Velogames Fantasy Tour de France 2005

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SCMENGYFEST TAKES FANTASY TOUR DE FRANCE 2005!

After a competitive Fantasy Tour all the way through the 3-week event, the team Scmengyfest, directed by Andy Maag of the USA, has emerged as Overall victor. Second-placed Jordan's Nine was close, but not close enough to take the top honours. Andy's winning team consisted of Lance Armstong, Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov, Michael Rasmussen, Robbie McEwen, David Moncoutie, Michael Rich, Egoi Martinez and Sylvain Calzati.

Please check back later for a fuller analysis.

PRIZE CONFIRMATION

Below is confirmation of the prizes which will be distributed at the culmination of the Fantasy Tour de France

Fantasy Tour de France Overall Champion

- A custom Velogames cycling jersey.

- A copy of Velo 2004: the cycling yearbook, courtesy of Peloton Books.

- An annual subscription to a monthly cycling magazine, such as Cycle Sport, Pro Cycling or a non-English language equivalent.

Flat Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Sprinter" award

- A custom Velogames cycling jersey.

Mountain Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Grimpeur" award)

- A custom Velogames cycling jersey.

Rolling Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Rouleur" award)

- A custom Velogames cycling jersey.

Time Trial Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Time Trialist" award)

- A custom Velogames cycling jersey.

Free Bicycling magazine offer with Trails.com

Velogames' supporter Trails.com have teamed up with Bicycling magazine to offer a free, no-risk 2-week trial of the Trails.com website, with the additional option to receive 2 free issues of Bicyling magazine.

Trails.com is one of the leading websites for the outdoor pursuitists, and includes over 30,000 trails for road cycling, mountain biking, running and walking. By signing up to their free 14 day trial period, you will have full access to check out their trails and topography maps. So whether you want to explore further afield, or are simply curious to see the opinions about your local terrain, sign-up now and take a look!

If you sign up, you can also receive 2 free issues of Bicycling magazine. Each free sign-up through this website gives a commission, so please help yourself and also add to the prize fund by signing up today!

About Fantasy Tour de France

Welcome to the Velogames Fantasy Tour de France 2005! Now in its 9th year, the Fantasy Tour de France enables participants to follow the highs and lows of the professional peloton, as they tackle the most famous bicycle race of them all, the Tour de France.

Participants take the role of a Directeur Sportif of a Fantasy Cycling team. With a budget of 100 VeloCredits the Directeur Sportif must select a team of 9 riders who will score points based on their real-life performances in the Tour de France.

The Velogames Fantasy Tour has an in-depth scoring system, designed to fairly distribute points for many different achievements in the race. The scoring system is extensive, and includes points for stage results and daily classification standings, as well as points scored for the final Tour standings. The scoring system also allows entrants to follow their team's riders not just at the end of each day but also on the road itself, as points are awarded for the Most Aggressive Rider award, intermediate sprints and at the top of mountain passes. Add into this mix the "assist" points available for the loyal team helpers, and the Velogames Tour has a complex and realistic scoring system that will reward the shrewd Fantasy Cycling Directeur Sportif!

Changes for 2005!

The 9th annual Fantasy Tour de France has a number of exciting new changes. Most importantly, directeurs now have the option to power up their teams. At the cost of US$ 5.00 per Premium Team, entrants can now make multiple team entries. The Premium Teams are given an extra 20 VeloCredits to play with, so maybe those team selection headaches will be eased for some of you. Or more likely, you will be stuck with some different selection headaches!

Of course, the basic Velogames Tour de France remains free to play, and everybody is able to enter a Standard Team at no charge. Standard and Premium teams will be differentiated in the team leaderboard. The Premium teams are an option for those who wish to have a bit more power at their disposal, and the entry fee will be split between a prize fund and costs associated with running the new database system to display results.

The other big change is the introduction of 4 Mini Competitions, based on 4 different stage types: Flat, Rolling, Mountain and Time Trial. Every team is automatically entered into these 4 Mini Competitions. Points are scored only on the days which are relevant to that competition, and points for the daily overall classification standings are excluded. For further details, check out the rules and scoring system for furhter information.

The rider selection criteria has been slightly altered. You must now pick 2 All-Rounders, 2 Climbers, 1 Sprinter, 3 Domestiques and 1 Wild Card rider. The Wild Card can be from any of the rider categories. This presents the interesting tatical decision in deciding which type of rider your Wild Card will be. Do you target the flat stages and choose a second sprinter, or do you want your team to fly up the mountains with three climbers? Of course, with the addition of the Mini competitions, you could deliberately target a specific terrain type with clever selection of your Wild Card and Domestiques. As always, the choice is yours!

Other changes to last year include minor tweaking to the various scoring categories, designed to improve the points-scoring abilities of the riders in the lower positions in the Top 10 and Top 20. Also, the emphasis on teammate "assist" points are slightly reduced. A welcome introduction is the daily Most Aggressive Rider scoring category. From now on, the heroic suicide move will be rewarded with some well-deserved Velogames points!

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All Velogames content is ©2005 George Chapman. All rights reserved.



SCMENGYFEST TAKES FANTASY TOUR DE FRANCE 2005! After a competitive Fantasy Tour all the way through the 3-week event, the team Scmengyfest, directed by Andy Maag of the USA, has emerged as Overall victor. Second-placed Jordan's Nine was close, but not close enough to take the top honours. Andy's winning team consisted of Lance Armstong, Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov, Michael Rasmussen, Robbie McEwen, David Moncoutie, Michael Rich, Egoi Martinez and Sylvain Calzati. Please check back later for a fuller analysis. PRIZE CONFIRMATION Below is confirmation of the prizes which will be distributed at the culmination of the Fantasy Tour de France Fantasy Tour de France Overall Champion - A custom Velogames cycling jersey. - A copy of Velo 2004: the cycling yearbook, courtesy of Peloton Books. - An annual subscription to a monthly cycling magazine, such as Cycle Sport, Pro Cycling or a non-English language equivalent. Flat Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Sprinter" award - A custom Velogames cycling jersey. Mountain Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Grimpeur" award) - A custom Velogames cycling jersey. Rolling Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Rouleur" award) - A custom Velogames cycling jersey. Time Trial Stages Mini-Competition (The "Champion Time Trialist" award) - A custom Velogames cycling jersey. Free Bicycling magazine offer with Trails.com Velogames' supporter Trails.com have teamed up with Bicycling magazine to offer a free, no-risk 2-week trial of the Trails.com website, with the additional option to receive 2 free issues of Bicyling magazine. Trails.com is one of the leading websites for the outdoor pursuitists, and includes over 30,000 trails for road cycling, mountain biking, running and walking. By signing up to their free 14 day trial period, you will have full access to check out their trails and topography maps. So whether you want to explore further afield, or are simply curious to see the opinions about your local terrain, sign-up now and take a look! If you sign up, you can also receive 2 free issues of Bicycling magazine. Each free sign-up through this website gives a commission, so please help yourself and also add to the prize fund by signing up today! About Fantasy Tour de France Welcome to the Velogames Fantasy Tour de France 2005! Now in its 9th year, the Fantasy Tour de France enables participants to follow the highs and lows of the professional peloton, as they tackle the most famous bicycle race of them all, the Tour de France. Participants take the role of a Directeur Sportif of a Fantasy Cycling team. With a budget of 100 VeloCredits the Directeur Sportif must select a team of 9 riders who will score points based on their real-life performances in the Tour de France. The Velogames Fantasy Tour has an in-depth scoring system, designed to fairly distribute points for many different achievements in the race. The scoring system is extensive, and includes points for stage results and daily classification standings, as well as points scored for the final Tour standings. The scoring system also allows entrants to follow their team's riders not just at the end of each day but also on the road itself, as points are awarded for the Most Aggressive Rider award, intermediate sprints and at the top of mountain passes. Add into this mix the "assist" points available for the loyal team helpers, and the Velogames Tour has a complex and realistic scoring system that will reward the shrewd Fantasy Cycling Directeur Sportif! Changes for 2005! The 9th annual Fantasy Tour de France has a number of exciting new changes. Most importantly, directeurs now have the option to power up their teams. At the cost of US$ 5.00 per Premium Team, entrants can now make multiple team entries. The Premium Teams are given an extra 20 VeloCredits to play with, so maybe those team selection headaches will be eased for some of you. Or more likely, you will be stuck with some different selection headaches! Of course, the basic Velogames Tour de France remains free to play, and everybody is able to enter a Standard Team at no charge. Standard and Premium teams will be differentiated in the team leaderboard. The Premium teams are an option for those who wish to have a bit more power at their disposal, and the entry fee will be split between a prize fund and costs associated with running the new database system to display results. The other big change is the introduction of 4 Mini Competitions, based on 4 different stage types: Flat, Rolling, Mountain and Time Trial. Every team is automatically entered into these 4 Mini Competitions. Points are scored only on the days which are relevant to that competition, and points for the daily overall classification standings are excluded. For further details, check out the rules and scoring system for furhter information. The rider selection criteria has been slightly altered. You must now pick 2 All-Rounders, 2 Climbers, 1 Sprinter, 3 Domestiques and 1 Wild Card rider. The Wild Card can be from any of the rider categories. This presents the interesting tatical decision in deciding which type of rider your Wild Card will be. Do you target the flat stages and choose a second sprinter, or do you want your team to fly up the mountains with three climbers? Of course, with the addition of the Mini competitions, you could deliberately target a specific terrain type with clever selection of your Wild Card and Domestiques. As always, the choice is yours! Other changes to last year include minor tweaking to the various scoring categories, designed to improve the points-scoring abilities of the riders in the lower positions in the Top 10 and Top 20. Also, the emphasis on teammate "assist" points are slightly reduced. A welcome introduction is the daily Most Aggressive Rider scoring category. From now on, the heroic suicide move will be rewarded with some well-deserved Velogames points!