Tamijo is right, this is an excellent read. Though I think the job offer to the journalist is a bit iffy, moving to a new country for a bloody free-lance job? Couldn't Ollie have offered him a permanent position, maybe writing for the official team website?
Ripley wrote:
Tamijo is right, this is an excellent read. Though I think the job offer to the journalist is a bit iffy, moving to a new country for a bloody free-lance job? Couldn't Ollie have offered him a permanent position, maybe writing for the official team website?
I agree! In fact, I almost put a disclaimer in front of the last post to let you guys know that this is the part of the story I'm the least happy with I left it out because I wanted your honest opinion on it, not influenced by a disclaimer.
The tricky part was to bring both Ollie and the journalist to a new country in a believable way and I struggled to make that happen. The solution I went with – where the journalist is hired by a Belgian newspaper but will also have the freedom to follow the team on the road and write his own pieces – is not one I'm entirely happy with. I still might make changes to it as the journalist hasn't accepted the offer yet
Two weeks have passed since the offer was put on the table and I’m waiting for a phone call from Ollie to give him my answer, one that I’m nervous about. My stomach feels like a big ball of bad feelings and I know it won’t go away until the phone call is done with. At least Ricci is here, keeping my somewhat distracted. We’re hunched over my computer, staring at a picture of Ollie and a young rider on Argenta Cycling Team’s new website.
«That’s Jordy Warlop,» Ricci says even before we’ve been able to identify the name in between all the flemish words.
«Yeah,» I say, not wanting to admit I have no idea who the young man is. Could’ve been the new office intern for all I know. Ricci has always been on another level when it comes to the world of cycling. The man is a freaking encyclopedia and I’ve lost count of all the times he’s filled me in on names, races and results someone in my profession should know.
«What do you know about him?» I ask before he does, my usual way of not exposing my lack of knowledge.
«Not much,» Ricci says and I’m relieved, like his lack of knowledge excuses mine. «Young – maybe 17 or 18? Can’t remember seeing his name in any Continental teams. U23 rider most likely. Might be from that Etixx team, ECC? ECF?»
Show off, I think to myself.
«That’s another young one then,» I say as a comment on Argenta’s signing policy so far. It starts an hour long discussion were we finally conclude that we’re not overly impressed by the outlook of Argenta’s squad. Too many young legs who aren’t going to provide Kevin Peeters much support. Based on the press conference I attended a week ago we can expect four more riders before the start of the season but they better be good. Even Ricci can’t come up with a good available rider and we sit in silence for a few minutes before Ricci breaks it.
«So, you’re not going then,» he asks.
«No,» I respond. «Only to the team presentation.»
«It’s like you said,» I continued. «If he was offering me a job at his team and didn’t try to dump me off at a Belgian newspaper and expect everything to be the same as before, it would be different. At least that would provide some financial security and guarantee that I would always be on the road with them.»
Ricci had been against the proposal from the start and even though I had to make my own decision in the end, I still valued his input. In retrospect I had probably been a bit overwhelmed by my visit to Antwerp. It had brought back a lot of memories of all the good times and I was left with a feeling of never wanting it to end, almost saying yes on the spot. But coming back to France, back to reality, had helped me see the cons, not just the pros.
My phone rings and the smiling face of Ollie lights up my display. I look at Ricci like I need final confirmation that I’m doing the right thing. He nods before leaving the room and I take the call. Immediately I’m back in Belgium, drinking excellent coffee and chatting to an old friend as Ollie updates me on the latest Argenta news. It’s like just the sound of his voice pulls me into this role that I’ve had for two years and know so well how to play. I hesitate about my decision again and let him talk for a minute. It sounds like he thinks I’m accepting the offer though so before he goes on for too long I interrupt with the bad news.
«I understand,» Ollie says after a pause and I can hear the disappointment in his voice.
«It’s not that I don’t want to,» I start explaining. I’ve always been a person who hates to disappoint people. «It’s just that I would be moving away from a steady job and my family and friends for financial insecurity and a part-time job with people who don’t even speak my language!»
«Yeah, no, I understand it wasn’t the best offer and a long-shot, but I at least wanted to give you the opportunity,» Ollie responds and even though I have no reason to, I still feel bad.
«And I really didn’t want to work for a flemish newspaper,» I say in an attempt to lighten the mood and I hear Ollie chuckle.
«Well, I still hope you come to the team presentation. We’ll have a cup of coffee and part as friends.» I feel relieved that the hard part is over and that he still considers me a friend. His final offer is one I can accept.
«Absolutely, looking forward to it,» I say. «And hey, if it had been different circumstances, like if the team wanted to hire me to write for their website or something, I would be there in a heartbeat.»
«Really?» Ollie says and I immediately rewind what I just said in my head to make sure I didn’t make any orally binding deals. I’m not sure what Ollie is thinking so I add;
«I mean, just hypothetical, of course. I mean, your website is in flemish anyway, so…» I try to laugh it off but I’ve clearly set off some thought process in Ollie’s head and don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
«Yeah, I understand,» he finally says but I’m not sure what exactly it is he understands.
We hang up and Ricci comes back in the room. I tell him about the phone call, hoping he might help me understand what just happened.
«I mean, do you really think he thought I was making a counter offer?»
«Not necessarily… Is Ollie the kind of guy who would think this was an opportunity rather than a rejection?» Through my work Ricci has had plenty of opportunity to get to know Ollie – even met him a few times – so he already knows the answer to his own question.
«Right,» he says before I answer. «So are we expecting a call back soon with a new offer then?»
«Maybe. But my answer will probably be the same,» I say but now I’m struggling to see why. «I mean, what has changed?»
«Well,» Ricci says. «If you get an offer from the team, that’s a pretty big difference.» I can see him enjoying this a bit more than I would like him to but I soon understand why he’s smiling. No Belgian newspaper, no financial insecurity, lots of time on the road doing what I love for a team that’s barely a 3-hour drive from my home town. The cons list is shrinking fast. I’m starting to get excited again. Why wouldn’t I do this?
«And I can always learn flemish,» I say.
«Ok, slow down, man. You can’t even learn English!» Ricci laughs and I join in.
Ollie never calls back that evening but when Ricci’s left and I’m in bed, my phone chirps. It’s a text message from Ollie. All it says is:
«Talked to management. They want you aboard.»
I fall asleep wondering what to text back but after having slept on it I finally make my decision.
Sure! I'm happy the journalist was offered a real job, from experience I can say that freelancing sucks, which is why I gave up my journalism career years ago.
I don’t like not having my phone calls returned but as a journalist it's something you have to get used to. But when your new boss doesn’t return your calls on the day you are moving countries? Now, that makes me a bit nervous.
«No answer?» I shake my head.
My sister moved in last night and is now enjoying a cup of excellent coffee I brought home with me from Belgium. It was quite a change for her, moving from a tiny basement dwelling she shared with a 30-year old water boiler and about a dozen spiders to my 3rd floor spider free apartment with a functioning state-of-the-art coffee maker. She can’t afford much being a student and only working part time so I’m not making her pay me more than she did at her old place. In return, I’m able to keep my apartment – although my bedroom is now rather crowded as most of the stuff I cleared out of my office so that my sister could move in to it is now taking up most of the space – but it’s a compromise I’m willing to make. I’m not ready to turn Belgian just yet and although I will be gone most of the year, either traveling with the team or in cheap Belgian housing, it’s still nice to have my own apartment in France to come back home to when I’m not on the road.
«Told you you should’ve left yesterday. Probably busy with important stuff you should be covering.»
I know my sister wants me out of here as I already put a stop to the party she was planning to throw yesterday evening. I’m glad I’ve locked anything of value in my bedroom – except for the coffee maker that is – and the last thing I do before I leave is to lock my bedroom door. It’s not that I don’t trust her. It’s just that she has a tendency to break stuff even with good intensions. I kiss my sister goodbye and tell her to keep the place safe and tidy, which is more wishful thinking than anything else.
–––––
I cross the Belgian border and leave France behind for now. I try Ollie’s cell phone again hoping that me being in Belgium might make a difference but I still get no answer. I know the last week has been hectic, trying to close deals with riders in time for the team presentation, and he would’ve liked me to be there covering events, but I had my last day at my old newspaper just two days ago and spent all yesterday packing and ‘sister-proofing’ the apartment.
I’m close to Gent when Ollie finally gives me a sign of life. It’s a text message that reads: «Working on big deal. Call u soon.»
‘Well, hello to you too,’ I think to myself but I’m relieved he finally called. He gives me directions to an apartment about 10 minutes away. It takes me about 25 to get there but in a way I’m glad Ollie had to wait for me this time. He hands me a key, shows me around the place – which doesn’t take long – and helps me unload the car. The place is not too bad – at least its a lot better than my sister’s old place – and Ollie has made sure I have some furniture to sit and sleep on and a TV with working cable. He has even filled up the fridge with food and leaves a map on my counter where he’s marked the apartment and team headquarters. I know he’s used to dealing with very young riders but it feels a bit excessive for a man who’s lived alone for the good part of 12 years already. I’m still thankful though.
«So, what’s the big deal?» I ask holding up my phone displaying the text message I received earlier. «New rider?» Ollie nods.
«Yeah, the final piece of the puzzle.» I had been keeping up with the signings; i had a document on my laptop with the names of 9 riders already signed and as much information I could find on them. #7, #8 and #9 had signed since I accepted the job offer but for the last few days it had been silent. #10 still had no name attached to it.
«But it’s not finalized yet,» he explains. «We agree on salary but he only wants to sign for one year. We would like at least two.»
«I see. And it’s a big deal because it’s a big rider?» Ollie thinks about it for a second.
«In the world of cycling? Probably not. But to us… Yeah, I think it’s a big signing.»
«And does this fella have a name?» I like to be well-prepared and I’m willing to stay up all night researching the rider if I have to. Tomorrow’s my first day. I wanna make a good impression. And I also wanna attach a name to #10. Finally.
«Oh yeah,» Ollie says with a laugh, holding up a hand as an apology for keeping me in suspense.
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/Twm6aes.jpg[/img-l]. .VANDENBOGAERDE, Jens . .DoB: 6 January, 1992 (Age 23) . .Born in: Zwevegem, West Flanders . .Region: Flemish Region . .Height: 187 cm . .Weight: 73 kg . .Signed from: An Post–Chain Reaction . .Contract till: 2017 . .Speciality: Baroudeur
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/dMar3KF.jpg[/img-l]. .VERMEERSCH, Gianni . .DoB: 19 November, 1992 (Age 23) . .Born in: Klerken (Roeselare), West Flanders . .Region: Flemish Region . .Height: 172 cm . .Weight: 69 kg . .Signed from: SunWeb–Napoleon Games Cycling Team . .Contract till: 2016 . .Speciality: Sprinter, Classics
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/Hx1y2fb.jpg[/img-l]. .WARLOP, Jordi . .DoB: 4 June, 1996 (Age 19) . .Born in: Diksmuide, West Flanders . .Region: Flemish Region . .Height: 168 cm . .Weight: 63 kg . .Signed from: EFC–Etixx U23 . .Contract till: 2016 . .Speciality: Puncheur
[img-l]https://i.imgur.com/kU8M1sC.jpg[/img-l]. .WYTINCK, Niels . .DoB: 16 July, 1991 (Age 24) . .Born in: Eeklo, East Flanders . .Region: Flemish Region . .Height: 190 cm . .Weight: 85 kg . .Signed from: DMC Cycling Team . .Contract till: 2017 . .Speciality: Classics, Puncheur
A lot of code went into this one and it looks good on my screen, but let me know if it looks weird for anyone else.Edited by Ollie23 on 06-02-2018 19:16
Ripley wrote:
Tamijo is right, this is an excellent read. Though I think the job offer to the journalist is a bit iffy, moving to a new country for a bloody free-lance job? Couldn't Ollie have offered him a permanent position, maybe writing for the official team website?
I agree! In fact, I almost put a disclaimer in front of the last post to let you guys know that this is the part of the story I'm the least happy with I left it out because I wanted your honest opinion on it, not influenced by a disclaimer.
The tricky part was to bring both Ollie and the journalist to a new country in a believable way and I struggled to make that happen. The solution I went with – where the journalist is hired by a Belgian newspaper but will also have the freedom to follow the team on the road and write his own pieces – is not one I'm entirely happy with. I still might make changes to it as the journalist hasn't accepted the offer yet
This did not hurt me eyes, fiction is fiction, the journalist dosent have wings or drink blood.
@Tamijo; I've been planning and working on this team evaluation for a while which is why I didn't respond to your question. I thought a team evaluation would be a better response?
@All; Keep in mind that even though I have access to all rider attributes and potential, the people evaluating the squad are cycling experts who don't have that access. Instead they have to rely on their own evaluations and opinions, which means means that in some cases their evaluation might be inaccurate (due to lack of knowledge, bias towards a rider etc) and in some cases even experts could be plain wrong. Shocking, I know
. .ARGENTA CYCLING TEAM EVALUATION
PART 1:
The Captains and Potential Race/Stage Winners
I sat down with three local cycling experts and had them evaluate the Argenta Squad for the upcoming season. I stayed out of the discussions to keep my bias out of it. In part 1 we look at the (potential) captains and stage/race winners. Here's the evaluation and result of those discussions:
PEETERS, Kevin Type: Sprinter Age: 29
Grade: A- Strongest sprinter in the team and a signing that brings attention and fans to the Argenta team. We don't believe he'll improve much, but might have done a lot of good for the team even before he's raced a single race.
Evaluation:
29 years old and even though he could still improve, we don't think he has enough room for improvement to compete with the best on the Pro-Conti level. Right now he's the natural leader Argenta need and the strongest sprinter in the team, but he could see his Captaincy challenged by Gianni Vermeersch in the upcoming season. Has a great final sprint, is decent on cobblestones and over hills and could deliver wins for Argenta in 2016. Should improve his stamina and strength.
Expected Role in Team:
Sprinter and Captain from day 1, the man the team is built around.
VERMEERSCH, Gianni Type: Sprinter Age: 23
Grade: A+ The 10th signing and a great one! Can win races in the Continental division right away and has the potential to reach the World Tour!
Evaluation:
Should rank among the top sprinters in the Continental division, although we still rank him behind Kevin Peeters right now. But Gianni is hugely talented and could surpass Peeters already this season. Only signed a 1-year deal and will be very difficult for Argenta to resign in competition with Pro-Conti teams this summer. A dual-threat, someone who has a great final sprint but is also good on the cobblestones and can sit with the best over shorter hills.
Expected Role in Team:
Sprinter, Captain, Main lead-out man for Kevin Peeters, but should be given plenty of opportunities to sprint for the win as well.
WARLOP, Jordi Type: Puncheur Age: 19
Grade: B+ Great signing! He's not the strongest rider right now, therefore the B+, but he is hugely talented and definitely one for the future.
Evaluation:
One-day racer, decent on cobblestones, loves hills and has a good finish. Only 19 and lacks strength and stamina, but has a lot of the right attributes and with his potential he can grow into a great classics rider. Could potentially sit in breakaways this season but is not strong enough to win at this level. Yet.
Expected Role in Team:
Baroudeur who could lead a sprint train or catch a breakaway, but he can also sit in the breakaway especially on hillier stages.
WYTINCK, Niels Type: Classics Age: 24
Grade: C- Decent rider, good on cobblestones, but might have already hit his peak.
Evaluation:
Wytinck's speciality is cobblestones and hills but he has a poor finish and lacks in strength and stamina. Overall he's an average rider on this level without much room for improvement but could help out the team on cobblestones and could potentially contribute to a sprint train. Only signed a 1-year deal and his lack of potential makes it uncertain whether you want to resign him or not.
Expected Role in Team:
I think Argenta brought him in as a potential captain on cobbled stages/races, but we think his best chance of helping the team is as a baroudeur who could potentially sit in a breakaway.
VAN LAER, Titte Type: Sprinter Age: 21
Grade: E Among the weakest sprinters in the continental division. Probably signed as one for the future, but lacks the potential to be just that.
Evaluation:
We've placed Titte Van Laer among the potential captains or stage/race winners because we think that's what the team is hoping he'll turn into.
It's a good thing for a local team to sign and develop young riders, especially a young sprinter who could benefit from riding with someone like Kevin Peeters. But for a 10-man squad, signing a rider for the future can turn into a waste of space, especially if that rider isn't anywhere near the required level to contribute to the team. Van Laer hasn't shown great potential either and even though he signed a 2-year deal, he might not be an Argenta rider in 2017.
Expected Role in Team:
Baroudeur? Honestly, it's hard to find a role for him.
I sat down with three local cycling experts and had them evaluate the Argenta Squad for the upcoming season. I stayed out of the discussions to keep my bias out of it. In part 2 we look at the rest of the squad who may not get the glory, but still plays a crucial part – the Baroudeurs. Here's the evaluation and result of those discussions:
ALLEGAERT, Piet Type: Classics/Puncheur Age: 21
Grade: A- Exciting youngster who could turn out to be a diamond in the rough.
Evaluation:
We love this signing! Piet has been a good junior rider for the last 3-4 years and finally gets a chance to take the step up to the Continental division after riding last year for EFC-Etixx U23. He has already shown promising signs but needs that development to continue as he gets older. Will most likely serve as a baroudeur at least in his first season and could be an important teammate on hillier stages and on cobblestones. His potential is good and we're excited to see just how good this kid can become.
Expected Role in Team:
Baroudeur, sit in the breakaways.
VANDENBOGAERDE, Jens Type: Baroudeur Age: 23
Grade: B The kind of strong baroudeur Kevin Peeters and Gianni Vermeersch need on their team. Can already contribute this season and has good potential.
Evaluation:
Jens is the kind of rider you want in your team; he fights hard, his big frame takes a lot of wind, he's selfless and always sacrifices himself for his teammates. What takes his grade down from an A to a B is that he struggles on hillier stages and he has some improvement to do on cobblestones, especially riding for a Belgian team. But Jens has good potential and a lot of room for improvement.
Expected Role in Team:
Baroudeur. If the baroudeur's had their own captain it would be Jens.
ROELANDTS, Rutger Type: Baroudeur Age: 23
Grade: C+ Solid rider who will contribute as a baroudeur right away.
Evaluation:
Rutger will be a solid baroudeur in the Continental division but doesn't have the potential to reach the higher levels. He's only 23 so we expect to see him improve some which will make him a valuable teammate for years to come. A very similar rider to Jens Vandenbogaerde and Rutger also struggles with hills and on cobbles. Lacks the explosiveness to attack and get away in breakaways.
Expected Role in Team:
Baroudeur.
LETEN, Wouter Type: Baroudeur Age: 22
Grade: D Average rider, decent potential.
Evaluation:
One thing should be said for Wouter Leten; he is a fighter and never gives up. The problem is that willpower can't make up for lack of strength or stamina and it doesn't make him tackle cobblestones or hills any better. Is only 22 years old and should improve some, but we're unsure if he'll turn out to be anything better than an average baroudeur for the Continental division.
Expected Role in Team:
Baroudeur.
COOLS, Michaël Type: Baroudeur Age: 21
Grade: E One of the weakest riders in the Continental division and with his lack of potential we ask ourselves why he was signed.
Evaluation:
Many people, ourselves included, were very critical of the signing of Michaël Cools. First of all we don't think Michaël is a good enough rider for the Continental division and secondly, there were other and better riders available. Maybe Argenta sees a good potential in Michaël, but we sure don't. He is tall (190 cm) and a big body can always protect a captain, but if he's not strong enough to keep up with the peloton, he's not going to be of much use. Signed a two year contract but as with Titte Van Laer he could find himself back among the amateurs in 2017.
Right, so what the **** happened to this story, you might wonder. Well, some things beyond my control and some human failings on my part.
Spoiler
First of all I started this story on my old laptop, which had worked great with previous saves, but for some reason nothing went right with the Argenta save. I'm used to the frequent CTD's after races in PCM and as long as the results are saved, I can always just fire PCM back up and continue without having lost any progress. That changed with the Argenta save; now I would get random CTD's both while browsing the menus outside races and in the middle of races. This soon became very frustrating and exhausting as I would spend a long time on every race getting great screenshots for the story thread before the game would crash and all my screenshots became useless.
Then my old laptop stopped working and I have now scrapped it. Sadly I wasn't able to save the game files, the story notes or screenshots.
What was going on "behind the scenes" was that even though I had only just posted the team evaluation in the thread, I was much furter along in my save game and had even raced the first month or so (although it usually took me two attempts to finish one race day). So, my thinking was that I would continue to write the career thread as planned while I tried to sort everything out and no one would know the difference But as the game and the laptop seemed to constantly make things more and more difficult and infuriating for me, I eventually gave up and 'disappeared' without notice.
I bought a new desktop computer, a huge upgrade from the old piece of..., and installed PCM with the same database I used on the old laptop. Since I hadn't gotten too far in the story thread yet, I could start a new career with the same riders and continue this story. Sadly, the issues I had with PCM on my old laptop continued on my new desktop computer and with a much more powerful computer I must admit the temptation to play a lot of games I never could play on my old laptop - and games that didn't crash constantly - became too great
As for my 'human failings' I should've at least updated you guys on what was going on while it was going on. Recently a long-time forum member in a different game community I'm part of died of cancer and we were all pretty shaken up by it. Since then I've felt that it was important to at least let you know my sudden disappearance wasn't due to a tragedy or death.
I'm not sure about the future of this thread or my PCM gaming in general but I'm giving PCM 2015 a fresh install and I'm currently downloading the PCMdaily 2016 Db (although it's downloading at 30 kb/s and it'll take 3 days...) and I'll give it a last attempt. If it's still crashing like it did before and I can't figure out how to fix it, I might have to try a different database or a different game. So, the future of Argenta Cycling team looks bleak but I might be back with something else in the future
Oh, and if anyone has experienced the same issues and knows how to fix it, please let me know. I'm using Windows 10 and I installed the 2016DB and the V1.1, V1.2 and V2.0 in the correct order.
The Belgium outfit Argenta Cycling Team have decided on their season opener and not surprisingly it's in Belgium.
With the exception of a 2-day trip to the Netherlands, the latest addition to the Continental division will spend February and March racing in their home country of Belgium and with the exception of Rabobank Dorpenomloop Rucphen (1.2), every race is categorized as .1 or .HC. A tough start for a small team which may prove valuable experience or devastating for morale.
"First of all it's racing in front of a home crowd, along roads the riders are familiar with," says sports director Ollie when asked about the tough start.
"We don't expect great results but we hope to represent our sponsor well and work on our fitness."
Full Schedule January - March:
FEBRUARY 27th–28th Season Opener in Flanders: Saturday....1.HC Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Sunday....1.HC Kuurne – Brussel – Kuurne
MARCH 02/03....1.1 Le Samyn 04/03-06/03....2.1 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen (3 stages)
Mini-Tour of the Netherlands 12/03....1.1 Energiewacht Ronde van Drenthe 13/03....1.2 Rabobank Dorpenomloop Rucphen
"Tour of Belgium" 16/03....1.HC Nokere Koerse – Danilith Classic 18/03....1.1 Handzame Classic 23/03....1.HC Dwars door Vlaanderen 29/03-01/04....2.HC Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde (4 stages)
Love that it's back and love the calendar with some HC trips for the lads. Will have to re-read the first page to get acquainted again
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
I left it out because I wanted your honest opinion on it, not influenced by a disclaimer. 
But as the game and the laptop seemed to constantly make things more and more difficult and infuriating for me, I eventually gave up and 'disappeared' without notice. 
Good luck!
Seems like PCM15 is more stable after the reinstall so fingers crossed for a long and interesting career 
