Description

A cycling game. 2 to 6 players. Copyright 1984 Peter English. Materials: black and white laminated board featuring a course and cartoon graphics, spinner (you can use a 6 sided die, 34 bonus tabs, 7 cutout figures for bunch and riders, 6 rider cards (Bernard, Eddy, Fausto, Jacques, Sean, Tom - functionally identical).
Riders can be either in "the bunch" or making a break out in front or left behind. When in the bunch the rider figure remains on your card where you also place bonus tabs that are accumulated by reaching certain points in the race first and also when rolling on your turn a 4 or 5 if in the bunch, or 6. Main mechanism is roll and move along a track that includes squares for gaining bonus tabs and penalties that can move you back. The race takes the riders past fans, through an avalanche, past a protest, into a thunderstorm, up the Kremmelburg climb, across cobbles and up the Poggio climb before the finish. Each turn, each player spins the spinner (rolls the die), moves individually or stays in the bunch and and after all players the bunch moves. The bunch always moves three spaces. To break away from the bunch you must roll a 4 or more. A minimum of one rider must remain in the bunch. Generally there can only be up to 2 riders per square (1 on the Kobbleburg climb) and the bunch will swallow you back up if it catches you or leave you off the back if it passes you. Players use their bonus tabs to increase their movement rate or to increase the speed of the bunch when the bunch moves.
The strategy revolves around collecting bonus tabs and deciding when and at which part of the course to make an individual break. The winner is the first rider past the finishing post.