Ah, it actually did work. I also share 21 riders with ruvu which is the team most similar to mine. I only share 15 riders with you. 20 with Flashke and MADRAZO.
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Thanks!
Ah, it actually did work. I also share 21 riders with ruvu which is the team most similar to mine. I only share 15 riders with you. 20 with Flashke and MADRAZO.
Okay, I'm caving and offering up my roster, for chuckles if for nothing else!
Ask and you shall receive. Indeed he is! Dumoulin is picked by 96,5% of players. The previous most popular rider ever was Boonen in 2014, picked by 92%. The other two who have been in more than 9 out of 10 teams were Kittel 2016 (91,7%) and Schleck 2013 (90,1%).
There will be cobbles, there will be bruises and there will be tears.
Though they might have so many new riders this year that not everyone will get to go through the usual Movistar baptism of fire (or baptism of cobbles).Ha, but seriously, I expect Evenepoel to move up in the ITT and GC hierarchies in particular. He was already reasonably close to Dennis at the Worlds, so he could establish himself as the world's second best TTer. GC results will follow, starting with San Juan and hopefully Catalunya. Short stage races with ITTs.
And then maybe later on show more consistency in one-day racing, as well.
Seems as though I've submitted the same rider twice in my list. Not sure if Rickaert counts twice for me or how that goes. ****
Ask and you shall receive. Indeed he is! Dumoulin is picked by 96,5% of players. The previous most popular rider ever was Boonen in 2014, picked by 92%. The other two who have been in more than 9 out of 10 teams were Kittel 2016 (91,7%) and Schleck 2013 (90,1%).
There will be cobbles, there will be bruises and there will be tears.
But now it's actually cobbles riders they have brought to the team.
This is getting worse. I had over 250pts to use
You're not represented in the spreadsheet. Maybe PM skidmark to see why.
Obviously Cosnefroy has to have a great season... TdF win would be great...
I guess, this game is fun as long as the season hasn't started?
I guess, this game is fun as long as the season hasn't started?
Ask and you shall receive. Indeed he is! Dumoulin is picked by 96,5% of players. The previous most popular rider ever was Boonen in 2014, picked by 92%. The other two who have been in more than 9 out of 10 teams were Kittel 2016 (91,7%) and Schleck 2013 (90,1%).
There will be cobbles, there will be bruises and there will be tears.
But this year they have riders who actually want to race on the cobbles.
Well, for a first attempt I suppose not missing the most popular riders is a decent start. Maybe too many of them though - 20 of the top 25, passing on Cavendish (last minute swap out), Kwiatkowski, Kanter, Vichot and Bardet.
My team, with popularity:
PINOT Thibaut 60
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 23
YATES Simon 84
CARTHY Hugh 5
MOSCON Gianni 57
LATOUR Pierre 78
SOLER GIMENEZ Marc 74
DUMOULIN Tom 109
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 14
BOUHANNI Nacer 52
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh 43
STEIMLE Jannik 24
CORT NIELSEN Magnus 38
PADUN Mark 24
ARU Fabio 83
OOMEN Sam 87
KÄMNA Lennard 46
HAYTER Ethan 10
FOSS Tobias Svendsen 28
VAN DER HOORN Taco 10
HAAS Nathan. 40
ALMEIDA Joao Pedro Gonçalves 19
MEINTJES Louis 21
DILLIER Silvan 39
FROOME Chris 93
MOLANO BENAVIDES Juan Sebastian 9
GENIEZ Alexandre 42
MODOLO Sacha 62
STRAKHOV Dmitry 19
ARDILA ORDOÑEZ Andres Camilo 57
CEPEDA ORTIZ Jefferson Alexander 27
DE BIE Sean 68
SIMMONS Quinn 76
Hugh Carthy is my rarest pick, selected in 5 teams. Bit of a gamble with question marks over how much better he can get and how often he'll be working for Higuita/Uran/Woods/however many other decent climbers EF have.
Other relatively rare picks:
Chaves (14): His best form might be long past, but still slightly surprised only 14 people picked him.
Van der Hoorn (10): Poor season last year
Hayter(10): Might be a mistake - I knew he was doing the Olympics, but I read yesterday he isn't going to appear on the road at all before then, leading me to drop him from the youth version of the game, for which submissions were still open.
Molano (9): Not sure about this, but I needed another rider under 100 points.
My team, with popularity:
PINOT Thibaut 60
GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando 23
YATES Simon 84
CARTHY Hugh 5
MOSCON Gianni 57
LATOUR Pierre 78
SOLER GIMENEZ Marc 74
DUMOULIN Tom 109
CHAVES RUBIO Jhoan Esteban 14
BOUHANNI Nacer 52
ANDERSEN Søren Kragh 43
STEIMLE Jannik 24
CORT NIELSEN Magnus 38
PADUN Mark 24
ARU Fabio 83
OOMEN Sam 87
KÄMNA Lennard 46
HAYTER Ethan 10
FOSS Tobias Svendsen 28
VAN DER HOORN Taco 10
HAAS Nathan. 40
ALMEIDA Joao Pedro Gonçalves 19
MEINTJES Louis 21
DILLIER Silvan 39
FROOME Chris 93
MOLANO BENAVIDES Juan Sebastian 9
GENIEZ Alexandre 42
MODOLO Sacha 62
STRAKHOV Dmitry 19
ARDILA ORDOÑEZ Andres Camilo 57
CEPEDA ORTIZ Jefferson Alexander 27
DE BIE Sean 68
SIMMONS Quinn 76
Hugh Carthy is my rarest pick, selected in 5 teams. Bit of a gamble with question marks over how much better he can get and how often he'll be working for Higuita/Uran/Woods/however many other decent climbers EF have.
Other relatively rare picks:
Chaves (14): His best form might be long past, but still slightly surprised only 14 people picked him.
Van der Hoorn (10): Poor season last year
Hayter(10): Might be a mistake - I knew he was doing the Olympics, but I read yesterday he isn't going to appear on the road at all before then, leading me to drop him from the youth version of the game, for which submissions were still open.
Molano (9): Not sure about this, but I needed another rider under 100 points.
I guess I did kinda well picking some not so obvious riders. Most-matched are @postmanhat and the man himself @skidmark.
Regarding this matter. He's had a lot of bad luck this year and most of it ruined by injuries. So if recovered well and if he can avoid those crashed and injuries next season, can be a good pick.
Okay let's do this. Going through my team again I realized just how rushed some decisions were but oh well, gotta go with it now...
Peter Sagan
I'm really unsure about him but when I started to put my team together he was the first guy I put in my team and after that I just went with it. In a way I guess this is also kinda to make the game exciting for myself as he is as big of a risk as you can take. He could end up being an absolute game winner though.
Thibaut Pinot
One of the best one day racers on mountainous route, had an unlucky season before a year with a mountainous ORR and WCRR? I just had to pick him. That said, the decision would have been even easier if he didn't ride the tour for gc.
Romain Bardet
He is kinda similar to Pinot with two differences. The negative, he didn't have as good of an excuse for his low point tally last year as Pinot. The positive, he will go to the giro and I guess that's what made me pick him in the end.
Michal Kwiatkowski
One of the most talented guys in the whole peloton who aside from having an off season last year could also additionally profit from the WC and olympics routes. Can definitely see him scoring around 1500 points again.
Matej Mohoric
Welcome to my first heart over head choice. I really really like the guy and usually riders in their mid twenties who just had a season where they only got half as many points as in their previous one is a reasonable pick. It's just the fact that he has only had one such good season that makes me nervous. Also, while I stand with my point that Yates isn't a no-brainer, how I could pick Mohoric despite only costing something like 100 points less is beyond me. Oh well, these are the kind of picks that make or break the team.
Gianni Moscon
Don't like the guy, but sure like talent to cost ratio I got here. Could be a bust but still a rather easy pick for me. Also, have I mentioned the olympics and WC routes yet?
Pierre Latour
Marc Soler
Similar to Latour. I actually don't think his future is as bright as some think and his 2018 points are only that high because of a, let's face it, fluke Paris Nice win, but still at 350 points I had to take him.
Tom Dumoulin
In a year with relatively few no brainers, he is clearly the biggest one. Must have pick.
Magnus Cort Nielsen
Jay McCarthy
It surprises me so few people have picked him. Have I missed something about him? I mean it's not like I think he is a must have or anything and I considered dropping him, but still a 27 year old having what looks like a complete outlier season compared with his career so far but still only 8 picks. Thought he would be more popular.
Fabio Aru
Funny to see that so many consider him a must have. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ends next season with less points this, he just looked burned out. Wasn't really happy with this pick and only really made it because of that small fear at the back of my mind that he might get back to his best and put in a 1500 points season.
Sam Oomen
Didn't actually know that much about his injury problems but he just looked so talented two years ago that I had to pick him.
Lennard Kämna
Another huge talent who I just want to break through. That said, I considered this a bit of a heart over head pick as well and I'm kinda surprised he is that popular.
Omar Fraile
One of the rushed picks I was talking about. Don't think he is particularly bad, but I probably could have found better alternatives.
Silvan Dillier
Chris Froome
I get it, he might not return this season at all and could get 0 points. But are you seriously gonna risk missing out on a potential upwards of 1500 points scorer who costs 77? Yeah, he might end up a nonfactor, but I still think he is one of the easiest picks of the game.
Alexandre Geniez
Sacha Modolo
I'm always kinda afraid to pick riders who have been on a downwards spiral for multiple years, but 67 points is really cheap and the new team could work wonders for him.
Robert Power
"Wasn't he like a really big talent a few years ago?" Is the kind of sentence I usually write about picks who turn out to be busts. But oh well, looks like I have fallen in the trap of picking the promising youngster from a few years ago, after a down year, yet again.
Gino Mäder
Really promising guy. Hope he can improve after last year.
Mark Cavendish
Another one of those big names with a really low pricetag that you kinda don't want to miss out on. At this price, I think it's a risk worth taking.
Yoann Offredo
Genuinely terrible pick, no idea why I did this.
Jonas Rickaert
Kinda boring pick, but could work decently. Just hoping for a few dozen points here and there from some small Belgian one day races.
FONTE Cesar Andre Lima
Yeah, so turns out Offredo wasn't my worst pick...the less said the better
ENGER Sondre Holst and DE BIE Sean
Putting those two together because they were both the exact same sort of pick. Also I kinda found it funny that they both had very similar seasons in 2017 which is why I picked them for the 2018 edition. It worked back then so hoping for a similar result this year.
DIBBEN Jonathan
TORRES BARCELO Albert
SIMMONS Quinn
WILLIAMS Stephen
My 0-pointers from this year. To be honest nobody I'm particularly fond of like last year, but still I'm hoping for some decent points from them.
Also, I'm so annoyed I overlooked Kanter. Especially as at some point I went through all WT teams looking for riders with less than 10 points and somehow I still missed him. I mean even though he is the kind of guy who probably won't be an absolute game changer, he's still so much better than some of my other cheap picks.
Peter Sagan
I'm really unsure about him but when I started to put my team together he was the first guy I put in my team and after that I just went with it. In a way I guess this is also kinda to make the game exciting for myself as he is as big of a risk as you can take. He could end up being an absolute game winner though.
Thibaut Pinot
One of the best one day racers on mountainous route, had an unlucky season before a year with a mountainous ORR and WCRR? I just had to pick him. That said, the decision would have been even easier if he didn't ride the tour for gc.
Romain Bardet
He is kinda similar to Pinot with two differences. The negative, he didn't have as good of an excuse for his low point tally last year as Pinot. The positive, he will go to the giro and I guess that's what made me pick him in the end.
Michal Kwiatkowski
One of the most talented guys in the whole peloton who aside from having an off season last year could also additionally profit from the WC and olympics routes. Can definitely see him scoring around 1500 points again.
Matej Mohoric
Welcome to my first heart over head choice. I really really like the guy and usually riders in their mid twenties who just had a season where they only got half as many points as in their previous one is a reasonable pick. It's just the fact that he has only had one such good season that makes me nervous. Also, while I stand with my point that Yates isn't a no-brainer, how I could pick Mohoric despite only costing something like 100 points less is beyond me. Oh well, these are the kind of picks that make or break the team.
Gianni Moscon
Don't like the guy, but sure like talent to cost ratio I got here. Could be a bust but still a rather easy pick for me. Also, have I mentioned the olympics and WC routes yet?
Pierre Latour
Marc Soler
Similar to Latour. I actually don't think his future is as bright as some think and his 2018 points are only that high because of a, let's face it, fluke Paris Nice win, but still at 350 points I had to take him.
Tom Dumoulin
In a year with relatively few no brainers, he is clearly the biggest one. Must have pick.
Magnus Cort Nielsen
Jay McCarthy
It surprises me so few people have picked him. Have I missed something about him? I mean it's not like I think he is a must have or anything and I considered dropping him, but still a 27 year old having what looks like a complete outlier season compared with his career so far but still only 8 picks. Thought he would be more popular.
Fabio Aru
Funny to see that so many consider him a must have. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ends next season with less points this, he just looked burned out. Wasn't really happy with this pick and only really made it because of that small fear at the back of my mind that he might get back to his best and put in a 1500 points season.
Sam Oomen
Didn't actually know that much about his injury problems but he just looked so talented two years ago that I had to pick him.
Lennard Kämna
Another huge talent who I just want to break through. That said, I considered this a bit of a heart over head pick as well and I'm kinda surprised he is that popular.
Omar Fraile
One of the rushed picks I was talking about. Don't think he is particularly bad, but I probably could have found better alternatives.
Silvan Dillier
Chris Froome
I get it, he might not return this season at all and could get 0 points. But are you seriously gonna risk missing out on a potential upwards of 1500 points scorer who costs 77? Yeah, he might end up a nonfactor, but I still think he is one of the easiest picks of the game.
Alexandre Geniez
Sacha Modolo
I'm always kinda afraid to pick riders who have been on a downwards spiral for multiple years, but 67 points is really cheap and the new team could work wonders for him.
Robert Power
"Wasn't he like a really big talent a few years ago?" Is the kind of sentence I usually write about picks who turn out to be busts. But oh well, looks like I have fallen in the trap of picking the promising youngster from a few years ago, after a down year, yet again.
Gino Mäder
Really promising guy. Hope he can improve after last year.
Mark Cavendish
Another one of those big names with a really low pricetag that you kinda don't want to miss out on. At this price, I think it's a risk worth taking.
Yoann Offredo
Genuinely terrible pick, no idea why I did this.
Jonas Rickaert
Kinda boring pick, but could work decently. Just hoping for a few dozen points here and there from some small Belgian one day races.
FONTE Cesar Andre Lima
Yeah, so turns out Offredo wasn't my worst pick...the less said the better
ENGER Sondre Holst and DE BIE Sean
Putting those two together because they were both the exact same sort of pick. Also I kinda found it funny that they both had very similar seasons in 2017 which is why I picked them for the 2018 edition. It worked back then so hoping for a similar result this year.
DIBBEN Jonathan
TORRES BARCELO Albert
SIMMONS Quinn
WILLIAMS Stephen
My 0-pointers from this year. To be honest nobody I'm particularly fond of like last year, but still I'm hoping for some decent points from them.
Also, I'm so annoyed I overlooked Kanter. Especially as at some point I went through all WT teams looking for riders with less than 10 points and somehow I still missed him. I mean even though he is the kind of guy who probably won't be an absolute game changer, he's still so much better than some of my other cheap picks.
Okay so looking at my team there is one relatively simple change I would now make as I would swap Offredo, Fraile and Mohoric for Kanter and Yates which would put me at 7448 points meaning I could also still pick another 0-pointer. What I noticed is that this would put me all the way up to 4th in the popularity ranking. Really curious how different those two teams will perform over the season.
Let's break down my team. (Will skip obvious picks +60)
Wout van Aert - 898 points (11 picks)
Wout van Aert, what a rider. Showed some of his class last year but then got taken out in the tt. He can sprint, punch and tt. A very versatile rider. Considering he didn't ride after that crash, he can score a lot more if he gets back to his old level. Which I think he will, and in that case a very solid pick. Also not picked that often, that helps.
Marc Hirschi - 540 points (15 picks)
Big big talent. Had a solid first year at Sunweb but indeed didn't get the attention he deserved due to Pogacar and Evenepoel. Was already really good at the U23-ranks and I expect him to grow in the stage races this year. With the hilly races next to that, could have a banging year.
Daniel Martinez - 526 points (9 picks)
Only 23 years old, had a good year but then got injured. Perfect rider for one-week stage races and hopefully can evolve into a 3-week rider as well. But a full season with solid racing should have him improving his score with quite a margin. Again not so many picks.
John Degenkolb - 520 points (9 picks)
With the move to LottoSoudal and Benoot gone I actually think he'll be quite solid. Should be 2nd fastest in the sprints therefore rack up results there as well. But mostly hoping for a good classics-campaign. With Wellens who can go on the attack it is a fair option he will do really well this year. 520 points isn't nothing but it should be doable for him to top that, considering he has done it before.
Ivan Garcia Cortina - 453 points (10 picks)
Breakthrough year incoming. He'll be outperforming Colbrelli and having a good classics campaign. Also good at sprints with a hilly stage before that. He's gonna smash it, is my feeling.
Gianni Moscon - 424 points (57 picks)
Most picked rider on my team sub-60 picks. Always had a soft spot for him (No I don't support his outbursts) and thought he would grow out to be a really good rider. At Ineos you don't really have that many hillriders other than Kwiatkowski and maybe Dunbar. Showed his class in glimpses last year but hoping he can pull it off for an entire season this time. He's got the talent to be one of the best puncheurs out there, just needs to put it to work. Willing to take that risk.
Diego Rosa - 297 points (5 picks)
Moving back to the PCT-ranks seems like the right move for him. Was stuck at Ineos as a helper but definitely has the talent to lead races. Had a good end at Guangxi and showed what he can do. He'll have a good calendar and lots of chances to lead races, therefore score a lot of points. Really surprised to see him with only 5 picks. Maybe the price scared people off.
Nacer Bouhanni - 276 points (52 picks)
Mister bad boy, one of the fastest sprinters out there. With a move to another team I expect him to go back to sprinting and winning races and having a very good season.
Davide Ballerini - 252 points (22 picks)
Moved to QS, often a good sign. Has lots of talents and expecting a breakthrough season for him as well. Solid sprint, stamina and punch. Will be good.
Mark Padun - 209 points (24 picks)
Another promising rider who showed a glimpse of what he is capable last year. Now two season at WT under his belt this is the year he needs to go on and perform. Is a fast rider and can climb good as well. I have faith in him performing well in the one-week stage races and the hillclassics like San Sebastian. Also, a full season this time around, should help him as well.
Sergey Chernetskiy - 126 points (8 picks)
Have always been fond of Sergey, especially at Caja. When in form he is a really good puncher and now back at Gazprom he'll get enough opportunities to prove he is still a worthy leader for the team. Think he will do this, now with other Russians surrounding him.
Stan Dewulf - 112 points (7 picks)
This man, this man is a big talent. He's the next big thing in classics and 2019 promised a lot for me. Finishing a lot of the big hard races often says a lot about a first-year. He's got the grit and the talent too make it far. With that first year done I think he'll be more confident this year and get the chances to stick with the favourites until the final km's. He's quite fast as well which will then set him up for more good results. Good faith in this geezer.
Kaden Groves - 106 points (20 picks)
Also a huge talent, by most seen as a really good sprinter. Which he is by the way. But not only is he a strong sprinter, this man can survive serious hills along the way. When I saw him finish 2nd at Avenir after a really tough stage (stage 6 for those interested) I couldn't believe my eyes at first and thought the organisation had made a mistake id'ing the rider. But it was him, and he did make it. Strong sprint, can survive tough rides, sounds a good profile of a talent to me. Hope he can already show this in the next year. With only Mezgec and Edmondson there as sprinters he can duel them.
Alexander Konychev - 99 points (8 picks)
Moved to NTT, very strong rider. The way he won Etoile d'Or this year was pretty impressive. Has a good sprint but can survive a lot along the way. As a trainee showed himself at Isbergues and Bernocchi. Was strong at WC but got DQ'ed. Needs to get his head down and just push hard this year.
Ruben Fernandez - 83 points (17 picks)
Joining Orbea and moving away from Movistar. He is by far the best climber at his new team and can perform in all the Spanish races. With these chances I hope he shows his talent and gets the results and points next to his name.
Nils Eekhoff - 74 points (18 picks)
The U23 worldchampion (for me). Strong and fast, at Sunweb with Bol and Matthews. You'd think he'll be kept under the radar first year but I just think he's to good to do that. He'll do just fine and show himself to the world.
Jhojan Garcia - 64 points (7 picks)
Very good climber, but lacks the talents for all the other things. Hope he as actually trained hard on those parts and in that case he'll be just fine.
Kobe Goossens - 63 points (3 picks Darn!)
My personal favourite rider. Was actually too old last year to stay at LottoU23 but they gave him a shot anyway. Started 2018 really well but then had a lot of bad luck. He's a really solid climber and showed that in 2019, also has a good punch. Not a lot of competition in that department at Lotto Soudal and hope he gets his chances.
Gabriel Cullaigh - 50 points (8 picks)
Was to fill up my team, but that doesn't mean he is a bad or average pick. Only somewhat sprinter at Movistar and can go well on cobbles. Think he'll do fine and get 150-200 points.
Jeremy Cabot - 46 points (2 picks DARN!)
This man dominated the French amateur scene last year and got a contract at Direct Energie for it. He's an allrounder and seems like a perfect fit for the French scene. Showed he can do it at Jura and Paris-Troyes. I have faith.
Jaako Hanninen - 41 points (23 picks)
This man has some real talent. Showed that in the French amateur scene to me but then showed the world how good he is at the World Championships scoring a medal. He's up for big things and will be performing this year. I'm sure he'll be glad to see his French Amateurscene nemesis Cabot back racking with him ;-).
Last but not least, Paul Penhoet - 0 points (1 pick)
Last rider, and finally an unique pick. This man is really young and comes from the Juniorscene where he was one of the fastest sprinters. Joins the FDJ Dev team and hope can win some sprints and score points. More just a fun pick than a really serious shot. Big talent, high ceiling but probably too early for him.
That's about it then. More popular picks on my team were the following:
Simon Yates
Pierre Latour
Marc Soler
Tom Dumoulin
Fabio Aru
Sam Oomen
Chris Froome
Sacha Modolo
Max Kanter
Sean de Bie
Quinn Simmons
Makes sense why I picked these riders considering a lot have already explained it. With a lot of rare picks in the higher points region I hope they will perform and then I might just be in for a cracker. Will be fun following the season anyway.
Please do discuss! All up for it.
Wout van Aert - 898 points (11 picks)
Wout van Aert, what a rider. Showed some of his class last year but then got taken out in the tt. He can sprint, punch and tt. A very versatile rider. Considering he didn't ride after that crash, he can score a lot more if he gets back to his old level. Which I think he will, and in that case a very solid pick. Also not picked that often, that helps.
Marc Hirschi - 540 points (15 picks)
Big big talent. Had a solid first year at Sunweb but indeed didn't get the attention he deserved due to Pogacar and Evenepoel. Was already really good at the U23-ranks and I expect him to grow in the stage races this year. With the hilly races next to that, could have a banging year.
Daniel Martinez - 526 points (9 picks)
Only 23 years old, had a good year but then got injured. Perfect rider for one-week stage races and hopefully can evolve into a 3-week rider as well. But a full season with solid racing should have him improving his score with quite a margin. Again not so many picks.
John Degenkolb - 520 points (9 picks)
With the move to LottoSoudal and Benoot gone I actually think he'll be quite solid. Should be 2nd fastest in the sprints therefore rack up results there as well. But mostly hoping for a good classics-campaign. With Wellens who can go on the attack it is a fair option he will do really well this year. 520 points isn't nothing but it should be doable for him to top that, considering he has done it before.
Ivan Garcia Cortina - 453 points (10 picks)
Breakthrough year incoming. He'll be outperforming Colbrelli and having a good classics campaign. Also good at sprints with a hilly stage before that. He's gonna smash it, is my feeling.
Gianni Moscon - 424 points (57 picks)
Most picked rider on my team sub-60 picks. Always had a soft spot for him (No I don't support his outbursts) and thought he would grow out to be a really good rider. At Ineos you don't really have that many hillriders other than Kwiatkowski and maybe Dunbar. Showed his class in glimpses last year but hoping he can pull it off for an entire season this time. He's got the talent to be one of the best puncheurs out there, just needs to put it to work. Willing to take that risk.
Diego Rosa - 297 points (5 picks)
Moving back to the PCT-ranks seems like the right move for him. Was stuck at Ineos as a helper but definitely has the talent to lead races. Had a good end at Guangxi and showed what he can do. He'll have a good calendar and lots of chances to lead races, therefore score a lot of points. Really surprised to see him with only 5 picks. Maybe the price scared people off.
Nacer Bouhanni - 276 points (52 picks)
Mister bad boy, one of the fastest sprinters out there. With a move to another team I expect him to go back to sprinting and winning races and having a very good season.
Davide Ballerini - 252 points (22 picks)
Moved to QS, often a good sign. Has lots of talents and expecting a breakthrough season for him as well. Solid sprint, stamina and punch. Will be good.
Mark Padun - 209 points (24 picks)
Another promising rider who showed a glimpse of what he is capable last year. Now two season at WT under his belt this is the year he needs to go on and perform. Is a fast rider and can climb good as well. I have faith in him performing well in the one-week stage races and the hillclassics like San Sebastian. Also, a full season this time around, should help him as well.
Sergey Chernetskiy - 126 points (8 picks)
Have always been fond of Sergey, especially at Caja. When in form he is a really good puncher and now back at Gazprom he'll get enough opportunities to prove he is still a worthy leader for the team. Think he will do this, now with other Russians surrounding him.
Stan Dewulf - 112 points (7 picks)
This man, this man is a big talent. He's the next big thing in classics and 2019 promised a lot for me. Finishing a lot of the big hard races often says a lot about a first-year. He's got the grit and the talent too make it far. With that first year done I think he'll be more confident this year and get the chances to stick with the favourites until the final km's. He's quite fast as well which will then set him up for more good results. Good faith in this geezer.
Kaden Groves - 106 points (20 picks)
Also a huge talent, by most seen as a really good sprinter. Which he is by the way. But not only is he a strong sprinter, this man can survive serious hills along the way. When I saw him finish 2nd at Avenir after a really tough stage (stage 6 for those interested) I couldn't believe my eyes at first and thought the organisation had made a mistake id'ing the rider. But it was him, and he did make it. Strong sprint, can survive tough rides, sounds a good profile of a talent to me. Hope he can already show this in the next year. With only Mezgec and Edmondson there as sprinters he can duel them.
Alexander Konychev - 99 points (8 picks)
Moved to NTT, very strong rider. The way he won Etoile d'Or this year was pretty impressive. Has a good sprint but can survive a lot along the way. As a trainee showed himself at Isbergues and Bernocchi. Was strong at WC but got DQ'ed. Needs to get his head down and just push hard this year.
Ruben Fernandez - 83 points (17 picks)
Joining Orbea and moving away from Movistar. He is by far the best climber at his new team and can perform in all the Spanish races. With these chances I hope he shows his talent and gets the results and points next to his name.
Nils Eekhoff - 74 points (18 picks)
The U23 worldchampion (for me). Strong and fast, at Sunweb with Bol and Matthews. You'd think he'll be kept under the radar first year but I just think he's to good to do that. He'll do just fine and show himself to the world.
Jhojan Garcia - 64 points (7 picks)
Very good climber, but lacks the talents for all the other things. Hope he as actually trained hard on those parts and in that case he'll be just fine.
Kobe Goossens - 63 points (3 picks Darn!)
My personal favourite rider. Was actually too old last year to stay at LottoU23 but they gave him a shot anyway. Started 2018 really well but then had a lot of bad luck. He's a really solid climber and showed that in 2019, also has a good punch. Not a lot of competition in that department at Lotto Soudal and hope he gets his chances.
Gabriel Cullaigh - 50 points (8 picks)
Was to fill up my team, but that doesn't mean he is a bad or average pick. Only somewhat sprinter at Movistar and can go well on cobbles. Think he'll do fine and get 150-200 points.
Jeremy Cabot - 46 points (2 picks DARN!)
This man dominated the French amateur scene last year and got a contract at Direct Energie for it. He's an allrounder and seems like a perfect fit for the French scene. Showed he can do it at Jura and Paris-Troyes. I have faith.
Jaako Hanninen - 41 points (23 picks)
This man has some real talent. Showed that in the French amateur scene to me but then showed the world how good he is at the World Championships scoring a medal. He's up for big things and will be performing this year. I'm sure he'll be glad to see his French Amateurscene nemesis Cabot back racking with him ;-).
Last but not least, Paul Penhoet - 0 points (1 pick)
Last rider, and finally an unique pick. This man is really young and comes from the Juniorscene where he was one of the fastest sprinters. Joins the FDJ Dev team and hope can win some sprints and score points. More just a fun pick than a really serious shot. Big talent, high ceiling but probably too early for him.
That's about it then. More popular picks on my team were the following:
Simon Yates
Pierre Latour
Marc Soler
Tom Dumoulin
Fabio Aru
Sam Oomen
Chris Froome
Sacha Modolo
Max Kanter
Sean de Bie
Quinn Simmons
Makes sense why I picked these riders considering a lot have already explained it. With a lot of rare picks in the higher points region I hope they will perform and then I might just be in for a cracker. Will be fun following the season anyway.
Please do discuss! All up for it.
I did a pretty thorough search on Warlop in the preparation for this game! There was a great article in kw.be. - I will add the quote I got myself using Google-Translation here.
Hans de Clercq ( Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) -I got angry with Jordi a few times this year. He has to learn to change his mentality and live for his profession. Jordi can go along way and has enormous potential, but he needs to start to get serious. He is no longer in the junior category. In July, I took him apart for a talk before the Adriatica Ionica Race because he was far too heavy - Hopefully, he will understand?
Undeniable a good rider though. If fit, I think he could be a very good choice.
I started my longlist back in January 2019. And there I was hectically selecting riders on the train three hours ahead of deadline. Missed some riders I would have most definitely taken, mainly Soler, Kanter, Vichot and Ardila. Was also a bit surprised by the number of people chosing Steimle. I guess he must have made quite an impression during the autumn races, when I couldn't really follow any racing. Kind of weird that I ended up without riders from Spain and Colombia. Last year I tried to select some rider based on specific circuits, like the Italian one day races, the Asia Tour and so on. I also had tried to implement at least one rider from every big cycling nation. All this kinda went overboard during my last minute effort so I'm not expecting an improvement from P52 last year, but I'm here for the fun anyway. My team:
| Rider | 2019 Points | Popularity | Comment |
| NIBALI Vincenzo | 1012 | 3 | A bit surprised he is that unpopular. I just couldn't resist picking him, he still hast some life in those elderly sicilian bones, I'm sure. Giro, Olympics, Vuelta, Worlds seems like a great schedule too. |
| PINOT Thibaut | 861 | 60 | Everything has been said regarding him. |
| YATES Simon | 668 | 84 | See above. |
| VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael | 565 | 10 | Had a terrible first part of th season with Dimension Data. Still, I'm convinced by his talent and tactical ability. Top dog at NTT too. My team has quite a few of their riders, which scares me slightly. |
| CARTHY Hugh | 430 | 5 | Some of his performances in 2019 made me genuinely believe that he can be one of the best climbers in the world. Thinking of some of the Giro stages (Civiglio, Mortirolo) and in particular that monumental Tour de Suisse stage across three big mountains. The risk is quite high, as consistency has not been his strength so far, but with Uran's future being questionable he may be able to step up in the team. |
| LATOUR Pierre | 352 | 78 | With Bardet trying new ways, his star could really rise this year. |
| DUMOULIN Tom | 341 | 109 | Dunno, lad seems kinda talented, bit of a left field one right there. |
| GREIPEL André | 336 | 3 | He should get a very good schedule at his new team. It remains to be seen if his poor season can be largely attributed to the virus he was fighting in spring (and maybe sub-optimal treatment) or if he is just finished as a world class rider. |
| CAVAGNA Rémi | 300 | 3 | The bunch is crowded at Quick-Step. That's probably why he got picked so rarely. Some of his rides in California and in the Vuelta showed that he has a special engine, let's hope he finds some room to transform that into points. I feel about him a bit like I felt about Asgreen last year, and that turned out to be a great pick. These last two could truly hurt my team if they fail to deliver. |
| ANDERSEN Søren Kragh | 268 | 43 | Immensly versitile rider. At that price, looking at his past two seasons, he was one of the first picks for my team. |
| MCNULTY Brandon | 267 | 30 | Already had him on my team last year, maybe one too early. It was great to watch him in Sicily showing true panache, the reason why I like the guy and chose him again. Will be interesting to see how it goes with all those young guns at UAE. |
| BALLERINI Davide | 252 | 22 | A talented classics rider going to Quick-Step. At the same time Gilbert leaving, Stybar getting older, Lampaert not quite delivering at the highest level. Had to be on my team. |
| CORT NIELSEN Magnus | 227 | 38 | Here's hoping he doesn't go full domestique and rediscovers some of his sprinting legs. Or maybe just some breakaway wins. The potential is there imo. |
| ARU Fabio | 194 | 83 | Obvious pick. |
| LEKNESSUND Andreas | 186 | 7 | Great TTer, Norwegian Champion against EBH! Hopefully its not too early as he is quite costly. |
| DE BOD Stefan | 163 | 1 | Strong TTer. Hope NTT get their act together. |
| KÄMNA Lennard | 155 | 46 | BORA should be the right environment for him. He has a great engine and is light, the ideal combination for the biuggest dream. Does he have the mentallity though? |
| ZIMMERMANN Georg | 120 | 4 | Talented young puncheur/climber. There should be some opportunities for him at CCC to ride for results. |
| PIDCOCK Thomas | 116 | 14 | It remains to be seen what kind of race calender he gets, but the talent is there. And he he is coming via the CX route. Can only be great, right? Might be a year too early though. |
| DILLIER Silvan | 101 | 39 | One of my favourite riders. In the right breakaway he becomes an animal. Had to take him at that price. |
| ZABEL Rick | 89 | 4 | He should be better than 89 points, right? |
| FROOME Chris | 77 | 93 | Everything has been said. |
| RHIM Brendan | 64 | 1 | This is just some lucky pick. He was good in some of the samller American races and is not too young anymore. Hoping for some Piccoli'esque miracle. |
| MULUBRHAN Henok | 60 | 1 | Strong performances in some of the African races last year while working mostly for others on the Eritrean national team. This year for NTT development team he should get a good schedule and score some points, mayeb also in Europe. |
| HAILU Biniam Girmay | 55 | 7 | I just had to take Evenepoel's nemesis. He can sprint and in the Tour de l'Avenir he could even climb. |
| CULLAIGH Gabriel | 50 | 8 | An odd one. Caught my eye during one of the smaller Belgian races, now he is at Movistar. I like weird things like this, so he is in my team. |
| MÄDER Gino | 50 | 32 | Another NTT rider, oh boi. Chose him over Hirschi last year, that turned out great. This year will be his, like all of NTT's! |
| KRIEGER Alexander | 42 | 6 | Finally in a pro team after many strong seasons at CT level. Interestingly it happened after a very poor season with some bad luck. At the price, I couldn't resist. |
| HÄNNINEN Jaakko | 41 | 23 | Selected him last year already as I wasn't aware that he wasn't going to turn pro until August. So here we are again, and I'm quite confident that he will cause a lot of joy for me. |
| VERMAERKE Kevin | 40 | 4 | He didn't have a great or consistent season but some of his results indicate big talent, like his LBL U23 win. I don't trust Hagens Berman Axeon unfortunately. |
| SIMMONS Quinn | 0 | 76 | Had to take him after that ride in Yorkshire. Immediately turning pro might be tough ask but I couldn't think of any better 0 pointer. |
| KNOTTEN Iver | 0 | 1 | He also beat EBH in the Norwegian TT nationals. Seems to be my primary selection criterium. That and being at NTT. |
| BYIZA UHIRIWE Rnus | 0 | 1 | Obvious pick. |
A lot of quotes coming up here.
Have you had a look at where his points come from? Going by European results, his 2019 was actually better than his 2018. He can only score in Australia, and he won't win the Cadel race every year. If he doesn't reach whatever points total you want out of him by the end of January, you can pretty much write him off.
There's always some fun picks who go totally under my radar, and this is one of them. Now that he's back on conti level after a slim pro conti year, he doesn't have to worry about that pesky blood passport.
Yeah, he's a great talent who I've followed since his amazing junior years, but I don't get all hype in CQ game terms. Podium in San Seb and 5th in Benelux – that's a lot of points to get back. It's not like he keeps his points and just needs to score more. He could have a good year and not hit high-scoring results like that. Do people expect him to reach Schachmann/Fuglsang levels in hilly classics already?
Rubbing hands!
Just 17 picks is a surprise. Rubbing hands again.
You and MADRAZO and a few others with a lot of knowledge have put him in your teams. Based on what exactly? Even if he's Movistar's only sprinter, he still needs to be good to actually score points. For me he looks like a pretty average conti rider. I think it was Toby who mentioned that he followed Terpstra in Le Samyn, but that couldn't have been for a long time, as he finished 71st, three and a half minutes down. I didn't watch, did he puncture or something?
Interesting. I also found an article in KW, but I could only read the first few paragraphs because of a pay wall. But it had this quote: "Ik kan nu weer trainen zoals het moet en voel me een heel ander mens", which I interpreted as him being over some illness (some kind of issue was reported last season as well). But if it had to do with his dedication, the chat with the DS must have worked, because he was top 15 in basically every race he rode from June onwards.
I don't know what happened in regards to Le Samyn but I do I have been following Gabz for some years now. Wasn't the biggest talent but works hard and has been steadily improving over seasons. Last season showed great promise to me, in both Yorkshire and Alentejo. Ofcourzs it always is a hit or miss whether he will continue to perform in WT and in his first year.
Armchair cyclist
Moderator
This year, it is possible to do a straight forward Collective Wisdom team: the 33 most popular riders can all be selected within budget. It could be interesting of this team could be included in updates. Rubio Reyes could be replaced with the equally popular CEPEDA ORTIZ Jefferson Alexander, but that would leave even more of an underspend. Ruvu has 26 of these in hos team: Revels has just 1.
| Price | Popularity | |
| DUMOULIN Tom | 341 | 109 |
| FROOME Chris | 77 | 93 |
| OOMEN Sam | 179 | 87 |
| YATES Simon | 668 | 84 |
| ARU Fabio | 194 | 83 |
| LATOUR Pierre | 352 | 78 |
| SIMMONS Quinn | 0 | 76 |
| SOLER GIMENEZ Marc | 350 | 74 |
| CAVENDISH Mark | 25 | 70 |
| DE BIE Sean | 5 | 68 |
| KWIATKOWSKI Michal | 645 | 65 |
| KANTER Max | 8 | 63 |
| MODOLO Sacha | 67 | 62 |
| PINOT Thibaut | 861 | 60 |
| MOSCON Gianni | 424 | 57 |
| ARDILA ORDOÑEZ Andres Camilo | 44 | 57 |
| VICHOT Arthur | 28 | 57 |
| BARDET Romain | 734 | 54 |
| BOUHANNI Nacer | 276 | 52 |
| KÄMNA Lennard | 155 | 46 |
| ANDERSEN Søren Kragh | 268 | 43 |
| GENIEZ Alexandre | 68 | 42 |
| HAAS Nathan | 118 | 40 |
| DILLIER Silvan | 101 | 39 |
| CORT NIELSEN Magnus | 227 | 38 |
| POWER Robert | 56 | 35 |
| BAGIOLI Andrea | 83 | 35 |
| MÄDER Gino | 50 | 32 |
| MCNULTY Brandon | 267 | 30 |
| DAINESE Alberto | 201 | 30 |
| ENGER Sondre Holst | 18 | 30 |
| FOSS Tobias Svendsen | 127 | 28 |
| RUBIO REYES Einer Augusto | 52 | 27 |
| Totals | 7069 | 1844 |
@Squire
"
He was one of my last picks, could just as well have been Minali for instance, but he was just a bit more exiting and with a higher ceiling teoretically. But I dont expect him to make that many points and I agree that he seems a fairly average talent, but still I think he could have access to some easy points, especially on the spanish calender and that he ought to score at least 200 points with all the opportunities he will get, with a decent chance of more, even if he likely wont get much more. For instance just the Malorca sprint races and a few other 1 day races that are some very easy sprinterpoints often, and then again he is not that bad.
For now though I would clearly wish I had picked Andronis Cepeda instead of him. I have him also as a big talent and he was always certain in the Youth game, but for some reason I never really got around to considder him much in the main game this year. I guess I kind of forgot all the even more easy points riders like Munoz and Rivera were able to get this year and that I assume he may also get, being at least as talented.
"
You and MADRAZO and a few others with a lot of knowledge have put him in your teams. Based on what exactly? Even if he's Movistar's only sprinter, he still needs to be good to actually score points. For me he looks like a pretty average conti rider. I think it was Toby who mentioned that he followed Terpstra in Le Samyn, but that couldn't have been for a long time, as he finished 71st, three and a half minutes down. I didn't watch, did he puncture or something? "
He was one of my last picks, could just as well have been Minali for instance, but he was just a bit more exiting and with a higher ceiling teoretically. But I dont expect him to make that many points and I agree that he seems a fairly average talent, but still I think he could have access to some easy points, especially on the spanish calender and that he ought to score at least 200 points with all the opportunities he will get, with a decent chance of more, even if he likely wont get much more. For instance just the Malorca sprint races and a few other 1 day races that are some very easy sprinterpoints often, and then again he is not that bad.
For now though I would clearly wish I had picked Andronis Cepeda instead of him. I have him also as a big talent and he was always certain in the Youth game, but for some reason I never really got around to considder him much in the main game this year. I guess I kind of forgot all the even more easy points riders like Munoz and Rivera were able to get this year and that I assume he may also get, being at least as talented.
I've already programmed this team into the "Popularity Team 1" tab and promise to mention them in the updates. (If someone wants to put together a "popularity team 2" replacing some of the lower popularity guys with higher popularity to bring it to 7500 I can do that too) The tracking of the popularity team is something I've dropped the ball on in recent years, and last year Armchair Cyclist sent me a PM with the pop team at the start of the season and I totally forgot to enter it and then felt bad for most of the year when I remembered (but still didn't do it). Here's my public commitment this year!
That's also ultimately why I didn't pick him, it's kind of how I feel about guys who got over 100 points from Paris-Roubaix and like 300 points on the year, too many eggs in the same basket, and they're fragile eggs in a pretty flimsy basket.
I dunno, I thought long and hard about Hirschi. Sure he has a lot to live up to in terms of the points he got in the summer and fall, but other than E3 he really didn't bring home much from the spring, and getting blooded in the spring as a neo-pro in 2019, he could bring home a whole raft more points before mid-April this year. He doesn't have to be Schachmann/Fuglsang levels, just like a Valgren 2018 that can do well enough at both Omloop and the Ardennes. Distance is still a question mark, but I don't think he'll be a bad pick.
Rubbing hands!
I think this may be your key pick of the game. I don't regret not picking him, but I can see the upside now that he's freed from the Sky yoke, for sure.
This one I don't see. Do you know why his year was so bad last year at Movistar? I don't, so I erred on the side of thinking he was just too inconsistent/not good and cut him from my medium-long list early. Other than being a bigger fish in a smaller pond (and also with me being trepidatious about the ability of Spanish PCT teams to really boost a rider's CQ points), I just didn't have any specific reason to pick him over, like, Andrea Bagioli who costs the same. I'd love to hear more though.
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