Relentless Del Toro secures four wins in seven days, Magnier triumphs at GP Fourmies

In France, the GP Fourmies course was quite hilly, especially in the first half. Despite this, sprinters often come out on top. Last year, Arvid de Kleijn, who was once again at the start of the race, was victorious. With Magnier, Dylan Groenewegen, and Phil Bauhaus among others, the defending champion faced serious competition.

In the opening phase, an early breakaway formed with Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana) as the notable name. The Dutchman set off on an adventure with four Frenchmen. In the peloton, the teams of De Kleijn (Tudor), Magnier (Soudal-Quick Step), and Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL) joined forces. They kept the breakaway's lead at around two minutes for a long time.

Several crashes disrupted the last fifty kilometers. In the first crash, ten riders went down, including Max Walscheid (Jayco AlUla) and Timo de Jong (Picnic PostNL). In the second crash of the day, Arnaud Démare was held up. He would later abandon the race, even though the sprinter from Arkéa-B&B Hotels was considered one of the outsiders.

The nervousness clearly began to increase, as did the pace. The peloton closed in on the breakaway riders within a minute. This led to a series of attacks from the peloton, but none of the attempts were successful. Meanwhile, the leading group was reduced to three riders: Teunissen, Leandré Huck (Cofidis), and Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto). The courageous trio defended themselves bravely.

With a 25-second lead, they started the last ten kilometers. However, the leading group was no match for the peloton. Teunissen made a final attempt, but with about two kilometers to go, he was caught up as the last rider. In the sprint, it was Magnier who sprinted to victory. Bittner and Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana) fell short.

In addition to France, there was also one race in Italy on Sunday, where several races have been held in recent days. On the last day of the week, it was the turn of the Trofeo Matteotti. The riders had to complete twelve laps over a total distance of 195 kilometers with an irregular short climb. Del Toro (UAE) was considered the big favorite.

The Mexican revelation of the season had already won three Italian races in a week, only taking a day off on Saturday in the Memorial Marco Pantani. That was different on Sunday, because after 75 kilometers, a group of five finally managed to break away, with UAE controlling the race. Uno-X Mobility also came to help.

Frederik Wandahl (Red Bull), Stefano Oldani and Benjamin Thomas (both Cofidis), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), and Mattia Gaffuri (Swatt Club) didn't stand a chance, as it turned out later. With 25 kilometers to go, the five breakaway riders' lead was down to just half a minute.

On the final passage of the climb, the race then exploded into action. Del Toro, Richard Carapaz (EF), and Christian Scaroni (Astana), among others, made the jump to the leading group. However, they were quickly caught by the peloton, after which Davide Formolo (Movistar) and Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis) launched an attack.

The two reached the top with a fifteen-second lead. On the descent, they were joined by Del Toro, Scaroni, and Alexandre Delettre. In the final kilometers, Rui Costa (EF Education-EasyPost) and Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar) also joined them. The seven riders had a gap, but the remnants of the peloton were close behind the leaders.

The breakaway riders seemed unlikely to make it, but Del Toro started his sprint in time, narrowly staying ahead of the peloton. For the Mexican cycling sensation, it was his fourth victory in Italy in a week and his thirteenth victory of 2025. And to think that last year he ‘only’ won three and this is only his second full season as a WorldTour pro...