First of all, I hope the admins will show some leniency towards this slightly off-topic thread. (I wasn't sure where to place it, I figured this subforum is read by the most fantasy freaks like myself.) I love the idea of "Fantasy Cycling", but I'm here to tell you some more about my own little project and hear what you guys think.
Short version
I am organizing an independent fantasy competition (starting from Paris-Nice) which, unlike "Fantasy Cycling", focuses more on the long-term future of your fantasy team that competes with the other 17 WorldTour teams. It is a so-called contracts (aka dynasty) league, in which you initially keep 3-5 riders from a chosen WorldTour team, and then complete your team by bidding for the rest of the peloton offering them contracts up to 3 years long, while being limited by a salary cap. Then you select 8/9 riders to compete in each WorldTour event. Pretty much makes you feel like a real team owner. I don't think it has been tried before. I'm looking forward to your comments, advice, or maybe even interest in joining. More details: http://www.profsl.com/smf/index.php?board=1107.0
Long version - the rules
Summary
This is a fantasy league in which you take over one of the 18 World Tour teams, sign up to 30 riders in a series of auctions, and give them multi-year contracts within your total salary cap. Then you choose 8/9 guys to score for you in each race based on the real-life results, and redo the bidding for riders out of contract and neo-pros each January.
Salary Cap
Each team starts with 3-5 keepers and is equally rich. It can spend €5M per year on salaries, including the keepers. Each team can have between 20 and 30 riders.
Keepers' Salaries
All keepers are on a 1 year deal. The salary is derived from his CQ ranking in 2011, 2010, and 2009. The highest of the three is multiplied by 500 and rounded up to the next €10k. Minimum keeper salary is €100k. Examples:
Vanendert - 435*500=217500 => €220k
Gilbert - 3168*500=1584000 => €1.58M
Voeckler - 1744*500=872000 => €880k
Boonen - 1377*500=688500 => €690k
Your grandma - 0*500 => €100k
FA Bidding
Bids are in format of total contract value. The minimum bid is €30k and the minimum increment is 10% of the last bid, rounded up to the nearest €10k. Note that the number of years does not need to be listed until the bid is won. The resulting salary will be the final bid divided by number of years, rounded up to the next €10k. The winning bid will be the highest total contract amount.
Each player is auctioned in a separate thread at the ProFSL website that may be started by anyone, but please follow the template. There is no limit to the number of players that can be auctioned at one time or the number of bids for a player. You cannot at any point make bids that (if all successful) would take you over 30 riders or the salary cap. A bid on a player is considered final when it has been open for 48 hours. This means that no other GM has bid higher on the player of interest.
Contracts
Bidding will be done for players before the league starts and as well as during free agency each following winter. You will be bidding on the whole amount of the contract. Example: If a team bids €3M for Cadel Evans, then that declares that the entire value of his contract is €3M, and they can still choose between 1 year €3M, 2 years €1.5M per, or 3 years €1M per. If he retires earlier, tough luck. Contract guidelines are:
Salary range, Maximum Years
€200k or less (per year) = 1 year
€210k - €990k = 2 years
€1M or higher = 3 years
Example: Astana sign Andy Schleck for €2.4M. Based on this amount, they are only able to sign him to a contract up to 2 years, because if Andy's total salary was broken down over 3 years, it would only be €800k per year, not the €1M that is required for a 3 year contract. Nevertheless, if the bid was won at €2.4M then a higher total contract amount can be awarded.
Trades
Two teams can at any point exchange riders and their contracts, as long as it keeps them within the salary cap.
Free agents
A team can at any point during the season start an auction for any rider on the free market. From February 1st, please send a PM to everybody in such a case, the clock increases to 96 hours.
Scoring
Until the evening before the race (until 23h59 local time), every team nominates 8 riders (9 for the Grand Tours) that represent them in this race. Only these riders will score points if they do well IRL. If a team doesn't announce its squad, their 8/9 highest paid riders not participating in any other race at this moment will be selected automatically.
Points are scored in UCI WorldTour events only, but according to the CQ ranking scoring, and not to the UCI WorldTour scoring. CQ ranking rewards riders for finishing well in classics, stages, stage races, but also for keeping and winning jerseys.
All these points are added up in the individual ranking. The final score of each team will be equal to the sum of the points scored by their riders in the calendar year (when nominated for races). The ranking of teams in the unlikely event of a tie will be determined by the place of their best rider in the individual ranking.
Calendar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_UCI_World_Tour#Events
(We're skipping Tour Down Under this year.)
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82 comments
I could be interested but need to have a read through everything
If anyone wants to team up with me on Katusha, I'd take that gladly.
All right then, keep me posted!
I hear Argos-Shimano might join the World Tour in 2013 - sounds like a perfect fit if only you like them
I think I understand it all, and im happy to take on a team, that team would be fine (would prefer europcar).... however my only question/confusion is what happens regarding riders which are already at other teams that I would want to be a keeper if I take such a team?
All right, Europcar it is then!
And there are no keepers, as this is year 2 of the game. (We had them last year in order for the teams to resemble the real ones a bit.) It's just going to be free agent auctions for 80% of the peloton, and a simple fun draft for neo-pros.
Please register at ProFSL, and post in the sign-up sheet leaving your Google Account, or at least email address.
Still spaces in this if anyone is interested.
Its more like a football manager style game where you buy riders via auction, and takes on a different angle compared to the usual games seen.
Auctions have just begun and so has the neo-pro draft, so for anyone interested in something different that will keep you occupied more so in the off season with the picking of teams, now would be a good time to join.
So far ive found it quite intriguing.
Same.
Some people are already WAY overpriced though.
Like Paolini, Albasini, Pozzevivo etc.
The game has some flaws, but it is actually really good.
Glad you guys are enjoying it!
Hopefully we can find 2-3 more persons.
(Do it Gkam)
You haven't a hope in hell of getting me involved with this one
As we enter year 2, next week we'll hold an expansion draft for any new managers. This is officially the last opportunity to join before the 2013 season.
If you'd like to join, check out the league for yourself: http://www.profsl.com/smf/index.php?board=1107.0
We're nearing the end of year 2.
It's relatively light and low maintenance, but we're having a lot of fun!
Wanna join for year 3? Free agent auctions and a neo-pro draft begin November 1. Check it out yourself: http://www.profsl.com/smf/index.php?board=1107.0
I'd be interested but my sleep-deprived brain won't permit me to understand where/how I sign up...
Ghedebrav, I'm sure you'll manage to notice the Sign-up sheet after you follow the link I posted above
FYI:
Last call for 2014!
Both the free agency and the neo-pro draft begin on November 1.
16 people checked in for 2014.
Thanks, spotted and stuck my name down.
Whoever takes over Katusha gimme a shout.
Was way too much stress last year. Had no idea what was going on most of the time.
Still. Its Garfield's baby and he seems to be looking after it well enough.
We have one last-minute opening: Katusha with Uran, van den Broeck, Fuglsang, Hushovd, Goss, Goos, Polanc, and over 60% of their budget still untouched. The auctions are very intense right now, so only sign up if you have free time this very weekend.
The auctions for year 4 of our league start soon, feel free to sign up here:
http://www.profsl.com/smf/index.php?topic=44212.0
I'm in Garfield. Looks like there are a few familiar faces there too.
Great to have you on board!
See my reply in the sign-up thread
6 teams left for next year, I have just joined and TER and Ghedebrav are in there already.
Starts on 14th Nov, so you can pick a team now and await the auction beginning. Looks good.
Anyone interested? (something to do in the offseason
You could say its similar to the podium cafe game, except we bid for riders with money on contracts, and no team can have the same riders, so its like a real life roster, and we have a neo-pro draft. Your riders score based on CQ scores. So most of the fun is in the bidding in the off season, and then you can focus on road.cc when the season is going (just inputting your roster from your squad in this game as you go along)
It does look good. I'm itching to get going.
BTW if anyone is interested then sign up now as the Neo Pro draft is about to commence shortly.
Another team just gone...come on it looks brilliant.
This is a great game, I've really enjoyed it.
The bidding element makes it much more interesting than Podium Cafe IMO - plus it's a pretty exclusive league with only 18 players! And because the bidding happens in November, it's a nice sticking plaster to tide you over between seasons...
I doubt there'll be an opportunity for quite a few people to get involved like there is at the moment, so I'd say - join in!
Just 5 teams left. As Ghedebrav says it will fill the gap until road.cc starts again in January very nicely indeed. Plus the fun of bidding on the riders you want.
EDIT: 4 teams left
3 teams left. If you want in, be quick. Hostilities due to commence on 14th November so you have time to plan who you want to bid for in the auction.
Having done FL football auctions for many years, I am so looking forward to this. The auction is often the best fun of the year.
Season started today, only Belkin still available!
My team ended up like this. And yes, yes, yes I bought Tschopp the day before he decided to move to the (other) dark side.
A few riders signed up for 2 years, just Froome for 3 as it has to be in excess of a $3m bid to stretch over 3 years, over $420k to stretch over 2.
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