Michael Storer perhaps flew under the radar as a stage race and Grand Tour rider in 2025, but the quietly-spoken Australian won a stage at Paris-Nice, the GC at the Tour of the Alps, was tenth in a crash-striken Giro d’Italia, twice went close to a stage victory in the Tour de France and then ended the 2025 season with third at Il Lombardia.
Storer scored 2,083 points during the last year, more than any other rider at Tudor, helping the Swiss team secure automatic invitations to all the 2026 WorldTour races.
Challenging Jonas Vingegaard and Isaac del Toro at the Giro d’Italia
While some of his Tudor teammates have been impressive in the early-season races, Storer has been training for his spring stage race campaign that begins at the UAE Tour in mid-February, and is followed by Tirreno-Adriatico in March.
He will then go to altitude before returning to the Tour of the Alps as the defending champion and then the Giro d’Italia. If the Corsa Rosa goes well and Storer is healthy, he is expected to again ride the Tour too.
Storer could be a difficult rival for Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) at the UAE Tour, especially with the addition of a second and steeper mountain finish to Jebel Mobrah after 15km of climbing.
Storer will also race against del Toro and Vingegaard in Italy in May. He is hoping for far more than tenth overall and could be a podium contender this year.
“I expected to do more than a top ten, but I crashed four times. They weren’t crashes that took me out of the race, but they had an impact,” he explained.
“If I’d had a better run, it could have been a different result. We’ll find out what that can be in May.”
Taking on Vingegaard, del Toro, and their powerful teams is not a concern for Storer. “I really just focus on my own thing. I really don’t care who turns up at the Giro,” he said.
“I know it’s gonna be a strong field, but it’s irrelevant for me because I can only control what I do. OK, maybe it’s better if none of them turn up, but I think that’s unlikely.
“The Giro is a race that really motivates me, that I get excited about. It’s the focal point of my 2026 season.
“I’ve got some unfinished business at the Giro. It gives me the motivation to push a little more in training. I really want to go there and do the best I can.”