And the 2009 VDS Winner Is...
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 6:50 PM EDT
in FSA Directeur Sportif
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TEAM BEER LAO!!!
Congratulations to our winner, pictured below:
Could that be the Mekhong in the background? Or the Sacramento? Either way, this picture is a tasty tribute to SlowK, winner of the wool jersey. Hope that despite the team name you live someplace cold enough to enjoy wool. Presumably SlowK will be raising one of the above to Philippe Gilbert, though I think the pick that clinched it was Jakob Fuglsang. Peruse the standings HERE. Final 2009 VDS Top Ten:
- Team Beer Lao, SlowK, 14,595 points
- Grote Mandrenke, Josenka, 14,242
- Brian Clough's Nose, mpw5, 14,209
- Cruzers, Felip M, 13,656
- Almost Random, El-Ve, 13,625
- EuroPeloton, scroob, 13,621
- More Cobbles Please, Cyclingfan, 13,576
- Low Road Redux, FeltGuy, 13,564
- Coyotes Rotadores, 1km2go, 13,530
- Crazy D's Chain Gang, Crazy D, 13,452
In the Editor's League, congratulations go to Drew, whose Drewd Abides eeked out a 300-point victory over Mr Van P and ElvisGoat. Recall, this league used a draft so that no rider was on more than one team. And yes, Drew had Contador, but as the owner of the actual top scoring rider (Valverde) I have to admit that Drew won not when the draft order was set. Drew won when he took Roman Kreuziger, Vincenzo Nibali, Tyler Farrar and Simon Gerrans... long after some idiot took Thomas Dekker. The draft league format was in my opinion a big hit, and we hope to build some tools here to permit more draft leagues next year. If nothing else, I can share the basic spreadsheet with anyone who wants to run their own.
Renewed congrats go to Mathieu, whose Les Chasses Patates won the Tour-Only VDS competition. Mathieu, Drew and SlowK take home the wool jerseys this year. And a final shout-out to rbjhan, winner of the Guess the VDS Winners contest and a pair of Hoodz.
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At least I beat Ursula
which make me wonder if I should really listen to him next year?
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
Gaspa will dominate with Astana, you will see...
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
is he actually going there?
I mean, rumors are flying, but I haven’t seen any kind of confirmation yet.
It’s about the only team that would take him it seems like an OK fit for him so I’ll say yes.
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
Yeah I like the fit for Gaspa there.
They’ll get him back to the cobbles.
Oh. And you will listen to me.
Isn't that a four letter word?
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
You mean it will have 'x' repeated? ;)
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
No V in Basque...it'd be Lebi ;)
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
out of top20
in 21th….grrr
for the first time i think i did very nice :)
hope next year to discover next HH.
You actually ARE in the top 20!
The spreadsheet starts on line 3, not line 1, so you’re in 19th place. I knew you weren’t in 21st, ‘cause I am! Thanks for reminding me I’m just outside the top 20…
by Merry Crankster on Oct 20, 2009 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually you are really 20th.
"As you can imagine, there are better places to have your birthday party than in some village called Mushny Mush Mishme." --The Wisdom of Jens
are you absolutely sure
the spreadsheet doesn’t start on like line 160th or so? Then i could be top 20 too. Allez!
Damn I really need to make sure I get an Ardennes/Lombardia type rider for next year...
I dropped almost 20 spots to 35th in less than 3 weeks…Still, atleast I got to 3rd place once during the season before I went back into obscurity
Rein Taaramae
was the best “value” rider earning 540 points per “dollar” investment. Next comes Greipel at 537.5 and HH at 532.5. If you had managed to choose the top 25 earners per dollar cost, you would have come in 20th spending only 40 of 150 of your dollars. Now, how to calculate the highest possible scoring team….
179th !
I am targeting a top 150 place next year.
Thanks for organizing and congrats to the winners
Moo
Good news is that you actually came in 176th!
Bad news is that I came in 174th. I will now begin to mock you mercilessly
now this is the part of the thread
i can appreciate, 169th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (or so)
Albertina finished in the top 30!??!
Wow. Not bad Txurruindxrxxtrxirualiractsitaitsa. Beating Frinky by… nearly 130 places. Nicely done!
"Jens! is my favorite rider. I love watching him handing out plates of hot, steaming suffer!" - Mahatma Gandhi
Haha it was a baaaad season for me..
I have to listen more to my brains. Although I never considerd HH I have considerd Taaraeme who didn’t make it and more of the same rubbish. Is no good… But next year I’m going to crush the VDS!
And.. where did you finish? WQat it worde enou8gh for the backward smiley?
And.. where did you finish? WQat it worde enou8gh for the backward smiley?
You sound surprised Dan. Why is this? ;-)
By the way, the Euskies don’t use the letter C. Other than that, your made up word looks almost authentic…heehee
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
New Lanterne Rouge
is Team from Oz. Congrats to Snakeboat for putting nearly 3000 points into your successor.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 8:20 PM EDT reply actions
Okay, how many times do I have to mention it?
Apparently, I will mention it again, forgive the Caps: I AM LISTED TWICE. MY ORIGINAL SUBMISSION IS AT #2, WITH GREIPEL, POZZATO AND JENS!. I CHANGED THAT SELECTION; THAT IDEA WAS HORRIBLE BUT THE TEAM AT #22 (WHICH IS REALLY #21) IS WHAT I AM STUCK WITH. CORRECT THIS; I HAVE MENTIONED IT BEFORE BUT NOTHNG HAS BEEN DONE BUT SOMETHING MUST BE DONE NOW SO DOES CHRIS NEED COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL E-MAILS OR WHAT!?
"As you can imagine, there are better places to have your birthday party than in some village called Mushny Mush Mishme." --The Wisdom of Jens
Er
OK. I don’t know why it matters. So Team #2 doesn’t exist. Everyone move up a space. Cheers!
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions
It's a matter of fairness; that's why it matters.
"As you can imagine, there are better places to have your birthday party than in some village called Mushny Mush Mishme." --The Wisdom of Jens
Josenka has only told you a gazillion times Chris.
by ZoeRochelle on Oct 20, 2009 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions
After a gamillion times
I don’t really hear things anymore
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
classy yes
but doesn’t really follow in the cycling tradition of denial and counter-accusation. Josenka didn’t you talk to your lawyer before making this request????
watch out
Josenka is sandbagging with next year in mind. Racers, never trust what they say!
"The road is our agony, but also our daily bread; and at night, when it is deserted and the moon glistens on the asphalt, the ridiculous dreams of racers like us pass up and down it."
--Dino Buzzati
Wow, giving up 2nd for fairness sake
that is far more class than I would show with a 2nd place finish. Cheat to glory!…umm, I mean play fair!
Dammit Elk! I don't care if it's your mating season, you are disturbing my peaceful sleep! Just STFU!
If only...
Class, integrity, sportsmanship Josenka is what Professional Cycling should be. Regardless of being 3rd or 4th this was great fun! FELIP M.
by sccycler59@yahoo.com on Oct 21, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow
You managed to be both inspirational with your honestly, and really annoying with your internet yelling all at the same time. That is tough to pull off. Well done.
Not that hard
Just think of something honest and inspiring to say, and turn on the all caps button.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 21, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Josenka - thanks so much for this nice protest ride.
You are the Atlas under the podium, lifting the level of competition in 2009 that much more. Thank you.
Big Aloha offers big congrats to the podium and everyone else too!
Thank you Podium Cafe!
by thisisntthezodiac on Oct 21, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Just got to prepare everyone for all the radio protests that are coming.
"As you can imagine, there are better places to have your birthday party than in some village called Mushny Mush Mishme." --The Wisdom of Jens
Sweet rears finishing 121... OK new way to pic the team next year..
"the rest was over 30. And that doesn't mean old and useless, but experienced and with the stamina"
Jens! Voigt, Crit Intl Interview, 2009
Woohoo 16th!
…and it’s my first year. Thanks to everyone for running this comp. I learned a ton about cycling that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. Plus, it makes watching the races so much more exciting.
I never said I earned it.
I made ample use of Chris…’s cheat sheets.
Megabeth 45th.
That’s quite sobering.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 9:02 PM EDT reply actions
p.s.
This is in no way meant to imply that Megabeth is sober.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow
That’s just hilariously and unexpectedly amazing. I thought I’d put together a decent team, but to win the VDS…
We drank a lot of Beer Lao when my wife and I cycled across Laos a few years ago – a very refreshing post-ride reward.
Thanks Chris and team for putting in so much work for the competition – it really was great fun!
Well done
I can’t wait to try next year :-)
Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill (F. Coppi)
You're off to a good start.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Sure...
they all say that when they win.
Congrats!! Look for a new icon when I get a free moment.
ABRUZZIAM...uh oh
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 20, 2009 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Chapeau!
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Congratulations! You are going to love the wool jersey :-) And you get
to flash the VDS icon for the next year, which is pretty cool.
I'm now totally inspired.
Next year I’m going to name team after liquor too.
"As you can imagine, there are better places to have your birthday party than in some village called Mushny Mush Mishme." --The Wisdom of Jens
YAY!
ok so my team barely makes it into top 50, but I actually won something! celebration is in order tonight….
This was such a fantastic way to get more familiar w/ the riders & sport
thanks much for putting this together!
I had Contador?
Will wonders never cease.
Also, I’m donating my wool jersey back into the prize vault Chris, having already earned one from last year’s Giro. Italy has been very, very good to me (both for Tours and riders).
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
I lost to Drew!?!!!
I lost to New England mud and cross isn’t racing.
Wolverine I could have lost to……He’s got claws for hands!
You also lost to Van P.
Another New Englander, another lover of cross. Can you see the trend?
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
That's a good point.
Few pictures exist of me actually riding the damn thing. Thanks Nik ;-)
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
I so have your back man!!!
(no pun at all intended here, none. really)
Drew really does ride it sometimes! Here’s shot early in the race:
And the Finish:
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
I hope I get mud like that again this weekend
The dry courses are killing me.
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
Good luck babe!
I don’t mind the mud a bit but I do like it not raining on me trying to score the races. :-) Survived my first run at Chief Ref. :-) Back to Chief Judge this weekend. Woo hoo!
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
Congratulations
I dream of the day when you will relegate Drew in a sprint, screaming “Over the line! Mark it zero, dude”
That would be priceless!
We’d have to make sure someone had a video going. ha!
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
Congratulations, ZR
Does it bother you that my team selection strategy involved picking a few favorites and then padding out my roster with 1 pointers whose last names start with the letter ‘A’?
It is still amazing to me that Piti was the highest scoring rider
Just have a hard time getting that through my mind for some reason.
Woot! 119th.
So hoping to be in the top 50% but not quite there. Here’s to less injuries next year!
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
From a few glorious moments in the leader's jersey....
To finish in 31st.
Not bad, but a couple of my guys let me down.
Stuey, no points at all? Really? What happened ?
Gibo, I knew that you were a long short for the overall at the Giro, but I really thought that you might generate more than 10 lousy points across an entire season!
Gerrans and Haussler, great to see two Aussies (yes I consider Haussler an Aussie!), my two big returns! One only wonders what Albi might have done if Quickstep had made some better decisions…
"Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill" - Fausto Coppi
Well seeing how Davis never really was close to winning a sprint in the Giro...
I don’t think he would have gotten above 100 points if he started the Tour. Just my theory
by Vlaanderen90 on Oct 21, 2009 5:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Agh, really thought I'd make the top 20 after PhilGil's late spurt, but 24th aint too bad I suppose!
It’s my first effort….top 20 next year! Incidentally, why is Josenka’s team listed twice?
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Oh, just seen Josenka's rant above. I'm 23rd! Woohoo!
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Don't go there...
It’s in another thread :(
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
15th after the DSQ of Danilo Di Luca
… and would have been 2nd without his DSQ.
Still a bit disappointing.
But congrats to Team Beer Lao!
Next year I won’t pick any dubious riders, only ‘clean’ names.
And then hope they remain ‘clean’ the whole season.
Hmm, Di Luca kept 369 (out of his 1314) points gained in the Giro D'Italia
Not all his Giro points were subtracted, so I without his DSQ I would have been 4th (3rd after removing Josenka’s 2nd place).
Why weren’t all the points subtracted?
What is now the actual rule applied to doping riders ?
Read about this in 'Brief Contest Notes' thread..
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
You have no idea how often I miss things...
I think I remembered about Danilo because Chris made a Solomon-like call. Clever ;)
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
It's not worth it
next year I’m going with formation Freed From Fuentes’ Freezer
Yay! 61st for me, and that's despite picking Gaspa and Rogers and Hoste
(who I all thought would have stellar years. Huh.) Did I listen to ursula too much, too?
I had only 3 riders that scored 0 points (Mollema, Spilak and Jeannesson.) I can see that some teams had more, some less, but were there any teams who had all riders score points?
I had Mollema and Intxausti with big fat zeros.
Much though I love Intxausti, he’s not in my good books :-( Hopefully Euskaltel will be more to his liking….
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Wow
all the way up to 50th from 84th after worlds. Merci Phillippe G.!
"The road is our agony, but also our daily bread; and at night, when it is deserted and the moon glistens on the asphalt, the ridiculous dreams of racers like us pass up and down it."
--Dino Buzzati
The VDS Dream Team
As far as I can figure, would earn you 22,158 points and would be as follows….
- Name (Cost, Total Points Earned,Value)
- Alejandro Valverde (25, 2388, 95.52)
- Mark Cavendish (20, 1688, 84.40)
- Thor Hushovd (16, 1560, 97.50)
- Danilo DiLuca (12, 1314, 109.50)
- Matti Breschel (8, 870, 108.75)
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (6, 1131, 188.50)
- Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (6, 688, 114.67)
- Vincenzo Nibali (6, 599, 99.83)
- Karsten Kroon (6, 590, 98.33)
- Tyler Farrar (4, 1090, 272.50)
- Tony Martin (4, 910, 227.50)
- Stefano Garzelli (4, 845, 211.25)
- Alessandro Petacchi (4, 754, 188.50)
- Allan Davis (4, 660, 165.00)
- Bradley Wiggins (4, 630, 157.50)
- Fabian Wegmann (4, 565, 141.25)
- Andre Greipel (2, 1075, 537.50)
- Heinrich Haussler (2, 1065, 532.50)
- Simon Gerrans (2, 900, 450.00)
- Serguei Ivanov (2, 815, 407.50)
- Rein Taaramae (1, 540, 540.00)
- Michele Scarponi (1, 456, 456.00)
- Frantisek Rabon (1, 370, 370.00)
- Kevin Seeldrayers (1, 335, 335.00)
- Philipe Deignan (1, 320, 320.00)
Total Cost 146
Total Points Earned 22,158
Pretty sure this team follows the rules with 25 riders, total cost of no more than 150 points, utilizing a single 25 point rider.
Can anyone do better?
Well.. I think you failed on the:
“with 25 riders” part
And.. Di Luca’s points are distract to 300 point.. So there has to be probably someone else there
There are only 25 riders
The numbering is wrong because I messed up and put a numbered list tag in front of the header row (Name, cost, etc). And since you cannot edit your comments, I’m stuck with that. And as for DiLuca, I assumed that the spreadsheet reflected Chris’ ruling regarding the points he was awarded. Is that not the case?
Swap out DiLuca with SamSan and you get 22,274 points!
Name (Cost, Total Points Earned,Value)
- Alejandro Valverde (25, 2388, 95.52)
- Mark Cavendish (20, 1688, 84.40)
- Thor Hushovd (16, 1560, 97.50)
- Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (14, 1430, 102.14)
- Matti Breschel (8, 870, 108.75)
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (6, 1131, 188.50)
- Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (6, 688, 114.67)
- Vincenzo Nibali (6, 599, 99.83)
- Karsten Kroon (6, 590, 98.33)
- Tyler Farrar (4, 1090, 272.50)
- Tony Martin (4, 910, 227.50)
- Stefano Garzelli (4, 845, 211.25)
- Alessandro Petacchi (4, 754, 188.50)
- Allan Davis (4, 660, 165.00)
- Bradley Wiggins (4, 630, 157.50)
- Fabian Wegmann (4, 565, 141.25)
- Andre Greipel (2, 1075, 537.50)
- Heinrich Haussler (2, 1065, 532.50)
- Simon Gerrans (2, 900, 450.00)
- Serguei Ivanov (2, 815, 407.50)
- Rein Taaramae (1, 540, 540.00)
- Michele Scarponi (1, 456, 456.00)
- Frantisek Rabon (1, 370, 370.00)
- Kevin Seeldrayers (1, 335, 335.00)
- Philipe Deignan (1, 320, 320.00)
Total Cost 148
Total Points 22,274
What are you, a fucking Director Sportif now?
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
Chris draws a lot of water in this blog Jimbo
You don’t draw shit.
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
That ended poorly...
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 21, 2009 7:42 PM EDT reply actions
I was thinking of
giving up on the VDS as I was at 121. or something after the Tour, far from my goal of top-100, and regretted not selecting Cav or AC. But suddenly my team started winning. Three stages in Poland, five stages in BeNeLux, six stages in the Vuelta, Worlds TT and the four last races, and lots of other races, both VDS and non-VDS, and before I knew, I ended up in 5th 4th 5th!! I think Boom and Tuft got their points for the Worlds TT mixed up, and then EuroPeloton jumps ahead of me…
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