Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, August 31, 2026
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. - Calvin Coolidge
Roman philosopher Seneca’s Letter to his Friend Lucilius and an Essay Addressed to Emperor Nero is available in both audiobook and Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- August 22 - Sept 13: Vuelta a España
Upcoming racing:
- September 2 - 6: Tour of Britain
- September 2 - 6: ZLM Tour
- September 6: GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
- September 9: Giro della Toscana
Latest completed racing:
- August 30: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
- August 25 - 28: Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
- 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
Content continues below the ads
We posted the organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from second-place Oscar Onley's Team Netcompany INEOS:
Oscar Onley continued to gain momentum at the Vuelta a Espana with a close second place on stage nine.
The toughest stage of the race thus far culminated in a summit finish atop the Alto de Aitana, with Onley crossing the line on the wheel of new race leader Enric Mas (Movistar).
Enric Mas & Oscar Onley on the climb to the finish. Sirotti photo
The pair has forged clear in the closing kilometres, with Onley looking strong and able to shut down key accelerations as the contenders traded blows on the run-in. The result elevated the Netcompany INEOS rider to fourth overall, 2:20 back on Mas and 41 seconds off the podium and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM).
Taking time on a number of key rivals, Onley also extended his grip on the white jersey.
Embret Svestad-Bardseng gave the team strong representation in the day's early breakaway, which swelled to 24 riders prior to the Puerto de Tudons.
Content continues below the ads
Here's the Vuelta report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Puerto de Tarbena, Puerto de El Miserat, Puerto de Tollos, Puerto de Tudons, Puerto de Benifallim, and Alto de Aitana were the six climbs the peloton had to face before the first rest day of the race, six ascents that made for 5000 vertical meters and an arduous day in the saddle.
This didn’t scare Valentin Paret-Peintre and Filippo Zana, the Soudal Quick-Step duo who made it into the breakaway for the second time in three days. The two were prominent, helping the group establish a lead of more than six minutes, which looked to be enough to fight for the win. Everything changed starting with the penultimate climb, where the bunch began speeding up and erasing a big part of the deficit.
Soudal Quick-Step rider Mikel Landa heads to the start of stage nine. Sirotti photo.
Paret-Peintre and Zana attacked and tried to bridge across a duo that was up the road at that point, and made it into the final five kilometers before being caught by the red jersey’s group, who to the surprise of many, managed to reduce that mammoth gap the escapees had. It was red jersey wearer Enric Mas (Movistar) who took the win, while the former Italian Champion finished stage nine as Soudal Quick-Step’s first rider home.
Content continues below the ads
We posted the report from race winner Alex Aranburu's Team Cofidis with the results.
Here's the report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Team Visma | Lease a Bike could not claim a top result at the Bretagne Classic. Despite several attempts to take control of the race, the yellow-and-black squad was unable to play a significant role in the finale. Alex Aranburu took the victory.
As is traditional, Plouay served as the start and finish venue for the Bretagne Classic. In the 90th edition of the French one-day race, the riders covered 228 kilometers. The succession of short climbs provided plenty of elevation gain.
After the start, Sjoerd Bax, Markus Hoelgaard, and Alexy Faure Prost launched the first attack of the day. The trio set the pace at the front during the opening hours. Just after the halfway point, Baptiste Veistroffer and Emil Herzog joined them. As the race entered the local circuits in Plouay, the five riders’ advantage began to decrease.
On the local circuit, the climbs followed in quick succession. More riders took their chances and tried to bridge across to the breakaway. With just under 60 kilometers to go, Per Strand Hagenes put in a strong effort on the Côte de Marta. His teammate Tim Rex used the opportunity to accelerate from the peloton, but he was unable to make the connection with the strong front group.
On the following laps, Louis Barré made several attempts to create a gap on the Côte de Ty Marrec, but the 26-year-old Frenchman from Team Visma | Lease a Bike was not given any space. After an unpredictable race, the early breakaway riders were caught with five kilometers to go. At that point, several riders launched the decisive attack. Aranburu ultimately proved to be the strongest.
Alex Aranburu looks back before heading for the finish line to win the race.
“Our plan was to attack with 60 kilometers to go, and the guys executed that well,” Head of Racing Grischa Niermann said afterward. “To have a chance of winning, we needed to make the race hard. We certainly made things difficult for the others, but we’re going home without a result. Louis showed today that he is in good form, but unfortunately, he missed the decisive attack. We made our presence felt, but ultimately we were unable to play a significant role in the finale.”