"I was unlucky the last two weeks" - Hugo Page relegated from his first podium of this season
Cycling
Hugo Page was on the verge of his first big result of 2025 with a nice third place in the sprint of the second stage of Paris-Nice... That was until the jury looked at Frenchman's behaviour in final meters with a magnifying glass and found his actions to be against the rules of a clean sprint. The verdict was clear: Page was relegated to 136th place.
"The last 50 kilometers were very nervous. Yesterday I didn't follow my train while the guys did a great job," the Frenchman returns to yestreday's 17th place in Le Perray-en-Yvelines in a post-race interview for Cycling Pro Net.
Today's sprint went much better for Page who found himself in a VIP wheel of European champion Tim Merlier. "I was in Merlier's wheel and I made the choice to stay and that ultimately didn't pay off."
However the Intermarché - Wanty rider reckons that he should've launched from Merlier's wheel earlier. "I got locked in but after all it's only my second sprint of the year so I'm already happy to finish third. I honestly think I could have done better because I still brake in the last few meters but it's already a satisfying sprint result."
The podium result would've been a first big result for Page this year, a testament to his hard work before the start of a new season: "I'm very happy because I had worked hard all winter and I was unlucky the last two weeks with the illness so I'm happy to be back."
So far, he had the impression that his sprinter instincts were a bit numb after a racing break: "I don't think it's a lack of confidence maybe a lack of automatism rather because I have the confidence I worked hard all winter so I know I had a good burst of speed and here it is going to come I'm missing automatisms guys we did great today and I'm going to work for the future."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Ernesto Maggioni - The president of the commissaires Mafia. It is getting evident that this guy is basically "Iamalwaysrightandyouarestupidsoiwontlistentoyou" kind of guy. So fire him so that he can be always right in his homeabstractengineer10-11-2026
- Somehow it has got into his mind that he is a GC rider. He is primarily a classics and stage rider who can perform on GC given his day. As a result he is wasting his time on TDF GC and once committed to GC you are too tired to do anything else.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
- This is such a black eye to women's professional cyclocross if this result remains. Marie Schreiber won this race fairly. This finish is not unlike others in cyclocross. Lots of moving around to get to the finish not to cut anyone off , but to generate a sprint on soft wide tires caked with mud and sand. This is not nearly the same as a road race between two riders sprinting to the finish on faster bikes and thinner firmer tires. The powers in charge need to use some common sense, reverse this result and remember this is Cyclocross not Road racing. Unbelievable. . .Zencycle09-11-2026
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
- as excellent as maga rednecks chloe dygert (and quinn simmons)?Ketterechts09-11-2026
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