The 2026 CQ Ranking Manager Thread

[Eyeballs Out]

Not good news from 10 days ago although I'd only just seen it - Garofoli out with a long term knee injury after being hit by a stone in Strade Bianchi. He was looking like having a breakthrough year.

 

[armchairclimber]

Catalunya saved by Uijtdebroeks and Riccitello's mediocre efforts.
Otherwise all a bit bobbins. But Lamperti stormed intop profit with 5 points.

 

[Shakes]

Catalunya saved by Uijtdebroeks and Riccitello's mediocre efforts.
Otherwise all a bit bobbins. But Lamperti stormed intop profit with 5 points.

Lamperti, i thought he was still with peloton in last 20km. Was surprised he wasn't there at end anymore.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Lamperti, i thought he was still with peloton in last 20km. Was surprised he wasn't there at end anymore.

Had a mechanical, to continue the streak of bad luck that seemingly every single game-relevant rider has been a victim of already.

 

[Squire]

The scores after MSR aren't forward looking at all. It doesn't know whether all the riders are healthy and will continue to score or if they are all going to get shut down in a couple weeks (covid style). A big reason why we know this season sucks is because of the amount of guys that are injured/out for a while and won't score. There's also reason to believe guys like Steinhauser and Tiberi won't sustain their scoring over an entire season. I'd be shocked if we are still on a high pace by the end of the classics season. But also can't discount Seixas and Laporte being awesome and providing basically everybody with a solid foundation.

Yeah, I hear you, but with all the ridiculous ways riders have avoided scoring points so far, I was thinking more about the season-to-date rather than going forward. But of course, some of the injuries are going to have a long-term impact, like Van Gils, Nys, Küng and potentially Poole not being ready.

Not good news from 10 days ago although I'd only just seen it - Garofoli out with a long term knee injury after being hit by a stone in Strade Bianchi. He was looking like having a breakthrough year.

Speaking of the devil ...

Lamperti, i thought he was still with peloton in last 20km. Was surprised he wasn't there at end anymore.

He had a mechanical in the run-in to the finish. Again, 2026 be 2026-ing.

 

[armchairclimber]

Yeah, I hear you, but with all the ridiculous ways riders have avoided scoring points so far, I was thinking more about the season-to-date rather than going forward. But of course, some of the injuries are going to have a long-term impact, like Van Gils, Nys, Küng and potentially Poole not being ready.

Speaking of the devil ...


He had a mechanical in the run-in to the finish. Again, 2026 be 2026-ing.

I am regretting Poole more than some of the others because I knew it was Snogging disease and that can just linger on for years.... as Cavendish would testify. I probably should have known better.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

If pozzovivo makes his comeback, can I sub him into my team?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

If pozzovivo makes his comeback, can I sub him into my team?

Unfortunately you'll need someone to launch an Experienced Riders Game before he'll become an option, but there's no doubt I'd rather have him than his former teammate Stephen Williams right now.

 

[Earns1985]

Lipowitz (1065 points, 3 teams): It´s no secret, that he is my favourite rider. Had him last year and because of this, I could enjoy his breakthrough even more. His price (because of his no scoring in 2025 after the tour) made him still an option for this year. Before Bora announced his schedule, he was even in my team. But what kicked him out was the announced schedule for him. Very few races before the tour and these even together with Remco and/or Roglic. So even if he would have a fantastic season, 1500 points seems to be the limit, so to be still competitive here in this game, I decided not to include him.

O'Connor (563 points, 28 teams) and Enric Mas (560 points, 27 teams): The decicion in the end was O'Connor and Mas or Lipowitz. In the end I decided for O'Connor and Mas because of their announced schedule. Both are riding the giro and O'Connor is also in for some early seson points in Australia. Mas at a later stage will ride the vuelta without having the tour in his legs and against a potentially not so good field. So I think both will earn at least between 800- 1000 points with a bit of upward potential still.

Ohh man, how much more could I enjoy the season, if I just would have listen to my heart instead of my brain...

 

[RedheadDane]

I know we're tied for 88th, but I kinda feel like I should have top(ish)-spot here:

#88	Samu Cuenca	1.978	7.496	26.4%	33	▼ 1	+383
#88	RedheadDane	1.978	7.461	26.5%	33	▲ 2	+474

I have the highest effiency percentage.
I moved up two spots over the course of the last 7 days, while Samu dropped down one spot.
I scored more points in the last 7 days.
And, most importantly, 'R' comes before 'S'.

 

[Shakes]

I know we're tied for 88th, but I kinda feel like I should have top(ish)-spot here:

#88	Samu Cuenca	1.978	7.496	26.4%	33	▼ 1	+383
#88	RedheadDane	1.978	7.461	26.5%	33	▲ 2	+474

I have the highest effiency percentage.
I moved up two spots over the course of the last 7 days, while Samu dropped down one spot.
I scored more points in the last 7 days.
And, most importantly, 'R' comes before 'S'.

Maybe I'm biased against you!

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I have now spent seven uninterrupted weeks ranked between 13th and 21st, for not being at either end of the table and it being early in the season that's bizarrely consistent.