Wittenberg

Placeholder post for team reveal.

Stage 1 Barcelona -> Barcelona (Team Time Trial)

The final leg started with the team time trial yesterday. Unfortunately the organisation wasn't great and because of the late start much of it took place in the dark. Combined with heavy rains this caused several crashes.

Banqeu da Cézembre started out as the big favourites, but had to wait due to a puncture by Vingegaard, ending last. Instead, it was Els Gagnheirs who completed the course in the least amount of time, followed by Dead Last and the Copacabana Boys.


Standings after stage 1

Pos	Team	Points
1st	Els Gaghneirs (GNH)	170
2nd	Dead Last (DED)	150
3rd	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	145
4th	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	125
5th	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	120
5th	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	120
7th	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	80
8th	Cyclohexane (CHX)	65
9th	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	60
10th	Cjovani Valcurias (CAL)	55
11th	Banqeu da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	25

Folks, terribly sorry about the lack of hype and updates and Centraseirăs, but I've been rather busy and distracted by other stuff lately, and so has Glüc.

Things should smooth out in the next few days, at least for me, so it shouldn't be an issue to resume the kind of daily posting that we did for Giro and Tour, even if Glüc is still busy (which is my understanding).

Thank you to all who are taking part, with a special shout-out to Vitx who's competing again after taking Giro and Tour off, and I hope to see Breneir, Marcel and Audradă back in the future.

A quick note on teams, as I'm very pleased to report we have a very diverse lineup:

- no single rider has been selected by a majority of directeur sportifs (Roglic and Vingegaard are the most picked, by 5 out of 11);
- the largest overlap between any two teams is 4 (same as Tour, and two fewer than Giro);
- two teams have a whopping 5 unique riders.

This should make for exciting competition, as there's more chance a strong performance by your team won't be canceled out by another team having your same riders!

And a quick scoring update after stage 2, with @Carlüs Éovart Vilaçafat taking the lead largely thanks to Kaden Groves and Romain Bardet!

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+2)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	448	+303
2nd	(+3)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	342	+222
3rd	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	334	+184
4th	(+4)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	326	+261
5th	(+5)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	243	+188
6th	(+1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	236	+156
7th	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	233	+113
8th	(-4)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	225	+100
9th	(-8)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	205	+35
10th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	148	+88
11th	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	25	+0

Quote from: Sir Lüc on August 28, 2023, 05:44:52 AM

11th

Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)

+0

:'(
That's so bad. I don't think thats ever happened before.

We've never been in first place before!

Feels goooooood!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/l0IycXNMVUNYAUxpK/giphy.gif)

Stage 3 Súria -> Arinsal

First mountain stage today, leaving Spain to finish in Andorra. No big time losses for the main GC contenders yet, but Evenepoel (DED/GHS/MCB/PTM) won the stage, followed by Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/CHX/CJO/GNH), Ayuso (PTM/VAL), Roglic (BDC/SOS/CJO/GHS/GNH) and Mas (DED/GNH/MCB/PTM). With 3 of the top 6 riders Port Maxhestic had a great day and takes over the lead!

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+6)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	936	+703
2nd	(-1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	927	+479
3rd	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	917	+583
4th	(+4)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	887	+662
5th	(-3)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	778	+436
6th	(+3)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	734	+529
7th	(-3)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	693	+467
8th	(-2)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	437	+156
9th	(-4)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	633	+390
10th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	578	+430
11th	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	542	+517

!!!!?!?!??!?!!!

Not enough punctuation to express my dismay.

EDIT: Okay, a little better in the update.

Stage 4 Andorra La Vella -> Tarragona

A first proper bunch sprint, a second Maricopa Cabana Boys victory! This time, no solo efforts could deny Kaden Groves (MCB/VAL) a stage win, with both the hottest team north of Havana and Valcürïas also benefitting from Lewis Askey's eighth place.

The Maricopans ultimately win out due to also placing Evenepoel and Mas in the top 20; and it could have been an even more emphatic victory had Bryan Coquard, the best sprinter on the entry list other than Groves, not been involved in a crash 4km from the finish together with Santiago Buitrago (GHS/CHX) and a few others. Also crashing and out of the sprint contention, Marijn van den Berg (PTM/GHS), his demise, though harmless, sadly preventing Port Maxhestic's defense of the top spot in the standings.

Also scoring relatively high today are the teams of the two other podium finishers: Dead Last and the Cantzeleria Aþletici, due to Juan Sebastian Molano's second place, and Cyclohexane and Naziun Cjovani, due to Edward Theuns's third place.

Standings after stage 4:
                                                           

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	1382	+455
2nd	(+1)	Dead Last (DED)	1253	+336
3rd	(-2)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1156	+220
4th	(+1)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	1093	+315
5th	(-1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1040	+153
6th	(+3)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	1016	+383
7th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	949	+256
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	914	+241
9th	(-3)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	847	+113
10th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	755	+177
11th	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	721	+179

Very similar stage coming up tomorrow: hilly most of the way, but flat finish for a second mass sprint. Clearly another opportunity for the Cabana Boys to score big - already the only two-sprinter lineup, they now also apparently can count on Askey to aim high. The teams whose sprinters didn't feature today - GHS and PTM with van den Berg, Gagnheirs with Dainese - will surely be looking for another opportunity. On the other hand, it will have to be seen whether Fieschă's Ballerstedt will have any chances to shine, when Groves is sure to receive most if not all of Alpecin's focus in his pursuit of the points classification.

I totally forgot to deliver updates on these during Tour, but we are totally tracking side classifications too! (sprinters's classification, climbers's classification and the combativity classification)

Reminder that the sprinters's classification is the sum of points gathered in the daily points classification ("PC" on Velogames) and in the intermediate sprints ("Spr" on Velogames); the climbers's classification is the sum of summit points ("Sum") and daily King of Mountains classification points ("KOM"); and the combativity classification is based on breakaway points ("Bkw").

I'll do a quick update on the front of each classification after every update I do, and a fuller update on rest days!

SPRINTERS'S CLASSIFICATION
Maricopa Cabana Boys 40
Naziun Cjovani 32
Cézembre Fieschā 28
Cjovani Valcürïas 26

CLIMBERS'S CLASSIFICATION
Port Maxhestic AC 42
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 40
Maricopa Cabana Boys 35
Dead Last 35

COMBATIVITY CLASSIFICATION
Naziun Cjovani & Cézembre Fieschă jointly lead with 40 points.

Storm of abandons hitting TCAT sadly. Coquard (MCB) didn't start yesterday, Zana (CHX/GHS) retired due to a stomach illness, and today we already have Bagioli (CHX/SOS/DED) and Vine (CHX/VAL) crashing out.

Cyclohexane is sadly already down to 6 when the sixth stage is not even completed. Eight riders left for Gordon Hiatus Support Team, Valcürïas, Cantzeleria and Dead Last.

---

Standings after (yesterday's) stage 5 - sorry, no update beyond saying it was another Groves win and MCB/Valcürïas cashed in big on Groves, Ganna and Askey all placing top 5 - but there will be one for today's stage:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2036	+654
2nd	(+4)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	1639	+623
3rd	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	1569	+316
4th	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1322	+166
5th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1199	+159
6th	(-2)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	1186	+93
7th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1136	+187
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1086	+172
9th	(=)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	1071	+224
10th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	932	+177
11th	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	828	+107

Congratulations to @Carlüs Éovart Vilaçafat and @Vitxalmour on placing respectively 25th and 66th out of almost 19K Velogames contestants for yesterday's daily score update! Carlüs is also currently 33rd in the overall leaderboard. Even though it's early days, we've seldom if ever had someone from TCAT place that high!

Stage 6 La Vall d'Uixó -> Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre

Six might be the new nine for Cyclohexane, as after losing Zana, Bagioli and Vine in quick succession they still manage to end up second today thanks to Sepp Kuss's win. But even placing Buitrago 11th was not enough for CHX to pip Banqeu da Cézembre for the top spot, thanks to a whole 100 assist points generated from Kuss's victory - and second place in the general classification - to the other six Jumbo-Visma riders in BDC's roster.

Dead Last and Valcürïas's Lenny Martinez, youngest rider at the start, ended up second but will steal the leader's jersey from Remco Evenepoel. Third place for Romain Bardet (MCB/SOS/CJO/CFA).

Standings after stage 6:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2259	+223
2nd	(=)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	1909	+270
3rd	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	1871	+302
4th	(+3)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1526	+390
5th	(+1)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	1405	+219
6th	(-2)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1389	+67
7th	(-2)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1356	+157
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1339	+253
9th	(=)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	1254	+183
10th	(+1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	1244	+416
11th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1192	+260

Side classification leadership after stage 6:
SPRINTERS: Cabana Boys (110), Valcürïas (72), GHST (65)
CLIMBERS: Dead Last (60), Port Maxhestic (56), Cabana Boys (55), GHST (54)
COMBATIVITY: Naziun Cjovani & Cézembre Fieschă (40)


Another bunch sprint is coming in stage 7, and it will be the last for a while, as Vuelta next takes on two mountain stages, the latter with an uphill finish; the lone time trial of this year; and lastly another hilly stage with an uphill finish. This is sure to be MCB's chance to do more damage, before we move to less lopsided territory.

This is just brutal... GNH sponsors must be livid.

The Cabana Boys commin' for ya!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZ21rMTNxdzk5b2gwd3kwN2piMTNpOXVlajEyeHBybzd0aDhqOGN4OCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/lOsZiZtBywjwmqt4Qb/giphy.gif)

Stage 7 Utiel -> Oliva

Sadly, the prospects for the Cabana Boys, along with Valcurias and the chancery team, deteriorated today, as Thymen Arensman (MCB/SOS/VAL) ended up in hospital after a crash. You couldn't tell from the current scores though as the Cabana Boys and Valcurias did well in terms of the stage result and (spoiler) keep their first and second place in the standing.

The stage started with descending and rolling terrain, but ended pretty much flat, so another opportunity for a bunch sprint. Fastest of the TCAT riders was Edward Theuns (CHX/CJO), followed by Molano (DED/SOS), Groves (MCB/VAL), Van den Berg (PTM/GHS) and Gonzalez (CFA). The results by Molano and Ganna, combined with the GC lead for Martinez means that Dead Last scored the most points today. Meanwhile, Els Gaghneirs did poorly again and drop to last place.

Standings after stage 7:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2517	+258
2nd	(=)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	2185	+276
3rd	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2164	+293
4th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1774	+248
5th	(+2)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1613	+257
6th	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1593	+204
7th	(-2)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	1590	+185
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1565	+226
9th	(+1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	1362	+118
10th	(+1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1360	+168
11th	(-2)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	1318	+64

Tomorrow we are on the Costa Blanca in Alicante. But no trips to the beach or partying in Benidorm. Instead there will be serious climbing with 5 summits, including a first category climb.

I think Maricopa's raging success in this leg calls for a proper logo!

(https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v9l5icqbra3vk2vqcif8s/MCBLogo.png?rlkey=rv8bgcq3hx792ipj55y4zi1gp&raw=1)

Stage 8 Dénia -> Xorret de Catí

GC KUSS GC KUSS GC KUSS

World's best mountain domestique-turned-GC contender Sepp Kuss (CHX/BDC) did not win today, but he did take maillot rojo from Lenny Martinez (DED/VAL) and opened up a sizable lead to all plausible contenders - 2'30 to Evenepoel (MCB/DED/PTM/GHS), 2'38 and 2'42 to his teammates Roglic (SOS/GHS/CJO/GNH/BDC) and Vingegaard (CHX/CJO/GNH/CFA/BDC), all the way down to a very distant Geraint Thomas (VAL/CHX), already 8'43 down in the general classification.

It was not Kuss but Roglic who won today however, edging out Evenepoel in an uphill sprint at the front of a group of leaders including, in order, Ayuso (PTM/VAL), Mas (MCB/DED/PTM/GNH), Vingegaard, Almeida (SOS/GHS/CFA), Kuss and Soler. Rounding off the top ten, Vlasov (PTM/SOS/CFA), while Martinez paid over a minute to the winners and finished 12th together with Uijtdebroeks (GHS).

In TCAT, it is Gordon Hiatus Support Team's day, barely edging out assist points powerhouse Banqeu de Cézembre and Port Maxhestic. All these teams climb up a place, with Gagnheirs also moving out of last place and Dead Last overtaking Valcürïas for second overall.

Standings after stage 8:
                                

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2911	+394
2nd	(+1)	Dead Last (DED)	2658	+494
3rd	(-1)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	2437	+252
4th	(+1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2291	+678
5th	(+1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	2248	+655
6th	(-2)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2105	+331
7th	(=)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	2056	+466
8th	(+1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	2032	+670
9th	(-1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1990	+425
10th	(+1)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	1909	+591
11th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1750	+390

Side classification leadership after stage 8:
SPRINTERS: Cabana Boys (160), Valcürïas (116), GHST (99),...
CLIMBERS: Dead Last (94), GHST (93), Port Maxhestic (91), Cabana Boys (88),...
COMBATIVITY: Naziun Cjovani & Cézembre Fieschă (40),..


Get ready for more mountains tomorrow, for the last stage before the first of two rest days!

SEPP KUSS STILL IN RED

Stage 9 Cartagena -> Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca

A breakaway stage to cap off the week, with former TCAT rider Lennard Kämna taking the win, showing why he's a much better stage hunter than GC contender/captain. The break included just one TCAT rider, Jon Barrenetxea (DED/SOS/CJO/CFA), who ultimately finished fifth.

A pretty low scoring affair then, with the Barrenetxea teams logically in front, Dead Last topping the standings and going very close to toppling the Cabana Boys at the top, even! Likewise, Fieschă is just five points away from Gagnheirs, while Cjovani and Cantzelerïă both gained places today. Also gaining places, Port Maxhestic, who placed both Enric Mas (MCB/DED/PTM/GNH) and Alexandr Vlasov (PTM/SOS/CFA) in the top 10.

Standings after stage 9:                                            

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3046	+135
2nd	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3007	+349
3rd	(=)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	2523	+86
4th	(+1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	2480	+232
5th	(-1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2421	+130
6th	(+1)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	2376	+320
7th	(+2)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2256	+266
8th	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	2255	+223
9th	(-3)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2216	+111
10th	(=)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	2088	+179
11th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2083	+333

Rest day tomorrow, we will resume on Tuesday with a 25km individual time trial in Valladolid. A bit of analysis to come as well!

So, a weather-battered week 1 comes to an end. Seems like Vuelta is going the same way as Giro, bar Covid.

Even with Coquard bombing, with only 8 points scored before a crash caused an early retirement, Maricopa Cabana Boys still leads TCAT thanks to its other sprinter Groves more than making up for the missed points. MCB was the lone team to go for a sprinter strategy, which was turbocharged by also picking Ganna and Askey, two unclassed riders who can and did sprint this week. Twice a time trial world champion, Ganna will also have a chance at winning tomorrow's ITT.

It remains to be seen whether MCB can resist Dead Last's charge in the coming stages though. They did lose Bagioli and Bernal might not have been the best allrounder pick (in fact, he's the second lowest scoring one after non-TCAT Bauke Mollema), but they have Ganna too, a solid climber combination of Mas and Martinez, a solid sprinter in Molano, and surprisingly popular pick Barrenetxea, second best 6 point unclassed among TCAT picks at the moment.

Also flying high - perhaps unexpectedly given how their 2022 Vuelta went - are the Cjovani Valcürïas, who also own Martinez, Groves, Ganna and Askey. Unfortunately, their chances to make up the difference with MCB and DED rest all into Juan Ayuso, as Thomas is having a shocker and Arensman and Vine both sadly crashed out. You never know though - Ayuso might well be UAE's chosen leader and resist well into the third week, as Dead Last's Mas fades and MCB gets diminishing returns with fewer sprints left. But sadly, Evenepoel - who the others do have - could be too high an obstacle to clear.

In fourth, Port Maxhestic has for sure the best team they are bringing to TCAT yet. The leading quartet of Evenepoel, Ayuso, Vlasov and Mas is doing fine so far, and Van den Berg is a solid sprinter who should have scored more had he not clumsily crashed in stage 3. The reason PTM aren't higher up is twofold: the sprints did them no favours, but the upcoming climbs should reverse that; and their other picks haven't particularly impressed, except by picking up assist points - but that is nothing to be scoffed at and might very well make the difference ultimately.

Very similar story for Gordon Hiatus Support Team except the effort is a little more spread out. Roglic and Evenepoel both won a stage; Almeida is his usual self, lagging behind on the climbs but always coming back; Uijtdebroeks and Buitrago did ok so far, but neither delivered a standout performance so far. Lazkano will also get more chances at a stage win, as he hasn't showed much so far (and didn't rack up any breakaway points despite featuring in some). Losing Zana without scoring a point is certainly a disappointing blow, but on the other hand he was only worth 6 credits, and Govekar proved to be a good 4 credit "hidden sprinter"; indeed, the best 4 credit pick of TCAT so far, in a way the heir of Neilands at Tour.

Cantzelerïă Aþletici somewhat look like a mix of the previous teams; if picking Roglic and Almeida was a Giro-inspired selection they certainly dodged the Thomas bullet, and Bardet and Vlasov nicely complement them and will no doubt prove useful in the coming climbs. They also certainly picked right with Molano as a sprinter and Barrenetxea in their unclassed picks. Sadly though, Arensman and Bagioli's DNFs will hamper them, as they both could have come alive later. This team's fate entirely depends on Roglic and Almeida scoring big - staying high in GC and placing high in stages - even though they respectively have Kuss-Vingegaard and Ayuso-Soler as uncomfortable co-contestants in Jumbo Visma and UAE. Bardet will not get a high GC finish, so he might be free to fight for stage wins, which he certainly can deliver.

Naziun Cjovani made several picks that might yield increasing returns in the coming stages: Vingegaard and Roglic for sure, but also the aforementioned Bardet and maybe even Buchmann, who did really well in Tour, but hasn't scored much this week and has to contend with a crowded field at Bora (Higuita, Uijtdebroeks, Kämna, Vlasov). Theuns was also a really good sprinter pick - the second best, in fact, and half the cost of Groves! - but where Cjovani fell behind was Berhe and Balderstone, two unrankeds who only scored a combined 8 points and might struggle to get assists (especially because Jayco-AlUla lost its best riders).

The appropriately misspelled Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights come next, with the unique strategy of picking all Jumbo-Visma riders they could, that is, everyone but Kelderman. This did yield a whopping 92 times 4 assist points (plus a single GC point for Attila Valter), and I guess this might end up being as good a strategy as any other down the line, with the Vingegaard-Roglic-Kuss trio a really hard one to beat and more assist points sure to come. They will just have to hope that their other two picks, Engelhardt and Hirt, won't be the ones to derail the whole thing -- they have both been pretty lackluster among comparable riders so far.

Cyclohexane has had ups and downs and a whole lot of bad luck: Vine, Zana and Bagioli all abandoned in short sequence. They do have Kuss and Vingegaard to score big later, and Grégoire is a very interesting unique pick that may also come alive later. Buitrago also was a really cheap climber pick that will have more chances, and we already mentioned Theuns as a very good and cheap sprinter pick. Much like CHX was betrayed by Bernal at Tour, though, Geraint Thomas has bombed big time, and he just costs too much to afford that kind of underperformance.

Els Gagnheirs certainly expected more from this TCAT so far, given their track record - Vingegaard, Roglic and Mas certainly did their share of the work. Less so Rubio and Dainese, perhaps, but their performance is certainly not why Gagnheirs is lagging behind. Instead, Gagnheirs are one of four teams to pick four unclassed riders, and the one team who fared the worst, with Arcas a saving grace, but the other three only racking up six points all together, in a situation reminiscent of Cjovani. (Curiously, none of the best unclassed picks by points-per-credit come from the 4-unclasseds, or rather, only Cjovani's Barrenetxea does.)

Conversely, Cézembre Fieschă did really well with their unclassed picks: in addition to the already mentioned Barrenetxea, they nailed two unique picks, Gonzalez (only second to Askey in points-per-credit among unclasseds), and De la Cruz. But something has to explain their low place in the standings: Ballerstedt and Higuita were certainly flops, the former completely at the service of Groves as a leadout, never getting the chance to sprint himself; the latter in the same situation as Buchmann among the utter legion of talented Bora climbers (and Hindley, Jungels and Konrad aren't even doing Vuelta!), outshined as a GC contender by Vlasov and Uijtdebroeks, and as a stage hunter by Kämna. Regardless, more chances to come, zero dropouts so far, they're looking good to improve their position.

And the far briefer, promised update on side classifications:

SPRINTERS'S CLASSIFICATION: No surprise, MCB and Valcürïas are flying high thanks to Groves, though Evenepoel makes the difference for first place. GHST's third place is thanks to Evenepoel, Van den Berg and perhaps surprisingly, Lazkano.

Maricopa Cabana Boys 178
Cjovani Valcurias 128
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 105
Port Maxhestic AC 81
Dead Last 75
Naziun Cjovani 56
Cézembre Fieschā 48
Cyclohexane 27
Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici 21
Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights 20
Els Gagnheirs 12


CLIMBERS'S CLASSIFICATION: No surprise to find the four Evenepoel teams in front, since he's consistently been at the business end of the KOM classification. Making up the difference for Dead Last are then chiefly Barrenetxea and Lenny Martinez; GHST has Roglic; Port Maxhestic has Ayuso and Mas; and MCB has Mas and Bardet.

The race for the KOM jersey is unsurprisingly very muddy so far, and we don't have a clear frontrunner for the KOM hunt yet, like Vine and then Carapaz were at Vuelta 2022; or like Kaden Groves is right now for the points classification (and therefore the TCAT sprinters's classification). But if I had to make a prediction, then Bardet, out of GC contention, is a great climber and a serious candidate to be free to hunt KOM points like Giulio Ciccone was at Tour.

Dead Last 117
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 101
Port Maxhestic AC 99
Maricopa Cabana Boys 96
Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights 75
Cyclohexane 65
Naziun Cjovani 59
Cézembre Fieschā 45
Els Gagnheirs 42
Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici 35
Cjovani Valcurias 22


COMBATIVITY CLASSIFICATION: Might come a little more alive later, with fewer sprint stages expected, which inevitably see small, doomed breakaways (so fewer chances for TCAT riders to be in them). Regardless, Cjovani and Fieschă are still leading, thanks to Barrenetxea for both, Piccolo for the former and Gonzalez for the latter.

Naziun Cjovani 60
Cézembre Fieschā 60
Dead Last 40
Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici 40
Maricopa Cabana Boys 20
Port Maxhestic AC 20
Cjovani Valcurias 0
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 0
Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights 0
Cyclohexane 0
Els Gagnheirs 0

Stage 10 Valladolid -> Valladolid (ITT)

The lone 25.8kms of time trial of this Vuelta are already up, and in a predicted Evenepoel vs Ganna showdown, it's Filippo Ganna (MCB/DED/VAL) who ends up on top!

But it is neither of the Ganna teams who wins today: it's Gordon Hiatus Support Team, who placed Evenepoel (MCB/DED/PTM/GHS), Roglic (SOS/GHS/CJO/GNH/BDC) and Almeida (SOS/GHS/CFA) back-to-back-to-back. Completing the top 5, Alexandr Vlasov (PTM/SOS/CFA); so several teams had multiple riders finish at the business end, and indeed all those teams, plus Valcürïas, now form a top 6 that is shaping up to likely include the contestants for the final podium - with MCB and DED clear frontrunners.

Some predicted Sepp Kuss (CHX/BDC) to be doomed, but he took home a very respectable 13th place and, most importantly, kept the leader's jersey, with over a minute to spare on Evenepoel. Losing more time from Roglic and Evenepoel is, though, Jonas Vingegaard (CHX/CJO/GNH/CFA/BDC): he only placed 10th, and he now could be relegated to being Kuss's luxury domestique, returning the favour from Tour. Roglic might do the same, but he's only 25 seconds down on Evenepoel, so he's a plausible backup in case Kuss cracks later.

Standings after stage 10:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3524	+478
2nd	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3497	+490
3rd	(+2)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2984	+563
4th	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	2965	+485
5th	(-2)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	2883	+360
6th	(=)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	2840	+464
7th	(+1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	2575	+320
8th	(-1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2508	+252
9th	(+2)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2452	+369
10th	(=)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	2372	+284
11th	(-2)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2366	+150

Tomorrow, a long, hilly (but not terribly hilly) approach to a category 1 summit finish. A chance for breakaway stage hunters who can survive the climb? Is a Kämna repeat on the cards? Regardless, you better hope your riders get in the breakaway... or that the GC riders make up the gap before the end.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExN3poOXByemlnc2hwcjFxZThkYmNkNWRqdmVhaGw4bjdsN2ppaW4zbSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/S4m6cNjAx7Iju/giphy-downsized-large.gif)

This is just... oof, just brutal.

Stage 11 Lerma -> La Laguna Negra.Vinuesa

The stage was decided by a large breakaway group today, which included 6 TCAT riders, of which Grégoire (CHX) was the fastest, ahead of Thomas (VAL/CHX) and Ganna (MCB/DED/VAL).

Behind them the GC favourites didn't do much damage to each other, all ending up in the same group (other than Thomas who climbed to spot 18 in GC), which means Kuss (CHX/BDC) keeps the red jersey.

As a result, Cyclohexane scored the most points today and jumped from 11th to 7th place in the standing, handing the red lantern to Els Gaghneirs. The Valcurias also did well and regained a spot on the podium.

Standings after stage 11:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3686	+162
2nd	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3659	+162
3rd	(+2)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	3185	+302
4th	(-1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3091	+107
5th	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3069	+104
6th	(=)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	2948	+108
7th	(+4)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2798	+432
8th	(-1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	2745	+170
9th	(-1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2608	+100
10th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2525	+73
11th	(-1)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	2492	+120

Tomorrow the peloton moves to Zaragoza for a stage that is mostly downhill and will likely be a good opportunity for the sprinters.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stage 12 Olvega -> Zaragoza

The only chance for sprinters this week, it was duly taken, with Molano (DED/SOS) pipping Groves (MCB/VAL) to first place. Most other TCAT sprinters placed towards the front, with Theuns (CHX/CJO) fifth, Van den Berg (GHS/PTM) sixth and Dainese (GNH) seventh.

Thanks to Molano, Cantzelerïă takes first today, with Dead Last in second moving ever so close to leaders Maricopa Cabana Boys - just three points separate the leading pair. However, a relatively even score across the board means the only actual position swap is Gagnheirs getting rid of the lanterne rouge, Fieschă moving in last place instead.

Standings after stage 12:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3964	+278
2nd	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3961	+302
3rd	(=)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	3465	+280
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3348	+257
5th	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3319	+250
6th	(=)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	3272	+324
7th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3004	+206
8th	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	2937	+192
9th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2828	+220
10th	(+1)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	2683	+191
11th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2610	+85

Huge, huge day coming tomorrow as Vuelta encroaches into French territory and takes on the long and inexorable climb of Col du Tourmalet for a highest category summit finish. Expect dire consequences on GC prospects if any of the major contenders gets dropped; this is the first make-or-break stage of this edition.

You're going to have to pry first place from our cold wet speedos!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/adNMbVKnATYQfQmtbL/giphy.gif)

The only thing worse than my team's performance is the completely indecent delight that Carlus is taking in his success.

Stage 13 Formigal -> Col du Tourmalet

Quote from: Sir Lüc on September 07, 2023, 02:11:48 PMExpect dire consequences on GC prospects if any of the major contenders gets dropped

And lo and behold, Remco Evenepoel (MCB/DED/PTM/GHS) cracked, and much earlier than it could have been expected. Also out of the GC fight, though not by as much, Joao Almeida (SOS/GHS/CFA).

Who most definitely did not crack, however, was the Jumbo-Visma trio spearheaded by Jonas Vingegaard (CHX/CJO/GNH/CFA/BDC), who was no match for anyone else on Tourmalet and is today's stage winner after a 7km solo effort. 30" behind him, his teammates Kuss (CHX/BDC) and Roglic (SOS/GHS/CJO/GNH/BDC) sealed in the Dutch team's dominance. In fourth place today and in GC, Juan Ayuso (PTM/VAL) may be the last remaining obstacle to a historic sweep of all three Grand Tours by Jumbo-Visma.

Cashing in big on Jumbo-Visma's domination, Banqeu da Cézembre, who set the record for the most points ever scored in a single stage of TCAT, 1060, and propel themselves right behind the leading duo of Dead Last (who finally gets first place) and Maricopa Cabana Boys - both scored low today. Conversely, well-needed high scores for teams like Gagnheirs, Fieschă, Cjovani and Cyclohexane.

The whole field is within about 1000 points, which sounds nice (and is much tighter than Tour and Giro were at this point). However, the reality is that the teams with multiple between Vingegaard, Roglic and Kuss are now set to cash big on their triple lead in GC, while today was horrible news for so-far leaders MCB and Dead Last, who both lost Evenepoel as a GC contender and can only hope for Mas to keep course. Dead Last and Valcürïas also lost Martinez, while GHST had both Evenepoel and Almeida tumble down the order.

Standings after stage 13:           

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Dead Last (DED)	4185	+224
2nd	(-1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	4117	+153
3rd	(+5)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	3997	+1060
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3830	+482
5th	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3826	+507
6th	(-3)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	3691	+226
7th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3680	+676
8th	(-2)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	3656	+384
9th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3438	+610
10th	(=)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	3415	+732
11th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3137	+527

More of the same tomorrow, at least profile-wise... can the Jumbo-Visma trio be stopped?

(https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExcDVjZWZlbzZqdGNiOXA3MWx3YWg2bmNkMXk0dGp5amdwaHo1em9hYyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/70tUjk9u9s8Qo/giphy.gif)

Sorry for no update yesterday, I'll do a quick one now and a fuller one for today's stage later.

Stage 14 Sauveterre-de-Béarn -> Larra-Belagua

Looks like Remco Evenepoel is back on the menu -- no longer for the GC, but for race wins and the KOM jersey. He and Romain Bardet led for most of the day, well in front of the GC group, but the Frenchman got dropped on the final climb and Evenepoel was left alone to take a second stage win, and the KOM leader's jersey. The Belgian took back over eight minutes, but it was hardly enough to bring him back into contention for the red jersey, the wide gap simply a result of him no longer being seen as a threat by Kuss and Jumbo-Visma.

Lots of shuffling around in the standings, with MCB regaining the top spot, PTM finally jumping GHS after a long pursuit (and in the process BDC as well), and Fieschă handing the lanterne rouge back to Gagnheirs.

Standings after stage 14:
                             

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	4821	+704
2nd	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	4604	+419
3rd	(+2)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4462	+636
4th	(-1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	4383	+386
5th	(-1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4351	+521
6th	(+2)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	4160	+504
7th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3906	+226
8th	(+1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3883	+445
9th	(-3)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	3788	+97
10th	(+1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3776	+639
11th	(-1)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	3631	+216

Stage 15 Pamplona -> Lekunberri

Week 2 ends with a stage fit for a breakaway - too easy for the GC riders, too hard for the sprinters. The breakaway comprised ten riders, among which were Remco Evenepoel (MCB/DED/PTM/GHS), Santiago Buitrago (GHS/CHX) and Einer Augusto Rubio (GNH).

However, the three-man attack that made it to the line only included Buitrago, who finished third, while a charging comeback by the rest of the breakaway came a few seconds short. Evenepoel took fourth and Rubio sixth. Meanwhile, the sprint among the peloton, about three minutes later, was won by Fieschă's David Gonzalez, who unexpectedly pipped Kaden Groves (MCB/VAL) and also Matevž Govekar (GHS).

No consequences of note in the GC, with all major contenders in the main peloton and Evenepoel's three minute gain still leaving him 15th and 16 minutes behind Sepp Kuss.

Gordon Hiatus Support Team takes the stage win today, thanks to Buitrago, Evenepoel and Govekar, and moves up to second place. Also gaining in the standings is Fieschă, though only eighth today. A relatively distant second place for Cyclohexane (also holding Buitrago), narrowly heading PTM and MCB.

Standings after stage 15:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	5079	+258
2nd	(+3)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4836	+485
3rd	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	4819	+215
4th	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4729	+267
5th	(-1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	4618	+235
6th	(=)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	4250	+90
7th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	4197	+291
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3990	+107
9th	(+1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3932	+156
10th	(-1)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	3864	+76
11th	(=)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	3853	+222

TCAT 2023's final rest day tomorrow, so strap in for analysis and side classifications!

Quote from: Sir Lüc on September 10, 2023, 02:17:47 PMTCAT 2023's final rest day tomorrow, so strap in for analysis and side classifications!

Maricopa will be there at the top for everyone to gaze upon our glory!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/SDLmlSoHwGZxWclZ2l/giphy.gif)



I've seen this gif several times, and never new what it was from until I looked it up... Might be a competitor for the new Cabana Boys theme song

So: while the week 1 analysis was mostly checking in on how everyone's picks looked like, as we have only six stages left I'll be finally looking at what's left on the table for the teams to fight for.

End of tour points (assuming the current classifications remain frozen to the end)

These are awarded to the top 30 riders in the final general classification (600 to the winner); the top 10 riders in the final points and KOM classifications (120 to the winner); and to all non-retired riders in the top 5 teams in the teams' classification (50 to the winning team).

Unsurprisingly, because of the Kuss-Roglic-Vingegaard trio heading the GC, Banqeu de Cézembre is on track to bring home a whopping 2080 end of tour points. Also scoring very well, and receiving a much needed boost are els Gagnheirs, the other team to field three riders in the top 5 (Roglic, Vingegaard and Mas).

Who's not faring particularly well are current high flyers Maricopa Cabana Boys and Dead Last - both Evenepoel teams whose only alternative is Mas. Granted, as things stand MCB is slated to do better than everyone else in  the end of tour points for both the points classification and KOM classification, thanks to Evenepoel, Bardet and Groves, but those points are simply too few to make a real dent.

Team	BDC	GNH	GHS	CHX	PTM	CJO	CFA	SOS	MCB	DED	VAL
GC EOT	1545	1280	1060	1120	950	990	935	895	435	530	410
PC+KOM+TC EOT	535	245	460	275	395	305	255	270	410	280	165
Total EOT	2080	1525	1520	1395	1345	1295	1190	1165	845	810	575

Daily classification points (assuming the current classifications remain frozen to the end)

These are the points given out at the end of each stage to the top 20 riders in the GC, the top 6 riders in the PC and KOM, the assist points given to active teammates of the top 3 riders in the GC, and the assist points given to all active riders of the top 3 teams in the teams's classification.

To get these figures, I'm simply assuming the daily classification points are paid out to the riders as they stand in their current positions, for each of the remaining 6 stages (reasonable enough to get a broad picture)

Unsurprisingly, since we're looking at the same classifications and applying different points scales, the situation is basically the same as the end of tour points. The gap between BDC and the rest is even wider because of the tighter points scales, and especially the fact that 6 Jumbo-Visma riders getting 14 GC assist points in each of the 6 remaining stages (due to the Kuss-Roglic-Vingegaard GC lead) amounts to a whopping and unmatchable 504 daily GC assist points - the closest are Cjovani and Gagnheirs both at just 132.

Team	BDC	GNH	GHS	CHX	PTM	CJO	CFA	SOS	MCB	DED	VAL
GC Daily	468	408	378	360	318	294	336	300	132	162	120
Other Daily	894	264	276	258	300	300	204	192	216	144	96
Total Daily	1326	672	654	618	618	594	540	492	348	306	216

Stage points

This assumes teams will keep scoring on average the same amount of "stage result"-based points at the end of each remaining stage. These are stage points "proper", summit points, intermediate sprint points and breakaway points. I did make sure retired riders would not be accounted for, but didn't particularly look at the different types of stages. This also leaves out assist points for the stage top 3, which I had no (quick) way to automatically scrape from Velogames.

Because at the end of each day daily classification points are also awarded, this is not simply an average of the points each team was awarded after each stage: just the four points scales listed above. Nonetheless, the standings for this projection do look quite similar to the current overall standings: MCB in first, DED in second, BDC way behind because of assist points not counting here.

Team	MCB	DED	GHS	PTM	SOS	VAL	CJO	CFA	CHX	GNH	BDC
Avg stg pts/stage	276	239	232	226	203	202	201	193	190	180	162
x 6 rem stgs	1656	1434	1392	1356	1218	1212	1206	1158	1140	1080	972

Final projection

(Simply the current points, plus each of the previous three projections: EOT, daily and stage.)

Pos	±	Team	Pts Now	Proj	Pts Final
1st	(+5)	Banqeu da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	4618	+4414	9032
2nd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4836	+3566	8402
3th	(+1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4729	+3319	8048
4th	(-3)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	5079	+2849	7928
5th	(-2)	Dead Last (DED)	4819	+2550	7369
6th	(+1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	4197	+3153	7350
7th	(+4)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	3853	+3277	7130
8th	(-2)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	4250	+2875	7125
9th	(-1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3990	+3095	7085
10th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3932	+2888	6280
11th	(-1)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	3864	+2003	5867

Is the projection gospel? Of course not, the standings will change, the stage results (and therefore the stage points) will not stick to the average. The actual number of predicted points is not important. What's important is the ballpark: bar any final week surprises, who are the teams you are actually competing with?

Since it takes into account the end of tour points, and it gives you an idea of how many daily and stage points are actually on offer for you, look at this table if you actually want to know where you're on target to finish, and who (and by how much) you should outperform to do better.


TLDR: Glüc will likely win, but everything can happen.

Stage 17 Ribadesella/Ribeseya -> Altu de L'Angliru

Today was another tough mountain stage, finishing on the Angliru, one of the most challenging climbs of any grand tour with an average gradient of over 10% and sections of 24%.

Evenepoel (MCB/DED/PTM/GHS) made the stage interesting, attacking several times and increasing his lead in the KOM classification along the way. However, in the end it was the trio from BdC that decided the stage. Roglic (SOS/GHS/CJO/GNH/BDC) won the stage, followed by Vingegaard (CHX/CJO/GNH/CFA/BDC). Kuss (CHX/BDC) came in third, losing time on his teammates but barely keeping the lead in GC and the red jersey.

Behind the trio, Almeida (SOS/GHS/CFA), Uijtdebroeks (GHS), Buitrago (GHS/CHX), Ayuso (PTM/VAL) and Mas (MCB/DED/PTM/GNH) all finished in the top 10.

It was another ridiculous score for Banqeu da Cézembre, who take over the lead in GC. GHST also did well, climbing to place 2. Sadly, the Cabana boys had a bad day, falling off the podium, with the third spot being taken by Port Maxhestic.

Standings after stage 17:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	6231	+961
2nd	(+2)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	5901	+736
3rd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5512	+345
4th	(-3)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	5510	+223
5th	(+1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	5254	+604
6th	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	5153	+171
7th	(=)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	5107	+534
8th	(+2)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	5056	+664
9th	(-1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	5032	+626
10th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	4894	+501
11th	(=)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	4166	+104

Tomorrow we stay in Asturias for another mountain stage, though plausibly one that could be won by a breakaway.

The big question is...Can Dead Last make it all the way to the bottom of the standings???

At this point, I think GNH has a better chance of that achievement.  Even with today's good luck.

Standings after stage 18:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	6620	+389
2nd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6446	+545
3rd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6085	+573
4th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	5970	+460
5th	(+1)	Dead Last (DED)	5688	+535
6th	(-1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	5495	+241
7th	(+1)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	5464	+408
8th	(-1)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	5264	+157
9th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	5249	+217
10th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	5044	+150
11th	(=)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	4304	+138

(https://media.giphy.com/media/Hq4ptrrJaTvwY/giphy.gif)

Standings after stage 19:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC)	6856	+236
2nd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6735	+289
3rd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6343	+258
4th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	6328	+358
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	5919	+231
6th	(+1)	Els Gagnheirs (GNH)	5805	+341
7th	(-1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	5632	+137
8th	(+1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	5383	+134
9th	(-1)	Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)	5351	+87
10th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	5249	+205
11th	(=)	Cjovani Valcurias (VAL)	4631	+327

Ok, ok... might still be in this thing.

The peloton has arrived at the finish in Madrid. Apologies for the limited updates in the final days. Full results and some overall recap still to come, but it might take a while before everything is posted.

This was the final leg of the season. After the results have been revealed it feels like a good time for the peloton to take a break. TCAT will return in may next year for a new season!

Good hustle everyone!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/HvU0cpQQSOdv2Vma8C/giphy.gif)

I forgot to post these several times. Anyway, since TCAT is coming up again very soon, these were the results from last years third leg of TCAT:

1. Banque da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC, Cézembre) - 9458
2. Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS, Benito) - 8943
3. Port Maxhestic AC (PTM, M-M) - 8230
4. Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB, Maricopa) - 8136
5. Els Gagnheirs (GNH, M-M) - 7682
6. Cyclohexane (CHX, Benito) - 7503
7. Dead Last (DED, Vuode) - 7267
8. Naziun Cjovani (CJO, Benito) - 7085
9. Cézembre Fiescha (CFA, Cézembre) - 6816
10. Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS, Maricopa) - 6685
11. Cjovani Valcurias (VAL, Benito) - 5791

Final season ranking:

Banqeu da Cézembre - 28418
Gagnheirs - 25329
Cyclohexane - 22683
Cézembre Fiescha - 21764
Port Maxhestic - 20955
Dead Last - 20319
GHST - 20046
Cabana Boys - 17464
Naziun Cjovani* - 16772
Velociposse Florencia* - 14884
Cantzeleria* - 14335
Kinetic Racing* - 12614
Averatxeirs* - 9735
Valcurias* - 5791

*Did not compete in all three events

The posse from the nacho-shaped land is ready to race again.

Dead Last is ready to ride again!!!