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The 2024 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

Page 94 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Every 1000+ points pick this season:

POGACAR Tadej + EVENEPOEL Remco
Amethyst

POGACAR Tadej
Googolplex

EVENEPOEL Remco + VAN AERT Wout + VAN DER POEL Mathieu
Bicycle Boy

ROGLIC Primoz + MOHORIC Matej
kingcycling

VAN AERT Wout
hayneplane, pman, rote_lanterne, the asian, vickyriso

VAN DER POEL Mathieu
peixotini

SKJELMOSE JENSEN Mattias + KOOIJ Olav
Jon_Ezeitza

SKJELMOSE JENSEN Mattias
RedheadDane

DE LIE Arnaud
Josedin, JumboVismaFan, Leadbelly

LANDA MEANA Mikel + BILBAO LOPEZ DE ARMENTIA Pello
Samu Cuenca

MADOUAS Valentin
Simurgh

POWLESS Neilson
firefly3323

AYUSO PESQUERA Juan
adamski101, AlTarf_ua, Anderis, Berflamand, Crevaison, Devils_Elbow, Eric10, EvansIsTheBest, Fivezzz, greenedge, hfgon1, Hugo_Koblet, Jpettersen, jsem94, Lortnoc, MARDRAZO, Mushroom, Nyssinator, Object, oliveira, Popchu, postmanhat, Rakim, repre, Rufs, SafeBet, Salvarani, search, Senderos, Shakes, shalgo, skidmark, tobydawq, Total_Package, trackstand, triley36, zaka_fan, zigzag_wanderer

None
Every other team

Seems like the debate this year was to Ayuso or not to Ayuso. Van Aert (6) and De Lie (3) are the next "most" popular picks in that range. Bicycle_Boy looks like an early contender for the green jersey with a team build to dominate the classics.

For the teams that didn't go down the road of a 1k+ rider, here are their most expensive guys:

VAN WILDER Ilan
armchairclimber

VLASOV Aleksandr
ingsve, nbfc1962

PIDCOCK Thomas
Amis Velo, Blues in the bottle, karaev, Squire, Yellow Knight

RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos
Analnyi khirurg, bminchow, del1962, Earns1985, Eyeballs Out, laarsland, Manafana, ray10, Riverside, vladimir

HINDLEY Jai
NorthAmericanScum

GREGOIRE Romain
18-Valve. (pithy), LosBrolin, Nakazar

DEMARE Arnaud
Boris98, Panda Claws, slow_climber, Sneekes, Poles & Co

JOHANNESSEN Tobias Halland
Jakob747

MAS NICOLAU Enric
Armchair cyclist, Gotland

GEOGHEGAN HART Tao
DJ Sprtsch, Kazistuta, Nevs

MATTHEWS Michael
RestInPunk

And finally the three teams that didn't pick any of the 100 most expensive riders:

EWAN Caleb
will10

CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio
HoudiniCycling, vsd88

Since the season is well and true over, I thought it would be nice to look at which team building strategy worked best. No team with two (or more) 1000+ points picks ended up in the top 10, which might be something to keep in mind while building our 2025 teams.

Unsurprisingly there's a number of Ayuso teams in the top 10 even if he didn't quite turn out how people thought he would in June. I think it's pretty cool that the top 4 all went in completely different directions. HoudiniCycling also had the distinction of spending the least amount of points on their most expensive rider, spreading their budget out more than anybody else.

Rank
Team
Points
1000+ points picks
Most expensive pick
1​
shalgo​
16355​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
2​
Squire​
14856​
PIDCOCK Thomas​
3​
Gotland​
14781​
MAS NICOLAU Enric​
MAS NICOLAU Enric​
4​
HoudiniCycling​
14735​
CARAPAZ MONTENEGRO Richard Antonio​
5​
EvansIsTheBest​
14653​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
6​
MADRAZO​
14543​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
7​
JumboVismaFan​
14517​
DE LIE Arnaud​
DE LIE Arnaud​
8​
Earns1985​
14510​
RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos​
9​
Salvarani​
14475​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
10​
adamski101​
14295​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
AYUSO PESQUERA Juan​
 
Consistency

A rapid comparison of the most consistent managers in the game.

Most 19000+ seasons: skidmark, Object, squire (1)
Most 18000+ seasons: skidmark, Object, squire, EITB, Total Package, Jon Ezeitza, Northerner, Kvinto (1)
Most 17000+ seasons: skidmark (2)
Most 16000+ seasons: squire, MADRAZO, Armchair Cyclist, shalgo (3)
Most 15000+ seasons: skidmark (5)
Most 14000+ seasons: skidmark, Hugo Koblet, MADRAZO, squire, Kazistuta (6)
Most 13000+ seasons: Hugo Koblet (10)
Most 12000+ seasons: skidmark (11)
Most 11000+ seasons: Kazistuta (13)
Most 10000+ seasons: Kazistuta, skidmark, MADRAZO (13)
(bold indicates a change compared to last year)

There have been 14 editions and discounting the 2020 year where nobody scored for obvious reasons, Kazistuta has cracked 11k in all of them (they also haven't crossed 16k so they really are the model of consistency). Skidmark remains the only person to double their budget 5 times. Hugo Koblet didn't compete in 2023 so they have crossed the 13k threshold 10/12 times (excluding 2020).

Of course we can use other metrics to compute the most consistent teams such as total points scored.

Team
All Time Total
193,827​
187,296​
185,867​
185,005​
178,682​
176,194​
174,440​
173,372​
173,984​
172,447​
171,276​
164,922​
166,365​
163,853​
163,514​
163,116​
161,146​
158,083​
154,101​
156,897​
155,280​
148,255​
146,542​
143,303​

Skidmark should, barring some catastrophic series of events, cross the 200k at some point in 2025. MADRAZO, Kazistuta and EITB continue alternating spots 2 through 4 far, far away from the first spot (for reference EITB and MADRAZO finished 5th and 6th respectively this season and shaved less than 800 points of skidmark's lead). Shalgo is the highest placed player that hasn't compete in every edition and their win in 2024 means that 4 of the top 6 in the all time rankings have also won at least one edition of the game. Amazingly, Blues in the Bottle is the only other person in the top 25 to have won an edition. Squire remains the highest placed person to have missed multiple years.
 
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Alright. I'm going to spoil the 2025 season by providing the top pics for everyone to see:

I asked Grok, the AI over at X to tell me who the most improving riders will be:

Here was my prompt:
using the ranking on https://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/cqRankingRider.asp?current=1 Give me 10 riders who, based on their historic points totals, could improve the most on their point score from 2024.

And this was the results it gave;

To provide an answer based on the CQ Ranking website, I'll look at the current year's ranking alongside historical data. However, please note that without direct access to the dynamic and specific data for 2024 on CQ Ranking, we'll use a general approach:
  1. Identify Riders with Low 2024 Points Compared to Their Career Highs:
    • We look for riders where their historical best (career high) significantly exceeds their 2024 performance.
Here are ten riders who, based on their history on CQ Ranking, might have the potential for significant improvement in the 2024 season:
  1. Alejandro Valverde - Known for his consistency and high points in past seasons, if he's still racing, his lack of points in 2024 could indicate a potential for a strong comeback, especially in classic races or stage races he's historically dominated.
  2. Rigoberto Uran - With a career of strong performances, any dip in 2024 points might suggest room for recovery, especially in grand tours like the Giro or Vuelta.
  3. Greg Van Avermaet - His track record in classics like Paris-Roubaix suggests that if 2024 has been below par, there's potential for a resurgence in the cobbled classics.
  4. Nairo Quintana - If his 2024 season lacks points, his history in the mountains of major tours could see him return to form, particularly if he secures a team with strong mountain support.
  5. Philippe Gilbert - A rider with a legacy in classics and one-day races; if his points are low this year, there's potential for a significant uptick in performance in races like the Tour of Flanders or Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
  6. Zdenek Stybar - Similar to Gilbert, if not at the peak in 2024, his versatility could lead to a high points gain in cyclocross or road classics.
  7. Rui Costa - If this year's points are below his capabilities, his experience in varied terrains might help him recover points, especially in stage races.
  8. Peter Sagan - Even with a varied 2024, his history in sprints and classics points to the potential for a strong finish to the season.
  9. Fabio Aru - Known for his climbing abilities, a low points total in 2024 might just be a prelude to a focused mountain campaign.
  10. Tom Dumoulin - If he's had a quiet 2024, his past performances in time trials and big tours suggest he could make a notable point gain by targeting specific races.
Please note:
  • This analysis is speculative based on historical performance rather than exact 2024 data because the exact points for 2024 would need a specific point-in-time data pull from CQ Ranking which I cannot do in real-time.
  • Riders' current team, health, motivation, and race schedule significantly affect their potential to score points, so while these riders have shown the capacity in the past, their actual improvement depends on many variables.
  • If any of these riders are retired or not racing due to injury, this analysis would not apply to their 2024 season.
For the most accurate and current data, you would need to look directly at the CQ Ranking site or wait for an update reflecting the full 2024 season's results.

So there you have it. Now you just need to pick 23 other riders to fill out the team.
 
Does anyone know where to find a list of new riders in World Tour / pro conti? Or those with 0 UCI points in 2024...

I want to be a value investor in the next game.
The way I do it is to check the team pages on CQranking. On the right side of the screen there is a link to a page with "2025 transfer overview" for each team. That way you can find any new signings including new people with 0 points.


It doesn't give you the riders who rode in 2024 and scored 0 points though.
 
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The way I do it is to check the team pages on CQranking. On the right side of the screen there is a link to a page with "2025 transfer overview" for each team. That way you can find any new signings including new people with 0 points.


It doesn't give you the riders who rode in 2024 and scored 0 points though.
It does, but UAE don't have any. If you were to look at the equivalent page for another team, however...
 
Sorry for the radio silence everyone, just getting caught up in non-CN forum life stuff. Just dropping by to note that the 2025 thread will be up within 24 hours!

edit: and yes I can confirm the deadline date noted by Samu and Devil's Elbow just above this post. Glad that the Aussie Nats are on the later side - the years they started the 4th or 5th there were some teams that didn't realize it started so early, always a better participation if people have a bit of post new-years time to remember the game is on!