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 2024 campaign begins with Milano-Sanremo on Saturday 16th March and continues through 12 races until Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday 21st 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 2024 contest is 10:00 CET on Saturday 16th March 2024, just before the start of Milano-Sanremo 2024.
Users may enter Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2024 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 2024 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 16th March 2024.
Once the deadline has passed, the contest quota of 24 transfers per team comes into effect.
In-Game Team Changes
Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2024 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 2024 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 2024 contest is shown below.
Race | Deadline (CET/CEST) | Race | Category |
1 | 2024-03-16 10:00:00 | Milano-Sanremo | Cat 1 |
2 | 2024-03-20 12:30:00 | Classic Brugge-De Panne | Cat 2 |
3 | 2024-03-22 11:30:00 | E3 Saxo Classic | Cat 2 |
4 | 2024-03-24 10:30:00 | Gent-Wevelgem | Cat 2 |
5 | 2024-03-27 12:00:00 | Dwars door Vlaanderen | Cat 2 |
6 | 2024-03-31 10:00:00 | Ronde van Vlaanderen | Cat 1 |
7 | 2024-04-03 12:45:00 | Scheldeprijs | Cat 2 |
8 | 2024-04-07 11:25:00 | Paris-Roubaix | Cat 1 |
9 | 2024-04-10 12:15:00 | De Brabantse Pijl | Cat 2 |
10 | 2024-04-14 10:30:00 | Amstel Gold Race | Cat 1 |
11 | 2024-04-17 11:30:00 | La Flèche Wallonne | Cat 2 |
12 | 2024-04-21 10:00:00 | Liège-Bastogne-Liège | Cat 1 |
Note that all times listed above are local time in Western Europe, which is usually one hour ahead of British time and five hours ahead of US Eastern Time. It is the responsibility of directeurs to make sure they submit their selections on time.
Leaderboards
Each leaderboard is formed from the total points gained by each team.
There are two main types of leaderboard: the Overall Leaderboard and Race Leaderboards.
The Overall Leaderboard is made up of the cumulative points total gained across the 9 races that make up the Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2024 contest, and is the main leaderboard in the game.
Individual Race Leaderboards are for the lesser glory of winning each of the 9 events that make up the series.
Entry Fees and Prizes
The Velogames Fantasy Spring Classics 2024 contest is a free-to-play game, with all users entitled to one team in the game.
There are currently no prizes on offer for this series, apart from eternal glory for the winner!