Watching the peloton - Professional Road Racing thread 2026

To put this year's race in context, Amstel Gold 2025:



We see so many stunning finishes in this sport. This is the kind where the one stunned most is the winner.
 
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Rás Cnoic said:
Watching the highlights of stage 5 of the O Gran Camino and a brilliant young Italian climber (22) I've never heard of before wins this steep climbing stage from Adam Yates (last 1000m of climb was on cobbles!). His name is Alessandro Pinarello - I mean at what age did he decide to become a cyclist!!? INEOS have to buy him!

I wonder if he's connected to the bike brand. All these Italian bikes are family run anyway.


Adam Y wins GC. Pleased for him, love his incredible yet calm looking out of saddle climbing style, looks merciless. The sole remaining twin on the road after Simon's abrupt retirement. Hope he has a good season, he's down for Giro & Tour at the moment, trusty climbing lieutenant in both I guess.
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Not related to the bike brand.
 
Stumbled across YouTube "final kms" highlights of the 2026 Tour of the Alps, Stage 1. Not on the streaming guide posted by @stompandgo . Unfortunately, streaming only on FloBikes in the US.

Heard some big name riders mentioned but never heard of this race. Is it an important one? Would like to watch for the scenery alone.
 
It's a 2.Pro. 7 UWT teams, 6 ProTeams, 2 UC (Continental) teams, 2 National teams. Recognizable names are Pidcock (he rides on a ProTeam), O'Connor, Arensman, and Sean Quinn. Important? Every race is important for both UCI points and Grand Tour preparation. Not so much for the bigger names, but for the support riders. It's part of the selection process.
 
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Jeremy McCreary said:
Stumbled across YouTube "final kms" highlights of the 2026 Tour of the Alps, Stage 1. Not on the streaming guide posted by @stompandgo . Unfortunately, streaming only on FloBikes in the US.

Heard some big name riders mentioned but never heard of this race. Is it an important one? Would like to watch for the scenery alone.
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We're at the point in the season where the first of the Grand Tours is fast coming into view - Giro D'Italia Friday 8th of May so there are a couple of high altitude races for riders to stretch their climbing muscles in anticipation and for teams to make final selections etc. The Tour of the Alps crosses Austria and Italy in the mountains. The main one week race is the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland starting next Tuesday 28th for 6 stages. The scenery in that one on the mountain passes is incredible.

The Tour de Suisse (also as name suggests in high alps of Switzerland) provides a similar function for the Tour de France, as it's held in early June. Both Romandie and Suisse are prestigious races in their own right. I'm not that familiar with the Tour of the Alps, used be called something different I think, I imagine the name change was to place its alpine mountain credentials more firmly. These are fun to watch to get an idea of who is looking good for the Grand Tours.
 
A good example - INEOS suddenly looking good on the slopes of the tour of the alps yesterday & today - Bernal climbing very well, great timing coming into the grand tours, INEOS's natural hunting grounds.

And what about the excellently named Domenico Pozzovivo climbing like a beast, mixing it with the best in the world (12th on the line) at the tender young age of 43!

Hope for us all!

Egan Bernal, if you're not familiar with his story, Columbian, won the TdF for INEOS in '19 from his teammate Thomas Geraint who was going for his second win having been lieutenant at INEOS for a decade. Bernal seemed the future, he also won the Giro in 21 after covid disruptions, but had a horrific life threatening, career threatening crash in early 22, broke some vertebra, femur, kneecap and several ribs. Took him a couple of years to recover and he never made it back to his best, and of course while out, in the meantime Pog and Jonas emerged. At his best could he have matched them? We'll never know, and it's unlikely looking at Pog winning everything now. But it scuppered INEOS's long term plans - they had an extraordinary conveyer belt of TdF victories from 2012 with Bradley Wiggins, then Chris Froome with x 4 wins (until a similar devestating crash scuppered any more attempts), Geraint Thomas and finally Bernal. 7 TdF in a row! As Team Sky they perfected what became known as the skytrain, a succession of brilliant mountain domestiques that with Froome at the helm seemed unstoppable, setting the mountains pace so high to drop everyone else, like a machine and pretty boring to watch. After Bernal's injury INEOS seemed to buy every hopeful 19 year old climber in the desperate hope of finding a new Pog, something they still seem to be at, buying Kevin Ver- and Oscar Onley this year, as potential winners or at least mountain doms.

In fairness INEOS did stick by Bernal in his long road to recovery & I'm pleased to see him at the pointy end of a big climb again and hope he does well in the Giro.
 
La Fleche Wallone tomorrow.

Just watched the 2025 NBC highlights. Never guess who just rode away at the bottom of the final climb with ~1 km to go. Roll and VV were apoplectic at his gravity-defying seated speeds up the double-digit gradients, which in places were over 20%.
 
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Nice Tom Pidcock win at tour of the alps. And impressive breakaway ride by young Irish rider Darren Rafferty (EF Education) caught 3km out by leading group but now 17th on GC. Handy climber and very good TT, 6th at the under 23s World TT last year & still only 22.
 
Seixas is the most sought after transfer right now. Decathlon is simultaneously getting an extension together, and shopping him. All the usual suspects, i.e. Visma, UAE, Red Bull, and INEOS are in the mix. There is talk that he will bring $8M Euros, which is insane for a 19 year old who has never competed in a Grand Tour, much less won one.

This kind of cash arms race will kill the sport in ten years.
 
stompandgo said:
Seixas is the most sought after transfer right now. Decathlon is simultaneously getting an extension together, and shopping him. All the usual suspects, i.e. Visma, UAE, Red Bull, and INEOS are in the mix. There is talk that he will bring $8M Euros, which is insane for a 19 year old who has never competed in a Grand Tour, much less won one.

This kind of cash arms race will kill the sport in ten years.
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So Leige this weekend could be the first Pog v Seixas battle, currently both down to start.

I still think he is too young for a 3 week grand tour. He'd be one of the youngest ever.

Re the cash situ. Agreed. It's buying sight unseen but the desperation to buy a Pog will push the price. Watching him on the Mur 20% climb to the finish today he looked tall, lanky and all elbows and knees. Will he fill out?

He's 6'1" height. Tall. Big Mig Indurin & Chris Froome were the same height. Though pretty sure Big Mig was on the special sauce, jury is still out on Froome and his special asthma medicines.

Anyway he is fast this kid. I wonder if he'll do the Suisse tour as a week long big mountain test?
 
It's one thing to race in a seven day stage race. It's quite another thing to race in a Grand Tour. You can prepare your whole life for it, but until you do one, you dont know what it takes. He could do well, mid pack, or fold like a cheap suit. He has way too much to prove at this point.
 
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