Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, February 19, 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
If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever. - Thomas Aquinas
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- February 17 - 23: UAE Tour
- February 19 - 23: Volta ao Algarve
Upcoming racing:
- February 22 - 23: Tour des Alpes-Maritimes
- February 26 - March 2: O Gran Camiño
- March 1: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Latest completed racing:
- February 14 - 16: Tour de la Provence
- February 16: Clásica de Almeria
- February 15: Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia
- February 8 - 12: Tour of Oman
- February 5 - 9 Etoile de Bessèges/Tour du Gard
- February 5 - 9: Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- February 7: Muscat Classic
- February 1 & 2: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- February 2: GP La Marseillaise
- January 29 - February 2: Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Joshua Tarling's INEOS Grenadiers:
Josh Tarling powered to an impressive time trial victory on stage two to take the overall lead at UAE Tour.
The 21 year old stormed to the fastest TT in the race's history on his way to breaking another record as he became the youngest-ever race leader.
Joshua Tarling going really, really fast.
Tarling won the 12.2km time trial ahead of Stefan Bisseger (Decathlon - AG2R La Mondiale) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) who trailed the Welsh rider by 13 and 18 seconds respectively.
Carlos Rodriguez was the next Grenadier in the standings, finishing 14th on the stage to move up to 12th overall (+43" from Tarling).
Here's the UAE Tour report from second-place Stefan Bisseger's Team Decathlon-Ag2r-La Mondiale:
UAE Tour: Stefan Bissegger on the podium right from the start
Stefan Bissegger:
"My aim was obviously to win the stage, but I got a bit stuck in the final stretch. But that gives me a lot of confidence, because I feel I can win. Everything's new for me this year: the preparation, the equipment, the team managers, and in a time trial, every detail counts. Second place in my first race back proves that we're working in the right direction and that we're getting the hang of things. I was up against the best in the world today. I think Joshua Tarling is very strong in these conditions, and to see that I'm close to him gives me confidence for the future. We still have big ambitions this week. I didn't manage to get a win today, but I intend to do everything I can to help the team in the coming days."
Stefan Bisseger riding across the desert to second place. GEtty photo
Cyril Dessel:
"We analyzed the weather conditions and chose to send our leader and our best wheelers to the front positions. It was the right strategy, and even if we weren't rewarded with victory, we're satisfied with the team's performance. The wind picked up on the first long straight after the start of the favourites, complicating the rest of the stage, particularly for Bruno (Armirail). Despite this, Stefan (Bissegger) took a fine second place, while Felix (Gall) and Paul (Seixas) finished within the favourites' overall time."
The news:
Our Austrian climber put in a fine performance away from his preferred terrain. On a fast, flat time trial, Felix Gall finished within the time of his rivals in the overall classification, which augurs well for a fine weekend in the mountains. Bruno Armirail was the first Frenchman to finish in eleventh place, having to contend with a headwind that picked up shortly before his passage. This time places him ninth overall.
Content continues below the ads
Third-place Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates posted this race report:
Third place for Tadej Pogačar in UAE Tour time trial
Jay Vine follows suit with fourth place, as UAE Team Emirates-XRG's GC hopes make impressive outing against the clock
Tadej Pogačar is the former Slovenian national time trial champion
With a brief spell in the hot seat on stage 2, Tadej Pogačar rode to third place at the UAE Tour in the 12.2km-long individual time trial. Raced on Al Hudayriyat Island, the stage 2 test was an important marker for the general classification battle and saw UAE Team Emirates-XRG also place well through Jay Vine in fourth.
Tadej Pogacar riding to third place.
It was Pogačar who was first down the ramp for the Emirati squad, with the former Slovenian national time trial champion blitzing through the first intermediate time check some five seconds quicker than the early pacesetter, Iván Romeo (Movistar). Riding a negative split, Pogačar ramped up his pace through the second half of the course and finished strongly across the line.
With a finish time of 13:13, the two-time winner of this race sat in the hot seat having clocked in an average speed of 55.4kph. Although Pogačar’s time would be bettered by stage winner Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) and second-placed Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), his efforts were enough to place third at the end of the stage. With this result, Pogačar moves up to third in the general classification.
Backing up his teammate’s performance, former Australian national time trial champion Vine produced an excellent effort of his own to take fourth place on the stage. The 29-year-old ceded only three seconds to his teammate across the course and now sits fourth overall, leaving UAE Team Emirates-XRG handily placed ahead of the first summit finish of the race on Wednesday.
There was also an impressive outing for new UAE Team Emirates-XRG recruit, Florian Vermeersch. The Belgian finished 39 seconds down on the stage winner to come home ninth place on the day.
Finishing atop the now renowned Jebel Jais, stage 3 will challenge the peloton with 180.9km, the majority of which will be across flat terrain before the final climb. The highest peak in the United Arab Emirates extends for 21km at 5.5%, with the toughest slopes reserved for the final few kilometres of racing. At his last appearance at the UAE Tour, Pogačar won atop this mountain on his way to sealing a second overall title in 2022.
Speaking after his third-placed performance on stage 2, the Slovenian was in high spirits for the week ahead.
Pogača: “It was a good time trial, a first all-out effort of the year and I am happy with both the speed and the legs. It was always going to be tough to compete against Tarling and Bissegger because they really fly on this kind of parcours.
“Tomorrow is a very nice stage for me. I have good memories from Jebel Jais and as I always say, it is a day for a sprint between the climbers. There can be surprises, of course, but I am really looking forward to it because it suits me very well.”
Here's the UAE Tour report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Challenged Team Visma | Lease a Bike sets sights on continuation of UAE Tour
In the individual time trial on the second day of the UAE Tour, Bart Lemmen finished in eighteenth place. Team Visma | Lease a Bike saw two key riders, Olav Kooij and Julien Vermote, leave the stage race.
Today, the riders faced a twelve-kilometer individual time trial on the flat roads of Abu Dhabi. In yesterday’s opening stage, Kooij and Vermote were already not feeling one hundred percent fit. As a result, the two riders did not start today’s stage.
“It was clear yesterday that Olav and Julien were struggling,” explained sports director Jesper Mørkøv. “They managed to finish the first stage, but we decided not to let them start today’s time trial. It’s unfortunate, but it was the right decision.”
In the flat race against the clock, Lemmen secured the eighteenth fastest time. This result moves the Dutchman up to sixteenth place in the general classification. Thomas Gloag also managed to limit his losses. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike duo now heads into the first tough stage in a strong position.
Bart Lemmen was 18th in the stage.
“Both Bart and Thomas delivered a solid time trial,” said Mørkøv. “Due to favorable wind conditions, we decided to have them start early, which ultimately paid off. It was a good result with the general classification in mind. Tomorrow, the stage will finish atop Jebel Jais – a nineteen-kilometer climb. We will do everything we can to keep Bart and Thomas in a strong position. We’re looking forward to it.”
Content continues below the ads
Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this UAE Tour report:
A short and flat individual time trial reshuffled the general classification, where the gaps where almost inexistent following Monday’s bunch sprint. The 12.2km course wasn’t a challenging one, and in the absence of the wind, it was all about raw power at this second stage of the UAE Tour.
Pascal Eenkhoorn, who came here after a solid block of racing in Australia, was among the first Soudal Quick-Step riders to get underway, and thanks to a solid effort which saw him average close to 53km/h, he concluded the day as the best placed member of our team, with a time of 13:50. The stage was won by Joshua Tarling (Ineos-Grenadiers), who is the new leader of the standings.
Pascal Eenkhoorn riding to 30th place in the stage. Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
The UAE Tour continues with the first summit finish of this edition, Jebel Jais. This 19km climb, taking the peloton to an altitude of around 1500 meters, promises fireworks, some substantial gaps between the red jersey favourites, but also a chance for those who lost important seconds in the time trial to return in the fight for a good general classification.
Team Picnic-PostNL posted this UAE Tour report:
The second day of racing at UAE Tour saw the peloton take on the now traditional time trial course around Al Hudayriyat Island. The flat 12 kilometre route was one suited to the specialists, and calmer wind conditions in the opening part of the day lent itself to those going out early. As a result, most teams’ GC finishers headed off first with Oscar Onley doing the same for Team Picnic PostNL. Setting a respectable time of 13 minutes and 50 seconds, Onley kept himself and the team in a solid GC position ahead of the upcoming days in the mountains. It would be Enzo Leijnse who set the team’s best effort of the day, stopping the clock nine seconds faster than Onley.
Enzo Leijnse was the fastest Team Picnic-PostNL rider.
After the stage Leijnse expressed: “It was pretty straight forward time trial to be honest with the straight roads and fast corners. Personally, I’m happy with how the time trial went today and with the power output I did, and I could stick to the pacing plan we had. Oscar is still in a solid position in GC which is good, and we have some opportunities in the next stages to focus and go for it in the day results.”
Content continues below the ads
Here’s the team’s news:
Bahrain Victorious will be on the start line of the ‘Volta ao Algarve’ for the very first time this week. It’s a race that always features a star-studded entry list, and this year is no different, with no fewer than six previous Grand Tour winners taking to the roads of southern Portugal.
The 745.9km route offers something for all kinds of riders, with sprinters, climbers and classics specialists catered for across five stages, from February 19th-23rd. Two flat profiles on days one and three give the fast men the chance to show their speed and guile, starting with 190km from Portimão to Lagos, where the first leader’s jersey will be awarded. Friday will see another high velocity finish, after the peloton has covered an inland loop of 183.5km that starts and finishes on the coast, leaving from Vila Real de Santo António and arriving in Tavira.
In between those is the main GC stage of the event, from Lagoa to Alto de Foia, a first category summit finish of 8.5km averaging 5%. The 177km contains 2757 vertical metres, and four other categorised climbs before that last ascent.
Stage 4 measures 175.2km, from Albufeira to Faro, and is a rolling parcours which will tempt anyone who fancies their chances to make a breakaway. However, there is probably not enough challenging terrain to rule out a third sprint finish.
The final day will decide who dons the yellow jersey for this 51st edition with an individual time trial of 19.6km departing from Salir. Traditionally, the famous ‘Alto do Malhão’ climb (2.1km at 9.3%) has been used as a summit finish during the week, but this year it appears as a testing conclusion to this test against the clock.
Bahrain will use their debut at Algarve to try out a new combination of young riders, with their eyes on bigger races to come later in the year, as Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj explains:
“Our out and out leader is Antonio Tiberi. There’s not much that needs saying about him! Damiano Caruso will be his shadow and do everything for Antonio.
For the sprint stages we have Alberto Bruttomesso, with Nicolò Buratti who will be support for both him and the GC riders.
Then we have a new guy, Afonso Eulálio, who is Portuguese, and I would like to give him a bit of freedom as he’s racing at home and super motivated. Having said that, he also needs to learn how to help the leaders, because later in the season he may find himself on races where that is his job. So this is all part of the learning process for him.
We were hoping to have Mathijs Paasschens with us, who would have been really good support for Bruttomesso in the sprints alongside Vlad van Mechelen, but unfortunately he is injured. So instead we are bringing a rider from our Development Team, the Italian Bryan Olivo.
Analysing the parcours, Štangelj agrees that it provides a real variety of potential outcomes:
We expect a bunch sprint on the first day, as we do on day 3. Stage 2 is a GC stage with a traditional uphill finish which we know well from watching on TV. Stage 4 could be for a big breakaway, but I have my doubts; it could also be for a reduced bunch sprint. That could maybe be a chance for Afonso to do something from the break and show a bit in front of the Portuguese fans and cameras. The last day is an individual time trial with an uphill finish, so is obviously a GC day.
With so many of the sport’s top names on show, and with such an inexperienced line-up, Štangelj says the team has various hopes for their time on the North Atlantic coast.
The startlist is a very high level, with Roglic, Vingegaard, Alaphilippe & Almeida for example. Our objectives are realistic: top 5 overall with Antonio, and for Bruttomesso to get on the podium on a sprint stage. We also want to test the limits of Afonso, and develop him as a rider, which is why he’ll have some freedom in the race.
But our major goal here is for these guys to get used to racing together from now on, as we look towards the Giro d’Italia.
The 51st ‘Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta’ starts from Portimão on Wednesday at 11:50am.
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary