"He was very angry... He felt like the others had done him dirty" - Michael Storer's secret motivation ahead of incredible Tour of the Alps turnaround
Cycling
Michael Storer sent out a warning ahead of the 2025 Giro d'Italia on Friday, pulling off an incredible turnaround at the Tour of the Alps and reclaiming the race lead from Thymen Arensman on the final stage with an epic long-range raid. As it turned out, this performance was fuelled by a secret motivation.
"Michael was really motivated because he was very angry after yesterday’s stage. He felt like the others had done him dirty," explained Storer's Tudor Pro Cycling Team teammate Florian Stork in conversation with IDLProCycling.com afterwards, referring to a stage 4 which saw the aforementioned Arensman explode the GC with a long-range raid of his own. "Nobody wanted to pull, so he was determined to take the lead back today. I’m super proud of him."
And so, the Tudor Pro Cycling Team put their heads together and formulated a plan to regain control of the GC and get back all Storer's rivals who they perceived to have wronged him. "We had a few scenarios ready, one with someone in the breakaway and one without anyone up front. Lucas Eriksson eventually made it into the break, so we chose the second-to-last climb as the place to launch Michael, after which Lucas could wait," reveals Stork. "It was incredible how fast we were going."
"I did an all-out effort without really looking at my power meter," continued the German. "I gave everything I had for as long as I could, and when I pulled off, I was surprised that only Michael and Arensman were still there."
Once Stork's massive effort was completed, Storer finally made his own move and it proved race-winning. "It feels extra good when you’ve been talking about a plan like this on the bus, and then you execute it perfectly," Stork concludes. "That doesn’t happen often, and it’s really, really cool."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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