"You can also call it a circus" - Patrick Lefevere ridicules decision to race Monte Lussari time-trial at Giro d'Italia
Cycling
A lot of attention has been put over the last few months on Monte Lussari, the final climb of the Giro d'Italia which headlines the final time-trial. It's incredibly steep gradients and logistic issues have caused a lot of debate and controversy, and Patrick Lefevere is in disbelief that the riders will be forced to climb it.
“A time trial decides on the Giro today, although you can also call it a circus. I'm not going to weigh my words: how the course is now drawn, I am three hundred percent against," the manager of Soudal - Quick-Step wrote in his Het Nieuwsblad column. "I don't understand the fascination with those extreme percentages of increase. This Giro has provided proof: the steeper the mountain, the more often it gives birth to a mouse.”
The ascent was at risk of not taking part in the Giro, due to the massive logistical challenge it poses. Among others, riders will have a mandatory transition zone at the base of the climb, access to fans will be limited, riders will be supported by motorbikes and not cars, and then will have to travel down the mountain by cable car - adding to the fact that all riders will have bikes equipped with extremely light gears that are rarely ever seen in road cycling.
“In the Giro stage to Crans Montana, the peloton wanted a shortening of the stage and they got it. But then I don't understand why they let today's time trial pass. Ilan Van Wilder rides the time trial with a 36×34 gear. That's mountain biking, not road racing," Lefevere continues. "I think we should monitor the boundaries of the various disciplines more strictly.”
Soudal - Quick-Step hoped to have Remco Evenepoel battle up the ascent fighting for the Giro win, but since the Covid-19 outbreak the team was reduced to what is now only two riders. Ilan van Wilder has put up a good and consistent fight to get himself in the fight for secondary GC places, but it comes as little reward for the extensive preparation the team had for the Corsa Rosa.
“And then in the final ten decisive kilometers there is a mechanic on a motorcycle behind, with a bicycle over his shoulder. Are those the professional standards you want to propagate as a cycling sport? I think it's a farce," Lefevere concluded.
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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.
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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)...
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- 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
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
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
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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📅 27/05/2023 🚴♂️ Stage 2️⃣0️⃣ | Tappa 2️⃣0️⃣ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Tarvisio - Monte Lussari Tudor ITT 📏 18,6 km ⏰ First start | Prima partenza: 11.30 AM 🏁 Last Start | Ultima Partenza: 5.14 PM 📺 giroditalia.it/giro-in-tv/ 🇬🇧🇮🇹🇪🇸🇫🇷 Live: giroditalia.it #Giro - @ENIT_italia
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