Talossan Cycling Association Tour
The Talossan Cycling Association Tour, usually known and abbreviated as TCAT, is a fantasy sports league held between Talossan directeurs sportifs, played on the Velogames platform.
Each edition of TCAT tentatively mirrors UCI Grand Tours stage races, Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España; this means each season is composed of three legs, each typically either numbered (Leg 1, 2, 3 of Season N) or known as TCAT Taliă, TCAT França or TCAT Espain (after the Talossan names of the host countries). Legs are also sometimes unofficially referred to as TCAT Giro, TCAT Tour and TCAT Vuelta respectively, depending on the stage race they mirror. The first season, played in 2022, only comprised two legs, as it kicked off after the 2022 Giro d'Italia had already taken place.
As of August 2024, seven legs have been played, with one in progress; sixteen teams have taken part in at least one leg, of which ten have competed in at least one full season.
Rules
Managers may assemble a team of nine riders by picking two all-rounders (typically general classification riders), two climbers, one sprinter, three unclassed riders and one free pick, spending a total of up to 100 credits. Rider pricing is up to the Velogames administrator, George Chapman, and is loosely proportional to the number of points a certain rider is generally expected to score. Unlike previous fantasy sports leagues which have been played among Talossans, such as the Talossan Football League, Velogames does not allow for autopicks/autodrafts, riders may be shared between teams, no alterations to the team can be made midway through, and all picks are hidden until the competition starts.
In each leg, a team scores points through its riders in a variety of ways, both after each stage and after the whole leg is over (End of Tour points). The team with the most points after End of Tour points are applied is recognised as the winner of the leg, with the team with the most points across all three legs of a season also being recognised as the winner of that season. In each leg, teams getting the most points out of sprinting-related and climbing-related , as well as the most "breakaway points" which typically denote combativity, are also separately, though unofficially, recognised.
Breakdown of results
Glüc da Dhi's Banqeu da Cézembre is the most successful team, having won three legs (França 2023, Espain 2023 and Taliă 2024) alongside the 2023 season. It is also the only team with multiple leg victories.
Other leg winners are Iason Taiwos's Naziun Cjovani (França 2022), Lüc da Schir's Gordon Hiatus Support Team (Espain 2022), Erschéveþ da Schir's Cyclohexane (Taliă 2023) and Þerxh Sant-Enogat's Cézembre Fieschă (França 2024).
While never winning a leg, Audrada Roibeardet's Kinetic Racing won the 2022 season by placing third in França 2022 and second in Espain 2022. Other teams who haven't won a leg yet, but have finished on the podium, are Tric'hard Lenxheir's Dead Last (third place in França 2024), Alexandreu Davinescu's Els Gagnheirs (second in França 2023 and third in Espain 2022), Ian Plätschisch's Port Maxhestic AC (third in Espain 2023), and Breneir Tzaracomprada's Velociposse Florenciă (third in Taliă 2023).
Leg results
| Season | Leg | Participants | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 - França 2022 | 4 | Naziun Cjovani (Iason Taiwos) | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Kinetic Racing (Audrada Roibeardet) |
| 2 - Espain 2022 | 7 | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (Lüc da Schir) | Kinetic Racing (Audrada Roibeardet) | Els Gagnheirs (Alexandreu Davinescu) | |
| 2023 | 1 - Taliă 2023 | 11 | Cyclohexane (Erschéveþ da Schir) | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Velociposse Florenciă (Breneir Tzaracomprada) |
| 2 - França 2023 | 13 | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Els Gagnheirs (Alexandreu Davinescu) | Naziun Cjovani (Iason Taiwos) | |
| 3 - Espain 2023 | 11 | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (Lüc da Schir) | Port Maxhestic AC (Ian Plätschisch) | |
| 2024 | 1 - Taliă 2024 | 9 | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Cyclohexane (Erschéveþ da Schir) | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (Lüc da Schir) |
| 2 - França 2024 | 11 | Cézembre Fieschă (Þerxh Sant-Enogat) | Cyclohexane (Erschéveþ da Schir) | Dead Last (Tric'hard Lenxheir) | |
| 3 - Espain 2024 | 9 | In progress | |||
Season results
Only includes teams who took part in all legs of the season.
2022
| Pos | Team | Directeur Sportif | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kinetic Racing (KIN) | Audrada Roibeardet | 16611 |
| 2nd | Banqeu da Cézembre (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 15818 |
| 3rd | Naziun Cjovani (CJO) | Iason Taiwos | 15707 |
| 4th | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 14644 |
2023
| Pos | Team | Directeur Sportif | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Banqeu da Cézembre (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 28418 |
| 2nd | Els Gagnheirs (GNH) | Alexandreu Davinescu | 25329 |
| 3rd | Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir | 22683 |
| 4th | Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | Þerxh Sant-Enogat | 21764 |
| 5th | Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch | 20955 |
| 6th | Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir | 20319 |
| 7th | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 20046 |
| 8th | Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat | 17464 |
2024 (after 2 legs of 3)
| Pos | Team | Directeur Sportif | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Banqeu da Cézembre (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 20416 |
| 2nd | Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir | 18353 |
| 3rd | Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | Þerxh Sant-Enogat | 17714 |
| 4th | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 17704 |
| 5th | Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch | 16134 |
| 6th | Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir | 14455 |
| 7th | Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat | 11254 |
| 8th | Velociposse Florencia (VFL) | Breneir Tzaracomprada | 9557 |
Side classification winners
| Season | Leg | Sprinters's Classification Winner | Climbers's Classification Winner | Combativity Classification Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 - França 2022 | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Naziun Cjovani (Iason Taiwos) | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) |
| 2 - Espain 2022 | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (Lüc da Schir) | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (Lüc da Schir) | GHST (Lüc da Schir) and Kinetic (Audrada Roibeardet) | |
| 2023 | 1 - Taliă 2023 | Cyclohexane (Erschéveþ da Schir) | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) |
| 2 - França 2023 | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Els Gagnheirs (Alexandreu Davinescu) | Velociposse Florenciă (Breneir Tzaracomprada) | |
| 3 - Espain 2023 | Maricopa Cabana Boys (Carlüs Vilaçafat) | Maricopa Cabana Boys (Carlüs Vilaçafat) | Maricopa Cabana Boys (Carlüs Vilaçafat) | |
| 2024 | 1 - Taliă 2024 | Banqeu da Cézembre (Glüc da Dhi) | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (Lüc da Schir) | Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (Txec dal Nordselva) |
| 2 - França 2024 | Cyclohexane (Erschéveþ da Schir) | Cézembre Fieschă (Þerxh Sant-Enogat) | Dead Last (Tric'hard Lenxheir) | |
| 3 - Espain 2024 | In progress | |||
2022 (Season 1)
TCAT's first season featured seven teams - four joining immediately, and three joining in for the second leg. As TCAT was formed for the 2022 Tour de France, the 2022 season did not comprise a leg in Italy.
Leg 1, Copenhagen to Paris (França 2022)
The first leg of TCAT Season 1 followed the 2022 Tour de France, held between 1 and 24 July 2022/XLIII.
The leg saw four teams taking part, with Naziun Cjovani winning out. CJO also managed to be the only team to pick Jonas Vingegaard, the ultimate general classification winner, as well as Tadej Pogačar, the early favourite and a strong contender throughout the event, who ultimately finished second and won the young riders's classification. CJO was also the lone team to pick Magnus Cort, arguably one of the stars of the first week.
BDC was the team with the most daily stage point leads (10), followed by CJO (8), KIN (2) and GHS (1).
CJO and BDC riders took six stage wins; 3 each through Pogačar, 3 for van Aert for BDC, 2 for Vingegaard and 1 for Cort for CJO. KIN took four through van Aert and a lone stage win for Pidcock. No GHS riders took stage wins, Quintana scoring a single 2nd place.
| Pos | Team | Manager | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Naziun Cjovani (CJO) | Iason Taiwos | 9405 |
| 2nd | Banqeu da Cézembre KLüP TMT (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 8857 |
| 3rd | Kinetic Racing (KIN) | Audrada Roibeardet | 8625 |
| 4th | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 6024 |
Leg 2, Utrecht to Madrid (Espain 2022)
TCAT 2022's second leg followed the 2022 Vuelta a España, held between 19 August and 11 September 2022/XLIII. Seven teams took part: all four participants from the first leg and three new teams.
Gordon Hiatus Support Team bounced back from last place in the previous leg to win Leg 2, selecting the winners of all four classifications - Remco Evenepoel (GC and young riders), Richard Carapaz (KOM) and Mads Pedersen (points).
| Pos | Team | Manager | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 8260 |
| 2nd | Kinetic Racing (KIN) | Audrada Roibeardet | 7986 |
| 3rd | Els Gagnheirs (GNH) | Alexandreu Davinescu | 7736 |
| 4th | Banqeu da Cézembre OneFiftyZero (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 6961 |
| 5th | Velociposse Florencia (VFL) | Breneir Tzaracomprada | 6510 |
| 6th | Naziun Cjovani (CJO) | Iason Taiwos | 6302 |
| 7th | Cjovani Valcürïăs (VAL) | Vitxalmour Conductour | 5062 |
2023 (Season 2)
Season 2 featured 8 full season participants, with 14 teams contesting at least one leg (all but one contested at least two).
Leg 1, Fossacesia Marina to Roma (Taliă 2023)
TCAT's third edition was a huge cultural event on Wittenberg, drawing a record-breaking number of participants and leading to a podcast with live coverage, "Centraseiră". Five teams from Leg 2 competed in this start to the season, joined by six newcomers: Averatxeir, Cézembre Fieschă, Cyclohexane, Dead Last, Maricopa Cabana Boys and Port Maxhestic AC.
Debutant Cyclohexane immediately romped on to win off the back of sprinter Jonathan Milan, also a Grand Tour debutant, who won the points classification and was an unique pick.
This was the only edition to date in which the winning team did not select the rider who ended up winning the general classification, Primož Roglič. The best placed team who did select Roglič was Velociposse, who placed third. Cyclohexane did select the winners of the other three classifications: Thibaut Pinot (KOM), Jonathan Milan (points) and João Almeida (young riders).
To mark the occasion, two episodes of a cycling podcast, Centraseiră, were recorded and released by Lüc da Schir and Glüc da Dhi. The name is a Talossan translation of "midevening", which is generally the time of day Velogames computes daily scoring updates. The episodes are available on YouTube: episode 1 episode 2.
| Pos | Team | Manager | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir | 8658 |
| 2nd | Banqeu da Cézembre Pterodactyls (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 8556 |
| 3rd | Velociposse Florencia (VFL) | Breneir Tzaracomprada | 7759 |
| 4th | Els Gagnheirs (GNH) | Alexandreu Davinescu | 7594 |
| 5th | Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir | 6763 |
| 6th | Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | þerxh Sant-Enogat | 6632 |
| 7th | Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch | 5832 |
| 8th | Kinetic Racing (KIN) | Audrada Roibeardet | 5709 |
| 9th | Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat | 5074 |
| 10th | Els Averatxeirs (ATX) | Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial | 4456 |
| 11th | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 4440 |
Leg 2, Bilbao to Paris (França 2023)
TCAT França 2023 saw the most participants of any other leg to date, 13, with all teams of Leg 1 returning, joined by França 2022 winner Naziun Cjovani and newcomer Cantzelerïă Aþletici. This was also the first edition to adopt the current logo, which changes colours depending on the setting of the event, to adopt the Talossan language naming of legs, and also to ditch the early naming scheme where each edition was referred as TCAT 1, TCAT 2, TCAT 3 and so on.
Banqeu da Cézembre won their first leg, beating back a resurgent Gagnheirs. For a second edition in a row, the winning team was the only one to select the points classification winner (Jasper Philipsen), with Banqeu da Cézembre also selecting the winners of the other three classifications: Jonas Vingegaard (GC), Giulio Ciccone (KOM) and Tadej Pogačar (young riders).
| Pos | Team | Manager | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Banqeu da Cézembre Runners Up (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 10404 |
| 2nd | Els Gagnheirs (GNH) | Alexandreu Davinescu | 10053 |
| 3rd | Naziun Cjovani (CJO) | Iason Taiwos | 9687 |
| 4th | Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | þerxh Sant-Enogat | 8316 |
| 5th | Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS) | Txec dal Nordselvă | 7650 |
| 6th | Velociposse Florencia (VFL) | Breneir Tzaracomprada | 7125 |
| 7th | Kinetic Racing (KIN) | Audrada Roibeardet | 6905 |
| 8th | Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch | 6893 |
| 9th | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 6663 |
| 10th | Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir | 6522 |
| 11th | Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir | 6289 |
| 12th | Els Averatxeirs (ATX) | Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial | 5279 |
| 13th | Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat | 4254 |
Leg 3, Barcelona to Madrid (Espain 2023)
The last leg of the season was contested by 11 teams - 10 from leg 2, and returning Cjovani Valcürïas, who had previously contested Espain 2022 a year prior.
Banqeu da Cézembre became the first team to win multiple legs, picking seven of the eight Jumbo-Visma riders (all but Wilco Kelderman), a combination that included all riders on the General Classification podium - Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič. The trio's domination resulted in a massive amount of assist points, which ultimately proved decisive. Due to this unusual strategy, this was also the only instance in which a team with four unclassed riders won; this would otherwise be an unadvisable way to spend the wildcard spot.
| Pos | Team | Manager | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Banqeu da Cézembre Paranoid Knights (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 9458 |
| 2nd | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 8943 |
| 3rd | Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch | 8230 |
| 4th | Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat | 8136 |
| 5th | Els Gagnheirs (GNH) | Alexandreu Davinescu | 7682 |
| 6th | Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir | 7503 |
| 7th | Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir | 7267 |
| 8th | Naziun Cjovani (CJO) | Iason Taiwos | 7085 |
| 9th | Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | þerxh Sant-Enogat | 6816 |
| 10th | Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS) | Txec dal Nordselvă | 6685 |
| 11th | Cjovani Valcürïăs (VAL) | Vitxalmour Conductour | 5791 |
2024 (Season 3)
Season 3 once again saw 8 full season participants, with 12 teams contesting at least one leg.
Leg 1, Venaria Reale to Roma (Taliă 2024)
The first leg of 2024 was contested by nine teams - 8 continuing from the previous leg and Velociposse returning after sitting out Espain 2023. All nine teams but Cantzelerïă ended up contesting the full season.
Banqeu da Cézembre won a third consecutive leg, becoming the first team to win one each of the three legs (and still the only team to have won multiple legs), scoring a record amount of points for a single leg in the process, and a record gap over the second placed team, Cyclohexane. Both teams had also shared the first two spots of the podium a year prior.
For a second time out of two Italian legs, a team with two sprinters won out (in this case, Jonathan Milan and Tobias Lund Andresen).
| Pos | Team | Manager | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 11925 |
| 2nd | Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir | 8746 |
| 3rd | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 8671 |
| 4th | Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | þerxh Sant-Enogat | 7648 |
| 5th | Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat | 7478 |
| 6th | Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch | 7463 |
| 7th | Els Cantzelerïă Aþletici (SOS) | Txec dal Nordselvă | 5281 |
| 8th | Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir | 4992 |
| 9th | Velociposse Florencia (VFL) | Breneir Tzaracomprada | 4865 |
Leg 2, Firenze to Paris (França 2024)
Once again the leg shadowing Tour de France was the most successful, with 8 teams continuing from Taliă 2024, Naziun Cjovani rejoining after once again sitting out the first leg of the season, and two new teams - Ardita Benito and Maricopan Manilows. Velociposse Florencia contested the leg under the Dead2Last name.
The leg resulted in a maiden win for Cézembre Fieschă, thanks to a strategy that involved picking three of the four riders who were initially seen as the favourites - Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel - while saving credits on the rest of the team. A similar strategy had been historically successful at França 2022 and 2023, with the winners of both legs picking both Pogačar and Vingegaard - a strategy informally dubbed "the Iason" after Iason Taiwos, who first employed it. This was however less successful in this leg, with Pogačar seen as more of a favourite compared to Vingegaard due to the Dane recovering from a major injury (as indeed were Evenepoel and fourth major favourite Primož Roglič).
For a third time out of three, the winner of the French leg selected three all-rounders (Pogačar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel).
| Pos | Team | Manager | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | þerxh Sant-Enogat | 10066 |
| 2nd | Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir | 9607 |
| 3rd | Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir | 9463 |
| 4th | Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir | 9033 |
| 5th | Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch | 8671 |
| 6th | Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi | 8491 |
| 7th | Naziun Cjovani (CJO) | Iason Taiwos | 8159 |
| 8th | Ardita Benito (ARB) | Pol dal Cräpscaßada | 7739 |
| 9th | Maricopan Manilows (MAN) | Dien Tresplet | 6419 |
| 10th | Dead2Last (VFL) | Breneir Tzaracomprada | 4692 |
| 11th | Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat | 3776 |
Leg 3, Lisboa to Madrid (Espain 2024)
The final leg of TCAT 2024 is being contested by all eight full season teams plus Naziun Cjovani, which also contested the previous leg.
| Teams contesting | Manager |
|---|---|
| Banqeu da Cézembre Tavulairs (BDC) | Glüc da Dhi |
| Cézembre Fieschă (CFA) | þerxh Sant-Enogat |
| Cyclohexane (CHX) | Erschéveþ da Schir |
| Naziun Cjovani (CJO) | Iason Taiwos |
| Dead Last (DED) | Tric'hard Lenxheir |
| Gordon Hiatus Support Team (GHS) | Lüc da Schir |
| Maricopa Cabana Boys (MCB) | Carlüs Vilaçafat |
| Port Maxhestic AC (PTM) | Ian Plätschisch |
| Velociposse Florencia (VFL) | Breneir Tzaracomprada |