Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, March 9, 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
Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali. - Salvador Dali
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.
Current racing:
- March 9 - 16: Paris-Nice
Upcoming racing:
- March 10 - 16: Tirreno-Adriatico
- March 19: Danilith Nokere Koerse
- March 19: Milano-Torino
- March 20: GP de Denain
- March 21: Bredene Koksijde CLassic
- March 22: Milano-Sanremo
Latest completed racing:
- March 8: Strade Bianche
- March 5: Trofeo Laigueglia
- March 4: Le Samyn Classic
- February 26 - March 2: O Gran Camiño
- March 2: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
- March 2: Faun Drôme Classic
- March 1: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- March 1: Faun Ardèche Classic
- February 17 - 23: UAE Tour
- February 19 - 23: Volta ao Algarve
We posted the report from winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emriates with the results.
Here's the report from second-place Thomas Pidcock's Team Q36.5:
The white roads of Tuscany never fail to deliver an incredible spectacle, and Strade Bianche 2025 was no exception. Tom Pidcock played a leading role in the drama, securing second place and earning Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team its first WorldTour podium of the season and second-ever in history—following Alessandro Fedeli’s podium at Eschborn-Frankfurt 2023.
Tom Pidcock finishes second. Sirotti photo
Pidcock made the first decisive move at 78.5 kilometers to go, accelerating passed Tim Wellens, with only Tadej Pogačar joining. The two, both former winners of this race, stayed together until the world champion crashed heavily. After a few kilometers, Tom strategically waited, allowing Pogačar to regroup, and they continued the battle together.
On the second-to-last gravel sector, Pogačar launched his signature attack, and Pidcock was unable to follow. Despite this, he fought hard all the way to Via Santa Caterina in Siena, securing a remarkable second-place finish. His consistency in this race is undeniable—Pidcock has now placed 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th in his four participations at Strade Bianche.
Tom Pidcock reacted: “I didn’t do anything wrong today, so this is the best result. To be honest I did a really good ride and one of my best performances ever. I was feeling comfortable in the peloton so I thought that when I attacked, I could take away the element of surprise, and it worked.
"When Tadej crashed it looked quite bad at first, so I am glad he is okay. We were going very fast at that point. The moment I heard he was back on his bike I decided to wait. It’s good to continue together. It is important to ride with respect and dignity and that’s not how you take advantage in races.
"It’s bittersweet result but I did the best I could and a good shot. Now it’s time to recover because it was a big day and Tirreno Adriatico is coming fast”
Though disappointed at missing out on victory, pride in the team’s performance was the overriding emotion. General manager Doug Ryder reacted directly after the finish:
“It means a lot to us and to Tom because it’s one of his favorite races, but it also means a lot to see the journey we are on as a team. All the staff who worked hard to make this happen. Tom is a world class rider. He took responsibility in racing with Tadej and waiting when he crashed. This result lifts the whole team: for the current riders, our staff and for the future. We are ambitious and for everyone involved this is just amazing. I am super happy for us and for him. It shows we are going in the right direction, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Content continues below the ads
Here's the Strade Bianche report from ninth-place Lennert Van Eetvelt's Team Lotto:
"I am completely empty. The last 40 kilometers were pure survival." Lennert Van Eetvelt (23), after the grueling battle that was Strade Bianche 2025, secured a remarkably strong ninth place.
Doing better than last year—that was the goal Lennert Van Eetvelt had in mind when he started in Siena this morning. And he succeeded. After finishing eleventh in the 2024 Strade Bianche, he impressively crossed the finish line in ninth place on the Piazza del Campo this time. "I am completely empty, absolutely shattered," gasped Lennert Van Eetvelt afterward. "As soon as Tadej Pogačar made his move, the lights slowly started to go out. The last hour, the last 40 kilometers, was pure survival."
The peloton on Monte Sante Marie sector. Sirotti photo
Tadej Pogačar attacked on Saturday afternoon—almost a copy-paste of last year—about 70 kilometers from the finish. "Respect to Tom Pidcock, who was still able to follow. Last year, he was the one in our chasing group who said it felt like we were in the grupetto behind Pogačar. And this time, it felt the same. We had no chance, even though we rotated better than last year. Everyone was just empty, we were like a group of dying swans. I'm just glad I made it to the finish in one piece."
Mikel Landa's Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this report:
The 19th edition of Strade Bianche once again kicked off from Fortezza Medicea, not far from Siena’s stunning medieval city center, took in 16 sterrati and a total of 81.3 kilometers of gravel roads, and finished in the stunning shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, site of the famous Palio races, whose origins dates back to the 15th century.
A sizable breakaway formed soon after the start, and Soudal Quick-Step was represented there by Pepijn Reinderink. The Dutchman – winner of the KOM jerseys last year at the Tour de Luxembourg and the Tour of Guangxi – was one of the strongest riders in the move that ended up carving out a five-minute maximum advantage. As soon as the break hit the hard white road sectors of the race, it began fragmenting, a natural selection taking place on the gradients that spiced up Saturday afternoon.
Reinderink easily made the cut, now part of a newly-formed five-man group which entered the last 100 kilometers of Strade Bianche some two minutes clear of the peloton. When the race exploded on the Monte Sante Marie sector, Reinderink was among the last escapees to be caught, and even after being dropped, he paced his tempo very smartly as the race began taking its toll on more and more riders.
Pepijn concluded the day minutes behind winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), but took a lot of confidence from his ride over Tuscany’s gruelling white roads: “It was a crazy and incredibly hard day. The break was strong, but there was nothing to do against the teams chasing us. After they caught us, I was still able to stay with the second chasing group a bit, but around 50 kilometers from the finish it was over for me. I enjoyed the first part of the race, but overall, it was the hardest race of my career. On the other hand, it’s a race I will always remember and an experience which will help me in the future, that I am sure of.”
Mikel Landa concluded this dusty Strade Bianche as the first Soudal Quick-Step rider home. The Basque climber, who got his season underway on Saturday, rode an impressive race despite lacking experience on these tricky roads, and finished the Italian World Tour event a strong 11th.
Mikel Landa at the team's presentation ceremony on Friday. Sirotti photo
“I knew it was going to be a hard day, but I was lucky enough to avoid the crashes. I missed the experience of managing a tough sector such as the Monte Sante Marie, where I exploded a bit, but then I began feeling better. Unfortunately, I couldn’t close the gap to the first group, and now I am both happy with my result at my debut here, but also a bit disappointed, because I feel I could have been higher on the classification”, Mikel explained after the race.
Content continues below the ads
Connor Swift's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this report:
Connor Swift put in a rousing ride at Strade Bianche in one of the best performances of his career.
The Yorkshireman finished 13th in Siena but the result alone didn't tell the full story of a fully committed ride.
Swift was part of an early 10-man breakaway group which entered the famed white road gravel sectors with a strong advantage.
Connor was then able to push on, going clear of his counterparts in a key moment of the race, while behind in the peloton Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) attacked.
The duo quickly bridged across to the break, catching Swift with 77 kilometres remaining. Swift was forced to chase hard over the next 4km to bridge back on to the flying leaders.
The race was turned on its head with 50km to go as Pogacar crashed on a downhill fast left-hander. Swift checked up and came to a stop, with Pidcock able to continue unhindered.
A rousing comeback ride from Pogacar ensued, with Swift then forced to settle into his own rhythm as the groups behind came back to him.
As is often the case, Strade Bianche proved to be a bruising race for many riders.
Salvatore Puccio and Brandon Rivera were caught up in an early crash, with Puccio forced to abandon the race. Rivera would continue to the finish - with both riders sustaining cuts but expected to be okay to start on Monday at Tirreno-Adriatico.
The same is true for Michal Kwiatkowski. The two-time former winner crashed on the same corner as Pogacar, sustaining cuts to his arm.
At the finish Pogacar took victory by 1:24 over Pidcock. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) rounded out the podium places.
INEOS Grenadiers at Friday's teams presentation ceremony
Reaction:
Connor Swift: "Hard race. I always kept on trying. The plan was for me to be in front for Kwiato. Then I found myself in that situation with Pogacar and Pidcock and those guys, it's crazy how fast they can ride, even just descending. Then Pogacar crashed and just trying to stay on his wheel, phenomenal.
"I made it hard for myself being in the breakaway from the start. I'm proud of my performance. I'm feeling pretty strong at the minute. We're trying to win races and race aggressively, and we achieved that today. I was the back-up option to be the support rider and I found myself fighting for my own opportunity.
"I don't know why I'm a bit emotional. I was on my knees, just going from group to group, trying to hang on. I like a bit of gravel so that keeps the motivation going. People have punctures, people have crashes, you can always come from behind, so you never stop believing."
Team Picnic-PostNL posted this Strade Bianche report:
Building into the season nicely after a solid opening race in Portugal, Max Poole took to the start line at Strade Bianche to test his legs ahead of Tirreno-Adriatico, where he would spearhead the team’s GC ambitions.
Here's Team Picninc-PostNL at the teams presentation ceremony.
It was a hectic and crash-filled edition over the white roads and Max unfortunately was involved in one of the many crashes throughout the day. Max underwent multiple checks including an x-ray, which sadly revealed a broken collarbone.
Team Picnic PostNL doctor Camiel Aldershof said: “Unfortunately the x-ray revealed that Max has suffered a collarbone break in his fall this afternoon. We will do some further checks in the next days, but he will most likely undergo surgery, which will then be followed by him taking the time needed to rest, recover, and to fully heal, before we take any next steps. Obviously, this is a big disappointment for Max but we are confident we can get him back up and in action after a good recovery period.”
Team Picnic PostNL coach Matt Winston added: “It’s a real shame for Max. He was building his form nicely and we were excited to see what we could do in terms of the GC fight at Tirreno – Adriatico next week. Max is a fighter though and last year we saw him come back from injury really strongly so with the right time to recover we believe he can do just that again. For Tirreno – Adriatico we will reassess our plans but will continue to fight and look for stage win opportunities when we can, whether that be in the sprints with Casper, or in the breaks and attacks with our climbers.”
Content continues below the ads
And here's the Strade Bianche report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Team Visma | Lease a Bike was unable to challenge for a good final position in the Strade Bianche. Due to bad luck, Attila Valter was the only rider from the yellow-black team still at the front 90 kilometers from the finish. The Hungarian ultimately couldn’t fight for a top position. The race favorite, Tadej Pogacar, proved to be the strongest in the Italian classic.
In the 19th edition of the Italian spring race, ten riders quickly made a break. The breakaway group created a solid gap, but they were soon doomed against the rapidly thinning peloton, where Valter was still prominently placed at the front. On the famous Monte Sante Marie, the race completely exploded.
The peloton early in the race. RSC photo
Pogacar and Tom Pidcock attacked, and this move was ultimately too much for the rest of the favorites. The two riders stayed together for a long time, but the Slovenian proved to be the best – despite a crash – and triumphed in Siena. Valter was the first rider for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, finishing in 22nd place.
"I have to accept the result", the Hungarian begins his story. "I'm not really happy with the result. I felt good, but I couldn’t make the difference, unfortunately. On Monte Sante Marie, I hoped to come back, but the leaders were going too fast. We encountered a lot of bad luck along the way, which didn’t make it any easier. Fortunately, my form is good, but I would have liked to do more today."
Jørgen Nordhagen made his season debut for the team today, after he was unable to start in Oman due to illness. "It was a tough and especially long day. I felt pretty good, but I was too far back at the decisive moment. This is the longest race I’ve done so far, and with no ideal preparation, I’m glad I managed to finish this race."
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary