Talossan Cycling Association Tour: Utrecht -> Madrid 2022

[Glüc]

As for tomorrow: we are getting another mountain stage (Villaviciosa -> Les Praeres / Nava). This will be the last stage in the northwest of Spain as on monday we travel to Alicante. The stage may not be suited for gc contenders to gain an advantage early. Instead we are likely to see another early breakaway make it to the finish, and may not see any of the favourites losing much time. Even so, the last ascent of the day is relatively short, but very steep, so we may still see some GC action at the end.


Source: lavuelta.es

[Glüc]

Covid strikes again; we have the first abandono of this TCAT: Sepp Kuss (CJO). Kuss lost a lot of time in the GC yesterday, so this doesn't affect the virtual standing much, but Kuss could definitely still have scored more stage points in the future and his teammates at Naziun Cjovani (especially Roglic) now lose an important helper, so a bad start of the day for Naziun Cjovani.

[Sir Lüc]

So Louis Meintjes won today - he felt like almost a natural pick to me, but I had started to regret as he hadn't gotten me one single point until yesterday, and even then it was just 2 assist points from Taaramäe's third place. (For context, just 3 TCAT riders remain pointless at the moment)

Surprisingly (or maybe not since Tour was a disaster for GHST) today was the first stage win for one of my riders. It kinda feels even better considering it's a 3.5% outside pick and not an obvious GC contender.

Looking at the way Evenepoel smoked Ayuso, Mas, Roglic, Yates & co. - man, am I glad I ditched Roglic. Speaking of, looks like Carapaz is the disappointment pick this time. I was very tempted to pick Mas over him, but hindsight is 20/20.

[Glüc]

Imma take Lücs gloating (ok, fine, he deserves it) as today's summary and just go ahead with the points:

Standing after stage 9:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 2912 (+590)
2. Naziun Cjovani - 2573 (+268)
3. Els Gagnheirs - 2463 (+182)
4. Velociposse Florencia - 2410 (+265)
5. Kinetic Racing - 2229 (+232)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 2110 (+127)
7. Valcürïăs - 1402 (+212)

Tomorrow, we have a rest day, while we move all the way to the southeast coast. (I don't know about you guys, but BdC definitely needs it.) Then on Tuesday we get the 30 km long (mostly flat) individual time trial (Elche -> Alicante), which at this point feels most like an opportunity for Evenepoel (CJO, GHS, KIN) to extend his lead, but who knows, there may be surprises.

Wednesday the TCAT rides along the coast to Andalusia (ElPozo Alimentacion -> Cabo de Gata), where we will be staying for the rest of the week. This stage should be an opportunity for sprinters.

[Glüc]

I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this

[Sir Lüc]

Glüc is understandably fed up so I'll do the update. ITT today, and we have some abandons to account for: Hayter (BDC) and Affini (CJO,VFL).

Remco Evenepoel (GHS,CJO,KIN) was the big favourite and he confirmed that by smashing Primož Roglič (CJO,VAL,VFL), who hadn't lost an ITT in Spain until today. Third place for another TCAT rider, Remi Cavagna (VAL,KIN). Four more TCAT riders in the top 10: Yates (GHS,BDC,VFL), Geoghegan Hart (GHS), M. Lopez (VAL) and E. Mas (GNH,VFL). Sadly Mas's underperformance sees him drop to third in the GC, Evenepoel now widening his lead to 2'41" over Roglič.

As for TCAT, Naziun Cjovani wins a tight affair, not even 40 points separating them from Kinetic in fourth position. The overall standings see Gagnheirs's last place in today's ITT translate to a drop to fifth place, with VFL and KIN's performances gaining them one place each.

Standing after stage 10:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 3399 (+487)
2. Naziun Cjovani - 3091 (+518)
3. Velociposse Florencia - 2821 (+411)
4. Kinetic Racing - 2709 (+480)
5. Els Gagnheirs - 2604 (+141)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 2289 (+179)
7. Valcürïăs - 1895 (+493)

As mentioned by Glüc, tomorrow will be a day for sprinters though, so look for Gagnheirs to take revenge and perhaps high point potential for Kinetic as well. Pedersen (GNH,KIN,GHS,BDC) will be looking at a first stage win, with early points classification leader and stage 2&3 winner Bennett also among today's pre-ITT abandons.

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 12 in progress atm, with a large, 32 man breakaway including two big name TCAT riders who have so far underperformed: Wilco Kelderman (BDC) and Richard Carapaz (KIN,GHS), together with Łukasz Owsian (VFL). With 37km to go, they have a massive, 11:30 minutes lead over the peloton, which could bring Kelderman back in GC contention given that his current deficit to Evenepoel is 14'04". Also in the breakaway, current leader of the climbers's classification and winner of stages 6&8 Jay Vine - my bets would be on him to pull off another stage win.

Quick update on yesterday: Pedersen (GNH,KIN,GHS,BDC) did in fact not get that elusive win, which instead went to Naziun Cjovani's Kaden Groves! Pedersen had to settle for 5th, albeit sweetened by winning the intermediate sprint, and the other lone TCAT rider in the top 20 was Pascal Ackermann (VFL,GNH).

Standings after Stage 11 - more movement in our highly volatile midfield with KIN clawing back P3 from VFL:

1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 3639 (+240)
2. Naziun Cjovani - 3409 (+318)
3. Kinetic Racing - 2947 (+238)
4. Velociposse Florencia - 2914 (+93)
5. Els Gagnheirs - 2860 (+256)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 2489 (+200)
7. Valcürïăs - 1969 (+74)

[Glüc]

Ok, first off, I am fed up by an absolute disaster week for Banqeu da Cézembre, but this isn't the reason I didn't provide any updates. Rather, it's been a couple of very busy days for me. Of course I will continue to provide updates when I can, but there will also be more days when Lüc will jump in. Many thanks to him for doing so.

With regards to my own team I should add that a) Hayter (BDC) could easily have scored top 5 on the day he dropped out, b) Almeida (BDC, GNH, VAL) managed to lose time by going the wrong way on the time trial and c) Yates (BDC, GHS, VFL), who was the highest ranked BDC rider in the GC also dropped out yesterday, so yeah, it's been rough. Not the only team with bad luck though, as yesterday Gagnheirs and Kinetic also lost an important rider in Alaphilippe, who dislocated his shoulder after a crash.

Anyway, today it was Carapaz, who had so far been rather invisible, who won the stage over Kelderman, resulting in a very good day for GHST, who scored the most points and expanded their league over the Cjovani, and for Kinetic Racing, solidifying their third place. Kelderman didn't really get close to taking over the Maillot Rojo in the end, but he did gain a number of spots in the GC.

Standings after Stage 12:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 3999 (+360)
2. Naziun Cjovani - 3521 (+112)
3. Kinetic Racing - 3298 (+351)
4. Velociposse Florencia - 3021 (+107)
5. Els Gagnheirs - 2975 (+115)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 2750 (+261)
7. Valcürïăs - 2105 (+136)

Tomorrow, we move further inland (Ronda -> Montilla). The expected temperature of 31 degrees tomorrow is actually slightly below average for this region. The stage itself is perfectly flat though, so another chance for sprinters. Maybe Pedersen finally gets his stage win?

[Glüc]

Maybe Pedersen finally gets his stage win?

Yes [/summary]

Ok, couple more things: Ackermann also did well, resulting in a strong day for Gagnheirs, who are still the sprint team of this edition and are now back in fourth place. Pedersen further solidifies his standing in the Green Jersey. GHST expand their lead over Naziun Cjovani, who should now also be worried about being overtaken by Kinetic Racing. Honestly there isn't really much to say about this stage. This was always gonna be a sprint. Attackers didn't get much of a chance.

Standings after Stage 13:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 4306 (+307)
2. Naziun Cjovani - 3664 (+143)
3. Kinetic Racing - 3612 (+314)
4. Els Gagnheirs - 3450 (+475)
5. Velociposse Florencia - 3316 (+295)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 3153 (+403)
7. Valcürïăs - 2251 (+146)

The weekend will be much different however as the Talossan Cycling Association Tour heads into the mountains again. Tomorrow (Montoro -> Sierra de la Pandera) we get a pretty challenging uphill finish with two summits that are really just one combined very long climb with bits of up to 15% towards the end (though there is more to come this weekend). Will Evenepoel finally start to show some cracks? The time for anyone to show that he can be beaten (by something other than covid) is running out...

[Vitxalmour]

Valcürïăs happily the most consistent team.

[Sir Lüc]

Valcürïăs happily the most consistent team.

..until today! Valcürïăs is the sixth of seven TCAT team to secure a daily points lead, with their riders finishing in second (M. Lopez), third (Roglič) and fourth (Almeida) place. The stage winner is again Richard Carapaz, which boosts Gordon Hiatus Support Team and Kinetic Racing to second and third place.

Carapaz was part of a breakaway including other TCAT rider Mads Pedersen, who grabbed intermediate sprint points before dropping away. The breakaway did eventually get caught, except for Carapaz himself, who won by just 8" over Lopez and Roglič. The loser of the day is GC leader Remco Evenepoel, just 8th, who fell apart on the last climb and let Roglič claw back all of the time he had gained in Tuesday's ITT.

As for the TCAT standings, KIN is capping off a great second week (+1915 points since Tuesday, second best) by completing their fightback from fifth to second place. CJO falls to third as a result.

Standings after Stage 14:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 4877 (+571)
2. Kinetic Racing - 4144 (+532)
3. Naziun Cjovani - 4037 (+373)
4. Els Gagnheirs - 3834 (+384)
5. Velociposse Florencia - 3694 (+378)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 3587 (+434)
7. Valcürïăs - 2832 (+581)

[Glüc]

Tomorrow we end on both the longest climb and the highest summit of the Vuelta, the 19.1 kilometers to the Alto Hoya de la Mora. Could be the most exciting stage of this edition. If Evenepoel gets in trouble again it could cost him the red jersey...

[Glüc]

3,5 km to go. Hup Arensman!!

[Glüc]

Arensman (BdC) wins "queen stage", but Velociposse get the highest score.

An impressive feat by Arensman today, winning the stage after being in a breakaway all day, together with Pedersen (GHS, KIN, GNH, BDC), Hindley (VFL, BDC), Carapaz (GHS, KIN), Dennis (GHS, GNH), Meintjes (GHS), McNulty (KIN), Masnada (GNH) and Mäder (VAL). Halfway through the very long final climb he attacked from an already greatly reduced group soloing for 6 km to arrive first at the finish, before Mas (VFL, GNH) and M. Lopez (VAL) who were the winners in the group of favourites. Roglic also managed to gain some time on Evenepoel, who had been struggling a lot yesterday. He didn't completely break however, keeping the losses limited and a lead in the GC of 1'34". Loser of the day was Kelderman (BdC) who fell early in the stage and couldn't keep up with the favourites in the end.

All this combined made a great result for the Velociposse who scored the most points and came close to overtaking Gagnheirs for the fourth place in the overall standing. No changes the overall ranking today, nor any major changes in the top of the GC, but we did get a sense of which riders still have something to gain, and which riders would prefer to be in Madrid already.

Standings after Stage 14:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 5138 (+261)
2. Kinetic Racing - 4456 (+312)
3. Naziun Cjovani - 4421 (+384)
4. Els Gagnheirs - 4192 (+358)
5. Velociposse Florencia - 4187 (+493)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 4062 (+475)
7. Valcürïăs - 3271 (+439)

Madrid is still a week away however, and the riders are in need of a rest day. On Tuesday we get one final stage in Andalusia, riding from the coastal town of Sanlucar de Barrameda to the Sevilla suburb of Tomares. (Sevilla of course is known as the setting of El Taloçait d'Isiviglha, a Talossan classic). The stage itself will maybe be less interesting than its surroundings. It will likely turn out to be a mass sprint again, which should provide a good opportunity for Els Gagnheirs, although Naziun Cjovani will put their hopes on Groves again.

[Glüc]

Virtual standing update! (differences compared to last week's update)

Expected Final Classification points after stage 15:
1. CJO - 1440 (+180)
2. GHS - 1290 (-130)
3. VFL - 1280 (-150)
4. KIN - 1230 (+200)
5. VAL - 1165 (+275)
6. BDC - 1020 (+75)
7. GNH - 960 (-110)

Expected Daily Classification points after stage 15:
1. KIN - 636
2. GNH - 534
3. GHS - 522
4. CJO - 516
5. VAL - 474
6. VFL - 468
7. BDC - 450

Total virtual standing after stage 15:
(Actual + Expected Final + Expected Daily)
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team - 6950 (+2064)
2. Naziun Cjovani - 6377 (+1902)
3. Kinetic Racing - 6322 (+2112)
4. Velociposse Florencia - 5935 (+1255)
5. Els Gagnheirs - 5686 (+1191)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 5532 (+1759)
7. Valcürïăs - 4910 (+2050)

Kinetic Racing had the strongest week overall, despite never getting the most points in a stage, they still had mostly strong stage results and held on well in the classifications too. GHST lost Yates and saw Hart drop quite a bit in the standing, but this was compensated by some really strong stage results, including wins by Carapaz and Meintjes. They are a very clear favourite at this stage. The main problem for Kinetic is that whenever they do well, GHST also seems to do well, which makes it hard to gain many points on them.

Naziun Cjovani could also still hope for a second victory, particularly if Roglic beats Evenepoel in the end and Groves gets a couple more strong results in the sprint.

On the other end, Valcürias actually had a decent week, mostly due to the results of M. Lopez. They are still in last place, both in the actual standing and the virtual standing, but there may still be some hope of not ending up with the red lantern if either BdC or Gagnheirs has a poor last week.

[Sir Lüc]

Welcome to the third and last week of TCAT 2: Vuelta Edition!

So, stage 16. Largely a boring, flat affair, with a two man breakaway without TCAT involvement, the curveballs all came at the end: potential stage winner Kaden Groves (CJO) got a puncture, and just under 3 km from the end so did red jersey Remco Evenepoel (GHS,KIN,CJO) - just as Primoz Roglic (CJO,VFL,VAL) tried a surprise attack in a 5 man dash including Mads Pedersen (GHS,KIN,GNH,BDC) and Pascal Ackermann (GNH,VFL). More surprises followed as Pedersen attacked after the last bend and a scrambling Roglic fell just 150m from the line!

Pedersen got a second stage win and Ackermann a second place, which translate in Gagnheirs winning the day by quite some margin, and also snatching third place from Naziun Cjovani. Luckily for Evenepoel, the 3km rule means his time will be neutralised to the same time as the main peloton, so no harm done.

Standings after Stage 16:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 5455 (+317)
2. Kinetic Racing - 4788 (+332)
3. Els Gagnheirs - 4703 (+511)
4. Naziun Cjovani - 4497 (+76)
5. Velociposse Florencia - 4455 (+268)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 4380 (+318)
7. Valcürïăs - 3370 (+99)

Tomorrow's menu, as per Vuelta's website: "a leg-breaker stage, with constant ups and downs, that is sure to be affected by the Extremadura heat. It will be a golden opportunity for a breakaway. The final [2nd cat.] climb up Tentudía is not excessively difficult, but it is unlikely to end in a sprint (not even for a reduced peloton) and will not be conducive to creating any big differences among the favourites. Those who manage to escape will have to work really hard."

[Audrada Roibeardet]

Just heard Roglic is out. This should be interesting.

[Glüc]

Abandono Roglic!

For the second time this edition Valcürïăs scored the most points, mostly due to the work of Mäder, who was the first TCAT rider across the finishline today. And yet, it is a bitter midevening for the team, as they will have to continue this edition without Primoz Roglic, whose fall yesterday made him unable to start the stage today. A devastating blow to any hope the Valkyries may have had of not ending last this season.

It is deeply unfortunate for Roglic, who had been getting better as the tour progressed as has been gaining time on Evenepoel in the last two mountain stages, and was clearly looking to win take over the red jersey. Instead, Evenepoel, who had been struggling in the last couple of stages, suddenly is a lot more secure in his jersey and is now again the heavy favourite to win the event. Of course, it's not over yet, as the withdrawal of Roglic will also boost the chances of Enric Mas, who is 2 minutes behind on Evenepoel, but appears to be in better form after 2,5 weeks.

The departure is also devastating to Naziun Cjovani, who saw their chances of a repeat victory washed away and Velociposse Florencia, who are headed for a bottom-3 finish. Meanwhile, GHST is looking increasingly certain to win the event with the only realistic competition left coming from Kinetic Racing, who are now securely in second place and gained a bit on GHST today.

Standings after Stage 17:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 5455 (+113)
2. Kinetic Racing - 4788 (+130)
3. Els Gagnheirs - 4703 (+147)
4. Naziun Cjovani - 4497 (+77)
5. Velociposse Florencia - 4455 (+90)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 4380 (+125)
7. Valcürïăs - 3370 (+172)

Tomorrow we remain in Extremadura, deep in the Spanish inland. The stage (Trujillo -> Alto de Piornal) is a mountain stage, with one 2nd category and two 1st category climbs. Not the most challenging stage this edition, but the chances for the remaining competition to get ahead of Evenepoel (GHS, KIN, CJO) are running out. With Roglic gone, eyes will be on Mas (VFL, GNH) to show that he can be one to do it.

[Sir Lüc]

Today: Remco Evenepoel finally gets his stage win (excluding last Monday's ITT); Kinetic Racing is the seventh and last team to get a daily points lead; and, sadly, polkadot jersey wearer Jay Vine abandons due to an incident early on.

Evenepoel (GHS,KIN,CJO) - cruelly, Glüc would say - snatches victory from the hands of Jumbo-Visma's Robert Gesink by just two seconds, catching him together with Enric Mas with metres to go. Gesink had been part of a rather large breakaway of 42 riders, including TCAT's Carapaz (GHS,KIN), Geoghegan Hart (GHS), Masnada (GNH), Owsian (VFL), Bol (CJO) and Mader (VAL) - GC contender Joao Almeida (VAL,GNH,BDC) somewhat forced the peloton to keep close (5'ish) to an otherwise leaderless breakaway by riding one minute ahead, and this likely facilitated the decision by Evenepoel & co. not to let the breakaway contest the win.

Good performances by Evenepoel, O'Connor and new polkadot wearer Carapaz translate in a first daily points lead for Kinetic, who outscore overall leaders GHST for the fourth time in a row to thin their lead even further. Further back, the race for fourth cannot get any tighter with just 47 points separating Naziun Cjovani and 6th placed BdC.

Standings after Stage 18:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 5965 (+395)
2. Kinetic Racing - 5408 (+490)
3. Els Gagnheirs - 5215 (+365)
4. Naziun Cjovani - 4952 (+378)
5. Velociposse Florencia - 4936 (+391)
6. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 4905 (+400)
7. Valcürïăs - 3799 (+257)

Tomorrow, the stage consists in two laps of the 2nd category climb Puerto del Piélago beginning and ending in Talavera de la Reina. Should be short and intense, but not very conducive to any major final bids for the red jersey.

[Glüc]

McNulty tries to score for Kinetic Racing, but doesn't succeed.

The gap between GHST and Kinetic Racing is looking increasingly insurmountable. McNulty (KIN) was in the attack today, looking for a stagewin and to bring his team back in the race for the overall victory. He didn't succeed however, as the peloton caught up with him before the second summit of the day and the stage ended in another mass sprint. Pedersen (GHS, KIN, GNH, BDC) proved again that he is the fastest this edition, and got his third stage win. GHST won the day in the end, because aside from Pedersen, Van Baarle also scored well. The Pedersen win was also good news for BdC who jumped to fourth place in the standings.

Standings after Stage 19:
1. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 6344 (+381)
2. Kinetic Racing - 5777 (+369)
3. Els Gagnheirs - 5530 (+315)
4. Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero - 5213 (+308)
5. Naziun Cjovani - 5000 (+48)
6. Velociposse Florencia - 4993 (+57)
7. Valcürïăs - 3927 (+128)

Tomorrow is decision day. Evenepoel, Carapaz, and GHST are in a very strong position in the general, king of the mountains, and team classification respectively. Tomorrow is realistically the last opportunity for anyone to change that. All eyes will be on Mas in particular, who is looking strong, but could not find a way to break Evenepoel on thursday. Mas will need to attack early tomorrow, but it's very much an uphill battle for him.

The stage itself provides plenty of opportunity for anyone looking to shake things up, starting in Moralzarzal, just to the northwest of Madrid, and starting almost immediately with the first climb of Puerto de Navacerrada (1st category). After that we get another four summits, ending again at the ski resort of Puerta de Navacerrada.