So many races to get through in today’s EUROTRASH Monday: We have the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell, Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard, UAE Tour Women, Muscat Classic, The Tour of Oman Men and the Volta Comunitat Valenciana Féminas Gran Premio Tuawa – All with video, results, reports and the rider quotes.
TOP STORY:
- Kasia Niewiadoma stars in new ad for sponsor zondacrypto
Rider news:
- Remco Evenepoel ‘Triple Numbers’
- Finn Fisher-Black and Kim Cadzow win the New Zealand time trial championships
- Óscar Freire’s disappearance was a ‘misunderstanding’
- Tim Wellens to stay with Tadej Pogačar
Team news:
- Lotto Cycling Team further expands its commitment to developing young cycling talent
Race news:
- No Bretagne Ladies Tour in 2025 due to financial problems
- Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España ask UCI for extra wildcard
- Wild Cards announced for RCS Sport’s spring UCI World Tour races
EUROTRASH coffee time.
TOP STORY: Kasia Niewiadoma Stars In New Ad for Sponsor zondacrypto
A new version of zondacrypto’s television campaign has launched, featuring Katarzyna Niewiadoma, a standout cyclist from the Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto team. As the leading cryptocurrency exchange in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), zondacrypto has not only secured a three-year contract as a co-title sponsor of the top German women’s cycling team but has also made a strong bet on the Polish Tour de France Femmes champion as its ambassador. This partnership further cements zondacrypto’s dominance in the CEE crypto market.
Check out the latest zondacrypto commercial starring Kasia Niewiadoma
Former Italian European champion Giorgio Chiellini, Polish goalkeeper of FC Barcelona Wojciech Szczęsny, and now Katarzyna Niewiadoma, currently the best Polish cyclist and winner of last year’s Tour de France Femmes – all of these world-class athletes are part of zondacrypto-powered elite lineup. By backing international champions, zondacrypto continues to strengthen its presence in the global sports scene and solidify its position in the Central and Eastern European crypto market.
The latest TV spot featuring Katarzyna Niewiadoma showcases her cycling with intense focus and determination as she powers ahead of her competitors. The campaign highlights a special promotion for new zondacrypto users, where anyone who registers and verifies their identity on the exchange, can receive the equivalent of $10 in cryptocurrency. The registration can be done easily either via website or zondacrypto 2.0 app.
An all-star lineup with zondacrypto
“We aim to partner with the best. Achievements in sports are one thing, but embracing innovation is just as important. Our three-year co-title sponsorship of the leading German women’s cycling team and our partnership with Katarzyna Niewiadoma mark significant milestones. Katarzyna, a true legend of Polish cycling, made history with her victory at last year’s Tour de France Femmes. We are incredibly proud to support her and believe this partnership aligns perfectly with zondacrypto’s commitment to excellence. This cooperation stands alongside our partnerships with athletes like Giorgio Chiellini and Wojciech Szczęsny, reaffirming our dedication to supporting top performers across various disciplines,” said Przemysław Kral, CEO of zondacrypto.
As a leading cryptocurrency exchange in the CEE region, zondacrypto has also deepened its ties to the cycling world through partnerships with prestigious events such as the Giro d’Italia (including Il Lombardia and the women’s edition) and the Tour de Pologne. This dedication to cycling was further reinforced with the announcement of a three-year co-sponsorship of the Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto team, unveiled at a special conference in Monaco attended by Katarzyna Niewiadoma and other team representatives.
From the court to the ice: sports as a unifying passion
zondacrypto is committed to expanding its presence in the world of sports. Beyond its investment in cycling, the company has forged strategic pass ice hockey champion. Taking its dedication a step further, zondacrypto will be the official sponsor of the Davos ice hockey arena for the next five years, renaming it the zondacrypto Arena.
Education through sport
“At zondacrypto, we are committed to our educational mission. We aim to break down stereotypes about cryptocurrencies while providing essential financial knowledge. By using the universal language of sports, we can effectively communicate this message to key audiences, both locally and globally,” concluded Przemysław Kral.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell 2025
The mountain Stage 2 of the Tour of Valencia was won by Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious). The Colombian joined up with his teammate Pello Bilbao on the final climb and then went for the victory. Buitrago didn’t manage to take the leaders jersey as Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) held on by 2 seconds from Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG) and 5 seconds from Buitrago.
There were three tough climbs at the end of the stage after a tough day in the hills of Alicante. After the team time trial on stage 1, the GC could be turned upside down on this a mountain stage, finishing on the Alto de Partegat (4.3km at 9.5%).
The first 115 kilometres of the 166 kilometre stage were relatively easy with some flat roads on the coast, but the finale started with the Coll de Rates (5.7km at 5.3%), a popular climb on training camps in the area. The Alto de Benimantell (5.5km at 7%) followed, before the summit finish on the Alto de Partegat. The ‘break of the day’ was made up of five riders: Samuele Zoccarato (Polti-VisitMalta), Vicente Rojas (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Sinuhé Fernández (Burgos Burpellet BH), Quentin Bezza (Wagner Bazin WB) and Matyáš Kopecký (Team Novo Nordisk). They built up a lead of 3 minutes.
The lead slowly decreased and so Fernández and Kopecký split the group on the Coll de Rates. They worked well together, but with 30 kilometres to go, their lead was only 1 minute, with two tough climbs still to come. Before the penultimate climb, the Alto de Benimantell (5.5km at 7%), it was all over for the two escapees. It was then up to the GC riders men to sort out the stage. This happened on the Alto de Benimantell. UAE Emirates XRG were ready for action. Last year’s winner, Brandon McNulty, attacked several times. His Portuguese teammate, João Almeida also joined in, but they were unable to get away. Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) did manage to escape.
Due to all the attacks, the favourites group had been thinned out to about 20 riders, with the final climb still to come. The overall leader, Mathias Vacek, was still there. He isn’t known as a climber, but he was going to defended his leader’s jersey. Foss saw his chance to extend his lead over the chasing group in the flat kilometres to the final climb. The former World time trial champion was joined by Pello Bilbao and Ivan Roméo, who was U23 World time trial champion last year. For the chasers it was all hands on deck, because at the start of the climb the difference had increased to almost 30 seconds. McNulty was working for teammate Almeida, but didn’t get much closer to the leaders. Bilbao was giving it his 100% and Romeo was able to follow, Foss had to let go.
With just under 2 kilometres to climb, Bilbao dropped Romeo. He had to push on, as the chasers, with Almeida in the lead, could see him up the road, this put Vacek in trouble. The Czech was dropped, but was fighting to keep his lead. Bilbao started the last, steep final kilometre with a slim lead. Almeida, Santiago Buitrago and Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda were not far behind. Buitrago, Bilbao’s teammate, jumped after him. The Colombian went up to and past his teammate and then soloed to the stage victory. Buitrago was the first to cross the finish line on the Alto de Partegat. Bilbao was second, a 1-2 for Bahrain Victorious. Next was Almeida, Cepeda and Arensman. Vacek kept fighting to the line to limit the damage to 1 minute and keep his lead.
Stage winner and 3rd overall, Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Bahrain Victorious): “Starting the season with a victory is amazing. I’m super happy because this win is really important for me and for the team. It’s our first of the season, and that makes it even more special. The whole team put in an incredible effort, and I’m proud of the work everyone did today. This result gives us confidence for the rest of the season.”
2nd on the stage and 4th overall, Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Bahrain Victorious): “When a teammate wins, finishing second still feels great. Santiago was strong on the previous climb, and with four of us in the front group, we needed to play our numbers. I saw an opportunity and attacked, quickly opening a 20-second gap. From there, it was about pushing as hard as possible to the finish. Santi was amazing—I couldn’t even follow him at the end!”
3rd on the stage and 2nd overall, João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG): “It is disappointing to miss out on the win but today the guys were so impressive. We knew that we had to set a good pace to make things hard for the leader, and into the final, both Filippo (Baroncini) and Felix (Großschartner) rode super well. It was always the plan in the final to use our numbers and with Pavel and Brandon, we did this well. Once I got into my rhythm, I could ride hard and this gives us optimism for the next stages.”
Break rider, Samuele Zoccarato (Polti-VisitMatla): “When Zanatta told me last night that I should try to get into the breakaway, I felt really motivated. It’s my trademark and I want to prove that the team made the right choice in betting on me. We rode really hard in the break and, under normal conditions, my race would have truly begun on the Rates. Unfortunately I started struggling with stomach issues and had to slow down. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning.”
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Stage 2 Result:
1. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious in 4:07:54
2. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 0:09
3. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG at 0.13
4. Jefferson Albeiro Cepeda (Ecu) Movistar at 0:21
5. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:24
6. Iván Ramiro Sosa Equipo (Col) Kern Pharma at 0:25
7. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:34
8. Carlos Rodríguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers
9. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious at 0:39
10. Ivan Romeo Abad (Spa) Movistar.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Overall After Stage 2:
1. Mathias Vacek (CZ) Lidl-Trek in 4:48:10
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:02
3. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious at 0:05
4. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 0:18
5. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:19
6. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:27
7. Carlos Rodríguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:29
8. Jefferson Albeiro Cepeda (Ecu) Movistar at 0:30
9. Ivan Romeo Abad (Spa) Movistar at 0:48
10. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious at 0:54.
Valenciana’25 stage 2:
Stage 3 of the Tour of Valencia was won by Iván Romeo on Friday. The Movistar rider came out on top after a tough stage that finished in Alpuente. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG) were second and third. Almeida is the new overall leader with a 2 second lead over Buitrago.
On day three of the Tour of Valencia, the riders had a stage from Algemesí to Alpuente of 180.3-kilometres. In the second half of the stage, there were two Cat-3 climbs and one Cat-1 climb in the last 30 kilometres. The finale was undulating.
The overall leader, Mathias Vacek’s day started very badly as he crashed hard early in the stage. He was able to return to the peloton quickly, but had to ride the stage in a bad way There was an early break of six. The escapees were chased by Bahrain Victorious, who were working for Pello Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago. On the last categorised climb of the day, UAE Emirates XRG took over and the peloton caught the last escapees. The high pace also blew a lot of riders out of the back. One rider was Vacek, who would lose his leader’s jersey. His deficit grew bigger and bigger, especially when Buitrago was the first favourite to attack. The explosive Colombian only had João Almeida with him. The two started the last 20 kilometres with a lead of 20 seconds, but they didn’t work well together. The large chasing group quickly caught them.
The next to try was the young Spaniard Iván Romeo. The U23 World TT champion chose a good moment and soon had a 10 second lead. Romeo then extended his lead and with 5 kilometres to go he had a lead of 22 seconds. In the chasing group of thirteen men, UAE and Bahrain worked together, but not at 100%. Romeo was not a major threat to the GC. At the start of the final kilometre, there was a real acceleration from Thymen Arensman for his teammate Carlos Rodríguez. Thiis was too late, because Romeo had built up enough of a lead. He crossed the finish line solo in Alpuente. A few seconds later, Buitrago won the sprint for second place, ahead of Almeida, who became the new overall leader.
Stage winner and 7th overall, Ivan Romeo (Movistar): “This is what I have been looking for for a long time. I am on cloud nine, very happy. This is what we work for every day. After a very hard winter, I have made a huge leap in quality. But none of that is worth anything if you don’t win. You have to make it happen, so I am very happy for myself and for the team. The attack was planned. It is what we had thought. We knew that if we got over the mountain with the guys in front, we would have a reasonable chance for me or Pablo. When there are three in a group of 12 riders, everything is much easier. The team is having a great season and the results are coming.”
Overall leader and 3rd on the stage, João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG): “Today I think we fought hard and deserved to get the jersey. The stage was not too demanding in general. We gave it everything we had. My teammates were amazing today as always and we managed to get the bonus seconds to defend ourselves from the rivals. We were already predicting that there would be attacks in the end so we had to follow the right moves without burning everything. We need to focus now on every second from now until Sunday.”
2nd on the stage and overall, Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious): “It was another amazing day for us. The team did an incredible job from the start. Kamil (Gradek) and Rainer (Kepplinger) controlled the early part, and my other teammates supported me in the finale. I have to thank them for their effort. Even though we didn’t take the stage win, we improved in the GC. With two more stages to go, we are highly motivated.”
Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek): “I fell and my shoulder hurt a lot. I couldn’t get up. But I decided to continue until the end. The whole team helped me as much as possible, they did a great job, but we were unable to maintain the lead. I hope he doesn’t have a serious injury and that he can continue.”
Fran Muñoz (Polti-VisitMalta): “We started with the idea of trying from far out and I gave it my all to go as far as possible. Of course it’s difficult to get the better of such a strong peloton, especially when there wasn’t much cooperation among us breakaway riders — everyone wanted to do things their own way. But the important thing was to confirm my condition and the sensations of all my teammates. The response was positive, so we keep going!”
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Stage 3 Result:
1. Ivan Romeo Abad (Spa) Movistar in 4:26:15
2. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious at 0:10
3. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG
4. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious
5. Jefferson Albeiro Cepeda (Ecu) Movistar
6. Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Movistar
7. Davide Piganzoli (Ita) Polti VisitMalta
8. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
9. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers
10. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Overall After Stage 3:
1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG in 9:14:30
2. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious at 0:02
3. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 0:21
4. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:24
5. Carlos Rodríguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:33
6. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:32
7. Ivan Romeo Abad (Spa) Movistar at 0:33
8. Jefferson Albeiro Cepeda (Ecu) Movistar at 0:35
9. Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Movistar at 1:03
10. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 1:05.
Valenciana’25 stage 3:
Santiago Buitrago had a double success on Stage 4 of the Tour of Valencia. The hilly stage to Portell de Morella was a tough day, but the Bahrain Victorious rider left the others on the steep final kilometre. João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG) lost his leader’s jersey to Buitrago and a very strong Jonathan Milan finished second and his Lidl-Trek teammate, Jakob Söderqvist was third.
The day after Iván Romeo’s stage victory, João Almeida started the fourth stage of the Tour of Valencia in the leader’s jersey. The hilly stage of over 181 kilometres had a vicious finale and it looked made for the attackers. Almeida had to defend a lead of 2 seconds over Santiago Buitrago.
The day’s break had three riders who gained more than 8 minutes. Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) was joined Jon Agirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma), UAE Emirates XRG was leading the chase. On the Alto de Chodos, Agirre dropped his fellow escapees, as some of the GC riders made their move on the Alto de Vistabella. Lenny Martinez and Davide Piganzoli tried, but they couldn’t get away. Movistar’s Pablo Castrillo did manage a little later. He caught and passed Uriarte and Houle on a difficult and undulating intermediate section, after which he joined Agirre, 55 kilometres from the finish. The thinned out peloton followed at almost 2 minutes behind and so Castrillo was the virtual overall leader. It was mainly UAE Emirates XRG that chased, with Lidl-Trek also at the front for Jonathan Milan. Several teams hoped to do everything they could in the last 40 kilometres to make it a sprint. In addition to Lidl-Trek, Jayco AlUla also helped in the chase for Castrillo, who had dropped Agirre. Castrillo had no chance on the wide roads of the plateaus towards the finish in Portell de Morella. With 9 kilometres to go, he was caught, after which INEOS Grenadiers increased the pace. Jefferson Cepeda was the next Movistar rider to attack on a nasty uphill stretch. Thymen Arensman couldn’t follow him, after which the pace slowed in the elite group.
Cepeda, 8th overall at 35 seconds, pushed Almeida’s teammates to the limit towards the difficult final kilometre. His lead fluctuated between 10 and 15 seconds on a small peloton where Jonathan Milan was holding on. Disruptive work by Iván Romeo caused the pace to drop from the chase, which increased Cepeda’s chances. In the last steep kilometre, with percentages of up to 9%, the race was full on. Lidl-Trek caught Cepeda, but the climb proved too tough for Milan to win. With a strong acceleration, Santiago Buitrago blasted to the stage win and the leader’s jersey, as Almeida was unable to keep up. Behind Buitrago, Milan and his lead-out Jakob Söderqvist crossed the finish line in second and third place. Eight seconds is now the difference between Buitrago and Almeida going into Sunday’s final stage. Behind them, Pello Bilbao is third at almost half a minute, with Arensman on his heels.
Stage winner and overall leader, Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious): “I can’t describe how happy I am. Today, I was mainly focused on gaining bonus seconds to take the leader’s jersey, and to be honest, the win was quite unexpected. We thought it would be a day for the sprinters, like our former teammate Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), but in the finale, I was at the front with Pello (Bilbao), and we decided it was worth trying. I accelerated, went all in, and made it happen. It’s incredible—we thought it would be difficult to take back seconds in the GC, and instead, we took both the stage win and the leader’s jersey. There’s one more day, and it will be a hard one, but we have a strong team that can support me to defend this jersey.”
2nd overall and 7th on the stage, Joao Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG): “It was a strange day. In the end, it was actually like I wasn’t there. It was also a bit dangerous, it wasn’t perfect, but I found myself too far back and at that point I couldn’t move forward. It’s definitely not an ideal day for us. I’m still happy with the condition and overall it’s been a positive week. It’s true that there’s still one more day to go, but I’m not very satisfied today, honestly.”
2nd on the stage, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek): “It was very tough. But we did very well as a team. I was left behind several times, I think three times, and the team brought me back. I was on the edge all day, really all day. In the end we were in a good position. I saw Jakob who had great legs today and he opened a small gap, I thought he could go all the way because he was better than me, but at that moment I saw Santiago coming very fast from behind. I tried to control my pace during the last 500 meters.”
Jon Agirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi): “Today was a medium mountain stage, and there was a bit of wind. We didn’t know what the peloton was going to do and we saw the opportunity to break away. It’s a shame that there were only three riders, as the pace was very hard all day at the front. But seeing that I had good legs and that, despite having some discomfort after yesterday’s fall, I was fine, I tried to fight for the mountain prizes and I managed it. On that front, I’m happy and, in addition, the team was able to have a presence in the race and on the podium. Afterwards, I left my two breakaway companions behind until Pablo (Castrillo) caught me. I held on as long as I could, as I had no more strength after a demanding day.”
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Stage 4 Result:
1. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious in 4:53:29
2. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 0:06
3. Jakob Söderqvist (Swe) Lidl-Trek
4. Riley Sheehan (USA) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:10
5. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers
6. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious
7. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG
8. Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
9. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Emirates XRG 0:13
10. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Overall After Stage 4:
1. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious in 14:07:51
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:18
3. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 0:39
4. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:42
5. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:53
6. Carlos Rodríguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:54
7. Jefferson Albeiro Cepeda (Ecu) Movistar at 1:00
8. Ivan Romeo Abad (Spa) Movistar at 1:07 (penalised)
9. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 1:31
10. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 1:37.
Valenciana’25 stage 4:
Jonathan Milan was the favourite for the Final Stage 5 of the Tour of Valencia. The Italian had a perfect lead-out from his Lidl-Trek teammates in Valencia and then finished the job off. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) had no problems in the flat final stage to take the overall win.
The final stage of the Tour of Valencia went from Alfafar to Valencia. The stage was almost flat and was only over 104 kilometres. T the finish in Valencia, the finishing straight was 700 metres long, perfect for the sprinters. It was also important for the GC men to keep out of any trouble.
Five riders formed the break of the day. The peloton let them go and so Jokin Murguialday (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sinuhé Fernández (Burgos Burpellet BH), Joan Bou (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Quentin Bezza (Wagner Bazin WB) and Nathan Smith (Team Novo Nordisk) built a lead of 2 minutes. This was not going to be enough to win the stage, but the five pushed on anyway. In the peloton, the chase work was done by UAE Emirates XRG, Bahrain Victorious, Lidl-Trek and Intermarché-Wanty, but the lead remained around 1 minute for a long time. Murguialday, Fernández, Bou, Bezza and Smith had no chance as the peloton started to lift the pace. The crosswind on the open plains caused the peloton to split into echelons twice, but it came together again. In the last 30 kilometres, the danger of echelons had passed, and the teams could start to preparing for the sprint.
With 4 kilometres to go, the leading group was caught. The sprint trains then put the hammer down into the centre of Valencia. Lidl-Trek had confidence in their fast-finisher Jonathan Milan and pulled the peloton into a long line in the last 2 kilometres. They positioned Milan perfectly for the last few hundred metres. Milan finished off the work of his teammates with the stage win. The 24-year-old shot off the wheels of the other sprinters to take his first personal victory of 2025. Jake Stewart and Giovanni Lonardi crossed the line in second and third place. Buitrago finished safely in the peloton for the final overall victory. The Bahrain Victorious rider finished ahead of João Almeida and Pello Bilbao. Thymen Arensman was just 3 seconds short of the podium, finishing in fourth place.
Stage winner, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek): “It was quite a difficult stage. It went very fast. Because of the wind, the peloton was very nervous the whole time. There were even echelons at one point. We were at the front and were ready. We knew this could happen. It went very well. We decided to control almost immediately at the beginning of the stage. My team managed to put me in the perfect position for the sprint. I have to thank them very much. This is a very important victory. I was really looking for it. Our goal was to win the final stage. I like coming here. It is a nice race to start the season with. I also felt good, especially in Saturday’s stage. We can look back on a nice week.”
Final overall winner, Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious): “It’s a fantastic feeling. I was already super happy after yesterday’s result and to wear the leader’s jersey this morning, but you never know until the very end. I have to give a huge thank you to my teammates. Today could have been tricky, but they worked exceptionally well to keep everything under control. I share this GC victory with them. Starting the season with such a result is incredible.”
2nd overall, João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG): “I think it was a very positive result and I’m happy with this week. Our team did a good job – we fought for the win and we weren’t too far away from it. Yesterday I wasn’t feeling 100% but that’s how cycling goes – sometimes you are the hammer, sometimes you are the nail. Overall I’m pretty happy with the first race of the season, I think second place is not bad at all. I go now to Figueira and Algarve for the next goals so I’m going there with confidence and eyes on the prize.”
3rd on the stage, Giovanni Lonardi (Polti VisitMalta): “Beating Milan was impossible, but maybe I could have finished second instead of third if I had taken less wind. In any case, it was the first opportunity of 2025, and it went quite well!”
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Stage 5 Result:
1. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek in 2:09:53
2. Jake Stewart (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
3. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Team Polti VisitMalta
4. Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
5. Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
6. Sente Sentjens (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
7. Ethan Vernon (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
8. Miguel Angel Fernandez Ruiz (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
9. Matyas Kopecky (CZ) Team Novo Nordisk
10. Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Wagner Bazin WB.
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana Gran Premi Banc Sabadell Final Overall Result:
1. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious in 16:17:43
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:18
3. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 0:39
4. Thymen Arensman (Ned) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:42
5. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:53
6. Carlos Rodríguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:54
7. Jefferson Albeiro Cepeda (Ecu) Movistar at 1:00
8. Ivan Romeo Abad (Spa) Movistar at 1:07
9. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 1:31
10. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 1:37.
Valenciana’25 stage 5:
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard 2025
The Second Stage of the Etoile de Bessèges was won by Søren Wærenskjold. The Norwegian of Uno-X Mobility burst through a chaotic sprint in Marguerittes. Arnaud Démare was in second place. Wednesday’s stage winner, Paul Magnier, finished third, but held the leader’s jersey.
In the opening stage of the 55th Etoile de Bessèges, the race was for the sprinters, but day two was a bit harder. In 165.8 kilometres between Domessargues and Marguerittes, the riders had to climb four second-category climbs, not too hard, but might see off some of the sprinters.
With a double passage of the Côte de Montagnac (2km at 4.1%) and the Côte Cabrières (4.7km at 3.2%), the sprinters had to stay near the front. The last climb, the second and last passage of the Côte de Cabrières, was 8 kilometres from the finish and could be problem for the fast-finishers. Five riders escaped early on: Axandre Van Petegem, the son of Peter Van Petegem, Victor Vercouillie (Team Flanders-Baloise), Louis Kitzki (Alpecin Deceuninck Development Team), Maël Guégan (CIC-U-Nantes) and Yohann Simon (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93). Their lead at one point was just over 3 minutes, which wasn’t going to be enough. With 70 kilometres to go, the lead had been reduced to 1:30. But the break held out for a long time.
The leading group came over the last climb with a lead, but the four: Vercouillie, Kitzki, Guégan and Simon were not far off the front. With 5 kilometres to go, everything came back together again. Van Petegem managed to collect enough points for the KOM jersey. At the front of the race, the sprint lead-outs were fighting for control. Soudal Quick-Step for Paul Magnier, the stage winner on Wednesday, took control in the last 3 kilometres. The young Frenchman had a strong sprint train in the final, but the Belgian team could not continue the effort and was out-paced by the other teams. It turned out to be a chaotic sprint, in which no team was able to gain the upper hand. Ben Turner managed to take his teammate Axel Laurence to the front, but was no match for the much faster Søren Wærenskjold. The Norwegian was by far the strongest and finished ahead of Frenchmen Arnaud Démare and Magnier.
Maxim Van Gils had to abandon the Etoile de Bessèges after crashing due to a car on the race route. The 25-year-old Belgian was involved in an incident in the second stage of the French stage race when a car drove onto the course, causing a crash and he was too injured to continue.
Van Gils finished the opening stage in fourth place, but a day later, everything went wrong. In the final of the second stage to Marguerittes, about 16 kilometres from the finish, a car drove onto the race course. This resulted in a serious crash and the biggest victim was Maxim Van Gils. “I heard a car driving on the course, towards the peloton,” Heinrich Haussler, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe DS, explained. “The entire peloton had to brake. There was a kind of domino effect and Maxim fell into the ditch.” The team said he didn’t suffer any serious injuries and was treated immediately at the finish in the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe bus. “He seems okay, but of course he is in a lot of pain. He will be examined to make sure he is okay. This concerns the impact of the fall on his side,” Haussler added.
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Stage 2 Result:
1. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X Mobility in 3:37:54
2. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
3. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step
4. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
5. Axel Laurance (Fra) INEOS Grenadiers
6. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Madis Mihkels (Est) EF Education-EasyPost
8. Sandy Dujardin (Fra) TotalEnergies
9. Sam Bennett (Irl) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
10. Axel Huens (Fra) Unibet Tietema Rockets.
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Overall After Stage 2:
1. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step in 7:31:09
2. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 0:08
3. Marijn van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-EasyPost at 0:10
4. Sandy Dujardin (Fra) TotalEnergies at 0:14
5. Timo Kielich (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
6. Axel Laurance (Fra) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:16
7. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
8. Valentin Tabellion (Fra) Van Rysel-Roubaix
9. Lukas Kubis (Slo) Unibet Tietema Rockets
10. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
Bessèges’25 stage 2:
Arnaud de Lie won yet another chaotic stage of the Etoile de Bessèges. The Lotto rider is also the new leader after Stage 3, he beat Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) in the sprint. The stage was marred by another incident with a car on the course, which caused several teams to abandon the race. In the end, only ninety riders finished.
The third stage started in pouring rain and a car drove onto the race route again, the same thing happened earlier in the Etoile de Bessèges. On that occasion it caused a crash and Maxim Van Gils and others had to abandon. On Friday, the riders encountered another car on the course, this time on a roundabout. This was too much for many of the riders. After this incident, three representatives of the riders met with the organisers and the race jury. In the end, after more than 30 minutes, it was decided to continue the stage; first partly neutralised and then, in the pouring rain, the riders started again. This was without a large part of the peloton: The riders of Soudal Quick-Step, EF Education-EasyPost, INEOS Grenadiers, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Uno-X Mobility, Lidl-Trek and Unibet Tietema Rockets decided to withdraw from the race.
Oliver Knight of Cofidis rode solo off the front for a while. That peloton consisted of about 90 riders. Knight was caught in the final of the race, but not by the peloton, but by a chase group, after which there was continuous attacks for kilometres. Kévin Vauquelin, Benjamin Thomas, Arnaud De Lie and Dylan Teuns, all went on the attack. Teuns held out against the peloton for a while. However, the Cofidis rider was caught 4 kilometres from the finish. The teams then prepared for the sprint. With many big teams no longer in the race, Arnaud De Lie was the big favourite. The sprint became a duel between Arnaud Démare and Belgian champion De Lie. De Lie came out on top, ahead of Démare and Paul Penhoët. The young rider is also the new leader overall. This was his first win of the season for his Lotto team.
Stage winner and overall leader, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto): “I initially got into the car to warm up. Over the radio, we heard that if we didn’t restart, it would be the end of the Etoile de Bessèges for good. That really hit me. Rider safety comes first, absolutely. A car on the course is unacceptable. But at the same time, races like these can only continue to exist because of the riders. It’s thanks to these organisers that we have the opportunity to live our passion. Baptiste (Veistroffer) and I lost contact with the rest of our team amidst all the chaos. We were already moving forward again, while the others were preparing to head back to the team bus, just like many other teams. It was pure chaos. It was a dilemma for everyone, but in the end, I didn’t overthink it and just kept going. At first, we were about 20 riders, but eventually, around 60 continued. I hope I made the right choice. I also did it out of respect for the organisers, they have an incredibly tough job. And I won, in this weather, which I love, after such a crazy day. It felt a bit heroic. I’m really happy with this victory.”
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Stage 3 Result:
1. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto in 2:27:45
2. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
3. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
4. Ronan Auge (Fra) CIC U Nantes Atlantique
5. Alan Riou (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93
6. Théo Delacroix (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93
7. Giacomo Villa (Ita) Wagner Bazin WB
8. Damien Touzé (Fra) Cofidis
9. Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise
10. Valentin Tabellion (Fra) Van Rysel-Roubaix.
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Overall After Stage 3:
1. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto in 9:59:00
2. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:06
3. Sandy Dujardin (Fra) TotalEnergies at 0:08
4. Valentin Tabellion (Fra) Van Rysel-Roubaix at 0:10
5. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
6. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies
7. Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
8. Vincent Van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise at 0:13
9. Alex Colman (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise at 0:14
10. Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise.
Bessèges’25 stage 3:
Kévin Vauquelin took the overall lead in the Etoile de Bessèges, in a shortened mountain Stage 4 to Le Mont Bouquet. The French leader of Arkéa-B&B Hotels rode away from a small group of favourites in the final kilometres for the stage win. Vauquelin took the leader’s jersey from Arnaud De Lie, with one stage to go.
The problematic Etoile de Bessèges received even more bad news before the start of the fourth stage, because Equipo Kern Pharma also decided to leave the race, following the example of many WorldTeams on Friday. Only 72 riders started what should have been 155 kilometre stage to the steep Le Mont Bouquet (4.6km at 9.1%) climb. It was raining and cold and snow was expected on the 618metre final climb.
After all the criticism of the race, the organisers decided to adjust the route. A local lap of over 20 kilometres was cancelled, which meant that one of the climbs was also gone. A short passage was also neutralised by roadworks. Four riders made up the day’s break: Simon Dehairs (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Victor Vercouillie (Team Flanders-Baloise), Alexys Brunel (TotalEnergies) and Kilian Theot (Van Rysel-Roubaix). The four couldn’t get more than a 2 minute lead, because the Arkéa-B&B Hotels for Kévin Vauquelin kept the pace high. In the leading group, Brunel was the strongest on an uphill section. The Côte de Concluses, the penultimate climb was also cancelled during the stage, which shortened the stage by another 16 kilometres. The peloton took no risks and kept the gap to Brunel and Theot small. They were the two remaining escapees, but the Le Mont Bouquet (4.6km at 9.1%) was still to come.
On the climb, it was Arkéa-B&B Hotels that increased the pace. Overall leader, Arnaud De Lie made a brave attempt to follow, but it was too fast for him. The attack by Kévin Vauquelin came at the start of the last 3 kilometres. There was no reaction from the others, and the Frenchman was on his way to the stage victory and the leader’s jersey. The first chasers of Vauquelin were Kévin Geniets, Dylan Teuns, Thomas Champion, Nicolas Breuillard, but they were fighting each other for the other places behind Vauquelin. It was the St Michel riders, Champion and Breuillard who came second and third.
Stage winner and overall leader, Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): “It was complicated in those conditions, and more than once in my head I just wanted to stop, because I was so cold from the start.”
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Stage 4 Result:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 3:06:33
2. Thomas Champion (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 0:26
3. Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 0:41
4. Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ at 0:47
5. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis
6. Théo Delacroix (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 0:56
7. Damien Touzé (Fra) Cofidis at 1:01
8. Andréa Mifsud (Fra) Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur
9. Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 1:08
10. Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 1:13.
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Overall After Stage 4:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 13:05:33
2. Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 0:51
3. Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ at 0:57
4. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis at 0:1:01
5. Thomas Champion (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 1:10
6. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies at 1:11
7. Damien Touzé (Fra) Cofidis at 1:19
8. Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 1:31
9. Vincent Van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise at 1:51
10. Théo Delacroix (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 1:52.
Bessèges’25 stage 4:
Kévin Vauquelin added the Etoile de Bessèges to his palmarès on Sunday with a very strong time trial ride. The Frenchman started the 10 kilometre Final Stage 5 as the overall leader and extended his lead by the end of the day. He beat Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ) by 18 seconds and Dylan Teuns (Cofidis) by 21. Teuns did move up to second overall.
The 55th edition of the Etoile de Bessèges will be remembered for the terrible weather, cars on the race route and teams abandoning. On Friday, many teams left the French stage race after a car drove onto the course for the second time, but the race continued. The riders who were still in the peloton still had the time trial on the final day. Stage 5 was a short, flat time trial to Alès. The finish line was on a climb of 2.6 kilometres with an average gradient of 5.8%.
The first serious finishing time in Alès was set by Oliver Knight. The 24-year-old British Cofidis rider was the first to finish with an average speed of over 40kph, which was much faster than the previous top times from Baptise Gillet and Victor Vercouillie. With a time of 15:52, Knight took his place in the hot seat. The better time trialists still had to finish. Rémi Cavagna put up a top time. The Frenchman, who now rides for Groupama-FDJ, took 25 seconds off Knight’s time. With a time of 15:26 he had a good chance of the stage victory, but Kévin Vauquelin was still to finish.
The 23-year-old Frenchman, who had taken the overall lead on Saturday in the shortened, rain hit stage to Le Mont Bouquet, was keen to consolidate his lead. The Arkéa-B&B Hotels leader gave it 100% and made the difference in the last difficult, uphill final kilometres. At the finish, Vauquelin was 19 seconds faster than Cavagna’s time to win the final time trial. Cavagna had to make do with second place on the stage, Dylan Teuns finished third and moved up two places on GC to second overall, but was nearly one and a half minutes behind Vauquelin. Luxembourger, Kevin Geniets finished third overall.
Stage winner and final overall winner, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): “This victory in the overall classification and in the time trial are very satisfying results, both personally and for the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team. I had quite a big lead in the overall classification this morning, so it gave me a good idea of what to expect on this final stage. It’s a reward for all the hard work I’ve put in all week and over the winter. I had a bit of revenge to take here on the Etoile de Bessèges, after a special week and a very trying day yesterday. To finish like that is really good. I’m pleased to have inaugurated the Bianchi Aquila RC time trial bike in such a good way, with this success. Thibault Guernalec also set a good time, so those are obviously positive signs. It shows that it’s a fast bike. I really enjoyed riding it today. It bodes well for the rest of the season.”
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Stage 5 Result:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels 15:07
2. Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:18
3. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis at 0:21
4. Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 23
5. Maxime Decibel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:25
6. Vincent Van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders-Baloise at 28
7. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies at 0:35
8. Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ at 0:37
9. Damien Touzé (Fra) Cofidis at 0:43
10. Oliver Knight (GB) Cofidis at 0:44.
Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard Final Overall Result:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 13:20:40
2. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis at 1:22
3. Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ at 1:35
4. Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies at 1:46
5. Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 1:56
6. Damien Touzé (Fra) Cofidis at 2:02
7. Thomas Champion (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 2:23
8. Fabien Doubey (Fra) TotalEnergies at 2:41
9. Théo Delacroix (Fra) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 at 2:42
10. Clement Inquired (Fra) Cofidis at 2:49.
Bessèges’25 stage 5:
UAE Tour Women 2025
Lorena Weirs won the First Stage of the UAE Tour Women. The Dutch rider was the fastest in a bunch sprint. She beat Charlotte Kool (Team Picnic PostNL) and Niece Veenhoven (Visma | Lease a Bike).
The first stage of the UAE Tour Women started from Dubai Police Officer’s Club to finish in Dubai Harbour, over a distance of just under 150 kilometres. The stage was flat, so a bunch sprint was expected.
There was only one early escapee. After Italian, Linda Laporta (BePink-Imatra-Bongioanni) had been off front for a while, Cristina Tonetti (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) and Sylvie Swindles (Roland) joined her. At one point, the three had a lead of almost 9 minutes, but then the pace in the peloton increased. With 55 kilometres to go, the difference had been cut to just over 1 minute. At that moment there was a big crash in the peloton. A rider from Liv AlUla Jayco fell on the left side of the road and other riders crashed into her. Karolin Swindles, Sofie van Rooijen, Asleigh Moolman, Vittoria Gaussian, Mavi García, Alison Jackson, Julie De Wilde, Antonia Niedermaier, Marta Lach and Elizabeth Deignan were among those involved. Letizia Paternoster had to abandon after the crash, but the other riders were able to continue. Many of them would also rejoin the peloton, where the pace had slowed down. The leading group with Laporta, Tonetti and Swindles, the younger sister of Karolin Swindles, took more time, but they would not be able to prevent a sprint. SD Worx-Protime and Picnic PostNL were in charge of the peloton.
Swindles and Tonetti dropped Laporta, and held on for quite a while. But with 3 kilometres to go, their split was over. The sprinter’s teams were already preparing for the finish. After the last bend, SD Worx-Protime took command. They dropped Weirs off in a good position, but Kool also came out on the other side of the road. Weirs didn’t let Kool, who had come from far back, pass her. The European champion remained level with her competitor for a while and then moved ahead. She won with a convincing margin. Kool had to settle for second place, while Niece Veenhoven (Visma | Lease a Bike) completed the Dutch podium. Weirs is also the first overall leader of the UAE Tour Women.
Stage winner and overall leader, Lorena Weirs (SD Worx-Protime): “I’m really happy to win again and finish off the work of the team. It was a bit chaotic in the sprint like always but we were able to sprint. I first want to thank my team-mates and tell them that I’m still the fastest at the moment. We wanted to control the whole day. We entered the last corner in a perfect position and I still had my lead out with me. They delivered me at perfection for sprinting. I felt that I was overtaking Charlotte (Kool) but I know since the Amstel Gold Race that somebody is always likely to come on one side.”
White Jersey Niece Veenhoven (Visma | Lease a Bike): “It’s special to make the top 3 because you really needed to sprint today. I’m proud of the girls how we did the sprint together. We made it quite long, I just trusted my team-mates. At the end, I only had to sprint. Of course you want to win but it’s no shame finishing third behind Lorena (Weirs) and Charlotte (Kool). Maybe in the future I can beat them. I’m not there yet but I hope to close the gap.”
Black Jersey Cristina Tonetti (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi): “The champions are the girls who win races, I’m still far away from there. But at least I can enjoy this medal today. Our breakaway got a big gap but there was a lot of head wind. With the tail wind it was a little bit better and I tried to resist to the peloton. But it was impossible to stay away. We raced hard for the intermediate sprints. I’d like to break away again to retain the Black Jersey but a lot of wind is expected tomorrow so we’ll see what’s possible really.”
UAE Tour Women Stage 1 Result:
1. Lorena Weirs (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:57:37
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Team Picnic PostNL
3. Niece Veenhoven (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
4. Mia Griffin (Irl) Roland
5. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) Team Picnic PostNL
6. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG Insurance-Soudal
7. Sofie Van Rooijen (Ned) UAE Team ADQ
8. Sara Fiorin (Ita) Ceratizit
9. Lara Gillespie (Irl) UAE Team ADQ
10. Kathrin Schweinberger (Aust) Human Powered Health.
UAE Tour Women Overall After Stage 1:
1. Lorena Weirs (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:57:27
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Team Picnic PostNL at 0:04
3. Niece Veenhoven (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:06
4. Cristina Tonetti (Ita) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
5. Sylvie Swindles (Ned) Roland
6. Linda Laporta (Ita) BePink-Imatra-Bongioanni
7. Mia Griffin (Irl) Roland at 0:10
8. Rachele Barbieri (Irl) Team Picnic PostNL
9. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG Insurance-Soudal
10. Sofie Van Rooijen (Ned) UAE Team ADQ.
UAE Tour’25 stage 1:
The Second Stage of the UAE Tour for women was split by echelons and the stage was won by Lorena Weirs (SD Worx-Protime). After a stage of 111 kilometres through the desert, through a strong wind, the first echelon proved to be the right one. Five riders, including GC favourites, Elisa Longo Borghini, held out until the finish in Al Mirfa.
After Lorena Weirs’ sprint victory on the opening day, the short second stage promised attacks. The 111 kilometre stage went through the desert and the wind was just right for echelons. A complete peloton at the finish in Al Mirfa was unlikely.
It was clear in the first kilometres that the wind was going to play a major role. A group of five immediately escaped, including Wiebes, Karlijn Swinkels and Elisa Longo Borghini. They formed a good echelon and the peloton had to chase. FDJ-SUEZ and Visma | Lease a Bike responded. After more than 25 kilometres, the peloton was complete again and the gap with the Wiebes group became smaller, but because Longo Borghini had two teammates with Swinkels and Lara Gillespie and Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) was also with him, the leading group continued to ride well. The difference grew from 10 to 40 seconds. The chase fell apart and Wiebes and Longo Borghini had a 3 minute lead. At the start of the last hour of racing, the peloton split again into echelons. The pace shot up and the gap to the leading group decreased to 2 minutes. Led by FDJ-SUEZ and Lidl-Trek, the difference continued to decrease on the wide desert roads. Charlotte Kool was no longer in the leading peloton, because she had missed the split.
Teammates of Wiebes and Longo Borghini slowed the chase, which meant that the lead remained around 1 minute for a long time. The peloton was unable to make up ground, which meant that the leading group, after 110 kilometres, would contest for the stage win. For UAE Team ADQ, the time gain for leader Longo Borghini was the most important, while Wiebes went for the stage win. She won for the second day in a row and strengthened her grip on the leader’s jersey, but Longo Borghini was happy with her time gain. The stage was ridden at an average speed of 48.401kph, making it the fastest stage ever in the Women’s WorldTour. The old record was set in the Vuelta Femenina (46.754kph average). Wiebes took her 50th victory in the Women’s WorldTour.
Stage winner and Red Jersey Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “I like to race here because there are a lot of sprint finishes but today it wasn’t really a sprint. It was very chaotic at the start and once I joined the front group, I looked back and realised we were only five riders. Then I thought it could be a very long day. But it wasn’t so long at the end because we rode very fast. Once we got three minutes, I started to believe that we could stay away. With three riders of UAE, I felt comfortable because I knew that four riders of SD Worx-Protime were in the group behind me. I was happy that we stayed away. As we still had one minute lead close to the finish, I started thinking of winning from that group of five. I don’t intend to give it all tomorrow because I deeply want to win the last stage.”
2nd on the stage and 3rd overall, Lily Williams (Human Powered Health): “It’s super satisfying to get my first WorldTour podium. It’s great to feel that I’m still growing and changing and to be part of the action in a WorldTour race is encouraging and I take a lot of confidence from it. After yesterday’s sprint I set my all-time best one-minute power so I knew I had that tool in the bag. I wasn’t stressed when it split. I was able to ride to the front quickly. It didn’t feel hard at the time but it did hurt me later because my heart rate never came down after that. Once we got together it just rolled. It’s easy to hope the bunch will come back to you but the kilometres were ticking over fast so I just tried to put my head down and suffer. At a certain point UAE told us that they were riding for time and would not attack which was fine by me, I was truly on the limit. We hit a headwind section and suddenly we had three minutes and then Lorena and I realised this is when we need to contribute now. I assumed the peloton would just let us dangle but all of a sudden we had this gap and we all knew once we got to the tailwind it would be easier to maintain. It was hovering at a minute forever so at that point we figured it would stick. It was windy which is why the race was so quick but the willingness to create an echelon and sustain that effort for 110k is a symbol of people understanding what’s happening in a bike race. It will always be a bit different to men’s racing but we’re moving towards the standards that maybe people think you would race on a stage like today. I felt confident in Spain last week in a variety of new scenarios. The team has professionalized a lot since we entered the WorldTour. Not only do I feel confident about myself but I also feel confident that when I do any job, somebody will be in the right spot to finish it. We’re all working well together so we now have a lot of opportunities we didn’t have before.”
White Jersey, Julie De Wilde (Fenix-Deceuninck): “It’s been a long time since we last saw echelons in a race but I was happy that it went that way today. It made a nice fight. When the peloton split, I realised that I was in the first chasing group as I saw only three riders behind me. It felt good. I wasn’t concerned about the other young riders. I wasn’t thinking of the white jersey. I was more focused on the sprint but I was a bit locked in. It’s a nice surprise to end up with the best young rider place. I had a bad crash last year so I was a bit angry that I didn’t improve my as much as I wanted to. After my rehab, I worked hard this winter and it’s nice to see my shape is getting better now. For tomorrow, I think there are much better climbers than me, but it’ll be nice to race with the White Jersey and the UAE Tour is a good preparation for the upcoming races in Belgium.”
Black Jersey, Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ): “For sure it was the plan to go full gas from the start. We were prepared for the crosswinds but it wasn’t the plan to be only five riders in the lead. We had a tough day but we had a plan to give time to Elisa (Longo Borghini) and she’s happy to start tomorrow’s stage with an advantage of one and a half minutes. She’s strong in the mountains, but she’s also very strong in the crosswinds. I guess she’ll have a bit less stress tomorrow. We were never really sure to stay away but we thought we could when the difference was two minutes. If we managed to keep the pace high, it would be hard for them to close the gap. In the last part, we gave all the energy we had left so the gap would be as big as possible. I think we did a really good job as a team. I don’t think the Black Jersey is a goal for us. I only went for it to favour Elisa with the bonus seconds. The Black Jersey is the warmest one so it’s not what Elisa wanted to wear up to Jebel Hafeet. But we hope that after tomorrow, she’ll wear the Red Jersey.”
UAE Tour Women Stage 2 Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 2:17:35
2. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health
3. Lara Gillespie (Irl) UAE Team ADQ
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
5. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ at 0:06
6. Marta Lach (Pol) SD Worx-Protime at 1:26
7. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto
8. Mylene De Zoete (Ned) Ceratizit
9. Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Uno-X Mobility
10. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) Visma | Lease a Bike.
UAE Tour Women Overall After Stage 2:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 6:14:52
2. Lara Gillespie (Irl) UAE Team ADQ at 0:13
3. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health at 0:14
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 0:16
5. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ at 0:21
6. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) Visma | Lease a Bike Women at 1:46
7. Mylene De Zoete (Ned) Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team
8. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto
9. Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93
10. Kimberley Le Court de Billot (Maur) AG Insurance-Soudal.
UAE Tour’25 stage 2:
Elisa Longo Borghini won Stage 3 of the UAE Tour Women. The UAE Team ADQ rider was the best on the difficult finish on Jebel Hafeet. Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) and Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) joined her on the podium. Longo Borghini is also the new overall leader.
After two sprint stages and two victories by Lorena Wiebes, it was time for a mountain stage on day three of the UAE Tour Women. The stage on Saturday morning started in Al Ain Qasr Al Muwaiji and finished at the top of Jebel Hafeet after 150 kilometres. This climb has been decisive in the UAE Tour Women in the past.
The peloton decided to save its strength for the climb of Jebel Hafeet, so there were no early breaks. At one point, some cracks appeared in the peloton due to the wind, but that didn’t last long. In the last kilometres, there were some attackers. Victoire Berteau and Amalie Dideriksen of Cofidis and Marta Lach of SD Worx-Protime got together. The peloton didn’t try too hard to chase, so Berteau and Lach, Dideriksen had been dropped, started the climb of Jabel Hafeet (10.9km at 6.7%) with a lead of about 45 seconds. The peloton started the climb steadily, but gradually closed in on the leaders. Berteau and Lach were eventually caught 7 kilometres from the finish. This was thanks to UAE Team ADQ, who tried to put Elisa Longo Borghini in position. Silvia Persico in particular set a very high pace, which meant that several riders had to let go. One of those was Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who is doing her first stage race with Visma | Lease a Bike. Persico, unlike Ferrand-Prévot, had a good day, she kept up the hard work until 5 kilometres from the top.
It was Mavi García who attacked. It was only a small kick and the Spanish rider eased off. This allowed Persico to return, after which the Italian took the group in tow again. In addition to Longo Borghini and Persico, that group also included Nienke Vinke, Antonia Niedermaier, Barbara Malcotti and Kim Le Court. With 3 kilometres to go, Longo Borghini decided that her moment had come. Thanks to her explosiveness, she immediately created a gap on the other favourites. Longo Borghini, who moved from Lidl-Trek to UAE Team ADQ this winter, continued to extend her lead in the final kilometres. The Italian champion crossed the finish line solo on Jebel Hafeet. She not only won the stage, she also became the new overall leader. Persico managed to get back to the chasers behind and then beat them all in the sprint for second place. Le Court took third place.
Stage winner and new Red Jersey Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ): “Silvia Persico was the key rider of our tactic today but the whole team did a great job, especially in the echelons earlier on. With 3km to go, I felt like it was time to give it a go. Once I saw a gap I took my rhythm. I’m pretty stocked. It’s amazing. This is my first race for my new team. There’s a country behind us. We feel very proud. Since we took time on the other GC riders yesterday, we didn’t need to destroy anybody today. We just had to defend our position. I felt comfortable. We’ll focus mainly on the Red Jersey tomorrow.”
The White Jersey Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto): “I’m quite happy with my performance. It could have been better but it still feel the consequences of the big crash of day 1 in my body. Yesterday it was also a hard race. Today I had a strong team around me. I tried my best. It’s my first race of the year, so it was hard to know where I stood. UAE Team ADQ was super strong so I tried to stay close to them. I was happy that they let me stay quite a while on their wheels. It was a nice race. The White Jersey was a little bit in my mind but I just tried to do my best performance. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll stand on the final podium as the best young rider.”
Black Jersey Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ): “The UAE Tour is definitely the highest level I’ve competed in so far and it’s so exciting to support a rider like Elisa [Longo Borghini]. It was really special for me to race with the green jersey today. I’m just proud of the way we raced overall as a team. I went for the intermediate sprints because we didn’t want to lose any bonus second. It was tactical against Elisa’s competitors. It wasn’t with the aim of taking the black jersey myself but I’m happy to have it. Tomorrow, hopefully it’ll end up in a bunch sprint and I hope to be up there.”
UAE Tour Women Stage 3 Result:
1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ in 3:56:31
2. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 0:35
3. Kimberley Le Court de Billot (Maur) AG Insurance-Soudal
4. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco at 0:38
5. Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Human Powered Health
6. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto at 0:43
7. Dilyxine Miermont (Fra) Ceratizit at 1:29
8. Nienke Vinke (Ned) Team Picnic PostNL at 1:30
9. Petra Stiasny (Sui) Roland at 1:38
10. Margarita Victoria Garcia (Spa) Liv AlUla Jayco at 1:50
UAE Tour Women Overall After Stage 3:
1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ in 10:11:29
2. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 2:09
3. Kimberley Le Court de Billot (Maur) AG Insurance-Soudal at 2:11
4. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco at 2:18
5. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ at 3:02
6. Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Human Powered Health at 3:10
7. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto at 3:15
8. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 3:34
9. Mareille Meijering (Ned) Movistar at 3:40
10. Pfeiffer Georgi (GB) Team Picnic PostNL at 3:42.
UAE Tour’25 stage 3:
Lorena Wiebes won the Final Stage 4 of the woman’s UAE Tour. The SD Worx-Protime rider took her third stage victory in Abu Dhabi. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) finished safely in the bunch for the overall victory.
The final stage in the United Arab Emirates took the riders 127 kilometres around Abu Dhabi, including the Formula 1 circuit Yas Marina. A bunch sprint was expected, because there was practically no climbing. Nina Berton, Loes Adegeest, Millie Couzens, Yuliaa Biriukova and Morgane Coston made the break of the day, but they were never given much time by the peloton. SD Worx-Protime especially wanted a sprint for Wiebes.
Elinor Barker went solo in the last 30 kilometres and had a lead of more than a minute. It looked like the British rider had a chance, but between 10 and 5 kilometres from the finish, Barker lost 50 seconds of her and was caught. In the bunch sprint, Visma | Lease a Bike’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took control in the final kilometre, but once the sprinters got going, it was clear that Wiebes was the fastest. The European champion sprinted to her third stage victory. Elisa Longo Borghini was the overall winner, beating Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) and Kimberley Le Court de Billot (AG Insurance-Soudal) by over 2 minutes.
Stage winner and Green jersey, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “It’s nice to win the last stage. The team worked very hard today. We lost our position around 2 kilometres before the end, but then Barbara Guarischi & Marta Lach brought me back to the front. At one point, I lost Barbara, and then I had to find my own way. But in this kind of sprints, I think it is better because it was so much chaos at the end. There was a lot of headwind in the last straight line, so I didn’t want to come too early. That’s why I waited for the ideal moment. Luckily I found my way out and won! I hit my knee on the handlebar at 10K before the finish. So for a few KM’s, I didn’t have power in my leg. Luckily that was over before the sprint started. It’s a statistic I’m proud of. I wasn’t aware of this, but it’s nice to hear that I’ve won half of all stages now. I’m really happy for the team. This is a great start to our season and gives a lot of confidence and motivation for the future.”
Final overall winner of the 2025 UAE Tour Women, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ): “I was used to represent Italy and for the first time I was representing two countries: Italy and the UAE. I’m proud of it because the UAE Tour Women is our home race. At the beginning of the season, the team made a clear call that we had to be fit for this race. But winning the GC plus the second place and the intermediate sprint and teams classifications, it’s incredible. It shows the level we’re at and how strong we rode over those four days. Today we had to do the sprints with Silvia Persico to contest the second place overall. At the end we wanted to set up the final sprint for Lara Gillespie. Having the leader’s jersey, it was also better to stay at the front and stay out of troubles. Starting on the right foot is always nice. It’s a big booster of motivation for the coming races.”
2nd overall, Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ): “I’m super happy. We worked really hard these days. It was our first race together and I feel very good with these girls. Yesterday, I felt strong so I told Elisa Longo Borghini that I’d ride full gas for her. For me, it’s important to start the season with a good result.”
3rd overall, Kimberley Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal): “We went in with a plan to win the intermediate sprints to move up to second overall. We tried but UAE Team ADQ was just a better team. I’m still very happy with our achievements. It was the craziest stage from my perspective. I had a really good winter break for 2025 season, it’s a very feeling to finish the first stage race in the top 3 overall. First race and first WorldTour podium is a dream result.”
White Jersey, Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto): “It’s a great feeling to share the final podium with the other distinctive jerseys winners, especially for the first race of the season. They’re such strong and famous riders! Elisa Longo Borghini is a nice person, we can always talk to her and I congratulated her warmly. I’ve learned how to ride in the crosswinds during this UAE Tour Women. It was my first time experiencing echelons. Today my team-mates kept me in good positions to defend my jersey. I hope to do well in the mountainous stage races like Giro, Tour, Vuelta, Tour de Suisse and Romandie in the future.”
Black Jersey, Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ): “I’m proud of finishing the UAE Tour Women with a top 10 in the final stage. The priority was to retain Elisa’s red jersey. We worked on securing Silvia’s second place overall too. I think I’m still kind of a mixture between sprinting and riding in echelons. It was actually only my second time doing echelons. I really enjoyed that day. I’m 100% eager to race the UAE Tour Women again, it’s a great feeling to have the support of the home team and all the people here. We’ve had an amazing week.”
UAE Tour Women Stage 4 Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:03:28
2. Sara Fiorin (Ita) Ceratizit
3. Amalie Dideriksen (Den) Cofidis
4. Silvia Zanardi (Ita) Human Powered Health
5. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG Insurance-Soudal
6. Martina Fidanza (Ita) Visma | Lease a Bike
7. Anniina Ahtosalo (Fin) Uno-X Mobility
8. Franziska Brauße (Ita) Ceratizit
9. Lara Gillespie (Irl) UAE Team ADQ
10. Alba Teruel Ribes (Spa) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi.
UAE Tour Women Final Overall Result:
1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ in 13:14:57
2. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 2:06
3. Kimberley Le Court de Billot (Maur) AG Insurance-Soudal at 2:08
4. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco at 2:18
5. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ at 3:02
6. Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Human Powered Health at 3:10
7. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto at 3:15
8. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 3:34
9. Mareille Meijering (Ger) Movistar at 3:40
10. Pfeiffer Georgi (GB) at Team Picnic PostNL at 3:42.
UAE Tour’25 stage 4:
Muscat Classic 2025
Rick Pluimers won the 2025 Muscat Classic in Oman on Friday. In the hilly one-day race, which is a warm-up for the Tour of Oman, the puncher from Tudor was the best after 170 kilometres. He won the sprint from a thinned out peloton that came together on the descent of the last climb. It is the first professional victory for the 24-year-old Pluimers. Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Henok Mulubrhan (XDS Astana) were second and third.
The third edition of the Muscat Classic had a long run-up, with the steep climb of Jabal Road (3.8km at 8.4%) halfway and a large loop around Al Bustan in the final. In the last 50 kilometres there were two climbs of the Al Jissah climb (1.1km at 9.3%), which was also the last decisive part of the day at 5 kilometres from the finish. The finish line was after a short and fast descent.
Three riders made up the early break. Adne van Engelen (Terengganu) was joined by his teammate Muhammad Nur Aiman Mohd Zariff and Rasmus Bøgh Wallin (Uno-X Mobility). In the peloton, it was UAE Emirates XRG and Groupama-FDJ who set the pace. The leading group gained 7 minutes, but that quickly dropped. With the final approaching, Van Engelen, a lightweight climber, proved to be the best uphill in the leading group. He held off the peloton for the longest, but was caught 40 kilometres from the finish. Xabier Azparren escaped, but he too was caught by UAE Emirates XRG, which included Jay Vine and Adam Yates. Lorenzo Germani’s attempt was more successful. The Italian of Groupama-FDJ survived the Hamriya climb and started the descent towards the last time through Al Jissah solo. Three riders managed to cross: Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step), Jay Vine (UAE Emirates XRG) and Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla).
Tudor and Picnic PostNL had to chase. Vine, Harper and Reinderink continued at the front, causing Germani to drop just before the Al Jissah climb. On the steep four-lane road the peloton then split into pieces, but Vine and Harper didn’t give up. The Australians came over the top together, with a Movistar rider not far behind them. The first group from the peloton could also still hope for the win. The decision was made on the descent towards Al Bustan. The approaching peloton had a higher speed, which caused the three leaders to be caught. The Muscat Classic turned into a big sprint, in which Rick Pluimers proved to be by far the fastest. He beat Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Henok Mulubrhan (XDS Astana).
Race winner, Rick Pluimers (Tudor): “Tudor can now also compete at the highest level. With Arvid I have to make sure that I bring him to the last kilometre, now I had to continue until the finish. That really makes a difference. Last year I had the chance to go for my own results a few times, and you learn a lot from that. Especially not to be afraid and to go for it at the right moments. Today I already showed that I dared to go for it. I had hoped for it, and I also knew that such a finish of such a race would suit me. But to actually do it, is something else. The confidence was great with myself and also with the team. Then it is super nice to finish it. And nice to start the season like this. Of course this victory gives me extra confidence. You always think that it is possible. And taking this first victory will only help me towards the next races. I like the semi-classics in Belgium the most. Last year I was already strong in the Super 8 Classic and Wallonia. Those types of races suit me well, and this spring there are also a few nice opportunities to show that again. I think that the real bunch sprints would be a bit too much for me. We already have two good men for that in Arvid and Alberto Dainese. I like to go for myself in these types of races. But also being the lead out in those bunch sprints remains a great passion. I can combine that well at Tudor, but it is good for the team to know that I can finish it myself.”
Muscat Classic Result:
1. Rick Pluimers (Ned) Tudor in 4:16:50
2. Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
3. Henok Mulubrhan (Eri) XDS Astana
4. Diego Ulissi (Ita) XDS Astana Team
5. Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
6. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step
7. Davide Toneatti (Ita) XDS Astana Team
8. Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar
9. Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
10. Stian Edvardsen-Fredheim (Nor) Uno-X Mobility.
Muscat’25
The Tour of Oman Men 2025
The First Stage of the Tour of Oman was won by Olav Kooij. The Dutch rider easily won the stage. Kooij gave Visma | Lease a Bike its first victory of the season, and Kooij is also the first overall leader.
Stage one of the Tour of Oman started in Bushar. The riders had a stage of almost 180 kilometres to Bimmak Sink Hole. In the opening part of the stage there was a steep climb, but after that it was flat to the finish. A bunch sprint was expected.
There was an early break of five: Rodrigo Alvarez (Burgos Burpellet BH). He held out the longest, together with the Australian Kane Richards. In the peloton, Visma | Lease a Bike did the work for their sprinter Olav Kooij. They gradually got closer and closer to the leaders, who were finally caught at 25 kilometres. After that, various teams tried to organise lead outs for their sprinter. In addition to Visma | Lease a Bike, there was also Uno-X Mobility and Picnic PostNL at the head of the peloton in the final kilometres. However, they couldn’t prevent Kooij, thanks to Niklas Behrens and Daniel McLay, from starting the sprint in Oman in an ideal position. After that. Kooij won with a few lengths lead. Second place went to Pavel Bittner (Team Picnic PostNL). Third place went to Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility). Pluimers, who won the Muscat Classic on Friday, finished 5th. Kooij is the first leader overall.
Stage winner and overall leader, Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike): “I’m really happy to take my first win of the season here,” Kooij said after the finish. “This was a stage we had marked from the start. We took responsibility in the peloton and executed our plan perfectly. I have to thank my teammates— they made sure I was in the perfect position to launch my sprint. It felt great. I’m looking forward to wearing the leader’s jersey, though I know the upcoming stages will be tougher.”
The Tour of Oman Men Stage 1 Result
1. Olav Kooij (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike in 4:27:19
2. Pavel Bittner (CZ) Team Picnic PostNL
3. Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
4. Andrea D’Amato (Ita) JCL Team Ukyo
5. Rick Pluimers (Ned) Tudor
6. Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Movistar
7. Anthony Turgis (Fra) TotalEnergies
8. Emilien Jeannière (Fra) TotalEnergies
9. Luca Giaimi (Ita) UAE Emirates XRG
10. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
The Tour of Oman Men Overall After Stage 1:
1. Olav Kooij (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike in 4:27:09
2. Pavel Bittner (CZ) Team Picnic PostNL at 0:04
3. Rodrigo Álvarez Rodriguez (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH at 0:05
4. Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:06
5. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:09
6. Andrea D’Amato (Ita) JCL Team Ukyo at 0:10
7. Rick Pluimers (Ned) Tudor
8. Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Movistar
9. Anthony Turgis (Fra) TotalEnergies
10. Emilien Jeannière (Fra) TotalEnergies.
Oman’25 stage 1:
Louis Vervaeke won Stage 2 and took the overall lead in the Tour of Oman with a very strong finish. The Soudal Quick-Step rider closed a big gap to the early break and then went solo in the last 10 kilometres for his first professional victory. Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) couldn’t stay with the peloton and dropped out of overall contention.
Sunday was a difficult stage of more than 200 kilometres to the Ytti Hills. The main obstacles were Jabal Road (3.7km at 8.7%) and Al Jissah (2.6km at 6.3%) in the last 10 kilometres. It was expected to be too hard for overall leader, Kooij.
Early in the stage, there was a big battle for the break of the day. Eventually Rodrigo Alvarez, Mohammed Al-Wahibi, Kane Richards and Magnus Kulset escaped. They rode well together, but the peloton got restless and Xabier Azparren and Vervaeke attacked. They bridged the gap to the other four and then the six took their lead to 5 minutes at the halfway point. Orluis Aular and Valentin Madouas were next to try, but the Venezuelan and Frenchman couldn’t catch the six and were caught by the peloton after being stuck between break and bunch.
It was starting to look good for the leading group, although there were still the two difficult climbs in the last hour of the race. After the Jabal Road, only Vervaeke, Kulset and Azparren remained out front, with a lead of around 4 minutes on the peloton with 25 kilometres to go. On the last climb, Vervaeke decided to go solo. The Belgian rode away, but in the peloton was getting closer. In the final kilometres it was touch-and-go if Vervaeke could hold on for the win. On Monday he will starts the third stage in the leader’s jersey. Valentin Paret-Peintre and Sean Flynn finished in second and third place in the peloton sprint, which was marred by several crashes in the last kilometre.
Stage winner and overall leader, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step): “It’s such a beautiful day for me, it feels incredible to take my first win as a pro. I came close several times in the past, and to finally pull it off makes me very proud. In the final ten kilometres of the stage I was empty, but I kept thinking of my family and immediately found the power to press on and give my best until the end. That’s why I pointed to the tattoo on my right arm when crossing the line, because being a rider means making a lot of sacrifices, both yourself and your family. I also want to thank my team, because they gave some valuable help from behind when the chase was on, and this only shows again the Wolfpack spirit. At the front we worked well together and I want to give a shout-out to Mikel Azparren, he was really strong and put in a solid effort as we joined the breakaway. It’s great to get a 1-2 with the team, especially as we came here to win a stage and we’re now delighted to have it. From tomorrow, we’ll focus on the general classification with Valentin and Mauri.”
The Tour of Oman Men Stage 2 Result
1. Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step in 4:45:06
2. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:02
3. Sean Flynn (GB) Team Picnic PostNL
4. Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Team Jayco AlUla
5. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor
6. Henok Mulubrhan (Eri) XDS Astana
7. Steff Cras (Bel) TotalEnergies
8. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Emirates XRG
9. Mathys Rondel (Fra) Tudor
10. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ.
The Tour of Oman Men Overall After Stage 2:
1. Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step in 9:12:15
2. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:06
3. Sean Flynn (GB) Team Picnic PostNL at 0:08
4. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0.11
5. Marco Brenner (Ger) Tudor at 0:12
6. Mathys Rondel (Fra) Tudor
7. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Emirates XRG
8. Diego Ulissi (Ita) XDS Astana
9. Alessandro Fancellu JCL Team Ukyo
10. Larry Warbasse (USA) Tudor.
Oman’25 stage 2:
Volta Comunitat Valenciana Féminas Gran Premio Tuawa 2025
Linda Zanetti has won the Vuelta CV Féminas. The Swiss rider from Uno-X was the strongest in a bunch sprint in the streets of Valencia and finished ahead of Jelena Eric (Movistar) and Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health).
The Volta Comunitat Valenciana Féminas was bound to end in a bunch sprint on Sunday. In contrast to previous years, the Spanish Pro race had hardly any climbing, so everyone was waiting for the final gallop to the line.
Several riders tried to escape during the stage. Dutch rider, Vera Tieleman, escaped with the German Isabella Bertold, but they were caught 50 kilometres from the finish. Britt de Grave also went solo. In the final kilometres Claire Steels and Daria Pikulik tried without success, but in the sprint it was Linda Zanetti of Uno-X Mobility convincingly took the victory. This was the 22-year-old’s biggest victory of her career. She previously won the EPZ Omloop van Borsele.
Volta Comunitat Valenciana Féminas Gran Premio Tuawa Result:
1. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility in 2:24:31
2. Jelena Eric (Serb) Movistar
3. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Health
4. Michaela Drummond (NZ) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
5. Tereza Neumanová (CZ) UAE Team ADQ
6. Catalina Anais Soto Campos (Chi) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
7. Chloe Patrick (USA) Cynisca Cycling
8. Eline Van Rooijen (Ned) Team Coop-Repsol
9. Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
10. Valeria Valgonen (-) UPV Women’s Cycling.
Valencia Féminas’25:
Remco Evenepoel ‘Triple Numbers’
Remco Evenepoel has upped his bike riding distance. On Saturday, the two-time Olympic champion went on a training ride of more than 100 kilometres for the first time since his training crash.
Strava shows that the Soudal Quick-Step rider had a training ride of more than three hours from his house in Belgium. From Gooik, Evenepoel passed through Ninove, Denderleeuw, Aalst, Dendermonde, Opwijk, Asse, Dilbeek and Schepdaal. He rode just over 100 kilometres. “Triple Numbers”, he named the ride.
Evenepoel made his first bike ride outside since the accident with a post office van one week ago. In addition to a few training rides on the bike, he also did a one-hour run last week. It is still unclear when we will see Evenepoel in a race again. The physical damage was bad and then in mid-January he announced a setback. “An additional problem has been found. A nerve has been hit. My shoulder is quite inactive. It will take longer than we had thought,” he said at the time. A return in the Ardennes classics is still unsure.
Over 100 kilometres for Remco:
Finn Fisher-Black and Kim Cadzow Win the New Zealand Time Trial Championships
Finn Fisher-Black took his first victory for the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team. The 23-year-old, who rode for UAE Team Emirates last season, was crowned New Zealand time trial champion on Thursday. Kim Cadzow was the best in the women’s race.
The New Zealand national time trial championship took place in Timaru, on the South Island. The riders had a 37.4-kilometre course. Fisher-Black beat Aaron Gate (Astana XDS) by 34 seconds. Continental rider Tom Sexton (St George Continental) finished third, 1:20 later. Sexton beat Logan Currie, the 2024 champion, for the podium.
“I got to the halfway point and still felt I could do another half an hour. I gave a nod to Shane. From there I knew I was on a good day. Today was my big focus. It is the race you can control a bit more”, Fisher-Black, who will also compete in the road race on Saturday, said. “It’s a super strong field this year – almost every New Zealand pro is racing so it will be a tough one,” said Fisher-Black.
The women’s time trial title went to Kim Cadzow of EF Education-Oatly. She beat Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla Jayco) and her teammate Henrietta Christie in a 24.4 kilometre race.
New New Zealand TT champion:
Óscar Freire’s disappearance was a ‘misunderstanding’
On Wednesday, Óscar Freire was reported missing to the Spanish police. But not much later, the former cyclist was found. His brother, Antonio Freire, gave more information about the incident to Marca.
“It was a misunderstanding,” said Antonio, who was called by the ‘missing’ Óscar. This happened after Óscar had heard the news about his own disappearance. The three-time World champion told his brother that he was safe and sound. “It was a family matter and Oscar was away from home for a few days, but will return,” says Antonio.
Óscar is now home, he told the Spanish news agency EFE on Wednesday evening. He regrets that ‘a matter that is strictly personal and intimate’ has caused so much commotion. The family issued a statement along similar lines: “We regret the concern that the news of the temporary disappearance of Óscar Freire may have caused. At the same time, we appreciate the interest of the press and fans in general.”
According to El Diario Montañes, the Guardia Civil were looking for Freire on Wednesday morning, after he was last seen on Tuesday. The investigation revealed that the former sprinter had not taken his keys, wallet and credit cards from his home town of Torrelavega in Cantabria. Later, it turned out that he also did not have his phone with him. Freire was found again on Wednesday afternoon.
Óscar home and safe:
Tim Wellens to Stay with Tadej Pogačar
Tim Wellens still had a contract with UAE Emirates XRG until the end of 2025, but has extended it for a further two seasons, according to Het Nieuwsblad. The 33-year-old Belgian will remain with Tadej Pogacar’s team until at least the end of 2027.
Wellens turned professional with Lotto Belisol in 2012 and remained with the team until the end of 2022. He then moved to UAE Team Emirates. He quickly became an important link in the team. He proved his worth to Tadej Pogačar, who is contracted to UAE Emirates until the end of 2030, in both the classics and the recent Tour de France.
In the races where Pogačar is not at the start, Wellens can take his own chances. Last year he was fourth in the E3 Saxo Classic and third in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. He also won a time trial in the Tour of Poland in 2024, the Belgian time trial championship and the Renewi Tour. Wellens was also the best in the Renewi Tour in 2023, he also won a stage in the Ruta del Sol. That year, Wellens missed the Tour de France due to a crash in the Tour of Flanders, where he broke his collarbone.
Two more seasons for Tim Wellens:
Lotto Cycling Team Further Expands its Commitment to Developing Young Cycling Talent
Lotto Cycling Team is increasing its efforts to nurture young cycling talent by expanding its partnerships from one to two youth teams. As a result, Lotto now has a foothold in both Flanders and Wallonia in Belgium.
Keeping a close eye on the youngest pelotons is essential in modern cycling. Riders like Arnaud De Lie, Jarno Widar, and Milan Donie have all successfully progressed to Lotto Cycling Team’s development and professional squads through previous collaborations. Identifying talent, providing training, allowing them to grow at their own pace, and offering the best opportunities—this is the core mission of Lotto Cycling Team, and it will continue to be a priority in the coming season. To strengthen this commitment, the team is expanding its partnerships with youth squads. Following the split of the Crabbé-Chevigny cycling team, Lotto is now working with both the Flemish Crabbé team, led by Jo Van Gossum, and the Walloon CC Chevigny, managed by Laurent Mars.
The connection between the youth teams and Lotto Cycling Team operates on two levels. First, there is logistical support. For instance, several U19 riders currently have the opportunity to join the development and ladies’ team training camp in Altea, Spain. Throughout the season, they collaborate during time trial tests and championships. Beyond logistical assistance, the focus is on talent development and scouting.
Kurt Van de Wouwer, Sports director Lotto Cycling Team: “The partnership between Lotto and the youth teams provides a unique opportunity to discover promising young riders early and guide them in their development towards a professional cycling career with our team. Jarno Widar is a recent example, but our Belgian champion Arnaud De Lie is also a ‘product’ of this collaboration. By expanding our youth network, we reaffirm our position as one of the leading teams in talent development.”
Laurent Mars, CC Chevigny: “This partnership offers our riders future prospects—a training camp like this, for example, can be a stepping stone—but also peace of mind. The pressure on young cyclists today is much greater than it was ten years ago. Everything has become more professional, and they are being scouted at an increasingly young age. Thanks to the connection with Lotto, they get a taste of professional cycling while still being able to develop at their own pace.”
Jo Van Gossum, Crabbé: “Several times a year, we work closely with the team to scout talent. Riders are being taken from Belgian youth squads at an increasingly younger age, while many would develop better in a familiar environment. We have been working with Lotto for three years now, and it has been proven that combining our strengths is a successful approach.”
Lotto young guns:
No Bretagne Ladies Tour in 2025 Due to Financial Problems
The organisers of the Bretagne Ladies Tour has decided that they can’t run the event in 2025. Financial problems are the reason for the cancellation of the race.
In an interview with the newspaper Le Télégramme, organiser Loïc Déniel confirmed that the Bretagne Ladies Tour (UCI 2.1) cannot be held from 28 May to 1 June. There is a shortfall of €37,000, which means that this year’s edition will be cancelled. “We had almost all the stage locations in place and were certain of twenty participating teams, including four Women’s WorldTeams. That is why we were very confident about the five-day event.”
“Unfortunately, we were not able to raise enough budget,” he said. The organisation received less subsidies. “That’s why we took the lead by approaching private partners, but this didn’t work out and because our organisation is still young, we don’t have any cash flow. But we are already working on the 2026 edition.”
The Bretange Ladies Tour 2024 podium:
Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España ask UCI for an Extra Wildcard
The organisers of the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España have asked the UCI for an extra ‘wildcard’ for 2025, according to Cyclingnews. If they are allowed to invite an extra ProTeam, this would solve many problems for the Giro and the Vuelta. But there are questions over safety.
RCS Sport is said to have asked the UCI for a fifth wildcard, so there would be 23 teams in the Giro d’Italia. The ASO has submitted a similar request to the International Cycling Union for the Vuelta a España. ASO is responsible for the Vuelta organiser, Unipublic.
Earlier, there was also talk of ProTeams putting pressure on the UCI to allow an extra ProTeam in the Grand Tours. There are many teams that want to ride the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta. In addition to the eighteen WorldTeams, organisers are allowed to invite four ProTeams, but two places must be offered to Lotto and Israel-Premier Tech, based on their performances in 2024. They can refuse them, which Lotto has done for the Giro.
Tudor and Q36.5 are among those who want those Giro wildcards, while Uno-X Mobility and Tudor would also like to ride the Tour. And then there are the ‘home teams’ that would like to be invited to the Grand Tours. For the Giro, these are Polti VisitMalta and VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè, in France it is TotalEnergies and in Spain there are Equipo Kern Pharma, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Eusktaltel-Euskadi and Burgos Burpellet BH.
Although an extra wildcard has been allowed in the past, the UCI is not that keen. The peloton would have 184 riders in a Grand Tour, while in recent years that number of riders has actually decreased due to safety issues. In addition, there is an extra cost of a 23rd team. Pending a response from the UCI, the organisers of the Giro, Tour and Vuelta are said to be waiting for the wildcards to be distributed. Last year, the invitations had already been sent by this time.
More riders in the Grand Tours?
Wild Cards Announced for RCS Sport’s Spring UCI World Tour Races
RCS Sport has announced the list of teams set to participate in its spring UCI World Tour races: Strade Bianche Crédit Agricole, Tirreno-Adriatico Crédit Agricole and Milano-Sanremo presented by Crédit Agricole.
The teams for other RCS Sport events, including the Giro d’Italia Wild Cards, will be revealed at a later date.
Strade Bianche Crédit Agricole (March 8) – 18 UCI WorldTeams, 7 UCI ProTeams (25 teams of 7 riders each)
18 UCI WorldTeams
ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK
ARKEA-B&B HOTELS
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS
COFIDIS
DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM
EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST
GROUPAMA-FDJ
INEOS GRENADIERS
INTERMARCHÉ – WANTY
LIDL-TREK
MOVISTAR TEAM
RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP
TEAM JAYCO ALULA
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE
UAE TEAM EMIRATES – XRG
XDS ASTANA TEAM
3 Qualified by ranking
ISRAEL – PREMIER TECH
LOTTO
UNO-X MOBILITY
4 Wild Cards
Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
SOLUTION TECH VINI FANTINI
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM
Tirreno-Adriatico Crédit Agricole (March 10–16) – 18 UCI WorldTeams, 6 UCI ProTeams (24 teams of 7 riders each)
18 UCI WorldTeams
ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK
ARKEA-B&B HOTELS
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS
COFIDIS
DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM
EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST
GROUPAMA-FDJ
INEOS GRENADIERS
INTERMARCHÉ – WANTY
LIDL-TREK
MOVISTAR TEAM
RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP
TEAM JAYCO ALULA
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE
UAE TEAM EMIRATES – XRG
XDS ASTANA TEAM
Qualified by ranking
ISRAEL – PREMIER TECH
5 Wild Cards
Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM
UNO-X MOBILITY
VF GROUP BARDIANICSF-FAIZANE’
Molano-Sanremo Presented by Crédit Agricole (March 22) – 18 UCI WorldTeams, 7 Wild Cards (25 teams of 7 riders each)
18 UCI WorldTeams
ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK
ARKEA-B&B HOTELS
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS
COFIDIS
DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM
EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST
GROUPAMA-FDJ
INEOS GRENADIERS
INTERMARCHÉ – WANTY
LIDL-TREK
MOVISTAR TEAM
RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP
TEAM JAYCO ALULA
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE
UAE TEAM EMIRATES – XRG
XDS ASTANA TEAM
3 Qualified by ranking
ISRAEL – PREMIER TECH
LOTTO
UNO-X MOBILITY
4 Wild Cards
Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM
SOLUTION TECH VINI FANTINI
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM
VF GROUP BARDIANICSF-FAIZANE’
Not long until Milano-Sanremo:
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