It's reveal time! As usual, I will present my team with a few words on every rider (also so I can later look back and shake my head at some of my reasonings).
Marc Hirschi, 1883
A fine rider at a good price who should easily...
Just kidding, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he got almost 1900 points last year. I mean, how???
Here is the real list:
Juan Ayuso - 1023
It was a little bit of an afterthought to include him. I wasn't that thrilled about the riders in the 500 points range, and there were not that many picks who really excited me. So I thought that I should maybe look for something more expensive. Then I thought of Roman Grégoire because I thought that a 20-year-old should have plenty of room for improvement. However, he might be getting a more demanding schedule next year, so I figured he might not be able to double his tally (which is usually my criterion for being included in my team). Then I looked further up the list and found Ayuso. He's 21, he had a horrible spring where he wasn't ready to race before late April and was not in shape before June. UAE is a crowded place to be but they usually make it work and give room for everyone and it doesn't sound like Ayuso will be the first to fetch bottles for Pogacar in the Tour. Last year, his price was almost exactly the same and I thought the people who had picked him had a good point and were unlucky he got injured. So now I want to try him. I'm intrigued to see what his full schedule will be. As of now, it doesn't seem like there will be many easy points. Fortunately, he - especially if he takes another step - has the level to get the hard (and big) points in the biggest races.
Magnus Sheffield - 573
I think he is an extremely promising rider, and like Ayuso, he missed a portion of the season through injury. That injury was of course not sustained before June, so if you subscribe to a linear understanding of time, that would not be the reason for his underwhelming spring. I hope he can do better there (like in 2022) and at still just 21 years, he should be able to take another step forward this season.
Kévin Vauquelin - 519
I already considered him last year (where he was 100 points more expensive). Then he had a marvelous spring (at least pointswise) until he had an accident in Romandie (a race I honestly thought he was among the favourites to win, going in) from which he never really recovered and the rest of his season was very underwhelming. But if he can keep his February-April level for a whole season, he should be able to score tons of points. He is also likely to continue racing a lot of the smaller French events because Arkéa desperately need the points.
Fabio Jakobsen - 502
I'm already wincing a bit at this pick. He was not very good in 2023 and I'm not quite sure why. Now he changes teams and it's common knowledge that everybody excels in the pleasant milieu at DSM. Let's hope they can set-up a good train for him and that he will re-learn to follow his leadout man. And refind his speed. And not want to adjust his saddle height. Then I should be golden. (Surely, he can get 1000 points. Right?)
Richard Carapaz - 496
One of the most obvious picks to me. Even if he doesn't manage to defend his Olympic title, there should still be plenty of room to improve last year's disaster of a season (which had started poorly but then got even worse with his crashing out of the Tour on the first day, injuring him severely enough to also miss the Vuelta). He did finally show that he still had a good level in the last few weeks of the season. If it had been 15 years ago, that would probably have secured him a few wins, including Il Lombardia. These days, the best riders don't go on vacation after July, though, so it's harder to win but seeing him almost match Pogacar and Roglic on San Luca was very encouraging for 2024.
Ethan Hayter - 476
I don't quite know why I'm doing this to myself. Instead of just shaking my head slightly amusedly whenever I see him at the back of the peloton not fighting for his position at all, I now have to experience those moments as personal affronts against me. He honestly had a really poor level last year compared to 2021 and 2022 where he scored quadruple digits in both seasons but he seemed to liven up a bit toward the end. So maybe it was just a fluke? I have to hope that.
Alberto Bettiol - 349
I'll take another round with Alberto. Last year, I got him at a bargain price of about 500. Now he's even cheaper! What's not to like? Hopefully, he will have a different schedule from last year. Giro/Tour double might work for Pogacar, but it certainly didn't increase Bettiol's chances of scoring points in 2023. Then he was good at Worlds but eventually only finished 10th. That day proved that he still has the level, though, and I shall thus keep putting my faith in him (at least I managed to cut Ewan off my team this time round).
Antonio Tiberi - 347
Another rider of my team who was sidelined for a while last season - albeit for quite different reasons than Ayuso, Sheffield and Vauquelin. He showed a good level in the Vuelta without it being reflected in his points, and I think he should easily double next year. Don't forget he is also only 22.
Per Strand Hagenes - 308
He was annoyingly expensive which might make him less popular and thus potentially more important for my team. Three wins in European pro races (two of which were even one-day races) in a season before turning pro is mightily impressive, and especially his win in the Münsterland Giro was insane. Jumbo is a stacked team but let's not forget that they managed to win cobbled classics with four different riders last year. If you're good enough, you'll get the chance. And Per certainly seems good enough.
Sam Bennett - 302
Another chance for me to wince at a pick. I would have preferred Ackermann but I couldn't make the puzzle work with him and his 21 extra points... So now I'm stuck with a rider who seems to not be able to sprint anymore and who has transferred to a team with no leadout men. Oh, dear. Hopefully, there will be some Coupe de France races on his calendar (they also need points after a very poor 2023 season).
Fred Wright - 298
It confuses me a bit that he managed to score less than 300 points last year. But okay, he crashed on his way to a top 5 of the Renewi Tour, and that was the end of his season. He should be able to score a lot more next year.
Thymen Arensman - 283
A rider I find very unexciting but who should definitely do a lot better than in 2023. In 2022, he almost got 1000 points! That level can't have evaporated completely and it's not like he will only be on domestique duty because INEOS simply do not have a very good GC roster anymore. So he should definitely get some chances.
Daniel Felipe Martínez - 279
What the hell happened to him? Last season, he scored 999 points fewer than the year before and was just abysmal all year round. Even his win in Algarve was the weirdest fluke of the season where he was very unimpressive yet somehow won the GC. Then he proceded to score a mighty 41 points for the reminder of the year... Okay, so no he goes to Red Bull (you know we might as well get used to calling them that) but is that a good thing? They already have one underperforming Colombian in Higuita so it's not a guarantee of success at all. But 279 points is a really cheap price for a guy who won Itzulia less than two years ago and is still only 27 (which seems remarkable - but he did already make his GT debut as an almost teenager).
Riley Sheehan - 251
It's not often a rider whose name I had never heard of goes ahead and wins one of the biggest races in cycling. Okay, Paris-Tous might not be that anymore, but still. What a shock. Still, is that enough to be picked for this game? Maybe not, but then he showed he was still good in the Japan Cup. So I went with him. If that is his real level, he is certainly good enough at that price but it's definitely a bit of a gamble.
Mikkel Honoré - 169
His star has definitely waned a lot and 2021 is further and further away (funny how that works). Last season was terrible for him and it's worrying that there was no really good reason for his travails. He is so cheap, though, that I couldn't resist picking him again, even if I am much less enthused by the pick than I was last season.
Frederik Wandahl - 164
His 2023 season was marred by a heavy crash in training where he broke his leg. He did come back, though, but it was only his top 10 in the Bretagne Classic that really stood out in the last couple of months. I think he has the potential for more than he has shown so far and is the most promising Swede in a long time.
Filippo Baroncini - 163
I haven't been paying close attention to him but according to the Lanterne Rouge podcast, he was injured most of the year, even if he rode a bunch of races. Now, he goes to UAE where many riders thrive, and it's not difficult to envision that he can get a good many more points than in 2023. I don't know how high my hopes are, though, but he's probably worth the gamble.
Maximilian Schachmann - 159
A cursed rider. Probably not a brilliant pick but at one point, he surely must stop being sick all the time?
Ben Turner - 158
In the spring of 2022, he looked like he would soon be about to form a formidable duo with Magnus Sheffield in the cobbled classics. Last year, he crashed out of Omloop after having looked in excellent shape in February where it was only Pogacar who had his number at the Jaén race. He did race the last cobbled classics but evidently not in the same shape so he has a lot of room for pointwise improvement. The last part of his season was abysmal, so I hope that doesn't reflect a trend.
Alessandro Covi - 141
An absolute must-have as I see it. His bout of mononucleosis is perhaps a worry (I still remember Intxausti and Robin Söderling) but most people make it back, and as SafeBet wrote just yesterday, he will have the Hirschi schedule in 2024. And apparently, that can give you 1900 points.
Johannes Kulset - 123
The Norwegians are coming! And this fellow more so than most. Already top 15 in the Tour of the Alps last year, and later he was allegedly unlucky with crashes in Tour de l'Avenir. He is a little expensive for my taste and I only stumbled upon him because I randomly saw that he had signed a 4-year contract (actually 5 as it was signed in 2022) with Uno-X. That's not that usual for a junior unless the potential is huge.
Johannes Staune-Mittet - 108
Yet another Norwegian Johannes! He didn't have a great 2023 at all, however winning the Baby Giro is no mean feat, and then he won a stage at the Czech Tour, was sitting 2nd on GC and then didn't start the following day? Seems curious, he probably got sick. That cost some points, though. Now, he is elevated to Visma's pro team and they usually know what they're doing. Plus he's quite cheap considering his potential.
Michael Valgren - 89
I just had to have him. He sounds confident that he can regain his old level (and is aware that he needs to go even further as the competition has gotten better too) after his life-threatening accident in 2022 that cost him a season on EF's development team. In the autumn, he did show that he could almost follow the best in the early Italian classics. Hopefully, he is not home in Thy at the moment because outdoor training might be a bit difficult up there these days...
Jan Christen - 59
As I write these lines, I realise that I forgot about Isaac del Toro when finalising my team. Damn. Oh well, then Christen will have to do. He is quite hyped on the forum, but I don't know much about him. Maybe this pick is a little premature. Or maybe he will live up to the hype.
Nairo Quintana - 50
A rider I know rather more about than the previous entry. I don't like him in the least but at 50 points he was difficult to forgo...
Archie Ryan - 45
Another neopro. I really have a lot of them this year. But given how many breakthroughs we've seen by really young riders lately, that's part of the plan. I think this guy is really good but there were a few different options at EF to pick between. I hope I picked right.
Paul Magnier - 38
Another neopro of which Soudal have approximately a thousand. He seemed like the most promising (at least when considering that Lamperti cost four times as much).
Matthew Walls - 18
With Démare gone, Groupama try new things. Hopefully, Walls will be a bit better than he was in 2023 where he only went into profit (after 10 points in 2022) in October... Still, he is not entirely without speed, so he really should be worth the pick.
Amaury Capiot - 10
I think he is another must-have. After more than 80 top 10s, he finally found a way to win in 2022. Then his 2023 season was a complete write-off due to a heavy injury. He sounds like he is back at his usual level, though, and ready to farm points for Arkéa as he is used to do.
Andrew August - 0
Theodor Storm - 0
Markel Beloki - 0
Jørgen Nordhagen - 0
Maybe I have gone a little overboard with youth this time round. I picked all the three guys who were picked up directly from the junior category by WorldTeams and then Nordhagen who I hear is the second coming of Christ (until Philipsen is the third coming next year (when in reality it's Pogacar who is that)).
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