Teams by Popularity
1 | Nyssinator | 406 | 0 unique picks |
2 | SafeBet | 400 | 0 |
3 | DevilsElbow | 398 | 0 |
4 | JPettersen | 395 | 0 |
5 | Berflamand | 392 | 0 |
5 | Cordi | 392 | 0 |
7 | Anderis | 391 | 0 |
8 | Squire | 385 | 0 |
9 | Bminchow | 377 | 0 |
10 | Salvarani | 376 | 0 |
11 | Ingsve | 370 | 1 |
12 | EvansIsTheBest | 365 | 0 |
12 | Nakazar | 365 | 0 |
14 | 18Valve | 359 | 0 |
14 | Laarsland | 359 | 0 |
16 | Madrazo | 355 | 0 |
17 | Kazistuta | 349 | 0 |
18 | Rufs | 346 | 0 |
19 | Karaev | 343 | 1 |
20 | Blues_in_the_Bottle | 339 | 0 |
20 | Leadbelly | 339 | 1 |
22 | Fivezzz | 338 | 1 |
22 | Hfgon1 | 338 | 2 |
24 | RoteLaterne | 337 | 1 |
25 | Peixotini | 336 | 0 |
26 | JonEzeitza | 332 | 0 |
27 | Armchair_Cyclist | 322 | 1 |
28 | LosBrolin | 319 | 0 |
29 | Ray10 | 310 | 3 |
30 | AmisVelo | 307 | 1 |
31 | Riverside | 303 | 1 |
32 | JumboVismaFan | 295 | 2 |
33 | DJW | 288 | 2 |
34 | Vladimir | 283 | 3 |
35 | Houdini | 267 | 0 |
36 | DJSprtsch | 257 | 1 |
37 | Boris98 | 247 | 1 |
38 | Josedin | 240 | 2 |
39 | Laurens147 | 224 | 2 |
40 | LarryLangosta | 153 | 8 |
41 | RedheadDane | 114 | 7 |
42 | SamuCuenca | 63 | 12 |
| CollectiveWisdom | 430 | 0 |
| CollectiveIgnorance | 0 | 18 |
| MainGame2024 | 383 | 0 |
| Goodin2023 | 223 | 3 |
By definition, the Collective Wisdom team has the highest possible score in this ranking and 0 UPs, and Collective Ignorance (a group that is unidentifiable at present, but will contain the top 18 unselected riders at any given time, and therefore will change its composition as the game goes on) necessarily has a popularity score of 0 and 18UPs
But that leaves two other teams to explain, which are by definition the highest scorers in each of the following tables
Points pre-game
Riders are allowed to amass 199 points before they are ineligible, and given that we are looking for young emergent talents, most of these are likely to have been earned relatively recently (I don't do a team of highest career scorers that are eligible, as it might include 40 year olds who get about 15 points a season in very low ranking events)
I usually use that table (which is always easy to spot in the latter updates of a game from previous years) as part of my shortlisting, but my history in the game shows it is by no means a shortcut to success. I evidently didn't rely on it as much this time, as the table will show.
By that criterion, the highest scoring team would be the
Good in 2023 selection:
AMARI Hamza |
BALDACCINI Davide |
BERHE Welay Hagos |
CHRISTOPHERSEN Cedrik Bakke |
DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac |
FRIGO Marco |
GACHIGNARD Thomas |
GAUTHERAT Pierre |
GRAAT Tijmen |
KULSET Johannes |
LANGELLOTTI Victor |
LECERF William Junior |
MAGLI Filippo |
MILESI Lorenzo |
MORGADO Antonio Tomas |
PARET PEINTRE Valentin |
PARISINI Nicolo |
VAN DEN BROEK Frank |
three of whom (Baldaccini, Langellotti and Magli) were not selected at all.
This table is on all career points up to the end of 2023, with a theoretical maximum of 3582. the team Good in 2023 is not guaranteed to be the top scorer in the table, but it would be a very strange thing if it wasn't.
This team essentially shows who is basing their hopes on those who have already shown some ability to compete among the pros rather than depending primarily on those just out of juniors (or who won't start for another year: we have 6 riders who still don't have a page on CQ's database).
1 | Boris98 | 2681 |
2 | JonEzeitza | 2561 |
3 | DJSprtsch | 2521 |
4 | Peixotini | 2239 |
5 | Kazistuta | 2154 |
6 | Ray10 | 2088 |
7 | RoteLaterne | 2078 |
8 | JPettersen | 2033 |
9 | Ingsve | 2007 |
10 | Rufs | 1989 |
11 | Cordi | 1984 |
12 | Houdini | 1934 |
13 | DJW | 1920 |
13 | JumboVismaFan | 1920 |
15 | Hfgon1 | 1906 |
16 | Madrazo | 1855 |
17 | Karaev | 1848 |
18 | Leadbelly | 1845 |
19 | Armchair_Cyclist | 1819 |
20 | Riverside | 1801 |
21 | Blues_in_the_Bottle | 1704 |
22 | SafeBet | 1670 |
23 | Laurens147 | 1657 |
24 | Anderis | 1647 |
25 | Nakazar | 1645 |
26 | Bminchow | 1597 |
27 | Berflamand | 1534 |
28 | Josedin | 1533 |
29 | Salvarani | 1516 |
30 | DevilsElbow | 1500 |
31 | Fivezzz | 1498 |
31 | Squire | 1498 |
33 | EvansIsTheBest | 1497 |
34 | Laarsland | 1468 |
35 | Nyssinator | 1440 |
36 | SamuCuenca | 1424 |
37 | LarryLangosta | 1422 |
38 | AmisVelo | 1184 |
39 | Vladimir | 1183 |
40 | 18Valve | 1119 |
41 | LosBrolin | 811 |
42 | RedheadDane | 0 |
| CollectiveWisdom | 1849 |
| CollectiveIgnorance | 0 |
| MainGame2024 | 1596 |
| Goodin2023 | 2952 |
Getting zero in this table was a defining aspect of RhD's self-imposed limitations on her selection.
MainGame selections
I'm very sorry not to see Skidmark among the entrants: his annual CQ game with 94 33-man (well, mainly men, apart from the pick of Izzy Sharp) brought to light 193 eligible names for this game, and that will have served as a shortlist for some of you. In that game selection criteria are different: it is equally easy to select Lecerf as Storm here, but not in that game. Nevertheless, it is to be expected that those of whom great improvements are expected in 2024, if they are at an early stage in their careers, should continue to improve for the two years following that. The modest placings of this team in the couple of times I have tracked it does not necessarily bear that out, but here are the 18 most selected riders in that game that could be chosen here.
AUGUST Andrew | 53 main game picks |
DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac | 47 |
MORGADO Antonio Tomas | 37 |
CHRISTEN Jan | 36 |
RAFFERTY Darren | 26 |
HERZOG Emil | 23 |
MAGNIER Paul | 21 |
VANDENABEELE Henri | 21 |
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel | 16 |
STORM Theodor | 15 |
FAURE PROST Alexy | 14 |
MILESI Lorenzo | 14 |
KULSET Johannes | 13 |
LECERF William Junior | 13 |
PICKERING Finlay | 13 |
SVRCEK Martin | 13 |
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor | 10 |
GELDERS Gil | 10 |
and by adding up the number of times the riders in a team are selected, we get a measure of how far they are in accord with the players of the Main Game
| | main game selections total | No of riders not picked in main game |
1 | AmisVelo | 354 | 0 |
2 | Berflamand | 345 | 0 |
3 | Nyssinator | 342 | 1 |
4 | SafeBet | 338 | 1 |
5 | EvansIsTheBest | 332 | 1 |
6 | Squire | 328 | 1 |
7 | DevilsElbow | 319 | 1 |
8 | Blues_in_the_Bottle | 311 | 0 |
9 | Laarsland | 309 | 0 |
10 | Ingsve | 308 | 1 |
11 | Armchair_Cyclist | 307 | 2 |
11 | Bminchow | 307 | 1 |
11 | Madrazo | 307 | 1 |
14 | 18Valve | 303 | 1 |
15 | Cordi | 302 | 0 |
16 | Rufs | 301 | 0 |
17 | Riverside | 297 | 1 |
18 | JPettersen | 296 | 0 |
18 | Salvarani | 296 | 2 |
20 | Anderis | 295 | 1 |
21 | Kazistuta | 293 | 0 |
22 | Nakazar | 289 | 1 |
23 | Josedin | 288 | 0 |
24 | JumboVismaFan | 286 | 0 |
25 | Fivezzz | 282 | 1 |
26 | Hfgon1 | 280 | 1 |
27 | Karaev | 278 | 0 |
28 | Vladimir | 276 | 1 |
29 | LosBrolin | 272 | 2 |
30 | DJW | 255 | 1 |
31 | RoteLaterne | 247 | 0 |
32 | Peixotini | 239 | 0 |
33 | Houdini | 238 | 2 |
34 | Ray10 | 225 | 1 |
35 | Leadbelly | 223 | 3 |
36 | JonEzeitza | 222 | 2 |
37 | Boris98 | 179 | 3 |
38 | LarryLangosta | 167 | 0 |
39 | DJSprtsch | 162 | 0 |
40 | Laurens147 | 154 | 0 |
41 | RedheadDane | 88 | 9 |
42 | SamuCuenca | 15 | 12 |
| CollectiveWisdom | 337 | 0 |
| CollectiveIgnorance | 0 | 18 |
| MainGame2024 | 395 | 0 |
| Goodin2023 | 148 | 4 |
You would expect a high correlation between picks here and the popular picks, but Amis Velo was 30th in that list. Spearman's R=0.75. There are interesting variations between riders positions on the two lists: maybe I will get around to analysing them.
I would like to tidy up the spreadsheet a bit before I publish it, but it will be shared in due course.