Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. Here’s a rundown of the latest results before we get started:
- Tour de Suisse, Overall, Sun 21st June: 1st Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 15h 08min 43sec; 2nd Richard Carapaz, EF Education EasyPost, +6min 32sec; 3rd Mathias Vacek, Lidl-Trek, +6min 53sec.
- Tour de Suisse Women, Overall, Sun 21st June: 1st Marlen Reusser, Movistar, 11h 58min 35sec; 2nd Cédrine Kerbaol, EF Education-Oatly, +1min 31sec; 3rd Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Canyon-Sram, +2min 02sec.
- Baloise Belgium Tour, Overall, Sun 21st June: 1st Jasper Philipsen, Alpecin-Premier Tech, 20h 43min 26sec; 2nd Jenno Berckmoes, Lotto Intermarché, +05sec; 3rd Alex Aranburu, Cofidis, +09sec.
- Tour of Slovenia, Overall, Sun 21st June: 1st Florian Lipowitz, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, 19h 45min 44sec; 2nd Giulio Pellizzari, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +42sec; 3rd Jakob Omrzel, Bahrain Victorious, +2min 06sec.
- Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina, Overall, Sun 21st June: 1st Paula Blasi, UAE Team ADQ, 9h 09min 48sec; 2nd CéliaGery, FDJ United-Suez, +1min 24sec; 3rd Sidney Swierenga, Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental Team, +1min 53sec.
Tadej Pogačar and Marlen Reusser win in Switzerland
Tadej Pogačar sewed up his Tour de Suisse victory on the very first day, putting the hammer down after the intermediate sprint and eventually slipping clear, catching Uno-X Mobility’s Fredrik Dversnes and then leaving him behind to take over two minutes at the finish to second place Richard Carapaz. He had a quieter couple of days before claiming the narrowest of victories in the Stage 4 time-trial, beating Mathieu van der Poel by 0.04 seconds. He then finished the job by winning the final stage in the mountains after catching and passing Bahrain Victorious’s Lenny Martinez in the final kilometre. Pogačar was joined on the final GC podium by Carapaz and Lidl-Trek’s Mathias Vacek.
It’s the closest he’s raced to the start of the Tour de France for a few years – it’s safe to say he’s looking strong – and it’s another race ticked off his to-do list.
In the women’s race, which took place on the same days and with the same, albeit shorter, stages, Movistar’s Marlen Reusser claimed her first stage race of the season, defending her title on home roads. The GC was a lot more competitive than the men’s race, with Visma-Lease a Bike’s Femke de Vries taking the first yellow jersey after winning the opening stage. Elisa Longo Borghini then took over on Stage 2 after going solo before Reusser powered into the lead after the Stage 4 time-trial and looked the strongest she’s been all season on the final stage, dropping Cédrine Kerbaol and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in the final kilometre to take stage and overall honours. Her final margin was 1min 31sec over Kerbaol in second, with Niewiadoma-Phinney a further 31 seconds behind.
Paula Blasi blasts off once again
Paula Blasi has been sweeping up big mountain victories since her breakthrough Amstel Gold Race win. She won La Vuelta Femenina in early May after overturning her deficit to race leader Anna van der Breggen on the Alto de l’Angliru; she won the hilly Durango Durango one-day race ten days later; she claimed a dominant victory at the CIC-Tour Féminin des Pyrénées after taking two minutes on the Col du Tourmalet; and last weekend she won the Volta a Catalunya after taking 1min 20sec over second place Célia Gery on the climb La Molina.
With that run of form, along with Elisa Longo Borghini struggling in Switzerland and Pauliena Rooijakkers on maternity leave, UAE Team ADQ have added the 23-year-old Catalan to their Tour de France Femmes roster. Could she add Mont Ventoux to her 2026 conquests?
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe dominate in Slovenia
The five-day Tour of Slovenia would be decided between Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe duo Florian Liopwitz and Giulio Pellizzari on the final day after taking over a minute and half from closest challenger Jakob Omrzel of Bahrain Victorious in a Red Bull 1-2 on the mountainous Stage 4.
The pendulum ultimately swung the way of Lipowitz, who went clear in the final 10km of the hilly day in what would be another 1-2 for the squad, this time with Laurence Pithie – who himself led the race for three days after winning the first stage – finishing second, 24sec down.
It’s a positive sign for Lipowitz, who will be hoping to defend his Tour de France podium against a lot tougher competition than he had here.
Lorenzo Finn wins Giro Next Gen
Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe Rookie’s Lorenzo Finn won the Giro Next Gen by 2min 10sec from UAE Team Emirates Gen Z’s Mateo Ramírez and 2min 35sec ahead of Henrique Bravo from the Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team to become the first Italian to win the race for 15 years.
The Italian, who is half English, was the favourite going into the race also known as the Baby Giro, and won in dominant fashion thanks to his victories in the mountains on Stage 6 to Monte Livata – when he rode away on the 13.7km HC climb – and in the Stage 8 time-trial, as well as a close third on Stage 7 after closing down a 30-second gap in the final 500 metres.
Previous winners of the Giro Next Gen include Tom Pidcock and Juan Ayuso, and 19-year-old Finn, who is the U23 World Champion, is tipped to be the next big rider to break through a la Paul Seixas. Next up on his schedule is the Sibiu Cycling Tour with the elite Red Bull squad and then the Tour de l’Avenir.