April 2026

[Gipfelstuermer]

Preview PDF
April 2026

Races to be designed:
Itzulia Basque Country >>> flockmastor
Giro C.M. di Reggio Calabria
O Gran Camiño - The Historical Route
Tour of the Alps
Tour de Romandie

Races to be checked:
Dwars door Vlaanderen
La Route Adélie de VItré
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain
Volta Limburg Classic
Ronde van Vlaanderen
Cholet Agglo Tour
Scheldeprijs
Ronde van Limburg
Classic Grand Besançon Doubs
De Brabantse Pijl - La Flèche Brabançonne
Tour du Jura Cycliste
Amstel Gold Race
Tour du Doubs
La Flèche Wallonne
Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Giro dell'Appennino


Legend
BLUE = Designer found
GREEN = DONE

[Hansa]

i am actually really happy with that preview.

[Radunion]

calendar_4.png (439.81 KiB) Viewed 463 times

Nice calendar, not much to argue about this time. No parallel program to Amstel and LBL is sensible, and Alps is important enough to clash with FW. Time-wise, I am not sure we want 4 editions for the cat 2 and 3 tours with a strong parallel 1-day-race program.

[flockmastoR]

i am actually really happy with that preview.

Is such a comment even allowed

[Hansa]

i am actually really happy with that preview.

Is such a comment even allowed

the problem is if everyone always only writes to complain, gip might be tempted to change something but i dont want anything changed this month

[flockmastoR]

i am actually really happy with that preview.

Is such a comment even allowed

the problem is if everyone always only writes to complain, gip might be tempted to change something but i dont want anything changed this month

Yeah, exactly my thought too. I think positive feedback is helping a lot too!

[Robyklebt]

Do we really need that much 15h for classics in the afternoon?

The argument for MSR 15h (and other later times) was switch from the previous year.

Now we'll have Flanders, Liège at 15h too, same as they were in 25. Roubaix at 14, same as in 25. Amstel, less important of course, 15h, same as 25. So that makes 3 of 4 monuments at 15, 4 of 6 weekend classics from Sanremo to Liège at 15. And 5 of 6 races at the same time as 25, just Sanremo was switched. More switching in other times, but didn't analyze exactly. In the afternoon Dwars, Schelde and Flèche the same as last year too. Brabant changed. So in the afternoon all the same times as last year except Sanremo and Brabant. Can be done, just feels a bit weird when the argument for Sanremo 15 was that it was 14 last year, so change it a bit.

Hope to have gotten everything right, back and forth clicking sometimes confuses me...

[cataracs]

If we look at MSR I don't think 5 editions are needed for monuments

[Tukhtahuaev]

I would also be in favor of more 14h classics. Especially if the race is very long

[flockmastoR]

I would also be in favor of more 14h classics. Especially if the race is very long

totally agree with weekend classics

[Bugatti]

it really looks very good.
I like the weekendclassics at 11h it s a good time!

Tour of the alps at 8h looks very good as it is from mo to fr.

[Gipfelstuermer]

If we look at MSR I don't think 5 editions are needed for monuments

It's a tough one.

If it works out like for MSR with 21/22 teams it's great. But if we have fields split, it's total crap. That's why I'd go for 5 editions. But it's a close call, so I can be convinced to stay with 4 editions.

[flockmastoR]

If we look at MSR I don't think 5 editions are needed for monuments

It's a tough one.

If it works out like for MSR with 21/22 teams it's great. But if we have fields split, it's total crap. That's why I'd go for 5 editions. But it's a close call, so I can be convinced to stay with 4 editions.

or you make 2 editions of division 5-6 races and restrict the classics (as it was back in the days)

[Gipfelstuermer]

If we look at MSR I don't think 5 editions are needed for monuments

It's a tough one.

If it works out like for MSR with 21/22 teams it's great. But if we have fields split, it's total crap. That's why I'd go for 5 editions. But it's a close call, so I can be convinced to stay with 4 editions.

or you make 2 editions of division 5-6 races and restrict the classics (as it was back in the days)

Like the idea... but how exactly was it in the past? classics for div1-4 or div1-5? and other races for div5+ or div6+?

and what kind of rule makes sense with the current number of active teams per division?

[Alkworld]

If we look at MSR I don't think 5 editions are needed for monuments

It's a tough one.

If it works out like for MSR with 21/22 teams it's great. But if we have fields split, it's total crap. That's why I'd go for 5 editions. But it's a close call, so I can be convinced to stay with 4 editions.

or you make 2 editions of division 5-6 races and restrict the classics (as it was back in the days)

Like the idea... but how exactly was it in the past? classics for div1-4 or div1-5? and other races for div5+ or div6+?

and what kind of rule makes sense with the current number of active teams per division?

Just an important side note, the game currently doesn't support division restrictions for races (although in some places it looks like it would, like the race editor), I'd first need to implement that. The chance for that is 0 until after Easter. The effort for implementing it isn't that big, but it's work to be done.

[Hansa]

and what kind of rule makes sense with the current number of active teams per division?

None probably

[cataracs]

If we look at MSR I don't think 5 editions are needed for monuments

It's a tough one.

If it works out like for MSR with 21/22 teams it's great. But if we have fields split, it's total crap. That's why I'd go for 5 editions. But it's a close call, so I can be convinced to stay with 4 editions.

I agree. I had to sign out in the last minute to avoid the split. But I don't like offering more than 4 races for important races, it somehow makes them less special. I think we could just get rid of the split system, one or a few more AFK teams in the sleepy pelotons wouldn't change much anyway.

[flockmastoR]

and what kind of rule makes sense with the current number of active teams per division?

None probably

Doesn't matter but there are always completely new teams riding the classics. Div 1-5 makes sense for the moment (once it is implemented). Having too many participate at classics (split) and too less at the same time cannot be possible.

And having little at the (1-2) fantasy div 6 races in parallel is also no issue at all. They want to learn, be favo for one day, try things.

Of course have to be done and alk needs time for it. But we (or mainly me) talk about this for years and obviously newcomers would appreciate it. And there is an inscription check for current balance, there are fields in the calendar tool to set these limits. Simple change imo. Mainly time and priority issue.

[Robyklebt]

Big classics (cat 5+, only cat 6) only for D1-5 teams, parallel race for D6, possibly D5-6 sounds nice. My reasoning is you have to qualify for it. Others used to say that they preferred not having newbies 'destroying' the races. I have 0 respect that view. Others again was to avoid having "farm teams", possibly multis, parked in D6 built for one specific race (more often than not Roubaix) then joining play a big role. Legitimate concern, for a while we had one Roubaix specialist like that, forgot his name.

The problem is: Numbers, don't think we have enough active managers for it, so forget it for the moment.

The Donkey offers some numbers, nobody doubted it I'm sure.

Strade Bianche: 4 editions, 65 teams (15 to 18), 9 teams from D5, 2 teams from D6
Milano-Sanremo: 4 editions 73 teams, (14 to 22) 7 teams from D5, 3 teams from D6

That means different things:,
-only D6 races make little sense. Also I only found 10 D6 teams with at least 1 race in March (making that sortable would help btw) 4 of them 1 race, only 2 with 10+ races.
-22 D5 teams rode this month, only 7+9 of those rode the 2 weekend classics. Here if we offered a D5+6 alternative maybe some would take it. But on the other hand we have only 6 D5 teams with 20+ races, another 3 with 10+ races, so 9 teams with 10+ races in March.
-Restricting D6 from riding the monuments (and cat 5?) would only minimally decrease the chances of field splits.

Conclusion: While I'm very happy to see that the numbers indeed are higher again, we still don't have the numbers we would need to offer parallel races for D5-6, or even D6 only. Right now would make almost no sense,

The split risk:
Understand Gipfel's outright refusal to ride in a field 2 for a monument. I'm still livid that I ended up in a Giro dell'Emilia field 2 in 200...9? 8? Sold El burro Ruiz after leso cancelled the afternoon Vuelta, hoping he is picked up, so ended up in D2, not enough points in September so D3... all lesos fault. And then for Emilia all those annoying evening people came to the afternoon, whose Vuelta was cancelled, pushing poor little Robyklebt into field 2! Grr, good thing was a different forum, no fairplay threads against hte Donkey will be opened. But... 1) not everybody feels the same I guess. Some people wouldn't mind, it's still a monument, there's still good teams, in my field 2 I was chanceless then (would have had better chances in Field 1), and while it says field 2, it isn't even necessarily that different from other fields, not all field ones are equally strong either. Our afternoon Sanremo was strong... 8 D1 teams, 6 D2 teams, that means yes, at 23 some D2 teams (possibly including me) would have ended up in field 2. I would have been unhappy, but well, that's the way it is, swear a bit at people mostly those that normally never play in the afternoon, pay a fine, try to win in field 2. Maybe the field split should be changed? Split by division, so if Uomo Nero, who saved us from the split (he claims, maybe he just wanted to avoid Kebede ) hadn't saved us from it, because he would have ended up in Field 2, with a split by division, the then including him 15 D1+2 teams would have been in field 1, the other 8 field 2. Wouldn't have helped Gipfel.
So while in principle I would have been more pro 4 editions... I simply prefer bigger fields, see the risk, and also with a split the field gets smaller again... so yeah, maybe 5 is better. But Amstel, I think Amstel we cold go with 4. It's only cat 5, also cat 3 for the Donkey, he would actually prefer winning that in field 2 to field 1. Just to show how little respect he has for that wannabe classic. But don't worry, little risk of me winning that in either field 1 or 2...

[flockmastoR]

Preview PDF
April 2026

Races to be designed:
Itzulia Basque Country



Legend
BLUE = Designer found
GREEN = DONE

I can design Itzulia Basque Country

[Elmo-Tours]

I won't promise anything (because i can't estimate how much time it takes or do i need some special technical requierements) but i could imagine to help with some race-designs. But i've got some questions because i've never done that before. Is there a Tutorial or a further instruction for designing races? I already checked the homepages for some tours in April and found the stage-profiles. Is that also your orientation or do you work that much detailed, that its important to use maps/streetview or something too?

[Falcor CC]

I won't promise anything (because i can't estimate how many time it takes or do i need some special technical requierements) but i could imagine to help with some race-designs. But i've got some questions because i've never done that before. Is there a Tutorial or a further instruction for designing races? I already checked the homepages for some tours in April and found the stage-profiles. Is that also your orientation or do you work that much detailed, that its important to use maps/streetview or something too?

Design guide: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=10501

Don't know how to make the link prettier like Gip did recently xD

Apart from the guide I can just advise trial and error

[Elmo-Tours]

Thank you! I'll check the technical gpx-file stuff and the linked homepages at the weekend, try a bit by myself and then get back here.