Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, February 3, 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
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour - William Blake
Les Woodland's book The Olympics' 50 Craziest Stories: A Five Ring Circus is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- February 5 - 9 Etoile de Bessèges/Tour du Gard
- February 5 - 9: Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
Latest completed racing:
- February 1 & 2: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- February 2: GP La Marseillaise
- January 29 - February 2: Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca
- January 28 - February 1: AlUla Tour
- January 30: Surf Coast Classic
- January 17 - 26: Tour Down Under
- January 26: Classica Comunitat a Valenciana 1969
- January 25: Ruta de la Cerámica - Gran Premio Castellón
- January 3: X20 Trofee Koksijde-Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Cross
- January 1: GP Sven Nys Cross
- December 30: Diegem Cyclocross
- December 26: Gavere Cyclocross
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from winner Mauro Schmid's Team Jayco AlUla:
Swiss champion Mauro Schmid delivered Team Jayco AlUla their first men’s team victory at the one-day WorldTour classic, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, in classy style.
Mauro Schmid gets away and makes it stick.
Schmid, known for his relentless style of attacking, launched away solo on the final lap, hanging a nerve-wracking eight seconds ahead of a fiercely chasing reduced peloton.
The 25-year-old dug deep and managed to hold off the chase to take a special and well-deserved victory in Geelong, his first one-day UCI WorldTour win.
How it happened:
The Australian team dominated the final of the race, battling scorching temperatures over 37 degrees with Chris Harper leading the race solo in the final 30km. Harper opened a gap up of over 40 seconds, but as the final ascent of the steep Challambra climb approached, the chasers were hot on his tail behind.
The rider from Adelaide was eventually caught on the steepest part of the climb after a brave effort but the squad remained calm, with teammate Schmid positioned near the front of the reduced group and ready to pounce.
On the descent, with just seven kilometres remaining, Schmid made his signature move with a stinging attack and continued to dangle ahead as the kilometres ticked down.
With the finish line in his sight, the Swiss powerhouse continued to maintain a small lead and pushed on with his head down to claim an important and classy solo victory, in front of Team Owner Gerry Ryan. The victory concludes a busy and successful Australian summer campaign for both men’s and women’s squads.
Mauro Schmid – Winner:
“This is my first one-day WorldTour race victory, so it is very special for me, and it is an important race for the team, so I am super happy.
"Chris Harper did an amazing ride, and he was a big part of this win because I could just sit back and then when we caught him on the climb, I knew that now was the moment to go. I saw everybody was on the limit and I still had quite good legs on that final climb.
"I did a similar attack in this race before and got caught with 300 metres to go, so I knew that I had to just go super deep and that helped me today. The whole team was super motivated for this one, already in the Surf Coast Classic we were riding really well but didn’t get the result, so to win today is very special for us.”
Here's the Cadel Evans Race report from eighth-place Rémy Rochas' Team Groupama-FDJ:
Nearly two weeks after it started with the Tour Down Under, the Australian campaign came to an end on Sunday in Geelong, with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Coming as a defending champion, the Groupama-FDJ team couldn’t retain its title, but Rémy Rochas and Lewis Askey did fight at the front in the last ten kilometres. The Briton had to let go shortly before the finish, but the Frenchman managed to secure a top-10 position, in eighth, three seconds behind winner Mauro Schmid. A campaign both promising and frustrating.
About three weeks after landing on the other side of the globe, the Groupama-FDJ’s riders were set to end their stay “Down Under” this Sunday, with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. A race won by Laurence Pithie in 2024, which then came as the first victory of the season. Jussi Veikkanen’s men knew exactly where they set foot, but a fundamental factor was to take into account on the Geelong circuit.
The peloton gets started.
“We knew it would be very, very hot, and it really was,” introduced the Finnish sports director. “In the car, I recorded 42 degrees as the highest temperature. That says a lot about the day’s conditions. It obviously made the race more difficult, and a lot of guys found themselves in trouble because of the heat.” “It was a race of attrition, and because of the heat, it was hard to recover from your efforts,” said Rémy Rochas. “I felt ok, not great, but I kept in mind that with the heat, the feelings can be a bit different. Looking at the faces of my colleagues in the peloton, I also told myself that I wasn’t doing so bad, especially when we had to do efforts in the climbs.”
While Andrea Raccagni Noviero was the only one willing to enter the day’s breakaway, the pack reached the climb of Challambra Crescent (1100m at 8.5%) seventy-three kilometres from the finish. Followed by another, 400-meter hill averaging 9.5%, this climb had to be repeated four times. “In the second lap already, it went very fast up the climb, but there were always downtimes between the climbs, so it would come back together,” explained Rémy. “We knew how the race was going to unfold,” added Jussi. “What we expected at the briefing was confirmed on the ground. The instructions were for Rémy and Quentin to follow on the last climb, and for Lewis to wait for the sprint.”
Starting the last lap, around forty men still made up the peloton, which headed towards the final climbing sequence. “We found ourselves well positioned before Challambra Crescent with Lewis, it went really fast, and there were only a dozen of us left at the top,” added Rémy. The breakaway was caught, the day’s strongest broke away, but Mauro Schmid immediately took a gap on the descent. “I tried to get to the front of the group to maintain the speed as much as possible, as did I at the foot of the short hill, then Woods also came to pull”, added the French climber.
After the last climbs were covered, with five kilometres to go, Schmid was still in the lead, with about ten riders chasing, including the two riders of Groupama-FDJ. “In the final, I was chasing again, unfortunately Lewis was dropped at the back of the group”, said Rémy. “When I turned around, I saw that he was no longer there. Apparently, he warned me on the radio, but it wasn’t working”. “I’m really not good in the heat, so I’ve trained hard for it this year”, explained Lewis. “I know how well this course suited me, so I really wanted to still give it my best shot even though I knew the conditions were really not good for me. In the end, I just suddenly had a wave of sickness, my vision went blurry, and I was in a lot of pain. So for my health, I decided not to push anymore, and I think it was the right decision.”
“He managed to get over the last two climbs, but he got so much into the red zone that he couldn’t recover,” Jussi said. “It’s a shame and frustrating for him, because it was a really great opportunity in a small group-finish.” Rémy Rochas kept his place in the chasing group but was unable to contest the win, which went to Mauro Schmid a few seconds ahead.
On the line, the climber took eighth place, in line with his nice performances on the Tour Down Under. “I spent a bit too much energy before the sprint,” he said. “I’m disappointed I couldn’t do a better result today, but we still had a great race. The guys did a great job, and the plan was perfectly executed. Lewis was also very strong, so it’s promising for the future. We will now learn from it and identify all the details we need to work on to try to get some victories.” “Everyone worked well this winter, everyone is physically ready, but now we need to find the right settings in racing,” concluded Jussi. “That’s what will help us progress and it’s the little difference we’re missing in the results. We certainly had better legs in this Australian campaign than the raw results suggest. It leaves us a bit hungry for more.”
Content continues below the ads
And here's the Cadel Evans race report from Team Picnic PostNL:
The last race of the Australian block saw one of the hardest and most attritional editions of Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in recent history. Working well as a unit throughout the day, Team Picnic PostNL had two cards to play for the finale: Oscar Onley to follow the moves on the climbs if the attackers went for it, and Tobias Lund Andresen for if things came back together in a reduced sprint. Keeping tabs on the break through some strong early riding by the team, the bunch thinned down over each ascent of Challambra Crescent and going onto the climb for the last time Lund Andresen and Onley were in the reduced bunch of around 30 riders.
The pace ramped up and Onley followed at the front, while Lund Andresen dug deep in one of the chasing groups. Ahead, it was tactical and eventual race winner Schmid made a well-timed move when the pace lulled. Gambling on those with numbers to close things down, Onley was attentive and followed the wheels in the group after trying to bridge to Schmid on the last kicker, but in the end the catch was never made. Onley sprinted to the line for ninth place while Lund Andresen showed his speed from the main group behind to take 15th place on the day.
Onley said: “We came into the race with a couple options; with myself and Tobi for the final. I just followed the wheels on the last climb hoping Tobi could make it in our group. I’m frustrated with myself for not trying to follow Schimd but I tried to gamble and hoped others would close it down. Overall, it’s been quite a successful trip for the team but I’m hoping to step up a level in the coming races.”
Content continues below the ads
We posted the report from fourth-place Eduard Prades' Team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA with the results.
Here's a machine-translation of the race report from winner Valentin Ferron's Team Cofidis:
For his first race in France under the Cofidis colours, Valentin Ferron took a prestigious victory. He won after a thrilling race and against particularly tough competition at the Grand Prix La Marseillaise. With Bryan Coquard's victory at the Tour Down Under last week and Stanisław Aniołkowski's 2nd place in Mallorca this Sunday, this is a great start to the season for Cofidis!
Winner Valentin Ferron on the podium. Sirotti photo
He is standing, clenching his fists, receiving congratulations from his teammates one by one. He is trying to catch his breath and above all is starting to take it all in. Valentin Ferron has just won the GP la Marseillaise after a breathtaking finale. The 26-year-old rider managed to be lively and smart to win the sprint. If a breakaway had dominated the entire race, everything accelerated in the finale. Valentin managed to win with the forceps, by playing his card to the full.
This is the first French victory in three years at the Grand Prix La Marseillaise. Valentin, for his part, had not won since 2023... Above all, he demonstrated that he quickly integrated into the Cofidis team that he joined this season. Indeed, Valentin won at the end of his 3rd race in his new colours, the first held in France!
Aniołkowski had come very close
A little earlier and a little further south, another race ended in a sprint; the Trofeo Palma. This was the last one-day race of the week, held in Majorca, Spain. The Cofidis team entered with ambition and it showed in the final sprint where the red and yellow jerseys were at the forefront. Polish rider Stanisław Aniołkowski put in his effort in the final meters and narrowly failed to win, finishing in 2nd place, a few centimeters from victory. In any case, all the Cofidis riders are demonstrating their enthusiasm and determination at the start of the season. Looking forward to the next one!
Valentin Ferron: "It's a race that I like, I finished 2nd two years ago. This success feels good, it's a perfect start to my season. Last year, it was complicated for me in terms of results. Now, I'm leaving with a lot of confidence and it's going to do me good mentally. I knew there was a bend 200 meters from the finish, I started a little early but I managed to slipstream a rider and find the energy in the last 50 meters to win. I would like to thank the team: they were omnipresent throughout the race. We were always well placed in the peloton and in the final. It’s a great collective victory!”
Yvonnick Bolgiani: “We obviously felt a lot of joy when we learned of our victory! With 3 kilometers to go, it was far from won. There was a moment when things stalled and then it was very tense until the end. In the team, everyone was concerned and focused from the start. For many, it was their first race of the season and there was a real desire to do well. In the final, Sam rode and Benjamin’s effort was decisive in getting back into the breakaway… It’s really a collective victory! A big congratulations to Valentin too. He’s a solid rider who has worked hard this winter and who is approaching the year with a lot of desire. He knows what he wants and he’s going to have some great surprises in store for us in the future!"
Here's the report from eighth-place Axel Laurence's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Axel Laurance sprinted to eighth place at GP de Marseille after seeing his breakaway group caught tantalisingly in the final kilometre.
The Frenchman impressed on his Grenadiers debut, pushing clear of the peloton alongside teammate Josh Tarling on the steep Route des Cretes climb with 26 kilometres remaining.
The duo combined well to help create a group of five riders on the run-in. Paul Seixas (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels) and Timo Kielich (Alpecin Deceuninck) all launched accelerations at various points, with Tarling helping to keep things together before eventually slipping back.
Laurance covered the moves over the final climb and descent, yet the with the peloton edging closer, it made for a tense finale. Ultimately the catch was made in the final kilometre, with Valentin Ferron (Cofidis) edging out a narrow victory on the line. To his credit, Laurance held on well in the sprint to secure a top-10 finish.
The finish. Sirotti photo
Earlier, Artem Shmidt, Salvatore Puccio and Omar Fraile had moved the team up well as the pace picked up in the final 40km. Fraile, Ben Turner (21st) and Victor Langellotti (22nd) kept a watching brief back in the peloton late on during a thrilling finale.
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s news:
For the first time since the inception of our team, Soudal Quick-Step will be present at the start of the Étoile de Bessèges, the French race created in 1971 and held in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Mattia Cattaneo, Josef Cerny, Gil Gelders, former Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert, Paul Magnier – who last year scored five wins as a neo-pro – U23 World Championships silver medalist Martin Svrcek and newcomer Dries Van Gestel will make up the squad for Étoile de Bessèges, our first outing of the season on European soil, which gets underway with a fast stage for the sprinters.
Mattia Cattaneo racing at the 2021 Tour of Luxembourg. Sirotti photo
The next two days are hilly and come with the promise of bringing some changes in the general classification before the uphill finish of Mont Bouquet, averaging an excruciating 9.1% over just 4.6 kilometers. The 55th edition of the French race will end with the demanding individual time trial of stage five, concluding on the slopes of Alès, which could lead to important gaps between the contenders despite the short distance they’ll have to tackle.
“We hope to see Paul in the mix in the first days of the race, he has a nice chance of going for a good result. For the general classification, the last two stages will be important and we’ll see what we can do there with Mattia. It’s our first European race of the season, we have a solid team for it and we go there with huge motivation and with the desire of giving our best”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Klaas Lodewyck.
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary