14 DAY TRIAL // Because there are still another seven days of racing to go, this might not be the decisive stage of this year’s edition of Le Tour de France, but it might be the hardest one for riders to get through, and it will be interesting to see the names of those who decide to abandon today.
The organizers at the ASO have introduced two of the best known climbs, the Lautaret and the Izoard, which have high gradients and technical descents, but they are only obstacles (or springboards) for those who are aiming to get the stage victory and will need to deal with the new Risoul ascent, which is steadier and might see a larger group form and then battle until they cross the finish line.
The Col d’Izoard is the highest point of this year’s Tour de France, and a number of riders in the real world will battle for the honor to pick up the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, something that unfortunately did not motivate the simulated riders of Pro Cycling Manager during the previous years.
On such stages, the big choice is whether to try and go from long range or to conserve energy until the final few kilometers.
The first tactic is very risky but can deliver huge rewards, and modern day cyclists, who have constant data fed to them by the team and can communicate with their managers, tend to play more defensively and only attack when they absolutely need to.
Despite the fearsome climbs featured on the course, the distances between the favorites were not that big, and my team, for once, actually worked well together.
I sacrificed the riders who had the lowest mountain rating, Nizzolo the sprinter and Devolder the classic man, in order to keep everyone protected during the first 100 kilometers (62.13 miles) and to supply them with the necessary water.
I then put Zoidl and Arredondo to work and they lasted enough to get me past d’Izoard.
On the final climb, the favorites tried to break clear, but they did not have the strength for a decisive attack, which meant that I was able to put Schleck on the dot, at about 82 percent effort, in order to catch up with them.
Once more, Contador managed to find some deeper reserve and gain an advantage, but he never passed the minute mark before my leader and some other favorites managed to close him down.
