Sorry if people have asked similar questions in a previous thread but I can't seem to find anything on launching sprint finishes.
My new team is strong in the Continental Tour but I want to launch finishes properly. How do you guys set the 3D tactics for four or five members of a lead out train?
I can get my fellas into a relay at the front of the peloton easy enough. But I obviously need them to assemble in a set order.
Do I then tell them to maintain position and then instruct them one-by-one to sprint?
Or do I ask them all to sprint at the same time? With the stronger ones at the back naturally hitting the front before the line?
I'm pretty sure the game manual covers most aspects of sprint trains. If you downloaded or dont have a game manual, there are tutorials in the tips and tricks section. Basically, you need to select the rider who will be the follower and then use the 'follow' function, which can be found by right clicking the mouse over another rider (whether your team or not).
Put a rider on "dot" and use the follow command on another rider to follow him. Use the follow command on however many riders you want to be part of the train with your sprinter last.
Burn up your lead rider and place the number 2 rider on dot and drop the lead rider back in the peleton. Hint: try to get the guy you're dropping back to mess up someone else's sprint train. Use your judgment for the effort level. Repeat as necessary. Also hopefully you will have a leadout man with a good sprint.
You will have to figure out how many riders you use in your train and how far out to start it. Most of the time I just follow one of the better sprinters and their sprint train. And sometimes it's best just to leave your sprinter on the follow command all the way through the finish.
Sometimes I have my leader follow my sprinter and he will stick to his butt all the way through the line even though he can't sprint but if I give him a sprint order he will drop back. Same thing happens when my sprinter has very little chance of sprinting past a better sprinter.
Another hint. Take your energy gel at about 5.5 to 6km out. It makes your acceleration last longer
I generally run a 6 man train from 18k out (The earliest moment you can start issuing the right click "follow" command). Preperation usually starts at around 30k out (well, first check at 40k). The process goes like so.
40k: Ensure everyone water levels are high enough to get to the end of the race, if not make sure your fixing it. Any later then this and you wont get water up to the front in time (unless the peleton is shatter in which case its unlikely to be a sprint train finish, or for some reason the leadout is very slow.)
30k: Get your train bunched together just behind the guys driving the peleton. I'll leave my two non-train members (3 in a GT) working the relay at the front (I'm often defending GC so have been there for a while.
18k: Set up the train. Generally this means 3 sprinters and 3 pace setters. The best sprinter follows the second best, the second best follows the third. Then you put the guys who will lead these into the last 3k. I'll then set the guy at the head of the train to move up into whichever of my guys in the peleton has the most energy.
At this point, how I act depends on the group. Sometimes you'll get lucky and the pack lets you drive, which is great. If that happens, just let your relayers keep pushing hard until your ready to launch.
Usually though, you'll have a breakaway still being shut down and hense you have 4-5 teams trying to run the relay. If this is the case, you'll want to go to dot.
I find the trick though is to hold tempo a until you catch that break. When you catch the break, the pack will try to stabilise and absorb it, which means they slow. This is the point you want to drive. I often form mini-break at this point, often around 10k out. At this point you just need to manage your effort dots on the guy at the front of your train. Push it to 80+ until they start losing red. Once the red all goes, switch to the next. You want to time is so that at as you hit 3k you go down to just your 3 man train. If you excute correctly, you should be in the lead. If you are, its pretty easy case of hitting sprint on the first leadout at about 2.2k. With the follow orders, the sprinters behind will follow in the wheel and use hardly any energy. At about 1.4k to go, I launch the main leadout man. Usually at this point I find the other sprinters behind have had to launch early, and are gaining on the train as they are better sprinters then the first leadout. This second leadout should set a similar pace to the sprinters just behind you, leaving you an easy win when you main sprinter launches with around 700-800 to go.
Timing can vary alot though depending on stage. The main thing you need to learn is setting right click follow orders to setup the train, from then its really just play experience. I find them easy, but I cheat because I play Sky and you have to be a bit an idiot to not win sprints with Cav XD. But even then, I used to lose sprints at first because I'd go ala real life and launch Cav at about 300 meters, which I find ingame isnt nearly enough room to get past the wheel your following.
