Forget the Tour de France—Fantasy Cycling Just Got Interesting

Most fantasy cycling games make you pick from the same 200 pro peloton riders everyone already knows. Peaxel doesn’t work that way. Instead of chasing established stars, you’re collecting cards of rising talents before they hit the big time—riders like Oda Aune Gissinger, who just earned a World Championship bronze medal at 18 years old.

If you’ve never tried fantasy cycling, or you’re tired of the same old formats, this guide will walk you through exactly how Peaxel works. It’s free to play, covers cycling disciplines most platforms ignore, and rewards you for spotting talent early.

What Makes Peaxel Different from Other Fantasy Cycling Games

Traditional fantasy cycling locks you into Grand Tour rosters and salary caps. Peaxel takes a completely different approach. You collect digital athlete cards, build lineups across different sports, and compete as a manager—not just a picker.

The biggest shift? You’re not limited to WorldTour pros. Peaxel features athletes across the entire cycling spectrum: road, cyclocross, mountain biking, BMX. That means you can grab a card of Lidia Castro de la Serna—an 18-year-old Spanish rider already being tracked by UAE Team Emirates—before she’s a household name.

There’s no buy-in. No drafts with timers. You collect cards, set your lineups, and your athletes score points based on real-world performance. Simple.

How to Get Your First Cycling Cards on Peaxel

Start here. When you create a Peaxel account, you’ll begin collecting athlete cards immediately. Each card represents a real athlete—their results, their form, their potential.

For road cycling, look for riders with upcoming races on the calendar. Oda Aune Gissinger, for example, is now competing on the Women’s Continental circuit with Hitec Products after her breakout 2025 season. Her card reflects that trajectory. When she performs, you score.

Finding Road Cycling Athletes

Use the full sports directory to browse cycling disciplines. Road cycling cards sit alongside cyclocross, downhill MTB, and BMX racing. You’re building a portfolio, not just picking a team.

Each athlete profile shows their bio, recent results, and card availability. Lidia Castro de la Serna’s profile, for instance, highlights her third-place finish at Tour de Valromey and her invitation to a WorldTour training camp. That context matters when you’re deciding which cards to prioritize.

Building Your First Road Cycling Lineup

Once you have cards, you build lineups. Think of it like setting a fantasy roster, but with athletes you’ve collected rather than players you’ve drafted.

Peaxel lineups work across gameweeks. You pick which athletes to activate, and they earn points based on their real-world performances during that period. A stage win? Points. A breakaway that catches the peloton’s attention? Points. Consistent results across multiple races? Even better.

Why Younger Riders Matter More Here

Here’s the thing most fantasy players miss: emerging talents on Peaxel can outscore established pros because you’re rewarded for spotting them early. Oda Aune Gissinger’s 2025 bronze medal at Worlds, her Grand Prix CERATIZIT win, her Tour de l’Abitibi overall victory—all of that builds value into her card.

Same logic applies to Lidia Castro de la Serna. She’s 18, still racing junior competitions, but WorldTour teams are already circling. Her Peaxel card captures that potential right now.

Understanding How Scoring Works in Fantasy Cycling

Peaxel scoring connects directly to real-world results. No made-up point systems. No arbitrary multipliers that change every week.

For road cycling, results in UCI-ranked events carry the most weight. A junior World Championship medal, like Gissinger’s bronze in Kigali, translates into significant points. Stage race GC placements, breakaway classifications, time trial wins—all of it counts.

The system rewards consistency. An athlete who finishes top-10 across five races will often outscore one who wins a single event and disappears. That’s why building a balanced portfolio of cycling cards matters more than chasing a single star.

Your Next Move

Fantasy road cycling doesn’t have to mean picking the same riders as everyone else. Peaxel gives you access to athletes at the beginning of their careers—riders like Oda Aune Gissinger and Lidia Castro de la Serna, who are already proving themselves on the international stage.

It’s free. It’s built for people who actually follow cycling beyond the Grand Tours. And honestly, there’s something satisfying about collecting a card of a rider two years before everyone else discovers them. Check out Peaxel and see which cycling talents you want in your lineup.