PTP Discussion thread.

red_tom

How about we use this thread for discussing people's picks and your thoughts on PTP? Lets try to keep the main thread nice and clean so that afx237vi can calculate the results easily.

BTW Huge thanks to afx237vi for taking the time to run this again.

Squaggles

Cadel Evans seems to be a pretty popular pick , has he really got what it takes ?

ContrelaMontre

OK, hint taken - Good idea though - I've deleted my post regarding ridgerider's bread and water approach, which is re-pasted below.

Ridgerider wrote:

GC - Kim Kirchen
Prologue - Bert Grabsch
Stage 1 - Mark Cavendish

Will be watching the race in Kent on Sunday.

Sticking to your principles, that's good. I'd love you to win with those picks. But I doubt the moral high ground scores many points!

red_tom

It's interesting isn't it. You could quite easily nip off to one of the betting sites and list the favourites. There seems to be huge kudos in being the only person who picks a winner on a particular stage. I think this may be Ridgerider's game plan

afx237vi

Has anyone had to change their name from the old forum?

red_tom

Not me. I've only been a very keen lurker in the past PTPs though....

red_tom

Squaggles wrote:

Cadel Evans seems to be a pretty popular pick , has he really got what it takes ?

It would be interesting to see him in a team where the entire focus was on him. Not that Robbie M needs anyone else but it does give the team more than one goal. He's also got a reputation for not attacking. Then again I've gone for Carlos Sastre for GC who's hardly Mr aggressive.

ridgerider

ContrelaMontre wrote:

OK, hint taken - Good idea though - I've deleted my post regarding ridgerider's bread and water approach, which is re-pasted below.

Ridgerider wrote:

GC - Kim Kirchen
Prologue - Bert Grabsch
Stage 1 - Mark Cavendish
.

Sticking to your principles, that's good. I'd love you to win with those picks. But I doubt the moral high ground scores many points!

Hang on a minute gang...for the first time this year I feel I actually have a chance to gain some serious points here!

My GC choice was second in Tour of Suisse with little team support, and I think he will improve further over the coming weeks. Wiggins will crack tomorrow under all the PTP expectations and Bert, the recent German TT champ will blow everyone away with his speed as he will still be on a high after only being picked last week.

And I don't feel I have to justify my pick of Mark for Stage 1.

Have you all read the latest cyclingnews item about the split in the ranks of the pro teams. How anyone can look at a Spanish or Italian or Kasak rider without a sense of guilt is beyond me.

My strongest prediction for the tour is that Vino will not reach Paris...

ContrelaMontre

Ridge, time will tell. I want to see T-Mob do really well and denounce doping from the podium a la Pinotti at the Giro. But as I've picked Klöden for the overall I don't see the campaigning teams and riders beating the shady ones.

I'd love a true clean out even at the expense of PTP points, but realistically I don't see a T-Mob of FdJ rider in the top 10. The top six places will probably all be Astana and Caisse d'Epargne and omerta will continue...

Cynic? Me?

GroupOfOne

Haven't done my PTP pick yet as I'm still convinced (paranoid?) that as soon as I do, people will start being evicted.

Like Ridge says though about Vino not reaching Paris, I've still got a very strong suspicion that several people might not, but not because of illness/injury or crashing

As for Kirchen, I could see him in the Top 20, but I don't think he'll rise any higher unless alot 'drop out' or Rogers collapses and so he gets the leadership. It was very impressive by him in Switzerland, but whether he can transfer that to a 3 week race I don't know. I've more predict he'll win a stage like Stage 5 or the one the day before the Albi TT.

Squaggles

Some people have named a top 3 overall , isn't it just a single pick for winner ?

mangaman

Hi Ridgerider

I admire your principles too - I agree your picks look good for this race too

Unfortunately I picked Vino although I did feel guilty

I guess in the end I felt he's going to win. I feel if I let my cynicism about everyone get the better of me I wouldn't watch cycling at all

I'm not convinced about any of the riders tbh. I've always had uneasy feelings about CSC / Disco for what it's worth

Having said that as a fan I hope Vino doesn't win. I'll be cheering for Cadel actually
I just don't think he's quite good enough at either TTs or high mountains or tactics

ridgerider

I don't think I have mis-read the T-Mobile form to that degree, I don't think Kirchen is that far off doing something.

Anyway, it's only the PTP League.

It's not lile it's about life or death................it's far more important that that.

ridgerider

Mang'

I'm coming round to collect that apron out of your bottom drawer!

mangaman

Not without a fight Ridge

mangaman

Anyway the prize may be even better than an apron this year

Actually it'll probably be a MTB

ridgerider

:P

BenR

Oh well, my ante post guess that Vino would get chucked off seems to be wrong, so there's bugger all chance of my pick (Sastre) winning. Never thought he would really, but he seems a solid hope for a top-five and he's hopefully doing it clean(-ish).

edit: carp, where did all my posts go? This seems to be the first one! Does that mean that all evidence of my PTP moment of glory (picking Schleck for the Alpe) has gone...

yace

Vino had at least one bad day in every GT he participated, even in last year's Vuelta. I think Kash is a better choice than him.

Noodley

I went for Sastre as a "safe" bet for at least a few points on GC. I had thought about Schleck as an option but then remembered that I can time trial better than he can!!!


I am looking forward to some good breakaways and have a few "out there" selections lined up for a few of the stages.

calvjones

BenR wrote:

Oh well, my ante post guess that Vino would get chucked off seems to be wrong, so there's bugger all chance of my pick (Sastre) winning. Never thought he would really, but he seems a solid hope for a top-five and he's hopefully doing it clean(-ish).

edit: carp, where did all my posts go? This seems to be the first one! Does that mean that all evidence of my PTP moment of glory (picking Schleck for the Alpe) has gone...

Join the club - people probably think Calvjones has retired in glory after picking the (other) Shleck for the Giro and I'm just some know-nothing, bigmouth, sponging off his glory.

Course they'd be 66.666% right :P

RichN95.

I've noticed that if you edit your post it doesn't say so on the forum (unlike the old forum) - so that's something to look out for. We wouldn't want cheating in cycling now, would we.