Giro d'Italia 2nd Rest Day Round-Up

Great race! Reminded me of some Giri in the 90s and early 2000s when people were incapable of taking more than a handful of seconds on each other, and the losses were reversed the next day and so on... Fantasy wise, I was not altogether bad, but I've never had so many bad calls biting back the very next day as in this race: kicked out Jungels before his stage win (certain that Bergamo would be a sure breakaway stage), kicked out Rolland before his win thinking the stage was to easy for him to win, kicked out LL Sanchez right before Piancavallo (and he ended up entering solo on the final climb driving me mad and eventually ending up 5th and scoring quite well) etc. etc. I don't even remember my blunders in the first two weeks of the race!...

Thoroughly enjoyed this Giro.  Teams, as often happens in a Grand Tour, have got very similar in the later stages.  Stage 21 might see a few differences as people choose between GC and specialists.  There will also be a a variation in the number of transfers players have left.

Don't you hate that  .... it is never 2 or 3 stages later. Always the very next stage.

Cant catch a break with transfers, took Rolland out last night 

Ps I kind of like both ways, nice to have it like this though as i think it makes people need to know which riders of a collection suit which stage better and research most of the field as budget is less of a constraint, whereas the other way of doing it makes people need to just research a smaller pool of riders as most of the budget is taken by logical star riders

Two sides to every coin Tony.

More high value riders means people have to be more astute with picking a good lower credit rider, conversely and with this race as an example, more riders similar priced means you have to be diligent in picking the right collection of riders rather than worrying about budget. Anyone without Landa will have dropped like a stone tonight, and his price you could argue is low, but a low pick needed to be made even if you could afford more expensive riders, so also makes you look at going for a rider that is 10-15 even if you could afford a rider of 20-25, makes the way you pick a different type of complex.

I only have 4 transfers left for my standard team, but down at 125 in that comp. Happy to be 7th in purist and hope to make top 5

Didn't think I would ever do it. But I have. Broke my record for a stage score. 306 pts for Stage16. Go on my boys!

Looking forward to stage 16.  It is way more entertaining when Quintana  is not in the lead, riding defensively and stiffling every attack, as has happened in the past.

Is the budget set too high? Iv'e noticed this year (and the Giro is a prime example), that you can have a team almost full of the top riders. Once upon a time one had to search hard for 3, 3 credit riders to fill the team.  This year is satisfying, but I feel it has changed the way the game is played.  What do others think?

Got the feeling that you are not doing as well as usual?  That is probably because it appears one player (and obviously a good player) has 25 teams in the top 50.   (see my forum item, "Giro stage 12; THE WINNERS".)

Great to see some chitter chatter about teams on the Forum. It has been missing for quite some time.

My Purist team is getting smashed (214th), but when I did it it looked unbeatable. But now it is more like.

Still and all, loving playing the game.

Good luck for the final week everyone.

My master plan of Dennis and Thomas and Ewan is looking flawed.

But Kruiswik, Quintana dumoulin fragile might get some points, with Bennett winning the medium mountain stage perhaps.

I dont' know about the other teams but I like my chances of catching  Steve with my purist team (im currently 13th)

I have Ewan who has gone home and Gavaria as Sprinters
He has Gaviria, Bennett, Mareczko, but then Grepiel and Thomas who has gone home

which leaves his riders of Nibali, Quintana and Pinot the same as me. His difference rider is Pozzovivo vs my riders of Dumoulin, Landa and Fraile

Looking at the other teams ahead, 3rd looks like the best I could do with my team
Huggyboy looks favourite, he basically has Jungels vs my Fraile
ososxe also looks very strong he has Jungels and Sanchez vs my Pinot

There could be some really strong ones behind that could catch up too