Luca Guercilena, the team's General Manager, has been bolstered by increased funds from Segafredo coming on board and through the retirement of Fabian Cancellara. With further retirements for Ryder Hesjedal and Frank Schleck and a few more faces moving on, Guercilena has had somewhat of a blank canvas as he paints the landscape for his 2017 team.
The signing of Degenkolb, who has been replaced by Michael Matthews, looks less of a risk with each passing race as the German regains his form and confidence. And Guercilena believes that the German – who won Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in 2015 – can reach the very top after what has been a difficult period since he was hit by a car in training before the season started.
"We think John has a good pedigree and he's proved that he's both super strong and back on the right way. He had a difficult period after his accident with the car but we're comfortable in the belief that he's a super pro and he will be back to high level for the Classics. With Koen coming to, that just improves our capacity."
With a new leader for the Classics and Contador set to lead the line in the Grand Tours with Bauke Mollema, the team have a revamped look for next season. One of the challenges Guercilena faces is how quickly and successfully he can mould his new transfers into a cohesive unit.
"Clearly when you change a group of riders it's a challenge but that's what we've needed to do," he added.
"If you want a competitive team for the WorldTour races then you need a strong group and they need to fit together. I'm confident they can all fit well and help us reach a better level.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"With the departure of Fabian the team is clearly changing and will have new riders but we also have faces like Nizzolo who continues to develop and impress. It's about us improving our capacity more than just changing all the faces on the team."
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
