Tadej Pogačar finished off his domination of the Tour de France – Reports, results, rider quotes and video. Plus Lorena Wiebes won the Baloise Ladies Tour, we have reports and results, but no video.
How Tadej Pogačar won his third Tour with the help of a ‘brain coach’ – TOP STORY.
Tour de France news: Patrick Lefevere on Evenepoel’s Tour: “All critics silenced”, Jack van Gelder makes serious doping accusations, Tour most combative rider prize goes to KOM Richard Carapaz, Mark Cavendish in tears after the last hard stage, Visma | Lease a Bike to immediately stop team communication on TV, heated discussion between Ciccone and Buitrago, extra long time limit for the 19th and 20th stages, no fractures for Tobias Halland Johannessen, Amaury Capiot found to have fractures and Stefan Küng didn’t start stage 19 possibly with the Olympic Games in mind.
Rider news: Julian Alaphilippe will ride one more stage race in preparation for the Olympic Games and Patrick Lefevere reveals transfer of Urska Zigart.
Team news: Julian Alaphilippe going to Q36.5 Pro Cycling? And Soudal Quick-Step is setting up its own junior team.
Race news: Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium – The stars are back.
A big end of Tour coffee.
TOP STORY: How Tadej Pogacar Won his Third Tour with the Help of a ‘Brain Coach’
Tadej Pogačar left nothing to chance in his hunt for a third overall victory in the Tour de France. The Slovenian not only trained hard and at altitude, but he also had the services of a ‘brain coach’.
Pogacar has been working with Stijn Quanten since January. As a High Performance Engineer, the Belgian runs Huis 39 in Hasselt, which focuses on the optimal functioning of body and mind. Quanten calls himself a ‘brain coach’, but what exactly does that mean? “The football coach or team leader is the mental coach of the athlete, not me. We rather work in a supportive manner. What we do is more than psychological or mental,” he said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.
“We study our customers’ brains as one piece. With extensive tests we see how the different brain areas function, respond and transmit stimuli to the body. So we analyse the brain cognitively, neurologically, emotionally, psychologically, mentally, visually and so on. We then translate these analyses into training methods to improve brain performance.”
Quanten also guided sprinter Jasper Philipsen in the past. “Making the right decisions at top speeds and in a split second, seeing the right spaces and at the same time sampling the opposition, is hellish. That requires ultimate concentration. This can be trained, with exercises on reaction speed and forms of conversation, even on the bike. That’s what we did with Jasper. The central nervous system must be able to handle more strain during stressful moments. A bit like upgrading a computer or smartphone so that it can run more demanding files or apps.”
“Like others, we are also working on so-called marginal gains,” Quanten continues. “We do this by analysing how an athlete mentally feels about an assignment and responding accordingly. We are one of the legs on which an athlete relies. Not more, but also not less.”
Pogačar also appears to be a special talent on a cognitive level. “I can tell you that he performed phenomenally mentally. We compare this with a database of numerous top athletes we have guided in recent years. Within football, cycling, darts, Formula 1, you name it. But Pogačar is an exceptional miracle of genetics and brains.”
“Stress resistance is one of the parameters on which he scores very strongly. He remains himself in all circumstances: in the race, in training, but also in general dealings with people. Of course I’m not telling you anything new: everyone can see how relaxed he cycles and lives. But no matter how funny, cheerful and instinctive he seems, there is always a plan behind it. He knows exactly what he is doing.”
“Real top players are very well read in the subject and do not allow themselves to be fooled. They are well informed about everything that concerns them: training, nutrition, watts, the mental, you name it. The placebo effect – simply making them think that they have worked on something that will already make them race better – no longer works. That may have been possible ten years ago, but now they are very critical. And a good thing too. My goal is to ultimately make myself redundant and for them to mentally prepare themselves.”
Brain trained:
Tour de France 2024
Stage 18 of the 2024 Tour de France was won in style by Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-dstny) in Barcelonnette, with the Belgian out-sprinting his fellow breakaway companions Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) and Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers) to the line. Campenaerts secured his first ever Tour de France stage victory, to add to the Giro d’Italia stage he won in 2021, collaborating well with Vercher and Kwiatkowski as they rode clear in the final 35 kilometres. Having been the most aggressive rider of the 2023 Tour, Campenaerts can now cherish a well-deserved and hard-earned Grande Boucle bouquet. Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remains in yellow, still 3:11 ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 5:09 in front of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step).
The stage commenced with 145 riders on the start line in Gap, with the teams alert to the high probability of immediate breakaway attempts. That was exactly how the stage started, with the World Champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) amongst those highly active at the front of the bunch looking to escape. After constant attacks and counter attacks in the opening kilometres Van der Poel was finally not amongst the large group of about 20 riders who went clear at 26km, just before the first climb to the Col du Festre.
Finally 37 riders made it into the break: Bart Lemmen and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Chris Juul Jensen and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla), Michal Kwiatkowski and Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers), Julien Bernard and Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek), Bruno Armirail, Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Jai Hindley and Matteo Sobrero (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Valentin Madouas and Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy and Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-dstny), Hugo Houle and Krists Neilands (Israel-Premier Tech), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Alex Aranburu, Oier Lazkano and Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar), Clement Champoussin and Raul Garcia Pierna (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Louis Meintjes and Georg Zimmermann (Intermarche-Wanty), Oscar Onley and Frank Van den Broek (dsm-firmenich-PostNL), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Steff Cras, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Jordan Jegat and Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies). Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates, Soudal Quick-Step, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Astana Qazaqstan were the four teams without anyone in the escape, all four having already achieved at least one stage win at this year’s Tour.
Lazkano was the first over the Col du Festre summit (Cat.3, 32.2km), as well as the Côte de Corps (Cat.3, 57.5km) and the Col de Manse (Cat.3, 97.3km), whilst Onley lost contact with the breakaway due to a series of mechanical problems. Matthews was first in the Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur intermediate sprint (IS, 84.3km), where the break had a lead of 5:40 over a peloton controlled by UAE Team Emirates. There were numerous attacks at the front of the large break on the Côte de Saint-Apollinaire (Cat.3, 121km), which was topped first by Johannessen, with the leaders of the stage going over the climb 10:30 ahead of the bunch. On the final categorised climb of the stage it was Kwiatkowski who led the way over the Côte des Demoiselles Coiffées and after the descent a trio formed at the front of the race, 35km from the finish line, as Vercher and Campenaerts joined the Polish rider of INEOS Grenadiers off the front.
Over a final sector of 25km of rising false flats Kwiatkowski, Vercher and Campenaerts collaborated well, to open up a gap over the chasing group behind them. With 15 kilometres to go the leading trio had managed to extend their advantage over the five closest chasers to over 40 seconds. In the final metres of the stage Campenaerts proved too strong for his rivals and outpaced them to the line for the win.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner, Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny): “If I can win a stage, it will be stage 18. I knew this was my only option to win a stage, I was already focused on it before the season began. I was highly motivated: I warmed up on the rollers before the stage, my bike was perfectly tuned. I even had time trial tires put on. This had to be the day. Riding in a breakaway with Kwiatkowski is an honour in itself, but we worked very well together, the three of us. A true pro must ride the Tour de France, finish the Tour de France, and win a stage in the Tour de France. That is everyone’s dream, and now, here in Barcelonnette, I can make it come true. It’s unbelievable. I’ve had the full support of my team over the past weeks. I went on a nine-week high-altitude training camp to prepare. All that time, my girlfriend, heavily pregnant, was by my side. While the rest of the team prepared for this Tour in the Dauphiné or the Tour of Switzerland, we were in the hospital in Spain for the birth of our son. That week was supposed to be a heavy training week for me. ‘See what you can do,’ my coach said. But I was tireless. Since Gustaaf was born, I’ve been riding on clouds. This is the highlight of my career, and I’m very happy to share it with this team. A young team, with little experience. But we are showing ourselves here. With Arnaud De Lie in almost every sprint, with a beautiful time trial. The atmosphere within the team is fantastic, and you can be sure that we are going to celebrate tonight.”
Overall leader and KOM, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “It feels good to have an easier day like this one. Actually, the course never allowed us to get too relaxed, as it was up and down the whole time and that made it hard. In any case, we were under control. I’m really enjoying my time at this Tour de France. The atmosphere within the team is great, and I love seeing so many Slovenian fans on the roadside. I don’t know if somebody has said what the queen stage of this Tour de France is, but it might well be tomorrow’s. La Bonette is a big, nice climb. As for Isola 2000, I’ve trained there ahead of the Tour and I know it well. Do I play with home advantage this weekend? Not really. My only advantage is those 3’11” I have on Jonas. As for my strategy, I will start on the defensive to later see if I can go on the offensive, as it can be a good stage for Jonas himself.”
3rd overall and best young rider, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “Today’s stage went well. On our side, everything was under control in the team. We had to stay very focused, especially on the very technical descents. In the end we arrived without having experienced any problems, so all is well. I stayed two weeks in training at Isola 2000, because I knew that there are a lot of riders who live in Nice and Monaco and who know these roads very well. So I had to go too. Now I have clearly identified the routes of the three stages which are coming, these are the ones which will count enormously for the riders in the general classification. I feel pretty good, I have good legs and I was particularly confident in yesterday’s stage. Tomorrow will be a short stage and I feel comfortable at altitude, so it’s not a problem for me. There may be fireworks, but either way it’s the legs that will do the talking, there will be no secrets. If there is an opportunity to win one, I will try, but we will also have to see what the configuration of the breakaway group will be.”
Points leader, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “Today was one of the hardest days to be honest for me, harder than the last two days. After the crash, now it hurts a lot. Today I had a lot of pain, so I went to the doctor to ask for some painkillers and also some new bandages. I managed quite well to arrive in the time. Now the hardest stages are coming up, especially with the shorter stages at high altitude, a lot of climbing. It’s going to be a really tough also with a lot of riders out of the race, so it means that we don’t have a lot of riders for the gruppetto, so it’s not going to be easy, but I hope my teammates are always with me. We need to deal with it and continue until Nice.”
Tour de France Stage 18 Result:
1. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Dstny in 4:10:20
2. Mattéo Vercher (Fra) TotalEnergies
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) INEOS Grenadiers
4. Toms Skujins (Lat) Lidl-Trek at 22
5. Oier Lazkano (Spa) Movistar
6. Bart Lemmen Visma | Lease a Bike)
7. Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel-Premier Tech
8. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
9. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Visma | Lease a Bike) at 37
10. Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco AlUla.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 18:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 74:45:27
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 3:11
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 5:09
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 12:57
5. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 13:24
6. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 13:30
7. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 15:41
8. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 17:51
9. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 18:15
10. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious at 18:35.
Tour’24 stage 18:
On a crucial day in the battle for the GC Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) strengthened his position with two days to go on Stage 19, by conquering Isola 2000 and gaining an additional 1:42 over his podium rivals Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step). A fourth stage win and his third in yellow at this year’s Tour saw Pogacar finish 21 seconds ahead of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 40 seconds in front of Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla), who had both been in the break. After Pogačar attacked from and decimated the GC favourites group and picked off what remained of the breakaway on the final climb, Evenepoel and Vingegaard crossed the line fifth and sixth respectively, behind fourth placed Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who now has the polka dot jersey. Going into the final two stages this weekend Pogacar now leads by 5:03 overall from Vingegaard, with Evenepoel in third, 7:01.
There were two non-starters announced ahead of the stage, with Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech) out of the race due to illness and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) also unable to start, there were now 143 riders on the start line in Embrun. An early break of 22 riders formed, with Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) the first of them to reach the line at the intermediate sprint in Guillestre (IS, 21.1km). Coquard was amongst the riders who then dropped back as the lead group was decimated on the first climb of the day to Col de Vars (42.6km, Cat.HC, 18.8km at 5.7 %, with 20 KOM points).
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) jumped away from the peloton on the climb and made it to the front group to join Matteo Jorgenson, Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) on the gruelling ascent. Olympic champion and stage 17 winner Carapaz topped the Col de Vars first, ahead of Jorgenson, Kelderman and Van Wilder, with the peloton by that point 3:30 behind.
As the breakaway riders began the brutal ascent of the Cime de la Bonette (km 87.5, HC, 22.9 km at 6.9 %) their lead over the bunch had grown to 4:30. Onley, Prodhomme and Van Wilder were dropped on the climb, with Carapaz again reaching the summit first to take 40 Mountain classification points and put him in the polka dot jersey, with the main GC group getting there 3:40 later.
Cristian Rodriguez was dropped by the five remaining break riders: Jorgenson, Keldermann, Simon Yates, Hindley and Carapaz, early on the final climb to Isola 2000 (144.6km, Cat.1, 16.1km at 7.1%, with 10 KOM points). Then 13.5km from the summit Hindley also lost ground and a few metres later Jorgenson attacked, going solo at the front. But 9.5km from the summit Pogačar also attacked the GC group, with Evenepoel and Vingegaard trying to follow him and unable to hold his wheel. Within 2km the yellow jersey quickly built up a 20 second lead over his two rivals for the provisional podium. 1.9km from the summit Pogačar caught and passed Jorgenson for another stage victory.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner and overall leader, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “After winning this stage, I can confirm that the Col de la Bonnette is a scary climb. When you use it in training, you can skip the last kilometre but in the race, today, it was very hard. Between the Giro and the Tour, I had a hard training period and I knew today’s last climb very well. With the team, we planned it well and we did exactly as we said. Our race was 100% perfect. My goal today was to win the stage, but as I approached the last two kilometres, I felt a little drained. I still caught Richard Carapaz and Simon Yates and I could catch up with Matteo Jorgenson. When it was time to pass him, I pushed as hard as possible to overtake him with speed. He was very strong today, as were all the guys in the breakaway. Hats off to them. I’m very happy. Reaching the score of fifteen Tour stage victories is quite formidable. Now I have a good lead. Tomorrow I can let the escape go to the end. I will do the last two days of the Tour on the roads where I have trained my entire professional career.”
2nd on the stage and 9th overall, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike): “I feel a lot of disappointment now, although I shouldn’t be too disappointed. I was just so close to it… In that respect, I don’t have a happy marriage with the Tour de France. I have often been close to a stage victory in the past. I did my best, but it wasn’t meant to be. I only thought about my legs in the final. I rode as fast as I could and really didn’t think about anything else. When I heard that he (Pogačar) was coming closer, I already had a bad feeling. When he passed me, I knew it was done. I wouldn’t have had a chance in a sprint. We wanted to be in the leading group with several riders. During the stage we were told that we could go for the stage win. I really have to thank him. Wilco is such a great teammate. He is so fiercely loyal and not selfish. Wilco was fully committed to my chances. He also did that in Paris-Nice, where he was very important.”
3rd on the stage, Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla): “It was a really hard day, of course Visma had the numerical advantage so I had to play off that a little bit and I was also a little be wary of the altitude, so I tried to go late, but it wasn’t enough. You get a rough idea [of who to follow] from how strong guys are during the stage, it’s not a surprise that an Olympic champion [Carapaz] is strong, he was good, maybe he paying for his efforts because he was also in the breakaway yesterday. I tried to play off him a little bit and I bided my time and tried to come back to Jorgensen, but it wasn’t enough.”
KOM and 4th on the stage, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost): “Our main objective today was to get the Mountain jersey. My team did a great job to allow me to get into the breakaway on the day and once I was there I fought to get as many points as possible. Once I arrived at Isola 2000 with an advantage, I tried to fight for the stage victory. I was aware that the climb is very tough and I tried to stay as close to Jorgenson as possible. However, I couldn’t… and Tadej came from behind, to take away any chance of victory. Anyway, I am very happy with how the day went. This Mountain jersey is a prestigious prize. All riders in my country dream of it because in Ecuador there are many mountains. Being the king of the Mountain means a lot to me. I’m going to try to keep this jersey until the end. It is my great personal goal, and the team is also supporting me a lot to achieve it.”
Points leader, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “Now, I’m counting every remaining kilometre to the final finish to motivate myself. Nice has never seemed so far away as today. It was a very difficult stage, these last two days have been physically demanding, and we had to survive. Fortunately, I can always count on the unconditional support of my teammates, together we found a good group. I’m so happy to wear this green jersey for two weeks and I really want to keep it until the end. I’m looking forward to these last two days.”
Tour de France Stage 19 Result:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 4:04:03
2. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:21
3. Simon Yates (GB) Jayco AlUla at 0:40
4. Richard Carapaz (Col) EF Education-EasyPost at 1:11
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 1:42
6. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike
7. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 2:00
8. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step
9. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike at 2:52
10. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 3:27.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 19:
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 78:49:20
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 5:03
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 7:01
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 15:07
5. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 15:34
6. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 17:36
7. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 19:18
8. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 21:52
9. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma | Lease a Bike at 22:43
10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 22:46.
Tour’24 stage 19:
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was unstoppable again on the Col de la Couillole as he took his fifth stage win of the 2024 Tour de France with a powerful finish on Stage 20. Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) picked off the remainder of a depleted breakaway over the final kilometres, leaving Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) behind them on the way up the Couillole, before the man in the Yellow Jersey accelerated in the final metres to beat his Danish rival to the line by 7 seconds. Having confirmed his triumph in the Mountain classification Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) finished the stage third at 23 seconds in his polka dot jersey and Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) crossed the line fourth, 53 seconds off the winner Pogacar. Going into Sunday’s final Monaco to Nice time trial stage Pogacar leads by 5:14 overall from Vingegaard, with TT specialist Evenepoel in third, now 8:04 from the leader.
The peloton gathered in Nice with 141 riders at the start line for the penultimate stage of the 2024 Tour. In the opening kilometres, as is often the case, it was the Uno-X Mobility and EF Education-EasyPost teams who took the initiative. However, a breakaway group which included several members of the GC top 10 formed on the approach to the first climb of the Col de Braus, provoking an immediate reaction from the top three in the general classification. A big yellow jersey group counter-attacked from the peloton and brought things back together at the front, with the polka dot jersey Richard Carapaz (EF Education-Easypost) not wanting to miss out on the party. Then, Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R) and Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike) escaped from the regrouped collective of leading riders, this time without provoking any reaction. They were quickly joined by Enric Mas (Movistar), with the maillot jaune group then following them calmly, 55 seconds adrift.
It was Mas who went over the Col de Braus first and on the descent a chasing group of Jan Tratnik (Visma | Lease a Bike), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Richard Carapaz, Clement Champoussin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) went after the trio at the front, while the group of favourites relaxed. The three leading men set off to attack the Col de Turini (Cat.1, 59.8km) with a 35 seconds lead over their closest pursuers and 2:00 over the peloton which had returned to a more traditional size for the start of a mountain stage. Although Champoussin was left behind, his previous companions from the cashing group caught the three in the lead 9km from the summit. Subsequently, three more chasers Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ), Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) increased the breakaway to 10 riders in total, 1km from top of the Col de Turini. In the KOM jersey Carapaz was the first to reach the Turini summit, almost guaranteeing his win in that competition.
Stuyven was first at the Saint-Martin-Vesubie intermediate sprint (87.8km), followed by Johannessen, Kelderman and Bardet, with the peloton at 3:50, before the riders took on the Col de la Colmiane climb (Cat.1, 95.9km). 7.5km of ascending at an average gradient of 7.1% awaited, with Carapaz once again making it to the top first, demonstrating his climbing prowess and virtually sealing his victory in the KOM ranking, provided he simply finishes Sunday’s stage 21 time trial. The peloton topped the penultimate climb of the stage 2:45 later.
As the breakaway riders started the final Col de la Couillole climb (Cat.1, 132.8km) they still had that 2:45 lead, but the group was soon decimated. Mas and Carapaz attacked 11.4km from the finish and only Bardet was able to follow them briefly, before the two went clear at the front. With just over 5km to go Vingegaard attacked from a depleted GC group and Pogačar responded by sticking tightly to his wheel, whilst Evenepoel dropped behind. Pogačar and Vingegaard caught Carapaz and Mas 2.5 kilometres from the finish line and only Carapaz could follow the GC favourites, with Mas unable to take the pace. In the final kilometre it was only Pogačar and Vingegaard left to fight for the win, with the Slovenian proving strongest once again.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner and overall leader, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “I did enjoy this day a lot, although it didn’t go according to plan. I’m really happy I got another stage win. Just one more day to go – the ITT. That one, I’m going to enjoy it too. I will just try to come home safely to Nice, as it is a very hard course. I hope I can enjoy the crowds. I was really surprised with how the race exploded at Col de Braus, which is one of my favourite training climbs. Our guys did a super good job so we all got together at the bottom of the next climb. Soler going to the breakaway was fine for us. We wanted to bring as many guys as possible to the final, but Soudal wanted to try and take time on Jonas or go for the stage and that played in my favour. If you had told me this before the Tour de France, I wouldn’t have believed to. I’m lost for words. So happy… I hope I can share this victory with my teammates today, and also tomorrow. Five stage wins are more than enough. One and the yellow jersey would have been enough, really. But you never brake in cycling. Jonas has gone through some tough days, but he showed today that he is not easy to crack and that he is a real fighter. He did a really good ride and was super strong.”
2nd on the stage and overall, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike): “In a way I was hoping that Tadej would give me the stage win, but I didn’t necessarily expect it. I was already riding fast. If he sprinted, I wouldn’t have a chance anyway because I was already at my limit. But you can always hope, it’s cycling and that’s how it works. I can’t blame him, I might have done the same. In any case, I am very happy with how I performed today and was able to come back from yesterday, when I had one of my worst days ever on the bike.”
3rd on the stage and KOM, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost): “This has been a very good Tour de France for me. Today we secured the Mountain classification by going into the break because there was a possibility that Tadej Pogacar would win at the finish line and get some points that would put me in trouble. I was lucky enough to go clear on a descent and was first to go through two passes. Today I knew that I had good legs, that my physical condition had improved as the days went by, and I also wanted to go after the stage victory. I tried to collaborate with Enric [Mas], but we have not understood each other. The two strongest riders in the race came from behind and I tried to hold on for the last push, but it wasn’t possible. I am super happy with my Tour de France: it has been a success. We have grown little by little to finish the race very well, and that is a great feeling to go home very happy.”
4th on the stage, 3rd overall and best young rider, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “I wanted to put some pressure on and see if I could do something today. But Tadej and Jonas were stronger than me, it’s that simple. Once we were together I found myself on the edge again and when they attacked I couldn’t keep up with them. But I had to try, and in the end I lost a little time but it’s not that important. Tomorrow, I want to make a final effort at maximum intensity to win the final stage. I know the route, as I had a look at it after Paris-Nice and I like it. But I think Tadej knows it very well too, it’s home for him. In my opinion, the stage will be fought for between the top three in the general classification. But it’s not a pure time trial, it’s a mountain time trial. So Tadej will be the man to beat.”
5th on the stage, Enric Mas Nicolau (Movistar): “We could see that victory was going to be a little harder than we thought and it wasn’t to be. Richard Carapaz and I fought a bit like cat and mouse. There was no understanding between us and they caught us from behind. However, the reason why the breakaway did not make it to the end was not that moment, but rather the lack of cooperation at other moments and that some teams prevented us from gaining a bigger advantage. In any case, we were close to victory. I enjoyed this stage and this Tour, discovering a totally different cycling to what I had experienced until now. I’ve been able to help my teammates: Fernando in the sprints, others looking for a breakaway… and today they helped me. However, they pay me to fight for the general classification, so we will go for it in La Vuelta. The Combativity award is not why I want to be on the podium. However, it is nice for the Tour organisation to recognise and value my way of competing these days. We are going home with a different taste in our mouths than in other years.”
Points leader, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “Since the beginning of this Tour, there has been an incredible atmosphere in the team, between the riders, staff, and management. I want to thank them. It’s this atmosphere that is the key to our success. Today was undoubtedly the best opportunity to celebrate together by crossing the line, we deserve it. With our means, we have accomplished great things. Three magnificent stage victories and the green jersey. The team has done an incredible job to bring it back to Nice. I’m lucky to be surrounded by a dedicated team who have sacrificed everything for me.”
Tour de France Stage 20 Result:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 4:04:22
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:07
3. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost at 0:23
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:53
5. Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar at 1:07
6. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 1:28
7. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma | Lease a Bike at 1:33
8. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 1:41
9. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 1:43
10. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 1:52.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 20:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 82:53:32
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 5:14
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 8:04
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 16:45
5. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 17:25
6. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 21:11
7. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 21:12
8. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma | Lease a Bike at 24:26
9. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 24:50
10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 25:48.
Tour’24 stage 20:
Sunday’s Final Stage 21 of the 2024 Tour de France saw Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) confirm his third overall Tour victory with first place in the ITT from Monaco to Nice. On a balmy afternoon on the Côte d’Azur Pogačar made light work of the climbs to La Turbie and Col d’Èze to take the time trial win by a considerable 1:03 margin from Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) for his sixth stage bouquet of this year’s race and his third overall Tour triumph. In the yellow jersey again, Pogačar finally finished the 2024 Tour 6:17 ahead of his great Danish rival, having dominated the race. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) was in tears at the end of his Tour debut in Nice’s Place Massena, finishing the final stage in third, behind Pogacar by 1:14, leaving him also third overall, 9:18 adrift of the unstoppable Slovenian. The GC top five was rounded out by Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) at 19:03 and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) at 20:06.
141 riders took part in the final stage of the 2024 Tour, a 33.7km Individual Time Trial from Monaco to Nice with everything on the line. Mark Cavendish was the second rider to start after his Astana Qazaqstan teammate Davide Ballerini and the veteran British rider achieved his objective of finishing his final Tour de France. With a record 35 stage victories in the Tour to his name, Cavendish ended his historic relationship with the race as a rider in the most beautiful way possible, concluding it for the 8th time in his 15 participations. Intermarché-Wanty’s Biniam Girmay also knew that he would not win this ITT stage, but he too made it to the finish in Nice in style, to the cheers and support of the crowd, becoming the first African rider to win a ranking in the Tour de France, in his green jersey.
Groupama-FDJ’s young Frenchman Lenny Martinez completed the course at an impressive average speed of 41.8 kph and in a time of 48:24 to position himself as the provisional leader, where he would remain for well over an hour, until Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan) took over the top spot, beating Martinez by 10 seconds. In tears yesterday after his final Tour de France stage in the mountains, French hero and yellow jersey wearer on stage 2 Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) was given huge support by the fans on his last ever day on the Tour. Due to retire just before the 2025 Tour, Bardet finished today’s stage in 37th place and was 30th in the final GC.
Ecuadorian star Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) finished a highly successful Tour as the winner of the Mountain classification with 127 points, compared to 102 for Pogačar and 70 for Vingegaard. It is Ecuador’s first victory in any final ranking of the Tour de France.
Riders such as Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan), Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) all enjoyed a moment with the provisional lead before the GC top 3 finished their rides. Pogačar was already the fastest man in the first sector, 7 seconds and 26 seconds ahead of Vingegaard and Evenepoel, increasing those respective advantages to 24 seconds over Vingegaard and 51 seconds on Evenepoel at the second intermediate marker on Col d’Èze. Pogačar was absolutely flying by the time he reached the Place Île de Beauté in Nice (28.6km), the third and final intermediate marker, with 1:04 over Vingegaard and 1:28 over white jersey winner Evenepoel, going on the wrap up the victory and a third overall GC success in superb style.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report’ HERE. #
Stage winner and final overall Tour winner, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “I am super happy. I cannot describe how happy I am after two hard years in the Tour de France, in which we always made some mistakes that cost us the race. This year, everything went to perfection. I’m super happy, it’s incredible. This is the first Grand Tour on which I have been totally confident every day. Even on the last Giro I had one bad day – I won’t say which one. This Tour de France has been amazing. I have enjoyed it from day one until today. Today I started with a good vibe. It was lovely to start from the F1 grid of the best F1 circuit ever! I was only listening to my times compared to Remco. I was feeling super good over the top of the first climb. In my head, I had my girlfriend Urska’s words – that she hated me because I always did this road on training. But it was not wasted time, as it was useful today. These last few years we have been hearing that this is the best era of cycling. If I was not competing, I would say the same. This kind of competition with Remco, Jonas, Primoz… is just incredible. And many young guys are coming, more and more. We have to enjoy this beautiful era of cycling. Next up… I know that Mathieu looks good in the rainbow jersey, but I want to take it from him.”
2nd on the stage and overall, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike): “Under normal circumstances, I would be disappointed with my Tour de France. But, after everything I’ve gone through, I can’t be disappointed. I didn’t have a good preparation towards this race, yet I still managed to regain a good fitness level. I would have loved to go a bit further, but it is what it is. I would like to come back to the Tour de France and win it again. The Tour de France is the race I love the most, the most beautiful one – it just has something special. I believe the yellow jersey is the most beautiful jersey in road cycling. Even if I feel proud of what we achieved this year, I’m looking forward to come back.”
3rd on the stage, 3rd overall and best young rider, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step): “It’s pretty good for my first Tour de France. Today I gave it my all, but I realised that I no longer really had my best, even if I was still in good shape, as I finished third in this time trial. And if I take stock, I finished on the podium in the general classification, with the white jersey for best young rider and a stage victory, I can be proud of myself and my team. Tadej is in another world, and Jonas was also superior to me. But it’s a big step forward in my career. There is still a gap to close with them, but it opens up the perspective. With Tadej, we are from the same generation, we get along very well and I think it’s also because we have a bit of the same way of riding.”
KOM, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost): “I am super happy with my Tour de France: it has been a success. We have grown little by little until finishing the race very well, and that is a great feeling to go home very happy. In Ecuador there are very few top-level athletes, but we have achieved great things. I am very proud to be able to bring this jersey to my country.”
Points winner, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “What can I say? To be honest I really tried to enjoy it but sometimes, the feeling of emotion it was more than I expected. Just like everything is just so wonderful. I feel like I’m floating through the sky. It’s super nice. I just want to say for the young kids, keep working hard and everything is possible. I really would like to share my happiness and all the emotions. There are a lot of people here and it is super happy, all the fans, I’ve seen all the Eritrean flags. Then when I went to the team bus I saw all my people and it’s great that they can be here to enjoy it too. We did a great job as a team and I want to thank everybody. From the start of the Tour I’ve had such incredible teammates you know. All the staff, the team manager, the bosses, I want to say thank you to them, because from the start we had a great atmosphere, good team spirit. We did such an incredible job to protect this jersey. We gave everything we had. We have really the smallest budget of the World Tour teams, so to have three incredible victories and the green jersey, it’s just amazing. Especially for Laurenz Rex and Hugo Page it’s the first Grand Tour for them and they are just great riders and I’m happy to have them.”
Tour de France Stage 21 Result:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 45:24
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 1:03
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal-Quick-Step at 1:14
4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma | Lease a Bike at 2:08
5. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 2:18
6. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 2:31
7. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 2:41
8. Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue Astana Qazaqstan at 2:50
9. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious at 2:53
10. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 2:56.
Tour de France Final Overall Result:
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 83:38:56
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 6:17
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 9:18
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 19:03
5. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 20:06
6. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 24:07
7. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 25:04
8. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma | Lease a Bike at 26:34
9. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 27:21
10. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious at 29:03.
Tour’24 stage 21:
Baloise Ladies Tour 2024
Lorena Wiebes started the Baloise Ladies Tour with a victory. The SD Worx-Protime rider was 4 seconds faster in the 2.7 kilometre Prologue in Hulst than the Belgian Fien Van Eynde of the Fenix-Deceuninck training team. Charlotte Kool clocked the third fastest time.
The Baloise Ladies Tour, this year an important preparatory race for the Olympic Games in Paris for some riders, started on Wednesday evening with a prologue of 2.7 kilometres in Hulst, Zeeland, also known for the Cyclo-Cross World Cup. With Lorena Wiebes, Charlotte Kool, Christine Majerus, Audrey Cordon-Ragot and Daria Pikulik, there were several top names on the start list.
The first target time in Hulst came from Maaike Boogaard. The 25-year-old Dutch rider of the AG Insurance-Soudal Team set a fast time of 3:23. Boogaard watched one rider after another chip away at her time, but in the end her young Belgian teammate, 19-tear-old Febe Jooris, raised the bar to 3:22. Her time was smashed by Lorena Wiebes, who started early, finished with a time of 3:16.
In the end, the SD Worx-Protime rider turned out to be 5 seconds faster than the surprisingly strong Fien Van Eynde, who rides for the Fenix-Deceuninck training team. Another Dutch top sprinter, Charlotte Kool, was third. Wiebes will wear the leader’s jersey on the first stage to Knokke-Heist.
Stage winner and overall leader, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “I started this prologue with many doubts. After all, I came from an altitude training camp in Spain and actually had no idea what my condition was. A first race like that is always something to wait for, but I immediately had a good feeling. If I hadn’t had the fastest time, I could have gone to the hotel early. That wasn’t the case now, but I don’t care about that. Of course we had checked the weather forecast. Had there been more wind or there had been a chance of rain, we would of course have taken that into account. I hope things continue to go well this week. Want to break the record for the number of day victories in the Baloise Ladies Tour? That’s not on my mind. I will aim for the highest possible result and then you will of course accumulate victories. I want to go to the Olympic Games in perfect condition. That is the goal.”
Baloise Ladies Tour Prologue Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:16
2. Fien Van Eynde (Bel) Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team at 0:05
3. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
4. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
5. Febe Jooris (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:06
6. Fleur Moors (Bel) Lidl-Trek at 0:07
7. Scarlett Souren (Ned) VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team
8. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step
9. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny
10. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) dsm-Firmenich-PostNL.
Baloise Ladies Tour Overall After the Prologue:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:16
2. Fien Van Eynde (Bel) Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team at 0:05
3. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
4. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich – PostNL
5. Febe Jooris A(Bel) G Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:06
6. Fleur Moors (Bel) Lidl-Trek at 0:07
7. Scarlett Souren (Ned) VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team
8. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step
9. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny
10. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) dsm-Firmenich-PostNL.
Baloise’24 prologue:
Lorena Wiebes also took the win for the second day in a row in the Baloise Ladies Tour. The SD Worx-Protime rider was clearly the strongest in the final sprint of Stage 1 in Knokke-Heist.
The Baloise Ladies Tour first stage in line was on Thursday, after Lorena Wiebes had won the evening prologue in Hulst in Zeeland the day before. The stage also started in Zeeland on day two, in Breskens. From there it was a flat stage of 115 kilometres to Knokke-Heist, where there was a local circuit of about 30 kilometres, which was also used in the Baloise Belgium Tour. The finish was on the well-known, slightly uphill Wandelaar. There wasn’t a real early break in the first half of the race, which meant that Wiebes was able to take bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint, the first time through the finish in Knokke-Heist. Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenech-PostNL) and Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny) took the other bonus seconds.
Later, Sara Fiorin (UAE Team ADQ) escaped for a while, but with the next intermediate sprint approaching, that didn’t last long. Georgi was successful again for 3 bonus seconds, this time Wiebes didn’t get involved. Audrey De Keersmaeker (Lotto Dstny), Julie Sap (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Sigrid Haugset (Team Coop-Repsol) went on the attack, but the nervous peloton didn’t give them much space. That nervousness led to several crashes in the peloton, with Georgi the main victim. In the sprint, dsm-firmenich-PostNL worked for Charlotte Kool, but Wiebes started her sprint early and held everyone off to the line.
Stage winner and overall leader, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “It was very nervous today. That’s why we rode at the front the whole race. We didn’t want to get into trouble. At five kilometres from the end, we escaped, as right next to us there was a crash. I was in the verge, but without crashing or serious consequences. And someone crashed into Christine Majerus’ bike, after which she had derailleur problems. That meant I missed my lead-out woman for the final sprint, but Femke Gerritse kept me safe in the last kilometres. At about 150 metres from the line I went, as the time was there to accelerate. It’s nice that nobody else came over and so I take my second win of this Baloise Ladies Tour. I think this is the ideal preparation for the Olympics. The goal is clear: stay safe, gain the percentages and gain confidence ahead of the road race. Today I fortunately stayed straight, despite the many crashes. Thanks to this win, I am doing well in the general classification. I also made it a goal. That’s also why I competed fully in the first intermediate sprint. With this win and bonification seconds I strengthen my leading position.”
Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 1 Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 2:43:21
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
3. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
4. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale
5. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Health
6. Babette Van Der Wolf (Ned) Lifeplus Wahoo
7. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny
8. Laura Lizette Sander AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG
9. Flora Perkins (GB) Fenix-Deceuninck
10. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL.
Baloise Ladies Tour Overall After Stage 1:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 2:46:24
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:12
3. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:13
4. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:16
5. Fien Van Eynde (Bel) Fenix-Deceuninck at 17
6. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale at 0:19
7. Febe Jooris (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG
8. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:20
9. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny
10. Marie Schreiber (Lux) SD Worx-Protime.
Baloise’24 stage 1:
Charlotte Kool won Stage 2 of the Baloise Ladies Tour on Friday. The dsm-firmenich-PostNL rider was the fastest in a bunch sprint. Lorena Wiebes, who won the prologue and the first road stage, could only get eighth place, as she said she had been pushed off her lead-out wheel.
Stage two of the Baloise Ladies Tour started and finished in Zulte. There were some obstacles in the opening phase, including Nokereberg twice, but the final was flat. The expectation was that a sprint would take place after 127 kilometres.
And that expectation came true. After Olha Kulynych (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Coop-Repsol) had been away for a long time, it was up to the fast women at the finish in Zulte. Charlotte Kool was faster than Daria Pikulik and Sara Fiorin. This was the Dutch rider’s first win of this year.
Stage winner, Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich-PostNL): “Today I think everything finally fell into place for us. We showed once again that we have an amazingly strong team and lead out. In all of the other races we showed that already but things just didn’t go right for us in the final or we missed something, but now it went perfectly. I’m just really happy and this is a well deserved win for the whole team.”
Overall leader and 8th on the stage, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “When I was younger, I had more respect for the top sprinters. I didn’t get around to sprinting today, but I’m happy because I reached the finish safely. I was very close to a bad fall after being pushed off the wheel of my teammate Christine Majerus. There is too little respect in this peloton. We were in the run-up to the sprint and I was following my lead-out Christine Majerus when I received a hard push from the left. Luckily there was room on the right, otherwise I would have fallen at high speed. My chain fell off and I had to click out. I could already forget about the sprint there. But with the Olympic Games looming, I am lucky that I was able to stay upright. It all starts with respect. When I was younger, I had more respect for the top sprinters. We can talk a lot about the safety measures taken by race organisers, but it all starts with the riders. The organisers of the Baloise Ladies Tour are doing well. This is a very nice race, but because of the behaviour of the riders, you have so many falls. That’s why we try to ride from the front so much. We want to stay out of the chaos and ahead of the falls. By speaking out, I hope something changes. Because this is dangerous for all riders.”
Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 2 Result:
1. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL in 3:02:53
2. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Health
3. Sara Fiorin (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
4. Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Lidl-Trek
5. Lotta Lepistö-Henttala (Fin) EF Education-Cannondale
6. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
7. Babette Van Der Wolf (Ned) Lifeplus Wahoo
8. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
9. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny
10. Danique Braam (Ned) Chevalmeire.
Baloise Ladies Tour Overall After Stage 2:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 5:49:15
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:04
3. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:15
4. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) dsm-firmenich-PostNL 0:18
5. Fien Van Eynde (Bel) Fenix-Deceuninck at 0:19
6. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Health
7. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale at 0:20
8. Febe Jooris AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:21
9. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0.22
10. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny Ladies.
Baloise’24 stage 2:
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) won Saturday’s morning Stage 3a of the Baloise Ladies Tour. A major crash resulted in an hour’s neutralisation and a shortening of the stage, after which the sprint finally took place after 66 kilometres in Zwevegem. Wiebes won that sprint by lengths after a duel with Charlotte Kool.
Two stages were planned in Zwevegem on the fourth day of the Baloise Ladies Tour. An individual time trial of 11 kilometres in the evening, but first a road stage of almost 95 kilometres. On the stage the riders had the Tiegemberg, the cobbles of the Varentstraat and the Grote Herreweg, and the Kluisberg. After 66 kilometres the riders would cross the finish line to start a circuit of 30 kilometres.
The stage didn’t turn out like that. After 11 kilometres there was a massive crash, resulting in four riders having to be taken to hospital. The race had to be neutralised for an hour because there were not enough ambulances present. While waiting for new emergency services, it was decided to shorten the stage. During the first passage to the finish, after 66 kilometres, they would sprint for the stage win. There was racing on the Tiegemberg and the Kluisberg, Thalita de Jong attack with some others, but everything came together again in the final to Zwevegem. A bunch sprint between Lorena Wiebes and Charlotte Kool was inevitable. It was Wiebes who chose Kool’s wheel and sprinted to victory with more power.
Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 3a Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 1:28:52
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
3. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Health
4. Sara Fiorin (Ita) UAE Development Team
5. Kristýna Burlová (CZ) Lifeplus Wahoo
6. Mara Roldan (Can) Cynisca Cycling
7. Fleur Moors (Bel) Lidl-Trek
8. Lotta Lepistö-Henttala (Fin) EF Education-Cannondale
9. Fiona Mangan (Irl) Cynisca Cycling
10. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny.
Baloise Ladies Tour Overall After Stage 3a:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 7:18:01
2. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:06
3. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:21
4. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Health at 0:23
5. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 24
6. Alison Jackson (Can) EF Education-Cannondale at 0:26
7. Febe Jooris (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:27
8. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG InsuranceSoudal NXTG at 0:28
9. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny
10. Marie Schreiber (Lux) SD Worx-Protime.
Lorena Wiebes was able to celebrate for the second time in one day in the Baloise Ladies Tour. The Dutch woman of SD Worx-Protime won the evening’s individual time trial Stage 3b and further strengthened her leader’s position.
In the morning stage 3a of the Baloise Ladies Tour, a flat stage of 94 kilometres was originally planned, but due to a bad crash and a neutralisation it became only 66 kilometres. Wiebes won, after she had already gained a nice lead in the earlier stages.
It was late in the evening when the riders lined up for an individual time trial of 11 kilometres, still in Zwevegem. Wiebes said in advance that she had set her sights on this stage. At the first intermediate point, which was after 5 kilometres, she took a big chunk off the then top time of Marion Norbert-Riberolle (Fenix-Deceuninck). At the finish, Wiebes was the only rider to dip under 15 minutes, making her 15 seconds faster than Riberolle. Thalita de Jong was able to claim third place at 17 seconds. Charlotte Kool, who was second overall at 6 seconds, couldn’t find her time trial legs and lost almost a minute.
Stages 3a and 3b winner and overall leader, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “Winning twice in one day is something I haven’t experienced yet. It is extra nice that it is in two different disciplines. This is my first time trial victory ever and it feels really good. I, heard I had the fastest intermediate time, so it was important to ride as fast as possible to the finish. It helped that I had good coaching from the car. When I got to the finish, I saw that I was under 15 minutes and I was happy with that. I had scouted the course this week and knew the lap would suit me. But the danger was that I would start too fast and blow myself up. I’m satisfied that I was able to pace it so well and thus extend my lead in the overall classification. Tomorrow I hope to take my eleventh stage win ever in the Baloise Ladies Tour, but my main aim is to win the general classification. The altitude training camp seems to have done me good. I am happy with this form and hope I can continue it towards the Olympics. But first get through tomorrow safely.”
Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 3b Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 14:53
2. Marion Norbert Riberolle (Bel) Fenix-Deceuninck at 0:15
3. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny at 0:17
4. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:18
5. Fleur Moors (Bel) Lidl-Trek
6. Helena Bieber (Ger) Maxx-Solar Rose Women Racing
7. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:23
8. Christine Majerus (Lux) SD Worx-Protime at 0:26
9. Mara Roldan (Can) Cynisca Cycling at 0:28
10. Elynor Backstedt (GB) Lidl-Trek at 0:29.
Baloise Ladies Tour Overall After Stage 3b:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 6:04:08
2. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:38
3. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny at 0:39
4. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:40
5. Marion Norbert Riberolle (Bel) Fenix-Deceuninck at 0:41
6. Helena Bieber (Ger) Maxx-Solar Rose Women Racing at 42
7. Christine Majerus (Lux) SD Worx-Protime at 0:52
8. Febe Jooris (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:53
9. Marie Schreiber (Lux) SD Worx-Protime
10. Anneke Dijkstra (Ned) VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team at 0:54.
Baloise’24 stage 3b:
The Baloise Ladies Tour 2024 was won by Lorena Wiebes. After having already taken four victories earlier this week, the leader of SD Worx-Protime could also win the Final Stage 4 around Deinze. Wiebes didn’t disappoint and rode to another stage victory and the overall victory by bike lengths.
Little stood in the way of a final victory for Lorena Wiebes on the final day of the Baloise Ladies Tour. The SD Worx-Protime sprinter had won the prologue, the first road stage and both stages (morning stage and evening time trial) on Saturday. Only on the third day did she have to leave the victory to Charlotte Kool. On the final day, another stage of almost 117 kilometres around Deinze awaited. The riders rode seven local circuits of 16.5 kilometres and were able to earn bonus seconds twice. Wiebes’ lead over second placed Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) was reassuring at 44 seconds, with Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny) third, 45 seconds behind.
A leading group of 7 escaped after the first intermediate sprint, but SD Worx-Protime had Christine Majerus. After that break was captured, Scarlett Souren tried on her own. A group including Megan Jastrab, Marie Schreiber and Marion Norbert Riberolle made the jump in the last lap, but they were also caught 5 kilometres from the finish. SD Worx-Protime had the best train, but Wiebes was boxed in on the last kilometre. On the last corner she still managed to create space, allowing her to sprint on the cobbles in the centre of Deinze. There was no limit to Wiebes, who took her fifth stage victory. Lotta Henttala and Charlotte Kool finished second and third on the stage.
Stage winner and final overall winner, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “Today went perfectly. The situation was ideal. A small group had gotten to the front with Christine Majerus in it. Behind, my teammates were in control. In the run-up to the sprint they positioned me perfectly. I decided to start the sprint early. I saw a gap and went. These sprint victories are a confidence boost ahead of the Olympics in Paris. I hope to continue this form. I do think this overall victory is special to add to my palmarés. I don’t have many classification victories yet, so this one is special. The focus goes straight to Paris. I now go to my home in Limburg, where I will do the final training sessions towards the Olympics.”
Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 4 Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 2:44:26
2. Lotta Lepistö-Henttala (Fin) EF Education-Cannondale
3. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
4. Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Lidl-Trek
5. Babette Van Der Wolf (Ned) Lifeplus Wahoo
6. Sara Fiorin (Ita) UAE Development Team
7. Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Lifeplus Wahoo
8. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny
9. Femke Beuling (Ned) VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team
10. Flora Perkins (GB) Fenix-Deceuninck.
Baloise Ladies Tour Final Overall Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 10:17:10
2. Georgi Pfeiffer (GB) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:51
3. Thalita de Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny at 0:54
4. Maaike Boogaard (Ned) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 0:56
5. Helena Bieber (Ger) Maxx-Solar Rose Women Racing at 0:58
6. Charlotte Kool (Ned) dsm-Firmenich-PostNL at 1:03
7. Christine Majerus (Lux) SD Worx-Protime at 1:06
8. Marie Schreiber (Lux) SD Worx-Protime at 1:07
9. Febe Jooris (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG at 1:09
10. Daria Pikulik (Pol) Human Powered Health at 1:10.
Baloise’24 stage 4:
Lefevere on Evenepoel’s Tour: “All critics silenced”
Patrick Lefevere is extremely happy with Remco Evenepoel’s Tour de France. The young Belgian rider of Soudal Quick-Step is heading for a podium place on his debut in the Tour. According to Lefevere, the Evenepoel Tour has already been a success. “There are scenarios in which you can put pressure on Jonas Vingegaard, but Remco prefers to keep a little bit of reserve for Sunday,” Lefevere wrote in Het Nieuwsblad on Friday.
Fully betting on Vingegaard’s second place, the team boss doesn’t need that. “It is clear that he has now received wise advice from his team to accept second place. If he had gone all out against Pogačar for the final win, something could have happened for us. But that role of third dog is no longer possible,” says Lefevere. “It has already been more than successful, but winning the time trial to Nice would be the icing on the cake.”
“There are fools who thought that Remco would win the Tour, but I have said from day one: Everything from fifth place is good, but it can also be the podium,” says Lefevere, who is purely positive about Evenepoel. “Remco has not yet shown any weakness. It’s un-Remcoos, so to speak. He already understands that you have to do that more in the Tour than in any other race. Don’t forget: he will wear the white jersey from day two. Due to the stage and media obligations, he arrives at the hotel an hour later than the rest.”
Lefevere also likes to see how Evenepoel profiles himself in the media. “The perception has changed a lot. At the age of nineteen he was, so to speak, ‘a little boy’ who chatted too much. Look at his record today. He has silenced all critics,” said the boss of Soudal Quick-Step. The team also proves itself as a whole. “There is nothing more beautiful than silencing people with the pedals. I don’t think we should be inferior to any team at the moment.”
About Visma | Lease a Bike also has something to say to Lefevere, now that there is little left of the dominance of 2023. “What is certain is that their marketing talk did not catch on this year. That whole story in the first week: We know what we are doing, we know what will happen in the third week… They have known the values of Pogačar and Remco for two years, so to speak. I will be standing at the finish in Nice with a big smile. Every bird sings and races according to its beak, but honestly: I am more of a tifoso of Pogačar than of Vingegaard.”
A happy Patrick:
Jack van Gelder Makes Serious Doping Accusations: “This is Not Possible”
In the talk show Today Inside, Jack van Gelder made serious doping accusations against the Tour de France peloton and specifically against yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar. The football analyst’s statements provoked indignation from cycling journalist Thijs Zonneveld.
Van Gelder was asked by presenter Hélène Hendriks whether he still believes in a doping-free Tour de France, and he reacted strongly. “Of course not. Something is found every time. It cannot be that they continue to drive faster and perform better. That’s just not possible. There are limits to a human body. At a certain point it is no longer designed to do the things we would like to be able to do in principle. It has to be faster, higher and better and at a certain point you are limited.”
Van Gelder cannot accept the fact that Pogačar set the fastest time on Plateau de Beille last week. The Slovenian improved Marco Pantani’s old record by 3:30. “Pogačar apparently does not have that limitation: he climbs 4 minutes faster than anyone has ever done in history. It may be possible with body’s own substances or I don’t know what else. But things happen, in a few years you will hear who actually won.”
The criticism that Van Gelder expressed against Pogačar was therefore completely unfounded. And that was not possible for cycling journalist Thijs Zonneveld. “Ah, Jack van Gelder is now also a medical specialist who knows exactly the limits of the human body. Maybe next time he can explain how football players run twice as many kilometres as they did in the 1970s. Or why they sprint so much faster than ten years ago. It’s not about what you believe, it’s not a religion. You have to prove, substantiate and investigate before you say things like this.”
Football analyst has doubts in Pogačar:
Tour Most Combative Rider Prize Goes to KOM Richard Carapaz
Richard Carapaz has been named the most combative rider of the past three weeks by the organisers of the Tour de France. The Ecuadorian of EF Education-EasyPost wore the yellow jersey for one day and went into the final week in search of a stage victory and the KOM jersey.
Wout van Aert was the winner in 2022 and Victor Campenaerts last year. The following ten riders were nominated for the Prize: Richard Carapaz, Jai Hindley, Julien Bernard, Oier Lazkano, Matteo Vercher, Jonas Abrahamsen, Guillaume Martin, Ben Healy, Romain Grégoire and Michal Kwiatkowski.
As with previous editions, the public vote counted as much as that of the select club of French judges, Thierry Gouvenou (ASO), Laurent Jalabert (RTL), Fanny Lechevestrier (Radio France), Nicolas Georgereau (RTL), Jacques Klopp (AFP) and Philippe Le Gars (L’Equipe). The audience vote was calculated based on a popularity poll on ‘X’ (Twitter).
Carapaz eventually came out as the winner: the Olympic champion was very active, especially in the final week, and also linked his attacks to results. The 31-year-old won the seventeenth stage to Superdévoluy from a break. He also finished 4th on the stage to Isola 2000 and 3rd on the stage to the Col de la Couillole.
The winner of the 2019 Giro d’Italia also managed to collect more than enough points in the last mountain stages in the battle for the KOM jersey. Carapaz appeared on the podium twice on Sunday after the closing time trial in Nice.
Most combative rider of 2024:
Mark Cavendish in Tears After the Last Hard Tour Stage
There was a moving image at the finish of the penultimate stage of the Tour de France. More than forty minutes after the finish of stage winner Tadej Pogačar, a very emotional Mark Cavendish crossed the line with his Astana teammates
The British sprinter crossed the finish line in tears of happiness, after another very tough day and a battle against the time limit. However, the 39-year-old rider managed to finish in time, thanks to his teammates Cees Bol, Davide Ballerini and Harold Tejada. Cavendish endured the last difficult day in his fifteenth and last Tour de France, it clearly meant a lot to him. The sprinter gave free rein to his emotions, knowing that his Tour is almost over. On Sunday he only had to complete a 33.7 kilometre time trial from Monaco to Nice.
After the time trial, the sprinter received a grand farewell from the organisers of the Tour de France, due to his impressive career and many successes. Between the honours of the green jersey and the yellow jersey, a podium honour for Cavendish was on the program. It was a special Tour for Cavendish in several respects, as he wrote history in the first week by winning his 35th Tour stage. He passed Eddy Merckx and is now the rider with the most stage victories in the Tour de France.
Cavendish in tears at the end of stage 20:
Visma | Lease a Bike to Immediately Stop Team Communications on TV
Communication between riders and Visma | Lease a Bike team management will not be heard in the television broadcasts of the Tour de France. Due to a series of incidents, the Dutch WorldTeam has decided to immediately stop forwarding the conversations, Maxim Horssels of WielerFlits reports.
After a successful experiment in the Tour de France Femmes 2022, television viewers have since last year also been able to listen to conversations between riders and team management from a number of teams during the Tour de France for men. The deal between ASO and the participating teams was concluded at the time by team manager Richard Plugge.
Just like in Formula 1, the audio fragments are broadcast with some delay to prevent it from influencing the race, but it is precisely due to this point that dissatisfaction has arisen. Sports director Merijn Zeeman says that encouragement and atmospheric moments, such as cheering, are not a problem, but they are tactical instructions that can influence the course of the race. The crucial question is where the boundary lies. From when something can be labeled as a tactical instruction. According to the team, it is not sufficiently clear how this decision is made, and by whom.
After stage 17 to Superdévoluy, it was decided to suspend cooperation for the time being. After the Tour de France, the team will evaluate whether it will enter into a new agreement next year. Despite its popularity among viewers, team communication on TV is in doubt. CyclingWeekly reported earlier this week that six teams, including Visma | Lease a Bike and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL have doubts about the conditions for a new contract.
Teams receive €5,000 per team for making team communication available. A much too low amount according to a number of teams. International broadcasters reportedly pay €60,000 to broadcast the conversations, but TV channels such as NOS and Sporza have not opted for this. Communication can be seen and heard on Eurosport, among others. In short, there is quite a bit of discussion on the subject. Whether team communication will still be shown on television next year is anything but certain.
No more talk from Visma:
Heated discussion between Ciccone and Buitrago
Everyone could see on TV; Giulio Ciccone and Santiago Buitrago having ‘words’ after the mountain stage to Isola 2000. Shortly after the finish, the Italian of Lidl-Trek was angry with the Bahrain Victorious Colombian. The Italian was annoyed due to Buitrago receiving a very sticky water bottle.
The battle for a precious top 10 GC place was full on. At Isola 2000, Buitrago crossed the finish line 34 seconds ahead of Ciccone, meaning Buitrago (11th overall) is now within 10 seconds of Ciccone, who is 10th in the rankings. But apparently something happened on the climb displeased Ciccone. Images from SBS Sport show him saying to Buitrago. “The three of us sat behind you and saw everything. The fact that you held the water bottle like that is not correct. It’s the Tour de France…” says Ciccone, imitating the movement of a sticky bottle.
Buitrago reacted coolly. “I learned that from you.” The discussion then continues for a while, after which Ciccone heads off to the Lidl-Trek team bus. In the last mountain stage and Sunday’s time trial it will be exciting at the bottom of the top 10, because between eight and eleven overall, there are four riders within 1:04 of each other.
Buitrago fighting for a Top 10 place:
Extra Long Time Limit for the 19th and 20th Stages
The Tour de France organisers have applied an exceptional rule with regard to the time limit in the 19th stage to Isola 2000. On top of the calculation method communicated in advance, an additional 3% will be added.
The maximum time in which the riders must reach the finish of the Tour stages in order to be classified in the results and to be allowed to continue in the Tour, is calculated every day as a percentage of the time of the stage winner. The organisers have provided five coefficients, depending on the difficulty of the stages. In any case, the least strict coefficients would be used in stages 19 and 20. The riders may then take 10 to 18% longer to complete the stage than the winner.
With this extra 3% added, the scales for the stages are exceptionally between 13% and 21%. A similar arrangement was also made for the tricky 20th stage.
Some sprinters, such as Mark Cavendish, have been fighting against the time limit in the tough mountain stages throughout the Tour de France. But for these two Alpine stages, non-sprinters were also concerned about the feasibility of the limit. These questions have now being answered.
Making the time limit:
No Fractures for Tobias Halland Johannessen
Tobias Halland Johannessen was still in a good position when he crashed on the descent of the Côte de Saint-Appollinaire on Thursday. The young Norwegian missed a turn and was badly injured.
In the evening after the stage, his Uno-X Mobility team released a statement: “Tobias fell in a bend today, but he was still able to cross the finish line with the rest of the attackers. After the stage, Tobias was examined by the doctors of the Tour de France and the team because of the pain in his shoulder. We are pleased that the x-rays did not reveal any fracture and the ultrasound showed no damage to the ligaments. Tobias does have many superficial wounds on his skin.”
On Thursday evening it wasn’t clear whether Johannessen would continue the Tour for the final three stages. “He will now return to the hotel for further treatment. The decision whether Tobias will start in stage 19 will be made in the morning.”
Tobias started the next day:
Amaury Capiot – Fractures Found
Amaury Capiot was the centre of attention a few days ago after his ‘bump’ with Maxim Van Gils in the sprint stage to Pau. The Limburger of Arkéa-B&B Hotels crashed, after he deviated from his line and was bumped by Van Gils. Capiot suffered several fractures, it now appears.
Capiot initially started the next day’s stage. “It’s not too bad, I don’t really have any fractures,” he said to WielerFlits. “We have to wait and see what tests will be done next week. It is especially the lower back that hurts a lot. It’s hard to turn, but I can pedal. Let’s see what the first kilometres bring. I’m afraid of today anyway.”
That fear turned out to be justified, because immediately after the start Capiot had to let the peloton go. The Belgian left the race in tears. Just as painful was the verbal battle that Capiot fought with Van Gils in the media. Van Gils, who was fined 1,500 euros for his maneuver, said: “I think he makes the mistake of falling asleep in the sprint. Maybe there was a beautiful lady standing on the side or something?” And according to Capiot, the punishment for Van Gils should be much harder, and he himself was not to blame.
In the meantime, Arkéa-B&B Hotels has released a new update. “After his crash near the finish of the stage in Pau, Amaury Capiot underwent further examinations. These revealed a non-displaced fracture of the sacrum, as well as a fracture in the left perisymphysis.” The team cannot yet say how long Capiot will be out of action.
Capiot out of the Tour:
Stefan Küng Didn’t Start Stage 19, Possibly with the Olympic Games in Mind?
Stefan Küng wasn’t at the start line of the 19th stage of the Tour de France on Friday. His team, Groupama-FDJ, announced in a short statement on ‘X’, without giving a reason.
The two difficult Alpine stages and the mountain time trial to Nice do not suit the 30-year-old Swiss rider, who mainly likes flat time trials, so he had little interest in finishing the Tour.
More importantly, in a week’s time, on July 27, Küng will be aiming for an Olympic medal in the time trial in Paris. He may want some extra rest for his biggest goal of the year. In 2021, when Primoz Roglič took the gold medal, the Swiss rider was within a few hundredths of a second of a medal. Küng is the first of the Groupama-FDJ team to abandon the 2024 Tour de France.
Küng out early to rest for the Olympic TT?
Julian Alaphilippe to Ride One More Stage Race Before the Olympic Games
Julian Alaphilippe will start the Czech Tour (25-28 July), the organisers of the four-day stage race announced. For the Frenchman, it will be his last preparation race for the Olympic road race on Saturday, August 3.
Alaphilippe has made the Olympic Games a big goal. He deliberately missed the Tour de France in order to prepare for Olympic Gold in Paris. He did ride the Tour of Slovakia at the end of June, where he finished second in the final overall classification. Now he will also participate in the Tour of the Czech Republic.
Alaphilippe looking for Olympic gold:
Patrick Lefevere Reveals Transfer of Urska Zigart
Urska Zigart will race for the AG Insurance-Soudal women’s team from 2025, Patrick Lefevere told Het Nieuwsblad. The girlfriend of Tadej Pogačar, reigning Slovenian road and time trial champion, will leave Liv AlUla Jayco.
“Should I tell a secret? Pogačar’s fiancée will be riding for our women’s team next year. Pogačar himself will follow later,” laughs Lefevere. “To be clear: Urska is coming, Tadej of course not. Apparently they don’t want to ride in the same team.”
The 27-year-old Zigart turned pro with Alé BTC Ljubljana in 2020, after which she switched to BikeExchange in 2021, which is now Liv AlUla Jayco. She has been national time trial champion four times and this year also Slovenian road champion. Zigart has also finished in the top 10 of the Tour of Switzerland twice. Recently there was a lot of discussion about Zigart’s non-selection for the Olympic Games in Paris. Pogačar himself was also concerned about it.
Zigart to Soudal
Julian Alaphilippe Going to Q36.5 Pro Cycling?
After two difficult years, Julian Alaphilippe is showing some of his old form this season. Even the Soudal Quick-Step boss, Patrick Lefevere, would like to keep him, despite a number of critical comments in recent years. But will that be possible? The 32-year-old Frenchman is investigating his options, WielerFlits reports.
The relationship between Alaphilippe and Lefevere has been going on for more than ten years. There are storms in every marriage and it did the same between the Frenchman and the Belgian. However, the Soudal Quick-Step team manager wants to continue with the two-time world champion. Last year, Lefevere made him a proposal to reduce his salary until the end of 2024, but to extend his contract until the end of 2025. However, this was refused by the Alaphilippe camp. This spring, the relationship seemed to have broken down completely and irreversibly.
In an interview in February, the team manager lashed out at the Frenchman. He hinted at partying too much and drinking too much. That didn’t go down well with Marion Rousse, Alaphilippe’s partner. A cycling soap opera emerged, but eventually Lefevere admitted that he had gone too far. After a difficult spring in which Alaphilippe raced with a broken fibula, the Frenchman made his mark in the Giro d’Italia. He attacked again and again and was rewarded with a stage victory. After the final stage he was also named the most combative rider. Lefevere then took back a number of criticisms he had previously expressed. Alaphilippe’s manager Dries Smets sat with the COO of Soudal Quick-Step, Jurgen Foré, before the Giro. They agreed to sit down again after the Italian Tour. The hottest issue was the agreements regarding salary. “It is not my style to extend a rider’s contract for less money. But again, I can’t say that he has ridden well in the last two years,” Lefevere said during the Giro. It is unclear how those conversations between the parties ended.
What is clear is that Alaphilippe, just like Kasper Asgreen, whose name is becoming increasingly connected with Uno-X Mobility, is putting a heavy burden on Lefevere’s budget. There has been no shortage of interest for the Frenchman lately. Cofidis and TotalEnergies announced that they were open to sign Alaphilippe, while Decathlon AG2R is also in the background. The French classic specialist is immensely popular in his own country with his two World titles. Yet the question remains whether a longer stay at Soudal Quick-Step or a transfer to a French team will happen. Multiple sources confirm to WielerFlits that Alaphilippe recently offered himself to Q36.5 Pro Cycling. The Swiss ProTeam is in its second year, with Doug Ryder as team manager. Previously, the South African was the owner of the Qhubeka teams. In the future, Q36.5 Pro Cycling wants to be one of the first three placed of the ProTeams, which guarantees participation in major tours and/or Classics.
The Swiss team has already competed in many top level races. This year there have been sixteen so far, including Strade Bianche, the Amstel Gold Race, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. For a Classic specialist like Alaphilippe, he seems to have little to lose in terms of races with the Swiss team. With Scott there is also a good bike sponsor and the budget doesn’t seem to have any problems. He could also bring his uncle and current personal trainer Franck Alaphilippe, whose contract with Soudal-Quick-Step was not extended at the end of last year. A reselection has started at Q36.5 Pro Cycling, 21 of the 27 riders under contract have an expiring contract. The team would like to invest heavily in the quality of the riders, because a number were found wanting in the first two years. By signing someone like Alaphilippe, it can also convince other strong riders to sign with Q36.5 Pro Cycling. With the ex-World champion, a ‘WildCard’ for a Grand Tour is also a lot closer. A win-win for both parties.
Alaphilippe to Q36.5?
Soudal Quick-Step Setting Up its Own Junior Team
Soudal Quick-Step will start its own junior team in 2025, Het Nieuwsblad reports. Patrick Lefevere’s team already had its own U23 team in its male talent pyramid, led by Kevin Hulsmans.
The intention is that Hulsmans will also manage the junior team. The target is eight young people, both Belgians and foreigners. It is striking that Soudal Quick-Step already had a partnership with Acrog-Tormans, one from which leaders Tom Boonen and Remco Evenepoel emerged. According to the newspaper, the intention is that, despite the establishment of their own team, this cooperation would continue.
According to the team, its own junior team is necessary to recruit and retain promising foreign riders more quickly. There is therefore increasingly a ‘war on talent’ going on in the peloton to attract young talents at a young age.
Lefevere want’s more young riders like Evenepoel and Boonen:
Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium – The Stars are Back
The stars of the Tour de France have a date! A few months after the 111th edition and a few days after the announcement of the route for the 112th edition, the best riders from the international peloton will compete in the streets of Singapore.
For this 3rd edition, on 9th and 10th November, the riders will battle on a circuit winding through Singapore city centre and will have to cope with the humidity in the city-State famous for its emblem, the Merlion. There’s no doubt that the impressive final podium of the 2023 edition (Jasper Philipsen, Mark Cavendish, Tadej Pogačar) bodes well for the quality of the show that will be on offer.
The event organisers are ambitious and hope to once again put on a show worthy of the elite riders and the Tour de France. This 2024 edition will witness the inauguration of the TDFSG family day, offering a variety of games, entertainment and culinary discoveries for spectators. It is sure to make for a memorable weekend in Singapore city centre.
This event will once again provide an exceptional opportunity to raise the profile of the Tour de France in Singapore and will give fans of the race an opportunity to see their favourite riders in action.
Key information:
- The elite riders from the Tour de France will be present on 9th and 10th November in Singapore, for the 3rd time in a row in the “Garden City”.
- This event will beautifully conclude the Asian tour of the Tour de France and its champions.
- Join us at the beginning of November to see the stars of the Tour de France compete alongside the best Asian riders in exceptional settings.
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