Thanks! As long as the loading times keep down, it's really cool. I used to play before on a crappy, slow laptop, who used to crash all the time. And when I switched to a recent, rather cheap, self-built PC I was geniune surprised by the graphics. The game definitely offers its graphical design moments of "beauty"... And my PC is still far from being a strong Gaming PC. So far no crashes, no nothing. Works like a charm.
And to the graphics: you tend to take way more screenshots because of the scenery, that's for sure. Honestly I can't wait for the high mountains of the Grand Tours...
@Atlantius: Haha, that's the spirit!
@sutty & selwink: Thanks guys. Yup, I really liked it how Gorka pulled that one off. A bit of a classic Euskaltel victory I'd say by now.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
The first of the 4 UCI World Tour cobblestone races is up. It`s certainly not the first classic this season for any northern specialist enthusiasts, but it’s probably the first real test for any rider with ambitions for Ronde van Vlandereen and Paris-Roubaix. From Harelbeke to Harelbeke, the cours will determine over a several tough cobblestone sections and steep, vicious hills the winner. Due to the course, riders have to be attentive as E3 Prijs can cause early on severe splits in the peloton. Other than Gent-Wevelgem in two days, E3 Prijs features more often a solo winner, who is daring enough to attack.
Yesterday Ion Izagirre’s brother, Gorka, performed an exceptional task and took a stage win at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. Today Ion hopes to perform similar well. However, these races are probably the least suited for Euskaltel – Euskadi, so one hardly expect any miracles, and the squad of Euskaltel riders will not be a big help for the young basque rider.
Favourites for the race are the usual suspects: Tom Boonen has shown his great shape with the victory in San Remo a week ago, and naturally E3 is just his race. He has won E3 five times so far and a 6th time is truly more than possible for Boonen. The belgian rider is defintiely the one to beat today. Cancellara and Flecha are equally eager to win this race. Other strong contenders are Sagan (CAN), Vanmarcke (BEL), Terpstra and Chavanel (both OPQ), Van Avermaet, Turgot… and the list continues and continues until at some point it gets to Ion Izagirre. I’ll sit in front of the TV, while I take a off-day on the Catalunya Tour and instead focus on E3.
As Pablo Lastras heads into the first cobbled road, the breakaway has nearly 7 minutes lead. Since no real northern classic specalist in the break, it’s unlikely that one of them will have anything to do with the win. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with trying, I think, as I pour myself some tea and cuddle inside the bed sheets.
A natural split put on a selection of the peloton at the Oude steenweg. Unfortunately, Izagirre missed the split and now tries to catch up to a illustre pack of riders, who are setting themselves away from the peloton. Geraint Thomas, Edvald Boasson Hagen (both SKY), Luca Paolini (KAT), Devolder (RTL) and Ladagnous (FDJ) are not willing to get Izagirre into their group, and despite the efforts, Izagirre fails to make up time to them. Here’s hope that he can find into the group at the next steep hill.
And yes, he manages to catch up to them. Thanks to the large breakaway upfront, one has to say, and he just manages to get there in time to get some slipstream in the downhill. As soon as he feels like they don’t ride away any second now, he orders for some bottles. Really deserved, but just stay awake now, Ion! After the solo-chase I’m sure he now firstly wants to get some energy back. Meanwhile, back in the peloton, BMC have stepped up the pace of the peloton and work for their captain Greg Van Avermaet. The sky duo and Paolini in the break won’t make it easy for them though.
As soon as the experts hit the cobbles again, the former breakaway riders fall back. Ion Izagirre, still trying to save some energy, has to react fast to avoid being on the wrong side when the split occurs. And yes, he manages just in time and Edvald Boasson Hagen puts up a serious pace at front of the race. Izagirre feels like he has now granted himself enough time to recover and is ready to help the breakaway succeed. Over 4 minutes to peloton, the chances are really intact for a good result today.
While Izagirre performs quite well in today’s race, Flecha isn’t. Ion’s fellow spaniard loses contact to the peloton (Boonen, Cancellara, Vanmarcke, Sagan). In his group are also Terprstra (OPQ), Nuyens (GRS) and Pozzato (LAM). Since Lampre, Garmin-Sharp and Vacansoleil – DCM combine their efforts to get back, it’s likely that they have a shot at this. Up front is the pace very high though, with Schär, Hushovd and Phinney working for their leader, Van Avermaet.
This hurts! As Ion loses all chances of winning today, he fights his way up Kwaremont, surely one of the most suffering hills he has ever climbed. Cobblestone, 15 % gradient. At least, there`s some sun and lots of cheering folk. There’s no ikurrina to be seen though, I think, but I suppose he wouldn’t notice either way. Maybe next time. Ion is trying to keep his morale up, you can see how he suffers. His teeth are fleshed as the camera catches his fighting, struggling face a last time and then drives off, over the hill, to the other riders. Whe he finally gets to the top, the other riders are no where to be seen and the descent is all for him. Later he sees them on the horizont and how they fight their way up the last tough section of the day.
It’s the last bit of the day, he has to struggle through. No, that’s not true. It’s just the last time that cobbles will destroy his legs, here at the Knotkeberg. As he struggles uphill, he can see the other riders again. They look so easy, he looks so tired. I nearly can’t believe my eyes when I see that Langeveld and Roelandts have escaped from the group of favourites and are soon catching up to the lone basque rider.
Terpstra, Sagan, Van Avermaet and Schär have joined Roelandts and Langeveld, however they also brought the peloton closer to the two riders. Since Terprstra is in the middle of things, I search for Flecha in the peloton and I tihink I spot him. A great sidenote: Ion Izagirre is currently still 6th in this race!
The last of this vicious hills nearly done. Just hold on, Ion, hold on. Tiegemberg is almost done, almost. I know, they are hunting for you back there, I know that, you know that. Everybody does. Just ride. You did good… honestly, I already want to turn off the TV.
Devolder attacks and SKY will now surely use their tactical advantage of 2 riders in the break. The win is probably reserved for one of these riders, as the peloton is already too far back. But Devolder and Thomas don’t get far away and as soon as they get caught by Ladagnous, Edvald Boasson Hagen tries to keep the pace high.
Izagirre gets caught. Langeveld and Boonen pace. When he tries to hang on to the group, it doesn’t work a bit. He gets dropped almost immediately. He’s completely exhausted.
Many attacks of Geraint Thomas (SKY) and Devolder (RTL) show no effect, they can’t shake off the others. Paolini and Ladagnous always get back to the group. Thomas and Devolder quickly lose contact as soon as Edvald Boasson Hagen starts the sprint as the first. Paolini on his backwheel, however, is smarter as he rides in Edvald’s slipstream and overtakes him on the last kilometer in an immense finish. His impeccable sprint on the last meters only stops when Paolini rises his arms. Ladagnous finishes 3rd.
Izagirre gets in 14th. Katu later tells me, that the boy was just really tired and done. But Ion was happy with his performance. More than happy in fact. And so was everybody else at Euskaltel – Euskadi. Maybe Gent-Wevelgem will be even better. We had no hopes for this race and getting someone into Top 15 is just great. The camera just catched how Flecha, probably one of his idols, who crossed the finish line with him, shaked his hand.
The group of favourites meanwhile looks quite disappointed in the interviews. Cancellara and Boonen win the sprint in the group but especially Omega Pharma failed to perform today. There will be many chances for Omega Pharma though in the upcoming days, but they definitely lost this one.
Yes, indeed it is. Really hoping there that Ion can turn into an even better northern specialist in the future. In any case, I think the decision of making him my classic hunter is eligible.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Shonak wrote:
Gorka Verdugo, Juan Jose Oroz, Jure Kocjan, Ioannis Tamouridis, Pablo Urtasun, Jon Aberasturi, Alexander Serebryakov - none of them finished the race.
Any injuries among them? (That's usually my goal with Euskaltel on cobbles: avoiding injuries...)
@sutty: Yeah, really liking the scenery at these cobbles races. I always kept my eye out for the best angle and a nice picture, so hopefully there will be more to come. Maybe I should post them on Instagram in the future?
@Atlantius: That didn't even cross my mind since I think none of my riders ever got injured on cobblestone, though they have a tendency of multiples crashes. It's safe to say that for this year Euskaltel - Euskadi suffered no injuries.
@admirschleck: ... and he will become even more beastly next year! At least, that's the plan.
Next report will be up later today, featuring Tour of Catalunya. Also I am thinking about putting a little twist on the Tour de France with an approach similiar to trading cards. If you know Fifa Ultimate Team for example, where you can boost certain attributes for a single match, than you probably already have a good image of that. More details later on, still need to write some stuff down for work first.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Stage 5 Despite two climbs today, the 160 kilometer long stage is certainly something for the sprinters in the peloton. The first climb is featured early on and might be a useful tool to gain much time for a possible breakaway on the peloton. For yesterday’s winner Gorka Izagirre is today to rest. His shape is good, but far from very good, and yesterday demanded quite a lot of him. It’s important he’s as fit as possible for the 15 km long Time Trial tomorrow. I personally tune in now and then to check on the race but since E3 Prijs is still on, my main interest is on the cobble experts.
It’s hard to for the breakaway to get much time on the first climb since FDJ paces extremely high up the mountain for their captain, Arnaud Demare. Pérez got a free role for today and takes good use of it as he is the Euskaltel – Euskadi rider featured in the break. This is probably part to his forced withdrawal from the breakaway yesterday, and I think it’s a nice gesture to allow him to ride for the win at least today. Ratto & Gatto and former winner Albasini might be his three best companions along the way. For now, it’s obvious that the group has to work together to finally get some time on the peloton in the descent and the flat part that follows. Best placed rider in the break is Koen De Kort (ARG) with only 5 minutes behind Contador.
Despite De Koerts danger to Izagirre’s overall ranking, Euskaltel – Euskadi aren’t willing to help Saxo or FDJ decrease the lead. It is around 6 minutes now and – yup, that’s quite something. Only 34 kilometers left to go and this looks more and more likely for a possible breakaway win. Surely nobody will order Pérez back into the peloton this time around.
As the break rides into Manresa and sees the 10 kilometer sign,things are definitely taking shape. FDJ and Vacansoleil – DCM are chasing them back there, but 3 minutes are hopefully enough for the break. Meanwhile, I think of the possible scenarios for Pérez. Katu assures me, that he has the legs for such a sprint, but so does the other guys? I look up some opinions from my mobile phone in the internet and the cycling fans can’t decide who is a favourite in this sprint since ALL of these riders have proven in the past, that they have the quality to perform well in a sprint of small or larger breakaways. This are no easy fruits to pick. Gatto (VIN), Ratto (CAN), Albasini (OGE), Tanner (BEL) and Maes (OPQ) already look out for the best backwheel and so does Pérez.
5 kilometers to go, the breakaway loses itself in tactical maneuvers and childish banter. I shake my head as I look back and see how Vacansoleil and FDJ are already building up their sprint trains.
The sprint is on! Ratto is the first, Maes behind him and Pérez in third row. This is a great position.
Albasini takes the stage win and Ruben Pérez gets a good 4th place. No complains on my part. It’s nice to see that someone from the breakaway wins and Albasini has surely shown last year that Catalunya suits him. It was dumb though from the group to wait and not pace anymore since Demare and Markus nearly caught them on the finish line. Pérez looked quite satisfied when he came to the hotel, but then… the bad news…
Apparently a split occurred in the peloton during the sprint and Gorka Izagirre lost time. Like a lot of time. The decision of the jury is permanent since there was no crash involved but rather the split was just a results of a very, very high pace. Katu shakes his head, “I should have known, damn it!” Izagirre seems to be quite disappointed in his own failings today, and doesn’t even want to present at the team meal. I later catch him in the hallway and tell him, that his brother was really impressive at the E3 Prijs. At least that gives him some chance to rest for the night.
GC before Time Trial, before Stage 6:
Stage 6 The 15 km hilly Time Trial is the second last stage in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and will probably the decisive, last key stage to determine the overall classification. After yesterday’s time loss, Euskaltel – Euskadi riders go with grim faces to the start list and warm up. Because of silly positioning, Gorka Izagirre lost basically all chances to finish on the podium. His weak time trial skills might cause him to lose further ranks in the overall classification.
Mikel Landa sees a road full of spectators and fans as he sets off as the 3rd last Euskaltel rider of the day. All guys before performed rather poorly and Mikel is probably no expectation. He resides at 44th overall, but still the boy wants to do good today since he hasn’t shown is potential yet at the Catalunya Tour and probably told me that he wants to recommend himself for the Tour in the basque country next week.
Truly yes, he does good. He surprises both me and Katu as he already sees italian Time Trial specialist Boaro (TST) in front of him. This is of course further motivation. Meanwhile, olympian TT gold medalist Wiggins (SKY) is on the road now.
It’s certainly not the day for italian riders as Astarloza looks like he can caught Damiano Cunego (LAM). Meanwhile, Mikel Landa ranks 7th right now, only one second behind Bradley Wiggins. Michael Albasini (OGE) performed exceptional as he is currently 21 seconds ahead of Arthur Vichot (24 ahead of Landa). Will the swiss rider get his second win in two days?
Tony Martin starts in his favourite jersey, the rainbow jersey of the TT world champion. He’s obviously the main favourite today and is currently ranked 15th overall. Surely after today, he will be even higher.
Izagirre looks ready to perform good today and at least keep a good spot in the overall classification. He certainly looks good in his mountain jersey. Meanwhile, not even T.J. Van Garden could beat Albasini’s time. That’s saying something.
Tony Martin is so fast in the finish, it’s not even possible for the tv cameras to get a good picture of him! He’s first with 2 seconds ahead of Albasini. It will be close fight for the victory once Contador and Spilak are close to the finish line.
Last meters for Izagirre, make them count!
First Kiryienka sets a new best time, and then Spilak. What will Contador do? But the spaniard disappoints as he loses too much time on Spilak and therefor the leader’s jersey. Spilak has now two wins in his pocket and looks set to take the overall victory too after his fine performance on the stages of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.
Ion Izagirre can be satisfied with his time. He doesn’t lose too much time on his rivals and resides at 9th after this stage.Plus… let’s look on the bright side… nobody took the mountain jersey from him and he can wear it tomorrow too. Then again, there wasn’t any mountain points to be given away today anyway…
Okay, so I've been working on some boosts for the riders during this season's Tour de France, which is still far back. The intention is to spice things a little bit and maybe even make it more realistic, since it also concerns the real form & the development of the riders - or at least I try to. Things like Froome's early TT domination or Contador's (usual) traditional strong 3rd week, come into mind. So on this aspect, I have to edit the database quite often during the race but alas, what's the matter? I doubt that Euskaltel play much of a role in the TdF this season and thus I think this is a little twist that I can best perform this season, and report the story in a nice way with maybe a few twists here and there. In the end, its merely a gimmick for this story (especially with the created trading cards below), but I think you want to do something, than you have to try to make as good as possible. The trading cards in this instance just look nice.
To tell you what it is: Riders will have boosts in certain instances. I mentioned earlier the concept of Fifa Ultimate's system where one can boost stats like Long-distance shot for one or more matches. This is basically the same, except it's purely for fun.
To give you a better understand on what I am upto, I have prepared two trading cards.
Let me know what you guys think. Do you think it's a bad idea or is it useless, or takes the focus off the story itself? Do you like it or got any ideas?
I have some things planned to better include you guys in the future, and I think this might be the first step into this direction.
I have already 18 cards in mind and if you guys have a good suggestion I am always open for them, just PM me. Riders I have included so far: Froome, Contador, Nibali, Quintana, Uran, Valverde, Kittel, Greipel, Sagan, Cavendish, Gesink, concepts for the first french Victor of the race as well as both World Champions. I have also Rojas, but that's more of a fun one, I can promise you that.
So long,
Shonak
Edited by Shonak on 03-12-2013 12:18
Thanks. I am not sure when I reveal them, but maybe I will use them as a bonus to later stage reports on the Tour de Suisse, Crit-Dauph and National jersey? Talk about trying to build up some hype.
Yeah, I know that this gaps happen quite easily: But actually Gorka should have been far ahead in the peloton but I suppose he just got lost on the way.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
As long as the loading times keep down, it's really cool. I used to play before on a crappy, slow laptop, who used to crash all the time. And when I switched to a recent, rather cheap, self-built PC I was geniune surprised by the graphics. The game definitely offers its graphical design moments of "beauty"... And my PC is still far from being a strong Gaming PC. So far no crashes, no nothing. Works like a charm. 
