{"id":18706,"date":"2025-07-23T19:29:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T19:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/18706\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T19:29:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T19:29:13","slug":"blood-hope-and-a-broken-finger-two-weeks-on-the-road-with-the-tour-de-frances-relegation-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/18706\/","title":{"rendered":"Blood, hope and a broken finger: Two weeks on the road with the Tour de France\u2019s relegation rivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like European soccer and many other global sports, professional cycling has embraced relegation.<\/p>\n

For just the second time in WorldTour history, the 2025 season will see two teams demoted. At the end of the last three-year cycle in 2022, Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto-Soudal were relegated to ProTeam status, replaced by Arkea-Samsic and Mathieu van der Poel\u2019s Alpecin-Deceuninck team.<\/p>\n

Relegation does not spell complete disaster for a team \u2014 teams outside the WorldTour can secure wild-card invites to the biggest races, including the Tour de France \u2014 with the top two ProTour teams (based on points scored) getting automatic invites to WorldTour races. Even so, sponsorship is harder to secure for teams outside the top flight, with the situation in the lower echelons of the WorldTour already difficult. The other complication for struggling teams is that riders with a WorldTour deal can terminate their contracts and become available for transfer should their team suffer demotion.<\/p>\n

With the Tour de France supersized in the UCI\u2019s points weighting, the three-week race was always going to play a big role in dictating survival \u2014 not just for WorldTour status, but for the existence of teams themselves.<\/p>\n

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Arkea\u2019s K\u00e9vin Vauquelin has performed admirably at this year\u2019s Tour de France. (Loic Venance \/ AFP via Getty Images)Friday, July 4, Picnic-PostNL base, Lille | One day before stage one<\/p>\n

Picnic-PostNL\u2019s pre-race base is a Novotel by Lille airport. This is not any sort of down-at-heel story but typical for the sport \u2014 they\u2019re sharing the facilities with Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe and Decathlon-AG2R.<\/p>\n

But what separates them from their roommates, whose budgets exceed their own by at least \u20ac10million (\u00a38.7m; $11.6m) per year, is their status for next season. Red Bull and Decathlon are sixth and 10th. Picnic are 18th, just one place above relegation.<\/p>\n

A burst of form pulled them out of the relegation zone, highlighted by Casper van Uden\u2019s surprise stage win at May\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia, but they are still only separated from 19th-place Cofidis by a toenail. Put simply, they need more points.<\/p>\n

At this year\u2019s Tour, they are led by 22-year Scottish climber Oscar Onley and the veteran Breton Warren Barguil.<\/p>\n

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Niklas M\u00e4rkl of Team Picnic PostNL before stage two of this year\u2019s Tour. (Asper Jacobs \/ Belga Mag \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not scared of relegation,\u201d Barguil tells The Athletic. \u201cBut it will be s**t, and I don\u2019t think we\u2019d deserve it, because the entire team is working, and we\u2019re doing all the right things for cycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Arkea (Barguil\u2019s former team, whose relegation is all but certain), we knew it was better to put, like, three guys in the top 10 and only go for the sprint with one guy. Here, you will never see this thing happening. We have one goal: it\u2019s to win the race. It\u2019s how cycling needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barguil admits to checking the UCI standings obsessively, at one point speaking to his sporting directors to ask if they would be able to enter an extra race in Brittany to gather more points. \u201cThey told me not to stress,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s coach, Matt Winston, is one of the men making those calls. Despite the relegation threat, he is insistent that the team will chase wins, rather than conservatively earning points by racking up high finishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say you offer me three stage wins, which would be 630 points, or 15 top 10s,\u201d he argues. \u201cWhat are you going to take? I\u2019m going to go for three stage wins every day of the week, because that\u2019s what people will remember us for. We have a lot of people doing the best they can to prepare the team \u2014 we want to repay that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In football, relegation comes with the spectre of job losses. Picnic\u2019s relegation rivals Astana have said they need to stay in the World Tour to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something you\u2019ll have to ask our big boss, but I know whatever happens there will be a team next year,\u201d says Winston.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelegation has been in football for years, but it\u2019s still new to cycling, and scares a lot of people. But I enjoy the challenge. Would I rather be 11th place, playing at Stoke on a Tuesday night with no chance of a result? I\u2019d rather be in the game and with something to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday, July 7, Intermarche-Wanty bus, Dunkirk | Stage three<\/p>\n

There is silence at the Intermarche-Wanty bus. Riders glide in, chains whirring, but that is the only noise as they prop their bikes against the bodywork and climb up the steps for a shower.<\/p>\n

Biniam Girmay, the team\u2019s Eritrean sprinter, is second on the bus but sixth on the stage.<\/p>\n

Intermarche-Wanty should be safe from relegation, sitting in 16th position, but Picnic and Astana\u2019s form has been far better than the Belgian squad\u2019s. Girmay, their star rider, has not won all season. His last victory came on stage 12 of last year\u2019s Tour, where he earned the green jersey.<\/p>\n

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Girmay has not enjoyed the success of last year’s Tour so far in 2025 (Pete Godin \/ Belga Mag \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

He was involved in a mid-race spat with current green jersey wearer Jonathan Milan during stage two of this year’s race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not every year that you start the Tour de France and win stages,\u201d says Aike Visbeek, the team\u2019s upbeat sporting director. \u201cWe have a second place, we have a sixth place, we were a bit unlucky yesterday, but we are working hard. That\u2019s what we’ve got to do all the way to Paris.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sprinting to win stages. We\u2019re safe from relegation, and our focus is on the green jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the mood on the bus was still sombre. This had been an attritional day. Riding at the front to avoid crashes, two riders \u2014 Laurenz Rex and Georg Zimmermann \u2014 both went down, their absence harming Girmay in the final sprint.<\/p>\n

The Eritrean was well-beaten by stage winner Tim Merlier, who pipped Milan by a wheel rim but is still just four points behind the latter in the race for a valuable green jersey.<\/p>\n

Rex\u2019s knees and fingers wept blood as he showed his soigneur the damage the day had inflicted on him.<\/p>\n

Friday, July 11, Astana bus, Saint-Malo | Stage seven<\/p>\n

Astana have been one of the success stories of this season. They have earned the fourth-most points of any team this season, moving from relegation favourites to two places clear of the drop. But with the UCI ranking table still tight \u2014 they are still just 1,500 points ahead of Cofidis \u2014 their form cannot afford to drop.<\/p>\n

Team owner Alexander Vinokourov has ratcheted up the pressure, telling his squad the team would cease to exist if they were relegated from the WorldTour. Publicly, that position has not changed and the results have not been coming at the Tour.<\/p>\n

Stage seven, however, is an opportunity. They are targeting a good result with Sergio Higuita and Clement Champoussin, but both are outsiders amid the stellar field. This season, Astana have made a habit of winning where they shouldn\u2019t. Today would top the lot \u2014 almost every team in the peloton is hoping for a good result at Mur de Bretagne.<\/p>\n

Mark Renshaw made his name as arguably the greatest lead-out man in the sport\u2019s history for sprinter Mark Cavendish, but has been at Astana as a directeur sportif since 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been really unlucky,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut on the flip side, we\u2019ve had three top 10 results. It\u2019s not easy to win at the Tour de France, but we\u2019ll be happy if we start to get some riders on the podium.\u201d<\/p>\n

But another relegation rival snags third place on the day. Onley\u2019s third for Picnic-PostNL is arguably the finest result of his young career. The 22-year-old finishes behind only Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jonas Vingegaard, earning his team 110 points in the process.<\/p>\n

Post-race, Poga\u010dar complemented the Scotsman: \u201cHe showed in the past already what a super engine he has, with a punchy kick. He\u2019s riding super well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Oscar Onley’s level at this year’s Tour is giving his team hope. (Marco Bertorello \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The next morning, Onley was bashful at hearing that praise. \u201cI told my coach that I wanted to focus on my engine because naturally, I\u2019m quite a punchy rider. We\u2019ll find out in the next couple of weeks how it\u2019s going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relegation? \u201cMyself and the team are aware of it, and obviously you can\u2019t hide the fact that it\u2019s happening,\u201d he replies. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t change anything. I\u2019m still trying to get results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday, July 14, Cofidis car, Ch\u00e2tel-Guyon | Stage 10<\/p>\n

Cofidis hoped for better on Bastille Day. Cofidis hoped for better this season. They are one of the most historic squads in France, once home to Lance Armstrong, Frank Vandenbroucke and David Millar \u2014 but they are at risk of disappearing from the WorldTour.<\/p>\n

Bastille Day is the day that French teams target. Cofidis always knew it was a long shot, but have decided to attack the day with three riders \u2014 Alex Aranburu, Ion Izagirre, and Dylan Teuns. Emanuel Buchmann will target the general classification.<\/p>\n

But here they are at Ch\u00e2tel-Guyon \u2014 and all three riders but Teuns have been dropped by the main peloton. Eventually, Buchmann climbs back on. Teuns falls away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to say why we\u2019re at this level,\u201d says Gorka Gerrikagoitia. He grips the steering wheel tightly. \u201cWe\u2019re doing all we can to improve, and for sure, it\u2019s not an ideal situation if we\u2019re not in the WorldTour. The sponsor in Cofidis will continue, but not at the same level, not at the same budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of the day, Buchmann has lost seven minutes.<\/p>\n

Wednesday, July 16, Boulevard Lascrosses, Toulouse | Stage 11<\/p>\n

The WorldTour is not necessarily the be all and end all in the cycling world. Uno-X were founded in 2016, and serve as a conduit for Scandinavian cycling talent \u2014 this year\u2019s Tour squad is comprised of eight Norwegians and Danish rider Magnus Cort, who has won stages in all three Grand Tours.<\/p>\n

Since their foundation, Uno-X have pushed for WorldTour status, but as of now, they are a ProTour squad, 20th in the standings, and almost 2000 points and two places away from achieving automatic promotion. Though they have an outside chance of overtaking Cofidis, that would still only place them 19th.<\/p>\n

Back in 2016, the team\u2019s founders announced their squad in alphabetical order. \u201cJonas Abrahamsen,\u201d were their first words. \u201cTwenty-one years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nine years later, Abrahamsen is now 20 kilograms (44 pounds) heavier<\/a> \u2014 and a Tour de France stage winner, outsprinting Swiss champions Mauro Schmid on the streets of Toulouse.<\/p>\n

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Uno-X are not in the WorldTour but have won a stage at this year’s Tour through Jonas Abrahamsen. (Loic Venance \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Their hordes of fans, all in replica jerseys, found propping up the bars of finish towns until the town\u2019s beer is finished, have their first moment of real celebration. It is the team\u2019s first Grand Tour stage win.<\/p>\n

Uno-X earns 210 points. The mechanics are crying. Former green jersey Thor Hushovd, now a DS at the team, is crying. Abrahamsen is crying.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian squad are a team on the up, with big dreams, but at this moment, which of the above means more?<\/p>\n

Thursday, July 17, Hautacam, Pyrenees | Stage 12<\/p>\n

Cofidis\u2019 Bryan Coquard needs energy to get through the Pyrenees. A sprinter, not a climber, each day in the mountains is a battle to avoid the time-cut and disqualification from the race. With Cofidis\u2019 specialist climbers struggling, picking up consistent sprint results may be their best chance of points.<\/p>\n

The bunch is passing quickly on stage 12 as Coquard grabs the musette holding his lunch. The strap wraps around his fingers. He breaks his fourth finger.<\/p>\n

That day, he battles to complete the stage in time. On the same day, having already had their bicycles stolen on the second day of the Tour, before they were later rediscovered, the women\u2019s squad suffers the same fate. Cofidis are a small team. They cannot afford a loss of at least \u20ac100,000, not with the looming threat of relegation.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcaa Despite two fractured fingers at the beginning of the stage, \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 @bryancoquard<\/a> hung in there and finished the stage bravely and on time!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcaa Malgr\u00e9 deux doigts fractur\u00e9s en d\u00e9but d’\u00e9tape, \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 @bryancoquard<\/a> s’est accroch\u00e9 et termine l’\u00e9tape au courage et dans les d\u00e9lais !\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/NaZsEHUecX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tour de France\u2122 (@LeTour) July 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a sponsorship deal signed with Cofidis without a WorldTour clause,\u201d says team boss C\u00e9dric Vasseur. \u201cBut in reality, it’s true that when you lose your place in the first division, you are losing a lot of money from organisers, from sponsors.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are weaker than when you are in the first division \u2014 and of course when a good rider wants to choose a team, he always chooses the WorldTour. The impact for us of losing a licence is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cofidis need points but might they have a surprise reprieve? (Anne-Christine Poujoulat\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Further up the road, Onley, too, is in the high mountains and has still not cracked. On the legendary Hautacam, the Picnic-PostNL rider climbs through burning sunshine to finish fifth, ahead of Grand Tour winners Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic.<\/p>\n

How does he feel? \u201cTired.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the 22-year-old Scotsman is flourishing. Sitting fourth after the Pyrenees, he is just one minute and 25 seconds away from the podium \u2014 a result that could net Picnic-PostNL a massive 880 points.<\/p>\n

It would put them almost 2000 points above Cofidis. The French squad appear doomed.<\/p>\n

Friday July 18, Peyragudes, Pyrenees | Stage 13<\/p>\n

The news breaks in the Belgian press the previous evening. Intermarche-Wanty and Lotto have agreed to a merger.<\/p>\n

It shows an inherent truth of modern cycling \u2014 that for low-budget teams, this sport is a battle for scraps.<\/p>\n

Lotto were demoted to ProTour status ahead of the 2023 season, while Wanty have desperately struggled for results this season. With Girmay out of form, it is difficult to see where consistent wins will come from. Together, they reason, offers them a better chance of survival.<\/p>\n

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Intermarche-Wanty and Lotto are due to merge, but this will mean job losses for some riders. (David Pintens \/ Belga Mag \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But an unintended consequence? Lotto and Intermarche-Wanty are set to receive WorldTour licences next season. Rather than two, they will now receive one combined licence. It means there is one left free, to be given to the 19th-best team in the UCI rankings.<\/p>\n

The next morning, sources confirm the story is true. Cofidis have hope. If they protect an 800-point lead over Uno-X, the French squad should be safe.<\/p>\n

Vasseur is sitting on a coolbox at 1600m, waiting for his riders to arrive at the team car from the time trial \u2014 a steep 13km climb to Peyragudes. He says the sun is too hot, but remains resolutely away from the shade. There is a lightness to his manner. The relief is clear. His words, however, come with caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it has not been (formally) confirmed yet,\u201d he says. \u201cBut if it\u2019s happening, it\u2019s a sign that we can be confident about staying in the first division.\u201d He pauses.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut just staying in the first division for the sake of staying in the first division makes no sense. You have to be in the first division to be competitive. It is already filled with strong teams, very strong teams, and Lotto and Wanty together will be stronger too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to think about our model \u2014 to see if it\u2019s still reliable to keep on going like we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the summit, the glare is bright from a cloudless sky. Vasseur stands and pulls down his sunglasses. He closes the car boot and walks away, towards his finishing riders, back down the hill.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Dario Belingheri \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n