Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, April 3, 2026
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Current racing:
- April 3: Classic Adélie de Vitré
Upcoming racing:
- April 4: GP Miguel Indurain
- April 4: NXT Classic
- April 5: Ronde van Vlaanderen
- April 6 - 11: Itzulia Basque Country (Tour of the Basque Country)
Latest completed racing:
- April 1: Dwars door Vlaanderen
- March 31: Paris-Camembert
- March 23 - 29: Volta a Catalunya
- March 25 - 29: Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali
- March 29: Gent-Wevelgem
- March 29: La Roue Tourangelle
- March 28: Classic Loire Atlantique
- March 27: E3 Saxo Classic
- March 25: Ronde Van Brugge - Tour of Bruges
- March 21: Milano-Sanremo
- March 20: Bredene Koksijde Classic
Here’s the post from Bilbao’s Team Bahrain Victorious:
Pello Bilbao headlines Bahrain Victorious on home roads as the team lines up for GP Indurain and Itzulia Basque Country, targeting a strong week of racing in front of his local fans.
Racing begins with GP Indurain on April 4, providing an important lead-in to the six-day Itzulia Basque Country, which gets underway on April 6. Both races hold particular significance for the team, with Bilbao leading the charge on familiar terrain.
Pello Bilbao finishes stage 7 of the 2025 Tour of Poland. Sirotti photo
Now in its 35th edition, GP Indurain covers 205 kilometres with 3,714 metres of elevation, starting and finishing in Estella-Lizarra. Named in honour of the legendary Miguel Indurain, the race is known for its demanding profile, with the decisive action typically unfolding in the final 60 kilometres. A sequence of climbs, beginning with the category 1 Alto de Guirguillano, sets the stage for an aggressive finale where the strongest riders emerge.
Bilbao, alongside Jakob Omrzel, will be looking to take advantage of a course that suits their characteristics and fight for a strong result.
The line-up remains largely consistent across both races, with Jakob Omrzel only set to feature in GP Indurain, while Rainer Kepplinger comes into the team for Itzulia Basque Country.
Supporting Bilbao across both races are Oliver Stockwell, Antonio Tiberi, Attila Valter, Alberto Bruttomesso and Roman Ermakov.
On April 6, the team will line up for the six-stage Itzulia Basque Country, now in its 65th edition. A demanding route awaits the riders, beginning with a 13.9km individual time trial.
Across the six days, the peloton will cover 810.1 kilometres from Bilbao to Bergara, tackling a total of 16,404 metres of climbing. While each stage presents its own challenges, stage 5, the queen stage, will be decisive in Eibar, with 4,079 metres of elevation and three category 1 climbs, likely proving pivotal in the general classification.
The team will be focused on setting Bilbao up for the best possible result in the overall standings. The 36-year-old Basque rider continues to carry ambitions of a podium result in his home race, bringing experience and local knowledge to a demanding parcours that is expected to suit his strengths: “After Tirreno, everything has gone really smoothly. I’m especially happy with the last sessions, both in terms of numbers and how I’ve been feeling. It gives me confidence that I’ll be in the right place at the right moment.
"Speaking about Itzulia, for me these are maybe the most important races of the calendar on an emotional level. Racing at home is always something special. Of course, we have bigger races like the Tour de France and the big Classics, but nothing compares to competing where cycling means so much to the people. It’s the greatest feeling I can have as a rider. Coming to the latter stages of my career, this race means even more to me.
"This year’s race will be particularly special for me. Looking at the parcours, almost every stage is within 80 kilometres of my home, with three stages in Biscay, in my own area. I know these roads by heart, almost with my eyes closed. At the same time, I believe this is one of the hardest editions of Itzulia I’ve raced – a time trial and five demanding medium mountain stages, with no real opportunities to recover and no sprint stages.
"My goal is to focus on the overall classification. It’s something I’ve chased every year – to reach the podium in my home race. Even at 36, I still believe I can fight for it. I will give everything to achieve that. And even if I don’t reach the podium, I’ll be satisfied if I arrive in top condition, fight for stages, and give something special back to the Basque fans.
"I’m really looking forward to this year’s Itzulia.”
Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj added: ”For GP Indurain, we have Pello and Jakob, and we are looking for a strong result. We know they are both capable and we hope to fight for a top five.
"For Itzulia, our focus turns to Pello. He is racing on home roads and knows them better than anyone. We know he has the potential to deliver a strong general classification result, and he is highly motivated.”
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Here’s the team’s news:
One of the hardest races of the season, a 278.2km sufferfest, the Ronde van Vlaanderen is back this Sunday with its 110th edition, which starts in Antwerp and finishes in Oudenaarde. The course packs 16 climbs, all of them coming in the second half of the day, and positioning will be key there.
Since the course was changed 14 years ago, Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg have become the defining combo of the race and the last two hurdles that those vying for a good result will have to overcome. But these aren’t the only difficulties of this relentless course, which will feature some of Flanders’ most iconic climbs, including Molenberg, Taaienberg, and Koppenberg (with its insane 22% gradients), which can play a crucial role in the way things will look in Oudenaarde, after six hours of racing.
A top ten finisher at De Ronde three times, Jasper Stuyven will start a cobbled Monument for the 22nd time in his career this weekend. The Belgian has had a solid Classics campaign so far, coming home seventh in Milano-Sanremo and tenth at In Flanders Fields, and will be keen to show his good form also here. Jasper will be joined by Dylan van Baarle, runner-up at the race in 2022, Paul Magnier, Pepijn Reinderink, Fabio Van den Bossche, Dries Van Gestel, and neo-pro Jonathan Vervenne, who will make his debut in a Monument.
Jasper Stuyven in stage 18 of the 2024 Tour de France.
Flanders is never an easy race, and this year could be even more difficult, as they predict a lot of wind, especially headwind, that can change things a lot.
“We will see how it goes and what we can achieve on Sunday, but we are confident we can do a good race. Dylan and Jasper will lead the team and can rely on a strong supporting cast. We also have several young guys, like Jonathan, who has shown since the start of the year he is made for these races and deserves to be on the squad, Paul – who can also gain more experience, which should be of great help in the years to come – but also Pepijn, who rode incredibly in Harelbeke and Waregem and could show himself again in a breakaway”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.
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Here’s the team’s post:
Team Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco head into this weekend’s Tour of Flanders with confidence after some strong results at the cobbled Classics this spring.
Letizia Paternoster will be lining up at her fourth “De Ronde” this weekend for Liv AlUla Jayco having finished in the top 10 on her second attempt and coming close again last season. The Italian has had a solid 2026 spring campaign, notching up top-10 results a the recent In Flanders Fields – In Wevelgem and at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Australian national champion, and Vuelta Extremadura winner, Mackenzie Coupland will make her Tour of Flanders debut, while Swedish rider Caroline Andersson is set to ride her second. Quinty Ton, Ruby Roseman-Gannon, and road captain Jeanne Korevaar will complete the strong line-up.
Liv AlUla Jayco for Tour of Flanders:
Caroline Andersson (SWE)
Mackenzie Coupland (AUS)
Jeanne Korevaar (NED)
Letizia Paternoster (ITA)
Ruby Roseman-Gannon (AUS)
Quinty Ton (NED)
Letizia Paternoster:
“Flanders is one of my favourite races, 100 percent. I really love this race, since the first time I did it. I have done three editions of the Tour of Flanders, and I have had some really good results there. In my second one, I was in the top 10 and then in my last one I was also really close. I know this course well and I think that it really suits me and it is my big dream to be on the podium of Flanders.”
For Team Jayco AlUla, Bob Donaldson arrives at the second Monument of the season off the back of a breakthrough top-five finish at In Flanders Fields. He and the rest of the team will be hoping to build on that performance this weekend.
There is plenty of experience in the line-up with 41 appearances across the whole squad. Luke Durbridge is set to make his 11th Tour of Flanders start while Jasha Sütterlin will ride his 10th. Adding to the vast wealth of knowledge are Dries De Bondt, Luka Mezgec, Kell O’Brien, and Dries De Pooter.
Luke Durbridge having a good day at the 2025 Australian road championships.
Team Jayco AlUla for Tour of Flanders
Dries De Bondt (BEL)
Dries De Pooter (BEL)
Bob Donaldson (GBR)
Luka Mezgec (SLO)
Kell O’Brien (AUS)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Jasha Sütterlin (GER)
Bob Donaldson:
“The result in In Flanders Field gave me a massive boost in confidence. These races are so hard and the level is so high, so many riders are at such a similarly high level that to do a good result is extremely difficult. To get a result like that gives you confidence that you belong in the bunch and the team as a whole can get a result. You don’t have to be the strongest in the bunch to get a good result. If you can ride smart then you can do really well. I’m really looking forward to Flanders, I love racing in Belgium. Doing a result here, gives me confidence in the future that it can pay off being invested in Belgium.”
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Here the update from Faulkner’s EF Education–Oatly team:
The American champ recovered from shoulder injury and is set to race Tour of Flanders and the Ardennes.
It’s been seven months since Kristen Faulkner last raced with her teammates in Europe and she can’t wait to get back to it.
The reigning American champ will start her season this Sunday at the Tour of Flanders, a race she knows and loves. She began the year by heading to South America for the Pan American Games where she earned gold medals on the track in the team pursuit and the individual pursuit, before becoming the Pan American road race champion. Kristen sat down to talk about the injury that ended her 2025 season, what she’s been up to in the meantime, and why she thinks this might be her best season yet.
Kristen Faulkner racing the 2023 Strade Bianche.
Your 2025 season ended in August due to injury. Can you tell us more about what happened?
I tore my labrum at the Tour de France so my offseason started early with shoulder surgery and I was off the bike for at least two months. My shoulder is healed now which is good. The surgery went well. My shoulder is back to normal which is great. No complications.
With such a long offseason, how did you spend it?
I spent my offseason in California. After having the shoulder surgery, when I started riding again, I just wanted to fall back in love with riding. For me, every offseason is just about enjoying my time on the bike because I know the season is so intense. I did two coast rides down California: from San Francisco to Santa Barbara and from San Francisco to LA. Those were amazing, so much fun. I went with a group of friends. Some days we rode over eight hours and that was really, really fun.
I spent a lot of time in San Francisco. I really love the city because a lot of my friends are there and my former colleagues are there. There’s also a technology boom happening in San Francisco and I love being at the intersection of that with everything that’s going on.
I fell in love with old hobbies again. I studied computer science so I started building apps with AI on my computer. It was so nice to get back into old hobbies that had fallen by the wayside since I started professionally cycling. My offseason was productive and mentally refreshing.
This offseason must have been a big change from your last offseason when you had just come off of winning two Olympic gold medals.
After the Olympics, everything was so busy and I didn’t take a proper offseason because I was doing a lot of speaking and media events. The adrenaline was high. I was traveling a lot. I feel like I went into 2025 a bit burnt out even before the season even started. It was my worst year of racing in Europe. It’s the only year I didn’t win a race in Europe. So this offseason was the break that I needed all along. The shoulder surgery and having to take time off, at first I was pretty devastated but it ended up being such a blessing in disguise. I feel super rejuvenated now. It was really frustrating to not be able to do so many things. I had my arm in a sling so I couldn’t type, I couldn’t bike, I couldn’t do a lot of things. I was on the trainer for the first month back and it was so nice and sunny out, so it was hard to be stuck inside. But I was able to make lemonade out of lemons and make the most out of my offseason when I couldn’t bike. I also did a lot of running so it was really nice to be able to crosstrain.
You raced the Pan American Track Cycling Championships as well as the Pan American Continental Championships. What were those races like?
It was my first time back on the track since the Olympics. It was really nice to be back on the track because I do love track and my best season on the road was the year I did track. It really helps me with my explosivity and it helps my time trialing so I feel like it’s going to be really good for my road season to have done this. Before the Olympics, every track session was a try out. It was so intense and to have been able to just get back on the track and to get to improve without the pressure was really nice. I’m really happy. One of my goals for the next few years in the time trial is to race it in the LA Olympics. Doing Pan-Ams was helpful for that. I raced the team pursuit and it was my first time racing the individual pursuit and that ability may transfer to racing a road prologue.
Then on the road, the Pan-Ams time trial was great because I won that in 2023 which was my first time doing Pan-Ams so to be able to come back and race it again and take the win again was really nice. It also gives me a lot of renewed focus. After the Olympics, I felt like I didn’t really know what my next goals were. The Olympics had been my goal for so many years and so in 2025 I think I was a little lost. I didn’t know what I was working toward. So to be able to feel like now I can focus again on the time trial is really motivating. It’s helpful to have a renewed goal.
You mentioned that the Olympics had been a big goal. What are your goals now?
I would like to win a stage at the Tour de France. My goal over the next two years is to wear the yellow jersey at some point, to win a Tour stage, I’d like to win some more time trials, and I’d like to get on the podium at Worlds in the time trial. I’ve won a stage at the Giro and the Vuelta so winning a stage at the Tour would round that out nicely. Those are my two primary goals: to win a stage at the Tour and to get on the podium in the time trial at Worlds.
Did you get to explore much in Colombia when you were there for the Continental Championships?
I’d never been to Colombia before. I’d heard it was sort of the cycling capital of South America and I knew it was a big cycling destination so I’d always wanted to go. The people were so friendly, so welcoming. We’d be riding on the road and there’d be cars honking at us. At first I thought they were annoyed by us as cyclists but then they’d roll down their windows and cheer for us, “Go, go, go!” I felt super supported. One day I got coffee in a cafe and I got to chatting with the barista and mentioned that I wanted to explore the city. She said her husband was a taxi driver so he showed us around the city. It was so nice there.
You’re about to start your European racing season with the Tour of Flanders. Was this always the plan?
With my shoulder surgery, the team didn’t know how my shoulder would feel. It can be a long recovery so the team didn’t initially put me in any cobbled classics and the plan was for me to come to Europe and start with the Ardennes. I could tell my fitness was really good from my training and my performance at the Pan-Ams. I told our DS Carmen I was coming back to Europe and she said, “If your fitness is good, why don’t we use it? Do you want to come to Flanders?” My first thought was, “Wow, that’s a fast turnaround!” but I think it will be good to get back into road racing before the Ardennes and just get to spend time with the team. I really miss my teammates. And of course I love Flanders. It’s such a fun race. It has a lot of the same course elements every year so there’s a familiarity to it. I’ll be in a support role because I'm a last minute call up but it’s the kind of race I can jump into and know what to do.
We have some really strong classics riders on our team. We saw that Noemi is in really good shape at Sanremo Women but I also think we have strong classics riders that can sneak their way to the front. They might not be on the radar in the same way that Longo Borghini and Vollering and Niewiadoma are, but I think that gives us an opportunity to be there while being a little sneaky about it. If we can play our cards well and be really smart, then we can surprise the field.
What other upcoming races are on your calendar?
I’m doing the Ardennes. I’ve done those races almost every year. I really enjoy them. They’re really punchy. It’s a similar group of riders to the grand tours and I’m planning to do all three grand tours this summer so this spring is a good chance to ride with my teammates and get used to them and practice communicating. Racing is 50 percent about the race and 50 percent how you and your teammates blend together so having the chance to do that will be good. We really work well together and I’m excited to see how we can play these races.
What are you most looking forward to about racing this season?
I’ve really missed my teammates. I’ve missed racing but even more than that, I really miss my teammates. They’re some of my best friends. I’m really excited to get back and be with my teammates again.