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Post by kurtinsc on Jan 16, 2013 23:12:33 GMT 1
Just a post to see if anyone in 3:3 is active in the forums. I got some response on the division forums in game, but only from a couple of teams and it looks like we're pretty close to 100% participation for the first few races (which is VERY cool).
Just as an introduction to my squad... my team is very diversified. I've bought a LOT of cyclists this off-season, and I rotate my training every year so my team lacks a real "identity". I'm really unsure how my team will stack up.
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looze
U23 Developm. Team
Posts: 78
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Post by looze on Jan 17, 2013 9:52:01 GMT 1
Hello, I think it will be a difficult season for my team. Last year only 2 active teams in my division. So I have no idea of the strenght of my team. I hope to win a race and stay in this division.
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Post by kurtinsc on Jan 17, 2013 14:38:37 GMT 1
Well, so far there have been 4 stages and 4 different teams have won... that's a good sign for an exciting season.
The first was all hill and downhill and Bosch-Shimano took 1st and 2nd.
The second had some hills early but was mostly a flat stage and canute racing team won the sprint.
The third was flat except for a hill up to the finish line and EBH-Friends won it from an attack with Bosch-Shimano taking 2nd in the sprint.
The last was a bit of a hill/mountain combo stage and Warner Bros Racing (me) won.
Probably too early to start drawing too many conclusions about the other teams, but right now it looks to me like Bosch-Shimano definitely has some good hill riders. He's gotten 1st or 2nd (or both) in the three uphill finishes so far.
We really haven't had a mountain stage yet (though today's was kind of close). Stage 3 of Algarve will be the first real clue as to who may be strongest in the mountains.
We've had just one flat stage so far... the contenders in that stage were canute racing team, Kleinbikes, Scorpion and Ngogo United (your team)... we'll see with races like the Omloop and KBK if those are in fact the main flat teams.
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Post by kurtinsc on Jan 22, 2013 15:08:09 GMT 1
Well, early returns suggest my team will have a similar season to last year. A fair number of stage wins but very few tour victories. For some reason I just can't quite figure out how to make those happen. I get a lot of 2nd-5th place finishes though.
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Post by kurtinsc on Jan 25, 2013 15:45:48 GMT 1
Second place, again.
Three stage races so far and I've gotten 2nd, 2nd and 4th.
Maessen gave it his all on the last stage, but 2 minutes at the top of the mountain wasn't going to be good enough to hold up with his downhill and flat. He did get the mountains and point jersey's out of it though.
The flat one-day's are coming up though. I don't have a lot of hope for those, but I have some new flat talent on my team this season so we'll see.
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leor16
U23 Developm. Team
Posts: 43
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Post by leor16 on Jan 26, 2013 14:28:13 GMT 1
Well it looks like there will be 3 contenders for 2 places. After been third twice the last 2 seasons, I hope that i'llfinally be able to have my promotion too second division .. Unlike kurtinsc i'm looking forward to the flat onedayclassics, since i got a lot of well-trained flatriders in my team. So be next week i'll hope to take the lead in 3:3
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Post by kurtinsc on Jan 28, 2013 16:13:09 GMT 1
Well it looks like there will be 3 contenders for 2 places. After been third twice the last 2 seasons, I hope that i'llfinally be able to have my promotion too second division .. Unlike kurtinsc i'm looking forward to the flat onedayclassics, since i got a lot of well-trained flatriders in my team. So be next week i'll hope to take the lead in 3:3 And there you go... you're in the lead and I'm down to third. My issue is my flat cyclists that I've picked up on the off season don't have much sprint yet. My good sprinters are mountain/hill focused. The first stage of Mexico suits me though.
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Post by kurtinsc on Jan 31, 2013 14:47:28 GMT 1
Well, it's been a suprisingly good week so far for my team. Managed a second place in stage 1 of mexico, somehow picked up a group sprint with one of my two cyclists that have good flat and sprint numbers, and then managed to have all three of my breakaway hill riders escape in today's race.
With the flat finish, having a breakaway was my only shot, so I tried at different spots with different riders. It appears the initial one was the only one needed though.
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Post by kurtinsc on Feb 7, 2013 22:58:20 GMT 1
Well, I scored some unexpected success with KBK and the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. Two of my new flat aquisitions had enough sprint to do some damage. Of coursed I raced both at 100% so they have two weekend recoveries... and Paris-Roubaix and Rund um Koln haven't been kind.
Still winning two of the flat races wasn't what I expected, so I can't help but be pleased.
I've got Rosa (who won KBK) in Korea, so I have high hopes for that one. Seabra, my best all around rider, is in Borneo... I'm aiming high over the next two weeks.
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leor16
U23 Developm. Team
Posts: 43
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Post by leor16 on Feb 11, 2013 13:44:40 GMT 1
Well, I scored some unexpected success with KBK and the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. Two of my new flat aquisitions had enough sprint to do some damage. Of coursed I raced both at 100% so they have two weekend recoveries... and Paris-Roubaix and Rund um Koln haven't been kind. Still winning two of the flat races wasn't what I expected, so I can't help but be pleased. I've got Rosa (who won KBK) in Korea, so I have high hopes for that one. Seabra, my best all around rider, is in Borneo... I'm aiming high over the next two weeks. Finally another victory for EBHfriends !! Beating the winnar of KBK is something to be proud of ...
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Post by kurtinsc on Feb 12, 2013 4:22:33 GMT 1
And now I have no idea what to do with the rest of Korea.
While Rosa's probably the best sprinter I have, chances are that if the last two stages go to a final sprint, he's getting 3rd again at best... there's not a whole lot different with the three stages. So do I go big effort in stage 2 to try for a stage win, but possibly sacrifice the final placing? Do I try an attack late to steal some seconds (not that any of my attacks on flat have worked at all). Do I just try for 3rd in the overall and be happy with that?
Rosa's really my only card with the other guys having no significant sprint to speak of. And I really haven't figured out any good tactics on flat races... other then hope to win a group sprint.
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Post by kurtinsc on Feb 12, 2013 20:14:10 GMT 1
In retrospect... probably should have gone 100% today. Don't think I finish on the podium overall now.
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leor16
U23 Developm. Team
Posts: 43
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Post by leor16 on Feb 13, 2013 13:29:35 GMT 1
Strange tour of Flanders today, looks like a classic for climbers in stead of flatters like it's supposed to be .. Still, I manage to get someone in second position, but i can't be happy with that result Next: start of Borneo; since my best hiller took a bad fall on training i guess I'll lose another big amount of points in the division in the first 2 stages, and Forza racing will probably take the last one with Thiebaud. So maybe I can aim for a good overall, and maintain in the meanwhile my position with Vanlier in Korea
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Post by kurtinsc on Feb 14, 2013 14:51:18 GMT 1
I thought Hill would be the key stat for Flanders and planned my team accordingly. It ended up that mountain was more important though. Rumler/Epifano/Bustos are all 7-hill riders for my team with good sprint but relatively low mountain, and all got dropped in the small mountain sections. The late attack from Bustos that was supposed to put him ahead or in a small group ended up being enough to get him back to the lead group... but there were other better flat sprinters there.
Borneo didn't start out well for me. I think I'm falling into the trap of trying to win the GC instead of just trying to pick up stages and ignoring the rest.
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leor16
U23 Developm. Team
Posts: 43
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Post by leor16 on Feb 14, 2013 17:55:07 GMT 1
Borneo didn't start out well for me. I think I'm falling into the trap of trying to win the GC instead of just trying to pick up stages and ignoring the rest. Still you have the most stage-wins in our division But I understand what you are saying, i had expected one of your riders on the hilly finish today. Even my GC-man managed to break away, so with a hill 7 rider you would have won easily. For tomorrow i hope to lose some low-flat mountain riders, to anticipate on the 3th stage where my climber (with high flat skill) probably won't be able to keep up with the first group ...
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