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Thursday, March 13, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Giro d'Italia, A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Vol 1: 1909 - 1970 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• March 9 - 16: Paris-Nice
• March 10 - 16: Tirreno-Adriatico

Upcoming racing:

• March 19: Danilith Nokere Koerse
• March 19: Milano-Torino
• March 20: GP de Denain
• March 21: Bredene Koksijde CLassic
• March 22: Milano-Sanremo

Latest completed racing:

• March 8: Strade Bianche
• March 5: Trofeo Laigueglia
• March 4: Le Samyn Classic
• 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

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Paris-Nice stage four reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Joao Almeida's UAE team Emirates:

Joao Almeida took one of the biggest victories of his career to date, with the 26 year old climber pushing home to triumph on stage 4 of Paris-Nice from Vichy to La Loge des Gardes(163.4km).

Joao Almeida wins Paris-Nice stage four.

The 7km climb Cat 1 climb served as the perfect battleground for the favourites group, which ignited when Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-LAB) launched a stinging attack at -2km to go. Almeida would respond is his typical fashion by ramping up the pace at the front of the heavily reduced group, keeping the distance to the Dane in check at around 10”. Inside the final 400m Almeida would launch from behind, closing the gap to Vingegaard metre by metre before finally making the pass in sight of the line to take the 16th win of the season for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

The same final climb had previously been kind to the Emirati squad with Tadej Pogačar having taken victory here on his way to winning the yellow jersey in Paris-Nice 2023.

The riders endured a very harsh stage overall, with wet and cold conditions provoking a neutralisation at -46km to go where riders were able to change clothes before the action resumed.

Almeida:”I’m super happy. It was a hard day. A lot happened in this stage, and we had some snow on the course. But we never gave up. I think we deserved it and I’m very happy for it.

“I was feeling quite good. Of course, to be honest, I’m not the best guy with the cold temperatures. I was suffering with that, but I never gave up. The climb wasn’t steep enough and it was hard to make the group smaller. Jonas attacked and I wasn’t in the best position, but I gave my best and I’m super happy again.

"Yesterday was not our day. We had some setbacks, but yesterday was yesterday, and today was another opportunity. We needed to take the positives from yesterday, like I was feeling really good and did a really good effort. We lose as a team, and we win as a team and I think we deserve it today.

“I think we can win the race, but it’s not just up to me, you know? I think my shape is good and I feel good and I’m ready. For sure, I’ll give my best.”

Almeida now sits 5th in the overall standings at 37” from new race leader Vingegaard, who inherits the jersey from his teammate Matteo Jorgenson. Brandon McNulty also put in an impressive ride to finish 7th on the day and holds that position in GC at 58”.

Here's the Paris-Nice stage four report from new GC leader Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Jonas Vingegaard narrowly missed out on the stage victory in the fourth stage of Paris-Nice. In the first stage with a mountain top finish, the 28-year-old Dane seemed on his way to victory, but he got passed by João Almeida in the final metres. In the general classification, Vingegaard takes over the leader’s jersey from his teammate Matteo Jorgenson.

Jonas Vingegaard looks wet and cold.

The riders prepared themselves for the first mountain stage in Paris-Nice. The peloton had to conquer six categorised climbs. The finish was at the top of La Loge des Gardes, a seven-kilometer climb with an average gradient of around seven percent. The stage started in sunny conditions, but the weather soon took a turn for the worse. 

Around fifty kilometers from the finish, rain and melting snow poured down. The race organisation decided to neutralise the race, after which the riders tried to warm up near the team cars. After a short pause, the peloton rode a few kilometers at a steady pace. With less than thirty kilometers to go, the race was officially restarted. After which a breakaway group of eight saw its lead quickly shrink towards the foot of the final climb. 

On the final climb the last remaining escapee, Tobias Foss, was caught by the group of favourites. With two kilometers to go, Vingegaard countered an attack from Lenny Martinez. When the Dane took over, the Frenchman had to let go. Vingegaard managed to build a small lead, but in the last kilometre, the gap to the two-time Tour winner was closed. In the final metres, Almeida passed Vingegaard. However, the Dane is the new overall leader, holding a five-second advantage over Jorgenson, who finished sixth in the stage. 

"Of course, there's some disappointment that I couldn't finish it off," Vingegaard said afterward. "I had set my sights on this stage. In the end, João closed the gap very quickly, so he deserved to win today. I felt good, but after the neutralisation, that didn't mean much anymore. In my opinion, they should have stopped the race completely. When we had to restart, everyone was shivering from the cold. It was dangerous, not just because of the cold but also because of the slippery roads. We kept racing, but I have mixed feelings about this stage."

Here's the Paris-Nice report from Ilan Van Wilder's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Riding the prestigious Paris-Nice for the second time in his career, Ilan Van Wilder put in a convincing ride on the hard stage four of the race, which scheduled the first uphill test of the week on La Loge des Gardes, back after two years.

It was a strange day, which forced the organisers to neutralize the stage due to the snow that made an appearance some 50 kilometers from the finish – leading to wet and dangerous roads in the downhill – and then resuming it with 28 kilometers to go. On the 6.7km climb whose steep gradients brought some changes to the general classification, Ilan Van Wilder rode strongly to remain with the small favourites group until the last three kilometers, when the big attacks began.

Paris-Nice stage four gets started.

The Belgian didn’t panic and rode his own pace after being distanced, a smart tactic which allowed him to limit the losses and finish the day less than half a minute behind winner Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). This strong outing saw Ilan came home just outside the top ten and make a spectacular jump on the overall standings, where he now is 11th with four stages remaining.

“It was cold out there and quite strange with stopping and then restarting the race. On the last climb I just tried to do my best but I was a bit empty due to the cold temperatures. Overall, I think I did a pretty good ride and I hope to continue like this in the next days”, Ilan said at the finish.

Here's the Paris-Nece report from Mattias Skjelmose's Team Lidl-Trek:

With 163km’s on the cards and 2,700 metres of climbing, today was always going to be a hard day out but no one knew just how hard…

With 46km to go, the weather conditions worsened and the call was made to halt the race. This gave a chance for our guys to change clothes, layer up and take on some hot drinks in the freezing conditions. After a small neutralised section, racing got underway and Mads Pedersen wasted no time in setting a fierce pace on the front of the peloton.

Lots of climbing in the day's 163.4 kilometers.

Mattias Skjelmose -
"I didn't think we were going to race again but Mads told me early on to prepare myself to race because there's no way they'll stop it. 2 minutes after we restarted, Mads came to me and said he was feeling really good and asked if we should do something. He went to the front and went like a Kawasaki for the last 25km's. Hats off to him, he was so impressive like always.

"After we got going again after the neutral, I turned my mentality and even though I was freezing and shaking, I was ready to race. I was really going deep in the last 200 metres and it was not fun. I'm happy to be able to finish it off like this. Despite the weather, I think it's a really good result and to only lose 2 seconds to Almeida and 1 second to Vingegaard isn't bad. I'm in a good position and confident for the next stages."

Third place on the stage brings Mattias up to third on general classification, only 33 seconds off yellow and he is now leading the white best young rider classification.

And here's the Paris-Nice report from Team Bahrain Victorious:

Day four of the 2025 ‘Race to the Sun’ had freezing temperatures, rain, and even snow, on the 163.4km between Vichy and La Loge des Gardes. The weather made the road surfaces so treacherous that a team car crashed and the stage had to be neutralised for a while, but not before Team Bahrain Victorious’ leader – Santiago Buitrago – had lost control of his front wheel on a right hand bend when returning to the bunch after a puncture. In the resulting fall, he hit his head hard on the tarmac. The Colombian was immediately withdrawn from the race by the team as a precaution and in line with concussion protocols, and was taken to hospital to be checked over by doctors.

Santiago Buitrago (shown last year at the Tour de France) is out of Paris-Nice after crashing. Sirotti photo

With Santi out, new French signing Lenny Martinez had to step up, and did so with courage, strength, panache and aplomb, to finish fourth behind winner Joao Almeida (UAE). The 21 year old was part of a select ‘Maillot Jaune’ group that caught the final breakaway stragglers and contested the stage victory. In the final two km Martinez went tête-a-tête with double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma), and held his own as the others faded.

“It was such a hard day because I was frozen to the bone by the cold. It was really tough to get going again, but it was so great to be right up there on a stage at such a prestigious race, competing with the big names like Jonas”

With 100m left, there were four riders in front: Almeida passed Vingegaard to take victory, and Matthias Skjelmose (LTK) finished just a couple of metres ahead of Martinez.

“Once I eventually managed to warm myself up, I think this was a good result – obviously one day soon I hope to be crossing the line first on days like these, but I’m definitely content with what we did today.”

Given the circumstances: the conditions and losing a teammate, this was perhaps the most impressive ride of his career so far.

Lead sports director in France for the week is Roman Kreuziger, who was disappointed to lose the team’s leader early in the race, but very impressed with the performance of the newest signing.

“It’s very sad that after just having a puncture Santi crashed out. Luckily he’s with our doctor at Vichy hospital and we think he’s going to be ok – he’ll have some scans tonight just to be sure, but he’ll be back stronger.

"There were riders all over the road from km 115-134, changing their clothes etc, and it was a really difficult moment when the race was neutralised. In the finale we really pushed the guys to be there and to be ready, because even though something happened, crashes are a part of cycling and we roll on.

"As for Lenny – he really showed what he has today! Maybe tactically it wasn’t perfect, but it’s a big boost for his confidence. Not just for him, but for all of the group here. With the leader out, it was good to have that today. Now we have to keep what we had in the plan from the beginning because  Lenny has shown he can be up there with the best. I really hope that tomorrow could be our day – but there is no pressure. We’re gutted for Santi and impressed by Lenny, in equal measure. And now we look forward for the second half of this Paris-Nice.”

Thursday’s fifth stage of eight (203km from Saint-Just-en-Chevalet to La Côte-Saint-Andre [Notre-Dame-De-Sciez]), is slightly easier on paper, but still contains seven categorised climbs and over 2,600 vertical metres.

While all that was going on in France, at Tirreno-Adriatico it was the longest stage of this edition Follonica-Colfiorito, 239km), also under heavy rain. TBV riders worked to protect our leader Antonio Tiberi, who moved up to 3rd place on GC. Pello Bilbao was our best-placed rider in 12th, with Afonso Eulálio also finishing in the first group. Tomorrow the peloton will face a challenging mountainous day, with on the menu the highest point of the race (1,558m, Valico la Crocetta).

Tirreno-Adriatico stage three reports

We posted the stage three report from Tom Pidcock's Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team with the results.

Here's the report from GC leader Filippo Ganna's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Filippo Ganna retained the race lead at Tirreno-Adriatico after almost springing a surprise on the peloton with a late attack on a soaking wet stage three.

The Italian was shepherded over the day’s final climb by his INEOS Grenadiers teammates, before launching a dangerous attack with 3.5 kilometres to go.

With panic spreading amongst the reduced peloton, his rivals eventually managed to regroup and bridge across the slender gap, making the catch ahead of the final kilometre.

The action came back together late on, with Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) holding off Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) to win the bunch kick. Despite his efforts Ganna was still able to hold on to claim 10th place across the line.

The Grenadier holds a 22-second lead over Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates – XRG), with Laurens De Plus moving up to eighth overall, 45 seconds back.

Filippo Ganna will start stage four in the GC leader's blue jersey. Sirotti photo

The longest stage of the race at 239km, the team got through a lot of work setting a tempo on the front, with Salvatore Puccio particularly putting in a huge stint at the head of the bunch.

Paris-Nice also saw tough conditions, with the fourth stage neutralised temporarily during the day due to wet and icy conditions.

Tobias Foss put in a valiant late effort on the final climb on a day which saw the Grenadiers on the attack throughout.

Foss had been part of a move on the Cote du Canon alongside teammate Josh Tarling prior to the neutralisation. The pair had opened up a handy gap on the peloton, and when the race re-started, were joined by teammate Ben Swift who had dropped back from the day’s initial break.

The trio worked well on the approach to the final climb, with Swift and Tarling teeing up Foss who pushed on solo. The Norwegian held a gap of 38 seconds heading into the final eight uphill kilometres, but as the attacks began behind, that advantage was quickly eroded.

Eventually caught with 2km to go by new race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), Foss held on for 14th place on the day. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) timed his late burst well to come around Vingegaard and win the stage.

Also present in the peloton was Thymen Arensman, who crossed the line ninth on the day, 17 seconds back. The result elevated the Dutchman to sixth overall, two places ahead of Foss.

Team Polti-VisitMalta posted this Tirreno-Adriatico report:

The very long day of almost 240 kilometres in constant rain and low temperatures did not stop the momentum of Team Polti VisitMalta, present in the two breakaways with Davide Bais and Andrea Pietrobon, fighting for the mountains jersey and dreaming of victory. Davide Piganzoli managed to finish in the leading peloton, keeping intact his chances for the overall classification of the Tirreno Adriatico.

Almost 6 and a half hours on the bike. A day of real endurance and also an opportunity to show bravery. With the rain as a travelling companion, the peloton and the riders of Team Polti VisitMalta faced the route between Follonica and Colfiorito (Foligno) forming part of a first breakaway with Davide Bais who fought for the mountain points without success, as he could not keep the green jersey as the best climber. Despite the 6-minute margin, the breakaway was neutralised after 100 kilometres.

Early in the stage the peloton rides under threatening skies.

Then there was a second breakaway attempt in which Andrea Pietrobon could have been part of the breakaway. The gap was not so wide in this second attempt, although it was more than 3 minutes and invited to dream in the final part of the race. But the last climb to Valico di Colfiorito unleashed hostilities in the peloton, neutralising the attempt within the last 10 kilometres by a Pietrobon who held on until the end and was the last to be absorbed by the peloton.

Davide Piganzoli showed his good form and his desire to challenge for the overall classification of the Tirreno Adriatico, holding on in the main group with the favourites and crossing the finish line at the same time as the winner Vendrame (Decathlon), without giving in to the rest of the contenders for the title of the race.

Andrea Pietrobon: ‘After the flying finish, there were still 100 kilometres to go and the sport director asked us to keep an eye out for any movements that might happen. In the end, De Bondt (Decathlon) and I attacked we understood each other looking for the heroic move from far away, but they didn’t leave us enough margin with the level of this race. I tried until the end, but on the last climb the group went very, very fast and they neutralised me. There’s a high level, but I’m happy to have been able to give the team a leading role on a day like today’.

Stefano Zanatta, sport director: ‘In the first part we tried to fight for the mountains with Bais in the breakaway, but he was neutralised after 70 kilometres. The peloton was rained on all day, so we didn’t take any risks either. But when there was a second breakaway, we were also able to stay with Pietrobon, which is important for the team’s visibility. I’m satisfied with the performance, Pietrobon is still there and now it’s time to think about the next stages’

The competition faces this Thursday a 190-kilometre route between Norcia and Trasacco, which includes two climbs in the first half and a favourable terrain before the probable finish for the fastest riders of this Tirreno Adriatico.

Here's the Tirreno-Adriatico report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

The day after Paul Penhoët’s third place in Tirreno-Adriatico, Romain Grégoire also secured a stage podium on Wednesday in the longest day of the Italian race. After 240 very wet kilometres, and after showing himself on the final climb, the Frenchman eventually snatched third place in a reduced bunch sprint. He now sits tenth overall.

For some people, this was a rehearsal for Milano-Sanremo. Although the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico didn’t reach the 300-kilometer mark, it still featured almost 250 kilometres including the neutral start. In addition, the various climbs throughout the course brought the day’s elevation gain to over 3,000 metres. Yet, that wasn’t all, as the weather proved tough from Follonica to Colfiorito. “It’s the worst day a rider could imagine,” claimed Thierry Bricaud. “More than 240 kilometres, with rain and cold, because it was just ten degrees… These were the worst conditions we could have experienced, so a huge respect to the riders”.

Racing in stage three's rain. Sirotti photo

“The day’s big challenge was the rain and the 250 kilometers rather than the speed of the peloton,” confirmed Romain Grégoire. “If you dressed properly, it was doable. The day went well, even if it was far from a pleasure cruise.” In these circumstances, there were few attempts of breakaways. Davide Bais and Lorenzo Conforti went for it in the first part of the race but were caught shortly after the halfway point. Once the intermediate sprint was passed, around sixty-five kilometres from the finish line, Dries De Bondt and Andrea Pietrobon also went on the attack and were able to gain a three-minute lead.

The peloton only got going before the final climb, 18 kilometres long with an average slope of 3%, but with the beginning and the end being much more demanding. “Because the day was long and tiring, we thought the final would unfold like a Classic, and that’s what happened,” Thierry added. “So we asked Clément and Paul, in particular, to position Romain before the bottom of the climb, because we knew it would be difficult for the sprinters to survive. Then it was up to Romain to do his thing.”

From the first slopes, the peloton was reduced by half, then the fugitives were caught after the long false-flat section. Finally, in the last four kilometres of climbing, the gradients increased again, and the attacks immediately came. After closing a few splits, Romain Grégoire actively joined the fight. “We knew it was going to be an open race and that a lot of teammates would be missing,” explained Thierry. “Carapaz attacked, Romain followed, and then we were off. It was a good move from him. It enabled him to take confidence and get into the mix of things”. “It was a very tactical climb,” said Romain. “I followed a great attack by Carapaz that could have been interesting, but large groups often get the better of attackers on climbs like this. I don’t regret trying.”

The rider from Besançon pushed on alongside the Ecuadorian for a few hundred metres, before other GC contenders bridged across, and the peloton bunched up a bit thanks to a less steep section. Valentin Madouas made a quick attempt at the top, four kilometres from the finish, but it was Filippo Ganna who then really threatened a group finish. The Italian was caught just before the flamme rouge, and a 50-rider sprint set up in a messy way. “I was on Pidcock’s wheel at 500 meters, we moved up on the right side with speed while the left part was a bit closed in,” said Romain. “Only Vendrame managed to get out of there and he was really fast.”

In Tom Pidcock’s slipstream, Romain Grégoire then sprinted to third place on the line. “He was a bit behind when the sprint started, but Andrea Vendrame is fast, so it’s not particularly surprising to see him win,” said Thierry. “Being beaten by Pidcock isn’t shameful either. He did a good sprint, he’s where he belongs, and that’s promising for the upcoming stages. Apart from the fact that he took confidence and is back in the general classification as we expected, we saw that Valentin was going well, and that Quentin was up there too. For us, it was a satisfying day.”

Thanks to the four bonus seconds he collected, and the selection carried out beforehand, Romain Grégoire gained thirteen positions overall and sits tenth at the end of this third stage. On Thursday, the sprinters should be back in action. “Given the sprint he did yesterday, we can have great ambitions with Paul, then there will be two very important days on Friday and Saturday for the general classification,” concluded Romain. “If my legs are good, I’ll try to keep this top 10, or even go for better, and above all, not have any regrets on Sunday.”

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