The 2019 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[Jancouver]

The winner of this race gets 260 points which is almost as valuable as winning Paris - Roubaix at 280.

Usually, the winner collects 400+ total points for stages, leaders jersey, KOM, Green Jersey Points, which is more than what you get for being 2nd overall at the Giro (375)!

And then, some people are surprised why I hate this race so much LOL

 

[Salvarani]

CMON GIBBONS

 

[jon ezeitza]

Re: Re:

Only just realized TDU is categorized as 2.WT1 pfoooooo

That's absurd. Considering Tdu as a stage race at the same level of Paris-Nice,Tirreno-Adriatico,Tour du Romandie,Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse is simply ridiculous.

And what's more ridiculous is that they moved Vuelta al Pais Vasco down to 2nd level. IMO Pais Vasco and Catalunya definitely deserve to be 1st tier more than TDU.

The strength of petrodollars ...

 

[Koronin]

UGH!!! It should not have that much weight.

 

[armchairclimber]

Just making notes for next year's game

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

The winner of this race gets 260 points which is almost as valuable as winning Paris - Roubaix at 280.

Usually, the winner collects 400+ total points for stages, leaders jersey, KOM, Green Jersey Points, which is more than what you get for being 2nd overall at the Giro (375)!

And then, some people are surprised why I hate this race so much LOL

Okay, this is the best argument I've seen you make in this regard.

Jesus Christ, this is ridiculous.

But I have always wondered why a monument victory only gives you 70% of a World's title. That should be at least 90.

 

[armchairclimber]

Thank you race jury.

 

[Nathanptz]

That indeed, Philipsen-pick off to a good start.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

The winner of this race gets 260 points which is almost as valuable as winning Paris - Roubaix at 280.

Usually, the winner collects 400+ total points for stages, leaders jersey, KOM, Green Jersey Points, which is more than what you get for being 2nd overall at the Giro (375)!

And then, some people are surprised why I hate this race so much LOL

Okay, this is the best argument I've seen you make in this regard.

Jesus Christ, this is ridiculous.

But I have always wondered why a monument victory only gives you 70% of a World's title. That should be at least 90.

Take a look at Porte, he won one stage, shown nothing else, and walk away with 258 points.

So yeah, the Willunga stage alone is almost as valuable as Roubaix.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

The winner of this race gets 260 points which is almost as valuable as winning Paris - Roubaix at 280.

Usually, the winner collects 400+ total points for stages, leaders jersey, KOM, Green Jersey Points, which is more than what you get for being 2nd overall at the Giro (375)!

And then, some people are surprised why I hate this race so much LOL

Okay, this is the best argument I've seen you make in this regard.

Jesus Christ, this is ridiculous.

But I have always wondered why a monument victory only gives you 70% of a World's title. That should be at least 90.

Take a look at Porte, he won one stage, shown nothing else, and walk away with 258 points.

So yeah, the Willunga stage alone is almost as valuable as Roubaix.

That is pretty maddening. The only consolation is that the riders who score well in Roubaix usually also gain a lot of points in the other cobbled classics, whereas a good form in TDU can't be put to that much use in other races.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

The winner of this race gets 260 points which is almost as valuable as winning Paris - Roubaix at 280.

Usually, the winner collects 400+ total points for stages, leaders jersey, KOM, Green Jersey Points, which is more than what you get for being 2nd overall at the Giro (375)!

And then, some people are surprised why I hate this race so much LOL

Okay, this is the best argument I've seen you make in this regard.

Jesus Christ, this is ridiculous.

But I have always wondered why a monument victory only gives you 70% of a World's title. That should be at least 90.

Take a look at Porte, he won one stage, shown nothing else, and walk away with 258 points.

So yeah, the Willunga stage alone is almost as valuable as Roubaix.

That is pretty maddening. The only consolation is that the riders who score well in Roubaix usually also gain a lot of points in the other cobbled classics, whereas a good form in TDU can't be put to that much use in other races.

That is true, however, what is more disturbing, is the level of participation because while Roubaix, Giro, TdF and other important races attract some of the best riders, here you are giving away WT points without the WT participation.

Yes, Sagan and Viviani showed up, however, when you look at this TOP 100 list from 2018, you will notice that 90% of the best riders are not here. Therefore, earning points at Roubaix and other major races is 10x harder.

Here is the Top 100 list for 2018

1. (6) ESP VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro MOV 25/04/1980 2884
2. (3) SVK SAGAN Peter BOH 26/01/1990 2278
3. (52) GBR YATES Simon MTS 07/08/1992 2261
4. (16) ITA VIVIANI Elia QST 07/02/1989 2186
5. (39) FRA ALAPHILIPPE Julian QST 11/06/1992 2085
6. (55) GBR THOMAS Geraint SKY 25/05/1986 1961
7. (4) NED DUMOULIN Tom SUN 11/11/1990 1774
8. (20) SLO ROGLIC Primoz TLJ 29/10/1989 1709
9. (12) FRA PINOT Thibaut GFC 29/05/1990 1696
10. (2) BEL VAN AVERMAET Greg BMC 17/05/1985 1639
11. (77) COL LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel AST 04/02/1994 1601
12. (29) BEL WELLENS Tim LTS 10/05/1991 1567
13. (11) POL KWIATKOWSKI Michal SKY 02/06/1990 1549
14. (30) FRA BARDET Romain ALM 09/11/1990 1492
15. (1) GBR FROOME Chris SKY 20/05/1985 1415
16. (13) FRA DEMARE Arnaud GFC 26/08/1991 1336
17. (10) AUS MATTHEWS Michael SUN 26/09/1990 1325
18. (534) GER ACKERMANN Pascal BOH 17/01/1994 1275
19. (5) NOR KRISTOFF Alexander UAD 05/07/1987 1253
20. (34) BEL STUYVEN Jasper TFS 17/04/1992 1253
21. (33) ITA COLBRELLI Sonny TBM 17/05/1990 1174
22. (46) ESP IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Ion TBM 04/02/1989 1155
23. (36) ITA POZZOVIVO Domenico TBM 30/11/1982 1146
24. (62) COL BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY 13/01/1997 1130
25. (9) COL QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander MOV 04/02/1990 1118
26. (32) NED MOLLEMA Bauke TFS 26/11/1986 1105
27. (140) NED TERPSTRA Niki QST 18/05/1984 1097
28. (111) DEN VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael AST 07/02/1992 1071
29. (93) NED KRUIJSWIJK Steven TLJ 07/06/1987 1062
30. (50) AUS DENNIS Rohan BMC 28/05/1990 1048
31. (67) DEN FUGLSANG Jakob AST 22/03/1985 1045
32. (51) ITA MOSCON Gianni SKY 20/04/1994 1039
33. (282) RSA IMPEY Daryl MTS 06/12/1984 1018
34. (37) BEL NAESEN Oliver ALM 16/09/1990 1015
35. (126) SLO MOHORIC Matej TBM 19/10/1994 1013
36. (17) COL URAN URAN Rigoberto EFD 26/01/1987 984
37. (54) BEL BENOOT Tiesj LTS 11/03/1994 961
38. (14) BEL GILBERT Philippe QST 05/07/1982 949
39. (31) NED GROENEWEGEN Dylan TLJ 21/06/1993 935
40. (58) LUX JUNGELS Bob QST 22/09/1992 917
41. (38) BEL TEUNS Dylan BMC 01/03/1992 911
42. (96) ESP SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon AST 24/11/1983 909
43. (41) GER DEGENKOLB John TFS 07/01/1989 906
44. (15) IRL MARTIN Daniel UAD 20/08/1986 904
45. (226) ESP MAS NICOLAU Enric QST 07/01/1995 897
46. (100) ESP IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka TBM 07/10/1987 884
47. (27) AUS PORTE Richie BMC 30/01/1985 868
48. (94) CAN WOODS Michael EFD 12/10/1986 868
49. (125) NZL BENNETT George TLJ 07/04/1990 860
50. (53) GBR YATES Adam MTS 07/08/1992 854
51. (259) ESP PRADES REVERTER Eduard EUS 09/08/1987 846
52. (171) ECU CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio MOV 29/05/1993 840
53. (124) FRA LATOUR Pierre ALM 12/10/1993 810
54. (207) FRA LAPORTE Christophe COF 11/12/1992 808
55. (132) AUT KONRAD Patrick BOH 13/10/1991 807
56. (86) BEL LAMPAERT Yves QST 10/04/1991 804
57. (18) ITA ULISSI Diego UAD 15/07/1989 802
58. (139) BEL DUPONT Timothy WGG 01/11/1987 800
59. (56) IRL BENNETT Sam BOH 16/10/1990 790
60. (43) POL MAJKA Rafal BOH 12/09/1989 790
61. (19) ESP LANDA MEANA Mikel MOV 13/12/1989 779
62. (315) GER SCHACHMANN Maximilian QST 09/01/1994 777
63. (589) NED JAKOBSEN Fabio QST 31/08/1996 777
64. (65) AUS EWAN Caleb MTS 11/07/1994 776
65. (157) ITA PASQUALON Andrea WGG 02/01/1988 769
66. (118) ESP SOLER GIMENEZ Marc MOV 22/11/1993 767
67. (224) NED VAN POPPEL Danny TLJ 26/07/1993 755
68. (25) GER GREIPEL André LTS 16/07/1982 735
69. (106) CZE STYBAR Zdenek QST 11/12/1985 724
70. (327) ITA FORMOLO Davide BOH 25/10/1992 698
71. (7) ITA NIBALI Vincenzo TBM 14/11/1984 693
72. (28) NOR BOASSON HAGEN Edvald DDD 17/05/1987 686
73. (92) GER BUCHMANN Emanuel BOH 18/11/1992 679
74. (48) NED KELDERMAN Wilco SUN 25/03/1991 678
75. (63) ITA CARUSO Damiano BMC 12/10/1987 676
76. (89) KAZ LUTSENKO Alexey AST 07/09/1992 667
77. (500) FRA HOFSTETTER Hugo COF 13/02/1994 659
78. (119) NED OOMEN Sam SUN 15/08/1995 648
79. (834) COL SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro ANS 31/10/1997 647
80. (302) FRA MOLARD Rudy GFC 17/09/1989 617
81. (114) DEN PEDERSEN Mads TFS 18/12/1995 606
82. (290) ESP BILBAO LOPEZ DE ARMENTIA Pello AST 25/02/1990 605
83. (108) FRA MARTIN Guillaume WGG 09/06/1993 605
84. (88) BEL HERMANS Ben ICA 08/06/1986 603
85. (24) COL GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando QST 19/08/1994 602
86. (83) BEL VANMARCKE Sep EFD 28/07/1988 600
87. (45) ITA CANOLA Marco NIP 26/12/1988 599
88. (109) BEL VAN AERT Wout - 15/09/1994 597
89. (113) DEN ANDERSEN Søren Kragh SUN 10/08/1994 589
90. (253) CZE KREUZIGER Roman MTS 06/05/1986 588
91. (21) ITA TRENTIN Matteo MTS 02/08/1989 581
92. (112) DEN CORT NIELSEN Magnus AST 16/01/1993 581
93. (42) POR COSTA Rui Alberto Faria UAD 05/10/1986 578
94. (75) ITA VISCONTI Giovanni TBM 13/01/1983 577
95. (390) ITA BELLETTI Manuel ANS 14/10/1985 576
96. (379) LAT SKUJINS Toms TFS 15/06/1991 575
97. (49) FRA CALMEJANE Lilian TDE 06/12/1992 569
98. (135) SLO TRATNIK Jan CCC 23/02/1990 567
99. (40) COL HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis SKY 10/12/1987 561
100. (1268) FRA MADOUAS Valentin GFC 12/07/1996 561

 

[Squire]

...

The point system has been known for years. It's the rules we all play by. Any kind of cycling ranking would have to make compromises which causes imbalances like the Roubaix/Tour Down Under one discussed here.

And the top 100 list is weak argument. 23 riders from it raced Paris-Roubaix last year. 15 were in Down Under this year. Not a massive difference.

 

[rote_laterne]

Points TDU:
O'CONNOR Ben 20
BETTIOL Alberto 5
DURBRIDGE Luke 5
ROWE Luke 5
MARECZKO Jakub 23
HALVORSEN Kristoffer 7
65 ... back to normal

In action next week:
Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (1.UWT)
O'CONNOR Ben
BETTIOL Alberto
DURBRIDGE Luke
ROWE Luke
MARECZKO Jakub
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
HONORÉ Mikkel Frølich
KANTER Max

Vuelta a San Juan Internacional (2.1)
EVENEPOEL Remco
BARBIER Rudy

 

[Jancouver]

Re:

...

The point system has been known for years. It's the rules we all play by. Any kind of cycling ranking would have to make compromises which causes imbalances like the Roubaix/Tour Down Under one discussed here.

And the top 100 list is weak argument. 23 riders from it raced Paris-Roubaix last year. 15 were in Down Under this year. Not a massive difference.

I'm not complaining about the game structure, I was pointing out that as we all know that this should not be a WT race and that is is ridiculous that all these WT (and CQ) points are given away by the UCI.

Otherwise, if racing in Australia was so great, why only 4 teams out of 15 participating at the Cadel Evans race are staying for the Herald Sun Tour which starts only 3 days later?

BTW while perhaps Roubaix is very niche race, how many TOP100 participated at LBL, MSR, Giro or the Tour?

Can you count it for me?

 

[tobydawq]

My soldiers for TDU:

Caleb Ewan - 33 points
Extremely disappointing return from him. He only got stage points for his second place on stage 2. His relegation on stage 5 was fair but unnecessary (ie. he didn't have to do what he did), and he was horribly positioned on stage 1 and ended up not contesting the sprint. He wasn't even in the top 10 of the points competition.

Ryan Gibbons - 66 points
I bought him at a cost of 96 points so he looks like being a very, very good investment. But if he hadn't screwed the last turn completely up on stage 4, he could have won that stage, and those bonifications would have gotten him into a seventh place on the final GC. So a lot of points wasted right there but he looks set to have a much, much better season than last year.

Phil Bauhaus - 22 points
A bit so-so. Two 6th and a 4th place. He cost 196 points and is off to a reasonable start, I guess.

Alberto Bettiol - 5 points
Already a 10th of last year's total secured through completing the race. Unfortunately, he didn't go for GC but he was on the attack on stage 3 solo and seems to be likely to reach a much higher level than last year.

Benoît Cosnefroy - 5 points
He had bigger ambitions but was hampered by a heavy crash. Afterwards, he was on the attack on stage 5. Hopefully, the crash will not have long-lasting effects.

Luke Rowe - 5 points
He is never getting points outside the classics. Except for the time he won a stage in the Herald Sun Tour. Please, do repeat that, Luke.

Total - 136 points
A decent start, I suppose. At least, things look promising. But a lot of points lost through bad luck and stupidity.

 

[bminchow]

Re: Re:

Can you do the same list for the Roubaix. I'm curious to see if all 100 are in the race, since that is what would make it 10 times harder.

That is true, however, what is more disturbing, is the level of participation because while Roubaix, Giro, TdF and other important races attract some of the best riders, here you are giving away WT points without the WT participation.

Yes, Sagan and Viviani showed up, however, when you look at this TOP 100 list from 2018, you will notice that 90% of the best riders are not here. Therefore, earning points at Roubaix and other major races is 10x harder.

Here is the Top 100 list for 2018

1. (6) ESP VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro MOV 25/04/1980 2884
2. (3) SVK SAGAN Peter BOH 26/01/1990 2278
3. (52) GBR YATES Simon MTS 07/08/1992 2261
4. (16) ITA VIVIANI Elia QST 07/02/1989 2186
5. (39) FRA ALAPHILIPPE Julian QST 11/06/1992 2085
6. (55) GBR THOMAS Geraint SKY 25/05/1986 1961
7. (4) NED DUMOULIN Tom SUN 11/11/1990 1774
8. (20) SLO ROGLIC Primoz TLJ 29/10/1989 1709
9. (12) FRA PINOT Thibaut GFC 29/05/1990 1696
10. (2) BEL VAN AVERMAET Greg BMC 17/05/1985 1639
11. (77) COL LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel AST 04/02/1994 1601
12. (29) BEL WELLENS Tim LTS 10/05/1991 1567
13. (11) POL KWIATKOWSKI Michal SKY 02/06/1990 1549
14. (30) FRA BARDET Romain ALM 09/11/1990 1492
15. (1) GBR FROOME Chris SKY 20/05/1985 1415
16. (13) FRA DEMARE Arnaud GFC 26/08/1991 1336
17. (10) AUS MATTHEWS Michael SUN 26/09/1990 1325
18. (534) GER ACKERMANN Pascal BOH 17/01/1994 1275
19. (5) NOR KRISTOFF Alexander UAD 05/07/1987 1253
20. (34) BEL STUYVEN Jasper TFS 17/04/1992 1253
21. (33) ITA COLBRELLI Sonny TBM 17/05/1990 1174
22. (46) ESP IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Ion TBM 04/02/1989 1155
23. (36) ITA POZZOVIVO Domenico TBM 30/11/1982 1146
24. (62) COL BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY 13/01/1997 1130
25. (9) COL QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander MOV 04/02/1990 1118
26. (32) NED MOLLEMA Bauke TFS 26/11/1986 1105
27. (140) NED TERPSTRA Niki QST 18/05/1984 1097
28. (111) DEN VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael AST 07/02/1992 1071
29. (93) NED KRUIJSWIJK Steven TLJ 07/06/1987 1062
30. (50) AUS DENNIS Rohan BMC 28/05/1990 1048
31. (67) DEN FUGLSANG Jakob AST 22/03/1985 1045
32. (51) ITA MOSCON Gianni SKY 20/04/1994 1039
33. (282) RSA IMPEY Daryl MTS 06/12/1984 1018
34. (37) BEL NAESEN Oliver ALM 16/09/1990 1015
35. (126) SLO MOHORIC Matej TBM 19/10/1994 1013
36. (17) COL URAN URAN Rigoberto EFD 26/01/1987 984
37. (54) BEL BENOOT Tiesj LTS 11/03/1994 961
38. (14) BEL GILBERT Philippe QST 05/07/1982 949
39. (31) NED GROENEWEGEN Dylan TLJ 21/06/1993 935
40. (58) LUX JUNGELS Bob QST 22/09/1992 917
41. (38) BEL TEUNS Dylan BMC 01/03/1992 911
42. (96) ESP SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon AST 24/11/1983 909
43. (41) GER DEGENKOLB John TFS 07/01/1989 906
44. (15) IRL MARTIN Daniel UAD 20/08/1986 904
45. (226) ESP MAS NICOLAU Enric QST 07/01/1995 897
46. (100) ESP IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka TBM 07/10/1987 884
47. (27) AUS PORTE Richie BMC 30/01/1985 868
48. (94) CAN WOODS Michael EFD 12/10/1986 868
49. (125) NZL BENNETT George TLJ 07/04/1990 860
50. (53) GBR YATES Adam MTS 07/08/1992 854
51. (259) ESP PRADES REVERTER Eduard EUS 09/08/1987 846
52. (171) ECU CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio MOV 29/05/1993 840
53. (124) FRA LATOUR Pierre ALM 12/10/1993 810
54. (207) FRA LAPORTE Christophe COF 11/12/1992 808
55. (132) AUT KONRAD Patrick BOH 13/10/1991 807
56. (86) BEL LAMPAERT Yves QST 10/04/1991 804
57. (18) ITA ULISSI Diego UAD 15/07/1989 802
58. (139) BEL DUPONT Timothy WGG 01/11/1987 800
59. (56) IRL BENNETT Sam BOH 16/10/1990 790
60. (43) POL MAJKA Rafal BOH 12/09/1989 790
61. (19) ESP LANDA MEANA Mikel MOV 13/12/1989 779
62. (315) GER SCHACHMANN Maximilian QST 09/01/1994 777
63. (589) NED JAKOBSEN Fabio QST 31/08/1996 777
64. (65) AUS EWAN Caleb MTS 11/07/1994 776
65. (157) ITA PASQUALON Andrea WGG 02/01/1988 769
66. (118) ESP SOLER GIMENEZ Marc MOV 22/11/1993 767
67. (224) NED VAN POPPEL Danny TLJ 26/07/1993 755
68. (25) GER GREIPEL André LTS 16/07/1982 735
69. (106) CZE STYBAR Zdenek QST 11/12/1985 724
70. (327) ITA FORMOLO Davide BOH 25/10/1992 698
71. (7) ITA NIBALI Vincenzo TBM 14/11/1984 693
72. (28) NOR BOASSON HAGEN Edvald DDD 17/05/1987 686
73. (92) GER BUCHMANN Emanuel BOH 18/11/1992 679
74. (48) NED KELDERMAN Wilco SUN 25/03/1991 678
75. (63) ITA CARUSO Damiano BMC 12/10/1987 676
76. (89) KAZ LUTSENKO Alexey AST 07/09/1992 667
77. (500) FRA HOFSTETTER Hugo COF 13/02/1994 659
78. (119) NED OOMEN Sam SUN 15/08/1995 648
79. (834) COL SOSA CUERVO Ivan Ramiro ANS 31/10/1997 647
80. (302) FRA MOLARD Rudy GFC 17/09/1989 617
81. (114) DEN PEDERSEN Mads TFS 18/12/1995 606
82. (290) ESP BILBAO LOPEZ DE ARMENTIA Pello AST 25/02/1990 605
83. (108) FRA MARTIN Guillaume WGG 09/06/1993 605
84. (88) BEL HERMANS Ben ICA 08/06/1986 603
85. (24) COL GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando QST 19/08/1994 602
86. (83) BEL VANMARCKE Sep EFD 28/07/1988 600
87. (45) ITA CANOLA Marco NIP 26/12/1988 599
88. (109) BEL VAN AERT Wout - 15/09/1994 597
89. (113) DEN ANDERSEN Søren Kragh SUN 10/08/1994 589
90. (253) CZE KREUZIGER Roman MTS 06/05/1986 588
91. (21) ITA TRENTIN Matteo MTS 02/08/1989 581
92. (112) DEN CORT NIELSEN Magnus AST 16/01/1993 581
93. (42) POR COSTA Rui Alberto Faria UAD 05/10/1986 578
94. (75) ITA VISCONTI Giovanni TBM 13/01/1983 577
95. (390) ITA BELLETTI Manuel ANS 14/10/1985 576
96. (379) LAT SKUJINS Toms TFS 15/06/1991 575
97. (49) FRA CALMEJANE Lilian TDE 06/12/1992 569
98. (135) SLO TRATNIK Jan CCC 23/02/1990 567
99. (40) COL HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis SKY 10/12/1987 561
100. (1268) FRA MADOUAS Valentin GFC 12/07/1996 561[/quote]

 

[Jakob747]

Catastrophic Tour Down Under this year! My attending riders hardly got anything out of their efforts, other than a lot of handy base-miles I guess.

Anyway, a quick observation regarding the two Hamiltons (not related at all) from throughout the week Down Under.

Chris Hamilton - Sunwebs hidden gem - who really announced himself hill-climbing wise this week. 5th man over Corkscrew and first to react and follow (for a while) Porte´s annual acceleration on Willunga. CQ-wise I believe he could be in for a solid season.

Lucas Hamilton - Fantastic performance all around. Lieutenant of the race for me. Impey won and Mitchelton, of course, are delighted. That's all well and good. However, CQ wise we are 10 managers who would have loved seeing Hamilton let off the leash at least once, as he was absolutely flying himself. Ohh well, at least he sounds positive about the goals lying ahead of him, in an article from a few days ago in the Ararat Advertiser.

Huge chapeau to Ryan Gibbons as well - Now that's a proper racer. Excellent versatility for a sprinter, I wonder what his ceiling is?

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Pogačar performed much better at the TDU than Mas did in his first pro season. Could end up being a good pick... and yet I didn't even consider him, unlike other interesting semi-expensive prospects like Philipsen, who I did strongly consider. Philipsen's ceiling could be fairly high.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Pogačar performed much better at the TDU than Mas did in his first pro season. Could end up being a good pick... and yet I didn't even consider him, unlike other interesting semi-expensive prospects like Philipsen, who I did strongly consider. Philipsen's ceiling could be fairly high.

Pogacar was also almost 4 times as expensive as Mas... Something to consider
He needs to score many more points to become a solid pick.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

I had four starters in the TdU and got 15 points. Three of these will race the Cadel Ewans race and the Herald SUn tour (Bettiol, Morton and Honoré). Valls returns home - but has no races in his calendar (according to PCS, that is).

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Re: Re:

Pogacar was also almost 4 times as expensive as Mas... Something to consider
He needs to score many more points to become a solid pick.

I'm well aware of that, which is why I didn't pick him, but Mas was nowhere on Willunga, by comparison. Poga finished 3 seconds off 8th place on GC. Quite impressive, despite the relatively weak field.

I had assumed that he'd be well off the pace, compared to guys like Pozzovivo.

 

[armchairclimber]

I'm pretty happy with Pogacar and Philipsen. They have good potential. Marezcko too ... though I suspect his race was compromised by having to look after Bevin. Kanter had a quiet race though ... having said that, he seems to be a rider who comes good later in the season.
I enjoyed having some new young riders to root for at the TDU, which is a big part of this game's appeal.

 

[del1962]

TDU

Porte good as expected, mno much else

Poels and Gibbons where two riders I had considered, nvm.

Like Rowe will hopefully top ten at Cadel Evan's RR, if his history in the race it is anything to go by.

 

[skidmark]

Update #2: Impeyrial Reign in Australia

We are off and running in the CQ Manager game, with the prestigious level 1 World Tour race Tour Down Under in the books. Just when it looked like some new blood might upset the established order, Paddy Bevin had an unfortunate crash, and the end results were virtually identical to last year - Porte wins on Willunga, Impey finishes close enough to take the overall. Porte keeping pace with last year's CQ haul will be welcomed by the 25 teams that chose him this year, and as once again no one has Impey (or Bevin for that matter), his points are the ones that most directly affect the game.

This Week's Top Scorers

Rank Team Points this week
1 MADRAZO 486
1 Amis_Velo 486
3 just_some_guy 411
4 Otoxiep87 408
5 Blues in the bottle 400

Despite some big team scores and differentiation on the tables this week, the top spot is once again a tie! There were three teams that took podium finisher Wout Poels, and two of them also had Porte. MADRAZO got those points plus ten finishing points from Bettiol and Durbridge, and Amis Velo got those points and finishing points from Rafa Valls and Lachlan Morton, leading to a tie at 486 points. just some guy ends up in third after tying for first last week - a great start to the season.

This Week's High Movers

Rank Team Up/down
1 Amis_Velo (+67)
2 Blues in the bottle (+62)
3 Poles & Co. (+56)
4 PremierAndrew (+55)
4 torcia_86 (+55)

Well, when ~50 teams scored no points in the first week and therefore were tied for something like 70th place, some points in the second week are going to bring about a big jump. We've covered Amis Velo above, but on this ranking game veteran Blues in the bottle leaps more than half the table mostly from Porte, but from a smattering of smaller points from an impressive collection including Ewan, Bauhaus, Mareczko, Hindley, and Miguel Flores picking up points in Tachira. Poles & Co. sneaks into third almost entirely on the back of Porte and Mareczko.

Green Jersey Competition

Rank Team Total
1 just_some_guy 60
2 MADRAZO 43
3 Amis_Velo 40
4 Googolplex 30
4 Total Package 30
4 flashke 30
4 rote_laterne 30
4 Wallenquist 30

It's rare to have a clear leader that has more than 45 points at this point in the season, but just some guy parlays the 30 points for splitting the lead last week into overall success by netting 30 more for 3rd place this week. MADRAZO and Amis Velo split the top this week and each get 40 points for it, but MADRAZO already had 3 points last week so gets 2nd overall on this ranking.

Top 10 Overall

Rank Up/down Team Points
1 (+10) MADRAZO 576
2 (-1) just_some_guy 518
3 (+67) Amis_Velo 486
4 (+33) Otoxiep87 425
5 (+62) Blues in the bottle 412
6 (+16) yoyokt 408
7 (+4) Object 387
8 (+3) Falze 383
9 (+18) barmaher 382
10 (+22) bminchow 377

This early in the season there's obviously some volatility, and with last week's leading teams only getting 107 points, it was all up in the air with big World Tour points coming through. The podium is the same as the weekly standings, with just some guy holding off Amis Velo in the overall due to having said 107-point head start. This week mostly sees 2.1 action in Gabon, so it'll be a small update most likely, but good for teams that have sprinters on French PCT teams.

spreadsheet at dropbox

 

[MADRAZO]

Nice to start with the lead. That must be the first time in all the many years of this competition I am in the lead, so I will enjoy it while it last. Important to get 2 of the most expensive picks of to a good start. Both great to have Richie Porte that I was very much in doubt about picking of to a good start and also a very important with a great start for my surprisingly rare Poels pick. Him likely getting many easy points here was a clear part of the reason I chose him. Im just a little concerned now that he will apparantly race Tirreno-Adriatico instead of Paris-Nice, where I had expected him to reach same form as last year and win overall, something that will be a lot more difficult in Tirreno with the extremely easy parcours there, even though Sky should do very well in the TTT. But for sure he still looks like he will be a good pick anyway.