Team: Custom (Bouygues Telecom, Continental)
Database: PCMDaily’s V1.5
Difficulty: Hard, although this may change
Crash Frequency: 120%, which might also change
Chances that the game itself will crash to desktop: 100%
Prize Money: x1.0
I’ll try to remember to put most images in spoilers, because of loading times. We’ll see how long I remember to do that for haha! I also don’t know exactly how long this story is going to last, and updates may come and go depending on free time with work and study.
Bouygues Telecom, once proud sponsor of the team we now know as Europcar, has been outside of the professional peloton as a sponsor for several years now. However, it has been decided that cycling is once again a venture that they would like to invest in. Unable to commit back into the venture that is World Tour, it has been decided that a smaller continental team would be a viable alternative, with the aim to promote the younger generation of French riders and the option for a larger investment in the future, based on results.
Joining Bouygues in sponsoring this team is the department or region of Vendee, having contributed a small sum of money in an effort to see this team get off the ground. Both Vendee and Bouygues have committed to at least the 2015 and 2016 season, ensuring that there will be some continuation after this season. Bouygues is naming rights sponsor for both years, having contributed a vast majority of the required budget.
This is where I come in. I have been appointed team manager for this project, with the goal to piece together the best possible squad of riders under the budget and goals for the team. I won’t however be running an entirely French team, as I can see the importance of capitalising on other talents and expertise that may be available. A full announcement of our roster for the 2015 season will be made in the near future.
Equipment is also still under negotiation, and we will be finalizing what the team will be riding during the season soon. We are in contact with some large manufacturers, ensuring that only the best will be ridden.
A schedule for the upcoming season is also under works, with plans to race some of the more major French races. Other regions of Europe are certainly going to be visited, but for the time being I can’t see us branching too far across water to places like the United States, Africa or Australia. This could of course change, and we’ll take what race opportunities are provided to us.
Beyond this season, long term goals haven’t been set yet. This is because of the uncertainty of the sport and sponsor commitments. Ultimately, a place within the future World Tour is something that is sought after, but first we need to establish ourselves as a team, and start obtaining results. World Tour may be many years down the track yet!
Edited by TTtheGladiator on 16-08-2015 00:13
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
Today we are proud to announce the riders list for the Bouygues Telecom team in the 2015 season! We will of course be riding at the continental level of competition.
Headlining the team is French sprinter Kevin Reza, jumping across from Europcar where he raced in the 2014 season. He is quite the established sprinter, placing third at the French championships in 2014, as well as 6th at the Classic Loire Atlantique, and 9th overall at the Tour de Picardie. Kevin jumped at the chance to take a lead role in the rebirth of Bouygues Telecom, and in the majority of races, will have the support of the entire team.
Upcoming star from the Netherlands, Mattieu van der Poel, will be our guy for the hills and mountains, in conjunction with Sam Oomen. These two puncher style riders both have the opportunity to develop far, and we’re hoping that they will be able to carry the team to success, both short term and long.
Young Irish rider Ryan Mullen will lead our time trial hopes, already having proven himself to be a solid rider. There is no doubt that he will be vital to our success with lead outs as well, preparing and positioning the sprinters in the last parts of the flatter stages. He will be joined by Yoann Paillot, who is also looking to develop into a time trial specialist.
Steven Tronet will be the captain on the road, helping the younger sprinters develop and learn, while also having a chance of victory for himself. He’ll be making the calls that myself, or one of the other director sportifs, can’t.
Our stage racing hopes are in the future, with Tao Geoghegan Hart, the 19 year old rider from the UK. He’ll be looking to nab some high mountain victories where available this year, and support the rest of the team in the hills and on the flats. We look forward to seeing him race.
Lorenzo Manzin, Thomas Boudat and Romain Cardis are developing young sprinters, from France. These guys will be working closely with Kevin and Steven to perfect their sprint, as well as develop lead out techniques. In some races, they of course might have the opportunity to ride for themselves, but that is not something they can expect a great deal of this season. In the future, we’re hoping that they will develop up to the likes of Bouhanni, Demare and Coquard, all riders that these guys idolize.
The entire team has signed on until the end of the 2016 season, the same time our sponsorship is due to expire. We’re hoping that we will be able to continue the team, with at least some of these guys at the core, beyond that.
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
The team can’t ride without the right gear, and we’ve been hard at work establishing and using connections to get us the right stuff to race. The following are providing us equipment for the 2015 season only:
Canyon are providing us with the framesets that we will be using this year. We will be using a combination of the Aeroad CF and the Ultimate CF SLX for the road, with the Speedmax CF being our steed for the time trials. These high end bikes are ridden already by World Tour teams Movistar and Katusha. We appreciate their support in the project, and hopeful future of French cycling.
The wheels will be provided by DTSwiss. Their full range of wheels, including the RRC 66 Dicut and the RRC 2.0 Disc Dicut, will be used by the team. DTSwiss have also be kind enough to let us into their labs, with full access to the RnD program. We get to dictate what models are focused on for improvement, as well as get a sneak preview. We’re hoping that these wheels will be able to carry us to victory many times this season!
SRAM will be used as the group set this year, with the notion that they will continue sponsorship into the future. They’re just as excited to be working with us as we are with them!
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This gear will provide a solid starting ground for our team this year, and will be the staple work horses for the team. This gear is reliable, light, and aerodynamic, and we aim to make the most of this.
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
Today, we are pleased to announce this year’s race calendar, in its entirety. Of course, there might be changes as we go, but that’s to be expected. We aim at only racing 1 race per day as much as possible, due to the constraints in our roster. This is something we plan on addressing in the future, as we expand the squad and race calendar. Our first race is going to be the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise, starting in 4 weeks’ time.
Spoiler
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
Bouygues Telecom has set some outlines and objectives for us to attempt to obtain this season. Along with the race results that are important to them (listed below), we also have been encouraged to try and obtain a result high enough to allow us to compete in the Pro Continental division. It is understood, much to my relief, that this might not be possible to obtain this season with the limited budget, but it would certainly be a big coo to the team, and the sponsors of Bouygues, to compete at that level. Of course, that would allow us to apply for wild cards to many of the World Tour races, including the Tour de France.
The development of young French riders is a must, with the option for a development team being discussed. The development team will depend on the success of the team this year, with the minimum of a promotion to Pro Continental being required by our sponsors. The earliest this team could be under way is November. In the meantime, and likely for a season or more yet, these riders will be recruited straight into the main team, as has already been done.
This season we start off in France, with our first 3 objectives being held in February. May is going to be a busy month, with a large number of high priority objectives. Keeping our sponsors happy will be important, leading to a bigger budget in the future as well as improving our chances of a development team down the track.
Spoiler
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
The opening month for the season is usually one of the quietest, and for us this was no exception. After all, we didn’t even race any races! The team however has started training, and we expect the first races in February to start with a bang.
As expected, Orica started the season with results, winning the Australian national championships with Gerrans, and performing as expected at their home race, the Tour Down Under, resulting in stage wins and Albasini 3rd overall.
MTN has announced early in the season that they want to continue their partnership with the team into next season and beyond, signing a deal to take them through to the end of 2017.
Due to the lack of races this month, we’re not currently ranked on either the continental or CQ rankings. MTN has the lead in the continental division, with a solid start to the season. They’re on 174 points, with Gerald Ciolek leading the individual rankings on 91 points.
CQ classification sees Orica in the lead, with 735 points. Katusha is hot on their heels with 715 points, 300 points ahead of Cannondale – Garmin. It looks like those two teams have already set the stage for the year to come, battling it out for the top two spots there. There is however many more races to come.
Avanti Racing Team is the highest continental team, with 141 points, placing them in 15th. That gives us an idea as to the level of competition that we need to be placing ourselves against, especially if we wish to move up into the pro-continental ranks. Keep in mind though, that Avanti has already competed in Australian and New Zealand national championships, as well as other continental races this month.
The upcoming month will be one of firsts for Bouygues. Our first race, stage race and sponsor objectives all happen in February. It will be good to see how the team performs initially, and if there are any issues that we need to sort out as the season progresses.
We will start with the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise, a hilly one day race. We’ll be looking for Van Der Poel to perform well there, against an expected high quality field. This race happens on the first, which suites our first race just fine.
Beyond that, out first goal for the season is the Etoile de Besseges, a 6 stage predominately flat race. Here, we’re hoping Reza can demonstrate his sprinting prowess and deliver us some wins, as well as the team testing out the Canyon time trial bikes and related equipment for the first time under competition.
The next, and final, two races in February are also objectives, with the aim being for a stage win at the Tour du Haut Var-martin, and a top 10 finish in the Classic Sud Ardeche. All the races for this month are located in France.
The team is excited to start racing, and already the cohesion between riders and staff is apparent. Bring on the racing!
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
Our First Race! (Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise)
Our first race as a team, exciting! The one day Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise will be the start to our season. A reasonably hilly race, we’re looking at using this to start building our riders up for some of the early season objectives.
We’re going to be taking a full complement of 8 riders to this race, leaving Cardis and Manzin at home for the day. Van der Poel is going to be our main man, with Oomen acting as a free agent/late race support. We’re not going to be underestimating Reza either, as he can find himself at the front on some slightly hillier terrain.
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It’s going to be a tough day out there on the bike, with fitness still something to be desired. It is early season, so we’re not worried.
What’s more concerning is the start list for this race. Vuillermoz from AG2R, Barguil from Giant, Kiryienka from Sky… Even Gorilla Griepel is making an appearance! Maybe he can hold on for the victory…
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The beginning of our first race! Today we’re starting ahead of the line due to… unknown logistical issues.
The first move of the day was made by Tronet, the old bloke of the team, excited by his first race with the reborn French outfit, he tries to make a gap between himself and the peloton on the initial climb.
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Tronet makes his move as the peloton snakes his way up the hill behind. I certainly missed this blue in the peloton.
It didn’t take long before several riders tried to follow. Ahlstrand of Cofidis, Maldonado of Auber and Kamyshev of Astana saw the validity of the attack on a race like this, and quickly started to make moves to come across. The peloton looks content for now, but Lotto Soudal are moving guys slowly to the front. Maybe this isn’t the move.
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Several others saw the move as a good opportunity, and are trying to follow the attack.
De Bie from Lotto Soudal wasn’t happy with the amount of people trying to bridge it seems, and brought back those trying to follow all by himself. Tronet has been allowed freedom at this early stage, with the gap quickly growing to nearly a minute.
Breaking the minute mark, no one else has tried to attack across. Still, with 130km to go, Tronet is barely allowed 1 minute and 30 seconds. We’ll see how long this lasts.
Once over the hill, the gap quickly extends to over 3 minutes. Looks like Tronet is having a long, lonesome day today. His plan is pretty simple; keep a nice, steady pace until the finish. Maybe he’ll be able to hold on! AG2R are the main guys in doing the chasing though, and it looks like they’re not going to allow Tronet to make the line in the lead.
With 100km to the line, the gap is steadily growing upwards of 5 minutes. I expect the gap to start decreasing once the climbs start in earnest from here though. Tronet is also feeling the early season, and is not at his best. Maybe he overestimated his fitness?
The gap is closing far too quickly on the major climb for Tronet to have much more of a chance. AG2R and Lotto Soudal are committed to bringing the race back together. 55km and 3 minutes makes this break look unlikely.
Oomen takes a gamble on the second last climb of the day, attempting to bridge across to Tronet as the gap closes. Maybe he could use him as a launching platform on the final climb, before the descent down to the finish! The peloton is hot on his heels, however.
Spoiler
Oomen makes it across and has a quick breather. The charging peloton is right behind though!
Oomen has made it across, but with a gap of around 30 seconds, things are looking tight. With 30km to go, we start making sure that van der Poel is up for the task. Unfortunately, Oomen is caught on the final climb before the finish, so eyes back the favourites and Poel. It looks like the early season has gotten to him too, but Reza is still in good position and might be able to steal a win if he can make it over the climb.
An attack from Benoot of Lotto Soudal forces other riders off the front, including Barguil and Vuillermoz. Reza, who was on Vuillermoz’s wheel, tried to follow on the climb and is riding hard to catch on the descent, but is currently 10 seconds behind the pair, who are 26 seconds behind Benoot.
A lot of big names missed the move, and are trying to catch up. But with 3km to go, it’s far too late. Reza just managed to join the pair in front when the sprint started, but is out of energy from the effort to catch. 14 seconds to Benoot still in front, who is looking to be in a strong position.
Benoot holds onto the lead, and takes the win over the line with a significant lead. Reza passes Barguil in the sprint, but Vichot from FDJ sprinted like a mad man to take third. Vuillermoz placed second, opening up a gap in the sprint.
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Overall, that was a very nice start to the season! A fourth position against such a strong field is definitely a very good result. Hopefully, that’s a sign of things to come. The next placed continental rider was way down in 20th, who was Reza’s teammate Boudat.
The next race will be our first stage race, the Etoile de Besseges, featuring 6 stages, 5 of which are flat, the last being a short but hilly time trial. This race is the first of the sponsor objectives, with the goal being at least 1 stage win. Reza has proved that he’s fit and fighting, so we’ll be looking to him for the goods, at least in the first 5 stages. Of course, aggressiveness may well pay off, so some of our guys may be looking for the breakaways on suitable stages.
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
Etoile de Besseges - Stage 1
Our second race of the season is the Etoile de Besseges, a 6 stage predominately flat race. We can expect the sprinters to shine here, with a strong showing from both us and our competitors. We will be taking the same squad as we did last race, in an attempt to improve fitness and rhythm for some up and coming sponsor objectives. This race itself is also an objective, so taking the best team we can in order to achieve one or more stage wins is a focus.
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The first stage does include several minor hills, but is more or less flat with a flat finish. We expect an early break, to be chased back down before the finish. This is expected of most stages, with the last time trial being the exception.
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Some big names line up on the board, with the likes of Griepel, Couquard and Gesink. A stage win here might be just out of our reach, but I have faith in the team to obtain a strong result.
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Feels good to be starting behind the line at a bike race. The team’s ready to go!
The race started with a bang, as nine riders attempted to get clear. The move was started by Viola from team Nippo, and the lead quickly grew to one minute. That was before Europcar started getting organized though, as the gap quickly returned to 30 seconds, where it was held for a short time. Lotto Soudal took the reins from there, eliminating the break. Topsport Vlaanderen also contributed to the chase for their rider Theuns.
Viola was having none of it though, attacking once again as soon as the break was caught. He managed to get clear with Bodiot from Armee de Terre and De Troyer from Wanty.
Spoiler
The first mountain sprint was hotly contested, with De Troyer taking the win ahead of a spent Bodiot.
These guys look like they’re going to stay off the front, and right now we are content with Europcar, Cannondale and Lotto Soudal controlling the pace. Time to wait until the finish at this point.
Bodiot takes the second mountain points, with Troyer taking second. That puts these two on equal points. Viola seems content with letting those two spring it out, potentially saving his energy for the intermediate sprint or just getting to the finish. With 60km to go, the gap is just over 5 minutes. I can’t see the break staying away until the finish.
Bodiot and Viola have a fiercely contested sprint, but Bodiot comes out on top. That gives him a 3 second advantage provisionally, as well as 6 points towards the points jersey. With only a minute to go at 20km, it looks like the trio are going to be caught. The sprinters and their teams are forming at the front now, including us.
Spoiler
The team moves Reza behind Gorilla Griepel. Couqard is in position, behind his team. Reza’s getting nervous bumping shoulders with some of his idols.
In the closing kilometres, De Troyer tries to give his companions the slip. Too bad the peloton is breathing down his neck. He survives until 3.3km to go.
Coquard, launched by Martinez, starts his sprint early with 2km to go. This gives him a significant jump over the rest of his rivals, and it’s all about surviving to the line from here. Griepel tries to chase him back, but being a bit further back down the bunch thanks to poor positioning, it doesn’t look like he’ll make it. Reza is just trying to hold on at the back of the sprinters group, unable to ride any faster.
A couple of people burn through energy too quickly, so Reza moves up a couple of places to finish in 9th. The real race is on at the front though, with Greipel showing some early season form, bringing Coquard back within striking distance. But it happens to late!
Spoiler
The Frenchman takes a commanding win over Greipel, winning by several bike lengths. Jumping early paid off for the young sprinter.
This isn’t exactly the result that we were hunting for, but there’s still 5 stages left of this race. As a whole, Reza raced a decent sprint, so maybe we’ll be able to pull out some higher places in the coming stages. More top 10 results are almost guaranteed. These sprinters are on a whole new level though!
Results: Stage
Coquard’s win over Griepel today shows the power in the French sprinter. Navardauskas rounding out the podium is a small surprise, but well deserved.
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Results: Overall
The overall results closely mimic the stage results, but with De Troyer gaining that handful of seconds at the intermediate, he’s placed up to 4th. Bodiot and Viola couldn’t hold onto the peloton in the closing kilometres, and have hence lost a small amount of time.
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Results: Mountain
The mountain points see the three break away companions being the only scorers. De Troyer and Bodiot are tied on 10 points. I expect one of them to attempt to gain an edge of the other either tomorrow or the day after, in an attempt to nab the jersey overall.
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Results: Points
Coquard’s win also places him at the top here, but as he’s leading overall, will see Griepel wear the jersey tomorrow.
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Results: Young
The same will happen here as the points Jersey, with Petit from Cofidis wearing the young riders jersey for tomorrow’s stage.
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Results: Team
Lotto Soudal’s strong showing places them in first place in the team ranking. Europcar is in second, with Bouygues in third. All teams have been given the same time.
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Tomorrow’s stage should see a repeat of today’s events. An intermediate sprint and two mountain points are featured. The sprint is going to be the interesting part of the race, with a slight uphill finish. The distance of 155 km won’t provide too great a challenge.
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
DiCyc wrote:
Reza is doing pretty well
Coquard beating Greipel should happens IRL
Yeah, a top 10 there is pretty good. I think we can get a stage win out of Reza, but we'll see. The next couple of stages have reasonably uphill sprints I think. That won't really slow Greipel down, but if we can get Reza well in the lead before the sprint starts, we might be able to nab a win. I certainly need practice at setting up a lead out and positioning the riders though!
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
Etoile de Besseges - Stage 2
Stage two of the Etoile de Besseges should see just as much sprinter action as the previous. We’re looking at capitalizing on the uphill sprint today though, which will hopefully provide as enough of an advantage over Greipel and Couqard with Reza, van der Poel and Oomen.
Spoiler
The favourites for today’s stage are the top 3 from yesterday, Greipel, Couquard and Navardauskas. Greipel has proven himself in the past on somewhat hillier sprints, so he will certainly be difficult to beat.
Spoiler
The sun shines down on us today with winds light and variable.
Molard from Cofidis launched the first attack today, on a climb right near the start line. A scramble was made to chase after him, with 9 riders trying to jump across, including race leader Coquard! It appears that he was just following wheels. Also in that group of 9 riders is De Troyer, once again looking for those mountain points I suspect. I doubt that the group will survive with Coquard being a member.
It didn’t take long for group Coquard to be caught, leaving the lone leader of Molard. He’s managed to gain just over a minute from the peloton, and it will be interesting to see if any other riders attempt to bridge the ever increasing gap.
After a brief calm period, attacks are abound, with countless riders attempting to jump across. They’re not given any freedom however, which has stretched the peloton thin. Eventually, the attacks cease, and Molard is allowed to build a respectable lead of 2 minutes and 30 seconds by the first mountain points. His gap is going to be increasing for some time yet.
A kilometre before the mountain points, De Troyer attacked, being allowed to quickly build over a minute advantage. He continued to ride hard, meeting Molard soon after. The pair quickly built up a lead of 5 minutes. The winners for points at the mountain were Molard, followed by De Troyer with Hnik from CULT Energy taking third from the peloton.
De Troyer leaves Molard behind in the intermediate sprint, but wisely sits up and waits. Third place is being contested in the bunch behind, with that bonus second potentially playing a part in the overall results. Rojas is setting himself up early, eager to move up from 9th overall.
Spoiler
Rojas leaves the peloton behind to take third in the intermediate. That bonus second moves him provisionally from 9th to 5th overall.
The second mountain sprint, only giving the top two places points, was won by De Troyer. This gives him a commanding lead in the mountain jersey, which he is surely to defend in the future.
With 6 km to go, the break has split apart, with De Troyer attempting to hold off the peloton once again. He has a 45 second lead, and might just be able to beat us out and hold on.
Navardauskas launches his sprint at 3 km to go, learning from Couquard’s early move from yesterday. Already he’s opened up quite a lead.
Spoiler
Navardauskas blazes past De Troyer with 2.6 km to go. This is already shaping up to be an interesting sprint.
But it was way too early. 800m to the line and he was passed by Debusschere of Lotto Soudal with Coquard leading the charge behind. Roux and Rojas are giving their all to catch up.
Reza unfortunately cracked as the road went up, but Oomen is looking like he can position himself for a top 10 finish. Rojas from Movistar is moving up at lightning speed, pushing past everyone that stands in his way. There’s still a distance to the line, and a gap to Debusschere.
Spoiler
Rojas hits the line in first in what can only be described as an extraordinary feat of strength. He beats out Martens from Lotto Jumbo to take the win, with Coquard in third.
Unfortunately Oomen ran out of puff on the climb, with Mullen placing just outside the top 10, keeping him in a good position overall for the final time trial.
Results: Stage
Today sees Rojas from Movistar put up an impressive fight to take the win over Martens. With that additional second gained at the intermediate sprint, Rojas is quickly placing himself in a very good position over all. It will be interesting to see if he can capitalize on this.
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Results: Overall
Coquard maintains the leaders jersey for another day, holding a slim 3 second lead over Rojas heading into stage 3. Greipel is 8 seconds down in third. The overall standings are hot, even if we’re not has high up as we’d like to be.
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Results: Mountain
De Troyer’s second attack in as many days puts him in the lead of the mountain jersey by 6 points over Bodiot. Will he attempt to attack again tomorrow to further increase his lead?
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Results: Points
Coquard maintains his lead in the points classification, netting a high enough result today to keep a reasonable lead over Rojas. This competition is still pretty open ended, so expect it to be hotly contested for the rest of the tour.
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Results: Young
Coquard has maintained his position and dominance of the young riders classification, keeping a solid lead over De Troyer.
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Results: Team
All teams are still on equal time, but Bretange currently leads this classification.
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Tomorrow is another flat stage with an uphill sprint. It features 3 large circuits containing some mountains and serious mountain points, followed by several smaller circuits. We’re going to try and keep our main guys fresher moving into the finale, hoping that the circuits over some of the smaller hills will be just enough to take the edge off of the big hitters.
When you can't decide between two options, flip a coin. Not because the result of the coin will choose for you, but because, in that split second before the coin lands, you'll know what side you want it to fall on.
Yeah, he was a bit of a surprise actually. I wasn't expecting Mullen to place so well haha. Good daily form, which I think a lot of our racing is going to come down to. Hopefully Reza will have a good day this tour, so we can nab a stage win
