The confusion is gone, yes Nickname was one of the options of course, but I even googled whether Saso is a common nickname for Stanislav and nothing turned up, so that didn't help much
Cool presentation with Sapura, looks like they care a bit more about him. Hope he'll have a chance or two to go up against Meridiana, show them what they missed out on!
You've now finished the introduction to the character of Saso Grželjak, a 20-year old cyclist from Croatia. Apart from his unusual name (which happens the result of a happy marriage between a Croatian and a Czech lady), you may have encountered some other things that look weird in first place, but are carefully placed to introduce you to the character of The Viper.
Setting: As you may have guessed, this is not a PCM based story. It is also not something that will advance very quick or flashy. In fact, this story surely will be the slowest story on daily. Why? Because this aims at being a real-life timed story. What does that imply? Saso is basically a character that is part of the real world: The same person will win the Tour de France in 2020 (if Corona doesn't stop it from happenning), Donald Trump will sadly still be "president" of the US. Just with one little twist:
Saso, as a very determined character, will try to influence this setting. Right now he is just a small cyclist in an Asian Continental Team. But if he becomes better and better as the story advances, the scenery of this story will change. And maybe, just maybe, in a couple of years time he will have an impact on the Tour de France itself. It's just a path full of sticks and stones and tough ramps to climb.
Whether that will ever happen is up to you, however. Saso has all the tools to become a great cyclist. But which type of cyclist will he become? What are his goals? Will he excel as a domestique in the PCT or can he make it all the way to the top and win a GT or a monument, maybe even achieve historical success? That is up to you.
How do you help Saso? Well basically you can influence everything. The races he requests to take part in, which areas of his game he emphasizes in training, what he does in the offseason, which teams he considers to sign contracts with once transfers come in, which tactics he may choose in races. Even whether he gets a pet for his free time or just trains harder. Heck, over the time you could even influence his personality.
As hinted towards already, you may not see a direct impact. But trust me, everything matters. Behind the scenes there is one huge sheet, which tracks and develops every comment, idea and proposal from this thread and turns it into both ideas and numbers. Long term, especially these numbers influence everything: Development of rider skills, development of the character, whatever you may think of.
Speaking of numbers: Just to give you a hint about what they are. The popular football manager of Sega most likely has the smoothest working numbers in a sports management game. This story has around double the numbers running in the background. Of course, quantity doesn't equal quality, but the point is that every action is decided by multiple parameters that you (more likely) indirectly and (sometimes) directly influence.
These numbers work on a scale from 0,01-10. They will be hidden for most of the time, there is one exemption however. On the last day of each month you are able to request for 1 stat to be revealed. Only the first 3 stats requested will be posted, and there will be only a post if the stat you request actually exists (which is a guessing game).
What's next? There is one thing to decide, and that is how to deal with the Corona-Virus. I'd like to race the Tour of Thailand, which would've originally taken place from the 1st to the 6th of April, to give you an example of how the story and reports may evolve, but then would stick to Corona-limitations afterwards. If there is no riot against this decision, in one way or another, there will be the first stage tomorrow evening.
On another note: This is very much an experimental idea. I have no clue how this long term project may work out, but the legend around the likes of sutty's Novo Nordisk story inspire me to give it a try. If most of the steady readers speak out against this idea I may reconsider this and go more for something like jandals "Life and Times" format of a shortened time span real-life story.
Which type of activity can be expected of this story? Complicated. At some points there will be daily race reports, the length and shape of it depending a lot on how much of a factor Saso was in the race. Obviously he'll tell a lot more about his race when he wins than if he worked 80k on the front of a peloton before dropping 50k before the finishing line. There will be subjective posts and also objective ones from a 3rd-person-viewpoint. Especially in offseason, there will be droughts, but I think that will ensure the health of this stories and also may fuel creativity in readers and writers. You are very much invited to write directives for whatever action, and especially in a race-free period those could have significant positive impacts on the career of Saso. There will also be loads of non-racing related posts, however you can be sure that both those and your reactions towards them have an impact on the game.
Also, the real-time pace gives me as the main writer the option to slow the story down for a couple of weeks in times where I need the resources for other daily-projects or real life activities. I want to ensure that other parts of my daily life can soak up my attention if needed, f.e. in times where Man-Game speeds up or that it's possible to run and participate in Storys and Story Games on this site.
One last note: If you read until here, then congratulations, now you should have everything set for becoming a valuable supporter of Saso's cycling career. Now I've thought a lot about opening up the possibility to readers to create their own personality in the "world of Saso". If you're enjoying the concept, feel that you have the stamina and the right touch for a very long lasting story, then hit me up via PM and we'll try to work out whether a buddy, bitter rival or just another character in this concept works well to double the fun.
Thank you for reading, I hope that we can enjoy & shape the story of The Viper together for a long time!
Most interesting concept, croatia. I am for doing the Thailand tour, definitely want to see how it unfolds and hopefully get some attacks in there as well hint hint
Also, everything matters you say? That is a powerful tool. Let's crash Saeco's career. I command to eat donuts, all of them
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Very interesting. Definitely want to see Thailand done. A shame COVID is putting the racing on hold for Saso as well as real life but I guess with the format it has to
Also, I would love to see the maths effect that my Klopp gif had in the spreadsheet
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Sounds very ambitious, I like it. I agree, do the Tour of Thailand. And maybe ride the bike (part of) the way back to stay in shape for when the races are back on
Sure, let's see some racing. After that I guess he'll have to use Zwift for a while, a good setup is pretty expensive, he might need a personal sponsor. Plus some party time, of course, he's only 20 years old.
jandal7 wrote:
Also, I would love to see the maths effect that my Klopp gif had in the spreadsheet
Determination, Work Rate and Team work up to maximum points obviously.
What he could do in the meantime? Dunno. Maybe volunteer for some job that doesnt have enough man power in whatever location he will be stranded due to travel limitation? Like harvesting asparagus?
knockout wrote:
What he could do in the meantime? Dunno. Maybe volunteer for some job that doesnt have enough man power in whatever location he will be stranded due to travel limitation? Like harvesting asparagus?
A while ago I donated for a dog shelter in Thailand where a friend of mine worked for a while and ever since I've been getting their newsletter. They recently sent one that they, too, were hit by Corona and lack ressources, including volunteers (actual true story). I'm sure they would welcome a friendly viper with open arms
knockout wrote:
What he could do in the meantime? Dunno. Maybe volunteer for some job that doesnt have enough man power in whatever location he will be stranded due to travel limitation? Like harvesting asparagus?
A while ago I donated for a dog shelter in Thailand where a friend of mine worked for a while and ever since I've been getting their newsletter. They recently sent one that they, too, were hit by Corona and lack ressources, including volunteers (actual true story). I'm sure they would welcome a friendly viper with open arms
That sounds like the perfect opportunity to gain some karma. Time for a friendly viper to turn into a gift from heaven for those who need it
today I was able to take the first competitive ride as a pro cyclist! And I can tell you, this one is a rough one. We landed in Bangkok a couple of days ago, and that is one hell of a city. It's nothing like I've ever experienced before, neither in Croatia nor anywhere in Europe. A lot of people are wearing masks in the subways, but in the hotel the situation is chill.
I got to know my new teammates, and we definitely have some cool dudes in our crew. Cris is my roommate here, he's a Moldovan guy and apparently our team captain. He seems to be quite fun. The day before yesterday we've been out at the night markets, and not only had they some amazing local food, they also had some delicious donuts. Which means yesterday was more of a rest day for me, while everybody else went a little bit harder on their bikes after we transferred to Ratchaburi. Gotta enjoy what's on offer, right!?
Anyway, today was a very sunny day, which meant I was prepared for a nice little ride to warm up my legs and then maybe help setting our sprinter up. We've got Roy as the third European with us, and they said he's very quick. From what Cris told me, he's indeed very quick but can't get up a single lump. Let's see...
The route was really flat though, which means he should've had a great time. So was I, on paper. But I may have underestimated the conditions here. I mean, I knew it was warm, but who minds a sunny ride, eh? Well, despite having some wind from the coast we were constantly running in blistering heat, at around 35 degrees Celsius. The guys from Malaysia were joking about Cris with all his sunscreen in Bangkok, but damn, today he was the wise guy between us. I can tell you so far, the only thing I took with me from today are some burnt arms and legs.
The first couple of kilometers were all about attacking, like mental attacking. Racing here is nothing like racing in Europe. They were all going crazy, and I was more laid back, trying to observe and adapt. But man, this was intense. It took like an hour for a group to get away. I just had the task of staying safe in the pack and ensuring that Cris or Roy are not bothered by any wind. I did so. Well, to be more precise I did so until like 20 Kilometers before the finish. Then I was just out of steam. It was quite embarrassing to fall out of a pack of like 60 riders, I hardly ever experienced that. But I just had nothing left anymore.
At first I was trying to get back, but Matt from the car just told me to leave it and save my legs. I wasn't really happy, cause I hate the feeling of giving up. Especially not if anybody tells me to do so. But as I've said: Learn and adapt. So I found a couple of nice guys to ride with me for the day, enjoying the beautiful coastline while shaking off the cramping legs.
Pronskiy, one of the Kazakh guys from Vino, shared some similar mistakes with me today. He's even younger than me, but he told me that his brother rides with Astana and that he once wants to get there too. And then there was Sarawut, a Thai guy from their Continental Team, who laughed about our rookie mistakes. Oh and he gave us some very useful tips. Like taking every sunscreen offered by any team car in this race. Later the evening I know what he was all about.
Well that's about it for the race from me. But Roy did a pretty good job, and our Malaysian teammates protected him well until the sprint. He didn't win and told that the blistering heat was also hurting him - the typical Dutch guy you know - but he came 5th which is not too bad of a start.
Now I'm sitting on my bed, dead tired and most likely sleeping soon. No donuts today. Just a moment ago Cris, who stayed safe in the pack by the way, joked on my red skin. And indeed, with our shirt I'll be a little closer to the Thai national flag's colours. If that helps me to survive the heat tomorrow...
That's all for today, I can't tell you yet when I'm going to write the next time. Stay tuned though, I promise to be better the next days!
Spoiler
@Shonak: Aye Aye! Thank you very much for your support
@jandal7: +10 Gegenpress -10 english skills
@cunego59: It is ambitious, but it would be boring otherwise While I very much like the idea, the current border situation sadly would deny such movement at some point.
@Ripley: Zwift is a nice idea. If he's lucky, maybe Sapura has some smart trainers with them If not, he's got one prepared back in Croatia.
@VoetsT: Thank you!
@knockout: Beautiful idea - It will depend on whether or not he finds some ways to do proper training on how he ends up. Keep in mind that training in Thailand, especially if doing voluntary work while doing so, will have significant impact on his development as a cyclist in some ways.
@cunego & knockout Part 2: That's a very cool story. If the friendly viper decides for himself that he's all about that karma, then this should be the #1 voluntary option. As long as it doesn't end up in that casual Thai animal fighting video you watch at 3AM on a weird reddit thread...
As always Cro really enjoy your writing, a nice debut episode for Saso in a race even if it was uneventful. Nice to learn the sunscreen lesson early and to be getting along well with his new teammates!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
you won't believe it, but things are starting to feel better. And by these things I mostly mean my skin. Yesterday I did some proper preparations: I got some white camouflage on to complete the Thai flag - meaning I was covered in sunscreen. Which lasted for like 20 minutes. But then I had a funny moment: Sarawut, the guy that had so much fun with my rookie mistakes, pulled out and offered something to me which at first glance looked like an energy gel. It wasn't. With a big laughter, despite the pace being quite painful at that moment, he handed me over a one-time package of after-sun Aloe Vera. I kinda like that guy. Though I officially hate him. But I secretly like him. Fun dude.
Not so fun was the racing. Over 200km is almost a firsty for me as well. Again I sat back, waiting and learning. One of you readers called me out as a pack fodder. To be honest, that's been kinda true yesterday and also today. Again we rode the beautiful coastline, the roads were a little more twisty today, but I had some fun. Also it's really good to get to know the people in the pack, you forget the heat and the pain just a little bit more. Anyway, I managed to get to the 3km line, which is nice. I tried to help Roy as good as possible, though he wasn't directly in my wheel after the disaster yesterday, but I did a better job.
Later while meeting at the dinner buffet, Matt praised me. Though it felt quite cynical, I think he said something like "You earned your donuts today". Anyway, we had a very good time, as Roy managed to get on the podium today! The tall sprinter from Bike Aid won in front of Looij from SSOIS, but Roy came third behind his fellow countryman. White the all white podium jokes now were on my side, as Sarawuts teammate Warut could only finish sixth as the best Thai guy.
Carstensen (Bike Aid) winning Stage 2 in Prachuap
Today was yet another flat day, but we knew it would've been more twisty again. As the race went on, I felt a lot more comfortable today. Maybe it was the clouds at the start of the race. But those quickly went away, opposed to my condition. That was surprisingly fine. The race today was a lot more to my liking as well. A break got caught pretty early, and no team wanted to take responsibility. So there were a lot of moves, which made it even harder to control.
At one point, it must've been still over 20k out, yet another Vino guy attacked. They had at least 3 riders in different moves, and it seems like he had been in a move before as well. Still he was riding a pretty blooming attack, and it was that moment when Matt screamed the magical words in my ear: "Saso, Cover!". Which meant that I, together with a guy from the Indonesian PGN Team and some Australian very young dude followed. It was really tough to catch him, but at some point we had caught up.
Thumbs up for those strong Vino guys...
We had a gap of 15 seconds and really worked well together, but in the pack there were too many teams pulling. It was a shame, cause we worked together quite well and were pretty strong, but Bike Aid (I don't like them that much anymore now), the Aussie teams and randomly the Thai team put everything on the line. They got us with only 2 Kilometers left, and then it was a sprint again. And of course all riders of their team were far away from winning shit, but it was a Belgian guy from the Tarletto team (surely a cross guy) and Kreder battling out the win. Roy was a little bit out of position, but that's what happens if your man is on the road in front he got another Top10 though which is fine.
The organizers, by the way, are really cool here. Each day the offer some sort of sightseeing thing afterwards. And after two days of basically only eating and falling asleep after the race, the ever-so-calm Cris managed to persuade me to join him. And to be honest, what he told from the days before that oldschool guy had me hooked (well it was in the peloton, I had nowhere to go anyway). At the end of the day I did not regret it, we had a pretty cool overview over the region. Oh, and Sarawut was there, just to show off his knowledge about his country. It turns out he's a little Insta-Lady too. I hate this guy, but I kinda like him. Anyway, take a look...
Sarawut insisted that I have to take this picture of him...
Then I learned a lesson about Thailand, and that is the fact that they have A LOT OF PEOPLE. I mean, his pic got like thousands of likes in a couple of minutes. Damn, back in Croatia you need to be a rockstar to get these numbers...
Anyway, let's take a turn back from rockstars to racing. Cause it seems like the team was quite impressed with my work today. The implication of that is that they want me to do this type of coverage of attacks more often this Tour to make sure that we don't have to burn our legs in the peloton like they had to do on day 1. Seems like I'll spend a lot of time marking wild Vino-youngsters soon. And you know what's worst: I kinda look forward to it!
confusion gone now? 
