Ok Ive read a lot of the hints and tried stuff out but if some people wouldnt mind giving opinions on various things that would be great !
(PS: I am doing this with crappy continental riders rather than stars, check the link in my sig for stats )
1) Controling the Peloton.
When a rider has made a break away, how is it best to speed up and catch him. It seems that whenever someone breaks they put miles between us and the peloton but when i try it im caught in a mater of metres.
2) Break away
How do you maintain a break away ? Ive read something about dot 65 but then dont riders start on dot 70 ?
3) Dot !?
Ok so under the assumption that all riders travel at a dot 70 dropping this or increasing will increase / decrease riders. However this is dependent on my rider. IE: at dot 70 Mark Cavendish will fly past any member of Team Pro Atomic Flying Badger traveling at 70.
Is this right ? Or am I totally confused.
4) Hills , Mountains
What the f**k gives ? I cant seem to do anything right. I seem to get my best results going with the flow and hoping someone gets caught in the front of the pelotan and then sprinting my way to the top 25. Any form of tactics seem to just land me with a bunch of knackered riders and 30 + results.
5) Mountains, Sprints and Points oh my
OK so I am having trouble with break aways. Knowing im on a hilly course I set up to try to get some sprint points and mountain points. Then some dick head with an Av of 65 whips off for the first Mountain and is untouchable for the rest of the race. How do I stop him short of running him over on a motor bike ?
6) AI cheating
Ive noticed AI riders attack, I counter, same guy attacks, I counter then im knackerd and he attacks again? !? Grrrrr
Also again they have a few Terminator riders who just keep coming and never tire while my guys bust a gut. Checking post race stats and I got beat by guys who make my amatuers look pro... more grrrrr
anyways, thanks for the time, anyone reading my story can probably guess my Istian Cup or w/e isnt going well ! Ah well, bed then a nice flat to try and win. Get some revenge on these bloody "mountain expert AI terminators"
Edited by NexSix on 15-08-2012 03:09
Diary of a N00b : Team Pro Atomic Flying Badger.
Follow the progress of a n00b having fun !
1. If I understood well, you need to know how to catch a breakaway. If you relay at 65-70 with one or two riders, it is normally enough. However, it could be a better idea to leave the breakaway alone and start chasing later. For that you can relay early at 50-55, so your cyclist doesn't get too tired but the breakaway doesn't get a huge gap.
About getting one of your cyclists in a breakaway, I would suggest you not to try to be in the first attempts, because normally a couple of teams work hard and the breakaway is doomed. Probably the best bet is to wait until a breakaway is already formed and then briefly attack with your rider, followed by dot at 65 (some people suggest 70-75, but I found out 65 works fine as well and your rider doesn't get too tired).
2. I didn't understand your question. Riders don't start on dot 70, but on mantain position at 70, which means they will work maximum at 70, but normally a lot less than that (actually, most of the time your riders in the peloton are going at about 20-30, even having 70 keep position). If you mean how to work in a breakaway, you can use relay at 50 (more than that your cyclist will be the only one doing the job) and by the final third of the race you can raise it to 65. Anyways, you can also just suck wheels and win cheap victories by attacking when everybody else in the breakaway is tired, hoping you won't be caught.
3. Again, normally riders aren't at 70 dot, but at 70 keep position, so they won't be going that fast unless the peloton relays too hard. But in your example, yes, normally Cavendish traveling at 70 dot in flat terrain will be faster than a regular cyclist doing the same effort.
4. If your cyclist doesn't have a high enough Hill/Mountain stat, there isn't much you can do, unless he has great fitness. Your best bet is to try to save as much energy as you can by protecting him and your best teammate in the beginning of the race, so you can have your leader and your lieutenant fresh when they need energy the most. Don't waste energy unless it is necessary, don't follow attacks by stronger riders and use dot so you can regulate your energy accordingly.
5. I quite don't get your problem. I mean, unless you are getting your cyclist too tired by attacking or doing all the job in the breakaway, you can get mountain points quite easily, especially because the AI almost never tries to contest the mountain points. Sprints are a different story; sometimes the AI does try to get them, so get a good position, follow a strong sprinter and do your sprint at about 500 m to go.
6. Indeed, the AI does cheat. It can attack over and over while your rider gets exhausted. However, the AI doesn't know how to save energy, so you can just go at your own pace using dot instead of attacking or counterattacking. When you need to do a critical attack, try to use energy gel in advance, so the attack is more effective.
Disclaimer: The above post reflects just the personal opinion of the author and not a fact. But if you read it, you must accept it as the ultimate truth.
Some further comments :
1. Controlling the Peloton - I always bring all my riders to near the front of the peloton almost immediately. Then when a breakaway is attempted I will check the "who" is attacking. If it's someone high up the GC or a generally dangerous rider then I will use two of my support riders to either relay or dot 70-ish to drag the peloton pace up and halt the breakaway. Decide immediately though - don't let the gap grow then think Oh I will reel them in - you then require more effort. If I decide immediately to reel in, the gap steadily decreases and the riders get roped in. Obviously I try to limit how much I control the peloton as I dont wish to tire riders needlessly if a muppet rider is breaking. Bear in mind that lots of breakaways will falter anyhow so be selective on who you speed up the peloton to reel back in.
4. Mountains / Hills
Make sure you have the correct make-up of riders in your group. The tactic which works for me is 4 half-decent HI/MO riders, then I use the Protect tactic, and buddy up the riders - plus I try to use the DOT approach on all climbs and steadily adjust effort up or down. When my protectors tire, I will then stop their protect and put them on a low DOT to recover, whilst then combining the 2 previously protected riders into a new protector/protectee. Finally cut this off and go it alone with your best climber. It usually works pretty well but depends on fitness, quality of other riders, etc etc
