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2024-26 Emerging Riders CQ game

Page 2 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
The TDU takes place in one of those weird offset-by-not-a-whole-number-of-hours timezones. The start time of the race is 11:10 local time, so 01:40 CET, 00:40 GMT/UCT, and various times in the evening in North America.

So although the race is tomorrow, today is essentially the last day for getting your teams in. 30 entrants so far, but I know that we will beat that.

Expect to see reminders popping up on various threads through the day;)


I gather that some site members cannot send PMs: if you can't I guess the best bet is to send me your team in this thread behind a spoiler mask
like this: use {SPOILER} at the beginning, and {/SPOILER} at the end, but with square brackets [] instead of curly ones
and hope that everyone else is a good sport and resists the temptation to peek.
 
Last edited:
Team sent.
For some reason I was convinced we had to choose 16 riders (not 18) and kept wondering who to cut.
Then today I realized it's 18 riders and couldn't figure out who to include.

I guess you can never be happy with these games (unless you win, but that takes 3 years).
 
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Never happened to me having to figure who to include... Always is who to cut. This edition I was quite happy with 22 riders. Last 4 cuts were painful, still thinking about how I could include at least one of them :/
 
So 40 teams in, and I'm going to bed with 20 minutes left
Make that 41: that envelope icon had just flashed again.

While you are waiting for me to get araound to processing the data (probably tomorrow afternoon), why not play: Can you guess the identity of all 10 riders on more than half the teams?
 
Last edited:
I'll go with the 10 from my team that I think could be more mainstream:
Milesi
Lecerf
Del Toro
Rafferty
Morgado
Christen
Kulset
Faure
Nordhagen
August

The other 8 being...
Vergallito
Van den Broek
Berhe
Arrieta
Fredheim
Gautherat
Romeo
Bisiaux

And this are the 4 last painful cuts:
Golliker
Magnier
Pescador
Tronchon
 
My team, ranked based on how much I wanted them:
DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac1
MORGADO Antonio Tomas2
MAGNIER Paul3
CHRISTEN Jan4
AUGUST Andrew5
NORDHAGEN Jørgen6
FAURE PROST Alexy7
VAN DEN BROEK Frank8
WITHEN PHILIPSEN Albert9
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor10
KULSET Johannes11
LECERF William Junior12
WIDAR Jarno13
GELDERS Gil14
STORM Theodor15
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian16
RONDEL Mathys17
RAFFERTY Darren18

And the B-team:
NERURKAR Lukas19
SIMMONS Colby20
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto21
CONFORTI Lorenzo22
GAUTHERAT Pierre23
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar24
BERHE Welay Hagos25
GAZZOLI Michele26
VERGALLITO Luca27
HOBBS Noah28
POLLEFLIET Gianluca29
MILESI Lorenzo30
ISIDORE Noa31
BISIAUX Léo32
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack33
TEUTENBERG Tim Torn34
HUISING Menno35
ROMEO ABAD Ivan36

With one second-year junior and four more riders who were juniors last year, I'm probably not topping the Year 1 table this time round... then again I'm also probably very similar to the popularity team again (might even beat 15/18 this time...).
 
Time was over already :)

Yes, I realised. Guess my career as a team peeker was very short-lived...

I decided to take the "Emerging" part of the game to its logical conclusion, so I only picked riders who are moving up from the Junior Ranks this year, which means that even if we had to stay within the combined budget of 3582, adding it up would definitely not have been problem for me!
I wasn't quite crazy enough to pick riders who're still Juniors this year, so no Withen... for this round.
 
I spend the last half an hour before the deadline trying to decide which rider I could replace with Jeison Rujano, but I couldn't figure it out. Hopefully he won't go on to do well at Vuelta al Táchira.

At first I also considered Lecerf simply to be able to claim I had a Junior in my team, but I decided against that as well.
 
Compared to some past editions (thinking of 21/23 and 23/25) there weren't as many guys who truly stood out and made me confident I was picking a great team.

Riders I 100% wanted
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
CHRISTEN Jan
NORDHAGEN Jorgen
DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
LECERF William Junior
KULSET Johannes
MILESI Lorenzo
FAURE PROST Alexy
WITHEN PHILIPSEN Albert (or whatever he'll be on CQ)
RAFFERTY Darren
RONDEL Mathys
AUGUST Andrew

Riders I picked mostly because the CN forum liked them
MAGNIER Paul
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor

Riders I picked for fun
VERGALLITO Luca
HERZOG Emil
GAUTHERAT Pierre
NERURKAR Lucas

Riders I think could be game changers but didn't pick
WIDAR Jarno (serial winner but can he do it at the pro level?)
VAN DEN BROEK Frank (DSM scared me away)
PESCADOR CASTRO Diego Fernando (Umba vibes)
STORM Theodor (Leonard vibes)
 
My team.

For me these ones picked themselves:
AUGUST Andrew
CHRISTEN Jan (also picked in main game)
DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac (also picked in main game)
KULSET Johannes
LECERF William Junior
MORGADO Antonio Tomas (also picked in main game)
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
POLLEFLIET Gianluca (also picked in main game)
RAFFERTY Darren
WITHEN PHILIPSEN Albert

Were picked by others in the main game, so why not:
FAURE PROST Alexy
GELDERS Gil
MAGNIER Paul

My "fun" picks:
BERHE Welay Hagos - Considered him for the main game, but thought he probably makes more sense here.

DE PRETTO Davide - Same as above.

GAUTHERAT Pierre - Same as above.

GRISEL Matys - Threw a real spanner into the works with this one. Time will tell.

GRUEL Thibaud - Maybe a light-version of Gregoire. I have no idea but he looked the most intersting on the FDJ development team, who has been very good in the past few years, but I see he is already doing Etoile de Bessenges with the first team so he could be ready to go.
 
Last edited:
I'll go with the 10 from my team that I think could be more mainstream:
Milesi
Lecerf
Del Toro
Rafferty
Morgado
Christen
Kulset
Faure
Nordhagen
August

The other 8 being...
Vergallito
Van den Broek
Berhe
Arrieta
Fredheim
Gautherat
Romeo
Bisiaux

And this are the 4 last painful cuts:
Golliker
Magnier
Pescador
Tronchon
Btw about my 4 cuts... When I made the team last autumn the 18th rider was Tronchon (who was in my 23-25 team) but many younger exciting guys were left out so in the end I decided to remove him and make room for Bisiaux. I intended to do the same with Golliker (very hyped with him, he's gonna be great), Pescador (this is the best colombian prospect since MAL, also hyped) & Magnier, but decided against merely because there was no room for them as I didn't want to remove any of the other guys (although I almost changed them for the older guys - Vergallito, VDB & Berhe - as the older guys never worked well for me, but this year I wanted to try after considering last year selecting Lemmen & Kielich and seeing them doing well). Hopefully, as they have little points in the bag so far, Golliker, Pescador & Magnier will be available for 2025-27 game.

Other las cuts were Boven, Thierry, Rondel, Soderqvist (very interesting one), Chamberlain, Storm, McKenzie & Herzog (after being in my 23-25 team I didn't pick him due to his off season, although I know he had serious health issues and hopefully those will be solved in 2024 and he will start to perform well again).
 
Cordi has demonstrated that he is not to be taken lightly in this game. Notable therefore that several of his "Seriously considered but ultimately dropped" mentions would have been unique picks: Golliker, Thierry, Soderqvist & McKenzie.

Are these the likely stars of the Collective Ignorance team? Who else might feature in that? You probably need to know who the 125 selected riders are before you can make nominations for that. I'll be back with that list soon.
 
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My team in the order of pickin them:


1 CHRISTEN Jan
2 DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac

3 MORGADO Antonio Tomas
4 GELDERS Gil
5 HUBY Antoine
6 RAFFERTY Darren
7 SVRCEK Martin
8 MAGNIER Paul

9 AUGUST Andrew
10 UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
11 ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
12 LECERF William Junior

13 GAZZOLI Michele
14 LEONARD Michael
15 FAURE PROST Alexy
16 WITHEN PHILIPSEN Albert
17 GAUTHERAT Pierre
18 BOVEN Lars



My final cuts were:

KULSET Johannes
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
MILESI Lorenzo
GOLLIKER Joshua



My guess for the 10 most popular picks is:

1 DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
2 CHRISTEN Jan
3 MORGADO Antonio Tomas
4 GELDERS Gil
5 AUGUST Andrew
6 RAFFERTY Darren
7 MAGNIER Paul

8 MILESI Lorenzo
9 HUBY Antoine

10 KULSET Johannes
 
The teams
42 teams, 125 riders, 53 unique picks. A shame that we have lost some of the regulars for this cycle, but it is good to be able to welcome new players.

Copying a table from Excel to the forum sometimes misaligns the columns, depending on length of content in a field: there is no significance other than that to which column the number of icks appears in

Team
18ValveDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
STORM Theodor
16​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
RONDEL Mathys
7​
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar
6​
SENTJENS Sente
5​
SEIXAS Paul
2​
Amis VeloDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
STORM Theodor
16​
HERZOG Emil
11​
SVRCEK Martin
8​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
7​
RONDEL Mathys
7​
PICKERING Finlay
4​
CHRISTEN Fabio
3​
LE HUITOUZE Eddy
2​
DEL GROSSO Tibor
1​
AnderisDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
BOVEN Lars
8​
SENTJENS Sente
5​
Armchair CyclistDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
FOLDAGER Anders
6​
PARISINI Nicolo
3​
PESCADOR CASTRO Diego Fernando
2​
GAROFOLI Gianmarco
1​
BerflamandDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
HUBY Antoine
17​
STORM Theodor
16​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
HERZOG Emil
11​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
SVRCEK Martin
8​
Blues in the BottleDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
SVRCEK Martin
8​
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
7​
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar
6​
FRIGO Marco
5​
BminchowDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
Christen Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
Kulset Johannes
24​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
Rootkin-Gray Jack
9​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
Svrcek Martin
8​
LEONARD Michael
3​
Boris98DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
LECERF William Junior
32​
KULSET Johannes
24​
HUBY Antoine
17​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
FRIGO Marco
5​
PLOWRIGHT Jensen
5​
PARET PEINTRE Valentin
4​
CHRISTOPHERSEN Cedrik Bakke
3​
KOGUT Oded
3​
LOPEZ GRANIZO Harold Martin
3​
KELEMEN Petr
2​
VINOKOUROV Nicolas
2​
KYFFIN Zeb
1​
CordiDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
BISIAUX Léo
7​
Devil's ElbowDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
STORM Theodor
16​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
RONDEL Mathys
7​
DJSprtschDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
LECERF William Junior
32​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
7​
PLOWRIGHT Jensen
5​
TRONCHON Bastien
3​
AMARI Hamza
2​
BURATTI Nicolo
2​
QUICK Blake
2​
PESENTI Thomas
1​
DJWDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
PARET PEINTRE Valentin
4​
PICKERING Finlay
4​
LE HUITOUZE Eddy
2​
VINOKOUROV Nicolas
2​
WILKSCH Hannes
2​
MARTINELLI Alessio
1​
TEUTENBERG Tim Torn
1​
Evans is the BestDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
STORM Theodor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
7​
GRUEL Thibaud
2​
FivezzzDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
STORM Theodor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
7​
BISIAUX Léo
7​
GRAAT Tijmen
7​
PICKERING Finlay
4​
SIMMONS Colby
1​
Hfgon1DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
STORM Theodor
16​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
VAN BELLE Loe
4​
HAJEK Alexander
1​
VANDEVELDE Yentl
1​
HoudiniDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
GELDERS Gil
21​
HUBY Antoine
17​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
SVRCEK Martin
8​
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
7​
FRIGO Marco
5​
DE PRETTO Davide
4​
PARET PEINTRE Valentin
4​
VAN BELLE Loe
4​
LOPEZ GRANIZO Harold Martin
3​
PALENI Enzo
2​
IngsveDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
HUBY Antoine
17​
STORM Theodor
16​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
GRAAT Tijmen
7​
CHRISTOPHERSEN Cedrik Bakke
3​
UHLIG Henri
1​
Jon EzeitzaDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
BOVEN Lars
8​
FOLDAGER Anders
6​
PARET PEINTRE Valentin
4​
LOPEZ GRANIZO Harold Martin
3​
JosedinDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
STORM Theodor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
HERZOG Emil
11​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
7​
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
7​
PICKERING Finlay
4​
PERSICO Davide
2​
PONOMAR Andriy
2​
KOPECKY Tomas
1​
TOUPALIK Jakub
1​
JpettersenDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
BOVEN Lars
8​
FOLDAGER Anders
6​
Jumbo Visma FanDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
HERZOG Emil
11​
BOVEN Lars
8​
PLOWRIGHT Jensen
5​
VAN BELLE Loe
4​
CHRISTEN Fabio
3​
PALENI Enzo
2​
QUICK Blake
2​
GUDNITZ Joshua Amos
1​
HOLLYMAN Mason
1​
KaraevDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
HERZOG Emil
11​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
VAN BELLE Loe
4​
PARISINI Nicolo
3​
PICKRELL Riley
1​
KazistutaDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
SVRCEK Martin
8​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
7​
PLOWRIGHT Jensen
5​
LEONARD Michael
3​
LaarslandDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
STORM Theodor
16​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
BISIAUX Léo
7​
GRAAT Tijmen
7​
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar
6​
BURATTI Nicolo
2​
Larry LangostaDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
STORM Theodor
16​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
HERZOG Emil
11​
BOVEN Lars
8​
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
7​
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
7​
FRIGO Marco
5​
TRONCHON Bastien
3​
ANDERSEN Kasper
1​
ASKEY Ben
1​
COLOMBO Filippo
1​
PALZER Anton
1​
PEDERSEN Rasmus Søjberg
1​
PINARELLO Alessandro
1​
SALBY Alexander
1​
ZUBELDIA ELDUAIEN Unai
1​
Laurens147DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
KULSET Johannes
24​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
HUBY Antoine
17​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
BOVEN Lars
8​
BRUTTOMESSO Alberto
8​
FOLDAGER Anders
6​
PLOWRIGHT Jensen
5​
DE PRETTO Davide
4​
HOBBS Noah
3​
PERSICO Davide
2​
BOMBOI Davide
1​
VANGHELUWE Warre
1​
LeadbellyDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
RONDEL Mathys
7​
KOGUT Oded
3​
BLACKMORE Joseph
2​
VANEECKHOUTE Victor
1​
Los BrolinDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
STORM Theodor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
BISIAUX Léo
7​
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar
6​
SENTJENS Sente
5​
HOBBS Noah
3​
DE SCHUYTENEER Steffen
2​
PATTINSON Tomos
2​
MadrazoDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
HUBY Antoine
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
BOVEN Lars
8​
SVRCEK Martin
8​
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
7​
GAZZOLI Michele
3​
LEONARD Michael
3​
NakazarDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
GRAAT Tijmen
7​
CHRISTEN Fabio
3​
HOBBS Noah
3​
NyssinatorDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
HUBY Antoine
17​
STORM Theodor
16​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
HERZOG Emil
11​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
RONDEL Mathys
7​
PeixotiniDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
HUBY Antoine
17​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack
9​
BOVEN Lars
8​
UMBA LOPEZ Abner Santiago
7​
FOLDAGER Anders
6​
GAZZOLI Michele
3​
Ray10DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
BISIAUX Léo
7​
GRAAT Tijmen
7​
KOGUT Oded
3​
GACHIGNARD Thomas
1​
ISIDORE Noa
1​
RONHAAR Pim
1​
RedHead DaneAUGUST Andrew
30​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
STORM Theodor
16​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
BISIAUX Léo
7​
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar
6​
SENTJENS Sente
5​
GRISEL Matys
3​
DE SCHUYTENEER Steffen
2​
ERZEN Zak
2​
PATTINSON Tomos
2​
BRENNAN Matthew
1​
FRYDKJAER Patrick
1​
LEIDERT Louis
1​
SOENENS Viktor
1​
VAN DER WERFF Thom
1​
VANDEN HEEDE Lars
1​
WIGGINS Ben
1​
RiversideDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
STORM Theodor
16​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
ROMEO ABAD Ivan
8​
VANDENABEELE Henri
8​
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
7​
CHRISTOPHERSEN Cedrik Bakke
3​
PARISINI Nicolo
3​
BLACKMORE Joseph
2​
PONOMAR Andriy
2​
CONFORTI Lorenzo
1​
Rote LaterneDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
KULSET Johannes
24​
GELDERS Gil
21​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
BISIAUX Léo
7​
GRAAT Tijmen
7​
FRIGO Marco
5​
GRISEL Matys
3​
DE POOTER Dries
1​
RufsDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
HUBY Antoine
17​
STORM Theodor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
HERZOG Emil
11​
GRAAT Tijmen
7​
FOLDAGER Anders
6​
GAZZOLI Michele
3​
TRONCHON Bastien
3​
WILKSCH Hannes
2​
SafeBetDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
HERZOG Emil
11​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
RONDEL Mathys
7​
SalvaraniDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
GELDERS Gil
21​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
14​
PHILIPSEN Albert Withen
9​
DE PRETTO Davide
4​
GRISEL Matys
3​
GRUEL Thibaud
2​
Samu CuencaGAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
BERHE Welay Hagos
14​
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
14​
AMARI Hamza
2​
ERZEN Zak
2​
PESCADOR CASTRO Diego Fernando
2​
BURNETT Josh
1​
CHUMIL GONZALEZ Sergio Geovani
1​
EAVES William
1​
ETXEBERRIA ANSALAS Haimar
1​
FERNANDEZ GARCIA Samuel
1​
GANZABAL BILBAO Ander
1​
KUSUMA Terry Yudha
1​
NIYONKURU Samuel
1​
QUINTERO ARTEAGA Leonel
1​
SILVA COUSSAN Guillermo Thomas
1​
UGARTE LARREA Gari
1​
WALTERS Red
1​
SquireDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
RAFFERTY Darren
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
KULSET Johannes
24​
MILESI Lorenzo
22​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
MAGNIER Paul
20​
GAUTHERAT Pierre
17​
WIDAR Jarno
12​
EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM Stian
11​
HERZOG Emil
11​
VERGALLITO Luca
11​
RONDEL Mathys
7​
SEIXAS Paul
2​
VladimirDEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
40​
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
35​
CHRISTEN Jan
34​
LECERF William Junior
32​
AUGUST Andrew
30​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
22​
FAURE PROST Alexy
20​
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
16​
NERURKAR Lukas
15​
HERZOG Emil
11​
SVRCEK Martin
8​
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar
6​
SENTJENS Sente
5​
DE PRETTO Davide
4​
KELEMEN Petr
2​
HUISING Menno
1​
LÜHRS Luis-Joe
1​
SPARFEL Aubin
1​

Collective Wisdom
DEL TORO ROMERO Isaac
MORGADO Antonio Tomas
RAFFERTY Darren
CHRISTEN Jan
LECERF William Junior
AUGUST Andrew
KULSET Johannes
MILESI Lorenzo
NORDHAGEN Jørgen
GELDERS Gil
MAGNIER Paul
FAURE PROST Alexy
GAUTHERAT Pierre
HUBY Antoine
ARRIETA LIZARRAGA Igor
NERURKAR Lukas
STORM Theodor
which is 17 riders on somewhere between 15 and 40 teams: CW will also include the average score of the 3 riders selected 14 times each:
POLLEFLIET Gianluca
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
BERHE Welay Hagos

Cordi was the only one to have a guess at the ten teams that were on >50%, he omitted Gelder, and had Faure (who was on exactly 50%, and picked only once more than Gelders) instead.
 
Now I regret even more not choosing Golliker :(

Maybe I should had made the move I fidgeted about and go full u23 as other years... We'll see if Vergallito+VDB+Berhe beat Golliker+Pescador+Magnier in 3 years... I think they'll score more this first year but in 3 season the younger guns cans surpass them.
 
Teams by Popularity

1Nyssinator
406​
0 unique picks
2SafeBet
400​
0
3DevilsElbow
398​
0
4JPettersen
395​
0
5Berflamand
392​
0
5Cordi
392​
0
7Anderis
391​
0
8Squire
385​
0
9Bminchow
377​
0
10Salvarani
376​
0
11Ingsve
370​
1
12EvansIsTheBest
365​
0
12Nakazar
365​
0
1418Valve
359​
0
14Laarsland
359​
0
16Madrazo
355​
0
17Kazistuta
349​
0
18Rufs
346​
0
19Karaev
343​
1
20Blues_in_the_Bottle
339​
0
20Leadbelly
339​
1
22Fivezzz
338​
1
22Hfgon1
338​
2
24RoteLaterne
337​
1
25Peixotini
336​
0
26JonEzeitza
332​
0
27Armchair_Cyclist
322​
1
28LosBrolin
319​
0
29Ray10
310​
3
30AmisVelo
307​
1
31Riverside
303​
1
32JumboVismaFan
295​
2
33DJW
288​
2
34Vladimir
283​
3
35Houdini
267​
0
36DJSprtsch
257​
1
37Boris98
247​
1
38Josedin
240​
2
39Laurens147
224​
2
40LarryLangosta
153​
8
41RedheadDane
114​
7
42SamuCuenca
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).

1Boris98
2681​
2JonEzeitza
2561​
3DJSprtsch
2521​
4Peixotini
2239​
5Kazistuta
2154​
6Ray10
2088​
7RoteLaterne
2078​
8JPettersen
2033​
9Ingsve
2007​
10Rufs
1989​
11Cordi
1984​
12Houdini
1934​
13DJW
1920​
13JumboVismaFan
1920​
15Hfgon1
1906​
16Madrazo
1855​
17Karaev
1848​
18Leadbelly
1845​
19Armchair_Cyclist
1819​
20Riverside
1801​
21Blues_in_the_Bottle
1704​
22SafeBet
1670​
23Laurens147
1657​
24Anderis
1647​
25Nakazar
1645​
26Bminchow
1597​
27Berflamand
1534​
28Josedin
1533​
29Salvarani
1516​
30DevilsElbow
1500​
31Fivezzz
1498​
31Squire
1498​
33EvansIsTheBest
1497​
34Laarsland
1468​
35Nyssinator
1440​
36SamuCuenca
1424​
37LarryLangosta
1422​
38AmisVelo
1184​
39Vladimir
1183​
4018Valve
1119​
41LosBrolin
811​
42RedheadDane
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 totalNo of riders not picked in main game
1AmisVelo
354​
0​
2Berflamand
345​
0​
3Nyssinator
342​
1​
4SafeBet
338​
1​
5EvansIsTheBest
332​
1​
6Squire
328​
1​
7DevilsElbow
319​
1​
8Blues_in_the_Bottle
311​
0​
9Laarsland
309​
0​
10Ingsve
308​
1​
11Armchair_Cyclist
307​
2​
11Bminchow
307​
1​
11Madrazo
307​
1​
1418Valve
303​
1​
15Cordi
302​
0​
16Rufs
301​
0​
17Riverside
297​
1​
18JPettersen
296​
0​
18Salvarani
296​
2​
20Anderis
295​
1​
21Kazistuta
293​
0​
22Nakazar
289​
1​
23Josedin
288​
0​
24JumboVismaFan
286​
0​
25Fivezzz
282​
1​
26Hfgon1
280​
1​
27Karaev
278​
0​
28Vladimir
276​
1​
29LosBrolin
272​
2​
30DJW
255​
1​
31RoteLaterne
247​
0​
32Peixotini
239​
0​
33Houdini
238​
2​
34Ray10
225​
1​
35Leadbelly
223​
3​
36JonEzeitza
222​
2​
37Boris98
179​
3​
38LarryLangosta
167​
0​
39DJSprtsch
162​
0​
40Laurens147
154​
0​
41RedheadDane
88​
9​
42SamuCuenca
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.
 
Last edited:
I messed up Philipsen with Storm. Complete brain fade.

But surprised Philipsen was only picked 9 times.

He will probably be a more popular pick in the next edition. Storm should at least be able to score you some points this year, but he may very well be behind AWP at the end of 2026, although it's much too early to know for sure.
 
And this are the 4 last painful cuts:
[...]
Pescador
Yeah, Pescador was a painful cut for me too. But the record of talented Colombians scoring well in their first one or two years in Europe isn't great, and he's not gonna get a lot of points in Colombia this season. Would have been a fun pick, because even though he has been hyped a bit, I think he's gone under the radar for most people.

I did the chad move of picking someone other than Philipsen for my token 'still got one year left in juniors' pick.