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Saturday, May 17, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. - Jack London
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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 Juan Ayuso's UAE Team Emriates-XRG with the results.
Here's the report from third-place Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Egan Bernal sprinted to a superb third on stage seven of the Giro d’Italia after a fantastic team performance on the final climb.
Bernal was edged into third on the line after a thrilling battle on the summit finish at Tagliacozzo which was won by Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) after fantastic positioning form the Grenadiers gave the Colombian the platform to earn vital bonus seconds on the line.
Egan Bernal at the teams presentation ceremony before the start of this Giro. Sirotti phjoto
The 28 year old moves up to 14th overall, 43 seconds behind new race leader Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - Bora Hansgrohe) who finished fourth on the stage.
The early stages of the race saw the Grenadiers supporting and positioning Bernal and Thymen Arensman as Red Bull - Bora Hansgrohe set the tempo to catch a strong break.
With the time gap dwindling and the battle for position heating up as the peloton approached into the final climb, a fearsome 9.3 kilometre ascent with an average gradient of 9.1% towards the top, the Grenadiers came to the fore.
Kim Heiduk and Ben Turner led the team into the Tagliacozzo in pole position, with Josh Tarling and Lucas Hamilton then setting the tempo as the gradient increased.
Other teams fought to wrestle control, but the Grenadiers were able to react with Jonathan Castroviejo able to set a strong pace to deter attacks before a game of cat and mouse amongst the favourites.
Bernal was equal to a number of attacks, closing down two accelerations from Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) before Arensman returned to the front and paced a reduced GC group, setting up the former Giro d’Italia winner to launch an attack of his own and thin the group again.
The Grenadier was caught in the final kilometre and Ayuso timed his counter to perfection, escaping the favourites to take the stage win, while Bernal battled behind to finish third and move up on GC.
Simon Yates' Team Visma | Lease a Bike posted this Giro report:
Simon Yates crossed the line in 11th place during the first mountain stage of the Giro d’Italia. The Brit from Team Visma | Lease a Bike delivered a solid performance on the final climb to Tagliacozzo, moving up to ninth in the overall classification.
Many riders aimed to get into the day’s breakaway, but a few teams kept things tightly controlled. A group of seven escapees was never allowed more than a few minutes advantage.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike focused entirely on supporting Yates. Edoardo Affini, Dylan van Baarle, Olav Kooij, and Wout van Aert all worked for their leader in the early part of the stage, while Wilco Kelderman and Bart Lemmen delivered him to the base of the final steep section. There, Yates rode strongly to finish just a few seconds behind stage winner Juan Ayuso.
Simon Yates heads to the start of stage six. Sirotti phnoto
“There was quite a battle to get into the break at the start of the stage”, said sports director Marc Reef. “Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe quickly took control, so the breakaway never got much room. From then on, the race was mostly controlled. Our main goal was to protect Simon and position him well for the final climb. Bart and Wilco in particular played a key role in that. Simon looked solid. You never know exactly how the first real mountain stage will unfold, but we can be satisfied with what we saw today.”
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Gianmarco Garofoli’s Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this Giro report:
First summit finish of the Corsa Rosa took place in Abruzzo, in Tagliacozzo, and ended up changing the overall standings despite the gaps between the general classification riders not being big. But long before the pink jersey contenders crossed swords, the day belonged to a seven-man breakaway where our team was represented by Gianmarco Garofoli.
The 22-year-old, a native of the Marche region – where the peloton will arrive on Saturday –rode a great race in the breakaway, despite the bunch deciding to keep them on a leash and allow a maximum gap of just 3:30. One of the most combative riders in the group, Soudal Quick-Step’s Italian still had enough left in the legs at the start of the final climb to accelerate and make a selection, which left only four riders at the front.
68 kilometers into Giro stage seven.
Garofoli continued to dig deep even though he knew that the peloton was closing in with each meter, and remained up the road until five kilometers to go, when he was reeled in after an impressive 150 kilometers spent in the breakaway by a group from where Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) emerged victorious in the last 500 meters.
“I sensed there was a good opportunity to join the breakaway and went at the right moment. We believed in our chances, but the peloton controlled our gap the entire time, which made it clear it would be difficult for us to make it. Despite all this, I gave my best there and I’m content with my effort. It was a good day in the break and I am keen on trying again on Saturday, when we will be on the roads that I know so well”, said Gianmarco after the seventh stage.
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We posted the report from second-place Jake Stewart's Team Israel-Premier Tech with the results.
Here's the report from Lewis Askey's Team Groupama-FDJ:
The cobblestones of the North proved less selective than expected this Friday on the 4 Jours de Dunkerque. On the circuit of Famars, the peloton didn’t reduce that much over the numerous day’s sectors. Well-positioned in the final hour of racing, Lewis Askey and his teammates proved very attentive, and the British rider ultimately claimed fifth place on the day, a few meters behind Pierre Gautherat, who went away in the final kilometre. The Englishman sits in third place overall ahead of a decisive stage around Cassel on Saturday.
4 Jours de Dunkerque stage three gets started.
What would be a race in the North of France without a detour on the cobblestones? For the organizers of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, this option wasn’t conceivable. As a consequence, the third stage of the event included no less than 22 kilometres of cobblestones between Valenciennes and Famars this Friday, across a twenty-five-kilometre circuit to be covered six times. On such terrain, many riders obviously wanted to get a head start, which led to almost non-stop action. “There was racing all day long,” said Frédéric Guesdon. “The first sector was at kilometre 4, and the wind was ideal to make for a nervous race, in addition to the cobblestones. From km 0 to km 150, it was lively and there was never really any pause. We didn’t get bored at all”.
The Groupama-FDJ was also forced to get going quite early. “I messed up in the middle of the race and found myself behind a split,” explained Lewis Askey, second overall and wearing the white jersey. “The team did a really good job to bring me back. After this, I didn’t make the same mistake again, and the team took the front to stay out of trouble.” “We had to chase for almost a lap, but they made it right again, and kept the leading positions from then on,” confirmed Frédéric Guesdon.
Before the final two laps, Lewis Askey even followed a first attack by the leader, Axel Zingle. A three-man group then broke away, but the peloton came back at full speed on the penultimate time on the long sector of Maing. Entering the last lap, Groupama-FDJ still had four riders in the pack, but Eddy Le Huitouze was also able to make his comeback to pull with Johan Jacobs in the final fifteen kilometres.
A battle for positioning then took place before the final cobbled sector of the day, and Cyril Barthe, Lewis Askey, Thibaud Gruel, and Johan Jacobs were all able to tackle it in the leading positions. “We wanted to wait until the last sector to try something and see if we could make a small selection,” explained Frédéric. “In the end, it didn’t happen. They tried to accelerate a bit, but everyone was tired, and on the last lap, everyone tries to hold on! It wasn’t really possible to make a difference.” On the next short climb, Thibaud Gruel tried to jump in the slipstream of Italian champion Alberto Bettiol. “He had to make a strong effort because Bettiol came from behind,” said Frédéric. “He tried to keep up, he couldn’t, but we were in the mix.”
The peloton almost got back together with just two kilometres to go, but Pierre Gautherat immediately countered-attacked. “The race was so demanding that there was no one left to chase,” added Frédéric. “The sprint behind was also decided between those who still had the legs to make an effort.” Among them was yesterday’s winner, Lewis Askey. “The headwind certainly stopped the attacks in the final, but the plan was to sprint anyway,” said the Briton. “In the end, it’s a nice fifth place and no time lost. We’re still in the game for tomorrow.”
The Groupama-FDJ puncher sits in third place overall on Friday evening, four seconds off the leader. “Today, we were mainly worried about bad luck, because we knew Lewis wasn’t going to be dropped,” concluded Frédéric. “Tomorrow, the legs will speak. If he has them, we can hope for a good result. We’re going to fight to not have any regrets. It’s a circuit that looks like the one of the French championships won by Valentin. The finish is harder than usual, and we’ll have to see if the race opens up from far.”
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De Lie’s Team Lotto posted this:
The Belgian champion is back in the peloton. After several weeks away from racing, Arnaud De Lie (23) will line up this Sunday at Rund um Köln. "We’ll see what the results bring, but for now my main focus is to continue doing what I love."
Rund um Köln marks the first step in Arnaud De Lie’s return to the highest level. The last time he pinned on a race number was at Gent-Wevelgem, at the end of March. After that, in consultation with the team, he decided to take a step back to recharge both physically and mentally.
Arbaud De Lie earlier this year winning stage three of the Etoile de Bessèges.
“The past weeks and months haven’t been easy,” says Arnaud De Lie. “I had to rediscover the joy of riding my bike. I had prepared so well this winter, trained so hard in Spain, but it didn’t lead to the results I had hoped for. Taking a step back and resetting the course was the right decision. I’ve been training well again, and the coaches are happy with the work I’ve put in. We’ll see what the results bring, but for now my main focus is to continue doing what I love. I return with renewed motivation and hope to build a strong second part of my season, just like last year.”
Sporting manager Kurt Van de Wouwer underlines the importance of a calm and well-thought-out approach for De Lie’s comeback. “Rund um Köln was always part of his race program. It’s a good opportunity for Arnaud to return and find his rhythm again, without the pressure that comes with the spring classics. We’re confident that things will turn around for him, and as a team, we’ll do everything we can to support him.”
Also starting in Cologne for Lotto Cycling Team are Brent Van Moer, Milan Menten, Sebastien Grignard, Toon Aerts, Tars Poelvoorde, and Victor Vaneeckhoutte. For Toon Aerts, it will be his first race in Lotto colors.
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