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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, September 20, 2025

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out. - Rodney Dangerfield

Les Woodland's book Cycling’s 50 Craziest Stories is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• September 17 - 21: Tour de Luxembourg
• September 20: Super 8 Classic

Upcoming racing:

• September 21 - 28: World Cycling Championships
• September 28 - October 5: Tour de Langkawi
• October 3: Mûnsterland Giro
• October 4: Giro dell'Emilia
• October 5: Coppa Agostoni
• October 6: Coppa Bernocchi
• October 7: Binche-Chimay-Binche
• October 7: Tre Valli Varesine
• October 9: Gran Piemonte
• October 11: Il Lombardia
• October 12: Paris-Tours

Latest completed racing:

• September 19: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
• September 17: GP de Wallonie
• August 23 - September 14: Vuelta a España
• September 14: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
• September 14: GP de Fourmies
• September 14: Trofeo Matteotti
• September 13: Memorial Marco Pantani
• September 12: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
• 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 report from stage winner Mattias Skjelmose's Team Lidl-Trek with the results.

Here's the report from the race organizer:

On Friday, the queen stage of the Škoda Tour de Luxembourg took place. Over the 170.5 km from Mertert to Vianden, the riders delivered spectacular racing. At the finish in the Vianden castle, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) claimed victory ahead of Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) and Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates XRG). With this win, Skjelmose also took over the Yellow Jersey of the overall leader.

Seven riders formed the day’s breakaway and quickly built a lead of six minutes. Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies), Holter Ådne (Uno-X Mobility), Victor Papon (Wagner-Bazin WB), Henri Renard Haquin (Wagner-Bazin WB) and Joshua Amos Gudnitz (Team Coloquick) tried their luck. But on the tough finishing circuit around Vianden, the group stood no chance against the favourites.

Already on the first climb of the Niklosbierg, the peloton broke apart. The stage resembled more of a one-day classic than a stage race. Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) launched an attack in the final kilometres, but the victory was decided within a small group where Skjelmose proved to have the strongest legs.

Mattias Skjelmose wins the stage.

Stage winner and new race leader Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek): “It was a very hard finale. Marc Hirschi was really strong, it was tough to bring him back. Brandon McNulty launched his sprint early, but luckily I could pass him at the end. My teammate Tom Skujins did an amazing job. I even asked him if he thought he could win, because I wasn’t feeling great. But he answered that he would fully ride for me. Wearing the Yellow Jersey is actually a disadvantage. Hopefully, we can still win the race. The time trial tomorrow should suit me. I hope to be up there as well. On Sunday, I want to finish the job. The weather isn’t expected to be good, but usually I perform well in tough conditions.”

Here's the Tour of Luxembourg stage three report from third-place Brandon McNulty's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

UAE Team Emirates-XRG continued its impressive start to the Škoda Tour de Luxembourg, with Brandon McNulty and Jhonatan Narváez finishing third and fourth, respectively, on stage 3. The day was won by Matthias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who best handled the punishing slopes to the line.

Finishing within the grounds of Vianden Castle, the final climb was 3.3km long with an average gradient of over 10%, proving the perfect battleground for the first clash between the general classification contenders.

Brandon McNulty earlier this year the the Tour of Poland, which he won. Sirotti Photo

Flanked admirably by his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates throughout the course of the afternoon, McNulty headed into the finale in a smart position. Showing his strength to the line, McNulty, a pure climber and time trial specialist, hung with the best puncheurs to take third place with an insignificant time loss.

Backing up his teammate, Narváez showed equal form to cross the line in fourth.

Both riders had been helped into place by Nils Politt, Igor Arrieta, Pablo Torres and Rafał Majka throughout the Queen stage of the race. Starting out from Mertert, Politt was the first to pilot his team leaders towards the head of proceedings.

Next up, Arrieta, Majka and Torres each followed the wheel of Lidl-Trek’s Søren Kragh Andersen, who looked to attack into a dangerous breakaway on the first of three ascents of the Montée de Niklosbierg. Their manoeuvre ensured that McNulty would have sufficient numbers when his group bridged up on the second ascent.

With McNulty by now in position, Majka went to work at shredding the group of favourites on the last recorded ascent of the climb. At this point, McNulty remained strong and Narváez did well to keep within contact before the decisive last few kilometres.

As it was, the finale was to include a fourth, uncategorised climb of the Niklosbierg, before continuing up the steep, 300m-long ramps to Vianden Castle. Here, the legs told the story, with Skjelmose the strongest puncheur on the day.

McNulty, to his credit, stuck with the Lidl-Trek man, and now heads into stage 4 sitting just eight seconds back in the general classification. Saturday’s stage is an individual time trial, which should act in McNulty’s favour.

Narváez, meanwhile, moves up to sixth overall, just 12 seconds down on the race lead of Skjelmose. Between the pair, UAE Team Emirates-XRG is in a prime position heading into the final two stages.

McNulty: “It was a super hard finish. We did three laps of the same climb and the team rode super well, especially in those last two laps when we all came together. It was just a full two-minute effort to the castle so I am happy with it in the end and it sets us up well for tomorrow.

“It was definitely good to have Igor, Rafał and Pablo up the road. There was no doubt they’d have still been there had they been in the group, but it was nice to put pressure on the other teams so that then they had to bring them back because we had three guys in the front. When they came back we had a full team still so it was a really good move.

“My main focus is just to win the TT and not think too much about the GC. I’ll just take it as a normal TT and try to win the stage, and then hope that it falls into place for the GC. It is quite a hard TT, it is not super flat, and it’s a bit longer than we’re seeing a lot nowadays, so I’m excited for it.”

We posted the report from second-place Dylan Groenewegen's Team Jayco AlUla with the results.

Here's the report from race winner Jonathan Milan's Team Lidl-Trek:

Cool skies, fast roads, and a packed peloton full of the world's best sprinters. Koolskamp played host to a thrilling edition of the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen.

Today, Jonathan Milan showed once again why he’s among the sharpest sprinters in the peloton.

From the gun, the race was aggressive. Several break attempts tried to steal the show in the first hour over undulating terrain, windy stretches, and tight corners. Lidl-Trek kept a vigilant eye on every move, ensuring no breakaway threatened long enough to gain dangerous time. The Team were switched on, riding near the front on the climbs and through crosswinds to close gaps, keeping things tense but controlled.

As the laps wore on, crashes and mechanicals took their toll, thinning out the bunch just enough but not enough to take away the chance of a bunch sprint finish. With about 30 kilometres to go, a small group of four riders escaped, but after tenacity from the sprinters’ teams, including us, the gap began to shrink.

Entering the final circuit in Koolskamp, the bunch was together, everyone looking to deliver for their fast man. The Teams lead-out was textbook. In the last 2 kilometres, we moved to the front, protecting Jonny from the wind and jostling behind. With around 250 metres to go, Jonny launched and opened a small but decisive gap that he managed to hold to the line. A well earned win and a sign that the legs are well recovered after July’s Tour de France.

Jonathan Milan is the days' fastest rider.

From Jonny..
"I’m really happy with today, the team managed the day really well. The speed was really high, especially in the first hour, but the end was really chaotic. It was difficult to organise the lead out as all the sprinters wanted to be there at the front to go for the victory. I managed the final really well and I’m really happy for this result.

"It was very difficult for me to recover after the Tour de France. I went to the Tour of Germany and I was hoping it would go a bit better but I think my body still wasn’t recovered enough and now I’ve had some nice time at home and had some good training days which left me very motivated to come here and do these last few races of the season with my teammates and bring home some nice results and have some fun!"

Here's the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen report from third-place Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Tim Merlier finished top three at the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen for the second year in a row at the end of a hard day in the saddle, during which the European Champion – who made his return to competition after almost a month – suffered due to the high temperatures.

Soudal Quick-Step assumed responsibility in the peloton as soon as the 180.2km race left the neutral zone behind and set a steady tempo behind the breakaway of six. With each local lap covered, our team gradually reduced the leaders’ gap, before making the catch around 20 kilometers from home. In the finale, Bert Van Lerberghe did his best to position Merlier, and the 32-year-old Belgian – despite not his best – was still capable of putting in an impressive sprint that netted his 18th podium of the season.

Tim Merlier before the start of 2025 Tour de France stage 9.Sirotti photo

“It was really difficult today because of the heat and I missed that extra something to pass the others on the finishing straight. On the other hand, I take a lot of confidence from this result, given the conditions, and remain motivated for Sunday, when we’ll have another opportunity here in Belgium. My goal is to reach 15 victories this season and I am prepared to do my best in order to achieve it”, Tim said after the race.

And here's the report from Olav Kooij's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Olav Kooij was unable to compete for victory in the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen. The 23-year-old sprinter was well positioned at the front in the final lap but ultimately couldn’t launch his sprint. Jonathan Milan proved to be the strongest.

In the 109th edition of the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, Team Visma | Lease a Bike showed itself at the front throughout the day. In the final local lap, Kooij was brought into position well by his teammates. However, in the closing kilometer the Dutchman was unable to open his sprint and therefore played no role in the fight for victory.

Olav Kooij earlier this year winning stage two of the 2025 Tour of Britain.

Afterwards, sports director Marc Reef reflected on the race with mixed feelings. “Today we rode a good race as a team. Together with the other teams we controlled the pace. Unfortunately, in the final lap things got very hectic, which left Olav too far back in the closing kilometer. As a team we were no longer able to bring him back to the front, as we had already done a lot of work earlier in the race.”

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