PG - De Brabantse Pijl - La Flèche Brabançonne
Wouldn't it be nice
The Course
Very similar to last year with one crucial difference
The difference is that roadworks have meant that rather than the finish be the top of Schavei, there is a new climb that is 1.5k at around 3.6%. Covid restrictions mean exact information isn't available as I write but there's a new finishing circuit of around 22k that's completed 3 times.
The Weather
The forecast is for a cold day with a high of around 9c at the finish and no rain. The wind is forecast to be between 20-25kph.
The Favourites
There's one particular name on the startlist that stands out. Yes. Wout. After that, well besides Matthews and Stuyven, the field falls away quickly.Yes, Old Greg is there as is Young Tom, Sonny and Trentin. Turgis is there to try to add to his spring top 10's. Honore is a name that stands out to me as an outsider in a strong Quickstep team and Laporte might be a chance for a podium. After the top 1 or 2, it would seem to be a wide open race and good chance to score well in PG.
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
Head over to msbee's spreadsheet to check how you went but no complaining if the results are not entered straight away. Due to Covid, we've all taken a pay cut and we don't get out of bed for anything under $5000.