Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, February 1, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- January 28 - February 1: AlUla Tour
- January 29 - February 2: Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca
Upcoming racing:
- February 2: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- February 2: GP La Marseillaise
- February 5 - 9 Etoile de Bessèges/Tour du Gard
Latest completed racing:
- January 30: Surf Coast Classic
- January 17 - 26: Tour Down Under
- January 26: Classica Comunitat a Valenciana 1969
- January 25: Ruta de la Cerámica - Gran Premio Castellón
- January 3: X20 Trofee Koksijde-Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Cross
- January 1: GP Sven Nys Cross
- December 30: Diegem Cyclocross
- December 26: Gavere Cyclocross
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from winner Tom Pidcock's Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team:
Tom Pidcock won stage four of the AlUla Tour today at Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid. With this second victory he keeps the green leader’s jersey in the AlUla Tour with one more flat day of racing to go on Saturday.
Tom Pidcock wins stage four.
The hardest part of the 140.9-kilometer-long stage came at eleven kilometers from the line where the climbing percentages were well in the double digits for two kilometers.
Before that climb the entire Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team worked together to keep Pidcock at the front and out of trouble. When the road started to rise to 10% and up, Pidcock led the bunch himself. He profited optimally from his Scott Addict RC, the lightest bike in the Scott range, to whittle the first group down to just four riders.
After the climb, eight kilometers of more or less flat roads remained to the line. There was a slight headwind when Pidcock started that final flat section with a lead of 27 seconds on his chasers. Despite the chasers working well together, Pidcock managed to keep a 12 second lead on the line in a superbly managed effort to net the second win of the season for Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
Tom Pidcock said after the finish: “On a climb that steep I went to the bottom to set my own pace. Offence is the best form of defense, sometimes. When I came to this race, they said it’s normally a tailwind up here, but it was a headwind. It was a long eight kilometers. There were four guys behind me, and I don’t know how well they were working but I was on my own. It was a long way, but I am happy. I extended my lead, and this gives us a buffer going into tomorrow. I did a lot of training that helps me do these efforts. This week I set a new 5–10-minute power record so I am definitely in good shape.”
One more day of racing remains in Saudi Arabia with the 170-kilometre-long stage around the AlUla camel track on Saturday. It’s a bumpy final with two climbs in the final 20 kilometer. Pidcock holds a 29 second lead on Rainer Kepplinger and a 32-second lead on Alan Hatherly.
“I looked at tomorrow’s stage and I think it will be windy so it will be a stressful day to hold this jersey. It’s definitely not over but I think I couldn’t have done much more up till now,” Pidcock concluded.
It’s now up to race leader Pidcock, Nick Zukowsky, Nicoló Parisini, Emils Liepiņš, Frederik Frison, Matteo Moschetti and Xabier Mikel Azparren, who climbed to seventh place himself on Friday, to bring home the overall win.
Here's the report from second-place Alan Hatherly's Team Jayco-AlUla:
Mountain bike world champion Alan Hatherly put in another sterling performance at the AlUla Tour, flying to second place on a tough stage four.
After a summit finish on day two, the fourth stage was another chance for the general classification riders to gain time in the overall standings.
The race exploded on the tough climb to the Skyviews of Harrat Uwairid, which hit gradients of 22%. Hatherly and Team Jayco AlUla teammate Eddie Dunbar were part of a four-rider group that broke clear on the ascent, along with race leader Tom Pidcock.
Pidcock attacked on the steepest slopes, gaining a small gap on Hatherly and Dunbar. The two teammates worked well together to close him down over the top of the climb but just ran out of road as the finish line loomed into view.
Dunbar then set up Hatherly perfectly for the finish, with the South African using his fast punch to take second place on the stage and maintain his podium position in the overall classification.
Alan Hatherly finishes second and Rainer Kepplinger is third. Photo: Sprint Cycling
Alan Hatherly:
“I had a badly timed puncture just in the lead into the climb, so it was a bit stressful coming back and moving into position again. Tom [Pidcock] made the climb hard and I just didn’t have the legs. I think Eddie and I worked well together to control the second group and then bag second for the day. It’s been an amazing tour so far and I’m looking forward to wrapping it up.”
Steve Cummings:
“Obviously Tom is flying and the guys did everything they could to follow but they didn’t quite have the legs. Alan still won the sprint for second, which was great. It’s another big day tomorrow, and another opportunity to win again.”
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Here's the AlUla Tour stage four report from third-place Rainer Kepplinger's Team Bahrain Victorious:
Rainer Kepplinger’s heroic effort on the queen stage of the AlUla Tour was rewarded with a 3rd place finish, solidifying his 2nd place in the General Classification. The stage started against the stunning backdrop of the Maraya building, a mirror-clad masterpiece reflecting Saudi Arabia’s vision for the future.
The race was fast from the start, with teams battling for position ahead of the decisive climb. The team executed the strategy perfectly, delivering Rainer to the base of the climb in an ideal position. As soon as the road tilted upward, the strongest riders emerged—Pidcock, Dunbar, Hatherly, and Kulset set a relentless pace. One kilometer from the summit, Pidcock found another gear, launching an attack that no one could follow. At that moment, the group realized they were now racing for second place.
The peloton racing across the desert. Sprint Cycling photo
Over the top, attacks came thick and fast, but they soon noticed that Rafal Majka’s chasing group was closing in. With 4 km to go, cooperation returned as they worked together to stay ahead of Majka’s group. Pidcock was already out of reach, but the group held off the chasers just in time. In the final sprint, Rainer crossed the line behind Hatherly, securing 3rd place on the stage.
Meanwhile, Max van der Meulen put in a strong ride, his group catching Majka’s group with just 500m to go, earning him 10th place on the stage and keeping him 9th in GC.
Podium finisher Rainer Kepplinger: “It was a fast and tough climb. When Pidcock attacked, it was impossible to follow, but I found myself in a strong group with two Jayco AlUla riders and an Uno-X rider. We worked well together, and in the end, I’m happy with 3rd place on this stage.”
Sports Director Aart Vierhouten: “Of course, we were a bit nervous—it’s cycling, anything can happen. The team did a fantastic job keeping Rainer in position for the climb. On the steep sections, he was exactly where he needed to be. Once the race split, he rode brilliantly, matching or even exceeding Hatherly’s strength. At first, their group wasn’t cooperating well, but when they saw Majka’s group closing in, they started working together.
Behind them, there was also a great battle for the Young Rider classification, with two Norwegians, a Dutch rider, and our Max van der Meulen in the mix. Max finishing 10th today was a strong performance as well.
Tomorrow, we expect a lot of crosswinds in the final stage, but yesterday we showed that we can handle those conditions. We’re confident.”
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Here’s the update from Eekhoff’s Team Picnic PostNL:
After some strong riding in support of the team’s goals at AlUla Tour in the opening stages, Nils Eekhoff was once again riding as part of the sprint train in the closing part of stage three; positioning Fabio Jakobsen for the finale.
After a rider went down in front of him Nils had to swerve and headed towards the raised pavement. Trying to unclip and stop himself, he unfortunately had nowhere to go and came off his bike with impact. Immediately treated by race medical staff Nils was taken to hospital where he underwent further examinations.
Nils Eekhoff winning the 2019 U19 rider World Road Championship. Sirotti photo
Team Picnic PostNL doctor Camiel Aldershof explained more about the outcome of those assessments: “Nils sustained a heavy impact in the crash, and he has broken one tooth and has a fracture in his jaw. For now, he has been cleared and discharged by the local hospital but when he returns to the Netherlands we will conduct further assessments on him here with our specialists to explore whether any surgery is needed. Due to the nature of the injuries we estimate that he will be off the bike for six to eight weeks, but of course this can all change depending on those additional assessments.”
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Here’s the team’s update:
The first World Tour one-day race of the year is scheduled on Sunday.
Our Australian summer comes to a conclusion this weekend, when the Soudal Quick-Step boys – Pascal Eenkhoorn, Antoine Huby, James Knox, Junior Lecerf, Casper Pedersen, neo-pro Andrea Raccagni and Pieter Serry – will line up for the ninth edition of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which our team has won on three occasions.
Dries Devenyns wins the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in 2020.
Just as was the case at the previous editions of the one-day World Tour event, and despite the harder first part of the race, the action should properly kick off only in the last 68 kilometers, once the peloton enters the circuit, where the Highton and Challambra Crescent climbs will whittle down the bunch as the speed will gradually ramp up. From the top of the last ascent, only a handful of kilometers remain until the electric finish on the Geelong waterfront, where the winner will be crowned.
“The local circuit will be the key on Sunday. The climbs there always reduce the peloton, which means we could have a group of around 60-80 riders entering the final kilometers. It’s important to remain attentive on the circuit and race offensively, and we are keen on doing that in the hope we’ll get a good result in our final outing on Australian soil”, explained Soudal Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.
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