"I can already say I made the right decision" - Ethan Vernon vindicates Israel - Premier Tech transfer with stage win at Tour des Alpes Maritimes
Cycling
In his first race of the season and his first race since switching Soudal - Quick-Step for Israel - Premier Tech, Ethan Vernon already has a win under his belt.
“We weren’t sure how hard it was going to be but in the end it was hard but I had good legs,” explained the Brit post-stage to his team's official website. “I’ve just come off a good training camp so it was a bit of an unknown but like last year, I always start the season quite strong so I’m happy. It was a good day.”
“In the last lap my legs were good and I knew we could win. The guys were really strong and we lined it out in the last five to six kilometers and I thought we had gone too early to be honest but I was really impressed with how strong the guys were today," he continues, full of praise for his teammates and sprint train.
With opening stage victory, Vernon obviously goes into the early race lead although he's doubtful that's something he can hold onto. “I think tomorrow will be too hard for me but we will see. The legs were good today but our two goals were to win the stage today and stay in contention for the GC with the guys and we did both. So we need to see how tomorrow plays out. Now that I’ve won today there is no pressure for me and I can help the guys. We have a couple of cards to play," he assesses.
Nevertheless, this win has immediately vindicated Vernon's transfer. “IPT offered me a really good opportunity to become a leader and ride the bigger classics and build a sprint train around me and I think I can already say I made the right decision.”
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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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Teamwork 💯 #TourdesAlpesMaritimes 🇫🇷 #YallaIPT
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