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Wednesday, September 10, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk. - Stephen King
Les Woodland's book Tour de France: The Inside Story - Making the World's Greatest Bicycle Race is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- August 23 - September 14: Vuelta a España
Upcoming racing:
- September 12: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
- September 13: Memorial Marco Pantani
- September 14: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
Latest completed racing:
- September 2 - 7: Tour of Britain
- August 31: Bretagne Classic-Ouest France
- August 26 - 29: Tour Poitou Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
- August 20 - 24: Renewi Tour
- August 19 - 22: Tour du Limousin
- August 17: Hamburg Cyclassics
- August 17: La Polynormande
- August 12 - 16: Tour of Denmark
- August 15: Circuit Franco-Belge
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Egan Bernal claimed a fantastic stage victory at the Vuelta a Espana from the stage 16 breakaway.
The Colombian national champion secured his first Grand Tour stage win since 2021 in impressive style, climbing to the fore in the day's break, before besting a two-up sprint against Mikel Landa (Soudal - Quick-Step).
Egan Bernal beats Mikel Landa for the stage win.
The stage situation evolved on the run-in, with the finish line moved to eight kilometres to go due to a protest on the final climb. Bernal stayed cool to take the victory, which marks his biggest success since returning from a near career-ending crash in 2022.
After a huge initial fight to get up the road, Bernal was supported in the day's breakaway of 17 riders by Bob Jungels. The Luxembourg rider continued his strong showing at the Vuelta with sixth place on the stage, finishing as part of the second group on the road.
A second successive stage in the break saw Bernal continue to move back up the GC, now sitting 12th overall.
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Here's the Vuelta report from GC leader Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
The third and decisive week of the Vuelta a España is underway. Due to protests, the finish line of the sixteenth stage was moved eight kilometres earlier than planned. Race leader Jonas Vingegaard finished safely among his rivals, while breakaway rider Egan Bernal took the stage win.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike CEO Richard Plugge responds to today’s events: “It is really unfortunate that this decision once again had to be taken to guarantee the riders’ safety. As long as the race organizers and the UCI allow the Vuelta to continue, I assume they can also ensure it is done in complete safety. But this is already the second time they have had to reconsider that during the race, and that has an impact on the outcome of the race. I would like to once again call on the public not to interfere with our riders and the race. At the same time I urge the organizers to do everything possible to secure the event so that we can all enjoy an exciting battle in the final week of the Vuelta.”
Team Visma | Lease a Bike started the last week of the Vuelta this morning without Victor Campenaerts, who fell ill and was unable to take the start of the sixteenth stage. After the start in Poio, seventeen riders gained a big lead over the peloton, with Wilco Kelderman and Dylan van Baarle maintaining control. With more tough stages still to come, the GC contenders kept each other in check today. It soon became clear that the battle for the stage win would be between the breakaway riders. Due to protests at the original finish, the decision was made mid-stage to shorten the course.
Protestors at the finish line. Sirotti photo
In the end, Egan Bernal was the first to reach the eight-kilometre mark, where the official times were recorded. Vingegaard crossed the improvised finish line a little later alongside Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson, and the other favorites for the general classification. With five stages to go, the Dane still holds a 48-second lead over closest rival João Almeida.
“It’s a shame that this has happened again”, Vingegaard says afterwards, referring to the forced shortening of the stage. “Everyone has a right to protest, but it’s a shame that it has to happen here and in this way and that we can’t finish the race. That should not happen. The team worked well today, and I would have loved to honour their work in the final of the race. It’s a shame that the Spanish cycling fans did not get to see an exciting finale.”
Tomorrow brings another tough stage in Spain. For the tenth time this Vuelta a España, the race will finish uphill, this time on Alto de El Morredero.
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Here's the Vuelta report from stage 16 second-place Mikel Landa's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Mikel Landa scored his first podium of the year on stage 16 of the Vuelta a España after a brilliant ride in the breakaway. The Basque, who is riding his home Grand Tour for the ninth time, was one of the strongest riders in the 17-man group which formed after 50 kilometers and where he had for company T-Rex Quick-Step teammate Mauri Vansevenant.
The day's big break 99 kilometers into the stage.
It was a fast stage, especially in the first part, but this didn’t seem to bother the 35-year-old from Murgia, who was one of the most active riders in the breakaway, as underlined not just by his solid turns at the front, but also by the two big attacks he launched on Alto da Groba and Alto de Prado. These two moves ended up making an important selection in the front group, to the point that with only 15 kilometers to go, it was just him and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in the lead.
That was the moment when the organisers announced that due to another protest on the final climb, the stage would be shortened and conclude instead eight kilometers from the line, with the times set to be taken there, at the start of the ascent. Landa did his best on the rolling roads to the new finish, but was passed by the Colombian with 50 meters left and had to settle for second – our team’s eighth Grand Tour podium of the season. The general classification men concluded a couple of minutes later and Junior Lecerf kept his place in the top ten with five stages to go.
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Here’s the team‘s news:
This coming week sees the return of the two ‘Grand Prix Cycliste’ that, since 2010, have provided an opportunity for the UCI World Tour to showcase professional cycling in North America.
The ‘double-header’ starts with the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, followed by the ‘Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal’ two days later.
By the time they cross the line on Friday, the peloton will have raced 216km on a parcours containing more than 2,600 vertical metres over 18 laps, each of which includes the climb of Côte de la Montague (375m at 10%).
Lead Sports Director in Canada will be Michal Golaś, who rode both Quebec and Montreal three times.
“This year’s course is slightly changed: the final lap includes the first steep part and the finish line is in a different place. I think that this will affect a little bit let’s say, the favourites, and the final effort will be a bit different and a bit longer.
"It’s still a race for strong sprinters or all-rounders, but I think it will be slightly different to previous editions. The race itself requires a fight for positioning throughout, so basically it is 18 laps, with a fight to have position every time. You need to be not too far back and not expend too much energy. I expect the last 2 or 3 laps to be crucial for the race. And we’ve got guys like Nikias Arndt and Fran Miholjevič to support our leaders.
"I expect the race should be very good for Pello Bilbao and and Edoardo Zambanini, but I need to see also how they are after the Tour of Britain, but they are our leaders. We’ve also got Matej Mohorič who will be crucial on the last lap, not only for positioning, but also to move the team in that final phase.
Pello Bilbao at the Tour of Poland earlier this year. Sirotti photo
"I think we need to get rid of the sprinters, so we need to make the race as hard as possible. But having Pogi [Tadej Pogacar, UAE] on the start list means there will be other teams who also want to ride like that.
"To put it simply, we count on the last three laps, which will decide the result, and I think we have a pretty complete team.”
The route is 15km longer than last year with a new punchy uphill finish after the Cote de la Montague (375m at 10%), which is 1.2 kilometres on Avenue George VI that rises at around 3%.
Bilbao will be taking part in both events for a seventh time, having been runner up to double World Champion Pogacar 12 months ago. Of the others selected, Mohorič will be making his eighth appearance, Arndt his fifth, and Zambanini his third. Fred Wright and Afonso Eulálio are both debutants.
Like Quebec, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal was cancelled in 2020 & 2021 due to the Covid Pandemic, but 2025 sees its 10th edition, and is a very different proposition to Quebec. On Sunday riders will face much more climbing (4,573 vertical metres), and a longer route (209 km). The start is scheduled for 1715 European time, and goes uphill immediately with the Côte Camillien-Houde (1.8 km @ 8%). Like Quebec it is a circuit parcours: 17 laps of a 12.3 km course, each of which goes over not only the Camillien- Houde, but also the Chemin de Polytechnique (780m @ 6%, including 200m climb at 11%), the Avenue Pagnuelo (534m @ 7,5%), and the Avenue du Parc (560m @ 4%)
The day will finish with a descent of 560 metres before the bunch comes to a virtual standstill at a 180 degree turn before just over half a kilometre at 4% to the finish line.
Golaś explains more:
“Montreal, of course, is a much harder race: basically it’s an elimination race over 17 laps. The roads are nice and wide so we don’t need to expend too much energy, but I think the race itself is hard enough that the selection will be really big.
"We need to be active in the middle section and I think with this line-up we are able to do that. We will have Fred [Wright] and Zamba [Zambanini] to cover the middle part, riding aggressively and trying to get in the move that will inevitably go. Our leaders (Bilbao & Eulálio) can use this advantage in the finale and I believe that kind of effort will work really well for them.
"Pello was second last year, not too far from Pogacar, and having just raced the Tour of Britain he should have the extra kick in preparation to achieve a great result."
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