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Sunday, February 23, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- February 17 - 23: UAE Tour
- February 19 - 23: Volta ao Algarve
- February 22 - 23: Tour des Alpes-Maritimes
Upcoming racing:
- February 26 - March 2: O Gran Camiño
- March 1: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Latest completed racing:
- February 14 - 16: Tour de la Provence
- February 16: Clásica de Almeria
- February 15: Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia
- February 8 - 12: Tour of Oman
- February 5 - 9 Etoile de Bessèges/Tour du Gard
- February 5 - 9: Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- February 7: Muscat Classic
- February 1 & 2: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- February 2: GP La Marseillaise
- January 29 - February 2: Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Josh Tarling remains second overall at the UAE Tour with just the queen stage remaining on Sunday.
The Brit made it safely through a sprint stage on Saturday, holding on to the white jersey and his GC position, 21 seconds back on leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
Tim Merlier wins stage six.
Tim Merlier (Soudal – Quick-Step) made it back to back stage wins in Abu Dhabi, with the final run-in seeing a check-up in the bunch which led to a crash for Carlos Rodriguez.
The race culminates with the famous Jebel Hafeet summit finish which will ultimately decide the overall classification.
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We posted the report from third-place Filippo Ganna's Team INEOS Grenadiers with the results.
Here's the report from seventh-place Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Wout van Aert sprinted to seventh place in the fourth stage of the Volta ao Algarve. In a hectic sprint, the 30-year-old Belgian had to briefly stop pedaling, preventing him from contesting the victory. Along the way, Team Visma | Lease a Bike delivered a strong collective performance.
Milan Fretin was the day's fastest.
On the penultimate day of the five-day Portuguese race, the riders faced a hilly stage with around 2,800 meters of elevation gain. After the start in Albufeira, eight riders managed to build a significant lead over the peloton. In that peloton, Team Visma | Lease a Bike took responsibility for the chase. Among others, Loe van Belle put in an impressive effort to reel in the breakaway.
The final part of the stage was marked by three short categorised climbs. Team Visma | Lease a Bike pushed the pace and put the competition under pressure. A reduced peloton approached the final kilometre. Van Aert launched his sprint from distance but had to momentarily pause his effort. He ultimately crossed the line in seventh place. Milan Fretin took the stage win.
“We rode a strong race, but unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it off”, Van Aert said afterward. “The eight leaders quickly built a big gap. It took a lot of effort to close that down, but as a team, we did a great job. We made the final hard, but I missed the final kick in the sprint. The stage wasn’t as tough as I had hoped before, but it was a good test leading into next week’s Flemish opening weekend.”
Jonas Vingegaard had a late scare with a puncture in the final kilometres. However, due to the three-kilometer rule, the Dane did not lose any time. He heads into tomorrow’s individual time trial in sixth place in the general classification.
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Here's the Volta ao Algarve report from Johan Jacobs' Team Groupama-FDJ:
For the first time with his new jersey, Johan Jacobs went up the road this Saturday, on stage 4 of the Volta ao Algarve. The Swiss man led the way for nearly 150 kilometres in the day’s breakaway before a bunch sprint crowned Milan Fretin. Despite his long ride up front, the 26-year-old rider also took part in the sprint and grabbed seventeenth place. Romain Grégoire is in tenth place overall before the closing time trial towards Malhao on Sunday.
Stage four's profile was a bit lumpy.
There was a small uncertainty with how stage 4 of the Tour of the Algarve would unfold this Saturday. As the route between Albufeira and Faro was not completely smooth and straight, some expected action in the first kilometres. “We decided to be aggressive at the start of the stage in order to put a guy in the breakaway,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “We had to keep an eye on the breakaway, especially if it was an interesting group,” added Johan Jacobs. “Just after the start, a big group got away, and once it was caught, I joined a counterattack. I was hoping there would be more riders with me, but there were only four of us. Then, once you are in the front, you can’t hesitate.”
The Swiss rider got the company of Warre Vangheluwe, Gorka Sorarrain and Nicolás Tivani, and took a lead of almost eight minutes in the first hour of racing. “We rode well, the peloton gave us quite a big margin, but again, there were only four of us,” repeated Johan. “It was still a long day, with a lot of elevation gain and quite a few big roads in the final that suited the peloton more.”
Before the day’s last climbs, located in the last thirty kilometres, the leading quartet still had a two-minute lead. “I still believed in it until the penultimate climb, but the peloton went all out”, added Johan. “I also felt that the other guys in the breakaway were a bit cooked, but I needed them after the climb”. His attempt eventually ended at the top of the final hill, seventeen kilometres from the finish. “It’s a pity that the breakaway wasn’t bigger, because Johan deserved better considering what he showed today”, said Frédéric. “It’s a good sign for the Classics”, commented the Swiss rider. “It was a good simulation for the opening weekend.”
From then on, a bunch sprint loomed in the streets of Faro, but Lewis Askey was unable to get involved since he was dropped earlier after feeling unwell all day. Johan Jacobs then got back in the mix to grab seventeenth place of the day, followed by Romain Grégoire, twentieth.
The latter will start the final time trial on Sunday with a twenty-six second deficit on the leader, Jan Christen. “The time trial is obviously important for Rémi, Stefan and for Romain,” concluded Frédéric. “There are no big gaps overall. You can finish at the top of the ranking as well as twentieth. You’ll need to perform really well.” This year, the time trial will end at the top of the well-known Alto do Malhao (2 km at 9%) after some twenty kilometres of racing.
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We posted the stage one report from winner Christian Scaroni's XDS Astana Team with the results.
Here's the report from second-place Santiago Buitrago's Team Bahrain Victorious:
Bahrain Victorious came close to victory on the opening stage of the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, with Santiago Buitrago finishing 2nd in the uphill sprint to Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), while Lenny Martinez secured 3rd place, crossing the line four seconds behind.
Christian Scaroni beats Santiago Buitrago for the stage win. Sprint Cycling photo
After a solid performance in Classic Var, where Buitrago finished 5th and Martinez 8th in Fayence, both riders were determined to step up, especially Martinez, who continued to race on home roads in the 162.4 km Contes–Gourdon stage. The route featured an uphill finish, tackled twice, along with challenging ascents over Col Saint-Roch, Lucéram, and Col de Châteauneuf, totaling 3,308m of elevation gain.
The breakaway was reeled in 35 km out, followed by a solo attack with 20 km to go. However, the decisive move came from Santiago Buitrago, who launched a powerful acceleration in the final 7 km, creating a select group with teammate Lenny Martinez, Scaroni, and Richard Carapaz (EF), who fell behind soon afterwards.
Scaroni opened his sprint 250 meters from the line, with Buitrago chasing hard but unable to pass him in the steep closing metres.
Santiago Buitrago:
“The result leaves us with mixed feelings. It’s tough when you come so close to winning, but if I have to rate the team’s work today, it’s a 10/10. Everyone did an excellent job at the key moments. We’ll give everything tomorrow to fight for the overall victory. With two riders in the top three of the GC, we are still in a strong position and confident for the final stage.”
Martinez’s 3rd place earned him the Best Young Rider jersey:
“The finale was tough, and with two of us in the final group, it’s a bit of a pity not to take the win. But I gave everything to help the team fight for victory. We remain competitive for the overall, and we’ll try again tomorrow.”
Buitrago is now 2nd on GC, 4” behind Scaroni, and Martinez 6” further back, and Bahrain Victorious also lead the Best Team classification heading into the last day.
Sports Director Roman Kreuziger reflected on the race strategy:
“We were in a perfect position with 5 km to go—Buitrago’s attack created the ideal scenario with Martinez in the group. The guys worked well together, managing to drop Carapaz. I think Santiago hesitated slightly and should have gone earlier in the sprint, but that’s racing. Tomorrow is another chance, and we’ll look to play our cards better and fight for the overall win.”
The Tour des Alpes-Maritimes concludes tomorrow with Stage 2, Villefranche-sur-Mer – Vence, 131.8 km.
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