Team Bianchi, founded in 1899, has once again returned to the world of cycling. The last time the team was active in the professional peleton was during the 2003 season, where they had Jan Ullrich as their star rider. While riding for them, Ullrich placed second to Lance Armstrong by just 61 seconds, his closest ever margin in any of Armstrong's seven victorious years. Now, 6 years later, Bianchi wants to regain it's former glory.
Team overview
After the 2003 season, Team Bianchi folded for the last time, and went back to co-sponsoring teams. But now, Bianchi gives rebirth to its own team, ready for the 2010 season. The team is also co-sponsored by Kaspersky, a Russian computer security company.
The manager of the team is none other then Pavel Tonkov, the former Giro d'Italia winner. Although no Italian, both Bianchi and Kaspersky agreed he was the ideal person to manage the team, speaking both Russian and Italian, having raced for Italian teams for over a decade.
The team, registered in Italy, will start of as a Pro Continental team, hoping to move up to the Pro Tour in a maximum of 2 years. The main focus will be Italian races. While not guaranteed access to the bigger races, the team has confidence that they will be able to participate in them.
Team roster
The team consists of both Italian and Russian riders. When you look at the line-up, it becomes clear that Riccardo Riccò and Francesco Ginanni will be the main riders of the team, being supported by riders such as Giampaolo Caruso, Vladimir Gusev and Evgeni Petrov. Furthermore, we also have some great talents in the team who await a great future in cycling.
One of the team leaders is Riccò. Although still suspended, the team has faith that he learned from his past mistakes, and fully stands behind their leader. He can start racing again the 18th of march. His main focus will be on hilly and mountainous stage races aswell as the tougher hilly classics.
The other leader is Francesco Ginanni. While being a sprinter, he also shows potential on hilly courses. In his first year as a pro, he won the Tre Valli Varesine and Giro del Veneto, showing talent for one-day classics. On top of that, he also won the Trofeo Laigueglia and Gran Premio dell'Insubria-Lugano in the 2009 season. Ginanni's dream is to win Milan-San Remo in the future.
Goals
Top 3
Trofeo Laigueglia
Top 3
Strade Bianche
Top 3
Milano - Torino
Top 3
Giro del Piemonte
Top 5
Tre Valli Varesine
Top 10
Giro d'Italia
We are lucky. Our goals for our first season are relatively 'easy', meaning they should be achievable. The top 10 spot in the Giro d'Italia shouldn't be a problem for Riccò who is actually aiming for at least top 5. But not only Riccò could manage this, with some luck Petrov, Caruso, Gusev or Ovechkin might sneak into the top 10 aswell.
The other goals can be achieved by Ginanni, Riccò or Caruso, as they are all hilly races. However, the ones with a flat ending might fit Ginanni better. We'll see, only time will tell.
Game Info
Version: Pro Cycling Manager 2010
Patch: 1.0.3.0
DB: PCM.daily Expansion Final (2009 Champions)
Progression: 1.0
Difficulty: Hard
Traditionally, the cycling season starts in Australia with the Australian National Championships. And so did the 2010 season.
First we had the Aussie TT Championship, and the question is, who has the best shape so early in the season. The answer was Richie Porte. He won in front of Brett Lancaster and Heinrich Haussler. The biggest surprise was Cadel Evans, who ended on more than 4 minutes of Porte, although being a better time trialer, this proves once again that shape is everything.
And the road race was no exception to that "rule". After finishing 3th in the TT, Haussler became Australian champion on the road on the though course in Buninyong. Baden Cooke came in second, Chris Sutton 3th.
The last race of january was the Tour Down Under, also held in Australia. The race was decided on stage 5, the queen stage of the race. The stage was won by Kurt-Asle Arvesen, and he had a gap big enough to give him the lead. Lastras ended on a little more than 10 seconds. Mario Aerts finished 3th, he was in the BOTD on stage 2, and they had about 20 seconds lead left, it wasn't enough to give him the overall win, but it did give him the podium.
Now, you might wonder, where was Team Bianchi in all of this? Well, they were training in Italy to prepare for the 2010 season, already equipped with brand new bikes, helmets and the new outfit.
The first race of the newly formed Team Bianchi. Our leader will be Francesco Ginanni, who will use this race in his preparation for Milan-San Remo. But we aren't here solely to prepare for the important races, with Ginanni and Gusev, we have 2 riders who could easily achieve top 10.
Stage 1
The road book rated the stage as flat, but it certainly wasn't. With 2 short steep hills in the final 20k, the question was which sprinter would still have something left. But question wasn't necessary, because the break was reeled in to late and the last survivor won the stage. Ginanni ended in his back wheel.
1
Roman Vishnevskiy
Amore & Vita - Conad
3h23'55
2
Francesco Ginanni
Team Bianchi
s.t.
3
Carlo Scognamiglio
Team Bianchi
s.t.
Stage 2
Stage 2 was easier than the first stage, but still had a few hills in the final. This time, the break was reeled in on time and there was a fair sprint. Ginanni took second behind an almighty Bennati. Ginanni did take over the leader's jersey because of the bonification seconds! Team Bianchi's first leaders shirt.
1
Daniele Bennati
Liquigas - Doimo
4h26'31
2
Francesco Ginanni
Team Bianchi
s.t.
3
Sacha Modolo
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
Stage 3
This time, the stage was flat, with the last hill over 20 km away from the finish. Because everyone had enough energy left, we could give Ginanni a perfect lead-out. He won the first race for Team Bianchi after a splendid team effort!
Oss - Gusev - Ongarato - Ginanni
1
Francesco Ginanni
Team Bianchi
3h54'04
2
Daniele Bennati
Liquigas - Doimo
s.t.
3
Enrico Rossi
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
Stage 4
The final stage is also the queen stage of the race. The first one to finish in the Reggio Calabria, will most likely be the overall winner, as the finish has a steep beginning, and a more flat ending at about 2-3%. The non-sprinters would have to attack on the steep part if they want a chance to win. And they did, Bert De Waele launched an attack, immediately countered by Gusev. When De Waele and Gusev build up a small gap of about 10 seconds, a rocket flew by them. Ginanni himself decided to attack and not wait for the sprint. Bennati tried to follow, but couldn't keep up. He finished 10 seconds back. So now we're 4 days after our race debut, and we got an overall win, 2 stages and a points jersey in our pockets. Couldn't have hoped for a better start.
would you be able to upload the national champion jerseys for your team i think this team is amazing
my favourite bike manufacturer and one of my fav riders ...ponzi
Starch27 wrote:
Good Luck! Do you play on "hard" difficulty?
Part of the first post:
Kami wrote: Game Info
Version: Pro Cycling Manager 2010
Patch: 1.0.3.0
DB: PCM.daily Expansion Final (2009 Champions)
Progression: 1.0
Difficulty: Hard
Keep in mind that this is one of those early season form races. But switching to extreme would ruin my mood completely seeing my biggest problem atm is stamina. If i would switch to extreme i'd probably have Gusev, Caruso, Petrov, Ginanni and Ricco left, and that would be it.
Edited by Kami on 14-08-2010 23:12
Our next race is a one-day classic. Our team here is very similar to our team in Calabria. The race is more or less hilly, so there aren't a lot of sprinters here, and the ones that did come will go backwards on the hills. Most of our team was in good shape form the race in Calabria, so we controlled the whole race. We reeled in the BOTD aswell as the attacks from a few puncheurs like Kroon, Monfort and Velits. Then we formed our lead-out train again and Malacarne and Caruso tagged along.
Leading out Ginanni, leader in the Continental Tour
At one point, Oss went so fast that we even got a gap of about 100 meters. The whole peleton was torn up and there was a small group of about 5 -7 riders trying to close that gap down. They did, when the sprint started. But then it was to late. Ongarato took off with Ginanni in his wheel, and no one saw them back. And if that wasn't enough, Gusev got 3th making Bianchi achieve the treble.
L'Equipe dubbed: "Historic treble for Team Bianchi"
A race that surely needs no introduction. Finishing on the 'legendary' Mont Faron. Ginanni isn't racing here, but in his absence, his lead-out man Ongarato will be our sprinter. Our GC hopes are on Caruso and Gusev. Although this race is perfect for Caruso, he isn't in good shape yet. This being only his second race this season.
Stage 1
A similar day to the first stage of the Giro della Calabria. A break got away and nobody wanted to chase it down. The break did get caught, but the stage was gone. One positive thing though, Bbox has the strength to lead the peleton so Bianchi could keep a low profile the next stage(s).
Although the stage was rated in the road book as hilly, most of the 'flat' races in Calabria were harder. Instead of Ginanni, it was Ongarato who was the last man in the sprint train. A good lead-out by Petrov, Gusev, Scognamiglio resulting in a stage win.
Ongarato beating the pack
1
Alberto Ongarato
Team Bianchi
4h00'25
2
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
3
David Le Lay
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
Stage 3
Ongarato was leading in the overall with 4 seconds ahead of Mondory. But what was more important, was the points classification where he had a one point lead. After a uncontrolled sprint that saw Roche take off first, Ongarato beat Kocjan right on the line. But the best part was, Mondory didn't make the top 10, so the point jersey seems a sure win.
1
Alberto Ongarato
Team Bianchi
2h30'28
2
Jure Kocjan
CarmioOro NGC
s.t.
3
Gianni Meersman
Française des Jeux
s.t.
Stage 4
A strange stage on a pretty hard course. The break today was incredibly strong, keeping a lead of over 3 minutes against a chasing peleton, although the break only consisted out of 3 riders. When all the helpers had done their job, the captains attacked, but they still didn't get a lot closer to the break. At the end the winner had a 2 minute lead on a group of favorites.
Tuco the Ugly wrote:
Nice team. You're going to enjoy Ginnani.
Thx, and i know. That's why i'm so anxiously waiting on M-SR in your story . He's an awesome rider, one of my favorite in real life, and a great rider to control in-game.
Francesco Ginanni Giampaolo Caruso Vladimir Gusev Simone Ponzi Davide Malacarne Carlo Scognamiglio Alberto Ongarato Daniel Oss
Our first goal of the season. We are expected to finish in the top 3. Ginanni is the defending champion here and should be able to compete for the win if it comes down to a sprint. We also have a back-up plan called Caruso. Coming back in good shape from France, he will be the man to counter attacks in the final of the race.
There were a lot of attacks early on in the race, but the good break went away on the Passo Balestrino, the first hill of the day. It contained 8 riders, but no real threats.
Bianchi was controlling the race, keeping the break on a good distance. But on the top of the Passo di Ginestro, Negri attacked. He was followed by Sarmiento, Barton, De Gendt and Cannone.
However, Barton couldn't keep up and was dropped. In the descent of the Passo Di Ginestro, the chasing group closed down the gap to the break to 1 minute. In the first parts of the third hill of the day, the chasing group caught up with the BOTD.
And they immediately left them all behind. Soon after, the 8 former escapees were captured by a peleton led by Bianchi. We already lost a valuable man though, as Ongarato had lost contact with the main group after a mechanical.
The four leaders kept a good lead, keeping their lead steady in the descent of the Stellanello. They started the climb of the Cima Paravenna with a 2 minute 30 second lead. During the climb it started to rain heavily, which would make the downhill very dangerous.
At the top of the final hill, they still had a lead of 1'15". But it wasn't on the peleton. It was on Gilberto Simoni, who jumped away before the top and could ride a good downhill.
But Simone got caught, and so were 3 of the 4 leaders. De Gendt however followed an attack of 4 riders out of the peleton. And this was the attack Caruso was waiting for, he followed in Bertolini's wheel.
And we were lucky that Caruso countered, because it was a decisive move. No one was left to lead the peleton after our riders were gone. So the winner would be one of the 5 leaders.
In a sprint of non-sprinters, the freshest rider would be the winner. And it looked like it was Caruso. He was leading in the final km all the way to the line. He was winning the Trofeo Laigueglia.
But then he lost it, in the final centimeters. He was beaten right on the line by Ruslan Pidgornyy. Nonetheless, a great ride by Caruso and our first objective was achieved! The peleton still came close, but they waited to long.
