Talossan Cycling Association Tour Season 5 Leg 1: Nessebar -> Roma

[Glüc]

Talossan Cycling Association Tour
2026
First Leg
Nessebar -> Roma


_{(Logo created by Sir Lüc)}

Belated introduction tbd

The following teams are participating:

- Cézembre Fieschā - (CFA, Cézembre) Vingegaard Yates Zana Rubio Mozzato Schulz Aleotti Cavagna Pellizzari -----------------------------------------------------	- Team In The Wind - (ITW, Florencia) Vingegaard Arensman Bernal Ciccone Andresen Cavagna Oliveira Barta Ballerini -----------------------------------------------------	- Els Talossaes Rexhita - (REX, Maricopa) Yates Gee-West Gall Storer Aular J. Christen Scaroni Narváez Andresen -----------------------------------------------------
- Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs - (BDC, Cézembre) Arensman Vingegaard Hindley Bernal Van Uden Vendrame J. Christen Morgado Ciccone -----------------------------------------------------	- Gordon Hiatus Support Team - (GHS, Belacostă) Vingegaard Arensman Storer Piganzoli Milan Gualdi Harper Garofoli Hindley -----------------------------------------------------	- Velociposse Florencia - (VFL, Florencia) Pellizzari Arensman Storer Gall Aular Narváez Battistella J. Christen Groves -----------------------------------------------------
- Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis - (MMM, Maritiimi-Maxhestic) Vingegaard Pellizzari Cepeda Piganzoli Ackermann Narváez Scaroni Sheffield Moschetti -----------------------------------------------------	- Cyclohexane - (CHX, Belacostă) Vingegaard Pellizzari Ciccone Zana Milan Arrieta Campenaerts Bais Maestri -----------------------------------------------------

Links:
Registration thread
Information about the route and riders

[Glüc]

Stage 1 Nessebar (Bulgaria) -> Burgas

The Talossan Cycling Association Tour 2026 started with a short flat stage, creating the right circumstances for a bunch sprint. Unfortunately there was a big crash near the end, involving several TCAT riders. Hopefully they are all ok. The stage was won by Magnier, followed by Lund Andresen (REX/ITW). Milan (GHS/CHX) came in fourth place and Ackermann (MMM) in seventh. The royal team takes the first lead of the season as a result in a low scoring stage.

Standings after stage 1:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	232	+232
2nd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	218	+218
3rd	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	197	+197
4th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	191	+191
5th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	108	+108
6th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	45	+45
7th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	28	+28
8th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	12	+12

Tomorrow will be more of an intermediate stage. Most likely not challenging enough for GC contenders to make a big difference, but too much for a big bunch sprint. More likely the winner will be more of a punchy type rider.

[King Txec]

My team taking the first lead is just as it should be!

-Txec R

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

I expect @Crement Itravilatx to rub it in that his team has such early success.

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 2 Burgas (Bulgaria) -> Veliko Tarnovo

Glüc's prediction was mostly correct, but GC riders did make a valiant attempt at trying to win seconds on their peers - Vingegaard (CHX/ITW/BDC/MMM/GHS/CFA), Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) and Van Eetvelt (non-TCAT) were rebuffed by the charging chase within the last kilometer, with the stagewin ultimately going to non-TCAT Silva, and Giulio Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW) in third leading the TCAT riders. Scaroni (MMM/REX) placed fourth, Pellizzari fifth and Christen (BDC) eighth.

It is BDC who comes away with the daily win, but disaster struck soon after as Andrea Vendrame, one of the riders involved in a 30-rider megacrash midway through, completed the stage but will not be able to start tomorrow. Also unable to start due to the crash is Adam Yates, which sadly means Fieschă and REX are already a GC rider down. The first TCAT rider to abandon, though, was MMM's Matteo Moschetti, which did not start stage 2 as a result of the injuries sustained in the finish line crash of stage 1.

Standings after stage 2:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+2)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	555	+358
2nd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	527	+309
3rd	(-2)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	522	+290
4th	(+2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	463	+418
5th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	446	+338
6th	(-2)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	346	+155
7th	(+1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	281	+269
8th	(-1)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	209	+181

[Glüc]

Stage 3 update later today, but here are the standings:

Tuesday's stage was again a sprint, on very wide roads in the Bulgarian capital. Again Magnier won, followed by Milan (GHS/CHX) with Ackermann (MMM) in 7th place, ballerini (ITW) in 8th and Andresen (ITW/REX) in 9th. The beginning of the day saw more bad news as Adam Yates (CFA/REX) did not start due to his injuries along with Vendrame. Team In The Wind scored the most points for the first time in their debut season, but Cyclohexane remain in the lead.

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	790	+235
2nd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	777	+250
3rd	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	652	+130
4th	(+2)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	578	+232
5th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	578	+132
6th	(-2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	548	+85
7th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	324	+43
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	245	+36

This was the last stage in Bulgaria. Yesterday was transfer/rest day and today TCAT continues in Italy, where a single category 2 climb halfway through the stage might result in a succesful breakaway, but more likely we'll see the peloton regather in time for a sprint. The finish is uphill, which might favour someone like Andresen over the pure sprinters.

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 4 Catanzaro -> Cosenza

Welcome to Italy! TCAT lands on the tip of the boot, Calabria, for what could have been a sprint finish - but no, all sprinters (and more) were dropped on the single Cat.2 climb halfway through the stage, and only a group of 40 was left in front to contend the stage win.

The reduced bunch sprint went to Jhonatan Narvaez (MMM/REX/VFL) in front of Orluis Aular (REX/VFL) and Giulio Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW), the latter also taking over the GC leader's pink jersey. Logically then it is REX and VFL who lead the day, with the Rexhitais also narrowly inheriting the overall lead. 

The Florencian team gets the stage win, but will have to do without Kaden Groves from now on, the Australian having dropped out today as a result of the finish line crash in stage 1. With this abandon, only Cyclohexane, GHST and In The Wind have a full roster, all other teams having one each.

Standings after stage 4:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+2)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1136	+484
2nd	(-1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1113	+323
3rd	(-1)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1058	+281
4th	(+2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	907	+359
5th	(-1)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	872	+294
6th	(+1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	843	+519
7th	(-2)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	694	+116
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	324	+79

Coming up today is a hilly stage that could see a similar outcome (breakaway and/or reduced sprint).

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Well, my strategy of picking only the big guns is not quite paying off, but at least my guys are finding the roads of Italy a little easier than the ice of America and Canada.

[Glüc]

Stage 5 Praia a Mare -> Potenza

Yesterday saw a succesful breakaway attempt involving Campenaerts (CHX), Rubio (CFA), Narvaez (REX/VFL/MMM), Garofoli (GHS), Scaroni (REX/MMM) and Arrieta (CHX). Crazy things happened at the end, where Arrieta crashed and then went in the wrong direction, but somehow still won the stage (I have no idea how any of that happened), giving the most points to Cyclohexane who are now back in the lead. Eulalio took the pink jersey.

Standings after stage 5:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1463	+350
2nd	(-1)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1382	+246
3rd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1132	+74
4th	(+1)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	1109	+237
5th	(-1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	994	+87
6th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	934	+91
7th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	865	+171
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	371	+47

Today we have a flat stage towards Naples which seems like one of the last opportunities for sprinters as we head into the mountains tomorrow. The final kilometers feature a short uphill cobbled section though, which might affect the results even if that result is still most likely a bunch sprint.

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 6 Paestum -> Napoli

This edition, much like the past few ones, also features a stage with sprint finish in Naples... except the finish line was moved up a hill, past an uphill cobblestone section, with a hairpin midway through. With the surface still wet from the rain, this was a recipe for disaster, and indeed an otherwise predictably uneventful stage came undone right at the last kilometre.

With the top sprinters battling for position at the front, a few riders slid on their own as they were taking the damp cobbled hairpin a mere 300m from the finish line, resulting in most of the group getting stuck. Luckily for In The Wind, one of just two riders who were entirely unaffected was their own Davide Ballerini, who outsprinted non-TCAT Jasper Stuyven for an entirely unexpected stage win. All other top TCAT sprinters were delayed or crashed outright, meaning it  who had a chance at avoiding the accident and scoring points: Mozzato (CFA) ended up 7th, van Uden (BDC) 10th, Ackermann (MMM) 17th and Maestri (CHX) 20th.

ITW gets another stage win, albeit a low scoring one, with no position changes in the overall standings. The most consequential outcome from today is instead Milan and Andresen, the most expensive sprinters, not scoring any points and failing to turn around their so-far disappointing TCAT edition, which is bad news for CHX, GHS, REX and ITW itself.

Standings after stage 6:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	1577	+114
2nd	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1488	+106
3rd	(=)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1426	+294
4th	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	1230	+121
5th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1122	+128
6th	(=)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1022	+88
7th	(=)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	900	+35
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	497	+126

Today we finally get the first mountain stage of TCAT Italy 2026, as the peloton climbs Cima Blockhaus (which, despite the name, is not in the Alps and is actually nestled deep within the Appennines.) First verdicts from leading GC contenders and climbers coming up!

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 7 Formia -> Blockhaus

Verdicts from first GC stage: Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/CHX/GHS/ITW/MMM) predictably on top. Gall (REX/VFL) surprisingly close just 13" behind (it was generally feared that other riders might drop 1' or more). Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) managed to hang with Vingegaard the longest, but ultimately finished 1' behind, in a trio with Hindley (BDC/GHS) and non-TCAT O'Connor.

More delayed, at +1'40" and over, Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW), Gee-West (REX), Storer (GHS/REX/VFL) and Arensman (BDC/GHS/ITW/VFL), but this is still good news for their ambitions of finishing top3/5 in the final standings. Less good news for other potential GC top 10 candidates like Bernal (BDC/ITW), Mas, Rubio (CFA), Cepeda (MMM) and Zana (CFA/CHX), all variously delayed by 3 to almost 6 minutes.

GHST gets the daily win thanks to placing all six of their GC riders in the top 16 (4 in top 10, plus Harper and Piganzoli). BDC and CHX round off the podium, with the latter retaining the top spot.

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2202	+625
2nd	(+1)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1906	+480
3rd	(-1)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	1898	+410
4th	(+1)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1778	+656
5th	(-1)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	1732	+502
6th	(+1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1649	+749
7th	(-1)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1569	+547
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	956	+459

Today, a stage that seems tailor made for an interesting breakaway, with a second half peppered with hard and relatively short climbs. Might be a great occasion for those teams with a couple of top tier stage hunters to score 200-300 unanswered points over everyone else.

[Glüc]

Stage 8 Chieti -> Fermo

Yesterdays stage featured a lot of attacking. A large break was formed halfway through the stage which contained the rider who would eventually go solo an win his second stage: Jonathan Narvaez (REX/VFL/MMM). Scaroni (REX/MMM) came in 6th. The GC didn't see major changes, except for Ciccone (ITW/BDC/CHX) who lost more than 6 minutes which likely puts him out of podium contention.

A good result for Talossaes Rexhital who take back the lead by scoring the most points of the day, but also for the Menceis, who climb to third. Cézembre Fieschā keep struggling and are now far behind the rest of the teams.

Standings after stage 8:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(+2)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	2369	+471
2nd	(-1)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2342	+140
3rd	(+2)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	2181	+449
4th	(-2)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	1976	+70
5th	(+2)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	1938	+369
6th	(-2)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	1921	+143
7th	(-1)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	1846	+197
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1056	+100

Today starts out flat but ends with a 3rd category climb en route to a 1st category climb which is also the finish. Very much seems like a stage for the GC favourites.

[Crement Itravilatx]

I expect @Crement Itravilatx to rub it in that his team has such early success.

The deal is...if my team wins then instead of us cooking every other nights you cook dinner every night for one month. :)

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

I expect @Crement Itravilatx to rub it in that his team has such early success.

The deal is...if my team wins then instead of us cooking every other nights you cook dinner every night for one month. :)

The steaks have risen in this game.

[Sir Lüc]

Stage 9 Cervia -> Corno alle Scale

Long flat stretch, with a small breakaway featuring Giulio Ciccone (BDC/CHX/ITW) and Einer Rubio (CFA), got whittled away on the final climb. Ciccone almost looked like he could solo to victory, but behind in the group of main GC contenders Felix Gall (REX/VFL) attempted to exploit certain rivals having a bad day by putting seconds on them ahead of the rest day. The Austrian's attack was followed by Jonas Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/CHX/GHS/ITW/MMM), ever this edition's strongest climber, who mostly only had to wait for the right moment to attack himself and get a second stage win ahead of his so-far closest rival.

Vingegaard teammate Davide Piganzoli (GHS/MMM) got a surprise third place ahead of Thymen Arensman (BDC/GHS/ITW/VFL) - these two are the biggest winners of the day looking at the general classification. Conversely, definitely a bad day for Giulio Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) who slips three places in GC and is now 45" behind his teammate Jai Hindley, which doesn't bide well for his team leadership ambitions. Three more TCAT riders placed top 10 (Gee 6th, Hindley 9th and Storer 10th), with a sorry Ciccone only finishing 11th.

Much like stage 7, the other stage where GC riders shone, most teams got a nice enough point haul, but it is GHST again topping the stage ranking. REX keeps the overall lead ahead of today's restday.

Standings after stage 9:

Pos	±		Team	Pts Ove	Pts Today
1st	(=)		Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)	2847	+478
2nd	(=)		Cyclohexane (CHX)	2753	+411
3rd	(=)		Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)	2738	+557
4th	(+3)		Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)	2652	+806
5th	(-1)		Team In The Wind (ITW)	2548	+572
6th	(=)		Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)	2537	+616
7th	(-2)		Velociposse Florencia (VFL)	2412	+474
8th	(=)		Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)	1400	+344

Today is a rest day; we'll resume tomorrow with this edition's only individual time trial, a 42km dash along the coast of northern Tuscany. Not many ITT specialists present - Remi Cavagna (CFA/ITW) is I think the only specialist in any TCAT roster, but he is definitely not as strong as Jonas Vingegaard (BDC/CFA/CHX/GHS/ITW/MMM), who is again the favourite here, even if he might not win the time trial outright because of Filippo Ganna (who however isn't in anyone's TCAT lineup). Among the other GC riders the only competent team trialist should be Thymen Arensman (BDC/GHS/ITW/VFL), so there might be hefty time drops among the others. So, immediate bottom line, ITW has all three, BDC, GHST and CFA have two.

 Other than that I wouldn't be sure about any other potential TCAT high-scorers, although Gee (REX) should have a decent time trial, Pellizzari (CFA/CHX/MMM/VFL) and Christen (BDC/REX/VFL) didn't do a bad ITT in this March's Tirreno-Adriatico (similar to tomorrow's course but shorter), and Jonathan Milan (CHX/GHS) is a relatively good time trialist, but he may save energies for the sprints.

[Glüc]

We are getting close to the halfway point, so while we are all watching the ongoing time trial, here are some thoughts on the outlook of the various teams (in ascending order of how much I expect them to win).

The gaps between the first seven teams are unsually small so far, so a lot will depend on the final two weeks.

Cézembre Fieschā (CFA)
Doing a þerxh by picking the three most expensive gc contenders has proven a succesful strategy in the past, but this time it's really not looking like it will work out, especially with the early dropout of Adam Yates. CFA already is falling behind the other teams. If Vingegaard and Pellizzari both do well they might still get out of last place, but several other teams have these too, so I can't see CFA contesting the win this time.
Status: mission impossible

Els Talossaes Rexhital (REX)
It's been a great start for the royal team. Using a balanced strategy usually makes for fun teams and this is no exception with the three 8c unclassed Narvaez, Scaroni and Christen being frequently seen at the front of the race and Gee doing well in GC so far. Unfortunately here too the withdrawal of Yates is going to hurt and without enough of the big GC favourites on board it appears very likely the fun is going to end at some point.
Status: long shot

Velociposse Florencia (VFL)
No Vingegaard likely means they will lose out on a lot of points, but this also creates a lot chances if Vingegaard starts underperforming.
Status: outsider

Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis (MMM)
Like REX profited from Narvaez and Scaroni doing really well, but with Vingegaard and Pellizzari to take points in the end. However I don't think they have quite enough gc contenders on board. At the very least the Menceis need Pellizzari to start performing a lot better than he has in the first couple of mountain stages.
Status: outsider

Cyclohexane (CHX)
Another fun team, with uc picks that have been in a lot of breaks so far, and they've done well so far with good results for Ciccone and an amazing stagewin for Arrieta. On the other hand Milan hasnt scored as many points as he probably should have so far and Pellizzari is looking ok, but not second most expensive rider level ok. The other teams that I put as title contenders all have a couple gc riders instead of one Pellizzari. Still Cyclohexane could absolutely still win this if they keep getting good stage results and Pellizzari lives up to pre-race expectations.
Status: title contender

Team In The Wind (ITW)
They are having a strong debut so far, with a very surprising stage win for Ballerini. Vingegaard, Arensman and Ciccone are all looking pretty good so far. Only Bernal has slightly disappointed. They do need him to get some results to challenge for the win. A problem for ITW is that even if he does there is another team with Vingegaard, Arensman, Ciccone and Bernal. Results in todays ITT by Cavagna and in the remaining sprints by Andresen could put ITW ahead of them in the end.
Status: title contender

Cézembre Caçeirs dals Mailintzarăs (BDC)
A somewhat disappointing start for BDC due to the crash involving Vendrame and Morgado, limiting the points scored in the intermediate stages, but looking ahead to the mountain stages this should be a very strong team, again with Vingegaard, Arensman and Ciccone looking good and Bernal hopefully being able to launch a bit of a comeback in the final week. This team is very similar to ITW, who have a better team for the ITT and the remaining sprint stages. I give a very slight edge to BDC because of how well Hindley is performing in at the moment. An actual result by Christen would also be very helpful. Really its 50/50 which of ITW and BDC has better odds.
Status: title contender

Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS)
Some disappointment for GHST as Milan did not score as well as expected in the sprints so far. On the other hand they are one of only three teams to not lose a rider so far and they did score the most points in the mountain stages so far. Harper and Piganzoli are both still in top 20 gc, giving GHST the most riders still in the top 20.  This also includes Storer who is currently in 10th and who hasn't been picked by GHST's main rivals. This puts them in a great position for the remaining stages and the end of tour points. Milan will get more chances in the future. Garofoli has gotten stage results as well. Arensman, Vingegaard and Hindley are shared with BDC, so if BDC or ITW will want to challenge for the win they need to depend on Ciccone and Bernal. So far, GHST is outperforming the competition in the mountains, which should make them the current favourite if that continues to be the case.
Status: favourite