Emakumeen Bira Fantasy Game

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 7, 2010 3:04 PM EDT

Over on BBC 606, my friend Urlaub and I are putting together a fantasy game for the Giro Donne, which we're trialling for the Emakumeen Bira here

Teams will be 8 riders, with no more than 1 rider per team, and we'll count the scores for the first riders across the line. We're scoring in 2 ways - aggregate time and with a scoring system borrowed from the Cycling Fever World Cup game, to see which works best.

If you'd like to test your knowledge of women's cycling, please come and play. If you don't want to sign up to another cycling site (the issue I have at the mo'!) you can post your team here, with a team name, and I'll add it to the thread. I should say, most of us over there are just learning about women's cycling, so we're not expecting to be especailly good....

Deadline for teams is 11pm BST Wednesday. Any questions (or suggestions) shout away!

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I'll have a go at lunchtime!

So there’s no points allowance? You can pick whoever you like?

"A mountain is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity" - Robert Millar

by Albertina on Jun 8, 2010 4:45 AM EDT reply actions

No points allowance, just 1 rider per team

Since we can’t find a deent startlist, we’ve using the startlist for Durango-Durango as a proxy:

http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=27199

The plan is that, given that the startlist is incomplete – if we discover on Thursday that a rider selected is not starting, then a last minute substitute can be found but MUST be from the same team (to stop people from just picking the winner afterward).

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 8, 2010 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Gah, I meant no more than 1 rider from any team!

I truly suck at this writing malarkey!

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 8, 2010 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions

That confused me for a moment, then I realised what you meant ;-)

"A mountain is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity" - Robert Millar

by Albertina on Jun 9, 2010 4:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Ok, I will take...

Judith Arndt (HTC)
Emma Johansson (Red Sun)
Claudia Hausler (Cervelo)
Nicole Cooke (GB)
Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit)
Vicki Whitelaw (Lotto)
Edita Pucinskaite (Gauss)
Tiffany Cromwell (Australia)

"A mountain is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity" - Robert Millar

by Albertina on Jun 9, 2010 4:57 AM EDT reply actions

Excellent, I'll add you in

I’ll post updates on how you’re doing on the Emakumeen Bira thread here that I’m sure will appear – or check in on 606 if you like too!

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 9, 2010 7:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Here you are

Noemi Cantele (HTC)
Emma Johansson (Red Sun)
Claudia (Cervelo)
Nicole Cooke (GB)
Elena Berlato (Top Girls)
Rachel Neylan (Australia)
Martine Bras (Gauss)
Marianne Vos (Bloeit)

Reserves if some of the above aren’t there
Andrea Bosman (NL)
Christel Ferrier Bruneau (Futuroscope/France)
Marta Vilajosana (Valdarno)

by Monty. on Jun 9, 2010 2:21 PM EDT reply actions

Don't subs have to be from the same team as those who aren't there?

"A mountain is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity" - Robert Millar

by Albertina on Jun 9, 2010 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep!

If any of your riders turn out not to have started, you can sub from the same team.

Lovely DZI from Cycling Fever has updated the startlist here – if you want to make adjustments, you have until 11 BST tonight

Thanks for the team!

I should caveat that we’re dry-running our game, to see how it could work for Giro Donne – so any suggestions for improvements, let me know

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 9, 2010 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Startlist

here, I mean

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 9, 2010 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Rats

I was hoping to get away with not having to name eight subs. Are the rules different if you call them reserves?

by Monty. on Jun 9, 2010 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions

One possible little tweak for the Giro version

Each team should have eight riders, 1-8 for Cervelo, then 11-18 through to 201-218. How about making everyone have a 1-8 of their own. The team leader gets the x1 jersey then the rest are usually alphabetical, so you can only have one top rider. Or maybe a team of nine with two x1’s allowed. Everyone’s still going to pick Emma Pooley ’cos Claudia gets the 1 jersey as defending champion, but it stops all the teams looking too identical.

by Monty. on Jun 9, 2010 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions

We thought about that

On 606 a lot of us play the Tour Champion Grand Tour game, which divides riders into categories, and you can have 1 GC contender, 2 mountain domestiques, 3 sprinter/TTers and 3 “others” (with only 1 rider/team). We did think about trying to divide the riders in similar ways, but there’s a lot les specialism.

But it WOULD be easy to spot the team leader, and say max. 2 per squad…. it would mean people who weren’t that knowledgeable about women’s cycling would have to do more-research-less-“I think I’ve heard of her”…. Which would fit with my plan to raise awareness of women’s cycling…..!

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 11, 2010 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions

If I'm hopeless with Spanish male riders I really haven't got a clue when it comes to Spanish women.

& I kind of feel I ought to pick at least one…

"I was just trying to keep warm" - Ian Stannard on finishing third in KBK

by civetta on Jun 9, 2010 4:48 PM EDT reply actions

I was just thinking the exact same thing!

Except I a am generally lucky when I pick the Spanish men.

I’m going on the principle of track stars are pretty fast…

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 9, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

The best Spanish rider is injured

Iturriagaechevarria on Safi Pasta. And of the others only Vilajosana’s name ring a bell.

Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...

by TheFigurehead on Jun 9, 2010 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, the impossibly-named (unless you're Albertina) one is one of the very few I know.

"I was just trying to keep warm" - Ian Stannard on finishing third in KBK

by civetta on Jun 9, 2010 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Or if you use cut-and-paste :)

But I see that Pigeons use a spelling that looks more Basque than the one I found.

Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...

by TheFigurehead on Jun 9, 2010 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

My spelling's from her site

here – the Basque spelling, I think

Poor woman, having to shorten her name!

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 10, 2010 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep, in Basque the V is a B. And of course the tx ;)

"A mountain is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity" - Robert Millar

by Albertina on Jun 11, 2010 5:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Gosh, just like in Greek

well apart from the tx

by Monty. on Jun 11, 2010 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Eneritz Iturriagaetxaberria Mazaga

Is my official Basquest Rider In The Peloton, and thus, a heroine for me. I’m gutted she broer her collarbone and missed this mini-Spanish season… Mind you, Safi are having an appalling run of luck at the moment. Breaking one’s collarbone is minor, next to Marina Romoli’s injuries…

I also love her website, and the fact her dad owns a bike shop

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 9, 2010 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

And the shop is in....Durango!

"A mountain is not an obstacle, it is an opportunity" - Robert Millar

by Albertina on Jun 9, 2010 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Team Elsy Jacobs

Noemi Cantele
Emma Johansson
Giulia Lazzerini
Annemiek van Vleuten
Edita Pucinskaite
Tiffany Cromwell
Chantal Blaak
Charlotte Becker

Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...

by TheFigurehead on Jun 9, 2010 5:22 PM EDT reply actions

You need to make a sub

Apparently Giulia Lazzerini didn’t start – so pick another Michela Fanini rider to swop in (without looking at the results! ;-) )

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 10, 2010 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Ah, then it will be Edwige Pitel

Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...

by TheFigurehead on Jun 10, 2010 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Am I too late?

Judith Arndt (HTC)
Emma Johansson (Red Sun)
Claudia Hausler (Cervelo)
Nicole Cooke (GB)
Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit)
Tiffany Cromwell(Aus)
Annemiek van Vleuten(Nederland Bloeit)
Noemi Cantele(HTC)

I like bikes!!!

Bec*

by Bec on Jun 10, 2010 10:46 AM EDT reply actions

Bec, you've got 2xHTC riders and 2 x Nederland Bloeit!

You can only have 1 rider per team! You need to make a sub ASAP, ideally bfore you see any results! Otherwise we’ll pull a name out of a hat for the places!

by Sarah Connolly on Jun 10, 2010 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions