Innehållsförteckning för August 21, 2025 från Cycling Weekly

This week’s fitness feature could have been written specifically for me. (It wasn’t. I promise.) I am both on the wrong side of 40 and lacking in muscle mass. But can regular trips to the gym to lift some weights really help my riding? The evidence suggests that it can, although I’m the first to admit it doesn’t always feel like that. I try to go twice a week, and typically do around 30 minutes of strength and conditioning exercises, lifting heavier weights only on exercises utilising my legs and lower back (mainly squats). I’m happy to admit that I don’t feel any faster on the bike because of it, but have to remind myself that that’s not the point. The point is that as I age, I’m less likely…

In the equivalent open race, the Beaumont Trophy, Dylan Hicks of Raptor Factory Racing took his maiden victory on the National Road Series The 21-year-old, formerly of Saint Piran, was the final survivor of a final-lap breakaway, narrowly holding off the onrushing peloton at the end of 183km. Hicks was third at the CiCLE Classic in April, and won a stage of the International Tour of Hellas last year, but this was a first trophy at domestic elite level. The sprint behind was won by Tim Shoreman of Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli, with Will Truelove of MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK in third. “It was non stop in terms of attacks, but it was quite relaxed compared to Nat As I’ve done before because the attacks always came back,” Hicks told The British Continental. “It…

He’s got nothing left to prove and cycling at that level must put unbelievable strain on the body. Plus, it’s incredibly dangerous. When he was describing his spill at the recent Tour de France, he expressed his concern that he saw the curb coming straight for his head as he slid across the tarmac. So yeah, I fully understand. Plus, it’s incredibly dangerous, and it looks like he might want to settle down and start a family. Kudos to him.…

The course for the Spanish Grand Tour has not been favourable to the pure fastmen in recent years, and this year is no exception, with four or five opportunities for a bunch sprint at best. This year, all eyes will be on Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who has the ability to win from sprints and hard finishes. The Dane could double up on points jerseys this year after he won the maglia ciclamino at the Giro d’Italia. This year, Pedersen has won eight times, including four stages of the Giro and Ghent-Wevelgem; but did not race the Tour due to the team taking Jonathan Milan instead. Beyond him, Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) has the ability and chance to win a Grand Tour stage for the first time. The Briton is a…

Rating The shape of the Gera handlebar is unlike anything I’ve ever used on gravel or road. This means deciding where the lever should sit isn’t straightforward. The lack of reach means the hose exits from the lever hood at a very sharp angle. In fact, I did my first few rides without bar tape fitted, as I needed to fiddle with the position to get the hoods somewhere I liked. With wireless shifting and hydraulic hoses, the sharp angle wasn’t too big a deal, but if you’re running cable gears or brakes, this could impact shifting and braking. It took me some time to get used to the bars. I found the back-swept top section comfortable, with its slightly oversized oval shape feeling very nice in the hand, but…

Through my 20s and early 30s, I was a borderline obsessive runner and my weight hovered around the 65kg mark – which, at just under 6ft, meant I was, to quote my nan, “all skin and bone”. As injuries multiplied in my late-30s, I decided to shelve my running ambitions and broaden my training, throwing in a weekly weights session alongside rides, hikes and runs. I enjoyed the variety so much that the balance gradually evened out. Now, I spend as much time lifting weights as I do on cardiovascular training. I have gained 7kg in weight; this sounds disastrous for a cyclist but it hasn’t bothered me at all. The benefits have far outweighed the slight disadvantage on climbs. I feel not only stronger but healthier too. As a…

A story that I once heard via a bike rider, and was doubtful about until a few weeks ago when I heard it again via a team director. In UCI time trials, the commissaires will accept a van as the following vehicle for early riders in a team, to preserve team cars for later starters. One rider at a WorldTour race a few years ago was surprised to find the team chef waiting to drive behind him, in the team kitchen truck. This was fine till the rider punctured, and the chef had to leap out of the truck with a spare wheel. The result was, say both chef and rider, a bit of a casserole. I also hope the chef used the team radio to read out the day’s…

The Tour de Romandie Féminin was won overall by Elise Chabbey (FDJ-SUEZ), the first GC victory of the Swiss rider’s career. The 32-year-old won stage two, a summit finish, and then gained time on Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) on the final stage to take the GC title. The race had a reduced field because of the disqualification of five teams before stage one (see Hub), but there was no shortage of active racing. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was triumphant at the PostNord Tour of Denmark, his home race, after three stage wins. It’s the third time he has won the race. The two remaining stages were won by Søren Wærenskhold (Uno-X Mobility) and Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek). The ProTour Circuit Franco-Belge was won by another Scandinavian, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility). La Polynormande, a…

Roglič welcomes Evenepoel Primož Roglič has welcomed the signing of Remco Evenepoel to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, saying he hopes the pair can “achieve great things together”. The duo will come together at the German team next season, after Evenepoel’s early departure from his Quick-Step contract. Andy Pink on Instagram A different side to British Cycling’s record attempts last week – here’s Matthew Richardson’s push-off 5 The number of teams disqualified from the Tour de Romandie Féminin over a GPS tracker row. The UCI “condemned” the five for refusing to nominate a rider for the tracker trial, while the squads said they were “shocked and disappointed” by the decision. ToB to be broadcast on ITV The 2025 Lloyds Tour of Britain Men will once again be broadcast live and free on ITV,…

Among the five Grand Tour winners on the start list is Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). The Australian won the 2022 Giro d’Italia and will head to Spain hoping to reproduce past form. If he doesn’t, his younger team-mate Giulio Pellizzari finished sixth at the Giro this year and is one of the the team’s promising prospects. Giulio Ciccone will lead Lidl-Trek for the race. The Italian, who will target stage wins and the GC, proved his form again at the Vuelta a Burgos with a stage win and second overall. Jonas Vingegaard has a capable deputy in American Matteo Jorgenson, recently in action at the Tour de France. Also heading to the Vuelta after the Tour are Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ), two riders who…

It’s hard to pin down the first overshoe, because elements of normal Victorian and Edwardian dress, like spats, show an element of crossover. Through the era of pedals with toe clips and straps, overshoes had to be relatively thin to fit into the toe clip. The strap would wear holes in the overshoes, so they didn’t last long. Often as not a midcentury rider just had cold feet, and will tell you now that it never did them any harm. But bear in mind that the reason most of them walk funny now is that they lost most of their toes to frostbite. Overshoes got a lot easier to use with clipless pedals in the 1990s, and developed an exciting variety of uses. Originally a means of keeping your feet…

Eighteen-year-old Henry Hobbs will be one of Great Britain’s brightest hopes for medal success at the UCI Junior Track World Championships in the Netherlands this week. The teenager, who finished his A-Levels this summer and will join Visma-Lease a Bike’s development team next year, is part of a 15-rider squad competing at the event, which runs from 20-24 August in Apeldoorn. Hobbs goes into the competition in recordbreaking form, having become the first junior rider to sweep all six endurance events at the Junior British National Track Champs earlier this month; across five days of racing, he won the 3km individual pursuit, points race, kilometre time trial, Madison, elimination race and scratch race. “Originally I kind of went into it just prepping towards Track Worlds – that’s the biggest goal…

Tom Pidcock 26 | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | Gbr Previous Vuelta starts: 1 (2021) Best GC result: 67 Best stage result: 4th By Tom Pidcock’s standards, 2025 has so far been a pretty quiet year. Not just in terms of results, but also controversy and high jinks and general… noise. And you get the impression that that is exactly how he likes it. He struggled to enjoy the Tour de France in 2023 and 2024, partly because his results did not meet the expectations that had grown around him, and partly because of a public falling out with Ineos Grenadiers’s then director of racing Steve Cummings. Now on a three-year contract at new team Q36.5 Pro Cycling, Pidcock says he feels liberated. “I feel like I’ve been let off the…

Only two Brits have ever won the Vuelta a España in its 90-year history: Chris Froome in 2011 and 2017, and Simon Yates in 2018. This year sees the next generation coming to the fore, mostly through Picnic PostNL’s fast-improving Max Poole. Having made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta in 2023, Poole placed 11th at this year’s Giro. A top-10 would be a strong showing for the man from Scunthorpe. Alongside Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) on the punchier days, fast finisher Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) could take a stage. Look out too for Visma-Lease a Bike’s Ben Tulett; the climber-cum-puncheur will be a useful ally for Jonas Vingegaard and Matteo Jorgenson in the mountains. This could be the making of him as a domestique. Watch out also for Cofidis’s…

What kind of madness would it be to suggest that those of us ticking the ‘39 and over’ age box should add, rather than subtract, bulk? For decades, the prevailing wisdom and aerodynamic gospel have been all about lightening the load: trimming every spare gram of body mass to evade gravity, climb faster and slice through the air like an arrow. But what if, at a certain age, the smartest move isn’t to get lighter but to get stronger? Far from being madness, it’s becoming scientific orthodoxy that older cyclists should gear our training towards strength. Maintaining muscle will not only improve our cycling, shows the science, but also stave off injury, illness and fatigue. “As we get older, we naturally lose muscle mass and strength,” explains strength coach Dean…

Jef Schils Memorial RR Sunday 7 September Where: Essex Promoted by the Schils-Doltcini Racing Team, this 123km-long “Belgian cultured” National B is for E/1/2/3 open riders. The race is named for Jef Schils, the father of Patrick, who runs Velo Schils Interbike bike shop in Colchester, also the site of the sign-on for the event. Kenton RC Autumn Classic Sunday 7 September Where: Bedfordshire The last race in the National Under-23 Series, this National B will be held on the Weedon Circuit in Bedfordshire. There are nine laps of a punchy 15km course, with entries costing £40 via the BC site.…

One of the great things about cycling as a sport is the regularity with which any of us can find ourselves lining up for a race with some properly good riders. It’s especially prevalent in the UK, where traditional races like time trials can attract an entry that runs from veterans who are mainly there to see their friends, to international riders looking to hone form, or test themselves, or in some cases just have a day out. Sir Bradley Wiggins used to turn up to local races – criteriums as well as time trials – at a point where he was an Olympic champion. And Alex Dowsett’s devotion to the local club scene led one journalist to enquire as to why exactly Team Movistar were so keen to win…