GROUP 7
3. Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
2. Rush - Subdivisions
1. The Who - Baba O'Riley

GROUP 8
3. Het Goede Doel - België (Is er leven op Pluto ...)
2. Fool's Garden - Lemon Tree
1. Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive

Stage 19   »   Gap  ›  Alpe d'Huez

TCAT still very much undecided after first of two Alpe d'Huez stages with three/four teams fighting for the win tomorrow and possibly sunday.

Even though the climb to the Alpe d'Huez (which was filled to the brim with a massive crowd of spectactors) seemed destined to be yet another Pogacar victory we did get a fairly large break again. This included Pedersen (REX/MMM/EVC), who managed to score intsprint points for the second day in a row and now has basically secured the points classification after all. The group which remains in the attack at the foot of the Alpe d'Huez, which included among others Carapaz (CHX/BDC) (again), Johannessen (GHS/VFL), Arensman (CJO) and Yates (MMM) had about a 3,5 minute headstart on the group of favourites, which for a bit almost looked like it might be enough, even when Pogacar accelerated and left the other GC riders behind again. But in the end Pogacar again proved to be nearly unbeatable uphill and overtook the last two remaining from the break, including Carapaz, who finished third. Johannessen managed to get 5th place this time.

In the group of favourites Evenepoel (CFA/CJO/REX/VFL) was best of the rest and got 6th, followed by Del Toro, Skjelmose (MMM), who had a strong day and is looking like he might climb further in GC and Seixas (CFA). Along the way Carapaz scored enough points to get the polkadot jersey for the KOM classification. He will need to attack again tomorrow to have any chance of defending it against Pogacar. Ayuso (REX/EVC) has had a bad third week and dropped to 7th in GC

The result is the second stagewin in a row for Cyclohexane, bringing them very much back in the game. The Menceis however had a good day as well, and if we look at how many points the teams would score if the classifications remain the same:

Expected end-of-tour points for the top 4 teams:
MMM 2050
CHX 1760
REX 1680
GHS 1525

then the Menceis may well be the favourites to win this edition. However, unlike Italy this year, this edition is very very close. A third good day for Cyclohexane (Carapaz will almost certainly be in the attack again tomorrow considering the fight for the KOM jersey) could make the difference. Els Talossaes Rexhital are also still very much in the race to hang on to their current lead if Evenepoel, Pidcock and Ayuso do well tomorrow, and the final day could help them as well if Van der Poel wins in Paris as some expect him to. Of course the Menceis will be looking at Pedersen instead. GHST are a bit further behind, and while they could in theory still win (which would be a third victory in a row) its gonna require a lot of things to go very well both tomorrow and sunday.

Meanwhile BDC keeps bleeding points without Uijtdebroeks and Vingegaard and have now taken over the red lantern. There's also more bad news for them (and GHST) as Affini dropped out.

Standings after stage 19:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	8668	+384
2nd	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	8598	+681
3rd	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	8534	+728
4th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	8263	+606
5th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	7631	+440
6th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	6997	+236
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	6726	+562
8th	(+1)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	6309	+720
9th	(-1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	6288	+521

Tomorrow we get Alpe d'Huez again, but the approach will be different so most of the climbing happens way before that. However this time theyve also thrown in the formidable Col du Galibier in for good measure along with two more hors category climbs (!!). It's a monstrous stage with 5624 vertical meters that should provide enough opportunities for GC riders who are feeling strong to attempt to leave behind their competitors (except for Pogacar who is almost certainly going to win the GC tomorrow if nothing crazy happens)

Will I regret not nabbing Evenepoel and going top-two again?

Every province already has a constitution, so any potential to replace it with a military governor or to try to bring in a new one from the outside with a local midterm referenda should be eliminated, in my opinion at this time.  I'd certainly be open to alternative language with some other form of the threshold requirement, but it'd be tricky to do.

15 hours left!

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on Yesterday at 03:33:13 PMNope, you're not misunderstanding.  I wanted to also change the last thing, but His Majesty requested that we leave that prohibition in place.  I probably should have deleted that whereas clause, in retrospect.  But it passed overwhelmingly, so I guess it wasn't a fatal flaw.

The changes will eliminate any loophole allowing an extralegal change in a provincial constitution and will eliminate the prospect of a military governor.

Right, to be clear, I understand the double job and "military governor" bits you mentioned. But the amendment also repeals two provisions that I thought made sense, namely, that provincial constitutions may not contravene national statutory/Organic law, and that provincial constitutions may only enter into effect through a referendum with a majority of voters taking part, or failing that, a supermajority in favour.

Am I misreading that those provisions sound desirable to me? You speak of a loophole, but I don't quite get what that would be.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on Yesterday at 04:44:30 PMDanihel, you narrowly defeated my predictions, but I congratulate you on your high score.

Can't take much credit for that: That was Opta Analyst's prediction that I was going to use as base.

Now, I gotta say that if I ventured a guess *after* the first stage, like I said earlier in the thread, I would've gotten *everything* wrong. I really thought that France was going to beat Spain and win the World Cup.

It was a really fun World Cup and here at home we enjoyed it a lot.

Danihel, you narrowly defeated my predictions, but I congratulate you on your high score.

I want to extend my gratitude on behalf of the entire government to His Majesty for his thoughtful and timely attention to his duties.  I can safely say that His Grace has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to be proactive in challenges that face the country, even while also striving to be nonpartisan.  It has been a pleasure to work with him this past term.

On a personal note, I'd also like to sing the praises of the Ziu in general this past term.  There have been some challenging moments such as when a key figure of the Progressive Alliance was unable to fulfil their duties due to illness, and the URL in particular extended grace and "paired" to prevent disruption from this unfortunate turn of fate.  Everyone should remember this and act with the same grace in the future.

This has been an extraordinarily productive Ziu session, with many landmark pieces of reform legislation passing to help lead Talossa into the future.  Right from the start, big bills sailed through the Clark into law, and now many of them will go to the people for affirmation.

As we move into the election, let us remember that our grand democratic tradition has been hard-won.  Let us treat it with the dignity that such a prize merits.  With a hearty and respectful election, no matter who wins, we all win.