First run in 1947, the Critérium du Dauphiné has become a key build-up race to the Tour de France, typically taking place just weeks before the Grand Départ each year. It was previously known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré until 2009, named after a newspaper that previously sponsored the race in the local area.

In a release to the media announcing new name, race organiser ASO said the change was part of a “long standing collaboration” between the host region of France and the organiser, and was the “logical next step” in the relationship.

"The Critérium du Dauphiné was created in 1947 by a regional newspaper in love with cycling and has since grown in sync with the roads and slopes that have shaped its history. Buoyed by the steadfast backing of the Region, it will now become the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, taking on a new name that leaves no doubt about the regional roots of the race.

"As we saw in this edition, the region boasts a vibrant palette of landscapes and attracts the best riders in the world with a challenge that takes their breath away in every sense," Christian Prudhomme, ASO’s Director of Cycling and Tour de France race director, is reported to have said.

As well as Pogačar, previous winners of the Dauphiné include multiple Tour de France winners including Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Chris Froome, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Jonas Vingegaard. The late Brian Robinson also won the race in 1961.

"This is a great source of pride for us," Fabrice Pannekoucke, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region said. "As one of the most anticipated events on the international calendar, this race is above all a gathering of top champions and the elite of the global peloton, just weeks before the Tour de France.

"The Region is proud to be the main partner of such a competition, a true flagship of our commitment to supporting cycling."

The 22 year-old attacked a leading group of four over the top of the final climb, some 14km from the finish of the 129.4km stage, descending expertly on the sketchiest of roads. Despite a coordinated response from the three chasers, he maintained a small lead to the line, winning ahead of compatriot Kévin Vaquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), with Dutchman Bart Lemmen (Visma-Lease a Bike) in third.

Earlier in the day Grégoire found himself part of a huge breakaway which formed inside the stage’s first 30km, working brilliantly to distance the peloton. With the main bunch finishing more than three minutes down, many of the pre-race favourites may mown have to shift their plans to long range attacks or even stage wins.

Those opening kilometres were fabulously active and entertaining racing ono what was, at 129.4km, a short stage aggressive day’s racing. Finishing fourth on the day, former world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) was the part of the first attack to stick, placing himself in the lead group early in the day.

“It’s always something special to win at the WorldTour level, so I’m really happy. We were all at the same level with Kévin, Bart and Julian, but I rode the technical part great, so that’s really cool,” Grégoire said at the finish.

The young Frenchman’s success not only places him in the overall lead, but he is also the best young rider, and leads the points classification ahead of Monday’s second stage, when the peloton will take on a challenging 177km stage between Aarau and Schwarzsee.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening day of this year’s eight day Tour de Suisse set the tone for a challenging week, the day’s punchy 129.4km route serving up 1,939m of climbing over its four classified climbs. Starting and finishing in Küssnacht, the route followed exactly the same course as the women’s final stage, which took place earlier in the day.

Uphill almost straight away, a busy bunch tackled the first of two ascents of the third category Adligenswilerstrasse, which topped out after only 6.5km, as they negotiated a loop into the suburbs of Lucerne. Multiple attacks here caused the bunch to briefly split, 20 riders getting a small advantage, though that soon re-formed.

The flat road ahead of the next climb brought plenty of attacking but still nothing failed to stick as the race reached the base of the day’s fiercest climb, Michaelskreuz, which averages 9% gradient over its 3.9km.

Over the top of this climb Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) and Felix Engelhardt (Jayco-Alula) got away, with a fractured peloton chasing behind. While that re-formed, such was the chaotic nature of the race, the bunch split again and a large group set off in pursuit of the leaders.

With 80km to go, many of the day’s starting riders were out of contention, sitting three minutes behind a leading peloton of 28, with some teams present in that leading group represented by multiple riders.

After the chaotic opening, the race now settled, the leading bunch generally working well as their advantage on the large peloton behind settled around around the 3:40 mark. Victory for the leading bunch was far from assured, though, falling rain contributing to a crash which split the group who rode through the finish to tackle the day’s opening loop for a second time, their lead at 3.20, just under 40km from the finish.

While the leading group crested the penultimate ascent, the Adligenswilerstrasse, their advantage began to drop, despite the now soaked roads. However, as the leaders began the final climb, the brutal Michaelskreuz, with 19km of the stage remaining, their lead had once again increased and was then close to three minutes.

Ben O’Connor (Jayco-Alula) did much of the early work on the climb, the leading group shedding riders with almost every one of the Australian climber’s pedal strokes. However, a move form Alaphilippe saw only four men together at the top of the climb, with Bart Lemmen (Visma-Lease a Bike), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) joining the former world champion on the sodden descent.

There, with 12km to go, Grégoire made his move, almost taking out the TV motorcycle as he did so, and descending like a stone, despite the treacherous conditions. Behind the 22 year-old French climber, Alaphilippe at first forced to do much of the chasing, and while Grégoire seemed to be within touching distance, even that was too far.

RESULTS: TOUR DE SUISSE, STAGE 1, KÜSSNACHT > KUSSNACHT

1. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, in 20:50:15
2. Kévin Vaquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels, at 20 sec
3. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
4. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor, all at same time
5. Ben O’Connor (Aus) JAyco-Alula, at 1:07
6. Felix Grosschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates
7. Pablo Castrillo (Esp) Movistar
8. Lennard Kämner (Ger) Lidl-Trek
9. Rainer Kepplinger (Aut) Bahrain Victorious, all at same time
10. Nicola Conci (Ita) XDS Astana, at 1:26

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE ONE

1. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, in 20:50:05
2. Kévin Vaquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels, at 24 sec
3. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, at 26
4. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor, at same time
5. Ben O’Connor (Aus) JAyco-Alula, at 1:17
6. Felix Grosschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates
7. Pablo Castrillo (Esp) Movistar
8. Lennard Kämner (Ger) Lidl-Trek
9. Rainer Kepplinger (Aut) Bahrain Victorious, all at same time
10. Ben Swift (Gbr) INEOS Grenadiers, at 1:32

The French rider held off a strong move from Jonas Vignegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who tested both his legs and his Slovenian rival on the climb to Plateau du Mont-Cenis, eventually sprinting to second on the day.

After a disappointing general classification ride, Martinez had infiltrated the early breakaway, before bridging to Enric Mas (Movistar) who attacked on the slopes of the final climb, the Col du Mont-Cenis. The Frenchman then returned the compliment, leaving the Movistar rider behind to take an emotional victory.

Meanwhile, after two taking two stage wins earlier in the week, Pogačar responded to Vignegaard’s late move, occasionally rolling through, but not sprinting for second place on the stage.

With Mas in the breakaway the final climb had been a tactically complex affair, riders moving to defend their GC positions. Chief among those were Tobias Joahanneson, whose UNO-Xsquad worked much of the day to protect his fifth place on GC. When he responded to Mas’s attack late on the final climb that drew out Remco Evenepoel, the Soudal-Quickstep rider defending his fourth place from the Norwegian.

It was, though, Martinez who succeeded, adding to his collection of one week race stage victories since joining Bahrain Victorious at the start of the season.

“I wasn’t really feeling that good, and I didn’t feel like I was going to get anything today, but I got in the front, started to feel good and thought let’s go for it. I thought I’d be caught by them,” Martinez said of Vignegaard and Pogačar. “But I thought it would be a shame too be caught just before the line so I went full gas.

“It was good to have a stage, but it wasn’t good on the General wasn’t good for me.”

Pogačar's overall victory is certainly the first skirmish in the battle that will be the Tour de France next month, and the way the Slovenian has dominated his rival this week seems ominous.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After the fireworks of the two preceding days in the mountains, the 77th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné finished with another beast of a day in the French Alps. While the stage’s profile might not have appeared as spiky as some of the earlier days, much of the day edged uphill, and with five classified climbs and well over 3,500m of vertical ascent, was a challenging and fitting way to close the week.

Starting in Val-d’Arc, the 133.3km route took the riders to Plateau du Mont-Cenis, the final climb of the Col-du-Mont-Cenis topped out some five kilometres from the the finish line, creating the chance of an unpredictable final.

The start of the race headed straight uphill, and while some were dropped, the race stayed largely together for the opening kilometres, and a speculative move by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) brought back still with 126km to go.

After a mother Van der Poel attempt, a group of nine finally got away, Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) leading, with Maxim van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Sepp Kuss (Visma Lease a Bike), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-Quikcstep), Lenny Martinez Bahrain-Victorious), Bruno Amirail (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), Alexey Lutsenko (Israel-Premier Tech), with Enric Mas and his team mate, stage three winner Iván Romeo all present.

Some 10km later they were joined first by Van der Poel, obviously keen to regain the green points jersey, then Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) and stage five winner, Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech), creating a 12 man group who led the bunch by 2:40, with 82km to go, the third classified climb of the day approaching.

Here, on the Col de Beaune, the climbing began to take its toll, with Stewart beginning to slip backwards out of the breakaway, while some of his fellow sprinters we’re doing likewise in the peloton. That group included Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty), the French climbing star suffering after starting the day only 15 minutes behind overall leader, Tedej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates).

With 58km remaining, and points classification bonuses available in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, Van der Poel attacked. Not only did he bag the points, reclaiming the lead of the green jersey competition from Pogačar, but he pushed on, putting time into both the peloton and the remainder of the break.

Behind, UNO-X Mobility were chasing, defending Johannessen’s GC placing from Mas, and pushing on the descents causing come splits in the peloton, even briefly isolating both Pogačar and Vignegaard from their team mates.

Entering the final 30km and on the approach to the bottom of the Col du Mont Cenis, it seemed possible that Van der Poel could win the stage, his lead at 1:10 on the chasing group, and the peloton at 2:30. However, only 10km further on, as the climb loomed large, the Dutch superstar’s lead was plummeting, the chasers within 40 seconds and the bunch under two minutes.

Van der Poel was eventually caught 15km from the line, slipping inexorably through the group, before, soon after, others began to drop form the break, while those remaining starting to attack each other. With 10km Mas attacked, taking Martinez with him causing a further reaction from UNO-X’s Tobias Johannessen whose fifth place on GC was threatened by the Spaniard.

As the climb wore on, Vignegaard decided to play his card, attacking the small group, and this time only Pogačar was able to respond. The pair have been responsible for every Tour de France win since 2020 and it seemed they may catch Martinez, who entered the final five kilometres leading by only 49 seconds.

RESULTS: CRITÉRIUM DU DAUPHINÉ, STAGE 8, VAL-D’ARC > PLATEAU DU MONT-CENIS (133.3KM)

1. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious, in 3:34:18

2. Jonas Vignegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, at 34 sec
3. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at same time
4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, at 40 sec
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quickstep, at same time
6. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, att 45 sec
7. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Redbull-Bora-Hansgrohe, at 47 sec
8. Tobias Johannessen (Nor) UNO-X Mobility, at same time
9. Ben Healy (Ire) EF Education-EasyPost, at 1:01
10. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, at same time

FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 29:19:46
2. Jonas Vignegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, at 59 sec
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Redbull-Bora-Hansgrohe, at 2:38
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quickstep, at 4:21
5. Tobias Johannessen (Nor) UNO-X Mobility, at 6:12
6. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, at 7:28
7. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, at 7:57
8. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, at 8:25
9. Carlos Rodríguez (Esp) INEOS Grenadiers, at 8:57
10. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 10:01

After taking the overall lead by winning the four day race's opening stage, the Swiss woman set a relentless pace on the day’s final climb, leading a group of only four women over the top and into the final 15km.

After a well-timed attack on the descent from Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto), Reusser allowed rival Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) to close the gap before launching the decisive move on a small rise. She then managed to hold her advantage, finishing 28 seconds ahead of Niewiadoma, with Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) third on the day.

Vollering finished second on general classification, while Niewiadoma was third overall.

It was a consummate performance from the Swiss rider, who was perfectly positioned throughout the day, despite only having one of her Movistar team mates in support in the closing kilometres.

As the road kicked up for the day’s final climb, she moved to the front of the bunch, setting an infernal pace which not only shredded the peloton on the 9% slopes, but prevented any of her rivals attacking.

Vollering appeared to out of sorts on the final comb, occasionally slipping back in the group before finding herself on the decent, though the Dutch woman was unable to respond effectively when her former team mate made her race winning move.

Reusser’s victory sets up an intriguing summer, with the Giro d’Italia Women and then the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift all coming in the next seven weeks.

“I think we have a rivalry the whole year and I’m making so many steps at this moment, and I think I’m really developing a lot and I think it will keep being interesting,” she said of her battle with Vollering.

“It’s great, I’m really, really happy. I’m back in life and super happy and today I don’t think about last year,” Reususer said, referring to her injury and illness blighted 2024 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The sixth edition of the Tour de Suisse Women Took place across four stages, heading basically west to east, across the centre of the country. The race’s podium was largely decided on Thursday’s opening stage, starting and finishing in Gstaad, when Marlen Reusser (Movistar) attacked over the top of the day’s defining climb.

Only defending champion Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) managed to go with the Swiss rider, the pair finishing 1:42 ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto).

The Polish rider then clawed back 20 seconds of her deficit with her own audacious attack on stage two, while Vollering’s team mate, Amber Kraak took a solo stage win.

Former world champion Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) won Saturday’s third stage bunch kick after some dynamic racing, setting the scene for Sunday’s final day showdown. The leading duo of Reusser and Vollering started the final stage separated only by day one’s bonus seconds, four seconds between them, and Niewiadoma still a threat at 1.21.

Stage four’s undulating, 129.4km course took place on the northern shores of Lake Lucerne, starting and finishing in the town of Küssnacht, following the same route as the opening stage of the men’s race, held later in the day. With the whole race staged close to Vollering’s adopted home, and with the time gaps so close, the pressure was on the dominant Dutch woman to perform.

This fourth day was second only to stage two in the amount of climbing, with 1,939m of ascent over four classified climbs. The first of those, the Adligenswilerstrasse, came only 6.5km after the peloton rolled out under leaden skies and on wet roads for on an opening loop almost to the suburbs of Lucerne itself.

At 3.8km with an average gradient of 9.1%, Michaelskreuzstrasse presented the next obstacle and, after a flurry of attacks, Julia Borgström (AG Insurance-Soudal), Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ) and Afghan champion Fariba Hashimi (Ceratizit) took a lead of 35 seconds over the top of its brutal slopes.

However, with 90km remaining, just after the race passed the finish line to begin a long, eastern loop, Hashimi was last woman standing, and was soon swallowed up by a raging peloton.

The Afghan woman, though, was keen to be up the road, and soon infiltrated an 11 woman leading group who set about building an advantage on the flatter roads adjacent to the lake’s shores. However, with bonus seconds available at both the Tissot Kilometre and on the finish line so critical to the the overall result, they were soon caught, though the race refused to settle.

With multiple attacks continuing, at 63km to go and the sun now shining on dry roads, New Zealander, Henrietta Christie (EF Education-Oatley) got away, and despite repeated counter attacks, managed to build a lead which briefly approached one minute.

Behind her, though, both Vollering and and Reusser competed for the Tissot Kilometre bonus seconds, the former finishing second and cutting her rival’s overall advantage to only three seconds. But by the time they reached the second sprint, 1,000m later, Christie had been joined by Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx-Protime) and Julia Borgström (AG Insurance-Soudal), the trio hoovering up the bonuses.

When the leaders reached Küssnacht again, with with just over 39km to go, their lead had once again reached one minute, but though none of them was any threat to the general classification, FDJ-SUEZ worked in the bunch to ensure that did not increase.

The race was now tackling the opening loop, and its climbs, for a second time and when Häberlin took maximum mountains points at the top of the Adligenswilerstrasse, the break’s lead was only 15 seconds.

By now Reusser had only sprinter and Serbian champion Jelena Erić in support, however, it was LidlTrek who finally caught the leaders close to the bottom of the Michaelskreuzstrasse, the race’s final climb, with 18km to go.

Here, the moment the road tipped upwards, Reusser headed to the front of the bunch, setting the pace, with both Vollering and Niewiadoma close behind, instantly whittling the leading group to just a handful of riders.

The Swiss woman’s relentless pace on the early part of the climb ensured only four women crested the the top, Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) joining Reusser, Vollering and Niewiadoma onto the descent.

Even then, the race was not over, Reusser attacking before Niewadoma cleverly used a traffic island to attack, drawing out Vollering in pursuit. Reusser then sat on her wheel before making her decisive move with 9km of the race to go.

RESULTS: TOUR DE SUISSE WOMEN, STAGE 4, KÜSSNACHT > KÜSSNACHT (129.4KM)

1. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, in Anne Other (Nation) Team, in 3:19:36

2. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto, at 28 sec
3. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ-SUEZ, at st
4. Cédrine Kerbaol (Fra) EF Education-Oatly, at 41 sec
5. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, at 1:11
6. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) Lidl-Trek
7. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, all at st
8. Sarah Gigante (Aus) AG Insurance-Soudal, at 1:15
9. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, at 1:53
10. Marion Bunel (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike, at 1:54

FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, in Anne Other (Nation) Team, in 13:03:00
2. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ-SUEZ, at 36 sec
3. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto, at 1:56
4. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) Lidl-Trek, at 3:25
5. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, at 3:25
6. Cédrine Kerbaol (Fra) EF Education-Oatly, at 3:27
7. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, at 3:57
8. Mavi García (Esp) Liv-Alula-Jayco, at 4:29
9. Marion Bunel (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike, at 4:40
10. Eleonora Ciabocco (Ita) Picnic-PostNL, at 4:59

Speaking to CyclingPro.Net at the stage finish, Seixas admitted that he’d struggled during the day but said that he was delighted with how he had stood up to the challenge of racing with the very best stage racers. “Honestly, I managed it well. It was extremely tough, both mentally and physically,” he said.

“From the first pass, it was full throttle. I didn’t feel great from the start. For the first 30 minutes, it was OK. Towards the end of the pass, I wasn’t feeling so good. I told myself that I should see how it went on the Croix de Fer. I got my legs back there when the pace slowed down a bit.”

Seixas said that his key objective on the final climb to Valmeinier 1800 was to avoid exploding completely. “I felt that I’d suffered on the previous climbs, but that’s normal and I think I managed it really well,” he said, before going on to explain why Armirail had set the pace for him there.

“The strategy was mainly for him to protect me, and then I preferred to go at my own pace, rather than at a crazy pace of Visma’s where they were going full gas. I didn’t want to give everything right away because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to hold on. In the end, it went pretty well.”

For first-year pro Seixas, every day of racing is about gaining experience, not only of rival teams and riders, but also of the climbs and conditions. He admitted that he’d struggled in the heat on the Valmeinier 1800 stage, “especially at the end. When you’re going full throttle, you feel it ten times more.”

As that experience grows, so too is his confidence. He’s risen through the GC rankings on every stage at the Dauphiné and goes into the final day looking to defend sixth place. “For sure, I’ve got a lot of confidence. The riders that I’m up against are guys I used to see on TV who are really strong, and now I've managed to stay with them and be part of the contest. I feel really proud about that.”

“They attacked towards the top of La Croix de Fer, and then I think they wanted to drop me on the downhill. They went a little bit dangerous in the first couple of kilometres on the down, and I didn’t like that, but it’s modern cycling,” Pogačar said in his post-stage interview.

“Today we wanted to take control on the all of the climbs, but Visma tried with all the attacks,” Pogačar said of a stage where he ended up isolated against four Visma riders including main rival Jonas Vingegaard.

Although UAE teammate Pavel Sivakov did bridge back up to the yellow jersey group before the final climb to Valmeinier 1800 and did sterling work in supporting his leader there, Pogačar said he decided to attack when he again found himself up against Vingegaard and three of his teammates.

“When Pavel came back, he took control again and it was all fine. And on the last climb, Pavel said that he couldn’t do much more and he prepared me for the attack. And I just committed because I didn’t want any attacks from behind,” said the UAE team leader.

“It was sort of defence, not to get attacked by everyone from Visma,” he added. “I launched it and I maintained a good pace to the top. I was really happy that I could defend the jersey like this.”

Asked about Vingegaard, who finished just 14 seconds behind him, Pogačar said: “For sure, today Jonas was really strong. But I also didn’t want to go too deep. It was super hot and a long, long climb. So, luckily, I had enough time to ease up in the last kilometre a little bit and to recover.

“Of course, you look at the performances [of the other riders] and you know that in the Tour they can be even stronger. But we will be as well, as we’ll get two more climbers in the team.”

Speaking to ITV, Vingegaard said he was pleased with his performance, especially with a view to the Tour de France, which starts in three weeks’ time. “I tried to follow, just like yesterday. I had to slow down, but I think I still did a very, very good performance and can be happy with how I did today.

“I could see the numbers, and it was quite good numbers, to be honest. Again, today, Tadej was just better. So congrats to him.”

Pressed on his thoughts about his form with regard to the Tour, Vingegaard replied: “I hope that this race can help me get better, that I can hopefully be even better in the Tour than I am now.”

The 98^th victory of Pogačar’s career extended his overall lead on Vingegaard to a minute and one second ahead of the race’s final stage to Mont Cenis.

Asked about his UAE team’s strategy and his decision to attack with 12km remaining to the finish, Pogačar said: “Today we wanted to take control on the all of the climbs, but Visma tried with all the attacks.

“I was pretty happy how Pavel [Sivakov] was riding today and the team. So, it was sort of defence, not to get attacked by everyone from Visma. So I launched it and I maintained a good pace to the top. I was really happy that I could defend the jersey like this.”

Once again, this pair were a class apart from the rest of the field. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was the pick of them, the leader of the best young rider competition cementing his grip on third place ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), who finished fifth on the stage behind Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), who moved up to fifth overall.

Further down the classification French teenager Paul Seixas (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) once again underlined his immense potential. The 18-year-old finished in the next group to rise two places to sixth place on GC.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Visma-Lease a Bike didn’t waste any time before revealing their intentions for the stage. Their Belgian rouleur Victor Campanaerts was the first rider to make a move right after the start flag had been waved, while teammate Sepp Kuss then infiltrated the break that formed in the very early kilometres on the Col de la Madeleine.

Instigated by Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), the group that came together on that long climb also featured Alexey Lutsenko (Israel Premier-Tech), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Santiago Buitrago, Torsten Træen (both Bahrain Victorious), Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty), Jordan Jegat (Team TotalEnergies), Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ), Romain Combaud, Romain Bardet, Juan Guillermo Martínez (all Team Picnic PostNL), Iván Romeo (Team Movistar) and Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility).

The break crossed the summit of the Madeleine with a lead of just over a minute on the peloton, which was being controlled by UAE. However, when the riders began to climb again, this time on the immense Croix de Fer pass, Visma-Lease a Bike returned to action.

Campanaerts was the initial trigger, his feverish pace-making shredding the yellow jersey group, which was reduced to just 15 riders. Matteo Jorgenson then picked up the baton from his Belgian teammate, the pace so fierce that the group of favourites was right on the heels of the nine surviving breakaway riders crossing the summit of the Croix de Fer.

On the long descent away from that pass, Bardet, racing towards the final summit finish of his illustrious career, pressed on alone from the breakaway group. The Picnic leader reached the foot of the Croix de Fer with a lead of 50 seconds on the yellow jersey group, which he just about held going onto the final climb to Valmeinier 1800.

Close behind Bardet, Visma’s riders were still continuing to harry Pogačar, who was isolated for a time until Pavel Sivakov bridged back up to support him. Visma, though, still had numbers on their side, with Vingegaard supported by Jorgenson, Kuss and Ben Tulett.

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s faith in young Paul Seixas was demonstrated when they took over the pace-making at the foot of Valmeinier 1800, their tempo quickly ending the hopes of their former leader Bardet. As the Frenchman was reeled in, Kuss attacked and Sivakov gave all he had left to bring the American back into line.

As Kuss's attack was neutralised, Pogačar decided his best defence against Visma was to launch an offensive of his own. As he shot away, Vingegaard was the only rival able to stay on his wheel, but even the Dane didn’t hold it for very long.

The gap between the two rivals remained a matter of seconds for a good distance and never reached half a minute. However, the expression on the two riders’ faces spoke volumes. While Pogačar looked to be riding within his limit and later admitted he had been due to the heat, Vingegaard appeared agonised as he strove to limit his losses.

Ultimately, he did that well, but Pogačar is now well set to claim his first victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné and to head into the Tour de France as the favourite for a fourth title.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné, stage seven: Grande-Aigueblanche > Velmeinier 1800 (132.7km)

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 4:10:00
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +14s
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:21
4. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, +2:26
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +2:39
6. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3:48
7. Enric Mas (Spa) Team Movistar, st
8. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Cofidis, +3:51
9. Carlos Rodríguez (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers
10. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, both at same time

General classification after stage seven

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 25:44:58
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:01
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +2:21
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +4:11
5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, +5:55
6. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +6:50
7. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +7:18
8. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, +7:24
9. Carlos Rodríguez (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers, +7:41
10. Enric Mas (Spa) Team Movistar, +7:43

The world champion attacked with 7km to go – still seated in the saddle – dropping the race leader Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), both of whom he had lost time to in Wednesday's time trial.

The sight of the Slovenian in yellow was a familiar one for cycling fans in Combloux. Having started the day in seventh, 38 seconds adrift, Pogačar now leads the race by more than 40 seconds.

"I was feeling really good, and when I attacked, it was an all-out effort," the Slovenian said afterwards. "I knew that it was still around 15 minutes from the Côte de Domancy to the top – I had to pace myself after the attack. The feeling was there, the legs were turning, and it was just in my favour to be in the front and gain some time.”

Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mates set the pace into the final climb, teeing the three-time Tour de France winner up to attack on the steepest ramp. Vingegaard initially followed, but the Dane quickly found himself in pursuit, crossing the line a minute later.

The seconds ceded in stage four's time trial ultimately proved trivial for Pogačar. Still, he said, his losses against the clock are "definitely a concern".

"It’s a challenge for me and the team to improve. The legs are there, the shape is good, we need to hold our horses for the Tour.”

Evenepoel, having worn the yellow jersey, now finds himself fourth in the GC. The Belgian was bunnyhopped by Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Florian Lipowitz, who finished third on the stage, and likewise now sits third overall.

How it happened

Hunting for a swansong victory in his final race, Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL) joined the breakaway on stage six, which brought the first summit finish. The Frenchman was joined by seven others, including green jersey wearer Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Deceuninck), who began the day just 14 seconds down in the GC.

With such a short stage – just 126.7km in length – the breakaway struggled to gain a comfortable buffer. Any hopes they had were left in tatters with 45km to go, when Visma-Lease a Bike towed the peloton at pace into the foot of a category-one climb, hoping to take control of the finale.

An initial dummy attack from Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) was countered by Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), but no GC moves stuck so far from the line. Up ahead, escapees Michael Leonard (Ineos Grenadiers) and Alex Baudin (EF Education-Easypost) survived the climb as the only remnants of the breakaway.

The final climb to Combloux – split into two category-two kickers, stacked on top of each other – began with just under 9km to go. It was here, in 2023, that Vingegaard blistered to a time trial victory that sealed his second Tour de France title. On Friday, Leonard and Baudin began their ascent with a one-minute head start. They’d both be tagged within 3km.

Set up by UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and without having to lunge out of the saddle, Pogačar accelerated away from the bunch with around 7km to go. Evenepoel immediately dropped away, and while Vingegaard followed momentarily, the Dane too soon found himself alone against the gradient.

"I had to hurry up to see the finish [of my girlfriend] Urška [Žigart] at the Tour de Suisse," Pogačar smiled afterwards. His winning margin on the day stood at one minute and one second – enough to claim the yellow jersey, and give him a gap as the race heads into the mountains this weekend.

Crucially, too, he was able to watch his partner score a top-15 at the Tour de Suisse. "I was just in time, so all good," he said.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné, stage six: Valserhône > Combloux (126.7km)

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 2:59:46
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:01
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:22
4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:30
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:50
6. Alex Baudin (Fra) EF Education-EasyPost, +1:56
7. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, +2:03
8. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty, +2:04
9. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, both at same time

General classification after stage six

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 21:35:08
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +43s
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +54s
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:22
5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:41
6. Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Jayco AlUla, +2:28
7. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty, +2:39
8. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +2:49
9. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, +3:21
10. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3:26

A short update from the 34-year-old’s team explained that he would be taking time off the bike while the extent of the medical condition is explored.

"During a recent altitude training camp, GreenEdge cycling medical team discovered signs of a pulmonary embolism and have subsequently decided to pause all physical activity for the rider until further notice as a precautionary measure," a medical update on Matthews, shared on social media, read.

According to the NHS, a pulmonary embolism is when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the lungs. Symptoms can include sudden breathing difficulties, chest pain, and occasionally coughing up blood. The condition can be caused by a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot initially forming elsewhere, particularly in a person's legs.

"Matthews' health condition is stable," the update from Jayco AlUla continued. "The medical team are now thoroughly investigating the extent of the issue and possible cause to define a safe and optimal recovery process for the athlete.

"During this period of investigation, as a safeguarding measure, Matthews will refrain from competition to ensure there is no risk to his health and wellbeing, therefore ruling out his participation in the upcoming Tour de France."

Matthews won his last race that he competed in on 1 May, triumphing in a sprint at the German one-day race Eschborn-Frankfurt. He also finished fourth at Milan-San Remo in March and fifth at the Amstel Gold Race in other notable results.

The Australian is a four-time Tour de France stage winner; he also won the points classification in 2017. As well as his success at the French Grand Tour, he has stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España to his name.

Other victories on Matthews’ palmarès include a trio of victories at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, with the most recent coming last year. He is currently ranked 26th in the UCI world rankings.

It was a first WorldTour victory for the British Israel-Premier Tech rider, who went for a long sprint from 300 metres with a view to outwitting favourite Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).

It worked: he comfortably held off sprint rivals Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers) and Søren Wærenskold (Uno-X Mobility) for second and third place, with Milan finishing fifth.

Remco Evenepoel retained the yellow jersey, despite crashing on a tricky 180-degree roundabout turn in the final run-in, which became dubbed 'the U-bend'. The Belgian rode into the finish with a scuffed jersey shoulder, apparently nursing a cut on his finger but otherwise apparently riding comfortably.

Beyond that there was little change in the GC top 10 – aside from seventh place Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana) crashing out and those below him moving up a place. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) remain at 16sec and 38sec respectively.

This is turning out to be a rather successful season for Stewart – the first time he has scored two wins a season since starting his WorldTour career, with today representing his first win in a WorldTour race.

It came almost by chance, with Stewart taking over after his fast-finishing team-mate Pascal Ackermann crashed out. With the Coventry rider's contract at Israel-Premier Tech expiring this season, he wasn't slow to seize the opportunity.

"This one feels good," he said. "It's such a shame with Ackermann, who crashed today… I'm gutted he didn't get to contest the finish.

"It was handed over to me for the final bit. The boys backed me, the DSs backed me, the team backed me and did an awesome job, I'm just so happy I could finish it off for them.

He added: "I've just been getting better and better this season, I obviously took the win in [Four Days of] Dunkerque, and I was so close on the first stage, so to get redemption here, which was the last opportunity for us, is really good."

Describing the rough and tumble of the final kilometre, he said: "It got a bit boxy, but I managed to find my way through on the U-bend and picked up [Mathieu] Van Der Poel's wheel. From there I just needed to kick before Milan, get a bit of a rush on him and yeah, I managed to kick at 300 and hold on till the line."

How it happened

With the upcoming final three days consisting of an uphill finish followed by two mountain days, it was all-in for the fast finishers on this 183km stage between Saint-Priest and Mâcon.

There's little in the way of flat in this part of France, so there was the matter of a number of climbs to overcome on the way – a cat-four and three cat-threes.

With the last of these crested with 27km to go, there was, however, time for the bunch to connect with the day's inevitable breakaway, meaning the sprint finish was not unlikely.

That inevitable breakaway consisted of three riders – Enzo Leijnse (Picnic PostNL), Pierre Thierry (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), who set off almost immediately after the start and were joined after the climbing started by Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Thibault Guernalec (Arkea-B&B Hotels).

The peloton never gave them too much rope, and after the quintet was reduced to a trio on the final climb, the game looked up.

However, Labrosse, Thomas and Guernalec succeeded in holding on all the way to Mâcon, only swallowed up by the chasing bunch with around 1,700m to go.

Then, just as they had planned, the sprinters and their teams took over.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 stage five, Saint-Priest > Mâcon, 183km

1. Jake Stewart (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech, 183km in 4:03:46
2. Axel Laurance (Fra) Ineos Grenadiers
3. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
4. Laurence Pithie (NZl) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
5. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
6. Paul Penhöet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Emilien Jeannière (Fra) TotalEnergies
8. Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious
9. Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck
10. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, all at same time

General Classification after stage five

1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 14:31:08
2. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4s
3. Iván Romeo (Spa) Movistar, +9s
4. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +14s
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +16s
6. Eddie Dunbar (Ire) Jayco-AlUla, +30s
7. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +38s
8. Matteo Jorgenson (Usa) Visma-Lease a Bike, +39s
9. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché - Wanty, 1:03
10. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale

Barrelling to the stage victory and race lead, the world champion had a new cutaway visor, carved out in front of his eyes, fitted to his Specialized S-Works TT5 lid.

The design appeared novel – was it a new innovation, a special aero hack? According to Soudal Quick-Step's helmet provider, the answer was more elementary than that.

"It's quite simple," a Specialized representative told Cycling Weekly on Thursday morning. "While in the [time trial] position, the previous visor was touching his hands and wrists. With the new one he can get his head lower without touching his hands or wrists. Simple."

According to Cycling Weekly's in-house aero and time trial expert, Michael Hutchinson, the design is a "really neat solution". Still, he added, the contact issue with Evenepoel's hands was likely to be a smaller part of a wider aero fix.

"Clearly there's no way they just made this random shaped visor without testing it," Hutchinson said, "so you've got to accept that everything in that decision is aerodynamically driven.

"I think it's not so much that it was touching his hands – if that was the perfect position and that's what they tested and wanted then he would just have let the old visor bump off his forearms – it's not going to be that annoying. Clearly they just want him to be able to get his head slightly lower."

The Specialized time trial helmet used by both Soudal Quick-Step and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was initially released with a much larger visor, before a smaller one was used by both teams at various points in the last year. Hutchinson surmised that the new design used by Evenepoel was likely a balance between the two.

He said: "They're trying to have the best of both worlds by trying to have as much of the aerodynamic visor that they can, while also getting the top of his head down. So when they say it's just because the visor was hitting his hands and it's annoying, I'm not terribly cynical about that, I think it clearly was part of the issue."

Flagged on Instagram by Cyclingspy, the new visor appears to be available for purchase on the Specialized website for $449 (£330).

One potential drawback to the deep cutaway design could be a lack of eye protection, although, according to Hutchinson, this is unlikely to be an issue.

"Bear in mind, a lot of the time he's going to have his head right down, because they'll have cut that visor as close to the shape of his forearms as they can, so there won't be a very big gap there," he said. "He'll be protected by his arms as well, but it wouldn't be quite the same protection and optical performance as a full visor."

Interestingly, Hutchinson added that he had recently spent time in a wind tunnel with a rider using the same Specialized helmet with the larger visor, "and the visor was on their forearms".

"But I think that's one of the reasons it can be a good helmet, because for a lot of riders, that's a really good marker to keep your head nice and low, but it's annoying if you get a rough piece of road as you start to bump against the visor," he said.

"I think doing this makes complete sense. I wouldn't find it hard to believe that it could be gaining three or four watts, over the other one. Yesterday's time trial obviously had a hill in it, but if it was kind of a flat and straight, fast TT then it could maybe be as much as three or four seconds, something like that."

Whether it was down to the visor or not, Tuesday's ride brought Evenepoel a yellow jersey and 49 seconds over his GC rival Tadej Pogačar. Expect to see him using a similar set-up at the Tour de France next month.

The 39-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider is one of a host of WorldTour riders named on the provisional start list for this year’s championships. He is entered to race the time trial on 26 June as well as the road race on 29 June, both of which will take place in his native Wales.

A past winner of both events, Thomas earned his sole time trial title in 2018, the year he went on to win the Tour de France. He won the road race in 2010, but hasn’t competed in the event since 2014.

Also on the start list are all of the reigning elite national champions. In the open events, Ethan Hayter, now of Soudal Quick-Step, is set to defend his stripes in the road race, while Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) could score a hat-trick of wins in the time trial, this time on home roads in Aberaeron, provided he has recovered from injuries suffered at the Giro d'Italia.

In the women’s events, Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek), too, could earn her third elite national time trial title. A fourth gold medal is on the line in the road race for Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL), who has won three of the last four editions.

Further previous national champions are also set to compete in Alice Towers (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), Lizzie Holden (UAE Team ADQ), Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) Ben Swift and Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers).

Still only 19 years old, double junior world champion Cat Ferguson (Movistar) will enter as one of the favourites in the women’s road race. The teenager is set to race alongside fellow up-and-coming talents Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Carys Lloyd (Movistar), as well as the best of the British domestic scene, including National Road Series leader Robyn Clay (DAS-Hutchinson) and Lincoln GP winner Lauren Dickson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team).

On the men’s start list, other star names include Matthew Brennan, who has enjoyed a winning start to the year at Visma-Lease a Bike, tallying eight victories, and last year’s breakthrough rider Joe Blackmore (IPT).

The Lloyds British National Championships will open with the time trials on Thursday 26 June, on a 41km course for the elite men and 27km for the elite women. The circuit races will then follow in Aberystwyth on Friday 27 June, before the road races, also in Aberystwyth, on Sunday 29 June. The men will race 187km, while the women will race 128km.

Thomas’s appearance would make for the Welshman’s penultimate race on British soil before his retirement. He is expected to call time on his career at the Tour of Britain Men in September, which is slated to finish in his hometown of Cardiff.

It is worth noting that, just because a rider’s name is on the start list, it does not necessarily mean that they are certain to compete. Many riders enter events provisionally, with plans subject to change nearer the date.

The reigning Olympic and World Champion was simply untouchable, beating the times of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, his Tour de France rivals, with a supersonic time of 20:50:90 in Saint-Péray.

The 25-year-old Belgian averaged 50 kmph across the course, beating Vingegaard and Pogačar by 20 and 49 seconds respectively. Vingegaard’s teammate Matteo Jorgenson also bettered Pogačar’s time at the finish, the two-time Paris-Nice winner finishing in 21:28:69.

Evenepoel now leads the race by four seconds ahead of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Florian Lipowitz in second. Vingegaard jumped up to fifth, 16 seconds behind Evenepoel, with Pogačar in eighth, 38 seconds down on the stage winner and new yellow jersey. Jorgenson sits in ninth, one second slower than Pogačar.

"My goal was to go as fast as possible until the intermediate," Evenepoel said afterwards. "After that I just tried to get a steady pace until the finish line. I think the advantage I had was that there was a lot of headwind, at least before and after the climb, so I used that to really take advantage of my position and the power I can do in my position. On the climb I just went as fast as possible and I think we had a perfect pacing strategy."

"I just wanted to win, then afterwards we were going to see how it would be in terms of GC," he added. "I think I can be very happy with this victory, number 1,000 for our team, so I'm very proud to have done it. This is one for Patrick [Lefevere, former Soudal Quick-Step team boss] and for everything that he did for the team. This victory is one for him and for all of his career."

Evenepoel expressed surprise at taking significant time on Pogačar: "In the end it is quite a big gap on quite a short TT, so I’m very happy to have put over one second per kilometre on everybody. I'm super proud, I'm very happy with the feeling that I have now. It's always nice to bring home a WorldTour victory."

How it happened

Stage four of the Critérium du Dauphiné was the first serious GC test at this year’s race between the trio of Tour de France overall favourites, Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard, the three podium finishers in Nice last year.

The course was a relatively quick 17.4 kilometre run between Charmes-sur-Rhône and Saint-Péray, with a small climb coming halfway through the parcours. It was a course tailor made for the likes of World and Olympic time trial champion Evenepoel, with many tipping him as the favourite for the stage win.

Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) set an early best time of 22:00:20, powering through the course with an average speed of 47.4 kmph, although his time was later topped by Frenchman Rémi Cavagna of Groupama-FDJ. Cavagna pushed his time under the 22 minute mark, stopping the clock at the finish with a time of 21:57:21. The bottom half of the climb on the course was evidently very steep, averaging 15%, with several riders visibly struggling on their time trial bikes up the ascent.

As the clock ticked past 16:15 local time, American duo Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) headed down the start ramp. Sheffield endured a stressful wait at the start, quickly adjusting his gearing with the help of a mechanic, before eventually getting away on time. Jorgenson, meanwhile, was 15 seconds quicker than Cavagna at the intermediate check point as Evenepoel got set to start.

With all three of the favourites out on the course, the time to beat at the finish was that set by Jorgenson, with the American half a minute quicker than Cavagna at 21.28.69. Evenepoel reached his minute man with ease, Bastien Tronchon of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, powering past him and up the climb. Jonas Vingegaard followed suit just a few minutes later, quickly passing his own minute man.

Evenepoel was evidently in unbeatable form, destroying Jorgenson’s time by 30 seconds at the check point with ease before catching his second minute man. The Belgian went on to top the leaderboard at the finish and pull on the yellow jersey, putting 48 seconds into Pogačar.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025, stage four: Charmes-sur-Rhône > Saint-Péray (17km ITT)

1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 14:31:08
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +21s
3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +38s
4. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +49s
5. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +57s
6. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +1:02
7. Stian Fredheim (Nor) Uno-X Mobility, +1:07
8. Eddie Dunbar (Ire) Jayco-AlUla, +1:10
9. Tobias Foss (Nor) Ineos Grenadiers, at same time
10. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +1:14

General classification after stage four

1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 14:31:08
2. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4s
3. Iván Romeo (Spa) Movistar, +9s
4. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +14s
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +16s
6. Eddie Dunbar (Ire) Jayco-AlUla, +30s
7. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS Astana, at same time
8. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +38s
9. Matteo Jorgenson (Usa) Visma-Lease a Bike, +39s
10. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché - Wanty, 1:03

The Gravel Worlds will take place in Maastricht, the Netherlands on 11-12 October later this year. The showpiece gravel races were initially due to be held in France's southern Côte d’Azur region, but due to a raft of "technical" reasons, it was announced that the French Riviera could no longer stage the event.

Pidcock told Cycling Weekly that he is planning to be on the start list, speaking during an interview at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre near Salzburg, Austria last week. The 25-year-old recently finished 16th at the Giro d'Italia and is unlikely to race again until August's Vuelta a España, the final Grand Tour of the season.

"The idea is I'll do the Vuelta, the Worlds, the Italian races and then Gravel Worlds," Pidcock said, when asked about his end of season plans. "I'll be going into all of the one-day races to win, I think the Vuelta will massively help with that."

The 25-year-old has thrived in races including gravel sectors in recent years, winning Strade Bianche in 2023 and finishing second to Tadej Pogačar earlier this season. He also finished second on the gravel stage of last year's Tour de France, narrowly missing out on the win to Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) in a sprint finish in Troyes.

A variety of riders from the men's and women's WorldTour have been successful at the Gravel Worlds since its inception in 2022. Mathieu van der Poel and Marianne Vos won the elite men's and women's races in 2024, while Matej Mohorič and Kasia Niewiadoma claimed the two elite rainbow jerseys the year before.

After visiting Red Bull, Pidcock travelled home to the UK to receive his OBE at Buckingham Palace yesterday with his partner, Beth.

"I'm going to Paul Smith, he's going to sort me out a suit for it," Pidcock said. "I'll also go for a curry in London, I'll be making sure that's on the agenda. It's about just doing normal stuff during this period and making the most of it.

"We make big sacrifices. You do end up missing things, but that all helps me work hard as I can then look forward to these times and just enjoy them when they come."

A longer feature interview with Tom Pidcock will be published in Cycling Weekly magazine later this summer.

The race's fourth stage offers a 17.4km course from Charmes-sur-Rhône to Saint-Péray, in France's Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region. The route is set to be a fast one, albeit with a pair of uncategorised lumps in the middle.

"I just have to go all in," said Evenepoel, the favourite for the stage victory.

The Belgian will roll down the ramp 12th from last, at 16:33 local time (CET), as the 13th rider in the general classification.

Stage three's solo winner and race leader Iván Romeo (Movistar) will be the last rider to start at 16:45. Only 21 years old, Romeo is the under-23 time trial world champion, and has impressed against the clock this year, with a seventh place at the UAE Tour and 12th at the Tour de Romandie.

Other key riders to look out for are Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) at 16:35, and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who starts just two minutes later, at 16:37.

Proceedings for the time trial will begin at 14:15, when Pogačar's team-mate Domen Novak will be the first to begin his effort.

Below are all of the start times for stage four's time trial, all in the local time (CET).

The 21-year-old Spaniard capitalised on a lack of cohesion in the group as the finish approached, eventually jumping clear after the final climb of the day once the efforts of Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) to split the leaders came to nothing.

Lipowitz had repeatedly tried to break free but was persistently tracked by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and others on the Côte du Château Jaune, with approximately 20 kilometres left in the race.

While the rest of the breakaway watched Lipowitz, the most aggressive rider in the group, Romeo took the opportunity to time-trial away as the chasers never regained cohesion.

Romeo clutched his head in disbelief as he crossed the finish line, with Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) taking second and Louis Barré (Intermarché - Wanty) claiming third.

"I can’t believe it," Romeo said afterwards. "I don't know what to say, honestly. I think it was probably one of the toughest days of my life; the breakaway was so hard to get into today. I was feeling really good, and I told the team car that I had to take the risk and not be very active.

"In this kind of final, I knew that if the others gave me some seconds, then I could make it. They didn't immediately chase me for about a minut,e so I thought ok, time to go flat out to the line."

"I think this is the best day of the year so far for sure," he added. "I've worked so hard for this, I'm very grateful for the team for supporting me… we [Movistar] know we can win, we just have to go for it as we did today. This is for all the team and everyone that's supported me."

How it happened

The third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné traversed the home region of Romain Bardet, rolling out from the Frenchman’s home town of Brioude before heading to Charantonnay. The riders faced five categorised climbs, with the last ascent, the Côte du Château Jaune, coming around 20 kilometres from the finish.

After the day’s only intermediate sprint point, Van der Poel leapt from the peloton and immediately went on the offensive. A large, high-calibre breakaway soon formed and rapidly built up a gap. Along with Van der Poel, Ineos Grenadiers pair Axel Laurance and Michael Leonard were in the 13-man move. Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) were also present.

With 38 kilometres to go, the break held an advantage of a minute and a half over the chasing pack as the start of the Côte du Château Jaune approached, a likely launch pad for an attack. Teams with GC aspirations attempted to organise a chase at the front of the peloton, but the breakaway continued to gain time.

Visma-Lease a Bike, Ineos Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates-XRG eventually took control in the main field. The combined efforts of the three teams cut the advantage down to almost a minute, with EF Education-EasyPost also playing a key role in attempting to restore some cohesion in the bunch.

Once the climb began, Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) kicked clear from the break and took Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) with him. Lipowitz also made it across and attacked over the summit, quickly distancing the duo. The increase in tempo on the climb meant that the race leader, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), was quickly dropped. The dig from Lipowitz also pushed the break’s gap to over a minute again.

A brief drop in pace between the three leaders brought Van der Poel and the rest of the chasers back to them. And, sensing the break was too big, Van der Poel immediately attacked as the group entered the final 10 kilometres of the race. Despite the efforts of the Dutchman and Lipowitz, the break remained together before Romeo attacked and time-trialled away from his rivals to seal a maiden WorldTour win and a first victory for Movistar in over a month.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025, stage three: Brioude > Charantonnay (202.8 km)

1. Iván Romeo (Spa) Movistar, in 4:34:10
2. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS Astana, +14s
3. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché - Wanty, at same time
4. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time
5. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +27s
6. Axel Laurance (Fra) Ineos Grenadiers,
7. Brieuc Rolland (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
8. Julien Bernard (Fra) Lidl-Trek,
9. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Uno-X Mobility,
10. Eddie Dunbar (Ire) Jayco-AlUla, all same time

General classification after stage three

1. Iván Romeo (Spa) Movistar, in 14:09:01
2. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché - Wanty, +17s
3. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS Astana, +18s
4. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +24s
5. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +29s
6. Eddie Dunbar (Ire) Jayco-AlUla, +37s
7. Brieuc Rolland (Fra) Groupama-FDJ,
8. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Uno-X Mobility, at same time
9. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +1:06
10. Fred Wright (Gbr) Bahrain Victorious, +1:12

Writing on Instagram the day after the incident, while she awaited surgery, the Canadian Picnic PostNL rider recounted her tumultuous weekend in Britain. On stage two, Roldan attacked with 11km to go to fly to victory, before stage three saw her crash in incredibly wet weather. Her team posted a photo on Sunday of Roldan smiling in her hospital bed.

"I don’t even know where to start," she wrote. "Two days ago I had the most unforgettable and special moment of my career — winning my first WWT race, and not even a full day later I'm laying in a hospital bed after experiencing the scariest crash of my life, sliding out at 70km/hr and breaking my femur. Then, getting emergency evacuated to the hospital where I am now waiting to undergo surgery this afternoon.

"The contrast is hard to wrap my head around. From a high I’ll never forget to a low I never saw coming."

"Everything just hurts — physically, yes, but even more so on the inside," Roldan continued. "I’m devastated. Heartbroken. The kind of broken that goes beyond bones. I’ve poured everything into this sport, and to be lying here not knowing what the road ahead looks and if I'll even be able to ride a bike again this 2025 season is a scary and truly heartbreaking thought.

"To everyone who has reached out, checked in, or held space for me in the last 24 hours — thank you," Roldan said. "I haven’t been able to respond to all your messages yet, but please know I’ve seen them, and they’ve meant more than you can imagine.I don’t have much more to say just yet. I’m still processing, still trying to catch my breath. But please know I’m incredibly grateful, and I’ll share more when I can.

"A special thank you to Lizzie Deignan for staying with me after the crash and being there to hold my hand through that scary moment, and of course to my team Picnic PostNL for all their support and love as I begin this long journey to recovery.One day, one step at a time."

Deignan won the combativity award on stage three for her actions in helping Roldan following her crash; the Tour of Britain Women was her last race in the UK before retirement.

The big Italian made use of a sterling leadout from Lidl-Trek in the final kilometre to get ahead of his rivals as he opened up his sprint. After Simon Consonni peeled off, it was over to Milan to finish the job.

Wright and Van der Poel both launched powerful sprints in their own right but could not come past Milan with the line in sight.

The win also meant that Milan will wear the race leader’s yellow jersey on stage three after he jumped ahead of Tadej Pogačar in the general classification.

"It was really tough," he said afterwards. "Our goal was to come here and keep building up the condition and get some good results. Yesterday I was suffering a lot, it was my first race after a long time, but today I suffered a lot again and dropped at one point. I have to thank my teammates as they got me back on and brought me to the last metres. Massive thanks to them."

He added: "We knew that we had to take the last corner in the front, it was perfect the way we did that. It’s pretty nice to take yellow, I have to say."

How it happened

After the unexpected general classification drama that unfolded 24 hours previously, stage two of the Critérium du Dauphiné was set to be an undulating, hilly affair across 204 kilometres between Prémilhat and Issoire. On paper, it was a stage for the breakaway experts with six minor classified climbs littering the parcours.

An initial four-man move went clear early on consisting of Christopher Juul-Jensen (Jayco-AlUla), Romain Combaud (Picnic-PostNL), Victor Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Paul Ourselin Cofidis). The gap to the lead quartet fluctuated between a minute and a half and two minutes for much of the afternoon’s action in the foothills of the Massif Central.

With 50 kilometres remaining to the finish, Juul-Jensen and Guarnalec were the last men standing and had a gap of just 19 seconds over the chasing peloton. Alpecin-Deceuninck, Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Emirates flooded the front of the main field in an attempt to eat into the remaining deficit to the leaders.

Meanwhile, Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan was dropped due to the increase in tempo and struggled off the back. It was all over for Juul-Jensen and Guarnalec just five kilometres later when the bunch finally made contact with the lead duo.

Once the break had been caught, the peloton appeared to knock off the pace as the finish drew closer, with the average speed rarely climbing over 40 kmph. Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) was ever present at the head of the peloton, marshalling the group as they approached the final climb of the day, the category four Côte de Nonette, which came 18 kilometres from the line in Issoire.

As the summit approached, Romain Bardet (Picnic-PostNL) jumped clear of the bunch on his local roads and attempted to get away. The move from the soon to retire French was short lived, with the peloton soon bringing him back into their midst.

UAE led the peloton under the kilometre to go banner as the sprint teams looked to wind it up for the run in. Lidl-Trek were the first team through the last corner with Milan perfectly positioned. The Italian launched a devastating sprint that meant he beat Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) comfortably by a few metres.

Results

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025, stage two: Prémilhat > Issoire (204.6 km)

1. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 4:54:49
2. Fred Wright (Gbr) Bahrain Victorious,
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck,
4. Stian Fredheim (Nor) Uno-X Mobility,
5. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ,
6. Emilien Jeanniere TotalEnergies,
7. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale,
8. Yevgeniy Federox (Kaz) XDS Astana,
9. Matis Louvel (Fra) Israel-Premier Tech,
10. Clement Venturini (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels, all at same time

General classification after stage two

1. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 9:34:51
2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, at same time
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +2s
4. Fred Wright (Gbr) Bahrain Victorious, +4s
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, at same time
6. Hugo Page (Intermarché - Wanty), +8s
7. Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla, +9s
8. Nils Politt (Ger) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, at same time
9. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +10s
10. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at same time

The event is likely to finish in the Welsh capital, directly beneath Cardiff Castle, and pass close by to the outdoor velodrome, home of Maindy Flyers Cycling Club - the first club the 2018 Tour de France winner joined when starting out in the sport in his home city. Negotiations are understood to still be ongoing with local authorities regarding the exact nature of the 2025 route, however.

Speaking at the time of his retirement announcement, Thomas said on his Watts Occurring podcast that he hoped the Tour of Britain race director, Rod Ellingworth, could orchestrate a grand exit for him on his final professional outing. The duo have maintained a close relationship since working together on the British Cycling academy, which later continued when Ellingworth joined Ineos Grenadiers.

"If you could pick anything then it would be finishing on home roads and the Tour of Britain is exactly that," Thomas said. "Rod [Ellingworth], who's my old coach from the academy, then obviously he was part of [Team] Sky for so many years, he's the race director there as well. So I've asked him to pull a few favours, possibly go into Wales for the final stage, possibly Cardiff city centre outside the castle, that would be awesome."

As well as finishing beneath the castle, the race organisation are said to be working on a passage over nearby Caerphilly Mountain - last used in the Tour of Britain in 2023 - before venturing into Cardiff.

Race director Ellingworth did little to deny speculation regarding the Cardiff route when speaking to Velo recently: "There's a few little challenges but the final part will be dead exciting and I think there'll be some really good racing. As Geraint is retiring, I think it will be a brilliant finish for him."

Sources also told CW that the Tour of Britain Men is likely to be used as an opportunity to test potential routes for the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ in the UK - the final day into Cardiff could be one of the stages potentially used by ASO, the Tour de France's organisers, during the race's visit to Britain.

Little is currently publicly confirmed regarding the Grand Départ, other than that the race will begin in Edinburgh. It is understood that ASO could potentially use Britain's biggest elite men's race as an opportunity to trial a proposed course in a similar way to how the Critérium du Dauphiné does so for the Tour. ASO were approached for comment but did not respond.

A spokesperson for British Cycling said: "We'll be announcing details of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men's stages soon and look forward to sharing all of the official route news with excited fans.”

Thomas was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2003, but then rode the full over 3,000km race route in 2005 for the first time after he entered remission. Each year, a group of amateur cyclists has followed in his footsteps and ridden the whole course one week before the professionals pass through.

The cobbles of northern France put an end to the former Crystal Palace captain's last attempt to complete the route, but Thomas, who turned 60 earlier this year, says some new specialist medical treatment has enabled him to push through the pain in order to give the route a go one more time.

"I actually had to get on a different bike because mine had a bit of a malfunction on the cobbles in 2022," Thomas explained. "But then the setup on the new bike actually wrecked my knees, so I ended up having to get off the bike a couple of days after.

"I'd done it in 2021 and, in many ways, I should have just finished then on a high. That was such a magical time, straight after Covid. It was really amazing because not only had we all been released from the shackles of staying at home, we all bonded really quickly as a team and ended up raising one million pounds."

Thomas explained that an offered donation of £100,000 from a fellow rider convinced him to return to the event in 2022 before climbing off left a "sour taste" in his mouth and meant he knew he would have to return.

While finding himself contemplating surgery to correct the pain he'd been suffering with in his knees, Thomas was contacted by the Premier League's Chief Medical Officer, Mark Gillett, who had completed the ride that same year, with help.

"He [Gillett] knew what I was going through with my knees as I've got grade four arthritis in both," Thomas said. "After football my cartilage is all shot, I’ve had cruciate ligament repairs on both knees too. "All I can describe it [Arthrosamid] as is like a cushion that's gone into my knees. Even on a bike I was getting that horrible bone on bone feeling, so I had this injection around last December and then a couple of weeks after I was out on the bike and that feeling had gone."

"It gave me the confidence to go out on my bike again and ever since then I've just gone and done more and more as I build back up to this," Thomas added. "I did a 115 mile ride last week. I try to get out more or less four or five times a week and I'm steadily building up again. My right knee actually feels like I could go for a run or jog on it again, and I haven't felt like that for 15 years now."

With his departure for France getting closer, Thomas will soon have to reckon with a return to the slopes of Mont Ventoux during a mountain heavy final week. As well as the iconic climb, the riders tackling Tour21 will have to take on summit finishes atop the Col de la Loze and at La Plagne in the French Alps.

"I know exactly what it's all about," Thomas said of Ventoux, having tackled the climb on two previous occasions. "I don't really tend to look too deeply into what's coming up each day. I've been up so many mountains now that they all just blur into one. Ventoux stands out, because it's so iconic, but the rest just all blur together."

"By the time you get to Paris you feel like you've all really bonded," he added. "I've always likened it to battling what I did with my Leukaemia. There's days when it's really tough, there's days when you feel a bit better, but then the end game is the finish and Paris. Getting to Paris is like that moment when you get told you're in remission. It mirrors so many things that I experienced with my illness."

You can make a donation to Cure Leukaemia and support Tour21 at the event's JustGiving page.

The 36-year-old has been competing in the women’s elite peloton since 2007 and was proud to race on British soil one final time, especially as the Tour of Britain Women kicked off at home in Yorkshire before winding its way north to a finish in Glasgow on Sunday.

“It feels like it's come full circle. Obviously I started off racing here in the UK, so it's nice to get one final race here,” Deignan told Cycling Weekly at the start of stage three in Kelso.

The Brit was a constant feature during the four stages, working on the front for her Lidl-Trek team and claiming the combativity award on stage three.

After the finish in Glasgow, she broke down in tears, overcome with emotion on completing her final Tour of Britain Women.

Deignan announced her retirement last November, before the 2025 season got underway. She is now on a year-long lap of honour after a hugely successful career which has included World Championship and Paris-Roubaix Femmes titles, as well as an Olympic silver medal from London 2012.

This season, her role has been centred on supporting her team’s leaders and soaking up every enjoyable moment she can.

“It's been really nice, to be honest. Knowing that every race that I do is my last time, even on bad days I force myself to enjoy it because I won't get to do this again. I'm looking at the positives every race I do and just enjoying it," she said.

Women’s cycling is almost unrecognisable from how it was when Deignan entered the peloton almost two decades ago. The sport is more professional, more competitive, and the women’s scene in the UK is bigger than ever.

Deignan is pleased to be passing on the baton at a time when there are so many strong young British talents emerging, including the likes of Cat Ferguson, who, at only 19 years old, placed a close second overall at the Tour of Britain.

“It's night and day different,” Deignan said in comparing the two eras. “The women's scene is really strong in the UK, we've got quite a few domestic teams.

"Obviously the next generation of women coming through, Cat, Imogen [Wolff], Carys [Lloyd], Anna [Henderson], Pfeiffer [Georgi], Zoe [Bäckstedt] - the list is endless. That is totally different to when I was coming through.

"I feel like I've carried the torch for quite a long time now, and it's really cool that there is now a group of women ready to take over.”

Wollaston came into the final stage with a three-second deficit to the 19-year-old Brit. She defeated her rival in each of the three intermediate sprints on the circuit-style course around Glasgow to level things up, before coming round Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto) at the very last to take the final place on the podium and four all-important bonus seconds to take her first every WorldTour stage race victory.

The closeness of the battle made for a tense day, both had a mixture of nerves and confidence on the morning of the final stage, but it was FDJ-Suez who managed to put their plan into action best of all.

“I'm so, so, so happy,” Wollaston told Cycling Weekly after pulling on the race’s final green leader’s jersey.

“I knew it was a lot to pull off today, winning three sprints and having to still get seconds in the final. I knew the race really had to go my way today. I'm so, so immensely grateful for my teammates for making it pan out that way. I really couldn't have done that on my own out there today.”

Indeed, Wollaston’s team-mates guided her expertly, never missing a beat on the technical final kilometre of each of the 10km laps. However it was Wollaston herself who had to use her track prowess to overcome a rider in Ferguson who had defeated her in a sprint less than 24 hours earlier.

“If you looked at every sprint that I did well in today, I was never isolated,” Wollaston added. “I had a teammate going into the last corner every single time and it made a world of difference.”

“The bottom corner was only 150 metres to go. So yeah, you just had to be there first, really - first or second. My team did such an amazing job.”

Wollaston had been quietly effective throughout the race, never initiating her own attacks but being present in every move that mattered.

The multiple-times track world champion was pleased not to be in Ferguson’s position ahead of the final stage and preferred to be the hunter, rather than the hunted.

“I struggled so, so much yesterday, especially in the final. I was a little bit nervous coming into today, for sure.”

“Often a lot of the times on the track, I race best in omniums when I'm not leading from the front and I think I found it super motivating today not having to defend the win. I find it a lot easier on the mind chasing rather than defending.”

“I find it quite stressful and a lot of pressure defending a win. So it was a great position for me to be in this morning. I think it worked out perfectly.”

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was part of a star-studded breakaway with only 6km to go and out-sprinted Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to start his campaign off strongly and take the first yellow jersey.

In a day full of out-of-character performances, this sprint finish surprised even the chronic victor who knows this is only the start of the long 8-stage race.

He said: “Obviously, it's good, but the real test is coming at the end of the weekend.

“I was not [expecting it]. I was all prepared to come back to the bus pretty fast after the finish, to take a shower in the bus, take a comfortable seat and enjoy the rest of the day. But I don't mind being here as well,” he added.

The Slovenian’s victory came from the break guided by Vingegaard, who, after reaching the top of the Côte de Buffon, which had slowed down the pace of the peloton, uncharacteristically attacked with Van der Poel and Pogačar following suit. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) managed to bridge the gap to ensure they didn’t miss out on this star-studded breakaway.

Pogačar said: "I followed the moves on the steep part of the climb, and then Visma were clearly going for the stage win. They were trying, with everybody, to attack from the top. And that one was painful.

“And fortunately, I had good legs and I covered all the attacks. And then, even Jonas for the last one, for the cherry on the top, he attacked.

"Around 2km to go, I was starting to think more about the sprint than just the GC, and I knew that Van der Poel was the fastest, obviously, in this group. But after a finish like this, you cannot count all of the rest out, they can be fast as well after a tough day.”

As soon as the 5-rider group hit the flamme rouge Van der Poel struck, charging down the straight in a bid to outsprint Pogačar and Vingegaard who stuck to his back wheel.

It was a test of nerve for the riders, and for Van der Poel, who has just returned from a wrist injury, also a test of fitness, as Pogačar snuck round the side of the former world champion to clinch the first stage victory.

He said: "It's a stage win. I can go home from Dauphiné happy already, but yeah, I still want to see how the shape will be in the TT and on the mountain stages. I cannot say that after today, the shape is incredible."

Vingegaard said: "I had a good day, to be honest. I'm happy with how it went today. Happy that I could make a difference. So yeah, I guess it's the first time I finished second in a bunch sprint. So I'm happy.”

It was the bunch sprint filled with big names that showed just how competitive this year’s Criterium du Dauphine will be as they head into stage 2.

Stage 2 will see the riders head south from the suburb of Prémilhat across the hilly terrain with six different categorised climbs, culminating after 204.6km in Issoire.

This week, Dickson has been racing the Tour of Britain Women for the Handsling Alba Development Road Team, one of the smallest teams in the race. An unlucky puncture on the first day left her out of the General Classification picture, but she excelled in the difficult second and third stages.

“It's been really exciting. I didn't really know what to expect at the start, coming into a WorldTour race,” Dickson told Cycling Weekly before the final stage on Glasgow Green.

“On the first day I was caught out with how hard it would be to move up later in the race. It's almost like if you imagine a gridlock - the girls are so well drilled. And then with about 4km to go I punctured and couldn't ride it. It was out of the rim. So that kind of took me out of GC because I lost 50 seconds on the group I'd been in.”

“Then the past two days I was really pleased with how I rode. I think we took a lot from the first day and tried to improve on it,” she added.

Dickson finished the race in 17th overall. It’s her first ever WorldTour race, but follows a season so far in which she has taken incredible strides forward, winning the Lincoln Grand Prix before mixing it with WorldTour riders at the Tour of Norway and placing third overall. These results are a world away from where she was this time last year when she was just learning the ropes of road racing.

Dickson may be new to the sport, but she has been involved in elite competition since she was a teenager as a triathlete and duathlete and has also represented Great Britain in mountain running. She credits her rapid rise to her sporting background, but also guidance from her men’s WorldTour rider partner Sean Flynn, who rides for Picnin-PostNL.

“My boyfriend's a WorldTour rider. So although I hadn't raced, I've been with him since I was 17. To be honest, he took me from not being able to take a bottle out of the bottle cage to following him in his reps, training behind him on the descents and it's all just a gradual accumulation. And then as I moved more towards duathlon from triathlon, it was a natural step to just try cycling,” Dickson said.

The 25-year-old has learned an awful lot this year, the learning curve is steep to get to the top level of cycling. She has made the most progression on several technical elements.

“Even if you look at my heart rate in races at the start of the year, I was so nervous in the wheels, like petrified sometimes when we were descending, whereas now I've learned to enjoy it and just to embrace the adrenaline, which does wonders for you in a race. If you can be calm, you use your energy more efficiently and that really helps you.”

Cycling Weekly understands that Dickson has been in conversations with more than one WorldTour team about stepping up to the very top level for next season. When asked about the possibility, she replied “Yeah, hopefully. I’ll hopefully turn WorldTour next year.”

With the GC battle fought out in the intermediate sprints between Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) and Cat Ferguson (Movistar), Wiebes stayed out of trouble before launching a monstrous sprint on the final lap of the race to extend her record as the rider with most wins in Tour of Britain Women history.

Wiebes crashed and fell out of overall contention on stage two, suffering an injury to her hand which made her uncomfortable on the bike in the final two stages. The initial disappointment had initially left Wiebes unsure if she would continue the race as it made its way north through Scotland, but the Dutchwoman rallied.

The team also lost lead-out rider Barbara Guarischi in a big crash on the third stage, but confirmed afterwards that her injuries were not as bad as first feared.

Wiebes and the team were pleased to put the bad luck behind them in Glasgow, taking a characteristically dominant bunch sprint win.

“We really went into the stage to finish it in a good way,” Wiebes told Cycling Weekly after the final stage. “It's been pretty much ups and downs. Luckily, the crash from yesterday didn't do too much damage for myself. I was feeling a bit better than yesterday on the bike… I felt pretty strong at the end and I'm happy that the sprint power was still there.”

“The team kept me really good in the front the whole race. In the intermediate sprints it's important to be more in the front, because they always open gaps in the peloton,” she added.

Wiebes questioned the decision by the UCI commissaires on the previous day not to neutralise the race after the crash that took out Guarischi also brought down around 15 other riders. She thought that it would have been safer for the race to have been paused at that time to allow enough medical personnel to be available for the remainder of the day.

“I think it was a mistake from the commissaires to not neutralise the race after the big crash," she said. "I mean, if only three riders can get through and multiple riders are screaming on the ground in pain, I don't think it's good to continue the race like this.”

“It's better to neutralise and then start again. Also, I think it took some time before the doctor was back in the peloton. There we also lost Barbara and she was pretty much important also for today's stage.”

Sport Director Christian Kos was delighted with his team’s show of resilience on the final day.

“It was necessary to go out with a bang because we didn't have the most lucky week with Lorena hitting two times the deck, a hard crash for Barbara Guarischi yesterday, so this is a nice lift up of the spirit.”

Despite the bad luck knocking Wiebes out of GC contention, Kos thinks that the experience at the Tour of Britain Women will serve her well as she looks to contend in hilly stage races going forward.

“If I look at the season, she's going over the hills really strong and she's improving every time I see her so it's not impossible. When we were looking at the stages we had the feeling it was not impossible to go for it.”

“Day one we were a little bit left out of teammates around us and also as a sprinter being the only one in the break then at least she had good legs, but then our luck changed a little bit, she crashed two days in a row putting us completely out of GC but without the bad luck I still believe she could have fought for the GC here.”

In what was meant to be a slower opening day on the bike, the titans of the sport broke away with 6km to go alongside Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step), and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain - Victorious), creating a spectacular and surprising end to a long day.

As Van der Poel led out the sprint to the line, Pogacar timed his attack to perfection, getting the better of the Dutchman to take the top spot and add yet another epic clash to their history together. The Slovenian was followed by Vingegaard, who pushed Van der Poel into third.

Anticipation was rife at the start of the opening day of the 8-stage race, which would see riders take on 195.8km from Domérat to Montluçon, as well as numerous Cat. 4 climbs culminating in a sprint finish to secure the yellow jersey.

But a day full of out-of-character and yet stand-out performances proved that this Criterium will be nothing other than unpredictable. And so if this stage is anything to go by, fans are in for not only an exciting Criterium du Dauphiné but an even greater Tour de France in a month's time - consider our appetites whetted!

How it happened

There were bold breakaways from the outset, as within the first 15km, Paul Ourselin (Cofidis) and Pierre Thierry (Arkéa) had already extended their advantage to 4 minutes ahead of the peloton.

This two-man breakaway held its advantage for the whole first 100km of the race, only having their lead reduced to 2 minutes 15 seconds following a strong shift from Lidl-Trek in the peloton.

Côte de Sainte-Thérence, the first climb of the day, arrived with 90km to go, and the 2.5km climb at a 4% incline saw the two-man group stay ahead of the peloton, but their lead had been chipped away to less than 2 minutes for the first time in over a 100km.

In the next 30km, the controlled peloton reeled in the men to bring them within a minute, with Ourselin tapping out after collecting almost all of the seven climbing points on offer and rejoined the group to leave Thierry riding solo with only 15 seconds' advantage.

After 15 lonely kilometres for Thierry, he was joined by an attacking Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) to double efforts in the breakaway as the peloton breathed down their necks, with only a 10-second advantage and two more climbs inbound.

This pairing only lasted a short time after the Brit bridged the gap, as Thierry returned to the comfort of the peloton after a day at the front, leaving Wright to try to hold off the peloton for another 10km before being reeled in before the racing fully started.

After the final categorised climb of the day came in a 600m steep ascent led by Axel Laurence (Ineos Grenadiers), Matteo Jorgenson made a small move to breakaway, but it was cancelled out by a preying Van der Poel.

But it was Vingegaard who made the decisive move 5.5km from the finish as he attacked and was followed by Pogacar, Van der Poel and Buitrago, with Evenepoel bringing up the rear.

From there, it was a test of nerve (and fitness) for a recently returned Van der Poel, who attacked first on the flamme rouge, leading out the sprint ahead of the breakaway, who were mere seconds clear of the chasing peloton.

As Van der Poel’s sprint waned, Pogacar sprang to life, coming around the side to pip his rival and ride clear across the line with Vingegaard closely following.

It was reminiscent of the sprint finish at Milan San-Remo, where Van der Poel got the better of the Slovenian on the line, as Pogacar utilised the opening day Criterium du Dauphine to enact his revenge and add a new chapter in their rivalry.

Results

Criterium du Dauphine 2025 Stage 1 Domérat > Montluçon (195.8km)

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 4:40:12

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Visma Lease a Bike

3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck

4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step

5. Jake Stewart (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech

6. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarche-Wanty

7. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale

8. Clement Venturini (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels

9. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis

10. Paul Penhoet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, all at the same time

Criterium du Dauphine 2025 General Classification after Stage 1

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 4:40:02

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Visma Lease a Bike, +4s

3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +6s

4. Nico Politt, (Ger) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +9s

5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step +10s

6. Jake Stewart (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech

7. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarche-Wanty

8. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale

9. Clement Venturini (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels

10. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis all at the same time

Wollaston claimed her first General Classification win after her well-timed third-place finish pushed Movistar’s Cat Ferguson out of the top spot, after crossing the line in seventh.

But it was Wiebes who took the win on the day, redeeming a disappointing tour with a dominant final sprint ahead of Charlotte Kool (Picnic PostNL).

The Tour of Britain Women victor said: “It really came down to the last sprint and there was definitely a moment where I thought ‘I just cannot do this today’, and my teammates really helped me pull it together and pulled me to the front for the final."

“I’m a bit overwhelmed but I’m so happy, I really could not have done it without my teammates,” she added.

How it happened

Following a chaotic day on the Tour during Stage 3, Stage 4 awarded the riders with sunnier and calmer conditions to battle for Tour of Britain Women glory on the final day on the streets of Glasgow.

As the second shortest stage, the city-centre criterium was the flattest day of the tour as the riders navigated the 12 different 90-degree corners, helping to inject pace and lengthen the peloton.

And yet with no breakaway from the peloton across the 82km race, the time bonuses provided by the intermediate sprints became decisive, making for a tense day for all involved.

Ferguson entered the day wearing the green jersey, following a stunning ride under challenging conditions to take the stage victory the day before, but the 19-year-old had New Zealand’s Wollaston breathing down her neck, having started the stage only three seconds in arrears.

Across the three intermediate sprints, Ferguson’s advantage was chipped away, as Wollaston continually pipped the Movistar rider on the line.

The FDJ-Suez rider snatched the penultimate sprint victory in a photo finish to bring her within 1 second of Ferguson, and then stormed ahead to take the final bonus second to enter the remaining 15km with the General Classification level on time.

Britain’s Anna Morris tried to raise the pace with 14km remaining as she headed out to the front solo, but after 6km alone, she was swallowed up by the peloton again and left the riders with 8km to prepare for a final sprint to round out the tour.

But with 3km to go, Lidl-Trek injected pace into the peloton, with two-time race winner Lizzie Deignan leading the team out in her swan song at this race.

Primed in position, Ferguson seemed nailed on to take the GC as Wollaston was nowhere to be seen with the peloton heading through 300m to go.

And yet as Wiebes led the sprint to the line dominantly ahead of Kool, who clung onto her compatriot's back wheel, Wollaston attacked, making up the distance from Ferguson and taking the inside line on the final corner, putting her ahead of the young British rider and closing out the podium.

It was this perfect ride by FDJ-Suez which snatched the overall victory from Ferguson, who was caught off-guard after finishing seventh and four seconds behind in the general classification.

Results

Tour of Britain Women 2025 stage 4 Glasgow > Glasgow (84km)

1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned), in 1:57:13

2. Charlotte Kool (Ned), Picnic-PostNL

3. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez

4. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon–SRAM zondacrypto

5. Babette van der Wolf (Ned) EF Education-Oatly

6. Anna Henderson (GBr) Lidl-Trek

7. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar 8. Celia Gery (Fr) FDJ-Suez

9. Linda Zanetti (Swi) Uno-X Mobility

10. Nienke Veenhoven (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez, in 10:36:45

2. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar, +4s

3. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, +22s

4. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +50s

5. Sarah Van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT, +1:01

6. Cecille Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:02

7. Megan Jastrab (USA) Picnic PostNL, both at the same time

8. Anna Henderson (Gbr) Lidl-Trek, +1:06

9. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco, both at the same time

10. Millie Couzens (GBr) Great Britain, +1:09

The 143km stage was the hardest of the whole race with five categorised climbs and teams wanted to take advantage early on. FDJ-Suez pushed on over the first climb of the day up to Scott’s View and continued over the top. As the pace ramped up, Faulkner had her first issue of the day; a mechanical leading to a long chase back.

Then, with 56km left, Faulkner crashed alongside 15 others as the leading group came round a left hand bend, but managed to chase back with help from team-mates Nina Berton and Sara Roy. She crashed again with 33km to go and this time, wouldn’t return. The Olympic champion would eventually ship more than three minutes and saw her lead change hands to Movistar’s Cat Ferguson.

It was a battling performance from Faulkner, but the stars were out of alignment for the American in Kelso.

“She's a fighter, so she never gave up,” EF Education-Oatly Sports Director Daniel Foder told Cycling Weekly after the stage.

“She had her teammates around her. I mean, when you have that leader jersey, you cannot give up. You have to keep fighting, and that's the mentality for her and for the team as well.

The first mechanical was maybe in the worst possible moment, because that was a hectic and fast part of the race. But we managed to get back, and everything was actually okay, I think. But then one crash, we had to spend a lot of energy getting back from that one, and then the second one was one crash too many,” Foder concluded.

An unwritten but universally-known rule in cycling is that you don’t accelerate when the race leader is chasing back on after a crash or mechanical. However, after Faulkner’s first spill, it appeared that FDJ-Suez, working for New Zealander Ally Wollaston, lifted the pace.

Coming up in short order was an intermediate sprint as the race passed through the start-finish line in Kelso, which may give enough of an excuse for the French team who continued the pace-making through the line. Foder was pragmatic about the move afterwards.

“I understand because they have a sprint coming up for bonus seconds, and we know that they need to take it. If they continue, I mean, OK, they can do what they want. Personally, I would do different, I think. But it's a race. We cannot complain. We evaluate on how we can do our stuff, and then we have a new day again tomorrow.”

The final stage of the race is a dash around the streets of Glasgow. EF Education-Oatly now need to dust themselves down and set new goals for their last day in Britain.

“For sure I think Breakaway will be really difficult because of the bonus seconds, of course.

On paper, it's going to be a sprint, but we will talk and then see if we can come up with something.”

“The race is not over yet and I think for us at this moment, I think it's about recovery from today and then hopefully we're able to bounce back.”

What she didn’t expect was how the day would pan out. Heavy rain overnight had made the tarmac slippery, and the downpours intermittently came and went throughout the stage. What followed were several major crashes, including for race leader Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), who was distanced before the race’s final climb. The rain made an already difficult race even more attritional - only the strongest would flourish.

After an attack from Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto) with 24km to go, a final selection of six was made. Ferguson was there alongside multiple track world champion and GC rival Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez). With everyone on the limit, 19-year-old sprung something of a surprise to win her first ever WorldTour race with Wollaston third behind another Brit Josie Nelson (Picnin-PostNL), as the clouds produced one final downpour.

“It's incredible. It's really more than I could have hoped for,” a clearly frozen but delighted Ferguson told Cycling Weekly after the finish.

It was logically expected that Wollaston, with her track pedigree, would be able to get the better of her rivals on the cobbled sprint finish. However, Ferguson still had the presence of mind to use momentum to her advantage in the last 200 metres.

“To win it in the way that we did is not what I expected. I wasn't sure I was going to get it to be honest,” Ferguson said.

“I knew that Ally's definitely a better sprinter than me. Obviously, in the intermediate sprint she beat me, so I was thinking it was going to be difficult to beat her. But, if I came in second wheel and launched first on the cobbles, then hopefully I could get a bit more momentum on her, and it worked.”

“This race was a big goal of mine. I really wanted to come in and have good form, something I feel like I've been lacking a little bit to be honest. The whole season was missing that spark, and in this race, I think I've found it. I've been feeling really good,” Ferguson added.

The final climb was fought-out by the riders who managed to avoid the crashes. With 56km left, around 15 riders came down on a single left-hand bend, including stage two winner Mara Roldan (Picnic-PostNL) and Faulkner. Nine riders in total pulled out of the race during the stage due to crashes and other injuries and issues. Ferguson was well positioned throughout and was expertly guided by her Movistar team.

“Unfortunately there was a lot of misfortune, and Faulkner was caught behind crashes and mechanicals about three times, so I'm feeling for her. But I managed to stay at the front out of trouble and I'm used to riding in the rain, being from the UK, so I think that definitely helped,” she said.

Ferguson has moved into the lead of the race, taking a three-second advantage over Wollaston ahead of the final circuit-style stage in Glasgow where the bonus seconds will decide the race.

“I’m very nervous. I didn't imagine myself in this position, so now we have a lot of work to do and planning to do on how we approach tomorrow. I only have a few seconds lead, and I think tomorrow there will be four sprints to gain time, so it's going to be a difficult one. But with the team we have, we're really motivated, so we'll do the best we can.”

It is the 19-year-old's first Women's WorldTour win in her first season as a professional, and followed a brutal day which saw multiple significant crashes, including for the previous race leader, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), who finished over three minutes down.

Ferguson of Movistar was attentive to the decisive selection with 25km to go, then stuck with the group of five to the finish. In the final 300 metres of the day Ferguson launched her sprint, with Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL) following in second, with Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) in third.

The move had been created after an attack by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), but an ill-timed mechanical meant that the group of six became five on the way back to Kelso.

On a rain-soaked stage, multiple riders were forced to abandon, including previous race leader Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime).

A significant crash with 56km to go saw Faulkner hit the deck, along with stage two winner Mara Roldan (Picnic PostNL) and around 10 others; Faulkner would crash again with 34km to go to rule her out of the general classification.

Ahead of a final day city-centre criterium in Glasgow, Ferguson leads Wollaston by three seconds, meaning it could all come down to bonus seconds in the final sprint. Ferguson now also controls the points competition, and the young rider's contest too.

“I’m so over the moon. I think this is one of the races I was most excited to do this season. I wanted to show Britain how good I can be and I think I did that,” Ferguson said post-stage. "There were really tough conditions and lots of crashes and misfortune, but I lucky to get in winning move and we worked well.

"I knew if could get in good position for the final corner, then I could win. It was better to be second wheel and then launch before the cobbles, because if you lose momentum on the cobbles, it’s hard to get it back."

How it happened

The longest stage of the 2025 Tour of Britain Women looked set to be decisive in the battle for the overall win, with lumpy roads and tough weather on the menu for the riders left in the race.

Starting and finish in the Scottish town of Kelso, close to the border with England, there were five classified climbs, which while punchy, had the potential to shake up the race.

A couple of early attacks in the 143km-long race came to little, with no break established. The first QOM points on offer, at the top of Scott's View, were swept up by Dominika Włodarczyk (UEAE Team ADQ).

FDJ-Suez, Lidl-Trek and Movistar were the most visible teams, attempting to make the race hard and also exert an element of control. An early bike change for leader Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) set the tone for a disappointing day for the American national champion.

The second QOM of the day, on Dingleton, was won by Amber Kraak (FDJ-Suez), as stage two winner Mara Roldan (Picnic-PostNL) rose to the virtual lead of that competiton.

With 90km to go, the heavens opened, with rain marking the rest of the day. Włodarczyk won the third QOM of the day, on Dunion Hill.

A huge crash caused by the weather on an innocuous bend at 56km to go saw around 11 riders hit the ground, including Włodarczyk, Roldan and Faulkner. Roldan and Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-Protime) were forced to abandon after the incident. Lorena Wiebes, Guarischi's teammate, was also caught up in the incident, and crashed again with 45km to go.

Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) won the intermediate sprint in Kelso, the first time the race passed the finish line, taking bonus seconds in the process, followed by Cat Ferguson (Movistar).

Faulkner was caught up in a second crash with 34km to go, along with Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike), among others. This resulted in a mechanical which saw the American distanced conclusively.

The second time up Scott's View, Fauve Bastiaenssen (AG Insurance-Soudal) won the sprint, with Kraak following in behind.

On the final time up the Dingleton climb, with around 25km to go, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) attacked, followed by Ferguson. The pair were joined by Eleonora Gasparrini and Karlijn Swinkels (both UAE Team ADQ), Wollaston, and Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL). Ferguson was the first to the top of Dingleton.

What was left of the peloton before was led by Liv AlUla Jayco and Lidl-Trek, hoping to salvage their GC positions. An unfortunately timed mechanical issue for Uttrup Ludwig saw the Dane dropped from the lead group.

The quintet up front would not be seen again, as they worked together to build their advantage. UAE Team ADQ through Swinkels and Gasparrini attempted to use their numerical advantage in the final 3km, but it was to come down to a final sprint.

As rain poured in Kelso, Ferguson launched her sprint with 300m to go, and was not caught, despite the best efforts of Nelson and Wollaston. Faulkner, meanwhile, finished in a group 3:14 behind.

Results

Tour of Britain Women 2025 stage three: Kelso > Kelso (143.8km)

1. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar, in 3:42:37
2. Josie Nelson (GBr) Picnic PostNL
3. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez
4. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, all at same time
5. Eleonora Gasparrini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +3s
6. Millie Couzens (GBr) Great Britain, +38s
7. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
8. Imogen Wolff (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike
9. Sarah Van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT
10. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Picnic-PostNL, all at same time

General classification after stage three

1. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar, in 8:39:32
2. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez, +3s
3. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, +12s
4. Riejanne Markus (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +40s
5. Sarah Van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT, +52s
6. Megan Jastrab (USA) Picnic PostNL
7. Cecille Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, both at same time
8. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco, +56s
9. Anna Henderson (Gbr) Lidl-Trek, at same time
10. Millie Couzens (GBr) Great Britain, +59s

While it stands alone as a well respected WorldTour event, the Critérium du Dauphiné's place in the calendar makes it a perfect warm-up race for the Tour de France and an ideal place for Grand Boucle hopefuls to test their form. Indeed, it often serves as a very useful barometer for July – since 2012, the Dauphiné winner has six times gone on to win the Tour de France.

Because of this status, the race always attracts a strong field, and this year no less than all three of the biggest Tour de France stars will line up against each other: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step). It should be a fascinating race.

Below, Cycling Weekly has compiled everything you need to know about broadcasters and live streams, so you can watch the Critérium du Dauphiné wherever you are in the world.

Quick guide to watching the Critérium du Dauphiné

How to watch the Critérium du Dauphiné in the UK

In the UK, the Critérium du Dauphiné will be available to watch online on Discovery+, with TV broadcast on TNT Sports also available but varying across its different channels.

There will also be free-to-watch evening highlights on ITV4.

Both TNT and Discovery+ are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and require a subscription.

Discovery+ costs £30.99 a month. TNT Sports is also £30.99 a month, but is cheaper with certain TV packages. Virgin Media customers, for example, can add it to their bundle for an additional £18 a month. Sky TV customers can do the same for an extra £30 a month. EE mobile customers can purchase TNT Sports as an add-on for £20 a month.

Can I watch the Critérium du Dauphiné in the US and Canada

In the USA, fans will be able to watch the race on Peacock, which is NBC's streaming network. The standard service costs $7.99 monthly / $79.99 annually, and if you want the ad-free Premium Plus service, that rises to $13.99 monthly / $139.99 annually.

Canadian fans can watch the Critérium du Dauphiné live on the Flobikes network. This costs $29.99 monthly / $150 annually (USD).

Can I watch the Critérium du Dauphiné in Australia?

If you're an Aussie cycling fan you're in luck – you can watch the race for free on SBS, with free live streaming available on SBS On Demand.

Can I watch the Critérium du Dauphiné for free?

You can watch the Critérium du Dauphiné for free in Australia, with SBS, as outlined above.

Additionally, numerous European countries have free coverage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, including France 3 and the FranceTV streaming platform in the host country of France.

In Belgium, Flemish-language VRT – broadcast on the Sporza website – and French-language and RTBF – available online on Auvio – both have the rights. Those in Spain can watch on RTVE PLay, while in Italy it's on RAI Play.

Coverage is geo-restricted, so if you're not in any of these countries right now, and these channels are your usual port of call, you'll need a VPN to get your usual coverage while abroad – more on that below.

How to watch the Critérium du Dauphiné while abroad

Most streaming platforms have geo-restrictions these days, which means they only work in certain countries. But being locked out of the races is a thing of the past thanks to a VPN.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of internet security software that can alter your device's location, so you can unblock your usual streaming services, even when you're abroad.

Want to know more? We have an explainer on the benefits, costs, and considerations...
– Should I use a VPN to watch cycling?

What time is the Critérium du Dauphiné on?

Start times for the UK coverage of the race varies from around midday to 14:30 BST on TNT and Discovery+.

Free-to-watch evening highlights on ITV4 run from 19:00-20:00 daily.

In the USA, Peacock coverage starts at between 7:00 ET (stage 1) and 9:30 ET, while Flobikes coverage in Canada begins at 7:00 EDT

SBS coverage in Australia begins at between 9:25 and 11:30 AEST daily.

► Cycling TV and streaming guide

What to expect at the Critérium du Dauphiné

The eight-stage race starts out lumpy and only gets lumpier as it heads from the Auvergne region across to the Alps.

The early stages are peppered with cat-four and cat-three climbs, where punchy riders with a fast finish could thrive. Jonathan Milan and Jake Stewart will both be present and may hope to have their day in the first half of the race.

A time trial on stage four will pit riders against a mostly flat 17km course with a 2km climb in the middle of it, and should start to shape the GC. After that, the race continues to get harder, with summit finishes on stages 6, 7 and 8.

Stage 7 in particular, which takes in three hors-category climbs, culminating in a summit finish on Valmeinier 1800 at 16.2km / 6.8%, looks a particular brute and could well decide the overall.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

There's a yellow jersey, it's a stage race in France, it's run by ASO... but no it isn't the Tour de France. It's the race's baby brother, the Critérium du Dauphiné, which acts as one of the key warmup races for next month's big event.

It's an exciting prospect itself, however, shorn of the Tour's significance. There's no flat stage to speak of, simply four hilly affairs, three pure mountain days, and an individual time trial. The cast is also top tier, with Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel all present.

Stage table

Five things to look out for at the Critérium du Dauphiné

Big three return

For the first time since last year’s Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard will race each other at this year’s Dauphiné, in a full dress rehearsal for this year’s Tour. With that race just over a month away, this week in France will point towards the form we will see in July. While Pogačar has been his usual winning self in 2025, winning seven times, Vingegaard and Evenepoel have had their seasons affected by injury.

Farewell, Romain

After 13 and a half seasons as a professional cyclist, Romain Bardet will retire after the Critérium du Dauphiné, his eighth time at the race. Fittingly, stage three begins in Brioude, the 34-year-old’s hometown, where there will surely be a carnival atmosphere as Bardet sets off. Maybe, maybe, there could even be a valedictory stage win.

Alpine triptych

The slopes of Combloux, Valmeinier 1800 and the Plateau du Mont-Cenis on three back-to-back stages will decide the race, with stage seven to Valmeinier 1800 in particular one to watch. That day, there are three hors categorie climbs: the Col de la Madeleine (24.6km at 6.2%), the Col de la Croix de Fer (22.4km at 6.9%), and the Montée de Valmeinier (16.5km at 6.7%).

Cheese time

As is tradition, the Dauphiné will reach its crescendo in the Haute-Savoie, the home of some of the cheesiest dishes in the world. This is the land of the tartiflette, fondue, and raclette. Not that the riders will be eating anything this heavy, but some of the staff might very well do. Reblochon, Tome, Beaufort, and Abondance are all from the region. One to ponder during the 17.7km time trial on stage four.

Lost to time

Like many things in cycling, the Dauphiné has a convoluted past. The modern race is named for a region that no longer exists, and gave its name to the crown prince of France when the country still had such things. It actually takes its name from a local newspaper, the Dauphiné Libéré, published in Grenoble. These days, it’s run by the Tour’s organisers, ASO.

Focus on: Col du Mont Cenis

The name of the climb apparently comes from mont des cendres - the mountain of ashes - which comes from a forest fire. The pass lies between the Cottian and Graian Alps, on the border between Italy and France. It comes close to the end of stage eight, and is 9.6km at 6.9%, so if there is still a race to be won, the moves will happen here. The Tour de France has been up it five times previously, but not since 1999.

Where can I watch the Critérium du Dauphiné?

It is on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland, accessible via a TV package or a Discovery+ subscription. In previous years, highlights have been on ITV4, so do check your television schedule.

Last year's Critérium du Dauphiné podium

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
2. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike
3. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech

Riders to watch at the Critérium du Dauphiné

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) ****

Who else could win the race but Tadej Pogačar? Given everything we know and his 2025 so far, on paper there is only one winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné. However, anything can happen on the road, and it will be fascinating to see the Slovenian back stage racing in Europe for the first time this year.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) ****

A slow start to 2025 for the Belgian wonderkid came about after he was hit with a car door by a Belgian postal worked in December, but he has won twice, at Brabantse Pijl and the Tour de Romandie. The Dauphiné will be a big test for his fitness and how well he matches up against his GC rivals. Expect him to star in the time trial on stage four.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) ***

Even more than Evenepoel, Vingegaard’s form is completely unknown. Visma-Lease a Bike have made encouraging noises, but he hasn’t raced since abandoning Paris-Nice in March. The Dane has been training at altitude in the Sierra Nevada, having recovered from concussion. He will enjoy returning to Combloux, the scene of his famous TT triumph in 2023.

Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) ****

The Dauphiné is a funny one for a sprinter like Jonathan Milan. There are no pure sprint days, with the first three stages all hilly affairs, with multiple classified climbs, including some close to the finish. However, Milan can hang in there, and showed at Gent-Wevelgem that he can still sprint after a hard day’s racing.

Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) ***

Fourth last year at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Rodríguez has had a quiet 2025 to date, finishing sixth at Valenciana and at the Tour de Romandie, but he is thought to be Ineos’ main man for the Tour de France. A week-long stage race will tell us much about the young Spaniard’s form ahead of the big race.

After Charlotte Kool ramped up the pace in the small lead group, the young Canadian attacked as the leaders began the finishing circuit near Saltburn-by-the-Sea for the second and final time.

It was touch and go as the final ramp to the finish arrived, but Roldan held on to seal the win for Picnic-PostNL. Markus took second with Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) claiming third.

Behind the leaders, Megan Jastrab (Picnic PostNL) led the remnants of the chase group across the line, with Cat Ferguson finishing in fifth which saw her move up to fourth in the general classification. Ferguson is now just 14 seconds off Faulkner's lead with two stages remaining.

How it happened

Stage two took the race from Hartlepool to Saltburn-by-the-Sea in north east England. The riders faced 1,348 metres of elevation gain on the 120 kilometre route, with the Saltburn Bank climb, a stalwart of several recent editions of the British national championships, featuring late on towards the finish.

After her heroics on stage one into Redcar, race leader Kim Le Court was brought down in an early crash, along with several other riders. Great Britain's Jess Roberts was also involved. Le Court managed to get back into the peloton before several riders began to up the tempo.

Three riders managed to get away and formed an early breakaway - Lucy Gadd (Smurfit Westrock, Maddy Leach (Handsling Alba Development) and Tiffany Keep (DAS-Hutchinson). The trio quickly established a lead of more than three minutes and held that for much of the day.

With 33 kilometres to go, the leaders were onto the finishing circuit around Saltburn. Leach was the first rider to drop away as Tiffany Keep pushed on as the road began to ramp up on the categorised Marske Lane climb. The South African rider had a lead of just 39 seconds as she crested the summit, taking maximum points on the first Queen of the Mountains point of the day. She was then caught a few kilometres later.

On the descent of Marske Lane, four riders came down, including Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime). Lidl-Trek's Anna Henderson jumped clear in a brief skirmish off the front as the race began to fracture. Le Court was one of the riders affected by the split as around 25 riders went clear.

Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) took the lead group onto Saltburn Bank for the first time, upping the tempo before Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) got onto the front with Cat Ferguson (Movistar) in her wheel.

Picnic-PostNL moved to the front of the lead group and immediately jumped on the offensive. Mara Roldan launched a stinging attack on Marske Lane and went clear over the summit. With 11 kilometres left to go, the young Canadian tore into the descent and opened up a small gap as the remnants of the front group tried to get organised and reignite the chase.

Despite having just a handful of seconds on the chasing pack, Roldan held on up Saltburn Bank to take a memorable stage win, her first at WorldTour level, for Picnic-PostNL.

Results

Tour of Britain Women 2025, stage two: Hartlepool > Saltburn-by-the-Sea (120 km)

1. Mara Roldan (Can) Picnic-PostNL in 2:57:38
2. Rejanne Markus (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +12s
3. Ally Wollaston (Aus) FDJ-Suez, +18s
4. Megan Jastrab (USA) Picnic PostNL,
5. Cat Ferguson (GBR) Movistar,
6. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ,
7. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Canyon//SRAM Zondacrypto
8. Sarah van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT Pro Cycling,
9. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Oatly, all same time
10. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco, +22s

General classification after stage two

1. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Oatly, in 4:57:03
2. Rejanne Markus (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +4s
3. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez +12s
4. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar, +14s
5. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, at same time
6. Megan Jastrab (USA) Picnic PostNL, +16s
7. Sarah van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT Pro Cycling,
8. Cecille Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Canyon//SRAM Zondacrypto, at same time
9. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco, +20s
10. Anna Henderson (Gbr) Lidl-Trek, at same time

It will be the second foreign start for the Tour in its short history after it began in Rotterdam in 2024, and raises the prospect of an Alpine stage as early as the third day.

The opening stage will be a loop around Lausanne, with a finish fit for punchy riders, while stage two, from Aigle to Geneva, will be a more traditional sprint stage. Stage three will begin in Geneva and head to France across the border, with mountainous options in almost any direction.

It also means that the Tour will not have a denouement in the Alps, as it did in 2024 on Alpe d'Huez and will this year at Châtel, close to the Swiss border. It opens the prospect of a return to the Pyrenees as in 2023, or potentially the Massif Central.

Lausanne has hosted the men's Tour de France six times before, most recently in 2022, when Wout van Aert won atop a 4.9km climb at 4.5% - potentially a taste of what is to come at next year's Tour de France Femmes.

The race will run from 1-9 August, with nine stages scheduled, the same length as this year. It will also begin the week after the men's race finishes, as opposed to running on straight after, as is the case this season.

Geneva has featured in the Tour de France 10 times before, the first time in 1913 - the second foreign city to feature in the race - while Aigle has hosted a start just once, in 2022. Cycling's governing body, the UCI, is based there.

Tour de France Femmes direct Marion Rousse was present at the announcement in Aigle on Thursday, alongside UCI president David Lappartient.

2026 will be the first of two editions of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to start abroad, with 2027's race set to begin in the UK, although little is known about the route of that yet. The men's race, also with a British start, begins in Edinburgh that season.

It comes after two high-profile crashes and deaths at bike races in Switzerland - Gino Mäder at the Tour de Suisse in 2023 and Muriel Furrer during the junior women's road race at the World Championships in Zürich in September last year.

Olivier Senn was deputy manager of the local organising committee of the Zürich Worlds, and is also the director of the Tour de Suisse. The trackers will first be used at the Women's WorldTour race, which begins next Thursday, 12 June, before the men's race begins on Sunday, 15 June.

Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger confirmed the news on Wednesday. The tracking information will be sent to a security centre, which also has access to television pictures and weather. As soon as a tracker stops moving for 30 seconds, speed changes strangely or or the tracker leaves the road, an alarm sounds. While riders have been tracked for timing purposes before, this is a new system.

"We can't completely prevent crashes with these measures, but we are doing everything we can to ensure that the teams have access to all the information and that the consequences are as minimal as possible," Senn said. "We can intervene immediately if necessary."

It is voluntary for teams, but the Tour's organisers hope that it will be used universally. It has reportedly cost CHF50,000 (£44,941 / $60,965).

"Participation is voluntary for the teams, but I hope that every team will take part," Senn said. "Each bike will be fitted with a small tracker that will sound an alarm in the event of certain anomalies, such as if the bike does not move for 30 seconds, leaves the route or abruptly changes speed. In such cases, we are notified immediately and can react.

"We will also use trackers in the convoy, as each radio is equipped with a tracker. The information is gathered in the safety command centre where we can monitor the entire situation and intervene immediately if necessary."

The football club's disappointing season has forced minority share owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s hand as part of yet another reshuffle at Old Trafford. The billionaire owner of Ineos has rung the changes since coming on board, instigating regular staffing cuts, cancelling Christmas parties and axing free lunches for staff members in an attempt to cut costs and rediscover former glory. It appears the tycoon has now deemed the marginal gains pioneer surplus to requirements at the football club and better suited elsewhere amongst his wider project.

Does this mean Brailsford will return to working more closely with Ineos Grenadiers? With the Ineos sport portfolio shrinking, it seems possible that the 61-year-old could focus most of his attention on the cycling team, as it looks to re-establish itself at the upper echelons of the sport following a poor 2024 campaign.

While the team has successfully moved on from a tumultuous year and returned to consistent winning form, the underlying narrative for some time has been that the squad lacks clarity in its leadership structure. The uncertainty regarding leadership is still thought to be an issue within the team, with support expressed for Geraint Thomas moving into a management role following his retirement in September.

Thomas told The Guardian at last summer’s Tour de France that Brailsford’s previous role leading Team Sky was very different to Ineos’s structure: “Before, it was a lot more ­straightforward with Dave at the top. There was clarity with everything. There was a simple process, whereas now it’s got a lot more complicated.”

“It’s like a coalition government,” he said in an assessment of the structure last year, led by CEO John Allert. “You need a majority. Even if you didn’t agree with stuff [before] at least there was a clear ‘boom, boom, boom’ – that’s it, move on – rather than this grey area.”

If Thomas’ words last July are anything to go by, Brailsford returning to the fold could provide a figurehead again for the cycling team, someone to front up and be the face of the squad, as Richard Plugge is for Visma-Lease a Bike, or Ralph Denk for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. It’s unlikely the management structure will change again so soon, especially as it's favoured by Ratcliffe and Ineos, but with Thomas and Brailsford teaming up, there might be a new direction.

Back to the future

To some, Brailsford coming back could be seen as a negative, a step back when the team is, on paper, moving forward once more. However, throughout his tenure leading the cycling team, Brailsford achieved consistent results - seven Tour de France wins in eight years, with four different riders is a record that speaks for itself.

Allowing him to extend his influence into cycling once more could be the difference between a flash in the pan year of good results, and long term, sustainable success once more. There is the small matter of Ineos Grenadiers looking for a second sponsor, too, but keep your eyes on where Brailsford goes.

The AG Insurance-Soudal and EF Education-Oatly riders distanced everyone else on Langburn's Bank, 37km from the finish in Redcar, and the chase behind was not enough to bring them back.

Despite leading into the final 300 metres, Le Court held on to sprint to the win ahead of Faulkner, who couldn't match her power. Behind, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) took third from the reduced peloton. Cat Ferguson (Movistar) was the best British finisher, coming in fifth.

Le Court now leads the four-stage race by five seconds, which resumes tomorrow with another lumpy stage in North Yorkshire. Both Le Court and Faulkner also benefited from bonus seconds to grow their cushion at the top of the standings.

“I am very happy, not just with this victory, but also with being back here," Le Court said post-stage. "We came into this stage with a plan and executed it perfectly. I attacked, had Kristen come with me, and we managed to hold off the chasers, both of us being strong engines.

"It was pretty close at the finish, but I am delighted I could pull it off. I now look forward to the next stages, where we want to fight for some more good results."

How it happened

The 82km-long stage rolled out of Dalby Forest on the way to Redcar, a day with two classified climbs.

The first of these came with over 50km to go, Blakey Ridge - 5.6km at 4.3% - with the points won by Anouska Koster (Uno X-Mobility), before Langburn’s Bank quickly followed. The race kicked off in the descent down to the bottom of this climb.

An attack from Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) was followed by Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) and Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) with 37km to go. Henderson was distanced close to the top, but attempted to grind her way back on. Le Court, though, was free of Faulkner and alone over the top.

Le Court won the QOM sprint at the top of Langburn’s Bank, but was rejoined by Faulkner on the descent, as the peloton trailed by around half a minute. The bunch thinned out on the lumpy North York Moors as the race headed back towards the coast.

Behind the lead pair of Le Court and Faulkner, the peloton appeared to have split, with FDJ-Suez and Movistar leading the chase from a smaller group, which was 34 seconds behind with 28km to go.

Despite having numbers behind, the peloton appeared unable to really bring the gap back down. One moment of concern came with 15km to go, when Faulkner misjudged a corner and almost crashed into a traffic island. However, Le Court waited for her break partner, in the knowledge that she needed the extra power.

There was no slowing down or attacks from either of the breakaway duo, simply full commitment to the end of the stage.

With 1km to go, the gap was stuck at 18 seconds, with the power from the chasing group appearing to reduce the gap very little. Le Court opened up the sprint first, with Faulkner following in behind, with Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) finishing third.

Results

Tour of Britain Women 2025 stage one: Dalby Forest > Redcar (81.5km)

1. Kim Le Court (MRI) AG Insurance-Soudal, in 1:59:05
2. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Oatly, at same time
3. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +5s
4. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility
5. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar
6. Millie Couzens (GBr) Great Britain
7. Megan Jastrab (USA) Picnic PostNL
8. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez
9. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco
10. Sarah Van Dam (Can) CERATIZIT, all at same time

General classification after stage one

1. Kim Le Court (MRI) AG Insurance-Soudal, in 1:59:05
2. Kristen Faulkner (USA) EF Education-Oatly, +5s
3. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +14s
4. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, +17s
5. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility, +18s
6. Cat Ferguson (GBr) Movistar
7. Millie Couzens (GBr) Great Britain
8. Megan Jastrab (USA) Picnic PostNL
9. Ally Wollaston (NZl) FDJ-Suez
10. Quinty Ton (Ned) Liv AlUla Jayco, all at same time

All five of the country’s Continental teams – CJ O’Shea Racing, DAS-Hutchinson, Handsling Alba Development Road Team, Hess, and Smurfit Westrock – will compete in the four-day race, which starts today in Dalby Forest, and finishes in Glasgow on Sunday.

For the British squads, none of which are professional, the event is a valuable chance to show off sponsors and gain experience against some of the best riders in the world.

"It’s big and it’s stressful and it’s going to be absolutely mad," says Smurfit rider Lucy Harris, "but it’s an incredible opportunity at the same time. You have to make the most of it."

Harris, who won the CiCLE Classic this March, balances her racing with a full-time job as a meteorological data scientist. She returns to the Tour of Britain this year after making her debut in 2024, when she won the combativity prize on the first stage. "It was insane," she says. "I remember that Lizzie Deignan was up there [on the podium] as the Queen of the Mountains and she looked at me and said well done and I nearly burst into tears."

For Alba’s Lauren Dickson, the Tour of Britain will mark her first WorldTour event, and only her third ever stage race. The 25-year-old won the Lincoln GP last month, finished third at the recent Tour of Norway, and says she “can’t wait” to test herself against the 12 WorldTour teams.

"I’d really like to be in the breakaways and see how close to a podium that we can get," Dickson said. "If you want to be the best, then you have to be able to compete with the best. You have to believe in yourself, but you also have to learn from it. It’ll be a huge learning experience for everybody. We’ll have to bring our A-game."

This year’s race is particularly important for Alba, a squad with a Scottish core hopeful of performing on home roads. The team recently won their first international UCI race at the Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic, but the Tour of Britain remains the centrepiece of their season.

"We’re looking to be seen in the race," says Alba manager Bob Lyons. "It’s tough down here getting budget, and we need exposure. We’re trying to get as much exposure as we can, and that’s a great opportunity for us in Scotland [on stages three and four]. It’s good for sponsors."

The same feeling is echoed by DAS-Hutchinson directeur sportif Olly Moors, who says the race is "massive" for his team’s partners. Already this season, DAS-Hutchinson have raced the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race, two of the calendar’s biggest WorldTour one-day events, gaining valuable experience and exposure.

"At Flanders, we were in the breakaway for over 100km, and the engagement we got off that was huge. Our sponsors absolutely loved that," Moors says. "Those races force you, not just the team itself but the riders as well, to step up. We held our own and we’re proud of that."

Moors estimates that the average WorldTour squad operates on a budget around 30 times bigger than his team’s. It’s a daunting prospect, he says, but it shouldn’t deter his riders or those of the other Continental teams from racing aggressively. "You’ve got to mix ambition with reality," the DAS-Hutchinson DS says.

"It’s about finding that perfect sweet spot between the two. We would ambitiously love to have a rider perform well. I think really our best chances are a stage result and then looking at early breakaways, getting ahead of the race." As for the general classification, Moors adds, placing a rider in the top 30 would be a "great outcome".

The Tour of Britain Women begins today and is available to watch free on the BBC.

Now organised by British Cycling with Lloyds as title sponsor, it will be run over four stages and visit Scotland for the first time in the 12-season history of both the Women's Tour and this iteration of the event.

The startlist promises a host of star riders, both from abroad and from the host nation. While last year's overall winner Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) is not set to ride, fans will be able to watch stars such as Lizzie Deignan and Anna Henderson (both Lidl-Trek), Olympic road champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly).

Below, Cycling Weekly has compiled everything you need to know about broadcasters and live streams, so you can watch the Tour of Britain wherever you are in the world.

Quick guide to watching the Tour of Britain Women

How to watch Tour of Britain Women in the UK

In the UK, the Tour of Britain Women will be available to watch for free on the BBC iPlayer and on British Cycling's dedicated YouTube channel, @tour.of.britain. Both iPlayer and the YouTube broadcast are geo-restricted to the UK.

It will also be broadcast online on Discovery+, with evening highlights available on TNT Sports 3.

Both TNT and Discovery+ are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and require a subscription.

Discovery+ costs £30.99 a month. TNT Sports is also £30.99 a month, but is cheaper with certain TV packages. Virgin Media customers, for example, can add it to their bundle for an additional £18 a month. Sky TV customers can do the same for an extra £30 a month. EE mobile customers can purchase TNT Sports as an add-on for £20 a month.

Can I watch the Tour of Britain Women in the US and Canada

Unfortunately, the Tour of Britain Women is not set to be broadcast on any platform in the USA or Canada. It was broadcast last year by Flobikes, but that is not the case this time round.

Can I watch the Tour of Britain Women in Australia?

Fans in Australia will be able to watch free daily highlights of the Tour of Britain Women on SBS, though not a full livestream.

How to watch the Tour of Britain Women while abroad

Most streaming platforms have geo-restrictions these days, which means they only work in certain countries. But being locked out of the races is a thing of the past thanks to a VPN.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of internet security software that can alter your device's location, so you can unblock your usual streaming services, even when you're abroad.

Want to know more? We have an explainer on the benefits, costs, and considerations...
– Should I use a VPN to watch cycling?

What time is the Tour of Britain Women on?

UK coverage of the race begins at 12:00 BST on Discovery+ and the British Cycling YouTube channel @tour.of.britain. Evening highlights start at 20:00 BST on TNT Sports 3.

► Cycling TV and streaming guide

What to expect at the Tour of Britain Women

The riders have a lumpy four days ahead of them, culminating in a flat, city-centre outing that will showcase the race perfectly.

It differs somewhat from last year, which saw the race play its toughest hand at the outset in Wales. This time round the race builds slowly towards a hilly third stage based on Kelso in Scotland, so the GC is likely to hang in the balance until then.

Even the flat but very technical final stage in Glasgow could see the lead change hands, especially if the GC remains finely balanced after the Kelso stage.

There will be opportunities for both fast finishers and rouleurs here, and riders such as Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Elisa Balsalmo (Lidl-Trek), who are able to play both hands at will, should be ones to watch.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

The second edition organised in-house by British Cycling, the Women's WorldTour race was won last year by world champion Lotte Kopecky. In her absence this year, it's likely a new winner will be crowned.

Make sure you are across everything at the Tour with our complete guide to the race, which begins on Thursday 5 June, and finishes on Sunday 8 June.

Key riders to watch

Lorena Wiebes
26 | Ned | SD Worx-Protime
UCI Ranking: 3 | 2025 wins: 8

Since its inception in 2014 as the Women’s Tour, the Tour of Britain has been a happy hunting ground for sprinters, but none have ever managed to win the General Classification, the race more suited to the all-rounder. This year’s edition, though, could well see unquestionably the world’s best sprinter, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), take overall honours.

While the location of this year’s race suggests a harder parcours than ever before, the Dutchwoman has the attributes to compete and even win every stage. Aged only 26, she’s amassed 101 victories, adding eight from 18 race days this year, and one of the keys to such success is her increasing ability to climb.

Cast your mind back to last year’s Amstel Gold Race where she was second, pipped on the line while celebrating. She was sixth again this season, but it was her 20th place at Jebel Hafeet, the mountain stage at the UAE Tour, which conclusively proved she is far more than just a sprinter.

With a strong team in support, the spiky profile of the Scottish Borders stage is survivable for someone with Wiebes’s characteristics, especially as the main climbs come more than 20km from the finish in Kelso. And if her winning sprint on the uphill finish of stage one at the Vuelta Burgos is anything to go by, not even uphill finish at Saltburn-by-the-Sea will be too much.

While the rest of the peloton has become more specialised, this week Wiebes may well reap the benefits of greater versatility.

Lizzie Deignan
36 | GBr | Lidl-Trek
UCI Ranking: 142 | 2025 wins: 0

Lizzie Deignan is the only woman to have won the Tour of Britain Women, including its forebear race, more than once, taking the title in both 2016 and ’19, and, with retirement a matter of months away, a third success would be the perfect close to her stellar career.

World champion, she topped the 2020 Women’s WorldTour standings, won the overall World Cup twice and bagged classics wins as diverse as Paris-Roubaix Femmes and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. She’s simply one of the most successful riders of her generation. However, her most recent win was Roubaix, almost four years ago, and she’s spent much of the time since on domestique duties.

Sixth place at the 2023 Worlds in Glasgow was proof she can still rise to the occasion when leadership opportunities arise, especially on the classics style courses we’ll see this weekend. She is also highly respected, and any GC bid will receive enthusiastic support from her team and the peloton alike.

Kim Le Court
29 | Mus | AG Insurance-Soudal
UCI Ranking: 14 | 2025 wins: 1

If persistence alone won races, Kim Le Court would permanently be on the top step. The Mauritian champion only returned to road racing last year after an extended and successful period mountain bike racing, where she won the Cape Epic, among others.

She began on the road, racing the 2015 Women’s Tour for Matrix Fitness, but, after a year riding for Bizkaia-Durango in Spain, her career faded to occasional road appearances. In 2024, after a year sending her CV to teams, AG Insurance-Soudal took a gamble, signing the now 29 year-old.

And what a signing. A long solo move saw her win the closing stage of last year’s Giro Donne, then, this spring, a series of outstanding classics culminated with a dogged victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, out-sprinting Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ).

She doesn’t have Wiebes-beating horsepower, but Le Court is the real deal and will be fighting for victories.

Kristen Faulkner
32 | USA | EF Education Oatly
UCI Ranking 58 | 2025 wins: 1

While that gold medal-winning ride at the Olympics last summer might be her highest profile victory, Kristen Faulkner has long been one of the peloton’s best breakaway riders, proving herself as the woman most likely to take a mile if given an inch.

A late comer to the sport, she won a stage in her UCI race debut, the 2020 Tour de l’Ardeche, with a characteristic solo move. In Paris she did it on the flat, at stage eight of the 2022 Giro Donne she did it in the mountains, so maybe Saturday’s saw tooth profiled Borders stage is where the former banker can expect the best return on her investment.

However, we saw during the spring the bunch has her number, jumping on her wheel the moment she moved, but should the right combinations create any hesitation the newly minted American champ will be there for a first stage race victory.

Cat Ferguson
19 | GBr | Movistar
Ranking: 52 | 2025 wins: 1

Britain and the WorldTour’s new next best thing, Cat Ferguson is most certainly the real deal. Signing for Movistar as a stagiaire last year, she promptly repaid the Spanish squad’s faith with two victories.

This year has certainly been a step up for the 19 year-old, and the team have put faith in her, allowing leadership opportunities which have produced results way beyond her tender years. She began 2025 with third place in her first WorldTour race, Trofeo Alfredo Binda, following that with a series of top results in the classics, closing the spring with victory at the hilly Navarra Classic.

If anyone was in any doubt, that result showed Ferguson as able to survive and win on the kinds of lumpy courses we’ll see his weekend, but she already has a lot racing in her legs this year, especially for such a young woman, so fatigue could prove an issue.

Ally Wollaston
24 | NZl | FDJ- Suez
UCI Ranking 27 | 2025 wins: 3

New Zealander Ally Wollaston is a consummate all-rounder in the making. Similar in style to world champion, Lotte Kopecky, she has followed a similar progression through the sport, establishing herself on the track, she won Olympic silver in bronze in the Team Pursuit and Omnium last summer, while developing on the road.

On the road she already has 11 wins, including two at WorldTour level. At 24, that’s more than Kopecky at the same age. Though she can handle herself in a bunch kick, most those victories come after hard, hilly days, something she’s sure to encounter at the Tour of Britain.

Form might be an issue, though. While she has three victories already this season, the most recent of them was in February, and her classics season was a stop start affair. She is on the up though, with a series of top 10 placings during the recent block of Spanish racing.

Domestic riders to watch

With five UK registered UCI Continental teams on the start list, we’re sure to see domestic based riders taking chances where they can. Now riding for the Smurfit Westrock squad, Jo Tindley is among the most aggressive and experienced in the entire peloton, she even rode the first Women’s Tour back in 2014. The former national crit champion is certain to be visible, along with CiCLE Classic winner Lucy Harris.

The Handsling Alba Development team have taken a step up this year, with Rapha Lincoln GP winner, Lauren Dickson their breakout rider also boasting a recent second place in a gnarly French UCI 1.1 race. The 25 year-old Scot has no WorldTour experience though, and Kate Richardson, fresh from overall victory at the four day Tour Feminin in the Czech Republic, is best equipped to successfully navigate her way to a good result.

For DAS-Hutchinson, Robyn Clay is fresh from her own stage win in Czechia and will be brimming with motivation, especially the first two days, riding on her home Yorkshire roads. Once the race arrives in Scotland expect another 21 year-old, the slightly more experienced Morven Yeoman, to come to the fore on her own home roads.

The Hess team began 2025 in turmoil, with rumours of financial instability and a raft of riders jumping ship, including Richardson, delaying the squad’s race debut to the start of April. They’re yet to take a UCI win, but Brits Grace Lister and Holly Ramsey have been flying in the National Road Series.

The sprinters

First among the sprinters chasing Lorena Wiebes is Elisa Balsamo. Lizzie Deignan’s Lidl-Trek team mate remains among the best in the business, but is yet to finish ahead of Wiebes on any terrain this season. She has been winning though, winning two stages at Setmana Valenciana and taking wins at both Trofeo Binda and Scheldeprijs.

Now with Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto, Chiara Consonni was once Balsamo’s chief lead out rider. Very fast in her own right, oddly she occasionally struggles for position in stage races, growing into the race as the days go by. Her German team will back her to the hilt though, so expect her on Sunday’s stage podium in Glasgow.

Another rider to have rolled off the Italian sprinter production line is Martina Fidanza. Tall and powerful, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider has hit a rich vein of form this spring, sprinting to two wins in the last month. With neither Marianne Vos or Pauline Ferrand-Prevot present to distract the squad’s resources, they’ll be fully behind the 25 year-old on the flatter days.

Picnic-PostNL’s leader, Charlotte Kool, is arguably the world’s second-best sprinter behind her former team mate, Wiebes. After the highs of two stage wins and the yellow jersey at last year’s Tour de France Femmes, 2025 has not gone to plan. The 26 year-old is yet to win, her best result being second at Scheldeprijs behind Balsamo. She’s not raced since finishing 51st at Paris Roubaix, but should she finally hit form is certainly capable of stage victories.

Others to watch

While the Tour of Britain no longer attracts all the world’s best riders, the Tour de France Femmes providing a bigger target, a host of stars and dark horses will take the start on Thursday.

Letizia Paternoster took the American squad’s first victory when the team was created in 2019, but then seemed to go off the the boil. However, since joining Liv Alula Jayco the Italian appears reborn as an all-rounder, she can infiltrate selections and regularly takes top 10 results in bunch kicks, especially after gnarly races. Her problem has been winning, though you can expect to see her coming close on all four stages.

Canadian Sarah Van Dam (Ceratizit) has been one of the revelations of the season with a string of excellent results. She made a name for herself on the track and has only been racing regularly on European roads since 2023, but it’s been an exceptional year so far, with a string of top 10 finishes, including third overall at Itzulia, where she proved her climbing and sprinting credentials.

There was a fear last winter that the Tour of Britain Women, then called the Women’s Tour, would be no more. Money was tight, its previous organiser had collapsed. Would the UK lose its marquee stage race? In stepped British Cycling, and together with lead sponsor Lloyds Bank, the race was revived under a new moniker. This year it returns to the calendar, again in four-day form, with storylines aplenty.

Firstly, there’s a farewell to Lizzie Deignan, the former world champion and two-time winner of the Women’s Tour, who is retiring at the end of the season. She’ll share the peloton in her final edition with the newest crop of British talent. Look out for Movistar’s Cat Ferguson and Visma-Lease a Bike’s Imogen Wolff, both proudly from Yorkshire, who are set for teenage debuts in their home county.

Indeed, some might argue that this year’s route is less a Tour of Britain, and more a voyage through Yorkshire and Scotland. This might come to the chagrin of southern fans, though northerners will say they’ve had it easy over the years. Step aside London, Saltburn and Glasgow are centre stage now. Roll out the tartan carpet and fire up the bagpipes.

The Tour of Britain Women is the only WorldTour race in the UK this year – the men’s equivalent is ranked as a ProSeries event, and the RideLondon Classique is on hiatus – so cherish it while it lasts. First stop, Dalby Forest.

Make sure you check out our guide on how to watch the Tour of Britain Women, as well as casting your eyes over the full list of contenders.

The stages

Stage 1
Thursday 5 June
Dalby Forest > Redcar (81.5km)
Start: 11:45
Finish: 13:40

Humans have lived in Dalby Forest since the Bronze Age, more than 3,000 years ago, but it’s only this year that the area welcomes its first Tour of Britain Women stage, trusted with the honour of getting the whole race rolling. Tracing through the heart of the North York Moors National Park, the opening day is a short one – just 81.5km long – with a two-and-a-half-hour blitz expected to the coast. “These roads are hard,” said Picnic PostNL’s Abi Smith, who grew up training in the area. “It is very remote, but the views are stunning.”

With so few kilometres to race, and despite the punishing slopes of Langburn Bank at the halfway mark, it might be hard to shake the sprinters before the flat finish in Redcar. It was here, on Yorkshire’s blustery seafront, that Stevie Williams won a stage of the men’s race last year.

Stage two
Friday 6 June
Hartlepool > Saltburn-by-the-Sea (114.3km)
Start: 11:00
Finish: 13:42

Followers of UK racing will already be well acquainted with Saltburn-by-the-Sea, the coastal town whose ‘Bank’ has hosted the last two National Road Championships. The same climb, with its duo of hairpins and 15% gradients, comes twice in the finale of stage two, the finish line drawn after the second ascent. It was on Saltburn Bank that Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL) earned back-to-back national road titles, but in the absence of the British champion, attention might turn to 19-year-old junior world champion Cat Ferguson, who conquered the same slopes to win the East Cleveland Classic in 2024, and on her team’s spare bike, too.

Setting off from Hartlepool, among the boats of the town’s marina, the riders will start and finish their day with a taste of sea air. Whoever sails to victory might well win the entire race.

Stage three
Saturday 7 June
Kelso > Kelso (143.8km)
Start: 11:15
Finish: 14:39

Starting and finishing in the town of Kelso, today's stage represents the first time that either the Tour of Britain Women or its predecessor the Women's Tour has ventured north of the border and into Scotland.

There will be no gentle introduction either – this third stage is the hardest of the race and has the potential to cement the GC in place over its very hilly 143.8km.

The stage will be based on three loops to the south and north-west of the town, and the riders will encounter five classified ascents along the way.

The key appointment is likely to be the second ascent of the cat-one Dingleton climb, which leaves riders with 23 lumpy kilometres to battle it out to the finish and is perfect breakaway territory.

Kelso may be famous for its racecourse, but this stage is sure to see plenty of jockeying for position of the two-wheeled kind, with someone hoping to win at a canter.

Stage four
Sunday 8 June
Glasgow > Glasgow (82.2km)
Start: 10:00
Finish: 11:56

Anyone who remembers the Glasgow World Championships from two years ago (and if you don't, where were you?) will know how capable this Scottish city is of putting on a great bike racing show.

While the best rouleurs and climbers in the race will be hoping their work over the past few days will be enough to secure their GC spots, there is still all to play for on what is a technical city-centre outing.

Riders will take on 10 laps of an 8.4km rectangular circuit that is largely flat but features nine hard turns, some in quick succession – enough to sow a little chaos within the bunch.

The city-centre location should make for thrilling racing and good sized crowds, with the best sprinters in the race looking to come to the fore but having to battle against the sneaky breakaways in order to grab the glory.

How to watch the Tour of Britain Women

The Tour of Britain Women will be live on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app in the UK, with content also across the BBC Sport social media channels.

It will also be shown on TNT Sports and on Discovery+, but behind a paywall.

We have a comprehensive guide on how to watch the Tour of Britain Women that you should check out for more information.

Riders to watch at the Tour of Britain Women

Lorena Wiebes (Ned)
SD Worx-Protime

Since its inception in 2014 as the Women’s Tour, the Tour of Britain has been a happy hunting ground for sprinters, but none have ever managed to win the General Classification, the race more suited to the all-rounder. This year’s edition, though, could well see unquestionably the world’s best sprinter, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), take overall honours.

Lizzie Deignan (GBr)
Lidl-Trek

Lizzie Deignan is the only woman to have won the Tour of Britain Women, including its forebear race, more than once, taking the title in both 2016 and ’19, and, with retirement a matter of months away, a third success would be the perfect close to her stellar career.

Kim Le Court (Mus)
AG Insurance-Soudal

If persistence alone won races, Kim Le Court would permanently be on the top step. The Mauritian champion only returned to road racing last year after an extended and successful period mountain bike racing, where she won the Cape Epic, among others. This year she won Liège-Bastogne-Liège after an impressive ride.

Kristen Faulkner (USA)
EF Education-Oatly

While that gold medal-winning ride at the Olympics last summer might be her highest profile victory, Kristen Faulkner has long been one of the peloton’s best breakaway riders, proving herself as the woman most likely to take a mile if given an inch.

Cat Ferguson (GBr)
Movistar

Britain and the WorldTour’s new next best thing, Cat Ferguson is most certainly the real deal. Signing for Movistar as a stagiaire last year, she promptly repaid the Spanish squad’s faith with two victories. This year she won the Navarra Classic.

Read our full guide to the contenders at the Tour of Britain Women.

Despite all this, it is hard to escape the sense that the Visma-Lease a Bike rider is underrated. He does not have star quality in the same way that other British winners have had, and that isn’t just because pro cycling remains a niche sport. He is unlikely to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year; stop someone in the street, even someone into sports, and ignorance of the 32-year-old’s achievement would not be a surprise.

Cycling fans know how big this is, how fascinating the redemptive arc is, but Yates might still head to his next Grand Tour as a leader as a 7/10 favourite. He wasn’t considered on the same level as Primož Roglič or Juan Ayuso before the race, and won’t necessarily be the one to watch next time, despite being the Giro champion. He has as many Grand Tour wins as Jonas Vingegaard, more than Remco Evenepoel or Geraint Thomas, but this doesn’t necessarily cut through.

This could smart someone with a more sensitive sense of self, but fortunately, flying beneath the radar is just how Yates likes to ride; it is pretty much how he won this Giro after all, until he had to make a move on the final mountain stage. Two-and-a-half weeks of consistent riding led him to the point where he could make one crucial move and take the whole thing. That’s his idea of a perfect race, one that is very different to the 2018 Giro, which didn't end as well.

“The thing he did very well was that he was undercover for the whole race, that’s the way he loves to ride,” Matt White, his long-time sports director at Jayco-AlUla, the team he was at for 10 years, told Cycling Weekly on Monday. "He didn’t take the jersey, he didn’t win a stage. He got through all of the crashes and the dangerous stages in the first half of the race. He didn’t ride a super-aggressive race until Saturday, he was sitting in a nice position.”

“The worst thing that could have happened to Simon is if he'd taken the jersey after 10 days, he just doesn't like that attention,” White continued. “He just loves getting it done and that is his perfect race. His team were winning stages with him just staying there, and now he's just won the Giro without even winning a stage.”

Staying power, patience, and avoiding accidents is as crucial a part of winning a Grand Tour as attacking brio and showing yourself. As other rivals dropped away or out of the Giro, as Roglič and Ayuso did, Yates kept plugging away, not losing too much time, but also, perhaps crucially, not gaining enough time to be the marked man. All that said, it was his legs as much as the tactics, and his ride on the Colle delle Finestre was an outstanding performance, one which proved Yates should be rated. He is capable of victories like this, even if it has been occasional rather than consistent across his career.

Yates deserves to be in the pantheon of British cycling greats now, even if he won’t enjoy the attention. Next time he’s on the start list of a Grand Tour, perhaps it’s time to rank him among the favourites - although if he is to win, maybe we should keep his status a bit secret.

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com, or comment below.

The 109km race features a solid 1,664m of climbing and has an elite / pro category, masters age groups and a challenge ride event that covers the same course – similar to The Gralloch.

The setting is likely to be a major draw – Red On says the route takes in ancient landmarks such as Ancient Messini and the Arcadian Gate, as well as olive groves and remote valleys.

On the subject of olives, the event village will be located in the coastal city of Kalamata – a name found on the label of many an olive jar.

It's all a far cry from the forests of North Yorkshire and Southern Scotland.

“The route we’ve created in Messenia is truly phenomenal—gritty, scenic, and completely unique," said Red On's Malcolm Smith in a statement. "Riders will pass through ancient sites, along wild gravel tracks, and across landscapes that feel untouched by time. The gravel riding potential in this part of Greece is nothing short of world-class, and yet it's almost completely undiscovered. That’s what makes Merciless Gravel so special—we’re opening the door to something new.”

The locals are very much on board with Red On's gravel export, it seems, with the mayor of the local town of Messini, George Athanasopoulos calling the event "a wonderful opportunity to share the beauty, culture, and legendary hospitality of our region with riders and visitors from across the world. We are proud to be part of bringing this incredible gravel adventure to life in our corner of Greece.”

It will run from November 6-9 this year and, Red On says, it will be a multi-day gravel festival, with "gravel riding, cultural experiences, and beachfront celebrations. Riders can expect guided rides, local food, panel talks, entertainment, and an epic after party at the Messini Beach Club."

This would not be the first time that Greece has hosted international gravel riding – the country has hosted the finish of the Transcontinental Race numerous times, with accompanying gravel sections.

Visma-Lease a Bike's Mathieu Heijboer told Cycling Weekly on Monday that Van Aert's showing on the Colle delles Finestre was proof of the unity in the team, as they powered towards Giro success.

After making the day's breakaway on stage 20, the Classics specialist was ready and waiting to put in a huge turn in the valley road to pull Yates closer to the stage finish in Sestriere - Yates had already attacked on the slopes of the penultimate climb.

Heijboer did not reveal any data from Van Aert's ride, but said that it was like nothing he had seen before from the Belgian.

"Wout van Aert did a one hour career best performance actually," Heijboer said as he reflected on Visma's stage 20 display. "He never rode faster for one hour than on the Finestre. He did all of that to make it over the top so he could support Simon in the last 15 kilometres and I think that says it all."

He added: "That togetherness and shared commitment, shared goal, is something we create in the preparation for the race and that has really paid off for us, especially in the last stage."

Speaking on Monday, Yates's former British Cycling mentor Keith Lambert told CW that he felt the Briton had ridden a "stealthy" race, enabling him to fly under the radar and keep himself in contention during a frenetic opening week, which closed off with a gravel stage into Siena.

Heijboer agreed with the sentiment, reiterating that a strong showing from the entire team had enabled their man to achieve his goal.

He said: "Simon did a super good climb on the Finestre, but when you look at the Giro as a whole, I think as a team we really brought him in every time into a good position and he profited a lot from our other goals, like sprinting with Olav Kooij.

"We couldn’t complain about the luck we had in the stage to Slovenia when a lot of guys crashed, but it was the quality of our group as a team that kept us in front."

In a dramatic turn of events, the 32-year-old achieved Giro d'Italia redemption on the slopes of the Colle delle Finestre on Saturday, turning this year's race back in his favour on the penultimate stage in the Italian Alps.

After Sunday's trophy lift and podium events, Monday saw Yates attend a Giro d'Italia media call in Rome, but the celebrations will not last long - the Visma-Lease a Bike rider is set to ride the Tour de France in support of Jonas Vingegaard.

Bury Clarion Cycling Club's Nick Hall has known the Yates family since Simon and Adam joined the club as teenagers, and told Cycling Weekly on Monday that Simon's latest achievement surpassed anything else.

"It's absolutely incredible, talk about redemption," he said. "It was just amazing, the more you think about it the bigger the achievement seems to be. It's his crowning moment, without a doubt. You've got Bradley Wiggins, possibly the most famous British cyclist there's ever been, he put everything into trying to win the Giro and didn't get anywhere near winning it. So for Simon to go and do that, a little lad from Bury, is just amazing, it really is."

He added: "What he has achieved will probably go a little bit under the radar, because of who they are and how they are with the media sometimes. But he really should be up there as a contender for BBC Sports Personality of the Year after this, I do believe that."

"In the general scheme of things, the Giro is the second biggest race in the world," he said. "If you compare it to golf, which has got four majors, cycling has got three majors - so for Simon to have won two of them is just remarkable. It's almost on a par with Rory McIlroy's achievements in golf."

Hall's phone sprung into life - including with messages from Yates's parents - once Simon crossed the line in Sestriere, all but confirming his second Grand Tour win.

"Sue was understandably very emotional, I think John tried to keep it bottled in a bit," Hall said. "Even on Saturday after that stage he was saying: 'It's not over yet, I'm not celebrating until after tomorrow' you never know what can happen, I guess. But they’re both absolutely over the moon as you can imagine."

"I think they had it on in their house on several different channels, the laptop, everything," he continued. "I think sometimes John has to go and sit in the garden and wait until it's all finished because he feels too nervous to watch it all unfold."

The latest achievement from one of Bury's own will be the talk of the town, in cycling terms anyway, for now, Hall said.

"We've actually got a Bury Clarion club meeting on Monday evening," he explained. "Obviously that'll now be the main topic of conversation, so it could be a long meeting. I think most people will be driving but we'll still have time for a quick beer to celebrate I’m sure."

"We have a junior section called Bury Clarion Bullets," he added. "It will be great for them to have someone like that who they can look up to. We have a few promising young racers and this will inspire them to think that if they've got the talent and they put in the effort and hard work then they can possibly go a long long way in the sport."

His coach at Visma-Lease a Bike, Mathieu Heijboer, explained that the party can't last for too long - the Tour is just a month away.

"He needs some time off now mentally to recharge the battery so he can then come back to us ready to fight again across three weeks at the Tour de France," he said. "On a physical level he can’t sit still for too long because we’ll need to work again on some basic endurance, dropping the shape a bit and bringing it back on towards July.

"We’ll go to altitude in about two weeks again as a team and bring Simon there too. That’s because we feel as a group that it’s very important to bring the Tour de France team together to speak about the stages, the strategy and things like that, but also importantly to help create a bond between all of the riders in the build up."

The young Mexican's left hand rests on the back of winner Simon Yates – the pink jersey that had been his for the past 11 stages, now irresolutely out of reach, is worn by the Briton. Yet UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Del Toro retains a stoic smile and positive outlook.

"I wanted to win but I can't honestly believe I've finished second," he said afterwards.

"What he's done in these three weeks is something exceptional," his team boss, Mauro Gianetti, told Cyclingnews. "I am very, very proud of him, of the team, and of how fast he's learned. Of course, it would have been better to win the Giro, but certainly we've discovered a great rider."

With his Giro ride, the 21-year-old has established himself as a major player in the biggest stage races, and unless his results take an immediate and lasting dip, he will now populate the various 'contenders' and 'favourites' lists in similar races for the much of the rest of his career.

But where, exactly, does Del Toro go from here?

In terms of this season, he has only been earmarked for July's Tour of Austria. But there are Grand Tours – and seasons – beyond that in what is still a very, very young career.

One can only attempt to imagine the rather awkward conversations that might be taking place now or in the future between Del Toro, fellow GC rider Juan Ayuso and team management.

It's easy enough to forget, that UAE Team Emirates's Giro was most definitely not supposed to play out like it did. Spaniard Ayuso was the team leader and the overall favourite to win; Del Toro the team player. But fate conspired against Ayuso, who lost time after being held up by a crash, then cracking in the mountains, then crashing himself and finally suffering an allergic reaction to a bee sting and retiring. It wasn't his Giro.

He is, of course, still a rider capable of contending for the Grand Tours and now, we find, so is Del Toro.

Both riders have long contracts at the team – Del Toro till 2029 and Ayuso 2028. Neither of them is likely to ever be given free rein at the Tour de France – not while a certain Slovenian team-mate is around.

And then there is the small matter of Adam Yates – as if one Yates brother wasn't enough to deal with – who seems to have settled into a domestique de luxe role for Tadej Pogačar but who is capable of challenging for a Grand Tour GC himself.

Lastly, there's Del Toro's Portuguese team-mate Joāo Almeida, who has just won himself the Tour de Romandie and Itzulia Basque Country. Not forgetting Brandon McNulty, Jay Vine, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler and the host of GC riders the team has, along with younger prospects like Jan Christen and Pablo Torres.

That's a lot of great team-mates, and a lot of hurdles to overcome on the way to being allowed another free shot at a Grand Tour title. But a ride like Del Toro's at this Giro is almost inevitably going to act as a confidence boost, and as he said afterwards: "For sure, I will come back stronger. I will remember this Giro d’Italia as proof to myself that I can do big things, if I work enough to do it."

As Ineos Grenadiers – and Movistar before them – have proven, having too many heads of state in a team doesn't always work as well as it should on paper, and Del Toro may have to temper his expectations.

There's also the consideration that the richest teams – UAE included – have got very good at signing the youngest up and coming riders straight out of the junior ranks, so Del Toro will need to look not only forward but over his shoulder too when it comes to his place in the team hierarchy.

The fact remains though, that he has shown the world – and himself – that he is capable of vying for a Grand Tour GC. Will this be the last time we see him do so? Almost certainly not. Could he go ahead and win in the future? Very possibly.

Perhaps next time he won't have to cling to that leader's jersey on the final podium – instead, he'll be wearing it.

The 32-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider hailed his win at the Giro d’Italia as the “defining moment” of his career.

Speaking on TNT Sports on Sunday the Lancastrian said: “Honestly I think it’s still sinking in what a huge moment in my career it is. I’m incredibly proud of the whole team over the three weeks and I just finished it off.”

Yates won the race by a margin of just under four minutes to Isaac del Torro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) after he attacked on the gravel climb yesterday and met up with team-mate Wout Van Aert, who’d been in the day's break, to help power him all the way to the line.

Today, Yates added: “For sure the Giro win is the defining moment of my career there’s no doubt about that.”

Yates’s brother Adam, who was riding the Giro in support of Del Torro, told TNT Sports during the stage that he was “super happy” for his brother.

Adam Yates is set to ride the Tour de France in support of Tadej Pogačar in July and when asked if his brother should go to the Tour and work for Visma leader Jonas Vingegaard he joked: “If I was him, I’d be retiring right now.”

The new Giro champion, when asked about his plans, said: “I’ve had some good successes but I don’t think anything comes close to this. I’ll celebrate for sure and we’ll see what is to come.”

That celebration will likely be something of a family affair. Yates was met by his girlfriend after the finish line this evening, having revealed she’d missed her flight to the race yesterday because she was watching his Giro-winning attack. Simon also posed with his brother Adam’s young baby on the Giro podium.

Those celebrations have been a long time coming. Yates’s bombastic performance on Colle Delle Finestre, and his subsequent tears at the finish line, was redemption for his collapse on the same climb in 2018 just before Chris Froome launched his pink jersey-winning mountain raid, but it was also proof that he remains a Grand Tour force to be reckoned with.

A Grand Tour success a long time coming

Up to and including his spectacular 2018 campaign, the man from Bury had been tipped as among the most promising GC prospects of his generation. He had been steadily building his palmarès with a stage win at the Vuelta a España in 2016 and a top ten finish at the Tour de France in the young rider’s white jersey in 2017.

But since his remarkable run in the pink jersey in 2018 ,and claiming the Vuelta a España title later that year, his three-week race record has been marred by illness, injury and bad luck. At the same time a group of thrusting younger challengers including Pogačar and Vingegaard, have come to dominate the GC landscape. It had begun to look like Yates’s best chance of a further Grand Tour victory might have passed him by.

A year after his 2018 jour sans, Yates returned to the Giro hoping to banish its memory but crashed on stage four and a few days later had, by his own assessment, “a stinker” on stage nine losing over three minutes. While he’d claw his way back up the standings to finish eighth, he was never a major factor in the pink jersey fight for the rest of the race.

The following year he once again targeted the Giro during the Covid disrupted season; Yates would only make it through one week of the October race before testing positive for covid and having to leave.

2021 would be his fourth trip to the Giro and he battled valiantly with eventual winner Egan Bernal. But his overall victory hopes were dented on stage 16 when the race, shortened due to snowy weather, crossed the Passo Giau where the Lancastrian was distanced as Bernal stamped his authority on the race. He’d go on to take a swing at the win on the Alpe di Mera on stage 19, and although he won the stage, he couldn’t overhaul Bernal’s three minute lead.

But 2022 would prove to be his nadir at the Grand Tours. Yates had a promising start to the season finishing runner up at Paris-Nice and came into the Giro with high hopes and won the time trial on the second stage.

However, he injured his knee in a crash on stage four and although he was able to continue in the race he haemorrhaged over 11 minutes on the famous Blockhaus climb on stage nine. At the time he said: “It's causing me a lot of problems, so I stopped trying to hide it. It wasn't my only problem today. I really struggled in the heat again. That's how it goes." He'd go on to win another stage but then abandoned the race in the final week.

Trying to get back on track, Yates returned to the Vuelta for the first time since he won in 2018 but tested positive for Covid in the first week and left the race.

The 2023 season saw a change of tack as he targeted the Tour de France instead of the Giro. It appeared to revive his Grand Tour fortunes. On the race’s first day he staged a dramatic escape with his brother Adam, who ultimately won the stage and took the yellow jersey. Simon rode consistently and never fell out of the top ten ultimately finishing fourth, just behind his brother, though it became clear he was not a challenger to ultimate winner Vingegaard or second-placed rider Pogačar.

Yates returned to the Tour for a GC tilt again in 2024, but this visit proved less fruitful. He never made an impression on the race and lost nearly 10 minutes to eventual winner Tadej Pogačar on the gravel stage in the race’s first week.

Perhaps, at this point, Yates' Grand Tour GC days were behind him.

Redemption

A move to Visma-Lease a Bike at the end of the 2024 season seemed to confirm that he’d accepted a role as domestique de luxe to Vingegaard. Indeed, while the team pledged to allow Yates his own opportunities it emphasised he’d be “an asset in the mountains” for Vingegaard.

The start of the 2024 provided scant evidence Yates was set to re-capture his best form. He only raced twice before the Giro’s start in Albania and while he racked up a top ten finish in the Volta Catalunya he was over a minute behind Giro favourite Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and also behind Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).

But if there was one thing Yates seems to have learned from many difficult or derailed campaigns since 2018, it was patience. In 2018 he’d been ravenous, gobbling up stage wins and sprinting for every second he could, and it had been thrilling to watch, but it also contributed to his eventual dethroning.

In 2025, he waited until the last possible moment to snatch this Giro. One last climb to show what he is capable of, on Saturday, the penultimate stage. A display at the location of his worst day to put the record straight.

Yates's career will likely be defined by the last three weeks. He won’t go down in history as one of the all-time greats of GC riding, but he might well be one of the most gritty, the most persistent and, importantly, the most patient.

The Visma-Lease a Bike leader claimed the pink jersey in audacious fashion with a daring long-range attack on the gravel Colle Delle Finestre yesterday and only had to make it to the finish line safely on today’s sprint stage.

It was double joy for the Dutch team as a text-book lead out helped propel Kooij to victory on the race’s final day.

On a twisty finale sprinting rivals Sam Bennett and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) found themselves boxed in and unable to overhaul the Dutchman as he took his second win of the race.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the stage Kooij said: “We couldn’t wish for a better final weekend. Yesterday was really amazing for the team and today I had to give everything that was left in the legs, I just had to push it to the line.

“We had a plan but with sprinting it’s never easy to do it perfectly. Today we really committed to make it a sprint and with Wout [van Aert] we just went all in. I’m happy to make it to the line.”

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) claimed the sprinters ciclamino jersey, Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) won the blue mountains jersey and Isaac Del Torro won the white young rider’s jersey. Del Torro’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad also won the team classification.

How it happened

The early kilometres of the stage were processional and marked by each of the jersey wearers and their teams taking some time to soak up the moment at the front of the peloton.

Visma-Lease a Bike did much of the work to keep the race together until 75km to go when a break of six riders finally muscled their way off the front. The group of Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ), Josef Černý (Soudal Quick-Step), Michael Hepburn (Jayco-AlUla), Adrea Pietrobon (Team Polti VisitMalta), Martin Marcellusi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF- Faizanè), forged a gap of just 30 seconds by the 30km to go mark.

The most dramatic moment of the early racing was when Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious), who sat fifth on GC, suffered a flat and had to chase back to the peloton.

But as the race pressed on the sprinters’ teams, including Visma in celebratory pink accented kit riding for Olav Kooij, began to dedicate more resources to the chase and the gap tumbled down to just 10 seconds as the riders crossed the 15km to go mark.

Paleni, seemingly chasing the most aggressive rider prize for the day, attacked the break as the peloton closed in but Černý worked his way back across to him.

Černý rode away from Paleni on the final lap of the twisty city circuit to become the last rider absorbed by the pack with 6km left to race.

Visma led the peloton into the final kilometre with Kooij in Wout van Aert’s wheel. Pedersen lay in wait behind Kooij keen to spoil the pink jersey team’s day. But as Kooij opened up his sprint Pedersen found himself boxed in.

Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came home in second with Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5 Pr Cycling Team) in third.

RESULTS GIRO D’ITALIA STAGE 2025, STAGE 21: ROME > ROME (143KM)

1. Olav Kooij (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike in 3:12:19
2. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck
3. Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Q36.5 Pr Cycling Team
4. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
5. Luke Lamperti (USA) Soudal Quick-Step
6. Max Kanter (Ger) XDS Astana
7. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
8. Orluis Aular (Col) Movistar
9. Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani CSF- Faizanè
10. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Team Polti VisitMalta, all in s.t

Giro d'Italia 2025 general classification after stage 21

1. Simon Yates (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 82:31:01
2. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +3:56
3. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +4:43
4. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +6:23
5. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious +7:32
6. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +9:28
7. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +12:42
8. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar, +13:05
9. Brandon McNulty (Usa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +13:36
10. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling, +14:27

The 19-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider played a canny game in the finale of the race to deny Norwegian Alexander Kristoff a win on home soil before he retires at the end of the season.

Brennan didn’t benefit from a dedicated lead-out from his Visma-Lease a Bike team and had to find his way to the front in the closing meters. As Kristoff opened up the sprint Brennan jumped out off compatriot Ethan Vernon’s wheel and used the slipstream of Kristoff’s lead-out man Rasmus Tiller to slingshot up the inside. He beat the Uno-X leader by around half a bike length.

Speaking after the stage he said: “It was close. It was tricky heading into the final, I got barged out of the way a few times, which is fine, but I knew I had to be in a certain position or I’d be out of a chance of winning.

“I knew it was big headwind along here [the finishing straight] and just used the guys to come through at the last minute. Kristoff was fast he put up a good fight… I knew it was very close but I just had a feeling that I had the edge on him.”

The young rider, who now has more wins than any other pro so far this season with ten, was keen to praise his team-mates. “In the last 5km everyone went full, no one had anything left,” he said.

Brennan took the leaders jersey on stage two of the four stage race when he won the sprint into Oltedal. This is his first general classification win of his young professional career having stepped up the World Tour team from Visma’s development squad at the start of the season.

He said: “It’s really nice. It’s my first professional GC win so I’m always going to remember this one. The way we all performed this week was top class I couldn’t have done any of this without the boys being here at every moment.”

The Darlington-born racer didn’t finish outside the top two on any of the race’s four stages but was pipped to the top spot on stage one by Storm Ingebrigtsen (Coop-Repsol) and Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hangrohe) on stages one and three respectively.

Brennan is next due to race at Dwars door het Hageland on Saturday 14 June.

EF Education-EasyPost rider Carapaz stood slumped over his bike for some time after the stage finished, his disappointment palpable. When he eventually spoke to the media crowded in around him, the Ecuadorean said of Yates’s capture of the Giro title, “I don’t think that it was the strongest rider that won, but the most intelligent.”

Asked about the tactics of Del Toro, who refused to chase Yates when the Briton attacked on the Finestre, Carapaz said, “In the end, he lost the Giro. I don’t think he raced well and in the end the most intelligent rider won.”

Del Toro has been the revelation of this Giro, on the bike evidently, but also off it. He's always been ready to answer at length in Italian and English as well as in his native tongue of Spanish, and that continued as he reflected on his loss of the lead on the penultimate stage.

“I’m disappointed, personally, because I’ve lost the GC. But, at the end of the day, I can be happy because at the beginning, before the start in Albania, a lot of people didn’t believe that I could be here,” said the young Mexican post-stage, adding: “I’ve proved a lot about myself.”

Del Toro admitted that he knew the race had been lost even before he began the final climb to Sestriere. “I said to Wout van Aert before the finish that I already knew that I’d lost the GC and I had respect for the way Visma had played their cards. We couldn’t do anything,” confessed the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider.

“I was racing more defensively with Simon and Richard, and I was putting the pressure on Richard to follow Simon, because he was third on GC. At the end, the team, thankfully came back up to me. Of course, it was too late, because no one wanted to work with us.”

Del Toro said that he’s gained an incredible amount of experience over the past three weeks. “The team is always very confident in me in this type of situation. The problem has been me trying to believe what they tell me,” he said.

“It’s not good to lose, and I feel super disappointed, but I don’t want to cry on camera,” he continued. “But it’s like this in cycling. I have no regrets and, for sure, I’ll come back really, really strongly from this.”

Del Toro again offered his congratulations to Yates and his team. “Simon and Visma raced well,” he said. “But to be a great winner, you need to be a great loser. You have to understand this and I think that I'm a good loser. And chapeau to them, congrats.”