Meanwhile in the peloton | Despite many questions, Gaudu extends his contract with Groupama-FDJ, Mas signs with Movistar for four years

May 19 - David Gaudu has extended his expiring contract with Groupama-FDJ by two years. "I asked myself a lot of questions. The most important one was: ‘Do I still want to be the French leader of a French team?’ That was the hardest one, and I thought about it for a long time. But yes, I want to continue with this team," said the 28-year-old Gaudu on the rest day of the Giro d'Italia to the French sports newspaper l'Equipe.

May 19 - Enric Mas has extended his contract at Movistar for another four years. The team announced this through its team website. The 30-year-old Spaniard will thus stay with the Spanish formation until 2029. I’m very grateful for the trust placed in me for the next 4 years, and honestly, I’m super happy,' Mas said of his contract extension. 'It gives me the motivation I need to keep growing within this team. By the time this contract ends, I’ll be 34 years old and will have completed 10 seasons with Movistar Team. So, I want to thank both Eusebio and the Telefónica brand for believing in me, and I hope to repay that trust with strong results.'

May 15 – Stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia takes the peloton to the southern port city of Naples. Naples has become a regular stage destination in recent editions but the city is of course known for much more than just cycling. It is the birthplace of pizza and, of course, home to Diego Maradona.

Jensen Plowright clearly embraced the local spirit. The Alpecin Deceuninck rider appeared at the start holding a pizza in hand as the race rolled toward Napoli. Check out the footage below.

May 12 – Arnaud De Lie is scheduled to make his racing comeback this week. The 23-year-old Belgian from Lotto had a tough and inconsistent spring, leading his team to cancel the remainder of his classics program back in March. According to HLN, De Lie will return to competition this Saturday, May 18, at Rund um Köln, a German 1.1 race.

May 9 – Jan Ullrich was hit by a car while out on a training ride, according to reports from HLN and other media. The 51-year-old German was near his home when he was struck and suffered a broken collarbone. He also sustained some bruises and abrasions. He was treated at the hospital, as Eurosport announced. There he was to be "in action" as an analyst, but those plans are off now.

May 9 – They’re getting younger and already winning. Aubin Sparfel stormed to victory on Friday, just as the Giro d’Italia opened, in the Tour du Finistère, with total dominance. To complete the celebration for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Bastien Tronchon finished second. Also on Friday, racing took place in the Netherlands, this time on mountain bikes. Puck Pieterse claimed the Dutch MTB Short Track title, while Rens Teunissen van Manen took the men’s title.

May 1 – Don’t look for David de la Cruz in the upcoming Giro d’Italia. The 35-year-old Spanish climber had a strong start to the season for Q36.5, with an 8th place in Tirreno-Adriatico and 2nd in the Giro dell'Abruzzo, but he won’t be continuing that form into the Giro.

“Originally, the Giro was on the schedule, but when we also received a wildcard for the Vuelta, we decided together with the team to focus on that instead. In the Giro, we’re riding for Tom Pidcock,” De la Cruz told us before the start of Eschborn–Frankfurt.