It’s time! Time to wake up and start watching cycling at 7am every morning for three weeks! Time to explain to your boss that you simply are not available for meetings until 11:30AM. But why just quietly enjoy the sport of cycling when you can turn it into a competition? Take all that amateur directeur sportif energy and channel it into a chance to win prizes and bragging rights. Don’t just be sad that your favorite rider blew up, be sad because he also lost you points in a fantasy sports league and cost you a pair of cool bibs and some refreshing beverages.

THE PRIZES: One lucky winner will score a pair of Castelli Unlimited Bibs and two 6-packs of delicious Athletic Brewing Company beers.

Let’s talk about the Castelli Unlimited Bibs. THEY ARE GREAT. I own two pairs! From even before I was a sponsored athlete, so you know what I am about to tell you is the truth. The original Unlimited Bib Shorts have enclosed pockets with a flap that keep your belongings safe and secure, additional mesh pockets on the back bib straps, and a more relaxed fit that’s still compressive.

The new Free Unlimited Bib Shorts have traditional cargo pockets and the more compressive fit of race bibs. Perhaps most important: the women’s free unlimited are designed to allow for pee breaks without removing the bibs! Incredible! The cyclist equivalent of “my dress has pockets.”

Both pairs have been great on long mountain bike or gravel rides, and are ideal for hot summer days when you’d prefer to ditch your jersey, but still need somewhere to stash your food and phone.

First Time Playing Fantasy TDF?

Well, it’s not mine, but my fantasy league results are much like my race results: I have a lot of big ideas, carefully formulated plans, and ultimately go out hot, blow up, and finish somewhere mid-pack. Here’s some advice for those of you who hate reading the rules.

• You can earn more points in advance by doing the daily quiz on the website! It’s worth it.

• You must have a full race roster to score points! Remember to double check your team before the game starts to account for any last minute changes.

• Select a captain every day - they’ll score you double points, so if you have someone who can win or podium that stage, that should be your pick. A top 10 stage finisher will earn you more points than a leader in the GC standings.

• You only get 8 transfers. Use them wisely! Don’t start trading on the first or second day because there are always more abandons than you expect. Remember this year’s Giro? (Probably not, we all stopped caring after we lost Bini in the Great Cork Debacle). Or for that matter, this year’s Tour De Suisse?

• The winner gets to write a short speech each day. You better not forget, and it better be funny. I’m watching.

Huge thanks as always to our sponsors Castelli Cycling and Athletic Brewing Company. (Psst: you can use code TBD25 for 25% off your first Athletic Brewing order.)

You may not win, but the real prize is the heckling we did along the way.

Hope to see you all again for the Tour De France Femme Avec Zwift. Or for my followup post: How dare you not have a fantasy league for the TDF Femme?