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Wednesday, August 14, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- August 12 - 18: Tour of Poland
- August 13 - 16: Tour du Limousin
- August 14 - 18: PostNord Denmark Rundt
Upcoming racing:
- August 17 - Sept 8: Vuelta a España
Latest completed racing:
- August 11: La Polynormande
- August 10: Clasica San Sebastian
- August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
- August 4 - 7: Arctic Race of Norway
- July 27 - August 4: Olympic cycling
- July 22 - 26: Tour de Wallonie
- July 23: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
- June 29 - July 21: Tour de France
- June 9 - 26: Many National Championships
- June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
- June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
- June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here is the report from stage winner Tim Wellens' UAE Team Emirates:
Tim Wellens put in the perfect performance to take victory on the stage 2 TT at the Tour of Poland.
The Belgian champion clocked a blistering time of 23’59” for the 15.4km course which was a gradual rolling climb from Mysłakowice to the finish in Karpacz.
Tim Wellens on his way to winning stage two of the Tour of Poland.
UAE had plenty to write home about, placing four cyclists in the top-10 with Felix Grossschartner (4th), Diego Ulissi (6th) and Jan Christen (9th).
Ulissi now sits in 3rd place on GC behind overal leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma LAB) at 25” ahead of tomorrow’s hilly stage from Wałbrzych to Duszniki-Zdrój (156.5km).
Wellens: “I felt really good today so it went better than expected. The idea was not to take the victory though of course you always try, but there were a lot of good riders here and I did not expect to go home with the win today. It was very hard, full gas riding for 24 minutes. I have good memories at this race and I’m always super motivated to come back here. It’s a parcours that suits me well. I hope that Diego Ulissi or Rafal Majka can win the overall but it won’t be easy to beat Vingegaard but we will try our best.
Here's the report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Jonas Vingegaard is the new leader in the general classification of the Tour de Pologne. The Dane from Team Visma | Lease a Bike finished second in the time trial of the WorldTour race, just 9 seconds behind stage winner Tim Wellens. This was enough for him to take the leader's jersey from Thibau Nys.
Jonas Vingegaard will start stage three in yellow.
The first part of the 15-kilometer-long time trial featured a predominantly flat course. However, the second part was quite different, with mostly uphill terrain.
This suited Vingegaard perfectly. The Dane recorded the 13th fastest time at the first intermediate checkpoint but managed to make up time in the second, more challenging section. In the end, Vingegaard fell just short of the stage victory by a few seconds, but the two-time Tour de France winner still took the podium to receive the leader's jersey after the time trial.
Wilco Kelderman also rode a commendable time trial, although the Dutchman suffered a crash during his effort against the clock. Kelderman recovered, ultimately finishing 11th, and is now second in the general classification, 24 seconds behind his teammate Vingegaard.
"It was a very tough time trial," Vingegaard analyzed afterwards. "Of course, I wanted to go for the win. It's a shame I just missed it, but I think I can be satisfied with my performance. I'm very happy to be leading the general classification now. Hopefully, I can keep the jersey until the end of this Tour de Pologne. There are still some tough days ahead, with tomorrow's stage and Saturday's stage being the most challenging in my opinion. The differences in the general classification are still small, so we can expect a lot of attacks."
Here's the Tour of Poland report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
No surprises at the Tour de Pologne. The 15.4km individual time trial held over a mainly uphill course, dealt a blow to many of the yellow jersey favorites, as it widened the gaps that were minimal following the opening stage, held in Karpacz, which also served as location of this hard test against the clock.
Pepijn Reinderink ended up being the best finisher of Soudal Quick-Step, after a consistent ride which saw the 22-year-old neo-pro average 35km/h and him stop the clock in 25:24. The victory went to Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), while Jonas Vingegaards (Visma-Lease a Bike) took over the yellow jersey.
Held between Wałbrzych and Duszniki-Zdrój, stage three of the Tour de Pologne will represent another opportunity for the GC contenders, especially those who have lost time on Tuesday, to return in the fight for victory. The course, although not a long one, is peppered with four classified
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Team dsm-firmenich PostNL sent me this Tour of Poland report:
Tuesday’s time trial at the Tour de Pologne borrowed almost exactly the final 15 kilometres of the opening stage with some dragging false flat to start with, before some more serious climbing and a very steep pinch just before the top. Romain Bardet set the early benchmark for the team and moved into the hot seat for a while before he was dethroned by eventual stage winner Wellens. Last man down the ramp for Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, Oscar Onley, produced a brilliant effort against the clock, measuring his effort well and stopping the clock just 15 seconds in arrears of Wellens. By the time all of the competition had finished their rides, Onley secured a nice fourth place on the day.
Oscan Onley finishing a stage in the 2024 Tour of Switzerland.
Speaking after the stage Onley said: “This TT is something I’ve really focused on since the Tour with my trainer, Tom, so I’m really proud I could put in a good performance today in an area I tend to struggle in. I’m still a bit disappointed to lose time on the GC yesterday but the form is good so we’ll look for chances in the coming days.”
We posted the reeport from stage one winner Orluis Aular's Team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA with the results.
Here's the report from Valentin Madouas' Team Groupama-FDJ:
Freshly back from the Olympic Games, where he claimed a silver medal in the road race, Valentin Madouas showed himself at the front from the start of the Tour du Limousin-Périgord – Nouvelle Aquitaine on Tuesday. The Frenchman indeed entered the day’s solid breakaway, and not only put pressure on the peloton, but also took advantage of it to pick up six bonus seconds. The Brest native was caught ten kilometres from the finish while Paul Penhoët couldn’t deliver his best sprint in Auzances. Orluis Aular won and took the lead in the general classification, in which Valentin Madouas sits fourth place, four seconds down.
Orluis Aular wins the first stage.
As usual in the Limousin region, the profiles don’t tell how hard the stages really are. On Tuesday, the peloton was set to go from Boisseuil to Auzances over 174 kilometres and without major difficulties on the menu. However, the area’s challenging roads still brought the stage’s elevation gain to more than 2,600 metres, which meant it wasn’t going to be an easy day for the riders. It was even less so due to a fast start, and with a very dangerous breakaway including Valentin Madouas going. “If there was a strong breakaway, we preferred to have a rider in front rather than having to chase behind on this Tour du Limousin”, explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “Valentin was not necessarily the rider who had to move, but he saw the opening and he just went. In the end, it was just as well to have him in front because all the big teams had a good card in the breakaway.” “It was not at all planned that I would be at the front today,” confirmed Valentin. “I was just covering moves, and I found myself in front. It was a very good move with very good riders, so there was a good chance that it could go far.”
A group of nine was therefore formed with the former French champion but also Gorka Sorarrain Agirrezabala (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Alexis Gougeard (Cofidis), Alex Baudin, Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Obie Vidts (Intermarché-Wanty), Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies) and Louis Barré (Arkéa-B&B Hôtels).
Although the breakaway was formed, the fight never stopped. The gap only reached one minute after thirty kilometres of racing, and it never increased much further. Several teams joined forces and the battle continued throughout the stage. “At the front, it went well, we took good turns, even if the collaboration could have been even better”, said Valentin. In any case, he took advantage of his presence in the lead to take one and then three bonus seconds in the first two intermediate sprints. Seventy kilometres from the line, the peloton came back at just thirty seconds, but the breakaway also increased the pace, and the weaker riders were dropped.
At the first time on the finish line Auzances, with thirty-five kilometres to go, the breakaway still had a half-minute lead and this margin stabilized before the day’s last two climbs. After collecting two more bonus seconds on the way, Valentin Madouas continued to take solid turns in the leading group, which was reduced to four men. “Louis Barré contested the bonus seconds and was maybe afraid of Valentin and Baudin, so he decided not to work anymore”, explained Benoît. “We knew that it would be complicated anyway because the peloton was only twenty seconds behind, but they put in a great ride.”
The four riders managed to come over the first climb of the final with a small lead, but in the second one, the big attacks began in the peloton and the best punchers quickly caught the leading group. Valentin Madouas didn’t manage to hold on to the wheels, but after a very lively sequence, everything got back together with five kilometres to go. The peloton then prepared for the sprint on a slight uphill finish, and Paul Penhoët obviously joined in the fight. “Cyril did a great job to position him until the last kilometre, but Paul had tried to close a gap at the top of the previous climb because a dangerous breakaway was going”, explained Benoît. “He may have paid for this effort in the final. In the last 500 meters, he was at the limit and didn’t have the legs to do a good sprint”.
The young Frenchman was therefore unable to battle with Orluis Aular for the win and finished outside the top 10. Valentin Madouas completed the stage in the pack, with the same time as the winner. “The sensations were really good at the start of the race, I was struggling a bit more in the final, but I’m really happy with my form,” he said. “I was hoping we would go all the way, but we maybe would have needed a few more climbs so there wouldn’t be so many riders to chase behind.”
Thanks to the bonus seconds, the French puncher is in fourth place overall, four seconds behind Aular. “We’re in the mix thanks to the bonus seconds, and that’s a good thing, but we were hoping for a better sprint, and we missed out,” concluded Benoît. “So it’s a mixed day. The leader has a solid team, and he won’t be easy to beat.” The terrain, however, could offer some opportunities, as from tomorrow. “There are a series of six climbs in the last sixty kilometres, and with the bad weather that is forecasted, it could be quite a show,” announced Benoît. “It’s going to be a hard day.” “We now need to recover well, tomorrow is another day, but I hope we’ll still be on the attack,” added Valentin.
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Here's the Vuelta update from Team Lidl-Trek:
The 2024 Vuelta a España route makes it arguably the hardest Grand Tour of the season. Between incredibly hot temperatures and a challenging parcours, it will be an extreme test of endurance. Lidl-Trek arrives with a strong, fully international team of eight riders from eight different countries. The team goal? A top GC result in addition to stage wins.
Lidl-Trek will line up at the Spanish Grand Tour with Mattias Skjelmose as leader, ready to take on his biggest goal of the season. The young Dane, for whom the Vuelta has been a focal point of the 2024 campaign, will benefit from a Team of strong climbers to help him through the arduous 21 stages across the Iberian peninsula. Skjelmose will benefit from the experience of his right-hand-man, 2020 Giro winner Tao Geoghegan Hart, who will take on the role of co-leader after missing out on participation at the Tour de France due to illness.
202 Giro d'Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart will ride the Vuelta. Sirotti photo
The Team is bolstered by Giulio Ciccone, who will be an important help for the GC leaders, and will also relish his chance to hunt for stages in the mountains. In addition to Cicco, the depth of the Team’s talent is further enhanced by three experienced climbers: Sam Oomen, who already knows what it takes to put his leader on the top step of the Vuelta podium; Carlos Verona, a rider eager to perform in his home Grand Tour; and Patrick Konrad, who starts the Vuelta off the back of an impressive 7th place in the Clásica San Sebastián.
Lidl-Trek can also depend upon Otto Vergaerde, riding his second Vuelta. Vergaerde is no stranger to hard work, and will be ready to do what is needed of him to support his leaders, and you might even see him grabbing his own chance when the opportunity arises. Finally, Lidl-Trek have Mathias Vacek lining up for his first Grand Tour, in which he will start wearing his Czech champion skinsuit in Lisbon. Vacek proved his climbing ability earlier in the year at Tour de Hongrie and Tour of Norway, so don’t be surprised to see him fighting for stage wins throughout the Vuelta.
Lidl-Trek’s Vuelta a España team
- Giulio Ciccone (ITA)
- Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR)
- Patrick Konrad (AUT)
- Sam Oomen (NED)
- Mattias Skjelmose (DEN)
- Mathias Vacek (CZE)
- Otto Vergaerde (BEL)
- Carlos Verona (ESP)
Here's Team Ineos Grenadiers' Vuelta roster:
INEOS Grenadiers announce youthful and ambitious Vuelta a España squad
Carlos Rodriguez and Thymen Arensman will lead an exciting, youthful and highly ambitious INEOS Grenadiers line-up for the 2024 Vuelta a España.
A very challenging parcours will see co-leaders Arensman and Rodriguez supported by a strong and experienced group of riders including the ever-reliable Laurens de Plus, the flourishing Brandon Rivera, the fast-finishing Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez, impressive German youngster Kim Heiduk and the popular Oscar Rodriguez.
Thymen Arensman finishes stage 15 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo
Making his Grand Tour debut at La Vuelta will be 20-year-old Josh Tarling who will be looking to make his mark on race’s two individual time trials on stage one in Lisbon on Saturday, and in Madrid on 8 September.
The INEOS Grenadiers lineup:
Thymen Arensman (24), Netherlands - for the fifth year running, the young Dutch GC contender lines up to race the Vuelta a España. Having taken sixth place at the Giro this year whilst supporting Geraint Thomas, he now takes aim at leadership for the team at his second Grand Tour of the season.
Kim Heiduk (24), Germany - starting at the Vuelta for the second time, the young German will be alongside Josh Tarling to help support the leaders over the flatter terrain.
Jhonatan Narváez (27), Ecuador - the opening stage winner of this year’s Giro d’Italia, the Ecuadorian will support the GC riders while also having the freedom to use his powerful attacking style to target stage wins.
Laurens de Plus (28), Belgium - as one of the peloton’s best support riders in the high mountains, Laurens will be invaluable for the GC contenders on the hardest mountain stages. He finished 10th at the Giro d’Italia in 2023, 15tth at this year’s Tour de France and fifth overall at the Criterium du Dauphine.
Brandon Rivera (28), Colombia - coming into the race off the back of a stage win at the Tour of Austria and taking second overall on GC, the ever-committed teammate will be there to support the two leaders as well look for opportunities to hunt a stage win.
Carlos Rodríguez (23), Spain - following a solid performance at the Tour de France, which sawthe young Spaniard finish seventh despite battling illness, Carlos continues to impress and will be aiming to challenge overall as our co-leader.
Josh Tarling (20), United Kingdom - the young Brit makes his Grand Tour debut at La Vuelta and will be one of the favourites to take wins in the two time trials on the first and last stages. His palmares within this discipline speaks for itself, lining up as the current European time trial champion as well as national time trial champion in 2023 and 2024
Oscar Rodríguez (29), Spain - this will be Oscar’s first participation in a Grand Tour for the INEOS Grenadiers and he will play an invaluable support role in the high mountains where he is naturally strong.
Scott Drawer, Performance Director:
“We are entering the Vuelta a España with a strong, highly competitive, and well-balanced team. We want to be aggressive and seize opportunities as they arise - whether that’s taking time on the GC with Carlos and Thymen, or stage wins with riders like Josh and Jhony.
“There is a big opportunity for us to take the leader's jersey on stage one with Josh. He demonstrated yet again at the Paris Olympics, just how strong he is in the TT discipline.
“This is a young and dynamic team that has strength and potential to challenge for GC, as well as target stage wins across a variety of terrains. The Vuelta is probably one of the most unpredictable Grand Tours because of the route, the heat and the time in the season, so it always provides good racing. The riders and the whole team are ready to get stuck in and give it everything they’ve got.”
Thymen Arensman said: “It’s always nice to line up in a Grand Tour, especially with this team. It's my fifth Vuelta so I’m very familiar with this race and I have some positive memories, including winning the queen stage and taking fifth place on GC in 2022. It was probably one of the nicest results in my career so far. There are also some tough memories like last year when I crashed out, but you have to put that behind you and come back with the hope to make more good memories like 2022.
“Being a leader in this team is always a privilege, and it will be nice to share it with Carlos. Of course, he’s a Spaniard and it’s his home race so it’ll always be special for him; it’s always good to have two cards to play when going for the GC.
“I have quite a positive feeling performance-wise at the moment. I took some much-needed time off after the Giro to recover a bit, so in the lead up to this race I’ve done a bit less training, but I feel good for it and stronger. At Burgos, I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be, but my body usually builds into it, and it’s good to get used to the heat. My body feels solid and is responding well so it’ll be good to take the next step at the Vuelta.”
Carlos Rodríguez said: “After the Tour I took some days off to recover and then I started training little by little to try to maintain my shape. I think the body is already recovered and I’m starting to feel more like myself after being ill for some time.
“It’s the first time that I will do two Grand Tours in a row, so it’s going to be a new experience for me. I just want to enjoy the race as much as possible, and it’s going to be special with the crowds out on home roads.
“We’re going into this with a strong team, and we’ll fight to get the best result possible both in GC and in the stages. Thymen and I have already raced and trained a lot together, and for sure this will help us manage the different situations in the race in the best way possible.”
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Here’s the team’s news:
Milan Menten stays with Lotto Dstny. The sprinter has signed a contract until 2026. "I know I have the opportunity to get the best out of myself here."
"Lotto Dstny is like a family. I raced with the team when I was a U23 rider, then left for a while and returned last year. It felt like coming home. I saw familiar faces and immediately felt that warm, Belgian atmosphere again." In short, Milan Menten (27) is happy to stay with Lotto Dstny for the next two seasons. "Moreover, I am convinced that here, in the coming years, I have the best opportunities to continue growing and to get the best out of myself."
Milen Menten wins the 2023 Le Samyn.
The Belgian sprinter won at Le Samyn last season and hopes to continue scoring in races of that level in the upcoming years. "I receive the trust of the team once again, and I hope to repay that trust by contributing to scoring points on the road back to the World Tour."
Stéphane Heulot, CEO of Lotto Dstny, is also pleased that Menten is staying: "With Milan Menten, we have a strong sprinter in the team. We believe in his growth potential and are particularly happy that he can further develop that with us. We look forward to his performances."
The team sent me this schedule:
PostNord Tour of Denmark - AUG 14 - 18
Roy Curvers - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach
"We're heading to the PostNord Tour of Denmark with the goal of achieving a strong GC result with Frank and Warren, while also hunting for stage wins in the sprints with Tobias as our finisher. This year, the race begins with an opening TTT - an exciting discipline that we see less and less of in races. As a team we’re motivated to show our best side in the TTT and put ourselves directly in contention for both stage wins and the GC. The second stage is the classic GC day at the race, finishing in Vejle and its short but steep climb, where we need to ride aggressively to hunt for the best possible result. The final three stages will most likely be for the fast guys, where we'll aim to set up Tobias as our finisher to chase victories, while also keeping an eye on the GC."
Nils Eekhoff (shown at the 2023 ZLM Tour) will race the Tour of Denmark
Line-up:
Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN)
Warren Barguil (FRA)
Johan Dorussen (NED)
Alex Edmondson (AUS)
Nils Eekhoff (NED)
Sean Flynn (GBR)
Frank van den Broek (NED)
Vuelta a España - AUG 17 - SEP 08
Phil West - Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach:
"We’re really looking forward to coming back to the Vuelta this year, especially after having such a good experience last year. This season we once again come with a balanced squad that includes some debutants and guys with more experience. We hope to be competitive with our young-gun Max, who’s coming back from a challenging year but has shown good legs recently at Vuelta a Burgos. We will support him as he tests himself for the first time in the GC at a Grand Tour. Alongside that, we will aim for results in the sprint stages with Pavel as our finisher, who also showed he’s in form at Burgos where he took his first pro win. We want to be engaged in the race from the get-go and try to take our chances where we see them. There will be days where we will look for the break, but we will always have a focus on the GC. Some days that might mean we are there to have support up the road, but equally on other days it means we will go hunting for the stage results, but all the time we will keep Max protected. After the opening time trial, we have a couple of sprint chances with Pavel before stage four, which should see the GC guys do battle and from there our race will take shape, especially after the end of week one and the tough mountain finish. This will be Max’s first go at GC in a Grand Tour so we’ll keep the pressure low, learn as we go and put in good foundations for the future. We’ve made some positive steps the past week in Burgos, with some really nice results and strong riding as a group, so we will look to continue and build on that over the next three weeks."
Line-up:
Pavel Bittner (CZE)
Chris Hamilton (AUS)
Gijs Leemreize (NED)
Enzo Leijnse (NED)
Tim Naberman (NED)
Max Poole (GBR)
Martijn Tusveld (NED)
Julius van den Berg (NED)
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