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| Team information | ||
|---|---|---|
| UCI code | ROC | |
| Registered | The Netherlands | |
| Founded | 2015 (2015) | |
| Disbanded | 2019 (2019) | |
| Discipline | Road | |
| Status | UCI Professional Continental | |
| Bicycles |
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| Website | Team home page | |
| Key personnel | ||
| General manager | Erik Breukink | |
| Team name history | ||
2015 2016 2017–2018 2019 | Team Roompot Roompot–Oranje Peloton Team Roompot–Nederlandse Loterij Roompot–Charles | |
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Roompot–Charles (UCI team code:ROC) was a DutchUCI Professional Continental men'scycling team. The team's principal sponsor wasRoompot Vakanties, a Dutch holiday company.[2] The team's first season was the2015 cycling season, during which the team was invited to participate inUCI World Tour races including the2015 Eneco Tour and the2015 Tour of Flanders, as well as various other spring classics races. The team only hired Dutch cyclists, the most prominent of whom wasJohnny Hoogerland.[3][4] Roompot's debut race was the 2015Vuelta a Mallorca stage race.[5] The team's first win came in August 2015 in theTour du Limousin, whereMaurits Lammertink won a bunch sprint.
Roompot's beginnings came in the spring of 2014, whenErik Breukink, who was formerly the manager of the Dutch teamRabobank, announced that he was seeking to create a new Dutch squad to ride at theUCI Professional Continental level.[6] There were Dutch teams riding atUCI World Tour andUCI Continental levels, but none in the middle tier of professional cycling. Breukink announced his hope that the team would support the development of young Dutch riders. Other people involved in the development of the team includedMichael Boogerd,Jean-Paul van Poppel andMichael Zijlaard.[7]
While the team was under development, it was known as Orange Cycling in reference to the national colour of the Netherlands. The team sought sponsorship from several companies, but most prominently fromRoompot Vakanties. Another Dutch team, WorldTour teamBelkin Pro Cycling, were also seeking a new title sponsor and were seen as in direct competition with Orange Cycling for the Roompot sponsorship.[8]
On 13 August 2014, it was announced that Roompot had decided to sponsor the Orange Cycling project, apparently in part because the intention only to sign Dutch riders matched Roompot's marketing strategy.[6] The following day, the team announced its first rider,Johnny Hoogerland, who had previously ridden for another Dutch team,Vacansoleil–DCM.[4]
The team was launched on 2 January 2015, at theSix Days of Rotterdam. The launch gave prominence to the squad's Dutch identity, including the return of orange cycling jerseys, traditionally the colour of the Rabobank team.[9] Breukink announced that the team would race for the first time at theVuelta a Mallorca, and was considering the possibility of applying to participate in the2015 Vuelta a España.[10]
The team made its debut at the 2015 Trofeo Santanyi-Ses Salines-Campos, part of the Vuelta a Mallorca.Raymond Kreder finished in sixth place.[11] He also took the team's next top 10 result: ninth place in the2015 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.[12] Kreder finished in third place on the final stage of the2015 Volta ao Algarve, but he was relegated to the back of the group for improper sprinting.[13]
Roompot's first top-ten results of the spring classics season came in Drenthe, with fourth place forJesper Asselman in theRonde van Drenthe and ninth place forWesley Kreder the following day in theDwars door Drenthe.André Looij also finished fourth in theHandzame Classic.
In the2015 Eneco Tour, Asselman spent two days in the breakaway and picked up bonus seconds that put him in the race lead. This was the first time that any Roompot rider had led any UCI-ranked race.[14] The following week, the team won its first ever victory:Maurits Lammertink won a bunch sprint on the final stage of theTour du Limousin. This was followed the same day by the team's second victory throughDylan Groenewegen in theArnhem–Veenendaal Classic.
For the 2016 season, Roompot signedPieter Weening fromOrica–GreenEDGE, a rider who had won three grand tour stages in the past. He attributed his decision to sign for the team to its Dutch identity; it was also suggested that the team may receive a wildcard entry for the2016 Giro d'Italia, which starts in the Netherlands.[15]
In August 2018 it was announced that the team would merge with theVérandas Willems–Crelan team for the 2019 season under the name Roompot–Crelan,[16] which later became Roompot–Charles.
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OverallTour of Norway,Pieter Weening
OverallTour de LuxembourgMaurits Lammertink
Young rider Classification
Points race,UCI Track World Championships,Jan-Willem van Schip
Mountains classificationTour of NorwayElmar Reinders
