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.
Velogames covers the whole of the pro season
(Image credit: Velogames)
How many entries do you get?
Around 30,000 for the Tour, a bit less for other races. For a couple of years [during the ASO dispute], I focused more on women’s cycling and the Sixes game. I now focus my games on the entire calendar rather than just a few big set pieces. I want Velogames to be a brand in its own right, not limited to a fantasy Tour de France game.
What are your fail-safe tips when it comes to team selection?
It’s not really an exact science. For Grand Tours, you need two of the top three on GC, plus the best sprinter, then value for money elsewhere. But it’s not easy: if you chose Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Mads Pedersen at the Tour, you wouldn’t have had enough credits for your remaining six riders.
Can a player win Velogames without Pogačar?
You can, but you’d need the second and third-placed riders, a lot of luck, plus a huge spattering of stage wins. I can’t set Pogačar’s price too high because no one would want him. He was 34 credits last year, which was well worth it because he broke the 4,000-points barrier. He was picked by 74% of players so I might put him on 36 [for 2026].
The price system is obviously very subjective. Exactly. That’s why I never do well [as a player] – because my preconceived ideas are already fully baked into the prices. My main aim is to encourage people to pick different teams. I’ve made some huge mistakes in the past. The biggest was Puck Pieterse, who I only valued at four credits a couple of years ago because she came from cyclo-cross and had no road results.
Have you ever had a dead heat at the top?
The Tour game was once won by a handful of points. It was when I was still scoring with pen and paper – not my current spreadsheets – and I had to recount everything to make sure. There have been ties in some of the smaller games.
(Image credit: Future)
Is the winner rewarded with a prize, or do people play just for fun?
Just for fun. It’s tricky because any sporting contest with a prize is covered by gambling regulations in many territories and requires a licence. It’s why I cannot charge an entry fee. Donations keep me afloat. I receive £5 to £20 from around 700 people, although some people pay just a penny to get access to the extra subscribers’ competition, which is a bit stingy.
Where are your players from?
It’s about 30% Britain, 30% US and 40% everywhere else – primarily Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It’s popular in Portugal and France. There’s even a podcast about it in Brazil. You often get smaller cycling nations getting excited when they have a rider they can pick-like Mauritius and Kim Le Court.
Are you making money from it?
I pay for the website, for various modules I need to modernise things, for hosting, and for the email user systems. It adds up. I’m not out of pocket. I might make a little bit for a holiday at the end of the year but it’s not a year-round job. The ad revenue just about covers my costs.
What’s next for Velogames?
Well, no one’s offered to buy me out, but I’ve not put it up for sale either. I wouldn’t sell anyway – it’s become part of my identity. The idea of someone else running Velogames is a bit grating. Obviously, I’ve got to stop sometime, but not now my eldest son’s just started playing. I’m just happy doing it and trying to improve it. There’s no need to massively change the way I’m doing things even if it’s never going to be a year-round income.
Quick-fire round
Best bike you’ve ever owned? My beloved Halfords Carrera Krakatoa.
Fondest cycling memory? Being on Alpe d’Huez for the 2004 time trial. I’ve booked to stay in Bourg d’Oisans next summer, to introduce my boys to the craziness of the Tour.
Favourite place to ride? I’m a Londoner born and bred, so Richmond Park.
Fantasy ride buddy? Sean Kelly.
Song or podcast while on the turbo? No turbo, so no song, but the original Channel 4 Tour theme is a classic.
Cycling pet peeve? That there currently seems no fair way to distribute revenues fairly between the teams, riders and smaller, traditional races.
Best Monument? Tour of Flanders – the version with the Muur/Bosberg finish.
Yellow, pink or red? Pink.
Mountaintop finish, bunch sprint or breakaway? A chase down in the mountains.
Will Pogačar beat Cav’s Tour stage record? Yes.
Will he win all five Monuments? He’ll get one of Milan San Remo or Paris-Roubaix, but not both.
Rob Hatch or Carlton Kirby? Hatch, although I enjoy Kirby for the long, boring stages.
