Competition Rules
How four riders race 185km from home
The Race
Four riders - Justin, Marian, Nan, and Wally - are each cycling the 185km Stage 9 route from Malemort to Ussel. Not on the road in France, but on their bikes at home, logging daily kilometres from April through July 2026.
Every kilometre they ride at home moves them a little further along the route. The rider who covers the full 185km first wins. But there's a catch.
The Daily Cap
Each day, a maximum of 2 kilometres counts toward your progress on the route. Ride 20km on a Saturday? Only 2km are credited. This keeps the race tight and rewards consistency over single big efforts.
But unused cap rolls over. If you don't ride on Monday, Tuesday's cap becomes 4km. Take three days off and you have 8km of cap to burn. The carry-over rewards riders who bank rest days and then put in a big effort.
The Jerseys
Race leader. Highest total capped distance. Tiebreaker: highest actual distance ridden.
Sprint leader. Most sprint points accumulated at intermediate sprint locations along the route.
Climbing leader. Most climbing points earned at the summits of the route's categorized climbs.
Last place by capped distance. In Tour tradition, a badge of honour - the rider who refuses to abandon.
Sprint Points
Five intermediate sprints are placed along the route, mostly in flat or rolling terrain near towns. When a rider's cumulative progress passes a sprint location, they "contest" the sprint. The first rider to reach each sprint gets the most points, with decreasing points for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
| Location | Km | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint - Brive-la-Gaillarde | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Sprint - Turenne | 17 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 |
| Sprint - Before Tulle | 60 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 |
| Sprint - Lestards | 130 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 |
| Sprint - Ussel Finish | 183 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 |
Climbing Points
Ten categorized climbs dot the route, from the gentle Cote de Malemort near the start to the fearsome Suc au May at 7.7%. Higher-category climbs award more points. The first rider over each summit claims the biggest prize.
| Climb | Km | Cat | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Côte de Malemort | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| Puy Boubou | 29.06 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Côte de Lagleygeolle | 44.99 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| Côte de Miel | 56.5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| Côte de Naves | 77.45 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Puy de Lachaud | 87.54 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Suc au May | 105.15 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Côte de la Croix de Pey | 129.54 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Mont Bessou | 152.31 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| Côte des Gardes | 170.73 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Tiebreaking
When two or more riders reach a point location on the same day, ties are broken randomly. For the yellow jersey, ties in capped distance are broken by total actual distance ridden.
Timing
Rider distances are logged daily from the start of publication (April 2026) through to the stage race day on Sunday, July 12. Standings are updated with each blog entry, published twice weekly on Sundays and Wednesdays.