Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, August 4, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. - Alexander the Great
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Current racing:
- August 4 - 10: Tour of Poland
Upcoming racing:
- August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
- August 6 - 8: Tour de l'Ain
- August 7 - 10: Arctic Race of Norway
Latest completed racing:
- August 3: Circuito de Getxo
- August 2: San Sebastian Classic
- July 26 - July 30: Tour de Wallonie
- July 27: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
- July 5 - 27: Tour de France
- June 21 - 29: Most national road championships
- June 24: Giro dell'Appennino
- June 15 - 22: Tour de Suisse
- June 18 - 22: Baloise Belgium Tour
We posted the report from winner Isaac del Toro's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.
Here's the report from Samuele Zoccarato's Team Polti-VisitMalta:
True to the spirit of the team and his personal inclination for long-range attacks, Samuele Zoccarato was in the breakaway with 9 other riders for nearly 140 kilometers in the Circuito de Getxo, before being caught on the last Akarlanda climb. As expected, the race exploded shortly after on the Alto Pike where, 16 km from the finish, Del Toro (UAE) launched the winning solo attack. Meanwhile, Team Polti VisitMalta occupied the main group’s front positions with strong density.
On the steep finish in the Biscayan town Ludovico Crescioli placed 11th. Next to (or just behind) him: Javier Serrano 13th, Alex Martín 14th, Diego Sevilla 17th. Special mention to Mattia Bais, who helped position and protect his teammates towards the explosive finale, and to Pablo García, who put in a significant effort in the first part of the route.
Isaac del Toro takes a solo win in Getxo
Sports Director Jesús Hernández: “In the pre-start meeting, I told the guys they had to join the first big move of the day if it looked promising — and it did, so Zoccarato was smart to get in. Overall we did our best, stayed almost entirely alongside the best opponents and took home some valuable points.”
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Here's the team's preview:
The 82nd edition of the Tour de Pologne takes place between August 4th and 10th, opening with a start in Wroclaw, where the riders will cover nearly 200 km. The route is mostly flat, with no major climbs, but the first points will be on offer in various classifications. The stage will conclude in Legnica, where a sprint finish from a large group of riders seems the most likely outcome.
On day two, riders who specialise in tougher terrain will take the spotlight. They will face a demanding and intense stage that starts at the Hotel Gołębiewski in Karpacz. From there, the peloton heads into the climbs. The final classified crest comes just 20 km from the finish – but won’t be the last challenge. With just 5 km remaining is the Hotel Seidorf intermediate sprint, located on the iconic (unclassified) climb to Orlinek.
S3 will be a slightly longer route, starting and finishing in Wałbrzych. The 159km are mostly ridden in a circuit which includes multiple ascents of both the Przelecz Walimska and Przelecz Niedzwiedzica (both 2nd category), as well as the Cat 1 Rzeczka. With gradients exceeding 10%, this stage promises to be a spectacular mountain showdown that could significantly impact the General Classification.
Thursday starts in Rybnik and heads toward Ciezyn. In the first phase the bonus Sprint will be contested, after which the climbing begins. Riders will tackle the passes of Przegibek, Orle Gniazdo, and Salmopol, all famous and testing climbs.
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The longest stage of this 2025 edition of the Tour de Pologne, on the fifth day, stretches 205.3 km from Katowice to Zakopane, which two years ago proved decisive in the final GC between Matej Mohorič and João Almeida (UAE). This year it features two first cat climbs, and 2763 vertical metres, making it potentially another GC day.
Stage 6 will finish in Bukowina Tatrzańska – and can rightfully be called the ‘Queen Stage’. Into a relatively short route of just under 150 km, organisers have packed six C1 mountains.
The individual time trial, will conclude the race, keeping the suspense alive until the very last minutes. Riders will face a 12.5 km route starting and finishing near the “Wieliczka” Salt Mine. The course will naturally suit those strongest ‘against the clock’, but good climbing legs will also play a part; the stage begins with a near 2-km ramp that could significantly impact the outcome.
Pello Bilbao (shown in stage 17 of the 2023 Tour de France) will be racing in the Tour of Poland. Sirotti photo
Sports Director Michal Golaš said: “When I come here I am always optimistic, but this year, especially seeing our roster, I am not afraid to say that we are one of the stronger teams and we will fight for the win. It’s a race where many details count, and when we say every second counts, that’s the Tour of Poland. Because the classification at the end will be decided by seconds. So, having Pello and Antonio as two leaders allows us to use different scenarios. Obviously, they are coming from the long break. We need to be careful with that, and I think they will improve during the week with their shape, but also we have behind them strong helpers like Edoardo, who was in the top 10 last year. And also Jack with his experience. So, in these areas, I think we are quite strong. Our flat support with Fran, Roman and Vlad makes the team a good balance and ready for all scenarios. The race itself looks harder this year with more climbs through the week, but in the end, the characteristics of the race are not gonna change, and it will still be decided in the final kilometres and decided by seconds, so it is important to win a stage, and that would be the best. We will look to take bonus seconds and ride a great ITT, which is also one of our goals. We still stick to the plan, support our leaders and be ready for every scenario.”
One of the team leaders, Antonio Tiberi, knows this race pretty well already: ”I am here for the Tour de Pologne, and it is the fourth time I’ve taken part in this race. I come here after a high-altitude training block; my last race was the Giro d’Italia, and yesterday I also raced San Sebastian. I must say my legs are finally coming around – day after day, I feel them improving, so expectations are good and I will try to do my very best.”
The line up for Team Bahrain Victorious is: Pello Bilbao, Roman Ermakov, Jack Haig, Fran Miholjević, Antonio Tiberi, Vlad Van Mechelen, Edoardo Zambanini.
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Here's the team's update:
After the roaring success of our T-Rex-themed jerseys at last year’s La Vuelta, we couldn’t resist bringing a little prehistoric flair back to the World Tour. This time, we’re heading to the Tour de Pologne with a twist: the team will race under the name T-Rex Quick-Step, wearing a striking black-and-gold Castelli jersey inspired by one of Soudal’s most iconic products – the T-Rex Gold adhesive.
The Soudal Quick-Step team in their T-Rex jerseys at the 2024 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo
“We are once again extremely proud to support the team of the Tour de Pologne”, says Andrzej Kaczor, Managing Director of Soudal Sp. “Just as this prestigious race promotes our country on the international stage, the distinctive team name and the new logo featured on the riders’ kits promote the high-quality T-REX GOLD adhesive range perfectly – ultra-strong, ultra-fast, and exceptionally reliable, just like the athletes in our team.”
“T-REX GOLD stands as a symbol of durability, strength, innovation, and boldness – qualities that align perfectly with the spirit of professional cycling and drive our team to achieve consistent success. I am confident that this unique element – a key part of our brand promotion strategy – will leave a lasting impression on cycling fans and our loyal customers alike.”
One of the many World Tour stage races where our team has scored countless victories in the last two decades, the Tour de Pologne is back with its 82nd edition, which starts from Wrocław and concludes in Wieliczka, after seven stages and more than 1000 kilometers.
T-Rex Quick-Step will go at the start with a strong and versatile seven-man squad consisting of Ayco Bastiaens, recently-crowned British ITT Champion Ethan Hayter – victorious in the Tour de Pologne GC in 2022 – Paul Magnier, the young Frenchman who in the first part of the season delivered four wins, Casper Pedersen, neo-pro Andrea Raccagni, Pepijn Reinderink and Slovak Championships silver medalist Martin Svrcek.
“We have a strong and confident team for next week and we hope to get some more good results at this race where we’ve won a lot in the past. For the bunch sprints we count on Paul, who has had some nice victories this year and who can rely on several riders to control the flat stages and guide him in the finale. Concerning the general classification, we plan on taking it day by day and see what we can do there”, said sports director Dries Devenyns.
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