Most welcome to an idea indirectly related to Cyclo-Cross: A New Dawn. If you don't know this game, it's not a problem. This is not exactly the same, but some of the principles will be the same. All will be explained below.
Fantasy Cycling
Firstly, let me make it clear that this is a completely fantasy game. There will be no real cyclists in this game. In fact, the participants will be all created by you, the players of this game.
How will it work?
I will set up a Game Thread later on, which will serve in function like in CX:AND. It is reserved for in-role posts only. Races will be reported there. The results will not depend on a mathematical program or on Pro Cycling Manager or anything like that. Instead, the results will be determined by the game host (myself for starters), based on activity/role-playing by the players.
Yes, roleplaying is a big part of this game. Before, during, after races people have a chance to post as their rider in the game thread. It's mostly a roleplaying game, reacting to races, to other people... Based on those posts in the Game Thread, your rider will either increase or decrease, so the active players see their rider in competition while non-active players slowly see their rider fade to the background.
Is it time-consuming?
Yes and no. You don't have to be active all the time. Like in CX:AND, you can set up your character and watch it from afar and react from time to time. Some characters are set up so fantastically, that they stay at the top even if you turn inactive.
It is as time-consuming as you want it to be. It's supposed to be fun, not something you feel like you HAVE to do. The involvement is entirely up to you.
Keep in mind that everything you post in the Game Thread will effect your rider(s). Your rider will have hidden stats, as well as certrain traits that you give him yourself by roleplaying. Every time your rider releases a press statement or an interview, you can change these stats and increase/decrease your chances at the next race.
As you notice, your role is not confined within a set of rules, this is because it's a free role-playing game. I depend on you to keep it realistic and as nice as possible. PM me with any questions.
I strongly encourage you to make a banner of some sort and always use this when in-character.
Keep it simple, keep it fun.
So what is the Ultimate Cycling League exactly?
The principles can be listed fairly easily:
- Riders are not in teams. Every man/woman for himself/herself.
- Race bikes are used of the 1970s or older. (some races will allow up to 1980s or sometimes even 1990s)
- Riders have no team car, so riders have their gear with them and fix their own bikes when broken or fix their own flat tyres
- Many races have multiple stages, these are always point classifications, with sometimes bonuses for a big lead. There is never a time classification.
- 99% of the stages range from 10 km to 400 km, so riders are responsible for their own food and drink. However, in longer stages the organisation might have a few supply zones.
- Riders are not allowed to use any means other than their bike.
- There are two kinds of stages: a road race and a time trial. The time trial awards the fastest rider on a given course, but also with points, not with time.
- Longer races have signs to follow the route and several checkpoints need to be passed, but sometimes it is possible to be lost if you didn't pay attention or take a different (usually longer) route.
- Every organisation is different. Some races might have traffic cut off, other races might not bother with that. (though there are some safetly measures to be followed)
- If you forfeit a stage, or can't finish because of a mechanical problem, you can still start the next stage, you'll just receive a point penalty. But you're still in the race.
This means racing is a lot different to modern day cycling. With no teams or no team mates, early attacks have as much a chance to win than those not going in the attack. Riders can also make a pact to help each other, you can talk to each other via PM to make secret agreements and inform me of them.
How the season will look, will become clear later on, but the first season will be small, and hopefully the sport can grow and get more races on the calendar. The most important thing, though, is that there are no classics or set races. There isn't a Tour de France that returns each year. It may well be that every event is unique, or that an event is so nice that it makes a return on the next year's calendar and stays on the calendar.
First season is probably only going to be one event of a few stages, but there might be some more races, too. You'll see.
You can sign up below using the following format:
Name: Sex: M/F Nationality (region): Date of Birth: DD/MM/YYYY Height: * Weight: * Biography: Weather Abilities: (in what weather can your rider perform best. Does he hurt in the cold? Doesn't it matter?...)
Stats: [choose between: very low - low - medium - high - very high]
Flat Riding:
Climbing:
Bike Handling:
Stamina:
Accelaration:
Sprint Speed:
Recuperation:
Attacking Spirit:
Repairs:
Off-Road:
Food Management:
* optional
'Attacking Spirit' is less important if you're very active, because you can give orders before every race. If you won't be very active, his attacking spirit is a way for me to see what his tactic will be.
'Repairs' is all about how good he is with a bike. If he has a flat tyre or a busted gear, how much time is lost in repairing it? Or can't he repair and has he forfeited the stage.
'Off-Road' is all about off-road sections. At least 95% of the route is tarmac, but sometimes there are sections through a dirtroad, cobblestones, maybe even sand or grass on a mountain top. How well can your rider cross them? (related to bike handling but not entirely)
'Food Management' shows how well your rider can handle his food and drinks. Is he resourceful in finding fountains for replenishing water? Does he drink a lot and therefor loses more time getting more drinks. Does he carry a lot of fruit or other things that don't perish in the hot sun?
To start, every player is allowed to sign-up with two riders. However, pacts between these two riders are likely to be declined by the game host when used too often. You have to treat each rider as an individual rider, riding for his own account.
Different from CX:AND is that you can basically enter the game with each race. There might be general ranking for each season, but in this fantasy world, riders have to register for every race individually. I won't force you to do that with your rider, if you sign-up, you're in every race automatically unless stated otherwise, but it does mean you can just join the game in between every race. (multiple stages don't count as different races)
It's a lot to swallow, I agree. But take your time and just playing the game will make a lot more clear. Ask questions below or send a PM. Also note that the Ultimate Cycling League is open to riders from the age of 18 or older, male or female.
NOTE: when I say 'he' or 'his', I mean both male and female.Edited by Ian Butler on 12-07-2017 11:46
Also this might be interesting for role-playing set-up:
This will be the first official season of the sport, it has already been done a few times unofficially in this fantasy universe. At this stage, individual organisers have a lot to say. There is no UCI or something (yet).
For the first time, people will actually be paid for racing. Everyone will get a basic fee from the organisation (so people can take time of work or something) and of course, prize money and perhaps intermediate prizes to be won.
People can enter, whether they're mechanics in their professional life or actual cyclists wanting another challenge or retired cyclists or students or whatever
Most likely first race will be a stage race through the United States, somewhere in June.
Relation to CX:AND is possible. We'll set it in the same universe. But then do pay attention to the dates and races. If your CX:AND rider was riding a full CX program, it's harder to also do this in the winter. However for summer races this could be combined if your CX rider wasn't a road racer also but I wouldn't recommend it, a new character is usually better!
Age of the Rider: Since there are stages above 300 km, and no team mates to help you, this should be a sport for a bit older riders than in road racing (much like triathletes). You could be 20, but aged 28 should give you a lot of advantage. Aged 35 would still be fighting for the win if he's strong enough and I reckon even 40 year olds can do something in the real long and tough days.
Edited by Ian Butler on 12-07-2017 13:42
Wow, a road version of CX but you've managed to circumvent the problems of not having a big enough road peloton very nicely.
Will have to spend some time thinking of my two riders (the limit is genius to prevent people like me ) there's a good chance a Lipawsky will be back because I miss them but most likely not both brothers because I want somebody new as well.
Hope this goes well Ian, super excited!
Also, do you want race designs like in CX or will you just do them yourself?
And finally From a real world context, what year is this set in (in terms of writing biographies?)
Will read later and go nuts now Edited by jandal7 on 20-07-2017 15:34
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Thanks trek glad you'll be part of it.
Initial limit might be increased but since this is everyone for himself, it's a bit risky to have players with too many riders, they might form a team of their own
race designs will depend. Probably I'll start off making the routes myself first, but then allow others to step up as organisors, too, so the game can become bigger but a shared burden. That's not certain yet, though. To be answered later, I guess
- Longer races have signs to follow the route and several checkpoints need to be passed, but sometimes it is possible to be lost if you didn't pay attention or take a different (usually longer) route.
- Every organisation is different. Some races might have traffic cut off, other races might not bother with that. (though there are some safetly measures to be followed)
- If you forfeit a stage, or can't finish because of a mechanical problem, you can still start the next stage, you'll just receive a point penalty. But you're still in the race.
Ian Butler wrote:
Thanks trek glad you'll be part of it.
Initial limit might be increased but since this is everyone for himself, it's a bit risky to have players with too many riders, they might form a team of their own
race designs will depend. Probably I'll start off making the routes myself first, but then allow others to step up as organisors, too, so the game can become bigger but a shared burden. That's not certain yet, though. To be answered later, I guess
It is the year 2017 for the first race.
I think the 2 rider limit is good though, because it stops me creating 7 riders and only focusing on 2 like I may have accidently done in CX.
Was hoping the year would be in the 70s for one of my rider ideas, but I've got plenty more.
The year 2017 is seen in the upper image, in the right bottom corner
Well I didn't mention it elsewhere so just the current year. But we'll have to see if riders are allowed to use their cell phones for GPS
Name: Jan (Anatol) Chicu
Sex: M
Nationality (region): Moldova (Bălți)
Date of Birth: 27/03/1995
Height: * 168cm
Weight: * 67kg
Biography: Jan's parents escaped the Soviet Union in the early 80's, eventually settling in West Germany, however, they were a poor couple, as his father spoke little German and found little work, so when Moldova gained independence, they returned and had two sons, Artem and Jan. Jan's family was poor and could afford little more than schooling for their children, but Jan found an old racing bike and with some help from his Dad, repaired it to the point where Jan could ride it and he spent all his time doing that, with nothing else to do, building up some great stamina but perhaps not always training in the most appropriate way. In 2011, an under 19 race was organised in Chinisau, he was too young to enter but competed under the assumed name Anatol and claimed to be a year older. He rode out to the race, won it and Repeated the feat the next two years. Following this, He recognised cycling as a chance to move forward in the world and spent his savings moving to Germany to compete because he had learnt German in school and it is well placed to access other races across Europe. Now he competes on the European scene but has to overcome a serious disadvantage from his opponents in not being able to afford good equipment or clothing without race winnings and mostly using those for food anyway.
He's a powerful rider with very good stamina because he does incredibly long rides, he's very light and short with a body type suited to a climber but he doesn't have much experience training on climbs at all, while he has trained his whole life on flats, these balance out so he's about equal on both flats and mountains but superior to both in the hills, which are abundant where he lives. He also handles his bike very well particularly on rough roads, in the rain, descents, etc. However, lacks acceleration and cannot sprint well, given he's only had three races in his life, he also isn't the most tactically savy and makes impulsive attacks.
Weather Abilities: He hates the cold but has spent a long time in it, he can't afford much gear for cold weather and especially wet weather gear so can often end up getting sick due to exposure, especially on multi stage races and even frostbite on the really cold days. Despite all that, he performs better in the cold and handles more than well in the rain, while in the heat he is just average.
Stats: [choose between: very low - low - medium - high - very high]
Flat Riding: High
Climbing: High
Bike Handling: High
Stamina: Very High
Acceleration: Low
Sprint Speed: Low
Recuperation: Very Low
Attacking Spirit: High
Repairs: High
Off-Road: High
Food Management: When he has food, Very High but Very Low because he often can't afford it
Edited by trekbmc on 12-07-2017 15:10
@Trek: accepted, but a few remarks:
Aged 20, his stamina will be high relative to other 20 year olds, but against more experienced riders ages 26 and up, he'll have a disadvantage in stages above 300 km
Also 55kg doesn't help in surviving +300 km stages
you can still make changes if you want, if not it's like you say but keep in mind that 20 years is young for this kind of thing, with no team mates and sometimes longer stages than road racing.
Hmm, have 3/4 riders in mind for this so will have to whittle them down and work on their app.
This sounds bats*** crazy and I love it. Amazing concept Ian and I can't wait.
Also, I think. this calls for the true return of Shonak's Super-Rider Mysterio from EPIC
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Name: Kim Po-ding
Sex: M
Nationality (region): North Korea (Pyongyang)
Date of Birth: 13/04/1990
Height: 2m03
Weight: 89kg
Biography:
Kim Po-ding was bred in the labour camps of North Korea to be the ultimate cyclist. By combining the strongest genes and 20h per day training from the age of 3, the North Korean Cycling Academy made an incredible machine, ready to be unleashed on the new Ultimate Cycling League.
His training course was an D-shaped lap around the labor camp. It started with a 5km straight line, turn right to start a climb for 3 km, take the downhill for another 3km and turn right again to end back on the straight part. Fifteen minutes max per lap or a fmaily member gets shot, eighty laps a day or he himself gets shot. The downside of this training was that he can only make right turns and struggles if the road goes left.
But make no mistake, despite this minor flaw, Kim is a killer. He'll ride and he'll keep riding. He destroys riders who are not paying attention the moment he turns his engine on. If you're not in his wheel, you're done for. If you're in his wheel, you'll still have a hard time.
Furthermore, he was prepared for the new Ultimate Cycling League by surviving on grass for a week and by learning how to make his own bike. Not that this was intentional though, the camp just ran out of food and they accidently shot their last mechanic.
Weather Abilities: He was forced to train in the hot sun, he was forced to train in thunderstorms, weather does not matter to him. He will ride every race as if it were his last (which could very well be true).
Stats: [choose between: very low - low - medium - high - very high]
Flat Riding: very high
Climbing: high
Bike Handling: low
Stamina: very high
Accelaration: low
Sprint Speed: low
Recuperation: very high
Attacking Spirit: medium
Repairs: high
Off-Road: low
Food Management: high
A small teaser for the biggest race of the first season:
9 stages
Over 1900 km
1 time trial
Longest stage: 390 km
Highest Altitude: 1019 m
Starting City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Edited by Ian Butler on 12-07-2017 14:29
@Ollfardh: Bio is a bit over the top. No killing machines - family murdered in training and shit.
Despite this idea being a bit over the top, I'd like to keep it realistic within its universe. See it as a Red Bull Extreme sport.
There can be extreme characters, but no North Korean who's been bred to cycle. Sorry
Though that don't mean a North Korean is out of the question.
but I wouldn't recommend it, a new character is usually better!
) there's a good chance a Lipawsky will be back because I miss them but most likely not both brothers because I want somebody new as well. 
Moldova (Bălți)
