National Championship Week delivered some compelling storylines ahead of the Tour de France Grand Départ. Quinn Simmons claimed a third straight US road title; Filippo Ganna broke Marco Pinotti’s Italian TT record with his seventh national crown. Paul Seixas became a matter of French national interest as a bidding war erupted around the 19-year-old phenom — with President Macron reportedly involved. Paula Blasi confirmed her move to Movistar despite a nasty crash at Spanish nationals. Lizzie Deignan transitions to DS with GB Cycling. And Mathieu van der Poel’s post-TT jersey removal cost him 500 Swiss francs… and earned him the internet.
TOP STORY
- National Championships Roundup
RACE NEWS
- Your Favorite Tour de France from the Last Decade
- Key Figures of the 2026 Tour de France
- Slate of WorldTour Teams Announced for Lidl Deutschland Tour
- Vancouver’s Gastown Grand Prix Returns to Classic Course
- La Vuelta Gets Komoot Partnership for 2026
TEAM, RIDER AND CYCLING NEWS
-
Paul Seixas Is 19 Years Old and Already a Matter of National Security
- Paula Blasi Heading to Movistar
- Lizzie Deignan Returns to GB Cycling as Directeur
- MvdP’s Jersey Toss: Much Ado About Pectorals
National Championships Roundup
The penultimate week prior to the Tour de France (as opposed to the antepenultimate week, which was last week, when very little happened in road racing) is typically replete with rumor (see below re: Paul Seixas), and with pride-infused racing as various nations lodge their national championship competitions into a safe space on the calendar.
Thanks to that proximity to the sport’s biggest event, top racers often sit these races out; indeed, we didn’t see Pogačar, Seixas, van der Poel, Vingegaard, Vollering, or most of the sport’s other biggest names in competition this week.
Still, Championship Week typically offers a few fervent contests, especially with conventional trade team tactics breaking down, as well as surprising outcomes and some glimpse at Tour fitness. With that in mind, here are some of the noteworthy results from the week.
USA
- Quinn Simmons made it three straight US road titles, attacking solo with 29 kilometers to go in Charleston and finishing more than two minutes clear of the field.
- Mountain biker Kate Courtney crossed over and outsprinted Lauren Stephens to claim the women’s road crown — her first national title on tarmac.
- Triathlete Taylor Knibb won her second straight women’s TT; Artem Shmidt (INEOS Grenadiers) took the men’s.
Slovenia
- Primož Roglič, riding his first Slovenian nationals since 2020, won the men’s TT, with Tadej Pogačar skipping both the TT and road race entirely.
Italy
- Filippo Ganna claimed his seventh national TT title — fifth in a row — by more than two minutes, in the process surpassing Marco Pinotti as the most decorated Italian champion in the discipline’s history.
- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) took the men’s road race.
- Elisa Longo Borghini won the women’s road race, adding another tricolore to her already crowded trophy case.
Belgium
- Alec Segaert won the men’s TT from Tim Wellens by six seconds, with the bigger story being Lotte Kopecky finishing a surprising fourth in the women’s race — won instead by Lotte Claes (Fenix-Premier Tech).
- Remco Evenepoel skipped the road race to focus on the Tour, and Wout van Aert didn’t start, due to a shoulder injury, leaving the door open for Rune Herregodts to take the win. (That’s Herregodts in the large photo above.)
- Shari Bossuyt won the women’s road race with Kopecky runner-up.
France
- Romain Grégoire won the men’s road race.
- Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ) took the men’s TT.
- Célia Gery (FDJ-Suez) won the women’s road race; Célia Le Mouël the women’s TT.
Great Britain
- Ethan Hayter cruised to a fourth national TT title — second straight — while Zoë Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) defended her women’s TT crown.
- Fred Wright (Pinarello-Q36.5) took the men’s road race; Bäckstedt doubled up with the women’s road title as well.
Netherlands
- Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike) soloed to an emotional win in the men’s road race.
Germany
- Nils Politt bared his teeth and the men’s TT (Hey!); Franziska Koch (FDJ-Suez) the women’s.
Spain
- Mireia Benito swept both the women’s TT and road race — with favorite Paula Blasi forced out of the road race after a crash that left her needing stitches.
- Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) won the men’s TT; Marcel Camprubí took the men’s road race.
RACE NEWS
Your Favorite Tour de France from the Last Decade Was…
…most of them, it seems?
Your votes were very evenly split — and based on your emails, I should have listed an additional few.
You don’t love domination, whether it’s Froome or Tadej; of the five options listed, you least liked 2024, when Pogačar eased to a win not just in France, but at the Giro as well. You also didn’t love last year, another Pogi walkover — even accounting for Wout’s win in Paris.
Here’s hoping 2026 will bring us some suspense.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Key Figures of the 2026 Tour de France
Typically PEZ and I wouldn’t just drop in a massive infographic, but…This is the TOUR DE FRANCE, our sport’s showcase event — and besides, there’s juicy information here. So a week out from the Grand Départ, dig in and enjoy!
Slate of WorldTour Teams Announced for Lidl Deutschland Tour
Another week, another second-tier race announcing a nonetheless powerful slate of teams on its startlist.
Nine WorldTour teams will take on the 2026 version of the Lidl Deutschland Tour from August 19 to 23. Lining up alongside them will be five UCI ProTeams.
Several names jumped out from the startlist: Pello Bilbao of Bahrain Victorious, Jhonatan Narváez and Adam Yates of UAE Team Emirates XRG, Davide Formolo of Movistar Team, Simone Consonni of Lidl-Trek, Roger Adrià of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and crossover start Tibor Del Grosso of Alpecin-Premier Tech highlight the growing international significance of the race. German riders including Lennard Kämna, Max Walscheid, Phil Bauhaus and Nikias Arndt will be looking for a home-roads victory.
Vancouver’s Gastown Grand Prix Returns to Classic Course
North America’s oldest one-day bike race is back — and back to its roots. The Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix rolls through Vancouver’s historic Gastown district on July 8th, with $50,000 in prize money on the line and a field expected to top 100 pro competitors.
The big news for 2026: completed upgrades to Maple Tree Square and Blood Alley allow the race to reclaim its iconic course design. Riders blast east along Cordova Street, swing north onto Carrall Street through the heart of Maple Tree Square, then hammer down the Water Street home straight to the finish beside the famous Steam Clock. Race Director Mark Ernsting promises spectators will be closer to the action than ever, with the tighter layout cranking up the intensity from the gun.
Recently crowned USA Cycling Pro Criterium Champions Kendall Ryan and Luke Elphingstone are both confirmed starters, giving the crit some serious star power. Red Bull returns to sponsor the mid-race Fast Lap competition, and Ferrari of Vancouver joins as official pace car provider.
Action kicks off at 5:10pm with a youth race before the pros take over at 6:15pm, with up to 30,000 spectators expected to pack the cobbled streets.
Full details at globalrelayggp.org.
La Vuelta Gets Komoot Partnership for 2026
La Vuelta has announced komoot as its official route partner for 2026, and for the first time in the race’s history, every stage route will be fully integrated into the race’s official website and app — complete with interactive maps, elevation profiles, and distance data.
The tie-up means fans can explore each stage in detail before, during, or after racing, then actually go ride the thing themselves, turn-by-turn via the komoot app. Which is, let’s face it, more useful than arguing about it on social media.
Beyond the race itself, the partnership spawns exclusive route collections under the La Vuelta es Más umbrella — a Ride & Hike Around the Stage series covering iconic locations from this year’s route and previous editions: Monaco, Andorra, Navarre, Calar Alto, and Valdelinares among them. Classic climbs also get the treatment — L’Angliru, Lagos de Covadonga, and Bola del Mundo all feature.
“Spain has an extraordinary wealth of terrain to explore,” said komoot’s Eva Kuprella. “We want to make sure people don’t just follow La Vuelta from the sofa, but go out and live it.”
Hear, hear!
TEAM, RIDER AND CYCLING NEWS
Paul Seixas Is 19 Years Old and Already a Matter of National Security
Paul Seixas’ stock may have dropped somewhat after his crash and abandonment from the Tour de Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but not so much that several WorldTour teams aren’t interested in signing the French phenom.
The 19-year-old climber is only in his first year as a pro, yet has already racked up victories at the Tour of the Basque Country and La Flèche Wallonne, plus a runner-up finish at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Now, despite remaining under contract with Decathlon CMA CGM through the end of 2027, he finds himself at the center of one of the most heated transfer battles in recent memory.
UAE Emirates XRG has already held talks with the young Frenchman’s camp, with team manager Mauro Gianetti suggesting negotiations are trending positively. INEOS Grenadiers, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, and Lidl-Trek are also circling, while Swiss ProTeam Pinarello-Q36.5 — backed by billionaire owner Ivan Glasenberg — has reportedly tabled the most jaw-dropping offer yet: 13 million euros per year, which would shatter every salary record in professional cycling. For context, Tadej Pogacar is said to earn between 8 and 10 million annually. Seixas himself is reportedly seeking 8 million per year.
The bidding war has now escalated to the highest levels of French government. President Emmanuel Macron, a committed cycling enthusiast who sees Seixas as a potential national legend capable of ending France’s 41-year Tour de France drought, is said to be personally lobbying for the rider’s retention at Decathlon, and speaking directly with Seixas and his manager, Joona Laukka.
No pressure, kid.
Note: Just prior to publication of this EuroTrash, Seixas was rumored to have signed a mega-contract with Q36.5 Pinarello.
Paula Blasi Heading to Movistar
Spanish sensation Paula Blasi is set to leave UAE Team ADQ early, exercising a buyout clause worth 100,000 euros to join Movistar, a deal that’s been quietly in the works since last winter, according to Wielerflits.
The 23-year-old has had a remarkable season. After a podium at the Tour Down Under, Blasi announced herself to the world with victory at the Amstel Gold Race, then kept the wins coming: the Vuelta a España, Durango-Durango, Tour of the Pyrenees, and Tour of Catalonia. Her reported salary sits just under one million euros annually, nearly matching that of Demi Vollering.
Blasi’s toughness was on full display this week when she crashed while reconning the National Championships TT course in Sabiñánigo at over 50kph, ripping her skinsuit and requiring four stitches after seven hours in hospital. True to form, she got right back on the bike to finish the recon, bandages and all, posting the whole episode to Instagram with a thumbs-up emoji.
Movistar, who also land newly crowned Spanish time trial champion Mireia Benito from AG Insurance-Soudal, were desperate for a new young GC rider. It appears they’ve found exactly that.
Grand Départ GB Launches Readiness to Work Employability Program
The historic twin Grands Départs of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift from Britain in 2027 will showcase how mega sporting events can create significant opportunities for young people through a Readiness to Work program.
Delivered by British Cycling, the program will allow 18- to 25-year-olds to gain real-world work experience by volunteering at the Grands Départs — timely given that one million young people in Britain are not in education, employment, or training, and 45% of 24-year-olds have never held a job.
The program will train 300 young JOY Maker volunteers in employability skills including CV and interview preparation, resilience, financial education, and personal branding, along with three months of mentoring from professionals in sport, event management, and marketing.
British Cycling Chief Executive Jon Dutton OBE said: “This offers an opportunity for young people to enjoy a mega sporting event, but also to build confidence, resilience, and skills that will benefit getting them into employment.”
For more information, visit letourgb.com/readiness-to-work. To volunteer, visit letourgb.com/volunteer.
Lizzie Deignan Returns to GB Cycling as Directeur
Lizzie Deignan is heading back to the Great Britain Cycling Team — this time from the other side of the race radio. The Olympic silver medallist and 2015 world champion has been appointed Directeur Sportif, working alongside Men’s and Women’s Road Lead Matt Brammeier with LA 2028 firmly in the crosshairs.
Deignan brings more than two decades of pro racing experience to the role, having operated at every level of the peloton from protected rider to road captain. That tactical depth is exactly what Brammeier was after. “Bringing Lizzie into the team is a real coup,” he said, noting her fresh insight into both GB’s riders and the opposition, and her ability to inspire the next generation who grew up watching her race.
Deignan herself isn’t shy about the ambition. “It’s been over 10 years since my world title — it’s time for us to step into our potential and deliver more rainbow jerseys.”
The hire is part of a broader post-Paris rebuild, with Anna Henderson’s TT silver in 2024 providing momentum. Performance Director Stephen Park called Deignan’s return “a true testament” to her relationship with the program — and a significant asset as the countdown to Los Angeles begins.
MvdP’s Jersey Toss: Much Ado About Pectorals
And you thought Thursday’s news that Remco Evenepoel might be prohibited from starting the Tour de France was much ado about nothing:
After posting the fastest time through 95-degree heat in the Tour de Suisse time trial, Mathieu van der Poel peeled off his jersey in the hot seat while waiting for the final riders to finish. Pogačar ultimately beat him by less than a tenth of a second — but MvdP arguably won the internet.
The UCI, never one to let a moment breathe, duly fined him 500 Swiss francs. Worried voices fretted about Alpecin’s lost exposure — apparently ignoring the 27 minutes MvdP had just spent modeling the kit at race pace. A few seconds of bare torso in the finish area: crisis averted, wallet slightly lighter.
The episode is classic pro cycling self-sabotage. Two of the sport’s biggest stars go wheel-to-wheel in a scorching TT decided by a whisker, and the conversation pivots to sponsor logos and shirtlessness. The human drama — genuinely compelling — gets buried under manufactured outrage and a performative fine that satisfies nobody.
Sometimes the biggest obstacle in professional cycling is professional cycling itself.
PEZ VIDEO
Richard (Mr. PEZ) is in Italy now, and he’ll soon share video, photos and posts about his travels. For now, check out how he spent his last day before heading to Europe…From what I can tell, he could have just stayed home and enjoyed some lovely riding!
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