ANALYSIS | Tudor, Alaphilippe's Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the well deserved Giro and Tour invitations
Cycling
Being a World Tour team is no longer the only option to race a Grand Tour if we aren't talking about an Italian, French or Spanish team. In 2025, two big-budget but second-tier squads, Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, have split the wildcards for the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España. They have proved they deserve it this spring.
We do not know the exact reasons that have led the different Grand Tours to decide that these squads should go. The fact is that Tudor is going to the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France; whilst Q36.5 to the Giro and Vuelta.
At the stroke of a chequebook, they surprised in the last cycling market by signing some more than relevant cyclists. While Tom Pidcock went to Q36.5, Fabian Cancellara's team acquired the services of Marc Hirschi, the man who blew up the minor Italian classics at the end of the season, and the legend Julian Alaphilippe.
This has led them to be invited to Giro and Tour. It's as simple as that. With immediate effect. Surprisingly (or not) the UCI in this 2025 has expanded the invitations to grand tours from 2 to 3. Coincidentally or not, two Swiss squads have taken out their wallets and suddenly there is the opportunity - whilst the Vuelta's snub of Equipo Kern Pharma, three-time stage winner in 2024, remains very controversial.
So, it must be said that the signing of Alaphilippe and Hirschi by Tudor is a success no matter what, as without them they would most likely not have been invited for two Grand Tours. The question is, do they deserve these invitations? In terms of position in the table and overall performance, yes, but that's what the invitations were for, so that the grand tours could decide which squads to take. What is clear is that by the performance of Hirschi and Alaphilippe in particular, absolutely not.
Loulou's season, for example, has not had the desired results. In the Ardennes it cannot be denied that he has tried, but it also can't be denied that he is a shadow of his former self. Hirschi, meanwhile, started his year winning in Valencia in what seemed a continuation of the end of 2024, but it soon became clear that outside UAE it's very cold and since then nothing at all.
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Julian Alaphilippe
Classics
- 16/02 - Figueira Champions Classic: 8th
- 03/22 - Milano - Sanremo: 42nd
- 20/04 - Amstel Gold Race: 20th
- 23/04 - Flèche Wallonne: 22nd
- 04/27 - Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 58th
Stage-races
Volta ao Algarve (02/19 - 02/23)
- Overall: 20th
- 19/02 - Stage 1: NR (no result))
- 20/02 - Stage 2: 21th
- 02/21 - Stage 3: 130th
- 22/02 - Stage 4: 94th
- 23/02 - Stage 5 (ITT): 23rd
Paris-Nice (09/03 - 16/03)
- Overall: 44th
- 09/03 - Stage 1: 91st
- 10/03 - Stage 2: 103rd
- 11/03 - Stage 3 (TTT): 14th
- 12/03 - Stage 4: 58th
- 03/13 - Stage 5: 11th
- 03/14 - Stage 6: 107th
- 03/15 - Stage 7: 75th
- 03/16 - Stage 8: 37th
Itzulia Basque Country (07/04 - 12/04)
- Overall: DNF (DNF in stage 6)
- 07/04 - Stage 1 (ITT): 56th
- 08/04 - Stage 2: 150th
- 09/04 - Stage 3: 12th
- 10/04 - Stage 4: 150th
- 11/04 - Stage 5: 113th
- 12/04 - Stage 6: DNF
Marc Hirschi
Classics
- 26/01 - Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana: 1st
- 29/01 - Trofeo Calvia: 5th
- 01/31 - Trofeo Serra Tramuntana: 8th
- 01/02 - Trofeo Andratx - Pollença: NR (no result)
- 01/03 - Faun-Ardèche Classic: 24th
- 03/02/03 - Faun Drôme Classic: 4th
- 08/03 - Strade Bianche: 24th
- 03/19 - Milano-Torino: 14th
- 05/04 - GP Miguel Indurain: 6th
- 20/04 - Amstel Gold Race: 40th
- 04/23 - Flèche Wallonne: 49th
- 04/27 - Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 45th
Stage-races
Tirreno-Adriatico (10/03 - 16/03)
- Overall: 23rd
- 10/03 - Stage 1 (ITT): 34th
- 11/03 - Stage 2: 149th
- 12/03 - Stage 3: 37th
- 13/03 - Stage 4: 59th
- 03/14 - Stage 5: 25th
- 15/03 - Stage 6: 33rd
- 16/03 - Stage 7: 80th
Itzulia Basque Country (07/04 - 12/04)
- Overall: 62nd
- 07/04 - Stage 1 (ITT): 115th
- 08/04 - Stage 2: 157th
- 09/04 - Stage 3: 90th
- 10/04 - Stage 4: 156th
- 11/04 - Stage 5: 17th
- 12/04 - Stage 6: 64th
Original: Juan Larra
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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