🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 1 (🇮🇹 Firenze - Rimini): DSM duo bury themselves to hold off the charging bunch on the opening day of the biggest bike race in the world, with VDB the MVP pulling Romain Bardet to his first victory at Le Tour in seven years at the very first attempt in his farewell edition. UAE ask questions of Visma but the defending champions pass the fitness test, and the heat plays havoc with Astana and the pure sprinters. Elsewhere, Bredewold wins the Thüringen TT, Schmid and Alaphilippe are separated by two seconds in Slovakia going into the final day, and we round-up the rest.
Double day at Le Tour de France Femmes with Kool doubling-up ahead of Vollering ominously moving into yellow on the technical time trial in central Rotterdam. Elsewhere: Wellens is fastest against the clock in Poland as Vinegaard takes the lead, Aular is best of the bunch as Limousin begins, and Astana say goodbye to lynchpin Lutsenko.
Celebration for Kool as the DSM gang outfox chain-slipping Wiebes to get the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift underway. Meanwhile, Nys bounces-back to launch in the final 200m as Tour de Pologne begins with a Lidl victory.
Transfer Silly Season™ begins as Cofidis shuffle the deck, quarter-finals at the Olympic BMX in Paris, and a round-up of all the minor action. YORKSHIRE.
Roglic abandons Le Tour as Philipsen doubles-up, Lippert wins from a late break at Giro Donne, AWP retakes the lead at Valromey, wins at the NCS round in Dudley for Shaw and Bostock, and we hear from William Salter (Team Wales / Huub-BCC) after his Omnium gold at Euros.
Bunch sprints at Giro Donne and TdF bring wins for Kopecky and Girmay, day three in Cottbus on the track, and junior wins on the road for Collins and Casey.
Valromey Tour begins as AWP reminds everyone why he's the junior road world champion, Clara Emond takes the win for EF at Giro Donne, Germany and GB trade blows at Track Euros, and Pogacar and Vingegaard go tete-a-tete at Le Tour.
Euro JU Track Champs begin in Cottbus, JTOI gets underway on the Emerald Isle, Nizzolo gets his first win of the year as the Sibiu Tour concludes, Fisher-Black wins at Il Giro, and the most 'serene' day ever at Le Tour delivers a win for Evil Jasper. On this episode we hear from Alex Murphy (Sibden HopeTech Apex).
Consonni takes the first road stage of 🇮🇹 Giro d'Italia Women, Fagundez goes into the race lead at 🇨🇳 Tour of Qinghai Lake, we talk to 🗣️ Seb Grindley of Fensham Howes fresh from winning a stage and a jersey at 🇧🇪 St Martinusprijs, and Caicedo wins the queen stage of 🇷🇴 Sibiu Cycling Tour with Lipowitz a day away from GC success.
🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 9 (Troyes - Troyes): Remco focuses on Jonas's balls on a day where the peloton rattle themselves through the dust in Grand Est, whereas the Giro d'Italia Women begins in beautiful Brescia for a race against the clock. Truncated and distracted coverage of Le Tour today, had a family emergency. All good now though, thanks to those who sent good wishes on Twitter during the afternoon.
🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 8 (Semur-en-Auxois - Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises): Biniam Girmay doubles-up in the bunch sprint after a day where Jonas Abrahamsen enjoyed himself out front alone. Today's episode is dedicated to André Drege, who sadly was involved in a fatal accident today at the Tour of Austria.
🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 7 (Nuits-Saint-Georges - Gevrey-Chambertin): Time trial day at Le Tour where we all learn it costs 200 Swiss Francs to have a snog. Elsewhere, Frankie Hall tops GC at Volta Portugal Feminina, and Seb Grindley wins in Kontich.
🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 6 (Mâcon - Dijon): Not the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed... Dylan Groenwegen takes it by a beak as the race jury decides Jasper's wobbly sprint doesn't cut the mustard.
🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 5 (Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Saint Vulbas): Arise, Sir Mark 👑
🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 4 (🇮🇹 Pinerolo - 🇫🇷 Valloire): Henri Desgrange honoured as Le Tour crosses into the French Alps and crests the Galibier, where fireworks are lit in the GC battle with Pogačar bursting into life 800m from the summit and taking his lead all the way into town towards yellow as the rest descend behind him. Elsewhere, in Austria, Ganna is one second off the pace of Cameron Rogers as Lidl Trek Future open Österreich Rundfaht with prologue victory.
🇫🇷 Tour de France Stage 2 (🇮🇹 Cesenatico - Bologna): Celeste-celebrations as Kevin Vauquelin delivers a Bianchi win on their doorstep, while we have the first shots fired in the Pogačar-Vingegaard duel when Tadej attacks in San Luca and takes yellow from Bardet by six seconds as Evenepoel and Carapaz threaten a late heist.
Alaphilippe leads a SQS 1-2 in Slovakia, Mason wins bonus seconds at Solidarnosc, Brand triumphs at Thüringen, there's a prologue in Poland, crits in Yorkshire, beat-the-clock in Brazil, and we complete the 176-rider profile for tomorrow's Tour de France.
It's TdF team presentation day but not a lot happens apart from some interval entertainment (clearly some mechanics who've lost a bet). Fidanza doubles-up at 🇩🇪 Thüringen, Foldager emerges from the woods first at 🇸🇰 Tour of Slovakia, stair-rods and falling branches halt play in Poland at 🇵🇱 Solidarnosc Chapions et Olympiques and it's national championships time trial day in 🇧🇷 Brazil, plus we take a look at four more TdF teams - DSM, FDJ, Alpecin and EF.
Fidanza first in Thüringia, Soudal Quickest-Step in Slovakia, the Yorkshire Circuit Cup gets underway, and there's a double day for the double denims in Poland.
Margot Vanpachtenbeke takes her maiden professional win as the 🇩🇪 LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour gets underway in central Germany, and we take a look at four more teams who have confirmed their TdF line-ups as Visma Lease-a-Bike are forced to replace an under-the-weather Sepp Kuss.