Talossan Cycling Association Tour Season 3 Leg 3 Lisboa -> Madrid

[Sir Lüc]

Brief scoring update for stage 12 - BDC's Pedro Castrillo wins as part of a ten man breakaway that again included Jhonatan Narvaez (VFL). Peloton of GC contenders ends up controlling each other, so no time differences to report.

Matthias Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) wins the peloton sprint for 11th, with Gall, O'Connor, Mas, Carapaz, Rodriguez and Roglic also in lower top 20 positions, meaning there's a smattering of stage points for everyone at least. The Tavulairs of course lead the day, with Velociposse also scoring well and closing in on second place. The top 4 keeps pulling away from the rest; with nine stages to go, this could well go down to a BDC vs VFL stand-off, with PTM and GHST in supporting positions.

Standings after stage 12:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	3695	+388
2nd	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3480	+162
3rd	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3345	+300
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3195	+163
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2555	+134
6th	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2275	+104
7th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2266	+84
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1962	+95
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1894	+93

Today, another category 1 summit finish, but the approach is much hillier, with three lower category climbs beforehand. Definitely more breakaway chances, but also more chances that some of the GC contenders may try and tire out the others before attacking on the final climb.

[Sir Lüc]

Brief supplement: I think the most interesting thing about the upcoming four-team shootout for the win (or rather, as I suspect, BDC vs VFL and PTM vs GHS) is that BDC and VFL share no riders, which makes for a very spicy Roglic/O'Connor/Landa vs Yates/Rodriguez/Mas rivalry. The seemingly higher strength of the BDC trio is compounded by the three abandons - the Tavulairs definitely needed the Castrillo win. VFL on the contrary has very impressive riders still, with Bennett, Lipowitz and Narvaez certainly on track to score more on the mountains (Bittner a definite shoutout too, but he has mostly exhausted his usefulness.) VFL's oomph is compensated by BDC's 300ish advantage in points and, if things stand as present, a bigger prize in end of tour points.

Meanwhile, GHS/PTM share Carapaz and Skjelmose, which means the race for third might go down to Roglic vs Mas in this case as well, in which case maybe Roglic has the upper hand unless he crashes as usual. In this case too GHS has had issues with del Toro and Campenaerts not doing much as of yet, though Berrade has been a highlight, while PTM has one of the "under-the-radar" best picks of TCAT in Stefan Küng. Definitely hard to judge who will come out on top here too. In this case too PTM has the "GC rider disadvantage" but an advantage of 300ish points so far, though Roglic should net GHST more end of tour points.

Very spicy!

[Glüc]

Stage 13 Lugo -> Puerto de Ancares

Another low scoring stage, due to a break without many TCAT riders. The only TCAT riders represented were Bizkarra (CFA/CJO), Le Berre (BDC), Campenaerts (GHS/CHX), Asgreen, and Groves (both PTM). Bizkarra was the first TCAT rider across the line, followed by Le Berre, resulting in BDC getting the most points and very slightly increasing their lead.

Far more interesting however, was what happened behind them in the GC favourites group. For the GC favourites the race only really started at the final (very steep) climb. O'Connor (BDC) has been struggling on this terrain before and again he had to drop when Roglic increased the pace. Mas (VFL/PTM) was able to follow longer but in the end was not able to keep up with Roglic and also lost seconds on Landa (BDC/MCB), who is inching ever closer to the podium. Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) finished just ahead of Mas, whereas Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX) struggled and lost quite a bit of time. The real story was the time lost by O'Connor however. For a while it looked really bad for him, but he somewhat recovered at the end, still losing nearly 2 minutes on Roglic, more than halving his lead. It seems increasingly likely O'Connor is going to lose the red jersey to Roglic soon, perhaps this weekend already.

For now the general classification looks like this:

0 O'Connor (BDC)
+1'21" Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB)
+3'01" Mas (VFL/PTM)
+3'13" Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM)
+3'20" Landa (BDC/MCB)
+4'12" Carlos Rodriguez(VFL)
+4'29" Lipowitz (VFL)
+4'42" Gall (DED)
+5'17" Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX)
+5'24" Skjelmose (GHS/PTM)
+6'29" Bennett (VFL)

Standings after stage 13:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	3890	+195
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3628	+148
3rd	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3458	+113
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3313	+118
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2654	+99
6th	(+1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2445	+179
7th	(-1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2395	+120
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2151	+189
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	1977	+83

Tomorrow a stage somewhat similar to today, but with two important differences: the final climb is much longer but much less steep and we do get a downhill finish. This stage might be a bit more suited for O'Connor to hang on, but Roglic is looking in better form, so he will surely try to gain time again. If O'Connor breaks again it seems very plausible Roglic will be wearing red on sunday.

[Glüc]

Somewhat unexpectedly (to me anyway) the gradient on the final climb wasn't steep enough to shake off most of the peloton, and none of the climbers increased the pace enough that it would. If there were any gaps at the top of the climb, they weren't enough to prevent coming back in the descent, so at the finish we just got a bunch sprint.

Not for the first time, Groves (PTM) showed he was the fastest in a relatively underwhelming sprint field, winning the stage and scoring a much needed with for Port Maxhestic in their race for the podium. Vacek (GHS/BDC) and Canal (CJO) managed to get 4th and 10th respectively.

Standings after stage 14:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	4119	+229
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	3938	+310
3rd	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3585	+127
4th	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3580	+267
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	2737	+83
6th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2514	+69
7th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2507	+112
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2296	+145
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2098	+121

No chance the same happens today however, as the final climb (after the peloton has already passed three other summits) is a lot steeper with percentages over 15% towards the end. There is no hiding for any GC contender today. The strongest climber is gonna win, and so far that hasn't been the man in red, I have a sense that jersey might swap riders today.

[Glüc]

Quickly posting sunday score. Might do combined update maybe?

Standings after stage 15:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	4739	+620
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4432	+494
3rd	(+1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4002	+422
4th	(-1)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3989	+404
5th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3022	+285
6th	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	2867	+360
7th	(-1)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2762	+248
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2533	+237
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2312	+214

[Glüc]

Standings after stage 16:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	4903	+164
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4677	+245
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4366	+364
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	4193	+204
5th	(+1)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3166	+299
6th	(-1)	Dead Last (DED)	3155	+133
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	2884	+122
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2807	+274
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2592	+280

[Carlüs Éovart Vilaçafat]

Heck yeah MCB clawing our way up the ranks like a hungry ghoul!

[Glüc]

Triple update!

Sunday we got a break including Küng (PTM), Armirail (MCB/PTM), and Castrillo (BDC). Of those only Castrillo remained in the break for the final, very difficult climb. It seemed unlikely that he would be able to keep his advantage, but somehow he pulled it off and won the stage.

Monday was the third and final rest day

Yesterday was a bit easier but again with an uphill summit. The break included Del Toro (GHS/CJO/MCB/CHX), who finished in 6th place.

Both days Mas (VFL/PTM) was looking pretty good, with he and Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB) taking time of O'Connor on both days. Somehow O'Connor managed to hold on to the red jersey, helped by the fact Roglic got a time penalty on sunday. However, his lead on Roglic has shrunk to a mere 5 seconds. Seconds that he is surely going to lose in the itt on sunday, but more likely even before that.

Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) (7th and 10th) and Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) (6th and 12th) also did well on both days, with the latter jumping from 11th to 8th in gc. Landa (BDC/MCB) and Rodriguez (VFL) weren't quite as impressive, but did gain on O'Connor. Lipowitz (VFL) was strong on sunday, but fell behind on tuesday, dropping to 9th in GC.

Today was a day for the sprinters, with Groves (PTM) taking first place again, followed by Bittner (VFL) and Braet (CFA). Campenaerts (GHS/CHX) and Le Berre (BDC) also finished top 10.

BDC scored the most points on sunday, due to the Castrillo win, but lost ground compared the other top-4 teams both today and yesterday. GHST was the strongest yesterday because of the performance by Del Toro. The Velociposse beat Port Maxhestic by a single point today, because besides Bittner, Narvaez scored points as well.

The Cabana Boys meanwhile haven't lost a single rider yet. Results by Del Toro, Roglic and Landa caused them to improve their standing.


Standings after stage 17:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	5083	+180
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	4976	+299
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	4557	+191
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	4493	+300
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3250	+84
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3222	+67
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3096	+212
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2891	+84
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2761	+169

Tomorrow is a bit on an intermediate stage, including a 2nd and 1st category climb, but these are well before the finish, so while a breakaway victory seems likely it is not at all guaranteed.


Looking further ahead, the contest is far from decided. End of Tour points could be decisive. BdC does seem to have the advantage there, with the current 1,2 and 5 in gc.However, O'Connor will likely drop in the standing. He also has probably the worst TT of the entire top 10. Will he be able to hang on to the podium?

Port Maxhestic is close behind. For end of tour points they currently hold 3,4 and 8, but Mas is looking in very good shape at the moment and Skjelmose has a good chance of gaining in the TT, where PTM as a whole is likely to do well. Furthermore Groves will score points for leading PC and will hope for another sprint tomorrow.

GHST currently hold 2,4 and 8 in GC. Roglic seems likely to be the overall winner and again Skjelmose should do well in the final ITT. They probably need more than that to overtake the others however, as they are . Perhaps another strong performance by Del Toro or Carapaz on friday or saturday.

Velociposse Florencia hold 3,7,9, and 11 in GC, which doesn't give as much end of tour points if it stays, but offers a lot of chances to improve or score more stage points. They also have fewer withdrawals than the other three with Bennett, Bittner, Narvaez potentially scoring even more stage points.

So overall BdC is the favourite, but Port Maxhestic is still very much in the race and VFL and GHST also still have some outside chance of taking the victory.

[Glüc]

Lüc is travelling atm, so you'll have to do with me for updates... and I'm lazy, so probably gonna do a double update again.

I can already say GHST had a very good day yesterday

Standings after stage 18:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	5399	+316
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5147	+171
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	5004	+447
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	4731	+238
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3463	+213
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3289	+67
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3147	+51
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2949	+58
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	2949	+188

[Glüc]

Spoiler: Roglic takes over red jersey and GHST has another very strong day.

[Glüc]

Stage 18/19 double update

On thursday the stage started with the formation of a massive break including Bittner (VFL), Narvaez (VFL), Groves (PTM), Küng (PTM), Castrillo (BDC), Vacek (GHS/BDC), Lazkano (VFL/MCB/CHX)  and Berrade (GHS). They got a lead, but the terrain turned out to be a bit too rough for the group to stay together and sprint for the victory. Instead, Berrade attacked in the final kilometers from an already thinned out group, managed to shake off all other attackers and arrived solo at the finish for a spectacular stage win. Lazkano finished 5th, Vacek 7th, Castrillo 8th, Küng 12th, Groves 13th.

Behind them, the gc favourites finished together, but a lot of riders got dropped on the first category climb halfway, including Landa (BDC/MCB), Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX) and Kuss (DED). Landa was the big loser of the day losing three minutes and dropping from 5th to 10th in gc, putting him out of contention for the podium.

Yesterday was a day for the GC favourites. On the final climb Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB) attacked and nobody was able to follow him. In the chasing group O'Connor (BDC) again got in trouble and fell behind. Landa had already dropped again, however he was able to make a comeback. Mas (VFL/PTM) also attacked from the group and was able to get a small gap. In the final kilometer however Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) managed to catch up with him and finished third. Roglic won and finally takes over the red jersey. Mas finished 4th, Landa 5th, Rodrigues (VFL) 6th, Kuss (DED) 8th, Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) 9th and Lipowitz (VFL) 10th.

O'Connor only came in 12th losing not only the red jersey to Roglic, but also losing a minute on Mas and slightly less than that on Carapaz, putting his podium spot under threat with two stage including a time-trial to go.

The gc now looks as follows:
1. Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB)
2. O'Connor (BDC) +1'54"
3. Mas (VFL/PTM) +2'20"
4. Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) +2'54"
6. Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) +4'47"
7. Carlos Rodriguez (VFL) +4'55"
8. Lipowitz (VFL) +5'55"
9. Landa (BDC/MCB) +6'40"
11. Kuss (DED) + 10'51"
12. Yates (VFL/CFA/CJO/CHX) + 11'44"

Both stage were won by GHST, who not only reduced their points gap, but also significantly improved their standing for end of tour points with Roglic taking over first, Skjelmose gaining spots and Carapaz more secured in 4th with a good chance of more. They are very much still in contention for the final victory.

BdC did ok points wise and keep their first place in the standing, but got some bad news for the end of tour points with O'Connor dropping from first and at risk of dropping further and Landa also losing several spots. Especially with the time trial coming up where O'Connor is expected to do poorly and Skjelmose is expected to do well it seems very likely GHST and Port Maxhestic might score more final points. That said BdC are still in the lead and any team to overtake them is gonna need good results both today and tomorrow.

Port Maxhestic probably wanted a better result for Groves on thurday. Roglic doing really well also hurts their chances. However they too are still in this with Mas, Skjelmose and Carapaz doing well. They really need a good result for Mas today to stay ahead of GHST. They also have several riders that could do well in the itt.

The Velociposse realistically seems to be heading for fourth place with Yates, Lipowitz and Rodriguez not being quite as strong as the others and without Roglic on their team. They are 400 points behind GHST now and it might be hard to make that up. That said they still have a lot of riders in the race to score stage points today. If they manage to pull of a big win today anything can happen.

Beyond the top 4 the Cabana Boys keep doing well and seem headed for 5th. All the other teams have been massively hindered by dropouts, but apart from Cyclohexane they all have Roglic doing well which unfortunately for Cyclohexane probably means they finish last, despite a great season so far. Naziun Cjovani are currently in 8th and really needed a stage result from Del Toro at some point to do better. Maybe it could still happen today. Dead Last are currently 6th. That position can still be threatened by Cézembre Fiescha if Yates does well.

Standings after stage 19:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	5893	+494
2nd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5604	+457
3rd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	5589	+585
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5135	+404
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	3944	+481
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3688	+399
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3467	+320
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3289	+340
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3112	+163

[Glüc]

Today is a big day with no less than 7 summits and lots of potential for more big shifts in GC. It has already started and is expected to finish in about 4 hours. Today could not only decide the red jersey but the winner of TCAT as well!

[Glüc]

GHST again scored the most points yesterday, but neither they nor Port Maxhestic quite got what they needed in terms of points and GC shifts. BdC struggled but survived and head into the time trial as favourites.

Standings after stage 20:

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	6350	+457
2nd	(+1)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6174	+585
3rd	(-1)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6085	+481
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5540	+405
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	4293	+349
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	3984	+296
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3731	+264
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3571	+282
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3360	+248

The final stage has just started. GHST basically needs Carapaz to gain a minute on O'Connor along with plenty of stage points. Port Maxhestic needs a miracle (e.g. Roglic flubbing)

[Sir Lüc]

Once again TY Glüc for doing these updates while I'm travelling:)

[Glüc]

Küng (PTM) takes the lead in the time trial after 97/135 riders done. Great start of the final stage for Port Maxhestic.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

The Velociposse realistically seems to be heading for fourth place with Yates, Lipowitz and Rodriguez not being quite as strong as the others and without Roglic on their team. They are 400 points behind GHST now and it might be hard to make that up. That said they still have a lot of riders in the race to score stage points today. If they manage to pull of a big win today anything can happen.

Oh man. :(

[Glüc]

Küng (PTM) wins the stage, Roglic wins overall, BdC wins TCAT. Update soonish

[Glüc]

Yesterday was a big mountain stage. Unsurprisingly the break, which included Castrillo (BDC) was caught and the stage was decided by the GC contenders. Well, the gc contenders and Berrade (GHS) who surprisingly was able to keep with the others for most of the final ascent and finished 5th. Loser among the favourites was Carlos Rodriguez (VFL) who finished 19th and dropped to 10th in GC.

O'Connor (BDC) struggled at various points, but unlike previous stages he was able to come back every time and kept his losses very limited and finished 5th. Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) didnt have as strong a performance as friday and only finished 10th, behind Lipowitz (VFL) and Landa (BDC/MCB). Mas was the strongest among the GC top, finishing 2nd, but not gaining much time, with Roglic and Carapaz (GHS/CHX/PTM) close behind.

GHST scored the most points, but with Skjelmose disappointing somewhat and O'Connor struggling but never breaking it wasn't quite enough. Similarly Port Maxhestic needed more to stay in the race, especially with Roglic now poised to win the red jersey.

There was still a chance for O'Connor to break today however. Had O'Connor lost a lot of time on Mas and Carapaz in the time trial, GHST would likely have won. That didn't happen however. Instead O'Connor scored a respectable 11th place, with Carapaz and Mas not in the top 20. TT specialist Küng (PTM) finally managed to win a GT stage. Roglic (DED/GHS/CFA/BDC/CJO/MCB) again showed his strength by coming second. His lead in GC was never in much doubt in the final stage.

Vacek (GHS/BDC) finished 6th, Campenaerts (GHS/CHX) 7th, Skjelmose (GHS/PTM) 8th, jumping to 5th in GC, Sweeny (MCB) 9th, Armirail (MCB/PTM) 10th. Despite the win by Küng, it was GHST who scored the most points again due to the strong results by Roglic, Vacek and Campenaerts. They come very close to first place. However, O'Connor staying in 2nd place overall ensures BdC get the most end-of-tour points and win this edition of TCAT.

Port Maxhestic have been very strong all edition. In the end however Roglic showed why he was the most expensive rider and just scored loads of points by winning overall boosting GHST and BdC, giving them the edge over Port Maxhestic and Velociposse.


Standings after stage 21 (without end-of-tour points!):

Pos	±	Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)	Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)	6783	+433
2nd	(=)	Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6742	+568
3rd	(=)	Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6518	+433
4th	(=)	Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5644	+104
5th	(=)	Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	4683	+390
6th	(=)	Dead Last (DED)	4213	+229
7th	(=)	Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	3962	+231
8th	(=)	Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	3827	+256
9th	(=)	Cyclohexane (CHX)	3547	+187

[Glüc]

Thus ends the final leg of this season of the Talossan Cycling Association Tour. Many many thanks to everyone who participated. I really hope you all enjoyed following. Also many thanks to Lüc for his role in the organisation.

Hopefully see you all again in May 2025!

[Glüc]

Talossan Cycling Association Tour
2024
Third leg
Lisboa -> Madrid



Final result:
1st   Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)   8493
2nd   Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)   8282
3rd   Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)   7788
4th   Velociposse Florencia (VFL)   6704
5th   Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)   5793
6th   Dead Last (DED)   5253
7th   Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)   5032
8th   Naziun Cjovani (CJO)   4892
9th   Cyclohexane (CHX)   4147