Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. - Ray Bradbury

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Current racing:

• March 19: Danilith Nokere Koerse
• March 19: Milano-Torino

Upcoming racing:

• March 20: GP de Denain
• March 21: Bredene Koksijde CLassic
• March 22: Milano-Sanremo

Latest completed racing:

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

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Teams preview Danilith Nokere Koerse

Here's the update for Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Nokere Koerse celebrates its 79th edition with a significant change. The peloton will tackle a dozen climbs, half of which are cobbled, but instead of the classic descent through the Nokere village in the final kilometer before the last ascent, they will now go onto a straight, uphill stretch on a different side of the famous Nokereberg.

Our team has won the race six times – most recently last year, when Tim Merlier left everyone behind with a ferocious attack at the base of the final climb – and will look to be again among the protagonists, this time with a unique jersey on our shoulders, highlighting Ekopak’s work in reducing and optimising water consumption.

Soudal Quick-Step's special Nokere Koerse jersey.

Gil Gelders, Luke Lamperti, who makes his debut this season, neo-pro Andrea Raccagni, Bert Van Lerberghe and Warre Vangheluwe will be joined by Devo Team’s Gauthier Servranckx and Lars Vanden Heede on the Soudal Quick-Step roster in Deinze, at the start of the 188.2km one-day race.

“We have a different jersey for this race and we want to show it and make proud our sponsors from Ekopak, who will celebrate the opening of their new facility in Deinze later this month. On the menu there will be cobblestones, climbs, and some intense local laps before a new final. The last ten kilometers are the ones that are different than in the past, the finish line being now on a 900m straight averaging 4%, so it remains to be seen how things will look there. We have a young team, and although we know that we aren’t the top favourites on Wednesday, we are motivated to show ourselves and do our best while trying to get a good result”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Iljo Keisse.

Team Bahrain Victorious posted this race preview:

Team Bahrain Victorious continues its early season classics campaign with back-to-back races in Belgium and France, lining up for Danilith Nokere Koerse (March 19) and Grand Prix de Denain – Porte du Hainaut (March 20). These two one-day races present another valuable opportunity for the team’s young group of riders to build experience in classic-style racing, featuring short, punchy climbs and challenging pavé sections.

The squad features a blend of young WorldTour and development team talent, with Borgo and Olivo stepping up from the development team to take on Nokere Koerse, alongside Bruttomesso, Ermakov, Skerl, Stockwell, and Van Mechelen.

Starting in Deinze, the Danilith Nokere Koerse course will challenge the riders with 1,450 meters of elevation gain across 12 climbs—6 of which are cobbled. In total, the peloton will face 23 kilometers of cobblestones, making it a test of handling and positioning on the narrow Belgian roads.

The following day, the riders will take on the “mini Roubaix” in France with the GP de Denain, featuring 13 challenging cobbled sectors covering 22.9 kilometers of the 200km course. It’s a race that mirrors the demanding nature of the northern classics and offers another crucial development opportunity for the team’s younger riders. Capra joins from the development team to replace Borgo.

Sports Director Borut Bozic commented on the importance of the upcoming races.

“These are two hard races which will provide these young riders with more development. The more they race in these types of races, the more they’ll be ready for the bigger classic races on the calendar in the future. GP de Denain is almost like a mini Roubaix and is a great race for these young riders. We have a good roster, and we hope we can take a top 10 in both races.”

The Lotto Cycling Team posted this Nokere Koerse race preview:

Danilith Nokere Koerse is a race where riders always like to be at the start due to its attractive course and the massive presence of supporters. Looking forward to Wednesday with equal enthusiasm is Arjen Livyns: "Nokere Koerse is always a fun race to ride."

During the 188.2km course, the riders will brave several classic elements such as the famous cobbled section in Paddestraat, the slopes of Hellestraat and Holstraat and, of course, Nokereberg. The expected difference will be made during the local laps, coloured by several cobbled sections that follow one another in short succession.

Arjen Livyns in 2024

Lotto Cycling Team heads to Danilith Nokere Koerse on Wednesday with Beullens, De Lie, Grignard, Grisel, Livyns, Menten and Vaneeckhoutte, where they hope to help colour the race. "We will have to make sure we are present when the race breaks open so Arnaud can keep relatively calm and focus on the finish so he can do his thing", says a well-prepared Arjen Livyns.

"Compared to previous years, the big loop has become a bit trickier and the last local lap has been modified with a different finish than usual. It remains to be seen what the non-sprint teams will do with this, but normally a bunch sprint is the most logical. We have a candidate winner with Arnaud, especially with the new finish line."

Here's the racing update from UAE Team Emriates:

UAE Team Emirates-XRG continue their Spring racing calendar with four mid-week races in anticipation of the first ‘Monument’ classic of the season : Milano-San Remo.

In Belgium the Emirati squad takes on three semi-classics with Danilith Nokere Koerse (19 March), Gran Prix de Denain (20 March) and the Bredene Koksijde Classic (21 March). While in Italy the team will race the historic Milano-Torino (19 March).

Fabio Baldato (Ita) will take charge as Sports Director in Belgium and Marco Marzano (Ita) will lead the team in Italy.

Danilith Nokere Koerse [1.Pro] – 19-Mar-2025 / Grand Prix de Denain – Porte du Hainaut [1.Pro] – 20-Mar-2025 / Bredene Koksijde Classic [1.Pro] – 21-Mar-2025

• Filippo Baroncini (Ita)
• Mikkel Bjerg (Den)
• Sebastian Molano (Col)
• Rui Oliveira (Por)
• Florian Vermeersch (Bel)
• Luca Giami (Ita) (Gen Z)
• Gibbe Staes (Bel) (Gen Z)

Filippo Baroncini winning the 2024 Super 8 Classic.

Milano – Torino [1.Pro] – 19-Mar-2025

• Igor Arrieta (Spa)
• Alessandro Covi (Ita)
• Isaac Del Toro (Mex)
• Julius Johansen (Den)
• Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
• Adam Yates (GB)
• Enea Sambinello (Ita) (Gen Z)

Team Polti-VisitMalta to race Milano-Torino

Here's the team 's post:

After breaking the ice at Trofeo Laigueglia and Strade Bianche, and experiencing the intensity and emotions of the Tirreno-Adriatico, Team Polti VisitMalta continues its Italian calendar by taking on the world’s oldest classic: Milano-Torino. This year’s route features a long, flat transfer from western Lombardy to the regional capital of Piedmont, leading up to the decisive double ascent to the Basilica of Superga in the final 25 kilometers.

Still in search of its first top-10 finish in its young history at the Milano-Torino, Polti VisitMalta will be led from the team car by Giovanni Ellena and will rely on a strong lineup of climbers, including Germán Gómez, Mattia Bais and Alex Martín, joined by Davide De Cassan, Pablo Garcia and two riders coming off the corsa dei due mari: Alessandro Tonelli and Andrea Pietrobon.

2025 Milano-Torino's profile

So far this season, 24-year-old Gómez has only competed in the Colombian National Championships in early February. Here’s what he had to say: “I have high expectations because I’ve trained well at altitude and I’m ready to compete in Europe with my teammates. Plus, tomorrow’s race has a great uphill finish — I can’t wait to be there!”

Sports director Ellena shared his thoughts, too: “Coming off a week where we were competitive among World Tour squads, we want to fight for a strong result and reaffirm ourselves as the leading Italian team.”

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