The 2012 CQ Ranking Manager Game

[Moondance]

I can understand why so many people have Sicard and Matt Lloyd. Given they both scored 0 points last year they have great value.

I happen to have selected both those bums last year. My E-Jihad against them will last for severall more years at least.

 

[will10]

So most pick Breschel because he was named in this thread or because he was the most high profile rider with a bad season?
Look at Lloyd and Sicard, less than 50% picked them despite being zero-pointers. Oh yes, huge influence. Then you get even less % for the names lower. Sounds too much like Cletus with his pitchfork talk to me.

In fact in my opinion, the only one who may have been overpicked because of mentions is Henao, however that is more a forum-wide thing that this thread.

EDIT: Never mind

 

[Anonymous]

Bogging hell.. I wish when people quoted huge great long lists they would snip the list..

taken me an age to scroll through this thread..

 

[taiwan]

Posting my shortlist with (optimistic) projected scores, because I'm obv. done with it and because there aren't enough long lists of riders spamming up the thread. Excuse the annoying spacing.

NIBALI Vincenzo 1127 1500
FARRAR Tyler 953 1500
PERAUD Jean-Christophe 801 1000
URAN URAN Rigoberto 732 1000
DEGENKOLB John 711 1200
PINOT Thibaut 639 1000
VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen 617 1200
VAN HUMMEL Kenny 583 1000
ALBASINI Michael 552 900
KREUZIGER Roman 528 1000
BOONEN Tom 502 1000
HAUSSLER Heinrich 496 900
ULISSI Diego 483 700
KRUIJSWIJK Steven 453 900
NIEVE ITURRALDE Mikel 445 700
SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon 439 1400
BELLETTI Manuel 385 700
PINOTTI Marco 373 600
GUARDINI Andrea 332 900
GUSEV Vladimir 325 600
HENDERSON Gregory 306 700
POZZATO Filippo 301 1000
RENSHAW Mark 286 900
HIVERT Jonathan 273 400
DUPONT Hubert 255 500
COLLI Daniele 247 500
SHPILEVSKY Boris 243 500
GAUDIN Damien 242 500
ARROYO DURAN David 234 500
DI LUCA Danilo 232 1000
BATTAGLIN Enrico 228 600
JEANDESBOZ Fabrice 219 500
SOHRABI Mahdi 210 600
LARSSON Gustav Erik 206 700
VELITS Peter 205 600
MONTAGUTI Matteo 196 300
HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis 190 700
PARDILLA BELLON Sergio 187 400
CARRARA Matteo 185 500
VANDEWALLE Kristof 178 400
BLYTHE Adam 173 600
STYBAR Zdenek 172 500
NOVIKOV Nikita 172 300
ZABRISKIE David 166 300
BOL Jetse 165 300
DEVOLDER Stijn 145 300
MIYAZAWA Takashi 143 300
KARPETS Vladimir 139 400
ROGERS Michael 137 500
GRETSCH Patrick 134 400
GUTIERREZ PALACIOS Jose Ivan 127 400
MASCIARELLI Francesco 127 300
DAVIS Allan 118 800
KLEMME Dominic 109 300
EFIMKIN Vladimir 109 200
CATTANEO Mattia 108 300
PORSEV Alexander 104 200
BAUER Jack 101 300
PUCCIO Salvatore 100 200
BRESCHEL Matti 98 700
ARU Fabio 95 200
PREIDLER Georg 94 200
IGLINSKIY Maxim 82 500
PLAZA MOLINA Ruben 81 400
KNEES Christian 80 200
MOSER Moreno 78 200
MORAJKO Jacek 76 100
KONOVALOVAS Ignatas 66 100
PETROV Evgeni 60 100
BERTAGNOLLI Leonardo 59 400
BOILY David 52 200
DOWNING Russell 49 200
OROZ UGALDE Juan Jose 46 100
HOSTE Leif 44 100
VALLS FERRI Rafael 39 200
FAILLI Francesco 37 100
RABON Frantisek 35 200
MONIER Damien 35 100
KROON Karsten 33 300
WETTERHALL Alexander 33 200
CHTIOUI Rafaâ 32 200
KASHECHKIN Andrey 28 300
SAVINI Filippo 25 100
TRAKSEL Bobbie 21 100
LIETAER Eliot 17 100
GULDHAMMER Rasmus 15 100
BOIVIN Guillaume 14 200
VAUGRENARD Benoît 11 200
KUMP Marko 10 100
DENNIS Rohan 10 100
MERLO Michele 8 0
VANENDERT Dennis 8 0
HULSMANS Kevin 7 100
CALLEGARIN Daniele 5 100
WILLEMS Frederik 5 100

I may have ended up bumping up the projected scores of riders I liked so that I could make them meet my selection criteria at some point.

 

[roundabout]

So that's like what, 50000 points in total?

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

First post for me! I found this game via the google (thanks for that George W) in an attempt to feed my fantasy sports addiction after my fantasy football (USA) season ended. I play cobblestone, VDS, cyclingfever etc but I wanted another full year "one-time pick" game.

I've only been following cycling closely for 1 year (maybe TdF for the last 5) and I love this sport, and playing fantasy games helped me get into it even more. I wish more Americans would open up to cycling...that's another story. In my sophomore year I was able to pick out Sicard, Breschel, Pinot, Nikita etc without reading any of these posts. I had just been paying attention in 2011. And I also avoided guys like Boonen and Igor on purpose because I think they have a limited ceiling. Seeing what people wrote wouldn't have changed my picks at all. I still would have picked Sicard and I still would have left out Stybar.

I think it's important to consider how massive fantasy sports has become when you look at a game like this because it changes the way people think about a sport. I watch cycling largely from a fantasy perspective and because of this I think largely about who will and who won't be a good buy for fantasy and fantasy points. This might make a difference in the way I would pick a team vs a person who has been a fan for 30 years and watches more from a deep love of the sport. At the very least, I know of 1 other newbie to this game that shares the exact same sentiment...and I know this because I told him to join!

My point is this, that the riders that were picked heavily were probably picked because they're just good buys. The people playing this game are way too serious about this game (which is awesome) to just forget about Breschel's nightmare 2011 season and overlook him. Frankly, what I find more irritating is the complaint about the issue more than the "issue" itself...I guess all I can say to that is ya gotta outsmart the next guy and still pick a better team!

Hugo, thanks for the game and all your time. Best of luck to everyone, may everyones riders stay healthy and gooooo Tejay!

 

[mc_mountain]

Snip>
RENSHAW Mark 286 900
<snip

i'm a bit surprised by the faith shown in Renshaw, a good chance to increase his score of course but by an exciting/game changing amount? i'm not sure he'll do better than 400-450 (appreciate your score above is a 'best case' one).

 

[Netserk]

Boonen to have a 3000+ season You heard it here first!

 

[Kvinto]

900 points' expectation from Renshaw is indeed too many but you don't have to be one of the best sprinters to score many CQ points in sprints, look at Theo Bos - 460 points in second-tier races, i guess Renshaw is capable of more, he just has to participate in 'right' races which means rather races with 'right' competition

 

[taiwan]

i'm a bit surprised by the faith shown in Renshaw, a good chance to increase his score of course but by an exciting/game changing amount? i'm not sure he'll do better than 400-450 (appreciate your score above is a 'best case' one).

Yeah I know I've been talking Renshaw down on here, too. I was just looking at what Bennati was able to last year running seconds and thirds. Basically I thought he'd end up scoring quite a lot purely because he'd be the supported sprinter on a PT team, and he'd be there in all the sprints despite IMO not being that fast. I do think he has the potential to do that though if he rides a full calendar.

In the end I swapped with Henderson, who I'm more interested in, and who I think will get good opportunities as the second fastest man on the team, and as the leadout man for a sprinter who has been known to go missing in the odd finale. Less cynical (and happily less common) pick.

[edit] sorry, Bennati did get his victories last year, but it can probably agreed he's not a 'raw speed' type of sprinter.

 

[Ruby United]

MADRAZO RUIZ Angel
SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon
HAUSSLER Heinrich
FEILLU Brice
KREUZIGER Roman
PORTE Richie
BRESCHEL Matti
BAGDONAS Gediminas
POZZATO Filippo
TALANSKY Andrew
VELITS Peter
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis
ROGERS Michael
PLAZA MOLINA Ruben
CHAVEZ RUBIO Johan Esteban
RABON Frantisek
DURBRIDGE Luke
HEPBURN Michael
GAVAZZI Francesco
MAJKA Rafal
PHINNEY Taylor
DUARTE AREVALO Fabio Andres
GUARDINI Andrea
KERN Christophe
LÖFKVIST Thomas
KING Benjamin
KRUIJSWIJK Steven
BATTAGLIN Enrico
DEMARE Arnaud
OSS Daniel
STETINA Peter[/size][/QUOTE]

Although Durbridge can get a bunch of points in the time trials etc. he focusing completely on the olymics track so he is a very risky one.

 

[mc_mountain]

900 points' expectation from Renshaw is indeed too many but you don't have to be one of the best sprinters to score many CQ points in sprints, look at Theo Bos - 460 points in second-tier races, i guess Renshaw is capable of more, he just has to participate in 'right' races which means rather races with 'right' competition

but will he go for those races? His ambition will be the races with the wrong competition. Well of course the season will answer these questions.

 

[Straßenrennen]

He gave an interview early this week and he said he is confident about being the choice to lead RadioShack in Spain at La Vuelta. In spite of our cycling game I hope he can have the opportunity to do that.

The same as you, I hope he will be allowed the chance after what he said, but he also said in the same interveiw that he had been given positive signs regarding tour selection... made me a bit worried to be honest, that perhaps hes not been given the full truth. But time will tell. Still i wish you and Monfort the best of luck!

 

[will10]

Durbridge could be in profit by this time next week, only needs a decent run at the Nationals. Cheap pick, could pay off.

 

[Kvinto]

but will he go for those races? His ambition will be the races with the wrong competition. Well of course the season will answer these questions.

of course he's aiming for the best races, and that's why i say 900 is too much, because if he rides races from Bos' calendar then 900 points is pretty reachable goal

 

[The Hitch]

No, I'm not a fan because I've lost faith.

Wait. Your "not a fan" anymore? Or do you mean that you are no longer such a big fan but still a fan?

 

[The Hitch]

No, I'm not a fan because I've lost faith.

Wait. Your "not a fan" anymore? Or do you mean that you are no longer such a big fan but still a fan?

Yep. I copied everyones team into a long list (4000 names) and then sorted by name and counted how many duplicates each name had. It took a total of perhaps 3-4 hours.

Kudos.

Out of interest, if you spend 4 hours coutning names, how many hours did you devote to your team?

You lost faith in a good outcome of this case, is what you said. So did I, but what does that have to do with being a fan of him?

He'll be back just like Basso, Scarponi, Valverde, etc., etc. It's part of the game. There's no need to lose sleep over it. He'll be fine.

Hell never get nominated for the sporting awards again. The haters of cycling around the world will talk about how this "cheat" doesnt deserve to be mentione in the same breadth as the perfectly clean and fair (sarcasm is my own) Messi, Bolt etc.

So he wont be fine.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Wait. Your "not a fan" anymore? Or do you mean that you are no longer such a big fan but still a fan?

I'm still a huge fan, but I meant it more like "a real fan doesn't lose faith". But I do still believe him, however, and I'm still just as big a fangirl as always.

 

[SantiBotero]

Hello! I'm new in this game and it sound very funny from now on.

I pick Adrien Petit and Manuel Cardoso with 3 and 2 picks from others, so it was nice, but still killing myself for missing Maaskant.

Good luck to all !

 

[LaFlorecita]

Hell never get nominated for the sporting awards again. The haters of cycling around the world will talk about how this "cheat" doesnt deserve to be mentione in the same breadth as the perfectly clean and fair (sarcasm is my own) Messi, Bolt etc.

So he wont be fine.

Plus he'll always have the public (and probably lots of riders as well) against him, his image will be tainted forever, and he'll lose two years of his prime, 1 Tour victory and maybe even 2 Grand Tours, so he can say bye bye to possible records as well.

 

[ingsve]

Out of interest, if you spend 4 hours coutning names, how many hours did you devote to your team?

Probably something similar if not less. I did keep a list during the year of riders that were struggling with injuries or young riders to keep an eye on for the future.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Skibby beat me to it but here is my list of picked riders (It's all counted by hand so there might be some errors):

BRESCHEL Matti 105
VELITS Peter 91
...
ZANDIO ECHAIDE Xabier 2

One word. EXCEL. Let it sort, compare if need be, and count for you... in 3-4 minutes.

I'll say this though, you are perseverent.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Probably something similar if not less. I did keep a list during the year of riders that were struggling with injuries or young riders to keep an eye on for the future.

4 hours...

Let me know if you would like to learn how to use excel

 

[skidmark]

ugh, I just spent an hour and a half typing some thoughts about my team and then my computer crashed... well, not gonna do that again. Short version: I like my team, picked a lot of riders I liked to cheer for anyway, 9 riders back from last year. I'm not going to be bold enough to proclaim myself 'future winner' or anything, but I'm pretty confident my team can top 5 or top 10. Last year I got 21st with less knowledge about how CQ worked (now I know that neo-pros are often good buys, and there are so many French and Italian races for riders to get points on Pro Conti teams), with stupid Ricco and Pelizotti, and with bad luck/injuries/sidelining of some major buys (Kreuziger, Boonen, Ballan), and of course the unfortunate Soler. With all riders healthy and some luck, it's not a stretch to see myself doing well.

 

[LaFlorecita]

ugh, I just spent an hour and a half typing some thoughts about my team and then my computer crashed... well, not gonna do that again. Short version: I like my team, picked a lot of riders I liked to cheer for anyway, 9 riders back from last year. I'm not going to be bold enough to proclaim myself 'future winner' or anything, but I'm pretty confident my team can top 5 or top 10. Last year I got 21st with less knowledge about how CQ worked (now I know that neo-pros are often good buys, and there are so many French and Italian races for riders to get points on Pro Conti teams), with stupid Ricco and Pelizotti, and with bad luck/injuries/sidelining of some major buys (Kreuziger, Boonen, Ballan), and of course the unfortunate Soler. With all riders healthy and some luck, it's not a stretch to see myself doing well.

Just know I expect a lot from you.