Update, 17:37: Focus Interactive is using the same tactic as with PCM09 - sending out exclusive screens to the PCM fansites. I'm not personally a fan of the 'exclusivity' deals, so feel free to share our 'exclusive' screen as you like. It's been added to the screenshot section - link below.
We've seen pretty much everything there's to be seen (except for screens of the management game section...), so more screenshots of PCM10 are barely newsworthy. On the other hand, the game does look rather good, so don't miss out on the latest bunch of screenshots released by Cyanide today.
It has come to our attention that a few teams have missed out on points for the past couple of months, because their transfers were overlooked. As a result, some changes have retrospectively made to the rankings.
In February, rather than fall from 14th to 25th, Scotty's Spitfires actually climbed to 7th. The team were also then able to maintain that 7th place through March. The points tally for Firmly Grounded in March was also slightly improved, and their overall position is now 34th. However, Team Nike-Reebok lost around 400 points following the implementation of their March transfers, so fall to 33rd.
The scores should all now be correct, and don't forget that Friday is the deadline for your team transfers for May. See the news article below for more details on that.
It's time to make your transfers in the Fantasy Game ahead of perhaps the most important month so far. The Giro d'Italia takes place in May, and is predited to have a huge impact on the game - so you will need to use your transfers wisely. There are no ProTour or Historical races other than the Giro, but there are some HC races which could be useful to bare in mind. The one day Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop on May 1st, and the Stage Races of 4 Jours de Dunkerque, Tour of California, Bayern-Rundfahrt, and Tour of Belgium.
As usual, each team is permitted to bring in up to 4 riders, with no limit on the amount you get rid of. You must make sure you stay within budget, while having at least 16 riders, of which at least 5 must be from a ProContinental team. You can check the forum if you need a reminder of your current team line up.
Some new riders will also be added to the game this month:
Labbe
Arnaud
80,000
Cofidis
Rutkiewicz
Marek
180,000
Other teams
Sagan
Juraj
100,000
Liquigas
Wurf
Cameron
120,000
Androni Giocattoli
Labbe has recently signed for Cofidis, Rutkiewicz was added per a request, Juraj Sagan has been added as he will apparantely be joining Liquigas from June, while Wurf has actually been riding for Androni since the end of February. Please note also that following his move to Katusha, Giampaolo Caruso counts as a ProTour rider - not ProContinental.
As usual, the deadline for transfers is the end of the month - this Friday.
Update, 15th of April, 13:28: Six new screenshots, released by Focus today, have now been added to the screenshot section along with the international cover of PCM10! Thanks to Aroda for the tip.
For those who are eagerly awaiting PCM10, there's some good news: JeuxVideo.com, France's larges gaming site, has published a preview of the game which comes with plenty of new screenshots, both ingame screens and some of the new stage editor that comes with the game. You can see them all in our PCM10 Screenshot section.
Unfortunately, there's no news in the preview by JeuxVideo. They mention the new graphic engine (and repeat that the minimum requirements will be the same as in PCM09 - the recommended settings are, however, higher), the new stage editor, the new 'selected season mode' and a few other of the new features.
March has proved itself to be a very interesting month in the Fantasy Game - and by far the most important of the first 3 months so far, with more points being gained in March than January and February combined. As you will see, it highlights that nobody is ever safe in a position in this game, and similarly nobody can ever be ruled out - 8 teams lost 20 or more places, but 8 other teams managed to gain 20 or more, including one gain of 36 spots.
But lets start with the Rider statistics. Tom Boonen may have been 2nd in both Milan SanRemo and E3 Prijs, but he tops the tables of points scored in March with 553. On 512 is the Tirreno-Adriatico and Settimana Lombarda winner Michele Scarponi, while Freire's Milan SanRemo victory greatly contributed to his tally of of 493. Rodriguez, Paolini, Eisel, Keukeleire, Iglinskiy, Contador and Millar complete the Top 10. Andre Greipel still leads overall, but his quiet month means that Freire and Boonen are both close, with LL Sanchez and Paolini completeing the Top 5.
By far and away the most efficient rider of the month was Jens Keukeleire, a great buy for the 3 teams who had him, and he is now the most efficient rider overall aswell. Infact, the rest of the months Top 5 (Modolo, Eisel, Vanmarcke, Sagan) can all be found in the overall Top 6, with previous leader Dumoulin now 5th.
So, to the team scores. In a close battle for March Honours, Mukk Service OY come top with 2674 pts - they can thank the likes of Boonen, Eisel, Boom and Taaramae - just ahead of Fabulously Subconscious (2611) and Team Skoda (2602). In total, 20 teams scored 2000 points or more, with 92 of the 98 teams all passing 1000. Coming into March, LDF - Velingnews.com held a comfortable 700 point lead, but were only the 38th best team this month. Prior to the KBC De Panne tour, they had even lost the lead, but David Millar's performance was enough to keep them on top - holding off Fabulously Subconscious, Bonnet de Douchebag and Huffy Test Team. Team Swed-Stats climbed up 12 spots to 5th, one of 4 new teams in the Top 10, while those placed 11-15 each gained a minimum of 10 places - Mukk Service OY benefited from winning the month in going from 44th, to 11th.
The new overall Top 10 are:
1
(1)
LDF - Velingnews.com
SportingNonsense
4743
2
(8)
Fabulously Subconscious
tgsgirl
4674
3
(5)
Bonnet de Douchebag
sephus
4586
4
(3)
Huffy Test Team
jack888
4557
5
(18)
Team Swed-Stats
jaccan
4235
6
(2)
Tinkoff Revival
Rjc_43
4189
7
(7)
Scotty's Spitfires
ScottyMuser
4071
8
(17)
Cyclopaths
Dr Do Little
4028
9
(11)
Musteline Warriors
ike2112
3973
10
(20)
EDTeam
Eoin
3953
To see the full standings for teams, riders and efficency, go to the March scores thread. The full overall team rankings are also in the extended version of this news article.