Typically, when the world of cycling collides with computer gaming, we're talking about the upsurging discipline of indoor cycling, with turbo trainers, Zwift and the likes, but not today. Today's announcement comes from the more mainstream world of computer gaming, where you'd typically find people talking about Minecraft or League of Legends.
While probably not able to boast the same participant levels as the aforementioned duo, two of road cycling's biggest PC games are getting a refresh, and the result is that today sees the launch of Pro Cycling Manager 2022 and Tour de France 2022.
Both titles are owned and produced by Nacon Gaming, a gaming company from the North of France, and their annual launch is timed to coincide with the Tour de France.
(Image credit: Nacon Gaming)
Pro Cycling Manager 2022
Pro Cycling Manager was originally launched in 2001 under the shortened name of Cycling Manager. It took on the 'Pro' label in 2005, and has been an annual launch ever since.
The main premise of the game is to transport you, the player, into the role of a directeur sportif of a professional cycling team, with the aim of growing your team to the top of the sport by managing recruitment, sponsors, training, talent-spotting, race strategy and more. However, the game's alternative Pro Cyclist mode allows you to become a single rider with the aim of winning races and building a career.
There are a host of updates for the 2022 game, which include a new talent scouting system in which your scouts are designed to learn and improve over time, adjusted racing dynamics that mimic real-life unpredictability, a new rider development process, a redesigned interface that's easier to navigate, and an amendment to the systems that control riders' stamina and resistance. Each stage from the 2022 Tour de France has also been built into the new game.
It's priced at £34.99, but unfortunately for Mac owners, Pro Cycling Manager is only available on PC, via the Steam store.
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(Image credit: Nacon Gaming)
Tour de France 2022
While Pro Cycling Manager puts you into the role of DS or rider, Tour de France allows you to be a rider, an entire team, or even a race organiser.
In Pro Leader mode, you are a rider. You can choose to be any rider type you like, from sprinter to mountain goat, and the aim, perhaps unsurprisingly, is to have a successful Tour de France. For some, that will mean points jersey success, while others will want to go all-in for the GC. In Pro Team mode, you start at the lowest rungs of the cycling ladder. As a team, you're required to work toward success and earn race invitations. As the invitations grow, so does your team's profile, and the ultimate goal is an invitation to - and ultimately, victory at - the Tour. Meanwhile, My Tour mode puts you in the shoes of the race organiser. Choose from 92 stages to build a 21-day grand tour, choosing the route, the rest days, the teams that partake and more.
For 2022, new features include an online mode with a challenge called 'race of the week', which lets you race against fellow players around the world. The new racing dynamics found in Pro Cycling Manager are also found here, likewise the stages of the 2022 Tour de France, as well as "the 'Primavera Classic' inspired by a major Italian race," which we can only assume is Milan-San Remo.
Like Pro Cycling Manager. Tour de France 2022 is also unavailable to Mac users, but alongside the Steam-powered PC game it is also available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series X.
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Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton.
Josh has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews. On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years.
He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000.
These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
