New: Dirsportif - The mother of all cycling games

[mutschi]

Update 17/01/2013: Still teams available for players to take over as manager. 5 teams currently in top ten of ranking needing a skilled manager to lead them to glory. For previews of the teams send an email to dirsportif@xtra.co.nz. Get in before the Tour Down Under.


The game has started but players can join all year long and still win. For more details email: dirsportif@xtra.co.nz


DirSportif is a Cycling Game that simulates the managing of a professional cycling team. It is played with real pro riders who compete in real races.
Basic Idea of the game:
You just got yourself a job as team manager of an average pro cycling team. At this stage, your team consists of seven riders. Your team is more or less on par ranking points with 19 other teams. The team is allowed 15 active riders and 5 inactive riders. You have a budget. You have to make your team the best in the world by the end of the season.
To be successful you have to
• Run your team within a budget
• Have a balanced team that consists of the right number of star riders and domestiques
• Know and research the professional cycling scene to scout the best riders for your team
• Be good in buying and selling riders
• Know which riders will excel in certain races and certain times of the year

Difference to other Fantasy Cycling Games
• It simulates the real cycling world
• Riders have a value and earn wages according to their past performance
• Riders can be released from the team and new riders can be contracted during the season
• There is a real life competition for riders: No rider can be in more than one team
• It includes more than a 100 races including the big stage races and classics and runs all year
• The teams need to have the right amount of star riders and domestiques to be successful
• Teams earn money according to how successful their riders are
• This money can then be used to develop the team further and earn more points for overall

How is it played?
• The game is free and the player only needs an Internet connection and Web-Browser.
• The calculations and tables are calculated by a VBA Excel Application
• The results are updated and presented on Windows Skydrive (No costs).
• The game itself is played in an Internet Group and/or this Forum and is social

How much time does it take to play?
• That depends how serious you play it. The absolute minimum would be to let the initial team run and spend 10 min per week to check results. However, to have more fun, you probably want to spend some more time on it. But you still can go for a holiday without losing the game.

Who might enjoy it?
• People who love and have passion for professional cycling all year long
• People who know or like to research results, teams, riders and races
• People who like to banter and chat with others about cycling
• People who are competitive, like to play and like to win games
• People who think they know more about pro cycling than most
Who runs it?
• My name is Markus (Game Name: Der Terminator) I am originally from Germany but lived in New Zealand for the past 20 years. I am a keen Masters cyclist with the local club. I followed professional cycling for years on several web-pages. I played and organised a number of different cycling fantasy games over the past years and always enjoyed it. I am now re-training to become a VBA Excel Programmer and the best way to learn programming is to do a project. After the TdF 2012 I set myself this goal: “Create the mother of all cycling games.” Five months later and after test playing it with two mates I think it is ready for the full roster of 20 teams. Can’t wait to beat all these cycling experts out there.
How do I join?
• Send me an email to DirSportif@xtra.co.nz
• I will then send you an invitation to the Games Group
• As soon you accept the invitation you are in the loop
• You then will have access to all the files and information needed
• You can have a look at the rules and samples of teams and result pages
• I accept 20 teams to start with but if there is more demand I might start a parallel game
• Players can join later in the season if a free space becomes available
• Players can stop the game at any time they want
• Players teams can go bankrupt and have to leave the game
• But they can re-join another game and try again

Please note that this is the first time the game is played with 20 teams. Some hick-ups in the software have to be expected but these bugs will be sorted as we go. The rules are also not set in stone and might be adjusted to allow a better game. So it is a bit of a test game. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions here.

 

[Andrichuk]

Sounds like tons of fun Mutschi! Sending my email right now.

 

[blaxland]

just sent mine.....

 

[mutschi]

Thanks, it is good fun. I played it with a few mates for three months and it was great. The fun is in the flexibility. With most other fantasy games there is not much to do after you have chosen your team. This one is in constant movement. And a lot of emphasis is on new and upcoming riders so I learned heaps about many riders though playing it. Watching races is so much more fun as you always have a few guys of your team participating.

 

[mutschi]

And I forgot - the game starts with the Tour Down Under.

 

[Andrichuk]

Any ideas on a start date for when we will begin choosing teams?

 

[mutschi]

We have about 10 players so far and need 10 more. I started to advertise the game at velogames today and the remaining spots should fill up over the next week or so. (If not we still start as the computer can play some teams until a new manager turns up and takes over).

The core of the teams (with seven riders) have been created) and we have 20 pretty even teams to start with. At the moment we create the Skydrive and Group.

We soon start with trading riders and/or buying additional riders for the teams. But the game is "open" and not everyone needs to start at the same time. It runs all year so there is plenty of time to create the best team in the world.

During the trading I ease players into the rules of the game as we start playing.

The first money and points is earned (Or lost) at the Tour Down Under.

Groups web page: http://dirsportif.groups.live.com

Any questions: dirsportif@xtra.co.nz

 

[mutschi]

Rules - Part 1

It is pretty long but I copied in here anyway (had to do it on 3 parts). I also have a Word Document (better formatting) I can sent to anyone who contacts me on dirsportif@xtra.co.nz

I can also then send Excel Files that give people an idea how the game looks like and shows the first 20 teams and the riders.




Game rules

Overview
Goal of the Game
Starting with a given team of seven riders you have to create a team that will have the most points at the end of the year in the IG Market Ranking.

How is the game played?
There are three main things to do:
1. Observe
2. Research
3. Act

1. Observe

While the game is quiet complex in full flight you can slowly ease your way into the game if you want. After you are enrolled and have your team allocated all you need to do initially is to observe:

Level 1

• My teams budget (Yes, teams can go bankrupt and will be eliminated from the game)
• My team’s points (Am I doing well or do I need better riders?)
• The number of Domestiques in my team has to be positive (see details further down)

Resources: Three Excel tables (“rAllRidersWeb, rTeamSummary and your teams Budget table) will help you to keep an eye on this

You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. Your existing team riders will enter real life races and hopefully earn some points and money for you. The Tables are updated whenever the IG Market Ranking is updated – usually once per week.
However, it makes sense to slowly add more riders to your team because more riders usually earn more money and points. But take your time. It is easy to buy a new rider but can cost you money to get rid of them. (More below)

Level 2 Observation

• Other Teams Points, Budgets and Number of Domestiques. This will tell you if they might have to sell riders or are in need of riders
• The communication in the Newsgroup/Forum to learn who sells and buys whom
• Cyclingnews and other cycling related news to know more about riders: Who is injured, who is in-form, who has been banned, who will take part in what races

2. Research

Before you act it might be a good idea to do some research but this point can be skipped if you feel you know it all.

• Researching past history of your own riders regarding certain races and peak performances. This will help you to decide if certain riders should be on the active or inactive list of your team, or maybe even sold. It also helps you to find the right time to buy or sell a certain rider.
• Research past history of riders you want to buy for your team.
• Research young and upcoming riders in order to “scout” them first before other teams get them.

Resources include CV Ranking, past results, IG Market Ranking, Wikipedia and more

3. Act

These are four actions you can do:

1. Buy Rider from Market
2. Release Rider to Market
3. Buy Rider from other Team
4. Move Rider between active and inactive list

Below you find all the details which can be a bit overwhelming but hopefully it is clear by now that you don’t need to rush into it and you don’t need to know everything from day one. You don’t have to learn all the rules immediately to play the game. You can just observe, chat, ask questions, research before you finally act. You can learn from other players’ mistakes who rush into it.

Please continue with Part 2

 

[mutschi]

Rules - Part 2

IG Market Ranking
The backbone of the whole game is the IG Market Ranking list. (http://igcycling.com/the-ig-cycling-index/). The IG World Rankings is a weekly updated list of the best riders in the past year. Unlike the UCI ranking, the IG ranking always goes back one year from today and uses much more races. It also rates traditional races with historical status higher. It reflects the real world of cycling more than the UCI list that wants to push new races worldwide.
Excel 2010
The game is programmed in VBA Excel and all results are shown in Excel 2010 Files. If you don’t have Excel 2010 you can view the files on Skydrive or you might to want download the free Excel Viewer from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=10
The Excel Tables
You start with four tables that contain all the information you need for the game. I will add more tables as we go but they are not essential – just more tools for research and additional reports and graphs to make it more fun.
The four tables get updated after every update of the IG Market Ranking, usually once per week.
The tables can be sorted and filtered by using the arrows below the column header. Play around with it and you will soon find out how it works. It is pretty cool. By combing filters and orders you can squeeze out any possible information you can imagine.
You will have a copy of the original so you can mess around with them as much as you want as you will get a new one every week. You don’t relay or enter any information via the tables. This is done by email. The tables are just for reading and researching.
“rTeamSummary”
• Ranking of the Teams in the game
• Which teams belongs to which manager (still to be added)
• Points and Price money earned in the last period
• Your available money (Budget)
• Estimated end of the month earnings (Remember: estimated)
• Team Balance Status (Balance between star riders and domestiques)

“rAllRidersWeb” – this list starts with 200 riders and is identical with the IG Market rider at the start. But each week new riders will make the top 200 and “old” riders will fall out of the IG Market list. But the “old” riders will stay in the “rAllRidersWeb” and contain all the riders who have been in the top 200 this year. So the list will get longer every week. Why I do this is explained further down.
• Rank of riders according to the IG Market Ranking
• Status of riders – current top 200 or “old” top 200
• Name, Team, Current Points, Current Value and Wages of riders
• Amount of Price Money in last period
• Current Rider Sponsor Money (RSM) for each rider (only for top 40 riders)
• Total earned money of each rider for the year and since he is in that particular team
• Number of domestiques needed for that rider (no number means he is a domestiques himself)
“TransferLog”
A log book for all transfers. I fill that in after players decide to “act” – meaning to buy, sell, or move riders. These actions will be communicated via email between players. No player fills in the Logbook. All the transactions in the Logbook will be executed after each period (see below). You as a player use this Logbook to check if your actions have been logged correctly and to update yourself about who does what.
“Individual Team sheets e.g “Nuts Nuts Nuts.xlsx”
Most of the information is already summed up in the “rTeamSummary”. The Team sheet gives you a detailed record of all financial transactions of your team. More importantly, it shows you the status of the active and inactive rider list. In other words you see if there are available spots in your team and in what list. It also shows you the value and wages from when you bought a rider which is different to the current value and wages.

Points + Money
The team with the most team points at the end of the season will win. There will be several minor competition within that e.g best Classics team, Grand Tours. Ideally, you want to have riders that move up that ranking during the year because lower ranked riders are cheaper to buy, cost less wages and need less domestiques to start with. To win the game you have to optimize the costs and earnings of riders with the points they deliver. It is not necessarily the best tactics to buy a top rider for your team. Price money, for example, is only paid on the increase in points in the rankings after each update. So, if a rider won a race last year and wins it again he does not earn price money as he hasn’t improved in the ranking. However, it might still be beneficial to have top riders in your team because the top riders earn your team a lot of Rider Sponsor Money and bring your team lots of points.
Budget
Every team has an initial starting budget of 1 Million Euros. The initial teams consist of seven riders which were distributed to the 20 teams in a way that they have about the same team points to start from. However, to make the game more interesting and interactive, I decided to allow an all-season transfer period . That’s where your skills will come in. Within the given budget you have to slowly improve your team by selling and buying riders. However, you can still win the game without selling any of your riders. You can have a maximum of 15 active and 5 inactive riders in your team.
The team has monthly expenses for financing and administration.
Riders have to be purchased from the market or from other teams. Wages have to be paid to them. Riders can be released to the market (No Income) or sold to other teams (Income).
Earning Money
There will be five different ways of earning money for a team:
• Price Money from increase in the ranking between updates
• Rider Sponsor Money for the top 40 riders in the ranking (200.000 – 1000 Euro per month) – can change during the season according to economic situation.
• Team Sponsor Money for all teams depending on their standings at the end of the month (60.000 – 3.000) – can change during the season according to economic situation.
• Gain through selling a rider for more than you paid for him
• Gain through buying a rider outside the Top 200 (off the ranking list) and capitalising on him when he makes the ranking. This is a very exciting option for the skilled Manager.

Details:

1. Price Money (PM in Tables) is earned by your riders in real races. The amount is based on the IG Market Scoring System. Important: Price Money is calculated by the increase in points x 150 Euro between two updates. Example: A rider sits on 600 points on 1st of March. He does a race on the 3rd of March and comes 3rd. If he didn’t do that race the previous season or ranked lower than 3rd his ranking points will increase to, for example, 650 points. He will earn 50 x 150 Euro = 7500 Euro. If, however, he was 3rd or better in the year before in that race his ranking won’t increase and he won’t earn any price money for that period.
2. Rider Sponsor Money (RSM) is paid to your team if a rider enters Top 40. It is paid at the end of each month and the rider has to be in your team at that point of time. Obviously, getting your riders into the Top 40 is one important way to fund your team but not the only one.
3. Team Sponsor Money (TSM) is paid to your team at the end of each month. As higher your team is ranked as more you get.
4. Selling a rider with profit. You can offer a rider to other teams and gain money if you sell them for more than you paid for. This is a difficult decision and will require a lot of skills because you lose the points for this rider and all his future earnings. At the end of the day you win the game with points, not with money. So money is only the means to develop your team in order to gain more points.
5. Off list purchases. This is the most exciting part of the game. Most other games deal with the stars of cycling and they are easy to pick. But to have a star-studded team you need lots of money and the reality is that most teams don’t have lots of money to simply buy the known stars. Therefore you have to buy the future stars. You can buy any professional cyclist for your team – not only the riders on the IG Market Ranking. Any Rider off the list cost 20.000 Euros and has a wage of 2.000 Euros. Cheap. However, as long he is not in the top 200 this rider won’t earn any money for your team. And he will be hard to sell too. However, if he makes the ranking and comes to sudden fame you cash in. As soon he makes the ranking his points will shoot up to around 450 – 500 points. As he starts from 0 points he will earn 500 x 150 Euro = 75.000 Euro. And he might rise further during the year within the ranking. Important: This cash-in works only when a rider enters the Top 200 for the first time in this year. If a rider falls out of the top 200 he becomes an “old” rider (with “old” being entered in the status column of the” rAllRidersWeb” Table.) Therefore, always double check if an off list rider has been in the top 200 previously, before you buy him.

 

[mutschi]

Rules - Part 3

Team Balance
We all know that real cycling teams need domestiques to be successful. That’s why this will be part of the game. The “rAllRidersWeb” Table has a column titled “No. of Domestiques required” which shows this number for each rider. For example, Tom Boonen needs 4 domestiques. If a rider has no number he is a domestiques.
The “rTeamSummary” Table has two columns labelled “Team Balance” and shows the number of surplus domestiques. As soon this number goes below Zero you have to restructure your team and get the balance right again. Actually, it is better to do that before it goes below zero to allow more time. The program calculates the balance but you have to act. How? By either increasing domestiques or taking star riders off the active roster or by selling star riders. If you don’t do it yourself the program will do it for you but the program might do it in a way that is not the best for your team so better you do it yourself before it is too late.
Active and Inactive List
15 Spots on the Active List and 5 Spots on the inactive list. But at the moment, practically, it is more like 4 spots on the inactive list. At this stage I can’t swap riders (will add that feature later). So when you want to swap two riders from active to inactive list it will be two transactions and you need an empty spot to park (see more below under “Move to other list” under Transactions.) So don’t fill up all 20 spots, only 19. As long the active list is not full, new riders automatically go on that list. If it is full new riders will go on the inactive list. A player can move riders between the lists after each period like all other transfers.
Only riders on the active list can earn any money and contribute to the team balance. Riders on the inactive list still cost wages. What is it good for then? Many things (see below). It just adds some flexibility.
1. Injured riders or riders serving a ban can be put on the inactive list and be replaced for a certain period
2. If the Team Balance is in danger star riders can be swapped for domestiques temporarily
3. Special Riders (e.g Climbers, Classic Specialists, Sprinters) can be kept on the inactive list until their kind of races comes up.
4. Riders who are for sale can be put on the inactive list until they are sold.

Periods

The game is updated in periods. A period is the time between two updates of the IG Market Ranking list. After every period the new points of all players and teams are calculated and the price money is calculated and added to the balance of each team. A team gets therefore paid after each period (PM) and after each month (RSM and TSM) so there is a constant flow of income. Costs are calculated and subtracted after each month except costs involved with transferring riders.
All transfer actions (see below) are executed after each period and after the new points and PM is calculated and paid. This is important to know when it comes to buying and selling riders. Teams have to agree to a deal before the end of the period and the deal has to be entered into the TransferLog before the end of the period. However, the deal is only executed after the period. This means that all money earned by a rider for this period will go to his old team. Even more importantly, if a team buys an off the list rider they have to wait until after that period to get that rider. If that rider jumped into the list at the end of the period the team will miss out on the cash for that. That is an added risk but it avoids that team mangers simply buy a rider after he had a great result in one week and speculate he will make the list.

Some actions are taken in a monthly rhythm: Costs are paid monthly, RSM and TSM are paid monthly. While monthly, it is not exactly at the end of the month but will be combined with the first period update of the next month e.g if the Ranking gets updated on the 5th day of a month the payments of the last month will be included in that.


Wages

Wages are usually 10% of the purchasing costs per month. The wages stay fixed unless the rider is sold or released back to the market. Then the new wages get re-calculated to 10% of the agreed sale price or 10% of the market value (which is calculated by the computer according to the rider’s points). This works in favour of sourcing cheap talented riders as their wage stays cheap as long they stay in their team, even if they rise to top 40 riders and earn lots of money. If a manger buys a top 40 rider from the market the wages are quiet high and stay that high even if the rider drops in the rankings and looses all its sponsor money. Team Mangers have to consider that when buying highly ranked riders. While they earn instant sponsor money it can be a huge liability if the rider underperforms or gets injured or banned. Again, the game is reflecting reality.

If a rider moves to another team the seller and the buyer have to pay the monthly wages for that rider for that month in which the transaction happen. The computer deducts the wages automatically from both teams.

If a rider gets released to the market by a team the full monthly wage gets deducted, no matter when in the month the rider leaves the team.

 

[mutschi]

Rules - Part 4

Transfer Actions

There are four kinds of transfer actions

1. Buy from market
2. Release to market
3. Buy from current team
4. Move to other list

1. Buy from market

Any rider that is not currently with a team in the game is “on the market” and therefore available to be bought. The rider can be in the top 200 of the IG Market List or not on the list. You can buy any professional rider you can think off.
You buy of the market by announcing it in the newsgroup/forum to the world like any real team does in the media e.g. “Team Fish’n’Chips is g4y bought Jill Snapper.” The game master will then put the transaction into the “TransferLog” Table. The price and wage for that rider is shown in a table for the top 200 riders. Any rider below the top 200 cost Euro 20.000,-- and a monthly wage of Euro 2000,--. The costs will automatically be deducted from the players balance sheet.
The rider only joins the team after the next update of the results at the end of the period. The software automatically checks for available spots on the team’s roster, availability of the rider on the market, sufficient funds, and number of domestiques. If any of these tests fail the transfer is unsuccessful and an entry will be made in the TransferLog. If unsuccessful the rider is available again. Therefore it is a good idea if the player checks himself first to make sure the transaction goes through.
A new rider gets automatically added to the active rider list. If the active riders list is full he will be added to the inactive rider list.
The monthly wages will be charged to the new team for that month, no matter what day of the month the transaction is finalised.

The best way to find out if a specific rider is available is this:

1. Go to the “rAllRidersWeb” Table
2. Click on the arrow under the “Last Name” column label and sort table “A – Z”
3. Now scroll down the names and see if you can find the particular rider you are looking for. If you don’t find him he is available but not a top 200 rider and not in the IG Market Ranking. Any rider off the list will cost 20.000 Euro with a wage of 2000 Euro
4. If you do find the name you can see if he is “Available” (Green). It tells you the market value and wages. You also should check the status column on the left. If it has “old” in it he used to be in the top 200 but has dropped out since. This rider won’t earn you the cash for making the list the first time (see above under “Off List Purchase”)
5. If the name is with another team you know which team you can make an offer to if you are keen to buy him from another team (see below)

After you decided you want to buy the rider you do this:
1. You check if you have enough funds to buy him (Table “rTeamSummary has a funds forecast”) and if you have an available spot in your team. Maybe you have to do a “Move Transaction” (see below) to free space on the active list before you do the “Buy transaction”.
2. You check how many domestiques this rider needs and if you have enough surplus domestiques (Table “rTeamSummary”) Both things will be double checked by the computer later and the deal won’t go through if not but it saves time and annoyance if you check it beforehand.)
3. Then you write a short email to all player like: “Team Nuts Nuts Nuts buys Tom Boonen from the market.”
First comes, first serves. As soon the email is sent he is yours. The deal is done and can’t be reversed, under no circumstances. So be careful.
4. I will enter the done deal into the transfer log where you can see it. However, the deal will only be finalised after the next period summary. After that he will start earning money and points for your team. (see also under “Period” above)
5. The purchase price is taken off your balance and the wages included in your costs.

2. Release to Market
Simply write an email to all players: “I release Tom Boonen from my team.” This is irreversible so make sure you want that. I enter it into the TransferLog and like all the other transactions it gets executed after the next period summary. The final monthly wage will be subtracted from your balance. You don’t get any money for a rider you release back to the market. So why doing it? You can’t sell him and he is not performing and costs wages and takes a spot away from a better rider so often its time to bite the bullet and say good-bye to a wrong investment.

3. Buy from current team.
Please see “Buy from Market” for details how to find riders and their current teams.
After that it is up to you to make an offer to the current team. Sometimes teams put riders on the market, even for tender to the highest offer. Each player has to communicate directly with a team or via all players. Buyer should also check if he has enough money and available spots in his team. Buyer and Seller have to check how it affects their Team Balance. For example, if the seller sells a domestiques it could get him into a negative team balance and the deal won’t go through. The software will check these things too and annul the deal.

As soon there is an agreement over the price (the wages can’t be negotiated and are always 10% of purchase price) both buyer and seller have to send an email to all players: “Team X sold Tom Boonen for 400.000 Euro to team Y (despite rumours he will be banned soon, hehehe).” The buyer confirms that: “Team Y is delighted to have purchased Tom Boonen for only 400.000 Euros from Team X, hehehe.” Again, after both emails are sent the deal is done and irreversible.

I then flick it into the TransferLog and the transaction happens after the next period summary. This means all earnings until then go to the selling team. Both teams get charged a monthly wage (see wage). The Seller gets the money, the buyer pays the money – all done by the software.

4. Move to other list
Check your team sheet about empty spots in the active and inactive list. If you buy a new rider and want him on the active list straight away you have to make space first. So if the active list is full you have to send the “Move Transaction” before the “Buy Transaction” otherwise the new rider ends up on the inactive list and you have to wait another period to move him. If all is clear write an email to all players: “Moving Tom Boonen to the inactive list because he was just banned for 3 months, damn.” This is transaction one. “I then move Jonny Hogerland from the inactive list to the active list.” (Transaction 2). If both lists are full this won’t work because Tom Boonen has nowhere to land.
As pointed out under “Active and Inactive Lists” above you can’t swap riders and need one empty spot to do the two transactions.
There is an automatic 2.000 Euro Admin Fee for each move. So a swap would be 4.000 Euro.


End of the game

There will be a winner at the end of the season (and some winners in between for best classics team, GC team and so on) but there is no end to the game. Like real life cycling it will go on and on. Teams will falter and fade, rise and dominate, disappear and reappear in the ever entertaining drama of professional cycling. While there is no end there will be progression to the next leagues.

With that some of the rules of the game will change over time. New rules will be added sometimes to reflect reality and make the game more interesting and entertaining as we play along.

The vision: If we have 20 teams we run a second parallel game. And then a third and a fourth. From those four teams the best five teams can then move up to another level for an expert league. And so on. No limits.

Give it a go. I know it is fun as I played it already once.

 

[mutschi]

Teams - submit 5 teams (ranked) you want to manage

This is the start team. All these teams have similar team points according to the IG Market Ranking list of last year. They also vary slightly in purchase price. If you want the Excel Tables that shows all the details of each rider and team please contact me at dirsportif@xtra.co.nz

You have 15 spots on the active riders list and 4 more on the inactive list which you can (but don't have to) fill one by one over the next few weeks with riders of your choice. More about how to do that will follow after each manager has a team. If two or more managers choose the same team as No. 1 a draw will decide.

Players: Please post your choices and thoughts here or email me.
Watchers: Feel free to share your thoughts about the best starting team and most yummy name. (I personally go for "Burger Fuel" - best Burgers in the world - made in NZ)

Amsterdam - Port of Pot

HENAO Sergio Luis
HORNER Chris
NOCENTINI Rinaldo
ENGOULVENT Jimmy
KWIATKOWSKI Michal
URTASUN Pablo
STYBAR Zdenek


Australian Red

DEMARE Arnaud
FUGLSANG Jakob
DUARTE Fabio
BRAJKOVIC Janez
NERZ Dominique
LAGUTIN Serguey
SLAGTER Tom

Bavarian Bratwurstel

MARCATO Marco
RENSHAW Mark
MARTIN Dan
DAVIS Allan
PINOTTI Marco
SZMYD Sylvester
CASTROVIEJO Jonathan


Beer of Belgium

VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen
VANENDERT Jelle
WEGMANN Fabian
VEELERS Tom
HOOGERLAND Johnny
ROCHE Nicolas
RAST Gregory


Boullabaisse Marseillaise

MOLLEMA Bauke
BETANCOUR Carlos Alberto
MORENO BAZAN Javier
BELLETTI Manuel
EISEL Bernhard
LEUKEMANS Bjorn
DUQUE Leonardo

Burger Fuel

FLECHA Juan Antonio
VENTOSO Francisco
ROY Jérémy
SØRENSEN Chris Anker
GERDEMANN Linus
BLYTHE Adam
CATALDO Dario

Canadian Marple Sirup

TIERNAN-LOCKE Jonathan
BENNATI Daniele
PELLIZOTTI Franco
DI LUCA Danilo
TAARAMAE Rein
MONFORT Maxime
IMPEY Daryl


Cervelo - Green Tea

IGLINSKIY Maxim
HAUSSLER Heinrich
VISCONTI Giovanni
BOZIC Borut
BRESCHEL Matti
NIEVE Mikel
LIGTHART Pim


Coffee de Colombia

PORTE Richie
VANMARCKE Sep
HAAS Nathan
SØRENSEN Nicki
PINOT Thibaut
KOHLER Martin
BURGHARDT Marcus


DEUTSCHES BIER

KITTEL Marcel
MEERSMAN Gianni
CLARKE Simon
HUTAROVICH Yauheni
CARUSO Giampaolo
DUMOULIN Samuel
DEVENYNS Dries


Kellogs Crunchers

KESSIAKOFF Fredrik
SIMON Julien
TALANSKY Andrew
SANTAMBROGIO Mauro
MATTHEWS Michael
DUPONT Hubert
GAVAZZI Francesco


Mexican Food = Good

PAOLINI Luca
GASPAROTTO Enrico
POELS Wout
MODOLO Sacha
CASAR Sandy
PETACCHI Alessandro
GATTO Oscar


Nuts Nuts Nuts

PHINNEY Taylor
KREUZIGER Roman
BASSO Ivan
KIRYIENKA Vasil
VIVIANI Elia
MENCHOV Denis
BOS Theo


Pure NZ

VAN GARDEREN Tejay
ULISSI Diego
FEDRIGO Pierrick
SWIFT Ben
STANNARD Ian
KREDER Michel
TUFT Svein


Redbull Wings

SCARPONI Michele
VELITS Peter
RUBIANO Miguel Angel
FELLINE Fabio
DE KORT Koen
BOARO Manuele
ANTON Igor


Shimano Shushi

NIZZOLO Giacomo
BARTA Jan
ROLLAND Pierre
MONDORY Lloyd
ZUBELDIA Haimar
KOLOBNEV Alexandr
KELDERMAN Wilco


Skoda - Vodka

DE GENDT Thomas
DURBRIDGE Luke
HAEDO Juan José
POZZATO Filippo
CAPECCHI Eros
ZABRISKIE David
SPILAK Simon


Toblerone

NORDHAUG Lars Petter
VAN HUMMEL Kenny
BAK Lars Ytting
GALLOPIN Tony
NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
ROJAS José Joaquin
TIRALONGO Paolo


Vino d'Espagnol

ROELANDTS Jurgen
COPPEL Jérôme
TURGOT Sébastien
BAKELANTS Jan
TEN DAM Laurens
VACHON Florian
KISERLOVSKI Robert

Vino d'Italia

BOUHANNI Nacer
FARRAR Tyler
RABOTTINI Matteo
MACHADO Tiago
HIVERT Jonathan
GODDAERT Kristof
BOECKMANS Kris

 

[asdfgh101]

Remember that you aren't stuck with all 7 of your riders and can release or trade them later if they are not performing. There isn't a team that stands out to me so i would suggest basing your selection on a mix of overall potential and the chances of the most expensive riders.

 

[mutschi]

Choosing teams: Some tips

Three more things you can consider when choosing the teams are:

1. The ranking at the end of the month. The highest ranked team will get 60.000 Euro Team Sponsor Money. The lowest ranked team (20thiest) will get only 3.000 Euro. At the moment the difference in points for the ranking is only 83 points (5150 to 5067). But there are not too many high ranked races until End of January so the teams won't gain a lot of points so 83 points could be the difference of getting 30.000 or 40.000 dollars more or less.

2. The other consideration is the budget still available. The highest budget is 642.000 Euros (Skoda - Vodka) and the lowest is 549.000 Euros - a difference of 93.000 Euros. Which is quiet a bit and it depends if you want to do big purchases soon.

3. You have to scan the teams for riders who have a tradition to start and do well in the Tour Down Under to get some early points that might get you to the top of the table by end of January. Or, at least have the next three months races in mind and what riders you would like to have in those races.

This is for the serious players. If you want to take it easy just wait and a team will be assigned to you.

I tried to make an image of the Team Rankings Table and put it into here. I have the image but this forum wants an URL address. Not sure if I can get it from my hard disc into here as an image. Does anyone know how?

 

[asdfgh101]

Just realised that you can release an underperforming rider and only have to pay his wages till the end of that month.

I do have some questions though.

If i announce that i am releasing a rider towards the end of the month but the next update (when the transaction is executed) falls during the following month do i owe wages for that month? Also i assume that the rider still earns points until the transaction is finalised (does this include sponsor money too?)

Also can a rider earn sponsor money whlist on the inactive list and if add a rider during the middle of a month are they still eligible for sponsor money for that month?

Finally can you clarify that you can't release a rider and then sign him again on lower wages before other teams have had a chance to pick him up.

Thanks

 

[mutschi]

Answer to question one and two: Yes - if transfer date falls into the new month you pay one more month of wages but you also get the points and earnings including Rider Sponsor Money for that rider on your account.

Only riders on the active list can earn any money or contribute to the team balance. To earn the rider sponsor money a rider has to be only on the active list on the day the RSM is paid (end of the month update). He can be on the inactive list the whole month (not earning Price Money). You have to move him to the active list one period before the end of the month update if you want the rider sponsor money because the order of the monthly update it this: 1. Period update (Points and PM), 2. End of the months update (Costs, RSM, TSM), 3. Transfer Update.

Final question: Good point, I haven't thought about this. It is very unlikely to happen though. Example: You buy a rider for 40.000 paying 4.000 wages a month. Rider drops to a value of 20.000. If you release him you have to pay 20.000 to buy him back. You save 2.000 per month in wages. It would take 11 months before you save the first 2.000. By then the season is over and you want riders with lots of points in your team to win. Not money in the bank.

Thanks for the questions

 

[mutschi]

Attempt to get screenshot of table in (thanks to Sean)

Oops - that didn't work. Inserted the link from photobucket, program takes it bit doesn't show photo. I keep trying.

 

[mutschi]

Attempt two to get screenshots in

OK - just need to get it bigger.

 

[mutschi]

More Questions

Unfortunately CN limits pictures to 600 x 600 pixels. You can press CTRL + Plus(+) to zoom in repeatedly and the screenshot gets bigger but the quality is bad. For the proper tables contact me please.

Team preferences are rolling in and so far there are no double ups.

As I run the game and play it as well there is sometimes a conflict of interest and opportunities to take advantage. Therefore I will always choose last and never challenge for the same team or rider that has already been chosen by another manager e.g. I will not choose any of the teams that other players want first or any riders. While this puts me at a slight disadvantage I have played the game previously and therefore have an advantage because of that - so it levels itself out.

There is one player that can't get into the Cyclingnews Forum and gets sent back to the homepage. Any ideas what might be wrong?

He asked this questions:

"Also, I was wondering when we can start buying riders? Is it the first day of TDU?"

The buying will start as soon the teams are assigned and I give the signal. Initially managers can only buy one rider per day to allow an even distribution and gives slower players a chance to catch up. I will tell you when you can start submitting. I also will give a few very important tips about buying riders that might safe you going bankrupt. So watch this space.

New visitors to the thread: There are still some teams available if you want to join the game. Look further up for the teams. Choose and rank five of them. After that you can build your team. If you want the Excel Tables email me at dirsportif@xtra.co.nz

 

[asdfgh101]

Logging in sends you to the main page but after you have entered your details you should end back up where you were.

If all else fails bookmark the page and after you have logged in from the main cyclingnews page just use the quick link you have created.

 

[Reek_The_Meek]

There is one player that can't get into the Cyclingnews Forum and gets sent back to the homepage. Any ideas what might be wrong?

Thnaks for the help.
It seems the log in acts the same as an ad and I use adblock. I don't think I've ever seen that on any other site. Very sneaky move.

 

[mutschi]

Teams + Managers, Start Buying Riders

Team Manager

Amsterdam - Port of Pot Luke Skywalker
Beer of Belgium Carlos
Canadian Marple Sirup HorrorHarald
Pure NZ Florin Micea
Shimano Shushi Metzger
Redbull Wings Ballgame
Australian Red Jeff Cougar
Kellogs Crunchers Armchair Cyclist
Cervelo - Green Tea Flower-Power
Bavarian Bratwurstel Stephen Andrichuk
Coffee de Colombia Johano Grizza
Burger Fuel Terry Christensen
Toblerone Ace Hopkinson
DEUTSCHES BIER Der Terminator (That's me)
Skoda - Vodka Drinker
Nuts Nuts Nuts Dr. MM
Boullabaisse Marseillaise G.
Vino d'Italia Pronto
Vino d'Espagnol Florian Weber
Mexican Food = Good Steve Novok


I will update the files as we go with the final update just before the Tour Down Under. Therefore all the riders you buy will be able to earn points and money at the TdU if they are part of that race. After that, the updates will only happen periodically whenever the IG Market Ranking is updated. (for more details see Rules).
It is important that you post your buys (and all other transfers) on the CN Forum Thread so all the other players can see it. Otherwise players will try to buy the same riders. First come, first serve. The manager that announces a deal first on the thread has the player. Don’t worry if you miss out – there are many good riders out there.
Before you rip into it here are some important points to remember before you start buying:
1. The game reflects the reality of a team manager that has a very average team and a very limited budget. Whenever you make a decision put yourself in the shoes of a real manager with a real team. Stay realistic. To build your winning team requires patience, long term thinking and skills. In other words – you can’t just buy your dream team full of stars. These stars cost money you don’t have yet. The game rewards managers who spot future stars early.
2. Another approach you can use is the principles of share trading. The game is very similar to that. You want to buy a share that is cheap but will rise fast so your return on the base investment is big.
3. Unlike other cycling games you have the limiting factors of a budget, running costs and you need to balance your team with domestiques. You can go bankrupt if you don’t watch it.
4. Be careful with buying big name expensive riders at the beginning. With the limited budget it is a high risk, high reward strategy to put most of your money on one horse.
5. It is easy to buy a rider. It is usually expensive to get rid of him if he doesn’t perform as you will lose your initial investment. You don’t need to fill up your roster as fast as possible. You will miss out on some minor price money for the first races but it gives you time to see who is hot and who is not.
6. Don’t only look for riders in the IG Market Ranking. Remember: You can buy any professional rider that is not in another team. (See rules for more details)

Good Luck

 

[mutschi]

Mangers can only buy 2 riders every 2 days until the TdU

One more important note: You can only buy 2 riders every 2 days. First round starts now and ends NZ time 16/01/2013 10 pm which is 16/01/2013 10 am Central Europe time (Not sure about UK, Australia and US) You have to find out. I will check 10 pm NZ time and will throw out all buying request that arrived before that for the 2nd round. Round 3 will start 18/01 10 pm, round 4 20/01/ 10m. That gives you a max of 8 more riders if you wish to fill your roster of 15 active riders right from the start.

 

[mutschi]

Boullaibaisse Marsailaisse offers Bernie Eisel for sale

Here is your chance to buy Bernie who will start the Tour Down Under and is finally free from looking after Cavendish. This might be his year where he can go for glory himself and improve. Eisel is a very good sprinter and very experienced. Considering any reasonable offer.

 

[asdfgh101]

Contador Alberto