The UAE Emirates XRG team showed that they don’t need Tadej Pogačar to win the final overall in stage races. João Almeida took the Tour de Suisse and Filippo Baroncini the Baloise Belgium Tour. In a packed EUROTRASH we also have the video, race reports, results and rider quotes from the Men’s and Women’s Copenhagen Sprint and the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica.
TOP STORY:
- Remco Evenepoel is ‘angry with himself’ after his performance in Dauphiné
Rider news:
- The way Jonas Vingegaard raced seemed more like raising the white flag
- UCI to investigate Dries De Bondt’s Giro statements about working for Richard Carapaz
- Jasper Philipsen escaped crash in the Baloise Belgium Tour
- Sam Welsford to sign for INEOS Grenadiers as new sprinter
- Another setback for Michael Woods
- Pieter Serry is looking for a new team
- Tadej Pogačar and Urska Zigart’s children’s book
Team news:
- Uno-X change their Tour selection
Race news:
- Tour de Suisse honours Gino Mäder with monument at the site of his tragic accident
Big Monday EUROTRASH coffee time.
TOP STORY: Remco Evenepoel is ‘Angry with Himself’ After his Performance in Dauphiné
Remco Evenepoel is said to be anything but satisfied after his performance in the Criterium du Dauphiné. Dirk De Wolf, the former rider who knows the Evenepoel family well, told Het Nieuwsblad that the Belgian is ‘angry’ (pissed off) on an altitude training camp. “First and foremost with himself”, according to De Wolf.
In a double interview with Johan Museeuw, De Wolf spoke more about what he heard: “I already called father Evenepoel once. Remco is in Tignes. Angry apparently. First and foremost with himself. It has to improve. The team was not good in the Dauphiné: forty men in front and no one else with them. Remco who has to get ice cream himself. That has to improve in the Tour.”
Museeuw counters by saying ‘that it will not get any better in the Tour’, but De Wolf is slightly more positive. “Ilan Van Wilder will join us. I don’t believe in Paret-Peintre. There’s something wrong if a Frenchman isn’t good in the Dauphiné. Last year I heard about Landa: ‘He was there, but he didn’t have to do anything.’ That’s the point of course: he was there. If you see your mate, you’re already helped.”
“If I were Remco, I would wipe my ass off the classification. Sorry, but racing like Simon Yates in the Giro – waiting, waiting, waiting – Remco can’t do that. He has to attack.” De Wolf and Museeuw then agree that Evenepoel should try to win a stage. “And take yellow after the time trial. If you attack along the way, the rest have to follow anyway. If you’re good enough, that classification will come automatically.”
Remco not happy with his Dauphiné:
Tour de Suisse Men 2025
Oscar Onley won Stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse. The Picnic PostNL rider was the fastest on the steep final climb, beating João Almeida, who moved up the overall, as did Kévin Vauquelin. The Frenchman took the yellow jersey from his countryman, Romain Grégoire.
The fifth stage from La Punt to Santa Maria was extremely hard. The first climbs of the day were the Julier Pass (7.3km at 6.5%) and the famous San Bernardino Pass (16km at 5.7%). At the top of this last climb, the organisers honoured Gino Mäder, who died in a crash in 2023, with a special #rideforgino mountain sprint. Following a long descent, two more passages followed on the climb to Santa Maria in Calanca. The first time, the riders didn’t ride all the way (4.5km at 9.8%) to the top, the second time (6.4km at 9.5%) they did.
It was a race from the start. Among the riders who wanted to get into the early break were some big names. Jan Christen, Quinn Simmons, Joseph Blackmore, Alberto Bettiol and Juan Pedro López were very active, as were Sjoerd Bax and Bart Lemmen. Five other riders managed to break away on the Julier Pass. These were Pello Bilbao, Neilson Powless, Javier Romo, Aleksandr Vlasov and Lorenzo Fortunato. The escapees got a maximum lead of almost 4 minutes on the peloton, where UAE Emirates XRG were in control. They continued to control until the San Bernardino Pass, but from there they really put their foot down. Jan Christen, for João Almeida, pulled on the front. At the top, the difference was reduced to about 2 minutes. And towards the first climb to Santa Maria, the work of UAE Emirates XRG reduced that by more than 45 seconds. It looked like it would be difficult for the escapees.
Vlasov realised that and jumped early on the climb. Powless and Bilbao were still able to return, Romo and Fortunato went dropped. The yellow jersey wearer, Romain Grégoire, was dropped from the peloton. The pace of Decathlon AG2R, who had taken over from UAE, was too high for the Frenchman. He was not the only one who had to let go, because the favourites group thinned out quickly. At the top, there were only seven riders left: Almeida, Kévin Vauquelin, Julian Alaphilippe, Matthew Riccitello, Oscar Onley, Felix Gall and Ilan Van Wilder. Ben O’Connor was initially out of the race, but was later able to rejoin together with a group of other riders. The group of GC riders came closer to Powless, Bilbao and Vlasov in the valley before the final climb. On that climb, Decathlon AG2R took control again and O’Connor was in trouble. Vauquelin, second overall before the start of the stage, was now in the lead to take over the yellow jersey from Grégoire. Almeida was the favourite for the stage victory, but lost some metres halfway up the climb.
An attack came from Alaphilippe. The Frenchman of Tudor, who was 3rd overall, gained a few metres on the others. Onley quickly crossed and immediately took the lead. He put Alaphilippe under pressure and dropped him 3 kilometres from the finish. Alaphilippe, who had blown up, fell back to Vauquelin, Gall and Almeida. The Portuguese rider still had something left and went after Onley on his own. He caught the Scottish rider and the two rode together to the last kilometre. Almeida did most of the work, because he still hoped to win the overall. Onley was aiming for the stage victory. A sprint gave him that success. He started a long sprint, but managed to hold on, although Almeida almost came alongside in the final metres. Almeida had to settle for second place. Gall crossed the line in third place, followed by Vauquelin. The Frenchman finished 57 seconds behind Onley and Almeida, making him the new overall leader. Alaphilippe lost quite a bit of time in the last kilometres, but is still in second place. Almeida is now third, 39 seconds behind Vauquelin.
Stage winner and 4th overall, Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL): “I knew I was in good shape and feeling good this week, but obviously with someone like Almeida who’s shown how strong he is already this week; then we knew it would be tough. Also, with a strong break up front there was a chance that the win might not have came from the bunch in the end. I felt good all day and just gave it a go on the last climb. I don’t win often and had quite a few podiums or close results this year, so to pull it off today is really nice for myself and also for the team, and my teammates too. They do a really good job every day, and today was no different so it’s nice to be able to pay them back. I was quite disappointed after that first stage to lose time on the GC. Warren and the coaching staff on the team were really supportive of me though, and said how long and hard the week is, and that we could try and get back into it come the weekend. We’re just trying to chip away at it each day.”
Overall leader and 4th on the stage, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): “I finally got it (the yellow jersey). I’m happy that all the work has paid off. As a teenager, I didn’t compete in many major races, so my body wasn’t used to such hard work in the mountains. I think I’ve taken a step forward. I knew it was going to be a great day, so I wanted to focus on myself and my efforts. That’s what I did on the final climb. I felt really good. I tried to give it my all at the end. I have to admit that Julian’s (Alaphilippe) attack hurt me a bit. I lost ground to Oscar (Onley, stage winner) at that point and couldn’t make a comeback. Felix (Gall) was a little better, so I made my climb. (Sunday’s stage 8 time trial?) There’s no calculation; it’s a time trial that’s too difficult for me to gauge. I’m going to fight until the end, but my Tour de Suisse is more than a success.”
2nd overall and 7th on the stage, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor): “I knew today would be very hard for the General Classification. I am happy I could be part of the front group and get this result and move up one more place in the GC. There’s still some days before the end of the week, so we’ll give our best as a team.”
2nd on the stage and 3rd overall, João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG): “The chances are definitely bigger after today than after yesterday. We’re doing our best. I didn’t feel great today, I wasn’t 100 percent. But it is what it is. I just did what I could. I couldn’t go any faster, I just kept my pace. After that I came very close to the stage win, but Oscar deserved it too. I think I made a mistake. I still had the chain on the inner ring. With two hundred meters to go I accelerated a bit. He passed, I came back, but that was the finish line. It is what it is. In the general classification we have come closer, so we have to keep fighting.”
3rd on the stage and 7th overall, Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale): “I didn’t feel very well when I woke up or at the start. My legs were really hurting, but then, fortunately, I felt fine for the final. It was a very tough finish. I’m happy; there’s nothing we could have done differently. We rode very well with the team. I’m very proud of how we rode today and of taking control of the race. We don’t have any regrets. I think I should have ridden at my own pace in the final stretch, but the two riders in front were too strong at the end. We all know Almeida always rides at his own pace, so I wasn’t surprised he rode like that.”
Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ): “I can’t feel anything. I’m completely empty. I had less strength than I expected. Yesterday (Wednesday), I saved it (the yellow jersey) but I went quite far. Today (Thursday), my legs gave out. I was completely dead. From the start, I knew I wouldn’t make it. I couldn’t even maintain the pace I had in training. Valentin (Madouas) helped me limit the damage on the flat, but I was alone. I wasn’t getting my hopes up for the overall, but I was hoping to limit the damage more.”
Tour de Suisse Men Stage 5 Result:
1. Oscar Onley (GB) Team Picnic PostNL in 4:33:28
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG
3. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 0:23
4. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 0:57
5. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech at 1:05
6. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 1:14
7. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor at 1:22
8. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek at 1:46
9. Felix Grossschartner (Aust) UAE Emirates XRG at 2:25
10 George Bennett (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech at 2:38.
Tour de Suisse Men Overall After Stage 5:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 20:12:10
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor at 0:29
3. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:39
4. Oscar Onley (GB) Team Picnic PostNL at 1:21
5. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek at 1:44
6. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 2:16
7. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 2:20
8. Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Movistar at 2:40
9. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech at 3:08
10. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 3:17.
Suisse’25 stage 5:
Jordi Meeus won Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse on Friday. The Belgian rider finished it off in a bunch sprint after a perfect lead-out by his Dutch teammate Danny van Poppel. Kévin Vauquelin held the overall lead in the general classification.
The sixth stage looked to be a quieter day, but not an easy one. The riders had quite a lot of climbing between the start in Chur and the finish in Neuhausen am Rheinfall. The question was, whether the few sprinters in the Tour de Suisse would still be there at the finish?
There were quite a few attacks from the start and eventually a very strong lead group of four got away: Stefan Küng & Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost). The foursome worked hard, but the peloton saw the danger. They tried not to give the four leaders too much of a lead, but that wasn’t easy. The leaders started the difficult hilly zone with a 2 minute lead. The sprinters in particular, including Belgian champion Arnaud De Lie, had a hard time. They had to let go of the peloton, but were able to reconnect later. There was a new strong attack from Matej Mohorič & Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), who tried to join the four leaders.
That didn’t work, as the peloton chased them down. There were still four leaders after 100 kilometres of racing. They started the last 50 kilometres with only a 1 minute lead, so it looked like a bunch sprint finish was on the cards. The peloton didn’t have it easy, because Küng, Schmid and Sweeny (Grégoire had to let go in the final) kept working well. As a result, they still had a 40 second lead at the start of the last 20 kilometres. That turned out not to be enough, because three teams in the peloton: Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Lotto and Picnic PostNL, kept the pace high. The break was caught with 1 kilometre to go, for a sprint in Neuhausen am Rheinfall. Fast men like De Lie, Jordi Meeus and Pavel Bittner were expected to fight it out. De Lie was initially well placed, but still lost positions in the last 500 metres. Meeus, who was led-out perfectly by Danny van Poppel and was dropped off at a little less than 200 metres from the finish line, after which Meeus finished it off easily.
Stage winner, Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): “It’s definitely been a hard week for me so far, it’s not really been my favourite terrain with all the hills and climbs. I was disappointed after Stage 2 because that was supposed to be a flatter stage, but I didn’t feel great at the start of the week. Each day my legs got better, and this morning I could feel that I had good shape. I’m really happy I could finish it off today. It’s only my second win at WorldTour level, so I’m super happy to take this one home.”
Overall leader, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): “It was another fast stage in the Tour de Suisse. We managed our part of the work well; there were many teams with ambitions for stage wins. It wasn’t all that easy; I had to follow a bit when things got a little lively, and that allowed me to understand a little more about what was happening. Ewen was a great support, as were Le Berre, Tjotta, and Verre; they all did a great job. At one point, Mohorič and Bilbao went, and Ewen followed them immediately, which put us in a very favourable position. It’s going to be a big step, so we’ll try to find some allies and see how it goes.”
Tour de Suisse Men Stage 6 Result:
1. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 4:10:24
2. Davide Ballerini (Ita) XDS Astana
3. Lewis Askey (GB) Groupama-FDJ
4. Madis Mihkels (Est) EF Education-EasyPost
5. Nicolo’ Buratti (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
6. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
7. Pavel Bittner (CZ) Team Picnic PostNL
8. Paul Lapeira (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
9. Marius Mayrhofer (Ger) Tudor
10. Stefano Oldani (Ita) Cofidis.
Tour de Suisse Men Overall After Stage 6:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 24:22:34
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor at 0:29
3. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:39
4. Oscar Onley (GB) Team Picnic PostNL at 1:21
5. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek at 1:44
6. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 2:16
7. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 2:20
8. Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Movistar at 2:40
9. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech at 3:08
10. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 3:17.
Suisse’25 stage 6:
The Seventh Stage of the 2025 Tour de Suisse was won by João Almeida on Saturday. The UAE Emirates XRG rider was the first to cross the line after a difficult stage with an uphill finish in Beckenried-Emmetten. Almeida won the sprint from an elite group of five, after leader Kévin Vauquelin tried to surprise him with a long sprint. Vauquelin eventually finished third, behind Oscar Onley. The Frenchman retained the lead with one stage to go.
The penultimate day of the Tour de Suisse featured the hills around Emmetten. The course went up and down almost the entire day, with more than 3,000 metres of climbing. The final started just under 30 kilometres before the finish, with the Bürgenstock (5.5km at 7.9%) after a descent, followed by a short and steep final climb (3.1km at 7.8%) to the finish in Emmetten.
The yellow jersey was on the shoulders of Kévin Vauquelin, but he had to keep João Almeida (39 seconds behind overall) and Julian Alaphilippe (29 seconds) behind him in the tricky final. Oscar Onley and Lennard Kämna were also within two minutes of the French leader. The day’s break consisted of seven riders, with Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step). Early in the stage Bart Lemmen had also shown himself, but he couldn’t get away. Teammate Benoot did, and together with Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) and Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla), they took a lead of more than 3 minutes on the peloton. For a long time, the difference fluctuated between 3 and 4 minutes. In the peloton, it was UAE Emirates XRG and Arkéa-B&B Hotels who set the pace, while Alaphilippe’s Tudor team helped. Partly because of this, the lead dropped below 1 minute. The final with the Bürgenstock (5.5km at 7.9%) and the short, steep final climb (3.1km at 7.8%) was still to come.
Alaphilippe had plans, because he had Tudor split the peloton. However, an attack failed to materialise, after which Decathlon-AG2R set the pace for Felix Gall. The leading group also split on the Bürgenstock and Simmons looked to be the best. Behind him, things did not stop because Gall attacked with Onley on his wheel. He forced the competition onto the defensive and Vauquelin and Almeida had some trouble. Together with Alaphilippe, they were able to rejoin. That group of five joined Simmons, while a strong Van den Broek fought his way back to the front to support his leader Onley. Due to the hard work of the Dutchman, a chasing group was kept at a distance. The difference fluctuated around 20 and 30 seconds on the descent and on the way to the final climb. At the foot, Van den Broek was finish, which meant that everything came down to the final climb.
There, it was Gall who made the first attack again. The Austrian was 2:20 minutes behind overall and was not a direct threat. Nevertheless, Almeida and Onley kept the gap to Gall small. An acceleration by the Portuguese rider put Alaphilippe into trouble, but because the pace slowed down a bit, the Frenchman was able to return in the final kilometre. In the last kilometre, they mainly looked at each other and it looked like it would end in a sprint of five. Vauquelin tried to surprise the rest at about 400 metres from the line, but that was a bit too early. In the last 150 metres, Almeida blasted to the stage victory. Onley also passed Vauquelin, who was eventually third on the stage. Thanks to the bonuses at the finish, Almeida and Onley came closer to the yellow jersey.
Stage winner and 2nd overall, João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG): “It was a hard day, fast all day. My teammates did a perfect job; they were super strong and pulled all day to catch the breakaway. This victory is for them. Every second is important, and we had to do our best. I don’t think I’m the favourite for overall victory, Vauquelin is also strong in the TT, so it’s going to be tough. But I’m going to give everything I have.”
Overall leader and 3rd on the stage, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): “We’re very disappointed because we had a perfect stage. We handled the last two mountain passes very well. I knew I could win this stage if I finished in the lead. I think I was the fastest in the group. Maybe I was a little hasty, I started from far back… and I lost a few meters. Of course, I would have liked the finish to be closer, but that’s how it is. I’m very disappointed. Winning today would have helped me a lot for tomorrow. That’s why we’re here, to win a stage. I thought I was going to go all the way. I saw João watching me closely, trying to break me on the final climb. But I really held on. I told myself this stage was for me. I’m very happy with my performance, even though I was missing something at the end. Tomorrow’s time trial? Anything’s possible. We don’t know how João will recover, and I don’t know how I’ll be either. What I do know is that it’s going to be a battle within myself. The car behind me will be screaming, and all my family and friends will be there. So I’m going to give it my all to make the most of it and cross a good finish line.”
4th on the stage and 5th overall, Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale): “I wanted to try something in the final. It was a tough climb. There were very few flat sections, if any. You couldn’t play with the slipstream. The others could have looked at each other, but that wasn’t the case. I’m glad I took a chance. You can always ask yourself: should I have waited for the sprint? But in the end, I don’t regret anything. So far, it’s been very positive. I think it’s my best race of the season. I did a lot of altitude training before coming here. This week has given me a lot of confidence. Starting Monday, it’s time to recover for the Tour. I haven’t put in a lot of effort like that for a while. It’s you against yourself. You choose how far you want to go. It’s only 28 or 29 minutes at full speed. It’s been a very demanding week. Tomorrow we’ll have to give it our all.”
Tour de Suisse Men Stage 7 Result:
1. João Almeida UAE Emirates XRG in 4:38:25
2. Oscar Onley (GB) Team Picnic PostNL
3. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
4. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 0:04
5. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor at 0:08
6. Felix Grossschartner (Aust) UAE Emirates XRG at 1:07
7. Joseph Blackmore (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
8. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
9. Clément Champoussin (Fra) XDS Astana Team
10. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek.
Tour de Suisse Men Overall After Stage 7:
1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 29:00:55
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:33
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor at 0:41
4. Oscar Onley (GB) Team Picnic PostNL at 1:19
5. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 2:28
6. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek at 2:55
7. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 3:27
8. Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Movistar at 4:27
9. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 4:28
10. Clément Champoussin (Fra) XDS Astana at 6:05.
Suisse’25 stage 7:
João Almeida won the 2025 Tour de Suisse overall. The Portuguese rider won the Final Stage 8 mountain time trial to Stockhütte to pass Kévin Vauquelin on the overall standings for the final overall win.
On the final day of the Tour de Suisse, the riders had a mountain time trial. The first 500 metres from Beckenried were flat, but after that the road climbed 9.2 kilometres at an average of 9%. Kévin Vauquelin tried to defend his leader’s jersey, however it was not easy, because João Almeida was only 33 seconds behind him before the time trial and was the top favourite for the stage victory.
It wasn’t until the afternoon before the big names started their race. First it was Sylvain Moniquet and then Harry Sweeny on the hot seat. Sweeny was in the seat for quite a time, because Pello Bilbao, Lorenzo Fortunato, Frank van den Broek, Aleksandr Vlasov and Ben O’Connor couldn’t get near the Australian’s time. In the end, it was Felix Gall who was faster than Sweeny. The Austrian smashed Sweeny’s time by more than one and a half minutes.
It was no big surprise that Gall took the lead. The Austrian, who was 5th overall, had been the fastest over the route. Only one rider was faster than him: João Almeida. The Portuguese rider gained one second on Gall at halfway, but more important was his lead on Kévin Vauquelin. That difference was 21 seconds. So he still needed 12 seconds, but was well on his way. Almeida had a target in the second part of the stage with Julian Alaphilippe, who had started 2 minutes earlier, and he would soon catch. Almeida was flying. This was confirmed when he crossed the line, 24 seconds faster than Gall. At that moment it was already clear that he would win the stage and the final classification. In the end, Vauquelin lost 1:40 to Almeida. On GC, the Frenchman dropped to second place, Oscar Onley came in third.
Final overall winner and stage winner, João Almeida (UAE Emirates XRG): “I’m super happy. I did a good climb, and I was feeling really good. I think I started too fast, I over paced in the beginning. In the end, I hoped to have enough gas to push in the last kilometre, but in the end it was not necessary. One mistake can cost you a lot; luckily, we could make it up. At the end of the day, it’s a lesson: you should never give up. Sometimes things go wrong and nothing is perfect, but you need to keep trying. We kept trying and we did it. I’ll have time to enjoy this win and I’ll be ready for the Tour de France. I’ll support Tadej Pogačar there and hope we can get more great wins.”
2nd on the stage and 4th overall, Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale): “I didn’t feel super good at the beginning of the climb. When I was looking at the numbers, it was a bit lower than what we were aiming for. But the intermediate time gave me hope and I was getting closer to Lennard (Kämna) in front of me. I left it all out there. It was a really hard stage after an even harder week of racing. Excluding the first stage, I am pretty happy with what we did this week, it’s positive for the next part of the season. Now I will take a bit of rest and get ready for the Tour de France.”
5th overall, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor): “I’m feeling exhausted and also a bit disappointed to miss out on the GC podium. I didn’t feel great today, and I think this was the toughest day of the week for me. After the first kilometre already, I realised it’s gonna be a very tough TT. We came here to chase stage wins and then, after the first stage, changed the plan to go for the overall classification. It was a beautiful week of racing here with great spirits and fantastic teamwork. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish it off on the podium. Generally, I’m happy with my shape and look forward to taking on the Tour de France now.“
Tour de Suisse Men Stage 8 Result:
1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG in 27:33
2. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 0:25
3. Oscar Onley (GB) Team Picnic PostNL at 1:12
4. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 1:40
5. Harry Sweeny (Aus) EF Education-EasyPost at 1:54
6. Aleksander Vlasov (-) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 2:04
7. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 2:07
8. William Barta (USA) Movistar at 2:13
9. Xavier Finlay Pickering (GB) Bahrain Victorious at 2:14
10. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 2:19
Tour de Suisse Men Final Overall Result:
1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Emirates XRG in 29:29:01
2. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 1:07
3. Oscar Onley (GB) Team Picnic PostNL at 1:58
4. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 2:20
5. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor at 3:57
6. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek at 4:52
7. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla at 5:08
8. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 6:16
9. Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Spa) Movistar at 6:41
10. Clément Champoussin (Fra) XDS Astana at 8:30.
Suisse’25 stage 8:
Baloise Belgium Tour 2025
Jasper Philipsen managed to win on Thursday. The sprinter of Alpecin-Deceuninck was the fastest in the Second Stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour. Juan Sebastián Molano, second on the stage, took over the leader’s jersey from Tim Merlier, who was seventh in Putte.
On day two of the Baloise Belgium Tour, Beringen got its regular place in the race. This time not as the finish or host of the individual time trial, but for the start of a 194 kilometre stage that took in Limburg and the Antwerp Kempen. Via Averbode, Herselt, Booischot and Heist-op-den-Berg, the riders finished in Putte. Not Putte-Kapellen all the way in the north of Antwerp, but the town in the Groentestreek. The race organisers opted for five local laps of 25 kilometres each, with the cobbles of the Peulisbaan as the only tough section.
It took a while, but after 40 kilometres a break formed. This early escape consisted of Marijn Maas (BEAT), Casper van der Woude (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel) Alex Colman (Flanders-Baloise), Luca De Meester (Wagner Bazin WB), Maarten Verheyen (Baloise Glowi Lions) and Kenay De Moyer (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines). They gained a lead of a few minutes. In the peloton, Soudal Quick-Step for overall leader and top favourite for the stage victory, Tim Merlier set the pace. This continued for a while, until after the cobbles of the Peulisbaan for the third time, then Alpecin-Deceuninck came through, including Jasper Philipsen. Some cracks appeared in the peloton. Alec Segaert, and others, missed the move, while Lidl-Trek also started to ride on the front. The first part of the group quickly came closer to the six leaders. At 46 kilometres from the finish, the escape was over. Not much later there was a general regrouping, the second part of the peloton also re-joined.
With 40 kilometres to go, the race was on. A few riders chose to attack. Olivier Godfroid (Baloise Glowi Lions) took off and was joined by Axel van der Tuuk (Metec Solarwatt p/b Mantel). Later, Wessel Mouris (Unibet Tietema Rockets) also joined them. The three gained almost 1 minute, but Godfroid, Van der Tuuk and Mouris were no match for the sprinter’s teams. They were caught with 5 kilometres to go, just after the last cobbled section. Uno-X Mobility had accelerated, which put Filippo Ganna and Alec Segaert (again) in a second group. Adne Holter of Uno-X then attacked. A brave attempt, but with 2 kilometres to go, the peloton caught the Norwegian. UAE Emirates XRG had the lead in the final kilometre. They led-out the sprint of Juan Sebastián Molano, who had Jasper Philipsen on his wheel. The Belgian, who was racing in his own region, had enough speed to get to the front. He held off Molano and took his second victory of the season. It was the first time since Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on the 2nd of March, that he took the win. A welcome boost for the Tour de France. Molano crossed the finish line in second place, like the day before. Thanks to the bonus seconds, the Colombian takes over the leader’s jersey from Tim Merlier, who missed out in the run-up to the sprint. Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto) was third.
Stage winner and 2nd overall, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “It’s been a while since I won. I’m very happy with this victory. It gives me a lot of encouragement and confidence. I’m happy that we managed to do it again this week. Jonas (Rickaert) was very strong today. I think we’re all starting to recover a bit after our difficult stage. Oscar Riesebeek, for example, was also very good. We started on the right, which is always a risk, but suddenly things opened up and I was able to put in a nice sprint. The course lent itself to making the race a bit tough. That cobbled section with six kilometres to go was especially spicy. It’s always fun to open up the race and put pressure on your rivals. I’m not sure what happened. I don’t think I managed to stay straight like that a second time. It was an error in judgment, but I’m happy it ended well.”
3rd on the stage and 4th overall, Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto): “I am really happy with the teamwork we showed today. It gave the whole team a boost.”
Baloise Belgium Tour Stage 2 Result:
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
2. Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Emirates XRG
3. Jenno Berckmoes (Bel) Lotto
4. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Lidl-Trek
5. Florian Dauphin (Fra) TotalEnergies
6. Matyas Kopecky (CZ) Team Novo Nordisk
7. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
8. Steffen De Schuyteneer (Bel) Lotto
9. Davide Bomboi (Bel) Unibet Tietema Rockets
10. Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Movistar.
Baloise Belgium Tour Overall After Stage 2:
1. Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Emirates XRG in 8:30:58
2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 0:01
3. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:02
4. Jenno Berckmoes (Bel) Lotto at 0:05
5. Olivier Godfroid (Bel) Baloise Glowi Lions at 0:06
6. Axel Van Der Tuuk (Ned) Metec-Solarwatt P/B Mantel
7. Wessel Mouris (Ned) Unibet Tietema Rockets
8. Ethan Vernon (GB) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:08
9. Ben Turner (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:09
10. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Lidl-Trek.
Belgium’25 stage 2:
Ethan Hayter won the Stage 3 Time Trial in the Baloise Belgium Tour. The Soudal Quick-Step rider surprised Italian time trial champion Filippo Ganna, who had to settle for second place. Third place went to Florian Vermeersch. Hayter is also the new overall leader thanks to his time trial victory.
Day three in the Baloise Belgium Tour was a very important one. After two stages for the sprinters, won by Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen, the riders had to race against the clock on Friday. The stage was a time trial of 9.7 kilometres between the Limburg municipalities of Tessenderlo and Ham. The profile was not flat, but still one for the power-men. The first target time was set by Ethan Hayter. The former British time trial champion put up an impressive time, 19 seconds better than his teammate Josef Cerny. Hayter showed his good time trial legs earlier this season, when he finished ninth and third in the two time trials in the Giro. That Hayter’s time might be more than a target time became clear after fast riders such as Yves Lampaert and Rune Herregodts didn’t come close.
Thibau Nys has been training a lot on the time trial bike recently, so a good time was expected. The young Belgian rode well and only lost 23 seconds to Hayter. That this was a more than creditable time was proven by Alec Segaert’s time trial. The time trial rider par excellence did 20 seconds less well than Hayter, who had outpaced everyone. Filippo Ganna was the only rider who could enter into a duel with Hayter. Yes, was the answer. The duel seemed to be in Hayter’s favour, because at the first intermediate point Ganna was 2 seconds slower. It was a real nail-biter, but at the finish in Ham, Italian time trial champion Ganna fell 4 seconds short. A big surprise, because Ganna had to admit defeat. After Ganna, quite a few riders came into action, so things could still go wrong for Hayter. However, there were no real time trialists among them. No one came close, after which the Soudal Quick-Step rider was surprisingly enough the stage winner of the time trial in the Baloise Belgium Tour and overall leader. Ganna was second, Florian Vermeersch third.
Stage winner and overall leader, Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step): “It feels great to get my first win of the season! It wasn’t the easiest start to the year, but the team has been patient with me and I’m happy I could repay them for their confidence and amazing support. I liked this parcours, it was a really nice one and I enjoyed it. I felt good out there, the most nervous part was waiting in the hot seat until everybody finished. As soon as I left the start ramp, I just went full gas out there and I’m delighted with my time and with being at the top of the general classification. A special mention to our technical partners: Specialized, for providing me the best bike there is, and Castelli, whose new CDN Time Trial suit was perfect. Together, they made the difference today. Now we will try to defend the jersey and do our best to keep it after Saturday’s stage, before shifting our attention again to helping Tim on the last day of the race.”
3rd on the stage and overall, Florian Vermeersch UAE Emirates XRG: “I came into this race with a really good shape, and I am happy I was able to show this today. After altitude, sometimes you don’t know quite how the body will respond, but today it was nice to open up the lungs and go all out for 10 minutes. I always want to get as good a result as possible, and today we can be really pleased to be third and fourth, with Rune also doing a strong result. There were no true corners and through the whole course, there was only a couple of places where we needed to break, so we were able to push the pedals and see who was the strongest. Hayter did a really strong ride and we know the talent of Ganna, so I am happy to have come close to their time over the line. I think it sets us up nicely for the weekend, and I am sure we will be aggressive in how we race, especially tomorrow. It is all to play for in the GC and after Sebas performed well in the first couple of stages, we can take a lot of confidence.”
Baloise Belgium Tour Stage 3 Result:
1. Ethan Hayter (GB) Soudal Quick Step in 10:29
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:04
3. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:16
4. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:17
5. Huub Artz (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty at 0:18
6. Connor Swift (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:19
7. Alec Segaert (Bel) Lotto at 0:20
8. Pier-André Coté (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:22
9. Ben Turner (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:23
10. Rune Herregodts (Bel) UAE Emirates XRG.
Baloise Belgium Tour Overall After Stage 3:
1. Ethan Hayter (GB) Soudal Quick-Step in 8:41:39
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:02
3. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:15
4. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:17
5. Huub Artz (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty at 0:18
6. Axel Van Der Tuuk (Ned) Metec-Solarwatt P/B Mantel at 0:19
7. Connor Swift (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
8. Ben Turner (GB) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:20
9. Ethan Vernon (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Alec Segaert (Bel) Lotto.
Belgium’25 stage 3:
Jenno Berckmoes won the Queen Stage 4 of the Baloise Belgium Tour 2025 on Saturday. The hilly stage around Durbuy had an exciting finale in which Lotto rider, Berckmoes, proved to be the fastest of a leading group of four. He beat the new overall leader Filippo Baroncini, Orluis Aular and Marco Frigo. Ethan Hayter lost his leader’s jersey to Baroncini, who will start the final stage with a 4 second lead.
This year’s Ardennes stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour was almost identical to that of the past three editions. At the start, the riders had a local lap of 44 kilometres, with six difficult climbs. This circuit was completed four times. The finale started with the Côte de Hermanne (2.2km at 5.8%) at 13 kilometres from the finish, followed by the Golden Kilometre. In the final, there was the Mur de Durbuy (1.2km at 6.2%) with the steepest sections 1 kilometre from the finish.
On GC, Ethan Hayter led after his win in the time trial on Friday. He has a lead of 2 seconds on Filippo Ganna and behind him the differences were small, with Florian Vermeersch, Huub Artz, Axel van der Tuuk, Ben Turner, Ethan Vernon and Alec Segaert all within 20 seconds. For Jasper Philipsen the gap was 21 seconds to Hayter. Thibau Nys was the favourite for this hilly stage, but due to stomach and intestinal problems he didn’t start the Queen stage. In the difficult opening section, a leading group of 9 riders managed to break away from the peloton. Alexys Brunel (TotalEnergies) was the best placed at 29 seconds. There was also home riders; Dylan Vandenstorme (Flanders-Baloise), Jens Reynders (Wagner Bazin WB), Michiel Hillen (Baloise Glowi Lions), Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Clementines) and Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto-Isorex). Unibet Tietema Rockets had Axel Huens at the front. The lead increased to just over 2 minutes, but due to work by Soudal Quick-Step, and others, the lead didn’t get too high. A counter-attack could be set up at the start of the third lap. Leader Ethan Hayter, Filippo Baroncini, Huub Artz and Connor Swift, all in the top-10 ranking, joined the group 75 kilometres from the finish, now there were 21 leaders.
Alpecin-Deceuninck had no one at the front and started the chase. They kept the difference around 1 minute, but in the leading group several teams were prepared to ride hard. Nevertheless, the difference decreased. At the start of the final lap of 44 kilometres, the difference was around 35 seconds between the leading group, which split up, and the thinned out peloton. For Hayter it was too fast in the hills, at a moment when Baroncini with Marco Frigo and Jenno Berckmoes attacked at the front. They caught Orluis Aular and worked well, while behind them a regrouping followed between the dropped leaders and the group with Philipsen and Hayter. At the last time up the Côte de Hermanne (2.2km at 5.8%) the lead of the four had shrunk to just over 20 seconds, and that with the Golden Kilometre coming up.
Frigo jumped at the end of that Golden Kilometre. The Italian rider created a gap, but Baroncini, Aular and Berckmoes were able to return. The elite group with Hayter and Philipsen saw the difference was still more than 10 seconds. At the front, the pace was kept up, which caused the lead of the four to increase again. At the start of the difficult final kilometre, the gap was 18 seconds. Baroncini rode the final climb for his overall place, but in the sprint for the stage win, Jenno Berckmoes was clearly the fastest of the four leaders. The Lotto rider had the best uphill sprint and took the biggest victory of his career. Frigo and Aular came second and third, ahead of Baroncini. The remaining peloton crossed the finish line 17 seconds after Berckmoes, after which the differences in the general classification had to be checked. Partly due to 7 bonus seconds, Filippo Baroncini was the new overall leader in the Belgium Tour. The Italian of UAE Emirates XRG will start the final stage with a 4 second lead over Hayter. Berckmoes follows at 7 seconds, while Ganna and Frigo follow at 10 and 11 seconds.
Stage winner and 3rd overall, Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto): “I had a great season last year with the switch to this great team. I really went up a level, but this year I’m having a really hard time. I got a bacteria at the beginning of the year. After that I came back to my level and got top 10 in Gent-Wevelgem, but I had a bad fall in the Tour of Flanders. That’s why it’s a year with a lot of downs, but nobody sees that. Everyone only sees it when things are going well, then everyone supports you. But when things are going badly, it’s only the people close to you who support you. That’s why it’s also hard to come back, that’s often underestimated. That’s why there were a lot of tears. Everyone was here to support me. I was disappointing in the time trial. I have no idea why, because the values were good, but I was far behind. I was far in the rankings and had everything to win today. It was a shame that Thibau Nys wasn’t on the start was, because he also wants to race and break the race open. In the final I knew immediately that I had to put everything on the last climb, but I had to get ahead. Last year in the Muur Classic I also had a good final shot and took the win. Baroncini and Frigo were also ahead of me in the classification, so I had to gamble: Go for the classification, I don’t care. In the last five kilometres I sat on the wheel and I breathed. I saw the signs of 250 and 200 and just had to go, but nobody came anymore…”
Overall leader and 4th on the stage, Filippo Baroncini (UAE Emirates XRG): “I’m very happy with the result today, taking the lead in the GC is a big step. Tomorrow we will go all-in to defend it. All day the pace was high and with two laps to go I found the opportunity to move away in a group of twenty riders which later became four. I was focussed on taking the bonus seconds and also I ended up doing a lot of the work as I was the highest in the GC. In the last 2km I pulled all the way to the line so to take the stage also would have been difficult. But it feels nice to be leading and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Baloise Belgium Tour Stage 4 Result:
1. Jenno Berckmoes (Bel) Lotto in 4:00:34
2. Marco Frigo (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:05
3. Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Movistar
4. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Emirates XRG
5. Alexandre Delettre (Fra) TotalEnergies at 0:17
6. Toon Aerts (Bel) Lotto
7. Dion Smith (NZ) Intermarché-Wanty
8. Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
9. Pier-André Coté (Can) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Emirates XRG.
Baloise Belgium Tour Overall After Stage 4:
1. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Emirates XRG in 12:42:29
2. Ethan Hayter (GB) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:04
3. Jenno Berckmoes (Bel) Lotto at 0:07
4. Filippo Ganna (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:10
5. Marco Frigo (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:11
6. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:16
7. Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Movistar at 0:18
8. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 0:22
9. Pier-André Coté (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:23
10. Axel Van Der Tuuk (Ned) Metec-Solarwatt P/B Mantel.
Belgium’25 stage 4:
The Final Stage 5 of the Baloise Belgium Tour was won by Tim Merlier. The European champion was by far the fastest in a bunch sprint in Brussels. There were no changes at the top of the overall standings, so Filippo Baroncini was the final overall winner.
Filippo Baroncini was in the lead of the Baloise Belgium Tour after four stages, but the differences were small. Ethan Hayter was 4 seconds behind the Italian, Jenno Berckmoes was 7 seconds behind and Filippo Ganna at 10 seconds. The 183 kilometre final stage, started and finished in Brussels, was not difficult, but due to the bonuses on the route and at the finish line, the battle was certainly not over. There was going to be some excitement, especially in the Golden Kilometre after 120 kilometres.
There was an early break of 6 riders. Belgians Dylan Vandenstorme (Flanders Baloise), Michiel Hillen (Baloise Glowi Lions), Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines), Alex Vandenbulcke (Tarteletto-Isorex) with Dutchmen Jochem Kerckhaert (BEAT Cycling) and Roy Hoogendoorn (Metec Solarwatt p/b Mantel). The six had a lead of around 4 minutes. Alpecin-Deceuninck, Soudal Quick-Step and Tudor pulled them in, but the 6 were still ahead at the Golden Kilometre. Here, the GC riders would not gain any bonus seconds. They would have to fight in the final sprint. In the run-up to the sprint, the leading group crumbled. Hillen stayed ahead the longest, but with 6 kilometres to go, his adventure was over.
After an attempt by Quentin Bezza (Wagner Bazin WB), without success and there was a crash by Oscar Riesebeek, the peloton reached the last kilometre. UAE Emirates XRG managed to take the lead for Juan Sebastian Molano, who passed Tim Torn Teutenberg at speed. But Tim Merlier was going faster. The European champion passed Molano and convincingly took his second stage victory of the Baloise Belgium Tour. Molano was second, Kim Heiduk third, Teutenberg fourth and Jasper Philipsen fifth. Baroncini finished in the peloton and because Hayter and Berckmoes didn’t take any bonus seconds, the Italian was the final overall winner. Hayter was second, Berckmoes third.
Stage winner, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): “It’s a great way to conclude our week here in Belgium! My teammates did a perfect job, making sure I was where I needed to be going into the final kilometres, and this helped me enter the last corner in third position, which was ideal to open the sprint. I’m really happy to finish the Tour of Belgium with a victory, my tenth of the season and the 60th of my career. These are some nice numbers and it makes me proud that I have such a fantastic team to help me reach these milestones. This win is good for the confidence, as I continue to work towards the Tour de France.”
Final overall winner, Filippo Baroncini (UAE Emirates XRG): “I came into the race in good shape from the Giro, so I knew if things went our way this week something was possible. The goal was to win with the team because Florian was also flying. Stage 4 was a great stage for me, the group stayed away and while I didn’t win the stage I was able to take the crucial time I needed in the GC .Today the team worked perfectly to defend the jersey so it was an excellent week overall.“
2nd overall, Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step): “It’s been a superb race for us and I am very happy! We took three wins in what has been one of our most successful races of the season and I’m proud I could play a part in this. Getting that victory in the time trial was great, an important boost for morale after a hard start to the year. I hope things won’t stop here and I will get some more good results for the team”
Baloise Belgium Tour Stage 5 Result:
1. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step in 3:56:38
2. Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Emirates XRG
3. Kim Alexander Heiduk (Ger) INEOS Grenadiers
4. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Lidl-Trek
5. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
6. Arne Marit (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
7. Matyas Kopecky (CZ) Team Novo Nordisk
8. Ethan Vernon (GB) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Tudor
10. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel-Premier Tech.
Baloise Belgium Tour Final Overall Result:
1. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Emirates XRG in 16:39:07
2. Ethan Hayter (GB) Soudal Quick-Step at 0:04
3. Jenno Berckmoes (Bel) Lotto at 0:07
4. Filippo Ganna (Ita) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:10
5. Marco Frigo (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:11
6. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Emirates XRG at 16
7. Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Movistar at 0:18
8. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 0:22
9. Pier-André Coté (Can) Israel-Premier Tech at 0:23
10. Axel Van Der Tuuk (Ned) Metec-Solarwatt P/B Mantel.
Belgium’25 stage 5:
Copenhagen Sprint – Men 2025
The Copenhagen Sprint is a new WorldTour one-day race in Denmark and was won by Jordi Meeus on Sunday. The Belgian of the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team was the fastest in a bunch sprint finish. Alexis Renard (Cofidis) was second and Emilien Jeannière (TotalEnergies) was third. French fast-man, Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) took fourth. Olav Kooij couldn’t sprint, because he was involved in a crash 10 kilometres from the finish.
The course of the first Copenhagen Sprint was made for the fast-finishers. The peloton had to cover 180 kilometres from the start in Roskilde to Copenhagen. In the Danish capital, there were five more laps of 10 kilometres. Mads Pedersen, Dylan Groenewegen and Olav Kooij were among the favourites after 235 kilometres.
A leading group of five formed on the slightly undulating roads towards Copenhagen. Victor Vercouillie (Flanders-Baloise) was joined by Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Deceuninck), George Jackson (Burgos BH-Burpellet) and Mads Andersen & Joshua Gudnitz (Danish National team). They gained a maximum lead of almost 4 minutes. Thanks to Visma | Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, Jayco AlUla and Cofidis, the lead was slowly pulled back. Once on the finishing circuit, the gap was small enough to cross. Casper Pedersen (Danish National team), Cedric Beullens (Lotto) and Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek) made the jump. They joined Plowright and Andersen, the two remaining escapees, after just over 35 kilometres, so there were 5 leaders again. For Lidl-Trek, this was a favourable situation, because they no longer had to chase, with Hoole at the front.
The five attackers worked well together and extended their lead to 30 seconds, but the gap didn’t get any bigger. Coming to the final lap, with 10 kilometres to go, the difference had almost halved, but there was a big crash in the peloton. Around 50 riders were able to continue, the rest were either lying on the road or being held up by the carnage, including Olav Kooij. He made no effort to return to the peloton. It became a bit quiet in what was left of the bunch, so that the break still seemed to have a chance. Just before the start of the last kilometre they were caught, it would now be a sprint finish. Dylan Groenewegen started a long sprint, but ran out of steam. He would eventually finish seventh. The Dutchman was passed by Jordi Meeus, who also passed Alexis Renard in the last metres, for the Belgian to take his second WorldTour victory. Two days ago he won a stage in the Tour of Switzerland, where he didn’t start on Saturday.
Race winner, Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe): “After six tough days of racing in Switzerland, I felt a bit tired, but I still had some power left in the legs. The final was extremely demanding and really hectic. Ideally, I would have been a few positions further up going into the last corner. But I also knew there was a headwind, and I hoped positions would open up — which it did perfectly. I still had a good kick, and I’m really happy I could take the win.”
Copenhagen Sprint – Men Result:
1. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 5:01:15
2. Alexis Renard (Fra) Cofidis
3. Emilien Jeannière (Fra) TotalEnergies
4. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
5. Tobias Lund Andresen (Den) Team Picnic PostNL
6. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty
7. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jayco AlUla
8. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
9. Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Pol) Cofidis
10. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X Mobility.
Copenhagen’25:
Copenhagen Sprint – Women 2025
The women’s WorldTour debuted the Copenhagen Sprint on Saturday, a new 151km one-day race from Roskilde to Copenhagen featuring flat but wind-affected terrain and three final laps through the city centre. After an early break was reeled in, the peloton remained together for a bunch finish on Copenhagen’s streets. The European Champion Lorena Wiebes demonstrated why she’s the top sprinter in the women’s peloton, launching her powerful sprint to cross the line several bike lengths clear of her rivals. Teammate Barbara Guarischi delivered a textbook lead-out, setting Wiebes up for victory.
Race winner, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): “It feels really nice to win this first edition. It was a great race but at times quite dangerous. Some decisions by the UCI, like on handlebar regulations, clearly didn’t prioritise our safety. Still, the crowds in Denmark were incredible. Every town overflowed with fans cheering us on, and those city-centre laps with all those people lining the streets made it very special. In the last lap there was a crash in one of the final corners, but luckily I was just ahead of it. Unfortunately, Blanka Vas was involved in an earlier crash and had to abandon. She was part of our lead-out, so we had to adapt, but in the end everything worked out. Barbara gave me a superb lead-out and I may have started my sprint a bit early—but I’d rather be early than too late,” Wiebes laughed. “It was a great day for the team, and I’m proud to win the first Copenhagen Sprint.”
Copenhagen Sprint – Women Result:
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:32:30
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek
3. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto
4. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Team Picnic PostNL
5. Nienke Veenhoven (Ned) Visma | Lease a Bike
6. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health
7. Susanne Andersen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
8. Amalie Dideriksen (Den) Cofidis
9. Mylene De Zoete (Ned) Ceratizit at 0:03
10. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) UAE Team ADQ.
Copenhagen’25:
Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica 2025
Mattias Skjelmose won the first edition of the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica. The Dane, who was riding his first race since Liège-Bastogne-Liège, beat Cristian Rodríguez, Enric Mas and Esteban Chaves in a sprint on the final climb.
The Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica was organised for the first time this year. The mountain climbers would be happy with this new event, because the 134-kilometre race included some hard climbs: The Port d’Envalira (27.2km at 5.2%) came almost immediately after the start, the Coll d’Ordino (8.5km at 5.2%), Coll de la Cornella (4.3km at 8%), Coll de Beixalis (6.6km at 8.5%) and the Coll de La Botella (10.7km at 7.2%). The finish was on the last climb. That was the plan, but the race organiser was forced to shorten the route from 140 to 114.7 kilometres due to the very bad weather forecast. Because of the risk of thunderstorms, it was decided to remove the gravel section of the Engolasters, which came after almost 100 kilometres of racing, just after an intermediate sprint and the passage over the Collada de Beixalis, the penultimate climb of the day.
The riders still had some climbing to do, including the Port d’Envalira, Coll d’Ordino and the Coll de La Botella. On the first climb of the day, the exceptionally long Envalira, there were quite a few attack attempts. It took a while before a break got away, but eventually 9 riders were escaped. Jardi Christiaan van der Lee (EF Education-EasyPost), Odd Christian Eiking (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Walter Calzoni (Q36.5), Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies), Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH), Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), José María García (Illes Balears Arabay) and Lorenzo Galimberti (Petrolike).
The gap on the peloton increased to 2 minutes, but the Lidl-Trek team for Skjelmose, kept the escapees in sight. They would be caught on the descent of the Ordino. Lidl-Trek and Movistar then towed the peloton to the Coll de la Cornella. On the first sections of the climb, Davide Formolo jumped away. He rode about 100 metres ahead of the peloton for a long time, but Lidl-Trek pulled him back before the top.
Toms Skujins thinned out the peloton a bit more and hit the wet descent first. Once at the bottom, Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma) attacked. He started the Coll de La Botella with about a 15 second lead. A few kilometres later he dropped back to the peloton, where Julien Bernard had now taken over for his teammate Skujins. The Frenchman lead an attack for leader Mattias Skjelmose, who had to leave the Tour de Suisse earlier this month due to illness, but finally returned to action With just over 6 kilometres to go, Skjelmose attacked. At first, only Enric Mas was able to follow, later Cristían Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) joined him. Berwick put in a couple of jumps, with the result that Skjelmose had to pass. However, the leading trio didn’t work very well together. This allowed Skjelmose to return, as did Esteban Chaves. Five riders started the final kilometre together. With 800 metres to go, Chaves put in his move. Berwick couldn’t follow, but the rest did. Skjelmose was the fastest in the sprint. He beat Rodríguez and Mas into second and third. Chaves was fourth.
Race winner, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek): “Of course [I’m happy]! I was sick for a long time and lost both the Dauphiné and Suisse. Luckily, I could do this race, and I think the shape is there for the Tour [de France]. I was feeling good all day and the guys did a perfect job. I did my own pace and knew if I could come there that I could sprint. This was super good, we had to see how this race was going, but the Tour is a completely different race so we will have to see, but after today I’m more confident, I think we can do a good Tour. I’m looking forward to [it].”
Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica Result:
1. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek in 3:22:14
2. Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
3. Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar
4. Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) EF Education-EasyPost
5. Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA at 0:06
6. Lukas Nerurkar (GB) EF Education-EasyPost at 0:23
7. Jonathan Klever Caicedo Cepeda (Ecu) Petrolike at 0:34
8. Archie Ryan (Irl) EF Education-EasyPost at 0:37
9. Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Ecu) Equipo Kern Pharma at 0:38
10. Tom Pidcock (GB) Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team at 0:46.
Andorra MoraBanc’25:
The Way Jonas Vingegaard Raced Seemed More Like Raising the White Flag
Before the start of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the battle between the ‘Big Three’ was eagerly awaited, but Tadej Pogačar had no match in the end. Jonas Vingegaard, who in the past has been Pogačar’s main rival in the Tour, also didn’t come close to the Slovenian. Jan Bakelants fears that the Tour will not be very exciting.
“Let me start with a rather uncontroversial observation about the past Dauphiné,” Bakelants began his column in Het Laatste Nieuws. “As far as the value ratios between the classification riders for the Tour are concerned, little to nothing remarkable has changed, except that the differences between the three top riders have been further deepened and even secured with an extra retaining wall. I hear between the lines that Visma | Lease a Bike are trying to convince themselves that things will still turn out well with a view to winning the Tour, but the friendly way in which Jonas Vingegaard dealt with the supremacy of Tadej Pogačar and the way in which he raced, seemed more like raising the white flag than showing that it can still be an exciting Tour.”
Bakelants sees few to no pitfalls for World champion Pogačar. “It is being said that Pogačar will not have the ideal preparation for the Tour in his legs with riding the classics in the spring, and that he could encounter a bad day in the third week of a major tour. But as it looks now, only a crash or serious material failure can still tip this direction.”
“I also do not believe that Pogačar needs the ideal Tour preparation to be able to win. Even with a sub-optimal preparation, the difference is enormous,” Bakelants believes. “He rode the final climb to Combloux much faster than Vingegaard did in his supersonic time trial in the 2023 Tour. A statement.”
Bakelants not impressed by Vingegaard:
UCI to Investigate Dries De Bondt’s Giro Statements about Working for Carapaz
The International Cycling Union is following up on the statements by Dries De Bondt made to WielerFlits after the Giro d’Italia. The Decathlon-AG2R rider stated that he rode for Richard Carapaz on stage 20, after a suggestion from EF Education-EasyPost team manager Ken Vanmarcke that his work could result in a contract for the following year with the American team.
And that last point was sufficient for the UCI to launch an investigation. “Following a preliminary investigation, the UCI has concluded that Dries De Bondt’s comments were clearly of a nature to cast doubt on the integrity of the race. According to his comments, which have been reported by various media, De Bondt deliberately helped a rider from the EF Education-EasyPost team after a suggestion from one of the team’s sports directors that this could help the rider obtain a contract offer for next season,” the UCI wrote.
“On this basis, the UCI has decided to submit the case to its Ethics Committee for a ruling on the facts and to consider possible sanctions against the rider and/or the sports director ‘Ken Vanmarcke’ if their behaviour is found to be in breach of the UCI Code of Ethics, in particular articles 8.1 and 2 of Appendix 2.” These articles include ‘manipulating cycling events’ and ‘using inside information’.
Dries De Bondt said to WielerFlits at the time: “I still haven’t received any clarity from my team about whether I’ll be allowed to stay in 2026. So during the Giro I thought it would be a good idea to market myself a bit. That’s why I let several teams know that I’m open to a conversation, to talk about a contract. I had done the same with Ken Vanmarcke. ‘If you’re still looking for riders for 2026: I’m on the market’, I said. Before the team presentation of the twentieth stage, Vanmarcke came back to me. He said: ‘Are you planning anything today? It’s going to be very difficult for us to put riders in the early breakaway. But look: if you’re there and you can play a role somewhere that’s important in the final result of the Giro, then there could be something serious attached to it.’ That did inspire me to do what I did for Carapaz.”
Did De Bondt help Carapaz?
Philipsen Escaped Crash in the Baloise Belgium Tour
Jasper Philipsen was unable to compete for victory in the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour on Wednesday, but afterwards there was more relief than disappointment. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider came very close to a hard crash in the last few hundred metres, but miraculously he escaped unscathed.
Tim Merlier won the first stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour on Wednesday, but afterwards it was more about Philipsen. The latter miraculously escaped a particularly bad crash. Philipsen hit the rear wheel of Frenchman Jason Tesson with his front wheel in the last meters. The Belgian then makes a strange swing and almost flies over the handlebars, but stays upright after a big swing.
“We were doing well, but in the penultimate bend we lost some positions, which meant I had to start my sprint from a bit further away,” the sprinter spoke of the hectic final with Het Laatste Nieuws. “Of course I would have liked to be on Tim’s (Merlier) wheel to start the sprint, but unfortunately someone got in between. I felt fine and I thought I could definitely still get a good result. Until I made a wrong assessment and got stuck behind Jason Tesson’s wheel. Too bad, but luckily I stayed upright. It could have ended differently and worse. On to Thursday’s stage for a new chance.”
Close call for Jasper:
Sam Welsford to Sign for INEOS Grenadiers as New Sprinter?
Sam Welsford currently rides for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, but has now reached an agreement with INEOS Grenadiers. According to different media sources, the British team was looking for a new sprinter after Caleb Ewan’s departure and has signed-up with another Australian. Welsford was previously linked with a move to Jayco AlUla, but INEOS Grenadiers also got involved in the battle for his signature.
The British team was reportedly in pole position to sign the fast-finisher Welsford, but the deal is now done. It is said to be a contract for two years, but of course a transfer can’t be announced officially until August 1. It is unlikely that Welsford will take any lead-out riders from his current Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team to his new team, although INEOS Grenadiers still has room to recruit an additional lead-out man. Danny van Poppel, Welsford’s current sprint lead-out, has a contract with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe until the end of 2026.
Sam Welsford to INEOS Grenadiers:
Another Setback for Michael Woods
Michael Woods has had a disastrous 2025 season. The Canadian had only just recovered from a broken collarbone, but now has to deal with a new setback. Due to illness, Woods had to abandon the Tour de Suisse on Wednesday.
“Cycling is a cruel, cruel sport,” he wrote on Instagram. “For the second time this year, I came back in top form from a fantastic altitude training camp, but I had to abandon in the first race. This time because of pneumonia.”
Woods also broke his collarbone in a crash in Milan-Turin in March. “It’s tough to end my time in the Canadian champion’s jersey like this, but I still have a few important races ahead of me. Hopefully I won’t have to deal with bad luck anymore.”
The 38-year-old’s next race should be the Tour de France, which starts in Lille in just under two weeks. The last time Woods competed in the Tour de France was in 2023. That year, the experienced climber won the stage that finished on the mythical Puy de Dôme.
Tour for Michael Woods?
Pieter Serry is Looking for a New Team
Pieter Serry is looking for a new team. The professional from Sint-Maria-Aalter was told by the management of Soudal Quick-Step that he can’t count on a contract extension. According to WielerFlits.
Serry is in his thirteenth season with the same team and has been one of the mainstays. After two years at Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, he was recruited by Patrick Lefevere in 2013. “It has always been my team,” said Serry, who will be 37 at the end of November and was just racing in the Tour of Switzerland.
“I am now forced to look for another team. I want to race at the highest level for two more years. Physically, I am just as strong as in previous years, my values prove that.” Serry is not the only one who was told that there will be no more places at Jürgen Foré’s WorldTour team in 2026. Jordi Warlop, French second-year pro Antoine Huby and Czech Josef Černý also do not fit into Soudal Quick-Step’s picture for 2026.
New team for Pieter Serry:
Tadej Pogačar and Urska Zigart’s Children’s Book
Tadej Pogačar and partner Urska Zigart will have their own children’s book in Slovenia. The children’s book about the two Slovenian cyclists will be called ‘the adventures of Pogi and Pika’. The book aims is to ‘inspire young children to chase their dreams’.
Pogačar’s popularity is enormous, as a three-time Tour winner and World champion, the UAE Emirates XRG cyclist is a superstar in his home country and now he will get his own children’s book.
The children’s book is about the adventures of Pogačar and Zigart. Not in the cycling world, but in a fantasy world with mythical creatures. The bicycle will be central to the children’s book. The book ‘the adventures of Pogi and Pika’ will be available on the Slovenian market from 1 July.
A Pogačar book for the kids:
Uno-X Change their Tour Selection
Uno-X Mobility announced its selection for the upcoming Tour de France earlier last week, but the Norwegian team will probably have to change its Tour team again. Jonas Abrahamsen broke his collarbone in a crash in the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour.
Abrahamsen fell in the final kilometres of the first stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, when he couldn’t avoid a crashed rider in front of him. The Norwegian was badly injured and was unable to continue, he was taken to hospital. “Medical examination and multiple scans have shown that Jonas suffered a broken collarbone after his fall in the first stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour”, Uno-X Mobility announced via social media. “He will visit a shoulder specialist in a day or two and then the next steps will be mapped out. A plan will be drawn up to help him recover as quickly as possible. We would like to thank the staff of AZ Zeno Knokke-Heist for their care and professionalism.”
The team cannot yet make any statements about his participation in the Tour de France, but it looks like Abrahamsen will not make it to the start on the 5th of July. If the 29-year-old rider, who was one of the stars of last year’s Tour de France, doesn’t get fit in time, Alexander Kristoff may well be his replacement. The experienced sprinter, who is in his final months as a professional cyclist, was initially left out of the Tour squad.
No Tour for Abrahamsen:
Tour de Suisse Honours Gino Mäder with Monument at the Site of his Tragic Accident
A special moment before the start of the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse. The organisation once again reflected on the tragic accident of Gino Mäder. The Swiss rider lost his life two years ago after a heavy fall on the descent of the Albula Pass. A monument in honour of Mäder was unveiled at the top of this climb today.
Mäder was considered a talented rider. He finished fifth in the final classification of the Vuelta a España 2021 and won a stage in both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de Suisse that same year. In that last round, Mäder would pass away two years later at the age of 26. This happened on Friday, June 16, 2023, one day after a tragic accident in the fifth stage of the Swiss stage race.
During the descent of the Albula Pass, about six kilometres from the finish in La Punt, he lost control of his bike and fell into a ravine. Mäder was resuscitated on the spot and taken to hospital in Chur by trauma helicopter, where he died of his injuries. Two years have passed, but the cycling world has not forgotten about Mäder. The fifth stage started from La Punt, where the tragic stage in the 2023 Tour finished. The day started with a tribute on the Albula Pass. The organisers unveiled a monument in memory of the young Swiss rider.
Mäder will be honoured again during the stage; at the top of the San Bernardino Pass (16km at 5.7%) there is also a special mountain sprint: the #RideforGino intermediate sprint.
Ride for Gino:
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