Stage 10  »  Aurillac  ›  Le Lioran

A tough stage peppered with categorised climbs saw a large breakaway never being allowed to get too far, with Tadej Pogacar's (BDC/CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/MMM) team deciding this too was a day for general classification riders to win (specifically, him). Perhaps surprisingly, upon the breakaway being caught, it was Richard Carapaz (BDC/CHX/CJO) who immediately attacked to try and go for a long shot win, but he too was reeled back in by the Slovenian en route to another stage win.

Second was Evenepoel (CFA/CJO/REX/VFL), in front of Seixas (CFA) and Lipowitz (CHX/GHS/REX), with Ayuso (EVC/REX), Skjelmose (MMM) and Vingegaard (BDC/EVC/VFL) completing the chasing group. Bad day for Del Toro (CHX/EVC/GHS/MMM/REX/VFL) then, who finished eighth but paid up to one minute to Evenepoel and the others, therefore slipping four places in GC. Rounding off the top 10, Pidcock (EVC/REX) finished 9th despite a crash while descending in the final stages, and erstwhile attacker Carapaz had to settle for 11th.

Fourth consecutive stagewin for REX, a feat only matched by Velocostă (during France 2025), GHST (Spain 2024) and Banqeu de Cézembre (Italy 2024). And the odds for a fifth and maybe sixth win in a row look great, as a sprint is assured today and likely tomorrow, REX being the only team that can count on effectively three sprinters.

Standings after stage 10:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	4825	+762
2nd	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	4461	+677
3rd	(+1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	4382	+699
4th	(-1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4307	+596
5th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	4137	+504
6th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	4082	+528
7th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	3261	+519
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3183	+679
9th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2669	+579

As mentioned, today sees the sprinters getting involved again. Very difficult to see REX not winning this one as well if Bittner, Pedersen and Godon all keep finishing in or near the top ten. If that doesn't happen, the non-Pedersen/Bittner teams might get a shot if their sprinter wins; Kooij (BDC/GHS) and Kanter (CHX) would seem the strongest candidates, but non-TCAT Merlier seems difficult to beat at the moment.

Well, congrats Dan! Seems like France could not accept an Italian rooting for them, and promptly folded.

Quick question: should this bill pass, do its portions amending El Lexhatx go into effect immediately, or not?

I'm almost certain the answer is no - or rather, I'm almost certain there's no legal mechanism that would allow them to - but I'm asking specifically because I **might** have spent some time successfully implementing the Cosă candidate confirmation thing in the Database, only to realise it won't get used until the next election, well into the spring of 2027.

GROUP 1
3. Foo Fighters - Walk
2. Talk Talk - Such a Shame
1. Queen - Don't Stop Me Now
HM: Dave Brubeck - Take Five

GROUP 2
3. Renato Zero - Triangolo
2. Toto - Hold the Line
1. Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
HM: Stromae - Papaoutai

The unlucky ones

BDC (actually one position higher currently): Where to start. The only team going for both Pogacar and Vingegaard, which usually is a good call, but is extraordinarily expensive this time around, and would require everything else going right. Sadly hardly anything is, with Carapaz out of GC, Uijtdebroeks having to withdraw with an illness, and Kooij doing too little as already mentioned. None of their four 4 credit unclassed riders delivering any miracles so far either, which isn't really going to make the difference on its own anyway.

CJO: Features the other abandon so far, sprinter Arnaud de Lie - speaking of which, it's a miracle we haven't had more riders quit given the unbearable heat. In Cjovani's case, though, this has made them toothless in a week where 3/9 stages went to a bunch sprint. It didn't help of course that both Carapaz and Arensman are out of GC top 10 contention already. It's a team that had potential, but most riders haven't shown it yet, including for instance usually exciting stagehunter Ben Healy.

The outsiders/midpack contenders

VFL: The second of three teams without Pogacar, it nevertheless holds the current 2nd, 3rd and 4th riders in GC, which would justify the gamble. Though the other riders have to start doing better for them to have a chance, with Philipsen so far winless and outscored by three cheaper or equal sprinters, van der Poel fresh off a stage win but a long way from 100 ppc still, and the other three unclassed riders mum. In particular, Abrahamsen hasn't featured at all so far, but hopefully we'll see the Norwegian get some breakaway action soon.

EVC: The final team without Pogacar, it does have a trio of GC riders in the top 5, plus the already mentioned Pedersen, but Jorgenson being low in the Vingegaard helper pecking order is not helping his points tally - an expensive miss given he is 10 credits. Pidcock had an okay first week with a third place yesterday, and is still just outside the top 10 in GC, meaning he has a shot at 100 ppc, unlike, IMO, van der Poel. As with VFL, Abrahamsen might come alive later, but Bittner, a sprinter wildcard pick, will probably not be worth it with the few sprint opportunities left.

CFA (actually one position lower currently): A very interesting team on account of holding Paul Seixas, young French talent at his first TCAT edition. Fieschă at the moment is hampered by their unclasseds and climbers not doing much so far - both are understandable, given climbers haven't had many chances and picking unclasseds is usually a lottery. I wouldn't read too much into Bauhaus scoring little so far - this edition was never going to be about costly sprinters scoring 2000 points - but the credits saved here really need to be worth it elsewhere. Final position will heavily depend on whether the expensive Seixas, an unique pick, can do even better than his current 6th place in GC, and whether at the very least Rubio and Paret-Peintre will get a few top tens in the mountains.

Brief restday thoughts before we wait for the Stage 9 update. (spoiler: in order of current standing, but you can check those on Velogames anyway.)

The candidates for the win

REX: A very strong team so far, with none of their picks performing poorly, REX - sporting two sprinters, a versatile unclassed-sprinter in Godon and the two most expensive unclassed stagehunters in Pidcock and van der Poel - made the most of this first week featuring three sprints and a few breakaway stages. It will have to be seen whether this carries into the harder stages, but even there all of their four allrounders and climbers are still in contention for the GC top 5 (3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th currently). Could a team without Pogacar and Vingegaard surprise us with a shocking win?

MMM: Off the top of my mind, the second team to ever go heavily for the favourite IRL trade team, that being Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG. And the first time it happened, it went well, with Banqeu de Cézembre winning the 2023 TCAT Spain leg. This time too, the initial results are promising, with Pogacar and del Toro winning a combined three stages and two podiums alongside a third place for UAE in the team time trial; and it certainly helps that MMM also selected Pedersen, who is already 83% of the way to 100 points per credit, our usual benchmark for a great pick. The problem in the end might be the dearth of riders placing high in the final GC, with only Pogacar, del Toro and Skjelmose left to score meaningful End of Tour points. Maybe Vingegaard crumbles and MMM gets 1-2, or maybe Yates climbs up a bit?

GHS: I would characterise GHS's first week as "consistently okay". Just one stagewin, but usually ranked high when it mattered. Kooij did win a stage, but failed to score on the next occasion, which given there's just one clear sprint opportunity left, plus three "maybe"s, feels like too little - especially given Pedersen would have cost the same amount of credits. Still waiting for Paret-Peintre to make his mark as well once the terrain gets hillier. A team well placed for later, but without breakout moments so far.

CHX: Similar to GHS, given they share five riders, but with a better and cheaper sprinter in Kanter. Unfortunately the extra credits did not bear fruit so far, with Carapaz very delayed in GC (where, if it ends up being GHS vs CHX, he will have to square up against Johannessen to make the difference) and Vacek seemingly hamstrung in having to support Pedersen. Also waiting for Paret-Peintre to get to the mountains, and who knows, maybe Wellens is as good a candidate as any to be allowed by UAE to go for a stagewin later. Again a team well placed for later, except obviously, for the moment, Carapaz < Johannessen means it should be at a slight disadvantage to GHS.

For the record, I can confirm Tric'hard applied for a Landing Pier visa two days ago, and upon receiving the required Government approval, I went ahead and re-enabled his existing account with the appropriate permission set.

Welcome back @Tric'hard Lenxheir !

Gorillaz - On Melancholy Hill

Stage 8  »  Périgueux  ›  Bergerac

Not much to say; another bunchsprint won by non-TCAT Merlier. Kooij (BDC/GHS) got third place ahead of Philipsen (VFL) and Bittner (EVC/REX).

Much like yesterday, REX won the most points with Pedersen placing 12th and Godon 14th. REX also moves into second by a single point, with the top three less than 100 points apart. (And since I've been in the business of recording all time stagewin stats lately, the Royals are now at 10, the twelfth team to reach double digits.)

Standings after stage 8:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	3368	+222
2nd	(+1)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	3286	+340
3rd	(-1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	3285	+222
4th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3128	+282
5th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	3049	+288
6th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2952	+272
7th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	2582	+249
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2298	+112
9th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1920	+76

One stage left before the first restday: a rolling breakaway friendly stage suited for a breakaway. Could be a little too climb-heavy for classic-type riders like Pedersen (EVC/MMM/REX) and van der Poel (REX/VFL), though this is another of those stages Pedersen has to go for if he wants to keep his lead in the points classification. Maybe better suited for climbers down in GC like Healy (CJO), Carapaz (BDC/CHX/CJO), Baudin (CHX/GHS) or Arensman (CJO), but more versatile stagehunters like Abrahamsen (EVC/VFL) are also bound to try and get a say. Should be a fun watch!

Anyway, completing my initial 3 picks:

Quote from: Glüc on July 11, 2026, 01:39:36 AMThere are 17 spots left! It has been noon TST on the 11th, so everyone now gets one additional nomination 12 hours after they posted their previous nomination.

Well it's the european morning of the 11th right now, so noon TST has definitely not arrived yet, right?

Thanks for organising!

1. A never-before nominated classic


2. A renomination from a while ago


Pick 3 to come later.

Stage 6  »  Pau  ›  Gavarnie-Gèdre

Quick update. First stage for GC favourites, with TCAT climbing the mighty Tourmalet, and unsurprisingly it went to Tadej Pogacar, with Jonas Vingegaard best of the rest. Isaac del Toro got best of the rest of the rest, then, ahead of Evenepoel, Seixas, Lipowitz, Ayuso and Skjelmose.

So today mostly set the stage for who's going to round out the top 10 in the general classification, with people like Johannessen, Carapaz and Pidcock now delayed by 5 or more minutes from the bulk of the other top 10 contestants, and Cian Uijtdebroeks (BDC) unfortunately withdrawing outright after reportedly surviving a couple of day with a fever. That sadly makes it two TCAT retirements through illness, with Arnaud De Lie (CJO) bowing out early too.

Another stagewin for the Mençeis, who gain slightly on Cyclohexane in the overall standings and also match their number of all time stage wins (19).

Standings after stage 6:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	2887	+768
2nd	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2766	+742
3rd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2680	+697
4th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	2610	+709
5th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	2503	+647
6th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2446	+651
7th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	2244	+557
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1977	+634
9th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1769	+479

Coming up, two sprint stages in a row. Will Kooij (BDC/GHS) confirm the stage win he got on stage 5, will Kanter (CHX) do one better, will Pedersen (REX/VFL/MMM) suddenly find more raw speed in these flat sprints, or will Philipsen (VFL) redeem his weak showing two days ago?

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on July 08, 2026, 09:32:12 AMWe have that board game! We only tried playing it a couple of times, but maybe we should give it another chance.

Well I can't claim to be a boardgame expert, but it's great fun and pretty simple to pick up! Plenty of expansions you can pick-and-choose to round it out too.

Brief trivia moment: with EVC and MMM winning stages already, they both confirm their record of getting a stagewin in every edition they competed in. GHST is the only other team who may also join them by winning one of the remaining 17 stages. Team in the Wind is not competing in this edition, but they also technically share that record by winning three stages in the one leg they took part in.

With their stagewin on Sunday, Velociposse became the third team to win 20 stages in TCAT; there was a "hidden" small race to be the first to cross that threshold between them, the Mençeis and Cyclohexane, and they indeed all won a stage already, but Cyclohexane initially stood at 18 stagewins (now 19) and the Mençeis at 17 (now 18). The Mençeis also overtook Port Maxhestic for fifth overall in the all-time stagewin ranking. Gonna be interesting to see who among the three will get the most after this leg is completed!

Stage 4  »  Carcassonne  ›  Foix

Yesterday TCAT departed from my favourite boardgame's namesake town, for a medium mountain stage that looked perfect for a breakaway. We did indeed get a large one, with riders from most TCAT teams and plenty of stagehunters, but the win went to Mads Pedersen (EVC/MMM/REX), more of a punchy sprinter, who survived the couple of significant climbs along the way to get an important victory for his point classification aspirations - given he will be at a disadvantage to the pure sprinters in the flatter stages to come.

Other than the Dane, only Mathias Vacek (CHX, 10th) and Vlad van Mechelen (CFA, 13th) got stage finish points, which means we get a pretty low scoring result for everyone but the three Pedersen teams. The stagewin itself goes to Esqipă Velocostă, who moves up three places, as does REX; while MMM, a very close second today, solidifies their grasp on the lead for the time being.

Standings after stage 4:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	1932	+348
2nd	(+1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1715	+192
3rd	(+3)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1652	+347
4th	(+3)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	1640	+354
5th	(-3)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1639	+89
6th	(-2)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1590	+95
7th	(-2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1409	+71
8th	(+1)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1259	+106
9th	(-1)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1234	+62

Today, the first bunch sprint finish is almost certainly coming up, with the pure sprinters finally getting a chance at delivering for their teams. Might be a good chance for Velocostă to get two in a row, as the only team with two sprinters (Pedersen and Bittner), or for Velociposse to also try and get a second win thanks to Philipsen, potentially the fastest pure sprinter among those picked in TCAT.

Stage 2 Tarragona -> Barcelona

A stage for puncheurs, on paper, but the final circuit in the hilly Montjuic suburb of Barcelona was too hard for most stagehunters and it ended up being an early affair between GC riders. Our two most popular picks (both on 6/9 teams) got an 1-2, with Isaac del Toro claiming the win ahead of Tadej Pogacar, and the other two final podium favourites Evenepoel and Vingegaard taking 3-4 close behind.

High scoring result for most teams, due to TCAT riders comprising the entirety of the top 10 (and 16 of the top 20). It is however Velociposse taking a closely contested stage win ahead of the Mençeis and GHST, thanks to holding four of the top 6 finishers to the other two teams's three. These same three teams also make up the current overall podium, with the Mençeis still on top.

Standings after stage 2:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	993	+738
2nd	(+3)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	922	+762
3rd	(+3)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	843	+698
4th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	810	+640
5th	(-3)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	792	+582
6th	(+2)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	762	+627
7th	(-4)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	667	+462
8th	(-1)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	602	+462
9th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	567	+502

Today's stage is already about to finish!

Extremely happy to see everyone join for another edition! (Despite podcast not getting released yet because of an insanely busy week)

I feel like there's many interesting riders in the 6 credit unclassed category, I hope someone picks them because I could only get one:/

Right. As things stand, MCs affiliated with the URL have contributed 60 of 100 votes currently cast against Confidence, which, according to Lexh.H.4.3, makes Mic'haglh Autófil the Leader of the Opposition again. I will proceed with the necessary Witt and DB title changes.