I knew that TT stat lock would hurt some day
Nonetheless, great Tour, didn't expect that given your remark that Marcus wouldn't be in top shape at the start. Congrats on the green jersey, incredible job!
We really can't let the chance to increase sprint go by! And let's improve those mountain skills, so in the next GT he'll win a mountain stage from the breakaway:
Brilliant Tour de France from our boy Marcus, absolutely awesome stuff and enjoyed the recaps a lot! Looking forward to the three Olympic events.
+2HI
+2RES
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
Fulham graciously allowed me to skip it's last two preseason friendly matches to take part in the fanfare of the Olympics, including the opening ceremony. My three cycling events didn't happen until the second weekend from August 9-11.
Sadly, Fulham's season-opener was August 10 at home against Cardiff City.
Here is the overview of the games I missed before I was able to join the squad.
Fulham Preseason Friendlies
Date
Result
Diamond's Rating/Stats
Aug. 2
3-2 Loss at Bradford City
DNP at Olympics
Aug. 5
2-0 Win at AFC
DNP at Olympics
In Match Day #1, the newly refurbished Craven Cottage was buzzing with excitement in the 6th minute when Timmy Abraham scored the first goal of the season off a terrible defensive mistake by Cardiff.
Going the other way, Cardiff defender Yoann Salmier thought he had scored the equalizer three minutes later off a rebound goal from a corner kick but he was denied by the offsides flag.
Abraham turned Fulham's fans anxious fears into jubilation with his second goal in the 22nd minute off a perfect cross from leftback Jonas Knudsen. It was Abraham's 50th league goal in 181 appearances for Fulham.
Salmier then scored for real in stoppage time to get Cardiff back within a goal, 2-1, at halftime. The assist going to Andy Jones with a calculated ball into the box.
An inspirational team talk at halftime saw Fulham score 15 seconds into the second half, as 20-year-old Greg Cross notched his first career goal with the club. Ten minutes later, veteran Aboubakar Kamara slotted in his 128th league goal to put Fulham in total control, up 4-1.
Cross added a second goal off a throw-in assist by Knudsen in the 87th minute to complete the thrashing. After the opening weekend, Fulham sits atop of the Sky Bet Championship table. Abraham and Cross join Birmingham City's Otev Evans as the only three players to score multiple goals (2) on Match Day #1.
After cycling three consecutive days at the Olympics, Fulham decided to sit Marcus Diamond again for the first round of Carabao Cup against Coventry on Aug. 14. Fulham's 'B' squad eked out a 2-0 win to survive and advance.
Match Day #2 at Milwall (0-1-0, 0 Points, 22nd)
August 17, 2024
My official debut, I'm starting in the middle of the midfield in a 4-3-3.
Spoiler
Fulham 3, Milwall 0
Summary: Marcus Bettinelli's first clean sheet of the season is aided by goals from Russell York and Aboubakar Kamara (2). Greg Cross crossed in two assists. Fulham leads the league with eight goals in two games.
Rating: 7.1 - Not a dazzling debut, but this was a great team win.
Player of Game: Greg Cross, Fulham (8.7)
Match Day #3 at Preston North End (1-0-1, 4 Points, 7th)
August 20, 2024
After a hot start, Fulham has been the talk of the town all week.
Spoiler
Fulham 4, Preston North End 2
Summary: Fulham's high-powered offense covers up a spotty defense by blasting in four more goals: Kamara (2), Abraham (1) and Healy (1). The game was last tied at 2-2 before Abraham capitalized on a bad back pass to score what turned out to be the game-winning goal. Fulham's undefeated march continues.
Rating: 6.9 - Coach has me playing more of a CDM role right now since he doesn't want to mess with the current dynamic of the offense. I get it. We are scoring in bunches right now. Why change something that is clearly working?
Player of Game: Aboubakar Kamara, Fulham (8.8)
Match Day #4 vs. Swansea City (0-3-0, 0 Points, 24th)
August 24, 2024
Top of the table vs. the bottom of the table.
Spoiler
Fulham 4, Swansea City
Summary: Not as convincing as some hardcore fans might have liked, but it's still a 4-1 win for Fulham nonetheless. The defense was, for a lack of a better word, bad at times but the offense was unmatched yet again with four different goal scorers: Cross, Kamara (pen.), Ajeti and Abraham. Kamara (6) and Abraham (4) are the top two goal scorers in the league through four games.
Fulham will lose Aaron Healy for a few weeks due to a sprained ankle.
Rating: 7.2 - Staying out of the spotlight for now. Team is doing great!
Player of Game: Timmy Abraham, Fulham (8.6)
Carabao Cup vs. Billericay
August 28, 2024
Second Round: No 'B' squad this time around.
Spoiler
Fulham 4, Billericay 0
Summary: There isn't a team in the world playing as great as Fulham right now. It's another dominating performance that features four goals. Kamara continues his great run of form with eight goals (3-for-3 on penalties) in five games.
Rating: 7.8 - Keeping my head down and making the right passes. I'm usually the guy passing the ball to the guy who gets the assist. As long as my teammates are scoring, that takes the pressure off me to be a go-to playmaker.
Player of Game: Aboubakar Kamara, Fulham (9.4)
Match Day #5 vs. Birmingham City (1-1-2, 5 Points, 10th)
August 31, 2024
Fulham is on pace to score a staggering 184 league goals this season.
Spoiler
Birmingham City 2, Fulham 1
Summary: Fulham had to crash back down to reality eventually. Although doing so by giving up the game-tying goal in the 79th minute and the game-winning goal in the 81st minute is a tad harsh. Kamara's 4th goal from the spot this season wasn't enough to keep the perfect season alive. Diamond also picked up his first yellow card of the season in the 56th minute.
Rating: 6.5 - I want to make excuses, like still getting use to my new club. But, I'm more mature than that. I just have to play better, period.
Player of Game: Benik Afobe, Birmingham City (8.9)
League Standings (5/46 Games Played)
League Leaders
Carabao Cup - Third Round
Calendar
Club
International
Evaluation
Training Ground *Community Growth Development*
Fulham Training Facilities Boost: +3 Points Per Member
Spoiler
- Each member gets 8.0 points to spread however they like over the 36 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Only stats that aren't locked can be upgraded.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 1.0.
- Stats are bumped up in FM when they hit that number, ex. 2.9 = 2 in-game, and 13.4 = 13 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 20. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery and is different from the cycling progression scale.
-Comment below to provide stat upgrades.
Stat Lock: A poor individual month for Marcus Diamond will see one attribute get locked. Any stat that doesn't receive at least 8.0 points will be at-risk of being locked.
With all those stat locks, further development will really be difficult... Maybe he should just focus on cycling. That CDM position isn't the best one to get great ratings, either, so let's see...
By the way, I guess I still have a stat unlock for football, so just tell me if I should use it.
The best athletes in the world have gathered here in Paris, France.
This is my first time experience the sights and sounds of the Olympics, as I have the honor of representing my home country of Great Britain in three different cycling events. Sadly, no football, since Nigeria failed to qualify for the event.
I have had a week to rest and watch the other cycling events around town.
Here are the medalist from those earlier contests:
Events
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Road: TT
Mikkel Bjerg
Larry Gooden
Gino Mader
Track: Keirin
Nikita Nisha
Jing Luo
Grace Ayuba
Track: Elim.
Nicholas Paul
Rayan Helal
Nick Wammes
Track: Sprint
Anton Hohne
Matteo Bianchi
Julie Michaux
Track: TT
Sam Ligtlee
Audrey Chugay
Alina Lysenko
Track: Points
Silvia Zanardi
Corbin Strong
Dillon Geary
Track: Scratch
Minata Soro
Iuri Leitao
Amber Joseph
My first event is four events crammed into one, the Omnium. My competitors:
Clara Copponi
Javier S. Rodriguez
Alex Vogel
L.N. Hansen
Derek Gee
Ruby Roseman-Gan.
Gavin Hoover
Roger Kluge
Letizia Pasternoster
Tuur Dens
Maria Martins
Emily Kay
Daniel Staniszewski
Mariia Miliaeva
Petra Sevcikova
Yep, my roommate/teammate Alex Vogel is here for the Netherlands. Always down for the some friendly competition, but hard to say this competition will be friendly with Olympic medals on the line. Every man and woman for themselves.
Event #8 - Track: Omnium
August 9, 2024
Event Order: Points Race, Scratch, 200m TT and Elimination Race.
Points Race
Spoiler
Summary: The home crowd goes wild as Copponi wins the first sprint. Diamond, Vogel and Hoover collect the other points. Lots of laps to go!
There is a reason why Diamond won the green jersey in the Tour de France. It's extremely close but the Brit moves into the overall lead by besting Gee, Martins and Paternoster on the second sprint.
Sevcikova breaks away from the field to get the five points at the third sprint point. Paternoster takes second ahead of Staniszewski and Hoover. That's the halfway point.
Veteran Hansen shows his face to win the fourth sprint. Diamond comes from behind to beat home favourite Copponi for second. Consistent Paternoster takes fourth.
Three get away for the major points on the final intermediate sprint point. Martins wins her first sprint, followed by Hoover and Hansen. Copponi comes across in fourth for another point. She trails leader Diamond 11-8 going into the final sprint.
Lasse Norman Hansen gets the double 10 points at the finish. Kay, who didn't contest the sprint points, settles for second with Diamond taking third. After the first event, Hansen leads the way with 17 points. Diamond two points back.
Result: 2nd - Great first event! Solid points haul.
1. Lasse Norman Hansen
Denmark
17
2. Marcus Diamond
Great Britain
15
3. Maria Martins
Portugal
9
4. Clara Copponi
France
8
5. Emily Kay
Ireland
6
Scratch
Spoiler
Summary: No breakaway attempts in a rather boring scratch race. So, we go to a mass sprint. The bell rings as Miliaeva leads the field to the line for the last lap.
From the back to the front, Alex Vogel rockets around the outside for the win! Kay and Dens follow for second and third. Hansen held up enough riders up front, like Diamond, to take fourth and keep the overall lead.
Result: 7th, 3rd overall - Boxed in. But congrats to Alex! Huge for her!
1. Alex Vogel
Netherlands
20
2. Emily Kay
Ireland
15
3. Tuur Dens
Belgium
12
4. Lasse Norman Hansen
Denmark
10
5. Mariia Miliaeva
Russia
9
Overall Standings
1. Lasse Norman Hansen
Denmark
27
2. Alex Vogel
Netherlands
22
3. Marcus Diamond
Great Britain
22
4. Emily Kay
Ireland
21
5. Clara Copponi
France
14
6. Letizia Pasternoster
Italy
13
7. Tuur Dens
Belgium
12
8. Gavin Hoover
United States
9
9. Maria Martins
Portugal
9
10. Mariia Miliaeva
Russia
9
200m TT
Spoiler
Summary: Mariia Miliaeva (10.490 seconds), narrowly beats Paternoster (10.497) and Dens (10.516) for the victory. Hansen with another solid showing in 7th to keep his overall lead going into the final event.
Result: 14th, 8th overall - Curse my poor time trialing abilities.
1. Mariia Miliaeva
Russia
20
2. Letizia Pasternoster
Italy
15
3. Tuur Dens
Belgium
12
4. Roger Kluge
Germany
10
5. Petra Sevcikova
Czech Republic
9
Overall Standings
1. Lasse Norman Hansen
Denmark
34
2. Mariia Miliaeva
Russia
29
3. Letizia Pasternoster
Italy
28
4. Alex Vogel
Netherlands
25
5. Tuur Dens
Belgium
24
6. Emily Kay
Ireland
23
7. Clara Copponi
France
22
8. Marcus Diamond
Great Britain
22
9. Petra Sevcikova
Czech Republic
14
10. Roger Kluge
Germany
13
Elimination Race
Spoiler
Summary: We pick up the action with 10 cyclists left. Some notable names have already bowed out. The first elimination took out 3rd overall Letizia Pasternoster, ruining her chance at a medal.
That was followed by Kluge (10th overall), Miliaeva (2nd), Dens (5th), Sevcikova (9th) and Roseman-Gannon (16th overall).
So, that leaves Hansen, Vogel, Kay, Copponi and Diamond in contention for the Olympic medals this evening.
The next elimination is so close between Copponi and leader Hansen. The timers say Copponi was last, much to the dismay of the home supporters. Hansen continues on!
No question this time. Kay, 6th overall, is out. Her medal dreams gone.
This is the end of Vogel's run, 8th place. But she might have enough points in the bank to secure a medal behind Hansen. Time will tell.
Martins bows out in 7th place. Not many left now.
Diamond defeated. 6th. Lots of math being done around the velodrome.
There is no confusion on who wins the gold medal. It's the winner of the Elimination Race: Lasse Norman Hansen! The 32-year-old used his experience to his advantage to bring home the gold medal.
Joining him on the podium: Alex Vogel and Marcus Diamond.
Result: 6th, 3rd overall - Speechless. I'm an Olympic medalist! Doing so next to one of my best friends. I don't believe it. This is amazing!
I always said that poor TTing will haunt Marcus Two spots or so higher, and you'd have taken 2nd - but Hansen was just unbeatable here anyway. Congrats to the bronze medal nonetheless, and nice one also by Alex
After years of petitioning to get Cyclocross racing into the Olympics, here we are at the inaugural event. Most wanted this event to be held in two years time in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy, but this was the best alternative to get around multiple roadblocks that prevented the sport from being an Olympic event.
We are happy to see it come to fruition, as are the 50 challengers seeking gold.
The committee has allowed 25 men and 25 men (max six cyclists per country) to take part. They're listed below in alphabetical order:
Ana Santos (22, f)
Lars van der Haar (33, m)
Anna Kay (24, f)
Laura Verdonschot (27, f)
Antoine Benoist (25, m)
Letizia Marzani (21, f)
Caroline Bohe (25, f)
Lisa Pasteiner (25, f)
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (26, f)
Loic Bettendorff (23, m)
Clara Honsinger (27, f)
Loris Rouiller (24, m)
Clea Seidel (21, f)
Lucy O'Donnell (22, f)
Dana Gilligan (24, f)
Marcus Diamond (24, m)
Eli Iserbyt (26, m)
Mari-Liis Mottus (26, f)
Eric Brunner (25, m)
M. Norbert-Riberolle (25, f)
Evie Richards (27, f)
Markus Pajur (23, m)
Francesca Baroni (24, f)
Mathieu van der Poel (29, m)
Gage Hecht (26, m)
Michael Crispin (26, m)
Hijiri Oda (25, m)
Michael van den Ham (32, m)
Inge van der Heijden (24, f)
Nadja Heigl (28, f)
Ivan Feijoo Alberte (25, m)
Niels Vandeputte (23, m)
Jakob Dorigoni (26, m)
Noemi Ruegg (22, f)
Jakub Toupalik (22, m)
Olivia Onesti (20, f)
Kaitlin Keough (32, f)
Ruby West (24, f)
Kasuga Watabe (21, f)
Ryan Kamp (23, m)
Kata Blanka Vas (22, f)
Thomas Mein (25, m)
Katie Scott (23, f)
Thomas Pidcock (25, m)
Kevin Suarez Fernandez (30, m)
Timon Ruegg (28, m)
Lance Haidet (26, m)
Veeti Vainio (23, m)
Lander Loockx (27, m)
Yara Kastelijn (27, f)
Today's course is a throwback from two decades ago: a replica of the 2004 Cyclocross World Championships. So, we are four hours west of Paris today in Pont-Château for a challenging 2,650-meter circuit. We will ride for one hour and then add one more laps to close out the event. Lapped riders will be eliminated.
The circuit can be divided into three parts:
(1) Physical and technical with twists and turns through mud, grass and gravel.
(2) Recovery section with a downhill - half grass, half tarmac - to the low point of the circuit before reaching the 25-meter uphill staircase.
(3) Forested technical section, meadow lands and a steep tarmac climb.
Event #9 - Mountain Bike: Cyclocross Race
August 10, 2024
The best all-around bike handlers in the world gunning for gold.
Spoiler
Throwback program from the 2004 Cyclocross World Championship.
LIVE from Pont-Château
Summary: The men's elite XC winner 20 years ago on this circuit was Bart Wellens, as Belgium swept the podium places. The women's elite race was won by former three-time Olympian Laurence Leboucher.
While Leboucher has disappeared from the spotlight, Wellens is a cyclocross team manager and was been training one of his star riders, Yara Kastelijn, for moments like today. We also wish her a belated Happy Birthday as Kastelijn turned 27 yesterday.
The Departure
The gun goes off and we are going. Eight cyclists crowded the front row:
Marion Norbert-Riberolle Mathieu van der Poel Eli Iserbyt Yara Kastelijn Marcus Diamond Ruby West Nadja Heigl Ryan Kamp
A long straight sprint out of the gate is led by this year's Tour de France green jersey winner and bronze medalist yesterday in the Omnium: Marcus Diamond. They then take the sweeping left turn into the mud. Diamond is in the rough now.
When they turn back the other way, race favourite Iserbyt has taken control of the front with Van der Poel and Kamp staying close by.
Iserbyt is setting a hard tempo and manages to stay on his bike over the first challenging incline. Multiple riders in the middle of the pack haven't gained enough speed to stay on their bike and are forced to run.
Notables falling behind early are Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Thomas Pidcock, Clara Honsinger and Antoine Benoist.
Iserbyt looks back at his chasers as we pass the pit area. The front three have already started to pull out a little gap.
Zig-zagging through the center of the course and we have our first causality. Riding just outside the Top 10, Nadja Heigl takes a tumble. Ruby West and Timon Ruegg narrowly avoid her.
The Top 10 remains single-file as we reach the staircase. The order:
Eli Iserbyt Mathieu van der Poel Ryan Kamp Yara Kastelijn Marcus Diamond Inge van der Heijden Marion Norbert-Riberolle Lars van der Haar Anna Kay Eric Brunner
On climb to the finish line, Kastelijn and Diamond close the gap to the three leaders. Brunner slips outside of the Top 10 and is passed by Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, who is making up for her early struggles.
A very entertaining opening lap!
15 Minutes In
We approach the staircase for the third time. Eli Iserbyt and Mathieu van der Poel have been taking turns leading the race. Both look incredibly strong today. Ryan Kamp has just been along for the ride.
Behind them, about five seconds, is the group of Yara Kastelijn, Inge van der Heijden and home favourite Marion Norbert-Riberolle.
Tough luck for Great Britain. Marcus Diamond has dropped back to the third group on the road, which contains roughly 10 riders. And Anna Kay crashed out in second sector as the mud is thick and sloppy.
30 Minutes In
Then there were two: Eli Iserbyt and Mathieu van der Poel.
They have over 30 seconds on their nearest rivals and have started eliminating some of the back markers in today's event. Both haven't shown any signs of weakness yet.
In the battle of the final spot on the podium, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado has bridged the gap up to Yara Kastelijn and Inge van der Heijden. While Marion Norbert-Riberolle has been dropped from this group and the next group.
The third chase group has thinned out to include Ryan Kamp, Lars van der Haar, Thomas Pidcock and Timon Ruegg.
Notables lapped and eliminated so far: Ruby West and Noemi Ruegg, Timon's younger sister. 41 cyclists remaining.
45 Minutes In
No changes to the Top 5 riders. Eli Iserbyt and Mathieu van der Poel have stretched their advantage to 45 seconds over the Dutch trio of Ceylin del Carmen, Yara Kastelijn and Inge van der Heijden.
Ryan Kamp is doing his best to bridge the gap to make it four Dutch riders fighting for the final podium spot.
Down to 33 cyclists. Biggest surprise to be caught so far is Michael van den Ham, a seven-time Canadian Cyclocross Champion.
Final Lap
Eli Iserbyt has tried multiple accelerations to shake Mathieu van der Poel, but nothing has worked. Across the staircase, the two rivals climb side-by-side. Van der Poel mounts his bike first and takes the lead... for good. Iserbyt can't match Mathieu up the final incline.
It's gold for the five-time XC World Champion: Mathieu van der Poel!
Eli Iserbyt settles for a hard-fought sliver.
The sprint for bronze is won by Ceylin del Carmen ahead of Yara Kastelijn, Ryan Kamp and Inge van der Heijden.
In total, only 25 riders or, better said, half of the field finishes - battered and bruised. Hard to make out the race numbers on the muddy kits.
Result: 19th - Started strong, but faded throughout the event. At least I finished. I didn't expect a great result given my lack of experience. Regardless, it was a lot of fun! Congrats to my SEG teammate Mathieu van der Poel on the gold medal. An absolute legend in this sport.
Also, nice Top 10 for Lars van der Haar, husband to Lucy van der Haar, which of course is my girlfriend's sister. We all had a nice family dinner after the race. Fuel for the Olympic Road Race tomorrow.
The last cycling event of the Olympics is the biggest one. The one that carries bragging rights for four years. Sorry Julian Alaphilippe, your time is up.
Maybe... France does decide to bring the reigning champion despite the course heavily favoring the sprinters. Of course, the most recent winner on these streets was Magnus Cort Nielsen in Stage 21 of this year's Tour de France.
The top favourite though is Kristoffer Halvorsen, who most recently won the points jersey in the Amgen Tour of California. The other notables, and there are a lot of them, can be found on the profile preview below.
Event #10 - Road: Race
August 11, 2024
Small hills in the countryside before 4 laps around the Champs-Élysées.
Spoiler
Summary: For those that were looking for a thrilling day of action, look away now. A standard sprint finish decides the gold medal. Fernando Gaviria was the fastest ahead of Mickaël Jaquier and Caleb Ewan.
(No detailed report because of too many in-game crashes to get the DB to work in the single player, one-off race mode. Sorry. The race was Quick Simmed.)
Result: 66th - Way too many fast sprinters for me to contest anything. Plus, I'm extremely tired after racing hard the last two days. That said, Lucy van der Haar (97th) and I did gain a few extra euros from Christopher Lawless for being his leadout train. Lawless flopped, only managing 40th. Alex Vogel, on the other hand, got more bragging rights over me by finishing 47th. Although, she isn't one to brag much.
Well, that concludes the 2024 Olympics. Lots of fun and excitement.
I'm officially an Olympic bronze medalist and... Wait, I'll save that major announcement for the next update. I'll recap the rest of August too.
She looked stunning. The lighting was perfect. The moment was right.
As we waited on the Champs-Élysées for the start of the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, I couldn't wait any longer after procrastinating for so long.
I reached in my pocket. Hands sweat-free. I was ready.
"Grace..." she turned and looked into my eyes. I held her hands.
From our first interactions to now. I knew there was something special about her. Between all the highs and even the rare lows, she has loved me for me. I had my fun dating supermodels. But, I know now, that Grace and I are meant to be.
Our families agreed. I'm committing to this for entirety. I dropped to one knee.
Before I could get out the words. Grace took her hands back to cover her mouth in disbelief. After almost two and a half years of dating, the time had come.
I opened the ring box, "... Will you marry me?"
"Yes, yes, yes," she said while nearly knocking me to the ground with a bear hug.
A crowd gathered around us started to cheer. Although, all I could focus on was my girl clinging onto my arms. Grace finally pulled away to get a second glance at her newest prized possession: a sparkling diamond engagement ring.
She slipped the ring on and we kissed. Fireworks. No literal fireworks went off in the background over the Arc de Triomphe to signal the start of closing ceremony.
Calendar
Spoiler
Olympics Cycling Schedule
Date
Race
Winner
2-Aug
Road: Time Trial
Mikkel Bjerg
3-Aug
Track: Keirin
Nikita Nisha
4-Aug
Track: Elimination Race
Nicholas Paul
5-Aug
Track: Sprint
Anton Hohne
6-Aug
Track: Time Trial
Sam Ligtlee
7-Aug
Track: Points Race
Silvia Zanardi
8-Aug
Track: Scratch
Minata Soro
9-Aug
Track: Omnium
Lasse Norman Hansen
10-Aug
Mountain Bike: Cyclocross
Mathieu van der Poel
11-Aug
Road: Race
Fernando Gaviria
Date
Race
Winner
1-Aug
Volta a Portugal
Warren Barguil
1-Aug
PostNord Danmark Rundt
Logan Owen
4-Aug
Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
Simon Yates
4-Aug
Tour de Pologne
Urtzi Dominguez
4-Aug
Hansa Bygg Kalmar Road Race
Ben Swift
5-Aug
La Poly Normande
Bryan Coquard
6-Aug
The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah
Brandon McNulty
7-Aug
Vuelta a Burgos
Wout Poels
9-Aug
Czech Cycling Tour
Luke Durbridge
11-Aug
KOGA Slag om Norg
Jan-Willem Van Schip
13-Aug
BinckBank Tour
Alberto Bettiol
15-Aug
Tour du Limousin - Nouvelle Aquitaine
Harry Zuurman
16-Aug
Arctic Race of Norway
Michal Schlegel
16-Aug
Colorado Pro Classic
André Savino
19-Aug
EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg
Danny Van Poppel
21-Aug
GP Stad Zottegem
Alan Banaszek
21-Aug
Baltic Chain Tour
Abderahmane Mansouri
22-Aug
Arnhem-Veenendaal Classic
Bram Welten
23-Aug
Deutschland Tour
George Bennett
25-Aug
Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
Alan Banaszek
25-Aug
Bretagne Classic-Ouest France
Caleb Ewan
25-Aug
Vuelta a España
26-Aug
Croatia-Slovenia
Matvei Mamykin
26-Aug
Ronde van Midden Nederland
Bram De Kort
29-Aug
Druivenkoers - Overijse
Edward Theuns
1-Sep
Brussels Cycling Classic
2-Sep
Schaal Sels
2-Sep
Circuit de Fourmies
2-Sep
OVO Energy Tour of Britain
5-Sep
Tour of South Bohemia
7-Sep
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
8-Sep
De Kustpijl
9-Sep
Chrono Champenois
9-Sep
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
9-Sep
Tour du Doubs
12-Sep
Grand Prix de Wallonie
14-Sep
Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
Marcus Diamond In
15-Sep
Primus Classic
15-Sep
Coppa Agostoni - Giro delle Brianze
16-Sep
GP Judendorf-Strassengel
16-Sep
GP Jef Scherens - Rondom Leuven
16-Sep
Coppa Bernocchi
18-Sep
Giro della Toscana
18-Sep
GP Industria e Commercio di Prato
20-Sep
Coppa Sabatini
21-Sep
Omloop van de Westhoek
22-Sep
Memorial Marco Pantani
22-Sep
Tour de l'Eurométropole
23-Sep
Grand Prix d'Isberques
23-Sep
Trofeo Matteotti
23-Sep
Gooikse Pijl
26-Sep
World Championships ITT
27-Sep
Famenne Ardennes Classic
Marcus Diamond In
30-Sep
World Championships
Marcus Diamond In
Season Rankings
Pro Tour Points
Team
Individual
1
The Guardian
12920
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
2536
2
Astana
7024
Ivan Sosa
The Guardian
2466
3
Lotto Soudal
5854
Michał Kwiatkowski
The Guardian
2358
4
Bahrain - Merida
5505
Egan Arley Bernal
The Guardian
2219
5
Philips
5115
Miguel Angel Lopez
W52
2060
6
Ridley
4979
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
1955
7
Groupama - FDJ
4924
Enric Mas
The Guardian
1866
8
Movistar
4888
Daniel Felipe Martinez
Cofidis
1825
9
AG2R La Mondiale
4839
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Qantas
1780
10
Katusha Alpecin
4501
Lorena Wiebes
Katusha Alpecin
1714
…
…
18
SEG
3269
27Marcus Diamond
SEG
1006
194Alex Vogel
SEG
95
371Grace Garner
SEG
22
Individual Wins
Cyclist
Nation
Team
Wins
1
Bryan Coquard
France
Bretagne
18
2
Abderahmane Mansouri
Algeria
Chubu Electric Power
14
3
Sam Bennett
Ireland
CAP48
10
4
Konrad Gessner
Germany
Vorarlberg Santic
9
5
Mark Padun
Ukraine
Bahrain - Merida
8
6
Ion Izagirre
Spain
Movistar
8
7
Alberto Bettiol
Italy
Saeco
8
8
Egan Arley Bernal
Colombia
The Guardian
7
9
Fabio Jakobsen
Netherlands
Ridley
7
10
Nico Fletcher
Canada
Bretagne
7
…
157
Marcus Diamond
United Kingdom
SEG
1
NR
Grace Garner
United Kingdom
SEG
0
NR
Alex Vogel
Netherlands
SEG
0
Evaluation
Training Ride *Community Growth Development*
Upgraded Training Facilities Boost:+1 Point Per Member
Spoiler
- Each member gets 4.0 points to spread however they like over the 13 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 55.0.
- Stats are bumped up in PCM when they hit that number, ex. 55.9 = 55 in-game, and 61.4 = 61 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 85. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery.
- Comment below to provide stat upgrades
Transfer Window Open: While Diamond's contract has him locked in with the SEG Racing Academy through the 2026 season. The team is trying to do everything it can to add pieces around their budding superstar so Diamond doesn't opt to leave when his contract is up.
With the transfer window open, management approached Diamond for his opinion on which star the team should try to sign for next season.
(Option A): Tao Geoghegan Hart (29yo) - The 2023 Tour de France winner and 2024 Tour de France runner-up has the climbing ability to contest any Grand Tour he enters, but is starting to age out his prime.
(Option B): Adrian Kacian (22yo) - Up-and-coming prodigy still looking for his first career win. SEG scouts are high on his potential after he has honed his skills for two years in the PCT with Moravia Steel.
(Option C): Wout Van Aert (29yo) - For as talented as Van Aert is, his results on the road don't quite show it. His only major road win is the 2021 Paris-Roubaix. Perhaps a change of scenery is needed to thrive.
(Option D): Peter Sagan (34yo) - Arguably the most decorated active cyclist in the peloton right now. Sagan has won almost everything twice over but how many good years does he still have left in the tank?
Congrats on that courageous move - good to see that Grace agreed
A bit of a shame for the RR, but it was never well suited for Marcus anyway...
In terms of future teammate: If Sagan accept to work for Marcus on the cobbles, or at least agrees on double leadership, I'd take him (Option D). Else, go for the Czech guy (Option B), as Marcus would then still be the uncontested cobbles leader, and could probably go after his own goals in stage races. With Tao or WvA, Marcus would likely have a lot more domestique duties than he had now.
Think Sagan and WVA should be out of the question, we need to be a bit selfish there. Tao would be a big draw for the team and a cool guy to have... so long as Marcus wasn't assigned as his superdom too much. Happy to pick Tao but I'll go for Option B in Kacian - least clash with Marcus, and by far the youngest to help build a long-form project to make SEG the best in the business
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
+4 Resistance and I'd go Option B as well, in part the age and also because he should be the cheapest and can let the team still hire other good riders more easily.
Getting back to a normal routine after all the special treatment at the Olympics, riding two Grand Tours and settling in with my new football team. Oh, and I certainly can't forget about getting engaged to Grace either. I haven't performed up to my potential on the pitch yet, trying to turn that around this month.
Match Day #6 at Sheffield Wednesday (1-3-1, 4 Points, 19th)
September 3, 2024
Looking to rebound after our first loss of the season.
Spoiler
Fulham 5, Sheffield Wednesday 3
Summary: The fans love it. The manager tolerates it. This Fulham team plays with reckless abandon. Who needs to prevent goals when you can score at-will? Two goals for Timmy Abraham and Simon Wolfenden.
Rating: 7.1 - Bystander. Then I wasn't called up for either of the two African Nations qualifying games (Nigeria won both to stay undefeated in the group: 2-0 over Benin and 4-1 over Rwanda).
Also, missed Match Day #7 at Crystal Palace because I was racing in the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen. Fulham's offense finally went flat, getting shutout 3-0. Fulham's first shutout defeat since April 27, 2024.
Player of Game: Xavier Amaechi, Sheffield Wednesday (8.9)
Match Day #8 vs. West Bromwich Albion (3-1-2, 11 Points, 10th)
September 17, 2024
Tough test against a former Premier League side that relegated last year.
Spoiler
Fulham 2, West Bromwich Albion 1
Summary: All the scoring happening in the first 15 minutes. Timmy Abraham with a brace to give him a league-leading 8 goals in 8 games this season. Off to a flying start.
Rating: 7.0 - Still not comfortable in my role yet. Asked coach James Coppinger if I could move further up the field, and he didn't seemed to thrilled about that. I don't blame him, the team is scoring goals at a record-breaking pace. My offensive input hasn't been exactly needed.
Player of Game: Timmy Abraham, Fulham (8.8)
Match Day #9 at Sheffield United (3-2-3, 12 Points, 6th)
September 21, 2024
Surprisingly, Coppinger moved me from CDM to CM as requested.
Spoiler
Fulham 4, Sheffield United 3
Summary: Sheffield United puts up a hell of fight with 10-men throughout the second half after defender Ben Ashby was sent off for taking Timmy Abraham down in the penalty box in the 48th minute. Kamara buried the PK for his 150th career league goal. Diamond finally scored his first goal for his new club and Abraham scored two more goals to fend off United's late push despite being down a man.
Rating: 7.2 - Finally got that first goal for Fulham. Great ball by Abraham to find me lurking on the back post. Looking at the replay for the first time, lucky the ref didn't call offsides.
Player of Game: Davy Klaassen, Sheffield United (8.8)
Carabao Cup vs. Barnsley
September 25, 2024
Third Round: The top 64 teams in England remain.
Spoiler
Barnsley 5, Fulham 2
Summary: A nervy first half featured a corner-kick goal for Fulham followed by an instant reply on a stunning strike outside the box by Dennis Adeniran for Barnsley. A terrible defensive miscue for Fulham on the end line allowed Barnsley to take a 2-1 lead early into the second half. Adam Harper headed home a third goal and slotted in the fourth goal two minutes later to complete his hat trick, and knock Fulham out of the competition. Both teams scored once more to cap the score at 5-2.
Rating: 6.5 - Not nearly good enough. Home supporters walked home disappointed, wet and angry after suffering through this one.
Player of Game: Adam Harper, Barnsley (9.7)
Match Day #10 vs. Burton Albion (2-6-1, 7 Points, 21st)
September 28, 2024
A must-win game when you want to the win the league title.
Spoiler
Fulham 3, Burton Albion 0
Summary: It goes down as a win, but losing Greg Cross for 2-4 weeks with a twisted ankle will be seen as a loss. Aboubakar Kamara scores twice while Timmy Abraham only once to tighten the race for the league golden boot: Abraham (11 goals) and Kamara (10).
Rating: 6.8 - Fatigue got the best of me in this game. Not a good sign when I have the cycling World RR Championship in two days. Glad I got subbed off in the 77th minute when Kamara put the game out of reach.
Player of Game: Aboubakar Kamara, Fulham (8.8)
League Standings (10/46 Games Played)
League Leaders
Carabao Cup - Third Round
Calendar
Club
International
Evaluation
Training Ground *Community Growth Development*
Fulham Training Facilities Boost: +3 Points Per Member
Spoiler
- Each member gets 8.0 points to spread however they like over the 36 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Only stats that aren't locked can be upgraded.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 1.0.
- Stats are bumped up in FM when they hit that number, ex. 2.9 = 2 in-game, and 13.4 = 13 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 20. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery and is different from the cycling progression scale.
-Comment below to provide stat upgrades.
Bradford City
AFC
Mikkel Bjerg
Larry Gooden
Gino Mader
Nikita Nisha
Jing Luo
Grace Ayuba
Nicholas Paul
Rayan Helal
Nick Wammes
Anton Hohne
Matteo Bianchi
Audrey Chugay
Alina Lysenko
Corbin Strong
Dillon Geary
Minata Soro
Iuri Leitao
Amber Joseph
Javier S. Rodriguez
Ruby Roseman-Gan.
Gavin Hoover
Tuur Dens
Emily Kay
Daniel Staniszewski
Petra Sevcikova
Lisa Pasteiner (25, f)
Loic Bettendorff (23, m)
Mari-Liis Mottus (26, f)
Hijiri Oda (25, m)
Kata Blanka Vas (22, f)
Veeti Vainio (23, m)
Kristoffer Halvorsen, who most recently won the points jersey in the Amgen Tour of California. The other notables, and there are a lot of them, can be found on the profile preview below. 
Peter Sagan (34yo) - Arguably the most decorated active cyclist in the peloton right now. Sagan has won almost everything twice over but how many good years does he still have left in the tank?
