The 2014 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[del1962]

Well, CQ download isn't there yet, so no update quite yet. I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark and say that Wizard of Oz is gonna be on top again, but with so many riders in play (albeit many that didn't score points) there should be some interesting subplots.

I think they are available now

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

1500 points - and we're still in January!

 

[mc_mountain]

I think they are available now

I thinnk this is new top 10

Skidmark has done such a good job with the updates, so if at all possible I think it would best not to post unofficial updates, the CQ download has only been available for about 30 minutes, so its not like he is dragging his heels or anything.

(not to say you cant update the spreadsheet for your own info)

 

[del1962]

Skidmark has done such a good job with the updates, so if at all possible I think it would best not to post unofficial updates, the CQ download has only been available for about 30 minutes, so its not like he is dragging his heels or anything.

(not to say you cant update the spreadsheet for your own info)

OK sorry, I will delete, I am not sure I picked everyones points up correctly anyway

 

[Panda Claws]

Good call!

 

[LaFlorecita]

1500 points - and we're still in January!

Christ that's immense!

 

[LaFlorecita]

317 points total for me - 71 points this week some people got a massive head start this week

 

[karlboss]

After the initial salvo I'm where I expected to be, only concerns. The only new concern is Goss, but taking team duties and maybe like many aiming for later in the season it might be ok. Still kicking myself over missing Anacona, and the other big one I thought about and left out was Uran he'll be in profit but by enough?
I'd not have included Gerrans even knowing he would win TDU, if I knew Hepburn would beat Durbridge in the oz TT I may have picked him as that bodes for an excellent season for a very cheap rider. Pity I only found out he was aiming for road this year after my team went in.

 

[skidmark]

Update #3: Oz the Great and Powerful

As the famous Shakespearean quote goes, 'what's past is prologue'. Carrying that out as a cycling metaphor to this week's rankings, one would have to agree that if the first two weeks were a prologue, this was the first (mayyybe cat 2) mountaintop finish. The mammoth amount of points available this week dwarf the previous two, creating some serious head starts and some serious gaps (the top 6 scorers this week outscored the highest score of the first two weeks). Our season is longer than the 3 weeks of a grand tour, of course, and many key riders for this game haven't even turned a pedal in anger yet, so we can only carry the comparison so far - the old 'you can't win on the first mountain stage but you can definitely lose' is perhaps a tad too dramatic.

The Tour Down Under, although I'll admit was more exciting than I thought it would be, ended up fairly predictable in terms of CQ points. As places 1,2 and 4 were taken by the podium of the Aussie national RR, it's no surprise that our top scorers this week were among the same names that were already at the top in week 1. San Luis also provided some exciting racing, as we got to see what big stars were already in form (or perhaps in Quintana's case just so good that they destroy everyone even when not in top shape) and which were out for a nice summery training ride. As far as this game goes, some of the more popular picks seemed to be in the latter category and so did not collect the points bonanza of popular picks Gerdemann and Sanchez last week.

The top ten is quite the mixed bag between teams who were already there (6 of the top ten shift less than 3 spots) and those that have leapt quite dramatically up the standings this week. As probably could have been predicted, the all-Australian Wizard of Oz, already our number one, takes top honours with Gerrans, Evans, Porte, Haas and some dribs and drabs from other riders. With 1500 points already (500 ahead of second place), the only question is 'how long will it take the other teams to catch up'? With a relatively tame week coming up (two 1.1 races to kick off the European calendar) and some 2.1 races the week after - including another Australian race - it could very well be until Paris-Nice and the classics that the gap starts to close.

This Week's Top Scorers

1. Wizard of Oz - 1021
2. riaroadtrip - 728
3. just some guy - 710
4. mutschi - 577
5. Geraint Too Fast - 568

The top 2 overall from last week extend their lead by being the top 2 scorers this week. We've already talked about the Wiz, but riaroadtrip continues a hot streak and mixes it up by having Gerrans, Porte, and Quintana. Just some guy, on the strength of Evans/Gerrans combining for over 600 points, gets a few others here and there from Atapuma and others for third place.

This Week's High Movers

1. uspostal (+72)
2. Ben1376 (+70)
3. highoctane (+68)
4. fraserhughes (+59)
5. minessa (+58)

Here we see some new names, as big points + early season = lower teams moving up a ton. Uspostal got 231 of 281 total points this week (Arredondo and a good few 15-30 pointers), Ben 331 of 384 total points, and so on.

Top ten overall:

rank / (+/-) / Team name / Points

1 (-) Wizard of Oz 1503
2 (-) Riaroadtrip 1074
3 (+18) Just Some Guy 952
4 (-) Geraint Too Fast 869
5 (+41) Mutschi 760
5 (-2) Ferminal 760
7 (+36) ItalianGigolo 749
8 (-2) Ruvu75 726
9 (-3) 18-Valve 717
10 (+8) lenissart 713

I was thinking of doing a feature called 'best unique pick of the week', as I figured it'd be easy since I remembered reading in the thread about Jancouver picking Gaimon, and for some reason I remembered that being the only team with it (even though it says in the thread otherwise). Of course, simple also has Gaimon, so although it's a great pick, there are 2 reaping the benefit. Perhaps 'best rare pick' would work. Definitely Gaimon is good, and definitely Haas (Oz, mutschi, Tigerion and Ben1376) has a few people feeling very satisfied. 20 teams had Gerrans and 17 had Quintana, so that's a leg up for a small portion of the teams, but obviously not enough to qualify as 'rare' (I'd say less than 5 would be rare). Perhaps we can do this in the future.

Finally, at the bottom of things, the good news is every team has scored points as of this week! The bad news is that the bottom 20 teams haven't yet cracked 100 points overall. But like I said at the top, it's a long season - you know that when Phillip Gaimon or Adam Hansen is outscoring your team that a) it's not going great yet, but more importantly b) it's still really early going.

Update: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l3jkp4nvmx1dweg/CQ 2014 update 3.xls

 

[skidmark]

re: updating top tens etc. before 'official' updates come out - I personally don't take offense or anything if someone wants to leak that info, but I do think it's kind of nice to have it all under one roof, so to speak. I'd definitely respectfully request folks, if they're updating their own copies of the spreadsheet, to try to refrain from doing some kind of summary. Dropping hints to certain posters is probably a fun tease, but a full top ten list might be a bit 'spoilerish'. I'm sure we can all use our discretion.

I'm off updates after this week, so hopefully the rotating cast that is to follow can state any preferences they have on this front (or have more constant internet access than me on Mondays).

(edit: btw thanks to del for deleting the posted top 10, I appreciate the considerateness).

 

[Jancouver]

Thanks for the update and very nice write up. The game is on but more importantly the cycling season is here!

BTW there is one other team with Phil Gaimon

 

[skidmark]

Thanks for the update and very nice write up. The game is on but more importantly the cycling season is here!

BTW there is one other team with Phil Gaimon

Yes, I misremembered reading earlier in the thread that he was a unique pick to you. I reworded my update post to be clearer. Either way, I know you didn't have the craziest overall week but figured a good rare pick is worth a mention.

 

[Jancouver]

Yes, I misremembered reading earlier in the thread that he was a unique pick to you. I reworded my update post to be clearer. Either way, I know you didn't have the craziest overall week but figured a good rare pick is worth a mention.

Of course Gaimon is worth of mentioning and I appreciate that

BTW Skidmark, you are doing a very fine job so far and I hope it will last through out the year

 

[Ferminal]

Best team with Gerrans /thread.

 

[uspostal]

OK so my season has been made I finished 1st at something. It may have been the most positions gained, but hey Rome wasn't built in a day.

Skid your doing a great job running things thanks for the update.

 

[Tigerion]

Thanks skidmark, up 32 places into 32nd place

I like the idea of the best of the rare picks, and not just because I was mentioned this week.
Pretty happy having Haas this early in the season, already into profit and hopefully just the start of a great classics season.

 

[TeoSheva]

2nd place for me...


...if you start from the bottom

 

[*Falze*]

Had Haas last year, but bailed on him this year.

Mistake maybe

 

[mutschi]

Uhhhh 5th !!!! Don't worry - it won't last. But as long it is there I might as well rub it in: I am 5th !!! Top Ten. Me. The no clue man. First timer. Yeah baby.

 

[WonderLance]

There is something wong with the Xcell program. I am the person who knows the most about cycling at this forum and my team is obviously the best full of only good riders like Chris Vroom and Chris Homer and Chris Jensie but i am not at the top of the results like I should be.

Please can someone fix these problems I think there is something very wong.

 

[Jancouver]

Glad to see NetApp was selected to ride TDF. Hope Leo Konig has a good ride and TOP10 should be reasonable target. After all thats why I picked him and 1000 points season should be no problem

 

[Ruudz0r]

My (almost?) unique pick Andrea Piechele is already injured . Was really happy with him in my team, still am if he recovers quickly but still dont like the news.

http://www.cyclingupdates.com/interview-andrea-piechele/

 

[mc_mountain]

It will be interesting to follow Gaimon (I have an interest as he was selected for 4 teams in the Youth game, he qualifies as has never ridden for World Tour or ProConti team before). He is already a great pick, but still could end up being a 'disappointment', say if he only picks up another 50-75 points, having started so well. but if he'd gradually picked up 100 points over the season (without the points from San Luis), then he would have been a decent (if slightly anonymous) pick.

Going from his showings at San Luis got to think he should manage at least another 150 points, even if generally speaking he will be working for others. another 2 or 3 decent GC placings (whether on the back of a break or not), and/or the occasional top 5 from a winning break in a 1.1 race plus some points for finishing WT races. but what's to say he wont perform even better than that?

PCS have his programme as

09.02 Challenge Mallroca races
24.03 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
08.04 Circuit Cycliste Sarthe - Pays de la Loire
20.04 Amstel Gold Race
23.04 La Flèche Wallonne
27.04 Liège - Bastogne - Liège
11.05 Amgen Tour of California

 

[will10]

I don't think Gaimon will get many opportunities really, may be wrong but he's not going to be gifted minutes in breaks from now on, and Garmin have enough strong(er) climbers that Gaimon is much more likely to be working for a leader than being dragged around by Danielson.

 

[Jancouver]

I don't think Gaimon will get many opportunities really, may be wrong but he's not going to be gifted minutes in breaks from now on, and Garmin have enough strong(er) climbers that Gaimon is much more likely to be working for a leader than being dragged around by Danielson.

I agree. That being said, Danielson worked for him on the last day of a week long race which Gaimon isnt used to, especially after his heroic breakaway win where he burned quite a few matches and I think he never fully recovered from the opening day effort.

I think he got pretty good engine for shorter SR or even one races but his inexperience (and team obligations) may be holding him back.

BTW last year he beat Janier Acavedo at the opening TT stage in San Dimas, and his time was also better than Andrew Talansky time on the same course from 2010.

2013 San Dimas uphill TT

1 14 Gaimon, Phil BISSELL Pro Cycling 14:03.09 0:00.00
2 79 Acevedo, Janier Jamis Hagens Berman p/b Sutter 14:19.65 @ 0:16.56