I discovered this game earlier this year, when I discovered my love for professional cycling. I used to play RPGs as a youth, so the Pro Cyclist mode immediately became the center of my attention.
I tried to search for a walkthrough - that's how I came upon this place -, but simply there isn't one. It's just pieces of information. So I thought, I might as well write it myself.
I tried to reason out what class would make the ideal cyclist. Because why would I create a character that could only win GTs or only Monuments when I could have one, like the greatest cyclist of all time, to win them all?
Attributes & potentials
So after playing a little at extreme level, I deduced that one needs at least high 70s in flat, cobbles, mountains, hills, TT, stamina, resistance and recovery to win cobbled classics, hilly classics, mountaintop finishes, time trials, one-day races and three week races. The rest (prologue, acceleration, sprint, descending, barodeur) matters much less if not in real life, but certainly in the game.
Next, I made 5-10 characters in every single combination of specializations and opened them in the editor. I noticed that the starting attributes are set in stone (eg. every single time trialist has 55 stamina and 60 resistance at the beginning), but the potentials vary between certain values. None of the characters have every potential needed and mentioned above, but with the right starting potentials and 1-2 levels invested in potentials, you could just reach them.
So in my opinion the three "classes" that, with the right decisions, can be world beaters are Stage racer+northern classics, Puncheur+Stage and Northern classics+Stage racer. The choice between them a matter of personal preference.
(Read the table like eg. the stage racer+northern classics guy has a flat 66/76-79 means that every one of them starts with 66 and has a potential somewhere between 76 and 79, decided at creation.)
The first one needs a level in Northern potential to be able to win Roubaix (Flanders is far easier because you can climb much better than anyone). This one won't win much, especially early in his career due to the lack of sprint & acceleration, but probably it's the best after he's developed.
The puncher needs a potential in stage for the TT & the recovery and another in northern classics. His speciality blows the most because hill's use is too restricted, but they are very versatile, with much more climbing than the classics guy and much more explosiveness than the stage racer.
The northern classics guy is way too overpowered. He still needs a level in climber potential and another in one of stage or climber or puncher. But if you get lucky rolls at level ups, you'll have a guy who can win mountaintop finishes, hilly classics, cobbled classics and time trials like the other two... plus full bunch sprints
Only if you get lucky though. I've played 4 guys all the way through to max level since the game's been out. None of them fulfilled all of their potential because at the later levels their development slows down dramatically and they only get 2-4 points per level. But if you're lucky, you fulfill what counts and you don't what doesn't.
If you get unlucky? Well, the editor's always there
Skills
This is a feature that's new in this year's edition. Because you can reach level 37, you can select all of the skills at max level (which is obviously irrealistic and overpowered, but that's neither here nor there).
So the only question is the order. In my opinion, it is this:
Attentiveness - extra XP is more benefitial if you get it between level 2-37 rather than say, level 25-37.
Charisma - It is possible in the game to ride 90 races in a season and win all of them and develop rapidly. Choose Charisma to be able to ride 90 races early on, otherwise it's only possible much later.
Fitness Peak - It's a ridiculously huge bonus, especially for 4 weeks.
Training - fitness has far too little importance in the game and the DRC has too much compared to real life. Still, I think you get better DRCs and the DRCs get you better bonuses when your fitness is higher.
Technique - Sneaking is a nice option when you're in the back of the bunch and you want to break away/sprint. But you want this for the aerodynamic position, which is game-breaking when you try to solo (it increases your speed on flats by 10%).
I was riding De Ronde once and even while 'maintaining position', I rode away from the peloton on one of the cobbled sections. I thought "why the hell not", and with the liberal use of the aerodynamic position, I was able to catch up with one of the attacks, Matthews, Küng and Keukeleire IIRC. I rode with them for a little bit, then pushed the effort on a climb and they folded like a cheap tent. In the end, I won after a 140 km attack, most of it solo, by more than 2 minutes
Willpower - Once you choose Fitness Peak, you'll have very few races that matter you won't have bonuses for. And even less that will have -1 due to rain, heat, tiredness, etc. But it's a nice option in that case. Based on common sense and the description, I thought it would just simply wipe out the minuses and let you start from 0. It doesn't, it puts you automatically to +3.
Super leader - Helps your domestique protect you or keep the tempo high just a little longer. You shouldn't pick it early though, because at the beginning of your career you won't be a leader anyway.
Observation, Information, Passion, Network, Stealth - the order doesn't matter, just like they don't matter. They help you very little, if any.
Gameplay
Once you click on Create Pro Cyclist, you have options already. Probably the nation is the most important after the primary+secondary specialization. It determines what teams you can join.
You can join a conti team if you want to race u23 races and win lots right off the bat, or you can join a pro conti team, both perfectly viable routes.
If you don't like the three teams you are offered, go back, change your nation to something else and you're offered different teams.
Once you've created your guy, you can wait until the first level up to have a feeling about his potentials. Or you can look at them in the editor right from the start, and either discard him and create another one if you don't like what you see, or edit him shamelessly.
Like I said, even as a 19 year old kid you can take part in 90 races in a year without paying any price long-term. So if you want to develop unreasonably rapidly, register for the first stage races you aren't already registered for (points for races, they are the best bargain).
At first, you'll only be asked to pull the peloton, which is incredibly easy if you do it right from the start on 50-60 effort. Once the breakaways start, maintain your position, don't waste energy. When the race calms down, you can go back to the front of the peloton and pull the crowd on only 60 effort without wasting any yellow energy for as long as you need. That way you can still challenge for a result by the end of the stage, depending on the terrain.
If you are asked to do a breakaway, go to the front of the peloton and initiate one if you're a stage racer (you're not explosive enough to follow anybody). Attack, but once you've escaped, switch to the dot and keep it 80-90 until somebody joins you. Keep it light, make relays at the least possible effort, but make them still.
On the other hand, if you're a puncher or a northern classics rider, you should just follow someone attacking and use almost 0 energy. Weird that someone at Cyanide thought that it works that way, but it is what it is.
Later on, you will have time trials. The method that brought me the best results at them is you choose a baseline effort level. For 0-0,9% flat parts, you use that, 1,0-1,9%, you add one, 2,0-2,9% add two, etc. Do the same with the downhills, but less effort of course.
The level of effort depends on how strong your rider is and how long and difficult the TT is. At the beginning, you start as low as 70 in a 10+ km TT, but at level 30+, you can do the 54 km Harrogate WC TT with 75 effort. You learn it as you go.
When you've done some races and have developed a bit, you will be able to take part in mountaintop finishes. I can't give you a blueprint because it's dependent on a million things, like how much energy you've got left, how tough your opponents are, how long is the climb and how difficult % it is, etc. But consider this:
1. You can adapt on the fly, but the AI can't
2. You choose your own effort level, but the AI is an idiot and wastes energy by climbing too fast, then run out of everything halfway up.
3. The fastest way up a mountain is by climbing at a steady pace, not by sprinting and panting. But the AI doesn't know that. For some reason it thinks it's the other way.
4. You lose energy faster the more tired you are.
So you switch to the dot when the attacks start flying or the pace gets unreasonably high, stay at a constant pace. At first, they'll put minutes into you, but while you're at the constant pace, they'll waste every energy they've got. Then you can not only make those minutes back, but destroy everybody by minutes yourself.
This game taught me to appreciate Dumoulin IRL. It takes balls to be able to decide not to follow your rivals and ride your own tempo when you think you'll run out of energy faster than the climb ends. Balls that the AI doesn't have.
Level ups
They are the most crucial events in your development. Value them likewise. Put the first 1 or 2 into the potentials you need. At all the other levels, look at all 7 possibilities before you choose the most beneficial one. And by that, I mean the one that gets you the most points and possibly raises your worst attributes the most. (It makes you a better rider the same, but raises your rating the least -> less expectations, more xp for the same results).
i guess you didn't discovered the editor
you can't create kwia or sagan or alaphilippe or merckx by 2 specialities but with an editor you can change the max potential on every attribute to match it where is needed and you will end up very close to making them after few seasons
the best 2 specialities are stage racer+sprint cause cobble races are few but flat stages without cobbles or slightly hilly are a lot and it's just easier to change cobble max potential and then you can play it on extreme difficulty where AI will probably beat you even if you have your merckx
Edited by superider2010 on 29-12-2019 19:38
superider2010 wrote:
i guess you didn't discovered the editor
you can't create kwia or sagan or alaphilippe or merckx by 2 specialities but with an editor you can change the max potential on every attribute to match it where is needed and you will end up very close to making them after few seasons
the best 2 specialities are stage racer+sprint cause cobble races are few but flat stages without cobbles or slightly hilly are a lot and it's just easier to change cobble max potential and then you can play it on extreme difficulty where AI will probably beat you even if you have your merckx
I do have the editor. I only use it in the beginning to distribute my points in a more realistic and balanced way, so no 85s. And after level ups if I got very unrealistic upgrades like +4s to attributes that were already over 75 at the age of 20. But to put +15 into cobbled potential? The game's got many problems as it is, I don't feel like adding to them by cheating.
I did mess around with stage+sprinter last year with 18. However, by creating a Merckx I meant that winning every Grand Tour, both World Championships and every Monument at least once.
There are few cobbled classics, but two of them are Monuments. No matter how many GT sprints you win with mid 70s sprint (and you can, since the AI is dumb and unrealistic as hell), but you can't win De Ronde and Roubaix with low 70s in cobbles.
