Online cycling and/or baseball manager type timewasters?

[Sits]

Meanwhile I've splashed some more cash. There's a big clearance sale thread for an established climbing team who is quitting. I splurged 220k on a 30yo 207 climber but with 95 CL which would cost a fortune to train up. Probably a bit much but that's auctions.

[Sits]

I’m already having second thoughts about academy recruit Rex Kinney (see above) for two reasons: blowing all that cash on the expensive purchase yesterday; plus running Kinney’s potentials through my Excel model and him not quite stacking up. With SP and TT being two of his Goods, he needs to be a captain and the climbing just isn’t enough.

Unless he’s of use to any of you I will try a 60-day sale thread.

[delicatemoth]

Ian Totty's 2nd place in Tilal Tunis sends us back up to div 2 but, more importantly, it sends Ian top of the Manx riders' table, which I'm not sure one of my riders has ever managed before.

Picked up a 228 climber from the Free Hire list. He's 35, but still, not bad. I think your CL95 guy sounds like a good investment Sits.

[Sits]

Nice work dm! And thanks. That mass team sale got a bit feisty after I’d got my rider, between Mapei Bianchi and Jubalon. Jubalon outbid after over 23 hours and Mapei didn’t take it well. Don stepped in and edited the post.

[Levin]

One stage too far in Odyssey of the Oryx. Jarboe was second for the first few stages, took the lead by three seconds on the TT and then dropped to second again on the penultimate.

The final stage he got dragged home by Palmer and Laney over a minute down which dropped him to 4th in GC.

[Sits]

Gah, hard luck Levin

It can get pretty tense during a tour but on balance enjoyable I reckon.

[matt j]

I put a team into Germany, and it was stressful, and I'm going to get absolutely blown out in the sprints. Ah well. Like last season, I'll just take making it as a kind of result.

[Sits]

I am waiting to see if the last seat on a late season Div3 tour called Karpaty - Tyr stays free. It’s at 23/24 and one wildcard hasn’t been used but I think they may now be in a higher division. I think it becomes “public” in around 11 hours but whether I’m in the right place at the right time who knows? It’s like waiting for Ticketmaster.

It’s a new tour I’d never even noticed before or I would have got on board at the outset and maybe looked at TF for Kalisa.

While he was injured and van Hintum resetting I gave number 3 man Edan Hurless a TF spell and he managed two 2nd places, a 3rd and a 7th to pull us back into D3.

[Sits]

I got onto the tour!

[delicatemoth]

Shit, I tried to get onto that a couple of days ago but it was full. You'd better win it now!

[Sits]

Shit, I tried to get onto that a couple of days ago but it was full. You'd better win it now!

Oh, so sorry dm. I hoped my earlier post might have flagged it but I see that was almost your midnight.

[delicatemoth]

Ha, you have every right to sign up, hopefully I'll remember next season!

[Sits]

Ha, you have every right to sign up, hopefully I'll remember next season!

I should have left that final spot for you dm. It’s proving an utter disaster.

[delicatemoth]

Ugh, is it one of those where it's obvious after stage 1 that half a dozen of your rivals are in TF and you're just not going to do anything? My sympathies.

[Sits]

Ugh, is it one of those where it's obvious after stage 1 that half a dozen of your rivals are in TF and you're just not going to do anything? My sympathies.

Worse, but self inflicted as I underestimated how low the DPs would be from races I’d pre-booked before. “Leader” Kalisa crashed on the Stage 3 TT and is almost 6 minutes down. Backup Siebe Van Wotsit is over 5 minutes. So hopes now rest with Czeslaw Tarka, a mere 2’10” down, DP 60….

[Sits]

On the bright side Mark van Hintum should reset TF this weekend and I’m hoping he can make his comeback at Judenburg Climbs on Day 82. After he won Norway we are knocking on the door of our best season.

[matt j]

Crazy start for us in Netherlands with Gullifer winning the prologue and two others in the top 9.

[Sits]

I see Gullifer is 2nd on GC after three stages, keep up the great work matt j

On a more mundane note, with ten days left the Locknuts are currently set for only their third best season to date. Signed up for three final possible scoring races in Judenburg, Medellin and Garten/Gaur but not sufficient I don’t think.

[matt j]

Ha, yes, Netherlands's meta* has changed quite a bit under the new time calculations and sprint bonuses. Gullifer has been lucky to hold 2nd because the bonuses have been spread around to a big variety of riders so far (except for Morgovejo, who bosses this tour). Stage 5 and Stage 6 are pure sprints, typically not great for my squad.

I'd been debating with myself (briefly) whether to try and have one of the better sprinters defend Gullifer's GC position, but the spaces are too narrow to 3rd and beyond, so the IoM captain has to fend for himself.

*Up until last season, you could place high in the ITT and expect to hold onto a solid GC with no further results, this is not really possible anymore.

[matt j]

There seems to be a burst of T&T riders about to hit the free hire list. This one showed up today, I will be selling him roughly mid next season:

Name: Alan Severns Team: Trinidad and Tobago Age: 22 years Birthday: Day 16 Team Spirit: 93% Experience: Level 1 Fox River since 13/04-2024 Races on team: 0 Total races: 0

OCM Tour Rank: 4129 th OCM Tour Points: 0 Trinidad and Tobago Tour Rank: 11 th Average Skill: 29 Release value: 34.377

Potential:

CL: Good DH: Average HL: Good

SP: None FR: Small CB: Small

TT: Average TQ: None

[matt j]

Second for Gullifer in the end (3rd in the table, but 2nd for results). Good legs in stage 6.

Very very happy with this tour.

[delicatemoth]

That's great, Matt.

We won a division 2 race! A downhill, Freeman Woolums the man to bring it home.

[Levin]

Darrel Closson

CL: Very good DH: Small HL: Good

SP: None FR: None CB: None

TT: Small TQ: None

Shamus Tomerlin
CL: Small
DH: Small
HL: Average
SP: Small
FR: Small
CB: Small
TT: Very good
TQ: Small

Chatwin Ginn

CL: Small DH: Small HL: Small

SP: Good FR: Small CB: None

TT: Good TQ: Average

[Sits]

Thanks Levin, Closson is close for me, bit more TQ or TT would have done it.

[Sits]

And then I go and buy Matt’s slightly leftfield T&T scout Montgomery Tomhave. I haven’t had time to run him through Sits’ Excel Ready Reckoner but grabbed him quickly in case.