I'd only sign one of those 2 you mentioned, if they are better than yur current riders. So only a stage racer if he's better than Kreuziger/Nibali/Brajkovic, and only a sprinter if he's better than all yours. And I'd prefer a sprinter, as to my opinion you lack a world class sprinter (and you have two riders that can ge a top 3 in a GT).
So i would definitely say that you should keep it realstic. There have to be some challenges, and the prestige and joy of good results will be higher with an average team. Also counting on self scouted youngsters is after my opinion, the funniest way to play. But if you want to be the best, then you could also just specialize your team into one kind of race types, like for example sprints etc.
But it's your decision. If you feel that a uber team will be funnier to play with, then it will reflect on your way of playing, and you'll have a greater time playing with that kind of team.
Thanks for the input so far. I'm still struggling to decide, so any more comments are welcome. But first of all, here's the review of the Dauphiné, the Tour de Slovenie follows in the next days...
Le Critérium du Dauphiné is one of the two most important preparation races for the Tour de France and is therefore highly frequented with top stars. Last year, Levi Leipheimer and Marco Pinotti could gain the first two spots a bit surprisingly.
The course of this year is relatively balanced. 47 kms of time trial, spread over a short prologue and stage five, will decide the overall along with the two heavy mountain top finishes on stages four and seven. The other stages are mostly hilly and provide good opportunities for both breakaways and fast puncheurs.
Spoiler
Result in 2011
1
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
2
Marco Pinotti
HTC – Highroad
3
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
4
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
5
Ivan Basso
Liquigas – Cannondale
Favorites
Robert Gesink (Rabobank) , Andy Schleck (Leopard)
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana)
Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) , Richie Porte (GreenEdge)
Rein Taaramäe (Cofidis)
Tony Martin (T-Mobile) , Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)
Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank)
Complete Startlist
Spoiler
Rabobank
1. R.Gesink
2. C.Barredo
3. A. Kolobnev
4. T.Leezer
5. P.Martens
6. L.L.Sánchez
7. L.Ten Dam
8. M.Wynants
With the absence of Alberto Contador, Robert Gesink surely is the top favorite due to his time trial supremacy in comparison to Andy Schleck. A surprise might come from the likes of Richie Porte or Tony Martin if they can keep up on the mountains.
Team Liquigas
Roman Kreuziger nominally is a Top-3 contender but his shape isn't too good yet and he has no real support so we would be satisfied with a Top 5-10.
Report
In the prologue, Tony Martin was way out of league. He left the others in the dust and took the win 20 seconds in front of Frenchman Anthony Roux. Roman Kreuziger finished nineth, only Richie Porte was in front of him (considering the overall contenders).
1
Tony Martin
Team T-Mobile
7'49
2
Anthony Roux
FDJ
+ 20
3
Yaroslav Popovych
Unicef – Oracle
+ 34
Matthew Busche was in the break, took both mountain sprints and thus the jersey. Taking part in several more breaks throughout the race, he shall never give it away. The break was caught though and Tyler Farrar won the bunch sprint close in front of British Champion Mark Cavendish.
1
Tyler Farrar
Team Garmin – Cervélo
4h41'06
2
Mark Cavendish
Team T-Mobile
s.t.
3
Alessandro Petacchi
Lampre – ISD
s.t.
The break of the day had no further impact. In the bunch sprint, Mark Cavendish had the better end this time and outsprints Farrar. Petacchi again finishes third.
1
Mark Cavendish
Team T-Mobile
4h51'55
2
Tyler Farrar
Team Garmin – Cervélo
s.t.
3
Alessandro Petacchi
Lampre – ISD
s.t.
On the crucial climb, the pack began to decimate. Halfway through the ascent, Robert Gesink attacked and made it to the line. He underlined his role as the top favorite. Tony Martin surprised with a strong third place behind Andy Schleck. Roman Kreuziger isn't in shape yet and finishes eigth.
1
Robert Gesink
Rabobank Cycling Team
4h10'08
2
Andy Schleck
Leopard – Trek
+ 48
3
Tony Martin
Team T-Mobile
+ 1'12
4
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard – Trek
+ 1'26
5
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
…
8
Roman Kreuziger
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 1'41
Two riders were superior in the time trial. Tony Martin lived up to the expectations and won. Richie Porte came at least a little close, finishing second 34' behind. Anthony Roux on three is already 2'26 behind. Kreuziger rides a mediocrely good TT and finishes 19th. He advances to 6th nevertheless.
1
Tony Martin
Team T-Mobile
53'50
2
Richie Porte
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 34
3
Anthony Roux
FDJ
+ 2'26
Over the last climb, a 16 men group came free, consisting of all favorites. In the sprint, Jakob Fuglsang won easily in front of Popovych and Martin. Kreuziger finished sixth. No changes in the overall.
1
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard – Trek
4h13'36
2
Yaroslaw Popovych
Unicef – Oracle
s.t.
3
Tony Martin
Team T-Moile
s.t.
Gadret wins in a spectacular 50 km solo ride and vaults himself to fifth overall. Gesink makes time on Martin and Porte, but the German stays in the overall lead. Kreuziger finishes 9th and falls back to 7th overall.
1
John Gadret
Saur – Sojasun
5h50'54
2
Robert Gesink
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 5'10
3
Andy Schleck
Leopard – Trek
+ 5'48
Andy Schleck wins the sprint of the front trio. Gesink advances to second place, Martin keeps the overall lead. Kreuziger comes in with the main bunch of favorites and stays seventh overall.
1
Andy Schleck
Leopard Trek
3h46'34
2
Robert Gesink
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
3
John Gadret
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
Classifications
Overall
1
Tony Martin
Team T-Mobile
28h43'52
2
Robert Gesink
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'45
3
Richie Porte
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 2'37
4
John Gadret
Saur - Sojasun
+ 3'21
5
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard Trek
+ 4'05
6
Andy Schleck
Leopard Trek
+ 4'50
7
Roman Kreuziger
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 6'46
8
Steven Kruijswijk
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 7'36
9
Rubén Plaza
Movistar Team
+ 7'45
10
Christophe Kern
Team Europcar
+ 8'40
Points
1
Tony Martin
Team T-Mobile
95
2
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard Trek
72
3
Andy Schleck
Leopard Trek
65
4
Richie Porte
GreenEdge Cycling
61
5
Robert Gesink
Rabobank Cycling Team
60
Mountain
1
Matthew Busche
Liquigas - Cannondale
177
2
John Gadret
Saur - Sojasun
115
3
Tony Martin
Team T-Mobile
97
4
Pierre Rolland
Team Europcar
91
5
Mathieu Perget
AG2R La Mondiale
91
Young Riders
1
Steven Kruijswijk
Omega Pharma - Lotto
28h51'28
2
Rein Taaramäe
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1'47
3
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 5'00
4
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
+ 12'51
5
Ivan Rovny
Unicef - Oracle
+ 42'02
Teams
1
Leopard Trek
86h33'20
2
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 4'19
3
Team Europcar
+ 16'48
The Winner
Tony Martin convinces on all terrains: He underlined his time trialing supremacy and surprised everyone with strong performances in the mountains to achieve the biggest win of his career. Martin also provides his team with extremely valuable World Tour points.
Liquigas Resumé
Seventh overall, Top 10s in both mountain top finishes, that is okay. Not more, not less. Matthew Busche sets a very nice highlight with his mountain jersey. Edited by cunego59 on 11-12-2011 14:02
Being held since 1993, the Tour de Slovenie is a quite young race. In its first editions, it wasn't frequented by the top riders but the starting field became stronger and stronger and recent winners feature the likes of Jakob Fuglsang, Vincenzo Nibali or Ivan Basso. The latter took the win last year as part of an overwhelming Liquigas team including rising star Dominik Nerz.
The parcours is very similar to last year. It starts with two hilly stages which shouldn't make too much of a difference as they both end flat. The decision will most probably be made on stage three which finishes in Krvavec after a long climb. The last stage is then likely to end in a mass sprint.
Spoiler
Result in 2011
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
18h27'58
2
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
+ 21
3
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'19
4
Markus Eibegger
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 3'08
5
Andrea Noè
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 7'21
…
8
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 8'11
Favorites
Robert Kiserlovski (Astana) , Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago)
Juan José Cobo (Geox)
Danilo Di Luca (Lampre) , Jaume Rovira (TV3)
Daniel Moreno (Katusha)
Vlad Efimkin (Itera) , Simon Spilak (Lampre)
Dominik Nerz (Liquigas)
Complete Startlist
Spoiler
Astana
1. R.Kiserlovski
2. P. Andreev
3. A. Bakaev
4. D.Fofonov
5. A.Grivko
6. H.Zubeldia
The field is much stronger than I hoped for. Behind Kiserlovski and Pozzovivo, who (at least on the paper) stand out from the rest, the density is extremely high. Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are at least 5-10 more who could be able to finish within the Top 10.
Team Liquigas
I will lead us here in Slovenia as I know the course and I'm nominally the best climber. Although Tom Peterson is in better shape than I am, he promised to fully support me and follow my lead.
As I basically start my season over again here which means I'm not in shape yet. Considering that and the strong competitors, a Top 10 would be a nice success. We also will show ourselves in breakaways hoping for a surprise result, maybe even a stage win. On the last stage, Davide Cimolai might have a good shot.
The stage is quite hilly but the last ascent should be too far from the finish to make much of a difference. A breakaway win or a sprint from a bigger group can be expected.
Dominik's Pre-Race Comment
As said in the preview, we'll try to get into the break to prevent us from any work in the pack and maybe get a shot for the stage win. We hope that Davide Cimolai survives the ascent well so he might be able to step in on the last meters.
Live Ticker
Km 2:
The attacks start early. Matthew Busche is among the first riders to try.
.
Km 12:
Busche is 1'30 in front, he left the other escapees behind.
.
Km 28:
The American still soloes but the pack seems to consider him to be too dangerous. They work hard to bring him back.
.
Km 35:
Early already, Cimolai falls back. Liquigas' hopes for a possible bunch sprint fade away.
.
Km 62:
Busche is back in the pack. Nice performance nevertheless.
.
Km 78:
Among the next escapees was Paolo Longo Borghini. He now leads alone about a minute in front of three chasers. The peloton follows 1'30 further behind.
.
Km 112:
At the second intermediate sprint, the four riders united. They are 3'30 in front of the pack.
.
Km 124:
Uncontended, Longo Borghini takes the mountain sprint and will wear the jersey tomorrow.
.
Km 130:
62 riders crossed the climb together. With 39 kms to go, they are only 2'40 behind the leaders.
.
Km 163:
With 8 kms to go, only Amore&Vita's Bernardo Colex can follow Longo Borghini. They are 1'15 in front, maybe something's possible?
.
Km 166:
Colex can't follow anymore! With 5 kms to go, Longo Borghini extended his lead to one and a half minutes, he'll make it!
.
Km 167:
With a late attack, Stanislav Kozubek (PSK Whirlpool) and two others try to catch up with Colex. They seem to get away from the peloton!
.
Km 171:
Having won the second stage last year, Longo Borghini repeats his success today! Fantastic win for the old Italian!
.
Km 171:
Kozubek saved a couple of meters and leads the pack 1'19 later.
.
Km 171:
Dominik Nerz passed an uneventful day, finishing 33rd within the main pack.
1
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
4h11'21
2
Stanislav Kozúbek
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 1'19
3
Marco Haller
Adria Mobil
s.t.
4
Jure Kocjan
Team Type 1
s.t.
5
Fabio Taborre
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
6
Antonio D'Aniello
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
7
Krzysztof Szczawinski
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
8
Alexander Efimkin
Team Type 1
s.t.
9
Claudio Veronese
Katusha Team
s.t.
10
Gianluca Mirenda
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
...
32
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
Classifications
Overall
1
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
4h10'55
2
Stanislav Kozúbek
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 1'33
3
Marco Haller
Adria Mobil
+ 1'37
4
Matthew Busche
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'39
5
Bernardo Colex
Amore & Vita
+ 1'41
6
Alex Candelario
Team Type 1
s.t.
7
Andrea Masciarelli
Acqua & Sapone
+ 1'43
8
Pawel Sztobryn
Bank BGZ
s.t.
9
Jure Kocjan
Team Type 1
+ 1'45
10
Fabio Taborre
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
...
36
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
Points
1
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
31
2
Stanislav Kozúbek
PSK Whirlpool - Author
20
3
Marco Haller
Adria Mobil
16
4
Jure Kocjan
Team Type 1
14
5
Fabio Taborre
Acqua & Sapone
12
Mountain
1
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
10
2
Bernardo Colex
Amore & Vita
8
3
Jiri Hudecek
PSK Whirlpool - Author
6
4
Pawel Sztobryn
Bank BGZ
4
5
Marco Marzano
Colnago - CSF Inox
2
Young Riders
1
Marco Haller
Adria Mobil
4h12'32
2
Pawel Sztobryn
Bank BGZ
+ 6
3
Claudio Veronese
Katusha Team
+ 8
4
Marko Kump
Geox - TMC
s.t.
5
Juraj Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
Teams
1
Liquigas - Cannondale
12h36'41
2
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 1'19
3
Adria Mobil
s.t.
4
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
5
Team Type 1
s.t.
Dominik's Comment
Phew. What a day. Pretty ambivalent for me, to be honest. On the one hand, Slovenia keeps being great terrain for us. After three stage wins last year, we continue our success here. For Paolo, this is just great, as it might have been his last chance for a bigger win in his career.
On the other hand, I guess I overestimated my shape. I really had problems on the hill and I don't see me up with the best tomorrow and especially on stage 3 either. Tom Peterson said he felt pretty well today so we might switch roles making him our leader... Would be quite a pity for me but firstly, I still have the Österreich-Rundfahrt and the Brixia Tour where I will be the leader and secondly, I'm not in the position where I can put my own ambitions over the ones of the team.
But well, tomorrow will give some more indication about how we will approach the queen stage.
Great start in Slovenie! And when you decide to work for Peterson, shows you're a great rider, and not egocentric
With a shape that bad (72) you won't stand a change in stage 3, so it will be the right thing to do. And gain fitness, so you can blast them away in Austria!!
@ all: Thanks a lot for the nice comments! The tactics indeed paid off, Longo Borghini did great.
@ dienblad: You're definetely right. Not only is Dominik's shape bad, Peterson's is at 96! So as you said, Dominik has the chance to show he's a team player Next stage is coming tomorrow, then you'll know more...
And by the way, I made a decision regarding the transfers. It turned out to be totally different from what I firstly thought of but I hope you'll like it. In my opinion, it's reasonably plausible, but I won't say more for now
€dit: That said, the transfer isn't fix yet! My planning is, but I realized that I can't just expect to get any rider I want. I'll try, though
Well the Idea is not bad but when you want for a more realistic story don't bought the best team to eachother (e.g schlecks + contador and Caf + Farrar)
