The 2025 cycling season is now definitively over for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team. But it was with one last adrenaline rush that this chapter closed on Sunday on the Veneto Classic. Part of the day’s breakaway, which was never caught by the favourites, Lorenzo Germani fought for victory until the final moments, and even found himself alone in the lead for a few minutes after the day’s final climb. However, the young Italian rider was not rewarded for his efforts and finished just off the podium, on a day that still held great promise for next year.
Following on from the Tour of Guangxi, but also the Chrono des Nations, in which Stefan Küng and Rémi Cavagna took third and fourth places, the Veneto Classic concluded the 2025 season for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team on Sunday. Unlike the Giro del Veneto, this race kept its usual route, with a circuit around Bassano del Grappa including the cobbled climb of La Tisa (400m at 11%), then a final loop including the gravel climb of Diesel Farm (1.2 km at 10%) and the Strada Soarda’s hill (400m at 9%) four kilometres from the finish. On such terrain, Romain Grégoire surely had real ambitions, but the race scenario proved more open than usual and nearly twenty riders broke away after a big fight at the start. “It was a hell of a race,” commented Stéphane Goubert. “It was the end of the season, some teams didn’t want to take control of the race, and that led to this scenario. We had Lorenzo in front. Out of twenty riders, it wasn’t ideal, but we had to deal with that. We started pulling behind for Romain, which kept hope alive while we waited to see what the other teams would do, and Lorenzo was able to make the minimum effort up front. Sometimes you have to use the presence of a leader to play tactically.”
“I knew I should avoid the sprint,” Lorenzo Germani
The gap never went over the three-minute mark, but the race opened up again nearly 100 kilometres from the finish line with Pavel Sivakov’s attack. The riders then started the La Tisa circuit, which had to be covered four times. The Frenchman was caught, but with 40 kilometres to go, the breakaway still had a lead of over two minutes. The favorites then launched the big fight in the peloton, Romain Grégoire was up there, but the cooperation within this chasing group quickly proved imperfect. Conversely, the breakaway maintained a good collaboration while losing a few riders. “I wasn’t feeling great, so I often asked about the gap to the peloton to know what I should do,” said Lorenzo, who was nevertheless among the eleven survivors of the breakaway starting the final time over the cobbled climb of La Tisa, about twenty kilometres from the finish. After this climb, it became clear that the favorites would not be able to come back, and that victory would therefore be decided between the early fugitives.
Slightly distanced after the last cobbled climb, Lorenzo Germani still managed to come back before heading towards the gravel climb of Diesel Farm. “I was struggling a bit on the cobblestones, but on the gravel path, I took my own pace from the bottom and was able to go over it in the front,” said the Italian, who was then leading the race alongside Diego Ulissi, Florian Vermeersch, Davide De Pretto and Sakarias Koller Loland. “I then told myself that I would leave it all on the road in the final steep climb because I knew I should avoid the sprint,” added Lorenzo. “I created a small gap at the top, which I maintained on the downhill. Unfortunately, instead of looking at each other, they chose to work together.” After his strong attack, the young Italian found himself alone entering the last four kilometers, but he was unable to stay away from Vermeersch and Loland, being caught shortly before the last two kilometers. Just after the flamme rouge, Diego Ulissi also bridged across.
“I didn’t expect to fight for victory,” Lorenzo Germani
In a technical and slightly uphill final, the Groupama-FDJ rider then couldn’t compete with his rivals, having to settle for a frustrating fourth place. “I had nothing left to make a decent sprint,” he confessed. “That said, I didn’t expect to fight for victory today. It was hard from start to finish, and right up until the final, I didn’t really know if I was feeling good. I think this is the type of race that suits me. It was a bit of an attrition race, and I was still there in the final. I’ll remember this race, unfortunately in a way, because I’m also aware that I was very close from my first pro victory.” “Lorenzo went all in, and it was better to do that than wait for the sprint,” Stéphane concluded. “If Ulissi had come back on the two chasers, it’s almost certain that they would have looked at each other and Lorenzo would have won. He came close, but I especially liked his mindset. It was a great performance to end the season.”