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Wednesday, May 14, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Bill McGann’s book Why Your Bike Is Made in Asia: My career in bicycles as I watched two continents squander an industry is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia
- May 14 - 18: 4 Jours de Dunkerque
Upcoming racing:
- May 17:
Veenendaal - VeenendaalCancelled - May 18: Rund um Köln
Latest completed racing:
- May 13: Classique Dunkerque
- May 11: Tro-Bro Léon
- May 10: GP du Morbihan
- May 9: Tour du Finistère
- April 27 - May 4: Tour of Turkey
- April 29 - May 4: Tour de Romandie
- May 1: Rund um den Finanzplaz Eschborn-Frankfurt
- April 27: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- April 24 - 27: Vuelta Asturias
- April 21 - 25: Tour of the Alps
- April 23: La Flèche Wallonne
- April 20: Amstel Gold Race
- April 20: Tour du Doubs
- April 15 - 18: Giro d'Abruzzo
- April 18: De Brabantse Pijl
CNN posted this:
Former Olympic cyclist and world champion Rohan Dennis received a suspended sentence on Wednesday over what was termed a “tragic accident” that led to the death of his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins.
The 34-year-old Dennis appeared in South Australia District Court after earlier pleading guilty to a charge of committing an aggravated act likely to cause harm.
Dennis was arrested after Hoskins, 32, was struck by his vehicle in front of their home at Medindie in Adelaide’s north on Dec. 30, 2023. Hoskins suffered serious injuries in the crash and died at Royal Adelaide Hospital.
The court was told that the couple had argued over kitchen renovations before Dennis left their home and drove away. The court also heard that Hoskins had jumped onto the hood of the car during the incident. His licence was also suspended for five years.
Rohan Dennis at stage 20 of the 2023 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo
Dennis on Wednesday was sentenced to one year, four months and 28 days in jail, to be suspended for two years. The sentence was reduced from two years and two months because of his guilty plea and he’s been placed on a two-year good behavior bond.
You can read the entire story here.
We posted the report from stage winner Casper van Uden's Team Picnic-PostNL with the results.
Here's the Giro stage four report from second-place Olav Kooij's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
In the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia, Olav Kooij finished second. The Dutch sprinter from Team Visma | Lease a Bike got boxed in during the final stretch in Lecce, which forced him to launch his sprint too late. Kooij’s compatriot, Casper van Uden, claimed the stage win.
After three stages in Albania, the peloton arrived in Alberobello for the first Italian stage of this year’s race. With just one categorized climb and an otherwise flat course, a bunch sprint was both expected and inevitable.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike had set its sights on a sprint victory with Kooij. The Dutchman, a stage winner in Naples last year, was well protected throughout the day but still tested his legs along the way. At an intermediate sprint, Kooij showed he meant business by beating pink jersey wearer Mads Pedersen, picking up valuable points for the sprint classification.
A strong Edoardo Affini guided his young teammate through the final kilometers. In the chaos of the finale, they lost their intended lead-out Wout van Aert. Nonetheless, Affini delivered Kooij near the front for the final few hundred meters. The Dutchman became somewhat boxed in and was only able to start his sprint late. Despite hitting a high top speed, he fell just short of overtaking Van Uden at the line.
Casper van Uden wins stage four. That should be Olav Kooij on the right. Photo: La Presse
“Edoardo did a fantastic job, putting me right where I needed to be in the final kilometer”, said Kooij. “Unfortunately, I got boxed in during the chaos. There was a moment of hesitation, and the speed dropped. I got stuck and couldn’t break free in time. That meant I launched my sprint too late and couldn’t come around Casper anymore. He’s definitely a deserved winner. It was a very technical finish, and I think there might have been more in it for us today.”
Sports director Marc Reef echoed Kooij’s words. “We wanted to fight for the win today. I think we were in good position all the way up to the local lap. That’s when we lost sight of each other a bit—it was pretty chaotic. Still, Edoardo managed to get Olav into a strong position. The opportunity was there today, but we came up just short. Thankfully, there are plenty more chances to come in this Giro”, said the Dutchman.
Here's the Giro report from seventh-place Paul Magnier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Lecce, the breathtaking city renowned for its distinct Baroque architecture, returned at the Giro d’Italia for the first time in 22 years. It was only the fifth stage finish hosted by the city situated in the Salentine Peninsula, whose first appearance at the Corsa Rosa was recorded in 1929, when the legendary Alfredo Binda prevailed after almost ten hours in the saddle.
Tuesday’s stage was much shorter, and faster for that matter, concluding with the first real bunch sprint of this edition. It was a hectic one, due to the many teams jostling for position at the front, but also because of the presence of many tricky corners that complicated matters a bit.
Before the start of stage four, a team is being presented. Sirotti photo
Grand Tour debutant Paul Magnier was involved in the fight for a good result, making his way through the field in the final kilometers, but unfortunately for him, the Frenchman was boxed in in the last 150 meters and couldn’t show his speed. In the end, it was a seventh place for the 21-year-old as Casper Van Uden (Picnic PostNL) took the win, for his third World Tour top ten of the season – an encouraging result for Paul ahead of the next flat stages.
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Here's the Giro report from Ben Turner's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Ben Turner fired to eighth place on the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia after a solid team performance in Italy.
Turner worked hard to battle his way back into the peloton after puncturing with 20km to go, with Josh Tarling, Lucas Hamilton, Kim Heiduk and Egan Bernal all taking turns on the front to deliver Turner to the bunch sprint.
A relatively flat 189km saw the Grenadiers work well in the peloton throughout the day, protecting GC hopes Bernal and Thymen Arensman, before coming into a chaotic finish in Lecce.
Stage four gets started.
A couple of crashes marred the technical finish, and a puncture for Turner saw him chasing hard with two others to reach the peloton inside the final 20km. On reaching the main bunch after a momentous effort, the British rider was carried to the front by Heiduk and Hamilton to reach Tarling and Bernal.
Turner was delivered perfectly to the finish, and sprinted in the bunch to ninth place, while Bernal and Arensman were just behind to finish on the same time.
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Posted this Giro report:
Stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia was the first in Italy itself. In the south of the country the riders took the start in Alberobello for one of the flattest stages of the race with finish in Lecce. Quite early on with only one rider in the day’s breakaway, there was a big crash with several of our riders involved. Sadly, Nick Zukowsky broke his collarbone and is out of the race.
“Everything was okay until the big crash,” sports director Gabriele Missaglia reflects. “We had four riders involved. Sadly Nick, an important guy in our team, had to abandon the race. He broke his collarbone and it was clear straight away he had to stop. I am sorry for him but this is also part of our job unfortunately.”
The race continued to Lecce where a local lap of just over twelve kilometers awaited the peloton. In a chaotic and fast paced sprint Matteo Moschetti finished in tenth place.
The peloton rounds a corner in the finish city of Lecce. Sirotti photo
“It was a hectic start of the day with that crash,” Moschetti said after the finish. “Nick had an injury and had to leave. I was also in that crash but am okay, only a bit sore. I was still motivated for the final.”
“In the end we took the front at 15 kilometers to go and we had a good position thanks to the boys who did a great job,” Matteo continues. “It was a big fight for position but I was still well positioned in the final kilometers. In the end I missed the legs I think. A tenth place is not what I wanted but it’s like this. I look forward to the next opportunities.”
Stage 5 brings us from Ceglie Messapica to Matera over just 151 kilometers. It’s not the high mountains but it’s a short stage with a challenging final kilometer at almost 8% average.
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Here's the Giro report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
In stage 4, the first one in Italy, the Giro peloton experienced a rather calm day on Tuesday. At least, it did so until the final hour of racing in the streets of Lecce, where tension clearly rose in preparation for the sprint. However, no major incidents were reported, with Casper van Uden winning the race, while David Gaudu safely finished in the pack.
After three days in Albania, the Giro d’Italia was back on home soil. And it is in Puglia that the race resumed on Tuesday, with a fourth stage going from Alberobello to Lecce, featuring 189 kilometres without any real difficulties. The pure sprinters were finally expected in the spotlights, and almost no one was eager to launch an early attack. Spaniard Francisco Munoz therefore broke away alone at kilometer 0, and a long day began. “The start was calm, and it felt good after a strong weekend in Albania and the transfer day,” explained Stéphane Goubert.
After a far from frantic chase, the day’s fugitive was caught fifty kilometres from the finish, and the pack then got more serious. “The peloton was nervous in the final, and we actually saw more crashes than in Albania,” added Stéphane. “David wanted to be quite high up in the peloton because that’s where he feels comfortable to save energy and not stress mentally about a possible crash. The boys did an excellent job keeping him in front.”
David Gaudu (front, right) at the front of the pack as it starts stage three.
Until the final circuit approached, the Breton climber remained at the front of the peloton, then the nervosity further increased in Lecce. And for good reason. “The final was really crazy,” Stéphane described. “It was a pretty dangerous circuit, with three proper narrowings and a very narrow road at times. We had to be very careful with that, especially at the beginning of a Grand Tour when there isn’t fatigue yet, and everyone is full of enthusiasm. Fortunately, everything went well for David and the team, apart from a puncture for Lorenzo, which was of no consequence.”
The Groupama-FDJ cycling team’s leader therefore reached the finish line in the main peloton, while Casper van Uden won in the sprint. Overall, David Gaudu also gained a position on Tuesday, moving up to twenty-third place. Tomorrow, the peloton will head to the picturesque city of Matera, in the Basilicata region. “The final is a bit more difficult, hopefully it will make for a smoother race, but the goal remains the same: to keep David safe,” Stéphane insisted.
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Statement from Max Kanter’s Team XDS Astana
XDS Astana Team rider Max Kanter crossed the line in fifth place in the bunch sprint of Stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia. However, following a post-stage review, the race jury decided to relegate Max to the 103rd position. The team respects the authority of the jury but disagrees with this decision.
Max Kanter's Team XDS Astana at the teams presentation ceremony on May 7. Sirotti photo
“We find this decision very unfortunate. In our view, Max sprinted safely and in line with the actions of other riders in the group. Relegation and a yellow card is way too much. If we begin to penalize such moments, then we also need to start evaluating rider behavior not only in the final meters but throughout the last 10 or 5 kilometers. Today this happened to our team, tomorrow it could be any other. It’s disappointing news for us”, – said Lead Sports Director of XDS Astana Team Alexandr Shefer.
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