Summary: Past the London Eye with 6kms to go. A chaotic sprint finish is looming as riders are trying to jump off the front with the sprint trains trying their best to keep everything togethers.


The British national champion is going to give it go under the 5kms to go banner. Has Marcus Diamond caught the sprinters sleeping?


No. He is put back in his place.


Andre Looij holds off Fernando Gaviria and Alexandr Kulikovskiy.

Result: 21st - Let's be honest. I'm not winning a bunch sprint. This was my best chance to steal the win and the sprinter's weren't going to watch the Union Jack on back flying away from them that close to the finish.

- Each member gets 5.0 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.
- Locked stats can't be improved.
- Unlock Progress Points: Once a target number between 25-250 is reached, a stat unlock is rewarded. Points from training rides can be used toward the Unlock Progress.
- Comment below to provide stat upgrades.

Jitters cause both quarterbacks to throw early inceptions. Asheville managed to at least score three points on a 33yd FG by K Harvey on the turnover they forced. While Kings Mountain couldn't capitalize on QB Reese's first mistake of the postseason.

The Cougars maintained its slim 3-0 lead going to the second quarter.


Running the two-minute offense late in the quarter, QB Reese showcased his incredible arm strength with passes of 15, 26, 33 and 25 yards to lead the Cougars 98 yards down the field for a TD scoring drive. His favourite target, WR Sarria caught the last pass to put the points on the scoreboard. The Cougars race out to a two-score lead.

Asheville went to the locker room up 10-0 with its defense yet to give up a point this postseason. As they say, defense does win championships.


Another master class by QB Reese to open the third quarter sees Asheville march down the field and score another touchdown. FB Glick catches the ball out of the backfield and rumbles 15yds for the score.

The Mountaineers get their next drive to Asheville's 45yd line before having to punt once again. The punt goes into the end zone for a touch back. QB Reese trots out and is going deep yet again on the Cougars' first play of the drive...

Caught. See ya later. 80 yards! TD for WR Nguyen. 24-0 Asheville.

The Cougars have themselves a superstar here in QB Reese. The junior, minus the first-quarter interception, has taken advantage of the opportunity given to him.

And why not another passing TD... QB Reese to WR Ostrander for his fourth passing touchdown of the evening. And, for a second straight week, Asheville is blowing out another top-ranked team. It's 31-0 going to the fourth.


After seven straight shutout quarters of football by Asheville's defense, the impressive run will finally come to an end. Kings Mountain QB Ingram completes a 29yd TD pass to WR Maynard to remove their goose egg from the scoreboard, 31-7.

But, Asheville runs on the rest of the clock. It's over.

Cougars to the state semifinals!



MDJ Game Stats: 0/0 passing for 0yds, 0 TDs, 0 INTs; 0yds rushing on 0 carries, 0 TDs, 0 Fumbles - Didn't play. Gutted, but not surprised. Reese set a new school record with 547 passing yards in a single game.

Player of Game: QB Reese (28/56 passing for 547yds, 4 TDs, 1 INT; 20yds rushing on 3 attempts, 0 TDs, 0 Fumbles)

Summary: Picture perfect for Canvey Island United. All of its stars come to play in an easy 3-0 win to kickoff the league season. Marcus Diamond got the party started on a breakaway goal setup by an Oscar Thorn headed through ball. Thorn then scored off his head before halftime. Diamond capped the scoring by finding the noggin of Ian Fitzgerald on a well-placed free kick.

Rating: 8.7 - Starting the season on the right foot.

Player of the Match: Marcus Diamond, Canvey Island United (8.7)

Summary: From boring to mouthwatering in a matter of minutes. After a scoreless stalemate through 80 minutes, Scarborough Athletic broke the deadlock. Winger Charlie McDonald crossed in and hit the head of Ruben Shakpoke on the back post. Shakpoke directed in what he thought was the game-winning goal.

Six minutes later, on the verge of defeat, Marcus Diamond arrived.


The confidence to even try such a move... What a goal!

We have reached extra time tied at 1-1. And, let's just fast forward to penalties, as nobody can score across the added 30 minutes.

Round 1: Scar's Pierce (Saved) -- Canvey's Niven (Scores)
Round 2: Scar's Davies (Scores) -- Canvey's Fitzgerald (Scores)
Round 3: Scar's Nelson (Saved) -- Canvey's Bassett (Scores)
Round 4: Scar's Javaid (Scores) -- Canvey's Diamond (...)


Diamond smashes in the winning penalty in Round 4 after Canvey Island United goalkeeper Fergal Hale-Brown made two huge saves!

Rating: 8.3 - Doesn't get much more exciting than that. A little bit of redemption for the penalty I missed three years ago against Ajax in the battle for the Johan Cruyff Shield. Obviously, the pressure I was under was nowhere near the same, but this moment was huge in helping win over my new teammates.

After the match, I tried to give injured Don White his Captain's Armband back since I've been borrowing it with him being sidelined for 3-5 weeks. But, this time, White didn't want it back.

"It's yours to keep Marcus. Lead us forward."

Player of the Match: Marcus Diamond, Canvey Island United (8.3)

Summary: How can you be so unlucky? Canvey Island United suffers an undeserved defeat after having three goals called back due to offsides — with two in the last five minutes that would have at least preserved a draw. Not to mention, Hornchurch saw left back Danny Perry get sent off in the 79th minute.

Revenge for Hornchurch after losing a preseason friendly between the two sides, but you have to feel like this result is an outlier for Canvey Island United.

Rating: 7.8 - Weird things happen in football. This was one of them.

Player of the Match: John Jordan, Hornchurch (8.4)

Summary: Marcus Diamond, playing in his last football match before leaving town to race in the Vuelta a Espana, scores Canvey Island United's opening goal on a breakaway run. Too much speed to catch him. Oscar Thorn then buried a penalty kick and a header off a cross right before halftime to make it 3-0.

Both teams scored late in the second half to pad stats.

Rating: 8.9 - Four appearances, three goals, one assist and 17 key passes. Not too bad. But, now have to leave for almost a month and hope my team can keep going strong without me. Grace and I are leaving our phones in England for the duration of the trip to avoid any possible distracts. Meaning, I won't know how well Canvey Island United are doing until I get back on September 17.

So, no League Standings or Stats this update. Next time, I promise.

Player of the Match: Marcus Diamond, Canvey Island United (8.9)

- Each member gets 7.0 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.
- Fountain of Youth: Once the target number between 25-250 is reached, a stat unlock will be rewarded.


Every month during the football season, there is a 25% chance of a stat reduction for each attribute. That percentage can decrease based on the following achievements:

Technical Attributes: -2% for each goal/assist Diamond has that month.

Mental Attributes: -2% for each win Diamond plays in that month.

Physical Attributes: -5% for each 8.0+ rating Diamond has that month.

Unlocked attributes also face a 25% chance of being locked each month.

Each member also has the option to pick one single attribute across any three of the categories (technical, mental or physical) to decrease that single attributes chance of reduction by 5%. This includes locked and unlocked stats. Include the attribute with your Training Ground points.

Summary: After a long day chasing a strong breakaway, the peloton makes the catch at the base of the final climb with 10kms to go. That's the cue for the favourites to start attacking each other. Simon Yates tries first but gets nowhere.


A group of 21 favourites do break the elastic band on the climb and sprint for the win at the finish line. Gall wins over Vincenzo Albanese and Simon Yates.

Result: 30th (+53) - Missed the split. Simply as that. The climbers made this edition a little harder than last years when I finished runner-up. Tough break, but at least I was only using this as a tune-up race.

- Each member gets 5.0 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.
- Locked stats can't be improved.
- Unlock Progress Points: Once a target number between 25-250 is reached, a stat unlock is rewarded. Points from training rides can be used toward the Unlock Progress.
- Comment below to provide stat upgrades.


Attributes at risk of reduction haven't received an upgrade since previous reductions that take place in January and June. Next reduction, each stat now has a 30% of reduction (going up 5% every January and June). Each member can pick a stat to reduction by 5%. All unlocked attributions now have a 20% chance of getting locked. This will go up 10% every January and June.

Summary: SEG - Quick Step give it their all, but it's not going to be enough to dethrone the home crowd favourites. The opening stage of the Vuelta will be a Spanish conquest; Orbea wins by 11 seconds. A huge win for its GC contender and reigning champion Marc Soler, while its only non-Spanish rider on the team, Ronaldo Malagueta, will wear the first leader's jersey of this tour.

Here is how some of the other GC favourites fared:

Marc Soler (Stage Win)
Marcus Diamond (+11")
Harry Zuurman (+11")
Ivan Sosa (+44")
Brandon McNulty (+1'00")
Miguel Angel Lopez (+1'00")
Simon Yates (+1'06")
Urtzi Dominguez (+1'06")
Lucas Arauco (+1'13")
Jai Hindley (+1'47")

Result: 2nd, 9th GC (+11") - Strong start. You can't win a Grand Tour with a good TTT, but you certainly could lose it with a bad one.

Summary: The first King of the Mountain polka-dot jersey wearer will be 37-year-old Rasmus Guldhammer from Team ISS.


The first road stage winner will be sprinter Dylan Groenewegen!

Result: 10th, 9th GC (+11") - Didn't go full speed, but still managed a Top 10 finish on the stage and nab a few sprint points.

Summary: Rain coming down, Marcus Diamond looks around.

He is all alone going over the summit of the Alto de la Santa. That will give him the polka-dot jersey tomorrow, but he wants more than that. This is a GC attack!


It's a mad dash down the hill to try and catch this mad man.


The catch is made under the banner...


The winner by a wheel: Fernando Gaviria!

More importantly for the GC contenders, there is a 35-second gap for the first 30 finishers. Diamond's attack split the peloton on a so-called "flat" stage. Notable GC contenders losing time today include Jai Hindley, Tadej Pogacar, Enric Mas, Primoz Roglic, Mark Padun and Diamond's own teammate Zuurman.

Result: 29th, 4th GC (+11"), 1st KoM - The team worked hard to put me in a good position to attack the last climb. It kind of worked but I was the only SEG - Quick Step rider to make the split and I didn't win, so it also wasn't ideal either. Still plenty of stages to go.

Summary: The Vuelta isn't messing around as we finish on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. It's a 23.2km climb with an average gradient of 6.6%.

As the peloton starts the climb to the line, a morning breakaway of nine riders is still 4'50" up the road.


SEG - Quick Step has been controlling things so far with 14.3kms still to go. Van Niekerk and Garner-Diamond have been setting the pace for Marcus Diamond.


The first attack from the peloton comes from 10kms out. M.A. Lopez on the offensive looking to pull back a minute deficit.


Brandon McNulty doesn't know what to do as he finds himself pacing the peloton to keep MAL within their sights. With 6.4kms left to climb, he must think it's too far out to just attack himself.


The attack to bridge the gap comes from Kudus, and is followed by Hindley, Sosa and A. Yates. This looks dangerous.


McNulty won't let those riders go. All the favourites, including MAL, have been brought back. The lead group is 23 cyclists strong. McNulty increase the tempo with multiple breakaway riders still ahead.


The favourites have just miscalculated this and it's going to be a sentimental win for Antonio Nibali. Often over-shadowed by his older brother, Vincenzo, all the spotlight is now on Antonio. A phenomenal win on the Sierra Nevada.

Fellow breakaway companion Brodie Chapman gets a second place for his efforts. And then come the GC guys. Defending champion Marc Soler and Brandon McNulty will get the same time.

Soler becomes the new leader of the race.


Other big winners today include Kudus, Hindley, S. Yates, Grosschartner, Eres and Arauco all finishing inside the Top 10.


Result: 11th (+1'09"), 5th GC (+1'24") - Held on for as long as I could. Losing a minute here hurts but, long-term, I still think a podium finish after 21 stages is still possible. If I can stay on my bike, knock on wood.

Summary: Bizarre situation unfolding with 45kms to go. SEG - Quick Step has broken off the front of the peloton and created a 15-cyclist lead group chasing down the 14-rider morning breakaway.

SEG - Quick Step has six riders in this group with a 1'20" gap over the peloton. GC contenders Diamond and Zuurman are here with teammates Vogel, Garner-Diamond, Van Der Poel and Sivakov, along with rivals:

Kudus (2nd overall)
S. Yates (6th)
Dominguez (11th)
Hindley (12th)


It takes 20kms of hard chasing, but eventually the other GC favourites get back on level ground with the two final climbs still ahead.


We hit the minor slopes of the first climb and another major split. Race leader Soler is in difficulty, as is 4th overall McNulty and Sosa.


Sensing blood in the water, attack from S. Yates at the front! He is followed by Dominguez, Diamond, Kudus and Hindley. It's all the GC guys that stayed alert earlier in the day. Looks like they are the only ones with energy left to burn.


Kudus appears to be the strongest, while Hindley the weakest.


Kudus caught on the downhill. These four have a 1'30" gap back to Hindley with 5kms left. It's another two minutes to M.A. Lopez and Foss.

We are getting reports that Soler, McNulty and Sosa are around five minutes back. This crazy stage is going to be remembered for a long time. But, who wins it?


After being incredibly patient all day, Diamond wants the glory!

Only Kudus can hang onto this acceleration. Head-to-head showdown!


The gradient hits a staggering 17% and Kudus is now paying for his earlier attack on the previous climb. Diamond has been set free to fly!


Bang the barriers! Scream his name! Absolutely Incredible!




As Diamond celebrates on the podium, the former leader of the race, Soler, has finally crossed the finish line. He looks up and can only shake his head: 6'20" behind Diamond. Then, 12 seconds later, a defeated McNulty rolls over the line. Game. Set. Match.

Result: 1st, 1st GC, 4th Points, 9th KoM, 1st Team - Can't thank my teammates enough for blowing up the race. They made this happened. We tried something similar on Stage 3 & 4, but today it worked better than we could have ever imagined. This is surreal. But, I can't celebrate too much. I know I'm not the best climber and Kudus is still only 33 seconds behind me. This is far from over.

Summary: In a move to catch GC leader Diamond off guard, Simon Yates attacks over the summit of the final climb with 10kms to go.


When that doesn't work, his twin brother Adam Yates goes on the offensive. And, unsurprisingly, that doesn't work either. We will head to a reduced bunch sprint after a 7km downhill to the finish line.


The fastest man left in the pack is former French NC Thomas Boudat. The red jersey is right behind him, as Diamond just misses out on back-to-back stage wins. He will certainly take the six bonus seconds regardless.

Result: 2nd, 1st GC, 1st Points, 4th KoM, 1st Team - Another win would have been fun, but the runner-up finish moves me into the lead of the points competition and gained me half a dozen seconds on Kudus.

Summary: After a pair of agonizing second place finishes on Stage 2 and 3, Jasper Philipsen finally gets his first stage win of this tour and becomes the new points leader (65 to Diamond's 60).

Result: 12th, 1st GC, 2nd Points, 4th KoM, 1st Team - Spent a little energy to get four sprint points. Probably not worth it, but I'm feeling energized right now by wearing the leader's jersey. This first week goes to show the importance of having a good team around you.

Lot of work left to do, but I'm confident we have the talent to bring this red jersey all the way to Madrid. Wouldn't that be quite the story?

Summary: This has to be Marcus Diamond's worst nightmare. He is completely isolated with 35kms to go. His team is nowhere to be found after a high tempo from the other GC teams today. Fatigue is no joke.

Diamond will have to defend red against a 33-cyclist lead group.


You knew it was coming.

The last climb of the day is the launch point for S. Yates. Kudus jumps straight on that and Diamond is quick to react as well.


When that move goes nowhere, another trio is off. Outsiders Pogacar (14th overall), A. Yates (11th) and Sosa (16th) get a small gap with nobody quite sure who should chase them.

After a moment of hesitation, Liquigas takes up the chase.


Liquigas make the catch and sets up the springboard for McNulty and Kudus. Diamond does his best to match, but can't stay on Kudus' wheel.

We could have a new GC leader tonight!


But, no, Liquigas p/b Foss brings the dangerous duo back to the red jersey group. Leaving us with 11 cyclists on the downhill to the finish. On paper, you'd have to say Diamond is the favourite for the stage win now.


Kudus, however, digs deep to capture his first stage win of the tour! Dominguez second and Diamond third, which gives Kudus the six bonus seconds back that he lost on Stage 6.

Diamond now anxiously waits to see if all his teammates can cross the finish line under the time limit... Six of them do.

Van Der Poel is forced to withdraw.

Result: 3rd, 1st GC, 1st Points, 8th KoM, 5th Team - The team self-destructed today. You could sense it coming. Everyone worked so hard the first week and this is the consequence. Recovery is key now because I don't know if I can do this by myself.

Summary: Only 10kms left up the final climb today of La Covatilla. The 14-cyclist morning breakaway can look back and see the dwindling peloton of about 40 riders being led by Grace Garner-Diamond.


The first attack comes from Soler (5th overall) and A. Yates. Considering Soler is over 5 minutes back in the GC standings, Diamond decides not to pursue this move. His wife, Grace, is also looking exhausted and should be dropping behind the favourites any second now.


It's McNulty left to do the chasing as Soler and Yates weave their way in-and-out of the remaining breakaway riders up the road.


McNulty with a great effort to make the catch of not only the two attacks, but the rest of the BOTD as well. Diamond quickly gets to the front and waits, non-verbally asking the question, "Who dares to attack me now?"

With a little under 4kms to the top, not much time for a massive move.


It will be Pogacar (13th) and Arauco (10th). But then the green jersey of Kudus (2nd) sneaks up and sticks to Arauco's wheel. Diamond now has to switch gears and match this.


It's a very long acceleration by Pogacar, but the main players hang on. Under the banner, Kudus gives one last kick and hopes of shaking the red jersey off his wheel and put red onto his back if given a substantially gap.


Around the last bend, McNulty goes around the outside to pass Kudus.


It's going to be a stage win for McNulty! Kudus across in the second and starts the clock against Diamond. With the six bonus seconds, Kudus needs a gap of 27 seconds or more to become the next leader of this Vuelta a Espana.


Soler and Diamond across for 3rd and 4th, respectively. It's going to be 25 seconds behind McNulty, and 14 seconds after Kudus.

Diamond holds red for another day.

Result: 4th (+25"), 1st GC, 2nd Points, 7th KoM - Even with good daily form and the help of Grace, Kudus still managed to cut my lead down to 13 seconds. Hopefully I can regain some sort of buffer in the ITT tomorrow. Never thought I'd be able to say that before.

Summary: A long 42kms ITT could make the difference in separating GC leader Marcus Diamond and his African challenger Merhawi Kudus. The gap currently stands at 13 seconds, and that's all the media pundits wanted to talk about on yesterday's rest stage.

While these two have emerged as the possibly winners, there is still another spot on the podium that is up for grabs as well. A lot still at play as we near the halfway point of this year's edition of the Vuelta a Espana.

Add to all of that, heavy rain has started to come down as the GC riders hit the road. That's great news for current leader in the clubhouse: Dygert-Owen with a time of 50'24".


Diamond is through the first time check with the 21st fastest time, 42 seconds off the pace of Arauco, who is absolutely flying on the course right now and is expected to beat Dygert-Owen's time at the finish.

But, that's not what everybody is watching. It's the time splits between Diamond and Kudus. At the first check: Diamond is up 15 seconds!


Despite the downpour, Arauco delivers a 49'48" to sit on the hot seat. He nearly passes Pogacar and A. Yates before crossing the finish line. Now we head back out to the second checkpoint where Kudus and Diamond are getting ready to cross.


No time to sit down and have lunch...

After Kudus posted a 35'27", nearly two minutes slower than Arauco, Diamond comes zooming through with a 34'53". It's good for 22nd best but he is gaining time on Kudus with still 13kms left to ride.


Diamond has found another gear and can nearly make out Kudus in the fog as he rounds the corner and sees the 1km to go banner. Is this going to be a similar ride to what he remarkably did at the Tour of California earlier this year?


Through the fog comes a red bullet.


Wow! Diamond passes Kudus right before the finish line to stamp his authority on this race. But, is this an incredible ride by Diamond or just a complete collapse by Kudus? The clock tells the full story...

50'28" ... For Diamond. It's the sixth fastest time. He will lose 40 seconds to stage winner Arauco, but only four seconds to eventual stage runner-up McNulty, who had a quietly good afternoon.

A decent ITT by Dominguez sees him past S. Yates for a podium spot. While Diamond grows his lead to 2'27" over Kudus. Will that be enough to capture his first Grand Tour triumph?

Result: 6th (+40"), 1st GC, 1st Points, 7th KoM - Not quite Tour of California caliber, but passing Kudus is going to go down as a career highlight for sure. Not many better feelings you can have on a road bike.

Summary: The observant viewers will notice this wasn't the scheduled route for today's stage. A recent landslide (corrupt stage file) on the finishing climb of the Manzaneda has re-routed the race a little south.

The organizers scrambled to put together a similar route, but it is noticeably shorter from 162kms to 116kms but does have steeper climbs. The riders will finish today on the famous ascent up the L'Angliru.

We will race up the Alto de L'Angliru again on Stage 15.

One thing that has followed us south is the rain.


At one point, there 40 cyclists up the road in front of the peloton. By the time we get to 5kms to go, only six remaining. Diamond is taking the challenge upon himself to lead the chase.


Kudus raises the tempo with an attack!


McNulty matches and goes past. Everyone is struggling for air with snow flurries dancing in the wind.


Another win for McNulty, who looks poised to win the King of Mountain competition as a consolation prize after giving away his GC chances on Stage 5. Although, the American has regained his spot on the podium.

Kudus comes in 24 seconds later for second. Soler and Diamond once again finish 3rd and 4th, losing 20 more seconds to Kudus.

Result: 4th (+44"), 1st GC, 1st Points, 7th KoM - Basically a repeat of Stage 9. Got to give props to McNulty and Kudus, they aren't going down without a fight. Every second remains important.

Some might question why I decided to pace the favourites up climb, well I wasn't really. I was just riding my own tempo and everybody just waited behind me. I was left on my own halfway up the final climb when Grace's legs finally gave way. She did all she could. I'm proud of her.

Summary: The GC favourites do well to avoid any weird splits today as SEG - Quick Step cranked the tempo up at various points.

Here is Alex Vogel doing her best trying to drag back the final three breakaway riders with 3.8kms to go.

Also, good to see the sun rejoining us today.


SEG - Quickstep has one more trick. Vogel suddenly pulls up from chasing and Diamond is surprising the field with a powerful attack!


Diamond isn't going to catch today's stage winner from the breakaway, Pedersen, or second place, Ludvik. But, it will be enough to fool the sprinters and take a third place.

Result: 3rd (+24"), 1st GC, 1st Points, 7th KoM - Vogel and I have perfected that tactic over the years. Awesome that it kind of paid off here. I'll take the four bonus seconds and the added sprint points, buffering my lead over Kudus (130 to 114).

Summary: A day for the breakaway. Stage win for Teuns, while all the GC favourites ride across the finish line over four minutes later.

Result: 20th (+4'24"), 1st GC, 1st Points - What was a pretty easy day turned stressful when I heard Grace had crashed over the team radio. The cameras didn't catch her fall on the downhill of today's main climb.

I waited at the finish for her arrival. I could see the pain on her face.

"I'm okay," she insisted, over and over again.

The team doctor looked her over and diagnosed a bruised hip.

"Hey," Grace said to me. "We are in this together. I'm not quitting."

We will see how she is doing tomorrow, but I hate that this happened.

Summary: Rumors swirled all morning around the SEG - Quick Step camp. There was some speculation that Grace Garner-Diamond was withdrawing from the race due to the aftermath of a crash yesterday.

Then, the Vuelta leader Marcus Diamond wasn't made available to the media prior to the roll-out. The team claim it was a pre-cautionary measure to a possible illness because Diamond wasn't feeling too good.

Yet, the husband and wife duo both find themselves on the start line for Stage 14. You can run from the press, but they won't be able to hide in the peloton with three challenging climbs ahead.


SEG - Quickstep had no interest in doing a bulk of the pace making today and let a 35-cyclist morning breakaway get 15 minutes up the road. The two men trying to take advantage of such a situation were 15th overall Roglic (+20'29") and 17th overall Antonio Nibali (+21'52").

With 20kms left, the front group still has over 11 minutes on the peloton but Zuurman is now putting in work for Diamond, who still has his wife by his side as well.

The final summit climb of La Farrapona has begun.


The slow, grinding tempo of Zuurman is snapped by Soler on the attack with 7.4kms left to go. McNulty looks keen to follow this.


That's exactly the move Garner-Diamond was looking for to increase the pace. She quickly puts Soler and McNulty back in their place.

And the tempo drops again...


Soler resets and goes again! This time McNulty goes to the front.


McNulty makes the catch and then Garner-Diamond starts setting a harder tempo to discourage any more attacks with 4.3kms remaining.

If they look up, they can see the finish line lurking above them. Along with a few breakaway riders laughing in their faces.


Soler is persistent, got to give him credit for that.

This time he has a gap and some company with McNulty, A. Yates, Arauco and Hindley. Diamond looks a little concerned, but waits to do anything with Kudus still riding his rear wheel.


The green jersey of Kudus now recognizes that this is his opportunity and tries to bridge the gap. Diamond looks to be in some trouble, his wife Grace has been dropped for good. 2.4kms to the top.


Not for these two. Liquigas with a phenomenal double from the breakaway! Stage win for Carboni and second for Foss, who moves up to 12th overall because of this result. Nibali crosses right behind them for third on the stage and also moves up to 11th overall.


Nearly six minutes later, the first GC contender to finish is Arauco, followed by Soler and McNulty just 15 seconds later. The pure climbers gaining a little bit of time back today. That includes the next group to cross with A. Yates, Mas and Hindley.

But, it won't be a lot of time because here comes Kudus and Diamond.


Diamond goes conservative and does well to keep his composure.

He marks Kudus up the entire climb, and even saved some gas to sprint the final meters to earn an eight-second gap over his main rival.

Result: 23rd (+6'58"), 1st GC, 1st Points - I didn't panic and it probably saved me multiple minutes. Had I followed the elite climbers, I think I would have blown up. McNulty ends up gaining 52 seconds, but the gap to Kudus grows just slightly.

I'm starting to believe... Could this be? Am I going to win the Vuelta?

*cough* *cough* ... I gotta run.

Summary: Big moves have to be made to make up big time. Here is 3rd overall McNulty (+4'08") going on the attack near the summit of the penultimate climb with 21.5kms remaining.


McNulty gets reeled back in on the downhill, but kicks again after a long lull period. We have 9.2kms left to climb and the red jersey on the back of Diamond isn't willing to let this move fly uncontested.

Meanwhile, up front in the breakaway, Sosa is demolishing everyone. The once GC favourite to win the race, who somehow lost 22 minutes, at least wants a memorable stage win for his efforts this year.


McNulty can't breakaway. While A. Yates and Pogacar are allowed to ride up the road from the peloton. Diamond could care less if they steal a minute or two. He is waiting for Kudus to make his move.


Third time the charm for McNulty? Hindley and Kudus do their best to follow, while it looks like Diamond is letting them get a small gap!

2.2kms to the top, where...


Sosa has already claimed a phenomenal solo win.


But the real race is behind where Diamond has used everything he has to pull back Kudus and Hindley. That might just be enough to win the Vuelta, regardless of McNulty powering away up the road.


McNulty stops the clock, finishing 10th on the stage.


Diamond across in 12th with the same time as Kudus. This group will lose 27 seconds to McNulty, but the American still trails Diamond by over three and a half minutes.

Result: 12th (+5'21"), 1st GC, 1st Points - You don't have to be the best climber to win a grand tour. I think I have proved that over the last 15 stages. While the mountains are now behind us, crazy things have happened on the hills so have to stay alert all the way to Madrid.

Summary: The breakaway holds on to steal the stage win on the line. Kenneth Van Rooy with a memorable win ahead of Jarno Mobach, Wilfried Mauduit, Thomas Pidcock and Xavier Alba.

Result: 28th, 1st GC, 1st Points - Stayed out of the wind and out of any trouble. No reason to waste any energy today.

Summary: The breakaway is allowed to fly again and its a fantastic solo win by former World Champion Tiesj Benoot!


The red jersey of Marcus Diamond leads the favourites home a little over five minutes later in a battle for 7th place. Diamond and SEG controlled the tempo up all the inclines and nobody had the power today to challenge the race leader. It's looking more and more likely that Diamond will be this year's winner!

And we just got word that Kudus was dropped from Diamond's group in the last kilometer and will lose 42 seconds today... Extending Diamond's race lead to 2'55" with four stages remaining.

Result: 7th (+5'18"), 1st GC, 1st Points - While my competitors are slowly fading, I'm gaining strength. I'm envisioning the finish line in Madrid and what that's going to feel like. It's going to be magical.

Summary: The breakaway wins again... For those counting, that's seven straight stages won by the morning breakaway. That's got to be a record.

Dylan Teuns beats out Tim Wellens for the win.

The peloton casually strolls in four and a half minutes later after an uneventful ride through the Spanish hills. Four cyclists didn't make the time cut today, leaving us with 138 riders for the final three days.

Result: 16th (+4'29"), 1st GC, 1st Points - Boring, but that's how I like it. If nobody wants to challenge me, I'll happily take a boring day in the peloton and keep letting the breakaways win stages.

Summary: Back-to-back stage wins from the breakaway for Dylan Teuns! Make that eight breakaway wins in a row! Unreal!

The peloton actually put forth a good effort today in attempting to make the catch, but come 1'45" short. All the main favourites come in together except for one...


It's an awful day for Merhawi Kudus, who loses almost three minutes. He goes from 2nd overall in GC to fourth. Losing his podium spot to Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler.

Result: 12th (+1'45"), 1st GC, 1st Points - We have officially slayed Kudus. Rough to see him loses his podium on a day like today, but the race is 21 stages long, not 18. Only two days left. The end is in sight!

Summary: Make it nine. Breakaway win for another Belgian, this time it's the NC champion Tim Wellens!

But the big battle today was for the KoM competition where Tiesj Benoot and Sebastian Henao entered the stage tied with 42 points each. Both got into the morning breakaway, but it was Benoot who collected 19 more KoM points today to win that competition.

Elsewhere, in the peloton, everything was going smoothly...

Until 10kms to go...


CRASH!!! The race leader Marcus Diamond is down on the ground. The scenes of terror as he lies motionless on the pavement.

This can't be. He has to get up. It can't end like this...


Diamond picks himself up from the scraps, blood stains masked by the red jersey. He looks around, his teammates are gone and so is the green jersey of Brandon McNulty. He has been left on the side of the road.

The SEG team car quickly arrives on the scene and pulls down a spare bike to get Diamond back into the race. They don't have time to address the damage done. The Vuelta is currently riding away from the man who has led this race since after Stage 5.

The hushed spectators then started to shout!

"Go! Go! Go!"


If only Diamond's race radio still worked, then he would have heard that the front of the peloton hadn't pushed on. McNulty told everyone to wait for his rival. The two shared an embraced when Diamond rejoined the group with 4kms remaining.

A heart-melting moment, capturing the true essence of bike racing.

Result: 42nd (+6'46"), 1st GC, 1st Points - Can't say enough about what Brandon did. I almost lived out my nightmare. While crashing is a part of racing, I respect that he didn't want to use that freak accident to his advantage. I don't think he would have gained enough time anyways to take the race lead, but the gesture shouldn't go unnoticed.

Summary: Pop the champagne! It's the last day and we can not only celebrate our winners but we also finally have a stage being decided in a bunch sprint! The breakaway's streak of nine straight wins comes to end.


The last stage win will go to sprinter Fernando Gaviria. His reward for making it to the end of the grand tour. But, all eyes are on the red jersey, who sprints home to finish the day in the 9th place.

Your 2026 Vuelta a Espana GC Champion and Points Winner is...



Result: 9th, 1st GC, 1st Points - Three years ago, I crashed out in my first-ever grand tour appearance here at the Vuelta. It was devasting. But, now, here I stand on the top step — A GRAND TOUR CHAMPION!

This is remarkable. No one expected this. All the hard work has paid off. And I'm forever grateful to my teammates for all the work they put in to make this happen.

To my wife, Grace, we did it. You can now ride off into the sunset and retire from cycling knowing you helped me achieve something incredible. This is something we can show our son one day and tell him to always chase his dreams. Anything is possible.

While I'll be able to cherish this forever, I still have more to accomplish.

I have just cracked the surface of my true potential.

I can't wait to see what is next!