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It can be one of the most confusing times of the year: recognizing the new national champions in the opening days of the Tour de France.
When the race rolls out of Lille next Saturday several of those in the bunch will be clad in different kit to that many will be accustomed to. Many of the 2024 champions will be suddenly back in standard team clothing—although that clothing itself may change for the Tour—while the new title holders will be sporting their national stripes.
One of those to look out for is Tim Wellens, the UAE Team Emirates rider outfoxing Remco Evenepoel (Soudal QuickStep) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceunick) with a 41 kilometer solo breakaway.
Danny van Poppel (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) had an easier time of it in the Netherlands, taking the gold medal there ahead of Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) in a bunch sprint.
Giro d’Italia star Ivan Romeo (Movistar Team) triumphed via a solo victory in Spain, while Swiss rider Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) doubled up on the gold he took in Thursday’s time trial. Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS Astana Team) did likewise in Kazakhstan.
Also heading to the Tour this week are Uno-X Mobility rider Andreas Leknessund and Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty). These proved best in Norway and Germany.
Skujiņš, Gee put in dominant rides
Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek) won again in Latvia (Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
A number of other riders won their own national championships but aren’t currently confirmed for the Tour. Dorian Godon (Decathlon Ag2r la Mondiale) was fastest in a three man sprint to take the French title.
Søren Kragh Andersen beat his Lidl-Trek teammate Mads Pedersen by 25 seconds in Denmark, and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) doubled up in the road and TT championships in the Czech Republic.
In Lativa Toms Skujiņš (Lidl-Trek) captured his fifth national title by more than two minutes. Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) and Rory Townsend (Q36.5 Procycling) secured gold medals in Britain and Ireland respectively.
Perhaps the most unexpected winner was Filippo Conca, Townsend’s former teammate.
He’s currently racing with the non-UCI Swatt Club squad, but beat Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Thomas Pesenti (Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team) and Giovanni Aleotti (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in a four man gallop to the line in Italy.
In Canada, Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) crushed his rivals in the men’s road race, finishing almost four minutes clear of his teammate Hugo Houle.
Longo Borghini, Wiebes amongst the winners of the women’s titles
The podium of the Italian Road Cycling Championship features Monica Trinca Colonel, Elisa Longo Borghini, and Eleonora Ciabocco (Photo: Tommaso Berardi/NurPhoto).
Some key names in the women’s peloton were testing their own form in advance of major races.
Defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) showed she is in fine condition prior to the Giro d’Italia Women with a near one-minute victory in Italy.
Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) confirmed her own good shape when she prevailed in a massive sprint in the Netherlands, while her teammate Demi Vollering crashed but did not suffer serious injury.
Two other big winners are not currently scheduled to start the Giro but are part of the lineup for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal) won from a long range break in Belgium and Blanka Vas (Team SD Worx-Protime) took her sixth successive title in Hungary.
Other winners are unconfirmed for either grand tour, for now at least. At least some of those may be hoping that a new national champion’s jersey could result in a green light from their teams to ride the Giro or the Tour.
Those include EF Education-Oatly’s Alison Jackson in Canada, Marie Schreiber (Team SD Worx-Protime) in Luxembourg, Sara Martín (Movistar Team) in Spain, plus Danish rider Alberte Greve and her Norwegian Uno-X Mobility teammate Mie Bjørndal Ottestad.
Other winners at the weekend included Kristýna Burlová (Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team, Czech Republic), Daniela Campos (Eneicat-CMTeam, Portugal), Mika Söderström (Sweden), Mia Griffin (Roland, Ireland) and Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck), who won the British title from a four women breakaway.