I do want to but I'm trying to hold myself back from raising stats. I'll definitely consider it.

Criterium International- Another great race for us. Stage 1 wasn't great for us because we didn't have any sprinters but stage 2 was hilly and Dekker won the stage. The stage 3 time trial was won by Rein Taaramae and Dekker and Pate finished 2nd and 3rd. Dekker finished 1st overall and Pate finished 6th.

KBC - Driedaagse De Panne - Koksijde- Stage 1 was won by Stijn Joseph ahead of Pieter Jacobs as Silence took 1st and 2nd and Bellis finished 3rd. Stage 2 and 3 were sprints so we didn't take any good places. Stage 4 was a time trial which was won by Larsson bt Pate finished 4th and Meier finished 7th. Bellis finished 3rd overall which is a great performance by him.

Gent - Wevelgem- Maaskant finished 6th in a group with Cancellara, Flecha and Devolder. Pozzato won ahead of Burghardt and Ballan.

Ronde van Vlaanderen - The former World Champion, Flecha won ahead of Cancellara and Boonen. Maaskant could only finish 12th.

Paris - Roubaix- Pozzato won ahead of Cancellara and Ballan. Maaskant crashed out leaving our hihgest placing to Greg Scoullar who finished 52nd and Bellis who finished 53rd.

Veulta Ciclista al Pais Vasco - We didn't take any high stage rankings except for the time trial which was won by Dekker but we did do well in the GC. Vandevelde finished 6th, and Dekker finished 9th.

Garmin - Slipstream
1. D.Martin
2. C.Froome
3. D.Hawke
4. C.Lewis
5. D.Millar
6. T.Peterson
7. C.Sutton
8. R.Van der Velde

Fuji - Servetto
11. E.Capecchi
12. P.Bailetti
13. E.Garcia Etxegibel
14. H.González
15. B.Intxausti
16. R.Kiserlovski
17. G.Ortega
18. D.Viganò

Serramenti PVC
21. F.De Bonis
22. A.Bertolini
23. D.Genovesi
24. F.Ginanni
25. E.Gligora
26. A.Merondi
27. E.Rigotto
28. R.Traficante

Ceramica Flaminia
31. G.Caruso
32. A.Bisolti
33. P.Camussa
34. M.Gentili
35. E.Girardi
36. S.Kolesnikov
37. E.Rossi
38. A.Vanotti

CarmioOro
41. S.Pardilla
42. A.Bertuola
43. M.Codol
44. P.Fava
45. S.Fournet-Fayard
46. A.Marangoni
47. A.Scalingi
48. R.Zampilli

Vorarlberg - Corratec
51. S.Denifl
52. F.Borowski
53. G.Glomser
54. B.Herbst
55. P.Ludescher
56. F.Mancebo
57. H.Morscher
58. M.Schöffmann

Katusha
61. I.Rovny
62. N.Eskov
63. V.Gustov
64. D.Hudakov
65. S.Ivanov
66. S.Klimov
67. A.Serov
68. N.Trussov

Miche - Silver Cross
71. S.Stortoni
72. S.Anzà
73. L.Bernucci
74. E.Bindi
75. D.Malacarne
76. T.Marczynski
77. A.Moletta
78. P.Tondo

Amore & Vita
81. C.Castaño
82. V.Borisov
83. J.Dabrowski
84. F.Gilioli
85. S.Gretchyn
86. P.Mamos

ISD
91. J.Veikkanen
92. D.Cioni
93. B.Huzarski
94. G.Mirenda
95. A.Proni
96. L.Scarselli
97. I.Stannard
98. E.Vona

LPR Brakes
101. C.Salerno
102. M.Cattaneo
103. R.Chiarini
104. G.Ermeti
105. G.Infanti
106. S.Laganà
107. S.Marinangeli
108. D.Pietropolli

Verandas Willems
111. S.Nevens
112. N.Baïolet
113. C.Collaers
114. J.Heyvaert
115. S.Kleynen
116. S.Schets
117. J.Van Hoecke
118. S.Vandenbergh

Lampre
121. L.Solari
122. L.Bertagnolli
123. M.Bono
124. P.Caucchioli
125. A.D'Aniello
126. M.Gavazzi
127. S.Ponzi
128. D.Righi

Liquigas
131. A.Kuschynski
132. C.Corioni
133. A.Donati
134. M.Fischer
135. F.Goesinnen
136. M.Iannetti
137. D.Oss
138. F.Sabatini

Acqua & Sapone
141. S.Garzelli
142. M.Facci
143. F.Failli
144. M.Iannone
145. M.Maisto
146. A.Masciarelli
147. S.Masciarelli
148. D.Milán

Kelly Benefit
151. W.Van Huffel
152. L.Bak
153. J.Erker
154. M.Grierson
155. S.Kline
156. S.Zwizanski

Trek Livestrong
161. C.Evans
162. R.Baumann
163. C.Campbell
164. P.Cortes
165. G.East
166. D.Veilleux

CSF - Navigare
171. F.Reda
172. M.Corti
173. M.Da Dalto
174. U.Nardecchia
175. D.Nosotti
176. A.Raisoni
177. M.Santambrogio
178. M.Velo

Vacansoleil
181. F.Pacheco
182. M.De Maar
183. R.Jørgensen
184. M.Marcato
185. M.Mortensen
186. W.Poels
187. R.Sinkeldam
188. A.Vierhouten

Silence - Lotto
191. M.Aerts
192. G.D'Hollander
193. W.De Vocht
194. M.Delage
195. J.Ljungblad
196. J.Roelandts
197. J.Vangenechten
198. W.Weylandt

Just want to tell you your story is great! Keep up the good work matt493!

Stage 1
Stage 1 is classified as hilly but it shouldn't cause to big of time gaps. The startlist is very weak so I have a great chance to win the race. We tried to get people in the breakaway but failed after two attempts. Eventually Leonardo Bertagnolli was able to get away and he was by himself for most of the stage.



Meanwhile, I was sitting back in the peloton, being protected by Millar.



Eventually Bertagnolli was caught thanks to the work of Fuji.



On the steepest climb riders began attacking, I had no choice but to follow despite my legs not wanting to go.



We stayed in front until the finish but when we got to the finish they were right behind us. At the finish line it was so close between Denifl and De Bonis, but who won?



Denifl was the one who barely pipped De Bonis on the line.



No one picked up anytime on anyone else which is a little disappointing after all the hell I went through today. I finished 10th which is pretty good for a stage that doesn't suit me very well.


Stage

Stage 2

Today is the first of two Mountain stages and its actually pretty easy until the final climb. Unlike yesterday a lot of riders got away and formed a breakaway.



At the bottom of the final climb, they still had 3 minutes and looked like they might make it. I knew that if I waited too long to attack then the breakaway would take the win so I decided to attack.



Some riders followed but they weren't as strong as I was and I took the lead. With 5 kilometers left I was by myself in front of the favorites but behind the breakaway.



Not only did I catch the breakaway but I held off all the favorites and took the win and the leaders jersey.



And guess what. It was on extreme. A mountain stage win on extreme.




Stage



GC

nice =)

hey matt, really like the story! its brilliant.
now i have a request... sorry

i used to ride with matt green(cinelli) before he went to france, and i was wondering if i could see his stats? i dont have the DB so need you to show me. would be very grateful if i could, keep up the good work!

hah was matt good in the cobbles in real life? looks like he could be good in the cobbles in-game

we are from sussex in england, therefor dont have any cobles
but his tt was beast...
sign him

There won't be any updates for a while.I;m going to Atlanta until late monday. Then on Tuesday I begin school again which will definitely slow the updates.

Great story so far Matt493! I am really enjoying reading it

Matt, after following your story for a while I tryed Garmin too, but then a rider like you Dan could only get a max of 3 stars in potential with the same DB. In the original I think max is higher. But how did you get so good in this career when you can't get more than 3 stars?

Can you edit this?

It's only the second story in english I read. I did'nt read all pages but the firsts and the 3 lasts. A very good job, even if there isn't very good competitors in this Tour.

Winning on Extreme

I selected random db in the career options at the beginning.


I am back from Vacation and can't remember if I did stage 3 before I left or not. I hope to race the rest of the race today and post it tomorrow. Im going back to school tomorrow which takes up anytime to race until I get back at 3 so there will be a lot less updates.

Random DB doesn't change the talent stars, only the potential between 1-8. He is normally on 6, but he can evolve the same no matter what.
What DB are you using now? It looks like you started over at some point, and the irish shirt looks different.

Sad that your holidays are over

Stage 3
Stage 3 is another Mountain stage but the finish is downhill so who knows how the stage will turn out. Today was another stage where people had trouble getting in a successful breakaway and just like stage 1 only one rider was successful in getting away.



I was enjoying the stage wearing my yellow jersey that I had won yesterday.



Eventually on the final climb all the favorites attacked, excluding Capecchi.



We formed a chasing group of 10. Unfortunately for me Capecchi had managed to catch up with them.



Capecchi was obviously feeling strong and attacked soon after we caught the breakaway rider.



I followed but was too tired to hold on and even had trouble holding on to the chasing group. Capecchi was almost caught at the line but held on to the stage win.



I was pushing myself to avoid giving up any timegaps. I wasn't worried about my position but rather if I lost time on Capecchi.



But was there a time gap? ....



No. I lost no time to Capecchi.


Stage Rankings



GC

Stage 4
Today's stage is classified as hilly but in my opinion its actually fairly flat. Right from the beginning a large group of riders successfully broke away and Craig Lewis.



Lewis sat on the back and conserved his energy for a stage win or to help me if I catch up to him. At the end of the stage the breakaway was still in the lead and the favorites were beginning to attack.



Today the favorites group was even larger because today's stage was far less tough.



Lewis made a huge sacrifice and dropped back and protected me for the rest of the stage. He really helped me keep me fresh. Up front a breakaway rider, Kleynem, won the stage.



I just needed to finish with the favorites and I would win the race. I had no problem doing this because of the great performance by Craig Lewis who sacrificed himself to help me win.



Lewis is living proof that Americans know best.


Final Results coming up ...

Stage
1 Steven Kleynen Verandas Willems 3h38'03
2 Tomasz Marczynski Miche - Silver Cross - Selle Italia s.t.
3 Elia Rigotto Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli s.t.
4 Riccardo Chiarini LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
5 Marco Corti CSF Group - Navigare s.t.
6 Alessandro Bertuola CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
7 Mauro Santambrogio CSF Group - Navigare s.t.
8 Nikita Eskov Team Katusha s.t.
9 David Veilleux Trek Livestrong s.t.
10 Daniel Oss Liquigas s.t.
11 Massimiliano Gentili Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
12 Vladislav Borisov Amore & Vita - McDonald's s.t.
13 Shane Kline Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
14 Floris Goesinnen Liquigas s.t.
15 Marc De Maar Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
16 Mario Aerts Silence - Lotto s.t.
17 Francesco De Bonis Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli + 1'10
18 Cristiano Salerno LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
19 Sergio Pardilla CarmioOro - A-Style s.t.
20 Francesco Failli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
21 Luca Solari Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
22 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
23 Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas s.t.
24 Eros Capecchi Fuji - Servetto s.t.
25 Francesco Reda CSF Group - Navigare s.t.
26 Marco Marcato Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
27 Phil Cortes Trek Livestrong s.t.
28 Jussi Veikkanen ISD s.t.
29 Jaroslaw Dabrowski Amore & Vita - McDonald's s.t.
30 Pietro Caucchioli Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
31 Craig Lewis Garmin - Slipstream + 1'48


GC
1 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream 15h53'47
2 Eros Capecchi Fuji - Servetto + 33
3 Stefan Denifl Vorarlberg - Corratec + 1'15
4 Cristiano Salerno LPR Brakes Farnese Vini + 1'44
5 Ivan Rovny Team Katusha + 2'02
6 Sergio Pardilla CarmioOro - A-Style + 2'24
7 Pietro Caucchioli Lampre - N.G.C + 2'28
8 Jussi Veikkanen ISD s.t.
9 Francesco De Bonis Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli + 3'14
10 Simone Stortoni Miche - Silver Cross - Selle Italia + 3'15
11 Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas + 3'33
12 Gianpaolo Caruso Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce + 3'58
13 Robert Kiserlovski Fuji - Servetto + 4'04
14 Giairo Ermeti LPR Brakes Farnese Vini + 5'34
15 Phil Cortes Trek Livestrong + 6'21
16 Marco Marcato Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 7'16
17 Jaroslaw Dabrowski Amore & Vita - McDonald's + 7'48
18 Sven Nevens Verandas Willems + 7'54
19 Tomasz Marczynski Miche - Silver Cross - Selle Italia + 8'35
20 Massimiliano Gentili Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce + 8'47
21 Mario Aerts Silence - Lotto s.t.
22 Murilo Fischer Liquigas + 9'10
23 Francesco Failli Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo + 9'13
24 Francesco Reda CSF Group - Navigare s.t.
25 Luca Solari Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
26 Lorenzo Bernucci Miche - Silver Cross - Selle Italia + 9'14
27 Sergei Klimov Team Katusha s.t.
28 Gerrit Glomser Vorarlberg - Corratec s.t.
29 Shane Kline Kelly Benefit Strategies + 9'20
30 Steven Kleynen Verandas Willems + 9'43
31 Leonardo Bertagnolli Lampre - N.G.C + 9'45
32 Jacob Erker Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
33 Daniele Pietropolli LPR Brakes Farnese Vini + 9'47
34 Francesco Ginanni Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli + 9'51
35 Alessandro Proni ISD s.t.
36 Marco Cattaneo LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
37 Piergiorgio Camussa Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
38 Massimiliano Maisto Acqua & Sapone - Caffé Mokambo s.t.
39 Alessandro Vanotti Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
40 Alessandro Bisolti Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.


Points
1 Stefan Denifl Vorarlberg - Corratec 48
2 Eros Capecchi Fuji - Servetto 45
3 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream 39
4 Francesco De Bonis Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli 36
5 Cristiano Salerno LPR Brakes Farnese Vini 29
6 Ivan Rovny Team Katusha 28
7 Steven Kleynen Verandas Willems 25
8 Sergio Pardilla CarmioOro - A-Style 24
9 Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas 23
10 Gianpaolo Caruso Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce 20


Mountains
1 Giairo Ermeti LPR Brakes Farnese Vini 32
2 Daniel Martin Garmin - Slipstream 24
3 Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas 24
4 Lorenzo Bernucci Miche - Silver Cross - Selle Italia 22
5 Francesco De Bonis Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli 20
6 Sergio Pardilla CarmioOro - A-Style 18
7 Marco Cattaneo LPR Brakes Farnese Vini 14
8 Eros Capecchi Fuji - Servetto 12
9 Francesco Reda CSF Group - Navigare 12
10 Matteo Bono Lampre - N.G.C 12