Hello there, I am having troubles sprinting at the right time with the right riders in the train. I usually get outsprinted by many riders, some of them way worse than my main sprinter.
This is not due to form, but due to me "going" at the wrong time with the different parts of my train.
Can someone make a quick guide to when they usually "go" with the riders in their train? At which kilometers is usually good?
I don't expect to win every sprint, but any help would be greatly appreciated, as I struggle this year. Peace.
Edited by lillul on 18-07-2017 16:59
I prepare my train 30km before the finish. First rider maintain position at 85 at front of the peleton (first 10 riders). 20 km before the finish I put first rider to effort at 85 or 90 depend of how many energy it have. If you have 2 sprinters in team then your last guy in sprint train before the first sprinter should push effort at 99, 5km before the finish. Start the sprint with the first sprinter 2.5-3 km before the finish and start the sprint with the main sprinter at 1.5-1.7km before the finish. Main TIP: Put some guy from your train at the end position of the train, behind the main sprinter.
Edited by Djordje96 on 18-07-2017 23:10
I would ask all the people from the Balkan to contact me so that we can create our community.
List of Balkan countries:
- Albania
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Greece
- Kosovo
- Macedonia
- Montenegro
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Turkey
Did a whole post about winning sprints with lower sprinter every time ,but got nerfed in a patch(till 73 victories in season 2 though with low sprinter(northern classics guy)).
So just some tips ( disagreeing with classical style above post):when you control the peleton with infinite relay they follow you and only start sprint when you do.If you got lower lead-out then them starting your train at 3km sprint,will get you overtaken by the time you start your own riders sprint,this way your chances are better.
I also prefer my train to effort 99 for way longer ,up to 12 km from finish.In pcm17 that's doable & it helps catching you those breakaways & will exhaust other sprinters as they have irregular moments going beyond 85 effort for them& they can't recover.
if your train has energy to spare to 99 till end,have the second guy go infinite relay & the first one protect that second guy.They will a tiny bit faster,useful for when other do try to catch up.
If they actually start to sprint before you & second trick isn't enough to keep in front,if they overtake ,just pick an early fast wheel.
As above get almost worn out riders of your train to follow your sprinter,but not before "accidentally" disturbing other riders,if any ,not following you.Your last lead-out is ideal for "handling" any sprinter still threatening to come near in start of last bit of sprint,better then your own sprinter as he might lose speed himself when trying to cut off their way.
Lastly,the ideal distance for starting your sprinters sprint is determined by incline,wind,being in front or not,and the stats (better sprinter can go from further),in how high your remaining energy bars are.
That said,you don't need a train to win.And experiment with subtly & radical different tactics & remember what works.
Sure you will get 70+ wins soon too.
Djordje96 wrote:
I prepare my train 30km before the finish. First rider is in mountain position at 85. 20 km before the finish I put first rider to effort at 85 or 90 depend of how many energy it have. If you have 2 sprinters in team then your last guy in sprint train before the first sprinter should push effort at 99, 5km before the finish. Start the sprint with the first sprinter 2.5-3 km before the finish and start the sprint with the main sprinter at 1.5-1.7km before the finish. Main TIP: Put some guy from your train at the end position of the train, behind the main sprinter.
I use alitle bit similair way, but I use dot entire time and balance that and not mantain posision since then he often put himself in the midle of the pack and entire train get blocked etc. Also I use 4, or 5 guys but only 2 sprinters, last leadout guy and ofc the main sprinter. 1st guy just keep them att the front without going to fast, normally 75-85% untill arround 7-10km(deppends on the terrain, the form, the rider, the energy etc...) then go 99% with him. Then with 5km to go, I have 3 guys left so I go 99% with him, still not sprint just dot 99% then with 2-3km to go, again that deppends on many things like terrain, energy, what other teams do etc, then I start the sprint with my leadout man and main sprinter start with 800meter-1.3km to go, and as always that deppands on severall things.
That method has atleast workd good for me in PCM 17 on my FDJ career
I've found it's all about timing in sprints. At the moment there seems to be a huge bug when it comes to the effectiveness of slip-streaming (see image below of how little effort it takes for climbers to follow a sprinter who's full-out sprinting). Due to this if you go to early then other sprinters use your slipstream and then their initial acceleration may take them past you. Go too late and you don't give yourself enough time to get passed them. Obviously if you don't have a lead out train then it's generally about finding the right wheel to follow and then getting the timing right
Important item is to look at your team-mates ofcourse
Main sprinter is the rider with highest SPR/ACC stat. Lead-out man is usually slightly weaker sprinter ( but still high SPR/ACC ). The second lead out man is guy with highest flat OR sprinter/puncher with high ACC. The rest of the sprint train are guys with highest flat ( and energy left ).
Each rider can get around 2.5 km-3km at 99 effort ( use DOT ).
So if you have 5 riders ( 4+sprinter )
Use gel on first rider at km 15 and use 99 dot from km 11-8.
Use gel on second rider at km 12 and use dot from 8-5
Use gel on third rider at km 8 and use dot from km 5-2.5. ( if the rider has high flat and low acc, stay on 99dot and do not sprint at km 3. Sprinting is actually slower then 99 dot for some reason ).
Use gel on lead out man at km 7 and start sprinting at km 2.5
Use gel on sprinter at km 6.3 and sprint at km 1.4.
This is usually the lead out for normal team mates and good sprinter ( 77+ ). The better the sprinter ( kittel, demare, cav ) can go at km 1.5-1.7 even. And team mates with high flat ( martin, terpstra, dennis, ... ) can go 3.5-4 km at 99 dot.
