As far as ideas for games go, the prospect of a cycling management sim doesn’t exactly strike us as being the most fantastic idea for a game. If a load of games developers got together, wrote ideas for games on the side of straws, and then drew them to decide who made which game, this would probably be the shortest one, right after Anne Widdecombe Fashion Designer, and Pro Olympic Snail Racing Simulator 2008.

But apparently, developers Cyanide Studio have taken an iffy idea, and ran with it, as this is the fourth year running they’ve released an instalment. Pro Cycling Manager 2008 brings with it the usual set of additions, refinements and general improvements that are normally associated with yearly updates - there’s a new AI system for a start, and there’s also a whole host of behind-the-scenes refinements to make the management aspects run more smoothly.

Perhaps the biggest improvement for this year is in the graphics. Whilst it still won’t exactly blow your socks off, there’s over 140 new buildings on display along the accurately recreated races, taking you through the same towns you’ll see in the real tours.

But despite all the graphical niceties, the fact of the matter remains that it doesn’t actually look all that nice. With a redefined animation system in place, alongside new models, and new animations to make for an “ultra-realistic” race, it’s kind of depressing that you still get riders just riding straight through each other. Not only does this damage the realism factor (unless riders being gelatinous blobs is ultra-realistic), it also takes a lot of the strategy out of the races, as you can’t block people from overtaking you.

Of course, this being a management game, the numbers all sound rather impressive. Taking control of one of 65 teams, there are over 1,600 cyclists for you to recruit, train, and generally manage, as you make your way through over 180 races and tours. There’s a variety of different events to take part in too, with cycle speedway, Keirin, and Elimination events providing a fair amount of variety.

And thankfully, the actual management part isn’t that bad. Though it’s hampered by a confusing, clunky, and uncustomisable interface, what goes on behind the scenes is actually reasonably enjoyable – it’s just a shame there isn’t more of it. Running your team from day to day, you’ll have to make sure your team are entered for the right races, and that you have the right sort of riders available to take part. You’ll also have to manage media relations, keep your team happy (and healthy), scout for new talent, and do all sorts of other things managers have to do.

But despite how “OK” the behind-the-scenes stuff is, we’re a bit disappointed with how disjointed and uninvolving the races feel. Yes, it’s a management sim, but that doesn’t mean you have to be completely separated from the races. From instructing your riders to “counter attack”, or telling them to work harder to get in a better position for an upcoming hill, once the race begins, there’s a minimum of stuff you can do to directly affect the race. Even worse, there’s a huge, huge four minute loading time before each race begins – an obvious hint that the race mode’s not seen as much love as it needs.

As it stands, Pro Cycling Manager 2008 is exactly what you were probably expecting. A reasonable, if flawed sim, that’ll be of little interest to anyone who doesn’t follow cycling religiously.