Database: PCM Freaks Real Name DB v2 with some addition and stat changes
Evolution of Attributes: 0.7
Difficulty Level: Normal (yeah I suck at PCM)
So for my first ever PCM story I bring you the 2011 Rabobankers. Below are the goals Rabobank has set for us. Rabobank is the sole sponsor of the team, so it is pretty important that we keep them happy.
The Leaders
Robert Gesink will be our top guy in the mountains and hills. He has quite a full schedule; he will most likely be leading us in the Ardennes Classics while building up to our sponsor goal of a top 3 in the Giro. After that Gesink will head to the tour where he will aim for a top 5, another big sponsor goal.
We hope to see Oscar in a green jersey a lot throughout this season. While the Vuelta doesn't use a green jersey, one of our bigger goals is to win the Points Classification there, and so Oscar will be in top form in Spain. He will also head to the tour, although with SP 78 it will be hard for him to beat the likes of Cav and Farrar.
Matti Breschel is our third team leader. His big goal will be the cobbled classics, where he will be backed up by the likes of Lars Boom (COB 77) and Sebastian Langveld (COB 77). The sponsors want top 3s in the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix, which will be difficult but not impossible. The sponsors really want a good performance in Milano-San Remo as well, and with Oscar focusing more on the second half of the season, Matti will be leading us there. Breschel will also head to the tour, where his high flat and decent sprint ratings will hopefully make him a great leadout man for Oscar.
The Others
Steven Kruijswijk will be hoping to improve upon his 18th overall in the Giro last year, which was his debut grand tour. He will head to the Vuelta where he will share leadership duties with Luis Leon Sanchez
Luis will have a full season as well. He will be Gesink's top mountain domestique in Le Tour although he will get to fight for himself on some of the hillier stages. As mentioned, he will be a co-leader at the Vuelta. Depending on how his Vuelta form holds up, Sanchez may also fight for results in the later hilly classics.
Bauke Mollema will continue his development as a mountain goat. His main job will be helping out Gesink in the Tour, although he has enough skills to where I hope to give him opportunities to shine at other times in the season.
Lars Boom brings a good mix of skills to the table and so he will race on a variety of terrains for us. Boom will be one of Matti's top helpers during the cobbled season, and he is in the early contention for a ticket to the tour, where he can hopefully help Gesink gain time on his rivals in the TTT.
PCM.Daily NFL Fantasy Football Champion: 2012 PCM.Daily NHL Prediction Game Champion: 2013 PCM.Daily NFL Prediction Game Champion: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021
Sounds interesting, just one question. The vuelta uses a green jersey for the points classification leader, so wouldn't he be in green in the Vuelta? Sorry, just a big cycling fan who notices details Good Luck
Nice team choice. I also thought about a story with rabobank but then decided for a continental team. Let's hope Gesink is in a better shape for the tour as in reality Good Luck!
I don't get these goals.... How can you win the Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse, being run at the same time, when you have only 1 good GC-rider (Mollema and Kruiswijk aren't good enough this season in PCM11).
Strange bug in PCM 11? (I have the same with Leopard, have to win all the cobbled classics, Spartacus feels already tired because of it :roll
GoAmadorGo44 wrote:
Sounds interesting, just one question. The vuelta uses a green jersey for the points classification leader, so wouldn't he be in green in the Vuelta? Sorry, just a big cycling fan who notices details Good Luck
They change their jerseys seemingly every year, so I have no idea what the jersey colors these days. I would also like to thank everyone for offering their support. Anyway, onto the first race of the year.
Australian Championships
And here we go with the first race of the year, the Aussie Road Race Championships. The favorites include Allan Davis (Astana), Cadel Evans (BMC), Richie Porte (Saxo Bank) and Simon Gerrans (Sky). Rory Sutherland (United Healthcare), Matty Lloyd (Lotto), and Stuart O'Grady (Leopard) are also guys to watch.
Our Team
Michael Matthews
Graeme Brown
Race Report
A big break formed early on. Since neither of our guys can really climb at all, we knew we couldn't beat the likes of Gerrans and Evans, so we sent Matthews in that break. Sky would come to the front and shut it down, but Matthews and Timothy Roe (BMC) would stay out in front
Of course only a two man break wouldn't do, and quickly 7 more guys would come across, forming the main BOTD. The riders were David Tanner (Saxo), Johnathan Clarke (UHC), Brett Lancaster (Cervelo), William Clarke (Leopard), Leigh Howard (HTC), Lachan Norris (Drapac) and David Kemp (Verandas).
Later Matthew Lloyd (Omega) would attack and drag Simon Clarke (Astana) with him. At this point the gap had grown over 5 minutes, but the chasers would finally make the junction on the penultimate lap.
As we got to the final lap, I got a bit nervous that Michael with his really bad form (~40 pts) wouldn't get it done in the sprint, and so I decided to attack.
As we came inside the Flamme Rouge it seemed that Matthews was going to hang on! Could the U23 Champion become the Australian Champion?
Noooooo! Unfortunately one against ten was a little too much for Michael, and in the sprint the fresher riders quickly closed in on him. In the end David Tanner, of all people, picked up the biggest win of his career. In the peleton Cadel Evans tried several late moves, and although they were brought back he did lead in the peleton in 12th place. A late puncture would kill Allan Davis' chances, and he would end up in last place.
1
David Tanner
Saxo Bank - SunGard
4h39'50
2
Michael Matthews
Rabobank
s.t.
3
Jonathan Clarke
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
4
Timothy Roe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
5
Brett Lancaster
Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
6
Simon Clarke
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
7
Matthew Lloyd
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
8
Leigh Howard
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
9
Lachlan Norris
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
10
William Clarke
Leopard Trek
s.t.
11
David Kemp
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
12
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 44
13
Matthew Goss
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
14
Mark Renshaw
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
15
Simon Gerrans
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
16
Dale Parker
Trek - Livestrong U23
s.t.
17
Adam Semple
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
18
Robbie McEwen
Team RadioShack
s.t.
19
Travis Meyer
Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
20
Karl Menzies
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
21
Wesley Sulzberger
FDJ
s.t.
22
Mitchell Docker
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
23
Stuart O'Grady
Leopard Trek
s.t.
24
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
25
Hilton Clarke
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
26
Baden Cooke
Saxo Bank - SunGard
s.t.
27
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - SunGard
s.t.
28
Jack Anderson
Endura Racing
s.t.
29
Rhys Pollock
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
30
Cameron Wurf
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
31
Christopher Sutton
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
32
Jack Bobridge
Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
33
Luke Roberts
Saxo Bank - SunGard
s.t.
34
Fabio Calabria
Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis
s.t.
35
Adam Hansen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
36
Stuart Shaw
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
37
Benjamin King
Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis
s.t.
38
Matthew Hayman
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
39
Matthew Wilson
Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
40
David Pell
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
41
Joshua Prete
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
42
Joseph Lewis
Trek - Livestrong U23
s.t.
43
Michael Rogers
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
44
Cameron Meyer
Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
45
Thomas Palmer
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 1'45
46
Darren Lapthorne
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
47
Michael Phelan
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
48
Patrick Drapac
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
49
Graeme Brown
Rabobank
s.t.
50
Allan Davis
Pro Team Astana
+ 2'55
Ctrl+H, I know. I'll be using it going forward, but these pictures were already taken before I knew how to do that.
So here we go with the first real race of the year. This is obviously a sprinter's race, and some of the top fast men are here, with the likes of Cavendish (84 SP), Petacchi (82 SP), Bennati (78 SP), and Hushovd (79 SP) all in attendance. Stages 3 and 5 will test the sprinters with a light sprinkling of hills. Johan Van Summerman, Pablo Lastras, and Benoit Vaugrenard are some of the leading hill climbers, although they will have to face not only each other, but also the sprinters.
Our Team
Our two Australians get to ride their home tour. Daily form will decide our leader on the day, as neither one is tremendously better than the other. Martens and Clement will be going for the overall, which means they will be attacking on the hillier stages 3 and 5. The other 3 will be on bottle duty and perhaps going in breakaways.
Race Report
The breakaway of the day got away pretty early, and it was a large one. Hinault (AG2R), Kristoff (BMC), Klier (Garmin), Hoste (Omega), Cardoso (RadioShack) and Oss (LIQ) were some of the more notable riders in it.
Movistar, working for uh.... actually I have no idea, and Vacansoleil with Borut Bozic and Feillu, did almost all of the work. It was odd to see HTC and Lampre doing no work, but they didn't have to.
Manuel Cardoso would take the first KOM segment and will get a fancy jersey tomorrow, while Hinault and Hilton Clarke (UHC) would take the intermediate sprints.
Despite the breakaway's size, everyone in the peleton wanted the golden leader's jersey, and so the plucky attackers didn't stand a chance. In the sprint, Matthews was chosen as our leader. Graeme Brown got him into a good position...
...but Matthews couldn't stay with the HTC boys and was then left in the wind way too early.
In the end Cavendish got a great leadout and was able to hold on for the win, although Bennati closed very quickly.
Tour Down Under - Stage 2
Its a flat stage. How exciting.
Race Report
An eight man breakaway got away. Here we see them passing through the first sprint point, won by Roberto Ferrari (Androni). He was joined in the break by, among others, Andreas Klier (Cervelo), Gorka Izagerre (EUS), and Yuri Kritsov (AG2R).
A little later on, Klier would take the "mountain" sprint, which was really a false flat, ahead of Kritsov and John Murphy (BMC).
Ferrari would take the second sprint as well. At the back of the picture you can see that a group with Paterski (Liquigas), Boucher (Omega) and Roelants (Omega) has made it across.
Of course the breakaway would be pulled back. Graeme Brown was chosen as our main sprinter. Again we got onto the HTC train...
...but again we lost the wheel. Graeme finished 12th, and while this is a strong sprinters field I know we should be doing better. On the other hand, Bennati had another strong day and took the stage and the leader's jersey. Stage 3 is a hillier stage but on stage 4 we will have to try a new tactic in the sprint.
Tour Down Under - Stage 3
This could be a decisive day in the overall. In the default database this stage is set as a hilly stage but I have changed it to a flat stage as I feel it gives more realistic results.
Race Report
There are a ton of guys looking to get in the break, and so we get a whopping 10 man group. It is a strong group too, including Luca Solari (Androni), Liewue Westra (VAC), JJ Haedo (Saxo), Adam Blythe (Omega), Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana), and our own Martin Wynants. Those guys are joined by 8 more, which is way too strong of a group for the peleton to tolerate.
Rory Sutherland would start a second group, and he would be joined by Wynants, David Boucher (Omega), and Brett Lancaster (Garmin).
Sutherland attacked to take the mountain points. No one bothered to counter.
Back in the bunch, Pablo Lastras (Movistar) attacked just like he did in Tour Down Under. With about 20 KMs to go, he catches the leaders.
Sutherland would up the pace as soon as Lastras made the catch. The first to go was Wynants, and he was quickly followed by Boucher and Lancaster. Sutherland and Lastras would go into the lead, but the peleton would pull them back 6 KM from the finish.
Just a kilometer later, Lastras would attack again, and this time Johan Van Summeren (Garmin), Steve Chainel (FDJ) and Dimitri Muravyev (RadioShack) came with him. Chainel would counter and move ahead of Lastras, while the other attackers would get pulled back in.
And Steve Chainel pulls it off! A great effort from the Frenchman who takes the stage and the overall.
Results
I didn't export the results, but Chainel got a 16 second gap over Lastras, Boonen, Thomas DeGendt, Flecha and the rest of the peleton. Chainel takes over the overall lead, while the rest of the jerseys are not changing shoulders.
Tour Down Under - Stage 4
Another flat day, and hopefully the day where we get some decent sprint results.
Race Report
Our breakaway of the day was Jeff Louder (BMC), Pavel Brutt (Katusha), and Michael Kwiatkowski (RadioShack).
In the peleton, FDJ, the team of leader Steve Chainel, was forced to do all the work.
At the only mountain sprint of the day, Jeff Louder would attack the other two, but the young Pole Kwiatkowski would counter and take the sprint.
On a flat day like this, the break never really stood a chance. With 8 KM to go, we can see that HTC have moved to the front to work for green jersey wearer Mark Cavendish. On the left we see Leopard's train for Daniele Bennati, while on the right we set up a train for Matthews, who had the better daily form.
Once again, we struggled in the sprint. I was better than this in PCM 2009, I'll tell you that much. In the end Cav took another stage win, while Bennati continued his run of good results, taking second ahead of EBH and Tom Boonen.
I've only just really figured out the sprints. Only ever won one sprint but at least now I'm confident of getting regular top 5 placings with a decent rider.
Top 5: Wiggins, Voeckler, Sanchez, Boasson Hagen, Thomas
good story rabobank will not beat people like cavendish and Bennati in the sprints. your doing better than me i havent worked out how to form trains yet
Tour Down Under - Stage 5
If anyone is going to best the sprinters, this is the day to do it. We will be attacking today, and hopefully we can pull off a nice surprise.
Every team recognized that this could be the decisive day, and so a large break got off the break. Martin Wynants went in the break for us.
That was too big of a group for FDJ and HTC, and so they were pulled back. Rory Sutherland (UHC) would quickly attack, and Wynants and Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana) would join him. As pictured, Sutherland would take the first mountain sprint, adding to his 16 points from an earlier break.
As the breakaway started the second ascent of Old Willunga Hill, Sutherland attacked. Martin could not respond, and neither could Iglinskiy.
Wynants was quickly pulled in by the ever-chasing peleton, so we went to plan B, as Paul Martens attacked in pursuit of Sutherland.
Martens would catch Sutherland on the descent, and the two would lead into the last 5 KM. Could they stay away and foil the sprinters?
Behind, we had our contingency plan ready as set up our train once again. We tried to keep the pace as low as possible to give Martens the best chance of staying away.
Unfortunately, I was so busy setting up the train that the crafty Aussie Sutherland managed to force Martens to lead out the sprint without me noticing. I have to give him credit though, he managed to win despite having expended more energy than anyone else in the race.
Behind, we finally managed to get our sprint train working. Graeme Brown would take 7th behind Petacchi, Bennati, Feillu, and Cavendish, while Matthews, despite leading out Brown, would manage to hold on for 8th place.
While it would have been great to win, three riders in the top 8 places is a nice result.
Sorry, just a big cycling fan who notices details Good Luck
Good Luck!
i will follow 
