I manage to claw back some of the time I lost yesterday

Jul 7, 2013 11:21 GMT  ·  By

Stage 9 of the Tour is an example of the new philosophy that’s spreading among organizers of three week races: short distances coupled with big mountains and deep descents, occasions for riders to attack from the start and establish some serious gaps.

After my very poor performance in the previously simulated Pro Cycling Manager 2013 stage and the big loss of time I suffered, I resolved to spend today at the head of the race, using my entire team in order to control any attacks and set up Schleck for a big attack on the final ascent of the Pyrenees.

This is a tactic that today is mostly used by Sky and Movistar, two teams that have enough solid, working riders to control the peloton before their leader makes a big decisive move.

Radioshack Leopard does not have the same strength in depth, but at certain points during the stage everyone from Irizar to Cancellara and Voight had to contribute until their energy was all but exhausted.

No breakaway managed to get a significant advantage on the climbs and I finally set Kloden to pace Schleck up the final mountain, launching the attack with a little over one kilometer from the summit.

No one reacted in force apart from Astana’s Brajkovic.

I managed to actually gain some time on the descent while avoiding a crash and, even if I missed out on the stage victory (that’s three second places in this stage race), I managed to cut my deficit a little.

Kloden also performed well at the end and I go to the first rest day with a sense that I still have a chance to do something in this simulated competition, even if an outright win is out of sight.

This is how the final half of the stage played out.