Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, March 4, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing. - Socrates

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Current racing:

• March 4: Le Samyn Classic

Upcoming racing:

• March 5: Trofeo Laigueglia
• March 8: Strade Bianche
• March 9 - 16: Paris-Nice

Latest completed racing:

• February 26 - March 2: O Gran Camiño
• March 2: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
• March 2: Faun Drôme Classic
• March 1: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
• March 1: Faun Ardèche Classic
• February 17 - 23: UAE Tour
• February 19 - 23: Volta ao Algarve
• February 22 - 23: Tour des Alpes-Maritimes
• February 21: Classic Var

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Team Soudal Quick-Step to race Samyn Classic

Here's the team's update:

Our team will head with a lot of motivation to the Samyn Classic, a race we won on four occasions with three different riders in the last 15 years. As was the case at the previous editions, the 199.1km-long course is stacked with rough cobblestone sectors and more than a dozen climbs; the last of these small but hard hills comes inside the final kilometers of Tuesday’s race, thus playing into the favour of the attackers, who’ll try to dispatch their opponents there and claim a solo victory in Dour.

Paul Magnier after stage two of this year's Etoile de Bessèges. Sirotti photo

Soudal Quick-Step will take on the 57th edition of the Belgian race with a seven-man squad consisting of Ayco Bastiaens, Gil Gelders, Paul Magnier – who will be at the start after his remarkable runner-up spot in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – Martin Svrcek, Warre Vangheluwe, Jordi Warlop, and Lars Vanden Heede, the young Belgian who comes from the Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team, for which he won a total of three races last year.

“It’s the first race of the season in Wallonie. The first 100 kilometers should be quiet, but after that we’ll enter on a circuit which we cover three times. The many cobbled sectors in each lap will make for an unpredictable and technical race. We start with a young, but at the same time motivated team, so we are confident in our chances of getting a good result at the end of the day. Our leader will be Paul, who was on the podium in all the races he has done so far this year. There are a lot of strong teams at the start, but we are looking forward to it”, explained sports director Iljo Keisse.

Team Bahrain Victorious also headed to the Samyn Classic

Here's their post:

Team Bahrain Victorious heads to Ename Samyn Classic (March 4, 2025) with a young squad, averaging just 21 years old, eager to test themselves on the 199.1 km course. Starting in Quaregnon, the race features several punchy climbs and cobbled sectors before the demanding finish in Dour.

Nicolò Buratti and Vlad Van Mechelen will lead the team, supported by Zak Erzen, Daniel Skerl, Roman Ermakov, Fran Miholjević, and Alberto Bruttomesso, who will work to keep them well-positioned ahead of the crucial final circuit.

Fran Miholjević (shown in 2022) will race the Samyn Classic. Sirotti photo

The race is expected to come down to the final laps in Dour, where repeated ascents of the Côte de la Roquette and challenging cobbled sectors like Rue Belle Vue and Rue du Vert Pignon will shape the outcome. With an uphill ramp at the finish, Le Samyn is typically decided by a reduced bunch sprint, making positioning and endurance critical in the closing kilometers.

Sports Director Borut Božič:
“We have a young team who are motivated. It’s a typical Belgian Classic with a tough and technical finale. This race will be a great learning experience for our riders. Our goal is to enter the final circuit in a strong position and give ourselves the best chance to achieve a good result.”

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