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The 2023 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

Page 27 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Last year, Van Gils won the Saudi Tour and Buitrago finished on the podium while Evenepoel and Rodriguez got on the podium in Valenciana. That was enough to win the week and really set the stage for the rest of the season. This time I have, hmm, Thomas Gloag on pace for a top 5 in Valenciana. Well at least my 2022 team is doing great again.

Gloag might be in to profit after one race and that is something to be happy about for us who have picked him! :)
 
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About half my team has scored points so far, but not anyone that has scored a lot of points. Slow and steady will be the mantra for my team, I guess. Dont think I will have many "big-weeks", but a steady stream of points instead.

More races starting next week!

Saudi Tour
MILAN Jonathan
VAN UDEN Casper

They should both be up there in the sprints and fight for some stage-wins.

Etoile de Bessèges
SIVAKOV Pavel
TULETT Ben
PICCOLO Andrea

It is a pretty fun race where different type of riders can fight for the overall win. I have three riders that could potentially score points here.

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
MIHKELS Madis
GARCÍA CORTINA Iván
GLOAG Thomas

Startlist not completed, so maybe someone else could still be added. Maybe some points for a stage or something is possible. I will take what I can get here.

Decent haul from this.

Milan very good and GC points was a nice bonus in the Saudi Tour. Van Uden looks more like a work in progress. Maybe lacks the endurance and stamina atm. The finishes might not have suited him in this race.

Sivakov 5th in Etoile de Bessèges was good to see. Out of the riders I had there he was the one I was cheering on the most, since we are only two teams that have him. Tulett was placed very good as well, but lost time on the 4th stage. Maybe took it easy in the end there to put in a big effort in the final ITT, which he finished in 3rd place. Piccolo is still building his shape I think. Not too worried about him yet.

Garcia Cortina scored points on the first stage and Gloag was a happy surprise this week! Almost into profit after his first race, where he looked very good. Mihkels I dont got much to say about. It was his first race this year and I dont think it suited him, but hopefully he had a good experience and building his shape for upcoming races.
 
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Saudi Tour - Milan (on domestique duty for Rajovic today, which is a bit worrying) and Malucelli - both crashed today.
Bessèges - Piccolo and Rudy Barbier
Valencia (so far) - Wright, Walls and Gloag

Somehow, I doubt this is going to be a great week for me.
I should talk my team down more often, this was a surprisingly solid week for me, mainly thanks to Gloag and Milan, who both look like great picks and scored much more heavily than I'd expected. Aside from that, Malucelli looked really good in the final sprint in the Saudi Tour, Wright looked a bit slow in the bigger sprint in Valencia but was climbing pretty well after it, Barbier and Walls didn't get a proper sprint to show anything, Hoelgaard ended up doing Bessèges too but was always going to be on domestique duty there. That leaves only Piccolo as having had a bad week, was hoping he was finding form after the first stage but it didn't pan out - he needs to pick up the pace soon because this is the half of the season where he needs to turn his profit compared to last year.

Next week will be pretty slow without Provence for most of us. Martinez should like the Antalya MTF (assuming he races, is also penciled in for Almeria for some reason), Malucelli could pick up something in the sprints, and then we'll see who else is racing between Turkey and Spain.
 
Some nice points by Gloag, very nearly in to profit. Tarling off the mark. Picking the young Brits seem to be paying off already.

A bright end to a week which started with my horrendous realization that I have left out Asgreen out of my Team by oversight.
 
The corrected GC in Valenciana was not good for my team, and I had also hoped Higuita would have done better in Colombia, but I still think i've managed to break 300 points again this week.

Correction: Actually I only appear to have scored 287 points :cry:
 
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Well what looked like a fairly decent team for the week returned a paltry points score.
Where the Circus boys all seem primed and willing to try and win, all my lot appear to be doing some early season training. I don't think they attach enough importance to being on my team as they should.!!

At least Tarling goes into profit.
 
Sivakov 5th in Etoile de Bessèges was good to see. Out of the riders I had there he was the one I was cheering on the most, since we are only two teams that have him. Tulett was placed very good as well, but lost time on the 4th stage. Maybe took it easy in the end there to put in a big effort in the final ITT, which he finished in 3rd place. Piccolo is still building his shape I think.
Tulett had a mechanical when all the groups on the road were going full gas in stage 4. I think he was in the peloton and could have placed very well on Mont Bouquet without the mechanical.
Piccolo crashed in stage 3 and could not bridge back to the front group. He still has a sore back but says he'll be fine (and rode well in the 4th stage to support Powless).

Frustrating because both of them had a chance to score some GC points.
 
Tulett had a mechanical when all the groups on the road were going full gas in stage 4. I think he was in the peloton and could have placed very well on Mont Bouquet without the mechanical.
Piccolo crashed in stage 3 and could not bridge back to the front group. He still has a sore back but says he'll be fine (and rode well in the 4th stage to support Powless).

Frustrating because both of them had a chance to score some GC points.

Yes, that is unfortunate. Especially with Tulett who was placed so well. Seems to be in good form, so hopefully he could get something in the next few races.

Piccolo I see is listed for both Trofeo Laigueglia and GP Industria & Artigianato (also San Remo). Hopefully two good opportunities to score points for him. Those races are still a month or so away though. Havent seen what races he might do until then or any news about it. I think both Faun-Ardèche Classic and Faun Drome Classic should be right up his alley, where only Carr and Chavez are listed right now for EF. Maybe do Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var before them, only Caicedo listed right now. UAE Tour would be a bummer, if he goes there.
 
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Oh my. What a horrible week. I seem to have misjudged quite a bit this year. Unless Vine and Yates win every race, I could be in trouble. So the lead is given away this week, with only Cees Bol and Thomas Gloag doing anything for me (and Van Uden i guess with 4 points). I'm not sure why Turner was a must have for me. I didnt even think about it. Hopefully Wright will do more in coming races. And Simon Carr? Last Place? I should have tried harder. And Kudos who took Tarling instead of Leonard. I was just trying to be different.

This week? Looks like they canceled Antalya (no big loss).
Muscat:
DEKKER David
Thats it so far. And I dont see him beating Merlier.

Oman:
DEKKER David
SCHELLING Ide
UIJTDEBROEKS Cian
Dekker is still facing Merlier so again, we'll see. Nice team being sent by Bora. Most likely supporting Buchmann with Walls for the sprint.

Murcia:
LEONARD Michael
TURNER Benjamin
VINE Jay
Not really a Jay Vine type of stage. More likely a Trentin, Hirschi or Wellens stage. Leonard just getting more experience. Could get some points from Turner if he finds a bit of form.

Almeria:
JOHANNESSEN Tobias Halland
Early days for the full startlist, but this is a race for the new superman (DeLie). Tobias probably testing that knee.

In other words, the lead was fun while it lasted :)
 
Looks like they canceled Antalya (no big loss).
Big loss for me. I had what could have turned out to be the three best climbers there (Martinez, Piganzoli, Osborne) and perhaps the second best sprinter behind Demare (Malucelli). That is potentially a couple of hundred points out the window. I do understand the cancellation though, of course. Terrible news from Turkey.
 
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Piccolo I see is listed for both Trofeo Laigueglia and GP Industria & Artigianato (also San Remo). Hopefully two good opportunities to score points for him. Those races are still a month or so away though. Havent seen what races he might do until then or any news about it. I think both Faun-Ardèche Classic and Faun Drome Classic should be right up his alley, where only Carr and Chavez are listed right now for EF. Maybe do Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var before them, only Caicedo listed right now. UAE Tour would be a bummer, if he goes there.
He was scheduled to ride Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, don't know if plans changed after his crash.
Then back to Italy for Laigueglia etc.
 
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Update #5: Double unique pick winners for firefly3323

It was an eventful week of racing with winds and wild crashes in Besseges, as well as stage races in Saudi Arabia and Valencia. Scores were modest, but enough for a few changes in the overall, if not at the very top.

This Week's Top Scorers

RankTeamPoints this week
1firefly3323299
2Eric10291
3Basque Street Boys287
4Bicycle_Boy285
5Mellow Velo267

firefly3323 comes out just on top this week, unbelievably having the two winners of the week's 2.1 races, both as unique picks. Neilson Powless (120 points) and Rueben Guerreiro (136 points) were basically firefly's only scorers; beyond that, Carlos Rodriguez (38) and Ackermann (5) made up the winning score of 299. Eric10 was close behind with a more spread out scoring crew, with Jonathan Milan (86 points, 38 teams) leading the way, Thomas Gloag (77, 41) and Cees Bol (55, 14) and Rodriguez also contributing. Basque Street Boys continue a good early season run thanks to unique picks (like almost their entire team) Pello Bilbao (93), Mikel Landa (64) and Alex Aranburu (52).

This Week's High Movers

RankTeamUp/down
1Fivezzz(+31)
2Mellow Velo(+30)
3del1962(+29)
4slow_climber(+28)
4Bicycle_Boy(+28)

Fivezzz manages to leap over 30 spots on 244 points thanks to the Milan/Gloag picks, whereas Mellow Velo is just behind, jumping 30 spots thanks largely to rare picks Skjelmose and Buitrago. del1962 rounds out the podium, moving up 29.

Green Jersey Competition

RankTeamTotal
1bminchow120.3
2Jakob747100.3
3DJW75
4zaka_fan58.3
5Blues in the bottle54.5

Some brand new names at the top of the weekly leaders mean that nobody who scored this week had a big enough baseline in the Green Jersey contest to crack the top 5. No moves or scoring here this week.

Top 10 Overall

RankUp/downTeamPoints
1(-)bminchow1436
2(-)Jakob7471348
3(-)Poles & Co1080
4(+1)zaka_fan1068
5(-1)DJW1063
6(+8)Basque Street Boys1017
7(-1)greenedge974
8(-1)ray10950
9(+11)firefly3323908
10(-1)tobydawq906

No change at the very top - bminchow's 136 points of the week was actually tops of the overall podium, so that lead is slightly extended. Basque Street Boys and firefly3323 vault into the top 10 at the expense of karaev and Whoops who fall out.

This week is a quiet one, made quieter by the unfortunate events in Turkey leading to the cancellation of a 2.1 race among the more important considerations there. That leaves the 1.1 Muscat race, Almeira and Murcia in Spain, and the start of the Tour of Oman.

spreadsheet at dropbox
 
Oh my. What a horrible week. I seem to have misjudged quite a bit this year. Unless Vine and Yates win every race, I could be in trouble. So the lead is given away this week, with only Cees Bol and Thomas Gloag doing anything for me (and Van Uden i guess with 4 points). I'm not sure why Turner was a must have for me. I didnt even think about it. Hopefully Wright will do more in coming races. And Simon Carr? Last Place? I should have tried harder. And Kudos who took Tarling instead of Leonard. I was just trying to be different.

This week? Looks like they canceled Antalya (no big loss).
Muscat:
DEKKER David
Thats it so far. And I dont see him beating Merlier.

Oman:
DEKKER David
SCHELLING Ide
UIJTDEBROEKS Cian
Dekker is still facing Merlier so again, we'll see. Nice team being sent by Bora. Most likely supporting Buchmann with Walls for the sprint.

Murcia:
LEONARD Michael
TURNER Benjamin
VINE Jay
Not really a Jay Vine type of stage. More likely a Trentin, Hirschi or Wellens stage. Leonard just getting more experience. Could get some points from Turner if he finds a bit of form.

Almeria:
JOHANNESSEN Tobias Halland
Early days for the full startlist, but this is a race for the new superman (DeLie). Tobias probably testing that knee.

In other words, the lead was fun while it lasted :)

Turner was one of my few really good picks last season and much better than anticipated, ridiculously strong. Ineos have Tarling and Swift now, which should mean him spending less time with his nose in the wind during the classics, so he could quite easily reach parity at least by the end of April. The problem, like last year, is where he scores points after that. But the Benelux tour should be back, and given Ineos's switch of focus to one-day riders, they might start entering races like Tro-Bro and Paris-Tours, which should be perfect for him given his CX background. I can't see him being a bad pick and probably wish I'd continued with him as he'll be a lot more fun to follow, and likely more profitable than some of the ones I've gone for (Yes I mean you, Soren Kragh).
 
After winning last week, a reversal of fortune finishing 77th. Van Uden bucked the trend of great starts by DSM neo-pros. Everyone at Valenciana rode like it was their first race, though at least Battistella and Wright looked a bit livelier on the last stage. And Piccolo crashed. The only positive was Waerenskjold getting some unexpected points, which he'll hopefully add to in the classics. Interesting mix of races coming in the next 10 days :)
 
Hopefully I will get a few points from the African Continentals.

My other guys will mostly start riding around the midth of this month.
Before I have
Murcia: Fisher-Black, Hirschi, Askey
Almeria: Martinez
Jaen Paraiso: Champoussin
But only with Algarve my season will actually start, from then on I have no excuses anymore...
 
10th on the last update is solid. Like I have mentioned, I dont think my team will win many weeks but hopefully score consistently.

Busy end to the week with a few races coming up.

Muscat Classic
ALEOTTI Giovanni
UIJTDEBROEKS Cian
MARIT Arne
DEKKER David

Dont know if this is a hilly race or a sprinters race? Either way, someone might be able to score some points with a top 10. I will take what I can get.

Tour of Oman
ALEOTTI Giovanni
UIJTDEBROEKS Cian
MARIT Arne
DEKKER David

Exactly the same as above, of course. Aleotti and Uijtebroeks might be able to score some GC points here if all goes well. We will see. Not expecting much from Dekker and Marit on these stages. Anything would be a bonus.

Vuelta Ciclista a la Región de Murcia Costa Cálida
FISHER-BLACK Finn
DE GENDT Aimé
SIVAKOV Pavel
HAYTER Leo
HERMANS Ben

Could be hit or miss. I will take what I can get.

Figueira Champions Classic
ASGREEN Kasper
VAN WILDER Ilan
VAN UDEN Casper
MIHKELS Madis

Dont know if this a hilly race or sprinters race? I will take what I can get.

Clasica de Almeria
GARCÍA CORTINA Iván
MARTINEZ Lenny
SIVAKOV Pavel
HAYTER Leo


Startlist not completed. Maybe someone could be added. Lenny might ride now that Antalya was cancelled? It is not a race for him though. Garcia Cortina been 4th and 3rd in two sprint finishes, so maybe could get something here. He is my only unique pick, so I will definitely be cheering for him!

Edit: Martinez not riding Almeria, no surprise, but Sivakov and Hayter added. Best chance for them to score points should be in Murcia, on the day before.
 
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Hopefully I will get a few points from the African Continentals.

Noticed that Nahom Zeray was in the Eritrean team. So now he has six points from the four he entered the season with.
But I had him last year... and didn't pick him for 2023 since it looked like he didn't have a team (and honestly, there wasn't much in the results list to suggest he would get a team). But go Zeray !
 

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