Stage 9 Cervia -> Corno alle Scale

Long flat stretch, with a small breakaway featuring Giulio Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW) and Einer Rubio (CFA), got whittled away on the final climb. Ciccone almost looked like he could solo to victory, but behind in the group of main GC contenders Felix Gall (REX/VFL) attempted to exploit certain rivals having a bad day by putting seconds on them ahead of the rest day. The Austrian's attack was followed by Jonas Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/CHX/GHS/ITW/MMM), ever this edition's strongest climber, who mostly only had to wait for the right moment to attack himself and get a second stage win ahead of his so-far closest rival.

Vingegaard teammate Davide Piganzoli (GHS/MMM) got a surprise third place ahead of Thymen Arensman (BDC/GHS/ITW/VFL) - these two are the biggest winners of the day looking at the general classification. Conversely, definitely a bad day for Giulio Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) who slips three places in GC and is now 45" behind his teammate Jai Hindley, which doesn't bide well for his team leadership ambitions. Three more TCAT riders placed top 10 (Gee 6th, Hindley 9th and Storer 10th), with a sorry Ciccone only finishing 11th.

Much like stage 7, the other stage where GC riders shone, most teams got a nice enough point haul, but it is GHST again topping the stage ranking. REX keeps the overall lead ahead of today's restday.

Standings after stage 9:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	2847	+478
2nd	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2753	+411
3rd	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	2738	+557
4th	(+3)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2652	+806
5th	(-1)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	2548	+572
6th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	2537	+616
7th	(-2)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2412	+474
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1400	+344

Today is a rest day; we'll resume tomorrow with this edition's only individual time trial, a 42km dash along the coast of northern Tuscany. Not many ITT specialists present - Remi Cavagna (CFA/ITW) is I think the only specialist in any TCAT roster, but he is definitely not as strong as Jonas Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/CHX/GHS/ITW/MMM), who is again the favourite here, even if he might not win the time trial outright because of Filippo Ganna (who however isn't in anyone's TCAT lineup). Among the other GC riders the only competent team trialist should be Thymen Arensman (BDC/GHS/ITW/VFL), so there might be hefty time drops among the others. So, immediate bottom line, ITW has all three, BDC, GHST and CFA have two.

 Other than that I wouldn't be sure about any other potential TCAT high-scorers, although Gee (REX) should have a decent time trial, Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) and Christen (BDC/REX/VFL) didn't do a bad ITT in this March's Tirreno-Adriatico (similar to tomorrow's course but shorter), and Jonathan Milan (CHX/GHS) is a relatively good time trialist, but he may save energies for the sprints.

Stage 7 Formia -> Blockhaus

Verdicts from first GC stage: Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/CHX/GHS/ITW/MMM) predictably on top. Gall (REX/VFL) surprisingly close just 13" behind (it was generally feared that other riders might drop 1' or more). Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) managed to hang with Vingegaard the longest, but ultimately finished 1' behind, in a trio with Hindley (BDC/GHS) and non-TCAT O'Connor.

More delayed, at +1'40" and over, Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW), Gee-West (REX), Storer (GHS/REX/VFL) and Arensman (BDC/GHS/ITW/VFL), but this is still good news for their ambitions of finishing top3/5 in the final standings. Less good news for other potential GC top 10 candidates like Bernal (BDC/ITW), Mas, Rubio (CFA), Cepeda (MMM) and Zana (CFA/CHX), all variously delayed by 3 to almost 6 minutes.

GHST gets the daily win thanks to placing all six of their GC riders in the top 16 (4 in top 10, plus Harper and Piganzoli). BDC and CHX round off the podium, with the latter retaining the top spot.

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2202	+625
2nd	(+1)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1906	+480
3rd	(-1)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1898	+410
4th	(+1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1778	+656
5th	(-1)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	1732	+502
6th	(+1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1649	+749
7th	(-1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1569	+547
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	956	+459

Today, a stage that seems tailor made for an interesting breakaway, with a second half peppered with hard and relatively short climbs. Might be a great occasion for those teams with a couple of top tier stage hunters to score 200-300 unanswered points over everyone else.

Stage 6 Paestum -> Napoli

This edition, much like the past few ones, also features a stage with sprint finish in Naples... except the finish line was moved up a hill, past an uphill cobblestone section, with a hairpin midway through. With the surface still wet from the rain, this was a recipe for disaster, and indeed an otherwise predictably uneventful stage came undone right at the last kilometre.

With the top sprinters battling for position at the front, a few riders slid on their own as they were taking the damp cobbled hairpin a mere 300m from the finish line, resulting in most of the group getting stuck. Luckily for In The Wind, one of just two riders who were entirely unaffected was their own Davide Ballerini, who outsprinted non-TCAT Jasper Stuyven for an entirely unexpected stage win. All other top TCAT sprinters were delayed or crashed outright, meaning it  who had a chance at avoiding the accident and scoring points: Mozzato (CFA) ended up 7th, van Uden (BDC) 10th, Ackermann (MMM) 17th and Maestri (CHX) 20th.

ITW gets another stage win, albeit a low scoring one, with no position changes in the overall standings. The most consequential outcome from today is instead Milan and Andresen, the most expensive sprinters, not scoring any points and failing to turn around their so-far disappointing TCAT edition, which is bad news for CHX, GHS, REX and ITW itself.

Standings after stage 6:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1577	+114
2nd	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1488	+106
3rd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1426	+294
4th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	1230	+121
5th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1122	+128
6th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1022	+88
7th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	900	+35
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	497	+126

Today we finally get the first mountain stage of TCAT Italy 2026, as the peloton climbs Cima Blockhaus (which, despite the name, is not in the Alps and is actually nestled deep within the Appennines.) First verdicts from leading GC contenders and climbers coming up!

Stage 4 Catanzaro -> Cosenza

Welcome to Italy! TCAT lands on the tip of the boot, Calabria, for what could have been a sprint finish - but no, all sprinters (and more) were dropped on the single Cat.2 climb halfway through the stage, and only a group of 40 was left in front to contend the stage win.

The reduced bunch sprint went to Jhonatan Narvaez (MMM/REX/VFL) in front of Orluis Aular (REX/VFL) and Giulio Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW), the latter also taking over the GC leader's pink jersey. Logically then it is REX and VFL who lead the day, with the Rexhitais also narrowly inheriting the overall lead. 

The Florencian team gets the stage win, but will have to do without Kaden Groves from now on, the Australian having dropped out today as a result of the finish line crash in stage 1. With this abandon, only Cyclohexane, GHST and In The Wind have a full roster, all other teams having one each.

Standings after stage 4:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+2)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1136	+484
2nd	(-1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1113	+323
3rd	(-1)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1058	+281
4th	(+2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	907	+359
5th	(-1)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	872	+294
6th	(+1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	843	+519
7th	(-2)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	694	+116
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	324	+79

Coming up today is a hilly stage that could see a similar outcome (breakaway and/or reduced sprint).

Done!

Stage 2 Burgas (Bulgaria) -> Veliko Tarnovo

Glüc's prediction was mostly correct, but GC riders did make a valiant attempt at trying to win seconds on their peers - Vingegaard (CHX/ITW/BDC/MMM/GHS/CFA), Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) and Van Eetvelt (non-TCAT) were rebuffed by the charging chase within the last kilometer, with the stagewin ultimately going to non-TCAT Silva, and Giulio Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW) in third leading the TCAT riders. Scaroni (MMM/REX) placed fourth, Pellizzari fifth and Christen (BDC) eighth.

It is BDC who comes away with the daily win, but disaster struck soon after as Andrea Vendrame, one of the riders involved in a 30-rider megacrash midway through, completed the stage but will not be able to start tomorrow. Also unable to start due to the crash is Adam Yates, which sadly means Fieschă and REX are already a GC rider down. The first TCAT rider to abandon, though, was MMM's Matteo Moschetti, which did not start stage 2 as a result of the injuries sustained in the finish line crash of stage 1.

Standings after stage 2:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+2)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	555	+358
2nd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	527	+309
3rd	(-2)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	522	+290
4th	(+2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	463	+418
5th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	446	+338
6th	(-2)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	346	+155
7th	(+1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	281	+269
8th	(-1)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	209	+181

Well, there'll be plenty more racing to come this summer - registrations for Leg 2 will likely open around 29-30 June, less than a month after Leg 1 wraps up.

Meanwhile, welcome back to all returning managers and welcome Crement!

Two days to the deadline - make sure you get your registration in, and join the TCAT league on Velogames using code 639289433 (https://www.velogames.com/italy/2026/leaguescores.php?league=639289433)

Tagging other frequent former managers: @þerxh Sant-Enogat @Iason Taiwos @Carlüs Éovart Vilaçafat @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be and others - would love to see you all join the fun again!

Azul everyone, May has rolled around and you all know what that means - it's TCAT time! Welcome to season 5 of the Talossan Cycling Association Tour, starting as usual with the first of three legs playing out in Italy (except for some reason the first three stages are happening abroad, this time in Bulgaria.)

All Talossans are heartily invited to sign their teams up! Team registrations are now open, and instructions follow below.

Deadline

The deadline for entries to be submitted is 12:45 CEST (Cézembre Summer Time) / 05:45 (AM) TDT (Talossan Daylight Time) on Friday 8th May, 2026.


How to register

Step 1: Create a Velogames account

If you already have a Velogames account you can proceed with step 2.
You can create a Velogames account by going to velogames.com -> log in -> click here to register

Step 2: Register your team

While logged in to Velogames, go to the following page: https://www.velogames.com/italy/2026/entryform.php

Here you can submit your team. After submitting your team you can still make changes to your team up until the deadline! On your team page, which you can find by clicking visit team, you can also change your team name and jersey.

Step 3: Join the Talossan Cycling Association Tour

After you set up your team you can go to your team page (visit team) and under team management there should be a button called join league. There you can join the Talossan Cycling Association Tour by entering the following league code: 639289433

(You can access league scores and/or view who's signed up here: https://www.velogames.com/italy/2026/leaguescores.php?league=639289433)


Team information

Each team needs to consist of 9 riders, with a combined total cost of up to 100 credits. These need to include 2 all rounders, 2 climbers, 1 sprinter, 3 unclassified riders, and 1 wildcard (which can be any category).

Generally, the credits assigned to the riders are pretty close to the consensus expection of how these riders will perform. This means it is possible to do well without much research, though of course if you do want to research your team there are many resources online, such as ProCyclingStats, various preview sites, bookmakers, and the youtube channel Ow Do Cycling. It is possible to use less than 100 credits, but this is usually not advisable.

A full list of participating riders, categories and credits can be found here. These should be mostly definitive, but should any of your picks drop out before the deadline without you noticing, Velogames will autoreplace them.


Scoring & Rules

The rules for the competition can be found here. Note that we are only focused on the classic competition: 1 team that stays the same throughout the race.

The scoring system can be found here. Points are assigned daily for stage results, intermediate sprints, categorised summits, participating in breakaways, daily classification standings, and team assist points; and furthermore, a sizable chunk of points will be assigned based on the final classifications.

The Chancery is happy to await the outcome of His Majesty's request for an advisory opinion, and to revisit its decision if necessary.

I should restate/clarify that, of the 20 seats to be reassigned, while being unable to allocate all of them as directed by the Seneschal, the Chancery has nonetheless given 2 to Moinul Moin out of the 7 he was slated to receive, as he had been initially appointed as a Member of the Cosă upon the erroneous preliminary reallocation, and the Chancery believes that retracting such an appointment could potentially inOrganically disenfranchise him from enjoying the rights of that office.

Voting on the May 2026 Clark (the fourth of the 62nd Cosă) is now open, until the 21st of the month, at 19h30 TST.

You can find the Clark at: https://database.talossa.com/ziu/clark (database) or at https://wiki.talossa.com/images/9/9e/May2026Clark.pdf (pdf)

MCs and Senators can all vote on the new Database using the credentials you have been sent by email: https://database.talossa.com/ziu/clark/vote

If you wish to vote on Wittenberg, MCs can vote here and Senators can vote here.



Sir Lüc da Schir, UrB
Secretary of State

Senators, you can cast your votes on the Fourth Clark here or on the database: https://database.talossa.com/ziu/clark/vote

You can find the Clark at: https://database.talossa.com/ziu/clark (database) or at https://wiki.talossa.com/images/9/9e/May2026Clark.pdf (pdf)

If you vote here on Witt, do not indicate any conditions which may make it sound like this vote isn't final: you can always change your vote later.

Members of the Cosă, you can cast your votes on the Fourth Clark here or on the database: https://database.talossa.com/ziu/clark/vote

You can find the Clark at: https://database.talossa.com/ziu/clark (database) or at https://wiki.talossa.com/images/9/9e/May2026Clark.pdf (pdf)

If you vote here on Witt, do not indicate any conditions which may make it sound like this vote isn't final: you can always change your vote later.

I might have overlooked a substantial issue. I'm afraid that, unless I am mistaken, this would mean the Progressive Alliance allocation is:

* On-list candidates: 40 *
Lux 20
Brigă 20

* Off-list candidates: 47 *
Lupul 20
Tong 20
Moin 7

Pursuant to Lex.B.2.3.1.1.3, "The total number of seats awarded to those not on the list does not exceed 1/3 of all seats won by the party". 47 being over 87/3 = 29, I am unable to honour the Seneschal's reallocation request.

For the time being, Tong Mun Kit has been reverted to the 7 seats he already held, and Moinul Moin will hold 2 seats, for a total of 29 off-list seats. 69 seats are filled, and 18 seats will stand vacant.

I'm sorry I didn't catch this earlier - I was on a rush and misremembered the Duke of Lupul as being an on-list MC.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on April 29, 2026, 03:02:22 PM@Moinul Moin has graciously agreed to represent the Progressive Alliance.  Please increase @Tong Mun Kit 's allotment to twenty seats, reflecting our confidence in his growing experience, and assign the remaining seven to @Moinul Moin .  Thank you!

The above has now been reflected on the database. S:r Moin will be emailed database credentials for Clark voting in short order.

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on April 29, 2026, 11:21:40 PM@Sir Lüc , please forgive the early tag; as I will be travelling tomorrow for a funeral I may not be on Witt much. However, in the event the CRL does not inappropriately delay the Freedom of Conscience Act outside their limited scope of responsibility, I would ask that you add it to the Clark once it receives the requisite approval.

That's a reasonable ask under these circumstances. My deepest condolences.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on April 28, 2026, 03:47:49 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on April 28, 2026, 02:59:06 PM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on April 23, 2026, 11:31:46 AMS:r Secretary,

I am Clarking the following: The Sentient Rights Act

Just FYI: this bill should not be accepted under the terms of Lexh.H.2.1.7.1, since it is too deficient in function to work.  In the time since it was proposed and placed in the CRL, that section of the law was amended by an intervening bill, and so it's proposing to amend a provision that does not exist.

Thanks so much! I have updated the El Lex amending references to account for The Blanking Blank Act.
@Sir Lüc S:r Secretary, please let me know if these changes prevent it from being Clarked and I will hold off until the fifth Clark.

No, it's good to go on this Clark. The changes are minor enough.

Pursuant to Article X, Section 4 of the Organic Law, with a heavy heart the Chancery acknowledges S:r Vitxalmour Axhairsegol's renunciation of citizenship and accordingly issues the present to serve as Writ of Termination.




Sir Lüc da Schir, UrB
Secretary of State

Just a quick reminder that the Seneschal is standing in for the vacant A-X seat on the Committee, pursuant to Lexh.D.2.1.

So done.