Twitchy usually means too responsive. But the bottom line is the Madonne felt good on you, so that is what you should get. But test ride to be sure it really has the same geometry as the one you road in portugal, since I believe Madonne's come in different 'fits' which equates to different frame geometry even though they are all Madonnes. You mentioned needing short reach levers. I used to ride w ultegra 9spd short reach levers, but when i got my cervelo it had durace 10 and I couldn't reach the brake levers. So, I glued in the shims that came with the ultra 9 short reach levers, and then ordered additional shims from specialized until I got the reach how i like. I think the newer group sets have more adjustability in the brake levers so they can be brought in (at least SRAM do) so ask your LBS about this. My 48cm cervelo RS has 650c wheels so no TCO. Same for my older terrys (actually they have 700c rear, 24" front). I personally will not ride a bike with TCO although I know many do and don't care.