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!

Paris-Roubaix – Category 1

Apologies for the tardiness of this update. I’ve been beset by a rubbish cold for a couple of days and my mind’s been all over the place. It looks like this years’ Paris-Roubaix will be a dry one, cool, and with little wind. The main questions for this one is the same as last year, can Tadej Pogačar get one over Mathieu van der Poel and continue his monument domination at the Hell of the North? I guess the argument in Tadej’s favour is that he didn’t put in a lethal attack at Ronde van Vlaanderen, he just showed his power and rode away. The argument in Mathieu’s favour is that this is his race and he’s going to show it.

Behind those two are Mads Pedersen and Wout Van Aert, but who’s going to bet against a Pogačar – van der Poel 1-2? Other guys in contention and having a good Spring are Stuyven, Laporte, and Ganna. The rest of the Roubaix demons or potential demons are these: Vermeersch x2, Teunissen, Mihkels, Pithie, Rutsch, Bissegger, Asgreen, Lampaert, van Dijk x2, Hoole, Strand Hagenes, Segaert, De Gendt, and Heuns. So which way do you think it’ll go? Are you stacking the favourites? I know which way I’m going, but I’ll continue to doubt it until someone crosses the finish line. And my sixes is going very poorly indeed.

Schelderprijs – Category 3

Bright, sunny, windless conditions will greet the sprinters in Northern Belgium tomorrow for a classic that can be split to pieces if the forecast isn’t quite this good. In all likelihood, it’ll end in a sprint. So it’s a case of pick your poison and hope for the best. Tim Merlier is back and could be the differential if he scores or doesn’t score. The two most in form guys here are Philipsen and Groenewegen though, so expect to see them in a lot of teams.

Ronde van Vlaanderen – Category 1

Monument number two of the season has arrived and they’ll be some classic Spring conditions for the riders to contend with. It should hopefully be mostly dry, fairly cool, but there is the potential for a bit of a breeze depending on what forecast you look at. With the talent turning up on the start list this year, I think we can expect a fast and hard race. Any break that goes clear might only make it to the halfway mark and the only changes in the route are from the start location moving back to Antwerp.

The four most expensive riders in the game are all competing after Remco Evenepoel announced his participation on April Fool’s Day of all days. The heavy favourite is obviously the defending champion and 2023 winner, Tadej Pogačar. Remco, Mathieu, and Wout then occupy 2nd to 4th in the odds, but it’s a big unknown to predict how Remco will fare in a race like this. Here are all of the other riders who’ve shown enough form to go well: Pedersen, Laporte, Stuyven, Trentin, Abrahamsen, Vermeersch x2, Sheffield, Ballerini, Pithie, Mozzato, Berckmoes, Van Dijk x2, Strand Hagenes, Segaert, De Gendt, Van Hemelen, Larsen, Heuns, and Dewulf. In terms of strategy, I’ll be taking Pogačar, three other riders with top 5 potential, and a couple of cheaper hopefuls. If I take any other big favourite, it’ll probably Wout Van Aert. Who’s taking the gamble on Remco?

Dwars door Vlaanderen – Category 2

Wednesday’s race should bring calm and dry conditions for the riders and this one is usually one for opportunistic attackers and sometimes the sprinters aren’t far away. Visma are bringing a very strong team and after last year, Wout Van Aert should be fired up for this. Mads Pedersen will be hoping he’s recovered from the illness that kept him out of the race formally known as Gent-Wevelgem. The other riders on form are similar to ones I’ve mentioned before. Vermeersch x2, Tobias Lund Andresen, Laporte, Abrahamsen, Berckmoes, Tim Van Dijk, De Gendt, Dewulf, Per Strand Hagenes. There are some really interesting choices to make for this one I feel.

In Flanders Fields – Middelkerke to Wevelgem – Category 2

Who remembers when this was called Gent-Wevelgem, Pepperidge Farm remembers. Also, I thought this would happen when I started this, and it’s happened now, and alas, I have spent a glorious day with family and friends having a wonderful time. As such, I am in no place to tell you who to pick for a fantasy team. So I have no idea what the weather will be. Loads of sprinters are going, and the only person who can stop this being a sprint is Mathieu van der Poel. So there you go, the end…..pick Tobias Lund Andresen.

E3 Saxo Classic – Category 2

A cool day with a small chance of rain, but not much wind greets the riders in Belgium today for the E3 classic. The route has been slightly modified this year, but we should still expect the usual cobbled madness we all know and love.

At the top of the rider tree and way clear in the odds are Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen. There are potentially some questions over the latter and how on form he really is, but he’s hard to overlook for these races. Below this are Laporte, Stuyven, Vermeersch x2, Teunissen, Van Baarle, Del Grosso, Lund Andresen, Pithie, Wright, Berckmoes, Van Dijk x2, Segaert, Tarling, and in the cheap seats are Alpecin assists, break hunters, and maybe guys like Van Hemelen. So there are a multitude of ways to play this one!

Ronde van Brugge – Category 2

Well the weather wasn’t quite as terrible as was forecast, but the wind did still play havoc with the riders. Echelons were aplenty and splits were everywhere, but in the end it all came together for a sprint where Philipsen’s lead out went astray and Groenewegen profited.

Milano-Sanremo – Category 1

Tadej Pogačar finally tastes success in Milan-Sanremo! Only Paris-Roubaix remains for the greatest of all time. Word on the street is he’ll tackle all three grand tours in 2027 if he wins that in a few week’s time. Elsewhere in the top 10 were Tom Pidcock, who was incredibly impressive; Van Aert was superb; Mads Pedersen came back from injury with a bang; and I was happy with my Vendrame and Berckmoes suggestions, even though I didn’t take either of them.

Danilith Nokere Koerse – Category 3

Well Jordi Meeus and Jasper Philipsen were race favourites and they finished 2 and 1. How lucky were you with the rest of your sprinter picks?

Strade Bianche – Category 2

I got the essence of this one correct, but I thought I could outsmart the Pogačar, Del Toro, Seixas stack. It turns out that I could not.

Trofeo Laigueglia – Category 3

Well I managed to mention a lot of the riders who ended up placing decently, but forgot about the guy who won it!

Kuurne – Brussel – Kuurne – Category 3

Well that went about as well as could be expected! Brennan crashes in one race, then wins the following day. Philipsen makes the end, but with no teammates. Magnier suffered a mechanical at the pivotal moment in the race and missed the sprint. Milan didn’t look at the races at all. And there were many riders in the top 30 who I didn’t mention and didn’t consider at all! Hopefully your opening weekends were stronger than mine.

Omloop Nieuwsblad – Category 2

As expected, Mathieu van der Poel dominated the race and collected maximum points, as he finished ahead of a group of good classics riders who in tern, managed to hold off the sprinters. Other wins included Christophe Laporte, who finished just in front of the sprinters, which was headed by Tobias Lund Andresen and also contained Paul Magnier, Jordi Meeus, Jenno Berckmoes, and Laurence Pithie. There were strong performances from many riders I didn’t mention. Florian Vermeersch started his classics campaign with a solid 3rd place, and Tim Van Dijk looked very strong indeed in 2nd. So well done if you picked either of those!