Stage 5 Praia a Mare -> Potenza

Yesterday saw a succesful breakaway attempt involving Campenaerts (CHX), Rubio (CFA), Narvaez (REX/VFL/MMM), Garofoli (GHS), Scaroni (REX/MMM) and Arrieta (CHX). Crazy things happened at the end, where Arrieta crashed and then went in the wrong direction, but somehow still won the stage (I have no idea how any of that happened), giving the most points to Cyclohexane who are now back in the lead. Eulalio took the pink jersey.

Standings after stage 5:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1463	+350
2nd	(-1)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1382	+246
3rd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1132	+74
4th	(+1)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	1109	+237
5th	(-1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	994	+87
6th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	934	+91
7th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	865	+171
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	371	+47

Today we have a flat stage towards Naples which seems like one of the last opportunities for sprinters as we head into the mountains tomorrow. The final kilometers feature a short uphill cobbled section though, which might affect the results even if that result is still most likely a bunch sprint.

Stage 3 update later today, but here are the standings:

Tuesday's stage was again a sprint, on very wide roads in the Bulgarian capital. Again Magnier won, followed by Milan (GHS/CHX) with Ackermann (MMM) in 7th place, ballerini (ITW) in 8th and Andresen (ITW/REX) in 9th. The beginning of the day saw more bad news as Adam Yates (CFA/REX) did not start due to his injuries along with Vendrame. Team In The Wind scored the most points for the first time in their debut season, but Cyclohexane remain in the lead.

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	790	+235
2nd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	777	+250
3rd	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	652	+130
4th	(+2)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	578	+232
5th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	578	+132
6th	(-2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	548	+85
7th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	324	+43
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	245	+36

This was the last stage in Bulgaria. Yesterday was transfer/rest day and today TCAT continues in Italy, where a single category 2 climb halfway through the stage might result in a succesful breakaway, but more likely we'll see the peloton regather in time for a sprint. The finish is uphill, which might favour someone like Andresen over the pure sprinters.

Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas

80's sounding (apparently its from 1990) dream pop with shiny bright vocals, post-punky basslines, and indecipherable lyrics. I was only vaguely aware of them before. I did not expect to be this blown away.

Best tracks (in tracklist order): Pitch the Baby, Iceblink Luck, Fifty-fifty clown, Heaven or Las Vegas, I Wear Your Ring, but probably it's best to experience the whole thing from start to finish.

Stage 1 Nessebar (Bulgaria) -> Burgas

The Talossan Cycling Association Tour 2026 started with a short flat stage, creating the right circumstances for a bunch sprint. Unfortunately there was a big crash near the end, involving several TCAT riders. Hopefully they are all ok. The stage was won by Magnier, followed by Lund Andresen (REX/ITW). Milan (GHS/CHX) came in fourth place and Ackermann (MMM) in seventh. The royal team takes the first lead of the season as a result in a low scoring stage.

Standings after stage 1:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	232	+232
2nd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	218	+218
3rd	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	197	+197
4th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	191	+191
5th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	108	+108
6th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	45	+45
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	28	+28
8th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	12	+12

Tomorrow will be more of an intermediate stage. Most likely not challenging enough for GC contenders to make a big difference, but too much for a big bunch sprint. More likely the winner will be more of a punchy type rider.

Belated introduction tbd

The following teams are participating:

Eeh, well the deadline passed unfortunately :(

8 teams registered

Quote from: Sir Ian Plätschisch on May 05, 2026, 06:25:30 PMLet's a-go!

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on May 07, 2026, 01:26:57 PMMaritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis are riding, changing sports for better luck!  Off the ice and on the bikes!

Did you both submit teams? They are not showing up in the league yet. (Apologies if you haven't yet. Just wanted to check in case something went wrong)

Quote from: Sir Lüc on May 06, 2026, 06:17:25 AMTwo 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!

Also @Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP @Baron Alexandreu Davinescu @Iason Taiwos @Audrada Roibeardet

Less than 24 hours left to register your team!

Submitting a team is simple and doesnt take much time. It's not required to actually know anything about cycling.

Let's go!

Vingegaard is so expensive :'(

Quote from: Alexandreu Soleiglhfred on April 21, 2026, 01:06:26 PMI will try to send a mail your way.

Sure. Do you have my correct email (hotmail not gmail)?

Azul old friend! How have you been?

I wasn't sure if we would hear from you again. I guess given the circumstances Ill admit I was worried about what the news might be if we did. But Im glad you found your way here and youve carried a bit Talossa with you in the meantime.

The modrad spirit unfortunately hasnt been sighted for a while now, but Lüc and Ian and myself are still around, so who knows, one day...

Fwiw, I am sorry to see you go. I enjoyed your contributions to Talossan culture and fantasy sports and your independent approach to Talossan politics.

As for Breneir, I don't hate him, because I don't know him well enough for that, but I do wish he'd just leave at this point. He's clearly incapable of reflecting on his own actions. The "apology" is really just more evidence of that, because his "compliments" were clearly not given in good faith to begin with (which should be pretty obvious from the context to anyone who saw the original remarks. My own intepretation is that he was being very condescending) and because he doubled down repeatedly many times after knowing it made Lüc uncomfortable. To then explicitly deny any malicious intent and only apologise for how his comments were received is entirely unserious.

It really isn't just some vendetta by AD and Miestră. I haven't been particularly active lately, but I'm pretty sure a majority of active Talossans would be happy to see Breneir gone at this point. Clearly this isnt going away any time soon, which makes me wonder why he is still here just to argue with people that don't want anything to do with him.

Quote from: Tric'hard Lenxheir on April 15, 2026, 12:09:55 AMYour highness, @King Txec, due to some difficulties I have with the way certain issues are being handled by certain individuals within Talossa and my inability to understand the hatred for one citizen by a few others. I hereby step down from my position as Attorney General and renounce my seats in the Cosa and finally I renounce my citizenship. Until the recent hatred for one citizen I had really enjoyed my time as a Talossan but if someone can be ostracized because, in the opinion of some, he didn't apologize enough, then I want nothing to do with this country. @Breneir Tzaracomprada I am sorry for what you are being put through, I read your apology and for what it is worth I think it is well stated and well intended, I do not understand the hatred being directed at you and honestly I feel that certain other citizens here owe YOU an apology. Long live the King!

Well this is confusing.

Question:
Suppose someone, already with a reputation for harrassing coworkers they had an argument with, worked in an office and they had some sort of videocall meeting. They have an argument with a colleague they aren't friendly with. Then, instead of responding to the points raised, they start making creepy remarks, in front of everyone in the meeting, about how their colleagues looks good.

So, the next day they are called into HR and they are told 'we received some complaints and are told you made this coworker uncomfortable during your meeting'. They respond with 'I was just giving compliments because they are so handsome'. The HR person explains to them that this is inappropriate and they should stop and apologise. Then, instead of doing that he just sends a company wide email telling everyone that he was just giving compliments because their coworker is so pretty and if that makes them uncomfortable they should tell them themselves instead of reporting to HR.

Do you think theyd still have a job the next day?

It was close until the final day, but the Zambonis have emerged victorious yet again! Much like last year, els Tigreux and the Villains dominated the league phase, but the Zambonis got the last laugh.

Final standings:

1. Banqeu da Cézembre Zambonis
2. Tigreux dal Belacostă
3. Vuode Villains
4. Cjovani Squilats
5. Els Talossaes Rexhitais
6. Maricopa Havana Hijinks
7. Cézembrean Amateurs on Ice
8. Gordon Hiatus Support Team
9. Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis
10. Manager-less Team 1

Thanks again to everyone who nominated/voted.

Im probably gonna take another break from witt for a while

If the next TMT regular edition uses the same rules as previous editions the following would therefore be automatically nominated:

Jimi Hendrix   All Along the Watchtower
Eiffel 65   Blue (da ba dee)
Ásgeir   Nýfallið regn
Apocalyptica   Stroke
Stromae   Papaoutai
Ásgeir   Sugar Clouds