Bow Down To Your CQ Overlord

by ursula on Nov 29, 2008 6:28 PM EST

The other day I was tooling around Cycling Quotient (Too bad CQ isn't a MMO. That would be cool.) and I realized that they post five years of stats for each rider. See here for instance. Actually though they have seven years of stats- you have to click on the lowest "Results" to get the years 2003 and 2002.

So I decided to figure out which rider has earned the most points during both the last five and last seven years- it's two different riders. So before I give you a top-25 listing I'll give you pictures of five possible riders. Could it be:

via www.moonbattery.com

Or:

via www.lancelhoff.com

Or, jump!

Or:

via asab.icapb.ed.ac.uk

via www.dueporti.it

Or maybe...

via tintintribute.com

Which guy?

Last 5 Year Ranking	Points	Last 7 Year Ranking	Points
1. Boonen	8888	1.Valverde	11249
2. Cunego	8148	2. Bettini	10652
3. Valverde	8118	3. Zabel	10386
4. Rebellin	7890	4. Rebellin	10243
5. Bettini	7451	5. Boonen	9556
6. Zabel	6932	6. Petacchi	8567
7. Freire	6719	7. Cunego	8234
8. Petacchi	6467	8. Di Luca	8170
9. Evans	6450	9. McEwen	8144
10. McEwen	6333	10. Freire	7993
11. Di Luca	6160	11. Evans	7034
12. Contador	5630	12. Armstrong	6628
13. Jens!	5616	13. Jens!	6134
14. Leipheimer	5615	14. Leipheimer	6068
15. Hushovd	5565	15. Vinokourov	6055
16. Cancellara	5501	16. Hushovd	5913
17. Sanchez	5407	17. Sanchez	5905
18. F Schleck	5340	18. Cancellara	5844
19. Menchov	5186	19. O'Grady	5727
20. Sastre	4679	20. Contador	5637
21. Gilbert	4621	21. Basso	5633
22. Kirchen	4543	22. Sastre	5630
23. Basso	4348	23. Menchov	5571
24. Ballan	4188	24. F Schleck	5438
25. Bennati	4112	25. Boogerd	5225

Some notes:

- Amazing how static the two lists are: Most riders are around the same ranking on both lists with the main differences being a) retired riders listed on the seven year list (Boogerd, Vino, HWMNBN) dropping off the 5 year list and b) Contador (moving up 8 spots) and Frank Schleck (moving up 6 spots). BTW Kirchen is 26th on the 7 year list while Gilbert is 30th on the same list. I thought there would be a few more old guys on the 7 year list but outside of Mancebo (27th) and Garzelli (30th) recently retired riders are nowhere near the top 25.

- I am a little surprised how the top sprinters are so prominent here. Boonen, Zabel, Petacchi, Freire, and McEwen are all in the top 10 in both lists. After the Big Five you see no other sprinter other than # 15/16 Hushovd until #25 on the 5 year list, Benna sigh, or O'Grady, #19 on the 7 year list (and no one after Stewy). That's quite a gap and it shows how dominant the top sprinters have been. Its also worth noting with these sprinters is that they aren't so dominant in VDS though they are valued. The difference here is that some sprinters races likes Paris-Brussels, aren't scored in VDS.

- Nevertheless I expected the Ardennes guys to be a little more dominant in the top 10. That didn't happen but look at the whole top 25 in either list. Besides the sprinters,there are only three stage racing goat types, three riders who don't (or haven't yet) show the speed to finish off a hilly classic- but do show consistent and mega climbing ability: Menchov and teammates Contador and Leipheimer. The rest can and are good at the Classics- yes even HWMNBN at least early in his career.

- And then there's Jens!- a category all his own.

- Valverde is just so damn consistent. Even though he's only 3rd on the 5 year list he has the highest average yearly placing: 5th. In those five years, the Green Bullet finished 1, 3, 2, 14 and 5. He's the only one in the last five years to finish outside of the top ten only once. Boonen's average is 6.8th place. Tin Tin's 10th. Cunego: also 10th. Alejandro Valverde: your CQ Overlord.

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Comments

Awesome!

Now if only I could make the 5 year list my VDS team.

by brunopitton on Nov 29, 2008 8:57 PM EST reply actions

Almost half, if not more, of the 7 year list is made up of dopers, which says a lot. Was surprised to see Lance is still up there.

by The Long Emergency on Nov 29, 2008 9:49 PM EST reply actions

I should leave this alone, but I can't...

Care to name the “half or more” of that 7 yr list that are dopers?.

I’m not saying that they are all clean, but I was kind of pleased to see the names that bubbled to the top.

Yes, I am going to take Zabel at his word that he “only tried it once”, and give him a pass. I’m also going to ignore Boonen’s recreational activities; but even if I add those two in I come up well short of “half or more”.

There are some known entities in there who have or are “serving time”, Vino and Petacchi (though I suspect the later was hard done by), but really, half or more?

by muk on Nov 30, 2008 8:49 AM EST up reply actions

And

Zabels infraction was not within these 7 years, so his inclusion onto the list of shame is unwarranted in my books

by Hons on Nov 30, 2008 2:05 PM EST up reply actions

Damn

I was sure it was Tintin.

Valverde: he has some built-in advantages being Spanish. You can rack up a lot of points in those week-long stage races, while warming up for the classics. Boonen deserves some cred: all he has is 6 or 7 one-day events and the Tour.

CQRanking.com, you complete me.

by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 30, 2008 12:14 AM EST reply actions

Boonen

Yeah as we know his 06 and 05 years were awesome. As for Valverde I was surprised too. Looking at his career… he’s like a metronome with his results.

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it."- H. L. Mencken

by ursula on Nov 30, 2008 12:18 AM EST up reply actions

I just realized

that whoever took the picture of the tornado is completely insane, I mean what is the point of standing 100 or so feet away from something that will definitely kill you, if it runs into you?

"If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
~ Jens Voigt

by Phil H. on Nov 30, 2008 12:28 AM EST reply actions

People

do that for a living. For a little while, anyway. Beat me tho.

CQRanking.com, you complete me.

by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 30, 2008 12:45 AM EST up reply actions

Yes, but those people are completely insane

there is one show on the weather channel, or some other channel, that’s called tornado hunters or something similar. They drive around chasing tornadoes in some sort of cardboard armored car(that’s what it looks like). It makes absolutely no sense to me why they find it so amusing, and I don’t know how they’re not dead yet.

"If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
~ Jens Voigt

by Phil H. on Nov 30, 2008 12:58 AM EST up reply actions

Amazing picture though.

Knocked my socks off when I saw it. Lore’s a lucky woman. lol

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it."- H. L. Mencken

by ursula on Nov 30, 2008 10:40 AM EST up reply actions

Indeedio.

Lore=luckiest woman in Belgium ;-)

by Albertina on Nov 30, 2008 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

One of my best friend's brother

is doing that for his vacation this next spring. He’s a meteoroligst and lives for that kind of thing. From what I hear he is psyched to be going along for the chase. Crazy.

"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."

by nikki on Nov 30, 2008 3:27 PM EST up reply actions

Ursula, this is just great work

You are the official site numbers cruncher. The linkage of pictures to riders is brilliant.

I think Cunego surprised me the most in the 5 year poll, I guess because he starts popping up in results later than I expect and in races that I haven’t traditionally followed. Then he totally pours it on in Sept/Oct.

As for Boonen, I pick him every year because I love his style and the races he targets, not for VDS points (though they help). I don’t expect that to diminish over the next few years either as he gets to the heights of his physical powers. The guy I’ll watch though is Valverde – will riders keep taking him to the line and be content for 2nd, or will they start trying to shake him earlier?

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew Davis on Nov 30, 2008 8:15 AM EST reply actions

Tricky

The trick of trying to Shake Valverde. Tough one!

And Cunego- Yeah he sure ends his seasons on a roll. So here we go for Cunego moments after Lombardia:

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it."- H. L. Mencken

by ursula on Nov 30, 2008 11:36 AM EST up reply actions

How many cute pictures did you go through before finding that one?

I am overwhelmed by the cuteness – well played.

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew Davis on Nov 30, 2008 1:42 PM EST up reply actions

Schleck tried to shake him and Rebellin

earlier at LBL. That didn’t seem to work though.

by brunopitton on Nov 30, 2008 2:00 PM EST up reply actions

Him = valverde

by brunopitton on Nov 30, 2008 2:01 PM EST up reply actions

True. There was a Schleck double act at work there too.

by Albertina on Nov 30, 2008 6:36 PM EST up reply actions

Ayup

Good work. That is all.

by Sui Juris on Nov 30, 2008 10:25 AM EST reply actions

Thank you PC.

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it."- H. L. Mencken

by ursula on Nov 30, 2008 11:31 AM EST up reply actions

I find the lack of pure stage racers

in the Top Ten interesting. Except for Cunego and Valverde, who are not stage racers, as we’ve seen. Evans just cracks the 5 year list, but Armstrong and Contador, both outside the Top Ten. Maybe in a few more years, we’ll see Contador up there. And I guess three years ago, Armstrong would be in the Top Ten on both lists.

by brunopitton on Nov 30, 2008 2:05 PM EST reply actions

Yeah its interesting.

About this I wonder several things:

- There’s been a wave of retirements, some forced obviously, in the ranks of stud stage racers in the last seven years: Armstrong, Ullrich, Heras, Landis, Vinokourov, Savoldelli (this year) and probably one or two more who I’m forgetting. Basso’s suspension also changed things. What was left was mainly four guys all of whom are not quite the studs who left the scene : Menchov, Leipheimer, Evans and Sastre. Several possible stage racers didn’t develop: Popovych and Danielson being two. Mosqeria (sp) stayed in Spain. I wonder if the stage was basically swept clean for Contador so that good as he is, he’s had faster success than otherwise might be the case.

- I also wonder about the past and think that these days see greater specialization in cycling so that a guy like Contador- a pure stage racer- can find greater success now???? I mean its hard to see someone now winning a Grand Tour and being seriously competitive at oh Paris-Roubaix, if they even enter. You can still have an Ardennes stud winning a Grand Tour but that would mainly happen if a) the Grand Tour isn’t that hilly, and b) the field is diluted. See: Cunego and Di Luca winning the Giro.

I don’t know. Any thoughts?

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it."- H. L. Mencken

by ursula on Nov 30, 2008 8:51 PM EST up reply actions

the accountant

basically wins every stage race he enters,
at least in 2008.
so it’s obviously difficult for anyone else concentrating on the same thing.
and he’s only 26…

by rbjhan on Nov 30, 2008 8:58 PM EST up reply actions