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Sunday, March 30, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- March 24 - 30: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
- March 30: Gent - Wevelgem
- March 30: La Roue Tourangelle
Upcoming racing:
- April 2: Dwars door Vlaanderen
- April 2: Paris - Camembert Lepetit
- April 4: Route Adélie de Vitre
- April 5: GP Miguel Indurain
- April 5: Volta Limburg Classic
- April 6: Ronde van Vlaanderen
Latest completed racing:
- March 25 - 29: Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali
- March 28: E3 Saxo Bank Classic
- March 26: Classic Brugge-De Panne
- March 22: Milano-Sanremo
- March 21: Bredene Koksijde Classic
- March 20: GP de Denain
- March 19: Danilith Nokere Koerse
- March 19: Milano-Torino
- March 9 - 16: Paris-Nice
- March 10 - 16: Tirreno-Adriatico
- March 8: Strade Bianche
- March 5: Trofeo Laigueglia
- March 4: Le Samyn Classic
We posted the report from second-place Pavel Bittner's Team Picnic-PostNL with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Quinn Simmons' Team Lidl-Trek:
Our resident American rolled the dice in the closing kilometre of Stage 6 here at Volta a Catalunya, escaping alone and holding off a charging bunch to claim his first WorldTour victory!
Stage 6 was due to be the Queen Stage until extreme winds reaching 100 km/h forced race organizers to shorten the course. After riding the majority of the altered route under neutralized conditions, racing began with just 28km to the finish. A breakaway formed quickly, including Lidl-Trek’s Carlos Verona, who was recognized as the most combative rider of the day. With 10km remaining, the group was reeled in, before multiple riders attacked hard, using the uphill final five kilometres as a springboard to break clear. However, none were able to stay away for long, until Simmons powerful move under the flamme rouge. The American went deep to hold off the chasing sprinters, but his effort was rewarded with a career-first WorldTour victory.
Quinn Simmons wins stage six.
The day In Quinn's words -
This must be the strangest day of my career: first we race, then we don’t, then we do two laps, and in the end, we only did 28 km. It’s a bit surprising to be here because, to be honest, I was one of the riders who voted not to start. But in the end it’s a victory in a WorldTour race, my first one. Nobody knew what was going on, and of course, when the race is that short, you know it’s going to be nervous.
We didn’t know when the start was coming. I was in the car taking my leg warmers off, so I ended up in the third group on the descent but rode to the front on my own. I thought my race was already over after just 2 km, but yeah, it’s crazy. I wasn’t even supposed to be here. I got the call on Thursday that I was coming. It’s super special, my first WorldTour victory.
It also means a lot for my parents watching at home, and my girlfriend and brother, who will be at the finish tomorrow. It’s almost a home race for me, living in Girona.Tomorrow will have the same intensity as today, but just a bit longer. My biggest objective for the week was actually tomorrow, but I got the job done a day early. We’ll try to go for the bonus tomorrow, but the team can go home happy and I go home happy as well.
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We posted the report from stage winner Jay Vine's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.
GC winner Ben Tulett's Team Visma | Lease a Bike posted this stage five report:
Ben Tulett has secured the overall classification victory at Coppi e Bartali in Italy. The Brit finished 17th in the final stage, which was enough to retain his leader’s jersey. This marks the second overall victory of Tulett’s career, following his triumph at the 2023 Tour of Norway.
2025 Coppi-Bartali Week winner Ben Tulett. Sirotti photo
Leading up to the Italian stage race, Tulett had a successful season with two podium finishes in his last four races. He carried this strong form into Coppi e Bartali, securing top-10 finishes in both the second and third stages. In stage four, he impressed by attacking solo four kilometers from the finish line to take a remarkable stage win. Tulett then stayed out of trouble in the fifth and final stage, securing his overall victory.
During the stage, the peloton had to tackle the Rocca delle Caminate climb twice. The race intensified before the seven-kilometer climb, causing a split in the peloton. Alongside teammate Jørgen Nordhagen, Tulett managed to stay well-positioned. Eventually, Jay Vine escaped from the peloton to take the stage win, while Tulett maintained his place in the group and lost no time to his main competitors.
After a long time, the young Tulett knows what it feels like to win again. “It’s amazing to win this overall classification after five tough race days,” said Tulett. “We started today with a solid lead in the general classification, so everything was about defending the jersey. We faced strong competition, but we executed our plan very well to bring it home. Jørgen was an incredible teammate today—he really helped me a lot.”
Tulett hopes to carry his good form into the rest of the season. “It’s been a great start to the year,” the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider continued. “I’m really happy with my form and my performances so far. That gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. I’m learning new things about myself in every race, which is really valuable. I’m looking forward to the upcoming races.”
Tulett’s overall victory didn’t come easy. In the final stage, he had to fight hard to secure his position. “The stage was short but very tough. Today, Ben only had to follow his rivals,” explained team director Robert Wagner. “The guys really fought for it. Ben was once again very strong today, especially Jørgen Nordhagen. Thanks to him, we were able to keep everything under control and celebrate this fantastic victory!”
Back in 2022, the 23-year-old talent won the young rider classification at Coppi e Bartali and finished second overall. Expectations were high for this edition. “Because of Ben’s previous results in this race, we set clear goals,” Wagner continued. “Our objective wasn’t just to aim for the podium but to go all-in for the win. To actually achieve that is really impressive. The fact that we secured this victory with such a young team, including three riders from our development squad, makes it even more special. The boys really fought hard for this.”
Here's the report from third-place Alexey Lutsenko's Team Israel-Premier Tech:
Alexey Lutsenko’s preparations for the Ardennes Classics continued at pace as he recorded his best result since joining Israel – Premier Tech at Settimana Coppi e Bartali on Saturday.
Lutsenko placed third on Saturday’s final stage in Forlí to complete his hat-trick of top-10 results in the five-day race, and moved up to fourth overall thanks to the bonus seconds he collected at the finish line.
The peloton climbs the Rocca Delle Caminate.
The Kazakh rider rode attentively and smartly throughout the 132.5-kilometer stage, monitoring the countless attacks that came on the approach to and on the slopes of the day’s final climb, the category 2 Rocca delle Caminate.
After Jay Vine (UAD) broke clear late on to solo to the victory, Lutsenko finished second in the reduced bunch sprint behind to wrap up a strong week in Italy.
“After a long training camp in Tenerife and this week of racing, I’m happy with my shape,” says Lutsenko. “I’m focused on preparing for the Ardennes, starting with another camp in Tenerife next week, and I’ll be working hard there to make more progress.
“Today was a short stage – it was fast, there was rain at the start, it was cold, and the whole peloton has been full gas since the first day. Many teams tried to split the peloton on the final climb. My legs had a good feeling – I tried to make a breakaway, but in the final I concentrated more on the sprint. This worked out for me as I took the bonus seconds and moved up on GC.”
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Here's the Coppi-Bartali report from Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Magnus Sheffield put in another battling performance on the final day of Settimana Coppi e Bartali to battle back into the top-10 overall.
The American made a number of accelerations and followed moves on an attacking last stage, eventually sprinting to fourth place in Forli.
Sheffield bounced back well from a pair of crashes on Friday whilst fighting for the overall lead of the race. In the end his exploits on Saturday elevated him back into 10th place overall.
Earlier on both Artem Shmidt and AJ August forced their way into a breakaway move, yet with the pace remaining high behind, it would be reeled in well before the finish.
In the closing kilometres it was Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) who forged clear to win the stage solo. In the chasing pack Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) made sure of the overall win.
The fifth stage is about to start. Sirotti photo
High winds caused the penultimate stage of Volta a Catalunya to be drastically altered. No climbs were featured on Saturday due to safety issues, with the planned circuit also shortened mid-way through the stage.
In the end 25 kilometres of flat-out racing would decide a stage winner, with the GC timings all frozen ahead of Sunday's finale.
The Grenadiers pushed the tempo heading into the final 10km, but a fractured peloton made the run-in hard to control.
In the end Axel Laurance sprinted to ninth place, while Laurens De Plus and Egan Bernal retained sixth and seventh overall respectively.
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And here's the Coppi-Bartali Week final report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Forli – the town formerly ruled by the famous Caterina Sforza, one of the Renaissance’s most powerful women – welcomed the peloton, just like in recent years, for the final stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. It was an intense day of racing, animated in the first half by Pascal Eenkhoorn, in the breakaway for the third consecutive stage, and Federico Savino, whose efforts helped them stay at the front until the last 80 kilometers.
Once the catch was made, the peloton continued as one until they began climbing Rocca delle Caminate, the last ascent of the day. It was there that Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) attacked, taking a solo win in Forli, where a small group containing Viktor Soenens arrived some 40 seconds later. The 19-year-old Belgian – a member of the Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team – had another impressive outing, not just on Saturday, but throughout the entire week, and this helped him gradually move up on the general classification, where he finished 11th, just a couple of seconds behind the top ten.
The peloton strung out into a single-file on the Rocca Delle Caminate. Sirotti photo
“I’m really happy with this result. It’s nice to have the confirmation after Spain, especially in a race where the level was higher. It was good to ride with the World Tour team, learn from the more experienced riders. I am thankful and grateful for this result, and I’m looking forward to the next races”, said Viktor, who earlier this season took eighth overall and the best young rider jersey in O Gran Camiño.
Girmay’s Intermarché-Wanty Team posted this:
Following the kick-off of the Holy Week of cycling in Flanders with the Classic Brugge-De Panne on Wednesday, Intermarché-Wanty continues a series of four other World Tour classics over the next ten days, starting with a long weekend consisting of the E3 Classic on Friday (28/03) and Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday (30/03).
Sunday is the event that marked the history of Intermarché-Wanty. Ghent-Wevelgem is the classic of all emotions for the Walloon World Team due to the loss of the young Antoine Demoitié following the 2016 edition, and the historic victory of Biniam Girmay six years later. The 250-kilometer race between Ypres and Wevelgem is characterized by the combination of open fields and possibly strong wind, several climbs including a triple passage over the Kemmelberg and three unpaved “plugstreets”.
Biniam Girmay wins Gent-Wevelgem in 2022
Biniam Girmay, winner of Gent-Wevelgem 2022, is competing in his first races of the season on Belgian soil. The fourteenth of Milan-Sanremo last Saturday is participating in both events alongside Vito Braet, Hugo Page, Jonas Rutsch, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, and the experienced Adrien Petit, who will participate in Gent-Wevelgem for the twelfth time. Taco van der Hoorncompletes the selection for the E3 Classic on Friday. For Gent-Wevelgem, the selection led by Aike Visbeek, Dimitri Claeys, and Adriaan Helmantel is reinforced by Laurenz Rex.
“Every time I stand on the start podium, the announcer brings up my 2022 Ghent-Wevelgem victory. It's amazing how that win still resonates with people even after three years. There's a special story behind that success that always brings a smile to my face. I was actually scheduled for La Roue Tourangelle that day, but after a strong showing in my first E3 Classic, we made a last-minute change – and then it was a winning decision! It was a huge honor for me and the team. I'm really looking forward to returning to the Flemish Classics, especially because I feel so good and fresh right now. I was satisfied about my performance in Milano-Sanremo, with strong legs on the Cipressa and the Poggio. Also Friday’s E3 Classic has its key moments like the Paterberg. But honestly, you need to be ready to fight every second because, as we saw last year with Mathieu van der Poel's early attack, it will be full gas from the moment we hit La Houppe.
"The parcours and race scenario of Ghent-Wevelgem are different. I have experience in different circumstances now. My win three years ago was in beautiful weather with a controlled start before the intense hill zone. Last year, the strong winds in the Moeren meant it was 'all hands on deck' from the beginning, creating an immediate selection. I’m really looking forward to returning. And I'm also excited about racing on my birthday in Dwars door Vlaanderen and soaking up the incredible atmosphere at the Tour of Flanders." - Biniam Girmay
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