The 2026 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[skidmark]

Just out of curiosity regarding suspended riders:



Is it straight up "you can't pick him"? Or is it more "you can pick him, but it would be rather stupid, coz he won't score any points for you"?

Hi, as the wording implies, those riders are ineligible, ie you can't pick them. If a team does pick one of those riders, they will be notified if it's before the publication deadline and given the chance to fill the spot with another rider. If it's discovered after the publication deadline that someone chose an ineligible rider, that rider will be removed from the team without replacement.

The rule is stated that way to avoid edge cases where a rider might hypothetically be provisionally suspended but with an ambiguous case. If this happened with a high-impact rider, the game could be strongly affected by the timing and outcome of the resolution of the case, and which teams guess correctly as to that resolution. So the choice is simply taken away for everyone, you can't pick those riders. This is more in fitting with the spirit of the original rules of the CQ game vis-a-vis doping as a special case to be regulated, rather than a factor in the ordinary course of racing (illness, crashes, etc).

 

[RedheadDane]

Ah, I see.
I was mostly thinking about cases where the rider is completely unable to ride.

In other words; I was thinking a case where someone picked Miguel Angel Lopez for this year.
The rule in question is in place to prevent someone from picking Oier Lazkano for this year.

Of course, picking Miguel Angel Lopez would be... strange...

 

[skidmark]

Alright, I should be caught up on entries now! 32 teams in so far, keep them coming.

 

[Earns1985]

Also send my team. Will share content after the deadline! Looking forward to an exciting season again!

 

[Squire]

Alright, I should be caught up on entries now! 32 teams in so far, keep them coming.

Seeing the list of entries taking shape always makes me excited for the new season! Hope we manage to stay at near 100 participants.

And I'm extremely curious to see what expensive rider decisions will be the most common. Kinda feels like anything goes this year.

 

[YellowSocks]

I'm trying to put together a team this weekend. The problem is I need another sponsor. God, these riders are awfully expensive.

Since this is my first time participating and putting together a fake cycling team wasn't part of my plans for this weekend, I'm jumping in a little unprepared due to lack of time. I guess the point is to discover the next Tour de France winner at the bottom of the CQ ranking, isn't it?

 

[Salvarani]

I'm trying to put together a team this weekend. The problem is I need another sponsor. God, these riders are awfully expensive.

Since this is my first time participating and putting together a fake cycling team wasn't part of my plans for this weekend, I'm jumping in a little unprepared due to lack of time. I guess the point is to discover the next Tour de France winner at the bottom of the CQ ranking, isn't it?

Not necessarily... but if you find the next Cobo then hats off.

 

[YellowSocks]

Not necessarily... but if you find the next Cobo then hats off.

I guess it would be OK if my rider doesn't get busted before January 1, 2027, right?

EDIT. Or do the results of the game can be cancelled retroactively?

 

[Salvarani]

I guess it would be OK if my rider doesn't get busted before January 1, 2027, right?

EDIT. Or do the results of the game can be cancelled retroactively?

We would have an Al Gore moment

 

[skidmark]

I guess it would be OK if my rider doesn't get busted before January 1, 2027, right?

EDIT. Or do the results of the game can be cancelled retroactively?

Yes, samples of the DMs that managers submit with their team list are kept for 7 years for backtesting, so retroactive DQs can happen any time. You're never safe.

(all seriousness, the game ends with the last race of the year and results are final, even if DQs happen in the future)

 

[skidmark]

Seeing the list of entries taking shape always makes me excited for the new season! Hope we manage to stay at near 100 participants.

I'm hopeful that we'll stay pretty stable with participants as well - it's hard to tell as every year there's a different pattern of applications (some front-loaded, others right at the end). We're actually about 10-15 entries ahead of the equivalent day last year, but I've taken notice that there are only a trickle of new entrants, so if we don't get more of those and there's a regular attrition rate we could slip in numbers. Either way I trust there will be great discussion here as always, but it's always fun to have more.

 

[Shakes]

New webpage online. Very simple version for now:

Team Ranking — CQ Game

www.cqmanager.com

Has less functionality for now than last year but:
- URL easier to remember!
- Muuuuch faster.

@skidmark -> Could you add this link to first post?

Regarding new entrants, two/three years ago I found it as someone posted it either at another forum here (I mostly visit the Clinic) or maybe even on Reddit (peloton) which I occasionally visit to see news.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

Spent the majority of my fall and early winter "hibernating" so to speak from the cycling world. School has been very busy and other sports have kept my attention, thanks to Drake "Drake Maye" Maye. This game has always been great for getting me prepped for the upcoming cycling season. My team relies on a bigger bet and more lower priced riders than I am fully comfortable with, but I felt like I needed to take some risks to win, as the year I took the most risks was the year I finished best in the competition. Might do a team analysis on the release date pending upcoming work, but if not, good luck to everyone this year!

 

[RedheadDane]

I guess the point is to discover the next Tour de France winner at the bottom of the CQ ranking, isn't it?

That might be more of a task for the Emerging Riders Game.
At least if by "the next Tour de France winner" you mean the next TdF winner, who hasn't won it before. Not the winner of the next TdF. Because... I don't think the winner of the next TdF is at the buttom of the CQ - or any - ranking.

New webpage online. Very simple version for now:

Team Ranking — CQ Game

www.cqmanager.com

OI! I see zero reason the standing of last year's game should still be up.

 

[vladimir]

While waiting for the big reveal, I have found that I will probably be dead last on the first updates like in 2024. I have no Aussies or Kiwis in my team. And based on the provisional start list on PCS I have only four riders in TDU with a total cost of less than 700 points...

 

[Salvarani]

While waiting for the big reveal, I have found that I will probably be dead last on the first updates like in 2024. I have no Aussies or Kiwis in my team. And based on the provisional start list on PCS I have only four three riders in TDU with a total cost of less than 700 points...

I dont have many there either, so I expect slow start.

 

[RedheadDane]

While waiting for the big reveal, I have found that I will probably be dead last on the first updates like in 2024. I have no Aussies or Kiwis in my team. And based on the provisional start list on PCS I have only four three riders in TDU with a total cost of less than 700 points...

If you include the period before anyone gets any points, you could avoid being last simply by not being the last alphabetically.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

If you include the period before anyone gets any points, you could avoid being last simply by not being the last alphabetically.

@Yellow Knight and @zigzag wanderer will often help in that regard (not that I am usually in danger...)

 

[postmanhat]

Thanks for giving me a traumatic start to the new year!

I posted earlier that I was trying to finalise the last few spots on my team. Ended up redesigning large parts of it, including almost all the most expensive ones. So I guess it wasn't that settled, after all. Will probably go through a few more iterations before the deadline. Too many options this year!

Sorry about that.

Expect I'm about to do the same thing tomorrow. Can't get the balance right between head and heart, exacerbated by massive FOMO!

 

[Squire]

Sorry about that.

Expect I'm about to do the same thing tomorrow. Can't get the balance right between head and heart, exacerbated by massive FOMO!

Yeah, FOMO is massive no matter what you do. But I can recommend trying to convince yourself why you shouldn't pick people rather than the opposite.

I've been trying to cut a few heart picks, but I also know I will then be quite annoyed if they end up doing as well as I hope and I don't have them, especially as one of them might end up being fairly unique if I pick him. There's also one particular rider I really want to fit in, but I refuse to remove any of the riders that cost enough to allow for that. The struggle!

 

[YellowSocks]

I have a psychological question. What about a rider you don't particularly like, or even dislike, but who could be a good pick? Does having him on your team help you to cheer for him, or does it make absolutely no difference, you still don't like him (even if for no reason)?

 

[hayneplane]

While waiting for the big reveal, I have found that I will probably be dead last on the first updates like in 2024. I have no Aussies or Kiwis in my team. And based on the provisional start list on PCS I have only four riders in TDU with a total cost of less than 700 points...

Mine had about 20 riders in TDU the first year I entered so i got a good start and some green jersey points but then most of my team didn’t race again until mid February and I had been overtaken by most teams.

 

[Panda Claws]

I've had cyclists I don't care for on my teams. It least makes it more bearable if they win.

 

[hayneplane]

I have a psychological question. What about a rider you don't particularly like, or even dislike, but who could be a good pick? Does having him on your team help you to cheer for him, or does it make absolutely no difference, you still don't like him (even if for no reason)?

I wouldn’t say I dislike Vingegaard but as a big supporter of his most direct rival I could not will myself to want him to have an amazing season so I left him on the shelf despite knowing it would objectively be a very high reward lowish risk pick for the game.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

I have a psychological question. What about a rider you don't particularly like, or even dislike, but who could be a good pick? Does having him on your team help you to cheer for him, or does it make absolutely no difference, you still don't like him (even if for no reason)?

There’s a rider that I don’t like comparatively as much to some his rivals, but felt he was sticking out there as a somewhat good pick.