This is the thread where I will post race results and classification updates. Do NOT comment here, it is a purely informative thread that is only used for all types of rankings, which I will update after every race and in the end of each month. If a race starts in a month and finishes in the next, it’s points will only count to the month it finishes in.
Edited by Yellow Jersey on 25-10-2019 14:33
First race of the season done and dusted, Impey repeated the overall win like last year with Porte second.
Impey, the "natural" option proved why he was chosen by almost anyway, the highest-scoring rider in the race, with Porte and Poels having a good scoring aswell, making the risk worth it for some. George Bennet with KOM made up for a disapointing GC result, alolngside Dennis took up some solid points for the competition, Slagter got ony 17 points but not a bad outcome for a rider of his quality.
In the sprinter field both van Poppel and Phillipsen were great choices, unlike Ewan who won a mere 10 points due to inconsistency and stage relegation (and consequent penalization in Points classification). Haas and McCarthy surprisingly weren't even minimal factors in the race, personally I didn't even see them once. Scotson and Docker also didn't manage to get mentionable points.
Impey was the top scorer with 109 points, followed by Porte with 91 and Poels with 87. From those that weren't chosen Chris Hamilton seemed the one definetely most worth it, as he would've gotten over 65 points, as Guerreiro also worth over 50.
Danny van Poppel, he was there before Challambra Crescent, I'm left to believe he either had a mechanical or he crashed, as he came in over 8 minutes, taking several managers into a decent point deprivation.
So Viviani huh? Not surprising, but taking into account his quality it wasn't expected to see him chosen. Ewan, I trust, his TDU was horrible in terms of points, here he got 53, not a bad one. Impey remained a very good choice but only for those who hadn't already picked him last week, and Gibbons was expected, a strong point delivery from him.
The race was a bit disapointing in terms of show though, the puncheurs/climbers got some points but weren't a decisive factor, McCarthy, Hamilton, Guerreiro and Ulissi all finished between 8th-16th, so there weren't any huge differences. Phillipsen got 2 points, with van Poppel and Schwarzmann as non-scorers.
From those not chosen Debusschere/Rowe/Morkov/Doull, all riders that completed the Top10, all off-radar before the race. Debusschere had shown good form but was a joker, the others were more of a surprise, showing form is really what matters here.
Ivaneurope was the big scorer of the race after a low TDU, Marcovdw managed to preserve his 3rd place but perhaps the surprise is the change of lead, as df_Trek had another strong race and stole the lead from Croatia who takes 2nd. These standings mean something as January has finished here in Australia, and with it the first bonus points are going home with the 3 strongest managers here.
Month of January finished, the shortest but with 100% WT racing. Such a short month and such specific riders to pic there weren't many big differences, with the bulk of managers on about the same scoring. We've had a split in the top though, df_Trek having a very strong month and expanding his lead with the bonus, only Croatia14 was able to have similar scoring after having top-scored the TDU. Marcovdw got the 3rd place with a strong couple of races aswell.
Only purepasd and jandal7 look a bit behind in the standings, but it's a gap that can easily be closed already next month, ivaneurope also in the bottom 3 despite being the top-scorer in Geelong.
Not much to conclude, it's just the very begining of the season, a taste of the system and some big names already chosen by some managers, February comes next where we will have the following races:
-Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise
-Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
-Tour of Oman
-Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta
-Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol
The UAE Tour and the Tour of Rwanda will also start in February, but as they finish in March they won't count for the February rankings.
Ollfardh submited before the race began so his pick was accepted. With a maximum of 83 points up to grag, the top scorer (in this case two managers) only pulled out 38, making this expectedly a low-scoring race.
The sprinters made it pretty much, turned out the obvious chice as the headwind (from what Ive hears) kept things pretty compact. A small group of 2 (Anthony Turgis and Romain Combaud) ruled the day tho. ivaneurope had Combaud and profited massively from that move making him once again the top scorer (alongside Ulrich who had 6th and 12th in the team). The other risky move, Freitas, only had 2 points though, making him the lowest-scorer, alongside myself, I believed the puncheurs would still rule but neither of them looked near their best (argumenting solely on the results sheet).
Geniez was the negative surprise, likely working for his sprinters though, he gathered just a single point, Neilands, Eiking and Jules, who didn't start even though he was listed in the startlist the day before the race.
So no big differences made here, df_Trek and Croatia had exact same score, but extended their lead over marco.
Croatia with a Bland Race. There was no points classification so I used the combined classification to award those points.
No major differences but that was never expected from a race of this lenght and category, it was visible though the lack of points during the stages, in the TDU we had several managers over 30 points with the stage results, here 4 points was the limit, so the final standings results were 95% of the total scoring in general.
Valverde with no surprise was the top scorer between the picks, he had a solid score of 64 points here which is no bad result but we'll wait for him to be used by other managers to see if it was indeed a worthy choice. Bilbao and Higuita were also very good picks, specially the later as he also picked up the U25 jersey in the end. From there on there wasn't much disparity.
Bilbao and Higuita 45 and 22 points respectively. Teuns gathered 25 points, Herrada 22 points, LLS 16 points, Rui Costa 14. Izaguirre was the obvious best non-pick, he would've scored around the same as Valverde.
Gonçalves, Fraile, De la Cruz, Gasparotto, Aberasturi and Lobato were the choices that didn't render much, but there weren't any enormous gaps made. Trek will conserve his lead with the same points as Croatia here. Marco is under attack by jseadog and Abhishek for 3rd place currently. In the February standings jseadog is leading followed by Agent David. Next up is Oman in just less than a week.
Well we had Valencia with very little gaps showing that there may be little importance given to 2.HC, but in Oman we have had MAJOR gaps made. We can separate by those who had Lutsenko and those who didn't. 3 stage wins, GC, points (and probably would have had KOM), there was absolutely no comparison.
Lutsenko alone gathered 104 which is almost as much as Impey in the TDU, a race 2 categories above so he was the golden rider to have, of which several managers have gathered significant gaps for the month's classification.
42 points for Pozzovivo, gave a solid return, 36 for Jesus Herrada who keeps his good form run, 28 points for Rui Costa, 24 points for Polanc, 23 for Gibbons and Colbrelli the sprinters. O'Connor takes a mention as a DNF, perhaps the first good pick having a harsh finish in the season, although his team's result giving his choice 2 tiny points.
Of the non-picked Gesbert would've been the best option with 34, Lietaer/Doubey/Pacher/Cras would also be good as very low-"priced" picks.
Tamijo debuts as best-scorer, a very strong move indeed as initially predicted, df_Trek has made another big move and extended his lead on Croatia, Tamijo moved up to 3rd closely followed by Agent David who is also having a very strong February and both are head-to-head in the month. Marco had a rough race and dropped down, Aquarius and Ollfardh also had a lack of scoring in the first middle east race.
Most definetely pleasing the essence of the game, tons of riders picked, tons of in-race surprises and lots of show. This race has had a very balanced final result as no-one picked the top scorer the MASSIVE Pogacar and Soren Kragh Andersen. Pogacar would have ranked up a brilliant 77 points and SKA 46.
Poels though had a very broad offer of points for a total of 57, and the top scorers were the managers that chose him. Oomen had 25, Ackermann had 23 points with the Points jersey win, De la Cruz gave some 16 and some low results from there on basically.
After the Marseillaise Ulrich takes the top result again, although a very balanced outcome with very few changes. df_Trek has his very first slip, Croatia slightly closed the gap but it is Tamijo who once again scores big and his already in the heels of Croatia and only 71 points away from the lead. jseadog moves to 4th with Agent David right by. Tamijo has the grip on February's main bonus points if he doesn't slip in Andalucia, whilst Agent David and jseadog seem set for the other two spots. df_Trek, Ulrich and Croatia still on the hunt for them aswell.
Bland race for Croatia and Jandal. 3rd for both so I'll mention here aswell as in every post and PM, you can send in picks for any race at any time, if you think you won't be able to pick after the preview you can do so beforehand at any time.
There wasn't U25 and team classification in this race, very weirdly I should say...
It was although an Astana sweep as expected, Fuglsang had 73 points, Ion Izaguirre 55, Bilbao had 27 and LLS 13. Wellens had also a massive race, gathered 68 points on the way, Haig 23, Teuns 14 and O.Rodriguez 11, rest was minimal points.
Kruiswijk and the Yates brothers were the biggest scorer of the non-picked but it was likely a smart option as they can be worth much more, Higuita and Vlasov would've been very good ones though as they kept their amazing February form.
Freitas taking his first win of the season, df_Trek has gathered his lead but he sees Tamijo taking over the runner-up place after yet another massive score, clearly taking the February bonus which will get him even closer to the lead. Croatia keeps 3rd place but Agent David is also making a move onto the podium.
Tamijo has taken the monthly classification and with it 30 points, Agent David will take 20 meaning he is just a mere 5 points from the podium and Ulrich stole the final 10 points from df_Trek, the monthly classifications will be posted tomorrow.
A month without WT racing but a very interesting one indeed, some preparation races but for some it was full-on racing. Tamijo had a brilliant month, uniting consistency with some very strong performances, most noticeably in Oman. Agent David did very well and got 20 bonus points reward for his strong month, and Ulrich narrowly stole the points from overall leader df_Trek who still got a strong 4th place.
Plenty of managers there in the bulk of the action, a bit lower though was marco who had 3rd place in January, lost some ground there but keeps a solid overall ranking, Ollfardh and Aquarius hanging in the bottom, monthly and overall non surprisingly as a big percentage of the current score was from this month.
Total
Total
Points
Bonus Points
df_Trek
581
30
Tamijo
553
30
Croatia14
497
20
Agent David
493
20
Ulrich Ulriksen
452
10
jseadog1
400
FreitasPCM
391
Yellow Jersey
388
Marcovdw
346
10
jaxika
331
AbhishekLFC
312
jandal7
289
purepasd
277
ivaneurope
245
Ollfardh
217
Aquarius97
204
As previously mentioned this month has taken obviously a big portion of the total points. df_Trek continues to lead after another strong month, although he sees Tamijo drawing very close after a superb month, just a mere 28 points away from the lead. Croatia is currently in 3rd although he is reaching the limit having picks for him, he is closely followed by Agent David, another star of the month collecting the 20 points available for 2nd place. Rounding up the Top5 is Ulrich also with the 3rd place of the month and bonus, he won the Marseillaise and the Algarve and is also in a good position to attack the podium.
Jseadog, Freitas and myself hovering around the 6th place, marco coming down from 3rrd to 9th after a poor month, Jaxika, Abhishek, jandal and purepasd keeping a close eye on the current top10, ivaneurope, Ollfardh and Aquarius rounding out the list in the final places.
March though will bring a whole new level where the real differences will begin to appear. UAE/PN/TA/CAT all WT stage-races, the first monument in MSR, 4 cobbled classics and Strade Bianche will make for maybe the most exciting month all-year long, a huge ammount of points to deliver and it is vital to keep the consistency throughout this period it is essential.
df_Trek nailed it! The leader has just shown how it's done, Roglic seemed like a risk but he crushed the competition, leading the race from top to bottom and finishing in the Top3 in all summit finishes.
Roglic obtained 114 points with an overwhelming performance, Gaudu the other mega pick by jaxika giving some 74 points. Buchmann 44, Kelderman 42, Dan Martin 31, so the GC riders were the absolute best choice. Sam Bennett won the final stage but he lacked the consistency to score anything important in the points classification.
Valverde was the best non-picked with 69 points, but rightly so as he didn't exactly shine as he may later in the season, James Knox, De Plus and Kurianov would be the low value good picks, but in such competition it wouldn't be expected to have any of those present.
df_Trek opens up his March tab on a high extending his lead, otherwise there weren't really changes, we will have to wait a bit more to have some differences made but we are in time, Trek is definitely putting on the pressure on everyone else.
Freitas (chosen), Croatia and jandal with Bland Race.
First cobbled wrap up of the season, there weren't any major surprises except Vanmarcke/Valgren/Stuyven not having a role in the race. It was an agressive one just how we like them and a truly awesome way to get these under way.
Scoring wise, surprisingly, it was me who got the victory here. df_Trek once again super well having the winner in the team, but also having a rider with no scoring. Wellens was a really good pick, Lampaert in the end aswell. Lutsenko also very good but not as in Oman, whilst Trentin performed but perhaps not the expected level scoring wise.
df_Trek again extends his lead and is in the March lead aswell, followed by me and purepasd with the same points. Croatia moved up to 3rd but it was his last Bland Race extra.. followed closely by Agent David, Ulrich and myself.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Strade Bianche done and dusted and we're left with an interesting set of results, with the average being really high, Jaxika was the lowest scoring manager but still with a solid 35 points.
Ivaneurope taking his 3rd win of the season, the van Aert/Benoot combo was the most efficient, he was followed by Ulirck and then several managers taking a big tally of points, with myself, and marco leading the way in an important rebound. Some riders like Moscon/Visconti/Moser ended up being poor choices (although only Moscon would be a rider with a realistic better suiting race), whilst Skujins definetely the surprise and biggest point/value result.
df_Trek is leading the March standings followed by me and purepasd, whilst in the total classification trek's lead gets bigger in relation to Tamijo, who has Ulrich, Agent David and myself lurking the opportunity of getting to 2nd whilst fighting for 3rd place.
Very weird results coming from Paris-Nice, a race where there were lots of riders who would be worth lots and lots points. Bernal and Kwiatkowski for example both would be worth over 100 with their dominant performance.
Bardet in the end was the highest scoring rider of those chosen, but still with a low score comparing to some others, Jungels was the other one. Calmejane a solid pick for a good amount of points for his value. Sam Bennett's two stage wins would've gotten him the points jersey but he didn't finish the race so only his stage points counted. Inbetween many crashes and crosswinds several picks were shaken (Izaguirre brothers (although Ion's stage win), Henao and Soler). Greipel and Kittel were also not well picked as none got any point during the race. Kelderman looked set for a strong GC but faded completely on the queen stage.
Ulrich and Ollfardh took the win here with the amazing double of Yates and Fuglsang. Although Roglic won overall the ammount of points from the secondary classifications (and jersey wearing for Yates) was an enormous advantage for both, Yates was worth a whole 160 points. Over 100 for Roglic and Fuglsang with Alaphillipe also around that mark.
Ulrich now leads the March standings, ahead of df_Trek and myself. In the overall Trek defended himself well and attacked Tamijo, but after this PN/TA double it is Ulrich jumping to 2nd and only 112 behind. Tamijo is 3rd, followed by Agent David, myself and Freitas.
Milano Sanremo, Catalunya and the cobbled classics are still in for the march classifications, so we are just halfway up this massive month that is already having more than half total points for some managers.
jseadog and marco the big winners of the day, Alaphillipe with a big strike, Abhishek was the only manager to come even near them. Lots of focus in the sprinters meant lots of managers left with very little points, as a one-day race it shouldn't influenciate too much the season but for the month of March it can definetely cause some sturr and mix in the bonus points.
df_Trek has regained the lead of the month just edgind Ulrich (and by some margin) myself. But with Catalunya and 3 cobbled races coming up there are still tons of points to be won here.
A very weird result coming from De Panne. Ackermann and Keukeleire were the two most chosen riders but both were knocked out of contention due to a crash, leaving only a few managers with points, as many riders were affected.
With E3 on Friday and Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday this classic is just an appetizer for the weekend, as Catalunya is still on and massive points will be awarded there.
Dupont and Keukeleire was an awesome pick I thought I clearly suck at this game
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Sorry YJ
