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PCM.daily Tips & Tricks Section
Hilly Time Trials
By: SkyIsTheLimit | Average Rating: 4.07 | Game version: PCM13
In a flat time trial, you want to maintain a steady rhythm. However on a hilly time trial which involves climbing and descending, you want to go fast on the climbs and recover on the descent. Use your domestiques to gauge the ideal effort on the climb(s) and the descent(s).
Ideally, you want to climb at an effort that is about 3 higher than that at which you descend. For example, on the 34km Vuelta 2013 stage 11 TT (which s also used for Spanish and Italian NCs amongst other things), you want to dot at 68 on the flat leading up to the hill, 69-70 on the climb, 65-67 on the descent before 67 on the flat to the finish. This will mean you will over-perform (Eg in Italian Championships, on extreme, I came 12th with Matteo Trentin and 1st with Dario Cataldo (beating Nibali by 4 secs)).
I use much higher effort differences on climbs, flats and descents. Also the gradient steepness play a role. Might be up to 10 difference on uphill vs downhill. Quite unrelistic at times though as you can not only limit losses but gain time on stage racers and TTists with pure climbers. Cyanide should teach AI to set efforts according to terrain.
@547984 You can use higher differences, but 3 works for me, so that's what I wrote in the guide. Anywhere between 2 and 7 works fine. Haven't tested above 7 but 3 is definitely more effective than 1
Simply the AI cannot cope with TT's that include climbs and descents. It's programmed to ride the same effort level the whole stage (and usually this is too high).
So on descents they use the same effort as going uphill. If you crank up the pace up a climb then you gain tens of seconds with a mediocre rider, a minutes with a good one. Then knock down the effort on the decent. You go roughly the same speed by save energy.
It's a broken aspect of the game, but one you have to take advantage of at times.
@8 I've tried 75 difference, didn't go so good.. Generally the bigger the better but don't get carried away, although it does lead to some odd things, like in pcm12 where I won Spanish TT champs 5 times with a 63 TT sprinter
@TheManxMissile How much do you recommend? I found that ideally, you want about 70 uphill and 65 downhill. Any more uphill and you end up running out of energy or you go too slow downhill
i got a tip for you all just simulate it, always turns out more realistic then if i would control it myself along with ttt personally i simulate every form of tt
I must try it. Since now I used complete opposite. I set on climbing around 65 and then for downhill I push it to the limits. I think that for downhill rider could goes much quicker for less energy then when climbing.
Like I said I must try this. It also looks like good plane.
