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Friday, April 11, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- April 7 - 12: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
- April 8 - 12: Region Pays de la Loire Tour
Upcoming racing:
- April 12-13: Paris-Roubaix
- April 18: De Brabantse Pijl
Latest completed racing:
- April 9: Scheldeprijs
- April 6: Ronde van Vlaanderen
- 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
We posted the report from stage winner Joao Almeida's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.
Here's the report from third-place Max Schachmann's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Thursday’s parcours of the Itzulia Basque Country stage four threw more climbs into the peloton’s way, many of them with the same unforgiving gradients, for a total of 3000 vertical meters. This relentless parcours made for a chaotic first two hours of racing, as attacks came left and right from the numerous riders who were trying to establish a breakaway.
A group formed on the undulating roads to the first classified ascent of the day, but it was quickly overhauled by the peloton. Another breakaway attempt resulted in eleven riders going clear and pushing their gap to two minutes, but the work of Soudal Quick-Step and other teams erased the escapees’ margin before Izua, the final ascent of this stage – 3.6km wall averaging over 10%.
As some decided to ramp up the pace on the gradients that in some places reached 20%, Max Schachmann began to suffer and lose contact with the chasing group that formed behind lone leader Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), where Ilan Van Wilder managed to book a place. Showing incredible determination, the yellow jersey battled hard on every inch of the road, showing a lot of grit and emptying himself as he tried to limit the losses on the way to the top.
Max Schachmann finishes third. Getty Sport photo
Schachmann crested the summit some 20 seconds behind the first group, but his remarkable descending skills helped the German make it back there and even sprint to third in Markina-Xemein, a result that came with four bonus seconds. The third podium scored in four days helped Max cement his place in the top three of the Itzulia Basque Country general classification, where Ilan sits an impressive fourth.
“Today we had another long fight for the breakaway, with high speeds that left many tired when a breakaway finally went. The last climb was really tough, with some brutal gradients which I knew weren’t in my favour, but I rode my own tempo and on the descent I managed to return in the chasing group. I gave my best and I don’t have any regrets. Considering how hard it was today, I am happy to be on the podium”
Here's the Tour of the Basque Country report from eighth-place Oscar Onley's Team Picninic-PostNL:
Like the previous stages, the fourth day of racing at Itzulia saw a fierce battle at the start to form the day’s breakaway. Several moves went and were brought back before eventually a strong group of 11 went clear. Team Picnic PostNL focused on saving their energy in the bunch and looking after GC finisher Oscar Onley. Heading towards the last brutally steep climb of the day the break was caught, and the team positioned Onley near the front of the bunch as they made the turn. Immediately met by challenging gradients, it was a grind all the way to the top with Onley cresting the ascent in an elite chase group behind lone leader and eventual stage winner Almeida. The chase group came to the line together to battle it out for the remaining stage podium places, with Onley taking eighth on the day and moving up on GC.
Stage four gets started.
Onley reflected: “It was another hard day with a big fight for the break. The guys went deep to make sure they stayed with me throughout the day which was nice to see. On the final climb I rode within myself and always felt in control. It’s nice to see the improvements from each race day so far and gives me confidence towards Saturday.”
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Here's the report from tenth-place Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet's Team Groupama-FDJ:
The fight between the Tour of the Basque Country leaders moved up a notch this Thursday, in a grueling fourth stage, and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet lived up to the expectations. The French climber followed the main favorites on the climb of Izua, before the descent to Markina-Xemein, and only Joao Almeida was able to break away to take the victory and the leader’s jersey. Tenth in the stage, the French climbed back to thirteenth overall. Also, Brieuc Rolland took the best young rider’s jersey!
Brieuc Rolland
If some were hoping for a slightly calmer day than the previous one on the Tour of the Basque Country, they certainly weren’t thrilled by how the fourth stage unfolded. From Beasain, and with nearly 3,000 meters of elevation gain still on the menu, the race turned out to be extremely fast on Thursday. With many riders believing in a successful breakaway, the moves proved almost uninterrupted for nearly seventy kilometres. “It was a very, very fast start, a tough race, and it didn’t ease off,” said Benoît Vaugrenard.
On the climb of Muniketagane, around 100 kilometres from the finish, a group of nine riders finally managed to break away, including some top names, but the peloton didn’t completely let it go. The gap even narrowed to forty-five seconds twenty kilometers later, before the breakaway took its maximum lead of two minutes with sixty kilometres left to go, thanks to a slight pause in the peloton. However, the pace resumed with greater intensity, as the chase took place until the final climb of the day, at Izua (3.5 km at 9.5%), located 15 kilometres from the finish line. “Today’s stage suited Guillaume better than Romain, with a long climb, less explosive than yesterday,” explained Benoît.
Groupama-FDJ therefore put their focus on the French climber. “We organized well and put him in the best possible position before the final climb,” added Brieuc Rolland. The team’s leader was thus able to tackle the frightening slopes averaging 15% in the top ten positions, and from then on managed his climb perfectly, just behind the main favorites. “He was up there, in the mix, on a very hard climb,” Benoît emphasized. “Only one rider was above the rest, Joao Almeida.” At the summit, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet found himself thirty seconds behind the Portuguese rider in a group of around ten men, who were unable to close the gap on the descent. In the final flat section, the Groupama-FDJ rider tried to take his rivals by surprise by attacking with one kilometre to go, but his attempt was unsuccessful.
A sprint therefore decided the remaining positions, and the 31-year-old Frenchman took tenth place. “It’s a good day for Guillaume, it’s satisfying,” Benoît said. “Romain suffered a bit of a setback after going hard yesterday and after what happened in the evening. It’s quite normal. I think it would have been a bit too hard for him today, anyway.”While the young puncher lost his place in the top 10 overall, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet climbed to thirteenth place, 2’34 behind Almeida. Brieuc Rolland moved up to 23rd overall and was awarded the best young rider jersey, previously held by… Romain Grégoire. “I tried to manage my effort on the climb, it was very tough, but I’m pretty satisfied,” said the young Breton. “I’m doing my best day after day, and that will help me improve.” On Friday, the fifth stage will again feature a hilly terrain towards Gernika-Lumo. “We came here for the stage wins,” Benoît recalled. “We will focus on that tomorrow, while keeping Guillaume safe for Saturday.”
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Here’s the report from Sepp Kuss’ Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Sepp Kuss opted for the offensive in stage 4 of the Itzulia Basque Country. The American rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike was part of an early breakaway of eight riders that gained a gap early on but ultimately wasn’t in contention for the stage win. Wilco Kelderman maintained his top-ten position in the general classification.
With seven categorized climbs and nearly 3,000 meters of elevation gain, the peloton once again faced a tough day in the Basque hills. Kuss made it into a strong leading group, but the bunch didn’t give them much space. The teams of the GC contenders took control of the pace, bringing back the breakaway before the final climb of the day.
Sepp Kuss finishing stage 19 of the 2024 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo
That final climb proved decisive. The Izua—an iconic ascent in this race—delivered the expected fireworks. The nearly four-kilometer climb, averaging ten percent, was used by eventual stage winner Joao Almeida to launch a decisive move. Behind him, Kelderman settled into a group of favorites. The Dutchman crossed the line alongside his main rivals, preserving his sixth place overall.
“I felt pretty good today”, Kelderman said after the finish. “The racing was hard again, and the approach to the final climb was already intense. On the steep sections it was really tough, but I think that was the case for everyone. I had good legs again today, and I’m looking forward to the rest of this race.”
Sports director Jesper Mørkøv reflected on the day for Team Visma | Lease a Bike: “We planned to have a rider in the break, and after a long fight, Sepp made it. The peloton kept things under control, so the group was caught before the final climb. We gave everything to get Wilco into a good position, and that worked out well. Almeida was the strongest today, but Wilco held his own in the group behind. The coming stages will offer more opportunities for our team”, Mørkøv said.
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Here's the team's update:
Team Jayco AlUla will line up at this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix with a mix of youth and experience for the third Monument of the season.
Max Walscheid will be the team’s nominated leader after a solid Classics campaign that has seen him work for others. The tall German has previously finished in the top 10 of the cobbled race – his favourite of the entire year.
Max Walsheid wins the 2022 GP de Denain. Cofidis photo
Providing the experience around Walscheid will be his compatriot Jasha Sütterlin, who will embark on his ninth Roubaix this weekend, Luka Mezgec, and Elmar Reinders.
New recruit Patrick Gamper will be making his second Roubaix start, while fellow 2025 signings Bob Donaldson and Jelte Krijnsen are set for their debuts at the elite race. Donaldson has previously shown his capabilities on the tough parcours with second at the U23 Paris-Roubaix in 2024, a mini version of the 259.2km route that faces the rides this Sunday.
Team Jayco AlUla:
Bob Donaldson (GBR)
Patrick Gamper (AUT)
Jelte Krijnsen (NED)
Luka Mezgec (SLO)
Elmar Reinders (NED)
Jasha Sütterlin (GER)
Max Walscheid (GER)
Max Walscheid:
“Roubaix is very important to me, and for the race this Sunday, the worl started already on the 1 November. All of the build-up in the winter, doing the first stage races; AlUla Tour, UAE Tour, and Paris-Nice and then the big Classics period in Belgium is coming to not just an end, but for me personally a culmination. I had good legs in the last races, and I feel that the training build-up has been executed well ahead of the Classics and Paris-Roubaix. In the past few races, and especially in Denain and Gent-Wevelgem, I didn’t have the best of luck but on the other hand I am healthy and in good shape. I’m very much looking forward to lining up on Sunday and being in a very good situation and hopefully ride for a top result in what is, for me, the biggest one-day race in the world.
"Roubaix is the biggest goal of my spring campaign, but there are a thousand things that can happen beforehand or during the race. There’s also a question mark about if it will it be wet, which increases the chances of crashes and mechanicals. This is not within my influence, I can only control what is, and I try to tick those boxes as good as possible. Otherwise, I will take it as it comes. I hope that more pieces fall into place at the day itself. I’ve put in all of the work over the past weeks and months, and currently, I am where I should be.”
Mat Hayman (Sport Director):
“We’ve got a mix of youth and experience in the line-up. Max loves this race and has had some very good results in the past. It’s a race that really suits him and he’ll be supported as our leader. We’ll have some strong guys around him. I think we saw in the Tour of Flanders that while the results weren’t what we wanted that the guys were gelling well together and really supporting each other and we really want to carry that through to Roubaix. Paris-Roubaix is the last of the cobbled classics, the last chance to get a result and it’s a special race for me and the team. We’ve spent all these last weeks racing in Belgium and to go over the border, it always feels like we’re on new ground and not everybody knows the roads as well as Belgium.”
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