Lesser known races 2025 edition

[Dazed and Confused]

Looks like everybody are content with another bunch sprint. 16kms to go. Two riders with about 40s.

 

[RedheadDane]

Awww... they caught De Wulf just before the bonus sprint.
That's just cruel...

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Good plan from Visma here.

 

[RedheadDane]

Magnier just unstoppable.

Edit: Okay, he has stopped now.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Well, #4 for Magnier.

1	Magnier Paul	Soudal Quick-Step	40	50	10″	4:04:54
2	Bittner Pavel	Team Picnic PostNL	25	30	6″	,,
3	Meeus Jordi	Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe	20	18	4″	,,
4	Penhoët Paul	Groupama - FDJ	15	13		,,
5	Gaviria Fernando	Movistar Team	10	10		,,
6	Pasqualon Andrea	Bahrain - Victorious	8	7		,,
7	Marit Arne	Intermarché - Wanty	6	4		,,
8	Heiduk Kim	INEOS Grenadiers	3	3		,,
9	Walscheid Max	Team Jayco AlUla	2	2		,,
10	Oliveira Ivo	UAE Team Emirates - XRG	1	1		,,

Same guys in the mix, but Aniołkowski missed out a bit.

 

[Faserr]

How did he win that. He ate so mach wind.

 

[search]

hopefully he'll try to defend the jersey tomorrow. Not that I think he can keep it, but the gap is now big enough to give it a shot. And it's always fun to watch big guys climb.

 

[Netserk]

4 bunch sprints in the first 4 stages all won by the same rider, but the truly outrageous stage planning is to have a prologue and an ITT as stage 2 setting up the GC and avoiding any back-to-back stage wins.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Jacobsen DNF today. Still not back in any kind of business. Race should go live in about 30 mins.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Race cancelled.

Multiple cars on the route, apparently because of drivers deliberately ignoring traffic controllers.

 

[Salvarani]

Cows all over the road

 

[Rob5091]

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-holland/2025/stage-3

The race was neutralized as the riders refused to continue for safety reasons after multiple cars were on the course.

I suppose some drivers thought, "it's quiet today on the roads, I better make the most of it"! Oh well, on to the rubbish tip tomorrow.

 

[Salvarani]

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-holland/2025/stage-3

I suppose some drivers thought, "it's quiet today on the roads, I better make the most of it"! Oh well, on to the rubbish tip tomorrow.

Cars sounds more likely, rather than cows that PCS first wrote. Since been removed

 

[search]

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-holland/2025/stage-3

I suppose some drivers thought, "it's quiet today on the roads, I better make the most of it"! Oh well, on to the rubbish tip tomorrow.

one, according to the statement of the organizers:

After a turbulent neutralized section, an oncoming car—having been stopped twice —chose to ignore the signal from the motorcycle marshals and continued driving. As a result, the riders refused to continue racing.

https://nibctourofholland.cc/en/news/race-on-fourth-day-of-nibc-tour-of-holland-halted/

If true, they should have gotten him out of the way and get the race going. You can't cancel because of one idiot.

 

[Netserk]

While there were no police, I hope they can and will file charges against the driver.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

one, according to the statement of the organizers:

After a turbulent neutralized section, an oncoming car—having been stopped twice —chose to ignore the signal from the motorcycle marshals and continued driving. As a result, the riders refused to continue racing.

https://nibctourofholland.cc/en/news/race-on-fourth-day-of-nibc-tour-of-holland-halted/

If true, they should have gotten him out of the way and get the race going. You can't cancel because of one idiot.

According to Wielerflits there was also a truck that drove onto the route during the neutralisation.

Ultimately, there are two (or technically three) problems at play here. On the one hand, there are far too many a*****e drivers who are willing to deliberately endanger others, and they get away with it because the legal consequences for potentially lethal behaviour in a car are laughable compared to those for any other kind of potentially lethal behaviour. I work for a company that does highway maintenance and it's a major safety hazard for my colleagues out on the road too - we have had cars coming into sections closed for maintenance at well over 100 km/h because they ignored a whole bunch of signs and traffic cones. But at the end of the day, the standard course of action is to carry on with the work that needs doing once the car is gone, because company and employees recognise that a) neither is at fault and b) they need each other. That sentiment is completely absent among most riders in the peloton.

 

[SafeBet]

Organizing professional cycling races in the Netherlands has become a nightmare.

 

[RedheadDane]

Cars sounds more likely, rather than cows that PCS first wrote. Since been removed

That bit about cows?
Maybe in a rural area that could happen...

 

[Netserk]

But at the end of the day, the standard course of action is to carry on with the work that needs doing once the car is gone, because company and employees recognise that a) neither is at fault and b) they need each other. That sentiment is completely absent among most riders in the peloton.

Yes, it'd be much better if those willing to ride had the opportunity to do so like in Bessèges. But herd mentality and mob behaviour make it difficult, and the fact that there are still several stages to come where it's important for the organisers that the stars are present.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Yes, it'd be much better if those willing to ride had the opportunity to do so like in Bessèges. But herd mentality and mob behaviour make it difficult, and the fact that there are still several stages to come where it's important for the organisers that the stars are present.

To be fair, from what the organisers have been saying (especially in the discussions on the road) it seems that they were willing to accept the cancellation because they see it as a statement that the future of bike racing in the Netherlands is under threat without police support, so it's not really a typical car-on-road-related cancellation in that regard.

 

[staubsauger]

Organisator NIBC Tour of Holland messcherp tegen ploegleiders: "Dit kan zonder politie niet!"

Vrijdagmiddag werd de derde rit in lijn door Limburg geannuleerd vanwege onveilige situaties onderweg. Renners wilden niet verder rijden. Koersorganisator Thijs Rondhuis is vanwege zijn jarenlange ervaring nauw betrokken bij de organisatie van de NIBC Tour of Holland, die in handen is van TIG...

www.wielerflits.nl

Good statement by the race organization!

 

[Netserk]

Organisator NIBC Tour of Holland messcherp tegen ploegleiders: "Dit kan zonder politie niet!"

Vrijdagmiddag werd de derde rit in lijn door Limburg geannuleerd vanwege onveilige situaties onderweg. Renners wilden niet verder rijden. Koersorganisator Thijs Rondhuis is vanwege zijn jarenlange ervaring nauw betrokken bij de organisatie van de NIBC Tour of Holland, die in handen is van TIG...

www.wielerflits.nl

Good statement by the race organization!

Is the first sentence accurately translated below?

“What happened today is that 25 traffic controllers during the neutralization didn’t show up,” Rondhuis explains. “That’s why the neutralization was messy. From kilometre zero we fully secured the route. We had several situations in which other road users ignored stop signals from traffic controllers. They were halted on the side of the road, then started riding again, halted again, and yet they continued riding. That is the sign, the red line: that without police, this cannot work.”

 

[Netserk]

To be fair, from what the organisers have been saying (especially in the discussions on the road) it seems that they were willing to accept the cancellation because they see it as a statement that the future of bike racing in the Netherlands is under threat without police support, so it's not really a typical car-on-road-related cancellation in that regard.

Good point. I suppose that the cost for police to be present will be passed on to the organisers, and while this race seems like it could manage that, it could reach the breaking point for the few smaller Dutch races still left.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

That bit about cows?
Maybe in a rural area that could happen...

Caused a delay, but not abandonment, in the Tour of Britain.

 

[Faserr]

As far as I know thats the reason why there are no races in germany anymore. They also have to pay for the roadclosures and police.