Zweeler Fantasy Cycling 2025 - Statistics, best riders to choose and the top steals!

Cycling
Friday, 17 January 2025 at 12:35
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On the 21st of January the 2025 season begins on the men's peloton with the Tour Down Under and with it also starts the season-long Zweeler Fantasy Games. You have the choice of selecting three different games that will keep you entertained throughout the year, test your knowledge of cycling and maybe even reward you for it! 

Here we will take a look at the cost present in the minigames, a familiar format for those who play fantasy sports games, and give you some advice on how to have better results in them.

1 - Budget & Major League

The two solo games are the most popular however, in 2024 1579 players took part in the Budget group whilst the Major League had 75. 

2024 Winning team (Budget game)
2024 Winning team (Budget game)

The difference separating all players is small and this includes the ones at the top. In 2024 user Garrick won with 11.033 points whilst second place Pardao44 had 10.938 (in the budget game). Although it is possible to choose riders who underperform and still win, it will be hard. You need luck in this game, and so you will have to hope that injuries and illnesses don't affect your riders, however that's out of your control... However you can in some cases play it safe when it comes to this. Entering the 2025 season someone like Remco Evenepoel is injured, you will not want to pick him as for several months he will not score a single point and that is a risk. A few riders such as Jay Vine and Wout van Aert tend to suffer many crashes, which also makes them more risky bets. 

Go directly to the Fantasy Cycling 2025 (budget). At least $8343/€8,000/£5,155 up for grabs!

We can observe the team of the 2024 winner and start here, to understand which kind of structure works. At the top, proven winners such as Tadej Pogacar who was indispensable; Remco Evenepoel who had his best season to date; sprinters like Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan, Mads Pedersen... Classics riders such as Mathieu van der Poel... It also made a big difference to select low-rating riders that scored a lot of points such as Lennert van Eetvelt (winner of the UAE Tour and Tour of Guangxi, amongst others); Jhonatan Narváez and Isaac del Toro. The team does not feature anyone below the cost of 2.9 points, so it may be a worthy strategy to not cheap out. Different years can see different strategies work differently however, it's never a certainty. 

2024 points per cost charts
2024 points per cost charts

One key aspect of this game is to be able to select the right riders that have a low cost. In fact it's a full game changer, everyone knows riders like Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard will perform strongly and win races, but you can only select a few top riders, you need to take budget into consideration and select riders that are lower down the rankings. In this chart you can see which riders had the best point-per-cost value and if you make the math, you quickly see that Tadej Pogacar for example is not even featured amongst the best. Florian Lipowitz and Alex Baudin, two riders almost at the very minimum cost, had a huge return for those who selected them. 

Go to the Fantasy Cycling (groups) 2025 – Over $3,100/€3,000/£2,535 in Prizes! Get Started Today!

Both riders who performed, but this list features plenty winners too. Stevie Williams, cost of 2.4, won the Tour Down Under, Flèche Wallonne and the Tour of Britain in 2024 which makes for a massively undervalued rider on this list. You can notice too that all kinds of specialists are present, but there are more climbers towards the top, because through minor GC placings throughout the year they manage to score good points. 

You can win points through GC of stage-races but each stage individually, meaning sprinters have the potential to score big as well; but there are few sprinters and time-trialists towards the top, it's not an easy field to take a massive leap from one year to another as it requires a lot of experience/positioning/leadout on the sprinters' side, and TT equipment (besides the formidable competition) in the time-trials. 

Check the calendar to know exactly which races count for this competition
Check the calendar to know exactly which races count for this competition

This is an aspect of the game which you may easily misunderstand and have your season go down the drain. Check the calendar of races that count towards your specific game. Why? Because you may have riders doing brilliant seasons, winning in many races, but if they do not count towards the game it will not matter. The 2025 calendar features all World Tour events and many more (69 in total) but of course, it cannot count on the entire cycling calendar. Riders who tend to focus on smaller races or national cups as often happens in France, Spain and Italy need to be chosen with caution. 

There is no magic trick, GC riders score more points usually but cost more. Make sure you pick riders who will focus on the top races in the world, otherwise they will be preparing for events that will not benefit your score. 

Although the season is yet to start, the calendar of many top riders is already known. @ProCyclingStats
Although the season is yet to start, the calendar of many top riders is already known. @ProCyclingStats

One key thing that you can do to prepare for this game is to analyze the riders' calendar. Yes, it is mid-January, however with some research you understand which riders are focusing on which competitions, their roles, etc. The Grand Tour specialists in fact have almost completely revealed their main plans for 2025, whilst the leaders of almost every single team have made their intentions public as well. 

Giving the Remco Evenepoel example, be cautious selecting riders who have small calendars, who will not do many events; or those that will do more events but in supporting roles instead of chasing their own results. This is one of the ultimate tests of this game, it will take your overall knowledge of the cycling world to the limit. In the picture above, you can observe the riders' calendar in some websites that present statistics, and for example Tadej Pogacar has already made his goals public before the start of the 2025 year. 

Usually it is a good decision to select riders with big calendars and those with a good ratio of liberty to chase their own results. One particular rider who may have excellent value is João Almeida for example, who will race the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, Volta ao Algarve, Paris-Nice, Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, Tour de France and Vuelta a España. Whilst he will not be a leader in all competition, he will take on a very big amount of race days where he can score points both in stages but mainly GC. Against someone like Evenepoel who will at best begin his season in mid-April, Almeida's lower cost may be fully justified against the Belgian. 

Best riders at the top

At the top we have Tadej Pogacar with a huge value, vastly superior to everyone else, of 60 points. Is it worth it? I would say yes, because not only will the Slovenian lead the team in every single race he takes part in, but he is incredibly versatile. In races like Milano-Sanremo and Tour of Flanders he will be a serious contender for victory, whilst he will also have a decent amount of stage-races and other events where he can build up big points throughout the season. Furthermore, besides the Tour de France, he is also likely to race a second Grand Tour at La Vuelta and the World Championships are very well suited to his skills. Definitely he is worth it, and he is the most selected rider for a reason. 

Go directly to the Fantasy Cycling 2025 (budget). At least $8343/€8,000/£5,155 up for grabs!

Jonas Vingegaard is in a rather similar situation, he will race enough to justify the price, but the fact that he's confirmed his presence in two Grand Tours really makes him a rather safe bet. By that logic Primoz Roglic would also be, but he will only race the Volta ao Algarve and Volta a Catalunya before the Giro, and has no other races in his schedule (besides the Tour of course). 52% of the players at this point have selected Roglic but only 3% have selected Adam Yates who will also do the Giro and Tour, and has shown similar climbing ability - or Carlos Rodríguez, set to lead INEOS at the Tour and La Vuelta, whom only 6% of players seem to trust. Antonio Tiberi and Enric Mas for example have confirmed two Grand Tours in their schedule, and if all goes normal they may be safer bets than Ben O'Connor who sits at virtually the same price. In this chart it is also surprising to see Mattias Skjelmose with higher value and also higher selection % than someone like Yates, key figure in the sport's top team, winner of many stage-races and podium at the Tour de France just over a year ago. 

You will note that only 17% of players chose Remco Evenepoel to their teams, which is a risk, as he will only race the Tour, and his health and performance is at the time being a relative unknown. When it comes to the sprinters we have Jasper Philipsen with 78%, Mads Pedersen with 57% and Jonathan Milan with 29%, so it's possible to observe more confidence on those who can perform better in the spring classics. Philipsen won Sanremo and finished second in Roubaix last spring, and even though someone like Milan or Tim Merlier showed themselves at the same level or superior in the sprints, the points scored could not compensate for what they didn't achieve in the spring.

Best value riders

On the chart above you can see the riders that have been selected the most. It includes riders with high and small values. This is a big trick to quickly find out riders who have a low cost for what they're worth under normal conditions. António Morgado is a big surprise as number 1, keen followers of the sport will know that his three wins in 2024 came in races that are small level and are not part of this game, whilst his return to the Tour of Flanders is unlikely due to the presence of Tadej Pogacar. It does not deny his talent, and that he can perform elsewhere, but more have chosen him over Thibau Nys who won five stages in only three World Tour races in 2024 and displayed an eye-boggling talent as a puncheur. 

Go directly to the Fantasy Cycling 2025 (budget). At least $8343/€8,000/£5,155 up for grabs!

Nys is in my eye the biggest value rider outside of those who cost the most. Yes, he combined the road season with cyclocross, but the talent he's shown last year in just a few months was incredible and he is likely to win big again this year. Rumours are that he will race the Tour de France, and I would risk saying that he can very well win a stage. Paul Magnier, Madis Mihkels, Tobias Lund Andresen, Max Poole... Riders that are very strong, and nowadays young riders can reach the top faster than ever. It's best to bet on a youngster's revelation than a veteran's comeback nowadays. Williams' value increased five-fold in comparison to last season, but many put a bet on him again, as even at 10.9 points he may be worth the cost. 

Below are some of the riders who I consider to be some of the biggest steals, besides some above: 

Toms Skujins (9pts.) - The man who performs well when it matters. Skujins is aging like fine wine and in 2024 it was no exception. The 33-year old is part of a very motivated Lidl-Trek and although he did not feature in the front too many times during the year, he did when it matters the most. 2nd at Strade Bianche, 10th at the Tour of Flanders, 5th at the Olympic Games, 4th at the World Championships... Not a man who thrives in the stage-races, but if his calendar and training is carefully selected he can repeat results like these and bring in great points for the one-day races. 

Alec Segaert (5.5pts.) - Segaert's potential is great, and it is well recognized. Perhaps the riskiest bet on this list, but I choose him because I think he's got unearthed talents. Besides being a three-time under-23 time-trial European Champion; he has shown glimpses of brilliance as a classics rider. He won the time-trial at the Renewi Tour and then in a stage full of traps, he somehow survived to finish the race in second place, and has also won the GP Criquielion and then finished third in the U23 road race world championships - impressive for a heavy rider as well. He's more than just a pure time-trialist, and reminds me of a small-scale Fabian Cancellara. Under the radar, I think he's going to have a very good spring. 

Diego Ulissi (4.5pts.) - The veteran is an interesting pick, a valuable one in my opinion. No he does not win in the same way that he did throughout the 2010's, but the Italian continues to put in big performances and his climbing at the Giro d'Abruzzo in April was perhaps the best of his career. With UAE he was used as a massive UCI point scorer, he is actually among the first few dozen over the year. The problem with Ulissi is that Astana may indeed use him in minor races to bring in points, but we must not forget that this can easily include many WT races, and that only a few months ago he finished second to Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de Pologne. An undervalued consistent rider. 

Edoardo Affini (3.3pts.) - Affini's low cost was a true surprise for me, because we're talking about the European time-trial champion, and the man who joined Remco Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna on the podium of the ITT Worlds. Yes, Affini will likely have a domestique role throughout much of the year as a leadout man and reliable helper; but in the time-trials he doesn't have to support anyone and he can show his true colours. Visma are top-of-the-line when it comes to time-trial technology and the Italian came through this year to reveal his potential. With some races including the Giro d'Italia, Europeans, Worlds, and more to be revealed, he can score well in the TT's. 

Rui Oliveira (2.2pts.) - A risky bet, but Oliveira has already talked about how he will have more freedom to chase his own results this year, already being scheduled to lead UAE as a sprinter at the Tour Down Under and Volta ao Algarve. UAE have done an amazing job with him and he is a brilliant rouleur, with a lot of sprinting experience. Furthermore he became Olympic Champion on the track, he truly has a massive engine for the slightly hilly races and classics besides a keen eye for the sprints so it will be interesting to see if he can put that on display. Being part of UAE, collectively, can be of great help to him. 

Niklas Behrens (1.6pts.) - Behrens is a huge steal, I have no doubt that the German has the legs to break through this year like few others. A rider who was scouted through Twitter at the end of 2023, who won a World Championships course designed for the puncheurs and climbers despite weighing around 80Kgs and measuring 1.95m... And joining none other than Team Visma | Lease a Bike... I see a golden signing and with 21 years of age I don't think it'll take much racing for him to get accostumed to this level. Visma may want to take things slow with him, but his power outputs are crazy for any rider in the peloton, and his ability to climb with such stature reminds me of a small Wout van Aert. For 1.6 points, it wasn't even a question. 

Kévin Geniets (1.4pts.) - Geniets' low score comes after a season where he's had some difficulties, but these are unlikely to be permanent. In 2024 he opened his season straight with a victory at the GP La Marseillaise, and also won the Luxembourg national championships. He is not the safest of bets, but he will have leading opportunities with Groupama and has already shared his plans of racing Paris-Nice, Milano-Sanremo, the Ardennes and the Giro d'Italia. A quality puncheur and classics specialist, he is a strong seasoned pro who has such a low cost that he becomes very worthy of a bet. 

Albert Philipsen (1.1pts.) - The youngest Philipsen in the World Tour is the final big choice that I could spot being absolutely worth it. Again we're looking at a rider who is likely to start off slow with Lidl-Trek, but his talent at only 18 years of age is so incredibly promising. His two years as a junior saw continuous victories, and he skipped the under-23 ranks entirely. not only that but he is the reigning MTB Junior World Champion and one of the world's best in cyclocross of his age. He is one of the very few but very special multi-talented cyclists coming up, one who has shown extremely promising power numbers already through Strava. He is virtually the absolute minimum price, one single good performance throughout the year may make it a worthy bet, but above all it's one of the best low-risk riders you could think of. 

2 - Groups 

The groups game consists of picking out 35 riders throughout the entire season, without having to look at how much they cost. But there is a catch, as you can only select a limited amount of riders per category. Last year 803 players took part in it, with the first 76 getting rewarded. You can check the choices for every single group whilst here I will share my opinions on who are likely the best choices. 

A - Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. Certain stage-race points, plenty leadership and both with two Grand Tours and World Championships in 2025. Evenepoel is a no-go, Roglic simply does not have the same climbing legs or as many races, and van Aert is unlikely to bring in points in any big stage-races whilst the classics won't be enough. 

Go to the Fantasy Cycling (groups) 2025 – Over $3,100/€3,000/£2,535 in Prizes! Get Started Today!

B - João Almeida, Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel. Almeida will race an extremely high amount of races throughout the year and is always a strong GC contender for the stage-races, besides having two Grand Tours. Philipsen continues to be a top of the world sprinter who can equally ride strongly in the classics, whilst van der Poel well... is van der Poel. Three monuments can be won, and virtually all non-mountainous classics he can take part in for a top result. Mads Pedersen is a very understandable replacement for van der Poel, whilst Matteo Jorgenson could also be a nice bet. 

C - Arnaud de Lie, Lennert van Eetvelt and Enric Mas. Mas, the undisputed leader of Movistar will fight in several stage-races, two Grand Tours and at the Vuelta he always delivers. Van Eetvelt is incredibly versatile and chasing UCI points, this year he won two World Tour stage-races and he's having a very big calendar this spring. De Lie can ride the classics and sprints throughout the whole season very well, and has great results to back him up. 

D - Biniam Girmay, Richard Carapaz and Simon Yates. Lots of domestiques and secondary riders on this list, so it becomes tricky and caution is necessary. Marc Hirschi for example is widely chosen but as a non-World Tour rider with no assured wildcards, his calendar is very uncertain. Girmay and Carapaz will be absolute leaders in their team whilst Yates is a quality climber, leader of Visma at the Giro and if he actually takes a step up now, even without being a leader he can score good points. 

E - Thibau Nys, David Gaudu, Derek Gee and Santiago Buitrago. Bet on the GC guys. Nys I think will have a great year, he's in the right team and has the potential. Gaudu and Gee will focus on the Giro GC where they will have modest competition and a good chance of scoring good points, whilst out of the remaining riders few score throughout the year. Santiago Buitrago proved himself as a quality figure last year and I think he's worthy of a bet. 

F - Stephen Williams, Felix Gall, Lenny Martinez, Neilson Powless, Max Poole. Poole widely chosen, but a risk as he is not a Grand Tour rider, but can score good points with a good calendar. Williams is net clear on this one for GC's and classics, Gall will have his own leadership and freedom in many races... Neilson Powless and Lenny Martínez are not certainties for me but in this list I think they can be amongst the best. 

G - Toms Skujins, Jay Vine, Luke Plapp, Eddie Dunbar, Tiesj Benoot, Alex Aranburu and Bryan Coquard. Skujins is a great classics rider, he and Benoot can perform on the cobbles and hills despite not being absolute leaders and deserve this. Vine and Plapp can perform on a few stage-races but also bring in good time-trial points... Eddie Dunbar proved himself as a great climber these two years and can do a lot when in great form; whilst Alex Aranburu and Bryan Coquard are versatile sprinters/puncheurs who can bring in good points for a Cofidis looking to stay afloat in the World Tour. 

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