The 2019 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[skidmark]

About 3 hours left before the submission deadline. A reminder that there are still a further 24 hours until the publication deadline after that, so don't publish your teams here yet! That staggered deadline is so that revisions can be made on teams that are over budget or have duplicate riders and other such issues. But also, since the racing hasn't started and no one has revealed their teams, I can accept submissions if you haven't gotten them in yet, you just won't have the chance to revise them if there are any issues. Keep them coming in, we are at about 100 teams so it'll likely be smaller than last year but perhaps I'll get a bunch of submissions in the final hours. All are welcome!

 

[Koronin]

Last year was my first year playing. This year my team is much more diverse. I have riders from 21 teams (14 are World Tour teams). 12 nationalities are represented. My youngest rider is 18 and my oldest rider is 38. I have several veterans and several young prospects. It should at the very least be an interesting team to watch this year. Average age is 27.3.

 

[MADRAZO]

Finally made my final decisions and sent my team now. Already regretting them a bit Have had a lot of different combinations in considerations for many days and have changed back ad forth endlesly, especially being a lot in doubt between some of the more expensive riders, and I think it has been very difficult to decide this year with so many good (but not super) options in almost all priceranges. I think this has perhaps been the year with the hardest sacrifices and for sure I had to leave several very good and obvious options out of the team to finally fit the puzzle and due to there not being room for all. In the end I do feel okay satisfied with my team, that I think has a good balance of solid conservative picks, not too many riders I don't like, some good gambles and also room for a few picks picked mostly with my heart (but also with some reason involved) and then also avoiding not getting room for any of the must have picks, though I will likely have left a couple of the mostly picked riders out. I will still probably be okay placed in the popularity chart as usual but I also doubt I will be in the top 10 of it this year.

 

[Gigs_98]

Finally team submitted. Started to build my team really late this year so I'm afraid I missed some no brainers. All in all I feel like there have been very few simply solid picks in the 300 to 800 region where you pretty much know what you will get but what you will get most likely won't be a gigantic return. It feels like all my picks are either no brainers or huge gambles. Anyway, can't wait to see the other teams.

 

[bminchow]

Amateur that I am, I only have riders from 19 teams, 15 countries, and avg age of 25.9. That was fun. Now back to work.

 

[ingsve]

Re: Re:

After missing the last two years I've now back and have submitted my team.

Yay!

Any bold predictions this time?

Hehe, no. I haven't followed the sport as closely and threw the team together in a day so I'll be happy just to break even right now.

 

[skidmark]

omg haha so after 8 years of this game starting with the Aussie nationals, I only searched "Australian National Road Race" in December to set the start date... and just realized now that the New Zealand TT nats happened a few hours ago!! So for the first time ever, this game starts after CQ points have been awarded :redface: :surprised:

I'll be sure to check that next year; I await the barrage of team changes that come with the competitive advantage of knowing who got those 15 points.

 

[skidmark]

Also, here's a current list of all the teams I have recorded. If you think you submitted a team and don't see your name there, let me know and I can look into if I missed it or if something else happened (asterisk means I am still waiting on a lineup change).

18-valve.(pithy)
adamski101
Akuryo*
Amis Velo
ansimi
Armchair Cyclist
armchairclimber
AupaPyama
barmaher
Bicycle Boy
Blues in the bottle
bminchow
Carlo Algatrensig
ChrisDK
comodoro
Crevaison
del1962
DFA123
DJ Sprtsch
drebelo
Eric10
escartin
EvansIsTheBest
Eyeballs Out
Falze
fauniera
Ferminal
flashke
freshman
Geraint Too Fast
Gigs_98
Googolplex
GP Blanco
greenedge
Hakkie2
HelgeBlendet
Hugo Koblet
Ingsve
Jakob747
Jancouver
Joelsim
Jon_Ezeitza
Josedin
Jpettersen
just_some_guy
Kazistuta
Koronin
Kryvo
laarsland
LaFlorecita
Leadbelly
Londonpat
Lortnoc
LosBrolin
LukasCPH
MADRAZO
manafana
Martin
Mayomaniac
merengues
minessa
Nathanptz
Nicosix
NorthAmericanScum
Nyssinator*
Object
oliveira
Otoxiep87
PeterB
Poles & Co.
Popchu
postmanhat
PremierAndrew
Rakim
repre
Riverside
rote_laterne
ruvu75
SafeBet
Salvarani
scrooll07
search
Sestriere
shalgo
Shawnm4747
Simurgh
skidmark
Sneekes
Squire
the asian
TheArt
ThePirate81
Tigerion
tobydawq
Tonton
torcia_86
Total Package
trackstand
triley36
VeloRooms
Vitapen
vladimir
Wallenquist
will10
Yellow Knight
yoyokt
zlev11

 

[skidmark]

I started compiling the popularity scores for a bit before going to sleep here and after entering 3 teams, there were only two riders on all 3 teams; after 4 teams there was only one unanimous rider, and that only lasted until there were 9 teams entered. I still have the bulk of the teams to enter, but it looks like there are some popular picks but not any overwhelmingly obvious rider. I'm excited for the reveal tomorrow!

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

omg haha so after 8 years of this game starting with the Aussie nationals, I only searched "Australian National Road Race" in December to set the start date... and just realized now that the New Zealand TT nats happened a few hours ago!! So for the first time ever, this game starts after CQ points have been awarded :redface: :surprised:

I'll be sure to check that next year; I await the barrage of team changes that come with the competitive advantage of knowing who got those 15 points.

30 points, 30 points for Patrick Bevin winning the ITT.
Maybe young McCormick coming in third would've been a good pick this year?

 

[search]

omg haha so after 8 years of this game starting with the Aussie nationals, I only searched "Australian National Road Race" in December to set the start date... and just realized now that the New Zealand TT nats happened a few hours ago!! So for the first time ever, this game starts after CQ points have been awarded :redface: :surprised:

I'll be sure to check that next year; I await the barrage of team changes that come with the competitive advantage of knowing who got those 15 points.

30 points, 30 points for Patrick Bevin winning the ITT.
Maybe young McCormick coming in third would've been a good pick this year?

I doubt it, McCormick is a talented guy, but usually the small Aussie teams barely do any UCI races. Last year BridgeLane's best scoring rider was Alexander Evans with 51 points

edit: he is also too old for Avenir, U23 worlds and stuff like that, nor will he be picked up as a stagiare elsewhere - so on from now his point scoring potential will probably be limited more or less to New Zealand Classic, Herald Sun Tour and the Oceanian Championships.

 

[bminchow]

I started compiling the popularity scores for a bit before going to sleep here and after entering 3 teams, there were only two riders on all 3 teams; after 4 teams there was only one unanimous rider, and that only lasted until there were 9 teams entered. I still have the bulk of the teams to enter, but it looks like there are some popular picks but not any overwhelmingly obvious rider. I'm excited for the reveal tomorrow!

I love this day!

 

[Squire]

I started compiling the popularity scores for a bit before going to sleep here and after entering 3 teams, there were only two riders on all 3 teams; after 4 teams there was only one unanimous rider, and that only lasted until there were 9 teams entered. I still have the bulk of the teams to enter, but it looks like there are some popular picks but not any overwhelmingly obvious rider. I'm excited for the reveal tomorrow!

I love this day!

Best day of the cycling season outside the month of May. (and, as is the case this year, the first 2 days of June)

Trying to think of most popular picks, I can only come up with two riders who I'm pretty sure will be in the top 5. The other three could be anyone from about 12-15 riders as far as I can tell, and none are likely to be anywhere near omnipresent. A predictor for an interesting edition, I guess.

 

[skidmark]

I am working hard to compile popularity scores and get a spreadsheet of all teams out in a timely fashion. I'm guessing I'll be able to post a rudimentary sheet within about an hour after the deadline.

1h 35m until reveal, so if you have any last minute changes (or just realized in a panic that you haven't submitted a team), there's still a bit of time to do so but make it quick!

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

I definitely agree with people saying that it's the weakest group of high priced options in a long time. The crop of neo-pros in the WT is brutal too. There's like two I really like as prospects for this game. I ended up with a bunch of guys coming back from injury, second and third-year pros who will break out hopefully, a couple young guys from second-tier teams and the two guys that make the cut every year for some reason

As you can tell already, I don't love my team but at least I'll have one probably two unique picks to cheer for. I think we'll see a lot more diversity in teams this year so it should be a fun edition.

 

[tobydawq]

My team:

LANDA MEANA Mikel 779
EWAN Caleb 776
NIBALI Vincenzo 693
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh 589
TRENTIN Matteo 581
VAN DER POEL Mathieu 539
KÜNG Stefan 437
ARU Fabio 400
REICHENBACH Sébastien 319
KITTEL Marcel 296
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 263
FELLINE Fabio 257
SPILAK Simon 256
COSNEFROY Benoit 229
BAUHAUS Phil 196
PADUN Mark 191
MOSCHETTI Matteo 144
BAKELANTS Jan 120
RODRIGUEZ GARAICOECHEA Oscar 99
GIBBONS Ryan 96
ROWE Luke 70
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin 61
BETTIOL Alberto 50
BOOM Lars 37
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat 12
CELANO Danilo 10
VAKOC Peter 0
EVENEPOEL Remco 0
QUINTERO NOREÑA Carlos Julian 0
FOURNIER Marc 0
DE CLERCQ Bart 0
KÖNIG Leopold 0
BYRIEL IVERSEN Rasmus 0

I think Peter Vakoc or Alberto Bettiol is the most popular rider of the game.

Edit: I swear, my watch said midnight when I pushed the Submit button!

 

[ThePirate81]

My team

FROOME Chris
NIBALI Vincenzo
VAN AERT Wout
TRENTIN Matteo
ZAKARIN Ilnur
BOUHANNI Nacer
ARU Fabio
MINALI Riccardo
KITTEL Marcel
CATTANEO Mattia
FELLINE Fabio
SPILAK Simon
COSNEFROY Benoit
PLANCKAERT Baptiste
PELUCCHI Matteo
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
CAVENDISH Mark
HARDY Romain
BARBIER Rudy
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin
KUMP Marko
BETTIOL Alberto
LIETAER Eliot
VALLS FERRI Rafael
BOOM Lars
STALLAERT Joeri
SENNI Manuel
JARAMILLO DIEZ Daniel Alexander
VAN STAEYEN Michael
INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat
GULDHAMMER POULSEN Rasmus
VAKOC Petr
EVENEPOEL Remco

 

[Gigs_98]

PORTE Richie 868
LANDA MEANA Mikel 779
NIBALI Vincenzo 693
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 602
VAN AERT Wout 597
ZAKARIN Ilnur 473
BOUHANNI Nacer 441
ARU Fabio 400
GAUDU David 299
KITTEL Marcel 296
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 263
FELLINE Fabio 257
THEUNS Edward 191
HALVORSEN Kristoffer 162
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan 153
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson 153
MEINTJES Louis 141
CAVENDISH Mark 125
RODRIGUEZ GARAICOECHEA Oscar 99
BRÄNDLE Matthias 82
TANFIELD Harry 76
SWIFT Ben 72
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin 61
BETTIOL Alberto 50
ALBANESE Vincenzo 38
BOOM Lars 37
KÄMNA Lennard 37
HUFFMAN Evan 30
GULDHAMMER POULSEN Rasmus 12
DE KLEIJN Arvid 5
KÖNIG Leopold 0
EVENEPOEL Remco 0
VAKOC Petr 0

 

[Kazistuta]

My team and thoughts ( and the first one is: How the H*** could I miss Nibali? That's the biggest error of my CQ career - and I really like the guy :redface: )

BOASSON HAGEN Edvald: The “Forever-Talent” had a bad 2018 with illness, and he should easily top the 1000 point mark

GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando: He’s just sooo talented, and if he hadn’t switched for the dubious UAE team, he most likely would be the most picked rider this year. He will still be up there in the top5-10, and just like with the aforementioned Norwegian, he should easily be 1000 points worth come October.

TRENTIN Matteo: Actually my three most expensive funny enough fall in the same category, a versatile strong sprinter with a below-par 2018 season. Trentin is like Gav and EBH a guy worth cheering for, and again a 1000+ season 2019 to expect, barring any major mishaps ofcourse.

ZAKARIN Ilnur: Yet again a guy with a disappointing 2018. He really lacked top power last year, but hopefully he’ll stay on his bike for most of the year and we’ll see a 1000 point season for him as well.

NIZZOLO Giacomo: After a rough time with injury, Nizzolo looked more and more like the hardman sprinter in the mold of the earlier three. This is a bit of a gamble, especially with him switching for Dimension Data, but 800 points should be doable.

BOUHANNI Nacer: The Bad Boy (Or one of them) came to an understanding with the team management of Cofidis, and that tells me he’s ready to put 2018 behind him. He has the top speed to match his temper, so a 7-800 season is expected.

ARU Fabio: My most expensive picks almost all follow the same pattern of a less-than-average 2018. Aru is no exception. My hope (and somewhat belief) is that he finds himself and scores 700+. If this year doesn’t work, he might as well retire

GAUDU David: Finally possible to make room for an up-and-coming talent. While Gaudu hasn’t shown a Bernal-like entry on the pro scene, he definitely has the skills to have a great career. I had him last year, where he didn’t fulfill expectations, so he better have a great 600+ season now

KITTEL Marcel: Back to the boring “sprinter better step up his game again” theme, that seems to be my agenda this year. Not much to say, he should be able to top 1000 points easily, but at Katusha?

CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban: Finally told to be over his virus, and even though he now without a doubt plays second fiddle to Yates (x2?), he is capable of a 800+ season.

FELLINE Fabio: What has happened to the promising, versatile rider, we came to love in 2015? I still believe in him and admit this is both a “head & heart” pick on my behalf. Well, the potential is higher, but a 500+ season will do competition wise.

DE BUYST Jasper: One of my last entries, fitted through budget cuts. Hopefully he will get plenty of chances to do, what he did when entering the pros in 2017, and not just be a part of a sprint train for Caleb Ewan. Expected 500 points.

PLANCKAERT Baptiste: Never really succeeded at Kastusha (but who does actually?), but he’s now back on Belgian soil, where he should thrive with lesser competition in minor races. That’ll easily give him 500 points.

KANTER Max: Impressed me massively during PostDanmark Rundt, so I just had to have him on my team this year. He’ll be behind Matthews & Walscheid, but hopefully he will be third up and not end behind Arndt in the sprint pecking order at Sunweb. Don’t know what to expect, as this is mostly heart. An even Steven 200?

BAUHAUS Phil: The departed sprinter from Sunweb had a very bad 2018, but he’s proven his top speed on several occasions. On Bahrain he should get plenty of chances, as his skill set doesn’t collide with Colbrellis interests. Potential 600+ season.

SIVAKOV Pavel: Happy to find room for this talented Russian, who might drown in class GC riders on Sky. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s gonna have a great career, but this year Sivakov might once again find himself in a helpers role in many races. He should improve on his 2018 score regardless, but maybe not much - expecting around the 3-400 area.

PADUN Mark: Mark my words, Padun is gonna have a great year! Perhaps not like Mohoric in 2018, but his points total from last year doesn’t do his efforts and talent justice. Padun still need to find his niche, but he’s gonna be fun to follow all year. Expecting 600+ point.

CAPIOT Amaury: Had the unlucky Capiot last year, when yet another injury forced him to miss a big part of the season. I feared he might’ve retired, but he returned to action late season, which convinced me he’s ready to take another stab at the Belgian Calendar as Topsports designated sprinter. Potential 600 points.

HALVORSEN Kristoffer: Another big talent drowning in the Sky pool. Not that he has many competitors for the sprints, but it’s not exactly a famous Sky discipline. Should be ever as talented as Fabio Jakobsen, but without the superior train Halvorsen has do the most work himself. 4-500 points if he steps up his game.

DURBRIDGE Luke: Really seemed to have taken a big step in the cobbled races, but an unlucky injury last year made him miss most of his favorite races. He should be back, and with his time trial abilities should also pick up points in smaller stage races along the year. 400 points to expect.

PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson: Pantano himself thinks he’s back in the shape that’ll make us reminiscent his IAM days. Hopefully they really did find the reason to his problems, in which case he’ll easily make 4-500 points.

MOSCHETTI Matteo: This years most promising neo-pro sprinter, bar Jasper Philipsen of course. With him choosing Trek as destination, he will be given lots of opportunities all year, and he showed great potential last year, also against pro competition. He should make 4-500 points in 2019.

MEINTJES Louis: Well, I had to have him at this price, even though he’s about the most uninspiring rider on the World Tour. If he gets stable again, 500 points will be an easy task.

CAVENDISH Mark: Originally not in my team, since I don’t fancy his chances of getting back in the mix. In the last minute I changed my mind, since his price and pedigree was to good miss. Might come back and haunt me (made Ivan Garcia Cortina switch out), but it would be even worse to miss out on an potential Cav resurrection, when he most likely will be amongst the 5 most picked riders. Expectations ????

VLIEGEN Loic: For some reason I always saw him and Silvan Dillier as riders of the same mold, and where Dillier has obviously taken a step up (results wise), Vliegen now has taken a step down to Wanty Group. I hope and think it’s a fit, and he should thrive with a free role. Might not light the moon on fire, but a 300+ season is in the cards.

BARBIER Rudy: I actually don’t know what happened to Barbier last season. Originally planned on picking his younger brother Pierre, but when I saw Rudy with almost the same CQ total in 2018, I had to pick the experienced brother. He’s switching teams to ICA, where it’s great to be - said no sprinter ever! But with a base score this low, he shouldn’t do much damage next year to triple his total.

ROWE Luke: Missed last years cobble campaign, but he showed tremendous strength as a mountain domestique later on, so he should be ready to co-lead Sky. With his price tag he should really be a top5-10 general consensus pick.

BETTIOL Alberto: Unless he had a Moreno Moser-like 2016 season, he should be back in the 4-500 points area this season. At least he’s back in his old environment.

LONARDI Giovanni: When one of the most talented Italian sprinters chose Nippo, it did stink a bit at first. But then, at second thought, now he will get a chance in many of the odd Asian races, where sprinters like Guardini and Mareczko get a lot of points. Count me in! Potential 500 points.

RIVERA SERRANO Kevin: His numbers were, according to Savio at least, almost as good as Bernals, but last season was a season to forget for the talented Costa Rican. This year without Sosa, Rivera will get all Andronis mountain support. Expected 400 points.

VAN STAEYEN Michael: Just like Planckaert, Van Staeyen returns to better pastures, and at Roompot he as well should get a chance to replicate what he did some years ago, when collecting lots of points in the minor Belgian races. Expected 3-400 points.

INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Beñat: Okay, a long shot after two seasons in oblivion. But after reading Intxaustis own thoughts of the coming season, I couldn’t let a bargain price go. Could he reach 200?

VAKOC Petr: A big, big question mark. I truly hope for Vakoc that he’ll be able to return to competitive racing again, but we’ll have to wait and see. He is lucky to be alive, but if he tops it off with a throwback 2016 performance, it’ll be good for my team.

Countries: 13, most from Italy (7)
Teams: 21, most from Dimension Data (4) - sigh
Age: 20-33 years, average 26.3
(Unintended) Focus: Sprinters (15) - not all top shelf, though

 

[LaFlorecita]

Tobydawq, best contact skids to change Vakoc's name from Peter to Petr or you'll receive no points for him

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Tobydawq, best contact skids to change Vakoc's name from Peter to Petr or you'll receive no points for him

Thank you!

I guess I'm a little too used to Peter Sagan's name and just assumed that was how it's spelled in those two countries.

 

[Tigerion]

My prediction of most popular riders
Kittel
Cav
Nibs
Chaves
And a low priced rider like Evenepoel or Bettiol

I am curious to see how many people will back Dawg, it has potential but was still too much of a risk for me

Edit: Should probably post my team as well
TRENTIN Matteo
MASNADA Fausto
HINDLEY Jai
COVI Alessandro
Ewan Caleb
DURBRIDGE Luke
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban
VANHOUCKE Harm
AFFINI Edoardo
KITTEL Marcel
BARGUIL Warren
THEUNS Edward
EVENEPOEL Remco
CAVENDISH Mark
GAUDU David
GARCIA CORTINA Ivan
NIBALI Vincenzo
ARU Fabio
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
VAN DER POEL Mathieu
MEINTJES Louis
SWIFT Ben
DASSONVILLE Flavien
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin
VALLS FERRI Rafael
CUMMINGS Stephen
LANGEVELD Sebastian
SCOTSON Miles
THOMAS Benjamin
BOUHANNI Nacer
SCHLEGEL Michal
WANG Meiyin
BETTIOL Alberto

 

[PremierAndrew]

PORTE Richie 868
LANDA MEANA Mikel 779
EWAN Caleb 776
NIBALI Vincenzo 693
BOASSON HAGEN Edvald 686
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 602
ZAKARIN Ilnur 473
ARU Fabio 400
GAUDU David 299
KITTEL Marcel 296
FELLINE Fabio 257
DE PLUS Laurens 226
THEUNS Edward 191
PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson 157
MEINTJES Louis 141
CAVENDISH Mark 125
HINDLEY Jai 109
THOMAS Benjamin 103
SWIFT Ben 72
ROWE Luke 70
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin 61
BETTIOL Alberto 50
KÄMNA Lennard 37
RIVERA SERRANO Kevin 20
DE KLEIJN Arvid 5
ACEVEDO CALLE Janier Alexis 1
VAKOC Petr 0
EVENEPOEL Remco 0
FOURNIER Marc 0
MAMYKIN Matvey 0
HERKLOTZ Silvio 0
TROFIMOV Yury 0
KONIG Leopold 0

Was very tempting to pick Froome in place of Porte and Gaviria, but felt it was too risky in the end to put all my eggs in one basket

Expecting Cavendish Vakoc Kittel Rowe Chaves to be the top picked riders

Edit: Just noticed I somehow left Chaves out in my final team, swear he was the second rider I put on after Cav... oh well :lol:

 

[Squire]

Trying to think of most popular picks, I can only come up with two riders who I'm pretty sure will be in the top 5. The other three could be anyone from about 12-15 riders as far as I can tell, and none are likely to be anywhere near omnipresent. A predictor for an interesting edition, I guess.

Chaves and Bettiol were the two I had in mind. Looks like they're in most teams.

 

[tobydawq]

Trying to think of most popular picks, I can only come up with two riders who I'm pretty sure will be in the top 5. The other three could be anyone from about 12-15 riders as far as I can tell, and none are likely to be anywhere near omnipresent. A predictor for an interesting edition, I guess.

Chaves and Bettiol were the two I had in mind. Looks like they're in most teams.

On the five publicised teams, Vakoc, Bettiol, Aru, Kittel and Felline are the only omnipresent riders.