Not sure many other points I'll get, but I do have this weekends two winners on my team so that has to help.
-
The Cycling News forum is still looking to add volunteer moderators with. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
My top heavy strategy isn't really paying off.
Alaphilippe's current shape is a bit concerning. I thought he'd be up there in Flanders and then smash the Ardennes, but he looks a lot worse than he did in February and early March.
Van der Poel first batch of races wasn't as dominant as I hoped but with almost 800 point in 15 race days I can't complain. Tour, BinckBank, WC, Roubaix still to come. Almost impossible to hit 2000 points at this point though.
Sagan and COVID, such bad luck. He's starting to look like himself again though.
I still trust Remco to be a dominant force once he gets back racing but I'll need him to be Merckx-like to stand any chance of winning the game.
Biggest regrets are Higuita and Simmons though. Especially the latter. Looked like a monster in Strade Bianche, then completely disappeared.
Alaphilippe's current shape is a bit concerning. I thought he'd be up there in Flanders and then smash the Ardennes, but he looks a lot worse than he did in February and early March.
Van der Poel first batch of races wasn't as dominant as I hoped but with almost 800 point in 15 race days I can't complain. Tour, BinckBank, WC, Roubaix still to come. Almost impossible to hit 2000 points at this point though.
Sagan and COVID, such bad luck. He's starting to look like himself again though.
I still trust Remco to be a dominant force once he gets back racing but I'll need him to be Merckx-like to stand any chance of winning the game.
Biggest regrets are Higuita and Simmons though. Especially the latter. Looked like a monster in Strade Bianche, then completely disappeared.
Springtime evaluation.
So far I'm very content with my young guys, Vansevenant especially, but Vingegaard, Ayuso and Romo are looking like good picks, too.
Bernal and Schachmann, the most picked one and an almost rare pick, look promising, but I don't really know what will come. Same goes for Kämna, Hirschi and Thomas. Basically for all of my most expensive riders.
Higuita could be a disappointment. I still like him.
Hamilton could be very decent, same goes for the cheaper and very popular Latour. Politt good so far, but his races are almost over.
I'm excited about Jakobsen, even if he doesn't bring profit I wish him the best. In any case it's really nice news he's about to race again.
Mollema is Mr Steady, as expected.
Lutsenko is still extremely inconsistent and I probably should not have picked him, although he recently showed flashes.
Gaviria is my biggest disappointment and might stay in that role, unfortunately. Beating Teunissen.
Kuss, Sivakov, Arensman, Gallopin, Bardet average so far. Froome bad, but might regain his points.
Kruijswijk is Kruiswijk. Powless could be something or average. And Tejada still doesn't count for me, anyway, because he has too many names.
After Scheldeprijs the worst should be over for me... or so I hope...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWmrfgj0MZI
So far I'm very content with my young guys, Vansevenant especially, but Vingegaard, Ayuso and Romo are looking like good picks, too.
Bernal and Schachmann, the most picked one and an almost rare pick, look promising, but I don't really know what will come. Same goes for Kämna, Hirschi and Thomas. Basically for all of my most expensive riders.
Higuita could be a disappointment. I still like him.
Hamilton could be very decent, same goes for the cheaper and very popular Latour. Politt good so far, but his races are almost over.
I'm excited about Jakobsen, even if he doesn't bring profit I wish him the best. In any case it's really nice news he's about to race again.
Mollema is Mr Steady, as expected.
Lutsenko is still extremely inconsistent and I probably should not have picked him, although he recently showed flashes.
Gaviria is my biggest disappointment and might stay in that role, unfortunately. Beating Teunissen.
Kuss, Sivakov, Arensman, Gallopin, Bardet average so far. Froome bad, but might regain his points.
Kruijswijk is Kruiswijk.
Powless could be something or average. And Tejada still doesn't count for me, anyway, because he has too many names. After Scheldeprijs the worst should be over for me... or so I hope...
Update #10: Boris98 strikes back
At the start of the week, I thought it was strange that a week with a monument was so thin with racing and figured it would be a down week for points. But, uh, the 1000 point weeks keep coming!
This Week's Top Scorers
Boris98 won two weeks ago, had a down week last week, and now has won again with another 4-digit week. The driving force behind the win two weeks ago (Jasper Stuyven, 4 teams) scored 161 this week, but that was only good enough for third on Boris' team, behind Greg Van Avermaet (199 points, 33 teams) and Christophe Laporte (162, 32). Also contributing is Sep Vanmarcke (112, 62 teams), Kristoff (13 teams, got 90 points despite overall having a disappointing week) and Lutsenko (78 points, 31 teams). Salvarani has a solid week, cracking 1000 points with a very similar lineup as Boris but instead of the owned-by-4-teams Stuyven, their team has 130 points from an owned-by-4-teams (and is seeming like possibly quite a good deal) Alejandro Valverde. A familiar face in third, as Hugo Koblet has yet another great week with the familiar trio of GvA/Laporte/Vanmarcke and just a cumulative bounce from a strong supporting cast of 12 other riders that nabbed between 10 and 90 points this week. Interestingly, none of the 5 teams that picked Asgreen featured in the top 10 this week, emphasizing how big of a team game this truly is.
This Week's High Movers
Salvarani's 1000 point week comes with a large jump in the standings, moving up a very impressive 28 spots in the standings. The VeloRooms collective team and Gigs_98 tie for the other podium spots, the former being one of those 5 Asgreen teams and the latter riding the tried and true GvA/Laporte/Vanmarcke + Valverde combo.
This Month's Top Scorers
It has been quite the month! Note that March scores include 5 updates rather than 4, but Boris98 still averages over 800 points/update in March, and along with Total Package is one of two teams who earned over half of their team's 7500 cost this month. Boris' riders scoring big points range from the rare to the popular, the expensive to the cheap. But leading the way is the aforementioned Stuyven, who got 473 points for his 4 owners. Behind that, Boris98 got hauls from GvA (375), Bernal (311), Michael Matthews, Christophe Laporte (270 each), Mauri Vansevenant (237), Tiesj Benoot (211), Sonny Colbrelli (209), Matteo Trentin (197) and Sep Vanmarcke (165) as a top 10 on the month. Phew! Total Package has the same top 5 save for Adam Yates (331) replacing Stuyven, and the same in spots 6-10 save for Mollema (262) and Sagan (218) swapped in for Vansevnant and Benoot. Bicycle Boy is in third place but with little to complain about, with a wildly top-heavy team, top 3 scorers being WvA with 1010 points(!), MvdP with 738, and Sam Bennett with 329.
This Month's High Movers
A different set on this ranking, indicating that the teams that were highest scoring in March had already gotten off to a great start. On this ranking, tom-jelte managed to move up more than half the length of the table with a Van driven lineup (Van Aert, Van Der Poel, Van Avermaet) plus Bernal topping 300 for the month. Galpedal grabs second on this ranking thanks largely to WvA, and LosBrolin gets a mention in third.
Green Jersey Competition
The rich get richer in this ranking... Boris98 would have gone back in the lead with 45 points this week if Hugo hadn't gotten 30 points for third place - as a result, both teams build up a pretty good lead on the rest of the field. Total Package gets 26 points for 4th on the week to build on 45 for the win last week to move into the top 5 overall here.
Top 10 Overall
Another week, another lead change! Boris98's great week is enough to get back into the lead, although only by 58 points over last week's leader Total Package - in this high-point environment, that's nothing. Hugo Koblet keeps a place among the leaders as has been the case all season. Lower down there's minor bouncing about, with game veterans Squire and skidmark coming back into the top 10, and the feast-or-famine teams of Otoxiep87 and Jon Ezeitza tumbling out (although with Pogacar and Yates in action this week, that may be a short-lived drop for both of them).
This week lacks the full punch it would have had if Paris-Roubaix had gone ahead, but at least we have the most hated one day race on the calendar in Scheldeprijs. I would imagine, at least, there is legitimate excitement at the return of Itzulia, as well as at the first showdown of the year between Roglic and Pogacar (even if they might have little impact on this game). And I would also imagine that many of you might have had the same reaction as I did looking at the calendar and, in realizing the Tour of Turkey has its first stage this CQ week, reacted by thinking 'oh yeah that race exists'.
Spreadsheet at dropbox
At the start of the week, I thought it was strange that a week with a monument was so thin with racing and figured it would be a down week for points. But, uh, the 1000 point weeks keep coming!
This Week's Top Scorers
| Rank | Team | Points this week |
| 1 | Boris98 | 1080 |
| 2 | Salvarani | 1004 |
| 3 | Hugo Koblet | 871 |
| 4 | Total Package | 828 |
| 5 | Gigs_98 | 816 |
Boris98 won two weeks ago, had a down week last week, and now has won again with another 4-digit week. The driving force behind the win two weeks ago (Jasper Stuyven, 4 teams) scored 161 this week, but that was only good enough for third on Boris' team, behind Greg Van Avermaet (199 points, 33 teams) and Christophe Laporte (162, 32). Also contributing is Sep Vanmarcke (112, 62 teams), Kristoff (13 teams, got 90 points despite overall having a disappointing week) and Lutsenko (78 points, 31 teams). Salvarani has a solid week, cracking 1000 points with a very similar lineup as Boris but instead of the owned-by-4-teams Stuyven, their team has 130 points from an owned-by-4-teams (and is seeming like possibly quite a good deal) Alejandro Valverde. A familiar face in third, as Hugo Koblet has yet another great week with the familiar trio of GvA/Laporte/Vanmarcke and just a cumulative bounce from a strong supporting cast of 12 other riders that nabbed between 10 and 90 points this week. Interestingly, none of the 5 teams that picked Asgreen featured in the top 10 this week, emphasizing how big of a team game this truly is.
This Week's High Movers
Salvarani's 1000 point week comes with a large jump in the standings, moving up a very impressive 28 spots in the standings. The VeloRooms collective team and Gigs_98 tie for the other podium spots, the former being one of those 5 Asgreen teams and the latter riding the tried and true GvA/Laporte/Vanmarcke + Valverde combo.
This Month's Top Scorers
| Rank | Team | Points this month |
| 1 | Boris98 | 4091 |
| 2 | Total Package | 3832 |
| 3 | Bicycle_Boy | 3691 |
| 4 | Hugo Koblet | 3494 |
| 5 | tom_jelte | 3467 |
It has been quite the month! Note that March scores include 5 updates rather than 4, but Boris98 still averages over 800 points/update in March, and along with Total Package is one of two teams who earned over half of their team's 7500 cost this month. Boris' riders scoring big points range from the rare to the popular, the expensive to the cheap. But leading the way is the aforementioned Stuyven, who got 473 points for his 4 owners. Behind that, Boris98 got hauls from GvA (375), Bernal (311), Michael Matthews, Christophe Laporte (270 each), Mauri Vansevenant (237), Tiesj Benoot (211), Sonny Colbrelli (209), Matteo Trentin (197) and Sep Vanmarcke (165) as a top 10 on the month. Phew! Total Package has the same top 5 save for Adam Yates (331) replacing Stuyven, and the same in spots 6-10 save for Mollema (262) and Sagan (218) swapped in for Vansevnant and Benoot. Bicycle Boy is in third place but with little to complain about, with a wildly top-heavy team, top 3 scorers being WvA with 1010 points(!), MvdP with 738, and Sam Bennett with 329.
This Month's High Movers
| Rank | Team | Up/down |
| 1 | tom_jelte | (+48) |
| 2 | Galpedal | (+39) |
| 3 | LosBrolin | (+33) |
| 4 | Bicycle_Boy | (+32) |
| 5 | VeloRooms | (+28) |
A different set on this ranking, indicating that the teams that were highest scoring in March had already gotten off to a great start. On this ranking, tom-jelte managed to move up more than half the length of the table with a Van driven lineup (Van Aert, Van Der Poel, Van Avermaet) plus Bernal topping 300 for the month. Galpedal grabs second on this ranking thanks largely to WvA, and LosBrolin gets a mention in third.
Green Jersey Competition
| Rank | Team | Total |
| 1 | Hugo Koblet | 172.67 |
| 2 | Boris98 | 152.67 |
| 3 | Otoxiep87 | 133 |
| 4 | Jon_Ezeitza | 106 |
| 5 | Total Package | 91 |
The rich get richer in this ranking... Boris98 would have gone back in the lead with 45 points this week if Hugo hadn't gotten 30 points for third place - as a result, both teams build up a pretty good lead on the rest of the field. Total Package gets 26 points for 4th on the week to build on 45 for the win last week to move into the top 5 overall here.
Top 10 Overall
| Rank | Up/down | Team | Points |
| 1 | (+3) | 5408 | |
| 2 | (-1) | Total Package | 5350 |
| 3 | (-) | Hugo Koblet | 5271 |
| 4 | (-2) | Northerner | 4986 |
| 5 | (-) | manafana | 4895 |
| 6 | (-) | Bicycle_Boy | 4879 |
| 7 | (+1) | Fivezzz | 4799 |
| 8 | (+3) | Squire | 4739 |
| 9 | (+7) | skidmark | 4736 |
| 10 | (-) | MADRAZO | 4707 |
Another week, another lead change! Boris98's great week is enough to get back into the lead, although only by 58 points over last week's leader Total Package - in this high-point environment, that's nothing. Hugo Koblet keeps a place among the leaders as has been the case all season. Lower down there's minor bouncing about, with game veterans Squire and skidmark coming back into the top 10, and the feast-or-famine teams of Otoxiep87 and Jon Ezeitza tumbling out (although with Pogacar and Yates in action this week, that may be a short-lived drop for both of them).
This week lacks the full punch it would have had if Paris-Roubaix had gone ahead, but at least we have the most hated one day race on the calendar in Scheldeprijs. I would imagine, at least, there is legitimate excitement at the return of Itzulia, as well as at the first showdown of the year between Roglic and Pogacar (even if they might have little impact on this game). And I would also imagine that many of you might have had the same reaction as I did looking at the calendar and, in realizing the Tour of Turkey has its first stage this CQ week, reacted by thinking 'oh yeah that race exists'.
Spreadsheet at dropbox
I am very, very happy I included Asgreen on my team this year. Nice to see my name on some leader board somewhere this week. I figured having this weekends two winners had to be helpful.
I can't believe after all these years you're going to get some value out of the Valverde pick
Again a great week for me. Good team for the flemish classics, but maybe too classics minded for the coming months with the grand tours.
Yay! It was a good week and it measured up really good.
If Pinot and Hirschi can get going there might be more places to climb in the future.
If Pinot and Hirschi can get going there might be more places to climb in the future.
Schelderprijs tomorrow and luckily I'm busy. However, hoping to check the result and see a top ten placing?
Viviani
Dupont
F.Vermeersch
Van Der Hoorn
Viviani has some making up to do after crashing and taking Trentin out of DDV
Viviani
Dupont
F.Vermeersch
Van Der Hoorn
Viviani has some making up to do after crashing and taking Trentin out of DDV
Itzulia
Izaguirre
Valverde
E Mas
Higuita
Eg
Camargo
Garrison
Jesus Herrada
Donovan
Landa
Scheldeprijs
Politt
Arndt
Izaguirre
Valverde
E Mas
Higuita
Eg
Camargo
Garrison
Jesus Herrada
Donovan
Landa
Scheldeprijs
Politt
Arndt
Bit of a drop after last week but still just happy to have a mention in the season.
Think Itzulia will depend on the Yates/Chaves combo again.
Scheldeprijs I'll be relying on Vivianni or Ces Bol
Think Itzulia will depend on the Yates/Chaves combo again.
Scheldeprijs I'll be relying on Vivianni or Ces Bol
Higuita has been disappointing so far this season. It appears Valverde and Landa are my best hopes for Itzulia.
Okay, I guess Vingegaard was a decent pick here. Considering that my most expensive riders have all decided to poop on me, I'm fairly happy with a top 40 placing, and if Remco, Sagan, Superman, Bling, Kristoff and Pinot ever decide to get going, I won't complain.
So I'm not his only owner?
You're so possessive.
So, Itzulia... disappointing, apart from Vingegaard.
In Turkey I have Jakobsen, no points expected, and Romo, maybe a dozen points expected.
Then there's the Brabantse Pijl. My usual allround cobbles duo: Politt and Pidcock. Plus Powless and Brenner.
Amstel should be good: Pidcock?, Vansevenant, Schachmann, Vingegaard?, Lutsenko, Higuita, Bardet, Hirschi. But then there's this merry-go-round, so I don't know if my riders are the best for that or if the sprinters take it.
In Turkey I have Jakobsen, no points expected, and Romo, maybe a dozen points expected.
Then there's the Brabantse Pijl. My usual allround cobbles duo: Politt and Pidcock. Plus Powless and Brenner.
Amstel should be good: Pidcock?, Vansevenant, Schachmann, Vingegaard?, Lutsenko, Higuita, Bardet, Hirschi. But then there's this merry-go-round, so I don't know if my riders are the best for that or if the sprinters take it.
Lol you can't complain.
Try having Higuita, Buchmann, Latour alla losing a gazillion places in the last stage.
Another disastrous week for me. At least Aru was consistent(ly bad).
Confused a bit about the scoring. I noticed David Gaudu had zero points this week, but I seem to recall him winning a stage at Itzulia
Am I missing something (other than Vansevenant which was a shocking omission on my part
Am I missing something (other than Vansevenant which was a shocking omission on my part
Gaudu's points will not be in until the next update. He should gain 178 points.
I had him last year...
I had him last year...
Well Itzulia I also had Gaudu so that turned out quite well for me.
Don't think I got anything from Scheldeprijs though so will need to see how it goes
On another notes is there news on Lopez that I missed? Movistar haven't raced him at all and I expected them to be putting most of their eggs into that basket
Update #11: Lead changes again even in relatively quiet week
The postponement of Paris-Roubaix took a big points prize off the week, but the always-exciting Itzulia made everyone realize why they missed it in 2020, and in regards to this game it offered a week of WorldTour level points. There was some movement in the standings to go with it.
This Week's Top Scorers
A pretty top-loaded week, with one team topping 700, two teams topping 600, and one other joining them at 500... AlyKaptan hit on a few rare picks this week, with Jonas Vingegaard (199, 9 teams) and David Gaudu (178, 19 teams) and Brandon McNulty (87, 9 teams) leading the way. Blues in the bottle has the latter 2 of those 3, but rather than Vingeagaard had Scheldeprijs-winning Jasper Philipsen (133, 2 teams). Rebecops ends up in third, with the same top 2 as AlyKaptan as well as Landa (82, 4) but little other support.
This Week's High Movers
Unsurprisingly, with a score head and shoulders above the rest of the field, AlyKaptan also has the highest leap up the standings. Blues in the bottle takes second here too, tied with ray10.
Green Jersey Competition
The top 2 here have a week off (in terms of green jersey points), but below, Otoxiep87 got 12 points this week, Jon Ezeitza nabbed 14 and Nakazar 26 to make things a bit tigther at the top. Hugo still has a pretty healthy lead, with only two others within a weekly win (45 points) of the lead.
Top 10 Overall
Total Package flips things around back into first this week, gaining 101 points on last week's leader Boris98 in a very competitive battle for the top - Hugo is only 60 points out of first back in third place as well. Nakazar, Otoxiep87 and JPettersen enter the top 10, while skidmark, Fivezzz and MADRAZO drop out.
This week is an interesting one - a lot of the 'top' names in this game are in a resting cycle after the flurry of opening big spring races, and .Pro level races in Turkey and Spain attract a mixed group of WT and non-WT teams that offer opportunity for some riders to punch above their normal weight in terms of CQ points. As well, Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold get a mix of Ardennes riders and more cobbles guys than usual now that P-R has been postponed. Looming around the corner is the first Grand Tour of the year in a few weeks...
spreadsheet at dropbox
The postponement of Paris-Roubaix took a big points prize off the week, but the always-exciting Itzulia made everyone realize why they missed it in 2020, and in regards to this game it offered a week of WorldTour level points. There was some movement in the standings to go with it.
This Week's Top Scorers
| Rank | Team | Points this week |
| 1 | AlyKaptan | 701 |
| 2 | Blues in the bottle | 612 |
| 3 | Rebecops | 521 |
| 4 | Nakazar | 498 |
| 5 | ray10 | 482 |
A pretty top-loaded week, with one team topping 700, two teams topping 600, and one other joining them at 500... AlyKaptan hit on a few rare picks this week, with Jonas Vingegaard (199, 9 teams) and David Gaudu (178, 19 teams) and Brandon McNulty (87, 9 teams) leading the way. Blues in the bottle has the latter 2 of those 3, but rather than Vingeagaard had Scheldeprijs-winning Jasper Philipsen (133, 2 teams). Rebecops ends up in third, with the same top 2 as AlyKaptan as well as Landa (82, 4) but little other support.
This Week's High Movers
| Rank | Team | Up/down |
| 1 | AlyKaptan | (+15) |
| 2 | Blues in the bottle | (+12) |
| 2 | ray10 | (+12) |
| 4 | laarsland | (+10) |
| 5 | Rebecops | (+9) |
| 5 | JPettersen | (+9) |
| 5 | Nevs | (+9) |
Unsurprisingly, with a score head and shoulders above the rest of the field, AlyKaptan also has the highest leap up the standings. Blues in the bottle takes second here too, tied with ray10.
Green Jersey Competition
| Rank | Team | Total |
| 1 | Hugo Koblet | 172.67 |
| 2 | Boris98 | 152.67 |
| 3 | Otoxiep87 | 145 |
| 4 | Jon_Ezeitza | 120 |
| 5 | Nakazar | 107 |
The top 2 here have a week off (in terms of green jersey points), but below, Otoxiep87 got 12 points this week, Jon Ezeitza nabbed 14 and Nakazar 26 to make things a bit tigther at the top. Hugo still has a pretty healthy lead, with only two others within a weekly win (45 points) of the lead.
Top 10 Overall
| Rank | Up/down | Team | Points |
| 1 | (+1) | 5630 | |
| 2 | (-1) | Boris98 | 5587 |
| 3 | (-) | Hugo Koblet | 5570 |
| 4 | (-) | Northerner | 5210 |
| 5 | (+8) | Nakazar | 5164 |
| 6 | (-) | Bicycle_Boy | 5147 |
| 7 | (-2) | manafana | 5137 |
| 8 | (+4) | Otoxiep87 | 5086 |
| 9 | (-1) | Squire | 5038 |
| 10 | (+9) | JPettersen | 4974 |
Total Package flips things around back into first this week, gaining 101 points on last week's leader Boris98 in a very competitive battle for the top - Hugo is only 60 points out of first back in third place as well. Nakazar, Otoxiep87 and JPettersen enter the top 10, while skidmark, Fivezzz and MADRAZO drop out.
This week is an interesting one - a lot of the 'top' names in this game are in a resting cycle after the flurry of opening big spring races, and .Pro level races in Turkey and Spain attract a mixed group of WT and non-WT teams that offer opportunity for some riders to punch above their normal weight in terms of CQ points. As well, Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold get a mix of Ardennes riders and more cobbles guys than usual now that P-R has been postponed. Looming around the corner is the first Grand Tour of the year in a few weeks...
spreadsheet at dropbox
Up 4 places a some more green jersey points makes for a good week
Adam Yates into profit, the first of my 'expensive' riders to do so
Adam Yates into profit, the first of my 'expensive' riders to do so
TRENDING THREADS
-
Teams & Riders The Remco Evenepoel is the next Eddy Merckx thread- Started by DNP-Old
- Replies: 29K
-
Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers, Extensions, and Rumours Thread- Started by RedheadDane
- Replies: 11K
-
Teams & Riders Alberto Contador Discussion Thread- Started by LaFlorecita
- Replies: 51K
-
Teams & Riders Tadej Pogačar discussion thread- Started by Lequack
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Teams & Riders Everybody needs a little bit of Roglstomp in their lives- Started by johnymax
- Replies: 19K
-
Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.- Started by Miburo
- Replies: 21K
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram