Table of contents for October 9, 2025 in Cycling Weekly

Another weekend, another dominant victory for Tadej Pogačar. The previous weekend it had been the World Championships, now, clad in his renewed rainbow bands, the Slovenian stormed to the win in the road race at the European Championships. There is almost 6,000km between Kigali, Rwanda, where the first triumph happened, and Valence, France, where the latest conquest took place, but it was much the same. At the Worlds, Pogačar attacked at 104km to go and was alone from 66km; at the Euros, he went alone with 75km to go. This is cycling by numbers stuff. Pogačar attacks, and the best riders in the world can’t catch him. It helped the déjà vu nature of Sunday that Remco Evenepoel of Belgium finished second once again, clearly the next best thing, but…

Israel-Premier Tech is to be renamed and rebranded for the 2026 season, “moving away from its current Israeli identity”, it was announced on Monday afternoon. In a statement on social media, it was also revealed that co-owner Sylvan Adams is to step back from “day-today involvement with the pro cycling team”. The news follows a series of protests against the Israeli team’s involvement in bike racing, including at the recent Vuelta a España, as Israel’s war in Gaza continues. Just last week, the team was disinvited from the Giro dell’Emilia because of safety issues. The ProTeam was reportedly under pressure from its sponsor Premier Tech and its equipment supplier Factor to change its name and registration country due to the protests, which disrupted races and saw race organisers step away…

There are two kinds of rider: those who enjoy the scenery, and those who prefer staring at their stems. If I’ve taken the trouble to fly to a stunning part of the world, I want to be looking around, not glaring at my Garmin. Thankfully, at the Sellaronda Bike Day in Italy, there’s no temptation to fixate on numbers – because the normal metrics of bike riding don’t apply. Twice a year, cyclists get the chance to ride arguably the most beautiful route in the world on traffic-free roads. There are no medals awarded at the end. There’s not even a finish line. Speed, distance and suffering count for nothing. Instead, it’s all about smiles, sights and pleasure – as well as beer, bacon sandwiches and apple strudel. The Sellaronda…

Three weeks out from the National Championships Rachel Galler (FTP Fulfill the Potential) and Andy Nichols (Team Lifting Gear Products) ran out winners at the Sheffrec CC Hill-Climb on Monsal Head. At just 528 yards it is one of the shortest hill-climbs on the circuit, and good preperation for the National Champs on Bank Road, only slightly longer at 880 yards. While Galler was a clear winner, 12 seconds ahead of second place, Nichols’ victory was thanks to a tenth of a second gap. As hill-climbers honed their form, cyclo-cross riders kicked off the National Tropy competition in Derby. Reigning series champion Thomas Mein began his title defence in style with victory at the Moorways Leisure Centre on Sunday. The Hope Factory Racing rider crossed the line 19 seconds ahead…

It’s 22 June, 1950, and the cyclists steaming through this Manx village are halfway through a week of racing. The Mannin Veg Race (Manx for ‘Small Isle of Man’) was, appropriately, the shortest of the week’s offerings, after the Manx Mountain Race and International Bicycle Race. The latter was a chance for domestic and international riders alike to test their legs before the World Championships in Belgium a month later, attracting seasoned sprinters like Reg Harris and the Netherlands’ Arie van Vliet. The one-lap course offered a shorter, but no less challenging race, as cyclists tackled the hilly 37.75-mile course on singlespeed, steel-framed bikes.…

Remco reaction Remco Evenepoel leads the Tadej Pogačar chase at the European Championships road race. The Belgian would finish second behind the Slovenian for the second week in a row. Power of three The German trio of Franziska Brausse, Mieke Kroger and Lisa Klein power along during the mixed relay TTT at the European Road Champs. The Germans finished fourth, 1:25 behind the winners, France. Statement win Adam Yates takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s 90th win of the season at the Coppa Agostini in Italy on Sunday. The Englishman attacked solo from 17.5km out and was never seen again. Close support As Ellen Reynolds powers her way up Monsal Hill, she has some very close support from a bannerwielding fan. She finished fourth, so clearly the efforts of the crowd worked…

Strava has taken legal action against Garmin over patent infringements, while also citing new developer guidelines as an additional grievance. The lawsuit focuses on two patents – one covering segments and the other heatmaps – but Strava has also voiced strong opposition to Garmin’s updated API rules. According to Strava, these rules require that all activities recorded on Garmin devices display the Garmin logo when shared. Strava is effectively demanding that Garmin ceases selling all devices that contribute to heatmaps and use the segments on Garmin Connect, which is pretty much all of Garmin’s fitness watches and most of its bike computers. Court filings state that Strava has “suffered damages, including lost revenue and business opportunities, erosion of competitive differentiation and network effects, harm to goodwill, and unjust gains to…

Christmas Eve 2018, and Niall Quiggin is on his inaugural ride with a group known as ‘the Posse’. It’s the kind of training session happening all across the UK as cyclists burn a few festive calories before the big day. Only this ride is different. Sitting among the group of amateurs is the greatest sprinter of all time: a man who just six years later would win his 35th stage of the Tour de France, beating the record Eddie Merckx had held for almost 50 years. Mark Cavendish was raised on the Isle of Man and still returns frequently – it’s not unusual to spot him out training here. And he’s often happy to share his expertise. “It was one of my first times out with the group,” explains Quiggin.…

Many moons ago, when working in a bike shop, I serviced a bike for a regular commuter who was complaining of problems with his disc brakes. They weren’t working quite right and were making an awful noise, he said. When I removed the pads, all that remained was the backing plate that once held the pad material, along with a mangled metal clip that was used to hold the pads in place but now resembled a medieval instrument of torture in miniature. “I’ve found the problem,” I said. This is an extreme example, of course. While the necessity for a bicycle to have functioning brakes requires no explanation, knowing when to replace and service the component parts for optimal performance is sometimes less obvious. Be proactive For most of us,…

This Thanet Silverlight was delivered to P.S. Wells of Crawley on 9 December 1950, so perhaps Santa visited early that year. Indeed, the weather was suitably Arctic, with records showing it was the coldest December since 1890, with widespread heavy snow and persistent ice. “The Silverlight was a ‘clubman’s’ bike,” explains current owner Richard Hoddinott of vintage specialists Velo Pages. “It’s not really designed for racing. Instead, I can imagine slinging a saddlebag on and heading out for a nice long run, you know, a Sunday jaunt.” The Silverlight’s frame design is famously radical. Inspired by WWII-era aircraft airframes, Thanet founder Les Cassel was striving to improve on the traditional diamondshaped frame by optimising its bracing. He adopted Hellenic seatstays and, most noticeably, a suspended bottom bracket. The BB shell…

Of the nine Elite Women’s European Championships road races, eight of them have gone the way of the Dutch. So Demi Vollering and her seven team-mates were under a little pressure going into the 2025 event in the Ardèche, France, last weekend. The pressure was increased after a mildly disappointing Worlds the week before, where the dominant nation in women’s cycling failed to place a rider on the road race podium for a second consecutive year. Step forward, Demi Vollering. After she and the other favourites had missed the crucial move at the Worlds, which saw Canada’s Magdeleine Vallieres ride to an unexpected victory, there would be no repeat at the Euros. The 28-year-old and her Dutch squad put together the perfect race, splitting things apart on the Côte de…

1 A record for Pogačar? Tadej Pogačar is pretty good at this race. A look down the roll of honour reveals that he won last year. And the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that. If he wins a fifth edition this time round, he will become the joint record holder along with Fausto Coppi, who won for the final time back in 1954. But even Il Campionissimo did not take all his victories back to back. No pressure then, Tadej. But then again, who would bet against him? 2 Monumental endeavour Il Lombardia – nicknamed the Race of the Falling Leaves due to its autumn spot on the calendar – falls at a time when most riders have one eye on an off-season week…

Illi Gardner will begin the build-up to the defence of her National Hill-Climb title this weekend just two weeks before this year’s race. The winner of the last three championships has been absent from the hill-climb season so far due to focusing on other goals, most notably victory at the Everesting World Championships on Mount Etna, Sicily, last month. This weekend she’s set to race the Sid Valley CC Peak Hill-Climb in Devon, her first of a handful of races before the National Champs on the 834m Bank Road course in Matlock, Derbyshire. Speaking to Cycling Weekly the Welshwoman said: “I’m quite nervous. In general, I’m not such a fan of the short efforts. I don’t want to not compete just because I don’t think I’ll do as well. I’ll…

So basically a ’90s mountain bike? Chris Donaldson I love the way road bikes have morphed over the years into the first generalpurpose full-suspension crosscountry MTBs. This is similar in a lot of ways to my old Mongoose Amplifier, which I used everywhere, on road and off. Harry Gordon I saw it live at the Gravel Games yesterday. The bike looks like the old MTBs. However, it’s just an evolution of the trend to put more suspension on gravel bikes. Alex I mean, everything is a gravel bike if you try hard enough. Althea Meier The perfect bike… for the road rider who skipped MTBs altogether, and now wants to ride ‘gravel’. Mark Studnicki I like it! Especially for those gnarly singletrack jaunts! On big days, the suspension will give…

To me, Brittany and cycling are inextricably linked. It started when I was a skinny kid in the 1970s, taking family trips and trying to hold my dad’s wheel on the roads around Brest, Quimper, Carnac, Tréguier. Then camping trips as a penniless student – I watched the 1989 Lemond/Fignon showdown in a bar in Dol de Bretagne. Later, as an only slightly less penniless adult, I’d follow the Tour de France whenever it headed into this great heartland of cycling. My wife Carole and I were there for the Tour this summer, bikes on the back of the van – but somehow managed to go home without having turned a single pedal stroke. Slackers. To make amends, we headed back for a couple of days in late August, determined…

Bethany Brooksbank built up her Elves Vanyar to excel in hill-climbs while working for everyday riding too. It features Litebike finishing kit and a onepiece cassette, along with a Wolftooth 36t chainring and 155mm cranks. Wheels are Parcours Grimpeur with Panaracer Agilest Lite tyres and TPU tubes. “It’s super-responsive and snappy and really comes into its own when standing up on steep gradients,” she says. Want us to feature your race bike? Send a pic and information to cycling@futurenet.com…