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Wednesday, March 11, 2026

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2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours. - Yogi Berra

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Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the Tour de France, 2022: The Fastest Tour Ever is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• March 8 - March 15: Paris-Nice
• March 9 - 15: Tirreno-Adriatico

Upcoming racing:

• March 18: Danilith Nokere Koerse
• March 18: Milano-Torino
• March 19: GP de Denain
• March 20: Bredene Koksijde Classic
• March 21: Milano-Sanremo

Latest completed racing:

• March 7: Strade Bianche
• March 4: Trofeo Laigueglia
• March 3: Le Samyn Classic
• February 25 - March 1: Giro di Sardegna
• March 1: Faun Drome Classic
• March 1: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
• February 28: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
• February 28: Faun Ardèche Classic
• February 22: Tour des Alpes Maritimes

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Paris-Nice stage three reports

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

Here's the report from stage three winner Team INEOS Grenadiers:

The INEOS Grenadiers unleashed a superb team effort to secure victory in the Paris-Nice team time trial.

Setting a winning time of 26 minutes and 40 seconds across the 23.5-kilometre course, the team executed their plan well to finish with Kevin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley across the line.

Josh Tarling played a pivotal role and delivered a huge final turn on the run to the finish in Pouilly-sur-Loire. Key efforts from Dorian Godon, Michal Kwiatkowski and Sam Watson helped ensure the team were also fastest through the intermediate split, laying the groundwork for eventual victory. Carlos Rodriguez also put in a battling ride following his crash at the conclusion of Sunday's opening stage.

INEOS Grenadiers on their way to winning the stage.

Victory by two and a half seconds over Lidl-Trek saw Vauquelin and Onley climb up the GC to second and third respectively, two and three seconds behind new race leader Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek).

Reaction:
Kevin Vauquelin: "It’s a really big win with the team because the team has improved a lot in the TTs and we’ve worked a lot throughout the winter. With wins in Tirreno yesterday, and in Algarve, and now in Paris-Nice, I’m really proud of us and it’s really good. The plan was to go fast and in the finish, I know I’m good at the final kilometres, so I pushed full gas to make up every second, which was good because it was only two seconds!"

Oscar Onley: "Obviously the team time trial is an important factor in a lot of the big races this year so we’ve really put a big emphasis on it. Today shows all the work that the team, not just here but everyone in the team, has put towards this. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that no one sees so it’s really nice to be able to finish it off for them as well.

"We wanted to try and come over the final climb with four guys. In the end, there was the three of us and I was just hanging on on that downhill to the line. Everyone put in a really good shift right from the start. We had a bit of a scare in the recon this morning, we had a crash, so we found the limits this morning. It was nice to be able to bounce back from that as well.

"Paris-Nice is a different type of climbing race compared to some of the other races during the year. I don’t think it’s just on legs, especially with the parcours this year, there can be quite a few opportunities, and the weather plays a big factor in these stages, so it’s always better to have options up there with these harder days."

Here's the Paris-Nice report from new GC leader Juan Ayuso's Team Lidl-Trek:

Juan Ayuso is the new leader of Paris-Nice after Lidl-Trek’s second-place finish in the team time trial on stage 3.

The German team crossed the line just two and a half seconds behind winners Ineos Grenadiers, whilst third-placed Decathlon CMA CGM finished nine seconds further back.

Juan Ayuso will start stage four in yellow.

Lidl-Trek brought a strong time trialling unit to The Race to the Sun. Three national time trial champions were flying their flag in the TTT: Mathias Vacek of Czechia, Jakob Söderqvist of Sweden, and Toms Skujiņš of Latvia. Joining the trio of national champions were Lennard Kämna, Julien Bernard, Søren Kragh Andersen, all aiming to deliver Ayuso as quickly as possible to the finish. Each rider peeled off, spent from their efforts, eventually leaving the big engines of Söderqvist and Vacek, who produced powerful final pulls before Ayuso crossed the line as the team’s last man.

Whilst Lidl-Trek had their ambitions on the stage win, and came incredibly close, there is satisfaction in seeing Ayuso move into the race lead. The result, combined with four bonus seconds claimed on stage 2, was enough to move Ayuso into the overall lead. The yellow jersey puts Lidl-Trek in a strong position, but with bad weather forecast for stage 4 — crosswinds, rain and cold all threatening to break the race apart — holding that advantage will require the same collective effort that earned it.

The wider significance of the result stretches beyond this race. With a team time trial coming up on the opening stage of this year’s Tour de France, today’s result shows that Lidl-Trek are on the right track in the race against the clock.

In Juan’s Words…
"I think it's a bit more the first — disappointment to not win the stage. We were really motivated this morning and we really thought it was possible to win. When we're two seconds down it hurts, the guys deserved to win today. It's bike racing and there was just a stronger team out there, congrats to them.

"I think we did a really good job, we worked hard in the winter, also before coming to this race we trained a lot together for days like today. I think we have really good chemistry, we knew how to pace every moment in the course, especially on the climbs, and I think the last part we did really well — the team did a really good lead out for me.

"It all adds up, those four seconds are a good advantage but here in Paris-Nice things can change quickly, tomorrow I think there will be quite bad weather and it's going to be a really hard stage. On an effort so explosive and short like this one, it's hard to say how the legs are compared to the long stage tomorrow, and for sure it's going to be cold, rain, crosswinds, a bit of everything. It's a quite different type of effort, but I think my shape overall is good."

Tirreno-Adriatico stage two reports

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

Here's the report from GC second-place Giulio Pellizzari's Team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe:

Giulio Pellizzari sprinted to third place after a selective finale on wet gravel roads and the steep cobbled rise into San Gimignano.

The 206-kilometre stage from Camaiore unfolded patiently for much of the afternoon, with an early breakaway controlled by the peloton before the race gradually sharpened across the rolling terrain of Tuscany. As the kilometres ticked down, attention shifted to the final gravel sector placed close to the finish, a stretch of white road that promised to reshape the race.

Rain arrived late in the day, making the gravel damp and unpredictable and raising the tension in the bunch as teams fought for position ahead of the decisive section.

When the race hit the white roads, the tempo immediately surged. Van der Poel forced the pace on the gravel, and the selection quickly narrowed. Pellizzari was among the riders able to follow the decisive move, soon forming a leading trio together with Van der Poel and Del Toro as the race split apart behind.

The three riders emerged from the gravel sector clear of the peloton and carried their advantage towards the steep uphill finish in the historic centre of San Gimignano. On the cobbled run to the line, Pellizzari launched the sprint early, accelerating inside the final metres on the rising road. However, van der Poel was able to come past in the closing metres to take the stage victory, with Del Toro second and Pellizzari completing the podium after his impressive ride in the finale.

Mathieu van der Poel wins a very close one. Sirotti photo

Behind the leaders, Primož Roglič finished 11th on the stage after remaining well positioned through the decisive sectors. For Pellizzari, racing on Italian roads, the performance marked another strong display in a demanding finale that combined gravel, rain and a steep uphill finish.

After the stage, the young Italian rider reflected on the team effort that placed him in contention for the win:

"Today was a big ride for me and for the whole team. We entered the gravel sector in a perfect position with Primož, Gianni and the guys, and everyone did a really strong job to keep us at the front. In the final kilometres we went full gas and tried to win the stage. We were close today, but there are still five stages left and we will keep trying."

And here's the Tirreno-Adriatico report from Team Groupama-FDJ United:

Just three days after tackling the white roads of Tuscany, the peloton encountered them again this Tuesday at Tirreno-Adriatico. Although there was only a single gravel sector in the final, it proved enough to cause some damage. Mathieu van der Poel took victory in San Gimignano, while Brieuc Rolland crossed the line in 29th place, 35 seconds behind the leading trio.

The day after the traditional time trial in Lido di Camaiore, a far more unusual stage awaited the peloton this Tuesday at Tirreno-Adriatico. On the way to the medieval town of San Gimignano, in the heart of Tuscany, the organisers had included a little extra taste of Strade Bianche. A five-kilometre gravel road had to be tackled with less than seven kilometres remaining, before a final ramp towards the finish in the town centre.

Riders steam by the city of Pisa in stage two.

Naturally, this is where the race was expected to be decided, after a very flat first part of the stage and a few rolling sections approaching the final. An early breakaway of four riders initially led the way, but it was brought back before the final fifty kilometres. “The stage was relatively calm until the final, especially in the last twenty kilometres on wet roads,” explained Yvon Caër. “The long descent with fifteen kilometres to go was already important for positioning ahead of the sector. Some riders were understandably worried about slipping or crashing, but Clément was very well positioned at the entrance by Lorenzo.” When the peloton turned left to enter the sector, which began with a steep ramp, the young Frenchman was riding around twentieth position.

However, he was unable to hold that position after an incident in front of him. “Unfortunately he had to put a foot down because of a crash,” Yvon said. “He was dropped because of that, which is a shame because given his position he would probably have been our best card at the finish. Brieuc, meanwhile, did a strong final, but he entered the gravel section a bit too far.”

While Mathieu van der Poel, Isaac del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari broke away on the gravel sector to fight it out for the win, the young Breton managed to enter a chasing group and eventually crossed the line in 29th place, 35 seconds behind the Dutch winner. Around twenty seconds later, Clément Braz Afonso and Kevin Geniets also reached the finish. “As expected, positioning at the entrance of the sector largely determined the outcome, but we rode a decent climb,” Yvon concluded. “The gaps will matter for the general classification but won’t be decisive. Tomorrow should be one for the sprinters, and those who raced Strade on Saturday really need to recover. We’ll spend a quieter day in the bunch in order to prepare for the battle over the next three stages.”

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