And we're back again after a spectacular first leg where Esqipă Velocostă debuted and won. Ten teams from 6 different provinces will do more than 3300 kilometers of cycling in the coming three weeks while the team captains sit at home and enjoy the show. The goal is to score the most points by winning stages and doing well in three classifications: the King of the Mountains classification (polkadot jersey), the points classification (green jersey) and the general classification (the famous yellow jersey) which determines which individual rider wins this leg of TCAT.

Already the first stage was quite a wild ride with a surprising outcome, but before we get to that, let's have a look at the teams:

Stage 1 Lille -> Lille

The first stage was mostly flat, giving sprinters an opportunity to not just win, but gain the yellow jersey and the lead in GC on the first day. Unfortunately things immediately went wrong for Ganna (DED/CJO/REX), who had to abandon after a crash. A poor start for the teams involved.

For a long time it did look like we would get a bunch sprint with most of the peloton. However in the final 25 km the wind really started to play a role and echelons formed. Several groups formed and a lot of sprinters and GC contenders did not end up in the front group! Pogacar (CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/PTM) and Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/DED/EVC/PTM/VFL) were present, and so were Jorgenson (EVC/REX), Vauquelin (CHX/GHS), Mas (PTM/VFL), Tobias Johannessen (DED) and O'Connor (BDC). The latter unfortunately crashed in the final kilometers but was given the same time as the front group.

However, many others were not present, including many sprint favourites like Milan (VFL), Merlier (REX), Van Aert (EVC) and Meeus (BDC/EVC), but also most GC contenders including Evenepoel (BDC/CHX/CJO/DED/GHS/REX), Lipowitz (EVC) and Roglic (REX). They all lost 49 seconds already! Some lost even more, with Simon Yates (REX) and Lenny Martinez (REX) losing many minutes.

Philipsen was the only sprint favourite left in the front group and ended up winning the stage. Best TCAT rider was Jorgenson in 8th place, followed by Watson (PTM) and Sweeny (PTM).

The result was a low scoring stage, with Port Maxhestic AC having a strong performance and taking the lead after the first day. Esqipă Velocostă also had a pretty decent start. Els Talossaes Rexhitais came in third place, but with the loss of Ganna and the time loss by Martinez and Yates it was still a pretty terrible start for them unfortunately. Dirnalaiset Mortescu also had a bad day and take the red lantern.

Standings after stage 1:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	172	+172
2nd	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	119	+119
3rd	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	97	+97
4th	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	74	+74
5th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	70	+70
6th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	67	+67
7th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	40	+40
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	36	+36
9th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	29	+29
10th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	21	+21

Today we get a somewhat hilly stage, which seems well suited to puncheurs like Van der Poel, Van Aert or Nys, but could also go to a sprinter who can climb or a more explosive climber.

Stage 2 Lauwin-Planque -> Boulogne-sur-Mer

Yesterday's stage resulted in a punchy, hilly final part and an uphill sprint to the line that gave Mathieu van der Poel (BDC/CHX/GHS/VFL) a prime occasion to swoop in and get a first stage victory. He outsprinted a group led by Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard to the line, in a reduced bunch sprint whose front also included Grégoire (4th), Alaphilippe (5th), Onley (6th) and Vauquelin (8th). Also scoring points for their teams, Mas (12th), Buitrago (13th), Almeida (15th), Evenepoel (17th) and Jorgenson (18th).

An impressive result for Cyclohexane, who tops a generally high scoring day thanks to placing seven of their riders in the top 17 (and five in the top 8: MVDP, Pogacar, Grégoire, Alaphilippe and Vauquelin). Also scoring high, GHST, who all of those top 8 riders but Grégoire, and Velociposse, who instead has MVDP, Vingegaard and Gregoire plus three riders in minor positions. Holding the same top trio is Banqeu de Cézembre, who also goes home with a decent haul, only just preceded by Port Maxhestic, one of two teams holding Pogacar and Vingegaard.

Standings after stage 2:
                                                                               

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+3)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	977	+903
2nd	(+3)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	814	+744
3rd	(+3)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	814	+747
4th	(-3)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	680	+508
5th	(+2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	668	+628
6th	(+2)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	451	+415
7th	(+3)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	437	+416
8th	(+1)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	396	+367
9th	(-7)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	363	+244
10th	(-7)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	313	+216

Stage 3 Valenciennes -> Dunkerque

Lots of very nasty crashes today. Thankfully there weren't any TCAT riders who had to abandon, although Meeus (BdC/EVC) and Jeannière (GHS) very both involved in a nasty crash in the run up to the sprint, stopping them from scoring any points on one of the few bunchsprint opportunities this tour and which might affect their performance as well. Philipsen did unfortunately have to abandon with a broken collarbone due to an earlier incident. One side effect is that it might result in Groves (PTM) getting some more opportunities later on.

Merlier (REX) won the bunchsprint followed by Milan (VFL) and Bauhaus (CHX). These teams scored good points as a result. Cyclohexane stay in the lead for now, while leg 1 winners Esqipă Velocostă drop to last place. Het kan verkeren.

Standings after stage 3:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1250	+273
2nd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1218	+404
3rd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	912	+98
4th	(=)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	892	+212
5th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	767	+99
6th	(+4)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	589	+276
7th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	548	+111
8th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	539	+143
9th	(-3)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	522	+71
10th	(-1)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	432	+69

Today we move southwest through Normandy, starting and finishing near a famous massive cathedral. It's a stage that should favour the same type of riders as stage 2, provided an early break doesnt stay away.

Stage 4 Amiens Métropole -> Rouen

The second of several punchy stages (hilly and peppered with short but hard climbs) saw an early four-rider breakaway including Jonas Abrahamsen (CJO/GHS) and Lenny Martinez (REX). The latter was the last one standing, with the fast approaching peloton swallowing him up on the way to the hilly finish.

The decisive attack came on the short but extremely steep Rampe Saint-Hilaire, where Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard broke away from the then-leading group which included the likes of Remco Evenepoel and another potential favourite for today and the stage 2 winner, Mathieu van der Poel. It seemed like their effort wasn't matched by the others except they mostly sat up and were regathered by van der Poel, Evenepoel, Almeida, Onley and Jorgenson, with Vauquelin, Grégoire and Skjelmose in hot pursuit.

This group of riders ended up forming today's top ten, as the final uphill sprint was won by Pogacar (CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/PTM), who pipped van der Poel (BDC/CHX/GHS/VFL) and Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/DED/EVC/PTM/VFL) to the line. All others were delayed by 30 or more seconds, including van Aert (EVC, 11th), T. Johannessen (DED, 15th), Benoot (VFL, 16th), Mas (PTM/VFL, 17th) and Roglic (REX, 18th). Other potential GC riders already losing time were C. Rodriguez (GHS, +39"), a trio of Gall (BDC/EVC), Lipowitz (EVC) and Buitrago (CHX/DED/VFL) all paying almost a minute, and even worse O'Connor (BDC) losing 1'49 already.

Scoring wise it is a similar story to stage 2 and another daily win for Cyclohexane, who placed five riders in the top 10. Velociposse also gets a strong finish with four out of today's top 6, including unique pick Almeida (6th) who ended up being Pogacar's last domestique today, and GHST rounds out today's podium as the other Pogacar-MVDP team in addition to Evenepoel and Vauquelin. Overall though, lots of teams got a decent points intake.

Standings after stage 4:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2042	+792
2nd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1976	+758
3rd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1616	+704
4th	(=)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1419	+527
5th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1412	+645
6th	(+2)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1197	+658
7th	(+2)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	1063	+541
8th	(-1)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	1026	+478
9th	(-3)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	1004	+415
10th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	815	+383

Coming up, the first of two time trials, a 33km flat dash from Caen to Thaon and back. With Ganna out, all eyes are clearly on Remco Evenepoel (BDC/CHX/CJO/DED/GHS/REX) as the strongest time trialist, but there's much talent ready to rise to the occasion with Pogacar (CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/PTM) and Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/DED/EVC/PTM/VFL) also excellent time trialists and many other TCAT riders who will try and stake their claim to a top 10 finish: keep an eye on van Aert (EVC), Vauquelin (CHX/GHS), Armirail (GHS), Campenaerts (CJO) and Roglic (REX). On the other hand, the pure climbers among the riders with GC top 10 aspirations are all but doomed to lose more minutes to whoever between Pogacar and Vingegaard will grab the leader's jersey from van der Poel after tomorrow.

Best day my team has had so far and I lost ground to everyone ahead of me LOL

Gonna do bullet points today:

-ITT (Individual Time Trial) today

-Evenepoel (BDC/CHX/CJO/DED/GHS/REX) won, followed by Pogacar (CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/PTM), with Armirail (GHS), Vauquelin (CHX/GHS), Lipowitz (EVC), Almeida (VFL), Jorgenson (EVC/REX), Roglic (REX), Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/DED/EVC/PTM/VFL), Van der Poel (BDC/CHX/GHS/VFL), and Skjelmose (CFA/CJO) also finishing in the top 20.

-Pogacar is the new leader in GC, followed by Evenepoel. Vingegaard disappointed and dropped to 4th place with already more than a minute on Pogacar.

- Jeannière (GHS) and De Buyst (PTM) abandoned due to earlier crashes

- Gordon Hiatus Support Team scored a massive amount of points today, but Cyclohexane also performed well and remain in the lead

Standings after stage 5:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2703	+661
2nd	(+1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2415	+799
3rd	(-1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2183	+207
4th	(+1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1755	+343
5th	(-1)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1720	+301
6th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1706	+509
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	1375	+312
8th	(+1)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	1375	+371
9th	(-1)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	1344	+318
10th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	1065	+250

Tomorrow:
Yet another hilly classic type stage. We are slowly getting closer to Cézembre

So uh...Spain's the third stage, yeah?

Quote from: Glüc on July 09, 2025, 03:48:57 PMGonna do bullet points today:

-ITT (Individual Time Trial) today

-Evenepoel (BDC/CHX/CJO/DED/GHS/REX) won, followed by Pogacar (CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/PTM), with Armirail (GHS), Vauquelin (CHX/GHS), Lipowitz (EVC), Almeida (VFL), Jorgenson (EVC/REX), Roglic (REX), Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/DED/EVC/PTM/VFL), Van der Poel (BDC/CHX/GHS/VFL), and Skjelmose (CFA/CJO) also finishing in the top 20.

-Pogacar is the new leader in GC, followed by Evenepoel. Vingegaard disappointed and dropped to 4th place with already more than a minute on Pogacar.

- Jeannière (GHS) and De Buyst (PTM) abandoned due to earlier crashes

- Gordon Hiatus Support Team scored a massive amount of points today, but Cyclohexane also performed well and remain in the lead

Standings after stage 5:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2703	+661
2nd	(+1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2415	+799
3rd	(-1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2183	+207
4th	(+1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1755	+343
5th	(-1)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1720	+301
6th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1706	+509
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	1375	+312
8th	(+1)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	1375	+371
9th	(-1)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	1344	+318
10th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	1065	+250

Tomorrow:
Yet another hilly classic type stage. We are slowly getting closer to Cézembre

For one brief shining moment, the Posse considered the possibility of the first place...

Stage almost starting in Talossa today! Obviously it can't actually start on Cézembre for logistics reasons (no bridge to get off the island...), but I'm sure there will be many Cézembre flags flown along the route regardless.

For those with access to a channel broadcasting the entire stage not just the second half (over here Eurosport broadcasts everything) it's definitely worth watching the start. Some nice heli and drone shots of St Malo that show Cézembre as well

Stage 6  Bayeux -> Vire Normandie

Quick update:

- Hilly stage à la Liege-Bastogne-Liege
- Healy (CFA) won after an impressive solo effort, attacking from an early eight-riders break
- The other two TCAT riders in the breakaway, S. Yates (REX) and van der Poel (BDC/CHX/GHS/VFL) finished 5th and 8th (and last). Just too much climbing for the Dutch rider who, however, regains the yellow jersey by just one second
- Places 9-19 are all TCAT riders, with Pogacar 9th and first among the group of favourites
- Fieschă gets a home daily win, but overall the scores are not too far apart and thus no movements happened.

Standings after stage 6:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	3111	+408
2nd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2802	+387
3rd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2533	+350
4th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	2085	+330
5th	(=)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	1975	+255
6th	(=)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	1948	+242
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	1851	+476
8th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	1687	+312
9th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	1534	+190
10th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	1303	+238

As Glüc mentioned, today's stage started in St. Malo, very close to Cézembre, and will feature another explosive finale on the famed Mur de Bretagne.

Stage 7  Saint-Malo  -> Mûr-de-Bretagne

The break didn't get much of a chance today. The stage was decided by the two ascents of the mur de bretagne. After the first time there were about 30 riders left. By the time the peloton got to the final kilometer that number had reduced to 9, unfortunately partly due to a big crash that left Almeida (VFL), Buitrago (CHX/DED/VFL) and several other riders injured. It's unclear whether they will start tomorrow.  Several others were dropped on the steep section of the mur, including yellow jersey wearer Van der Poel (BDC/CHX/GHS/VFL) and GC favourites Roglic (REX) and Lipowitz (EVC).

Pogacar (CFA/CHX/CJO/GHS/PTM) showed why he is the favourite, winning the stage, followed by Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/DED/EVC/PTM/VFL), Onley (CJO), Gall (BDC/EVC), Jorgenson (EVC/REX), Evenepoel (BDC/CHX/CJO/DED/GHS/REX) and Vauquelin (CHX/GHS). Pogacar also takes the yellow jersey, with a lead in GC of nearly a minute over Evenepoel and more than a minute over Vingegaard.

Naziun Cjovani scored the most points as a result and gain fifth place in the standings.
 

Standings after stage 7:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	3695	+584
2nd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3380	+578
3rd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2863	+330
4th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	2710	+625
5th	(+1)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2595	+647
6th	(-1)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	2489	+514
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	2406	+555
8th	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	2055	+368
9th	(=)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	2000	+466
10th	(=)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	1876	+573

Tomorrow we head east, away from the coast for what should normally be a day for sprinters.

Stage 8  Saint-Méen-le-Grand  ->  Laval (Espace Mayenne)

Quick update for a straightforward and uneventful sprint stage. Jonathan Milan (VFL) won his first Tour stage ever, and the first Tour stage for an Italian rider since 2019, reclaiming the lead in the points classification in the process. He beat out Wout van Aert (EVC) and Kaden Groves (PTM). Disappointingly for REX, Tim Merlier did not feature in the sprint, and neither did EVC and BDC's Jordi Meeus.

Velociposse, one of just two sprint-oriented teams, handily takes the daily win by also placing Pascal Ackermann (also of CJO) in fourth in addition to Milan. EVC, PTM and CJO unsurprisingly end up close together but far behind; PTM, the other two-sprinter team, also placed Watson in 15th.

Standings after stage 8:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	3857	+162
2nd	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	3506	+126
3rd	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	3345	+482
4th	(+1)		Naziun Cjovani (CJO)	2856	+261
5th	(-1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	2810	+100
6th	(=)		Port Maxhestic AC (PTM)	2780	+291
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschǎ (CFA)	2577	+171
8th	(+2)		Esqipă Velocostă (EVC)	2165	+289
9th	(-1)		Els Talossaes Rexhitais (REX)	2163	+108
10th	(-1)		Dirnalaiset Mortescu (DED)	2111	+111

Tomorrow, another flat, sprinter-oriented stage. Unfortunately for sprint-oriented teams, it will also be the last one, even though we're not even halfway through the leg. Teams who spent big (really, anything more than the bare minimum) on sprinters will need the best possible result in order to justify the investment.

Oof, it very nearly did not pan out as expected. Teammates Mathieu van der Poel (BDC/CHX/GHS/VFL) and Jonas Rickaert (PTM) went on an impressive duo attack for most of the stage, with MVDP remaining alone for the last six kilometres or so. Unfortunately, he was caught by the charging peloton with a mere 700m to go.

Would have been one of the rides to remember in pretty much the unlikeliest type of stage for this to happen.