Most Improved Rider of the Year: Nominations are open!
by ursula on Oct 31, 2009 5:28 AM EDT
68 comments
Here's the flip side to Most Disappointing Rider and in a weird way are sort of like the Best Supporting actress/actor categories in the Academy Awards to the leading categories of Best Rider and Best Race. Which rider in your estimation improved the most this year? And as a side issue, should neo-pros like Jakob Fuglsang be included? Should there be a rookie of the year poll-or maybe best U-23/young rider of the year poll? Anyway, the floor is open.
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Johnny Hoogerland
From zero to hero!
De FIETS en anders NIETS
by Lopex on Oct 31, 2009 8:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I cannot wait to see what he does next year....he just goes and goes like a train even when he has nothing left!
"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.
by Albertina on Oct 31, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Excellent list.
I would strongly favor a rider who held a high CQ ranking because it’s easier to jump those first few hundred places when you start at 500+ versus starting in the top 100 or 200 and ending up top 20 or 30 or better. I guess I’ll have to actually look for my choices.
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 9:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I've got three to think about.
Boss Hog – improved from 105 CQ last year to #6 this year.
Tyler Farrar from 174 CQ last year to #9
Heinrich Hausler (Some know him as Barbie Barbie) from 278 to #16 this year.
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Definitely Barbie Barbie
Improvement in the classics, in the GTs, all around. VDS-wise he was the one low pointer you either were glad you had, or were kicking yourself for leaving off the team.
Jens Voigt doesn’t know where you live, but he knows exactly where you will die.
by OnTheRivet on Oct 31, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hard to argue with that
"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.
by Albertina on Oct 31, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Right, so that would be something like
Cav 21 → 4
EBH 105 → 6
Farrar 174 → 9
SamSan 32 → 7
GloriousHH 278 → 16
by tedvdw on Oct 31, 2009 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Quality before quantity.
Now how do we go from here. ( flips coin )
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Numbers are so overrated!
It’s all about feeling.
Have you seen Ladagnous this year?
What do you fear most?
1. coup d’etat
2. putsch
by Frinking on Oct 31, 2009 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Rein Taaraeme.
We knew he had a lot of talent, why didn’t I pick him in VDS?, and he has had a very good season. Rode in the picture in a lot of races and a win in de Tour de l’ain, 8th in the Tour de Suisse, hmm that was wasn’t hilly, and the mountain classification in Vuelta a Pais Vasco he rode good. I’m anxious to see how he ride next year
What do you fear most?
1. coup d’etat
2. putsch
by Frinking on Oct 31, 2009 9:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Here's something I find really amusing
Re-watch any race Taaramae is in.
Look carefully at the crankset on his bike: for most, if not all of the year, he was riding an srm amateur (or possibly pro—but certainly not the high-level ones) crankset.
Cofidis couldn’t set him up with better equipment?
by R Mc on Oct 31, 2009 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wiggins.
CQ ranking jumped from 866 to 43.
by majope on Oct 31, 2009 9:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I like Bradley lots but did CQ include Olympic track medals.
I guess that would apply to Cavendish too. Or even SamSan’s Olympic road race.
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
CQ included Olympic road but not track races.
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 10:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Rookie of the year would be fun!
I like a separate U25 or neo-pro of the year list, that would be cool.
I like the Haussler pick for most improved. I’d also put Gilbert on the list – for expanding his range into the hilly classics. And Wiggins for going all wiggy on the Tour.
by gavia on Oct 31, 2009 12:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Wiggy? I thought it was Twiggy...
Truly, can that be defined? Anyway, the PdC Lexicon needs updating I say.
"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
by Josenka on Oct 31, 2009 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wiggins for me
I don’t think anyone else improvement was quite so dramatic as his. HH is another good one though.
by chapeaux! on Oct 31, 2009 12:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Wiggins had a good year in terms of Olympics so he
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wiggins Olympic achievements weren't calculated into CQ's numbers.
Both he and Cav gave up chances to score on the road so their improvements might not be as dramatic as they seem. But I don’t think Wiggins is a bad choice either.
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
THE GLORIOUS ONE!
nuff said
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
by Phil H. on Oct 31, 2009 12:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I hoped Jerome Coppel
would do better this year
but he is still VERY young. A fan
Moo
by Willj on Oct 31, 2009 12:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Lucky Seven: El Fares, Gavazzi, Goss, Haussler, Hoogerland, Van Hummel, and Wiggins.
Hmm, perhaps Basso should be included due to his CQ Score change between 2008 and 2009 but mayhap that needs the asterix love.
"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
by Josenka on Oct 31, 2009 1:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh, forgot to nominate Zirbel!
"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
by Josenka on Oct 31, 2009 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, no Basso
No improvement due to coming back from suspension.
by ursula on Oct 31, 2009 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
On the women's side
I’d nominate Emma Pooley – a couple big wins from a long way out.
by gavia on Oct 31, 2009 1:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Does Evie Stevens count as improved?
going from nothing to burning off the field at Worlds.
by Monty. on Oct 31, 2009 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Heh, good point
I still like Pooley though – Stevens, next year after she wins a few, which she likely will, if this year was anything to go by.
by gavia on Oct 31, 2009 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah I would go with Stevens over Pooley. Pooley was winning before and improvement wasn't as dramatic as Stevens
Evie rocked everybody this year. When you go from a Cat 4 to a Pro in a year then that is most improved
by Vlaanderen90 on Oct 31, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I go with Evelyn, holy shit what natural talent.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 31, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Eh, two world cup wins
on long solo breaks. Man, that was stellar racing from Pooley.
by gavia on Oct 31, 2009 7:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Aren't you in charge of starting the Women we should all know better poll?
If you don’t want to do it you can always delegate or just trade for a mention inthe next “Wednesday Session”.
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Oct 31, 2009 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ooooh, that would be a fun post to do
Hey Monty, any interest in doing up this one? A Women we should know better post? If not, I can do, but since you’ve been following the womens racing all season for us… hint hint ;-)
by gavia on Nov 1, 2009 12:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I was planning to do a few team profiles
when next season gets a bit closer and we get the final-ish confirmed team line-ups. The squads aren’t so big as the men’s ones so its a bit more manageable, especially when we get to the little Italian squads that tend to follow the reverse-Astana pattern with one Eastern European star and a lot of anonymous Italian domestiques.
by Monty. on Nov 1, 2009 12:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
sounds fun
maybe i’ll do a ten women you should know post in the meantime.
by gavia on Nov 1, 2009 1:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
YAY!
Cancellara was robbed! There is none better.
by Mark Frank on Nov 1, 2009 9:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Plus she won an early season race,
one of the GP Costa Etruria thingies, in the same way. I think that Pooley is my favourite rider this year because she has changed the way the peloton works. Too often the early breaks came from riders who didn’t have the legs to get to the finishing line, whether anyone was chasing or not. But when Emma goes you know that everyone else will have to work to catch her.
by Monty. on Nov 1, 2009 6:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Mos' def'
One of the reasons why I put her over Stevens, for now. Also, her tendency to go off early helped dictate the American tactics at Worlds – they constantly had to control her.
by gavia on Nov 1, 2009 12:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
"Force the pace on the climbs"
as Meredith Miller put it. Her photo album is pretty good too.
by Monty. on Nov 1, 2009 1:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Must admit I'm looking ahead.
Emma is a shining star right now, getting impressive results with overpowering effort. She’s a …uh, what’s the female expression for a ‘stud’?
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Nov 1, 2009 1:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I thought this was most improved? Pooley did the long breakaway thing last year at Trofeo Alfredo Binda World Cup
but Stevens was not even on the map and comes out and shocks the whole peloton. Not to take away anything from Pooley because this was her best year yet
by Vlaanderen90 on Nov 1, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
different category: most improved Tour de France rider of the year is?
Has to be Lance.
by peterfish on Oct 31, 2009 2:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Lance for sure is the King of comebacks
Basso, Landis, Vino, you name them have all but failed to return to their former glory. Only Mr Lance Armstrong, The Big Boss, has risen from his couch to challenge the likes of Twiggy, and his has given them a beating. Apart from Andy, all the guys in the top 30 had three years within which to raise their game, a head start but Lance just came back and thrashed them all, now that’s improvement at his age.
by joeyc on Oct 31, 2009 4:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
But when he retired he had just won the Tour
and this year he finished 3rd, how is that most improved? Plus, most improved usually requires that a rider have raced the year before, and be most improved from the year past. If there was a best comeback poll, Lance would probably win.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
by Phil H. on Oct 31, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I doubt I'd paint Lance's 3rd place as way better than Basso's comeback
Yeah, Basso didn’t win a GT (and yes, the tour has more A-listers…), but he did get 4th in both the Giro and the Vuelta. Those results aren’t shabby.
by dansel on Oct 31, 2009 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So many players in this competition.
Toss up between HH and Wiggo for me. And they land…. it’s HH. There you have it. Can’t dispute the toss, right?
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Oct 31, 2009 4:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Lance's improvement
Despite the fact that Lance did not ride the Tour Last year, he was ranked among the bottom end of Elite Men at the TDU. He has risen from nowhere to place 31st and the second best American behind Farrar on the UCI rankings.
by joeyc on Oct 31, 2009 4:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
That's a ridiclous stat though, seeing he had no ranking because he didn't race the year before
that’s like Tiger Woods sitting out a year, have his ranking plummet, then come back and do what he does and get back to the top. That’s not an improvement that’s time off.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
by Phil H. on Oct 31, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm going to go with Haussler
His sprinting didn’t improve a ton from what I remember, but man did he show class in the spring.
I’m gonna put money on him being competitive in Amstel Gold before too long too. Now that I’d love to see.
by dansel on Oct 31, 2009 5:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
If he gets to the finale of some hilly classics with the top riders
They will be in serious trouble. They will have to dump him prior to that or he would almost be assured of a win if it were to come down to him and some sprinty climbers.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Nov 2, 2009 4:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
What about Andy,
He’s gone from National U23 champion to National Elite champion; he’s also managed to finish in the top ten of the three classics and maintained his collection of white jerseys by picking up a third jersey this year and a good supporting role for his teammates.
I’m looking forward to seeing more from him next season.
by joeyc on Oct 31, 2009 5:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
andy schleck
steady progression trend
"Race radios in Cat 4?"
by gravel road on Nov 1, 2009 12:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Greipel stepped up pretty well...
Went from about ten wins to about twenty, one GT stage to four, won a points jersey. Last year I was barely aware of him, this year it seemed he was winning everything that Cav wasn’t.
by tgartner on Nov 1, 2009 2:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
What about Sir Chris Hoy?
Returning from serious injury, if you’d seen the championships you would agree that his back on the money, winning as always.
by joeyc on Nov 1, 2009 3:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
We're talking about road racing.
If I just had one more gear, I...
by SpunOut on Nov 2, 2009 4:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Haussler
Sentiment would go with Wiggins, but Haussler’s results were just amazing compared to last year.
by BDBrian on Nov 1, 2009 6:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Add one more
Vincenzo Nibali. The numbers don’t scream it but the Shark of the Strait did something very difficult this year, improving to the ranks of Tour de France contender. This is a harder step than most.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris... on Nov 1, 2009 10:22 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I think everyone saw Nibali coming though.
I like the riders for most improved who surprise you by almost coming out of nowhere.
No horn, watch for finger.
by sminer on Nov 1, 2009 1:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
yep there is that group of 5 - 7 riders
that one expects to be there when the peloton shrinks on huge Tour mountain days …. he seems to have joined that elite club. fun rider to watch
Moo
by Willj on Nov 2, 2009 3:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
even more fun when the road goes down....
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Nov 2, 2009 3:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Simon Gerrans
I’m surprised this VDS bargain is not on the list. He has had a wonderful year.
by 4estru on Nov 2, 2009 7:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
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