The 2013 CQ Ranking Manager Game

[Froome19]

What about people picking both Gilbert and Quintana?

I see Gilbert has been rather popular and I see him as being the must pick Boonen of this year (not definite, but possible). Quintana likewise did not really get any points at all from Grand Tours last year and clearly showed in the Vuelta with his support of Valverde that he can climb with the best and is on an upward trajectory. With him picking up points in shorter stage races and hopefully then taking the gauntlet up in GTs he can make a sizable profit . I just hope that he will not be as restricted in his races and in his independent goals as last year by the Movistar management. If so then he can easily become a must pick as well imo.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

What about people picking both Gilbert and Quintana?

I see Gilbert has been rather popular and I see him as being the must pick Boonen of this year (not definite, but possible). Quintana likewise did not really get any points at all from Grand Tours last year and clearly showed in the Vuelta with his support of Valverde that he can climb with the best and is on an upward trajectory. With him picking up points in shorter stage races and hopefully then taking the gauntlet up in GTs he can make a sizable profit . I just hope that he will not be as restricted in his races and in his independent goals as last year by the Movistar management. If so then he can easily become a must pick as well imo.

Re Gilbert: he's definitely a must pick. In my opinion he's the second best pick in the game.

Quintana is indeed very interesting and could be a deciding factor as well. His schedule might hinder his point harvest, though.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Let's get some discussion going.. There are still 3 days untill the game really kicks off.

The names I'm the most curious about are Cavendish and Cancellara. Obviously because they are so expensive, they have a huge impact on the game.

Cavendish has been picked by 16 teams including bicing, while Cancellara has been picked by 31 teams including ingsve, mc_mountain, The Hitch and, interestingly, bicing who has both og Cavendish and Cancellara in his team.

Since Cancellara is a relatively popular pick and also expensive, I think that the succes or failure of him might be sort of a deciding factor in this game. At least on paper, he's one of the most important picks I think.

So, what are you're expectations for him? To those of you who have picked him (and Cavendish): How many points would you sell him for? How many points does he have to earn for you to be satisfied?

Cavendish can't really improve on his 2009 score which is pretty much the perfect season for a sprinter, he has no chance of featuring in the Worlds either and as there are many more accomplished classics riders than him in his team it is hard to see him score more than 1700 points (1733 in 2009).
As for Cancellara, even if he does the RVV-PR double (which is unlikely IMO against an healthy Boonen + 1 year older Sagan) he will score no more than in 2010 (so around 1500 points) especially as he does not win as many ITTs as he used to.
So if they score respectively 1700 and 1500 points they are good value in that price range but I do not think the risk is worth it.

So, anyone spotted a team that they are ready to go out on a limb on and declare a favourite for winning?

This year I feel that the teams are very similar (because we are getting better at the game (the average score was 9863 in 2011 and 13194 in 2012) and there are only a limited number of bargains) and that it is much harder to make a prediction.

 

[Martin]

omg

129 teams, 119 have included Andy Schleck (2, apparently, stripped from the team because of being over budget)

So 8 teams who either thought he wasn't good enough value, had forgotten about him, or are second choice teams.

I was lazy to scroll the names who were so low on points I was happy to spot Hushovd but couldn't imagine some superior rider could be lower then him.

I promised myself no to be such as fool next year...

 

[Sylvester]

I picked Gilbert. Quite confident he'll make 1800+ which would make him very profitable.

Quintana is a risky pick. Of course the guy has a lot of talent, but then again he won't win all the stage races he's taking part in. I can see him make the top 20 of the CQ ranking, but I can't see him score 1600 points or so.

What about Matthew Goss? I'm afraid he's one of my worst picks. I felt he was really cheap this year, but his points in his 1000+ year came mostly from the TDU, the Worlds and MSR

 

[Tuarts]

Looks like I have a team of popular picks and some obscure ones as well. Good enough, I had to do a last-minute reshuffle after Guardini 'earned' an extra 8 points. Would be nice to have some stats like most popular picks overall and who our team's are most common with, like before.

Going through my team and I have two unique picks in Geschke and Kritskiy. Geschke is one of the only climbers on Argos and with them being WT he has more chances for points now. Kritskiy is a super-talented Russian who did well in L'Avenr before crashing horrifically a few years back and its been a roller-coaster ride getting back to the pro peloton. He got his 5 points in Beijing last year where he was part of one of the breaks so hoping the past is behind him and he's dirt cheap!

Also only one other person picked Gediminas Bagdonas. Aside from having a cool, Lithuanian name Gediminas Bagdonas has been tearing it up at Conti level for a few years now at 263 points now that Gediminas Bagdonas is at WT level I don't think he's that much of a risk.

TGBM was hardly picked at all as well (6 teams). Hoping now he becomes Raboblank leader in a climbing Tour when Gesink inevitably crashes.

 

[Tuarts]

I picked Gilbert. Quite confident he'll make 1800+ which would make him very profitable.

Quintana is a risky pick. Of course the guy has a lot of talent, but then again he won't win all the stage races he's taking part in. I can see him make the top 20 of the CQ ranking, but I can't see him score 1600 points or so.

What about Matthew Goss? I'm afraid he's one of my worst picks. I felt he was really cheap this year, but his points in his 1000+ year came mostly from the TDU, the Worlds and MSR

With Cavendish, Griepel, Kittel ahead of him on a flat sprint and Sagan, Degenkolb on a hill sprint, there's a reason he's always being pipped and it looks to continue. I nearly had him because he could easily improve but you also have the likes of Demare/Bouhanni, Guardini coming up in the ranks too and there's always that ginger ninja fella, what's his name?

A lot of competition in the sprints this year.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Indeed, Radioshack is still weak when it comes to cobble stones. Stijn Devolder as your lieutenant is not the best option.

With what he has shown those last few years Devolder won't be Cancellara's lieutenant, Gallopin will be.
Devolder, Gallopin, Rast, Hondo, Nizzolo, Sergent, Roulston and Voigt is actually better than what he is used to, even if it is hardly a world class line-up.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

TGBM was hardly picked at all as well (6 teams). Hoping now he becomes Raboblank leader in a climbing Tour when Gesink inevitably crashes.

He seems to be a good pick, since Gesink is doing the Giro for the magia rosa before doing the TDF, TGBM will no doubt be the first leader for the TDF. He also got top 10s in all the Ardennes classics and a top 10 in Lombardia in his first serious attempt, so he ought to improve his results in the Ardennes as well.

Besides, people always sat he started cycling late right? So he should have some development left I hope.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Let's get some discussion going.. There are still 3 days untill the game really kicks off.

The names I'm the most curious about are Cavendish and Cancellara. Obviously because they are so expensive, they have a huge impact on the game.

Cavendish has been picked by 16 teams including bicing, while Cancellara has been picked by 31 teams including ingsve, mc_mountain, The Hitch and, interestingly, bicing who has both og Cavendish and Cancellara in his team.

Since Cancellara is a relatively popular pick and also expensive, I think that the succes or failure of him might be sort of a deciding factor in this game. At least on paper, he's one of the most important picks I think.

So, what are you're expectations for him? To those of you who have picked him (and Cavendish): How many points would you sell him for? How many points does he have to earn for you to be satisfied?

I predict that teams that have Cavendish OR Cancellara won't win. Simple as that. Evans (I have him) and Gesink are highly risky picks, too, with limited potential. You can almost surely rule these teams out as well. Even Kittel has limited potential.

The best strategy is probably to have Gilbert as your only expensive rider and then work your way down from (around) Pozzato onwards. I believe Kvinto's team qualifies, but I'm sure there are others, too. I'd pick one of those teams for the win...

 

[the asian]

Quintana is one of my favourite riders,but I didn't pick him because it's highly unlikely that he will double his score. He certainly can score around 1000 points, but can't see him scoring about 1500 points which you would look for in a pick in the 700 pt range.
He has to be the super dom for Valverde in the Tour and Cobo & Valverde will most probably be the leaders in the Vuelta.
Even in the Worlds' Uran. Henao, Betancur, Duarte would have a better chance of a higher placing among the Colombians.
So IMO he was overpriced.

I also can't see Goss scoring more than 1000 points. The stages for sprinters are reduced in the Giro and the Vuelta. In the Tour he will come up against Cav, Kittel & Greipel and he's not the sort of rider who riders the sprinter friendly 1HC or 1.1 races.
Among the monuments MSR is his only chance, but he'll have to be on the top of his game to win there.

 

[The Hitch]

Let's get some discussion going.. There are still 3 days untill the game really kicks off.

The names I'm the most curious about are Cavendish and Cancellara. Obviously because they are so expensive, they have a huge impact on the game.

Cavendish has been picked by 16 teams including bicing, while Cancellara has been picked by 31 teams including ingsve, mc_mountain, The Hitch and, interestingly, bicing who has both og Cavendish and Cancellara in his team.

Since Cancellara is a relatively popular pick and also expensive, I think that the succes or failure of him might be sort of a deciding factor in this game. At least on paper, he's one of the most important picks I think.

So, what are you're expectations for him? To those of you who have picked him (and Cavendish): How many points would you sell him for? How many points does he have to earn for you to be satisfied?

monument points have gone up a little bit

Cancellara is splitting up his season this year into a peak in spring and a peak in Autumn. So more opportunities for points. It also means that he won't ride around France domestiquing for the schlecks like he usually does. He might also elect not.to prance around vuelta without doing anything like he often does. With that in mind the possibilities are endless. Especially for Autumn which he usually only gets onto after the tour. Im already looking at eneco tour with hopes he can race that. Then there are tons of classics in italy or France or canada he might try especially with a mind to how hard the worlds are

If ever there is a year for cancellara to score 2000 it is this. And when he comes into it worth only 1000 that's a gift from the cq gods that you just cannot say no to.

It would be too rude.

 

[The Hitch]

Quintana is one of my favourite riders,but I didn't pick him because it's highly unlikely that he will double his score. He certainly can score around 1000 points, but can't see him scoring about 1500 points which you would look for in a pick in the 700 pt range.
He has to be the super dom for Valverde in the Tour and Cobo & Valverde will most probably be the leaders in the Vuelta.
Even in the Worlds' Uran. Henao, Betancur, Duarte would have a better chance of a higher placing among the Colombians.
So IMO he was overpriced.

I also can't see Goss scoring more than 1000 points. The stages for sprinters are reduced in the Giro and the Vuelta. In the Tour he will come up against Cav, Kittel & Greipel and he's not the sort of rider who riders the sprinter friendly 1HC or 1.1 races.
Among the monuments MSR is his only chance, but he'll have to be on the top of his game to win there.

I didn't pick.quintana because i didn't have the points.for a third high scorer. And i fear he has points he cannot defend. But i think he definitely can double his score and he won't just donestique for piti and not for cobo unless cobo is better. Unzue already said quintana will be a big player next year. What do you think happens when Contador attacks on a mountain and valverde can't follow. Maybe quintana drops back to help valverde fight for 8th place. Or maybe quintana goes on fights for the stage and a tour podium, keeps his form for the vuelta and worlds and ends the season with 1800cq points.

I don't think he's the best pick in the game, and he is a risk but he can double his score.

 

[Ruudz0r]

Looks like I have a team of popular picks and some obscure ones as well. Good enough, I had to do a last-minute reshuffle after Guardini 'earned' an extra 8 points. Would be nice to have some stats like most popular picks overall and who our team's are most common with, like before.

Going through my team and I have two unique picks in Geschke and Kritskiy. Geschke is one of the only climbers on Argos and with them being WT he has more chances for points now. Kritskiy is a super-talented Russian who did well in L'Avenr before crashing horrifically a few years back and its been a roller-coaster ride getting back to the pro peloton. He got his 5 points in Beijing last year where he was part of one of the breaks so hoping the past is behind him and he's dirt cheap!

Also only one other person picked Gediminas Bagdonas. Aside from having a cool, Lithuanian name Gediminas Bagdonas has been tearing it up at Conti level for a few years now at 263 points now that Gediminas Bagdonas is at WT level I don't think he's that much of a risk.

TGBM was hardly picked at all as well (6 teams). Hoping now he becomes Raboblank leader in a climbing Tour when Gesink inevitably crashes.

Geschke aint a climber.

 

[mc_mountain]

I predict that teams that have Cavendish OR Cancellara won't win. Simple as that. Evans (I have him) and Gesink are highly risky picks, too, with limited potential. You can almost surely rule these teams out as well. Even Kittel has limited potential.

The best strategy is probably to have Gilbert as your only expensive rider and then work your way down from (around) Pozzato onwards. I believe Kvinto's team qualifies, but I'm sure there are others, too. I'd pick one of those teams for the win...

I had Cavendish and EBH in the first year. The idea that to be a good pick you have to double your score is a fallacy - if Andy doubles his score will he be a good pick. If Bicing gets 3000 points out of Cav and Cancellara that should be a strong position - unfortunaltey I have my doubts about Menchov and a few of his other picks. Expensive riders who perform solidly (ie 200-500 point improvement) are a great platform. Especially when it means you make room for riders with the huge exponential room for return on investment.

 

[Ferminal]

It's not like Rein Taaramae is going to be on the front dictating the terms of the race to protect Jerome Coppel (or vice versa). These guys just ride in the bunch and get the result they can.

 

[Duartista]

I didn't pick.quintana because i didn't have the points.for a third high scorer. And i fear he has points he cannot defend. But i think he definitely can double his score and he won't just donestique for piti and not for cobo unless cobo is better. Unzue already said quintana will be a big player next year. What do you think happens when Contador attacks on a mountain and valverde can't follow. Maybe quintana drops back to help valverde fight for 8th place. Or maybe quintana goes on fights for the stage and a tour podium, keeps his form for the vuelta and worlds and ends the season with 1800cq points.

I don't think he's the best pick in the game, and he is a risk but he can double his score.

The problem is, I doubt Quintana will do the Vuelta. It would be very un-Unzue like to have a 23 year-old do two consecutive GTs. His best opportunities to gain points could be Catalunya and the Dauphine, in both of which he punctured last year, but that is dependent on Valverde's ambitions, the weather (Catalunya), and the parcours (Dauphine). I had him in my team for a long time, then replaced him with Betancur (similar price, but sure to be a team leader plus a has a better schedule), then decided to jettison all 500 point plus riders not named Gilbert.

 

[The Hitch]

I picked Gilbert. Quite confident he'll make 1800+ which would make him very profitable.

Quintana is a risky pick. Of course the guy has a lot of talent, but then again he won't win all the stage races he's taking part in. I can see him make the top 20 of the CQ ranking, but I can't see him score 1600 points or so.

What about Matthew Goss? I'm afraid he's one of my worst picks. I felt he was really cheap this year, but his points in his 1000+ year came mostly from the TDU, the Worlds and MSR

I think i counted yesterday over 80 people with Gilbert which is enough that for me i won't actually care how he performs because well over half have him. So long as he doesn't bomb.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

That's a very good reasoning. Sounds like it's very thought through.

monument points have gone up a little bit

Cancellara is splitting up his season this year into a peak in spring and a peak in Autumn. So more opportunities for points. It also means that he won't ride around France domestiquing for the schlecks like he usually does. He might also elect not.to prance around vuelta without doing anything like he often does. With that in mind the possibilities are endless. Especially for Autumn which he usually only gets onto after the tour. Im already looking at eneco tour with hopes he can race that. Then there are tons of classics in italy or France or canada he might try especially with a mind to how hard the worlds are

If ever there is a year for cancellara to score 2000 it is this. And when he comes into it worth only 1000 that's a gift from the cq gods that you just cannot say no to.

It would be too rude.

 

[Total Package]

Since everyone is posting his team here, here is mine:

GILBERT Philippe
CANCELLARA Fabian
PINOT Thibaut
TAARAMÄE Rein
BRAMBILLA Gianluca
ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin
MATTHEWS Michael
FEILLU Romain
PETIT Adrien
RUJANO GUILLEN Jose Humberto
DOWSETT Alex
LANDA MEANA Mikel
DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd
THOMAS Geraint
GADRET John
LÖFKVIST Thomas
ARU Fabio
ANACONA GOMEZ Winner Andrew
BOLE Grega
BARBIN Enrico
BARGUIL Warren
BOSWELL Ian
APPOLLONIO Davide
NUYENS Nick
BONGIORNO Francesco Manuel
SEPULVEDA Eduardo
HUSHOVD Thor
SUTTON Christopher
WACKERMANN Luca
COQUARD Bryan
SCHLECK Andy
OSPINA HERNANDEZ Argiro Alonso
BOBRIDGE Jack

 

[Ferminal]

At this stage the only top5 certainties for the Tour are a Schleck, a Kenyan and a great one. It's not unreasonable to think that a Quintana or Pinot could compete with the rest for a high finish.

Not that I picked Quintana on the basis of doing well in the Tour, he's good enough to accumulate points wherever he goes. Would love to see him at his best for Firenze...

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

That's a very good reasoning. Sounds like it's very thought through.

I'm not sure about that. I don't think Cancellara cares about races like Eneco Tour, but I guess we'll see.

His spring will be more demanding than usual, anyhow, with most likely one week of the Giro on his schedule. I think he'll have a hard time getting pink if he doesn't do it in the first stage, but that's just me. How many points do you guys think he will score at the Giro?

 

[vladimir]

At this stage the only top5 certainties for the Tour are a Schleck, a Kenyan and a great one. It's not unreasonable to think that a Quintana or Pinot could compete with the rest for a high finish.

Not that I picked Quintana on the basis of doing well in the Tour, he's good enough to accumulate points wherever he goes. Would love to see him at his best for Firenze...

I fully agree. After watching Quintana in the Vuelta he was always going to be in my team, even if most of the 700 points he picked up last year was quite "cheap" (e.g. Murcia and Rute du Sud). I fully believe he is already among the top five/six climbers in the world, and still only 22 he should have scope for even further improvement.

BTW, I am quite surprised that I have already found six unique picks in my team. I thought I picked a rather conservative team this year

 

[jsem94]

How is it possible that I missed Finetto. so angry

 

[will10]

Come on Ramunas, make me proud! Navardauskas is by far my riskiest pick, but I have high hopes for the guy.

I really wanted to pick Navardauskas but after his Worlds result he was just a tad too expensive. Still someone I'll cheer for regardless

So, anyone spotted a team that they are ready to go out on a limb on and declare a favourite for winning?

I haven't looked through the whole list but skidmark has put together a very good team for a defence of his title.