Indholdsfortegnelse for December 18, 2025 i Cycling Weekly

Mathieu van der Poel overcame a crash to win at his first opportunity in cyclo-cross this season, taking victory at the UCI World Cup in Namur, Belgium. The Dutch world champion attacked on the last lap to take the win ahead of Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions). Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) was third. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Van der Poel, with the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider coming unstuck mid-race. “Just a small steering error,” he said. “I just couldn’t correct it anymore. I made a few too many mistakes in the wheels. Sometimes it’s a little easier to ride in the lead. “In the end, when I went to the front on the last half a lap, it was my best technical part of the race. It was certainly…

It’s 5:57pm in south London, 12 September 2005, and the shadows are lengthening at the Oval. Steve Harmison bowls the final ball of the men’s Ashes; Justin Langer misjudges it, the ball glances off him, runs away to the boundary for four leg byes, and the umpires call stumps. England fans launch into wild celebration, having won the Ashes for the first time in 18 years – and at that exact same moment, live Test cricket disappears from UK free-to-air television. The consequences were almost immediate: viewing figures collapsed – from a peak of 8.4 million viewers during that 2005 Ashes to barely a single million – and cricket slipped from the national conversation to something closer to a niche interest. Almost 20 years on, at 7:32pm on 27 July…

It was one of the most amazing redemption stories in recent cycling history. Seven years after cracking on the same climb and losing the Giro d’Italia with two days remaining, Simon Yates returned to the Colle delle Finestre and, this time, rode himself into the lead on the penultimate stage. Yates later admitted that he had, in fact, anticipated the way the stage might unfold. “You won’t believe me, but… the whole stage went how I expected it to go,” he recently said at Rouleur Live. With Isaac Del Toro and Richard Carapaz first and second on GC, separated by 43 seconds and preoccupied with each other, Yates seized the moment. While they marked each other’s moves, he was able to ride clear and take a win shaped as much…

Richardson breaks flying 200m record twice Just 24 hours after breaking the flying 200m world record in Konya, Turkey, Matthew Richardson returned to the velodrome to better his new benchmark, setting a new best time of 8.857 seconds. In the process, the track sprinter became the first rider to clock under nine seconds in the event that he called “a really raw measure of who is the best”. UCI tracker row The UCI criticised five women’s WorldTour teams for refusing to participate in a new GPS-tracking safety trial at the Tour de Romandie Féminin. The teams, however, said they were “shocked and disappointed” to be expelled from the race, arguing it was unfair that they had been forced to nominate a rider to wear the tracker rather than the device…

As the final Classic of the season, Il Lombardia has, despite its Monument status and stunning setting in the foothills of the Italian Alps, tended to slip below the radar. This year, that changed – all eyes were on the race as fans contemplated a fifth consecutive victory from Tadej Pogačar. He did not disappoint. As if by action replay, he tore away on yet another long-distance breakaway and took the win, matching the record of Italy’s Fausto Coppi, five-time winner of the race between 1946 and 1954. Not everybody was delighted. Amid the cheering ‘Pogi’ fans, there were dissenting voices – voices that had begun to gain a critical mass over the previous few weeks. “It’s the same thing again and again,” one fan wrote on CW’s Facebook page.…

Let me tell you a winter’s tale. When the weather finally turned in November, after months of care-free, shortsleeved swashbuckling around southern England, I opened the door to my shed – AKA the Pain Cave – and my heart sank. It no longer looked like a shed; more like a nuclear bunker, its shelves stacked with tins of soup and emergency rations. A harbinger of doom. Winter can be a grim old season for cyclists: cold, wet, expensive, demoralising. My first autumn visit to the Pain Cave confirmed it. I dusted off the turbo trainer, a contraption that looked as abandoned as I felt, and climbed aboard. Forty-five minutes later, I climbed off, gripped by ennui and the first hints of seasonal gloom. SAD is no joke for those of…

If you’re the sort of rider who sticks to a training programme, who gets out for rides bang on time and loves every minute of it, and whose zest for long hard rides in the rain is like a force of nature, well, congratulations. And you should know that the rest of us would very much enjoy watching you be struck by lightning. Most riders need more motivation. There are several strategies. You can select an event to train towards. Then, when you’re unhappy and miserable, you can think of how much more unhappy and miserable you’ll be when your lack of fitness means you climb off and give up half-way up a foreign mountain on a trip that’s cost you £1,500. You might inspire yourself by the idea that…

France’s Charly Mottet feels the stretch as he attempts to get as aero as possible during the late-season Grand Prix de Lunel time trial in France, 1990. A fine all-rounder who excelled against the clock, Mottet never quite achieved superstar status but did record numerous high placings in the Grand Tours, including two Tour de France fourths and a second overall at the Giro d’Italia. The Liberia bike he is riding is typical of the time trial machines of the era (although some also feature a small, 26in front wheel instead) with its swooping top tube, a cockpit that is anything but aero by modern standards, and Mavic’s classic Comete rear disc. If only the image were in the high-saturation colour of the time, you could almost be by the…

New year, new team, and a new Tour de France strategy for Remco Evenepoel. The Olympic road race and time trial champion is swapping the colours of Soudal Quick-Step for Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe in 2026, after a seven-year spell with the team he turned pro with in 2019. Twenty-six in January, Evenepoel left his contract with Quick-Step a year early for one principal reason: to get closer to achieving his dream of winning the Tour. He finished third in his debut at the 2024 race, but quit the 2025 race in the Pyrenees, despite sitting in third at the time. In contrast to his past two appearances at the Tour where he has been his team’s only GC leader, Evenepoel will line up at the 2026 race alongside his new Red…

On the final chime of New Year’s Eve, Ben Granger will become a pro cyclist for the first time in his career, as he begins a two-year contract with Toscana Nippo Rali, the Italian team formerly known as Solution Tech-Vini Fantini. The deal marks another step up in his now five-year journey of living and racing in Italy. In 2025, the 25-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season, in which he won the UK’s prestigious Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic, riding for Conti team MG.K Vis. “In cycling, I’ve always considered it quite black and white between that Continental level and the Pro Continental level, so to be on the other side of it is really exciting,” Granger told Cycling Weekly. “The most common pathway now is from juniors to a development team, and…

I guess that’s one way to slow down the speeds in the peloton. Don’t get any ideas UCI! Greg Keyes Right in the middle of the road, two abreast, typical. Alexandre Proulx And as the glider gained height, it took them all for an unexpected ride! Jeff Martin That’s nothing, I watched seven Bora Red Bull riders drag Primoz Roglič around Italy for three weeks for no reason. Eric Robinson Where is Rudolph’s bright red nose? Joe Bragg And people say team time trialling has no practical use. James Hendrick That’s a creative way to train leg power! Cindy Griffin Be more impressed if it was a Boeing 747, like Chevy did in 1972 with one pickup truck. Shane Allen Huge miss not having the pilot dressed as Santa… Vince…

Suspended prison sentence for Rohan Dennis Australian cyclist Rohan Dennis was given a two-year suspended sentence over the incident that killed his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins. After a fight outside the couple’s home in Adelaide in December 2023, Hoskins was struck by the car driven by Dennis. He pleaded guilty to one aggravated count of creating the likelihood of harm. Dennis, a two-time time trial world champion, was handed the suspended sentence and a five-year driving ban. Hoskins is survived by the couple’s two young children. Her father Peter Hoskins said: “We miss Melissa terribly.” New winners at Unbound There were two new winners at the world’s most prestigious gravel event, Unbound 200 in Kansas, USA. New Zealander Cameron Jones set a course record as he won the men’s…

Tightly gripping the drops of her handlebars, Lorena Wiebes thrashes down on the pedals, shoulders low, head dipped into the wind. The gantry comes into frame, she bows to look under her arm, sees no one, sits up, and punches the air. It’s a finish every cycling fan now recognises: the trademark conclusion to a Wiebes sprint. It could have been Ghent Wevelgem. It could have been stages three or four of the Tour de France Femmes, or any of five stages of the Simac Ladies Tour. In 2025, Wiebes was so imperious she won 25 times – more than any other pro, male or female – and usually in exactly this way. But as the season unfolded, it became clear her repertoire was expanding. For a few years now,…

What about trans women? Controversy surrounded Cycling UK’s ‘100 Women in Cycling’ list as a handful of inductees declined the honour due to the eligibility criteria. The organisation chose to limit nominations to “biological women only”, excluding transgender women from consideration. Israel-Premier Tech rebrands It was all change at Israel-Premier Tech, having been dogged all season by pro-Palestine protests, as they rebranded as NSN Cycling. The acronym stands for ‘Never Say Never’, a sports and entertainment company whose cofounders include former Barcelona footballer Andrés Iniesta. While the team swapped its nationality from Israeli to Swiss, their former sponsor Premier Tech moved to Alpecin-Deceuninck, while Chris Froome found himself left in the lurch at the end of his five-year deal. UK’s top men’s team collapses Britain’s top-ranked men’s elite racing team,…

Melisa Rollins had a standout season. The American rider performed consistently throughout the Life Time Grand Prix series, which earned her third place overall on the GC. Along with winning stage four of Gravel Burn, she placed consistently enough throughout the stage race to finish just two minutes and seven seconds behind eventual winner Axelle Dubau-Prévot. But it wasn’t all plain sailing – Rollins suffered a puncture on stage seven, resulting in a time loss that could have robbed her of a podium finish. Rollins used a Liv Devote Advanced 0 SE gravel bike for Gravel Burn, distinguishable by the limited-edition ‘Tropical Collage’ colourway, which she inspired. Rollins’s Devote is not an off-theshelf build and is peppered with specific components she requested for Gravel Burn. Rather than a regular gravel…

This Factor Ostro VAM belongs to Sean Nicholls, who has it kitted out in full smart stealth mode with a few added ‘whoosh’ lines for extra va-va-voom. Groupset is SRAM Force AXS, with a double ring and Quark power meter. Finishing kit – as well as the wheels – are by Black Inc, with 28mm Pirelli P Zero Race tyres fitted, and he has an old-school tool-tub in the second bottle cage. Nice touch. Want us to feature your race bike? Send a pic and information to cycling@futurenet.com…

This enigmatic Claud Butler track bike is a period puzzle that only begins to reveal a version of its truth when associated with its likely rider, the colourful Jack Heid. On first inspection, the bike resembles a 1939 Champion Path model, with its period-correct oversized Chater-Lea bottom bracket and cast lugs. However, a closer look reveals a distinctive 1948 ‘Olympic rings’ head tube badge. There’s no mistaking the Stars and Stripes livery. Consider that Claud Butler had a close relationship with talented New Yorker Heid around this period, and pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place. Disenchanted with the East Coast racing scene, Heid flew to London for the 1948 Olympics, where he became obsessed with European competition. Over the next few years, he successfully raced as an…

It was only five months ago that Primož Roglič was wearing ankle socks at the Tour de France and allegedly telling the rest of the peloton that he didn’t care. In that same race, his much younger Red Bull-Borahansgrohe team-mate Florian Lipowitz outperformed him to secure the final spot on the podium, and a week after the race ended it was announced that Roglič’s long-time rival Remco Evenepoel would be joining Red Bull for the 2026 season. Roglič’s days as a Tour contender appear to be over – and next season the only Grand Tour he is set to ride will be the Vuelta a España. It has led many to assume that Roglič, who turned 36 in October, is preparing for his final year as a pro. But the…

Great Britain’s Olympic track cyclists dominated at the Tissot Track Cycling Challenge in Switzerland last weekend, where they won 18 medals, 11 of which were gold. The squad ruled in particular over the women’s events, winning every elite final on both the endurance and sprint sides. Among the standout riders was Anna Morris, the current world, European and national individual pursuit champion, who claimed four victories inside the velodrome in Grenchen over the two-day event; the 30-year-old won the scratch race, points race, omnium and Madison alongside Katie Archibald. Writing on Instagram afterwards, Morris said it was a “pretty exciting life moment” to race and win alongside Archibald, and hailed the “clean sweep” she helped the Brits achieve across all the women’s races. In the sprint events, it was Sophie…

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No go for CO The UCI banned the repeated inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO), with WADA later announcing that it would follow suit. Inhalation of CO is used to measure total haemoglobin mass and blood volume, and remains permitted within medical facilities. But reports in 2024 suggested that teams including UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike had been using the method for performance-enhancement benefits. Medical experts also warned against the potential risks to health. Cars cause bedlam Five-day French stage race Étoile de Bessèges finished with just 52 riders – down from the original 146. A car drove into the peloton on stage two of the race, with one rider injured and many others lucky to avoid a high-speed collision. The next day, another car drove onto the course.…

Barry Hoban: 1940 - 2025 British cycling great Barry Hoban passed away aged 85. The Yorkshireman was one of the first Britons to make his mark on the European scene, and his record of eight Tour de France stage wins has only been surpassed by Mark Cavendish. Hoban’s first stage victory at the Tour came the day after the death of his compatriot Tom Simpson; he would later marry Simpson’s widow, Helen. Hoban, who was a professional for 19 years, also won stages of the Vuelta a España and Ghent-Wevelgem; in the latter race in 1974, he beat Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck. Mauritius’s finest Kim Le Court only returned to road racing in 2024 after a decade of mountain biking. This spring, she announced herself as one of…

Total Energies sponsors Ineos Grenadiers Just ahead of the Tour de France, Ineos Grenadiers welcomed French petrochemical giant Total Energies on board as an official jersey sponsor. The deal was reported to be worth as much as €15m a year, with many expecting Total Energies to become co-title sponsor from 2027. It’s the first time the British World Tour team have received significant investment from a source other than their title sponsor – first Sky, and then Ineos. It was also announced that ex-team principal Sir Dave Brailsford would be returning to lead the team. Pidcock honoured Tom Pidcock was awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to cycling, a year after he defended his Olympic mountain bike cross-country title. The…

After Lorena Wiebes’s haul this season, there are only two female riders with more all-time UCI wins than the Dutchwoman: Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (148) and Marianne Vos (260). Wiebes’s 118 puts her a long way off top spot at the moment, but what would it take for her to reach it? Let’s run the numbers. Vos has just finished her 20th season in road cycling, meaning she has averaged exactly 13 victories a year. Wiebes’s win rate, after only eight seasons, is 14.75 per year. If she carries on like this, she’ll reach 295 wins after her 20th season – 35 more than Vos. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Vos is still winning races – the 38-year-old won three this year and scored 11 top-threes – and has…

TdF route announced The Tour de France route announcement was the big news this month. We already knew about the Barcelona start and the Paris finish, but on 23 October organiser ASO revealed that the route would travel north from the Pyrenees and visit France’s four other mountain ranges – the Massif Central, the Vosges, the Jura and the Alps, in that order. The Paris finish, it was explained, would feature one ascent of the Montmartre climb that proved so popular in 2025, before a 15km run-in to the Champs-Elysées finish, allowing the sprinters to catch any attacking puncheurs like Wout van Aert or Tadej Pogačar. The route overall garnered a mixed reaction, with Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team praising its mountainous nature, while it was branded ‘underwhelming’ by…

Girmay pledges to NSN The rebrand of Israel-Premier Tech continued with a marquee signing, new bike supplier and new star rider in Biniam Girmay. After five seasons with Intermarché Wanty (now merging with Lotto), the 2024 Tour de France green jersey winner committed his next three years to NSN Cycling. Swiss bike brand Scott came on board as a supplier, as Factor parted ways with the team following a season marred by protests. The road most travelled… is in Colombia Strava’s annual Year in Sport data focused primarily on running, but revealed a few insights into its users’ cycling habits, one of which was that the most popular cycling segment on its app in 2025 was the Alto de Patios climb on the outskirts of Bogotá, Colombia. The segment was…

While the Kickr Core 2 borrows a host of mod cons from the range-topping Wahoo Kickr V6, most of the design blueprint remains unchanged from the original Core, which is good for two reasons: it keeps the price down and retains the familiarity that made the original such a well-received and successful unit. That said, the legs and feet have been changed for the better. The Core 2 features a new colour-coded mounting bracket and the round legs are now flat in order to improve stability and provide a better support and pedalling platform. While Wahoo has improved the package quite significantly, two features have been omitted: a Direct Connect Ethernet port and a carry handle. Neither is a deal-breaker, but at 14.1kg, some users might struggle to move it…

After placing second on two occasions so far this season, Oscar Hutchings (Schils-Doltcini RT) tasted victory in the Western Cyclo-Cross League in Bristol on Sunday. The Winchester-based rider was given a tough time in securing the win, with newly-crowned South Regional Champion Harry Sowden (Clayton Cars BMW) settling for second spot by just eight seconds. Meanwhile, Adeline Moreau led a one-two for Magspeed Racing, winning by almost a minute ahead of team-mate Georgia Mahoney in the women’s race. Elsewhere, Libby Greatorex (CXR) secured her second Yorkshire Championship win at round seven in Skipton, holding off Shibden CC rival Cassandra Mackintosh by 55 seconds, while vet Helen Jackson (Kendal CC) took third. In the senior men’s race, it was Oliver Barker (AlterraXCOMTB.com) who took the win at Craven Cattle Marts, covering…