The 2016 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[skidmark]

Hi all, and welcome to the 2016 CQ Ranking Manager Game! This is the sixth edition of the game. Please see below for some history, basics, and more specific rules related to dates, dopers, etc.

History

The game was launched on December 8th 2010 by cyclingnews forum poster Hugo Koblet. His idea was to have a game where you build a cycling team from the website cqranking.com and its comprehensive numerical rankings of riders. What was originally meant to be a 25-team max competition that Hugo reserved the right to cancel if there was lack of interest became the most successful game in cyclingnews forum history, and has expanded to velorooms forums as well.

Hugo successfully ran the game for 3 years, and it bred various offshoots, such as a youth game, seasonal games (classics and GTs), emerging riders and riders in decline games. I took over organizing the main game for 2014 when Hugo got too busy, and have done so for the past two years.

Some statistics:

2011 – 87 participants
1. ingsve – 13897 points
2. Waterloo Sunrise – 13450
3. mc_mountain – 12670

2012 – 129 participants
1. skidmark – 19345 points
2. Kvinto – 18087
3. Nyssinator – 17761

2013 – 132 participants
1. SteelyDan – 13094 points
2. Geraint Too Fast – 13074
3. will10 – 12986

2014 – 150 participants
1. Pentacycle – 14367 points
2. Cykeltyven – 13693
3. Ruudz0r - 13609

2015 – 155 participants
1. Cykeltyven – 16209 points
2. skidmark - 15616
3. snccdcno - 15412

That is it for preamble. Let’s go through the more comprehensive set of rules:

Basics

The game is based on the point system developed by the website www.cqranking.com. Based on this system you will have to select a team of between 25 and 33 riders whose combined value doesn’t exceed 7500 points. 7500 points is a little bit under the average for the ProTour teams whose average for 2015 is 7803. 7500 is closest to the amount of points AG2R La Mondiale made this season, the 9th ranked of the 18 WT teams.

Your aim then is to select a team of riders who will increase their 2015 score the most during the 2016 season. The winner of the game is the one who has selected the team with the highest combined value when the game ends.


1. How the game works

1.1. Start & Finish
The season starts when the first race giving CQ points is held (which is the Aussie National TT Championships on January 7th) and ends when the last major race (.1 or higher) is held. The winner will be crowned when the next update after the last major race is out.*

*An extension will be granted to the end of season if it is very close at the top. If any teams are within 100 points of the leader after the last major race, the season will be automatically extended until the final race of the year unless all teams within 100 points explicitly concede. As well, anyone in the top 10 can extend the season by PMing me a request to do so before the last major race starts.

(The reason for this rule is that although minor races go through December, it is rare to have a rider in the game participate in these races, so it is sensible to end the season when people are still generally watching cycling. But if it's a very close race, it's important to crown the person who picked the best team for the year.)

1.2 Updates
Each week we will publish an update with a top 10 and a list of the high scorers and high jumpers. This will sometimes be by me, and sometimes by others – I will be setting a tentative schedule based on volunteers.

2. On doping

2.1. On ex-dopers
All riders are available to choose, except for riders who are provisionally suspended by the UCI (as of their most recent list).

Riders who have been suspended for doping and had that affect their 2015 score will not be available simply for their 2015 score. Instead, a rider’s value will be equivalent to that of his last full season; or, if he has more recently had a (not full, due to suspension) season in which he has earned more points, that season represents his value. Riders who have been suspended by the UCI are on this list.

Therefore, you can pick any rider you like, but if you want to take Matteo Rabottini, for example, he won't cost the 0 points he earned in 2015 (he was suspended all year). His suspension began in 2014 so his last 'full' season was 2013, in which he scored 189 points. However, since he scored more in his 'partial' 2014 season, his cost is instead the 507 points he scored in that season. (note: in this case, CQ seems to not have nullified his results after August 7th, as he picked up points later on. Regardless, CQ's database is the ultimate arbeiter of points.)

Hopefully the lists I've provided and the rules are clear enough, but if you make an error I will try to let you know if any of your submissions fall into this category.

2.2. Riders getting caught during the season
If you include a rider in your team who gets caught with his hands in the cookie jar, nothing happens right away. Your rider keeps his points unless the cqranking.com deletes his results before the end of the game.

Basically, the value of a rider on cqranking.com always stands.

3. Submitting your team

3.1. How do I?
You pick between 25 and 33 riders whose combined value doesn’t exceed 7500 points and send the list to me.

As I will manually have to include the teams into the Microsoft Excel file which keeps track of the scores, please be careful that you send your team to me based on the correct formula. I don’t take any responsibility for any error you might make. If I spot an error I will do my best to contact you but I can’t guarantee anything. Of course, if you have any questions feel free to ask either here in this thread or by sending a personal message.

The layout you need to use is this:

VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro
CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto
Etc.

Nothing else. No points after the name. Also, be careful that there is no “space” after the name, because I will have to delete it manually, but can't always detect these things in time for the game. If there is an error that isn't discovered until after the game starts, the rider will simply be deleted from the team without replacement.

To make things easier for both you and me I will link to a file for you to download in which you can type in your team and it will automatically show you the value of each rider as well as the aggregated value of your team. Then you will just have to copy your team (names only) directly from this file and send it to me.

Hopefully this clears any misunderstandings of a rider’s value as well as reduces the number of errors made in a team sent to me.

3.2. When do I?
The first race of the season will start January 7, so I want to have your team in hand on January 5 at the latest.

This year there are two deadlines: a submission deadline and a revision/publication deadline, spaced 24 hours apart. This is to address the issue brought up in recent years about whether it is 'fair' to allow changes after teams have seen the teams of other players, and for 'late' submissions. I would like to make this a game that is accessible to as many people as possible, yet preserve that element of fairness. So, the submission deadline will be when I want to have received all the teams. The revision and publication deadline is to allow a 24-hour period for me to look over the teams and allow a chance to people to change their team in case of error, before having access to a list of riders that other teams picked. If you get mixed up with the time zone or unexpectedly don't have internet access around the submission deadline, I will accept teams up to the revision deadline at my discretion, but if allowed those teams will not have the chance to revise in case of error.

The submission deadline is 23:59 (CET) January 4th, so early January 5th for Aussies and sometime on January 4th for North Americans. The revision and publication deadline is 24 hours later; I would ask that people refrain from posting the riders on their team until after that, so midnight CET on the start of January 6th.

Please note that even though it feels as though the season is over, it’s actually not. There are still racing to be done and CQ points to be handed out that could affect the value of a rider you have picked. It is always possible that an obscure rider may score points in a small race at the end of season, or that CQ will adjust points for an earlier season race for whatever reason (eg. readjusting points for suspended dopers) Be mindful of these changes.

cqranking.com usually uploads the final update of the season on December 31, and the values in this update are the ones we’re using. However, the changes are usually very small so there’s no reason why you can’t start selecting your team already today!

**Disclaimer: ensuring your team is full of eligible riders and is on budget is your responsibility. If I notice you are over budget or have an ineligible rider I will send you a message, but if you don't get back to me in time, or I don't catch it before the deadline, I will simply remove one rider to make your budget work. Obviously it is to your advantage to be able to choose all your riders, so please be diligent.**

Create Your Team

Hugo created a very helpful file in 2012, referred to above, that helps avoid any errors in calculation and helps ensure you are formatting your rider names correctly. I would encourage everyone to use this option, especially if you are not confident in your spreadsheet creating skills. Please use the file attached here to create your team, then copy and paste the rider names to send to me by PM once you have it correct. Thank you.

**note: the 'create your team' file has not yet been manually updated to include different scores for dopers as per rule 2.1, so it is currently wholly your responsibility to account for this.**

I think that about covers everything. If you have any questions or if I forgot to add or explain anything, please let me know.

Have fun and remember to visit www.cqranking.com! Without their great work it wouldn’t be possible to have this game.

This game is also being run through velorooms.com forums, and you can submit a team to me through either here or there. Updates will also be posted to both places.

 

[skidmark]

This post is reserved to list submitted teams as they come in, as well as to list links to updates in the main thread as they are posted so that one does not have to hunt through umpteen pages to find them.

If you have submitted a team recently and don't see it appear within 24 hours, please message me to see what is up. Teams on the list marked with an asterisk need a change, and I have messaged you with the details.

Here are the 129 teams registered as of 22:30 CET January 4th:

1 Ruudz0r
2 Slapshot
3 comodoro
4 DJW
5 Nicosix
6 Martin
7 Joelsim
8 LaFlorecita
9 just some guy
10 search
11 Ludwigzgz
12 l29205
13 LaVelocipide
14 Leadbelly
15 LosBrolin
16 mc_mountain
17 shalgo
18 hilltopfinisher
19 ingsve
20 scrooll07
21 squire
22 axis
23 Hugo Koblet
24 DB Coop
25 jsem94
26 VeloRooms
27 cineteq
28 rote_lanterne
29 Object
30 torcia_86
31 armchairclimber
32 GP Blanco
33 uspostal
34 vladimir
35 Blues in the bottle
36 Trudgin
37 laarsland
38 vroome.exe
39 R_O_Shipman
40 Falze
41 Maaaaaaaarten
42 TheGreenMonkey
43 Shawnm4747
44 StephenC2020
45 Sneekes
46 Pentacycle
47 WheelsuckersPL
48 tom-jelte
49 simple
50 Gigs_98
51 Jakob747
52 Ferminal
53 Kazistuta
54 kabete
55 the fool on the hill
56 Yellow Knight
57 Mellow Velo
58 The Instigator
59 adamski101
60 Total Package
61 nuvolablu
62 Hakkie2
63 Jancouver
64 DJ Sprtsch
65 will10
66 al_pacino
67 del1962
68 chrisDK
69 snccdcno
70 Schleckamagurky
71 Lortnoc
72 BalearicBeats
73 JSpear
74 18-Valve.(pithy)
75 Crevaison
76 the_asian
77 Brullnux
78 magnolia
79 togo95
80 Geraint Too Fast
81 abbulf
82 archieboy
83 Roar Like a Mouse
84 minessa
85 Eyeballs Out
86 Popchu
87 PeterB
88 Skibby the bush kangaroo
89 escartin
90 Eric10
91 JPettersen
92 ironted
93 MADRAZO
94 Armchair Cyclist
95 jaylew
96 Tigerion
97 Sasquatch
98 Ruvu75
99 Roude_Leiw
100 Bicycle Boy
101 topprak
102 cj2002
103 Emericlabordure
104 Amsterdam
105 greenedge
106 HelgeBlendet
107 LightBing
108 JosephD
109 yoyokt
110 Wallenquist
111 barmaher
112 kiilike
113 CraZyCaLL
114 bort
115 Roda na Frente
116 jeroenk
117 Carlo Algatrensig
118 vernakular
119 tanja
120 Team X
121 ansimi
122 AlyKaptan
123 karaev
124 trackstand
125 Kjellus
126 fauniera
127 manafana
128 Vesica
129 Freshman

 

[jsem94]

Wow. My initial list of riders (four empty slots) was less than 6000pts. I have a few weeks to think it over though. These half dozen riders will determine how well I do next year basically, as these are the riders I'm least certain of bringing back a healthy score given their price.

I don't even know how someone had their preliminary list be over 10000pts, like WTF? Are you choosing riders like Nibali or what?

 

[Squire]

Thanks for starting up another season of this!

I expect the all time points list to be posted by one of the usual suspects sooner rather than later, meanwhile here are some other numbers: The all time placing list for those who participated in all five editions (the numbers are the placements added together).

1 The Hitch 83
2 skidmark 95
3 EvansIsTheBest 136
4 Kazistuta 143
5 MADRAZO 160
6 will10 165
7 Ferminal 178
8 ingsve 180
9 mc_mountain 188
10 Tuarts 189
11 Hugo Koblet 203
12 The Amateur 203
13 Handbrake 254
14 Armchair cyclist 293
15 theyoungest 297
16 Jpettersen 300
17 Jakob747 302
18 Jancouver 310
19 Mellow Velo 328
20 Object 365
21 Blues in the bottle 379
22 sublimit 383
23 al_pacino 392
24 trotters aotearoa 509

This is the list of average placings for those who participated in minimum three editions:

1 The Hitch 16,6
2 Geraint Too Fast 17
3 skidmark 19
4 gustienordic 24,5
5 Nyssinator 26
6 EvansIsTheBest 27,2
7 bicing 28
8 Kazistuta 28,6
9 TeoSheva 29,67
10 Gotland 31,33
11 MADRAZO 32
12 tomazo 32,75
13 will10 33
14 Ferminal 35,6
15 ingsve 36
16 squire 36,33
17 PeterB 37
18 mc_mountain 37,6
19 Ham-N-Eggs 37,67
20 Tuarts 37,8
21 Ruudz0r 38,75
22 greenedge 39
23 Hugo Koblet 40,6
24 The Amateur 40,6
25 *Falze* 41
26 minessa 41,5
27 shalgo 43,5
28 ironted 43,67
29 Yellow Knight 44,33
30 GP Blanco 45,33
31 Skibby the bush kangaroo 46,75
32 AAC1983 48,67
33 Handbrake 50,8
34 Sasquatch 51,33
35 18-Valve. (pithy) 51,5
36 Froome19 52
37 Netserk 52,25
38 nobilis 52,67
39 AntonioRossi 54,67
40 vladimir 56,75
41 Armchair cyclist 58,6
42 theyoungest 59,4
43 adamski101 59,5
44 Kvinto 60
45 Maaaaaaaarten 60
46 Jpettersen 60
47 Jakob747 60,4
48 ansimi 60,75
49 asdfgh101 61,33
50 Jancouver 62
51 jsem94 62,33
52 HelgeBlendet 63
53 Sneekes 63,33
54 Pentacycle 65
55 Mellow Velo 65,6
56 just some guy 67
57 LightBing 67,33
58 the asian 68,5
59 Eyeballs Out 68,67
60 Lortnoc 70
61 LaFlorecita 72
62 Object 73
63 Martin 74,67
64 the_fool_on_the_hill 75,75
65 Blues in the bottle 75,8
66 auscyclefan94 76,33
67 sublimit 76,6
68 King Of The Worlds 78,33
69 al_pacino 78,4
70 Popchu 78,5
71 CraZyCaLL 81,75
72 DJ Sprtsch 83,25
73 VeloRooms 85
74 NairoQ 87
75 search 87,67
76 Panda_Claws** 88,75
77 cj2002 89,67
78 Total Package 90,25
79 auto de fé 90,5
80 Kevin Rudd's Hairdryer 90,67
81 Eric8_A 91,25
82 comodoro 92,33
83 CQmanager 93,5
84 hilltopfinisher 95
85 Tigerion 98,33
86 cineteq 98,67
87 trotters aotearoa 101,8
88 Zam_Olyas 138

If we also count those with only two participations, Cykeltyven is obviously the leader by far, with an average placing of 1,5 following last year's win and the previous second place.

Disclaimer: These lists are compiled semi-manually, so there is a possibility of errors. The lists also "punish" those who did badly in more recent editions, as there were more participants.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Average for my 4 participations is 72 I've got my team for next season ready, and I'm confident, this is the year, yes I can feel it, this is the year I crack top 40

 

[GP Blanco]

Thanks for another year of this great game! My homework is partly done, but now the real job starts.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I didn't even realise that Cykeltyven has finished 1st and 2nd in the two editions he has participated in. That's amazing! Anyway, thanks for keeping the game running, skidmark! You're doing a great job

 

[Ruby United]

I'm interested in playing this year having had a 2 year hiatus. Beware; I'm aiming for the top 100

 

[Jspear]

I'm interested in playing this year having had a 2 year hiatus. Beware; I'm aiming for the top 100

I will be challenging you!

 

[skidmark]

Re:

I didn't even realise that Cykeltyven has finished 1st and 2nd in the two editions he has participated in. That's amazing! Anyway, thanks for keeping the game running, skidmark! You're doing a great job

Hey Hugo, thanks. Just wanted to touch base with you because you mentioned in the last thread that you were interested in taking a role in this game again. I PM'd you a few weeks ago but maybe it got lost in the shuffle. If you're interested, PM me and we can chat.

And yeah, Cykeltyven's record is nuts! I'm interested to see how their team does this year.

 

[slosada]

Just to mention that you want exact names as in CQ, but some (a lot to my liking) have different spellings across the years, specially with accents, middle names (is Portuguese the extreme example?) or double family names (as in Spanish)

 

[skidmark]

Re:

Just to mention that you want exact names as in CQ, but some (a lot to my liking) have different spellings across the years, specially with accents, middle names (is Portuguese the extreme example?) or double family names (as in Spanish)

For sure. We experience this sometimes in the middle of the season, such as this season when LATOUR Pierre-Roger became LATOUR Pierre, for example. Just remember that for each of your riders, check the CQ site before submitting your team. It's easier if everyone does this for their 33 riders than for me to find every error in every team. We all do the best we can, and it usually works out, but it helps if people take that step of cross-checking before they submit.

On another note, if people are submitting teams already (and I have a few), I'm on a trip so I don't have a ton of time put aside to process them right now. I should be able to catch up either this weekend, or next Tuesday at the latest when I get home. I'm sure at this early going, it's not too big of a deal, just wanted to mention it in case you didn't see your name in the second post there.

 

[PeterB]

People already submitting teams? Seems a bit early. Skidmark so you already have your team too? I guess you would like to have more time to incorporate changes based on further news or events so maybe you should start accepting and processing teams only as of some later date? Anyway it's up to you, you will always have some comparative disadvantage in this regard.

 

[Kryvoskyn]

Nice, I didn't know about this game. I'll participate this year.

Thanks for organizing it

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

As always, I loook forward to playing this game

As an early christmas gift, here are the all-time rankings that someone requested in the 2015 thread :

skidmark 69241
The Hitch 66817
EvansIsTheBest 64758
MADRAZO 64472
mc_mountain 64457
ingsve 64197
Kazistuta 64159
will10 61968
Armchair Cyclist 61905
Tuarts 61634
Ferminal 61568
The Amateur 61568
Hugo Koblet 61501
theyoungest 60438
Handbrake 60040
Jancouver 58586
Jpettersen 57944
Mellow Velo 57709
sublimit 56701
Jakob747 56627
Object 56467
Geraint Too Fast 54958
al_pacino 54610
Blues in the bottle 53950
gustienordic 53189
tomazo 52646
minessa 52455
Ruudz0r 52064
greenedge 52010
shalgo 51672
Netserk 50960
trotters aotearoa 50571
18-Valve. (pithy) 50383
bicing 50010
Skibby the bush kangaroo 49795
Froome19 49466
adamski101 49428
vladimir 48924
ansimi 48369
Lortnoc 48259
Maaaaaaaarten 47922
HelgeBlendet 47794
the asian 47763
just some guy 47527
CraZyCaLL 46886
LaFlorecita 46723
Popchu 46374
Total Package 45514
the_fool_on_the_hill 45089
DJ Sprtsch 44579
CQmanager 44227
hilltopfinisher 43184
Nyssinator 42775
TeoSheva 40001
Sasquatch 37626
auto de fé 37524
PeterB 37432
Yellow Knight 36892
*Falze* 36737
GP Blanco 36709
Ham-N-Eggs 36701
Gotland 36675
ironted 36555
Kvinto 36127
Pentacycle 35802
Squire 35717
nobilis 35507
jsem94 35488
AntonioRossi 35307
Sneekes 35106
asdfgh101 34939
LightBing 34717
Eyeballs Out 34502
AAC1983 34472
Martin 34404
cineteq 33915
King Of The Worlds 33164
VeloRooms 32855
comodoro 32683
Panda Claws 32653
search 32635
NairoQ 32605
cj2002 32580
auscyclefan94 32014
Eric8_A 31075
Jan the Man 31017
Tigerion 30911
Cykeltyven 29902
Kevin Rudd's Hairdryer 29314
Waterloo Sunrise 28454
Luke Schmid 27977
FF'Wilco 27956
Oliveira 27481
freshman 27360
Kwibus 26733
Ruvu75 26719
Timmy-loves-Rabo 26449
kurtinsc 26301
del1962 25987
merengues 25940
Kjellus 25675
Zam_Olyas 25642
Karbonkel 25506
derrudi 25440
Roderick 25432
Crevaison 25218
knallertjeblaf 25184
fauniera 25152
Londonpat 25055
Wallenquist 24986
the_sceptic 24899
jeroenk 24871
karaev 24797
taiwan 24616
lenissart 24613
MCardinalR 24531
The Cobra 24270
hrotha 23655
SteelyDan 23528
togo95 23523
AussieGoddess 23485
ItalianGigolo 23339
nck1000 23283
zlev11 23279
lancaster 23071
mutschi 22961
Hugo87 22928
Bicycle_Boy 22920
Nicosix 22839
Sylvester 22808
Duartista 22800
Moondance 22341
Manafana 22215
Spider1964 22100
Bumeington 22050
Bellsax 21998
Leadbelly 21930
element 21562
Afrank 21530
ray200 21522
roundabout 21395
Josedin 21359
waleweter 21275
luckyboy 21123
jaylew 21063
IlPirata92 21051
gerundium 20970
tanja 20655
martinaagard 20516
Andrichuk 20236
SamJourno 19921
R_O_Shipman 19774
simple 19491
archieboy 19429
Arnout 19088
Trudgin 18849
uspostal 18454
---Dim--- 18378
Jraama 18291
Açordas_Team 18104
tgsgirl 17370
badbrainaj 17035
kiilike 17024
whittashau 16596
coinneach 16432
Rocksteady 16040
snccdcno 15412
kabete 15014
jencredible 14490
topprak 14269
Swede1 14137
trackstand 14124
CasperVG 13753
schullster46 13739
Joelsim 13731
Michele 13658
nuvolablu 13593
martybart 13572
Reuell 13572
AlyKaptan 13529
Havetts 13494
rywann 13347
Multispeed 13288
flyers 13209
Milanello 13162
SantiBotero 13128
Tank Engine 13123
RoudeLeiw 13100
fedaia 12999
Reno 12968
Strassenrennen 12766
Michielveedeebee 12696
Schleckamagurky 12691
Ludwig_ 12655
rote_laterne 12651
Roubaix 12552
karlboss 12523
vernakular 12487
VeloHuman 12475
Jspear 12460
djlovesyou 12344
tom_jelte 12247
keithjamesmc 12173
slosada 12154
chinaboy 12133
omloop van het houtland 12050
arekw77 12027
freddybobs 11985
Ceramiche_Cauz 11909
Grimm 11867
Slow_Rider 11846
olopaine 11787
riaroadtrip 11752
Team_Roubaix 11748
nvpacchi 11716
The Aluminium Monster 11709
nordicICE1024 11660
Housoe 11485
Lancasterke 11423
postmanhat 11391
miguelvazpinto 11388
Von Mises 11378
reader11 11363
Damiano 11335
Youri900 11314
afpm90 11300
diggercuz 11296
Midnightfright 11280
Eric10 11200
Roar Like A Mouse 11197
Wigwan 11167
DnthasldHoff 11082
WonderLance 11070
ironsscally 11059
Zuremelk 11039
Giallo 11025
Pcutter 11006
Fus87 10999
LaVelocipede 10980
Vesica 10968
bubbles 10962
Ben1376 10896
WheelsuckersPL 10875
Ambiturner93 10874
Cuyphagist 10857
Zaschrona 10856
joy118118 10803
Somar13 10722
LosBrolin 10595
mortand 10574
dogboy 10559
PunchingRouleur 10533
Barrus 10495
petaldo 10451
coppiman 10450
Blackbandit222 10394
----AG---- 10390
Inzaghi 10353
Passista 10204
Vitapen 10148
dlwssonic 10130
Ruby United 10111
yoyokt 10100
browntown86 10043
martyfulu 10038
benreynolds 10027
FlorinM 10021
keithmcmahon 9958
Spare Tyre 9924
Pabryan 9876
Fowsto Cope-E 9825
markene2 9779
Ludwigzgz 9754
royalpig180 9735
nepetalactone 9714
henry olonga 9686
Akuryo 9651
Moncoutie 9589
Dekker_tifosi 9587
sykkelerbest 9570
cyclingmad1 9567
Team Riis 9561
zapata 9489
Kato777 9479
Makiavelli 9424
olafjt 9241
ForzaCampagna 9218
Cyivel 9179
Parrulo 9178
Team Sky Fans 9145
nunomelo 9057
Side_Shadow 9008
Jimy-Arts 8980
Lamme_Frans 8966
highoctane 8833
CzechBike 8765
bullet50000 8752
Sydney21 8719
microdose 8675
deValtos 8624
sosososik 8468
XlandaluzeX 8341
wizard_of_oz 8325
Contre la montre 8181
Jiaying 8180
Thibaut Pinot 8041
Team Kapiris 7903
BigMac 7757
Akubra 7469
who dat 7357
jens_attacks 7329
Libertine Seguros 7272
Weeley Wheeler 7176
Sdrawkcab 7088
fraserhughes 7028
sigsky 7019
Jukebox 7013
Vonn Brinkman 6696
Phoenix118 5724
Wiggins_fan 3423

 

[skidmark]

Re:

People already submitting teams? Seems a bit early. Skidmark so you already have your team too? I guess you would like to have more time to incorporate changes based on further news or events so maybe you should start accepting and processing teams only as of some later date? Anyway it's up to you, you will always have some comparative disadvantage in this regard.

The way I did it when I took over the game was that I volunteered to send my long list to someone early on in the process, but as a condition of taking over the game, I wanted to have the opportunity to pick my final team right up until the end of the process (changing news, etc, and also the process of endless tinkering is fun for me). This seemed like an adequate solution as it would show that I didn't pick anyone I 'missed' just because I saw them on another team, but would let me finalize my team as I wanted. I actually just forgot about that this year since I honestly don't think about it as an issue on my end, and I don't let other teams influence my decisions. But it is a good failsafe, so I'll send my initial list to someone (maybe one of the other game organizers, like mc_mountain or Armchair Cyclist; I will check in with them). The only issue is I'm away from home and my list is on a file on my home laptop, so I won't have access to it until Christmas. By then I should only have about a dozen teams in; I can suspend receiving teams or get them to send to another 'holder' if people thought this would be an unfair advantage, but I feel like I've shown in past years that I don't pay any attention to who other teams are picking. Promises are worth little on the internet and I suppose I could be staging an elaborate behind-the-scenes manipulation, but I also have done quite well in this game before organizing the entries, so I hope that combined with my assertion that I use only my own resources to pick my team is enough for people.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

People already submitting teams? Seems a bit early. Skidmark so you already have your team too? I guess you would like to have more time to incorporate changes based on further news or events so maybe you should start accepting and processing teams only as of some later date? Anyway it's up to you, you will always have some comparative disadvantage in this regard.

The way I did it when I took over the game was that I volunteered to send my long list to someone early on in the process, but as a condition of taking over the game, I wanted to have the opportunity to pick my final team right up until the end of the process (changing news, etc, and also the process of endless tinkering is fun for me). This seemed like an adequate solution as it would show that I didn't pick anyone I 'missed' just because I saw them on another team, but would let me finalize my team as I wanted. I actually just forgot about that this year since I honestly don't think about it as an issue on my end, and I don't let other teams influence my decisions. But it is a good failsafe, so I'll send my initial list to someone (maybe one of the other game organizers, like mc_mountain or Armchair Cyclist; I will check in with them). The only issue is I'm away from home and my list is on a file on my home laptop, so I won't have access to it until Christmas. By then I should only have about a dozen teams in; I can suspend receiving teams or get them to send to another 'holder' if people thought this would be an unfair advantage, but I feel like I've shown in past years that I don't pay any attention to who other teams are picking. Promises are worth little on the internet and I suppose I could be staging an elaborate behind-the-scenes manipulation, but I also have done quite well in this game before organizing the entries, so I hope that combined with my assertion that I use only my own resources to pick my team is enough for people.

Don't worry. You are just fine. I don't think anybody cares. Quite honestly, even last year, I always looked at your team as "collective wisdom" listed as "skidmark"

Even after seeing everyone else's team, you still have to pick your team. Sure, if your team was the first submitted nobody could question your team but this way there will always be the asterisk behind your name for many.

Perhaps you should submit your final team 48-72h before the deadline so all those worried about you can submit after you, and anybody in the Top 10 from last few years should submit their teams after you, especially Cykeltyven.

JMHO

 

[LaFlorecita]

Skidmark, I don't doubt you for 1 second, but I do think it would be best to, as you suggested, send your longlist to someone else, because I can imagine people will complain otherwise.
I guess you can send it to someone who already put in their team, but maybe they still want freedom to change. If you can't find anyone you could send it to me, I'd send you my team, maybe with like 5-6 backup in case of injuries, doping bans or whatever, and then you could send me your list, I'm sure you wouldn't use my team to cheat

 

[jsem94]

There are so many bargains this year but not many "high pointers" that are blatantly obvious. This makes it all extremely difficult...

 

[Squire]

Re:

There are so many bargains this year but not many "high pointers" that are blatantly obvious. This makes it all extremely difficult...

Also very interesting, because aside from a few picks I expect to be very popular, the teams might be quite varied.

And what's interesting about the all time list, is that Geraint Too Fast, who's the top placed member without five participations, actually has a higher points tally than three of the members from the five-year club.

 

[skidmark]

Skidmark, I don't doubt you for 1 second, but I do think it would be best to, as you suggested, send your longlist to someone else, because I can imagine people will complain otherwise.
I guess you can send it to someone who already put in their team, but maybe they still want freedom to change. If you can't find anyone you could send it to me, I'd send you my team, maybe with like 5-6 backup in case of injuries, doping bans or whatever, and then you could send me your list, I'm sure you wouldn't use my team to cheat

You're right, it's good practice, I didn't mean to sound flippant in my previous post. On the one hand, the fact that I had the 'most popular' team in 2012 when I won, despite not seeing anyone else's team, should suggest that I am already on track to pick my team even without extra info; on the other hand, that would make it harder to tell if I suddenly decided to be lazy and dishonest and started using that information. So yes, some exchange in advance is appropriate. I've contacted a couple of people about it who have already submitted their teams but if none of those work out by the time I'm home from my trip, I will touch base with you.

In general, I'm of the opinion that seeing the teams of others doesn't really benefit someone who makes a team like mine (mostly popular riders with some attempts at intelligent rarer picks); after all, the aim is to do better than the collective wisdom, not just as well as it. I think that's what Jancouver is saying too. I'm always in a unique position as an organizer and can insist on my integrity and people might always have their own opinions about it. Anyway, I appreciate the initial reminder on this topic by PeterB, and am happy to work it out.

 

[mc_mountain]

Thanks for starting up another season of this!

I expect the all time points list to be posted by one of the usual suspects sooner rather than later, meanwhile here are some other numbers: The all time placing list for those who participated in all five editions (the numbers are the placements added together).

1 The Hitch 83
2 skidmark 95
3 EvansIsTheBest 136
4 Kazistuta 143
5 MADRAZO 160
6 will10 165
7 Ferminal 178
8 ingsve 180
9 mc_mountain 188
10 Tuarts 189

If we also count those with only two participations, Cykeltyven is obviously the leader by far, with an average placing of 1,5 following last year's win and the previous second place.

Disclaimer: These lists are compiled semi-manually, so there is a possibility of errors. The lists also "punish" those who did badly in more recent editions, as there were more participants.

Excellent work Squire,

Also note I am now behind EvansIsTheBest in the overall score.

 

[Gigs_98]

I have two questions.
1. If the tdf and all the other aso races wont be a WT race next year would that have any impact on the points?
2. Can we take riders who were injured last season or parts of the last season? Sorry if that was already written somewhere, but I didnt find it.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I have two questions.
1. If the tdf and all the other aso races wont be a WT race next year would that have any impact on the points?

It would only be from 2017 on, so we won't have to worry about it just yet: if they end up leaving the WT, we will have to figure something out of course

2. Can we take riders who were injured last season or parts of the last season? Sorry if that was already written somewhere, but I didnt find it.

Yes! Looking for riders who didn't score as much as they could have last season because of injuries is a very smart approach Only riders who missed (part of) last season due to a doping suspension, aren't available for their 2015 score. They will cost the score of their last full season, unless they scored higher in their partial season.

 

[Gigs_98]

I have two questions.
1. If the tdf and all the other aso races wont be a WT race next year would that have any impact on the points?

It would only be from 2017 on, so we won't have to worry about it just yet: if they end up leaving the WT, we will have to figure something out of course

2. Can we take riders who were injured last season or parts of the last season? Sorry if that was already written somewhere, but I didnt find it.

Yes! Looking for riders who didn't score as much as they could have last season because of injuries is a very smart approach Only riders who missed (part of) last season due to a doping suspension, aren't available for their 2015 score. They will cost the score of their last full season, unless they scored higher in their partial season.

Thanks