Smowz wrote:
Bewley all the way for the win for me though, this guy looked like a real tough nut last year and I think milka have bought in that Auber charm.
It would be really great if we managed to buy someting else than Coppel and Bouet from Auber.
But with PCM11 AI I think there is almost no possibility of seeing win here a guy like Ford and such a domination of one team. And I have way worse TTT squad than had Auber last year IMO.
SportingNonsense wrote:
Interesting to see a few people just cant look past Bewley. A dominant performance would be a bit of a surprise, there are so many top sprinters here. Milka werent the experts of sprint trains last year either!
I think I need to say there was no Sam Bewley in my team last season. It is big difference if you are making a train for Casper, Forero or Bewley. And there was really bad AI in PCM10 if we are looking on sprint trains.
And it will be interesting to see (at least for me) how PCM11 AI can handle short TTT and sprint trains. In case of my team, it will be interesting to see if my quite good TTT squad (Coppel, Bouet, Bret, De Gendt, Kreuziger and Malori) can ride an ok result with Bewley and Howard as a tonnage. And I didn't play PCM11 too much so far, so I am wondering if De Gendt, Coppel and Howard will be at least decent sprint train for Bewley.
Smowz wrote:
Bewley all the way for the win for me though, this guy looked like a real tough nut last year and I think milka have bought in that Auber charm.
It would be really great if we managed to buy someting else than Coppel and Bouet from Auber.
But with PCM11 AI I think there is almost no possibility of seeing win here a guy like Ford and such a domination of one team. And I have way worse TTT squad than had Auber last year IMO.
SportingNonsense wrote:
Interesting to see a few people just cant look past Bewley. A dominant performance would be a bit of a surprise, there are so many top sprinters here. Milka werent the experts of sprint trains last year either!
I think I need to say there was no Sam Bewley in my team last season. It is big difference if you are making a train for Casper, Forero or Bewley. And there was really bad AI in PCM10 if we are looking on sprint trains.
And it will be interesting to see (at least for me) how PCM11 AI can handle short TTT and sprint trains. In case of my team, it will be interesting to see if my quite good TTT squad (Coppel, Bouet, Bret, De Gendt, Kreuziger and Malori) can ride an ok result with Bewley and Howard as a tonnage. And I didn't play PCM11 too much so far, so I am wondering if De Gendt, Coppel and Howard will be at least decent sprint train for Bewley.
Bouet, De Gendt, Kreuziger. It's like Team B&O Anno 2009 , should be unbeatable then
Not knowing how the AI handles the sprints in PCM11 made me go for the easy route to simply tip Bewley as the sprinter to beat. I just don't know how important lead-out riders is in the 11 version. Will be interesting to see how everything plans out.
Well, that was a storming start from Cafe de Colombia.
Knew we had a chance if Rogers was on the front and really driving it. Just hope Castaneda can do enough in the sprints now for the team to hold on to the leaders jersey. Even if he doesn't, there is a good chance that we can hold on to a few Top 10 positions at race end.
Stunning battle between Colombia and Vesuvia for stage-win! And The Oz did quite well imo 12th place in the middle of those PT-teams.. could have been worse.
It's kinda late for this now, but I'll post it here anyway:
The Management-Game Gazzette Issue #1
Last year, Sony Ericsson sensationally triumphed in the PT Team Rankings with magnificent performances throughout the whole season. Now as the ProTour prepares to set off to the 2012 season, the manager of the Swedes previews the upcoming Tour of Qatar with us:
Q. The flattest stage-race on earth, the Tour of Qatar, is fastly aproaching. Who do you think will impress the sheiks this year? I think this is Sam Bewley's race to lose. He will dominate the sprints.
Q. This race is known for its opening short TTT and strong echelons during the flat stages. Where do you think the race will be decided? The TTT will be important but not decisive as it is too short to create any gaps that a top sprinter cannot take back. More crucial is being at the front and not ending up at the wrong side of any splits during the race as it is here a lot of time can be lost. But ultimately everything depends of how the sprints turns out and I believe that they will decide the winner of this race.
Q. What can we expect of your team in the desert? Are you here just to meet your schedule, are you relying on a specific rider or are you planing to 'pull an Auber'? It would be really nice to do as well as Auber did last season. I nearly beat them in the TTT then and I'm fielding a slightly stronger team this season so I am aiming at a top finish in the TTT. Then I have brought with me Alessandro Ballan to use his power on the flats to make an impact on the race. I have also Cameron Meyer for the sprints but he is still finding his way and learning how to act in the sprints.
Q. Sony Ericsson is the reigning champion of the ProTour. Do you think you'll be able to successfully defend the title? I doubt it, as the competition is tougher this year and some of my riders is getting a bit too old. There is a chance though but it relies on my leaders performing in every race, so it is down to having that extra luck. But I am aiming for a top 5 and anything lower than that would be disappointing.
Q. Last season Trofimov just missed the top of the PT Individual Rankings to the three time champion Damiano Cunego. With the news of the italian skipping the Giro this year, what are Trofimov's chances? I think the chances for Trofimov is really good. He is still one of the best hilly riders who can TT which is gold for many of the small tours and then he has that little punch which is so valuable at the end of a stage. I also think that the Tour de France will suit him very well this season. Cunego will still be the favorite though.
, should be unbeatable then 
