Pro Cycling Manager Demo

[RainOfTerror]

Cycling may not be a big deal in the US, but over in Europe its pretty huge, and the two-week long races are often grueling and brutal. Pro Cycling Manager will have more detailed animations, an experience system, stage editor and also several multiplayer modes. Cyanide Studio is using the GameBryo engine, and the Paris-based developer of Chaos League has also recently licensed SpeedTree for use in Pro Cycling Manager.

This demo allows you to ride one stage (Sarigliano-Sestriere) in the Italian Giro as the CSC team.

Get the Pro Cycling Manager demo (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=26050) over at WorthPlaying.

[Vandenh]

Errr.. the best cycling dude in the world is from the US ;)

But yes.. I guess as a TV sport it is a lot more accepted over here (but not in all countries).

[Savok]

Man I hope you don't have to put up with the Australian team in that game.

[RainOfTerror]

There have been several good and famous US cyclists prior to Armstrong (Bobby Julich, Hincapie etc.), and he is not the "best" cycling dude in the world because he won Tour de France 5-6 times in a row. His entire season, team and preparation, revolves mostly around one race, while there are plenty more high profile etappe's out there, including the world championship.

He is good, and very impressive, but that does not make him the best in the world :)

[VoodooKarma]

Actually, winning the Tour de France 6 times in a row does make him the best in the world. And playing a cycling simulator has to be about as much fun as watching paint dry, some sports are not meant to be made into a videogame. I wonder when Pro Water Polo manager is coming out? I hear it has a pool editor!

[Varsity]

over in Europe its pretty huge
Must be a continental thing.

[theraindog]

"Actually, winning the Tour de France 6 times in a row does make him the best in the world."

Actually, it doesn't. Americans tend to believe that the Tour de France is the only race of note on the cycling calendar because it's the only one the US media covers, but that's far from the case. Lance is a great TdF champion, a good inspirational cancer story, but his palmares aren't such that anyone who knows anything about pro cycling would call him the best in the world.

[VoodooKarma]

Actually, I go by what the European view of the Tour de France was BEFORE Lance Armstrong started his streak. Before Lance Armstrong begun his domination of the Tour de France, the Tour de France was considered THE cycling race to win if you were a professional cyclist. To use American terms, sort of like the Super Bowl of cycling. Of course after Lance Armstrong starts winning the race year after year, all of the sudden all of these exceptions and excuses come out from people who hate seeing an American winning in 'their' sport. If it was anyone but an American winning year after year, he would be considered the best cyclist in the sport but since it is an American you get all of this 'Tour de France isn't the only race' crap. So are you telling me that Lance Armstrong can win the Tour de France, but couldn't win any of these other races if he applied himself and trained as hard for these other races? What-the-f*ck-ever. Sour grapes is all that is. Go ahead and spout all the stats you want and name all kinds of cycling races that I probably have never heard of, but if a cyclist can win the Tour de France SIX times then he can win any other cycling race out there IF he wanted to.

[JavaDude]

If you get a chance watch the video of the 2001 Tour De France. He absolutely blows away his rivals on most/all of the mountain stages. That said there other races other the the TDF such as the spring classics and the world championships and they have their place but the TDF is the most prestigious race for pro cycling.

In my opinion he is the most dominant racer currently and in the top 5 of all time...

[theraindog]

Lance is the only guy to win six tours and to do them all in a row, however, in the years he's won six, those have been the only races of note that he's won. In the 90s, Miguel Indurain won five TdF in a row, but during those years, he also set a world hour record, won a world time trial championship, and won the Giro d'Italia (tour of Italy, another 3-week race) twice. The year after his last TdF victory he took home an Olypmic gold medal. Lance dominated the Tour de France, Indurain dominated cycling. There's a big difference.

Lance is, without a doubt, the greatest Tour de France rider of our generation. Saying he could win any race is just wrong, though. He's a great tactical racer over a three week tour, but he's never had much success in the classics (doesn't like riding in cold weather, apparently), and hasn't even dominated the Tour's time trials over the years (perhaps why he decided not to compete in the olympic time trial, or various world time trial championships over the years... also why he may never tackle the hour record). And don't get me started on whether he could take on any of the sprinters in a gallup to the line.

If a non-American wins the tour this year, be it Basso, Cunego, Ullrich, Mayo, or whomever... The Euro press and public won't be billing them as the greatest cyclist in the world... even if they dominate the race and crush their competition. If an American does, be it Armstrong or even Julich, Liepheimer, or Landis.... expect the US press to crown a new golden boy with no understanding of just how varied the world of pro cycling is. Relying on the US press for pro cycling coverage is like reading a French newspaper for NFL coverage.... they just don't get it.

[Acidpoptart]

Yeah.. sooo... Has anyone tried this demo? what do you think?

[RainOfTerror]

well said raindog ...

The greatest cyclist of all time is still Merckx, he won everything there is to win in cycling, multiple times over. To compare a person who focusses on one specific race with people like him, Hinault, Indurain is foolishness indeed.

[OldEnoughToKnowBetter]

If a non-American wins the tour this year, be it Basso, Cunego, Ullrich, Mayo, or whomever... The Euro press and public won't be billing them as the greatest cyclist in the world... even if they dominate the race and crush their competition. If an American does, be it Armstrong or even Julich, Liepheimer, or Landis.... expect the US press to crown a new golden boy with no understanding of just how varied the world of pro cycling is. Relying on the US press for pro cycling coverage is like reading a French newspaper for NFL coverage.... they just don't get it.
Well said, reading and watching cycling in the US media is painful...I've got a feeling that this is the year that Mr. Armstrong gets knocked off the podium. There are too many strong teams (T-Mobile, CSC, Euskatel, etc.) that can work together to derail Le Train Bleu. I personally think that one of the T-Mobile boys is going to arrive in Paris in Yellow.

Enough about the real sport, if this is anything like the version from a couple of years ago I will be keeping my distance. As much as I love cycling, there are just some things that are not meant to be portrayed in video games. Pro Cycling and Celebrity Ballroom Dancing are at the top of the list.

[emjoi]

Yeah.. sooo... Has anyone tried this demo? what do you think?

Yeah, how is the Game?
Any Mario Kart style powerups?

[TKO]

As much as I love cycling, there are just some things that are not meant to be portrayed in video games. Pro Cycling and Celebrity Ballroom Dancing are at the top of the list.

Yup, unlikely any cool Pro Cycling game will ever come out. But for ballroom dancing, um, am I the only one who found the dancing section of the new Sid Meir's Pirates one of the coolest subgames? It could have potential.

Tho yeah, the celebrity bit could easily ruin it. (Maybe that new game-ad-subscriptions service could be used to keep the celebrities up to date and ruin it all at the same time?) :)

Um, nope, I haven't tried the cycling demo either. And don't feel the least bit inclined. Only feel slightly inclined to ask what others thought of it. :)