2013 CQ Game Classics Edition

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Here's my team - as one of the only 3 with both Gilbert and Cancellara

GILBERT Philippe
CANCELLARA Fabian
VANMARCKE Sep
THOMAS Geraint
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor
ROLLIN Dominique
BONNET William
MAASKANT Martijn
COQUARD Bryan
SCHLECK Andy
FINETTO Mauro

Very solid team throughout, provided the top guys don't disappoint. I know you "dislike" Hushovd, so I wasn't sure you'd pick him.

I expect something from Coquard, too. It's highly likely that he'll do Scheldeprijs, of course. Ghent - Wevelgem (probably way too hard) was on his schedule already. Not sure if that's still the case, though.



I haven't seen that many teams yet, but the funniest non-filler pick I've come across so far is Devolder.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Very solid team throughout, provided the top guys don't disappoint. I know you "dislike" Hushovd, so I wasn't sure you'd pick him.

I expect something from Coquard, too. It's highly likely that he'll do Scheldeprijs, of course. Ghent - Wevelgem (probably way too hard) was on his schedule already. Not sure if that's still the case, though.



I haven't seen that many teams yet, but the funniest non-filler pick I've come across so far is Devolder.

The funny thing is that I've started to feel sympathy for Hushovd (and Andy Schleck as well!) so I almost root for them now. Almost!

 

[The Hitch]

I see ive missed the ball with Langeveld.

Though I do have a unique pick this time round - Zaugg.

POZZATO Filippo
IGLINSKIY Maxim
BRESCHEL Matti
SLAGTER Tom Jelte
OFFREDO Yoann
HERMANS Ben
ZAUGG Oliver
THOMAS Geraint
EISEL Bernhard
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor
SCHLECK Andy

 

[Ruudz0r]

Here's my team - as one of the only 3 with both Gilbert and Cancellara

GILBERT Philippe
CANCELLARA Fabian
VANMARCKE Sep
THOMAS Geraint
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor
ROLLIN Dominique
BONNET William
MAASKANT Martijn
COQUARD Bryan
SCHLECK Andy
FINETTO Mauro

Im one of the other 2 , 7 similar picks was doubting between finetto and bobridge for the last one, but wasnt sure about's Vini's wildcards so went with Bobri although I think they both will score 0 points for us here

GILBERT Philippe
CANCELLARA Fabian
LANGEVELD Sebastian
THOMAS Geraint
CHAINEL Steve
NUYENS Nick
ROUX Anthony
HUSHOVD Thor
SUTTON Christopher
COQUARD Bryan
SCHLECK Andy
BOBRIDGE Jack

 

[Afrank]

Might as well post my team. Hoping Cance dominates, Stybar pulls out a few surprise wins, Docker makes good on the potential he showed in 2011, and the rest do well.

By the way how do you find out how many times a rider has been picked on the spreadsheet? I've forgotten.

CANCELLARA Fabian
POZZATO Filippo
STYBAR Zdenek
VANMARCKE Sep
FAVILLI Elia
LANGEVELD Sebastian
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor
SUTTON Christopher
ROULSTON Hayden
DOCKER Mitchell
SCHLECK Andy

 

[search]

was doubting between finetto and bobridge for the last one, but wasnt sure about's Vini's wildcards so went with Bobri although I think they both will score 0 points for us here

I think Finetto can be a really good pick, and Vini Fantini has six wild cards already, they should end up with at least 10 I think. I had the choice between him, Rathe and Schleck (before making another adjustment) and ended up taking Finetto.

my team:

POZZATO Filippo
IGLINSKIY Maxim
GATTO Oscar
VANMARCKE Sep
BRESCHEL Matti
OFFREDO Yoann
LANGEVELD Sebastian
THOMAS Geraint
EISEL Bernhard
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor
FINETTO Mauro

no unique picks unfortunately. I really wanted to take Ghyselinck but as it was would have only been possible by leaving out Nuyens...

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Im one of the other 2 , 7 similar picks was doubting between finetto and bobridge for the last one, but wasnt sure about's Vini's wildcards so went with Bobri although I think they both will score 0 points for us here

GILBERT Philippe
CANCELLARA Fabian
LANGEVELD Sebastian
THOMAS Geraint
CHAINEL Steve
NUYENS Nick
ROUX Anthony
HUSHOVD Thor
SUTTON Christopher
COQUARD Bryan
SCHLECK Andy
BOBRIDGE Jack

Which (semi) classics is Roux scheduled to ride? I didn't read any rider interviews, except the ones from Coquard.

 

[search]

Which (semi) classics is Roux scheduled to ride?

just MSR and the Ardennes Classics, so I think it will be difficult for him to score more than a handful of points

"Tour Méditerranéen, Trophée Laigueglia, Drôme et Sud-Ardèche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, Critérium International, Circuit de la Sarthe, Paris-Camembert, les classiques ardennaises et le Giro."

 

[Jancouver]

I took a slightly different approach for this game


POZZATO Filippo
KOLOBNEV Alexandr
VANMARCKE Sep
BRESCHEL Matti
STYBAR Zdenek
VICHOT Arthur
OSS Daniel
EISEL Bernhard
STEEGMANS Gert
APPOLLONIO Davide
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor

 

[the asian]

Left out Gilbert, Cancellara and Schleck.

My Team.

POZZATO Filippo
IGLINSKIY Maxim
VANENDERT Jelle
BRESCHEL Matti
STYBAR Zdenek
CIOLEK Gerald
THOMAS Geraint
EISEL Bernhard
MARKUS Barry
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor
MAASKANT Martijn

 

[Froome19]

Wanted to take Kolobnev but it would have left my slightly over budget. He would have to have a very good Ardennes week though to be worth it but I can see him doing it. Interesting that not many people have Rosseler seeing as I would see him as a better choice than Maaskant etc

POZZATO Filippo
VANENDERT Jelle
VANMARCKE Sep
BRESCHEL Matti
OFFREDO Yoann
HERMANS Ben
LANGEVELD Sebastian
THOMAS Geraint
EISEL Bernhard
NUYENS Nick
HUSHOVD Thor
ROSSELER Sébastien

 

[the_fool_on_the_hill]

I missed the deadline but here is the team I would have submitted

CANCELLARA Fabian
POZZATO Filippo
STYBAR Zdenek
STANNARD Ian
THOMAS Geraint
EISEL Bernhard
LÖFKVIST Thomas
TRENTIN Matteo
NUYENS Nick
ELISSONDE Kenny
HUSHOVD Thor
SCHLECK Andy

I'll keep a track of it and see how it goes.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I missed the deadline but here is the team I would have submitted

CANCELLARA Fabian
POZZATO Filippo
STYBAR Zdenek
STANNARD Ian
THOMAS Geraint
EISEL Bernhard
LÖFKVIST Thomas
TRENTIN Matteo
NUYENS Nick
ELISSONDE Kenny
HUSHOVD Thor
SCHLECK Andy

I'll keep a track of it and see how it goes.

Meh, don't worry about it. I'll put your team in the spreadsheet. It doesn't look like you've copied anyones team anyway

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

just MSR and the Ardennes Classics, so I think it will be difficult for him to score more than a handful of points

"Tour Méditerranéen, Trophée Laigueglia, Drôme et Sud-Ardèche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, Critérium International, Circuit de la Sarthe, Paris-Camembert, les classiques ardennaises et le Giro."

Thanks. Glad I left him out then.

Re: Schleck. Like you, I left him out as well. He seems to be a very popular pick, though. I pretty much gave up hope that he would bounce back in time, but I'm not that confident about it.

Maaskant: same. He says he wants to podium in a cobbled Monument, though, so he must be feeling pretty okay, I suppose.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

40 teams, 107 riders chosen

Most popular riders:
Hushovd 38
Nuyens 34
Thomas 30
Pozzato 28
Schleck 26
Vanmarcke 25
Breschel 23
Gilbert 19
Langeveld 17
Eisel 15
Cancellara 11
Maaskant 9

Unique picks:
Flecha
Gallopin
Van Stayen
Blythe
Izagirre Ion
Kreder
Rast
Madrazo
Dennis
Kruopis
Bardet
Boekmans
De Kort
Devenyns
Landa
Zaugg
Porsev
Kroon
Kocjan
Guarnieri
Bille
Wallays
Battaglin
Puccio
De Greef
Van Dijk
Clarke William
Van Kierslbulck
Markus
Dockx
Appollonio
Cherel
Ghyselinck
Lastras
van der Sande
Cimolai
De Clercq
Robert
DeBusschere
Reynes
Rollin
Ravard
Vaitkus
Sulberger
Wagner
Kaisen
Bol
Rathe
Van Leijen
Cammaerts
Ospina
Kennaugh
Reimer

Lack of originality scores (Hushovd=38, Nuyens=34 etc)
258 J-King
243 EvansIsTheBest
241 mutschi
240 Blackbandit222
232 rmeloa
229 asdfgh101
229 search
228 Froome19
221 AG
220 Gotland
...
188 HelgeBlendet
184 Caruut
183 Jancouver
170 just some guy
167 Tigerion
166 18-Valve. (pithy)
138 comodoro
136 vladimir
111 Geraint Too Fast
106 karaev


Most unique picks:
5: vladimir, karaev
4: DJ Sprtsch, comodoro
3: al_pacino, GP Blanco, just some guy, Tigerion, AG
...
none: J-King, EvansIsTheBest , mutschi, Blackbandit222, rmeloa, asdfgh101, search, Froome19, Gotland, Afrank, ingsve, Ruudz0r, August

 

[the_fool_on_the_hill]

Meh, don't worry about it. I'll put your team in the spreadsheet. It doesn't look like you've copied anyones team anyway

Thanks Hugo, that's great.

Does the bolded part mean you dont think I have a very good team?!

 

[al_pacino]

GILBERT Philippe
POZZATO Filippo
IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Ion
MADRAZO RUIZ Angel
LANDA MEANA Mikel
THOMAS Geraint
NUYENS Nick
ROUX Anthony
HUSHOVD Thor
SUTTON Christopher
SCHLECK Andy
FINETTO Mauro

At first I was thinking about Sagan but soon realised if was in no way worth it.

Then came the Boom And Gilbert chronicles. No matter what combo I looked at, and there were many, I couldn't get it to work. I eventually gave up and ended with what I have.

I have no idea how much we'll see Madrazo or Landa in the scoring races but I got desperate.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Thanks Hugo, that's great.

Does the bolded part mean you dont think I have a very good team?!

No no, not at all! I think you've got a very good team! It's just that you've got some picks who aren't among the most popular (Trentin, Löfkvist and Elissonde for instance), so it's not like you just waited untill the teams were revealed and picked the "best possible" team

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Thanks for all the cool stats, Armchair! Surprisingly, there aren't that many picks that are really popular as in almost everyone have them.

I'm glad I have one unique pick, Dominique Rollin, but at the same time it's a bit surprising, I think.

He costs 50 points and last year he had a very bad season, yet he still managed 25 points in the classics by just completing 5 races. The year before, he scored 87 points in the classics and the year before that, 42 while he in 2009 scored 129 points.

I'm not saying he's a great pick or anything, I'm just surprised I'm the only one with him in my team.

 

[Jakob747]

Damn I missed the deadline! Argh. Anyway good luck to everyone playing.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

Hmm, had my team settled for a few days, and then in a final minute edit Eisel and Rollin were ditched together with...ach, forgot about the third. Anyway, instead I went a bit adventurous with KOCJAN Jure, GUARNIERI Jacopo and DEBUSSCHERE Jens
Those last minute edits can be dangerous!

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Thanks for all the cool stats, Armchair! Surprisingly, there aren't that many picks that are really popular as in almost everyone have them.

I'm glad I have one unique pick, Dominique Rollin, but at the same time it's a bit surprising, I think.

He costs 50 points and last year he had a very bad season, yet he still managed 25 points in the classics by just completing 5 races. The year before, he scored 87 points in the classics and the year before that, 42 while he in 2009 scored 129 points.

I'm not saying he's a great pick or anything, I'm just surprised I'm the only one with him in my team.

I considered Rollin but he is going to be a helper at FDJ this year with their line-up being superior to those of previous years. At least he should get 5-pointers for finishing which can't be said about Schleck
Interesting that I have the second team in term of popularity of riders. Actually, I'm surprised that Vichot isn't a unique pick.
Good luck to all.

 

[J-King]

Lack of originality scores (Hushovd=38, Nuyens=34 etc)
258 J-King

Hehe, that's one way of looking at it

Did you pick Roelandts? His price was a bit hefty thanks in part to his end of season boom and Olympics result.

Nope, I agree with you on this one, there were too many decent picks around +/- 300. I expect him to do really well though.

I haven't seen that many teams yet, but the funniest non-filler pick I've come across so far is Devolder.

Kind of regret it already, but I needed a filler for +/- 100 points...

 

[Ruudz0r]

Thanks. Glad I left him out then.

Re: Schleck. Like you, I left him out as well. He seems to be a very popular pick, though. I pretty much gave up hope that he would bounce back in time, but I'm not that confident about it.

Maaskant: same. He says he wants to podium in a cobbled Monument, though, so he must be feeling pretty okay, I suppose.

I made my team in a few minutes, didnt have time to really look into it but wanted to participate as its gives a few extra guys to cheer for. So didnt look at startlists.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Kind of regret it already, but I needed a filler for +/- 100 points...

Oh, it was just an excuse to "hate on" Devolder. It's a bad habit of mine. Ever since he announced that he was going to win the Tour I've been finding it hard to take him seriously. I could see him getting results in races like the Tour of Belgium, though. He may even make a decent profit in the main game.

I made my team in a few minutes, didnt have time to really look into it but wanted to participate as its gives a few extra guys to cheer for. So didnt look at startlists.

I didn't know Roux's schedule either, hence the question. One of "my" guys probably won't even race at all.