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Saturday, August, 8, 2026

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Tour de France: 2019

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.

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Tour of Poland Stage five reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Jan Christen's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

Jan Christen returned UAE Team Emirates-XRG to winning ways at the Tour de Pologne, producing a superb late attack before prevailing in a thrilling uphill sprint to claim stage 5 after 218.9km of racing from Opole to Kocierz Resort.

Jan Christen wins Tour of Poland stage five. Sirotti photo

The second-longest stage of this year’s race proved to be one of its most demanding, featuring climbs including the Przegibek Pass before the uphill finish at Kocierz Resort, where the general classification contenders would come to the fore.

The day began on a subdued note for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with João Almeida unable to take the start as he continued to recover from injuries sustained in yesterday’s mass crash. The incident also forced the withdrawals of Sebastián Molano and Benoît Cosnefroy, though fortunately all three riders escaped without any serious injuries or long-term consequences.

Determined to respond, the Emirati squad rode aggressively throughout the decisive final kilometres. As the race reached the steep slopes of the finishing climb, Christen launched a powerful acceleration with 2.1 kilometres remaining, immediately distancing the select group of favourites.

Only Marco Brenner (Tudor Pro Cycling) was able to bridge back to the Swiss rider. The German caught Christen inside the final 400 metres and briefly edged ahead, but Christen refused to yield.

Showing impressive composure after a long solo effort, the 21-year-old came back alongside Brenner in the closing metres before producing one final acceleration to reclaim the lead and take a memorable victory on the line. Louis Barré (Visma | Lease a Bike) completed the podium in third.

The result marks another impressive victory for Christen – and his first at WorldTour level – whose aggressive racing style once again paid dividends on terrain perfectly suited to his explosive climbing abilities.

Christen: “It was a super hard stage. I didn’t feel good all day after the crash yesterday. With 40km to go so started to feel better and better and believe more and more. It’s my first WorldTour win and I couldn’t be happier. I had to stay calm at the end and pace my sprint well to beat Marco but I was confident it was possible. It’s a good boost for the team after what has been a tough week for us here in Poland with crashes. I wish the guys who had to withdraw all the best.”

Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike) retains the overall leader’s yellow jersey heading into the race’s decisive mountain stage.

With the Queen stage to Bukowina Tatrzańska still to come, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will look to build on Christen’s victory as the battle for the overall classification reaches its conclusion.

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Here's the Tour of Poland stage five report from GC leader Bart Lemmen's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Bart Lemmen remains in the lead of the Tour de Pologne after a tough fifth stage. The Dutch rider crossed the finish line in 11th place in the stage to Kocierz Resort, defending his position at the top of the general classification. Jan Christen took the stage victory after a strong finale.

After a long 218-kilometer stage, the race was decided in the final part of the day. The five-rider breakaway was caught heading into the finale, after which the GC contenders and climbers battled it out on the steep finishing climb.

Bart Lemmen finishes eleventh in stage five. Sirotti photo

On the final ascent to Kocierz Resort, with 1.5 kilometers at an average gradient of 11.5%, the strongest riders came to the front. Christen proved to be the strongest and secured the victory. Louis Barré rode a strong finale and finished third, but according to sports director Robert Wagner, there was room for more.

“Everything went almost exactly as we had discussed beforehand. We had a good day as a team. It is just a shame that Louis couldn’t win. He went into the final climb a little too far back, but then he rode an incredibly strong climb. He finished third in the end, but there was more there, and that is disappointing.”

Bart Lemmen and Wilco Kelderman finished 11th and 12th respectively. Thanks to his strong performance, Lemmen retains the leader’s jersey and heads into the final weekend of the Tour de Pologne as the race leader.

“The sixth stage will be a tough one. It’s not a long stage, but the profile makes it a very difficult circuit. We have multiple cards to play, and that’s how we’ll approach the finale,” Wagner said.

With Lemmen wearing the leader’s jersey, Team Visma | Lease a Bike enters the final weekend with confidence. The team has multiple options for the general classification and will do everything possible to defend its strong position. After the challenging final road stage, a time trial awaits on Sunday, where the final standings of the Tour de Pologne will be decided.


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Here's the Tour of Poland report from stage five fourth-place Axel Laurance's Team Netcompany INEOS:

Axel Laurance produced another impressive uphill finish to claim fourth place on stage five of the Tour de Pologne, continuing his consistent run of results in the WorldTour stage race.

The 218.9-kilometre stage from Opole to Kocierz Resort featured a demanding parcours, including two categorised climbs, and was animated from the opening kilometres by an early breakaway of four riders.

Axel Laurance finishes fourth. Sirotti photo

Netcompany INEOS remained attentive throughout the day, with Sam Welsford doing a huge shift at the front of the peloton. With 120km remaining, the racing became increasingly aggressive as attacks began to fly from the bunch.

The race situation changed again with 101km to go when three more riders bridged across to the leaders, creating a seven-rider group at the head of the race. The peloton continued to chase hard over the rolling terrain towards Kocierz Resort, gradually reducing the gap before the attackers were finally caught with just 4km remaining.

The steep uphill finish then set the stage for a dramatic finale. Inside the final 3km, Michal Kwiatkowski delivered a huge pull on the front of the peloton, driving the pace as the road kicked sharply upwards and positioning his teammates for the decisive moments.

Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates XRG) launched a powerful attack with 2km to go on the steepest section of the climb. Marco Brenner (Tudor Pro Cycling) managed to bring him back in the closing stages, but Christen still had enough left to sprint clear and take the stage victory.

Just five seconds behind the winner, Laurance produced a strong uphill sprint to secure fourth at the line, adding to yesterday's third place finish.

Paul Magnier's Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this Tour of Poland report:

Paul Magnier spent more than kilometers in the breakaway on stage five of the Tour de Pologne, the second-longest of the week. The Frenchman, who is riding the World Tour race for the second consecutive year, attacked 20 kilometers into the stage together with one other rider, a move to which three more men reacted, leading to the break of the day forming before the first climb.

The quintet used that terrain to increase their gap, but an injection of pace in the peloton cut their advantage to just one minute. This prompted two riders to attack from the bunch and join them, which ended up helping the original breakaway, as their margin went up to more than two minutes. Showing an admirable effort despite being on the attack from almost the start of the day, Magnier continued to trade turns with the others until the final four kilometers, when their spell at the front came to a conclusion.

Paul Magnier before the start of stage four. Sirotti photo

“I felt good today. Our team’s plan was to be in the break and we did a good job. I booked a place in that group and we worked hard to stay at the front as much as possible, but it was difficult with the large peloton chasing us. But I am content with my effort, it was a solid day”, said Paul before going to the podium to receive his prize for winning the Bonus Sprint.

Kocierz - the final ascent of the day - was used in the past at the race several times, but it was for the first time that a stage finished at the top of this steep hill, which featured some incredibly steep gradients that made a selection as soon as the riders hit its slopes. The victory went to Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates), while Max Schachmann finished the day as the first T-Rex Quick-Step rider over the line.


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Vuelta a Burgos stage four reports

We posted the report from stage winner Matthew Brennan's Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.

Here's the report from Clément Berthet's Team Groupama-FDJ United:

On the eve of the final – and decisive – stage of the Vuelta a Burgos, Clément Berthet remains firmly in contention for an overall top-10 finish. The Frenchman owes that position to a strong ride on Thursday, when he crossed the line ninth after tackling an HC climb. On Friday, Berthet held on to tenth place overall following a sprint finish, while Victor Loulergue had the opportunity to go for his own result and took a nice eighth place.

Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a bike) wins Vuelta a Burgos stage five.

After the first showdown on Wednesday’s summit finish at Valle del Sol, the favourites were once again expected to take centre stage on Thursday at the Vuelta a Burgos. This time, however, they faced a far tougher challenge in the Puerto del Escudo (7 km at 9%), whose summit was located just four kilometres from the finish. “The goal was obviously to support Clément in the final, but first, we weren’t sure whether Netcompany Ineos would really control the race,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “We thought a strong breakaway might have a chance, and there was nothing to lose by trying. Bastien hadn’t raced for a while and needed some hard efforts, so he volunteered.”

The 24-year-old rider from Chambéry made it into a six-man breakaway that was later joined by three more riders midway through the stage, although the peloton never allowed the escapees much of a gap. Around 50 kilometres from the finish, Bastien Tronchon was dropped from the break, but he was able to rejoin the peloton in the valley before the final climb and continue working for his leader. “The whole team committed and did a great job of positioning Clément at the foot of the climb,” Benoît added. “From there, it was all about doing the best possible climb on these demanding gradients.”

Riding near the front, the Groupama-FDJ climber matched the first accelerations and responded well when Giulio Ciccone attacked four kilometres from the summit. With the peloton reduced to around twenty riders, Berthet was still among the contenders, only losing contact when Felix Gall and Oscar Onley launched another acceleration just two kilometres from the top. “Clément fought really well and produced a very strong climb,” said Benoît. “He wasn’t that far to reach the summit with a small group in front of him. He found himself in a small chasing move behind the main favourites before a few riders bridged across in the final kilometre.” Forty-seven seconds behind stage winner Felix Gall, Clément Berthet contested the sprint for eighth place in the finishing straight and eventually secured ninth. “Had the finish been at the summit, he would probably have done even better,” Benoît said. “That said, he started the day twelfth overall, and the goal was to finish it in the top ten. He achieved it as he was 10th, so that was a good day. Now we want to raise the bar even higher for Saturday’s final stage. Clément is riding really well and I believe he can still move up a few places.”

One minute behind new Austrian race leader Felix Gall after Stage 3, Clément Berthet maintained the same position following Friday’s fourth stage, as the 178-kilometre route to Briviesca ended in a bunch sprint. “This morning, Bastien was originally our option, but it wasn’t definitive,” Benoît explained. “He felt he wasn’t quite back to 100% yet and still needed race intensity. The idea was to assess how he felt during the stage and in the final. In the end, he didn’t feel capable of contesting the sprint because his legs weren’t quite there. So we switched roles with Victor, and I was pleased to see how well the riders adapted. Bastien then sacrificed himself to position Victor.”

Inside the final kilometre, Victor Loulergue found his way up to around fifteenth position before launching his sprint from more than 300 metres out. “He wasn’t afraid,” Benoît praised. “He went for it, and there’s absolutely no regret.” Still in podium contention with 100 metres to go, Victor Loulergue eventually crossed the line in eighth place. “He probably deserved a top-five finish, but the wave of riders coming from behind with Brennan meant he dropped back” Benoît concluded. “What I’ll remember most is the commitment he showed in the fight for position. That’s very encouraging for the future.”

After recording three stage top-ten finishes this week (along with an eleventh place), Groupama-FDJ United will now look to round off its Spanish campaign with two more strong results on Saturday’s decisive summit finish at Lagunas de Neila.