Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday August 29, 2026
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Current racing:
- August 22 - Sept 13: Vuelta a España
- August 25 - 28: Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
Upcoming racing:
- August 30: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
Latest completed racing:
- August 19 - 23: Renewi Tour
- August 18 - 21: Tour du Limousin-Périgord
- August 13 - 18: Arctic Race of Norway
- August 16: Cyclassics Hamburg
- August 16: La Polynormande
- August 3 - 9: Tour of Poland
- August 4 - 8: Vuelta a Burgos
- July 29 - August 2: Tour of Denmark
- August 2: Circuito de Getxo
- August 1: Clasica San Sebastian
- July 28 - 30: Tour de l'Ain
- July 4 - 26: Tour de France
- July 26: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
- July 8 - 12: Tour of Austria
- June 24 - 28: National Championshps
- June 17 - 21: Tour de Suisse
- June 17 - 21: Baloise Belgium Tour
We posted the organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from third-place Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Wout van Aert enjoyed an excellent day at the Vuelta a España on Friday. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider spent the entire day in the breakaway, collected points for the green jersey, and rode to an impressive third place on the final climb to Aramón Valdelinares.
Wout van Aert on the Valdelinares climb. Sirotti photo
Following yesterday’s tough stage, the riders faced another demanding route in Spain today. With five categorized climbs and the second summit finish of this year’s Vuelta, attention quickly turned to the breakaway. Once again, Van Aert was eager to be part of it. The Belgian went clear immediately after the start alongside Andreas Leknessund and was later joined by three more riders. As the stage progressed, the breakaway was given the green light by the peloton.
Van Aert then took maximum points at the intermediate sprint, after which the battle for the stage victory was decided on the slopes of the final climb to Aramón Valdelinares (9.8 km at 5.9%). The Uno-X Mobility duo of Tobias Johannessen and Leknessund played their cards smartly. Leknessund was the first to attack, forcing Van Aert to let go when the pace increased. Leknessund, who had been Van Aert’s breakaway companion from the very start, went on to claim the stage victory unchallenged. The 31-year-old Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider fought his way to an impressive third place, which was enough to move him into the lead in the points classification.
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Here's the Vuelta report from stage seven fourth-place Jakob Omrzel's Team Bahrain Victorious:
Jakob Omrzel delivered an impressive ride on Stage 7 of La Vuelta a España, finishing fourth at the summit of Aramón Valdelinares after spending much of the day on the attack in a large chasing group.
The 20 year old Slovenian, the youngest in this edition and racing his first Grand Tour, was joined by teammate Pello Bilbao in the chasing group after five riders established themselves at the front of the race. Bilbao worked to support Omrzel as the group tried to reduce the gap, but the five leaders maintained their advantage heading towards the final climb.
Riders on the the Valdelinares climb. Sirotti photo
Andreas Leknessund (Uno X Mobility) attacked on the 9.8 kilometre climb to Aramón Valdelinares and went on to take the stage victory. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno X Mobility) finished second, with Wout van Aert (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) third. Omrzel produced a strong final climb to cross the line fourth, 58 seconds behind the winner.
Sports Director Franco Pellizzotti was pleased with the team’s performance and Omrzel’s ride, he said, “Finally, in my opinion, we did a really great race. We put Jakob in the breakaway, which was in the plan. It was a big breakaway with the aim of gaining time in GC and trying to win the stage. Pello was there to help him. The only problem was that there were five riders in front, and the group with our riders never really worked all together at full gas, with everyone riding smart, so we never closed the gap to those five riders. In the end, Jakob did an amazing climb, but it was difficult to close the gap. He did an amazing job and we are happy with this result. I’m super happy because the riders raced very well today.”
Jakob Omrzel added, “From the start, the race was really hard again, just like yesterday, with everyone trying to get into the breakaway. We had the same idea. Pello did a great job to get into the break, and on the next climb I thought that if the pace was hard enough, maybe I could make it across. That’s exactly what happened.
"When I reached the breakaway, I knew there was a chance we could make it to the finish. A lot of riders didn’t want to cooperate, but Pello did an amazing job and worked really hard for me. Then I just had to finish it off. I was a little bit short of the podium, but I’m still really happy with today’s stage.
"For me, this is one of the best things that could happen in my first Grand Tour. I’m really enjoying it, but I’m also looking forward because I believe we can still achieve a lot.”
Sixth-place Oscar Onley's Team Netcompany INEOS posted this Vuelta report:
Oscar Onley dug deep to climb up to sixth place overall as the opening week of the Vuelta a Espana came to a close.
The Scot retained the white jersey and jumped up one place on the General Classification following the first-category finish at Aramón Valdelinares.
Onley finished alongside fellow GC rivals Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe), with the trio becoming distanced following a late acceleration from race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).
Oscar Onley climbing to the finish. Sirotti photo
The Netcompany INEOS rider sits just one second off fifth place, in addition to strengthening his grip on the white jersey as the race heads into its second week.
Earlier Ben Turner was part of the day's large initial breakaway after a big fight to make the move. However the group would quickly fracture on the first major climb of the day. Uno-X Mobility claimed an impressive 1-2 on the day, with Andreas Leknessund taking the win.
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And Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this Vuelta report:
After twelve years, Aramon Valdelinares (9.8km, 5.8%) returned on the route of the Vuelta a España and witnessed the first victory from the breakaway, one which formed in the early part of stage seven and ended up going all the way.
Five classified climbs and more than 3500 vertical meters made for a demanding day in the saddle, especially for those in the lead group, who had to dig deep in the first part of the stage in order to build a buffer big enough to fight for the win at the end of the day. Soudal Quick-Step was again on the offensive, this time with Valentin Paret-Peintre and Filippo Zana; the duo booked a place in a large group that went on to put six minutes into the bunch and showed how strong they were by taking some long pulls that helped them stay clear.
Team Soudal Quick-Step before the start of stage six. Sirotti photo
Paret-Peintre, who is racing two Grand Tours in the same season for the first time in his career, concluded stage seven, won by Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), just outside the top ten, and was followed a couple of seconds later by his teammate, the former Italian Champion who earlier this season won the Giro di Sardegna.
“I felt good today, so I jumped in the breakaway, but the five guys up the road were a bit stronger than us. We tried to reduce the gap, but unfortunately, others in the group weren’t willing to cooperate. On the final climb, it was a bit difficult for me, but even in these conditions, we gave everything and are incredibly determined to keep fighting here at the Vuelta”, Valentin said at the finish.
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We posted the report from stage winner Milan Fretin's Team Cofidis with the results.
Here's the report from GC winner Maxime Decomble's Team Groupama-FDJ United:
And that’s two in a row! Just one day after claiming his first professional victory, Maxime Decomble doubled up on Friday by securing overall victory at the fourth and final stage of the TPC en Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Attentive in the final, the young Frenchman finished 12th in the main bunch, thereby securing the first stage-race victory of his career. The Groupama-FDJ United Cycling Team continues its excellent run of form, one week after Ewen Costiou’s overall victory at the Tour du Limousin.
Maxime Decomble on his way to winning stage three and taking over the GC lead.
In Poitiers, after the 185 kilometres scheduled on Friday’s final stage, overall victory in the “TPC in Nouvelle-Aquitaine” was within Maxime Decomble’s grasp, 24 hours after his dominant victory in the individual time trial. However, he still had to remain vigilant on a course featuring several exposed sections and a punchy finishing circuit.
“The start of the race was obviously crucial in controlling the breakaway,” explained William Green. “Ideally, we wanted it to be made of just five riders, but the start was extremely nervous and eventually a group of seven got away. Fortunately, they went after 50 or 60 kilometres, which left only 80 kilometres to go before the finishing circuit. Blake managed the situation, and we knew Johan would be a major asset, particularly in the wind. When the gap came down too much, we stopped riding, and that was the right decision. Then we entered a section with a crosswind, the race became harder, but we controlled the situation. Once we reached the final circuit, Rémi set the pace before Cofidis took over at the front in preparation for the sprint.”
As the riders began the three laps of the Poitiers circuit, the breakaway had only a one-minute-and-thirty-second advantage, and that gap logically continued to reduce as the finish approached.
“It’s very important for me to be fighting at the front” – Maxime Decomble
Before the final lap, the gap was down to just 25 seconds. “Our priority was to make sure Maxime wasn’t put in danger during the final,” William explained. “Decathlon-CMA CGM tried an attack, and we had to use the team during the final five kilometres to neutralise the move, just in case, before finishing in a sprint.”
The sprint was extremely disorganized and ultimately involved only a small group of around thirty riders, with Paul Penhoët unable to really take part. “The entire team was focused on the overall classification, which leaves little room for a dual strategy,” William continued. “In any case, the priority was to win the overall classification, and that’s what we did.” Having remained in the front group, three seconds behind stage winner Milan Fretin, Maxime Decomble secured overall victory, built primarily on his performance the previous day.
“This is my first overall victory in a stage race,” he said. “It’s huge, and I’m very happy. The beginning of the season was a little difficult mentally because I wasn’t fighting for the top places on a calendar that was mainly WorldTour level. However, that helped me take a step forward. The team managed my progression very well, and it’s very important for me to be fighting at the front and to turn that into results during this second half of the season.”
With this overall victory, Groupama-FDJ United now has eleven wins in 2026, four of them coming in the last ten days. “The momentum is excellent,” concluded William Green. “We’re very satisfied with what we achieved in the opening stage. On the second stage, we were missing a little something, and there was for sure some disappointment after Rémi lost time. Fortunately, Maxime produced an incredible time trial and delivered an exceptional performance. The team is obviously very proud of Maxime, but also of the way we raced throughout the week. We managed the situation really well, particularly today. We need to keep this momentum going. It’s fantastic to follow up the victory at the Tour du Limousin, and we have to enjoy it, because this kind of run doesn’t happen very often.”