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Jan-Willem van Schip vents after another disqualification
Jan-Willem van Schip (Azerion-Villa Valkenburg) was disqualified from another bike race on Thursday as his positioning on his handlebars at the Tour of Hellas ran afoul of a ruling by UCI officials.
Van Schip is always on the lookout for ways to push the boundaries of what is legal within the UCI's tech specifications and has been DQed from races on multiple occasions in the past, but in this particular instance, the Dutchman and his team manager Paul Tabak were especially frustrated by the circumstances. Tabak told Wielerflits that Van Schip's bike was UCI-approved and he was being disqualified for a position that other riders have used without penalty.
"What a shitty sport," Van Schip said in a video (in Dutch) he posted to social media. [Instagram]
Canadian track riders criticize plan to cut women's team pursuit
As Canadian Cycling Magazine reports, members of the Canadian women's track program have sent an open letter to Cycling Canada and other organizations involved in track cycling in the country to criticize the decision not to send a women's team pursuit squad to Worlds in Shanghai, China. Although not as successful in the discipline recently, Canada medaled at the Olympics in the women's team pursuit in both 2012 and 2016.
The letter notes that the team pursuit is a better Olympic qualification pathway for Canada than other disciplines and also that the women's team pursuit squad has secured results to rival those of the men's team pursuit squad, in addition to making other points.
"This decision directly contradicts prior communication from Cycling Canada leadership," reads the letter. "In an email dated April 8, 2026, Sebastien Travers stated: 'Our first priority is maintaining participation in the world championships in all the disciplines in which Canada is traditionally represented.' The women’s team pursuit is a discipline in which Canada has consistently participated and achieved success internationally. The announcement that the women’s team pursuit will not attend the 2026 world championships is therefore inconsistent with this stated priority." [Canadian Cycling Magazine]
Ayuso is training again but won't race until the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
After a string of health woes, Juan Ayuso is back to training, although he won't race for another month, as AS reports.
After winning the Volta ao Algarve in February, the 23-year-old Spaniard crashed out of Paris-Nice while leading the race in March, left the Itzulia Basque Country due to illness in early April, and was then scratched from the Ardennes Classics due to a separate illness. He is now training again and is set to head to a Sierra Nevada altitude camp, but according to AS, his next race will not be until June at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné). [AS]
Merckx monument near Brussels vandalized
As VRT reports, a monument to cycling legend Eddy Merckx in the town of Sint-Pieters-Woluwe near Brussels has been vandalized. Someone apparently tore the head off the depiction of Merckx on the monument, which was put up in 2019 amid the celebrations surrounding the Brussels Grand Départ.
"Personally, I am shocked; what satisfaction does anyone derive from such an act?" said the mayor in a statement. "Who would attack a sportsman, a symbol of our country? Nothing can justify such an act." [VRT]
De Lie reportedly set to join Tudor next year
Het Laatste Nieuws reports that Arnaud De Lie has already settled on a move from Lotto-Intermarché to Tudor this coming transfer season. According to HLN, the Belgian speedster was in talks with Groupama-FDJ as well, but recently made up his mind to head to the Swiss team of Fabian Cancellara instead.
His Lotto teammate Lennert Van Eetvelt may be on the move as well. HLN reports that Van Eetvelt is closing in on a deal with NSN. [HLN]
Netcompany-Ineos unveils Giro squad built around Bernal and Arensman
Netcompany-Ineos will look to challenge for the general classification at the upcoming Giro d'Italia with the dynamic duo of Egan Bernal (a former Giro winner) and Thymen Arensman, who both finished on the podium at the recent Tour of the Alps.
"The Giro is always a special race for me and I’m excited to be back racing it again, and with this group of riders," Bernal said. "I feel calm, well prepared and motivated to be competitive again. We have a strong group and that gives us confidence, so we’ll race together and aim to be up there in the GC."
Also lining up for the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria to support the two-pronged GC attack are Filippo Ganna, Magnus Sheffield, Embret Svestad-Bårdseng, Connor Swift, and Ben Turner.
Tour de Suisse terminates Zondacrypto partnership 'with immediate effect'
The Tour de Suisse has announced the termination of its partnership with the collapsed crypto exchange, Zondacrypto.
Zondacrypto was announced in late March as the sponsor of the Tour de Suisse's young rider classification, but within weeks reports began to emerge that the Polish crypto company was facing financial difficulties. As we have reported, that quickly became a nose-dive with huge implications in Polish sports and politics.
At time of writing, all Zondacrypto staff have been laid off. Its CEO has fled overseas amid speculation that the company was linked to Russia's state intelligence apparatus and mafia. There is a trail of tens of thousands of victims owed tens of millions of dollars, and several sponsored entities, including the Polish Olympic Committee, have severed ties.
In a press release announcing the return of Switzerlend AG as sponsor of the Tour de Suisse's young rider jersey, event organisers said that the Zondacrypto sponsorship "proved unsustainable and was therefore terminated with immediate effect."
Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto is yet to remove their association with the beleaguered crypto company, meaning the team is effectively racing for a sponsor that only exists on paper.
Giro d'Italia rosters take shape as Yates and Pellizzari confirmed for UAE, Red Bull
With just three days before the start of the 2026 Giro d'Italia, all but four teams have now confirmed rosters. The latest lineups underline that while injuries have reduced the GC field, Visma-Lease a Bike's Jonas Vingegaard is not on a glide path to the win.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe announced strong lineups for the first Grand Tour of the year. Adam Yates will lead UAE, hoping to make it back to back Yateses in pink after twin Simon's win last year. UAE backs him with a strong support squad including Jay Vine (himself an outside GC contender), Marc Soler and Jhonatan Narvaéz.
At Red Bull, promising young climber Guilio Pellizzari will start his third Giro, coming off a tuneup win at the recent Tour of the Alps. He was sixth here last year and at the Vuelta a España. He'll co-lead the team with former Giro winner Jai Hindley.
Other potential GC contenders include Decathlon-CMA CGM's Felix Gall, rated in the sports books as one of the fashionable challengers and Netcompany-Ineos' Egan Bernal. One of the few teams not yet announced? Visma, which is expected to back Vingegaard with former Vuelta a España winner Sepp Kuss, among others. We'll have a full stage-by-stage guide and contenders preview shortly.
'I would do exactly the same' – Kopecky reacts to Vuelta sprint relegation and yellow card
Lotte Kopecky was a favourite for stage 2 of La Vuelta Femenina after coming second to Noemi Rüegg on the opening day, but the finale in San Cibrao dan Viñas went pear-shaped long before the line. Kopecky was relegated, fined 500CHF and given a yellow card not long after the stage for a line deviation.
"If I start a sprint tomorrow. I would do exactly the same," Kopecky wrote on Instagram. "I got a great leadout from Anna [van der Breggen], start my sprint so I take my line, not Anna’s. So YES, I have to go off my original line. At that moment no one was next to me yet."
In images now extensively litigated on social media, Kopecky can be see veering to the left on the uphill kick to the line and coming into contact with eventual stage-winner – and Kopecky's Madison partner – Shari Bossuyt, while Kopecky seems simultaneously to lose traction on the pedals, apparently due to an unintentional shift to the small chainring. The former world champion initially finished 15th, but was later relegated to the back of her group which put her 36th. After later reviewing the footage herself, Kopecky was thoroughly disgruntled about the decision.
"After watching the video I really want to say Shari did not do anything wrong. So absolutely congrats to her! I don’t agree with the decision of the jury. But that’s another discussion all together. No further comment."
Rüegg suffers fractured shoulder in La Vuelta crash
Noemi Rüegg, who was leading La Vuelta Femenina after winning the first stage on Sunday, crashed with 12 km to go in the second stage. She was seen on the side of the road with Eleonora Ciabocco, who also went down. Ciabocco was able to get back on her bike and finish nearly two and a half minutes behind the stage winner. This meant she lost the lead in the Youth Classification she held after the opening stage.
Rüegg, on the other hand, was unable to finish the stage. Her team, EF Education-Oatly, released a statement on Tuesday morning that the Swiss rider sustained a fractured shoulder in the incident and would require surgery.
"Noemi suffered a fracture to her right shoulder in the crash that forced her to abandon the Vuelta. The fracture will require surgery. Join us in wishing our champ all the best on her recovery," the team announced.
Evenepoel switches to training-only approach to the Tour
Remco Evenepoel was due to take on the same summer programme as he has in the past two years by racing the newly-named Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes before the Tour de France, but this week his team has announced the 2024 podium finisher will skip all competition between now and the Grand Départ in Barcelona.
"Contrary to the original plan, he will not race the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes,” reads the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe press release. “Instead, in the month of June, he focuses on a balanced mix of recovery, exploring the Tour course and specific training. Prior to that, he will finish an altitude training camp in May.”
Team DS Zak Dempster points to an analysis of Evenepoel's racing load so far in 2026, which started in Mallorca in February, and the desire to get him to Barcelona as fresh as possible: "we see more advantage in a balanced alternative program than in adding additional competition tax."
Evenepoel's co-leader at the Tour, Florian Lipowitz, is not expected to change his planned route to Barcelona, which will see him fight for victory at the Tour of Slovenia (while two-time winner Tadej Pogačar races the Tour de Suisse).
Kopecky relegated at Vuelta over irregular sprint
Lotte Kopecky's Vuelta España Femenina is definitely not going to plan. After misjudging her line in the stage 1 sprint and narrowly missing out on a stage win, the SD Worx-Protime rider got a solid leadout from Anna van der Breggen on stage 2 only to lose position bumping eventual winner Shari Bossuyt in the final meters, interrupting her momentum and dropping her to 15th.
To add insult to injury, the race jury relegated Kopecky to 36th (last in the first finishing group) for that bump. From the overhead shot – which you can see in Abby Mickey's race report – Kopecky is beginning to come off Van der Breggen's wheel when her line leads left directly into a surging Bossuyt. The contact clearly takes Kopecky by surprise and she appears to pop out of her pedal, pumping her arm in frustration as the field surges around. Kopecky is still in third overall and Tuesday's stage 3 likely suits her abilities.
The Cyclists' Alliance issues a roadmap for women's racing
On the heels of Rapha re-issuing its 2019 roadmap for reforming pro cycling (with some updates), women's riders union The Cyclists' Alliance has published its own detailed plans for the future of women's road racing. [PDF] Both efforts come at the deadline for the UCI's call for proposals on the future of the sport (which closed April 30).
TCA's document outlines four major areas of focus: the sport's economic model, fan engagement strategy, its calendar and teams lineup, and rider safety. There are detailed recommendations for each pillar. TCA envisions a shift to a festival-style format around women's races, both to increase revenue from direct ticketing and other initiatives. There's also a call for a more thoughtful approach to broadcast strategy (for example, not just mandating a blanket minimum coverage requirement but considering race-specific approaches to ensure exciting moments are part of coverage).
TCA proposes that race days be spread more evenly throughout the calendar, noting that a third of all race days in the 2026 women's WorldTour are concentrated in a 35-day span from May to the first week of June. And the TCA also argues for the implementation of minimum safety standards for course design. There's much more in the full letter (linked above) and Abby Mickey will have a deeper look in her weekly Wheel Talk newsletter. (Sign up to get it in your inbox.)
Van Aert is still riding Roubaix high
It's been three weeks since Wout van Aert ticked off one of the biggest accomplishments of his career, but the Belgian is still riding high on the good vibes after the feat.
"I didn't sleep for a minute the night after Paris-Roubaix," he said at a ceremony over the weekend at his Visma-Lease a Bike's high performance center. The reason? The flood of goodwill and support for the widely beloved rider after finally breaking the cobble Monument barrier. "I received more than 300 messages, including one from the assistant to the King of Belgium who wanted to get in touch with me," he said.
After talking with the king, Van Aert then took what he called "my best vacation ever" before returning to training. Van Aert isn't scheduled to race again until June's Tour Auvergne-Rhone Alpes (the renamed Critérium du Dauphiné), after which he'll target the Tour de France. At the Visma ceremony, he also outlined his next goals, telling journalists that a world road title remains high on his list of objectives.
Vos out of La Vuelta Femenina with broken collarbone
Visma-Lease a Bike announced on Monday morning that top rider, Marianne Vos, would not start the second stage of La Vuelta Femenina. Vos crashed in the opening stage on Sunday and was still able to get back into the main bunch in the final 3 km and sprint to eighth, but after the stage, she wasn't sure about her physical condition. As it turned out, Vos broke her collarbone in the crash, the team posted on Instagram early Monday morning.
The team will continue the race with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Femke de Vries leading the charge for their general classification bid.
De Lie takes first win of the season just in time for the Giro
Arnaud De Lie has had another topsy-turvy spring with a real mix of results offsetting a persistent favourite status on home terrain. While fourth at In Flanders Fields was not to be sniffed at, his best result before this weekend was at Tirreno-Adriatico where only Tobias Lund Andresen was faster in a field that included Jasper Philipsen, Jonathan Milan and Paul Magnier, but the win drought continued until this weekend's Famenne Ardennes Classic.
It's certainly not the biggest win of his career, but it's an important morale booster with the Giro d'Italia next on his programme – albeit not the whole race; his team has said he'll only stay a week to 10 days before saving himself for the summer.
"This is indeed a confidence boost," De Lie told Sporza. " Milan Menten, my lead-out for the Giro, also delivered today. Just like the whole team. We had already crossed the finish line four times, so I knew the wind was blowing against us there and I had to wait until the last moment."
Lotto Famenne Ardennes Classic Top 5
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) 4:26:26
Jens Verbrugghe (NSN Development Team) st.
Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5) st.
Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Premier Tech) st.
Milan Menten (Lotto-Intermarché) st.
Pogačar seals Tour de Romandie title with fourth stage win
On the final stage of the Tour de Romandie, Tadej Pogačar surfed the efforts of his rivals and their teams, before out-kicking Florian Lipowitz to the Leysin summit to claim his fourth stage win of the week.
On the last day of the WorldTour stage race, several riders were determined to make a go of it from the breakaway, and break the stage-win stranglehold imposed by Pogačar and Dorian Godon (prologue and stage 2). However, the gap held by the eight-man move was never enough to hold all the way, and Finn Fisher-Black was the last man reeled in about halfway up the finishing climb.
Bahrain Victorious was determined to position Lenny Martinez for a grand finale, and Lipowitz appeared optimistic after a strong performance the previous day, but the German's accelerations never troubled the race leader, and the stage came down to a slow-motion sprint. In the end, Pogačar made light work of it and put three seconds into Lipowitz at the line, sealing overall victory by 42 seconds. Lipowitz's second-consecutive runner-up finish kept him comfortably second overall, while Martinez successfully retained the third step of the GC podium.
20-year-old Belgian sprinter Tom Crabbe secures hat trick in Turkey
The sprinting revelation of 2026 comes not from the upper echelons of cycling, but from ProTeam Flanders-Baloise, in the form of 20-year-old Belgian Tom Crabbe, who finished up the Tour of Turkey on Sunday with a third stage win.
Crabbe made his debut with Flanders-Baloise in 2025, netting several top-10s on flat finishes, including second to Olav Kooij on stage 2 of the Tour of Britain, but he took another step forward at the start of this season, winning straight off the bat at the Étoile de Béssèges. He followed that up later the same month at the Ruta del Sol, beating some seasoned WorldTour pros including Søren Wærenskjold, Alex Aranburu and Christophe Laporte. Crabbe then debuted at some of the biggest Spring Classics before heading to the Presidential Tour of Turkey where he brought his tally to five.
"Every victory has its own story," Crabbe told Wielerflits in Turkey. "It is always great to be able to do this together with the team. I am not going to put one victory above the other. I need to recover for a moment now, put everything in perspective, and just enjoy it."
Crabbe's success so far in 2026 makes him ninth most victorious in the men's peloton, tying with Dorian Godon and Isaac Del Toro, and his competition has included some stellar sprinting talent. His next goals are back home in Belgium with the Tour de Wallonie and Baloise Belgium Tour before the sprinter-friendly Belgian National Championships.
"It certainly gives a lot of self-confidence, although the level of the sprinters here might be slightly lower than at the Belgian Championships," Crabbe said when asked about his prospects. "Men like Philipsen and Merlier are at the start there. We are now going to try to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. A beautiful summer is still ahead."
Fortunato will not defend his KOM title at 2026 Giro
Lorenzo Fortunato had been on XDS-Astana's provisional startlist for the 2026 Giro d'Italia, but the reigning mountains classification winner has now confirmed that he will miss his home Grand Tour for the first time in six years, having started every edition since 2021.
"It is the first time in [six] years that I will not be participating,” Fortunato told SpazioCiclismo. “I have already ridden the Tours of Catalonia and the Basque Country, and after the Tour de Romandie I will take a week of rest, after which I will appear at the start of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes."
His appearance at the race formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné, ASO's Tour de France warm-up event, suggests that the almost-30-year-old (birthday on 9th May) may be destined for his Tour debut this summer, though that has yet to be confirmed.
'If the organisers want Pogačar to win, that's their choice' – rivals miffed about moto influence at Romandie
On Saturday, Tadej Pogačar won his third stage and extended his race lead at the Tour de Romandie, by attacking on the final climb, dropping all his rivals, and soloing to the finish 14 seconds before Florian Lipowitz, and almost two minutes ahead of the next group. However, a few riders have since voiced their disappointment at the perceived influence of motorbikes on the race's outcome.
"I hope the motorbikes weren't too close, because that was the case for the past two days,” Valentin Paret-Peintre, one of the last survivors of the day's break, told Eurosport at the stage 4 finish. “But anyway, if the organisers want Pogačar to win, that is their choice. We have said it several times already, but that is life."
His disgruntlement was echoed by Soudal-QuickStep teammate Louis Vervaeke, who had also played a role in the day's breakaway, hoping to set up a rare outsider stage win – Dorian Godon and Pogačar have shared the Tour de Romandie spoils exclusively among themselves.
"When the TV broadcast started, we lost almost a minute in five kilometers. That is starting to become a habit," Vervaeke told DirectVelo on the morning of the final stage. "If you are part of a breakaway, there is a motorbike behind the leading group and a motorbike in front of the peloton. With a headwind, that makes a huge difference. Yesterday we rode full throttle on the flat, but the gap still dropped significantly."
Pogačar tightens grip on Romandie GC with Queen Stage win 14 seconds ahead of Lipowitz
The first mountain stage of the Tour de Romandie ended as everyone expected: with Tadej Pogačar winning solo in the yellow jersey.
With one day to go, the Slovenian's grip on the Swiss stage race has tightened, but perhaps the more compelling story of the day comes in the shape of Florian Lipowitz who was Pogačar's closest rival by a long shot. The young German was the only rider who could latch onto the race leader's wheel when he attacked on the third and last ascent of the Jaunpass (8.1 km at 8.3%) 20 km from the finish. Lipowitz was then dropped about a kilometre from the summit, but throughout the descent and run-in to the finish in Charmey, he managed to limit his losses and come home just 14 seconds after Pogačar.
The next to finish were Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) a minute and 28 seconds after Lipowitz, with third overall Lenny Martinez five seconds further back. This puts Lipowitz 35 seconds off Pogačar, with an almost two-minute buffer over third.
Stage 4 results
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3:40:24
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +0:14
Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) +1:42
Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana) st.
Sergio Higuita (XDS-Astana) +1:47
GC after stage 4
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 15:47:00
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +0:35
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) +2:23
Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike) +2:30
Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) +2:48
Pöstlberger and Gómez Villafañe triumph at the Traka 200
Former road pro Lukas Pöstlberger (Rose Cycling Circle) and indomitable gravel star Sofia Gómez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) came out on top in the flagship event of The Traka, a major race of the Gravel Earth Series.
While Gómez Villafañe repeated the dominant performance that took her to the 2025 title, shedding closest rival Larissa Hartog (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) on the last short climb to win solo, Pöstlberger held off a determined chasing group of mountain bikers in Bryden Lange (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing), Martin Stošek and Wout Alleman (both Buff BH), with recently retired MTB star Nino Schurter in pursuit.
Pöstlberger and Villafañe join a stellar champions' table at this year's The Traka along with victors of the 360 race, European champ and last year's 200 winner Mads Wurtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-road) and 2024 Unbound 200 winner Rosa Klöser of Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto.
The Traka 200 women's podium
Sofia Gómez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road) 6:54:42
Larissa Hartog (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) +1:09
Nele Laing (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) +7:51
The Traka 200 men's podium
Lukas Postlberger (Rose Cycling Circle) 6:04:42
Bryden Lange (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing) +0:20
Martin Stošek (Buff BH) st.
Pidcock is switching his focus to MTB until mid-June
Tom Pidcock completed his first big racing block of 2026 at Friday's Eschborn-Frankfurt, where the Pinarello-Q36.5 leader finished second to Georg Zimmermann. Pidcock is now turning his attention to the mountain bike with a view to one of his biggest goals of the season at the MTB World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, in late August.
First things first, Pidcock told In de Leiderstrui in Frankfurt, is a short rest, but he'll then start preparing for the second round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Nové Město na Moravě, Czechia, 22-24 May.
After that, it's back to the road and his build up to the Tour de France via the Tour de Suisse, where he finished sixth overall at his last appearance in 2024.
Eddy Merckx is recovering at home after latest hospital stay
It's been a tough couple of years for Eddy Merckx. The 80-year-old Belgian has been back in hospital to treat a persistent problem with his hip joint, which since the end of 2024 has required no fewer than nine surgical procedures – and significantly curtailed Merckx's usually active lifestyle.
The Belgian superstar cyclist had been fitted with a prosthesis, but it was ultimately not a fix – far from it. He's been hospitalised multiple times to treat infection in the joint, and with a replacement prosthesis no longer an option, doctors hope that this latest procedure will bring the issue under control.
Blevins breaks collarbone in training ahead of MTB World Series opener
Christopher Blevins will be unable to start this weekend's opening round of the 2026 Mountain Bike World Series in Mona YongPyong, South Korea, after breaking his collarbone in training.
Specialized's Blevins headed to Asia a top favourite after being crowned XCO series champion in 2025, built on a dominant start to the season, but the American will now have to bide his time before beginning his campaign to defend the series title.
John Degenkolb has extended his contract with Dutch WorldTeam Picnic-PostNL, committing an 11th year to the team where he's enjoyed most of his success, and stretching his career to 17 seasons.
The German veteran's relationship with his team began way back in 2012 following a lucrative neo-pro season with HTC-High Road. Between 2012 and the end of 2016, the versatile fast man racked up 36 victories – out of his 48 career total – including 11 Grand Tour stages, and Monuments Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, both in 2015. Degenkolb moved on to pastures new in 2017, spending a few seasons at Trek-Segafredo and then Lotto Soudal, until returning home to then-called Team DSM for 2022.
Degenkolb has not himself mounted a podium since 2020, but instead he's played the role of road captain and mentor to the increasingly young and up-and-coming talent pool at Picnic-PostNL.
"Earlier in my career, when I was in a different role chasing those wins in the biggest races, I always relied on great road captains,” Degenkolb said in a team statement. “That showed me how important it is when you are young and ambitious to have experienced riders and people around you."
Godon outkicks Fisher-Black to win Romandie stage 3
Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) picked up another win at the Tour de Romandie on Friday, winning a reduced sprint to take stage 3 in Orbe.
The hilly day in Switzerland came down to a group of around 30 riders after late attackers were reeled in. Godon went long in the ensuing sprint and just held off Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at the line to secure the victory, his second of the week after he won the prologue. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-Quick-Step) took third on the day with race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) settling for fourth.
Georg Zimmermann (Lotto-Intermarché) secured his first ever WorldTour one-day win at Eschborn-Frankfurt on Friday, proving fastest in a lead group of 12 attackers that just barely managed to keep a hard-charging peloton at bay.
The move went clear on the Mammolshain climb inside the final 40 km of the race with Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) among the aggressors that forced the split, and then the leaders collaborated just well enough to survive into the finale. Although the bunch essentially closed down the gap to the attackers with 500 meters to go, the trailing sprint teams could not actually pull even with those at the front.
On the finishing straight, Zimmermann launched a devastating sprint on the right side of the road to take a convincing win with Pidcock settling for second and Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) rounding out the podium in third.
Van Uden reflects on 'dating' his sprint train after taking Picnic-PostNL's first win of 2026
Picnic-PostNL has not had a great start to 2026 by any measure. Pavel Bittner has carried the team to strong performances including second behind Tim Merlier at Scheldeprijs, but it wasn't until the last day of April that Casper van Uden was able finally to score the team's first win of the season on stage 5 of the Presidential Tour of Turkey.
"You always have to get a feel for each other, just like you always have to go on a date a few times," Van Uden told Wielerflits before the stage, having had difficulty in the earlier sprint stages at the second-tier race. "There isn't just one thing that went wrong these past few days ... I made mistakes and was perhaps a bit too nice; maybe I need to be a bit more of an asshole, get my elbows out and put my shoulders in. Then the good results will come.”
The 24-year-old Dutchman had a lot of pressure on his shoulders in his last buildup race before returning to the Giro, where he'll hope to recreate his surprise victory on stage 4. After only managing a top-30 finish in Turkey's first three sprint stages – won by Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise) and Stanisław Aniołkowski (Cofidis) – Van Uden and his newly-formed sprint train were finally able to make it work on their fourth opportunity.
This first win is a very important landmark for team Picnic-PostNL, which is operating under somewhat probationary conditions in 2026 after the UCI only awarded them a one-year WorldTour license pending the fulfilment of certain financial conditions.
Jayco-AlUla confirms Giro team that will support Ben O'Connor's GC bid
Jayco-AlUla is the third team to confirm its lineup for the first Grand Tour of the season. The 2026 Giro d'Italia will see Ben O'Connor headline the Australian WorldTeam with Pascal Ackermann also getting support for the sprint stages.
O'Connor returns to the Giro two years after finishing fourth overall, and six years after he took his first Grand Tour stage win in the Dolomites at the 2020 edition. Ackermann is another returning stage winner having taken at least one in each of his previous Giro starts, as is climber Koen Bouwman who won the mountains classification via two stage victories in 2022, and two-time winner Andrea Vendrame who's starting his home race for the ninth time. The team is also taking two Grand Tour debutants in Bob Donaldson and Alan Hatherly.
