2023-25 Emerging Riders CQ game

[Devil's Elbow]

Losing a tiebreaker for second in a three-year game where scores run past 20000 points... I cannot wrap my head around that one. At least it wasn't for first place, I guess.

It hurts even more because Baudin had 16 points removed for his tramadol offense way back in the first year.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Losing a tiebreaker for second in a three-year game where scores run past 20000 points... I cannot wrap my head around that one. At least it wasn't for first place, I guess.

It hurts even more because Baudin had 16 points removed for his tramadol offense way back in the first year.

You never know. You might have a guy start the Vuelta a Costa Rica or something.

 

[SafeBet]

Time to start your list for the next three years. Let's try not to give the Collective Ignorance 2026-28 the sort of resounding victory it had here.

Quick look at eligible riders for next year tells me it's going to be the hardest edition ever, at least for me.
I'm expecting high variance in team selections, with Collective Ignorance being in prime position to win again.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Quick look at eligible riders for next year tells me it's going to be the hardest edition ever, at least for me.
I'm expecting high variance in team selections, with Collective Ignorance being in prime position to win again.

This was also my first thought. The 2006 generation is so good that its leading lights are already ineligible and the 2007 generation is the weakest set of junior graduates in ages. Consequently there is less than half a team's worth of eligible riders I actually want.

 

[Squire]

This was also my first thought. The 2006 generation is so good that its leading lights are already ineligible and the 2007 generation is the weakest set of junior graduates in ages. Consequently there is less than half a team's worth of eligible riders I actually want.

These games were kinda more fun when it wasn't mostly about second or first-year U23s. And now even they have priced themselves out, so I guess we have come full circle and it's fun again.

 

[Cordi333]

This was also my first thought. The 2006 generation is so good that its leading lights are already ineligible and the 2007 generation is the weakest set of junior graduates in ages. Consequently there is less than half a team's worth of eligible riders I actually want.

After the fail with Brenner I've never really considered again to select a junior, but seeing how well guys like Seixas are doing and considering how good some prospects from 2008 gen are looking...

 

[Cordi333]

Btw, now I can celebrate... 2nd victory and 5th podium in 7 editions. Not bad

 

[Nakazar]

Losing a tiebreaker for second in a three-year game where scores run past 20000 points... I cannot wrap my head around that one. At least it wasn't for first place, I guess.

It hurts even more because Baudin had 16 points removed for his tramadol offense way back in the first year.

It could be said about any of the results, but I will remember that it was Dinham's 5 points for 32nd place in GC in China that gave me the second place.

 

[Cordi333]

@Armchair Cyclist the last update here is the final update then? No las month changes and 2nd & 3rd end with photo finish?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

@Armchair Cyclist the last update here is the final update then? No las month changes and 2nd & 3rd end with photo finish?

There will (I assume) be a 31 Dec update, and any adjustments to scores in that will be taken into account, so that will be the final confirmation.

But as I type that, I suppose I should check that riders' 2024 and 2023 points are indeed as I have them recorded. There may have been results adjusted since the respective end of year downloads.

But hopefully I will be able to declare everything confirmed tomorrow.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

The 31 December update is out, and our teams added precisely nothing to their points in those few months.
I have also reviewed past scores:
Riccitello had picked up an extra 6 points after MA Lopez was disqualified from the 2023 Vuelta a San Juan for Amis Velo, Bminchow and Nyssinator;
Vladimir was still getting 70 points for Johan Price-Pejtersen in the farcical Danish 2024 ITT championship, so those have been deducted;
I hadn't picked up on MARTINEZ Juan Guillermo being given a second surname by CQ, and similarly the tilde on GOYO PIÑA Jesus Miguel had passed me by, so that's 190 points and 1 point respectively, both for Jakob 747;
Isaac Del Toro rubs in the fact that we all overlooked him by giving the Collective Wisdom team an even greater margin with 30 + 15 points from his Mexican national championship double.

So the final and definitive table is:

1​	Cordi	20925
2​	Nakazar	20399
3​	DevilsElbow	20399
4​	SafeBet	20248
5​	Berflamand	19964
6​	JPettersen	19938
7​	ZipiZapismo	19708
8​	Squire	19666
9​	EvansIsTheBest	19573
10​	Laarsland	19514
11​	Skidmark	19378
12​	Nyssinator	19240
13​	Otoxiep87	19193
14​	Fivezzz	19117
15​	LukasCPH	19029
16​	Madrazo	18976
17​	Leadbelly	18876
18​	DJW	18810
19​	Anderis	18712
20​	Joelsim	18452
21​	RoteLaterne	18439
22​	Rufs	18348
23​	Armchair_Cyclist	18337
24​	Salvarani	17876
25​	JonEzeitza	17739
26​	JumboVismaFan	17685
27​	Alvarakas	17381
28​	Ricco	17130
29​	Comodoro	17038
30​	Vladimir	16985
31​	Bminchow	16696
32​	Kryvoskyn	16389
33​	Ludwigzgz	15777
34​	Hfgon1	15601
35​	AmisVelo	15368
36​	Kazistuta	15349
37​	Ray10	15033
38​	Blues_in_the_Bottle	14448
39​	Greenedge	14397
40​	DJSprtsch	12927
41​	Jakob747	12633
42​	Josedin	11527
43​	RedheadDane	7471
	CollectiveWisdom	19466
	CollectiveIgnorance	26590
	MainGame2023	18513
	Goodin2022	14693

The interForum challenge ended up VeloRooms 18329; CyclingNews 17247; Parlamento Ciclista 16566.

Spreadsheet

And the end of one cycle means the beginning of the next: The 2026-28 edition closes on 19th January (for most of us).

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Before the first proper update on the newest game, I ought to wrap up this one with some data.

Cordi is the second repeat winner, after SafeBet's back to back wins since his last victory. He does seem to be a bit of a year 3 specialist, and had the top score in the final year to overhaul Devil's Elbow's handy looking 750 point lead at the end of Year 2.

Year 3 totals

		final position vs end of Yr 2
Cordi	8258​	(+1)
Leadbelly	8095​	(+10)
Nakazar	8028​	(+4)
Berflamand	7771​	(+3)
Laarsland	7763​	(+6)
SafeBet	7718​	(+1)
DJW	7708​	(+5)
Squire	7672​	(+3)
Nyssinator	7535​	(+5)
Rufs	7509​	(+3)
Salvarani	7477​	(+4)
Anderis	7436​	(+2)
EvansIsTheBest	7419​	(-)
LukasCPH	7409​	(+4)
ZipiZapismo	7408​	(-)
Bminchow	7372​	(+3)
JPettersen	7291​	(-3)
Otoxiep87	7242​	(-1)
Alvarakas	7127​	(+4)
Fivezzz	7091​	(-4)
Vladimir	7066​	(+3)
Madrazo	7043​	(-3)
DevilsElbow	6988​	(-2)
Joelsim	6811​	(-2)
Ricco	6792​	(+2)
Skidmark	6774​	(-7)
Kazistuta	6662​	(+2)
RoteLaterne	6608​	(-6)
JumboVismaFan	6566​	(-4)
Armchair_Cyclist	6424​	(-9)
JonEzeitza	6215​	(-5)
Blues_in_the_Bottle	6203​	(+1)
AmisVelo	6138​	(-)
Comodoro	6094​	(-5)
Kryvoskyn	6017​	(-3)
Ray10	5815​	(-1)
Greenedge	5665​	(-2)
Hfgon1	5649​	(-2)
Jakob747	5477​	(-)
DJSprtsch	5145​	(-)
Ludwigzgz	4940​	(-7)
Josedin	4680​	(-)
RedheadDane	2704​	(-)
CollectiveWisdom	7068​
CollectiveIgnorance	14165​
MainGame2023	7094​
Goodin2022	5335​

But look at that Collective Ignorance score for the year: one standout reason for that, and a few other significant contributors

Rider scores Year 3

	2025 pts	picks
DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac	3058​	0​
MAGNIER Paul	1512​	0​
ONLEY Oscar	1453​	36​
GREGOIRE Romain	1196​	40​
BRENNAN Matthew	1115​	0​
MARTINEZ Lenny	1066​	38​
LIPOWITZ Florian	1065​	0​
JEANNIERE Emilien	918​	1 (Leadbelly)​
CHRISTEN Jan	811​	12​
GEE-WEST Derek	783​	0​
LUND ANDRESEN Tobias	783​	0​
BITTNER Pavel	722​	2 (Jon Ezeitza, Vladimir)​
LOPEZ GRANIZO Harold Martin	714​	0​
FRETIN Milan	687​	1(Redhead Dane)​
PELLIZZARI Giulio	680​	0​
SEIXAS Paul	661​	0​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas	635​	18​
PIGANZOLI Davide	608​	6​
DEL GROSSO Tibor	598​	0​
ABRAHAMSEN Jonas	594​	0​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan	588​	4​
RICCITELLO Matthew	576​	3​
KULSET Johannes	575​	0​
JEGAT Jordan	573​	0​
CHRISTEN Fabio	568​	0​
SILVA COUSSAN Guillermo Thomas	563​	0​
LAPEIRA Paul	562​	2​
BARRE Louis	553​	2​
ROMO OLIVER Javier	540​	0​
LECERF William Junior	518​	0​
JOHANNESSEN Anders Halland	516​	6​

The Ignorance side nearly showed us up a lot more in this final year, but for Leadbelly and RhD.

Rider scores over the 3 years

DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac	4072​	0​
GREGOIRE Romain	2820​	40​
ONLEY Oscar	2574​	36​
MARTINEZ Lenny	2418​	38​
LIPOWITZ Florian	2039​	0​
MAGNIER Paul	1955​	0​
JEANNIERE Emilien	1897​	1​
GEE-WEST Derek	1858​	0​
VAN EETVELT Lennert	1738​	28​
LUND ANDRESEN Tobias	1456​	0​
NYS Thibau	1430​	33​
CHRISTEN Jan	1417​	12​
FRETIN Milan	1416​	1​
LAPEIRA Paul	1399​	2​
PELLIZZARI Giulio	1381​	0​
PENHOËT Paul	1374​	21​
ABRAHAMSEN Jonas	1353​	0​
TARLING Joshua	1342​	24​
VERMAERKE Kevin	1315​	0​
PIGANZOLI Davide	1308​	6​
PITHIE Laurence	1295​	6​
BERCKMOES Jenno	1283​	0​
BRENNAN Matthew	1261​	0​
DVERSNES Fredrik	1230​	0​
BITTNER Pavel	1224​	2​
JEGAT Jordan	1210​	0​
POOLE Max	1200​	13​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas	1178​	18​
SEGAERT Alec	1109​	13​
RICCITELLO Matthew	1076​	3​
BLACKMORE Joseph	1069​	0​
CHRISTEN Fabio	1053​	0​
LOPEZ GRANIZO Harold Martin	1025​	0​
CASTRILLO ZAPATER Pablo	1022​	0​
CANAL BLANCO Carlos	1016​	0​

The top 18, and therefore the perfect team, runs as far as Tarling: the total for those 18 is 33939 (the second highest in the 10 completed editions, beaten the before). Cordi's score is 61.7%: only his 2020-22 win saw a lower percentage top the table.

There are 17 unselected riders in that list, Guillermo Silva on 992 being the 18th member of the CI team, whose total of 26950 is the highest in the game's short history by a long way (higher than the max possible score in 5 of the 9 previous rounds)
And of those high scoring riders, Del Toro, Magnier, Jeanniere and Brennan, at least, are still adding to their scores in the 2024-26 edition (and Brennan into the 2025-27 game) In the time scale of the game, only De Lie outscored Brennan while still under the 200 mark at the end of year 2.

A year ago, Vauquelin became the highest scoring unselected rider: Del Toro, Lipowitz, Magnier and West are all ahead of him now in the Hall of Shame.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Of the 113 riders that we selected, you can see the best performers above: many of them very popular picks. But 5 of them failed to score in the three years, and 24 of them were still available to be picked in the game that is just starting (and 5 of them have been, including Pickering who is in the new collective wisdom team).

The Collective Wisdom team, those thought likely by most of us to have really established themselves by now, were:

GREGOIRE Romain	2820​	40​
ONLEY Oscar	2574​	36​
MARTINEZ Lenny	2418​	38​
VAN EETVELT Lennert	1738​	28​
NYS Thibau	1430​	33​
PENHOËT Paul	1374​	21​
TARLING Joshua	1342​	24​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas	1178​	18​
MIHKELS Madis	790​	34​
HAGENES Per Strand	789​	24​
RYAN Archie	701​	26​
BRENNER Marco	675​	29​
SYRITSA Gleb	467​	22​
GLOAG Thomas	439​	36​
THOMPSON Reuben	258​	17​
HERZOG Emil	210​	21​
SVRCEK Martin	146​	16​
HAYTER Leo	117​	30​

A rather mixed set of histories since the early days of 2023 there

Because of those mixed fortunes, picking a popular team was no guarantee of success: my group were 4th in the popularity rankings, filling me with optimism that I had done something right, but I ended up 23rd, while Nakazar, who came second, was 17th by that metric, and Leadbelly, 2nd highest scorer in year 3, was 39th in popularity. The 4 below him, however, in that ranking, did all end up among the bottom 5.

If I have missed anything else that could be interesting that you find in the Spreadsheet, please let us know.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Across those first ten editions, the highest totals are:

Skidmark	10 participations​	152704​
Madrazo	10​	147517​
Kazistuta	10​	134807​
Rote_Laterne	10​	134620​
Comodoro	10​	129679​
Armchair_Cyclist	10​	128777​
Vladimir	10​	127029​
Ludwigzgz	9​	126427​
Blues_in_the_Bottle	9​	120227​
Cordi	7​	118394​
Laarsland	8​	117923​
Squire	7​	117681​
AmisVelo	8​	116411​
Leadbelly	10​	108015​
Josedin	10​	103854​

Collective Wisdom	10​	160717​
Collective Ignorance	10​	175300​

And the highest averages

Devil's Elbow	2​	21043​
Berflamand	2​	20462​
Bonimenier	1​	20049​
ZipiZapismo	1​	19708​
Evans is the Best	2​	19474​
Nakazar	3​	19034​
Anderis	1​	18712​
Jumbo Visma Fan	2​	18655​
Salvarani	2​	18410​
Nathanptz	2​	18381​

which perhaps to some extent reflects the advantage of having participated in a few select editions, and not having played in the covid years.

So if we limit that to those that have played at least half of the completed games, the top averages are:

SafeBet	5​	17545​
Cordi	7​	16913​
Squire	7​	16812​
Skidmark	10​	15270​
Madrazo	10​	14752​
Laarsland	8​	14740​
HugoKoblet	6​	14708​
AmisVelo	8​	14551​
Kryvo	5​	14341​
Ludwigzgz	9​	14047​

Collective Wisdom	10​	16072​
Collective Ignorance	10​	17530​

We could also smooth out the effects of year to year fluctuations by giving each score as the percentage of the best possible in that year:

1​	ValvPiti	1​	63.1​
2​	Devil's Elbow	2​	61.0​
3​	SafeBet	5​	59.8​
4​	ThePirate81	1​	59.6​
5​	Berflamand	2​	59.3​
6​	Murrjt	2​	59.2​
7​	Cordi	7​	59.0​
8​	Squire	7​	58.7​
9​	Nathanptz	2​	58.5​
10​	ZipiZapismo	1​	58.1​
11​	Torcio86	1​	57.4​
12​	Bonimenier	1​	57.2​
13​	HugoKoblet	6​	56.8​
14​	Nakazar	3​	56.8​
15​	Evans is the Best	2​	56.5​
16​	MC_Mountain	3​	56.1​
17​	TheAsian	2​	55.3​
18​	Skidmark	10​	55.2​
19​	Nuvolablu	1​	55.2​
20​	Anderis	1​	55.1​
	Collective Wisdom	10​	57.8
	Collective Ignorance	10​	63.3

but ValvPiti could stay top of this ranking forever on the basis of coming 5th once, and never playing again, so let's eliminate those that didn't stick around, and allow the frequent players an advantage by only counting the best three performances a team has had.

1​	SafeBet	5​	195.5​
2​	Squire	7​	191.9​
3​	Cordi	7​	189.0​
4​	Flo	6​	188.9​
5​	Madrazo	10​	186.0​
6​	HugoKoblet	6​	184.4​
7​	Ludwigzgz	9​	183.3​
8​	Blues_in_the_Bottle	9​	183.0​
9​	Laarsland	8​	181.6​
10​	Skidmark	10​	180.3​
11​	Del1962	7​	176.6​
12​	AmisVelo	8​	175.1​
13​	Joelsim	7​	174.7​
14​	Jakob747	6​	171.6​
15​	Armchair_Cyclist	10​	171.0​
16​	Nakazar	3​	170.3​
17​	Alykaptan	5​	169.6​
18​	GPBlanco	4​	169.1​
19​	Vladimir	10​	168.9​
20​	MC_Mountain	3​	168.3​
	Collective Wisdom	10​	185.7
	Collective Ignorance	10​	222.0

So you can all pick your favourite long term ranking from among them.