Have you got any advice on my tactics?

You will find plenty of strategy tips and tricks in the Prize Winners pages from last year's games. Use the drop down menu to select previous Prize Winners pages in the Prizes page to find out more. cycling-games.com Forum Tips and Tricks

Can I join after the Tour has started? Is there any disadvantage?

You can join up until Stage 7.
There is NO tactical disadvantage in joining after the Tour has begun. You need to set up your team of 15 and select all you preferred 9 riders for each of the stages up until the stage that you join. After Stage 7 has begun you can still take part but you cannot go back and retrospectively add your selections of 9 riders for each of the previous stages.

I have 15 riders, but I got no points in today's stage. Why?

How come it says under manager rankings I have no points when its says I have 300 in manage teams?

You must go to the MANAGE TEAM section and select 9 riders for every stage (stages 1-21), and for the GC, MTN and PT's elements of the game. Click on the tabs to change between the stages, GC, PTS, MTN selection screens. If you don't select 9 riders to race each day you will get Zero points.

The "Potential" points you see MANAGE TEAM stages screens (300 in your case) are what you could have scored if you had selected your very best 9 of your 15 riders on that day.

Note that the GC, MTN and PT's elements of the game are only really estimates of what you might score at the end of the game. This is because they are only scored once (not each day like the stage points). We've provided these so you can see how your team might do based on your current selection.

When I select a name and click the add button I just get a Red message saying "Sorry, you seem to have tried to edit a team that doesnt belong to you". What's wrong?

This might be to do with your security settings in your browser. In Internet Explorer on XP try turning off the "Content Advisor" under "Tools" >>> "Internet Options" >>> "Content".

How come I can't edit today's stage now that the race is underway?

During stages 1 to 7 you are not allowed to edit the stage that is currently underway between 0800 UTC and approx 1900 UTC (when the day's race results are uploaded). You can however go back in the evening after the results have been uploaded and change your selection with the benefit of hindsight. From stage 7 onwards you will not be allowed to go back and re-edit your team for the current stage after 0800 UTC on the day of the given stage.

Stages 1 to 7: Do the points for these stages also count for the stage by stage competion?

Yes they do. All the stages count towards your overall score. Make sure you select 9 riders for each and every stage of the Tour. No points are automatically awarded if you forget to select 9 riders for any given stage. If you join after the tour has begun you still need to select 9 riders for each and every of the stages 1 to 7.

Crashes and injuries: Are the points I accumulate for riders that drop out during the tour still retained in my total points scored?

Yes they are retained for the stages competition. Depending on when the rider drops out, it's unlikely he will feature highly in the GC, PTS and MTNs elements of the game. You have 15 riders in your team and only race 9 riders for each of the four elements of the game to allow for unforeseen developments like this. You should pick your 15 riders strategically with this in mind.

My selections of 9 riders dont show up when I log back in?

Some players have reported problems viewing selections they have previously made. The first thing to check is that you have remembered to click the "save" button at the bottom of each of the stages, GC, MTN, PTS screens. If you flick between stages without doing this your changes will not be saved.

There have been problems reported with some browser configurations. Please make sure your browser security settings are set to "Low". The site was designed to work with a "Medium" setting but we have noticed some browser versions do not have the same interpretation. To do this in Internet Explorer on a windows computer select from the top menu:

>>> TOOLS
>>> INTERNET OPTIONS
>>> and click on the SECURITY tab
>>> then in the "Reset custom settings"
>>> select "Low"
>>> click the RESET button
>>> then click OK
>>> then click OK

How will I know how many points I have accumulated?

When the race begins log in regularly to check your team status. Go to the RULES section for more details on the POINTS scoring.

My stages selections aren't there?

When selecting your 9 for each stage, GC, PTS and MTNs we recommend that you wait to positively see the "Stage XX has been saved" dialog at the top of the screen each and every time you click the save button. It is a good idea to go to the home page then click back to be sure your stages are saved correctly each day. This way you can be sure the stage is saved before the race is run. Additionally you might want to pick a provisional 9 for each stage to be sure of potentially scoring some points just in case you have connection problems with your ISP on the day of the race.

Can I change my team after the Tour has started?

We have updated the game play to allow you to edit and enter your teams for stages 1-6 of the individual Tour competition without having to pay first.

You can pick a team of 15 riders, then add and delete to and from the 15 before finalizing the 15 by the end of the 7th stage. You can also simply pick several teams of 15 now, and only keep the team/s you want to hold onto by the 7th stage.

However if you pay for a team of 15 you can no longer edit the 15 riders contained. You can still alter your selection of 9 for any of the stages 1-6 even after the stage is complete.

When do I need to pay?

Before stage 7 commences (by 12:55 UTC+2) you will need to pay for the finalised teams you wish to enter for the rest of the competition.

I wasn't able to set up my team for stage 1 because I thought I had to pay first...

Until 7 begins you can create as many teams as you like and try different combinations of your 15 riders to give you the best chance of winning. By 12:55 UTC+2 you must have paid your RACE FEES for any team/s you wish to REGISTER for the Tour competition.

I've paid for my team and registered it in the Tour. What happens if one of riders is dropped before the Tour starts? I can't add a new rider.

If this happens please contact the help team before stage 5 finishes and we will resolve this for you ASAP.

How are the TTT Team Time Trials scored?

In Fantasy Cycling-Games points are scored on an individual rider basis. Effectively there is no difference in how points are scored in the team trial stages as in any other stage. Where the race organisers produce these individual time break downs we will use them.

However where these are not available (e.g. Giro 2006 stage 5) we will give the points to the Team Leader of the top placings Teams. For example in the Giro 2006 we gave the top stage points to the CSC team leader. The next position (2nd place) would go to the Team leader of the second place Team and so on. The GC, PTS and MTN elements of the game will be updated and followed as normal. See the RULES for more info on how points are scored in the game.

Is the 15 riders I choose from the Tour start list then fixed for the other tours?

There are different racelists for each of the three Tours. We've found this makes the selection process more interesting for each Tour and gives more potential for spotting new and up and coming riders in each of the grand tours.

I completed the registration and have successfully selected 15 riders. How do I pay my race fees to enter my team in the competition?

You need to buy RACE CREDITS. You can make payments for your race credits by clicking on the BUY CREDITS button on the left hand menu.

There are 2 options. You can pay by a credit card or via an existing PayPal account. You have until 12:55 UTC+2 to pay your race fees which will automatically register your team for the Tour competition.

We will send out a reminder by email if you forget to pay before stage 7.