Bike Racing

[Llani Boy]

Damn. Already lost Michael Woods so losing Kooij is going to hurt my final tally.

Should have gone for more Ineos with hindsight but Aurélien Paret-Peintre was a good punt

WP, Do you know if there is an option to substitute/replace riders or add another if you have a few euros left?

[Witton Park]

WP, Do you know if there is an option to substitute/replace riders or add another if you have a few euros left?

There might be, but I never have. There are different levels of competition. Will have a look later.

[Witton Park]

Looking forward to two lumpy days now.

I was looking at the profile for Tuesday/Wednesday next week

Llani - you can make subs, but they only count in something called the stage hunter competition and there's a cut-off each day.

https://www.velogames.com/italy/2024/rules.php

[Llani Boy]

I was looking at the profile for Tuesday/Wednesday next week

Llani - you can make subs, but they only count in something called the stage hunter competition and there's a cut-off each day.

https://www.velogames.com/italy/2024/rules.php

Thanks WP. I've had a look at the Stage Hunter competition and I'm in 18642nd place out of 19055 so I don't think I'll bother!

[Witton Park]

Thanks WP. I've had a look at the Stage Hunter competition and I'm in 18642nd place out of 19055 so I don't think I'll bother!

I've been doing this for about 10 year - it started as a nit of fun with a few old club mates. I just like to do the normal competition as it adds a little interest to watching the racing.

Gutted this morning to see Merlier was relegated to 89th yesterday. Cost me a few points

You came out on top yesterday Llani - maybe all is not lost

[PeteS]

Julian Alaphilippe. Chapeau, sir!

[Llani Boy]

Julian Alaphilippe. Chapeau, sir!

I agree. A fantastic watch on the stage highlights yesterday. I don't think I've seen a leading rider looking behind as much as he did. Either he didn't believe the time gaps or perhaps there were so many cars/motorcycles behind him that he couldn't get a decent view to see if anyone was sneaking up on him!

[Witton Park]

He was super - the way he organised his sidekick.

Got to say that chasing back were useless though.

[Graham Breeze]

Julian Alaphilippe. Chapeau, sir!

Yes.

But being a grand old man of French cycling way past his best and around an hour down on the leading teams who had other priorities gave him a fair wind.

[Witton Park]

OK guys the end of week 1 review.

Only 3 of us put teams in to Velogames.

Mine are Tadej Pogačar, Thymen Arensman, Esteban Chaves, Filippo Zana, Tim Merlier, Filippo Ganna, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Michael Valgren, Maximilian Schachmann

PeteS has Luke Plapp, Geraint Thomas, Ben O'Connor, Michael Woods, Olav Kooij, Edward Theuns, Lilian Calmejane, Alessandro De Marchi, Daniel Martínez.

Llani has Geraint Thomas, Eddie Dunbar, Rafał Majka, Ben O'Connor, Caleb Ewan, Simon Clarke, Jasper Stuyven, Luka Mezgec, Madis Mihkels

Points so far are
Witton 3309
PeteS 3161
Llani 1922

So far picking Pogacar has worked, but he cost so many points to buy, that it might affect me elsewhere and PeteS is close by having two potential podium riders.

Pete is hampered a touch by the loss of Michael Woods following a crash, and the loss of Dunbar is costing Llani.

Looking forward to two lumpy days now.

Will Pogacar burn his team by going for too many stages? I suspect that even if he does, he's too far ahead for anything other than crash or illness to get in the way of a win by a huge time gap.

EDIT - Kooij out! Tough for Pete as he looked to be a decent overall points scorer.

End of Week Two.

I don't think we've lost any more team members.

Points total as of Sunday evening.
Witton 5433
PeteS 4560
Llani 3106

Whilst the Giro might be over, I don't think the Competition for us is yet. Pete has 3 x GC riders who could clock up a lot of overall points at the end of the race, and might nick a stage this week.