Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, February 28, 2026
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2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do. - Andrew Carnegie
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Current racing:
- February 25 - March 1: Giro di Sardegna
- February 28: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- February 28: Faun Ardèche Classic
Upcoming racing:
- March 1: Faun Drome Classic
- March 1: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
- March 3: Le Samyn Classic
- March 4: Trofeo Laigueglia
Latest completed racing:
- February 22: Tour des Alpes Maritimes
- February 16 - 22: UAE Tour
- February 18 - 22: Volta ao Algarve
- February 18 - 22: Vuelta a Andalucia - Ruta Ciclista del Sol
- February 21: Classic Var
- February 16: Clásica Jaén
- February 15: Clasica de Almeria
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage three third-place Manuel Peñalver's Team Polti-VisitMalta:
Polti VisitMalta put in a great performance on the third day of the Giro di Sardegna, where the team worked flawlessly, defending their position and bravely launching Manu Peñalver in pursuit of victory in Tortoli. At the finish line, the Spanish sprinter secured third place, a result that boosts his confidence for the remaining stages.
The Sardinia Tour stage three finish, won by Dusan Rajovic. Sirotti photo
Control of the race, consistently positioning themselves at the front of the peloton, and the ambition to win were the ingredients of Polti VisitMalta’s success on a day where they climbed onto the podium and demonstrated the true meaning of teamwork. Up to four riders stayed with Peñalver in the final kilometers: Dario Giuliano, Thomas Pesenti, Gabriele Raccagni, and of course Mirco Maestri, who launched the Spanish rider in a sprint finish where he couldn’t raise his arms in victory but fought hard to secure third place.
A long sprint, a good result, great satisfaction for the teamwork, but also the obligation to keep fighting for victory in this Giro di Sardegna.
Manuel Peñalver: “It’s a third place, but it feels like a missed opportunity. The team did a fantastic job, it’s frustrating that despite proving to be the strongest team in the sprint, we couldn’t raise our arms in victory. I think I rushed things at the end. I’m very grateful to my teammates for their confidence, and we’ll have another chance on Sunday.”
Francesco Gavazzi, sports director: “The team performed perfectly from start to finish. We controlled the day’s breakaway to ensure a sprint finish where we were confident in our chances. Peñalver was perfectly positioned, but he encountered two faster riders. The demonstration of teamwork and coordination is clear, and that’s a guarantee that even better results are to come.”
This Saturday, the Giro di Sardegna faces a demanding 153-kilometer stage with the climb of Orune, which could break up the race before the final ascent to Nuoro, also a steep final for the strongest riders.
And here's the Tour of Sardinia report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia, Tortoli got to welcome the peloton at the end of the third stage, which took in two rather small classified climbs and 1400 vertical meters. It took almost one hour for a two-man breakaway to get away and open a 2:40 gap on the peloton, which had a clear goal on Friday: make sure it would all come down to a bunch sprint.
The peloton races along the seacoast in stage three. Sirotti photo
With 20 kilometers to go, the escapees were reeled in, and the group kept things together, including nullifying a late attack that came inside the last ten kilometers. In the mass gallop, the victory went to Dusan Rajovic (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali), after a photo-finish.
In the general classification, the gaps are still tight, only a couple of seconds separating the riders on the podium, where we have two riders – Gianmarco Garofoli and Filippo Zana. This will give Soudal Quick-Step options during Saturday’s queen stage, where the peloton has to overcome four ranked climbs, including Passo Genna Silana and Su Pradu, before the finish in Nuoro.
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Here's the team's post:
Ahead of Opening Weekend, team director Ian Stannard chats us through the team’s planning and approach to the one-day race, Omloop Nieuwsblad.
Hi everyone. The team and I are really looking forward to some hard racing, kicking off Opening Weekend with Omloop Nieuwsblad.
If we go through the guys one by one – firstly, Kim Heiduk will be acting as team support. He’s showed us his talent in recent races, has good experience with this race and has played the role of road captain well. He will be really good for the guys this weekend, and knows these Belgian races well.
It’s been a while since Michal Kwiatkowski has raced in the Classics, but it’s always good to have him at a race as he’s so reliable. He did Super 8 and GP Wallonie last year, a really keen racer, and again, knows these races really well so will be a huge support.
Our plan for Magnus Sheffield is to get him moving early in the race, from the second time up the Haaghoek and Eikenberg with a front-foot racing ethos.
Artem Shmidt will also act as team support, having done a recon and tested our tyres and new wheels, which will be super important in this race, so we’re all good there.
As road captain, Ben Swift will be key to the race. He always provides great feedback to the team car and is a really good communicator for us between the car and the riders. He knows the race and all the important points super well.
Ben Swift racing in the 2023 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo
We’ll be working for Ben Turner, going in for the win. We know he’s a good, fast finisher, and also does well out on his own and is able to follow the wheels a bit, so either way, he should be in a good position for us.
Sam Watson is just coming back from a bit of an injury so it’s a little bit unknown to where he’s at. But again, he’s a good, intelligent bike racer and will be up there for sure.
This weekend looks to be a bit windy, about 24km/h, and it’s increased throughout the week. That’ll be a big influence on the race and will definitely make it hard and stressful.
We love these races and that comes with the territory. We'll be ready to get stuck in and the lads are all excited to pin their numbers on for Saturday.
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Here’s the team’s news:
The spring classics are just around the corner. The traditional Belgian opening weekend kicks off with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, followed by the Ename Samyn Classic on Tuesday. Matthew Brennan and Head of Racing Grischa Niermann look ahead.
With Matthew Brennan and Christophe Laporte, Team Visma | Lease a Bike lines up with two riders who have already taken a victory this season. “We will have a strong team at the start in Ghent on Saturday, with multiple cards to play”, Niermann said during the traditional press conference ahead of the Belgian opening weekend.
Brennan echoed Niermann’s confidence: “I’m feeling strong, and that win in Australia gave me a lot of confidence heading into the classics season. We have set some ambitious but exciting goals for this spring, starting with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. Racing it last year was a great experience. Not just on the bike, but everything around it as well. Last year was really about development for me. Hopefully that will pay off this spring.”
Laporte's return
In recent years, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has enjoyed major success during the Flemish opening weekend. The team won three of the last four editions of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with Wout van Aert, Dylan van Baarle, and Jan Tratnik. Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne was won in 2023 and 2024 by Tiesj Benoot and Van Aert. Last year, however, Niermann’s squad faced more difficulties.
“Our positioning wasn’t good enough at the key moments”, Niermann explains. “We have learned from that, and this year we need to race more aggressively and show ourselves at the front. A key factor in that will be Christophe Laporte. Time and again, he has proven that he is always there in the finale of the classics.”
Laporte left the Ruta del Sol last week after crashing in the final stage. “He has recovered from that now”, Niermann continues. “Christophe missed the entire spring campaign last year and is highly motivated to be there this time. We hope he will be one of our riders in the finale on Saturday. We need to make sure there’s plenty of yellow and black visible at the decisive moments.”
Brennan is expected to play an important role as well. “If the race comes down to a sprint, Matthew is our designated finisher”, Niermann says. Brennan adds: “I hope to fight for a strong result on both days this weekend. Saturday will be a tough race with a strong field. Ideally, we want multiple riders in the finale, that’s the best scenario for us.”
Wout van Aert winning stage 21 of the 2025 Tour de France. Sirotti photo
No Van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike will have to do without Wout van Aert at the Flemish season opener. The 2022 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner is ill. “Obviously it’s a big blow for me to miss out on my first race, having prepared for the classics season the whole winter”, the Belgian said when his withdrawal was announced.
“We had a good training camp at Sierra Nevada and I was feeling really strong. But unfortunately, it’s also that time of the year where it’s easy to fall ill. I remain positive about the feeling I had on training and am confident that I will be able to return to racing soon. Just not this Saturday.”
Van Aert’s absence is a significant loss for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, but Niermann put things into perspective. “It’s very unfortunate, but these things happen. The timing isn’t ideal with the classics season starting. Of course, Omloop is a fantastic race, but there are even bigger objectives ahead for Wout.”
Squad Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (28-02): Edoardo Affini, Matthew Brennan, Per Strand Hagenes, Timo Kielich, Christophe Laporte, Pietro Mattio and Axel Zingle.
Squad Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (01-03): Matthew Brennan, Filippo Fiorelli, Timo Kielich, Christophe Laporte, Pietro Mattio, Matisse Van Kerckhove and Axel Zingle.
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Here’s the post from Girmay’s NSN Cycling Team:
By the time the peloton lines up at Omloop Nieuwsblad on Saturday, most riders will already have some serious racing in their legs this year. The cycling season may start well before “Opening Weekend” but you can’t mistake the feeling in the air. The Classics are upon us.
Although Belgium feels like a second home for Biniam Girmay, having spent many hours training on Flemish roads, he’ll be lining up this weekend for just the second time in his career. Somewhat surprising considering his palmarès includes a win at Gent – Wevelgem and multiple top-10s across various Classics in the last few years.
He says: “It’s quite funny, to be honest – I’ve raced at a lot of the Classics, but I’ve only been to Opening Weekend once. The year I came, I asked my old team to race, and it was OK, but other times I had a program that included Algarve and different races at this time, and other times I don’t know why I didn’t push the team to race. I think that from this year on, for sure, we will come here every year.”
Biniam Girmay wins the 2026 Clasica Almeria. Sirotti photo
With two wins to his name this season – after his victories on stage 1 of Volta Comunitat Valenciana and Clasica Almeria earlier this month – Biniam exudes his signature humble and quiet confidence ahead of the weekend’s racing.
“We have a big and clear goal with the team, especially for Sunday,” adds Biniam. “It’s going to be tough to win these races, especially on Saturday with the startlist, but we will try anyway. We have a good team around me, full of strong riders who will stay with me until the last part of the races.
“I feel good, and also my teammates feel good. But this is the first race in Belgium, it’s always pretty hectic, so we’re just trying to find the best team spirit, because these races will help us towards our next big goals.”
One thing that has become clear over the past weeks is how well Biniam has gelled with his new teammates and after spending two days doing recon rides of both Omloop Niewusblad and Kuurne – Brussels – Kuurne courses, the experience of his teammates shines through.
Fellow newcomers Lewis Askey and Ryan Mullen join Biniam at the start line, alongside Tom Van Asbroeck, Guillaume Boivin, Matîs Louvel, and Riley Sheehan. A wealth of experience and depth, ready to take on the cobbles.
“It was good to remind ourselves of the parcours, but these races are always left, right, and small roads. In Belgium, we always cross the same places, everything is nearby, it’s all pretty similar,” he says.
“But it’s super helpful to have people like Tom and Guillaume, who are experienced in these races, with me. Also, we have Ryan now, and even Lewis and Matîs have raced a lot in Belgium, so they’re also used to this style.”
While Saturday’s Omloop Niewsblad is typically more selective with 8 cobbled sectors and 12 climbs, most of which feature in the final 70 kilometers, Sunday’s race is more sprinter-friendly with a flat finish on offer after the early rolling hills. After his third place at Kuurne – Brussels – Kuurne last year, Hugo Hofstetter will return to the race, replacing Van Asbroeck in the lineup and giving the team another card to play.
“We see that all of the guys are in great shape so we’re targeting a great result this weekend,” adds Sports Director Dimitri Claeys. “Of course, we have Biniam as our main leader, but we also have guys like Riley Sheehan, Lewis Askey, and Hugo Hofstetter on Sunday. Good results come from strong teamwork and we’re confident in the way the guys work together. That’s our main focus and from there, the results will come.”
NSN Cycling Team at Opening Weekend (Saturday 28 February/Sunday 1 March)
Omloop riders: Lewis Askey (GBR), Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Biniam Girmay (ERI), Matîs Louvel (FRA), Ryan Mullen (IRL), Riley Sheehan (USA), Tom Van Asbroeck (BEL)
Kuurne riders: Lewis Askey (GBR), Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Biniam Girmay (ERI), Hugo Hofstetter (FRA), Matîs Louvel (FRA), Ryan Mullen (IRL), Riley Sheehan (USA)
Sports Directors: Dimitri Claeys (BEL), René Andrle (CZE), Eric Van Lancker (BEL)
Here's the classics preview from Team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe:
For Arne Marit, Gianni Vermeersch and Jordi Meeus, Opening Weekend is more than a date in the calendar. It is memory. It is identity. It is home.
When cycling begins to smell like spring, the climbs are called hellingen and bergs, and the compass points toward Flanders. There is a particular sound here when winter slowly fades — tires humming over rough asphalt, blending with unrestrained cheers carried by the wind through corridors of fans.
Cafés debate start-lists. Fantasy cycling teams are built. Bakeries prepare special pies for race Sunday. And somewhere, a child sits in front of the television — or stands by the roadside — watching, dreaming.
“With Omloop Nieuwsblad, it really feels like the start of the real cycling season,” says Arne Marit. “The races before, we call them preparation races. But everyone in the classics group builds towards Opening Weekend.”
It is not just another weekend. It is a reset — and for Belgian riders, it always carries something personal.
Arne now lives in Pajottegem. “From my home it’s only about ten kilometers to the Muur,” he explains.
Ten kilometers to one of cycling’s most mythical climbs. Ten kilometers to a place he first knew through television images — and later experienced in the peloton. As a child, his family would stand for hours behind the barriers on the Bosberg — another cobbled climb in Geraardsbergen — waiting for the race to arrive.
“I still remember standing next to the barriers for hours, watching the screen and waiting for the legends like Ballan or Tom Boonen. I was waving the Flemish lion flag.”
These are not abstract childhood memories. They are vivid: the tension, the noise, the moment the race suddenly explodes in front of you.
One memory of seven-year-old Arne Marit stands out above the rest:
“My sister took part in a drawing competition at school. The winner got a meet-and-greet with Tom Boonen. So we were at the finish line when he won the Tour of Flanders in his world champion’s jersey. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
Today, Arne rides those same roads. Yet it has never become normal.
“Every time you ride over the Muur, you think about where the big attacks happened. It feels mythical.”
Some riders train on famous roads. Others grow up with them.
Gianni Vermeersch: Growing up with VHS tapes
In Klerken, near Roeselare, cycling was never just a sport. It was part of family life.
“My dad recorded all the races on tape, and when I got a bit older, I watched them again and again,” Gianni says. “From almost every edition of the Tour of Flanders, I know how the race unfolded.”
While others had favorite TV shows, Gianni had past editions of Flanders.
Watching those races wasn’t only about being a fan. It was education — learning the climbs, understanding the flow of the race. Long before he lined up himself, he already knew what was coming next.
“Even before I rode Flanders for the first time, I already knew which climb was coming next. I think that’s one of my strengths — knowing the parcours so well just from watching the races for years.”
Gianni Veermersch winning the 2022 4 Days of Dunkirk stage five. Getty photo
When Gent-Wevelgem passed through his hometown in the past two years, the experience became deeply personal. “That was one of the nicest moments of the classics season: riding through my hometown, with family, friends and supporters all gathered at the church.”
For most riders, it’s just another section of the course. For him, it was home.
Jordi Meeus: The yellow flags on TV
Jordi Meeus grew up in Lommel — two hours from the heart of the Flemish classics. Perhaps that distance made the races even more special. “The Flemish classics are still very close to my heart,” he says.
He doesn’t remember the very first Opening Weekend he watched. But he remembers the years when Peter Sagan was always there. When Greg Van Avermaet was winning. And especially the edition when Ian Stannard beat the Quick-Step riders.
And he remembers the images. “The yellow flags with the Flemish lion. I remember watching the races on TV and seeing so many of those yellow flags, especially in the Tour of Flanders.”
Those images stay with you. And one day, you find yourself inside them.
Perhaps that is the quiet power of Opening Weekend: It connects generations — from the child watching to the rider in the bunch.
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