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Rudy McDermott - The Next Great American Classics Rider
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| trueblue3044 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 07:06
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Stagiare
Posts: 185
Joined: 07-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Background
Hi everyone! My name is Rudy McDermott. I am a 20 year old cyclist living in New Jersey, USA. I have just signed a ONE year contract with the Bontrager Cycling Team! I started racing a mere three years ago with a local junior team. My results were far from amazing, but my skills on the bike quickly improved. Last year, I won numerous Pro/Cat 1 level races in my area and caught the eye of a few professional developmental teams. In one of the biggest races in my area, I scored a win and beat many riders from pro teams including United Healthcare, Jelly Belly, Jamis-Hagens Bergman, and the Bontrager team. Almost immediately after I crossed the finish line, I was approached by the manager of the Bontrager team and offered my contract. The thrill of my big win immediately took a back seat as I realized that my dreams of becoming a professional bike racer were coming to fruition.
I would say my biggest skill is my sprint. I love digging into the red zone and watching myself fly by the competition and stare at that beautiful white finish line as it creeps closer and closer. I almost always win a bunch sprint in races without many pros, but even when the competition gets tougher, I can always hang in the top 10. I'm usually towards the back of the pack when the road tilts upwards, but I wouldn't say I'm the worst climber. One of the things I love most on my bike though, is suffering. That's why I am also pretty good when the riding gets rough. There aren't many places in New Jersey where you can find a cobbled road, but I have more than proven myself in many races where dirt and rocks become a part of the course. My Director Sportif has given me the chance to prove myself in the cobbled races our team will travel to this season. That leads me to my race schedule..
Race Schedule
My race schedule this season is as follows:
25/1 - 29/1: New Zealand Cycle Classic
10/2 - 12/2: Valley of the Sun Stage Race
25/2: Beverbeek Classic
11/3: Kattekoers
30/3 - 2/4: Le Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux
8/4 - 9/4:Tour Doon Hame
13/4: Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium
15/4: Tour of the Battenkill
22/4:Ronde van Noord-Holland
26/4 - 29/4: Joe Martin Stage Race
7/5: Ronde van overijessel
13/5 - 20/5: AMGEN Tour of California
26/5: Tallinn-Tartu Grand Prix
3/6: American Cycling Classic
7/7: Tour de Delta
13/7 - 21/7: Tour of Qinghai Lake
2/8 - 4/8: Tour of Elk Grove
17/9: Bucks County Classic
My biggest objective for the season is the Tour of California where I will be gunning for a stage win. Also, the Tour of the Battenkill (America's Roubaix) and the American Cycling Classic are big goals and would love to get top 5s in each. I will be working domestique duties in the few hilly races I will be participating in. Lastly, my manager has made sure the team got invited to a fair amount of both Belgian and Dutch cobbled races to see how I could fair.
Team Media
Team Roster:
Team Jersey/Logo:
First Race is coming soon! Hope you enjoy my adventures as an aspiring American classics cyclist starting from the bottom!
Story Information:
Difficulty: Hard
Attribute Evolution: 0.5
DB: PCM.Daily 2013
Edited by trueblue3044 on 15-05-2013 03:00
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| Pinktay3 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 07:58
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 959
Joined: 08-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Rudy's a beast. Good luck with the story |
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| trueblue3044 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 08:00
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Stagiare
Posts: 185
Joined: 07-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Training Camp
The winter training season is finally over and the team has gotten together for our January training camp. The team is holding it in Boulder, Colorado, home to many of America's great cyclists. The most exciting thing for me was getting all the new gear. I got hooked up with a sweet Trek Madone and Giro Aeon helmet, along with plenty of bibs, jerseys for every type of weather and accessories to match. Man, it feels good to be a pro cyclist! While I couldn't snag any pictures from our training camp, I can tell you it was a blast. I felt incredibly strong. I trained hard this winter and built up a nice base for this season, which I know will be my toughest yet by a long shot. In about a week I'm hopping on a plane and heading to New Zealand for my first international bike race. It's gonna be weird leaving my family and friends behind, but that's the life of a pro!
New Zealand Cycle Classic
We arrived in New Zealand a day before the race began. We were all pretty jet lagged from the flight, so we took a light ride to get us acclimated to the new climate and get a few easy miles into our legs before the big day. The next day the team woke up bright and early and had a good breakfast and we made our way to the start area.
Team Roster:
Nathan Brown (Leader)
Rudy McDermott (Sprinter)
Lawson Craddock (Free)
Jasper Stuyven
James Oram
Gregory Daniel
Tanner Putt
Nathan Wilson
Stage 1
Profile:
The first stage was a 6.5 km prologue. I'd say my prologue skills are adequate so I hoped to place in the top ten. The weather was pretty crappy but I was too excited to care. I pulled up the start ramp and counted down with the clock. 3..2..1.. and I was off.
I got into my aero tuck after a short sprint. I started off a little slow to conserve a good finishing kick in the second half of the brief TT. Once I saw the 3km to go sign I hit the afterburners and dug deep. I sprinted for the line and looked up and saw 8th place. Not too bad.
After the ties were sorted out, I wound up in 12th place, 8 seconds behind the leader Tom Zirbel of Optum. Lawson, Nathan, and I shared the best placing for the team. Here are the full results:
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| trueblue3044 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 08:01
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Stagiare
Posts: 185
Joined: 07-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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@Pinktay3 Thanks!  |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 08:02
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World Champion
Posts: 10497
Joined: 23-06-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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If you want to remove the circles under the rider's, press the º button. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 21-11-2024 09:44
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| trueblue3044 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 08:03
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Stagiare
Posts: 185
Joined: 07-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Miguel98 wrote:
If you want to remove the circles under the rider's, press the º button.
Ha thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to do that for the rest of my screenshots. |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 12-05-2013 08:40
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Out of interest what is the rate of attribute development?
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| krisa |
Posted on 12-05-2013 09:10
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3962
Joined: 12-04-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck with this story I will try to follow
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-05-2013 09:15
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Great start and best of luck!
Edited by Ian Butler on 12-05-2013 13:00
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 12:23
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4478
Joined: 30-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck ,following |
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| MrUfo87 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 12:32
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2803
Joined: 06-01-2012
PCM$: 700.00
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Good luck!
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| trueblue3044 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 15:22
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Stagiare
Posts: 185
Joined: 07-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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TheManxMissile wrote:
Out of interest what is the rate of attribute development?
I left it at the default. I'll add some info about the game to my first post. I seemed to have left all of that out. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 15:27
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Good Luck with your story
And a nice TT from Craddock |
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| trueblue3044 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 17:50
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Stagiare
Posts: 185
Joined: 07-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Stage 2
Today was the second stage of the New Zealand Cycle Classic. It was a pretty bumpy stage, but hopefully a sprint finish would occur so I could show off my legs.
Profile:
The day started off with a break of 4 riders going ahead.
At around 11km to go, the break was pulled back and we started to form our sprint train for me.
With the finish line in sight, the sprint was launched.
I just didn't have the legs today and had to settle for 10th.
I was a bit disappointed. I thought I'd have a shot to contend for the win, but that just might have been the wishful ambition of a rookie. I was elated though, when I found out I would be awarded the best young riders jersey. Not as good as the yellow, but it's a start! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-05-2013 17:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Don't worry too much about it, though  young jersey is a great start! And he wasn't too far from the win, only 4 lengths |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 17:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Rudy did well to grab a top ten place |
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| Areolys |
Posted on 12-05-2013 18:15
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Stagiare
Posts: 234
Joined: 09-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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great start. Good luck for this season! |
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| Selwink |
Posted on 12-05-2013 18:16
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8856
Joined: 17-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Shame you couldnt start better. Your time will come, Im sure
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| admirschleck |
Posted on 12-05-2013 18:20
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Team Leader
Posts: 6690
Joined: 11-10-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck!
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| trueblue3044 |
Posted on 12-05-2013 18:45
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Stagiare
Posts: 185
Joined: 07-06-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Stage 3
Stage 3 was another bumpy stage with a flat finish. I was feeling a little stronger today and felt good in white.
A break of four went early again. Their lead was controlled by the An Post team of race leader Nico Eeckhout and they were realled in with about 10 km to go. Instead of going with the sprint train approach, my leadout man James Oram and I tried to find a good wheel to get on. He tried to bring me up to Tomasz Somlen's wheel (who was in a great position) but we soon got boxed in with a little over 1 km to go.
I started my sprint from a long way back and at that point there was no way I could make it to the front. I wound up finishing 6th, but lost my white jersey to second place finisher Morten Øllegaard.
I felt a lot better today than I did yesterday, it's just a shame I didn't have a better opportunity. Time to talk with the DS and discuss strategy for tomorrow's stage 4.
Edited by trueblue3044 on 12-05-2013 18:46
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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)
