How many teams still need to send in files?

@croatia: 2 + 3 yes, 1 stands in rider selection file then (I believe: Virgina 5, Camp 2, Quebec 2)

Assigning Research

Other
Please PM me the names or IDs of the riders you want to use Potion of Youth, Fitness Trainer, Recalc and Potential on. Also if you have bought a Fitness trainer at the end of last season you can now also use it. I'll later post a list with what teams bought what, but I think everyone should be aware of what they have bought.

Training
To assign Training packs, download this file: https://www.mediafire.com/download/sim...s_Use.xlsx
How the file works:
#1 Copy columns A-E of your riders out of the DB and post them in the table TEAM in A2. Next to them there will now your riders stats appear.
#2 In the table Statpacks you will find your statpacks. There is a column "ID" post there the ID of the cyclist that you'd like to get the boost. In TEAM the stats will be updated and you can check what changed.
#3 Send me columns B+C of your statpacks out of the table statpacks.

As a little help you can go to the table StatsNew and in columns S-AE you'll see how much points of every stat for a rider are missing to improve the stat by 1.

It is also still possible to send in Research, but if you do so please mention right away on who you want to use what, except for Training packages, but I like to finish this quite fast now.

This second table in the StatsNew sheet (the one which shows what points are needed for next level) would be really useful for next season too, but maybe it makes it too easy as well.

Glad I got the training packs I needed.

Wait Research already was posted? I only see the pre-research db and since then nothing but various discussions and the schedule

Will try to do it by the end of the week

As something like a World Cup was proposed, I thought a little about it and came up with something like this: There will be 4 different World Cups: Cobbles, Hills, Sprints, ITTs and a main one combining all of these.
All races will give the same points for the top10/top20.
Races that could be on the WC calendar:


I'm not really sure if the selections are fitting. The first part are always the WT races I'd like to see on the calendar, the second the CT.1 races. Below Maybe are other races on the calendar that could fit. How big do you think should the World Cup calendar be? What races are prestigious and should be included in the World Cup in your oppinion? I'm not really sure what the best way to do this would be so need some oppinions.

I am still not for a separate World Cup of Sprints, Hills etc. To me it's a separation of a sport that is usually raced together, additionally there is no aquivalent to it irl. Also there are too little races for speciality World Cups and adding more races would just make it complicated imo. It shouldn't be too big of an event.

Overall the appeal of the World Cup is the competition of different specialists and a benefit for all-rounders such as Sagan who can score everywhere. In that way, one ranking such as the World Cup is pretty fun, but with more special World Cups it could fast become a side-track thing.

The right mixture is really difficult tho. I imagine it needs to have at least 10 races as the classic World Cup, but could also well be up to 15 or 20 races.

For the World Cup I'd put definitely following 12 races (copying your table). Mostly I'd focus on WT classics but maybe there would be a greater appeal even if CT1 and WT races were wildly mixed?

I see it as pointless extra work as long as there's no "reward" for winning it.

I don't really understand the negativity behind the extra standings. Surely with bikeX's spreadsheet skills creating extra ranking sis not exactly hard spreadsheeting work.

Anyway, I think a 'reintroduction' of the World Cup is a good idea - I always liked to see it.

Anyway golden five are:

MSR - Hill/Sprint
RVV - Hill/Cobbles
Paris - Roubaix - Cobbles
LBL - Hills
Il Lombardy - Hills/Mountain

Cobbles five:
Omloop
E3
Gent - Weg
Lincoln
Richmond

Flat five:
Palm Classic
Clasica T-A
Vattenfall
Paris Tours
Quebec Sprint Challenge

Hills trio:
Strade Bianchi
Amstal Gold
Clasica San Seb
Giro Dell Emellia
Japan Cup

Wouldn't prestige and fun of competition be enough? I don't think there should be monetary or points reward for the World Cup imo because as it is, the best riders will have had found enough success by winning the races.

All race profiles are posted now. I decided to add another WT Stage Race after all, as it indeed was kind of unbalanced between oneday races and stage races. Grand Prix of Sochi will be the race and will be located in May, clashing with the Giro.
I'll link the races when I have time. The Race Selection file will also be uploaded soon(probably tomorrow). Before that I'll present how the World Cup will be.
Don't forget to finish your research if you haven't done so yet, for that I'll give you only until tomorrow.

I'm not a fan of adding stage races after transfers out of nothing

Still not all routes posted as the GT ones (the most important ones) still are unknown and my research choices depend massively on them...

Others havn't known the GTs before either

We always could assign the fitness packs during planning and i cannot remember anything suggesting we wouldnt be able to do that again.
( Not talking about stat packs! )

Anyone has some ideas for GT routes?

I think it's been good to have a mix of different GTs in the one season (one more hilly, one with more TTs etc.) so I'd like to see that continue if possible.

The addition of Sochi to the calendar looks good, hadn't realised there were no big races in Russia until now but it fits in nicely. Aleko Vitoša is possibly the hardest-looking classic I've ever seen, difficult to say whether cobbles or mountains will be more important there.

Cobbles back to either Giro or Tour De France, wouldn't mind if it was in between mountain stages either. Vuelta can stay puncheuresque.

should be less hilly than previously...the puncheurs have a huge amount of important race days

not too many TTTs, as there are with Sotchi more than enough WT stage races with TTTs

with cobble I don´t know, I guess it would be a wasted stage as they´re often raced pure defensive - and specialists won´t be sent there for just one stage...a pure flat more could be more interesting with crosswinds than a cobbled one...

In my eyes 2 climbing based & 1 with more individual Time Trials...

Vuelta was maybe a bit too punchy, I agree. A TTT in a GT is always nice, not in all three tho. I think all GTs should be a bit balanced, no ultra mountain Giro anymore please.

One GT could be like that in my opinion, where else besides Fuji are the pure climbers favorized?