In this cycling news roundup, we step back and look at the dominance of the Big Three (Evenepoel, van der Poel and Pogačar) — and wonder when it might end. Plus we catch you up on some of the lesser, late-season races (including one won by…Tadej Pogačar), and look ahead to a uniquely strange race coming up in Andorra.
TOP STORY:
When Will the One-Day Race Reign of the Big Three End?
RACE NEWS
Del Toro Wins Emilia & Gran Piemonte – he’s Hot this Week
McNulty Storms to CRO Race GC Win
Meeus Outsprints Rivals to Claim Binche-Chimay-Binche Win
Pogi Squeezes in Another Win Two Days After Euros
Pogačar, Vingegaard, Roglic & Del Toro to Square off in Wacky Andorra Race
Scheldeprijs Women to Be Part of UCI ProSeries
RIDER & TEAM NEWS
Israel-Premier Tech Orients Away from Explicit Israeli Affiliation
Dutchman Marsman to Join van der Poel at Alpecin Deceuninck
VIDEO Feature
The PEZ 2024 Lombardia Preview Chat with Chris Horner
When Will the One-Day Race Reign of the Big Three End?
In winning the European Championships Road Race, Tadej Pogačar nosed into the only remaining significant one-day race not recently won by him, Remco Evenepoel or Mathieu van der Poel — aka The Big Three (not to be confused with the Big Three of stage racing, since Jonas Vingegaard is a practical non-factor in single-day competitions).
The table below lays out just how dominant these three riders have been: Of the 30 races since 2023 that we would call “significant” (Worlds/Olympics/Euros + Monuments + Near-Monuments), the Big Three of won 23. With just a couple of exceptions, including Skjelmose’s surprise win at Amstel Gold this year, the only times one of the Three doesn’t win is when the profile is flat enough to open up to other contenders — or when they simply don’t show up.
Worlds and Euros were once the domain of sprinters and puncheurs, but as course design has gravitated (as it were) towards ascent-fests, those riders have largely been ruled out of likely contention, and even decide not to show up. In fact, should the trend continue, the Big Three may well narrow to the Big Two, as MVDP self-selects out of starting even races that he once won, albeit on punchier courses.
As we wrote in Thursday’s EuroTrash, the only other crack we foresee in the Big Three’s stranglehold (apart from severe crashes or illness, which we don’t want to see) is the emergence of a new hyper-talented rider. Whether that’s Paul Seixas, or a matured Isaac del Toro, we’re not sure — but we do look forward at least to something like The Big Four.
Race
2023 Winner
2024 Winner
2025 Winner
World Championship RR
Mathieu van der Poel
Tadej Pogačar
Pogačar
Olympic Road Race
Remco Evenepoel
Milan-San Remo
van der Poel
Jasper Philipsen
van der Poel
Tour of Flanders
Pogačar
van der Poel
Pogačar
Paris-Roubaix
van der Poel
van der Poel
van der Poel
Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Evenepoel
Pogačar
Pogačar
Giro di Lombardia
Pogačar
Tadej Pogačar
??
Strade Bianche
Tom Pidcock
Pogačar
Pogačar
Amstel Gold
Pogačar
Pidcock
Mattias Skjelmose
Fleche Wallone
Pogačar
Stephen Williams
Pogačar
European Championships RR
Christophe Laporte
Arnaud De Lie
Pogačar
RACE NEWS
JUST IN: ISAAC DEL TORO CLOSES A LOOP OF FIFTEEN VICTORIES
Mexican wonder boy claimed his fifteenth victory of the 2025 season at GranPiemonte in the same region where he started winning at Milano-Torino. Marc Hirschi and Bauke Mollema rounded out the podium in Acqui Terme.
Acqui Terme, 9 October 2025 – The hot favourite of Gran Piemonte presented by Crédit Agricole with five victories in Italy in one month plus fifth and seventh at the world championships, respectively for time trialing and road racing, Isaac Del Toro didn’t disappoint once again. He caught attackers Marc Hirschi and Bauke Mollema on the Castelletto d’Erro climb and dropped them off with 17km remaining to grab another solo win at Acqui Terme in a season that will also remain special because of his second place overall in the Giro d’Italia after eleven days in the Maglia Rosa.
FINAL RESULTS
1 – Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 179km in 4h08’24”, average speed 43.237km/h
2 – Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) at 40″
3 – Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek) at 44″
4 – Fabio Christen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) at 1’07”
5 – Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) s.t.
PRESS CONFERENCE
The winner of the 109th GranPiemonte presented by Crédit Agricole, Isaac Del Toro, said: “I wanted to have a good season but it’s been slightly better than what we all expected. We’re not a team that goes ahead with an excess of confidence. We always look for room for improvement. I was told the last climb today was hard but I didn’t imagine it this hard, so to have done on the first lap helped to know what to do the second time up the hill. I remained focused to attack at the right time. Obviously we’re proud and happy with all the results we got as a team this year so far. On Saturday at Il Lombardia, the number one goal remains to do a good race for Tadej [Pogacar], to help him take the less possible risks and obviously to stay with him as long as we can and stay attentive. The truth is that Tadej is a very good person. He’s more clever than what is perceived from outside of the peloton. There’s always something to learn from him. To race alongside him helps to understand where you end up”.
Runner-up Marc Hirschi said: “It feels nice to come second at GranPiemonte, like two years, because Isaac [del Toro] was very strong today. Second is the maximum achievement I could do. He closed the gap and when he attacked again, I couldn’t follow, so I can be very happy with the second place. The only way to maybe beat him was to force some breakaway, that’s what we did with Matteo [Trentin] so they’d use more riders in the chase. We wanted to go away before him because with the shape he has now, we knew it’d be difficult in the last climb. We did it perfectly but he was still strong. Il Lombardia on Saturday is a different race than today’s with longer climbs. My shape is growing, I feel good, we have a very strong team with Julian Alaphilippe and Michael Storer. For me, personally, the goal will be to make the top 10”.
Third on the podium, Bauke Mollema, said: “It feels nice to stand on the podium again after a while, especially in a hard one-day race like today. I’m happy with the result. I mean, Del Toro… he was too strong! It was nice to be up there in the final. We came quite close but we got the maximum we could hope for. [17 years younger], he could be my son, it’s crazy how good these young guys are. It was good to start the last climb with an advantage. After 1km of climbing, I already heard Del Toro was coming across so I tried to save a little bit to survive the steep part and stay on his wheel a little bit longer. But he went so fast in the last kick, he made a big attack. It was nice to be with [Marc] Hirschi to ride together till the finishing line. I knew I was in good form the last couple of weeks, already since the Tour of Britain. The world championship was my goal and I wasn’t satisfied with my performance in Rwanda but the last week I felt the hard work done in August and September made something possible for these last Italian races of the year. I’m happy with the result and Il Lombardia on Saturday is another opportunity”.
STATISTICS
15th win this season for Isaac Del Toro, the same as Tim Merlier. In 2025, only his team-mate Tadej Pogacar won more (19) so far.
Del Toro recorded his 18th pro win at GranPiemonte: he is 21 years old, and will turn 22 on November 27. At the same age, Pogacar had recorded 13 wins, going up to 17 before turning 22.
Del Toro recorded half of his pro wins in Italian races: 9 out of 18, including the last 6, starting in Larciano on September 7. His first Italian victory took place also in Piedmont, at Milano – Torino, on March 19 this year.
92nd win this season for UAE Team Emirates: the highest value in this century, up from the 85 scored by Team Columbia – High Road in 2009. This is their first win at GranPiemonte.
First ever win for Mexico at GranPiemonte: it’s the 15th winning country, coming after the U.S.A., which scored their first win last year with Neilson Powless. GranPiemonte had winners from 7 different countries in the last 7 editions.
Second podium at GranPiemonte for Marc Hirschi, after another second place in 2023.
First podium for Bauke Mollema since his second place to Filippo Ganna in the prologue of the Deutschland Tour in 2022. Aged 39 and 9 months, he’s 17 years older than Del Toro.
McNulty Storms to CRO Race GC Win
Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) became the first rider to win the CRO Race twice, defending his 2023 title with a 1:39 lead over Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious). Racing largely in extremely wet, autumnal conditions, the 27-year-old American sealed his third stage-race win of the year after earlier victories in Poland and Luxembourg.
Frenchman Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) claimed the points jersey with four stage wins, while Oded Kogut (Israel–Premier Tech) repeated his 2024 success by winning the rain-soaked final stage into Zagreb. Casper van der Woude (Metec-Solarwatt) took best climber honors, and Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) was best young rider.
Meeus Outsprints Rivals to Claim Binche-Chimay-Binche Win
Belgian rider Jordi Meeus added his name to the Binche-Chimay-Binche honors list with a powerful sprint victory on the uphill cobbles of Pépinière. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe sprinter launched his effort at just the right moment, holding off Nils Eekhoff and Christophe Laporte —returning to the podium after an injury-plagued season — after an aggressive and unpredictable race through Wallonia.
The 2025 edition of the semi-classic saw constant attacking on the rolling course, featuring the Petit Poggio and Mur de Thuin. Early attempts to form a breakaway repeatedly failed, with high speeds splitting the peloton and leaving top favorite Jasper Philipsen stranded in a chasing group.
Eventually, Dylan Vandenstorme, Pierre Thierry, and Mikkel Bjerg broke clear, but the reduced peloton—driven by Israel-Premier Tech and Visma | Lease a Bike—reeled them in on the final circuits around Binche. The expected sprint unfolded on the uphill finish, where Meeus seized the wheel of early attacker Jonas Abrahamsen before powering past to victory.
For Meeus, 27, this marks his fourth win of an excellent season, following successes at the Volta ao Algarve, Tour de Suisse, and Copenhagen Sprint. The triumph further cements his place among Belgium’s most reliable finishers as the season draws to a close.
Pogi Squeezes in Another Win Two Days After Euros
Tadej Pogačar continued his unstoppable run with another commanding victory at the Tre Valli Varesine, just two days after the European Road Race Championships. The world champion characteristically broke away from the lead group with just over 20 kilometers to go — quite late for him — and soloed to the finish in Varese.
Despite strong competition from Primož Roglič, Egan Bernal, and Isaac Del Toro, no rider could match Pogačar’s power. Behind him, Danish rider Withen Albert Philipsen sprinted to an impressive second, with Julian Alaphilippe taking third.
The win marks Pogačar’s nineteenth triumph of the season and further cements his dominance ahead of Saturday’s Tour of Lombardy.
Pogačar, Vingegaard, Roglic & Del Toro to Square off in Wacky Andorra Race
On Sunday, October 19th, a very special one-day race will take place in Andorra. In the inaugural edition of the Andorra Cycling Masters, just four riders will compete for victory — but what the event lacks in quantity of racers, it makes up with quality, pitting Tadej Pogacar , Jonas Vingegaard , Primoz Roglic, and Isaac Del Toro against one another.
The Andorra Cycling Masters isn’t a UCI race, but this is a deliberate choice, explains organizer David Quintana. “We want to have four incredibly good riders race together without the support of teams,” Sporza quotes . “This way, fans can see every year who the champion of champions is.”
The four competitors will compete twice: After an eight-kilometer uphill time trial on the slopes of the Coll de la Gallina – one of Andorra’s most famous climbs – there will also be a regular race of just 32 kilometers in the heart of Andorra la Vella.
In addition to the sporting competition, the organizers behind the brand-new event will also release a documentary in which fans will see the “human side” of the cyclists, sports newspaper AS reports.
The documentary will reveal what goes on behind the scenes and strengthen Andorra’s position as a leading destination for cycling enthusiasts. The documentary will be available to watch on various on-demand content platforms later this year.
Scheldeprijs Women to Be Part of UCI ProSeries
Two Flanders Classics races will receive a category upgrade on next year’s road cycling calendar: Dwars door Vlaanderen for women had already been announced to join the UCI Women’s WorldTour. In addition, Scheldeprijs for women will belong to the UCI ProSeries from 2026 for the next three seasons.
“We are extremely proud to take this step,” says Jack Vissers, chairman of the Schotense wielerclub. “Over the past five editions, the interest from teams to participate in Schoten has been particularly strong. We are looking forward to welcoming all Women’s WorldTour teams in the search for a successor to Elisa Balsamo.”
“This is a next step in the Closing the Gap program of Flanders Classics,” says CEO Tomas Van Den Spiegel. “Adding the Scheldeprijs for women was one of the very first steps we took, with the support of our presenting partner for women’s cycling, KPMG. That we are now…able to bring each of our women’s races to the same level as the men’s races is a continuation of a project in which we have enthusiastically taken on a pioneering role.”
RIDER & TEAM NEWS
Israel-Premier Tech Orients Away from Explicit Israeli Affiliation
Embattled team Israel-Premier Tech announced Monday that it will undergo a full rebrand ahead of the 2026 season, moving away from its current Israeli identity. Founded 11 years ago as Cycling Academy, the team grew from developing riders in non-traditional cycling nations to winning Tour de France stages. Owner Sylvan Adams will step back from daily involvement to focus on his role with the World Jewish Congress. A new name and direction will be announced soon, continuing the team’s global talent mission.
Dutchman Marsman to Join van der Poel at Alpecin Deceuninck
Alpecin-Deceuninck has signed Dutch all-rounder Tim Marsman for the coming seasons. The 24-year-old joins from VolkerWessels after several strong years on the Continental circuit with Metec-Solarwatt. Marsman, who won the 2023 Tour du Loir et Cher and a stage at the 2022 Tour de Bretagne, impressed this year with victory in the Olympia’s Tour time trial. Known for his power on varied terrain, Marsman becomes the fifth Dutch rider on the roster for 2026, joining Mathieu van der Poel, Oscar Riesebeek, Senna Remijn, and Tibor Del Grosso.
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With Lombardia looming large this weekend, it’s not a bad time to revisit Pez’s 2024 Lombardia Preview video chat with Chris Horner – below…
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