The 2016 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[Squire]

<wall of good reasoning>

Thanks for the elaborate response.

I can now see what you're thinking with Grosu, and I also like the continental sprinter idea in the CQ game, hence I have Ciolek and others. The Romanian is still a bit expensive and unproven for me, but he may end up scoring well (which I hope he doesn't ). Regarding Peraud, he seem like the ultimate professional and started his career late, so his 38 years of age is just a number. He also has a schedule which is a CQ gift from heaven if he's not affected by the unorthodox season debut in San Luis.

Chavanel was one of the first on my team sheet for the very reasons you point out, but I guess I found what I considered better combinations in the end. Although he could have straight up replaced Barguil, who is one of the picks I'm less sure of. Maybe that wouldn't have been a bad idea, we will see.

Formolo could of course also be one of my ghosts this season, but I'm apparently more risk-averse than you are. I think that's what most of our differing picks come down to. Mohoric, for instance, is a 50-50 for me, either continuing suckiness or decent 450 season. Unless Formolo emerges as a GT contender, I'm pretty comfortable not having him. The most likely 2016 version of Formolo is exactly the kind of rider I avoid picking: A solid GC guy who will place 8-15 in big stage races and little else, and is a good bet for 300-600 points. F.ex. Mathias Frank was a total no-go, and look at Ten Dam in the past. His impressive efforts were not awarded with many CQ points. I want my picks to have more strings to play. For that reason I also avoid riders whose points rely on just a few select races, like Janier Acevedo. One bad race, and the whole reason for picking them is gone.

Edit: Oh, and speaking of Haig... Look at what Greenedge did with the Yates twins. I expect Haig to get a schedule suited for good point scoring. If he excels in the Sun Tour and gets a WT schedule, great, he scored a lot of points in the Sun Tour already. If he doesn't, he'll probably go to Turkey and the like, and still score good points.

 

[skidmark]

Okay, I'm working on the full spreadsheet and will maybe have it ready before bed, but here are the most popular riders (all riders on over 30 teams listed):

1. KITTEL Marcel 132
2. BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto 121
3. PHINNEY Taylor 117
4. GERRANS Simon 116
5. MARTIN Daniel 102
6. GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 102
7. CANCELLARA Fabian 102
8. DEMARE Arnaud 97
9. VAN GARDEREN Tejay 84
10. LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel 77
11. MARTIN Tony 74
12. VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael 71
13. TALANSKY Andrew 70
14. VELITS Peter 66
15. ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David 60
16. GOSS Matthew 57
17. TEN DAM Laurens 51
18. HERKLOTZ Silvio 51
19. MEERSMAN Gianni 50
20. VERVAEKE Louis 48
21. MEZGEC Luka 46
22. FORMOLO Davide 44
23. LANGEVELD Sebastian 42
24. VANENDERT Jelle 40
25. HAIG Jack 40
26. STUYVEN Jasper 38
27. MARTINEZ Yannick 38
28. BARGUIL Warren 37
29. CORT NIELSEN Magnus 37
30. KUDUS GHEBREMEDHIN Merhawi 34
31. BOS Theo 34
32. ACEVEDO CALLE Janier Alexis 34
33. QUINTANA ROJAS Dayer Uberney 31
34. PERAUD Jean-Christophe 31

Phinney pulled ahead of Gerrans for the final podium spot with the very last team I entered. Gaviria, D Martin and Canc were neck-in-neck, and again all(!) ended up tied on the very last team I entered. I'm a bit surprised that Dan Martin ranked so high, with his high price tag, and a bit surprised that fewer people took Bos, even with his track focus, but mostly I'm unsurprised. A couple of people who guessed the top 10 got 9/10 right, so this is probably not surprising to many.

 

[skidmark]

<wall of good reasoning>

Thanks for the elaborate response.

I can now see what you're thinking with Grosu, and I also like the continental sprinter idea in the CQ game, hence I have Ciolek and others. The Romanian is still a bit expensive and unproven for me, but he may end up scoring well (which I hope he doesn't ). Regarding Peraud, he seem like the ultimate professional and started his career late, so his 38 years of age is just a number. He also has a schedule which is a CQ gift from heaven if he's not affected by the unorthodox season debut in San Luis.

Chavanel was one of the first on my team sheet for the very reasons you point out, but I guess I found what I considered better combinations in the end. Although he could have straight up replaced Barguil, who is one of the picks I'm less sure of. Maybe that wouldn't have been a bad idea, we will see.

Formolo could of course also be one of my ghosts this season, but I'm apparently more risk-averse than you are. I think that's what most of our differing picks come down to. Mohoric, for instance, is a 50-50 for me, either continuing suckiness or decent 450 season. Unless Formolo emerges as a GT contender, I'm pretty comfortable not having him. The most likely 2016 version of Formolo is exactly the kind of rider I avoid picking: A solid GC guy who will place 8-15 in big stage races and little else, and is a good bet for 300-600 points. F.ex. Mathias Frank was a total no-go, and look at Ten Dam in the past. His impressive efforts were not awarded with many CQ points. I want my picks to have more strings to play. For that reason I also avoid riders whose points rely on just a few select races, like Janier Acevedo. One bad race, and the whole reason for picking them is gone.

I am also a huge Peraud fan, and am in real life cheering for him to do well, and think he can do better than his 'age' due to his late change to road. For sure I understand picking him. It's funny that you say you're more risk-averse than me on Formolo as the reason I thought I picked him was because I was risk averse, ie. he's consistent enough to be a good guarantee of results (like, even if he gets hurt for some of the season, he's consistent enough to match his 2015 score), so he wouldn't backfire like picking Betancur last year would have (which is why I didn't pick Betancur last year, or for that matter Arredondo this year, who sounded in an interview I read was ready to give up if his posture issue kept bothering him). Grosu is like Formolo - I'm drawn to consistent performers because they are safe bets, and sprinters are as good as consistent GC guys. But I can't take someone like Frank either - my 'safe bets' need to have at least some chance of a good increase. Interestingly enough, my decision to put Formolo on my team came down to a point where it was either him or Frank, and Formolo was the more 'exciting' pick for me.

And yeah, I didn't pick Acevedo for the same reason.

I'm interested in comparing our teams as yours is so similar to mine, but I'm a little burnt out on CQ for today. I'll follow up.

 

[Squire]

What I meant with risk-averse is that instead of the Formolos and Grosus, I have a stronger preference for seasoned campaigners who have a proven ability to score points, and have no reason not to be back to their best. Like Dani Navarro, Gerald Ciolek (why isn't he more popular? Same with Farrar. Worlds, anyone?).

But then again, your Chavanel pick against my Jungels pick sort of contradicts me, although I have very good reasons for that one.

I can fully understand your CQ burnout

 

[Jancouver]

Okay, I'm working on the full spreadsheet and will maybe have it ready before bed, but here are the most popular riders (all riders on over 30 teams listed):

1. KITTEL Marcel 132
2. BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto 121
3. PHINNEY Taylor 117
4. GERRANS Simon 116
5. MARTIN Daniel 102
6. GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 102
7. CANCELLARA Fabian 102
8. DEMARE Arnaud 97
9. VAN GARDEREN Tejay 84
10. LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel 77
11. MARTIN Tony 74
12. VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael 71
13. TALANSKY Andrew 70
14. VELITS Peter 66
15. ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David 60
16. GOSS Matthew 57
17. TEN DAM Laurens 51
18. HERKLOTZ Silvio 51
19. MEERSMAN Gianni 50
20. VERVAEKE Louis 48
21. MEZGEC Luka 46
22. FORMOLO Davide 44
23. LANGEVELD Sebastian 42
24. VANENDERT Jelle 40
25. HAIG Jack 40
26. STUYVEN Jasper 38
27. MARTINEZ Yannick 38
28. BARGUIL Warren 37
29. CORT NIELSEN Magnus 37
30. KUDUS GHEBREMEDHIN Merhawi 34
31. BOS Theo 34
32. ACEVEDO CALLE Janier Alexis 34
33. QUINTANA ROJAS Dayer Uberney 31
34. PERAUD Jean-Christophe 31

Phinney pulled ahead of Gerrans for the final podium spot with the very last team I entered. Gaviria, D Martin and Canc were neck-in-neck, and again all(!) ended up tied on the very last team I entered. I'm a bit surprised that Dan Martin ranked so high, with his high price tag, and a bit surprised that fewer people took Bos, even with his track focus, but mostly I'm unsurprised. A couple of people who guessed the top 10 got 9/10 right, so this is probably not surprising to many.

I'm glad to see that I did not miss any obvious picks this year and other than TJ I do have everybody that is on majority teams. As per TJ, between Dennis and Porte there won't be much room for him as the US races does not score a lot of points and at 622 points there isn't a much of an upside.

Also happy to see that Tony Martin, my 2nd most expensive pick is only on "74" teams. Now, the questions is, how many teams has my #1 pick Rohan Dennis?

 

[The Hitch]

Thanks to those who mentioned my name and were kind enough to try and remind me of the deadline in case I had forgotten about it, La Flo, Jancouver, Squire and especially mc.

The 5th/6th January cq start date always comes around so quickly but I always enjoyed that day. More important than new years.

The reason I'm not participating this year is partly because my knowledge of cycling is poor these days. I cancelled my Eurosport subscription a few years ago as a result of that I watch far less cycling than I used to.

I have no idea who the new good young riders are and no feel for how careers are going, no instincts about who will have a bounce back season. At least at the middle and lower levels and those riders are so important in this game. I already had my worst performance last year and a year on I'd be really lost.

And that was always what this game was about for me, testing ones instincts of who will have what year next. You can't truly predict how everyone's years will go but I always thought I had a good enough feel for the future to get enough of them right to always compete. Now I'd be shooting blind or at least one eyed.

I know that its very possible to string together a team even if one doesn't know all the riders, its still fun making the numbers fit, trying to get to 7500.

On a deeper level though, I also thought it was a good sacrifice for me personally to give up the game for a year. Kind of like how people give up something for Lent. Difficult to describe, and it might sound crazy but in my life I believe in the cleansing nature of making little sacrifices like this once in a while so I decided a few weeks ago to give this one a miss and am at peace with that decision.

This is still by far the best sports fantasy game i've ever come accross. I'm still interested to see how it goes, will be rooting for some teams and probably comment as well. Good luck everyone.

 

[skidmark]

I'm glad to see that I did not miss any obvious picks this year and other than TJ I do have everybody that is on majority teams. As per TJ, between Dennis and Porte there won't be much room for him as the US races does not score a lot of points and at 622 points there isn't a much of an upside.

Also happy to see that Tony Martin, my 2nd most expensive pick is only on "74" teams. Now, the questions is, how many teams has my #1 pick Rohan Dennis?

You will maybe like the answer to that question. Full popularity table posted soon (hint: don't look for him on the first post).

 

[skidmark]

Here are the full results for rider popularity, divided into 2 posts because of length:

KITTEL Marcel 132
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto 121
PHINNEY Taylor 117
GERRANS Simon 116
MARTIN Daniel 102
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 102
CANCELLARA Fabian 102
DEMARE Arnaud 97
VAN GARDEREN Tejay 84
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel 77
MARTIN Tony 74
VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael 71
TALANSKY Andrew 70
VELITS Peter 66
ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David 60
GOSS Matthew 57
TEN DAM Laurens 51
HERKLOTZ Silvio 51
MEERSMAN Gianni 50
VERVAEKE Louis 48
MEZGEC Luka 46
FORMOLO Davide 44
LANGEVELD Sebastian 42
VANENDERT Jelle 40
HAIG Jack 40
STUYVEN Jasper 38
MARTINEZ Yannick 38
BARGUIL Warren 37
CORT NIELSEN Magnus 37
KUDUS GHEBREMEDHIN Merhawi 34
BOS Theo 34
ACEVEDO CALLE Janier Alexis 34
QUINTANA ROJAS Dayer Uberney 31
PERAUD Jean-Christophe 31
CIOLEK Gerald 29
NAVARRO GARCIA Daniel 27
JEANNESSON Arnold 27
ENGER Sondre Holst 27
YATES Adam 26
MOHORIC Matej 26
SOLER GIMENEZ Marc 25
VICHOT Arthur 25
KÄMNA Lennard 24
CAPECCHI Eros 23
KWIATKOWSKI Michal 22
MOSCON Gianni 22
NERZ Dominik 22
PETIT Adrien 22
MULLEN Ryan 21
POZZATO Filippo 21
STETINA Peter 21
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume 20
ZAUGG Oliver 20
YATES Simon 20
SENECHAL Florian 19
WESTRA Lieuwe 19
KÜNG Stefan 19
HAAS Nathan 19
TEUNS Dylan 18
NIBALI Vincenzo 18
WIPPERT Wouter 18
CONTRERAS PINZON Rodrigo 18
LANDA MEANA Mikel 17
PELUCCHI Matteo 17
VANMARCKE Sep 17
VAN ASBROECK Tom 17
BAUHAUS Phil 17
ANDERSEN Asbjørn Kragh 17
DI GREGORIO Rémy 17
DE PLUS Laurens 16
EWAN Caleb 16
BYSTRØM Sven Erik 16
LUTSENKO Alexey 15
OFFREDO Yoann 15
PARDILLA BELLON Sergio 15
BOUHANNI Rayane 15
BOOM Lars 15
BENNETT Sam 15
DE MARCHI Alessandro 15
DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd 15
VILLELLA Davide 14
RUFFONI Nicola 14
VEELERS Tom 14
BONGIORNO Francesco Manuel 14
MEINTJES Louis 13
MARTIN Guillaume 13
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan 13
BATTAGLIN Enrico 13
KELDERMAN Wilco 13
CRADDOCK Lawson 13
FARRAR Tyler 13
VON HOFF Steele 12
MOSER Moreno 12
VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen 12
HOFLAND Moreno 12
MARTINEZ POVEDA Daniel Felipe 11
ROSA Diego 11
CICCONE Giulio 11
TEUNISSEN Mike 10
HIRT Jan 10
KADRI Blel 10
KENNAUGH Peter 10
GAUTIER Cyril 10
FRANK Mathias 10
DIAZ Daniel Ricardo 10
FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Ruben 10
ZABEL Rick 9
ROSON GARCIA Jaime 9
SWIFT Ben 9
POWER Robert 9
JUNGELS Bob 9
DINIZ Alex Correia 9
CHERNETSKIY Sergey 9
REICHENBACH Sébastien 8
ZORDAN Andrea 8
VUILLERMOZ Alexis 8
MARTINELLI Davide 8
ZOIDL Riccardo 8
STANNARD Ian 8
DUNBAR EDDIE 8
GEOGHEGAN HART Tao 8
BOHLI Tom 8
HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian 8
CLARKE Simon 8
ALAPHILIPPE Julian 8
GOUGEARD Alexis 8
CHAVANEL Sylvain 8
EARLE Nathan 8
MCLAY Daniel 7
ROWE Luke 7
PETERS Alex 7
ZAKARIN Ilnur 7
VAKOC Petr 7
LECUISINIER Pierre-Henri 7
MANZIN Lorrenzo 7
MÜHLBERGER Gregor 7
CAPIOT Amaury 7
HARDY Romain 7
ANACONA GOMEZ Winner Andrew 7
EIKING Odd Christian 7
CARTHY Hugh 7
ANTON HERNANDEZ Igor 7
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 7
MEYER Cameron 6
TEKLEHAIMANOT GIRMAZION Daniel 6
THURAU Björn 6
MAISON Jérémy 6
LATOUR Pierre 6
PACIONI Luca 6
VERMEULEN Alexey 6
MCCARTHY Jay 6
ZEPUNTKE Ruben 6
SANTAROMITA Ivan 6
VAN ROOY Kenneth 6
VAN BAARLE Dylan 6
ZURLO Federico 6
DENIFL Stefan 6
GERTS Floris 6
BRAMMEIER Matthew 6
KOCJAN Jure 6
COSTA Adrien 6
SLAGTER Tom-Jelte 5
VERHELST Louis 5
THOMAS Geraint 5
OOMEN Sam 5
NIEMIEC Przemyslaw 5
PEDERSEN Mads 5
SUTHERLAND Rory 5
LUNKE Sindre Skjøstad 5
VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco Jose 5
POLJANSKI Pawel 5
WÜRTZ SCHMIDT Mads 5
RATTO Daniele 5
ZARDINI Edoardo 5
LAMMERTINK Steven 5
DEHAES Kenny 5
DE GENDT Aimé 5
BOSWELL Ian 5
KOHLER Martin 5
GROSU Eduard-Michael 5
DUMOULIN Tom 5
HNIK Karel 5
CATTANEO Mattia 5
FENN Andrew 5
GESINK Robert 5
BENOOT Tiesj 5
VANBILSEN Kenneth 4
LEDANOIS Kevin 4
VENTURINI Clément 4
POLANC Jan 4
LUDVIGSSON Fredrik 4
LAPORTE Christophe 4
MAJKA Rafal 4
KREUZIGER Roman 4
ORAM James 4
VALLEE Boris 4
RENSHAW Mark 4
VAN DER SANDE Tosh 4
OSS Daniel 4
VAN GENECHTEN Jonas 4
SKJERPING Kristoffer 4
HOELGAARD Daniel 4
DE GENDT Thomas 4
DANIEL Maxime 4
BUSCHE Matthew 4
HEPBURN Michael 4
CONTI Valerio 4
EDMONDSON Alexander 4
GAIMON Phillip 4
ARNDT Nikias 4
ANDREETTA Simone 4
BONNAMOUR Franck 4
BOUDAT Thomas 4
COPPEL Jérôme 4
ALAPHILIPPE Bryan 4
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh 4
EBSEN John Kronborg 4
EISEL Bernhard 4
BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley 4
ELISSONDE Kenny 4
FEDI Andrea 4
FEILLU Brice 4
NOVAK Domen 3
VERONA QUINTANILLA Carlos 3
OLIVEIRA Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes 3
POLITT Nils 3
SMITH Dion 3
REIJNEN Kiel 3
LATON Eryk 3
RYBALKIN Aleksey 3
OLIVIER Daan 3
SAGAN Peter 3
LIETAER Eliot 3
SARREAU Marc 3
TROFIMOV Yury 3
SCHLECK Fränk 3
TURGIS Anthony 3
MARKUS Barry 3
VAN DER POEL Mathieu 3
SENNI Manuel 3
VANTOMME Maxime 3
SIMON CASULLERAS Jordi 3
LUDVIGSSON Tobias 3
SIUTSOU Kanstantsin 3
MØRKØV CHRISTENSEN Michael 3
SKUJINS Toms 3
PETILLI Simone 3
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson 3
TUFT Svein 3
KISERLOVSKI Robert 3
DUARTE AREVALO Fabio Andres 3
COSTA Rui Alberto Faria 3
BREEN Vegard 3
BOIVIN Guillaume 3
DURBRIDGE Luke 3
CARUSO Damiano 3
BASKA Erik 3
DRON Boris 3
CANTY Brendan 3
JONES Carter 3
DEGAND Thomas 3
FRAILE MATARRANZ Omar 3
DE BUYST Jasper 3
GADAY OROZCO Lucas Manuel 3
AYAZBAYEV Maxat 3
HESJEDAL Ryder 3
GHYSELINCK Jan 3
DOULL Owain 3
GOGL Michael 3
HOWARD Leigh 3
BALLAN Alessandro 3
JIM Songezo 3
ARCAS PEÑA Jorge 3
BONIFAZIO Niccolo 3
GUERREIRO Ruben Antonio Almeida 3
FOURNIER Marc 3
KONRAD Patrick 3
CHEVRIER Clément 3
BARDET Romain 3
BERNARD Julien 3
BRESCHEL Matti 3
FARAZIJN Maxime 3
FLAKEMORE Campbell 3

 

[skidmark]

and the rare riders:

QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander 2
VAN ZYL Johann 2
WOODS Michael 2
PASQUALON Andrea 2
SILVESTRE Fabio Andre Tomas 2
MAS BONET Lluis Guillermo 2
VILELA Ricardo Augusto Afonso 2
LASCA Francesco 2
NOCENTINI Rinaldo 2
LASTRA MARTINEZ Jonathan 2
VANDEWALLE Kristof 2
MCNALLY Mark 2
VELITS Martin 2
TRATNIK Jan 2
SAGAN Juraj 2
ROSSETTO Stéphane 2
VISCONTI Giovanni 2
SEELDRAEYERS Kevin 2
LOBATO DEL VALLE Juan Jose 2
ROTA Lorenzo 2
VAN STAEYEN Michael 2
TURGOT Sébastien 2
SICARD Romain 2
URTASUN PEREZ Pablo 2
LE GAC Olivier 2
LATHAM Christopher 2
VELASCO Simone 2
ROY Jérémy 2
PELLAUD Simon 2
VAN DER LIJKE Nick 2
SIMON Julien 2
SERGENT Jesse 2
MAMYKIN Matvey 2
KRUOPIS Aidis 2
VILLEGAS CARDONA Juan Pablo 2
PEDERSEN Casper Phillip 2
WISNIOWSKI Lukasz 2
VAN GESTEL Dries 2
SARMIENTO TUNARROSA Cayetano Jose 2
VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan 2
LOOIJ André 2
VAN LERBERGHE Bert 2
LANDER Sebastian 2
VAN POPPEL Boy 2
SWIRBUL Keegan 2
EATON Daniel 2
FRISON Frederik 2
EDMONDSON Joshua 2
BRAJKOVIC Janez 2
FROOME Chris 2
DILLIER Silvan 2
KAMBERAJ Xhuliano 2
BOUHANNI Nacer 2
GESBERT Elie 2
GONÇALVES Jose Isidro Maciel 2
JARAMILLO DIEZ Daniel Alexander 2
GOOS Marc 2
JOEÄÄR Gert 2
BAUER Jack 2
JUUL JENSEN Christopher 2
BRÄNDLE Matthias 2
KANGERT Tanel 2
BUCHMANN Emanuel 2
DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David 2
DASSONVILLE Flavien 2
HOFSTETTER Hugo 2
DOWSETT Alex 2
JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt 2
BENITO DIEZ Miguel Angel 2
JAUREGUI Quentin 2
DE TIER Floris 2
CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto 2
DEBESAY ABRHA Mekseb 2
JONES Brenton 2
HENDERSON Gregory 2
GALLEGO RUIZ Alberto 2
DAVIES Scott 2
GATTO Oscar 2
KOLOBNEV Alexandr 2
COLBRELLI Sonny 2
DE BIE Sean 2
DENNIS Rohan 2
CATALDO Dario 2
DENZ Nico 2
COQUARD Bryan 2
KLARIS Magnus Bak 2
BIALOBLOCKI Marcin 2
GESCHKE Simon 2
FRANKINY Kilian 2
BEVIN Patrick 2
AMADOR BIKKAZAKOVA Andrey 2
DEIGNAN Philip 2
MOLLEMA Bauke 1
WILLWOHL Willi 1
SCOTSON Miles 1
RÄIM Mihkel 1
VAN POPPEL Danny 1
RAMOS SILVA Kleber 1
SCHELLING Patrick 1
OCKELOEN Jasper 1
WACKERMANN Luca 1
NOVAK Jakub 1
NIZZOLO Giacomo 1
REGUIGUI Youcef 1
SANCHEZ VERGARA Brayan Stiven 1
MAKHCHOUN Mounir 1
POZDNYAKOV Kirill 1
PICHON Laurent 1
VERMOTE Julien 1
LAMPAERT Yves 1
VLIEGEN Loïc 1
SPOKES Sam 1
WARBASSE Larry 1
SPRENGERS Thomas 1
ONESTI Emanuele 1
KRISTOFF Alexander 1
ZILIOLI Gianfranco 1
REIMER Martin 1
PORZNER Manuel 1
LANDI Marco 1
MARINI Nicolas 1
STYBAR Zdenek 1
MAGNER Tyler 1
SULZBERGER Bernard 1
MORABITO Steve 1
LOSADA ALGUACIL Alberto 1
KRIEGER Alexander 1
KRIZEK Matthias 1
SCHWARZMANN Michael 1
KURBATOV Alexey 1
KREDER Michel 1
SZMYD Sylwester 1
PEREIRA Florent 1
TAARAMÄE Rein 1
WALLAYS Jelle 1
OVETT Freddy 1
WELTEN Bram 1
MALDONADO Anthony 1
SELIG Rüdiger 1
MATTHEWS Michael 1
SEPULVEDA Eduardo 1
REZA Kévin 1
SERPA PEREZ Jose Rodolfo 1
ZUBELDIA AGIRRE Haimar 1
NYCH Artem 1
PATERSKI Maciej 1
MILAN JIMENEZ Diego 1
KRASILNIKAU Andrei 1
SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel 1
TIMMER Albert 1
VANDENBERGH Stijn 1
TOFT MADSEN Martin 1
SANZ UNZUE Enrique 1
ROCHE Nicolas 1
VANSUMMEREN Johan 1
TRENTIN Matteo 1
MONFORT Maxime 1
RODRIGUES Matt 1
SBARAGLI Kristian 1
RODRIGUEZ MARTIN Cristian 1
SCHACHMANN Maximilian 1
ROGERS Michael 1
VERGAERDE Otto 1
ROLLAND Pierre 1
MORI Manuele 1
ROOSEN Timo 1
SCHUMACHER Stefan 1
PIEDRA PEREZ Antonio 1
LEBAS Thomas 1
PINTO Edgar Miguel Lemos 1
SCULLY Tom 1
PAULINHO Sergio Miguel Moreira 1
POZZOVIVO Domenico 1
VALLS FERRI Rafael 1
VOECKLER Thomas 1
MENUT David 1
LEMARCHAND Romain 1
MERLIER Tim 1
WAGNER Robert 1
MEURISSE Xandro 1
WALSCHEID Maximilian 1
VAN DER HAAR Lars 1
WELLENS Tim 1
PIRES Bruno Manuel Silva 1
MURPHY Kyle 1
ROSSKOPF Joey 1
LEMOINE Cyril 1
PEARSON Daniel 1
PREIDLER Georg 1
NOWAK Mateusz 1
QUAADE Rasmus Christian 1
MARCOTTE Eric 1
PETERS Nans 1
MACHADO Tiago Jose Pinto 1
QUEMENEUR Perrig 1
MARECZKO Jakub 1
NORDHAUG Lars Petter 1
LAWLESS Christopher 1
NORSGAARD JØRGENSEN Mathias 1
OPIE Chris 1
PIBERNIK Luka 1
POLS Ruben 1
RIBLON Christophe 1
RICKAERT Jonas 1
CALDEIRA Samuel Jose Rodrigues 1
ALBASINI Michael 1
HOWSON Damien 1
CLANCY Stephen 1
KNEES Christian 1
ALIZADEH Hossein 1
ARU Fabio 1
BOLE Grega 1
CARDIS Romain 1
FEILLU Romain 1
BOASSON HAGEN Edvald 1
COMBAUD Romain 1
KORSAETH Truls Engen 1
BOLIVAR HERNANDEZ Isaac 1
HERRADA LOPEZ Jose 1
FERRARI BARCELO Fabricio 1
HOOGERLAND Johnny 1
FICARA Pierpaolo 1
JANSE VAN RENSBURG Jacques 1
FIGUEIREDO Frederico Jose Oliveira 1
DROBISCH Till 1
FILOSI Iuri 1
BIERMANS Jenthe 1
BANDIERA Marco 1
KIRYIENKA Vasil 1
FOLIFOROV Alexander 1
KOLAR Michael 1
FONSECA Armindo 1
BERLATO Giacomo 1
BARBERO CUESTA Carlos 1
CALMEJANE Lilian 1
ANDERSON Ryan 1
CAÑADA CARRALERO Cristian 1
AGUIRRE CALPA Hernan Ricardo 1
BERTAZZO Liam 1
FRANCZAK Pawel 1
BESTER Shaun Nick 1
BOONEN Tom 1
IMPEY Daryl 1
AMBROSE Scott 1
DOCKX Gert 1
BASSO Leonardo 1
ASADOV Elchin 1
COUSIN Jérôme 1
CASTROVIEJO NICOLAS Jonathan 1
FUGLSANG Jakob 1
CAVENDISH Mark 1
APPELT Leo 1
BLYTHE Adam 1
CRANE Ian 1
KEOUGH Luke 1
CRAVEN Dan 1
CHRISTIAN Mark 1
GALLOPIN Tony 1
CIESLIK Pawel 1
CUMING Michael 1
KÖNIG Leopold 1
ARAMENDIA LLORENTE Francisco Javier 1
HAUGAARD JENSEN Kristian 1
DANIELSON Tom 1
HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis 1
GEBREMARIAM GRMAY Tsgabu 1
DEL PINO CORROCHANO Jesus 1
ARASHIRO Yukiya 1
HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus 1
BOZIC Borut 1
CAMPENAERTS Victor 1
BAYLIS Tom 1
ANDERBERG Hampus 1
BELDA GARCIA David 1
HOELGAARD Markus 1
BRANDAO Joni Silva 1
DIBBEN Jonathan 1
BENFATTO Marco 1
HOUSE Kristian 1
DE KORT Koen 1
HOWES Alex 1
GIRDLESTONE Dylan 1
HUZARSKI Bartosz 1
GODOY CENTENO Sergio Daniel 1
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat 1
GODOY Yonder Eduardo 1
CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio 1
AMEZQUETA MORENO Julen 1
CARBEL SVENDGAARD Michael 1
GONÇALVES Domingos Andre Maciel 1
JEROME Vincent 1
AREGGER Marcel 1
JIMENEZ LOZANO Carlos Anton 1
BROZYNA Piotr 1
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin 1
AHLSTRAND Jonas 1
JØRGENSEN Kasper Linde 1
DE VOS Adam 1
BIDARD François 1
GRIJALBA PEREZ Fernando 1
CERNY Josef 1
GROENEWEGEN Dylan 1
KAMP Alexander 1
GROSSSCHARTNER Felix 1
KATRASNIK Gasper 1
DE VREESE Laurens 1
BOBRIDGE Jack 1
GUARNIERI Jacopo 1
KING Benjamin 1
DE VRIES Hartthijs 1
EENKHOORN Pascal 1
GULDHAMMER Rasmus 1
BOEM Nicola 1
BERHANE TEWELDEMEDHIN Natnael 1
KOCH Jonas 1
BUTLER Christopher 1
CIMOLAI Davide 1
HANDLEY Richard 1
ENGLISH Felix 1
HANSEN Jesper 1
BACKAERT Frederik 1
DEGENKOLB John 1
CLANCY Ed 1
HARPER George 1

 

[jaylew]

1. KITTEL Marcel 132
2. BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto 121
3. PHINNEY Taylor 117
4. GERRANS Simon 116
5. MARTIN Daniel 102
6. GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 102
7. CANCELLARA Fabian 102
8. DEMARE Arnaud 97
9. VAN GARDEREN Tejay 84
10. LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel 77
11. MARTIN Tony 74
12. VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael 71
13. TALANSKY Andrew 70
14. VELITS Peter 66
15. ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David 60
16. GOSS Matthew 57
17. TEN DAM Laurens 51
18. HERKLOTZ Silvio 51
19. MEERSMAN Gianni 50
20. VERVAEKE Louis 48
21. MEZGEC Luka 46
22. FORMOLO Davide 44
23. LANGEVELD Sebastian 42
24. VANENDERT Jelle 40
25. HAIG Jack 40
26. STUYVEN Jasper 38
27. MARTINEZ Yannick 38
28. BARGUIL Warren 37
29. CORT NIELSEN Magnus 37
30. KUDUS GHEBREMEDHIN Merhawi 34
31. BOS Theo 34
32. ACEVEDO CALLE Janier Alexis 34
33. QUINTANA ROJAS Dayer Uberney 31
34. PERAUD Jean-Christophe 31

I have the entire top 11, 15 of the top 20 and the only one I wasn't considering up until the end is Goss. He's been on a steady decline for 4 straight seasons and I think he's done.

What's truly interesting is that unless I'm mistaken, you could have chosen the top 33 and had 690 points to spare .

 

[Jancouver]

I'm super happy to see Dennis is on only 2 teams and my #3 pick BONIFAZIO is only on 3 teams. We shall see if this search from unique riders will pay off.

At the same time, I was not expecting MÜHLBERGER Gregor to be on 7 teams. My only unique pick is Tyler Magner. The new sign up for United HealthCare and probably the fastest guy on the US crit series. Hopefully, they will give him a chance during the Tour of Cali because he is a real beast and will be there with the fastest Euro guys. Just mark my words

 

[jaylew]

3 uniques for me but they all cost < 10 so not likely to make much of an impact.

 

[Squire]

Re:

At the same time, I was not expecting MÜHLBERGER Gregor to be on 7 teams.

As in you think that's a lot? I thought he would be much more popular.

I have the top 14 in my team, and 17 out of the top20. Lacking Arredondo (wouldn't gamble on him having fixed his back/neck problems), Ten Dam (don't see where the points are coming from), and Meersman (good pick, but couldn't fit him in).

Surprisingly, I have some rather rare picks: Sergent (2 teams), Kreuziger (4 teams), Farrar (13 teams). Jungels (9 teams) is not very surprising, but very welcome!

I'm shocked that Nordhaug is a unique pick, he was close to being included for me.

I'm also surprised by the lack of popularity for these riders, all of whom I considered:
Kamp (1), Howes (1), Foliforov (1), Looij (2), Simon (2), Lobato (2), Petilli (3), Rybalkin (3), Verona (3), Coppel (4), Adrien Costa (6), Manzin (7), Gautier (10), Bongiorno (14)

That would also mean that I view them as the best picks among the rare ones, I guess.


Looking forward to seeing the excel sheet. Dying to see Cykeltyven's team.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

At the same time, I was not expecting MÜHLBERGER Gregor to be on 7 teams.

As in you think that's a lot? I thought he would be much more popular.

I have the top 14 in my team, and 17 out of the top20. Lacking Arredondo (wouldn't gamble on him having fixed his back/neck problems), Ten Dam (don't see where the points are coming from), and Meersman (good pick, but couldn't fit him in).

Surprisingly, I have some rather rare picks: Sergent (2 teams), Kreuziger (4 teams), Farrar (13 teams). Jungels (9 teams) is not very surprising, but very welcome!

I'm shocked that Nordhaug is a unique pick, he was close to being included for me.

I'm also surprised by the lack of popularity for these riders, all of whom I considered:
Kamp (1), Howes (1), Foliforov (1), Looij (2), Simon (2), Lobato (2), Petilli (3), Rybalkin (3), Verona (3), Coppel (4), Adrien Costa (6), Manzin (7), Gautier (10), Bongiorno (14)

That would also mean that I view them as the best picks among the rare ones, I guess.


Looking forward to seeing the excel sheet. Dying to see Cykeltyven's team.

I guess you are right about MÜHLBERGER. Perhaps I was hoping he will be completely overlooked

As per your picks, I'm jealous about Jungels as he was on my short list. As per Kreuziger, he is a real gamble IMO, but he needs a new contract so it is possible he will take advantage of his thyroid meds and will go full *** and score bunch of points.

 

[Squire]

Re: Re:

As per your picks, I'm jealous about Jungels as he was on my short list. As per Kreuziger, he is a real gamble IMO, but he needs a new contract so it is possible he will take advantage of his thyroid meds and will go full *** and score bunch of points.

I don't see why Kreuziger should be such a gamble. He's a class act, who's had the last couple of years disturbed because of the doping debacle. He will lead Tinkoff in Tirreno, Ardennes and Tour de Suisse, and has the ability to podium all of those. His 2014 season was cut off after Tour de Suisse, and in that half season, where his program was similar to 2016, he already scored more than his value for this game. Then consider he'll ride the Tour with no Giro in his legs. A repeat of the 2013 Tour is unlikely, but top ten is entirely possible. Then you have the Olympics, where he'll be leader, and can possibly podium. Any late season points will just be the icing on the cake.

The contract year is a bonus, and remember, he's not even 30 yet.


Regarding your team, among the ones with a chance of winning, I think yours is the most exciting. You'll obviously depend a lot on Dennis, who I didn't consider at all, but at a closer look, he might not be such a bad pick. His early season can definitely be improved, and you have both the Olympic and Worlds TT. I'm not sure he'll definitely be top 2 in either though, but lots of points to be had nonetheless. The critical thing about Dennis is where he'll be given his chances with Van Garderen and Porte in the team. As far as I know, not much is known about his schedule.

You have some other picks i really like, as well. Vakoc can turn out to be great, Meersman should do well, Meyer is interesting with his new team. I'm not sure Bonifazio will profit that much, and I'm also sceptical about Wippert, though there is definitely potential in both. All in all, I think your team configuration is a huge gamble, which, if things go your way, can turn out really well.

Edit: I will nominate your team as an early favourite for the green jersey competition.

 

[skidmark]

Okay, here are the teams ranked from most to least popular. This is compiled by adding the aggregate popularity score of all the riders on your team. So if you picked Kittel you get 132 points for picking him, if you picked Betancur that adds 121 to your team total, and if you picked a unique rider you get 1 point. In other words, the teams at the top have the highest aggregate popularity score (more popular riders), and the teams at the bottom have the least (more unique riders).

I'd also like to note that the least popular team has Kittel and 32 other riders who were picked by fewer than 10 teams, which I think is amazing.

1 squire 1884
2 skidmark 1879
3 Total Package 1853
4 Shawnm4747 1825
5 Martin 1800
6 minessa 1796
7 Popchu 1782
8 ansimi 1774
9 MADRAZO 1773
10 Hugo87 1770
11 jeroenk 1757
12 Blues in the bottle 1741
12 Schleckamagurky 1741
14 Hugo Koblet 1736
15 Hakkie2 1735
16 Crevaison 1726
17 search 1722
18 karaev 1721
19 CraZyCaLL 1712
20 asdfgh101 1710
21 togo95 1701
22 Lortnoc 1700
22 Ruvu75 1700
24 mc_mountain 1699
25 The_Instigator 1693
26 GP Blanco 1692
27 kabete 1691
28 PeterB 1676
28 snccdcno 1676
28 will10 1676
31 Geraint Too Fast 1664
32 LaFlorecita 1656
32 tom_jelte 1656
34 waleweter 1655
35 Kazistuta 1651
35 the asian 1651
37 ingsve 1646
38 hilltopfinisher 1645
39 abbulf 1641
40 jsem94 1639
41 shalgo 1638
42 sublimit 1615
43 Nicosix 1613
44 R_O_Shipman 1609
45 Mellow Velo 1606
46 trackstand 1602
47 LightBing 1595
48 Maaaaaaaarten 1594
49 Wallenquist 1585
50 jaylew 1580
51 Cykeltyven 1578
52 freshman 1574
53 Vesica 1573
54 the_fool_on_the_hill 1569
55 Ferminal 1562
56 del1962 1556
57 Kjellus 1552
58 RoudeLeiw 1549
59 adamski101 1538
60 uspostal 1535
61 Ruudz0r 1531
62 Tigerion 1530
63 Skibby the bush kangaroo 1529
64 Joelsim 1528
65 Jancouver 1523
66 HelgeBlendet 1519
66 nuvolablu 1519
68 Manafana 1514
69 EvansIsTheBest 1510
70 Falze 1508
71 bort 1504
72 Eric10 1500
73 greenedge 1497
74 derrudi 1492
75 18-Valve. (pithy) 1483
76 vroome.exe 1474
77 TheGreenMonkey 1472
78 StephenC2020 1464
79 Armchair cyclist 1461
80 Ludwigzgz 1455
81 fauniera 1454
82 Object 1448
83 vernakular 1447
84 simple 1443
85 torcia_86 1434
86 Jpettersen 1429
87 vladimir 1426
88 Londonpat 1414
89 comodoro 1413
90 al_pacino 1393
91 AlyKaptan 1375
92 Jakob747 1361
93 Amsterdam 1354
93 ItalianGigolo 1354
95 Jspear 1328
96 WheelsuckersPL 1327
97 Roubaix 1308
98 cineteq 1301
98 Pentacycle 1301
100 Eyeballs Out 1293
101 DJW 1280
102 just some guy 1265
103 Team_X 1264
104 postmanhat 1250
105 Sasquatch 1240
106 laarsland 1220
107 DB Coop 1209
108 LosBrolin 1164
109 JosephD 1160
110 DJ Sprtsch 1117
111 Emericlabordure 1116
112 ironted 1114
113 magnolia 1113
114 yoyokt 1092
115 cj2002 1048
116 Yellow Knight 1039
117 rote_laterne 1034
118 axis 1029
119 Gigs_98 1020
120 trotters aotearoa 1003
121 scrooll07 995
122 topprak 989
123 LaVelocipede 969
124 Brullnux 924
125 escartin 918
126 kiilike 905
127 Bicycle_Boy 901
128 Sneekes 864
129 Roar Like A Mouse 798
130 LukasCPH 787
131 barmaher 784
132 VeloRooms 692
133 Josedin 628
134 archieboy 626
135 Carlo_Algatrensig 624
136 Slapshot 614
137 tanja 598
138 ChrisDK 589
139 Trudgin 357
140 Roda_na_Frente 325
141 Leadbelly 318
142 BalearicBeats 298
143 armchairclimber 242
144 l29205 225

 

[Kjellus]

No 57 on the popular rank, here is the team that will try to defend my lucky 4th last year.

COSTA Rui Alberto Faria
VAN GARDEREN Tejay
VANMARCKE Sep
KREUZIGER Roman
MARTIN Daniel
CANCELLARA Fabian
TALANSKY Andrew
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
GERRANS Simon
SKUJINS Toms
REICHENBACH Sébastien
ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David
HAAS Nathan
PHINNEY Taylor
KITTEL Marcel
CHERNETSKIY Sergey
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
KUDUS GHEBREMEDHIN Merhawi
VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
SOLER GIMENEZ Marc
VANENDERT Jelle
HAIG Jack
ENGER Sondre Holst
WESTRA Lieuwe
PARDILLA BELLON Sergio
RUFFONI Nicola
STETINA Peter
CONTRERAS PINZON Rodrigo
VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco Jose
CAPECCHI Eros
VERVAEKE Louis
GOSS Matthew

 

[skidmark]

Re:

Okay, so I'm making my comeback this year.
I played this game for the first three years. In 2011 I was pack fodder in 40th. Next year I was 57th, but apparently I had the curious distinction of being the team with the best "worst pick", as my rider with the lowest return was Bertagnolli at 64%. I would probably have placed a lot higher if I didn't have the biggest fanboy pick of all time, Valverde at his 2009 score. Missing Boonen was also a killer.

In 2013 I had figured out how to create a good team, and after sitting in 8th place after the Worlds, I ended in a solid 12th place. The year after, I unfortunately missed the deadline by one hour, and consequently lost a bit of interest in the game.

Now in 2016 I'm very motivated and really look forward to this year's edition!

I have put a lot of effort and analysis into strategy and picking the right team. I might elaborate on this later. I'm very confident in my entry, and believe I have a fair shot at winning the whole thing. Anything less than top 5 would disappoint me!

Anyway, here's my team:

MARTIN Tony 624
VAN GARDEREN Tejay 622
KREUZIGER Roman 552
JUNGELS Bob 528
MARTIN Daniel 526
DEMARE Arnaud 464
CANCELLARA Fabian 449
BARGUIL Warren 443
TALANSKY Andrew 330
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel 297
PERAUD Jean-Christophe 281
GERRANS Simon 244
PHINNEY Taylor 174
KITTEL Marcel 164
POZZATO Filippo 162
STUYVEN Jasper 160
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 151
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto 149
VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael 143
FARRAR Tyler 138
CIOLEK Gerald 128
SERGENT Jesse 113
NAVARRO GARCIA Daniel 103
VANENDERT Jelle 102
HAIG Jack 96
KÄMNA Lennard 89
ENGER Sondre Holst 86
BAUHAUS Phil 56
HERKLOTZ Silvio 52
VERVAEKE Louis 30
MARTINEZ Yannick 25
GOSS Matthew 10
VELITS Peter 5

Okay, I've got a second to check out your team. I find it interesting that you spent so much time optimizing strategy and came up with such a similar team to me, as I know first hand how painstakingly I go over my team. I've bolded the riders we have in common, which is most of them, so I'll just comment on the ones we don't share. I'd be curious to hear you elaborate on your strategy, if you're interested.

Kreuziger - I picked him in the first two editions, and I think he could be a good pick, for the reasons you laid out in discussion with Jancouver. Didn't even think of him for the ORR, but that makes sense.

Jungels - I've also had him on my team and am a believer in his talent. His first year at EQS could go very well, and he could continue to progress in the weeklong stage races, so I see why you picked him. But that's also a deep lineup. Although I dismissed him because I thought that, but I think I was still thinking of him as a classics kinda guy, which hasn't been the bulk of his points necessarily.

Peraud - already mentioned, could be a good pick but I'm worried about his age.

Pozzato - I'd love to hear an elaboration. I guess he's cheap, and with a team with whom he'll be in favour, and he could race some more italian classics which are more his speed than the big ones? Is that what you're thinking?

Farrar & Ciolek - both were riders I considered, for sure... and then looking at their results the last few years, I drew the conclusion they were just not good sprinters anymore. But I'm not sure - I had Ciolek on until I made room for Grosu at the end... did you know Farrar & Ciolek's cost add up to Grosu's exactly? There's gotta be some kinda wager we can make on that. But actually, I'm interested in hearing your logic on these guys, maybe especially Farrar I'm curious about because he's with the same team as last year, but now with Cav.

Sargent/Navarro/Vanendert - I see what you're going for. I almost put Vanendert on my team too, until I remembered he was on my team for the same price two years ago, and made me some points for sure, but it was almost a chore to cheer for him. I tried to look around for similar priced riders that I'd be more excited to cheer for, and there were some.

Haig - totally a promising talent... I was worried he'd be buried as a neo at Greenedge, but they showed last year with Ewan that they know how to bring in someone they want to be a winner with soft races, so maybe it'll turn out well. Is that your thinking?

and then the rest are the same except for Velits. Yeah, I was kinda bored with Velits and then just got the idea that he wouldn't be a great pick. A rare moment of non-objectivity. I probably should have picked him.

 

[IKE]

my team with gesink as the big gamble
looks rest is picked over 10 times by others



GESINK Robert
VAN GARDEREN Tejay
MARTIN Daniel
DEMARE Arnaud
CANCELLARA Fabian
BARGUIL Warren
VAN BAARLE Dylan
TALANSKY Andrew
FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Ruben
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
GERRANS Simon
ARREDONDO MORENO Julian David
VICHOT Arthur
CORT NIELSEN Magnus
EIKING Odd Christian
PHINNEY Taylor
STUYVEN Jasper
KITTEL Marcel
MEZGEC Luka
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael
HOELGAARD Daniel
VANBILSEN Kenneth
ANDERSEN Asbjørn Kragh
TEN DAM Laurens
ZEPUNTKE Ruben
PETIT Adrien
LAMMERTINK Steven
HOELGAARD Markus
MARTINEZ Yannick
VELITS Peter
PELUCCHI Matteo

 

[skidmark]

Re:

Thanks for dropping by Hitch! I missed this post amidst my mad flurry of official posts and excited interpreting of people's teams. Totally makes sense you'd skip the game based on what you said... hopefully absence makes the heart grow fonder and you'll be back next year.

Thanks to those who mentioned my name and were kind enough to try and remind me of the deadline in case I had forgotten about it, La Flo, Jancouver, Squire and especially mc.

The 5th/6th January cq start date always comes around so quickly but I always enjoyed that day. More important than new years.

The reason I'm not participating this year is partly because my knowledge of cycling is poor these days. I cancelled my Eurosport subscription a few years ago as a result of that I watch far less cycling than I used to.

I have no idea who the new good young riders are and no feel for how careers are going, no instincts about who will have a bounce back season. At least at the middle and lower levels and those riders are so important in this game. I already had my worst performance last year and a year on I'd be really lost.

And that was always what this game was about for me, testing ones instincts of who will have what year next. You can't truly predict how everyone's years will go but I always thought I had a good enough feel for the future to get enough of them right to always compete. Now I'd be shooting blind or at least one eyed.

I know that its very possible to string together a team even if one doesn't know all the riders, its still fun making the numbers fit, trying to get to 7500.

On a deeper level though, I also thought it was a good sacrifice for me personally to give up the game for a year. Kind of like how people give up something for Lent. Difficult to describe, and it might sound crazy but in my life I believe in the cleansing nature of making little sacrifices like this once in a while so I decided a few weeks ago to give this one a miss and am at peace with that decision.

This is still by far the best sports fantasy game i've ever come accross. I'm still interested to see how it goes, will be rooting for some teams and probably comment as well. Good luck everyone.

 

[skidmark]

Okay folks, here's the full spreadsheet: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6jdy3rlslop2s0s/CQ%202016%20full%20144%20%20teams.xlsx?dl=0

I didn't get all the tabs cleaned up, there is still some work to do on the weekly and monthly scores tab, but that doesn't matter until the update, for now you can see teams. With that, I'm going to bed, it's after 1 AM here so I'll catch up with you all soon.

 

[greenedge]

What I meant with risk-averse is that instead of the Formolos and Grosus, I have a stronger preference for seasoned campaigners who have a proven ability to score points, and have no reason not to be back to their best. Like Dani Navarro, Gerald Ciolek (why isn't he more popular? Same with Farrar. Worlds, anyone?).

But then again, your Chavanel pick against my Jungels pick sort of contradicts me, although I have very good reasons for that one.

I can fully understand your CQ burnout

He was the first rider I placed down on my final narrowing down of a team because of that performance (his pedalling style was so fluid), and then I dropped him just before the end.

I just started looking at the list of most popular riders, and I'm noticing that a few of the riders who have only been picked once were ones I was close to including. Some include Valls, Lawless, De Vries, Howson and Miles Scotson, riders that I thought would be more popular and ones that I would definitely include right now into my team to be more unique.

 

[Squire]

What I meant with risk-averse is that instead of the Formolos and Grosus, I have a stronger preference for seasoned campaigners who have a proven ability to score points, and have no reason not to be back to their best. Like Dani Navarro, Gerald Ciolek (why isn't he more popular? Same with Farrar. Worlds, anyone?).

But then again, your Chavanel pick against my Jungels pick sort of contradicts me, although I have very good reasons for that one.

I can fully understand your CQ burnout

He was the first rider I placed down on my final narrowing down of a team because of that performance (his pedalling style was so fluid), and then I dropped him just before the end.

Haha, I actually meant the Qatar worlds, where Farrar is the only American hope (not sure Phinney will be totally ready). But yeah, Richmond was a factor in me picking Farrar, too. Will say more in my answer to skidmark. But first I'm gonna have a look at the spreadsheet and see what Cykeltyven with his 51st most popular team is up to.

 

[greenedge]

Oh, that also makes sense for Qatar...!

 

[Karaev1]

My team:

VUILLERMOZ Alexis
GESINK Robert
MARTIN Tony
VAN GARDEREN Tejay
MARTIN Daniel
DEMARE Arnaud
CANCELLARA Fabian
BENNETT Sam
VAN ASBROECK Tom
FEDI Andrea
GERRANS Simon
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
PHINNEY Taylor
KITTEL Marcel
WIPPERT Wouter
VAN ROOY Kenneth
PETIT Adrien
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael
CIOLEK Gerald
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
DEHAES Kenny
CORT NIELSEN Magnus
ACEVEDO CALLE Janier Alexis
Langeveld Sebastian
HERKLOTZ Silvio
CATTANEO Mattia
QUINtANA ROJAS Dayer Uberney
CICCONE Giulio
VERVAEKE Louis
MARTINEZ Yannick
VELITS Peter
BOS Theo

After my 14th place last year I would be very happy to reach the top 10. For that I clearly need my 2 top picks GESINK Robert and VUILLERMOZ Alexis to compete at a high level. In my opinion they can both score good at the Olympics( Vuillermoz actually won a race in Brazil last year), both can get some results in the Ardennes and Lombardia and they can also be good in the Tour de France.

I'm actually surprised only 5 guys took Gesink considering his talent and the fact that he had a really slow start in 2015. Also Vuillermoz was only picked by 8 guys so if he can get some wins or podium in Tour stages, the hilly classics or RIO he might make a huge difference.

The next guys in my team are: MARTIN Tony, VAN GARDEREN Tejay, MARTIN Daniel.DEMARE Arnaud and CANCELLARA Fabian. For me they were really obvious picks considering they can all get 1000+ points without doing something amazing.

The next 3 guys in my team are all fast guys that can score in classics too. BENNETT Sam ,VAN ASBROECK Tom and FEDI Andrea could all get around 500 points or more in my opinion. Really excited about Fedi who is only in other 3 teams considering he will be one of the best Southeast man this year and could score in a lot of Italian 1 day races.