Talossan Cycling Association Tour Season 4 Leg 1: Dürres -> Roma

[Glüc]

End of tour points
At the end of each leg, a lot of points will be awarded based on the winner of the classfication.

*The winner of the general classification gets 600 points, with the top 30 also getting points.
*The winner of the points classification gets 120 points, with the top 10 also getting points.
*The winner of the KOM classification gets 120 points, with the top 10 also getting points.
*The winners of the teams classification get 50 points, the top 5 teams also getting points.

If we look at the current standing in these classification:


The GC is still very much up for grabs, especially as this editions is very much backloaded with the toughest mountain stages still to come.

The current ranking of TCAT riders is as follows:
2. Simon Yates (VFL/KIN/ATX) +1'20"
3. Ayuso (CJO/PTM/GHS/CFA/VFL/MAN/ATX/BDC/MCB) +1'26"
4. Carapaz (PTM/VFL/REX/EVC/MCB) +2'07"
5. Gee (REX/KIN/ATX/EVC) +2'54"
7. Tiberi (VFL/REX/DED/CHX/EVC) +3'02"
9. Arensman (REX/BDC) +3'45"
10. Roglic (CJO/PTM/GHS/CFA/DED/MAN/CHX/KIN/MCB) +3'53"
12. Storer (BDC) +4'25"
14. Adam Yates (CJO/CFA/CHX/BDC) +4'47"
16. Pidcock (CJO/VFL/REX/DED/KIN/BDC/EVC) +5'28"
17. Poole (GHS/MAN) +5'51"
19. Ulissi (REX/ATX/EVC) +8'48"
24. Harper (BDC) +18'37"
30. Bardet (CJO/PTM) +35'29"

It is rather surprising that neither Roglic nor Ayuso is currently in the lead. Roglic could possibly still make a comeback as riders could easily lose several minutes in the final stages, but apparently he is affected by a crash earlier and there is also speculation that he might drop out.

The points classification on the other hand seems pretty much decided. With only two sprint stages remaining there is just no possibility for Kooij to close the gap on Pedersen.

The current PC ranking of TCAT riders is as follows:
1. Pedersen(PTM/GHS/CFA/CHX/BDC) 240 pts
2. Kooij (REX/DED/EVC/MCB) 135 pts
5. Van Aert (VFL/MAN/KIN) 78 pts
8. Groves (GHS/ATX) 63 pts
10. Carapaz (PTM/VFL/REX/EVC/MCB) 52 pts

Similarly, the KOM classification seems mostly decided, although theoretically its still possible for riders to catch up with Fortunato especially with the Cima Coppi still coming up. It's not likely that any rider will score enough points to do so.

1. Fortunato (GHS) 197 pts
2. Ayuso (CJO/PTM/GHS/CFA/VFL/MAN/ATX/BDC/MCB) 54 pts
4. Double (CJO/MAN) 36 pts
5. Scaroni (REX/DED/EVC) 31 pts
9. Ulissi (REX/ATX/EVC) 26 pts

If all classifications remain as they are that would result in the team getting the following end of tour points:

CJO - 1035
PTM - 1200
GHS - 1115
CFA - 1020
VFL - 1865
REX - 1475
DED - 740
MAN - 930
CHX - 740
KIN - 1210
ATX - 1485
BDC - 1295
EVC - 1295
MCB - 1295

This would result in some pretty big shifts in the classification and could even result in GHST not winning despite their current lead. However, a lot could still happen in the final week and the teams that would currently score a lot of end of tour points need their riders to hold on to their current position. Someone like Simon Yates for example may have a lot more opportunity to lose spots than to gain them, while the stage points scored so far are hard points that can't be taken away. On the other hand, teams that have done well in mountain stages so far may continue to score points and close the gap with GHST.

A lot will depend on whether Roglic continues and if he does, whether he can make up some ground on his competitors.

(4/5)

[Glüc]

One rider who definitely won't be starting tomorrow is Fretin (BDC), leaving only 4 teams with all riders remaining (for now).

Tomorrow we get the most challenging mountain stage so far, with 4 summits of which 3 are classified as category one and the last one being also the finish. Only the strongest climbers can win tomorrow. If Del Toro can keep the pink jersey here he is in a very good position to overall. The results tomorrow may also tell us whether GHST will be able to convert their advantage into a win in Rome, although the race could also remain undecided for a while.


Stage profile for tomorrow

(5/5)

[Glüc]

I uploaded a selection of pictures I took in Treviso to an Imgur album: https://imgur.com/a/cEw1aLS

I also took many short videos, maybe I'll post some as restday fodder tomorrow.

Excellent on the site reporting! Nice photos

[Glüc]

Stage 16 Piazzola sul Brenta -> San Valentino (Brentonico)

Bullet points again, because a lot happened and I have little time.

* Scaroni (REX/DED/EVC) won from the break, followed by Fortunato (GHS) in second place.
* Bad news for most teams as Roglic crashed again and withdrew, as did Tarling (GHS)
* More bad news for another group of most teams as Ayuso lost a lot of time.
* Carapaz (PTM/VFL/REX/EVC/MCB) and Gee (REX/KIN/ATX/EVC) did really well and gained in GC
* Arensman (REX/BDC) and Pidcock (CJO/VFL/REX/DED/KIN/BDC/EVC) lost a lot of time
* Els Talossaes Rexhitais scored the most points for the second day in a row and gain three spots in GC
* Esqipă Velocostă has suddenly emerged as one of the main contenders for the victory.
* VFL also still in the race for the win. GHST needs to expand their lead to overcome their deficit in end of tour points. The surge of REX seems to come to late as they needed a much better performance from Arensman to have a chance of overtaking EVC (unless he pulls of a miracle in the final days).

Standings after stage 16:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6203	+345
2nd	(+2)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC) (EVC)	5834	+691
3rd	(+3)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5458	+434
4th	(-2)		Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	5438	+238
5th	(=)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5344	+236
6th	(-3)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	5272	+119
7th	(+3)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	5236	+697
8th	(-1)		BdC Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	5119	+237
9th	(-1)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	4986	+379
10th	(-1)		Els Averatxeirs (ATX)	4867	+286
11th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	4467	+101
12th	(+1)		Kinetic (KIN)	4262	+336
13th	(-1)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	4176	+119
14th	(=)		The Manilows (MAN)	3528	+110

Tomorrow: another alpine stage, but not quite as many vertical meters and no uphill finish

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

3rd(+3)Velociposse Florencia (VFL)5458+434

The posse is on the podium now! LFG!

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

* Esqipă Velocostă has suddenly emerged as one of the main contenders for the victory.

Literally just repost the meme

[Sir Lüc]

Yeah it's probably gonna be EVC vs VFL for the final win now. GHST had an outside chance but without Roglic it's basically scoring no End of Tour points.

[Carlüs Éovart Vilaçafat]

We were so close boys!!!!

[King Txec]

I'm very happy to no longer be in last place!

-Txec R

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 17 San Michele all'Adige (Fondazione Edmund Mach) -> Bormio

Today Giro climbed the mighty Mortirolo, but I'm afraid I haven't managed to follow any of the last three stages, so I can only provide a quick rundown.

Non-TCAT pink jersey wearer Isaac Del Toro won today, slightly ahead of TCAT trio Romain Bardet, Richard Carapaz and Simon Yates. Port Maxhestic gets the stage win thanks to Bardet and Carapaz. Kinetic's Vine is sadly the latest TCAT rider to drop out.

Giro's general classification has pretty much exploded, with Antonio Tiberi just the last to fall out of contention. Pretty clear TCAT Italy 2025 will be a duel between EVC and VFL, with REX silently closing the gap but unable to win (it has the same riders as EVC + Arensman, who can't possibly close the gap on his own seeing what's left). The victory hinges on:

• VFL's Simon Yates vs EVC's Derek Gee -- currently third and fourth in GC;
• VFL's Wout van Aert vs EVC's Olav Kooij in the (possibly 2) sprints left - but they're teammates, and van Aert has so far always been a leadout for Kooij in flat sprints;
• EVC additionally has Scaroni bound to bring home extra End of Tour points via his second place in the King of Mountains classification;
• REX, having almost the same riders as EVC, again basically cannot win but has a good shot at second;
• Other high risers (GHS, PTM and MCB) will all be getting a pittance of End of Tour points so they're basically racing for fourth at this point.

Standings after stage 17:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6390	+187
2nd	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	6276	+442
3rd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	5914	+456
4th	(+1)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5848	+504
5th	(-1)		Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	5712	+274
6th	(+1)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	5678	+442
7th	(-1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	5347	+75
8th	(=)		BdC Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	5303	+184
9th	(+1)		Els Averatxeirs (ATX)	5252	+385
10th	(-1)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	5076	+90
11th	(+1)		Kinetic (KIN)	4644	+382
12th	(-1)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	4562	+95
13th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	4502	+326
14th	(=)		The Manilows (MAN)	3670	+142

Tomorrow's stage, one of the shortest, is the calm before the storm of stages 18 and 19, which are gonna decide Giro for sure and potentially TCAT too. It's going to either be an affair for the breakaway or for a sprint - we'll see how many energies are left in a very tired peloton's legs.

[Tric'hard Lenxheir]

Kinetic I'm coming for you next!!!

[Glüc]

Stage 18 Morbegno -> Cesano Maderno

No sprint today, as instead Denz (CHX) won an impressive victory after going solo from the break.

We also had another high profile dropout as Ayuso abandoned the race. Apparently he was suffering the effects of a bee sting? Either way this leaves TCAT without either of the original favourites.

Not a high scoring stage today, except for Cyclohexane who have a strong day to the victory of Denz.

Standings after stage 18:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6484	+94
2nd	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC) (EVC)	6394	+118
3rd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	6042	+128
4th	(=)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	5972	+124
5th	(=)		Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	5806	+94
6th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	5796	+118
7th	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	5682	+335
8th	(=)		BdC Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	5412	+109
9th	(=)		Els Averatxeirs (ATX)	5316	+64
10th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	5154	+78
11th	(=)		Kinetic (KIN)	4782	+138
12th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	4718	+156
13th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	4555	+53
14th	(=)		The Manilows (MAN)	3743	+73

Tomorrow we go into the mountains again for another very tough day with 5 summits and a total of 4908 vertical meters. Another day for the climbers. The giro still has not been decided yet. Saturday will be another challenging mountain stage. The decision, at least as far as the GC is concerned, will fall in one of these two stages.

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 19 Biella -> Champoluc

The first of two stages that will all but decide TCAT gifted another stage win to the break and non-TCAT Nicolas Prodhomme. Right behind him, Del Toro and Carapaz finished together, which means this stage was still inconclusive for the ultimate GC win as Del Toro retains a 43" margin. Simon Yates (seventh) and Derek Gee (eleventh) paid roughly half a minute and finished in a group of ten that also included resurgent Antonio Tiberi (ninth). Also scoring today, Storer (13th), Poole (17th), Adam Yates (18th) and Arrieta (19th).

VFL takes the daily win over REX and EVC (tied as Arensman scored no points), but not by enough to make a dent in EVC's End of Tour points advantage. It does, however, kinda limit what REX can do to win second place; if today ends up in a virtual tie again, REX will have to root for a Kooij stage win tomorrow. EVC also officially takes over the top of the standings; if Derek Gee doesn't crash, they should be almost a lock for the final win.

Top of the current virtual standings accounting for End of Tour points as they would be assigned today: EVC 8283, VFL 7901, REX 7695, GHS 6979, PTM 6933, MCB 6897. ATX currently favoured to overtake BDC and KIN to overtake DED - but still a mountain and a sprint stage to go.

Standings after stage 19:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	6838	+444
2nd	(-1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6534	+50
3rd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	6521	+479
4th	(+2)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	6240	+444
5th	(-1)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6203	+231
6th	(-1)		Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	6102	+296
7th	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	5862	+180
8th	(=)		BdC Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	5535	+123
9th	(=)		Els Averatxeirs (ATX)	5506	+190
10th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	5341	+187
11th	(=)		Kinetic (KIN)	4989	+207
12th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	4774	+56
13th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	4626	+71
14th	(=)		The Manilows (MAN)	3812	+69

Today, the penultimate stage. Four categorised climbs including the third, Colle delle Finestre, being Giro's tallest summit this year and featuring 8km of uphill gravel from midway through the climb right until the top. Today will decide whether Isaac del Toro wins Giro, and should also decide who wins TCAT.

[Sir Lüc]

News flash before update: Simon Yates wins Giro! This should mean TCAT is going to be undecided right until tomorrow and it might all go down to whether Kooij or van Aert sprints for Visma-Lease a Bike.

[Glüc]

Stage 20 Verrès -> Sestrière (Vialattea)

Surprisingly Harper (BDC) won yesterday's stage, but the big news happened behind him as none of the favourites could follow Simon Yates (VFL/KIN/ATX), who finished in third place and took the lead in GC and the pink jersey and will become the winner of this years giro. Marcellusi (MCB) and Poole (GHS/MAN) also made the stage top 10

Kinetic was the stage winner and scoring the most points, but looking at the overall standing the top 2 are now basically tied if you consider the end of tour points that will be awarded. The final sprint in Rome will determine who wins this edition of TCAT. Els Talossaes Rexhitais will likely complete the podium, while The Manilows unfortunately will end up with the red lantern.

Standings after stage 20:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC) (EVC)	7004	+166
2nd	(+1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	6875	+354
3rd	(-1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	6648	+114
4th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	6406	+166
5th	(+1)		Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB)	6317	+215
6th	(-1)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	6272	+69
7th	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	5919	+57
8th	(=)		BdC Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	5874	+339
9th	(=)		Els Averatxeirs (ATX)	5768	+262
10th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	5394	+53
11th	(=)		Kinetic (KIN)	5346	+357
12th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	4823	+49
13th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	4664	+38
14th	(=)		The Manilows (MAN)	3988	+176

Today, the first leg of TCAT 2025 arrives at its final destination: Rome. No GC time will be likely be gained or lost in the final stage, but there is one more opportunity for sprinters to shine.

The finish should be in about an hour...