Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, October 21, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. - Maya Angelou

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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2019: A Year of New Faces is available in both Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• October 26: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross

Latest completed racing:

• October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
• October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland
• October 19: Veneto Classic
• October 19: Japan Cup
• October 19: Chrono des Nations
• October 15: Giro del Veneto
• October 12: Paris-Tours
• October 11: Il Lombardia
• October 9: Gran Piemonte
• October 7: Binche-Chimay-Binche
• October 7: Tre Valli Varesine

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More Sunday, October 19 race reports

With five races on Sunday, I didn't have time to post all the reports the teams posted. So here are the rest of them:

Team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe posted this Tour of Holland final report:

A Dutchman doesn't get many chances to present himself in front of his home crowd and then win. But Danny did it. The 32-year-old from Moergestel won the final stage over 158 kilometres around Arnhem. But not in a bunch sprint, as one might expect from Danny, but as a breakaway.

Eleven kilometres before the finish, Danny took a risky step that paid off. The existing three-man leading group was only a handful of seconds ahead of the peloton when he attacked and jumped to the front. The Dutch champion's fresh energy gave the group a new lease of life. The gap grew again, and the peloton lacked a strong team to chase down the breakaway. The quartet held on to a few seconds' lead to the finish line, where Danny once again impressively showed off his sprinter's legs in his last race of the season, which also earned him the bonus of victory in the points classification.

Danny van Poppel wins Tour of Holland stage five.

Danny should get creative in the final
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe had already been riding actively throughout the day. Rookie Theodor August Clemmensen was part of the first breakaway group of the day. When it was caught, Jan Tratnik set off on a solo attack. The second rookie in the team, Romet Pajur, had saved his energy for a lead-out for Danny. Jonas Koch, the fifth starter, did not finish the fourth stage.

Danny van Poppel: "This is amazing, I still can't believe it. When I win, it's usually in a bunch sprint. But today it was such a crazy move. But anyway, a win is a win. The four of us at the front formed a really strong group. Still, I was really exhausted when we reached the finish line. Luckily, there was that little descent shortly before where I was able to recover. I had already considered joining Jan's attack, but then decided against it. But I had to come up with something if I still wanted to win, because Tim Merlier had such a strong team here and it would have been really difficult to beat him."

DS Christian Pömer: "We tried to create a last-dance atmosphere within the team, because it was the last race day of the year for the group. The idea from the outset was to always be one step ahead of the other teams. Theo was then tasked with being in the first leading group. He was involved in every move and did a fantastic job. That gave us the chance to ride relaxed at the back. When the group was then caught, Jan had the same goal. In the final, a group had gone without us. But then, with two laps to go, we noticed that the sprinter teams were struggling to close the gap again. That's why I told Danny to be creative in the final. When things got tight, we were about to join in the chase, but Danny realised that it was a good time to be creative. The final was exciting cycling. Before that, it was great teamwork."

Here's Team Intermarché-Wanty's Sunday race report:

This Sunday 19th of October marked the final race day of the 2025 season for Intermarché-Wanty, with the team competing on three fronts: in China in the Tour of Guangxi, in Japan in the Japan Cup, and in the Netherlands in the inaugural Tour of Holland.

At the conclusion of the final World Tour event of the season in Guangxi, the Walloon team came away with three top 10 finishes in the sprints by Arne Marit and a seventh place overall for Kamiel Bonneu, his first top result in a stage race at the highest level.

On the home soil of partner NIPPO, Luca Van Boven produced an impressive solo effort of 20 kilometers in the Japan Cup, finishing 16th and receiving the KOM jersey presented by Yoshikazu Yoshikawa, president of the NIPPO Group.

The start of the Japan Cup road race.

Finally, Huub Artz came close to victory on the sixth and final stage of the Tour of Holland, finishing second in the streets of Arnhem behind Danny Van Poppel after spending the day in the breakaway. In addition to his podium finish, he also earned the Most Combative Rider jersey.

“We were all expecting a bunch sprint today, but after a few laps, I noticed that the sprint teams were struggling to control all the attacks. I saw that there was an interesting section after the finish where damage in the peloton could be made, especially if you kept pushing at the top. So I decided to go all in today and keep attacking, and see what would happen. Fortunately, a few other riders thought the same. With Alec Segaert and Cameron Rogers, we had a strong group, and in the end, also with Danny van Poppel. Without him, we wouldn’t have made it. I can live with someone like him beating me in the sprint.

"Only after the finish line did I realize how close it had been with the peloton, because we were quickly overruled. It’s taken some time, but I’m reaping the rewards of completing my first Grand Tour in the Vuelta. It’s a great way to finish my first year as a pro. The season didn’t start perfectly, but I’ve managed to develop myself as a GC rider in smaller stage races and get my time-trialing on point. That gives me a lot of confidence for the future.” - Huub Artz

Team Polti-VisitMalta posted this Sunday race report:

Between walls, cobblestones and gravel, Team Polti VisitMalta wrapped up its season with Mattia Gaffuri in the spotlight for 120 kilometres as part of the 19-man breakaway that animated the Veneto Classic, and Davide Piganzoli finishing 15th within the main peloton.

The winner was one of the escapees (the Norwegian Loland) but the structure led by Ivan Basso and the Contador brothers confirmed its status as a benchmark for Italian cycling. According to calculations made in compliance with the regulations — pending official confirmation from the Lega Ciclismo Professionistico — the squad appears to have secured first place in 3 out of 5 categories of the Coppa Italia delle Regioni: the young riders’ classification (with Piganzoli), the KOM classification (with Mattia Bais) and the team classification, after a tight battle with VF Group Bardiani CSF Faizanè.

Sakarias Koller Løland wins the Veneto Classic. Sirotti photo

Sports Director Jesús Hernández: “We’re pleased with this performance, which adds to our position as the top Italian UCI team for 2025. This makes us proud, along with our six victories and numerous placings throughout the season. We’re also proud of the path taken with Piga, who remained serious and professional until the very end. We wish him all the best in his World Tour adventure, and we thank all our riders for this good season.”

Meanwhile, Mirco Maestri (19th in a hilly final stage won by Van Poppel) was the best Polti VisitMalta finisher at the Tour of Holland, which was won overall by Laporte. Sports Director Giovanni Ellena: “The guys were present from start to finish; they just couldn’t contest the last sprints due to fatigue and, above all, some health issues. Well done to everyone — see you next year!”

And here's the Sunday race report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

The 2025 cycling season is now definitively over for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team. But it was with one last adrenaline rush that this chapter closed on Sunday on the Veneto Classic. Part of the day’s breakaway, which was never caught by the favourites, Lorenzo Germani fought for victory until the final moments, and even found himself alone in the lead for a few minutes after the day’s final climb. However, the young Italian rider was not rewarded for his efforts and finished just off the podium, on a day that still held great promise for next year.

Following on from the Tour of Guangxi, but also the Chrono des Nations, in which Stefan Küng and Rémi Cavagna took third and fourth places, the Veneto Classic concluded the 2025 season for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team on Sunday. Unlike the Giro del Veneto, this race kept its usual route, with a circuit around Bassano del Grappa including the cobbled climb of La Tisa (400m at 11%), then a final loop including the gravel climb of Diesel Farm (1.2 km at 10%) and the Strada Soarda’s hill (400m at 9%) four kilometres from the finish.

On such terrain, Romain Grégoire surely had real ambitions, but the race scenario proved more open than usual and nearly twenty riders broke away after a big fight at the start. “It was a hell of a race,” commented Stéphane Goubert. “It was the end of the season, some teams didn’t want to take control of the race, and that led to this scenario. We had Lorenzo in front. Out of twenty riders, it wasn’t ideal, but we had to deal with that. We started pulling behind for Romain, which kept hope alive while we waited to see what the other teams would do, and Lorenzo was able to make the minimum effort up front. Sometimes you have to use the presence of a leader to play tactically.”

The gap never went over the three-minute mark, but the race opened up again nearly 100 kilometres from the finish line with Pavel Sivakov’s attack. The riders then started the La Tisa circuit, which had to be covered four times. The Frenchman was caught, but with 40 kilometres to go, the breakaway still had a lead of over two minutes. The favorites then launched the big fight in the peloton, Romain Grégoire was up there, but the cooperation within this chasing group quickly proved imperfect. Conversely, the breakaway maintained a good collaboration while losing a few riders.

Team Groupama-FDJ before the start of the Veneto Classic. Sirotti photo

“I wasn’t feeling great, so I often asked about the gap to the peloton to know what I should do,” said Lorenzo, who was nevertheless among the eleven survivors of the breakaway starting the final time over the cobbled climb of La Tisa, about twenty kilometres from the finish. After this climb, it became clear that the favorites would not be able to come back, and that victory would therefore be decided between the early fugitives.

Slightly distanced after the last cobbled climb, Lorenzo Germani still managed to come back before heading towards the gravel climb of Diesel Farm. “I was struggling a bit on the cobblestones, but on the gravel path, I took my own pace from the bottom and was able to go over it in the front,” said the Italian, who was then leading the race alongside Diego Ulissi, Florian Vermeersch, Davide De Pretto and Sakarias Koller Loland. “I then told myself that I would leave it all on the road in the final steep climb because I knew I should avoid the sprint,” added Lorenzo. “I created a small gap at the top, which I maintained on the downhill. Unfortunately, instead of looking at each other, they chose to work together.”

After his strong attack, the young Italian found himself alone entering the last four kilometers, but he was unable to stay away from Vermeersch and Loland, being caught shortly before the last two kilometers. Just after the flamme rouge, Diego Ulissi also bridged across.

In a technical and slightly uphill final, the Groupama-FDJ rider then couldn’t compete with his rivals, having to settle for a frustrating fourth place. “I had nothing left to make a decent sprint,” he confessed. “That said, I didn’t expect to fight for victory today. It was hard from start to finish, and right up until the final, I didn’t really know if I was feeling good. I think this is the type of race that suits me. It was a bit of an attrition race, and I was still there in the final. I’ll remember this race, unfortunately in a way, because I’m also aware that I was very close from my first pro victory.”

“Lorenzo went all in, and it was better to do that than wait for the sprint,” Stéphane concluded. “If Ulissi had come back on the two chasers, it’s almost certain that they would have looked at each other and Lorenzo would have won. He came close, but I especially liked his mindset. It was a great performance to end the season.”

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