Money /= Good Team = Sky

[cineteq]

They rank 10th, what a shame...
Do these guys know anything about cycling?

1 (6) TEAM RADIOSHACK (RSH) USA, 465
2 (1) HTC-HIGHROAD (THR) USA, 453
3 (2) RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) NED, 392
4 (4) TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO (GRM) USA, 358
5 (9) LEOPARD TREK (LEO) LUX, 308
6 (5) BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) USA, 278
7 (3) LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) ITA, 253
8 (13) MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) ESP, 248
9 (7) QUICKSTEP CYCLING TEAM (QST) BEL, 234
10 (8) SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) GBR, 234

 

[ingsve]

They rank 10th, what a shame...
Do these guys know anything about cycling?

1 (6) TEAM RADIOSHACK (RSH) USA, 465
2 (1) HTC-HIGHROAD (THR) USA, 453
3 (2) RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) NED, 392
4 (4) TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO (GRM) USA, 358
5 (9) LEOPARD TREK (LEO) LUX, 308
6 (5) BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) USA, 278
7 (3) LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) ITA, 253
8 (13) MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) ESP, 248
9 (7) QUICKSTEP CYCLING TEAM (QST) BEL, 234
10 (8) SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) GBR, 234

If you think that ranking means anything then you know very little about cycling.

 

[hatcher]

Radioshack. The model to follow.

 

[maltiv]

No, they are rank 6.

1.Team RadioShack 3627
2.Team Garmin - Cervélo 3351
3.HTC - Highroad 3175
4.Rabobank 2790
5.Movistar Team 2532
6. Sky Professional Cycling Team 2492

This is the only ranking that means something...

 

[Jamsque]

Even if you do put stock in the UCI World/Pro Tour/Ranking, Sky already have more than half the points they scored last year with only a third of the races completed.

 

[cineteq]

No, they are rank 6.

1.Team RadioShack 3627
2.Team Garmin - Cervélo 3351
3.HTC - Highroad 3175
4.Rabobank 2790
5.Movistar Team 2532
6. Sky Professional Cycling Team 2492

This is the only ranking that means something...

Great! Where do they rank as the best bang-for-the-buck team?

 

[hrotha]

They rank 10th, what a shame...
Do these guys know anything about cycling?

Do you? newt

 

[William H]

Great! Where do they rank as the best bang-for-the-buck team?

Probably about middle of the field

 

[ingsve]

Great! Where do they rank as the best bang-for-the-buck team?

The important thing to remember with these teams like Sky and Katusha is that while they have big budgets and the ambition of being among the best teams if not the best team in the world, they also have a bigger ambition of being a british team and a russian team. You can't blame someone for not maximally taking advantage of their budget when they handicap themselves by restricting significant parts of their roster to nationality rather than best possible talent. That's why a team like HTC can get much further with their budget because they can choose whichever rider they want to recruit without restricting themselves.

 

[Anonymous]

Great! Where do they rank as the best bang-for-the-buck team?

well bearing in mind they have the 6th largest budget in cycling, then id say 6th is a fair reflection £ for £

The important thing to remember with these teams like Sky and Katusha is that while they have big budgets and the ambition of being among the best teams if not the best team in the world, they also have a bigger ambition of being a british team and a russian team. You can't blame someone for not maximally taking advantage of their budget when they handicap themselves by restricting significant parts of their roster to nationality rather than best possible talent. That's why a team like HTC can get much further with their budget because they can choose whichever rider they want to recruit without restricting themselves.

exactly, they paid over the odds for wiggins, but as a british team they needed one of the most appealing british riders, just as Green Edge will probably pay over the top for a Robbie McEwan that is well past his best, just as Astana are probably paying Vino more than he is worth, just as if Spidertech got a pro tour spot they would pay over the odds for Hesjedal or Michael Barry.

 

[roundabout]

How do they know how big other budgets are?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Funny, Rabobank appearently the only team that can really keep up with the American monster teams

 

[Christian]

How do they know how big other budgets are?

Yes @TSF do you have an official list or something? Would be interesting to know. I think we might never know with complete accuracy though, some teams are very discreet about that

 

[Mellow Velo]

Monday afternoon and no racing until midweek.
Yup, if there is a time for another really pointless thread, Monday afternoon would be my pick.

If Radio Shack keep it up until October, the UCI might have to rename pro road racing as pro clock racing.

 

[Polish]

10th Place (or 6th place for that matter) is VERY respectable for Sky.
Certainly wouldn't be expecting them to lead the league now would you? lol

I'm more worried about the "theSwordsman" and Alberto's Team yikes.
Where are THOSE guys?

 

[Arnout]

10th Place (or 6th place for that matter) is VERY respectable for Sky.
Certainly wouldn't be expecting them to lead the league now would you? lol

I'm more worried about the "theSwordsman" and Alberto's Team yikes.
Where are THOSE guys?

Most of the points were scored in the Northern Classics (Wevelgem, Vlaanderen and Roubaix), as well as some smaller stage races. It will all look different after the GTs and even the hilly classics.

The fact that Quickstep is only 9th at the moment means they will probably be last of the PT at seasons end.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes @TSF do you have an official list or something? Would be interesting to know. I think we might never know with complete accuracy though, some teams are very discreet about that

THere isnt an official list.

This has been speculated a lot of times before. It is my understanding from conversations that I have had, that for 2010 Sky had the 5th biggest budget not including initial team setup, and that their budget for 2011 is marginally less in respect of other teams, placing them 5th or 6th

No idea who is above them, certainly Katusha but the rest is just guesswork. One would assume that Garmins budget for this year is much higher with some input from Cervelo beyond just bikes.

 

[roundabout]

So in other words we have to bear in mind speculations and guesswork.

But from the result perspective Sky have done pretty well this year.

 

[Anonymous]

So in other words we have to bear in mind speculations and guesswork.

But from the result perspective Sky have done pretty well this year.

well yes, but im fairly confident to bandy around 5th or 6th which i wouldnt do unless i was fairly sure.

 

[roundabout]

or that it fits the narrative and other folks here have little chance of actually disproving it (which however doesn't make assertions to the contrary something worth noticing)

 

[jaylew]

I'm more worried about the "theSwordsman" and Alberto's Team yikes.
Where are THOSE guys?

They're not doing too badly, especially considering their lack of depth and GT focus. They're 11th or 12th of 18 PT teams (UCI and CQ, respectively), though if AC's results get thrown out they will certainly be at or near the bottom.

 

[Archibald]

you'd be pretty confident in puting Leopard above them for budget, with Mr 60% having and extra 1.6m of theirs to boost his sizeable coffers...

 

[greenedge]

it would be interesting to see if they had Cav how they would be ranked. They are however performing well with still a bit of racing to go. They have the right mindset too compared to last yr, when they just thought money and over-excessive training would give them their wins. Now they have a solid cadre of Rogers, Lovkist( sorry for spelling ), Wiggins, Thomas, Uran and their classics squad. I think Thomas could go well at Gt's if he focuses on climbing a bit more. For first week remember he was 2nd in tour.

 

[Mambo95]

it would be interesting to see if they had Cav how they would be ranked.

Exactly the same. Cav is yet to get a single ranking point so far this season. (No doubt that will change)

They'll pick up quite a few points this season. Some will say, 'they can't do anything in this race, they can't do anything in that race', but so far it's been a season of surprises. (maybe Steve Cummings will win LBL )

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Well in WT rankings, Cavendish wouldn't make any difference this year, as he has no points: last year he would have moved Sky from 15th to 11th.

On CQ, he would have moved them up one place to 5th this year, or from 13th to 7th last season.

Of course, there's no telling what difference the tactics or resources to accomodate and reward Cavendish would have made to the points gained by other riders.