<> Fantasy Cycling Teams - 2009 <>


Last modified: Tuesday, 8 May, 2018
 

* As has become our custom, Lisa & I will be adding to our interest in this year's professional cycling season by following the fortunes of our own fantasy cycling teams. We've been doing this since 1997. We select our teams on the basis of each rider "costing" his total UCI ranking points earned last season divided by fifteen and rounded to the nearest five, with a minimum cost of twenty points and a maximum of 200.  We allow each team 550 points on this basis, with nine riders to be selected. No more than two riders in each team can be selected from the same real life trade team.  Throughout the season we score our riders performances in all the major races according to the points system adapted from one used by Roger Hughes in his Fantasy Cycling League. The tables below summarise the fortunes of our teams throughout the season.

Note: for 2009 no "cost" points have been allocated to individual riders as there was no suitable rider ranking system in place last year due to the dispute between the UCI and the Grand Tour organisers.


* With Schumacher departing in disgrace during the season last year and the retirement of the evergreen Erik Zabel, this season's line-up of Steve's Nightowlers features two new names: Andy Schleck and Philippe Gilbert. The team's sprint forces are reduced to a duo: Thor Hushovd and Mark Cavendish while leader Carlos Sastre returns alongside Thomas Dekker, David Millar, Steve Cummings and Bradley Wiggins.

As last year, Lisa has also held on to the bulk of her Ready Steady Riders in the shape of Alessandro Petacchi, Tom Boonen, Robbie McEwan, Brad McGee, Thomas Voeckler, Roger Hammond, Michael Rogers and Fabian Cancellera. The retirement of Paolo Bettini enforces one change and Alberto Contador has been brought into the team this season.

For a blow-by-blow details of our riders' successes throughout the season, see the accompanying blog.

* A strong opening to the season for both teams this year. The highlight of Period One for Steve's Nightowlers was undoubtedly Cavendish's victory in Milan-Sanremo which was backed up by two stage wins in Driedaagse van de Panne and a stage win and a second place in Tirreno-Adriatico. Hushovd was victorious in the opening single-day race of the year, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, third in Sanremo and fourth in E3 Prijs Vlaanderen and Wiggins outshone his entire season of last year by winning the De Panne time trial stage and coming second in the time trials in Paris-Nice and Critérium International.

Lisa's Ready Steady Riders got a good start from new boy Contador with two stage wins, a second and fourth overall in Paris-Nice. In the Tour Down Under, McEwan grabbed a stage and a second and Rogers was sixth overall. Boonen was second in E3 Prijs Vlaanderen and tenth in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Petacchi took a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico and was fifth in Sanremo and Voeckler took second on a stage in Paris-Nice.

* Period Two is dominated by the Spring Classics and the specialists in both our teams came to the fore in another strong period for both of us. Gilbert scored his first points for Steve's Nightowlers when he finished third in Ronde van Vlaanderen then went on to take fourth in both Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Hushovd took third in Paris-Roubaix while the other new boy, Andy Schleck, was second in Flèche Wallonne and then won in Liège.

For Lisa's Ready Steady Riders, Contador took two stages and the overall victory in Vuelta al País Vasco, where Rogers was eighth overall. Boonen soloed to victory in Paris-Roubaix while Petacchi won Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen in a sprint.

* See below for Ready Steady Riders' results.
 

@ N i g h t o w l e r s @
Rider Period Scores Total
Score
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Carlos Sastre     35   2       37
Philippe Gilbert   39 7 4   1 3 75 129
Steve Cummings                
Thor Hushovd 44 15 8 9 34       110
Mark Cavendish 36   28 6 48       118
Bradley Wiggins 7   6   31       44
David Millar       8 4   8   20
Andy Schleck   46   9 56       111
Thomas Dekker     9 1         10
Total 87 100 93 37 175 1 11 75 579

@ R e a d y   S t e a d y   R i d e r s @
Rider Period Scores Total
Score
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Alessandro Petacchi 13 20 24           57
Robbie McEwan 9               9
Bradley McGee                
Roger Hammond           16 2   18
Tom Boonen 15 25   9   6 6 14 75
Alberto Contador 23 36   20 101       180
Thomas Voeckler 2   3   6       11
Michael Rogers 10 8 16           34
Fabian Cancellera       45 18   20 37 120
Total 72 89 43 74 125 22 28 51 504

* See above for Nightowlers' results.

FCL Index

[Nightwol's Perch Home Page]
[Email Me!]