Full steam ahead

Greetings fine folk of the cycling multiverse, hope life is treating you well wherever you are in the world. Extending a warm welcome to subscribers old and new, this edition of the newsletter is going to be BUSY as I attempt to juggle the ongoing cyclocross season with the nascent road season which has bloomed into life over the past couple of weeks until all of sudden we’re back to trying to find four hours a day to catch up on the action. It’s a chance for those with early season form to steal a march on their competitors, in this most important of years for the men’s peloton, as we reach the end of another three-year relegation/promotion cycle for UCI World Tour licenses.

More on that in future newsletters as we track the progress of the teams in danger at the bottom of the UCI rankings - meanwhile, let’s crack on with some content before the weekend gets here and we are pinning our eyes open with matchsticks to take in the wall-to-wall racing action that’s ahead. ONWARD!

ON THE WEBSITE

The primary focus over at the website over the past couple of weeks has been our team preview series, as Rémi Massart continues to deliver his verdict about each World Tour team’s shape ahead of the 2025 season. We’ve admitted we’re running out of time rather, so I’ve jumped in to help - I’ve taken on the women’s teams and so far have managed two - well, better than nothing, eh? Meanwhile, Rémi has continued to work through the men’s teams. Since I last emailed, we have all of these for you to get your teeth into:

Women: Lidl-Trek, Liv Alula Jayco

Men: INEOS, Intermarché, Lidl-Trek, Movistar

Also, there’s a post this week on the decision of British Cycling not to send riders to represent Great Britain in either the elite women’s or men’s U23 categories at this weekend’s Cyclocross World Championships in France. Peter Barnes reflects on why this decision has dismayed so many.

ON THE POD

The latest episode of the On Yer Bike Cycling Podcast is live, with Sanny and I diving into the women’s Tour Down Under and dissecting the action, along with covering a few recent new stories from the world of cycling. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

NEWS! HERE IS SOME NEWS!

Top story: Wout does Worlds!

Yes, it was the news none of us were expecting – despite having announced a short cyclocross programme prior to his return to the field, one which expressly did NOT include the World Championships, Wout van Aert’s presence in Lieven this Sunday has since been announced by Visma-Lease A Bike.

Following a weekend that perhaps didn’t go according to plan for Van Aert - the Belgian struggled on a tricky, slippery course in Maasmechelen, and he eventually finished second, over a minute down on Mathieu van der Poel - he has clearly deemed his form good enough to take on the biggest race of the year, setting up another mouth-watering clash with his long-term rival.

While it’s clear that van der Poel’s form has been stellar this season, and we may not be able to expect the kind of clash that saw the pair sprint head-to-head for the line in Hoogerheide back in 2023, it’s still a tempting prospect, as when these two face one another on the biggest stages, there is always the possibility of it being a day to remember.

TOP STORY: Caleb Ewan finds new home at INEOS

One of the more curious stories of recent weeks has been concluded, as Caleb Ewan signed a one-year contract with British team INEOS Grenadiers. As teams were announced and web pages updated, the diminutive Aussie was conspicuous by his absence from the roster of Team Jayco AlUla, and from his home race, the Tour Down Under, yet the team remained tight-lipped on his continuation with them for the 2025 season.

Earlier this week it was revealed that rider and team had indeed parted ways, and Ewan was announced as an INEOS rider. Geraint Thomas had hinted the previous week in an interview that such a signing would be useful for the British team, who lacked a sprinter following the departure of Elia Viviani. It’s a solution that seems to benefit all parties, though it’s clear that it’s a short-term arrangement for now, it will be interesting to see how the deal works out.

TOP STORY: British Cycling leave elite women and U23 men out of CX Worlds

As reflected on by Peter Barnes in this week’s blog post, British Cycling caused widespread dismay by electing not to send riders to represent the country in two of the six races set to take place over the weekend in Lievin, France, despite having a number who would be eligible, including both the former and current national champions at elite women’s level, Anna Kay and Xan Crees.

Read more about the decision and reactions to it in this balanced article by Ryan Mallon at road.cc.

TOP STORY: Eurosport to close UK operations - cycling forced behind even bigger paywall in UK

Warner Brothers Discovery announced this week that they would be closing Eurosport in the UK, meaning that the former ‘home of cycling’ will no longer exist, as it is being subsumed by TNT sports. The channel will takeover all sports formerly shown on Eurosport and Discovery+, and the price for a monthly subscription skyrockets from £6.99 per month to £30.99, pricing many British fans out of being able to follow the sport they love. It’s another massive blow for the cycling scene in the UK, especially given that the Tour de France will cease to be free-to-air as of 2026, with ITV eschewing the rights to air the race after this season.

Tao Geoghegan Hart was outspoken about the impact of the change on the sport in the UK in a post on Instagram - see below to read his full thoughts.

BITESIZE CHUNKS OF NEWS!

• Anna van der Breggen has been confirmed as supporting Lotte Kopecky’s Grand Tour ambitions in 2025. The former multiple World Champion will ride for the reigning champion as she confirms she will go all-in on preparing her GC bid for the Tour de France Femmes for the first time.

• Marianne Vos withdraws from the cyclocross World Championships with a calf injury following her crash in Hoogerheide at the weekend – she will aim to be fit for the spring Classics.

• The cycling world suffers yet more tragedy, as Italian cyclist Sara Piffer was killed whilst out on her bike following an incident with a motor vehicle. The 19-year-old rode for the Mendelspeck Continental women's team.

AND FINALLY…

Demi Vollering opened up on Instagram to talk candidly about the struggles she faced at last summer’s Tour de France Femmes. The Dutch rider, now with FDJ SUEZ, spoke of the anxiety she suffered during the race, praising her teammate Mischa Bredewold for her support and stating that she went on to get her period on stage 8 of the race – read her full post here, in her own words - it’s a brave, heartfelt post, which is hugely empowering for others suffering from mental health conditions of all kinds, and for women dealing with the impact of the menstrual cycling on performance.

OH HAPPY DAY

Celebrating the lighter side of the sport…

This week, the joy is all coming from one man: new Groupama-FDJ recruit Tom Donnenwirth who has apparently brought the party to the French side. See just a couple of examples below.

ROAD RACING RESULTS ROUND-UP

Look, I’m not going to lie to you – this time of year is TOUGH when it comes to producing this newsletter. Committing to covering every single CX race AND every road race day at UCI .1 level and above when I first started this newsletter, well… maybe not one of my smarter ideas. But a promise is a promise!

I know you are all kind people and you will forgive me for not going into great depth about all of them – life has been busy and I’m still catching up on racing from last week while there are two races running daily this week, so y’know… cut a girl some slack? Let’s kick off in Oz.

FOCUS ON: Santos Tour Down Under

When I left you last time, the women’s Santos Tour Down Under (17-19 Jan) had just kicked off, and stage 2 was the main GC day, with a double ascent of the lauded Willunga Hill to contend with. It was a fast day out for the peloton, and a difficult one for Lidl-Trek, who suffered a series of crashes including a nasty looking one for their leader Niamh Fisher-Black. The Kiwi regained her composure in time to lead the charge up Willunga Hill for the first time, as breakaway duo Ally Wollaston and Ally Anderson were caught, and with 25km to go, the race was on.

After that, the racing was electric, with attacks all over the place and groups splitting and coming back together again. Chloe Dygert instigated many of the moves and with 5km to go, broke the temporary peace and launched herself into the lead, but as the gradient kicked up, it was Fisher-Black who attacked, and an elite group of climbers detached themselves from the rest, resulting in first a quartet, then a group of six, doing battle for the stage win. In the end, it was EF Education-Oatly’s Swiss champion Noemi Rüegg who came out on top after a gutsy attack to drop Liv AlUla Jayco’s Silke Smulders in the final few hundred metres. Rüegg took control of the lead and Smulders finished second once again, agonisingly missing out yet again on her first victory.

The final stage saw a spirited battle for the mountains jersey, a head-to-head sprint for the QOM between Alyssa Poliates and Dominika Wlodarczyk – Polites won after the other got boxed in and was unable to launch in time. Fun stuff! After that, the peloton upped the pace with 40km to go and a number of attacks, Amanda Spratt lively for Lidl-Trek and Julie van der Velde going with her for AG Insurance Soudal. Noemi Rüegg was forced to defend her own lead, as Canyon//SRAM went on the offensive, with FDJ-SUEZ. The high pace meant many were dropped but it was still a big group who came to the finish, including all of the GC hopefuls, but in the end the immense power of Chloe Dygert won the day, ahead of Smulders – the Dutchwoman scoring two second places in two days. Meanwhile, Noemi Rüegg secured the overall win to kick off EF’s year in style.

The men’s Santos Tour Down Under (21-26 Jan) followed, with a variety of stages beginning with some sprinting.

Stage 1 featured a spirited effort from a pair of young riders from the Australian National team – Zac Marriage and Fergus Browning – rewarded with the first KOM jersey. There was a battle for the intermediate sprint, with Jhonatan Narvaez outsprinting Paul Lapeira to take the bonus seconds. As the bunch got set for the final sprint, a crash towards the final took out Esteban Chaves and Dylan van Baarle – the latter sidelined again with a broken collarbone and his terrible run of luck continued. The favourite for the stage, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s Aussie firepower Sam Welsford was strongest at the line, and took the win, with two Brits completing the podium – 19-year-old Matty Brennan second for Visma-Lease A Bike, and Matt Walls third for Groupama-FDJ.

Stage 2 was defined in many ways by a very early crash for race leader Welsford, who had a fight on his hands to stay with the bunch on the tricky run-in to the final. As the breakaway were collected with around 40km remaining, the race went quiet for a while, before attacks began on the undulating parcours of the Barossa region, coming from many quarters, as Welsford fought tooth and nail to catch back onto the peloton in anticipation of a potential bunch finish. He made it in the end, following some hard work from lead-out man Danny van Poppel, and the sprint came about as predicted, with Sam Welsford once again victorious, Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty) second and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) third.

On paper the toughest stage of the race, the peloton seemed wary of the challenge posed by stage 3, leading to a very quiet opening period with little action to speak of. Australian National team rider Fergus Browning continued his KOM quest, heading up the road first with Connor Swift and later with Geoffrey Bouchard, trying to ensure his ownership of the jersey. With 43km to go the day’s climbing began in earnest on the first ascent of the category 1 Knott’s Hill, and with Browning adding points to his total at the front of the race, the tempo rose in the bunch behind, and they closed down the breakaway rapidly. They delayed the catch however, giving the leading duo a bit longer out front, that was until UAE Team Emirates’ Marc Soler took matters into his own hands and launched an attack prior to the second ascent of the climb, bringing others with him.

It didn’t stick however, and the breakaway duo were swept up, the race returning to a stalemate situation prior to the climb.  A nasty crash for Ide Schelling caused concern as the race drew closer to its finale, but the peloton pushed on, and as they began the climb, the mood was cagey. UAE Team Emirates’ Jay Vine led the charge followed by INEOS Grenadiers’ Michal Kwiatkowski, and the bunch was stretched out down the climb with many losing touch at the back.

Then with 300m remaining to the summit, Groupama-FDJ’s Remy Rochas launched a move from the slimmed-down lead group, as in his wake the rest of the favourites took turns to attack one another, Magnus Sheffield, Oscar Onley, Jhonatan Narvaez and Luke Plapp among the aggressors. It was Movistar’s Javier Romo who found his way clear though, and he was unchallenged until a huge attack from Oscar Onley with just under 2km remaining on the stage. He was chased down by Jayco-AlUla but it was too late for the chasers, as Romo raised his arms for the first time. Finn Fisher Black pipped the rest in the sprint for the line.

Stage 4 took the riders along the coast and with temperatures high and a threat of crosswinds, the pace was high. Schelling, Schmid, van der Hoorn and Epis formed a spirited breakaway, Schelling coming through his crash the previous day apparently unscathed, but they were not given a huge gap. On a lumpy profile the group split up on the final climb of the day, Nettle Hill, with Mauro Schmid taking the initiative and heading off solo. Back in the bunch, the increase in tempo saw a number of riders dropped including some of the key sprinters – Sam Welsford included.

Schmid was closed down with 13km remaining, so looked like it would come down to a reduced bunch sprint – or at least, a bunch sprint, minus Welsford. A few riders had other ideas though, with a number of GC contenders and stage hopefuls trying to find their way clear, and the result of all the attacking was a small group broke clear of the main bunch for a while, but aside from the Welsford grupetto, everything came back together again prior to the finale, and the strongest of them all was Bryan Coquard, opening Cofidis’ account for 2025, a year in which they need every UCI point they can lay their hands on.

If stage 3 took a long time to come to life, stage 5 was lively throughout, with two ascents of the iconic Willunga Hill on the menu. It featured a contentious breakaway chase from Juanpe Lopez who was later disqualified from the race for continuously taking a sticky bottle from the Shimano neutral service car. On the final ascent, race leader Javier Romo took up the attack himself, launching a solo move which was chased by the other GC hopefuls, including last year’s Willunga winner Oscar Onley, along with Luke Plapp and Jhonatan Narvaez. It was the Ecuadorian who triumphed in the end, taking the stage and the race lead for his new team – a lead which he held onto throughout the final day to secure his the GC victory.

The final stage was a 90km circuit race around Adelaide, with Sam Welford starting where he left off and taking victory ahead of Coquard and Bauhaus to record a hat-trick of wins.

BACK TO EUROPE… VIA THE MIDDLE EAST…

The five stage ALUla Tour (28 Jan-1 Feb) is one day away from concluding, but with the GC all but wrapped up, here’s the latest.

Stage 1 was a sprint, and with a strong field of fast men it was a confidence boosting victory for European champion Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep, confirming he remains one of the fastest men in the peloton.

Stage 2 was the first of two GC days, and a unique turn of events saw the race neutralised and a full lap cut away from the total distance due to a loose surface on the descent leading into the final climb. This singular scenario saw the breakaway pairing of Jens Reynders and Simone Raccani, who had led for the majority of the race, set loose with 5km to go, with just a 30 second lead over the bunch. What transpired was essentially a drag race to the line, with the peloton strung out, the breakaway caught less than halfway through the remaining distance, and a whole bunch full of fresh legs ready to take on the climb. In the end, it was a vicious acceleration from Tom Pidcock that won the day. Riding his first race for new team Q36.5, Pidcock was able to kick away from the rest to take the stage win and the race lead, with mountain-biking colleague Alan Hatherly a surprise in second place for Jayco AlUla.

Stage 3 was heavily impacted by crosswinds, resulting in a ferocious battle at the front of the bunch and a subsequent splitting of the peloton. Most of the sprinters made it into the front group however, and Tim Merlier was able to notch up a second stage win, though the day was marred by a nasty crash for Team Picnic-PostNL’s Nils Eekhoff (though it was later confirmed he had broken a tooth and his jaw - far less severe than it had first appeared).

The GC would be settled on stage 4 on the leg-snapping climb of the Harrat Uwayrid. It was all in a day’s work for Tom Pidcock, who cruised away from his nearest rivals Alan Hatherly and Rainer Kepplinger on the climb, and all he had to do to seal the victory was to time trial his way over the final 7km to the finish. With Eddie Dunbar and Johannes Kulset joining the pursuit on the long, flat straight road to the finish line, Pidcock’s lead diminished, but it was too little too late for the four chasers, and Pidcock took victory, with Hatherly once again in second place, winning the sprint from the chase group.

The final day is tomorrow, with a sprint expected - a hat-trick for Merlier?

A WHISTLESTOP TOUR AROUND ALL THE OTHER RACES…

Gran Premio Castellon (25 Jan) - Antonio Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

The Classica Communitat Valencia 1969 (26 Jan) came down to an exciting battle between Marc Hirschi, now riding for Tudor Pro Cycling, who picked up where he left off at the end of last season, beating XDS Astana’s Cristian Scaroni to the victory, with Jan Christen and Santiago Buitrago battling it out for the final podium spot, and somehow Antonio Morgado ended up third anyway.

OTHER WOMEN’S RACES:

In the three-day Challenge Mallorca, Lotte Hentala won the sprint at the Trofeo Marratxi-Felanitx (25 Jan) for EF-Oatly-Cannondale, with Movistar taking the honours the next day at the Trofeo Palma Femina (26 Jan) with their new signing Marlen Reusser – who it must be said, looks so much happier in her new team. She took the win solo, over Mavi Garcia who suffered a puncture in the final stages of the race. The final day was won solo by another rider who’s changed teams - Human Powered Health’s Thalita De Jong took victory in the Trofeo Binissalem-Andratx (27 Jan) ahead of Silvia Persico and Cedrine Kerbaol.

Schwalbe Women’s One Day Classic (26 Jan) – Clara Copponi (Lidl-Trek)

Surf Coast Classic Elite Women’s Race (29 Jan) - Ally Wollaston (FDJ SUEZ)

OTHER MEN’S RACES:

Trofeo Calvia (29 Jan) - Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

Surf Coast Classic (30 Jan) - Tobias Lund Andreson (Team Picnic PostNL)

Trofeo Ses Salines (30 Jan) - Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost)

Trofeo Serra Tramuntana (31 Jan) - Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling)

CYCLOCROSS DISPATCH 18-26 JANUARY

With the World Championships fast approaching, there was the small matter of the UCI World Cup to wrap up, and with the three final legs taking place over the past two weekends, there’s plenty of action to bring you up to speed on. First up, the least ‘cyclocross’ ‘cross of the season, down in sunny Spain.

FOCUS ON: BENIDORM

Since its inaugural appearance in the World Cup in 2022, the Benidorm venue has divided opinion.

With the news breaking just a few days prior to the UCI World Cup Benidorm (19 Jan) that the venue was being considered as a potential host for the World Championships in 2029, all eyes were once again on the dry, fast course on the Costa Blanca, on its third appearance as part of the UCI World Cup circuit. And once again, as we have been both times previously, we were treated to some absolutely thrilling racing.

While it may not be a traditional cross course, with some of the riders comparing it to a gravel race rather than a cross one, there’s no denying it creates fast, close battles, which from a fan perspective, can only be a good thing.

The women’s race opened with a bang. Marie Schreiber and Fem van Empel stormed into the early lead with Zoe Backstedt and Blanka Vas in pursuit. The nature of the course, with compact twists and turns and no really challenging obstacles doesn’t really allow for decisive attacks, and as has been customary, a big group stayed together.

Lucinda Brand had a bad start but after one lap the pace dropped off and she stormed through on lap 2. It looked as though she would stretch things out but once again it all came back together, with 16 riders together at the end of lap 2. Various riders took their chance at the front of the group. Brand dropped back and was sandwiched going around a corner, as Van Empel tried to up the tempo, and she detached herself from the rest with Vas and Celia Géry on her wheel. It looked as though that might be that but Brand dropped a bomb to close the gap and Alvarado behind her did the same, and a group of around 11 remained together.

Heading into lap 4 however Brand dropped the hammer and Alvarado went with her, with Van Empel and Vas trying to stay in touch. It looked as though the elastic was snapped, with the quartet moving steadily further ahead, and Brand opened up a small gap to her lead group compatriots. Backstedt led the charge in the chase group, with Marianne Vos fighting to try and bridge to the leaders and succeeding in time for the final lap, in which ten riders still maintained touching distance with the lead of the race. But despite a spirited late charge from Marie Schreiber, the two women who looked strongest proved to be so in the end: Fem van Empel made it three wins in three in Benidorm, exerting her authority over Lucinda Brand to take victory with Schreiber in third place. A belter of a race – catch up if you can!

Eli Iserbyt and home boy Felipe Orts were early leaders in the men’s race, exchanging the lead as a huge bunch stayed together – more than 30 riders were still within 30 seconds after two laps, with Wout van Aert down in 12th having to work his way back up.

Michael Vantourenhout led through lap 3 with the pace still infernal, and Van Aert biding his time, powering his way up the field on the straights to try and edge his way up the standings. There were still around 12 riders in the lead group but with just tiny gaps to the chasers, anything could still happen.

European champion Thibau Nys took over on lap 4, and piled on the pressure, despite a mishap where he unclipped flying around a corner. Nys rode in his usual fearless style, pushing the limits, testing the rest into lap 5, and slimming the lead group down to six, with Van Aert and a few more chasers fighting to catch back on.

Vantourenhout moved back into the lead on lap 5, the Pauwels-Sauzen-Sibel Clementines team strong at the front of the race, and Orts struggling. Further back, it was great to see Joris Nieuwenhuis in his first race back (national championships aside), following a long lay-off, and he too was involved in the chase.

It was all change on lap 6 as first Emiel Verstrynge attacked, followed by Lars van der Haar, who dropped a bomb, distancing all but Iserbyt, and the rest looked at each other heading into the penultimate lap, allowing the two to build on their lead.

The gap ballooned and Van Aert took charge of the chase, then stormed up the straight with Nys on his wheel to double the size of the lead group. Yet again though, like a concertina it all closed back in on itself again, with Vantourenhout coming through to take took the lead once again. Heading into the final lap, a lead group of 8 remained and you’d have put your money on the Pauwels Sauzen team, with both their leaders still present and looking strong. Iserbyt attacked and found space, but on the long straight Nys threw down his power and dropped everyone, and despite Van Aert’s best efforts, no-one could peg back the feisty young Belgian and he took the victory, with Iserbyt sprinting into second place and van der Haar third. Van Aert finished just outside to podium places in fourth.

The following weekend saw the UCI World Cup conclude with a double-header of action back in the Low Countries. First up was Maasmechelen (25 Jan). a tricky course, made even more difficult by the heavy conditions, there were spills aplenty throughout the course of the races, many of which affected the outcomes of the races.

In the women’s race, a quartet of riders contested the win, as others struggled with the conditions and in particular, with the horrible off-camber section that saw many riders slide out, under or over, including reigning World Champion Fem van Empel who struggled more than most with this most technical of sections.

As for Zoe Backstedt and Blanka Vas, the two young riders went shoulder to shoulder – literally at times – to fight it out for the win, and despite the best efforts of Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse, and the four engaged in a great battle, albeit mud-splattered, though they were reduced to a trio on the final lap after a nasty-looking spill for Pieterse over the bunny hops. In the end, it was a fantastic victory for Vas, who had the better of Backstedt over the final lap, though a small mistake on the final corner allowed the Welshwoman within sprinting distance of the Hungarian. Still, it was a career-best second place for Backstedt, with Brand in third place.

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The men’s race gave us a sweet moment of hope, as there was a brief reprisal of the Van Aert/Van der Poel rivalry, with Wout even managing to get the better of his Dutch rival and take the lead for a while, but it was not to last – Van Aert crashed over his handlebars after a short, steep descent, leaving the door open for van der Poel to stomp on the pedals and put distance between himself and the rest.

And what distance. In the end, the top ten were separated by over 3:30, the biggest disparity between 1^st and 10^th of the entire season. Van Aert laboured on in second position but still finished 1:14 down on the reigning World Champ, with a resurgent Joris Nieuwenhuis putting in a strong ride to take third.

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It was more of the same the following day in Hoogerheide (26 Jan). In a venue named after van der Poel’s father Adrie, where he won his 5th rainbow jersey in the discipline back in 2023, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see him win under normal circumstances, but with the form he’s in this season, and the chasm between himself and the rest, the men’s race was pretty much a done deal before the lights had even turned green.

As expected, van der Poel set off solo on the very first lap, and with no Van Aert to try and bridge the gap, Michael Vantourenhout took up the mantle of ‘best of the rest’, while behind him a chasing group of seven did battle for the final podium place. Van der Poel had time for a tail whip over the bridge, clearly enjoying himself in the clear lead, and Nieuwenhuis was once again dominant in the chase group, until he slid out and was forced to chase back on again. Lars van der Haar pulled clear of the rest to move into third position, as Eli Iserbyt recovered from an anonymous day out in Maasmechelen to move through into fourth position.

Earlier in the day, a dominant Lucinda Brand took victory in the women’s race, to add a cherry to the top of her World Cup overall victory weekend. Despite early pressure from Puck Pieterse and Blanka Vas, and Fem van Empel having a better day than she had the day before in Maasmechelen, Brand was not in the mood to mess around and pushed clear of the rest to take victory, with Pieterse second and Vas in third – the Hungarian finishing on the podium of both the weekend’s races, and arguably the dark horse for Worlds, given the way she has timed her rise to form.

Overall, there were a host of DNFs across the weekend, with Worlds on the horizon, plenty of riders taking precautions to ensure they will be in the shape they need to be in for the biggest day of the year, this weekend in Lieven.

STOP PRESS: The first event of the UCI World Championships has just concluded, with Great Britain winning the mixed team relay event ahead of Italy, with hosts France in third.

THE LAST WORD

No Final Thought today as it’s been a monumental challenge bringing you this much cycling news in one newsletter - back to usual service next time. I hope it’s been worth your time and you’ve enjoyed this week’s edition. If you would like to support me as I continue to bring you free, informative and entertaining cycling content, you could buy me a coffee – thanks to all of you who have supported me in the past and continue to do so, it’s a lovely boost and I really appreciate it.

Right, I’m off to schedule my weekend, which consists of six road races, six cyclocross races and the first weekend of the Six Nations rugby - there are simply not enough hours in the day.

Until next time, enjoy the racing!

Cheers,

Katy