Virtual Directeur Sportif 2009: The Races!

I love seeing the Tour of Georgia, but since it is not being held this year, maybe include Missouri instead.

My only suggestion is to add Monte Paschi Eroica in March.

I know it’s a new race, but it is sort of an “instant classic.” Last year’s podium, Cancellara, Ballan, and Gerdemann, were all top-level riders, and the field in general was first-class.

Is the Tour de Georgia happening next year?

See any imbalance? Looks OK to me…

Belgium: 11 events, 15 days
Italy: 8 events, 28 days
Spain: 7 events, 40 days
France: 8 events, 46 days

Lotta love for Spain, but Pais Vasco and the Vuelta are the only real points. And France belongs to the world.

Chris I love this. Love it love it love it.

What I’m interested in reading here is what do folks think are the implications of expanding the list. I already have my impressions but I hesitate to write them before the rest of you get a chance to see the list.

some criteria:

I believe last year we said that the criteria for inclusion was a good field, an interesting race, access to video, and regional balance.

This time I am willing to sacrifice access to video; it’s too unpredictable and eventually pretty much everything will be watchable.

I am also willing to bend on an interesting course. If the top riders are showing up, then who am I to second guess?

So what you’re seeing in this revised calendar are races that draw a good field, usually are of interest to us, and strike some regional balance.

I would replace the Limousin with the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, it’s a 2.hc race so it’s a bit more important and will have some more PT teams. It’s also in a good location as it starts right after Romandie and finishes right around the Giro start(May 5-10). Also I would make Primavera a cat 5, all the other cat 4 events you have are either PT events or the most important 1.hc events, Primavera isn’t quite on that level. One last thing, I would also include the Rund um Köln, it’s a 1.hc event that was canceled this year because of snow, but is definitely on for next year, weather permitting. It has a better slot in the calender next year, April 13, so a lot of Ardennes guys should be out looking for a good test before Ardennes week.

it was another knife through my heart.
(sigh)

I stumbled upon the live feed in 2008 (someone here posted it naturally) and it was a great race. Challenging beautiful terrrain made for real racers like Rebellin, Cunego et. al. . This year it’s a two day event, something like the Criterium International.

The reason I mention it is to recommend people to watch it if there is video.

How many and does that include the Nation Time Trialers too?

Will there be points awarded for holding leaders jerseys throughout the stages races of just at the end? I like the mid race points, gives the Vocklers of the world some value.

Minor quibble, but shouldn’t more points should be awarded here? The WC TT points seem about right, but the RR should score more like one of the Monuments. It’s also the only single-day point scoring opportunity in all of Sept. What say ye?

Why are the winners proportionally more rewarded in GT’s and stage races than in Monuments and classics relative to places 2 through 5? At CQ, second place points are 75% of first place points, and fifth place are 50% of first in all race catagories. I’m just curious about why the differences for VDS?

And thanks Chris and Ursula for the VDS comp. Perusing and discussing the rider value list helped my son and I pass the the time on a slow train ride over the holidays. We even made up a game: Ten for Ten. You pick ten riders for ten races (GTs and Mons, plus Worlds RR and TT) and then match your riders, one for each race. Then discuss and argue who would beat whom. BTW, Gesink vs Vandevelde in the Vuelta?

Since TPTB* seem to be open to expansion of the VDS pool, why not pull in a few of the UCI Continental Circuit races? Tour du Faso, Tour de Langkawi, Tour of Qatar, and the Triple Crown? Not major points, but maybe enough where a couple/few right picks could serve as a tie-breaker amongst the folks that will pick this year’s GT favorites?

Sure, they’re not on par with the GTs & Monuments, but that’s fine with me. Everyone enjoys a good minor league ball game, too, no? Personally, I participate in the VDS not only in the hopes of beating Chris, but as a mechanism to expand my appreciation and knowledge of pro cycling. I can’t help but think that if the VDS offered some reward for sussing out the possible winners of some of the bigger UCI Continental races, we’d all be better off (and if you look at the guys who have won those races, you’ll see some now-familiar names). I know that as I was getting down to the 20-25th guys (all 1 pointers) on my team last year, I was getting pretty random. If I had the prospect of picking up 30-50 points (or whatever – I really don’t have a sense of scale, here) with a well considered choice, I’d be far less random about it.

Finally – dude, have you watched the Tour du Faso? I don’t give a shit that 99% of the riders there will never make more than 50k a year or ever see a Pro Tour race – they are suffering far more than most of the riders in some of the Monuments. It’s a great race, and could make for (yet another) another interesting week in the VDS.

So that’s my pitch. If others are interested, speak up. If not, no harm.

*The Powers That Be

Won’t that lead to the inclusion of many 1-pointers from all kinds of non-cycling countries? Or would betting 1 point on the next champion of, say, Uzbekistan (assuming they have 1 pro rider) be too big a gamble?
On the other end of the spectrum it might increase the value of the Cancellaras en Schlecks of this world.
Did you think this through? I’d be interested in your analysis.