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Sunday, March 16, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain. - Robert Frost

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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 seven reports

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

Here's the report from stage winner Michael Storer's Tudor Pro Cycling Team:

Michael Storer seals the win on today’s 7th stage at Paris-Nice (2.UWT). It was a cold and wet day of racing in southern France that turned out to be a victorious day for Tudor Pro Cycling.

Michael Storer wins Paris-Nice stage seven.

Originally set at 150 km, the queen stage was shortened to 109 km due to adverse weather conditions. However, the reduced distance did nothing to dampen the intensity of the race. Under clear skies in Nice, the peloton set a furious pace from the start, ensuring an action-packed battle on the roads.

An early breakaway quickly took shape, featuring Julian Alaphilippe and Michael Storer—the sole GC contender in the front group. After an initial tussle with the chasing pack, the 15-man escape built a solid lead of 3 minutes and 15 seconds. At the front, the Tudor duo demonstrated their strength, with Alaphilippe putting in a huge effort to support his teammate, setting the stage for an electrifying finale.

As the race hit the decisive climb to Auron, Storer unleashed a relentless pace, systematically dropping his rivals until only one contender remained. With 2.7 km to go, he made his final move, surging ahead solo under snowfall, pushing through the brutal conditions to cross the finish line alone. Turning back in disbelief, he soaked in the magnitude of his victory.

After the finish, Storer took time to recover and warm up before reflecting on his remarkable achievement. "It’s an incredible day. The plan was for Julian to be in the breakaway, not me, but when Marco Haller put me in a great position for the first climb, I found myself at the front. It was already a strong group, and when Julian bridged across, he started riding for me. His radio wasn’t working, but with his experience, he read the race perfectly and saw the opportunity. It’s not every day you have a two-time world champion working for you."

Leading up to the stage, his teammates had been motivating him: “Michmich, today you win.” And win he did. The newly nicknamed "Storminator" secured an emotional victory, marking a return to top form. "It feels amazing to be back at this level, especially with Tudor. After so many top finishes and podiums last year, getting this win in such an important race means a lot. The team’s goal was to target a stage win with Alberto and Julian while preserving me for the GC. In the end, I won, and we couldn’t be happier."

Storer also addressed the extreme weather conditions: "We knew it was going to be tough, but choosing the right clothing was a challenge. Starting in 15°C and finishing in sub-zero temperatures made it difficult to prepare."

Now sitting 4th in the GC, just 1 minute and 5 seconds off the podium, Storer looks ahead to the final stage: "The podium will be tough with so many strong riders in the Top 10. It would be a dream, but I’m realistic — I’ll need the same legs I had today."

As he savors the moment, Storer acknowledges the significance of this victory:

"This win is truly special. It’s been an amazing day, and I’ll take the whole evening to process what I just achieved."

Second-place Mauro Schmid's Team Jayco AlUla posted this Paris-Nice report:

Swiss champion Mauro Schmid buried himself in the breakaway in winter-like conditions to finish an impressive second place on stage seven of Paris-Nice.

The Team Jayco AlUla rider was backed up by a strong supporting ride from teammate Kell O’Brien, who had also made it into the early breakaway that went clear in the opening kilometre. The Australian has been a big engine for the squad this week and he went deep into the final kilometres of the last ascent to set-up his teammate.

While the day started bathed in sunshine, the riders were once again soaked through by the rain as it started to fall midway through the stage. Poor weather conditions had already forced organisers to alter the route, leaving the riders tackling a 109km stage and just one climb before the tough summit finale.

The break midway through the stage with Julian Alaphilippe leading

By the time Schmid attacked from the breakaway with around four kilometres to go, alongside Michael Storer, snow was already falling on the riders. After a brave ride, Schmid lost touch with Storer as the climb hit its hardest gradients, but he fought all the way to the line to secure second place in Auron.

Mauro Schmid:
“The plan was to be there quite early. I wasn’t expecting the break to go in the first kilometre, but I ready behind the car when we started. I got a gap pretty quickly and I was happy to be there and then I felt pretty good. I tried to save the legs on the last climb and make a good pace to the finish. I had good legs and Kell helped me on the last climb to set a strong pace. I couldn’t really follow Storer, but I tried as hard as I could and I’m happy with second.”

GC leader Matteo Jorgenson's Team Visma | Lease a Bike posted this Paris-Nice report:

Matteo Jorgenson had no trouble in the queen stage of Paris-Nice. The American – who saw rival Matias Skjelmose drop out during the stage – was perfectly positioned by his team ahead of the final climb and was able to easily follow his competitors. Michael Storer proved to be the best of an earlier breakaway group and took the win in Auron.

In the queen stage, which was shortened by 40 kilometers due to bad weather, fifteen riders quickly formed a breakaway. The large breakaway group gained a lead of over three minutes, but thanks to the controlling efforts of teams like Team Visma | Lease a Bike in the peloton, most riders were reeled in on the final climb.

The break on the final climb to Auron. Tudor rider Julian Alaphilippe has just taken his last pull and swung off.

On the climb to Auron, the pace remained steady for a long time. The tempo increased, but the two remaining breakaway riders managed to maintain a solid gap. With two kilometers to go, it was Lenny Martinez who attacked, but his move wasn’t enough to make a difference. Jorgenson had no trouble following his direct rivals for the general classification, while Storer, after a whole day in the break, soloed to victory in Auron.

“It was a tough day", Jorgenson said. “Even though it wasn’t a very long stage, it still felt heavy. My team did an amazing job up to the climb, and luckily, my legs were also in good shape. The cold temperatures and wintery showers made it really hard once again. Fortunately, I’m still in the lead, and the weather should improve tomorrow.”

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

Due to the inclement weather, the organisers were forced to redesign the course of the penultimate stage to Auron, leaving as the only difficulty of the day the 7.3km ascent averaging 7.2% which was used for the first time in a professional cycling race. This didn’t mean that things were easier for the peloton, who once again had to battle the low temperatures, nagging rain and even snow, which all made climbing Auron a real ordeal.

Stage seven gets started.

It didn’t come as a surprise that the weather had an adverse effect on the way things unfolded, giving a chance to the 15-man breakaway that was at the front. The gap began coming down only 30 kilometers from the finish, but it still wasn’t enough for the peloton to bring back the front group – which still had a lot of firepower – from where Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) emerged victorious.

Many riders began suffering early on the stiff gradients, and as a consequence were dumped out of the small bunch, but Ilan Van Wilder fought admirably to remain there for as long as possible, keen on defending his GC position. It was only two kilometers from the finish that the Belgian had to let go of the group, but he continued to give his best and came across the line some half a minute behind the others, exhausted and gasping for air after the huge effort he put in in what was another wearing day for the Paris-Nice riders.

Only one stage remains now for the bunch before the conclusion of the 83rd edition, a short but hard one featuring four climbs and a fast descent to the Nice city center.

Here's Team Picnic-PostNL's Paris-Nice report:

The penultimate day of racing at Paris-Nice saw a shortened stage but that still included the summit finish on Auron. It was a stage where the break had a good chance so Team Picnic PostNL set out with the goal of getting climber Warren Barguil in the move. However, almost from the flag drop a group of 12 went clear at the front. The team tried to close it down somewhat so Barguil could bridge in a counter-attack, but he unfortunately never made it. From there, it was all about getting through the day and making it to the finish.

Stage seven's short but challenging profile

Barguil expressed: “We missed the break early on and had to chase to get the situation back under control. I came close to bridging across to the front group, but I completely blew up in the attempt. Unfortunately, only two or three riders managed to make the jump. Of course, it’s frustrating not to be in the breakaway, especially when it ends up going all the way. We will try again tomorrow.”

And here's the Paris-Nice report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

Although it was shortened to 109 kilometres, stage 7 of Paris-Nice proved to be far from enjoyable on Saturday. Heading towards Auron, the peloton once again experienced very difficult weather conditions. Stefan Küng and Johan Jacobs joined the day’s breakaway but were unable to hold off Michael Storer on the summit finish. Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet fought hard to maintain his position in the top 15 overall (14th). Sunday, the usual stage around Nice will take place with, finally, pleasant weather.

Stage seven gets rolling.

Although Nice hosted the start of the penultimate stage of the “Race to the Sun” on Saturday, the riders still didn’t quite have the end of the race in sight… Heading towards the Auron resort in the Mercantour National Park, they barely saw the horizon, as rain and clouds followed them again in the second part of the race. While La Colmiane had been removed from the route, precisely because of the threatening weather conditions, the summit finish was still maintained despite a risk of snow after just 109 kilometres.

Stefan Küng and Johan Jacobs took advantage of the milder skies at the start to slip into the day’s breakaway, along with a dozen other competitors. “The goal over the first ten flat kilometre was to put a big man in front, either Stefan or Johan,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “It was very well done since the two of them ended up in the lead. They gained a maximum lead of three minutes, but it was a breakaway that could go far since some of the climbers in the group also had a teammate.”

In the endless valley leading to the final climb, the breakaway did show a great resistance to the peloton, while the weather conditions were clearly deteriorating.
“The conditions were very bad in the final in particular, with the rain and cold like yesterday,” Benoît confirmed. “It was another day where the bodies were put under a lot of strain.”

Up front, the breakaway prevailed from the bunch this Saturday, as they were able to start the Auron climb (7.3 km at 7%) with an advantage of two minutes. Johan Jacobs and Stefan Küng were unable to compete with the best climbers in the group, including Michael Storer, who won at the summit under snowflakes. Within the peloton, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet held on until the last three kilometres, before losing a bit of terrain and reaching the finish line about a minute behind the main favorites. “Guillaume struggled a bit,” confirmed Benoît. “He doesn’t like this kind of stage, very short, with a sole climb. He prefers it when there are several climbs. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but we’re not going to be content with fourteenth place overall. I think there’s still something to go for. It’s up to us to be careful, attentive, and smart to try to move up overall or get close to the stage victory.”

Tirreno-Adriatico stage six reports

We posted the report from fourth-place Mikel Landa's Team Soudal Quick-Step with the results.

Here's the report from winner Juan Ayuso's UAE Team Emriates-XRG:

Juan Ayuso took an impressive victory on stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico, taking a solo win and climbing to the top of the overall rankings with just one day of racing remaining. The young Spaniard, who has been duelling with race leader Filippo Ganna (Ineos-Grenadiers) all week succeeded in dropping the Italian on the final climb on the mountainous leg of the race from Cartoceto to Frontignano (136km).

Juan Ayuso takes the stage win and the GC lead.

Isaac Del Toro and Adam Yates put in a sterling effort to control the group on the final climb before Ayuso was ready to make his move.

Ayuso launched first at 4.3km to go, causing the group to whittle down dramatically with only Tom Pidcock (Q.36) (2nd) Jai Hindley (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) (3rd) and a handful of other favourites able to react. The Spaniard persisted with the surges and found himself solo with -3.5km and quickly built up a lead on his rivals and critically, on race leader Ganna. He would hold a margin of 13” to the line and finds himself well placed ahead of the final stage of the race tomorrow from Porto Potenza Picena to San Benedetto del Tronto (147km).

Ayuso: “We worked really well. The team did an amazing job. The last kilometre or so I suffered a bit but I’m glad I made it. In the final we knew we had to make it hard. It was quite windy, and on a wheel you could save a lot. I am glad I got on the wheel of Del Toro because I was really suffering on his wheel, but everybody else was suffering also. I just went for it and I knew I just had to put in my tempo to the top.

"It feels great to be back in the leaders jersey. Last year I had it all week and lost it at the end to a stronger rider. This was one of my big goals this year leading up to the Giro so I’m really happy and proud of my team for all they’ve done. We’ll aim to finish things off tomorrow.”

It marks the third win of the season for Ayuso who took victories in the Faun Drome Classic and Trofeo Laigueglia already this season. The tally of triumphs for the Emirati outfit now sits at 17 so far in 2025.

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

Filippo Ganna put in one of the strongest climbing performances of his career to hold third place following the penultimate stage at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Italian battled hard on the Frontignano summit finish, limiting his losses and holding on to a provisional overall podium.

Filippo Ganna finishes stage six.

Ganna now sits 38 seconds back on new leader and stage winner Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), with the race set to conclude in a likely bunch sprint on Sunday.

The Grenadier was well protected by his teammates throughout the day, where he entered the final climb alongside Laurens De Plus. Unfortunately the Belgian was distanced early on, and rode at his own tempo to the finish.

And here's the Tirreno-Adriatico report from Team Polti-VisitMalta

Team Polti VisitMalta honors the queen stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in style, finishing at 1327 meters of altitude, by joining the day’s action and consolidating Davide Piganzoli’s position on the eve of the final Sunday.

A classic Marche-style route with no flat sections — after 10 km a leading group of eight riders (six from WorldTour squads) forms, including Andrea Pietrobon, once again in the breakaway after being the last rider caught on the Colfiorito climb on Wednesday. After gaining a maximum advantage of four and a half minutes, the attackers maintain a steady pace until they reach the final mountain. There, Polti VisitMalta’s pianist-passista is reeled in after spending 145 km at the front. Soon after, as all the fugitives are brought back, Ayuso (UAE) launches his winning move while Piganzoli stays with the chasers: the Valtellina talent finishes 18th and moves up to 17th overall.

Davide Piganzoli before the stage start. Sirotti photo

Pietrobon: “With the pace, the elevation gain and the fatigue accumulated throughout the week, this was a tough stage! The initial plan was to stay together in the peloton for the finale, but seeing riders like Thomas, Stuyven, Cort, Vendrame and others moving, we decided to try and join them. I was feeling good and went for it, successfully. However, with so many GC contenders, the top teams had an interest in keeping the race controlled. Going all the way wasn’t possible, but we showed spirit and legs.”

Sports director Stefano Zanatta: “We managed to get into a high-quality breakaway with one of our top escape artists. Meanwhile his teammates did a great job protecting our GC rider, who held his own on a very fast ascent. Tomorrow, we want to finish strong with a sprint for Lonardi!”

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