Season 4

VeloTour Season 4 is the 4th season of the competition. It is the second season with the snake draft format, and the first with the riders and lore of the VeloTour Universe. The competition will consist of 11 teams and 20 races.

## Background

The snake draft format of Season 3 was well-received by players. Charles decided to retain the format, but wanted to create a more balanced database of riders following the dominance of all-rounders in Season 3. There was also a desire to involve more world-building and external lore into the VeloTour.

In terms of the competition, Charles intended to expand to 11 teams after having 9 for each of the previous seasons. He sought to recruit former and new players to fill out the competition, since he would not draft a team himself. Grace and Ian, who had not participated since Season 1, returned for Season 4. Jay also entered the competition after declining an invite for Season 3.

Funky Q Chicken returned to defend their Season 3 title, striving to become the first two-time winner of the VeloTour. Season 3 runner-up Dzac also returned.

## Lore

Suspicions of doping in the sport of professional cycling rumbled throughout the 2020s, eventually resulting in a massive doping scandal in 2027. Superstars including Tadej Pogačar, Matej Mohorič, João Almeida, and Remco Evenepoel were all implicated. The sport lost all credibility, and the ongoing global socio-economic crisis resulted in all professional teams folding by 2029. As the world took on problems greater than cycling, the sport was remembered for its corruption and sports-washing by ethically questionable sponsors.

Eighteen years later, former riders and superfans gathered to discuss reviving the sport. They sought to make cycling a sport of the people by reforming the sponsorship system and other institutions of the sport. For the first season of their new cycling competition, named the VeloTour, a team of Selectors would scour the globe for amateur cycling's most talented and unique riders. These riders would be drafted onto teams and race together throughout the season, scoring as many points as possible as a team to earn additional prizes and prestige. For many prospective competitors it was a rare chance to break through into the sport's highest level. 88 riders were chosen by the Selectors to fill 11 teams of 8.

## Teams

The following teams are competing in Season 4 (Managers in parentheses):

* Alpha Tauri (Dzac)
* Castelli (Gus)
* Doimo (Miles)
* Euskaltel-Euskadi (Charlie)
* Futuro Forestal (The Almond)
* Hackett (Ian)
* Jupiler (Grace)
* Kyoto (Funky Q Chicken)
* Nautalia (Will)
* Sismic (Drew)
* Vallnord (Jay)

## Races

There will be 20 races in Season 4.

**Classics**: One-day races. Winning a Classic is worth 500 points.

**Monument Classics**: The five most prestigious one-day races. Winning a Monument is worth 850 points.

**Tour**: Stage races. Winning the general classification in a Tour is worth 500 points. Points are also awarded for stage placings and secondary classifications.

**Grand Tour**: A presitigious stage race containing 21 stages. Winning the Giro d'Italia is worth 850 points, and winning the Tour de France is worth 1000 points.

The race calendar is below:

* Tirreno-Adriatico (Tour)
* Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Classic)
* Strade Bianche (Classic)
* Amstel Gold Race (Classic)
* Milano-Sanremo (Monument Classic)
* Critérium du Dauphiné (Tour)
* Gent-Wevelgem (Classic)
* Trofeo Laigueglia (Classic)
* La Flèche Wallonne (Classic)
* Paris-Roubaix (Monument Classic)
* Giro d'Italia (Grand Tour)
* Hamburg Cyclassics (Classic)
* Paris-Tours (Classic)
* Ronde van Vlaanderen (Monument Classic)
* Liège–Bastogne-Liège (Monument Classic)
* Benelux Tour (Tour)
* Eschborn-Frankfurt (Classic)
* Giro dell'Emilia (Classic)
* Il Lombardia (Monument Classic)
* Tour de France (Grand Tour)

## Trivia

* Season 4 has the most teams of any season.
* Charles created the Tour de France course himself.