Cor Vos
Welcome to Daily News, your roundup of news items from across the world of cycling. We keep this post updated throughout the week so that you can stay informed on all things bike racing, tech, industry, culture, advocacy, and more.
Here is what is making the headlines this week …
Monday, April 21, 2025
- Van der Breggen recovering from illness ahead of Flèche Wallonne
- Geoghegan Hart resumes racing at the Tour of the Alps
- Judge calls for investigation into allegations that Lucho Herrera had his neighbors killed
- Gran Fondo Belgium cancelled after mass pileup
- Winner's Circle: Ciccone wins Tour of the Alps opener, earns a fine for celebration
Van der Breggen recovering from illness ahead of Flèche Wallonne
Anna van der Breggen might normally be among the top favorites for La Flèche Wallonne, a race she has won an incredible seven times, but SD Worx-Protime boss Danny Stam has said that she is getting over an illness.
"She didn't feel well on Friday in the Brabantse Pijl and on Saturday she also complained of a headache and sore throat," Stam told Het Laatste Nieuws. "She started [the Amstel Gold Race] anyway in the hope of getting through it, but that soon turned out to be vain hope. She did some work for the team and then pulled out, partly as a precaution." [Het Laatste Nieuws]
Van der Breggen is still slated to start La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Stam is hopeful that she will recover in time to have an impact on those races, but SD Worx could look elsewhere for leaders on the punchy climbs of the Ardennes Forest.
Geoghegan Hart resumes racing at the Tour of the Alps
Nearly a month after pulling out of the Volta a Catalunya due to illness, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) has returned to racing at the Tour of the Alps, which was not initially part of his schedule for the season.
"We decided after Catalunya, where I missed a key block of racing, that once I was healthy – which took a bit longer that would be ideal, but also was not super bad – we decided to add this just to try to have a bit more racing and another stage race," he said, as Cyclingnews reports. "It was unfortunate with Catalunya, in the end it was one week off the bike, but it could be worse."
Injuries and illness have derailed Geoghegan Hart's racing plans on various occasions over the past few seasons, and his first year with Lidl-Trek was a frustrating one. Now in his second year with the squad, Geoghegan Hart is aiming to race the Tour de France, and his appearance at this week's Tour of the Alps will be followed by a Tour de Romandie start as he builds towards later-season goals. [Cyclingnews]
Judge calls for investigation into allegations that Lucho Herrera had his neighbors killed
A Colombian judge has requested an investigation into allegations that Colombian cycling icon Luis "Lucho" Herrera induced paramilitaries to murder four of his neighbors.
You can read more about it here at Escape Collective.
Gran Fondo Belgium cancelled after mass pileup
Sunday's Gran Fondo Belgium, part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series, was halted after a huge crash left dozens of people injured. According to Belgian outlet VRT, 47 people were injured in the pileup.
"Everyone was screaming in pain and many bicycle frames were broken," event participant Mathias Mensaert told VRT.
Fortunately, all of those involved appear to be on the mend. [VRT]
Winner's Circle: Ciccone wins Tour of the Alps opener, earns a fine for celebration
Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) powered to victory on the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps, celebrated with his trademark move of tossing his sunglasses away, and was then fined 250 Swiss francs and 15 UCI points for the gesture.
The stage came down to a reduced sprint after a busy final few kilometers that saw attacks and counterattacks in the lead group. The 30-year-old Italian bested the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale duo of Felix Gall and Paul Seixas to win the stage and, with bonus seconds, he will take a four-second GC lead over Gall into stage 2.
Did we do a good job with this story?
