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

[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

[Glüc]

Season ranking:
1st   Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC)   28909
2nd   Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)   25986
3rd   Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)   23892
4th   Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)   22746
5th   Cyclohexane (CHX)   22500
6th   Dead Last (DED)   19708
7th   Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)   17047
8th   Velociposse Florencia (VFL)   16261

9th   Naziun Cjovani (CJO)   13051

10th  Ardita Benito (ARB)  7739
11th  Maricopan Manilows (MAN)  6419
12th  Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS)  5281

[Glüc]

Daily wins:

Leg 1:
BDC - 13
PTM/MCB/CFA - 2
GHS/SOS - 1

Leg 2:
CFA - 7
GHS/DED - 4
PTM - 3
CHX - 2
MCB - 1

Leg 3:
BDC - 7
GHS - 6
PTM/VFL - 4

[Glüc]

Looking forward to @Sir Lüc posting the combativity/sprint/climbing classifications for this leg and the season as well.

[Sir Ian Plätschisch]

Daily wins:

Leg 1:
BDC - 13
PTM/MCB/CFA - 2
GHS/SOS - 1

Leg 2:
CFA - 7
GHS/DED - 4
PTM - 3
CHX - 2
MCB - 1

Leg 3:
BDC - 7
GHS - 6
PTM/VFL - 4

Looks like PTM was the only team to have multiple stage wins in every leg, which is certainly due to expert picks and not random chance :P

[Carlüs Éovart Vilaçafat]

Man after this leg I'm going to have to change the team name to MDC: Maricopa's Dead Center!