UCI Prediction Game

[Armchair Cyclist]

I'd like to propose a little fantasy management type game.

For all that the UCI rankings are badly flawed, they have a high profile and include most of the priiorities for most of the top riders (and some fillers)

So, to keep it simple, my suggestion is to select up to 15 riders, whose price is simply the number of points that they earned in 2010, available here as a Google docs spreadsheet so that you can calculate your total spend. No restriction on how many riders from one team. You have 1200 points to spend. Your score will be the total of your top 5 riders.

No entry fee; no prize; closing date is the end of this month: you can make ammendments to your original selection until then. Enter by sending me an e-mail or a private message (click on my name at the top of this post).

I'll track it on a spreadsheet and post standings as soon after the release of each set of UCI rankings as I get a chance to. Final standings will be after the Giro Lombardia.

Good luck

Edit on 30 December: closing date now 15th January

 

[The Hitch]

I dont get it. Is this a maths challenge, or you mean its for the coming season?

 

[Moondance]

Fine idea. I'll play ball.

Although the 'only top-5 riders count rule' shouldn't be there, or else it should be at least more than half the roster which counts.

 

[The Hitch]

Fine idea. I'll play ball.

Although the 'only top-5 riders count rule' shouldn't be there, or else it should be at least more than half the roster which counts.

Yep agree. If its top 5 riders count everyones best off just selecting 5 riders at 1190 points and then

68 254 WYSS Danilo SUI19850826 BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 1
269 258 VIGANO Davide ITA19840612 SKY PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM (SKY) 1
270 267 DE HAES Kenny BEL19841110 OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO (OLO) 1
271 257 VIVIANI Elia ITA19890207 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO (LIQ) 1
272 252 CAZAUX Pierre FRA19840607 FRANÇAISE DES JEUX (FDJ) 1
273 266 FLENS Rick NED19830411 RABOBANK (RAB) 1
274 264 VAN STAYEN Michael BEL19880813 TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN - MERCATOR (TSV) 1
275 265 BLYTH Adam GBR19891001 OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO (OLO) 1
276 275 KLUGE Roger GER19860205 TEAM MILRAM (MRM) 1
277 270 CHICCHI Francesco ITA19801127 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO (LIQ) 1
278 278 ** () 1
- RUTKIEWICZ Marek POL19810508 MRÓZ (MRO)

 

[Anonymous]

I would make it all riders score, and if any riders get clinic related bans you lose ALL points for them.

 

[Marcus135]

I would make it all riders score, and if any riders get clinic related bans you lose ALL points for them.

I dont think thats the best idea... You have no control over weather the riders you pick will dope or not. If you pick a doper you should just lose all the points that the individual rider has gained.

 

[Moondance]

Okay... My team:

Hoffmann–La Roche Test Team
Andy Schleck 258
Richie Porte 133
Jakob Fuglsang 130
Peter Sagan 111
TGBM (aka Bauke Mollema) 104
Alex Kolobnev 84
TJ Van Garderen 76
Pipo Pozzato 60
Tiago Machado 52
Lars Boom 48
Ruben Plaza 46
Rigoberto Uran 40
Brad Wiggins 18
Matti Breschel 16
Gio Visconti 0


For a total of 1176 points for 2010.

 

[Moondance]

I would make it all riders score, and if any riders get clinic related bans you lose ALL points for them.

+1

Blah blah blah

 

[Moondance]

I dont think thats the best idea... You have no control over weather the riders you pick will dope or not. If you pick a doper you should just lose all the points that the individual rider has gained.

Ummm... that's exactly what Dim is advocating.

 

[Marcus135]

ah my bad i thought he ment all riders in ur team, aka loss all points

 

[Izzy eviel]

Stuff like this is always fun. Maybe have a rule where the Team leader gets double points? Double points for GT winner?

 

[ingsve]

So, do riders that didn't get any points in 2010 cost 0?

 

[bubblegum]

So its basically, pick 15 guys who didnt do to good this year who you think will do much better next year

 

[bubblegum]

maybe make it pick 15 with whatever points you want and make your final score a ratio of 2010 ponts spent over 2011 points gained

 

[Kazistuta]

Maybe the participants should send their team through PM, so we can't be coloured by other picks...... F.i. I like the look of some of Moondance's riders...

 

[Moondance]

So, do riders that didn't get any points in 2010 cost 0?

That's what I assume.

 

[Moondance]

Okay, so I've taken down the post I made yesterday, announcing my team to the world, since noone else did it... I have now submitted it via the proper channels.

Regardless of my goofs before, I'm in. Who else?

 

[Moondance]

maybe make it pick 15 with whatever points you want and make your final score a ratio of 2010 ponts spent over 2011 points gained

That wont work. You would automatically win if you just picked 15 guys who scored 0 points last year, and if any one of them scores a point you win with a score of ∞

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I've chosen the top 5 to score, because that's the way that the UCI team title is decided. If one were to take the points of all the SAXO riders in 2010, it would come to 1162: the total of their top 5 that gave them the team title was 1005. I've rounded up from 1162 to 1200 for the sake of round numbers.

For dopers, as per the UCI rankings: if proven before the end of the season, their points are deleted, if not, then no matter how dark the cloud over their heads, they will be credited with the points in the final UCI table at the end of the season (ie after Lombardia)

Yep: one could pick 5 high scorers from this season, and 10 who scored few, if any, points, but unless one of the 10 improves remarkably, you would be very vulnerable to the injury/form collapse/banning of one of your 5 high grade men.

Remember, the instruction was to "select up to 15 riders": if you don't want to pick more than 6 or 7, you aren't obliged to. Perhaps I should have made that number lower (I vaguely considered the 25 or so typical on a ProTour squad, but soon decided that that would be a waste of time).

To clarify, those who scored 0 this year are free (so one may as well throw Di Luca's name into your squad, in case he escapes further sanctions) (yeah: I should have made the max number of riders lower to avoid too many inclusions of this nature), but remember, unless they make your top 5, they are of no benefit to you.

No bonuses for winning tours or being the top man on your team: my idea was to make this as close to the UCI team ranking as possible.

This is our equivalent of the transfer season: instead of a salary budget, we have a points budget. we are primarily interested in our headliners and team leaders, who will finish in the top places in top races. But it is as well to have an eye to those who might just cause a surprise, and could help make upfor misfortune befalling our supposed team leaders.


3 teams in so far...

 

[Hugo Koblet]

So it's only the UCI World Rankings that count? What about the Europe Tour Rankings etc?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

So it's only the UCI World Rankings that count? What about the Europe Tour Rankings etc?

Yep: it's "pick your World Rankings team" in essence.

 

[ak-zaaf]

Can you pick Sagan 10 times?

 

[Marcus135]

Can you pick Sagan 10 times?

no... that would be stupid

 

[Moondance]

no... that would be stupid

Yes... Especially when you can pick TGBM 11 times

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Can you pick Sagan 10 times?

If you want, but you'll only get his points once