PG Classics - Paris - Tours
A packed finish of gravel roads with lumps of rock and short climbs. We may not have Roubaix but we'll always have Paris... Tours...
The Weather
Cool, with a chance of rain but only 20% as I type. The wind may change direction as the afternoon goes on so look out to see if it's a headwind on the way in to Tours as that will favour a larger group arriving.
The Favourites
The start list reminds us there's only four WT teams here this year down from eight last. Ag2R are here but there's no Oli. FDJ too but there's no Demare. The Webbies bring Casper and SKA and then there's Cofidis. Only 5 down for a team that should be 7 and there best bet might be Nicolas Prodhomme who came 112th in the Espoirs version 5 yeas ago but did follow that up a few years back with an 8th in the PR Espoirs event. I won't be backing him.
The Rules
In this game, only the race results matter. You're not committed to keeping the same riders throughout the series, you make fresh picks before every race. Our overall competition is just the sum of individual race scores. You're eligible for the overall even if you miss some races.
Pick 4 riders for the upcoming race. The order of your picks doesn't matter. All of your riders can score.
Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favourites. See below for scoring details.
The strict entry deadline is the official start time of the race, the neutralized roll-out or Départ Fictif. Be warned - if your post is timestamped one minute late your entry won't count! So do remember that there's no disadvantage to getting an entry in early, even the day before, because you may always change your picks up until the deadline. Feel free to rethink your picks when it emerges which riders are more or less popular with other players. If you make changes, post your revised 4 picks in a reply to your original post.
The Scoring
The last 3 races will be secret entry between the top contenders… To avoid defensive picking.
When we say top contenders we leave the number open because who knows how many will be within striking distance...
We will notify you by email if we need you to do a secret entry.
The Results
We will try and post results in a timely fashion as soon after each race as possible. However none of us are quite as talented as straw dog so we will just do our best there.