It’s PEZ’ cycling news roundup — and our first-ever exhortation to watch both men’s and women’s cycling. We base this on last weekend’s Strade Bianche, where all the fire and intrigue were on the women’s side. Photos, quotes, video — we’ve got it all as we look back to Tuscany and forward to Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico — and devote a few pixels to U!S!A! victories on the road and the track.
TOP STORY
- Need an Antidote to Predictable Racing? Watch the Femmes
RACE NEWS
- American Lamperti Takes Stage 1 of Paris-Nice
- Strade Bianche Rider Reflections — and a Bit of (Recent) History
TEAM, RIDER AND CYCLING NEWS
- Check Out Magdeleine Vallieres’ Rainbow-Striped Cannondale
- Americans Score 20 Medals at PanAm & Para PanAm Track Championships
- Cycling Canada Announces 2025 Annual Award Recipients
Need an Antidote to Predictable Racing? Watch the Femmes
Figure that we’re 2-3 years out from when Paul Seixas’ upward curve (or Isaac del Toro’s, according to you) crosses Tadej Pogačar’s (likely very slow) downward one. What do we cycling fans, wishing for suspenseful racing, do until then?
My strong recommendation after watching the men’s and women’s versions of Strade Bianche early Saturday morning: Watch women’s cycling. (Or Watch the femmes, as we were exhorted a few years ago.)
Not that Strade-men wasn’t worth following at all: Witnessing Seixas’ rise is intriguing, and I enjoyed gauging UAE’s tactics and tracking all the action behind Pogačar — but it was all indeed behind; I’d rather watch a race where the outcome isn’t locked with two hours of racing to go.
Enter the women’s version: I watched it live, starting at 4 a.m. Pacific time, and for once was grateful for insomnia. From the moment I turned on my computer — if you’re in the U.S. and already watching The Pitt, you can watch many races on HBO Max — I followed attacks, chases, bridging, tactics and panache: All the ingredients to a race worth watching.
While four hours later I clicked the jump-ahead wheel on the men’s video, watching Pogačar’s lead remain virtually stuck, in the women’s race I watched as Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney doggedly fended off attack after attack; Elisa Longo-Borghini guttily fended off rivals — and age; under-the-surface veteran Elise Chabbey crafted a spirited, career-defining race (and went on to win); and World Champ Magdeleine Vallieres and Puck Pieterse proved that they’re not a one-hit wonder and an off-road specialist (respectively).
ELB & KNP battle it out.
The World Champ proved she’s no fluke.
Whereas Pogačar climbed the final Via Santa Caterina alone, with enough time to wave before finishing and to bow afterwards, the women’s leaders started the cobbled ascent in a group of seven — and four of them reached the crest before the plunge towards the Palio together, virtually shoulder to shoulder. The result was in question until the race’s absolute final moment.
Women’s bike racing certainly isn’t perfect. It is a bit slower than men’s racing, and I fear that less attention can yield less attention to detail, and you’re more likely to get absurdities, as when a moto led a chase group — including two potential winners — off the course. But I’m enjoying discovering new names and personalities; learning (thanks to hyphenated names) to say “ELB,” “PFP,” and even “KNP.” And I’m loving watching tactics, tenacity, and surprising outcomes.
So…WTF: Let’s watch women’s bike racing.
RACE NEWS
American Lamperti Takes Stage 1 of Paris-Nice
While most of the hard men (and tough women — see above) were racing towards Siena, non-Grand Tour stage racing got underway with the 2026 version of the Race to the Sun. Beginning in Achères — indeed not far from Paris — it ended with a grand statement from a young American on the rise.
Luke Lamperti outfoxed and overpowered more experienced rivals, seizing the biggest win of his career with a perfectly judged sprint. The 23-year-old Californian, riding for EF Education-EasyPost, held off former Tour de France green jersey winner Biniam Girmay, who found himself trapped against the barriers and unable to get by. Vito Braet and Orluis Aular rounded out the podium in second and third.
A six-rider breakaway made a brave effort to take the spoils, but the peloton — led by Visma-Lease a Bike and NSN Pro Cycling — gradually reeled them in. The steep Côte de Chanteloup-les-Vignes, topping out 11km from home, offered a platform for punchy attackers, but the GC favorites kept things in check. A late crash fractured the peloton in the closing kilometres, leaving only a reduced group to contest the sprint.
And we wonder why top cyclists are racing less and less?
The 23-year-old American earned the first WorldTour win of his career and pulled on the first leader’s jersey of the eight-day stage race. Lamperti was understandably emotional afterwards. “It’s my first WorldTour win, my first time wearing a WorldTour leader’s jersey — so a lot of firsts this week,” he said.
Strade Bianche Rider Reflections — and a Bit of (Recent) History
Men’s Winner Tadej Pogačar — “…Chapeau to the team today. They did an incredible job from the start… It was beautiful to see all the guys performing so well. I said to myself on [Monte] Sante Marie I would go all out and see if Seixas could bridge or explode. It wasn’t easy to drop him.”
Paul Seixas (2nd Place) — On Monte Sante Marie, I looked at Tadej and thought I could bridge. Then he just… he didn’t even look like he was sprinting, he was just gliding. For a moment I was there, then I was gone. It’s a surreal feeling to be on a podium with him at 19 years old.”
Wout van Aert (10th Place) — “Words fall short. By now you expect it from [Pogačar], but he still has to prove it every single time. I’m super satisfied; it was incredibly tough. I’m still missing something to be able to ride with the group behind Pogačar.”
Tom Pidcock (7th Place) —”My chain fell off twice on Sante Marie. That really killed my momentum… I wouldn’t have beaten Tadej anyway. It’s so difficult in the group behind when you know the race has gone. You can feel a bit of somberness here with everyone.”
Women’s Winner Elise Chabbey —”So many emotions. There were so many good riders today. I am so proud I could do it for the team because honestly, everybody in this team is just so committed. Normally it should have been for Demi [Vollering] but today it is for me. I think she is as happy as me.”
Kasia Niewiadoma (2nd Place) —”I’m happy with another podium, but it stings to be so close. Elise [Chabbey] was very smart in the final turns. I tried to push her on the climb, but she had that one extra kick on the cobbles.”
Demi Vollering —”I thought: don’t give up, I can still come back. But then they misdirected us. Everyone immediately knew it was over. A shame for me, but I got really excited from the messages in my earpiece… [My teammates] executed everything perfectly, even though I got a flat at the worst possible moment.”
Have you wondered how Strade Bianche became one of cycling’s most beloved races in such a (relatively) short time? Check out this video — courtesy of our friends at Domestique.
Check Out Magdeleine Vallieres’ Rainbow-Striped Cannondale
Magdeleine Vallieres is racing on a very special bike this season.
Cannondale decked out the World Champion’s brand-new 5th gen LAB71 SuperSix EVO in rainbow stripes to celebrate her win in Rwanda last September. A maple-leaf motif embossed in blue on her top tube evokes her homeland
EF and Cannondale state that Vallieres’ new race bike is faster than ever – everywhere. Ultralight carbon tubes sculpted in the wind tunnel for optimized aerodynamics provide the ultimate balance of stiffness and compliance for nimble handling and rapid accelerations.
“Every corner feels faster,” Mags said. “I especially notice it on the descents.
“I think it is the nicest looking bike in the whole world,” she continued. “It’s so special. Every time I get excited to go to the races with it.”
Americans Score 20 Medals at PanAm & Para PanAm Track Championships
Team USA earned 14 medals to kick off their track season at this year’s Pan Am Track Cycling Championships, in Santiago, Chile.
Kristen Faulkner was back on the track for the first time since the Paris 2024 Olympics. She claimed two gold medals – one in the Team Pursuit and another in her first-ever Individual Pursuit. Eighteen-year-old Junior World Champion Emma Jimenez Palos stepped into her first elite competition, contributing to the gold medal-winning Team Pursuit squad, while also gaining valuable experience in the mass start events.
Newcomer to the track Anna Hicks took on the Points Race beating out the World Champion, Yareli Acevedo, to win gold. Coming from the road, Hicks first raced on the track at a local race in June 2025.
McKenna McKee moved from the endurance side to the sprints over the past few years and has been hard at work with the National Sprint Program. She scored bronze in the Keirin, her first individual Pan American medal.
Cycling Canada Announces 2025 Annual Award Recipients
Cycling Canada has announced the recipients of its 2025 Annual Awards:
Canadian International Commissaire of the Year: Nathalie Pronovost
Canadian National Commissaire of the Year: François Levesque
Community Coaches of the Year:
- Greg Douglas – Ottawa, ON
- Susanne McArthur – Cochrane, AB
Championship Coaches of the Year:
- Mountain Bike XCO/Road: Andrew Watson – Orillia, Ontario
- Mountain Bike DH: Ash Jones – Whistler, BC
Events of the Year
- Road: Tour de l’Abitibi Femmes – Val d’Or, QC
- BMX: Haut-Richelieu Canada Cup – St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC
- Mountain Bike: Brookvale Canada Cup – Charlottetown, PE
- Canadian Championship: Canadian Cyclo-cross Championships – Lévis, QC
- Major International: Mont Sainte Anne UCI World Cup MTB – Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC
President’s Trophy: Jackson Goldstone – Squamish, BC
Russ Copeland Award: Lucas Zhou – Surrey, BC
Commissaire of the Year recipients were nominated by their peers and respective Provincial/Territorial Sport Organization (PTSO) for their exceptional accomplishments, contributions and assignments at local, national and international events.
The Community Coaches of the Year were nominated by community members and supported by their PTSO. Representing the Ottawa Bicycle Club in Ontario, Greg Douglas has spent 15 years leading the club’s Fundamentals Road program, and he also leads a U12 Cyclocross program, coaching youth riders aged 6–11 across spring, summer, and fall.
Canadian Championship Coach of the Year recipients were selected through a nomination process supported by their athlete and/or team that won a 2025 Canadian Cycling Championship title.
Event of the Year recipients were selected through a combined public and internal voting process, the results of which highlighted events that exceeded expectations in terms of operations, atmosphere, and overall experience.
Jackson Goldstone was awarded the President’s Trophy for Best Performance at a World Championship, as voted on by members of the Canadian National Cycling Team.
Lucas Zhou was recognized with the Russ Copeland Award for Best Junior Rider. The 17-year-old from British Columbia delivered a standout performance at the 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Copenhagen, climbing from eighth place out of the gate in the Junior Men’s final to cross the line in third, earning a bronze medal and representing the strength of Canada’s next generation of BMX talent.
Here’s PEZ’ look at the last time we watched racers enter Siena — at the finish of the “Strade Bianche Stage” of last year’s Giro!
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