Very interesting rider, dangerous if the top riders can't shake him over the hills, he's quite good there with a nice kick. And the flats.

BUT you might want a bike handling stat

Name: WV RETO (wielervereniging RETO, te Arnhem)
Nationality: Netherlands / Dutch, Gueldre / Gelderland
Budget: Medium, but Unstable (can be very high but also very low sometimes)
(budget depends on the actions of the club to raise money, for example getting all the paper garbage to get some money in return)

No time to make riders yet, i´m at school so i will do that later
Jandal7 requested me to join, and i wanted so here i am

OK, I didn't 'request' it I recommended the game to him because he's active and I thought he'd like it.

EDIT: Avin is in! These new players be like buses, none for ages then a few in quick succession!

Okay, here we go.

Name: Karol Konva
Nationality (region): Slovakia/Tatra mountains
Date of Birth: 25/3/1991
Height: 185
Weight: 75
Specialty: Powerhouse/Endurance
Weakness: Mental weakness/ Inconsistency
Biography: Karol was born in rather small town of Kežmarok (near city of Poprad) in a year 1991, right at the foot of mighty Tatra mountains. His childhood was far from happy, after he lost his father to demon of cancer when he was eight. His father, once a famous cross runner and an olympian hand him over all of his love for the outdoor sports, especially cross running, MTB and interesting bike discipline of cyclocross.

With a help of his caring and loving mother Karol started to train with a local cycling club "Cyklo Spiš" and coach Marian Strga, his fathers friend and slovakian cyclocross legend. Marian was like his second father and himself childless, he soon developed a strong bond with young Karol.

Under his careful eye, Karol worked hard and swallowed thousand of kilometres on either a MTB, cross bike or his own feet. Location just under biggest mountain range in Slovakia proved to be perfect for developing his skills. In his early teenage years, Karol started to show his genetics and dedication, which resulted in many nice results on national level, followed by promising results in an international field. During year 2008, Karol was already seen as one of the most promising youngsters in world of cyclocross. But fate has its own rules and year 2009 was a tragedy after tragedy.

Years 2009-2013 are a secret, or rather a dark period in a life of young sportsman, that is not a thing to talk about during long winter nights. We just know that coach Strga died in a tragic car accident and Karol found a partner in a bottle of strong liquor, isolating himself from mankind in a woodsy cabin in Tatra national park.

Many things from this timespan are covered in fog, but people are telling stories about tall figure on a cross bike, going rampage in the woods of the national park outskirts.

Karol is ready to shake off every tragedy that happened in his life and relaunch his once promising career. But where to go? He knows he is strong, he fells even stronger than ever, but how to show it to international cross field and especially teams? All he has is one mountain bike and one cross bike, now he just hopes that manager of any world cross team will remember his name and former abilities when reading the letter that he sent to teams in Czech republic, Netherlands and Belgium. Everybody deserves a second chance they say...


Bike Handling (technical):medium
Sand: low
Uphill: very high
Cobblestones: low
Sprinting: medium
Explosiveness: high
Flat (TT/riding hard): medium
Power: medium
Running: very high
Snow/Ice: medium
Jumping: low

I remember hearing that phrase somewhere before...

It's great to see lots of new players though, it'll make the game even more realistic. and it's an interesting mix of nationalities joining, despite being completely realistic. I especially like Avin's rider, he'll add an interesting twist with his interactions with other riders.

I am not sure how Karol will react to people in masses, after such a long time away from civilised world.

I am happy to be in after interest also last year, but time issues stopped me from entering(well technically i need to be accepted by Ian to be in).

Also as much as i tried to "push" Shonak into man-game over he glass of beer we had, he tried to "push" me into New Dawn, speaking only positives about it. We both are successful now with our marketing skills.

Great to hear about that I must send Shonak a bottle of wine or something!
Also, Karol might get along well with Cook... Will be interesting to say the least!

Needless to say, Karol and Baris are in!
If both riders remain active, I already call this a successful sign-up for season 2

Both also riders returning to the field, meaning they will lack some of the techicality at first but once they get back in it, they should be good to go

Still expecting a sign-up sheet for Shonak's Van Overberghe and The Mud King!



The Scope, edition 3: https://pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread....st_1051511
Or, see the new generation through the eyes of the colorful character Elliot Cook: https://pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread....st_1051717

The transfer season is hereby opened!
New players can immediately express their favor for a certain team. There's not always a guarantee at a spot, though.
I have put together a provisional list, based on preference and also a bit on what I thought would be nice, to have a few interesting names put together.

A new formed team with Gormley and Hira will definitely claim a few scalps,
Topsport Vlaanderen will start with its weakest squad in years...

Everything is still changable, though, keep that in mind, I just made some moves that felt right, but feel free to choose your own path!



2015 - 2016 calendar and races will be revealed later today in the Game Thread!

As Baris Dao already lives in the USA for quite some time now, I guess Blue Bell CX seems most accurate for him.

The US team might not be the best in terms of budget but it`s a good enough start into his CX career.

With the official creation of Blue Bell CX it's time for Power, Goldenberg and Markson to confirm they will join the USA (more specifically Texas) based team. If Baris Dao can fit into budget (:s) he'd be more than welcome and would make it a very exciting team. I'm sure something can be worked out for that to happen

Kinda surprised the Glasgow team still exists seeing the person who created made roughly zero posts by my count, but as a filler i guess it's fine.

Okay, USA team is live

Yes, I merged the two GB teams into Glasgow and put all the (inactive) Brits there. They remain as filler, unless more sign-ups come along.
I scratched about half of them, but guys like McLMaughlin and Wells actually ride a decend result every now and then so they can stay as pack fillers, for now.

Sounds like some excellent reasoning for the team then And obviously i can't wait to see how much of the calendar is TMM branded

Calendar and Classifications preview now in the Game Thread. Read it here!

With thanks to all stage makers, especially TMM and trekbmc
Note that their suggested races have been tweaked at points, though. And some races might still undergo minor changes during the season (new sand section, a climb scratched...)

Too bad my Geraardsbergen cross didn't make it

Not quite as many events of mine as last year i don't think, you seemed to specifically cut my events

Still, got half the classics, a nice portion of the Superprestige, a big portion of the Coca-Cola trophy, most of the World Cup, all of the NES events and a Championship route... how do i get more races next year mwahahahaha

I like the calendar this season, especially from the viewpoint of Sylvain. and thanks for the big review, it was a good read, although I still don't quite understand why Sylvain is never a super-prestige contender? He did come 2nd last season.

From a standpoint of excitement though, I'm very happy with the calendar, it looks to be a good season.

and from the view of a stage maker, I think I only got 1 new race in, but I don't really mind. it's hard to compete with TMM and I really just like making the races (just never take out Trondhem please ) and none of mine were cut Although I'm scared of TMM, trying to take over the entire calendar!

Thanks a lot though Ian

@Ollfardh: It was a matter of planning, couldn't fit in another Belgian cross, sorry. But what isn't, can always be. Maybe next season, maybe for a championship cross even

@TMM: Well, you create great races. Not that others don't, but you can describe them in a manner so I can imagine them. To write a report, it's very important that I can imagine a real parcours, so that's why so many of your races make it

@trekbmc: Believe me, you should be happy that Lipawsky is always underrated by the press. Last time it happened he became World Champion

Actually you're right. Although you would think that they would've learnt by now, but I guess it's a good thing.

It helps to use google maps and street view, my routes are actually mostly real which makes them much easier to describe

And this marks the first real steps into a 2nd season. A first post by one of the new members, Avin.
As expected, it's a great post. Will definintely bring some extra depth to some races, especially with his background (the rider, not Avin)