14 DAY TRIAL // Stage 4 takes the peloton 214.5 kilometers from Abbeville to Rouen and it seems like it could be one of the stages that sprinters should be able to pick up after a boring sequence of breakaways and then reeling in.
The best sprinter in the bunch is one Mark Cavendish of the Sky team and he usually targets five stages for every Tour to win, this should be one of them.
The problem, in the real world, is that about 100 km of the stage move along the coast and wind might slip the peloton when the rhythm is low and create echelons, thwarting the sprinter teams and giving a larger group a surprise win.
In the simulated world of Pro Cycling Manager 2012, wind is a much smaller problem and a determined team should be able to control the race regardless of direction or of strength.
My plan is to get one attack on the final, uncategorized climb, and if that does not succeed (it’s a longshot by any measure) to set up a better sprint than I did last time around.
The race started very nervously and it took a while for the breakaway to form and get a solid distance, mainly because Lampre were interested in keeping them close.
I was happy to see the peloton actually contest the intermediate sprint, something that tends not to happen in earlier installments.
Then BMC, the team of the current leader, took control and brought the break back, with about 10 kilometers to go, just as I was trying my attack.
It failed and my sprint train managed to be out of position at the crucial moment, which meant that Benatti only had one guy to lead him out and took third, behind Goss and Cavendish, obvious favorites.
Take a look at the last 40 km of Stage 4 below:
