Prediction season is well underway and here is my lazy edition for CT. Initially I aimed for four tiers with four teams in each, but in the end, I settled for five tiers with three teams in each.
I'm going to borrow the categories from sean:
S = Title Candidate
A = Promotion Candidate
B = Upset Pick
C = Mid-Table
D = Rebuild/Development
S
Banco Vaticano-Valkyrie
JEWA TIROL
SEE Turtles
Powless alone makes Banco Vaticano-Valkyrie a promotion contender.
JEWA TIROL has strong leaders for all terrains.
The SEE Turtles won't score on the cobbles but have the strongest TTT setup in the division.
A
DeNA RoadStars
Deutsche WindGuard
IESE ProCycling Team
Had it not been for Powless, DeNA RoadStars would have been S tier. Nevertheless, they should still promote.
Deutsche WindGuard is well-built but lacks firepower in the mountains.
IESE ProCycling Team doesn't have sprinters or cobble riders. However, the rest of the team is strong enough to make them promotion contenders.
B
Euskotren - Pays Basque
IncaLine Pro Cycling
Karthago
Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh
Euskotren - Pays Basque are strong in the hills, but so are a lot of the other CT teams.
The teams in CT are close in skill, but IncaLine Pro Cycling secures a spot in the B tier.
Tesfatsion is a questionmark to me, but strong leaders on all terrains for Karthago.
Am I biased? Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh in the B tier. We could promote with a few disbands and some luck, but it's always tricky when you rely on depth.
C
Air New Zealand-Prada
Billstedt-Horn
Fincantieri - Grand Seiko
Tafjord Kraft
Lutsenko is strong, but I don't believe he, nor anyone else from Air New Zealand-Prada, can get them close to promotion.
Billstedt-Horn has decent leaders everywhere except for the hills.
Fincantieri - Grand Seiko is well-rounded, but with no top scorers it will be tough to climb higher.
Not sure what Pira and Stalberg can do for Tafjord Kraft.
D
Brandt Cycling Team
Parmalat - Croatia
THE ONE - Fox God
Brandt Cycling Team is perhaps the weakest team in the division. They should still have some fun races from Merchan, Phinney, and Richardson in the right races.
Welten should be great, but I don't rate many of the other leaders from Parmalat - Croatia.
THE ONE - Fox God has a lot of cool riders, but no one to bring to the better half of the division.
Interesting to see your workings this year given this was one of if not the most accurate predictions for the CT last year, I mostly agree with everything youve said i find Kathago extremely difficult to place as well as yourself.
I think my most controversial picks are Air New Zealand-Prada and Tafjord Kraft, as they have been ranked noticeably higher by some.
@jt
I should take a look at how my predictions turned out, but I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow and still have plenty to sort out before then. So that'll have to wait a month or so, if I ever get around to it
