Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. Here’s a rundown of the latest results before we get started:
UAE Tour Men, Stage 1, Mon 16th February: 1st Isaac del Toro, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 2h 30min 56sec; 2nd Cees Bol, Decathlon-CMA CGM, +00sec; 3rd Antonio Tiberi, Bahrain Victorious, +00sec.
Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior, Mon 16th February: 1st Tim Wellens, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 3h 29min 31sec; 2nd Tom Pidcock, Pinarello-Q36.5, +48sec; 3rd Benoit Cosnefroy, UAE Team Emirates XRG, +1min 04sec.
Clasica de Almeria, Sun 15th February: 1st Biniam Girmay, NSN Cycling Team, 4h 10min 36sec; 2nd Milan Fretin, Cofidis, +00sec; 3rd Matteo Moschetti, Pinarello-Q36.5, +00sec.
Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, Overall, Sun 15th February: 1st Demi Vollering, FDJ United-Suez, 8h 53min 24sec; 2nd Maëva Squiban, UAE Team ADQ, +1min 02sec; 3rd Mie Bjørndal Ottestad, Uno X Mobility, +1min 12sec.
Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, Stage 4, Sun 15th February: 1st Demi Vollering, FDJ United-Suez, 2h 54min 40sec; 2nd Liane Lippert, Movistar, +00sec; 3rd Maëva Squiban, UAE Team ADQ, +00sec.
Isaac del Toro wins first stage of UAE Tour
UAE Team Emirates XRG
Isaac del Toro came out of the gates like a charging bull at the UAE Tour to open his season with victory for UAE Team Emirates XRG. With the race set to be a showdown between himself and Remco Evenepoel, the 22-year-old Mexican took advantage of a slight uphill final kilometre to attack the sprinters, and just about managed to hold on with Decathlon-CMA CGM’s Cees Bol nipping at his heels. A time bonus at the line means he’s now ten seconds ahead of Evenepoel on GC after the opening day, which will be very useful with a time-trial coming up next.
The race’s headline sprinter Jonathan Milan was expected to dominate the sprints in the absence of Soudal-QuickStep’s Tim Merlier, but he was taken down in a crash in the final 2km. Thankfully he was able to pick himself up and finish the stage. His Lidl-Trek team say he has avoided any fractures and will be assessed again prior to Stage 2.
Austin Butler to play Lance Armstrong in biopic
Wikimedia Commons, license 3.0
Reports from Deadline suggest we’re getting a Lance Armstrong biopic, with Austin Butler, the star of Elvis and Dune 2, set to play the disgraced cyclist in a movie from Conclave director Edward Berger that’s currently subject to a bidding war.
Film producer Scott Stuber, who recently produced the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere, is said to have convinced Armstrong to approve a tell-all story.
Demi Vollering wins first stage race of season
Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images
FDJ United-Suez’s Demi Vollering came out swinging in her first stage race of the season, Setmana Ciclista Valenciana. In a copy and paste of her start to 2025, she broke away on the opening stage and would never be knocked off the top spot. After the third stage was cancelled due to high winds, Vollering then raced to a second victory on the final day in a sprint against Movistar’s Liane Lippert. UAE Team ADQ’s Maëva Squiban came in second overall with Mie Bjørndal Ottestad of Uno X Mobility in third.
Visma-Lease a Bike’s rising star Viktória Chladonová was notably present at the front of the race, and after her third place on the first day, the 19-year-old would end up fifth overall. Watch this space…
Wind whips up a frenzy
UAE Team Emirates XRG
Valenciana wasn’t the only race impacted by winds this week, as both stage of the men’s Vuelta a Murcia were affected. The opening day was shortened to 83km, and the second stage was initially switched from 190km to 148km, but with riders blown off the road, organisers deemed it impossible to continue and neutralised the stage.
UAE’s Marc Soler would win the race ahead of teammate Julius Johansen and Pinarello-Q36.5’s Tom Pidcock.
It’s a busy time in the headlines for the Soler family as a report from Escape Collective revealed Marc Soler’s father, Jaume Soler Serrano, had been given an 18-month suspension from Spanish anti-doping agency CELAD for working with former US Postal Service coach José Martí.
Facelift for Paris-Roubaix
Xavier Pereyron
2026 has become a big year for races changing their names. Joining the likes of the Critérium du Dauphiné (now Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) and Gent-Wevelgem (now titled In Flanders Fields – from Middelkerke to Wevelgem), Paris-Roubaix has officially changed its name to Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France. Will anyone actually call it that? Probably not.
