14 DAY TRIAL // You would think that after eight full stages the organizers would throw in a much-needed rest day, but instead they decided to torture the riders just a little more with a time trial on Stage 9, one that runs for 41.5 km between arc-et-Senans and Besancon.
The race against the clock is often said to be the purest of all cycling tests, the one giving the true nature of the rider and showing off his real quality.
In most Grand Tours, long time trials tend to be mixed with team time trials and mountain bound ones in order to allow different types of riders to win and preserve their chances for overall victory.
In the 2012 edition of Led Tour, the first time trial hits rather quickly and it will be important because riders have already had a mountain top finish and they will need to use up all their remaining energy before the following rest day.
In Pro Cycling Manager 2012, success in time trials is a matter of matching the skill, the form and the energy of the rider you control with the length and the profile of the course.
This stage is very rolling, although there are no categorized climbs, and the roads are narrow, meaning that it takes skill to keep speed up without taking a fall.
With my beloved Cancellara gone, my best hope to place well is Fuglsang and I also hope to limit the inevitable losses of Frank Schleck.
The stage went pretty bad, with my leader, who is no time trial specialist, finally losing a little over 2 minutes on his main rivals, and having to suffer the humiliation of actually seeing Yellow Jersey Cadel Evans pass him on the road.
Here’s how the final kilometers of the time trial played out:
