Lesser known races 2026 edition

[Coppi-Bartali]

He did actually get a fine lead out from the others, but he didn't have enough left in the end.
Instead a 19 year old Frenchman won. Can't remember when I last saw that happen.

Previous results are similar.


18th
Gran Premio Sportivi di Poggiana - Trofeo Bonin Co ('25)

• 26th
  Tour de la Mirabelle ('25)
• 29th
  GP Palio del Recioto ('26)
• 40th
  stage Ronde de l'Isard ('25)
• 41st
  stage Ronde de l'Isard ('25)
• 41st
  GC Ronde de l'Isard ('25)
• 42nd
  Ruota d'Oro - GP Festa del Perdono ('25)
• 43rd
  stage Ronde de l'Isard ('25)
• 45th
  Giro della Provincia di Biella - Torino-Biella ('26)
• 46th
  stage Tour Alsace ('25)

 

[Devil's Elbow]

How did this manage to be the top-10 of an opening stage of a pro race?

Very cool for the AVC kids, though.

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

PCS doesn't even have a picture on this guy's profile.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Pelayo Sánchez finished with the legend Ole Theiler and most of the Russian team from Kyrgyzstan, 3 minutes behind the breakaway.

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

Hugo de la Calle has crashed during the descent and he´s lost 12 minutes. Now it makes sense why Burgos has disappeared after pulling.

 

[Rob5091]

Another crash altered the route -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...ac-surprises-movistar-and-uae-to-take-victory

The stage rolled out from Oviedo in a festive atmosphere, but the expected difficulty was reduced early on. A crash forced organisers to alter the route, removing key climbs including La Campa and the Fitu, and shaping a far more open race than initially planned.

 

[tobydawq]

Vuelta Asturias? Surprise name on the startlist - Chumil! Vamos!

How is that a surprise? He really isn't the meme rider you make him out to be.

 

[Red Rick]

Tour of Turkey meanwhile building on it's tradition of having the hardest MTF of the year

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Best UAE rider today: Pericas in 18th. Third best AVC Aix Provence Dole rider today: Mark Lightfoot in 9th.

 

[Rou]

The Tour of Turkey is quietly a super interesting race. It deserves to be WT and replace the Tour de Pologne IMO.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Vuelta Asturias? Surprise name on the startlist - Chumil! Vamos!

Chumil is one of the better riders on a PT from the race's home nation.

It isn't like the Vuelta a Asturias used to be, when it was a bit separated out from the pre-Ardennes Spanish mini-season. In the post-Puerto days it used to be a bit of a trip down memory lane for all the guys who'd been exiled to Portugal and elsewhere - Rock Racing in 2009, Tino Zaballa and Santí Pérez in 2010-11 kind of time - and then after it started shrinking in days and started drawing some horrendous fields, it'd be one of the races where you'd find Continental teams you didn't know existed showing up, and those "based in Spain but registered elsewhere" projects like Inteja-MMR, Equipo Bolivia, Massi-Kuwait, random Colombian guests and some cannon fodder like Java-Kiwi Atlántico and BAI-Sicasal.

The race has been getting its number of days back for a while and improving its field, but it always drew one of the weaker fields on the Spanish domestic circuit due to its calendar slot.

 

[Squire]

This must be the most random winner of a .1 race/stage in Europe for some time.

 

[Rob5091]

How is that a surprise? He really isn't the meme rider you make him out to be.

He wasn't down to race Asturias when I checked after OGC, so it was a surprise to me.

 

[RedheadDane]

The Tour of Turkey is quietly a super interesting race. It deserves to be WT and replace the Tour de Pologne IMO.

It was a WT Race, from 2017 to 2019.
It lost the status because not enough WT teams wanted to race.

 

[Kazistuta]

It's not like the Tour Of Turkey has the best reputation reg. doping either.

 

[Squire]

It's not like the Tour Of Turkey has the best reputation reg. doping either.

#GabrovskiErRen!

It has some interesting names on the startlist and a nice enough route.

It's a bit weird how points-hungry teams aren't sending more climbers though. Looking at you, Picnic. Get Faure Prost here for maybe an actual result instead of having him trundle around at the back of the field in the Ardennes. Caja Rural and Total Energies know what's up, bringing several good climbers. And this should be the ideal race for an Ivan Sosa rebirth. Or maybe he has had his one good result for the season already.