David Stanley
March 1 & 2: 2025 Pro Cycling's True Opening Weekend
David Stanley is an experienced cycling writer. His work has appeared in Velo, Velo-news.com, Road, Peloton, and the late, lamented Bicycle Guide (my favorite all-time cycling magazine). Here's his Facebook page. He is also a highly regarded voice artist with many audiobooks to his credit, including McGann Publishing's The Story of the Tour de France and Cycling Heroes.
David L. Stanley
David L. Stanley's masterful telling of his bout with skin cancer Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
David L. Stanley writes:
Omloop! Het Volk takes center stage. This is the real racing. Belgium. The Kapelmuur. The Cobbles. Edge of our seats. Yet, it was far from thrilling. I do salute Stefan Küng for his late attack, yet save that last-chance attack, the race was, well, fine.
I understand. It is not the racers’ job to stage an exciting race for the fans. Excitement happens. It cannot be legislated. Yet if we’re honest, unless you are a big Uno-X/Norwegian fan, the biggest excitement on Saturday was the struggle to pronounce Søren Wærenskjold’s last name. It was a true field sprint, with 3 of the very fastest men in the world in at the kill.
The rush to the line. Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility, on the left) is the winner. Sirotti photo
Magnier and Philipsen are blazing fast. To watch the last 2-3 km unwind was solid fun, yet with the season’s first big meet-up, I wanted to see the blue touch paper lit on the climb by a man like Pidcock (Q36.5), or the US men Sean Quinn (Team Picnic PostNL) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-LAB0-Rabo (too soon?)) as they go on a rampage on the last climb, shred the field, and then try to hang on over the last kms. That didn’t happen.
Content continues below the ads
Let’s be clear. Plenty of past Omloops have ended in sprints. Søren’s victory was well-taken. Kid is flat out fast, and to hang in over the bergs and still have the speed to take out that sprint? Mye respekt! (I had to Google Norwegian translate for that.)
Søren Wærenskjold is the winner.
Jasper is 27. Søren is 24. Paul Magnier is 20. TWENTY! When I was 20 on the first Saturday in March, 1978, the odds are good I was sleeping off a massive hangover in the dorms at MSU, and then headed off to the gym to punish myself for the sins of the night before, not taking a podium spot in one of the world’s premier and beloved bike races. Kudos, Søren, and well-taken.
Faun Ardèche. That race was everything that a semi-classic should be. Chapeau to a rider, Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) I’ve been watching for several years. He is headed for terrific stuff at the age of 22. Disclaimer – I couldn’t watch the race here in the US. I did watch several different camera views of the finish, and I’m mostly gobsmacked over the end-stage confusion.
In one view, it appeared the moto clearly exited the parcours as the riders headed into finale. No fault to the riders; they had their heads down and were following the moto, as one does. In another view, it looked as if a marshal stood limply at the exit as the moto left the scene. Again, no fault to the riders. 1) Why wasn’t the marshal more attentive? (If indeed that was a marshal.) 2) Why didn’t the moto accelerate away sooner from the leaders, establish a gap, and then safely exit? It shouldn’t fall upon exhausted riders to discern whether they should follow a moto which they’ve been following for many kilometers at a time when legs, not brains, have full call upon O2-laden blood.
A stand up win by Romain Grégoire. Sirotti photo
Content continues below the ads
Still, full marks to Romain Grégoire; he’s plenty strong out of a small group. If you watch any clips, make sure to note his shrug as he looks around and sees he is alone.
Faun Drôme Classic. Quite the terrific race. Hilly, punchy, sunny, a little breezy, and a fine, crushing attack by another rising star, UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Juan Ayuso. This 22-year-old is another searing talent who is barely old enough to order a post-race beer in the US. If you haven’t, go check out the stacked field. This win was no humbug. The top 32, every name is a big name. Enough with their unlimited bank account, I wonder how long UAE can keep Ayuso under contract and in service to Tadej. He’s that good.
Juan Ayuso solos across the line.
Kurne–Brussels–Kurne. This race played out exactly as predicted. Lots of attacks on the bergs, lots of hard chasing on the flatter roads between, and le sprint tumultueux to close it all down. No surprises here as they were led out by Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), flat-out one of the fastest men in the peloton. He was going so quickly in the lead-out that it appeared for several seconds he might well take the win himself. But Jasper is plenty quick as well, and nipped neatly around the Aussie to take a well deserved win. He also showed that he can indeed sprint in a straight line (and yes, I just said that quiet part out loud) when the opportunity shows itself. TJI—Kaden’s celebration before the finish line while still in front of the bunch cost him a yellow card (as it should) and relegation to the rear (52nd place) of the big group.
Japer Philipsen wins in Kuurne. Photo: PhotoNewsBe
Content continues below the ads
Next? La gara ciclistica grandioso—Strade Bianche. Plus, we’ll see the opening of the one week stage races, Paris–Nice and Tirreno–Adriatico. Ah, spring, and a bike rider’s heart turns to warmer weather.
Strade Bianche is March 8. Sirotti photo
PSA- I’ve recently become involved with a tremendous event. It’s called the Ride of Silence. It commemorates our friends we’ve lost on the roads to cars. It has taken place at 239 locations worldwide in 14 countries, 3 continents, and 40 states here in the US. The 23rd Ride of Silence takes place on May 21, 2025, at 7:00 pm. There is a requested 12 MPH speed limit. No fixed distance. No words spoken on the road. A silent ride in memory of our friends. If you have one in your area, please ride it. If you’re interested in staging one, and this is no more difficult than messaging a few friends for a quiet, somber ride, please visit Ride of Silence. If you do decide to stage a Ride, please register (it’s free) at the website. In our numbers, there is strength.
David Stanley, like nearly all of us, has spent his life working and playing outdoors. He got a case of Melanoma as a result. Here's his telling of his beating that disease. And when you go out, please put on sunscreen.