EUROTRASH Thursday: PEZ Loses A Good Friend & Tour Down Under Action

Today is a very sad EUROTRASH as we say good-bye to a very special friend – Ed Hood, who passed away on Sunday evening. As the road season gets going we have the first three stages of the Santos Tour Down Under with videos, reports and results.

TOP STORY:

• Good-Bye Ed Hood

Rider news:

• Sven Vanthourenhout and Tom Dumoulin think Remco Evenepoel’s recovery is “Bullshit”
• Geraint Thomas hopes Caleb Ewan joins INEOS and aims for stage victory in Tour de France
• Tim Merlier takes his first victory of 2025
• Jasper Stuyven has a double role in 2025
• Belgian champion Arnaud De Lie to miss the start of his season
• Mattias Skjelmose to be team leader in the Tour de France, but doesn’t feel ready yet
• Alejandro Valverde is the New Spanish National Coach
• Francisco Mancebo wins a UCI race at 48
• Thieves steal bikes and other valuables from Juan Sebastián Molano

Team news:

• Uno-X Mobility hopes to ride two Grand Tours
• Unibet Tietema Rockets to ride the Ruta del Sol and French races
• Lotto new year, new ride: new Orbea bike
• British Cycling announces stellar line up for 2025 UCI Cyclocross World Championships

Race news:

• Ster van Zwolle will be a stage in Olympia’s Tour in 2025
• Bardet, Madouas, Lapeira, Mas, Ayuso and Hirschi at the start of the Boucles Drôme Ardèche
• Barcelona will host the official start of La Vuelta Femenina’25 by Carrefour.es

Doug Shapiro dies after falling from a cliff in California.

TOP STORY: Good-Bye Ed Hood
Edmond Hood, our man with all the cycling knowledge and more, passed away on Sunday evening after a two year struggle following a stroke. Ed had been in a care home when he left us. Ed lived for cycling and was in his element at a race, interviewing riders, or just writing about our sport. Everyone who met Ed knew they were in the presence of a cycling sage. From team managers to top pros and the ‘Young Gun’ up coming riders, they were all as equally important to Ed. His writing was always interesting and accurate. From being a rider himself, a team sponsor and owner, he knew the game through and through. He worked as a ‘runner’ at the ‘6 Days’, doing those jobs the riders need to keep the entertainment going. As a journalist his knowledge and connections encompassed the globe. Enthusiastic and always up for looking for that story. As he said:“I’m never happier than when I’m writing.”
Ed will be missed by so many, our sympathies to his family, friends and everyone who was ever lucky enough to have met the one and only: Ed Hood.

We will have a special Ed Hood tribute this week.

Rest in peace, big man:

Santos Tour Down Under 2025
Sam Welsford has delivered what his team promised to claim: the opening stage of the Santos Tour Down Under as it celebrates 25 years of racing in South Australia. The Australian powered away from his Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe teammates with perfect timing to win the Ziptrak Stage 1 bunch sprint at the Gumeracha finish ahead of Great Britain’s Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Groupama-FDJ’s Matthew Walls.

Welsford mirrored his start to the Santos Tour Down Under in 2024 to take the opening stage after the race left from Prospect. He is also the race leader in the general classification, with a deserved four stage wins to his name since snaring his first in South Australia last year.

“We had our backs up against the wall from the start,” Welsford said. “No-one wanted to help us out there today – we kind of expected it. We just kept the break in check and eventually some teams started to put one on in the last 60km and then the gaps started coming down as well. The pressure was on and I’m really relieved.”

ARA Australia’s Zac Marriage and Fergus Browning put themselves in the spotlight, with the pair staying away from the main peloton as soon as the start gun was fired at Prospect until about 40km from the Gumeracha finish line. The 21-year-olds traded Ziptrak sprint and efex King of the Mountain bonuses before they were caught by a relentless peloton. The pair jointly claimed the prestigious Yamaha Most Competitive rider jersey after a brilliant day on hot saddles. Browning will wear the efex King of the Mountain jersey during Health Partners Stage 2 Tanunda to Tanunda on Wednesday.

“It was a hard day and a big day out in front, and we really need to take every opportunity we can,” Marriage said. “There’s no better way to start than from kilometre zero. It was rewarding… it’s my home race and I train here every day.”

Santos Tour Down Under Stage 1 Result:
1. Sam Welsford (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 3:26:38
2. Matthew Brennan (GB) Visma | Lease a Bike
3. Matt Walls (GB) Groupama-FDJ
4. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Lidl-Trek
5. Ben Swift (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
6. Simon Dehairs (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
7. Corbin Strong (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech
8. Rui Filipe Oliveira Alves (Por) UAE Emirates XRG
9. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
10. Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Lidl-Trek.

Santos Tour Down Under Overall After Stage 1:
1. Sam Welsford (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 3:26:28
2. Matthew Brennan (GB) Visma | Lease a Bike at 0:04
3. Zachary Marriage (Aus) Australia at 0:05
4. Matt Walls (GB) Groupama-FDJ at 0:06
5. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 0:07
6. Fergus Browning (Aus) Australia
7. Jhonnatan Manuel Narváez (Ecu) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:09
8. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Lidl-Trek at 0:10
9. Ben Swift (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
10. Simon Dehairs (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck.

TDU’25 stage 1:

Sam Welsford moved a step closer to being crowned the unofficial king of Tanunda after winning back-to-back Santos Tour Down Under stages in the Barossa town on Wednesday. The Health Partners Stage 2 victory saw Welsford retain the Santos Ochre Leader’s jersey, which he will proudly wear during Thursday’s potential general classification challenging efex Stage 3 from Norwood to Uraidla.

Welsford conquered Tanunda in 2024 to secure his first UCI WorldTour win in his home race but was made to work much harder to claim his fifth stage win of the Santos Tour Down Under after yesterday’s victory at Gumeracha. The West Australian star looked to be in serious trouble early in the race. He crashed after a touch of wheels about one kilometre from the Health Partners Stage 2 start. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe gun bravely closed out the 128.8km ride with gravel rash across his buttocks and legs and torn shorts before winning a bunch sprint ahead of Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty) and Bryan Coquard of Cofidis.

“That was bloody tough out there today, they didn’t make it any easier for me on that (final Menglers Hill) climb,” Welsford said. “They (rivals) started launching attacks harder than expected but we had a good chase to get back on. My team worked hard. I said to them, ‘Let’s just get to the line and if I’m in front I’m sure I can have a good sprint.’ The boys did a mega job bringing me back and still did a lead out which is pretty impressive today.”

Welsford’s Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team was controlling the main peloton at the end of the first lap into Tanunda, unfazed by a three-man breakaway that had a 1 min 42 sec gap. The main peloton seemingly agreed to slow down with 75.3km before the finish line, in a bid to conserve energy as it appeared the stage was predictably heading towards a bunch sprint finish in Tanunda. Sensing Welsford was strained following the first kilometre crash and after the last efex King of the Mountain climb, his team pushed hard to ensure the big sprinter was in peak condition for another fast finale.

Welsford made contact with the back of the peloton about 13km from the Tanunda finish line. After today’s win he holds the Ziptrak sprint jersey too. ARA Australia’s Fergus Browning keeps the efex King of the Mountain jersey he worked hard for on Tuesday. Browning, 21, sits on 41 KOM points, 36 ahead of teammate Zac Marriage. Great Britain’s impressive teenager Matthew Brennan (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) held on to the Zwift Young Rider jersey. The 19-year-old sits third in the general classification, just 14 seconds away from Welsford. Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché-Wanty) claimed the Yamaha Most Competitive title after a superb day where the German wasn’t afraid to continually attack.

Santos Tour Down Under Stage 2 Result:
1. Sam Welsford (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 3:01:22
2. Arne Marit (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
3. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis
4. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Ger) Lidl-Trek
5. Tobias Lund Andresen (Den) Team Picnic PostNL
6. Henri Uhlig (Ger) Alpecin-Deceuninck
7. Samuel Watson (GB) INEOS Grenadiers
8. Corbin Strong (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Alexis Renard (Fra) Cofidis
10. Matt Walls (GB) Groupama-FDJ.

Santos Tour Down Under Overall After Stage 2:
1. Sam Welsford (Aus) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in 6:27:40
2. Arne Marit (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty at 0:14
3. Matthew Brennan (GB) Visma | Lease a Bike
4. Patrick Konrad (Aust) Lidl-Trek at 0:15
5. Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty
6. Zachary Marriage (Aus) Australia
7. Fergus Browning (Aus) Australia
8. Matt Walls (GB) Groupama-FDJ at 16
9. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis
10. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 0:17.

TDU’25 stage 2:

Movistar’s Javier Romo’s maiden WorldTour victory stunned the favourites at the Santos Tour Down Under at the Uraidla finish line on Thursday’s Stage 3.

The 26-year-old Spaniard conquered the efex men’s stage 3 and powered to victory over the Pound Road, Knotts Hill climb which made its debut and was the most talked about stage of the 25th anniversary of the coveted race. “I’m very happy, this morning I cannot imagine this day but I worked from September for this race,” Romo said. “My team had a lot of confidence in me, and they worked very well to help me. The position today was very important and in the final (to the finish line) I had very good legs and everything was perfect.”

Romo’s solo attack to the finish line saw him wrestle the Santos ochre leader’s jersey from Australian sprint king Sam Welsford. The West Australian road and track star owned the leader’s jersey for the first two stages but kept the Ziptrak sprint jersey ahead of Friday’s Hahn Stage 4, Glenelg to Victor Harbor. UAE Team Emirates – XRG’s Jhonatan Narvaez finished third ahead of Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe) across the finish line at Uraidla.

ARA Australia’s young gun Fergus Browning picked up 10 more points to ensure the efex King of the Mountain jersey stays on his back for now. Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) earned valuable points in second spot ahead of UAE Team Emirates – QRG Julius Johansen and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s Geoffrey Bouchard. The peloton powered up Norton Summit Road after The Parade, Norwood start with an average speed of 40 km/h before the first KOM at Ashton.

It was no surprise as Browning continued to put himself in the WorldTour shop window by earning maximum bonuses at Echunga. Bouchard also claimed bonuses for a second intermediate sprint placing alongside veteran Australian Simon Clarke, 38, (Israel-Premier Tech) in what appeared to be a ploy to test the peloton’s patience with last year’s champion Stephen Williams lurking in the shadows.

Browning created history by being the first ever Santos Tour Down Under rider up Pound Road on the way to conquer Knott’s Hill. Bouchard was on his wheel. Jayco AlUla’s Chris Harper was third ahead of Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe) and Jayco AlUla’s Plapp.

It started getting serious as Bouchard claimed maximum bonuses, followed by Browning and Finn Fisher-Black. The race started splitting after the sprint before the peloton came back together. Groupama-FDJ’s French star Remy Rochas powered first over the KOM followed by Narvaez, Romo, Finn Fisher-Black and Oscar Onley from Team Picnic PostNL.

Santos Tour Down Under Stage 3 Result:
1. Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Movistar in 3:46:01
2. Jhonnatan Manuel Narváez (Ecu) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:05
3. Finn Fisher-Black (NZ) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
4. Withen Albert Philipsen (Den) Lidl-Trek
5. Thomas Gloag (GB) Visma | Lease a Bike
6. Patrick Konrad (Aust) Lidl-Trek
7. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Lidl-Trek
8. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon – AG2R La Mondiale
9. Remy Rochas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
10. Magnus Sheffield (USA) INEOS Grenadiers.

Santos Tour Down Under Overall After Stage 3:
1. Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Movistar in 10:13:51
2. Jhonnatan Manuel Narváez (Ecu) UAE Emirates XRG at 0:08
3. Patrick Konrad (Aust) Lidl-Trek at 0:10
4. Finn Fisher-Black (NZ) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
5. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale at 0:12
6. Magnus Sheffield (USA) INEOS Grenadiers at 0:15
7. Withen Albert Philipsen (Den) Lidl-Trek
8. Jay Vine (Aus) UAE Emirates XRG
9. Chris Harper (Aus) Jayco AlUla
10. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Lidl-Trek.

TDU’25 stage 3:

Sven Vanthourenhout and Tom Dumoulin Think Remco Evenepoel’s Recovery is “Bullshit”
While the 2025 road season is kicking off in Australia, Remco Evenepoel still can’t train outside due to his crash in September. A nerve in his shoulder has been injured and that needs to recover. Sporza asked Sven Vanthourenhout and Tom Dumoulin their views on his recovery.

Ex Belgian national coach Vanthourenhout recently spoke to Evenepoel. “It will be fine again, right? Remco will surprise us again sooner or later and blow us away. But I make the comparison with Wout van Aert. They are in a similar position: it’s a matter of trial and error. You hear those clichés that athletes come out stronger from this, but that is, if I may say so, bullshit. Remco and Wout could both have been much further along in their careers if they hadn’t experienced all this. You stay off the bike for two to three months and you put your energy into other things. That doesn’t make you any better,” he continues. “It’s that simple. Of course they have a sense of perspective. Things can go wrong in life, but as an athlete you can better miss something like that. Now you’re calculating again in terms of your recovery. There will be another highlight, but the months before that have been cancelled and his palmarès could have been more extensive. Look at Van Aert, who has already missed Flanders and Roubaix a few times.”

Tom Dumoulin also spoke about Evenepoel. “I read that Remco has been out of action for ten weeks: that’s a lot, but it’s really not insurmountable,” explains the Giro d’Italia 2017 winner. “That doesn’t have to have any consequences for the Tour de France, and maybe not for the Classics either.”

Dumoulin dis have some advice for the young Belgian. “Remco is now missing a part of his base. He would be wise to build that base first before he really starts racing a lot. If you do that with too little base, you might surprise and pull out all the stops. Someone as good as Evenepoel could win Liège. But if you make it a busy racing period, you take that lack of base with you to the Tour. I would say: work towards the Tour de France in all calmness. He will start there as the freshest in any case.”

‘Evenepoel should aim at the Tour’:

Geraint Thomas Hopes That Caleb Ewan Joins INEOS and Aims for Stage Victory in Tour de France
It looks like Caleb Ewan is no longer with the Jayco AlUla team, but it is unclear what he is going to do. The latest rumour is that INEOS Grenadiers could sign him. Geraint Thomas would like to see him join the team, he said in an interview with Cyclingnews.

Thomas could not confirm that INEOS is indeed interested in Ewan, but would welcome the sprinter into the team. “I know him well, he is a good friend of mine. If he were to come here, that would be great. It is also clear that we are missing a sprinter, while forty percent of the races end in a sprint, right? It would be useful to have him there. Hopefully it will happen, but I have only heard rumours, so we will see.”

INEOS Grenadiers has 27 riders, so far this season, while the maximum for a WorldTeam is 30. So, there is still enough room for Ewan, who was removed from the Jayco AlUla team website at the beginning of the year. It look like the Australian has left the team and it is unsure whether he would end his career, although his manager said ‘certainly not’ to retirement.

Thomas will kick off his own season in the Santos Tour Down Under, which started on Tuesday, where he mainly wants to help Magnus Sheffield and Michał Kwiatkowski in the com. The Welshman still has personal ambitions for the rest of the season, which will be his last as a professional cyclist. “I would like to win a race again. Any race, to be honest. I would also like to go to the Tour de France again and maybe try to hunt for a stage win, not so much aim for a GC. I also just want to be a good, solid teammate for the guys. Take a few chances and just enjoy it.”

Thomas wants to see Caleb Ewan in an INEOS jersey:

Tim Merlier Takes his First Victory of 2025
Tim Merlier has taken his first victory in 2025. The European road champion won the Coastrace of Middelkerke on Sunday. He beat Xandro Meurisse, Aaron Verwilst and his younger brother Braam Merlier.

The Coastrace of Middelkerke is a beach race of over 40 kilometres. A leading group of four riders escaped, including Tim Merlier. The Soudal Quick-Step rider, who had just finished a training camp in Spain, rode away from the others in the finale and crossed the finish line solo. It was his first victory in a beach race this winter.

Ten seconds after Merlier, Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Xandro Meurisse was second. Aaron Verwilst, who rode for Flanders-Baloise until 2023 and is now a gravel rider, finished third just behind him. Tim Merlier’s younger brother Braam Merlier, who was a cyclo-cross rider with Pauwels Sauzen-Vastgoedservice, finished fourth. Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step) was fifth.

Tim Merlier’s 2025 race programme:
28.01: AlUla Tour
02.03: Kuurne – Brussels – Kuurne
26.03: Classic Brugge-De Panne
30.03: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields
06.04: Tour of Flanders
09.04: Scheldeprijs
13.04: Paris-Roubaix
05.07: Tour de France
23.08: Vuelta a España.

Tim Merlier takes his first win of 2025 – On sand:

Jasper Stuyven has a double role in 2025
Jasper Stuyven will start his twelfth pro season in about a month. The 32-year-old Belgian hopes to shine again in the spring Classics, but he also has another important role with the Lidl-Trek team.

Stuyven will be an important link in Jonathan Milan’s sprint train. The Italian has developed into one of the best sprinters in the peloton in recent years and this year he will get the chance to prove himself at the highest level in the Tour de France. As a sprint lead-out man, Stuyven is certain of a Tour place.

“Last year in Italy (the Giro) we showed that our train can work very well”, Stuyven told Sporza at the Lidl-Trek team media day. “I can be of added value to his sprints. I think it is very nice to go to the Tour with such a top sprinter. That is a very clear goal.” He hopes he will be able to do his own thing in the transition stages. But before that, there are the spring Classics. Stuyven had a very good spring last year and was ready for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but a crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen put an end to that. “It wasn’t easy for me then. Too bad that happened, especially with that form, but it was also nice to see that confirmation of my form again in 2024. That’s where I want to go again now. Because if I reach that level again, then I can also ride the finals again. And that means that I can compete for that victory or a podium place again.”

Stuyven – Classics and lead-out man:

Belgian Champion Arnaud De Lie to Miss the Start of his Season
Arnaud De Lie was supposed to start his season in Spain this weekend, but crashed while training earlier this week and will have to miss the GP Castellón and the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana. “Arnaud De Lie will unfortunately not be at the start of the GP Castellón (25/01) and the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana (26/01) this weekend”, his Lotto team announced via social media. “He crashed during training earlier this week. He is currently still suffering from pain in his knee. As a precaution, he will postpone the start of his season. We wish him a speedy recovery!”

De Lie revealed his race program for the first months of 2025 at the beginning of January. The sprinter is working on an extensive programme in the run-up to his major goals, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. De Lie will probably now start his season in France with the Étoile de Bessèges (5-9 February), if he can recover from his knee injury.

This will then ride the Volta ao Algarve. This year De Lie will not go on an altitude training camp in Tenerife in the spring. De Lie will start the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, followed by Le Samyn later that week. After Le Samyn, there are the Flemish WorldTour races: the E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars Door Vlaanderen, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. After the Classics he will be training for the Tour de France.

Arnaud De Lie’s 2025 race programme:
05.02: Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard
19.02: Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta
01.03: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite
04.03: Ename Samyn Classic
28.03: E3 Saxo Classic
30.03: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields
02.04: Dwars door Vlaanderen
06.04: Tour of Flanders
13.04: Paris-Roubaix.

Mattias Skjelmose to be Team Leader in the Tour de France, but Doesn’t Feel Ready Yet
Mads Pedersen wanted to go to the Tour de France, but his Lidl-Trek team want him to ride the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España. Mattias Skjelmose wanted to go to the Giro, but will be the overall leader in the Tour. “The team insisted,” he told TV2.

According to Skjelmose, he had a strange conversation with the team management. The 24-year-old Dane wanted to go to the Giro, but he can understand the team’s decision. “After the last Vuelta a España (Skjelmose was fifth) I saw the Giro as the next natural step in my development as a classification rider. Personally, I don’t think I’m really ready to ride a good classification in the Tour. That’s why I thought the Giro would be a better option than what we’ve decided now. I’ll go to the Tour with sprinter Jonathan Milan, so we can share the pressure.”

Skjelmose will start his season in France, the same as last year, after which the Ardennes Classics will be the first main goal of his season. After that, he will work towards the Tour, his second main goal, via altitude training in the Critérium du Dauphiné. At the end of the year, a third goal will be the World Championships in Rwanda. “A participation in the Vuelta is also still on the table,” he said. “We will make that decision after the Tour, to see how I am doing physically and mentally. The team also doesn’t know yet whether the Vuelta is the optimal preparation for me towards the World championships.” Skjelmose should be the Danish leader in Rwanda with Jonas Vingegaard.

Skjelmose to the 2025 Tour:

Alejandro Valverde is the New Spanish National Coach
Valverde was one of the candidates to succeed Pascual Momparler, but according to the Spanish newspaper El País, the negotiations have now been completed. It now looks like Alejandro Valverde will be at the head of the Spanish cycling team for the next four years as national coach.

The 44-year-old Valverde has worked more behind the scenes since his retirement as a rider in 2022, but will now be the national coach from this year onwards. El Imbatido was involved with the Movistar team for the past two seasons, as an advisor. The former multiple winner will continue to work with Eusebio Unzué, the Movistar manager, because Valverde will combine the national coach job with his work as ambassador for Unzué’s Abarca Sports organisation, the company behind the Movistar team.

With Valverde as the new national coach, the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) hopes to again achieve successes in the championships. The new coach has enough experience when it comes to performing at the highest level. Valverde stood on the podium at the World Championship seven times. In 2003 he won his first medal (silver) in Hamilton, Canada, followed by another silver medal in Madrid (2005) and bronze medals in Salzburg (2006), Valkenburg (2012), Florence (2013) and Ponferrada (2014). But in 2018 Valverde managed to win the rainbow jersey. In Innsbruck, at the age of 38 and after a hard race, he beat Romain Bardet, Michael Woods and Tom Dumoulin.

Can Valverde inspire another Spanish World champion?

Francisco Mancebo Wins a UCI Race at 48
Francisco Mancebo, the 48-year-old Spaniard has been racing for many years and is still successful in his old age. Mancebo won a UCI race on Wednesday. He was the first to cross the finish line in the 109 kilometre opening stage of the Tour du Sahel, a UCI 2.2 race in Mauritania, in Africa. Mancebo also took the first leader’s jersey in the fifth edition of the Tour du Sahel.

This year, the race has five stages before it finishes on Sunday with four mainly flat stages. Mancebo, who rides for Al-Raed Saudi Club in Mauritania is in a very good position to take the final overall victory. For Mancebo, it would be another milestone in a very long and remarkable career. The Spaniard made his professional debut 27 years ago in 1998 with Banesto. Mancebo became a very good stage race rider

His breakthrough came in 2000 with a ninth place overall in the Tour de France and also took the white young riders jersey. He finished in the top ten in the Tour de France in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. In 2005 he was fourth. Mancebo has only been on the podium of a Grand Tour once. In 2004 he finished third in the Vuelta a España. In the 2005 Vuelta he won a stage and finished fourth overall.

Mancebo moved to AG2R Prévoyance at the end of 2005, but he left after six months after being linked to Operación Puerto, the doping case involving doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Mancebo was never signed again by a top team and rode for a selection of Continental teams.

A UCI win for 48-year-old Paco Mancebo:

Thieves Steal Bikes and Other Valuables from Juan Sebastián Molano
Juan Sebastián Molano, the UAE Emirates-XRG sprinter, has been the victim of a robbery at his home in La Trinidad, Colombia. He and his brother Juan, with whom he shares the house, were not at home at the time of the burglary.

The two brothers are currently in Dubai, where Juan Sebastián Molano is preparing for the 2025 road season. This was the perfect time for thieves to break into his home in La Trinidad and take many expensive items. The Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reports that the thieves had chosen that particular house. They broke in when no one was home. Family members of the Molano brothers told the newspaper that a Colnago road bike and two Specialized mountain bikes were taken. The robbers also took household appliances, cycling clothing and other accessories. The family hopes, due to their importance, that the Colnago and Specialized bikes will be recovered.

Molano’s bikes stolen:

Uno-X Mobility Hopes to Ride Two Grand Tours
Uno-X Mobility has received a ‘wildcard’ for the Tour de France for the last two editions. The Norwegian team also hopes to start La Grande Boucle in 2025, but there is a lot of teams who want an invite this year. Christian Andersen, team manager of Uno-X Mobility, knows the problem.

Andersen is waiting for the phone call from ASO. “It can happen at any moment. It will really mean a lot to us, since we have come so far. The Tour de France is the biggest and most important race of the year. There is no other race that comes close, so of course it is important to get a wildcard,” he told Danish TV2.

Uno-X Mobility was invited for the first time by the Tour de France in 2023 and also received a wildcard for the Tour last year. The team did not win a stage in its first two participations, but did much better. Alexander Kristoff took good placings in the sprints, Tobias Halland Johannessen also rode well in hilly and mountain stages and Jonas Abrahamsen wore the KOM jersey for more than a week. Whether this is enough for a third ‘wildcard’ remains to be seen. Due to their position in the 2024 UCI Ranking, ProTeams Lotto and Israel-Premier Tech are certain of participation and so there are still two places left. Uno-X is in the race for a ‘wildcard’, but TotalEnergies, Tudor Pro Cycling, team of Julian Alaphilippe and Q36.5 Pro Cycling are also hoping for selection.

Will Uno-X Mobility be back in the Tour this year? Participation in the two other major tours already seems out of the question. “We would like to ride two Grand Tours this year. But in the Giro d’Italia we have to compete with the many Italian teams, Tudor and Q36.5”, Andersen thinks. “And for the Vuelta a España we have to deal with the Spanish teams. So it will be very difficult.” So the team might not be able to ride any Grand Tours this year. “That would be very bad for our team in principle. That would be shit, roughly speaking. But it is not like the world will end then.”

Will Uno-X ride the 2025 Tour?

Unibet Tietema Rockets to Ride the Ruta del Sol and French Races
Unibet Tietema Rockets has announced its program for the start of 2025. The now French registered, Dutch team will ride the Ruta del Sol in Spain, followed by mostly French races.

The season starts for the Rockets in Spain, in Mallorca Challenge. The team will participate in all five one-day races on the Island at the end of January; the Trofeo Calvià (29 January) to the Trofeo Palma (2 February). When part of the team is lining up in the last race, another part of the team will be in France for the Grand Prix La Marseillaise.

In France, the team will also ride the Étoile de Bessèges (5-9 February), Tour de la Provence (14-16 February), Classic Var (21 February) and Tour des Alpes-Maritimes (22-23 February). They will also be in Spain on January 19, Unibet Tietema Rockets will be at the start of the Vuelta a Andalucia/Ruta del Sol, a 2.Pro race, which runs until February 23. Unibet Tietema Rockets will also start the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on March 1, as they received one of the ‘wildcards’ for the Belgian WorldTour one-day race.

Unibet Tietema Rockets aiming for the WorldTour:

New Year, New Ride: This is our New Orbea Bike
The Lotto Cycling Team proudly presents its new bike for the upcoming season. The shimmering Orbea is ready to drive the team towards success in the upcoming year.

In recent weeks, Lotto Cycling Team has been preparing for the new cycling season under the radiant Spanish sun, following tradition by training on a brand-new bike. The deep red, gleaming Orbea not only perfectly matches Lotto’s retro red jersey for the new season, but the bike—expertly crafted by the Basque bike manufacturers at Orbea—will also be crucial in achieving the team’s goals for this year.

As in the previous year, the Lotto Cycling Team will use two Orbea models. The Orca Aero is the ideal aerodynamic companion for sprints and fast stages, while the Orca is designed to support Lotto’s climbers during the most demanding mountain stages. Completing the setup are Orbea’s OQUO wheels, the RP45 and RP57, along with the new disc brakes from Galfer.

Last season, the team partnered with the Basque bike manufacturer Orbea, a brand that, like the Belgian team, boasts a rich history. Just as cycling is deeply embedded in Belgium’s culture, it is equally ingrained in the Basque Country, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the world. With Orbea’s 180 years of expertise and Lotto’s 40 years of experience, this partnership brings decades of knowledge together in the peloton. Over the next five years, it aims to help elevate the young talents of the Lotto Cycling Team to the next level.

British Cycling Announces Stellar Line Up for 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
British Cycling can today announce the 11-strong squad that has been selected to represent Great Britain at the 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, in Liévin, France from Friday 31st January to Sunday 2nd February.

Taking on a challenging and varied course, three-time national champion Cameron Mason will spearhead the elite men’s race. Mason, who has had three top-10 world cup finishes so far this season, will be joined by Thomas Mein, who delivered a world cup best position of sixth place in Besançon in December, alongside three National Trophy Series wins so far this season.

Zoe Backstedt will be donning a Great Britain jersey and pulling out all the stops in an attempt to defend her under-23 women’s title. The 20-year-old has had a whirlwind season so far, claiming top 10 finishes in every world cup she’s entered, including three podiums. She will face some stiff competition in the form of Luxembourg’s Marie Schrieber, as well as a strong showing from her own nation.

Having missed a chunk of the cyclo-cross season due to injury, Cat Ferguson will be looking to make her mark in her first year at under-23 level, after securing the junior women’s silver medal in 2024. National bronze medallist Imogen Wolff will also be pushing for a podium position, alongside Ella Maclean-Howell.

Back-to-back national champion Oscar Amey will compete in the junior men’s category, having had a promising season so far with three top 10 performances in the junior world cups. Making his world championship debut alongside him will be national championship silver medallist Milo Willis.

All three of Great Britain’s junior women will be making their world championship debut in Liévin, with Arabella Blackburn, Zoe Roche and Ellie Mitchinson looking to earn their stripes on the world stage.

After winning a silver medal last year in the team relay event, Great Britian will be competing in this event with the line up to be confirmed closer to competition.

Matt Ellis, Great Britain Cycling Team Cyclo-cross Co-ordinator, said: “We have a fantastic squad of promising riders heading to the world championships this year, ready to take on an interesting course and show their talent on the world stage. We have a fantastic range of experience from cyclo-cross veterans to debutants looking to gain experience on the biggest stage, all supporting each other and ready to represent Great Britian with pride and determination. Having this level of strength and depth across the programme to take 11 riders to a world championships is a credit to the talent teams and coaching staff that support these riders to become the best in their sport and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can deliver in competition.”

Great Britain Cycling Team Squad for the 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships:
Elite men
Cam Mason
Thomas Mein

Under-23 women
Zoe Backstedt
Cat Ferguson
Ella Maclean-Howell
Imogen Wolff

Junior men
Oscar Amey
Milo Wills

Junior women
Arabella Blackburn
Ellie Mitchinson
Zoe Roche.

Cameron Mason will be looking for a top result:

Ster van Zwolle Will be a Stage in Olympia’s Tour in 2025
The Salverda Ster van Zwolle will continue, but not as an individual race. The traditional opening classic of the Dutch cycling season will be part of the Metec Olympia’s Tour. In this way, the race has found an answer to the lack of a police escort.

The Ster was initially planned for Saturday 8 March, but now the route of the race will be the fourth stage of Olympia’s Tour, which starts on 26 March. This means that the race will not take place in and around Zwolle until 29 March. The reason that the Ster van Zwolle has to be part of the Olympia’s Tour is the lack of police escort. In the run-up to the NATO summit in The Hague in June, the Dutch government is significantly tightening the security of the country. The result is that from 1 January to 31 August 2025, no police deployment will be possible at bike races. The Ster van Zwolle was threatened to be one of the victims. A possible solution was to have the race take place on a circuit, but the organisers of the Ster van Zwolle didn’t like the idea. “We are definitely not going to make it a circuit, we have already looked into that. We do not see any closed course in the region that is UCI-worthy,” chairman Gerrit Knol told WielerFlits in December. “Either the Ster will go ahead completely, or not at all.”

In the end, the Ster van Zwolle joined forces with Olympia’s Tour, one of the few races that could count on police escort. They were happy to help the Ster with the oldest Dutch stage race. “Now that the continuation of major one-day monuments is under pressure due to the lack of police deployment because of the NATO summit, we feel a great responsibility to make as much impact as possible for Dutch cycling with the police deployment that Olympia’s Tour has,” said Thijs Rondhuis, who organises Olympia’s Tour with Courage Events. “That is why we contacted the organisation of the Ster van Zwolle to discuss the possibilities. It is great that we have managed to make this competition take place in this way. In this way, the organisation of the Ster van Zwolle and all its volunteers remain active and we do not run the risk that this wonderful competition will eventually disappear.”

Knol is also delighted. “We may not be the opening of the cycling season for a year, but we will still be riding!”, he stated enthusiastically. “Thanks to the collaboration with Olympia’s Tour, we can organise the real Ster at a time when cycling is under great pressure. We are happy and proud of this unique collaboration.”

The organisation of the Ster van Zwolle also announced at the same time that it would also organise two other competitions. “In May of this year, we will organise the Omloop van Zwartewaterland as Ster van Zwolle. A kind of sister of the Ster. There we will organise a competition for the Top Competition Elite Women and Club Competition Elite Men on a 19 kilometre circuit over dikes and through polders. The men who are not currently riding the Ster can indulge their cycling heart there again.”

The 2025 Ster van Zwolle saved:

Bardet, Madouas, Lapeira, Mas, Ayuso and Hirschi at the Start, the European Road Championships are Coming
The 25th edition of the Boucles Drôme Ardèche (France) is just around the corner!

A little over a month from race day, the organising committee has officially unveiled the lineup, routes, and key highlights of its anniversary event.

Thirteen UCI WorldTeams have already confirmed their participation in the Faun Ardèche Classic (Saturday, March 1st) and/or the Faun Drôme Classic (Sunday, March 2nd).

Among them are the prestigious UAE Team Emirates, Visma – Lease a Bike, Team Pic-Nic Post NL, Lidl – Trek, Soudal Quick-Step, and the French teams Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, Arkéa B&B Hotels, Cofidis, and Groupama – FDJ, which have confirmed the participation of some of their best riders.

Romain Bardet (France, Team Pic-Nic Post NL), 2nd in Le Tour de France 2016, 3rd in 2017, stage winner and yellow jersey in Le Tour de France 2024, 2018 UCI Road World Championships silver medalist, winner of the Ardèche Classic in 2018 and the Drôme Classic in 2014,

Valentin Madouas (France, Groupama – FDJ), 2024 Olympic silver medalist in road cycling, 2nd in the 2023 Strade Bianche, and winner of the 2023 Bretagne Classic Ouest-France,

Paul Lapeira (France, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), 2024 French road race champion, winner of the Polynormande in 2024, Cholet Agglo Tour in 2024, Classic Loire Atlantique in 2024 and 5th in 2024 Amstel Gold Race,

Juan Ayuso (Spain, UAE Team Emirates), winner of the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country, stage winner in the 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico, stage winner in the 2023 Tour de Suisse, and winner of the 2024 Faun Ardèche Classic,

Marc Hirschi (Switzerland, Tudor Pro Cycling Team), stage winner in Le Tour de France, winner of the 2020 Flèche Wallonne, 2nd in the 2020 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and winner of the 2024 Faun Drôme Classic,

Enric Mas (Spain, Movistar), stage winner and four-time podium finisher in the general classification of La Vuelta a España, and winner of the 2022 Giro dell’Emilia, will try to add or re-add their names to the winners’ list.

Joining them are Warren Barguil (Team Pic-Nic Post NL), Victor Lafay (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Guillaume Martin (Groupama – FDJ), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal – Quick-Step), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl – Trek), Cian Uijtdebroek (Team Visma – Lease a Bike), and Axel Zingle (Team Visma – Lease a Bike), completing a stellar lineup.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Faun Ardèche Classic and Faun Drôme Classic will be broadcasted live on La Chaine L’Équipe.

With seven months to go until the UEC European Road Championships in Drôme Ardèche (October 1-5), organised by the same team, many riders will use the races to familiarise themselves with the region’s roads.

Guillaume Delpech, Founding President of the Boucles Drôme Ardèche: “Twenty-five years is a very special anniversary. With just a month to go, the entire organising committee fondly recalls the very first edition in 2001 in Ruoms, when we were just a small regional race run by a group of friends. For this 2025 edition, we’ve focused on our core values. A high-caliber lineup, featuring world-class teams and riders we deeply appreciate and thank for their trust. Challenging routes tailored for punchers, reflecting the character of a region we all love. Live broadcast on La Chaine L’Équipe, enabling us to engage a wide audience of cycling enthusiasts and showcase Drôme-Ardèche. Rarely has the races been so competitive, with French top riders like Romain Bardet and Valentin Madouas, alongside leading international cyclists such as Mas, Hirschi, Ayuso, and Uijtdebroek. Finally, this 25th anniversary will have a European flavour, with the UEC European Road Championships on the horizon. It’s the perfect opportunity to refine our preparations for October.”

Barcelona Will Host the Official Start of La Vuelta Femenina’25 by Carrefour.es
Barcelona will host the official start of La Vuelta Femenina 25 by Carrefour.es on Sunday, May 4. Following Torrevieja in 2023 and Valencia in 2024, the Catalan capital will be the starting point of the third edition of the race, once again offering a Mediterranean-flavoured beginning.

The streets of Barcelona will once more become the epicentre of world cycling, just two years after hosting the kickoff of La Vuelta 23. In this way, Barcelona reaffirms its commitment to being a reference point for organising sporting events. After hosting the 2024 America’s Cup, the city is also preparing to welcome the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2026 for the first time in its history.

La Vuelta Femenina 25 by Carrefour.es will take place from May 4 to May 10, 2025. All the details of the route will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Doug Shapiro Dies after Falling from a Cliff in California
Former cyclist Doug Shapiro has died at the age of 65. The American raced for Kwantum Hallen-Decosol and the 7 Eleven team, died after falling from a steep cliff in Mendocino, California.

Last Tuesday, Shapiro’s body was found by a passer-by on a beach in the Mendocino Headlands State Park, at the bottom of a cliff where there were also hiking trails. After an examination at the emergency room, he was declared dead on January 14. What happened and when he fell is not known.

His injuries were consistent with a serious fall and a crime was ruled out by the deputy sheriff. A forensic pathologist will determine the exact cause of death, according to a statement from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Doug Shapiro rode the Tour de France three times and was the third American ever to ride the French GT when he made his Tour debut. In 1984 he competed in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and that year he also won the 1984 Coors Classic, which was the biggest American race at the time. A year later he also had strong performances in the GP Midi-Libre 1985 (second on a stage) and in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 1985 (fifth). He ended his career in 1989.

Doug Shapiro RIP:

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