his result wasn't just from following wheels.

Most of the team's other successes came on the domestic events in the US. The "blue train" steamrolled to the overall individual rankings victory in USA Cycling's National Criterium Calendar (NCC) with Hilton Clarke. Carlos Alzate made it a UHC 1-2, and with Luke Keough, Karl Menzies and Brad White all in the top 10, UHC smashed the team rankings with more than twice the number of points as second-placed Astellas.

Overseas, the team struggled to match the WorldTour teams, as is to be expected somewhat. But there were some good moments - newcomer Janez Brajkovic struggled to live up to his WorldTour pedigree, but rode to a satisfying fourth overall in the Abu Dhabi Tour. Federico Zurlo beat out Alexander Kristoff on stage 2 of the Arctic Race of Norway - but unfortunately lost the stage to Sam Bennett. Daniele Ratto landed on the podium of the Clasica Corisca and was consistent enough in the Tour of Turkey to challenge Mark Cavendish for the points classification. He fell just three points shy.

The team made some sweeping changes to its roster for next year, dumping a big chunk of the criterium squad. Gone is Hilton Clarke, who formed the basis of the team since its inception. Gone too is Robert Förster, Davide Frattini, Lucas Euser, Alessandro Bazzana, who have long histories with the team. Also out are Ken Hanson, Isaac Bolivar and Zurlo. Ratto heads back home to race with the Androni Giocattoli team, and while some have retired, others are still seeking new teams. It is clear that UnitedHealthcare in 2016 will be very different.

Matthew Busche is a versatile rider with proven capabilities in one-day and stage races, and will be a solid replacement for Reijnen. Although he might lack the same kind of punch to get splashy stage wins and podium time, landing on the podium of a Tour of Utah would be a big result for UnitedHealthcare. Busche has been on stage race podiums. He's finished Grand Tours. He's helped pilot RadioShack's TTT squad to victories and won two national championships.

Losing Reijnen to Trek was a blow for sure. The 29-year-old formed strong bonds with his teammates and exuded personality. His loss will be felt deeply not just on the bike but off. But Reijnen's transfer to Trek isn't quite the biggest loss - the collective exit of so many riders who formed the core of the team will completely transform the heart and soul of UnitedHealthcare. It may take a while for the remaining riders to understand the management's decisions, but expect the team's leaders like Jonny Clarke, Brad White and Karl Menzies to rally the troops and push the team to continue its winning tradition.

The squad kept Marco Canola, who posted impressive results including a fifth place overall in the Dubai Tour and the mountains classification in the Criterium International. He's scrappy and strong and has a Giro d'Italia stage win in his palmares from his Bardiani days. Daniel Jaramillo is only 24, but he's already shown his abilities in races like Tour of the Gila - he was second overall and the best young rider this year. He's also shown himself to be an aggressive rider, going on the attack repeatedly in the mountainous stages of USA Pro Challenge and Tour of California. Jaramillo will shine once he begins to get some respect from the WorldTour riders, like Laurent Didier, who pushed him around in Colorado. There's a big difference between being on a Continental team and a Pro Continental team, and a huge benefit to having someone like Menzies on your side. Look for Jaramillo to fly the blue and white on the climbs in 2016.