Samwise Cycle Racing Newsletter
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Gery Wins Giro Women Stage 7 Sprint as GC Leader Van der Breggen Falls in Mass Crash
Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) claimed stage 7 of the Giro d'Italia Women on Friday, outsprinting Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) and Chantal Pegolo (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria) from a late breakaway group of six in Salice Terme. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) also bridged to the break, driving the group in the final kilometres and attacking on the run-in to claw back precious seconds on general classification. The stage was overshadowed by a mass crash that brought down multiple riders including pink jersey holder Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime). The Dutchwoman finished safely and retained the overall lead heading into Saturday's decisive queen stage to Sestriere.
Sources: Cyclingnews · Cyclingnews (crash)
Wiebes Speaks Out After Giro Women Ejection: From Sadness to Anger to Injustice Over Bike Weight Ban
Lorena Wiebes broke her silence Friday over the disqualification that ended her 2026 Giro d'Italia Women campaign after just one stage. The sprinter crossed the finish line first in Ravenna on stage 1 but was ejected hours later after her bicycle weighed 6.78 kilograms — 20 grams below the UCI's mandatory minimum of 6.8kg. Wiebes described moving from sadness to anger to injustice. Her team, SD Worx-Protime, said they were astonished by the decision and raised serious questions about the weighing procedure. Cycling Weekly asked whether the UCI's weight rule, introduced in 2000, remains fit for purpose in an era of advanced frame engineering.
Sources: Cyclingnews · Cycling Weekly
Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Launches Sunday as Renamed Dauphiné Features Seixas, Del Toro, and Ayuso
The Critérium du Dauphiné launches Sunday under a new name: Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The eight-day WorldTour race, June 7–14, serves as the primary Tour de France warm-up. Without Tadeň Pogačar — who chose the Tour de Suisse — or Jonas Vingegaard, resting after his Giro d'Italia victory, the field centres on 19-year-old Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM). Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) are the key rivals. Seixas told Cyclingnews he is going for the overall win, with mountain finishes at the Grand Colombier and Plateau de Salaison deciding the race.
Sources: Cyclingnews · Cyclingnews (Seixas)
Tour de France Form Guide: Vingegaard and Pogačar Emerge as 1a-1b Favourites Ahead of Build-Up Races
Cyclingnews has published an updated Tour de France contenders ranking following the Giro d'Italia and Spring Classics season. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), winner of the Giro by 5 minutes and 22 seconds over Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), arrives in July with what the publication describes as his best Tour preparation since 2023. Tadeň Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has been dominant in one-day racing, claiming a first Milan-San Remo victory and winning the Tour de Romandie. The ranking lists both riders as 1a and 1b favourites for the Tour de France, with the gap between them and the rest of the field described as substantial.
Sources: Cyclingnews
Seixas Claims Tourmalet Strava KOMs on Tour de France Recon: A Warning to Pogačar and Vingegaard
Paul Seixas sent a clear signal to his Tour de France rivals when the 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider claimed several Strava KOMs on the Col du Tourmalet during a reconnaissance of Tour de France mountain stages. Cyclingnews described it as a warning to Tadeň Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. Seixas confirmed his Tour de France debut in a social media video shared with his grandparents, and has since logged extraordinary training volume — 43,000 metres of elevation gain in a two-week block ahead of his first Grand Tour. His Tourmalet performances suggest his climbing form is already at a high level.
Sources: Cyclingnews · Cyclingnews (training)
Van der Breggen Survives Stage 7 Crash to Hold Giro Women Lead Heading into Decisive Sestriere Queen Stage
Anna van der Breggen heads into Saturday's Giro d'Italia Women queen stage nursing the effects of a mass crash on stage 7 Friday. The SD Worx-Protime rider was among multiple fallers in the incident but finished safely and retains the maglia rosa. Today's stage from Rivoli to Sestriere passes over the Colle delle Finestre — the iconic mountain with unpaved gravel sections — before the final climb to Sestriere itself. The stage is expected to decide the race overall. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), sixth at 2 minutes 7 seconds after attacking on stage 7, is the closest GC challenger.
Sources: Cyclingnews · Cyclingnews (crash)
Spy Shots Reveal New Specialized Tarmac SL9 at Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Camp
Cyclingnews published the first spy photographs of the new Specialized Tarmac SL9 Saturday, captured by a journalist who concealed themselves in roadside vegetation at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes — the renamed Critérium du Dauphiné — ahead of Sunday's race start. The SL9 is the successor to the Tarmac SL8 and was spotted at the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team camp. Remco Evenepoel holds a lifetime equipment deal with Specialized, meaning the Belgian Olympic champion is expected to race the new frame. The reveal confirms Specialized plans to debut the SL9 during the Tour de France warm-up race period.
Sources: Cyclingnews
Giro d'Italia Women 2026
General Classification — After Stage 7
1. Anna van der Breggen — Maglia Rosa | SD Worx-Protime
6. Elisa Longo Borghini — +2:07 | UAE Team ADQ
Full standings: cyclingnews.com
Today's Stage
Stage 8 — Queen Stage
Rivoli → Sestriere
Via Colle delle Finestre (gravel)
Race finale tomorrow: Stage 9 final
Up Next: Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
June 7–14 | Seixas, Del Toro, Ayuso
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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