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Planned Changes for MG 2026 Season
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 25-02-2026 05:09
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Tour de France Champion
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Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
seancoll wrote:
Was thinking about development teams at work today (it was slow, I promise) and wanted to clarify who would actually select the development tracks for riders on those teams. I assumed that it would be:
- the manager who retained rights to the rider using comment 7a; for their individual rider
- the development team manager who retains the right to an individual rider within their own team - for that individual rider
- collective decision by the combined management for the remaining riders
Is this correct?
I think this is correct. Not sure on the OVL question, will certainly rely on the results adjustment to help adjust salary demands.
Totally understand that results adjustments will help a bit, but I don't think that's sufficient because (1) it doesn't affect RD allowances, and (2) more importantly, results modifiers historically really only target overperformance rather than underperformance. That makes sense for instances where the a rider just got unlucky one year, but not really where we know there has been a systemic stats change which will be the same in the next season with the same PCM. A team is basically forced to either release their rider to get some semblance of wage value short term, or carry an albatross contract hoping the OVL adjusts in some unknown future season. They can't negotiate around it.
I know we've been more resistant to making OVL changes year on year in the last half decade or so, but to me this is a small and straightforward adjustment that is really needed.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Caspi |
Posted on 26-02-2026 09:45
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Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
(...)
On dev teams I think what we proposed is noy that different from what you are describing, except the exclusion of CT teams. The differences seem to be:
For the record the only time I was around for dev teams before (2019?), CT teams couldn't play (I know I was one) but I assume in earlier years they could. I would be open to changing that, I could get over the conflict thing.
(...)
I think it would be good to provide more options for CT managers, and not exclude them from dev teams. I get that there can be a conflict in theory, but in practice that should be small if even there at all.
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 05-03-2026 07:03
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Please note two updates to the rules (also updated in the first post, marked in italics)
Replacing Stagiaires with Junior Riders (only for CT)
Spoiler ...
4. Junior riders will have 40 RDs at any time of the season.
5. The minimum wage for Junior Riders will be 20k.
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Development Team Rules
Spoiler ...
2. Managers from any division are allowed to have Development Teams.
3. Dev teams must be made by two managers teaming up, but they must be from different divisions. If more managers are interested in managing development teams than there are team slots, managers will be selected at random from interested managers. Mangers not participating in one season will be given a preference in the next.
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| ivaneurope |
Posted on 05-03-2026 19:32
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Classics Specialist
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AbhishekLFC wrote:
Please note two updates to the rules (also updated in the first post, marked in italics)
Replacing Stagiaires with Junior Riders (only for CT)
Spoiler ...
4. Junior riders will have 40 RDs at any time of the season.
5. The minimum wage for Junior Riders will be 20k.
... Spoiler ...
2. Managers from any division are allowed to have Development Teams.
3. Dev teams must be made by two managers teaming up, but they must be from different divisions. If more managers are interested in managing development teams than there are team slots, managers will be selected at random from interested managers. Mangers not participating in one season will be given a preference in the next.
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The Junior Riders updates are IMO an improvement as now managers won't have the huge dilemma of spending 100k in wages on either 2 full-time riders or 4 Junior Riders. The 10 RD boost is also welcome.
Having Dev Teams being open to all managers is a neat idea, but I think there should've been a condition for CT managers that want to be involved - like for example surrendering their 2 free rider spots in order to pair up with another manager for a Dev Team. It's either one or the other - can't have both.
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| Caspi |
Posted on 06-03-2026 11:03
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AbhishekLFC wrote:
Please note two updates to the rules (also updated in the first post, marked in italics)
Replacing Stagiaires with Junior Riders (only for CT)
Spoiler ...
4. Junior riders will have 40 RDs at any time of the season.
5. The minimum wage for Junior Riders will be 20k.
... Spoiler ...
2. Managers from any division are allowed to have Development Teams.
3. Dev teams must be made by two managers teaming up, but they must be from different divisions. If more managers are interested in managing development teams than there are team slots, managers will be selected at random from interested managers. Mangers not participating in one season will be given a preference in the next.
...
I'm a huge fan of the updates.
ivaneurope wrote:
Having Dev Teams being open to all managers is a neat idea, but I think there should've been a condition for CT managers that want to be involved - like for example surrendering their 2 free rider spots in order to pair up with another manager for a Dev Team. It's either one or the other - can't have both.
Why though?
Shouldn't the "price" be equal across divisions - or perhaps more expensive for teams with bigger budgets?
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 31-03-2026 22:38
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Directeur Sportif
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Given we are expecting a drop in the number of teams going into 2026 and a reduction in the number of PCT teams is planned we are going to reduce the stats of some riders from disbanded teams. This will only impact riders on disbanded teams. The goal will be to keep the number of point scoring riders versus the number of teams roughly equivalent to the 2025 season.
There are two reasons we are pursuing this:
(1) stat inflation and too much clutter particularly in the 78-80 stat range create issues for the AI including non-selective races, exaggerated impact of RDC and marginal differences between riders resulting in huge differences in AI treatment.
(2) When the number of riders increases relative to the number of teams it makes free agents cheaper than renewals which punishes teams who have built rosters over time and invested in rider development.
The reductions will be focused on riders in 5th to 35th percentile when sorted by OVL. This group represents OVL from roughly 74.5 to 78 and accounts for about 45% of all scoring. Riders in the top 5% (OVL 78ish+, 33% of scoring) will not be impacted as they are likely to have significant palmares and because the idea is to create differentiation among riders and forcing these riders’ OVL down is counter to that. Riders below the 35th percentile in OVL will not be impacted because they are not considered point-scoring riders for this purpose, although unmaxed talents who will end up with an OVL above 74.5 could be impacted.
These downgrades will be implemented during renewals and shown in the post renewal database. Reductions will be focused on the rider’s main stat(s) and stamina and resistance, other stats will be left alone.
FAQS:
Wont this disadvantage new teams and promoted teams: No, the reductions will be done at a level to keep the relationship between number of teams and number of point-scoring riders consistent, so the situation will be the same as if there were no change in the number of teams.
Can I wait to do my renewals until I see the impact? No, the timing will not permit that. All managers will face the same situation. This post is intended to make managers aware. Once the number of teams for next season becomes clearer we will update this post with an estimate of the magnitude of the change.
Doesn’t concentrating on disbanded teams risk creating an Azteca situation where one nation or region is badly impacted? There is some risk of this but impacting riders on continuing teams is not an option. In selecting riders to downgrade, attempts will be made to balance the impact from a nationality perspective.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 01-04-2026 02:14
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Tour de France Champion
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Not against this in theory. I agree the 78-80 stat range has been the major issue with inflation and can be remedied this way. How effective it will be and whether it will create another Azteca situation will probably depend a lot on how many team end up disbanding.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| redordead |
Posted on 01-04-2026 08:05
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This clearly dents my plan to reduce Pogacar via disband 
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 13-06-2026 17:49
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| knockout |
Posted on 01-04-2026 08:31
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You want to reduce him even further? 
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ManGame-Admin |
Posted on 05-06-2026 22:04
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Some advance warning on a couple more changes to expect for next season.
1. Minor changes to the points files. Points for holding jerseys are decreased and points for winning team's jersey are increased. The two are intended to roughly offset so no change in total point expectations. Goal was to have more reward for sending a strong team to a race and reduce points available for just holding jerseys which can be fluky. Biggest impact is on the grand tours.
https://pcmdaily....cales.xlsx
2. RDC will be set to +/- 1, general consensus was the variation was a little strong this year.
3. The extended bonus seconds where all positions up to 8th get some bonus will be used in all races except GTs and Sprint GCs (where the schedule will remain the same). It simplifies things to use one less schedule and the more extended bonus seconds helps in races with a lot of s.t. but doesn't really hurt elsewhere. So decided just to make it the default.
That scale is:
Finish line: 20-12-8-6-4-3-2-1 seconds
Sprint: 6-4-2 seconds |
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 05-06-2026 23:51
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I appreciate these changes. In particular, I hope that there will be less complete off-days by GC favourites in stage races (even though this doesn't really concern my team). And I think there will still be enough randomness, in particular in prologues (where SKA isn't present, obviously).
The bonus seconds system is definitely appreciated as well; it makes those low Top 10 positions more valuable, and should benefit riders trying rather than those just hanging on. Thanks for these modifications!
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 06-06-2026 02:30
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Are these changes for this upcoming season or the one following?
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 06-06-2026 05:54
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Directeur Sportif
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Eden95 wrote:
Are these changes for this upcoming season or the one following?
Upcoming season - 2026
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| Caspi |
Posted on 06-06-2026 09:54
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ManGame-Admin wrote:
2. RDC will be set to +/- 1, general consensus was the variation was a little strong this year.
I know I'm probably one of a few, but I actually liked the variation in RDC. Hope it never goes to 0
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 06-06-2026 09:58
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Caspi wrote:
ManGame-Admin wrote:
2. RDC will be set to +/- 1, general consensus was the variation was a little strong this year.
I know I'm probably one of a few, but I actually liked the variation in RDC. Hope it never goes to 0
Agree entirely Caspi RDC always need to stay in some form
The issue seemed to be that the +/-2 was giving some pretty big increase up and down compared to previous years and +/- 1 the same see a chart from Oleg below that on +/-1 guys can still get 2 primary stats and 3/4+ on their secondarys
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