Summary: After a hard chase, 22 cyclists remain up front with 30kms to go. Most notably, race favourite Marcus Diamond is isolated with no teammates left. His righthand lady Alex Vogel suffered an untimely puncture with 50kms to go.


Big split with 12kms left, Diamond is on the wrong side of it!


That's going to cost him the chance at a victory. Maybe a different story if Diamond had a helper left to chase in the final kilometers.

Nonetheless, the win goes to Edward Theuns.

Result: 11th - Key moment in this race wasn't the split, it was Alex Vogel suffering a puncture. She was feeling good and could have helped me keep the race together. I would have liked my chances in a sprint.

Summary: Oh no! A tricky turn with 30kms to go wipes out the front of the peloton. A lot of favourites have hit the deck.

Can confirm Marcus Diamond, Lucy van der Haar and Niklas Markl all went down for SEG. Alex Vogel just missed it but has been told to come back to help her teammates try to rejoin the front.


Eventually three groups form at the front. The morning breakaway of eight, 10 chasers not affected by the crash and a group of 22 led by SEG.


Diamond tried to bridge up to the second group but ran out of time. Victory went to German veteran sprinter Max Walscheid out of the breakaway. His first win of the season.

Shame the late crash caused a weird result here, but at least nobody was significantly injured. Scrapes and bruised aplenty though.

Result: 19th - Tasting asphalt is never fun. Shoutout to the work put in by Alex Vogel. She nearly got us back to the front. I finished 1'30" behind the winner and 20 seconds back to the second group on the road.

Summary: Lotto Soudal giving Amy Pieters a perfect start in her quest to become the first-ever female Grand Tour winner. Not much time separation though to the main contenders like Felix Grosschartner (+6"), Thibaut Pinot (+7"), Brandon McNulty (+7") and Enric Mas (+7").

Result: 8th, +37" - Led the team off the start line and was the first SEG rider across the finish line. Great work by the team to have all eight of us finish together. Losing 34 seconds is about right, we didn't exactly have a strong TTT setup to contend for the win.

Summary: Top class sprinters are here with this year's Tour de France Green Jersey winner Arnaud Demare beating out Marta Bastinelli, last year's Tour de France points winner Lorena Wiebes, this year's Giro d'Italia points winner Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenewegen.

Strange to see such a strong sprinters' field considering there are only four classified flat stages in this year's Vuelta a Espana. One down, three to go — with a lot of climbing inbetween.

Result: 8th - Excited to be here and decided to test my legs against the best. While Demare pulled away for the win, only a few inches separated 2nd through 9th. A solid Top 10. Although, this effort might hurt me later.

Summary: We fast forward as the peloton comes to the top of the penultimate climb — Coll de la Rabassa — with 20 cyclists leading the way. They nearly got rid of SEG talent Marcus Diamond (75 MO), but he hung on long enough to rejoin on the downhill leading into the final climb. Also in contention still...

The Guardian: Pogacar (81), Froome (81), Mas (82), Frankiny (82).
Movistar: Soler (83), Landa (81), Longo-Borghini (79).
Groupama-FDJ: McNulty (79), Gaudu (77).
Bahrain: Padun (79).
Lotto Soudal: Pieters (79).
T-Mobile: Grosschartner (79).
UAE Team Emirates: Uran (78), Vos (74).
Katusha: De Plus (80).
AG2R: Rolland (77), Geniez (77).
Amazon: Porte (78).
Israel Cycling: Majka (79).

The two most notably climbers to miss this split are Pinot (80) and Nibali (81). They head the chase group a minute back. Both, however, are able to rejoin before the final ascent up the Alto de la Camella.


The first major attack of the Vuelta comes at the base of the climb! It's Soler followed by Padum. Surely The Guardian has enough firepower to keep this move from working.


It's quite the attack. De Plus, Gaudu and Vos, yes, Vos jumped across. Making it five up front with three cyclists falling off the rear: Diamond, Izagirre and Nibali.


Soler still leading the charge on the downhill to the finish, followed by Padun, Gaudu and Mas, who was able to bridge the gap impressively.


Padun wins the selective sprint over Gaudu, Mas, Soler and Pieters. More surprisingly, those five don't get a time gap back to the next group. 17 cyclists end up on Padun's time, controversially.

The end result: A female triumph for the cycling world with Amy Pieters slipping on the leader's jersey. She holds a two-second lead over Gaudu.

Result: 23th, +3'06" (GC: 23rd, +3'40") - Did well to fight back after the Coll de la Rabassa but didn't have that extra push to survive up front on the final climb. Still a decent result for my abilities, at least I think. I'm no mountain goat... or G.O.A.T. as the kid's say these days.

Summary: Second of four flat stages, so you know the sprinters are over eager for this one. So much so that the fast tempo causes a crash and splits the peloton in half with 7kms left. It happened near the back, so I don't believe any big names got caught out.


This isn't a replay... Another crash! This one is near the front going around a tight turn with 4.3kms left, and there has to be some big names here — both for the GC and the stage win. A mess of bodies. Going to be hard to sort through...


Oh no... What a sad sight. Marcus Diamond has pulled himself from the crash wreckage and got back on the bike, but the team's medical staff won't let him pedal on to the finish line down the road.

We don't want to speculate what the injury is, but the fact the team won't let him push on and complete the final kilometers is a very bad sign. Your heart breaks for the young man racing in his first grand tour.

Diamond is one of six cyclists to abandon the race after today's crash-filled stage, along with Rigoberto Uran, Luis Meintjes, Emilien Pinot, Stijn Vandenbergh and teammate Nico Denz.


Hard to celebrate a winner here today. A third crash even happens on the final turn coming to the line. Lorena Wiebes avoids all the destruction for a grand tour stage win. Brandon McNulty is one of the few GC riders to finish in the lead group and will take over the race lead after four stages.

Result: DNF - A distraught Marcus Diamond wasn't available after the stage. The team released the following statement later in evening.

Date	Race	Winner
1-Aug	PostNord Danmark Rundt	Tayler Wiles
1-Aug	Volta a Portugal	Mark Padun
4-Aug	Hansa Bygg Kalmar Road Race	Nico Fletcher
4-Aug	Tour de Pologne	Tom Dumoulin
4-Aug	Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian	Daniel Felipe Martinez
5-Aug	La Poly Normande	Alan Banaszek
6-Aug	Tour of Utah	Lucas Hamilton
7-Aug	Vuelta a Burgos	Jai Hindley
9-Aug	Czech Cycling Tour	Jack Haig
11-Aug	KOGA Slag om Norg	Edward Theuns
13-Aug	BinckBank Tour	Niklas Larsen
15-Aug	Tour du Limousin	Jan Bakelants
16-Aug	Arctic Race of Norway	Thibaut Pinot
16-Aug	Colorado Pro Classic	Stephane Beeckman
19-Aug	Cyclassics Hamburg	Marc Sarreau
21-Aug	Baltic Chain Tour	Barnabas Peak
21-Aug	GP Stad Zottegem	Edward Theuns
22-Aug	Arnhem-Veenendaal Classic	Max Walscheid
23-Aug	Deutschland Tour	Daan Olivier
25-Aug	Vuelta a España
25-Aug	Omloop Mandel-L-S	Alan Banaszek
25-Aug	Bretagne Classic-Ouest France	Danny Van Poppel
26-Aug	Ronde van Midden Nederland	Barnabas Peak
26-Aug	Croatia-Slovenia	Dinmukhammed Ulysbayev
29-Aug	Druivenkoers - Overijse	Giacomo Nizzolo
1-Sep	Brussels Cycling Classic
2-Sep	OVO Energy Tour of Britain
2-Sep	Schaal Sels
2-Sep	Circuit de Fourmies
5-Sep	Tour of South Bohemia
7-Sep	GP Cycliste de Québec
8-Sep	De Kustpijl
9-Sep	Chrono Champenois
9-Sep	Tour du Doubs
9-Sep	GP Cycliste de Montréal
12-Sep	Grand Prix de Wallonie
14-Sep	K. van Vlaanderen
15-Sep	Coppa Agostoni
15-Sep	Primus Classic
16-Sep	GP Jef Scherens
16-Sep	Coppa Bernocchi
16-Sep	GP Judendorf-Strassengel
18-Sep	GP Commercio di Prato
18-Sep	Giro della Toscana
20-Sep	Coppa Sabatini
21-Sep	Omloop van de Westhoek	*Marcus Diamond In
22-Sep	Memorial Marco Pantani
22-Sep	Tour de l'Eurométropole
23-Sep	Gooikse Pijl
23-Sep	Grand Prix d'Isberques
23-Sep	Trofeo Matteotti
26-Sep	World Championships ITT
27-Sep	Famenne Ardennes Classic
30-Sep	World Championships	^Marcus Diamond In

Summary: If this course looks familiar, well it is. We welcome you back to Ponferrada, Spain, for a re-do of the 2020 World RR Championships. The organizers liked the entertainment this route provided and have decided to come back for some more.

Four cyclists separated themselves from the pack in 2020, with the finishing order being Magnus Cort Nielsen, Michał Kwiatkowski, Tim Wellens and Alexey Lutsenko. The last three are here, Cort Nielsen is not, surprisingly. Denmark decided to leave him home and have been battered by the press for the decision.

We can see Kwiatkowski (bib #1) starting on the front row as a top favourite, and right next to him is Wellens (#81) and perhaps a wildcard for this evening in Great Britain's Marcus Diamond (#102), who is returning to action following a broken rib at the Vuelta a Espana.


There is a little bit of back-and-forth before five cyclists are allowed clear to be the breakaway of the day. Let's meet these fighters who likely don't stand a chance at winning, but deserve the recognition for their bravery.

Lawson Craddock (Trek-Segafredo) is probably best known for his cameo appearances in the long-running TV show "The Comeback" considering the 31-year-old hasn't really produced any notable results across his real-life career. At least he has an acting career to fall back on.

Yevgeniy Gidich (Astana) is probably luck Astana is keeping on the payroll. A once promising star is now a 27-year-old with diminishing potential and only one stage win since 2018. Not great.

Trevor Stanfield (Wiggins) has a bright future. Last season, as a 19-year-old, he won the U23 Ronde Van Vlaanderen. Stanfield also recently took 3rd in the 2023 Irish RR Championship. Now, here he is setting the pace in the World Championships.

Lubomir Hovorka (JLT Condor) will be joining Craddock at Trek-Segafredo next season. The 25-year-old is better known for his time trialing abilities, so it's a little surprising to see him up front putting in this effort with the World TT Championships coming up in two days.

Ian Stannard (Liquigas) is the reigning Great Britain road race champion and also won the OVO Energy Tour of Britain this season. The 36-year-old veteran still packs a punch on the flat.


A crash on the second circuit has dropped 47 cyclists out of the peloton. Some semi-big names caught out: Jesus Herrada, Domen Novak, Daniel Martin, Ilnur Zakarin and Maxim Shirshov. Also heavy-hitters Chris Froome and Gorka Izagirre, who both decide to withdraw from the race due to undisclosed injuries.

The battered peloton eventually regroups with 208kms left. Breakaway is four minutes up the road.


Another crash splits the peloton on the fourth circuit with 177kms left. Scanning for any favourites, looks like: Simon Yates, Robert Power, Anthony Turgis, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Bob Jungels, Jesus Herrada (again), Domen Novak (again) and Marc Soler.

And now the withdraws are coming in: Stefan Kung (huge loss if can't ride the World TT) and Owain Doull, so Great Britain down two cyclists.

Not sure what is causing these wrecks. Must be nerves. The peloton regroups a second time and starts the hard chase again with 170kms left.


Whoa! A bold move with 113kms remaining. The recent Vuelta a Espana winner Brandon McNulty is tired of waiting around and wants to catch up to his American teammate Craddock in the breakaway, two minutes up the road. On McNulty's wheel is Spanish climber Omar Fraile.

While McNulty quickly realizes this move is a waste of energy and drops back to the peloton. Fraile pushes on and is joined by 2018 Giro d'Italia winner Esteban Chaves.


While Fraile and Chaves have nearly caught the morning breakaway. Three move cyclists decide to attack the same flat spot on the next circuit, hoping for the same result to bridge across the gap: Alex Howes, Jasha Sutterlin and Carlos Verona.

It doesn't work. Eventually it's just Chaves trying to reach breakaway. Before three more attackers try their luck with 78kms to go: Soren Kragh Andersen, Sam Oomen and this year's Tour de France winner Tao Geoghegan Hart.

But, all that attack does is bring everyone together with 75kms remaining and four more circuits ahead. Who makes the first move now?


No senseless attacks. The favourites are smarter than that. Instead, we get two circuits of hard tempo on the front to weed out the pretenders from the contenders. We are left with 29 cyclists with 40kms to go.

As you would expect, a lot strong punchuers still around but they still haven't dropped punchy sprinters Michael Matthews (77SP), EBH (77) and Diamond (75). So, surely the attacks will be coming over these last two circuits.


Right on cue! Fireworks as we start the penultimate circuit. Out of the saddle is Julian Alaphilippe, followed by Kwiatkowski, Miguel Angel Lopez and Matthews.


The gap to the front four is 30 seconds. The chase group behind them is down to 11 cyclists with 16kms to go and the final ascent coming up.

So, to recap, this is the current situation:

Alaphilippe
Kwiatkowski
Angel Lopez
Matthews
---
Schachmann
Oomen, Eenkhoorn
Valgren
Muhlberger
Jungels
Wellens
Ballerini
Diamond, Geoghegan Hart
Soler


Put your head down and work. It's Geoghegan Hart digging deep with a strong pull on the front of the chase group. He wants to get Diamond up to the four leaders before we start the final climb. Not sure what Diamond offered up to get this year's Tour de France winner to work for him over the final kilometers.

Some diamonds perhaps... I'll show myself out...


It worked. Geoghegan Hart the workhorse pulls back the front four before the final climb. We got 13.5kms left and 15 cyclists (well, probably 14 after Geoghegan Hart's huge effort) with a shot at a rainbow jersey.


When the catch is made, Alaphilippe goes again. But his tired legs can't break the elastic band. Although, it does drop Soler.

Where is the next move coming from?


Nothing yet as the leaders go over the first peak. But three more favourites have dropped back to join Soler: Wellens, Ballerini and Eenkhoorn.


Alaphilippe! For a third time! He's got a gap this time on the very small downhill before the final incline. It's none other than Geoghegan Hart pulling the chase group for his GB teammate Diamond.

Can they catch Alaphilippe? 8.5kms to go...


Geoghegan Hart has given absolutely everything in his reserves. He hands the baton off to Diamond with 5.4kms to go. Alaphilippe doesn't have time to greet the lapped rider he is passing. Diamond is coming!


We reach the top... Diamond is there! But, he also dragged eight cyclists up to Alaphilippe as well: Oomen, Matthews, Kwiatkowski, Valgren, Muhlberger, Lopez, Schachmann and Jungels.

Still anybody's race. Catch your breath.


We got 10 cyclists flying down the hill and back into town. One of them is about to be crowned a World Champion! What a race this has been.


It's Diamond leading them under the 1km to go banner. Does anybody have anything left in the tank to challenge him? You got Matthews lurking with Alaphilippe and Kwiatkowski staying tucked in close as well.


The final kick! Diamond staying strong, but Matthews can go.


MICHAEL MATTHEWS! World Champion for Australia!

Result: 4th - I collapsed on the road moments after crossing the finish line. It was a combination of complete exhaustion and my emotions taking over. I was 200 meters away from the biggest win of my career. I thought I had it. I really thought I had it. From that to not even making the podium. That's pain I can't even describe, and hurts way more than two broken ribs. I'm utterly shattered — physically and mentally.

- Each member gets 4.0 points to spread however they like over the 13 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 55.0.
- Stats are bumped up in PCM when they hit that number, ex. 55.9 = 55 in-game, and 61.4 = 61 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 85. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery.
- Comment below to provide stat upgrades

Oh what a heartbreaking finish, super exciting race and what a victory it would have been for MD. 4th hurts so much I guess but a huge statement that he can mix it with the world's best.

Summary: Welcome back to Feyenoord, Mr. Diamond. One day removed from finishing fourth at the cycling World Championships, Marcus Diamond announces his return to club football with a goal in the 12th minute. His first Eredivisie goal this season is a gift granted by the FC Groningen defense.


Abdulkadir Omur added a second goal five minutes later. But, the Turkish winger twisted his ankle in the 90th minute and is expected to miss a few weeks. Tough break for him.

Rating: 7.2 - Was subbed off in the 77th minute as a precautionary measure to prevent yet another injury. Felt good to take some of my cycling frustrations out on the first goal. Got to keep pushing for more.

Player of Game: Pedro Empis, Feyenoord (7.8)

Summary: Nicolas Messiniti is quickly becoming a household name for Feyenoord fans. Another sublime performance with a brace to carry the home team to a much-needed win. His goal right before halftime shifted the entire momentum of the match.

In the other Group K game, Liverpool escaped with a narrow 1-0 win over Konyaspor. Mohammed Elyounoussi with the lone goal.

Rating: 6.8 - Was a decoy on Messiniti's goal before halftime. When teams have to respect my playmaking abilities, my teammates can find cracks in the defense. Good win for the boys.

Player of Game: Nicolas Messiniti, Feyenoord (8.8)

Summary: High-fives all around! It's a Feyenoord goal party. The swagger is back with Yassin Ayoub, Rodolfo Pizarro, Otavio and Dylan Vente (x2) getting on the scoresheet. It's Feyenoord's second 5-0 win in Eredivisie league play this season.

Rating: 7.5 - Overall, solid in the midfield and even got some playing time up top. I was the one who got tripped in the box to award Otavio his penalty-kick goal as well. After the match, I got word it was my 200th career appearance across all club competitions. Pretty cool.

Player of Game: Otavio, Feyenoord (9.2)

Summary: After Nigeria's newly appointed head coach Manu Garba lost his first two games last month, he comes back with a very defensive 4-5-1 formation in hopes of shutting down Italy. It nearly worked.

Nigeria's Marcus Diamond had the first quality scoring chance in the 21st minute off a counter attack. His shot destined for the near post was save by a sprawling Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was Nigeria's only shot on target for the game.

Moise Kean took over from there with two goals before halftime, and Roberto Gagliardini deflected a goal in at the 69-minute mark.

Rating: 6.3 - Completely different game if my shot goes in. It was a decent attempt, but an even better save by Donnarumma.

I missed Nigeria's follow up friendly against New Zealand because I was on my bike at the Gree-Tour of Guangxi in China. Nigeria won 1-0, to finally get Garba his first win at the helm.

Player of Game: Moise Kean, Italy (8.8)

Summary: Feyenoord will feel like they should have won this instant classic but, in reality, they're extremely luck to salvage a draw.

Trailing 3-1 in the 65th minute after FC Utrecht scored on all three of its shots, Ayo Okoro was sent off after a second yellow card. The door opened for Feyenoord.

Relentless pressure saw Pedro Empis score in the 78th minute and, on nearly the final kick of the match, Kristian Bagger poked in the equalizer in the 95th minute.

Rating: 6.6 - Exciting game to be a part of, just wish I wasn't on the bench having to watch us make the big comeback. I want to be involved.

Player of Game: Gyrano Kerk, FC Utrecht (8.8)

Summary: Nicolas Messiniti with a tic-tac assist to Rodolfo Pizarro and then a second-half goal to put Feyenoord up 2-0. Konyaspor fought back with a set piece goal in the 86th minute, but Marcus Diamond shut the door with a pin-point assist to Pedro Empis for game-sealing goal.

Rating: 7.9 - Great cut by Empis to get open. I just did my job and got him the ball. Big win, especially with Liverpool surprisingly losing 2-1 to Partizan. That's what can happen when you're overconfident and roll out your 'B' squad.

Player of Game: Nicolas Messiniti, Feyenoord (8.2)

Summary: Playing with sluggish legs after a handful of games in a row, this result proves Feyenoord can't be taken lightly. Sure, they got off to a slow start, but now have 13 points over their last five league games.

Goals by Tyrell Malacia and Dylan Vente lift Feyenoord to a key road win.

Rating: 7.2 - We stay winning.

Player of Game: Dylan Vente, Feyenoord (8.0)

- Each member gets 6.5 points to spread however they like over the 36 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Only stats that aren't locked can be upgraded.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 1.0.
- Stats are bumped up in FM when they hit that number, ex. 2.9 = 2 in-game, and 13.4 = 13 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 20. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery and is different from the cycling progression scale.
-Comment below to provide stat upgrades.

Summary: We start today in rainy Bergamo with the goal of reaching Como. 247 grueling kilometers on deck. After a long campaign, perhaps the winner will be the cyclist who is still in-form and hasn't put a lot of miles on their legs this season. Or, will the peloton slip up and let the breakaway have their day?


That looks to be a no. The seven cyclist breakaway is clinging to a 1'30" lead as we start the 10.4km climb up the Madonna del Ghisallo.


Very hard tempo on the front and the break is caught just before the top. The peloton is cut to 66 cyclists heading to the fierce Colma di Sormano with 50kms left. This 4.9km climb features an average gradient of 11.9%.


Look at these slopes! It's too difficult for Marcus Diamond to hang on. A bunch of others quickly join him off the back. Just brutal... The gradient tops out at 24.6%!


Michal Kwiatkowski makes his move on the penultimate climb up Civiglio. This front group is down to nine cyclists with 16.5kms left.


That attack doesn't quite pan out. Now on the backside of the final climb, it's Bob Jungels and race favourite Pierre-Roger Latour using the downhill to build up a small gap. Sneaky move this.


Sorry we are having technical difficulties at the worst possible time as the leaders are coming to the finish line. Along with the rain, it's very windy down here in the finishing valley.

The downhill attack pays off for Jungels, the former World Champ, despite a very early celebration. He was testing fate there. Latour gets passed by a strong sprinting Kwiatkowski and settles for third.

Result: 19th, +8'23" - Once the cameras were off me, I just found my own pace and rode from group to group. I didn't waste a lot of energy trying to follow the leaders, I knew I couldn't match that tempo. I think my strategy worked well, I mean I got a better result than Simon Yates (43rd) who tried to follow the leaders.

Grace crossed the line nearly 20 minutes after me in 143rd place. She looked battered and bruised, for good reason as I found out, as she took a tumble on the wet roads with about 40kms to go. The team did well to keep me out of the loop on that one so I wasn't busy worrying about her. She has some pretty nasty scrapes, but nothing major. A bunch of Band-Aids and kisses should do the trick.

Summary: Crosswinds have split the sprinters from the rest of the field coming to the finish line. Tosh Van Der Sande leads out the bunch.


Carlos Barbero takes the opening stage win! The first 66 cyclists to cross the line get the same time. That means 108 cyclists are losing time on a flat stage today.

Result: 11th - Some really strong sprinters here.

Summary: Round 2 goes to Brenton Jones.

Result: 8th - Upkick to the finish line helped me a little more in this one. Wearing the white jersey for best young rider add some firepower as well. Too bad Clemente Mesto will be wearing that tomorrow.

Summary: Three days, three different winners. Tayler Wiles with the unmatched speed this evening and takes the GC lead in the process.

Result: 9th - Keeping up, just not passing people.

Summary: We start at the end. The Mashan Nongla Scenic Spot.


It's Marcus Diamond putting in the first attack!


Diamond wins the KoM sprint to become the new leader in that competition, but the finish line is still 1,500 meters up the road. Going to be hard to hold this pace.


Diamond went a tad too early and veteran EBH shows him how it's done. A late split sees the top 25 cyclists gain a 40-second gap. That knocks Tayler Wiles out of yellow and gives the race lead back to Brenton Jones.

Result: 5th - Went for it and came up short. We will take the KoM jersey, for now, as a nice consolation for the effort.

Summary: After a long, rainy day only a handful of cyclists (about 30) are left to challenge for the stage win.


We get a single-file line up starting with Fabio Felline leading out Stage 3 winner Tayler Wiles, followed in pursuit by Christophe Laporte, KoM/Youth leader Marcus Diamond, GC leader Brenton Jones and Stage 1 winner Carlos Barbero.


It's extremely close, but Wiles hangs on for her second stage win over Jones and Laporte. Jones extends his GC lead with one stage left.

Result: 6th - In the mix. Lost my KoM jersey today to breakaway man Gino Mader, but basically have the U25 competition locked up and third in the points competition (66) behind Wiles (76) and Jones (71).

Summary: The last race day of the 2023 cycling calendar is upon us. Who will close out their season with a bang? The rain of yesterday is long gone and we expect another thrilling sprint finish. And we get one.


It's another Tayler Wiles lung across the line! Back-to-back stage wins to wrap up the year, and she wins three out of the six stages in this event.

Jasper De Buyst, who was a pegged as a favorite in all of the flat stages, will be upset to not only get second here but he failed to win a stage in this entire tour.


Result: 3rd - Just nipped Riccardo Stacchiotti on the line for a podium finish and some bonus seconds. Finally timed up a good sprint. Won the U25 competition, placed seventh overall and second in the points standings. Overall, I think it's a solid end to the season considering I'm not really a pure sprinter.

Summary: Utter domination by Feyenoord, score should have been more lopsided like the shots (23-2). Yassin Ayoub, Otavio (Pen.) and Emilian Brie score the goals for Feyenoord.

Rating: 6.8 - Subbed off in the 79th minute and didn't make much of an impact, to be honest. But we have enough good players to make up for it.

Player of Game: Thomas Meunier, Feyenoord (8.9)

Summary: It takes until the 77th minute before Feyenoord finally breaks through, but you could tell it was coming. Got to say Marcus Diamond brought that much needed spark off the bench.

Rating: 7.5 - Benched from my starting role after a string of poor performances, I stepped onto the pitch in the 56th minute and made an immediate impact. Didn't get on the stat sheet until the final kick of the game, however, with an assist to Emilian Brie.

Player of Game: Thomas Meunier, Feyenoord (7.8)

Summary: Should it be more? Probably. But a win is a win. Otavio notches a brace as Feyenoord picks up its sixth straight win, and undefeated over the last 11 matches. A very strong run of form.

Rating: 6.8 - Came off the bench again. Otavio, Rodolfo Pizarro and Emilian Brie are all playing well, which is cutting into my minutes.

Player of Game: Otavio, Feyenoord (8.8)

Summary: Nigeria not playing any games. It's a 5-0 landslide with goals going to Kelechi Iheanacho (x2), Ogenyi Onazi, captain Wilfred Ndidi and Victor Osimhen. No. 127-ranked Burundi didn't stand a chance today.

Rating: 6.8 - Bystander in a massacre.

Player of Game: Kelechi Iheanacho, Nigeria (9.7)

Summary: All the emotions came out in this one. A boring, scoreless first half turned into something crazy. Nicholas Messiniti had the De Kuip rocking with the opening goal in the 49th minute. Ajax answered 10 minutes later. Back-and-forth they went. Both teams hit the post twice in the final 25 minutes before Wilfried Bony was "pulled down" in the box. The antics from the crafty veteran held up on VAR and Ze Gomes ripped the penalty shot into the top left corner to lift Ajax to a 2-1 road win.

Rating: N/A - Do I deserve to be coming off the bench? This sucks. But I know I just have to take more opportunities when I get them, which I'm not currently doing. There is no one to blame but myself. And it's not all about me, this loss hurts a lot for the team. Going to be hard to chase down Ajax for the title.

Player of Game: Filipe Guerra, Ajax (7.5)

Summary: The character of this Feyenoord team. They not only take out their frustrations of a devastating defeat against Ajax five days ago, but avenge their 2-0 loss to 2022 Europa League champions Liverpool earlier in the group stage. This upset win puts Feyenoord in the driver's seat to win Group K with one game left to play.

Rating: 6.8 - I know I was complaining about playing time (even though the coach had every right to bench me), but this isn't how you want to get more action. Rodolfo Pizarro sprained his knee ligaments in the second half and will miss 4-7 weeks. I'm the next man up.

Player of Game: Emilian Brie, Feyenoord (8.6)

- Each member gets 6.5 points to spread however they like over the 36 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Only stats that aren't locked can be upgraded.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 1.0.
- Stats are bumped up in FM when they hit that number, ex. 2.9 = 2 in-game, and 13.4 = 13 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 20. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery and is different from the cycling progression scale.
-Comment below to provide stat upgrades.