Latest from Cyclingnews in Pro-cycling

Gravel Earth Series: Geerike Schreurs takes solo win as Tobias Kongstad sprints to victory at CORE4

Lyne Lamoureux — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 20:52:50 +0000

Geerike Schreurs (Specialized-Off road) crushed the CORE4 race in Iowa City, going solo for most of the 120-mile (193km) gravel race while Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing) sprinted to victory from a group of five in the men’s race at the penultimate event of the Gravel Earth Series. Each made it to the top step on Saturday after finishing second last year.

Schreurs, racing with a broken right shifter, finished with a time of 5:49:10 and claimed her third victory in the GES. Crossing the line 18:32 later, Emily Newson took second. Crystal Anthony (Flow Formulas, Kenda, The Black Bibs) was third, 5:51 later.

Launched in 2022, CORE4 calls itself “the next level in gravel racing.” Taking place around and within the metro of Iowa City, the dynamic course goes through champagne gravel, speedy pavement, singletrack, bike paths, remote and rugged B roads, and even river and waterfall crossings.

An early crash on a B road led to the first split in the elite women’s peloton with Schreurs and Newsom pulling away, building a gap of one minute after 10 miles of racing.

Behind the pair, a group of four, Anthony, Flavia Oliveira Parks, Peta Mullens and Gabrielle Trexler joined together in a chase group. The situation stayed the same until the challenging water crossing and hiking section where Schreurs found herself solo.

Schreurs put her head down, and powered on, growing her gap from three minutes after around 30 miles of racing to 10 minutes by the aid station at mile 77.

Behind, Traxler dropped out of the chase group, leaving the three to battle for the remaining podium spots.

Tobias Kongstad wins CORE 4 2026 for elite men© GravelEarthSeries – CORE 4

Chase Wark leads Adam Roberge (centre) and Tobias Kongstad (right) across unrideable section of Iowa course at CORE 4© GravelEarthSeries – CORE 4

Elite Men's podium at 2026 CORE 4, part of the Gravel Earth Series© GravelEarthSeries – CORE 4

Geerike Schreurs wins 2026 CORE 4 for elite women© GravelEarthSeries – CORE 4

Elite Women's podium at 2026 CORE 4, part of Gravel Earth Series© GravelEarthSeries – CORE 4

In the men’s race, Kongstad claimed the victory with a time of 5:15:34, three seconds ahead of Cole Davis (SpeedStudio p/b Basso), who was second. Adam Roberge (Felt UN1TD) took third, one second further back.

The first split also happened early in the elite men’s race, with a group of 15 pulling away after a crash on a minimum maintenance road (MMR) in the first mile. Michael Garrison (SpeedStudio p/b Basso) took a solo flyer, but a broken wheel took him out of the equation.

The front group lost a few riders after hike a bike section following the waterfall crossing, leaving seven riders off the front after 20 miles in. Joining Kongstad, Davis and Roberge in the move were Daxton Mock (Trek Driftless), Chase Wark (Lunchbox Racing), Benjamin Perry (Guava x Castelli S.O.G), Hayden Christian (Trek / Maap Pro.fwd) and last year’s winner Julien Gagné (Lunchboxracing).

Cooperation was not perfect, as the group attacked each other for the rest of the race, with first Christian falling off the pace, and then Wark dropping out in the final 10 miles. The five riders sped to the finish line with Kongstad first around the corner and first across the line.

GES concludes in two weeks with a new event, The River by The Traka, which is run on a 160km route in Bouillon, Belgium.

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Results

Women top 10
Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	Geerike Schreurs (Ned) Specialized-Off road	5:49:10
2	Emily Newsom (USA)	0:18:32
3	Crystal Anthony (USA) Flow Formulas, Kenda, The Black Bibs	0:24:13
4	Flavia Oliveira Parks (USA) EXCEL SPORTS p/b SPECIALIZED	0:24:32
5	Peta Mullens (USA) Tango Racing	0:27:30
6	A. Gabrielle Traxler (Can) Basso x Assos	0:36:37
7	Gabriella Arnold (USA) Velocio // Exploro	0:46:45
8	Alyssa Larish (USA) Rochester velÃ²/RASC	0:46:46
9	Sarah Diekmeyer (Can) Megamo Gravel Racing	1:54:23
DNF	Camille Wirkus (USA) United Cycling Women

Men's top 10
Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	Tobias Mørch Kongstad (Den) PAS Racing	5:15:34
2	Cole Davis (USA) SpeedStudio p/b Basso	0:00:03
3	Adam Roberge (Can) Felt UN1TD	0:00:04
4	Julien Gagne (Can) LUNCHBOXRACING	0:00:07
5	Benjamin Perry (Can) Guava x Castelli S.O.G	0:00:25
6	Chase Wark (USA) Lunchbox Racing	0:04:57
7	Daxton Mock (USA) Trek Driftless	0:07:38
8	Dylan Johnson (USA) Felt UN1TD	0:09:08
9	Michael Lambert (USA) Velovit Elite	0:11:08
10	Matt Zimmer (USA) Project Echelon Racing	0:16:11

‘8 plugs, 3 Co2 - still no luck’ – Rosa Klöser’s Leadville 100 bid ends in a car after tricky acclimatization following Tour de France Femmes

Patrick Fletcher — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:44:46 +0000

Lining up at Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB presented by Kenetik less than a week after finishing the Tour de France Femmes, Rosa Klöser’s task was always going to be a difficult one.

But after battling with the effects of altitude early in the race, the multi-discipline star’s hopes of a strong result were definitively and brutally ended by a puncture inside the final 15km.

The Canyon-SRAM rider said the flat was so serious that she tried eight times to plug it and went through three Co2 canisters to try and re-inflate it, but to no avail. She had to abandon the race at that point and was listed as a DNF on the results.

“I flatted bad. 8 plugs, 3 Co2 - still no luck,” Klöser wrote in a social media post

“It‘s sad but I had to give up and call a ride home as it was too far and dangerous to ride on the rim. It is what it is!”

Klöser was in fifth position at the time, after chasing with Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road), itself an achievement given this was, she said, only her fifth ever mountain bike ride.

The German is a big name on the gravel scene but this was a baptism of fire on the flat bars, at altitudes above the 3000-metre mark, and with so little time to adapt after competing at the biggest road race in the sport.

“I’ve never been and for sure not have been riding an MTB above 3000hm,” Klöser wrote.

“Felt ok yesterday but today (altitude day 3) hit me and I was far off the pace of the first 4 girls. Eventually managed to come around & was sitting alone in P5 but with 14k to go I flatted.”

Despite the struggles and the disappointing end to her ride, Klöser was able to take heart from her ride and take some inspiration for the future.

“On a positive note, I was happy with my technical skills considering it was my 5th ever MTB ride,” she wrote.

“To perform here better preparation is needed but its definitely something I can see myself targeting in the future.”

Klöser drops out of the top 10 on the Life Time Grand Prix season-long series, into 11th place, with three events remaining.

“Not sure what’s next yet, as my body feels pretty empty post Tour & sickness.”

Villafañe finished seventh, behind winner Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) and held her overall lead in the Life Time Grand Prix standings.

Volta a Portugal: Rui Oliveira sprints to first pro win of his career on stage 10 as Alexis Guérin secures the overall victory

Lyne Lamoureux — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 17:11:52 +0000

Rui Oliveira timed his sprint perfectly on the cobbled climb to win on home soil on stage 10 of the Volta a Portugal. It was the first pro road victory for the 29-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, best known for his prowess on the track, as he won the gold medal in the Madison at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

Launching the sprint first, Daniel Cavia (Burgos Burpellet BH) finished second and Francisco Campos (Tavira-Crédito Agrícola) was third on Avenida dos Aliados in Porto.

Alexis Guérin (Anicolor-Campicarn) crossed the line safely in eighth and secured the overall victory, The Frenchman took the lead after winning stage 4, and not only successfully defended his position but climbed to victory on stage 9 as well. His teammate Artem Nych finished second overall and Pedro Silva (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista) rounds out the podium.

Oliveira dedicated his victory to 19-year-old Finlay Tarling, who tragically died on stage 8.

“I just want to give my condolences to Fin's family, brother, friends, team, everyone. It's been a rough couple days. I can imagine what they're suffering, and I said yesterday that I wanted to win for everyone that supported me, but most of all, to Fin's family and the teammates, this one is for them.”

“I'm so so so happy to to win in my home. I live here from Porto, my club,” added Oliveira as he pointed to his club flag on his shoulders. “And I passed near my home four times. They gave me extra motivation.”

Alexis Guérin (Anicolor-Campicarn) wins the overall at Volta a Portugal 2026 (Image credit: Volta a Portugal / Rodrigo Rodrigues and Igor Martins / FPC)

The riders lined up for the final stage in Maia for 136.6 kilometres to Porto. After nearly 100km on open roads, the peloton entered the second-largest city in Portugal to tackle three laps of the finishing circuit.

The break of the day was initiated after some 20 kilometres of racing and included Adam Lewis (APS), Eduardo Perez-Landaluce (Obidos), Viacheslav Ivanov (Feirense-Beeceler), Gaspar Gonçalves (Gi Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO) and César Martingil (Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua)

The five riders worked well together, but were only able to get a maximum gap of 1:45 with 81 kilometres to go. With their lead dwindling to 41 seconds, Lewis, Martingil and Ivanov sat up another 40 kilometres later.

Diogo Narciso (Credibom-LA Alumínios-Marcos Car) bridged across to the two riders still up the road at the end of the first lap of the finishing circuit, and then continued on solo, but the Anicolor-led peloton reeled him back in with 13 kilometres to go.

Attacks flew at the front, shelling riders off the back as a big pack sped on the technical final kilometres. In a chaotic finish, the riders spread across the cobbled uphill finish, with Cavia launching first. Oliveira used his slipstream to overtake him and take the victory.

Results

Stage 10 results
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	3:06:35
2	Daniel Cavia Sanz (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:00:00
3	Francisco Campos (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:00:02
4	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:00:02
5	Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:00:02
6	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:00:02
7	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:00:02
8	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:00:02
9	David Dominguez Vilchez (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:00:02
10	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:00:06
11	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:00:09
12	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:00:11
13	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:00:13
14	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:00:13
15	Hugo Nunes (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:00:13
16	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:00:13
17	Rui Carvalho (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:00:13
18	Maksym Bilyi (Ukr) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:00:16
19	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:00:19
20	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:00:19
21	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:00:21
22	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:00:23
23	Carlos Garcia Pierna (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:00:26
24	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:00:26
25	Henrique da Silva Avancini (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:00:35
26	Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali (UAE) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	00:00:36
27	Harrison Wood (GBr) Feirense - Beeceler	00:01:04
28	Pedro Pinto (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:01:30
29	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	00:01:34
30	André Carvalho (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:01:38
31	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	00:00:02
32	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:00:02
33	Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:00:02
34	Pedro Figueiredo Leme (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:01:48
35	Lucas Lopes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:01:53
36	André Ribeiro (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:02:15
37	Angel Lorenzo Sanchez Rebollido (Spa) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:02:38
38	Afonso Silva (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:02:40
39	Daniel Viegas (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:02:55
40	Jeremy Smith (Aus) Obidos Cycling Team	00:03:03
41	Rafael Reis (Por) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:03:19
42	Bruno Martins Lemes (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:04:15
43	Joaquim Silva (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:04:15
44	Danny van der Tuuk (Pol) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:04:15
45	Diogo Narciso (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:04:15
46	Fábio Oliveira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	00:06:05
47	Cláudio Leal (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:06:05
48	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	00:06:05
49	Viacheslav Ivanov (Rus) Feirense - Beeceler	00:06:05
50	João Matias (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:06:05
51	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	00:06:05
52	Diogo Gonçalves (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:06:05
53	Ailetz Lasa Lizarraga (Spa) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:06:05
54	Guilherme Mestre (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:06:05
55	Keegam Swirbul (USA) Efapel Cycling	00:06:05
56	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:06:09
57	Jade Rohde (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	00:07:51
58	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:07:55
59	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:07:55
60	Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:07:55
61	Filipe Francisco (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:07:55
62	Gabriel Sousa Silva (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:07:55
63	Edson Gilmar de Rezende Junior (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:07:55
64	Conn Mc Dunphy (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:07:55
65	Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:07:55
66	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:07:55
67	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:07:55
68	João Oliveira (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:07:55
69	Francisco Pereira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	00:07:59
70	Eduardo Perez-Landaluce Gonzalez (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	00:08:22
71	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:08:49
72	Gaspar Gonçalves (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:09:40
73	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:09:41
74	Diogo Pinto (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:09:41
75	Bruno Maceiras (Por) Obidos Cycling Team	00:10:24
76	Jaime Torres Arias (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	00:10:24
77	Jorge Galvez Lopez (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:10:24
78	Andrew Lydic (USA) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:10:24
79	Rafael Sousa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:10:24
80	Francisco Morais (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:10:24
81	Gonçalo Carvalho (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:10:24
82	Alexandre Montez (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	00:10:39
83	Leangel Meneses (Ven) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:10:41
84	César Martingil (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:10:41
85	Jaume Espuis Rel (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	00:14:07
86	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:14:07
DNF	Lorenzo Quartucci (Ita) Burgos Burpellet BH
DNF	Abner González Rivera (PuR) Feirense - Beeceler
DNF	Ferran Miravalles Badimon (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz

Final general classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	30:21:07
2	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:01:02
3	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:04:37
4	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:04:47
5	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	00:05:38
6	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:05:53
7	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:06:47
8	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:06:54
9	Rui Carvalho (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:10:42
10	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:12:06
11	Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:13:17
12	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:17:47
13	David Dominguez Vilchez (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:18:30
14	Carlos Garcia Pierna (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:19:06
15	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:21:09
16	Harrison Wood (GBr) Feirense - Beeceler	00:23:22
17	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:23:52
18	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:24:12
19	André Ribeiro (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:29:55
20	Angel Lorenzo Sanchez Rebollido (Spa) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:30:47
21	Pedro Figueiredo Leme (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:33:14
22	Henrique da Silva Avancini (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:39:18
23	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:39:59
24	Afonso Silva (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:40:34
25	Eduardo Perez-Landaluce Gonzalez (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	00:41:31
26	Ailetz Lasa Lizarraga (Spa) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:44:18
27	Keegam Swirbul (USA) Efapel Cycling	00:46:32
28	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	00:48:20
29	Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:50:16
30	Daniel Viegas (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:51:02
31	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:51:23
32	Lucas Lopes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:53:59
33	Francisco Campos (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:57:00
34	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:59:32
35	Viacheslav Ivanov (Rus) Feirense - Beeceler	01:01:53
36	Joaquim Silva (Por) Efapel Cycling	01:02:28
37	Gaspar Gonçalves (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	01:03:18
38	Diogo Gonçalves (Por) Efapel Cycling	01:04:23
39	Jeremy Smith (Aus) Obidos Cycling Team	01:08:13
40	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	01:08:50
41	André Carvalho (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:09:23
42	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:10:45
43	Maksym Bilyi (Ukr) Burgos Burpellet BH	01:11:01
44	Daniel Cavia Sanz (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	01:13:39
45	Rafael Reis (Por) Anicolor/Campicarn	01:14:24
46	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:17:57
47	Hugo Nunes (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:18:04
48	Diogo Narciso (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:19:41
49	Guilherme Mestre (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	01:19:48
50	Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali (UAE) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	01:19:51
51	Pedro Pinto (Por) Efapel Cycling	01:20:56
52	Jorge Galvez Lopez (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:21:17
53	Gonçalo Carvalho (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	01:22:14
54	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	01:23:01
55	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	01:29:03
56	Bruno Martins Lemes (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	01:30:35
57	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	01:31:31
58	Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	01:33:40
59	Cláudio Leal (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:33:56
60	Danny van der Tuuk (Pol) Euskaltel-Euskadi	01:39:09
61	João Matias (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	01:41:15
62	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:43:09
63	Filipe Francisco (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:43:37
64	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	01:44:11
65	Andrew Lydic (USA) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	01:46:04
66	Alexandre Montez (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	01:50:07
67	Edson Gilmar de Rezende Junior (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	01:50:17
68	Conn Mc Dunphy (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	01:50:49
69	Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Anicolor/Campicarn	01:51:12
70	Jaume Espuis Rel (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	01:52:34
71	Jaime Torres Arias (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	01:52:36
72	Gabriel Sousa Silva (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	01:58:06
73	Fábio Oliveira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	01:59:29
74	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	02:00:23
75	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	02:02:30
76	Diogo Pinto (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	02:03:09
77	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	02:04:11
78	João Oliveira (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	02:04:19
79	Leangel Meneses (Ven) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	02:08:41
80	Francisco Pereira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	02:09:57
81	Rafael Sousa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	02:10:02
82	Jade Rohde (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	02:12:54
83	César Martingil (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	02:17:08
84	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	02:17:46
85	Francisco Morais (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	02:20:38
86	Bruno Maceiras (Por) Obidos Cycling Team	02:24:03

Arctic Race of Norway: Thomas Silva seals overall as Cedrik Christophersen climbs to stage 4 victory

Lyne Lamoureux — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 16:31:36 +0000

Thomas Silva (XDS-Astana) sealed the overall victory at the Arctic Race of Norway on Sunday, marking his closest rival Lennart Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) all the way up the final climb to the ski station in Narvik.

Silva rider had claimed the leader’s jersey on stage 3, and now becomes the first Uruguayan to win the ‘race above the Arctic Circle’.

Meanwhile, Cedrik Christophersen (Unibet Rose Rockets) waited until the GC contenders were watching each other to launch a blistering attack inside of one kilometre to go on the steep climb to take his first professional victory on home soil.

The Norwegian overtook Thomas Gachinard (TotalEnergies) who had launched his own solo on the bottom of the 3.2km ascent.

Crossing the line three seconds later, Ludovico Crescioli (Polti VisitMalta) took second on the stage ahead of Silva.

Silva topped the general classification with 14 seconds on Van Eetvelt and 25 seconds on Alessandro Pinarello (NSN).

Cedrik Christophersen (Unibet Rose Rockets) wins finale stage (Image credit: Getty Images)

How it unfolded

The race above the Arctic Circle concluded with a hilly stage 4, running 190.5 kilometres from Sortland to the ski station in Narvik with a decisive final climb of 2.3 kilometers at an average gradient of 8.6%.

The pace was high early on with several riders attempting to break away, but no group managed to gain a significant advantage in the first 60 kilometers until a trio finally managed to pull away.

The escapees – Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla) and Uno-X Mobility pair Breiner Henrik Pedersen and Adne Holter – pushed the gap up to maximum of 2:20, making Foldager the virtual leader on the road halfway through the stage. The three riders worked well together, with Foldager taking the maximum mountains points on the Balteskaret and Skoddebergvatnet climbs.

The peloton, led by XDS-Astana and with Caja Rural adding riders in the final 15 kilometres, reduced the gap to the lead trio to 1:06 with 10 kilometres to go.

With seconds ticking down, the three riders went all-in, with Pedersen going wide on a corner, having to bunnyhop the curb but staying on his bike as the gap was down to 20 seconds on the approach to the final climb.

As the road started to go uphill, Gachinard attacked and bridged up to the early breakaway with only Pedersen briefly staying with him. With two kilometres to go, Gachinard zipped up his jersey but the peloton was not giving up, slowly crawling closer.

Christophersen powered away with 800 metres remaining, and held on to take the stage win.

Results

Stage 4 results
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	4:03:06
2	Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+0:03
3	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana	+0:03
4	Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	+0:03
5	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	+0:03
6	Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies	+0:03
7	Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+0:03
8	Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Totalenergies	+0:03
9	Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+0:03
10	Wouter Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	+0:03
11	Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta	+0:03
12	Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Jayco-AlUla	+0:03
13	Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+0:03
14	Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+0:03
15	Mark Donovan (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	+0:03
16	Byron Munton (RSA) Modern Adventure	+0:11
17	Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+0:11
18	Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	+0:11
19	Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+0:14
20	Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike	+0:14
21	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+0:14
22	Damien Howson (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5	+0:14
23	Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+0:18
24	Thomas Gachignard (Fra) Totalenergies	+0:22
25	Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL	+0:24
26	Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+0:24
27	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+0:27
28	Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+0:27
29	Andréa Mifsud (Mlt) Polti-VisitMalta	+0:27
30	Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+0:31
31	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+0:37
32	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL	+0:40
33	Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+0:40
34	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+0:40
35	Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+0:59
36	Alessandro Covi (Ita) Jayco-AlUla	+1:01
37	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+1:05
38	Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+1:18
39	Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+1:27
40	Magnus Kulset (Nor) Team Ringerike	+1:31
41	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	+1:42
42	Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+1:45
43	Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+1:57
44	Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	+2:01
45	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	+2:02
46	Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+2:09
47	Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana	+2:12
48	Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+2:15
49	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla	+2:36
50	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	+2:36
51	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	+2:42
52	Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+2:42
53	Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+2:42
54	Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	+2:42
55	Ward Vanhoof (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+2:54
56	Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty	+3:01
57	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	+3:23
58	Christopher Jensen (Den) Jayco-AlUla	+3:23
59	Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels	+3:27
60	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure	+3:27
61	Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+3:41
62	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	+3:43
63	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	+4:13
64	Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team	+4:13
65	Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team	+4:16
66	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5	+4:16
67	Samuel Leroux (Fra) Totalenergies	+4:20
68	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+4:20
69	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure	+4:32
70	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure	+4:32
71	Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+4:52
72	Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+4:52
73	Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+5:03
74	Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team	+5:03
75	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	+5:06
76	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies	+5:06
77	Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	+5:16
78	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+5:16
79	Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+5:54
80	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+5:54
81	Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+5:54
82	Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team	+5:58
83	Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+6:00
84	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+6:00
85	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+6:02
86	Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana	+6:19
87	Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL	+6:30
88	Dillon Corkery (Irl) Picnic PostNL	+6:30
89	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	+6:30
90	Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure	+6:30
91	Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan	+6:56
92	Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+8:37
93	Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+8:39
94	Joseba Lopez Cuesta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+8:42
95	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	+8:47
96	Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	+8:47
97	Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	+8:49
98	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	+8:49
99	Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché	+8:51
100	Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	+8:57
101	Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike	+9:08
102	Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+9:08
103	Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) XDS Astana	+9:08
104	Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike	+9:18
105	Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike	+9:38
106	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+9:42
107	Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+9:42

Final general classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana	15:34:12
2	Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	+0:14
3	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	+0:25
4	Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Jayco-AlUla	+0:35
5	Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+0:36
6	Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Totalenergies	+0:39
7	Wouter Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	+0:40
8	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	+0:42
9	Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies	+0:44
10	Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+0:55
11	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL	+1:06
12	Mark Donovan (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	+1:13
13	Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+1:14
14	Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike	+1:24
15	Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+1:25
16	Byron Munton (RSA) Modern Adventure	+1:28
17	Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+1:31
18	Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	+1:50
19	Damien Howson (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5	+1:53
20	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+2:02
21	Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+2:06
22	Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta	+2:13
23	Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+2:15
24	Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+2:23
25	Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+2:25
26	Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+2:26
27	Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+2:29
28	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+2:31
29	Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+2:49
30	Alessandro Covi (Ita) Jayco-AlUla	+3:08
31	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+3:13
32	Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana	+3:14
33	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+3:22
34	Andréa Mifsud (Mlt) Polti-VisitMalta	+3:23
35	Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+3:24
36	Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL	+3:24
37	Thomas Gachignard (Fra) Totalenergies	+3:31
38	Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+3:53
39	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla	+4:18
40	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+4:25
41	Magnus Kulset (Nor) Team Ringerike	+4:27
42	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	+4:28
43	Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels	+4:34
44	Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+4:35
45	Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+5:44
46	Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+5:49
47	Christopher Jensen (Den) Jayco-AlUla	+6:26
48	Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty	+6:31
49	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	+6:48
50	Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+6:50
51	Ward Vanhoof (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+6:58
52	Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	+7:00
53	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	+7:04
54	Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team	+7:14
55	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	+7:21
56	Samuel Leroux (Fra) Totalenergies	+7:23
57	Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+7:28
58	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure	+7:35
59	Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+8:01
60	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	+8:15
61	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+8:47
62	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	+8:51
63	Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana	+8:54
64	Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+9:09
65	Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	+9:24
66	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	+9:30
67	Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+9:37
68	Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+9:38
69	Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	+9:40
70	Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+9:56
71	Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+10:07
72	Joseba Lopez Cuesta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+10:21
73	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	+10:35
74	Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+11:13
75	Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché	+11:21
76	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	+11:53
77	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies	+11:59
78	Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team	+12:01
79	Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team	+12:31
80	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5	+12:32
81	Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	+13:21
82	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure	+13:34
83	Dillon Corkery (Irl) Picnic PostNL	+14:13
84	Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan	+14:19
85	Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	+14:44
86	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure	+15:08
87	Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL	+15:20
88	Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+15:23
89	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+15:37
90	Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team	+15:53
91	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+15:59
92	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	+16:54
93	Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike	+16:59
94	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	+17:09
95	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	+17:30
96	Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	+18:39
97	Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	+18:51
98	Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	+18:56
99	Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure	+19:29
100	Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike	+19:58
101	Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	+20:31
102	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	+21:02
103	Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	+21:50
104	Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike	+22:35
105	Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) XDS Astana	+22:48
106	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	+22:52
107	Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	+25:03

Cramps and goosebumps as Wout van Aert beaten by training partner Daan Soete at Belgian Gravel Championships

Patrick Fletcher — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 16:02:18 +0000

Wout van Aert wasn't able to pull off the national title at the Belgian Gravel Championships on Sunday, but he gave it a big crack and, in any case, he couldn't have picked a better winner.

Pulling on the red, yellow and black national champion's jersey was Daan Soete, the established gravel racer who is a long-time friend and training partner of Van Aert.

What's more, the race was taking place just a matter of kilometres from where the pair of them were born and grew up, in Herentals – which was part of the attraction for Van Aert to shake up his calendar and make this appearance less than a week out from the Vuelta a España.

And to top it off, the pair of them were alone together at the head of the race on the final lap of the course, before Soete rode clear in the final few kilometres.

"The fact that we rode the final together… I had goosebumps on the last lap," Van Aert said, according to the Flemish media.

"We ride on these tracks here almost daily; we grew up together, after all. It is surreal that everything fell into place so well, because we had hoped to take control of the race with just the two of us. That wasn't easy, because there were many strong riders out there. What a special day."

Van Aert in action at the Belgian Gravel Championships (Image credit: Getty Images)

Van Aert and Soete formed part of a five-man group that established itself half-way through the 163-kilometre race, and they went clear together when Van Aert stamped on the pedals with a big attack 22km from home.

"He made such an acceleration, next to the highway," Soete said of that moment. "I was lucky that he briefly slipped out of his pedal, otherwise I might have been dropped. I was really at my limit."

However, just as it appeared the two friends would ride together to the finish and sprint it out between them, there was a late twist as Van Aert started to struggle and Soete eased away.

"I wasted a lot of energy along the way, bordering on cramps," Van Aert said.

"I would have liked to win myself, but there is absolutely no disappointment on my part."

Van Aert will now turn his attention towards the Vuelta, which starts in Monaco next Saturday, with the World Championships in Canada to follow in September.

La Polynormande: Hugo Page powers to victory in uphill bunch sprint

Lyne Lamoureux — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:54:52 +0000

Hugo Page (Cofidis) powered his way through the uphill sprint to win La Polynormande in France and claim his first victory in three years. Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) took second for the second year in a row, and Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) was third in the reduced bunch sprint.

After taking the victory the past two years, Decathlon CMA CGM was denied, with the team's top finisher being Noa Isidore in fourth.

“We knew the finale was very tough and that the peloton might catch us at the end. I benefited from the great work Alex (Aranburu) did right up to the finish. I sat on his wheel and waited for the right moment to launch my sprint, and it worked out," said Page, who joined Cofidis in 2026 from Intermarché–Wanty.

"There’s definitely a lot of pride. I battled hard for three weeks at the Tour de France, and it’s never easy. You don’t always manage to achieve what you want over the course of a season. It had been three years since my last win, so I’m happy to have achieved it here. I’m also thrilled to have done it in the colours of Cofidis, a team that put its trust in me for three years."

This year’s route featured an opening 30-kilometre section before reaching a 12-kilometre circuit, which the riders raced 11 times, tackling the Côte de la Pigeonnièrie on every lap. In total, the race covered 168.9 kilometres.

Like previous editions of the race, aggression was the word of the day, as attack after attack flew, in what seemed to be a battle for control between the Decathlon and TotalEnergies squads.

In the final lap, Michiel Coppens (BEAT CC p/b Saxo) took a solo flyer but was reeled in on the climb by the pack led by Decathlon’s Paul Lapeira, who won the race in 2024. The high pace and dynamic racing continued until a group of around 20 riders formed in the final kilometres.

Results

Top 10
Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	Hugo Page (Fra) Cofidis	03:49:46
2	Sandy Dujardin (Fra) Totalenergies
3	Alex Aranburu Deva (Spa) Cofidis
4	Noa Isidore (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM WTT
5	Clément Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets
6	Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets
7	Jochem Kerckhaert (Ned) Beat Cc P/B Saxo
8	Matthew Fox (Aus) Lotto-Intermarché
9	Dario Igor Belletta (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta
10	Elliot Rowe (GBr) Team Visma \| Lease A Bike Development

ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg: Paul Magnier takes sprint win after Soudal-Quickstep takes control in final 10 kilometres

Patrick Fletcher — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:35:31 +0000

Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) surged to victory at the ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg on Sunday, continuing his fine season with a convincing victory in the WorldTour-level one-day race.

The Frenchman, winner of three stages at this year’s Giro d’Italia, crossed the line with daylight between himself and the rest of the sprinting peloton, with Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana) taking second place and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) grabbing the final spot on the podium.

The mixed bag of a top-10 was without a number of key contenders, including Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM), as a small group was cut off the back of the peloton on the final ascent of the punchy Waseberg climb.

The Waseberg – 700 metres long at an average gradient of 10% – was covered five times on the 205-kilometre route of the German Classic, inspiring attacks from the likes of Tour de France podium finisher Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

In fact, it was Del Toro’s acceleration on the final ascent with 16km to go – coupled with repeated digs on the flat from the Mexican – that saw some of those big-name sprinters tailed out of the running.

Magnier’s QuickStep came to the front just when it looked like the Milan/Kooij group was about to return inside the final 10km, and they went on to dominate the final three kilometres with two men in front of Magnier.

It wasn’t quite enough to provide a full lead-out, as last-man Jasper Stuyven had to pull aside with 500 metres to go, but Magnier was so good he didn’t need much help. As Red Bull swamped he calmly slotted in and found a way out, moving decisively clear in the final 150 metres and holding it all the way to the line.

“I’m super proud to take my first WorldTour one-day victory,” Magnier said. “I think I can really thank my team, every single rider worked really hard, and in the final team really put me in the perfect position and I could make a perfect sprint.

“We also knew the breakaway was really strong – we didn’t want it to happen like last year. Ayco [Bastiaens] and Yves Lampaert had to work really hard to bring everything back together. Then the whole lead-out train helped me to always survive this steep climb every loop. I also felt strong in the last lap to follow the move of Del Toro. I knew I had a really strong lead-out and was really confident in them and super proud to finish it off.”

Cheers from the podium (l-r): second place Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana), winner Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quickstep) and third place Laurence Pither (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) (Image credit: Getty Images)

How it unfolded

The 29th edition of Cyclassics Hamburg took the riders on a 205.3-kilometre route from Buxtehude to the Mönckebergstraße area of Hamburg, with five ascents of the Waseberg climb (700 meters at 10%) once again forming the key challenge of the course.

The racing was sparked into life by a six-man breakaway that featured Filip Maciejuk (Movistar), Jonas Rutsch (Lotto-Intermarché), Dries De Pooeter (Jayco-AlUla), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), and the Visma-Lease a Bike duo of Niklas Behrens and Loe Van Belle.

They were kept on a relatively short leash, with the gap never growing out beyond five minutes.

Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) sets the pace in the breakaway (Image credit: Getty Images)

The early phase of the race was marked by a couple of crashes, with Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) and Mattia Agostinacchio (EF Education-EasyPost) forced to abandon, while Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) also hit the deck but was able to continue.

The first ascent of the Waseberg came after 90km and passed without much incident, with the riders going on to head through the finish line for the first time, at the halfway mark, with three minutes the gap.

The second ascent of the Waseberg with 75km to go saw the race light up courtesy of Benoit Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), the French puncheur putting in a stinging attack that drew out Brandon Rivera (Netcompany-Ineos), Tim Rex (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Brent Van Moer (Pinarello-Q36.5).

On the finishing loop, covered twice, the Wasberg featured twice in the space of barely 10km, and by the time it was back around to the climb the Cosnefroy move was neutralised as Visma accelerated from behind.

Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Brandon Rivera (Netcompany Ineos) lead the peloton up the Waseberg (Image credit: Getty Images)

The next move, coming amid a lull, was a double Vermeersch affair, with Florian of UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Gianni of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe going clear for several kilometres. However, beyond the penultimate passage of the finish line, which came with just over 50km to go, they were brought back to a peloton riding 1:25 behind the breakaway.

By the time they made it back out to the west of Hamburg for the final twin ascents of the Waseberg, the gap was down to one minute, and the break was soon down to four, as Thomas and Rutsch eased clear before the Visma duo of Behrens and Van Belle caught up.

Soon after, a key contender, Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling), was taken out of contention by a crash on a right-hand bend. Needing a new bike, at a time when UAE were kicking off the charge towards the final ascent of the Waseberg, it was effectively game over for the Eritrean.

The inevitable Del Toro attack – UAE didn’t possess a top-level sprinter – came on the final time up the steep climb, but the Mexican couldn’t get away. However, despite a large peloton still being in his wheel, his move had split things to the extent that some key rivals were put out of the picture.

Del Toro tried again once the final breakaway survivors, Thomas and Rutsch, had been brought to heel, but neither his nor others’ attempts to go clear in the finale paid off. Instead, Uno-X, QuickStep, and Visma combined to keep the pace high in the peloton in order to keep the frantically chasing Milan/Kooij group at bay.

QuickStep did just what they had to do, and little more, and that gave them a strong hand for the lead-out, which they dominated from around 3km out. They might have fallen a little short of giving Magnier the perfect magic carpet but the Frenchman was dropped off in a position from where he could make his superiority blindingly obvious.

Results

Top 10
Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal-QuickStep	04:17:55
2	Mike Teunissen (Ned) XDS Astana Team
3	Laurence Pithie (NZl) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
4	Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United
5	Henri Uhlig (Ger) Alpecin-Premier Tech
6	Milan Fretin (Bel) Cofidis
7	Jonas Rutsch (Ger) Lotto-Intermarché
8	Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
9	Huub Artz (Ned) Lotto-Intermarché
10	Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché

Mt. Washington Hillclimb record obliterated as Peter Stetina sets PB but has to settle for second in 'farewell tour'

Lyne Lamoureux — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 13:19:41 +0000

Though Pete Stetina bested his own time by 48 seconds set last year on the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, he had to settle for second place again, with a time of 50:48. The pro road and gravel cycling rider had previously announced that he would retire after the 2026 season, calling his participation in a select few events a "farewell tour".

In 2025, Stetina went all in to try and set a new record on the climb, which his father, Dale Stetina, held for 17 years, but he was denied by his friend Ian Boswell, who took the win and the record.

But a new record was set on Saturday on the 53rd edition of the New Hampshire hillclimb. Gravel racer John Keller shattered the previous times, setting the all-time historical record with a time of 47:21, beating the fastest time by almost three minutes. On a beautiful sunny day, Keller tackled the climb on a 10.8-lbs bike on his maiden attempt of the iconic ascent.

Not only did Keller better the previous record of 50:15 set last year by Boswell but he also beat the 2020 time of 49:24 set by Tom Danielson. After the road was fully paved in 2022, records were reset, with Phil Gaimon briefly establishing the new benchmark at 50:38.

Known as “the toughest hillclimb in the US, if not the world,” the 7.6-mile (12.2km) ascent of Mount Washington in New Hampshire averages a brutal 12% gradient, with sections reaching 22%. The climb finishes at 6,288 feet (1,916 metres), the highest peak in the northeastern United States. The race is hosted by and benefits the Tin Mountain Conservation Center.

The evening before the climb, Stetina showed a screening of his 'Feeding the Rat' project, which follows his summer journey, made twice, to set a new record to conquer Mount Washington.

“I was saying it the night before during the film screening, but it was just a matter of time with the way cycling's progressing, and you know, I wanted to do it last year, but now the official all-time record. There's no old historical record, modern record. John Keller just broke the all-time record,” Stetina said on Instagram.

Keller has been on a roll, as he became a three-time record holder of the Broadmoor Cycle to the Summit hill climb up the 14,115-feet summit Pikes Peak in Colorado, a week earlier. Keller then clocked a time of 1:06:41, beating his 2023 course record by over one minute on the 12.42-mile climb, with its 156 turns.

A post shared by Peter Stetina (@pstetina)
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Czech Tour: Andrew August seals overall title despite Fancellu coming back from pedal slip to win final stage

Patrick Fletcher — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:41:01 +0000

Andrew 'AJ' August (Netcompany-Ineos) continued his breakthrough season with overall victory at the Czech Tour, safely sealed on the final day despite not being crowned with a hattrick of stage wins.

Having won back-to-back stages on Friday and Saturday, and with a third straight hill-top finish on Sunday, the 20-year-old American was in the driving seat but only had an 11-second lead over Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort), who ended up winning the final stage.

August's Netcompany-Ineos' teammates effectively defended yellow for him, though, setting such a strong tempo on the final climb to Pustenvy that no one dared attack until the dying metres.

Fancellu opened it up at the end and, remarkably, slipped out of his right pedal before clipping back in and accelerating away to the stage win.

August accelerated himself as his rival struggled for speed but when he drew up alongside the Italian he suddenly sat back down in the saddle and slowed his cadence, holding back as the Italian roared ahead once more.

After the final bend August then truly opened the taps but settled for second place on the day, crossing the line in the slipstream. Nicolas Breuillard (TotalEnergies) rounded out the day's podium on the same time.

Not letting Fancellu out of sight meant that August successfully defended the yellow jersey to clinch the first overall stage race success of his young career. His final margin of victory dropped from 11 seconds to seven seconds but he always looked in control throughout the final climb. Domenico Pozzovivo (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) rounded out the final overall podium, 40 seconds down.

The GC title is August's fifth win of what is fast becoming a breakthrough year, following stage wins at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Itzulia Basque Country, and the two stage wins already in this race.

Results

Stage 4 results
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	03:42:16
2	Andrew August (USA) Netcompany Ineos	00:00:00
3	Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:00:00
4	Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:00:05
5	Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:05
6	Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments	00:00:05
7	Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:00:05
8	Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:05
9	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Netcompany Ineos	00:00:10
10	Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:00:10
11	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:00:11
12	Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team	00:00:14
13	Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:00:38
14	Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:00:43
15	Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:00:43
16	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:00:43
17	Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure	00:00:43
18	Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:00:46
19	Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:00:48
20	Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments	00:00:57
21	Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:57
22	Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:01:00
23	Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep	00:01:00
24	Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:01:00
25	Jack Haig (Aus) Netcompany Ineos	00:01:00
26	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:01:00
27	Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:01:10
28	Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:01:11
29	Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:01:13
30	Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:01:21
31	Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:01:25
32	Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:01:25
33	Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:01:25
34	Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:01:28
35	Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:01:30
36	Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:01:34
37	Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:01:35
38	Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:01:35
39	Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:01:37
40	Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:01:40
41	Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:01:40
42	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments	00:01:43
43	Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:01:43
44	Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:01:46
45	Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:01:49
46	Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:01:49
47	Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team	00:02:00
48	Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments	00:02:08
49	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	00:02:15
50	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:02:20
51	Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:02:22
52	Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:02:46
53	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	00:02:46
54	Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:02:49
55	Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:02:59
56	Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:03:00
57	Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:03:05
58	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:03:23
59	Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:03:25
60	Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments	00:03:28
61	Yen Yi 何 Ho 彥誼 (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:03:35
62	Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:03:47
63	Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure	00:03:59
64	Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	00:04:01
65	Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team	00:04:01
66	Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team	00:04:12
67	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:04:23
68	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	00:04:23
69	Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies	00:04:45
70	Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Netcompany Ineos	00:04:51
71	Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:04:51
72	Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:05:39
73	Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team	00:05:39
74	Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping	00:05:39
75	Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments	00:05:39
76	Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure	00:05:43
77	Ian Lopez de San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:05:43
78	Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies	00:06:25
79	Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:06:37
80	Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies	00:06:58
81	Bob Jungels (Lux) Netcompany Ineos	00:07:18
82	Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:07:18
83	Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:07:18
84	Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:07:20
85	Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:07:22
86	Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:07:22
87	Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping	00:07:22
88	Quinten de Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk	00:07:22
89	Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep	00:07:22
90	Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:07:22
91	Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta	00:07:56
92	Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:07:56
93	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:08:09
94	Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:09:10
95	Ben Turner (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:09:49
96	Ben Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:09:49
97	Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:09:49
98	Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:09:49
99	Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development	00:09:49
100	Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:09:49
101	Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:09:49
102	Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:09:49
103	Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:09:49
104	Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:09:49
105	Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep	00:09:49
106	Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure	00:10:30
107	Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure	00:10:30
108	Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments	00:10:30
109	Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:10:30
110	Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:10:35
111	Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:10:39
112	Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:12:27
113	Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:12:27
114	Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:12:27
115	Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:14:54
116	Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:14:54
117	Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:15:29
118	Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:24:37
DNF	Veljko Stojnić (Srb) Team United Shipping
DNF	Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali
DNF	Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise

Final general classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Andrew August (USA) Netcompany Ineos	15:08:12
2	Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:00:07
3	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:00:40
4	Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:51
5	Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:00:54
6	Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:00:59
7	Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:01:03
8	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Netcompany Ineos	00:01:08
9	Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team	00:01:24
10	Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:01:44
11	Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:01:46
12	Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure	00:01:49
13	Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:01:50
14	Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments	00:01:52
15	Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:02:01
16	Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:02:20
17	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:02:23
18	Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments	00:02:48
19	Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:02:53
20	Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep	00:03:00
21	Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:03:25
22	Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:03:37
23	Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:03:44
24	Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:04:01
25	Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:04:05
26	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:04:10
27	Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:04:19
28	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments	00:04:32
29	Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:04:35
30	Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:04:39
31	Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:04:41
32	Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:04:48
33	Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:05:10
34	Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:05:18
35	Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team	00:05:21
36	Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:05:45
37	Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:06:07
38	Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:06:19
39	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:07:06
40	Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:07:30
41	Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure	00:07:31
42	Jack Haig (Aus) Netcompany Ineos	00:08:08
43	Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:08:18
44	Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments	00:08:56
45	Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:09:11
46	Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:09:36
47	Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:09:40
48	Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:10:42
49	Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:10:50
50	Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:11:09
51	Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments	00:11:53
52	Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	00:12:03
53	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	00:13:00
54	Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team	00:13:02
55	Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:13:14
56	Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:13:42
57	Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:14:01
58	Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:15:05
59	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:15:48
60	Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:16:00
61	Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:16:06
62	Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:17:17
63	Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:18:47
64	Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure	00:19:33
65	Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies	00:20:17
66	Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:20:49
67	Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:21:05
68	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	00:21:16
69	Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:21:27
70	Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:21:41
71	Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:21:43
72	Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta	00:21:58
73	Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:22:05
74	Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:22:14
75	Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments	00:22:41
76	Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:23:08
77	Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:23:09
78	Ben Turner (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:23:29
79	Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping	00:23:36
80	Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep	00:24:03
81	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:24:07
82	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:24:32
83	Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies	00:24:43
84	Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:25:42
85	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	00:27:08
86	Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:27:09
87	Quinten de Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk	00:27:47
88	Ian Lopez de San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:28:05
89	Bob Jungels (Lux) Netcompany Ineos	00:29:14
90	Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep	00:30:27
91	Yen Yi 何 Ho 彥誼 (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:31:08
92	Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure	00:32:05
93	Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies	00:34:19
94	Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team	00:36:01
95	Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:36:11
96	Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:36:34
97	Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team	00:38:25
98	Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:40:11
99	Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:40:58
100	Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:41:23
101	Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:41:37
102	Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:42:11
103	Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:43:00
104	Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:43:00
105	Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:43:34
106	Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:44:59
107	Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:45:26
108	Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:45:48
109	Ben Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:45:52
110	Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Netcompany Ineos	00:46:02
111	Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:46:13
112	Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:48:00
113	Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments	00:48:23
114	Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:48:26
115	Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure	00:48:26
116	Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping	00:50:23
117	Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development	01:05:32
118	Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	01:15:39

'A once-in-a-career kind of thing' – A year on from a stunning victory, Canada's top women riders look ahead to 'special' home Road World Championships

cyclingnews@futurenet.com (Dani Ostanek) — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:37:52 +0000

With the Tour de France Femmes in the rearview mirror along with many of the other big races of the Women's WorldTour season, it's no surprise that the focus of the women's peloton is now turning towards the UCI Road World Championships.

The Worlds, the last standout racing event of the season, heads back to North America for the first time since Richmond 2015 as Canada hosts the event for the third time, the country's first since Hamilton 2003.

Back then, Swedish racer Susanne Ljungskog defended her road race rainbow jersey, powering to a reduced sprint victory ahead of Dutchwoman Mirjam Melchers and Briton Nicole Cooke. In the time trial, it was Spain's Joane Somarriba who won, 10 seconds up on Judith Arndt.

In September, the Worlds return to Canada, heading to Montréal from September 20-27. The city has hosted once before – in 1974 – and this year, the likes of Demi Vollering (Netherlands), Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy), and Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) willl compete on the hilly city-centre circuit.

Meanwhile, the home nation will be hoping to retain the surprise rainbow jersey won by Québecois rider Magdeleine Vallieres Mill – Canada's first-ever Road Worlds triumph – last time out in Kigali, Rwanda.

She's expected to lead the women's squad again, while the men's elites will be led by Derek Gee-West and Michael Woods, who has surprisingly come out of road retirement.

Six Canadian riders took the start of the Tour de France Femmes in Lausanne earlier this month, so Cyclingnews tracked some of them down to get their thoughts and feelings on what will be a momentous event for them and for Canadian cycling.

Vallieres Mill was proud to race in rainbows at the biggest event of the calendar – "The atmosphere has been super good, so it's been nice to have some extra cheers because of the jersey," she said – and she's very much looking forward to a Canadian Worlds.

Canada doesn't host any top-level women's races, aside from September's 1.1 Tour de Gatineau and Chrono de Gatineau, so she and her compatriots rarely have a chance to compete on home roads.

"I'm super excited. I don't get to race home very much. To be racing Worlds to defend my title is going to be something incredible, so I'm really looking forward to it," Vallieres Mill said.

"We already know a bit about the team, but it's not super official. I have an idea because there are a lot of really strong Canadians at the moment, including at this race, so I think we will have a really strong team."

'I think for every Canadian this is the coolest thing to have everyone come to your country'

Former national road champion Alison Jackon is confident of selection after racing to fourth on a stage of the Giro d'Italia earlier this year (Image credit: Getty Images)

Canada took five riders to the road race as Vallieres Mill broke away for a last-gasp victory in Rwanda, though they're set for an increased roster of seven this time. Vallieres Mill was joined by Olivia Baril, Emilie Fortin, and Laury Milette in 2025, with 2023 Paris-Roubaix champion Alison Jackson also racing.

Jackson, from Alberta, said she was confident about taking part once more. Fourth place on stage 7 of the Giro d'Italia Women is a standout result which should see her make the cut according to Cycling Canada's selection criteria.

"I mean, the depth of the female racers in Canada right now is super high, but there's a lot of U23s and elites. So, yeah. I think my result at the Giro will put me in there," Jackson told Cyclingnews.

"I think for every Canadian this is the coolest thing to have everyone come to your country. I think this will be a once-in-a-career kind of thing."

Nadia Gontova, hailing from Richmond, B.C., close to Vancouver, flew the Canadian flag as newly crowned national champion in the Tour's Dijon time trial. She was forced to miss what would've been her Worlds debut last year after undergoing iliac artery surgery at the season's end.

She told Cyclingnews earlier this year that making this year's Canada squad is "definitely a big goal" and said in France that she's still got her fingers crossed.

"I was super bummed to miss out last year. I think it was a pretty last-minute decision to skip Worlds, so I think I'm even more motivated to go and have a good race this year, especially with the defending World Champion being Canadian. It's even more motivation behind it," Gontova said.

"I hope to race. We don't have the selection out yet, but I definitely really hope to be there. I'm not sure, but I hope so."

Alongside last year's team and Gontova, riders including Sarah Van Dam (seventh at Amstel Gold Race and the Tour de Suisse) and national road champion Maggie Coles-Lyster are also in the mix for selection for the elite squad.

With such a strong list of riders to choose from, it's no surprise that Canadian women's cycling is on the rise. Three years ago in Glasgow, Ontarian Isabella Holmgren scored their only top result with eighth in the under-23 road race.

A year later in Zürich, her twin sister Ava was fourth in the same race. 2025 saw several other big results alongside Vallieres Mill's rainbow jersey, as Sidney Swierenga raced to fourth in the junior road race and sixth in the junior time trial, while Isabella improved two places on her Glasgow result.

'I would love to be in my best shape to help Isabella, because I think we could win'

Isabella Holmgren will line up as a major favourite for the under-23 road race in Montreal after taking sixth in Kigali (Image credit: Getty Images)

Still just 21, Isabella Holmgren led Canada's charge for a medal in the same race this time around, having already won two under-23 rainbow jerseys on the mountain bike.

Holmgren will head to Canada after filling her season with a score of big results at the highest level – including top 10s at La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Giro d'Italia Women, and the Tour de France Femmes.

She's racing both road and mountain bike this year, heading to Italy for the MTB Worlds, which run from August 26-30 in Val di Sole.

Holmgren will race Elite MTB Worlds this time around, having taken both short track and cross-country under-23 titles last year, beating Carla Hahn of Germany by 20 seconds in the shorter event before putting in a dominant ride to beat US racer Vida Lopez de San Roman by 2:16 in the cross-country race.

A month later on home ground, she'll be back among the under-23s for the 123km race in Montréal.

Ava will be aiming for a spot too, as will Canadian under-23 time trial champion Alexandra Volstad and 19-year-old Swierenga, third at the Volta a Catalunya this year. Kiara Lylyk, like the Holmgren twins, another Ontarian, is feeling confident about making her Worlds debut, too.

The 22-year-old has overcome RED-S this year, and raced the Tour de France Femmes for a second time in what will be her final year racing at under-23 level.

"I've thought about it a lot since like two years ago. It's been marked as my last year under-23. I had to miss Worlds last year because of my last year of university, so it would be really special to do an under-23 Worlds.

"To have a favourite like Isabella, I would love to be in my best shape to help her, because I think we could win. So, it would be so special – it's so close to my home," she told Cyclingnews.

"I feel I'm pretty certain, because the way our criteria works – if you become top five in a UCI .1 or higher, that's a first priority. In Catalunya I did that, so it should be me, Isabella, Sydney for sure, and then the other spots are still to be decided."

'If you're heading out on your bike in the next few days give him a thought as you clip in' – Finlay Tarling's parents issue public message following son's death

Patrick Fletcher — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 10:55:22 +0000

The family of Finlay Tarling, who died at the Volta a Portugal on Friday, have issued a public statement, thanking the cycling community for the support they have received and saying they "couldn't be prouder" of the life their son lived.

Finlay Tarling, a 19-year-old Briton riding for the NSN Development Team, tragically died after a collision with a car during stage 8 of the Portuguese race.

He is the brother of Josh Tarling, who rides for the Netcompany-Ineos team, and was well on his way towards what surely would have been a successful career at the top level of the sport.

Tributes to Finlay Tarling have flooded in, which his family say have "helped carry us through". On Saturday, while the NSN Development Team pulled out of the Volta a Portugal, the NSN WorldTour squad raced on at the Czech Tour and the Arctic Race of Norway "with the full support of Fin's parents".

On Sunday morning, Michael Tarling – Finlay's father – posted a public message to Instagram in collaboration with Finlay's mother, Dawn, accompanied by a photo of them both with their son.

The message is reproduced in full below.

"This has been the hardest couple of days of our lives and it's taken us a bit of time to be able to post this.

"One of the things that has helped carry us through is the wave of posts, messages, emails, articles, and calls from across our family, friends, team, local and sporting communities. Hearing how lovingly and fondly Fin was thought of has been a huge help to us.

"We simply can't thank you all enough for the support we've had.

"I don't know how we carry on from here but we'll figure out with the support of all our family, friends, and community.

"Whilst our broken hearts will never be fixed, he was not only our son and brother but our best mate. Gentle, loving with the driest sense of humour we will miss him terribly.

"Whilst he was only 19 his short life was packed full of wonderful experiences and achievements and we couldn't be prouder of him.

"If you're heading out on your bike in the next few days give him a thought as you clip in."

A memorial, a black leader's jersey, and moments of silence as respects are paid to Finlay Tarling at cycling races across Europe

Patrick Fletcher — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 18:56:30 +0000

Respects were paid to Finlay Tarling at cycling races across Europe on Saturday, the day after the 19-year-old tragically died at the Volta a Portugal.

The Volta continued for its penultimate stage on Saturday, but without Tarling's teammates, as the NSN Development Team withdrew from the race.

The rest of the peloton gathered at the start in Paredes, where a memorial was set up for the late British rider in the spot where the NSN team bus would have been.

Flowers were laid on the ground and, one by one, representatives from each team in the race walked up to lay down one of their jerseys, the rest of the riders applauding as they did so. Objects such as water bottles and race signage were added to the memorial.

There was a special touch as the leader's yellow jersey was changed to black, with Alexis Guérin of the Anicolor team defending his race lead in black. The rest of the riders wore black armbands.

Soon after, on the start line, the peloton observed a minute's silence, with most of the riders removing their helmets. A round of applause followed the silence, and then the stage got underway. There was no racing initially, with a subdued start once kilometre-zero was reached, but the accelerations did eventually come and the racing resumed in earnest.

Guérin went on to win the stage and pointed to the sky as he crossed the line.

"I didn’t have super legs today but each time I looked down at my jersey, I saw the black, and I said to myself, 'today I have to win for this young guy'. I used that as strength, and then tried to pay homage at the end," the Frenchman said after his stage victory.

A 9.ª etapa da Volta a Portugal partiu em ambiente de luto. Antes da partida simbólica, foi cumprido um minuto de silêncio em memória de Finlay Tarling.#VP26 pic.twitter.com/e4VKhPJzRRAugust 15, 2026

Elsewhere, similar tributes were paid at the Arctic Race of Norway and the Czech Tour. The NSN WorldTour team was present at both races, and both squads featured riders taken up temporarily from the NSN Development Team, who would have been close teammates with Tarling.

At the Czech Tour, a minute's silence was observed, with the NSN riders lined up across the start line ahead of the rest of the bunch. Established WorldTour names in Riley Sheehan, Jan Hirt, and Marco Frigo, were joined by two of Tarling's Development Team colleagues, Alex Beldon and Roei Edinger.

Stage winner AJ August, who is a teammate of Finlay Tarling's brother, Josh, at Netcompany-Ineos, pointed to his black armband and then up at the sky has he crossed the line.

Forever with us. #ForFin pic.twitter.com/0UCQFeCg81August 15, 2026

NSN riders lined up ahead of the peloton to honour Finlay Tarling at the start of stage 3 of Arctic Race of Norway (Image credit: Arctic Race of Norway/ASO/Thomas Maheux)

Over at the Arctic Race of Norway, there was a minute's applause, instead of a minute's silence, with the NSN riders similarly lined up ahead of the peloton. The squad there featured Ethan Vernon, Alessandro Pinarello, Dion Smith and Rotem Tene, plus the Development riders Oscar Amey and Kiaan Watts.

"With the full support of Fin's parents, the WorldTour team will race on at Czech Tour and the Arctic Race of Norway," read a statement from the NSN team at the start of the day.

"We will continue to hold Fin in our hearts as we race in his honor, doing what he loved most."

For Finlay. 🤍Today, the #ArcticRaceOfNorway family comes together in a moment of applause in his memory.Our thoughts are with his family, friends, teammates and all those affected by this heartbreaking loss. 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/2Q0fzHilyVAugust 15, 2026

Leadville Trail 100 MTB: Melisa Rollins earns second elite women's title after epic battle with Cecily Decker

jackie.tyson@futurenet.com (Jackie Tyson) — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 18:52:21 +0000

Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) launched a late attack against Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) to win a second time at Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB presented by Kenetik. The 2024 champion returned to the top step of the podium in a time of 5:58:43 in the modified 102-mile mountain bike endurance race.

Decker had to stop twice in the final 12 miles to deal with a flat tyre, but was able to finish in second place, 4:47 back. Lauren Stephens (Aegis x LOE) accelerated away from chase partner Sarah Lange to claim third place, 11:31 off the fast time of Rollins.

Stephens had joined Lange on the descent of the Columbine climb and the two rode together for nearly 45 miles, Lange relinquishing in the final miles and finishing 27 back for fourth.

A runner-up last year, Rollins won her second Leadville title, this time wearing the stars-and-stripes jersey as the US marathon mountain bike national champion. She chased from an early crash to catch Decker with 37 miles to go. 'Diesel Decker', who held the race lead for more than 55 miles, was the most aggressive rider on the day to build on an early solo lead using an attack at the St. Kevin's climb. The same area came back with a big sting later with a flat rear tyre to end hopes of a victory.

"It's really hard to just put into words. We all work really, really hard and I just put so much into this one race, and it sucks. Yeah, it's hard to just have it all go in one instant. It would have been really cool to just be able to fight with Melissa to the line," Decker said to organisers at the finish.

"I really wanted to push the pace on [St.] Kevin's [outbound], see who else wanted to go fast. I think if Melisa didn't have that crash, she would have been right up there right away.

"But she ended up coming back, obviously super strong. Yeah, we had a pretty epic battle towards the end. I ended up puncturing right at the bottom of St. Kevin's."

Rollins has competed at Leadville with her family for over a decade now, taking her first elite win two years ago and then going runner-up last year. This time Rollins won wearing the stars-and-stripes jersey as the US marathon mountain bike national champion.

"This race is so special to me, so I wasn't willing to give in," she said at the finish on the live broadcast provided by Life Time.

"I mean, this race is super important to me, it's super important to my family. It's super important to everybody who lines up, people who train for a year for this race. They try multiple times to get in. And the fact that we even got to have a race, I felt it like it was my duty to really put it out there, because a month ago, I really truly did not believe it was going to happen."

Rollins referred to a massive wildfire, the Willow Fire, that burned from July into August, destroying thousands of acres of land, including businesses and homes in Lake County to the west of Leadville. By mid-August, a large area which the original route had passed for three decades had been severely impacted and evacuated, with organisers having to search for a revised route and secure permits. The revised route was confirmed just two weeks ago.

Villafañe, who won Leadville in 2023, finished seventh and held her overall lead in the Life Time Grand Prix standings. Leadville served as the third race in the six-race off-road series. Rollins, who was injured in the spring, did not race Sea Otter and did not complete Unbound Gravel 200 so came into Leadville in last place, but soared up to 16th place overall. Decker remains second overall and Stephens is now third overall.

Columbine creates separations but St. Kevin's decisive

The elite men were first on the course at 6:00 a.m. local time, with the elite women taking off 10 minutes later, as sunshine broke the darkness of a cloudless sky above the Rocky Mountain town of Leadville, the highest incorporated city in North America at 10,152 feet above sea level.

The modified 102-mile route brought a total of 9,897 feet (3,016 metres) of elevation gain, with cool temperatures of 41°F (5°C) for the early miles.

A large number of the women's peloton went down in a crash after just six miles, with Rollins one of the last riders to pick herself up, all riders back on their bikes and no major issues noticed on the broadcast cameras.

Another four miles later, on the early sections around the new eastbound direction around Turquoise Lake, Decker was the first rider to make a move, charging to the front and opening a five-second gap to Lange. A group of four formed a solid group behind the duo a few more seconds back - Rollins, Stephens, Hayley Preen (Factor Racing) and Alexis Skarda (Q36.5 Off Road Racing).

Samara Sheppard of New Zealand was then 20 seconds back riding solo between that foursome and a twosome of Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) and Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM). Other early favourites now chasing early were Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless) and former Leadville winner Hannah Otto (Scott Sports USA) to round out the top 10.

Once at the 38-mile time check at Twin Lakes, with the climb to Columbine Mine approaching, Decker continued a fierce pace to open nearly one minute to Lange. A full two minutes behind Lange, the quartet of Rollins, Stephens, Preen and Skarda continued together. Moves had been made by Onweller to connect with Villafañe and Klöser as Sheppard dropped back slightly and a second foursome gave chase another two minutes back.

Decker pushed solo at the front on the roughest part of the Columbine climb, the 'goat trail', while behind Rollins made the pass of Lange to ride in second place, 1:30 behind the lone leader. Lange filled the third spot on the climb, one minute behind Rollins while Stephens was fourth, another 1:35 back.

Shortly after making the turnaround atop Columbine, Decker had no one for company at the front, but once on the journey back to Leadville she saw Rollins in pursuit, the gap 1:01. Next on the two-way traffic, Decker saw Lange and Stephens, with larger time gaps building at 5 minutes to third place and 5:25 to fourth place.

On a paved section on the inbound beyond Twin Lakes, Rollins could see Decker. The catch was made with 37.5 miles to go. The gap behind to Lange and Stephens, still together, had grown to 7 minutes, with Lange doing the bulk of the work.

With 11 miles to go, the two carried on, with Decker trying to accelerate away at the base of St Kevin's, but a counter move was made by Rollins and she began to pull away. Rollins was able to extend her gap on the descent, and once Decker reached the rocky base behind, she suffered a flat tyre, shown on the live broadcast off her bike, not once but twice, and working to seal a leak.

Rollins knew she was alone, looking back a few times, but was not aware that Decker had stopped. Going for a second win, Rollins pounded out the miles next to the railroad tracks headed into Leadville and once on the tarmac of Sixth Street could celebrate.

Results

Place	Full Name	Diff
1	Melisa Rollins	05:58:43
2	Cecily Decker	+0:04:47
3	Lauren Stephens	+0:11:31
4	Sarah Lange	+0:11:58
5	Hayley Preen	+0:23:08
6	Alexis Skarda	+0:25:59
7	Sofia Gomez Villafañe	+0:29:50
8	Hannah Otto	+0:30:17
9	Paige Onweller	+0:34:59
10	Samara Sheppard	+0:35:41

Leadville Trail 100 MTB: Keegan Swenson outsprints Matt Wilson to win record-tying sixth elite men's race

jackie.tyson@futurenet.com (Jackie Tyson) — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 17:47:57 +0000

Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road) won a hard-fought sixth consecutive title at Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB presented by Kenetik, having to come around New Zealand's Matt Wilson (Scott Sports USA-Shimano) in a two-rider sprint. The pair, who moved away from a four-rider breakaway in the final three miles of the 102-mile race, finished in 5:20:26 on a revised course.

The sprint for third went to Bradyn Lange (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) ahead of John Gaston (STRAFE-Specialized), the US Gravel National Champion finishing 24 seconds back for the final podium spot.

Swenson and Gaston, who have gone one-two in the race three times before, grabbed a late lead across Carter Summit with 14 miles to go. A few miles later Lange and Wilson closed a 21-second gap to form the front quartet of elite men.

With three miles to go, Wilson got out of the saddle on a wide dirt road for an attack. Swenson reacted, grabbing his wheel as the two struck out together. A steady grind from Gaston and Lange kept the gap to around 10 seconds, but they never got closer.

Back on the pavement in Leadville, Wilson had a half-wheel lead on the marathon mountain bike World Champion as they rode side by side. On the final stretch of Sixth Street, Swenson kicked late to the front and won Leadville for a sixth time, which now ties the record for wins set by US rider David Wiens (2003-2008).

Swenson's last five victories came in dominant fashion, and the 2026 race was the first time the Specialized rider needed a sprint finish to win.

"It was a hard one today. Physically, it wasn't like the hardest Leadville, until the very end when we started really ripping. But just such a different race, very tactical," Swenson said on the Life Time Grand Prix livestream at the finish.

"I wasn't quite sure how big the group would be after Columbine on the way back. I had a small gap, but it wasn't enough to stay away. So I figured it was best to wait for those guys and then just roll with them and try and figure it out at the finish."

Swenson extended his lead in the Life Time Grand Prix with his victory, his first in the three races held so far in the off-road series. Lange moved up to second in the elite men's series standings while Wilson moved into the top 10.

Gaston, who has finished on the podium each of the last four years, missed by just one spot this time. He is not part of the Grand Prix. Another early contender outside the Grand Prix was Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), who was second overall in his only other appearance in 2019, and he finished ninth, 8:50 off the pace.

Chasers close down Swenson

Quinn Simmons leads Keegan Swenson on early section of Leadville Trail 100 MTB course 2026 (Image credit: Life Time)

Riders lined up in the dark before the sun cast any light into the Rocky Mountain town of Leadville and set off at 6:00 a.m. local time with cool temperatures, 41°F (5°C). The rains from earlier in the week had packed down dirt roads, and with light winds and sunny skies, the conditions were near perfect.

The modified 102-mile route brought a total of 9,897 feet (3,016 metres) of elevation gain, starting from the highest incorporated city in North America at 10,152 feet above sea level.

A large group of 20 riders pushed to the front on the early St Kevin's double-track dirt. Another 18 riders bunched together 30 seconds back.

At the third time check, 38 miles in, the two groups reformed as one pack of 38 riders, with no major moves launched yet.

Passing the Twin Lakes Dam time check, with 38 miles covered, Drew Dillman rode at the front, with a group of 32 riders lined behind by 15-30 seconds. Another three miles as the road crept closer to the official base of Columbine, young New Zealander Matt Wilson, John Gaston, Keegan Swenson, Quinn Simmons, Bradyn Lange, Brendan Johnston and Andrew L'Esperance picked up the pace, creating a small gap to a dozen other riders.

As the clock clicked past two and a half hours, Swenson and Wilson had the dirt road to Columbine Mine all to themselves, for the time being. Making the right-hand bend onto the 'goat trail' section where the rocks get chunkier, and the doubletrack narrows, Swenson had a few bike lengths on Wilson, and slowly began to take more seconds. By the crest of Columbine and reversing direction for the return trip to Leadville, the World Champion had 20 seconds on Wilson.

Behind, Pellaud was the third rider to begin the return trip, with Gaston and Andreas Seewald along for company one minute behind Swenson. Cole Paton chased 10 seconds behind that trio, with Lange and Johnston forming a duo two minutes from the leader. Toby Røed and Simmons were next in line in the chase, 1:50 behind the five-time champion, with Payson McElveen a minute behind them.

On the rough descent back on the goat trail section of Columbine, Swenson blasted along the trail all alone, only seeing a few riders pass to his left as they began their ascent.

However, at the base of Columbine, passing the Lost Canyon area with less than 45 miles to go, five riders had come together for the chase and were within 30 seconds of the leader - Lange, Wilson, Seewald, Paton and Gaston. Pellaud chased that group and had 14 seconds to wipe away his gap. Johnston rode in eighth place, 1:30 behind Pellaud, and it was another 2:45 to Røed and Simmons.

The catch of Swenson was made at the Twin Lakes area with under 37 miles to go, now a front group of seven, which included Pellaud.

Another 10 miles further, at a feed zone, Seewald slowed down to take his bottle and had to catch back into the lead group. The seven then went into action taking turns at the front, though Swenson seemed to be at the front with longer pulls.

With 15 miles to go on a pavement section, Swenson made an acceleration and only Gaston was able to match the pace, gaining a quick 10 seconds on Wilson, Lange, Pellaud and Seewald, with Paton fading. Pellaud then suffered a flat tyre was struggled to finish.

Across Carter Summit, the duo held a gap of 21 seconds to the group of four chasers, with less than 14 miles to go. A few miles on, after passing the former return on Powerline, a 12% gradient on the wooded section had the two headed to St. Kevin's on the top side of Turquoise Lake.

The deal was not done, though, as Wilson and Lange drilled the chase on the St. Kevin's dirt road and made a connection to the two leaders with just under 7 miles to go. Three US riders and one Kiwi then settled in for the battle for three podium spots.

Results

Elite men top 10
Place	Full Name	Diff
1	Keegan Swenson	05:20:26
2	Matthew Wilson	--
3	Bradyn Lange	+0:00:24
4	John Gaston	+0:00:25
5	Andreas Seewald	+0:01:19
6	Cole Paton	+0:05:00
7	Brendan Johnston	+0:05:33
8	Torbjorn Andre Roed	+0:08:47
9	Quinn Simmons	+0:08:50
10	Payson Mcelveen	+0:12:22

Volta a Portugal: Race leader Alexis Guérin climbs to second stage win on stage 9

Lyne Lamoureux — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 16:50:35 +0000

Race leader Alexis Guérin (Anicolor-Campicarn) launched from a select trio in the final 500 metres on the famous Senhora da Graça climb to win stage 9 and claim his second stage victory at the Volta a Portugal.

The win cemented Anicolor's dominance of the race, with Artem Nych crossing the line in third place. José Neves (GI Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO) took second place, having escaped from a select lead group with the pair 4km from the top of the final climb.

The pair have held the top two spots since stage 4's summit finish at Torre, and now hold an increased lead after former third-place holder Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) lost 3:31 after an unfortunate puncture on the penultimate climb.

Pedro Silva (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista) was the main beneficiary, racing off into the distance with the rest of the GC men and gaining 2:33 to move up to third overall. He held on in the face of an onslaught from Neves on the final climb, but managed to keep hold of his spot by just six seconds at the top.

“We’ll see in Porto. I don’t know how much of a lead I have in the general classification. Porto is a technical course, and I’ll have to wait until the finish line before I can be happy, in quotes, about winning this Volta,” said Guérin.

The Frenchman, wearing a black leader’s jersey to honour Finlay Tarling, the day after the 19-year-old tragically died on stage 8, added, “Today, this victory gives me time overall, but it is also for this young man who was talented.”

Ahead of the final stage in Porto, Guérin leads by 1:02 to take Anicolor's fourth Volta triumph in five years. Double winner Nych is second, while Silva lies 4:30 down.

Racing concludes on Sunday with the final lumpy 136.9km stage between Maia and Porto.

Stage 9 connected the Monastery of Vilela, in Paredes, to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace, in Mondim de Basto. The Queen Stage with 3,223 metres of elevation gain over 142.3km featured the legendary climb to Senhora da Graça (8.4km at 7.4%). However, before the summit finish, riders also had to tackle the first category Alto de Carvalhais (9.6km at 6.6%) with a long gravel section towards the summit and at the plateau.

The race held a moment of silence to honour NSN Cycling Team’s Finlay Starling after his tragic death during stage 8 before the racing got underway.

A break of four riders, who escaped after the first intermediate sprint in Paredes, was joined by a large chase group to form, momentarily, a break of 18 riders off the front. They built a lead of over two minutes but broke apart on the demanding terrain.

Oscar Rota (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista) pulled away from the break on the early slopes of the Alto de Carvalhais with its pitches maxing out at 10.3%. Meanwhile, chaser Lorenzo Quartucci (Burgos-Burpellet-BH) was caught by a select group of GC favourites

Third on GC, Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) suffered a puncture on the gravel sector, losing a minute before he got a new bike from his team car.

On the descent, with 33km to go, Rota was reeled in by a group of 11 riders. The selection included Guérin, Nych, Neves and his teammate Rui Carvalho.

Rota's teammate Pedro Silva, Tiago Antunes and Keegan Swirbul (Efapel), Diogo Barbosa, Guilherme Mestre (Tavira-Crédito Agrícola), Jesus Del Pino (Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé), and Emanuel Duarte (Credibom-L.A. Alumínios-Marcos Car) were also along for the ride.

Come the start of the final climb, Pericas lay 2:40 down as Rota, pacing the lead group of 12, worked for teammate Pedro Silva.

With 20 kilometres to go, Pericas, joined by more riders, continued to lose time, up to two minutes behind the lead group. Not long afterwards, it was Anicolor time as Nych and Guérin pushed the pace. The pair took José Neves with them with 4km to go as Silva, Antunes, and Duarte dropped away.

Neves, hoping to gain the 58 seconds he needed to pass Silva for that virtual third, pulled the Anicolor duo to the line, where Guérin had the pace left in his legs to jump past, sealing his second stage win and overall victory.

Results

Stage 9 results
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	3:44:55
2	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:00:03
3	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:00:09
4	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:00:46
5	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:00:46
6	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:00:59
7	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:01:08
8	Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:01:22
9	Keegam Swirbul (USA) Efapel Cycling	00:01:32
10	Rui Carvalho (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:02:27
11	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:02:49
12	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	00:03:31
13	Abner González Rivera (PuR) Feirense - Beeceler	00:03:33
14	André Ribeiro (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:04:05
15	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:04:25
16	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:04:34
17	David Dominguez Vilchez (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:05:20
18	Carlos Garcia Pierna (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:06:01
19	Diogo Gonçalves (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:06:36
20	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:07:36
21	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:07:36
22	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:08:14
23	Pedro Figueiredo Leme (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:08:22
24	Harrison Wood (GBr) Feirense - Beeceler	00:08:41
25	Eduardo Perez-Landaluce Gonzalez (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	00:08:41
26	Angel Lorenzo Sanchez Rebollido (Spa) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:08:52
27	André Carvalho (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:09:09
28	Viacheslav Ivanov (Rus) Feirense - Beeceler	00:09:21
29	Jorge Galvez Lopez (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:09:53
30	Guilherme Mestre (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:10:01
31	Gaspar Gonçalves (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:10:01
32	Henrique da Silva Avancini (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:10:01
33	Francisco Campos (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:10:24
34	Lorenzo Quartucci (Ita) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:11:35
35	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	00:14:03
36	Joaquim Silva (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:14:03
37	Afonso Silva (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:14:03
38	Jeremy Smith (Aus) Obidos Cycling Team	00:14:03
39	Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:14:03
40	Alexandre Montez (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	00:14:37
41	Ailetz Lasa Lizarraga (Spa) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:14:43
42	Maksym Bilyi (Ukr) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:14:43
43	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:14:43
44	Daniel Viegas (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:14:43
45	Diogo Narciso (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:14:43
46	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:15:18
47	Lucas Lopes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:15:26
48	Gonçalo Carvalho (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:15:26
49	Daniel Cavia Sanz (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:18:04
50	Pedro Pinto (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:18:29
51	Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali (UAE) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	00:18:42
52	Danny van der Tuuk (Pol) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:21:27
53	Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:21:27
54	João Matias (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:22:49
55	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	00:22:49
56	Conn Mc Dunphy (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:23:50
57	Andrew Lydic (USA) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:23:50
58	Jade Rohde (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	00:23:50
59	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:23:50
60	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	00:23:50
61	Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:23:50
62	João Oliveira (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:23:50
63	Bruno Martins Lemes (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:23:50
64	Hugo Nunes (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:23:50
65	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:23:56
66	Fábio Oliveira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	00:24:50
67	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:24:50
68	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:24:50
69	Rafael Reis (Por) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:24:54
70	Gabriel Sousa Silva (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:24:54
71	Jaime Torres Arias (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	00:24:54
72	Edson Gilmar de Rezende Junior (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:24:54
73	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	00:24:54
74	Bruno Maceiras (Por) Obidos Cycling Team	00:24:54
75	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:24:54
76	Rafael Sousa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:24:54
77	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:24:54
78	Jaume Espuis Rel (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	00:24:54
79	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	00:25:13
80	Filipe Francisco (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:25:17
81	Cláudio Leal (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:25:17
82	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:25:17
83	Ferran Miravalles Badimon (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	00:25:19
84	Diogo Pinto (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:25:19
85	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:25:33
86	Francisco Morais (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:25:33
87	Leangel Meneses (Ven) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:25:34
88	Francisco Pereira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	00:25:34
89	César Martingil (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:25:34
DNS	Alvaro Garcia Gimenez (Spa) Nsn Development Team
DNS	Zachary Marriage (Aus) Nsn Development Team
DNS	Ben Morin (Can) Nsn Development Team
DNS	Emil Nielsen (Den) Nsn Development Team
DNS	Finlay Tarling (GBr) Nsn Development Team
DNS	Alexander Hewes (Aus) Nsn Development Team
DNS	Carlos Salgueiro (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola

General classification after stage 9
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	27:14:30
2	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:01:02
3	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:04:30
4	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:04:36
5	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	00:05:38
6	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:05:53
7	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:06:36
8	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	00:06:54
9	Rui Carvalho (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:10:31
10	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:11:55
11	Abner González Rivera (PuR) Feirense - Beeceler	00:12:46
12	Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:13:17
13	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:14:33
14	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:17:30
15	David Dominguez Vilchez (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:18:30
16	Carlos Garcia Pierna (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:18:42
17	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:20:52
18	Harrison Wood (GBr) Feirense - Beeceler	00:22:20
19	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	00:23:31
20	André Ribeiro (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:27:42
21	Angel Lorenzo Sanchez Rebollido (Spa) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	00:28:11
22	Pedro Figueiredo Leme (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:31:28
23	Eduardo Perez-Landaluce Gonzalez (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	00:33:11
24	Afonso Silva (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:37:56
25	Ailetz Lasa Lizarraga (Spa) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:38:15
26	Lorenzo Quartucci (Ita) Burgos Burpellet BH	00:38:41
27	Henrique da Silva Avancini (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	00:38:45
28	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:39:50
29	Keegam Swirbul (USA) Efapel Cycling	00:40:29
30	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	00:42:17
31	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	00:42:36
32	Daniel Viegas (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	00:48:09
33	Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:50:16
34	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00:51:39
35	Lucas Lopes (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:52:08
36	Gaspar Gonçalves (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	00:53:40
37	Viacheslav Ivanov (Rus) Feirense - Beeceler	00:55:50
38	Francisco Campos (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	00:57:00
39	Joaquim Silva (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:58:15
40	Diogo Gonçalves (Por) Efapel Cycling	00:58:20
41	Jeremy Smith (Aus) Obidos Cycling Team	01:05:12
42	André Carvalho (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:07:47
43	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	01:08:52
44	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:10:41
45	Maksym Bilyi (Ukr) Burgos Burpellet BH	01:10:47
46	Jorge Galvez Lopez (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:10:55
47	Rafael Reis (Por) Anicolor/Campicarn	01:11:07
48	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:11:50
49	Gonçalo Carvalho (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	01:11:52
50	Daniel Cavia Sanz (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	01:13:41
51	Guilherme Mestre (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	01:13:45
52	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	01:15:08
53	Diogo Narciso (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:15:28
54	Hugo Nunes (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:17:53
55	Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali (UAE) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	01:19:17
56	Pedro Pinto (Por) Efapel Cycling	01:19:28
57	Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	01:25:47
58	Bruno Martins Lemes (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	01:26:22
59	Cláudio Leal (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:27:53
60	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	01:28:39
61	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	01:31:31
62	Danny van der Tuuk (Pol) Euskaltel-Euskadi	01:34:56
63	João Matias (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	01:35:12
64	Andrew Lydic (USA) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	01:35:42
65	Filipe Francisco (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	01:35:44
66	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	01:36:18
67	Jaume Espuis Rel (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	01:38:29
68	Alexandre Montez (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	01:38:30
69	Jaime Torres Arias (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	01:42:14
70	Edson Gilmar de Rezende Junior (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	01:42:24
71	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:42:50
72	Conn Mc Dunphy (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	01:42:56
73	Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Anicolor/Campicarn	01:43:19
74	Gabriel Sousa Silva (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	01:50:13
75	Fábio Oliveira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	01:53:26
76	Diogo Pinto (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:53:30
77	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	01:54:20
78	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	01:56:18
79	João Oliveira (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	01:56:26
80	Ferran Miravalles Badimon (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	01:57:30
81	Leangel Meneses (Ven) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	01:58:02
82	Rafael Sousa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	01:59:40
83	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	02:00:58
84	Francisco Pereira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	02:02:00
85	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	02:03:41
86	Jade Rohde (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	02:05:05
87	César Martingil (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	02:06:29
88	Francisco Morais (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	02:10:16
89	Bruno Maceiras (Por) Obidos Cycling Team	02:13:41

Arctic Race of Norway: Thomas Silva holds off Lennert van Eetvelt on steep uphill sprint to win stage 3 and takes race lead

Lyne Lamoureux — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 16:29:36 +0000

Thomas Silva (XDS-Astana) countered an attack by Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) in the final kilometre of the final climb up “Norwegian mini-Mont Ventoux”, Storheia, to win stage 3 of the Arctic Race of Norway.

Crossing the line nine seconds later, Alessando Pinarello (NSN Cycling Team) took third.

A dwindling peloton caught the final breakaway rider with five kilometres to go. From there, Picnic-PostNL took over the pacemaking on the steep narrow road, while more riders were shelled.

Van Eetvelt, who had stayed in fourth wheel on the lower slopes, made his move with one kilometre to go, on the brutal 15% steep pitch. Silva and Pinarello covered the move, and then Silva came around to push the pace, getting a small gap. The Belgium chased but was not able to close the metres separating the two before the finish line.

"Now I stay really happy. It's a really hard final," Silva said.

“We knew today's finish wasn't ideally suited to my characteristics because the final climb was long and very steep. But the team believed in me, I was feeling quite good myself, so we decided to go for the stage win, and the team gave me full support," Silva said.

"The pace on the final climb was very high, but I chose to ride at my own rhythm until the last kilometre. Marco Schrettl stayed with me the whole time, supporting me, which helped me remain in the leading group until the finale. Then I simply gave everything I had in the final acceleration, and it was enough to win."

The first summit finish delivered the expected shakeup on the general classification with Silva having 10 seconds on Van Eetvelt, and 21 seconds on Pinarello.

The world’s northernmost road cycling race concludes with hilly stage 10, 190.5 kilometres from Sortland to Narvik.

After two days for the sprinters, it was time for the puncheurs to shine on stage 3, a hilly 146.5 kilometres from Stokmarknes to the race’s hardest climb, Storheia. Called Norwegian mini-Mont Ventoux, the finish ascent is 3.5 kilometres averaging 11.8%. But before that, the riders had to face two climbs and the important intermediate sprint and its associated time bonus sprint on the figure-eight-shaped course of the Queen Stage.

The peloton, with the NSN Cycling team lined up at the front, paused for a minute of applause to honour NSN’s Finlay Starling after his tragic death during stage 8 at the Volta a Portugal before the racing got underway.

Immediately after the flag drop, on a chilly day, as the rain started to fall with temperatures of 13 °C, five riders pulled away from the front and had a 1:22 gap after 10 kilometres. The all-Scandinavian break included Erik Vang Aas (Drali-Repsol), Thomas Eriksen (Lillehammer CK), Aksel Laforce (Ringerike) and Lucky Sport’s duo of Morthen Wang Baksaas and Finnish road champion Axel Källberg.

The battle for mountain points raged in the break with Aas able to close his deficit to 1 point to KOM leader Baksaas in the two KOM climbs. Aas and Baksaas then dropped out of the break, leaving the other three to continue on.

Meanwhile, Modern Adventures mostly, Pinarello-Q36.5 and XDS-Astana and Modern Adventures, but not race leader Giovanni Lonardi’s team Polti VisitMalta, took turns at the front to keep the gap manageable, under the 2-minute mark.

With 44 kilometres to go, the trio off the front had 1:23 gap as the skies cleared up, and riders took their rain gear off.

The peloton, with Modern Adventure on the right-side and Pinarello-Q36.5 on the left, brought the gap to 45 seconds with 15 kilometres to go.

NSN took over the front with seven kilometres to go, as Källberg took a last ditch flyer, with a gap of 17 seconds, but he was caught two kilometres later.

Teams jostled for position at the front, as the steep narrow road shelled riders off the back with four kilometres to go. TotalEnergies and then Picnic-PostNL set the pace at the front heading towards the 15% ramp to start the final kilometre.

Results

Stage 3 results
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana	3:29:11
2	Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	00
3	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	09
4	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL	09
5	Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Jayco-AlUla	15
6	Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	16
7	Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Totalenergies	19
8	Wouter Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	20
9	Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies	24
10	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	26
11	Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	35
12	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	35
13	Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana	45
14	Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels	50
15	Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike	53
16	Mark Donovan (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	53
1:00	Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta
1:00	Byron Munton (RSA) Modern Adventure
1:05	Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
1:11	Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
1:11	Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
1:22	Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL
1:22	Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets
1:22	Joseba Lopez Cuesta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
1:22	Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise
1:22	Damien Howson (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5
1:22	Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
1:31	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla
1:31	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi
1:36	Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
1:38	Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team
1:42	Magnus Kulset (Nor) Team Ringerike
1:47	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team
1:50	Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
1:50	Alessandro Covi (Ita) Jayco-AlUla
1:53	Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta
1:55	Thomas Gachignard (Fra) Totalenergies
1:55	Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
1:58	Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise
2:08	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team
2:08	Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
2:08	Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol
2:13	Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché
2:16	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise
2:18	Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana
2:18	Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team
2:29	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets
2:34	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché
2:34	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team
2:39	Andréa Mifsud (Mlt) Polti-VisitMalta
2:44	Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team
2:46	Christopher Jensen (Den) Jayco-AlUla
2:46	Samuel Leroux (Fra) Totalenergies
2:46	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure
2:52	Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol
3:10	Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan
3:13	Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty
3:18	Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol
3:26	Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team
3:47	Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta
3:47	Ward Vanhoof (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise
3:51	Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets
3:51	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike
3:59	Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team
4:01	Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team
4:14	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise
4:42	Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché
5:02	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets
5:11	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla
5:26	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility
5:30	Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché
5:30	Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
6:04	Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team
6:16	Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike
6:23	Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team
6:27	Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
6:36	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies
6:36	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies
6:41	Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team
6:41	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team
6:41	Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team
6:41	Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team
7:26	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol
7:26	Dillon Corkery (Irl) Picnic PostNL
7:58	Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team
7:58	Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL
7:59	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5
8:01	Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise
8:40	Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol
9:03	Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team
9:03	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure
9:03	Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure
9:06	Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike
9:09	Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5
9:13	Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) XDS Astana
10:02	Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta
10:02	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta
10:02	Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
10:19	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure
10:35	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi
10:47	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure
11:02	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
11:06	Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team
11:56	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping
11:56	Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5
12:53	Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike
12:53	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team

Top 10 general classification after stage 3
Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana Team	11:31:07
2	Lennert Van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	0:00:10
3	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	0:00:21
4	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Team Picnic PostNL	0:00:25
5	Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Team Jayco-AlUla	0:00:31
6	Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:00:32
7	Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Team TotalEnergies	0:00:35
8	Wout Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	0:00:36
9	Joris Delbove (Fra) Team TotalEnergies	0:00:40
10	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:00:42

Michael Woods to come out of road retirement for home World Championships in Montreal

Patrick Fletcher — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:56:23 +0000

Canada have unveiled their men's squad for the upcoming UCI Road World Championships on home soil, and there's plenty of quality, but one name stands out.

Michael Woods, the 39-year-old who retired from road racing at the end of 2025, is on the list of six names.

Woods, a former distance runner who came late to cycling but earned considerable success, including a stage win at the Tour de France and the silver medal at the 2018 Road Worlds, has joined the gravel circuit in 2026 amid his road racing retirement.

He's even branching into mountain biking, lining up in his first flat-bar race at Leadville Trail 100 MTB on Saturday. However, he'll soon be back on the road after being selected for one of the very biggest races in the world, the elite men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships, taking place in Montreal.

"Michael Woods, a Tour de France stage winner, three‑time Vuelta a España stage winner, double La Route d’Occitanie GC champion, and former World Championships podium finisher, joins the team with world-class experience and leadership," read a statement from Cycling Canada announcing their elite men's squad.

Canada will be led by Lidl-Trek's Derek Gee-West, with support coming from fellow WorldTour pros Hugo Houle, Michael Leonard, and Pier-André Côté, while the squad is rounded out by Nickolas Zukowsky, who rides for the second-tier Pinarello Q36.5 team.

Woods, then, is an outlier. But this unusual arrangement will scratch an itch, allowing him a farewell on home soil after his planned swan song at last year's GP de Montréal failed to materialise due to a hernia injury.

"I really wanted to end my career in Montreal. I didn’t do that last year due to a hernia. I ended up getting surgery for that and it wasn’t the ending to my career that I wanted," Woods told Canadian Cycling Magazine.

"Also, I really wanted to do Road Worlds in Montreal but couldn’t wrap my head around doing a full WorldTour calendar. I’m just really glad I got the opportunity to do this alternative calendar. It’s kept me in great shape. I feel really fortunate to have been selected. But I also think I did some really good racing over the course of the year to prove that I’m still in good form. I think I’ll still be a valuable asset to the team at Worlds."

Woods did race the national championships road race in June, but this push for Worlds comes as a more sustained spell on the road, which will include the GP de Québec and GP de Montréal WorldTour races in September in the build-up to Worlds.

Canada is fielding a national squad for GPs de Québec and Montréal, which will act as a springboard towards Worlds for most of the sport's biggest stars, so Woods will be able to test himself against a world-class peloton of his former contemporaries.

"I’m really looking forward to riding with the younger guys and hopefully I can provide some leadership to them, but selfishly, I need those races to prepare for Worlds. I feel like, if I don’t don’t do those races, it’ll be like merging onto the freeway with a moped," Woods added.

"I actually think being here at Leadville is going to be really nice preparation. It’ll cap off a nice altitude block for me. I think coming out of Leadville I will be way better aerobically and then I can just focus on putting some more intensity into my training.

"I’m hoping that after those two races [Québec and Montréal] and a small training block in the Eastern Townships with my coach, I should be ready for Worlds."

Czech Tour: In total control AJ August launches early on final climb to win stage 3

Patrick Fletcher — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 14:50:30 +0000

AJ August (Netcompany-Ineos) made it back-to-back victories at the Czech Tour, taking out the hilltop finish on stage 3 to extend his overall lead.

Wearing the yellow jersey after his victory on Saturday’s stage 2 summit finish, the 20-year-old American decided that attack was the best form of defense and put himself in a strong position to clinch the overall title on Sunday.

With the stage finishing atop the category-1 climb at Dlouhé stráně, August outsprinted Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) – who was also the runner-up the previous day – to the line.

In a repeat of the stage 2 podium, Domenico Pozzovivo (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) was third, trailing home several seconds down.

The stage came down to the final climb, which was relatively shallow until the steeper pitches in the final couple of kilometers. Ineos rode strongly to keep attacks under wraps until the final 2km, whereupon August decided to take matters into his own hands.

His first acceleration thinned the group to several riders, and his secondary kick reduced it to just the top three from the previous day. Pozzovivo was dropped briefly before getting back on as the finish line neared, but when August opened up the sprint he was gone again.

Fancellu put up a strong fight once again but couldn’t match August’s power and trailed home one second down.

With bonus seconds taken into account, August extends his overall lead from six seconds to 11 seconds over Fancellu, with Pozzovivo third at 23 seconds.

The race is still far from settled, however, with another hill-top finish to conclude the Czech Tour on Sunday.

"It's great to hold onto the yellow jersey, but it's even better to win the stage. It was similar to yesterday. The climb was tough today, but on both days it came down to the final meters," said August, as he also continues to lead the young rider classification.

"The biggest threat to me remains Alessandro Fancellu, who was second both today and yesterday. There isn't a big gap between us; we're at about the same level. Tomorrow, I expect the same battle."

Results

Stage 3 results
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Andrew August (USA) Netcompany Ineos	04:03:39
2	Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:00:01
3	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:00:06
4	Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:00:13
5	Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:00:13
6	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Netcompany Ineos	00:00:13
7	Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments	00:00:13
8	Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:13
9	Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:13
10	Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:00:13
11	Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:00:13
12	Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure	00:00:21
13	Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:25
14	Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team	00:00:25
15	Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:00:32
16	Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:00:37
17	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:00:37
18	Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep	00:00:37
19	Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:00:37
20	Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:00:37
21	Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:00:46
22	Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments	00:00:54
23	Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:01:01
24	Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:01:01
25	Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:01:13
26	Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:01:13
27	Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:01:18
28	Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:01:23
29	Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:01:23
30	Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:01:23
31	Jack Haig (Aus) Netcompany Ineos	00:01:23
32	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments	00:01:33
33	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:02:07
34	Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:02:07
35	Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team	00:02:07
36	Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:02:07
37	Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:02:07
38	Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments	00:02:07
39	Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:02:15
40	Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:02:25
41	Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:02:25
42	Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure	00:02:29
43	Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:02:33
44	Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies	00:02:33
45	Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:03:14
46	Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:03:28
47	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:03:28
48	Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:03:30
49	Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:04:32
50	Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments	00:05:02
51	Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:05:51
52	Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:06:02
53	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	00:06:02
54	Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:06:02
55	Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:06:15
56	Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:06:15
57	Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:06:15
58	Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team	00:06:15
59	Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	00:06:15
60	Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:06:15
61	Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:06:48
62	Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies	00:07:32
63	Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:07:32
63	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	00:07:32
65	Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:07:32
66	Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:07:32
67	Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:07:32
68	Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:07:32
69	Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta	00:07:32
70	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	00:08:37
71	Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team	00:08:42
72	Ben Turner (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:09:17
73	Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:09:17
74	Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:09:17
75	Yen Yi 何 Ho 彥誼 (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:09:33
76	Ian Lopez de San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:09:49
77	Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep	00:09:49
78	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:10:21
79	Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:10:25
80	Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:10:25
81	Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping	00:10:25
82	Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:10:25
83	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:10:37
84	Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:10:37
85	Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:10:39
86	Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:10:39
87	Quinten de Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk	00:10:39
88	Bob Jungels (Lux) Netcompany Ineos	00:10:42
89	Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:11:20
90	Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:11:20
91	Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Netcompany Ineos	00:11:20
92	Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure	00:11:20
93	Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure	00:12:01
94	Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep	00:13:10
95	Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments	00:14:20
96	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:14:20
97	Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:14:20
98	Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies	00:14:54
99	Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:15:08
100	Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:15:10
101	Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:15:22
102	Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:16:29
103	Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:16:29
104	Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:17:09
105	Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:17:31
106	Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure	00:17:36
107	Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments	00:17:36
108	Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team	00:17:36
109	Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:17:41
110	Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping	00:17:41
111	Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:18:00
112	Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:18:10
113	Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:18:10
114	Veljko Stojnić (Srb) Team United Shipping	00:18:10
115	Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:18:10
116	Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:18:10
117	Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:18:10
118	Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development	00:18:23
119	Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:18:23
120	Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:18:52
121	Ben Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:19:20
DNF	Tomáš Vrána (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov

General classification after stage 3
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Andrew August (USA) Netcompany Ineos	11:26:02
2	Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:00:11
3	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:00:23
4	Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:40
5	Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:00:48
6	Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:00:52
7	Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:00:52
8	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Netcompany Ineos	00:00:52
9	Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:00:52
10	Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:00:58
11	Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure	00:01:00
12	Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team	00:01:04
13	Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:01:06
14	Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies	00:01:31
15	Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:01:33
16	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:01:34
17	Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:01:34
18	Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments	00:01:41
19	Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments	00:01:45
20	Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep	00:01:54
21	Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:01:58
22	Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:02:01
23	Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:02:09
24	Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:02:10
25	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments	00:02:43
26	Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:02:48
27	Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:02:56
28	Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	00:03:04
29	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:03:04
30	Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:03:12
31	Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team	00:03:15
32	Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:03:24
33	Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure	00:03:26
34	Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:03:27
35	Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:03:37
36	Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:03:39
37	Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:03:42
38	Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:04:33
39	Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:04:39
40	Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:04:39
41	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:04:40
42	Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments	00:05:22
43	Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:05:41
44	Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:06:32
45	Jack Haig (Aus) Netcompany Ineos	00:07:02
46	Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	00:07:12
47	Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:07:16
48	Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:07:36
49	Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:07:55
50	Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	00:07:56
51	Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team	00:08:55
52	Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:08:55
53	Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments	00:09:39
54	Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:09:43
55	Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:09:51
56	Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:10:21
57	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	00:10:39
58	Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:11:46
59	Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:12:11
60	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:12:19
61	Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:12:20
62	Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:12:34
63	Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:12:49
64	Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:13:13
65	Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies	00:13:13
66	Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:13:13
67	Ben Turner (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:13:34
68	Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:13:37
69	Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure	00:13:44
70	Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta	00:13:58
71	Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:14:06
72	Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:14:37
73	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00:15:52
74	Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping	00:16:08
75	Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep	00:16:35
76	Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:16:52
77	Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments	00:16:56
78	Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies	00:18:12
79	Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	00:18:12
80	Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:18:18
81	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	00:18:24
82	Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00:18:38
83	Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping	00:18:48
84	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	00:20:03
85	Quinten de Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk	00:20:19
86	Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep	00:20:32
87	Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure	00:21:29
88	Bob Jungels (Lux) Netcompany Ineos	00:21:50
89	Ian Lopez de San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:22:16
90	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	00:22:39
91	Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:24:04
92	Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:25:24
93	Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00:26:16
94	Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:26:23
95	Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	00:27:18
96	Yen Yi 何 Ho 彥誼 (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma	00:27:27
97	Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:28:52
98	Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies	00:29:28
99	Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:29:51
100	Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:30:52
101	Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:31:03
102	Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping	00:31:30
103	Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team	00:31:43
104	Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:32:26
105	Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team	00:32:40
106	Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:32:47
107	Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure	00:32:58
108	Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	00:33:00
109	Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:33:05
110	Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	00:33:05
111	Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	00:33:15
112	Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	00:35:53
113	Ben Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	00:35:57
114	Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments	00:37:47
115	Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure	00:37:50
116	Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:38:45
117	Veljko Stojnić (Srb) Team United Shipping	00:39:43
118	Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Netcompany Ineos	00:41:05
119	Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping	00:44:38
120	Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	00:50:56
121	Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development	00:55:37

'Part of me of still being in cycling is trying to become the best version of myself' – Human Powered Health pick up a former world champion

Patrick Fletcher — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:32:20 +0000

After the signing of Marta Lach announced earlier this week, the Human Powered Health team have further strengthened their roster for 2027 with the signing of former world champion Amalie Dideriksen.

Dideriksen won the elite road race rainbow jersey in Qatar in 2016, having won back-to-back world titles at junior level before that.

The 30-year-old hasn't enjoyed the greatest success in recent times, but has declared her 'racing instinct' to be back, and has voiced her desire to 'become the best version of myself'.

Transfer Guide

Cycling transfers – All the moves for 2027

Dideriksen has spent the past two seasons at Cofidis, prior to which she had two seasons apiece at Uno-X and Trek-Segafredo, following the six years at Boels-Dolmans (now SD Worx-Protime) that started her career.

"She is a rider with an incredible amount of experience, a proven winner at the highest level, and someone who has shown throughout her career that she can perform in many different types of races,” said Ro De Jonckere, General Manager of the Human Powered Health team.

"Amalie brings strength, versatility and race intelligence, but also the kind of experience that can make a real difference within a growing team."

The move to the US-registered Human Powered Health team marks a return to the Women's WorldTour, Cofidis belonging to the second-tier of women's cycling teams.

"It just looks like a really good team to work with," Dideriksen said. "They feel like they do a lot for the athletes and race in a great way. I really liked how I worked with Magnus Bäckstedt on Cofidis, then he moved on to Human Powered Health, so that makes it even more interesting for me. I’m looking forward to joining."

Dideriksen's has never quite scaled the heights indicated by the flurry of rainbow jerseys so early in her career, and the top-level success has dried up in recent seasons, with six wins in the past eight years, four of those coming at her Danish national championships.

However, after an eye-catch season in which she won the Région Pays de la Loire and collected her sixth Danish road race title, Dideriksen feels like she's on the up.

"I think I’ve found a bit back the last few years, like this racing instinct," she said. “When you as a team can really play in the finals for a good result. You can plan a lot before, but in the end you need this winning instinct or this motivation to really fight.

"I like when you enter the final part of the race where time goes slow and really fast at the same time, to make those decisions on the road."

Much has changed in the decade since Dideriksen won Worlds, with the women's side of cycling developing rapidly and becoming a far more professional environment.

"It gets more and more important now in the cycling world, with all these helping tools, which I find quite interesting," Dideriksen said in relation to Human Powered Health’s Performance Labs sports science facilities.

"I feel like now it’s also a part of me of still being in cycling is trying to become the best version of myself. Accessing basically more data and more knowledge about what I can do, I find really interesting."

Patrick Lefevere cites 'ungrateful' Mark Cavendish in analysis of Primož Roglič's possible transfer to Lotto-Intermarché

Patrick Fletcher — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 10:53:19 +0000

Former QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere has weighed in on Primož Roglič's potential transfer to Lotto-Intermarché, citing Mark Cavendish, Philippe Gilbert, and Richard Virenque from his experience of negotiating contracts with aging stars.

Roglič, the 36-year-old five-time Grand Tour champion, is out of contract at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of 2026 and has been linked with a surprise move to Belgian squad Lotto, where Lefevere was a director in the 1980s.

Lefevere went on to become the boss of the rival Belgian team currently known as Soudal-QuickStep, where he gained a reputation for signing riders when their value was relatively low and unsentimentally dispensing with them at their peak.

"There are plenty of examples of riders who want to sign a good contract at the end of their careers and then let it slide. I think I can say that I had a good gut feeling in that regard," Lefevere stated in his weekly Saturday column for Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

"When I brought Richard Virenque to the team in 2001, they wanted to hang me from the highest tree. Yet, it turned out to be a huge success," he argued.

"I offered Mark Cavendish a contract in 2021 when he wasn't worth five francs anymore, resulting in four stage wins in the Tour de France and the green jersey."

Virenque was almost 32 when he signed for the team then known as Domo Farm Frites, and went on to win three stages at the Tour de France.

Cavendish was struggling for results and on the verge of retirement towards the end of 2020, before a return to QuickStep – where he'd raced from 2013 to 2015 – kick-started an extraordinary comeback that saw the Manxman win four stages at the 2021 Tour de France. Cavendish, however, was bumped back down the pecking order in 2022 in favour of Fabio Jakobsen and would be on his way out of the team at the end of that season, eventually moving to Astana to complete his ambition to become the all-time record holder for Tour de France stage wins.

"Where my gut feeling also came in handy: knowing when not to offer someone a contract extension, despite their successes," Lefevere wrote on Saturday, citing another former rider, Philippe Gilbert.

Similarly to Cavendish, Lefevere oversaw a remarkable turnaround in Gilbert's career, with the Belgian, after years of tension with Greg Van Avermaet at BMC, finally unlocking his cobbled Classics potential and winning both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix for QuickStep. Gilbert left for Lotto in 2020 but didn't produce any major results.

"Gilbert was very well-liked with us because he was so professional, but I didn't want to pay what Lotto was offering at the time. We parted ways on the very best terms, something that wasn't the case with Cavendish," Lefevere said.

"Certainly not, because he lashed out at me in his book afterwards. I found that ungrateful. After all, I had pulled him out of the shit."

Cavendish's latest autobiography, published last year, accuses Lefevere of reneging on verbal agreements and under-paying him during what he described as a 'frankly insulting saga' when it came to negotiating a contract renewal for 2022. Cavendish had essentially covered his own salary by bringing a personal sponsor with him to QuickStep in 2021, and having returned to his former status as the Tour's top sprinter, felt he warranted a better deal than Lefevere was offering for 2022.

As for Roglič, Lefevere acknowledged that he wasn't aware of the Slovenian's current levels of motivation, which would, he indicated, be the most important factor for him as a prospective boss. However, he questioned the wisdom of a move to Lotto, highlighting the team's recent track record in signing aging stars.

"We have to be honest, that means teams aren't exactly lining up to sign him," he said of Lotto's reported interest in Roglič.

"Although Lotto has already made a few big-name signings in recent years that undoubtedly didn't come for peanuts, but where the transfer turned out not to be a success afterwards. John Degenkolb, Elia Viviani, and Philippe Gilbert rode for the national lottery for a combined six years and recorded a grand total of four victories, none of which were in the WorldTour.

"Suffice it to say: attracting and letting go of people at the right moment is a quality not to be underestimated in our world," Lefevere concluded.

Volta a Portugal to continue, but without NSN Development Team, following death of Finlay Tarling

Patrick Fletcher — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:32:59 +0000

The Volta a Portugal will continue this weekend, the race organisers confirmed, after the death of a rider, Finlay Tarling, on Friday.

Tarling, a 19-year-old Briton riding for the NSN Development Team, died on stage 8 due to a reported collision with a car.

On Saturday morning, the race organisers confirmed that the penultimate stage of the race would go ahead, though without Tarling's teammates, who have all withdrawn.

"The Volta a Portugal resumes this Saturday, in an atmosphere of profound mourning," read a statement from the race on Saturday morning.

"Before the start, a moment of tribute to Finlay Tarling will be held, involving the entire peloton and the Volta's family."

NSN Cycling statement

On Saturday morning, NSN Cycling issued a statement announcing the Development squad's withdrawal from the Volta a Portugal. The team's WorldTour squad will continue to race elsewhere this weekend.

"Following Fin Tarling's tragic passing on Friday, the NSN Development Team has withdrawn from the remaining Volta a Portugal stages," read a statement from the team.

"With the full support of Fin's parents, the WorldTour team will race on at Czech Tour and the Arctic Race of Norway. We will continue to hold Fin in our hearts as we race in his honor, doing what he loved most.

"We want to thank everyone in the cycling community and beyond for the incredible support at this difficult time."

Portuguese president, prime minister express 'deep sorrow' and condolences as tributes pour in following tragic death of Finlay Tarling

laura@cyclingnews.com (Laura Weislo) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 18:09:46 +0000

Condolences and tributes to Finlay Tarling have poured in over social media following the Welsh rider's tragic death during the Volta a Portugal on Friday, August 14, 2026.

Tarling died after a collision with a vehicle midway through stage 8 of the race from Melgaço to Fafe. A driver unaffiliated with the race reportedly entered the route leading to the fatal crash, the details of which have yet to be officially confirmed.

Portuguese President António José Seguro issued a statement expressing 'deep sorrow' after hearing of the incident.

"The President of the Republic expresses his deep sorrow for the tragic death of the young British cyclist Finlay Tarling, of the NSN Development Team, which occurred this Friday during the Melgaço–Fafe stage of the 87th Volta a Portugal," a statement on the presidential website read.

"At 19 years old, Finlay Tarling took to the road, dedicated to the sport he loved and which he honored, and his death saddens the peloton, the race, and the country that welcomed him.

"President António José Seguro also expresses his solidarity with the Board of Directors of the Volta a Portugal and the Portuguese Cycling Federation, who are facing one of the most painful moments in the history of the race, praising the dignity of the decisions taken in memory and respect for the athlete.

"The President of the Republic offers his deepest condolences to the family of Finlay Tarling, to his teammates at NSN Development Team, and to the entire cycling community, joining in their grief with deep emotion."

Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro also issued a statement on social media, writing, "I have just been informed of the accident that tragically claimed the life of cyclist Finlay Tarling, from the NSN Development Team, at the Volta a Portugal. This is news that leaves us deeply shaken. On behalf of the Government of Portugal, I send my heartfelt condolences to his family, his team, and the entire peloton."

UCI President David Lappartient posted his own statement in addition to an official UCI post, writing, "I am deeply saddened by the tragic death of Finlay Tarling during today’s Volta a Portugal.

"At just 19 years old, Finlay was a young rider with his whole future ahead of him. His loss is a profound tragedy for his family, his teammates and the entire cycling community."

The team of the Volta a Portugal leader Alexis Guerin, Anicolor-Campicarn, also issued a statement, writing, "The Anicolor Campicarn Cycling Team deeply regrets the death of Finlay Tarling, a 19-year-old British cyclist from the NSN Development Team, following a serious accident during the 8th stage of the Volta a Portugal 2026, between Melgaço and Fafe.

"The stage was neutralized and subsequently cancelled by the organization, with no sporting classification or podium ceremony, as a sign of respect and mourning.

"The Anicolor Campicarn Cycling Team joins in the grief of Finlay Tarling's family and friends, as well as all his teammates at NSN Development Team, at a time that deeply affects the entire peloton and the Volta a Portugal.

"At this moment, the sport takes a back seat. The team awaits clarification from the organization, the Portuguese Cycling Federation, and the competent authorities regarding the circumstances of what happened and the course of the upcoming days of the competition."

Stephen Park CBE, Performance Director for the Great Britain Cycling Team said: "All of us at British Cycling are heartbroken to learn of the tragic passing of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal.

"Fin was a talented rider with a fantastic future ahead of him, a loyal teammate and an all-round brilliant young man.

"Our deepest sympathies are with his parents and brother, Josh at this tragic time."

Outside of official statements, numerous teams, riders and took to social media to express their sympathy, a selection of which are embedded below.

The UCI is deeply saddened by the tragic death of British rider Finlay Tarling, who passed away following a serious accident during today’s 8th stage of the Volta a Portugal.The UCI extends its deepest condolences to Finlay’s family, friends, and teammates. pic.twitter.com/gGjpsNtE1TAugust 14, 2026

We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal today. Fin was a much loved member of our team but most importantly, he was a son, a brother, and a friend to so many. He will be deeply missed. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/PI3uWkPmvCAugust 14, 2026

Life just isn’t fair… Fucking cycling!I knew Fin personally. Such a great guy and such a sad loss.Thinking of his family and everyone close to him❤️August 14, 2026

Rest in peace, Fin.🌟Our deepest condolences to his loved onesWe stand with you all @NSNCyclingTeam https://t.co/PxXdoZZvP5August 14, 2026

La Volta a Catalunya vol expressar el seu més sentit condol per la mort de Finlay Tarling durant el dia d'avui. Traslladem tot el suport possible a l'equip, amics i familiars en aquests moments tràgics. https://t.co/hn3vFkQBXSAugust 14, 2026

Our hearts and thoughts are with the family, friends, and team of Finlay Tarling. https://t.co/qgsJEQVaBBAugust 14, 2026

Our thoughts are with Finlay Tarling’s family, friends and everyone at @NSNCyclingTeam Development Team. Such a terrible and heartbreaking loss. Rest in peace, Finlay. 🖤 https://t.co/Gg0odCfbeVAugust 14, 2026

Our deepest condolences to Finlay's family and friends, and to the whole NSN Cycling TeamRest in peaceAugust 14, 2026

Terrible news again. My condolences to the family and friends. R.I.P https://t.co/Ygqsm9f2fKAugust 14, 2026

Desde el Movistar Team queremos trasladar nuestras más sinceras condolencias por el fallecimiento de Finlay Tarling.Todo nuestro cariño y apoyo para su familia, sus compañeros del @NSNCyclingTeam y sus amigos.Descansa en paz. https://t.co/IIvqQswUZpAugust 14, 2026

Terrible news that we hate to see. Our toughts with your team and to all Finlay’s loved ones. RIP 💛 https://t.co/5qOGbZzdeOAugust 14, 2026

Our thoughts are with Finlay Tarling’s family, friends and teammates at @NSNCyclingTeam during this incredibly difficult time.Sending all our love and support to the cycling family.Rest in peace, Finlay🖤August 14, 2026

We are deeply saddened by this tragic news. Our thoughts are with Finlay’s family, friends, teammates and everyone at NSN Cycling and Development Team during this incredibly difficult time.Rest in peace, Finlay 🖤August 14, 2026

RIP Little Tarling 🕊️Trop triste et injuste de mourir si jeune sur son vélo.August 14, 2026

Our deepest condolences to his family, friends, teammates, and the entire cycling community. A young life taken far too soon. Rest in peace. 🖤 Goian bego https://t.co/1np23mAGPxAugust 14, 2026

Volta a Portugal: Neutralised stage 8 concludes in mourning following tragic death of Finlay Tarling

cyclingnews@futurenet.com (Dani Ostanek) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:30:10 +0000

The Volta a Portugal was in mourning on Friday after the tragic death of NSN Development Team rider Finlay Tarling during the 166.8km stage 8 from Melfaço to Fafe.

The 19-year-old Briton was racing off the back of the peloton when he was involved in a collision with an oncoming driver, who had driven their vehicle onto the race course, according to reporting from Portuguese national broadcaster RTP. Further details of the incident have yet to be disclosed.

Race organisers were quick to confirm the neutralisation of the stage, later announced that no racing would take place for the remainder of the day and podium ceremonies were also cancelled.

At the time of neutralisation, breakaway riders Afonso Silva (Tavira-Crédito Agrícola), Hugo Nunes (Credibom-LA Alumínios-Marcos Car) had a 40-second advantage over the peloton, led by UAE Team Emirates-XRG and the Anicolor-Campicorn team of race leader Alexis Guérin.

Both the breakaway pair and the peloton soon slowed to a crawl behind race organisation cars as the news spread through the peloton and beyond, and the race convoy continued to the finish line.

Tarling's NSN teammates – Alvaro García, Zac Marriage, Ben Morin, Emil Nielsen, and Alex Hewes – rode together towards the rear of the peloton, before later moving to the front of the group and leading the race in the final kilometres of the stage and across the finish line.

Earlier in the day, the stage got off to a fast start as attackers tried time and again to go clear at the front. Fábio Costa (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista), in the break yesterday, was on the attack on several occasions, including over the first classified climb of the day, the third-category Espinheiro (5.1km at 4.6%), after 50km of racing.

He drew out several other riders until he was out front with a group of 10. Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), as was José Neves (GI Group Holding-Simoldes UDO) – like Costa also on the attack during stage 7 – who lay fifth overall in the GC standings.

Despite Neves – 4:29 off the race lead – being in the move, their advantage quickly hit two minutes as UAE took up the pacemaking, looking to protect the third place overall of stage 7 winner Adrià Pericas.

Anicolor-Campicarn eventually contributed to the pacemaking, too, with the hilltop finish in Fafe in their sights. The finish, used yearly at the Volta, has seen victories by modern race legends including Gustavo César Veloso, Rui Sousa, and Cândido Barbosa, and both Guérin and Nych will have been eyeing it.

Racing into the final 40km, the two teams had cut the gap to a minute, and so Afonso Silva and Hugo Nunes set off in search of glory at the front.

Behind them, the rest of the break was caught, while further back, tragedy was unfolding as Tarling lost his life. The neutralisation of the race followed, with the peloton rolling to Fafe under a dark cloud.

Volta organisers haven't yet announced what they have planned for the remainder of the race, which was set to head for its famous summit finish at Senhora da Graça on Saturday before drawing to a conclusion with a final sprint stage in Porto on Sunday.

Volta a Portugal organisers confirm death of Finlay Tarling after 'serious accident' during stage 8

cyclingnews@cyclingnews.com (Cyclingnews) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:38:21 +0000

Stage 8 of the Volta a Portugal was neutralised with 23km remaining after a 'serious accident' and the death of a rider, later confirmed to be Finlay Tarling (NSN Development Team) according to race organisers.

The neutralisation was followed by an official announcement that a rider had been killed while off the back of the peloton. The nature of the incident has not been officially confirmed.

An official communiqué read: "The organisers of the Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta Jogos Santa Casa, deeply regret to announce the death of British cyclist Finlay Tarling, from the NSN Development Team, following a serious accident that occurred during the 8th stage of the race, between Melgaço and Fafe.

"At this time of profound sorrow, the organisers of the Volta a Portugal and the Portuguese Cycling Federation extend their deepest condolences to Finlay Tarling’s family, his teammates, the NSN Development Team, and all his friends and loved ones."

Tarling, 19, is the younger brother of Netcompany Ineos' Josh Tarling.

"In light of this tragic event, the race will be neutralised until the finish in Fafe, and, as a mark of respect and mourning, the podium ceremony scheduled for today will not take place.

"The organisers will provide further information as soon as circumstances allow."

According to a report by RTP, local authorities said Tarling died after being struck by a driver not affiliated with the race.

A call of a collision involving a car and cyclist came in at 3:40 p.m. when the race would have been at approximately kilometre 90 of 166.8, near the intermediate sprint at Ponte de Lima.

Tarling immediately received medical attention but died not long after the crash.

The race continued for another 50 kilometres before the peloton rode, neutralised, to the finish, with NSN riders riding together as the team confirmed the tragic news of the loss of a "much loved" member of the team.

"We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal today. Fin was a much loved member of our team but most importantly, he was a son, a brother, and a friend to so many. He will be deeply missed," the team posted on social media.

"Our deepest condolences go out to Fin’s parents Michael and Dawn, his brother Josh, and everyone who was lucky enough to call Fin a friend. Rest in peace, Fin."

Cyclingnews extends our deepest condolences to Tarling's family, friends and team. We will update this story with details as they emerge.

We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Finlay Tarling at the Volta a Portugal today. Fin was a much loved member of our team but most importantly, he was a son, a brother, and a friend to so many. He will be deeply missed. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/PI3uWkPmvCAugust 14, 2026

Arctic Race of Norway: Erlend Blikra gets a home win on stage 2

laura@cyclingnews.com (Laura Weislo) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:02:08 +0000

Erland Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) powered to the victory on stage 2 of the Arctic Race of Norway in Andenes, out-pacing Ethan Vernon (NSN) and race leader Giovanni Lonardi (Polti VisitMalta).

Lonardi's bonus seconds for third were enough to keep him in the race leader's jersey.

"It's my first time winning a pro race in Norway, so it feels amazing," Blikra said.

"The sprint was really long, and I was just waiting for somebody to pass me, because I was really tired in the last 100 meters or so."

The timely win comes on the last opportunity for the sprinters before the race heads into the hills for back-to-back summit finishes on the final two stages.

"I was really motivated for today. Yesterday I had some confidence with my fourth place, and I knew I was one of the fastest guys, but I really wanted to improve on that. I think racing on home soil just gives me extra motivation," Blikra said.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It was a cool, drizzly day for stage 2 of the Arctic Race of Norway, a 180-kilometre relatively flat stage from Bø i Vesterålen to Andenes in the far North of the Vesterålen archipelago. There wasn't much resistance to the early breakaway of four including Joseba López (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Victor Vercouillie (Flanders-Baloise), Ludvik Holstad (Ringerike), Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Lillehammer CK).

The sprinters' teams kept the move from gaining much more than 90 seconds, and even with the arrival of a reinforcement in Evertsen-Hegreberg's teammate Herman Eriksen, the gap remained steady until the final 30 kilometres.

With 12km to go, the peloton had the quintet in their sights as the road twisted and turned around the rugged coastline and onto the two finishing circuits in Andenes. A few tight corners gave the breakaway some more time out front, but they were eventually swept up into the peloton with 7.5km to go.

Lotto-Intermarché, NSN and Uno-X Mobility battled for the lead of the peloton into the final kilometre, keeping stage 1 winner Lonardi at bay. Blikra proved to be the strongest in the drag race to the line.

Results

Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	3:56:49
2	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team
3	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta
4	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure
5	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla
6	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies
7	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies
8	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping
9	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets
10	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure

GC

Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	8:01:58
2	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	0:00:04
3	Teodor De Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	0:00:06
4	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	0:00:08
5	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies
6	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana
7	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	0:00:10
8	Vincent Van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise
9	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise
10	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	0:00:12

Visma-Lease a Bike confirm Fabio Jakobsen joins team 'with immediate effect' after Picnic-PostNL departure

cyclingnews@futurenet.com (Dani Ostanek) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:58:43 +0000

Less than two weeks after Picnic-PostNL announced that Fabio Jakobsen would be leaving the team with immediate effect, Visma-Lease a Bike have confirmed the Dutch sprinter's signing on a deal through 2027.

Jakobsen, 29, has 46 pro wins to his name, including a Tour de France stage, five stages of the Vuelta a España, two editions of Scheldeprijs, and the 2022 European road title. However, he's struggled with health issues in recent seasons, including double iliac artery surgery in early 2025.

Jakobsen's most recent victory came in the opening stage of the Tour of Turkey two years ago, and both he and Visma will hope he'll get back to winning ways in his new surroundings.

"I've raced against the team for several years now, and seeing everything they've achieved throughout the years and how consistently they perform at the highest level, It's a dream come true to wear these colours," Jakobsen said.

"My goal is to get back to the level where I can compete at the highest level again and sprint for victories. As a sprinter, you never win on your own, so being part of a strong team is essential. I believe this is one of the best performance environments in the world", he says.

"I believe we can learn from each other and continue to improve together. There's a lot of work ahead, but I'm confident this is the right environment to make progress."

This season, Jakobsen has toiled away on the lacklustre Picnic-PostNL team. The Dutch team have just a single win to their name at the Tour of Turkey, where Casper van Uden – switching to Alpecin-Premier Tech next year – sprinted to victory.

Picnic currently lie 29th in the UCI world rankings, last of all WorldTour teams and below 11 second division ProTeams, and look set to face a relegation battle over the coming seasons.

Jakobsen's Turkey stage win is his sole triumph during two-and-a-half years at the squad, while his top result in 2026 is 16th on a stage of the UAE Tour.

Visma-Lease a Bike head of performance explained that the team were "looking for a specialist for the flat sprints" and believe they've found one in Jakobsen. He hasn't raced since the Dutch National Championships in June, and Visma noted that the upcoming months will be focused on 'a gradual return to competition… centred on rebuilding his condition.'

"We had been looking for a specialist for the pure flat sprints. The more we looked into Fabio's situation, the more convinced we became that there is still a great deal of untapped potential," Heijboer said.

"We believe we can create the right environment to help him unlock it. At the same time, having Fabio join us now allows us to start working with Fabio straight away instead of waiting until next season."

Analysis

Czech Tour: Netcompany Ineos dominate stage 2 to deliver AJ August to mountaintop victory and race lead

Matilda Price — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:38:08 +0000

AJ August capitalised on a strong Netcompany Ineos team effort to soar to victory and into the race lead on stage 2 of the Czech Tour, finishing atop a 15km climb to Ještěd.

Ineos had paced for almost all of the long final climb, with Ben Turner going particularly deep after his second place on stage 1, meaning August was perfectly positioned going into the final battle for the line.

Initially hitting the front quite early, the American then let Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) lead out the grinding uphill sprint before coming back around the Italian into the final 100 metres to grab the victory.

Domenico Pozzovivo (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali) finished third.

August now leads the GC by six seconds from Fancellu, taking over the leader's jersey from stage 1 winner Riley Sheehan (NSN) who put in a valiant effort but just faded near the top of the final climb.

"We let them [the break] have the same gap for a while, and then when we really start to increase the pace the gap came down quite quick so it was all under control," August said at the finish.

"It was a long climb but the gradients weren't really steep until the last kilometre, we knew we had to ride a steady pace, but then go all out in the last kilometre."

This marks August's third victory of this season after stage wins at Itzulia Basque Country and the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, and he should be one of Ineos' leaders as they try to defend the race lead over the remaining two stages.

"Definitely one of them, but we still have Embret [Svestad-Bårdseng] close on GC so we have two cards to play for sure," he said.

Friday's stage 2 from Mladá Boleslav to Ještěd was mainly flat for the first 100km, but then kicked up in difficulty for the final 55km, with back-to-back categorised climbs to the finish at Ještěd, atop a 15km ascent.

A four-rider breakaway got away early in the day, made up of Gil Gelders (Soudal-QuickStep), Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta), Martin Voltr (ATT Investments) and Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping).

They built up a gap of nearly three minutes and were out front most of the stage, surviving over the penultimate Výpřež climb, but after that Gelders and Bais pushed on as a pair, dropping the two Czech riders to try to defend a shrinking advantage.

Hitting the base of the climb, Gelders and Bais still had a 30-second gap, but Netcompany Ineos were pacing hard behind to reel them back in, and they were caught early on the climb. A few riders tried to counter, but the high pace in the bunch meant it was still a compact group going into the final 5km, aside from a few riders who were caught in a crash.

Stage 1 runner-up Ben Turner paced all the way into the final 2km with a mammoth effort, almost coming to a standstill when he pulled off to hand over to Jack Haig and the remainder of the Ineos mountain train. Leader Sheehan survived almost to the top, but cracked when the favourites started to accelerate, saying goodbye to the race lead.

After the big effort from his team, August found himself on the front possibly too early, but let Fancellu come round to launch the sprint, sticking on his wheel before pulling round in the final 100m to power to the win with a two-second margin.

"It was really incredible [on the last climb] with all the fans, it made the pain in the legs a little less but it still hurt quite bad," he said.

Results

Stage 2 results
Position	Rider (Country) Team	Time Gap
1	AJ August (USA) Netcompany Ineos	3:37:28
2	Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:00:02
3	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:00:05
4	Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:00:07
5	Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	0:00:09
6	Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:00:13
7	Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma	"
8	Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies	0:00:15
9	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Ineos Grenadiers	0:00:19
10	Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure	"
11	Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies	"
12	Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	"
13	Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	"
14	Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team	"
15	Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments	0:00:31
16	Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	"
17	Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:00:34
18	Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies	"
19	Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure	0:00:37
20	Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	"
21	Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	"
22	Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	"
23	Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep	"
24	Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	"
25	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise	"
26	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise	"
27	Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	"
28	Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:00:45
29	Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team	0:00:48
30	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments	0:00:50
31	Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise	0:00:52
32	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	"
33	Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies	0:00:55
34	Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	0:00:57
35	Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:01:00
36	Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:01:05
37	Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments	0:01:08
38	Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:01:14
39	Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	"
40	Jack Haig (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers	0:01:19
41	Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	0:01:21
42	Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure	0:01:23
43	Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:01:29
44	Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:01:35
45	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise	0:01:40
46	Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	"
47	Ian Lopez De San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure	"
48	Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:01:56
49	Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:01:59
50	Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	0:02:07
51	Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:02:12
52	Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	"
53	Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments	0:02:17
54	Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping	0:02:28
54	Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping	"
56	Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team	0:02:30
57	Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments	0:02:55
58	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	0:03:00
59	Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	0:03:06
60	Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies	0:03:16
61	Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk	0:03:21
62	Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:03:46
63	Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:03:54
64	Ben Turner (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers	0:04:03
65	Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:04:05
66	Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments	0:04:17
67	Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov	0:04:24
68	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	0:04:27
69	Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta	0:04:49
70	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:04:55
71	Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:05:00
72	Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping	0:05:23
73	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	"
74	Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:05:45
75	Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	"
76	Leander Van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise	0:06:14
77	Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	"
78	Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep	0:06:26
79	Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep	"
80	Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies	0:06:38
81	Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:08:03
82	Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	"
83	Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping	"
84	Quinten De Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk	"
85	Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure	0:08:05
86	Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure	0:09:27
87	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	"
88	Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:09:49
89	Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	"
90	Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure	"
91	Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	"
92	Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies	"
93	Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise	0:09:54
94	Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	0:10:20
95	Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies	"
96	Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies	"
97	Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:10:22
98	Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	0:10:48
99	Bob Jungels (Lux) Ineos Grenadiers	"
100	Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders- Baloise	"
101	Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov	0:11:45
102	Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping	0:12:15
103	Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies	0:12:57
104	Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov	"
105	Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:13:18
106	Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	"
107	Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	"
108	Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team	0:13:27
109	Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:13:43
110	Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments	0:14:59
111	Veljko Stojnić (Srb) Team United Shipping	0:16:17
112	Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping	"
113	Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers	"
114	Yen Yi Ho (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma	"
115	Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov	0:17:26
116	Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov	"
117	Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies	0:17:30
118	Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team	0:21:24
119	Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov	"
120	Tomáš Vrána (Cze) Tufo- Pardus Prostejov	"
121	Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers	"
122	Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development	"
DNS	Paul Fietzke (Ger) Red Bull- Bora- Hansgrohe Rookies
DNF	Peter Joseph Blackmore (GBr) NSN Cycling Team

General classification after stage 2
Pos	Rider	Time
1	AJ August (USA) Netcompany Ineos	7:22:33
2	Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:00:06
3	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:00:11
4	Filippo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:00:17
5	Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	0:00:19
6	Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:00:23
7	Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:00:23
8	Max Bock (Ger) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	0:00:25
9	Nicolas Breuillard (Fra) Totalenergies	0:00:29
10	Václav Ježek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:00:29
11	Stefan de Bod (RSA) Modern Adventure	0:00:29
12	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Nor) Netcompany Ineos	0:00:29
13	Jan Hirt (Cze) NSN Cycling Team	0:00:29
14	Jorge Gutierrez Gonzalez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:00:29
15	Alberto Carlo Monti (Cze) Att Investments	0:00:41
16	Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:00:41
17	Pablo Carrascosa Miller (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:00:44
18	Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) Totalenergies	0:00:44
19	Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:00:47
20	Samuel Fernandez Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:00:47
21	Kieran Haug (USA) Modern Adventure	0:00:47
22	Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	0:00:47
23	Fernando Tercero Lopez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta	0:00:47
24	Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	0:00:47
25	Manuele Tarozzi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:00:47
26	Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	0:00:47
27	Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:00:55
28	Gauthier Servranckx (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team	0:00:58
29	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (Pol) Att Investments	0:01:00
30	Dylan Vandenstorme (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	0:01:02
31	Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	0:01:02
32	Anatol Friedl (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	0:01:05
33	Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	0:01:07
34	Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep	0:01:07
35	Alex Tolio (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:01:10
36	Cesare Chesini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:01:15
37	Piotr Pękala (Pol) Att Investments	0:01:18
38	Unai Ramos Murillo (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:01:24
39	Jan Castellon Ribalta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:01:24
40	Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	0:01:31
41	Samuel Florez Garces (Col) Modern Adventure	0:01:33
42	Alessandro Verre (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:01:39
43	Adam Pešek (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:01:45
44	Nolan Huysmans (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	0:01:50
45	Matteo Turconi (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:01:50
46	Filip Gruszczyński (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:02:06
47	Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Col) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:02:09
48	Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	0:02:17
49	Mattia Stenico (Ita) Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber	0:02:22
50	Diego Bracalente (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:02:22
51	Dominik Neuman (Cze) Att Investments	0:02:27
52	Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team	0:02:30
53	Tomáš Přidal (Cze) Team United Shipping	0:02:38
54	Máté Endrédi (Hun) Team United Shipping	0:02:38
55	Martin Bárta (Cze) Att Investments	0:03:05
56	Paul Conor (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	0:03:16
57	Gijs Schoonvelde (Ned) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	0:03:26
58	Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk	0:03:31
59	Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:03:56
60	Michael Boroš (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:04:04
61	Ben Turner (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	0:04:07
62	Florian Samuel Kajamini (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:04:15
63	Tomasz Budziński (Pol) Att Investments	0:04:27
64	Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk	0:04:27
65	Sergi Darder Gari (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:05:05
66	Milan Kadlec (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:05:10
67	Jack Haig (Aus) Netcompany Ineos	0:05:29
68	Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk	0:05:33
69	Nikolaos Michail Drakos (Gre) Team United Shipping	0:05:33
70	Franciszek Kocur (Pol) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	0:05:51
71	Jakub Otruba (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:05:55
72	Michael Kukrle (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:05:55
73	Fabricio German Crozzolo (Arg) Polti-VisitMalta	0:06:16
74	Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	0:06:23
75	Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	0:06:24
76	Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep	0:06:36
77	Sebastian Putz (Aut) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	0:06:48
78	Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep	0:07:12
79	Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:08:13
80	Zsombor Palumby (Hun) Team United Shipping	0:08:13
81	Kamiel Bonneu (Bel) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:08:13
82	Quinten de Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk	0:09:30
83	David Lozano Riba (Spa) Novo Nordisk	0:09:37
84	Scott Mcgill (USA) Modern Adventure	0:09:59
85	Warre Vangheluwe (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep	0:09:59
86	Ibai Azanza Burusco (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:09:59
87	Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	0:10:04
88	Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies	0:10:30
89	Evan Pavis (Fra) Vendee U Primeo Energie	0:10:30
90	Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies	0:10:30
91	Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:10:32
92	Mattia Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	0:10:56
93	Jules Hesters (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	0:10:58
94	Bob Jungels (Lux) Netcompany Ineos	0:10:58
95	Ian Lopez de San Roman (USA) Modern Adventure	0:12:17
96	Vojtěch Soukup (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	0:13:12
97	Michal Schuran (Cze) Team United Shipping	0:13:39
98	Adam Bittman (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:13:53
99	Jan Kašpar (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	0:14:24
100	Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies	0:14:24
101	Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:14:45
102	Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Solution Tech Nippo Rali	0:14:45
103	Alex Beldon (GBr) Nsn Development Team	0:14:54
104	Josef Černý (Cze) Kasper Crypto4Me	0:14:55
105	Lucas Dauge (Fra) Novo Nordisk	0:14:57
106	Ben Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos	0:16:27
107	Lorenzo Nespoli (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort	0:17:28
108	Romet Pajur (Est) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	0:17:36
109	Yen Yi 何 Ho 彥誼 (Tpe) Equipo Kern Pharma	0:17:44
110	Martin Voltr (Cze) Att Investments	0:20:01
111	Harry Lasker (USA) Modern Adventure	0:20:04
112	Theodor Clemmensen (Den) Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies	0:21:17
113	Veljko Stojnić (Srb) Team United Shipping	0:21:23
114	Ondřej Pokorný (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	0:21:25
115	Samuel Boardman (USA) Modern Adventure	0:22:09
116	Roei Edinger (Isr) Nsn Development Team	0:22:51
117	Rastko Nikačević (Srb) Team United Shipping	0:26:47
118	Daniel Šilhavý (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	0:27:56
119	Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Netcompany Ineos	0:29:35
120	Tomáš Vrána (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	0:31:54
121	Matyáš Koblížek (Cze) Tufo - Pardus Prostejov	0:31:54
122	Hayden Stevens (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk Development	0:37:04

From road to gravel then back to road: Why is Wout van Aert racing the Belgian Gravel Championships for the first time ever this Sunday?

Alasdair Fotheringham — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:40:25 +0000

Using a gravel race as the final event for a Grand Tour build-up is unusual, to say the least - but that's exactly what Wout van Aert will be doing this Sunday.

Soon to take part in the Vuelta a España for three weeks - an event he has ridden once, back in 2024, where spectacular initial success was poleaxed by a terrible crash and injuries - for three hours this Sunday Van Aert will be heading off-road for his debut in the Belgian Gravel Championships.

For those looking for a reason why he'd do that so close to a Grand Tour, it turns out there are four: firstly the Gravel Championships used to held in May, but is now in August, a period when there's less racing, secondly this particular event is very close to his home town of Herentals, and thirdly - unlike other years when he would have raced - he's not riding anywhere on the road this weekend.

The fourth is maybe the most important: Van Aert likes off-road racing. If his past in cyclo-cross didn't make that clear enough, not to mention the occasional dabble in gravel racing and his longstanding series of participations in Strade Bianche (and win on the same roads in the Giro d'Italia a year last May), his victory in Paris-Roubaix this spring is the latest reminder of that.

“In August, the big advantage is that the top road riders are all available," Belgian Gravel Championships organisation member Erwin Vervecken told Wielerflits. "Quite a few riders are coming off the Tour or preparing for the autumn. In May, you had no chance with those guys. So this is ideal."

Then there's the location, Grobbendonk, barely seven kilometres as the crow flies (or the gravel racer rides) from Van Aert's village of Herentals, whilst one of Van Aert's training partners, Daan Soete (Ridley Racing), who will be taking part on Sunday, actually comes from Grobbendonk. Nor does Van Aert have any road racing obligations this weekend, unlike in 2025 when he took part in the Hamburg one-day WorldTour race, now known as the ADAC Cyclassics. (For the record, he finished tenth.)

As for the main reason, Vervecken confirmed to Wielerflits, "It's because he enjoys it. It fits into his training for the Vuelta, and he gets to ride competitively on the roads where he does a lot of gravel anyway.

“He can arrive at the start of that race without stress. If he manages to secure the title in his home region, that’s a nice bonus. If not, he won’t lose any sleep over it either. Ultimately, the real goals for him come much later in the season."

As for the course itself, Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad sent one of their reporters to ride the entire route, which centres on Grobbendonk - home to Herman Vanspringel, aka Monsieur Bordeaux-Paris after the long-defunct marathon race he won seven times, until his death in 2022 - and the neighbouring town of Bouwel, with bridges being built specially in the woods inbetween.

The toughest part of the course, according to Nieuwsblad, for the more than 1,300 participants on Sunday - including Van Aert, Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), Lotte Claes (Fenix-Premier Tech) and her teammate, elite women's defending champion Marthe Truyen - will be a disused railway maintenance track, which has been cleared of weeds over the summer specially for the occasion.

"In their place, we see an endless stretch of nearly 700 meters of loose, flaky sand, where we have to put our feet down after just five turns of the pedals, simply to avoid falling," the Nieuwsblad's article read. Residents reportedly claimed that this key section, 15 kilometres from the finish in Grobbendonk, would be where Van Aert would attack to win.

Should Van Aert fail, though, he'll have another opportunity to take a gravel victory (of sorts) in the very near future. Stage 6 of the Vuelta a España features the first-ever full gravel section of the race, a 3.5-kilometre sector close to the summit of the Cat. 1 Puerto del Bartolo.

Quite apart from its own appeal, Sunday's Belgian Gravel Championships, then, will provide a good chance to practice for that, too. Live streaming for the majority of the elite races will be provided online by Pickx.

'I am not sure what will happen in a race' – Former biathlon champion Emilien Jacquelin set to make his pro cycling debut

Owen Rogers — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:16:57 +0000

The latest convert to the professional peloton from an elite competition in an outside sport will make his debut this weekend,

Emilien Jacquelin will start La Polynormande for his new team, Decathlon-CMA CGM.

The 31-year-old biathlete will race the French Cup race this Sunday, August 16, followed by the Tour du Limousin two days later.

Jacquelin has had a successful career as a biathlete, a sport consisting of cross-country skiing and shooting, winning gold and bronze medals at the recent Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics and two silvers at Beijing 2022. He raced bikes as a child and regularly used them as part of his biathlon preparation. Having been in regular contact with Decathlon, they signed him to their Development team in March, just after the Olympics. Now, after months of preparation, he’s ready to race.

It’s not been an easy road though. Since starting training at the end of March, he’s ridden 7,330km, climbing 134,000m in the process, including an altitude training camp. During that preparation, he’s raced two French national-level events, finishing 11th and 59th, and suffered a broken collarbone in a crash.

"I am not sure what will happen in a race," he told Biathlonworld in July. "There are things I can control: to work hard every day, my nutrition, sleep well, do the best I can on intensity and try to develop my skills and relax on the bike.

"Nobody knows how I will react in a peloton. That is the biggest challenge, but I think I can be ready to be in a race in August.

"My job now is to ride 5 hours with some intensity after 4 hours," he continued, comparing the two sports. "In biathlon, I have a 30-minute warm-up, an hour thirty of intensity, cool down and go home. It is quite different.

"You can be in shape, but when you shoot bad, you use a lot of energy to understand and be better. There are skills in downhill and the peloton, but now it’s only about my pace and watts. It is not as hard mentally as shooting."

Head of performance at Decathlon, Jean-Baptiste Quiclet has been impressed with Jacquelin’s progress.

"Émilien has prepared well recently, with a challenging altitude training camp in Arc 1950," he said in a team statement. "We only gained positive results from it, as he had the time to work on his physical conditioning and string together training sessions in the mountains.

"We chose to race him immediately afterwards, knowing he would be tired, to see how his body would react.

"These are two demanding races, but they suit his profile. The goal will be for him to integrate into the team, contribute as much as possible, and experience managing such races at the professional level. Following this, we can say that part of the project is validated. Analysing these two races will allow us to discuss the next steps together."

Despite the stellar achievements of his first sport, Jacquelin knows his place as a new professional.

"These two selections represent an important step in my career, with the desire to give my all for the team," he said. "They are the culmination of several months of work during which I did everything I could to be ready for this event.

"I am aware of the opportunity I have been given, but I prefer to put emotions aside to stay focused on what I have to do in the race. Today, I have only one priority: to continue to improve and be there for the team in these first professional races."

Many other athletes have made similar moves from the elite level in one sport into the WorldTour peloton, though only a handful have proved successful.

Primož Roglič is perhaps the best known, and was famously a ski jumper before taking to two wheels, often celebrating his regular wins by mimicking the telemark landing of his earlier sport. Recent Tour de France Femmes debutant Sandrine Tas also crossed over from winter sports, having previously competed at the Winter Olympics as a speed skater.

Après plusieurs mois de préparation au sein de la structure @DCT_NewGen, marqués notamment par un stage en altitude en juillet dans la station Arc 1950, @EmilienJck s'apprête à franchir une nouvelle étape dans son projet.Il découvrira le niveau professionnel sous nos couleurs à… pic.twitter.com/hWqONQyr7EAugust 6, 2026

Vollering's World Championships quest, Courtney's WorldTour debut and big transfer intrigue – Six compelling storylines to follow in women's cycling for the rest of 2026

Owen Rogers — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:24:38 +0000

This year’s Tour de France Femmes was arguably the best of the five editions since the race reappeared on the calendar, but what’s next for the women’s peloton?

The women’s sport has seen a huge expansion since the Tour’s return in 2022, and the hallmark race brings in new fans and followers each summer, but sometimes the attention on the sport can fade slightly once the winner has packed away her yellow jersey and headed home.

However, there’s so much going on in the women’s peloton beyond the Tour as the season continues, be it the rest of the WorldTour season, the upcoming World Championships, or the transfer market.

So what have we got to look forward to in the remaining weeks of 2026, and which stories can you expect to see filling the pages here at Cyclingnews? From transfers to big races still to come, here's six compelling storylines to keep an eye on for the rest of this year.

The remaining races of 2026

As the Tour de France Femmes finds its place in our collective memories, thoughts naturally turn to the next races where we can see the top riders competing, and the calendar has not been kind, with only nine days of WorldTour racing left this season. Despite this, we only have to wait until next week to see some of the Tour de France stars in action again.

The Tour of Britain Women starts on Wednesday, August 19, with Tour de France stage winner Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) set to return after winning the opening stage last year. Also listed is green jersey winner Lorena Wiebes and her SD Worx-Protime teammate Lotte Kopecky, and they’re not the only big names. A punchy course with something for everyone is what has attracted such a stellar field, and we’re almost certain to witness five days of entertaining racing.

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) is one of a number of stars slated to start the Tour of Britain Women (Image credit: Getty Images)

The final European race on the WorldTour calendar comes at the end of August, on the rolling roads around Plouay with the one-day Classic Lorient Agglomération, which always provides tense, unpredictable racing and a good start list. After that, the WorldTour takes six weeks off before heading to China for the Tour of Chongming Island. With its bridges for climbs and nailed on bunch sprints it can be a bit of a snooze-fest, but new regulations around teams’ attendance at races means we should have better teams and a higher level of competition.

The paucity of top-level racing after August somewhat undermines much of the momentum the Tour de France bestows on the sport. However, there are reasons for it, with the Tour de Romandie Féminin being cancelled due to a lack of funds and the Simac Ladies Tour dropping down the race hierarchy and becoming the Eneco Tour Women.

Luckily, we do have a series of second-tier races coming up with the Pointe du Raz Ladies Classic, La Choralais Fourmies, GP Region Stuttgart, while the Italian pair of Giro dell’Emilia Internazionale and Tre Valli Varesine are always excellent competitive events.

And of course there are the World Championships, this year held in Montréal in September.

Can Demi Vollering finally win a rainbow jersey?

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) has won two Tours de France, the Giro d'Italia Women and Vuelta Femenina, and a host of top Classics. She’s the sport’s leading name, arguably its best climber, up there with the leading time trialists, and she even has the punch to mix it in a sprint finish, but she’s never won the rainbow jersey. Could this be her year?

She’s come close more than once, improving each year from 56th place in her 2019 debut. She was seventh in 2021 and has never finished outside the top 10 since. She was second to Lotte Kopecky in Glasgow in 2023, but when Kopecky won again in Switzerland the following year, the Belgian out-witted Vollering in the final before out-muscling her in the sprint.

But Vollering is a far more savvy rider these days. Gone are the moments of poor positioning and she is far less willing to do all the work, but there are still moments when she plays the game and loses.

She's won almost everything there is to win, but can she finally take the rainbow jersey? (Image credit: Getty Images)

Last year she was part of a group of favourites that stared each other into the abyss, as Magdeleine Vallieres took the jersey. More recently, on Mont Ventoux during the Tour de France Femmes, she and Marlen Reusser concentrated only on each other, paying the price as Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) rode away to stage victory and into yellow.

At 180km, this year’s Worlds course is the longest in the race’s history, more than 120km further than when Elsy Jacobs became the first woman to win the rainbow jersey in 1958, and three times the length of the last women’s World Championships held in Montréal.

The opening 60km are almost flat, with the vast majority of the 2,400m of vertical ascent coming during eight laps of a lumpy closing circuit, which is sure to make for a tough, attritional final. Whether it’s a pure climber’s course or not is open to conjecture, but Vollering seems to fit the bill any way you look at it.

Kate Courtney hits the road

Kate Courtney has long been a star of the mountain bike world, the American winning a host of the most illustrious off-road races, including multiple US titles, Cape Epic, the overall World Cup and two rainbow jerseys. At last year’s Leadville Trail MTB 100 she smashed the course record en route to taking the title at her first attempt.

However, rather than returning to Leadville to defend that title and take on the amended route, Courtney is beginning a new challenge on the road. She made her debut in UCI-level road racing earlier this year, riding for the US national team at the Tour Feminin in Czechia, finishing 13th overall and winning the final stage in the 2.2 level event.

After switching from MTB to road what can Kate Courtney do? (Image credit: Getty Images)

After adding another stars and stripes jersey to her collection at the US Road Nationals in June, the 30-year-old signed with Demi Vollering’s FDJ team, taking personal sponsor Red Bull with her, on a deal taking her through to the end of 2028, past her home Olympic Games.

'It's less about finding a few more watts, more about understanding the strategy' – Kate Courtney's road discovery continues with Tour de France Femmes special appearance

While some riders find the switch to the road difficult, that has not been the case for Courtney, whose programme has been greatly helped by the team’s approach. After riding two lumpy, 1.1 races in France, guiding teammate Eva van Agt to victory in one of them, she headed to Belgium, essentially on a mission to learn, riding three kermesses, winning two and finishing second in the other.

A flick through Courtney’s Instagram illustrates that she knows how much she still has to learn, and we will see just how much that is next week when she starts the Tour of Britain Women. Whatever she has to learn, Courtney is clearly born to race bikes and her progress on the road will be fascinating to follow.

Will anyone topple Lorena Wiebes?

We’ve known it for a while now, but if a race finishes in a bunch sprint and Lorena Wiebes is there, the SD Worx-Protime rider is almost certain to win. She is without doubt the best and most consistent sprinter in the peloton. We know it, her team know it, and her rivals certainly know it too.

But, like all things, her dominance is certain to end sometime – the big question is when.

This year does not yet count as a vintage season for Wiebes. Last year she added 25 victories to her burgeoning palmarès; this year there have only been 15 so far. And we’ve even seen her lose a bunch sprint for the first time in almost two years as Carys Lloyd (Movistar) won the Ronde van Brugge. And of course, there was that disqualification from the Giro d’Italia for a bike weight infringement after crossing the line first.

She hardly seems vulnerable, though – just look at her two stage wins at the Tour de France, both of which included more than 1,500m of vertical ascent, and both of which were conquered with relative ease.

Will Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) be the one to break Lorena Wiebes' winning spell? (Image credit: Getty Images)

Other than her aura of invincibility, another thing working in Wiebes’ favour is the lack of form among her rivals. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) has struggled this year, Lara Gillespie (UAE Team L’IMAD) hasn’t yet clicked, and after a promising start to 2026, Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) has tailed off drastically, failing to finish the Tour after finishing OTL on Ventoux.

With a couple of Tour of Britain stages likely to finish in a bunch kick, the other sprinters have chances of toppling Wiebes in the coming days, and the Tour of Chongming Island routinely provides three sprints. Away from the top tier, La Choralis Fourmies is one for the fast women and the Eneco Tour Women will have multiple chances. But these are chances for Wiebes too and no one would bet against her adding significantly to her 133 wins.

"There will be a point that I will be beaten in a sprint and probably the media thinks a lot about that," she told us at the UAE Tour, where she won three stages. "But then for me just focus on the good things and keep on improving and keep on being the best version that I can be."

Where will some of the top names land?

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Paula Blasi were two of the biggest stars of the Tour de France Femmes, but could be two of the biggest names on the transfer market this season, too.

After winning Amstel Gold Race and the Vuelta earlier in the year, Blasi finished fifth on her debut at the Tour, one of three riders from UAE Team L'Imad in the top 10. This despite media questioning of not only the squad’s leadership on the road, but also the Spaniard’s continued presence on the team.

There has been speculation over Niewiadoma-Phinney’s future too, with her contract at Canyon-SRAM expiring at the end of this year and a move away apparently on the cards.

She’s been with the German team since 2018, having begun her career at Rabobank-Liv in 2013, and has flourished there, and while she is not a regular winner, when they come, her victories tend to be huge statements. A move away would be a huge loss for the team, but she’s the real deal and will be an excellent addition to whichever team she joins.

Paula Blasi has ridden for UAE Team L'IMAD this year, but where will she be in 2027? (Image credit: Getty Images)

On the other hand, the inexperienced Blasi is more of a risk for any team willing to buy her out of her contract at UAE, which officially expires at the end of 2027. After starting her career in triathlon and duathlon, she burst onto the cycling scene last year following a season racing at club level in her native Spain.

Moving to UAE’s development team, she was soon promoted to the WorldTeam, winning the mountain time trial at the Tour de Romandie Féminin. This year her development has continued, with Amstel Gold Race her own statement win, followed by the general classification at the Vuelta.

There have been plenty of other wins since then too, and she’s clearly a huge talent, but whether she can justify the prospect of being the sport’s first million-Euro woman remains to be seen.

After such a brilliant 2026 Tour what will next year's route serve us?

This year’s Tour was a microcosm of the women’s sport itself. At the start of the week Demi Vollering was the nailed-on favourite to win overall and though she achieved that, wow, was it exciting.

I don’t believe in constantly judging women's cycling against men's cycling, but it's worth noting that five riders wore yellow across the nine stages of the Tour de France Femmes against the three during the 21 stages of the men's Tour. The sprint days were barely that, and other than the Mont Ventoux day, the rest of the stages consisted of punchy days, the route certainly contributing to the spectacle.

So what of next year?

The route for the 2027 race will be revealed, as usual, alongside the men’s in late October. What we do know is that the opening stages will be held in the north of England, which will hopefully provide some lumpy stages through the Peak District before the team time trial in London.

However, we’ll have to wait to see what happens when the race returns to home soil. After such a successful 2026 organisers might be tempted to try a repeat, packing the race with punchy stages of varying degrees, but variety is key. Like last year there need to be editions with more than one visit to the high mountains, some seasons with a time trial and some without.

Tour de France Femmes race director, Marion Rousse will reveal the 2027 route in October (Image credit: Getty Images)

What they should not do, and what they have already acknowledged, is make the race too hard.

"We can make the race harder, but do we want to? Not necessarily," race director Marion Rousse said at the conclusion of this year’s event. "I don't favour constantly raising the level of difficulty, but that's a personal point of view.

"I've had experience as a TV media analyst and sometimes, when it's too tough, that kills off the suspense because riders just look at each other until the last climb."

We’ll let you know what they decide.

Vuelta a Colombia cancelled mid-race to help prioritise earthquake victim relief

Alasdair Fotheringham — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:01:32 +0000

The nine-day Vuelta a Colombia has been halted mid-race to help ensure the country's emergency services can prioritise assistance for victims of the earthquake which struck the country earlier this week.

Registered 7.4 on the Richter Scale – a major earthquake – Monday's disaster has caused over 270 known deaths to date, with more than 300 people missing and many times more that number injured, as well as significant damage to buildings and infrastructure in western Colombia. It was the country's biggest earthquake in years and massive rescue operations are currently ongoing.

Now in its 76th edition, the Vuelta a Colombia had completed five of its nine stages, with the sixth due to enter Manizales, the capital of the Caldas district, one of the worst affected by the disaster.

The Colombian Cycling Federation then announced that "due to the circumstances which have arisen during the ongoing competition, the Vuelta a Colombia has been declared over."

Local racer Diego Camargo (Medellin-EPM), who had moved into the lead after stage 5 following a victorious solo ride to the summit finish of Alto el Sifón, was declared the overall winner.

Organisers emphasised that given the scale and impact of the earthquake, assistance for the victims had to take priority.

"We don't want to be having roads closed off [for racing] at the wrong moment and that could affect help being sent [to the victims]" Federation President Rubén Galeano told news agency EFE.

Initially a reduced version of stage 6 on Thursday had been planned, according to El Tiempo, in order to stop the race reaching the worst affected parts of the country. But when riders were still in the neutralised section, the decision was taken to cancel the stage, and then the race. A final winners' ceremony apparently then went ahead.

Considered one of South America's premier bike races, the nine-day 2.2-classified Vuelta a Colombia had been scheduled to finish on Sunday in the city of Medellín.

Earlier in the week, former top Colombian pro Alvaro Mejia, fourth in the 1993 Tour de France and a winner of the Volta a Catalunya, had described to El Tiempo how he and his family had been caught up in the earthquake - and strongly protested at the lack of rapid assistance to some rural areas.

"There are people out on the roadside whose homes have collapsed; they are injured and asking for help via text message, yet there is no one there to lend them a hand," Mejia, now working as a doctor, told El Tiempo.

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'The worst best decision I've ever made' – Chloé Dygert issues recovery update following double surgery

cyclingnews@cyclingnews.com (Cyclingnews) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 10:37:40 +0000

American rider Chloé Dygert has posted a recovery update after undergoing several surgeries in recent weeks, with her trials and tribulations also including a car crash.

She has logged six race days this season, racing to 39th at the Tour of Flanders, and her latest outing came at Paris-Roubaix Femmes, where she crashed out of the race on the Orchies sector of cobbles.

She suffered shoulder damage in the crash, only learning in June that she'd need to undergo surgery as non-surgical rehabilitation wasn't successful. In addition to that, she was diagnosed with RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), and imaging picked up a collapsed nasal valve.

Dygert scheduled surgeries on her shoulder and nose "as close as possible to shorten my overall recovery time and keep moving forward with the progress I'd been making with my shoulder," she said.

She called the double surgery "the worst best decision I've ever made", comparing the pain of the process to her left quadriceps laceration suffered at the 2020 Road World Championships time trial.

"I have to say, my leg accident is hard to top on the pain scale, but this combination came in at a very close second," Dygert wrote in a post on Instagram.

"Less than three weeks after shoulder surgery, I was rear-ended (I was not at fault) and ended up with whiplash through an already-recovering shoulder, which extended my recovery and still under review as it’s impossible to know what damage could have been done with the limited amount of mobility I have and inability to have another MRI as it would just be a mess from surgery.

"Then, the following week, I underwent nasal surgery—which ended up being more extensive than originally planned. Significant deviated cartilage and bone were removed, including deeper portions of my septum and maxillary crest.

"My septum was reconstructed using my own cartilage, with grafts placed on both sides to repair and stabilize my nasal valves. Both inferior turbinates were also reduced to improve airflow, and splints were stitched in place afterward."

Dygert, whose contract with Canyon-SRAM draws to a conclusion this winter, said that the car crash only added to the difficulty of recovering from a pair of surgeries so close to one another.

"Each surgery on its own would have been annoying enough, but combining the two recoveries with a car accident in the middle has made this one of the harder stretches I’ve been through in a while.

"I know that in a few weeks, this will all be worth it and eventually just another memory."

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Juan Ayuso focuses on Canadian Classics, World Championships and Monument debut at Il Lombardia for second half of season

Alasdair Fotheringham — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:29:20 +0000

After a challenging Tour de France, Lidl-Trek co-leader Juan Ayuso's program for the second half of the season looks set to centre on a series of one-day races, beginning with the Canadian WorldTour Classics and likely taking in the RUCI Road World Championships in the same country.

According to Spanish newspaper AS, Ayuso will not be taking part in the upcoming Vuelta a España, something he had already announced at the start of the season. Ayuso's absence in his home Grand Tour will be noted, all the same.

Spain's leading rider and one of the most dynamic racers in the current peloton, Ayuso took third in the Vuelta back in 2022 aged just 19, thereby becoming the youngest-ever podium finisher in the race and the second-youngest podium finisher in the history of any Grand Tour.

Since then, Ayuso finished fourth in the Vuelta in 2023 and then last year took two stage wins in an edition marked, in his case, by the drama surrounding his exit from UAE Team Emirates at the end of 2025.

Rather than take part in the Vuelta for a fourth time, AS reported, and after a challenging Tour de France where he faded in the second half and finished seventh overall, Ayuso will instead take part in the Canadian WorldTour races: the GP de Québec (September 11) and the GP de Montréal (September 13).

Ayuso's track record in both events is limited to the one year he didn't do the Vuelta, 2024, where he finished 89th in Québec and then recorded a DNF in Montréal. But despite these unremarkable results for Ayuso, the latter race was a major success for his team at the time, UAE, thanks to a trademark solo breakaway triumph by teammate Tadej Pogačar.

After the Canadian races, Ayuso is apparently aiming to stay on for the World Championships, where if selected to race for Spain – as is very likely – he'd aim to better his eighth place of 2025 and 26th of 2024 in the road race. After that, Ayuso is due to return to Europe in time to head to the UEC Road European Championships in Slovenia on October 4, again in Spanish colours.

Ayuso's program will then see him take part in Il Lombardia on October 10, another race which seems highly suited to his combination of climbing skills, attacking style, and powerful accelerations.

As AS pointed out, Ayuso has never taken part in a Monument before, despite his promising results as a one-day racer – as well as in stage racing – so far. But this autumn should see the 23-year-old set the record straight at last, and it could come after some top results in other major one-day races, too.

'I really enjoy it when a race becomes difficult' – Femke Markus strengthens Visma-Lease a Bike Classics squad with switch from SD Worx-Protime

cyclingnews@futurenet.com (Dani Ostanek) — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:16:14 +0000

Visma-Lease a Bike have announced the signing of Dutch racer Femke Markus, who makes the switch after a four-year stint with SD Worx-Protime.

The 29-year-old is Visma's first confirmed incoming transfer for 2027, and she joins Marta Lach on SD Worx's outgoing list. She has joined Visma-Lease a Bike on a two-year deal.

This year, Markus – sister of Lidl-Trek racer Riejanne – has enjoyed her strongest season since joining SD Worx from Parkhotel Valkenburg back in 2023.

Her spring Classics highlight was a top-10 finish at In Flanders Fields, while the following month she scored her first win in four years, leading an SD Worx 1-2-3 at the Antwerp Port Epic Ladies with a 26km solo move.

She narrowly missed out on becoming Dutch road champion in June, taking second in a two-up sprint with future teammate Lieke Nooijen, and she finished eighth at last month's Baloise Ladies Tour.

"What appeals to me about Team Visma-Lease a Bike is the knowledge and expertise that are present within the team," Markus said.

"I am looking forward to learning from that and continuing to develop myself. With support from The Athlete’s FoodCoach and an approach that is strongly based on science, I believe I can still take steps forward here."

Markus comes from a speedskating family. She was a junior world champion before following Riejanne in switching over to cycling. Younger sister Roos, meanwhile, has stuck to skating. She only turned pro in 2022, so her rise to the top of the Women's WorldTour has been rapid.

If her palmarès didn't already show it, Markus said that the Classics are her forte. Her favourite race is Paris-Roubaix, where she has twice finished in the top 20 and took 21st this year.

Three years ago, she was in the winning breakaway at the Hell of the North, but slipped and fell on the Roubaix velodrome, eventually finishing 19th as Alison Jackson went on to score a famous victory.

"I really love Classics, echelons and tough races. I am a bit of a powerhouse rider. I really enjoy it when a race becomes difficult and the strongest rider wins. As a rider, I am above all a team player. I want to win together with the team and always get the best out of myself," Markus said.

"I would like to continue developing in the classics, but I also really enjoy being a reliable foundation within the team, someone the team can always count on."

Markus's biggest dream is to win Roubaix, she said, while Visma-Lease a Bike manager noted that she can be a key rider for the team during the spring Classics.

"Femke is a rider who has proven herself over several years in Classics and races where the difference is made through strength and race intelligence," he said.

"We have seen that she performs well when the race is made hard and the conditions are challenging. That is something we can use well in the spring."

Analysis

Tour de France Femmes stage winners Lorena Wiebes and Kim Le Court-Pienaar headline star-studded start list for Tour of Britain Women

Owen Rogers — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:05:39 +0000

Tour de France Femmes stars Lorena Wiebes and Kim Le Court-Pienaar will be amongst some big names starting next week's Tour of Britain Women (August 19-23), the race organisers confirmed on Friday morning.

Le Court-Pienaar heads to Britain on the back of a stage victory at the recent Tour de France, the AG Insurance-Soudal rider sprinting from the breakaway to win stage 6, into Tournon-sur-Rhône.

SD Worx-Protime rider Wiebes was also successful in France, winning the two opening stages, wearing the yellow jersey for two days and winning the points classification green jersey. She will be joined by teammate and former double World Champion Lotte Kopecky who is sure to be looking for a second general classification win after taking the 2024 title.

Last year’s overall winner Ally Wollaston will also be present, the New Zealander leading a strong FDJ United-Suez squad, which includes their Scottish climber, Lauren Dickson among their number.

Wollaston is coming off the back of a strong performance on the track at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and will be a contender for the flatter stages.

Le Court-Pienaar won the opening stage of last year’s Tour of Britain, but was forced to abandon after crashing on stage 3 and has a score to settle with the race.

"I'm looking forward to racing the Tour of Britain again," she said. "Last year was a mix of emotions for me personally, so I'm looking forward to coming back and making this edition a good one from start to finish."

With the form she showed in France and her abilities on shorter punchy climbs, the Mauritian champion is certainly one of the favourites for the general classification.

The Tour of Britain Women begins in Cockermouth, Cumbria in England’s far north-west on Wednesday, August 19, and concludes in Royal Leamington Spa on Sunday, August 23.

After what’s likely to be a sprint day on the Lancashire coast, two stages in Wales are most likely to decide the general classification, with stage 3 finishing on the climb of The Great Orme, before tackling the hills of mid-Wales the following day.

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'Incredibly frustrating and disappointing' – Three UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders eliminated from Volta a Portugal as riders unaware of time limit change

Matilda Price — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:04:38 +0000

Prologue and stage 5 winner Julius Johansen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and two teammates exited the Volta a Portugal after finishing outside the time limit on stage 7, claiming that the time limit was calculated differently than stated in the roadbook.

However, despite riders' protestations that they did not know about the changes to the time cut, race organisers have told Cyclingnews that these changes in fact were communicated in a communiqué distributed to all teams ahead of stage 1.

The race communiqué issued a new table of time limits, which correspond to how the time limit has been enforced this week. However, there was still confusion on stage 7.

After a crash, Johansen, Luca Giaimi and Marcos Freire, as well as three other riders, finished 39:23 down on stage winner Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and were deemed to be outside the time limit and therefore cut from the race.

Johansen had decided to take it easy to the finish after crashing, believing that he had time to play with regarding the time cut, but was surprised to find himself OTL at the finish line.

The Danish rider took to Instagram overnight to complain that the time limit was not calculated as he had expected.

On Thursday, the time limit was officially calculated as 34:17, 15% of the stage winner's time, but the roadbook stated that the time limit for stage 7 would be 20% of the winner's time, which would have been 46 minutes. Despite the change being listed in an earlier communiqué, many of the riders involved were working to an out-of-date calculation.

"Today started well. I spent the first 40 minutes out alone before being caught by the peloton. Unfortunately, I then crashed on a descent after taking one corner too fast, completely my own mistake," Johansen said on Instagram.

"After the crash, I decided to save myself for the days ahead and ride safely to the finish. It was a very hard mountain stage, and with a 20% time limit stated in the roadbook, there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.

He ended up in a mini gruppetto with Giaimi and Freire, as well as fellow stage winner Santiago Mesa (Anicolor / Campicarn) thinking they were riding safely to the finish.

"We calculated that the time limit would be comfortably above 45 minutes, and we finished just under 40 minutes behind. So we thought everything was fine. Until we were told at the finish that the time limit had been changed to 15%," he said.

"None of us riders, nor our sports directors, had been informed about this change, not even during the pre-race meeting for all sport directors."

The race organisers refute this version of events, however, as they did issue a communiqué about the changes in advance of stage 1, with the new table of time cut percentages per stage listed in the first item of the press release. The online roadbook has not been amended.

"Regarding yesterday’s stage, we can clarify that the updated time limits were communicated in advance to all teams," a spokesperson for the race said.

The change was included in Communiqué 1 of the race, which was sent to all teams and sports directors before the stage. As such, the teams were informed in due time of the applicable time limits for the stage."

After winning two stages himself, and with teammate Pericas winning Thursday's stage, Johansen was still annoyed by being disqualified unexpectedly, as the information clearly had not made its way to him.

"It’s incredibly frustrating and disappointing to leave a race this way, especially when I felt I had so much more to give in the coming days. Volta Portugal is a race I was really looking forward to, and I wanted to fight for more," he said.

"It feels even stranger on a day where the team rode an incredible race. [Pericas] finished it off with a fantastic victory, while three of us were eliminated."

UAE Team Emirates-XRG will now continue with only four riders, with Pericas in third overall, 1:57 down on the race lead.

"I’m extremely disappointed, but that’s cycling," Johansen concluded. "I’ll take the lessons from this and come back stronger."

Not the first incident of confusion

Stage 7 was not the first time the final time cut has been calculated differently the what was in the original roadbook – three other stages have had different time cuts to what was stated, with one other rider also eliminated with a time that met the original time cut.

According to the roadbook, the opening two sprint stages should have had a time cut of 15%, but both were changed to 10%. Stage 6's hilly breakaway day, won by Xabier Isasa, was also listed with a 20% time cut in the roadbook, but that was changed to 15%.

Ireland's Cian Keogh (APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery) was marked OTL on stage 1, finishing 22:53 down on the stage winner, which was more than 10% slower but would have been within the originally stated 15% time limit, but fell foul of the revised limit.

However, these time cuts do indeed match up with what the organisers communicated earlier in the race. The only question is why riders and teams were not fully aware of these changes.

'We still have Columbine, it's still a climbing race' - Lauren Stephens returns from last year's Leadville DSQ for attempt at victory 16 years in the making

jackie.tyson@futurenet.com (Jackie Tyson) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 20:59:01 +0000

You won't find Lauren Stephen's name in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB results from 2025, though she did cross the finish line with a third-best time for women, for a brief time. Her effort in the mountain bike race was wiped away by a disqualification for accepting aid from a crew member outside an approved elite rider feed zone.

She admitted the mistake and took the hit, confirming to Cyclingnews hours after the race that she had "misunderstood the rules" for elite riders and took a bottle at an aid station for non-elites, adding, "I'm not proud of my mistake but I am proud of my performance."

A three-time US Gravel National Champion with former road race titles at USPro and Pan American championships, Stephens enjoys riding any bike on any terrain. This year she returns for 'another' debut at Leadville and aims for the podium. She said it was a race she's wanted to win for more than 15 years, but with a busy road calendar that paid the bills didn't have room for it until recently.

In 2026, she's committed to the Life Time Grand Prix. For her, Leadville isn't just a race in the series, it's the one she wants to win.

"Leadville's always kind of been a dream race of mine. So to get to race it last year was just so special. I'd always said I would race it when I stopped racing full time, and I know I still race full time, but I'm not racing professionally over in Europe, so it's just a current chapter in my career," Stephens explained to Cyclingnews from her high-elevation training base near Telluride, Colorado last week.

"It was a big goal of mine last year to win it, and finishing third was amazing. And yeah, this year I'm back to try to win."

It was in 2009 that Lauren Stephens awakened a desire to race, and win, Leadville Trail 100 MTB. She had just watched a documentary, 'Race Across the Sky: the Leadville Trail 100', and was captivated by the film that featured incredible climbing, a dominant women's winner Rebecca Rusch and the men's showdown between Lance Armstrong and Dave Wiens.

"Before I was racing and just getting interested in cycling, I remember going to the theatres to watch the movie about Leadville, and just being like, wow, I want to do that one day. Gosh, that was almost 20 years ago," she said.

She is fifth overall in the Life Time Grand Prix going into Leadville this year, with a large spread of 18 points to leader Sofia Gomez Villafañe. The Colorado race begins the back half of the series with ample opportunities to move higher in the standings. She opened the year with a runner-up to Villafañe in the sprint at Sea Otter Classic on dirt, and on the road won GC titles at Redlands Bicycle Classic, Tour of the Gila and won The Growler at Levi's Gran Fondo.

Lauren Stephens wins third FoCo Fondo (Image credit: Emily Sierra)

After finishing 15th at Unbound Gravel 200, her first time at that distance after winning the 100-mile event previously, Stephens went second to Kate Courtney at the USPro road race championship. Now it's Courtney's turn to race on the road in Europe and Stephens stays in the US for off-road endurance.

"When you look at Unbound being 200 miles, it's a different animal. A seven-hour race is much more in my wheelhouse, and being such a climbing race as well," she said, noting that her expansive time with road riding has been a solid base, as well as six weeks at elevation.

After USPro Nationals in mid-June, she went straight to Colorado rather than her home in Dallas, Texas, a notable difference of nearly 8,000 feet (2,430 metres). She raced Foco Fondo, winning for a third time, and trained around Telluride. The smoke from wildfires was not as noticeable in that area, and she was glad Life Time could make Leadville happen, even with the elimination of some climbing.

"It's unfortunate about the fires. The new course was pretty much what we expected they would come up with, and so I wasn't really surprised by it. We still have Columbine, so it's still a climbing race, Stephens said.

"But not having Powerline at the end definitely changes the race quite a bit. I think it makes Columbine even more important. In general, the way the race was raced before, Columbine caused attrition, caused splits, just by the nature of it being such a long, hard climb and at such high elevation. Powerline was the place where you could make your final attack; now, not having Powerline, I think makes Columbine harder."

She said wind is also a factor on some of the wide-open parts of the route between Turquoise Lake to the north and the Twin Lakes to the south at the base of Columbine. And with 20 miles to go at the end, fatigue came into play on the 20% gradients of the 3.4-mile stretch of Powerline, where she tried to get away from runner-up Melisa Rollins, though Courtney was long gone.

"Powerline was basically a wall. Now, there's nothing crazy, but after such a long day, everything's hard. I mean, we're still at almost 10,000 feet of climbing."

Volta a Portugal: Adrià Pericas scores first pro win on stage 7, outfoxing Guérin and Nych in three-up sprint finish

dani.ostanek@futurenet.com (Dani Ostanek) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:46:27 +0000

Anicolor-Campicarn stamped their authority on the Volta a Portugal on the multi-mountain stage 7 in the far north of the country, even if they made something of a mess of a two-vs-one sprint for victory at the Termas do Gerês.

Instead, it was Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) who crossed the line first, outsprinting the Anicolor pair, 2024 and 2025 champion Artem Nych and race leader Alexis Guérin, after the trio had broken clear of their GC rivals 34km earlier.

Portuguese squad Anicolor had won four of the past five Voltas (two with Mauricio Moreira, two with Nych), and their dominance shows no sign of letting up this year. 34-year-old Guérin and 31-year-old Nych already held the race in a stranglehold following stage 4's Torre ascent and the following day's time trial, and they only extended their GC lead here.

The team put on a hard pace going into the day's second and final first-category climb, the part-cobbled Alto de Germil, taking Pericas and Pedro Silva (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista) with them. Silva couldn't hold on over the top, though, and so the leading trio raced towards the hilltop finish with 28 seconds ahead of him and with over two minutes in hand over anyone else.

Guerin remains in the race leader's yellow jersey with three stages – including Saturday's famed Senhora da Graça summit finish – left to run, while Nych stays in second overall, 47 seconds down. Pericas leapt up to third overall at 1:57, having made up well over three minutes on Tiago Antunes (Efapel), having been 35 seconds behind him this morning.

"Incredible, it was just a crazy stage, crazy hard. I felt super good; my teammates did a super good job, so I am proud to win this stage, and I am really happy. I will enjoy this a lot; it is super special for me – my first pro win," Pericas said after the stage.

"I worked a lot for this with my family and my friends. I just want to give thanks to all the people who carried me and took care of me. I am really happy.

"I saw the Anicolor riders were super strong. I was almost at my limit on the hard climb, and after that I felt super good on the downhill. I pushed all the way to the line, and I am now super, super happy."

Towards the start of the stage, a large breakaway of 13 riders went clear as the race explored the Peneda-Gerês National Park, with stage 6 winner Xabier Isasa (Euskaltel-Euskadi) among them. He was keen for another day out front, but the move didn't stay together for long, falling apart 50km into the race.

It was there, on the run to the day's opening first-category climb, the Mata da Albergaria (11.9km at 5.95%), where Fábio Costa (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista), runner-up at the recent Troféu Joaquim Agostinho, struck out alone.

He raced across the top and down the descent with a 40-second lead despite missing a corner on the way down. Nonetheless, as the race dipped in and out of Spain, he extended his advantage to 1:20 as Anicolor-Campicarn led the chase behind.

The men in yellow charged back into Portugal towards the next first-category climb of the Alto de Germil (11.9km at 5.9%), determined to track Costa down and make the climb a GC fight. They duly did so in the early kilometres of the climb, leaving just race leader Guérin, 2024 and 2025 winner Nych at the front along with fourth-placed Adrià Pericas and eighth-placed Pedro Silva (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista), while the other GC hopefuls, including third-placed Antunes, dropped away.

The leaders built their advantage on the way up the climb, which featured several cobbled sections, though Silva couldn't hold the pace and was dropped, trailing by several seconds at the summit. The next group consisting of Jokin Murguialday (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and José Neves (GI Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO) – a former Volta do Futuro winner racing his first Volta after a doping ban at W52-Porto – lay over a minute down.

Guérin had a scare on the descent, at one point unclipping to stay upright on a tight bend, but he, Nych, and Pericas held it together to race towards the final hilltop finish together with 20 seconds over Silva and two minutes up on Murguialday and Neves as Antunes lay a further minute back.

The closing climb to the Termas do Gerês (4.6km at 4%) saw Guérin, Nych and Pericas rotate on the front all the way to the final kilometre, each keen to maximise their GC gains. Guérin led Pericas and Nych up that final rise, and it was the young Spaniard who had the last laugh, outpacing both of them to score the win.

Results

Stage 7 result
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	3:48:32
2	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	3:48:32
3	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	3:48:32
4	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	3:49:00
5	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	3:50:53
6	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:50:53
7	David Dominguez Vilchez (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	3:51:51
8	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	3:51:58
9	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	3:51:58
10	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	3:51:58
11	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	3:51:58
12	Rui Carvalho (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	3:51:58
13	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	3:51:58
14	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	3:53:38
15	Abner González Rivera (PuR) Feirense - Beeceler	3:53:38
16	Afonso Silva (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	3:53:38
17	Angel Lorenzo Sanchez Rebollido (Spa) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	3:53:38
18	Carlos Garcia Pierna (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	3:53:41
19	Lorenzo Quartucci (Ita) Burgos Burpellet BH	3:53:41
20	Emil Nielsen (Den) Nsn Development Team	3:55:23
21	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	3:55:23
22	Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	3:55:23
23	Harrison Wood (GBr) Feirense - Beeceler	3:55:23
24	Pedro Figueiredo Leme (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	3:55:34
25	Ailetz Lasa Lizarraga (Spa) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	3:58:17
26	Eduardo Perez-Landaluce Gonzalez (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	4:00:20
27	André Ribeiro (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	4:00:22
28	Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	4:03:45
29	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	4:03:45
30	Henrique da Silva Avancini (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	4:03:45
31	Daniel Viegas (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	4:03:45
32	Guilherme Mestre (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	4:03:45
33	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	4:03:45
34	Jeremy Smith (Aus) Obidos Cycling Team	4:03:45
35	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	4:05:20
36	Daniel Cavia Sanz (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	4:12:23
37	Danny van der Tuuk (Pol) Euskaltel-Euskadi	4:12:23
38	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	4:12:23
39	Jaume Espuis Rel (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	4:12:23
40	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	4:12:23
41	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	4:12:23
42	Gaspar Gonçalves (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	4:17:05
43	Joaquim Silva (Por) Efapel Cycling	4:17:05
44	Diogo Gonçalves (Por) Efapel Cycling	4:17:05
45	Diogo Pinto (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	4:17:05
46	Rafael Reis (Por) Anicolor/Campicarn	4:17:05
47	Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Anicolor/Campicarn	4:17:05
48	Jaime Torres Arias (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	4:17:05
49	Cláudio Leal (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	4:17:05
50	Alexandre Montez (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	4:17:05
51	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	4:17:05
52	André Carvalho (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	4:17:05
53	Pedro Pinto (Por) Efapel Cycling	4:17:05
54	Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali (UAE) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	4:17:05
55	Jorge Galvez Lopez (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	4:17:28
56	Francisco Campos (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	4:17:28
57	Edson Gilmar de Rezende Junior (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	4:18:11
58	Gabriel Sousa Silva (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	4:18:11
59	Finlay Tarling (GBr) Nsn Development Team	4:18:11
60	Alvaro Garcia Gimenez (Spa) Nsn Development Team	4:18:11
61	Bruno Martins Lemes (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	4:18:11
62	Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	4:18:11
63	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	4:20:13
64	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	4:20:13
65	Conn Mc Dunphy (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	4:20:13
66	Andrew Lydic (USA) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	4:20:13
67	Maksym Bilyi (Ukr) Burgos Burpellet BH	4:20:13
68	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	4:20:13
69	Ferran Miravalles Badimon (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	4:20:13
70	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	4:20:13
71	Jade Rohde (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	4:20:13
72	Rafael Sousa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	4:20:13
73	Hugo Nunes (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	4:20:13
74	Diogo Narciso (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	4:20:13
75	Lucas Lopes (Por) Efapel Cycling	4:20:13
76	João Oliveira (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	4:20:13
77	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	4:20:13
78	Bruno Maceiras (Por) Obidos Cycling Team	4:20:13
79	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	4:20:13
80	Alexander Hewes (Aus) Nsn Development Team	4:20:13
81	Carlos Salgueiro (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	4:20:13
82	Ben Morin (Can) Nsn Development Team	4:20:13
83	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	4:20:13
84	Zachary Marriage (Aus) Nsn Development Team	4:20:13
85	Francisco Morais (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	4:20:13
86	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	4:20:13
87	Leangel Meneses (Ven) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	4:20:13
88	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	4:20:20
89	Fábio Oliveira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	4:20:35
90	João Matias (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	4:20:41
91	Filipe Francisco (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	4:20:52
92	Gonçalo Carvalho (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	4:20:52
93	César Martingil (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	4:21:39
94	Francisco Pereira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	4:21:39
95	Viacheslav Ivanov (Rus) Feirense - Beeceler	4:21:47
96	Keegam Swirbul (USA) Efapel Cycling	4:21:47
OTL	Andrey André (Bra) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo
OTL	Luca Giaimi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
OTL	Julius Johansen (Den) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
OTL	Marcos Freire Cobo (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z
OTL	Santiago Mesa Pietralunga (Col) Anicolor/Campicarn
OTL	Pedro Andrade (Por) Feirense - Beeceler
DNF	Carson Miles (Can) Anicolor/Campicarn
DNF	Itamar Einhorn (Isr) NSN Cycling Team
DNF	Joao Pedro Rossi (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling
DNF	Jose Manuel Gutierrez Revuelta (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team
DNF	Joshua Lebo (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz

General classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	23:29:45
2	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	0:00:47
3	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:01:57
4	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	0:03:21
5	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	0:04:29
6	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	0:04:57
7	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:05:18
8	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	0:05:58
9	Rui Carvalho (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	0:07:54
10	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	0:08:03
11	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	0:08:56
12	Abner González Rivera (PuR) Feirense - Beeceler	0:09:03
13	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	0:09:44
14	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	0:09:49
15	Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	0:11:45
16	Carlos Garcia Pierna (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	0:12:31
17	David Dominguez Vilchez (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	0:13:01
18	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	0:13:06
19	Emil Nielsen (Den) Nsn Development Team	0:13:22
20	Harrison Wood (GBr) Feirense - Beeceler	0:13:29
21	Angel Lorenzo Sanchez Rebollido (Spa) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	0:19:09
22	Pedro Figueiredo Leme (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	0:22:56
23	Ailetz Lasa Lizarraga (Spa) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	0:23:22
24	André Ribeiro (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	0:23:27
25	Afonso Silva (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	0:23:43
26	Eduardo Perez-Landaluce Gonzalez (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	0:24:20
27	Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:26:16
28	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:26:35
29	Lorenzo Quartucci (Ita) Burgos Burpellet BH	0:26:57
30	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	0:28:05
31	Henrique da Silva Avancini (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	0:28:34
32	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:31:26
33	Daniel Viegas (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	0:33:16
34	Lucas Lopes (Por) Efapel Cycling	0:36:32
35	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	0:38:01
36	Keegam Swirbul (USA) Efapel Cycling	0:38:47
37	Gaspar Gonçalves (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	0:43:29
38	Joaquim Silva (Por) Efapel Cycling	0:44:02
39	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	0:44:58
40	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:45:59
41	Rafael Reis (Por) Anicolor/Campicarn	0:46:03
42	Viacheslav Ivanov (Rus) Feirense - Beeceler	0:46:19
43	Francisco Campos (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	0:46:28
44	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	0:46:50
45	Alvaro Garcia Gimenez (Spa) Nsn Development Team	0:47:36
46	Zachary Marriage (Aus) Nsn Development Team	0:49:51
47	Jeremy Smith (Aus) Obidos Cycling Team	0:50:59
48	Diogo Gonçalves (Por) Efapel Cycling	0:51:34
49	Hugo Nunes (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	0:53:53
50	Daniel Cavia Sanz (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	0:55:27
51	Maksym Bilyi (Ukr) Burgos Burpellet BH	0:55:56
52	Gonçalo Carvalho (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	0:56:16
53	André Carvalho (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	0:58:28
54	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	1:00:15
55	Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali (UAE) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	1:00:25
56	Diogo Narciso (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1:00:35
57	Pedro Pinto (Por) Efapel Cycling	1:00:49
58	Jorge Galvez Lopez (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	1:00:52
59	Bruno Martins Lemes (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	1:02:22
60	Cláudio Leal (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	1:02:26
61	Alexander Hewes (Aus) Nsn Development Team	1:03:35
62	Guilherme Mestre (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	1:03:36
63	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	1:04:39
64	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	1:07:28
65	Filipe Francisco (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	1:10:17
66	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	1:11:14
67	Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	1:11:34
68	Andrew Lydic (USA) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	1:11:42
69	João Matias (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	1:12:13
70	Danny van der Tuuk (Pol) Euskaltel-Euskadi	1:13:19
71	Jaume Espuis Rel (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	1:13:25
72	Jaime Torres Arias (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	1:17:10
73	Edson Gilmar de Rezende Junior (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	1:17:20
74	Finlay Tarling (GBr) Nsn Development Team	1:17:30
75	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1:17:50
76	Conn Mc Dunphy (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	1:18:56
77	Ben Morin (Can) Nsn Development Team	1:20:19
78	Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Anicolor/Campicarn	1:21:42
79	Alexandre Montez (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	1:23:43
80	Gabriel Sousa Silva (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	1:25:09
81	Diogo Pinto (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1:28:01
82	Fábio Oliveira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	1:28:26
83	Carlos Salgueiro (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	1:28:50
84	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	1:29:16
85	Ferran Miravalles Badimon (Spa) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	1:32:01
86	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	1:32:18
87	Leangel Meneses (Ven) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	1:32:18
88	João Oliveira (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1:32:26
89	Rafael Sousa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	1:34:36
90	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	1:35:35
91	Francisco Pereira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	1:36:16
92	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	1:38:14
93	César Martingil (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	1:40:45
94	Jade Rohde (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	1:41:05
95	Francisco Morais (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	1:44:33
96	Bruno Maceiras (Por) Obidos Cycling Team	1:48:37

Mountain classification
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	48
2	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	43
3	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	41
4	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	28
5	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	27
6	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	22
7	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	20
8	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	17
9	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	15
10	Abner González Rivera (PuR) Feirense - Beeceler	14
11	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	14
12	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	13
13	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	11
14	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	10
15	Gonçalo Carvalho (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	10
16	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	9
17	Rui Carvalho (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	8
18	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	8
19	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	6
20	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	6
21	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	5
22	Ben Morin (Can) Nsn Development Team	5
23	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	4
24	Francisco Pereira (Por) Feirense - Beeceler	4
25	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	3
26	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3
27	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	3
28	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	3
29	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	2
30	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	2
31	Lucas Lopes (Por) Efapel Cycling	1
32	Rafael Reis (Por) Anicolor/Campicarn	1
33	Bruno Martins Lemes (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	1
34	Diogo Pinto (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1

Points classification
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Rui Filipe Alves Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	74
2	Daniel Cavia Sanz (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH	58
3	Francisco Campos (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	56
4	Artem Nych (Rus) Anicolor/Campicarn	50
5	Tomas Contte (Arg) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	42
6	Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	41
7	Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	40
8	Pedro Silva (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	35
9	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	29
10	Leangel Meneses (Ven) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	25
11	Iker Bonillo Martin (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	21
12	Jokin Murguialday (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	21
13	José Carlos Prates Neves Fernandes (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	20
14	João Matias (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	20
15	Carlos Salgueiro (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	20
16	Tiago Antunes (Por) Efapel Cycling	15
17	Fábio Costa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	12
18	Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi	11
19	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	10
20	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	9
21	Abner González Rivera (PuR) Feirense - Beeceler	8
22	Jesus Del Pino Corrochano (Spa) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	8
23	Louis Ferreira (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn	6
24	Adrian Camilo Bustamante Ruda (Col) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	6
25	David Dominguez Vilchez (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	6
26	Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	6
27	Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	5
28	André Carvalho (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	3
29	Gabriel Sousa Silva (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	3
30	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	3
31	Emanuel Duarte (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	2
32	Diogo Barbosa (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	2
33	Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	2
34	Henrique da Silva Avancini (Bra) Localiza Meoo / Swift Pro Cycling	2
35	Oscar Rota Rus (Spa) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	2
36	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	2
37	Ronan O Connor (Irl) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery	2
38	Jesus David Peña Jimenez (Col) Efapel Cycling	1
39	João Medeiros (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1
40	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1

Youth classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Adria Pericas Capdevila (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:00:00
2	Rafael Barbas (Por) Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua	0:11:09
3	Emil Nielsen (Den) Nsn Development Team	0:11:25
4	André Ribeiro (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	0:21:30
5	Alvaro Garcia Gimenez (Spa) Nsn Development Team	0:45:39
6	Jeremy Smith (Aus) Obidos Cycling Team	0:49:02
7	Cláudio Leal (Por) Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé	1:00:29
8	Alexander Hewes (Aus) Nsn Development Team	1:01:38
9	Guilherme Mestre (Por) Team Tavira /Crédito Agricola	1:01:39
10	Rúben Rodrigues (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	1:09:17
11	Jaime Torres Arias (Spa) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z	1:15:13
12	Finlay Tarling (GBr) Nsn Development Team	1:15:33
13	João Martins (Por) Credibom / La Alumínios / Marcos Car	1:15:53
14	Ben Morin (Can) Nsn Development Team	1:18:22
15	Alvaro Navas Marchal (Spa) Obidos Cycling Team	1:27:19
16	Rafael Sousa (Por) Feira Dos Sofás - Boavista	1:32:39
17	Bernardo Gaston Cambareri (Arg) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	1:33:38
18	José Moreira (Por) Gi Group Holding - Simoldes - Udo	1:36:17
19	Jade Rohde (USA) Meridian Racing P/B De La Uz	1:39:08

Leadville Trail 100 MTB contenders 2026 - Can anyone unseat Keegan Swenson and who can take the top spot vacated by Kate Courtney?

simone.giuliani@futurenet.com (Simone Giuliani) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:29:41 +0000

After a respite of two and a half months in the Life Time Grand Prix series calendar, Leadville Trail 100 MTB will kickstart the competition with its high-elevation 102-mile battle on August 15, a chance to reshuffle the tight overall standings and for other top stars to grab glory at the 'race across the sky'.

The Colorado event marks a shift in the series back to the flat bars – with Chequamegon MTB Festival and Little Sugar MTB next on the agenda in September and October. This mountain bike endurance race can throw a spanner in the works with nearly 10,000 feet of climbing, and altitude adaptation is rigorously tested across even a modified course, with the start in Leadville at 10,152 feet above sea level.

The changes to the route due to wildfire damage may cut out more than 4,000 feet of climbing from the original route, but the remaining elevation gain, including the traditional climb, and tricky descent, to Columbine Mine at 12,424 feet above sea level will push riders to the limit.

The prize purse had been doubled to $60,000, with race winners, regardless of affiliation of the Life Time Grand Prix, taking home $10,000 each. The closely-packed ranks of the Grand Prix competition deliver another incentive, as the series hits a third round of six.

In the men's competition Specialized Off-road teammates Matthew Beers and Keegan Swenson are currently on top of the leaderboard, each with 54 points, while Alexey Vermeulen is third with 46 points while Brendan Johnston, with 42 points, and Cobe Freeburn, sitting on 40 points, rounds out the top five.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe heads the women's leaderboard with 60 points and then it's Cecily Decker in second on 48, with Rosa Klöser, Hayley Preen, Lauren Stephens and Paige Onweller all within seven points of Decker. As Villafañe said in a recent episode of The Cooldown podcast "we're in for a proper battle at Leadville".

Read on for a list of riders that are expected to be vying for the top spots as that 'proper battle' unfolds.

Women's Elite

Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective)

Melisa Rollins wins SBT GRVL 2025 in sprint against Lauren De Crescenzo (Image credit: SBT GRVL)

With last year's winner Kate Courtney not on the start line, the person who naturally steps into the limelight as a key rider to watch is 2024 winner Melisa Rollins, particularly as she was also second to Courtney last year. However, it hasn't exactly been an easy season for Rollins after going second at RADL GRVL in South Australia. In March, whilst in the midst of training for a tilt at the Cape Epic with Courtney as her partner, a broken left elbow and injured right wrist derailed her plans, then there was a torn triceps, and finally, when she got back on the bike again, she was sideswiped by a car.

However, she'd had a tough start to 2025 as well – crashing and breaking her wrist in Otway Odyssey in late February – but still was delivering podium form by the time Leadville came around. What's more, she's already proven she's firing despite the brutal run, returning at SBT GRVL in late June and delivering at the US XCM National Championships. That means Rollins will be stepping onto the start line at Leadville with the extra boost of doing it not just as a former winner, but also in the jersey of a national champion.

Lauren Stephens (Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment)

If you look at the results of Leadville in 2025 you will not see Lauren Stephens sitting near the top of the results list, even though she crossed the line with the third-best time, nor did she get to step up to the podium. That's because after the race was run Stephens was disqualified for mistakenly taking aid outside a designated crew location. Therefore, while on the results sheet it may not have looked like much of a debut at the event, what she delivered with her legs is a clear indicator of her potential to be a fierce competitor at the event.

In fact, the events of last year may even add a little more fuel to the fire, which is clearly burning brightly anyway this season. The US Gravel champion has also come second on the road in the battle for the national title the past two years, plus she has delivered a strong run of other results so far this season. That includes overall victory at both the Redlands Bicycle Classic and Tour of the Gila Women as well as second at Sea Otter Classic Gravel and third at SBT GRVL. It's a path to Leadville that bodes well for 2026, particularly as she's bound to have studied the tech guide in meticulous detail this time.

Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road)

Former Leadville Trail 100 MTB winner Sofia Gomez Villafañe rides to fourth place in 2025 (Image credit: Life Time)

It would be the height of foolishness not to have Sofia Gomez Villafañe near the top of any contenders list, given her run of results across the years and particularly this season where she is yet to deviate from the top step. Right from Santa Vall in Spain in February through to UCI Gravel World Series event Castellon Gravel, The Mid South, Sea Otter Classic, The Traka 200, Unbound Gravel 200 and SBT GRVL, Villafañe has reigned supreme. The question now is will she carry all that gravel prowess through to Leadville.

The mountain bike events haven't exactly been the three time Life time Grand Prix winner's strong suit in previous years but you'd be really pushing it to call that discipline a weakness. Villafañe is after all a two-time Cape Epic and did win at Leadville in 2023. Plus last year the Specialized rider was fourth and was second in 2024, so has never been far from the front, it just that sometimes she hasn't been right at the very front. That, however, could well change in 2026, after all she has won everything else.

Cecily Decker (PAS Racing)

Last year Cecily Decker proved her ability to perform at the top of Leadville as, after finishing last in the pro women's category in 2024, in 2025 she'd gone all out to target the race which didn't suit her. The former US Ski Team racer, who last year finished second to Villafañe at the Life Time Grand Prix, has now proven she's got what it takes to target the top spots.

It's been another strong year so far for Decker, with an early -season podium at The Mid South and the rider is once again sitting second in the LTGP between her eighth at Sea Otter and powerful third overall at Unbound at the end of May. After stepping onto the podium for a second year running at the brutal test in Kansas, there was a patch of illness. However, she was back racing late June and stepped straight back to the podium at Big Horn Gravel, and this time it was the top step.

After a solid fifth at SBT GRVL, she also then went on to claim the Leadville stage race in late July. Decker has been out doing a recon of the fire-modified Leadville 100 MTB course this week and, given her current form, and what she achieved last year, it's clear she'll be heading into this edition as one of the key riders to watch.

Others to watch

Rosa Klöser rides to victory at 2025 Ranxo Gravel, and series title at Gravel Earth Series (Image credit: © GravelEarthSeries – Ranxo Gravel – Roger Salanova)

It's also hard to look past Sarah Lange as a possible contender. Firstly, she has finished fifth at the event the past two years, and Lange was also clearly building some strong form at SBT Gravel, when she came second after being caught by Villafañe. Then there is also Haley Preen, not only the South African gravel champion but also wearing the national marathon mountain bike jersey as well.

Paige Onweller, who was in the top 10 at Leadville last year, has also been putting some flying form clearly on display in recent months. After her fourth at Unbound Gravel 200 she then swapped to the road for the USPro National Championships and was third in the time trial and then, even after being caught following a long solo effort, she still managed to hold on for sixth in the road race.

Another rider to watch is Rosa Klöser, as it will be fascinating to see how the gravel and road rider adapts to another discipline when she takes on her first Leadville. The German 2024 Unbound 200 winner has proven time and time again she is not afraid of a challenge but this is unquestionably a big one, not least of all because she is coming straight from an arduous effort on the road at the Tour de France Femmes, where she also became unwell.

Men's elite

Keegan Swenson (Specialized Off-road)

Keegan Swenson competes at 2025 Little Sugar MTB in the XCM world champion's jersey (Image credit: Life Time)

If Keegan Swenson wasn't a marked rider before, he's even more so in 2026 - going for a record-tying sixth consecutive victory in Colorado and doing so this time with the marathon mountain bike World Champion's rainbow stripes for team Specialized Off-road. But he isn't really concerned about the other elite riders, it's all about a self-admitted 'obsession' with winning Leadville and going faster.

"Leadville, it's one of the most iconic mountain bike races in the world. It was always one of those races that I really wanted to win, and then it kind of became an obsession of how fast I could go and how hard I could push myself. So every year I'm trying to find ways to push a little harder, whether it's fitness, or equipment, or tactics. It's a lot of work, it's never easy. You've just got to be stubborn," he said with a laugh in the ROAD iD YouTube film, Unseen Miles.

The 32-year-old suffered a hip injury in February which disrupted his early season, then cranked up the engine for a podium at Sea Otter Classic, an epic fifth place at Unbound Gravel 200, and a fourth win at SBT GRVL. He'll have one Specialized teammate along for company in Leadville, Matt Beers, the duo tied in first place on the Life Time Grand Prix men's leaderboard. Look for the twosome to set a wicked pace, the larger frame of Beers doing some major miles to slingshot Swenson to a sixth win.

Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek)

Just four days before Saturday's early-morning race start, an unexpected entry by WorldTour rider Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) spiced up the elite men's start list. However, it's not as big a surprise as the first time the Colorado native competed in Leadville was in 2019, and that time as an unproven 18-year-old he outsprinted Lachlan Morton and Peter Stetina to take second place.

Simmons now returns as a three-time USPro road race champion, and fresh off his fourth Tour de France, winning a Best Teammate special prize for a second time as selected by a race jury. He was often in breakaways at this year's Tour, landing second place on stage 4 and helping Lidl-Trek teammate Mads Pedersen secure the points classification title. Look for Simmons to go on the attack, often, and treat this mountain bike challenge as a hilly one-day Classic.

John Gaston (STRAFE-Specialized)

John Gaston rides to second place at 2025 Leadville Trail 100 MTB (Image credit: Life Time)

Last year's runner-up to Swenson was mountain bike specialist John Gaston, who was 15 minutes behind the race leader though just 51 seconds away from going under the 6-hour mark. He was four minutes faster than 2024, when he also went solo for second place. In fact, he has been on the podium each of the last four years, so it would be no surprise to find the 39-year-old back in the hunt.

Winter has been the main focus for the 39-year-old from Aspen, Colorado, who has competed most often with 12,000 vertical feet in ski mountaineering for more than a decade and most recently won the US Skimo Nationals. He mixes some mountain biking in summer, and comes in fresh to Leadville again, as he does not compete in any off-road cycling series.

Brendan Johnston (Giant)

Brendan Johnston had a "devastating" DNF at Leadville last year, thanks to a huge rock that destroyed his rear wheel just 20km in on the Powerline descent. This summer 's US campaign finds him firing on all cylinders again, with a fourth-place finish at a muddy Unbound Gravel 200, which was one spot better than 2025 but "significantly more savage". That effort boosted him to fourth position in the Life Time Grand Prix headed into Leadville.

He has settled into a lead role in the Life Time Grand Prix, finishing in the top 10 for three seasons, saying in an Australian Gravel interview, "Now that I'm established, it feels like a home away from home" to be in the US often for the races.

Racing on Australian soil on two separate trips, he won both UCI Gravel World Series races, extending his streak in that collection of events to six consecutive victories. In the US, he has a road podium in The Growler at Levi's Grand Fondo, a gravel win at the Salty Lizard in Utah, and two weeks' acclimation in Colorado ahead of Leadville. The six-time Australian cross-country marathon MTB champion is back with confidence on a new Anthem full-suspension bike with new Giant mountain bike wheels, and among the Grand Prix riders behind Swenson looks to make a move at this long-distance Colorado race.

Others to watch

Toby Røed, who finished fourth, rides in front of Chad Haga at 2025 Leadville Trail 100 MTB (Image credit: Life Time)

Among the elite men in the Life Time Grand Prix, there are a large number of riders who can survive the altitude, power across Columbine and overcome encroaching fatigue to kick pavement at the finish. Tops among this group is versatile Simon Pellaud (Cervelo-Assos-Maxxis), who is seventh overall in the Grand Prix with eight points separating him from four other riders.

The Swiss-born rider who has lived in Colombia for many years was third in his Leadville debut last year. An early season knee issue has been resolved and he comes in with a solid base of road racing, fifth overall at a UCI stage race in South Korea and eighth at Swiss road nationals. Just a week ago he had a dominant win at the UCI Gravel World Series race in Colombia.

The US duo of Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE) and Cobe Freeburn (Trek Driftless) are two of the riders being chased by Pellaud, Vermeulen in third overall and Freeburn fifth. While they both finished in the top 15 last year in Leadville, it was Freeburn's debut after going third at SBT GRVL. He's from Durango and started out racing mountain bikes, though he focused on the shorter cross-country races and not the six-hour endurance events.

Vermeulen has the experience at Leadville, going second in 2023, outsprinting Gaston that time, and going fourth in 2022. This year he was third at Sea Otter Gravel and second at SBT GRVL.

Big moves are needed by Andrew l'Esperance (3T Bike-Maxxis-Pearl Izumi) and Toby Røed (Trek Driftless) to crack the Grand Prix top 10, the Canadian rider in 11th and the Norwegian living in Colorado in 17th. L'Esperance has his racing roots on the mountain bike and can improve from sixth place last year. He most recently had a solid ride at The Rift with fourth place. Røed had a late start to his season, missing Sea Otter Classic, but he comes in as the new Norwegian gravel champion. Based on his fourth and eighth place finishes the last two years at Leadville, he's looking for an even better finish and grab Grand Prix points as well.

Arctic Race of Norway: Giovanni Lonardi steals the show in stage 1 sprint

Owen Rogers — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:11:39 +0000

Giovanni Lonardi won the opening stage bunch sprint at the Arctic Tour of Norway on Thursday, the Polti-Visit Malta edging clear after a messy sprint.

After a scruffy closing kilometre, Lonardi found his way to the front of the race with just a handful of metres remaining, edging Jason Tesson (TotalEnergies) into second place, with Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure) in third place.

The closing kilometres of the stage were a tense affair, the day’s breakaway made up of Continental Team level riders working brilliantly to stay away. They were only caught inside the final three kilometres, a number of team trying hard to position their sprinters for the final.

The win was Lonardi’s first since winning stage 2 of the Tour of Istanbul in September 2025, and will have come as a relief to the 29-year-old sprinter.

"I'm super happy, I search for it a lot this year and it comes today. I'm very, very happy and also the team did an amazing job today. I have no words, I searched for it a lot and I win today.

"I think that I'm in good shape. In the Tour of Denmark last week I tried to win, but I don't have the best feeling this year to try to do a sprint like this, but we did everything good today and I win.

"Today the plan was to win, tomorrow also is a good stage for me, I think, maybe another sprint and then the next two days we have two good riders to do the GC, so we will see day by day." (edited)

For its 13th edition, the opening stage took on an 181.9km route between Evenes and Myre on the coast, and featured three classified climbs, the last of which came 26km from the line before the race headed to the finish for a single 6.2km lap of the finish town.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

With the flag dropped, five riders were soon up the road, Victor Vercouille (Flanders-Baloise) escaping with four home riders, Eirik Van Aas (Drali-Repsol), Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Lillehammer CK), Ludvik Holstad (Team Ringerike) and Morthem Wang Baksaas (Lucky Sport).

The group were allowed their heads, and by the time they reached the day's first climb, just over 90km from the line, they led by a touch under three minutes.

Behind them, and unsurprisingly, the UNO-X Mobility team took on chasing duties, the NSN squad coming to their aid and the gap dropping below two minutes as the race dipped inside the final 70km.

That gap remained static until the approach to the day's second climb when, with the Polti-Visit Malta team assisting with the chase, it dropped to around 1:20 by the time they crested the top.

With the gap coming down fast, two riders attacked the peloton, Axel Källberg and Teodor De Luca bridging across to join teammate Baksaas. By this time, however, the peloton was only 30 seconds behind, and their efforts seemed fruitless.

However, as the race approached the Myre for the first passage of the fish line, the leaders' advantage began to grow, and the peloton entered the final 15km with a deficit of 35 seconds.

Finally, other teams came to the front of the bunch, and with Baksaas and Fjellheim dropped from the leading group, the gap began to drop. Despite some attacks in the leading group, the breakaway managed to maintain their lead for the intermediate sprint, though the gap was under 10 seconds with 6.2km to go.

The breakaway was eventually caught with 2.9km remaining, NSN, TotalEnergies and Lotto-Intermarché finally closing them down and a bunch sprint was inevitable.

Results

Stage Classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	4:05:23
2	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	00
3	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	00
4	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	00
5	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	00
6	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	00
7	Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	00
8	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	00
9	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
10	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
11	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure	00
12	Joseba Lopez Cuesta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
13	Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
14	Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team	00
15	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla	00
16	Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
17	Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team	00
18	Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team	00
19	Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
20	Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL	00
21	Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
22	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
23	Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
24	Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
25	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies	00
26	Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
27	Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana	00
28	Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
29	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL	00
30	Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
31	Dillon Corkery (Irl) Picnic PostNL	00
32	Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
33	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	00
34	Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00
35	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	00
36	Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
37	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
38	Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
39	Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Jayco-AlUla	00
40	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
41	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana	00
42	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	00
43	Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
44	Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
45	Wouter Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
46	Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
47	Ward Vanhoof (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
48	Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	00
49	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
50	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
51	Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
52	Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
53	Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	00
54	Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana	00
55	Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta	00
56	Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00
57	Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
58	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
59	Mark Donovan (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
60	Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
61	Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
62	Alessandro Covi (Ita) Jayco-AlUla	00
63	Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
64	Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
65	Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
66	Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Totalenergies	00
67	Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies	00
68	Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
69	Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	00
70	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure	00
71	Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché	00
72	Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
73	Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
74	Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	00
75	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
76	Samuel Leroux (Fra) Totalenergies	00
77	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
78	Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
79	Magnus Kulset (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
80	Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
81	Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
82	Damien Howson (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
83	Thomas Gachignard (Fra) Totalenergies	00
84	Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty	00
85	Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
86	Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	00
87	Andréa Mifsud (Mlt) Polti-VisitMalta	00
88	Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	00
89	Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
90	Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team	00
91	Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	00
92	Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) XDS Astana	00
93	Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
94	Christopher Jensen (Den) Jayco-AlUla	00
95	Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00
96	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
97	Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure	00
98	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
99	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
100	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure	47
101	Byron Munton (RSA) Modern Adventure	00
102	Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
103	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
104	Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels	00
105	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
106	Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL	00
107	Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan
108	Bjoern Koerdt (GBr) Picnic PostNL	00

Stage Points Classification
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	25
2	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	22
3	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	20
4	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	18
5	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	16
6	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	14
7	Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	12
8	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	10
9	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	8
10	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	6
11	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5	6
12	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	4
13	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	2

Stage Mountain Classification
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	8
2	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	7
3	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	2
4	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	1

Stage Youth Classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	4:05:23
2	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	00
3	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	00
4	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
5	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure	00
6	Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
7	Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team	00
8	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla	00
9	Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team	00
10	Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team	00
11	Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
12	Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL	00
13	Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
14	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
15	Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
16	Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
17	Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana	00
18	Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
19	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL	00
20	Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
21	Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	00
22	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	00
23	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	00
24	Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
25	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
26	Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
27	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
28	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana	00
29	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	00
30	Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
31	Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	00
32	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
33	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	00
34	Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
35	Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
36	Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	00
37	Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana	00
38	Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta	00
39	Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	00
40	Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
41	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
42	Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
43	Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
44	Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
45	Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
46	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure	00
47	Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché	00
48	Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike	00
49	Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	00
50	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
51	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
52	Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
53	Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
54	Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
55	Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty	00
56	Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	00
57	Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team	00
58	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	00
59	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	00
60	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure	47
61	Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	00
62	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	00
63	Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels	00
64	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	00
65	Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL	00
2:59	Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan
67	Bjoern Koerdt (GBr) Picnic PostNL	00

GC

Stage General Classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	4:05:13
2	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	04
3	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	04
4	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	06
5	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	06
6	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	08
7	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	10
8	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	10
9	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	10
10	Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	10
11	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	10
12	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	10
13	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5	10
14	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure	10
15	Joseba Lopez Cuesta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	10
16	Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	10
17	Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team	10
18	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla	10
19	Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	10
20	Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team	10
21	Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team	10
22	Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	10
23	Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL	10
24	Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	10
25	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	10
26	Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	10
27	Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	10
28	Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies	10
29	Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	10
30	Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana	10
31	Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	10
32	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL	10
33	Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	10
34	Dillon Corkery (Irl) Picnic PostNL	10
35	Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	10
36	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	10
37	Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	10
38	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	10
39	Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike	10
40	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	10
41	Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	10
42	Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Jayco-AlUla	10
43	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	10
44	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana	10
45	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	10
46	Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	10
47	Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	10
48	Wouter Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	10
49	Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	10
50	Ward Vanhoof (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	10
51	Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	10
52	Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike	10
53	Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	10
54	Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	10
55	Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana	10
56	Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta	10
57	Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	10
58	Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	10
59	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	10
60	Mark Donovan (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	10
61	Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	10
62	Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike	10
63	Alessandro Covi (Ita) Jayco-AlUla	10
64	Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	10
65	Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	10
66	Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	10
67	Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Totalenergies	10
68	Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies	10
69	Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	10
70	Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	10
71	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure	10
72	Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché	10
73	Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	10
74	Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike	10
75	Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	10
76	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	10
77	Samuel Leroux (Fra) Totalenergies	10
78	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	10
79	Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	10
80	Magnus Kulset (Nor) Team Ringerike	10
81	Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	10
82	Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	10
83	Damien Howson (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5	10
84	Thomas Gachignard (Fra) Totalenergies	10
85	Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty	10
86	Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	10
87	Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	10
88	Andréa Mifsud (Mlt) Polti-VisitMalta	10
89	Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team	10
90	Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	10
91	Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team	10
92	Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	10
93	Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) XDS Astana	10
94	Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	10
95	Christopher Jensen (Den) Jayco-AlUla	10
96	Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	10
97	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	10
98	Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure	10
99	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	10
100	Byron Munton (RSA) Modern Adventure	10
101	Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	10
102	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	10
103	Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels	10
104	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	10
105	Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL	10
106	Bjoern Koerdt (GBr) Picnic PostNL	10
107	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure	57
108	Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan	3:09

Overall Points Classification
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	25
2	Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies	22
3	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	20
4	Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	18
5	Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team	16
6	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	14
7	Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	12
8	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	10
9	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	8
10	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	6
11	Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5	6
12	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	4
13	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	2

Overall Mountain Classification
Pos	Rider	Points
1	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	8
2	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	7
3	Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike	2
4	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	1

Overall Youth Classification
Pos	Rider	Time
1	Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	4:05:17
2	Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure	02
3	Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	02
4	Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping	06
5	Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché	06
6	Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	06
7	Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure	06
8	Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	06
9	Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team	06
10	Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla	06
11	Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team	06
12	Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team	06
13	Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	06
14	Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL	06
15	Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	06
16	Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets	06
17	Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	06
18	Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	06
19	Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana	06
20	Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	06
21	Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL	06
22	Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	06
23	Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	06
24	Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility	06
25	Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla	06
26	Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike	06
27	Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise	06
28	Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	06
29	Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5	06
30	Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana	06
31	Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team	06
32	Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	06
33	Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché	06
34	Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike	06
35	Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	06
36	Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	06
37	Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana	06
38	Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta	06
39	Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta	06
40	Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	06
41	Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi	06
42	Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike	06
43	Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	06
44	Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	06
45	Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	06
46	Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure	06
47	Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché	06
48	Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike	06
49	Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility	06
50	Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets	06
51	Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	06
52	Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	06
53	Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	06
54	Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	06
55	Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty	06
56	Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5	06
57	Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team	06
58	Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team	06
59	Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team	06
60	Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets	06
61	Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol	06
62	Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels	06
63	Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi	06
64	Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL	06
65	Bjoern Koerdt (GBr) Picnic PostNL	06
66	Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure	53
67	Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan	3:05

'He created what you might call a philosophy' – Giancarlo Ferretti, the 'Iron Sergeant' with a human touch – Obituary

Alasdair Fotheringham — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:23:52 +0000

One of cycling's most legendary sports directors, Giancarlo Ferretti died last week aged 85. He was well known for his strict approach to racing, his very direct way of talking and his long-standing insistence that his charges focus on targets they could actually achieve rather than risk missing out too often.

But that realism and insistence on team discipline didn't just earn Ferretti, born near Rome in 1941, the nickname of Ferròn, the Iron Sergeant; by most accounts, those characteristics were just part of a whole wealth of resources and personal talents that helped Ferretti's riders find their way to spectacular levels of success.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, from his position hunched behind the steering wheel of team cars for squads as famous as Bianchi, Ariostea, MG Maglificio and Fassa Bortolo, over three decades Ferretti oversaw his riders amass around 900 wins in total, from Grand Tours like the Giro d'Italia in 1976 – one of Ferretti's personal favourites – to multiple Monuments and week-long stage races.

Ferretti had a seemingly unlimited knack of getting the best out of his star racers, and he had plenty in his charge at one point or another, from Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner Felice Gimondi to time trialling great Fabian Cancellara, and from Classics champion Michele Bartoli to sprinting star Alessandro Petacchi.

Such an elevated stable of top names, together with his ability to push the riders to get the best out of themselves, and his deep understanding of the demands pro cycling made on racers, all combined to make Ferròn one of the leading managerial figures in the peloton for decades.

"He was without a doubt the director who had the most influence on me and who inspired me the most," one of his standout racers, Juan Antonio Flecha, tells Cyclingnews. Flecha was a Tour de France stage winner and multiple Paris-Roubaix podium finisher who raced for Ferretti in 2004 and 2005 at Fassa Bortolo.

"It helped that he had a colossal amount of experience, for one thing. I remember him telling us about being in the Bianchi team car in the 1975 Tour de France when [Eddy] Merckx had that bad crash and [Bernard] Thévenet won overall.

"But apart from being around so much and for so long, he also was very wise, and he always had his feet on the ground, too."

Flecha in an attack ordered by Ferretti in 'that' Gent-Wevelgem - more on that shortly (Image credit: Getty Images)

Retired since the winter of 2013 and now a cycling TV analyst and brand ambassador for Rapha, Flecha gives one example of that down-to-earth approach when he says: "I always used to be a very enthusiastic type of rider, but Ferretti would tell me, 'that's great, but remember you've got to think about what kind of a rider you want to be when all that enthusiasm has gone as well'.

"And I remember one edition of Paris-Nice, too, I'd got away with [Jan] Kirsipuu and my teammate Fabian Cancellara, Cancellara won the stage, and I was thinking I could do something in the overall. But Ferretti said, politely enough: 'Flecha, I don't want to disappoint you but we've got to go up Mont Faron tomorrow and you're not going to make it, you're not a GC guy.' And he was right."

What was striking, too, was the way Ferretti would not let his own driving ambition to win become too daunting for his riders. Rather, he opted at times to show them what opportunities for greatness were available, Flecha says, and try to inspire them to take them.

"When it came to Paris-Roubaix, he'd tell us that it was hard enough for him to handle in the team car to know that there was no way he should be telling us what to do in the race itself," Flecha, a podium finisher at Roubaix in 2005, 2007 and 2010, recalls.

"It was like he was telling us that whatever we did that day in a race as important as Roubaix, it was going to be something really significant. Which was brilliant, because it made you feel like what you did in Roubaix really mattered, and it made you want to live up to that."

A master strategist

Yet when Ferretti did get involved in race strategy, Flecha recalled, he'd produce tactics that invariably proved to be the right ones, and which often were anything but traditional. The Het Volk winner cites one Giro di Lazio, where there were several Fassa riders ahead in a small group and Ferretti told them to attack each other and counter-attack, "purely to confuse the opposition. It seemed like a crazy tactic but we won."

Or there were more complex situations where in the 2005 Gent-Wevelgem, Flecha bridged across to Nico Mattan in the closing kilometres but then Ferretti then told him "to take one turn and then attack him straightaway" over the radio.

"I couldn't believe what he was saying, because I was having a really hard time just getting off the front. If he hadn't told me to attack, I'd have stayed with Mattan right the way through to the end.

"Instead, I did exactly what he said, attacked, and found myself off the front and in a position to win. Ferretti had that kind of vision and racecraft. He knew what I had to do."

Ferretti (right) with Fassa Bortolo sprinter Alessandro Petacchi and the UCI president Hein Verbruggen (left) (Image credit: Getty Images)

If Ferretti's tactics brought his riders to the place where they could win, time and again and no matter the era, one old-worldly element he also had, Flecha recounts, was his insistence on doing things by the book.

After Flecha agreed to join Fassa Bortolo from Banesto, Ferretti told Flecha he'd have to get permission from Banesto's then director, Jose Miguel Echavarri, to sign with him first.

And to go back to that edition of Gent-Wevelgem again, when Flecha was finally beaten by Mattan after the Belgian allegedly used race vehicles to draft back up to the Spaniard and then outsprinted him, an outraged Ferretti wrote letters of protest about Mattan's 'tactics' to the highest levels of the UCI.

They had no effect, but Ferretti's riders greatly appreciated the depth of loyalty that showed he had for them, all the same.

Humility and humanity

Yet at the centre of it all, there was a great deal of humility in Ferretti – part of it born from knowing how hard it could be to succeed as a pro, and how fragile that success could be.

A moderately promising amateur, Ferretti's biggest breakthrough triumph was set to be an overall victory in the Tour de l'Avenir. But just when he was leading, he had a bad fall on the descent of the Col d'Izoard, and an untimely puncture that left him out for the count. Then during his eight years as a pro alongside Gimondi – with whom he was great friends as well as teammates – Ferretti was witness to plenty of wins by his teammates, but he never took a single triumph. himself

"It was all about the team," he told Gazzetta. The importance of that collective spirit was something he would apply to his own squads when directing, starting with Bianchi in 1971, all the way through to the end of his career.

"He would tell me," Flecha recalls, "that if ever I was a sports director to make sure that if I signed riders that they weren't just winners; that they also knew how to help others. And that came directly from him not being a great rider, as he was the first to recognise. He used that humble start for his team's benefit., both as a racer and as a director."

1995 Tour de France: Giancarlo Ferretti with an injured rider, Fabio Baldato - now a DS at UAE Team Emirates-XRG - during the race (Image credit: Getty Images)

If Ferretti's reputation for iron discipline was the stuff of urban legend in cycling for the general public, behind closed doors his ability to see the humans beyond the results sheets was considerable, former riders say. That natural empathy manifested in a racing incident when Ferretti was a pro, involving himself and Tom Simpson in the 1967 Tour, shortly before the doomed Briton died on the Mont Ventoux, and which Ferretti said would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Riding through blazing heat and with all the riders desperately thirsty, Ferretti grabbed a flask offered by a roadside spectator, but then was on the point of throwing it away because the liquid inside smelled alcoholic. However, before he could do so, Simpson took it off him and drank it down, only to collapse three kilometres from the summit and die. An autopsy later attributed the Briton's death to a fatal combination of amphetamines, heat exhaustion and alcohol. Ferretti often wondered, he once told Gazzetta, what would have happened if the rules of the time forbidding team cars from giving water to their riders had not been in place – and if Simpson, suffering from terrible thirst like the rest of the peloton, would not have downed the alcohol he'd taken from Ferretti.

Although Ferretti had raced or directed alongside many top names, "he wasn't a name dropper," Flecha recalls. "He once saw me reading a magazine article about Roger De Vlaeminck and jokingly told me faceva schifo [he sucked], before telling me about how De Vlaeminck was simply unstoppable as a rider, one of the fastest he'd ever seen."

Or as Gazzetta reported, from time to time Ferretti and Merckx, when still a pro, would open a bottle of whisky after a race and Merckx "would ask me everything imaginable about [arch-rival] Gimondi and I'd ask him everything imaginable about Merckx. In fact, neither of us would say a single true word the entire evening."

"He had a good sense of humour, too," Flecha adds. "I remember one rider laughing in an after-dinner discussion too, because there was some piece of historical data that he'd got right and Ferretti had made a mistake. And Ferretti said to him, jokingly, 'OK, you're laughing now but I'll be having the last laugh, at the end of the year' – when the rider's contract would be up."

A lowkey exit from cycling

As chance would have it, though, the end of Ferretti's own career as a sports director came about not because cycling was becoming more modern and he could not adapt, but by pure bad luck. In 2006, just as the WorldTour was starting, Ferretti's announcement of a new major sponsor for his squad fell flat on its face when it emerged he had been duped by a conman claiming to represent Sony Ericsson. The result was his new team folded before it began, and Ferretti's career was suddenly over.

"I remember I was with Alex Carera, my agent, when Ferròn rang up and told him the deal was off, that it had been a con, and he had riders like Stuart O'Grady ready to sign," Flecha – by then off to Rabobank, with Ferretti's blessing – recalls.

"Ferretti said, 'Alex, help me, please'. He was absolutely destroyed by the situation that had come up, he felt so responsible, above all for the riders."

Ferretti alongside the late Frank Vandenbroucke in 2004 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ending his career in such a lowkey way was never going to be the way that Ferretti wanted to bow out, but after so many years when it felt like professional cycling was inconceivable without Ferretti's balding, avuncular figure behind one team car driving wheel or another, that was how it happened.

Ferretti remained involved in the sport through Giro d'Italia organisers RCS for a few further years and other minor sponsors, but 2005 was his last full year. Not that in one sense it mattered, given his real contribution to cycling was already there and too well-established to disappear overnight.

"He created what you might call a school of thought or philosophy, not just amongst riders, but staff, trainers and directors," Flecha says. "I still consider myself to be a 'Ferretti rider'. No other director could have done that.

"He'd even reject certain sponsors if they didn't contribute to what he felt was the right kind of image for the team in terms of their equipment and so on, even if it meant more money. Because the unity of the team and its identity were, to him, what really mattered.

"He created that kind of legacy. And that's still there. In that sense he's still part of the sport."

Giancarlo Ferretti - bike rider and sports director: born 9 August 1941; died 9 August 2026

Czech Tour: Riley Sheehan squeezes past Ben Turner to win tight stage 1 sprint

Alasdair Fotheringham — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:22:51 +0000

A narrow gap between Ben Turner (Netcompany Ineos) and the barriers was all Riley Sheehan (NSN) needed to power through to a bunch sprint victory in the hilly stage 1 of the Czech Tour.

The rider from Boulder, Colorado went neck-and-neck with pre-race favourite Turner from about 200 metres from the line at Karlovy Vary, before diving through what littel space was available late on to claim his second win of the 2026 season.

Third on the opening stage of the four-day race was Romet Pajur (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rookies) with Modern Adventure's Scott McGill in fourth.

Sheehan's victory sets him up as the first leader of the Czech Tour before the race moves into the high mountains on stage 2.

"I think I felt confident we'd catch the breakaway," Sheehan told race organisation broadcasters. "Ineos rode super-strong all day, and the chaos of the finish, we all watched it last year, we saw how the group split. [But] I had a phenomenal team to back me up.

"We played our cards right and they all came together at the final and positioned me perfect. It was a perfect day."

Sheehan finds the gap

The first attack of the day came thanks to Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep), Martin Voltr (ATT Investments) and Jose Černy (Kasper crypto4me), and this three-man breakaway then sparked a counter-move by United Shipping's Michal Schuran who joined.

Modern Adventure and Netcompany Ineos were not going to miss out on the one sprint opportunity of the race, though, and with 30 kilometres to go and just a minute's gap, the four began attacking each other, rather than collaborate, leading to the break's collapse..

Things briefly took an unexpected turn on a hilly segment on the run-in when Svesta-Bardseng Embret (Netcompany-Ineos) and Paul Fietzke (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) powered a brief dig away. Once sucked in on a long descent, though, Netcompany Ineos returned to working for Turner as they had done throughout the day, while Caja Rural-Seguros RGA briefly contributed to keeping things under control on the front.

On the twisting approach through a wooded gorge and into the spa town of Karlovy Vary, the pace stayed very high, Netcompany led things out on the sweeping series of left and right hand bends. Turner went for broke early, only to find Sheehan timing his counter-move perfectly to shadow the rider on the slight uphill to the line.

The Netcompany rider squeezed things down a little, but did not block his opponent at all and despite almost brushing elbows with the Briton, Sheehan found his way through to the third career win and, at 25, the first stage race lead of his career, too.

Friday's stage will begin the GC battle in earnest, with a 16km Cat.1 ascent of Ješted the first major summit finish of three.

"I'll try and hang on for dear life," Sheehan said "It was a good sprint for me today and maybe tomorrow is another opportunity. It's not the hardest climb, just hard at the final, and if I can hang for a short climb, it'd be good."

"But we've got [teammate] Jan Hirt, too, he's a strong guy and he's flying and he's in his home country, so we'll see what we can do for him."

Results

Place	Full Name (Team)	Diff
1	Riley Sheehan (NSN Cycling Team)	03:45:15
2	Ben Turner (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:00
3	Romet Pajur (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:00
4	Scott McGill (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:00
5	Nolan Huysmans (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:00
6	Dominik Neuman (ATT Investments)	+0:00:00
7	Filippo Turconi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:00
8	Jules Hesters (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:00
9	Thomas Pesenti (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:00
10	Sergi Darder (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:00
11	Leander Van Hautegem (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:00
12	Adam Bittman (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:00
13	Francisco Peñuela (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:00
14	Nicola Marcerou (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:00
15	Filippo Ridolfo (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:00:00
16	Marco Frigo (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:00:00
17	Cesare Chesini (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:00
18	Michele Gazzoli (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:00
19	Luca Covili (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:00
20	Tomasz Budzinski (ATT Investments)	+0:00:00
21	Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:00
22	Samuel Fernández Garcia (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:00
23	Alberto Monti (ATT Investments)	+0:00:00
24	Unai Iribar (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:00
25	Mattia Stenico (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:00
26	Piotr Pekala (ATT Investments)	+0:00:00
27	Gijs Schoonvelde (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:00
28	Nikolaos Drakos (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:00
29	Nicolas Breuillard (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:00
30	Ben Swift (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:00
31	Paul Conor (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:00
32	Vaclav Jezek (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:00
33	Kieran Haug (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:00
34	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (ATT Investments)	+0:00:00
35	Warre Vangheluwe (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:00
36	Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:00
37	Dylan Vandenstorme (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:00
38	Stefan de Bod (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:00
39	Evan Pavis (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:00
40	Filip Gruszczynski (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:00
41	Pablo Lospitao (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:00
42	Davide Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:00
43	Milan Kadlec (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:00
44	David Lozano (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:00:00
45	Tomas Pridal (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:00
46	Zsombor Palumby (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:00
47	Matteo Turconi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:00
48	Ibai Azanza (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:00
49	Samuel Florez (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:00
50	Martin Svrcek (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:00
51	Joan Bou (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:00
52	Mattia Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:00
53	Antonio Polga (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:00:00
54	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:00
55	Francisco Muñoz (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:00
56	Unai Ramos (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:00
57	Jan Hirt (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:00:00
58	Anatol Friedl (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:00
59	Edward Cruz Martínez (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:00
60	Senne Thonnon (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:00
61	Jorge Gutiérrez (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:00
62	Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:00
63	Domenico Pozzovivo (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:00
64	Jordan Jegat (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:00
65	Pablo Carrascosa (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:00
66	Fernando Tercero (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:00
67	Matteo Fabbro (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:00
68	Alex Tolio (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:00
69	Alessandro Verre (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:00
70	Mate Endredi (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:00
71	Jan Castellon (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:00
72	Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:00
73	Alessandro Tonelli (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:00
74	Max Bock (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:00
75	Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:00
76	Diego Bracalente (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:00
77	AJ August (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:00
78	Geoffrey Bouchard (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:00
79	Bob Jungels (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:00
80	Florian Kajamini (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:00
81	Kamiel Bonneu (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:00
82	Adam Pesek (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:00
83	Siebe Deweirdt (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:00
84	Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:00
85	Henri Vandenabeele (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:00
86	Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:00
87	Gauthier Servranckx (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:00
88	Martin Barta (ATT Investments)	+0:00:00
89	Michael Kukrle (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:00
90	Sebastian Putz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:00
91	Michael Boros (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:00
92	Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:38
93	Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping)	+0:01:17
94	Vojtech Soukup (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:17
95	Sam Brand (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:01:17
96	Franciszek Kocur (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:17
97	Jan Kaspar (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:17
98	Alessandro Iacchi (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:01:17
99	Quinten De Graeve (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:01:17
100	Fabrizio Crozzolo (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:01:17
101	Roei Edinger (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:01:17
102	Fabien Grellier (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:01:17
103	Yukiya Arashiro (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:01:17
104	Yen Yi Ho (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:01:17
105	Alex Beldon (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:01:17
106	Paul Fietzke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:01:17
107	Ondrej Pokorny (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:03:49
108	Joe Blackmore (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:04:00
109	Jack Haig (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:04:00
110	Lorenzo Nespoli (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:04:00
111	Josef Cerný (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:04:56
112	Veljko Stojnic (Team United Shipping)	+0:04:56
113	Martin Voltr (ATT Investments)	+0:04:56
114	Óscar Rodríguez (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:08:01
115	Tomas Vrana (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:20
116	Daniel Silhavy (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:20
117	Lucas Dauge (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:10:20
118	Matyas Koblizek (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:20
119	Rastko Nikacevic (Team United Shipping)	+0:10:20
120	Harry Lasker (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:10:27
121	Ian Lopez de San Roman (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:10:27
122	Theodor Clemmensen (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:11:18
123	Samuel Boardman (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:13:54
124	Hayden Stevens (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:15:30

General Classification after stage 1

Place	Full Name (Team)	Diff
1	Riley Sheehan (NSN Cycling Team)	03:45:05
2	Ben Turner (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:04
3	Romet Pajur (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:06
4	Scott McGill (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:10
5	Nolan Huysmans (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:10
6	Dominik Neuman (ATT Investments)	+0:00:10
7	Filippo Turconi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:10
8	Jules Hesters (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:10
9	Thomas Pesenti (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:10
10	Sergi Darder (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:10
11	Leander Van Hautegem (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:10
12	Adam Bittman (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:10
13	Francisco Peñuela (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:10
14	Nicola Marcerou (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:10
15	Filippo Ridolfo (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:00:10
16	Marco Frigo (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:00:10
17	Cesare Chesini (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:10
18	Michele Gazzoli (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:10
19	Luca Covili (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:10
20	Tomasz Budzinski (ATT Investments)	+0:00:10
21	Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:10
22	Samuel Fernández Garcia (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:10
23	Alberto Monti (ATT Investments)	+0:00:10
24	Unai Iribar (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:10
25	Mattia Stenico (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:10
26	Piotr Pekala (ATT Investments)	+0:00:10
27	Gijs Schoonvelde (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:10
28	Nikolaos Drakos (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:10
29	Nicolas Breuillard (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:10
30	Ben Swift (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:10
31	Paul Conor (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:10
32	Vaclav Jezek (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:10
33	Kieran Haug (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:10
34	Mateusz Gajdulewicz (ATT Investments)	+0:00:10
35	Warre Vangheluwe (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:10
36	Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:10
37	Dylan Vandenstorme (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:10
38	Stefan de Bod (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:10
39	Evan Pavis (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:10
40	Filip Gruszczynski (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:10
41	Pablo Lospitao (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:10
42	Davide Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:10
43	Milan Kadlec (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:10
44	David Lozano (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:00:10
45	Tomas Pridal (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:10
46	Zsombor Palumby (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:10
47	Matteo Turconi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:10
48	Ibai Azanza (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:10
49	Samuel Florez (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:00:10
50	Martin Svrcek (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:10
51	Joan Bou (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:10
52	Mattia Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:10
53	Antonio Polga (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:00:10
54	Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:10
55	Francisco Muñoz (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:10
56	Unai Ramos (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:10
57	Jan Hirt (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:00:10
58	Anatol Friedl (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:10
59	Edward Cruz Martínez (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:10
60	Senne Thonnon (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:10
61	Jorge Gutiérrez (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:10
62	Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:10
63	Domenico Pozzovivo (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:10
64	Jordan Jegat (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:10
65	Pablo Carrascosa (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:10
66	Fernando Tercero (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:10
67	Matteo Fabbro (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:10
68	Alex Tolio (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:10
69	Alessandro Verre (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:10
70	Mate Endredi (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:10
71	Jan Castellon (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:10
72	Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:10
73	Alessandro Tonelli (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:00:10
74	Max Bock (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:10
75	Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:10
76	Diego Bracalente (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:10
77	AJ August (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:10
78	Geoffrey Bouchard (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:00:10
79	Bob Jungels (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:00:10
80	Florian Kajamini (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:00:10
81	Kamiel Bonneu (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:00:10
82	Adam Pesek (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:10
83	Siebe Deweirdt (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:10
84	Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:10
85	Henri Vandenabeele (Team Flanders-Baloise)	+0:00:10
86	Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:10
87	Gauthier Servranckx (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:10
88	Martin Barta (ATT Investments)	+0:00:10
89	Michael Kukrle (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:10
90	Sebastian Putz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:10
91	Michael Boros (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:00:10
92	Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step)	+0:00:46
93	Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping)	+0:01:24
94	Vojtech Soukup (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:27
95	Sam Brand (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:01:27
96	Franciszek Kocur (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:27
97	Jan Kaspar (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:27
98	Alessandro Iacchi (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:01:27
99	Quinten De Graeve (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:01:27
100	Fabrizio Crozzolo (Team Polti VisitMalta)	+0:01:27
101	Roei Edinger (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:01:27
102	Fabien Grellier (Team TotalEnergies)	+0:01:27
103	Yukiya Arashiro (Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali)	+0:01:27
104	Yen Yi Ho (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:01:27
105	Alex Beldon (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:01:27
106	Paul Fietzke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:01:27
107	Ondrej Pokorny (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:03:59
108	Joe Blackmore (NSN Cycling Team)	+0:04:10
109	Jack Haig (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:04:10
110	Lorenzo Nespoli (MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort)	+0:04:10
111	Martin Voltr (ATT Investments)	+0:05:05
112	Josef Cerný (Kasper crypto4me)	+0:05:06
113	Veljko Stojnic (Team United Shipping)	+0:05:06
114	Óscar Rodríguez (Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team)	+0:08:11
115	Tomas Vrana (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:30
116	Daniel Silhavy (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:30
117	Lucas Dauge (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:10:30
118	Matyas Koblizek (Tufo-Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:30
119	Rastko Nikacevic (Team United Shipping)	+0:10:30
120	Harry Lasker (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:10:37
121	Ian Lopez de San Roman (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:10:37
122	Theodor Clemmensen (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:11:28
123	Samuel Boardman (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)	+0:14:04
124	Hayden Stevens (Team Novo Nordisk)	+0:15:40

Click here for full results

Points classification
Place	Full Name (Team)	Points
1	Riley Sheehan (NSN Cycling Team)	25
2	Ben Turner (Netcompany INEOS)	20
3	Romet Pajur (Red Bull - BORA - Hansgrohe Rookies)	16
4	Scott McGill (Modern Adventure)	14
5	Nolan Huysmans (Team Flanders - Baloise)	12
6	Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping)	10
6	Dominik Neuman (ATT Investments)	10
8	Filippo Turconi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	9
9	Jules Hesters (Team Flanders - Baloise)	8
10	Thomas Pesenti (Polti-VisitMalta)	7
11	Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep)	6
11	Sergi Darder Gari (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	6
13	Leander van Hautegem (Team Flanders - Baloise)	5
14	Martin Voltr (ATT Investments)	4
14	Adam Bittman (Kasper Crypto4Me)	4
16	Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	3
17	Nicola Marcerou (TotalEnergies)	2
18	Filippo Ridolfo (Novo Nordisk)	1

Mountains classification

Place	Full Name (Team)	Points
1	Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep)	16
2	Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping)	10
3	Martin Voltr (ATT Investments)	8
4	Josef Černý (Kasper Crypto4Me)	2

Youth Classification

Place	Full Name (Team)	Diff
1	Romet Pajur (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies)	03:45:11
2	Nolan Huysmans (Team Flanders - Baloise)	+0:00:04
3	Filippo Turconi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:04
4	Adam Bittman (Kasper Crypto4Me)	+0:00:04
5	Cesare Chesini (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort)	+0:00:04
6	Alberto Carlo Monti (Att Investments)	+0:00:04
7	Mattia Stenico (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:04
8	Gijs Schoonvelde (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:04
9	Václav Ježek (Kasper Crypto4Me)	+0:00:04
10	Evan Pavis (Vendee U Primeo Energie)	+0:00:04
11	Filip Gruszczyński (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort)	+0:00:04
12	Pablo Lospitao Gonzalez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)	+0:00:04
13	Milan Kadlec (Kasper Crypto4Me)	+0:00:04
14	Tomáš Přidal (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:04
15	Matteo Turconi (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:04
16	Ibai Azanza Burusco (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:04
17	Samuel Florez Garces (Modern Adventure)	+0:00:04
18	Unai Ramos Murillo (Equipo Kern Pharma)	+0:00:04
19	Anatol Friedl (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:04
20	Edward Santiago Cruz Martinez (Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)	+0:00:04
21	Máté Endrédi (Team United Shipping)	+0:00:04
22	Max Bock (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:00:04
23	Diego Bracalente (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort)	+0:00:04
24	Andrew August (Netcompany Ineos)	+0:00:04
25	Adam Pešek (Kasper Crypto4Me)	+0:00:04
26	Gauthier Servranckx (Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team)	+0:00:04
27	Martin Bárta (Att Investments)	+0:00:04
28	Vojtěch Soukup (Tufo - Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:21
29	Franciszek Kocur (Tufo - Pardus Prostejov)	+0:01:21
30	Fabricio German Crozzolo (Polti-VisitMalta)	+0:01:21
31	Roei Edinger (Nsn Development Team)	+0:01:21
32	Alex Beldon (Nsn Development Team)	+0:01:21
33	Paul Fietzke (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:01:21
34	Ondřej Pokorný (Tufo - Pardus Prostejov)	+0:03:53
35	Lorenzo Nespoli (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort)	+0:04:04
36	Tomáš Vrána (Tufo - Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:24
37	Daniel Šilhavý (Tufo - Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:24
38	Matyáš Koblížek (Tufo - Pardus Prostejov)	+0:10:24
39	Rastko Nikačević (Team United Shipping)	+0:10:24
40	Harry Lasker (Modern Adventure)	+0:10:31
41	Theodor Clemmensen (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe Rookies)	+0:11:22
42	Hayden Stevens (Team Novo Nordisk Development)	+0:15:34

'I don't think the gap is that wide' – Elisa Longo Borghini already thinking about battling Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney at 2027 Tour de France Femmes

dani.ostanek@futurenet.com (Dani Ostanek) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:02:06 +0000

Following her third place at the Tour de France Femmes, Elisa Longo Borghini has said that she'll be back to win it all next year, claiming, "I don't think the gap is that wide" to the two riders who finished ahead of her, Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.

The Italian improved as the Tour went on, going from seventh place in Poligny to fourth before the final weekend, and then third overall after Marlen Reusser was dropped and crashed on the final stage in Nice.

She ended her race 4:19 down on Vollering, 3:01 off Niewiadoma-Phinney, the majority of the time shed in the hills of the Jura on stage 5 and up Mont Ventoux two days later.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Longo Borghini said she believes she can close those gaps, especially given the disrupted year she had leading up to August.

"I'll be back at the Tour to win it next year. Considering the problems and the setback I've had, I don't think the gap is that wide," she said.

"It has been a bit of a strange year for me so far. In spring, I lost a month to bronchitis. I spent a great deal of time playing catch-up, like at the Giro d'Italia Women, which went well with fourth place and a stage win, but not brilliantly.

"Even at this Tour, I was chasing the leaders a lot, but at a certain point, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together better."

Speaking in her post-Tour press conference, Longo Borghini said she "never stopped believing" in making the Tour podium, adding that it was the "cherry on the cake" of her race. She told Gazzetta that she took immense pride in her achievement.

"The feeling on the final day was incredible, a real adrenaline rush," she said.

"[I'm proud of] the fact that I started in fourth place, but I wanted – and had to – go all out. I was only interested in the podium, nothing else. All-in."

The result came after sleepless nights at the Tour, where Longo Borghini's doubts saw her consider abandoning the race, she said.

"I'd wake up and think about the details, what hadn't gone right, the fact that things could end up even worse the next day, even about withdrawing from the Tour and from cycling altogether.

"But obviously, you can take that as hyperbole. I think everyone has strange thoughts at night from time to time. It was nice, then, to see how I reacted."

Following her Tour success – her best result to date in four starts – one big goal for 2026 lies ahead for Longo Borghini. She's set to lead the Italian selection at the Road World Championships.

The road race in Montréal is set to be the 15th of her career, among which she has scored three bronze medals. Vollering, the favourite to take the rainbow stripes on a hilly course, is once again in her sights.

"Now it's all about the Road World Championships, where Demi will always be the woman to beat. On September 26 in Montréal, I want to be ready."

Where are all the Vuelta a España sprinters? They're heading to Belgium instead

dani.ostanek@futurenet.com (Dani Ostanek) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:06:06 +0000

With the upcoming Vuelta a España featuring seven summit finishes and just four flat stages, this year's race is hardly catered for the sprinters of the peloton. It's no surprise, then, that almost all of the world's top fastmen are skipping the final Grand Tour of the season.

The Vuelta begins with a Monaco time trial, a hilly stage in Provence, and two days in the Pyrenees, meaning there are no chances for a bunch sprint in the Vuelta's Gran Partida.

Sprinters will have to suffer through mountain stages to Font-Romeu, Andorra la Vella, Aramón Valdelinares, and the Alto de Aitana before the first real flat finish. Stage 11 in Lorca gives them the first cast-iron chance to battle it out, with only the subsequent visits to Loja, La Rábida, and Sevilla offering further opportunities.

So, if La Vuelta says 'No sprints please, we're Spanish', then where will the peloton's top sprinters be racing this month?

The cream of the crop are heading to Belgium for the Renewi Tour, which looks to offer three or four sprint opportunities in just five days of racing.

Each of the sprint winners at last month's Tour de France will be battling it out once again there, as Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM), and Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) take the start in Diest.

They won't be alone, though – far from it, as Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), Biniam Girmay (NSN), and more will also be racing.

Meanwhile, the Vuelta will host a handful of sprinters, more of the type who can battle over the hills and excel on tougher finishes. Headlining the sprint selection in Spain are Tour green jersey winner Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Visma-Lease a Bike pairing Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan, and seven-time Vuelta stage winner Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech).

Soudal-QuickStep CEO Jurgen Foré told Het Nieuwsblad that the Vuelta is "just a little too tough" for Merlier, who already has the Tour in his legs and would have to wait half the race for a chance to sprint, while two Grand Tours in a single season is too much for 22-year-old Giro d'Italia star Paul Magnier.

Alpecin-Premier Tech manager Christoph Roodhooft added that the Vuelta, just four weeks after the Tour, is "simply unfeasible" for Philipsen to tackle.

"You really need to be a complete sprinter to win stages in the Vuelta," he said.

"By that I mean someone who can handle hilly courses relatively comfortably. Both Groves and Philipsen fall into that category."

Groves, likely racing his final Grand Tour with Alpecin-Premier Tech with a move to Tudor in the offing, is set for a duel with Pedersen in Spain. The pair both have two Vuelta points jerseys on their palmarès and will be aiming for a third.

They'll have to overcome 58,156 metres of elevation along the way, however – a record among this year's Grand Tours, with the Giro featuring 49,150 metres, and the Tour 54,450.

At the Renewi Tour, meanwhile, reigning champion De Lie should duke it out with the likes of Philipsen, Girmay, and Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) for overall victory.

Sprint fields compared
	Renewi Tour	Vuelta a España
	Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep)	Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
	Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech)	Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)
	Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM)	Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike)
	Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility)	Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
	Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)	Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)
	Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets)	Axel Laurance (Netcompany Ineos)
	Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché)	Alberto Dainese (Soudal-QuickStep)
	Biniam Girmay (NSN)
	Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
	Max Kanter (XDS-Astana)
	Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise)
	Sam Bennett (Pinarello-Q36.5)
	Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor)
	Pavel Bittner (Picnic-PostNL)
	Sam Welsford (Netcompany Ineos)
	Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost)

'A declaration of a shared future, ambitionand trust' – Re-emerging German talent Marco Brenner signs one of the longest contracts in cycling

Owen Rogers — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:59:44 +0000

Days after winning the general classification at the Tour de Pologne, Marco Brenner has signed a long-term deal to remain with Tudor Pro Cycling.

After joining in 2024, the team announced the former German champion will remain at the Swiss-registered squad until the end of the 2030 season, when he will be 30-years-old.

"This isn’t just a deal. It’s a declaration of a shared future, ambition and trust," read the team’s statement.

Brenner's contract is among the longest in cycling, with only Isaac del Toro's deal to 2031 with UAE Team Emirates-XRG and the 'lifetime' Visma-Lease a Bike contracts for Marianne Vos and Wout van Aert running longer. Mathys Rondel, Brenner's teammate, is among nine other WorldTour riders with a contract running to 2030.

Brenner joined Tudor in 2024 after beginning his career at what is now Picnic-PostNL at the age of just 19. He soon picked up his first professional victory, taking the opening stage of that year’s Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.

A punchy climber, the 23-year-old has several other decent results to his name, though his second victory didn’t materialise until last weekend when, after a consistent ride in the Tour de Pologne’s hilly stages, seventh place in the final day time trial was enough to secure him overall victory.

That was an excellent return for Brenner, who suffered serious shoulder and knee injuries following a crash in stage 19 of the 2025 Giro d’Italia which kept him out of competition for almost four months. His return in September barely got off the ground with a series of DNFs, but he began the 2026 season with fourth place overall at the Santos Tour Down Under, steadily improving throughout the year.

"I am really happy to extend my contract and continue my journey with Tudor Pro Cycling," said Brenner, who is set to start his third Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España next week.

"When I joined the Team in 2024, I found a nice environment that allowed me to perform and find joy. And when I was injured and working on my way back last year, I was given the time and support I needed. I now look forward to adding a few more years to this journey.”

Tudor’s CEO, Raphael Meyer, was delighted to have tied down his GC talent. "Marco is a young rider we truly believe in," he said. "His rehabilitation and return to racing after his severe crash at the 2025 Giro d’Italia are a testament to his fighting spirit, a quality that also defines him as a racer.

"Last week’s Tour de Pologne was a perfect example of Marco’s determination and resilience, and a great result of both tremendous teamwork and our born-to-dare racing spirit.”

'Still far from reaching his full potential' – Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe snap up Georg Steinhauser from EF Education-EasyPost

Patrick Fletcher — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:31:09 +0000

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have snapped up Georg Steinhauser from EF Education-EasyPost, with the German rider joining the German team from 2027.

Steinhauser turned professional with EF in 2022 and made a name for himself when he won a mountain stage at the 2024 Giro d'Italia.

Transfer Guide

Cycling transfers – All the latest news and announcements for the 2027 season

Steinhauser's 2025 season was derailed by Lyme Disease, but he has bounced back in 2026, finishing on the podium of Paris-Nice in the white jersey of best young rider, and going on to race and finish his first Tour de France.

“Georg combines climbing ability, race intelligence and an attacking mindset. He has earned his success through hard work over the past few years, and we believe he is still far from reaching his full potential," said Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's chief of sport, Zak Dempster.

"Together, we want to continue supporting his development and provide the best possible environment for him to take the next step in his career."

Steinhauser can be excited about joining a German team, where he will link back up with one of the team's leading stage racers, Florian Lipowitz, the pair having raced together at the Tirol-KTM team before they hit the WorldTour.

"When I was young, I was always a fan of this team and have been impressed by how they kept reaching one goal after another. Joining a German team with a very professional and international approach will certainly be a good platform for me to progress," Steinhauser said.

"I hope to be able to add to the team’s success with my aggressive style, but also in a strong support role. I’m ready to create lasting memories in the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe kit!"

The length of Steinhauser's contract has not been disclosed, but it is described as a 'multi-year' deal.

Analysis

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's transfer window so far

In	Out	Extended
Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost)		Jai Hindley (length not disclosed)

EF Education-EasyPost's transfer window so far

In	Out	Extended
Juan Felipe Rodriguez (EF Education-Aevolo)	Madis Mihkels (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
Gavin Sherry (EF Education-Aevolo)

Wout van Aert and Tim Merlier join defending champions Marthe Truyen and Niels Vandeputte among starters for Belgian Gravel Championships

simone.giuliani@futurenet.com (Simone Giuliani) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 09:49:58 +0000

It is set to be a fiercely contested fourth edition of the Belgian Gravel National Championships, with a mix of gravel regulars and road riders joining the fray for the race from Grobbendonk on Sunday August 16.

Wout van Aert will be among those lining up, with the Visma-Lease a Bike racer venturing into gravel again after winning the UCI Gravel World Series race Marly Gravel in May. His focus will soon be on the road again, though, at the upcoming Vuelta a España.

Van Aert will have plenty of competition in the national title chase as among those set to line up in the elite men's field are defending champion Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team), Tim Merlier (Soudal QuickStep), who was third at the event last year, along with gravel regulars Greg van Avermaet and Daan Soete (Ridley Racing) who is fresh from winning Heathland Gravel on Sunday.

Elite women's defending champion Marthe Truyen (Fenix-Premier Tech) will be back, as will last year's runner- up and teammate Lotte Claes, who in June claimed the national time trial title. The 2024 gravel champion Alana Castrique (AG Insurance-Soudal) will also be on the start line, as will road and cyclocross racer Julie Brouwers.

The men's elite race will be run over 163.2km, three laps of the course that starts and finishes in Grobbendonk while the elite women's race takes in two laps for 108.8km.

The national title holders also qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships, to be held in Nannup, Western Australia on October 10 and 11. Before that, however, is the European Gravel Championships on August 30, which will be in Houffalize.

The Belgian Championships are among the growing number of nations to hold a national title race for gravel with Jasper Stuyven and Truyen claiming the first titles in 2023. Then in 2024 Castrique was joined by Gianni Vermeersch – the first gravel world champion in 2022.

A livestream of this year's race will also be available on Pickx.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel and off-road cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

Albert Philipsen faces another injury recovery after training crash leaves him with three fractures

simone.giuliani@futurenet.com (Simone Giuliani) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:02:47 +0000

After a season that included victory at Paris-Roubaix Espoirs and a notable second behind Tadej Pogačar at Tre Valli Varesine, there was much anticipation about what 2026 would bring for Albert Withen Philipsen. However, the 19-year-old has now had to face a second derailment of his plans due to injury.

After starting the season with a series of one-day races, including the Amstel Gold Race where he came eighth, the 19-year-old rode the Tour de Romandie, where he also came eighth overall. That, however, is where the entries into the results tally so far this season came to an end for the Lidl-Trek rider.

A major training crash while tackling a descent after Romandie left the rider with a head injury, cuts, bruises and injuries to hands, right elbow and right leg. The multi-discipline rider, who sparked the interest of several key teams when he looked to make the shift up to the WorldTour at 18, had recovered and was back preparing for racing. However, his team said this week that another recovery would now be required.

"We regret to inform that Albert was involved in a training crash on Monday," said Lidl-Trek on social media. "Hospital examinations revealed three minor fractures on the left wrist, elbow and shoulder, and Albert has since been discharged. Get well soon, Albert!"

It's a tough turn for not just the rider, but also the team, which has a number of its young riders currently facing injury challenges.

Thibaut Nys, 23, has had a lay-off this season with knee problems and was preparing for the Vuelta a España, but has been ill with toxoplasmosis. His father, Sven, said that Thibau had fallen ill during a training camp in July, and a decision on his Vuelta start would be taken on Friday or Saturday.

The 18-year-old Lidl-Trek future racer Harry Hudson has also been out of action since May, with the winner of last year's junior road race title fracturing his spine in a collision with a motorbike while descending in training.

It is unclear when Philipsen will return to racing. However, the Dane, signed with Lidl-Trek through to the end of 2028, knows there is still a block of late-season one-day races ahead where he has proven he can perform.

Last year, October brought some of Philipsen's strongest results, as on top of that Tre Valli Varesine runner-up spot, there was a top 10 at Giro dell'Emilia and third at Paris-Tours.

The Rad Dirt Fest returns to Life Time Grand Prix in 2027 for seven-event series with adjusted selection rules

simone.giuliani@futurenet.com (Simone Giuliani) — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 02:15:10 +0000

The Rad Dirt Festival is back in the Life Time Grand Prix series in 2027, returning the off-road competition to a seven-race event, and there will also be an adjusted athlete selection process for the year ahead.

The September event in Trinidad, Colorado was last included as part of the series in 2024, and there have been six events in the season the past three years following the cancellation of the Crusher in the Tushar race due to wildfires two seasons ago.

For the year ahead, riders in the series must start a minimum of six of the seven events, which in 2027 will be Sea Otter Classic Gravel, Unbound Gravel 200, Leadville Trail 100 MTB, Chequamegon Mountain Bike Festival, Rad Dirt Fest, Little Sugar MTB and Big Sugar Gravel.

The process for deciding the 25 athletes in the men's and women's competition is also changing in 2027, with the aim being to "create a performance-driven-path" that also improves the abilities of athletes to plan for what's ahead.

"The Grand Prix is about identifying the best all-around off-road racers, and competing across gravel and mountain bike racing reflects that," said Kimo Seymour, President of Events and Media at Life Time. "Establishing the field earlier also gives athletes greater certainty as they plan their seasons and partnerships.”

Automatic selection for this season only applied to the top five and the top overall Under 23 rider from 2025. Then there were 16 selected athletes, and three wild card entries – with more added in the case of selected athletes dropping out. Places were confirmed after the second event, Unbound, in late May.

For 2027, the rules will be adjusted so the top ten athletes from 2026 gain automatic selection, along with the top U23 rider. The remaining 14 spots will then be decided based on the results from among the Pro category at the mid-April Sea Otter Classic Gravel and Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL.

“Our goal is to continue raising the competitive standard of the Grand Prix while creating a clear pathway into the Series for athletes to pursue,” said Seymour.

“The top athletes from this season will earn their opportunity to return, the next group will have the chance to race their way in at Sea Otter, and from there we’ll have 25 women and 25 men taking on seven of the most demanding off-road races in the country.”

The leaning toward performance-based, rather than discretionary, selection, is also not where the changes end. A new Pro category vetting procedure is also set to be introduced for 2027. Riders will have to apply for access to race in the Pro category at Life Time events, as part of a process which will be introduced in September.

An altitude camp, 20-minute power PB, and abandoning Burgos - Inside the preparation for my first Grand Tour

Luke Tuckwell — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:35:06 +0000

In the early evening of the 22nd of August, I will hopefully be riding down the start ramp in Monaco for the opening stage of the 81st Vuelta a España. What lies in front of me are 21 days of racing, and a parcours that will take the peloton through four countries; notably one of those being my European home in Andorra.

But what culminates in my first Grand Tour is weeks of preparation before the depart, most of which goes unnoticed by the wider cycling community and is often done solo.

In today's column, I will take you behind the scenes of the last six weeks of my life as a pro cyclist, including the solo rides, training camps with my teammates, the highs, and of course, the lows. I hope you enjoy reading.

This build-up started immediately after the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where discussions with my team led us to make the decision that La Vuelta would be the focal point for the rest of 2026. This would include a three-week altitude training block within a six-week period of no racing. But before I went off to altitude, I enjoyed the longest period at home that I have had all year. During these three weeks, my parents, aunty and uncle, and my girlfriend came to Andorra, and while it was incredibly special to spend that time with them off the bike, I struggled significantly on the bike.

I think the period of racing between the middle of March at Milano-Torino all the way up to the TARA in mid June finally caught up with me. I was low on energy, unable to complete any serious efforts and in consultation with my coach decided to pull back and rest in order to completely recover before the altitude camp in Livigno.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. This period allowed me to spend precious time with my family as well as fully comprehend what I had achieved in the previous races. Next, after two weeks of relatively limited riding, I was on my way to my first altitude camp of the year.

Tuckwell picked up his best-ever career result at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, finishing second on GC (Image credit: Getty Images)

Highs and lows at altitude

Altitude camp is a funny thing. On one hand, at altitude your body adapts to the conditions and produces more red blood cells, which in turn should make you faster on the bike afterwards. On the other, you can feel pretty terrible on the bike while up high and struggle even coming close to the power you can produce at sea level in training.

This is why the adaptation phase in the first days at altitude is so important, so I was trundling around the mountains in Livigno, solo, trying to keep my watts at a minimum.

Thankfully, I think I nailed these few days, because I was able to get in some seriously good sessions during the first 10 days. This was great for the mental headspace after the rough few weeks of training I'd had in Andorra, but in the final few days of camp I struggled again.

I received news from back in Australia that my grandfather was extremely unwell. After hearing this, I mentally struggled to push myself to the limit, and completing efforts became virtually impossible.

I know these all sound like minor setbacks. A few bad days on the bike don’t ruin all the hard work done this year already, but as I was sitting in an isolated hotel at 2,200 metres above sea level, I started to second-guess everything.

Knowing how much of a challenge La Vuelta will be for me, I was stressed about missing key sessions, thinking this was going to set my fitness back and make the race even harder than it was already going to be.

Ever since the passing of my sister, I have found these hard mental days happen more regularly than before, and I find it hard to bring myself ‘out of the hole’ quickly.

The team’s support with this is amazing, and they completely understand how I am feeling and how it affects me. It is also something that I would like to use as a strength in the future; riding for my sister to make her proud, but I’ve only been able to channel this feeling once on that fateful day in France.

These emotions don’t last forever, though, and soon camp was done; I was back home and already thinking about my next race, the Vuelta a Burgos.

Tuckwell's Vuelta a Burgos campaign would ultimately be cut a day short (Image credit: Getty Images)

A new 20-minute PB and a DNS the next day

I’ve found a lot of joy racing in Spain this year. It began with the Ruta del Sol in Andalucía during February, Catalunya in March, followed by Itzulia Basque Country the following week. Now I was back in the Iberian Peninsula for La Vuelta a Burgos, unsure where my legs were and what they were capable of achieving.

Altitude had gone relatively well; I felt fit and healthy, and the team had put no pressure on me for a result. All they - and I - wanted was a good test before La Vuelta to see where my form was and to get back into the racing rhythm.

I could give you a day-by-day description of how the race went, what happened, who won, and so on, but when I started this column I wanted to convey my personal experiences within my life as a professional, not simply a race recap.

So, the first two days I was feeling much better than expected. The terrain wasn’t perfect for my characteristics, but I did what I could for the team, and I had a smile on my face.

Stage 3 was my first real test. A 20-minute climb up to the finish in Balneario de Corconte meant it was showtime. What I wasn’t expecting was how insanely high the climbing level was. I guess looking back it now makes sense: everyone was on altitude camps preparing for La Vuelta, so of course everyone was producing high watts.

I equalled my best-ever 20-minute power on this climb, doing 6.6w/kg, and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) still put nearly thirty seconds into me. Just wow. But I was happy; you can’t really do much more than a PB in a race. The team was happy with me and my physical level, and collectively we had a good day with Giulio Pellizzari finishing in third.

The following day was a sprint, but I was really looking forward to the final day and the final climb up the Lagunas de Neila. My body would have other plans for me though. I woke up at midnight with a killer sore throat, and at six in the morning my head was pounding too.

After I woke up, I immediately consulted the team doctor, and after discussing with the directeur sportif and coach, we decided it was best not to start.

That final day test that I was looking forward to would instead be spent driving six hours in the car back to Andorra, but this is part of professional cycling. Riders fall ill all the time, and I am grateful to the team for taking the cautious decision to stop and rest, ultimately thinking of La Vuelta and making sure I will be at 100% fitness on August 22nd.

Looking ahead

So I sit here writing the second half of this piece after Burgos; I’m still a bit sick, but I’m recovering well. The sickness didn’t get worse, which is great, and I hope to get 7-10 days of solid training in before I travel to Monaco.

I'm also getting slightly nervous about what lies ahead. The most days of racing I have done previously is eight, and now I have to make the small jump up to 21. As my teammate Davide Donati said to me on the bus before stage two in Burgos, “Only twenty days to go!”

I politely told him I don’t want to think about that, as I think this ‘lap of Spain’ will be one of the hardest things I have ever done. But I’m also excited. It’s a new challenge, completely unknown territory, and I guess your first Grand Tour is always going to be hard.

I have some exciting things planned during the race, so stay tuned. And for those who will be at the race watching, come and say hi; I’d love to hear from you.

See you soon,

Luke