I know how to play all stages but I don't have any tactics for cobbles. What tactics to use ? Do you use dot managment ? And at what stages do you attack to win with rider on 80> on cobbles ?
I normally put all my riders at the beginning of the race in front op the pack, so you could be sure that your strongest riders will be there when any favorite attacks.
With this tactic, you will automatically be in the important groups.
i use the dot on cobbles, with a very low effort, nearly half of what i would use on tarmac. attacks in the last 30km, only when on tarmac, as soon as the pace slow down a bit (if it happens) or play defensive if your rider is good at sprints (e.g. boonen, haussler, etc..). try to be in the lead when entering cobble sections: forcing your opponents to make an effort to catch you up when on the pavè will make them waste lot of useful energy. if you have an outsider (<78 on COB) try to attack earlier.
I put most of my team up front, even those with no chance.
i use short relay to push them up as sometimes the dot seems to use more energy and they don't always get up there.
As long as they are in the front ¼ of the pack they should be OK - unless they fall and break a collarbone
One thing I've found pretty frustrating is the waterboy can lose all his water if the peleton splits for a few seconds, and he's tagged A1. He loses all his water and has to go to the back again. This has happened twice for me, on one occasion the split was literally 1 secs. I don't mind if it's a real split and the peleton is pulling away but in these cases it's just frustrating.
Edited by Martin_TB on 13-01-2011 12:57
