Tadej Pogačar has won his first Giro d’Italia. Apart from not leading from stage 1 to stage 21, he did what ever he wanted in the Italian Grand Tour. All the news, rider views, reports, results and video from the finale of the 2024 Giro in EUROTRASH Monday. Also the Tour of Norway, Ford RideLondon Classique and the Rund um Köln.
Suspected mechanical doper is Astana co-sponsor – TOP STORY.
Rider news: Tobias Steinhauser very emotional after his son’s victory, Patrick Lefevere: “contentless criticism of Tim Merlier only existed among a few sour keyboard heroes” and Tadej Pogačar flagged again on Strava.
Team news: Grit and gravel as Bahrain Victorious make their debut at the Unbound 200, DS José Luis Arrieta: “Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale is much more modern than Movistar” and Soudal Quick-Step Salute During Giro d’Italia.
Race News: Critérium du Dauphiné 2024 – Roglic-Evenepoel: They’re back!
TOP STORY: Suspected Mechanical Doper is Astana Co-Sponsor
In EUROTRASH Thursday we reported on the French amateur rider who fled after suspicions of mechanical doping in the Route de l’Oise. The rider, Giovambattista Iera, escaped when the organisers wanted to check his bike for mechanical doping. He got into his car and drove into the race director, who tried to stop him.
The bike in question
Race director Frédéric Lenormand explained to Le Parisien. “We had suspicions of possible foul play. On Saturday, in the stage from Beauvais to Maignelay-Montigny, he closed the gap to the leading group incredibly quickly. And on Sunday, several people said there was an unusual noise as he raced by.” When they wanted to check Iera’s bike, he fled to his car. “I wanted to stop him, but he ran away,” said Lenormand, who chased the rider. “He hit me with his car and I lay on the front for almost a hundred metres. It could have been much worse.” The check for mechanical doping took place on Monday, prior to the last stage of the Route de l’Oise. The organisers had good reason to test the participants’ bikes, specifically the bike of 3rd overall, Giovambattista Iera. AC Bellaingeoise, Iera’s team, was not allowed to start the final stage. Lenormand, who was unharmed, reported the incident to the gendarmerie and an investigation is now underway.
IT Italian Trattoria on the Astana jersey
Giovambattista Iera was/is an actor, he appeared as a cyclist in the film ‘Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert’, he played Fabrice Bouillon as Jean-Baptiste Iera. The film is based on a Belgian cyclist who want’s to emulate Eddy Merckx, who was born on the same day. He is also a restaurant owner and co-founded the Italian Trattoria restaurant chain, which claims it has ‘Over 70 trattorias worldwide!’ According to his Strava account, Iera lives in Miami, but he is French with an Italian background. ‘IT Italian Trattoria’ is on the sleeves of the Astana Qazaqstan jerseys and Iera appears in may photographs with the stars of cycling.
Iera, Froome and Uran:
Giro d’Italia 2024
Stage 18 looked tailor-made for the points leader, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), but it was Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) who just got the better of the big Italian on the line. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took third place in a chaotic sprint. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) finished in the peloton to hold his overall lead with three days to go.
Shortly after the start, the KOM in Lamon marks the sole topographical impediment of the stage, followed by approx. 150 km on flat, constantly descending terrain. Roads are variably wide and mostly straight, with common traffic obstacles to be found in urban areas along the route. The final kilometres are flat, with just two curves interrupting the straight last kilometre. One final sweeping bend leads into Prato della Valle and into the home straight (450m), on 9m wide tarmac.
After a fast, rainy opening section, where the peloton split into two parts, four riders got away on the only climb of the day. Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) was joined by Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Andrea Pietrobon & Mirco Maestri (Polti Kometa). In the peloton, Domenico Pozzovivo, who lost a lot of time on Wednesday, was in trouble, but luckily the peloton eased back on the pace and he managed get back to the main bunch.
The four leader managed to build up a lead of 2 minutes. Bur the Lidl-Trek riders stopped them taking any more time. They were helped by Soudal Quick-Step and eventually by Tudor Pro Cycling. The pace stayed high and so the lead dropped to less than 1 minute. Sixty kilometres from the finish, Stefan De Bod (EF Education-EasyPost) tried to cross to the leaders. The South African jumped away, but was chased down by Daan Hoole, Lidl-Trek teammate of Jonathan Milan. as soon as De Bod was brought back, Edoardo Affini (Visma | Lease a Bike) rode across to the leaders. Affini must have hoped that the sprinter’s teams would ease off, but that didn’t happen. The peloton kept them at 30 seconds for a long time, but 10 kilometres from the finish, the break was over. There was going to be a bunch sprint in Padova.
Thymen Arensman was unlucky enough to suffer a puncture in the finale. The Dutchman is sitting sixth overall and so his teammate, Tobias Foss, gave him his bike and he was able to return to the peloton with help from Jhonatan Narváez. At the front of the peloton, the sprinter’s teams had started fighting for the best seats. The Tudor team took the lead with 2 kilometres to go, but Lidl-Trek and Soudal Quick-Step pushed their way the front. There was one problem, Milan had lost his lead-out train. The points leader had to fight his way through from behind in the finishing straight, as did Tim Merlier, although the Belgian had more space on his side of the road. The two both passed Kaden Groves and then lunged for the finish line side by side. Merlier just managed to push his front wheel across the line in front of three-time stage winner Milan by half a wheel. This was the Belgian’s second stage victory in this Grand Tour.
# You can see lots more photos in the full PEZ ‘Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): “Finally I can show the haters that I can win in the third week of a Grand Tour also. People need to talk about something. I’m counting the days to the end of the Giro. The guys brought me in a good position. It wasn’t a freewheeling. It was a long effort to hold it there behind Julian [Alaphilippe], [Luke] Lamperti, etc. With 2km to go, we fought back for positions. I asked my team-mates to position me before the last corner with 900 metres to go. I must say I was a bit surprised that I lost too many positions after the last corner but 300 metres before the line, I was fine.”
Maglia Rosa and KOM, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “Today was a good day, a fast finish and a fast stage. I’m super happy that we arrived in Padova before the rain. With [Juan Sebastian] Molano, we share the same success. What we have done in the last few weeks here is pure team work. Molano was also putting so much in for me. He’s got his own chances, but it was chaotic at the end today and it’s hard when only Rui and Molano can take part in the sprint. It was really not a sprint for which I could help him. He knew the main goal was to have Maglia Rosa in Rome and there’s a good chance in Rome for Molano to win the stage.”
2nd on the stage and points leader, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek): “It was a very complicated final today. It hurts me even more not to win, when you see the team doing a perfect job. I wanted to finish in the best possible way. I lost their wheel, that’s my own fault. If you see Jasper (Stuyven), Eddy (Theuns) and Simone (Consonni), they were in the perfect position to drop me off for the sprint, but I was too far back. I lost the wheel on the corners, but I still did my best to make up for something. Of course I will do my best for that too (stage 21).”
7th on the stage, Madis Mihkels (Intermarché-Wanty): “Today was the penultimate sprint opportunity of the Giro and the team did a great job once more to enable me to grab my chance. My fourth top ten is a satisfying result, although I personally regret one decision during the last hectometers. During a moment of hesitation in the peloton, I chose to stay in Tim Merlier’s wheel instead of going all out and surprise. I wasn’t able to follow his ultimate acceleration, so seventh was the best possible result. After eighteen stages I still feel pretty good, despite the fatigue that has crept into my body for several days now. The discomfort after my crashes in the sixth and eleventh stages has greatly reduced, with the exception of my left hand, with which I cannot yet hold the handlebars optimally for the time being. I hope that I can survive the last two tough mountain stages in the same way as the previous ones, by joining a good group and not having to fear the time limit. My thoughts are already in Rome, where I hope to end my first Grand Tour on a high.”
Mirco Maestri (Polti Kometa): “I’m happy with the stage we did, showing once again the great moment of form. We spent a lot of energy today and tomorrow I think it will be again the chance for the breakaway, although there are team-mates who are much better suited to it.”
Giro d’Italia Stage 18 Result:
1. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step in 3:45:44
2. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
3. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck
4. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Tudor
5. Stanisław Aniołkowski (Pol) Cofidis
6. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Movistar
7. Madis Mihkels (Est) Intermarché-Wanty
8. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Jayco AlUla
9. Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan
10. Juan Sebastián Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates.
Giro d’Italia Overall After Stage 18:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 67:17:02
2. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Col) BORA-hansgrohe at 7:42
3. Geraint Thomas (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 8:04
4. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at 9:47
5. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious at 10:29
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 11:10
7. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL at 12:42
8. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar at 13:33
9. Filippo Zana (Ita) Jayco AlUla at 13:52
10. Jan Hirt (CZ) Soudal Quick-Step at 14:44.
Giro’24 Stage 18:
Stage 16 was made for a break to go all the way to the finish and the peloton was quite happy to let them. In the finale, Andrea Vendrame rode away from the other escapees to give his Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team another win. Pelayo Sánchez (Movistar) finished second at 54 seconds and Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), winner of stage 17, was third at 1:07. The favourites finished together, although Geraint Thomas crashed with 6 kilometres to go, but the others waited.
The route travels up the Valle del Tagliamento, passing San Daniele del Friuli, Forgaria nel Friuli and Peonis. Past Tolmezzo, the riders will take in consecutive ascents to Passo Duron, Sella Valcalda and Cima Sappada, followed by a short descent leading to the finish. The roads, both up and downhill, are narrow and have a lot of bends. The course merges onto the Sappada cycle track with approx. 5km to go. The roadway here is slightly narrower, and there is a mild downhill gradient. The route turns right at the 2 km mark, and the pitch goes up (reaching 10%). The gradient eases out to 5% in the urban area, until the last kilometre, and then the road descends for a few hundred metres up to the home straight (400m), on 6m wide tarmac.
The escape specialists were looking forward to stage 19 on Friday. Tadej Pogačar said he was more interested in the victory on Saturday and Sunday is for the sprinters and the celebrations in Rome. The stage was for the ‘Break of the Day’. From the start in Mortegliano, the route was undulating for a while, which was ideal for an escape. Daan Hoole, Attila Valter, Magnus Sheffield and Andrea Vendrame were first to get away, but their lead was never large. The pace in the peloton was at that point as many teams were not happy with the composition of the leading group. On one of early climbs in the stage, Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) jumped across to the leaders. This gave us a lead group of Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers), Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Pelayo Sánchez (Movistar).
The six leaders struggled to stay away, but they were eventually joined by thirteen other riders: Edward Theuns & Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ), Mattia Bais (Polti Kometa), Tim van Dijke & Jan Tratnik (Visma | Lease a Bike), Andrea Piccolo, Mikkel Frølich Honoré & Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), Simone Velasco (Astana Qazaqstan), Dries De Pooter (Intermarché-Wanty), Alessandro De Marchi (Jayco AlUla) and Manuele Tarozzi (Polti Kometa). After the last group had made the jump, after 70 kilometres, the peloton decided to let them go. The leading group started to create a big lead, the winner was going to come from this group, but we would have a long wait for the final battle. On the Passo Duron (6.9km at 5.8%), the toughest climb of the day, the attacks started again. It was Alaphilippe who threw down the gauntlet. The Frenchman thinned out the leading group and after the summit was crossed, there was only Narváez, Steinhauser, Sánchez, Hermans and Vendrame left at the front. The battle was not over yet, because the chasing group was not that far away. Plapp, who has been ill, was able to jump across to the leaders.
Vendrame took advantage of a descent to get away. The Italian realised that his climbing wasn’t as strong as the others and so, with 28 kilometres to go, he went solo. It was a smart move by Vendrame and he quickly built up a nice lead. Alaphilippe, Narváez, Sánchez, Plapp, Steinhauser and Hermans started the final climb of the Cima Cappada (10.7 km at 4.4%), a minute behind the Italian. The chase wasn’t good. Vendrame continued his bold effort and held out on the steepest sections. Despite some counter-attacks from Steinhauser and Sánchez, Vendrame reached the top with more than a minute’s lead. In the last kilometres Vendrame didn’t lose any time, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider finished solo in Sappada. Sánchez had to settle for second place, Steinhauser came third. Behind the GC men still had hard work in the last 10 kilometres. Einer Rubio attacked and caused some chaos. Geraint Thomas was not paying attention and hit the wheel in front of him and crashed with 6 kilometres to go. Pogačar and the other GC men eased off to wait for Thomas, who was able to return to the group of favourites. No one lost or gained time and so Pogačar is still the Giro race leader.
# You can see lots more photos in the full PEZ ‘Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner, Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale): “As a team, we’ve been doing well since the start of the Giro and we’re still fighting for the podium with Ben O’Connor. I’m very happy with how the team has improved this year. My condition was good since the beginning but I’ve had a bronchitis in the first week so I couldn’t contest some stages I bookmarked but today’s was high on my list. The first goal was to make the breakaway, it’s been a hard battle, then I had to make the right decisions.”
Overall leader and KOM, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “The whole Giro in general has been great in terms of respect to each other. We saw it today, when Geraint Thomas crashed, no one wanted to do anything stupid. It was a nice moment, not for Thomas but for cycling. For more than fifteen years, I’ve known that a crash can happen anytime. You need to be focused and try to anticipate eventual crashes. It was an easier day for us as a team so tomorrow we can control the race from the start and put a good pace on the first climb. Tomorrow is the last chance to have a stage win for climbers.”
3rd overall, Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers): “I made a really stupid mistake, I was looking over my shoulder, some people moved in front and we crossed the wheels and I crashed. But luckily I got the spare bike right away and followed the flagship Bora so I could get back to the group. Today’s stage went as we thought, we expected the weather to improve, but it didn’t. Tomorrow will be a great day.”
2nd on the stage, Pelayo Sánchez (Movistar): “In the end, we are in the third week and everyone is doing quite fair. When Vendrame left we had enough time at 10-15 seconds, and it seemed that the best a priori was to stay together and chase to neutralise him, but he showed enormous legs, he got that advantage in the descent, he maintained it and we couldn’t cut him back. Congratulations to him, great victory. He came to this Giro d’Italia with enthusiasm, also with some doubts about the preparation and my condition, but always with the idea of chasing stages. We knew that today there was another good opportunity and I fought for it to the fullest. Very happy and grateful to my colleagues for their support and excellent work, today also in the initial cuts. I’m really happy. Being able to perform on all terrains, on classic days like when I won, on mountain stages like today or Tuesday -despite the breakdown-… The balance of this Giro is enormously satisfying:”
7th on the stage, Jan Tratnik (Visma | Lease a Bike): “This was definitely a day I wanted to be in the break. Many other teams wanted that too, which made for a difficult start to the stage. After the breakaway with Atila and Edoardo was captured, six riders immediately formed a new lead group. In the chasing group we never lost hope, which allowed us to close the distance before the foot of the first hill.”
7th overall, Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL): “Today was a relatively calm day at the office, with the breakaway fighting for victory. The guys did a good job keeping me safe all day so I could save as much energy as possible before tomorrow’s last battle in the mountains.”
Mattia Bais (Polti Kometa): “It was a hard stage where I had the clear objective of being in the breakaway, but we all wanted to try because it was quite likely that we could reach the finish and fight for the victory. I spent a lot of energy to get to the front and then it got even harder with the big riders on the breakaway. I stayed in the chasing group, we were just 30 seconds off the lead and we collaborate well, but on the last climb I couldn’t keep up the chase.”
Giro d’Italia Stage 19 Result:
1. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale in 3:51:05
2. Pelayo Sánchez (Spa) Movistar at 0:54
3. Georg Steinhauser (Ger) EF Education-EasyPost at 1:07
4. Jhonatan Narváez (Ecu) INEOS Grenadiers at 2:27
5. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco AlUla
6. Simone Velasco (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan at 2:30
7. Jan Tratnik (Slo) Visma | Lease a Bike
8. Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-EasyPost
9. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step at 2:32
10. Quinten Hermans (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 3:52
Giro d’Italia Overall After Stage 19:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 71:24:03
2. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Col) BORA-hansgrohe at 7:42
3. Geraint Thomas (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 8:04
4. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at 9:47
5. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious at 10:29
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 11:10
7. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL at 12:42
8. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar at 13:33
9. Filippo Zana (Ita) Jayco AlUla at 13:52
10. Jan Hirt (CZ) Soudal Quick-Step at 14:44.
Giro’24 Stage 19:
Tadej Pogačar said after Friday’s Stage 19 that he wanted to win Stage 20. If the Slovenian champion says he wants to win then he usually succeeds. With 36 kilometres to go, Pogačar rode away from his competitors to solo to victory in Bassano del grappa. Just over 2 minutes later, the group of ‘favourites’ crossed the finish line, beaten again.
The stage starts by the Lago di Santa Croce, descends through Vittorio Veneto and goes over the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio, reaching the Prosecco area. After crossing the Piave, the route reaches the foot of the Monte Grappa and takes in a double ascent to the Sacrario (war memorial), coming from Semonzo. Middescent (towards Romano d’Ezzelino), after passing Ponte San Lorenzo both times, the course takes a short but steep kick up to Pianaro (with gradients exceeding 10%). After the second descent, the route continues to the finish. The ascent of the Monte Grappa (over 18 km in length) winds its way in curves and hairpins on relatively narrow mountain roads. It has an average 8% gradient, and peaks reaching 14%. The last 3km are on straight urban roads with some connecting bends. The route descends slightly, then a last bend 500m before the finish line leads into home straight (350 m), on 7m wide tarmac.
There were the usual early attacks, but it was Cyril Barthe (Groupama-FDJ) and Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan) who managed to get away. They were joined by Andrea Pietrobon (Polti Kometa), Jimmy Janssens & Nicola Conci (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Pelayo Sánchez (Movistar), Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek), Rubén Fernández (Cofidis), Henok Mulubrhan (Astana Qazaqstan), Alessandro Tonelli (VF Group Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) and stage 19 winner, Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R).
These 11 riders suited the peloton and they were allowed to take more 4 minutes lead. The break held their lead until the base of Monte Grappa, where Vendrame jumped away. The Italian was overhauled by Janssens, but the Belgian was passed by Vendrame again. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider wasn’t finished and attacked Vendrame again and was then able to hold on when Sánchez and Mulubrhan caught him. Vendrame returned at his own pace, along with Tonelli. Later Conci and Fernández were also able to catch them, so there were seven riders together at the front halfway up Monte Grappa. Their lead had decreased, as UAE Team Emirates had been pulling hard on the front of the peloton. The work of Mikkel Bjerg, Vegard Stake Laengen and Domen Novak put Filippo Zana, 9th overall, into trouble. The break had thinned out at the front. Janssens, Sánchez and Tonelli were the strongest and were together for the final kilometre of the Monte Grappa. Behind them, Giulio Pellizzari crossed from the peloton and passed the leaders in the last hundred metres and took 40 KOM points. He passed Tobias Steinhauser in the King of the Mountains classification and is now in second place, behind Tadej Pogačar, who was now certain of winning the climber’s classification.
On the descent of the Monte Grappa, Janssens couldn’t hold Pellizzari, Tonelli and Sánchez, who gained time on the peloton. The lead increased again to over 2:30, from just under 1 minute. In the first kilometres of the second climb of Monte Grappa, Pellizzari went solo. His lead on the peloton was more than 2 minutes. UAE Team Emirates was still leading the peloton, but Felix Großschartner wasn’t fast enough for Pogačar, so he put Novak on the front. Novak lifted the speed, this was too fast for Romain Bardet, 7th overall. Rafal Majka was the next UAE man to take the lead. Geraint Thomas and others, were now in trouble. The Welshman had to leave a gap and Majka, Pogačar, Daniel Felipe Martínez, Antonio Tiberi and Einer Rubio pulled away. Only Michael Storer was able to close the gap, Ben O’Connor and Thymen Arensman also couldn’t hold on. After another acceleration from Majka, Pogačar launched his attack 5.4 kilometres from the summit. Five hundred metres later he caught Pellizzari. The pink jersey wearer signalled to the young Italian to get on his wheel, but 3.5 kilometres from the top he had to let the Slovenian go. Pogačar was now going solo with 34 kilometres to go. At the top of Monte Grappa, Pogačar had a lead of almost 2 minutes over Martínez, Rubio, Tiberi and Pellizzari, who took second place at the top. Thomas, Storer, O’Connor and Valentin Paret-Peintre were not far behind thanks to the work of the Frenchman. Arensman was on his own at almost 3 minutes behind Pogačar, but his 6th place overall was safe.
This was all well behind Pogačar, around 2 minutes, who had plenty of time to enjoy his victory in Bassano del Grappa. He took his sixth stage victory of this Giro d’Italia and extended his lead in the general classification. The UAE Team Emirates leader only needs to finish Sunday’s stage 21 to Rome for his Giro victory. But he won’t be resting on his laurels for long as he will then start to prepare for the Tour de France in July. In the battle for second place on the stage. Martínez, Rubio, Tiberi, Pellizzari, Thomas, O’Connor and Valentin Paret-Peintre stayed together to the finish and would sprint it out for the stage podium. Paret-Peintre was the fastest, ahead of Martínez. The Arensman group lost a minute. Tiberi made sure the white young rider’s jersey was his. There were some changes in the ‘Top 10’. Bardet dropped from seventh to ninth place and Zana dropped out of the 10 to 11th place. Rubio, Jan Hirt and Storer moved up. Storer came into the Top 10, Rubio moved up to seventh and Hirt is now eighth.
# You can see lots more photos in the full PEZ ‘Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner, KOM and Maglia Rosa Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “Not everything is easy in a Grand Tour. It’s been a hard three weeks, also with some sickness or allergies, I don’t know exactly. It was not all smooth sailing but we made it to here and we can be proud of what we have achieved. This year I made another step. Every year, I try to improve my cycling and I’m happy with this year’s improvements. I’m getting older too. Experience comes in to play as well. This has been one of the best Grand Tours I ever did in my career, I’ve felt amazing for three weeks and I’ll keep that mentality for the next races. The plan was to finish the Giro with high morale and good legs. Today the crowd has been amazing from the bottom to the top of the climb.”
2nd overall and 3rd on the stage, Daniel Felipe Martínez (BORA-hansgrohe): “I worked very hard for this. I thank God that this Giro was successful. I achieved the biggest goal I had in my life with this. I was inspired when I thought about my children. I hope they see it again one day and remember it. I’ve worked a lot on my consistency. Things have finally gone well where other times things went wrong. But that’s life: persevere and persevere. Fortunately I have now delivered a good performance.”
3nd overall and 7th on the stage, Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers): “He is the best I have ever raced with. We have done the best we could and we have competed well. We couldn’t do anything else. Martínez has raced very well. Now I’m very tired. Everyone always talks about my age. I really don’t understand the fuss, but 38 is pretty old for a cyclist. I’ve raced with a lot of good riders, but he is so versatile and aggressive. And that throughout the season. It’s not normal how good he is. Jonas Vingegaard is the only one who is at his level, but he remains to see how good he is. Of course, the rest also always have a chance, but Pogačar has so much physical talent that it is almost impossible.”
2nd on the stage, Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale): “It is one of my best days in the Giro. On the way up it has been difficult; The pace was fast from the bottom of the second climb. We tried to manage the climb with Ben (O’Connor), keeping Tiberi’s group in sight. He was quite confident, although the pace was high, he knew we could make a comeback on the descent. In the end, it became a bit tactical, and the others watched each other. I thought I had to go for it, and I was right: I finished second! I am very happy with my day, my feelings and the level I have today.”
4th on the stage and 5th overall, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious): “The verdict on my Giro d’Italia can only be positive, I am very happy with how it went, because it is my first Giro d’Italia but above all it is the first big stage race that I face as captain. If we look at where I was last year and where I am today, fifth and wearing the white jersey, I can say that I have done something special. I am very very happy and I think I have grown a lot. The only thing I regret is the bad luck I had in Oropa, because without those two and a half lost minutes I could have achieved more, but bad luck is part of the game. The stage victory? When you are fighting for the general classification it is always more difficult to aspire to a stage victory. And the plans? Now I’m going to rest and then focus on resuming preparation for the Vuelta.”
9th on the stage and 10th overall, Michael Storer (Tudor): “I’m happy with the feeling. It went very well, I was happy that I could follow the pace of the best until the finish. Actually I only made one mistake: I should have stayed with the Decathlon-Ag2r riders. But in the end that didn’t make the difference. I hope it’s enough, but anyway I’m very proud of how we rode. The team can be very proud. We are a new team, it was our first Giro and we showed that we are a top team.”
11th overall, Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla): “I had bad legs. On the first time at Monte Grappa I had to choose my own pace. That’s cycling. One moment things are going well and you are happy, but now I am very disappointed. I first wanted to go for the stage win, but after bad luck I started to focus on the rankings, but unfortunately today was not my day.”
Giro d’Italia Stage 20 Result:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 4:58:23
2. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at 2:07
3. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Col) BORA-hansgrohe
4. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious
5. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar
6. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè
7. Geraint Thomas (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
8. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
9. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor at 2:31
10. Rafał Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates at 3:08.
Giro d’Italia Overall After Stage 20:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 76:20:51
2. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Col) BORA-hansgrohe at 9:57
3. Geraint Thomas (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 10:26
4. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at 12:09
5. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious at 12:52
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 14:33
7. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar at 15:56
8. Jan Hirt (CZ) Soudal Quick-Step at 18:05
9. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL at 20:32
10. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor at 21:11.
Giro’24 Stage 20:
UAE Team Emirates’ Slovenian champion has won the 2024 Giro d’Italia. The pink jersey even took part in the lead-out work in the Final Stage 21 set in Rome, but it was Soudal Quick-Step’s Tim Merlier who won the last battle. The Belgian out-sprinted the points leader, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who had a big chase back to the peloton after a mechanical at 9 kilometres out. Pogačar crossed the line with his pink arms in the air.
The final stage features an approach from the start in RomaEUR to the first pass over the finish line, reaching the coast in Ostia, and going back to the start area, followed by a closing circuit within the Capital. The riders will race 8 loops of a 9.5km circuit on the streets of Rome (wide, with some traffic dividers). Short undulations are interspersed with long straight sections, connected by sometimes tricky bends. The road surface is mostly tarmac, with some short stretches over road pavers (“sanpietrini”). In the final kilometres, the route takes in some bends and a short climb. The home straight (350m), on road pavers, is 9m wide.
After 20 stages, 3,300 kilometres, 44,550 metres of climbing, six summit finishes, six sprint stages, two time trials and 42 categorised climbs, today was the final stage of the 2024 Giro d’Italia. The last stage was for the sprinters with the finale on the bumpy roads of the Italian capital city of Rome. After all the usual glasses of Prosecco and photo shots, it was time for the a bike race. The first hours were run at a leisurely pace. UAE Team Emirates, Pogacar’s team, initially took it easy, but they eventually decided to increase the pace. They must have wanted to get to Rome for the celebrations. Once the peloton reached the circuit in Rome, Domenico Pozzovivo was allowed to be the first to start lap 1. The 41-year-old Italian of VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè has said this would be his last Giro stage today. Pozzovivo rode the Giro for the first time in 2005 and today completed his 18th Italian Grand Tour.
The stage could then really start and there was an attack by four riders. Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Alex Baudin (Decathlon AG2R), Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) and Martin Marcellusi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) managed to get away. The lead got to about 30 seconds, but this was going to be the best they could hope for. The sprinter’s teams were not going to lose the last chance for a stage win and so the race came together with 13 kilometres to go. The nervousness in the peloton and this caused a crash including Hugo Hofstetter and a very annoyed Dries De Pooter. Both were able to continue eventually. At the start of the last lap, Jonathan Milan, the winner of the purple points jersey and one of the favourites for the stage victory in Rome, had a mechanical and had to wait a long time for a new bike, The big Italian now looked out of luck for the win, but with a lot of hard work and some help from the team cars, he managed to return to the bunch. He was soon back in a good position for the finish thanks to his teammates.
The Lidl-Trek team still managed to set up a perfect lead-out for the Italian. After a bit effort from Stuyven, Milan looked boxed in and Lidl-Trek failed to regain control. Tim Merlier took full advantage of the chaos. The Belgian positioned himself perfectly amongst the sprint craziness. He was the first to jump, just before the cobbles towards the finish line. With a long sprint he managed to hold off Milan, who must have been at the end of his strengths after his chase. Kaden Groves took third place again, Fernando Gaviria and Tim van Dijke were fourth and fifth. Tadej Pogačar crossed the line not far behind the sprinters. The Slovenian had been in the sprint to lead-out his teammate, Juan Sebastian Molano, but the Colombian didn’t have the legs. The UAE Team Emirates and Pogačar will be celebrating this evening as they came to Italy and conquered the Giro… You could say; dominated the Giro.
# You can see lots more photos in the full PEZ ‘Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): “I am incredibly happy with this victory, it feels great to conclude the race like this! I didn’t have my best day today, as I came to the start after a day of suffering on the Monte Grappa, but I am delighted I could pull it off. It was very hectic to be in a good position, but I found some space at the right moment and could launch my sprint. I had a lot of confidence, as I loved going full gas on the cobbles, and I was confident in my Specialized SL8. I am happy for myself and for this amazing team that we could end the Giro in style, in this perfect setting that Rome had to offer.”
Winner of the 2024 Giro d’Italia and KOM, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “Over three weeks, we’ve experienced very nice moments, especially with the kids. I always love to share some moments with them. I’ve been happy to see people on the road sides with the jerseys of Pogi team, the children who came and support us. It’s been crazy with all the fans. It’ll take a week to sink in but I’ve felt great emotions, it’s been a fantastic experience. The parcours was super nice and the organisation pretty good. Maybe during this Giro I’ve made a step up as a man too. As a rider, I felt super strong and more comfortable on the bike since a long time. I can improve this feeling. I’m on a good path for the rest of the season. I don’t know when but I’ll come to the Giro again in the future.”
2nd overall, Daniel Felipe Martínez (BORA-hansgrohe): “Securing my first podium finish in a Grand Tour is definitely a highlight of my career so far. As a child, I dreamed of standing on the podium of a race like this, so achieving this feels truly special. The Giro presents challenges every day, and I didn’t take anything for granted until I crossed the finish line in Rome. So, despite the consistent performances over the past three weeks, I stayed focused until the end. Being in a podium position in the GC for so long and knowing we were a target for our competitors only fuelled my motivation further. I want to thank my teammates and the staff who’ve been here for the journey over the past three weeks. The team’s effort and dedication made this result possible.”
5th overall and best young rider, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious): “It’s impossible to describe this feeling. It’s just like a dream; to be here in my home region, with the Giro white jersey and 5th on GC is just amazing. My family, and the fans are all here, and I feel like I’ve only just begun to understand what I’ve achieved and what it means. It’s super emotional for me, a super special moment. The team have been unbelievable. They’ve done such a great job taking care of me, supporting me on the road, and protecting me. But also outside the race we’re had a very good atmosphere and I’m so proud to be here with this team and with this group of guys. I can’t thank them enough, and the same goes for the fans who have got behind me so much in the roadside, on socials, and everywhere. It’s really humbling to be honest.”
8th on the stage, Giovanni Lonardi (Polti Kometa): “We closed this Giro d’Italia on a high mark, and we tried until the end today with the last sprint. I positioned myself well to try to get a result, I had good legs and I thought I could even get on the podium today. But it wasn’t possible, I was a bit closed and I had to slow down. The feeling was very good and we are happy with the Giro performance.”
Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious): “I spent almost a month sharing the room with Antonio (Tiberi), and it’s wonderful to now share the emotions of this fantastic achievement in his first Giro d’Italia. I was impressed by how well he managed the pressure from the media, the public, and the team. It’s a testament to his character. He likely felt the pressure—it’s impossible not to—but it’s remarkable how he handled it. He also did an excellent job managing his energy throughout the three weeks, especially in the final stage. I’m glad he listened to my suggestions, keeping everything under control and not being overly worried about the result. By focusing on himself and how he was feeling, he ultimately reached the spot he deserved.”
Winner of intermediate sprints and as the rider with the most break kilometres, Andrea Pietrobon (Polti Kometa): “To be on the podium in Rome, in my first Giro d’Italia, after three weeks of racing… I can’t explain that feeling. I am very happy because we have completed a Giro always with an offensive attitude, looking for protagonism. For a team like Polti Kometa I think it’s an exceptional result.”
Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step): “I enjoyed the whole Giro d’Italia. We had a beautiful team here and a fantastic atmosphere, which made these three weeks go by much easier. I loved every single moment spent in the race, I loved the fans and the way they welcomed us and cheered for us every day. The stage I won made me so happy, it was a dream to complete my Grand Tour stage wins set. At the end of the day, it has been a memorable race for us and we can all be proud of the way we fought and of what we did here.”
Giro d’Italia Stage 21 Result:
1. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step in 2:51:50
2. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
3. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck
4. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Movistar
5. Tim van Dijke (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
6. Stanisław Aniołkowski (Pol) Cofidis
7. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Tudor
8. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti Kometa
9. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Jayco AlUla
10. Donavan Grondin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
Giro d’Italia Final Overall Result:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 79:14:03
2. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Col) BORA-hansgrohe at 9:56
3. Geraint Thomas (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 10:24
4. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at 12:07
5. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious at 12:49
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 14:31
7. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar at 15:52
8. Jan Hirt (CZ) Soudal Quick-Step at 18:05
9. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL at 20:32
10. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor at 21:11.
Giro’24 Stage 21:
Tour of Norway 2024
Thibau Nys won Stage 1 of the Tour of Norway on Thursday. On the final climb to Voss Resort he finished off the work of his Lidl-Trek team. Wout van Aert had to ease off before the summit. Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility) and Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck) were second and third.
Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) finished his first race kilometres, since the end of March, when he crashed badly in Dwars door Vlaanderen. It wasn’t an easy start as the opening stage of the Tour of Norway had its share of climbing. In the 142 kilometre stage, the riders had to cross the Espedals (8.3km at 3.6%), then Skjervsfossen (3.4km at 5.4%) and the final climb to Voss Resort (4km at 5.6%).
A leading group broken away, including Timo Roossen (dsm-firmenich PostNL), who was racing again after a broken arm, Abram Stockman (Tour de Tietema-Unibet), Lennert Teugels (Bingoal WB), Samuel Boardman (Project Echelon), Halvor Utengen Sandstad (Coop-Repsol), Eirik Vang Aas (Norwegian National Team) and Filip Řeha (ATT Investments). The seven didn’t manage to take much of a lead. When their advantage got to 1:30, Lidl-Trek started to chase. Thibau Nys’ teammates took the lead and kept the break at that gap. At the foot of the Espedals the escape still had just over 1 minute and lost Roosen. The Dutchman was quickly caught by the peloton and was then dropped. He eventually abandoned.
Despite their limited lead, the six managed to stay ahead for a long time, even though Visma | Lease a Bike and Tudor had now helped in the pursuit. As they were starting the climb to Voss Resort, the break was over. It was now Uno-X Mobility, with Alexander Kristoff, that picked up the pace. Tudor then took command with Uno-X Mobility. This was too fast for many riders, who were dropped, including Van Aert. Mathias Vacek attacked with Thibau Nys on his wheel and they created a good gap. The Czech champion led his young Belgian teammate for a long time, but in the last metres it was up to the leader. Nys easily held off the competition. He crossed the line 4 seconds ahead of Adne Holter and Axel Laurance. Bart Lemmen finished fourth two seconds later. Van Aert crossed the line in 62nd place, almost three minutes behind Nys.
Stage winner and overall leader, Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek): “The team did a super good job, like the last few weeks every single day. Without the radios it was a bit difficult to control, but it’s an amazing group and we made it work in whatever scenario. The did a hell of a job to control the break and keep everything in control. On the final climb, Mathias was the Mathias we know from the last weeks and he was there at the right moment to drop everyone. At 500 meters to go I was thinking to let him have the win and do a 1-2 after all the work he did for me in the past weeks, because I would really love to see him win…”
Tour of Norway Stage 1 Result:
1. Thibau Nys (Bel) Lidl-Trek in 3:21:34
2. Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:04
3. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninck
4. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:06
5. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek at 0:08
6. Idar Andersen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
7. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:18
8. Adrien Maire (Fra) TDT-Unibet
9. Óscar Rodríguez (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:20
10. Magnus Cort (Den) Uno-X Mobility.
Tour of Norway Overall After Stage 1:
1. Thibau Nys (Bel) Lidl-Trek in 3:21:24
2. Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:08
3. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 0:10
4. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:16
5. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek at 0:18
6. Idar Andersen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
7. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:28
8. Adrien Maire (Fra) TDT-Unibet
9. Óscar Rodríguez (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:30
10. Magnus Cort (Den) Uno-X Mobility.
Norway’24 stage 1:
Axel Laurance won the Second Stage and took the overall lead of the Tour of Norway. The Frenchman of Alpecin-Deceuninck was faster than Ethan Hayter and Bart Lemmen on the final climb. Thibau Nys had to let go halfway up the climb and lost his leader’s jersey to Laurance.
The final of the second stage was more difficult than the first. The finish was in Gullingen, after a climb of 5.5 kilometres at 8.8 percent.
Early in the stage, four riders escaped. Sean Flynn (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Anton Stensby (Coop-Repsol), Hugo Scala Jr (Project Echelon Racing) and Filip Řeha (ATT Investments), who was also involved in the opening stage, built a lead of almost 4 minutes. In the climb of the Hogganvikbakken (3.5km at 5.3%), the only categorised climb of the day, Řeha was the first at the top. The Czech was now on the same points as KOM leader Eirik Vang Aas. On one of the smaller climbs, Scala Jr had to let his three fellow escapees go. There was also a crash involving Wout van Aert. The Visma rider | Lease a Bike suffered a cut elbow, but was otherwise undamaged and was able to continue and rejoin the peloton. Q36.5 had taken control of the peloton. Other teams started to help, including Visma | Lease a Bike with Van Aert. The difference to the escapees had decreased to less than 1 minute. It was only a matter of time before the break would be caught. Anton Stensby held on for the longest, but with 5.4 kilometres to go, it was over.
The peloton had been thinned out by the time Stensby was pulled in. This was due to the work of the Tudor team, who had plans for Marco Brenner, 7th overall. At 3.5 kilometres from the finish it was also too fast for overall leader, Thibau Nys. Brenner then came to the front, leaving only a few riders: Bart Lemmen, Adne Holter, Carl Frederik Hagen, Axel Laurance, Luca Vergallito, Kamiel Bonneu and Nys’ teammate Mathias Vacek were able to stay with Brenner. Brenner then put in some attacks. The group split up a few times, but it no one got away. In the last kilometre, Óscar Rodríguez and Ethan Hayter of INEOS Grenadiers also came back from behind. Rodríguez then sprinted to lead-out his British teammate. But Laurance came past with a lot of speed and took a few lengths on Hayter. He did not relinquish his lead and crossed the line first. Hayter had to settle for second place, Lemmen was third. Laurance not only won the stage, but is also the new overall leader. The 23-year-old rider, who was third in the opening stage. took over the yellow from Nys, who crossed the line in 16th place, 26 seconds behind Laurance.
Stage winner and overall leader,Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “I didn’t know if it was going to work. It was a long climb and I didn’t work on that kind of effort. However, I felt good and I was also well positioned. By the time the climb stabilised for a while, I was able I also had the support of Luca. That’s when I know it’s possible for me. I went at full speed 200 meters from the finish line. The fact that I can win is very nice. at the level of the World Tour, but it is already very nice.”
5th overall, Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek): “I had a moment of weakness. But I was able to recover better than I thought. When the rest came, I really had to pass. My legs were filling up. But they also had to temporize from the front. If I had overcome that, I think I could have survived. In the end, I only finished at 23 seconds, while riding alone for the last three kilometres or so. Maybe it was the wrong choice to let me swim alone among them. Mathias wins and we would have been right.”
Tour of Norway Stage 2 Result:
1. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninck in 5:01:09
2. Ethan Hayter (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
3. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
4. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek at 0:03
5. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:05
6. Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
7. Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise
8. Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Q36.5
9. Óscar Rodríguez (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers
10. Luca Vergallito (Ita) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 0:15.
Tour of Norway Overall After Stage 2:
1. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninckin 8:22:33
2. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:12
3. Ådne Holter (GB) Uno-X Mobility at 0:13
4. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek at 0:21
5. Thibau Nys (Bel) Lidl-Trek at 0:25
6. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:33
7. Óscar Rodríguez (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:35
8. Ethan Hayter (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:46
9. Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise at 0:48
10. Magnus Cort (Den) Uno-X Mobility at 0:52.
Norway’24 stage 2:
Jordi Meeus of BORA-hansgrohe won Stage 3 of the Tour of Norway. The Belgian defeated Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) and Pavel Bittner (dsm-firmenich PostNL) in the sprint. Wout van Aert from Visma | Lease a Bike came fourth.
Stage 3 looked like a stage for the sprinters. In the 173 kilometre route, the Dalane Energi-bakken (6.4km at 3.1%) was the only categorised climb, the summit was more than 60 kilometres from the finish. Not a day for attackers. Soon after the start, a leading group of four formed: Matús Stocek (ATT Investments), Brendan Rhim (Project Echelon), Johan Ravnøy (Coop-Repsol) and Eirik Vang Aas (Norwegian national team).
On the only climb of the day nothing happened and a bunch sprint was expected in Egersund. At 56 kilometres Vang Aas was caught by the peloton. Stocek was caught 9 kilometres from the finish, but at the same time Walter Calzoni (Q36.5) crossed to the leaders. With just over 2 kilometres to go, the break was caught and the peloton prepared for the sprint. Uno-X dropped Kristoff perfectly, but it was Jordi Meeus who crossed the line first ahead of Kristoff and Bittner. Van Aert finished fourth. Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck) held his lead.
Stage winner, Jordi Meeus (BORA-hansgrohe): “Winning is always nice. It was a pretty hectic finale – not just in the peloton, but also due to strong crosswinds from the right. Despite the many position battles, I stayed calm and concentrated. The timing for the sprint was perfect. I’m very happy to celebrate my first victory of the season.”
Tour of Norway Stage 3 Result:
1. Jordi Meeus (Bel) BORA-hansgrohe in 3:53:33
2. Pavel Bittner (CZ) dsm-firmenich PostNL
3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
4. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma | Lease a Bike
5. Elia Viviani (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers
6. Sasha Weemaes (Bel) Bingoal WB
7. Huub Artz (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty
8. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek
9. Luc Wirtgen (Lux) Tudor
10. Halvor Utengen Sandstad (Nor) Team Coop-Repsol.
Tour of Norway Overall After Stage 3:
1. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninck in 12:16:06
2. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:12
3. Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:13
4. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek at 0:21
5. Thibau Nys (Bel) Lidl-Trek at 0:25
6. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:33
7. Óscar Rodríguez (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:35
8. Ethan Hayter (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:46
9. Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise at 0:48
10. Magnus Cort (Den) Uno-X Mobility at 0:52.
Norway’24 stage 3:
Alexander Kristoff won the Final Stage 4 of the Tour of Norway, just like he did in 2022 and 2023. The Norwegian beat Jordi Meeus and Wout van Aert in a bunch sprint in Stavanger. Axel Laurance crossed the line in sixth place and took the final overall win.
As usual, the Tour of Norway finished in Stavanger, where the sprinters and puncheurs could fight for the win. In the previous years there was a circuit south of Stavanger, including the Undheim climb (1.7km at 3.8%). But this year, the stage would be decided on the climb of the Grisabakken. The final stage was only 125 kilometres of six laps with the Grisabakken (600m at 8.2%, maximum 14%) every time, so the chance of a sprint was less. From the last summit of the Grisabakken, there were 7 kilometres to the flat finish.
There was an early break of six riders: Kim Heiduk (INEOS Grenadiers), Natnael Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek), Marcel Camprubí (Q36.5), Hannes Wilksch (Tudor), Jakub Otruba (ATT Investments) and Laurent Gervais (Project Echelon Racing) took a lead of 1:30. Jelle Johannink (Tour de Tietema-Unibet) eventually joined them after a solo chase. With Johannink, Tesfatsion and Heiduk, there were several strong riders in the front group, so the lead remained limited.
In the peloton it was Alpecin-Deceuninck for leader Axel Laurance and Uno-X Mobility doing the chase work. They kept the difference to the leading group within limits, since Otruba was at only 1:10 on the GC and was virtual leader. With 50 kilometres to go, the lead was only 1 minute and now Visma | Lease a Bike decided to open the race up. The Dutch team pushed hard on the climb of the Grisabakken. Koen Bouwman and Wout van Aert both put in strong turns. Due to the acceleration by the Visma | Lease a Bike rider, the race was now fully on, this was bad news for the break and they were caught by the peloton with 30 kilometres to go. This was just before the penultimate climb of the Grisabakken. Due to Huub Artz, the peloton was completely split.
Artz started the first proper lead group of about 20 riders, along with Van Aert, Per Strand Hagenes, Laurance, Adne Holter and Mathias Vacek. Bart Lemmen, 2nd overall, and Thibau Nys had missed the move. It looked bad for Lemmen and Nys, but at the start of the last lap, with 20 kilometres to go, everything came back together again. At that point Hagenes decided to attack. The 20-year-old Norwegian tried to solo to the finish, but he was no match for the peloton. Eight kilometres from the finish, Hagenes was caught, before the final climb of the Grisabakken. On the final climb it was Vacek who made a big effort to take the final overall win from Laurance, but the Frenchman managed to hold on. The differences after the top of the Grisabakken were still small.
A group with Van Aert was within 10 seconds and a second group with Jordi Meeus had not yet been completely distanced. Vacek did everything he could in the final kilometres to stay out front for a podium place, but was unable hold the chasers off in the last kilometre. The final stage of the Tour of Norway ended in a sprint by a fairly large group, including Alexander Kristoff. The Norwegian was the best in the final stage in 2022 and 2023 and took his third in a row in Stavanger. The 36-year-old Uno-X Mobility rider beat Jordi Meeus and Wout van Aert in the sprint for his third victory in May. Laurance finished in sixth place in the sprint, but the Frenchman of Alpecin-Deceuninck was the final overall winner. Bart Lemmen and Adne Holter were second and third.
Stage winner, Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility): “I know exactly the finish, but today was really tough, really hard to get it together. I am pleased to take victory again this year. I feel good, but of course, the Tour is a different level, but some of the guys are the same. So if I can beat them here, why not in the Tour.”
2nd overall, Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike): “I did not specifically have a plan to keep the winner Laurence from taking the overall victory. I wanted to see what would happen if the race was made tough and we could get away with some strong riders. I had a very good day today and could also count on an incredibly strong team. It was the first time I raced with Wout (van Aert) and it is really incredible how strong he is. A pleasure to ride together.”
3rd on the stage, Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike): “There is still a difference between having correct ambitions and making no effort. I wanted to test myself and I’m glad I succeeded in the last two days. A lot of uncertainty has been removed. I felt myself getting better and that was what I hoped for. Confidence has grown. The most important thing is that I haven’t had any pain. It’s been a positive week and certainly one that we will evaluate to see what comes next. But I’m not going to do that in front of the camera.”
Tour of Norway Stage 4 Result:
1. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Uno-X Mobility in 2:39:04
2. Jordi Meeus (Bel) BORA-hansgrohe
3. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma | Lease a Bike
4. Pavel Bittner (CZ) dsm-firmenich PostNL
5. Lars Craps (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise
6. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninck
7. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor
8. Tyler Stites (USA) Project Echelon Racing
9. Huub Artz (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty
10. Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty.
Tour of Norway Final Overall Result:
1. Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin-Deceuninck in 14:55:10
2. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:12
3. Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:13
4. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek at 0:21
5. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:33
6. Óscar Rodríguez (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:40
7. Ethan Hayter (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:46
8. Magnus Cort (Den) Uno-X Mobility at 0:52
9. Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise at 0:53
10. Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Q36.5 at 0:54.
Norway’24 stage 4:
Ford RideLondon Classique 2024
Lorena Wiebes won Stage 1 of the RideLondon Classique. The Dutch woman won the bunch sprint after a strong lead-out from Lotte Kopecky. Letizia Paternoster and Clara Copponi finished second and third.
The Ford RideLondon Classique, a British stage race of 2.WWT level, started on Friday with a flat stage from Saffron Walden to Colchester. Rebecca Koerner (Uno-X Mobility) and Lea Lin Teutenberg (Ceratizit-WNT) made up the break of the day.
This was an impossible battle, because the sprinter’s teams had set their sights on the first stage. Alice Towers (Canyon//SRAM) and Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek) also tried to get away in the final, but they too were quickly caught. SD Worx-Protime were in control for the sprint. Lorena Wiebes received a perfect lead-out from Lotte Kopecky to take the victory. Charlotte Kool tried to take up the fight, but didn’t have the finishing jump. Letizia Paternoster and Clara Copponi went past Kool. Wiebes is the leader of the general classification.
Stage winner and overall leader, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “I’m happy I managed to finish it in the sprint. We were in control all day. Femke Markus and Christine Majerus did a great job to keep the breakaway from getting too far away. After that, I was brought in perfectly. So I was not allowed to fail. This was almost the perfect race from us. Whether I will go for three in a row again here in RideLondon? A hat-trick would be nice, yes.”
Ford RideLondon Classique Stage 1 Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 4:06:27
2. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco
3. Clara Copponi (Fra) Lidl-Trek
4. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Uno-X Mobility
5. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
6. Margot Vanpachtenbeke (Bel) VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team
7. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
8. Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
9. Mylène de Zoete (Ned) CERATIZIT-WNT
10. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon//SRAM.
Ford RideLondon Classique Overall After Stage 1:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 4:06:16
2. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco in 0:05
3. Clara Copponi (Fra) Lidl-Trek at 0:07
4. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Uno-X Mobility at 0:11
5. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
6. Margot Vanpachtenbeke (Bel) VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team
7. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
8. Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
9. Mylène de Zoete (Ned) CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team
10. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon//SRAM.
RideLondon’24 stage 1:
Stage 2 of the RideLondon Classique was won by Lorena Wiebes. The SD Worx rider, who also won the first stage on Friday, was the fastest in a bunch finish. She had a perfect lead-out from her teammate Lotte Kopecky.
The second stage of the RideLondon Classique was the most difficult of the three-day stage race. After the start in Maldon, the riders made a long loop to return to the port town after 65 kilometres. There were two more local circuits of 35 kilometres. The climb of North Hill (0.9km at 6.3%) was 12 kilometres from the finish. The finishing straight in Maldon was 200 metres at 11%.
The run-up to the finishing circuit was quiet. No one wanted to make an early break, although the pace was not slow. It was very fast on the penultimate climb of North Hill as Lidl-Trek increased the pace. Just before the top, Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM) attacked. Overall leader Wiebes was ready and jumped past the Italian just before the top and took three bonus seconds.
The race came together again in the final lap. There were some attacks, but they all failed. Everything was still together at the foot of the last climb of North Hill. Lidl-Trek took the initiative again on the climb, but it was Paladin who took on the action. Lotte Kopecky countered and crossed the top first and then continued for a while. A group of about 10 riders got away, but many riders came back on the descent and a thinned out peloton raced to the finish. Ilse Pluimers and Maike van der Duin tried to get away, but due to Kopecky’s controlling work, everything stayed together. The World champion sprinted in the last kilometre, leading out Wiebes who jumped for the win. Charlotte Kool finished second, Kopecky came third.
Stage winner and overall leader, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “It would be fantastic if we can hold on to this classification. I hope to score a hat-trick on the Mall. I had a good day today. On the hills I was able to grab the full pot of bonification seconds twice. However, it didn’t start very well. In the crash, I was lucky to land on my feet. Lotte Kopecky and Femke Gerritse were on the ground. We had to chase to get back in the peloton. But in the end everything came together and Lotte Kopecky rode a fantastic final. She pulled off the lead-out perfectly. It’s super that she still finished third today, which makes us one and two in the general classification. Hopefully we can keep that until tomorrow night. I’m dreaming of another hat-trick, yes. I could never win on the iconic Mall before. Hopefully it will work out tomorrow.”
3rd on the stage and 2nd overall, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime): “I’m satisfied, yes. I didn’t realise at all that we were one and two in the overall standings. It does say something about how strong Team SD Worx-Protime is riding here. It was quite a hectic day today with that crash during the race. I hope it won’t bother me too much tomorrow. I’m glad I was still able to drop Lorena Wiebes towards the finish. Tomorrow the stage win and the general classification take precedence. I am satisfied with the way we are racing here.”
Ford RideLondon Classique Stage 2 Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:33:26
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
3. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
4. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco
5. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon//SRAM
6. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Uno-X Mobility
7. Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
8. Pfeiffer Georgi (GB) dsm-firmenich PostNL
9. Clara Copponi (Fra) Lidl-Trek
10. Roxane Fournier (Fra) St Michel-Mavic-Auber93.
Ford RideLondon Classique Overall After Stage 2:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 7:39:26
2. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime at 0:20
3. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:21
4. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
5. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon//SRAM at 0:22
6. Clara Copponi (Fra) Lidl-Trek at 0:23
7. Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 0:25
8. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Uno-X Mobility at 0:27
9. Roxane Fournier (Fra) St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 WE
10. Ally Wollaston (NZ) AG Insurance-Soudal.
RideLondon’24 stage 2:
Lorena Wiebes also won the Final Stage 3 of RideLondon Classique. The Dutch rider was the fastest in a bunch sprint finish and won all the stages of the British stage race for the second time in her career. She also took the final overall win.
The fast Dutch woman, Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime has formed an unbeatable combination with World champion Lotte Kopecky. The seventh edition of the RideLondon Classique ended on Sunday with a criterium in central London. The 11.4 kilometre circuit had to be completed eight times. The finish line was on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. The same finish as the Olympic events in 2012.
There was little enthusiasm from the peloton to attack in the first lap. After an uneventful race in these first 10 kilometres, several women wanted to make a move. Many teams wanted to create a break, but the peloton made sure these various attempts failed. With 6 laps to go everything was still together. The attack attempts caused some nervousness in the peloton. The intermediate sprints also played a role in this. On the third passage of the finish it was Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco), who managed to take 3 bonus seconds and virtually rose to 2nd place, 18 seconds behind Lorena Wiebes. In lap five, Kaja Rysz (Lifeplus Wahoo) managed to open a gap on her own. The Polish rider struggled, but received help from the Dutch rider, Scarlett Souren (VolkerWessels). The duo managed to build a lead of just under 1 minute with 3 laps to go. The peloton didn’t seem interested.
This changed as the second intermediate sprint of the day approached. The break’s lead disappeared and the top riders fought for the bonus seconds. This time it was Ally Wollaston (AG Insurance-Soudal) who won. With a second place, Paternoster moved closer to Wiebes on the GC and points classification. The sprinter’s teams kept everything together and managed to bring their fast women to the final. There were no more late attacks and there would be a sprint in London. Again it was Lorena Wiebes who was the strongest in the sprint. The Dutch rider won the third stage and the final overall classification. For Lorena Wiebes it is the second time that she has won all stages in the British stage race. It is an exceptional achievement, only Marianne Vos (Ladies Tour of Norway) and Demi Vollering (Itzulia Women) have managed to achieve this in the Women’s WorldTour.
Stage and overall winner, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “It’s nice to win a completely flat stage for once too. Riding through the centre of London was special. I enjoyed it. The team kept me safe at the front all day. In the beginning there was a crash, one of my teammates was involved and her bike hit my back wheel. I escaped worse there. I had my sights set on the hat-trick. It is always difficult to repeat performances and a hat-trick is even more difficult to achieve. It helps when you have such strong teammates around you. I want to thank them for everything they have done for me. Nice also that we finished one and three in the general classification. It’s fantastic that we proved unbeatable in this RideLondon.”
3rd on the stage and overall, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime): “I am proud of what Team SD Worx-Protime put down in RideLondon. It was a collectively strong performance from the team. What I especially like is how we can trust each other. That is the key to success. Sometimes your instinct says otherwise, but you should always trust and follow your lead-out. By drawing confidence from each other, you can finish it off in such hectic sprints. I am happy with Lorena Wiebes’ hat-trick. Just before the RideLondon, I had been a bit sick. Yesterday I fell, so that wasn’t ideal. We can build on this team performance. Hopefully it’s the harbinger of a great summer.”
Ford RideLondon Classique Stage 3 Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 2:08:47
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
3. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
4. Sofie van Rooijen (Ned) VolkerWessels
5. Maike van der Duin (Ned) Canyon//SRAM
6. Clara Copponi (Fra) Lidl-Trek
7. Mylène de Zoete (Ned) CERATIZIT-WNT
8. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco
9. Kristýna Burlová (CZ) Lifeplus Wahoo
10. Anniina Ahtosalo (Fin) Uno-X Mobility.
Ford RideLondon Classique Final Overall Result::
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 9:48:03
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL at 0:25
3. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime at 0:26
4. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco
5. Clara Copponi (Fra) Lidl-Trek at 0:30
6. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon//SRAM at 0:32
7. Ally Wollaston (NZ) AG Insurance-Soudal at 0:34
8. Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 0:35
9. Roxane Fournier (Fra) St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 at 0:37
10. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Uno-X Mobility.
RideLondon’24 stage 3:
Rund um Köln 2024
The 106th edition of Rund um Köln was won by Casper van Uden. The Dutchman of DSM-firmenich PostNL managed to survive a difficult race and was then the fastest in the final sprint. Van Uden was too strong for Biniam Girmay and Louis Blouwe, who finished second and third.
The 106th edition of the German one-day race, the Rund um Köln, was held on Sunday. With Pascal Ackermann, Biniam Girmay, Sam Welsford, Florian Sénéchal, Casper van Uden, Amaury Capiot and Matthew Brennan on the start line, it was going to be a tough race. The race of 194.8 kilometres round Cologne, had 2,700 metres of climbing. The 2024 Rund um Köln was also Rick Zabel’s final race. The 30-year-old son of Erik Zabel, would hang up his race wheels in his home race.
The break of the day formed early and included Michal Schlegel (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Anton Lennemann (BIKE AID), Patrick Reißig (Maloja Pushbikers), Tobias Buck-Gramcko (Rad-Net Oßwald), Julian Borresch & Sebastian Niehues (REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland), Mil Morang (Team Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank) and Ole Theiler (Team Storck-Metropol Cycling). At 115 kilometres from the finish, a woman with a walker was crossing the road in front of the break at a round-about. With some clever bike handling, the riders were able to avoid the woman, but Theiler did take the woman’s walker with him. Fortunately, the woman was unharmed and was able to pick up her walker a few metres away.
The eight leaders took a 4 minute lead on the peloton, but this was reduced as the race got closer to the finish. With 80 kilometres to go, the lead had dropped to just over 2 minutes. Behind; the considerably thinned out peloton was being attacked. In the hilly zone, three riders were able to break away: Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Roger Adrià (BORA-hansgrohe) and Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike). This trio quickly managed to get 30 seconds on the first chasing group of 9 riders, including Girmay, his teammate Hugo Page and Marco Haller. What was left of the peloton was led by Alpecin-Deceuninck. The Belgian team kept up the momentum in the third group and quickly pulled in the 9 pursuers. The three leaders, Brennan, Adrià and Johannessen, had a good lead. At 35 kilometres from the finish, the difference had increased to 1 minute.
Adrià and Brennan lifted the pace in the run-up to Schloss Bensberg (900m at 6.4%), this caused Johannessen to be dropped. With 13 kilometres to go, the escape came to an end, and there would now be a group sprint. Ackermann was the home favourite, Girmay and Capiot were also possibles, but they were all beaten by Casper van Uden. he was the fastest in the sprint and won by a good margin. The 22-year-old dsm-firmenich PostNL rider took his second victory of the season, after winning the opening stage of the AlUla Tour in February. Girmay finished in second place and Belgian Louis Blouwe of Bingoal WB was third.
Race winner, Casper van Uden (dsm-firmenich PostNL): “It was a really good day for us today. The guys did a super good job covering the moves they had to in the hilly area of the race, then they were super strong in the chase from the bunch. In the final we just focused on ourselves and did our own thing. The boys helped me really well and put me in a great position around the last corner. I just then launched and went full-gas to the finish and it was good enough today. I’m really happy to take the win for the team.”
2nd, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “The teamwork was perfect today in Rund um Köln. We controlled the race from the start, attacked in the run-up to the final and finally my teammates also did a textbook lead out. I had excellent legs and the entire race went according to plan, but unfortunately I launched my sprint a little too late to be able to react to Casper van Uden who came from behind with high speed. It’s nice to finish on the podium of a classic again. I enjoy this kind of open races, like today or last week’s Antwerp Port Epic. I hope for a similar scenario in my next two races, the Circuit Franco-Belge and the Brussels Cycling Classic. In these important appointments for the team, we want to show ourselves again as a solid team.”
3rd, Louis Blouwe (Bingoal WB): “I am very happy to be back at a good level after a spring disrupted by a fractured coccyx following a fall at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. After this injury, I returned to competition at Flèche Brabantonne. I had good feelings at the recent 4 Days of Dunkirk, especially in the main stage of Cassel where I rode a lot for Luca van Boven. Unfortunately I got sick in the last stage. For Cologne, the sensations had returned. The race was fast, there were many difficulties and we had to systematically sprint to arrive at the foot of the bumps. The legs were heavy in the final but I benefited from the help of Luca who steered me well in the last 15-20 kilometres. I thank him and the whole team for the very collective work in Cologne. I am now heading towards the Heistse Pijl or the Brussels Cycling Classic before embarking on the Tour of Slovenia and the national championship.”
Rund um Köln Result:
1. Casper van Uden (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL in 4:21:55
2. Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty
3. Louis Blouwe (Bel) Bingoal WB
4. Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto Dstny
5. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Germany
6. Matthew Brennan (GB) Visma | Lease a Bike
7. Amaury Capiot (Bel) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
8. Tord Gudmestad (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
9. Loe van Belle (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
10. Fabio Christen (SUI) Q36.5.
Köln’24:
Tobias Steinhauser Very Emotional After his Son’s Victory
Georg Steinhauser soloed to his first victory as a professional rider on Wednesday in the seventeenth stage of the Giro d’Italia. The young German came close earlier in the Giro, but he took the win on the Passo Brocon, much to the delight of his father, Tobias.
Tobias Steinhauser, who was a professional cyclist from 1996 to 2005, was in the Eurosport Germany studio on Wednesday and saw how his 22-year-old son took the first victory of his young professional career. Steinhauser was visibly emotional on TV.
Georg Steinhauser, of EF Education-EasyPost, took the win on the Passo Brocon on Wednesday. The promising rider triumphed on the climb after a solo of 33 kilometres, after an attack from the group of favourites. He had also been part of the early break of the stage.
“After the queen stage (where Steinhauser finished third) I had confidence. Actually, I was already satisfied with my Giro, but I felt that I had the legs to win again. It’s incredible that it worked. I couldn’t think about much along the way, I really had to concentrate. I knew I had to go all out on the final climb, because an attack from Tadej Pogacar was coming. Fortunately, he didn’t do that until late,” he said after the stage.
Big win for Steinhauser:
Patrick Lefevere: “Contentless Criticism of Tim Merlier Only Existed Among a Few Sour Keyboard Heroes”
Patrick Lefevere watched Tim Merlier take his second victory in the Giro d’Italia last week. Merlier dealt with a lot of criticism, something that did not escape Lefevere’s attention. “It’s nice that the sour keyboard heroes have lost their last argument,” wrote the manager of Soudal Quick-Step in his Het Nieuwsblad column.
Merlier was criticised for a long time that he was unable to win in the third week of a Grand Tour. “The haters will be disappointed,” Merlier said after stage eighteen. “Look, I’m happy that I proved that I can do that. As a sportsman you still want to answer the critics. I prefer to answer with the pedals,” he explained to Het Nieuwsblad.
Lefevere also has something to say about it. “Tim Merlier has put an end to the vacuous criticism that he can only win sprints in the first week of a Grand Tour. That idea was only entertained by a few sour keyboard heroes, but it’s nice that they have also lost their last argument for speaking disparagingly about him.”
“Tim is great: a great guy who almost never misses an appointment. No offence, but with sprinters it is usually me, myself and I. Tim is different,” after which Lefevere explains in detail that Merlier is concerned with more than just himself, including the team’s sponsors.
Stage win for Tim Merlier in the third week of the Giro:
Tadej Pogačar Flagged Again on Strava
Tadej Pogačar beat all his competitors in the 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia, finishing in Livigno. But his performance was flagged on Strava. The Slovenian could see the funny side, but Pogačar has now been reported again.
If someone thinks an activity on Strava is suspicious, they can flag the segment. There was a Strava follower who found Pogačar’s performance last Sunday on the road to Livigno as ‘suspicious’, this caused his time to be hidden on the training app for some time. There was so much protest that Strava quickly put Pogačar’s ride to Livigno back online.
“It was a ‘funny’ moment to see that,” Pogačar laughed about it on the second rest day. “I think it’s good that people can see via Strava how fast we ride on the iconic mountains. Then they can compare our times properly. Later, many kudos were received on my Strava file of that famous ride. A lot of people responded enthusiastically.”
But it didn’t stop there, because someone also reported his performance in the shortened sixteenth stage to Santa Cristina Valgardena. “Haters gonna flag,” was the response of the Giro leader at the time.
‘Pogačar took my segment’:
Grit and Gravel as Bahrain Victorious Make Their Debut at the Unbound 200
For the first time, Team Bahrain Victorious colours will light up the world’s premier gravel race, Life Time Unbound Gravel 200, in Kansas, USA.
Since the event’s inception in 2006, Emporia, Kansas has become known as ‘Gravel City’. Previously, Kansas had been known mainly as the setting for the much-loved movie, The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy follows the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard.
Bahrain’s wizard of gravel is UCI World Champion Matej Mohorič, and while the yellow bricks will be replaced by loose stones and dust on June 1st, like Dorothy he will have companions on the 327km (203 miles) route. Not a scarecrow, a lion & a tin man, but the heart, brains and courage of Lukasž Wiśniowski and Matevž Govekar.
Mohorič is fired up by the prospect of appearing in such a prestigious, if gruelling, event: “I’m excited to take part in the ‘Unbound Gravel 200’ for the first time. It will be only the 2nd gravel race of my life [the first being his World Championships victory last October], so there are still a lot of unknowns.”
The race starts from downtown Emporia at 5:50am on June 1st, and as well as the length of the course, the 1,308 riders (137 in the Men’s Elite category) will also have to tackle 3,611 vertical metres over 10 hours or so in the saddle.
“I don’t know what to expect to be honest!” admitted the 29-year old. “It’s quite a bit longer than last years gravel World Champs [169km]. It’s double the distance, double the time, and double the elevation gain, so it suits riders with more endurance and stamina. I’m not sure how I will go against the others, but I will definitely do my best, and enjoy my day out in the rainbow jersey as the current World Champion. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime, unique experience, and I will make the most of it.”
The parcours runs over ascents & descents on tire-shredding, sun-baked gravel, in a region called the ‘Flint Hills’. One of the toughest sections comes after just 72km, on Divide Road. It’s a relentless stretch of rough terrain leading that includes the Prarie View Road climb.
Just over halfway through is ‘Little Egypt’, where the rocks are bigger, and where previous editions have seen very significant attacks. When the tank is almost empty, and with just 45km to go, the longest climb of the day is exposed and windy to Lake Kahola, before the run in to the finish back on Commercial Street in Emporia.
With Matej in Veneto eight months ago was fellow Slovenian Govekar, who finished 15th, while Wiśniowski has never competed on this surface. Like Mohorič, the Pole has no idea what the day has in store: “I have never competed on gravel, and I know very little about the race itself, but I know that my role will be to protect our leader Matej, support him, and help him on the course however I can. I’m really happy because it’s my first big gravel race so even though I am not so young, I must learn all the time, and I will do my best on the day!”
The differences between road and gravel racing are not only what’s under the wheels, but also there are no team cars, and helpers can only give food & drinks etc at two points – kms 112 & 238. In addition, riders CAN give each other mechanical assistance, are allowed to stop at shops along the way, and may even receive support from members of the public! Lastly, they must all carry a mobile phone, and pass timing checkpoints within a certain time behind the race leader.
Govekar is the youngest of the party crossing the Atlantic, and is in agreement with his teammates: “I am really excited to try my hand at ‘the gravel race of all gravel races’, but at the same time I am frightened because of how long it is. I am pretty young but I already know this is a really big challenge physically and mentally. I’ll try my absolute best in the race of course, and you never know what might happen!”
There will be several names on the start-list known to road cycling fans, including Nathan Haas, Chad Haga, and 2021 winner Ian Boswell, alongside last year’s victor Keegan Swenson.
Being held in the very centre of the United States, our trailblazing trio are unlikely to encounter the wicked witches of either East or West, but this is a daunting, dirty, head-to-head contest in the mud and heat, where mechanicals are inevitable.
Nonetheless, Bahrain’s entrants are ready for the adventure of their lives.
He will be clipping his pedals instead of clicking his heels, but Mohoric is hoping that somewhere over his rainbow (jersey!), where skies are blue, the dreams that he dares to dream, really do come true: “Lukasz and Matevž will be with me and we will make it an unforgettable day out there. It will be super long and crazy hard, but we will try and go for it, why not!” he concluded.
The Life Time Unbound Gravel 200 starts at 12:50 CET, and the winning time last year was 10 hours, 6 minutes & 2 seconds.
Life Time will release 45 minutes of race highlights on Monday, June 3rd, for in-depth coverage of the race. Fans can view that on the Life Time Grand Prix YouTube channel & see how Team Bahrain Victorious fared in their quest for gravel glory!
DS Arrieta: “Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale is Much More Modern than Movistar”
José Luis Arrieta recently joined the technical staff of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. The 52-year-old Basque worked for Movistar for many years after his racing career, but is back as a DS in the peloton after two seasons. “They really work very differently at Movistar,” Arrieta told sports-paper AS.
“At Decathlon AG2R there are a lot more resources, how everything is organised… It’s a much more modern team,” said Arrieta. At the end of 2021, he left Movistar under a cloud, after working for about ten years as a sports director with the Spanish team. After that he stayed away from cycling for a while. Arrieta needed a break, he acknowledges. “And especially of the Abarca Sports company and the structure itself, even more than of Movistar.”
It was not that Arrieta completely isolated himself from cycling. “I have followed a lot on television, I have also been to a few races and I train a lot with Igor,” his 21-year-ols son, Igor Arrieta, who will race for UAE Team Emirates for the next three years.
“I didn’t really have the intention to return, but I feel good.” He now works with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. Arrieta raced for the French team from 2006 to 2010, and is now temporary DS. “They called to ask if I was available, and I was. They then contacted them again because a colleague (Didier Jannel) was absent. Asking if I could fill in.”
Arrieta made his debut in the Four Days of Dunkirk and is currently working on the Boucles de la Mayenne. The Tour of Switzerland is also still on his programme. “That is the plan, and if Jannel can return by then, he will be back. If not, maybe I can continue until the Vuelta a España. Going forward, I have been told that changes may still be coming, and they know they can count on me.”
José Luis Arrieta to work more with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale:
Soudal Quick-Step Salute During Giro d’Italia
You may have seen the Soudal Quick-Step riders making a salute during the recent days of the Giro d’Italia and wondered what it was about! We’re excited to reveal the reason behind this gesture.
The Castelli-equipped riders have been pointing at their Soudal Quick-Step jerseys and saluting with the number 2. This salute is in honour of a significant milestone. As stage 18 of the Giro passes the Fonzaso headquarters of Castelli, we are thrilled to announce a two-year contract extension with Castelli, which will now run through to 2026.
Our collaboration with Castelli is more than just about being supplied with the cycling kit; it is an ongoing innovation partnership. Since 2022, we have worked tirelessly with our partners on optimal cycling apparel designed to enhance performance in all conditions. From wind tunnel-tested time trial and road aero suits to lightweight summer climbers’ jerseys and bib shorts, and the iconic Gabba, Castelli’s aim is to keep riders warm and dry in inclement weather.
Speaking of the agreement, Soudal Quick-Step CEO Patrick Lefevere said: “We could not have been happier with the way our relationship with Castelli has grown. Clothing is such an important part of cycling for all sorts of reasons; aerodynamics, keeping out the elements, and let’s not forget plain comfort. We really appreciate the work that Castelli have done with us on all fronts to develop the perfect products that allow our riders to train and perform day after day, in all conditions.”
Castelli’s Brand Manager, Steve Smith, said: “We always seek opportunities to elevate performance. We believe we have found the perfect partner in Soudal Quick-Step to help us achieve this. The riders are incredibly motivated, and the synergy between them and Castelli’s Race Performance Division is strong.”
Smith added: “Castelli has consistently been at the forefront of technical clothing progression in the pro peloton for decades, and we aim to continue this tradition not only for the benefit of Soudal Quick-Step riders but to ensure these innovations also reach the general public. This salute represents more than just a gesture; it symbolises the strength and success of a partnership dedicated to pushing the boundaries of cycling apparel technology. We look forward to more years of shared success and innovation with Soudal Quick-Step.”
Roglic-Evenepoel: They’re Back!
Key points:
- They battled it out in the 2022 edition of the Vuelta, then at the start of the season, they were deprived of an actual confrontation in Paris-Nice and even more so in the Tour of the Basque Country, which they retired in the same crash: Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel intend to return to competition in the Critérium du Dauphiné… but at what level of performance?
- Whether they are riding at their maximum potential or slightly behind in their preparation for the Tour de France, the two favourites will have some seriously proper rivals to contend with, including 2023 Vuelta winner Sepp Kuss, the highly promising Spaniards Juan Ayuso and Carlos Rodriguez, Great Britain’s Tao Geoghegan Hart, France’s David Gaudu and Guillaume Martin, Colombia’s Santiago Buitrago and Austria’s Felix Gall.
Prognosticators and analysts sometimes have no choice but to grope their way forward. Such is the case in the run-up to the Critérium du Dauphiné 2024, where the leader’s jersey, to be worn on the final podium on the Plateau des Glières on Sunday, 9 June, less than three weeks before the first stages of the Tour de France, seems to be particularly open to the appetites of the contenders. The hierarchy, which is usually defined in broad strokes and gradually over the first part of the season, blew up in April at the Tour of the Basque Country, where a crash disrupted the build-up of the two leading favourites in the race, as well as defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, who has had to put his return to competition on hold. Primož Roglič was the least affected. He had time to show real signs of performance by winning the opening stage and even leading the general classification when his season was brutally interrupted. Perhaps the two months’ resumption of activity will have enabled the Slovenian to return to perfect condition and finally show his full potential in the Bora-Hansgrohe jersey. With the support of climbers of the calibre of Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov, the winner of the 2022 Dauphiné has all he needs to do it again, or at least to wage a more balanced fight than he did in Paris-Nice with Remco Evenepoel. The former world champion left the Basque country with a fractured scapula and collarbone. The injury prevented him from lining up for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but not from fine-tuning his condition in Sierra Nevada to try and do even better than he did in Paris-Nice, where he was pleased to finish runner-up to Matteo Jorgenson in the general classification, win the final stage, the green and polka-dot jerseys.
For the second major race of his career on French roads, the Soudal-Quick Step leader will be in Tour configuration, surrounded in the mountains by lieutenants such as Mikel Landa and Ilan Van Wilder. But in this respect, several leaders will have arguments in their favour, starting with Sepp Kuss, who will inherit the number 1 bib and will be able to rely on top-class teammates in Matteo Jorgenson and Steven Kruijswijk. The UAE Team Emirates line-up is just as strong, with Juan Ayuso (the winner in the Basque Country!) leading the way, accompanied by Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov. Over at Ineos Grenadiers, Carlos Rodriguez showed with his victory in the Tour de Romandie that he was ready to continue his progression after his breakthrough last year (5th in the Tour de France). Groupama-FDJ is counting on a return to form for David Gaudu to emerge at the top of the general classification, while Lidl-Trek is placing its faith in its recruit this year, Tao Geoghegan Hart, winner of the 2020 Giro, to join the battle for the summits with the help of Giulio Ciccone. Among the most closely watched outsiders, Santiago Buitrago is Colombia’s best chance of riding in yellow during the final weekend if he performs at the same level as in Paris-Nice, without the drama.
22 teams, main contenders (on 24 May)
Australia
Team Jayco AlUla: Durbridge, Harper (Aus)
Bahreïn
Bahrain-Victorious: Buitrago (Col), Haig (Aus), Tiberi (Ita)
Belgium
Soudal-Quick Step: Evenepoel, Van Wilder (Bel), Landa (Spa), Masnada (Ita)
Lotto Dstny: Kron (Den), De Gendt (Bel)
Alpecin-Deceuninck: Laurance (Fra), Boven (Ned)
Intermarché-Wanty: Meintjes (Zaf), Zimmermann (Ger)
France
Décathlon – AG2R La Mondiale: Gall (Aut), Bennett (Irl), Godon (Fra)
Groupama-FDJ: Gaudu, Madouas, Grégoire (Fra)
Cofidis: Martin, Elissonde (Fra)
Team Arkéa-B&B Hotels: Champoussin, Sénéchal (Fra), Cr. Rodríguez (Spa)
Germany
BORA-hansgrohe: Roglič (Slo), Hindley (Aus), Vlasov
Great Britain
Ineos Grenadiers: Ca. Rodríguez, Fraile (Spa), Tarling (Gbr)
Israel
Israel-Premier Tech: Froome (Gbr), Fuglsang (Den), Teuns (Bel)
Kazakhstan
Astana-Qazaqstan Team: Tejada (Col), Charmig (Den)
The Netherlands
Visma | Lease a Bike: Kuss, Jorgenson (Usa), Benoot (Bel)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL: Barguil (Fra), Poole (Gbr)
Norway
Uno-X Mobility: T. Johannessen (Nor)
Spain
Movistar Team: Formolo (Ita), García Cortina (Spa)
Switzerland
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: Donovan (Gbr), Ludvigsson (Swe)
United Arab Emirates
UAE Team Emirates: Ayuso, Soler (Spa), Sivakov (Fra), Politt (Ger)
USA
EF Education-Easypost: Uran (Col), Doull (Gbr)
Lidl-Trek: Geoghegan Hart (Gbr), Ciccone (Ita), Pedersen (Den), Skujins (Lat)
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