Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Friday, January 23, 2026
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2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- January 17 - 25: Tour Down Under
Upcoming racing:
- January 25: Classica Comunitat Valenciana 1969-GP Valencia
- January 28 - February 1: Challenge Ciclista Mallorca
- January 29: Surf Coast Classic
- February 1: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
Latest completed racing:
- January 1: GP Sven Nys
- December 30: Superprestige Diegem
- December 29: Trofee Loenhout-Azencross
- December 26: World Cup Gavere
- December 23: Superprestige Heusden-Zolder
- December 14: World Cup Namur
- November 16: Trofee Hamme-Flandriencross
- November 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
- October 26: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland
We posted the organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Jay Vine's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
Jay vine delivered a powerful ride today to claim victory on stage 2 of the Santos Tour Down Under, leading a decisive UAE Team Emirates XRG one-two with teammate Jhonatan Narvaez on the key uphill finish at Uraidla.
The result not only gives Vine the stage win but also propels him into the lead of the general classification on the first event of the World Tour season with the 148.1 km stage featuring relentless rolling terrain and concluding after the punishing slopes of Corkscrew Road.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG one-two finish. Sirotti photo
Vine and Narvaez made their move where it mattered most. UAE Team Emirates-XRG controlled the race tempo up the climb with Adam Yates setting a searing pace that shattered the peloton and quickly distanced the GC hopefuls. Vine then made his move along with Narvaez, and the duo opened a significant gap on their rivals with the pair staying clear to the line.
Vine crossed the finish line first with Narvaez close behind, cementing the team’s performance in one of the most selective stages early in the Tour Down Under. The gap to the next chasers was almost a minute, underscoring the strength and execution of the UAE squad on the day.
Jay Vine: “It’s been on my mind since the last time I wore the leader’s jersey here. I really love this jersey and it’s just so incredible to win on a really hard stage. We’re in such a strong position now with Jonny (Narvaez) also up there on the GC. The guys are riding really strong – it was just a really strong ride by the whole team today and I’m very thankful. We’ve also got Molano, our sprinter, looking for wins so tomorrow we’ll be focusing on that.”
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Here's the Tour Down Under report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Team Visma | Lease a Bike was unable to play a leading role in the tough second stage of the Tour Down Under. The Dutch squad was well grouped near the front at the start of the final climb, but ultimately was unable to place a rider in the group of favourites.
In the second stage of the Australian stage race, seven riders quickly formed the traditional early breakaway. The leaders built up a solid advantage, but in the end they played no significant role in the finale.
On the final ascent of Corkscrew Hill, the yellow-and-black squad was well positioned at the front. Anton Schiffer then produced a strong climb, but was ultimately unable to match the pace of the favourites. Jay Vine proved to be the strongest and took the stage victory.
Anotther shot of the peloton climbing in stage two. Sirotti photo.
“Our focus today was on starting the final climb in a good position,” reflected sports director Jesper Mørkøv. “That went well, and we had several riders near the front. Anton Schiffer rode a good climb, but he was just a bit too far back at the decisive moment. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG block was simply too strong today.”
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Here's the Tour Down Under stage two report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
As expected, the second stage of the Tour Down Under brought its share of clarifications on Thursday, and unfortunately for Groupama-FDJ United, the hopes of a good overall classification fade in Uraidla. Jussi Veikkanen’s riders were unable to keep up with the 20-rider group that contested the top-10 places behind the winning duo from UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Jay Vine and Jhonatan Narvaez. The team will now look for all the opportunities during the rest of the week.
The peloton ascends one of the day's climbs. Sirotti photo
For some, this second day of racing in the Tour Down Under, featuring the double ascent of Corkscrew, promised to be just as decisive as the traditional Willunga Hill stage. According to race director Stuart O’Grady himself, it was even the hardest stage in the history of the event. In detail, it covered 148 kilometres and included no fewer than 2,800 meters of elevation gain on very rolling terrain.
“We did a recon of the stage and knew that the approach to the climb was quite technical and fast,” explained Jussi Veikkanen. “We handled the first part of the day quite well. A breakaway of seven riders went quite early, then UAE Team Emirates-XRG took control.” As the day before, with the breakaway of Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet and Enzo Paleni, the gap was nevertheless kept constantly under three minutes.
Around mid-race, the peloton tackled the first ascent of Corkscrew (3.6 km at 6.7%), itself part of a longer uphill section (9 km at 5%). “The boys were in a good position for this first climb,” Jussi said. “However, a small crash briefly split the peloton in two about ten kilometers before the second ascent. Guillaume was behind, he managed to come back after a short effort, but then we witnessed a dominant display from UAE.”
While Groupama-FDJ United’s main cards were still present in the bunch with fifteen kilometres to go, they were ultimately unable to keep up with the pace set by Adam Yates, then by Jay Vine and Jhonatan Narvaez. The latter two broke clear together two kilometres further and reached the finish way ahead of the rest. A first chasing group crossed the line one minute later, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, Kevin Geniets and Tom Donnenwirth finished at 2’17.
Groupama-FDJ United now appears to be out of contention for the overall classification. “We’re going to find new objectives,” Jussi concluded. “We’ll build new momentum and try to race like we did yesterday. We’ll be on the offensive.”
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Here’s the team’s news:
While the WorldTour calendar is underway with the Tour Down Under in Australia, another group of Bahrain Victorious riders are set to begin their 2026 cycling season in Europe. Three races are on the menu this weekend, starting on Friday 23 January with the 2nd Clàssica Camp de Morvedre (UCI 1.1), followed by the 3rd Ruta de la Cerámica – GP Castellón (UCI 1.1) on Saturday 24 January, and concluding with the 42nd Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969 (UCI 1.1) on Sunday 25 January.
The Clàssica Camp de Morvedre will mark the seasonal debut of Antonio Tiberi. Intended as an icebreaker for the riders, the Italian climber’s main objective will be to test his condition. He will guide the team over a hilly 164 km course starting and finishing in Estivella (Valencia), featuring 2,568 metres of elevation gain and the Alto del Garbí climb (5.05 km at 9.2% average gradient), to be tackled three times. A key point, as Bahrain Victorious Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj highlighted:
“The race will be decided on the climb we do three times, so we will invest in positioning there. Tiberi will be supported by his teammates all day long, especially at the critical points. The approach to the climb is technical, so it’s crucial to bring and keep our leader safe and well positioned.”
Alongside Alberto Bruttomesso, Roman Ermakov and Mathijs Paasschens, the lineup will include Alec Segaert, who will make his race debut with Bahrain Victorious, as well as two young riders from the Bahrain Victorious Development Team: Thomas Capra and Bálint Feldhoffer.
Antonio Tiberi before the start of 2025 Vuelta a España stage one. Sirotti photo
While the Clàssica Camp de Morvedre will be a first appearance for the team, Bahrain Victorious will return for the following two races, where we also lined up last year. The 3rd Ruta de la Cerámica – GP Castellón (UCI 1.1) on Saturday 24 January will see a few changes to the lineup, with Nikias Arndt, Vlad Van Mechelen and Pau Miquel replacing Bruttomesso, Capra and Tiberi. The Spanish rider Miquel, who finished 7th on this course in 2024, will make his debut in Bahrain Victorious colours. The 171.7 km route runs from Castellón to Onda (Valencia) on a hilly parcours with approximately 2,500 metres of elevation gain spread across three categorised climbs.
The final race of this three-day block is the 42nd Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969 (UCI 1.1), taking place on Sunday 25 January, from La Nucia to Valencia over 199.5 km. As usual, the course will feature an alternation of the start and finish towns. This year, the route is selective in the first and middle sections, including well-known climbs such as the famous Col de Rates, before running through a flatter finale towards Valencia.
After skipping GP Castellón, Bruttomesso will return to the lineup for this race. Development Team rider Thomas Capra will also be back at the start. The rest of the lineup remains unchanged from the previous day, with Arndt, Miquel, Paasschens and Van Mechelen, while another Development Team rider, U23 Serbian Champion Mihajlo Stolić, will join the squad.
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