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Thursday, May 15, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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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
We posted the report from stage winner Mads Pedersen's Team Lidl-Trek with the results.
Here's the Giro report from Simon Yates' Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
The fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia presented few problems for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. In the hard finale, team leader Simon Yates showed strong form. The 32-year-old Brit saw how Mads Pedersen claimed his third stage victory.
The Giro peloton set off for a 151-kilometer stage between Ceglie Messapica and Matera. After a relatively flat opening section, several steep climbs awaited in the finale.
The Montescaglioso was the first of three climbs in the ultimate kilometres. Under the high pace set by Team UAE Emirates and Lidl-Trek, many sprinters were dropped from the peloton. Olav Kooij also had to let go. The 23-year-old Dutchman now looks ahead to a new sprint opportunity in Naples tomorrow, where he won a stage in last year’s Giro.
Heading into the final climb, Yates was excellently positioned at the front of the peloton by teammates Wout van Aert and Bart Lemmen. The Brit then rode a good final ascent, responding smoothly to an acceleration from Primoz Roglic. In the general classification, he remains in eleventh place.
Wout van Aert at the start of Giro stage five. Sirotti photo
“Today went well,” Yates said afterward. “We had to be patient during the uneventful opening hours, but the race exploded in the finale. I had great support from Wout and Bart to start the final short climb in a good position. In such a chaotic race, it’s always important to be up front. It was never realistic for me to win this sprint, but I felt good today. I’ll take that feeling into the coming days.”
“Today’s focus was mainly on Simon,” said sports director Marc Reef. “We’re pleased with how he performed in this stage. Olav quickly realized it was too tough for him and decided to save energy with tomorrow’s sprint in mind. Wout didn’t want to push himself too hard because he’s still not feeling 100%. Together with Bart Lemmen, he helped position Simon well in the finale before riding to the finish at his own pace. All in all, it was a good day.”
Here's the Giro report from Matteo Cattaneo's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
The 151km route of the fifth stage took the Corsa Rosa from Ceglie Messapica to Matera, marking the race’s return to the city five years after its last visit. The 2019 European Capital of Culture came with a tricky finish, the last three kilometers featuring a 10% before a short descent and another uphill part that concluded just before the final kilometer, where the only obstacles were two left-hand bends.
For a brief moment, after the breakaway was caught, there was some GC action, but the fight for victory eventually had in the spotlight the fast men who managed to overcome all these hurdles. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) took the victory in Basilicata, extending his buffer at the top of the overall standings, while Gianmarco Garofoli was the first Soudal Quick-Step rider home, just like on stage three.
The peloton just before the second intermediate sprint.
Giro d’Italia continues on Wednesday with a complicated stage to Napoli: the first part of the day comprises several climbs, including two classified ones, before a flat second part which should give those distanced a chance to make it back in the peloton and fight for the win.
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And here's the Giro report from third-place Tom Pidcock's Team 36.5 Pro Cycling:
Tom Pidcock sprinted to a third place in the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia. The Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team’s leader was on the wheel of pink jersey Mads Pedersen when he launched his sprint. It’s the second top five placing for the 25-year-old rider in his inaugural Giro d’Italia.
Tom Pidcock earlier this year checking out the Liège-Bastogne-Liège course. Sirotti photo
The final of the 151-kilometer long stage from Ceglie Messapicato to Matera was a punchy one with a climb with gradients up to 10% in the final three kilometers. Mads Pedersen lost some ground on that climb just under two kilometers to go but was back just in time for the sprint in the historical streets of Matera.
“Unfortunately [he came back],” Pidcock said with a smile right after the finish. “It was a hard final. I was on his wheel and let the pace go a bit. I should have gone straight past but it was a long way so I went around him. This finish was perfect for me, very explosive. Third is not bad.”
After a fifth place in the opening stage, Pidcock gets another good result in his first Giro d’Italia. He has no regrets.
“It was a hard final. They race so hard these days that there are still a hundred left up there,” Pidcock analysed. “You have to be very focused all the time. I don’t think we as a team could have done anything different. You have to go with the race. I was a bit far back on the climb and maybe wanted to try something at the top but it was too short a climb and everyone had the same pace there.”
The sixth stage on Thursday takes the peloton from Potenza to Napoli. There are quite a few climbs in the first hours of the stage which with 227 kilometers is the longest in the race, but the final 60 kilometer to Napoli are flat.
The Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is also in action in Hungary for the 100th edition of the Tour de Hongrie. Giacomo Nizzolo sprinted to a seventh place in the opening stage.
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We posted the report from stage one winner Axel Zingle's Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.
Second-place Ben Swift's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this:
A day of attacking racing from Ben Swift saw him end stage one of the Four Days of Dunkirk second overall as Axel Zingle (Visma-Lease a Bike) won to take the race lead.
Swift was part of a six-rider break which led for the majority of the stage, with the Yorkshireman earning eight bonus seconds in intermediate sprints along the way.
Ben Swift racing in stage 16 of the 2023 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo
Despite the break working well together, the peloton increased the pace in the final 20 kilometres and caught the escapees with just six kilometres remaining.
This led to a sprint finish which saw Sam Watson finish 15th, while Zingle took the victory to lead Swift by two seconds overall heading into stage two.
Here's the stage one report from Matthew Walls' Team Groupama-FDJ:
The 2025 edition of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque are underway, and as expected, the first of the week’s five stages concluded with a bunch sprint in Amiens on Wednesday. Like the day before in the “Classique Dunkerque,” Matthew Walls managed to get into the mix and secured another top-10 finish (8th). Unfortunately, Olivier Le Gac was forced to withdraw from the race after a crash in the final kilometre.
Axel Zingle wins the first stage.
On the opening stage of the 4 Jour de Dunkerque, this Wednesday, the bunch had to cover 178 kilometers heading towards Amiens, where a finishing circuit was to be completed three times. Overall, the stage didn’t include any major difficulties, but a six-man breakaway still gave the peloton a hard time throughout the day. “The break was made of strong riders, and there was also a tailwind for a large part of the stage, especially in the final,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “The peloton initially gave them four minutes, but there were only two teams to lead the chase. When the breakaway got going, they gained time, and things started to heat up with sixty kilometres to go. The pace increased quite a lot.”
At the first time on the finish line, around twenty kilometres from the finish, the peloton was still a minute and a half behind. A lap later, however, the gap was reduced to about thirty seconds, and everything came back together with six kilometres to go. “We thought the fight would be even closer, but it was a great, fast day,” commented Frédéric.
The peloton then stretched out on the uphill section of the circuit, but the fight between the lead-out trains resumed in the final three kilometres. “We knew it would come down to a sprint and we decided to work for Matt,” added Frédéric. “We had a plan to help him position as good as possible, but that’s never easy to execute in racing. They tried, especially Olivier in the final two kilometres. Matt wasn’t too far at the flamme rouge, but he got a bit boxed in on the final straight, which often happens in hectic sprints, and even more so on a false flat descent”.
The British rider ultimately managed to grab eighth place, even though he wasn’t able to really go for it. Axel Zingle won this first stage and took the leader’s jersey. “Lewis and Thibaud are within the winner’s time, and the goal was also to save energy today in anticipation of Friday and Saturday, where the overall standings will be decided,” concluded Frédéric. “The day’s bad news is Olivier’s abandon as he crashed 900 metres from the finish and is suffering a collarbone injury.”
Frédéric Guesdon’s men will therefore set off as a six-man team on Thursday, heading towards Crépy-en-Valois.
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And here's the 4 Jours de Dunkerque stage one report from second-place Tobias Lund Andresen's Team Picnic-PostNL:
After a taste of racing action again in Tuesday’s Classique Dunkerque, the five-day stage race of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque got underway on Wednesday with an expected sprint finish into Amiens. A strong breakaway ensured that the pace in the peloton was high throughout the day, but Team Picnic PostNL committed to the chase and were one of the most active teams in making sure that those ahead were caught.
Some big pulls saw the break reeled in within ten kilometres to go, and a strong tempo was set over the top of the last climb which stretched things out. Pat Eddy grouped up with fast finisher Tobias Lund Andresen and brought him around the final corner, dropping him off in a while right at the head of the bunch. Just as Lund Andresen was about to open up his full sprint, he unfortunately lost a bit of momentum, but still could kick again to take a strong second place for the team.
Tobias Lund Andresen winning the Surf Coast Classic earlier this year.
Lund Andresen said: “We took control early as the break was a strong one so we didn’t want to play around, and we were the first team to start chasing. At one point to be honest I thought they might stay away but more teams helped and we had seven teams chasing to catch them. I think the guys showed great team spirit all day; they kept me positioned and out of trouble.
"In the end I was fighting alongside Pat, who brought me around the last corner in the wheel of Zingle. Just when I was going to kick I lost some momentum with someone on my inside and came up a bit too short in the end. I’m a bit disappointed as I felt that I lost the first place today and didn’t win the second place. I wanted to repay the team for all the work they did today, and to keep the momentum going after the Giro win yesterday; that also gave us motivation here. I’m sure we’re strong enough to win a stage here this week so we’ll keep racing like this."
Team Picnic PostNL coach Melvin Rulliere added: “The goal of the day was to sprint with Tobias. We took our responsibility as a team and we rode all day on the front. The breakaway was very strong and it was not simple to catch them. The guys stayed united and Tobias was ready to sprint for it in the finale. In the last straight line he was little bit blocked and couldn’t deliver a full sprint, but took a nice second place. The team spirit was again really good today and we will keep fighting for a victory here.”
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