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The 2018 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

Page 9 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Sep 28, 2011
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As always, trying a slightly different approach and my goal along with the main game is the green jersey so I was trying for a few of those obvious picks but also some more unique picks.

Good luck to all.

GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 1268
DENNIS Rohan 884
EWAN Caleb 722
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 505
SOLER GIMENEZ Marc 472
OOMEN Sam 471
VAKOC Petr 439
MÜHLBERGER Gregor 297
POLITT Nils 279
CAVENDISH Mark 257
SCHACHMANN Maximilian 221
COQUARD Bryan 220
POWLESS Neilson 216
BRAMBILLA Gianluca 195
SIVAKOV Pavel 142
NARVAEZ PRADO Jhonatan Manuel 120
VERVAEKE Louis 119
RIABUSHENKO Aliaksandr 96
GASPAROTTO Enrico 93
MARTINELLI Davide 80
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas 77
NIZZOLO Giacomo 66
HAUSSLER Heinrich 60
KANGERT Tanel 58
VAN STAEYEN Michael 56
HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose 26
MOSER Moreno 25
CRADDOCK Lawson 15
KÖNIG Leopold 10
BASSO Leonardo 6
MOSTOV Zeke 1
CASTRILLO ZAPATER Jaime 0
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat 0
 
Ok, here's my team. I have a mix of a lot of nationalities. My team also includes several of my favorite riders and of course my favorite who I can't leave off a team. No idea how good it will as this is my first attempt at this. Good luck to all.

VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro 1828
ROSON GARCIA Jaime 523
STYBAR Zdenck 503
SOLER GIMENEZ Marc 472
TERPSTRA Niki 417
BETTIOL Alberto 354
SÜTTERLIN Jasha 263
CAVENDISH Mark 257
CUMMINGS Stephen 227
AMADOR BIKKAZAKOVA Andrey 231
SCHACHMANN Maximilian 221
MORTON Lachlan 217
FORMOLO Davide 217
POWLESS Neilson 216
DOULL Owain 196
BRAMBILLA Gianluca 195
O'CONNOR Ben 178
TAARAMÄE Rein 175
CUNEGO Damiano 163
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto 159
CARTHYY Hugh 129
FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Ruben 115
OWEN Logan 91
MAS BONET Lluis Guillermo 57
MADOUAS Valentin 33
HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose 26
CRADDOCK Lawson 15
SEIGLE Roain 15
TARTIE Pierre 2
SEVILLE LOPEZ Diego Pablo 1
CASTRILLO ZAPATER Jaime 0
SAMITIER SAMITIER Sergio 0
HEINSCHKE Leon 0
 
Jan 5, 2013
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After seeing the first few teams, I'm already happy I don't seem to have forgotten an obvious pick this time!
As always, not only excited about this team from a game-POV, but also from a cheering-POV. Curious to see the spreadsheet and analysis.

QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
STYBAR Zdenek
LATOUR Pierre
VAKOC Petr
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin
VAN POPPEL Danny
CAVENDISH Mark
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
REICHENBACH Sébastien
COQUARD Bryan
FORMOLO Davide
BRAMBILLA Gianluca
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
KENNAUGH Peter
STANNARD Ian
ACKERMANN Pascal
NIZZOLO Giacomo
HAUSSLER Heinrich
DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd
KANGERT Tanel
DE BIE Sean
VANDENBERGH Stijn
PHINNEY Taylor
COSTA Adrien
MOSER Moreno
CRADDOCK Lawson
KÖNIG Leopold
FOURNIER Marc
ENGER Sondre Holst
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat
 
Dec 31, 2017
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Re:

Netserk said:
No faith in Antunes so far?! :(
I was realy close to choose him but the 300 points he score last season was to expenisve and I took him out of my team in the last minutes, although if he becomes the sole leader of CCC he can make some remarkable season and score serious points.
Anyway I hope he makes that big jump now with the pros and hope to see him in WT really soon
 
Re:

Valv.Piti said:
I went for a pretty top heavy team (I think) where I was able to fit a lot of my favourites in. I hope to place somewhere in the middle of the pack as I am not experienced at all with picking a team like this and probably have missed some pretty obvious picks! On top of that I was pretty late, but whatever. Good luck to everybody, I am very much looking forward to seeing how this game will develop. The 3 most common nations on my team are not unexpectedly Spain with 9 riders, Colombia with 6 and Italy with 5.

VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro 1828
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 1268
IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Ion 904
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel 629
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 505
MAS NICOLAU Enric 285
CAVENDISH Mark 257
COQUARD Bryan 220
FORMOLO Davide 217
BRAMBILLA Gianluca 195
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto 157
JAKOBSEN Fabio 118
FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Ruben 115
BRESCHEL Matti 101
PREIDLER Georg 91
MORENO BAZAN Javier 89
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas 77
NIZZOLO Giacomo 66
PEDRERO LOPEZ Antonio 63
HAUSSLER Heinrich 60
KANGERT Tanel 58
MOSER Moreno 45
GANNA Filippo 42
PHINNEY Taylor 36
HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose 26
KÖNIG Leopold 10
DUARTE AREVALO Fabio Andres 9
SESSLER Nicolas Mariotto 8
SAMITIER SAMITIER Sergio 0
CASTRILLO ZAPATER Jaime 0
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat 0
EGHOLM Jakob 0
BOUHANNI Rayane 0
Absolutely loving this!

You will probably not win, but your team will be fun to cheer for.

Just one thing... Where's Barcelo? :eek: You could also have chucked in Cristian Rodriguez, who I think will do well for Caja. Aranburu too. And Brandao!

Some of the picks in the range 101-36 points are not too inspiring, I think. Low points ceilings for a lot of those guys.
 
Re:

Armchair cyclist said:
So, who are going to be the most popular picks?

Nizzolo, Cavendish, Moser, Craddock, Konig, Intxausti seem to me the most obvious: who else might be on 50% + of teams

Coquard, Brambilla and Esteban Chaves must have been 100% sure on almost all teams, and I think M. A. Lopez, Halvorsen, Enger, Kangert and Danny Van Poppel must also be very high in the popularity besides those mentioned.
 
Jan 5, 2013
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Re: Re:

MADRAZO said:
Armchair cyclist said:
So, who are going to be the most popular picks?

Nizzolo, Cavendish, Moser, Craddock, Konig, Intxausti seem to me the most obvious: who else might be on 50% + of teams

Coquard, Brambilla and Esteban Chaves must have been 100% sure on almost all teams, and I think M. A. Lopez, Halvorsen, Enger, Kangert and Danny Van Poppel must also be very high in the popularity besides those mentioned.

I'm not too convinced about the opportunities he'll get and I think next year is too early for him, but I'd love to be proven wrong this time.
 
If Lopez stays on his bike, I'm in trouble. :redface:

BARDET Romain
ALAPHILIPPE Julian
MOSCON Gianni
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh
OOMEN Sam
TERPSTRA Niki
GAUDU David
MAS NICOLAU Enric
CAVENDISH Mark
COQUARD Bryan
TAARAMÄE Rein
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
TURGIS Anthony
FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Ruben
VAN SCHIP Jan-Willem
MORENO BAZAN Javier
SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro
MAMYKIN Matvey
NIZZOLO Giacomo
KANGERT Tanel
DE BIE Sean
WELTEN Bram
PEREZ MUÑOZ Wilmar Jair
ALBANESE Vincenzo
EYOB Metkel
MENTEN Milan
BARCELO ARAGON Fernando
KÖNIG Leopold
DUARTE AREVALO Fabio Andres
ENGER Sondre Holst
EVRARD Laurent

Hopefully a couple of unique picks in there.
 
Re: Re:

MADRAZO said:
Armchair cyclist said:
So, who are going to be the most popular picks?

Nizzolo, Cavendish, Moser, Craddock, Konig, Intxausti seem to me the most obvious: who else might be on 50% + of teams

Coquard, Brambilla and Esteban Chaves must have been 100% sure on almost all teams, and I think M. A. Lopez, Halvorsen, Enger, Kangert and Danny Van Poppel must also be very high in the popularity besides those mentioned.

Betancur and Fernandez also appear to be fairly popular picks.
 
My bunch:
SAGAN Peter
POELS Wout
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson
BETTIOL Alberto
ROWE Luke
CAVENDISH Mark
COQUARD Bryan
LAMBRECHT Bjorg
FORMOLO Davide
PEDERSEN Casper Phillip
VLIEGEN Loïc
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
KENNAUGH Peter
CARTHY Hugh
VERVAEKE Louis
JAKOBSEN Fabio
RIABUSHENKO Aliaksandr
MAIKIN Roman
MARTINELLI Davide
WALLAYS Jelle
CRAS Steff
BOHLI Tom
NIZZOLO Giacomo
KANGERT Tanel
KOCHETKOV Pavel
VANDENBERGH Stijn
HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose
PER David
CRADDOCK Lawson
KÖNIG Leopold
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat

I had toyed with teams based around Nibali and Porte, but wasn't sufficiently confident that either of those would be the beneficiary of Froome's likely absence. I thought that Sagan, for all he scored (and is priced) high, cannot have a worse Tour, that he is unlikely to be up against such a Van Avermaet again, and that there were races where he just gave up the ghost this year.

Poels is likely to be a more direct beneficiary of the Froome situation, and I trust him more than Thomas to not mess up the chance: he missed most of the first half of the year, and so could take Ardennes points as he did in 2016. My other relatively expensive picks are a Pantano who no longer has to be at the service of Contador, and Chaves who I am sure will be popular, and can't fail so spectacularly in the GTs again.

Other than that, a spreadsheet comparing 2016 and 2015 points to the 2017 cost was my main tool for identifying picks, although it did seem to give me too many sprinters, and a rather mature team.

My best bet for a unique pick is probably Maikin or Per, and my "why did I pick him?" thoughts at the moment revolve around Bohli, but I may ask myself that about many of them over the next 12 months.
 
Re: Re:

MADRAZO said:
Armchair cyclist said:
So, who are going to be the most popular picks?

Nizzolo, Cavendish, Moser, Craddock, Konig, Intxausti seem to me the most obvious: who else might be on 50% + of teams

Coquard, Brambilla and Esteban Chaves must have been 100% sure on almost all teams, and I think M. A. Lopez, Halvorsen, Enger, Kangert and Danny Van Poppel must also be very high in the popularity besides those mentioned.
I don't believe Brambilla is necessarily a must-have. He's the only one of these I didn't pick. His annus mirabilis won't happen again. Everything went his way in terms of point scoring that year. I think his other top years of 300+ points is a more accurate picture of his ceiling. If you completely disagree, I can elaborate more.

As for Halvorsen, he won't lack opportunities. In an interview, he was actually almost worried that he'd have too many opportunities. Riding smaller, flat races will be ideal for his point scoring.
 
Jan 5, 2013
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Didn't read that interview, I quickly dismissed him because I assumed his first year would be learning how to ride again in the good old Sky machine. If he indeed gets the opportunity to lead in smaller races it might turn out sour pointwise.
 
Mar 14, 2009
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Once again, a little bit of creativity plus many fan/heart picks.

SAGAN Peter 2296
Obvious fan pick but he had some bad luck last year during the classics and was kicked out of the TDF. He is very consistent and while still risky, he was at one point close to 4000 rolling points.

JUNGELS Bob 784
I picked Jungels over Angel Lopez as he was just a slightly more expensive and IMO has a better upside due to his TT and GC ambitions. Should be somewhat unique and I will keep watching his points vs Lopez

CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 505
Obvious Pick

MCLAY Daniel 304
He got some speed but I was not sure about him because Cannondale riders are usually underperforming but at the end, I picked him too just because he may be a not so common pick

VAN POPPEL Danny 287
Same as above, he got some speed and doubling his points should be doable

BONIFAZIO Niccolo 276
Not sure why, but I keep adding this guy year after year and I'm hoping that even a broken clock can be right once in a while.

CAVENDISH Mark 257
Obvious Pick

RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan 236
I was really impressed by his last year performance during the Australian season and also thought that he may be somewhat unique

COQUARD Bryan 220
Obvious Pick

KÄMNA Lennard 220
He can TT so he got a big German engine. Should be somewhat unique.

FORMOLO Davide 217
Obvious Pick

MORTON Lachlan 217
He can climb and had some bad luck. My dark horse for one week GC races. Should have half of his points back after the TDU?

ROSA Diego 209
Obvious Pick

VLIEGEN Loïc 179
Still young and should be able to double his points

WÜRTZ SCHMIDT Mads 160
Junior TT champ, classic guy. Now that Kristoff is gone, he should get more opportunities at Katusha

HALVORSEN Kristoffer 151
Young guy with some speed. No wonder SKY picked him up. Should be popular, perhaps even an obvious Pick

SCHLEGEL Michal 147
He can climb, still young. Now that Jan Hirt is gone, he should be the GC leader for CCC. Hopefully, somewhat unique pick and I picked him over that infamous fat Colombian climber.

STANNARD Ian 135
Obvious Pick

JAKOBSEN Fabio 118
A young sprinter on QuickStep team. They know how to win and will back him up even in those smaller races that Gaviria and Viviani are not riding.

NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas 77
Obvious Pick

NIZZOLO Giacomo 66
Obvious Pick

HAUSSLER Heinrich 60
Obvious Pick

KANGERT Tanel 58
Obvious Pick

DE BIE Sean 57
Obvious Pick

DANIEL Gregory 46
Had some bad luck last year. I like his aggressive style and should be somewhat unique

BARTA William 37
Local boy - heck, he was pushing 6kw/kg per hour since he was 15. Go BYRDS. Go Axeon!

PHINNEY Taylor 36
Obvious Pick

MCNULTY Brandon 35
Local boy and Junior TT champ who had some bad luck last year. No brainer.

FABBRO Matteo 30
He is young and he can climb. If he can keep the bike upright, he should be able to score some points.

MOSER Moreno 25
Obvious Pick

COSTA Adrien 27
Took some time off last year but still an obvious pick with too much upside not to have him. Gee, I even had him on my team last year at much higher cost so I would stupid not to put him back.

KÖNIG Leopold 10
Obvious Pick

INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat 0
Obvious Pick

Total: 7482
 
Re:

My team:
ALAPHILIPPE Julian 1011
THOMAS Geraint 810
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel 629
VANMARCKE Sep 602
LATOUR Pierre 453
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson 436
BETTIOL Alberto 354
VAN BAARLE Dylan 347


I feel like Vanmarcke and Pantano should be picked just because they'll have recovered from crashes/ b able to ride for themselves. Alaphilippe I think can podium at the World's RR and should have a season uninteruppted by injuries. Thomas I think will lead Team Sky at the TDF (even if Froome is allowed to race) and Lopez ensures I get some GC points from the Giro. Bettiol is a risk (with GVA having the ability to perform at the same races he does) but one I hope that pays off with some experienced riders around him. Van Baarle should be one of the leaders at Sky for the Classics and I expect him to go well at Eneco/Britain.

(Random order after this)
SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro 72
KUZNETSOV Vyacheslav 137
VAN ROOY Kenneth 15
DE BIE Sean 57
KENNAUGH Peter 137
NIZZOLO Giacomo 66
BRAMBILLA Gianluca 195
SEPULVEDA Eduardo 174
CANTY Brendan 102
TURGIS Anthony 131
HALVORSEN Kristoffer 151
CAVENDISH Mark 257
COQUARD Bryan 220
MAIKIN Roman 88
MALUCELLI Matteo 91
KOROSEC Rok 83
VAN POPPEL Danny 287
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan 165
HAGEN Krister 138
KRON Andreas Lorentz 25
VANHOUCKE Harm 73
MCNULTY Brandon 35
WOUTERS Enzo 16
SMITH Dion 138

Hopefully these riders can perform well, I could have picked a few more Italian riders but hope that Coquard, Cavendish and Halvorssen pick up a lot of points and the rest is just a mix of young riders and ones who should improve.

I felt bad to not have a few of the following riders: Wippert, Guardini, Ciccone, Enger (should have picked him as a 0 point rider to round out the team but was rushing to get it in on time and had to cut Robert Stannard at the last second to get under budget),A.Costa, Edmondson, Stannard, Mas, Devriendt, Cummings and probably a million more (especially the Aussies).

My main riders that I played around with including were Barguil (who lost more point scoring potential by not being in the Vuelta, with a change in his schedule being unthinkable this year), Felline, Chaves, Bardet, and Jungels. Oddly enough I didn't think of Richie Porte that much as a rider to have, even though he could go really well. Maybe it was because he was my core rider from last year. With Moscon I just thought there was too much uncertainty around whether he'd ride a full season.

Best of luck to everyone!
 
Team Flo, as usual quite a few on my team are personal favorites. Without having to include Berto I could include some more riders in the 300-800 points range. I hope some of them will be quite rare.

FELLINE Fabio
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
OOMEN Sam
LATOUR Pierre
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson
TERPSTRA Niki
BETTIOL Alberto
GAUDU David
SENECHAL Florian
MAS NICOLAU Enric
CAVENDISH Mark
COQUARD Bryan
FORMOLO Davide
MARTINEZ POVEDA Daniel Felipe
ROSA Diego
BRAMBILLA Gianluca
MINALI Riccardo
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
KENNAUGH Peter
TURGIS Anthony
JAKOBSEN Fabio
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
MAMYKIN Matvey
NIZZOLO Giacomo
CONCI Nicola
KANGERT Tanel
GUARDINI Andrea
CAPIOT Amaury
ALBANESE Vincenzo
MOSER Moreno
KÖNIG Leopold
ENGER Sondre Holst
 
Anyone interested in a TOP HEAVY team?

I got a little bit too extreme but it's gonna be fun to follow, a lot of popular riders but a different team on the concept.

SAGAN Peter
QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander
ALAPHILIPPE Julian
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
CAVENDISH Mark
COQUARD Bryan
JAKOBSEN Fabio
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
CARBEL SVENDGAARD Michael
MENDES Jose Joao Pimenta Costa
NIZZOLO Giacomo
HAUSSLER Heinrich
CONCI Nicola
DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd
KANGERT Tanel
DE BIE Sean
WAEYTENS Zico
VANDENBERGH Stijn
GUARDINI Andrea
CAPIOT Amaury
ALBANESE Vincenzo
COSTA Adrien
DAVIES Scott
HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose
BOECKMANS Kris
CRADDOCK Lawson
OLIVEIRA Ivo Emanuel Alves
OLIVEIRA Rui Filipe Alves
BARBIER Pierre
CHAVES RUBIO Brayan
PIDCOCK Thomas
ENGER Sondre Holst
 
Re: Re:

greenedge said:
Bettiol is a risk (with GVA having the ability to perform at the same races he does) but one I hope that pays off with some experienced riders around him.
I have the same thoughts about Bettiol. I picked him mainly because I like him, but somehow I also feel more confident in BMC than Cannondale. GVA could be an issue, of course. Let's see.
 
Re: Re:

Squire said:
MADRAZO said:
Armchair cyclist said:
So, who are going to be the most popular picks?

Nizzolo, Cavendish, Moser, Craddock, Konig, Intxausti seem to me the most obvious: who else might be on 50% + of teams

Coquard, Brambilla and Esteban Chaves must have been 100% sure on almost all teams, and I think M. A. Lopez, Halvorsen, Enger, Kangert and Danny Van Poppel must also be very high in the popularity besides those mentioned.
I don't believe Brambilla is necessarily a must-have. He's the only one of these I didn't pick. His annus mirabilis won't happen again. Everything went his way in terms of point scoring that year. I think his other top years of 300+ points is a more accurate picture of his ceiling. If you completely disagree, I can elaborate more.

As for Halvorsen, he won't lack opportunities. In an interview, he was actually almost worried that he'd have too many opportunities. Riding smaller, flat races will be ideal for his point scoring.
I don't expect Brambilla to score 900 again, but I think 400-500 is a real possibility. He will lead the Giro for Trek and will have plenty of other possibilities.
 
ALAPHILIPPE Julian (1011):
For the first time ever (as far as I recall) have I picked a rider above 1000 point. Alaphilippe reeks of class, and he has the potential to double his score. He has a skill set like Valverde, might still improve his climbing, and which cycling fan doesn’t like his racing prowess? If I ever was to risk a thousand-pointer, “Balaphilippe” is a good choice.
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel (629):
Okay, Superman Lopez might not be the perfect nickname considering his tendency to crash and injure himself, but his talent is undeniable. If he puts together a complete season, he has the potential to reach 1500.
VANMARCKE Sep (602):
I needed an outsider for my favorite races, the cobbled ones. Was injured some of the spring last year, is strong as an ox and has a fast finish as well. Is competitive in a variety of races all year. His potential lies around 1000 point.
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban (505):
Missed a lot of his major goals last year and like his countryman Lopez will be my GT go-to-guys. It seems like they’ll line up in the same Grand Tours, but also Chavez has the potential to reach 1500 if everything aligns.
LATOUR Pierre (453):
This pick was a hard one to make. Latour looks very promising, but might need a couple more years to fully reach his potential. Is likely to be the undisputed leader in many races and his time trial skills will give him more options than Bardet. Potential around 700, but I’ll gladly take a 1000 point season this soon.
HAIG Jack (395):
Again a choice made with “cycling fan blindfold” on. Haig looked impressive on several occasions last year, but I’m not sure if there’s too many GC riders on Mitchelton-Scott to allow him enough personal wiggle room. His class will prevail, though. Potential 700 points.
VENTURINI Clément (356):
A bit of a wild card. Venturini is still new to the road scene, but he should be the fastest guy on Ag2r and will no doubt fare even better on the cobbles in 2018. Exciting prospect with unknown potential, my guess is in the 800 area.
GAUDU David (352):
Count me in on the Gaudu hype train! What an entrance to the pro scene, and already he established himself as one of the leaders on FDJ. Opportunistic and young, the arrow only points upwards. Might not get a buttload of points this season, but 500 should be easily done.
VAN POPPEL Danny (287):
Way better than his results on Sky tells. Now he’s back in native settings and will play second fiddle to Groenewegen, but will get plenty of chances for himself. Potential is 800-ish.
MAS NICOLAU Enric (285):
Yet another impressive youngster from last year. Maybe I’ve gone overboard this year with guys that need a little more time to shine properly? Regardless, Mas is already showing why Contador speaks so highly of him, and QuickStep isn’t particularly loaded with mountain talents, so will get enough opportunities. Potential 600+ points.
CAVENDISH Mark (257):
An absolute no-brainer. Cavendish should be on every team except where he was forgotten. Very unlucky 2017, potential easily 1000 points.
DE PLUS Laurens (239):
A beast of a powerhouse. De Plus impressed me with massive power outputs several times in 2017. When that translates to results, it’s gonna make a splash. Hopefully in 2018. Like with Mas he should have plenty of opportunities on QuickStep. Potential 500+ points.
VERMOTE Julien (226):
My last pick and a real curveball. I wanted to rearrange to fit Moser and had to remove Reichenbach. Initially I looked at Cummings and Roelandts to replace him, but decided both has some risk involved (age and role). Vermote switched teams with a desire to try his own luck, which he’ll get, and we all know his engine. A boring pick which hopefully won’t come back to haunt me. (Hopeful) Potential 500 points.
COQUARD Bryan (220):
Another quality sprinter with a lost 2017? Check! Let’s see if they get a tour wild card, but there’s enough “easy” French 1.1 races to give him a 1000 point season to smack in the face of Bernaudeau.
FORMOLO Davide (217):
His actual potential is actually higher than his all-time CQ scores indicate – at least I think so. Have had some bad luck on the brink of breaking through, so why not let 2018 be the year? Potential 700 points.
BRAMBILLA Gianluca (195):
When I come to think of it, it seems I have a lot of riders competing against eachother on the roads of Italy in May. I really didn’t pay attention to Brambillas statements about going for the GC, since I rate him higher as a single stage racer. Should be able to easily outscore his 2017 score. Potential 600 points.
WÜRTZ SCHMIDT Mads (160):
My sole countryman got some decent results last year and hopes to race the Giro and reap the benefits of a completed grand tour the rest of the season. He’s fast and has got the time trial skills to top5 in minor stage races without climbing involved. Potential 400 points.
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto (159):
Okay, I don’t know what is up with me and my Betancur mancrush. I just can’t seem to let him go. At least this year he looks slimmer and according to himself he’s aiming to be the fourth leader on Movistar. I saw enough of the old Bananito in 2017 to get in on the high-risk-high-reward Colombian. Potential 700 points.
HALVORSEN Kristoffer (151):
Usually I steer clear of Neo-pros on Sky, but Halvorsen will be their primary sprinter for so many races that his actual point potential is the greatest of any Neo this year. Will he be able to cope without a real lead-out train, that’s the big question? Potential 500 points.
KENNAUGH Peter (137):
Well, this is my second-most boring pick. Kennaugh really doesn’t rock my boat, but if his own words are to be taken seriously, he will compete for top5-10 placings in weeklong stage races along the year, making him a safe, but indeed boring pick. Potential 400 points.
VERVAEKE Louis (119):
A great young Belgian climber with a surprising team switch. Maybe he’s stuck doing domestique work in the service of Major Tom, but the potential is there without a doubt. Potential 300+ points.
FERNANDEZ ANDUJAR Ruben (115):
It’s a Movistar mess – which of the solid, mountain doms will get their “easy“ wins in the smaller Spanish races? Fernandez had a bad 2017, so hopefully he’s back on track this year. Potential 400 points.
JONES Brenton (96):
A well-known secret to success in CQ yearly games is getting a sprinter for the French one-day races. I couldn’t find one last year, so I compensated by choosing four this year. Coquard will be chosen by a majority of teams, but hopefully Brenton Jones will be a much rarer pick. He will be Delkos lead sprinter, and it would serve him right to kick of the year in style in Gabon. Potential 500 points.
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas (77):
Was hampered by a serious injury for the majority of 2017 and is now back. Will be competitive in a variety of races all year. Potential 500 points.
NIZZOLO Giacomo (66):
Oh, there was another one of those? If people scan CQ rankings decently before picking their team, Nizzolo should be the top pick of 2018. Potential 1000 points.
KANGERT Tanel (58):
A nasty crash destroyed most of his season, but he is as steady as they come. With no Aru there should be more room for Kangerts personal ambitions, and he usually is ready to take over, when the chance is there. Potential 400 points.
WELTEN Bram (56):
My third “French team sprinter” choice. Not as flashy as Halvorsen, Jakobsen and Philipsen, but Neo-pro Welten might have the best racing calendar of those four CQ point wise. Both Welten and fellow Neo Carbel should get their chances this year. Potential 300 points.
CAPIOT Amaury (32):
I don’t really recall if it was injury or sickness that sidelined Capiot most of the year, but regardless he’s a big “bounce-back” candidate. And yes, he is the mandatory Sport Vlaanderen rider! Potential 500 points.
MOSER Moreno (25):
As stated earlier, I suddenly in the last minute decided to make room for the ever-so-green Moser, replacing Franklin Six, nephew of the late Frank Vandenbroucke. To be honest I’ve given up on him, but after reading a statement from Astana hoping to revive his career I dug a bit deeper. For instance I hadn’t heard that Moser was hampered by a virus for quite some time. I still remember the Moser from Strade Bianchi 2013, and if he’s ever to get back, I’d like to be on board. Potential 400 points.
KÖNIG Leopold (10):
After knee issues destroyed his first season at Bora, König should now be ready to pay back their trust in him. If people haven’t forgotten about him, he should be on almost every team like Cavendish and Nizzolo. Potential 700 points.
BARBIER Pierre (6):
A rare pick likely and kind of a left field decision. A Neo-pro, sprinter, younger brother of Rudy Barbier, who gathered quite some points in the French races. I’m hoping Pierre is picking up the slack quickly, but might need a year or two more. Potential 100+ points.
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat (0):
Oh my, didn’t know Mono could strike that bad. Now he finally should be back for real, and even though it might be primarily for dom work, it’s easy to see him reach 200 points taking that role.
ENGER Sondre Holst (0):
The lost Norwegian talent was off my radar until late December, and if the language barrier was the main problem for Sondre, he should thrive at the English-speaking ICA team. How well that translates into CQ points remains to be seen, but like with Intxausti there’s easily room for a 200+ season.

Always interesting to see if there's any riders I missed, aiming for another top10 placing. Good luck to everyone this season (just a tad less luck than me, of course :D )
 
Re:

LaFlorecita said:
Team Flo, as usual quite a few on my team are personal favorites. Without having to include Berto I could include some more riders in the 300-800 points range. I hope some of them will be quite rare.

FELLINE Fabio
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
OOMEN Sam
LATOUR Pierre
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson
TERPSTRA Niki
BETTIOL Alberto
GAUDU David
SENECHAL Florian
MAS NICOLAU Enric
CAVENDISH Mark
COQUARD Bryan
FORMOLO Davide
MARTINEZ POVEDA Daniel Felipe
ROSA Diego
BRAMBILLA Gianluca
MINALI Riccardo
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
KENNAUGH Peter
TURGIS Anthony
JAKOBSEN Fabio
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
MAMYKIN Matvey
NIZZOLO Giacomo
CONCI Nicola
KANGERT Tanel
GUARDINI Andrea
CAPIOT Amaury
ALBANESE Vincenzo
MOSER Moreno
KÖNIG Leopold
ENGER Sondre Holst

I guessed 29 of your 33 riders correctly based on that post from you a couple of days ago.
 
Comments on a few of my perhaps more popular "leave-outs":

Moscon:
Immensively talented, but the Reichenbach accusations/trial looming nearby, I decided he wasn't worth the risk.

Haussler:
There's only room for some cheap riders. He will mostly ride in service of Colbrelli, and even though he's likely to surpass his 2017 total, a Paris-Roubaix leadership is not enough to sell me, considering his injury past.

De Bie:
I totally missed that he switched to a smaller team, so admittedly I didn't even consider him. Probably coming back to haunt me.

Bettiol:
A rider I really wanted to include, but he might be serving (and learning from) GVA a lot next year. I hope.....

Craddock:
I lost my faith in him,as simple is that. Didn't even consider him this year.
 
VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
SENNI Manuel
VENTURINI Clément
GAUDU David
WIPPERT Wouter
LOBATO DEL VALLE Juan Jose
CAVENDISH Mark
RESTREPO VALENCIA Jhonatan
COQUARD Bryan
FORMOLO Davide
REBELLIN Davide
COSNEFROY Benoit
WALSCHEID Maximilian
SBARAGLI Kristian
BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
PONZI Simone
JAKOBSEN Fabio
MORENO BAZAN Javier
STENUIT Robin
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
CARBEL SVENDGAARD Michael
REGUIGUI Youcef
NIZZOLO Giacomo
DE BIE Sean
GUARDINI Andrea
BILLE Gaëtan
CAPIOT Amaury
ALBANESE Vincenzo
KÖNIG Leopold
ENGER Sondre Holst
 
VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro
He was injured for half of last year. I believe he'll be back to his best. If he stays upright for the whole year, he'll be one of the highest scorers.

KÖNIG Leopold
CAVENDISH Mark
COQUARD Bryan
NIZZOLO Giacomo

Really cheap....should do WAY better this year. Everyone will have these riders, so these sorta just help with staying somewhat competitive.

CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel
PORTE Richie

These guys have the potential to do WAY better then they did last year. Hoping they stay injury free

FORMOLO Davide
DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd
CARTHY Hugh
FIRSANOV Sergey
ANACONA GOMEZ Winner Andrew
GASPAROTTO Enrico
VAKOC Petr
EIKING Odd Christian
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
HAUSSLER Heinrich
DAVIES Scott
BILLE Gaëtan
DEBUSSCHERE Jens
VAN POPPEL Danny
GUARDINI Andrea


I'm expecting a decent amount from these riders. Obviously a few of them could dissapoint, but overall I feel they should definitely do better than they did last year.

BJERG Mikkel
PHILIPSEN Jasper
OWEN Logan
COSTA Adrien
CRADDOCK Lawson

My group of youngsters...maybe they aren't very good picks, but their riders I've been following...hopefully they can do a little something....

FEILLU Romain
DEVOLDER Stijn
RENSHAW Mark
VANDENBERGH Stijn
SILVA Paulo Renato Pereira

These are my riders where I can give you no good reason as to why I picked them, other than, I was rushed.

I'm sure I'll have more regrets as the days go by, but for now - the one big name I realize I forgot is INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat. I COMPLETELY missed this rider. I wasn't able to find the zero pointers this year on the CQ website...Still, I didn't think of him on my own, and I should have.
 
Does anyone else look at other teams and see the young talent, that they've picked in the last couple of years but forsaken this time, on other people's teams and feel like they might seeing an ex-girlfriend with someone else? So many of those this year .... Bohli, Politt, Frankiny, Restrepo, Formolo.

Anyway, I went top heavy. Missed a couple of no brainers ... Nizzolo in particular (doh). I should have fun with this team though ... even though I'm fecked if any of the big three get injured.

VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
ALAPHILIPPE Julian
JUNGELS Bob
ROSON GARCIA Jaime
SOLER GIMENEZ Marc
GAUDU David
MAS NICOLAU Enric
CAVENDISH Mark
GESBERT Elie
CARTHY Hugh
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
FRAME Alex
PHINNEY Taylor
PER David
KANTER Max
SEIGLE Romain
HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose
CRADDOCK Lawson
GUARNIERI Jacopo
KÖNIG Leopold
FENN Andrew
BASSO Leonardo
MOREIRA GUARINO Mauricio
BOUHANNI Rayane
CUADROS MORATA Alvaro
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat
BOU COMPANY Joan
CASTRILLO ZAPATA Jaime
DLAMINI Nicholas
VINCENT Léo
PIDCOCK Thomas
YATES Jesse
 

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