Hopefully you’ve all been watching the bevvy of cycling available over the last few weeks. We’re in the final week now of this year’s Tour de France, and last Sunday saw the finale of the Giro d’Italia Women. Personally I got in about 6 hours over Saturday and Sunday, watching Pog vs Jonas (cheering Jonas, but sad times, twice) in two absolutely epic mountain slogs. It put my ~400m to shame.
One sticking point from Saturday was that utter knob head throwing crisps in the face of Pog. Absolute disgrace. Call yourself a fan? Disgusting.
And then Sir Mark of Cavendish almost missed the time cut on Sunday. To be fair, I would probably still be out on the course… 5,000m over ~200km? Absolutely brutal.
So, lots to cover. Let’s dive right on in.
Oh, but before we do, you can always read last week’s edition by clicking here.
Longo Borghini Bags the Maglia Rosa
Elisa Longo Borghini claimed her first Maglia Rosa at the Giro d’Italia Women after a tense battle with Lotte Kopecky.
Kim Le Court won the final stage from a breakaway, marking the biggest victory of her career.
Longo Borghini surged in the final 200 metres to secure her overall win, becoming the first Italian to do so since 2008.
The race was a tactical showdown with Kopecky starting just one second behind Longo Borghini. Women’s pro cycling is far, far more competitive in this regard than the men’s peloton right now.
The Italian cyclist spoke of her pride in her team’s commitment and performance throughout the race.
Kim Le Court was emotional after her victory, calling it a dream come true.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Giro d’Italia Women vs Tour de France
Why does the Giro d’Italia Women still coincide with the men’s Tour de France?
One of the most important women’s bike races runs at the same time as the biggest bike race in the world.
Last week saw a thrilling battle between Elisa Longo Borghini and Lotte Kopecky in the Giro, with Longo Borghini emerging victorious.
However, the Giro often goes unnoticed due to the Tour’s overwhelming presence. And if you don’t believe that, just look at the stats of the highlights on Eurosport’s YouTube channel – 20k for the Stage 8 finale, vs 120k for the fairly unexciting Stage 16’s of the Tour.
Despite being the most prestigious women’s stage race for years, the Giro stubbornly maintains its mid-July slot.
The arguments for this timing seem outdated in the age of on-demand streaming.
With the Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta Femenina finding less competitive slots, is it time for the Giro to reconsider its calendar position?
Surely the best cyclists in the world deserve a race that takes the limelight.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Pogačar’s Pyrenean Prowess
Tadej Pogačar enjoyed a stellar weekend, extending his Tour de France lead to 3:09 over Jonas Vingegaard.
After a masterful stage 15, Pogačar has nearly tripled his advantage since stage 11.
The Slovenian rider expressed his joy, stating he couldn’t imagine a better weekend.
Despite his significant lead, Pogačar remains focused on the final stages.
His manager, Matxin Fernández, also praised his well won and hard earned advantage.
Pogačar’s consistent attacks have left his competitors struggling, especially in the high mountains.
When Jonas turned to Pog and suggested it was his time to take a turn, and Pog’s like… yeah, nah. Of I go. Mean.
Was it always a foregone conclusion? I’d say… yes. Note: I wrote this on Wednesday lunch time. I could somehow be proven very wrong.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Cycling Press Stirring Up Tadej Pogačar
Rachel Jary analysed why Tadej Pogačar is a likeable Tour de France leader.
Pogačar, who enjoys brownies and movies on rest days, currently leads the Tour by over three minutes at the time of writing.
Despite dominating races and making outcomes predictable, he remains popular among fans.
His human side, including past failures and a love for simple pleasures, endears him to many.
I honestly think it’s only the cycling press who think this. Fans cannot be sad that we are witnessing two of the very best cyclists that have ever ridden a road bike (that’s Jonas and Pog, btw) competing at the same time. We are very lucky. And judging by the crowds out last weekend, I think it’s fair to say there is no cause for concern.
Cav’s Last TdF Sprint
Mark Cavendish likely made his final Tour de France sprint, finishing 17th in Nîmes.
The Astana Qazaqstan rider seemed to have taken his last bow at the Tour.
I’m glad he got his record. Mission accomplished.
The Green jersey competition has been the more enjo
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Cavendish Just Makes The Cut
Sort of back to front, this one, given the story above came later in the week.
For those of us lucky enough to watch the 15th stage in the Pyrenees on Sunday, it’s fair to say Pog made it look far, far easier than it would be for mere mortals. Heck, even Tour standard riders suffered hard on this one.
By about the half way point, Cav and the rest of the groupetto were falling behind. And it was touch and go whether they were going to make the time cut, estimated at around 48 minutes by the commentary team.
Despite his exhaustion, he managed to scrape past the time cut with less than two minutes to spare.
Cavendish, 39, was visibly shattered but expressed gratitude to his Astana Qazaqstan teammates for their support. When he finally did cross the line, he looked like he had seized up.
What the Eurosport commentary didn’t cover was the nut-kicker that came once he crossed the line.
After over six exhausting hours on the bike, he still had an additional 16 kilometres to cycle to the team hotel!
Fortunately, it was all down hill.
Opinion: A Breakaway from Excitement
Stage 16 of the 2024 Tour de France was deemed a snooze-fest by the cycling media, lacking the usual drama and excitement.
The peloton’s lack of urgency was palpable, with only one lonely attack by Thomas Gachignard.
Extreme heat and strategic choices were major factors behind the dull day.
Motorbike drafting also played a role in reducing breakaway chances.
Riders and team managers suggested radical changes to spice up flat stages.
Despite the boring broadcast, the stage was stressful for the riders.
My personal take is that not every stage can, or indeed should be a ridiculous battle. Especially after the prior two intensive mountain stages (even with time out for a rest day). I understand the reasons the breakaway isn’t working this Tour, but sometimes I think the cycling media stir it up just for the sake of writing a story.
Uno-X Cars In Bizarre Near Miss
Boring stage, was it?
Well, perhaps not for the Uno-X Mobility team car drivers who narrowly avoided disaster during stage 16 of the Tour de France when one car missed a turn through a roundabout and almost crashed into another.
The incident happened while the first car was pacing rider Johannes Kulset back to the peloton.
Despite the near-miss, Kulset returned to the race and finished in the peloton, albeit with a 30-second penalty for drafting.
He was also fined 200 CHF and docked points.
This close call occurred amidst new safety protocols being trailed by the Tour and the UCI.
Carapaz Climbs to Grand Tour Glory
Richard Carapaz clinched his first Tour de France stage win on stage 17, completing his Grand Tour stage win hat-trick.
Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian to win a stage of the French Grand Tour after outpacing Simon Yates on the Col du Noyer climb.
The victory marked Carapaz’s stage wins in all three Grand Tours.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
TotalEnergies’ Bikes Got Stolen
Team TotalEnergies faced a major setback when 11 of their bikes were stolen from their Tour de France hotel.
Among the stolen bikes were those of stage 9 winner Anthony Turgis and Thomas Gachingnard.
The theft amounted to a loss of 154,000 euros, with mechanics’ toolboxes also being taken.
Team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau acknowledged the theft but mentioned they had extra stock to cover the loss.
Police arrived at the hotel around 9 a.m., and mechanics have been setting up spare bikes.
The team hoped to receive additional bikes from their base in the Vendée region by Thursday and Friday.
Sadly not the first incident of this I’m aware of this year.
Visma’s Van-tastic Plan
Visma-Lease a Bike’s manager, Richard Plugge, predicted that other WorldTour teams would copy their controversial mobile control room at next year’s Tour de France.
The Dutch team introduced a high-tech van where sports directors could analyse real-time data and make tactical decisions.
However, the UCI denied the vehicle accreditation, emphasising ‘primacy of man over machine.’
Despite this, Plugge remained confident that their innovation would set a trend.
He highlighted the team’s history of advancements and expressed hope that the UCI would eventually embrace the idea.
Other teams, however, have shown little interest in adopting a similar setup any time soon.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
‘Fan’ Arrested After Throwing Crisps in Pog’s Face
A ‘fan’ was arrested for throwing crisps at Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard during stage 14 of the Tour de France.
The incident occurred with around 2km left of the stage, involving what appeared to be Bugles.
The rider’s union, CPA, announced plans to take legal action against the spectator.
Pogačar still won the stage by 39 seconds, strengthening his hold on the yellow jersey.
UAE team boss Mauro Gianetti said the public can be too excited, but luckily, nothing serious happened.
Various cycling figures condemned the act and called for better crowd control measures.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Tour de France on Netflix: Third Season Unchained 🚴♂️📺
The Netflix documentary series, ‘Tour de France: Unchained,’ has been renewed for a third season.
The new season will cover the 2024 Tour de France.
Netflix’s official French social media accounts announced the renewal with the tagline ‘We’re off on another Tour!’.
The series, produced by Quadbox and Box to Box Films, offers behind-the-scenes footage of the Tour de France.
The first season, released in June 2023, followed the 2022 race and included teams like Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers.
The second season, released last month, featured exclusive interviews with Tadej Pogačar and Mark Cavendish.
The second season revealed tensions within Ineos Grenadiers, with Tom Pidcock claiming he was portrayed as the ‘bad guy.’
Teams for the third season haven’t been confirmed yet, but camera crews were seen following Ineos Grenadiers and Astana-Qazaqstan.
No idea of the release date, and the article most likely erroneously states June 2024 (already gone, so er…) but maybe they meant June 2025? Who knows. Netflix themselves haven’t even released a trailer yet.
Discussions are also underway for a potential series following the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Top 8 Cycling Destinations
This one is not a sponsored post – at least, not for me. Normally I wouldn’t post this kind of thing, but to be honest, the idea of going away on a nice week or so, riding my bike on smooth roads in the warm sunny sun, well, it appeals.
As such I got a bit lost, day dreaming when reading this one. So I’m including it.
Normally when I think of cycling holidays, I think of Majorca, or Tenerife. But there’s clearly more beyond that, if you’re willing (and able) to go long haul.
Santa Barbara offers flat coastal miles and mountain climbs, while Hualien, Taiwan, provides a cycling dream with its coastal routes.
Melbourne boasts excellent cycling culture and coffee shops, and Nice, France, combines diverse road riding with Mediterranean beaches.
Kyoto, Japan, offers bike-friendly routes and beautiful natural surroundings, and Los Angeles features endless coastal riding along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Girona, Spain, is a cycling haven not far from the beach, and Miami, Florida, has a dedicated cycling community and world-famous beaches.
A boy can dream.
Astana’s New Lease of Life with Chinese Carbon
Chinese carbon fibre giant XDS has committed to a five-year investment in the Astana Qazaqstan pro cycling team.
The deal promises significant financial and technical support, potentially transforming Astana into a ‘super-team’.
This partnership marks the first Chinese team at the UCI WorldTour level.
If you want to know more about “cheap Chinese carbon”, I can strongly recommend Luke / Trace Velo over on YouTube, who frequently rides and reviews such things.
Read in full at Cyclist.co.uk.
UCI Esports World Champs Qualifiers Kick Off
The qualification process for the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships has started.
You don’t need to be a pro cyclist to compete for the rainbow jersey.
The event, now hosted by MyWhoosh, features a public qualification process and a live final.
Two qualification routes exist: national federation selection or public qualifiers starting August 3.
Public qualifiers are open but require a MyWhoosh account (free) and verification (bit of a ball ache).
The semi-finals will be held on September 6, with a two-stage event.
The final will take place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with a series of points-based races.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Zwift Academy Begins August 5th
The Zwift Academy, the indoor cycling platform’s talent identification programme, has opened for registration.
Running from August 5 to November 3, the winners will receive a pro contract with Canyon-SRAM or Alpecin-Deceuninck development teams for 2025.
The programme includes a series of workouts and two virtual races, with participants earning exclusive in-game features and one lucky rider winning a real-life Canyon Aeroad.
Zwift Academy has produced WorldTour cyclists like Jay Vine and Neve Bradbury, with past winners achieving significant success.
If you haven’t watched these ones before, they make a good 45+ minute series over on GCN’s YouTube. Easy watching whilst putting in a turbo session.
Read in full at Cycling Weekly.
Caveworks’ New Indoor Smart Bike 🏠🚴♂️
Caveworks, a startup from Colorado, introduced the RIVET, a highly adjustable indoor-only bike designed for use with direct-drive trainers.
The RIVET comes in singlespeed or geared models with a powder-coated steel frame and customisable components.
It fits riders from 4-foot-10 to 6-foot-six and weighs less than 30 pounds.
The bike is noted for using more metal parts and fewer plastics compared to competitors like the Zwift Ride.
The RIVET will be available in three versions this autumn, with prices starting at £699.
Read in full at BicycleRetailer.com.
Bike Of The Week: Roglič’s SL8
Primož Roglič might be out of the Tour de France, but his Specialized Tarmac SL8 bike still steals the show this week.
Before his unfortunate crash, Roglič rode one of the lightest bikes in the peloton, weighing just 6.83 kg.
The bike featured a SRAM Red AXS drivetrain, Roval Rapide CLX II Team wheels, and a sleek Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe livery.
The Tarmac SL8 frame alone weighed a mere 685 grams, making it 300 grams lighter than last year’s model.
From the zero setback seat post to the Specialized Turbo Cotton tires, every detail aimed for performance and speed.
Plenty more pictures of this one via Velo.
OK, that’s it from me. Have a good Sunday, and enjoy the week ahead. See you next time!