I'll admit the most appealing feature for me in a game such as this is pedalling madly to the front, barging angrily into one of the leaders and causing unholy carnage of twisted metal and grazed faces in the following pack.

What a crushing disappointment, then, that my cyclist of Spanish origin was allowed to ghost through riders like some sort of Le Tour De Phantasm and create neary an impolite remark for my bullish riding.

So this is a serious game for serious cyclists. Whether that will appeal to serious gamers is another matter entirely and solely rests on interest in the sport and patience levels.

For me, even on the shortened tours, jabbing the pedal button followed by not jabbing the pedal button, and then back to jabbing the pedal button again over the course of an hour is close to the most teeth-grinding boredom I've ever come across in a game.

You can inhale heavily on the finer details in running a team of not-at-all-doped-up-honest athletes across what appear to be the same backdrops and slackjawed roadside fans if you like, but I'd rather drive a finely-tuned sports car over the lot of them.