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Saturday, September 5, 2026

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Two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets. The rich and the poor. - Benjamin Disraeli

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Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the Tour de France, 2022: The Fastest Tour Ever is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• August 22 - Sept 13: Vuelta a España
• September 2 - 6: Tour of Britain
• September 2 - 6: ZLM Tour

Upcoming racing:

• September 6: GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
• September 9: Giro della Toscana

Latest completed racing:

• August 30: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
• August 25 - 28: Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
• August 19 - 23: Renewi Tour
• August 18 - 21: Tour du Limousin-Périgord
• August 13 - 18: Arctic Race of Norway
• August 16: Cyclassics Hamburg
• August 16: La Polynormande
• August 3 - 9: Tour of Poland
• August 4 - 8: Vuelta a Burgos
• July 29 - August 2: Tour of Denmark
• August 2: Circuito de Getxo

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Vuelta a España stage 13 reports

We posted the organizer's report with the results.

Here's the Vuelta report from stage thirteen winner Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike capped off a brilliant thirteenth stage of La Vuelta a España with a victory for Wout van Aert. After a long opening phase filled with numerous attacks, a large breakaway eventually formed, featuring three riders from Team Visma | Lease a Bike: Van Aert, Matthew Brennan and Bruno Armirail. Thanks to strong teamwork, Van Aert was ultimately able to finish it off in Loja. It is Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s fourth stage victory of this year’s Vuelta a España.

Vuelta stage thirteen winner Wout van Aert. Sirotti phjoto
“The way we rode as a team today was a masterclass,” Van Aert beamed after the finish. “Bruno and I were able to sit in the wheels for a large part of the stage because we had Matthew in the front group. It’s never easy when you have multiple riders up front. With Matthew and me there, the other riders didn’t want to go to the finish, so attacking was the best form of defense. We always wanted to create a new situation before they could force us onto the defensive,” Van Aert explained.

Several attackers tried to go clear, but Brennan positioned himself in the front group and did important work to protect Van Aert’s position. As the race progressed, it became clear that the two teammates would play an important role in the fight for the stage victory.

What followed was a tactical battle. Brennan and Van Aert remained extremely attentive and responded every time someone tried to ride away. No attack was given enough room to succeed. Whenever another rider accelerated, one of the two yellow-and-black riders was immediately on their wheel. “We’re not afraid to sacrifice ourselves for each other. We kept attacking, and eventually it worked,” Van Aert said.

With 3.6 kilometers to go, the Belgian launched a powerful attack, with Valentin Paret-Peintre the only rider able to follow. The two riders broke clear of the remaining escapees and would battle it out between themselves for the thirteenth stage victory of La Vuelta. “I had actually planned that attack, yes,” Van Aert admitted. “When I looked at the stage profile before the race, I saw that final kick towards the village. At that distance from the finish, riders often start thinking about the sprint already. If you can create a gap there, the others start looking at each other. It was worth trying, and Valentin was a good companion to have,” he concluded.

Teammate Brennan also looked back on the stage with pride: “I’m actually quite speechless. To be able to do that work for him today feels better than a win. Wout is a great guy and he works incredibly hard. He also does a lot of work for me. That’s who he is: a real superstar. I’m really happy that I could do my part to get him the victory that he deserves.”

Here's the Vuelta report from stage thirteen second-place Valentin Paret-Peintre's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Valentin Paret-Peintre, who is racing his second Grand Tour of the season, was one of the 43 riders, alongside teammate Filippo Zana, that formed the large breakaway group of the day, one which put almost five minutes into a peloton who soon realized it doesn’t make any sense to chase such a numerous move, which was going all-out, determined to make it.

As was normal, this huge group fragmented in the final 60 leaving only a dozen or so riders in the lead, including Paret-Peintre. Last year’s Mont Ventoux conqueror then responded to a massive acceleration of Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) that left only three men at the front with 34 kilometers to go, and took some really long pulls which helped the trio put half a minute into the chasers.

When the Belgian went again, only Valentin could respond thanks to an immense effort, and the duo rode under the flamme rouge with a nice gap on the others, making it clear soon they would be the ones fighting for the win In the sprint, the 25-year-old did his best and finished runner-up for Soudal Quick-Step’s second podium after the one of Ethan Hayter on the inaugural stage.

Wout van Aert and Valentin Paret-Peintre starting their sprint for the stage thirteen win. Sirotti photo

“I felt good, and as we went in the breakaway, it was nice to be there with Filippo, as this gave us cards to play in the finale. Inside the last kilometers, I tried to gamble a bit but it didn’t work out. I did my best in the sprint after a hard and really intense day of racing, but Wout was just stronger. We can take a lot of heart from this stage and keep trying in the next ones”, said Valentin, who was joined in the top ten by his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Filippo Zana.

Here's the Vuelta report from fourth-place Jarno Widar's Team Lotto-Intermarché:

Jarno Widar claimed an impressive fourth place in stage thirteen of La Vuelta a España today. On the road from Almuñécar to Loja, the peloton was once again put to the test in Andalusia. Temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius turned the hilly stage into a gruelling day on the bike.

“The first 20 kilometres were incredibly hard in the peloton, so I was happy that the race settled down relatively quickly”, Widar explains. “Just before the top of the climb, we managed to attack with a group that also included Reuben Thompson. I had already been riding on my limit because I was overheating. So I was happy to have Lars Craps among the ten riders at the front. That allowed me to stay in the wheels a bit more and try to cool down. On the descent, we caught the leaders.”

Jarno Widar heads to the start of Vuelta stage six. Sirotti photo

On the final climb of the day, the Puerto de Granada, everything came back together before a new group formed at the front, with Widar among them. Even in the finale, however, the heat remained a decisive factor. “I was on the verge of cramping. I really had to be careful with every effort I made to avoid getting into trouble and having my muscles cramp up completely. That’s why I always tried to close the gaps at my own pace.”

“I was expecting another attack from Van Aert on the bridge. The rider in front of me let a gap open and I thought: if I push now, I’m going to cramp again. So I decided it was better to wait for the sprint. We couldn’t catch the leaders anymore, but I still managed to sprint to fourth place.”

After a demanding day, Widar was particularly pleased with the team’s performance. “I’m super happy with how we raced as a team today. With Lars Craps and Reuben Thompson, we had three riders in the breakaway, so we executed that perfectly”, he concludes.

GC fifth-place Oscar Onley's Team Netcompany INEOS posted this stage thirteen report:

Oscar Onley retained fifth overall after a high octane stage 13 of La Vuelta a España

Netcompany INEOS rallied around their leader to protect his GC position, when a large break containing seventh-placed Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) threatened to overtake him.

However, Jack Haig and Axel Laurance dropped back from the break to join the rest of the team to help set a strong pace and reduce the deficit to keep the status quo ahead of the key weekend of the race.

A typically aggressive start to the stage saw a fight for the break, which eventually saw a large group go clear, including Laurance with Haig just behind.

Unfortunately a crash for the French rider put paid to his breakaway hopes as the group split further over the hilly terrain.

Skjelmose’s group had a lead of close to four minutes over the bunch with 40km remaining, forcing action behind as Carlos Rodriguez, Embret Svestad-Bårdseng then Haig helping to close the gap as other teams joined too.

As Wout van Aert won the stage from the break, Onley finished in a reduced peloton to retain fifth overall ahead of a key GC test on Saturday when the stage finishes atop Sierra de la Pandera.

Oscar Onley heads to the start of Vuelta stage 10. Sirotti photo

Oscar Onley:
“I have a lot of respect for Skjelmose he’s a class rider, so I don’t want to give him any time for free. I also knew it would be difficult for him to gain a lot of time today because of the amount of riders in the break and nobody would want to work with him. In the end we brought back the gap quite quickly.

“Sierra de la Pandera should be quite a good climb for me, I hope to have better legs than yesterday. I think it will be a good test.”

Here's the Vuelta report from stage 13 seventh-place Kevin Vermaerke's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

UAE Team Emirates-XRG continued to race aggressively at the Vuelta a España, with the American Kevin Vermaerke taking seventh place on stage 13 in Spain. The American was part of the day’s breakaway and made several efforts to take his first professional win, before settling for a top-10 outing.

 

Kevin Vermaerke finishing the 2024 Clasica San Sebastian. Sirotti photo

Since the untimely departure of Tadej Pogačar last weekend, the Emirati squad has reoriented its goals to stage victories, with the remaining riders all having spent time in breakaways this week.

Vermaerke, the latest to try his luck out front, has been in the breakaway on both Thursday and Friday, racking up a cumulative 278km spent at the front of the Vuelta. The efforts epitomise the American’s attacking spirit and tireless endeavour – traits that will hopefully be rewarded before the end of the race in Granada.

In his latest exploit, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man was up against it, with the breakaway counting both Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan (both Visma-Lease a Bike) amongst its number. Brennan, already a three-time stage winner at this year’s Vuelta, and Van Aert, the Paris-Roubaix champion, pack a fearsome one-two punch that will continue to give headaches to the rest of the peloton.

The presence of each Visma-Lease a Bike rider served to neutralise many of the attacks on Friday afternoon, with either Van Aert or Brennan sitting as an anchor on the attackers in question. With their teammate behind, they had the numerical advantage and the physical capacities feared by the rest.

As such, Vermaerke continually looked to spring a surprise on the pair and make his moves alone. The American is only improving as this Vuelta continues, and stage 13 showed his finest form yet. Time and time again, the 25-year-old would look to seek his fortune up the road. His attacks were bold and fearless, despite ultimately coming up short.

Eventually, the stage honours were gobbled up by Van Aert, who delivered his definitive attack inside the final 4km. Using a slight uphill rise, the Belgian made a powerful acceleration and was only followed by Valentin Paret-Peintre. Van Aert, recognising his superior sprint as opposed to the Soudal Quick-Step rider, stomped on the pedals and ensured the rest of the break would not contest the win.

With Van Aert having taken the stage victory, Vermaerke crossed the line as part of the chasing group, sprinting to seventh place in Loja. It was not the win that the American had been hoping for, but he could be satisfied with his efforts on a scorching afternoon in the saddle.

Vermaerke: “This one and stage 15 are my two targets, and I knew it suited me with a climb a little bit further from the finish. I knew it would be tactical, and I tried to just play my cards right and always be up the road in the right moves. You know Van Aert’s going to go on these little kickers, and you’re just trying to prepare for it. I just didn’t have the legs to follow.

“I knew that was the moment, and when it passes, it’s gone and you kick yourself. But I gave everything today and it was a tough day out. You have to just use your bullets as smartly as you can. I knew the Visma guys you can’t let them go up the road, so I tried to just follow, especially Van Aert. I tried to anticipate when he would launch from the back, and the strongest man won today. It was just a dogfight in the end.

“We’ll see on Sunday if I have a chance. Everyone’s on the limit now in this race, I think, so you tend to see the same guys in the break, and hopefully I can try again on Sunday.”

And here's the Vuelta report from Clément Berthet's Team Groupama-FDJ United:

The second week of the Vuelta is drawing to a close, but before another summit finish and a stage for breakaway specialists this weekend, Clément Berthet has moved into the top 10 of the general classification. Very strong on the way to Calar Alto on Thursday, the French climber also joined a large breakaway alongside Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet and Rudy Molard on Friday, taking 19th place on the day in a final that suited him less well. The day after his prestigious victory, Bastien Tronchon, meanwhile, secured another top-10 stage finish on Wednesday.

Bastien Tronchon wins Vuelta stage ten. Sirotti photo

Barely had the euphoria of the success subsided when it was already time to get back on the road for the 81st edition of the Vuelta on Wednesday. The action resumed in the Murcia region, with an 11th stage covering 153 kilometres and featuring just one climb, 30 kilometres from the finish. The sprinters were determined not to let this opportunity pass, and their teams had no difficulty controlling the four-man morning breakaway and then the few moves that took place during the final hour of racing.

“There was some nervousness because of the wind around the halfway point,” Benoît Vaugrenard also pointed out. “Things started to get a little hectic at one point, but without any real consequences. In the end, it was a fairly standard day. Things moved a little on the final climb, Rémy followed, but everything quickly came back together and then we focused on Bastien.” Fresh from his victory the previous day, the Frenchman once again managed to make his mark in the sprint. “He handled the final well, also thanks to the team’s work all the way to the final corner, 400 metres from the finish,” Benoît noted. “Enzo, in particular, did a great job bringing him back up the group, even though he isn’t really used to that role. Bastien went through the corner in a good position, but he lost a little speed coming out of it. Riders came back up on his left, otherwise I think a top five would have been possible.”

In the final 100 metres, the Groupama-FDJ United rider eventually moved up to seventh place. “It was difficult to do much better,” his sports director added. “We saw a very good group, which was pleasing to see, especially for a group that isn’t used to this kind of exercise.”

On Thursday, heading towards Calar Alto (17 km at 5.6%) via the Alto de Velefique (13 km at 7%), the fast men handed the reins over to the climbers in a 12th stage featuring nearly 4,500 metres of elevation gain. The battle to get into the breakaway proved fierce from the start, with the eventual 30-man group including Rémy Rochas. “It was a good stage for Guillaume, but he wasn’t having a good day and, logically, we were missing a card up front,” Benoît explained. “So we quite quickly focused on Clément.”

The leading group built up a comfortable advantage over the peloton before the day’s final two climbs, but Rémy Rochas was forced to let his breakaway companions go on the Alto de Velefique. At the summit, he was even caught by a small red-jersey group that did include Clément Berthet. Among the favourites, the real battle began 13 kilometres from the finish, on the steepest section of the final climb. “When things really got going, Clément was dropped, but he found himself in a group of six with the two Astana riders, Skjelmose and Kuss,” Benoît recounted. “They stayed together, which was obviously more interesting than riding alone. Clément had a very strong finish. He was with riders who were sitting between eighth and 12th overall, which is where he belongs. There is a real gap to the riders ahead. So it was a fairly satisfying day.” It was also a day on which the rider from the Jura region retained his 11th place overall, 13’21” behind Enric Mas, who strengthened his position in the red jersey.

This was the situation in which he approached Friday’s 13th stage of the Vuelta, clearly suited to attackers on the way to Loja. “We knew the breakaway would make it to the finish,” Benoît assured. “We had decided to keep an eye on the riders close behind Clément in the general classification, because we know that on this kind of stage, they can try to get into the breakaway in order to move up the standings. That’s exactly what happened. They made their move, so we made ours.”

The decisive move came on the first climb of the day, when around 40 riders — effectively a small peloton — broke clear, including not only Clément Berthet but also Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet and Rudy Molard. However, as expected in such a large group, the cooperation was far from great. Attacks and counter-attacks followed one another until eleven riders managed to break clear with around 120 kilometres remaining. Among this group were the two Groupama-FDJ United climbers, who subsequently benefited from better cooperation and built an advantage of up to 1’45” over the rest of the breakaway. Unfortunately, after 50 kilometres at the front, the trend began to reverse. “If Burgos or Tudor had been up there, it would have been over and nobody would have been riding,” Benoît said. “That’s the small regret of the day. We were just missing one team being represented.”

Little by little, the gap between the first two groups on the road closed, and the leading group had just 30 seconds left at the foot of the final difficulty, located 45 kilometres from the finish. By the summit, the groups came back together. “We then lacked a little strength to attack again because they had already given a lot and needed to recover,” Benoît explained. “Rudy could potentially have gone, but he hadn’t made it back to the front yet when the Van Aert group attacked.” Nine riders were therefore able to break clear after the descent and were never caught again. Wout Van Aert won around 20 kilometres later, while Clément Berthet and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet finished in a chasing group around 40 seconds later. “Things didn’t go our way today, but that’s cycling,” Benoît concluded. “The guys are riding well, but we were not rewarded in terms of the results. I think we deserved better. We move into the top 10 overall, but we can’t celebrate a rival’s withdrawal. In any case, we know that you have to take risks to get into the top 10. We took those risks today, it didn’t work out, but it could have. We know that a Grand Tour is an elimination race. The big challenge on this Vuelta is not only the elevation gain, but also the heat, which will gradually start to come into play. From the beginning, we’ve been convinced that Clément’s freshness will work in his favour and I think he will finish very strongly. Tomorrow and Sunday, the breakaway still has a great chance, and there is going to be plenty more action on this Vuelta.”

Tour of Britain stage three reports

We posted the report from the race organizer with the resuilts.

Here's the report from stage winner Olav Kooij's Team Decathlon CMA CGM:

Olav Kooij:
“It’s always nice to win, especially after yesterday when I finished second. I waited for the right moment to launch my sprint into the headwind, and I managed to find my way through. It was tough, but I stayed patient, and when I saw the 150-meter marker, I knew it was the right moment. In the final stretch, we did a great job as a team, especially after the last turn when we managed to regroup, which really helped with the wind. I’m happy to have secured this victory.”

Olav Kooij wins Tour of Britain stage three.

Key number: 43
That’s the number of points Olav Kooij has in the points classification of the Lloyds Tour s of Britain. After three stages, he is tied with Tim Merlier for the lead in the standings and will therefore wear the distinctive jersey for the best sprinter on Stage 4.

And here's the Tour of Britain report from GC leader Lewis Askey's NSN Cycling Team:

Lewis Askey successfully navigated another day in the Tour of Britain leader’s jersey as the race hit a windy Yorkshire on Friday – and immediately turned his attentions to tomorrow’s queen stage.

Staying alert was key to Askey’s jersey defence on the roads between York and Beverley on stage three, as the peloton was blasted by strong winds for the second day running.

Unlike on Thursday, when the wind wreaked havoc in the closing 65 kilometers, the peloton largely stayed intact throughout, even when Netcompany INEOS tried to split things after the day’s final climb at Keepers Hill.

Lewis Askey wins Tour of Britain stage one.

“Obviously, these past two days on paper should have been relatively easy for me to keep the jersey, but in the end, they were anything but that,” he says. “With the wind we’ve had on both days, I’m pretty happy to come out of that unscathed and ready to fight tomorrow.

“The wind caused a lot of stress all day, right from the start. I think it was more nervous energy than anything else.”

Askey leads Tim Wellens by 12 seconds, with 2019 runner-up Matteo Trentin sitting 19 seconds in arrears. Saturday’s stage through the North York Moors to the Yorkshire Dales is effectively the main GC showdown of this year’s race.

He adds: “I’m in the best position in the whole race at the moment. There’s nobody else on less time than I am, so all I have to do is follow. No one can beat me on time bonuses tomorrow, so I’ve just got to grit my teeth and not let the wheel go.

“I think the positive is that the group of guys at the head of the GC are rouleurs, there aren’t any specific climbers, so I think that plays into my advantage.

“Either way, it’s going to be a really hard stage, and my life is definitely not going to be easy. I’ll fight all the way to the line, and even if I don’t hold on to the jersey, I’ve still got to do the best ride I can.”