Fantasy sports and cycling enthusiast George Chapman, 46, created Velogames.comFel back in the Nineties. It now has around 30,000 players and offers a range of fantasy competitions covering the Classics, Grand Tours and week-long stage races. Players build a virtual team of real-world riders within a fixed budget, scoring points based on how those riders perform in the race.
The most popular format - where players use 100 credits to pick a nine-rider Tour team comprising two all-rounders, two climbers, one sprinter, three domestiques and a wildcard - is still going strong despite having been shut down for two years amid a trademark infringement dispute with Tour de France owners ASO. Chapman tells Cycling Weekly about Velogames's origins, nipping out from weddings to update scores, and how high he can realistically mark Tadej Pogačar's price.
