“Oh no, not this again”: Fans accuse Flemish media of celebrating International Women’s Day by referring to Urška Žigart as “fiancée of Tadej Pogačar”; Sir Jason Kenny to run London Marathon; Deceuninck says goodbye to pro peloton + more on the live blog

> British Cycling “killing off” sport and harming smaller events, says organiser of cancelled race after risk assessor demanded “huge, last-minute” £4,000 safety changes

After three years of being a title sponsor in the WorldTour peloton, Deceuninck is set to depart at the end of current season as title sponsors for the Belgian men’s and women’s pro cycling teams, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Fenix-Deceuninck.

The Belgian PVC windows and doors manufacturer had come on as the title sponsor for the team previously known as Alpecin-Fenix in 2022. Before that, they were the sponsors for another Belgian team Soudal-QuickStep, then known as Deceuninck-QuickStep, from 2019 to 2021.

2023 Alpecin-Deceuninck MerciPoupou jersey

Despite not continuing as the title sponsor, it’s reported that Deceuninck will stay on as a minor sponsor, with their logo still appearing on the kits — similar to how Fenix stopped being a title sponsor for the men’s team three years ago but still had their logo on the shorts for a while.

In a press release issued by Deceuninck, Francis Van Eeckhout, Executive Chairman, said: “The successful collaboration has delivered the desired results in terms of brand awareness for the company.

“In consultation with the team management, we have come to the conclusion that we can continue to strengthen each other in a different form of partnership.”

The London Marathon is still more than a month away, and while most of us would usually have to enter a ballot and count on our stars to get our names picked, a list of “sports royalty”, as the BBC put it, is confirmed to be at the start line, including track cycling legend and Britain’s most successful Olympian Jason Kenny in the mix.

Lining up alongside the seven-time Olympic gold medal winner, other sports stars confirmed to be at the event scheduled for 27th April include former Chelsea captain John Terry, former English cricket captain Sir Alastair Cook, former Italian football team captain Leonardo Bonucci… and Jack Wilshere (that’s me trying to do my best Kate Scott imitation).

Just look at him. How does anyone go up against him?

Pogi ready for Strade 🫡

🎥: Trattoria La Tellina pic.twitter.com/FxYT8xL5BM

— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) March 6, 2025

A few comments from under the video…

“No need for him to train this section he’s about 3 minutes ahead at this point.”

“Won’t even need to sprint up there…”

And my favourite one: “Pog went so fast he actually went back through time. You may think he’s training but he’s actually finishing the race.”

> Italian pro cyclist pushed off bike, punched in face, and hit with rock in two vicious, unprovoked assaults by motorbike attackers

 

 

 

 

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I’m sure the memories of last year’s Strade Bianche — of Tadej Pogačar attacking solo with 80km to go and laying down a marker for the unbelievable season he was going to have, achieving unprecedented feats in modern cycling — would still linger fresh in the minds of many cycling fans.

But while we were left awestruck, I can only assume the reaction of the peloton — fear and trembling, dazed and confused — at the world champion’s performance. So, as they line up once again tomorrow to take on the white gravels of Tuscany, is any cyclist even aiming for the win anymore?

According to the Italian national champion Alberto Bettiol, that’s the conundrum the Slovenian poses in the sport now. “Pogačar is both the ‘bello e il brutto’ [the beauty and the ugliness] of modern-day cycling,” he said in an interview with Cyclingnews.

“He makes cycling beautiful to watch because he’s as good as Eddy Merckx and is smashing all the records. The ‘ugly’ side of racing against Pogačar is that you line up for a race knowing that it’s almost impossible to beat him.”

> “What the f***?” Tom Pidcock stunned and Mathieu van der Poel “scared” after Tadej Pogačar left “dead bodies everywhere” with stunning Strade Bianche attack

The 31-year-old, who left EF Education-EasyPost to join XDS Astana Team as their leader, said that at least he isn’t even aiming for the win, but for the second spot on the podium behind the three-time Tour de France winner. But it’s not just him who’s dialled down the expectations, he added that there are very few cyclists in the sport who match Pogačar’s pace and power.

Tadej Pogačar launched his solo attack with 81km to go to win the 2024 Strade Bianche (Strade Bianche)

“I honestly don’t think there’s anyone on the Strade Bianche start list who can even try to stay with him,” he said. “I’d have loved to see Mathieu van der Poel take him on when he’s at his best but he’s only just started racing and is logically focused on the cobbled Classics, when he has more chance of beating Pogačar.

“We have to be realistic, there’s nothing we can do. Pogačar can race without calculating his effort. Van der Poel can too, but us humans have got to think carefully about every effort we make in a race. I hope Pogačar attacks early on Saturday, after UAE hurt everyone on the San Martino in Grania sector with 100km to race. He can clear off, do his thing, and things fall into place.”

“That’s safer for him, he can avoid any crashes and pace his effort. If he gains a minute, he can have the team car with him in case he punctures. For the rest of us it’ll then be fast and furious behind as we race for second place. I like our chances for a place on the podium alongside Pogačar.

“That’s still a result anyone and everyone should be proud of. Being beaten by Pogačar is not a dishonour, it’s a ‘success’ to remember and cherish when we are old and retired and talk to our kids about our career and we understand just how good Pogačar was during his career.”

Is Strade Bianche turning from a race for the classic riders to more for the climbers? Mathieu van der Poel’s teammate Gianni Vermeersch thinks so…

According to the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider, the course change made by the race organisers last year has discouraged classics riders to come to the Tuscan event, with the extra kilometres added with heavy climbing involved not suiting the likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel anymore.

“The charm of Strade Bianche was that the best grand tour riders and the best classics specialists raced against each other. But since the extra loop with Colle delle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe, the course has become too hard for that,” the former gravel world champion told IDLProCycling.com.

The organizers added an extra loop at the end of the course, featuring two additional steep gravel climbs. Vermeersch said: “Le Tolfe and Colle delle Pinzuto are two very tough sectors. We now do them twice now, and in between, the course is still undulating. That means you have to climb almost 400 extra vertical meters within just 30 kilometers. That makes a huge difference in this race. On top of that, Monte Sante Marie now comes much earlier—80 kilometers from the finish. Pogacar already blew the race open there, which in my view has completely changed the nature of the race.”

He added: “Purely as a race, Strade Bianche is one of my favorites, but last year the organizers made it longer. Now the race is 30 or 40 kilometers longer, mostly with climbs. That makes it more of a climbers’ race. It used to be a 50-50 split between climbers and classics riders.

“You would see riders like Cancellara, Stybar, Mathieu, and Wout — the more classics-oriented guys — at the front. But where I could still play a meaningful role before last year, it has now become really difficult for a classics rider to compete for a top result. The entire top ten now leans more toward climbers. That’s a bit of a shame because this was one of my favourite races, where I had hoped to one day achieve a great result.”

Vermeersch came close to winning the race in 2021 when he was in a group just seven seconds behind the leaders in the final, only for the Belgian rider to crash, unfortunately. He added that he’d be going to the race tomorrow, but not anymore with the hopes of winning.  

“With the course changes, that ambition has shifted,” he added. “I think it has become very difficult for a classics rider to get a top result here.”

> Calls for “less obstructive” solutions to cycle lane’s “driveway-blocking wands” as councillor says “bollards should be replaced with white lines” – but local authority points out drivers are still parking on bike route

Big news from London’s Olympic Park! Will Norman, the city’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner, has shared a picture of the long-awaited improvements to the key junction, which are finally underway. While there’s a reason to be buzzing, seems like the good vibes come with a side of exasperation.

Norman wrote: “I’m very pleased to see the work underway on this key junction in the Olympic Park – making the area safer for people walking & cycling… if only it had been designed this way 15 years ago,” followed by a facepalm emoji.

It’s the classic infrastructure conundrum: progress comes, but often at a pace that makes snails look ambitious. For cyclists who’ve been navigating sketchy crossings or dodging oblivious drivers in the park since the 2012 Games, this might feel like a bittersweet victory. Still, better late than never, right?

As Jo Burt put it in the road.cc group chat, “Are you even a (soon to be) ex Pro if you haven’t got a book coming out?”.

Just like his mate, former teammate, and Watts Occurring podcast host Luke Rowe, Geraint Thomas has also announced his book, an autobiography titled ‘According to G’, coming out this October, in what promises to be another update to a really sordid series of badly thought out, badly worded, and badly illustrated books (ahem, Mountains According to G, Great Rides According to G, The Tour According to G… the list goes on).

If you don’t believe me, read all about it in this 2.5/5 star-rated review from Richard…

> Review: Great Rides According to G

 

 

 

 

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“I’ll be as honest as ever on my journey from Cardiff to the Champs-Élysées,” the 2018 Tour de France winner wrote in a social media post, also adding that a limited number of signed copies are available to pre-order now.

I know which release I wouldn’t be holding my breath for this year.

There’s press, there’s bad press, and then there’s your publication ‘getting accused of misogyny one day before International Women’s Day’ press…

At least that’s what is unfolding on social media with Flemish news website Het Laatste Nieuws, simply known as HLN, being criticised by fans for their headline in which they refer to Urška Žigart as “fiancée of Tadej Pogačar”.

For context, and for those who haven’t brushed up their Dutch in a minute, here’s what the headline and the first para translates to: ‘“Mom told me: ‘Don’t you see how much that boy loves you?’”: Urska Zigart, fiancée of Tadej Pogacar, looks back on eventful years’.

‘“I slept badly and thought every night: ‘why my mother?’ I can only say now that I feel okay. The sadness no longer blocks me. Now I want to ride a good race for her.” These are the words of Urška Žigart (28), rider at AG Insurance-Soudal, and also the fiancée of the best rider in the world, Tadej Pogačar. On Saturday, she will ride the Strade Bianche for women, but first our journalist Lies Vandenberghe visited her. For a conversation about love, cycling and the difficult grieving process after the death of her mother.’

> “Thank goodness she’s dating a famous cyclist, otherwise how on earth would anyone have identified her?” Urška Žigart goes agonisingly close at Tour de Suisse… only to be referred to as “Pogačar’s girlfriend” by Belgian newspaper

A screenshot of the article was shared on social media, with fans disappointed in the paper’s decision to include the Slovenian champion’s relationship with Pogačar.

Mike wrote on Bluesky: “Awful. Even worse than Le Figaro because, in this case, it’s persistent downgrading of a top athlete. What next? Angela Merkel, the wife of a physicist? Or Sophie Wilmès, widow of an Aussie Rules player? And tomorrow is International Women’s Day.”

Another fan said: “Even if her partner does happen to be the biggest most recognisable name in cycling mentioning him every time she does something in her own career is misogyny 101, it’s so embarrassing at this point for these newspapers!”

Yet another fan compared the situation with Amal Clooney, who happens to be an international human rights lawyer but still gets referred to as George Clooney’s wife.

> “Just Urška Žigart’s boyfriend”: Soigneur Tadej Pogačar on bidon duty for Slovenian women’s team at World Champs

This is, of course, not the first time it has happened. Another Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad was accused of doing the same in June 2023, when Žigart almost won the Tour de Suisse, with the peloton catching her superb breakaway ride with just 75 metres to go, only to describe her as “Pogačar’s girlfriend”.

We’ll be waiting for Pogačar to post another rebuttal to this sort of headline, perhaps this time something like, “Urška Žigart’s boyfriend wins Strade Bianche.” (What, you’re telling me he’s not won it yet? Oh…)