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Wednesday, August 27, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Les Woodland's book Dirty Feet: How the Great Unwashed Created the Tour de France is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- August 23 - September 14: Vuelta a España
- August 26 - 29: Tour Poitou Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
Upcoming racing:
- August 31: Bretagne Classic-Ouest France
Latest completed racing:
- August 20 - 24: Renewi Tour
- 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 the race organizer with the results.
Here's the Vuelta report from stage winner Ben Turner's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Ben Turner sprinted to his first Grand Tour victory on the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana.
Turner was well protected throughout the 207km stage, and had a perfect lead out from Michal Kwiatkowski with just under three kilometers to go. A steady uphill finish saw Kwiato deliver Turner perfectly, with the Brit unleashing his sprint to beat Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Egan Bernal finished comfortably in the bunch to retain fourth position on the GC, sitting 14 seconds back on new leader David Gaudu (Groupama - FDJ).
Ben Turner wins stage four. Sirotti photo
New GC leader David Gaudu's Team Groupama-FDJ posted this Vuelta report:
Here it is, the icing on the cake! After missing the leader’s red jersey on Monday evening despite his victory in Ceres, due to the addition of places against Jonas Vingegaard, David Gaudu didn’t let his chance slip away on Tuesday. As the Vuelta a España reached Voiron, the Breton fought hard to join the sprint and put at least eight positions between him and the Dane. He clearly achieved this goal, which allowed to take the overall lead on the eve of the return to Spain, where a team time trial will be held on Wednesday. The wonderful Vuelta a España start continues.
David Gaudu will start stage five in red. Sirotti photo
The idea was obviously on everyone’s mind in Susa, Italy, on Tuesday morning. Ranked with the same time as Jonas Vingegaard after three days of racing, David Gaudu was only behind the Dane because of their ranking in the opening sprint in Novara. Eight places separated them back then, which was the difference the Breton had to make up in Voiron on stage 4 if he wanted to claim the famous red jersey. “We wanted to give it a go, but on the other hand, I was also a little cautious because we know that sprints can be dangerous, and I’ve crashed enough this year,” said the Frenchman. “I told the guys that the first goal was to stay safe. It was a mini-goal, but we didn’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves.” “There were actually two possible scenarios today,” added Frédéric Guesdon. “The first was that a strong group would take advantage of the hard start to go clear and fight for the stage. Visma-Lease a Bike probably wouldn’t have defended the jersey, and that would have automatically trapped us. We had to be very careful at the start, and we were, but in the end, it didn’t fight for long. We quickly realized it would be a sprint finish.”
As the day before, the breakaway posed no threat to the peloton on Tuesday, after climbing the Col de Montgenèvre and the Col du Lautaret in the first seventy kilometres. The sprinters teams immediately took control of the situation and even caught the day’s four fugitives more than 90 kilometres from the finish line. Another rider went on the attack shortly afterward but was reeled in before the final hour of racing, about ten kilometres before the intermediate sprint.
The Groupama-FDJ cycling team was then right up there at the front, alongside its Breton leader. “I didn’t want to compete in the intermediate sprint initially, and I was glad the Spanish rider went away because I thought Pedersen and Philipsen might be able to take the remaining time bonuses,” David explained. “In the end, I got caught up in the excitement and found myself in Ciccone’s wheel.” The Frenchman then took part in this sprint but was unable to pick up any seconds. “The top-3 was Pedersen, Vernon, and Stewart,” he said. “There wasn’t much to do. However, I immediately said on the radio: ‘Guys, let’s keep focused. We still have the finish line to go for the jersey.”. His words were heard, as the French team never left the front of the pack in the final twenty kilometres.
Stefan Küng was the French climber’s last man, until about three kilometres from the finish line. “David is second overall, he’s going strong, so we had to race in front and be up to it,” Frédéric said. “The key point was at 2.8 km, and we just about managed to hold the lead until then, then things got a bit hectic. We worked a lot beforehand, and it was difficult to keep the lead against the sprinters’ teams. That said, we understood that David was going strong when he sprinted to the right side of the road to get back in front with three kilometres to go. It was then up to him to judge what risks he was willing to take. The final was quite dangerous, and we knew that Vingegaard would be on his guard. He actually dropped back a little at five kilometres, and David had that in mind. He knew it was an opportunity to go for the jersey, so he forced himself a little to stay there, while remaining cautious.”
The battle for positioning proved particularly fierce in the final two kilometres, but the Groupama-FDJ climber managed to keep up the pace and crossed the line in 28th position. “I couldn’t have done better,” David said shortly after the finish. “It’s the first and last time I’m going in there. It’s not where I belong (laughs).”
Immediately joined by his teammates, seeking confirmation about the red jersey goal, David Gaudu remained cautious but confident. The small doubt was however quickly dispelled, as Vingegaard crossed the finish line seventeen positions behind his French rival. The Breton and his teammates went from contained to pure joy in a split of a second. For the second time in two days. “Taking the jersey is a right reward for the guys’ work today,” David said. “It’s a bit symbolic because I won in Italy after a disappointing Giro, and I took the leader’s jersey in France. It’s a nice nod, and I feel a lot of emotions. This one is for the team. They’ve had my back since the beginning of the season, all the guys who are here worked hard and took risks. They had no certainty about my level just three days ago, but they trusted me. I went for this jersey for them.” “You could say it’s the icing on the cake, and it’s especially a confirmation of our strong start to the Vuelta,” added Frédéric Guesdon. “It’s also a reward for the investment this group has put into preparing for the Vuelta, and it obviously does the team a lot of good, as we deserved to get this kind of results”.
Groupama-FDJ therefore headed to Spain on Tuesday evening with a stage victory, a leader’s red jersey, and a podium finish on their bags. “The staff is travelling by car, the riders are taking the plane, and even if the team time trial is late tomorrow afternoon, everyone will be working hard from tomorrow morning because time trial days are always long,” concluded Frédéric. “The next 24 hours will be very busy, but fortunately, the results are making everyone happy! We know it will be hard to keep the jersey, but the team has prepared well for the team time trial, and we wanted to give it our all no matter what.” “We will give it our all, we will see how it goes, but let’s take it day by day,” concluded David. “For the time being, we have achieved the day’s goal.”
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Here's the Vuelta report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Jonas Vingegaard will not be wearing the red jersey during tomorrow's team time trial. The leader of Team Visma | Lease a Bike finished safely in the peloton in the fourth stage of the Vuelta a España, but behind David Gaudu, the new leader of the general classification.
Jonas Vingegaard finishes stage four with teammate Ben Turner. Sirotti photo
With the finish in Voiron, France, the Italian block of the Spanish Grand Tour came to a close today. It turned out to be a successful one for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, with a stage win for Vingegaard and two consecutive days in the red jersey. Today, the Dane handed the leader’s jersey to Gaudu. After three long categorized climbs in the opening phase of the stage, a long descent and flat roads led the riders towards the finish.
An early break of five was reeled in quickly, paving the way for the sprinters’ teams to battle for the stage victory. That ultimately went to Ben Turner. Vingegaard crossed the line safely in the bunch, but a few spots behind Gaudu – which means the Frenchman takes over the red leader’s jersey. Vingegaard now sits second overall, on exactly the same time as the new leader.
“It was a perfect day for our team”, sports director Jesper Mørkøv says. “Jonas came through the stage really well. Compliments to the whole team. They did an excellent job bringing our leader to the line safely. The final part of the stage towards the finish was particularly hectic.”
Tomorrow’s program features the team time trial, the first stage of this Vuelta to be held in Spain. In Figueres, the riders face a flat 24-kilometer test against the clock. “We’re happy with today’s strong performance. Tomorrow, the next challenge awaits us. We’re looking forward to it”, Mørkøv concludes.
Fourth-place Ethan Vernon's Team Israel-Premier Tech posted this report:
It was almost the perfect script: Ethan Vernon, on his 25th birthday, put himself in position to win stage 4 of La Vuelta a España in Voiron, France.
Having been helped through the final stage of the race’s visit away from its heartland, which today started in Susa, Italy, and then into France via the Alps, Vernon sprinted to fourth place in the shadows of the town’s stunning 19th-century Basilica of Saint Bruno.
The riders approach the line. Ethan Vernon is on Edward Planckaert's wheel, behind stage winner Ben Turner. Sirotti photo
“Yeah, it was frustrating,” he says. “The guys did a good job all day riding, and then a few things went wrong in the final, but yeah, it’s racing.”
The British rider started this year’s race by finishing second in Saturday’s opening stage.
Following a technical and narrow approach to the finish line, Vernon positioned himself in the wheel of Jasper Philipsen, but was soon blocked in by the barriers on his left side. Compatriot Ben Turner (IGD) avoided such luck, sprinted to Philipsen’s right, and took the victory. Nonetheless, fourth place marked Vernon’s 12th top-10 finish in road races this season.
He adds: “It makes it more annoying knowing I had the legs. I know I’m fast enough to win, and then when you don’t, it’s frustrating.
“It’s not like that’s the best you can do. But there are a few more opportunities left, so we’ll keep trying for those.”
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Here's the Vuelta report from Louis Vervaecke's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
One of the nine different riders to have won a race for our squad this year, Louis Vervaeke joined the break early on the fourth stage of the Spanish Grand Tour, which said goodbye to Italy and made its way into France, as they took on the longest day (206.7km) of this edition.
Riding his tenth Grand Tour, the 31-year-old was a strong presence in the leading group, winning Col de Montgenèvre and scoring points on the other two classified climbs of the stage which put him in contention for the polka dot jersey. In a completely surprising move, the peloton chased hard behind the quintet – despite their maximum gap not going north of four minutes – and brought them back with more than 90 kilometers to go. In the end, it all came down to a bunch sprint, won by Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers).
Team Soudal Quick-Step at the teams presentation ceremony before the start of the Vuelta. Sirotti photo
In the team classification, our squad – who continues in seven, after Valentin Paret-Peintre abandoned due to illness – remained in fourth place, which means it will be among the late starters on Wednesday, when the race arrives in Spain for a 19.6km team time trial in Figueres, that is sure to widen the gap between the overall classification contenders.
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Here’s the team’s announcement:
Tudor Pro Cycling will be entering its fourth season in the professional peloton with serious ambition and the firepower to match. The Swiss-based team today announced the high-profile signing of Stefan Küng, alongside versatile Italian Luca Mozzato and homegrown talent Robin Donzé, as it continues its ascent on the WorldTour radar.
The trio arrives at a pivotal moment, with the team eyeing a stronger presence in time trials, Classics, and one-day races while doubling down on its development-first philosophy.
Stefan Küng: A Homecoming with Purpose
The headline signing is undoubtedly Stefan Küng, one of Switzerland’s most accomplished riders. The multiple-time national champion and European time trial gold medallist brings WorldTour pedigree and a fierce drive for results. “As a Swiss rider, I’ve followed the Tudor project closely and been genuinely impressed by its mentality and development,” said Stefan who signed a three-year contract. “Innovation and R&D are clearly central to the team, and I believe that environment can push me to the next level, especially on the time trial bike.”
Stefan Küng before the start of Vuelta stage one. Sirotti photo
The 31-year-old is aiming for top results in time trials at the European and World Championships, as well as a long-awaited breakthrough in the Monument Classics. “A big Classic is still missing from my palmarès, and that’s something I really want to score,” he added.
Luca Mozzato Brings Speed and Grit
Joining Küng is Luca Mozzato, a fast-finishing Italian known for his consistency and aggressive style in one-day races. The 27-year-old is a reliable performer in tough finishes and sees Tudor Pro Cycling as the ideal platform to hit new heights. “I like the way the Team has grown, not just in structure, but in how they race,” said Luca who also signed until the end of 2028. “This feels like the biggest opportunity of my career to become the best rider I can be. I want to win, but I also want to be a key part of the team’s success.”
With his punchy sprint and tactical nous, Luca is expected to play a key role in the Classics campaign and stage finishes, bringing experience and depth to Tudor’s one-day race squad.
Robin Donzé Makes the Leap from Development to Pro
Completing the trio is Robin Donzé, a 22-year-old Swiss climber who graduates from the Tudor Development Team. Currently riding the Tour de l’Avenir with the Swiss national team, Robin has already had a taste of the pro scene, including a solid showing at the Tour of the Alps earlier this year. “Being part of the Devo Team was an amazing experience,” Robin reflected. “But stepping up to the pros is a childhood dream. I’ve learned a lot, raced the best U23 races, and now I’m ready for the next challenge and looking forward to the coming two years.”
Robin aims to become a trusted teammate in hilly and high mountain stages, with eyes on a long-term goal: earning a spot in a Grand Tour.
“We’re excited to strengthen our roster with added power and depth, and proud to welcome another Devo rider into the pro ranks,” said Fabian Cancellara. “It’s a testament to the outstanding work our Development Team continues to do in scouting, coaching, and nurturing young talent. Robin has been part of our program since 2022, and we’re confident he’ll be a valuable asset in supporting our climbers as of next season.”
With these additions, we are strengthening our roster and sharpening our identity. The upcoming mix of proven experience, all-around versatility, and homegrown development aligns with the team's mission: to be a performance-driven squad that also nurtures talent.
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