Incredible: 100 pages down and it's still going strong. As a celebration, the puncheurs and sprinters will dance along the Riviera. Let the festivities commence

100 pages! Now I can retire from story writing... Nah, I can still go on until 200.

Congratulations on finally reaching the 100 page milestone, now on to the next 100

Milano - Sanremo



The route of the Milano - Sanremo has been crucially changed with the removal of the climb to Le Manie halfway through the race. The race is therefore easier for the sprinters as they will have an easy day until the start of the climb to the Cipressa, less than 30 kilometers away from the finish line in Sanremo. Before that only the last kilometer of the Capo Berta is a bit challenging. However, the climbs to the Cipressa and the Poggio should wear down if not eliminate some of the challengers for the final win.



The break of the day was rather disappointing. Only 3 riders managed to break free from the control of the bunch but there was not a big fight to catch that break. The 3 riders were Paul Martens (HTC), Manuele Boaro (Astana) and Miguel Angel Rubiano (Ag2r). They were not great riders in the flat, so their chances of making it to the finish line were almost non-existent. They got to the Passo del Turchino, approximately halfway through the stage with a gap of 10 minutes over the bunch. A few important riders seemed to be in the race to help their teammates, like Jelle Vanendert, Simon Gerrans and Dries Devenyns.



With 75 kilometers to go the peloton had reduced the gap to the break to 5 minutes. The pace did not even seem that high but the riders already had more than 200 kilometers in their legs and it was a very long day at the office, especially for the guys in the break. Cannondale and Euskaltel were leading the chase but most of the riders in the peloton were enjoying the sun in the Ligurian Sea. The climb to Le Manie was done a bit before this section and the race would be much more interesting with it included in the route.



The Capos: Mele, Cervo and Berta, did not put much stress in the peloton but further reduced the gap to the break to 2' 45''. With 40 kilometers remianing from the top of the Capo Berta, the last and hardest of the three, it seemed a hopeless battle for the 3 riders in the break. The quality of the riders chasing had increased considerably as Fabian Cancellara and Jelle Vanendert were now joining the relays. Cannondale, Euskaltel and Lotto were leading the bunch and a few riders seemed quite tired already at the back of the pack.



There was not a lot of pace in the main bunch as the riders approached the climb to the Cipressa. They did not seem to want to catch the break yet and allowed the gap to sit at 1' 45'' with 25 kilometers remaining. George Hincapie was leading the climb for Lotto with Tom Slagter and Francesco Gavazzi following. As an idea of how slow the pace was in the climb, Andre Greipel was still holding on in the first places of the bunch. The German is not great on the hills but Lotto seems determined to make him survive until the finish line.



There were no attacks in the climb but at least Cannondale picked up the pace with Francesco Gavazzi in the second part of the climb and Fabian Cancellara in the flat towards the start of the Poggio. With 16 kilometers to go the early break was about to be caught. They survived way longer than what was expected from them many kilometers ago. Most of the riders are still in the bunch but at least the pace is noticeably higher and the shape of the bunch is much longer than before.



Euskaltel started the Poggio leading the way with Rinaldo Nocentini at the front of the pack. The climb might be quite easy but after 290 kilometers it is always a good test for the riders. Andre Greipel, Alexander Kristoff and Kenny van Hummel were quite close to the front of the pack as the sprinters were trying to hang on with the best and close to the front. The riders were very conservative even though many riders don't have any chance to win at the final sprint. It is surprising that riders like Bjorn Leukemans do not attack.



Rinaldo Nocentini crashed as he was leading the way and triggered several other riders to crash or be delayed. That reduced the size of the group considerably. Among those affected by the crash were Kenny van Hummel, Giacomo Nizzolo and Yauheni Hutarovich, who will not be able to repeat the podiums he got in the last editions. The only attack came from Bjorn Leukemans, shortly before the top of the Poggio. However, he did not open any gap and the sprint seemed almost assured in Sanremo.



Alessandro Ballan waited until the entrance in Sanremo to try to attack but it was almost worthless as the sprinters were already setting up the final sprint. Euskaltel had Greg van Avermaet as a luxury lead out man for Alexander Kristoff and the Belgian quickly followed the wheel of the Italian to abort the attack. Among the sprinters close to the front we could see Elia Viviani, Marcel Kittel and Tony Gallopin. Simone Ponzi, the local favorite, was a bit far from the front of the group and would have to find a gap to make progress.



Marcel Kittel started the final sprint very strong and was leading the way through the last couple of corners leading towards the via Roma. The German was only slightly ahead of Elia Viviani and Alexander Kristoff. The Norwegian had spent a bit too much time behind Van Avermaet but was making progress towards the front of the race. Mark Renshaw and Andre Greipel were chasing but it already looked like the win was among the front 3 riders on the road. Among the pre-race favorites Lloyd Mondory and Ben Swift were nowhere to be seen.



Alexander Kristoff wins in Sanremo! The Euskaltel rider emerged last year as a very serious sprinter that could contend for lots of races in the calendar but probably no one thought that he would find his first monument that quickly. The emergence of Kristoff has been rather late, as the Norwegian is already 30 years old. He will be joined in the podium for the Milano - Sanremo by two Germans: Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel. Kittel was rather close to taking the win and Kristoff could only get past in the last meters of the race.

The top 5 was completed by Mark Renshaw and Simone Ponzi. The Italian was the main favorite to take the final win but the pace in the climbs was not enough for other sprinters to be in a worse shape for the sprint. He should have made the selection himself with an attack in the Poggio to try to make the group a bit smaller in the via Roma. All in all, the race was slightly disappointing due to the lack of attackers but the Milano - Sanremo is sometimes like that and the sprinters have to have their chances.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		Alexander Kristoff	Euskaltel - Euskadi	7h27'50
2		Marcel Kittel	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
3		André Greipel	Lotto - Soudal	s.t.
4		Mark Renshaw	Discovery Channel	s.t.
5		Simone Ponzi	Team Katusha	s.t.
6		Ben Swift	Vacansoleil - DCM	s.t.
7		Tony Gallopin	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
8		Stefan Van Dijk	Team Giant - Alpecin	s.t.
9		Elia Viviani	Team Cannondale - Garmin	s.t.
10		Jürgen Roelandts	Team Sky	s.t.

Great victory for Kristoff

UCI World Tour rankings riders (after Milano - Sanremo)

1		Simone Ponzi	Katusha	168.4
2		Alexander Kristoff	Euskaltel	152.4
3		Emanuele Sella	BMC	116.03
4		David Lopez	Euskaltel	107.25
5		Rui Costa	Ag2r	88.34
6		Laurens Ten Dam	Cannondale	75
7		Mark Renshaw	Discovery	74.55
8		Ben Swift	Vacansoleil	74.3
9		Jelle Vanendert	Lotto	73.62
10		Lloyd Mondory	Quickstep	72.6
11		Andre Greipel	Lotto	69.5
12		Hubert Dupont	Euskaltel	69.45
13		Marcel Kittel	Astana	65
14		Kenny Van Hummel	LottoNL	61.7
15		Tony Gallopin	BMC	60.1

UCI World Tour rankings teams (after Milano - Sanremo)

1		Euskaltel - Euskadi	341.45
2		BMC Racing Team	243.55
3		Lotto - Soudal	235.75
4		Team Katusha	169.5
5		Etixx - Quickstep	122.45
6		Team Cannondale - Garmin	111.75
7		Astana Pro Team	105.75
8		Vacansoleil - DMC	99.3
9		Trek Factory Racing	98.8
10		Ag2r - La Mondiale	97.6
11		Team LottoNL - Jumbo	88.5
12		Discovery Channel	78.4
13		Movistar Team	44.5
14		IAM Cycling	42.7
15		HTC - Highroad	41.4
16		Tinkoff - Saxo	19.85
17		Team Giant - Alpecin	19.5
18		Team Sky	13.55

UCI Pro Continental rankings riders (after Milano - Sanremo)

1		Christophe Riblon	Cofidis	6
2		Martin Elmiger	Orica	3.3

UCI Pro Continental rankings teams (after Milano - Sanremo)

1		Cofidis, Solutions Credits	6
2		Orica - Greenedge	3.3
3		Lampre - Merida	0
4		FDJ	0

Euskaltel have started the season very strongly indeed

The hangover from the Milano - Sanremo takes the riders to Belgium for the first cobbled classic of the year: the E3 Harelbeke. The race takes place in between the first two monuments of the year and will share parts of the route with the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Obviously, all of the cobbles specialists will be around although the amount of cobbles in the E3 is not as big as in the Ronde. The route has been changed since last year with the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont featuring towards the end of the race. The last climb of the race will be the Tiegemberg, 19 kilometers from the finish line in Harelbeke.

The defending champion of the race is George Hincapie, who took a surprising win last year after a small group of outsiders managed to leave the favorites behind. Philippe Gilbert and Luca Paolini shared the podium with him. This year he will be Lotto's second chance. The previous wins had all gone to Belgians: Jelle Vanendert and Bjorn Leukemans. The race is very unpredictable and the most likely outcome is for a different rider to take the win.

Favorites:

- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Soudal): The cobbled races have had a name in the recent years: Bjorn Leukemans. His record includes 2 wins in the Paris - Roubaix and he won the E3 in 2013. However, he has yet to take the win in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The part of the season where he normally shines has not even started but he already got a stage win in the Paris - Nice and wore the leader's jersey. This means that his shape should be quite good ahead of the cobbles and the Ardennes.
- Lloyd Mondory (Etixx - Quickstep): Lloyd Mondory should last season that he can be among the best cobblers by taking the win in the Gent - Wevelgem ahead of Tom Boonen. However, he is probably the worst rider among the favorites over the hills. This means that the French will favor a slower race and a bigger group making in to the finish line in Harelbeke for him to maximise his possibilities.
- Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel - Euskadi): Kristoff comes to Belgium one week after winning his first monument in his career. He has not given many signs that he can go through the cobbles successfully in the past but it is a sign that Euskaltel ha put him above Greg van Avermaet for today's race. It would be very interesting to see a sprint between Lloyd Mondory and Alexander Kristoff in Harelbeke but other riders might think otherwise.
- Johan Vansummeren (HTC - Highroad): Finally, Vansummeren is also a strong candidate, although the Belgian seems to shine in the tougher cobbled races, like the Paris - Roubaix and, especially, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, where he already won twice in his career. In Harelbeke he has only managed to get a podium, 3 years ago. His season has not been very successful so far but he managed to be just outside the top 10 in the Paris - Nice.

Other riders with a chance include Greg van Avermaet (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Gregory Rast (Orica - Greenedge), Bernhard Eisel (Team LottoNL - Jumbo), Luca Paolini (Astana Pro Team), Tom Boonen (Team Sky) and Filippo Pozzato (Etixx - Quickstep).

Previous winners

	First	Second	Third
2011	Jelle Vanendert	Alexandre Vinokourov	Pieter Weening
2013	Bjorn Leukemans	Johan Vansummeren	Alessandro Ballan
2015	George Hincapie	Philippe Gilbert	Luca Paolini

Startlist

Kristoff again for me.

I'm going for Eisel for this one and a new riders on the podium

I have not done the race yet so I am going to let myself vote for Tom Boonen.

Harelbeke - Harelbeke



The route of the E3 Harelbeke has some of the iconic climbs around the area of Ronse and Oudenaarde, including the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont. The race has quite a few climbs with a few cobbled climbs although the total amount of kilometers of cobbles is below 10 kilometers. However, the important climbs are all more than 30 kilometers away from the finish line in Harelbeke, which makes solo attacks really difficult to succeed.



The break of the day was really tiny. Only Jonathan Hivert (Sky) and Frank Schleck (Quickstep) were in an attacking mode and several teams were willing to control the size of the group early on the race. The couple made it almost halfway through the race with a gap of 6' 30'' over the main bunch. The climb to La Houppe was 114 kilometers from the finish line. It was surprising not to see any of the Pro Continental teams joining the break. They must have thought that they could win riding against the best in the World.



The early break was small but that seemingly encouraged other important riders to attack very early in the race. Alessandro Ballan, the former World Champion, attacked with over 100 kilometers to go and was joined by Gregory Rast straight away. The bunch was not panicked and they quickly built a gap of 4 minutes at the top of the Eikenberg, 96 kilometers to the finish line. This was going to force the peloton to increase the pace and Lotto soon reacted and put Przemyslaw Niemiec to set a higher pace.



The break grew a little bit as other riders attacked from the bunch. By the time they made it to the Rotelenberg, 58 kilometers to the finish, the front group had 6 riders: the two breaks plus Stefan van Dijk and Luca Paolini, who had also attacked from the bunch. Oscar Freire was chasing 2' 45'' behind and the bunch was 5' 25'' behind. Lotto and HTC were chasing but the work of the domestiques did not seem to have any effect in reducing the gap. If they don't react it could be the same outcome as last year.



Oscar Freire kept on cutting back the lead of the front group as they tackled the Paterberg, the gap at 1' 05'' at that stage. The cobbled climb is really short but also really steep and is already an iconic place of the E3 and the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The main bunch was still losing ground as the team work was not very effective and the gap had increased to 6 minutes. The favorites are going to have to increase the pace and work for themselves quite early.



The climb to the Oude Kwaremont was straight after the Paterberg. Andre Greipel and Yauheni Hutarovich increased the pace at the front of the group and Jurgen Roelandts capitalized on that work to attack halfway through the cobbled climb. However, it was Bjorn Leukemans who responded this time and that triggered many other riders to be alert. Nevertheless, the gap with the front group might be too big for them to connect. The first rider to suffer in that front group was Frank Schleck, who lost contact at the Kwaremont.



Jurgen Roelandts did not manage to keep up with Bjorn Leukemans when the World Champion countered his attack on the Oude Kwaremont. However, Fabian Cancellara and Johan Vansummeren joined forces on the flat after that climb to try to chase the Lotto rider. They were not very successful and Leukemans still held a gap on them of around 50 seconds as they climbed the Karnemelkbeekstraat. At the front of the race Oscar Freire seemed to be losing ground to the break and his chances were vanishing. Leukemans still had more than 4 minutes to recover.



A few riders were not keen to make it to the finish line together in the front group and Gregory Rast was the first to launch an attack, just before the Tiegemberg, the last climb of the day. It was only 19 kilometers from the finish line in Harelbeke and there were no other cobbles to tackle. Alessandro Ballan joined him at first but then left the Swiss behind and went chasing a solo victory. Bjorn Leukemans was cutting back the gap fast and the gap was at 2' 30''. Behind him a group of only 18 riders had caught up to Fabian Cancellara and Johan Vansummeren.



Alessandro Ballan was still alone at the front of the race with 6 kilometers to go but there had been a few groups that merged behind. There were many doubts in the chasing group and the group of the favorites ended up catching up everyone else, including Bjorn Leukemans. There was an immediate counter-attack from George Hincapie and Geraint Thomas. They were only 40 seconds behind the Italian, who was giving signs of being empty after 100 kilometers escaped. A group of 23 was chasing only 10 seconds behind the duo. A few good sprinters were still there, including Lloyd Mondory, Andre Greipel and Alexander Kristoff.



The hopes of Alessandro Ballan were over when 2 kilometers from the finish line he was overtaken by an attacking Maarten Tjallingii. Greg van Avermaet jumped behind the Dutch and actually seemed to be much stronger and opened a small gap ahead of the group. Euskaltel had the option of Alexander Kristoff but they seemed to be playing different cards. George Hincapie and Tom Boonen were leading the chase at the group but the outcome of the race was still in the air.



Greg van Avermaet was the first to attack but he was soon reeled back in. The final sprint was started by Lloyd Mondory, who was clearly ahead with 800 meters to go. The French was probably the fastest sprinter along with Andre Greipel and Alexander Kristoff in the group. He was followed by Bernhard Eisel, Greipel, Tom Boonen and Sylvain Chavanel. All those riders were very close between them but a bit far from the French. On the other hand, Alexander Kristoff was nowhere to be seen and probably used all his energies surviving in the group.



Lloyd Mondory wins in Harelbeke! No one was able to catch back Mondory when he opened a gap in the final sprint and the French takes the win in Harelbeke for the first time. Mondory already got a quality win in the Gent - Wevelgem last year and if he continues this way his win record will continue to grow. At this point he has already won the Tour Down Under and the E3 Harelbeke this year. He will be joined in the podium by Andre Greipel and Bernhard Eisel. The German had started the season poorly but was in the podium in Sanremo and here.

The fourth place in the race was taken by Sylvain Chavanel, followed by Tom Boonen. Among the other favorites it was clear that the race was a bit too hard for Alexander Kristoff, while Bjorn Leukemans and Johan Vansummeren made their bid attacking far from the finish line. The group that made it to Harelbeke was in the end quite big for riders without sprinting abilities to be able to capitalize.

Today's Winner



Stage Results

1		Lloyd Mondory	Etixx - Quick·Step	5h27'37
2		André Greipel	Lotto - Soudal	s.t.
3		Bernhard Eisel	Team LottoNL - Jumbo	s.t.
4		Sylvain Chavanel	Team Giant - Alpecin	s.t.
5		Tom Boonen	Team Sky	s.t.
6		Greg Van Avermaet	Euskaltel - Euskadi	s.t.
7		Luca Paolini	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
8		George Hincapie	Lotto - Soudal	s.t.
9		Nick Nuyens	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
10		Geraint Thomas	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.

UCI World Tour rankings riders (after E3 Harelbeke)

1		Simone Ponzi	Katusha	168.4
2		Alexander Kristoff	Euskaltel	152.4
3		Lloyd Mondory	Quickstep	116.6
4		Emanuele Sella	BMC	116.03
5		David Lopez	Euskaltel	107.25
6		Andre Greipel	Lotto	102.5
7		Rui Costa	Ag2r	88.34
8		Laurens Ten Dam	Cannondale	75
9		Mark Renshaw	Discovery	74.55
10		Ben Swift	Vacansoleil	74.3
11		Jelle Vanendert	Lotto	73.62
12		Hubert Dupont	Euskaltel	69.45
13		Marcel Kittel	Astana	65
14		Kenny Van Hummel	LottoNL	61.7
15		Tony Gallopin	BMC	60.1

UCI World Tour rankings teams (after E3 Harelbeke)

1		Euskaltel - Euskadi	352.45
2		Lotto - Soudal	274.25
3		BMC Racing Team	246.3
4		Team Katusha	169.5
5		Etixx - Quickstep	166.45
6		Team LottoNL - Jumbo	116
7		Astana Pro Team	114
8		Team Cannondale - Garmin	111.75
9		Vacansoleil - DMC	99.3
10		Trek Factory Racing	98.8
11		Ag2r - La Mondiale	97.6
12		Discovery Channel	78.4
13		Movistar Team	44.5
14		IAM Cycling	42.7
15		Team Giant - Alpecin	41.5
16		HTC - Highroad	41.4
17		Team Sky	30.05
18		Tinkoff - Saxo	20.95

UCI Pro Continental rankings riders (after E3 Harelbeke)

1		Christophe Riblon	Cofidis	6
2		Martin Elmiger	Orica	3.3

UCI Pro Continental rankings teams (after E3 Harelbeke)

1		Cofidis, Solutions Credits	6
2		Orica - Greenedge	3.3
3		Lampre - Merida	0
4		FDJ	0

The classics season is entering its most interesting part with the second monument of the year: the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The Flanders classic is one of the iconic races in the cycling calendar, especially in the Flemish part of Belgium where the race takes place. The route has been slightly modified for this year's event but the three climbs to the Oude Kwaremont remain, as well as two climbs to the Paterberg. This will be the last climb of the day, only 13 kilometers from the finish line at Oudenaarde. The last loop around the Kwaremont has been completely changed, now including a lot of climbs, including the Koppenberg.

The rider that has found the most success in the Flemish race has been Johan Vansummeren, a fellow Belgian from Limburg. He is the current champion and got 2 titles so far in his career. Peter Kennaugh was the surprising winner of the opening edition in 2009. The Ronde is the only race that seems to avoid the dominance from Bjorn Leukemans in the cobbles. A third is his best result so far as he was also beaten by Tom Boonen in 2014.

Favorites:

- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Soudal): Leukemans might be the best rider in the cobbles but he has never managed to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen. He has been quite good this season so far but his attack in the E3 last weekend was not really successful and he did not get any result out of it. Leukemans needs a very tough race to shine and the Ronde is exactly what he needs. Additionally, the difficult climbs are not too far from the finish line from Oudenaarde, which will help him.
- Lloyd Mondory (Etixx - Quickstep): Mondory is probably the rider with the best results this season so far, even if he is not leading the World Tour classification. The French has already won the Tour Down Under and the E3 Harelbeke. With these results he has to be among the top favorites for the win. He is definitely the rider with a quickest sprint if it all comes down to a small group at Oudenaarde.
- Johan Vansummeren (HTC - Highroad): Vansummeren is the record holder for the number of wins in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The Belgian has managed to win twice in a row and is the current defending champion. Additionally, he has two other podiums in the Paris - Roubaix. It is a curious record, given that in principle his characteristics as a rider should make him more suitable for the French race. This year he changed teams to HTC but he has not been able to get any good results. Not even in the E3 was he a factor in the outcome of the race and his attack after the Kwaremont was a non event.
- Greg van Avermaet (Euskaltel - Euskadi): Van Avermaet has never been in the mix for the win in a monument but he was quite good in the E3 and even tried a late attack within the last 3 kilometers of the race. He was 6th at the end of the day. However, other smaller races were different, like last year's Gent - Wevelgem, where he managed to get a podium by being 3rd in the sprint. The progress he has made this year should put him in the mix.

Other riders with a chance are Fabian Cancellara (Team Cannondale - Garmin), Gregory Rast (Orica - Greenedge), Filippo Pozzato (Etixx - Quickstep), Tom Boonen (Team Sky), Bernhard Eisel (Team LottoNL - Jumbo) and Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing Team).

Previous winners

	First	Second	Third
2009	Peter Kennaugh	Oscar Freire	Jean-Christophe Peraud
2012	Johan Vansummeren	Alessandro Ballan	Oscar Freire
2014	Johan Vansummeren	Tom Boonen	Björn Leukemans

Startlist

Very interesting concept, just Saw this tonight, and I have read the first 10-12 pages to get an idear of what is all about, and some posts here and there.
The idear is just great, ! And congrats with the 100 pages, that is crazy !

NB: seems you are not using the original 2009 game anymore, what version are you using now, how many times have you change version ?

Thanks, I think that the more recent seasons are a lot better written than the start of the story. At the beginning I did not have any context to make up a story but now that this invented World has a history of itself it is much easier.

I am using 2012 now and I only changed once along the way. I am more or less happy with the AI and how the game reacts to the changes I make in the database so I can't see myself changing again in the near future.

Then i think i will just catch up on the last 20 pages or so, one of the comming nights, and then hang on from there

Congrats on 100 pages, I read posts here and there and it's really good.

Also, amazingly, you hit 100 pages at just 1 day (12 hours actually) less than 4 years!

@Tamijo: Yes, 20 pages sounds right to get the quality readings. That should cover most of 2015 + the start of 2016.

@trekbmc: lol, I had not realized. I knew that I had started around 4 years ago but did not know the exact date.

Good win for Mondory at Harelbeke