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Tuesday, March 24, 2026

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2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia

It’s a damnable fact of life that great propaganda works even when you know it’s propaganda. – Peggy Noonen

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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Giro d'Italia, A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Vol 1: 1909 - 1970 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

March 23 - 29: Volta a Catalunya

Upcoming racing:

• March 25: Ronde Van Brugge - Tour of Bruges
• March 25 - 29: Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali
• March 27: E3 Saxo Classic
• March 28: Classic Loire Atlantique
• March 29: Gent-Wevelgem
• March 29: La Roue Tourangelle
• March 31: Paris-Camembert
• April 1: Dwars door Vlaanderen
• April 3: Classic Adélie de Vitré
• April 4: GP Miguel Indurain

Latest completed racing:

• March 21: Milano-Sanremo
• March 20: Bredene Koksijde Classic
• March 19: GP de Denain
• March 18: Danilith Nokere Koerse
• March 18: Milano-Torino
• March 8 - March 15: Paris-Nice
• March 9 - 15: Tirreno-Adriatico
• March 7: Strade Bianche
• March 4: Trofeo Laigueglia
• March 3: Le Samyn Classic

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Volta a Catalunya stage one reports

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

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

Dorian Godon secured the first stage win at Volta a Catalunya after a razor tight sprint finish.

Godon was well delivered to the line after a fantastic effort from the Grenadiers, with the French champion outsprinting Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in an uphill battle to the line.

Dorian Godon beats Remco Evenepoel for the stage win.

The punchy 172km stage saw an early break caught with 15km to go after strong efforts from Embret Svestad-Bardseng, Bob Jungels and Laurens De Plus.

Oscar Onley crossed the line in ninth place as he goes for the GC battle, alongside Carlos Rodriguez who also finished in the bunch.

The win sees Godon take the leaders’ jersey entering tomorrow’s stage from Figueres to Banyoles across 167km.

Here’s the Catalonia Tour report from seventh-place Andrea Raccagni’s Team Soudal Quick-Step:

For the fifth year in a row, Sant Feliu de Guixols hosted the opening stage of the race. The finish was identical to the one of last year, but the course until then was a bit different, after the organisers decided to include a first-category climb in the first 80 kilometers.

Five riders formed a breakaway after just 15 kilometers, and the quintet worked well together. Ahead of the Al de Sant Hilari Sacalm ascent, the escapees inched out their advantage to four minutes, but that gap rapidly came down, as the teams interested in the stage victory upped the pace in the peloton. The catch was eventually made with 11 kilometers to go, giving the contenders and their squads plenty of time to prepare for the uphill finish in Sant Feliu de Guixols.

The day's break.

The last 600 meters averaged 4.2%, but just before the line the gradient hit 6%, making timing and positioning crucial. As the stretched-out peloton rounded out the final corner, Andrea Raccagni made sure of slotting himself near the front of the group, and in the closing 300 meters once again showed his strong sprint. The 22-year-old Italian took seventh on the line, a result that puts him in the top ten overall and in third on the youth classification.

Here's the Volta a Catalunya report from Rudy Molard's Team Groupama-FDJ United:

The Volta a Catalunya is underway, and as in recent years, the explosive uphill finish in Sant Feliu de Guíxols decided the first leader’s jersey. In a reduced peloton of around seventy riders after a demanding final along the coast, Dorian Godon took victory, while Rudy Molard produced a strong late surge in the final 500 metres to secure a decent fifteenth place.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Volta a Catalunya kicked off this Monday with a stage around Sant Feliu de Guíxols, where a tough finish—with the final 600 meters at 4%—served as the day’s decisive point. A reduced bunch sprint was expected after 172 kilometres, and the peloton made sure that scenario played out. A breakaway did animate this opening stage, but without ever threatening the anticipated outcome.

With about twenty kilometres to go, as the race entered the twisting, punchy coastal roads, the fugitives had only a thirty-second lead left, and the peloton never eased off from that point. On the contrary, it stretched out significantly and even split under repeated accelerations, while the last remaining rider from the break was caught with eleven kilometers to go. As the race descended toward Sant Feliu de Guíxols, the bunch had been reduced to roughly seventy riders.

Stage one gets its official start.

On the final uphill straight, climbers and punchers mixed with the few remaining sprinters, and Dorian Godon came out on top, while Rudy Molard finished fifteenth. “We were counting on Rudy, who likes this kind of finish,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. “Unfortunately, he got boxed in before the final straight and found himself badly positioned—he was almost fiftieth with 500 metres to go. He made a very strong comeback, but it’s a shame because I think he could maybe have gone for a top five. That’s the small disappointment of the day, and he was very frustrated. Another goal was for Guillaume to finish in the same time as the winner, and that was achieved.”

Like their two more experienced teammates, Brieuc Rolland and Maxime Decomble also finished in the lead group on Monday. “Tomorrow, we expect a sprint finish, so we’ll stay cautious, but Wednesday’s stage could be interesting for us,” concluded Benoît.

And here's the Volta a Catalunya report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike successfully completed the first stage of the Volta a Catalunya without any problems. The Dutch squad stayed alert at the front during the chaotic finale. In the end, Dorian Godon proved the strongest in the sprint of a reduced group.

In the opening stage of the Spanish stage race, five riders quickly formed the early breakaway. The leaders built a gap of more than four minutes but did not play a decisive role in the battle for the stage win.

The peloton 51 kilometers into the stage.

During the hectic finale, the yellow-and-black team stayed grouped near the front. Jonas Vingegaard demonstrated that he had carried his good form into the race, riding strongly in the final kilometers. The 29-year-old Dane finished in the first group, in the same time as the stage winner.

“Our goal today was to get Jonas safely to the finish,” reflected team director Marc Reef. “We were well-positioned at the key points, which allowed us to stay alert at the front in the finale. In the final kilometers, Jonas held his position well and didn’t lose any time. It was a good day.”

Vingegaard himself looks ahead to the rest of the race with confidence: “I’m really looking forward to this week. The field is very strong, but I feel ready. There are tough stages all week, with the final weekend being especially challenging. It would be great to be able to fight for the win this week.”