I explored the idea of having a team with Kopecky, Vollering and Wiebes in it, but I couldn't find enough value for the remaining 6 points for it to make sense. If the Three Amigas accumulate 4000-5000 points, I would've needed my 13 other riders to average 200-300 points in order to reach the 8000 points total that history tells us could lead to an overall victory. Of course if they manage to replicate the 5900 points they scored in 2024, the cheap picks would "only" have to average 160 points, but I wasn't prepared to take that bet.
Inspired by Armchair, I also tried asking Microsoft Copilot for advice. First of all, it claimed Trek had signed multiple new faces. Of course if this had been the men's game I would have had to check to see if they had bought even more riders out of their contracts, but that hasn't yet become an issue with the women's team.
It also created a very potent Swiss Army knife by the name of Elise Reusser. I would definitely have picked her had it been possible. In addition to mentioning some retired riders as well, it told me about a climbing prodigy by the name Fenna Smink, who's allegedly riding for Visma Development, but is expected to join the World Tour soon. Next time, I think I'll ask Gabrielle Copilote Fortin for help instead.
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