- May 5, 2010
- 54,077
- 32,253
- 28,180
Ferguson too fast for Roseman-Gannon. Liv Alula jayco continue to perform well as a team but lack that touch of quality.
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
- Sep 20, 2017
- 13,654
- 25,669
- 28,180
Pretty decent day for the (former) speed skaters at Omloop der Kempen today, with Sandrine Tas scoring the first podium of her cycling career and Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong finishing fifth in het first-ever pro race.
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
We also got the Tour de Feminin going on Czechia. Oda Aune Gissinger won the stage yesterday, but Ginia Caluori's win on stage 2 very much seems to have won her the GC. However, I think the most surprising thing about the race is that Caluori's MTB colleague Kate Courtney is riding it with the US national team. She's currently in today's breakaway as well.
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
Racing continues in the Basque Country with today's Durango - Durango.
Trek have com tot he race with Balsamo, Copponi, Moors and Norsgaard, so you'd be excused for thinking they had misread the profile if they hadn't also brought Spratt and Markus. Defending winner Isabella Holmgren is not around.
Paula Blasi is back riding, this time officially representing the devo team, so she has had to switch jersey, but unless she shows up in a Movistar kit she'll probably be alright.
Laboral Kutxa are without Ostolaza, but Deborah Silvestri is doing her first race since that nasty crash in Milano - Sanremo. Likely future LK signings Maier Olano and Maite Urteaga are also there to represent the Basque people.
Start list: https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=9600&y=2026&k=8
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8d36Kx15nE
Then this climb + a couple of false flat kilometres to the top of Goiuria in Duña.
Penultimate and final descent:
Trek have com tot he race with Balsamo, Copponi, Moors and Norsgaard, so you'd be excused for thinking they had misread the profile if they hadn't also brought Spratt and Markus. Defending winner Isabella Holmgren is not around.
Paula Blasi is back riding, this time officially representing the devo team, so she has had to switch jersey, but unless she shows up in a Movistar kit she'll probably be alright.
Laboral Kutxa are without Ostolaza, but Deborah Silvestri is doing her first race since that nasty crash in Milano - Sanremo. Likely future LK signings Maier Olano and Maite Urteaga are also there to represent the Basque people.
Start list: https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=9600&y=2026&k=8
Then this climb + a couple of false flat kilometres to the top of Goiuria in Duña.
Penultimate and final descent:
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
Vallieres was looking very good, but then she crashed ahead of Markus leaving only Towers, who came back after being dropped by her teammate's pace, Muzic and Blasi in front. Blasi then went solo, and third time won't be the charm for Muzic.
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
Another second place for Muzic. They wouldn't have caught Blasi anyway, but she could have pulled a bit more with Towers. De Jong wasn't riding the race, so she couldn't stand on the podium with Muzic for the third year in a row. Top 10 for Frankie Hall is the first major result for her since joining MMM.
Frankie Hall was a bit player in the 2025 edition of the Pro Velo Super League. She looked a milion miles away from achieving this kind of result.
Never had the opportunity I guess, she rode for four different teams last year and held down various jobs besides racing. The life of many riders below the top levels.
absolutely, shes doing ace, I remember Frankie back when she was riding for the Loughborough university team basically where she was studying, in the national series and crit races, won the Otley GP too never an easy race, and she was always a strong rider, she often made things happen, animated races, even if the top results never seemed eye catching.
I guess she hit the scene, it all says she started 2019 but I thought it was earlier fwiw but maybe it was, but that was already well past peak interest in pro cycling in the UK, and there were no teams or pathways to teams for UK cyclists to progress from to pro level easily unless you were super standout or getting TeamGB selections. She was already mid 20s, and pro teams were signing up 17-18 year olds instead, so she sort of had to hop around the ever diminishing number of UK pro conti level teams, and keep knocking on the door till MMM took her on.
shes down to ride TdFF I think.
You are underestimating the strength of the Pro velo Super league. It is weak! Anyway Hall's top 10 is no bigger a surprise than Stiasny winning on Angliru. Lets see what the future holds.
Confused by your reply, I did not mention the Pro Velo, I was merely adding some background. Anyway those races were over twelve months ago.
You pointed out that Hall has been semi-pro for a number of years. I am providing context looking at the last 18 months. I can assure you that the riders in the Pro Velo Super league in Australia are at best semi-pro but more likely amateur. Its not like Hall was riding against pro's in Australia.
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
I'm too lazy to make a thread for Burgos, and the search function tells me that's been the case since the 2022 edition so at least I am consistent. I did consider posting the short preview in the Itzulia thread since it was still sticked, but I couldn't be bothered to alter the title and opening post either. I promise to up my game for the Giro next week.
The riders are back in Burgos for the 11th edition of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas, the sixth during its WWT era. Gone are the time trial and Picón Blanco and it's instead a return to a more classic route with three flatter stages that present opportunities for aggressive racing and/or possible crosswinds and echelons, followed by a more or less unipuerto queen stage on the final day. However, looking at the route, it still seems like anything less than two or three stage wins for Lorena Wiebes should be a surprising outcome.
Start list: https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=10428&y=2026&k=8
Stage 1: Burgos - Burgos, 127 km
The first stage would have had a more interesting route if it had been ridden in reversen, which isn't an unfamiliar sight, but in this case it would actually have been possible. The three categorised climbs are all positioned in the first half of the stage, and while there is some more climbing afterwards it shouldn't cause too many problems. There is a right hand turn through a roundabout with 500m left to the line.
Stage 2: Castrojeriz - Bodegas Viña Pedrosa, 122 km
There are no categorised climbs on stage 2, which is surprising when they did find three on the first one. At the end of the stage they'll be doing a loop through Roa, where Mie Bjørndal Ottestad defeated Marlen Reusser last year, but it doesn't include the climb from that stage. Instead there's a 3-4% climb where the intermediate sprint is located on the first lap and a similar 3-4% rise at the finish line in Pedrosa. There are 5-6 km between these two hills. The last 4.5 km are on one more or less straight road. Here they'll pass the Carmelo Rodero, which isn't a place to do camel riding, and other wineries.
Stage 3: Busto de Bureba - Medina de Pomar, 126 km
The third stage has potential to not finish in a bunch sprint, but it will depend on how it's raced.
The first 9 km are gently uphill to the bottom of the first climb.
This tricky, but uncategorised climb, starts after 30 km. With 90 km to the finish it will only serve as a possible launchpad for a breakaway if there isn't already one up the road.
The next 59 km include a couple of short climbs and an intermediate sprint at the first crossing of the finish line in Medina de Pomar with 45 km left. On this stage it would have been possible to have then headed north for either a finish at Picón Blanco or to have used it as a pass like we have previously seen done in the men's Vuelta a Burgos, but that isn't the case here.
Instead they'll take a trip through Iñigo Cuesta's home roads around Villarcayo. Cuesta has also previously been attending this race during his involvement with the ill-fated Burgos based Casa Dorada/Women Cycling Sport team.
They'll crest the top of Alto de Bocos with 31 km to go. Then they'll ride a 13.5 km stretch, including a couple of shorter 2-4% bumps, before returning to Bocos. 14 km remain when they crest the top for the second and final time. Questions are whether Lorena Wiebes can be dropped on the climb and in case she can whether or not other teams can keep her from coming back afterwards. If she doesn't make the final selection, then SDW have both Bredewold and Vas as possible back ups. There's a last right hand turn in Medina de Pomar 700m from the finish line.
Stage 4: Gumiel de Mercado - Lagunas de Neila, 120 km
After Lagunas de Neila was loaned out to the Vuelta last year and Picón Blanco featured as the main climb instead, it's now business as usual. This stage is quite similar to the final stage from 2024, but with a few changes. The start has been moved northwest, for instance, and the intermediate sprint is now located in Huerto de Abajo rather than Huerta de Arriba and a different road, including a climb, will guide the riders from the first town to the second. However, the main difference is that while they only climbed as far as the Rozavientos junction below the Lagunas de Neila summit and then went on to finish after the descent, they'll be heading for the top this time around.
The first 74 km are not all completely flat, but none of it has been worthy of being categorised, so the first real test is the Alto de Arroyo. Similar to most editions of this race, all climbs apart from one is category 3, meaning a rider will have to win five QOM sprints during the race to equal the score of the winner on Lagunas de Neila. It's therefore no surprise that the winner of the queen stage has also won the QOM jersey every year since the mountain was first introduced to the women's race in 2021.
After the intermediate sprint in Huerto de Abajo, which comes at the end of a 300m stretch at 6%, the route continues via a 7 km false flat section to the bottom of the Alto de Tolbaños. The top is located 19 km from the finish.
After a 3 km descent, the road gradually rises once again. As you can see below, the climb towards Collado de Huerta only gets moderately steep towards the end. When they reach the first star on the profile, they won't be taking the easier road to Lagunas de Neila, but instead descent for a little while longer before the start of the last 6 km of climbing.
This final has never been done in full in the race before. Previously they've only climbed to the top from Quintanar de la Sierra and they've used the slightly easier of the southern ascents every time (they did the harder one in the Vuelta last year where they also used the section to Rozavientos as a pass before the final ascent).
The first 1.5 km to the El Collado junction "only" average around 8%, while that's pretty much the lowest gradient they'll face in the remaining part of the climb, where multiple stretches of over 15% will force the riders into their smallest gears. Those who rode the final stages of this year's Vuelta will find that familiar.
Favourites
Without Demi Vollering in the race, a new queen of Lagunas de Neila will be crowned at the end of the stage and a new overall winner as well. Who will it be? I don't know. The field is worse than at the other Spanish stage races this month, but still fairly open.
Kastelijn, Muzic and Kerbaol were all unimpressive on the climbs in the Vuelta, but the first two were still able to fight for the win in Itzulia afterwards. Włodarczyk grabbed two Basque stage wins, but her current level on longer climbs is unknown. Her teammate Squiban crashed out of the Vuelta so her level is also uncertain, and there's no way of knowing whether Ivanchenko's one great performance a year will come in this race.
Ostolaza got her career best result in the Vuelta, but her climbing performances themselves weren't better than we have seen from her before. She did however finish 5th on Lagunas de Neila in last year's Vuelta, but was only a few seconds ahead of Kerbaol at the top on that occasion. Stiasny can win the MTF on a great day, but not the GC. Bjørndal Ottestad hasn't raced for two months, and Van Anrooij isn't as strong as she was when she finished 5th in the 2024 edition. The experienced Spratt and Moolman-Pasio might not have what it takes anymore, and the collective power of the Jayco line up is a big question mark right now as well.
The riders are back in Burgos for the 11th edition of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas, the sixth during its WWT era. Gone are the time trial and Picón Blanco and it's instead a return to a more classic route with three flatter stages that present opportunities for aggressive racing and/or possible crosswinds and echelons, followed by a more or less unipuerto queen stage on the final day. However, looking at the route, it still seems like anything less than two or three stage wins for Lorena Wiebes should be a surprising outcome.
Start list: https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=10428&y=2026&k=8
Stage 1: Burgos - Burgos, 127 km
The first stage would have had a more interesting route if it had been ridden in reversen, which isn't an unfamiliar sight, but in this case it would actually have been possible. The three categorised climbs are all positioned in the first half of the stage, and while there is some more climbing afterwards it shouldn't cause too many problems. There is a right hand turn through a roundabout with 500m left to the line.
Stage 2: Castrojeriz - Bodegas Viña Pedrosa, 122 km
There are no categorised climbs on stage 2, which is surprising when they did find three on the first one. At the end of the stage they'll be doing a loop through Roa, where Mie Bjørndal Ottestad defeated Marlen Reusser last year, but it doesn't include the climb from that stage. Instead there's a 3-4% climb where the intermediate sprint is located on the first lap and a similar 3-4% rise at the finish line in Pedrosa. There are 5-6 km between these two hills. The last 4.5 km are on one more or less straight road. Here they'll pass the Carmelo Rodero, which isn't a place to do camel riding, and other wineries.
Stage 3: Busto de Bureba - Medina de Pomar, 126 km
The third stage has potential to not finish in a bunch sprint, but it will depend on how it's raced.
The first 9 km are gently uphill to the bottom of the first climb.
This tricky, but uncategorised climb, starts after 30 km. With 90 km to the finish it will only serve as a possible launchpad for a breakaway if there isn't already one up the road.
The next 59 km include a couple of short climbs and an intermediate sprint at the first crossing of the finish line in Medina de Pomar with 45 km left. On this stage it would have been possible to have then headed north for either a finish at Picón Blanco or to have used it as a pass like we have previously seen done in the men's Vuelta a Burgos, but that isn't the case here.
Instead they'll take a trip through Iñigo Cuesta's home roads around Villarcayo. Cuesta has also previously been attending this race during his involvement with the ill-fated Burgos based Casa Dorada/Women Cycling Sport team.
They'll crest the top of Alto de Bocos with 31 km to go. Then they'll ride a 13.5 km stretch, including a couple of shorter 2-4% bumps, before returning to Bocos. 14 km remain when they crest the top for the second and final time. Questions are whether Lorena Wiebes can be dropped on the climb and in case she can whether or not other teams can keep her from coming back afterwards. If she doesn't make the final selection, then SDW have both Bredewold and Vas as possible back ups. There's a last right hand turn in Medina de Pomar 700m from the finish line.
Stage 4: Gumiel de Mercado - Lagunas de Neila, 120 km
After Lagunas de Neila was loaned out to the Vuelta last year and Picón Blanco featured as the main climb instead, it's now business as usual. This stage is quite similar to the final stage from 2024, but with a few changes. The start has been moved northwest, for instance, and the intermediate sprint is now located in Huerto de Abajo rather than Huerta de Arriba and a different road, including a climb, will guide the riders from the first town to the second. However, the main difference is that while they only climbed as far as the Rozavientos junction below the Lagunas de Neila summit and then went on to finish after the descent, they'll be heading for the top this time around.
The first 74 km are not all completely flat, but none of it has been worthy of being categorised, so the first real test is the Alto de Arroyo. Similar to most editions of this race, all climbs apart from one is category 3, meaning a rider will have to win five QOM sprints during the race to equal the score of the winner on Lagunas de Neila. It's therefore no surprise that the winner of the queen stage has also won the QOM jersey every year since the mountain was first introduced to the women's race in 2021.
After the intermediate sprint in Huerto de Abajo, which comes at the end of a 300m stretch at 6%, the route continues via a 7 km false flat section to the bottom of the Alto de Tolbaños. The top is located 19 km from the finish.
After a 3 km descent, the road gradually rises once again. As you can see below, the climb towards Collado de Huerta only gets moderately steep towards the end. When they reach the first star on the profile, they won't be taking the easier road to Lagunas de Neila, but instead descent for a little while longer before the start of the last 6 km of climbing.
This final has never been done in full in the race before. Previously they've only climbed to the top from Quintanar de la Sierra and they've used the slightly easier of the southern ascents every time (they did the harder one in the Vuelta last year where they also used the section to Rozavientos as a pass before the final ascent).
The first 1.5 km to the El Collado junction "only" average around 8%, while that's pretty much the lowest gradient they'll face in the remaining part of the climb, where multiple stretches of over 15% will force the riders into their smallest gears. Those who rode the final stages of this year's Vuelta will find that familiar.
Favourites
Without Demi Vollering in the race, a new queen of Lagunas de Neila will be crowned at the end of the stage and a new overall winner as well. Who will it be? I don't know. The field is worse than at the other Spanish stage races this month, but still fairly open.
Kastelijn, Muzic and Kerbaol were all unimpressive on the climbs in the Vuelta, but the first two were still able to fight for the win in Itzulia afterwards. Włodarczyk grabbed two Basque stage wins, but her current level on longer climbs is unknown. Her teammate Squiban crashed out of the Vuelta so her level is also uncertain, and there's no way of knowing whether Ivanchenko's one great performance a year will come in this race.
Ostolaza got her career best result in the Vuelta, but her climbing performances themselves weren't better than we have seen from her before. She did however finish 5th on Lagunas de Neila in last year's Vuelta, but was only a few seconds ahead of Kerbaol at the top on that occasion. Stiasny can win the MTF on a great day, but not the GC. Bjørndal Ottestad hasn't raced for two months, and Van Anrooij isn't as strong as she was when she finished 5th in the 2024 edition. The experienced Spratt and Moolman-Pasio might not have what it takes anymore, and the collective power of the Jayco line up is a big question mark right now as well.
Last edited:
- May 5, 2010
- 54,077
- 32,253
- 28,180
- Sep 26, 2020
- 27,770
- 31,341
- 23,180
- May 5, 2010
- 54,077
- 32,253
- 28,180
Definitely easier than stealing from an awake baby.
Never understood that saying; you ever tried taking something from a baby?
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