I have a huge question it comes from old versions. If I want to protect a rider, normally my leader, the option is PROTECT, but if I want to get a proper position/keep a high rhythm with my leader, what's better?
1)Protect the leader and leader goes free rhythm.
2)Leader follow the rider and he goes free rhythm.
Thanks and regards
Sal a entrenar cuando te apetezca, y si quieres mejorar hazlo cuando no te apetezca.
I don't have PCM 18 but for years not using protection at all has worked fine for me, so I'm not sure it's key.
The question has cropped up before, but I don't think anybody has ever done any real testing. I find that option 1, protection, depletes the energy of the team mate really quickly, while option 2 helps to make the team mate last longer - though probably at a slower speed.
the main problem with following another rider with your leader is that your leader will have to do a lottle "sprint" from time to time to get back into the wheel of the other rider because his path was blocked by another rider. this will burn your leader his energy much faster, and whould be avoided
I did a test on this. It seems protecion give a sort of bonus.
I tested as everytime, every riders same stats, same form, same daily form....
If u have 2 couples of riders A1-B1 and A2-B2
If u compare a protected rider B1 vs a train follower B2 u can see that after kms the protected rider B1 save up more green bar magically compared to B2,it happen only as effect to be protected. The rider who protect (A1), burn up more green bar than B1(the head of the train) as effect to be a protector.
protection give an other advantage: during a stage u ll see the leader will lose the whell of the train several time, in order to catch back the well of train, the leader will be forced to do an addictional effort.
So finally it seems much better protect the leader than form a train.
there is one more advantage for protection that i use. Sometimes I use the protection to launch a breakaway without use the attack button.
if u are on climb and u set effort 99 with ur leader it is not so easy to "broken the whells of followers" and take some seconds of advantage vs other riders, but if u have a teammate who protect the leader u ll have the speed bonus due to the protection so ur dot 99 will produce an higher speed and u can broken the wheels easier (it is not easy anyway but u have more chance)
I think this magical bonus of pretection is not realistic and I dont like it but the gameplay is not bad.
Just for info, in pcm 2014 it wasnt as pcm2018 I did tests on protection, on train and on long relay with followers and there wasnt magical effects, the rider behind saved up energy only as effect to be protected by the wind as in the real life, but we everybody knows as the pcm2014 gameplay was broken for other reasons...
