Wittenberg

And we're back again again. Despite a short deadline we have nine teams participating, eight of which have done every edition this season. We start in Lisbon for another three weeks of climbing, sprinting and racing against the clock await in the coming three weeks while the team captains sit at home and enjoy the show. The goal is to score the most points by winning stages and doing well in three classifications: the King of the Mountains classification (blue polkadot jersey), the points classification (green jersey) and the general classification (red jersey) which determines which individual rider wins this final leg of this years TCAT.  Will Fiescha win again? Will BdC defend its lead to score the most season points? Which teams will have the strongest climbers, the fastest sprinters, the most adventurous attackers?

The following teams are participating:

Under construction

Standings after stage 1:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	421	+421
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	389	+389
3rd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	378	+378
4th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	209	+209
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	175	+175
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	164	+164
7th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	93	+93
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	93	+93
9th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	49	+49

Still planning to update first stage result first because I want to do a small bit of team analysis.

Either way we had a sprint stage yesterday, which was won by Groves (PTM). No other TCAT riders made the top 5, which resulted in a pretty convincing stage win for Port Maxhestic.

Standings after stage 2:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	734	+345
2nd	(-1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	519	+98
3rd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	462	+84
4th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	292	+83
5th	(+2)	Dead Last (DED)	251	+158
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	226	+62
7th	(-2)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	212	+37
8th	(+1)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	188	+139
9th	(-1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	144	+51

It appears we will likely get another sprint today.

Groves didn't win this time, but stil was the first TCAT rider across the line. Aberasturi (DED) and Bittner (VFL) also made the top 5. PTM extend their lead even further as a result.

Standings after stage 3:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1045	+311
2nd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	650	+131
3rd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	567	+105
4th	(+1)	Dead Last (DED)	531	+280
5th	(-1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	380	+88
6th	(+2)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	336	+148
7th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	296	+70
8th	(-1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	271	+59
9th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	252	+108

Today's stage may be different though as we are getting some climbing with a pretty difficult uphill finish. We had a break of five riders of which currently only Armirail (MCB/PTM) and Castrillo (BDC) are left. It seems likely they will get caught on the final climb though and the stage will be contested by the GC favourites.

Well that was fast lol
Come on MCB!
(https://i.giphy.com/media/stNmb1QqbI5uV6kA0k/giphy.gif)

Sorry for the lack of updates, folks. Quick recap:

Stage 1: Short opening time trial. Main surprise: non-TCAT Tarling outside top 5. GHST wins thanks to Vacek (P2, also of BDC).
Stage 2: Boring sprint stage. PTM (arguably the most sprint dedicated team) wins thanks to Groves.
Stage 3: Another boring sprint stage. Another PTM win, DED also performs quite well thanks to Aberasturi.
Stage 4: First interesting stage, summit finish. Roglic gets the stage and Almeida is third, so good news for GHS, CFA and BDC who have both, but it's BDC who wins out because of Landa (P7).
Stage 5 (in progress): Very likely more boring sprinting, but it could be the last chance for sprinters until either stage 7 or 11.

Standings after stage 4:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1510	+465
2nd	(+1)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	1229	+662
3rd	(-1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1184	+534
4th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	1027	+496
5th	(+2)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	832	+536
6th	(+2)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	745	+474
7th	(-2)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	642	+262
8th	(-2)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	617	+281
9th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	589	+337

So, so far:
- PTM doing good as expected due to 3/4 stages being either ITT or sprints; PTM has Groves (strongest TCAT sprinter considering nobody picked Van Aert) and several time trial specialists such as Küng and Armirail, but also Almeida himself - could have gone even better considering Arensman, both a good climber and a strong TT rider, has bombed these first few stages much like in Giro
- BDC and GHS have Vacek, Almeida and Roglic; GHS unclassed no-show is being dampened by Arensman and O'Connor having slow starts;
- DED has had riders perform well in all stages so far (Roglic and Gall for S1/S4, Aberasturi and Coquard for the sprints) - must hope for more success in the few sprint stages there are to keep this up;
- CFA is boosted by Roglic/Almeida but not much has happened elsewhere - Adam Yates being nowhere yesterday is a definite letdown considering his price;
- MCB also has Roglic but the rest of the points are a bit more spread out; Landa showed good signs he can hang on with the best and there's some stage hunting potential for later;
- CHX is also feeling the Yates sting and will certainly be annoyed about Affini leading the ITT for a long time before being knocked down to P5 in quick succession. Also has stagehunting opportunities with eg. Lazkano and Campenaerts, but must also hope Carapaz and Ciccone come alive in the mountains eventually;
- VFL has a potentially deadly combination of five unique riders, and of these Bittner and Bennett have shown their worth already; Lipowitz too, but he's perhaps limited by being a Roglic domestique; and lastly Carlos Rodriguez and Narvaez haven't featured yet (more chances later maybe?). Also a team disappointed by Yates.
- Lastly, CJO has the double whammy of Yates/Arensman's muted start (and Ciccone as well perhaps)

Another sprint today in the scorching heat of Sevilla. A surprising winner however: Bittner (VFL) won the stage with Groves (PTM), Coquard (DED), Küng (PTM) and Narvaez (VFL) also making the top 7. The results of Bittner and Narvaez resulted in a lot of points for the Velociposse. However PTM scored the most points again due to Groves and Küng and expand their lead, especially as the nominal sprint pick for GHST and BDC (Vacek) isn't really participating in the sprints.

Standings after stage 5:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1891	+381
2nd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	1319	+90
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1287	+103
4th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	1282	+255
5th	(+3)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	995	+378
6th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	979	+147
7th	(-1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	833	+88
8th	(-1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	730	+88
9th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	694	+105

Tomorrow won't be a sprint however, as we get a typical vuelta stage with lots of going up and down all day and an uphill finish. Finally a good chance for a succesful break perhaps?

What's this weird feeling...?
The posse is doing rather well.

Stage 6 Jerez de la Frontera -> Yunquera

Definitely this edition's first inflection point.

A successful break it was, and what a break - Ben O'Connor (BDC) was somehow allowed to join in and to win the stage by a huge margin, which means he takes the lead of the general classification by almost 5 minutes over Primoz Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB) and Joao Almeida (GHS/CFA/BDC/CHX/PTM).

Huge strategic blunder by Roglic and Almeida (and other major GC contenders), unless they think they will be able to claw back time later - but this is very good news TCAT-wise for the Tavulairs, as O'Connor might stay on top of the GC standings for many many stages, worth 30 points each stage he's able to stay there.

Could have been worse for the rest of the TCAT field short-term, as BDC didn't get a single other rider in the daily top20: small-ish "battle" win, with implications for the long-term "war". GHST and Velociposse can be partially happy to salvage some scraps, with the former placing Berrade in eighth and del Toro (also of CJO/MCB/CHX) winning the peloton sprint for ninth place; meanwhile the Florencians get a daily stage podium with Roglic lieutenant Florian Lipowitz in third.

Meanwhile, bad news for Dead Last and Fieschă, as Jon Aberasturi and Kenny Elissonde did not finish stage 6 and are TCAT's first abandons. Later on, Andreas Kron's (BDC) team announced he will not start the next stage.

Standings after stage 6:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1992	+101
2nd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	1713	+394
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1554	+267
4th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	1442	+160
5th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1235	+240
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1076	+97
7th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	1012	+179
8th	(+1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	864	+170
9th	(-1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	864	+134

Today, a hilly stage with flat-ish last kilometres, but a substantial climb to clear 20km before that, is an opening for either another breakaway or a chance for sprinters who don't mind hills, especially if their teams can manage the stage well.

My brute strategy to choose the 3 most expensive riders and then 6 random cheap ones is not a success this time

Two of my riders are out...so begins the free fall to last place LOL

Brief scoring update after stage 7 (yesterday) which was won by BDC for just 3 points over GHST. Both hold Mathias Vacek who finished second in a reduced bunch sprint. PTM scored the third most points thanks to Küng (4th) despite Kaden Groves crashing over the summit of the lone categorised climb 20km from the finish - harmless but put him out of contention for the win.

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	2284	+292
2nd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	2036	+325
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1876	+322
4th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	1558	+116
5th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1360	+125
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1189	+113
7th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	1119	+107
8th	(+1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	965	+101
9th	(-1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	930	+66

Stage 8 Úbeda -> Cazorla

A break including Lazkano (VFL/MCB/CHX) and Le Berre (BDC) was caught not too far from the finish. With only a category 3 climb to go, you might think there wouldnt be an opportunity for big time differences in gc, but that would be wrong.

The final climb made quite an impact even after a relatively short (but again, very hot) day. Roglic proved once again to be the strongest, winning the stage and gaining 56 seconds back on O'Connor (BDC), who came in 19th, but keeps the red jersey and now has a lead of 3'49" remaining over Roglic. Mas (VFL/PTM) and Landa (BDC/MCB) were better able to keep up with Roglic, finishing second and third. Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) and Carlos Rodriguez (VFL) also did well.

Biggest loser of the day was Almeida (GHS/CFA/BDC/CHX/PTM), who has been reported to have a covid infection and lost nearly 5 minutes, dropping from 3rd to 26th in GC, which puts him out of contention for the podium, if he is even able to continue.

There was also even more bad news for Dead Last as Coquard did not finish the stage. Meanwhile Arensman (BDC/CJO/PTM) who suffered from heatstroke yesterday also had another bad day, losing 14 minutes ending any remaining hope for a comeback in gc. Finally Ciccone (VFL/CJO/CHX) crashed in an incident involving several deer(!). Thankfully he was able to continue.

BdC scored the most points today, but Port Maxhestic does keep the lead for now. Cyclohexane unfortunately didn't score very well again and drop to last place. Results from Roglic, Landa and Del Toro also  resulted in many points for the Maricopa Cabana Boys, who fall just short of the most points today, but do gain a spot in the standing.


Standings after stage 8:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	2681	+397
2nd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	2571	+533
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2326	+450
4th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	1940	+382
5th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1810	+450
6th	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	1649	+530
7th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1533	+344
8th	(+1)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1222	+292
9th	(-1)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1062	+97

Tomorrow we get the most serious mountain stage yet, with three cat 1 climbs. Likely another day for GC, where Roglic will likely again try to take some time of O'Connors lead before we go into the rest day.

Quote from: þerxh Sant-Enogat on August 23, 2024, 01:09:23 PMMy brute strategy to choose the 3 most expensive riders and then 6 random cheap ones is not a success this time

Well it made sense to try it again after it worked so well last time. Of course last time it only got you the lead at the very end, so normally I'd say maybe there is still time as we head into some more difficult terrain. Unfortunately, while Roglic is doing really well, both Yates and Almeida are pretty much out of the GC race now, so I don't think a comeback is happening this time.

Stage 9 Motril -> Granada

Adam Yates's resurgence, João Almeida's retirement. Primoz Roglic struggles but hangs on, Ben O'Connor conversely keeps all of his lead quite convincingly.

Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX) won after a long solo performance; his GC ambitions are wide open again. Second, Richard Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM), who also launched himself on a longshot pursuit of the break, and despite not being able to catch Yates, still gained enough time to propel himself to third in the general classification. Every other breakaway rider being caught by the favourites's group, it's Ben O'Connor (BDC) who sprinted for third, pipping Mikel Landa (BDC/MCB) and Florian Lipowitz (VFL); also in this group, Carlos Rodriguez (VFL, 7th), Primoz Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB, 8th), Enric Mas (VFL/PTM, 10th) and Felix Gall (DED, 11th).

Velociposse wins the day, at times looking like it could score even higher thanks to Enric Mas attacking but being caught due to an error descending from the last climb, and also to George Bennett, who ended 20th but also was quite active attacking in earlier stages. The Tavulairs however score enough points off Port Maxhestic to overtake them for the lead. Good day for Cyclohexane and Cjovani too, with Yates's resurgence offering both struggling teams a break.

As mentioned earlier, João Almeida was ill with Covid and did not start. Definitely bad news for most of the field, chiefly leading trio BDC, PTM and GHST; CHX and Fieschă at least have Yates to pivot to, with Cjovani and Velociposse having Yates alone. Velociposse particularly seems well placed, with Carlos Rodriguez, Florian Lipowitz and Enric Mas showing good form - the former two are even unique riders.

Not finishing stage 9 either, Rainer Kepplinger (GHS).

Standings after stage 9:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	3127	+556
2nd	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3091	+410
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2749	+423
4th	(+1)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2483	+673
5th	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	2209	+269
6th	(+1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2002	+469
7th	(-1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	1981	+332
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1686	+464
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1640	+578

Yesterday was a rest day, we ride again today with another stage fit for a breakaway or GC contenders - there's immediately a category 2 climb which may force an early selection, and three back-to-back categorised climbs towards the end, the last being a category 1 climb summiting a mere 20 kilometres from the finish.

Stage 10 Ponteareas -> Baiona

Today's stage was maybe not too interesting in TCAT terms as all TCAT riders missed out on the break once in was formed. However, Narvaez (VFL) was the first TCAT rider across the finish, followed by Küng (PTM) and Bennett (VFL). As a result the Velociposse scored the most points for the second time in a row.

They may end up having good chances to improve their position if they continue this way, especially as Yates is back in the race now and also being one of the teams not to suffer from Almeida abandoning, although there was bad news for them, Naziun Cjovani and Cyclohexane today as Ciccone did not start after being involved in a crash on sunday.

Port Maxhestic also had a good day, and retake the lead in the competition.


Standings after stage 10:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3244	+153
2nd	(-1)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	3217	+90
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2839	+90
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2746	+263
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2335	+126
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2101	+99
7th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2077	+96
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1774	+88
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1722	+82

Tomorrow should be another good day for the break. The hilly terrain seems suited for punchy types.

As a side note, none of us dared pick Wout van Aert this time. Understandable because of the high cost and relatively few sprint opportunities. However, it clearly was a mistake, as he just keeps winning and scoring points.

Stage 11 Padron -> Padron

A banger of a stage to watch, with multiple attacks and large breakaways forming and disbanding; unfortunately not very high scoring for any of the TCAT teams, save for Velociposse, who place Narvaez in fourth and Bennett in twelfth to once again top the daily scores. Bennett also rises to tenth in GC, a fifth Velociposse rider to occupy the top ten at the moment, which if it stands should prove quite fruitful especially after End of Tour points get added at the end. GHST can also be happy about Berrade, fifth today. No other team reached triple digits, despite Cjovani's Bystrom finishing eighteenth.

Velociposse therefore continues its upwards march, taking third place with the front two firmly in their sights. No other movement otherwise due to the very small amount of points scored (curiously the standings currently feature four duos each only a bunch of points apart, except for Dead Last dead in the middle.)

Not worth any points but important to note, O'Connor lost around 40 seconds from the rest of the GC contenders, meaning his lead from Roglic is now 3:16. Not really the kind of stage where this was supposed to happen, which may be an issue for the Australian rider in the harder stages that are to come. (Then again O'Connor did struggle and lose time in stage 8 only to immediately bounce back in stage 9 as Roglic struggled instead)

Standings after stage 11:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3318	+74
2nd	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	3307	+90
3rd	(+1)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3045	+299
4th	(-1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3032	+193
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2421	+86
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2182	+81
7th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2171	+94
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1867	+93
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1801	+79

Tomorrow, a hilly approach to a category 1 summit finish. Another breakaway perhaps, which may have a chance - look then for punchy climbers without GC ambitions to have a crack at it - or may get caught by the GC contenders if they decide they want to attack to put time on one another.

The posse is on the podium, baby!

I believe I'm down to 5 riders, I fully expect to live up to my team name this round LOL

Brief scoring update for stage 12 - BDC's Pedro Castrillo wins as part of a ten man breakaway that again included Jhonatan Narvaez (VFL). Peloton of GC contenders ends up controlling each other, so no time differences to report.

Matthias Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) wins the peloton sprint for 11th, with Gall, O'Connor, Mas, Carapaz, Rodriguez and Roglic also in lower top 20 positions, meaning there's a smattering of stage points for everyone at least. The Tavulairs of course lead the day, with Velociposse also scoring well and closing in on second place. The top 4 keeps pulling away from the rest; with nine stages to go, this could well go down to a BDC vs VFL stand-off, with PTM and GHST in supporting positions.

Standings after stage 12:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	3695	+388
2nd	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3480	+162
3rd	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3345	+300
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3195	+163
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2555	+134
6th	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2275	+104
7th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2266	+84
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1962	+95
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1894	+93

Today, another category 1 summit finish, but the approach is much hillier, with three lower category climbs beforehand. Definitely more breakaway chances, but also more chances that some of the GC contenders may try and tire out the others before attacking on the final climb.

Brief supplement: I think the most interesting thing about the upcoming four-team shootout for the win (or rather, as I suspect, BDC vs VFL and PTM vs GHS) is that BDC and VFL share no riders, which makes for a very spicy Roglic/O'Connor/Landa vs Yates/Rodriguez/Mas rivalry. The seemingly higher strength of the BDC trio is compounded by the three abandons - the Tavulairs definitely needed the Castrillo win. VFL on the contrary has very impressive riders still, with Bennett, Lipowitz and Narvaez certainly on track to score more on the mountains (Bittner a definite shoutout too, but he has mostly exhausted his usefulness.) VFL's oomph is compensated by BDC's 300ish advantage in points and, if things stand as present, a bigger prize in end of tour points.

Meanwhile, GHS/PTM share Carapaz and Skjelmose, which means the race for third might go down to Roglic vs Mas in this case as well, in which case maybe Roglic has the upper hand unless he crashes as usual. In this case too GHS has had issues with del Toro and Campenaerts not doing much as of yet, though Berrade has been a highlight, while PTM has one of the "under-the-radar" best picks of TCAT in Stefan Küng. Definitely hard to judge who will come out on top here too. In this case too PTM has the "GC rider disadvantage" but an advantage of 300ish points so far, though Roglic should net GHST more end of tour points.

Very spicy!

Stage 13 Lugo -> Puerto de Ancares

Another low scoring stage, due to a break without many TCAT riders. The only TCAT riders represented were Bizkarra (CFA/CJO), Le Berre (BDC), Campenaerts (GHS/CHX), Asgreen, and Groves (both PTM). Bizkarra was the first TCAT rider across the line, followed by Le Berre, resulting in BDC getting the most points and very slightly increasing their lead.

Far more interesting however, was what happened behind them in the GC favourites group. For the GC favourites the race only really started at the final (very steep) climb. O'Connor (BDC) has been struggling on this terrain before and again he had to drop when Roglic increased the pace. Mas (VFL/PTM) was able to follow longer but in the end was not able to keep up with Roglic and also lost seconds on Landa (BDC/MCB), who is inching ever closer to the podium. Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) finished just ahead of Mas, whereas Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX) struggled and lost quite a bit of time. The real story was the time lost by O'Connor however. For a while it looked really bad for him, but he somewhat recovered at the end, still losing nearly 2 minutes on Roglic, more than halving his lead. It seems increasingly likely O'Connor is going to lose the red jersey to Roglic soon, perhaps this weekend already.

For now the general classification looks like this:

0 O'Connor (BDC)
+1'21" Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB)
+3'01" Mas (VFL/PTM)
+3'13" Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM)
+3'20" Landa (BDC/MCB)
+4'12" Carlos Rodriguez(VFL)
+4'29" Lipowitz (VFL)
+4'42" Gall (DED)
+5'17" Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX)
+5'24" Skjelmose (GHS/PTM)
+6'29" Bennett (VFL)

Standings after stage 13:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	3890	+195
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3628	+148
3rd	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3458	+113
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3313	+118
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2654	+99
6th	(+1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2445	+179
7th	(-1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2395	+120
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2151	+189
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1977	+83

Tomorrow a stage somewhat similar to today, but with two important differences: the final climb is much longer but much less steep and we do get a downhill finish. This stage might be a bit more suited for O'Connor to hang on, but Roglic is looking in better form, so he will surely try to gain time again. If O'Connor breaks again it seems very plausible Roglic will be wearing red on sunday.

Somewhat unexpectedly (to me anyway) the gradient on the final climb wasn't steep enough to shake off most of the peloton, and none of the climbers increased the pace enough that it would. If there were any gaps at the top of the climb, they weren't enough to prevent coming back in the descent, so at the finish we just got a bunch sprint.

Not for the first time, Groves (PTM) showed he was the fastest in a relatively underwhelming sprint field, winning the stage and scoring a much needed with for Port Maxhestic in their race for the podium. Vacek (GHS/BDC) and Canal (CJO) managed to get 4th and 10th respectively.

Standings after stage 14:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	4119	+229
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3938	+310
3rd	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3585	+127
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3580	+267
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2737	+83
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2514	+69
7th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2507	+112
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2296	+145
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2098	+121

No chance the same happens today however, as the final climb (after the peloton has already passed three other summits) is a lot steeper with percentages over 15% towards the end. There is no hiding for any GC contender today. The strongest climber is gonna win, and so far that hasn't been the man in red, I have a sense that jersey might swap riders today.

Quickly posting sunday score. Might do combined update maybe?

Standings after stage 15:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	4739	+620
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4432	+494
3rd	(+1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4002	+422
4th	(-1)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3989	+404
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3022	+285
6th	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2867	+360
7th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2762	+248
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2533	+237
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2312	+214

Standings after stage 16:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	4903	+164
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4677	+245
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4366	+364
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	4193	+204
5th	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3166	+299
6th	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	3155	+133
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2884	+122
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2807	+274
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2592	+280

Heck yeah MCB clawing our way up the ranks like a hungry ghoul!

(https://i.giphy.com/media/l0ExcS4a762Pofpio/giphy.gif)

Triple update!

Sunday we got a break including Küng (PTM), Armirail (MCB/PTM), and Castrillo (BDC). Of those only Castrillo remained in the break for the final, very difficult climb. It seemed unlikely that he would be able to keep his advantage, but somehow he pulled it off and won the stage.

Monday was the third and final rest day

Yesterday was a bit easier but again with an uphill summit. The break included Del Toro (GHS/CJO/MCB/CHX), who finished in 6th place.

Both days Mas (VFL/PTM) was looking pretty good, with he and Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB) taking time of O'Connor on both days. Somehow O'Connor managed to hold on to the red jersey, helped by the fact Roglic got a time penalty on sunday. However, his lead on Roglic has shrunk to a mere 5 seconds. Seconds that he is surely going to lose in the itt on sunday, but more likely even before that.

Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) (7th and 10th) and Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) (6th and 12th) also did well on both days, with the latter jumping from 11th to 8th in gc. Landa (BDC/MCB) and Rodriguez (VFL) weren't quite as impressive, but did gain on O'Connor. Lipowitz (VFL) was strong on sunday, but fell behind on tuesday, dropping to 9th in GC.

Today was a day for the sprinters, with Groves (PTM) taking first place again, followed by Bittner (VFL) and Braet (CFA). Campenaerts (GHS/CHX) and Le Berre (BDC) also finished top 10.

BDC scored the most points on sunday, due to the Castrillo win, but lost ground compared the other top-4 teams both today and yesterday. GHST was the strongest yesterday because of the performance by Del Toro. The Velociposse beat Port Maxhestic by a single point today, because besides Bittner, Narvaez scored points as well.

The Cabana Boys meanwhile haven't lost a single rider yet. Results by Del Toro, Roglic and Landa caused them to improve their standing.


Standings after stage 17:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	5083	+180
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4976	+299
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4557	+191
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	4493	+300
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3250	+84
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3222	+67
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3096	+212
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2891	+84
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2761	+169

Tomorrow is a bit on an intermediate stage, including a 2nd and 1st category climb, but these are well before the finish, so while a breakaway victory seems likely it is not at all guaranteed.


Looking further ahead, the contest is far from decided. End of Tour points could be decisive. BdC does seem to have the advantage there, with the current 1,2 and 5 in gc.However, O'Connor will likely drop in the standing. He also has probably the worst TT of the entire top 10. Will he be able to hang on to the podium?

Port Maxhestic is close behind. For end of tour points they currently hold 3,4 and 8, but Mas is looking in very good shape at the moment and Skjelmose has a good chance of gaining in the TT, where PTM as a whole is likely to do well. Furthermore Groves will score points for leading PC and will hope for another sprint tomorrow.

GHST currently hold 2,4 and 8 in GC. Roglic seems likely to be the overall winner and again Skjelmose should do well in the final ITT. They probably need more than that to overtake the others however, as they are . Perhaps another strong performance by Del Toro or Carapaz on friday or saturday.

Velociposse Florencia hold 3,7,9, and 11 in GC, which doesn't give as much end of tour points if it stays, but offers a lot of chances to improve or score more stage points. They also have fewer withdrawals than the other three with Bennett, Bittner, Narvaez potentially scoring even more stage points.

So overall BdC is the favourite, but Port Maxhestic is still very much in the race and VFL and GHST also still have some outside chance of taking the victory.

Lüc is travelling atm, so you'll have to do with me for updates... and I'm lazy, so probably gonna do a double update again.

I can already say GHST had a very good day yesterday

Standings after stage 18:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	5399	+316
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5147	+171
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	5004	+447
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	4731	+238
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3463	+213
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3289	+67
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3147	+51
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2949	+58
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2949	+188

Spoiler: Roglic takes over red jersey and GHST has another very strong day.

Stage 18/19 double update

On thursday the stage started with the formation of a massive break including Bittner (VFL), Narvaez (VFL), Groves (PTM), Küng (PTM), Castrillo (BDC), Vacek (GHS/BDC), Lazkano (VFL/MCB/CHX)  and Berrade (GHS). They got a lead, but the terrain turned out to be a bit too rough for the group to stay together and sprint for the victory. Instead, Berrade attacked in the final kilometers from an already thinned out group, managed to shake off all other attackers and arrived solo at the finish for a spectacular stage win. Lazkano finished 5th, Vacek 7th, Castrillo 8th, Küng 12th, Groves 13th.

Behind them, the gc favourites finished together, but a lot of riders got dropped on the first category climb halfway, including Landa (BDC/MCB), Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX) and Kuss (DED). Landa was the big loser of the day losing three minutes and dropping from 5th to 10th in gc, putting him out of contention for the podium.

Yesterday was a day for the GC favourites. On the final climb Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB) attacked and nobody was able to follow him. In the chasing group O'Connor (BDC) again got in trouble and fell behind. Landa had already dropped again, however he was able to make a comeback. Mas (VFL/PTM) also attacked from the group and was able to get a small gap. In the final kilometer however Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) managed to catch up with him and finished third. Roglic won and finally takes over the red jersey. Mas finished 4th, Landa 5th, Rodrigues (VFL) 6th, Kuss (DED) 8th, Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) 9th and Lipowitz (VFL) 10th.

O'Connor only came in 12th losing not only the red jersey to Roglic, but also losing a minute on Mas and slightly less than that on Carapaz, putting his podium spot under threat with two stage including a time-trial to go.

The gc now looks as follows:
1. Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB)
2. O'Connor (BDC) +1'54"
3. Mas (VFL/PTM) +2'20"
4. Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) +2'54"
6. Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) +4'47"
7. Carlos Rodriguez (VFL) +4'55"
8. Lipowitz (VFL) +5'55"
9. Landa (BDC/MCB) +6'40"
11. Kuss (DED) + 10'51"
12. Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX) + 11'44"

Both stage were won by GHST, who not only reduced their points gap, but also significantly improved their standing for end of tour points with Roglic taking over first, Skjelmose gaining spots and Carapaz more secured in 4th with a good chance of more. They are very much still in contention for the final victory.

BdC did ok points wise and keep their first place in the standing, but got some bad news for the end of tour points with O'Connor dropping from first and at risk of dropping further and Landa also losing several spots. Especially with the time trial coming up where O'Connor is expected to do poorly and Skjelmose is expected to do well it seems very likely GHST and Port Maxhestic might score more final points. That said BdC are still in the lead and any team to overtake them is gonna need good results both today and tomorrow.

Port Maxhestic probably wanted a better result for Groves on thurday. Roglic doing really well also hurts their chances. However they too are still in this with Mas, Skjelmose and Carapaz doing well. They really need a good result for Mas today to stay ahead of GHST. They also have several riders that could do well in the itt.

The Velociposse realistically seems to be heading for fourth place with Yates, Lipowitz and Rodriguez not being quite as strong as the others and without Roglic on their team. They are 400 points behind GHST now and it might be hard to make that up. That said they still have a lot of riders in the race to score stage points today. If they manage to pull of a big win today anything can happen.

Beyond the top 4 the Cabana Boys keep doing well and seem headed for 5th. All the other teams have been massively hindered by dropouts, but apart from Cyclohexane they all have Roglic doing well which unfortunately for Cyclohexane probably means they finish last, despite a great season so far. Naziun Cjovani are currently in 8th and really needed a stage result from Del Toro at some point to do better. Maybe it could still happen today. Dead Last are currently 6th. That position can still be threatened by Cézembre Fiescha if Yates does well.

Standings after stage 19:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	5893	+494
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5604	+457
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	5589	+585
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5135	+404
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3944	+481
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3688	+399
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3467	+320
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3289	+340
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3112	+163

Today is a big day with no less than 7 summits and lots of potential for more big shifts in GC. It has already started and is expected to finish in about 4 hours. Today could not only decide the red jersey but the winner of TCAT as well!

GHST again scored the most points yesterday, but neither they nor Port Maxhestic quite got what they needed in terms of points and GC shifts. BdC struggled but survived and head into the time trial as favourites.

Standings after stage 20:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	6350	+457
2nd	(+1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6174	+585
3rd	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6085	+481
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5540	+405
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	4293	+349
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3984	+296
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3731	+264
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3571	+282
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3360	+248

The final stage has just started. GHST basically needs Carapaz to gain a minute on O'Connor along with plenty of stage points. Port Maxhestic needs a miracle (e.g. Roglic flubbing)

Once again TY Glüc for doing these updates while I'm travelling:)

Küng (PTM) takes the lead in the time trial after 97/135 riders done. Great start of the final stage for Port Maxhestic.

Quote from: Glüc da Dhi S.H. on September 07, 2024, 06:20:27 AMThe Velociposse realistically seems to be heading for fourth place with Yates, Lipowitz and Rodriguez not being quite as strong as the others and without Roglic on their team. They are 400 points behind GHST now and it might be hard to make that up. That said they still have a lot of riders in the race to score stage points today. If they manage to pull of a big win today anything can happen.

Oh man. :(

Küng (PTM) wins the stage, Roglic wins overall, BdC wins TCAT. Update soonish

Yesterday was a big mountain stage. Unsurprisingly the break, which included Castrillo (BDC) was caught and the stage was decided by the GC contenders. Well, the gc contenders and Berrade (GHS) who surprisingly was able to keep with the others for most of the final ascent and finished 5th. Loser among the favourites was Carlos Rodriguez (VFL) who finished 19th and dropped to 10th in GC.

O'Connor (BDC) struggled at various points, but unlike previous stages he was able to come back every time and kept his losses very limited and finished 5th. Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) didnt have as strong a performance as friday and only finished 10th, behind Lipowitz (VFL) and Landa (BDC/MCB). Mas was the strongest among the GC top, finishing 2nd, but not gaining much time, with Roglic and Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) close behind.

GHST scored the most points, but with Skjelmose disappointing somewhat and O'Connor struggling but never breaking it wasn't quite enough. Similarly Port Maxhestic needed more to stay in the race, especially with Roglic now poised to win the red jersey.

There was still a chance for O'Connor to break today however. Had O'Connor lost a lot of time on Mas and Carapaz in the time trial, GHST would likely have won. That didn't happen however. Instead O'Connor scored a respectable 11th place, with Carapaz and Mas not in the top 20. TT specialist Küng (PTM) finally managed to win a GT stage. Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB) again showed his strength by coming second. His lead in GC was never in much doubt in the final stage.

Vacek (GHS/BDC) finished 6th, Campenaerts (GHS/CHX) 7th, Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) 8th, jumping to 5th in GC, Sweeny (MCB) 9th, Armirail (MCB/PTM) 10th. Despite the win by Küng, it was GHST who scored the most points again due to the strong results by Roglic, Vacek and Campenaerts. They come very close to first place. However, O'Connor staying in 2nd place overall ensures BdC get the most end-of-tour points and win this edition of TCAT.

Port Maxhestic have been very strong all edition. In the end however Roglic showed why he was the most expensive rider and just scored loads of points by winning overall boosting GHST and BdC, giving them the edge over Port Maxhestic and Velociposse.


Standings after stage 21 (without end-of-tour points!):

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	6783	+433
2nd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6742	+568
3rd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6518	+433
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5644	+104
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	4683	+390
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	4213	+229
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3962	+231
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3827	+256
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3547	+187

Thus ends the final leg of this season of the Talossan Cycling Association Tour. Many many thanks to everyone who participated. I really hope you all enjoyed following. Also many thanks to Lüc for his role in the organisation.

Hopefully see you all again in May 2025!

Season ranking:
1st   Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)   28909
2nd   Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)   25986
3rd   Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)   23892
4th   Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)   22746
5th   Cyclohexane (CHX)   22500
6th   Dead Last (DED)   19708
7th   Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)   17047
8th   Velociposse Florencia (VFL)   16261

9th   Naziun Cjovani (CJO)   13051

10th  Ardita Benito (ARB)  7739
11th  Maricopan Manilows (MAN)  6419
12th  Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)  5281

Daily wins:

Leg 1:
BDC - 13
PTM/MCB/CFA - 2
GHS/SOS - 1

Leg 2:
CFA - 7
GHS/DED - 4
PTM - 3
CHX - 2
MCB - 1

Leg 3:
BDC - 7
GHS - 6
PTM/VFL - 4

Looking forward to @Sir Lüc posting the combativity/sprint/climbing classifications for this leg and the season as well.

Quote from: Glüc da Dhi S.H. on September 08, 2024, 07:16:48 PMDaily wins:

Leg 1:
BDC - 13
PTM/MCB/CFA - 2
GHS/SOS - 1

Leg 2:
CFA - 7
GHS/DED - 4
PTM - 3
CHX - 2
MCB - 1

Leg 3:
BDC - 7
GHS - 6
PTM/VFL - 4

Looks like PTM was the only team to have multiple stage wins in every leg, which is certainly due to expert picks and not random chance :P

Man after this leg I'm going to have to change the team name to MDC: Maricopa's Dead Center!

Thanks everyone for taking part, and of course to Glüc who had to do double duty to post updates while I was travelling.

Side classifications:

SPRINTERS'S CLASSIFICATION - first ever side classification victory for Ian!
Port Maxhestic AC 477
Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs 406
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 295
Maricopa Cabana Boys 196
Naziun Cjovani 180
Velociposse Florencia 178
Cézembre Fieschā 160
Dead Last 142
Cyclohexane 114


CLIMBERS'S CLASSIFICATION - second CLC win for Glüc after TCAT Italy 2023
Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs 388
Naziun Cjovani 295
Cézembre Fieschā 290
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 242
Maricopa Cabana Boys 219
Dead Last 188
Velociposse Florencia 181
Port Maxhestic AC 150
Cyclohexane 135


COMBATIVITY CLASSIFICATION - third combativity win for Glüc after France 22 and Italy 23
Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs 200
Velociposse Florencia 180
Port Maxhestic AC 160
Gordon Hiatus Support Team 140
Maricopa Cabana Boys 140
Cézembre Fieschā 140
Cyclohexane 140
Naziun Cjovani 100
Dead Last 20