Have you signed up for free at www.fantagiroditalia.it? Have you read the rules and built your team of 8 riders, naming one of them as captain? Super! Now you’re probably wondering how rider rankings are determined in the FantaGiro d’Italia, the official fantasy game of the Giro d’Italia. And this is where the fun really begins!
Rankings in the FantaGiro d’Italia are based partly on riders’ sporting performances (general classification, stage results, placements in the King of the Mountains, points and young rider standings, etc.) and partly on a host of bonuses and maluses laid out in the game’s rules. These add a dose of curiosity and fun, as riders can earn them not only during the 21 stages of the Giro but also in hospitality zones, before the start, during pre-stage operations or award ceremonies.
Among the confirmed bonuses are classics like the MacGyver Bonus (+20 points) awarded to the rider who repairs their own bike while riding, the Fix-It-All Bonus (+20) for those who stop to fix a teammate’s bike, or the Good Samaritan Bonus (+20) for lending their bike to a teammate. There are also fan-interaction bonuses, including the Visiting Relatives Bonus (+10) for greeting family, friends or fans during the race; the Picnic Bonus (+10) for accepting food or drink from roadside fans; the Wheelie Bonus (+10) for a celebratory wheelie (which doubles if done at the finish line); and the Bidon Bonus (+10) for gifting a water bottle to a fan.
Some bonuses are tied to racing dynamics: the Epic Breakaway Bonus (+20) and Legendary Breakaway Bonus (+30) for winning a stage after at least 50 km or 80 km solo, respectively; the Unselfish Bonus (+10) for a Maglia Rosa leader who leads out a teammate in the final 3 km; and the Stop & Go Bonus (+10) for waiting to help a teammate after a crash or mechanical issue.
There are also tributes to legends of the sport: the Nibali Bonus (+30) for winning in the snow, the Gilbert Bonus (+10) for lifting the bike in celebration, the Kuss Bonus (+20) for drinking from the bottle on the podium for more than 10 seconds, the Ciccone Bonus (+10) for throwing sunglasses into the crowd before the line, and a heartfelt Scarponi Bonus (+20) awarded if a bird lands on a rider’s shoulder.
