- To produce an epic story utilising 22 specialised jerseys.
- Pcm daily users will pick their riders/team in a bid to win the ultra classification.
- This story will take place across one tour de france (2013 database)
How can YOU participate?
- All are eligible whether your a founding member (Crue True)or relatively new to the site such as (JesleyH).
However, you must be a regular visitor to this site (ideally at least one visit per 2 days)
- You must also be willing to complete the following stages
Stage 1: COMPLETED
STAGE 2:COMPLETED
STAGE 3:COMPLETED
spam this thread with comments on the development of the tour of the chosen, as I will race with a control team (Coca cola w/Lime) and produce indepth/quality reports.
This is quite a long process but everyone gets behind this story I feel we can produce an epic story for the ages
This has been designed to measure who was been the most successful team overall ,not related to the team classification, the good thing about the ultra classification is a team with sprinters or climbers or both can win.
The scoring system:
Per every stage:
1st place rider =30 points 2nd place =24 points 3rd place 20 points
4th place = 17 points 5th place =15 points 6th place = 13 points
7th place= 11 points 8th place =10 points 9th place =9 points
10th place =8 points 11th place= 7 points 12th place = 6 points
13th place = 5 points 14th place = 4 points 15th = 3points
Plus 1 point per rider who finishes at the same time as the stage winner.
Points for final GC:
1st place = 100 points 2nd place= 75 points 3rd place = 60 points
4th place = 50 points 5th place= 45 points 6th place = 40 points
7th place = 36 points 8th place = 32 points 9th place = 28 points
10th place = 25 points 11th place = 22 points 12th place = 20 points 13th place = 18 points 14th place = 16 points 15th place = 12 points 16th place = 10 points 17th place = 8 points 18th place = 6 points 19th place = 4 points 20th place = 2 points
Points for final points classification:
1st place = 60 points 2nd place = 45 points 3rd place = 35 points
4th place = 25 points 5th place = 20 points 6th place = 16 points
7th place = 12 points 8th place = 10 points 9th place = 8 points
10th place = 6 points 11th place = 4 points 12th place = 2 points
Points for final mountain classification:
1st place = 50 points 2nd place = 40 points 3rd place = 30 points
4th place= 25 points 5th place = 20 points 6th place = 16 points
7th place = 12 points 8th place = 10 points 9th place = 6 points
10th place = 3 points
Points for final youth classification:
1st place: 40 points 2nd place = 30 points 3rd place = 25 points
4th place = 20 points 5th place= 16 points 6th place = 12 points
7th place = 10 points 8th place = 8 points 9th place = 6 points
10th place = 3 points
The Ultra Classification is a team title all points gained by individual riders will be counted towards their team total.
Edited by The Rider on 04-06-2013 18:28
The tour opens with a prologue around the city centre of Liege. The short TT specialists /perhaps sprinters will excel here, no large time gaps are expected between the GC men as the course is under 6.2km.
Stage 2 sees the riders tackle the first real road stage of the tour. Although classified flat: the stage will see riders climb over 2000 meters, this combined with the finish (almost 3km @ 4.5%) will likely see the 'pure' sprinters being tailed off. A small late breakaway of puncheurs may battle it out for victory.
Stage 3 will be the last in Belgium. One of the flattest stages on the tour, the sprinter's teams will no doubt want to control any breaks before an inevitable fast bunch sprint. Racing will be hectic towards the finish so GC men will have to rely on domestiques to keep them out of the wind and out of trouble. Stages:4-21 [France]
Stage 4 sees the first stage where the race will actually be in France. The last 30 kilometres are particularly tough, the race will take in the hilly terrain of the Nord Pas de Calais region before ending on Boulogne- Sur-Mer, sprinters will struggle to get points and GC competitiors may not want to expend energy. The fighters who can resist a hard days racing may succeed here.
Stage 5 will take the tour down the coast of the English Channel before heading inland towards the finish at Rouen, at the heart of Normandie. Strong winds can be expected on this stage, the hill 15 kilometres before the finish could well break up the peloton. Sprinters with any aspirations of the green jersey should finish in the top 10.
Stage 6 is another great opportunity for the sprinters. The tour heads back in the direction Belgium with the last 20 kilometres being about as flat as the racing gets, after a tricky first half to the stage. By now some riders will have lost some time so there may be less teams willing to chase the breaks, for the dominant sprinters good strong domestiques who can shut down the breaks will be needed.
Stage 7 is the last stage for sprinters before the first mountain top finish. This will be the last chance for many sprinters who struggle to get over the mountains, the chance of a successful breakaway in minimal.
Stage 8 will see the riders begin five gruelling days in eastern France. The undulating stage finishes on top of a ski station, certainly climber country with the last 7 kilometres averaging over 8% with some ramps at 20%. Unless there has been a heroic attack from a GC contender the GC will almost certainly change hands on this day.
Stage 9 has breakaway written all of it, the stage is only 154 kilometres but with six gruelling climbs it is certainly not one of the easiest. The summit of the last climb comes with over 20 kilometres to the finish so a decent sized group with GC contenders may come in together rather than just one's and two's. If the GC group are at the head of the race a rider with a teammate will be invaluable in setting up a potential stage win. The climax of the stage taking part in Swiss territory.
Stage 10 comes in the form of a long time trial to Besancon, from now on all racing is in France. Any GC riders who can time trial well can expect to put minutes into 'pure' climbers. The stage win is likely to be fought out between the TT specialists unless fatigue is already setting in.
Stage 11 sees the riders heading out back towards Switzerland way deep into the Rhone Alps. Plenty of descending in the latter half of the race and the fact the climbs are far from the finish could see the GC contenders who are slightly lower down try something from far out. Whoever is leading the GC will rely heavily on domestiques to control the race. Whereas the sprinters will rely on the bus making the time limit.
Stage 12 may be one of the shortest stages of the tour but it is a real killer, with almost 5000 meters of climbing. The final climb up to La Toussuire averages 6% over 17kilometeres, the riders who are capable of winning the GC will prevail today, outside GC hopes who blow may lose minutes.
Stage 13 is classified flat but the first 100 kilometres will probably end any hopes for sprinters looking for a win. Teams with strong fighters can expect to do well here as well as riders who can do a good GC but have taken some time loss, sprinters eying the sprints jersey will have to hope a large brake doesn't get away mopping up the points, but a large break seems inevitable as this stage is a real opportunity for the smaller teams to get into the break and potentiallywin.
Stage 14 is the first real sprinters day in about seven stages, sprinters teams will be more eager to shut down the breaks than on the previous stage, the only real obstacle being a short and sharp 10% climb just under 20 kilometres from the finish. It is expected that a different kind of sprinter will prevail compared to the first week, the veteran sprinters who can handle a tour will probably do well, but the younger sprinters who are not use to racing two weeks in a row may struggle to keep up.
Stage 15 sees the riders leaving Limoux and the majestic river Aude and heading towards the Pyrenees. Although the big climbs are well from the finish they do offer the chance for GC men to test the yellow jersey and the strength on its team.
Stage 16 is pretty much a nailed on sprint day, sprinters who can cope with hills and have high resistance will battle it out not necessarily the fastest sprinters.
Stage 17 is probably the hardest day of the tour, with over 5000 meters of climbing. We can expect to see the already established GC contenders fighting it out on the climb up to Bagneres de Luchon. Sprinters will hope that that the race isn't that aggressive if they have hope of reaching the time limit.
Stage 18 is the last mountainous stage. Riders between 10 and 20 on GC will surely look to attack early on looking to gain time and perhaps a stage victory. It will be the last chance for many looking for a good GC, but the terrain is there with huge amounts of climbing in the last 50 kilometeres
Stage 19, if riders have made it this far they will more than likely reach the finish. This stage is destined for another sprint but if a team has a sprinter who can not support the hills more than average rider in the race then there will be little chance of victory. It can be expected that GC riders who have a decent turn of pace will make the top 20. At the end of the stage the tour moves way up to central France.
Stage 20 (the penultimate stage) riders will tackle a flat time trial. While TT specialists may have a say in the final result, it is likely the GC contenders will battle it out for stage victory here. If there are small gaps between the top places it will be a very interesting finale.
Stage 21 the final stage which is more of a precession after which all classifications will be decided, including the first crowning of the Ultra Classification.
Edited by The Rider on 21-05-2013 19:57
The views of the rider's chances in this thread are the opinions of the The Rider and are not only a result of performance and ability but also quality of teammates.
Team
Name
FL
MO
HI
TT
PRO
CB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
AVG
TNA
J. Gadret
66
76
75
64
62
66
62
75
75
71
73
72
74
74
NEL
S.Spilak
70
75
75
73
71
68
65
70
66
72
70
71
73
74
PCA
M.Nieve
66
77
75
65
61
51
64
69
60
77
73
72
74
74
PVE
J.Rujano
65
77
73
67
68
50
60
72
64
74
73
71
72
74
AFL
T.Marczynski
66
75
74
71
68
55
64
70
69
74
71
67
73
74
With home advantage and a respectable grand tour pedigree Gadret is surely many peoples favourite for GC success, however a relative weak supporting team leaves the race wide open for attacks and the likely prominence of other riders. One such rider is Spilak of Nokia Ekspla, if he manages to hold Gadret in the hills and mountains whilst perhaps taking time on some flat stages then he will be certainly in pole position with over 90kilometers of time trials. Early indications suggest that Spillak may be given the number one shirt number 'Mountain goats' Nieve and Rujano are supported by great climbing teams however, this may lead to the race really been blown apart on the mountain stages, with the possibility of GC contenders cracking and losing minutes.
Team
Name
FL
MO
HI
TT
PRO
CB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
AVG
SCD
S.Hinault
73
61
66
60
60
72
76
74
70
65
73
70
74
74
QMS
A.M.Richese
72
57
64
63
66
56
75
75
74
67
67
65
68
74
IKO
T.Phinney
76
61
69
79
79
75
74
74
73
73
75
70
72
74
RBL
D Napolitano
74
53
64
58
65
65
76
75
74
63
69
70
70
74
KLU
R Hunter
75
60
67
68
71
68
75
74
76
75
69
68
75
74
Supported by the likes of Kwiatkowski and much sought after Urtason, arguably the fastest sprinter is Hinault, Hinault has been made favourite for the sprints competition, with Standard Chartered throwing all their eggs in the Hinault basket. However, success will not come easily, Quilmes can be seen as the main challengers and boast an impressive sprint train which aims to unleash A Richese at max speed. T Phinney could be a great call for the points jersey, he is best placed to take points in at least 2 TT's and may not fade as quickly as other sprinters come the second and third weeks, he may gain the yellow jersey early on and certainly has the team to defend it on the flat and undulating stages. Two of the fastest men in the first week will no doubt be Napolitano and Hunter, Napolitano may need to latch on to other sprint trains but Hunter is supported by the might of South Africa and he is certainly the teams priority rider. There are a huge amounts of other sprinters for possible stage wins but these five stand out as the sprinters most likely to win the green jersey.
Team
Name
FL
MO
HI
TT
PRO
CB
SP
ACC
DH
FTR
STA
RES
REC
AVG
ALS
K.Siutsou
70
74
74
74
73
51
60
67
65
74
73
70
73
74
STM
D DiLuca
69
73
75
76
68
57
65
72
66
74
73
70
70
74
BZQ
D.Zabriskie
74
73
72
76
76
52
60
55
76
76
73
70
72
74
HEY
G.Brambilla
66
75
74
68
66
56
64
70
62
75
71
68
72
73
PDA
G.Thomas
77
69
73
77
78
76
72
75
63
69
76
71
74
74
The above five riders are capable of winning in multiple terrains and therefore may become huge points scorers for teams with an eye on the ultra classification. Siutsou may well by a contender for overall, perhaps not capable of a stage win he is likely to finish highly in mountain stages and on the time trial stages. By the look of things Slovak Telecom is a team built for the attacks, at the heart of this strategy is Di Luca. It can be expected Di Luca will try many attacks, one of the best puncheurs here it is hard at this stage to not see Di Luca winning atleast one stage and getting into many breaks in the latter half of stages. Zabriskie may be tailed off on the steep climbs he is definitely one of the best rounded riders, capable of picking up points at all three time trials and no doubt will look to move up GC if he is allowed to get into breaks. Brambilla, a very aggressive rider, come the mountain stages we can expect his name heavily to future in the breakaways. G Thomas may split sprint duties for Perodua with Manan, but he is certainly capable of placing high in the sprints, time trial and hilly stages.
Edited by The Rider on 28-05-2013 09:31
Not a lot of time to make this presentation at the moment unfortunately.
So I'll do it shortly but powerful:
Banco do Brasil
M.Nazaret
R.Andriato
O.Bulgarelli
T.Fiorilli
M.Fischer
S.Gohr
M.Morandi
R.Nascimento
D.Rogelin
An all-Brazilian team. We intend to make the most of this Tour. We want to prove Brazil can play in the big boys' league, too!
Edited by Ian Butler on 24-05-2013 21:17
The team comes to the Tour with high hopes. An elite squad is selected, with riders mainly for Colombia. We’re trying to give the sponsors a lot of quality times, and we believe, that that’s possible with this line-up(presented later in the post). The sponsor gave us some ambitious goals, and we’re keen on achieving them.
Team goals
Spoiler
The team has ambitious goals, as said. Whole world is watching this Tour, and Pulso Verde’d like to get more international. This is the ideal step.
*** Getting a GC Top 3 **Win at least 3 stages ** Win the team classification *Get more stage-win than Quilmes & Banco Brasil * Get enough sponsor time(at least in 5 stages in the break)
Age: 30 Specialisation: Climber Rujano is one of the favourites for the GC. He’s the best climber from the pack, and has it certainly in him to win quite a few stages. His only problem is that there are quite a few TT kms. Rujano won’t handle that amazingly good, but probably better than the guys who are on his level at climbing(Nieve & Gadret). He has to win time on guys like Spilak and Verdugo, who are good TTists. He’s on his peak and won’t get better than this. This is his moment, his year, he can do this!
Personal goals: Winning 2 stages. Stage 8, 12 & 18, the ultimate summit finishes, can be great for that. Other goal for Rujano, his major goal, is Winning the GC. He’s convinced that he can do that! We believe in him.
Age: 31 Specialisation: Puncheur Stefan Schumacher is the first guy with a free role. The German really wanted to ride this race, and we decided to offer him a contract, just for the race. Stefan can actually do everything, he’s a real allrounder. His true specialisation is the hilly road, though. Also, he is okay climbing mountains, is a real good TTist, and has a nice finishing sprint as well. Very useful, especially if stages get to a reduced peloton sprint due to hills. Personal goals: Top 3-ing at least 2 stages, and getting in at least 1 breakaway
Age 25 Specialisation: Climber Unfortunately, not being able to contend for the points jersey anymore. This Colombian will be the super domestique for Rujano. And he’s a great one! He might be among the 7 best climbers on the startlist, which makes him the best domestique. He will get a bit freedom in-terms of the KoM jersey, though. Personal goals: Being a great helper for Rujano and winning the KoM jersey
Domestiques
Winner Anacona
Age: 24 Specialisation: Fighter/climber Will be a domestique, but likes to attack, so will be put in breakaways as well, if others let him go. Personal goals: Nothing in particular
Cayetano Sarmiento
Age: 26 Specialisation: Fighter A real fighter, but fairly handy on the hills & mountains. Will be put in the break a lot of times. Furthermore, he will just be a domestique. Personal goals: Getting in at least 2 breaks
Age: 22 Specialisation: Stage-races Not a great TTist, but you can call him a stage-racer. He will go for the U25 rankings, he’s a great talent. He’s not great in recovering from efforts though, that can be a minor problem for him. Personal goals: Young riders jersey & Top 15 GC
Marlon Perez
Age: 37 Specialisation: Uphill sprints He’s the oldie of the team. Used to be a legend in the Colombian races(Colombia, Tachira etc.), but never made it to the European top. He’s now old, but is still able to be a good domestique, and a good leadout for Perez or Chavanel. Might be put in breaks as well. Personal goals: Nothing in particular
The 32 year old Italian will be an anchor to our climbing abilities in this tour and will be a key support to our GC hopes, keeping our better time-trialists from losing too much time in the mountains. He will also likely be given the freedom to attack and stage hunt for our team.
Jonathan Castroviejo
Our 26 year old Spaniard is a very strong time-trialist, but also strong in several other areas and will likely have freedom on most stages to take chances. There is a possibility that he could become our GC leader though if he isn't losing too much time in the mountains and gaining time in the long time-trials of the race.
The teams primary GC hopes rest with the 33 year old Kazakh. Andrey has a good mix of climbing ability and time-trialing needed to contend for a GC. While not as strong as some of the other climbers in the race, he will depend on his team for support up to the summits and the ~100km of TT to gain time.
Ramunas Navardauskas
While it may not be glamorous our 25 year old Lithuanian will be pivotal in all aspects of our team. Navardauskas will be a workhorse in leading the peloton to reel in the breakaways and setting up our sprint train. He will be the consummate teammate able to help all of our leaders.
Ariel Maximiliano Richeze
Our Argentinian hope will be our primary sprinter and a favorite to win several stages. At 30 he is nearly three years senior to his teammate and brother and the leader of our team. Green is the goal and expectation for him, with a team built around him he will have to finish off the races, and hopefully gets the prize in Paris.
Mauro Abel Richeze
The younger brother at 27 years old, will also be one of the key lead-out pieces for Ariel, as well as support throughout the race both as teammate and brother. He comes in with the only objective of protecting his brother and will be able to share in the success. He may get the occasional chance to get into a breakaway for the team when he isn't tasked with protecting Ariel.
Svein Tuft
The oldest rider on the team at 36, the Canadian time-trial champion will be aiming for the two long time trials in the race. His ability will also be useful when the team has to chase down breakaways to set up the sprinters and he along with Navardauskas will be the key in controlling the peloton and starting our lead-out.
Boy Van Poppel
The young 25 year old Dutchman will be the lead-out man for our sprints. Getting Ariel Richeze to the front of the peloton then keeping him there as our strong sprint train does its work will be demanding but we believe he will do well with this role. There will likely be little opportunity for Boy to do much else and he will will lead our well represented team in the grupetto on the mountain stages.
Team Goals
Spoiler
Our team was built around our sprinters, Ariel Maximiliano Richeze and Boy Van Poppel. The additions of Mauro Abel Richeze, Svein Tuft, and Ramunas Navardauskus was specific to giving them the best chances to win a race. With this no doubt, seeing Richeze in GREEN at the end of the race is our expectation. Along with this, we expect to be the front of the peloton from 10km on in on the flat stages, forcing everyone else to play our game and other sprinters to fight for Richeze's wheel rather than their own teams.
On the side we have a very capable time trial team, with Svein Tuft and Jonathan Castroviejo which should both compete for the three TT stages throughout the race and ideally we can win one and finish on the podium of all three. Stage hunting for another win aside from the sprints is also another possibility with several of our riders depending on the terrain.
The King of the Mountains is always a bit of a toss up as riders compete to get into breakaways, but we would really like to take a strong chance at this. With the GC not our strength, we could send our riders into breakaways frequently and we have climbers capable of getting good results when the race goes vertical. We don't depend on winning the KoM but we would like a good showing for this competition.
We only have two riders eligible for the young rider classification, Boy Van Poppel is here to be the lead-out for our team, and Ramunas Navardauskus is built to be a primary domestique for our team, we don't expect our chances here are viable. I'm sure if we get halfway through the race and are alive in the completion we will certainly try to earn the win, but nothing is expected.
Goals Tracker
Spoiler
Win Green Jersey: 7th (A.M. Richeze)
Win Stage 21: No
Win Four Sprints: 0/4
Win One Time-Trial: 0/1
Top 15 GC: 5th
Podium two Time-Trials: Currently - 2/2 (Costroviejo, Stages 10 and 20)
Wear KoM Jersey: Never
Win One Hill/Mountain stage: 1/1 - Caruso (17)
Achievements:
Won Ultra Classification
Won Team Classification
5th overall GC (A. Kashechkin)
Stage Win (Stage 17, G. Caruso)
As you've probably noticed, our squad is built around main sprinter Danilo Napolitano. If he doesn't finish the Tour, we have enough other sprinters to take his place. That's why these are our goals:
Win 3 stages
Wear the green jersey
Wear the polka-dot jersey
Edited by fcancellara on 23-05-2013 22:45
The French rider is the ultimate GC favorite of this race. In his home country, Gadret has a large advantage over most others in the mtns, and will be on prime form. While a few of his opponents posess a better time trialing abilty, Gadret knack for descending and attacking will prove effective in his win of the Mailot Jaune.
Steffen Radochla
Radochla is our man for the sprints. He ins't the strongest of the field, but for a team mostly foucused around Gadret, he is our asset. Also, with experienced leadout man Julian Dean as his right hand man, he should have a good advantage to may up for is top end speed.
Ruben Plaza
Ruben Plaza is a great suppporting stage racer type rider. He is a good mtn domestique and a good time trialistt. This will help in the TTT as well as placings on stages. Also, he is good at recovering and shoulld still be a help in the 3rd week. An all around threat.
Julian Dean
While Julian Dean may be old, he still can do the one thing he's always been one of the best at - a leadout. Dean will look to lead out Radochla in the sprints. He wlill help to be a setup for a underskilled sprinter. Also, he can take a sprint from breaks.
Stuart O'Grady
Mr. O'Grady comes to our team as a true workhorse. He will be our 3rd man in the leadout train, as his power abilities on the flat are great. His ability to TT decent can help in the opening TTT, and while he is afr fromma climber, he will be help on the lower slopes.
Rui Sousa
I'll fill this in when I can actually find info about him.
Dan Craven
Dan is the prime rider form the team's root country. He is a great domestique for our team, as he is solid in most disciplines. He is also the perfect rider for breakaways, and will target them for Namibia.
Marc de Maar
Marc de Maar is a decent climber a nd helper for John Gadret in the mtns. That's his real purpose on the team for this rae, although a break or two is a possibilty.
Petrus Lotto
Petrus is our final rider for the team. He can be a decent domestique, and will represent the team home country for our team.
Edited by baseballlover312 on 23-05-2013 03:12
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy