Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Upcoming racing:
- October 9: Gran Piemonte
- October 11: Il Lombardia
- October 12: Paris-Tours
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland
- October 15: Giro del Veneto
- October 19: Veneto Classic
Latest completed racing:
- October 7: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- October 7: Tre Valli Varesine
- October 6: Coppa Bernocchi
- September 28 - October 5: Tour de Langkawi
- October 5: Coppa Agostoni
- October 4: Giro dell'Emilia
- October 3: Mûnsterland Giro
- September 21 - 28: World Cycling Championships
- September 17 - 21: Tour de Luxembourg
- September 20: Super 8 Classic
- September 19: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- September 17: GP de Wallonie
- August 23 - September 14: Vuelta a España
- September 14: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
- September 14: GP de Fourmies
- September 14: Trofeo Matteotti
We posted the report from winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates with the results.
Here's the report from second-place Albert Withen Philipsen's Team Lidl-Trek:
At just 19 years old, Albert Withen Philipsen’s second-place finish at today’s Tre Valli Varesine was nothing short of spectacular. Fresh off a top 10 result at Giro dell’Emila, it’s clear he’s not just a future contender, he’s making his mark now. The day saw a fast pace from the start, with several attacks going early and the peloton stretched thin on the punchy climbs around Varese.
Quinn Simmons was first to try his hand when it got to the pointy end of racing, going clear from the peloton and forcing the other teams to chase – hard! Quinn picked up the KOM prize for his efforts and was only reeled back inside 20km to go. Albert stayed calm and with the help of his teammates, positioned himself well throughout. As the race entered its finale, the attacks ramped up and the current World champion, Tadej Pogacar, got a gap and wouldn’t be seen again.
Quinn Simmons at the start. Sirotti photo
In the final kilometers, the pace was brutal but both Albert and Toms (Skujins) marked the key moves and got ready for a reduced bunch sprint. Toms delivered a textbook lead-out for Albert who opened early and hung on for a fantastic second place while Toms crossed the line in sixth.
From Albert..
"It was a really hard day. I didn't feel too good in the early part of the race with some fatigue from yesterday's Coppa Bernocchi but after a couple of hours, the legs started to feel better and I could slowly get into the race. The team did really good today at keeping us well positioned in front and we rode great together so it was a super nice experience. We wanted to race aggressively when we got closer to the end and Quinn was really strong today and unfortunately his move didn't get to the finish line but myself and Toms tried to keep the pace going when we caught up to his group. I didn't expect this result so I'm super happy with the performance."
Here's the report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Tre Valli Varesine was our team’s penultimate outing of the year in a one-day race, and the Wolfpack did their best again and came close to a top ten finish with Gianmarco Garofoli. Taking place between Busto Arsizio – the town nicknamed “Italy’s Manchester” in the 19th century thanks to its booming industry – and Varese, the host of the 2008 World Championships.
Two dozen climbs were on the menu of the race created back in 1919, and it came as no surprise that this selective course led to countless attacks, but it was only inside the final 25 kilometers that the main moves of the day came and the victory emerged. An attack of Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) on the descent saw the World Champion open a small gap which he quickly took to almost a minute, leaving everyone else to fight for the minor places on the podium.
The peloton arrives in the finish town of Varese. Sirotti photo
Behind, the peloton caught the chasers, but another group soon formed, and Soudal Quick-Step’s Gianmarco Garofoli was there. Top ten at the European Championships last weekend, the Italian was a strong presence there, taking some impressive pulls but still keeping something for the finale. Unfortunately, on the finishing straight, just as he was preparing to open his sprint, he was a bit boxed in and concluded outside the top ten this last race of the Trittico Lombardo.
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Here's the Tre Valli Varesine report from Team Polti-VisitMalta:
Mattia Bais was in a break ahead of the main group for more than 100 kilometers at Tre Valli Varesine, the closing race of the Lombard Triptych, and gave Team Polti VisitMalta a spotlight in a very special race for the team. A five-rider breakaway held around a three-minute gap advantage on the Montello circuit, until the favorites accelerated behind.
The team remained alert, although despite trying to anticipate the sprint, Crescioli couldn’t get into the top 10 at the finish line. It’s now time to rest with the next objective this Thursday in Il Gran Piemonte.
The field sprint, won by Lidl-Trek's Albert Withen Philipsen. Sirotti photo
Mattia Bais: “The goal was to be in the breakaway, and the five riders in front worked well together. They chased us down very quickly in the final stretch, Bernal arrived, and we couldn’t continue the adventure. Happy with the result and looking forward to more!”
Stefano Zanatta, sport director: “Mattia’s long breakaway gave us a leading role in the race, and it’s also very good news to see four riders from the team finishing in the group that fought for the podium, although we couldn’t be at the front in the final sprint”.
Here's the Tre Valli Varesine report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
A few days before Il Lombardia, the grand finale of the season for many riders, Groupama-FDJ had high expectations for the 3 Valli Varesine this Tuesday, facing more or less similar competition. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Valentin Madouas and Rudy Molard in the final, the top 10 was decided in a reduced bunch sprint, in which Brieuc Rolland claimed fourteenth place.
A year after it was interrupted and cancelled due to weather conditions, the 3 Valli Varesine was set to take place under bright sunshine this Tuesday in Lombardy, where the traditional route was on the menu. The peloton therefore had to complete eight laps of a circuit including the double ascent of the Salita dei Ronchi (1.9 km at 5.3%) and Montello (2 km at 5%), then two longer loops which, in addition to these same difficulties, also included the climb to Barasso and its ramps approaching 10%.
The day's relentless profile.
In total, more than 3,000 metres of elevation gain were to be covered over the 200 kilometres on the program, suggesting a proper fight between the strongest men. In the first part of the race, five men formed the breakaway, and Enzo Paleni briefly tried to join them at mid-race, shortly before other teams tried to anticipate the final battle, and the expected attack from Tadej Pogacar. With more than eighty kilometres to go, the counterattacks started in the peloton, and in the first of the two long laps, a few outsiders even made a few accelerations.
Although the peloton was already reduced by half starting the final lap, with thirty-five kilometres to go, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team still had almost all of its riders up there. However, when the fight resumed in a more intense way, on the Montello climb, Benoît Vaugrenard’s protégés were unable to keep up with the acceleration of Isaac Del Toro and Tadej Pogacar. A few kilometres later, the world and European champion took off for another solo raid.
“That’s more or less the scenario we expected,” Benoît said. “We knew winning would be difficult, we have to be realistic, but we also knew it was possible to fight for the top 10, with our goal being a top five.” It was with this in mind that Valentin Madouas attempted to break away from the peloton on the Barasso climb. However, he just missed about ten meters to catch a chasing group that included Tom Pidcock, Primoz Roglic, and Isaac Del Toro.
While the leading rider was untroubled in the closing kilometres, the peloton managed to join the chasing group, which meant the battle for the “remaining places” were open again at the bottom of the final “Salita dei Ronchi.” “Rudy was strong because he was behind a split at the foot of the climb, he came back alone, then attacked,” Benoît said.
However, the French puncher was unable to really go clear against a group of around thirty men, who then sprinted forty-six seconds behind Pogacar. Brieuc Rolland (14th) and Rudy Molard (16th) narrowly missed out on the top 10, while Clément Braz Afonso (26th) also finished in this group. “It’s frustrating because the team was doing well, but we didn’t get the result we wanted,” concluded Benoît. “There were still a lot of guys in the final, and we missed a little something in terms of strategy and communication. We can regret the split after the last descent. They made efforts that they probably lacked for the top 10. It’s a pity.”
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And here's the Tre Valli Varesine report from Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
It was a solid day out in the break for the Grenadiers at Tre Valli Varesine, with Egan Bernal and AJ August taking the race on in Italy.
AJ August was in a break with four others straight from the start of the 200km race, but was caught with 80km to go.
Egan Bernal counterattacked, staying away with breakaway rider Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar). Quinn Simmonds (Lidl-Trek) soon bridged over, with the three working well together.
Egan Bernal at the 2024 Tour of Switzerland. Sirotti photo
From the peloton, Victor Lafay (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) attacked, going clear inside the final 30km. He was joined by Tadej Pogacar, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), and Afonso Eualio (Bahrain - Victorious).
The four bridged over to the front group with 24km to go, before Pogacar went clear solo, and eventually took the win.
“I felt good, it was a ‘cat and mouse’ circuit. I was waiting and waiting, but there were not many attacks and I decided to try myself. I had a teammate on the front and I never intended to go on my own. I looked back, nobody came, and I thought, I can’t stop now. When I found myself alone at the front, I knew I couldn’t back down. I had to see where it would take me.” – Egan Bernal
We posted the report from second-place Nils Eekhoff's Team Picnic-PostNL with the results.
Here's the report from third-place Christophe Laporte's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Christophe Laporte claimed third place at Binche–Chimay–Binche. The Frenchman sprinted for victory on the cobbles in the Belgian town but had to settle for a spot behind winner Jordi Meeus and Nils Eekhoff. For Laporte, it marked his first podium finish after a long spell away from racing.
Jordi Meeus wins in Binche.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike lined up with just five riders for the Walloon semi-classic. Jed Smithson (usually racing for the Development Team), Julien Vermote, Niklas Behrens, Victor Campenaerts and Laporte himself, however, had no intention of simply blending into the peloton.
No breakaway was ever given much room to breathe, thanks in part to the work of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Campenaerts, in particular, sacrificed himself in the final kilometres, pulling hard on the front to set up Laporte for the sprint. The Frenchman duly positioned himself well for the finale and showed strong legs in the dash to the line, but two riders proved just a touch faster.
“It was a really fast race”, said sports director Maarten Wynants afterwards. “It took nearly eighty kilometres before a breakaway could even form. We managed to anticipate things well by sending Victor and Niklas into some of the moves. At one point, we decided to fully commit to a sprint finish, and the team executed that plan perfectly. Christophe picked a good wheel in the finale but lost contact for just a moment — and with it, a bit of momentum. Third place is a solid result, though with a little more luck we might have achieved even more. All in all, it was a good day for us.”
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Here's the team's announcement:
After seven unforgettable years together, 2025 will mark the final season of EF Pro Cycling and Rapha’s partnership.
Always vibrant, the signature pink kits with bold patterns and progressive designs have stood out in the peloton and their launches have become the most highly anticipated of the year. They have included two disruptive Palace collaborations – first at the Giro d’Italia 2020 (with the infamous duck helmets) and second at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022, celebrating the return of the women’s race after more than 30 years.
An EF Pro Cycling kit in pink done by Rapha.
Disrupting the status quo since we first joined forces in 2019, the alternative racing program made the decision to move beyond traditional WorldTour events. By embracing alternative races like Unbound Gravel and Leadville Trail 100 MTB, as well as taking on bold challenges like the Alt Tour ridden by Lachlan Morton in 2021, we brought pro cycling closer to our fans.
Here’s the announcement from Vinokourov’s XDS Astana team:
Rider of the continental team XDS Astana Development Team, Alexandr Vinokurov Jr., has decided to end his cycling career. The Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia became the final race for the 23-year-old Kazakh rider, where Alexandr competed with XDS Astana Team and did a great amount of work for his teammates.
Alexandr missed most of the 2025 season due to a fractured right femoral neck, sustained during a training session in early March, ahead of a series of races in Greece.
“I can’t say that this decision came easily – over the past months, while recovering from the injury, I’ve been thinking a lot about what to do next. In recent years, I’ve had several unpleasant injuries that each time ruined all my plans and the work I’d put in to keep developing as a rider. This year, everything collapsed completely — the injury I sustained in Greece turned out to be very serious, and recovery took a long time. But I was sure about one thing – I didn’t want to end my career like that, lying in a hospital bed. I did everything possible to return to racing, to prepare for competitions and ride again both with my continental team and with the WorldTour team, as it happened now at the Tour de Langkawi.
"That was important for me, and I’m happy that my last race with XDS Astana Team turned out so successful: four stage wins and Nicolas finishing fourth overall, also taking the best Asian rider jersey. Now I can focus on other aspects of my life and think about the future. I would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported me – huge thanks to XDS Astana Development Team and the entire Astana project”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov Jr.
“Alex made this decision, and I respect it. He understood how difficult it is to stay competitive in modern cycling, especially when injuries keep coming back, and that’s why he decided to end his career. But he firmly decided that it would happen only after he got back on the bike following his injury. And Alex did exactly that — his final race was a great one. He helped his brother and teammates achieve the best possible result, and that’s fantastic! Now a new chapter of his life begins, and I sincerely wish him the best of luck”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of XDS Astana Team.
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary