Mega Thread – Velogames Fantasy Cycling Sixes 2026

Welcome to the mega thread for the 2026 season of the men’s classics. The basic principals of this one are to pick your favourite six riders for each of the 44 races in the competition. There are three tiers of scoring, so the five monuments plus Amstel Gold and the world championships carry extra weight compared to the rest. The scoring in general has received a slight buff for 1st and 2nd places on last year too, so that should encourage you to stack who you think will win, rather than just picking the most balanced team you can. I’ll add new races to the top of the thread and try to keep things brief, otherwise this piece will end up being 40,000 words long!
On second though, I might just remove the text for old races and replace it with my wins and losses, or else this really will be 40,000 words long! At least!

Kuurne – Brussel – Kuurne – Category 3

This classic nearly always ends in a straight up bunch sprint unless there are some strong riders and favourable conditions for an attack. I don’t believe that’s the case this year and we will just have a sprint for the win. The weather looks dry and only a little bit windy, so the race should be easy to control.

Favourites for the win here include Jonathan Milan and Paul Magnier, the latter having a fairly strong day out in Omloop. Arnaud De Lie finished in a group with Biniam Girmay and you can probably expect them to be better tomorrow. Matthew Brennan crashed and didn’t finish the race, and although he didn’t crash, Jasper Philipsen also didn’t finish the race. Sprinters showing really strong form include Tobias Lund Andresen and Jordi Meeus, whilst some of the other cheaper options are Matteo Moschetti and Pavel Bittner. Elsewhere, Tom Crabbe and Noah Hobbs aren’t bad shouts from amongst the super cheap riders proving that you can build a really strong team with many possibilities.

Omloop Nieuwsblad – Category 2

The opening salvo of the Spring Classics, is a 207.2km with a little over 1600m of vertical ascent. The course this year has two addition climbs right before the final Muur and Bosberg climbs. This should open the race up more for attackers and keep things interesting right to the end. The usual pattern of this race involves a strong solo rider or group of riders holding off a group of stronger classics types and sprinters. Sometimes it ends in a full blown bunch sprint, but perhaps that’s an unlikely outcome this year with the additional climbs so near to the finish.

Riders to consider for this one will obviously include Mathieu van der Poel, who is the joint most expensive rider in the game with you-know-who at 34 credits, and the overwhelming favourite for the race. Other classics specialists to consider include Tom Pidcock at 26 credits, Tim Wellens and Christophe Laporte at 22 credits, and Dylan Van Baarle at 16 credits. There are a plethora of sprinters to consider ranging from Arnaud De Lie at 26 credits, Paul Magnier and Matthew Brennan at 24 credits, Biniam Girmay at 22 credits, and Lukáš Kubiš at 16 credits. Some bargains to consider include everyone on Alpecin for assist points; Alex Kirsch and Victor Vercouille for 6 credits, the latter likes a breakaway; Alec Segaert for 8 credits; and Tim Torn Teutenberg for 10 credits. Some other gambles present and spread out in value might be Albert Withen Philipsen, Jenno Berckmoes, Fred Wright, Mathias Vacek, Laurence Pithie, Sam Watson, Tobias Lund Andresen, Mike Teunissen, and last year’s winner Søren Wærenskjold. So happy picking, and enjoy the year’s classics, good luck!