Felix Engelhardt wildly popular in fantasy game: "I don’t like cobblestones at all!"

Already three years ago, Felix Engelhardt was one of the absolute hits in the cycling manager game of our colleagues at Sporza. Even though the now 25-year-old German from Jayco AlUla was anything but a high flyer. He never knew how popular he was in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2023. He listens to that with a hearty laugh in the Alpecin Barbershop at WielerFlits.

In a list featuring only top names, Engelhardt was in the top 10 (ninth) of the most chosen riders in the fantasy game of our Belgian colleagues in 2023. On social media, he became a gimmick, and Sporza even headlined when he scored his first pro victory in March 2023. The German had no idea about his popularity. “I’m really surprised!” he laughs. “I didn’t even race that many classics in the youth categories…” The reason was simple: with a value of only one million, he was one of the cheapest riders.

“I actually don’t like cobblestones at all!” the German points out. “You really have to focus 100% on the classics if you want to do well there. But those races aren’t among my favorite events. To this day, I’ve ridden very little on cobblestones. Should people pick me for this classics season? Haha, I don’t know. I mainly just ride Strade Bianche. That is a race I really love. I also have some expectations there. This season, I mainly want to win races again and improve myself at WorldTour level. Because in the first years, the results were lacking.”

Still, we are curious about a striking name the German has in mind for this spring. Someone who can do well, but no one expects it. After not much hesitation, Engelhardt has someone in mind. “Then I would probably pick my teammate Bob Donaldson. He had a strong end to 2025 and finished second once in Paris-Roubaix U23 (2024, ed.). You saw him develop throughout 2025, and I think he can have a good season this year. He can finish well and can put down his first results this year.”

For those considering Engelhardt in the WielerFlits Team Manager: this year he’s also among the cheapest riders in our game. The German costs you one euro point of your budget. Will you still include him after this video with an eye on Strade Bianche?