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Tuesday, June 17, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2019: A Year of New Faces is available in both Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• June 15 - 22: Tour de Suisse

Upcoming racing:

• June 18 - 22: Baloise Belgium Tour
• July 5 - 27: Tour de France

Latest completed racing:

• June 8 - 15: Critérium du Dauphiné
• June 13: GP Kanton Aargau
• June 8: Brussels Cycling Classic
• May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia
• May 29 - June 1: Tour of Norway
• May 14 - 18: 4 Jours de Dunkerque
• May 18: Rund um Köln
• May 13: Classique Dunkerque
• May 11: Tro-Bro Léon
• May 10: GP du Morbihan
• May 9: Tour du Finistère

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Tour de Suisse stage two reports

We posted the report from second-place Fabio Christen's Q36.6 Pro Cycling Team with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Vincenzo Albanese's Team EF Education-EasyPost:

Vincenzo Albanese blasted to his first victory in EF Education-EasyPost colors on stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse.

The 28-year-old Italian kicked with 200 meters to go and accelerated around the final corner, a huge grin spread across his face. He shouted for joy as he crossed the line. It took quick thinking and a massive team effort, but his first victory at the top level of the sport was his.

“It’s my first victory in the WorldTour, and in this fantastic race in Switzerland. I’m very happy and I’d like to thank all my team. It was a fantastic job from all of them in the final kilometers. I’m very, very happy,” Vincenzo said once he had caught his breath.

Vincenzo Albanese wins stage two. Sirotti photo

The team took care of Vincenzo all day, with stage 2 of the race from Aarau to Schwarzsee comprising of almost 2,500 meters of vertical climbing. Inside the final 20 kilometers, Vincenzo and his teammates took control of the peloton, positioning Vincenzo and fellow sprinter Madis Mihkels near the front of the race and ensuring that the remnants of the early break were caught before the line.

A few last-ditch attacks were neutralized in the closing stages before Vincenzo and Madis were dropped off under the red kite with around one kilometer to go.

The initial plan was for Vincenzo to lead out Madis, but when several riders attacked on the uphill drag towards the line, the Italian remained calm, jumped on their wheels, and forced several rivals to close gaps. He kicked once to open up space on his left-hand side, and his second acceleration took him all the way to the line.

This victory marks Vincenzo’s first win since joining EF Education-EasyPost in the winter, and his first triumph at WorldTour level.

“I felt good from the start. My role today was to lead out Madis, but in the last kilometers Quinn Simmons and some other guys attacked, and I followed. Then I saw that it was 200 meters from the finish and I went full towards the line. This is my first WorldTour victory and we’ll see what happens in the next few days,” he said.

Here's the Tour de Suisse stage two report from Ben Swift's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Ben Swift sprinted into the GC top-10 on the second stage of Tour de Suisse.

Having caught an early break in the closing stages of the 177km stage, the Grenadiers were well positioned as they came into the bunch finish.

A last gasp effort with 2.5km to go from Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) was caught, with Geraint Thomas leading out Swift in the chase.

Swift was just in slightly the wrong position to launch his full sprint, but finished 17th in the bunch to maintain his top 10 on the GC.

Stage two about to get rolling. Sirotti photo

The British rider was well supported by Thomas, Victor Langellotti and Laurens De Plus, while AJ August, Lucas Hamilton and Bob Jungels all worked well at the front throughout the race, with Jungels also claiming a point in the King of the Mountains competition.

Tomorrow’s stage from Aarau to Heiden will see the riders tackle 195km with two categorised climbs at the latter end of the stage.

Here's the report from Team Jayco-AlUla:

Felix Engelhardt extended his lead in the mountains classification at the Tour de Suisse after strong day for Team Jayco AlUla that saw Mauro Schmid spend the day in the break and Ben O’Connor keep his fifth place overall.

Engelhardt had a two-point lead in the competition going into the stage, having taken the lead on the opening day after getting into a key breakaway. With a mission in mind on stage two, he jumped out of the peloton over each of the day’s three climbs to secure himself enough points to increase his lead in the mountains standings.

Felix Engelhardt winning stage one of the 2023 Vuelta a Castilla y León

Schmid is now second in the competition after leading the breakaway over all of the ascents. The Swiss national champion was the last man standing from a breakaway that formed in the opening kilometre of the stage, only being reeled back in by the peloton with around 14km remaining.

For his efforts, Schmid was awarded the day’s combativity prize for the most aggressive rider. Adding to the team’s strong ride, Ben O’Connor comfortably maintained his fifth place in the general classification.

Alongside Engelhardt and Luke Durbridge, O’Connor made it into a surprise breakaway on stage one that stayed away to the line and saw the Australian gain important time in the overall classification. With some important mountain stages to come, O’Connor is within touching distance of the podium.

Felix Engelhardt:
“It’s nice to keep the mountains jersey for another day. I was hoping for a bit more in the final, but I was also a bit à bloc from the previous day and going in the breakaway.”

Mauro Schmid:
“It was a good day in the breakaway. Unfortunately, we didn’t really get a bit gap over the peloton, but in the end, I still tried and did what I could. It wasn’t enough but we will try again tomorrow.”

And here's the Tour de Suisse report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike had a trouble-free day in the second stage of the Tour de Suisse. The Dutch formation ensured that Bart Lemmen, who took a third place yesterday, crossed the finish line unscathed. Vincenzo Albanese sprinted to victory in Schwarzsee.

After the last breakaway-rider was caught at 15 kilometers from the finish line, the sprinters' teams brought their leaders to the front. Tiesj Benoot tried to attempt a top classification on behalf of Team Visma | Lease a Bike, but got no further than twelfth place. Albanese took the win.

“Our goal today was to not lose any time with Bart and that worked out perfectly,” sports director Maarten Wynants said. "Since we don't have a top sprinter with us, we knew this would be one of the hardest days to get a good result. However, Tiesj wanted to go for it. The stage was not tough enough to bring out Tiesj's qualities."

A more challenging day awaits the peloton tomorrow. With nearly 3,000 altimeters and some tough climbs in the finale, Wynants expects an open race. "We are going to try to protect Bart as best we can. Because of the special situation in the classification, we have to be prepared that it can become very unpredictable."

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