# SMARTER, MORE STRATEGIC SEASON PLANNING
In Pro Cycling Manager 26, season planning has been completely overhauled to give you greater immersion and control. Shape your team’s hierarchy, assign roles to each rider, and organise your squad by speciality or versatility to get the most out of your roster.
Every race on the calendar now carries one of four priority levels, allowing you to identify the defining moments of your season and commit your strongest assets accordingly. Once your objectives are set, lock in each rider’s programme to ensure your squad is balanced and competitive from spring through to the final races of the year.
At the start of the season, you’ll be given an automatically generated plan, which you’re free to fine-tune to match your goals and constraints. For a more authentic and competitive experience, AI teams now benefit from these same advanced planning tools.
And of course, the unexpected still happens. Crashes, illness or poor form may force you to scale back a leader’s ambitions and rethink their schedule mid-season.
# THE MOST REALISTIC DAY FORM YET
The day form system has been fully redesigned for greater realism, introducing two new attributes: Tour Focus and Classics Focus. A rider’s consistency and day-to-day performance now fluctuate more naturally depending on their strengths and the type of race they’re targeting.
A Grand Tour contender will maintain steadier form across multi-stage races, while a Classics specialist will show greater consistency in one-day events. Meanwhile, more unpredictable riders may alternate between brilliance and off-days, just like in the real peloton.
These traits evolve throughout a rider’s career based on their race calendar and the events you enter them in, adding another strategic layer to long-term development.
# SAVE TIME WITHOUT SACRIFICING ACCURACY
Race simulation has also evolved with the introduction of Detailed Simulation. Designed for experienced players, it runs on the full 3D race engine – without the visual display – delivering highly consistent and realistic outcomes in just seconds as it calculates the entire event behind the scenes.
Now renamed Instant Result, the previous system is still available, giving you full flexibility. Depending on the race, you can choose between the speed of Instant Result or the enhanced realism of Detailed Simulation.
# GREATER FREEDOM IN PRO CYCLIST MODE
Start your Pro Cyclist career your way, with two distinct options: create a rider who looks like you or take control of an existing professional.
Choosing a real-world rider lets you begin at a more advanced level, allocating their initial skill points to tailor their profile to your preferred playstyle.
The contract system has also been refreshed. Transfer opportunities have been redesigned to give you faster access to the sport’s top teams and a clearer path to cycling’s biggest races.
# FURTHER UPDATES TO DISCOVER
- Recently retired riders can now continue their careers as coaches or scouts
- Team identity evolves in Career mode, including the option to change nationality during the off-season
- National team participation is now optional
- Regulation update: three second-division teams now receive automatic invitations to the calendar’s major races
- New game option allowing you to adjust the progression and experience gain of your Pro Cyclist
