Today’s semi-weekly cycling news roundup, featuring analysis of the Vuelta’s last four stages, the Canadian World Tour weekend, a Mexican in Italy — and our news-you-can-use guide to pronouncing “Vingegaard” correctly. It’s time for a coffee…
TOP STORY:
- Vingegaard Wins GC at the Vuelta as Protesters Render Final Stage Victor-less
Race News:
- Classic Alaphilippe at Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec
- UAE Dominates, Americans Shine at Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal
- Del Toro’s Italian Triple
- Storer Scores Tudor’s Other Weekend Win at Memorial Marco Pantani
Rider and Team News:
- Polish Men Say “Nie” to Worlds
- Lopez, Adrià to Movistar Team
Vingegaard Wins GC at the Vuelta as Protesters Render Final Stage Victor-less
All of the Vuelta’s plotlines were rehearsed and resolved over the course of stages 18-21, from Vingegaard’s evident weakness — and ultimate fortitude — to UAE’s try-everything strategy, Vine’s resilience — and, yes, the Pro-Palestinian protesters’ persistence.
Stage 18: Time Trial in Valladolid — A Moment of Truth
Stage 18 was slated to be a long test, a 27.2 km individual time trial in Valladolid, potentially yielding GC-shaking time gaps. But the protesters shifted the choreography: concerns about safety forced the organizers to cut it to a flat 12.2 km — a profile practically customized for Ineos’ Filippo Ganna.
Still, a polka-dot skinsuit-clad Vine kept Ganna, sitting in the “hot seat” of the time trial’s leader, very nervous, ultimately falling short of the winning time by less than a second. João Almeida also had a strong ride, gaining ten seconds on Jonas Vingegaard, giving further rise to speculation that the Dane might be weakening (and wonder whether a longer stage might have enabled Almeida to take even more time, and why Vine, a domestique to Almeida, would empty himself just two days before a potentially decisive mountain stage).
With this win, the previously invisible Ganna reminded everyone that he remains one of the sharpest time trial blades. Meanwhile, the protests — manifested around the stage’s start/finish, and influencing route changes — showed they weren’t going away.
Stage 19: The Sprinters’ Reprieve — But GC Tensions Remain
Stage 19 gave the climbers and GC contenders a breather. A relatively flat run from Rueda to Guijuelo, perfect for sprinters. Jasper Philipsen took the sprint, his third stage win of this Vuelta, confirming that he is the finest Grand Tour sprinter of this age.
Yet even in a “quiet” stage, the GC contenders were watching. Vingegaard picked up bonus seconds in an intermediate sprint — nearly half of what he lost in the time trial — as Almeida and UAE’s every-rider-for-himself “strategy” revealed another point of weakness.
Stage 20: Bola del Mundo — The Mountain Speaks
This was always going to be the decider. The last serious mountain test: over 4,200 m of climbing, culminating in the brutal summit finish at Bola del Mundo. Almeida had to press, while Vingegaard, simply had to defend.
But he did much more: the two-time Tour champ attacked with about 1.2 km to go on that final climb, a goat-path of a road, and soloed to the win. His teammate Sepp Kuss followed, with Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) in third; Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) remained close enough to Hindley to maintain his podium spot, while Almeida kept his second-place position while losing time on Vingegaard, who had stretched his lead to 1 minute and 16 seconds. Not far behind, American Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) finally punctured the lead of his Young Rider rival Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), climbing to fifth position overall.
For Vingegaard, then, Stage 20 was the moment of fortitude: after the shaky time trial, after sporadic pressure from UAE, after noise from outside the race, he responded where it mattered most. Almeida had been dogged, but the gradients of the Bola del Mundo exposed his limits.
Stage 21: Madrid — A Ceremony Unfinished
Ordinarily, the final stage would be a procession, followed by a final chance for the sprinters, but largely ceremonial. This time, not so much. Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the finish in Madrid; the stage was cancelled before the riders reached the planned finish line, the podium ceremony called off. Vingegaard was officially declared overall winner in a strange, abrupt end.
Themes & Takeaways
Vingegaard’s weakness was real — but temporary. The TT exposed him; Almeida gained time. But mountains were his realm, and he reminded everyone at Bola del Mundo that he remains supremely dangerous when the road goes up.
UAE’s approach produced just as expected. When you field a diverse, talented and ambitious team of largely self-concerned riders and promulgate no strategy whatsoever — against the second-best Grand Tour rider of his generation — you’ll get exactly what we saw from UAE: stage wins, a lesser jersey, but ultimately not the top step of the final podium.
The protests may be a harbinger. The Pro-Palestinian protesters likely feel that they “won”: they created chaos and frustration, and they affected concern among the organizers about including an Israel-linked team in major bike races. We likely will see them again.
In the end, dominance in the mountains still speaks loudest. Stage 20 decided it: power, endurance, timing, will. The rest built toward it. Almeida made it a race, but Vingegaard’s Bola del Mundo sealed it.
RACE NEWS
Classic Alaphilippe at Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec
Julian Alaphilippe’s victory at the 2025 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec felt like a vintage record rediscovered in a dusty sleeve — you thought you knew the tune, but the power of it still surprises you. On the rolling, 18-lap circuit of Québec City, the Frenchman, now in the colours of Tudor Pro Cycling, timed his attack with surgical precision, punching clear on the final ascent of the Côte de la Montagne to hold off Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana).
Pogi was active, but missed the winning move.
The race had started as a predictable WorldTour grind: an early breakaway featuring Filip Maciejuk and two Canadians, Philippe Jacob and Félix Bouchard, built up six minutes, only to be methodically reeled in. But in the last 70 km the tension crackled. Alaphilippe surfed the chaos, conserving his legs while others — including Tadej Pogačar — flung speculative moves. Then, with 1.5 km to go, the former world champion flicked the switch: a trademark uphill burst that had fans blinking at their screens like, “Wait, is 2019 back?” Frequently looking behind to his chasers, Alaphilippe managed to hold his lead just until the line.
“I always wanted to win here, and to do it this way is just great,” he said afterwards, sounding as surprised as anyone. For a rider who hadn’t claimed a WorldTour one-day race in over a year, the win over a field that was arguably stronger than the one racing the Vuelta is significant, and may place Alaphilippe’s name back in the conversation about protagonists at Worlds, looming in Rwanda.
UAE Dominates, Americans Shine at GP Cycliste de Montreal
The 14th edition of the GP Cycliste de Montréal, a World Championships-style circuit, turned into a display of strength from UAE Team Emirates, with dramatic shifts in tactics and a rather remarkable finish.
A small group broke away early, building a lead that reached ~2 minutes. Later, others, including dangerous riders like Laurence Pithie, Jan Tratnik, Gianni Vermeersch, and Harry Sweeny formed a larger break of about 16, but UAE began applying heavy pressure in the peloton, reducing the margin.
With about 40 km remaining, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) attacked, followed by Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek); then the defending champion Tadej Pogačar bridged up to them, forming a select group of four including Louis Barré (Intermarché–Wanty). Pogačar made the big acceleration with two laps to go, dropping Barré; Simmons tried to follow, but eventually it was McNulty who fought his way back to Pogačar’s wheel, the World Champion seemingly easing back to wait for his teammate.
Soon spectators were treated to an unusual scene: two members of the same team (albeit one clad in the World Champion’s stripes) pedaling easily, chatting, evidently planning the final meters. It appeared at one point that Pogačar and McNulty would duke it out in a sprint, but with 50 meters left they draped their arms around one another, and the G.O.A.T. allowed the American to slip into the win. Simmons took third, over a minute behind. Neilson Powless finished fourth, followed by Adam Yates, Louis Barré, Tiesj Benoot, Alex Aranburu, Corbin Strong and Alberto Bettiol rounding out the top ten.
This pair of Canadian races has in recent years shaped up to be the final training space for the World Championship Road Race, their attritive courses serving well to prepare the protagonists for final battle. Like the Tour of California once did with the Giro d’Italia, les Grands Prix have begun to threaten the Vuelta for attention, arguably attracting a stronger field, and serving up more entertaining racing. (And with those polite Canadian fans far less interested in disrupting a bike race.)
Del Toro’s Italian Triple
While his uber-teammates Tadej Pogačar and Joao Almeida failed to produce victories in Canada and Spain, respectively, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) swept three lesser one-day Italian races in just five days.
His campaign kicked off at the GP Industria & Artigianato in Larciano, where in a 196.3 km contest he broke away on San Baronto’s final ascent and narrowly out-sprinted Christian Scaroni and Davide Piganzoli to take the win. Two days later at the Giro della Toscana – Memorial Alfredo Martini, Del Toro produced a solo attack with 27 km to go on the Monte Serra climb, holding off the chase group to cross the line alone. His hat-trick was sealed at Coppa Sabatini in Peccioli, where he surged from a three-rider breakaway on an uphill finish, distancing Benjamin Thomas and Ben Granger in the closing climb.
While the three victories at second- (or even third-) tier races fall far short of the marquee wins often earned by UAE Team Emirates, del Toro drew encouragement heading towards the World Championship Road Race later this month, while also crediting his team: “The truth is that it is not normal. I am too grateful to the team because they are always helping me … very happy, it’s incredible for me,” he said.
Storer Scores Tudor’s Other Weekend Win at Memorial Marco Pantani
Photo Credit: Tudor Pro Cycling
Del Toro could not, however, go four-for-four: About 24 hours prior to Alaphilippe’s victory in Canada, his Tudor teammate Michael Storer scored a victory at the Memorial Marco Pantani in Italy, over a field that included Del Toro, Richard Carapaz, and several other near-luminaries.
The one-day race featured a jagged profile with over 2,500′ of vertical accumulation, but it was on the flat, final 35 km where Storer escaped his lone breakmate, Eritrean climber Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar Team). The Australian attacked through a series of tricky road furniture, and once Tesfatsion lost the slipstream, he also lost the race, and was ultimately reeled in by Total Energies’ Alexander Delettre.
RIDER & TEAM NEWS
Polish Men Say “Nie” to Worlds
The Polish Cycling Federation seems to have decided the cost isn’t worth the potential benefit of sending a men’s team to the World Championships in Rwanda. Citing high travel costs and the improbability of earning a strong result — especially with Rafa Majka retireing and Michal Kwiatkowski’s career evidently waning — the Federation removed its men from the startlist. Poland will, however, field junior, U23 and elite women’s team, the final squad featuring road race contender Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney.
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LOOK Cycle will continue its technical partnership with Team Cofidis, extending a nearly 15-year collaboration. This important partnership, along with Cofidis’ commitment to equal pay, shows the dedication to trust and excellence in supporting all teams, including men’s, women’s, and para-cycling.
Under the renewed agreement, Team Cofidis will continue to utilise LOOK’s high-performance equipment, including the acclaimed 795 Blade RS frames, Keo Blade Carbon Ti pedals, and Keo Power meters. This year, the partnership is further strengthened by the integration of Campagnolo Super Record Wireless groupsets and Bora Ultra WTO wheels, aligning with a broader collaboration established earlier in 2025.
Team Jayco AlUla has confirmed that Chris Juul-Jensen will remain with the team for another two seasons after signing a new contract through 2027.
The 36-year-old has been with the Aussie squad since 2016 and is a respected member of the GreenEDGE Cycling family. As a significant part of the team’s key roster of support riders, Juul-Jensen has been a part of some of the team’s most memorable moments.
With 16 Grand Tour starts to his name, as well as multiple appearances at all five of the season’s Monuments, the Danish rider has a large amount of experience of racing at the highest level.
Said Jensen, “It doesn’t take much time in the company of our Team Owner Gerry Ryan to understand why I’m happy to extend my contract with Team Jayco AlUla. It’s an incredible team to be a part of…I consider myself very lucky to have had 10 great years here already and I can’t wait to give everything to this team for another two!”
Lopez, Adrià to Movistar Team
Movistar Team has announced the signing of Roger Adrià and Juan Pedro “Juanpe” Lopez for the 2026 season. Both riders expressed immense satisfaction with the moves. Said Adrià, “Signing for Movistar Team means fulfilling a dream. Almost all Spanish cyclists, from a young age, dream of racing for this team, as it is the squad with the most history in the international peloton. So, it’s truly a dream come true.”
Lopez, meanwhile, described a similar sense of excitement about the opportunity: “Taking this step is a great opportunity for me. I want to bring the experience I have to the team, and I still have a few years left to give 100% and do my very best for the squad. Learning from my teammates, sharing my experience, and above all, trying to perform as best as I can. I believe this is the team that suits me, and I want to enjoy it to the fullest.”
Our Guide to Pronouncing “Vingegaard” Correctly
To celebrate Jonas Vingegaard’s victory in the Vuelta, we PEZzers wanted to provide a public service: helping you, dear reader, pronounce the Dane’s name correctly.
Actually, who are we kidding? Unless you’re a native Danish speaker, you probably can’t pronounce it correctly. We can’t. But thanks to some on-the-ground interviews we conducted in Copenhagen, we did glean some tips that can save you from the nasty coffee-ride foul of grossly mispronouncing the two-time Tour winner’s name.
Tip #1: There’s one “d” in his name, and it’s at the end. It’s not “Vindigo.” Jonas’ last name has nothing to do with a deep blue dye, or the women who sing “Closer to Fine.”
Tip #2: Squish the two “g” sounds together and swallow the “e” between them. Say it fast: “Vin-g-gard.”
Tip #3: It’s OK to say “Vingego.” You’re trying. You’re getting close. It’s not OK to pronounce the final “gard” like the word describing what you do with your closest secrets — or your Strava KOM’s.
Final Tip: Our best bet for coming close to native pronunciation is to end it with “awww…” like you’re describing how cute it is when Jonas pulls his son onto the podium with him.
Vin-g-gawww.
You’re welcome.
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