Even though this is a "story" my main priority is to describe how the new features actually works and what their influence have
Introduction
2007 - the riders have arrived in London, England to compete in a mini edition of "Le Tour de France". The two first stages take place in England and goes from London to Canterbury. After that, it's time for the serious business. Stage three goes from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille, and on the way they will have to climb two long and steep mountains. On stage four, it doesn't get much better, though. 222.10 kilometers of mountains starting in Orthez and ending in Gourette on the top of Col d'Aubisque. The day after, the riders can relax on the final kilometers to Paris.
Prologue (stage 1) The registered teams for the mini edition of TdF
The CSC-rider and World Champion in time trial Fabian Cancellara was beforehand appointed as the favourite for today's time trial, but as he started the race as the 1st rider on the CSC-team it quickly became obvious that he wouldn't become today's winner. Michael Rogers beat him by a second and held on to the lead for a very long time.
Lots of British people had also looked forward to see their idol, David Millar, on the road. But without the dope, Millar just isn't as good as he was then - and he didn't even manage a top 10 placing - what a disappointment for the crowd.
2nd Stage - from London to Canterbury
After yesterday's short prologue, it was time for the first "challenge" - for the sprinters, that is. The pre-race tactics were discussed a lot at Team CSC's camp, and in the end they decided that Stuart O'Grady would go for the win in the mass-sprint instead of going for a break-away. The main task was to protect team captain Carlos Sastre, though.
CSC planning the race tactics - Stuart O'Grady for the win!
But with a strong field, O'Grady wasn't anywhere near being able to compete with the other sprinters. Allan Davis, Discovery's new super sprinter, took the victory in front of Oscar Freire and Erik Zabel. Surprisingly, Tom Boonen continued his bad season by only finishing 7th. O'Grady? Not worth talking about. He only managed a 15th.
Results of the 2nd stage
3rd Stage - from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille
The next stage is a really difficult mountain stage which will really show us who's prepared for Le Tour. Sastre lost quite a lot of time on the prologue, and with Vinokourov so high up in the rankings it's likely that he will be the main contender for the overall win.
Visual presentation, showing the statistics of Team CSC
The stage started off slowly with only one attack by some random Euskaltel-guy. No one followed him, and he got a large gap to the peloton. Meanwhile, CSC had their eyes open for their two main rivals: Vinokourov and Valverde. Vandevelde observed Vinokourov while David Zabriskie kept an eye on Valverde.
In this screenshot you have to notice the arrows in the riders' information boxes. These indicate the riders' first feeling about their "form of the day". This is unaccurate and still far from how he really feels - but it does give you a first indication.
The Euskaltel-dude continued in a faster pace than the peloton, and with 100 km. to go - and close to the first mountain - he had a gap of almost 9 minutes. In the peloton, both Vandevelde and Zabriskie had become "5th level observers", meaning that they get refreshed information about "their riders" (Valverde and Vino) every 10 seconds. With this feature, we get to know about the observed rider's blue and green bar, and his thoughts of his day form.
Vandevelde becomes 5th level observer
With 73 km. to go we hit today's first mountain. At this point, the riders know even more about their form of the day. The arrows have changed into numbers ranging from -5 to +5 - but still with a grey background, indicating that it's still only an indication - not their actual form of the day. And because of Zabriskie's and Vandevelde's observations I can also see that Valverde seems to have a pretty bad day (-4), that Vinokourov is okay (0) and that Carlos Sastre is in the mood for something big today (+5) - but I have to be careful since those feelings might not correspond with their actual feelings. So should I launch an early attack to gain as much time as possible -- or should I wait until I know how Sastre really feels? And even more importantly, how Vino feels?
The riders now knows better how their legs are today - and Sastre is up for something big today!
As the peloton climbs the mountain, Iban Mayo (Saunier - Duval) launches the first noticeable attack of the day. He's immediately countered by Gadret (AG2R), Pellizotti (Liquigas) and Rasmussen (Rabobank), but they can't follow Mayo who catches the Euskaltel-rider and rides past him. Behind the two groups, Szmyd and the French darling, Thomas Voeckler, has launched a succesful attack
Gadret, Pellizotti and Rasmussen close at catching the Euskaltel-rider.
After having passed today's first mountain, the riders now have a clear, final indication of how their legs are - and Carlos Sastre are certainly having a fantastic day (+5). Unfortunately for my team, Vandevelde and Zabriskie couldn't keep up with the pace on the mountain and had to let go of the group. That also meant I wouldn't receive more information on my main contenders unless I was willing to sacrifice two of my Sastre-protectors on that task. I chose to do without the information and base my strategy on what I knew about Sastre.
The gaps between the front groups. Also notice the riders' information boxes. The backgrounds have become coloured, meaning that this is how they actually feel.
With 18 km. to go the peloton reaches Plateau de Beille. After just two kilometers, Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) attacks, and I begin to wonder if his form today really is that bad. Sastre counters and is followed by Vinokourov - and together, they managed to get rid of Valverde who have now proved not to be that strong today (as his form of the day indicated)
Sastre and Vinokourov leaving Valverde behind
After a few kilometers, Sastre/Vino catches both the Szmyd-group and the group with Rasmussen, Gadret and Pellizotti. Behind them, Valverde is struggling to keep up. Vinokourov sets a very high pace and only Sastre can follow - with 5 kilometers to go they catch Iban Mayo, and behind them Valverde is leading the Rasmussen-group.
Vino and Sastre, then Iban Mayo, then Valverde and co. and then the peloton
The last few kilometers, Sastre has observed Vinokourov, but since he first have to become 5th level observer he never finds out new information about Vinokourov. At this point it would have been perfect to know something about his blue bar, but it's too late. Instead, I take a chance and ask Sastre to attack to gain some time on Vino...
4th Stage - from Ourthez to Col d'Aubisque
Today's 222 km. long stage starts in the city of Orthez and ends on the top of the long and steep mountain, Col d'Aubisque. But before they get that far, they have to get over 3 mountains. It's going to be interesting to see if Vinokourov will be able to protect his yellow jersey before the final stage.
Today's stage profile
As yesterday's stage, a bunch of riders tried to attack, but only the Milram-rider Sacchi managed to get away. And as yesterday, two CSC-riders, Frank Schleck and Andy Schleck, got the task to keep an eye on Valverde and Vinokourov.
Today's stage was really rainy, and that resulted in a lot of crashes. One of the first important riders who got hit by accident was Sanchez G. (Euskaltel) who were brought back to the peloton immediately by his team mates.
Euskaltel helps their captain, Sanchez G., back to the peloton. Valjavec who had a puncture enjoys the easy ride back.
Already before the first mountain, Carlos Sastre proved not to be in the best form. He was the first rider to give a hint about his form (an arrow pointing downwards) which is (of course) a bad indication.
When the peloton reaches the mountain, A. Schleck reports that Vinokourov's first feeling is the same as Sastre's -- today's form might not be the best.
Neither Sastre nor Vinokourov has a good day, it seems.
Bad day or not, Michael Rasmussen launches today's first "serious" attack with 161 km. to go. He's followed by Cadel Evans, and because of that, Kazakstana goes to the front of the peloton and sets an incredible hard pace. Both are caught again at the top - and because of the hard pace, the entire CSC-team is now sure of how their legs are today.
Pellizotti is the first guy over the top.
Sastre struggled a lot on the mountain, and that's probably due to the fact that his form of the day isn't nearly as good as yesterday -- -4 today. "Luckily" for him, Vinokourov turned out to have the same form of the day (-4), so a yellow jersey was still in sight at this point.
At "Col de la Pierre Saint Martin" Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) attacked and was followed by good riders such as Cobo (Saunier Duval), Gadret (AG2R), Danielson (Discovery), Honchar (T-Mobile) and Thomas Dekker (Rabobank). Today's first solid breakaway was established (but with Cobo and Gadret in front of the rest). At the top, the duo had a gap of 49 seconds to the quartet and 5 minutes to the peloton. At the same time, F. Schleck reported to his "director sportif" that Alejandro Valverde seemed to have great legs today (+4).
Valverde looking ready to take on the mountains
With 46 km to go, the peloton reached Col de Marie Blanque, the last but one ascent. Surprisingly, Vinokourov decided to counter-attack an attack by Sandy Casar, and several riders - including Cunego, Mayo and Sastre - countered. Caisse d'Epargne wasn't up for any fun, though, so they immediately started the chase. and shortly after they had all been reeled-in.
Mayo, Cunego and Leipheimer to be caught soon
As you can see on the screenshot, Frank Schleck launches an attack just before the top of the mountain. Even though he isn't given a long rope he still manages to create a gap. Before the last mountain, Col de Aubisque, the race situation is like this:
P (Vinokourov, Sastre, Valverde) -- 21 seconds -- Luis Leon Sanchez -- 11 seconds -- F. Schleck -- 30 seconds -- Cobo & Dekker -- 2'40 -- Gadret.
After the first 6 km. on the mountain, Vinokourov launches another attack. Despite Vino not being in his greatest form it's only Valverde who can keep up with him. Sastre is left behind in the peloton. The duo soon catches Frank Schleck who has just caught Gadret.
F. Schleck with Vinokourov and Valverde
To start off with, Valverde lets Vinokourov lead the group, but with 5 km. to go Valverde takes over and sets a pace which is simply too hard for his two "partners". Vinokourov lets go at first, and shortly after Frank Schleck hits the wall.
Bye, bye Vino! (Please notice that the information bar above him is the last known information - but since it's quite a lot time ago that A. Schleck had to let go of him it hasn't been updated for quite a while)
At the top, Valverde crosses the finish line alone. 2 minutes later, Vinokourov sprints over the finish line with Schleck just behind him. Sastre finished 15th and hopes for the overall win vanished.
[5th Stage - from Marcoussis to Paris
The last stage ends on the traditional road in Paris, Champs Elysses. Please note that I have tried to add Miya's tunnel for PCM 06 to the 07-versiom. That wasn't too succesful, though. The tunnel is there, but the whole area around the tunnel is red. I hope you can live with that
Anyway, besides that, the stage is as you know it. Here's the presentation which also shows us CSC's positions before the last stage:
With the fact that O'Grady wasn't able to challenge the sprinters in the previous flat stage, CSC had planned to take part in every breakaway there would be. So when Franzoi (Lampre) launched today's first attack, Cancellara was with him - and so was 8 other riders, including riders such as Usov, Extebarria and Mengin. Shortly after, David Millar tried to bridge the gap, but he was caught between the peloton and the breakaway - it became a really tough day for him.
Unfortunately for Millar, he didn't make it to the frontgroup (and Engoulvent was caught a few kilometers later)
The group worked really well together, and the peloton was prepared to let the breakaway get a long rope. Instead, CSC focused on spying on the sprinters. Today's stage would be a perfect indicator on how much influence the "form of the day" has. Julich watched Hushovd, Voigt watched David and Vandevelde observed Green Jersey-wearer Oscar Freire.
The race progressed, and with 80 km. the riders had a first feeling of today's form. In a stage like this and with a team without a real sprinter, it doesn't matter that much, though. If necessary, O'Grady could be used for a counter-attack if Cancellara would be caught - he seemed to have a pretty good day. At this point, Cancellara had a more precise estimation of his daily form, because he had used his energy (and his legs) more than the other riders. Unfortunately for CSC, he didn't feel that well (-1).
CSC's day feelings.
Not much happened. The breakaway worked together without any problems, and at the entrance to Champs Elysses with 47 km. to go that had a gap of approximately 6 minutes. In the peloton, the chase had started for real, though, and David Millar was caught within a few kilometers.
The breakaway vs. the peloton
Bad luck striked Clerc with 38 km. to go when he had a puncture and had to let himself drop back to the peloton. His day was over, and Cancellara's chances for victory were now even bigger with one of the semi-sprinters gone. Also, his estimation of his form had changed into his precise feelings: +1, a good day for Cancellara.
To my surprise, Miya's tunnel did work in PCM 07 even though it's made for PCM06. It wasn't without complications, though, as you can see on the screenshot (it's all red!).
The breakaway riding down Miya's tunnel
With just 25 km. to go we had a clear overview of the main sprinters' qualities of the day. Allan Davis doesn't feel really well at this point (-5). Thor Hushovd felt better (+2), but it was Oscar Freire who had today's best legs (+5). But was the breakaway going to be caught? With 23 km. to go, the breakaway had a gap of just 1'32 minutes.
Will Freire take the win today?
Nervousness made its way to the breakaway group. Some riders had not taken any relays for quite a while, and they were slowly being reeled in - but then Franzoi attacked! Cancellara, who had sit and waited for the right moment for quite some time, responded immediately, and actually no one could answer his attack. Mengin tried, but didn't come anywhere near. Cancellara was now riding towards the victory on his own.
Cancellara with Mengin after him - and then the remains of the original breakaway group
It all seemed pretty much over for Cancellara, but luck stroke him when there was a mass crash in the peloton with just 11 km. to go. Many riders were caught in-between, including both Valverde and Vinokourov - and also some of the good sprinters like Freire and Zabel. 85 riders were involved in the crash, and in the peloton Quickstep had set a hard pace to catch Cancellara, making it nearly impossible for the fallen group of riders to get back.
Cadel Evans was the only one who wasn't able to finish the stage.
Heeswijk will probably not feel too well tomorrow.
Valverde and Vinokourov didn't fall, but were involved anyway because they weren't able to get past the fallen riders.
In front, the sprint lead outs were being set-up. Cancellara was still not caught and had a small gap when the sprint started. But with both Boonen and Hushovd in the main peloton, it was going to be difficult.
Still looking positive for Cancellara
Cancellara couldn't hold back an amazing Boonen, though. Boonen started the sprint early, but Hushovd wasn't even close at getting past him. Boonen ended up with taking an impressive victory over Thor Hushovd, Koldo Fernandez and Stuart O'Grady.
Boonen wins on Champs Elysses!
So, what about the fallen riders? Did Sastre win Tour de France? Unfortunately, no gap was registered, but in any case the gap wouldn't have been larger than 3 minutes, meaning that Sastre would only have climbed to the 2nd place
Here's the final results:
1 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC 2h47'22
2 Thor Hushovd CREDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
3 Koldo Fernandez EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
4 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC s.t.
5 Bernhard Eisel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
6 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
7 Robert Förster GEROLSTEINER s.t.
8 Tom Steels PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
9 Gert Steegmans QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
10 Allan Davis DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
very nice! with every word you write i even get more curious. but there's something wrong: cancellara is a "young rider" (to see in the last screenshot). what a mistake.he's already 26.
what? i always thougt that you can not be older than 25 ( as written in the screenshot "-25" )! my whole world is interruptedEdited by Polti on 11-06-2007 12:57
I believe it is a max 25 y.o.a competition. However the problem here being that Cancellara started the season at 25 y.o.a, which has not changed, when you ride a stage race. In career mode I believe he would be 26, and thus not competing for the white jersey
By the way, nice story, can't wait for this game
Edited by Roo on 11-06-2007 14:08
looking forward to a good report on the mountain AI
main reason I'm looking forward to this game is to see if it runs without crashing every two stages...which doesn't exactly happen with the 06
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
Great stuff, looking to here more about whats improved
Can we have a look at the race report. Just want to see what it is like!
Anyway, show more features that will amaze us
Btw. is it just me, or do all look like negros in PCM3?
poorly done shadows
if we're lucky, CrueTrue has a crappy graphics card and in a good PC it looks miles better (sorry Crue, I have to wish that )
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
Do you think form of the day plays too big a part in deciding on a rider? He could be leading the Tour, then just have a rubbish day randomly and lose it all.
Crommy wrote:
Do you think form of the day plays too big a part in deciding on a rider? He could be leading the Tour, then just have a rubbish day randomly and lose it all.
too big?
we've seen that happen a few times in real life
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
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