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Boonen for 4 in a row? Who will shine in place of Cancellara? The 'Hell of the North' beckons.
With Cancellara out (I'm sure we all wish him a speedy recovery) who is going to challenge OPQ and Boonen?
I'm keeping Boonen and Pozzato and maybe Sagan if he rides, but the 4th eludes me. Thoughts anyone? Doesn't have to be the real rider you're going to pick if you don't want to give too much away 
.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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Id say having a balance will be the key, and all the choices (because it seems credits wont be an issue), should be weighed on there individual merits and not looked at based on price
I agree with TERatcliffe26, there are very interesting cheap star riders: Pozzato, Ballan, Flecha, Degenkolb, Boom... we are gonna have a load of credits this time!!!
The question is, is it worth spending them on expensive DSs, such as Eisel, Bak, Jerome, Duque, Vansummeren or are the medium-priced ones just as good? Vanmarcke, Terpstra, Paolini etc.
No Ballan?
In relation to?
Ditto, mine will all be very cheap and I'll be left over with a boat load of credits, wishing I could pick 5 or even 6 star riders as I can definitely afford it.
Im gonna have a load of credits left over for this race as all my star guys are gonna be cheap. After Boonen my next expensive is around 20 credits (without giving my team away)
What star rider to bring in for Sagan is the question. I think i know wh, and i think i know my 3 DS changes too, maybe a risky team, but one that could pay off
4 changes I have to make now; Cancellara, Sagan, Hoste and Vandenbergh. I hope there are no more.
I think i am the jinx. . . .
Maybe I'll keep Lange and Canc cos I'm feeling discombobulated.
Maybe I'll pick Benat Inxtausti for the PR . . .
He'll do no worse than he;s doing in the Basque tour. . .
oops, starting to be bitter again. . .
A bit of flu, I mean , a little bit of flu and he pulls out. . . does he not know that I was banking on him for wildcard points. . .
#stillsobbing
Provisional start list at http://www.letour.fr/2012/PRX/RIDERS/us/engages.html. Looks like I'm going to need all my transfers - still too far out to be making changes yet.
No Peter Sagan as I thought. His brother is in but that could change as it has before.
Me too. I don't get this.
Why is Van Avermaet 'grayed out' in the game when he appears in the provisional start list as riding?...
And why would Liquigas put in Sagan as a substitute instead of a primary rider?
Voeckler, Florencio and Sabatini had a decent race at Flanders... why aren't they riding Roubaix?...
And why is Vandenbergh a substitute?
And why aren't Hoste and Devolder riding?... Crap!...
What's going on?...
I had Fab and Langeveld for Flanders so whoever I replace them with ought to be mightily concerned...
Me too
I was thinking I was the jinx, but maybe it is you Squiggle
Cheers, oh well, thats forcing another transfer on me
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gilbert-showing-signs-of-improvement-in-...
First line of the last paragraph
I think you have missed 2/3 big contenders off your star rider short list.
Sagan will be my axed star rider, then 3 DS changes, devolder, morkov and another out. Pretty much know who im gonna bring in
Looks like I have to make 3 changes Cancellara, Freire and Paolini (the last 2 probably will not ride and if they do, they will not be in my team based previous Paris Roubaix performances )
Star rider short list includes Hushovd, Breschel, Chavenel, & Ballan (who would of been in my team now instead of Devolder if not for the 4 star rider rule).
outside chances include Sagan, Degenkolb (top 20 last year)Farrar (if he was not so expensive)
DS Eisel, Terpstra, Guesdon & Cooke are possibilities, but wait until the full lists our.
Nobody mentioning Hushovd - but this will be his miain target for the season, and he should be in with a shout now that Cancellara is out. He can rival Boonen in a sprint and should be strong enough to be there, but my bug question for him is whether BMC can get organised to provide support, or if they'll all ride for themselves...
He should be their main rider but due to illness, I think, he's just too off-form and these are not races where you can be much under 100%. Ballan is the clear team leader and he came two places above him last year as well.
I agree, I see Hushovd as a punt rather than a guaranteed top 10 finisher, and a rather expensive punt at that. Someone like Degenkolb would be as much of a risk (I predict either a top 5 finish or nowehere to be seen) but is considerably cheaper.
No Gilbert for P-R Gkam
I've not seen any startlist saying he is or isn't riding, where you getting your info?
My current four stars are Cancellara, Bennati, Boonen and Flecha. I'll be dropping at least two of those but I want to pick up three!
If only there wasn't the 4/5 restriction on stars/DSs I could pick up Ballan, Leukmans and Pozzato without having to drop Flecha but I can't so gotta make up my mind who stays and who goes. On the DS front I've got two transfers lined up ready to go depending on what I decide.
I was all for the 4/5 split initially but for the P-R I'll most likely be running a team with 20+ credits to spare, it's annoying because I feel I'm not getting the most out of my budget but I guess that's what happens when your star riders goes and breaks his collarbone (thanks alot Fabian X()
Perhaps losing the 4/5 split could be something that is added to the competition variables for the extra events next year?
abudhabiChris said it last year:
And drheaton said it, too:
I'm up for having unlimited transfers and getting rid of the limits and restrictions on star riders and DSs if only for the Classics...
So you think Sky will do well next week then, may be bringing in stannard/hayman in for morkov anyway
Going to be a very different race without Fab there from the gun... I did see one team today that put in a lot of effort without it coming off.. I reckon it might work for them next week though and they have some course & distance men in their ranks
Do you mean Sky and Flecha?
Maybe. But would I leave out one of my star riders for Flecha?
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