Dev Blog #3 Planning Your Race Tactics

Planning Your Race Tactics

Before the peloton even rolls to the start line, the race has already begun. Inside the team bus, hours before the start, riders and staff discuss the plan that might decide the race.

In Velo Victory, the same strategic thinking happens before every race. Steam post image

Thinking like a Directeur Sportif

On race day, your role is not to control every pedal stroke. Being a manager is about handling the strategy in the stressful and exciting moments before the race begins.

Whether your team is in a modern bus or a small van, you analyze rider profiles and assign specific roles and duties. You give the instructions, but once the race begins, the riders must execute them under the pressure of the race. Steam post image

Is your best rider really ready to take on the role of Leader?

And if he struggles, is there a reliable Reserve Leader ready to take over?

What about your Attackers? Do you ask them to attack all-out to catch the right breakaway? Or do you let them take the risk to wait and attack late, when your rivals are already tired?

And in the final sprint, will your Sprinter follow the wheel of the Lead Out in the final meters of the stage, or will you ask him to launch early, several hundred meters before the finish?

These are the kinds of decisions that define a race, while on the road an experienced Road Captain helps translate your strategy into action.

Velo Victory does not aim to compete with triple-A race graphics. Instead, the focus is on building a tactical simulation where the outcome of a race is shaped by the decisions you make as a manager. Steam post image

Visualizing the stage profile

To help you make these decisions, the game provides a detailed stage profile visualization. By zooming in, you get a clear breakdown of slopes and road sectors. Just like real teams during the pre-race briefing, you analyze the profile and decide where your strategy should come to life. Steam post image

Strategy meets the race

Once the race begins, riders follow the strategy you defined, reacting to the race situation and executing the plan as best they can. But sometimes the race develops differently than expected. In those moments, you quickly adjust your tactical instructions and let your riders adapt to the situation on the road.

Because in cycling, the winning move rarely appears by chance, it usually comes from the interaction between your tactical plan and the riders’ ability to execute it.