The 2024 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[Salvarani]

Sheehan DNS today. Pretty annoying as he was fourth going in...

This won't be my best week even if there have been some encouraging performances.

Pickrell and Frigo didnt start for Israel either.

Maybe the ride in the rain yesterday did its part.

 

[tobydawq]

Pickrell and Frigo didnt start for Israel either.

Maybe the ride in the rain yesterday did its part.

Yeah, apparently they all had 'stomach issues'. So there must be an infection going around. Armirail who was second on GC also DNS'ed.

 

[tobydawq]

Not quite the win, but at least some points for Bennett who must also advance into top 10 on GC.

 

[armchairclimber]

Sheehan DNS today. Pretty annoying as he was fourth going in...

This won't be my best week even if there have been some encouraging performances.

Really annoying. I presume sick after that weather yesterday. Good omens for the season though. A canny effort.

 

[armchairclimber]

Yeah, apparently they all had 'stomach issues'. So there must be an infection going around. Armirail who was second on GC also DNS'ed.

Rain .... fecal matter and all sorts on roads.... spray.... = gastrointestinal distress.

 

[hayneplane]

Not quite the win, but at least some points for Bennett who must also advance into top 10 on GC.

The GC points were a handy unexpected bonus that made up for missing out in the stage 1 sprint

 

[hfgon1]

Raul Garcia Pierna 3rd in Provence gc and with 73 collected points now. Pretty happy with his performance as he cost only 176 points and was a unique pick. I'm always happy having unique picks but it also makes me insecure if I trust someone too much. Now I'm a little more conviced that he can be a good pick somehow.

 

[shalgo]

This week’s CQ update is already available.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

This week’s CQ update is already available.

CQ putting out updates nearly as fast as my team sinks to the bottom of the standings.

 

[ingsve]

At last this dreadful week is over. Hopefully next week can be a little better. I have 9 riders starting Algarve so there is hopefully some points to score. Then again Ruta del Sol and Haut Var look a bit dismal as well so far but rosters are not complete yet.

 

[RedheadDane]

Jaén:
Norsgaard

Algarve:
Cort
Honoré
Valgren

Rwanda:
Salby

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I propose we only count races containing at least one of Magnier and Lamperti for this game this season.

 

[armchairclimber]

A quiet week for me coming up, but some interesting prospects making their season debut.

Jaen:
August (perhaps his off road skills will show, even with reduced gravel)

Algarve:
Arensman
Morgado
Schachmann
Del Toro

Andalucia:
Tiberi

Var and Alpes Maritimes:
L Martinez
?

 

[Salvarani]

I think last week was very decent for myself. A few riders picked up points. I think I will be staying in about the same position in the rankings, which is good so far. Lamperti having a good Tour of Oman, which is still on-going.

This week.

Jaen
AYUSO Juan
HAGENES Per Strand
TURNER Ben

Volta ao Algarve
MARTÍNEZ Daniel Felipe
HIGUITA Sergio
ARENSMAN Thymen
SHEFFIELD Magnus
LEEMREIZE Gijs
HAGENES Per Strand
CHRISTEN Jan
MORGADO António
DEL TORO Isaac (Not on startlist yet but he rode the one-day race, so he should be here as well I am assuming)

Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol
TIBERI Antonio
AYUSO Juan

 

[Anderis]

I propose we only count races containing at least one of Magnier and Lamperti for this game this season.

I propose we discount those altogether.

 

[Earns1985]

So today the first direct duel between the popular expensive picks C.Rodriguez and Ayuso in Jaen!

 

[Anderis]

So today the first direct duel between the popular expensive picks C.Rodriguez and Ayuso in Jaen!

Hopefully it's a duel for the win!

 

[Anderis]

Cycling can be such a sad joke sometimes.

You watch some popular riders you don't have score big all week. Then comes a race you have a strong squad for and you think this is where you score the points that'll let you keep up with the rest of the field. Then you don't even get a single top15 between Ayuso, Carlos Rodriguez and Turner.

To make matters worse, Bastien Tronchon does exactly what you hoped he would do last year but one year too late.

 

[Squire]

Cycling can be such a sad joke sometimes.

You watch some popular riders you don't have score big all week. Then comes a race you have a strong squad for and you think this is where you score the points that'll let you keep up with the rest of the field. Then you don't even get a single top15 between Ayuso, Carlos Rodriguez and Turner.

To make matters worse, Bastien Tronchon does exactly what you hoped he would do last year but one year too late.

I was a bit unlucky that Van Aert punctured, so Hagenes had to give his wheel to him. Seemed like a very Hagenes race, this one.

But I really can't complain too much this week, as my joint second most rare pick won a 2.1 race and I got a few minor points elsewhere too.

In the week that just started, I have this to look forward to ...

Tour of Oman (2.Pro)
LAMPERTI Luke
MASNADA Fausto
BUSATTO Francesco
FAURE PROST Alexy
CAPIOT Amaury

... where Lamperti and Capiot have done decently already, and while Masnada and Faure Prost have lost a bit of time, they can still claw back a decent GC position on the Green Mountain. Busatto has been a tiny bit overmatched, but he's been 16th and 13th on the two suitable finishes and it's still early days, so it's not a bad sign for the rest of the season.

Volta ao Algarve (2.Pro)
MARTÍNEZ Daniel Felipe
VERGALLITO Luca
ARENSMAN Thymen
PIDCOCK Thomas
SHEFFIELD Magnus
VAN UDEN Casper
HAGENES Per Strand
DEL TORO Isaac
CHRISTEN Jan
MORGADO António

Here I'm VERY curious about my Ineos contingent, especially Sheffield and Pidcock. Need a good start from both. Don't think any of the UAE guys are great time trialists (Christen did well as an U23, but this field is giga), but I'm hoping Morgado can be let off the leash a bit in the hilly stages.

Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol (2.Pro)
TIBERI Antonio

Was happy to see Ayuso not looking super sharp in Jaen, but things can change quickly and I guess he's the favourite here. Tiberi should still get a decent result despite Bahrain bringing most of the big guns.

Classic Var (1.1)

Nobody for the time being, but Segaert could be added to the startlist potentially. Maybe Rafferty too. A shame Oldani broke his wrist. He would likely be here if not.

Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var (2.1)

See above.

Tour du Rwanda (2.1)
LECERF William Junior

Starting on Sunday, so this is mostly about next week, but I'm really happy to see Lecerf back here. Hopefully he can repeat last year's 3rd place overall, or even do better.

 

[hayneplane]

I was a bit unlucky that Van Aert punctured, so Hagenes had to give his wheel to him. Seemed like a very Hagenes race, this one.

But I really can't complain too much this week, as my joint second most rare pick won a 2.1 race and I got a few minor points elsewhere too.

In the week that just started, I have this to look forward to ...

Tour of Oman (2.Pro)
LAMPERTI Luke
MASNADA Fausto
BUSATTO Francesco
FAURE PROST Alexy
CAPIOT Amaury

... where Lamperti and Capiot have done decently already, and while Masnada and Faure Prost have lost a bit of time, they can still claw back a decent GC position on the Green Mountain. Busatto has been a tiny bit overmatched, but he's been 16th and 13th on the two suitable finishes and it's still early days, so it's not a bad sign for the rest of the season.

Volta ao Algarve (2.Pro)
MARTÍNEZ Daniel Felipe
VERGALLITO Luca
ARENSMAN Thymen
PIDCOCK Thomas
SHEFFIELD Magnus
VAN UDEN Casper
HAGENES Per Strand
DEL TORO Isaac
CHRISTEN Jan
MORGADO António

Here I'm VERY curious about my Ineos contingent, especially Sheffield and Pidcock. Need a good start from both. Don't think any of the UAE guys are great time trialists (Christen did well as an U23, but this field is giga), but I'm hoping Morgado can be let off the leash a bit in the hilly stages.

Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol (2.Pro)
TIBERI Antonio

Was happy to see Ayuso not looking super sharp in Jaen, but things can change quickly and I guess he's the favourite here. Tiberi should still get a decent result despite Bahrain bringing most of the big guns.

Classic Var (1.1)

Nobody for the time being, but Segaert could be added to the startlist potentially. Maybe Rafferty too. A shame Oldani broke his wrist. He would likely be here if not.

Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var (2.1)

See above.

Tour du Rwanda (2.1)
LECERF William Junior

Starting on Sunday, so this is mostly about next week, but I'm really happy to see Lecerf back here. Hopefully he can repeat last year's 3rd place overall, or even do better.

Not as unlucky as me for Wout to lose a great chance to score today thanks to a flat tyre

 

[skidmark]

Update #4: shalgo goes back to back

Well the early season is fully underway! Lots of racing all over the place this week, and one team seemed to score big pretty much everywhere. And it was the same team we highlighted last week.

This Week's Top Scorers

Rank	Team	Points this week
1	shalgo	715
2	Jon_Ezeitza	505
3	JPettersen	493
4	Jakob747	484
5	skidmark	467

After winning last week, shalgo absolutely crushes it this week, winning by a whopping 210 points. Their team got some points from riders both popular and rare, headlined by the 136 points Davide Piganzoli (7 teams) got from winning the 2.1 Tour Antalya. Also strongly contributing were Finn Fisher-Black (113, 15), Richard Carapaz (110, 69), Eduardo Zambanini (71, 5), Luke Lamperti (63, 39) and Egan Bernal (53, 43). In second earning a handy 505 points is Jon Ezeitza, who gets scoring from unique riders in Olav Kooij (130) and Axel Zingle (105), as well as Carapaz and Zambanini. Jpettersen ends up just back in third with Fisher-Black/Carapaz/Lamperti leading the way.

This Week's High Movers

Rank	Team	Up/down
1	Jon_Ezeitza	(+30)
2	JPettersen	(+28)
3	Eyeballs Out	(+23)
3	Boris98	(+23)
5	Hugo Koblet	(+19)

Jon Ezeitza also sees a huge leap up the overall standings thanks to those rare picks, ending up 30 spots higher than last week. JPettersen also moves up a spot from the other ratings (largely thanks to shalgo not having far to go up the standings), and Eyeballs Out and Boris98 tie for third, both jumping over 20 spots.

Green Jersey Competition

Rank	Team	Total
1	Jakob747	106
2	shalgo	90
3	Squire	54
4	HoudiniCycling	48
5	ingsve	40

.

Despite two consecutive weekly wins, shalgo doesn't take top spot on this ranking - thanks to 1st, 2nd and 4th in the last 3 weeks, Jakob747 stays on top. Both are quite a bit above the rest; due to these teams dominating the top of the weekly standings, you can still land in the top 5 overall with just a weekly win of 45 points.

Top 10 Overall

Rank	Up/down	Team	Points
1	(+2)	shalgo	1914
2	(-1)	Jakob747	1844
3	(+3)	Squire	1565
4	(+1)	DJ Sprtsch	1560
5	(+3)	skidmark	1512
6	(-4)	HoudiniCycling	1442
7	(+2)	repre	1405
8	(-4)	ingsve	1402
9	(+5)	Gotland	1401
10	(+15)	JumboVismaFan	1376

Jakob and shalgo are quite far ahead in these standings as well, although shalgo's 200-point buffer this week leaves their team on top by 70 points total in the overall ranking. Squire moves up to the third podium spot, while first leader HoudiniCycling slides out of the top 5. Gotland and JumboVismaFan enter the top 10, at the expense of armchairclimber and del1962.

This week the season keeps on coming! Tour of Oman finishes up, while today's Clasica Jaen leads into the Vuelta a Andalucia. A third 2.Pro race happens as well with the Algarve, while France doesn't wanna be left out with the 1.1 Classic Var and the 2.1 Tour Alpes-Maritimes. Oh! And Tour of Rwanda gets going before the end of the weekend, phew!

Spreadsheet (which should be all fixed up now, but let me know if there are more issues!)

 

[Anderis]

Holy cow, how did I end up gaining places in this update?! It felt like a pretty bad week.

 

[Squire]

Thanks for the update!

Nice to climb onto the podium for now! If someone ever bothered making the rather painstaking effort of compiling the stats for 'number of weeks in top 3 without ever winning the game', I think I would be bossing that one by quite a margin.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I'm surprised there was a team that did worse than mine.
I'm off to a much better start this week with Lazkano's 80 points from Jaén.

There was probably never a huge chance that Imanol Alvarez would score many points this year, but now that it looks like he might not even get to ride any UCI races, I wish I had picked someone else.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Hopefully it's a duel for the win!

It was in fact a duel for 19th