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Sunday, September 20, 2026
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Current racing:
- September 16 - 20: Tour de Luxembourg
- September 20 - 27: World Road Championships
Upcoming racing:
- Sept 27 - Oct 4: Le Tour de Langkawi
Latest completed racing:
- September 19: Flandrian 0.0 Classic
- September 18: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- September 15 - 18: Giro d'Abruzzo
- September 16: GP de Wallonie
- August 22 - Sept 13: Vuelta a España
- September 13: GP de Montréal
- September 13: GP de Fourmies
- September 13: Trofeo Matteotti
- September 12: Memorial Marco Pantani
- September 11: GP de Québec
- September 10: Coppa Sabatini
- September 9: Giro della Toscana
- September 2 - 6: Tour of Britain
- September 2 - 6: ZLM Tour
- September 6: GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
- August 30: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
We posted the stage four race report from stage winner Davide Piganzoli's Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.
Here's the report from second-place Andrea Raccagni's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Andrea Raccagni produced a superb individual time trial on the penultimate day of the Tour de Luxembourg, coming extremely close to breaking the ice in the pro ranks and getting what would have been a well-deserved victory only to be denied by the last rider on the course.
Davide Piganzoli on his way to winning the stage.
It was just the second ITT of the season for the 22-year-old, after the one in the Giro, and the Italian rode a great race on the hilly course around Ettelbruck to go fastest at the intermediate checkpoint before moving into the hot seat a few minutes later, when he concluded his effort in 26:52 after a solid 45.53km/h average speed. Raccagni remained there until the closing moments of the race, when Davide Piganzoli (Visma-Lease a Bike) improved his time by just three seconds.
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Here's the Tour de Luxembourg stage four report from Julius Johansen's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
At the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg, Julius Johansen produced a storming ride for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the stage 4 individual time trial. With an average speed of 45km/h, the Dane took a close-run fourth place on Saturday afternoon.
It was almost a sixth win of the season for the powerful rouleur, but Johansen was pipped to the day’s victory by Davide Piganzoli (Visma-Lease a Bike). Leo Hayter of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, meanwhile, was third on the day. The day’s winner beat Johansen’s time by less than 20 seconds, with stage 4 proving an entertaining battle.
Julius Johansen racing earlier this year at the O Gran Camiño stage race
For Johansen, the result was bittersweet but yet more evidence of his outstanding progression against the clock. Beginning this season with no professional victories, the 27-year-old has taken five victories in 2026, all of which were taken in individual time trials or prologues.
Luxembourg presented another great opportunity for the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man on Saturday, with a flat 20km parcours to and from Ettelbruck. Operating with a negative split, Johansen remained well placed through the first intermediate time check before kicking on in the second half of the course.
The good pacing strategy offered Johansen a flying run in the latter kilometres, with the Dane spending a period in the hot seat before Hayter, Raccagni Noviero and Piganzoli crossed the finish line. Denied by the Italian and others, Johansen could still remain very content with his efforts on the time trial bike, picking up another podium place in what has become the best season of his career to date.
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We posted the report from third-place Florian Vermeersch's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.
Here's the report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
On paper, the fast men had their chance Saturday afternoon, but as everyone expected, the 16th Flandrien 0.0 Classic proved too demanding for them, despite an elevation gain of just 1700 meters. It was the up-and-down course and the numerous hills that forced the peloton to constantly change the rhythm that ended up pouring lead into the sprinters’ legs.
Henrik Pedersen (red jersey, yellow helmet) wins the race.
A strong breakaway formed and applied quite a lot of pressure on the bunch. Sensing the race was slipping from their hands, a dozen or so riders - including Pascal Eenkhoorn - accelerated from the peloton in the hope of joining the front group, but despite their best efforts, they couldn’t get close enough to the leaders and got reeled in by the field.
Shortly after, the peloton switched their attention to bringing the attackers back, only to come up short. The escapees made it for just a couple of seconds and Henrik Pedersen (Uno-X Mobility) took the win in Haacht, where Tim Merlier concluded as the first Soudal Quick-Step rider home.
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And here's the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen & Flandrien 0.0 Classic report from Team Groupama-FDJ United:
After a low-key performance at the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen on Friday, where it took the start without a pure sprinter, the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team made its mark on Saturday’s Flandrien 0.0 Classic. The French squad even split the race itself with almost 80 kilometres to go, sending Johan Jacobs, Axel Huens and Thibaud Gruel into a group of around fifteen riders. A long battle with the peloton then unfolded, but the two Frenchmen managed to hold on and were rewarded for their initiative. Thibaud Gruel took sixth place, while Axel Huens finished tenth.
Tim Merlier wins the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen.
On Friday, the first round of the Flemish double-header on Groupama-FDJ United’s programme took place around Koolskamp. Twelve laps of a fifteen-kilometre circuit made up the route of the 110th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen. “On paper, it’s a completely flat race, but the wind can sometimes make it difficult,” explained Tanguy Turgis. “That said, we knew a sprint was almost inevitable, and we were without Paul, who had crashed at Fourmies. So the idea was to go for the sprint with Axel, while also giving Lewis his chance. We were aware that our chances were slim given the start list, and unfortunately there weren’t really any opportunities to try something earlier on the circuit.”
Nevertheless, when splits began to form in the crosswinds with forty and then twenty-five kilometres remaining, Groupama-FDJ United was very much in the mix. “The goal was to be well positioned at that point, so they took the opportunity to take turns a little,” Tanguy continued. “We quickly told them to stop, given the way the peloton was behaving. When you’re the only team out of twenty-five that wants something other than a mass sprint, it’s impossible to change the script.” As a result, everything came back together at the start of the final lap and, as expected, a mass sprint was on the cards.
“In the sprint, the aim was for Titouan to position Johan and Axel, then for Johan to bring Axel up as late as possible, ideally in the final kilometre,” Tanguy explained. “As for Lewis, we know his form isn’t exceptional at the moment, so we didn’t put any riders alongside him, but we gave him a free rein. It was more a matter of improvisation for him. He was quite far back with five kilometres to go, but the Unibet Rose Rockets were patient before launching Groenewegen, so we told him to get onto their wheels. It worked out well, because Axel was more towards the right and Lewis on the left, which gave us two opportunities.”
The sprint itself, however, proved more complicated for Groupama-FDJ United’s two young men. “Axel struggled to stay in position over the final two kilometres, and he was frustrated about it at the finish,” Tanguy added. “Lewis was in a good position behind the Unibet riders, but he was lacking a little in the legs to get involved in the fight for the top 10 (18th, ed.). Considering the difficulties he’s had this year, it’s already a positive to see him in a sprint. He was actually quite emotional about it. We missed out on the top 10, but without a true sprinter, you can’t consider that a real failure. We did the best we could with the strengths we had.”
On Saturday, however, the French team started the Flandrien 0.0 Classic with genuine ambitions. It was much better equipped for the course, which featured 200 kilometres and some Flemish climbs. “We knew from last year’s experience that it was a very difficult race, but we approached it with a lot of excitement,” said William Green. “We had a team perfectly suited to the course, with Axel and Thibaud, as well as some very strong riders to support them. Without a pure sprinter, we wanted an aggressive and offensive race.”
With that in mind, Groupama-FDJ United did everything it could to put its plan into action. “Esteban rode from the very beginning to make sure we were well positioned, which was really great,” said Thibaud Gruel. “Clément and Kevin guided us perfectly for thirty kilometres so that we arrived in position where we wanted to be, and then Tom took over at the exit of the town of Wavre.” It was there, just under 80 kilometres from the finish, that the plan was put into action on the demanding Chaussée d’Ottenbourg (700 metres at 7.5%). “We did what we had planned,” Axel Huens continued. “We wanted to accelerate as a team and blow the race apart. Tom led into the climb, then Johan did the rest. It split, we found ourselves in a group of fifteen, and that was exactly what we wanted.” “We had the three riders we wanted up front,” William confirmed. “There was no Plan B. It was all-in.”
This move, which included several of the favourites such as Laurence Pithie and Florian Vermeersch, quickly caught the breakaway and built a lead of around thirty seconds over the peloton. “The cooperation was good, everyone was riding,” said Thibaud. “But Johan did an incredible job, taking huge turns on the front.” “Johan was riding really strongly during the first lap,” Axel Huens confirmed, referring to the three-climb circuit that had to be covered twice before the riders headed towards the finish. After the first sequence, the breakaway group had built a lead of almost fifty seconds.
“Some teams had two riders in there, we had three, and I told the guys not to hesitate for a single second,” William added. “It was a very strong group, we believed in it from the beginning, and we’re so lucky to have a rider like Johan. He almost made the whole race today. Without him, we probably would have been heading for a mass sprint.” After one final huge turn on the last passage through Moskesstraat, 40 kilometres from the finish, the Swiss rider dropped back and left his two teammates to continue at the front in a reduced group of fifteen. After the final climb of the course, the breakaway still had a 35-second advantage, but there were another 33 kilometres to cover. A very long battle then unfolded.
“There were always between 30 and 40 seconds between us and the peloton, and we had to ride hard,” William continued. “The important thing was not to get carried away and to stay united within the group. Right up to the very end, we gave everything to make it to the finish, because we didn’t have a rider who could sprint behind. Thibaud and Axel did a lot of work, but it was also our responsibility. We didn’t think about the finish until we actually got there. We went all-out.” Over the final thirty kilometres, the peloton managed to claw its way back towards the breakaway, closing to within thirty seconds with ten kilometres remaining, and even fifteen seconds five kilometres later.
The gap came down to as little as ten seconds with three kilometres to go, before the chasing bunch began to run out of manpower. “Thibaud looked a little stronger than me on the climbs, so towards the end I sacrificed myself to make sure they didn’t catch us,” Axel explained. “We really had to make it to the finish with this breakaway. I put a little more power into my turns and launched the sprint.” “Berckmoes made a little move to get onto Axel’s wheel, I found myself in the wind and lost some speed,” Thibaud regretted. “I tried to get back onto the wheels, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted.” Although the breakaway did indeed manage to hold off the peloton, the young Frenchman ultimately had to settle for sixth place, while Axel Huens finished tenth.
“I would have liked to finish higher than sixth,” said Thibaud. “It’s a little disappointing, but it was a really great day.” “We didn’t finish exactly as we would have hoped after a day that had been perfect up to that point, but we’re very happy that we made the race,” Axel commented. “Because today, it was clearly Groupama-FDJ United that dictated the race. We can be proud of that, and next time we’ll try to win. We’re happy with this double top 10, but above all we’re happy with the way we raced: taking control and responsibilities. That feels good.” “We have no regrets,” William added. “We rode a perfect race and the result we achieved was the best possible today. Even though it’s not a victory, we were rewarded for our attacking spirit with a good result. When you look at the start list, and in particular the sprinters who came here intending to race defensively with their teams, we can be very proud that we managed to get the better of them. We gave 110% to put the plan into action and achieve our goal. We can be very satisfied.”