2019 Calendar

[glomser]

Wouldn't add the hammer series. It's not a real race like others, but really a team performance. So therefore I wouldn't add them. And Columbia has mostly not the best teams shown up, so would skip that one too. Others can be added I guess.

And if you have Guangxi and Japan why not Hainan. Most of the riders in Guangxi are also participating Hainan.

[Ace]

I'd also omit the hammer series, the scoring on cq rewards teams rather than riders even in the 'road' stages and the points awarded are very low: https://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/tour.asp?tourid=3497

[TERatcliffe26]

Guangxi is WT and Hainan is not, big difference the teams in my opinion and not most riders riding Hainan as we have seen in the past, same reason we dont have Langkawi

[Joelsim]

I agree on Hammer, seems very odd to include this.

[Garfield]

Well, unfortunately for you we had an explicit discussion about it over a month ago, you chose not to participate, and I had to make a decision before the bidding started. (The only person who replied wrote "most of the riders in Guangxi are also participating Hainan" so I had to ignore it.) Next year, please try to help me before the auctions, not after them.

PS
Not that it matters, but:
1) Hammer scoring low is good: no big swings from experimental races
2) Hammer startlists are awesome
3) They are refreshingly different/curious compared to all other competitions
4) They seem a serious project that is likely to grow rapidly and even become WT

[Garfield]

Unfortunate update: it's just been pointed out to me that I somehow forgot Bruges-Panne, which is WT now. I'll have to add it once I'm back in 3 weeks. The race that will be removed is Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge, unless one of the existing autumn semi-classics gets cancelled.

[Joelsim]

We seem to have lost the Tour of Oman from the spreadsheets.

[glomser]

Scheldeprijs (10. april) is HC but not on the sheet. Same for GP du canton d'Argovie (13. June)

Tour of Oman (16.02-21.02)
Tour of Langkawi (24.03-21.03)
Tour of Qinghai Lake (14.07-24.07)

All not on the sheet and all HC. But maybe not strong enough on the participants.

 San Juan is not a qualified round but with strong participants (Quintana, Gaviria, Benoot, Alaphillipe, Cav, Sam Bennett) And is already several years this strong.

[Garfield]

I suppose I'll make 4 substitutions this weekend:

In - previously forgotten 3D Panne, Scheldeprijs, Argovie, Oman

Out - 3x Hammer plus Tour de l'Eurométropole (still doesn't have a date)

Thoughts?

[Joelsim]

I suppose I'll make 4 substitutions this weekend:

In - previously forgotten 3D Panne, Scheldeprijs, Argovie, Oman

Out - 3x Hammer plus Tour de l'Eurométropole (still doesn't have a date)

Thoughts?

Agree, although keep Eurometropole is at all possible.

Should definitely consider Colombia next year too given the superb startlist.