I feel like these quotes are becoming too self-referential. - CountArach (Weekly News #193)

The Weekly News is back!

Yes, that's right - I've already resorted to stating the obvious in my first ever Weekly News! With TheManxMissile currently unable to produce the Weekly News, for the foreseeable future I will be writing it. So if anyone has anything they particularly would like me to reference in here at any point, then drop me a message and I'll see what I can do. 

The Cycling Season Gets Underway

This week has seen the start of both the Tour Down Under and the Tour de San Luis, with many big names taking part. However, it has been a case of youngsters stealing the show so far with both Caleb Ewan, Jay McCarthy and Fernando Gaviria taking impressive victories across the two races so far. More details can be found in the Other Races and Tour Down Under threads. 

Racing has also begun in Africa, with Andrea Palini and Adrien Petit battling hard for the lead of that old Man-Game favourite, La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. And, in an event that seems to have been missed by many, it is the time of year that the Asian Cycling Championships take place. Normally dominated by the more well known Asian nations, this year has seen a bit of an upset. In the U23 ITT, 21 year old Mongolian rider Maral-erdene Batmunkh took the win - the first Asian Cycling Championship by a Mongolian. And for that, he is my unofficial cyclist of the week. 

Fantasy Competitions Galore!

With the advent of the new cycling season, the inaugural PCM Daily Fantasy Cycling Season has begun in earnest. There hasn't been an official rankings update yet, but roturn has very kindly listed the starters from the game in each race - check it out here!

The Velogames competition has also returned, with the fantasy Tour Down Under. Roturn has created a league, and there is the hope that eventually a season long competition will emerge - as suggested by ringo182. Check back in next week's news to find out who won, I'd give you a standings update but I forgot to sign up for it...

Graphical Assistance Wanted

The PCM.daily DB team are looking for assistance with the creation of jerseys for the upcoming 2016 DB. All offers of help are appreciated, as without it the work of volunteers there would be no Daily DB. So please check out their thread here and do whatever you can to help out. Thanks!

As every year www.velogames.com is offering a Fantasy Cycling Game for many races. Just like in 2015 there will be a stand alone Tour Down Under Game. 

To join the PCM.Daily Fantasy League there, use the following code: 13153720

So what to do for those that don`t know about Velogames? First register on their site. Then create a team with a max of 100 points and join our league. There will be a couple of rider restrictions as you will notice. 

The discussion could go into the TdU race thread here. 

May the best win. 

It's now time to reveal the winners of this year's PCM.daily awards. We've seen some of the tighest votes in the awards history, resulting in a total of 4 tied categories! There is the usual mixture of defending champions and new winners, and congratulations to everyone who has won. Well done to everyone else who received nominations, and thanks to all who voted.

To find out the winners, click 'Read More' and all will be revealed. I have also posted the full results into each thread in the Awards subforum.

Voting is now open for the 2015 PCM.daily Awards.

Check out the Awards forum to find out who has been nominated for each category, and to place your vote.

Votes are open for a week, up until the end of January 9th.

It's time to bring some news of next year's game, and the opportunity that you could be playing it as early as next month!

Cyanide are once again looking for beta testers to test out various aspects of the game for two weeks, from January 4th to January 18th. The beta will involve the testing of the multiplayer mode as well as "Various changes on the AI and Gameplay Features".

If you want to apply, you have until the end of the week (December 27th) to do so - by filling in this google document form. See the thread on the official PCM forum for more detail.

Or if you would prefer to play a version of PCM already released, PCM 2015 is currently on a 60% discount on Steam, with older versions of the game at 80% off. Those deals end on January 4th, when the beta testing begins!