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2017 Spring Classics CQ Game

Teams
You need to pick 12 riders, to a budget of 3000 points from the 31 December 2016 CQ download (so you can use your research from the main or youth games): this spreadsheet at Dropbox might help.
All riders are available (except Sagan, who would more than blow the budget single-handed), there are no doper rules.

There are 20 one day races that score CQ points in this game (one more than last year):
25/2 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - 1.WT3
25/2 Sud Ardeche - 1.1
26/2 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne - 1.HC
26/2 Drome Classic - 1.1
1/3 Le Samyn - 1.1
4/3 Strade Bianche - 1.WT3
5/3 GP Industria & Artigianato - 1.HC
5/3 Dwars door West-Vlaanderen - 1.1
15/3 Nokere Koerse - 1.HC
18/3 Milano - Sanremo - 1.WT1
22/3 Dwars door Vlaanderen - 1.WT3
24/3 E3 Harelbeke - 1.WT2
26/3 Gent - Wevelgem - 1.WT2
2/4 Ronde van Vlaanderen - 1.WT1
5/4 Scheldeprijs - 1.HC
9/4 Paris - Roubaix - 1.WT1
12/4 Brabantse Pijl - 1.HC
16/4 Amstel Gold Race - 1.WT2
19/4 La Flèche Wallonne - 1.WT2
23/4 Liège - Bastogne - Liège - 1.WT1

This comprises all of the European 1.WT and 1.HC races, and any 1.1 race that had at least 1/3 of the WT teams (i.e. at least 6) last year. Ardeche and Drome had 8, as did Dwars door West-Vlaanderen (albeit as a 3 day race, now one day), while Le Samyn had 7 and so those four are in. Missing the cut are: Ronde van Drenthe(1 WT team in 2016), Handzame Classic (5), Loire Atlantique (2), Cholet - Pays De Loire (2)(is this on this year?), Adélie de Vitré (2), Limburg Classic (2), GP Miguel Indurain (5), Vuelta a La Rioja (2), La Roue Tourangelle (2), Klasika Primavera de Amorebieta (1), Giro dell'Appennino (1), Paris-Camembert (1), Tour du Finistère (2) and Tro-Bro Léon(2).

Points should be higher than previously, as 5 races have been upgraded: Omloop, Strade Bianche and Dwars door Vlaanderen are at the new WT3 level, while Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and GP Industria & Artigianato (not in last year's edition, as there had not been a 2015 edition) have gone up to HC level.

Lugano has changed its date to May, and so is now outside the date range of this game: GP Nobili Rubinetterie was listed last year, but didn't happen, nor is it scheduled this year. But Dwars door West Vlaanderen and GP Industria make up for that.

Entering
PM to me either at CN or at Velorooms by the beginning of the Omloop on Saturday 25 February (probably mid morning GMT)
Please submit names in CQ format (easily cut and pasted from the dropbox spreadsheet above) with nothing else on each line. I have sent my team to the first entrant, Hakkie.

Teams in so far up to midnight on Thursday night (UTC)
All_In
AmisVelo
Archieboy
Armchair
Carlo_Algatrensig
ChrisDK
Comodoro
Crevaison
Del1962
DJW
EvansIsTheBest
GPBlanco
Hakkie
Joelsim
JustSomeGuy
Kazistuta
Kjellus
Leadbelly
LosBrolin
Madrazo
MellowVelo
RoteLaterne
Russell23
Scrool07
Search
SemirS
Shalgo
Spokenspin
Squire
Togo95
TomJelte
Trudgin
Vladimir

One team is still over budget: the manager hasn't opened his PM in over 5 days. Otherwise, if you are listed here, your team is fine (in terms of the rules, if not necessarily of competitiveness)

Good luck to all.
 
In the first eight teams submitted,we have 58 riders named. The most popular is on 5 teams, but there are four named four times, and another 4 in three teams, while 35 are unique picks. Two freebies have been called up: two men have been considered worth more than 1/4 of the team budget on their own.

I think there are 14 nations represented, and the age span is, I believe, 22 to 36.
 
I will be away for most of the day on Friday, and overnight until late on Saturday, I don't think I'll have internet access, so I will keep the closing time as already announced (Start of the Omloop, I believe it is 11:45 am CET, 10:45UTC on Saturday) but I won't be able to post team lists or analysis of the teams until Sunday morning (by which time I should have results of 2 races to include). If anyone wants to announce their own team anytime after the Saturday morning cut off, feel free.

This means that if you might need your team to be checked, and hope for time to change if there is a problem, you only have until about midnight on Thursday night (48 hours from the time of this message): after that, you run the risk of having a rider removed if you miscalculate.

By late on Tuesday (well, early Wednesday), we have 24 teams, 101 riders, of whom 54 are unique picks and 4 are on more than 1/3 of the teams.
 
Quick reminder: although the deadline for entries is 10:45 (UTC) on Saturday, my travels mean that if you want your entry checked, I need it by midnight tonight.

30 entries so far, which makes me think we will have several more than last year by the time we start. One team still needs correction for being over-budget, or will have one rider removed to bring him under the maximum spend. If you think you have registered (as of the timestamp on this post), check the list in the OP. If you are not there, I have somehow not received your PM, so please try again.

Edit: 3 more teams in by midnight, they are also on the OP: the rest of you will have to be extra careful. Good luck with the late decisions, and I will be back with some stats on Sunday.
 
Thanks for organizing as always, armchair.

Put this off for too long and was the one getting up with the kids this morning, so literally knocked together a team at the last minute - wish I had included Bonifazio among others, afraid my team is a bit Trek-heavy. Dimension Data not participating in several of the semi-classics cost Thwaites his spot on my team.
 
Jan 6, 2014
548
0
0
This is my team:

BOOM Lars
BOZIC Borut
BRESCHEL Matti
DEGENKOLB John
DOULL Owain
LAMPAERT Yves
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
SHAW James
STANNARD Ian
STUYVEN Jasper
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
VANMARCKE Sep

I hope I picked the right man from Sky.
 
My Team:
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
THEUNS Edward
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
HARDY Romain
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BOECKMANS Kris
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
DEVOLDER Stijn
DELTOMBE Kevin
 
I’m home now, but have recorded the Omloop, so am avoiding result of that until I watch it. So here are the game start details, and I’ll post Saturday’s races’ implications on Sunday morning.

43 teams in the end, 42 of them within budget: here they are (alphabetical order of teams, price order within teams, unique picks marked with an *)

AG
GILBERT Philippe *
VANMARCKE Sep
NAESEN Oliver
BENOOT Tiesj
BRESCHEL Matti
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
PLANCKAERT Edward
ALLEGAERT Piet
DOULL Owain
VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef
MALORI Adriano
WATSON Calvin

All_In
VAN AVERMAET Greg *
BOOM Lars
BRESCHEL Matti
DE PLUS Laurens
MARKUS Barry *
EL FARES Julien *
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
PLANCKAERT Edward
MOURIS Jens *
DOULL Owain
VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef
WATSON Calvin

Amis Velo
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
DEGENKOLB John
THEUNS Edward
Rowe Luke
Oss Daniel
BOOM Lars
TEUNS Dylan
GOUGEARD Alexis
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
PLANCKAERT Edward
CINK Ondrej

Archieboy
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
OSS Daniel
TEUNS Dylan
GOUGEARD Alexis
HOELGAARD Daniel
KISERLOVSKI Robert *
TURGIS Jimmy *
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan

Armchair Cyclist
VANMARCKE Sep
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
SARAMOTINS Aleksejs
SIEBERG Marcel
TEUNS Dylan
BURGHARDT Marcus *
THURAU Björn *
ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David
DOULL Owain
CORBEL Erwann

AupaPyama
VUILLERMOZ Alexis
STANNARD Ian
HAAS Nathan
ROWE Luke
GATTO Oscar
MOSER Moreno *
PORSEV Alexander *
BOOM Lars
SÜTTERLIN Jasha *
HARDY Romain
BOIVIN Guillaume *
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume

Carlo_Algatrensig
THWAITES Scott
ROWE Luke
GUARNIERI Jacopo *
WIPPERT Wouter *
ERVITI OLLO Imanol
OSS Daniel
VAN ASBROECK Tom *
VLIEGEN Loïc
BOOM Lars
SARAMOTINS Aleksejs
GERTS Floris
SIEBERG Marcel

ChrisDK
NAESEN Oliver
BENOOT Tiesj
VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter *
GATTO Oscar
ANACONA GOMEZ Winner Andrew *
FRAILE MATARRANZ Omar *
TEUNS Dylan
BATTAGLIN Enrico *
VALLS FERRI Rafael *
MAES Nikolas *
TEN DAM Laurens *
WAGNER Robert *

Comodoro
FELLINE Fabio
DEGENKOLB John
ALBASINI Michael
ROWE Luke
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh
TEUNISSEN Mike
VERVAEKE Louis
CIMOLAI Davide
PONZI Simone
(Comodoro failed to correct his overbudget team, so his cheapest rider, BOECKMANS Kris, will not score points for him, and he will only have 11 in his team)

Crevaison
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
VUILLERMOZ Alexis
BOOM Lars
BRESCHEL Matti
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
PELUCCHI Matteo
PLANCKAERT Edward
DEVOLDER Stijn
MINALI Riccardo

Del1962
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
HAAS Nathan
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
DEVOLDER Stijn
GATE Aaron *
DOULL Owain
CINK Ondrej
CORBEL Erwann
INSAUSTI IRASTORZA Jon Ander *

DJSprtsch
BOONEN Tom
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
ROWE Luke
LANGEVELD Sebastian *
SIEBERG Marcel
TEUNISSEN Mike
DEVRIENDT Tom *
BOZIC Borut
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan
BOECKMANS Kris
BOUHANNI Rayane

DJW
DEGENKOLB John
ALBASINI Michael
STUYVEN Jasper
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
SARAMOTINS Aleksejs
TEUNS Dylan
HOELGAARD Daniel
BOECKMANS Kris
DOULL Owain

EvansIsTheBest
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
BRESCHEL Matti
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto *
PONZI Simone
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
DEVOLDER Stijn
VAN DER HAAR Lars *
VERGAERDE Otto *
CINK Ondrej

GeraintTooFast
VANMARCKE Sep
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
LAMPAERT Yves
BOOM Lars
HARDY Romain
BRESCHEL Matti
KORSAETH Truls Engen
CATTANEO Mattia *
DEVOLDER Stijn
SALOMEIN Jarl
DECLERCQ Benjamin

GPBlanco
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
LAMPAERT Yves
STANNARD Ian
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
PEDERSEN Mads
SINKELDAM Ramon *
WAEYTENS Zico
TEUNISSEN Mike
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
DEVOLDER Stijn

Hakkie
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
THEUNS Edward
ROWE Luke
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
DE BACKER Bert
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BOECKMANS Kris
DEVOLDER Stijn
FARAZIJN Maxime *

Joelsim
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
BENOOT Tiesj
CORT NIELSEN Magnus *
DEGENKOLB John
DILLIER Silvan
GOUGEARD Alexis
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
MINALI Riccardo
ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David
DOULL Owain
CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio *

Josedin
ALAPHILIPPE Julian *
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
CALMEJANE Lilian
BOOM Lars
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh
DIBBEN Jonathan *
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
PLANCKAERT Edward
DUNNE Conor *
DOULL Owain
CINK Ondrej

Just Some Guy
NAESEN Oliver
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
BOOM Lars
MØRKØV CHRISTENSEN Michael *
BRESCHEL Matti
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
PLANCKAERT Edward
ALLEGAERT Piet
BOUHANNI Rayane
CINK Ondrej

Kazistuta
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
HAAS Nathan
BOOM Lars
TEUNS Dylan
WAEYTENS Zico
BRESCHEL Matti
VERVAEKE Louis
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BOECKMANS Kris
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan

Kjellus
STYBAR Zdenek *
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
VLIEGEN Loïc
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
WAEYTENS Zico
GOUGEARD Alexis
HOELGAARD Daniel
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
HANSEN Lasse Norman
OLIVIER Daan

Laarsland
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
THEUNS Edward
VAN BAARLE Dylan *
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
DILLIER Silvan
GERTS Floris
BRESCHEL Matti
KORSAETH Truls Engen
GOUGEARD Alexis
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume

Leadbelly
VANMARCKE Sep
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
BOOM Lars
HOELGAARD Daniel
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan
BOECKMANS Kris
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
DOULL Owain
CINK Ondrej

LightBing
VANMARCKE Sep
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
CIMOLAI Davide
BOZIC Borut
EISEL Bernhard *
SALOMEIN Jarl
CINK Ondrej
OLIVIER Daan [/b]

Los Brolin
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
FELLINE Fabio
ROWE Luke
BOOM Lars
GOUGEARD Alexis
HOELGAARD Daniel
PONZI Simone
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BOECKMANS Kris
MINALI Riccardo
CINK Ondrej

Madrazo
VANMARCKE Sep
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
BRESCHEL Matti
DEVOLDER Stijn
PETERS Nans
DECLERCQ Benjamin
VAN ROOY Kenneth

Mellow Velo
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
FELLINE Fabio
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
STANNARD Ian
VANDENBERGH Stijn
GOUGEARD Alexis
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
GRELLIER Fabien *
DOULL Owain
BOUHANNI Rayane

NotMyCircus
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
CALMEJANE Lilian
HAAS Nathan
VIVIANI Elia
VAN DER SANDE Tosh *
PEDERSEN Mads
BASKA Erik *
BRESCHEL Matti
GOUGEARD Alexis
HOELGAARD Daniel
DANIEL Maxime *

Rote Laterne
VANMARCKE Sep
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
LAMPAERT Yves
STANNARD Ian
BOOM Lars
BRESCHEL Matti
BOZIC Borut
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
SHAW James *
DOULL Owain

Russell23
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
OSS Daniel
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
TEUNS Dylan
BRESCHEL Matti
TEUNISSEN Mike
BOZIC Borut
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume

Scrool07
TERPSTRA Niki *
BENOOT Tiesj
THEUNS Edward
STANNARD Ian
POLITT Nils *
SIMON Julien
PEDERSEN Mads
DE BACKER Bert
LINDEMAN Bert-Jan *
BOECKMANS Kris
DEVOLDER Stijn
MAISON Jérémy *

Search
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
THEUNS Edward
SLAGTER Tom-Jelte *
VANDENBERGH Stijn
SIMON Julien
BOOM Lars
TEUNS Dylan
BRESCHEL Matti
PONZI Simone
BOECKMANS Kris
DEVOLDER Stijn

SemirS
VANMARCKE Sep
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
GOUGEARD Alexis
VAN POPPEL Boy *
DE DECKER Alfdan *
MATTSON Petter *
SIMON VARGAS Alvaro Fernando *

Shalgo
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
ROWE Luke
VIVIANI Elia
BOOM Lars
OFFREDO Yoann
TEUNS Dylan
BRESCHEL Matti
DE PLUS Laurens
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
DEVOLDER Stijn

Spokenspin
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
DEGENKOLB John
BONIFAZIO Niccolo *
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
DE TIER Floris *
GOUGEARD Alexis
KEISSE Iljo *
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
PELUCCHI Matteo

Squire
VANMARCKE Sep
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STANNARD Ian
BOOM Lars
JANSEN Amund Grøndahl *
TEUNS Dylan
BRESCHEL Matti
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
MINALI Riccardo
VAN ROOY Kenneth

The_Asian
VANMARCKE Sep
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STANNARD Ian
SIMON Julien
BOOM Lars
BRESCHEL Matti
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BOECKMANS Kris
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
DEVOLDER Stijn
VAN STAEYEN Michael *

ThePirate81
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
THEUNS Edward
STANNARD Ian
ROWE Luke
HARDY Romain
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BOECKMANS Kris
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
DEVOLDER Stijn
DELTOMBE Kevin *

Togo95
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
CALMEJANE Lilian
STANNARD Ian
BOOM Lars
PEDERSEN Mads
PONZI Simone
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
PETERS Nans
ARIESEN Tim *
CINK Ondrej

Tom-Jelte
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
BENOOT Tiesj
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
VANDENBERGH Stijn
BOOM Lars
BOECKMANS Kris
FARRAR Tyler *
DEVOLDER Stijn
MALORI Adriano
CINK Ondrej
OLIVIER Daan

Trudgin
BOONEN Tom
GASPAROTTO Enrico *
THEUNS Edward
ERVITI OLLO Imanol
VLIEGEN Loïc
SIEBERG Marcel
TEUNS Dylan
GOUGEARD Alexis
NAPOLITANO Danilo *
GUERREIRO Ruben Antonio Almeida *
DE GENDT Aimé *
CINK Ondrej

Vladimir
DEGENKOLB John
STUYVEN Jasper
DE BIE Sean *
THWAITES Scott
SENECHAL Florian *
VANENDERT Jelle *
OSS Daniel
BOOM Lars
OFFREDO Yoann
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BOECKMANS Kris
HANSEN Lasse Norman
 
The big spends

It doesn’t take great mathematical expertise to calculate that a budget of 3000 points spread across 12 riders means the average spend per rider if 250: those on whom we have spent twice that average are:

(Rider/price/teams)
VAN AVERMAET Greg 2279 1
ALAPHILIPPE Julian 1151 1
BOONEN Tom 951 2
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 833 9
GILBERT Philippe 777 1
TERPSTRA Niki 764 1
VANMARCKE Sep 744 10
STYBAR Zdenek 736 1
NAESEN Oliver 643 3
KWIATKOWSKI Michal 611 7
FELLINE Fabio 607 3
BENOOT Tiesj 588 26
CORT NIELSEN Magnus 555 1
GASPAROTTO Enrico 551 1
DEGENKOLB John 550 34

Some teams managed to buy 4 of these:
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando, KWIATKOWSKI Michal BENOOT Tiesj, DEGENKOLB John: Del1962, EvansIsTheBest
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando, BENOOT Tiesj, CORT NIELSEN Magnus, DEGENKOLB John: Joelsim
GILBERT Philippe, VANMARCKE Sep, NAESEN Oliver, BENOOT Tiesj: AG
NAESEN Oliver, KWIATKOWSKI Michal, BENOOT Tiesj, DEGENKOLB John: Just Some Guy

Some found room for 3:
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando, KWIATKOWSKI Michal, FELLINE Fabio: Los Brolin
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando, BENOOT Tiesj, DEGENKOLB John: Tom-Jelte, Crevaison
VANMARCKE Sep, BENOOT Tiesj, DEGENKOLB John : Armchair Cyclist, Leadbelly, Squire, The_Asian, LightBing, GeraintTooFast
STYBAR Zdenek, BENOOT Tiesj, DEGENKOLB John: Kjellus
KWIATKOWSKI Michal, FELLINE Fabio, DEGENKOLB John: Mellow Velo
KWIATKOWSKI Michal, BENOOT Tiesj, DEGENKOLB John: Togo95, Kazistuta

Others have 2:
BOONEN Tom, GASPAROTTO Enrico:Trudgin
BOONEN Tom, DEGENKOLB John: DJSprtsch
ALAPHILIPPE Julian, GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando: Josedin
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando, DEGENKOLB John: Amis Velo, Spokenspin
TERPSTRA Niki, BENOOT Tiesj: Scrool07
VANMARCKE Sep, DEGENKOLB John: Rote Laterne, SemirS, Madrazo
NAESEN Oliver, BENOOT Tiesj: ChrisDK
FELLINE Fabio, DEGENKOLB John: Comodoro
BENOOT Tiesj, DEGENKOLB John, Hakkie, Search, GPBlanco, Russell23, Archieboy, Shalgo, ThePirate81, NotMyCircus

Or saw no reason to invest heavily more than once:
VAN AVERMAET Greg: All In
DEGENKOLB John: DJW,Vladimir, Laarsland

And some have entered very egalitarian teams, with no real leader at all:
AupaPyama (Vuillermoz 437 is his dearest pick)
Carlo_Algatrensig (Thwaites 322 is the highest spend)
 
Rider popularity

How many of our 43 teams chose each rider?

34: DEGENKOLB John
29: BOOM Lars
26: BENOOT Tiesj
25: VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
16: BRESCHEL Matti
16: ROWE Luke
16: STANNARD Ian
15: STUYVEN Jasper
14: RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
13: DEVOLDER Stijn
13: VANDENBERGH Stijn
12: BOECKMANS Kris

That selection of the top 12 picks fits neatly into the budget, with total cost of 2973, so comprises our Collective Wisdom team.

Other picks ranked by popularity:
11: CINK Ondrej, GOUGEARD Alexis, TEUNS Dylan
10: DOULL Owain, VANMARCKE Sep
9: GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
7: KWIATKOWSKI Michal, THEUNS Edward
6: HOELGAARD Daniel, PLANCKAERT Edward
5: OSS Daniel, PONZI Simone
4: BOZIC Borut, HAAS Nathan, MINALI Riccardo, PEDERSEN Mads, SIEBERG Marcel, TEUNISSEN Mike
3: BOUHANNI Rayane, CALMEJANE Lilian, FELLINE Fabio, GARCIA CORTINA Ivan, HARDY Romain, LAMPAERT Yves, NAESEN Oliver, OLIVIER Daan, SARAMOTINS Aleksejs, SIMON Julien, VLIEGEN Loïc, WAEYTENS Zico
2: ALBASINI Michael, ALLEGAERT Piet, ANDERSEN Søren Kragh, ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David, BOONEN Tom, CIMOLAI Davide, CORBEL Erwann, DE BACKER Bert, DE PLUS Laurens, DECLERCQ Benjamin, DILLIER Silvan, ERVITI OLLO Imanol, GATTO Oscar, GERTS Floris, HANSEN Lasse Norman, KORSAETH Truls Engen, MALORI Adriano, OFFREDO Yoann, PELUCCHI Matteo, PETERS Nans, SALOMEIN Jarl, THWAITES Scott, VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef, VAN ROOY Kenneth, VERVAEKE Louis, VIVIANI Elia, VUILLERMOZ Alexis, WATSON Calvin

The unique picks (72 of them) are marked above.

That makes for a total of 142 riders.
 
Team popularity

The Collective Wisdom team would have an index of 229; the number in brackets shows the number of unique picks.

1= Russell23 199 (0)
1= The_Asian 199 (1)
3 Hakkie 193 (1)
4 Shalgo 191 (0)
5 Squire 188 (1)
6 Leadbelly 187 (0)
7 Kazistuta 183 (0)
8 ThePirate81 182 (1)
9 Crevaison 180 (0)
10 AmisVelo 178 (0)
11 RoteLaterne 177 (1)
12 GPBlanco 171 (1)
13 Search 170 (1)
14= Madrazo 168 (0)
14= TomJelte 168 (1)
16 DJW 167 (0)
17= JustSomeGuy 163 (1)
17= Togo95 163 (1)
19 Laarsland 157 (1)
20= Archieboy 156 (2)
20= Kjellus 156 (1)
22 MellowVelo 152 (1)
23 LightBing 150 (1)
24 EvansIsTheBest 149 (3)
25 SemirS 148 (4)
26 GeraintTooFast 141 (1)
27 Joelsim 139 (2)
28 LosBrolin 138 (0)
29 Spokenspin 133 (3)
30 Del1962 132 (2)
31 Vladimir 129 (3)
32 Armchair 119 (2)
33= Comodoro 112 (0)
33= Josedin 112 (3)
35 NotMyCircus 109 (3)
36 AG 105 (1)
37 AupaPyama 101 (4)
38 DJSprtsch 99 (2)
39 All_In 96 (4)
40 Scrool07 87 (4)
41 Carlo_Algatrensig 69 (3)
42 Trudgin 55 (4)
43 ChrisDK 50 (8)

If you think you can derive any other useful data, the spreadsheet is here
Good luck to all, and thanks for entering.
 
Race 1: Classic d'Ardèche

I guess I can check the spreadsheet, and find the result of the Ardeche Classic, without it spoiling my enjoyment of the recorded Omloop.

Riders finishing 2nd, 7th and ninth were the only ones in the point scoring top twenty that we chose between us.

CATTANEO Mattia 48 1
SIMON Julien 24 3
CALMEJANE Lilian 16 3

1 GeraintTooFast 48
2 Scrool07 24
2 Search 24
2 The_Asian 24
5 Josedin 16
5 NotMyCircus 16
5 Togo95 16

With only 2 WT teams in this, it would seem unlikely to be included in the game next year (unless I am strongly petitioned to change the terms for race inclusion). The same seems likely with the Drome Classic. Points from these tend to make little impact in the game by late April.
 
Race 2: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

The appropriately named team All_In, with more than 3/4 of his budget spent on one rider, who is twice the price of any other rider included in the game, gets at least some return on his investment with Van Avermaet's win. Sagan, as noted in the OP, is effectively banned from selection, but third placed Vanmarcke was fairly popular for an expensive rider.
The next five finishers were all part of our game, Rowe and Stuyven even being in the Collective Wisdom team, as were Breschel and Van Keirsbulck (18th and 21st). Between us, we named 12 of the top 20, and 37 point scoring finishers in all, and we are all off the mark (even if only through one finisher in 60th place)


rider/points/teams
VAN AVERMAET Greg 180 1 for All In
VANMARCKE Sep 92 10
FELLINE Fabio 78 3 (Comodoro, Los Brolin, Mellow Velo)
GATTO Oscar 70 2 (AupaPyama, ChrisDK)
ROWE Luke 62 16
NAESEN Oliver 54 3 (AG, ChrisDK, Just Some Guy)
STUYVEN Jasper 46 15
TEUNISSEN Mike 27 4
GILBERT Philippe 24 1
STYBAR Zdenek 22 1
CORT NIELSEN Magnus 18 1
BURGHARDT Marcus 16 1
BRESCHEL Matti 12 16
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume 10 25
STANNARD Ian 5 16
VANDENBERGH Stijn 5 13
DEVOLDER Stijn 5 13
GOUGEARD Alexis 5 11
THEUNS Edward 5 7
HOELGAARD Daniel 5 6
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan 5 3
LAMPAERT Yves 5 3
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh 5 2
DE BACKER Bert 5 2
HANSEN Lasse Norman 5 2
OFFREDO Yoann 5 2
BOIVIN Guillaume 5 1
DANIEL Maxime 5 1
FARAZIJN Maxime 5 1
KEISSE Iljo 5 1
LANGEVELD Sebastian 5 1
SENECHAL Florian 5 1
SINKELDAM Ramon 5 1
TERPSTRA Niki 5 1
TURGIS Jimmy 5 1
VAN ASBROECK Tom 5 1
VAN BAARLE Dylan 5 1

1 Madrazo 227 (Vanmarcke, Rowe, Stuyven, Breschel and 3 fivers)
2 SemirS 215 (Vanmarcke, Rowe, Stuyven and 3 fivers)
3 All_In 202 (Van Avermaet, Breschel and Van Keirbulck)
4 AG 192 (Vanmarcke, Naesen, Gilbert, Breschel and Van Keirbulck)
5 Comodoro 177
6 RoteLaterne 170
7 Leadbelly 169
8 LosBrolin 160
9 Armchair 154
10 AupaPyama 152
11 MellowVelo 149
12 DJSprtsch 145
13 Hakkie 143
13 LightBing 143
15 Shalgo 140
16 ThePirate81 133
17 Archieboy 128
18 The_Asian 124
18 ChrisDK 124
20 DJW 123
21 Russell23 121
22 Squire 119
23 GeraintTooFast 114
24 Spokenspin 92
25 Laarsland 88
26 AmisVelo 82
27 JustSomeGuy 76
28 Vladimir 71
29 Carlo_Algatrensig 67
30 GPBlanco 62
31 TomJelte 56
32 Kjellus 52
33 Joelsim 33
34 Search 27
34 NotMyCircus 27
34 Crevaison 27
34 EvansIsTheBest 27
38 Scrool07 25
39 Kazistuta 22
40 Josedin 15
40 Togo95 15
42 Trudgin 10
43 Del1962 5
CollectiveWisdom 140

This is essentially the same as the overall ranking: GeraintToo Fast is 8th in the overall, and is the highest placed rider whose score was enhanced in the Ardeche.
 
Race 3: Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Given that the winner was impossible to pick, we collectively did very well with 2nd, 3rd and 4th all being very popular picks (and Collective Wisdom came joint second on this race), and also between us getting 7th, 8th, 9th, 4 other top 20 finishers and another 2 five pointers among the top 30.

STUYVEN Jasper 84 15
ROWE Luke 72 16
BENOOT Tiesj 62 26
VAN AVERMAET Greg 42 1 (All In)
NAESEN Oliver 36 3 (AG, ChrisDK, Just Some Guy)
STYBAR Zdenek 30 1 (Kjellus)
MAES Nikolas 15 1
STANNARD Ian 12 16
DILLIER Silvan 10 2
VAN ASBROECK Tom 7 1
CORT NIELSEN Magnus 5 1
THEUNS Edward 5 7

1 ThePirate81 235 (Stuyven, Rowe, Benoot, Stannard and 1 fiver)
2 Archieboy 230 (Stuyven, Rowe, Benoot and Stannard: the Collective Wisdom group)
3 Hakkie 223 (Stuyven, Rowe, Benoot, and 1 fiver)
4 Shalgo 218 (Stuyven, Rowe and Benoot)
5 Madrazo 168
5 SemirS 168
5 DJW 168
8 DJSprtsch 156
9 Leadbelly 146
9 Armchair 146
9 LightBing 146
9 Russell23 146
9 TomJelte 146
14 ChrisDK 113
15 Laarsland 99
16 AG 98
16 JustSomeGuy 98
18 RoteLaterne 96
18 MellowVelo 96
20 Kjellus 92
21 AupaPyama 84
21 Spokenspin 84
21 Vladimir 84
24 Carlo_Algatrensig 79
24 Scrool07 79
26 AmisVelo 77
26 Joelsim 77
28 The_Asian 74
28 Squire 74
28 GPBlanco 74
28 Togo95 74
32 Comodoro 72
32 LosBrolin 72
34 Search 67
35 GeraintTooFast 62
35 NotMyCircus 62
35 Crevaison 62
35 EvansIsTheBest 62
35 Kazistuta 62
35 Del1962 62
41 All_In 42
42 Trudgin 5
43 Josedin 0
CollectiveWisdom 230
 
Race 4: Drôme Classic

Not the race most of us will have been predicting in building our teams for (and unlikely to be included next year, as it had only 2 WT teams), but nevertheless, three managers picked each of 8th, 12th and 13th.

HARDY Romain 24 3
SIMON Julien 9 3
CALMEJANE Lilian 8 3

1 AupaPyama 24
1 GeraintTooFast 24
1 ThePirate81 24
4 Scrool07 9
4 Search 9
4 The_Asian 9
7 Josedin 8
7 NotMyCircus 8
7 Togo95 8

Geraint has been the expert in this French mini-series: he might miss them next year.

So with 4 of the 20 races gone:
Team Standings
1 Madrazo 395
2 ThePirate81 392
3 SemirS 383
4 Hakkie 366
5 Archieboy 358
5 Shalgo 358
7 Leadbelly 315
8 DJSprtsch 301
9 Armchair 300
10 DJW 291
11 AG 290
12 LightBing 289
13 Russell23 267
14 RoteLaterne 266
15 AupaPyama 260
16 Comodoro 249
17 GeraintTooFast 248
18 MellowVelo 245
19 All_In 244
20 ChrisDK 237
21 LosBrolin 232
22 The_Asian 231
23 TomJelte 202
24 Squire 193
25 Laarsland 187
26 Spokenspin 176
27 JustSomeGuy 174
28 AmisVelo 159
29 Vladimir 155
30 Carlo_Algatrensig 146
31 Kjellus 144
32 Scrool07 137
33 GPBlanco 136
34 Search 127
35 NotMyCircus 113
35 Togo95 113
37 Joelsim 110
38 Crevaison 89
38 EvansIsTheBest 89
40 Kazistuta 84
41 Del1962 67
42 Josedin 39
43 Trudgin 15
CollectiveWisdom 370
 
Race 5: Le Samyn

Not many scoring riders but they were 3 of the first 4, but one of them made many teams happy.

1 Spokenspin 120 (Van Keirsbulck and Keisse)
2 Vladimir 116 (Van Keirsbulck and Senechal)
3 23 other teams 80 (Van Keirsbulck)

Those who missed out on Van Keirsbulck were concentrated towards the top of the standings this morning, including 1st, 3rd, 5th and 4 more of the top ten. Not any more...

1 ThePirate81 472
2 Hakkie 446
3 Shalgo 438
4 Madrazo 395 *
5 SemirS 383 *
6 AG 370
7 Archieboy 358 *
8 Russell23 347
9 RoteLaterne 346
10 AupaPyama 340
CollectiveWisdom 450
(asterisked teams missed out of Van Keirsbulck)
 
Thanks for all the updates Armchair! I have more or less given up defending my win from last year, but happy to get on the podium in Le Samyn at least. I see that Strade Bianche now is category 1.WT3 also on Cqranking site, so maybe nice to update the first post?
 
Re:

vladimir said:
Thanks for all the updates Armchair! I have more or less given up defending my win from last year, but happy to get on the podium in Le Samyn at least. I see that Strade Bianche now is category 1.WT3 also on Cqranking site, so maybe nice to update the first post?

Thus amended: I included it as upgraded in the text, but missed the edit in the list. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.
 
Race 6: Strade Bianche

A great race, and a popular annual event, and a decent performance by our selectors.
We had a moderately popular winner, two UPs in second and fourth, and one of the top picks in 8th, and rare picks 10th and 13th. Four more of the top 25 are part of our game, along with eleven other finishers, one of who was popular enough to make the Collective Wisdom team.

KWIATKOWSKI Michal 180pts 7 teams
VAN AVERMAET Greg 108 1 (All In)
STYBAR Zdenek 78 1 (Kjellus)
BENOOT Tiesj 46 26
THWAITES Scott 36 2 (Carlo Algatrensig and Vladimir)
FELLINE Fabio 24 3 (Comodoro, Los Brilin and Mellow Velo)
CINK Ondrej 14 11
KORSAETH Truls Engen 11 2
GATTO Oscar 9 2
DE TIER Floris 7 1
STUYVEN Jasper 5 15
TEUNISSEN Mike 5 4
BURGHARDT Marcus 5 1
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan 5 3
OSS Daniel 5 5
HAAS Nathan 5 4
PETERS Nans 5 2
BATTAGLIN Enrico 5 1
CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio 5 1
MOSER Moreno 5 1
POLITT Nils 5 1

Scores today:
1= Del1962 245 (Kwiatkowski, Benoot, Cink and a fiver)
1= Togo95 245 (Kwiatkowski, Benoot, Cink and a fiver)
3= EvansIsTheBest 240 (Kwiatkowski, Benoot, Cink)
3= JustSomeGuy 240 (Kwiatkowski, Benoot, Cink)
5 Kazistuta 231 (Kwiatkowski, Benoot and a fiver)
6 LosBrolin 218 (Kwiatkowski, Felline, Cink)
7 MellowVelo 209 (Kwiatkowski, Felline and a fiver)
8 Kjellus 124 (Stybar and Benoot)
9 All_In 108 (Van Avermaet)
10= Leadbelly 65
10= LightBing 65
10= TomJelte 65
13 ChrisDK 60
14 GeraintTooFast 57
15= Archieboy 56
15= Armchair 56
15= Russell23 56
18= GPBlanco 51
18= Hakkie 51
18= Joelsim 51
18= NotMyCircus 51
18= Scrool07 51
18= Shalgo 51
18= ThePirate81 51
25= AG 46
25= Crevaison 46
25= Search 46
25= Squire 46
25= The_Asian 46
25= Vladimir 46
31 Carlo_Algatrensig 41
32 Comodoro 29
33= AmisVelo 19
33= AupaPyama 19
35 Laarsland 16
36 DJSprtsch 15
37= Josedin 14
37= Trudgin 14
39 Spokenspin 12
40 Madrazo 10
41= DJW 5
41= RoteLaterne 5
41= SemirS 5
CollectiveWisdom 51

Standings
The table is still very volatile: the average rise of the Kwiatowski teams was more than 18 places. The Pirate relinquishes the lead but hangs on to a podium spot. Other than 4 Kwiatkowski teams(Mellow Velo, Los Brolin, Just Some Guy and Togo), the other re-entry into the top ten is Van Avermaet-dependent All In.
1 MellowVelo 534
2 LosBrolin 530
3 ThePirate81 523
4 Hakkie 497
5 JustSomeGuy 494
6 Shalgo 489
7 Togo95 438
8 All_In 432
9 AG 416
10 Archieboy 414
11 EvansIsTheBest 409
12 Madrazo 405
13 Russell23 403
14 Kazistuta 395
15 SemirS 388
16 Leadbelly 380
17 AupaPyama 359
18 The_Asian 357
19 Armchair 356
20 LightBing 354
21 RoteLaterne 351
22 Kjellus 348
23 Squire 319
24 Vladimir 317
25 DJSprtsch 316
26 Del1962 312
27 Spokenspin 308
28 GeraintTooFast 305
29 ChrisDK 297
30 DJW 296
31 Laarsland 283
32 Comodoro 278
33 GPBlanco 267
33 TomJelte 267
35 AmisVelo 258
36 Joelsim 241
37 Crevaison 215
38 Scrool07 188
39 Carlo_Algatrensig 187
40 Search 173
41 NotMyCircus 164
42 Josedin 133
43 Trudgin 29
CollectiveWisdom 501

2 races tomorrow: not sure that we are expecting large numbers of points for the game either in West Vlaanderen or GP Industria, but who knows.
 
Race 7: GP Industria & Artigianato - Larciano

Some of the big point scorers here are expensive GC guy looking to Tirreno-Adriatico, who don't do enough of these races to be a good pick here. There were, however, some good bargains who performed well, some of whom were selected, and some were missed by us all.


2nd CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio 84pts for Joelsim
4th CATTANEO Mattia 62pts for Geraint Too Fast
14th ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David 12pts for Joelsim (again) and yours truly.

96 points moved Joelsim 12 places to 24, 62 points gave Geraint a temporary 10 place hike to 18th, and I had a 2 position bump up to 17th.

Then I added in:

Race 8: Dwars door West Vlaanderen
Like all the other 1.1 races, this event had not enough WT teams to remain in the game next year (unless we change the criteria: I am open to suggestions).

But it was an interest chase from what I saw, but not one in which our popular pick managed to close down the leaders. If the race does get dropped next year, it might not make a vast difference.

2nd DILLIER Silvan 48pts for Joelsim and Laarsland
3rd HANSEN Lasse Norman 40pts for Kjellus and Vladimir
5th VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume 32pts for 25 teams, including all of those who had another scorer in this race
10th KEISSE Iljo 12pts for Spokenspin
13th JANSEN Amund Grøndahl 8pts for Squire

Standings
Winning both events today brought Joelsim from 36th to 14th, and Kjellus remained above him by also having a 10 spot rise through his picks in this race. Very little change at the top, as this mornings top nine all had Van Keirsbulck and no-one else today: Archieboy didn't, so falls to 15th, as EvansIsTheBest took his tenth place.

1 MellowVelo 566
2 LosBrolin 562
3 ThePirate81 555
4 Hakkie 529
5 JustSomeGuy 526
6 Shalgo 521
7 Togo95 470
8 All_In 464
9 AG 448
10 EvansIsTheBest 441
11 Russell23 435
12 Kazistuta 427
13 Kjellus 420
14 Joelsim 417
15 Archieboy 414
16 Madrazo 405
17 AupaPyama 391
18 The_Asian 389
18 Vladimir 389
20 SemirS 388
21 RoteLaterne 383
22 Leadbelly 380
23 Armchair 368
24 GeraintTooFast 367
25 Laarsland 363
26 Squire 359
27 LightBing 354
28 Spokenspin 352
29 DJSprtsch 316
30 Del1962 312
31 GPBlanco 299
32 ChrisDK 297
33 DJW 296
34 AmisVelo 290
35 Comodoro 278
36 TomJelte 267
37 Crevaison 247
38 Scrool07 188
39 Carlo_Algatrensig 187
40 Search 173
41 Josedin 165
42 NotMyCircus 164
43 Trudgin 29
CollectiveWisdom 533
 
The team is going pretty well so far but I feel I'm going to regret picking Betancur (I was convincing Gougeard was already on the team but apparently not, should have gone with him instead). Guess I'll have to believe in Betancur again for a couple months then :lol:
 
Race 9: Nokere Koerse

From now on we have at least one race per week, after a bit of a break for the one week races, but this is a very quiet resumption of the contest.

Our only scorers are:
BOIVIN Guillaume: 12th, 18 pts for AupaPyama
SALOMEIN Jarl: 13th, 15pts for GeraintTooFast and LightBing
NAPOLITANO Danilo: 25th, 5 pts for Trudgin
GERTS Floris: 27th, 5 pts for Carlo_Algatrensig and Laarsland
JANSEN Amund Grøndahl: 30th, 5pts for Squire

and those are our only scorers today.

In the overall standings, LightBing moves up three, Geraint moves up 2, and Carlo and AupaPyama one spot each, but no points at all among the top 15.

I think we can be sure of more game action on Saturday in MSR.