Monday, April 30, 2012

From the Commish

Transfer season is open!

Make a trade or transfer by leaving a comment below.  Transfer season runs from right now until 8 am May 4th.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Panache

We have concluded the first leg of the Wiskota Fantasy season. The classics proved to be monumental and as always, classic. Tom Boonen and Team Volpe dominated the first part of the season. However, the season has just begun. Who will be the heroes of the Grand Tours, Olympics, Worlds, and the great American stage races? I personally cannot wait to see it all unfold. But first, let’s take a look back at the classics and spring season as well as prognosticate on the future of the Wiskota Fantasy League.

Best Team: Team Volpe dominated the cobbles and the spring. With Tom Boonen having a monumental spring, Evans with a win at Criterium International, and Dan Martin finding points like potatoes in the Irish soil. Who am I kidding, Pat had Boonen and Tommeke reigned supreme in the 2012 classics campaign.

Honorable Mention: Team Wiskota Dynamic and Team Gregario Forza scored a multitude of points throughout their roster.

Best Pick: Boonen. I can’t wait to discuss someone else.

Honorable Mention: Nibbles, Sammy Sanchize, Wiggo, and Sagan.

Best Performance: Boonen cobbled double with an emphasis on Roubaix, Panache!

Honorable Mention: Nibbles at Tirreno, Wiggo at Paris-Nice and Romandie, Sammy Sanchez at Pais Vasco, Rodriguez at Fleche Wallone.

Best Value: Boonen, damn! We let Tommeke slide to the 4th round! Don’t worry; we were not the only fantasy pundits to not expect Blownen to completely dominate. It has been 3 years since Tommeke was close to this type of form. Chapeau! Tommeke, Chapeau!

Honorable Mention: Nibbles in the 3rd, Valverde in the 3rd, Sagan in the 4th.

Best Race: My favorite race of the year was the Ronde. Maybe it was the waffles, real Wisconsin maple syrup, homemade whip cream or the Trippel. Maybe it was the most exciting finish of the monuments.

Honorable Mention: I also really enjoyed Tirreno-Adriatico, Strade-Bianchi, Milan-Sanremo, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Picks I admire: Boonen- obviously, Nibali, S. Sanchez, Wiggins, Valverde, Danny boy Martin, Sagan, Mollema and Voekler.

Picks I don’t: Gilbert #1 overall, L.L. Sanchez, Leipheimer in the 2nd, Rigoberto Uran, Nick Nuyens, the Schlecks, Millar, Kloden, and Vino.

Picks we missed: Team GreenEdge have been rocking Simon Gerrans and Michael Albasini. They were two big misses, but the Albatross, who could’ve guessed? Alessandro Ballan had a great spring. Although he had no wins he still racked up 166 fat points. Fillipo Pozatto had a good early classics campaign. The Astana tandem of Maxim Iglinsky and Enrico Gasparotto ruled the Ardennes. Lieuwe Westra and Niki Terpstra also had good spring seasons.

Biggest Reach: Levi Leipheimer. The Commish may call this a bit unfair; however, this may have been a bit of a reach if he was healthy.  Now it looks as though California and le Tour are question marks for the American. I hope lil’ Levi comes back and makes me eat my words.

Honorable mention: L.L. Sanchez in the 4th, Millar in the 4th, Vino in the 3rd.

Team of the Future: This was tough but I got to say that Bill the Neo Pro is built for the Grand Tours and stage races. Maybe not the Giro, but he looks good for Le Tour and the Vuelta. I got to be honest, Gregario Forza will be tough in May and June, and Mike could be right there with the addition of Frank Schleck in the Giro. Obviously Team Volpe will be a tough Tour team with Evans.

Wiskota riders to watch: I like Michele Scarponi for the Giro. Cunego will also pick up some points there. In the Tour of California I like Horner. Nibali, Mollema, Dan Martin, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Gesink, and Krueziger could all score points in the Duaphine and Tour of Switzerland. Evans and Wiggins will both be great in the Tour de France.  Cavendish will probably clean up in the sprints. I’ll stop there as picking the Olympics, Vuelta, Worlds, Lombardia, and the Canadian classics would all deserve more time and thought.
Non-Wiskota riders to watch and/or pick up: The GreenEDGE duo of the Albatross and Gerrans has been great but it’s hard to know if these two can continue their successes. Tejay Van Garderen could be tough in California and Colorado. There is always the silent assassin, Denis Menchoz. Janez Brakjovic could do well in the Dauphine. There are also riders like Andrew Talansky, Ryder Hesjedal, Peanut butter and Jelle Vanandert, Sylvain Chavanel, and for the Commish, Rui Costa, stage hunter.

Well there it is, the State of the League. Now we get to play with the rosters a bit and make some transfers. I will trade L.L. Sanchez if anyone is interested. I’m looking for sprinters or to boost my Tour team. . Let me know where I am right on or way off. Who did I forget? Wrongly accuse. Etc.

Until next time,

Forza




Friday, April 27, 2012

From the Commish

Transfer Season 1 begins Monday   
A thread will be open Monday the 30th at 8 am.  Leave a comment containing whom is dropped and whom is added.  First come first served.  Study up, make some moves, get into it.

The Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the week's events.

A much overdue installment of the Broom Wagon for all of you fantasy cycling fans out there.  The Ardennes season is over and with it the spring classics.  I will keep this post short as the transition to Grand Tour season is nearly upon us.  But before we begin that discussion we must recap.
Fleche Wallonne
Team Wiskota Dynamic’s first round pick finally came through for a big win.  JRod looked explosive and hopefully he can parlay that into some wins later this season.  Gregario continued to rack up points during the classics.  Not by winning races, but by multiple top ten finishes.  Gilbert, Mollema and Nibali all scored for Gregario Forza.  Volpe continued their point winning ways with a strong finish by “Danny boy” Martin, Jerkin even piped a few points for the first place team.  Bill and Mike were left out once again; however Liege would present another opportunity in a few days.  But first…

Giro del Trentio
If we recall I was not happy with the inclusion of this race until a startlist change was made just before the Tuesday team time trial.  Damiano Cunego showed very impressive form during the week winning a stage and ultimately coming in 2nd.  Points, points, points.  Gregario’s hopes for easy Italian points from Basso continues to be in vain.  As the former superstar repeatedly underwhelms.  Bill the Neo pro was able to sneak some points out with Kreuziger, but not the podium finish that many predicted.
Liege
The monument of the Ardennes classics looked on paper to be a barn burner.  Many fans complained that it was not actually that exciting.  Although I don’t have a lot to compare it to, I would have to beg to differ on this point.  Team Gregario rider Vincenzo Nibali animated the last 15 k of the race with, what seemed at the time like a winning breakaway.  It was not to be. Despite the cries of “Forza!” heard throughout the viewing world, Nibali would be caught in the final K by a relatively unknown Maxim Iglinsky.  Not unknown to readers of this blog however, as he had been picked as a spoiler twice earlier this season.  Nibali, Voekler, Mollema and Scarponi, Gregario really cleaned up on the last day of spring.  Danny Boy got Volpe some more sneaky Irish points and Sammy Sanchez continues to be Mikey’s biggest point getter coming in at respectable 7th place. 
Well, the spring classics are behind us, the tour of Romandie is upon us.  The first chapter of the season is all but complete.  Chapter two, the Giro begins with our first transfer session beginning on Monday. 

Monday, April 23, 2012

Chapeau!

Hats off to the week’s best riders.
The Ardennes and the spring classics are over. Cue sad song. It was a great spring, good racing, dominant performances, surprise performances, and of course disappointing performances.  Let’s take a look back and throw around some props for the most deserving racers of the spring.
Chapeau! to Tom Boonen. He was the clear MVP of the spring. Dominant on the cobbles, the cobbled double, and pretty while doing it. I really enjoyed watching Tommeke race this year and I am looking forward to seeing the Cancellara-Boonen duel next year.
Chapeau! to GreenEDGE. The team had a tremendous inaugural spring season. Simon Gerrans got the team started out by performing well at the Tour Down Under and then won Milan- San Remo, la Classica Primavera. Michael Albasini did what he had to do to win at Cataluyna and then the Albatross soared to a second place finish at Fleche Wallone.
Chapeau! to Astana. The Kazakh based team stole two victories during the Ardennes week. Enrico Gasparratto had the win of his career at Amstel Gold and at La Doyenne, Maxim Iglinsky rode away to take Liege, with the Gas Man taking third.
Chapeau! to Vincenzo Nibali. Nibbles won the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race and almost rode away to take la Doyenne. Nibali looks to be one of the favorites going into the remainder of the season. Tour favorite? Maybe- the dude can climb and TT. You know Gregario Forza like his chances.
Chapeau! to Joaquin Rodriguez. El Purito finally got his classics win. It was a dominant win as well. J-Rod rode away from his competitors and showed that at a grade of 20-25%, no one can beat him.  El Purito smoked the competition.
Chapeau! to Peter Sagan, the young star is destined for a classics win someday. Sammy Sanchez, many high finishes, Pais Vasco. Alejandro Valverde deserves a little Chapeau! for his quick start and return from suspension. Although all but absent from the Ardennes, the Green Bullet will likely return to form during the hot summer fun.
Finally, Chapeau! to Team Volpe. What a spring from this team. However, don’t get too comfortable on the top. Gregario Forza is coming!
The Contra-performance of the spring has to go to Mr. Ardennes, Mr. Liege- Phillipe Gilbert. The number 1 overall pick in the Team Wiskota draft was not even close to the level he was at last year. So many expectations and so little results. The season certainly is not over for Phil Gil. He will want a stage win in his home region during le Tour, and is my current favorite to win the Worlds this season.  A second conta-performance goes to the Super-teams. Sky, BMC, and the Shack, with the exception of Quickstep, all failed to meet early season expectations.  Omega Pharma- Quickstep is currently the highest rated team according to UCI points, Chapeau!, but the others are currently rated 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively.

Who did I miss? Who were some of the biggest disappointments thus far? Check back for your weekly Panache! For a breakdown of bad picks, great picks, transfer 1 strategy, and what to expect in the Giro/Cali portion of our season.
Chapeau!



Sunday, April 22, 2012

Panache


This week’s panache is coming at you live from the Ardennes region of Belgium. This is the big daddy of the week. Sure Amstel/Cauberg is cool, yes Fleche Wallone/Mur de Huy are epic, but the big daddy starts and finishes in the town of Liege. Liege-Bastogne-Liege is known as La Doyenne or “the oldest”. Its known for its many long steep climbs and wicked finish up the Côte de Saint-Nicolas. Team Wiskota is well represented at Liege so here is the “bootlegged” version of On the Rivet.


Gregario: The Tifosi knows that Gregario Forza is the clear favorite to win this race. Let’s start with favorite to win it all on Sunday. Mr. Walloon, Mr. Liege, Mr. Ardennes, Phillipe Gilbert. I really feel like he will win on Sunday. With his form slowly returning and building I think we will see a dominant performance from the current champion. Thomas Voekler was at his home in the Vendee region of France resting after his stellar performance at Amstel. Le Chouchou would like to do well at Liege and his form looks good. Mollema, or Balki Bartokomous, has been getting “sneaky” points in the Ardennes. I like that to continue. Nibali was also there at Fleche so I feel like he too will be in the top ten at Liege. Chris Horner attacked at the Arrow and likes the longer climbs of Liege. He will be protected on Sunday so maybe the Hornet can climb himself into a good finish.. Michele Scarponi just finished the Giro Trentino so he will have lots of climbing in his legs for this classic. Finally, does anyone want to trade for L.L. Sanchez? I would love a good result at liege, but that is just wishful thinking.

Team Volpe: Pat brings the Irish sensation, Daniel Martin to the final Spring Classic. Liege fits Martin the best and he could potentially have a high finish in this race. Jurgen Van den Broeck is a question. I like Hand in Cock but I never know what to expect from him. I have a feeling he will be riding for peanut butter and Jelle, as he has shown the best form so far.

Team Wiskota Dynamic: The Commish likes his chances but J-Rod has his spring classic so I expect El Purito to take it easy on Sunday. Spaniards do this, easily satisfied. Really J-Rod has to be a favorite again. He was clearly the strongest rider on Wednesday. Alejandro Valverde would like a high finish as his spring classics have not gone as well as one would have thought from his early form. The Green Bullet is still one of the punchiest of climbers so he also cannot be ruled out for this race. Unless it’s cold, in which case the race will prove to be too hard.  My favorite from Wiskota Dynamic is Damiano Cunego. Il Piccolo Principe crashed himself out of Amstel and then rode Trentino instead of the Arrow.

Mikey McKieth: Has anyone else noticed that the Schlecks talk a lot? Well, Frank has stated that he is in good form, that his lil’ bro is ready and that he will be there at the end. So we will see. Sammy Sanchize is always good and if he wants it he will be a contender. Gesink has had a couple of high finishes in the Ardennes. The Condor of Varsseveld has a 3rd at Amstel and 4th at the Arrow. Can he be there at La Doyenne?

Bill the neo pro: Anny Schleckanical has also been talking this week. He has stated that Frank is ready to go and he will be an animator. I expect Andy to attack near the end in an attempt to soften up the favorites. We will probably hear his name a bunch and then he will coast in at 42nd.

Wiskota Podium:

Gilbert, Horner, Voekler.

All right, that have been a little biased- Here is the real podium.

Gilbert, Cunego, Rodriguez


Chapeau!


Welcome to the Ardennes. The region is known for its forests, hills, and ridges formed by the Givetian (Devonian) Ardennes mountain range.  So far the racing has been fast and the action good. After racing through the Limburg region of Holland and climbing the famous Mur de Huy in Belgium, it’s time to send out some Chapeau!

Chapeau! to Enrico Gasparatto for snagging the biggest win of his career and ending the drought of classics for the Italians. Amstel Gold proved to be a thrilling race with Oscar Freire mounting a massive attack on the ride to the Cauberg. After some very nervous riding and many of the main contenders not feeling good sensations in their legs, the peloton looked to the great Phillipe Gilbert to bring the Spaniard back. Gilbert went, it was early, it was vicious, and it hurt. Phil Gil sat up and Sagan went. Sagan sat up and Vanendert went. Vanendert went and…….. Gasparatto got him on the line and left Jelle pounding his handlebars in frustration. The Gas Man proved to be the most patient and the strongest on the Cauberg.

Chapeau! to Jelle Vanendert. The Belgian climber was close to snagging the biggest win of his career. At least he got some UCI points for the struggling Lotto squad. Jurgen Hand in Cock was there to watch it all go down.

Chapeau! to Oscar Freire. Is Oscarito planning on winning a 4th World Championship in the Limburg region in 2012? The Cat still knows how to pounce on the peloton even at the ripe old age of 36. Chapeau!

Chapeau! to Joaquim Rodríguez. El Purito smoked the rest of the favorites on the famous climb of the Mur de Huy. The Walloon Arrow proved to be a very exciting race despite a slow start. All the favorites were there in the end and J-Rod showed why he has been on the podium in the past and why he was widely favored to take this race in 2012. The Mur de Huy is one of the most exciting finishes in cycling and El Purito used the 25% gradient to launch his attack. He immediately gained meters on his rivals and had time to soak in “his greatest day on a bike”.  What a ride! What a finish! What a bad ass!

Chapeau! to Michael Albasini. I have really gotten to like this rider. The Albatross is easily having his best year: 1st at Catalunya, 2nd at the arrow. Not bad, not bad at all.

This one may seem a little self-serving or biased but whatever. Who reads this blog anyway? So here it goes. Chapeau! to Phillipe Gilbert. Philbert is coming to form. 6th at Amstel, 3rd at the Arrow, jump another 3 places and what do you know. Phil Gil will win Liege. This is his race. Nuff’ said.

Finally, Chapeau! to Giro del Trentino. I know that there were some complaints about the race being included in the Wiskota Fantasy League but despite a less than stellar field this race is a beast. Climbing, climbing, and climbing. Insane Climbing! I would go as far as saying, massive climbing! Chapeau! to Pozzovivo for winning the Giro and Chapeau! to Cunego for being the best placed Wiskota rider and for looking hot in his pink kit, ready to rock the real Giro in a matter of days.

This week’s contra-performance goes to ………drumroll……… Alejandro Valverde. Where is the green bullet? Peaked too early, too cold (this one kills me), still recovering? I expected him to be a major player in the Ardennes classics. Commish... What say you? Will he be a contender at Liege?


Friday, April 20, 2012

On the Rivet

A look at who's riding hard this weekend.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege deserves an in depth write up however I don’t have time this week.  I figured I should at least put our Wiskota Fantasy start list up.  I’ll probably pick a few favorites too.

Team Volpe: Dan Martin, Van den Broeck
Gregario: Gilbert, Horner, Nibali, Mollema, LL Sanchez, Voekler, Scarponi
Team Wiskota Dynamic: JRod, Valverde, Cunego
Mikey McKieth: Frank Schleck, Sammy Sanchez, Gesink
Bill the neo pro: Andy,

Please leave predictions in the comments section.

Monday, April 16, 2012

The Broom Wagon

Cleaning up after the weekend's events.

Who’s got Gasparotto?  How about Vanendert?  Okay, maybe we can’t predict the results of every race.  The Amstel Gold Race ended with a surprise victor as Enrico Gasparotto had enough left in the tank to surpass favorites such as Peter Sagan and Philippe Gilbert.  Despite the nearly successful breakaway attempt of Oscar Friere, when the group of 20 some chasers hit the foot of the Cauberg it seemed as though the race was playing out just as we had expected it to.  Gilbert went early and quickly got a bit of a gap.  No surprise.  Still sticking to the script, a few of the other favorites, Sagan and Cunego included, took up the chase.  Then it got weird.  Cunego forgot how to ride a bike for a second and diggered half way up the hill taking a Sky rider with him.  A few riders got slowed up by that.  Friere was stronger than we thought and this forced the chasers to go earlier and harder than they wanted to.  It became apparent that Gilbert didn’t have it and Sagan came around, followed by Jelle Vanendert as well as the eventual winner Gasparotto.  Sagan blew up with 10 meters to go and had to sit up.  The former Italian national champ didn’t hesitate to blow by him for the victory.  It was an exciting finish.  I can’t decide if my favorite part was when immediately after Cunego slammed into Petr-Norhaug he popped up and did some Italian gestures at him like “what’s your problem” or if it was when Peanut Butter and Jelle Vanendert pounded his handlebars after he came in second, it wasn’t that close dude, also you are Jelle Vanendert.  In the end, we must give it up for Gasparotto.  A great ride by the Italian, probably the biggest of his career.  In all fairness he was 3rd last year and he shouldn’t really be considered a surprise winner.  However, when you look at the riders he beat you can’t help but be surprised.  It was a good race and a nice start to the Ardennes season if for no other reason than Patrick didn’t get any points.  But others did.  Luke (Sagan 3rd=50pts), Greg (Voekler 5th, Gilbert 6th, Mollema 10th=54pts) and Mikey (Sanchez 7th=14pts).  Not huge points, but some nice results. 
Don’t forget, Trentino starts tomorrow and Fleche Walloon is on Wednesday.

Friday, April 13, 2012

On the Rivet


A look at who's riding hard this week.
No matter how much Gregario complains that Amstel Gold takes place in Limburg and not the Ardennes, in the cycling world this race marks the beginning of the Ardennes spring classics.  It is true we are not in Belgium, but rather in the Netherlands, or is it Holland? These people are Dutch, right?  Flemish, Waloonian, Limburger; French, Belgian, Dutch? I’m still trying to sort it out.  Not to mention the homeland of our beloved Schleck brothers, the Grand Duche’ of Luxembourg.  They aren’t ruled by a president, not even a king, but the Grand Duke.  Grand Douche’, so when Andy is getting his Mussette from his Luxemburger compatriots you could say he was getting his Douche’ Bag.  More on Luxembourg to come later this season, but for now let’s get back to Holland.  So, people who speak Dutch live in Holland…I mean the Netherlands...or South Africa… or Aruba.  Benelux, The Low Countries, for a place the size of Minnesota this region has too many names.
Enough of that.  What we do know is that the Amstel Gold race is an exciting 250 kilometer race with tons of climbs.  Not the strong man hills of Flanders, but real climbs, 31  in total, some as long as 2 and a half miles.  This is a race for the climbers.  Maybe not the pure, mountain goat, polka dot jersey kind of climbers, but climbers nonetheless.  Punchy climbers have done well here in recent years but more of  GC kind of rider can prevail here as well going a few hills from the end.  So who do we have racing?  Well just about everybody it seems.  
Amstel Gold Race
This may be hubris on my part, but Team Wiskota Dynamic is the Wiskota Fantasy league’s odds on favorite for the Amstel Gold race this Sunday.  Damiano Cunego has won here before.  He doesn’t have the form of 2008, but he has looked strong. He finished 5th in the tour of the Basque country with a strong TT, which is always a sign of good form.  Look for Il Piccolo Principe to have a big week (see below).  Peter Sagan is popping up on all kinds of favorites lists.  An uphill sprint finish suits him.  He had a hard time here last year, but so far this year he is showing that he can hang in the longer classics.  Alejandro Valverde has podiumed here before, but never really targeted Amstel.  This year Balaverde is pissed and the Green Bullet is looking to win everything he enters.  I expect a high finish.  Last, but certainly not least, last year’s runner up and puncheur premier, Joaquim Rodriguez enters the Ardennes season as a favorite in all three races.  Team Wiskota Dynamic may not have the most riders come Sunday, but they will have the best riders.  Podium sweep? Let me know what you think.
Picking the second favorite for Amstel should not be this hard, however, questionable form and the muddled goals and expectations of the super teams make it a bit trickier.  Having said that, Gilbert will be a favorite until proven otherwise.  That puts Greg’s team in a pretty good spot.  We all know what the first overall pick can do.  Gilbert says he has lost his form and should not be considered a favorite.  Remember my Kaiser Sose prediction?  I am still waiting to count him out myself.  As for Greg’s other prospects, I would have to say Nibali has looked the best thus far.  He should be riding for Sagan but who knows.  Scarponi likes the climbs and has been strong in stage races thus far.  Bauke Mollema made me eat a bit of crow last week earning a 3rd place finish in Basque country.   Voekler dominated on Wednesday.  Too bad it’s not worth any points.  He will be satisfied to ride this one out, or will he? I am actually the most intrigued by Chris Horner.  More of a long climber, but he has top ten finishes here before.  I picked him to do well here last year and then he sat it out.  I predict it will either be a big day for Greg or a huge disappointment.
Team Volpe brings four riders to the start line this Sunday.  Boonen was thinking about it, but fortunately for the rest of us he has decided to rest.  Cadel Evans is not known as a classics man. However, if we think back to the critiques of pre-Tour de France winning Cadel Evans, many said he should focus on winning the monuments.  I saw him blow past Contador in Fleche Walloon a few years back and I have to admit I kind of thought the same thing.  Evans may be Volpe’s only rider that could compete in a punchy finish.  He is supposed to be riding for Gilbert, but if Gilbert falters will Evans jump?  This will be the third or fourth week in a row that I have mentioned Boassen Hagen as a favorite.  The Ardennes seem a little more his style, but once again, does anybody really know what his style is?  Volpe’s team is rounded out by Dan Martin and Van den Broeck.  Either one of these riders is capable of a high finish.  I expect someone form Volpe to try an early move, but perhaps they will wait and try their luck on the Cauberg.   
Mike has a rider that I like a lot during this season, one Sammy Sanchez. High placings in the past, good form (see tour of Basque) and a punchy kick when needed Sammy is a favorite to podium.   Robert Gesink has stated that he has been sleeping on the Cauberg this week, looking to become one with the finishing and often decisive climb.  Riders from the Netherlands only really get one chance for hometown glory and that happens this Sunday.  A top ten last year makes Gesink a favorite to repeat that result.  Frank Schleck won this race in 2006 going on a break.  I don’t see a break winning this year, but he must still be mentioned.  I have Mike ranked as the 4th best team in the race, but like I said the rankings are not as clear as they have been in the past.  Mike’s team could easily be ranked right up there with Greg and Patrick.
Bill the Neo Pro brings one lonely rider to the race, Andy Schleck.  Not the favorite, but he could give it a go.  He is looking to peak next week at Liege, but I expect Andy to try to get away in a break.  He should work for his brother, Horner or even Ben Hermanns, but he won’t.  He will try to go alone and will fail.  Yet, it must be said he probably has the best chance to win in a break out of any rider.  Still that is a very slim chance.
Wiskota Fantasy podium:
Rodriguez, Valverde, Sanchez
Spoilers:
One big one: Simon Gerrans

Giro Del Trentino
I must mention the Giro Trentino, as it starts Tuesday.  Somehow Greg weaseled this race on to the calendar.  No wonder he drafted so many Italians.  In fairness this is a 2.HC  Euro tour event and in the past it has been a very important race.  However, it is placed right in the middle of Ardennes week and thus not a lot of our riders are going to be there.  A team time trial and then three mountain top finishes.  In theory that could be fun.  Too bad we only have two riders there.
Update: Cunego has been added to the startlist.  This is now a cool race.
Update: Scarponi has been added to the startlist.  He is an instant favorite for Greg's team.
With only three Wiskota Fantasy cyclists competing in this event and those three being the biggest names in the race we don’t have a lot to talk about.  Greg is bringing the biggest toughest Italian he’s got to Trentino, Ivan “my sister is hot” Basso.  I should be talking about how Basso is the consummate professional and that he won this race in 2009.  But all I can think of is watching him fall off the back in every race he has entered this year.  I suppose they will say he is building his form for The Giro, but so far he has been embarrassing.  I still have to say that he has a chance and sometimes these veterans seem to know what they are doing more than I can tell.
Bill the Neo Pro is in need of some points.  When he has riders in a race he gets points, however too many of his riders are seemingly saving themselves for the Grand Tours.  Well, I have to say Bill’s 10th round pick of Roman Kreuziger is looking better and better every race.  Kreuziger is coming in as the 17th ranked UCI rider and he could pick up some ever valuable non UCI world tour points next week.  If his team has a good team time trial I expect Kreuziger to hang with the best on the climbs and perhaps podium or at least pick up a few top ten points. 
I was a bit upset about including this race on the Wiskota fantasy calendar.  That was until this morning when I saw a change in the startlist.  Three time Giro del Trentino winner and Team Wiskota Dynamic climber extraordinaire Damiano Cunego will be riding next week.  Crazy week for the little prince, Amstel Gold Sunday (which he has won before, see above), Giro Del Trentino Tuesday through Friday ( did I mention he was a three time winner?) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (which he has podiumed at) next Sunday.  Possible big points week for my most apprehensive of draft picks.  If it wasn’t for that nickname…shit, if he gets me 200 points this week he can call himself whatever he wants.
Wiskota Fantasy Podium:
Cunego, Kreuziger, Basso
Spoilers:
Rolland, Serpa, Gadret, Rory Sutherland (that might be cool)


Panache p/b Gregario

From time to time featured writer Gregario Forza brings his signature panache to the Wiskota blog.Roger De Vlaeminck made comments this week about how he was disappointed that Fabian Cancellara was unable to race and Boonen’s “epic” ride was over a 3rd rate peloton.  So this got me thinking. Is this the classic “in my day, things were better” or were De Vlaeminck’ s wins ultimately more impressive due to a better field? Which then led me to my favorite cycling question- Who are the best road cyclists of all time? And… How do our current heroes compare to the greats of our sport? As I googled and searched my way through the World Wide Web, while simultaneously weighing my own opinions vs. those of other great cycling minds on the interweb. In my quest for answers I came upon this site.
                The author, Skullcrusher, used a system in which he used the following points to determine the greats. Important note: the results are from Dec. 2009.
The point system
After lots and lots of work, I came up with this point system:
Grand tour GC
Win: 9 pts.
2nd: 3 pts.
3rd: 1 pt.
Grand tour jersey competition
Mountain/points/sprint etc.: 2 pts.
Grand tour stages
Stage win: 1 pt.
Other stage races GC*
Dauphine Libere: 2 pts.
Paris-Niece: 2 pts.
Tirreno Adriatico: 2 pts.
Vuelta al Pais Vasco 2 pts.
Classics
Milan-San Remo: 3 pts.
Paris-Roubaix: 3 pts.
Tour of Flanders: 3 pts.
Amstel Gold: 3 pts.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege: 3 pts.
Clasica San Sebastian: 1 pt.
Giro di Lombardia: 1 pt.
Fleche Wallonne: 1 pt.
Other shit
Gold medal for TT or road in the Olympics: 3 pts.
TT or Road World Championship: 3 pts.
Hour Record: 1 pt.
Trofeo Baracchi: 1 pt.
The Outcome
1. Eddy Merckx - 218 pts.
2. Bernard Hinault - 149 pts.
3. Fausto Coppi - 127 pts.
4. Miguel Induarin - 120 pts.
5. Jaques Anquetil - 109 pts.
6. Gino Bartali - 105 pts.
7. Tony Rominger - 88 pts.
8. Lance Armstrong - 87 pts.
9. Laurent Fignon - 82 pts.
10. Mario Cipollini - 72 pts.
11. Roger De Vlaeminick - 71 pts.
12. Laurent Jalabert - 69 pts.
13. Felice Gimondi - 67 pts.
14. Sean Kelly - 62 pts.
15. Francesco Moser - 60 pts.
16. Louis Bobet - 59 pts.
17. Erik Zabel - 56 pts.
18. Fiorenzo Magni - 55 pts.
19. Alessandro Petacchi - 51 pts.
20. Greg LeMond - 50 pts.
21. Alberto Contador - 49 pts.
22. Jan Jansen - 48 pts.
23. Charly Gaul - 47 pts.
24. Jan Ullrich - 44 pts.
25. Marco Pantani - 43 pts

Other people of note I did for fun
Federico Bahamontes - 42 pts.
Pedro Delgado - 42 pts.
Robetro Heras - 41 pts.
Denis Menchov - 41 pts.
Jan Raas - 40 pts.
Paolo Bettini - 35 pts.
Stephen Roche - 32 pts.
Luis Herrera - 31 pts.
Tom Boonen - 28 pts.
Alexander Vinokourov - 28 pts.
Fabian Cancellara - 27 pts.
Damiano Cunego - 24 pts.
Mark Cavendish - 19 pts.
Ivan Basso - 19 pts.
Claudio Chiapucci - 19 pts.
Thor Hushovd - 15 pts.
Cadel Evans - 11 pts.
Andy Schleck - 9 pts.
Iban Mayo - 8 pts.
Fabio Parra - 8 pts.
Alessandro Ballan - 7 pts.
Fränk Schleck - 5 pts.
Jens Voigt - 5 pts.
Mauricio Soler - 3 pts.
Sylvain Chavanel - 1 pt.
Wim Vansevenant - 0 pts. (only man to finish as lanterne rouge at The Tour three times)

The right thing to do would be to update all of the italicized riders, current peloton members, however I will concentrate on the classics so an upgrade to Thor, Tommeke, Catchyalater,  Ballan, Phil Gil, and Chavanel.

Current Points
Thor Hushovd- 21
Sylvain Chavanel- 3
Allesandro Ballan-7
Phillipe Gilbert-16
Fabian Cancellara- 42
Tom Boonen- -34

So none of these current riders crack the top 25 but Boonen and Fabian are real close. A couple more years, a cobbled classic or two, more stage wins, and Olympics or Worlds and both should be considered two of the best road cyclists of all time.

Now how does the peloton of Paris-Roubaix 1975, De Vlaeminck won this edition over Merckx, compare to today’s “3rd rate group”?
1975 notable riders
Roger De Vlaeminck-11
Eddy Merckx-1
Francesco Moser-15
Freddy Maertens
Walter Godefroot
Marc DeMeyer

2012 notable riders
Tom Boonen
Alessandro Ballan
Thor Hushovd
Johan van Summeren
Sylvain Chavanel
Fillipo Pozzato

Ok, Ok, maybe this was a second rate peloton but with the additions of Fabian and Gilbert, plus future stars like Sep van Marcke, Peter Sagan, Eddie Bo Has, and Taylor Phinney could make this a 1st rate peloton as soon as next year.

I also don’t think this should diminish the “massive” effort that was Boonen’s 60 k ride to victory. Sure Fabian’s presence would have dramatically have changed this race but that is Paris Roubaix. It’s a race of questions, of attrition, an all-out ride through hell where tactics are consistently thrown out the window due to factors that only the cycling gods can make sense of.

So what does this all mean?
This is no 3rd rate peloton. In my opinion, great cycling mind, limited knowledge, I feel like this is a peloton in transition. Not a rebuilding year per say, but a transition. In 3-4 years we could have a handful of future greats battling out for cobbled glory.

2015 top 5 at Paris Roubaix
1.       Phillipe Gilbert
2.       Sylvain Chavanel
3.       Taylor Phinney
4.       Eddy Boss
5.       Peter Sagan