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Tour of Cyprus Discussion
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 13-11-2018 16:32
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Valls!!!! 
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 17:59
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 13-11-2018 17:19
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Hmm, that went better than expected. Still have no faith on the hills, seeing how there are big names climbers/punchers in attendence we'll probably lose 3-5mins again which would drop us completely out of the good GC placings.
From a personal aspect next season i'd like to see the cobbles stage more backloaded to put more pressure on the non-cobbles GC riders.
And i can say this without bias as i won't have either my top cobblers next year 
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 13-11-2018 17:28
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TheManxMissile wrote:
Hmm, that went better than expected. Still have no faith on the hills, seeing how there are big names climbers/punchers in attendence we'll probably lose 3-5mins again which would drop us completely out of the good GC placings.
From a personal aspect next season i'd like to see the cobbles stage more backloaded to put more pressure on the non-cobbles GC riders.
And i can say this without bias as i won't have either my top cobblers next year
Without talking too much about backgrounds here, but still I have to mention it: PCM is a bi*ch and it took me hours of testing to find a proper setup for the cobbles stage. Any more cobbles and climbers would have lost so much time (or DNF) that they wouldn't care about the mountain stage anymore. For example: if Roglic had lost 9 minutes or 10 (as the best climber), the mountain stage would have been passive as sh*t. Believe me, I've spent quite some time on this particular route for this race 
I'm happy with the outcome, by the way. A pity that Kwiatkowsi didn't care about the mountains though 
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 13-11-2018 20:57
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Niklas!!!
I know he didn't win, but what a performance by the Dane. Love the aggression and the resilience. Sure, it would have been awesome to hold on till the end, but 5th place is still a result that he can be proud of and makes up for Garby being trash again. Can't wait to see him lead my l'Avenir squad!
GC wise I knew we had nothing after yesterday. That's out of the picture. I really hope JJ rides aggressively tomorrow though. There's a reason I tried to swap him out of this race - I figured it might be a waste. We'll see. A good result would do wonders.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 14-11-2018 03:18
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Thanks tsmoha for the report, it was very well written.
Obviously frustrated with this, I had a bit of a rant written but nobody needs to read it to know what it says. It's terrible to see the race I was so excited about go with not only bad AI but absolutely terrible, also now I have to face possible relegation because 100+ almost sure points just went poof to zero. :/
Spoiler I know this may come off the wrong way, and please don't take this as whining, but is this too different from Czech Republic 2016? Then some pure puncheurs had a bad day and we replayed because it was meant to suit them, here we have the same situation but with climbers (Kwiat, De La Cruz and Bennett, possibly #2, #3 & #4 best climbers in the race) who had terrible days, so I want to ask, does this justify a replay? I'm totally biased (especially as I lost a huge result and a goal because of the replay that time), but can we have that discussion?
Czech Republic 2016 Discussion: https://pcmdaily....st_1215537
Or at the very least can we update to PCM18 which is actually a good game?
Edited by trekbmc on 14-11-2018 03:26
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 14-11-2018 06:58
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Kwiat That's absolutely awful AI and totally screwing over the top favourite out of vital points. Really feel for you mate
Great team performance, Davison helping out but a massive performance from Bennett sacrificing personal success to keep Debesay in the top 5 and with potential to stay that way or better if Bennett can do the same again and on a terrain more suited to us tomorrow. Good stuff boys, we go again tomorrow! The podium is within reach but so is cracking hard and we have to just focus on getting to the finish as quick as we can and then hope it's enough.
Congrats to Booker for a well-taken stage win and Matt for the GC lead, even if it's sour to see it being taken so easily due to Kwiatek being screwed over. And cheers to tsmoha for the great report 
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
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 14-11-2018 11:25
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trekbmc wrote:
Thanks tsmoha for the report, it was very well written.
Obviously frustrated with this, I had a bit of a rant written but nobody needs to read it to know what it says. It's terrible to see the race I was so excited about go with not only bad AI but absolutely terrible, also now I have to face possible relegation because 100+ almost sure points just went poof to zero. :/
Spoiler I know this may come off the wrong way, and please don't take this as whining, but is this too different from Czech Republic 2016? Then some pure puncheurs had a bad day and we replayed because it was meant to suit them, here we have the same situation but with climbers (Kwiat, De La Cruz and Bennett, possibly #2, #3 & #4 best climbers in the race) who had terrible days, so I want to ask, does this justify a replay? I'm totally biased (especially as I lost a huge result and a goal because of the replay that time), but can we have that discussion?
Czech Republic 2016 Discussion: https://pcmdaily....st_1215537
Or at the very least can we update to PCM18 which is actually a good game?
From what i quickly read in that thread, the problem was that there was a wrong hil/mon ratio in those stages of Czech Republic, leaning more towards climbers than puncheurs despite being stated that it was a race for puncheurs. Even in 2015 the race was replayed for the same reason, so it has nothing in common with Kwiatkowski not giving a f..k about the stage/GC today
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 14-11-2018 12:34
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Aquarius97 wrote:
From what i quickly read in that thread, the problem was that there was a wrong hil/mon ratio in those stages of Czech Republic, leaning more towards climbers than puncheurs despite being stated that it was a race for puncheurs. Even in 2015 the race was replayed for the same reason, so it has nothing in common with Kwiatkowski not giving a f..k about the stage/GC today
Czech Republic: A GC crucial stage intended for punchuers (with some mo ratio) ended up with major time losses for several of the best puncheurs.
Cyprus: A GC crucial stage intended for climbers ended up with huge time losses for several of the best climbers.
I'd like to note that De La Cruz and Bennett also lost similar amounts of time to Kwiat, being two of the strongest climbers in the race. The only difference here is that there was a smaller selection of climbers at the race, so the result looks less than it did in Czech Republic, I can't find the stage it happened on back then (probably deleted) but from the discussion it seems like a similar fraction of riders had the same issues.
I don't really see how the situation is that different to be honest, and the replay last time actually had a lasting impact on my team (if it hadn't been replayed, Kwiat would have 80 hill now), so it seems a little harsh if I were to possibly relegate on the opposite side of the issue.
Thanks for replaying though, obviously I'm a bit annoyed so I hope I haven't come off too bad.
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| Aquarius97 |
Posted on 14-11-2018 12:49
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But what i meant is that for Czech Republic there was a reason for the behaviour of those riders (and those riders being pure puncheur in a stage heavily favouring climbers, would just crack, not IA issues).
And while Kwiatkowski result can't really be explained, De La Cruz and Bennett were acting as domestiques for the team cobblers. Just look that Van Keirsbulck finishes two places behind De La Cruz, and same happening with Bennett and Debesay.
In the photo you can see two riders waiting for Van Keirsbulck, surely one of them was De La Cruz. And in the text Tsmoha said Bennett was helping Debesay
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 14-11-2018 12:59
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Aquarius97 wrote:
But what i meant is that for Czech Republic there was a reason for the behaviour of those riders (and those riders being pure puncheur in a stage heavily favouring climbers, would just crack, not IA issues).
And while Kwiatkowski result can't really be explained, De La Cruz and Bennett were acting as domestiques for the team cobblers. Just look that Van Keirsbulck finishes two places behind De La Cruz, and same happening with Bennett and Debesay.
In the photo you can see two riders waiting for Van Keirsbulck, surely one of them was De La Cruz. And in the text Tsmoha said Bennett was helping Debesay
It's a stage issue either way, it doesn't really make a difference what type of stage issue it is, if it makes riders lose 10 minutes who shouldn't, it's just as big an issue and even in Czech Republic it could be inferred that there would be some mo influence.
Fair call on De La Cruz and Bennett, I still think there's issues with them (this is a 7+ minute loss still) but it could be attributed to the regular brand of bad AI.
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| beagle |
Posted on 14-11-2018 14:59
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Mixed feelings from this race so far. Having Garcia Cortina in white jersey for one stage due to his effort in opening stage is good. Jeannesson with shocking performance in mountain stage is even better. However, Blythe brought me another huge disappointment. Still waiting for his first win 
Don´t know, what to expect from last stage, I´d prefer calm one to maintain 15th overall for Jeannesson.
Btw. poor AI/ bad luck here and there is integral part of this game, everyone has been affected many many times. One could say that experienced manager got already used to it...
Manager of Polar in Man-Game
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 14-11-2018 17:47
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2nd in the GC for GVK, can't really complain about that one.
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| tsmoha |
Posted on 14-11-2018 17:50
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Can't really agree that Czech Republic (MO/HI issues) and this one should be compared. I can see your frustration, but it's not like all climbers gave a sh*t about the stage here. It's pcm after all and no, it's definitely no issue with the stage in this case, as then also other climbers like Roglic (similar GC position) would have ride like Kwiatkowski did. We can talk about Morton, who did not give a f**k about T-A (or P-N) this season. Not a stage issue though. Just PCM deciding to let a stage favorite doing nothing or too less.. Can't replay stages, when two or three guys did not deliver. The fact that guys like Valls, Penasa or Roglic did act like they had to, should count after all.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 14-11-2018 18:04
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Have to say that i was really looking forward to this race but now i am glad to see the back of it
Great report yet again tsmoha |
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 14-11-2018 18:10
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Second place in the points classification. Going into the race not knowing how it would go I think we did well enough given the team we had. Only hoped Sarmiento could survive the cobble stage but that's no biggie. Congrats Generali!
Thanks tsmoha for the reports.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 14-11-2018 18:15
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5th and 14th GC in a stage race?! That's an excellent result for Podium Amition. Both Grashev and Bridges massively helped by PCM AI improving the performances of good GC riders, and Bridges aided by the Stage 2 break gains.
As both of these riders, and the rest of my cobblers, don't suffer from race day issues there was very little risk here and we got a nice return.
Overall a bit of an up-down AI race. The cobbles being pretty passive didn't help the feel of the race, and then the mix of who did and didn't perform on the mountains/hills. Still the GC did mix a few classics rider amongst the Top10-15 with the climbers so the result is there, even if the feeling of the race seems a bit bleh.
Still i liked the race, and the GC mix supports the route design. I feared we would see the Top20 flooded with stage racers, but enough classics guys hung in to make it work. Good stuff
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| SotD |
Posted on 14-11-2018 19:20
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Tempier attacked the race from front, which was a real thrill to follow. The way the race unfolded wasn't for the semi-strong attackers unfortunately, but nevertheless he comes away with 21st in the GC while also landing 3rd in the KOM. Combined with Kip getting 2nd on the flat stage we will look back on a pretty good race from an amateur team point of view. Not 8th in the GC good, but pretty good!
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 14-11-2018 19:49
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JUUL-MAAR RETURNS!!!
Absolutely thrilled with the victory. it was patented. Exactly like we drew it up on the team bus. Put the pressure on, get aggressive to force a gap, and hold it while the favorites play out the GC behind. Perfect in every single way. I'll never doubt you again JJ. <3
Guess I'm glad he went to Cyprus after all.
Thanks to tsmoha for the amazing reports. Quite an exciting race overall. The GC balance was iffy at times and didn't work out for me, but ultimately I think the results fairly represent the uniqueness of the race.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| beagle |
Posted on 14-11-2018 20:15
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13th overall for Jeannesson? I can take it
Great job tsmoha, as always. Thanks for very entertaining reporting!
Manager of Polar in Man-Game
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| Bikex |
Posted on 14-11-2018 21:29
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David 
At least Marzuki salvages some points from this race. But overall my team is doing terrible all over the place |
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
