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English Cff Forum => General Forum => Topic started by: Vos on August 23, 2021, 12:41:37 PM

Title: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 23, 2021, 12:41:37 PM

For the first time ever, in season 19 the world championship jersey is for a "heavy-hills"-sprinter :

(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/etapas/leedswc.jpg)

In real cycling this was the WC roadrace of 2019, with brutal weather conditions ( cold and wet ) and just 46 cyclists finished.
Mads Pedersen won, before Trentin (2nd) and Küng (3rd on 0:02").

(https://i.imgur.com/clJl7yv.jpeg)  (https://i.imgur.com/7kbnZ8Q.jpeg)

Let's see how the weather is in the CFF version, and more importantly, who is going to win this WC road race.
And who is going to win the other jerseys / prices / victories of season 19 ? Good luck everyone !  :)

Overview of previous season 18 =

(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/1equipos.gif)  HTCHungria
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/2equipos.gif)  BlackHole
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/3equipos.gif)  ChampsElysees
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/1indi.gif)  Henriks Valdmanis ( KunTeam )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/2indi.gif)  Xavér Kövér ( HTCHungria )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/3indi.gif)  Alcino Chaves ( ChampsElysees )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/copaq.jpg)  CC_Porco_Jones
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/copaq2.jpg)  Caracoles
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/arcoiris.gif)  Arnfinn Mikalsen ( TeamEuroscalt )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/arcocrono.jpg)  Ian Mikkelson ( Caracoles )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/giro.jpg)  Afonso Rio ( OphiukoCT )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/tour.jpg)  Xavér Kövér ( HTCHungria )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/vuelta.jpg)  Ken Hansen ( Astanadena )
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/joven.gif)  Ryan Beckham ( SPORTLIFE )  :)
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/camiclasicas.jpg)  John Aakre ( Mlb )

(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/australia.jpg) = NT WORLD CHAMPION  8)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 23, 2021, 01:07:09 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/27707822768c9c9c00789bdb852cbeae.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

The expectations are very low of this TDU selection that is not in topform. Hopefully a few points in a few stages, that is all.
Stubbe gets the nr1 as tribute to his individual Swiss championship of previous season, but doubtfull if he can score points in stage 3.
61 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/camisuiza.gif) Stubbe ( 33 ), hillsclimb
62 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Rubiera ( 27 ), hills
63 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/alemania.jpg) Walter ( 31 ), silver hills-sprint
64 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Meijer ( 25 ), hills
65 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Pinho ( 28 ), allround semi-helper

stage 1 ;
67º  Walter on 1:20"
His risky 3 EP start was not good enough for this 7-star hills-sprinter. And the GC is out of reach now with already a loss of 1:20"
Maybe he had no GC chance anyway due to his mountain skill of just 8.
His other goals are trying to score points in stages 5 ánd 4, because besides a 7-star hills-sprinter, he is also a 9-star (silver) flathills-specialist.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 23, 2021, 07:14:13 PM

stage 2 TDU ;
7º  Rubiera
Very good result with 97 form and just a 3-sections-helper, and I'm happy with the first points of this season. :)
Although, most likely the total points does not matter this season 19 ; I expect no relegation and for sure no top 3 in 1A.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 25, 2021, 02:10:13 PM

stage 3 TDU ;
11º  Stubbe
stage 4 TDU ;
10º  Walter

More TDU points as expected, but this was a bad tactical tour of my team.
On top of that, unexpectedly Walter finished with full power on 0:20" in stage 5. I guess he was missing the s4 helper.
And 20 seconds better would have caused 6 GC places higher ranked , instead of now 19º GC.
Without the very bad tactical stage 1 and/or without his 2x free roles, the not in topform Walter could have finished top 10 GC easily.
What is surprising to me, because he is not so suited for this TDU.

What is less surprising and almost a SPORTLIFE tradition ; I have no cobblehills cyclists for the upcoming 2 point-rich races.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 26, 2021, 01:55:18 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/df924f77f10929a2904cfb2e4b350056.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

This PN-selection is not in topform yet, with the exception of Stubbe who already rode the TDU.
There are 2 suited stages to Stubbe, but at the moment it is uncertain who will be the teamcaptain in Paris-Nice.
Because also an option is to go for a good GC with Klaassen or Valotti, despite their form issue.
I cannot estimate who can ride a better GC ; Valotti is much better in the time trial and Klaassen is much better in the final hill-sprint stage.
Or go for good stage results with Stubbe ?

So, the strategy of PN will be decided after stage 1, where Coleman should do well because he can challenge 3 favorites (nrs 3+4+5).
And the points are needed, because after not competing in both cobblehills classic races, my team is almost in the relegation zone.
It even could be that SPORTLIFE will be the lowest 1A ranked Australian team after stage 1, the time trial.
What is a bit shamefull for the 17 times Australian champion. :))
But no worries, because I expect many points of this PN selection full of veterans. Probably this is my oldest selection ever.

261 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Klaassen ( 32 ), tour
262 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Valotti ( 32 ), tour
263 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/suiza.jpg) Stubbe ( 33 ), hillsclimb
264 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/australia.jpg) Coleman ( 32 ), TT
265 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/dinamarca.jpg) Vorre ( 31 ), hillsclimb

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on August 26, 2021, 05:32:18 PM

You're not going to be the last Aussie team after stage 1, my three juniors are only cycling to maybe steal a few points, and my two others aren't going to get 200 points, let alone bridge any new additional gap.

421 Lenny Taylor   21years   TT
422 Alex Trautemberg   21years   TT
423 Eric Armstrong   22years   TT
424 Kirk Clinton   26years   TT
425 Nobby Licuria   26years   TT

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 26, 2021, 11:27:50 PM

Good correction, AA, because I just saw a time trial and I assumed your team would score many points.
But I overlooked the fact that your PN selection has 3 young talents. So, I assumed wrong.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 29, 2021, 02:28:47 AM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/df924f77f10929a2904cfb2e4b350056.png)
stage 1 ;
8º  Coleman
26º  Valotti  on 1:21"
78º  Klaassen  on 2:13"

stage 2 ;
94º  Klaassen  on 3:04"
Despite Valotti was 52 seconds faster in time trial, I decided to go for Klaassen as teamcaptain in this cobble stage.
What in the end proved to be the right decision.
Vorre did a superb helpersjob in s1, s2, s3 ánd s4, what caused that Klaassen could limit the time damage.
Valotti is just as good on the cobbles, or even slightly better, but due to his free role he finished 4 places and 0:21" behind Klaassen.

stage 3 ;
7º  Stubbe ( teamcaptain )
29º  Klaassen ( free role ) on 0:51"
33º  Valotti ( free role ) on 1:00"
With a s1 peleton of 168, it is clear that my whole team ( TT specialist Coleman was sold after stage 1 ) wasted energy there.
Despite this tactical mistake, a decent good result of not-favorite Stubbe ( and no TC ) who got excellent help of Vorre in s1, s2, and s3.

stage 4 ;
10º  Klaassen ( teamcaptain ) on 0:16"
18º  Stubbe ( free role )
Stubbe dissapointed a bit, even with a free role I expected more of him, being in topform and with an active weather icon.
Klaassen was the teamcaptain to give him a fighting chance to score some GC points. And unexpectedly ; he did more than great !
It did not look it was going to be a great result in s1 and s2, where Klaassen was with helper Vorre in the 2nd group.
But somehow Klaassen made the jump in the windy s3 towards the front group of 31. And this made thé difference.
Despite being isolated in s3, s4 and s5, an amazing race of Klaassen who was not even in topform.

stage 5 ;
26º   Klaassen  on 0:26"
Already isolated in s3, despite this, an excellent race of Klaassen who was finally in topform and in the s4 front peleton of 40.
He moved up about 7 places and ended up as 10º GC. :)
Not bad at all, with 4x no topform and even 1x a free role, what was in retrospective a strategic mistake.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 29, 2021, 02:43:20 AM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/1d29f44d0e03d78eff360ca0987b1b20.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

Let's see what Klaassen can do in this very different little tour. At least he is in topform now.
Gritsal is also a GC contender, and he would have been the teamcaptain if he was in topform, but he is not and he gets a free role.
Hopefully it will not be a strategic mistake to make Klaassen the teamcaptain. The rest of the team will help him in every stage.

191 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Klaassen ( 32 ), tour
192 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/ukrania.jpg) Gritsal ( 32 ), tour
193 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/suiza.jpg) Stubbe ( 33 ), hillsclimb
194 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Pinho ( 28 ), silver tour
195 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/belgica.jpg) Adriaen ( 34 ), silver sprint

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 29, 2021, 05:38:21 PM

stage 1 Tirreno ;
18º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 0:15"
26º  Klaassen ( teamcaptain ) on 0:23"
A very good race with good results.
But my doubts are getting bigger now, if Klaassen is the right choice as teamcaptain.
Gritsal is much better in sprint stages 2 and 5, but he is not in topform yet, and Klaassen is in topform and much better in hills stage 4.
Maybe the upcoming windy sprint stage makes it more clear if I made a ( big ) strategic mistake.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 30, 2021, 10:49:22 PM

sprint stage 2 Tirreno (2x wind) ;
20º  Adriaen ( "masterhelper", only in s1 he could help )
53º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 0:52"
55º  Klaassen ( teamcaptain ) on 0:52"
A good start of my team.
Unfortunately both GC contenders dropped out of the s2 peleton, and Klaassen lost contact with his masterhelper.
But he had still back up helper Pinho in s2, but he could just help in s2 because the s3 pace was too fierce to Pinho.
Gritsal and the isolated Klaassen could follow the 2nd group in s3 (on 0:22") ánd in s4 (on 0:30"), but both finished in the 3rd group.

stage 3 Tirreno, FFMHH ;
12º  Klaassen ( teamcaptain ) on 0:11"
22º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 0:22"
23º  Stubbe ( masterhelper )
Not good tactics, what costed both my GC contenders a few seconds.
At least it went right that Klaassen had help in s4 of Stubbe, who launched his teamcaptain hard enough into the final section.

hills stage 4 Tirreno ;
27º  Stubbe ( masterhelper )
29º  Klaassen ( teamcaptain ) on 0:59"
108º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 1:57"
Excellent race thanks to Stubbe, who was in all sections with his teamcaptain.

Klaassen moved up several places, and now even 3º GC. But he will lose some places due to the final sprint stage.
Gritsal dropped some places, and now 12º GC. 

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on August 31, 2021, 11:55:01 AM

sprint stage 5 Tirreno ;
23º  Adriaen ( masterhelper )
48º  Klaassen ( teamcaptain )  on 0:35"
48º  Gritsal ( free role )  on 0:35"
Excellent race, thanks to Adriaen who got 5x the hand symbol.
All 3 were in the s4 front peleton of just 53, and both my GC contenders dropped to the 2nd group in s5. ( 1 group better as in stage 2 )

This sprint result caused that Klaassen dropped only 1 place in the GC.
Without tactical mistakes he could have finished on the GC podium easily, what is surprising to me.
But then again, the rivals could have made mistakes too.
Maybe more impressive is the final GC result of Gritsal, who was 5x not in topform and got 5x free roles.

Final top 10 GC Tirreno :

1    Serafim Gois   29   Flyvende_hjul   0: 00"   
2    Xavér Kövér   28   HTCHungria   0: 49"   
3    Ferdinand Tajan   26   Wizards   0: 51"   
4    Midas Klaassen   32   SPORTLIFE   0: 54"   
5    Aleksandr Menke   32   FaltososDeChigre   1: 13"   
6    Kasper van der Goor   29   Zatarra   1: 22"   
7    Afonso Rio   30   OphiukoCT   1: 39"   
8    Henriks Valdmanis   29   KunTeam   1: 54"   
9    Armen Gritsal   32   SPORTLIFE   1: 57"   
10    Arsenio Sole   27   TTeam   2: 11"   

My team was 27º in 1A before Paris-Nice, and after PN + TIR a jump of 15 places and now 12º in 1A.
Again no cyclists for the upcoming 2 point-rich classic races, just like in the 2 past classic races, so, a drop in 1A will be certain.
I'm looking forward to Catalunya, where Gritsal will be the teamcaptain, and finally in topform.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 01, 2021, 01:07:47 PM

After not competing in MSR and E3H, my team dropped just 3 places in 1A. Time to score points in the next little tour :

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8abb6ca97e11114a4e4395f49de88023.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

Gritsal is the undisputed teamcaptain, and his goal is a top GC result.
 
141 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/ukrania.jpg) Gritsal ( 32 ), tour
142 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Pinho ( 28 ), silver tour
143 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/belgica.jpg) Adriaen ( 34 ), silver sprint
144 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/alemania.jpg) Kummer ( 28 ), climb
145 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Macannazi ( 28 ), climb

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 01, 2021, 11:59:47 PM

stage 1 Catalunya ;
Wow, very bad tactical race ! Despite having 2 masterhelpers and 1 back-up helper, Gritsal was already isolated in s2.
And he finished as 1st of a group, what is never positive to a GC contender.
A very unnecessary loss of at least 30 seconds in this stage, what might be crucial for the final GC.
11º Gritsal on 1:30"  :-[
28º Kummer ( "masterhelper" who never helped due a too slow start, and finished with a mechanical breakdown ).  :-[
The 2 other helpers dissapointed a lot too, with only helping in s1.  :-[  :-[
Also Macannazi finished with a mechanical breakdown, but this did not even matter to the 2 masterhelpers, both were too far behind.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 02, 2021, 08:41:44 AM

stage 2 Catalunya ;
Another wow ! And this time in a positive way, because an unexpected great race with excellent results, despite or thanks to the storm.
13º   Adriaen ( masterhelper )
19º  Gritsal  on 0:20"
And now Gritsal is the new GC leader. 8)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 02, 2021, 11:22:38 PM

stage 3 Catalunya ;
26º  Adriaen ( masterhelper )
42º   Gritsal  on 0:24"
This cold and windy sprint race went very well, thanks to Adriaen who again got 5x the hand symbol.

Gritsal finished in the 2nd group of nrs 30 to 47.
Main GC rival Gois ( Flyvende_hjul ) did very well too, by finishing in this 2nd group as almost last ; 46º on also 0:24"
3 high ranked GC rivals ( Groenendaal, Sole and Menke ) were less lucky by finishing as first 3 (48º, 49º, 50º) of the 3rd group on 0:45"
GC rival Miorlin finished in the 4th group on 1:09 and dropped to 6º GC on already 2:09" So, he is not even a podium contender anymore.

The next stage 4 might be already decisive, and Gritsal will try to defend a GC lead of 0:30" towards Tirreno winner Gois.
The nrs 3 and 4, Groenendaal and Sole, are 1:17" behind.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 03, 2021, 04:50:06 PM

stage 4 Catalunya ;
4º  Gritsal  on 0:18"
27º  Macannazi ( helper )
Excellent result, it is even the best race result of my team this season.
Gritsal finished in the same little chasing group as GC rival Gois(=2º), behind solo victor & CFF climb legend Mikalsen ( TeamEuroscalt ).

To my surprise Gritsal cannot challenge any favorites in the final stage 5.
Hopefully he can finish on 0:00" anyway, what is for sure needed because GC rival Gois is the 1st favorite.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 03, 2021, 07:37:44 PM

stage 5 Catalunya ;
1º  Gritsal  --> stage victory !  8)
When I saw he was in mountain section 4 in a three man breakaway with Gois ( Flyvende_hjul ) and Rio ( OphiukoCT ),
I knew that Gritsal would finish on 0:00" to secure the overall Catalunya victory 8), but unexpectedly he even won the stage. :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 03, 2021, 08:13:40 PM

If I read correctly, you were the defending champion.  Can you make it three Catalunya victories in a row next season Vos?

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 04, 2021, 07:59:24 AM

If you insist, I will give it a go next season, hahaha.
But without kidding, indeed, Beck ( as silver tour cyclist ) won Catalunya for my team in previous season.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 05, 2021, 11:33:21 AM

SPORTLIFE did not compete in all 7 classic races so far, but still high ranked ; a split 11º place in 1A.
Let's see if the next little tour can bring my team back into the top 10 of 1A.

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/b7a5672a34004ea508e7287b01b4f61a.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

Vorre is the GC teamcaptain despite he is just a silver tour cyclist.
But the expectations are high, because 3 seasons ago Vorre won Itzulia, and back then an Itzulia with almost the same stages as now.
Vorre should have good support in 4 stages, only in cobblehills stage 5 he has no helpers.
It is doubtfull if he can win Itzulia again as silver tour cyclist. Hopefully he can battle for the GC podium and I expect at least a top10 GC.
 
111 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/dinamarca.jpg) Vorre ( 31 ), silver tour
112 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/suiza.jpg) Stubbe ( 33 ), hillsclimb
113 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Den Bakker ( 30 ), hillsclimb
114 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Pinho ( 28 ), silver tour
115 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/inglaterra.jpg) Jackson ( 32 ), silver hills

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 07, 2021, 07:44:26 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/b7a5672a34004ea508e7287b01b4f61a.png)
stage 1 = 14º Vorre on 0:12"
stage 2 = 26º Vorre on 0:00"
stage 3 =  3º Vorre on 0:05" ( and 21º Bakker as helper )
stage 4 = 21º Vorre on 0:41" ( and 19º Jackson as masterhelper )
stage 5 = 48º Vorre on 1:39"

final TOP 3 GC =
1    Garikoitz Benavent   28   HTCHungria   0: 00"   
2    Ricky Vorre   31   SPORTLIFE   0: 36"   
3    Lourenco Madaleno   33   Kelme4ever   2: 23"

An excellent tour of Vorre. 8)
I don't think mistakes were made to close the time gap of 34 seconds, even the opposite, some stages went much better as expected.
Benavent was simply better. And the gap Vorre made towards the nr3 is impressive.

Ricky Vorre is for sale, just 1½M and today is the last day :
https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/vision.php?ciclistaid=65370

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 09, 2021, 11:09:57 PM

Finally SPORTLIFE was competing in the poit-rich classic races of this season.
It was not a good hills-campaign. but also not very bad.

Amstel Gold Race ;  12º Rubiera
Flèche Wallonne ;  12º Rubiera
Liège–Bastogne–Liège ;  19º Rubiera

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 09, 2021, 11:22:53 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/c61102f7ec06a98faff60612b2c41637.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

Putman and Makarov make their debut for my team.
Catalunya winner Gritsal regrets that there is a time trial in this little tour, but the 2 debutants like the time trial.

101 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Putman ( 31 ), tour
102 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/ukrania.jpg) Gritsal ( 32 ), tour
103 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/rusia.jpg) Makarov ( 30 ), TT
104 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/alemania.jpg) Kummer ( 28 ), climb
105 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Macannazi ( 28 ), climb

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 11, 2021, 12:27:07 PM

(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/etapas/genevett.jpg)

Richard Levin aged 37, is attempting to score points in the TT race, but with no top form (I hadn't been paying attention to the races).  It also means he'll possibly race in the BinckBank Tour before retiring.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 12, 2021, 09:41:16 AM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/c61102f7ec06a98faff60612b2c41637.png)
stage 1, sprint ;  :-[
38º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 0:31"
45º  Putman ( teamcaptain )  on 0:58"

stage 2 flatclimb ;  :-[
8º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 0:40"
24º  Putman ( teamcaptain )  on 1:21"

stage 3 climb ;  :-[
7º  Kummer ( free role )
41º  Putman ( teamcaptain )  on 1:58"
48º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 2:07"

stage 4 TT ;
10º  Makarov
28º  Richard Levin ( 37yo !, Aurora Australis )  8)
41º  Putman  on 2:00" ( with mechanical breakdown in the crucial s5 )
112º  Gritsal  on 3:30"

stage 5 climbsprint ;  :-[
12º  Gritsal ( teamcaptain ) on 0:00"
24º  Putman ( free role ) on 0:46"

final GC ;
11º  Gritsal  on 2:38"
12º  Putman  on 2:54"

I made many tactical mistakes in Romandie, including strategic mistakes in free-, helpers-, and teamcaptain-roles.
Let's hope that the manager of SPORTLIFE will be in much better "form" in all other tours of this season. :))

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 12, 2021, 10:40:26 PM

Eschborn-Frankfurt ;
9º  Klaassen
Despite already isolated in s2, a good race + good result of Klaassen, who is also my teamcaptain in the Giro d'Italia.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 13, 2021, 01:54:04 AM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

My Giro selection was not complete, so at the last moment I bought 2 extra helpers, Montana and Serrano, for 100k each.
The undisputed teamcaptain is Klaassen, but I have no idea how he will do in this strange Giro with only 1 mountain stage.

91 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Klaassen ( 32 ), tour
92 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/ukrania.jpg) Gritsal ( 32 ), tour
93 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Rubiera ( 27 ), hills
94 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/inglaterra.jpg) Montana ( 32 ), silver cobblehills + bronze sprint
95 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Serrano ( 32 ), cobblehills

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 15, 2021, 09:30:27 AM

Well you're about to find out with Klaassen Vos.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 15, 2021, 11:17:55 AM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8ed052732fddd78a1b24c0eb2887c9f6.png) The Giro is halfway, time for an update : 

climb-dh-sprint stage 1 ;
12º  Klaassen  on 0:00"
16º  Gritsal ( helper )
Too safe tactics, but the main goal is achieved, no time loss.

flatcobblehills stage 2 ;
12º  Serrano ( free role )
20º  Montana ( helper )
39º  Klaassen  on 1:11"
Unfortunately the masterhelper of Klaassen was going too fast in s4.
Despite this, a good race + good result of Klaassen who has a low cobble skill.

climbsprint stage 3 ;
9º  Klaassen  on 0:00"
19º  Gritsal ( helper )
Not an excellent race due to using too much energy, but Gritsal did a good helper's job and the mission is completed = finishing on 0:00"

hills stage 4 ;
12º  Rubiera ( free role )
52º  Klaassen  on 0:59"
Not a bad race of my team, but also not a good race.
Because with 2 better helpers, I expected that at least one of them would be the important s4 helper to Klaassen.
But that was a tactical failure of the helpers, what costed Klaassen at least 10 seconds.

windy (2str) sprint stage 5 ;
60º  Klaassen  on 1:47" :-[
This to me extreme weird sprint stage was a disaster to Klaassen.
It seems he wasted energy in s1 due to the strange s1, and very unexpectedly he was already isolated in s2.
Remarkable to see that his two better helpers were riding 1 group behind Klaassen in s2, s3, s4,
and the 2nd best helper suddenly made a jump with 0 EP towards the s5 group of Klaassen.
A helper that dropped in s2 with +0 compared to his teamcaptain, and returns in s5 with 0 EP, that I have never seen before.
Anyway, Klaassen was not just riding an unlucky, bad race, but it seems he was also very unlucky in s5 by finishing as 2nd of a big group.
I estimate that this bad sprint race caused an "unnecessary loss" of 57 seconds, what is a lot ! :(

TOP 21 GC after 5 stages :
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png)Gert VanZandbeek   29   ChampsElysees   0: 00"   
2    Bendegúz Csécs   30   RealMurciaCycling   0: 04"   
3    Kasper van der Goor   29   Zatarra   0: 08"   
- - - - - - - - - -
4    Sven Lauk   27   Turrones   0: 09"   
5    Espen Valgren   32   BlackHole   0: 15"   
6    Rodolphe Legarra   28   Flyvende_hjul   0: 48"
7    Maurizio Lorenzetto   31   FaltososDeChigre   1: 03"   
8    Teofilo Dias   29   OphiukoCT   1: 05"   
9    Midas Klaassen   32   SPORTLIFE   1: 06"   
10    Tristan Min   27   Flyvende_hjul   1: 19"   
- - - - - - - - - -
11    Sebastiaan Groenendaal   26   Astanadena   1: 20"
12    Felix Heijmans   32   Skrimshaw   1: 28"   
13    András Valter   30   Quickstepbronx   1: 36"   
14    Ryan Berry   32   Mlb   1: 51"   
15    August Thoelen   31   KunTeam   1: 52"   
16    Vince Palmer   32   Mlb   1: 54"   
17    Chris Rassier   30   Caracoles   2: 02"   
18    Albino Herreros   26   ZBT   2: 05"   
19    Reinis Melderis   32   Kelme4ever   2: 05"   
20    Justin Wilson   30   CC_Porco_Jones   2: 05"
21    Lucio Queiros   28   FaltososDeChigre   2: 05"

It is all still very close together and the current top 5 even extreme close.
Hopefully Klaassen and his teammates can ride a much better 2nd half of the Giro,
although I suspect that many other GC contenders did not had an excellent 1st half of the Giro too.

Today the only mountain stage of this Giro, it will shake the GC up. The also crucial flatcobble stage 7 will shake the GC up too.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Zatarra on September 15, 2021, 11:44:28 AM

I had the same weird feeling about the sprint race. Insane. KvdG ruined his time advantage he had over his competitors. Now very curious about the upcoming two stages. Hopefully not too much loss in the mountain stage and hopefully some good gains in the flatcobble one. Then it's up to the best Hiller of the top GC contenders to decided the winner. All is on a handkerchief at the moment, haha!

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 15, 2021, 12:05:29 PM

At least one of the teams attempted to break everybody with the wrong cyclist as helper, but didn't have the pressure after the first two sections so a few cyclists leaped into the first group (including my silver sprinter).  Other than that it looked pretty normal to me.

Btw: I appear to be having a good Giro with my addon slaves.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: ophiuko on September 15, 2021, 12:58:16 PM

About the sprint stage: my fault!  ::)

I didn't know Antonino Andre was going to cause such huge damage as a helper, even leaving my leader Teofilo Dias behind. My intention was to make the race quick and impossible to follow for all the GC leaders, so that the sprinters could reunite on the first group on S3, but not the GC leaders. Unfortunately, his effort was so great that he left behind everyone, including my own leader which has gold sprint icon. Anyways, it wasn't too bad as Dias jumped from the 27º position to the 8º on the GC. It could have been 25 seconds better, though.

Here is Andre, he was using TC bonus too  :P

Antonino Andre   Edad : 24   Sueldo : 1398
Resistencia : 78   Sprint : 99   Montaña : 9
LLano : 99   Pavés : 39   Tecnica : 90
Descenso : 25   Colinas : 32   Agresividad : 82
Crono : 28   TraEqui : 83   Experiencia : 42

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 16, 2021, 09:39:40 AM

Giro stage 6 FMDMM ;
6º  Klaassen  on 0:35"
A perfect race, thanks to helper Gritsal.

Giro stage 7 CCCFC ;
74º  Klaassen  on 2:55"
Not a good race, but even in a good race I expected a big time loss.

After stage 6, Klaassen moved up 3 GC places, and he dropped 2 GC places after stage 7.
I still have a top 6 GC sponsordeal of previous season ( Baiao was 7º GC ). As it seems now, also Klaassen cannot score this sponsordeal.
Maybe top 6 GC might be still possible, if some GC rivals fail in the final 3 stages, and if Klaassen rides 3 excellent stages.
He does not give up !  :)

But he can forget about being the best Dutchman in this Giro. At the moment there are even 3 better Dutch GC contenders.
Among them not the Dutch GC leader of 2 stages ago, vanZandbeek, because he dropped to 35º GC on 9:09"
The best Dutchman will be the current GC leader van der Goor, who is in a fierce battle for final victory with the Italian Lorenzetto.
Good luck Zatarra !  :-*

TOP 20 GC after 7 stages :
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png)Kasper van der Goor   29   Zatarra   0: 00"   
2    Maurizio Lorenzetto   31   FaltososDeChigre   0: 13"   
3    Sven Lauk   27   Turrones   1: 22"   
- - - - - - - - - -
4    Bendegúz Csécs   30   RealMurciaCycling   1: 41"   
5    Espen Valgren   32   BlackHole   1: 47"   
6    Tristan Min   27   Flyvende_hjul   1: 52"   
7    Sebastiaan Groenendaal   26   Astanadena   2: 34"   
8    Midas Klaassen   32   SPORTLIFE   3: 11"   
9    August Thoelen   31   KunTeam   3: 24"   
10    Gary Fredickson   30   Combuijs   4: 08"   
- - - - - - - - - -
11    Karl Emil K.Poulsen   31   Mlb   4: 33"   
12    Daniel Ruup   29   Zatarra   4: 49"   
13    Reinis Melderis   32   Kelme4ever   4: 55"   
14    Rune Roels   28   MarvelProCycling    5: 03"   
15    Carmine Garzelli   25   Shiro_Lions   5: 21"   
16    Chris Rassier   30   Caracoles   5: 47"   
17    Serafim Gois   29   Flyvende_hjul   6: 00"   
18    Jarno Voisin   32   Wizards   6: 10"   
19    Callum Dardar   31   Wizards   6: 21"   
20    Lucio Queiros   28   FaltososDeChigre   6: 26"

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Zatarra on September 16, 2021, 10:08:17 AM

Thanks Vos! KvdG does like the hills, so if you ask me, this should be doable. But let's not make mistakes.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 16, 2021, 10:41:35 AM

Today the season 20 calendar is published.  8)

For the first time ever a flatcobble specialist will be the world champion.
There are more remarkable things to mention about this new calendar,
but my "contribution" was already Richmond WC, so, up to others to mention other things.
I expect that Aurora Australis will mention the Vuelta. :))

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 16, 2021, 01:18:44 PM

Sure, I'm going to mention the Vuelta, and that Dean Shields gets to stay in the team for another season with this calendar (I had intended to sell him at this season's end). but first I'll also mention that my climber has just won stage 6 of the Giro, making this a better than expected tour (I'd been thinking that any points were bonus points).

Three Vuelta flat TT stages plus a TT WC, it's going to be a strong end of season, particularly if I don't keep missing the correct times to start the training camps.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 17, 2021, 09:24:50 AM

flathills stage 8 ;
21º  Klaassen  on 0:21"
My whole team wasted way too much energy at the start, because the s1 peleton was very big with 167 cyclists.
Despite this big tactical mistake, still a decent result of Klaassen, with big thanks to masterhelper Rubiera who did a very good job.

hills stage 9 ;
57º  Klaassen  on 1:04"
My Dutch GC contender could not follow the pace of masterhelper Rubiera in s4,
but 2nd helper Serrano came to the resque in s4, so that Klaassen got the important extra bonus in s5 as well.

Klaassen is now 7º GC, and the numbers 5º ánd 8º seem too far ahead ánd too far behind.
So, the number 6º, Tristan Min ( Flyvende_hjul ) seems the only GC rival left, and there is a sponsordeal of top 6 at stake.
It might be (too ?) difficult to win from Min ánd gain 22 seconds. But maybe possible, the 1x wind can make stage 10 unpredictable.
Hopefully an exciting "6ºplace-battle" between these 2 Dutch GC contenders, in a Giro that most likely will be won by another Dutchman.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Zatarra on September 17, 2021, 10:27:30 AM

Yes. One stage to go with a gap of over a minute. This should be doable. But what you say; the wind will make it unpredictable. There are opportunities to break the peloton earlier than in s5 and then a minute or - in your case - 22 seconds is nothing.

Good luck in your battle for 6th.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 17, 2021, 02:18:47 PM

Thanks, you too good luck with GC leader KvdG !  8)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 17, 2021, 07:57:09 PM

hills-sprint stage 10 ;
37º  Klaassen  on 0:37
Ups :-[, gambled and lost. Too many trees at the side of the road, that blocked the wind. :)
My tactics were based on a gamble with a very hard start, but with a s1 peleton of 131, that was clearly a waste of at least 1 EP.
Almost sure it caused that Klaassen could not finish one group before rival Min, because Klaassen finished as 6th of the very big 2nd group.

Well, 6º or 7º in the final GC does not matter much, the only thing that is a bit of a pitty ; again the top 6 Giro sponsordeal is not achieved.
It was just 461k, what was low anyway for a top 6 big tour sponsordeal, and that sponsordeal is now deleted, what costs prestige.
Instead, I accepted yesterday a sponsordeal of top 5 Dauphiné of just 201k.
Also tricky to achieve that, hopefully the tactics will go better than in this not so good Giro.

Congratulations to Zatarra ! 
 (https://i.imgur.com/LAkNqdi.jpeg)
Kasper van de Goor ( Zatarra ) ; Giro winner season 19.  8)

FINAL TOP 20 GC :
1(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_pink.png)Kasper van der Goor   29   Zatarra   0: 00"   
2    Bendegúz Csécs   30   RealMurciaCycling   1: 28"   
3    Maurizio Lorenzetto   31   FaltososDeChigre   1: 45"   
- - - - - - - - - -
4    Sven Lauk   27   Turrones   1: 53"   
5    Espen Valgren   32   BlackHole   3: 10"   
6    Tristan Min   27   Flyvende_hjul   3: 49"   
7    Midas Klaassen   32   SPORTLIFE   4: 11"   
8    August Thoelen   31   KunTeam   6: 10"   
9    Sebastiaan Groenendaal   26   Astanadena   6: 20"   
10    Karl Emil K.Poulsen   31   Mlb   6: 58"   
- - - - - - - - - -
11    Reinis Melderis   32   Kelme4ever   6: 58"   
12    Daniel Ruup   29   Zatarra   7: 10"   
13    Jarno Voisin   32   Wizards   7: 22"   
14    Gary Fredickson   30   Combuijs   7: 25"   
15    Teofilo Dias   29   OphiukoCT   8: 03"   
16    Serafim Gois   29   Flyvende_hjul   8: 07"   
17    Chris Rassier   30   Caracoles   8: 12"   
18    Cristian Kristiansen   27   AmericanChow   8: 28"   
19    Rune Roels   28   MarvelProCycling    8: 45"   
20    Lucio Queiros   28   FaltososDeChigre   9: 10"   

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Zatarra on September 17, 2021, 08:02:50 PM

I'm very happy with this win (and 12th place for Ruup). I thought I made a mistake training my GC riders without TT, expecting a bit more grand tours without a flat TT. Luckily now on his 29th KvdG was able to compete in one that hadn't a TT at all, showing that he is the best one. Of course, also the lack of a few tough mountain races contributed, but it doesn't ruin the feeling of satisfaction. Mission accomplished. Time to build an other type of GC rider to hopefully be able to win the other Grand Tours as well.

Thanks Vos!

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 18, 2021, 12:02:45 AM

Great job on your first GT overall victory Zatarra.

My non-TTer Giro points
Renato Nicolai      341 (silver spriter)
Laurentino Maciel   250 (climber - 1 stage win)
Allan Tuum   95 (climber)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 18, 2021, 12:49:14 AM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/191b5bdfdfade94930708639639a8727.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

Blix makes his debut for my team, and he is the GC contender. He should have good support.
Including the cobble stage where Makarov can be a masterhelper. His main job, because he is not suited for the hills TT stage.

81 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Blix ( 32 ), tour
82 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Klaassen ( 32 ), tour
83 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/ukrania.jpg) Gritsal ( 32 ), silver tour
84 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Den Bakker ( 30 ), hillsclimb
85 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/rusia.jpg) Makarov ( 30 ), flat TT

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 18, 2021, 12:04:30 PM

stage 1 Dauphiné ;
1º  Gritsal  --> victory !  8)
10º  Blix ( free role ) on 0:00"
31º  Klaassen ( helper ) on 0:39" with a mechanical breakdown in s5. :'(

Bad luck of Klaassen, he had energy left in s5 to finish on 0:00" too.
Besides this stage 1, he is not really needed as helper and the plan was to give free roles to the nr 7 of the Giro.
But due to the bad luck in s5 now 0:39" behind ; his ambition of scoring a few extra GC points might be already over.
Perhaps he will be an extra helper from now on.

I estimated that GC contender Blix could easily finish on 0:00" in a free role. And a relief that I was right.

So, a great opportunity for Gritsal ( 2nd favorite without TC bonus ) to try to go for the victory, and he succeeded. :)
His 2nd stage victory this season, what is also the total stage/race victories this season of my team.
But the total stage/race 1A victories of SPORTLIFE is "a little bit" higher = (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/gold.jpg) 80  8)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 20, 2021, 09:29:16 AM

stage 2 Dauphiné ;
12º  Blix  on 0:56"
stage 3 Dauphiné ;
7º  Blix  on 0:14"
stage 4 Dauphiné ;
44º  Blix  on 1:09"
stage 5 Dauphiné ;
21º  Makarov
24º  Blix  on 0:59"

Final GC ;
1º  Blix  --> Dauphiné victory !  8)
19º  Klaassen  on 4:16"  --> incl. bad luck, bad tactics, and once even used as a helper with big time loss.

For the first time in CFF3 the Dauphiné is won by a SPORTLIFE cyclist.  :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 20, 2021, 03:34:43 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/8e2fd4d4ee620c3f1192c94b40da9db9.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

I do not know what is possible in this windy little tour with just 2 mountain sections, and not even a s5 mountain finish.
Hopefully GC points are possible, and I assume I have not a top GC contender for this specific TdS. But maybe I'm wrong ;
Putman might surprise due to his good TT as extra, Pinho might surprise because he seems allround for this TdS,
and Blix might surprise due to his sky-high morale after winning the Dauphiné. :)

81 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Putman ( 32 ), tour
82 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Blix ( 32 ), tour
83 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Pinho ( 28 ), silver tour
84 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/ukrania.jpg) Gritsal ( 32 ), silver tour
85 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/rusia.jpg) Makarov ( 30 ), flat TT

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 20, 2021, 08:56:09 PM

Excellent start of the Tour de Suisse !  :)
stage 1 TdS ;
5º  Gritsal ( free role ) on 0:00"
6º  Blix ( free role ) on 0:00"
7º  Pinho ( free role ) on 0:00"
8º  Putman ( teamcaptain ) on 0:00"
189º  Makarov ( "helper" ) on 6:07"

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 21, 2021, 08:23:38 AM

stage 2 TdS ;
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/incidencias/tools.png) Due to a mechanical breakdown, teamcaptain Putman dropped out of the s4 front peleton.
This costed him for sure 31 sec. and even a little chance this costed him 58 sec. Not good at all for his GC ambition.
Putman finished in the 4th( ! ) group on 1:22" :(
Free role riders Blix and Pinho finished in the 3rd group on 0:51"
To Pinho a dissapointing result, he started too slow and this could be an unnecessary loss of 27 sec. Also not good for his GC ambition.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 22, 2021, 12:27:48 AM

Missed out on getting a much-needed 30mill for Tod Henderson, plus the chance to see Vos lose the CFF Cup semi-final  :P

(Actually 30mill possibly wouldn't have been enough to buy Henderson anyway: currently Stam 91 : Flat 99 (99.9) : Tech 94 : TT 99 : Exp 77 [Nobby is similar stats except tech 97 & exp 80])

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 22, 2021, 03:38:46 PM

stage 3 TdS, the windy 38km flat time trial ;
10º  Makarov
33º  Putman  on 1:50"
43º  Blix  on 1:59"
86º  Pinho  on 3:04"
According to my speculations ;
Blix had luck, he finished just 9 sec. behind the much better Putman. About Pinho, I cannot estimate if he was lucky or not.
And it seems to me that Putman and Makarov ( 3rd favorite ) had an unlucky time trial, my expectations were higher.

Although it is logical that Makarov was not entirely focussed on this TdS time trial,
because he is still upset that Russia did not make a selection for the NT time trial race.
Makarov was fully motivated to beat all Australian TT specialists and win that NT race.
I guess Aurora Australis was lucky that Russia has a bad NT manager.  :P  ;)  :))

stage TdS, the stormy heavy-hills-sprint race ;
41º  Pinho ( free role ) on 0:41"
60º  Blix ( free role ) on 0:41"
64º  Putman ( teamcaptain ) on 0:41"
I was not online yesterday evening, otherwise I would have changed my original tactics and made Blix the teamcaptain.
Because he was ( and still is ) higher ranked in the GC.
And Pinho would have been an extra helper. In hinside needed, because Gritsal failed as helper and dropped already in s1.
Well, all 3 tour cyclists finishing in the 3rd group is not bad, although Pinho dissapointed in his risky free role tactic with a too slow start.
And maybe more was possible if Blix was the teamcaptain with better tactics, especially better helper tactics.

Anyway, this little tour is a bit of a strategic- & tactical mess so far, on top of that, Putman is not lucky in this TdS,
but despite this mess, my tour cyclists have a high GC ranking at the moment :
4º Blix ( free role ) on 0:51" +  6º Putman ( teamcaptain ) on 1:14" +  12º Pinho ( free role ) on 1:57"

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 23, 2021, 12:41:05 AM

stage 5 TdS ;
42º  Putman ( teamcaptain ) on 1:15"
59º  Blix ( free role ) on 1:31"
63º  Pinho ( helper ) on 1:44"

Final GC Tour de Suisse ;
4º  Blix ( all free roles ) on 0:40"
6º  Putman ( all teamcaptain roles ) on 0:47"
9º  Pinho ( 3x free roles and 1x helper role ) on 1:59"

Hmmmm, it could be that I missed out on a final GC victory, what makes this bad little tour even worse.
Too many bad luck and too many wrong strategic and tactical choices.
On the positive side ; 3 SPORTLIFE cyclists in the final top 10 GC is nice.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 23, 2021, 01:19:59 AM

A last minute change in my TdF selection ;
Rubiera is selected instead of the 22yo climber Abolins, who was fully prepared to battle for the white jersey.

Not an easy goal, but probably duable to score more points than the current nr1 has now in that youth ranking.
But it is a too uncertain goal ; maybe the current nr1 or another 22yo might score more points this season.
Besides this, to go for this goal will cost Abolins a few precious trainings.

But the most important reason for this last minute change = now teamcaptain Putman has an extra hills helper with Rubiera.
Putman tries to ride a top GC result, so, every help is needed. Hopefully he is not so unlucky as in the TdS.
And in contrast to the TdS, now in the Tour de France the teamcaptain role is clear because Blix has just 5 stages left with TC bonus.

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/ec365cb5b403c66bf9212fc15b3d4289.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

41 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Putman ( 32 ), tour
42 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Blix ( 32 ), tour
43 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Meijer ( 25 ), hills
44 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Pinho ( 28 ), silver tour
45 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Rubiera ( 27 ), hills

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 28, 2021, 12:16:25 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/ec365cb5b403c66bf9212fc15b3d4289.png)
This was not a good Tour de France.
Although some stages went very well, for example bug-stage 7 and MontVentoux-stage 4.
But in general ; too many tactical mistakes ánd too much bad luck.
Therefore a bit of a dissapointing GC result of Putman because I hoped he could compete for a top GC result.
However, thé main reason he did not, is that there were a few excellent top GC contenders in this TdF, they would be better anyway.

Free role GC contender Blix surprised me again by scoring extra GC points.
His TC ended in the 2nd half of this TdF, and he even had a helper's role in queens stage 2, what of course costed him a lot of time.
I already regret that I put Blix for sale, somehow he is always doing much better as I expect.

Also for some extra points, hills specialist Meijer had free roles in the 2 hills stages but with very dissapointing results.
Caused by a very fierce hills-competition in this TdF, combined with bad free role tactics of his manager.

In bold the final GC results, and in blue the points-scoring stage results :

41 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Putman ( 32 ), teamcaptain --> 8º GC on 4:15" + 16, 7, 9, 15, 29.
42 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/noruega.jpg) Blix ( 32 ), free role --> 12º GC on 5:56" + 15, 24, 18.
43 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Meijer ( 25 ), free role --> 13, 22.
44 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Pinho ( 28 ), helper --> 10.
45 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Rubiera ( 27 ), helper --> 14.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 28, 2021, 12:20:53 PM

Clásica San Sebastián ;
9º  Stubbe

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 28, 2021, 06:30:54 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/d3b3b3dd456bf24faf1cea8cfca6c56d.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

The goal is to go for ( hopefully ) top 10 results in stages 2, 3, 4, and battling for the GC is not possible.
Because my BBT selection had just 3 suited cyclists, the 2 remaining places are for my hills specialists to gain experience.

51 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/portugal.jpg) Real ( 29 ), cobble
52 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/francia.jpg) Bordeneuve ( 34 ), flat-sprint
53 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Gazetti ( 32 ), cobble
54 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Meijer ( 25 ), xp
55 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/spain.jpg) Rubiera ( 27 ), xp

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on September 30, 2021, 10:19:53 PM

Good news for my 22-year-olds, there are far too many top climbers (and probably in top form) for any 22 year old to score points, there's no sprint or hill stage, and just one cobble & one cobb-hill stage with over 30 golden cobblers with hill.  Whether Alfier can score points doesn't seem to matter, it'll just affect which of my 22-year-olds finally obtains the white jersey, hopefully.

Espana Team
341 Jonny Alfier      22     (stealing points - exp)
342 Markus Benett   26    (TT WC test run)
343 Christian Pocock   26    (stealing points)
344 Kirk Workman   31   (TT WC test run)
345 Dean Shields   32   (TT WC test run)

Just a note, the greatest ever TTer will officially retire within the next day.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 30, 2021, 11:02:18 PM

Good results in the BinckBank Tour, and to my big surprise even some extra GC points.
stage 2 =  2º  Bordeneuve
stage 3 =  6º  Real
stage 4 =  9º  Real
stage 5 =  21º  Bordeneuve ( free role )
Final GC =  11º  Real  on 1:27"

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on September 30, 2021, 11:11:54 PM

(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/logos/c8892128eff206aeb674bcc6880a73a6.png)   (https://i.imgur.com/GvIPZ8B.png)selection SPORTLIFE

The goal of Makarov is to wear the red jersey after 3 stages.
My other selected cyclists are going for good results in the hillsclimb- and climb stages.

51 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/alemania.jpg) Kummer ( 28 ), climb
52 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/suiza.jpg) Stubbe ( 33 ), hillsclimb
53 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/rusia.jpg) Makarov ( 30 ), TT
54 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/italia.jpg) Macannazi ( 28 ), climb
55 (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg) Bakker ( 30 ), hillsclimb

Good luck everyone ! :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on October 02, 2021, 12:21:41 AM

Vuelta stage 1, flat-cobble ;
The teammates of flat-TT-specialist Makarov are extreme bad in this stage, so Makarov ( with cobbleskill of 71 ) had to do it on his own.
And he did great in this stage ! :
16º  Makarov

Vuelta stage 2, flat-TT ;
It looked very promising to 5th favorite Makarov in the first 2 time checks ; s1 = 2º on 0:01" and s2 = 2º on 0:03"
Unfortunately a mechanical breakdown caused a drop in s3 = 6º on 0:08"
Although this broke his high pace cadence, he fought back in s4 by moving up one place, and in s5 again one place better :
4º  Makarov
The s3 bad luck caused no podium place in this stage, but Makarov achieved his goal and was called to the podium anyway :

(https://i.imgur.com/k6maPvl.jpeg)
Vuelta GC leader after 2 stages ; Shalva Makarov ( SPORTLIFE )  :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: wacco on October 03, 2021, 10:43:17 PM

Congrats vos.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on October 04, 2021, 01:31:40 AM

Vuelta stage 3, flat TT ;
5º  Makarov
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_red.png) 5th favorite Makarov easily defended his red jersey. :)

Vuelta stage 4, HFMFM ;
2º  Stubbe
An amazing solo result on 0:12" because he could not challenge any favorites. With big thanks to his excellent helper Den Bakker.
Makarov finished as 189º on 8:36" and lost the red jersey, but he was happy that he finished within the time limit.

Vuelta stage 5, FFFFM ( with dh in s5 ) ;
10º  Macannazi
Rmarkable ; a good result in a very bad race.
Because he started too slow and was suddenly isolated in s4, and therefore not the important extra bonus in s5.
I guess that many other contenders had just as much, or even more tactical difficulties, in this windy race with high pace caused by Ophiuko.

Vuelta stage 6 MDHHM ;
1º  Den Bakker --> victory !  8)
A magnificient solo race, because helper Stubbe failed, and Den Bakker had only help in s1 of the climbers, who dropped unexpectedly in s2.

But Den Bakker could follow the s2 break away group of just 15, and in s3 also where the front group was reduced to just 10.
In s4 it even narrowed down to just 4 cyclists ; 2x Astanadena ( incl. helper ), 1x Vicam, and 1x SPORTLIFE.
In s5 it came down to a sprint-á-deux with Astanadena teamcaptain Ken Hansen ( the GC leader ), and Den Bakker won ! :)

Till now the 30yo Den Bakker had nothing on his palmares, and 5 weeks ago he was bought for just 102k, what proved to be a bargain.

And there was another much more important victory ;
(https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/iconoscff/copaq.jpg) Hummelsby ( SPORTLIFE ) won the CFF Cup final !  8)

Quote from: wacco on October 03, 2021, 10:43:17 PM

Congrats vos.

Thanks  :)

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Aurora Australis on October 04, 2021, 10:03:21 AM

It seems to have been a good night for awards heading down under, well done Vos.  Here's hoping for a week of it.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on October 04, 2021, 05:29:34 PM

Thanks AA  :)
Mentioning Australian awards of this season, this is worth mentioning too :
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_white.png) It is looking very good that your Jonny Alfier will be the best 22yo this season. 8)
Maybe I overlook a very weird scenario now, and it is still not certain. But for now, I assume Alfier will win the white season jersey.
Only once in CFF3 history an Australian won this nice price ( Marc Hulling, in season 15 ), so it is almost an unique Australian price.
And you fully deserve it, AA, because in several seasons you were close in winning this price with your TT talents.

One of the very few CFF rankings where Australia is not leading :)) =
(https://www.worldcyclingstats.com/img/jerseys/jersey_white.png) white jersey ranking :
4x (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/holanda.jpg)
3x (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/usa.jpg)
3x (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/inglaterra.jpg)
2x (https://www.cyclingforfun.org/cff/imagenes/australia.jpg) ( incl. this season 19, hopefully I'm not premature in adding it already )

1x = POR, UKR, SPA, LET, RUS, SWI.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on October 05, 2021, 12:23:00 PM

Vuelta mountain stage 7 ;
4º  Kummer
27º  Macannazi ( helper )
Vuelta mountain stage 8 ;
4º  Kummer
22º  Macannazi ( helper )

Good results of Kummer, despite Macannazi did not do a very good job as helper.
Maybe he does in stage 10, and it causes that Kummer can finish on the podium.
Perhaps whisfull-thinking with a climber who cannot challenge favorites, and was twice some time ( 0:16" and 0:09" ) behind the nr 3.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on October 06, 2021, 02:15:41 PM

Vuelta mountain stage 10 ;
3º  Kummer
24º  Macannazi ( helper )
An excellent result,
and a nice ending of a good Vuelta with 1 stage victory, 2 podiumplaces ( 2º & 3º ) and 5x other top 10 results ( 4º,4º,4º,5º,10º ).

Giro Lombardia ;
12º  Den Bakker
21º  Oezcakmak ( free role )

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: Vos on October 06, 2021, 11:43:54 PM

Richmond TT WC ;
4º  Makarov ( as 4th favorite )

The season has ended to SPORTLIFE, because I don't expect points in the WC roadrace.

Title: Re: Season 19
Post by: ophiuko on October 09, 2021, 01:12:31 PM

Average number of winners/podiums per age after 5 seasons

STAGES

(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/564826389765816343/896347913125511198/unknown.png)

TOURS

(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/564826389765816343/896348043329277992/unknown.png)