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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, August 11, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath. - Aeschylus

Plato's dialogue Apology is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• August 12 - 16: Tour of Denmark
• August 17: Hamburg Cyclassics

Latest completed racing:

• August 4 - 10: Tour of Poland
• August 7 - 10: Arctic Race of Norway
• August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
• August 6 - 8: Tour de l'Ain
• 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 stage & GC winner Brandon McNulty's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.

Here's the report from GC second place Antonio Tiberi's Team Bahrain Victorious:

The 82nd Tour de Pologne was once again a success for Team Bahrain Victorious, as Antonio Tiberi moved up to second overall, making it four GC podiums in the last five editions. The Italian jumped up one place on the final stage, thanks to a strong performance in the conclusive time-trial where he set the 4th fastest time.

Antonio Tiberi riding to fourth in the stage and second in the GC. Sirotti photo

This week-long race on the World Tour calendar was even more demanding this year than ever. In seven stages, the riders covered 926.2 km and 15,352 metres in altitude gained. The first stage from Wroclaw to Legnica was more dedicated to the fast men, where young Vlad van Mechelen showed he can compete with the top sprinters in the race and finished 13th.

On the second stage there were multiple categorised climbs to overcome, and the GC contenders came into play. Antonio Tiberi took advantage to end the day 5th in the overall classification, 12 seconds behind the leader. The 159.3 km hilly 3rd stage once again showed the dangers of this sport, where several riders – including Jack Haig – went off the road on a dangerous corner. The race was neutralised, meaning that the final 15 km were raced only for the stage and not for the overall classification. That day, Pello Bilbao finished second. Despite a hilly parcours, the 4th stage ended in a sprint and nothing changed in the general classification.

Bahrain raced more as a team each day, and showed themselves to be one of the leading teams in the race, often controlling the pace of the bunch.

The 5th stage ended in the Tatra Mountains, in the famous ski jumping town of Zakopane, after a long 206.1 kilometres. Antonio maintained 4th place in General Classification and the same gap of 12 seconds after the finish. The 6th Queen stage was the most interesting to watch, but the most challenging, as they had to crest a Cat 1 ascent 5 times over. Pello Bilbao took 3rd place, and Tiberi, having received a 2-second bonus during the race, took a tight 3rd place in the General Classification, 20 seconds behind the leader. In the overall standings Pello Bilbao moved up from 11th to 5th, 24 seconds behind. The stopwatch decided the winner of the Tour de Pologne on the last day. The 12.5 kilometre individual time trial, which started with a slight 2.2 km climb and then mostly downhill to the finish, was decisive for crowning Brandon McNulty (UAD), who also won the stage, ahead of Lorenzo Milesi (MOV) and Matteo Sobrero (RBH).

Antonio Tiberi was fourth, which put him on the second step of the final podium. The 24 year-old was pleased with his form during the week:

“I have very good feelings, and I’m happy with how I finished this Tour de Pologne. For sure, it boosts my morale ahead of La Vuelta and gives me more certainty about my condition. I’m happy with how my sensations grew day by day. I never held back when it came to making an effort, and whenever I had the legs, I tried to attack. I think this will serve me well ahead of La Vuelta.

I’m very pleased with how the team worked this week. I have to praise everyone here — teammates and staff members — who gave their best from the very first day to support me. They did an excellent job, especially in yesterday’s stage when we knew we had to go for broke. Everybody gave their best, even if some were not at the top of their condition and still suffering from crashes. They believed in me until the end, and the staff members worked for me until late at night. I’m truly grateful for their commitment.”

Sports Director Michal Golaš summed up the race at the end:
“We missed out by just a little bit on the GC victory, but I’m super happy with how the guys worked this week. They did an amazing job — it was truly one of the greatest weeks I’ve had with the team. Everybody deserves a share of this podium, as they worked so hard to achieve it. I think we also deserved a stage win, but McNulty proved today that he was the strongest.

"I’m glad that yesterday we really tried to make life hard for him and even tried to drop him. We gave everything, and Antonio performed very well. But, as I’ve said before, the whole team was excellent. It was a great week, with great work and commitment from everyone.”

Here's the Tour of Poland report from stage seven 5th-place Ben Turner's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Ben Turner claimed the points classification win at the Tour de Pologne after a fifth place finish in the final stage’s time trial, while Victor Langellotti finished fifth on the GC.

Ben Turner winning stage three of this year's Tour of Poland. Sirotti photo

Riding in the white jersey, Turner rounded off a fantastic week to take fifth place in the 12.5km time trial, having briefly sat in the hot seat with his time of 14:50, and see him confirm his lead in the points classification. The British rider has had a strong race, claiming a win on stage three, and two second place finishes.

Langellotti took fifth on the GC, having ridden in the yellow jersey today after his victory on yesterday’s stage. A solid time saw him claim 24th place, 39 seconds down on stage and GC winner Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).

Here's the final Tour of Poland report from Stefan Küng's Team Groupama-FDJ:

The 2025 Tour de Pologne concluded with a 12.5-kilometre time trial on Sunday. Obviously motivated by this final stage, Stefan Küng placed sixth, twenty seconds behind the day’s and overall winner, Brandon McNulty. The Swiss rider, like some of his teammates, also took advantage of the day to fine-tune a few things ahead of the Vuelta a España. Rudy Molard also secured his top-15 in the overall standings.

The 112 riders still in contention on the Tour de Pologne were expected near Krakow this Sunday, in Wieliczka to be precise, to complete the 2025 edition. To do so, they had to cover a 12.5-kilometer time trial, which wasn’t particularly technical. “It was a very nice course with a first part of two kilometres uphill,” Jussi Veikkanen said. “The second part was hilly with a lot of slight downhill roads, so it was very fast. The guys had done a good recon and they were all very focused. As I said, the goal was to give 100% because there will be time trials on the Vuelta, and it was a perfect opportunity to work on it in race mode. On the other hand, we decided to play it safe with Enzo this morning. He was a bit unwell when he woke up, probably because of the same virus that affected Rémi yesterday.”

Rudy Molard finishes stage two. Sirotti photo

Five riders from the Groupama-FDJ cycling team were still in the running on Sunday, and Clément Davy opened the day shortly before 3 p.m. The Frenchman set a decent time of 15 minutes and 21 seconds, while Stefan Küng finished just under half an hour later. On the line, the Swiss rider set a mark of 14’51, which put him in provisional third place before the arrival of the GC favourites. Thibaud Gruel put in a solid performance in 15’14, then Rudy Molard, the last rider to start for Groupama-FDJ, crossed the line in 15’59.

The penultimate rider to set off, Brandon McNulty smashed the race against the clock with a time of 14:31, while Stefan Küng got sixth place, 20 seconds behind the American. “Actually, Stefan hadn’t done a time trial in competition since the Tour de Romandie,” said Jussi. “There was one at the Tour de Suisse, but it was uphill and therefore completely different. His lack of racing practice showed a bit. Even if you work hard in training, it’s never the same, and it showed in the details. It would probably have been possible to gain a few seconds. He was there, but he can definitely do better in the next time trials. In terms of shape, he’s on track, and that’s the most important thing.” In the general classification, Rudy Molard was able to maintain his place in the top-15 (15th) at the end of this last day and Groupama-FDJ also completed the week with four top-10, without having a sprinter in their ranks. “We were there almost every day, we can be satisfied with that, even if Rudy’s final result doesn’t reflect everyone’s commitment,” Jussi concluded. “My conclusion is that the guys worked very well in July because everyone was up to the task. Thibaud, in particular, showed that he can also play at WorldTour level against the best in the world, and that’s what we’ll remember.”

And here's the Tour of Poland report from Matthew Brennan's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

The Tour de Pologne concluded on Sunday with an individual time trial. Matthew Brennan wrapped up a strong week for Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the eleventh place in the race against the clock.

In southern Poland, the five riders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike faced an individual test on the final day. On the rolling course, Brennan delivered the team’s best performance, finishing in eleventh place. Earlier this week, the 20-year-old Brit had sprinted to his eleventh victory of the season in sensational fashion.

“Matthew was determined to get a good result today, and he succeeded. Technically, it was a very strong display, and his numbers were great. The fact that he can do such a strong time trial on the seventh day of a WorldTour stage race is another big step in his development. He can be proud of this”, sports director Jesper Mørkøv says afterwards.

Olav Kooij riding to 97th in the time trial stage. Sirotti photo

The sports director was pleased with the individual finale and looked back on a successful week in Poland. “It’s been a great seven days for the team. With Olav and Matthew, we took two beautiful stage wins, both the result of strong teamwork. That’s something we can be happy about as a team.”

Olav Kooij secured a stage win in Poland for the fourth consecutive season. “That’s quite special. On top of that, Olav rode strongly in the penultimate stage, which featured a lot of climbing. This week is a great boost for him toward the rest of his season. We’re all looking forward to that”, Mørkøv concludes.

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from GC winner Corbin Strong's Team Israel-Premier Tech:

Corbin Strong leaves the Arctic Race of Norway with the overall victory, a stage win, two second places, and as winner of the youth and sprint classifications. Not a bad way to wrap up four days of racing for the Kiwi, who makes it 20 wins for Israel – Premier Tech this season.

Corbin Strong wins stage one.

Strong started the final stage, an eight-lap hilly circuit in Tromsø, with a six-second lead over Tom Pidcok (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and was put to the test from kilometer zero. Strong’s teammates hit the front of the peloton to control the race from the start, working tirelessly to control the breakaway of the day.

“It was an incredibly stressful day actually,” admits Strong. “I knew we would be under attack from kilometer zero but it exceeded my expectation, especially the few first laps in the rain. It was really stressful and with the wet descents as well, which I know is a strength of Pidcock, so I was really nervous for today and the first laps were even more out of control than I expected.

“My team was just incredible today. We were first, fourth, ninth, and 15th on GC coming into today, so we have an incredibly strong team here. Those boys just put it all on the line today and I owe this win to them because they were incredible and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

It was a day when every second would count. After Riley Sheehan took the maximum time bonus at the first intermediate sprint, Strong conceded a second to Pidcock in the second sprint to bring the gap down to five seconds.

Nick Schultz set a blistering pace in the last two laps at which point the peloton had been drastically reduced while Sheehan helped control attacks on the final lap and set Strong up in the final sprint.

Strong dug deep in the sprint and although he wasn’t able to come around Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility), second place on the stage was enough to wrap up the General Classification victory, while Sheehan narrowly missed the podium in fourth overall.

Fresh off his maiden GC win at the Ethias Tour de Wallonie less than two weeks ago, it’s safe to say Strong has found career-best form and confidence heading into his goals in the second half of the season, doubling his win tally in the process.

“I knew in Wallonie I felt really good and strong on the climbs so I was quietly confident I could do a decent GC result here,” adds Strong. “I knew the four kilometer climb at eight percent [the stage 3 finish] would be really difficult against guys like Pidcock and Scaroni but I thought I could do a top-five or maybe a podium if I had a really good ride.

“But I exceeded my expectations yesterday and to take the GC win here, I’m really proud of myself. I didn’t expect to win so to be in the yellow jersey and finish it off today with my teammates is a really nice feeling. I’m really lucky to have teammates like I did this week.”

Sports Director Alex Cataford praised the team’s performance across the four-day race:
“We came in this week knowing Corbin was in super good form after his recent win in Wallonie and we came in backing him to do another good performance here,” says Cataford. “Our original goals were a stage win and top-three on the GC and Corbin knocked off the first goal on stage one which was amazing. The team rallied around him and then on the queen stage yesterday, Corbin produced one of the best climbing performances of his time with the team and really surprised us. With that, we were racing for the win.

“It was a very challenging last day but we had a really strong team around Corbin. We were able to control and neutralize the situations and come out of here with the win against some tough competition. It was also really good to see Riley Sheehan finish fourth, it’s nice to see him at the pointy end of the race. There’s not much else to say other than our guys rode superbly around a superb leader.”

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