Fantasy Cycling: Start Your Own Tour de France Team!

It was only a matter of time before the fantasy sports leagues emerged for obscure sports like cycling, and that time has arrived for 2006. I first heard about FantasyCycling.com at the very end of June, right before the Tour started. Just in time to put my team together!

I’m not sure how I first found their game, but I’m glad I did! After signing-up free of charge, you got $10,000 or so to put together a nine rider team for the Tour de France. Once you entered, you were eligible for big prizes, so it was well worth it. Plus you get to track your progress against other players!

First I went for Jan Ullrich, but with the tour favorites costing $5000 each, I decided to rethink my plan. I decided to pick up some sprinters who would surely win some stages along with some lesser-known hopefuls.

The strategy paid off as I led the race on GC a few times and ended up in 5th place overall! Yep, when all was said and done, The Maruaders (my team name) beat out all but four teams! That’s pretty cool, considering the game was probably open to at least the entire USA.

My prize was a Ritchey WCS handlebar and stem! I got them in the mail and they’re waiting to go on my bike sometime soon. They’re not carbon, but they are light!

Be sure to sign-up so you can enter the game for the Vuelta!