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Thursday, October 23, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us. - Martin Luther
Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the 2024 Tour de France: The Happy Warrior Triumphs is available print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- October 26: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
Latest completed racing:
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland
- October 19: Veneto Classic
- October 19: Japan Cup
- October 19: Chrono des Nations
- October 15: Giro del Veneto
- October 12: Paris-Tours
- October 11: Il Lombardia
- October 9: Gran Piemonte
- October 7: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- October 7: Tre Valli Varesine
Here’s the news from del Toro’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
UAE Team Emirates-XRG is delighted to announce that Isaac del Toro will compete in the Mexican National Championships in Baja California over the coming days, with the event set to extend the Emirati squad’s record-breaking season.
Returning to his home city of Ensenada, Del Toro will compete in both the Elite Men’s Individual Time Trial on Thursday, 23 October, and the Elite Men’s Individual Road Race on Saturday, 25 October.
Ordinarily, UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s season would have drawn to a close last weekend with the final UCI races in Europe; however, this year’s Mexican Nationals have been organised in exceptional circumstances and will extend the 2025 campaign by a further week.
Sitting on 95 victories for the year to date – a new record by any team in the history of professional cycling – the Emirati squad will hope to add to this tally through Del Toro.
Isaac del Toro winning the 2025 Gran Piemonte. Sirotti photo
Fittingly, this week’s races are to be held in the port city of Ensenada, where the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was born. Having become the first Mexican rider in history to finish on the Giro d’Italia podium in May, Del Toro’s return will be hotly anticipated.
The 21-year-old competed in his first Mexican Youth National Championships at the age of 14, and is relishing an opportunity to race on home roads in both the ITT and the road race.
Del Toro: “Racing the Mexican Championships in my hometown this weekend is really special for me. It’s the perfect way to close out the season – surrounded by family, friends, and the fans who have supported me since the beginning. I’m proud to race in the colours of UAE Team Emirates-XRG here, finally on home roads, and I’ll give everything to finish the year on a high note.
“It’s going to be a really special few days and I hope the whole Mexican biking community can get involved and enjoy this weekend celebrating cycling.”
Enjoying a stellar second year as a professional, Del Toro has taken 16 victories across 2025, including his first Grand Tour stage win at the Giro d’Italia. There, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man was the race’s breakout performer, becoming the youngest rider to spend 10 consecutive days in the maglia rosa since Fausto Coppi in 1940.
Hailing from the low-lying city of Ensenada, Del Toro was born in Mexico’s northwesternmost state and has played a big role in the nation’s resurgent interest in cycling. His stage win at the Giro was the first by a Mexican rider since Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio in the early 2000s.
With victories in prestigious races such as Milano-Torino and the Giro dell’Emilia thus far in 2025, Del Toro has even moved himself up to third in the UCI’s individual rider rankings, only bettered by Tour de France champions Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.
The 2025 Mexican National Championships are to be hosted by the new Mexican Cycling Union and supported by the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (CONADE). Despite the last-minute arrangements, the races have been certified by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and offer UAE Team Emirates-XRG with one final chance to add to its tally of 95 wins for the campaign.
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Here’s the team’s post:
As the 2025 road season is now in the history books, it’s time to look back at the numbers behind a historic year for Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
Over the course of the season, 62 riders pinned on a number for the yellow-and-black squad. Split across the men’s WorldTour team, the women’s WorldTour team, and the Development team, they covered an impressive 406.462 kilometers in total. That’s ten times around the globe, or the equivalent of riding up the Champs-Élysées 213.927 times.
The Champs-Élysées was also the stage for one of the year’s most memorable moments, as Wout van Aert took an epic solo victory on the famous cobbles after attacking on Montmartre six kilometers from the line to finish off the Tour de France in style. That win was one of 13 Grand Tour stage victories claimed by the men’s and women’s teams across the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta, making it a Grand Tour season to remember.
Wout van Aert wins stage 21 of the 2025 Tour de France. Sirotti photo
On the last day of May, Simon Yates completed his impossible comeback with an attack on the Colle delle Finestre, turning the Giro d’Italia on its head on the penultimate stage. Yates catapulted himself from third to first overall, before finally putting on la maglia rosa in Rome the day after.
A few weeks later, Jonas Vingegaard stood on the second step of the men’s Tour de France podium, before Pauline Ferrand-Prévot made history as the first woman from the team to win the Tour de France Femmes. Her French triumph came with victories on both of the toughest mountain stages after Marianne Vos had already taken the opening stage of the race.
Finally, the team completed the Grand Tour trilogy when Vingegaard brought the red jersey of La Vuelta a España to Madrid for the first time in his career, winning three stages along the way. Across the three Grand Tours, the team spent a remarkable 19 days in a leader’s jersey.
But Team Visma | Lease a Bike didn’t just shine in the Grand Tours. In total, the team secured 65 victories in 2025, starting on February 8th, when Olav Kooij won the opening stage of the Tour of Oman. Kooij ended the season with 11 wins, including two Giro d’Italia stage victories, making his final season in yellow and black the best of his young career.
The year’s final win came on October 19th, when Christophe Laporte wrapped up the Tour of Holland in style, lifting the winner’s trophy to close out the season.
Months before her Tour de France Femmes triumph, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot crowned an impressive classics campaign with a solo victory at Paris–Roubaix Femmes, crossing the line alone on the iconic Roubaix velodrome. It was the first Monument win of her career, and the highlight of a spring where the team came a wingbeat away from victory on several occasions.
The spring also marked the breakthrough of now 20-year-old Matthew Brennan. The young Brit burst onto the WorldTour scene by winning two stages at the Volta a Catalunya in March and went on to finish the year with 12 wins - more than any other rider on the team. Brennan averaged a victory every five race days.
Jonas Vingegaard recorded 31 top-10 finishes in 2025, underlining his consistency across more than 60 race days. His average result for the season was 20th place, exactly one place better than Marianne Vos.
Jonas Vingegaard racing in the Vuelta GC leader's red jersey. Sirotti photo
Sepp Kuss once again showed his big engine, clocking 72 race days, the most of any rider on the team. Marion Bunel and Pietro Mattio, who topped the race-day charts for the women’s and development teams, weren’t far behind with 53 and 59 days respectively.
Together, the riders also set some impressive off-bike stats: the team went through 59,000 bidons this season. That’s enough to fill a sizeable swimming pool, or to weigh as much as five well-fed elephants. They also consumed over 1,100 litres of cherry juice after races to kickstart their recovery process.
All in all, 2025 was a season to remember for Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
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Here’s the team’s post:
Team Jayco AlUla have concluded a successful season of ups and downs, ready to build and progress in 2026. The team’s achievements were highlighted by three Grand Tour stage wins, including new recruit Ben O’Connor’s stage victory at the Tour de France.
Injuries and illness played their part throughout the 2025 season, but the team continued to battle on and chase results with maiden wins, career firsts, and Grand Tour successes.
In total six different riders secured seven WorldTour wins, highlighting the Australian outfits versatility and strength across a diverse roster.
Unforgettable start
The year kicked off in fine style as Team Jayco AlUla swept the honours at the Australian national championships. Luke Plapp retained his time trial championship, before selflessly setting up teammate Luke Durbridge for the road race victory.
A frustrating Tour Down Under brought several near misses without reward, but Swiss champion Mauro Schmid made sure the team ended the Aussie summer on a high with a stunning solo victory at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Mauro Schmid wins the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Meanwhile over in Saudi Arabia, mountain bike world champion Alan Hatherly demonstrated his talents on the roads as he fought with the best to take two impressive top three stage finishes at the AlUla Tour.
Career firsts
New signing Paul Double made a strong start to life in his new colours as he soloed to his first professional victory at the Coppi e Bartali on stage two. The British rider showcased his aggressive racing style throughout the season which saw his claim another impressive stage win and the overall title at the Okolo Slovenska.
The 29-year-old saved his best for last as he soared to victory on the queen stage of the Tour of Guangxi to take his first WorldTour win before holding on to secure the general classification on the final day.
Australian Plapp also delivered his own first back in April as he climbed to his maiden professional victory in Europe. The 24-year-old did the business over in Greece at the Tour of Hellas, fighting though tough and rainy conditions to come out on top in a head-to-head duel.
Despite a challenging season that saw him sidelined with injury for much of the season, Michael Matthews added another first to the team’s palmarès in 2025 with an emphatic victory at the one-day Eschborn-Frankfurt, amongst a consistent series of top 10s throughout the year.
Grand Tour success
Plapp took the confidence of his first win on European soil into the Giro d’Italia and backed up his success with a magnificent 45km solo victory on stage eight, his first win in a three-week tour. The team wasn’t done in Italy as Chris Harper then conquered the Colle delle Finestre on his way to glory on a spectacular queen stage.
The team endured a turbulent Tour de France after an early crash for leader O’Connor put a dent in the squad’s overall ambitions. However, the Australian continued to show his grit and determination throughout a demanding three weeks and was rewarded with a victory stage 18.
His win made it back-to-back-to-back queen stage victories at Grand Tours for the team, following Eddie Dunbar’s La Vuelta a España triumph in 2024 and Harper’s Giro win.
Ben O’Connor:
“In terms of special moments, it’s by far my stage win at the Tour. Especially coming later in the race, on the queen stage, after really having to fight a couple of demons and after the crash. For things to turn around and to get the big win, on the big day at the Tour, that was that was definitely the special moment of the year for me.
"In general, being on the team, being on the ‘Aussie’ team has been just a real pleasure to experience and to have that English speaking vibe and just this familiarity that has been so different in my past through my cycling career, that’s probably the most enjoyable part of this year.
"I would have definitely have liked to have done more and missing the Vuelta after damaging my ribs was really a huge blow because I love that race, and I think things were really on track. So it’s definitely not being as successful as I dreamed or hoped for, but that’s sport and sometimes things are out of your control.”
Mat Hayman (Sport Director):
“We hit the ground running this year and I think Luke Durbridge winning the national championships in Perth in front of a home crowd, we’re at the end of the season now, but that was very special and Luke Plapp’s role that he played in that win, it was a bit of a fairy tale. It was really nice to see Luke win that race and then Plappy took out the TT as well. Then we won Cadels with Mauro, we hadn’t won that race before, there was big pressure, and it was nice to see Gerry hand the trophy to someone from his own team finally.
"Then Luke Plapp and Chris Harper both getting stage wins in the Giro was great and I think Paul Double has had a standout season. He’s somebody who has fought pretty hard to get his professional contract and is just growing from strength to strength during the year.
"To go back to the Australians – Ben O’Connor’s win at the Tour de France when the chips were down, he was fighting for GC, struggled through an injury but just the tenaciousness of him never giving up. Then winning on the queen stage in the way he did it, just the confidence in the way he attacked out of a very elite front group to go on and win this stage on what is a ridiculously hard climb.
"Also, a special mention has to go to Alan Hatherly at the world championships, even though it was on the mountain bike, to win that again just shows the class of the guy. He’s done some great rides on the road but that world championship and to have a world champion on your team is always special.”
Team Jayco AlUla 2025 Victories:
1st Australian Time Trial Championships – Luke Plapp
1st Australian Road Race Championships – Luke Durbridge
1st Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – Mauro Schmid
1st South African Time Trial Championships – Alan Hatherly
1st Coppi e Bartalia, stage 2 – Paul Double
1st Tour of Hella, stage 2 – Luke Plapp
1st Eschborn-Frankfurt – Michael Matthews
1st Tour de Hongrie, stage 4 – Dylan Groenewegen
1st Giro d’Italia, stage 8 – Luke Plapp
1st Giro d’Italia, stage 20 – Chris Harper
1st Tour of Slovenia, stage 1 – Dylan Groenewegen
1st Tour of Slovenia, stage 3 – Dylan Groenewegen
1st Swiss Time Trial Championships – Mauro Schmid
1st Swiss Road Race Championships – Mauro Schmid
1st Tour de France, stage 18 – Ben O’Connor
1st Tour de Slovaquie, stage 5 – Paul Double
1st Tour de Slovaquie, general classification – Paul Double
1st Tour of Guangxi, stage 5 – Paul Double
1st Tour of Guangxi, general classification – Paul Double
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Here’s the team’s news:
Pau Martí may be following the likes of Marco Frigo, Oded Kogut, and Itamar Einhorn, all of whom have enjoyed success after graduating from the IPT Academy, but the young Spaniard is not daunted by the task.
The 20-year-old from Valencia will become the Academy’s latest rider to turn professional when he joins the IPT WorldTeam on a two-year contract from 2026. During his three seasons with our development team, Martí has finished on the podium of the prestigious Giro Next Gen, won a stage of the Volta a Portugal, and placed sixth in last month’s UCI World Championships under-23 road race in Rwanda.
Pau Martí winning stage two of the 2025 Tour of Portugal. IPT photo
“Joining a professional team is something that every young rider dreams of, and this has been the case with me ever since I started cycling aged four and watching races on TV. Therefore, it’s only right that I say that this is a dream come true,” Martí says.
“The IPT Academy has believed in me for many years, ever since [Sports Director] Rubén Plaza first contacted me. This team has been crucial in my development as an under-23 rider, as it has allowed me to compete in the biggest races in the world. Year by year, slowly but surely, my level in the races has improved. I’m really thankful for everything that the Academy has done for me.
“I want to keep improving my level and skills in this beautiful profession over the next two seasons, as I know that it is a big step up. But I’m ready to help the team’s leaders whenever I’m asked to do this job, giving them everything they need, and if there are opportunities for me then I will do my best to get good results.”
Despite his age, Martí has already had 11 race days for IPT’s ProTeam over the past two seasons, and was part of team victories at the Giro del Veneto (2024) and O Gran Camiño (2025), reinforcing his reputation as a promising climber who is good in both stage races and hilly one-day classics.
The maturity he has shown during these races has given the team confidence in the Spaniard’s ability to step up next season, explains General Manager Kjell Carlström.
“Pau has done everything we’ve asked of him since joining the IPT Academy in 2023, so we’re excited to see what he can achieve in the coming years,” says Carlström.
“The way he won his stage in this year’s Volta a Portugal showed off his impressive race craft, and suggests that he could be as good a one-day racer as he is in stage races. We know that he’s determined to continue his progression and development, and we will support him at every step as he makes the transition into the pro ranks.”
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