This thread is for race discussion. It is important to pay attention to it as here is where I will post race previews, race selection limit date and race selections. All the race discussion, results discussions and such will be here.
Edited by Yellow Jersey on 11-01-2019 15:42
First race of the season is a mere 3 days away and it's time to get Le Duo started. The race follows a regular route. 2 flat stages. 2 somewhat hilly stages that should finish in a sprint. 2 hilly stages, climbing over the Corkscrew in S4 and the classic Willunga Hill showdown in S6.
Packed startlist also, no-one out of the ordinary, but plenty of GC contenders and plenty of sprinters to battle it out for those early-season wins. GC: Impey, McCarthy, Porte, Ulissi, Valgren, O'Connor, Pozzovivo, Dennis, Woods, Latour, Luis Leon Sanchez, Haas, Guerreiro, Fernandez, Prades, Bennett, Gesink, Poels. Sprinters: Sagan, Ewan, Philipsen, Gibbons, Bauhaus, Mclay, Walscheid, Viviani, Van Poppel, Mareczko. Others: Meyer, Pantano, De Gendt, Bettiol, Storer, Ballerini, Hoelgaard, Devenyns, Elissonde, Halvorsen, Bevin.
Deadline is 14/1 at 23 Daily Time. Send in 2 riders until that time by PM, remember those 2 riders can't be selected again this season. I will send a PM roughy 48 hours before the dealine, and you can choose any rider in the startlist, the list above is just an indicator. Reminder that signups are open all season long.Edited by Yellow Jersey on 11-01-2019 20:45
Not surprisingly seeing Impey being chosen by almost all managers means there shouldn't be too big differences by the end of the race if he manages to perform. Quite surprised to see 3 bets on Porte. Haas and McCarthy are always the TDU riders of choice so I was expecting lots of managers choosing them aswell.
Dennis is perhaps the biggest surprise on the list, big gamble here but one that can work out very well.George Bennet, Wout Poels and Tom-Jelte Slagter also making it onto the list. Sprinters wise there wasn't a big bet, although Ewan is present in some, with van Poppel and Philipsen also making it. Ivaneurope with a very conservative approach, going for two rouleurs, possible breakaway and secondary classications focus.
The format btw is very simple, see below. I will post the full points obtained after the Tour has finished.
I'm somehow surprised actually that there are just 3 on Porte, assuming that TDU has same points of others 1 week WT stage race, this is the one where he scored the most consistently. In my logic maybe that everyone else is expecting Richie fighting for a top spot in TdF and will take him there.
Just saving Porte for another time. Rather go for two World Tour "underdogs" in the beginning. Of course Impey would be a popular choice, but I think he's going to perform better here than on any other race this year, I hope. Porte not sure if TdF but maybe for a build up race, depends.
Yeah, Impey, Haas and McCarthy were the more obvious choices as they usually perform much better here than anywhere else, and I also wanted to save Porte for another week-long race, seeing he only won TDU once and unlike the other 3 he cant sprint, maybe some points to be lost there.
Only the 2nd race of January but already the last. The CEGORR will see the January rankings finalized and the first bonus points atributed, Croatia14 and df_Trek have the first two places solid barring a very bad performance, the fight for the 3rd place is wide open.
The race, also quite open, over the race's 4 editions we've seen sprinters and puncheurs taking it, the most important factor to take into account in here is form, there's no real standard of what riders will make it to the end.
Despite that, there are some riders we can deem as favourites: Climbers: Woods, Valgren, Bennett, Poels, (van Baarle), Hamilton, Porte, Pogacar, Polanc Puncheurs with sprint: Luis Leon Sanchez, Impey, Slagter, Bevin, Guerreiro, Ulissi Sprinters with punch: Viviani, Gibbons, van Poppel Sprinters: Ewan, Mareczko, Debusschere, Halvorsen, Phillipsen Outsiders depending on form: Latour, Ballerini, O'Connor, Haas, McCarthy, Gesink, Freiberg
So... Yes, plenty of riders for this one. A punchy rider with a strong finish will likely win this race, but we have had Kennaugh winning solo in Geelong so riders like van Baarle/Valgren are a huge danger if given the chance to go. The rest, well, Viviani, Impey, Gibbons and van Poppel are those I consider most favourites, but surprises can easily come.
Deadline is 26/1 at 23:59 CET. Send in 2 riders until that time by PM, remember those 2 riders can't be selected again this season. I will send a PM roughly 48 hours before the deadline, and you can choose any rider in the startlist, the list above is just an indicator. Reminder that signups are open all season long.
Choices made for the longest race of the season (erm, in name). jseadog1 and jandal didn't choose for this race, so I decided to use an extra for both of them in order for them not to loose points so soon on, they will both get the points of the 7th manager with most points (found in a few hours).
So, that situation explained, what do we have? Well, TDU stars all over again pretty much, half the managers have chosen van Poppel, perhaps the biggest favourite for today. Impey with 5, Gibbons with 4, not surprising choices taking into account their performance last week. Jay McCarthy also having 4 managers, despite his (from what Ive heard) chest infection last week, the defending champion has lots of supporters.
Ewan, Phillipsen and perhaps surprisingly Schwarzmann also in as sprinters of choice. Guerreiro, Ulissi and Luis Leon Sanchez also are perfectly suited for this race and can be a profitable bet. To finish it off we have Chris Hamilton aswell, major surprise last week, has trust from current leader Croatia.
I was really surprised with van Poppel, not sure what happened there. Yet I'm happy, Gibbons and Guerreiro is a pretty cheap double but very profitable, good start
February opener but more importantly the first European race of the season. Not much to play here, but la Marseillaise always gives for thrilling action, the route features lots of climbing but most in the middle section, thus forcing the climbers to attack early and giving out quite some spectacle.
A punchy rider seems the ideal type for this race, depending on how the race goes it can point torwards both the climbers or the sprinters, so there is no certain option for this one, plus it's the first racing pretty much all these riders get in this season so the form is quite unknown.
We have 6 former winners lining up, Dumoulin, Hivert, Vanbilsen, Vichot, Geniez and Justin Jules. So we can say it leans more torwards those with a fast finish but in some editions climbing prowess is really the key. The startlist may not be 100% correct though, so make sure you check out the link before you send in your picks.
Deadline is 2/2 at 23:59 CET. Send in 2 riders until that time by PM, remember those 2 riders can't be selected again this season. I will send a PM roughly 48 hours before the deadline, and you can choose any rider in the startlist, the list above is just an indicator. Reminder that signups are open all season long.
Edited by Yellow Jersey on 02-02-2019 23:47
Got to say no massive surprises in the picking, seemed pretty constant as the French took most of them. Ollfardh and Aquarius didn't make the time for the race so will have the Bland Race bonus.
French but lot of diversity in the French. Teammates Geniez and Dumoulin both have 5 picks aswell as Calmejane. 4 managers chose both Calmejane and Geniez so it's possible to see gaps in the race will be limited.
Jules and Vichot have 2 picks, Hivert and Julien Simon also present. Freitas and Ivan with bold and very interesting moves, Eiking/Madouas and Neilands/Combaud are two doubles that can work very well, all of them valid outsiders that can take the win. Capiot also made the list, purepasd will surely be hoping for a more compact arrival.
I will accept the other two manager's picks and will post here if they're sent to me until 8:00 CET, after that I won't be online.
I saw a preview, saw the prediction of a headwind in the final kms, but didn't think that'd stop the puncheurs, but I was wrong (well, not totally wrong but didn't choose the right ones xD). Very bad result for me but very little impact overall, Valencia will come very soon and hopefully I can recover
