VDS 2011: Meet the Men's Winners!
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 26, 2011 4:22 PM EDT
in FSA Directeur Sportif
Email
Print
You've seen the standings by now, so this isn't exactly news, but it's time to officially congratulate our winners of the Podium Cafe Virtual Directeur Sportif Men's Competition! And we're not just gonna congratulate them, we're going to meet them too...
In third place, say hey to Komanda Dobrodetel, kommanded by a longtime Cafe occupant swells, a/k/a Scott. The K-Ds ranked #1 in teams employing a Gilbert Strategy, and sure enough it was Scott's big ticket items that drove home his podium place: Gilbert, J-Rod and Tony Martin gave him a 6600-point base to pad with his small-dollar pickups. But you don't get on the podium without a lot of those paying off, and sure enough, although Scott's 1-point pickups amounted to nothing, he got one solid contribution after another from the 2-8 pointers. Pretty much everyone save Ryder Hesjedal, and Koldo Fernandez exceeded his 2010 output. So, Gilbert plus an avalanche of guys coming up bigger than planned. Not too shabby.
On the flip... Scott reveals his near-winning strategy, as do the other podium guys!
Here's Scott's 6-Point-Plan for success. Remember, he finished higher than you did.
1) I took notes during the 2010 VDS season. If I read an interview with a rider that impressed me that I previously didn’t know much about, or see a particular rider’s results on a particular course, I would jot it down. (Denis Galimzyanov, Rigoberto Uran, Christophe LeMevel, Alexander Kristoff)2) I really tried to maximize my guestimations with middle-tier VDS cost riders. I didn’t want to go all top-heavy and then a bunch of 1 point fillers. This was a main goal of mine…which, really, is just me swagging who I think is going to return decent value. (Tony Martin, Sebastian Langeveld, Domenico Pozzovivo, Pierrick Fedrigo)
3) There are those guys that you always see "really close". I mean they don’t always win, but they’re right there. I tried to pick up a few those. (Yauheni Hutarovich, Koldo Fernandez, Daniele Bennati)
4) Close to guys that are "really close" are the guys I thought might be due for a breakout year (based on 2010 results). (Philippe Gilbert, Ryder Hesjedal, Alessandro Ballan)
5) A few guys struck me as those ready to be players in the shorter stage races & 2nd/3rd tier GT racers, so I picked them. (SamSan, Uran, LeMevel, T. Martin, J.C. Peraud)
6) LUCK:
Obviously those six points are in reverse order of importance.
Second place went to Burgi's Glorious Bastards, directed by Davey H of the Netherlands. Davey is 23, and has been playing fantasy cycling at Cyclingfever.com, which runs probably the world's biggest game and plenty of in-season short competitions as well. If you want more, that's your source. Cyclingfever's calling card is Dutch fantasy game ringers, though, and Davey is the latest example. In his first year of VDS (which he discovered via twitter and thanks to Pigeons!), he came in 23rd. Second year, up to second.
Davey's strategy is to eschew the mid-level guys. As he put it, "I chose 5x 10+ and 2x 20+, mostly GC riders to take a lot of GC points (J. Rodriguez, C. Evans, M. Scarponi, R. Gesink, I. Anton). With Boasson Hagen and Haussler I hoped to score in classics and sprints. With the points/budget I had left, I wanted to score with cheap riders. I chose 1 mid-cost rider (R. Uran) who was only 6 points. For the other 17 spots, I chose all 1-2 priced riders."
Sounds simple enough, and it is -- if you hit one home run after another with your cheap pickups: Kittel, Degenkolb, Cobo, Galimzyanov, Poels, Sutton... the list goes on. BGBs did so well with these guys, and their veteran core of Cadel Evans, J-Rod, Scarponi and Boasson Hagen that they could absorb three donuts and Heinrich Haussler.
And now our winner...
Cyclemania JH put on an impressive performance, rarely letting up in its pursuit of the top spot. Or at least, they seemed to be there whenever I looked. Cyclemania's DS is Johan, another recruit from Cyclingfever, another Dutch cycling fantasy game ringer. Johan beat out Davey with one thing we older guys all prize: experience. Johan has put in "many years" at the helm of his fantasy teams, and attributed his win this year to "programs of different riders, historical results and my idea of which promising young riders could have a succesful breakthrough this year. So you get a fine mix of riders, (plus) a little wisdom and luck."
Looking at his squad, it's clear that he owes his victory to one rider: Peter Sagan. No less than 14 riders appear on both teams: guys like Evans, Kittel, Scarponi, Gesink, JRod, Galimzyanov, Degenkolb, etc. [For reference, the team most similar to mine had 10 of the same guys; not that anyone should emulate me.] So the difference comes in those other 11 guys, and at the top of the list, scoring 240 more points than his counterpart (? Cobo) at BGB, is Sagan. Sagan opened up the gap, and a handful of guys like Bennati, Rujano and Simone Ponzi padded it.
So there you have it. To recap, the secrets to VDS success are: 1) luck; 2) being Dutch; and 3) Marcel Kittel. Got it?
91 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Am I off probation yet? Itching for my old avatar and new signature.
I picked Riccardo Ricco for my 2011 VDS team, and submitted said team well before the submission deadline. I fully understand the error of my ways, and plead with the VDS Gods to allow me to resubmit my team.
congratulations guys
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
OMG, I am responsible for Davey?
Fabulous! That means I deserve three quarters of his points, right?
(I am terrible at fantasy games, ever since the first TourChampion TdF game I played, where I was completely convinced that the TdF would be won by…… Mick Rogers! The shame!)
Aka Pigeons!
ps I am putting in my request for Dutch citizenship as I type
Well, I’m blonde, & Marianne Vos is my favourite rider, & I can say “bedankt”, “proficiat” and “met de versnelling”…. they have to let me in, right?
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 26, 2011 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Congrats to everyone..!
And we are all winners..! Great times and experiences during this 2011…! Is 2012 ready to start yet?
Help PdC Club in STRAVA... Welcome to Johnnie Burik from California..
Who is going to take the 24 spot i n the team?
Who is going to take the 33 in the Club? 2011 meters: 876.908..! Only 123.092 to a MILLION...!
Please acknowledge the last VDS team in the the top 100
Team Thunder Snow. Built on good recognizance of promising young riders and terrible judgement about everyone else.
"Oh man, it’s going to take days to kill all these people!"
Average points per week of VDS teams and riders
(click for original size)
"Beer helps." -- Ant1.
by tedvdw on Oct 27, 2011 3:24 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
My team represents that grey line on the bottom...
(no, I am not crying…really, I am not)
by JustJoshinYa on Oct 27, 2011 8:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Sure you guys might have done well
(congrats btw) but I probably had more beer than you did during the selection process. I’m ok with the choices I made.
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
Quantity vs quality
Just because it comes in a 55 gallon drum or whatever Fosters uses these days doesn’t mean it’s good.
De cross gaat out that door.
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 27, 2011 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Which is why even mentioning Fosters will get you laughed out of any pub here
(except for the ones we’ve built specifically to keep British backpackers in one location we can avoid).
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 27, 2011 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Right
Coopers?
De cross gaat out that door.
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 28, 2011 1:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Here's a picture of what you get when you ask for a tasting sample
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 28, 2011 3:07 AM EDT up reply actions
We take a different view of what constitutes tasting.
We’ve also adapted our wine tasting to suit this belief system.
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 28, 2011 5:27 AM EDT up reply actions
And of course spitting is so crass...
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Aren't British Backpackers on a par with rabbits and those toads with you?
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 28, 2011 6:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Well technically
Rabbits > British Backpackers because you can eat rabbits, but British Backpackers > Cane Toads because there’s a chance you can use each other to get visas/work permits/passports at opposite ends of the world.
Cane Toads are just fucking evil.
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 28, 2011 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions
It's possible that I stole it, but certain that I didn't do anything with it.
Setting something like that up sounds like it would cut into valuable drinking time.*
*Drinking time in Australia is also commonly referred to as “time”.
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 27, 2011 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I wanted to expound briefly on "LUCK" -
a – In the previous 2 VDS seasons, whenever you saw reports of a crash, one of my guys seemed to be involved. I had none of that this year.
b – While guys like Sagan were grabbing headlines, Galimzyanov, Bennati & Hutarovich were quietly pulling down 10, 20 & 30 pts all season. It adds up.
c – I can’t recall my exact thought process when I picked Jurgen Roelandts, but I’m glad I did. I think I took a stab at an up-and-comer on the same team as a superstud hoping he might go unmarked every now and then. Again…luck.
I didn’t agonize over CQ Rankings when trying to decide between 2 pointers like I’ve done in the past. I just went with my gut using some loose guidelines and got very lucky. I will use this same "method" for the 2012 VDS season and prolly finish in the 600’s.
Bennati
is one of the keys to the entire system. Not that I personally was able to understand this. But while some of us look at him and see “declining sprinter” others see “steady stream of points”.
De cross gaat out that door.
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 27, 2011 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Vicar's Daughter Scandal?
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 27, 2011 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I would enjoy seeing this put to the test.
But then again, so would you…
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 28, 2011 5:28 AM EDT up reply actions
He ended up being my 3rd highest scorer, so my thoughts on this should be taken w/ a boulder of salt
I always pick a ‘declining sprinter’ in my VDS in the 6-8 pt range – and they typically don’t disappoint. They know how to be at the business end of the race and steadily get their points. I have plenty of roster spots left for the1,2,4 pointers – so Bennati and the like are a nice insurance policy to at least score something without costing a lot.
Other than that, I should not be listened to for VDS advice.
Benna was on and off my team all winter.
never thought he would pay off let alone be more than 800 points. still surprised he out performed bole, but that is one reason I am top 100 instead of winning this thing.z
'When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning' - Dr. Reiner Knizia
by bought with blood on Oct 27, 2011 4:07 PM EDT up reply actions
I came 341st out of 682
Pretty hard to get more middle-of-the field than that! Hey, at least I was in the top 50%!
I'm gutted to have finished outside the top 10
I was hovering around 8th most of the year from Trentino through to San Sebastian. I can’t recall being lower than 20th or higher than about 6th. Ended up 15th, with a sense of being underwhelmed by what is, overall, not that bad a result.
Three things in particular were in the end damaging:
1) Deciding that I didn’t think Galimzyanov was the real deal hurt me a bit in the end (but he’s still not – he’s useless at climbing so is rather limited, but still good enough for VDS points).
2) Reasoning that Kittel, as a time-trialist (I had him pegged as a prologue guy not a sprinter), wasn’t going to get enough opportunities to make him worthwhile.
3) Relying on a combination of some young wild-cards and old faithful riders for the 1-2 pointers; I picked useless neo-pro or young guys, and the older guys weren’t those who really get chances (Egoi Martinez). Of the young guys, I picked Tim Roe because he was the neo-pro who went in the break on a hilly stage in Oz… when that happened in 2010 it was Peter Sagan. So I reasoned that perhaps having the power in Jan to get and stay in a break with top riders in Oz was a sign of high ability and opportunity to make an instant impact. Unfortunately, it’s not.
When I look at the team I picked, I made plenty good choices. But I look at the 40ish rider shortlist I’d made then scored names off -
Peraud, Kittel, Galimz, Gadret, Gatto, Rujano, Westra – 2 or 3 of those instead of who I picked in the 1-2 price range and I’d have podium’d at least.
Le sigh.
"Not that bad a result"
Dude! Congrats anyway.
I look forward to the day that I say something stupid ~ JJY
Top 100 barely
not bad with Anton and Menchov basically falling off a cliff instead of being double top ten GC guys. Lucky picks in Ballan and Gerrans and Bettancourt. Oh and I didn’t remember picking Devenyns, thought I had Ciolek.
When I got up to 14th after the Giro I thought that my double GT strategy would pay off. Then Kreuz gets picked for the Tour, and Anton and Menchov decide that overal GC isn’t for them. Scarponi goes to the vuelta but takes his toys and goes home after falling of his bike, oh and gesink breaks his leg.
I don’t think I lost because of luck though. Bad luck would have been going with my initial core team of Hausler, Pozzato, Breschel, Ricco. Oh well 2012 is just around the corner.
'When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning' - Dr. Reiner Knizia
by bought with blood on Oct 27, 2011 9:30 AM EDT reply actions
Congrats to the podium
Proud that my Badass [Ti] Sporks placed in the top 100 and beat the teams with Contador as their leader… hahaha
Much respect to PopUp Rolen for wearing his avatar of shame all year. I vote that it can go, and for Ted to post a wall of shame for those who had to request a change after submitting their team with Ricco.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
by sminer on Oct 27, 2011 9:31 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
+2 on both
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
+3
I am thinking of changing my Avatar to some sort of Brice Feillu shame thing – although I’ll definitely pick him again next year
moo
I'm getting a donut with a tiny bite off it avatar for N. Roche
He’s Irish right, see what I did there?
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
Shame it's not made out of potato...
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 27, 2011 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm back!
I picked Riccardo Ricco for my 2011 VDS team, and submitted said team well before the submission deadline. I fully understand the error of my ways, and plead with the VDS Gods to allow me to resubmit my team.
or maybe not. changed the avatar and sig, but the gnomes must still be hungover from my Cardinals' big game six win last night.
I picked Riccardo Ricco for my 2011 VDS team, and submitted said team well before the submission deadline. I fully understand the error of my ways, and plead with the VDS Gods to allow me to resubmit my team.
Art imitating life?
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 29, 2011 7:27 AM EDT up reply actions
Teams that kept Ricco and didn't submit a request for a change (for whatever reason)... kudos?
1. andyreid51 Team AJR 10830
2. elle_g The L-Team 10215
3. d rod Attack the Ardennes 8455
4. Sujiaying Breaking away 8243
5. Davie Porter-Zoo Colin Sparke Cycling Club 7283
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
so the guys that won had a strategy...
Note to self: get some strategy for 2012.
Congratulations to the winners – impressive! – and to all (like me) who just had fun.
Well done to the winners! Allow me to administer this podium kiss: MWAH.
I tasted success last year (pipping Frinking to 2nd…bahahahahahahaha) but this year I stopped looking about half way through the season, so badly was I doing! So I have no idea where I came!
It's pronounced "Int-CHOW-stie"
461st
Don’t despair, success is determined by your improvement, not your VDS team.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
Aaaaargh! I didn't want to know that!
At least I came 3rd in the women’s game!
It's pronounced "Int-CHOW-stie"
And you're riding your bike like never before, right?
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
So you peaked for the Vuelta.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
I owe you a lot of beers
for your great VDS work …. but you’ll have to train in from the Dutch boon-docks
moo
A few flips
over “traffic calming devices” and he won’t care about the air thickness.
De cross gaat out that door.
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 27, 2011 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions
pot also helps.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
good
don’t really think having that associated with me on the internet would be such a good thing. NTTAWWP.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
we're just putting on airs
you know, googles is always watching.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
I picked Gilbert
and though I don’t have a single donut left on my team, that was pretty much the only sound decision I made.
Thank you very, very, very much to everyone who made this possible.
I look forward to the day that I say something stupid ~ JJY
the earlier versions of my team
had gilbert, cadel and sagan. Then i started really working on things and only had gilbert left. Barely finished top 300 with gilbert on the team – that takes some hard work.
I aimed for the top 600
Which I managed (554) , but it was a damned close thing for a while there, sitting in the 650s until Sagan hit his straps.
I also had a secret, hitherto unexpressed wish to beat omne, Runitout and Seahorse.
Pipped omne, Runitout used Basso to overhaul me in Lombardia, and Seahorse was about 2,600 points and 380 places in front. So I’m getting closer.
Cool
Now I don’t need to look up where I finished.
"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over & goes thru their pockets for loose grammar." - VirtKitty
by omnevelnihil on Oct 28, 2011 3:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Really?! I've been too frightened to look. Yay...I'll look now. I'm hoping to be in the top 400,
which is a little optimistic I suspect.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
176th...late run by Mollema, Basso and O'Grady ;)
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
You really were far too pessimisitc
Having beaten me by even more points last year, I think the conclusion to draw is that you are quite good at this game.
I go almost entirely with my heart not my head. Mollema and Basso AND Anton were the three I chose
in whom I have little interest. Mollema in particular did wonderfully and I thank Frinking for championing Bauke’s cause. But I have many of the ‘old boys’ too. I confess that selecting McEwen is becoming more difficult though.
The thing is though, I was in the (late) 300s in the Vuelta, so this has come as a lovely surprise. And it’s nice to beat you three at something. I certainly wouldn’t win a cycling knowledge quiz against any of you ;)
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
so, what'd they win?
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
tee shirts
Like 20 each.
De cross gaat out that door.
by Chris Fontecchio on Oct 28, 2011 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Celebrate the Giro d'Italia at Podium Cafe!
Check our Giro Section for race updates, on-the-scene reports, and other hijinx.
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
