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Saturday, July 11, 2026

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The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller

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Current racing:

July 4 - 26: Tour de France
July 8 - 12: Tour of Austria

Upcoming racing:

July 26: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon

Latest completed racing:

Tour de France stage seven reports

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

Here's the report from stage winner Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Tim Merlier dashed to his eighth Grand Tour win on Friday in Bordeaux, one of the iconic sites of the Tour de France, for Soudal Quick-Step’s 56th success at the race. In doing so, our team extended an already impressive record which goes all the way back to 2013. Since then, The Wolfpack has won at least a stage in each Tour de France edition, this year being the 14th in a row that one of our riders stood on the top step of the podium - a performance unmatched by any other squad this century.

Stage seven winner Tim Merlier. Sirotti photo

The seventh stage of Le Tour started from Hagetmau and took in 175.1 kilometers and just one small climb that the peloton had to tackle in the last hour of the day. Soudal Quick-Step worked the entire stage and stayed around Tim Merlier the whole time, nullifying the two-man breakaway and some late attacks before bringing him in a perfect position for the sprint.

Things became hectic again in the closing kilometers, just like two days ago, but after coming off the wheel of Jasper Stuyven, Tim used his experience and instinct to navigate through the field in the closing 400 meters and charge through at the right moment, powering to his 73rd pro victory in Bordeaux, where current Soudal Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels also won back in 1999.

“When I launched my sprint, I didn’t know how far it was. It was a mess to be in position, but I made it, thanks to the team, it was great work from them. After all the hard work two days ago and today, it feels good to know I could repay the guys. With 600 meters to go, I got boxed in, but told myself I would fight until the finish, and that’s what I did, managing to find some space. I’m really happy with this victory”, said Tim - the first Belgian to win at this edition - after this success which put him in contention for the green jersey.

Here's the Tour de France report from third-place Biniam Girmay's NSN Cycling Team:

Biniam Girmay recorded his best result at the Tour de France since the opening stage of last year’s race as he sprinted to third in Bordeaux on Friday.

Having placed sixth in Wednesday’s chaotic and technical opening sprint in Pau, Biniam showed his speed alongside the Garonne, a more conventional drag race finish after a fast run into the famous wine city.

Biniam Girmay heads to the start of stage seven. Sirotti photo

“It was a nice moment to try to go for a victory,” he says. “I think I was in a good position, but just in the last 250 meters I got boxed in, and I just lost my speed.

“When you lose the momentum, it’s not easy to find again. Once those other guys start sprinting, it’s so hard to catch them.

“But I’m super happy with my feelings. I was feeling super good during the race, and I can see now that all the sprinters are more or less at the same in the same level, so that gives me confidence. I just believe that, if I am in the right place to launch my sprint, I’m also one of the fastest.”

Third-place earned Biniam 40 points in the green jersey classification, which, combined with the 14 he picked up at the stage’s intermediate sprint, saw him move back up to second in the standings. He trails Mads Pedersen by 59 points, down from 77 after stage six.

Head DS Sam Bewley says: “It was a good performance today by Bini and the whole team. We understood the key points in the final, and we knew what our strategy was. They executed the plan really well, and Bini was close today.

“This finish showed that he’s fast enough, showed that he can put himself in the right position, so we’ve got good chances going forward.”

Here's the Tour report from eighth-place Dorian Godon's Team Netcompany INEOS:

Dorian Godon powered to eighth place on stage seven of the Tour de France after a frantic bunch sprint in Bordeaux.

An early breakaway of two riders went clear from the flag before being reeled in with 18km remaining, setting up an expected sprint finish.

As the pace ramped up inside the final 7km, attacks came thick and fast, but Netcompany INEOS remained perfectly positioned at the head of the peloton. Godon waited patiently on the wheels of Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling before Michal Kwiatkowski delivered him into the finale.

Momentarily boxed in as the sprint launched, Godon showed impressive composure to find a way through and surge forward in the closing metres, crossing the line in eighth place.

Tim Merlier wins stage seven. Sirotti photo.

Up front, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) took the stage win, while Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates - XRG) continues to lead overall with Egan Bernal in 11th.

The race continues on Saturday with another opportunity for the sprinters, although two category-four climbs will add an extra test before the finish.

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

The seventh stage of the Tour de France passed without any difficulties for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The riders from the yellow-and-black squad did not contest the stage win in Bordeaux. Tim Merlier claimed victory in the bunch sprint.

In another day of hot conditions, the peloton set off from Hagetmau for a relatively flat 175-kilometer stage. Jakub Otruba and Baptiste Veistroffer launched an early breakaway shortly after the start. The two escapees stayed clear for a long time but were caught with 20 kilometers remaining. Team Visma | Lease a Bike stayed out of the action in the peloton.

Jonas Vingegaard (shown before the start of stage one) finished safely in the pack.

As expected, the stage ultimately came down to a bunch sprint on the streets of Bordeaux, where Merlier proved to be the fastest. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders all crossed the finish line safely. Sports director Marc Reef reflected on the day:

"After a number of demanding stages, it was nice that the guys were able to conserve their energy today. There wasn't much appetite to race aggressively throughout the peloton. You could tell the past few days had taken their toll on everyone. The most important thing was that everyone made it to the finish safely today, and that's exactly what we did."

Tour of Austria stage three reports

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

Here's the report from stage winner Neilson Powless' Team EF Education-EasyPost:

In his first race since February, Neilson Powless took the stage win on stage three at the Tour of Austria today.

The day’s breakaway with 20-odd riders went clear with 133 kilometers to go. Neilson, Vincenzo Albanese, and Samuele Battistella flew the pink flag in the break.

When the group hit the 2.1 kilometer climb of Buchberg, the pace lifted, shedding riders. When Igor Arrieta of UAE Team Emirates opened up a small gap, only Neilson could follow. The pair quickly grew their advantage which hovered around a minute until the closing kilometers. The stage finished with a 2.6 kilometer climb up to the ski town of St. Johann Alpendorf. With 300 meters to go, Neilson jumped. Arrieta stayed on his wheel, but Neilson’s lead never faltered. He rose out of the saddle to sprint up the final kicker, opening up bike lengths on his chaser. Neilson raised his arms in joy, savoring the moment.

Neilson Powless wins Tour of Austria stage three.

“I'm very, very satisfied, very happy,” Neilson said. “I came here with the ambition of winning a stage, and I knew it was going to be 50/50 if I was good enough after such a long time without racing, but my knee’s holding up and I feel really strong. It's really nice to be winning bike races again. I wasn't sure if it was going to happen at all this year. But here I am, the first win, so it feels really nice.”

The year got off to a challenging start for the American. He started the season at the Tour de Provence in February but had to abandon the final stage due to knee pain. He soon had surgery and the recovery process has been full of ups and downs. Neilson restarted his season at the Tour of Austria, hoping to perform well but mostly just excited to pin on a race number and join his teammates.

“I told my coach that I just really wanted to win a bike race this year. I didn't care where it was or how it happened, but it just feels really good to already achieve that goal. I feel like I can finally put this nasty chapter behind me with surgery and rehab that was really complicated. I just feel so incredible, and I just wanted to say thank you to my teammates, as well for helping me today. I had two in the breakaway with me, Samuele and Vincenzo, and they just did an incredible job helping me save energy. It's always a team effort, so I'm really happy to win, and I'm really happy to have done it with an incredible team. Austria is a beautiful country and I've been having so much fun here. The views are incredible. The roads are smooth, and it's a wonderful place to restart bike racing.”

Two stages remain in the Tour of Austria with James Shaw currently in seventh place on the general classification.

And here's the Tour of Austria stage three report from second-place Igor Arrieta's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

Igor Arrieta rode to second place for UAE Team Emirates-XRG on stage 3 of the Tour of Austria, marking the Emirati squad’s third podium place in as many days thus far. It was a three-prong attack in Friday’s breakaway, with Arrieta joined by teammates Jan Christen and António Morgado on the move.

The trio went up the road as part of a large breakaway, which included notable opponents such as Héctor Álvarez (Lidl-Trek), Michael Gogl (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost). Ultimately, it was the latter of those riders who emerged as the strongest, joining Arrieta on the attack at the bottom of the final climb.

As Powless kicked on, so too did Arrieta, and the pair quickly developed a gap in excess of one minute to the chasers behind. Despite the Spaniard’s best efforts, Powless would prove a tough man to shake, and it became clear that the day’s victory would be decided in a two-up sprint to the line.

Igor Arrieta finishing stage 17 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo.

More of a natural climber than a puncheur, Arrieta was never to be favoured in such a finish, and Christen looked to provide a numerical advantage for UAE Team Emirates-XRG by attacking from behind. However, the Swiss national champion was left a little under 30 seconds shy at the summit, with Powless and Arrieta duking it out for the win.

Powless packed the biggest punch and claimed the stage 3 victory, with Arrieta forced to settle for second. Reflecting on his afternoon after the finish, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider noted that such a scenario would have better suited the characteristics of his teammates. Nevertheless, they could be proud of their efforts on Friday, with two more opportunities to come.

Arrieta: “I was happy with the performance I have today, but a bit disappointed with the second place. We tried it all for the win today but in the end, I think I wasn’t the best person to have the finish decided in a two-up sprint. I knew Jan was coming from behind, so I tried to save as much as possible, to make Powless do the work, but in the end, I was not able to escape, and he beat me in the sprint. Sometimes, it is like this, he was better than me.

“I was happy with the opportunity, and the effort that I gave. I gave it my all, and tomorrow we will try once again.”

Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,

Saturday, July 11, 2026

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