Overview

Each player takes the role of a Directeur Sportif of a professional cycling team. The aim of the contest is to select the best possible team of 12 riders to compete in the Spring Classics - the historic one-day races that form the spine of the early-season cycling calendar.

Directeurs must select their 12 riders based on a budget, and can change their team between races by using their allocated transfers. The better the riders perform during each event, the more points they will accumulate for their fantasy directeur sportif.

The Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2023 campaign begins with Milano-Sanremo on Saturday 18th March and continues through 12 races until Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday 23rd April.

Team Entry

Players must use the Official Team Selection pages to submit their team. Team entries must be submitted before the entry deadline for each race, else they will only become effective at the next available deadline.

The entry deadline for the first race of the Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2023 contest is 10:00 CET on Saturday 18th March 2023, just before the start of Milano-Sanremo 2022.

Users may enter Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2023 at any point during the series, and their team will start scoring points from the next race.

Team Selection Criteria

In order that each directeur creates a balanced team for each race, standard team directeurs are given 100 credits (the Velogames currency) to select their team of 12 riders.

Each rider is given a value in credits, based on their prospective points-scoring abilities. The credits values are based on past results and recent form, with an emphasis towards those riders who have been successful in previous editions of the Spring Classics.

Rider credit values will not change for the duration of the main Fantasy Classics spring series.

For the Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2023 series, there are no other team selection criteria apart from staying within the credit limit and selecting a squad of 12 riders.

Scoring Points

Points are allocated to riders based on their real-life performance in each event, subject to the Velogames Fantasy Classics Scoring System.

Points are awarded in three categories: Finishing Positions, Assists and Breakaways.

Points for Finishing Positions make up the major amount of points available, and are awarded to the top 30 classified finishers in the race.

Points for Assists are awarded to the real-life team-mates of riders who finish in the top three, to recognise the efforts that go into putting a team's rider into a winning position.

In order to score assist points, a rider must start the race - but they do not have to complete the course.

Points for Breakaways are awarded to the riders who animate the race in its early stages and also those involved at the head of affairs during the crunch moments leading up the the finale.

There are four nominated Breakaway Points Sectors during each event, where the riders in the leading group on the road will all score points.

The first Breakaway Points Sector is based at 50% race distance.

The second Breakaway Points Sector is based at 50km to go.

The third Breakaway Points Sector is based at 20km to go.

The fourth Breakaway Points Sector is based at 10km to go.

Velogames will review video footage and race reports to ensure an accurate distribution of Breakaway Points, but in all cases the decision of Velogames is final.

For a full breakdown of how to score points in Velogames Fantasy Classics, please visit the Scoring System page.

Pre-Game Team Changes

Each directeur can select, and then make unlimited changes to, their squad of 12 riders prior to the entry deadline for the first official race of the series, Milano-Sanremo. The entry deadline for Milano-Sanremo is set at 10:00 CET (Central European Time) on Saturday 18th March 2022.

Once the deadline has passed, the contest quota of 24 transfers per team comes into effect.

In-Game Team Changes

Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2023 allows directeurs to change their roster of 12 riders between races, by using their 24 allocated transfers.

Transfers allow directeurs to select a team most suitable for the upcoming races, and prevents the potential problem where a direceteur may find themselves with a squad of riders who are not competing in a particular event.

Transfers are counted for each rider change. Changing one rider in and one rider out counts as one transfer, two riders in and two riders out count as two transfers, and so on.

In the Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2023 contest, each directeur has 24 transfers to use during the series.

Race Selection Deadlines

There is a deadline ahead of each race when team rosters are locked.

If a transfer is made after the published race deadlines, the change will not take effect until the following race. So make sure to get your changes in ahead of the deadline for each race!

The schedule for the Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2023 contest is shown below.