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Pro Log: UAE dominate the Tour de Suisse, Belgium’s next great hope, blonde Ben Healy and Magnus Cort packs his bags
Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. We’re getting closer to the Tour de France and one team is showing just how strong they are after a dominating performance at the Tour de Suisse.
It was a UAE Team Emirates 1-2 overall with Adam Yates and João Almeida dominating the general classification and taking two stage victories each.
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Jarno Widar (Lotto-Dstny Development Team) won the under-23 Giro Next Gen race – joining the ranks of recent winners that includes Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).
The Tour de Suisse Women is ongoing, Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) getting her first WorldTour victory on Stage 3 today with teammate Kasia Niewiadoma celebrating with her as they crossed the finish line together. Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) still leads the general classification. Prepare yourselves for the British National Championships this week.
UAE Team Emirates run the show at the men’s Tour de Suisse
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) worked his way into the yellow leader’s jersey on Stage 4 after finishing second on the Gotthard’s Pass behind Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious). Yates’s teammate João Almeida sat second on the general classification and the pair remained there for the rest of the eight-day race.
Yates cemented his lead on Stage 5 after a strong performance from his squad set him up for a late attack in the final kilometre of the Category 1 climb to the finish in Cari, finishing just ahead of Almeida. The positions were switched the following day as Almeida won ahead of Yates after heavy snowfall resulted in a shortened stage. They switched back once again on Stage 7 for another 1-2 led home by Yates. And on the final stage yesterday? You guessed it – a fourth successive 1-2 as Almeida won the 15.7km mountain time-trial to Villars-sur-Ollon, eight seconds clear of Yates.
It’s a clear marker of how strong UAE Team Emirates will be at the upcoming Tour de France. Led by Tadej Pogačar after his Giro d’Italia victory, the team will have Yates and Almeida next to him in a formidably strong line-up.
Giro Next Gen stars
The Giro Next Gen, or Baby Giro, gives under-23 riders a taste of the Giro d’Italia and the 2024 edition was won by Jarno Widar (Lotto Dstny Development Team), 52 seconds ahead of Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z).
Widar and Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team) shone throughout the eight-stage race. Magnier would take over the general classification with his victory on Stage 2, a 107km ride to Saint-Vincent. A fierce attack by Widar in the final kilometre to the summit finish on Pian della Mussa on Stage 3 resulted in the Belgian swapping the white youth jersey for the maglia rosa for the remainder of the race. Magnier lost 11 minutes on the day to see his GC hopes evaporate but continued to sit top of the points classification and held the maglia ciclamino until the end of the race.
In what feels like deja-vu after Yates and Almeida’s efforts in Switzerland, Magnier would sprint to victory on Stage 4 then Widar claimed Stage 6 in its mountaintop finish in Fosse. British rider Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike Development) won the final stage with a fast sprint finish after a leadout from teammate Pietro Mattio.
Ben Healy breaks away for final stage victory at Tour of Slovenia
Ben Healy is back – and he’s got a new haircut. The Irish national road race champion, now sporting short blonde hair – kicked away from the front group in the final 3km of the fifth stage of the Tour of Slovenia and while his competitors always had him in their sights they couldn’t reel him back in.
It was touch and go, though, especially when what was left of the group behind was absorbed by a speeding peloton in the final 500m, but Healy was able to hold on to finish six seconds clear of Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility). Giovanni Aleotti (Bora-Hansgrohe) won the race overall with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) second and 2024 Giro d’Italia favourite Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) third.
Healy will try to defend his Irish road race title before likely making his debut at the Tour de France. Can he repeat his stage-winning exploits from the 2023 Giro d’Italia on the biggest stage of all?
Magnus Cort announces Tour de France participation
Ever the entertainer on social media with his hotel room ratings, Magnus Cort (Uno-X) delivered another Magnus Cort special while letting fans know he would be riding the Tour de France.
He’ll always have a post-cycling career as a contortionist.
See you next week.
The post Pro Log: UAE dominate the Tour de Suisse, Belgium’s next great hope, blonde Ben Healy and Magnus Cort packs his bags appeared first on Cyclist.