2025-27 Emerging Riders CQ game

[RedheadDane]

I can run an extra tab on the spreadsheet for such a selection, so you could watch and see how it compares, but I wouldn't want one team to be playing by a different set of rules than all the others.

Of course.
I'm probably just gonna post it directly into the thread. And of course it would be great if other people had suggestions about which random zero-pointers to fill out the team with.

 

[Cordi333]

Of course.
I'm probably just gonna post it directly into the thread. And of course it would be great if other people had suggestions about which random zero-pointers to fill out the team with.

That team would easily won. Would be too easy to select some of the best riders of previous games and then go with juniors or riders that are about to break. If you think about it, in the emerging game, no one ever goes max points, if they give you 199x18 would be super unfair. Even if you try to take the guys with maximum points under 200, I doubt there are 18 with exactly 199 in their record.

 

[RedheadDane]

I'm reconsidering it.
Too much math.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

To end of year 1

As far as the UCI is concerned, it has been 2026 since the 26th October, but that's not the way I keep years in this game.

Of riders selected for this game, only PEÑUELA SANDOVAL Francisco Joel has scored, 4 points for coming 7th in the Bolivarian Games, the existence of which I have only known about since I started typing this sentence. If you have already seen the final update of the year for the 2024-26 edition, you won't be surprised to hear that this is a Samu Cuenca unique pick.

Spreadsheet

 

[RedheadDane]

To end of year 1

As far as the UCI is concerned, it has been 2026 since the 26th October, but that's not the way I keep years in this game.

Because this is a CQ Game thread, not the UCI loller thread?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

The riders that earned those points in our first year

BRENNAN Matthew	1115​	36​
SEIXAS Paul	661​	38​
DEL GROSSO Tibor	598​	31​
GRUEL Thibaud	480​	14​
WITHEN PHILIPSEN Albert	459​	41​
RONDEL Mathys	450​	20​
TSARENKO Kyrylo	448​	0​
GILMORE Brady	365​	0​
OMRZEL Jakob	345​	0​
DE SCHUYTENEER Steffen	303​	28​
ETXEBERRIA ANSALAS Haimar	300​	0​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen	293​	41​
LØLAND Sakarias Koller	290​	0​
BALDERSTONE ROUMENS Abel	282​	0​
COBO CAYON Ivan	278​	0​
RIKUNOV Petr	262​	0​
BISIAUX Léo	246​	35​
MAIRE Adrien	246​	0​
BREUILLARD Nicolas	246​	0​
WIDAR Jarno	245​	38​
CASTELLON RIBALTA Jan	245​	0​
CHUMIL GONZALEZ Sergio Geovani	228​	0​
HOPKINS Dylan	236​	0​
KNIGHT Oliver	227​	0​
SVESTAD-BAARDSENG Embret	217​	1 (Peixotini)​
CAVIA SANZ Daniel	216​	0​
FINN Lorenzo	211​	19​
SCHIFFER Anton	209​	0​
ALLENO Clément	207​	0​
VAN HEMELEN Vincent	206​	0​

That list contains all of the Collective Ignorance group, which has been first, or once second, in all but one of the 1 previous editions at this stage, but here is languishing in virtual 23rd place (though it was 25th at this point in 2022-24, the other year we were not missing the key early pacemakers)

Most of those that have scored impressively have been fairly popular, the rarer picks have not emerged much yet, so the scoring is still fairly compact (28 teams within 500 points of early leader Madrazo)

The top 18 goes down as far as Adrien Maire: their total is 7421, and Madrazo has a record (for Yr 1) 74.2 % of that . The top 15 all beat the previous record %age of best possible for the first year, which I guess is what happens with those very popular, very high scoring (at this point) selections.

Brennan is behind only Valverde and De Lie as a Yr 1 scorer in the time CQ has been running.

Collective is in an historically fairly average 4th place at this point: some very popular riders have started very well, but the likes of Isidore, Pescador, Sentjens Kajamini and, most particularly, Behrens, are not (yet) living up to expectations.

If you want to remind yourselves of whom you selected, and what they have done so far, it's all in the Spreadsheet.

The next update will not be based entirely on numbers at least 4 months old...

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Year 2 Month 1

So these guys are no longer the rookies they were: by now their managers will expect them to step up and make real contributions to their teams,. Same here.

BRENNAN Matthew	220​	Stage win and 2 2nds in TDU, 2nd in CERR	36 teams​
RACCAGNI NOVIERO Andrea	115​	TDU 6th	3​
RONDEL Mathys	92​	2nd in Andratx-Pollenca; 4th in Serra Tramuntana	20​
CHAMBERLAIN Oscar	71​	3rd in Nat champ RR	5​
ALVAREZ MARTINEZ Hector	65​	2nd in Trofeo Calvia	11​
PESCADOR CASTRO Diego	64​	2nd in Morvedre	16​
SVESTAD-BAARDSENG Embret	59​		1 (Peixotini)​
DE SCHUYTENEER Steffen	48​		28​
MAGAGNOTTI Alessio	40​		1 (Onizuka)​

This month

1	Peixotini	573​	Brennan, Raccagni Noviero, Rondel, Pescaror, Svestad-Baardseng
2	Cordi	533​	Brennan, Rondel, Alvarez, Pescador, De Schuyteneer
3	DJSprtsch	497​	Brennan, Rondel, Pescador, De Schuyteneer
4	EvansIsTheBest	487​	Brennan, Rondel, Chamberlain, De Schuyteneer
5	Bminchow	485​	Brennan, Rondel, Alvarez, De Schuyteneer
6	Laarsland	484​	Brennan, Chamberlain, Alvarez, Pescador, De Schuyteneer
7	Pantani4Ever	482​	Brennan, Rondel, Pescador, De Schuyteneer
8	SafeBet	461​
9	Abbulf	452​
9	Hfgon1	452​
11	Armchair_Cyclist	446​
12	Nakazar	440​
13	Houdini	429​
14	Ray10	418​
15	Squire	408​
16	Skidmark	400​
17	Blues_in_the_Bottle	383​
17	Madrazo	383​
19	JonEzeitza	382​
20	Leadbelly	380​
21	JumboVismaFan	379​
22	LosBrolin	376​
23	Qazaqstan	373​
24	Kazistuta	365​
25	RedheadDane	364​
26	DevilsElbow	363​
27	Berflamand	359​
28	Fivezzz	357​
29	AmisVelo	354​
30	Laurens147	350​
31	Nyssinator	338​
32	DJW	334​
33	Anderis	320​
34	Rufs	318​
35	Onizuka999	312​
36	JPettersen	296​
37	Boris98	286​
38	Ingsve	181​
39	Vladimir	167​
40	SamuCuenca	117​
41	Josedin	76​
42	Manafana	64​
	CollectiveWisdom	472​
	CollectiveIgnorance	385​
	MainGame2025	426​
	Goodin2024	414​
	PopularLastEdition	220​

Standings

1​	Madrazo	5889	(-)
2​	Skidmark	5861	(-)
3​	Cordi	5824	(+2)
4​	Bminchow	5787	(-)
5​	SafeBet	5785	(-2)
6​	Peixotini	5710	(+6)
7​	Squire	5674	(-)
8​	Qazaqstan	5662	(-2)
9​	DJSprtsch	5645	(+1)
10​	Hfgon1	5633	(-2)
11​	Houdini	5608	(-2)
12​	Abbulf	5596	(-1)
13​	DevilsElbow	5499	(-)
14​	Ray10	5489	(+1)
15​	LosBrolin	5449	(-1)
16​	Nakazar	5435	(+1)
17​	Kazistuta	5427	(-1)
18​	JonEzeitza	5362	(-)
19​	Leadbelly	5304	(-)
20​	EvansIsTheBest	5263	(+3)
21​	Fivezzz	5256	(-1)
22​	AmisVelo	5221	(-)
23​	Boris98	5180	(-2)
24​	Armchair_Cyclist	5178	(+1)
25​	Pantani4Ever	5150	(+2)
26​	Berflamand	5092	(-2)
27​	JPettersen	4974	(-1)
28​	Anderis	4872	(-)
29​	DJW	4862	(-)
30​	RedheadDane	4854	(-)
31​	Laurens147	4814	(-)
32​	Nyssinator	4771	(-)
33​	Onizuka999	4715	(-)
34​	Rufs	4608	(-)
35​	Laarsland	4598	(+1)
36​	Ingsve	4380	(-1)
37​	Vladimir	3794	(-)
38​	JumboVismaFan	3753	(-)
39​	Blues_in_the_Bottle	3678	(-)
40​	Manafana	2590	(-)
41​	Josedin	2567	(-)
42​	SamuCuenca	2489	(-)
	CollectiveWisdom	5765
	CollectiveIgnorance	5190
	MainGame2025	5230
	Goodin2024	4337
	PopularLastEdition	2604

Spreadsheet

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Year 2 Month 2
2nd Feb to 1st March
The two biggest scorers in year 1 are at it again

SEIXAS Paul	280 pts​	Algarve 2nd with stage win, Ardeche Classic win	38 teams​
BRENNAN Matthew	130​	Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne win	36​
MARTI SORIANO Pau	115​	3rd in Figuieira Classic, stage win in Rwanda	6​
GAROFOLI Gianmarco	96​	2nd in Giro di Sardegna	4​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen	94​	UAE Tour 8th	41​
PESCADOR CASTRO Diego	79​		16​
WIDAR Jarno	68​		38​
AUGUST Andrew	65​		23​
RONDEL Mathys	54​		20​

A lot of us have a good proportion of those big scorers

1	Peixotini	1433​	Seixas, Brennan, Garofoli, Nordhagen, Pescador, Widar, Rondel
2	DJSprtsch	1422​	Seixas, Brennan, Garofoli, Nordhagen, Pescador, Widar, Rondel
3	Cordi	1353​	Seixas, Brennan, Nordhagen, Pescador, Widar, August, Rondel
4	SafeBet	1296​	Seixas, Brennan, Marti, Nordhagen, Widar, Rondel
5	Hfgon1	1286​
6	Pantani4Ever	1256​
7	Laarsland	1255​
8	Leadbelly	1250​
9	Bminchow	1236​
10	Armchair_Cyclist	1222​
11	Abbulf	1216​
12	Skidmark	1204​
13	EvansIsTheBest	1184​
13	Nakazar	1184​
15	LosBrolin	1183​
16	Qazaqstan	1178​
17	Ray10	1156​
18	Madrazo	1140​
19	Blues_in_the_Bottle	1136​
20	Squire	1128​
21	Kazistuta	1110​
22	DJW	1106​
23	Anderis	1104​
24	JonEzeitza	1099​
25	AmisVelo	1095​
26	DevilsElbow	1087​
27	Fivezzz	1068​
28	Berflamand	1060​
29	JPettersen	1038​
30	Laurens147	1037​
31	RedheadDane	1013​
32	Onizuka999	977​
33	Nyssinator	959​
34	Houdini	941​
35	Boris98	926​
36	Rufs	875​
37	Ingsve	771​
38	JumboVismaFan	750​
39	Vladimir	705​
40	Josedin	646​
41	Manafana	576​
42	SamuCuenca	370​
	CollectiveWisdom	1276​
	CollectiveIgnorance	863​
	MainGame2025	1191​
	Goodin2024	854​
	PopularLastEdition	570​

Standings
This one, I'm fairly sure, will remain very competitive well into year 3.

Two ties in the top ten: I have applied the tiebreaker of least reliance on high scorers, if only to remind people that it exists.

1​	Skidmark	6665	(+1)
2​	Madrazo	6646	(-1)
3​	Cordi	6644	(+2)
4​	SafeBet	6620	(-1)
5​	Peixotini	6570	(+7)
6​	DJSprtsch	6570	(+4)
7​	Bminchow	6538	(-3)
8​	Hfgon1	6467	(-)
9​	Qazaqstan	6467	(-3)
10​	Squire	6394	(-3)
11​	Abbulf	6360	(-)
12​	LosBrolin	6256	(+2)
13​	Ray10	6227	(+2)
14​	DevilsElbow	6223	(-1)
15​	Nakazar	6179	(+2)
16​	Leadbelly	6174	(+3)
17​	Kazistuta	6172	(-1)
18​	Houdini	6120	(-9)
19​	JonEzeitza	6079	(-1)
20​	Fivezzz	5967	(-)
21​	AmisVelo	5962	(+1)
22​	EvansIsTheBest	5960	(+1)
23​	Armchair_Cyclist	5954	(+2)
24​	Pantani4Ever	5924	(+3)
25​	Boris98	5820	(-4)
26​	Berflamand	5793	(-2)
27​	JPettersen	5716	(-1)
28​	Anderis	5656	(-)
29​	DJW	5634	(-)
30​	RedheadDane	5503	(-)
31​	Laurens147	5501	(-)
32​	Nyssinator	5392	(-)
33​	Onizuka999	5380	(-)
34​	Laarsland	5369	(+2)
35​	Rufs	5165	(-1)
36​	Ingsve	4970	(-1)
37​	Blues_in_the_Bottle	4431	(+2)
38​	Vladimir	4332	(-1)
39​	JumboVismaFan	4124	(-1)
40​	Josedin	3137	(+1)
41​	Manafana	3102	(-1)
42​	SamuCuenca	2742	(-)
	CollectiveWisdom	6569
	CollectiveIgnorance	5565
	MainGame2025	5995
	Goodin2024	4777
	PopularLastEdition	2954

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I have applied the tiebreaker of least reliance on high scorers, if only to remind people that it exists.

No comment.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Year 2 month 3 : 2nd March to 5th April

GRISEL Matys	261​	Tour de Taiwan win and stage pts, Tourangele 3rd, Samyn 6th, win and 2nd in 1.2s	1 (JBF)​
DE SCHUYTENEER Steffen	143​	Koksijde 4th, Ronde van Brugge 10th, Nkere 9th, Samyn 10th	28​
DEL GROSSO Tibor	139​	NXT Classic win, Denain 9th	31​
SEIXAS Paul	132​	Strade Bianche 2nd	38​
HATHERLY Alan	122​	Coppi e Bartali 3rd, Tirreno Sdriatico 13th	2 (Houdini, Skidmark)​
DONALDSON Robert	101​	Gent-Wev 5th	8​
RONDEL Mathys	91​		20​
ERZEN Zak	79​		1​
GUALDI Simone	55​		2​

This month:

1	Bminchow	De Schuyteneer, Del Grosso, Seixas, Donaldson, Rondel	757​
2	Skidmark	De Schuyteneer, Del Grosso, Seixas, Hatherly, Rondel	755​
3	Qazaqstan	Del Grosso, Seixas, Hatherly, Rondel	717​
4	Madrazo		709​
5	DJSprtsch		687​
6	JonEzeitza		683​
7	Hfgon1		681​
8	LosBrolin		668​
9	Armchair_Cyclist		660​
10	SafeBet		654​
11	Fivezzz		647​
12	Kazistuta		645​
13	Houdini		635​
14	Squire		632​
15	DJW		617​
16	Abbulf		614​
17	Cordi		600​
18	JumboVismaFan		598​
19	Nyssinator		589​
20	EvansIsTheBest		588​
21	Ray10		584​
22	DevilsElbow		581​
23	Berflamand		576​
24	AmisVelo		569​
25	Ingsve		568​
26	RedheadDane		549​
27	Nakazar		526​
28	Pantani4Ever		516​
29	Boris98		500​
30	Vladimir		481​
31	Leadbelly		479​
32	JPettersen		468​
33	Peixotini		464​
34	Onizuka999		423​
35	Rufs		411​
36	Laarsland		399​
37	Blues_in_the_Bottle		394​
38	Anderis		366​
39	Laurens147		334​
40	Manafana		313​
41	Josedin		256​
42	SamuCuenca		83​
	CollectiveWisdom		676​
	CollectiveIgnorance		481​
	MainGame2025		575​
	Goodin2024		385​
	PopularLastEdition		265​

Standings
We have a lot of very popular picks, of whom great things are expected, in this edition, but other than Seixas and Brennan, they haven't really got going for this year yet. When they do, it will make very little difference except to the small number who missed one or more of them.
In a very tight game, extending the lead by 50 odd points is not to be sneezed at

1​	Skidmark	7420	(-)
2​	Madrazo	7355	(-)
3​	Bminchow	7295	(+4)
4​	SafeBet	7274	(-)
5​	DJSprtsch	7257	(+1)
6​	Cordi	7244	(-3)
7​	Qazaqstan	7184	(+2)
8​	Hfgon1	7148	(-)
9​	Peixotini	7034	(-4)
10​	Squire	7026	(-)
11​	Abbulf	6974	(-)
12​	LosBrolin	6924	(-)
13​	Kazistuta	6817	(+4)
14​	Ray10	6811	(-1)
15​	DevilsElbow	6804	(-1)
16​	JonEzeitza	6762	(+3)
17​	Houdini	6755	(+1)
18​	Nakazar	6705	(-3)
19​	Leadbelly	6653	(-3)
20​	Fivezzz	6614	(-)
21​	Armchair_Cyclist	6614	(+2)
22​	EvansIsTheBest	6548	(-)
23​	AmisVelo	6531	(-2)
24​	Pantani4Ever	6440	(-)
25​	Berflamand	6369	(+1)
26​	Boris98	6320	(-1)
27​	DJW	6251	(+2)
28​	JPettersen	6184	(-1)
29​	RedheadDane	6052	(+1)
30​	Anderis	6022	(-2)
31​	Nyssinator	5981	(+1)
32​	Laurens147	5835	(-1)
33​	Onizuka999	5803	(-)
34​	Laarsland	5768	(-)
35​	Rufs	5576	(-)
36​	Ingsve	5538	(-)
37​	Blues_in_the_Bottle	4825	(-)
38​	Vladimir	4813	(-)
39​	JumboVismaFan	4722	(-)
40​	Manafana	3415	(+1)
41​	Josedin	3393	(-1)
42​	SamuCuenca	2825	(-)
	CollectiveWisdom	7245
	CollectiveIgnorance	5972
	MainGame2025	6570
	Goodin2024	5162
	PopularLastEdition	3219

 

[Qazaqstan]

A lot of points for Bisiaux this month, my weak spot.

I hope to do some damage control with Garofoli in the Giro. My other rather unique picks Gruel and Labrosse not as strong as last year. Labrosse got too much competition at Decathlon

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I've sorted the spreadsheet for these three games: hope to do the post this evening.

 

[bminchow]

I've sorted the spreadsheet for these three games: hope to do the post this evening.

woohoo!!

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I've sorted the spreadsheet for these three games: hope to do the post this evening.

Didn't get to it, but I do have some unexpected time tomorrow morning, so hopefully then.

But take this as a warning: it is easy to not get around to something at the time you might: don't let that happen to you in regard to the CQ Giro Game : closing time is Friday afternoon Bulgarian time.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Year 2 Month 4 6th April to 3rd May

This edition had a large number of must-haves: one now looks must-haver than the others. But only 4 teams don't have him.

SEIXAS Paul	836 pts​	Itzulia 3 stage wins, GC win and all the jerseys, Fleche Wallonne, L-B-L 2nd	38 teams​
NORDHAGEN Jørgen	262​	O Gran Camino 2nd, Romandie 4th	41​
VERSTRYNGE Emiel	232​	Liege-B-Liege 4th, Amstel Gold 5th	4​
WITHEN PHILIPSEN Albert	178​	Romandie 8th, Amstel 8th	41​
BISIAUX Léo	158​	Jura 2nd, Besancon 3rd, L-B-L 12th	35​
PERICAS CAPDEVILA Adria	145​	Vuelta a Asturias 2nd, Eschborn-Frankfurt 10th	2​
CRESCIOLI Ludovico	124​	Giro dell'Appennino win, Jura 4th	2​
DEL GROSSO Tibor	89​		31​
PESCADOR CASTRO Diego	76​		16​
GUALDI Simone	74​		2​
RONDEL Mathys	70​		20​
ERZEN Zak	57​		1​
AUGUST Andrew	54​		23​

Scores in this period:

23 teams have all 5 of Seixas/Nordhagen/Withen/Bisiaux/Del Grosso, including all but one of the top 16 in this set of races, so I haven't typed all those in.

1	Ray10	1918​	Verstrynge, Pescador
2	Nakazar	1895​	Pericas, Pescador
3	Boris98	1873​	Verstrynge, Erzen
4	Cordi	1869​	Pescador, Rondel, August
5	Laurens147	1824​	Verstrynge and Pericas but not Bisiaux
6	Onizuka999	1802​
7	SafeBet	1789​
8	Squire	1780​
9	Abbulf	1778​
10	Bminchow	1776​
10	Hfgon1	1776​
12	Armchair_Cyclist	1772​
13	Kazistuta	1752​
14	Peixotini	1751​
14	AmisVelo	1751​
16	Madrazo	1747​
17	Nyssinator	1742​
18	RedheadDane	1739​
19	Pantani4Ever	1735​
20	LosBrolin	1726​
21	Ingsve	1724​
22	Skidmark	1721​
22	DevilsElbow	1721​
24	DJW	1716​
25	DJSprtsch	1714​
26	Anderis	1701​
27	Berflamand	1682​
28	Fivezzz	1680​
29	Laarsland	1671​
30	Blues_in_the_Bottle	1669​
31	JPettersen	1655​
32	EvansIsTheBest	1621​
33	Leadbelly	1588​
34	Vladimir	1575​
35	Josedin	1572​
36	Qazaqstan	1527​
37	Manafana	1411​
38	JonEzeitza	1347​
39	Houdini	1048​
40	Rufs	908​
41	SamuCuenca	725​
42	JumboVismaFan	654​
	CollectiveWisdom	1858​
	CollectiveIgnorance	911​
	MainGame2025	1741​
	Goodin2024	457​
	PopularLastEdition	817​

Standings

Skidmark stays top, but how long before he is made to pay for that empty slot on his team?
Cordi dropped 3 places in the last update, gained 4 this time: the Froome/Almeida approach.

1​	Skidmark	9141	(-)
2​	Cordi	9113	(+4)
3​	Madrazo	9102	(-1)
4​	Bminchow	9071	(-1)
5​	SafeBet	9063	(-1)
6​	DJSprtsch	8971	(-1)
7​	Hfgon1	8924	(+1)
8​	Squire	8806	(+2)
9​	Peixotini	8785	(-)
10​	Abbulf	8752	(+1)
11​	Ray10	8729	(+3)
12​	Qazaqstan	8711	(-5)
13​	LosBrolin	8650	(-1)
14​	Nakazar	8600	(+4)
15​	Kazistuta	8569	(-2)
16​	DevilsElbow	8525	(-1)
17​	Armchair_Cyclist	8386	(+4)
18​	Fivezzz	8294	(+2)
19​	AmisVelo	8282	(+4)
20​	Leadbelly	8241	(-1)
21​	Boris98	8193	(+5)
22​	Pantani4Ever	8175	(+2)
23​	EvansIsTheBest	8169	(-1)
24​	JonEzeitza	8109	(-8)
25​	Berflamand	8051	(-)
26​	DJW	7967	(+1)
27​	JPettersen	7839	(+1)
28​	Houdini	7803	(-11)
29​	RedheadDane	7791	(-)
30​	Anderis	7723	(-)
31​	Nyssinator	7723	(-)
32​	Laurens147	7659	(-)
33​	Onizuka999	7605	(-)
34​	Laarsland	7439	(-)
35​	Ingsve	7262	(+1)
36​	Blues_in_the_Bottle	6494	(+1)
37​	Rufs	6484	(-2)
38​	Vladimir	6388	(-)
39​	JumboVismaFan	5376	(-)
40​	Josedin	4965	(+1)
41​	Manafana	4826	(-1)
42​	SamuCuenca	3550	(-)
	CollectiveWisdom	9103
	CollectiveIgnorance	6672
	MainGame2025	8311
	Goodin2024	5619
	PopularLastEdition	4036

I believe the only selected riders in the Giro are:
CRESCIOLI Ludovico
GUALDI Simone
RONDEL Mathys
BELOKI FERNANDEZ Markel
RACCAGNI NOVIERO Andrea
SVESTAD-BAARDSENG Embret
HATHERLY Alan
DONALDSON Robert
GAROFOLI Gianmarco

The big points for the next update are likely to come from elsewhere.

 

[bminchow]

I don't know. Rondel for a top ten and Donaldson has a break out sprint tour (okay maybe not that second one 🙂)

 

[Cordi333]

I'm climbing this things with paradinhas a la Valverde 🙂

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Year 2, Month 5 4-31 May

While we were all looking at the Giro, these things happened.

For a cohort full of expected superstars, this update gives others a moment in the limelight

GRUEL Thibaud	260​	Mayennes 2nd, Morbihan 4th; classique Dunquerque 6th	14 teams​
ISIDORE Noa	201​	Mayenne 3rd, Morbihan 2nd	22​
SHMIDT Artem	179​	Dunquerque: 1 day win, 4 (or 5) days 9th)	4​
RONDEL Mathys	135​	Giro 11th	20​
WENZEL Mats	90​		5​
MAGAGNOTTI Alessio	89​		1​
BRENNAN Matthew	79​		36​
SPARFEL Aubin	62​		1​

The top five all have the Gruel/Isidore/Rondel/Brennan combination

1	Madrazo	786​
2	EvansIsTheBest	779​
3	Qazaqstan	748​
4	JonEzeitza	732​
5	Ingsve	712​
6	Leadbelly	690​
7	DJSprtsch	643​
8	Houdini	640​
9	DevilsElbow	620​
10	Blues_in_the_Bottle	572​
11	JPettersen	571​
12	Anderis	570​
13	RedheadDane	546​
14	Skidmark	544​
15	Kazistuta	507​
16	Pantani4Ever	504​
17	Bminchow	482​
18	JumboVismaFan	475​
19	Abbulf	462​
20	Rufs	458​
21	Ray10	445​
22	LosBrolin	426​
23	Armchair_Cyclist	417​
24	Nyssinator	390​
25	Cordi	381​
26	Boris98	369​
27	Berflamand	362​
28	Manafana	355​
29	Peixotini	348​
30	Nakazar	331​
31	SafeBet	321​
32	DJW	310​
33	AmisVelo	303​
34	Squire	286​
35	Hfgon1	273​
36	Onizuka999	249​
37	Vladimir	234​
38	Josedin	232​
39	Laarsland	211​
40	Laurens147	200​
41	Fivezzz	182​
42	SamuCuenca	121​
	CollectiveWisdom	487​
	CollectiveIgnorance	418​
	MainGame2025	170​
	Goodin2024	748​
	PopularLastEdition	263​

Tappa e maglia for Madrazo

1​	Madrazo	9888	(+2)
2​	Skidmark	9685	(-1)
3​	DJSprtsch	9614	(+3)
4​	Bminchow	9553	(-)
5​	Cordi	9494	(-3)
6​	Qazaqstan	9459	(+6)
7​	SafeBet	9384	(-2)
8​	Abbulf	9214	(+2)
9​	Hfgon1	9197	(-2)
10​	Ray10	9174	(+1)
11​	DevilsElbow	9145	(+5)
12​	Peixotini	9133	(-3)
13​	Squire	9092	(-5)
14​	LosBrolin	9076	(-1)
15​	Kazistuta	9076	(-)
16​	EvansIsTheBest	8948	(+7)
17​	Leadbelly	8931	(+3)
18​	Nakazar	8931	(-4)
19​	JonEzeitza	8841	(+5)
20​	Armchair_Cyclist	8803	(-3)
21​	Pantani4Ever	8679	(+1)
22​	AmisVelo	8585	(-3)
23​	Boris98	8562	(-2)
24​	Fivezzz	8476	(-6)
25​	Houdini	8443	(+3)
26​	Berflamand	8413	(-1)
27​	JPettersen	8410	(-)
28​	RedheadDane	8337	(+1)
29​	Anderis	8293	(+1)
30​	DJW	8277	(-4)
31​	Nyssinator	8113	(-)
32​	Ingsve	7974	(+3)
33​	Laurens147	7859	(-1)
34​	Onizuka999	7854	(-1)
35​	Laarsland	7650	(-1)
36​	Blues_in_the_Bottle	7066	(-)
37​	Rufs	6942	(-)
38​	Vladimir	6622	(-)
39​	JumboVismaFan	5851	(-)
40​	Josedin	5197	(-)
41​	Manafana	5181	(-)
42​	SamuCuenca	3671	(-)
	CollectiveWisdom	9590
	CollectiveIgnorance	7025
	MainGame2025	8481
	Goodin2024	6367
	PopularLastEdition	4299

Spreadsheet

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

From the cycle which is in year one:

Sorry: I have prepared the spreadsheet for the update (and also on the two other current games), but tables are not pasting properly in this default mode. There was a similar issue for Evans in updating the year long game.

At least you can use the time that you would have used looking at this to prepare your team for the Tour de France CQ Game. Running that without being able to post tables is going to be, let's say, a challenge.

The three spreadsheets, updated to 28 June:
2024-26
2025-27
2026-28

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Year 2 Month 6 1-28 June

We reach the halfway stage

Rider	Pts this month	Main source	Teams
BISIAUX Léo	151	Mercan'Tour Classic 3rd, Nats 5th (RR) & 7th (TT)	35
ERMAKOV Roman	135	Slovenian Nats, 1st RR, 2nd TT	3
ROMELE Alessandro	112	Nats 3rd in RR, 9th in TT; 15th in Belgium Tour	5
HOBBS Noah	85		3
PICKERING Finlay	82		3
TONEATTI Davide	70		1
VAN MECHELEN Vlad	70		2

Rank this month		Pts this month	Main scorers
1	Hfgon1	703	Bisieaux, Ermakov, Romele
2	Boris98	700	Bisieaux, Ermakov, Van Mechelen
3	Nakazar	666	Bisieaux
4	Houdini	620
5	Leadbelly	616
6	RedheadDane	614
7	Squire	605
7	JPettersen	605
9	Laarsland	601
10	Ray10	591
11	Bminchow	589
12	Cordi	587
13	DevilsElbow	582
14	Pantani4Ever	576
15	SafeBet	572
16	Madrazo	570
17	Armchair_Cyclist	566
18	JonEzeitza	549
18	Fivezzz	549
20	Ingsve	534
21	Berflamand	520
22	AmisVelo	506
23	Kazistuta	502
24	Anderis	500
25	Rufs	489
26	Qazaqstan	479
27	Skidmark	476
28	Abbulf	475
29	LosBrolin	471
29	SamuCuenca	471
31	Laurens147	449
32	EvansIsTheBest	439
33	DJW	435
34	Onizuka999	423
35	Peixotini	422
36	Manafana	391
37	Nyssinator	380
37	JumboVismaFan	380
39	Vladimir	378
40	Blues_in_the_Bottle	358
41	DJSprtsch	330
42	Josedin	320
	CollectiveWisdom	523
	CollectiveIgnorance	1247
	MainGame2025	495
	Goodin2024	433
	PopularLastEdition	339

Collective Ignorance has been a subdued presence in this edition, but with Ben Oliver and Luke Tuckwell getting over 200, and Ormzel, Ruiz and Camprubí each over 100, those that would show us all up had a heck of a June.

Standings

This edition had a huge degree of similarity of teams, with so many riders being on the vast majority of teams. So it's not really surprising that the gaps are still fairly small.

Rank	Team	Total	+/-
1	Madrazo	10458	(-)
2	Skidmark	10161	(-)
3	Bminchow	10142	(+1)
4	Cordi	10081	(+1)
5	SafeBet	9956	(+2)
6	DJSprtsch	9944	(-3)
7	Qazaqstan	9938	(-1)
8	Hfgon1	9900	(+1)
9	Ray10	9765	(+1)
10	DevilsElbow	9727	(+1)
11	Squire	9697	(+2)
12	Abbulf	9689	(-4)
13	Nakazar	9597	(+5)
14	Kazistuta	9578	(+1)
15	Peixotini	9555	(-3)
16	Leadbelly	9547	(+1)
16	LosBrolin	9547	(-2)
18	JonEzeitza	9390	(+1)
19	EvansIsTheBest	9387	(-3)
20	Armchair_Cyclist	9369	(-)
21	Boris98	9262	(+2)
22	Pantani4Ever	9255	(-1)
23	AmisVelo	9091	(-1)
24	Houdini	9063	(+1)
25	Fivezzz	9025	(-1)
26	JPettersen	9015	(+1)
27	RedheadDane	8951	(+1)
28	Berflamand	8933	(-2)
29	Anderis	8793	(-)
30	DJW	8712	(-)
31	Ingsve	8508	(+1)
32	Nyssinator	8493	(-1)
33	Laurens147	8308	(-)
34	Onizuka999	8277	(-)
35	Laarsland	8251	(-)
36	Rufs	7431	(+1)
37	Blues_in_the_Bottle	7424	(-1)
38	Vladimir	7000	(-)
39	JumboVismaFan	6231	(-)
40	Manafana	5572	(+1)
41	Josedin	5517	(-1)
42	SamuCuenca	4142	(-)
	CollectiveWisdom	10113
	CollectiveIgnorance	7805
	MainGame2025	8976
	Goodin2024	6800
	PopularLastEdition	4638

Seixas will obviously be pretty high profile at the Tour de France, but others that are relevant to this game on the startline are:

VAN MECHELEN Vlad

ARTZ Huub

CRAPS Lars

VERSTRYNGE Emiel

DHONDT Robbe

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

This was the edition of the game in which there were an unprecedented number of eligible riders that had so much hype that they were must picks for nearly everyone.

But is it fair to say that, apart from Seixas and (last year more than this) Brennan, they have not yet had the impact that was expected?
I'm not saying that Withen, Widar, Nordhagen, Bisieaux won't amount to anything in their careers (Torres and Behrens are beginning to cause real doubt though). But thus far they are outscored by the likes of Del Grosso, Gruel and Rondel, and in the same points bracket as Ormzel, Gilmore and Cobo (all with zero hype 18 months ago if our picks are anything to go by) and De Schuyteneer. Obviously CQ points are not the be all and end all, although they are what I am very aware of right now having just crunched an update, but they surely indicate something of their results thus far.

Are the class of 2005 (mainly) rather less than we had expected? Were they collectively overhyped, or are they just blooming more slowly than anticipated?

 

[Squire]

This was the edition of the game in which there were an unprecedented number of eligible riders that had so much hype that they were must picks for nearly everyone.

I noticed this just now when I looked at my position in the standings, then went back to look at the teams to see what was going on, and I have basically all the same riders as the front-runners. The difference is made in the bottom 4-5 picks (popularity-wise). And Gruel is making a difference there.

Are the class of 2005 (mainly) rather less than we had expected? Were they collectively overhyped, or are they just blooming more slowly than anticipated?

I'm not even convinced they're blooming all that slowly. There's still one-and-a-half years left of this game. AWP, Widar, Nordhagen and Bisiaux, who you rightly mention as the main great-talents-who-haven't-done-the-Seixas-yet, have all shown glimpses of what we can expect a lot more of going forward. It's no surprise that the slightly older guys like Rondel, Del Grosso and Gruel can have a more steady stream of points, at least in the first half of the game. It's a bit of a gamble picking the first-years as you never know when they properly break through, but missing out on them is usually too costly even if the break-through only happens in the second half of the period.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I noticed this just now when I looked at my position in the standings, then went back to look at the teams to see what was going on, and I have basically all the same riders as the front-runners.

The top 8 riders in popularity were so near-ubiquitous that I made a list of those that don't have them here

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

I noticed this just now when I looked at my position in the standings, then went back to look at the teams to see what was going on, and I have basically all the same riders as the front-runners. The difference is made in the bottom 4-5 picks (popularity-wise). And Gruel is making a difference there.


I'm not even convinced they're blooming all that slowly. There's still one-and-a-half years left of this game. AWP, Widar, Nordhagen and Bisiaux, who you rightly mention as the main great-talents-who-haven't-done-the-Seixas-yet, have all shown glimpses of what we can expect a lot more of going forward. It's no surprise that the slightly older guys like Rondel, Del Grosso and Gruel can have a more steady stream of points, at least in the first half of the game. It's a bit of a gamble picking the first-years as you never know when they properly break through, but missing out on them is usually too costly even if the break-through only happens in the second half of the period.

AWP, Nordhagen and Widar in addition to being super young have all been slowed down by illness/injury too. AWP has been pretty spectacular when he has been able to race.

 

[Cordi333]

Are the class of 2005 (mainly) rather less than we had expected? Were they collectively overhyped, or are they just blooming more slowly than anticipated?

2005 class was never overhyped imo, cause it wasn't seen as an extremely good class. There were some good talents yes, but like any ordinary year.

The real hype was with the 2006 class coming fresh from junior, and so far the 4 I selected from that class (Seixas, Finn, Withen, Álvarez) still look excelent, plus others I didn't select but I added the next season like Pericas, Sparfel or Ramírez, or others that I missed cause did more than 200p in their first season like Omrzel.