I am surprised only 4 people picked Rolland (i did not either) 5 Haller (who did a great sprint at the TOB) and only 20 Von Hoff, who has Farrar as leader for sprints- but we saw the Kreders go well last year.
Sorry for clogging up this thread with all me.
Sorry for clogging up this thread with all me.
- Jul 21, 2011
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greenedge said:
I was surprised by that as well, he was in and out of my team a few times. For me it ended up being a choice between Thibaut and Rolland so he got bumped out. With 76 other people taking Thibaut as well that might be the reason so few had him.
Okay, since I'm sick in bed and have time, and since a few people mentioned in the wrap-up of last years' thread that since I did well last year they'd be interested in hearing me explain some picks, I'm gonna do it in gory detail (enough detail for more than one post, according to CN's character limit - I didn't even know there was one). Of course, I probably would anyway, i have for the past 2 years as well. I guess I just like writing about this stuff.
Here's my team, top to bottom:
Philippe Gilbert - 1086:
most expensive pick I've ever had, but definitely far from the riskiest. While I don't think he'll scale the heights of 2011 and triple that, even on an off year he should do better than this year of awfulness. He's just such a brilliant rider, and world champion to boot, and he always has among the heaviest race schedules in the peloton, and he's always a threat in every race, etc etc. A no - brainer.
(sidenote on this level - I see a lot of people picked Canc and Cavendish - I was tempted to pick Canc, but am hesitant to put too much in one rider - hard enough to pick Gilbert. Plus, Canc would have had a MONSTER year sans crashes, but as it stood his year was okay with the TDF points. I don't see him getting more than 14-1600, but I will cheer for him every race regardless. Cav I didn't consider at all, don't see how he can make it worthwhile)
Tyler Farrar - 521:
I don't really like Tyler Farrar. But I do believe that he's a better sprinter than he showed this year. Hell, he was one of the last cuts off my team last year at 952 or whatever, I can't overlook him at 521. I feel like he had some crashes and bad luck, and maybe he's past his magic years as a sprinter despite being still young, but he's THE sprinter in Garmin and he'll get chances at the GTs, and he'll clock up points unless he crashes even more.
Pippo Pozzatto - 460:
One of the last additions to the team, I hemmed and hawed about whether he'd be able to reach his previous heights. He's still got wonderful form on the cobbles, and sticking with an Italian team should give him a few smaller Italian races to grab some points. Again, don't like the guy, but he's a fighter and I wouldn't be surprised to see him reach 8-900 again.
Thibaut Pinot - 442:
Just found out he has tendonitis, but that really doesn't sound too serious (unless it turns into a Sicard type thing). His talent is obvious, and last year I didn't pick him because in 2011 he got six hundred something points from mostly smaller races, and I knew as he improved at bigger races he'd get more refined opportunities. So, while his CQ ranking in 2012 is lower than 2011, 10th at the Tour is different than top 5 in Turkey or Tre Valli or wherever (going by memory here). I'm hoping he can get some higher results in the one-weeks and place a bit higher in a climb-happy Tour to score at least 800.
Andrea Guardini - 404:
Astana has a recent history of not knowing what to do with some of their incoming talent, but I'm hoping that Guardini gets tons of chances as a sprinter. With two years seasoning, he could take on anyone anytime. I'm just hoping that the times where that Guardini shows up are more frequent. His Giro win in the latter days of his first GT convinced me more than anything.
Wilco Kelderman - 401:
Picked him 2 years in a row now. Trying to predict the progress of Dutch talent in the Rabo system is a nightmare. Add to that Kelderman's crash-reputation with the cynical dutch forumites around here, and he may be a gamble. But his skillset is broad enough (with good TT, climbing, and even sprint) that I feel like his progress should be reflected in his CQ score with plenty of opportunities throughout the year.
JJ Rojas - 366:
Another guy I don't love (especially since I think Libertine mentioned he's a Francoite!) but gotta respect his tactical nous and sheer audacity. He knows how to get on the right wheel and propel his inferior sprinting ability to podium finishes. 2012 was not good for him, but he's still Movistar's primary sprinter and should double in 2013 at least.
Michael Matthews - 359:
Remember when he beat Degenkolb and Phinney in the U23 worlds? That's the Matthews I want, as good as those 2 dudes. Okay, maybe he's not developed into as versatile a sprinter as Deg or a rider as Phinney (who was never primarily a sprinter obviously), but he should be in the 800-1000 range, even on a sprint-heavy GreenEdge.
Matti Breschel - 329:
Fingers crossed. Riis, work your magic!
Davide Rebellin - 276:
Okay, he's 42. Okay, you may not like his tax-related or clinic-related practices. But seriously, the guy is one of the most consistently great competitors in the history of cycling. Not always good enough to win the sprint, but often enough to place high, and always willing to follow or start a move (and often the right one), and more importantly, ALWAYS willing to do what it takes to try to place as high as possible, the guy is like a Poulidor or Zoetemelk with slightly less glittering palmares. 2011 - seriously, 889 on a continental team you started with in April?!? That's UNHEARD of. This year, doesn't start until like December (exaggeration), with Meridia-Kamen or whatever who get barely any invites, and gets 276 competing to the end in stuff like the Hellas Tour. Yeesh. A ride with ProConti will do him worlds of good, especially in that handful of Polish 2.1 races that no other real teams ride except CCC. Seriously, the guy's still good enough to top 5 Pologne, I'd lay money on it. One of the easiest picks for me.
Rohan Dennis - 271:
Expensive for a neo-pro, yes. But what do top neo-pros get? Last year it was Henao (doesn't really count) and Moser around 1000, then Demare and Quintana etc around 7-800. Totally worth it if he gets that. And why shouldn't he? Vaughters described him as a 'game-changer'. And yes, Willunga Hill ain't the Alpe D'Huez, but he has already gone toe-to-toe with pros and done just fine. His wide acclaim as a time-triallist really just seems like an insurance policy for a rider like this - there are always small races that you can do well on the TT and place highly (hello 2012 Durbridge). Not to mention his climbing. I expect big things.
Bob Jungels - 233:
One of the last picks I put on after hemming and hawing. On a big team where he won't necessarily get a huge chance in smaller races (unlike French or Italian teams), but still a solid rider with a great TT at times and some good punchiness in small groups and breakaways. The 9th place in the HC Tour of Luxembourg was the thing I kept coming back to to convince me he could make it in the pros.
Joe Dombrowski - 194:
Duh. Did you see him last year? Sure he's on mega-loaded Sky, but they're also excited about him so I'm sure they'll put him in some varied situations. And the situations he's in where he has his own opportunities, I'm sure he'll take advantage.
Thomas Dekker - 186:
Only on my team because I had 32 riders I liked and 207 points left, and he was the best rider around that point range of the riders I had earlier considered and discarded (I almost took Garzelli before realizing that taking someone who's trying to rejuvenate their career might be better than someone who's winding it down). We'll see how it goes, but I know he wants to continue improving so even if he doesn't get back to clinic Dekker levels, I'm confident he'll do better than last year.
Geraint Thomas - 181:
He spent most of his year focusing on track, and missed where he showed the most promise in 2011, which was the classics. Doesn't hurt that he's a great tt rider, he should be good for 5-600? More?
Thomas Lofkvist - 170:
A bit of a leap of faith, but he's still young, and he was clearly given up on by Sky, who recruited him as a leader and then didn't need him anymore by last year. But he's still good in the short stage races, and with little competition for leadership at Iam, I can see him getting back up to decent (500 point) level.
Fabio Aru - 162:
The neo-pros I already have listed are impressive, but I almost expect more out of Aru than any of them. Dude's ready for the pros. I wonder where Astana will give him chances, but he's the type of rider who tends to make his own chances.
Matteo Trentin - 158:
One of the last additions, hesitated due to his being a helper on a mega-team. But he was an incredibly impressive helper last year, and obviously would've scored over 100 more points if it weren't for that crazy crash in the final corner of MSR. The fact that he could last the distance of 290k or whatever as a neo-pro, and be in the group ahead of uber-Boonen of last year, gives me confidence.
Enrico Battaglin - 152:
I was actually surprised last year that he took his time to adapt to the pros, he looked among the most ready. There seems to be a watershed with young Italian talent used to success, with some riders flying onto the pro success and others never living up to the hype and seemingly faltering due to lack of confidence. I am wary of Battaglin ending up in the latter, but still think he'll be part of the former.
Steele von Hoff - 142:
His results were too consistent to ignore, and although Garmin has a few 'second-tier' sprinters behind Farrar, he should get opportunities and it's not like he's 20 years old - he's been solid on the domestic scene, and should be weathered enough to be solid at the pro level.
Here's my team, top to bottom:
Philippe Gilbert - 1086:
most expensive pick I've ever had, but definitely far from the riskiest. While I don't think he'll scale the heights of 2011 and triple that, even on an off year he should do better than this year of awfulness. He's just such a brilliant rider, and world champion to boot, and he always has among the heaviest race schedules in the peloton, and he's always a threat in every race, etc etc. A no - brainer.
(sidenote on this level - I see a lot of people picked Canc and Cavendish - I was tempted to pick Canc, but am hesitant to put too much in one rider - hard enough to pick Gilbert. Plus, Canc would have had a MONSTER year sans crashes, but as it stood his year was okay with the TDF points. I don't see him getting more than 14-1600, but I will cheer for him every race regardless. Cav I didn't consider at all, don't see how he can make it worthwhile)
Tyler Farrar - 521:
I don't really like Tyler Farrar. But I do believe that he's a better sprinter than he showed this year. Hell, he was one of the last cuts off my team last year at 952 or whatever, I can't overlook him at 521. I feel like he had some crashes and bad luck, and maybe he's past his magic years as a sprinter despite being still young, but he's THE sprinter in Garmin and he'll get chances at the GTs, and he'll clock up points unless he crashes even more.
Pippo Pozzatto - 460:
One of the last additions to the team, I hemmed and hawed about whether he'd be able to reach his previous heights. He's still got wonderful form on the cobbles, and sticking with an Italian team should give him a few smaller Italian races to grab some points. Again, don't like the guy, but he's a fighter and I wouldn't be surprised to see him reach 8-900 again.
Thibaut Pinot - 442:
Just found out he has tendonitis, but that really doesn't sound too serious (unless it turns into a Sicard type thing). His talent is obvious, and last year I didn't pick him because in 2011 he got six hundred something points from mostly smaller races, and I knew as he improved at bigger races he'd get more refined opportunities. So, while his CQ ranking in 2012 is lower than 2011, 10th at the Tour is different than top 5 in Turkey or Tre Valli or wherever (going by memory here). I'm hoping he can get some higher results in the one-weeks and place a bit higher in a climb-happy Tour to score at least 800.
Andrea Guardini - 404:
Astana has a recent history of not knowing what to do with some of their incoming talent, but I'm hoping that Guardini gets tons of chances as a sprinter. With two years seasoning, he could take on anyone anytime. I'm just hoping that the times where that Guardini shows up are more frequent. His Giro win in the latter days of his first GT convinced me more than anything.
Wilco Kelderman - 401:
Picked him 2 years in a row now. Trying to predict the progress of Dutch talent in the Rabo system is a nightmare. Add to that Kelderman's crash-reputation with the cynical dutch forumites around here, and he may be a gamble. But his skillset is broad enough (with good TT, climbing, and even sprint) that I feel like his progress should be reflected in his CQ score with plenty of opportunities throughout the year.
JJ Rojas - 366:
Another guy I don't love (especially since I think Libertine mentioned he's a Francoite!) but gotta respect his tactical nous and sheer audacity. He knows how to get on the right wheel and propel his inferior sprinting ability to podium finishes. 2012 was not good for him, but he's still Movistar's primary sprinter and should double in 2013 at least.
Michael Matthews - 359:
Remember when he beat Degenkolb and Phinney in the U23 worlds? That's the Matthews I want, as good as those 2 dudes. Okay, maybe he's not developed into as versatile a sprinter as Deg or a rider as Phinney (who was never primarily a sprinter obviously), but he should be in the 800-1000 range, even on a sprint-heavy GreenEdge.
Matti Breschel - 329:
Fingers crossed. Riis, work your magic!
Davide Rebellin - 276:
Okay, he's 42. Okay, you may not like his tax-related or clinic-related practices. But seriously, the guy is one of the most consistently great competitors in the history of cycling. Not always good enough to win the sprint, but often enough to place high, and always willing to follow or start a move (and often the right one), and more importantly, ALWAYS willing to do what it takes to try to place as high as possible, the guy is like a Poulidor or Zoetemelk with slightly less glittering palmares. 2011 - seriously, 889 on a continental team you started with in April?!? That's UNHEARD of. This year, doesn't start until like December (exaggeration), with Meridia-Kamen or whatever who get barely any invites, and gets 276 competing to the end in stuff like the Hellas Tour. Yeesh. A ride with ProConti will do him worlds of good, especially in that handful of Polish 2.1 races that no other real teams ride except CCC. Seriously, the guy's still good enough to top 5 Pologne, I'd lay money on it. One of the easiest picks for me.
Rohan Dennis - 271:
Expensive for a neo-pro, yes. But what do top neo-pros get? Last year it was Henao (doesn't really count) and Moser around 1000, then Demare and Quintana etc around 7-800. Totally worth it if he gets that. And why shouldn't he? Vaughters described him as a 'game-changer'. And yes, Willunga Hill ain't the Alpe D'Huez, but he has already gone toe-to-toe with pros and done just fine. His wide acclaim as a time-triallist really just seems like an insurance policy for a rider like this - there are always small races that you can do well on the TT and place highly (hello 2012 Durbridge). Not to mention his climbing. I expect big things.
Bob Jungels - 233:
One of the last picks I put on after hemming and hawing. On a big team where he won't necessarily get a huge chance in smaller races (unlike French or Italian teams), but still a solid rider with a great TT at times and some good punchiness in small groups and breakaways. The 9th place in the HC Tour of Luxembourg was the thing I kept coming back to to convince me he could make it in the pros.
Joe Dombrowski - 194:
Duh. Did you see him last year? Sure he's on mega-loaded Sky, but they're also excited about him so I'm sure they'll put him in some varied situations. And the situations he's in where he has his own opportunities, I'm sure he'll take advantage.
Thomas Dekker - 186:
Only on my team because I had 32 riders I liked and 207 points left, and he was the best rider around that point range of the riders I had earlier considered and discarded (I almost took Garzelli before realizing that taking someone who's trying to rejuvenate their career might be better than someone who's winding it down). We'll see how it goes, but I know he wants to continue improving so even if he doesn't get back to clinic Dekker levels, I'm confident he'll do better than last year.
Geraint Thomas - 181:
He spent most of his year focusing on track, and missed where he showed the most promise in 2011, which was the classics. Doesn't hurt that he's a great tt rider, he should be good for 5-600? More?
Thomas Lofkvist - 170:
A bit of a leap of faith, but he's still young, and he was clearly given up on by Sky, who recruited him as a leader and then didn't need him anymore by last year. But he's still good in the short stage races, and with little competition for leadership at Iam, I can see him getting back up to decent (500 point) level.
Fabio Aru - 162:
The neo-pros I already have listed are impressive, but I almost expect more out of Aru than any of them. Dude's ready for the pros. I wonder where Astana will give him chances, but he's the type of rider who tends to make his own chances.
Matteo Trentin - 158:
One of the last additions, hesitated due to his being a helper on a mega-team. But he was an incredibly impressive helper last year, and obviously would've scored over 100 more points if it weren't for that crazy crash in the final corner of MSR. The fact that he could last the distance of 290k or whatever as a neo-pro, and be in the group ahead of uber-Boonen of last year, gives me confidence.
Enrico Battaglin - 152:
I was actually surprised last year that he took his time to adapt to the pros, he looked among the most ready. There seems to be a watershed with young Italian talent used to success, with some riders flying onto the pro success and others never living up to the hype and seemingly faltering due to lack of confidence. I am wary of Battaglin ending up in the latter, but still think he'll be part of the former.
Steele von Hoff - 142:
His results were too consistent to ignore, and although Garmin has a few 'second-tier' sprinters behind Farrar, he should get opportunities and it's not like he's 20 years old - he's been solid on the domestic scene, and should be weathered enough to be solid at the pro level.
Winner Anacona - 133:
I only hesitated for about 10 minutes when I heard he busted his ankle. But he's still gonna start his season earlier than last year, and Lampre can't ignore his proven talent, so he has to get chances. For a neo-pro to do as consistently well as he did in a 3-week race as demanding on the head of the pack as this year's Vuelta, indicates an extraordinary ability. Lampre management are looking for change, they'd be idiots not to showcase this guy.
Enrico Barbin - 121:
You know, just looking at his results... there are palmares more impressive, CQ scores greater, but I just have a feeling about him that wouldn't let me drop him from my team when I was reconfiguring stuff. That happened last year with one rider as well - a 78-point Italian neo-pro that I wouldn't drop either, even when it made sense numbers-wise, I stubbornly stuck to this unproven guy because I had a feeling. Moser turned out to be just about the best pick. So although I know it's unlikely for lightning to strike as hard with Barbin, I'm hoping for several hundred.
Warren Barguil - 120:
His results speak of consistency and good climbing. The former will score him points; the latter will ensure he gets plenty of opportunity on a team like Argos.
Guillaume van Kiersbulck - 112:
He's strong, like almost Vanmarcke of 2 years ago strong, and fast at the finish. Similar to teammate Trentin, leadership opportunities will be limited, but I'm hoping that he'll have a classic or two when he gets in the right breakaway, or maybe he'll break out in the way of 'domestique finishes in same group as Boonen'. He's gotta have more luck than last year at least.
Davide Appollonio - 102:
Good sprinter, like Lovkvist he ended up on the forgotten/ignored side of the Sky machine. They simply had too much talent. At AG2R, he's just about their best sprinter. Sure, for the TDU they have Hutarovich with the '1' bib, but I think Appo can be as good as Huta, and Huta only does well in the early season races because he's good in the cold, which Australia is not. I look for Appo to make an immediate impact with some solid placings.
Nick Nuyens - 99:
I don't like Nuyens, like personally, for some reason. Never have. But obviously he had a terrible year and will have a better one this year. The move to Garmin won't make him any less of a classics leader than at Saxo.
Romain Sicard - 91:
Sigh. The only rider to be on my team all 3 years (I considered Modolo again this year, but declined at the last minute), this is his last chance. If it weren't for that 5th place finish in the huge breakaway on that incredibly hard stage of the Vuelta, I wouldn't be considering it, but that at least gave me a glimmer of hope that the winner of a hard Avenir and Worlds in 2009 would finally live up to that natural talent. Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice, shame on you; fool me 3 times, win me the CQ game.
(sidenote - I mostly didn't pick Cobo out of spite. It might come back to bite me, but I really don't think Cobo will score more than 300-400 points tops, and might just not really do better than last year. That guy's always had fishy performances, and no good performances while not on Gianetti's team. I have no faith in him, and don't want to cheer for him again)
Mattia Cattaneo - 88: I was happy to include him as one of the last riders on my team. He's been solidly enough at the top of the U23 results the last 2 years that he should get some points in the 2.1 and 1.1 Italian races that Lampre should be invited to. Jury's out on his full potential, but should be good for a few hundred I hope.
Thor Hushovd - 76:
It took me surprisingly long to realize that it would be stupid not to take him.
Michael Hepburn - 24:
Second year in a row - last year he did too much track for his road career to progress, but I haven't forgotten his sprinting and tt skills, which usually ensure that SOME cq points are picked up somewhere. Sure, Greenedge are all about sprinting and tt, but at 24 points he's gotta get something.
Andy Schleck - 20:
The only good thing is that everyone has him, so I don't necessarily have to cheer for him, as we're all in the same boat whether he gets lots of points or no.
Jack Bobridge - 0:
For sure, he's a huge talent and should score lots. Switching to Rabo ensures that he fights for a high place at the Aussie nats this week rather than helping millions of Greenedge teammates.
Peter Kennaugh - 0:
I'm skeptical about his upper level of talent, but he's decent enough that he should score a few hundred.
Popular guys I didn't pick:
Anthony Roux - what got me was that he had a pretty full season this year and still scored only 80 points. And his other results were wildly inconsistent. Consistency is a theme I guess.
Jose Rujano - same reason I didn't pick Devolder last year, I have no faith in the guy whatsoever, much as I'd like him to do well.
Agiro Ospina - I've seen Ryo exaggerate enough times to not let it colour the numerical bottom line. I'm sure the guy's a great talent, but I don't expect much first year. Of course, last year I dropped Quintana at the last minute because I thought he'd need a year of seasoning too.
Guys I almost picked but didn't:
Gerald Ciolek - should really get some solid chances being the only sprinter in smaller races on a team that's trying to prove itself. Should be a guarantee of at least 3-400. But seeing their dearth of race invitations to start the season, it could be a sparse year for MTN.
Kolobnev - could do well, but the worlds and Lombardia seem too hard for him now. Plus, Katusha curse. Same for other Katusha I was considering, Chernetsky, Selig, etc.
Lutsenko - I dunno, last year I picked Demare mostly because I figured if you won a big group sprint for the Worlds, you must be a good sprinter, but for Lutsenko I have opposite reasoning, 'yeah he won the worlds but it was a chaotic sprint so anyone could've won.' Maybe it's the extra 100 points he cost...
Yoann Offredo - one of my favourite riders, I had him last year so it'd be nice to have him this year. But a year off the bike doesn't say much to him impressively topping his 295 cost.
Key guys on my team:
Obviously Gilbert is key, but he’s on so many teams that he will be more of a foundation than a difference maker. The most key guys are a) non-popular picks, and b) guys with high multiplying potential. The difference makers I see are: Rebellin (picked by 15, could triple score), Barbin (17, could hopefully get 5-600), Kelderman (23, could double), Cattaneo (27, only has 88 points so if he gets 500 that’s great), and Farrar and Guardini (29 and 32 respectively, and both expensive picks).
Aaaand, those are all my thoughts. All of them.
I only hesitated for about 10 minutes when I heard he busted his ankle. But he's still gonna start his season earlier than last year, and Lampre can't ignore his proven talent, so he has to get chances. For a neo-pro to do as consistently well as he did in a 3-week race as demanding on the head of the pack as this year's Vuelta, indicates an extraordinary ability. Lampre management are looking for change, they'd be idiots not to showcase this guy.
Enrico Barbin - 121:
You know, just looking at his results... there are palmares more impressive, CQ scores greater, but I just have a feeling about him that wouldn't let me drop him from my team when I was reconfiguring stuff. That happened last year with one rider as well - a 78-point Italian neo-pro that I wouldn't drop either, even when it made sense numbers-wise, I stubbornly stuck to this unproven guy because I had a feeling. Moser turned out to be just about the best pick. So although I know it's unlikely for lightning to strike as hard with Barbin, I'm hoping for several hundred.
Warren Barguil - 120:
His results speak of consistency and good climbing. The former will score him points; the latter will ensure he gets plenty of opportunity on a team like Argos.
Guillaume van Kiersbulck - 112:
He's strong, like almost Vanmarcke of 2 years ago strong, and fast at the finish. Similar to teammate Trentin, leadership opportunities will be limited, but I'm hoping that he'll have a classic or two when he gets in the right breakaway, or maybe he'll break out in the way of 'domestique finishes in same group as Boonen'. He's gotta have more luck than last year at least.
Davide Appollonio - 102:
Good sprinter, like Lovkvist he ended up on the forgotten/ignored side of the Sky machine. They simply had too much talent. At AG2R, he's just about their best sprinter. Sure, for the TDU they have Hutarovich with the '1' bib, but I think Appo can be as good as Huta, and Huta only does well in the early season races because he's good in the cold, which Australia is not. I look for Appo to make an immediate impact with some solid placings.
Nick Nuyens - 99:
I don't like Nuyens, like personally, for some reason. Never have. But obviously he had a terrible year and will have a better one this year. The move to Garmin won't make him any less of a classics leader than at Saxo.
Romain Sicard - 91:
Sigh. The only rider to be on my team all 3 years (I considered Modolo again this year, but declined at the last minute), this is his last chance. If it weren't for that 5th place finish in the huge breakaway on that incredibly hard stage of the Vuelta, I wouldn't be considering it, but that at least gave me a glimmer of hope that the winner of a hard Avenir and Worlds in 2009 would finally live up to that natural talent. Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice, shame on you; fool me 3 times, win me the CQ game.
(sidenote - I mostly didn't pick Cobo out of spite. It might come back to bite me, but I really don't think Cobo will score more than 300-400 points tops, and might just not really do better than last year. That guy's always had fishy performances, and no good performances while not on Gianetti's team. I have no faith in him, and don't want to cheer for him again)
Mattia Cattaneo - 88: I was happy to include him as one of the last riders on my team. He's been solidly enough at the top of the U23 results the last 2 years that he should get some points in the 2.1 and 1.1 Italian races that Lampre should be invited to. Jury's out on his full potential, but should be good for a few hundred I hope.
Thor Hushovd - 76:
It took me surprisingly long to realize that it would be stupid not to take him.
Michael Hepburn - 24:
Second year in a row - last year he did too much track for his road career to progress, but I haven't forgotten his sprinting and tt skills, which usually ensure that SOME cq points are picked up somewhere. Sure, Greenedge are all about sprinting and tt, but at 24 points he's gotta get something.
Andy Schleck - 20:
The only good thing is that everyone has him, so I don't necessarily have to cheer for him, as we're all in the same boat whether he gets lots of points or no.
Jack Bobridge - 0:
For sure, he's a huge talent and should score lots. Switching to Rabo ensures that he fights for a high place at the Aussie nats this week rather than helping millions of Greenedge teammates.
Peter Kennaugh - 0:
I'm skeptical about his upper level of talent, but he's decent enough that he should score a few hundred.
Popular guys I didn't pick:
Anthony Roux - what got me was that he had a pretty full season this year and still scored only 80 points. And his other results were wildly inconsistent. Consistency is a theme I guess.
Jose Rujano - same reason I didn't pick Devolder last year, I have no faith in the guy whatsoever, much as I'd like him to do well.
Agiro Ospina - I've seen Ryo exaggerate enough times to not let it colour the numerical bottom line. I'm sure the guy's a great talent, but I don't expect much first year. Of course, last year I dropped Quintana at the last minute because I thought he'd need a year of seasoning too.
Guys I almost picked but didn't:
Gerald Ciolek - should really get some solid chances being the only sprinter in smaller races on a team that's trying to prove itself. Should be a guarantee of at least 3-400. But seeing their dearth of race invitations to start the season, it could be a sparse year for MTN.
Kolobnev - could do well, but the worlds and Lombardia seem too hard for him now. Plus, Katusha curse. Same for other Katusha I was considering, Chernetsky, Selig, etc.
Lutsenko - I dunno, last year I picked Demare mostly because I figured if you won a big group sprint for the Worlds, you must be a good sprinter, but for Lutsenko I have opposite reasoning, 'yeah he won the worlds but it was a chaotic sprint so anyone could've won.' Maybe it's the extra 100 points he cost...
Yoann Offredo - one of my favourite riders, I had him last year so it'd be nice to have him this year. But a year off the bike doesn't say much to him impressively topping his 295 cost.
Key guys on my team:
Obviously Gilbert is key, but he’s on so many teams that he will be more of a foundation than a difference maker. The most key guys are a) non-popular picks, and b) guys with high multiplying potential. The difference makers I see are: Rebellin (picked by 15, could triple score), Barbin (17, could hopefully get 5-600), Kelderman (23, could double), Cattaneo (27, only has 88 points so if he gets 500 that’s great), and Farrar and Guardini (29 and 32 respectively, and both expensive picks).
Aaaand, those are all my thoughts. All of them.
- May 4, 2011
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FF'Wilco said:Im quite surprised that McCarthy was so unpopular, only 12 teams have him even though he was one of the best u23 riders last season and he's joining one of the best teams in developing riders. Well, thats greats news for me
I didn't want to include too many riders who had done nothing in a pro race yet. Or at least, I don't know if he did anything worth of note in the TDU last year. I already had Coquard, Vorobyev, Ospina and Ewan and figured that was enough. Perhaps not.
greenedge said:
Same. I had higher hopes for Rolland than Pinot even before learning about the latter's tendinitis, as Rolland impressed me in Liege and again at the Tour, despite having crashed hard.
In the end I chose the riskier pick JTL, instead. It all depends on how clean one thinks Sky will be for the 2013 season, I guess.
- Jul 31, 2010
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greenedge said:
I had Rolland last year and gave up on him but I did the same with Boonen last year and that didn't work out too well!!!
The late changes I had to make due to changes to 2012 CQ scores may hurt me as I dropped Pinot, Lofkvist and Bole for Kelderman, Cam Meyer and Egor Silin to lose 9 points to get under the limit.
Can't wait for the season to start.
- May 9, 2010
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Update
On the download page, http://cqmanager.net/download/, I've now updated the file (the one named "CQ Rankings 2013 Teams"), with all the small errors fixed. Hopefully I've caught all of them but if not, please PM me. This also includes minor flaws like names not typed in capital etc.
There's still one issue with one team (thanks for making me aware of it, Armchair) but I'm confident that it'll be solved soon.
The update also means that we actually managed to beat last years record of 130 entrants, as we're 131 competitors this year!
On a sidenote, the first race of the season, the Copa America de Ciclismo, didn't produce any points for any team, so the Australian national time trialing championship in two days should start the season.
On the download page, http://cqmanager.net/download/, I've now updated the file (the one named "CQ Rankings 2013 Teams"), with all the small errors fixed. Hopefully I've caught all of them but if not, please PM me. This also includes minor flaws like names not typed in capital etc.
There's still one issue with one team (thanks for making me aware of it, Armchair) but I'm confident that it'll be solved soon.
The update also means that we actually managed to beat last years record of 130 entrants, as we're 131 competitors this year!
On a sidenote, the first race of the season, the Copa America de Ciclismo, didn't produce any points for any team, so the Australian national time trialing championship in two days should start the season.
- May 9, 2010
- 11,011
- 2,429
- 25,680
To all our newcommers, here's how the spreadsheet works:
When you download and open the spreadsheet, the first thing you'll see is a sheet named "Rankings". This is the main screen. Here you see a list of all the teams and their score.
In column A you have "Rank". This is pretty self explanatory as it simply states what place each team currently is in.
In column B you have "Teams". Once again pretty self explanatory. You'll notice if you drag your mouse over a name on the list, that each name has a "link". If you press a team name, you'll be taken to that teams sheet where you can see which riders this specific team has.
In column C you have "Points". This is the amount of points the team has earned this season.
In column D you have "Profit" which is simply "Points" minus the value of the team (so if a team has earned 10.000 points and had a value of 7500 when sent in, "Profit" will say 2500. You'll also notice that the number appearing is either colored red or green which is simple an aesthetic little feature I've added so it's easy to quickly spot who's in the positives and who's in the negatives - I've done this for column E, F and I as well.
In column E you have "Return" which shows how many points the team has earned in percentages relating to the value of the team.
In column F you have "Points this week" which, unsurprisingly, shows how many points the team has earned since last update.
Column G and H are hidden as they just show some back ground statistics.
In column I you have "Up/down". This column shows how each team has moved since last update. If you're team for instance was 14th last update and 10th now, the column will show "4" because you've moved up four places.
In column J you have "Rank this week". This is basically just an elaboration of "Points this week" as this shows how you've been doing this week compared to the other teams. If you team has earned the 20th most points this week it'll show "20" in the column.
The spreadsheet is by default sorted by "Rank" so that the top team is the one that is actually ahead of the competition. However, if you want to sort by "Rank this week", "Up/down" or something else, you can click on the small arrow at the top of each colomn and chose "sort by".
The rest of the sheets are simply every team's individual sheet. They are sorted alphabetically so it's easy to find your team but remember that you can simply click your team name in column B and you'll be taken to your sheet.
Once you're at a team sheet, you can click on the name of the team in box "A1" and you'll be taken back to the "Rankings" sheet.
The last three sheets, "2011 Results", "2012 Results" and "Last week" you don't have to worry about. They simply include all the numbers the spreadsheet needs ("2011 Results" actually covers the results from 2013, I just couldn't be bothered to change the name as I would then have to make corrections to the codes as well).
That should cover it.
When you download and open the spreadsheet, the first thing you'll see is a sheet named "Rankings". This is the main screen. Here you see a list of all the teams and their score.
In column A you have "Rank". This is pretty self explanatory as it simply states what place each team currently is in.
In column B you have "Teams". Once again pretty self explanatory. You'll notice if you drag your mouse over a name on the list, that each name has a "link". If you press a team name, you'll be taken to that teams sheet where you can see which riders this specific team has.
In column C you have "Points". This is the amount of points the team has earned this season.
In column D you have "Profit" which is simply "Points" minus the value of the team (so if a team has earned 10.000 points and had a value of 7500 when sent in, "Profit" will say 2500. You'll also notice that the number appearing is either colored red or green which is simple an aesthetic little feature I've added so it's easy to quickly spot who's in the positives and who's in the negatives - I've done this for column E, F and I as well.
In column E you have "Return" which shows how many points the team has earned in percentages relating to the value of the team.
In column F you have "Points this week" which, unsurprisingly, shows how many points the team has earned since last update.
Column G and H are hidden as they just show some back ground statistics.
In column I you have "Up/down". This column shows how each team has moved since last update. If you're team for instance was 14th last update and 10th now, the column will show "4" because you've moved up four places.
In column J you have "Rank this week". This is basically just an elaboration of "Points this week" as this shows how you've been doing this week compared to the other teams. If you team has earned the 20th most points this week it'll show "20" in the column.
The spreadsheet is by default sorted by "Rank" so that the top team is the one that is actually ahead of the competition. However, if you want to sort by "Rank this week", "Up/down" or something else, you can click on the small arrow at the top of each colomn and chose "sort by".
The rest of the sheets are simply every team's individual sheet. They are sorted alphabetically so it's easy to find your team but remember that you can simply click your team name in column B and you'll be taken to your sheet.
Once you're at a team sheet, you can click on the name of the team in box "A1" and you'll be taken back to the "Rankings" sheet.
The last three sheets, "2011 Results", "2012 Results" and "Last week" you don't have to worry about. They simply include all the numbers the spreadsheet needs ("2011 Results" actually covers the results from 2013, I just couldn't be bothered to change the name as I would then have to make corrections to the codes as well).
That should cover it.
Hugo Koblet said:
Yes i am new here at the forum. Discovered the forum section of this site in may, and been looking a around from time to time since. Now i thought it was time to join, with my thesis done before christmass and the cq game starting.
Honoured to be mentioned among the favorites, was in a lot of doubt about the team. Probably made a lot of bad decisions in the last cut from aroun 50 guys to the final team. The guy who almost made the team was Esteban Chaves, Peter Kennaugh, Enrico Bartaglin, Bernard Eisel, Bob Jungels, Michael Mathews, Leigh Howard, David Apollonio, Ben Hermans, matteo cattaneo, Joe Dombrowski and Nick Nuyens. Sure they will all score a lot of point and i will really regret leaving some of them out.
Actually just realised Kennaugh was left out when i read this post, don't know how and when that happened.
But Looking forward for the season to start, and to discuss the cqgame and all of the cycling season with you guys.
- Jun 16, 2009
- 19,654
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Armchair cyclist said:
Sometimes you just pick who you like. Even if they don't improve and have similar production, its a great base for points.
x
- Dec 30, 2011
- 3,547
- 0
- 0
The thing about Roux was the fact that I found out he had problems with his sciatic nerve all season and he just recently in the off season has had an operation on it. So seeing how he is young, reasonably talented and was hindered by an injury last season I saw him as a certain pick.skidmark said:
- May 9, 2010
- 11,011
- 2,429
- 25,680
Top 10 game changers
This is a list of the 10 potentially most influential picks. They are of course my personal opinion and their potential influence is based on cost, risk, potential return and number of teams that have picked the rider. I’ve also looked a little bit at who has picked the riders, because after all a team with a strong history in the game is likely to have made some good decisions again. The “number” factor is a little complex because a rider picked by too many teams doesn’t have that much influence on the game (think Schleck or Gilbert) while a unique pick won’t have much influence either.
1. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil. Cost: 366. Popularity: 68
Rojas is in my opinion one of the better picks in the game (yet I still didn’t include him in my team, facepalm Ryo style). I think he’s very likely to double his score and if he does more than that, it can be very hard for the teams without him to catch up. With 68 picks he’s dividing the game in two almost exactly equal parts and is bound to have a lot of influence.
8 of 10 of the teams in last year’s top 10 have Rojas in their team, which indicates that Rojas could be a must have by the end of the season.
2. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski. Cost: 194. Popularity: 74
The young American can easily be this year’s most important pick. Even though he’s not such a big gamble at 194 points, with 74 picks he’s roughly dividing the game in two equally big parts and if he lives up to his potential and scores a lot of points he can make sure that’s it’s very hard for the teams without him to compete for the win.
9 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Dombrowski in their team, which shows how much faith there is in Dombrowski.
3. Matti Breschel. Cost: 329. Popularity: 54
Last year Matti was one of the most popular picks at only 98 points. Because of that and because he “only” scored 329 points, he didn’t influence the game that much. This year he’s back together with Riis, where he for three consecutive years scored more than 800 points. If he manages to find his old form again, he will have a lot of influence on the game.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Breschel in their team.
4. Michael Matthews. Cost: 359. Popularity: 49
Matthews is in my opinion almost identical to Breschel. He definitely has the potential to score big and quite a lot of teams have picked him and on top of that a lot of last year’s top 10 teams have faith in Matthews: 9 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have him in their team, indicating that he could be an important pick in the end.
5. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo. Cost: 96. Popularity: 80
The CQ game legend of all legends. Cobo is cheap so he’s not much of a risk. On the other hand it can be risky to leave him out of the team. The possibility of him scoring as many points as 2011 is quite small, but the one thing we know about Cobo is that we don’t know anything. Likely he won’t score that much but there’s always a possibility that he can ten double his score making him a potentially very influential rider.
6 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Cobo in their team.
6. Rohan Dennis. Cost: 271. Popularity: 38
Personally, I have a lot of faith in Dennis. For me, he’s the neo-pro most likely to score big, which could give any team with Dennis in it a big advantage. His pretty high cost makes him bit of a risk though, and even if he has a season like Durbridge did this year his return isn’t that good. I think he’ll score bigger and hence have a higher influence on the game.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Dennis in their team.
7. Argiro Alonso Ospina Hernandez. Cost: 0. Popularity: 51
The hype surrounding this guy is enormous. Not many of us know much about him, but Ryo and Jakob747 are building him up as the next big thing from Colombia. As he is free, the risk of including him is only that you take up a spot on your team – but the risk of not picking him is potentially huge. However, the likelihood of him earning game changing points isn’t that big – but I’m sure we’ll all be following him closely whether he’s in our team or not.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Ospina in their team, further underlining the mystique around this young fellow.
8. Thibaut Pinot. Cost: 442. Popularity: 76
The reason Pinot isn’t higher on this list is because his potential return in percentage seems somewhat limited. You might disagree, but I think there’s very little chance he’ll more than double his points. However, Pinot is still on the list because he just about divides the teams in two equally large camps: Those with Pinot and those without – and because last year’s top 10 seem to have a lot of faith in him: 9 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Pinot in their team.
9. Cadel Evans. Cost: 843. Popularity: 32
The last 5 years in a row, Evans more than doubled his 2012 score. That usually indicated a great CQ pick, but Evans is getting old and the possibility that he will double his 2012 score this year seems limited. However, if he finds his old form he’s likely to be a very important rider in the game, giving the teams with Evans in it a huge advantage.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Evans in their team.
10. Fabian Cancellara. Cost: 1031. Popularity: 31
Cancellara is interesting. If he has a very good year he could double his score making him an amazing pick. However, he has never been close to that in a non-Olympics year making the chance quite small. Cancellara is pretty consistent and is likely to score 1400-1600 points making him a decent pick but not a game changer. He will be one of the most interesting riders to follow this year earning him a place on this list.
Only 2 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Cancellara in their team.
Bonus info: with 8 of these 10 riders in his team, Kvinto is the team from last year’s top 10 that have the most of these riders in his team.
This is a list of the 10 potentially most influential picks. They are of course my personal opinion and their potential influence is based on cost, risk, potential return and number of teams that have picked the rider. I’ve also looked a little bit at who has picked the riders, because after all a team with a strong history in the game is likely to have made some good decisions again. The “number” factor is a little complex because a rider picked by too many teams doesn’t have that much influence on the game (think Schleck or Gilbert) while a unique pick won’t have much influence either.
1. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil. Cost: 366. Popularity: 68
Rojas is in my opinion one of the better picks in the game (yet I still didn’t include him in my team, facepalm Ryo style). I think he’s very likely to double his score and if he does more than that, it can be very hard for the teams without him to catch up. With 68 picks he’s dividing the game in two almost exactly equal parts and is bound to have a lot of influence.
8 of 10 of the teams in last year’s top 10 have Rojas in their team, which indicates that Rojas could be a must have by the end of the season.
2. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski. Cost: 194. Popularity: 74
The young American can easily be this year’s most important pick. Even though he’s not such a big gamble at 194 points, with 74 picks he’s roughly dividing the game in two equally big parts and if he lives up to his potential and scores a lot of points he can make sure that’s it’s very hard for the teams without him to compete for the win.
9 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Dombrowski in their team, which shows how much faith there is in Dombrowski.
3. Matti Breschel. Cost: 329. Popularity: 54
Last year Matti was one of the most popular picks at only 98 points. Because of that and because he “only” scored 329 points, he didn’t influence the game that much. This year he’s back together with Riis, where he for three consecutive years scored more than 800 points. If he manages to find his old form again, he will have a lot of influence on the game.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Breschel in their team.
4. Michael Matthews. Cost: 359. Popularity: 49
Matthews is in my opinion almost identical to Breschel. He definitely has the potential to score big and quite a lot of teams have picked him and on top of that a lot of last year’s top 10 teams have faith in Matthews: 9 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have him in their team, indicating that he could be an important pick in the end.
5. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo. Cost: 96. Popularity: 80
The CQ game legend of all legends. Cobo is cheap so he’s not much of a risk. On the other hand it can be risky to leave him out of the team. The possibility of him scoring as many points as 2011 is quite small, but the one thing we know about Cobo is that we don’t know anything. Likely he won’t score that much but there’s always a possibility that he can ten double his score making him a potentially very influential rider.
6 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Cobo in their team.
6. Rohan Dennis. Cost: 271. Popularity: 38
Personally, I have a lot of faith in Dennis. For me, he’s the neo-pro most likely to score big, which could give any team with Dennis in it a big advantage. His pretty high cost makes him bit of a risk though, and even if he has a season like Durbridge did this year his return isn’t that good. I think he’ll score bigger and hence have a higher influence on the game.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Dennis in their team.
7. Argiro Alonso Ospina Hernandez. Cost: 0. Popularity: 51
The hype surrounding this guy is enormous. Not many of us know much about him, but Ryo and Jakob747 are building him up as the next big thing from Colombia. As he is free, the risk of including him is only that you take up a spot on your team – but the risk of not picking him is potentially huge. However, the likelihood of him earning game changing points isn’t that big – but I’m sure we’ll all be following him closely whether he’s in our team or not.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Ospina in their team, further underlining the mystique around this young fellow.
8. Thibaut Pinot. Cost: 442. Popularity: 76
The reason Pinot isn’t higher on this list is because his potential return in percentage seems somewhat limited. You might disagree, but I think there’s very little chance he’ll more than double his points. However, Pinot is still on the list because he just about divides the teams in two equally large camps: Those with Pinot and those without – and because last year’s top 10 seem to have a lot of faith in him: 9 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Pinot in their team.
9. Cadel Evans. Cost: 843. Popularity: 32
The last 5 years in a row, Evans more than doubled his 2012 score. That usually indicated a great CQ pick, but Evans is getting old and the possibility that he will double his 2012 score this year seems limited. However, if he finds his old form he’s likely to be a very important rider in the game, giving the teams with Evans in it a huge advantage.
5 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Evans in their team.
10. Fabian Cancellara. Cost: 1031. Popularity: 31
Cancellara is interesting. If he has a very good year he could double his score making him an amazing pick. However, he has never been close to that in a non-Olympics year making the chance quite small. Cancellara is pretty consistent and is likely to score 1400-1600 points making him a decent pick but not a game changer. He will be one of the most interesting riders to follow this year earning him a place on this list.
Only 2 of 10 of last year’s top 10 have Cancellara in their team.
Bonus info: with 8 of these 10 riders in his team, Kvinto is the team from last year’s top 10 that have the most of these riders in his team.
- Dec 27, 2010
- 6,674
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skidmark, thanks for your thoughts on your team, quite insightful and a couple of gems in there in terms of how you approach the game. Rebellin is the one rider who at the moment I regret not considering, having misjudged how much he would cost. Hugo - I really think Rebellin should be on your game changer list!
Strongly considered him but with MTN's uncertain race calendar I decided against picking any of their team. It seems like Dim has picked enough of them for all of us anyway
auscyclefan94 said:
Strongly considered him but with MTN's uncertain race calendar I decided against picking any of their team. It seems like Dim has picked enough of them for all of us anyway
- Dec 30, 2011
- 3,547
- 0
- 0
Looking at my team a couple of risks who I hope can deliver well include Felline, who was very promising this season. He will hopefully have a lot of leadership opportunities for Androni with some of their other big name riders gone. He showed last year he can compete at the highest level and he did so consistently after winning MMP and then coming second at Beghelli. With the Italian calendar being open to him and then also any other races he wants he has a lot of chances to prove his point and he can certainly climb yet his sprint is also powerful with his 2nd to Ventoso (albeit aided by a crash) in the Giro stage being a case in point.
Also Cattaneo who is now joining Lampre. He should have probably joined the pro ranks at the beginning of last season but did not and only joined Lampre in August as a stagaire. He impressed in Avenir for the second year running and has showed he is not just a fluke one time wonder. And of course he won the Giro Bio 2 years ago. I would have probably taken him last year if he had a team but with an extra year under his belt he should do well and his price was very reasonable.
Dombrowski in my eyes was a must pick. What with his climbing performances not only at the Giro bio but also Utah and Flagstaff where for anyone who watched the stage he bossed Tejay Van Garderen around and was the one who was attempting to pull back Leipheimer. But his performance on the Mount Baldy was the defining result. Baldy is as tough as most climbs in Europe and if he could manage that then he will surely be fine come this season. That he performed throughout the year also tells me something about a rider who seems to have reams of talent.
Dennis was expensive, but then again he dedicated most of his season to racing on the track. From the fact that he managed to still perform so well nevertheless tells us something. And he has proved he can mix it with the best as he did in TDU. His 2nd in the U23 TT as well for the 2nd consecutive year was also very heartening. Just look at how guys like Thomas and Kennaugh performed after the track Olympics and compare it to Dennis.
Battaglin was a risk but his talent is undeniable and it is perfectly understandable to assume that he took a year to adapt to the Pro ranks proper and even so this year was dotted with a couple of good performances as I was following as I had him in my team this year as well. His performance in Lugano was particularly impressive.
Other include Meyer who can climb and TT and seems to be developing well. Bole whom I am nervous of as though he got let off by Vaconsoleil I am afraid he may be busted in the Lance fallout. Amador was superb in the Giro and had a very difficult 2011 after being beaten up in late 2010 and then having to ride the Tour with an injured ankle. Stybar has masses of talent and watching him ride up Mont Cassel made certain I had to pick him. Such a rider can not be left out especially as he is doing the classics this year, though he may support Boonen I am hoping he will follow a season similar to Nicki Terpstra's this year.
Kiserlovski I am surprised not more people took as he was extremely promising this year both in races like Paris Nice and the Ardennes. He got unlucky and crashed out of the Tour thanks to the sabotager but racing for RSNT I see him getting much more chances than at Astana, I even see him being one of their primary stage races and considering that Frank Schleck is still in limbo, Andy at the best will race only the Tour and Kloden and Horner seem more toasted than not, he may very well be the new face of RSNT stage racing.
Colbrelli I picked because I believe he can score enough points racing the Italian circuit considering his development to make his a worthwhile pick, though I am not sure yet. Gallopin is a huge talent and he is incredibly versatile. He had some back luck this year so I am hoping with everything going well he can score some big points.
Also Cattaneo who is now joining Lampre. He should have probably joined the pro ranks at the beginning of last season but did not and only joined Lampre in August as a stagaire. He impressed in Avenir for the second year running and has showed he is not just a fluke one time wonder. And of course he won the Giro Bio 2 years ago. I would have probably taken him last year if he had a team but with an extra year under his belt he should do well and his price was very reasonable.
Dombrowski in my eyes was a must pick. What with his climbing performances not only at the Giro bio but also Utah and Flagstaff where for anyone who watched the stage he bossed Tejay Van Garderen around and was the one who was attempting to pull back Leipheimer. But his performance on the Mount Baldy was the defining result. Baldy is as tough as most climbs in Europe and if he could manage that then he will surely be fine come this season. That he performed throughout the year also tells me something about a rider who seems to have reams of talent.
Dennis was expensive, but then again he dedicated most of his season to racing on the track. From the fact that he managed to still perform so well nevertheless tells us something. And he has proved he can mix it with the best as he did in TDU. His 2nd in the U23 TT as well for the 2nd consecutive year was also very heartening. Just look at how guys like Thomas and Kennaugh performed after the track Olympics and compare it to Dennis.
Battaglin was a risk but his talent is undeniable and it is perfectly understandable to assume that he took a year to adapt to the Pro ranks proper and even so this year was dotted with a couple of good performances as I was following as I had him in my team this year as well. His performance in Lugano was particularly impressive.
Other include Meyer who can climb and TT and seems to be developing well. Bole whom I am nervous of as though he got let off by Vaconsoleil I am afraid he may be busted in the Lance fallout. Amador was superb in the Giro and had a very difficult 2011 after being beaten up in late 2010 and then having to ride the Tour with an injured ankle. Stybar has masses of talent and watching him ride up Mont Cassel made certain I had to pick him. Such a rider can not be left out especially as he is doing the classics this year, though he may support Boonen I am hoping he will follow a season similar to Nicki Terpstra's this year.
Kiserlovski I am surprised not more people took as he was extremely promising this year both in races like Paris Nice and the Ardennes. He got unlucky and crashed out of the Tour thanks to the sabotager but racing for RSNT I see him getting much more chances than at Astana, I even see him being one of their primary stage races and considering that Frank Schleck is still in limbo, Andy at the best will race only the Tour and Kloden and Horner seem more toasted than not, he may very well be the new face of RSNT stage racing.
Colbrelli I picked because I believe he can score enough points racing the Italian circuit considering his development to make his a worthwhile pick, though I am not sure yet. Gallopin is a huge talent and he is incredibly versatile. He had some back luck this year so I am hoping with everything going well he can score some big points.
- May 9, 2010
- 11,011
- 2,429
- 25,680
will10:
I actually did consider Rebellin, but I omitted him because he was only selected by 15 teams.
I think that at least Quintana, Farrar and Pozzato are ahead of Rebellin and probably also all of Taaramäe, Rujano, Aru and Guardini.
I actually did consider Rebellin, but I omitted him because he was only selected by 15 teams.
I think that at least Quintana, Farrar and Pozzato are ahead of Rebellin and probably also all of Taaramäe, Rujano, Aru and Guardini.
- Jan 2, 2010
- 479
- 0
- 9,280
CQmanager said:Here you go biatches.
You can now see your teams and matching riders online. Please note the values are not matching as they are from the 2011/2012 season!
http://game.cqmanager.net/game-teams.cfm
you are very welcome ....
CQM
Many thanks CQM, and also to Armchair cyclist for the stats and for everyone especially Hugo and Skidmark, for their analysis.
- May 4, 2011
- 4,282
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- 17,680
auscyclefan94 said:
My most unique pick, Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg is already off to a great start. Has to skip TDU due to illness.
Hugo Koblet said:
What suprised me is that Rujano is a way more popular pick than solid performers like Rebellin and Millar. I mean, both could triple their scores, whereas Rujano...
I guess I just don't see it.
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