Being older than a lot of the members on this site, I thought it might be beneficial for anybody doing 1990's databases, if I were to share my first hand knowledge with other members.
1992 was the year I first got into cycling and I remember it like it was yesterday and remember all the strengths and weaknesses of the big riders and most of the other riders of note as well. I have a lot of knowledge of all these riders throughout the 1990s and remember nearly all the races they were in, their riding styles and even which riders usually wore caps, helmets or the old black hairnets on top caps etc and also which riders usually went bareheaded. I also remember how I thought the Ardennes classics were more exciting than the Flanders Classics (I think the opposite in present day though) and how La Vuelta was the first stage race of the year and was highlighted by terrible weather in the north and central areas of Spain.
So if anybody wants some info instead of ploughing through hours of videos and web pages, then this could be the pace to discuss stats (as it's fairly easy for me to apply these riders with the game stats)
Any database I've downloaded I've normally tinkered with anyway and increased or decreased some riders etc. So below I'm going to study the main riders from Sali's 1996 database a year as a place to start as I know it so well in the next post.
Finally thanks to Sali for putting in the work for this DB and unsurprisingly it's focused around the TdF being of course the 'Revenge of Indurain'. So any constructive criticism I have is more focused on 'classics riders' in general.
Edited by Tafiolmo on 20-01-2014 13:44
Abdoujaparov: This is the correct spelling for the 'Tashkent Terror' and in 1996 he was still a feared sprinter so 82 sprint is spot on.
Armstrong: The time when Armstrong was a great classics rider especially in the hilly classics and a hill stat of at least 79 would be needed. I'd also improve his TT skills a bit as well, as he was a decent rider in week long tours.
Baldato: One of the many strong Italian classics men from this time especially on the flatter classics and he finished numerous times in the top 10 of classics like Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix and he also won lots of stages in stage races and had a good sprint. I'd give him 78 in both flat and cobbled skills and 74 in hills.
Ballerini: Without doubt one of the most powerful riders to ever appear in any peloton a man built for the Paris-Roubaix. I even remember one year that he was in a breakaway in one of the spring classics and in that break he punctured, His fellow riders literally stopped and waited for him to catch-up. After the race had finished, one of the riders said they stopped because they needed his power in the breakaway. I'd give him 80 flat and 80 cobbles at least and also up his endurance as well to 78. This was a man who won through brute force over brains.
Bartoli: One of the greatest Ardennes riders I've ever seen, successor to Moreno Argentin in those kind of races. When I first saw him back in around 93-94 he was a courageous rider who always tried and by 1996 he was hitting his peak. He was also a strong rider on the cobbles (hell he even won the Tour of Flanders) but it was in the Ardennes classic he excelled. He also had a distinctive and gutsy riding style and so exciting to watch. Should have at least an 81 hill stat and 81 in acceleration is good as well.
Berzin: Spot on with Berzin as 'Tintin' had now lost his spark but was still a top 10 contender.
Boardman: Spot on with Boardman, he was only good at time-trial and prologues and 85 Prologue ability is fuckin' high but he was the best at them, also he did finish highly once in the Paris-Nice as well and won the Criterium International.
Bolts: Needs to be much higher all round, as he was probably one of the best and most important domestiques in the peloton firstly for Rijs and then Ullrich in the big tours, literally a train in the mountains.
Bortolami: Another Italian classics rider, not as good as some but still a strong man.
Brochard: Spot on, as he was a surprise winner when he became world champion the following year.
Bugno: Finished as a stage race rider but still a great rider for the classics. At least 78 hills, also unrecognized as a cobble rider despite once winning the Tour of Flanders (even though the db wouldn't let me improve that stat), but most of all he always had a great sprint and should be at least 76.
Edited by Tafiolmo on 20-01-2014 15:07
Casagrande: Strong Italian all-rounder who always seem destined to win a 'Monument' but it never happened, he also nearly won the Giro as well. mountains 77 hills 78.
Chiappucci: The legendary Italian climber was well past his best in 1996 and the stats are spot on.
Cipollini: Probably the greatest sprinter ever but I'm still dubious to put him at 84 sprint. Cavendish for example in my db has sprint of 82, is Cipollini worth 2 points more than Cavendish that is the question?
Colombo: A strange rider as one moment he could win or do well in a big race and then equally disappear, his strong point was his sprint which helped him win the MSR.
De Las Cuevas: One of the best time-triallists in the peloton. TT should be about 79 and prologue around 81.
Dufaux: Great climber and 80 mountain stat is right and 1996 was a great year for him, especially at the La Vuelta.
Durand: I actually lowered his flat to 78 as I think his real strength was his endurance in long races and put this at 80. A pity the fighter stat doesn't work or he would be very high in this, he basically shocked everybody when he won the Tour of Flanders in 1992.
Ekimov: One of the best pursuit riders and time triallist to come out of the old USSR but saying that never quite produced his pro form to the same level as his amateur form, but should still have a TT of around 78 and prologue at 79, flat of 76 and cobble of 74.
Escartin: One of the best climbing domestiques in the peloton and always very highly rated by Tony Rominger, who I remember saying on a few occasions what a great climber he was and had great recovery skills.
Edited by Tafiolmo on 21-01-2014 22:52
Sali's 1996 DB F-H
Faustini: Probably his best year as a cyclist and the stats look good.
Fondriest: Just a few years earlier he was one of the best classics riders around but by 1996 was not the same rider.
Furlan: One of the many Italian classics riders around at that time flat 74, hills 73 and sprint 72.
Gianetti: Was probably the best hilly classics rider of 1995 where he came from almost nowhere, in 1996 he wasn't quite as good but still one of the best in the peloton. Hill of 79 at least and endurance of 79 as well.
Gotti: His first great year and soon to be one of the dominant Italian stage race riders of this period and mountain 80 is good.
Guesdon: Would win the Paris-Roubaix the following year but his stats the year before should be flat 76 cobble 77.
Hamburger: Strong all-rounder and most of his main stats should be early 70's.
Hampsten: If Lemond was the greatest American stage race rider of his generation then Hampsten was the best American climber. By 1996 he was totally past it (in fact I thought he had already retired?)
Honchar: was a new pro at this time and was a fantastic time-triallist that could climb especially in the Giro. In 1996 he was pre-peak and TT 77 Prologue 75, a year later these and his climbing could be heavily improved.
