© Giro dell’Emilia

Giro dell’Emilia: Roglic pads his exit

After announcing his imminent departure from Jumbo-Visma on the morning of the event, just to put the noise around his future to rest at least for the moment, Primoz Roglic said he wanted to concentrate on the Giro dell’Emilia. He did that extremely well. The Slovenian emerged victorious by beating Tadej Pogacar (2nd), who was aggressive but not sharp enough, and Simon Yates (3rd) in the sprint. This is his third victory in the Italian event after having already won in 2019 and 2021.

The winner of the last Giro was able to remain patient at the end of the race where the favorites marked each other without making any decisive moves, while Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) kept the pace high for Tadej Pogacar. There were only nine riders left to compete for victory at the start of the last lap around the Basilica of San Luca, and everything came down to the final climb where Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) then Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) timidly tried their luck, but without success.

Everything was going to be played out between the two best punchers in the group. Pogacar attempted a first attack, just before the final kilometer, which was not sharp enough. Then his compatriot accelerated 350 meters from the line, and no one could follow his wheel. “I love this race and it feels good to win it again,” smiled Primoz Roglic, at the finish, after his 80th career victory, which is a promising performance coming just one week before the Tour of Lombardy, on October 7.

The results: 1. Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) ; 2. Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) ; 3. S. Yates (Jayco-AlUla)…

*****

Cro Race: Aular narrowly wins

It was an unusual end to the Tour of Croatia for Orluis Aular. The Venezuelan from Caja Rural, leader of the general classification since his sprint victory on Saturday during the 5th stage, crashed in the bunch sprint at the end of the sixth and final stage this Sunday.

Though unfortunate, the incident did not deprive him of victory in the general classification, since he won by three seconds ahead of the Norwegian Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X), who also finished second this Sunday in the final stage won by the New Zealander Campbell Stewart (Jayco-AlUla).

The results: 1. Aular (Caja Rural – Segural RGA) ; 2. Kristoff (Uno-X) ; 3. Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers)…

Stages won by: Viviani (INEOS Grenadiers) ; Leitão (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) ; Parisini (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) ; Mohorič (Bahrain – Victorious) ; Aular (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) ; Stewart (Team Jayco AlUla).

***** 

Coppa Agostoni – Giro delle Brianze: Formolo and a complete triumph by UAE Team Emirates

Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) won the 76th edition of the Coppa Agostoni – Giro delle Brianze. In the final kilometers of the event, a group of four riders managed to escape from the peloton with Victor Lafay (Cofidis), Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic), Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla) and Formolo.

On the last climb of the day, Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) made the effort and managed to join up with the four leaders. Eleven kilometers from the finish, Davide Formolo went on the attack to get away on his own. As a result, the 30-year-old Italian took the solo victory, more than three years after his last success. He was ahead of his teammate Marc Hirschi, who attacked his companions in the last kilometer, with Victor Lafay finishing in 3^rd.

“I’m very happy. I really missed the feeling of victory,” Formolo explained. “My task was to monitor the peloton as much as possible on the climb to Lissolo and that meant I ended up in the leading group with four other riders. When Hirschi bridged up to us, I had to maintain a high pace in order to give the advantage to Marc in case of a sprint finish. But we noticed that the opponents were marking him very strongly, so we decided to try to exploit the freedom they seemed willing to give me. I attacked on the last little climb and it was the winning move.”

The results: 1. Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) ; 2. Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) ; 3. Lafay (Cofidis)…

***** 

Grand Prix Cerami: Fouché wins the sprint

New Zealander James Fouché won the GP Cerami sprint, at the end of the 152.6 kilometers between Mons and Frameries. The puncher from the Bolton Equities Black Spokes team, who succeeded the Frenchman Bryan Coquard, winner in 2019, beat the Dutchman Lars Boven (Jumbo-Visma) and the Frenchman Marius Macé (SCQ Dijon-Matériel Vélo).

The race was indecisive until the last local circuit where four riders, including the winning trio and the Belgian Abram Stockman, 4th on the line, managed to escape the peloton behind and hold on until the final sprint. Fouché scored his first success of the season in Frameries, having twice won his national road championship (2019 and 2022), as well as the Oceanian continental championship (2022).

The results: 1. Fouché (Bolton Equities Black Spokes) ; 2. Boven (Jumbo-Visma Development) ; 3. Macé (SCQ Dijon-Matériel Vélo)…

*****

Tour de Vendée: Démare’s first success with Arkéa-Samsic

Arnaud Démare finally can exhale. At the end of a difficult season, which notably saw him change teams in the middle of summer, moving from Groupama-FDJ to Arkéa-Samsic, the sprinter won his first victory with his new team at the Tour de Vendée. Well supported by his teammates, he was able to overtake Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) in the sprint. Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) completed the podium, after being led-out by Peter Sagan, who was competing in the last road race of his career.

“There are a lot of emotions; I’ve really struggled lately,” admitted the 32-year-old Démare, for whom everything changed in just a few months. “It’s a great victory. The whole team performed extremely well. I’m super happy, considering Laurent Pichon is ending his career today and it’s my first win for Arkéa-Samsic, it’s really special.”

The results: 1. Démare (Arkéa-Samsic) ; 2. Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) ; 3. Dujardin (TotalEnergies)… 

***** 

Upcoming races:

2 October: Coppa Bernocchi, https://www.uslegnanese.it/coppa-bernocchi/

3 October: Sparkassen Münsterland Giro, https://muensterland-giro.de/

3 October: Tre Valli Varesine, https://www.trevallivaresine.com/en/index-3/

5 October: Gran Piemonte, https://www.ilgranpiemonte.it/

5 October: Paris-Gien-Bourges, http://www.parisbourges.fr/

7 October: Il Lombardia, https://www.ilombardia.it/en/

8 October: Paris-Tours, https://www.paris-tours.fr/fr/

© Skoda Tour Luxembourg

Skoda Tour Luxembourg: Hirschi on a roll 

Marc Hirschi never wavered in his attempt to win the Skoda Tour Luxembourg, the second general classification victory of his career after winning the Tour of Hungary at the start of the season. The Swiss climber from the UAE Team Emirates team, took the yellow jersey after the time trial on Saturday, and maintained a three-second lead over his American teammate Brandon McNulty, while holding five seconds over Irishman Ben Healy (EF Education Easy Post) in third.

“It was a very stressful stage,” he said after a nervous final stage won by Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) who accelerated on the last climb of this last stage, less than 2 kilometers from the finish line. “A big breakaway went out at the start, which suited us, but some of the other teams wanted to bring it back and that made it tough. On the steep climb of the circuit I had to keep an eye on Healy because he was so close on the GC. In the end, we held the time gap, so I’m really happy. I had a very strong team with me who did an incredible job and kept me relaxed even though Healy was such a danger. It’s a race that suits me well and I’m delighted to have finally won here.” 

The results: 1. Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) ; 2. McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) ; 3. Healy (EF Education Easy Post)… 

Stages won by: Strong (Israel – Premier Tech) ; Biermans (Arkéa-Samsic) ; Healy (EF Education Easy Post) ; Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) ; Johannessen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team).

***** 

Upcoming races:

26 September – 1st October: Cro Race, https://crorace.com/en/

28 September: Coppa Agostoni – Giro delle Brianze, https://www.coppaagostoni.it/?lang=fr

30 September: Giro dell’Emilia, http://www.gsemilia.it/

30 September: Grand Prix Cerami, http://www.grandprixcerami.be/

1^st October: Tour de Vendée, https://www.tourdevendee.fr/

© Vuelta a Espana

Vuelta a Espana: Kuss, the triumph of a model teammate

Though he came to support Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss succeeded in climbing on the highest step of the Vuelta a Espana podium, winning his first Grand Tour.

From his first stage in red to his ultimate coronation as victor, his slight smile, restrained, and a bit embarrassed, never left him. In his first interview after the end of the Vuelta, Sepp Kuss was still “struggling to realize what he had achieved.” The American won the Vuelta a Espana at the age of 29. A clear and flawless success, which no one had anticipated three weeks earlier.

This is quite simply because Sepp Kuss did not come to race as the leader. He had always been the model teammate who was accustomed to acting as the launching pad on the last slopes of the mountain stages for his team leaders. And he was very comfortable with this role.

After having worked hard to help Primoz Roglic win the Giro last May, and then worked for Jonas Vingegaard’s victory in the Tour de France, the super climbing domestique for the Jumbo-Visma Team was preparing to wear the same hat and above all to survive his third Grand Tour of the year. At the start of the Vuelta, he still carried the fresh marks from his heavy crash on the penultimate stage of the Grande Boucle.

Thanks to a victorious breakaway on the 6th stage, in Javalambre, Kuss earned a stage win while taking more than 3 minutes ahead of the majority of favorites for the final overall victory. He grabbed the red jersey two days later, finishing the 8th stage with the best, taking advantage of the time lost when race leader Frenchman Lenny Martinez was dropped from the front group. Kuss never let go of the leader’s jersey after that and ultimately stepped on the final podium along with Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic, celebrating a Jumbo-Visma hat-trick, which hasn’t been seen for more than 50 years.

The results: 1. Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) ; 2. Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) ; 3. Roglic (Jumbo-Visma)…

Stages won by: Team dsm-firmenich ; Kron (Lotto-Dstny) ; Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) ; Soupe (TotalEnergies) ; Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) ; Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) ; Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) ; Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) ; Molano (UAE Team Emirates) ; Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) ; Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Costa (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty) ; Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) ; Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) ; Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Dainese (Team dsm-firmenich) ; Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) ; Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck). 

***** 

Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche: Cavalli back on top

Marta Cavalli definitely seems to be back in the spotlight at the top. A favorite for the final victory in the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche, the Italian lived up to her billing perfectly, along with her teammates, by defeating her main WorldTour rivals, the riders from UAE Team ADQ and Human Powered Health, to win in the streets of Privas after taking control two days earlier, at the summit of Mont Lozère.

Thirteenth in the Vuelta, fourteenth in the Giro, and nineteenth in the Tour de France this season, with a final victory in Tour des Pyrénées to add to her palmarès, Cavalli seems to be getting closer to her real level that she showed in 2022 by winning Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, before suffering a terrible accident in the 2022 Tour.

“It’s going in the right direction, it’s getting better and better,” she confirmed. “This is an intermediate step for me. At the start of the Tour de France, I talked about the fact that I was still a little too weak to play for the general classification of the world’s biggest stage races at the moment. Now, I’ve managed to last seven days in a race like this which is difficult, but where there weren’t any of the world’s best riders. But it’s still satisfying to have managed to win here. I’m gradually coming back. It was a very good test for me. The team had total confidence in me all week and that’s really important for me.”

The results: 1. Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ) ; 2. Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ) ; 3. Kolesava (Arkéa Pro Cycling Team)…

Stages won by: Pikulik (Human Powered Health) ; Drummond (Farto-BTC Women’s Cycling Team) ; Pikulik (Human Powered Health) ; Zanardi (BePink – GOLD) ; Cavailli (FDJ-SUEZ) ; Malcotti (Human Powered Health) ; Baril (UAE Team ADQ).

***** 

Giro della Toscana: Sivakov confirms his good form

The victory was French at the Giro della Toscana. The Russian-born French rider from the Ineos Grenadiers team, Pavel Sivakov (26 years old), won the Italian classic. Having been on a roll lately, Sivakov, who finished second at the Grand Prix de Montréal on Sunday, dropped his breakaway companion, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, 1.5 km from the finish to clinch his first victory of the season. Austrian UAE Team Emirates rider Felix Grossschartner, finished third to complete the podium. 

Having not raced since the World Championships in Glasgow, Tadej Pogacar suffered in the race. Although his team did a lot of work, the Slovenian ran out of steam a little before the flamme rouge. Arriving in the company of his teammate Davide Formolo and Filippo Zana, Pogacar won the sprint from this small group of three in front of Zana, taking fourth place. 

The results: 1. Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) ; 2. Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) ; 3. Grossschartner (UAE Team Emirates)…

***** 

Grand Prix de Wallonie: Serrano surprises Van der Poel

Rarely has a rider defied the odds so much. Among all the potential favorites for victory in this Grand Prix de Wallonie, not a single pundit would have bet on the chances of Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar). However, it was the Spaniard who won in Namur at the Grand Prix de Wallonie.

The whole peloton rather expected a success for Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck). It must be said that at the foot of the final climb, which races up to the citadel of Namur, the World Champion was ideally placed to launch an attack and drop all competitors. At the base, the peloton was grouped together after a fairly calm day, where three men (Dries De Bondt from Alpecin-Deceuninck, Kenny Molly from Van Rysel-Roubaix Lille Métropole, Pier-André Côté from Human Powered Health) led a breakaway without ever really building up much of a lead.

But it was Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) who attacked after the flamme rouge, followed only by Serrano. It was Serrano who timed his final acceleration perfectly to win the final two-man sprint, ahead of a peloton which failed to reel them in. Van der Poel finished 4th, behind Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny).

For Serrano, this is the second prestigious victory of his career after the general classification of the Tour of Britain last year, the last three stages of which were canceled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. In 2022, the Spaniard had already climbed to 3rd place in the GP de Wallonie, behind Van der Poel and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), who was also very discreet this Wednesday.

The results: 1. Serrano (Movistar) ; 2. Teuns (Israël-Premier Tech) ; 3. De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny)…

***** 

Tour of Taihu Lake: Jackson unleashes his power

George Jackson (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) won everything at the Tour of Taihu Lake. All the stages of this 2023 edition ended with a mass sprint and the New Zealander showed his power by raising his arms in victory during the last two stages. These wins consolidated his position as leader.

On the final podium of this Tour du Lac Taihu 2023, George Jacskson was accompanied by the two other riders who took victories this week, the Italian Enrico Zanoncello (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) and the Belgian Jarne Van de Paar (Lotto Dstny).

The results: 1. Jackson (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) ; 2. Zanoncello (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) ; 3. Van de Paar (Lotto Dstny)…

Stages won by: Zanoncello (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) ; Van de Paar (Lotto Dstny) ; Jackson (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) ; Jackson (Bolton Equities Black Spoke).

***** 

Coppa Sabatini: Hirschi gives UAE Team Emirates its 50th victory

The Swiss Marc Hirschi posted the 50th victory of the season for the UAE Team Emirates team by winning the Coppa Sabatini, beating in the final the Frenchman Pavel Sivakov, who was the winner the day before the Giro della Toscana. Tadej Pogacar took third place.

Hirschi, former winner of the Flèche Wallonne, made the decisive attack 37 km from the finish, during the last pass on the Muro di Peccioli (0.8 km at 10.9%). Only Sivakov managed to follow him, with difficulty, while Tadej Pogacar, teammate and leader of Hirschi’s UAE Team Emirates, was responsible for preventing the pursuers – the Frenchman Guillaume Martin (4th), the Kazakh Aleksey Lutsenko (5th) – from joining back up. The rest of the peloton arrived more than two minutes later.

“It was a good thing that there were four riders, the situation was perfect for us,” Hirschi explained. “I had Tadej behind me, which allowed me to fly away. It’s super nice to take this victory. I raced here last year, so I already knew it was tough, I knew the course, and I knew the race opened up very early.”

The results: 1. Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) ; 2. Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) ; 3. Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)…

***** 

Tour de Romandie Féminin: Vollering, as expected

Victorious in the queen stage to Torgon, Demi Vollering (SD Worx) won the 2023 edition of the women’s Tour de Romandie. The Dutchwoman then contained the attacks by her rivals in the final stage, which was won in a sprint by the German Liane Lippert in Nyon.

Winner of the Tour de France this summer, Demi Vollering spent a rather quiet day, thanks in particular to the work done by her luxury teammate Marlen Reusser. Second overall at 6” before the final stage, Katarzyna Niewiadoma was unable to do anything to break Vollering’s stranglehold.

Niewiadoma attacked about 30 km from the finish, but Demi Vollering quickly joined her. A small group then broke away at the front, also with Marlen Reusser, but the main peloton reformed 20km from the finish.

The favorites tried their luck in the sprint, at the end of which Liane Lippert proved the fastest.

World number 1, Demi Vollering made the ultimate difference by winning in Torgon after producing a first acceleration 3.8 km from the finish, which only Katarzyna Niewiadoma was able to follow. The Dutchwoman then dropped the Pole less than 200 meters from the line.

The results: 1. Vollering (SD Worx) ; 2. Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) ; 3. Reusser (SD Worx)…

Stages won by: Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) ; Vollering (SD Worx) ; Lippert (Movistar).

***** 

Grand Prix d’Isbergues: Moschetti surprises the big names

The Grand Prix d’Isbergues, which is the penultimate round of the Coupe de France, was won this Sunday by Matteo Moschetti. The Italian, who already stood on the podium of the Grand Prix de Fourmies last weekend, won by a whisker ahead of Mads Pedersen, winner of the event in 2019 (the week before winning his world champion title), and the Frenchman Arnaud Démare, who came a little closer to a first success wearing his new colors of Arkéa-Samsic.

The results: Moschetti (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) ; 2. Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) ; 3. Démare (Arkéa-Samsic)… 

***** 

Upcoming races:

20 – 24 September: Adriatica Ionica Race / Sulle Rotte della Serenissima, https://airace.it/

20 – 24 September: Skoda Tour Luxembourg, https://skodatour.lu/fr/

© GPCQM / James Startt

Vuelta Ciclista a Espana: Jumbo-Visma’s demonstration, Evenepoel’s disappointment

Extremely rare in the history of the Grand Tours, three riders from the same team are leading the general classification at the start of the last week of the Vuelta a Espana. The question is no longer whether a Jumbo-Visma will achieve final victory. But which of the three riders Sepp Kuss, Primoz Roglic or Jonas Vingegaard will be on the top step.

Wearing the red jersey since the 8th stage, Sepp Kuss remains in pole position coming into the last six days of racing. He is 1’37” ahead of Primoz Roglic and 1’44” ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. A comfortable margin. Above all, he seems to have the backing of his two teammates to take the final victory. Roglic and Vingegaard want to see him win. This is a unique opportunity for them to reward the exceptional dedication of their “super teammate”. So far, Kuss hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. If Jumbo-Visma’s plan goes off without a hitch, the American will finish in red.

The week was also marked by the collapse of Remco Evenepoel on the Tourmalet stage. The Belgian has lost all hope of winning a second Vuelta in a row. But in revenge the next day, the leader of the Soudal-Quick Step put on an incredible show in Larra-Belagua to take the stage and don the jersey as the King of the Mountains.

Stages won by: Team dsm-firmenich ; Kron (Lotto-Dstny) ; Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) ; Soupe (TotalEnergies) ; Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) ; Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) ; Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) ; Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) ; Molano (UAE Team Emirates) ; Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) ; Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Costa (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty).

***** 

Simac Ladies Tour: Van Vleuten, farewell to the queen

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) won the overall classification of the Simac Ladies Tour (WorldTour), an event that takes place in Belgium and the Netherlands. The 5th and final stage was won in a sprint by her teammate, the Dutch Lorena Wiebes.

At the end of a 150.3 km stage in Arnhem, the victory of the day came down to a sprint with European champion Wiebes winning, the 71st of her career, ahead of the Italian Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Lotte Kopecky who ultimately launched her teammate to victory.

With an advantage of 11 seconds at the start on Sunday, Lotte Kopecky, 27, won the final general classification. The rider from Antwerp thus adds a 34th victory to her career, the 14th of the season. The world champion finished in the peloton and now succeeds Lorena Wiebes as the event’s champion. In 25 editions, this is the first Belgian victory.

It was also the last professional race for the Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten, Olympic time trial champion, who is hanging up the bike with 104 victories under her belt. At the end of a 2023 season that she has left her mark on, the Dutchwoman is retiring from professional cycling leaving a very big footprint. At over 40 years old, “Vleuty” has continued to dictate to the young guard. Her success is a result of long-term work ethic and a passion that she has maintained from the beginning of her professional career. Now in the twilight of that career, Annemiek van Vleuten can savor her success. The road has been long, but how beautiful it was…

The results: 1. Kopecky (Team SD Worx) ; 2. Wiebes (Team SD Worx) ; 3. Henderson (Team Jumbo-Visma)…

Stages won by: Kool (Team dsm-firmenich) ; Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) ; Kopecky (Team SD Worx) ; Kool (Team dsm-firmenich) ; Kopecky (Team SD Worx) ; Wiebes (Team SD Worx).

*****

Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec: De Lie, the first WorldTour win with style

At 21, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) finally has his first major victory. During the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, the first of the two Canadian classics at the end of the season, the Belgian showed himself to be uncompromising during the mass sprint and won his first WorldTour race. De Lie won ahead of Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla), double winner of the competition in 2018 and 2019.

The young Belgian sprinter was inspired by the Australian to build his success: “I looked at the other editions and saw that Michael Matthews was launching very late. I launched my sprint from afar, but I knew how to gain momentum. Corbin Strong is 2nd, he is always super strong on this kind of finish.”

Badly placed at the moment when Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) launched his sprint, the Bull of Leschert began to reel in his competitors one by one with his hands on the hoods finally to win by a solid margin over his rivals.

The results: 1. De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) ; 2. Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) ; Matthews (Jayco-AlUla)…

*****

Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal: Adam Yates continues the UAE tradition

Briton Adam Yates won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal by outsprinting his breakaway companion, Frenchman Pavel Sivakov, in the final meters. Third in the last Tour de France, Yates now succeeds Tadej Pogacar, the leader of his UAE Team Emirates, on the list of winners of the prestigious Canadian race. Pogacar did not race the event this year. The 31-year-old Yates settled his score with Sivakov, currently at Ineos but who will join the UAE team next season, 200 meters from the finish after 219.6 km on the rugged Mont-Royal circuit.

“It’s a very difficult race, with almost six hours on the bike. Tactically we had the perfect race. On the last lap, I went all out. I had great legs. It’s a perfect day, really,” Yates explained after his 23rd professional victory. “Adam was much stronger than me in the sprint, but I’m really happy with this second place,” Sivakov emphasized.

The two men escaped 10 kilometers from the finish when Yates attacked, taking advantage of the enormous work his teammates did to make the difference. Only Sivakov managed to follow him, but was unable to realize his dream of achieving a first victory in a one-day classic, since he is more of a specialist in stage races.

Behind, a chasing group of around ten riders, including Julian Alaphilippe (12th in the end) and Valentin Madouas (4th), closed to around ten seconds, but they did not manage to collaborate sufficiently to catch the pair up front. Spaniard Alex Aranburu (Movistar) took third place, just ahead of Madouas, while Simon Yates, Adam’s twin brother, finished sixth.

The results: 1. A. Yates (UAE Team Emirates) ; 2. Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) ; 3. Aranburu (Movistar)…

*****

GP de Fourmies / La Voix du Nord: Merlier, of course

Having decided to come to the Grand Prix de Fourmies / La Voix du Nord at the last minute, Tim Merlier justified his change of program at the end of the season by winning the northern classic, after a perfectly controlled mass sprint.

“The team did a great job today and I have to thank them for that. I had good feelings and a lot of confidence, which helped when I lost my leadout riders a bit in that crazy last kilometer. I started the sprint very early, but I had enough power to hold it. This victory makes me very happy and I am looking forward to my next event, which will be the Tour of Slovakia,” said the 30-year-old rider.

At the end of the afternoon, which was animated by five breakaway riders including Dries De Bondt who was caught only 10 kilometers from the finish at the start of the last lap of the circuit, the Belgian leader of the Soudal-Quick Step team proved to be the most powerful in the streets of Fourmies: he beat his compatriot Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5) and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X). The French riders Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-Samsic) ranked 5th and 7th, respectively.

The results: 1. Merlier (Soudal-Quick Step) ; 2. Thijssen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) ; 3. Moschetti (Q36.5)…

Upcoming races:

Until 11 September: Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche, https://tcfia.com/

Until 17 September: Vuelta a Espana, https://www.lavuelta.es/fr/

13 September: Giro della Toscana, http://www.girodellatoscana.com/

13 September: Grand Prix de Wallonie, https://www.trworg.be/

14 – 17 September:  Tour of Taihu Lake, https://www.uci.org/competition-details/2023/ROA/70122

14 September: Coppa Sabatini, http://www.girodellatoscana.com/

15 – 17 September: Tour de Romandie Féminin, https://tourderomandiefeminin.ch/

17 September: Grand Prix d’Isbergues, https://gpisbergues.com/