If it's allowed I'll add another race first.

Place (nation, city): Hagfors, Sweden

Technical information: [enter a number between 1 - 5, with 1 being very low / nothing and 5 being very high
Technicality: 4
Sand: 2
Uphill: 5
Length of 1 lap: 4
Cobbled sections: 0
Final sprint (length of the final straight road): 2

Other information: In the Swedish town of Hagfors, known for its rally, is now hosting a cross as well. Sweden is known to be hilly and snowy in this time of the year, so yeah, I think it's safe to say a lot of power and ability to ride on snow is necessary for the riders. The finish will be drawn on a short straight.

Dips on Mathieu Van der Poel's face & all for banner.




Fantastic idea Ian! Love it!

Name: Lue Khamsé Khamphan
Nationality (region): Laos (Luang Prabang)
Date of Birth: 17/03/1989
Specialty: Things that are similar to road racing
Weakness: Things that are not similar to road racing
Biography: Lue is a celebrated Cobbler of the EPIC league of cycling, and does cx in the winter to keep fit. He's a well known cobbler, podiuming Omloop het Nieuwsblad, and is also good on the hills and in sprints. He's however not really suited to the other aspects of cyclocross, such as running. Ideally, he would ride for Ittehad or a French team.

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

EPIC comes to CX

Whilst i have no interest in a rider or team, i will put some thought to a selection of races! Seems like something i can contribute to as a one off plus inject some patented TMM originality!

Here's my first batch of race suggestions. Got some ideas for events in Asia and South America as well to come in the future. Probably expect two more batches of a similar size.

ExCel Center


Lee Valley VeloPark


Ansbach


Kitzbuhel


Abu Dhabi


Al Ain


\\\\ Zallaq


Suhar


Port Elizabeth


Struisbaai


Fish Hoek

Name: Amadou Bakari
Nationality (region): GAB (Africa)
Date of Birth: 1/1/1987
Specialty: Cobblestones
Weakness: Everything else
Biography: The famous Gabonese rider has a cobblestones ability that is unheard of on the African continent. What makes this most remarkable is his lack of ability on any other type of terrain.

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

@TMM: Flag code for Bahrain is BH

Another race for me, as this idea just dawned:
Place (nation, city): Pyeongchang

Technical information: [enter a number between 1 - 5, with 1 being very low / nothing and 5 being very high
Technicality: 5
Sand: 2
Uphill: 3
Length of 1 lap: 4
Cobbled sections: 1
Final sprint (length of the final straight road): 5

Other information: Cyclo-cross may not appear in the Olympics yet, but 2018's host is still eager to show it would be ready. The race is hilly and very technical and muddy, and with a long final straight there should be an interesting finale as well.

Sounds, pretty good, not sure about time for me, I'll think about entering later, is there a limit to how many people?

I've recently taken a strong interest into CX for the first time this season after knowing nothing about it before so I may just enter one rider to keep it simple

Thanks for all entries so far. You can be creative with your applications, I will take them all into consideration and edit what is necessary.

Nobody will be overpowering in all disciplines, don't worry about that.
Thanks TMM for all the race ideas. I had expected to have too few races, but now it seems I might even have to make a cut in the number of races, which is of course perfect because only the best will remain!

It may (but this is probably for later, first I'll see if I can run this like this in the first season) even open a road for a 2nd category (bit like WT - PCT)

Keep them coming! There is no real limit for participants. The only thing I ask you is that you be honest upon entering. Don't make a superstrong rider if you're planning on being absent. For exampe, I like what SportingNonsense did. He said he's not a big role playing fan, so he just entered 1 rider who will suck at almost any race. He fills the pack but won't play a leading role.

If you make a rider to get top 5 regularly, I really want you to play along in the role-playing, releasing statements, press, interaction with other riders and show a general interest in the game. So to sum up: the more you'll be involved, the better to make your rider. It'd be nice to create a top of riders with a few players who are constantly at each others throat.... In a nice way

Eventually, non-active players will see (or they won't because they're not here) their rider lose stats or even retire, while super-active players with lesser riders will see their rider develop into a top contender.

I've got plenty more races to suggest so you'll have plenty of choice of non-benelux races. And again i like the idea and will follow even though i wont directly participate. Nice to have you back and a bit more active

Name: Nicky van Drenthe
Nationality (region): The Netherlands (Drenthe)
Date of Birth: 01/01/1992
Height: 192cm
Weight: 82kg
Specialty: Fast starter
Weakness: Technically Behind
Biography: 2013 EPIC neo-pro at Caja Rural on the road missed out on the last part of the season which led him to experiencing some Cyclo-cross. Turning out to be pretty good combined with his already known ability to cobble he ended up winning a few local races. For the 2014-15 season he will be participating on professional circuit balancing his new CX career with his Vacansoleil road commitments. He'd love to take the CX world by surprise and take a few big results but this year is all about learn and to see where it takes him.

Stats:
Bike Handling (technical): Medium
Sand: Low
Uphill: High
Cobblestones: High
Sprinting: Medium
Explosiveness: High
Flat (TT/riding hard): High
Power: High
Running: Medium
Snow/Ice: Very Low
Jumping: Low

Hoping the stats are not too OP but I plan to be active as someone who has really started to get into CX, this game excites me.

I'm adding the riders now to an excel sheet. Don't worry, I'm making sure there are no overpowering riders. If you set the bar too high, I set it lower for you

Also, the first season will be a test drive for me but also for you all. I think the first season we'll have many different riders at the top but once it gets obvious who's participating nicely and who's backing down in the game, the right names will keep popping up, and hopefully legendary riders and rivals will be born. This is not meant to be discouraging. I hope you'll all stay active and we'll have a wide playing field, but this is just meant to encourage those who seek to be active. Remain active and I guarantee that by season 2, your rider will be where you want him to be

TMM: Appreciate it a lot. I'll be able to make a nice selection. I will also take distance into account. There will be 2 and max 3 races a week, but you can't have one in Australia, Belgium and USA in one week.


Also, don't take it personally if I've changed some minor things about your riders. I've already stumbled upon riders who are "very high" at every skill. So don't be surprised if his Running will turn out to be very low in the end, because we can't have someone being OP

I don't think HQ's are necessary. It'd be nice, sure, but I'm afraid we'd use too many threads on the site for those. Instead, I'd let all the role-playing just happen here. But I'll send out more information on that once the game gets started and once you get into character
Or perhaps I could make a second thread which is purely role-playing and with the race reports and keep this thread for off-character stuff and information.

But I will ask permission with an administrator first to set up a second thread.

(and to answer an earlier question of yours: yes, there will be development that development will depend mostly on activity and role-playing. If you're absent, your rider will sink in decay, if you're active and play the game, your rider will grow )

Second thread would definitely be the best option imo

I've decided to make three all-right but not amazing riders and might copy a couple previous ideas.

Name: Sylvain Lipawsky
Nationality (region): Switzerland (French Speaking Switzerland
Date of Birth: 17/6/1992
Height: * 167cm
Weight: * 68kg
Specialty: ** Bad weather Specialist + ????
Weakness: ** Impulsive rider + ??? + ???
Biography: Born in Genève Sylvain is a natural bike handler, who is an explosive rider who can climb reasonably well, completely unlike his brother, Pierre in his riding style, Sylvain is looking to make a mark this season.

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

Name: Pierre Lipawsky
Nationality (region): Switzerland (French speaking)
Date of Birth: 21/9/1994
Height: * 172cm
Weight: * 72kg
Specialty: ** Powerhouse + ????
Weakness: ** Final Round + ??? + ?????
Biography: Following his brother Sylvain into cyclo-cross, Pierre couldn't handle his bike nearly as well as his brother, but he trained hard, on long flat roads, as well as cyclo-cross circuits, Pierre is a real powerhouse.

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


Name: Sven van Vliet
Nationality (region): Netherlands Utecht
Date of Birth: 12/2/1981
Height: * 182cm
Weight: * 77kg
Specialty: ** Fighter + Bad Weather Specialist
Weakness: ** Impulsive + Not very technical
Biography: Sven van Vliet, former road rider, cobblestone specialist, fighter, his days of cobblestones behind him, his Paris-Roubaix podiums, his tour de France stages, forgotten, Sven van Vliet was the rider who never quite triumphed, but always shows that fighting spirit, forever a fighter, forever that powerhouse, this rider from Utecht has turned to cyclo-cross. (for stats, think of a cross between Voight and Chavenal).

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


Plus I will submit a race in the next couple of hours.

Which ones Sylvain and which ones Pierre?

I'll edit my post, it's hard not to make a mistake when they both have the same last name.

(you might like to put the quote in a spoiler as well)

Very interesting fact:
So far we have 20 riders in the peloton. Yet not a single specialist on ice.
Remember that cyclo-cross is raced during the winter, so there is a chance at several icy races