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Thursday, September 3, 2026

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Vuelta a España stage 11 reports

We posted the organizer's report with the results.

Here's the Vuelta report from stage winner Matthew Brennan's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Matthew Brennan claimed another stage victory in the Vuelta a España on Wednesday. In the eleventh stage, the 21-year-old Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider was perfectly positioned by his teammates before finishing the job in style. It is Brennan’s third victory in his first Grand Tour.

Matthew Brennan wins Vuelta stage 11. Sirotti photo

“This was absolutely massive”, Brennan beams after the finish. “My teammates kept me in the perfect position today and we took the initiative again, with yesterday’s tough race still in our legs. For me, it was just a matter of finishing it off. I’m really grateful to them for that. I’m incredibly happy with this victory.”

A bunch sprint in the eleventh stage to Lorca proved inevitable on Wednesday afternoon. That was exactly what Team Visma | Lease a Bike had planned for. Just like yesterday, the team controlled the stage from the start, with Steven Kruijswijk and Jørgen Nordhagen doing the work at the front. When a group of four breakaway riders was caught early on, the pace remained high in the peloton to leave little room for any new attacks.

With numerous roundabouts and corners in the final ten kilometers, Bruno Armirail then put the trio of Christophe Laporte, Wout van Aert and Brennan in the perfect position. After great work from the Frenchman and a strong lead-out from Van Aert, it was a formality for Brennan. The 21-year-old powered to his third stage victory. As a result, the Brit is the first rider since Filippo Ganna at the 2020 Giro d’Italia to win at least three stages on his Grand Tour debut.

Brennan is proud of his team: “We did everything we could today to keep the pace as high as possible. Once we reached the final, we were in the perfect position. We did a great job in the final ten kilometers and stayed out of trouble. I’m in a team with some of the biggest champions, riders who have won Grand Tours and the biggest classics. It means a lot to me to have their trust and to see them ride for me. I’m happy I could finish it off.”

Van Aert, who still leads the points classification, also described it as a fantastic day. “This was one hundred percent how we had envisioned it. We hoped to come through the final corner in first and second position. Christophe timed it perfectly to bring us there. Matthew then finished it off brilliantly once again.”

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Here's the Vuelta report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:

The British ITT Champion Ethan Hayter, runner-up on the opening day time trial, zipped clear together with three other riders just a few minutes into the stage and stayed off the front for more than 70 kilometers before being overhauled by the peloton. After that surge of pace, the bunch relented and Ethan took advantage of that to go again and put almost one minute into the chasers.

Riding his second Grand Tour, the 27-year-old was caught just before the only climb of the day, but not before clocking 400 breakaway kilometers at this edition of La Vuelta. His efforts were rewarded with another most combative prize, the third at this edition and the most a rider has received since the start of the race.

Team Soudal Quick-Step is presented before the start of Vuelta stage eleven. Sirotti photo

“It was nice to give it a try, but they kept us really close the first time. Then I went again, hoping they would hesitate a bit, but the bunch reeled us in, which wasn’t quite a surprise with that tailwind they had. Nevertheless, I am happy with how I felt and with being again on the podium at the end of the day”, Ethan said after the finish.


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The Story of the Giro d’Italia, vol.1 Shade Vise sunglass holder Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Store

Tour of Britain stage one reports

We posted the report from stage winner Lewis Askey's NSN Cycling Team with the results.

Here's the report from second-place Filippo Ganna's Team Netcompany INEOS:

Filippo Ganna put in a powerful turn of speed to kick off the Tour of Britain with second place.

The Italian hit the front as a strong breakaway group of 13 riders pushed clear on a demanding finishing circuit around the streets of Lincoln.

With five ascents of the cobbled Michaelgate climb to conquer, the peloton split apart over the second pass, with Ganna joined by teammate Kim Heiduk.

The pair launched a number of accelerations as the group's advantage to the peloton spun out. Heiduk would drop back in the closing kilometres, while Ganna limited his losses well over Michaelgate before giving chase to Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team).

Lewis Askey wins Tour of Britain stage one.

The Brit had forged clear over the top of the climb and held on by two seconds at the line, taking an early race lead. Thanks to bonus seconds Ganna sits second overall, nine seconds back. Heiduk finished 11th in Lincoln after a day of hard work from the team.

From the outset Netcompany INEOS worked hard to control the early six-man move, with Artem Shmidt and latterly Sam Welsford getting through a long stints on the front on the approach to the finishing circuit.

Here's the Tour of Britain report from Tim Wellens' UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

On stage 1 of the Lloyds Tour of Britain, UAE Team Emirates-XRG began the race in strong fashion, placing Tim Wellens in third and Florian Vermeersch in seventh. The pair now sit handily in the general classification ahead of the four remaining stages to come.

Held in and around Lincoln, stage 1 of the 22nd Tour of Britain already came to define this year’s race. With five ascents of the cobbled Michaelgate climb on the parcours, the peloton exploded into countless fragments on Wednesday afternoon.

For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, both Wellens and Vermeersch tracked a dangerous move on the second ascent of the climb, and this breakaway ultimately contested the stage honours. Their advantage over the majority of the peloton at the finish was in excess of three minutes, ensuring that the riders in the front group will more than likely contest the general classification spots later in the week.

Earlier in the day, a traditional breakaway had gone up the road in search of much-sought-after television time. Their advantage clocked over two minutes in parts, but Netcompany INEOS had been determined to make their presence felt before the race hit the five laps of a circuit in Lincoln.

 Thanks to the British team’s work, the breakaway took a gap of less than a minute onto the first ascent of the Michaelgate climb, and their time out front was numbered from this point on. The Netcompany INEOS squad blocked the road on the first ascent, but heading into the second time up the climb, the pace was well and truly on.

Mikkel Bjerg, recognising the danger, brought his teammates to the very front of the race. The Dane powered his way to the head of the peloton and piloted his teammates into the foot of Michaelgate.

Once onto the cobbled climb, Wellens and Vermeersch showed themselves amongst the strongest riders on the day, successfully tracking a move that had been ignited by Lewis Askey of NSN Cycling Team. The Swiss-registered team was racing its first Tour of Britain since the tragic death of 19-year-old Finlay Tarling, with the Tour of Britain observing a minute’s applause at the beginning of the stage in his memory.

Over the top of the climb, the leading group counted among its number Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS), Jasper Stuyven (Fix All Quick-Step), and Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling), among others. Despite Nils Politt‘s best efforts to bridge across from behind, the elastic had been snapped between the front group and the peloton. Soon, the advantage of Wellens and co. ballooned out to well over a minute, and it became clear the day’s winner would come from this breakaway.

Tim Wellens winning the 2026 Clasica Jaen

For his part, Wellens tried to lay down a searing attack on the fourth ascent of Michaelgate, putting the squeeze on his rivals out front. This aggression continued into the final 10km, with both Wellens and Vermeersch trading attacks for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

It was Vermeersch who, at one point, developed the most threatening attack. The Belgian snuck clear inside the closing 2km and opened up a gap of 10 seconds over those behind, with a first win in the Emirati squad’s colours on his mind.

Unfortunately for Vermeersch, Askey produced a burst of acceleration from behind and bridged up to the gravel world champion. Askey had been the first rider to attack on the second ascent of Michaelgate, and now, on the fifth and final time up the climb, the British rider was the man to bring home the victory.

The NSN Cycling Team rider burst past Vermeersch and made a solo dig for the line in Lincoln. He ultimately won the stage with a two-second gap over Ganna and Wellens, who placed second and third, respectively. Vermeersch came home in seventh, leaving UAE Team Emirates-XRG with two riders inside the top 10 in the general classification.

Although the next two stages should suit a bunch sprint on paper, the peloton will be well aware that the wind can blow off England’s east coast. For the Emirati squad, Wellens and Vermeersch have begun the 2026 Tour of Britain in fine form.

Wellens: “Naturally, we wanted to get a win today, but all we can say is chapeau to the winner, Askey. Today, he was super strong and we saw already from the second time on the climb that he would be good in the final. For us, having both myself and FLorian in the move on the second lap was always the plan.

“We wanted to make the race hard from far, and the team did a great job of putting is into position before that second climb in Lincoln. Once the move went, it was important to work together and build the gap, before me and Florian could trade attacks inside the final 20km. Ultimately, Florian had the biggest gap and I hoped to see it go to the finish, but Askey just had the biggest kick at the end.

“Personally, I am really happy to be back racing and to have felt strong on the pedals. It has been a long break since the Tour, and I felt fresh and motivated. With me and Florian well placed, we can now make a real plan for the rest of the week. Our team is strong and we can be optimistic.”


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Florian Lipowitz to make racing comeback in Italy

Here’s the update from Lipowitz’s Team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe:

Seven weeks after his crash at the Tour de France, Florian Lipowitz will return to racing in Italy. His comeback is planned for September 9 at the Giro della Toscana.

Surgery, rest, rehabilitation and rebuilding form. That has been Florian Lipowitz’s journey over the past few weeks. Together with the Performance Team at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, he opted for an ambitious approach: despite the injury, could he still maintain the race schedule originally planned for the second half of the season?

Florian Lipowitz heads to the start of stage five of the 2026 Tour de France. Sirotti photo

That plan had identified September 9 as Florian’s first race after the Tour de France, with the Giro della Toscana set to kick off the second half of his season. Despite the crash and subsequent surgery, the date therefore remained an early point of reference – without, however, forcing a comeback at all costs.
After a ten-day period of rest, Florian began his rehabilitation at the Red Bull Athletic Performance Center (APC) in early August. Alongside targeted treatment for his collarbone injury, he soon started completing his first longer sessions on the indoor trainer.

“The first few days after the operation were mainly about getting the rest I needed. Being able to start training again was an important step. Of course, after a break like that, you notice that there is still a lot missing. But I could feel progress from one session to the next,” says Florian Lipowitz, reflecting on that period.

Confidence grew that the ongoing treatment of his collarbone injury and the back-to-training approach could go hand in hand over the following weeks. Training load and volume were increased gradually and continuously aligned with the progress of his recovery.

“When returning from an injury, the goal is not to get back to your previous training load as quickly as possible. We have to build load tolerance and performance in parallel. With Florian, we saw early on that we were making good progress and that we could at least consider the originally planned return to racing a realistic goal. But the key is to assess every step based on how he responds to the load – not based on a date in the calendar,” says John Wakefield, Director of Coaching at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe.

With a structured training plan in place, the focus is now on working towards September 9. At the same time, expectations remain deliberately measured to avoid rushing anything.

Combining a one-day race with Florian’s first race kilometres after a long break has one primary purpose: a performance assessment.

Training provides valuable data on how his form is developing. But how the body responds to race pace, fights for position, constantly changing demands and several hours of high-intensity racing can only be fully assessed in competition.

The comeback at the Giro della Toscana is therefore less about achieving a result and more about establishing where Florian stands ahead of the remaining weeks of the season.

“More than anything, I’m looking forward to pinning on a race number again and racing. After seven weeks without competition, I can’t know exactly where I stand. That’s what we want to find out. For me, these first races aren’t about results. I want to see how my body responds to the demands of racing, get back into the rhythm and then decide together with the team what is still possible this season,” says Florian Lipowitz.

To build on the initial assessment from the Giro della Toscana and gain further racing load, several additional Italian one-day races are currently being considered:

Which of these races Florian will actually compete in will be decided at short notice, based on the insights gained from each race day.

What comes next?
Immediately after this Italian block of racing, Florian Lipowitz and the Performance Team will decide together what his program through to the end of the season will look like. The decision will not only focus on which races make sporting sense, but also on which goals remain realistic following his injury-enforced break.

This will also include a decision on a potential appearance in the World Championship road race on September 27.

“Of course, the World Championships are a race that appeals to me. But one thing is also clear: if my form isn’t good enough, I don’t want to take a spot away from another rider. We have a lot of strong German riders who are well suited to the course in Montreal. I want to wait for these first races and take an honest look at where I stand. If the form is there, I’d really like to race the Worlds – but I’m not putting any pressure on myself about that right now,” says Florian Lipowitz.