Tadej Pogačar stormed to stage victory over the Galibier on Tuesday and moved back into the yellow jersey again, then on Wednesday we had Mark Cavendish win his 35th Tour stage to enter the history books. EUROTRASH has all the reports, rider views, results and video from the French Grand Tour.
Mark Cavendish and Biniam Girmay make history in the Tour de France – Top Story.
Tour de France news: Ilan Van Wilder is bothered by criticism of the team around Evenepoel, Rolf Aldag impressed by Remco Evenepoel, Jan Bakelants does not see Jonas Vingegaard as a loser on the Galibier and the UCI forced Dylan Groenewegen to take off his nose covered glasses.
Rider news: Peter Sagan retires as a road cyclist: “Sad, but also proud and full of joy”, Joris Nieuwenhuis breaks with team Sven Nys and Laurens ten Dam third in Tour Divide.
Team news: Chinese company invests in Astana Qazaqstan, dsm-firmenich PostNL reveal 2024 Giro d’Italia Women squad and Oatly and EF Pro Cycling announce new partnership.
Race news: Giro d’Italia Women: the Grande Partenza is fast approaching and ticket sales open for 2024 UCI Track Champions League final rounds in London.
Plus: Tudor “Discovering The Giro”: Watch Now!
EUROTRASH Tour coffee time.
TOP STORY: Mark Cavendish and Biniam Girmay Make History in the Tour de France
Mark Cavendish: The Best Sprinter of All Time
Mark Cavendish is the rider with the most stage victories in the history of the Tour de France. The sprinter of Astana Qazaqstan took his 35th stage victory at the end of the fifth stage of the 2024 Tour, passing the Belgian legend Eddy Merckx. Sixteen years after his first victory, the British rider now holds the record.
Few riders can say that they are better than legend Eddy Merckx, but Mark Cavendish can now say he has won more Tour de France stages than the Belgian. In 2021, Cavendish matched the Belgian by sprinting to his 34th stage victory. Now, three years later, the British rider has taken the record with his 35th victory in the last year of his professional cycling career.
In 2008, the then 23-year-old Mark Cavendish took his first stage victory in La Grande Boucle. The win in Châteauroux turned out to be the start of a very good Tour for the Manx man. He opened his Tour account with four stage victories, which he repeated in 2016 and 2021. In 2010 and 2011, he won five victories in each year and in 2011 he also won his first green jersey. In 2009, Cavendish sprinted to six stage victories, including a victory on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, a feet he repeated four times in his career. After his last victory in 2021 he was expected to ride in 2022, but team boss, Patrick Lefevere, chose to take Fabio Jakobsen to his first the Tour.
In 2023, Cavendish wanted revenge in France and that 35th victory with Astana Qazaqstan, in what should have been the last year of his career and he nearly did it. In stage seven, the best sprinter of all time seemed to be on his way to victory, but Jasper Philipsen got past him. A day later, Cavendish was forced to abandon because he crashed and broke his collarbone. Cavendish didn’t retire and signed up for another year… and we now know the result.
Top Tour de France Stage Winners of All Time:
1. Mark Cavendish – 35 victories (2008-2024)
2. Eddy Merckx – 34 victories (1969-1975)
3. Bernard Hinault – 28 victories (1978-1986)
4. André Leducq – 25 victories (1927-1938)
5. André Darrigade – 25 victories (1953-1964)
“It’s hard to fully grasp this success, but we worked towards it, and as a team, we did everything possible to make it happen. We have an incredible team, and I have amazing teammates. Throughout not just this Tour de France but all this time, I felt immense support from the entire team, and today we have the moment to celebrate this success together. I am very happy to be part of Astana Qazaqstan Team, where I found friends and, essentially, an incredible family. Today, the team was magnificent, everything was done perfectly, and I managed to win. I believed in success, but the main thing is that the team believed in success, we were on the same wavelength and had a common goal. I received maximum support, and we purposefully worked towards the goal we achieved today”, said Mark Cavendish.
“For our team, this is a great success, a historic achievement that will remain in cycling forever. Few believed that we would succeed, that Mark’s arrival in Astana Qazaqstan Team would change history, but we believed and did everything to make today’s victory happen. We were close to this last year, but fate had other plans. I believe that real champions should not end their careers after a fall and injury, and I am happy that Mark decided to do another season in the end. This year, we were able to prepare better, create all the necessary conditions to approach the Tour de France as best as possible. The whole team believed in success, and everyone contributed a bit of their effort so that today we could celebrate success. I congratulate the entire Astana project on this historic achievement. But we are not going to stop; only five stages have passed, and most of the race is still ahead. We are ready, and we will continue to fight in each subsequent stage”, said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of Astana Qazaqstan Team.
Mark Cavendish – The Tour stage record holder:
Biniam Girmay Makes African History at the Tour
Biniam Girmay achieved a historic victory with his stage win in the Tour de France on Monday. The Eritrean is the first black African rider to win a stage in the Tour de France. The all-rounder of Intermarché-Wanty was previously the first black African winner of a spring Classic and in the Giro.
For the first time a black rider was able to celebrate a stage win in La Grande Boucle. The Tour de France had only two African stage winners until Girmay’s win. The white South Africans, Robert Hunter and Daryl Impey have been stage winners. So Girmay’s achievement is a big statement. Although there haven’t been many black Africans in the Tour de France, an improvement has been seen since 2015. That year, it was Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) who wore the polka dot KOM jersey. Since then there has been Tsgabu Girmay and Merhawi Kudus racing at the highest level, but none of them managed to win a stage.
For Girmay, it is not the first time he has achieved such a historic win. In 2022, he was the first black African rider to win a spring Classic. In Gent-Wevelgem he beat Dries van Gestel (TotalEnergies) and Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma). Two months later, in the Giro, the Eritrean made history again, being the first black African rider to win a stage in a Grand Tour. In the sprint he was faster than Mathieu van der Poel. Unfortunately, when he opened the celebration Prosecco, the cork hit Girmay in the eye, forcing him to abandon the Giro. Biniam Girmay now only has to take a stage in the Vuelta a España to complete his trilogy. He would be the first black African (or any African) to do that. Robert Hunter has won two Vuelta stages and his Tour stage, but never won in the Giro and Daryl Impey ‘only’ has a Tour stage to his name. The Eritrean thus serves as a great example for young riders in Africa, where he has a big following of fans, many of which are at the Tour.
Girmay has a lot of fans – In the Rund um Köln when he was second
Biniam Girmay was Very Emotional After his First Tour stage win: ‘This is for all Africans’
An emotional Biniam Girmay found it difficult to hold back the tears after his win in the third stage of the Tour de France. “Since I started cycling, I never dared to dream of ever being in the Tour de France,” the first black African Tour stage winner said.
“I want to thank god for everything. Since I started cycling, I never dared to dream of ever participating in the Tour de France. To win in my second participation is great,” an emotional Girmay struggled to say. The Intermarché-Wanty sprinter tried to explain how special his victory is for African cycling. “I want to thank my wife, my family and the people in Eritrea and Africa. They must be proud, we are now really part of the big races. This is our moment. This is for all Africans, I’m just very very happy today.” Girmay also thanked team manager Jean-François Bourlart. “We hadn’t taken a Tour win yet, but now is our moment. We wanted to provide a lead-out for Gerben Thijssen, but if it were difficult I would have to go for my own chance. In the last kilometre I lost the wheel of Thijssen and went for myself. Beating all the big sprinters here is very motivating.”
“This is very special for us and we are very happy with this. We can continue with this and I think we deserve this too. But you have to enforce it and I think we did today. We were convincing. We were the team that was best in position in the last 900 metres, so it was not stolen today,” team performance Manager Aike Visbeek explained. Intermarché-Wanty races this Tour de France with several sprinters, and that is not easy according to Visbeek. Today it turned out well. “The great thing was that we wanted them both to be in the top 10 at 900 metres. Because we were in such a good position, it was of course pulled into a ribbon and it was actually quite a fast and difficult last 900 metres. That’s perfect for Biniam, so it worked out very well.”
Visbeek also realises that it could all go wrong in the Tour. “But I said in advance that this Tour will also look very bad for us, if they get in the way of each other or make sixth and fourth, or 14th and 133rd. Today it looks very good, I am very happy with that. But I realise that in the next two weeks there will be another sprint in which it doesn’t look good. I’m glad it works now.”
A very emotional Biniam Girmay:
Tour de France 2024
Stage 3 was won by Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty), beating Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) to the line. In the frantic sprint in Turin, Girmay was too strong for his rivals, just getting the better of Gaviria, with Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny) in third place and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) completing the top five. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) took the Yellow Jersey for the first time in his career.
175 riders took the start on the third day of the 2024 Tour de France with the route covering 230.8 kilometres between Piacenza and Turin, making it the longest in this year’s race. The prospect of a doomed breakaway which would surely be controlled by the sprinter’s teams, who deterred any serious potential attackers. There was a strange, short excursion from the peloton for 5 kilometres by Jonas Abrahamsen and Johannes Kulset (Uno-X Mobility) early in the stage, but they quickly re-joined the group. The peloton was still all together as the riders completed the first hour of racing at an average speed of 37.3 km/h.
The race visited Tortona (70.8km) paying homage to one of Italian cycling’s true greats and on the Côte de Tortone – Fausto Coppi (named after the ‘campionissimo’) Jonas Abrahamsen added another point to his KOM classification tally, whilst wearing the green jersey. At the Alexandrie intermediate sprint (94.3km) Abrahamsen added 9 more green jersey points in seventh place, with the sprint won by Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), just ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) as the fast men tested their legs for the finish in Turin. For a local rider on the stage Matteo Sobrero (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) there was a special little win as he went over the Côte de Barbaresco (Cat.4, 156.1km) in first place, with his entire family and fan club there to enjoy the moment. TotalEnergies rider Fabian Grellier accelerated with 66 kilometres to go and left the peloton, going over the Côte de Sommariva Perno (Cat.4, 181.4km) alone with a 40 second advantage at the top of the climb. Grellier was later reeled back in by the bunch with 28km to go, but his efforts were rewarded with the Most Combative rider prize.
The fight for stage victory came down to an anticipated bunch sprint at the finish in front of a big crowd in Turin, with Girmay crossing the line first, ahead of Gaviria, De Lie, Pedersen and Groenewegen. There was drama with a big crash 2.3km from the finish line that affected a dozen riders, among them, the stage favourite Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), whilst his teammate Van der Poel was the victim of costly a late puncture which meant he lost contact with the bunch. Richard Carapaz’ finishing position on the stage puts him in the Yellow Jersey for the first time in a long career to make it an incredible day for him and the EF Education-EasyPost team. Jonas Abrahamsen maintains ownership of the polka dot and green jerseys.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report HERE’. #
Stage winner, Biniam Girmay Hailu (Intermarché-Wanty): “This is a historic day, I’m so happy for myself, for my Intermarché-Wanty team, but also for my country and my continent. Ever since I was a child, taking part in the Tour de France was a dream, almost unhoped-for. Winning the Tour de France is so incredible, especially in such a competitive sprint. I’d like to thank my team, in particular Jean-François Bourlart who dreamed of this Tour victory, my family, all my compatriots and all those who supported me. We can be proud of this victory. We’ve shown that we can take part in the big races and win. Our time has come. Today, we showed that the Intermarché-Wanty team had the best sprint train in the pack. The plan was to prepare the final sprint for Gerben Thijssen, with me as a free electron. I followed the train and then snuck in to play my card. Finally, I closed my eyes and gave it my all to win. My joy is indescribable.”
Overall leader, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost): “It’s a dream for me because of all the respect I have for the Tour, to wear yellow at the best race in the world. I’ve always prepared so much for this and today to enjoy this moment is huge. We knew we had the opportunity. We knew that the finish was the first sprint of the Tour. There were many nerves and we had to be very well positioned. There were many risks like crashing and the team did such an amazing job where they left me at one kilometre to go and from there I could defend myself as well as I could, and then Marijn and I just went full into the finish line. It was spectacular. I worked so hard for this moment. It also means a lot to my country. There are not a lot of us in the WorldTour and I hope this helps cycling so it can grow in my country. Tomorrow is a very hard day. It’s a very hard one to defend the jersey but I will try. Every day I feel better and I feel ready to defend the jersey.”
3rd on the stage, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny): “This was my first bunch sprint in the Tour de France and it was special. The team did a good job and in the end I finished third. Am I satisfied with that third place? Anyway. I’m really happy with this. The Tour is still long and there are still opportunities to come. I felt really good. It’s the Tour. Everyone wants to win and so you have to take risks. And sometimes that leads to a crash. I hope everyone involved is okay.”
5th on the stage, Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla): “If you are the fastest, you shouldn’t be satisfied with this, that’s it. It was chaos, right? It was what we expected in the first sprint. That it would be hectic. If you are the fastest, you should not be satisfied with this, that’s it. I had the feeling that I was by far the fastest, but it’s all about who crosses the line first. There was no space, so that if we’re talking about a straight line, I don’t think this was really it. I have no idea who it was because it all goes so fast, but it did bother me. Last year I didn’t feel like I was the fastest, and then I was satisfied every now and then. But now I’m not happy with it at all. I’ll also be honest if I’m not the fastest, but I am now and then you have to win. It’s good that the feeling is good, the team did well until the crash. So that’s something we’ll take with us. But I just want to win and that’s what we’re going for.”
Points and KOM leader, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): “It’s the Tour de France, the biggest race in the world so you have to take whatever you can. I’ve been dreaming about this since I started cycling when I was 14 years-old. It’s so big for me to come here and take the green jersey and the polka dot jersey. I will try to keep it like this as long as possible. Johannes (Kulset) is the youngest rider in the peloton here and he just asked me if we could make some show for TV and I have the green jersey and he’s the youngest rider and I think he loved it. Sometimes you have to put on a show and have some fun. I think it will be hard for me tomorrow, I am 80 kg and there are a lot of hills. Maybe if I get in the breakaway it will be best but I think it will be hard on the first climb. But we will see, hopefully I can keep one of the jerseys after tomorrow.”
3rd overall and best young rider, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “It was the first sprint stage of the Tour so everybody knows it’s going to be the most hectic one. The first objective was to arrive safely to the finish which we succeeded in and beside that we were just going to wait and see what the result would bring out and in the end it’s the same situation with another leader but not me. In the end I think we succeeded in staying safe and arriving without any bruises and injuries. Nobody was really interested in the breakaway today I think everybody suffered quite a bit the last two days, so it was the perfect way to have a long recovery ride let’s say. First of all tomorrow I need to stay where I am without losing time on Tadej and Jonas, that’s the main goal. If it’s a sprint finish with a small group for sure I will try, but we will have to see about the breakaway as there’s a big chance that they go again tomorrow. We’ll try to survive and get the best result possible.”
Tour de France Stage 3 Result:
1. Biniam Girmay Hailu (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty in 5:26:48
2. Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Movistar
3. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto Dstny
4. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
5. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jayco AlUla
6. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
7. Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
8. Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan
9. Sam Bennett (Irl) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
10. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 3:
1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost in 15:20:18
2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike
5. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich-PostNL at 0:06
6. Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious at 0:21
7. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis
8. Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers
9. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
10. Aleksander Vlasov (-) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
Tour’24 stage 3:
Stage 4 of the Tour de France was won in style by Tadej Pogačar in Valloire, with the UAE Team Emirates rider attacking on the Galibier climb before descending to the finish line to reclaim the Yellow Jersey. After controlling the break on the climbs to the Italian resort of Sestriere, then the Col de Montgenevre, the UAE riders put their leader into position on the Col du Galibier. It was 800 metres from the summit that Pogačar struck a big blow to his rivals. The Slovenian then increased his advantage on the descent to Valloire to claim the 12th stage victory of his career on the Tour, also reclaiming the Yellow Jersey. He will start the fifth stage 45 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel and 50 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard.
There were 174 riders at the start of stage 4 in Pinerolo after the withdrawal of Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step), who crashed towards the end of stage 3 near Turin suffering a collarbone fracture, forcing him to leave the Tour. After the peloton left Pinerolo for this short, tough (139.6km) stage in the mountains, the positioning of the intermediate sprint at 18.6km inspired Mads Pedersen, who immediately tried to launch an escape, though the attack would not succeed. So it was from within the bunch that the Dane accelerated to the line to take the maximum 20 points in the Castel Del Bosco intermediate sprint, in the fight for the green jersey.
At 30km, on the ascent to Sestriere, with 20km of the climb remaining, there were 17 riders who broke clear, with Chris Juul-Jensen (Jayco-AlUla), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R), David Gaudu, Romain Grégoire, Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ ), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Raul Garcia, Cristian Rodriguez (Arkes-B&B Hotels), Kobe Goosens (Intermarche-Wanty), Warren Barguil (dsm-Firmenich-PostNL), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Odd Christian Eiking, Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) in the group.
It was 2024 Flèche Wallonne winner Williams who topped the Sestriere climb (Cat.2, 50.4km) first and by the time the break riders reached the summit of the second categorised climb, the Col de Montgenevre (Cat.2, 71,1km), their gap over the peloton was 2:10. Again it was Williams who reached the top of the climb first, earning himself 10 points for the KOM classification from those first two peaks of the day. On the descent from Montgenevre, Nils Politt set a very fast pace for Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates causing several splits in the peloton, which were nullified when the bunch passed through Briançon (82.1km), with Richard Carapaz in the Yellow Jersey chasing his way back to the GC group. The break’s advantage increased to 2:30 as the escapees gained some momentum in the valley to the foot of the Galibier.
The break fell apart on the Galibier with Chris Juul-Jensen (Jayco-AlUla), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) and Oier Lazkano (Movistar), the last four to stay at the front, not opting to assist each other. Only 30 riders remained in the main group of a reduced peloton when it caught and overtook Lazkano with 26km to go, driven by the UAE Team Emirates riders. The elimination game in the main group saw the Yellow Jersey Carapaz distanced at 6km from the summit and he would eventually finish 5:28 down on the GC. There were only 8 riders at the front at 3km from the top of the climb: Almeida, Ayuso, Pogačar, Vingegaard, Rodriguez, Roglič, Evenepoel and Landa. Pogačar then produced a storming attack 800 metres from summit of the Col du Galibier, with Vingegaard hanging onto his wheel for around a 100 metres, but the gap grew with the UAE leader taking the Henri-Desgrange souvenir by 10 seconds ahead of his rival. On the descent and in the final kilometres to Valloire, Pogačar opened up a clear gap to win by 35 seconds from Evenepoel, Ayuso and Roglič, with Vingegaard in fifth, 2 further seconds behind.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report HERE’. #
Stage winner and overall leader, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “I’m super happy. This was more or less the plan, and we executed it pretty well. It was like a dream stage, and finishing it off solo was very special. I wanted to hit hard today, as I was confident I could win and put some seconds on my rivals. I know this stage pretty well. I’ve trained a lot here and it felt like a home stage, passing through Sestrière and Montgenèvre. There was a lot of headwind in the Galibier climb, so the pace didn’t feel that hard when following wheels. Still, my team did a super good job. I didn’t want to attack too early because of the wind, so I saved my legs until that attack with 800 meters to go on which I pushed as hard as possible in order to make such big differences as possible. I knew the downhill, and that helped a lot, but it was a bit scary and surprising to see that the first few corners were wet. The gaps I created are good news for me. I can be happy with the position and the shape I am in right now. Yet there are three demanding weeks ahead of us, and as for this week in particular there is an ITT that can create some gaps.”
2nd on the stage and overall, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “I am satisfied with my day. It was the first mountain stage of the race, we went to high altitude and had a lot of meters of climbing. The team did a great job, we were up there and can be content with the way we rode. When the attacks came on the steepest part of the Galibier, I did my best to limit the losses, and on the descent, I tried to come back, but the roads were a bit sketchy and I lost some time there. Despite this, I continued to fight and I’m quite happy with my second place on the stage. It’s a good result for the morale and we’ll look to build on this.”
Points and KOM leader, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno X – Mobility): “It was a hard start. I tried to go with a breakaway in the beginning. Then we had one guy in the breakaway before the sprint. Then they were caught so I tried to get some points there for the sprint and I was around fifth so I got enough points to keep the jersey for one more day. After that I just took it easy to the finish line. Maybe we will see about the breakaway tomorrow, I think I will help Alexander Kristoff for the sprints tomorrow. Hopefully I have enough points from yesterday too to keep the mountain jersey because I think this is not easy to take after tomorrow.”
Most aggressive rider, Oier Lazkano (Movistar): “I didn’t feel good at all in the first stage, but I’ve managed to turn my body around and regain a good feeling these days. It has not been an easy day for the breakaway, because the teams in the general classification wanted to make the race tough so we never got more than two or three minutes away, which was a shame. Once I was there in the breakaway, I wanted to try until the end. I managed to get on the podium in my first Tour, and that is something very nice. I have fulfilled every cyclist’s dream. What do I expect from the rest of the Tour? Suffering and learning! The goal is not to get on the podium for Combativity, but to win a stage to put my team and its sponsors in a good place. I will keep looking for the breakaways because, to win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket. Also, my teammates like Fernando Gaviria have shown good legs and they have stages ahead that are good for their qualities, so we will support them.”
Tour de France Stage 4 Result:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 3:46:38
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:35
3. Juan Ayuso Pesquera (Spa) UAE Team Emirates
4. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:37
6. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers
7. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:53
8. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates
9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 2:41
10. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 4:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 19:06:38
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:45
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:50
4. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Emirates at 1:10
5. Primoz Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 1:14
6. Carlos Rodríguez (Spa9) INEOS Grenadiers at 1:16
7. Mikel Landa (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 1:32
8. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 1:32
9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 3:20
10. Egan Bernal (Col) INEOS Grenadiers at 3:21.
Tour’24 stage 4:
A frantic bunch sprint in Saint-Vulbas on Stage 5 was won by Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) in front of an excited crowd to make Tour de France history. Cavendish clinched his 35th Tour stage victory in style, making him the most prolific stage winner in the history of the race outright, now alone in front of the man he had previously shared the honour with, the great Eddy Merckx. Cavendish used all his experience in an electric bunch sprint to grab the historic triumph ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in second and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility), who was third. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remains in the Yellow Jersey with no changes at the top of the GC on the fifth day of racing.
There were 174 riders at the start of stage 5 as the peloton rolled out of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne taking the official start after a 4.6km neutralised section. Following a few unsuccessful escape attempts, it was finally at 25km that Clement Russo (Groupama-FDJ) left the peloton, joined at 31km by Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies). The two riders from Lyon moved clear and took a maximum lead of 4:35 at 40km. The duo’s gap was controlled by Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Deceuninck, who led the peloton. The average speed after 2 hours of racing over flat terrain was 39.2kph. At the first categorised climb of the day, the Côte du Cheval Blanc (Cat.4, 104.6km), it was Russo who picked up the solitary point for the Mountain classification, with the peloton then at 2:20.
Russo was then first at the intermediate sprint at Aoste (IS, 123.2km) followed by Vercher, before the peloton arrived and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won the bunch sprint ahead of Sam Bennett (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The riders then made their way to second categorised climb of the stage in the rain with the peloton gradually reducing the deficit to Russo and Vercher, finally catching them with just under 36km to go, as the Côte de Lhuis (Cat.4, 142,8km) ascent started.
Going over Côte de Lhuis first and uncontested was Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) for another 1 Mountain classification point, ensuring him leadership of the climbers’ rankings for at least the next two days. Then at the finish in Saint-Vulbas it was Cavendish who showed his class and strength in the hectic final sprint to make Tour history, crossing the line ahead of Philipsen, Kristoff, Arnaud de Lie (Lotto-dstny) and Fabio Jakobsen (dsm-firmenich-PostNL), whilst Girmay was ninth to take the green jersey.
# You can see more photos in the full ‘PEZ Stage Report HERE’. #
Stage winner, Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan): “Astana put a big gamble on this year to make sure we’re good here at the Tour de France. My boss has done a big gamble for us to come here and win at least one stage. That shows he’s someone who knows what the Tour de France is. You have to go all in. We’ve done it. We worked on exactly what we wanted to do. How we built the team, what we’ve done with the equipment. Every little detail has been put towards specifically today. You see what it means! It doesn’t mean we are going to be top of the UCI rankings or anything but the Tour de France is bigger than cycling isn’t it. Normally it takes me a few days to get into it. I know how it works, my trainer and people around me know how it is. If everybody knew how it was everyone would be a bike rider and my job would be a lot harder. I’ve done 15 Tour de Frances now, I don’t like to have bad days and I don’t like to suffer but I know it’s just in the head and if you push you get through it. You work and you can have an opportunity, things still have to go your way. We didn’t nail it as a team like we wanted to do, but the boys improvised and got me there in the best position and I shot onto whatever train was going and was able to win. Especially when you are not physically as good as everybody else, it’s definitely beneficial to use your head a bit.”
Overall leader, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “We were in the bunch and then suddenly something came up in the middle from nowhere, the guys in front of me braked and we touched wheels a little bit, touched shoulders, but luckily I escaped the concrete thing. I reacted on instinct and was very lucky to avoid the crash. It’s a natural part of flat stages. The bunch is always together, quiet, always calm, and that’s when danger can come before you know it, when you’re relaxed and you never know what will happen. It was a nice feeling to ride with the Yellow Jersey again, I enjoyed it. It was a good start to the day, as I could have a talk around in the bunch. Anyway, the best part is I could roll into the finish safe and sound on a tricky stage. It was less stressful than Torino, though, as things at the front always remained relatively calm. It’s incredible that Mark [Cavendish] got his 35th stage victory. I saw him after the finish line and he told me not to break his record, but I think it will actually stand for a long time.”
Best young rider and 2nd overall, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step): “It was a pretty average stage, with quite a low pace especially at the start. It’s true, though, that the body experiences a different level of stress in the last 50 kilometres, also because of the rain that made the roads a bit trickier. In any case, we did not have any major problems and the job is done for today. It is very special to witness Mark Cavendish setting a new all-time record, and to share the bunch with him. We have been teammates and it’s been great to be part of his many feats. If there is a guy who deserves this record, it’s him.”
Points leader and 9th on the stage, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “It was part of the plan to try to take the green jersey today. Of course, I would have preferred another result in the sprint, but it’s great. It’s a very beautiful jersey, I love this colour. Everything is going really well, I was able to win a stage and this time I was still quite close. And I know there will be other opportunities. Mark Cavendish, I saw him win races when I was around ten and I always dreamed of being like him. So to find myself in the race where he beats the record, it makes me very happy, I’m happy for him.”
KOM, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): “Today I was going full gas for Alexander Kristoff, and I’m very happy that he was third at the finish. As for my job, I spent the whole day around him and performed the final part of my duty coming into the last kilometre. I’m happy I’ve worn the green jersey for three days, and now I’m looking forward to spending some more days in the polka dot one. I’ll try to keep it for as long as possible, so I’ll probably have to jump in some breakaways. I hope you see me a lot on TV in the next few days!”
Most aggressive rider, Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ): “I hadn’t exactly planned to go in the breakaway, but at one point I had the opportunity to do it. I knew that few riders were motivated to do it, especially with a headwind. I had spoken a little with Matteo Vercher and he wanted to go there because we are in our region. There were only two of us, so it was difficult to hope to win, but we had fun. I grew up about 15 km from here and what’s more, it’s my mum’s birthday, so I’m going to have a bouquet to give her! With the rain that started to fall, I think it brought the peloton back quicker and we were caught quite far from the finish, but it’s always pleasant to lead the way on the road on the Tour de France.”
Tour de France Stage 5 Result:
1. Mark Cavendish (GB) Astana Qazaqstan in 4:08:46
2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
4. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto Dstny
5. Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) dsm-firmenich-PostNL
6. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Israel-Premier Tech
7. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
8. Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
9. Biniam Girmay Hailu (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty
10. Marijn van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-EasyPost.
Tour de France Overall After Stage 5:
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates in 23:15:24
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:45
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:50
4. Juan Ayuso Pesquera (Spa) UAE Team Emirates at 1:10
5. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 1:14
6. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 1:16
7. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 1:32
8. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates
9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek at 3:20
10. Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) INEOS Grenadiers at 3:21.
Tour’24 stage 5:
Van Wilder is Annoyed by Criticism of the Tour Team Around Evenepoel
Remco Evenepoel showed on stage 4 that he is ready to fight for the Tour podium by finishing second in the Alpine stage to Valloire. The 24-year-old Belgian was also well surrounded by his Soudal Quick-Step teammates on the Col du Galibier. One of his teammates, Ilan Van Wilder, had his say after the stage.
Van Wilder believes that Soudal Quick-Step’s Tour team has received too much criticism in recent months. “I am going to take a moment to express my disappointment to the media,” he said to Het Nieuwsblad. “There are always comments about the team and that is not nice to hear. I’ll tell it like it is: sometimes we really feel like shit,” Van Wilder pointed out. “People forget that we are young and that it is the first Tour for many. Sorry, but teams like UAE Emirates. These are not domestiques, but all leaders who race for at least two million euros. That says it all. I always hear the same thing: they won’t do it with those men. They don’t have the team for it. I’m a bit tired of it.”
Van Wilder not pleased:
Rolf Aldag is Impressed by Remco Evenepoel
Tadej Pogačar was the big winner on Tuesday in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France, but Remco Evenepoel also impressed in the Alpine stage to Valloire. Rolf Aldag, sports director with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, was also impressed.
“We would also have liked to take bonus seconds with Primoz Roglič, but Remco was very strong in those sprints,” Aldag told Het Nieuwsblad after the finish. “He was great and how he closed the gap on Pogačar and Vingegaard on Sunday in Bologna was also impressive. Chapeau.”
“I think his progress is impressive. In the Critérium du Dauphiné it really felt like we had him under control, but now… The question is: can he stay at this level or will he suffer a setback after this super-fast super form?”
The German DS was also impressed by Mikel Landa, Evenepoel’s lieutenant in the mountains. While Aleksandr Vlasov couldn’t hang on, Landa managed to survive the UAE Team Emirates selection on the Col du Galibier.
“We were hoping for the Soudal Quick-Step scenario, with Remco who still had Landa with him. It is not that Mikel could make the race hard or mean much, but he was there. If Remco needed a water bottle or gel, he was there. This is a big advantage, especially because you can’t get to everything with the cars,” Aldag said.
Evenepoel has been impressive so far:
Jan Bakelants Doesn’t See Vingegaard as a Loser on the Galibier
Tadej Pogačar dealt a first blow to Jonas Vingegaard on the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, but the Danish defending champion of Visma | Lease a Bike kept the damage in Valloire limited. Jan Bakelants doesn’t see Vingegaard as a loser.
In his column for Het Laatste Nieuws, Bakelants sheds light on the first mountain stage of the Tour de France, and the relationships between Vingegaard and Pogačar. “Just as he did last year and as he did again on Sunday in Bologna on the San Luca, Jonas Vingegaard also got stuck into Tadej Pogačar’s wheel on the Galibier. But more than on Sunday, this ride was a real mental boost for Vingegaard.”
“In the stage over the Galibier it was for Jonas Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike is especially important so as not to lose time on Pogačar. Maybe he overran himself a bit in the last few hundred meters. And that he paid for it in cash during those parts of the descent where he had to pedal. Even so, this is a success for Vingegaard. Knowing where he comes from, he reaches a very high level.”
The first mountain stage confirmed what many already thought. UAE Team Emirates is by far the strongest team at the moment. “As far as UAE is concerned, we were a bit hungry until yesterday,” Bakelants believes. “It was unclear what role Ayuso and Almeida would play. This was evident on the Galibier. And so you see once again what a fantastic team UAE has bought together. With this they can smoke out everything and everyone.”
Uphill there is little to say about their superior numbers, but Bakelants doesn’t want to draw hasty conclusions yet. “It is far from over and it is early for conclusions. But Pogačar and his team put the finishing touches on Tuesday. In stage nineteen (from Embrun to Isola 2000) we get a similar stage. The Cime de la Bonette (2798 meters) is higher than the Galibier and it may become even warmer there. I expect UAE to be aggressive in this too.”
Vingegaard – Not so bad:
UCI Forced Dylan Groenewegen to Remove his Nose Glasses
Dylan Groenewegen stole the show on Monday on stage 3 of the Tour de France. The Dutch champion had a nose piece on his glasses. The Jayco AlUla rider had asked sponsor Scicon to use it. Yet Groenewegen finished in Turin without the glasses because the UCI the banned glasses during the stage.
The 31-year-old Lion of Amsterdam explained the UCI intervention to WielerFlits. “They said the glasses were not on the market and the ‘nose’ had to be removed. So that’s what I did,” Groenewegen said. Yet he wore the same glasses again at the start of the fifth stage. The solution was simple. “It’s on the market now, so I can wear it today, haha! It is now online on the website, so I can also wear it during the race.”
WielerFlits asked about the nose piece at the Scicon stand at EuroBike: It costs 350 euros, making it one and a half times more expensive than the Scicon Aeroscope sunglasses at 220 euros, that Groenewegen wears. His set-up costs 570 euros. According to the company, the reason why the Scicon Nose Cover has this price is due to the development behind it and especially because it is 3D printed. In addition to the Aeroscope, it is also compatible with the Aeroshade and Kunken models. The glasses appear to be the Scicon Aeroscope cycling glasses, but are equipped with a special cap over the nose that is reminiscent of a crow’s beak. The black cap has been placed to guide the airflow more efficiently along the user’s face, which Scicon did at the request of Groenewegen himself. “Oakley has it too. The goggles won’t be a problem, every bit of aero pays off. Sometimes it can really come down to a photo finish, I know all about that.”
No nose for Groenewegen:
Peter Sagan Retires as a Road Cyclist: “Sad, but Also Proud and Full of Joy”
The cycling career of the 34-year-old Peter Sagan is now over. The three-time World champion rode his last competitive kilometres on Sunday in his home race, the Tour of Slovakia. In an emotional message on social media, Sagan bowed out. “After so many years it is hard to believe that my journey in professional cycling has come to an end,” he wrote.
“Crossing the finish line today in the Tour of Slovakia was a moment full of mixed feelings: sadness, nostalgia, but also pride and joy,” said Sagan after Sunday’s final stage. “It’s a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye to this chapter of my professional career, but I couldn’t have asked for a better place than here. In my home country and in my home event.”
“I still remember my first stage in the Tour Down Under on January 19, 2010. I was just a young lad, not yet 20, and I could never have imagined that I would have such a long and successful career in this sport would have. It’s been a long road, with ups and downs. And ending my career in the Tour of Slovakia, surrounded by the support and love of my compatriots, is a memory I will cherish forever. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this incredible journey. Your support has been my driving force and I am so grateful for every encouragement. Without you I would never have gotten this far,” said Sagan.
Sagan initially hoped to end his career in the Olympic mountain bike race in Paris, but he failed to qualify for the Games. At the end of last year he had already ended his WorldTour career by leaving TotalEnergies. He rode a few more races with the Continental Pierre Baguette Cycling from Slovakia, but June 30, 2024 will be remembered as the day of Sagan’s last road race.
It’s all over (on the road) for Peter Sagan:
Joris Nieuwenhuis Breaks with Sven Nys – No Improved Contract
Joris Nieuwenhuis will immediately leave Baloise Trek Lions, Sven Nys’ cyclo-cross team. The Dutch champion hoped for an improved contract with the Belgian cyclo-cross team, but no agreement was reached and so they have parted company. According to the team, “both parties say goodbye to each other on good terms”.
In a statement on social media, Baloise Trek Lions announced the break with Nieuwenhuis. The 28-year-old rider decided to stop road racing in 2022, after three and a half years with DSM in the WorldTour, in order to focus more on cyclocross. This resulted in good results last winter, including the National Championship title, silver at the World championships behind Mathieu van der Poel and second places in the World Cup and the Superprestige.
The contract negotiations subsequently came to an end, Baloise Trek Lions said in a statement: “Logically, a number of riders also hoped for an improved contract for the future. Understandable, but unfortunately it is not feasible for the team and the budget to go along with all these increases. We want to be a team that can score across the board in the near future.”
According to manager Sven Nys’ team, ‘a good agreement has been reached’ with Nieuwenhuis, allowing the Dutchman to leave the team immediately. Nieuwenhuis himself has not yet responded to his departure from the team.
According to Het Nieuwsblad, Nieuwenhuis is about to sign with a new cross team of Hans van Kasteren and sports director Richard Groenendaal, two old acquaintances in the cyclocross world. Van Kasteren was team boss of Telenet Fidea Lions before he sold it to Nys in 2016. That new team would be supported by bicycle brand Ridley.
Joris Nieuwenhuis leaves Sven Nys:
Laurens ten Dam 3rd in the Tour Divide: “Next level to hell”
Laurens ten Dam finished third in the Tour Divide. The Dutchman took a total of 15 days and 6 minutes to complete the ultra race that runs from the northern border to the southern border of the United States via the Continental Divide.
The Dutchman had been on the podium since the third day, far behind leaders Justinas Leveika and Ulrich Bartolmoes, but far ahead of the fourth rider, Cade Reichenberger.
“I feel proud now, but after the finish I was disappointed for a moment and was completely numb and exhausted. The beers immediately after the finish didn’t go down well either, I had to go to sleep straight away,” Ten Dam responded after the race in his podcast Live Slow Ride Fast.
“I really screwed up next level. During the race I was completely exhausted several times and thought about giving up several times, but every time I got through it. My eye is infected and my feet still hurt, but I am doing better. I can take three-quarter steps again. At first they were quarter steps.”
Lithuanian Leveika eventually won the Tour Divide in a record time of 13 days, 2 hours and 16 minutes. In doing so, he broke the old record set in 2016 by Mike Hall, who had a top time of 13 days, 22 hours and 51 minutes. The unofficial record is held by Unbound winner Lachlan Morton, who completed the 4,200 kilometre ultra race in 12 days, 12 hours and 21 minutes.
Ten Dam third in the Tour Divide:
Chinese Company Invests in Astana Qazaqstan
Chinese carbon products manufacturer XDS Carbon-Tech, one of the largest companies in that industry in the world, will invest in the Astana Qazaqstan team. The long-term strategy of the collaboration is to provide competition to the largest teams in the WorldTour through reinforcements. In addition, the team will also change bike suppliers.
The Shenzen-based company will become a major investor of the team for a period of five to ten years. The team will receive a budget that comes close to that of the major teams at the top of cycling, such as UAE Team Emirates and Visma | Lease A Bike.
The team will also switch bike suppliers as part of the deal, moving from Wilier to lesser-known Chinese brand X-Lab. The deal could be finalised and announced during the Tour. The Chinese investment should enable team boss Vinokourov to attract some reinforcements to score enough points to stay in the WorldTour. One of the intended names for the team is Kaden Groves. The Australian sprinter, who will be out of contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck at the end of the season, should earn the necessary points in the sprints for the team, which is determined to retain their WorldTour status for the next license period of 2026 until 2029.
More money for Vino:
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL Reveal 2024 Giro d’Italia Women Squad
With the summer months fast hotting up, the action in the Women’s peloton will soon do the same as riders get ready for one of the oldest races on the calendar – the Giro d’Italia Women. Today, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL announce their seven-rider squad which will take on the exciting eight days of racing across Italy.
Kicking off with a time trial in the historic city of Brescia, the riders won’t have much time to take in the stunning scenery as they blast around the 15-kilometre-long route. From there, the open road stages await with a sprint opportunity on stage two before the first mountain-top finish on day three. A mix of hilly and rolling terrain follows, although the sprinters should get a chance once more on stage five, before the queen stage on the penultimate day of action. There, the riders will take on over 3500 metres of climbing paced into only 120 kilometres of racing, with a summit finish atop the famous Blockhaus ascent awaiting what will no doubt be a tired peloton. Depending on how big the gaps are from the previous day, the final stage could have potential for a GC raid but if not the breakaway or punchy riders stand a good chance.
With final preparations almost complete after good recent training blocks and solid racing, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL are set to leave their mark as they once again look to put up a fight in the GC with finisher Juliette Labous; aiming to put on a similar brilliant display that saw the team finish second overall in 2023.
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Kelvin Dekker explained: “We’re looking forward to travelling to Italy for the second Grand Tour of the season with this exciting squad. Our objective for the race is clear, with Juliette as our finisher for the GC battle, and we’re confident that the team we have here can support her in the best possible way for us to achieve our goals together. We have really good memories of this race from last year with our second place overall, so we have once again made this one of our target goals for the season. However, we will need to keep the focus on where our strength lies, and that is displaying some brilliant teamwork throughout the race so that we can keep each other in the fight every day. We’re looking forward to getting underway and showing our team colours out on the road.”
One of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s resident Italians, Francesca Barale added: “I think we’re all looking forward to the Giro. Personally, I’m of course really excited for it as a I really enjoy racing in my own country. We all have some good memories from last year with Juliette’s GC podium, and that was special for me too with it being my first Giro. This year we want to aim for even more. I’m confident that with Juliette and the rest of the team’s form, then we can go for a great result. I think it would be a successful Giro if we already managed to do what we did last year; work well as a team, race aggressively and make an impact on the race. I think the results will then come if we do that. We have a nice group, and everyone is really motivated to do that and get the best possible GC result with Juliette. Personally, I think last year I made some good steps in the Giro so this year I want to do the same. I’ve just had a good training block and I’m looking forward to seeing how I develop, and how I can help Juliette in the race.”
Line-up:
Francesca Barale (ITA)
Eleonora Ciabocco (ITA)
Franziska Koch (GER)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Josie Nelson (GBR)
Becky Storrie (GBR)
Nienke Vinke (NED).
Becky Storrie to the Giro:
Oatly and EF Pro Cycling announce new partnership
Oatly becomes co-title sponsor of women’s squad, now riding as EF-Oatly-Cannondale
Oatly, the world’s original and largest oatmilk company, and EF Pro Cycling are entering into a multi-year partnership. As part of the collaboration, Oatly will become an “Official Performance Partner” of both our men’s and women’s squads and an official co-title sponsor of our women’s squad, now known as EF-Oatly-Cannondale.
“One of our key objectives is to bring the Oatly magic to more people and this partnership with EF Pro Cycling is certainly geared towards that. As one of the most popular and watched sports globally, we’re excited to show the world how dairy-free products can be an integral part of professional athlete and non-athlete diets alike,” said John Schoolcraft, Chief Creative Officer at Oatly. “We are also proud to become a co-title sponsor of the women’s team. We can’t wait to celebrate both teams’ triumphs in the years to come and help fuel their success.”
Details of the Oatly/EF Pro Cycling sponsorship include:
- Training Camp Naming Rights: EF Pro Cycling’s training camps will now be known as “Oatly Performance Camps” providing ample collaboration opportunities for research and meal-planning to incorporate Oatly’s dairy-free products into athletes’ diets.
- Prominent Logo Placements: Oatly’s logo will now appear on team uniforms worn while racing and training, and across several EF Pro Cycling properties, including team cars, buses, trucks, chef and soigneur vans.
- Event-Specific Activations and Integrations: Oatly and EF Pro Cycling will partner to deliver dairy-free fan activations in key markets, hospitality programs, post-event parties, and rider-specific events.
- Content Development: Both organisations will collaborate on a regular series of video, website, and social media projects highlighting the partnership and spotlighting cyclists’ use of Oatly products.
“We’re excited to welcome Oatly into our family of partners, and we look forward to working with them in a variety of ways,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of EF Pro Cycling. “Oatly is an innovative and irreverent brand whose products are already used by several of our riders, and they’re a perfect match to what we’re trying to inject into the sport. We’ve already begun working on some great things together and can’t wait for people to see them.”
Oatly makes a delicious range of oat-based, non-dairy milk alternatives that offer the same creamy taste, frothy feel, and functionality as cow’s milk while generally having a lower environmental impact. Oatly’s fortified drinks benefit from the inherent goodness of fibrous oats and, in most markets where you find their products, also contain a variety of beneficial vitamins and minerals.
Our men’s squad is in the Tour de France. The Tour de France Femmes begins on August 12.
A good start for Oatly:
Giro d’Italia Women: The Grande Partenza is Fast Approaching
Brescia is preparing to welcome the first edition of the women’s Corsa Rosa organised by RCS Sport, which will start on 7 July with an individual time trial. Grand finale on the 14th in L’Aquila. Blockhaus is the ‘Cima Alfonsina Strada’, the highest peak of the race, established in memory of the cyclist who took part in the men’s Giro d’Italia in 1924. Among the big names announced at the start are the world champion Lotte Kopecky, the Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini, 2023 runner-up Juliette Labous, and 2023 Maglia Bianca Gaia Realini. Scarpetta Rossa will be the Charity Partner of the race.
12 days separate us from the Grande Partenza of the Giro d’Italia Women, organised for the first time by RCS Sport in partnership with the FCI – Italian Cycling Federation. Brescia is getting ready to welcome the great stars of women’s cycling, who from 7 to 14 July will battle it out to win the Maglia Rosa in what is one of the most eagerly awaited and coveted events of the year. On Saturday 6 July at 18.00, the teams presentation will take place in Piazza della Loggia, preamble to a series of events and activities aimed at highlighting the competition. The grand finale will be in L’Aquila, after eight stages.
The Trophy
As infinite as the potential of this competition that continues to grow day by day, this is the white gold trophy of the Giro d’Italia Women 2024 that embodies greatness, passion and sacrifice. The symbol of infinity actually represents much more: the dream, the fall and the victory.
The Giro d’Italia Women’s Medals and the Dedication to Alfonsina Strada
Eight blossoms to represent the eight stages of the Giro d’Italia Women on an endless path indicating the ‘Strada’ to the victory. Strada is indeed the name of the medal for the 2024 edition, which retraces the courageous story of Alfonsina Strada in the year that celebrates the centenary of her presence at the Giro d’Italia. The highest peak of the race, the Blockhaus, where the seventh stage will finish, is also named after her.
With one month to go, L’Aquila, site of the Grande Arrivo, has coloured one of its benches red and pink. The initiative, promoted by Scarpetta Rossa, Charity Partner of the event, is aimed at bringing to light the theme of gender violence
The Official Jersey and the Sponsors of the Giro d’Italia Women
The leader jerseys of the Giro d’Italia Women are designed and produced by CASTELLI
- Title Sponsor, Madeinitaly.gov.it
- Maglia Rosa, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Polti
- Maglia Rossa, leader of the Points Classification, sponsored by zondacrypto
- Maglia Azzurra, leader of the Gran Premio della Montagna (KOM), sponsored by Banca Mediolanum
- Maglia Bianca, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Autostrade per l’Italia
- Stage winner, sponsored by Trenitalia (Official Green Carrier)
Timekeeper
- Tudor – Official Timekeeper
Official Sponsor
- GLS – Intermediate Sprints
- Velux – Superteam
- Astoria – Official Wine
- Suzuki – Official Car
- Valtellina – Official Sponsor
- Castelli – Official Sponsor
- Clivet – Official Sponsor
- Lauretana – Official Sponsor
- Terna – Official Sponsor
- CNH – Official Sponsor
- RTL 102.5 – Official Radio
Official Suppliers
- Pata – Official Supplier
- Drivalia – Official Supplier
- Pastificio Rana – Official Supplier
Licensors
Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini and world champion Lotte Kopecky at Strade Bianche Women Elite
Giro d’Italia Women, The Teams
15 UCI Women’s WorldTeams:
- AG INSURANCE – SOUDAL TEAM (Justine Ghekiere, Kimberly Le Court)
- CANYON//SRAM RACING (Neve Bradbury, Elise Chabbey)
- CERATIZIT – WNT PRO CYCLING TEAM (Arianna Fidanza, Katrin Schweinberger)
- FDJ-SUEZ (Vittoria Guazzini, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig)
- FENIX-DECEUNINCK (Greta Marturano, Pauliena Rooijakkers)
- HUMAN POWERED HEALTH (Ruth Edwards, Katia Ragusa)
- LIDL – TREK (Elizabeth Deignan, Elisa Longo Borghini, Gaia Realini)
- LIV-ALULA-JAYCO (Mavi Garcia, Ingvild Gaskjenn)
- MOVISTAR TEAM (Liane Lippert, Arlenis Sierra)
- ROLAND (Elena Hartmann, Anna Kiesenhofer)
- TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL (Franziska Koch, Juliette Labous)
- TEAM SD WORX – PROTIME (Lotte Kopecky, Blanka Kata Vas)
- TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE (Rosita Reijnhout, Fem Van Empel)
- UAE TEAM ADQ (Chiara Consonni, Silvia Persico)
- UNO-X MOBILITY (Katrine Aalerud, Rebecca Koerner)
Qualified by ranking:
- COFIDIS WOMEN TEAM (Julie Bego, Hannah Ludwig)
- TASHKENT CITY WOMEN PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM (Yanina Kuskova, Olga Zabelinskaya)
Wild Cards:
- BEPINK – BONGIOANNI (Nora Jencusova, Monica Trinca Colonel)
- EF EDUCATION – CANNONDALE (Letizia Borghesi, Kim Cadzow)
- ISOLMANT – PREMAC – VITTORIA (Beatrice Rossato, Asia Zontone)
- LABORAL KUTXA – FUNDACION EUSKADI (Usoa Ostolaza, Ane Santesteban)
- TOP GIRLS FASSA BORTOLO (Iris Monticolo, Gaia Segato)
Ticket Sales Open for 2024 UCI Track Champions League Final Rounds in London
Ticket sales are now on general sale for the final two rounds of the 2024 UCI Track Champions League season which will be hosted at London’s award-winning Lee Valley VeloPark on December 6-7.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TICKET INFORMATION
Since opening in 2012, this iconic track has been home to many jaw-dropping performances; the 2012 Olympic Games saw the likes of Chris Hoy, Laura Kenny, and Jason Kenny, among others, storm to victory, taking seven out of a possible 10 gold medals; Sir Bradley Wiggins’ successful attempt on the UCI Hour Record in 2015, and more recently, the back-to-back, sold-out rounds of the UCI Track Champions League in the past three seasons.
In 2021, the inaugural Grand Finale of the UCI Track Champions League provided the stage for thrilling sprints and intense endurance races that kept spectators on the edge of their seats. Among the standout performances, Dutch legend Harrie Lavreysen claimed victory in the men’s sprint category, while Katie Archibald from Great Britain dominated the women’s endurance events. The 2022 edition saw record-breaking performances and dramatic photo finishes, with Lavreysen unsuccessfully fighting to defend his sprint title against Australian rising star Matthew Richardson, and American Jennifer Valente emerging in the women’s endurance category. The 2023 season continued to captivate audiences with breathtaking races and inspiring comebacks. Lavreysen reclaimed his trophy in the men’s sprint, and Katie Archibald did the same in the women’s endurance.
2024 UCI Track Champions League overall winners: Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand), Harrie Lavreysen (The Netherlands), Katie Archibald (Great Britain), Dylan Bibic (Canada)
The iconic venue was designed by architects at leading practice Hopkins Architects, and has a capacity for over 6,000 spectators. The track sits at seven metres wide and 250 metres long. Made of Siberian pine, and with a banking of 42° at its highest and 12° at its lowest, it is clear the track is built for speed.
Emma Hinze (Germany), Gavin Hoover (USA), Mathilde Gros (France), Claudio Imhof (Switzerland), Dylan Bibic (Canada), and Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand) also know what it feels like to lift the UCI Track Champions League Trophy on this legendary stage. With the stakes higher than ever, we can expect spectacular performances in the final two rounds of the 2024 UCI Track Champions League on December 6-7.
Season four of the UCI Track Champions League kicks off on November 23 at the Vélodrome National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which will crown the Paris 2024 Olympic Champions in just a few weeks. The league will then move to Apeldoorn on November 29-30, before concluding in London on December 6-7.
For more information on the UCI Track Champions League, visit www.ucitrackchampionsleague.com.
“Discovering The Giro”: Watch Now!
Performance, mental strength, camaraderie. Catch the action-packed episode of the Dare to Dream series, diving into the Team’s thrilling debut at our first ever Grand Tour at the 2024 Giro D’Italia.
The 23-minute long-form episode captured the emotions of the team’s riders, management and staff giving great insights into the team’s daily life at the three-week race.
The episode is now available on YouTube:
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