Thank you all very, very much for the nice comments I can assure you that Peter Sagan will bring us a lot of happiness in the rainbow jersey...
I already played the rest of the season and started editing which will be an enormous work since the last time I did it (before this season), I obviously didn't do it totally correct because most riders went back to their original teams (Klöden & Brajko to Unicef, for example, or Cunego to Lampre) which is why I basically have to edit two season's transfers. Also, I will take care of the transfers myself this time, so no Cyanide-like ones.
Anyway, I still have a couple of posts left for this season, so the break shouldn't be too long (I hope I don't talk too big right now ).
Peter Sagan's double win at the Worlds outshines everything else, even the two Italian victories in Canada. Other notable results: Tom Veelers wins Paris-Bruxelles, Ryder Hesjedal the Tour of Britain.
World Tour Ranking
Nibali makes a giant leap after his Vuelta triumph, and Cunego scored pretty well, too, resulting in a Liquigas double lead. His second spot in Spain vaults Sanchez into fourth position.
Liquigas consequentally extends their lead in the team ranking by quite a bit, and is now almost sure to win it. The other places are unchanged as well, but the ranks 3-5 are pretty close together.
BMC scored big time, and Astana is almost secure now as well. After a very good first half of the season, Skil slips down to the danger zone. FDJ is going to be relegated.
CQ Ranking
Nibali extends his lead to an enormous margin. That looks really amazing. Cunego keeps his second spot, Sanchez, Gilbert and Rodriguez are the other winners of the month.
Just look at that! Liquigas has almost the double amount of points as the two following teams! Leopard overtook Movistar there, but it's still very close. Omega Pharma kicked Sky out of the Top 5.
Oh what a pity for Geox! All of a sudden, they're on a promotion place, but since the main sponsor didn't believe in it and already pulled back, they won't get the chance to prove themselves in the World Tour. Instead, the two French teams Cofidis and Saur will go up.
Victory Ranking
Cunego, Rojas and Gilbert all add a win to their palmares, Farrar is new in the Top 5.
As in all other rankings, Liquigas dominates. Six more wins were added this month, only one by their three chasers. It's still impressive what Cofidis does this year as a continental team.
Monthly Awards
None given...
Preview October
05.-09.10.
Tour of Beijing
12.10.
Milano - Torino
13.10.
Giro del Piemonte
15.10.
Giro di Lombardia
16.10.
Japan Cup
With the Tour of Beijing and the Giro di Lombardia, the October awaits with two highlights towards the end of the season. With Peter Sagan and Damiano Cunego, we have to winning aspirants for all the races we participate in. And looking at their recent shape, we expect quite a successful month.
valverde321 wrote:
This is probably becoming my favourite story
Great WC rides by Sagan.
This is really getting me back into PCM, so thank you very much.
Much like you, I have been attracted to other games, for me, about 6 months now. Fifa, NHL, NBA, Uncharted, and Football Manager.
But really thanks. I have been wanting to get back into PCM for a while now, but I couldn't.
Good luck with the editing.
This might be the non plus ultra among all the fantastic comments I have received during my story-writing here Thanks a lot, it means quite a it to me that my story here has an actual impact on people
+++ Teams for the next season continue to shape +++
As you may remember, two teams already announced their folding: Geox and Unicef. A third team can now be added to that list: Caja Rural. A couple of weeks ago, we reported their financial troubles, now it is official: The sponsor can't fund the team anymore. That also means that some top riders, including recent 10th of the Vuelta, Javier Moreno, and their new signing Fabio Duarte, are on the market now.
We won't see that jersey next season: After only three years, Caja Rural folds.
And there's news about Unicef as well – not specifically about them but about the license: It will be taken over by a newly founded, British-Spanish team. Main sponsor will be the British mobile telephony provider Vodafone, supported by the Spanish Banco Santander. It is reported that Unicef's superstar, Alejandro Valverde, will lead the team next season, which will directly enter the World Tour circuit.
Alejandro Valverde, recent fourth during the Vuelta, will lead the new WT Team Vodafone – Santander.
baia wrote:
Good news from Valverde.... can´t wait to see that team..pity for Caja Rural...
I wasn't too sure about Caja either because I like the team, too. But there were certain circumstances that required this drastic measure But don't worry, there will be a couple of new teams that I hope will cover for their loss.
@ Absintlover: That's fantastic to hear, thanks a lot, mate
Parallely to my Nerz career, I also have a save with FDJ, where I play on hard. I played with them before the Tour of Beijing, and unfortunately, I forgot to switch back to extreme for this race. Therefore, the results of Beijing have to be considered having in mind they're achieved "only" on hard. Everything afterwards is on extreme again.
. October 9, 2012 – Tour of Beijing
The Race
For the second year now, the Tour of Beijing is the last World Tour stage race in the cycling calendar. Its reputation isn't too high, but tradition needs to develop, right? And in its first holding, the starting field was quite strong.
The course leads the riders over five rather easy stages. It starts out with an 11 kms prologue, a stage that could already be decisive. It's followed by a mostly flat stage with a small hill 10 kms from the finish. The third stage is then the only other chance for time differences with two ascents close to the finish. The race fades out with two mostly flat stages, likely to end in mass sprints.
Spoiler
Result in 2011
1
Tony Martin
HTC - Highroad
2
David Millar
Team Garmin - Cervélo
3
Chris Froome
Sky ProCycling
4
Steve Cummings
Sky ProCycling
5
Olivier Kaisen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
Favorites
Philippe Gilbert (Omega) , Peter Sagan (Liquigas)
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky)
Damiano Cunego (Liquigas) , Igor Antón (Euskaltel)
With Peter Sagan and Philippe Gilbert, we have the top puncheurs of the last month present. Due to his awesome shape, Sagan is the main favorite. Both are decent prologue riders and should be the strongest on stage three. Apart from them, it's hard to say who is a favorite, since it pretty much depends on how intense the third stage is ridden (regarding riders like Boasson Hagen or Rojas).
Team Liquigas
With Cunego and Sagan, we have two riders capable of the win here. And nothing less should be the goal. We figure that only Philippe Gilbert might be able to challenge us so we have to make sure to isolate him as soon as possible on stage 3. Peter Sagan will also contest in the bunch sprints.
Report
The short prologue brought a small surprise with the win of Sebastien Rosseler in front of the Bird's Nest in Beijing. Surprising was not the win itself but rather the margin: 12 seconds on 11 kilometers is pretty strong.
For Liquigas, Peter Sagan did well in his first race in the rainbow jersey. He finished 4th, 15 seconds off. Cunego achieves a Top 20 and limits his losses to 37 seconds.
1
Sébastien Rosseler
Quick·Step Cycling Team
14'47
2
Brett Lancaster
Team Garmin – Cervélo
+ 12
3
David Zabriskie
Team Garmin – Cervélo
+ 15
4
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
5
Svein Tuft
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 17
…
12
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma – Lotto
+ 29
…
19
Damiano Cunego
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 37
Stage 2 provided one of three possible sprint opportunities and it was taken by the respective teams. No break stood a chance. Two big sprint trains dominated the last kilometers: T-Mobile and Garmin. It was a pretty close outcome but Cavendish had the better end. Sagan jumped from wheel to wheel and finished on a decent sixth place.
1
Mark Cavendish
Team T-Mobile
3h01'52
2
Tyler Farrar
Team Garmin – Cervélo
s.t.
3
Tom Veelers
Skil – Shimano
s.t.
…
6
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
The third stage was ought to be the decisive one, but it wasn't sure to have larger time gaps. One team made sure it had: Liquigas. They held everything together until the penultimate climb, then Marco Marcato started to decrease the peloton. But when Damiano Cunego took over, only two guys could follow: Gilbert and Sagan. The three crossed the top together, but on the last ascent, first Cunego and then Gilbert couldn't match Sagan anymore. A dominant win for the world champion!
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
4h03'43
2
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma – Lotto
+ 50
3
Damiano Cunego
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 2'04
4
Riccardo Riccò
Vacansoleil – DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'18
5
Juan José Cobo
Geox – TMC
+ 2'39
Not surprisingly, another sprint finish followed on stage three. Again, Cavendish was up in front, but this time, one man could beat him: Joaquin Rojas. Peter Sagan, despite his efforts yesterday, sprinted to a fantastic third place.
1
José Joaquín Rojas
Movistar Team
4h39'45
2
Mark Cavendish
Team T-Mobile
s.t.
3
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
The last stage in front of the Bird's Nest ended in a bunch sprint. Mark Cavendish regained the superiority among the sprinters with his second win. Tyler Farrar, runner up of stage two, could only finish third because the amazing Peter Sagan increases again to end up second.
1
Mark Cavendish
Team T-Mobile
2h56'56
2
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
3
Tyler Farrar
Team Garmin – Cervélo
s.t.
Classifications
Overall
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
14h37'08
2
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'14
3
Damiano Cunego
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'36
4
Riccardo Riccò
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 3'05
5
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
+ 3'20
6
Ben Hermans
Unicef - Oracle
+ 4'37
7
Sérgio Paulinho
Unicef - Oracle
+ 4'40
8
David Blanco
Geox - TMC
+ 4'44
9
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'47
10
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Pro Team Astana
+ 4'48
Spoiler
11
Greg Van Avermaet
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 4'50
12
Bruno Pires
Leopard Trek
s.t.
13
Florian Stalder
BMC Racing Team
+ 5'00
14
Igor Antón
Leopard Trek
+ 5'09
15
Alexandr Kolobnev
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 5'16
16
Jelle Vanendert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
17
Marco Marcato
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 5'26
18
Vladimir Gusev
Katusha Team
+ 6'53
19
Sandy Casar
FDJ
+ 7'17
20
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
+ 7'23
21
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 7'24
22
Ezequiel Mosquera
Movistar Team
s.t.
23
Daniel Martin
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 7'25
24
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
+ 7'28
25
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
+ 7'30
26
David Zabriskie
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 7'36
27
David De la Fuente
Geox - TMC
+ 7'53
28
Cyril Gautier
Team Europcar
+ 8'29
29
Giampaolo Cheula
Geox - TMC
+ 8'44
30
Benjamín Noval
Movistar Team
+ 9'39
31
Fabian Wegmann
Leopard Trek
+ 9'41
32
Maxim Iglinskiy
Pro Team Astana
+ 9'44
33
Michael Albasini
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 9'48
34
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 9'51
35
Simon Clarke
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 9'53
36
Murilo Fischer
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 9'56
37
John-Lee Augustyn
Sky ProCycling
+ 10'12
38
Emanuele Vona
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 12'41
39
Sébastien Rosseler
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 13'35
40
Fabio Duarte
Geox - TMC
+ 13'41
41
David Millar
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 13'56
42
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ
+ 13'59
43
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
+ 14'03
44
Stephen Cummings
Sky ProCycling
+ 14'10
45
Dario Cataldo
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 14'13
46
Mathieu Sprick
Skil - Shimano
+ 14'18
47
Brice Feillu
Leopard Trek
+ 14'20
48
Christian Knees
Sky ProCycling
+ 14'21
49
Julien El Fares
Movistar Team
+ 14'27
50
Dries Devenyns
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 14'28
51
Mikel Astarloza
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 14'33
52
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 14'40
53
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Geox - TMC
+ 14'43
54
Santo Anza
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 14'45
55
John Degenkolb
Team T-Mobile
+ 15'49
56
Yaroslav Popovych
Unicef - Oracle
+ 16'22
57
Joost Van Leijen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 16'27
58
Tanel Kangert
Pro Team Astana
+ 16'28
59
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
+ 16'43
60
Peter Velits
Team T-Mobile
+ 17'27
61
Chris Barton
BMC Racing Team
+ 17'47
62
Michael Matthews
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 17'50
63
Elia Favilli
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 17'52
64
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
+ 17'55
65
Matthieu Ladagnous
FDJ
+ 17'56
66
Francesco Reda
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 17'57
67
Timothy Duggan
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
68
José Joaquín Rojas
Movistar Team
+ 18'00
69
Luis Pasamontes
Movistar Team
+ 18'01
70
Francis De Greef
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 18'08
71
Joan Horrach
Katusha Team
+ 18'09
72
Rubén Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 18'17
73
Óscar Sevilla
Unicef - Oracle
s.t.
74
Matej Mugerli
Lampre - ISD
+ 18'18
75
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 18'20
76
Enrico Magazzini
Lampre - ISD
+ 18'34
77
Artem Ovechkin
Katusha Team
+ 19'16
78
Mark Cavendish
Team T-Mobile
+ 19'21
79
Jason McCartney
Unicef - Oracle
+ 19'47
80
Marcel Wyss
Geox - TMC
+ 19'48
81
Damien Gaudin
Team Europcar
+ 19'54
82
Iván Velasco
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
83
David Veilleux
Team Europcar
+ 19'57
84
Dominique Rollin
FDJ
+ 20'08
85
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 20'13
86
Brett Lancaster
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 20'18
87
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
+ 20'20
88
Svein Tuft
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 20'23
89
Gerald Ciolek
Team T-Mobile
+ 20'24
90
Tyler Farrar
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 20'28
91
Bert Grabsch
Team T-Mobile
+ 20'30
92
Mirco Lorenzetto
Pro Team Astana
+ 20'38
93
Michał Kwiatkowski
Unicef - Oracle
+ 20'39
94
Rick Flens
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 20'44
95
Gert Steegmans
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 20'54
96
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 20'57
97
Borut Božic
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 20'58
98
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
+ 21'00
99
Stijn Vandenbergh
Katusha Team
+ 21'08
100
André Greipel
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 21'11
101
Harald Starzengruber
Leopard Trek
s.t.
102
Óscar Freire
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
103
Ramunas Navardauskas
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
104
Michal Golas
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 21'15
105
Davide Cimolai
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 21'17
106
Manuel Cardoso
BMC Racing Team
+ 21'18
107
Allan Davis
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 21'21
108
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
+ 21'23
109
Aitor Pérez Arrieta
Lampre - ISD
+ 21'27
110
Fred Rodriguez
BMC Racing Team
+ 21'29
111
Yohann Gène
Team Europcar
+ 21'30
112
Danilo Wyss
BMC Racing Team
+ 22'36
113
David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez
Geox - TMC
+ 22'38
114
Jonas Vangenechten
FDJ
+ 22'43
115
Vincent Jérôme
Team Europcar
+ 22'46
116
Maxim Gourov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
117
Giuseppe Di Salvo
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 22'47
118
Adam Hansen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 23'13
119
Bjorn Selander
Unicef - Oracle
+ 23'24
120
David Tanner
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 23'33
121
Ion Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 23'41
122
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 24'27
123
Bernardo Zanchi
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 24'30
124
Michael Barry
Sky ProCycling
+ 24'44
125
Maarten Neyens
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 25'00
126
Leigh Howard
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 25'03
127
Tom Veelers
Skil - Shimano
+ 25'04
128
Alexander Kristoff
BMC Racing Team
+ 25'06
129
René Weissinger
Team T-Mobile
s.t.
130
Mickaël Delage
FDJ
+ 25'22
131
Robert Wagner
Leopard Trek
+ 25'24
132
Pablo Urtasun
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 25'31
133
Francisco José Ventoso
Pro Team Astana
+ 25'33
134
Staf Scheirlinckx
Skil - Shimano
+ 25'35
135
Julian Dean
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 25'38
136
Job Vissers
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 25'40
137
Davide Viganò
Leopard Trek
+ 25'58
138
Frantisek Rabon
Team T-Mobile
+ 26'56
139
Ben Swift
Sky ProCycling
+ 27'15
140
Giovanni Bernaudeau
Team Europcar
+ 27'41
141
Marcel Kittel
Skil - Shimano
+ 28'07
142
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 28'36
143
Bert De Backer
Skil - Shimano
+ 29'20
144
Klaas Lodewyck
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 30'27
145
Vitali Kondrut
Lampre - ISD
+ 30'30
146
Mark Renshaw
Team T-Mobile
+ 30'38
147
Valentin Iglinskiy
Pro Team Astana
+ 30'49
148
Mikhaylo Khalilov
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 31'01
149
Dariusz Rudnicki
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 31'04
150
Javier Francisco Aramendia
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 31'08
151
Gerben Löwik
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 32'26
152
Koen De Kort
Skil - Shimano
+ 33'45
153
Julien Vermote
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 33'56
154
Theo Bos
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 35'02
155
Carlo Favini
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 35'12
156
Giacomo Nizzolo
Leopard Trek
+ 35'21
157
Marcin Sapa
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 36'01
158
Greg Henderson
Sky ProCycling
+ 38'54
159
Nikolai Trussov
Katusha Team
+ 38'57
160
Adam Sznitko
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 39'38
161
Dimitri Krivtsov
Lampre - ISD
+ 41'07
162
Daniel Sesma
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 41'33
163
Renaud Sorin
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 41'39
164
Matias Crespo
Movistar Team
+ 43'08
165
Fang Han
Skil - Shimano
+ 43'32
166
Bakaev Arsen
Pro Team Astana
+ 44'02
167
Geoffrey Soupe
FDJ
+ 44'04
168
Jeremy Hunt
Sky ProCycling
+ 48'36
169
Cheng Ji
Skil - Shimano
+ 48'48
170
Franck Bouyer
Team Europcar
+ 50'30
171
Kevin Reza
Team Europcar
+ 50'46
172
Alexander Porsev
Katusha Team
+ 56'49
173
Donny Jaspers
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 58'58
174
Brandon Stanton
Unicef - Oracle
+ 1h00'34
Points
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
69
2
Mark Cavendish
Team T-Mobile
62
3
Tyler Farrar
Team Garmin - Cervélo
61
4
José Joaquín Rojas
Movistar Team
50
5
John Degenkolb
Team T-Mobile
47
Mountain
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
24
2
Alexandr Kolobnev
Rabobank Cycling Team
18
3
Daniel Martin
Team Garmin - Cervélo
18
4
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
16
5
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
16
Young Riders
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
14h37'08
2
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'47
3
Cyril Gautier
Team Europcar
+ 8'29
4
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
+ 14'03
5
John Degenkolb
Team T-Mobile
+ 15'49
Teams
1
Liquigas - Cannondale
43h59'25
2
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 7'07
3
Geox - TMC
+ 7'23
4
Leopard Trek
+ 11'38
5
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 15'15
The Winner
People say there's a world champion curse. I guess, Peter Sagan never heard of that! In his first race after his triumph, he showed that he is more than a deserved champion.
Liquigas Resumé
What shall I say? Sagan evidentally hasn't lost anything of his world champion shape. What a great, dominant performance! Damiano Cunego also does great at the moment, probably the best luxury domestique of all times. Il Lombardia can come!
).
...
