Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, August 23, 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
Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water. - W. C. Fields
James Witherell's book Bicycle History: A Chronological History of People, Races and Technology is available in both print and Kindle eBook formats. To get your copy just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- August 20 - 24: Renewi Tour
- August 23 - September 14: Vuelta a España
Upcoming racing:
- August 26 - 29: Tour Poitou Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
Latest completed racing:
- August 19 - 22: Tour du Limousin
- August 17: Hamburg Cyclassics
- August 17: La Polynormande
- August 12 - 16: Tour of Denmark
- August 15: Circuit Franco-Belge
- August 4 - 10: Tour of Poland
- August 7 - 10: Arctic Race of Norway
- August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
- August 6 - 8: Tour de l'Ain
- August 3: Circuito de Getxo
- August 2: San Sebastian Classic
We posted the report from second-place Arnaud De Lie's Team Lotto with the results.
Here's the Renewi Tour report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Muur-Kapelmuur, which until 2011 shaped the Ronde van Vlaanderen, earning a place in the cycling history books as one of the most iconic climbs of the sport, made a much-anticipated appearance at the Renewi Tour, which left behind the days for the sprinters and turned its attention to the fight between the general classification contenders, as they travelled to Geraardsbergen.
With so many hills packed into Friday’s stage, including the Taaienberg and the Bosberg, it was only logical that the attacks would come early. As soon as the riders tackled the Muur for the first time, the very notion of a compact peloton completely vanished, as those brutal slopes splintered the bunch into multiple groups, all fighting to make up time and limit the losses to the three riders that went clear. As it always happens on these roads, Soudal Quick-Step was visible once the going got tough, putting in a solid effort in their attempt to keep Paul Magnier in contention.
Mathieu van der Poel outsprints Arnaud De Lie for the Renewi Tour stage the win.
The young Frenchman, third last weekend at the ADAC Cyclassics and runner-up at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on these very roads, rode an impressive race and finished not far from the top ten on this stage won by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), a result that elevated him more than 50 positions in the standings, up to a promising 12th.
Here's the Renewi Tour report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Edoardo Affini showed his attacking side in the queen stage of the Renewi Tour. The Italian was part of the early breakaway and also played a role deep into the tough finale. His efforts ultimately did not result in a top result. Olav Kooij ended the day in tenth place after a strong finish.
In the queen stage of the Renewi Tour, eleven riders, including Edoardo Affini, attacked early on. The breakaway built up a lead of more than three minutes, but in the hilly section that advantage quickly decreased as the pace in the peloton increased sharply.
Because of that high pace the peloton split, and with 50 kilometers to go a small group of favorites managed to bridge across to the breakaway. Affini gave it his all in the finale but had to let the favorites go on the final climb of the Muur van Geraardsbergen. Top favorite Mathieu van der Poel lived up to his status by winning the stage. Kooij eventually finished in tenth place.
Olav Kooij winning Renewi Tour stage two.
“It was a tough stage today,” said Kooij afterwards. “Thanks to the excellent work of my teammates I was able to stay near the front reasonably well and still come away with a top placing. That was the maximum possible today.”
Team manager Marc Reef echoed that feeling: “The goal was to be in the break and to support Olav as well as possible. Both tasks were carried out successfully. Edoardo rode a strong race in the breakaway and the rest of the team supported Olav perfectly in the finale. We got the maximum out of today and delivered a strong performance as a team.”
Content continues below the ads
We posted the report from stage winner Andrea Vendrame's Team Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale with the results.
Here's the report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
The Groupama-FDJ cycling team will not keep unforgettable memories from the 2025 Tour du Limousin – Périgord – Nouvelle Aquitaine. After suffering a series of abandons, the French team was unable to achieve the results it came for.
Groupama-FDJ had only one stage left if they didn’t want to leave the Tour du Limousin – Périgord – Nouvelle Aquitaine empty-handed, but with only three riders at the start of the fourth stage on Friday, its options were surely limited. “We had decided to keep Lewis for a possible sprint,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “Olivier and Rémy were supposed to give it a go with the breakaway, but with only two riders, it quickly gets complicated when there’s a fierce battle. Olivier still managed to enter an early move, but it was the second one that went clear.” After a fight of nearly fifty kilometres, seven riders managed to break away while enjoying a five-minute lead. “We then focused on the final of the stage,” added Benoît. “Unfortunately, as has been the case since the beginning of the week, Lewis didn’t have the legs to compete with the best.”
Andrea Vendrame wins the final stage
In Limoges, the “early” breakaway was eventually caught barely 500 meters from the finish, and Andrea Vendrame won in a peloton of thirty-five riders that included Olivier Le Gac. Ewen Costiou won the French event, which proved tricky from start to finish for the Groupama-FDJ men.
“We lost our best cards for the GC and the stages one after the other, so it was obviously difficult to make a difference from then on,” concluded Benoît Vaugrenard. “Everyone fought as much as they could, but when you lose so many riders, it’s really not easy. It’s a tough week, but it will still be useful for those who finished it. We hope to have better days soon. We need to get back on track, and we know that sometimes it doesn’t take much to get it going.”
Team Bahrain Victorious posted this short notice:
Unfortunately, Damiano Caruso will not be at the start of Stage 1 of La Vuelta a España in Turin tomorrow.
The 37-year-old Italian rider sustained a fracture to his right hand after accidentally slipping on the floor yesterday evening.
Caruso will be replaced by Finlay Pickering, who will make his Grand Tour debut.
We wish Damiano a speedy recovery!
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s news:
With the 90th edition of La Vuelta a España kicking off tomorrow in Torino, Italy, our team is ready to take on three weeks of hard racing through Spain. Elia Viviani, Arjen Livyns, Alec Segaert and sports director Mario Aerts look ahead.
Across 21 demanding stages, the riders will cover a total of 3 151 kilometers, crossing Italy, France and Spain before heading to Madrid for the grand finale on 14 September.
Sports director Mario Aerts outlines the team strategy and ambitions heading into the Vuelta: “Of course the big goal is to win a stage. With Elia Viviani, we will immediately go for it as stage one is marked in red for him. Everyone will be able to go for the stages that they have indicated and the way the Vuelta is currently looking, there will be chances for breakaways. Of course we still have to await what the GC riders will do, but for sure everyone within our team will get their chances.”
Elia Viviani at the teams presentation ceremony. Sirotti photo
For Elia Viviani, the return to a Grand tour after three years carries special significance, especially with the race starting in his home country: “I am extremely happy to be back at the start of a Grand Tour. With the Vuelta starting in Italy, my home country, this one feels even more special. There are about four stages that should suit me well, but of course my mind is already set on this first stage here in Italy.”
The Vuelta will mark the first Grand Tour for Alec Segaert, who is eager to embrace the experience while being fully aware of the challenges that three weeks of racing can bring along: “Of course I am looking forward to my first Grand Tour. I am very excited to experience the atmosphere of 21 days of racing. It will also be a different way of racing for me, since we do not really have a GC rider in the team. My personal goals are to try and join the early breakaways and of course the time trial on stage 18. But of course it will also be about how my body will feel after three weeks of racing and how fresh I will still be by then.”
Arjen Livyns returns for his second Vuelta with renewed confidence: “This will be my second Vuelta. When I competed for the first time last season, I was mostly excited to see how my body would react to three weeks of racing. In the end it all worked out very well. So for that reason I am already very keen to be at the start this year. In general, I think that we as a team will be able to race pretty free as we are not really here with a GC rider. Everyone will get the chance to go for their stages. For me personally, I think I can take most advantage from a breakaway, especially in the hilly stages.”
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s post:
Can an Israeli rider achieve – or at least fight for – a podium finish in a Grand Tour stage?
No one doubts how tough this challenge is. But starting tomorrow (Saturday 23 August), over 21 days and 3,151 km at the Vuelta a España, a young and ambitious Israeli cyclist, Nadav Raisberg, will line up with that dream alive and well – against all odds.
Nadav Raisberg
For Raisberg (24) from Kibbutz Dafna, this will be his third Grand Tour. The 2024 Giro ended early after a crash, but he successfully finished last year’s Vuelta—and now the Israeli hopes to take the next big step.
His main role: to be a key part of the team’s sprint train to help deliver stage wins on the three or even four flat stages, while also supporting teammates fighting for success on the mountain stages.
But Raisberg doesn’t hide his personal ambition: to get the chance to fight for a historic podium (at least third place) on four or five hilly or medium mountain stages – something no Israeli rider has ever done before. The only realistic way? A breakaway. And that’s exactly where Raisberg is aiming.
He says: “Of course, I dream of this opportunity, but it’s not my decision — it’s up to the team. I believe that at some point I will get the green light. And then it’s on me to prove I deserve it.”
It seems he will indeed get his chance. Oscar Guerrero, the team’s experienced Spanish sports director who has guided many Vueltas and stage wins, believes Nadav will have his moment.
“We didn’t pick him by accident. Nadav is a very versatile rider who can help us chase victories,” says Guerrero. “Despite this being a very mountainous edition with ten summit finishes, there will be stages where his speed and strength on the hills could bring him a great personal result.”
Guerrero pointed to the recent breakaway victory of Israeli Rotem Tene at the Tour of Portugal as proof that it can be done. He adds: “Of course, the level is much higher here—the Vuelta is one of the toughest races in the world. But Nadav is incredibly competitive, hungry, and believes in himself. Anything can happen.”
Raisberg is ready for the opening stages, three of which take place solely in Italy, before stage 4 ends in France. The race heads to its heartland for a TTT on stage 5, tackles a brutal mountain stage in Andorra, and continues mainly in northern Spain until the grand finale in Madrid—hopefully avoiding the scorching heat of southern Spain.
He adds: “I’m really excited for the start. I’m coming in far better prepared than last year’s Vuelta. Then I had to race against time to recover from a serious injury. This time, things are completely different: after several intense weeks at altitude in Livigno, I sharpened up at the Tour of Poland, a top-level race that gave me the speed and toughness I needed – including a long, grueling breakaway. I can’t imagine a better preparation.
“We have a strong squad, and our goal is to fight for stage wins. I believe we can do it.”
The team comes into the race with plenty of motivation—and perhaps extra pressure — to secure its first Grand Tour victory of the season after coming up short at both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.
Four strong climbers headline the roster, with Italian Marco Frigo and young American Matthew Riccitello targeting breakaway success in the mountains. Britain’s Ethan Vernon will be the lead sprinter, joined by Jake Stewart for the more selective sprint stages.
As for Raisberg, he knows the weight of being the first Israeli rider at a Grand Tour this season. “I know how important this is, especially for our fans in Israel,” he says. “I’m proud to be that rider – but with that honor comes responsibility. The pressure is on me.”
IPT at the Vuelta a España (Saturday August 23 – Sunday September 14)
Riders: George Bennett (NZL), Pier-André Côté (CAN), Marco Frigo (ITA), Jan Hirt (CZE), Nadav Raisberg (ISR), Matthew Riccitello (USA), Jake Stewart (GBR), Ethan Vernon (GBR)
Sports Directors: Daryl Impey (RSA), Oscar Guerrero (ESP), Rene Mandri (EST)
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary