Professional Cycling For the Fans - King of the Malfunctions points competition- SPOILERS INVOLVED

Stage 19 malfunctions:

Cadel Evans had a flat - 3 points
George Hincapie adjusted his computer sensor (or brakes?) - 1 point
Floyd Landis - radio malfunction? (His left shift lever was pointed up and his left hand was higher than his right, but the bars themselves looked perfectly straight to me)

So what was Hincapie fiddling with? And should Landis get a point for the radio thing?

The rules require the rolling adjustment be by a mechanic while the bike is rolling. Hincapie did not have a mechanic make an adjustment. Seems we shouldn't play favorites after we have established an objective point criteria.

After taking off on stage 17 the way Rasmussen did on 16, I'm suspecting Floyd must study Rasmussen.

Floyd seems to have picked up pointers fom Rasmussen's clinic.

Floyd's radio malfounction in stage 17 was due his dosing the radio with so much water. Any idea on the stage 19 radio malfunction>

Yeah, I noticed that to about Floyd too. I don't know if it warrants points. It didn't slow him down and the team car didn't make an effort to adjust.

I didn't see the Hincapie adjustment. If it was the brakes then he should get a point. I don't think the comp sensor should though. The brakes is a malfunction that would slow him down. The computer is more of an annoyance.



The rules require the rolling adjustment be by a mechanic while the bike is rolling. Hincapie did not have a mechanic make an adjustment. Seems we shouldn't play favorites after we have established an objective point criteria.

I'm not playing favorites. The rules were clarified, remember? (see my post #19). This allows the rider (or team mechanic, or even another rider) to fix the malfunction while still rolling. Points are awarded according to the following system:

Mechanical problem resolved while the bike is moving - 1 point
Mechanical problem that stops the bike - 2 points
Flat tire or wheel change - 3 points
Total bike change - 4 points

According to these rules, I've decided to give 1 point to Hincapie, but not to Landis for Stage 19. I know the rules are not perfect, but I'll try to refine and simplify them, and I would appreciate your input.

Stage 20 Malfunctions:

Larsson, Caucchioli, Cunego, Fedrigo and Lang had punctures.

Floyd Landis is King of the Malfunctions!

Final Standings:

Floyd Landis - 17 points (3 wheel changes, 2 bike changes)
Erik Zabel - 11 points (3 punctures, unknown mechanical)
Vyacheslav Ekimov - 7 points (bike change, wheel change)
Jose' Luis Arrieta - 6 points (2 punctures)
Stuart O'Grady - 6 points (puncture, rolling adjustment, unknown mechanical)
Cadel Evans - 6 points (2 punctures)
Robbie McEwen - 5 points (debris in derailleur - stop, puncture)
Christian Van de Velde - 5 points (puncture, damaged spokes)
Nicolas Portal - 4 points (bike change after unknown problem)
Dave Zabriskie - 4 points (puncture, rolling radio adjustment)
Manuel Calvente - 4 points (new bike due to chain/derailleur problem)
Juan Manuel Garate - 4 points (bike change for unknown problem)
Christophe Le Mevel - 4 points (bike change after puncture)
Serhiy Honchar - 3 points (puncture)
Victor Hugo Pena - 3 points (puncture)
Carlos da Cruz - 3 points (puncture)
Bjorn Schroeder - 3 points (puncture)
Inaki Isasi - 3 points (puncture)
Sandy Casar - 3 points (puncture)
Michael Rogers - 3 points (puncture)
Jimmy Casper - 3 points (puncture)
Marzio Bruseghin - 3 points (puncture)
Gilberto Simoni -3 points (puncture)
Juan Antonio Flecha - 3 points (puncture)
Alexandre Botcharov - 3 points (puncture)
Pieter Weening - 3 points (puncture)
Cyril Dessel - 3 points (rolling derailleur adjustment, dropped chain)
Gustav Larsson - 3 points (puncture)
Pietro Caucchioli - 3 points (puncture)
Damiano Cunego - 3 points (puncture)
Pierrick Fedrigo - 3 points (puncture)
Sebastian Lang - 3 points (puncture)
Benoit Vaugrenard - 2 points (unknown mechanical stop)
Samuel Dumoulin - 2 points (unknown mechanical stop)
Sylvain Calzati - 2 points (unknown mechanical stop)
Jerome Pineau - 2 points (thrown chain)
Allesandro Ballan - 2 points (unknown mechanical)
Thor Hushovd - 1 point (cleat unclipped)
David de la Fuente - 1 point (derailleur adjustment)
George Hincapie - 1 point (computer sensor adjustment)

Thank you Javaman! It was great fun to follow the KOM blue jersey competition.

So is it going to be an official jersey next year? :D

I second that, Javaman. This was lots of fun! :)

Cool Thread. :)

Glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks for the input and encouragement!

Who will be the next King of the Malfunctions?

Thanks for doing this. It was quite fun.

Ditto

Just shows how strong Floyd really was. He overcame two of his malfunctions before he even started stages (prologue and first TT).

Zabel - made a strong run after he figured he was to old to win the green.

Ekimov - The only Discovery rider to place in the top three for any jersey. A true veteran.

Cadel Evan and Robbie McEwen - To D-Lotto teammates in the top 7.

Landis, Vandevelde, and Zabriskie - 3 Americans in the top 10!

and the biggest surprise...Last years winner, Rasmussen = 0 points!

Yes, Rasmussen appears to have totally lost his form!

JavaMan, Great job, thanks for your tireless work. Hope you're back next year, but we need one of those jerseys to be put in production, the only one that I can truly aspire to. Ha

Yes, JavaMan, thank you for an amazingly enjoyable thread! Hope to read it again next Tour.

Vive le maillot bleu!;)
Dagna