Team BikeExchange - Jayco face real risk of relegation, as Lotto Soudal closes gap and Israel - Premier Tech scores big
Cycling
This week has been crucial for World Tour teams fighting for their place on the top division, as the Tour de Suisse, Baloise Belgium Tour, Tour of Slovenia and Route d'Occitanie covered all bases and saw all teams in action seeking points - action covered by Raúl Banqueri.
The expected has happened, even before the Tour de France: Lotto Soudal has closed the gap to Team BikeExchange - Jayco. The Belgian team has finished second in the Belgium Tour with Tim Wellens, propelling them further into the Australian team which is about to go under the red line. Israel - Premier Tech have won La Route d'Occitanie and finished third at the Tour de Suisse with Michael Woods and Jakob Fuglsang respectively, also bringing them below 500 points of the two teams above.
BikeExchange saw a stage win at the Tour of Slovenia with Dylan Groenewegen which has kept them afloat, but the lead has been completely eliminated. They have also been distanced by EF Education-EasyPost who now have a 564-point gap to the two teams after Ruben Guerreiro and Esteban Chaves did a one-two at the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge, and Neilson Powless took a strong fourth place at the Tour de Suisse.
EF Education now sit less than 200 points away from Cofidis and Movistar Team. Although both teams have somewhat been able to keep themselves above the red line, the pressure to perform maintains so as to avoid calendar changes.
Although there is a much calmer week now ahead, the battle will very much remain active as the national championships are right around the corner. Depending on the country, a win can be worth either 100 or 50 points for the road race, and 50 or 25 points for the time-trial title. This will favour teams with more international outlooks such as EF Education-EasyPost and Israel - Premier Tech, however with the Tour de France looming ahead such differences will surely be minimal in comparison.
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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- A great route aswell. Col D'Arcy is a toughie
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - Let Torito have a shot at itRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route, much more exciting than the Tour de France. Monte Livata is an interesting one, because they experimented with it at the 2026 Baby Giro, and it was fantastic. 4 km at 10%, then 10 km at 6.5% made for a great spectacle. The stage 16 is horribleRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- I remember when Mark went through that. He was really experiencing lows and thought about quiting many times. It took him a long time to recover. I, like many others were overjoyed when he came back. I hope Lafay has been tested. I wish him the best.Paggss03-11-2026
- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
- Good Point, I wonder if he's been testedmhfrvz03-11-2026
- A busy boy!Lozza03-11-2026
- I hope 2027 is his year.mij03-11-2026
- why does he have to? many GT riders from Froome to Contador to Indurain didn't do them.mij03-11-2026
- I think Jonas would have lost the TDF by 4+ minutes (at the least) and might not have even been in the top 3. Too much talent in the younger riders to say anyone not named Pogačar would have been top 3md197503-11-2026
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Relegation battle update: Lotto Soudal has managed to cut the entire gap to BikeExchange. Their great Tour of Belgium puts them just 0.33 UCI points away from the salvation zone. 🔥 5 teams on 700 points and Israel is coming back too. Daily updated ranking 👇
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