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Lost the break!
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| mdd31 |
Posted on 24-10-2007 20:11
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Under 23
Posts: 62
Joined: 13-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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I am running a game with the PCM Spain DB as Team Discovery. It is early in the season and I am competing in the Tour of California with many of my top guys so the event is going very well. I am starting the 2nd to last stage of the race which is the last one that matters because the final stage is always a mass finish. I have the overall race leader (ahead by over 2 minutes) and I also have the 3rd and 4th place riders who are just 2 seconds and 4 seconds behind the 2nd place guy.
So I figure this is going to be a sweep of the top 3 spots no problem! Well as the stage begins a group of 5-6 riders break away. I check the group and nobody really that great is in the break (lower ratings) and the highest ranked time guy is back in 26th place so I just let them go. I figure it is early, there is a lot of climbing to do, and they all have bad ratings (50s & 60s) so I will catch them eventually.
Well fast forward to the end, my team rides a great race, we push the pace up all the climbs and blow up the Peloton BUT we never catch the break. And not only did I not catch the break they finished 9+ minutes ahead of us! Now how they got that far ahead when I got top tier guys pushing 80% effort most of the way is beyond me (I can never escape in a break no matter how good my rider is). Anyway I figure who cares I still got the yellow jersey BUT oh no! I check the standings and my best guy is now in 3rd place and is way too far back to catch the leader since the last stage isn't a real stage! What a disastrous turn of events! My sponsors will be furious!
Now I was angry at first and could not understand how it was possible for the group to get so far ahead but then I realized it was partly my fault for not checking the riders' overall times (I just glanced at their rankings) but also it was clear that the computer must have cheated a bit to give them enough energy to stay ahead.
Bottom line is always reel in the breakaway group and don't be lazy like I was and just assume that your lead is out of reach of anyone who is not a "name" rider. Also a rider having good ratings is meaningless and a 50 in Mountain and Hills is more than enough to stay ahead of guys who have the ability to win the TDF and the other Grand Tours.
I love this game!  |
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| ABridgeTooFar |
Posted on 24-10-2007 20:21
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Domestique
Posts: 463
Joined: 17-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Mdd, that happens a lot in the TofCalifornia, especially that stage. It happens to me when it is really windy on that stage. It is hard to chase down a break when it is windy. Also, it is in the beginning of the season so your guys are not in great form (training and racing) so that adds to the difficulty of chasing a break. When I was doing a career with Disco I always put a guy in the break on that stage. Well that is after the first season when the same thing that happened to you happened to me. |
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| Panaflex |
Posted on 24-10-2007 20:22
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 289
Joined: 11-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Part of your problem could have been FORM.
I don't think you need to reel in each and every breakaway no matter what. I'm usually sticking to the 10 km = 1 min rule so with (f.e.) 80 km to go and 8 minutes lead I'll send my guys to relay. This rule has to be adjusted for hilly and mountain stages - you will need significantly less km to catch a breakaway.
Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.Lance
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 24-10-2007 20:25
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
Joined: 20-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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A lot depends on how slow the pelaton was going early on.
If the computer thinks you should be doing the chasing (which in this case... you should), the pelaton can go extremely slow if you don't take the lead.
I'm guessing they were out to a 20+ minute lead before you started taking control of the pelaton. I had a similar race (where I had a guy in the break on the first stage but nobody chased... possibly expecting me to). It was a hilly stage where I ended up winning by over 20 minutes.
If you had just put a teammate going at a 55-60 effort for the first part of the race I bet you wouldn't have had any issues at all. |
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| mdd31 |
Posted on 24-10-2007 21:11
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Under 23
Posts: 62
Joined: 13-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Interesting to hear that other people have had the same experience with that race and thanks for the good advice on how to take back the break in general. Like someone mentioned, I did not push the pace early with the Peloton (big mistake) until I got to the hills/mountains and started hammering them. Of course going hard on the hills and easy on the flats did result in the break getting a huge advantage until I was able to cut it down a little bit later on in the race. |
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| tate |
Posted on 18-11-2007 11:58
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Under 23
Posts: 78
Joined: 29-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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hi i had the same thing happen to me in paris - nice on 3rd stage from the end. i have also won the giro with Paulinho i sent him in a break away to try to take KOM on the 4th stage ended up winning stage by 9 mins and holding on to win the tour by 3 mins its possible to break away but its only won me a tour that once. |
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| matt493 |
Posted on 11-04-2008 01:30
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3549
Joined: 01-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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(I can never escape in a break no matter how good my rider is).
All you have to do is send a rider that isn't high in the GC or a threat to the GC and be a
a hole and just sit on the back and don't do any work. When you have less than 50 km left you attack (you will usually have a full blue bar) and go on the dot effort. If it was real life you would get beat up for it but it works almost every time on the game. I even won a couple of big tours like that with garbage riders.
(sarcastic) I never lose. (/sarcastic) 
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 11-04-2008 16:25
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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This thread is about 6 months old, why bring it up?
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| Waghlon |
Posted on 11-04-2008 16:33
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7694
Joined: 18-08-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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"Matt493 has sucessfully revived a very dead post. Matt493 gains 20 experience in redundant posting"
THE THOMAS VOECKLER PROPHET OF PCM DAILY
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| t-baum |
Posted on 11-04-2008 17:18
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2153
Joined: 07-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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I enjoy matt's dumb posts
Macquet wrote:
"We all know that wasn't the real footage of the Worlds anyway. That was just the staged footage to perpetuate the coverup that it was actually Vinokourov that won the race." |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-12-2024 17:36
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| matt493 |
Posted on 11-04-2008 20:07
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3549
Joined: 01-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Addy291 wrote:
This thread is about 6 months old, why bring it up?
I don't know probably because I'm weird.
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| CrueTrue |
Posted on 12-04-2008 10:39
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 29989
Joined: 20-10-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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.. or you needed an extra post 
Thread locked. |
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