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Monday, March 10, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, 'We, the people.' - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 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
- March 10 - 16: Tirreno-Adriatico
Upcoming racing:
- 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 race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Tim Merlier made it five victories this year with another powerful sprint that gave absolutely no chance to his opponents in Le Perray-en-Yvelines, where the 156.1km stage 1 concluded. It was a dominant victory for the 32-year-old Belgian, who continued his superb start to the season, which has so far seen him take a pair of wins at both the AlUla Tour and the UAE Tour, before his success at the “Race to the Sun”.
Tim Merlier wins stage one. ASO photo
Soudal Quick-Step was a team on a mission Sunday afternoon, moving to the front of the peloton as soon as a three-man breakaway formed and controlling their gap with the amazing Ayco Bastiaens, who once again delivered a solid effort to bring back the leaders before the race began heating up. On the two small climbs that spiced up the final 16 kilometers, multiple riders tried to go clear, but our teams pulled hard in the peloton together with other squads to make sure the day would come down to a bunch sprint.
Going under the flamme rouge, Tim had his excellent lead-out man Bert Van Lerberghe with him, and after coming out of a tricky bend with 750 meters to go, he waited for the final 200 meters to bolt clear and take his 55th pro victory, which put him into the yellow jersey.
“It’s always nice to start a stage race with a victory. It was our goal coming into the race and I’m happy I could deliver it for the boys today and repay them for all their hard work. A couple of teams tried to make the race hard with 70 kilometers to go, then there were a couple of attacks on the final climbs of the stage, but we remained together, chased the leaders in order to bring them back and managed to close the gap. In the final kilometer, I enjoyed a perfect lead-out and took the win. It feels great to have this start to the race”, a smiling Tim said after his second victory in Paris-Nice.
Here's the Paris-Nice report from fifth-place Axel Zingle's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Axel Zingle finished fifth in the first stage of Paris-Nice. The 26-year-old Frenchman was in the mix during the bunch sprint. Team leaders Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard also made their presence known in the final kilometres.
The 83rd edition of the Race to the Sun kicked off with a relatively flat stage, starting and finishing in Le Perray-en-Yvelines. In a calm opening phase, a small breakaway was given some space by the peloton. As the race approached the final climb, around twenty kilometers from the finish, the breakaway was reeled in.
The first real action came on the Côte de Villiers-Saint-Frédéric. On the short final climb, Jorgenson launched an acceleration. The 25-year-old American then responded to every attack in the peloton. Ten kilometers later, the defending champion also secured four bonus seconds.
The peloton together with 35 kilometers to go. ASO photo
Despite the race’s turbulence, the peloton had its eyes set on a bunch sprint. In the final kilometre, Zingle managed to position himself well behind the favorites. The Frenchman, who is in his first months with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, ultimately had to settle for fifth place. Tim Merlier took the stage win.
"I was able to start the sprint in a good position”, Zingle said afterward. "I had to stop pedalling for a second, but I can definitely be satisfied with this fifth place. It feels great to show myself immediately in my new colours. It took some getting used to, but I’m getting to know my teammates better every day. There will be more sprint opportunities in the coming week, and I’ll definitely try my luck again."
"We can be very pleased with our performance," sports director Grischa Niermann adde. "We rode a strong race as a team. Just like last year, Matteo managed to grab some bonus seconds in the opening stage, which was one of our small goals for today. It’s also a nice extra that Axel could compete in the sprint, although our main focus remains the general classification. We’re happy that our leaders, Jonas and Matteo, finished safely."
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Magnus Sheffield's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this report:
Magnus Sheffield moved into the white jersey following the opening day at Paris-Nice.
The American was able to take two bonus seconds at the final intermediate sprint of stage one, elevating himself to sixth place overall and into the jersey.
Magnus Sheffield will start stage two in white.
Sheffield was helped by some great lead-out work from Josh Tarling on the approach to the final climb, with Tarling also helping to shut down an initial acceleration before the bonus seconds were eventually contested.
Tobias Foss kept the pace high over the top, before Tarling again hit the front, launching a move on the flat with seven kilometres to go.
Joined by Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling) and a non-contributing Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), the trio opened out a tantalising gap of around 10 seconds, but would ultimately be reeled in with 2.3km remaining.
Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick-Step) won the bunch kick to open up the race, with Sheffield now sitting eight seconds back on the first yellow jersey holder.
Here's the Paris-Nice report from team Picnic-PostNL:
The “Race to the Sun” got underway on Sunday afternoon, with an intriguing stage that started and finished in Le Perray-en-Yvelines. Team Picnic PostNL began the day with the goal of setting up fast finisher Tobias Lund Andresen, as an attacking finale over the hills was expected. A break of three formed out front but a nervous peloton brought them back with more than 50 kilometres to go.
Heading into each of the hills in the closing 20 kilometres the pace drastically increased and things split, but with a lot of tactical looking around, it always regrouped. Team Picnic PostNL were attentive to mark the dangerous moves, but ultimately it came down to a fast finale. On the hectic and chaotic run-in, the team just couldn’t get into position around the final corner, with Lund Andresen unable to compete for a top result come the line.
Paris-Nice stage one gets started. ASO photo
Lund Andresen expressed: “It was nice to be back to European racing again. I personally enjoyed that; with the final beginning at 70 kilometres to go, we were pushing on the pedals a lot throughout the day. As a team we made our key points all the way through, just in the end we didn’t get the opening to push into the last corner and it was game over for me in the sprint. The guys are motivated though and we have more chances here at the race.”
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And here's the Paris-Nice report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
The 83rd “Race to the Sun” has started. Stage 1 of Paris-Nice was contested around Le Perray-en-Yvelines this Sunday, and it ended with a bunch sprint as expected, despite a bit of action in the final. All the riders from the Groupama-FDJ cycling team finished safely in the peloton, including the GC leader Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet.
One hundred and fifty-six kilometres were to be covered this Sunday on Paris-Nice, through two circuits designed around Le Perray-en-Yvelines. While there were no major difficulties on the menu, two small climbs in the last twenty-five kilometres were likely to spice up the end of the race. Before that, a three-man breakaway led the way, but since the peloton controlled it closely, the attempt was brought back even before the last fifty kilometers.
Stage one had three rated climbs.
The final hour of racing proved to be nervous, with an intense fight for positioning before the various climbs. After the first of the two final hills, Stefan Küng made a first acceleration, which proved unsuccessful. In the second one, located just ten kilometres from the line, Thibaud Gruel followed the attacks before attacking himself. The young man was unable to break away from some of the big boys who competed for the bonus seconds at the summit. Then, Stefan Küng, made another attempt on the following flat section. “They got in the mix in the final, and it’s always better to be in front attacking than in the back,” commented Benoît Vaugrenard.
Eventually, the peloton never completely split up, and the anticipated bunch sprint was then certain after a trio of late attackers was caught. Tim Merlier dominated the sprint, while the seven riders of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team finished in the pack. “We know that we don’t have much to gain but that we can lose a lot on these types of stages”, added Benoît. “For us, it was a good day regarding the general classification with Guillaume. They got through it without a hitch, and that was the goal today. We know that it’s never easy because the traps are everywhere with the village crossings, the narrowings, but they managed to avoid them so all the better. The day’s weather also meant that the wind was almost non-existent, which suited us too”.
On Monday, the second stage towards Bellegarde, also made for the sprinters, could hold more surprises. “It will be even more exposed, therefore potentially even more nervous, but everything will depend on the wind direction,” concluded Benoît.
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Here's the update from Team Bahrain Victorious:
Tirreno-Adriatico, ‘The Race of the Two Seas’ which crosses five regions of central Italy, will this year have its 60th edition between the 10th & 16th March. A total distance of 1,142.5 km is split across seven stages, and includes 14,250 meters of altitude difference. It starts with an individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore and ends, as usual, in San Benedetto del Tronto, with plenty of climbs and Apennine passes to negotiate along the way.
The longest stage (S3, 239km) starts from Follonica and arrives at the Valico di Colfiorito, while the highest point (1,558m, Valico la Crocetta) comes on the following day’s route between Norcia and Trasacco. Also of note is the uphill finish at Frontignano, (1,327m above sea level) that concludes stage six from Cartoceto.
Bahrain Victorious’ leader for the race is the 2024 Giro d’Italia’s best young rider, Antonio Tiberi. The Italian finished the Volta ao Algarve strongly, and feels his form has been improving since the season began.
Antonio Tiberi after stage seven of the 2024 Vuelta a España with the Best Young Rider's white jersey. Sirotti photo
“I have good feelings and ambitions for this Tirreno-Adriatico. I want to perform well, not only for this race but also in preparation for the upcoming challenges on my calendar.”
“The race will likely follow a similar pattern to last year, starting with the opening time trial, where my goal is to secure a strong result right away. From there, it’s all about staying focused and ready for the demanding stages ahead.
Last year, I struggled more because it was one of my first races of the season after the cancellation of Ruta del Sol. This time, I’ve had a solid start in Portugal, feeling stronger in the later stages. I hope to continue building my form throughout Tirreno-Adriatico and bring home a strong result.”
Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj said: “The undisputed leader is Antonio, although we would like to have backups with Damiano and Pello once he has recovered from Strade Bianche. Robert will sprint when there is a reduced or bunch sprint, and would also like to be there on the breakaway stages with Afonso. Maybe Pello will attack stage five. At the end of the race, a top 5 result in the General Classification would be good, but we would like to have two places in the top ten position. Above all, Antonio, Damiano and Pello should get good results on the opening stage in the Individual Time Trial.”
The Bahrain Victorious line-up in full for Tirreno-Adriatico 2025, is Antonio Tiberi, Damiano Caruso, Pello Bilbao, Robert Stannard, Fran Miholjević, Andrea Pasqualon and Afonso Eulálio.
And here's the Tirreno-Adriatico update from Team Q36.5:
The Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team continues racing in Italy with the seven-day stage Tirreno Adriatico which starts on Monday. The team will be led by Strade Bianche runner-up Tom Pidcock alongside David De La Cruz, Damien Howson, Xabier Mikel Azparren, Gianluca Brambilla, Nick Zukowsky and Mark Donovan.
Tom Pidcock finishing second at this year's Strade Bianche. Sirotti photo
Sports director Gabriele Missaglia said: “Tirreno Adriatico is always a hard race where the weather can play an important role. Rain and cold temperatures are often the case and this week the predictions look rainy. If we look at the build-up of this race we focus on the middle part. The first stage is a short and flat time trial, followed by a sprint stage on Tuesday. The last stage on the Adriatic coast on Sunday is also for the sprinters.
"We think about the stages in the mountains from Wednesday to Saturday where it’s important to show we race aggressively. Our ambition is to go for a stage win and a good result in the general classification with Tom. There are interesting stages for him. Then we will look day by day at the general classification.”
David De la Cruz looks forward to the time trial in Lido di Camaiore on Monday. The Spanish champion can’t wait to show his special Q36.5 skinsuit.
“When I became national champion last year, I said that I wanted a full white skinsuit with the Spanish national flag. Q36.5 made that for me, and I look forward to wearing it again on Monday. It’s so very special to represent your country. I did some work on the velodrome last week to work on my position on the time trial bike, so Monday’s time trial is an important goal for me. It’s the first one of the year!
"For the rest of the week, I look forward to racing again with the team because it’s been a month since the Tour of Oman. I haven’t done the Tirreno Adriatico often before because I usually focused on Paris-Nice, but I look forward to doing something great with the team. The start to the season has been really great for all of us so let’s continue that good energy in this next big race.” - David De la Cruz
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