Quentin Pacher is having his first season at World Tour level this year and is so far carrying great form and strong results. After a series of impressive performances at the early season classics, Paris-Nice and Milano-Sanremo, the Frenchman is at the Volta a Catalunya where he finished the opening stage in third place after a very strong sprint.
"We crossed the line for the first time, which allowed me to recognize the finish, but I had already seen it on TV three years ago. I also said to myself that with this fairly long straight, I had time to come from behind to get back on track," Pacher said in a post-race interview.
"On finishes like that, uphill, you launch from far but you can crack, it is not necessarily easy to manage," he added. "I managed to position myself correctly and when the sprint started, I was in the wheel of Sonny Colbrelli, in the right place."
After the stage was controlled by Bahrain - Victorious and Team BikeExchange - Jayco, the finale was suited to puncheurs, and Pacher found himself in the perfect position to fight for the stage win and race lead. To beat Matthews and Colbrelli was a request too high, however the third place was already a big result for the Frenchman.
"I am satisfied, it's my first World Tour podium, I'm happy. I imagined myself being in the top 10, not necessarily on the podium, but you have to believe in yourself and that bodes well for the future. I didn't know how I was going to react after Paris-Nice and Milano-Sanremo because there is an overall fatigue that is accumulating, but the condition is still good and I managed to recover well. I am surfing this wave a bit, and I hope it will last as long as possible, even if I will have to cut after the Volta a Catalunya," he concluded.
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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OH !!!! Quentin Pacher termine troisième de la première étape du Tour de Catalogne, seulement devancé au sprint par Michael Matthews et Sonny Colbrelli !
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