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 six riders to compete in each race, across the Spring campaign of women's one-day races.

Directeurs must select their six riders based on a budget of 100 credits, and unlimited team changes are allowed in between each race to allow each team to field a completely new selection for each race. The better the riders perform during each event, the more points they will accumulate for their fantasy directeur sportif.

The Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 campaign begins with Strade Bianche on Saturday 4th March 2023 and continues through 15 races until Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes on Sunday 23rd April.

The initial contest calendar is subject to change in the event of any race cancellations - as has been evident in the previous three years during the global COVID pandemic.

Important Notice

Velogames Fantasy Cycling is not an official partner of, nor claims any association with, any professional cycling race organisation, any international sporting body or any professional cycling team.

Team Entry

Players must use the official entry form page to submit their team. Team entries must be submitted before the entry deadline for each race, otherwise they will only become effective at the next available deadline.

The entry deadline for the first race of Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 is 09:15 CET on Saturday 4th March 2023. Make sure to have confirmed your initial selection of six riders before that deadline for the chance to score points at Strade - Bianche.

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

Entry Deadline for first race

The deadline for entries to be submitted - and score points from the opening race - is 09:15 CET (Central European Time) on Saturday 4th March 2022. All times are listed in Central European Time (CET) or Central European Summer Time (CEST). Make sure to check how your own time zone differs from CET/CEST to make sure you meet the entry deadline!

Team Selection Criteria

In order that each player creates a balanced team, the following important constraint is placed on team selection:

Team Budget

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 six 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 classics.

Rider credit values will not change for the duration of the Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 series.

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

Team Changes

Pre-Game Team Changes

Each directeur can select, and then make unlimited changes to, their squad of six riders prior to the entry deadline for the first race of the season, Strade Bianche. The entry deadline for Strade Bianche is set at 09:15 CET (Central European Time) on Saturday 4th March 2023.

Once the deadline has passed, each directeur's team selection is "locked in" and cannot be changed while the race is in progress - any subsequent changes will only take effect at the deadline for the next race in the series.

In-Game Team Changes

Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 allows directeurs to change their roster of six riders between races, in order to keep their team competitive throughout the season.

Velogames directeurs can make unlimited changes to their six rider squad in between each event.

Team changes become effective at the next upcoming deadline for the following race - at which point each team selection is "locked in" and cannot be changed while the race is in progress - any subsequent changes will only take effect at the deadline for the next race in the series.

Race Selection Deadlines

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

If any change of riders 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!

Race Schedule

The schedule for the Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 contest is shown below. Entry deadlines will be altered as the full race timetable is revealed for each event. Please note that this list is subject to change in the event of any race cancellations.

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.

Scoring Points

Points are allocated to riders based on their real-life performance in each event, subject to the Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 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 25km to go.

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

The fourth Breakaway Points Sector is based at 5km 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 Womens Classics 2023, please visit the Scoring System page.

Official Results

Scores become "confirmed" for Velogames purposes at 23:00 CET during the evening on the day of each race.

If a rider is removed from the race standings after this deadline, for any reason, the points gained for that stage will stand.

Immediate disqualifications or declassifications (such as for irregular sprinting) will be taken into account when distributing Velogames points, as long as these penalties are announced before 23:00 CET/CEST.

Back-dated disqualifications and reversal of results (even for doping offences) will not be taken into account after the 23:00 CET deadline, and the rider will keep his points.

This rule certainly should not be viewed as an acceptance of doping. The technical and gameplay issues surrounding back-dated scoring adjustments are difficult. Also, it is not fair to excessively punish players who have selected a rider in good faith, even if that rider is subsequently exposed as a cheater.

Neutralised and Cancelled Races

If the race is neutralised for any reason by riders or race organisation, then no stage points (finish, sprints, summits, breaks or stage assists) will be distributed following the point of neutralisation.

If breakaway points zones have been reached prior to neutralisation, these points will be added as normal.

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.

Overall Leaderboard

The Overall Leaderboard is made up of the cumulative points total gained by all of a team's active six riders in each race, across the 35 races that make up the Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 contest. The Overall Leaderboard is the primary classification in the contest, and the leader of this leaderboard at culmination of the final race will be declared the Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 champion.

Race Leaderboards

Individual Race Leaderboards are for the lesser glory of winning each of the 41 events that make up the series. The cumulative points gained by each of a team's six riders are combined to generate the team's score for that respective race leaderboard.

Streak Competitions

An additional feature within Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 is the existence of two "streak" competitions, the Winning Streak and Podium Streak, which are hoped to present a nice distraction throughout the 41 race campaign, and to provide those teams who have suffered an unfortunate start to proceedings in the opening races with some targets to aim at as the season progresses.

The streak competitions celebrate those team directeurs who are able to put together a consistent run of top results across a number of consecutive races.

Winning Streak

The Winning Streak competition only looks at race wins. A team will add one point to their current Winning Streak total by placing one of their six riders in first place at the finish line.

Consecutive wins in adjacent races means that the Winning Streak total keeps on increasing by one point, for as long as the team keeps placing a rider in first place.

The Winning Streak total for a team will reset to zero after a race where the team does not contain the race winning rider.

A Leaderboard of Best Winning Streaks will be published throughout the competition, with the ultimate winner of the Winning Streak competition being the team whose Best Streak has the most consecutive race victories.

Podium Streak

The Podium Streak competition is focused on the top three placements for each of the 41 races in the Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics calendar. A team will add as many points (ie a maxiumum of three per race) to their current Podium Streak total by placing one or more of their six riders in the first three positions at the finish line.

Consecutive podium finishes in adjacent races means that the Podium Streak total keeps on increasing by as many points as podium finishers are placed, for as long as the team keeps placing a rider on the podium.

The Podium Streak total for a team will reset to zero after a race where the team does not contain any of the top three placing riders on the race.

A Leaderboard of Best Podium Streaks will be published throughout the competition, with the ultimate winner of the Podium Streak competition being the team whose Best Podium Streak has the highest points total.

Example: Team A's six rider roster contains the winner and third-place finsiher in the opening round of Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 at Strade Bianche. The team is awarded 2 points in their current streak in the Podium Streak standings. At the following race, the team places a rider in second place, so their current podium streak increase to three points. In the third race of the season,, they score a full set of three podium finsihers, so their current podium streak total increases to six points. But at the following race (Race 4), the team can only place their best rider in 4th place. Team A's current podium streak resets to zero, and their total of six points is set as their Best Podium Streak, a total they can start chasing again at the next race.

Entry Fees and Prizes

The Velogames Fantasy Womens Classics 2023 series 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!