As the Vuelta a España gets close to its finale, with all still to play for. Also the first stages of the Lloyd’s Bank Tour of Britain Men – Results, reports, rider views and race video.
Primož Roglič on his bike change – TOP STORY.
Rider news: Wout van Aert has no fractures in Vuelta crash, Ben O’Connor mistakes the location of the podium ceremony, Edward Planckaert given yellow card for celebrating, will Tom Pidcock race cyclocross this winter? Remco Evenepoel ill in the run-up to the Tour of Britain, Egan Bernal has successful hernia surgery, Remco Evenepoel to wear gold bands on Soudal Quick-Step kit and Filippo Ganna to miss European time trial championship.
Team news: Dan Bigham becomes Head of Engineering at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Sergio Higuita moves to Astana Qazaqstan, Søren Kragh Andersen going to Lidl-Trek, Hugo Houle set to stay with Israel-Premier Tech, Belgian riders Arne Marit and Tom Paquot extend with Intermarché-Wanty, Aaron Gate signs agreement with Astana Qazaqstan, Jayco AlUla to welcome Hellemose back to the WorldTour, Under 23 World Champ Axel Laurance targets success with the INEOS Grenadiers and Q36.5 signs two new Spanish riders for 2025.
Race news: Sprinter summit in Hamburg: Bemer Cyclassics attract the fastest riders to Mönckebergstraße and #EUROROAD24 – Five Star Championships.
Plus: ‘Fausto Talks’ documentary series launches.
Vuelta EUROTRASH coffee time.
TOP STORY: Primož Roglič on his Bike Change: “It Cost Me More than it Brought Me”
Primož Roglič is sitting pretty ready to take his fourth Vuelta a España final overall victory. Ben O’Connor still holds the red jersey by 5 seconds, but the Australian loses time in the mountains every day. Roglič is not counting his chickens before they hatch, he said during a press meeting on the second rest day.
“He is in very good shape and is a great rider who has already achieved some great results,” Roglič said about O’Connor to Het Nieuwsblad on Monday’s rest day. “The day he took the stage win and the red jersey, he was incredibly strong. He rode alone for so long. And he remains strong.”
As for his own performances, Roglič is also satisfied for the time being. “So far so good. I try not to make things too complicated and not to think too much. It’s hard to predict what will happen in the third week,” said the 33-year-old rider.
In the last stage before the second rest day, finishing on the extremely steep Cuitu Negru, Roglič managed to take 38 seconds from O’Connor’s lead. But the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider was given a 20 second time penalty because he had ridden behind his car for too long after a bike change. How does he feel about the jury decision? “Of course it’s not nice, because that’s another twenty seconds that I have to make up. Whether I agree with it or not, doesn’t matter.”
In retrospect, the Slovenian would have preferred not to change bikes, he added: “Looking back, I think we lost more time than we gained, right?” Roglič joked. “But it was nice that I had easier gears in the last three kilometres. I was able to keep turning a bit more during the steep parts. But looking back, I wouldn’t do it again. It cost me more than it gained.”
Too long behind the car:
Vuelta a España 2024
Among the most active riders of La Vuelta’24, Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) was rewarded for all his efforts with a thrilling stage win at the iconic Lagos de Covadonga, on Stage 16. The Spaniard got the better of his breakaway companions Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla) and Max Poole (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) while the GC contenders battled it out. Enric Mas (Movistar) opened the final battle with 60 kilometres to go and eventually crossed the line with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) 58 seconds ahead of Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale). The Australian retained La Roja with a margin of 5 seconds on Roglič. The day was also marked by the loss of Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), who attacked again but had to abandon after a crash.
La Vuelta’24 returned to action for the last and third week with a brutal stage 16 to challenge the riders: 181.3km from Luanco, featuring three major ascents and 3,820m of elevation en route to the iconic finish at Lagos de Covadonga.
Attackers wanted to show themselves. Louis Vervaeke (T-Rex Quick-Step) attacked as soon as the flag dropped and a fierce battle for the break ensued. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) is among the first attackers of the day but he was caught in a crash early in the stage. The Belgian star was among the 16 riders who managed to get away after they cover 46km in the first hour. Isaac Del Toro, Jay Vine, Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), William Junior Lecerf (T-Rex Quick-Step), Marco Frigo, Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech), Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Dstny), Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Fran Miholjevič (Bahrain Victorious), Felix Engelhardt, Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla), Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Max Poole, Martijn Tusveld (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) make the break with Van Aert.
Van Aert led the way to the first summit of the day, the Cat.1 Mirador del Fito (77.1km), where he gets the better of Vine. The Belgian kept pushing on the downhill and the valley, so much so that he opened a gap of 1:15 on his former break companions, while the peloton trail by 10:10. The bunch, led by Ben O’Connor’s Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale, up the ante. Van Aert was caught ahead of the second ascent of the day, the Cat.1 Collada Llomena. At the bottom, the peloton trail by 8:17, with Movistar setting the pace alongside Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale. The Spanish team set a brutal pace up the Collada Llomena and Enric Mas (Movistar) attacked with 60km to go. His rivals reacted quickly. Mikel Landa (T-Rex Quick-Step) counter-attacked but he wasn’t successful either. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale) brought back some order.
Van Aert was first at the summit (125km), again. But he was caught in a heavy crash on the descent, with Engelhardt and Del Toro. The Belgian star tried to resume racing but his injuries forced him to stop and withdraw from La Vuelta’24 after three stage wins and illuminated the race in his debut in the Spanish Grand Tour. The peloton trailed by 5:35 at the bottom of the final climb. Poole set the pace and, rapidly, only Soler and Zana are in a position to rival with the young Brit. Nobody can react when Soler attacks inside the last 5km. Meanwhile, Mikel Landa attacked the GC group with 8.5km to go. Enric Mas drove the chase and counter-attacked with 5km to go. Only Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Primoz Roglič can follow him to the line, while Ben O’Connor dropped 58 seconds, but retained the overall lead with a margin of 5 seconds.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner, Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates): “I feel really happy with this win. It feels like all the effort I’ve made in this Vuelta has been rewarded. I was on the limit for the whole climb but I also saw the others were weakening a bit and I kept my rhythm. Max Poole was the man to beat and I saw a lull in one section and I just went for it and it paid off. I dedicate the win to my wife and kids.”
Overall leader, Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale): “Actually I didn’t think it was gonna be that bad today but in the end I saved the jersey so I guess it’s a nice silver lining going to the next two stages. So I just gotta enjoy it to the max because I’m not sure I’ll be having it in Madrid. Aussie cycling is always producing the goods and it’s cool to see us fighting off at the front.”
2nd on the stage, Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla): “It was so hard. At the start [of the stage], I crashed and I have a little pain in my knee but I’m ok. I fought to get into the breakaway and me and Felix got in there. On the final climb, I tried to stay with Soler and Poole and I was going full gas. It is a very good second place and we will see how the other stages are.”
Points leader, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “I didn’t expect at all to get the green jersey. Wout [van Aert] had such a convincing lead in the points classification. And coming into the race, I knew it would be super likely that he takes the green, not to mention he was leading the polka dots. I don’t know the situation, all I know is that he abandoned and it’s a pretty terrible way to wear the green. Tomorrow is really complicated. I think it’s a good stage for us but it’s also on paper a really good stage for the breakaway. So I think controlling will be really difficult and a big day for the team.”
Best young rider, Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers): “Yes [I’m happy with my stage]. I think I did a good last climb, I managed well the effort. For sure, I would have liked to be in the front with the best favourites, but I think I was close. Maybe it’s not the best conditions for me with this rain and fog. I’m happy. Hopefully it’s a good start to the third week, and from now on, it’s getting even better. Now, time to recover a little bit and try to focus on the last stages.”
KOM and 4th on the stage, Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates): “I didn’t quite feel myself this morning and I let the guys know that. After the first KOM, sprinting with Wout [van Aert], I just didn’t feel it so I decided to work for the other two [Marc Soler and Isaac Del Toro] and Marc was able to come away with the victory. I remember I was in the race two years ago when he won in Bilbao on stage 5 so it’s pretty special, you know, I’ve ridden with Marc a number of times, and to be part of another win for the team in the Vuelta is great. [Van Aert crashing out is] absolutely not the way I wanted to take the polka-dot and honestly, he was beating me in the sprints at the top of these climbs. But the goal today was a victory for the team and that goal was achieved. We had three riders in the break, it was a great move. Del Toro is a young guy, in his first Grand Tour, and he was looking really good today.”
Vuelta a España Stage 16 Result:
1. Marc Soler (Spa) UAE Team Emirates in 4:44:46
2. Filippo Zana (Ita) Jayco AlUla at 0:18
3. Max Poole (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:23
4. Jay Vine (Aus) UAE Team Emirates at 0:57
5. Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Cofidis at 1:02
6. Isaac Del Toro Romero (Mex) UAE Team Emirates at 1:29
7. Marco Frigo (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech at 1:35
8. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech at 1:47
9. Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar at 3:54
10. Richard Carapaz (Col) EF Education-EasyPost
11. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
Vuelta a España Overall After Stage 16:
1. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale in 65:09:00
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 0:05
3. Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar at 1:25
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost at 1:46
5. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 2:18
6. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 3:48
7. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 3:53
8. Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Den) Lidl-Trek at 4:00
9. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 4:27
10. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Team Emirates at 5:19.
Vuelta’24 stage 16:
Stage 17 of La Vuelta’24 was already a historic day for Australian cycling, with three riders from Down Under leading three different standings, and it finished in superb fashion, as Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) sprinted to victory in Santander. He dominated a thrilling finale to take his 3rd win in this edition, ahead of Pavel Bittner (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) and Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty). Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale) survived a rainy day to hold on to La Roja, while Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) held on to the polka-dot jersey.
Stage 17 was entirely set in Cantabria, an autonomous community deeply rooted in the history of La Vuelta. The sprinters eyed a last opportunity to shine, but there were two Cat.2 climbs and 2,164m of elevation to overcome from Arnuero to Santander (141.5km).
Attackers Jonas Gregaard (Lotto Dstny), Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Thomas Champion (Cofidis) and Xabier Isasa (Euskatel-Euskadi) opened a gap at 2km. Many chasers try to join them at the front but the peloton didn’t let them go and the four leaders eventually built a gap of 4:10 en route to the two ascents of the day, the Alto de La Estranguada (summit at 54.8km) and the Alto Del Caracol (70.4km).
Alpecin Deceuninck for Kaden Groves, dsm-firmenich-PostNL for Pavel Bittner and Kern Pharma for Pau Miquel pulled the bunch. The gap was down to 1 minute with 18km to go. Champion was dropped but Gregaard, Guernalec and Isasa, who hold off the peloton until 2km to go, when Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) tried to upset the bunch on the wet roads of Santander. Alpecin-Deceuninck were in control and made sure Kaden Groves could sprint to his seventh La Vuelta stage win, the third this year. Pavel Bittner (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) finished second and Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty) was third.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner and points leader, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “It was quite a tough day. It started dry and then the finish was wet so it made it quite dangerous as well. My team was so strong. Thankfully they had a super day to help control with Kern Pharma and DSM. It wasn’t easy. We only caught the attackers in the final kilometre so it was a super team. [The late attacks] were not so unexpected. There are only a few sprint stages in this race and the rest are mountain stages so the intermediate riders really have to try on days like today. But the team was super motivated to control attackers all day and to repay them with victory number 3 is pretty special.”
Overall leader, Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale): “It’s always good to see another fellow Aussie win. That’s four Aussie wins so far… Good day for Aussie cycling! It was a bit wet, not too hard, a little treacherous on the descents, but it wasn’t too complicated in the end. We’ve done a lot riding so far in this race so it was good for the boys to have a bit of a break, it was much needed. Tomorrow, break management will probably have to be a lot more pro-active but it should normally be an easier finish.”
3rd on the stage, Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty): “I’m not particularly a fan of racing in the rain, but apparently, I perform better when it’s raining. In any case, I prefer these conditions to the heat we experienced in the first week. Arne Marit and I survived the last climb well, but because of the rain, a split in the peloton occurred in the long technical descent. I was in the first group, which was going at a fast pace in pursuit of the breakaway riders. It was impossible for the group with Arne to come back, I had nothing left to do but try my luck. Because of this high pace in the last 40 kilometres, I stayed at the back of the group almost the whole time to avoid wasting energy in the wind. In the final kilometres, I decided to follow the riders with the best lead-out trains, so I was in a good slipstream in the final straight. Third place is the best possible result in this sprint, I think. Getting a podium at the Vuelta is special. I’m very proud of it.”
Late attacker, Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny): “My teammate, Arnaud De Lie would say: ‘Les jambes en feu’ – ‘the legs were on fire’. I don’t really know what Mauro Schmid did. If the peloton hadn’t come back, I would have had to buy him a nice pint in Madrid. You can never win a race that way. The guy from dsm-firmenich-PostNL (Max Poole) was going to launch me a bit better, but the peloton came very close. I was incredibly frustrated today, in everything. We didn’t quite execute the tactics we had. And then I was still close. It is what it is. There will be another chance tomorrow. I feel good. And if Mauro Schmid wants to give me another lead-out like that, he should say so in advance (laughs).”
Vuelta a España Stage 17 Result:
1. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck in 3:32:14
2. Pavel Bittner (CZ) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
3. Vito Braet (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
4. Pau Miquel Delgado (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
5. Corbin Strong (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech
6. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Dstny
7. Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
8. Mathis Le Berre (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
9. Arjen Livyns (Bel) Lotto Dstny
10. Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi.
Vuelta a España Overall After Stage 17:
1. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale in 68:41:14
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 0:05
3. Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar at 1:25
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost at 1:46
5. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 2:18
6. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 3:48
7. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 3:53
8. Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Den) Lidl-Trek at 4:00
9. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 4:27
10. Pavel Sivakov (Fra) UAE Team Emirates at 5:19.
Vuelta’24 stage 17:
Lloyd’s Bank Tour of Britain Men 2024
Paul Magnier soared to the win on the First Stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, with a scintillating sprint finish victory for the 20-year-old Soudal Quick-Step rider in Kelso.
With the stage starting and finishing in the Scottish Border town of Kelso, the riders tackled an undulating 181.9km course with 1,885m of climbing and three categorised climbs – two of which were scaled twice. An exciting start saw a flurry of attacks from the off, with riders from TRINITY Racing and the Great Britain Cycling Team quick to assert dominance at the front of the race.
Peebles resident Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing) and Julius Johansen (Sabgal/Anicolor) made the first significant move of the day, before being shortly joined by Callum Ormiston (Global 6 United) inside the first 20km. The trio racked up a lead of 3:30, before facing the first categorised climb of the day with Scott’s View at 64.4km in. At 2.2km in length and an average of 2.9%, Thornley beat Ormiston to the first King of the Mountains win of the race, with the gap to the peloton at 3:17. Shortly after, the first intermediate sprint through Melrose saw Johansen get the better of the three to take the win ahead of Thornley, before summiting the second climb of the day to Dingleton. The second-category climb, averaging 6.1%, saw Thornley take maximum points once again in a battle against Ormiston. The gap to the peloton reduced to 1:50 as Gianni Moscon (Soudal Quick-Step) continued to work alongside teammate and double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel.
Inside the final 100km, Thornley once again led the break up the third categorised climb, Dunion Hill, securing his third and final King of the Mountain win of the day to take the overall jersey into tomorrow’s stage. A super fast descent with 75km to go saw Ormiston drop backwards to leave Thornley and Johansen out front, with the pair having a 1:35 advantage over the chasing peloton as Soudal Quick-Step continued to lead the charge. Coming back through Kelso with 55km to go, the riders raced to the line for the second intermediate sprint of the day. Johansen picked up three seconds and the sprint win, while Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) surged for the line from the peloton to take third. With just 39km remaining, INEOS Grenadiers began to bring it back, hitting the front ferociously and forcing five riders to go clear. Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) counter-attacked, before Evenepoel went hard from the peloton as it all began to heat up.
As Thornley took another King of the Mountains win up Scott’s View, the gap to the peloton was reduced to 56 seconds. The pressure from the attacks in the peloton saw the race splinter, with a chasing group determined to keep on the pace. Happy with his day’s effort, Thornley sat up, leaving Johansen to battle on alone with 30km remaining as another flurry of attacks kicked in 32 seconds back. Johansen clung on to take another intermediate sprint, before being swallowed up by a storming peloton, led by INEOS Grenadiers, Uno-X Mobility and Bahrain Victorious. Coming up Dingleton for the final climb of the day, Alaphilippe attacked at the foot, with Kelso local Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) following. Matt Holmes (Great Britain Cycling Team) soon took to the front, with Onley and Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) close behind with 24km to go. A flurry of attacks ensued, with Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Evenepoel and Turner all having a go, but nothing was able to stick as the road flattened out with 20km remaining.
INEOS Grenadiers continued to storm at the front with Tobias Foss doing most of the leg work, before Baptiste Veistroffer (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale DT) attacked inside the final 7km. Foss continued to work for INEOS Grenadiers as Soudal Quick-Step came through with 2.8km to go, swallowing up the lone French rider. Turner and Evenepoel took to the front to lead out the two teams, with British champion Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) on his teammates’ wheel, but a sharp final bend saw Hayter pushed wide and out of contention. A sprint to the line saw Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) fire to the victory as Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) soared to second, while young rider Bob Donaldson (TRINITY Racing) secured third. Magnier’s win – his sixth of the year – saw him take the leader’s jersey and the best young rider jersey, which will be worn by Donaldson tomorrow. With all the intermediate sprint wins under his belt, Johansen is top of the points classification. Thornley secured the King of the Mountains jersey with his climbing prowess, which also saw him awarded the Combativity award.
Stage winner and overall leader, Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step): “I’m really happy to take the victory for the team today. Incredible – we did an amazing team performance today. We tried Remco [Evenepoel] and Julian [Alaphilippe] on the climb but it was really hard so in the end, they tried for me in the bunch race. They give you wings when such big riders are working for you.”
Scottish rider, KOM, Callum Thornley (Trinity): “It’s pretty special to do that on home roads. That was my plan at the start of the race – to get in the breakaway – and to make it happen is pretty special. Early on, [Johansen] asked me what I wanted out of the stage and I said I wanted the KoM points. I said if he wanted, we could work together and he could get the sprint and I could get the KoM points so it was a good little duo. It was good seeing all the Scottish flags up there. I’ll have to try and get in the breakaway again and get as many points as I can. The goal will be to defend it, there’s going to be some hard days out, we’ll see what we can do.”
Lloyd’s Bank Tour of Britain Men Stage 1 Result:
1. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step in 4:11:45
2. Ethan Vernon (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
3. Robert Donaldson (GB) Trinity
4. Tom Pidcock (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
5. Casper Van Uden (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
6. Rory Townsend (Irl) Q36.5
7. Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
8. Matevz Govekar (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
9. Jake Stewart (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Norman Vahtra (Est) Van Rysel-Roubaix.
Lloyd’s Bank Tour of Britain Men Overall After Stage 1:
1. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step in 4:11:35
2. Julius Johansen (Den) Sabgal/Anicolor at 0:01
3. Ethan Vernon (GB) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:04
4. Robert Donaldson (GB) Trinity at 0:06
5. Tom Pidcock (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:08
6. Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility at 0:09
7. Ben Turner (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
8. Casper Van Uden (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:10
9. Rory Townsend (Irl) Q36.5
10. Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious.
Tour of Britain’24 stage 1:
Stevie Williams powered to the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men Stage 2 victory from a three-up sprint after an attritional day of racing from Darlington to Redcar. The second stage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men saw riders tackle 152.1km with 2,216m of climbing in the Tees Valley and North York Moors National Park, with the 28-year-old Welshman, riding for the Israel-Premier Tech team taking his first win in his home tour.
As soon as the flag dropped under the watchful gaze of Darlington’s historic clock tower, the peloton got straight into the action with a flurry of attacks. A few small breaks managed to get away inside the first 20km, but nothing was able to stick. After a number of attacks, a break finally managed to get established, including Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5), James McKay (Saint Piran), Laurent Gervais, Cade Bickmore (both Project Echelon Racing), Callum Thornley, Dean Harvey (both TRINITY Racing), Louis Sutton (Great Britain Cycling Team), Baptiste Veistroffer (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale Development Team). The eight-man breakaway had a gap of 3:34 with 120km remaining. Zukowsky took the first sprint points of the day ahead of McKay as the head of the race entered Stokesley.
The Soudal Quick-Step team, of stage one winner and race leader Paul Magnier, led the charge in the chasing peloton as the riders started on the undulating terrain after a flat, fast start. Entering the first categorised climb of the day with Ugglebarnby Moor averaging 9%, the break just dipped under three minutes as a chasing group of six riders broke free, with Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) looking particularly active. King of the Mountain leader Thornley claimed maximum points at the head of the race, extending his advantage ahead of Bickmore and Gervais. Behind, Foss was setting a blistering pace for yesterday’s fourth place finisher Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), with the peloton reducing the gap to 1:41 as they crested the climb. The chasing group established itself with Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Joey Rosskopf (Q36.5), Oliver Peace (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) and Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) getting stuck in as INEOS Grenadiers put in more attacks.
Reaching the second climb of the day at Raw Pasture Bank at 1.7km and an average gradient of 6.7%, Thornley took the top 10 points once again to extend his lead even further, well supported by teammate Harvey in second. The peloton were still 1:11 behind the chasing group and 1:55 behind the leading break as they came to the third and final King of the Mountain climb of the day on Lythe Bank. Averaging 9% for 3.6km, with under 50km to go, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) attacked from the main peloton, taking Pidcock, Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Williams with him. As Thornley took maximum points once again, the Evenepoel bunch bridged over to the chasing group, while Pidcock was unable to hold the pace and had to battle on alone. On the descent, the pace from Evenepoel meant they caught the leaders to make a front group of 15. The pace continued to remain high with Alaphilippe storming from the front. Swift dropped back to assist Pidcock in his efforts to bridge over, with Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious) sitting on their wheels with 43km remaining.
Evenepoel once again took to the front to string the bunch out further, with a gap of 1:30 to the peloton inside the final 40km as the INEOS Grenadier riders dropped back into the main bunch. Alaphilippe then attacked from the front to breakaway and form a group of seven riders, including Onley, Williams, Blackmore, Alaphilippe, Sutton, Mark Donovan (Q36.5) and Veistroffer (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale DT), with Evenepoel and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech) bridging over with 26km remaining. Attacks continued to rock the front of the race, with Onley forming a small gap before being foiled, and a counter-attack from Alaphilippe was also quickly shut down as the riders entered 15km to go.
The final ascent up Saltburn Bank saw Williams attack hard, with Onley the only rider to respond. The pair worked together well, with Alaphilippe chasing solo behind. The French rider eventually bridged over with 7km remaining, racking up a lead of 20 seconds. Entering the final straight to the finish, it was a real cat and mouse sprint to the line, with the riders watching each other before Alaphilippe bit first. The Frenchman was unable to match the power of Williams though, with the Welsh rider powering to the win as Onley took third. The chasing bunch saw Blackmore get the better of Evenepoel 20 seconds back. The attacking efforts from Evenepoel saw him awarded the Combativity award. Williams’ win catapults him into the lead on the general classification, while Thornley’s climbing antics sees him extend his King of the Mountain advantage. A third place finish today was enough to see Onley take the best young rider jersey, while Julius Johansen (Sabgal/Anicolor) retained the lead in the points classification.
Stage winner and overall leader, Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech): “It’s really good to get my hands in the air. It was a really tough day out, especially the last hour when the race opened up. I think the way we rode was in such a way that we always had numbers everywhere and we showed that in the final, so I’m over the moon. The climb was stacked and the finish as well so it’s good to see people out cheering and supporting the race and us riders. That always gives us an extra bit of motivation especially on the climbs. The aim now is to try and hold onto the jersey – it’s not the easiest job in the world. It takes a lot of things going right and a strong team. We have a strong team so hopefully everything goes right on the road and we’ll see what happens in the next few days.”
3rd on the stage and 2nd overall, Scottish rider Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich-PostNL): “It was a nice day of racing. The final opened up quite early with a bigger group, we were fortunate to have Ollie [Peace] in there so when the stronger guys went on the last categorised climb it was really useful to have him there to help pace for a bit. From there, it was whittling down all the time and I managed to get away with Stevie [Williams] and [Julian] Alaphilippe which kept things a little more simple which I liked. Tomorrow is not suited so well to me and it is sprints after that but maybe there will be opportunities. Stevie is obviously a smart and strong rider, I’ve raced against him quite a bit this year and I know his strengths so I’ll try and look for opportunities.”
5th on the stage and 8th overall, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “I didn’t have a result in mind for today. Julian felt good and we went for him. In the end, someone was better, that’s how it goes in racing. We had this plan, did what we wanted. We also never rode defensively. We really went for it in the tough hills. We did what we had to do, and that was taking responsibility in the hills. In the end, one person was faster. I don’t regret anything, but I am happy with this performance. For me, there really is no must. He is in better shape than me, so I like to help him. Tomorrow will suit him too, then there will be a short stage. We will go for it again, but Williams is also doing well and it will be difficult to beat him. We will try. There is still work to be done. When I am in good shape, I always go for the win and then I would have liked to win solo. But now it is suffering and helping the boys, I have to find my limit. I already said that I saw some stars, that is necessary to make steps forward.”
Lloyd’s Bank Tour of Britain Men Stage 2 Result:
1. Stephen Williams (GB) Israel-Premier Tech in 3:37:25
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step
3. Oscar Onley (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
4. Joseph Blackmore (GB) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:21
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
6. Louis Sutton (GB) Great Britain
7. Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development
8. Mark Donovan (GB) Q36.5
9. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step at 1:27
10. Matevz Govekar (Slo) Bahrain Victorious.
Lloyd’s Bank Tour of Britain Men Overall After Stage 2:
1. Stephen Williams (GB) Israel-Premier Tech in 7:49:00
2. Oscar Onley (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:06
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:16
4. Mark Donovan (GB) Q36.5 at 0:31
5. Joseph Blackmore (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
6. Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development
7. Louis Sutton (GB) Great Britain
8. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
9. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step at 1:27
10. Julius Johansen (Den) Sabgal/Anicolor at 1:28.
Tour of Britain’24 stage 2:
Wout van Aert has “no fractures” after fall in Vuelta, but did require intensive care
The Vuelta will continue without star rider Wout van Aert, who crashed hard on Tuesday and had to abandon. He didn’t suffer any fractures, Visma | Lease a Bike reported, but a “deep wound” and he required “intensive care”. It will be an anxious wait to see whether he will make it to the European and World Championships, his last two goals of this season.
“Wout van Aert has not suffered any fractures in his crash in La Vuelta”, Visma | Lease a Bike reported on the night of Tuesday. “Wout will travel back to Belgium to continue his recovery.”
Van Aert’s Vuelta ended after his crash on the descent of the Collada Llomena, 50 kilometres from the finish of stage 16. Van Aert was in the ‘Break of the day’ on the wheel of Felix Engelhardt, who misjudged a left-hand bend and fell. In his manoeuvre to avoid the German, Van Aert crashed into the rock face. He was bleeding profusely from his right knee and his right arm was also grazed.
He jumped back on his bike, but soon knew that something was wrong with his right knee as he couldn’t pedal properly with that leg. A deathly pale Van Aert sat in the back of his team car to recover. He and the team realised that there was no other option than to abandon the Vuelta. Van Aert was taken to hospital, where he was further examined. “The fact that he got into the ambulance does not bode well. In any case, it did not look good”, said team DS Grischa Niermann after the stage. “It’s really bad, but this year it just doesn’t seem to be going our way.”
Is this the end of the Belgian’s 2024 season? Van Aert still had two important races on his programme, the European Championship road race (15 September) and the World Championship road race (29 September), but it remains to be seen whether he will be able to start either of them.
Van Aert can look back on a successful Vuelta, he sprinted to victory on day three, in the red leader’s jersey, and repeated that on the seventh stage. Then on the tenth stage, Van Aert was in the lead again, finishing it off from the break. In addition to his three victories, he was also third once and second three times. Thanks to those three victories and many places of honour, Van Aert was comfortably in the lead in the points classification.
In the second week, the KOM also came his way. From the thirteenth stage to the Cuitu Negru, Van Aert was the leader in that classification. On Tuesday, he was in the break to collect mountain points for the polka dot jersey. This he succeeded in doing, because on both Cat.1 climbs he beat his closest KOM rival, Jay Vine and increased his lead by 8 points. Then he crashed. This is Van Aert’s second serious crash, after the one in Dwars door Vlaanderen that kept him out of the Classics and the Giro.
Wout van Aert’s Vuelta was over:
Ben O’Connor Mistakes the Location of the Podium Ceremony
Ben O’Connor managed to hold onto his lead on Thursday’s sixteenth stage of the Vuelta a España. With five stages to go, his advantage on second placed Primoz Roglič is only 5 seconds.
O’Connor had to give it his all on the final climb to Lagos de Covadonga, but managed to hold on to the red jersey for a another day. “I didn’t expect it to turn out so badly,” he said after the stage. “But in the end I managed to save the red jersey. I think this is a nice bright spot for the next two stages,” the next two stages to Santander and Maeztu are not too difficult. “I just have to enjoy it to the fullest now, because I’m not sure if I’ll still be wearing the red jersey in Madrid.”
O’Connor did enough to keep the red jersey, although there was a problem after the finish. After briefly speaking to the media, he made his way to where he thought the podium ceremony was taking place. It seems that O’Connor thought the ceremony was some kilometres away and not half a kilometre from the top of Lagos de Covadonga. After the finish the race jury announced that: “Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) – Did not attend the official ceremony within the 10-minute deadline. 1000 Swiss francs fine, 20 penalty points in the UCI classification and no longer entitled to the prizes.” More money in the UCI wallet.
O’Connor went to the wrong podium:
Edward Planckaert Given Yellow Card for Celebrating
Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Edward Planckaert played a big role in the third sprint victory of his team leader Kaden Groves. In the wet streets of Santander, he provided an excellent lead-out for Groves to take the stage victory. After his effort, Planckaert saw that the Australian was going to win convincingly, and he threw his arms in the air.
In doing so, Planckaert moved out a little, which caused Victor Campenaerts to go round him. According to the race jury, Planckaert’s action in the last 100 metres was dangerous enough to issue a fine of 200 Swiss francs and a yellow card. The card doesn’t yet result in a penalty in this test phase; from 2025 onwards it will lead to penalties.
Don’t celebrate:
Will Tom Pidcock Race Cyclocross this Winter?
Tom Pidcock does not yet know whether he will be racing cyclo-cross this winter. The British rider doesn’t want to think about it after a full season. “At the moment I have no plans for the winter in cyclo-cross,” he told Sporza at the Tour of Britain. “Maybe I will plan some races at the beginning of next year, but there is certainly no rush.”
The season of the 25-year-old Pidcock has already been long. Pidcock started in the Algarve at the beginning of February and has since raced on the road for 42 days. In addition, he has also been busy on his mountain bike this season: he won gold at the Olympic Games and recently bronze at the World championship.
This week Pidcock is in Great Britain for the Tour of Britain. “I only arrived here on Sunday evening. It was a short night,” said the INEOS Grenadiers rider. “I did not feel great on Tuesday’s first stage. My legs were a bit heavy. Fortunately, it was a fairly quiet day. Hopefully I’ll feel better on Wednesday and I can get more involved in the battle.”
The Briton doesn’t want to think about cyclo-cross yet due to fatigue. Pidcock needs some rest first, but that will take a while. After the Tour of Britain, he will travel to Canada for the GP Québec and GP Montréal.
Will Pidcock ride cross this winter?
Remco Evenepoel was Ill in the Run-Up to the Tour of Britain
The six-day Tour of Britain started on Tuesday in Kelso, a small Scottish town on the border with England. One of the biggest names on the start-list was Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian is starting the last part of his season in Great Britain. The Soudal Quick-Step rider tempered expectations in an interview with HLN/VTM Nieuws.
Evenepoel didn’t have a good preparation for the Tour of Britain. His training camp in Spain didn’t start well. “After all the celebrations (for two Olympic gold medals) I became a bit ill upon arrival in Spain, probably due to the decompression. My body could finally let go of all the stress. I was really sick, which made it quite difficult to train again afterwards. But all in all I have recovered well.”
Evenepoel has changed his program a little: he will not participate in the European Time Trial Championships in Belgium. “Because I was a bit sick, the feeling during training wasn’t great. Knowing that I would have to go straight from this Tour of Britain to the European Championships… Then you lose quite a few days travelling. It’s better to fill those days with specific training for the World Championships. Because honestly, I’d rather win a World Championship title than finish third twice at a European Championship.”
The Tour of Britain is on his programme, but is Evenepoel also thinking about the final victory? “It’s a very specific race here,” he thinks. “The first three days will be full throttle racing. The classification will mainly be made then. Results don’t really matter to me. The most important thing is that I leave this Tour of Britain with a better feeling than the feeling I had when I arrived here.”
Evenepoel will be racing in a slightly different kit. “It’s a special jersey with gold bands.” The bands are are for his Olympic titles. “I had to fight quite a bit for it, because the UCI insisted that the rainbow bands should be preferred, but luckily I got both,” laughs Evenepoel.
Remco gold in Britain:
Egan Bernal has Successful Hernia Surgery
Egan Bernal underwent successful surgery on his back earlier this week. The Colombian has been struggling with a hernia for years, but now hopes to be completely free of back pain. “I hope I’ll be able to push on the bike again,” he said on Instagram.
Bernal was extremely successful in the first years of his cycling career, becoming one of the best climbers and was the first Colombian to win the Tour de France in 2019. Since then he has had injuries and physical problems, his worst being his training crash in early 2022, after which a long and difficult rehabilitation and return to the peloton.
The still only 27-year-old Bernal showed some of his old form this season, but continued to suffer from his back, caused by a hernia. He has now undergone surgery, he announced on Instagram. “I had surgery for a hernia that has been causing me chronic back pain since 2020. We hope that this is the solution and that I can now sit on the bike again without any discomfort. I want to be able to push again,” he wrote.
The Colombian’s season seems to be over, although this has not yet been confirmed by Bernal or his team. The two-time Grand Tour winner has not raced since the Tour de France. His contract with INEOS Grenadiers runs until the end of 2026.
Bernal back?
Golden Years: Remco Evenepoel to Wear Gold Bands on his Soudal Quick-Step Kit
Remco Evenepoel has had a summer to remember, which saw him finish on the podium in his first Tour de France, as well as becoming the first male rider to complete the double of winning both the road race and the time trial at the Olympic Games.
To commemorate his historic achievement at the Paris games, Soudal Quick-Step have prepared for Remco a special jersey, shorts, and socks combination to wear in his coming races. Working with our clothing partners at Castelli, the garments have been designed to incorporate a gold band, marking the Olympic gold medals, while still featuring the rainbow bands that Remco proudly wears as a former World Road Race Champion.
The jersey also features Remco’s name on the back, which is underlined in gold, and will be seen for the first time, along with a special gold Evade 3 helmet and SL8 bike provided by Specialized, and Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep glasses at the Tour of Britain, his first race since achieving the historic double.
Speaking of his new apparel, Remco said: “I am really proud to wear this special kit. The last months have been an amazing part of my career and being the first man to win the double of the road race and time trial at the Olympic Games is something that dreams are made of. To be able to celebrate it with this kit is something that makes me very proud and I want to thank everybody involved in the process and details of marking what happened in Paris in this special way.”
New kit for Remco:
Filippo Ganna to Miss European Time Trial Championship
Filippo Ganna will not participate in the European time trial championship in Limburg due to fatigue, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
Things have not been going well for Filippo Ganna for a while. The Italian did not reach his usual level in the Deutschland Tour and had to abandon the race after just one stage in the Renewi Tour. Afterwards, his team INEOS Grenadiers reported that Ganna was struggling with fatigue, but it is not clear what exactly is going on. “It needs to be investigated further to see if he does not have a certain illness or something. There is just something wrong”, Zakaria Dempster, the team manager told Het Nieuwsblad.
In addition to Ganna, Remco Evenepoel and Joshua Tarling will also not be participating in the European time trial championship. Evenepoel had not planned to ride and Tarling can’t defend his title because Great Britain is not participating in the Euro Champs (nothing to do with Brexit!).
Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout has made his time trial selection. Victor Campenaerts and Yves Lampaert will defend the honour of the host country in the time trial. But neither had an ideal preparation. Campenaerts broke two ribs at the start of the Vuelta, which does not make it easier to maintain the time trial position. Lampaert injured his back in the Bretagne Classic and fell in the Renewi Tour last Saturday, after which he gave up on Sunday.
No Ganna for the Euro TT champs:
Dan Bigham Becomes Head of Engineering at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
Dan Bigham has been appointed to the newly created position of Head of Engineering at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe. World Hour Record Holder, World Champion, Olympic Silver Medallist – and a Master of Engineering. Dan Bigham will bring his many talents to the team to further enhance the technical performance potential of the team. Joining Dan in the team’s new engineering unit will be Jonny Wale, who has collaborated with Dan across many projects including the world-beating HUUB Wattbike track team and the double World Hour Record attempts of 2022.
Working alongside the team’s partners and other Red Bull entities such as Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the engineering unit will focus on optimising all aspects of performance and the integration of new and innovative technologies into cycling.
Rolf Aldag, Chief of Sports Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe: “With Dan and Jonny, we have absolute experts in the combination of cycling and engineering know-how. At Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, our new engineering unit meet the top know-how of our partners like Specialized on the one hand and the innovative technology entities of Red Bull on the other. This combination is unique in cycling and promises enormous potential.”
Dan Bigham, Head of Engineering Red Bull – BORA – hangrohe: “For the past decade, I have balanced the life of an elite athlete with my passion for advancing the sport of cycling through engineering. Having achieved nearly everything I dreamed of on the bike, I am now ready to fully dedicate myself to supporting the next generation of winners. The opportunity ahead of me at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe is immense. No other team can match this level of combined knowledge, capability, and expertise across its network, and I am eager to leverage it to the fullest.”
Dan Bigham to work with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe:
Sergio Higuita Moves to Astana Qazaqstan
The 27-year-old Colombian rider Sergio Higuita has signed a contract with Astana Qazaqstan Team, where he will race for the next two seasons (2025 and 2026).
Sergio Higuita is well-known as a strong climber, capable of competing both in individual stages and in the General Classification of week-long stage races. Additionally, Sergio has repeatedly proven himself in hilly races, possessing a powerful acceleration on climbs and at the finish.
Higuita’s achievements include overall victories in the Tour Colombia 2.1 (2020) and the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (2022), as well as podiums in the UCI WorldTour stage races such as the Tour of California (2nd place, 2019), Paris-Nice (3rd place, 2020), and the Tour de Suisse (2nd place, 2022).
In 2020 and 2022 Sergio Higuita won the Colombian National Road Race Championships.
“I am very happy that we found common ground and that this agreement has become a reality. Astana is a team with a great legacy in cycling, with a rich history in the WorldTour, and victories in practically all the major races in the world. Moreover, right now, the team is transforming into a new exciting project aimed at the future, with new signings and new sponsors coming in. Overall, I think this is the place where I can continue to grow as a professional rider. Alexandr Vinokurov showed great interest and confidence in me. Together, we set goals for the next two years, and our visions aligned. I am convinced that I will do everything possible to achieve all the desired goals together,” said Sergio Higuita.
“Sergio is a rider who is very well known in the peloton. He is a very versatile athlete, capable of delivering strong results in almost any race. He can win on hilly terrains, in the mountains, in classic races and stage races. The team will be ready to support Sergio wherever his chances of success are highest. For us, this is a very good reinforcement, especially in week-long stage races, and I am pleased that we found common ground, and that Higuita will be part of our project for the next two seasons,” said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of Astana Qazaqstan Team.
Sergio Higuita to Astana:
Søren Kragh Andersen Going to Lidl-Trek
It has been rumoured for a while, but now it’s official: Søren Kragh Andersen will be riding for Lidl-Trek from 2025. The 30-year-old Dane, who has been an important rider for Mathieu van der Poel at Alpecin-Deceuninck in recent years, has signed a two-year contract with the American team.
Kragh Andersen has been riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck since 2023. He has assisted Mathieu van der Poel in various spring races over the past two years. He was involved in the victories of Van der Poel in Milano-Sanremo (2023), E3 Saxo Classic (2024) and the Tour of Flanders (2024). Now he is moving to Lidl-Trek, where he also wants to play an important role in the spring Classics. The American team has Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven for these races.
“Lidl-Trek is one of the super teams of the past few years and I see the team developing even further in the future,” said Kragh Andersen on the Lidl-Trek team website. “That makes it a very attractive and cool project for me to be part of. I am especially looking forward to joining some of the best Danish riders of this generation. It will be great fun to race with them,” he refers to Mads Pedersen, Mattias Skjelmose and junior World champion Albert Withen Philipsen, who will also join the team from 2025.
“My goal is to play an important role for the team in the big spring Classics. Lidl-Trek has created a very strong classics team and I am looking forward to being part of it. In addition, it would be great to take a win myself, maybe in one of the grand tours. For the rest, I just want to have fun with my new teammates and enjoy riding with them!”
Lidl-Trek team manager Luca Guercilena is also enthusiastic about Kragh Andersen’s arrival. “His experience and proven ability to race at the highest level – especially in the Classics – will be an important weapon for our team. His ability to perform deep in the most important one-day races will be crucial as we try to take a victory in a Monument next year.”
Søren Kragh Andersen to Lidl-Trek
Hugo Houle Stay with Israel – Premier Tech Through to 2026
After three seasons with Israel – Premier Tech, Hugo Houle has signed a two-year contract extension to see him in IPT colours until 2026.
The 33-year-old has achieved career-best results with IPT, including his memorable Tour de France stage win in 2022, making it an easy decision to put pen to paper says the Canadian.
“It was natural to sign for another two years with Israel – Premier Tech,” explains Houle. “I feel at home in the team, it’s like a family, and I’m also really happy with the progress we have made in the team in the last two years. I’ve had the best results of my career to date with this team and I think we have achieved quite a lot. I’m excited for the next two years especially as it will bring me to the World Championships in Montreal in 2026 and that’s a big objective for me.”
While just three years of his 12-year career have been spent in IPT colours, his relationship with co-title sponsor Premier Tech and Jean Bélanger is longstanding, which Houle says is one of the big reasons he feels at home in the team.
“It’s a privilege to race and work with the riders, staff, and management we have and, of course, Premier Tech and our partners, which helps to bring out the best in me. I think we have a great future together and we will keep improving, so I’m really happy to extend.”
While Houle has the World Championships on home soil in his mind, he doesn’t need to wait that long to race in front of friends and family with next week’s Grand Prix Cyclistes de Quebec and Montreal providing the next opportunity to race in Canada.
Houle will play a key role for IPT at the one-day races with his consistency and reliability proving crucial for the team, explains IPT General Manager Kjell Carlström. “When I think of Hugo Houle, the first thing that comes to mind is his reliability,” says Carlström. “Whether it’s as a teammate or battling for his own result, Hugo is incredibly reliable and will always give it absolutely everything. We all remember his Tour de France stage win, an emotional and well-deserved moment in his career, but in addition to this, he has delivered consistent results such as third place at last year’s Maryland Cycling Classic, and some solid General Classification results at stage races. Hugo brings a wealth of experience to the team and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in the coming two years.”
Belgian riders Arne Marit and Tom Paquot Extend with Intermarché-Wanty
Arne Marit and Tom Paquot have extended their contracts with Jean-François Bourlart’s team. Having joined Intermarché-Wanty together in 2023, the Belgians Arne Marit and Tom Paquot are currently competing in their first Vuelta a España.
During his first season at the highest level with Intermarché-Wanty, Arne Marit (25) finished in the top ten fourteen times, including a fourth place in the sprint at the Giro d’Italia, his first completed Grand Tour, as well as a podium finish at the Tour de Wallonie and multiple placings on World Tour events such as Paris-Nice, the Tour of Catalonia and the Renewi Tour.
This season, he came close to victory with a second place at the Tour of Valencia followed by another at the Tour of Catalonia, his first WorldTour podium. Despite an ankle injury at the Grand Prix de l’Escaut that kept him out of competition for two months, Marit returned strong at the start of La Vuelta, where he obtained a fourth and an eighth place in the first week.
His compatriot Tom Paquot (24) is appreciated by his peers as a model teammate, often mobilised at the front of the peloton to control breakaways, protect the climbers from the wind or lead out his sprinters. In this role, he has notably contributed to the successes of Biniam Girmay in Australia, Mike Teunissen in Norway and the very first success of Hugo Page at the Tour du Limousin. The Walloon from Rocourt is competing in his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta.
Arne Marit: “Extending with Intermarché-Wanty for two more years was obvious for me. I went through a very difficult period mentally after my crash at the Grand Prix de l’Escaut, but the team always supported me. This unwavering support did me a lot of good, it’s what allowed me to return to my level for the end of this season. Intermarché-Wanty believes in me and my potential, I can’t wait to continue my development in the coming years in this family where I have a lot of fun. Since my arrival, I have already realised a dream, that of participating in a Grand Tour. Now, to thank Intermarché-Wanty for their trust, I want to bring home my first victory. I have reached the podium several times in the colours of Intermarché-Wanty, but now I really have to cross that finish line first. That will be my big goal. In addition, the team is focusing more on the classics, an area where I can also exploit my strengths, but also at the service of the team alongside Biniam Girmay, we can achieve great things.”
Tom Paquot: “As a Walloon, it is a pride to represent the colours of the first Walloon team in the World Tour. Since joining Intermarché-Wanty, I have progressed a lot as a cyclist, our Performance Manager Aike Visbeek has contributed a lot to this. Together, we had defined a plan for my development and we can be satisfied with the progress made. Initially, I wanted to distinguish myself in the Ardennes classics. But gradually, I discovered qualities on the flat, where I could be useful for my leaders. I often rode on World Tour events during the spring. I learned a lot by riding in this team, alongside great riders like Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes or Lorenzo Rota. Currently at La Vuelta, the great experience of Rein Taaramäe is a real reference for my first Grand Tour. The family atmosphere in the team is very important to me, both with the riders and the staff, the effects have already proven to be beneficial on performance. All these factors prove that I am in the ideal environment to continue my career. In the future, I would like to become a road captain, become a reference in a support role, make myself even more useful to our sprinters as a lead-out.”
Aike Visbeek (Performance Manager): “We are delighted that two promising Belgian riders are committing to our team for the long term. Arne and Tom have discovered the highest level with us, and they have both experienced a great evolution within our WorldTeam over the past two seasons. Together, we will continue on this path to reach new heights. Arne Marit is well on his way to completing his second Grand Tour with Intermarché-Wanty. In the long term, Arne will evolve mainly with the classics core, where he will take on the role of sprinter. Tom Paquot has become a pillar of the team. He has demonstrated that he can be a valuable support rider for leaders like Biniam Girmay and Louis Meintjes. On this Vuelta, which is his first Grand Tour, he has gained even more experience to eventually establish himself as a reference and a model among our riders.”
Arne Marit and Tom Paquot extend with Intermarché-Wanty:
Aaron Gate signs Agreement with Astana Qazaqstan Team
The current New Zealand Road Race Champion, Oceania Time Trial Champion and recent winner of the Tour of Hainan, Aaron Gate (33), has signed a one-year contract with the World Tour team Astana Qazaqstan Team for the 2025 season.
Aaron Gate is having an outstanding season, with 11 victories making him the most successful rider at the Pro-conti level and placing him among the top five winningest riders in the world in 2024.
In the 2024 season, Gate won four stages and the overall classification at the New Zealand Cycle Classic, the New Zealand National Road Race Championships, the Oceania Time Trial Championships, the overall classification of the Trans-Himalaya Cycling Race and two stages and the general classification of the Tour of Hainan.
“I am incredibly excited about joining Astana Qazaqstan Team. The team has been around for a long time, and even when I first started in cycling, this team was already achieving big victories and was one of those teams I followed on TV. Now, having the opportunity to wear this team’s jersey means a lot to me. I am looking forward to joining the team and getting the chance to race in new, bigger races next season. I am 100% ready to do everything I can to help the team achieve as much success as possible in the new season”, said Aaron Gate.
“Aaron is having an amazing season at the Pro-continental level, and overall, his performance in races over the past few years has been very high – lots of victories and podium finishes. Bringing such a rider into the team is primarily an opportunity to fight for serious results in numerous races in Asia, where we need to maintain our status as one of the strongest Asian teams. Additionally, we would like to see Aaron Gate perform in some races in Europe, where he also has experience, both in classics and in week-long stage races”, said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of Astana Qazaqstan Team.
Aaron Gate to Astana Qazaqstan:
Team Jayco AlUla to Welcome Hellemose Back to the WorldTour Peloton in 2025 with the Aim of Bolstering its Climbers’ Group
Team Jayco AlUla is pleased to confirm the signing of Asbjørn Hellemose, a talented 25-year-old climber from Denmark, for the 2025 season to further strengthen its climbing group and foundations.
Hellemose’s name is already familiar within the WorldTour peloton after two years racing as a professional with Trek-Segafredo in 2022 and 2023. This year however, the Dane turned his attention to gravel racing, keeping fit and developing himself as a rider and person before deciding to turn his attention back to road racing and re-entering the WorldTour.
Bringing a wealth of experience and skills, his natural climbing talent is something that the team’s performance staff are keen to develop even further and believe there is still a lot of potential to be unleashed from the young Dane.
Asbjørn Hellemose: “This is really huge because if you go out of the WorldTour peloton it is really difficult to come back, but I kept on fighting and I’m really proud of this. Team Jayco AlUla staff looked at my numbers and were convinced. I kept on training very hard and also developed some of things that I couldn’t do in my first years as a pro.
I have always dreamed of being on GreenEDGE Cycling. I remember when I was 12 or 13 and my dad asked me ‘if you could have a crazy dream and join the WorldTour, which team would you go to?’. I said GreenEDGE because from the outside it looked like a very happy team which makes people go faster, and I could see this thanks to the Backstage Pass videos. The one with Hayman winning Paris-Roubaix – that still gives me goosebumps.
It is also nice for me to join the team with Anders Foldager. He is younger than me but we were in the same small cycling club and so we have been training together since we were little kids. We were kids with dreams but now we will be in the same team, one of the biggest teams in the WorldTour, that is very special.
For 2025, it is difficult for me to say what I expect as I haven’t raced on the road for one year now. I have been racing on gravel, but I know I have stepped up a level. I hope to get on well with the team and the staff and to get a win, a professional win, that is what gives me the motivation to train, a really big dream.”
Brent Copeland – General Manager: “Hellemose is another new signing for 2025 to really strengthen our core foundations and climbing group. The performance staff have been following him over the past year as he took to gravel racing and believe he deserves a place in the WorldTour again as a rider that looks to have a lot of potential still inside of him. We hope to bring that out of him next season and think he will be a big asset to our team roster, which is shaping up very well for the coming season.”
Asbjørn Hellemose
Age: 25
Nationality: Danish
New Contract: 2025
Key Results:
2nd Giro della Regione stage (2020)
2nd Giro Ciclistico della Valle d’Aosta stage (2021)
5th Giro Ciclisto d’Italia GC (2021)
5th Piccolo Lombardia (2020)
Under 23 World Champ Axel Laurance Targets Success with the INEOS Grenadiers
Axel Laurance, the reigning under 23 road race World Champion, has agreed a two-year deal with the INEOS Grenadiers. The talented 23-year-old from Brittany has already racked up a string of hugely impressive results, including the World Championships title in Scotland last year, firmly establishing himself as one of the most exciting young riders in the peloton.
The 2024 season has seen him take overall victory at the Tour of Norway, including a win on stage two, as well as winning stages at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and at Etoile de Besseges. The young French racer also secured an impressive second place at the Bretagne Classic-Ouest-France in a high-class field in 2022 and a stage win at the Crorace in the same year.
Axel Laurance, said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the INEOS Grenadiers, which is going to be a hugely exciting step in my career. I’ve always admired the Team and it’s the best fit for me and my ambitions for the future. The Grenadiers have a rich history and I want to add to that; I’m here to win races and to get results. In all our discussions I’ve been very impressed with the set-up. The plans they have in place for the future and the expertise involved mean that it’s an exciting place to be. I believe that I’ll quickly find my feet and together we can achieve both my personal dreams and realise those of the Grenadiers. I can’t wait to get started.”
Scott Drawer, Performance Director, said: “In his short pro career to date, Axel has shown that he is a winner. He has already achieved some impressive results and the way he won his world title last year made everyone sit up and really take notice. He’s then carried that form into 2024 and recently completed his first Tour de France, so he’s taken some big strides in a short period of time. Axel’s a rider who really thinks deeply about his own performance and understands the importance of the right environment to bring out the best in him. He wants to know more about the right fuelling and approaches to sleep. He understands how his body responds to various forms of training and is keen to explore new ways to develop so he can meet the demands of some of the hardest races. He is self-aware, reflective and asks really good questions about how to get better. Axel reflects the modern bike rider – he is hungry, motivated and curious. Most importantly he is a winner, and we can’t wait to see him grow and play a role shaping the future of this team.”
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Signs Two New Spanish Riders for 2025
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is excited to announce the signing of two talented Spanish riders, Enekoitz Azparren and David González López, for the 2025 season. Both riders are set to strengthen our Swiss-registered team across sprints, classics, and hilly races.
22-year-old Enekoitz Azparren will be joining his older brother, Xabier Mikel Azparren, who has been with the team since 2024 and has extended his contract for two additional seasons. Enekoitz, a promising all-rounder with a strong climbing background, who excels on hilly terrain and has a flair for breakaways. He is eager to contribute to the team’s General Classification (GC) ambitions and bolster our offensive racing strategy.
“I chose to sign with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team because it’s an exciting project with a great racing calendar that will help me develop as a cyclist,” said Enekoitz Azparren. “The team has quickly established itself in the Pro peloton, and I’m really motivated to join. My brother has had a great experience here, and I’m thrilled to take this next step in my career.”
“My main goal for the upcoming season is to continue improving as a cyclist and contribute to the team’s objectives in every race. I see myself as a rider who climbs well and has a strong kick for select group finishes. I’m dedicated to giving 100% in training and races and can’t wait to grow with the team,” added Enekoitz.
Alex Sans Vega, Head of Performance at Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, expressed his enthusiasm for the young Basque rider’s arrival.
“Enekoitz has been a standout talent since his junior days. Although he faced some challenges when he turned professional, particularly this season, his talent is undeniable. After intensive testing, we’re confident he can return to his best form. He’s young and will be a solid addition to our climbing group, where he can learn from experienced riders like Damien Howson, David de la Cruz, and Mark Donovan,” said Sans Vega.
David González Brings Speed and Experience
28-year-old David González López, known for his consistent performances in fast finishes, will bring valuable experience and firepower to the team’s sprint train. Having spent his entire professional career with the Spanish outfit Caja Rural, David joins Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team with a couple of wins under his belt and a reputation for being competitive in challenging sprints.
“I’m truly excited about this opportunity. Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is growing rapidly, and I believe this is a solid project with a professional setup and fantastic equipment. My primary role will be as a lead-out man for the teams’ sprinters, but I’m also hoping to seize my own opportunities in some of the tougher classics. While I’m not a pure sprinter, I handle the mountains well and am committed to helping the team succeed in every race I participate in,” said David González.
Sans Vega highlighted the strategic importance of González’s role within the team: “David is joining us with a clear objective: to support our sprinters, Giacomo Nizzolo and Matteo Moschetti, as a key lead-out man. We’ve been impressed by his work in this area throughout the year, and after analysing his data, we’re confident that this role perfectly suits his strengths. We’re excited to see the impact he’ll have,” added Sans Vega.
“With the addition of these two talented Spanish riders, we’re reinforcing our commitment to achieving continued success in Spanish races, where we’ve seen promising results in our first two seasons. We enjoy racing in Spain, and it’s through this passion that we discovered these two talented riders,” concluded Sans Vega.
These signings mark the second and third new additions to Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team for 2025, following the earlier announcement of Sjoerd Bax.
Xabier Mikel Azparren re-signs for two more seasons
After a solid debut season with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Xabier Mikel Azparren has resigned for a further two years and will represent our colours through 2026. Despite a year marred by crashes and injuries, the versatile Basque rider has proven to be a valuable asset across a wide range of races, providing support to the GC leaders and also seeking to fight for good results through the breakaways.
“I’m really happy to sign for two more years.This season was really special but affected by a great deal of bad luck with two big injuries within two and a half months which prevented me from achieving the results I wanted. However, we’re creating a long time project together. I’m also excited to have my brother join the team and to have him once again as a teammate. Based on our joint experience I know that when we’re together we train better, we race better so I think the next season will be a great one,” said Xabier Mikel Azparren.
Sprinter Summit in Hamburg: Bemer Cyclassics Attract the fastest Riders to Mönckebergstraße
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) are the four most successful sprinters this season. The quartet has an impressive 37 victories between them this year. Over their entire careers, that makes almost 150. What they are all missing is a victory in Hamburg. In 2024, each of the quartet will have the chance to change that, as they lead the Cyclassics’ prestigious list of starters.
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) is also in the race and thus the green jersey of the Tour de France. The Eritrean also has five wins this season. Like Philipsen, he has won three of them in the world’s most important cycling race. And what Girmay was at the Tour de France, Milan was at the Giro d’Italia. The Italian won the Maglia Ciclamino, the jersey for the best sprinter of the Giro, for the second time in a row. He also took this classification jersey at the recently concluded Lidl Deutschland Tour with three stage wins.
Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) tops the list of former Hamburg winners. The Norwegian also has five victories to his name this season. Kristoff won the Cyclassics in 2014, while Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels, 2012) and John Degenkolb (dsm-firmenich PostNL) are two veterans whose success dates back more than ten years. With Caleb Ewan (Team Jayco AlUla, 2016), triple winner Elia Viviani (INEOS Grenadiers, 2017 to 2019) and Marco Haller (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, 2022) also taking part, only André Greipel, who has already retired, and last year’s winner Mads Pedersen are missing from the illustrious list from the last twelve years.
However, the list of top sprinters will be supplemented by the German elite. Phil Bauhaus (Team Bahrain-Victorious) has announced his participation, as has Pascal Ackermann (Israel – Premier Tech Pro Cycling Team).
In the event that the BEMER Cyclassics are not decided in the sprint, Maximilian Schachmann (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) or Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) will also be there. The latter was only caught in the final meters of the home straight last year.
On the international stage, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Christophe Laporte (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), and Sören Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are among the candidates who could spring a surprise with an attack on the Waseberg. Kragh Andersen in particular have already proven this on German soil. The Dane have won Eschborn-Frankfurt in 2023, the second German WorldTour race of the year.
Key Points:
The best sprinters in the world will meet in Hamburg on September 8.
At the BEMER Cyclassics, not only the fans can expect a sprint royale on Mönckebergstraße after almost 200 kilometres, but apparently also the 23 teams that will be at the start. Almost every team is sending its fastest rider in the squad to the Elbe a week before the European Championships.
Six former winners are taking part in the showdown of the sprint elite.
Pedersen won last year:
#EUROROAD24, Five Star Championships
The Road European Championships to be held from 11 to 15 September in Limburg-Flanders (Belgium) will be of a very high standard.
Between Heusden-Zolder and Hasselt, the two cities that will host the starts and finishes of all the events, a total of 14 titles will be awarded over the course of the six days of racing: 6 for the Road races and 6 for the Time Trials in the Juniors, Under 23 and Elite Men’s and Women’s categories, in addition to the two Mixed Relays, the Mixed Team Time Trial with three Men and three Women per national team, which in addition to the Elites also includes the Juniors event that became a part of the European programme in 2023.
The field will be particularly strong, with 959 riders registered from 37 countries.
Some of the most prominent athletes on the international stage will be taking part in the Elite Road race, including riders who have already won the continental title in the past: defending champion Christophe Laporte (France), Norway’s Alexander Kristoff (2017) and Italians Matteo Trentin (2018) and Elia Viviani (2019).
The team of local riders will be at the start with a very interesting line-up: Tim Merlier, Jasper Philipsen, champion Wout Van Aert, second at the 2023 European Championships and third in 2018.
Other expected protagonists include reigning world champion Mathieu Van der Poel, who will lead the Netherlands, sprinters Pascal Ackermann (Germany), third in 2019 and 2020, Arnaud Démare (France), silver in 2020 and 2022, and Jonathan Milan (Italy), as well as former World Champion Mads Pedersen (Denmark) and Portuguese riders Iuri Leitao and Rui Oliveira, gold medallists in the Madison at the last Olympic Games in Paris.
For the Time Trial, all eyes will be on the Swiss specialists who have won three European titles, Stefan Kueng (2020 and 2021) and Stefan Bisseger (2022), as well as the Belgians Yves Lampaert and Victor Campenaerts.
In the Women’s race, reigning European champion Mischa Bredewold from the Netherlands will be up against some top-class opponents, starting with Italy’s Chiara Consonni and Vittoria Guazzini, Olympic champions in the Madison, as well as former European champion Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands), Elisa Balsamo (Italy) and Cecile Ludwig (Denmark).
Enrico Della Casa, President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme: “The 2024 Road Cycling European Championships could not have a better setting than Limburg-Flanders, a land with a great cycling tradition and a real passion for the sport.
As tradition dictates, great athletes will be taking part in this event, in a setting that promises a spectacle and competition of the highest level.
This region, renowned for its historic link with cycling, will offer a unique experience to the athletes and supporters who will visit the site during the six days of racing, a sign that these Championships represent a global event that will have significant economic and promotional spin-offs for the host region.
I would like to thank the Belgian Cycling Federation, with its President Tom Van Damme, the local author cities who have welcomed us with enthusiasm and great involvement, and the Flanders Classic organisation headed by Tomas Van den Spiegel, a real guarantee of success.
Thanks to the collaboration between all the entities involved and their support, there will be full TV cover age, allowing enthusiasts from all over the world to experience the emotions of this event.”
Participating countries: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and Vatican City.
Information #EuroRoad24 – click here.
Mischa Bredewold (Netherlands) UEC Road European Championships 2023:
‘Fausto Talks’ Documentary Series Launches
New six-part series sees Fausto Pinarello revisit some of the most iconic bikes ever produced
Pinarello has launched a new six-part documentary series called ‘Fausto Talks’ which sees company President Fausto Pinarello shine a light on some on the most iconic bikes in his vast personal collection.
The first episode focuses on the Espada which Miguel Induráin broke the Hour Record on 30 years ago this week – at the Velodrome du Lac in Bordeaux, France on Friday 2 September 1994.
The Espada broke the mold when it came to design. Produced in collaboration with the University of Florence, Lamborghini, and Bugatti specifically for the Hour Record, the bike set new standards in aerodynamics following the UCI’s decision to outlaw the ‘praying mantis’ style which helped Graeme Obree capture the record previously.
This revolutionary machine allowed Induráin to surpass the 53km mark for the first time ever, achieving a distance of 53.040km (32.958 mi) over the 60-minute effort. This first instalment of Fausto Talks celebrates that feat, delving into the unique history and development of the bike, and is available to watch now on the official Pinarello YouTube channel.
The five subsequent episodes of the Fausto Talks series will be launched on the 4th of each month between now and February.
Pinarello President Fausto Pinarello said: “During my career I have been passionate about pushing bicycle design and technology to new levels, and along the way I have amassed a collection of bikes which have achieved those goals.
“I felt now was the right time to take some of those most historic models and share them with the world, providing some fun facts, anecdotes and stories about their design, and the great athletes who rode them.
“Doing so was like unlocking a time capsule and seeing them again immediately took me back to the time of their development, evoking many happy memories. Creating this Fausto Talks series has been a great experience and I hope people will enjoy revisiting the bikes and champions that have helped make Pinarello what it is today.”
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