FAQ
31 answered questions7 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Ghenos Games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Letting several teams pursue in one turn — only one pursuit per turn, so the peloton gets at most +1. Ruling · Rule
- Attacking from the back of the peloton — only riders in the front area may break away, with a move of at least 4. Ruling · Rule
- Rolling for a fall on blackened squares crossed with free squares — only paid squares (or ending on one) risk a fall. Ruling · Rule
- Forgetting that a breakaway caught in the same turn also pays for the peloton’s move. Ruling · Rule
- Counting free squares, or paid squares past the summit, against the climb category. Ruling · Rule
Showing 31 of 31
Which route hexagons should I combine? Official
Any combination is allowed, though a descent after a climb is the natural order. You can shuffle and lay tiles at random, or copy the profile of a real classic or stage from a newspaper or website, climb categories included.
Source: The Game Master FAQ
How many hexagons should we use for a first game? Official
Six to eight, using every terrain colour, with one intermediate sprint and a final sprint. More tiles make the first game much longer.
Source: The Game Master FAQ
Where should a sprint go? Official
An intermediate sprint usually sits on flat (green-edged) road. Leave at least 12 squares between the sprint zone start and the bonus or finish line so sprinters can use their speciality.
Source: The Game Master FAQ
How much energy does each rider start with? Official
The sum of the values on the milestones (the red and white posts) of all the hexagons in the race. In a stage race a rider may carry at most 15 energy into the next stage.
Source: The Game Master FAQ
How is the hexagon with two routes over a bridge used?
Decide when you build the course which of the two routes the race takes, and use that route's milestone.
Source: BGG thread
What is the blue-edged lane on one of the hill hexagons for?
The rules give it no use. Players treat it as scenery — a cycle path the race does not take — and ride the orange-edged road.
Source: BGG thread
How are the support-rider tokens ordered below the first one at the start of a one-off race?
The rules only name the first team. Players place the others at random or, as the Dutch quick-start suggests, clockwise from the first player.
Source: BGG thread
Can every team pursue in the same turn, for +4?
No. Only one team pursues per turn, so the peloton gets at most +1 square from a pursuit. The first team in support-rider order that wants to pursue does it and moves to the lead.
Source: BGG thread
What does "a player cannot accelerate more than 2 times in a row" mean?
A team that has pursued in two turns running may not pursue in the third; it can pursue again once another team has pursued or a turn has passed without its pursuit. The Dutch publisher's FAQ words it more strictly — the same team may not pursue twice in a row — so agree which reading you use; the English rules say two.
Source: BGG thread
Can I pursue with no cyclist of mine in the peloton?
Yes. Your support riders do the pursuing, and they are always in the peloton.
Source: BGG thread
How much road does the peloton take up, and when does it catch a rider?
It covers the full width of the road and two squares in length, and follows the dotted squares where there are some. Compare the front of the peloton with the front of the rider's square: level with it, the rider joins the front of the peloton; past it, the back.
Source: BGG thread
If I am behind the peloton, what do I need to rejoin it?
Ride into one of the two squares the peloton occupies.
Source: BGG thread
Can all the riders sit in the front, or all in the back?
Yes, there is no limit on either area. If everyone moves to the back, the peloton still moves normally.
Source: BGG thread
Where should I put my riders in the peloton? Official
In the front if you plan an attack, in the back if you want to save energy.
Source: The Game Master FAQ
Can a rider fall while in the peloton?
No. Riders in the peloton never risk a fall; the peloton's move ignores blackened squares.
Source: BGG thread
Two riders end level on the same line. Which moves first next turn?
The one who arrived last — the rider who reached the other moves first, as the rules' figure shows by placing him slightly ahead.
Source: BGG thread
Which terrain sets a rider's free move when the move crosses into another hexagon?
The square where the move starts. A rider on the last square of a descent carries the downhill free move into the next hexagon.
Source: BGG thread
My sprinter starts in the sprint zone but will leave it during the move. Does he get the +1?
Yes. Free movement is decided where the move starts.
Source: BGG thread
Can a rider who breaks away and is caught by the peloton in the same turn pay twice?
Yes. He pays for his breakaway move and then for the peloton's move like everyone in it. Attacks should be planned to stick.
Source: BGG thread
If I do not use my slipstream square, do I get energy back?
Yes. It is a free square like the others, and every unused free square gives back 1 energy.
Source: BGG thread
When does a breakaway also lose the riders drafting behind it? Official
With a move of 5 squares on cobbles, 8 on a descent and 6 on any other terrain.
Source: The Game Master FAQ
Which squares count against the climb category for a crack?
Only the squares paid for with energy that lie on the categorised climb. Free squares, and paid squares beyond the top of the climb, do not count.
Source: BGG thread
How much does a crack or a fall cost?
A crack doubles the cost of the move. A fall costs the move's normal price and the rider skips the next turn.
Source: BGG thread
Does a rider recover energy after a fall?
No. Skipping the turn does not count as unused free squares.
Source: BGG thread
If my paid squares cross several blackened squares, how many times do I roll?
On normal asphalt, once per move: a rider risks only once during a move.
Source: BGG thread
On cobbles, do I roll once per move or once per treacherous square?
The English rules do not say, and players disagree. Common readings: roll once on the cobbles table (4 orange or 4 blue fall, 4 red puncture) without marking the risk line, or roll for each treacherous cobbled square crossed with paid squares — which is what the Italian edition says. Agree before the race.
Source: BGG thread
What makes cobbles different from other terrain? Official
There are more treacherous squares; paid squares over them risk both a fall and a puncture; and a move of only 5 squares already shakes off riders in your slipstream.
Source: The Game Master FAQ
How do you count riders' times in a stage race?
The rules count whole turns behind the stage winner, with 2 turns off for the winner and 1 for the second. There are no official finer rules: many players convert turns to seconds by stage type, or add a second per square, and give all riders who finish in the same turn the same time.
Source: BGG thread
Do all riders have to finish a stage?
Yes. Each rider's delay is the number of turns they finish after the winner, so play every rider to the line.
Source: BGG thread
How do we break a tie in the general classification?
The rules have no tie-break. A common choice: most stage wins, then most second places, and so on.
Source: BGG thread
How do more than four players share the four teams?
Each team keeps one support-rider token and six pursuits, so players on the same team have to agree when to use them. Experienced players find 3–4 players with a full team each best, and keep to at most 12 riders on the course.
Source: BGG thread