Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, April 6, 2025

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. - Napoleon Bonaparte

---

Les Woodland's book Sticky Buns Across America: Back-roads biking from sea to shining sea is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• April 6: Ronde van Vlaanderen

Upcoming racing:

• April 7 - 12: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
• April 8 - 12: Region Pays de la Loire Tour
• April 9: Scheldeprijs
• April 13: Paris-Roubaix

Latest completed racing:

• April 5: GP Miguel Indurain
• April 5: Volta NXT Classic
• April 4: Route Adélie de Vitre
• April 2: Dwars door Vlaanderen
• April 2: Paris - Camembert Lepetit
• March 24 - 30: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
• March 30: Gent - Wevelgem
• March 30: La Roue Tourangelle
• 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

---

Volta NXT Limburg Classic team reports

We psoted the report from second-place Frank van den Broek’s Development Team Picnic PostNL with the results.

Here's the report from winner Dion Smith's Team Intermarché-Wanty:

This Saturday 5th of April, Dion Smith opened the victory count of 2025 for team Intermarché-Wanty by triumphing in the Volta NXT Limburg Classic.
The New Zealander won the hilly 190-kilometer classic, which featured no less than 25 climbs in Limburg, around Eijsden, close to the Belgian-Dutch border.

Intermarché-Wanty was attentive to the race movements in the final, sending first Alexander Kamp and then Smith in counter-attacks, until the latter joined the leading group with 20 kilometer to go.

Maintaining a lead of about twenty seconds, the leading group of six riders managed to hold off the peloton until they sprinted for the victory. In the final cobbled straight, Smith dominated the sprint and offered the first victory of the season to Jean-François Bourlart’s team.

Dion Smith wins the Volta NXT Limburg Classic.

At 32 years old, Dion Smith celebrates his second victory as a professional and his first in the colors of the Walloon World Team. The exemplary teammate, appreciated by his leaders, raises his arms for the first time in five years since his success at the Coppa Sabatini.

“We lined up for this Volta NXT Classic with a strong team and I was offered the opportunity to race for a result myself, depending on how the race turned out. As we had good numbers in the peloton in the final, I didn’t hesitate to follow the attack of Frank van den Broek. In my course recon yesterday I learned there was a chance to stay away thanks to the tailwind. It was a perfect situation with the presence of our sprinter Arne Marit in the group behind me. I don’t know how I managed to stay calm in the final, knowing that my last victory in the Coppa Sabatini was five years ago already.

"The past couple of years I’ve grown into a support role, loosing the habits to manage this kind of situations. To be able to do it today makes me extremely happy. I’m also very happy to offer Intermarché-Wanty this victory, as we’re now progressively gaining strength after a rough start to the season with a lot of sickness and crashes. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to finish my first part of the season before my build up to the Giro d’Italia.” - Dion Smith

Here's Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Volta NXT Classic report:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike didn't manage to take a place of honour in the Volta NXT Classic. Menno Huising and Jørgen Nordhagen put up a good performance in the Limburg hills, but could not compete for the podium spots.

In the 50th edition of the one-day race in Limburg, the riders were faced with 37 climbs and 2,400 altitude metres. Team Visma | Lease a Bike started with a young team and was determined to make it a hard race. After the peloton broke up on the various hills, only Huising and Nordhagen managed to hold on at the front.

Here's a screen capture of the Volta NXT Classic finsih.

In the finale, six riders rode away and the group held on to the line. In the end, Dion Smith took the win. Huising and Nordhagen finished in the bunch. "This is not what we came for", sports director Robert Wagner said. "We had big plans with the team. Because we didn't have a fast sprinter with us, we knew we had to attack ourselves. That was the plan we had discussed beforehand."

"Unfortunately, the race did not go the way we wanted. We had to sacrifice men earlier than hoped to rectify situations. Nevertheless, Jørgen and Menno rode a good race. Everyone did their best today, but it wasn't enough to compete for the win."

GP Miguel Indurain race reports

We posted the report from winner Thibau Nys' Team Lidl-Trek with the results.

Here's the report from Team Picnic-PostNL:

A week of racing in Spain got underway on Saturday at GP Indurain, known for its tough and hilly terrain. Team Picnic PostNL set out with the plan of protecting Oscar Onley as their finisher, with the young Scot having finished on the podium at the same race in 2024.

It was a relatively controlled day with the break of the day being slowly reeled in as the kilometres ticked down and the punchy finish approached. Some good teamwork saw Onley come over the penultimate climb in the reduced peloton, before a showdown on and over the last brutally steep ascent. On the narrow climb and descent, Onley fought to move forward but ultimately finished in 16th place on the day.

Thibau Nys was the GP Miguel Indurain winner.

Onley said: “The guys were really focused on me today and supported me throughout the race. I wasn’t feeling good today unfortunately and also didn’t position myself well enough into the final climb, so started from too far back. It’s pretty disappointing but I’m hoping my legs get better throughout the week.”

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary