Vuelta a Burgos Forum Competition

I wonder, how can anyone ignore the biggest Spanish stage race right before the biggest (!) Spanish stage race? For those who can't live with drowning or thriving in just one race at a time, I bring you the Vuelta a Burgos Competition! I can't help myself! I love this sh$#@t! You don't have to, of course!

The Vuelta runs for 5 days. Just like the TOU, only part of the race will be scored. For the Vuelta those stages will be Stages 3 and 5. Stage 3 is the Queen stage. Stage 5 is an ITT. Or is it a TTT? Regardless, only (!) Stages 3 and 5 will will be scored in this competition.

The Vuelta starts Wednesday Aug 13 and runs through Sunday Aug 17, 2014.

Here's the official Vuelta a Burgos Twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/thetourofutah

Here's the race website:
http://www.vueltaburgos.com/

Here's the (very bare!) start list on PCS:
http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Vuelta_a_Burgos_2014-Startlist

The rules:

1. Pick 9 riders from the list below. That (!) is the Special Rule. You can only choose riders from the list below. If you do not see a rider in the list below, he is off-limits for this competition.

This is no easy task and is not for the faint of heart. If you study the list below and compare it to the full start list, you'll see it is essentially a 'No Team Captain', 'No Fan Favorite' or 'No Recognizable Name' rule. There's no Movistar rider on the list, either. And no rider on this list is worth over 15.4 credits. There's no Quintana, no Landa, no Pardilla, no Txurruka, no Lagutin. No. No Rabottini either. No one. You could call it the 'No Easy Choice' rule, I guess. Or the 'Enrique Is Mad' Rule. The 'What' you say? You don't want to play now?... You've got time to do research! Man up! This is just for fun! Although, if no one signs up I won't be offended!

The Finish Line and Classification scoring will be adjusted accordingly by removing any score obtained from riders not on the list below and awarding those points to the next qualified rider that does appear on the list below. That's not that bad, is it?...

The official start list has been announced and I will monitor the roster and make changes to the start list as necessary until the start of the competition on Friday. If any roster changes occur that warrant any other inclusion, I will announce it below.

2. You will have a budget of 100 credits. Requests for an extension of the budget will be considered if they are accompanied by a certificate of mental competency from a licensed health practitioner and a handwritten note from your mother.

3. Enter your team before the start of Stage 3. Stage 3 starts at 12:52am local time Friday August 15 (11:52 AM - 11:52 CET). That's enough time to research all those 3.0 riders, right?

4. Given the restrictive nature of these rules and the difficulty of selecting a good team under these circumstances, you will be allowed 9 transfers for Stage 5. That means you can completely overahual your team for Stage 5. The special rule, however, will still apply to your team for Stage 5.

Notes:
1. Any team that does not seem suited for the stage for which it is submitted will, of course, be given the opportunity to be changed before the start of the competition or the start of the next stage scored in the competition.

2. The GC, PC, KOM and YR jerseys will be honored and so will the Lanterne Rouge. The Sprint and KOM points along the way will be awarded to each rider exactly the way they are awarded in the race itself.

The riders
START LIST SORTED BY RIDER VALUE

Cheng Ji Giant 15.4
Blel Kadri AG2R 13.4
Thomas Damuseau Giant 11.9
Daan Olivier Giant 9.3
Vladimir Gusev Katusha 9.3
Chad Haga Giant 8.7
Alexandr Kolobnev Katusha 8.1
Lloyd Mondory AG2R 7.5
Aliaksandr Kuchynski Katusha 7.5
Patrick Gretsch AG2R 6.5
Alberto Losada Katusha 6.3
Dmitriy Kozontchuk Katusha 6.0
Andrey Zeits Astana 5.4
Sebastien Turgot AG2R 5.3
Damien Gaudin AG2R La Mondiale 4.2
Alexsandr Dyachenko Astana 3.0
Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev Astana 3.0
Ilya Davidenok Astana 3.0
Dario Hernandez Burgos 3.0
David Belda Burgos 3.0
Ibai Salas Burgos 3.0
Igor Merino Burgos 3.0
Jesus Del Pino Burgos 3.0
Juan José Oroz Burgos 3.0
Moises Duenas Burgos 3.0
Victor Martín Burgos 3.0
Antonio Piedra Caja Rural 3.0
Fernando Grijalba Caja Rural 3.0
Javier Aramendia Caja Rural 3.0
Karol Domagalski Caja Rural 3.0
Lluís Guillermo Mas Caja Rural 3.0
Pello Bilbao Caja Rural 3.0
Beñat Txoperena Euskadi 3.0
Carlos Barbero Euskadi 3.0
Haritz Orbe Euskadi 3.0
Jon Larrinaga Euskadi 3.0
Miguel Minguez Euskadi 3.0
Mikel Aristi Euskadi 3.0
Mikel Iturria Euskadi 3.0
Pablo Lechuga Euskadi 3.0
Steven Lammertink Giant 3.0
Tom Peterson Giant 3.0
Johann Tschopp IAM 3.0
Jonathan Fumeaux IAM 3.0
Kevyn Ista IAM 3.0
Marcel Aregger IAM 3.0
Matteo Pelucchi IAM 3.0
Patrick Schelling IAM 3.0
Pirmin Lang IAM 3.0
Vicente Reynes IAM 3.0
Petr Ignatenko Katusha 3.0
Adrien Niyonshuti MTN-Qhubeka 3.0
Daniel Teklehaimanot MTN-Qhubeka 3.0
Dennis Van Niekerk MTN-Qhubeka 3.0
Jacques Janse Van Rensburg MTN-Qhubeka 3.0
Linus Gerdemann MTN-Qhubeka 3.0
Tsgabu Grmay MTN-Qhubeka 3.0
Youcef Reguigui MTN-Qhubeka 3.0
Fabio Taborre Neri Sottoli 3.0
Francesco Failli Neri Sottoli 3.0
Giorgio Cecchinel Neri Sottoli 3.0
Giuseppe Fonzi Neri Sottoli 3.0
Mattia Pozzo Neri Sottoli 3.0
Mirko Tedeschi Neri Sottoli 3.0
Rafael Andriato Neri Sottoli 3.0
Simone Ponzi Neri Sottoli 3.0
Andrei Solomennikov Rusvelo 3.0
Artem Ovechkin Rusvelo 3.0
Ilnur Zakarin Rusvelo 3.0
Ivan Balykin Rusvelo 3.0
Kirill Pozdnyakov Rusvelo 3.0
Sergey Klimov Rusvelo 3.0
Sergey Pomoshnikov Rusvelo 3.0