Welcome to the second of The Road Book’s fortnightly Newsletter updates. Every couple of weeks, we’ll be breaking down recent events in the world of Road Cycling – what happened at the biggest races, what to look forward to from upcoming races, and maybe even the odd word from Ned.
Since Last We Spoke...
It’s been a big couple of weeks in cycling. Tadej Pogačar, unsurprisingly, continued his record-breaking form, taking his third Strade Bianche victory to join Fabian Cancellara in ensuring that a sector of the iconic white gravel will forever carry his name. He also became the first male rider to win the Italian pseudo-monument in the rainbow bands, and the first to win it in consecutive seasons.
When we put it like that, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a typically assured and dominant display. With 50km to go, the World Champion was off the front of the race with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) and the break’s sole survivor Connor Swift (INEOS) in tow when he slid out on a corner, narrowly avoiding a bollard before tumbling into a roadside ditch. Pidcock showed masterful handling skills, keeping to his line and avoiding a similar fate, initially attempting to push on, but swiftly sitting up and waiting for the World Champion, not quite fancying a 50km solo attack. Pogačar seemed shaken as he clambered back onto his battered bike, his confidence clearly knocked on the remaining descents.
However, there is a reason he’s the best in the world. It was immediately clear that Pogačar had been riding well within himself as he quickly caught Swift, and then Pidcock. The Brit put up a stiff fight but on the penultimate gravel climb Pogačar left him in the dust, finishing with a buffer of well over a minute. It was in the end a determined display, which we are sure will go down in folklore. The image of the Slovenian, white skinsuit caked in dust and dried blood, arms raised, as he crossed into the Piazza del Campo, encapsulates what makes this sport so thrilling.
Spare a thought for Tom Pidcock, who never gave up, and finished with a very impressive second place. The Yorkshireman has been re-invigorated at new team Q36.5 and was equally impressive last week at Tirreno-Adriatico. Though he didn’t ride away with a stage victory, he was constantly towards the sharp end of the race, and on this kind of form we’re looking forward to seeing him ride Milan-Sanremo this weekend, as he’ll be in with more than an outside chance of a podium place.
Paris-Nice – Chaos, Cold and Controversy
The 83rd edition of ‘The Race to the Sun’ was typically chaotic, though notably lacking in sunshine. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) looked very strong in the lead-up to the classics, taking the GC title for the second year in a row. The American rider had to work hard for his victory and has certainly cemented his place as a vital cog in the Visma-Lease a Bike machine. He put on an especially impressive defensive display on the final stage, as he was isolated for long periods before going on the attack to protect his GC lead.
Despite this and a victory in Stage 3’s Team Time Trial, it was far from sunshine and lollipops for the Dutch team. A combination of the freezing cold weather which temporarily halted Stage 4, and a crash on Stage 5 seemed to thoroughly perturb the team’s superstar leader Jonas Vingegaard, who eventually abandoned the race. The Dane was in the Yellow Jersey after Stage 4 but struggled the next day, telling Jorgenson to ride for himself as the two-time Tour de France winner languished toward the back of the group on a summit finish which normally would have suited him. It is too early to draw any conclusions about form, as we are months from the Tour de France, but it is easy to see which of Pogačar and Vingegaard is currently in better shape.
In other Paris-Nice news, Mads Pedersen is an absolute monster. The Lidl-Trek rider animated the race throughout, often shredding the peloton on several of the race’s mid-level mountain climbs and coming away with a stage victory and the Green Jersey. With Milan-Sanremo coming up, Lidl-Trek will be hoping they can pull off a few classics wins in the coming weeks.
INEOS Grenadiers managed to grasp a stage victory with Magnus Sheffield’s 12.5km solo effort on the final day and the British team are far more entertaining to watch this year. Tobias Foss continually animated the race alongside Josh Tarling and Thymen Arensman, and the latter and Sheffield finished 3rd and 4th on GC respectively. The team seems to have adopted a new approach, emphasising aggressive and creative tactics to put riders up the road and attack rivals, though they still lack a top-quality GC rider.
Tirreno-Adriatico
The Italian one-week race, which Brian Nygaard wrote an eloquent ode to for The Road Book in 2023, was similarly marred by poor weather.
The race between two seas featured surprise stage wins from Olav Kooij (TVL) and Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility). Kooij seemed to come from nowhere to win Stage 4’s bunch sprint, whilst the Norwegian continued his team’s strong start to the season, winning Stage 5 from the break. It was another example, following the women’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, that the big teams can still be thwarted with a little bit of endeavour, especially if they insist on marking each other out of contention.
Lidl-Trek continued a good week with Jonathan Milan in the Ciclamino Jersey claiming a couple of stages. The powerful Italian is almost untouchable in a sprint and proved at Tirreno-Adriatico that he’s not to be messed with on the climbs either. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) missed out on a stage win, but was typically active, hovering around the front of the race like a shark who smells fresh blood in the water.
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) took the GC win and will be a key domestique for Pogačar as the season progresses. However, his main rival for the title in INEOS Grenadiers’ Filippo Ganna is far from an out and out GC man. The Italian put up a sterling defence in the mountains of the jersey he took on Stage 1’s TT but is another example of INEOS being forced to use square pegs for round holes.
Trofeo Alfredo Binda
The iconic women’s one-day race took place on Sunday, and Elisa Balsamo took an impressive win from a bunch sprint after a chaotic final 30ks. The Italian’s third victory, and second win in a row at the race also extended Lidl-Trek's (and formerly Trek-Segafredo’s) winning streak to 5 years, an astonishing dominance. The Italian sprinter managed to stay in touch with the front of a bunch which was increasingly strung out as the peloton roared its way around the course.
Demi Vollering and Évita Muzic (both FDJ-Suez) launched a couple of late attacks, hoping to crack their opposition and take the win, but they were caught each time by a determined peloton. Their performance will provide further encouragement for the French team in the build-up to Milan-Sanremo Donne. Especially considering Vollering’s tactically astute victory over former mentor Anna van der Breggen (SD-Worx ProTime) at Strade Bianche Donne.
Elisa Longo-Borghini (UAE Team-ADQ) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) also looked sharp and formed an extremely elite group alongside Vollering and Monica Trinca-Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco) which was only reeled in with 1km to go. In the end, it was decided by a desperately fast sprint, with Balsamo beating Blanka Vas (TVL) and a very impressive World Tour debutante in Cat Ferguson (Movistar) to form the podium.
What do we have to look forward to?
Saturday the 22nd marks the 116th edition of one of our favourite races each season. Milan-Sanremo is the first of cycling’s Monuments each year, and at 289km it's also the longest day in the saddle for the riders.
Often described as the easiest monument to finish, but the hardest to win, the race’s unique structure slowly ramps up the tension like a classic western. The majority of the course is pancake flat, save for a brief but indecisive climb over the Passo del Turchino as the peloton breaks out of the mountains and reaches for the coast. Though it might not sound entertaining, it's the gradual increase in speed as the climbers and GC specialists try to wear out the classics riders and sprinters before the two final climbs which ratchets up the tension to an almost unbearable degree.
With about 20km to go the peloton hit the slopes of the Cipressa, and across its 5.6km length, the climbers' teams will start to make their moves. The average gradient is only 4.1% but with well over 200km of devastatingly fast riding already in their legs, the right domestique can start to turn up the heat to an insufferable degree. Those sprinters which survive will suffer the same treatment on the Poggio during ‘the most important 6 minutes in cycling’. Again, its maximum 8% gradient is far from insurmountable, but often it's enough to spit riders out the back of the peloton, which can be a fatal blow to their hopes of victory with the twisting and turning 6km descent into Sanremo making it almost impossible to get back on.
As always, it’ll be a fascinating race, with the Italian scenery providing a gorgeous backdrop to almost guaranteed drama. Added to this is the fact that it seems to be the only race to elude Tadej Pogačar. Last year UAE Team Emirates drove the pace high on the Cipressa before he launched an almost devastating attack on the final slopes of the Poggio. It wasn’t quite enough for the Slovenian however, as Mathieu van der Poel was able to close him down and fight off the attacks of Pidcock and Mohorič on the descent to lead out teammate Jasper Philipsen to a sprint victory.
Milan-Sanremo is the one race Pogačar struggles to win. The Cipressa and Poggio are not quite hard enough for the World Champion to launch one of his trademark attacks which usually shatter any hope of catching him. This won’t stop Pogačar from trying though, and with McNulty in solid form at Paris-Nice, and Narvaez, Novak and Wellens (all super-domestiques in their own right) riding for him, he might well finally be able to put this race to bed.
There is a wealth of competition for the Slovenian however, and a selection of riders who are all better suited to the parcours. After last year Mathieu van der Poel and his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates Kaden Groves and Jasper Philipsen will be confident of launching the Dane to a second victory. Though this is a notoriously difficult race to defend, no-one having managed it since 2001, the sheer physical power of their Dutch superstar is hard to argue with. With Mads Pedersen in ridiculously strong form, and Jonathan Milan seemingly unbeatable in a sprint, Lidl-Trek will be in with a strong shout on terrain which will suit these powerful but punchy riders. All told it's a mouth-watering prospect, and cycling is nothing if not unpredictable.
Milan-Sanremo Donne Re-Born
The women’s edition of Milan-Sanremo returns for the first time since the Primavera Rosa rolled across the same roads in 2005. The return of Milan-Sanremo Donne leaves Il Lombardia the sole member of cycling’s monument club without a women’s race. The race will follow the same finish as the men, featuring both the Cipressa and Poggio. However, it will be a significantly shorter affair, with just a paltry 156km of racing on offer. It will certainly be an interesting litmus test, will the shorter distance make for more entertaining racing, as breakaway efforts become a viable tactic for teams and riders not confident of dropping their rivals on the race’s famous climbs.
The very best of the women’s peloton will be competing to take this much anticipated scalp, including double World Champion Lotte Kopecky (SD-Worx) who makes her competitive debut for the 2025 season. The Belgian superstar is always a force to be reckoned with at the classics, and the short but punchy climbs after a long but fast-paced day in the saddle will certainly suit her. SD-Worx can also fall back on fast finisher Lorena Wiebes in the event of a bunch sprint finale.
Kopecky’s former teammate and rival superstar Demi Vollering will also be in attendance for new team FDJ-Suez after her tactically astute victory at Strade Bianche Donne. Supported by Evita Muzic and French champion Juliette Labous, and with a fierce kick that should allow her to punch clear of rivals on the Poggio, Vollering will be the firm favourite pre-race.
Other riders to watch will include Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM - Zondacrypto) who is currently recovering from a crash at Strade Bianche. The Polish Tour de France Femmes winner is a fierce competitor and seems to have found that inner reserve of strength to take her from heartbreak to victory. Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) is quite possibly the best ever, and alongside Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) will be an unwelcome sight if they are still glued to the heels of Kopecky, Vollering and Niewiadoma on the descent off the Poggio.
Given none of the riders have competitive experience on the course, Milan-Sanremo is ripe for a surprise victor. Could the likes of Cat Ferguson (Movistar) or Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Decuninck) upset the big favourites?
Volta a Catalunya
From Monday 25th March, the mountain-heavy one-week stage race in Catalunya which Tadej Pogačar tore to shreds last year will play host to a plethora of GC talent. It's shaping up to be a fiercely fought affair with none of the ‘big three’ in Pogacar, Vingegaard or Evenepoel to dominate proceedings. Sepp Kuss and Simon Yates will be leading Visma-Lease a Bike and will face stiff competition from Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso, Domen Novak and Marc Soler as UAE Team Emirates field a team of Pogačar’s super-domestiques, all of whom would deserve to be a leader in any other squad.
Last year’s Road Book contributor Valentin Paret-Peintre will be riding for new team Soudal Quick-Step, hoping to get started on his aim of becoming the best climber in the world. We’ve hardly mentioned some of the more experienced GC leaders who include the likes of Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers), Primož Roglič (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) and Richard Carapaz (EF-Education EasyPost).
All in all its set to be a fascinating few weeks of racing, and we can’t wait to see what happens.
Written by Henrik Bassett
Images provided by Russ Ellis and Joris Knapen
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