VELOGAMES - FANTASY CYCLING SINCE 1997
HISTORY
The website that is now known as Velogames was formed in 1997, simply as George Chapman`s Fantasy Tour de France.After several years providing the Fantasy Tour de France, the Velogames name was selected and other games introduced.
Over the past 15 years, the site has seen games devoted to all aspects of the road cycling season, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Spring and Autumn Classics, and the World Championships.
From the humble beginnings as a pen-and-paper effort for several hundred players, the most recent Fantasy Tour de France had over 11,000 competing teams from across all corners of the World.
AN IN-DEPTH SCORING SYSTEM
The Velogames Grand Tour competitions are well-known for delivering a scoring system of great depth, with points awarded for stage results and overall classifications, along with several other ways for a rider may gain points.Points hauls can be gained by winning intermediate sprints and leading over mountains, or taking for wearing the coveted leaders' for each classification in the race.
Additionally, Velogames rewards the loyal workers of the team, as assists are picked up for contributing to a teammate's winning performance.
As such, the main Velogames Grand Tour scoring system has remained relatively stable over the years, with tweaks here and there rather than a major revolution.
Players who begain playing the games over ten years ago - and there are quite a few of these - may have seen the website evolve but the core game experience remains true to its traditions.
The key to maintaining competitive is to select a well-balanced team that will score well on stage results throughout each race, and also have several riders competitng for the End-Of-Tour classification points.
A little research can go a long way!
THE ALL-NEW VELOLEAGUE SERIES DEBUTS IN 2012
A whole host of new events and features are being introduced in 2012, under the banner of the Veloleague Series by Velogames Fantasy Cycling.A large expansion of the schedule includes races such as Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of California and Dauphine Libere included on the new Velogames calendar.
The Veloleague Series standings bring all these races together into a season-long leaderboard to determine just who is the best Fantasy Cycling directeur sportif of the year!
A key feature of the Veloleague Series events is that transfers can be made throughout the contest, either between one-day classic races or between stages of a stage race.
Each day of racing is classified into a scoring category, so the most important stages pay out the biggest points.
The trick to a succesful position in the leaderboards will be to make a shrewd intitial team selection for each race and then to manage your allocated transfers to gain the best scoring potential across each contest.
THE TRADITIONAL FANTASY GRAND TOURS
No summer would be complete without participation in the Velogames Fantasy Tour de France, as over 11,000 participants last season attest.The Traditional Velogames Fantasy Grand Tours will remain the key focus of the summer, with the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France games all running for another season.
These games will run alongside Veloleague versions of the Grand Tours, so that those that wish to participAte in a game that allows for mid-race transfers can do so, in addition to taking on allcomers in the the tried-and-tested "pick-and-stick" editions of the Traditional Fantasy Grand Tours that have proved so popular for well over a decade.
OTHER TREATS
The reintroduction of an expanded calendar under the Veloleague Series banner is not the only major addition planned for 2012.The winter of 2011/12 saw the first running of Velogames:CX, based on the Cyclocross season on both sides of the Atlantic. Look out for an expanded version after the road season wraps up this Autumn.
And expect the unexpected as several more game models are lined up, which could see their debut in the months to come!
PRIZES AND SPONSORSHIP
The main games on the site are free to play, and occasionally come with modest prizes.For certain games, entrants can optionally pay a small amount for premium extras, such as multiple teams, access to prize competitions or other such additional content.
These premium contributions help generate funds for the site, and are also are recycled into prizes where possible.
If you would like to discuss sponsorship or advertising opportunities, request a media information pack or would even like a Velogames contest set up for your own favourite race, please use the Contact Form.