Your First Fantasy Road Cycling Lineup Starts Here

Forget everything you know about fantasy football. Road cycling rewards patience, timing, and spotting talent before the peloton does. On Peaxel, you’re not drafting household names—you’re collecting athlete cards of rising stars and backing them before their breakout races.

This guide walks you through building your first lineup using two real athletes as examples. By the end, you’ll understand how card collection works, what makes a smart pick, and why the 2026 women’s road cycling scene is packed with undervalued gems.

How Peaxel Road Cycling Cards Work

Each athlete on Peaxel has a digital card you can collect for free. Your lineup combines multiple cards, and you earn points based on real-world performances—race results, breakaway attempts, national championship wins, and more.

The trick? Everyone chases established stars. The real edge comes from finding athletes about to step up a level. That’s where lineup building becomes genuinely fun.

Step 1: Find Athletes With Momentum

Look for riders who performed well in 2025 and are moving to bigger stages in 2026. Oda Aune Gissinger is a perfect example. She won the Grand Prix CERATIZIT Women Junior, claimed bronze at the UCI Junior World Championships time trial, and now rides for Hitec Products – Fluid Control at continental level.

That’s exactly the trajectory you want. Junior success followed by a step up. Her Peaxel card lets you back her before she’s competing for WorldTour podiums—and earning you serious points along the way.

Step 2: Check the Competition Calendar

Fantasy cycling isn’t just about talent. It’s about timing. If your athlete has a national championship coming up, or a stage race that suits their profile, that’s when their card value spikes.

Gissinger is a time trial specialist. Every ITT on the women’s calendar is a scoring opportunity. Her Vuelta a Burgos breakaway in early 2026—spending over 110km off the front and taking the mountain jersey—shows she’s ready for aggressive racing at higher levels.

Building Around Undervalued Picks

Here’s where it gets interesting. The best fantasy players don’t just pick the obvious names. They find the Lidia Castro de la Serna types—athletes with elite potential who haven’t hit mainstream attention yet.

Castro de la Serna finished third at the Tour de Valromey in 2025. That’s the most prestigious junior stage race in the world. She swept every stage at Vuelta a Cantabria. UAE Team Emirates started tracking her. Jayco AlUla invited her to their WorldTour training camp as a junior. Multiple WorldTour teams are watching.

Honestly, she’s the pick nobody is talking about. Her Peaxel card is available now while she’s still technically a junior. That’s the window.

What Makes a Card Undervalued?

Three things to look for:

  • Age-category transition: Athletes moving from junior to U23 or U23 to elite often fly under the radar.
  • Recent podiums in smaller races: Tour de Valromey matters. Copa de España matters. These results predict future performance.
  • Team interest from above: When WorldTour squads start monitoring a rider, you should too.

Castro de la Serna checks all three boxes. So does Gissinger. That’s not coincidence—it’s the formula.

Putting Your Lineup Together

Start with two or three athletes you genuinely believe in. Don’t spread too thin early on. Road cycling rewards conviction.

Mix profiles. Gissinger is a time trialist who can climb. Castro de la Serna is a versatile stage racer with sprint finishing ability. Different race types mean different scoring opportunities across the calendar.

Check the full list of sports on Peaxel if you want to diversify beyond cycling. But if road cycling is your focus, depth beats breadth. Know your athletes. Follow their races. Adjust as the season unfolds.

Why Women’s Road Cycling in 2026

The women’s peloton is experiencing a talent explosion. Prize money is up. Media coverage is expanding. Young riders are turning professional earlier and performing immediately.

For fantasy purposes, this means more scoring events, more breakout performances, and more opportunities to find value before prices adjust. The 2026 women’s calendar includes expanded WorldTour races, new stage races, and Olympic qualification pressure building toward 2028.

Athletes like Gissinger and Castro de la Serna are entering this wave at exactly the right moment. Their trajectory is steep. Their ceiling is high. And their cards are available right now on Peaxel.

Your Next Move

Building a fantasy road cycling lineup isn’t about memorizing stats. It’s about watching young riders climb through the ranks and backing them at the right time. Peaxel makes that possible across dozens of sports—but road cycling in 2026 offers some of the clearest value in the game.

Start with Oda Aune Gissinger. Add Lidia Castro de la Serna. Watch their races. Learn the calendar. That’s how you go from curious to competitive.