© ASO / Charly Lopez

Tour de France: the Victor Lafay revelation

Surprise winner of the 2nd stage in San Sebastián, Victor Lafay’s (Cofidis) own road among the pros has had a profile that resembles the Basque mountains where he made his mark this past weekend at the start of the Tour de France. Accident-prone. Punctuated by very highs and therefore very lows. The 27-year-old from Haute-Savoy did not dream of being a professional and made the move somewhat late after suffering from an injury that could have ended his career when still a junior. 

On Saturday, he was the only one who could hold the wheels of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar in the final of the first stage. Then on Sunday, Cédric Vasseur’s protégé attacked in the final kilometer to achieve the greatest success of his career. “I was super frustrated on Saturday, I got it all a bit wrong,” he admitted. “Anthony said to me: ‘It’s great what you did’, but I was frustrated. I replayed the film of the race. If I had attacked, would Pogacar have let me go with Yates? As a result, I missed the opportunity. Not only that, but there was the yellow jersey at the end on Saturday. I was not happy with myself; I had the legs and I did not take advantage of it. So Sunday, for once, I had a plan. We were really rolling fast. So I said to myself: “as soon as the pace drops a little, I attack”. It happened about a kilometer from the finish. I didn’t ask myself any questions. I tried my best. I took off to the left, leaning over the bike as much as possible. I was a little lucky, it worked out well for me.”

In the race for the yellow jersey, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have already launched hostilities, multiplying the banderillas. After two days of racing, advantage to Pogacar’s UAE team, which wears the yellow jersey thanks to Adam Yates after his victory on the first stage in Bilbao. This 110th edition promises to continue to be thrilling after returning to France this Monday in Bayonne.

Stages won by: A. Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Lafay (Cofidis).

*****

Giro d’Italia Donne: Van Vleuten already impressive

After the cancellation of the prologue (4.4 km individual time trial in Chianciano) on Friday due to heavy rain and strong winds, the Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) hit hard on Saturday in the 2nd stage between Bagno a Ripoli and Marradi.

The 40-year-old world champion won solo, posting the 100th victory of her career.

Above all, the Dutchwoman defeated all her main opponents by 45 seconds. The Danish Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) won the sprint for 2nd place ahead of the French Juliette Labous (Team DSM-Firmenich). 

Van Vleuten (Movistar), winner of the event last year, is 49 seconds ahead of Ludwig overall and 51 over Labous. On Sunday, the 3rd of nine stages, 118.2 km long, between Formigine and Modena was won by her compatriot Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx).

Stages won by: prologue cancelled, Van Vleuter (Movistar), Wiebes (Team SD Worx).

*****

Upcoming races:

Until 9 July: Giro d’Italia Donne, https://www.giroditaliadonne.it/

9 July: Axion Swiss Bank Gran Premio Citta di Lugano, https://gplugano.ch/

Until 23 July: Tour de France, https://www.letour.fr/fr/

© Tour de Suisse

Tour de Suisse: Skelmose in Mäder’s honor

Following the death of Gino Mäder, after his crash during the 5th stage, no one really had their minds on cycling at the Tour de Suisse. But since the race had to come to completion, in memory of the late Bahrain-Victorious rider, it also needed a winner. And it was finally the Dane Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Trek-Segafredo) who won the general classification of the event ahead of Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step).

Although this is his first overall victory in a WorldTour-classified stage race, the promising Danish climber obviously did not overflow with joy at the finish of the 8th stage. Second in the final time trial between St. Gallen and Abtwil (25 km), Skjelmose held his nerve in what is not his favorite discipline to resist being overtaken by his two pursuers. At 22, he took the sixth professional victory of his career, two weeks before the Tour de France, during which he is expected to be the leader of the Lidl-Trek team.

Since the crash of Gino Mäder during the descent of the Albula Pass on Thursday, the Tour de Suisse has shifted into another atmosphere. Found motionless in the water and resuscitated on the spot, the Swiss died the next day in a Chur hospital. The strong emotion aroused by this tragedy led to the neutralization of stage 6, which turned into a commemorative procession in his memory, in agreement with his family.

Friday evening, while the rest of the race was essentially on hold, the organization announced that the Tour de Suisse would go to its end “in consultation with Gino Mäder’s family” and “after consulting the teams and riders as well as all the staff of the Tour de Suisse.”

It is therefore by finishing that the Tour de Suisse wanted to honor the memory of Màder, who was a native of the canton of St. Gallen. The organization had also decided to freeze the timing of Saturday’s stage 25 km from the finish, at the top of the last climb of the day. This did not prevent Remco Evenepoel from escaping alone 17 km from the finish to win the stage. He didn’t take the yellow race leader’s jersey at the end, but he showed his class by honoring Mäder, pointing index finger skyward. 

The results: 1. Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) ; 2. Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) ; 3. Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step)…

Stages won by: Küng (Groupama-FDJ) ; Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) ; Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) ; Gall (AG2R Citroën Team) ; Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) ; Étape neutralisée après le décès de Gino Mäder ; Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).

*****

CIC Mont Ventoux: Martinez gets his first win in style

At only 19 years old, Lenny Martinez found himself a luxury setting to win the first victory of his young professional career: the Groupama-FDJ climber, son of Miguel (Olympic and world mountain bike champion in 2000) took the victory at the CIC Mont Ventoux. The race was forced to be extensively shortened (by 55 km with only one ascent of the mythical pass instead of the planned double ascent) because of the risk of severe thunderstorms.

Martinez, a protégé of Marc Madiot’s and 18th in the recent Critérium du Dauphiné, became the first Frenchman to win this event, crossing the line one second ahead of a group of three riders made up of Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech), Simon Carr (Education First) and Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa-Samsic). “I am the first Frenchman to win here? I didn’t know that,” Martinez said. “That’s great. For a climber like me, it’s the highest pass in France so it’s symbolic. I thought the shortening of the race would put me at a disadvantage since the climb was less steep. We managed to adapt.”

The results: 1. Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) ; 2. Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) ; 3. Simon Carr (EF Education-Easy Post)…

*****

Baloise Belgium: Tour Van der Poel is gaining momentum ahead of the Tour de France

Mathieu van der Poel won the fifth stage race of his career. The Dutchman won the general classification of the Tour of Belgium after the last stage was won by Fabio Jakobsen in the streets of Brussels.

Winner of the fourth stage the day before on a very hilly course in the Belgian Ardennes, the leader of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team perfectly managed his advantage of 40 seconds in the general classification. He finished in the overall ahead of Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Pro Cycling) while Casper Pedersen (Soudal-Quick Step) completed the podium, 53 seconds behind.

“I wasn’t at my peak a week ago. I was just coming back from a training camp, and I lacked freshness. But I feel that the form is on the right track for the Tour de France,” said a happy van der Poel, the winner of Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix this season. His last overall victory in a road stage race was in September 2020, at the BinckBank Tour.

The results: 1. Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; 2. Waerenskjold (Uno-X Pro Cycling) ; 3. Pedersen (Soudal-Quick Step)…

Stages won by: Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; Jakobsen (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Waerenskjold (Uno-X Pro Cycling) ; Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; Jakobsen (Soudal-Quick Step). 

*****

Tour of Slovenia: Zana and the Jayco-AlUla take it all

The Jayco-AlUla won just about everything at the Tour of Slovenia in 2023. After the two initial victories of Dylan Groenewegen and that of Jesus David Pena on Saturday, Filippo Zana finished the work of his team by winning the general classification.

The Italian finished second in the fifth and final stage between Vrhnika and Novo Mesto behind Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious), a sufficient result to stay in the lead of the general classification, 18 seconds ahead of the Slovenian.

The two men made the difference in the last ten kilometers. Mohoric attacked in the Trska Gora (1.7 km at 9.8%) and only Zana was able to follow him. In difficulty against the power of the Slovenian, the rider from Jayco-AlUla resisted until the finish line so as not to lose time on his opponent.

Teammate of Gino Mäder, who died after a terrible crash in the Tour de Suisse, Mohoric paid tribute to the Swiss after the finish. “We all rode together as a team for Gino,” he said. “We wanted to give it our all. I obviously dedicate this victory to my friend Gino. I think he would be happy for us.”

Overall winner, Filippo Zana succeeds Tadej Pogacar as the winner of the event. The Slovenian had largely dominated his home race last year, ahead of his teammate Rafal Majka in the overall.

The results: 1. Zana (Jayco AlUla) ; 2. Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) ; 3. Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates)…

Stages won by: Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) ; Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) ; Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) ; Pena (Jayco AlUla) ; Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious).

*****

Route d’Occitanie : Woods confirms his good form 

Canadian Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), winner of the queen stage in the Pyrenees, perfectly managed his lead on Sunday during the last stage to win the Route d’Occitanie for the second consecutive year.

Woods is the first rider since Alejandro Valverde (2018 and 2019) to achieve the double. He finished ahead of the Spaniard Cristian Rodriguez and the German Georg Steinhauser, the best young rider in the event. “I am very proud, very happy to win here again. I’m even happier than I was the first time because my family is here. I understand the record is three. We’ll see, hopefully I can match it.”

Franco-British Simon Carr (EF-Education), who grew up in Occitania, won at the end of the fourth and final stage of this 47th edition of the race.

The results: 1. Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) ; 2. Rodriguez (Arkéa-Samsic) ; 3. Steinhausser (EF Education-Easy Post)…

Stages won by: Van den Berg (EF Education-Easy Post) ; Tesson (TotalEnergies) ; Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) ; Carr (EF Education-Easy Post).

*****

Upcoming races

National championships (individual time trials on Wednesday and road races Saturday and Sunday)

© ASO/Billy Ceusters

Criterium du Dauphiné: Vingegaard’s impresssive demonstration

Defending champion and one of the main favorites for the next Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard delivered a masterclass at the Critérium du Dauphiné. Very well protected all week by his team, and also effective leadout man for teammate Christophe Laporte who won two sprint stages of his own, the Dane from the Jumbo-Visma then crushed the competition with two stage victories and a 2nd place in the time trial which took place in the Loire.

Overall winner by more than two minutes (a record margin since 1993) ahead of the runner-up, Adam Yates, Vingegaard was in a class of his own. “It is very important for me to win this race, perhaps the biggest one-week race,” Vingegaard said at the finish. “I am very happy and proud of it. It’s been a totally perfect week, which we managed well. I can be very satisfied with the whole week, I’m in good shape.”

This victory at the Dauphiné allows Vingegaard to send a message to all the competition, and especially to Tadej Pogacar, before the big start of the Tour de France on July 1. “I don’t think about that, you have to ask my opponents if they take that as a message or not,” he said. “But I think I can still improve a little bit.” And this is perhaps the most worrying thought for all these adversaries.

The results: 1. Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) ; 2. A. Yates (UAE Team Emirates) ; 3. O’Connor (AG2R Citroën Team)…

Stages won by: Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) ; Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step) ; Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) ; Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) ; Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) ; Zimmermann (Intermarché – Circus – Wanty) ; Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) ; Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo).

***** 

ZLM Tour: Kooij, a star at home

Olav Kooij can take a big breath. The Jumbo-Visma sprinter won the ZLM Tour, the most important stage race in his country, the Netherlands. Leading on the evening of the second stage, the native of Numansdorp won the general classification but was forced to wait for the 4th and last stage to add a stage win to his overall success.

After a lot of work from his teammates to put him in the perfect position, the young sprinter did not hesitate and won easily. Kooij also rode so dominantly that he won not only the leader’s jersey, but the sprint leader’s jersey and the best young rider’s jersey. 

The results : 1. Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) ; 2. Welsford (Team DSM) ; 3. Eekhoff (Team DSM)…

Stages won by Eekhoff (Team DSM) ; Vandevelde (TDT-Unibet Cycling Team) ; Mareczko (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ; De Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) ; Kooij (Jumbo-Visma)… 

***** 

Course de la Paix Grand Prix Jeseníky : Huby and France shine

The French team particularly distinguished itself during the Peace Race which ended in Jesenik, in the Czech Republic, with the final victory of the young Antoine Huby.

Racing in the tricolor jersey, and a member of the Vendée U team, the 22-year-old Breton managed to win ahead of Dane Simon Dalby, by four seconds, and the Italian Davide De Cassan, by eighteen, even though Huby never won a stage (though he was 2^nd in stage 2).

In addition to Huby’s overall win, the French team had already tasted success thanks to the two stage victories by Pierre Gautherat, a member of AG2R Citroën team, in the opening prologue and the first stage.

The results : 1. Huby (France) ; 2. Dalby (Danemark) ; 3. De Cassan (Italie)…

Stages won by : Gautherat (France) ; Gautherat (France) ; Dalby (Danemark) ; Rootkin-Gray (Grande-Bretagne).

***** 

Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau: Thibau Nys wins

Junior and U23 cyclocross world champion, Thibau Nys (20 years old) won the Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau. The Belgian won the 59th edition on the rugged circuit of Leuggern (Switzerland) by dominating in the sprint ahead of the Swiss Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates), winner last year, and the Spaniard Pello Bilbao (Bahrain- Victorious). This is the young Nys’ second success among the pros after a first victory taken on a stage of the Tour of Norway in May.

The results : 1. Nys (Trek-Segafredo) ; 2. Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) ; 3. Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious)…

***** 

Upcoming races :

Until 18 June: Tour de Suisse, https://www.tourdesuisse.ch/fr/

13 June: CIC Mont Ventoux, http://cicmontventoux.com/

14-18 June: Baloise Belgium Tour, https://baloisebelgiumtour.be/fr/

14-18 June: Lotto Belgium Tour, https://www.lottobelgiumtour.be/

14-18 June: Tour of Slovenia, https://tourofslovenia.si/en

15-18 June: Route d’Occitanie, https://www.laroutedoccitanie.fr/

©Giro dell’Appennino

Giro dell’Appennino: Make it three for Hirschi

Now it’s three for Marc Hirschi. After taking the overall and a stage of the Tour of Hungary, the UAE Team Emirates puncher grabbed himself the win at the Giro dell’Appennino to post his third victory of the season. In the last kilometers, Tadej Pogacar’s teammate bridged back up to the leading rider, who attacked on the last ascent, Christian Rodriguez (Arkéa-Samsic). The Swiss left no chance in the sprint to Rodriguez and easily took the win in the streets of Genoa ahead of the Spaniard. Behind, Henok Mulubrhan (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) took third place by winning the sprint from a small group.

“It’s very special to take the victory,” Hirschi said. “After Hungary, I took things quite calmly and rested because, for a race like this, it is important to arrive as fresh as possible. I had to trust my good form from previous races. The last climb was very difficult and I had to do a long chase to catch up with Rodriguez. Crossing the line first was spectacular; there were a lot of people and a good atmosphere.”

The results : 1. Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) ; 2. Rodriguez (TotalEnergies) ; 3. Mulurbrhan (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè)…

*****

Brussels Cycling Classic : Démare wins again

The sprinters, who have been unable to compete for victory on the Avenue Houba de Strooper since 2020 when Tim Merlier won, were eagerly awaiting the 104th edition of the Brussels Cycling Classic to try to take the reins of the Belgian event. And despite a big breakaway and a few attacks from punchy riders, it was Arnaud Démare who narrowly won the sprint. The Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ snatched victory ahead of Tobias Lund Andresen (Team DSM), who took second. Jordi Meeus (Bora – Hansgrohe) completed the podium.

“This is my second victory here in Brussels, though it was a much more difficult edition with the climbs and the cobblestones,” Démare, the former champion of France, explained. “I’m always happy to win and raise my arms. It’s only my second victory this year. I wasn’t in good shape at the start of the season, I wasn’t at my usual level. But now I feel good, I’m getting back to my level. In the Mayenne, things were already better. There, I feel that it’s finally coming together!” Will this success allow Démare to win his ticket to the upcoming Tour de France?

The results: 1. Démare (Groupama-FDJ) ; 2. Andresen (Team DSM) ; 3. Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe)…

***** 

Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia Ruta del Sol women : Aalerund turns everything upside down!

Tamara Dronova-Balabolina (Israel Premier Tech Roland) finally cracked! Winner of the first two stages and overall leader of the general classification at the Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia, the Russian lost everything on the roads of the 5th and last stage, taking place over 95.6 km between Estepona and Castellar de la Frontera.

Even if Dronova-Balabolina wearing the yellow jersey took 5th place on the line, she was more than a minute behind the Norwegian duo Katrine Aalerud (Movistar) and Mie Bjorndal Ottestad (Norway), respectively 2nd and 3rd overall at 47 and 58 seconds at the start of the stage. If the stage win went to Mie Bjorndal Ottestad in a sprint in front of her compatriot, it was Katrine Aalerud who grabbed the overall victory of the second edition of the Andalusian event, and succeeds the previous winner, Cuban Arlenis Sierra. She leads Ottestad by 5″ and Dronova by 29″, who had to content herself with the last step of the podium.

The results: 1. Aalerud (Movistar) ; 2. Ottestad (Norvège) ; 3. Dronova-Balabolina (Israel Premier Tech Roland)…

Stages won by: Dronova-Balabolina (Israel Premier Tech Roland) ; Dronova-Balabolina (Israel Premier Tech Roland) ; Romeu (Laboral Kutxa Fundacion Euskadi) ; Martin (Movistar) ; Ottestad (Norvège).

***** 

Upcoming races :

Until 11 June: Criterium du Dauphiné, https://www.criterium-du-dauphine.fr/fr

6 – 11 June: Women’s Tour, https://www.womenstour.co.uk/

7 – 11 June: ZLM Tour, https://zlmtour.nl/

8 – 11 June: Course de la Paix Grand Prix Jeseníky, https://zavodmiru.com/en

9 June: Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau, https://www.gippingen.ch/gp-kanton-aargau

11 – 18 June: Tour de Suisse, https://www.tourdesuisse.ch/fr/