I remembered my first PCM game, Cycling Manager 3 I think it was, and well it just had some problems that make the current issues seem less important.
- The Ullrich/Kloden attack
On the last mountain stages of a GT, there was always one of the Telekom leaders a bit down in the GC, and he would just attack unopposed on the first mountain. Our good friend Neilstrung would just let it happen. If you had someone like Beloki or Mayo several minutes behind Nielstrung in the GC, all you had to do is follow the Telekom guy and win the stage by several minutes to take the GC.
- Who needs team mates?
Another way to force a win in for example Paris-Roubaix was to set an insane pace on the first cobble section. You usualy ended up with Museeuw, Van Petegem and a few others. They will start riding to stay away at that point. They destroy the rest of the field, but also themselves. About 80-30 km before the line, they are completely exhausted, all bars empty. Just dot your way to victory after that.
- Let's just sprint
There were no sprint trains. As soon as you hit the 5k mark, sprinters would start riding to the front (but could get blocked) and at the 3k mark, everyone just started sprinting. Results were quite realistic this way, but it looked horrible.
That was the first version I played, too. I remember that the regens didn't just have the potential of the riders they were emulating - they came with their current abilities! So you'd have 18 year old superstars - which were way too cheap to sign as well.
