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Monday, April 28, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- April 27 - May 4: Tour of Turkey
Upcoming racing:
- April 29 - May 4: Tour de Romandie
- May 1: Rund um den Finanzplaz Eschborn-Frankfurt
- May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia
Latest completed racing:
- April 27: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- April 24 - 27: Vuelta Asturias
- April 21 - 25: Tour of the Alps
- April 23: La Flèche Wallonne
- April 20: Amstel Gold Race
- April 20: Tour du Doubs
- April 15 - 18: Giro d'Abruzzo
- April 18: De Brabantse Pijl
- April 12-13: Paris-Roubaix
- April 7 - 12: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
- April 8 - 11: Region Pays de la Loire Tour
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from race winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
World Champion Tadej Pogačar delivered a commanding performance to clinch his third victory at the oldest of the cycling Monuments: Liège-Bastogne-Liège, taking UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s 35th victory of the seasons.
Pogačar launched a decisive solo attack 35 kilometers from the finish on the iconic Côte de la Redoute. He would remain solo for the remainder of the race crossing the line 1’03” ahead of Italy’s Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Ireland’s Ben Healy (Education First Easypost), who secured second and third places, respectively.
Tadej Pogacar wins his third Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Sirotti photo
This victory marks Pogačar’s ninth Monument win, placing him third on the all-time list behind Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck. Notably, he becomes the first cyclist to podium in six consecutive Monument races.
Pogačar: “It feels great to finish the first part of the season like this. I’m just happy that the whole season so far went perfect. It wasn’t the plan to attack on La Redoute, but it was such a hard pace before that I saw a number of teams didn’t have a lot of teammates anymore. I said ‘OK, I’ll test my legs a little bit and see if I can get a gap on the top’ and then I’ll decide if I continue or not.
“Then I just committed because I had good legs – also on the second climb after La Redoute. I could go to the finish, so I’m super happy.
“At first, Soudal were controlling the bunch and racing on the front all day. At one point they all disappeared from the front. I was thinking maybe they were saving their legs for La Redoute because you can save a lot in the bunch. But then on La Redoute I looked around and Evenepoel wasn’t close on my wheel, but that was also good motivation to go at that point.
“I’m looking forward to a bit of a break now and then building up to the next part of the season.”
Here's the report from second-place Giulio Ciccone's Team Lidl-Trek:
Fresh from Tour of the Alps, Giulio Ciccone took an excellent second place behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) while Thibau Nys and Andrea Bagioli finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Everyone watching the race was waiting for the moment the move from the rainbow jersey would come and it was, as many predicted, the Côte de La Redoute that was the springboard for Pogačar’s attack.
Ciccone was, alongside his teammates Nys and Mattias Skjemose, in a great position at the front of the field thanks to the work that Lidl-Trek had put in earlier in the day.
The Italian, who won the opening stage of Tour of the Alps and arrived to the team hotel just yesterday morning, carried his strong form onto the short, sharp climbs of the Ardennes.
Instead of reacting to the infernal pace of Pogačar, Ciccone stayed calmed and took his own pace before making his own move to help to draw out a four-rider chase group.
The group’s advantage to the next, bigger bunch was never more than 30 seconds but over the hilly terrain they were able to hold off any advances that came from behind.
Eventually, just Ciccone and Ben Healy (EF Education – Easy Post) remained to fight it out behind the world champion and in the sprint for the line, the Lidl-Trek riders proved he was the strongest.
Giulio Ciccone finishes second ahead of Ben Healy. Sirotti photo
The third group on the road, was closing in fast on the finishing straight but the duo had done enough to seal the remaining podium positions while Thibau Nys and Andrea Bagioli sprinted to the line behind to claim fifth and sixth place respectively.
Ciccone’s Reaction:
"It was really hard, especially the first part. I was a bit tired after Tour of Alps but in the last 2 hours my feeling was much better and I really enjoyed the racing. Liege is one of my favourite races and I’m really happy to be on the podium.
"I think we, as a team, did everything perfectly. We had a plan and we raced in the perfect way. Always in position and we played our cards in the best way. Finishing second behind Pogacar, I don’t want to say it’s like a victory, but it’s definitely a good feeling in the end. I knew I didn’t have the legs to follow him when he went so I just tried to mange my effort in the best way possible."
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Fourth-place Simone Velasco's XDS Astana Team posted this report:
XDS Astana Team rider Simone Velasco achieved a solid result at today's Liège–Bastogne–Liège, finishing just off the podium in fourth place and gaining vital points for the team. Velasco was the fastest in the bunch sprint, which followed the attackers who reached the finish line ahead of the peloton.
The 2025 Liège–Bastogne–Liège gets started. ASO photo
Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the oldest of cycling’s five Monuments, featured a 252-kilometer course starting and finishing in the Belgian city of Liège. For Simone Velasco, who claimed fourth place today, this marks his best-ever result at Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
"I am very happy with my result, it is a big step for me to be fourth, so close to the podium in a Monumental Classic like Liège–Bastogne–Liège. It was a super hard race, and some bad luck made it even harder: I got a mechanical just before La Redoute and was able to catch the last wheel of the group at the start of the climb. So, I had to spend a lot of energy to pass small groups and to come more or less to the front, and then to continue pushing hard to come back to the main group. That was not easy, but I managed to do it.
"In the final kilometers, I got some valuable help from my teammates to get a good position for the sprint. I did my best in the sprint, and at the end of this long day, I got fourth place. It is an important achievement for me and also for the team. After bad luck in the Amstel Gold Race and tough weather at La Flèche Wallonne, finally I could find good form and show myself. I am grateful for my teammates who also worked very hard for this result today. Now we need to focus on our next goals", – said Simone Velasco after the race.
"Fourth place today feels like a victory for us. Pogačar attacked in his own style and finished solo, but I believe Velasco also showed his best side today. What he did after the wheel change before La Redoute, making his way back to the group, staying focused, moving to the front, and then winning the sprint from the group — that was truly impressive. I think we should be satisfied with our result. Of course, we were just one step away from the podium, but I would like to repeat that considering everything Simone had to overcome in the final kilometers, for us, today it feels like a victory", – said Alexandr Vinokurov, the General Manager of XDS Astana Team.
Here's the report from eighth-place Axel Laurance's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Axel Laurance finished strongly to secure eighth place in the final sprint at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
The Frenchman benefitted from a swelling of the chase group on the run into the finish, before launching his acceleration to seal his first top-10 finish in a Monument.
Carlos Rodriguez, on return from injury, and Magnus Sheffield were also present in the group, which came home one minute and 10 seconds behind solo victor Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).
In the mid-phase of the race Bob Jungels pushed on out of the peloton and was joined by teammate Tobias Foss ahead of the final 120km. With no riders joining the duo, they forged on for 50km before being reeled back in, as the pace began to slowly increase behind.
The peloton at kilometer 135. ASO photo
With 40km to go Geraint Thomas helped bring the team to the fore ahead of famed Cote de La Redoute climb. It was here that Pogacar launched his move, going clear with 35km remaining.
A chase group of Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Ben Healy (EF Education - EasyPost) would stay clear to round out the podium places.
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Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this report:
The 133rd edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège, cycling’s oldest Monument, brought to an end this year’s Spring Classics. As is always the case here, the menu consisted of eleven climbs and more than 4000 meters of elevation, but the favourites waited for the final 35 kilometers, and the steep gradients of La Redoute, to make a move.
Soudal Quick-Step was one of the teams to work behind the breakaway, which at one point had six minutes on the peloton, who quite easily brought them back. The bunch disintegrated on La Redoute, where Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) attacked and opened a gap that turned out to be decisive, the Slovenian taking the victory after almost six hours of racing.
Remco Evenepoel leads a group in the race.
Remco Evenepoel did his best to limit the damage after being distanced, and after a huge and impressive effort, he managed to join the second chasing group, who trailed four riders by 15 seconds. The lack of collaboration there meant they didn’t erase the deficit in the last 25 kilometers, despite having the numbers, and the large group was left to fight for the remaining places in the top ten. In the end, it was Mauri Vansevenant – just like last year – the one who rolled in as the best placed Soudal Quick-Step rider.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike posted this Liège-Bastogne-Liège report:
Team Visma | Lease a Bike was unable to play a large role in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Tiesj Benoot was the first rider across the line for the yellow-and-black squad, finishing in 13th place. The victory went to Tadej Pogačar.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège was the fourth Monument on the calendar. In the 111th edition of the Belgian spring classic, the riders faced over 250 kilometers featuring eleven categorized climbs.
The breakaway of the day was caught by the peloton well before the finish. What followed was a tense build-up towards the Côte de la Redoute – traditionally a decisive climb in the classic. In the peloton, Benoot, Ben Tulett, and Attila Valter were still part of the race. On La Redoute, no one had an answer to the inevitable acceleration by Pogačar. The Slovenian then rode unchallenged towards victory. Chasers Giulio Ciccone and Ben Healy completed the podium. In the reduced peloton, Benoot sprinted to 13th place. Tulett finished 20th.
Tiesj Benoot with other Visma | Lease a bike riders checking out the course a couple of days before the race. Sirotti photo
"I didn’t have a top feeling today, but it certainly wasn’t bad," said Benoot afterwards. "Positioning was not easy today. On La Redoute I was a little too far back, but I felt better as the race progressed. In the end, I ended up in the third group together with Ben and Attila. With that large group, we sprinted for the places of honour, but missed out on another top-ten finish.”
Sports director Arthur van Dongen looked back on his riders' performance: "We can look back on a solid race. In the final, we were still represented by three riders in the peloton. Ben delivered a strong performance on La Redoute, where – apart from an unleashed Pogačar – he reached the top with the best. Unfortunately, he just fell short in responding to the duo attack of Ciccone and Healy. We couldn’t compete for the podium, but the guys fought hard once again."
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And here's the report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
The Groupama-FDJ leaders were ready to take on the 111th Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, and they delivered over the 252 kilometres of the season’s fourth Monument. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough in a race which proved quite blocked because of the wind, which highlighted the strong field. Behind the top three of the day, a peloton of around forty men sprinted for the remaining places, with Romain Grégoire and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet having to settle for nineteenth and twenty-first respectively.
Groupama-FDJ rider Remi Cavagna checking out the course a couple of days before the race. Sirotti photo
The 2025 Spring Classics campaign was to come to an end this Sunday, on the oldest of cycling’s five Monuments. In this 111th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the riders’ menu was unchanged from previous years. Nine climbs featured in the final hundred kilometres, with the côte de la Redoute as the usual launching ramp thirty-five kilometres from the finish, and the côte de Roche-aux-Faucons as the final climb with fifteen kilometres to go. Before reaching the first key point of the day, the race proved quite “straightforward,” according to Benoît Vaugrenard. “As we thought, UAE Team Emirates pulled behind the breakaway of twelve,” he said.
“It was fast, hard, but the front wind on the way back to Liège still blocked the race a little.” Therefore, despite a hard pace on the first climbs, namely the Wanne-Stockeu-Haute Levée sequence and the Col du Rosier, the peloton still included around a hundred riders approaching the Côte de la Redoute. “The team worked well to put us in position at the bottom,” claimed Romain Grégoire.
Yet, no one was able to follow Tadej Pogacar when he accelerated, and it quickly became clear that the Slovenian would never be seen again. At the top of La Redoute, Romain Grégoire was still among the top ten, within a chase group, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet joined him a few kilometers further on together with Remco Evenepoel. “Guillaume and I were in the mix on the climbs, but I think the race wasn’t selective enough to give us an advantage,” explained Romain.
Subsequently, four riders were able to get away, while a peloton of around twenty, then thirty riders bunched up before the day’s final climb. Kevin Geniets and Rudy Molard then used their last bit of energy to help their leaders, and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet tried to take advantage of the Roche-aux-Faucons climb to attack for a potential top-5 finish. The French climber pushed on for a while, but the day’s conditions once again allowed the peloton to come back.
Behind Pogacar, and a Healy-Ciccone duo who fought for the podium, a very imposing group headed to Liège. “We knew we could see a large sprint for the remaining places, which was the case since there were still forty guys,” added Benoît. “We would have needed a harder race for Guillaume or Romain, but those were the day’s conditions and we had to deal with it… It’s frustrating because I think we deserved better, but we knew the wind wouldn’t be our ally”.
“I didn’t find a space in the sprint, so I’m very frustrated,” said Romain. “I was up there, but when the team is working for you, you want to reward it. It’s a shame I couldn’t do it today.” At the finish line, the young man took nineteenth place on the day, following his two seventh-place finishes at the Amstel Gold Race and the Flèche Wallonne, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet got twenty-first place. “We would have liked to finish these Ardennes Classics on a high note,” confessed Benoît. “The goal was the top five, our leaders were there, they delivered, but it didn’t go our way. I’ll remember that the team was strong again.”
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