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Friday, August 8, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- August 4 - 10: Tour of Poland
- August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
- August 6 - 8: Tour de l'Ain
- August 7 - 10: Arctic Race of Norway
Upcoming racing:
- August 12 - 16: Tour of Denmark
- August 17: Hamburg Cyclassics
Latest completed racing:
- August 3: Circuito de Getxo
- August 2: San Sebastian Classic
- July 26 - July 30: Tour de Wallonie
- July 27: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
- July 5 - 27: Tour de France
- June 21 - 29: Most national road championships
- June 24: Giro dell'Appennino
- June 15 - 22: Tour de Suisse
- June 18 - 22: Baloise Belgium Tour
We posted the report from stage winner Paul Magnier's Team Soudal Quick-Step with the results.
Second-place Ben Turner's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this Tour of Poland report:
Ben Turner continued his impressive sprinting performance at the Tour de Pologne, claiming second place on stage four.
The Yorkshireman backed up a victory 24 hours earlier with a strong runner-up finish into Cieszyn, crossing the line just behind victor Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step).
Ben Turner winning stage three. Sirotti photo
Once again the INEOS Grenadiers seized control late on, pushing the pace to help the peloton shut down a pair of late escapees, before launching into a superb lead-out for Turner.
Michal Kwiatkowski was once again crucial, producing a huge turn to back up the work of Magnus Sheffield in the final kilometer.
Turner extended his lead in the points jersey standings on the day, while the bunch sprint also ensured that Victor Langellotti retained second place overall. The Monegasque rider sits eight seconds back on leader Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) with three stages remaining.
Here's the report from fourth-place Thibaud Gruel's Team Groupama-FDJ:
In the aftermath of quite an unusual day, the Tour de Pologne resumed on Thursday heading to Cieszyn, where a slight uphill sprint concluded a straightforward fourth stage. The Groupama-FDJ squad nicely got together in the final around Thibaud Gruel, who managed to show himself in the final tough kilometre, securing fourth place, very close to the stage podium.
Around Walbrzych, the general classification of the Tour de Pologne was supposed to further establish itself on Wednesday. Yet, a crash twenty kilometres from the finish led to the temporary neutralization of the stage, the regrouping of part of the peloton, and the cancellation of the gaps in terms of the overall. Ben Turner eventually won this special stage in a sprint, and another, more expected, bunch finish was looming on Thursday in Cieszyn, after 200 kilometres of racing.
“We knew there wouldn’t be much action because there are quite a few sprinters in the peloton, and it wasn’t worth taking the breakaway,” commented Jussi. “This was the right choice, as only three Polish riders went away from the start. There wasn’t much to report during the stage, but it still went quite fast. The peloton was in single file all day, on roads in average condition that were still kind of hard for the legs.” After the final climb, with nearly fifty kilometres to go, the breakaway was down to a single rider, Filip Maciejuk, who then tackled the finishing circuit with a lead of less than a minute over the peloton.
Aside from the uphill finish (700m at 4%), a few turns and downhills, a cobbled section was also to be covered several times in the final. “It’s one of the stages we had targeted with Thibaud,” Jussi explained. “The plan was to trust him and have a united squad around him. The circuit was very, very technical, but the guys were very focused.” With three laps to go, the Groupama-FDJ team settled into the front of the peloton, then mainly tried to stay up there. “Stefan and Clément had to be there to position Thibaud in the final,” Jussi said. “They slightly anticipated the work they had to do, but it wasn’t a bad thing given how technical the circuit was and how fast it was going. It was also Thibaud’s wish to rather be too well positioned than too poorly.”
The young man entered the final six-kilometre lap in the very top of the bunch, alongside Clément Davy and Enzo Paleni, who also did his part a few moments later. “The main goal was to get out of the ‘washing machine’ with about three kilometres to go, before the cobblestones,” added Jussi. “That was Enzo’s role, and he handled it perfectly.”
With 2,500 metres to go, and all the way to the flamme rouge, the Frenchman led the pack at a frantic pace, just ahead of Thibaud Gruel. “The circuit was fast, there was a lot of fighting for position, and it was much more than just a sprint,” said Thibaud. “The whole team helped me a lot all day. Enzo and Clément did a great job in the final, and Enzo and I took the lead because we knew everyone was pretty much on the limit in the last two kilometres. I wanted to be in front at the last corner before the uphill finish and we came there in a pretty good position. Then, it got a bit hectic with 500m to go.
Paul Magnier wins Tour of Poland stage four.
The French puncher still maintained his position towards the front and was able to launch his sprint in the wake of Paul Magnier with some 150 metres to go. Although he was unable to match his fellow countryman, Thibaud Gruel did however secure a solid fourth place, beaten in the photo finish for the podium. “It’s satisfying still, because I couldn’t have done much better,” he said. “I was at full speed at the end, so I don’t have many regrets.” The young man therefore equalled his best result in the WorldTour, set at the Tour of the Basque Country last April. “We trusted him on Tuesday, again today, and he shows that he is on the right track, in terms of progression and form,” concluded Jussi. “It’s very important. We will continue to trust him, starting tomorrow where the finish suits us.”
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We posted the report from second-place Giulio Ciccone's Team Lidl-Trek with the results.
Here's the Vuelta a Burgos report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Thursday came with the first mountain stage of this edition, one which ended up opening some important gaps between the general classification contenders, despite the fact the main ascent of the day came more than twenty kilometers from the finish.
Puerto de Ordoña was the climb where the race exploded, leaving the peloton in pieces. A small group formed before the top of the first-category ascent and continued like this on the descent and on the undulating part to the finish, where Leo Bisiaux (Decathlon-AG2R) took the victory after attacking his companions and building a small gap in the closing kilometers.
Leo Bisiaux wins Vuelta a Burgos stage three. Getty photo
Racing for the first time since the month of May, Mikel Landa came home together with Soudal Quick-Step teammate Antoine Huby, who is our squad’s best placed rider in the overall standings after three stages. Vuelta a Burgos continues with a day for the puncheurs on the hilly roads to Regumiel de la Sierra, but also a breakaway could have a chance of prevailing in the small town located in the Castilla y Leon community.
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We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Corbin Strong's Team Israel-Premier Tech:
Corbin Strong continued the most successful period of his career on Thursday as he won the opening stage of the Arctic Race of Norway, his third victory in just 12 days, just ahead of teammate Riley Sheehan.
Corbin Strong takes the first stage. ASO photo
Having claimed a stage and the GC at the recent Tour de Wallonie, Strong made light of a wet and cold day in Troms County to lead a dominant IPT one-two in the city of Harstad.
The 25-year-old’s win was somewhat similar to his victory in the opening stage in Wallonie, as the finish line came on an uphill and curving stretch of road. Having been dropped into position brilliantly by Tom Van Asbroeck, Strong took a career-best third win of the season, with American rider Sheehan just behind him in second.
Having lived up to his billing as one of the pre-race favorites, Strong says: “I enjoy the pressure, actually. I enjoy feeling the pressure of the guys really putting in their best to help me. Obviously, everyone in the sport trains really, really hard, so to see the work my teammates put in and then the way they sacrifice for me in a race, that really motivates me. I really like it when I can pay my teammates back.
“I had a nice reset in the middle of the season, and a good training came in Livigno. I’m really enjoying racing with the guys. The training camp was really nice on the bike, but off the bike as well, spending a lot of time with my teammates.
“I think we’ve had a really good environment since then, going to Wallonie and getting the win there, and then taking the first stage today as well. So yeah, things are going well, and I’m really enjoying racing my bike at the moment.”
Given the conditions, it was little surprise that Strong looked visibly cold as he conducted his post-race podium and media duties. It was reminiscent of when Stevie Williams won stage 3 of this race two years ago en route to the overall victory.
“It was really cold and wet,” Strong adds. “I started in quite a lot of clothes and as we got closer to finish, I was like ‘oh, if I’m sprinting, I can’t really be sprinting in leg warmers and rain jackets’. Slowly, I had to take them off, but yeah, it was just doing a long, cold day.”
Having taken a season-best result, Sheehan also praised the work of his IPT teammates. “We’re super happy with today,” he says. “The team was fantastic, everyone did their role very well coming into the final. We had the right plan to leave it until late and take the corners in the front with Tom – he did a fantastic job with Corbin in the wheel.
“In the final, I was on Corbin’s wheel – it was the perfect place to be, and I just had to sit back and watch Corbin do what he does best. We know that we’re super strong this week, and we’re looking forward to a big job now over the next few days.”
Time bonuses available on the line mean that Strong has a four-second gap over Sheehan on GC going into Friday’s second stage, which takes place between Tennevoll and Sørreisa and again looks well-suited to the sprinters.
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And here's the Norwegian race report from Team Picnic-PostNL:
The Arctic Race of Norway got underway today with a challenging 182km stage from Borkenes to Harstad, featuring four categorised climbs and a rolling finale. Early in the stage, a six-man breakaway formed. Romain Combaud was part of the break, representing the team well in the move and helping to control the day’s dynamic. The breakaway was gradually reeled in as the pace picked up approaching the final categorised climb. Just after the summit, with 30km to go, everything came back together.
The stage had a wet start.
Coming into the final, our riders positioned themselves well near the front of the peloton, staying alert on the technical approach and preparing for the demanding finale. On the uphill finish, Kevin Vermaerke was our first rider across the line after a strong ride through tough weather conditions. In the general classification, Combaud sits in fourth place thanks to bonus seconds picked up at the intermediate sprints.
After the stage Combaud said: “It was a tough day. The plan was to be in the break, and we did a really good job early on. I managed to make it into the move. While I was up there, I picked up some bonus seconds to put myself in a good position on GC, which gives us a strong card to play for tomorrow’s stage with the gravel sections. For the guys who weren’t in the break, the goal was to protect Kevin and Bjorn for the final, and they did a great job with that. After I took the six bonus seconds, I tried to save as much energy as possible so I could hold position in the bunch once we got caught. Overall, it was a good day for me and for the team. We just missed out on a result at the end – the finale was a bit hectic – but we’ve got three more stages to go. With Kevin and Bjorn we can aim for something nice, and for myself, we’ll take it day by day. Why not go for a good result?”
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