Michael Vanthourenhout seemed to be in prime position at Aardbeiencross, the fourth round of the Superprestige Series in Merksplas, Belgium, on Saturday. On a dry and fast course, the Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw rider had moved to the front of the pack, leading into the decisive sand section by the end of the second of 11 laps. He then spoke to his teammate Yordi Corsus, who immediately went to the front to put pressure on the group and cause a first split of around 25 riders.

The next time around on the sand, Vanthourenhout once again came to the front, riding smoothly and staying out of trouble. But that would all change on the fourth lap.

As Wout Janssen increased the pace at the front, a crash brought down Vanthourenhout after his teammate Gerben Kuypers, riding close by, hit a post. While the other riders involved quickly remounted, Vanthourenhout remained on the ground, slapping it in pain and frustration. After receiving assistance from the medical team, he eventually managed to get to his feet and gingerly walk off the course before remounting his bike to return to the team camper. His ripped skinsuit showed a bloodied left hip.

The 32-year-old rider was on the rollers when Belgian media caught up with him

“I only have problems with my hip. The movement on the bike works, but clicking out is difficult. Maybe have it examined anyway, but at first glance it's not too bad,’ Vanthourenhout told VTM Nieuws.

“Before I knew it, I was on the ground. A corner where we sat next to each other with four to five riders, and there I was…,” he added. “Too bad, because I had set my sights on it and I can now forget the classification”

Vanthourenhout dropped from third overall, only two points from the leader, to sixth place, 15 points down from new leader Joran Wyseure.

“Hopefully we can start tomorrow,” he added, “if it really doesn't get any better, then yes, have further tests done in the hospital.”

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Unibet Rose Rockets continue to add experience to their 2027 squad with the signing of former French champion Florian Sénéchal. The 33-year-old brings plenty of experience in the Classics, along with valuable leadout know-how for sprinter Dylan Groenewegen.

His palmares includes six pro victories, with the last one being the French title in 2022. Sénéchal’s career highlights include sixth place at Paris-Roubaix in 2019, second place at In Flanders Fields (formerly known as Gent-Wevelgem) in 2020 and E3 Saxo Classic in 2021, and a stage win at the 2021 Vuelta a España.

The French-registered ProTeam's rapid development made the prospect of joining particularly appealing.

“Watching the Rockets over the past few years, I’ve been impressed by how quickly they’ve grown. To go from a new team to racing the Monuments and the Giro d’Italia in such a short time says a lot about the ambition behind this project. It made me curious about what comes next, and I’m excited to be part of that story,” Sénéchal said in a team press release.

“The atmosphere was a big part of the appeal, too. There’s a personality to this team that comes across in everything they do.”

Sénéchal’s friend Philippe Gilbert encouraged the move.

“He said to me: What do you do Florian? You stop? You continue? I said I don’t know Phil,” Sénéchal shared in a team video.

“Rockets team are very, very fun, and what they do on social media is very nice for you. It’s very fun and a lot of people like it. So Gilbert said if you want to go, go, because this team, also the value of the team goes super high every year. So maybe next year, the team is bigger again. So if you can be part of this project, Flo, go. You are not old, 33 years old. It’s not old if you are motivated.”

Team owner Bas Tietema interrupted to add: “That’s not old, we have Wout on the team, you are still like a young kid.”

Earlier this month, 39-year-old Wout Poels announced that he would continue racing into his 19th season as a professional in 2027 with the squad.

Sénéchal started his career with Cofidis in 2014 before joining Soudal-Quick Step in 2018. He joined Alpecin-Premier Tech this year after Arkea-B&B Hotels folded.

The move follows the addition of new head of racing Aike Visbeek, as the team aims to secure a wildcard invitation to next year’s Tour de France, after making its Grand Tour debut at this year’s Giro d’Italia.

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Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Premier Tech) outsprinted Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) to take his first cyclo-cross win of the season at Saturday’s Aardbeiencross in Merksplas, round four of the 2026-27 Superprestige series.

Wyseure took control on the final lap of the fast, tactical race, repeatedly putting in digs to reduce the seven-rider lead group, accelerating in and out of the corners. Coming out of the sand section, he, with Vandeputte on his wheel, had opened a gap of several seconds as they sped towards the finish line.

Wyseure led onto the finishing straight, but Vandeputte was able to come around and raise his hands in victory.

Spanish champion Felipe Orts (Euskatel-Euskadi) managed to close the gap and finished third.

A crash on the fourth lap took Michael Vanthourenhout out of contention when he hit the ground hard after his Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw teammate Gerben Kuypers hit a pole on a left-hand corner. Vanthourenhout slapped the ground after his crash, as the emergency team came to assist. After some time, he was able to walk away from the course, his kit ripped on his left hip.

Wyseure now leads the Superprestige overall rankings, his 14-point haul taking him to 52 in four races. Kevin Kuhn (Heizomat-Cube) and Orts are tied in second place, with 44 points. Vandeputte is now in fourth, 11 points in arrears.

Overnight series leader Cameron Mason (777TV) was delayed by the crash, had to expend energy chasing back, and spent the rest of the race at the back of the lead group, ultimately crossing the line in 15th place. The British champion dropped to fifth place, 12 points down.

Sunny, dry conditions set the stage for a tactical 11-lap race in which positioning was key, especially leading to the deep sand section that riders faced on every lap.

Vandeputte took the holeshot and led the first lap, with Vanthourenhout first, taking over before the sand the next time around, and then telling his teammate Yordi Corsus to up the pace on the third lap, forcing a split of 25 riders after three laps. 

But after Wout Janssen attacked and put pressure on the front group, Vanthourenhout crashed and was out of contention.

Janssen, two-time winner Joris Nieuwenhuis (Heizomat-Cube), Ryan Kamp (Bomba Join), and Vandeputte all took turns at the front of the front group, reducing the numbers to 16 riders after eight laps of racing.

With three laps to go, the battle for control heated up when Vandeputte closed the door on Orts, but Corsus was able to get to the front by the sand section and got a small gap after a fast clean run through. Behind, Wyseure passed Orts and gave chase.

Wyseure closed the four-second gap at the start of the next lap, bringing the front group back together. He then took the front, leading into the sand and stepped on the gas every corner, reducing the front group to seven riders.

On the bell lap, Corsus tried to take over the front on the planks, but Wyseure kept the lead into the sand, where Corsus had to dap and lost his position.

Results

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Lucinda Brand (Baloise-Het Poetsbureau Lions) returned after her midweek injury to win a brilliantly aggressive and combative race at the Aardbeiencross in Merksplas on Saturday.

Brand had been part of a three-woman group which emerged on the last lap of the eight-lap race, which formed the fourth race of the Superprestige series, the World Champion finally getting a gap in the decisive sand pit, winning by two seconds ahead of Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon), with teammate Sara Casasola taking third.

It was a remarkable comeback for Brand after she sprained her ankle and withdrew on the opening lap of the previous round at Niel on Wednesday. However, it was Casasola who made the race, attacking multiple times on every lap, though she burnt too many matches and was unable to take what would have been her first win of the year.

The race waxed and waned for much of its eight laps, groups getting away and re-forming, though each time with fewer riders in the leading group, and it was only on the final lap that the winning group got away.

The sandpit dictated every lap; whichever rider managed to stay on the bike was able to dictate how the rest of the lap unfolded. Fem van Empel (Specialized TMRW) was the only rider to get through it on each of the opening three laps. Though she was never able to build a lead afterwards, on the ensuing laps

With dry conditions and little mud, the Merksplas race began at a blistering pace, with Amondine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) characteristically getting off the line brilliantly and gaining an early advantage.

However, the returning former World Champion Van Empel soon took her place, and was part of a three-woman group which escaped on the second of the eight laps, with Casasola and her Crelan-Corendon teammate Van der Heijden getting a small gap. However, the race remained resolutely together, re-forming before the lap was done, setting the pattern for the rest of the race.

After her aggressive start, the fourth lap produced another move from Casasola, the Italian champion getting a small gap, but Brand had been moving through the group steadily, and when Casasola hit the sand, Brand stayed on her bike, taking over at the front and leading a group of four away.

With Casasola, Van der Heijden and Denise Betsema (Ceuster-Bouwkranen), the quartet got a gap, but once again it all came back together, only for Brand, Casasola and Van der Heijden to establish a small gap on their next visit to the sand, taking a lead of six seconds onto the sixth lap. But when Brand went in for a second bike change, the impetus went out of the leading group, and they were joined by Van Empel, the rest of the chasing group soon coming back too.

Van Empel made her move ahead of the sand pit next time, but after leaving the sport early last season, she still lacks the punch to get a lead, and, after being so dominant early in the race, she was forced to dismount, Brand once again the only one able to ride it cleanly. This time, though, a group of five came across the line, with Casasola once again attacking with two laps to go.

As that penultimate lap went on, though, Brand went with her, but neither were able to stay on their bikes through the sand, Van Alphen joining them, with Van der Heijden and Leonie Betveld (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) tagging on too; a group of five started the final circuit.

The race followed its established pattern, Casasola, Brand and Van der Heijden gapping the rest, but this time Brand was able to make the decisive move in the sand, despite being forced to dismount.

Results

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There will be no clash between Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone at the much strengthened Pinarello-Q36.5 team next year, according to one of the squad’s sports directors, Gabriele Missaglia.

Since joining the team at the start of the 2025 season, Pidcock has been the de facto leader in almost every race he has started. Ten of his 15 career road victories have come since his move from what was Ineos Grenadiers, and he has won the mountain bike World Championships in both years.

After Ciccone was released early from his contract with Lidl-Trek, he and Pidcock will join forces at the Swiss-registered squad. While that might give the team options in some races, both men have similar characteristics and a clash of ambitions could become an issue for the team’s management.

This year the two men have often been seen together at the pointy end of races, and both are excellent climbers who perform well on a variety of other terrains, and equally, both ride with aggression and panache. They both have Grand Tour stage wins on their palmarès, the Italian winning the mountains classification at both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, while Pidcock was third at the 2025 Vuelta a Epsaña.

Though their successes have come at different races, both have won one-day Classics, too, with Pidcock winning at Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold Race and winning Classica San Sebastián in 2025, among others.

However, despite their similarities, Missaglia told Bici.Pro that he feels having both men in the same line-up gives them opportunities on the road.

"I prefer having two lively riders, and at least top-tier ones, rather than just one," Missaglia said. "I think both riders need to see the positive side of the situation. For me, and for them too, not having all the pressure on one rider can be an advantage. Sharing the responsibilities between the two, perhaps even in the same race, is better not only in terms of pressure but also tactically.

"Ultimately, we're a team, and we'll try to work as a team in the best possible way. Maybe one day we'll favour one, the other. We'll see what happens, but I don't see any problems with coexistence."

While the two riders’ programmes for the 2027 season may not even be decided yet, and are certainly yet to be revealed, it is possible they will diverge at some times in the year while we could see them in some of the same races at other times.

"I partly think they'll race together. If I think about the Tirreno-Adriatico, maybe only Ciccone will be there, while I'd like to see both of them at the start of the Milan-Sanremo. It depends on many factors. But again, everything really needs to be built, and we'll do it starting from the next training camp in Spain."

Ciccone’s move to Pinarello came after, though not necessarily because, the Lidl-Trek team failed to defend the maglia rosa when he took over the race lead on stage 4 of this year’s Giro d’Italia. Instead of riding to support Ciccone, the team chose to defend Jonathan Milan’s second place in the points classification, and he lost the jersey after only one day in pink.

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The Le Col Black Friday sale is live, with up to 50% off a fine selection of the UK brand's performance cycling kit.

With cold-weather riding in full swing across the Northern Hemisphere, I put together a top-to-toe winter cycling outfit to see how much I could save.

The discounts totalled an impressive $435 across eight items. The standout bargain is $120 off the Pro Aqua Zero Long Sleeve Jersey, which, for me, riding in Scotland's dreich weather, is an essential at a bargain price.

Shop the Le Col Black Friday Deals.

I also teamed up with Kirsten Frattini, Cyclingnews' Editor, to highlight some of the Le Col Black Friday sale women's deals. Kirsten is based in Toronto, Canada, and she tells me sub-zero temperatures and snow are common, so having the best winter kit is essential.

Kirsten picked out six pieces ideal for riding in cooler temperatures, including the Hors Categorie Bib Tights with an impressive 30% off.

Black Friday 2026 is still a few weeks away, officially kicking off on November 27 and running through Cyber Monday on November 30. However, we'd suggest grabbing your eye-catching deals fast, as sizing is limited on some pieces.

Le Col Black Friday Men's Deals

Le Col Black Friday Women's Deals

The chosen deals are from the Le Col US site, but Le Col UK is also running its Black Friday Sale, and worth checking out if you're UK-based.

If Le Col isn't on your Black Friday radar, the Cyclingnews Black Friday 2026 Cycling Deals hub is also live and has some early deals across cycling tech, including the best bike lights, indoor bike trainers, and just about everything in between.

When Theodor Storm signed for the Ineos team at the age of 18, on a three-year contract starting in 2024, it looked like we had another teenaged super-talent, jumping straight from the juniors to set the WorldTour alight. Three years on, it’s fair to say things have not gone to plan, though it’s unfair to say any of that is Storm’s fault.

On Friday, it was announced that Storm was signing for the Danish third-division team, ColoQuick, in a bid to revive a career that has seen two huge setbacks.

Storm’s debut season with Ineos in 2024 was wiped out entirely after he was diagnosed with the rare auto-immune disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, at the start of the year, which left him in intensive care for two weeks, a rehabilitation centre for two months, and unfit for the best part of two years.

He returned to racing in 2025, dropping down to join the development squad affiliated with Ineos, Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank, and he went on to join the new Netcompany-Ineos development team in 2026.

However, as in 2024, he had not raced at all this year, mainly due to breaking bones in his back at a track training camp towards the end of 2025.

“Shit happens, but I'm happy that I'm still alive and able to continue to try to live my dream of a WorldTour career,” Storm said in a transfer announcement from ColoQuick on Friday.

“Now I'm ready to give it a good shot again, and I'm glad that ColoQuick is giving me the opportunity. ColoQuick is the right place for me. It's a strong team with a great program and an almost professional set-up.”

As for his troubles with Guillain-Barré syndrome, he added: “It went well in comparison to the doctors' assessment, but we must acknowledge that it has taken at least two years in cycle.”

'Theodor's talent is still there'

ColoQuick revealed that Storm had in fact signed a contract with the team for the 2024 season, but just three days later received an offer from Ineos, and they let him take it.

Having never raced in an Ineos jersey – 2024 and 2026 were write-offs and 2025 was with the affiliated team – Storm was in some ways picking up where he left off three years ago.

“We’re really looking forward to starting again. He never managed to pull in our jersey in 2024 but in return we get a rider back with a lot in the luggage, who has to find his way back to the professional world,” said the team’s Sports Manager Christian Moberg.

“Theodor's talent is still there, but the many setbacks have costed both physically and mentally, we need to control them before we start setting big goals."

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The Giant Propel was updated for 2026, although you'd be hard-pressed to tell it apart from the outgoing model, and in doing so, it achieved the bifecta of bike launch goals, cutting both weight and aero drag numbers; the latter by a significant claimed amount.

A full build comes in at a claimed 6.56kg in a size medium, meaning you'll need to bolt on some extra weight somewhere to meet the 6.8kg UCI limit. The biggest headline figures for this bike versus the previous one, though, were a full system aero approach which contributed to an overall 18.4 watt saving.

Not all of that came in aerodynamic terms, with some attributed to tyre rolling resistance too, but it saw aero gains from the frame, the new Cadex Max 50 wheels and the new aero tyres.

The biggest relative gain, though, is the new narrower handlebar. Given that a rider makes up most of the drag, the new bars with 40cm drops and 37cm hoods are designed to allow for a more aerodynamic rider position.

The protocol

Our protocol has remained consistent since our first wind tunnel test, so that we can reliably compare as many bikes as possible, even when testing across different days and years.

You can find in-depth details on how the testing was conducted in our 2025 aero bike shootout article, but to refresh memories, I'll outline what we did here.

1. Bike only:

As with all our other tests, we start by testing the bike as it comes from the factory. The only caveat here is that we use the same front tyre, as that has a significant impact on total aerodynamic performance, especially when just testing the frame and wheels.

Wheels, groupset, and finishing kit remain the same, but we set the bikes up to have consistent saddle heights and handlebar positions.

This gives us an interesting insight into how the bike performs in isolation. Although not relevant to real-world riding, it allows us to compare the bikes with a smaller error margin.

2. With a rider:

Of course, bikes don't ride themselves, so we always test with a rider present as well.

Our rider and position are kept consistent, while the wind tunnel takes 'edge' files so we can match the rider position for every run and across different days.

Rider-on testing always has a larger margin of error, and we test for 30 seconds per run rather than 10 seconds per run so we can smooth out the data and quieten down the data 'noise'.

A pedalling mannequin would be the gold standard way to combine those tests, and while it's on the roadmap for Cyclingnews Labs, it wasn't available in time for this test. Notably, Giant has its own pedalling mannequin, called Grischa. This is based on a scan of former pro Grischa Niermann, who nowadays works as Sports Director at Lidl-Trek.

Its latest version, Grischa 2.0, can adapt to different positions for gravel bike testing too (we have a test of the Giant Revolt coming soon), and this was used to develop and validate the Propel's claimed improvements.

3. Bike only, control wheels

Given that some frames come with wheels specifically designed to work best with those frames - think Roval and Specialized, Reserve and Cervélo, Cadex with Giant - we also test with a control set of wheels.

We use a set of ENVE SES 4.5 wheels with 28mm Continental GP5000 S TR tyres. This also allows us to narrow down where performance comes from. A bike that comes with a 60mm front wheel might outperform a frame that comes with a 40mm wheel. Adding a control wheel test lets us see if those performance differences are down to just the frame, the wheels, or a combination of the two.

We have also done separate tests on wheels, so for the Look 795 Blade RS (2026) that came with the super-fast Scope Artech 6 wheels, we can see that adding the ENVEs dropped the relative performance. Likewise, the ENVE Melee V2 with ENVE 6.7 Pro wheels gave us an idea of where those wheels might sit in the overall table based on their comparative result against the 4.5 model.

We tested across yaw angles (the angle the wind hits the bike) of -15°, -10°, -5°, 0°, 5°, 10° and 15° to allow us to assess crosswind performance. For reference, Giant's in-house testing goes out to 20°, which its engineers believe offers a fairer reflection of real-world experience.

Testing itself is conducted at 40km/h, chosen as a speed that the majority of buyers may expect to go on their faster-paced group rides, group events, or giving a road bike time trial a go. Most bikes are advertised at 45-50kph, in part because of the speed of pro races, but also because larger differences in watt savings tend to appear the higher the speed. We set 40kph as a more realistic benchmark, and we appreciate everyone will go faster than this at points, but that'll mostly be with the support of a tailwind or a hill.

To try and standardise things, we ensure all testing is done in the same gear, so rear mech placement is similar, and with the same front tyres, as they are the first thing the wind impacts. Position on the bike is kept as close as possible, and kit, helmet, glasses, and shoes are consistent from test to test.

Two Elite Vico cages with Elite Fly bottles are fitted to each bike, save for when the bike comes with aero bottle cages as standard, such as the Colnago Y1RS or Factor ONE. This is because those are included parts of a bike, and people are unlikely to remove them (in favour of something nominally worse), so we feel it's fair to test them as part of the entire system.

We have done a piece about the impacts of round bottles versus aero bottles if you want some extra light reading.

To have a baseline, we have our Trek Emonda ALR control bike, which is now a full-time wind tunnel test bike. We test at the start and end of each day to ensure atmospheric conditions have remained consistent, while we also make sure that results correlate with prior test visits.

And as ever, the caveat applies that our tests aren't the be-all and end-all of a bike's performance. Aerodynamics is just one part of a bike's overall design, and Giant itself says that for the Propel, it "developed and tested the frame, cockpit, wheels and tyres together as one complete system, balancing aero performance with rolling resistance, weight, efficiency, compliance and handling."

What's more, other testers may get different results under different wind tunnel or aero-testing protocols. Our data is subject to an error margin, the size of which is outlined within the results.

The results

Bike only

In our data, the new Propel Advanced SL 0 is 3.45w faster than the previous model.

Interestingly, performance at higher yaw was where it struggled relatively more. Perhaps the shorter tube profiles impacted the performance here, as the sail effect is more limited than with deeper-profile tubes.

You can see here that the bike now sits at the top of the bottom third out of all the bikes we tested, 7.45w away from the Factor ONE.

However, to be fair to Giant, part of the improved performance versus the previous model is the aero tyres, which we removed from the front in order to avoid skewed results. Likewise, the narrower bars, which have minimal impact on performance when the rider is not present.

With rider

When we put a rider on the bike, it's a relatively similar picture. Again, I will caveat here, as with the Merida Reacto One 2026, we had set a testing protocol for the drops in a consistent position, rather than narrow or flared hoods.

Both the Giant and Merida rely on the narrower tops to allow for a narrower, classic breakaway style of riding.

We can see here that with a rider on, the gap actually broadens to the top of the field, now 8.21w slower than the Cervelo S5, and with the rider on producing generally smaller wattage gaps, the percentage difference between the Cervelo and the Giant is actually larger.

This also sends the Giant down the field further and only 0.47w faster than the previous model. Our margin of error, of course, means it could be up into the top 10, but it could also drop it to the slowest of the bunch.

Control wheels

When we add the control wheels, things do not get better for the Propel's overall picture, but it does at least show that the new Cadex Max 50 wheels are faster on this frame than the ENVE SES 4.5 wheels are, as switching wheels resulted in one of the larger swings in performance, with a 2.55w decrease in performance compared to the standard Cadex wheels.

Overall, then, a surprising set of results for the new Giant Propel Advanced SL 0, seeing it very close to the previous generation, and struggling to move up the table while others like the Look and ENVE have made great strides with the latest releases from those brands.

The conclusions

It's a difficult one to unpack here. The Propel tested previously and the new 2026 model look nearly identical, save for a greater drop in the seatstays. Most of the specific frame differences are reductions in weight and also rideability improvements, which we will cover in a full review.

Our testing protocol admittedly does impact Giant negatively, given that several of the key aero improvements were elements that we had to switch out for the sake of test controls. The Cadex aero tyre was gone, although Giant's 0.42w saving is not massive, and we tested our rider-on tests in the drops, not the tops. This is a similar predicament to the Merida Reacto, which builds on most of the aero savings from getting the rider into a narrower position. But then really we're testing rider position, not the bike in some isolation.

Saying that, ENVE have a similar design with the SES Pro bars, as they have long used narrow tops and flared drops to balance aero and stability. But with the Melee V2, testing in the drops did not handicap the bike, even with the aero drop shape and bar tape designed to minimise the drag produced by the drops with a rider in the tops.

What we can say for the new Propel is that the Cadex Max 50 wheels are now faster, but given the minimal differences to the frame, aero performance is near unchanged. It is lighter, though, and with the 14.8% increase in ‘system handling efficiency’, we trust it will ride even better, although we will determine that in full testing.

As another summer fades into distant memory, and thermal bib tights become the norm, the annual Rouleur Live show has rolled around once again.

This year, with Mathieu Van der Poel roped in for an interview on stage with his friend and fellow Canyon athlete Freddy Ovett, the weekend kicked off with the duo joining Rosa Kloser and hundreds of fans for laps around Regent's Park.

As ever, the show attracted some big names, with Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Taylor Phinney taking to the stage, as well as Bradley and Ben Wiggins.

But our attention was elsewhere. Our focus lay on the halls packed with bikes, tech and more.

Despite being the last trade show of the year and one that typically focuses on pro or custom tech more so than new releases, there were a few never-before-seen things for us to feast our eyes on this year too.

That includes the new Van Rysel RCR-R Pro, a first look at an all-new Winspace, a Kask helmet, and, as has been the big trend of 2026, a smattering of new 32" wheeled gravel bikes.

Get yourself a cup of tea and settle in for all the pictures from the wanderings of Cyclingnews' tech extraordinaire, Will Jones.

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Editorial note: Cyclingnews attended Rouleur Live on an agreement with Rouleur that included complementary access to the show. In line with our editorial standards, our coverage is independent and was not subject to review, approval or influence by the organiser or any sponsor; no favourable coverage was promised or given in return.

French starl Julian Alaphilippe has spoken publicly for the first time since his retirement, saying that he was losing enjoyment in cycling and is happy to be out of the limelight.

Alaphilippe, 34, confirmed over the summer that the final stage of the Tour de France in July had been his final day as a professional cyclist, bringing an end to a 14-year career that saw him win the World Championships twice among a long list of accolades that made him one of French cycling's biggest stars.

Since retirement, the Frenchman has laid relatively low, but was the guest of honour at a French Cycling Federation (FFC) event on Thursday evening and spoke about his decision to end his career as he addressed the audience in a speech.

Speaking with emotion in his voice, according to L'Équipe, Alaphilippe said he was "even happier with his decision" after watching a montage of his best moments and thanking the FFC for a "touching" tribute.

"I always wanted to stop at the right time, not to do one year too many," he said. "I was getting less and less enjoyment from modern cycling.

"I still felt useful to my team, but I felt it was time to turn the page. I am very happy to have accomplished everything I have done over the years."

'Now I need a bit of shade'

His accomplishments include two world titles, six Tour de France stage victories including a long stint in the yellow jersey in 2019, and victories at Milan-San Remo, Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne. He has also represented France at the Olympic Games.

He spent the last two years of his career with Tudor Pro Cycling, and though his career was beginning to wind down, he took his last win as recently as the GP de Québec in 2025, and rode his eighth Tour de France this summer.

He ended his career widely considered as one of the best French cyclists of the last two decades, but it was stepping away from that celebration and adoration that was part of his motivation to retire.

"I've had enough of the limelight during my career and now I need a bit of shade," Alaphilippe said.

“Cycling was my outlet, but I’m happy to have stopped. I have a lot of gratitude. I was lucky enough to spend a decade and a half cycling, where I enjoyed myself, where it was my outlet, and where I gave emotions to my family, to people, to kids, to myself. I pushed myself to the limit to achieve the goals I set for myself."

He also gave special thanks to two important figures in his life, fellow pro and now French national coach Thomas Voeckler, as well as his cousin and long-term coach Franck Alaphilippe.

Despite briefly returning to the spotlight on Thursday evening, there is still no indication of what Alaphilippe may do next, and if he has a future in cycling, in 2027 or beyond.

Outside of cycling, he has a five-year-old son with his partner Marion Rousse, former pro and the director of the Tour de France Femmes.

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Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) has delivered his initial verdict on the 2027 Tour de France route, saying "it's great" and that "it's looking very promising".

The time trial World Champion was the best of the rest behind Tadej Pogačar at this year’s Tour de France, and has been handed a favourable route next summer, with some 71 kilometres against the clock – the most since 2012.

On top of that, there are relatively few big mountain stages, with only two true summit finishes, as the organisers look to maintain suspense until the final week and the potentially decisive queen stage on stage 18.

"Pretty happy, obviously," Evenepoel said on the podcast of his bike sponsor, Specialized, recorded a couple of weeks ago and released on Thursday.

"I think it’s already a big step forward compared to last year’s, when we had a 26k individual time trial and a 20k team time trial. The year before was even less. So it’s great.

"I mean, a 38k and a 33k TT… The first one, from what I’ve seen is not technical at all, with long straights, so that’s really something that should suit me. Then the one in Toulouse is pretty flat until the little climb, I think it’s like a three-minute climb, so that’s something that suits me as well.

"I’m very happy," he added. "If you see it’s the most amount of time trial since 2012… still if you compare it to 2012 it’s quite a bit less, but I’m happy. It’s good. I would love it to be even a bit longer, but I’m very happy with what we got.

"Overall it’s looking very promising, the Tour," Evenepoel concluded.

Less climbing, too

As well as the increase in time trialling, Evenepoel was also buoyed by the reduction in climbing. There are still some 53,450 metres of elevation gain throughout the Tour but it’s spread across the terrain more evenly, and less concentrated in marquee mountain stages.

With a stage win on the Plateau de Solaison this year and no slip-ups in the final week, Evenepoel proved that climbing is hardly a weakness, though compared to his time trialling it’s less of a weapon, and he has been prone to off-days, even this season.

"Probably this year was suiting me even less than in 2024 but still I got second. I knew somewhere I was able to do it but having that much climbing in the last days was something new for me to show to myself and the cycling world," he said.

"But it’s true that with those time trials and the more punchy finishes towards the beginning, and with – what is it? – three summit finishes, it’s something that’s fitting me better than having 10 summit finishes."

Evenepoel, in a surefire sign that he’s building his season around the Tour de France once again, said he has already been thinking about how the race might play out for him next July.

And within the context of the race itself, he's building his race around those two time trials, the first covering 38km from Blois to Chambord on stage 7, the second kicking off the final week on stage 16 with 33km in Toulouse.

"We need to make kind of a race strategy to arrive to those at those TTs as fresh as possible and really drop the hammer big time. It’s a nice opportunity to take two stage wins and next to that obviously comes the time gaps for GC," he said.

"The run-in towards first TT is not crazy hard – there are some tricky stages but no big mountains. Then from the first TT there are two or three really tough days. It shows that I can take nice little advantage before going into the Alps, which will help. It can also give some comfort in the mind, going into the Alps with an advantage."

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On Wednesday, Cameron Mason found what he'd been looking for over a number of years: victory in a major international cyclo-cross race. Raising his arms in Niel, the 26-year-old Scot became the first British rider since Tom Pidcock in 2022 to win a round of the Superprestige series.

Mason has racked up plenty of top-fives since graduating from the U23s to the elites in 2022-2023, along with the odd podium, but in the biggest series like the World Cup or Superprestige, victory has eluded him. Until now.

In muddy conditions that suited his technical prowess, the 777tv CX Team rider got rid of Michael Vanthourenhout and Joran Wyseure on the final lap to solo to a victory that will go down as a breakthrough moment.

But where does he go from here? And what doors might this victory now open?

Cyclingnews caught up with Mason the day after the race to hear about his sense of relief and satisfaction, how he channeled his frustrations from the European Championships, and how he's trying to be a more complete rider than ever this season.

CN: You said after the race in Niel that it maybe hadn't sunk in yet. With a night to sleep on it, has it done so?

CM: Yeah, when I spoke after the race, I had spent the last hour kind of just doing it. Since Euros, I was just wanting to do the ride I knew I could do, or knew I could have done on Sunday. Then there wasn't much more to say because I felt like I'd just shown exactly what I wanted to do. So that was a nice feeling of 'no excuses', and I didn't need to dress anything up. It was just exactly what you saw, which was an hour of being in control and being strong enough and smart enough to be first across the line.

And it still feels pretty fresh. I haven't really got a plan for what's next, which is fine. So I'm just enjoying it for what it is now. But there wasn't much of a big celebration because there's also that little bit of like... it's annoying that it was coming for so long. It wasn't a surprise, basically. There wasn't that shock or anything. It was more like 'finally', and like 'there you go' – showing everyone that's what I thought I could do years ago, and I've done it now. So that was a very satisfying feeling.

CN: Is there a bit of relief in there as well, or a sort of pressure lifted?

CM: Yeah, there's a bit of relief. I think. I mean, I could have spent the next five years chasing that, and that would have been fine. Every year, I really enjoy the puzzle, and putting all the puzzle pieces together in pursuit of that next thing. The next thing happened to be winning a bike race, but three years ago, the next thing was getting on the podium, and before that, it was getting a professional contract. The goalposts just moved and so now, clearly the next thing is to win again, but that feels less daunting than it did.

The gap between getting second and first is humongous, it’s vast. Mentally and physically, the difference between being second best and being the best is huge, and I've crossed that now. I'm not sure what I've learned yet, but I think when I turn up at the start line the next few races, I'll realise, 'OK, that's that's what changed'.

CN: You've mentioned the European Championships on Sunday, and we've seen your slightly cryptic, slightly emotional Instagram post. How down did you feel after that race, and how big a moment was it for you in terms of bouncing back?

CM: If I read that post, I still agree with it because I’ve had enough results to not be happy with some results, and that was a result I wasn't happy with. And it doesn't matter what other people say or how I got the result. It does get to a point where, if you keep getting a result despite an adversity it’s all well and good, but at the end of the day, I also just wanted a result where it was more simple. And Sunday wasn't really simple, you know. I messed up my start I had these massive gaps to bridge, and then I didn't play the final quite right, even for a medal after all of that.

I was probably being a bit… not optimistic, but I was kind of fantasising about the idea that ‘oh, on Sunday I maybe could have won’, which was probably still a bit ambitious, but I think just fantasising that meant that I could arrive on Wednesday, going, ‘right, well, maybe I can win this one’. No one will know if I could have won or not at Euros. But actually I can decide now. I can try and show everyone that I can win today. It was good timing.

CN: How are you feeling about this season in general? How has it been going and how good have you felt compared to previous seasons?

CM: I feel about the same. At the start, it felt… not harder than ever, but like it felt as fast as ever. And the summer is very long. From my last race in February all the way to my first race again in October, there's a lot that goes on. You just spend all summer going ‘was that the right thing to do?’

The cyclo-cross season such a hard one to periodise because there's always a race, and they're all quite important, and it's just that constant revolving cast of guys on form, guys with problems, Thibau [Nys] coming in, Van der Poel maybe coming in later. It’s just constantly moving, and to pick a goal is really tricky.

What's similar to last year is that I didn't really decide to be this good at this moment. It just kind of happened. But when when that form comes, then you deal with it in a smart way. And I think we've done a really good job of that the last few weeks. We really aimed for Koppenbergcross, and that didn't quite work out physically but when you aim for something, you know that work is going to come through at some point, and it has done in the last couple weeks. And since Middelkerke, I've known that physically I'm there, technically I'm there, tactically there are things to work on, and then you just wait – well, for me it was just waiting until it rained a bit.

CN: The muddy stuff is where you feel you have a big advantage…?

CM: It helps. Once the speeds come down a bit, and once every corner is a little bit more technical, then things just go a bit more in my favour. But the cool thing about this season has been I've been way more competitive on way more different types of courses. When I'm in good shape, it doesn't matter what the course is – if it's fast, if it's sandy or whatever – I’ll be there or thereabouts, but it means that when there's a course that really suits me, then then I've got that extra little edge.

But I'm trying to get away from the obsession with certain courses, because you might be sacrificing an opportunity on a course that you maybe wouldn't have thought you'd be that good at. Last year at the Euros it was a full sand course, bone dry, super fast, 30kph, but I was fighting for a medal. This year, I’m trying to think about it in a different way.

CN: Looking ahead, what what else would you like to get out of the season now?

CM: I mean, there's loads of other races, so that's cool. I want to keep the consistency going. Yesterday was a bit of an outlier in my results – I've got quite a lot of fourths and fifths and sixths, and then I've got this one win – so just to be in in with a shot of winning again would be would be a like realistic goal, and hopefully I can keep this form for as long as I can.

CN: You hinted at it earlier, but is there anything you can tap into now in terms of that winning mindset? You hear of athletes in other sports that have that breakthrough win and something clicks and it sort of opens the floodgates.

CM: Mentally, a bit of the pressure is off because I've proven to everyone and to myself that it's possible, and then yeah, I can turn that into confidence as well. Like, I know how to win, I've worked out how to win on this one specific race, parcours, day… then the puzzle is to do that on another day with different competition, different conditions, with different legs.

As I was saying, it's just another puzzle piece – now there's this piece of the puzzle that says I can win, so how do I do that again? It took like five years to do it, but how do I do it again? I was chatting to my coach this morning, and probably the best thing to do is do nothing. Just do exactly the same and carry on as if I didn't win. Logistically, the training, sleeping, eating, all that stuff needs to be just as good as it was for the last however many years. But the mindset thing, I feel more confident and that can't be a bad thing.

CN: What does the rest of the season hold in terms of your calendar?

CM: need to work out if I'm going to do all the Superprestige races. That wasn't on my calendar, but now I'm leading the series overall, so I need to work out if I focus a bit more on that. I’m probably going to do all of the World Cups. Everyone's got the same puzzle. You can't do everything, so you’ve got to kind of pick and choose. I'll have a better idea after this weekend.

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Black Friday 2026 officially kicks off on November 27 and runs through Cyber Monday on November 30, but there's no need to hold out until the end of the month. Most major online cycling retailers have already jumped the gun, rolling out their discounts right now.

The Cyclingnews Black Friday 2026 Cycling Deals hub is also live and has some of the best early deals. A few impressive discounts that caught my eye are over at Cyclestore, and in particular across the Muc-Off range, with up to 38% off.

Shop the Cyclestore Muc-Off Black Friday Sale.

Black Friday isn't all about the big-ticket deals. It's also the ideal time to stock up on essential bike maintenance items at a bargain price.

Muc-Off is renowned for its bike cleaning products, and if you're a year-round outdoor rider, then these Muc-Off deals are worth picking up, with discounts on some of the best tubeless sealant, tubeless valves, bike chain lube, and much more.

Away from cleaning and lubrication, Muc-Off has a selection of other accessories. I'm a big fan of electric inflators, and the Muc-Off AirMach Pro Max is a great choice, currently 30% off at just £93.99.

Cyclestore says it has a long list of deals and clearances planned for Black Friday, so it's worth checking over the next few weeks as the deals land in the run-up to the big weekend.

Cyclestore Black Friday Muc-Off Deals

Since UCI points have become so important for professional cycling teams, as the three-year totals determine which teams are eligible for the WorldTour, rider transfer have become an even more critical factor in teams' futures.

While the 2026-2027 transfers have yet to be fully completed, we can look back on which of the top acquisitions for the 2026 season have been the biggest successes and which teams suffered the most from not being able to hold onto top talent.

This year was the first of the three-year WorldTour promotion/relegation cycle, with the next relegation coming at the end of the 2028 season, and while the big-budget powerhouses like Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike might be able to pour millions of euros into acquiring top riders, smaller teams have to be more strategic.

For teams like EF Education-EasyPost, Lotto-Intermarché, NSN and Groupama-FDJ, who were at the bottom quarter of the UCI Team Rankings, their recruitment strategy will be critical for remaining in the WorldTour as upstart ProTeams climb ahead in search of WorldTour promotion in 2029.

Teams have to be in the top 18 of the rankings, calculated by adding the points scored by each team's top 20 riders, to qualify for the WorldTour.

While it's still early days, Pinarello-Q36.5 made enormous strides toward qualifying for the WorldTour, thanks to their top rider Tom Pidcock, but also through smart signings like Quinten Hermans from Alpecin, Aimé De Gendt from Cofidis, Fred Wright from Bahrain Victorious and Chris Harper from Jayco-AlUla.

Pinarello-Q36.5 finished the season as the 12th best team and the top ProTeam of the year, with Tudor next best in 16th place. Both teams will earn automatic invitations to all of the WorldTour races including the Tour de France next year, which will help them earn even more points toward qualifying for the 2029-2031 WorldTour.

On the other side of the equation, Picnic-PostNL had an extremely worrying season. The team lost Tobias Lund Andresen, who went on to have a brilliant year for Decathlon CMA CGM, as well as GC hopeful Oscar Onley, who went to Netcompany Ineos.

Not only did Picnic-PostNl finish dead last of the WorldTour teams in the rankings, they landed in 30th of all teams - on the cusp of not even qualifying for a Grand Tour invitation if they didn't have a WorldTour license that gives them an automatic entry.

If Picnic-PostNL survive the allegations of a toxic culture and continue on toward 2029, the men's team faces a very difficult battle to climb out of the relegation zone since they are already almost 7,000 points behind 18th-placed Cofidis.

Also on the concerning side were Groupama-FDJ, who ended the year in 20th, although not so far behind 18th as to panic just yet.

NSN, too, suffered, losing five places relative to 2025 but stand to turn that around by bringing on Richard Carapaz from EF Education-EasyPost, along with Kasper Asgreen and Santiago Buitrago from Bahrain Victorious, among others.

*The graphics below are all interactive, so you can hover over the bars for more information and in some cases, change the filter to only show transfers.

Most valuable transfers

Remco Evenepoel's mid-contract move from Soudal-Quickstep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was the biggest transfer news of 2025, and the German team's acquisition really paid off this season.

The Belgian had a banner season, winning the time trial titles at the UCI Road World Championships and European Championships, won two stages of the Tour de France and came second overall, won the Amstel Gold Race, GP de Québec and his fifth Clásica San Sebastián.

Evenepoel benefited greatly from a strong support crew in the Tour de France, where Jai Hindley, Maxim Van Gils, fellow Soudal departure Mattia Cattaneo, and Jan Tratnik were his main support in the mountains.

While he still couldn't match Tadej Pogačar, he did hold off the Slovenian's right-hand man Isaac del Toro to go one place better than his previous best with Soudal-Quickstep in the GC. Evenepoel scored a massive 7,191.61 points this year, with fractions coming from team time trials, and this was the most scored of any of the riders who transfered to new teams in 2026.

The second best rider was Benoit Cosnefroy, who left Decathlon for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Cosnefroy had a solid year of shorter stage races and one-day classics, taking wins in the Coppa Sabatini and GP du Morbihan, the overall Boucles de la Mayenne, third in Amstel and fourth in La Flèche Wallonne. He didn't race any Grand Tours, but still raked in 2,355.28 points for his team.

Next up in the list was Tobias Lund Andresen who left Picnic-PostNL to join Decathlon, making the most of the switch to win the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, a stage of the Tour Down Under and Tirreno-Adriatico, and podiums in In Flanders Field and the Copenhagen Sprint. His season might have been an even greater success had he not stopped in June after contracting the Epstein-Barr virus.

Jasper Stuyven's departure from Lidl-Trek for Soudal-Quickstep seemed to rejuvenate the 34-year-old, who claimed the podium in Paris-Roubaix - his best result in a major classic since his 2021 Milan-San Remo win. He also finished in the top 10 in San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, and three stages of the Giro, then capped the year off with second in Paris-Tours for a total of 1,903.88 points.

Of the neo-pros, Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché) topped the list of incoming riders, ending the season with a bang with second behind Pogačar on stage 4 of the Vuelta and two other stage top 10s, then went on to win Tre Valli Varesine and a stage and the overall in the Tour of Guangxi to take in 1,302 points - the second highest tally of his team.

Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) wasn't far behind, with seventh overall in the Vuelta and a spectacular stage win at Calar Alto from the breakaway. With a podium in the Tour of Slovenia and a top 10 overall in the Tour of the Alps, Omrzel ended the year with 1,046 points.

A fresh start helped Evenepoel, Cosnefroy and Stuyven in the list of most improved after transferring, with Evenepoel netting 3,064 more points this year than he did in 2025.

Cosnefroy improved by 1,970 after a 2025 season hampered by a knee injury. Slotting into the mix was Anthon Charmig, who moved from XDS Astana to Uno-X Mobility.

Charmig's move to a more familiar team culture may have been a factor behind his great season, with top 10s in the Tour Down Under GC, a stage win in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and podiums in five late-season one-day races including the GP de Québec.

After scoring just a few hundred points with Astana, Charmig ended the year with a massive 1,396 points this year and was ranked 49th in the world. It was a fantastic season for the Dane.

Teams that won the transfer race

Which teams won the prize for best hirings? It depends a bit on how you measure the success. In terms of net total points - adding points by new arrivals minus the 2026 points scored by riders who left - Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe gained the most, largely thanks to Evenepoel, with 8,188 points.

Netcompany Ineos got great results from new hires Dorian Godon - winner of stages in Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie and Volta a Catalunya - and Oscar Onley, who was sixth overall in the Vuelta a España among other fine results.

Pinarello-Q36.5's tally was the third highest, showing that the ambitious Swiss team are well on their way to qualifying for the WorldTour in 2029. Quinten Hermans steadily picked up points all year, with top finishes in the Renewi Tour and De Brabantse Pijl his most valuable contributions.

While Decathlon CMA CGM earned 6,217 from new arrivals like Tobias Lund Andresen from Picnic-PostNL, sprinter Olav Kooij from Visma, and Riccitello from Israel-Premier Tech, they actually lost out, because their gains did not completely offset their losses of Cosnefroy to UAE and Dorian Godon to Netcompany Ineos.

If we look at the percentage of points gained by incoming riders and ignore the total points, NSN Cycling tops the list. After changing their identity from Israel-Premier Tech, NSN Cycling earned almost 41% of their total points from incoming riders such as Biniam Girmay, Lewis Askey and Alessandro Pinarello.

Even though they ended the season with a net positive transfer score after losing Derek Gee-West to Lidl-Trek and Matthew Riccitello to Decathlon, their returning riders like Corbin Strong and Marco Frigo had relatively lacklustre seasons and the team actually fell five places in the UCI Team Rankings.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe had 37% of their total come from incoming riders, mainly Evenepoel but also solid results from neo-pro Luke Tuckwell - second overall in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and leader for two stages, and Gianni Vermeersch who had a solid Classics campaign after leaving Alpecin, with fifth in Strade Bianche his most notable result.

Drilling down to perhaps the most important factor in the UCI Team Rankings is the team's position and whether it improved or fell with the team's new composition in 2026. The above graph charts the percentage of points scored by incoming riders, the team's change in rank relative to 2025 and the total points scored by new arrivals.

Pinarello-Q36.5 both had a large portion of their points come from transfers and the biggest gain in position, gaining seven places and rocketing into the top 18 at 12th.

The merger between Lotto and Intermarché was the main factor behind their rise in the rankings from 23rd and 24th for the two parent teams to 16th. Jarno Widar, who graduated from Lotto's devo team, was the top earner with his victories in Guangxi and Tre Valli Varesine.

Decathlon CMA CGM ended the year with a gain of three spots in the UCI Team Rankings thanks in large part to their young phenom Paul Seixas and reliable GC man Felix Gall, even if their net transfer value was in the negative territory.

Soudal-Quickstep, but losing Evenepoel, slid five positions to tenth place, and while they have to rebuild from here, they're not in much danger of relegation.

The same can't be said for Picnic-PostNL. This graph really emphasises their terrible year - they dropped a massive 13 spots and had very few points from incoming riders, showing no positive direction in any of the measures. They only won three races all year, and only a single WorldTour stage by Frits Biesterbos in the Tour of Guangxi.

The net total of a team's transfer strategy doesn't tell the whole story, however, because one big signing like Evenepoel can overshadow a wider roster shift that can bode well for the future. Even the average points can fall victim to the same problem of outliers.

The median score can be a better measure, unless there were very few new riders in a team.

Bahrain Victorious seem to have done well in most measures: they had a net gain of almost 2,300 points, a gain of three positions in the UCI Team Rankings going from 10th to seventh, and the highest median points per new rider.

That included performances by Giro d'Italia stage winner Alec Segaert, neo-pro Jakob Omrzel, who won a stage and finished seventh overall in the Vuelta a España, and consistent seasons from Pau Miquel and Alessandro Borgo.

Lidl-Trek, while not getting the most out of Juan Ayuso, still earned over 1,700 points from the Spaniard and almost 1,300 from Derek Gee-West, and good value from Max Walscheid and Matteo Sobrero for the second highest median score.

Once again, Picnic-PostNL are dead last, showing that their new hires just aren't paying off, with the exception of Biesterbos.

Transfer tribulations

Looking at the points scored by riders leaving a team tells an interesting story. Soudal-Quickstep of course, with Evenepoel's departure, bled out in 2026 gaining only 3,806 points from incoming riders but seeing departing riders score over 8,000 points between Evenepoel and Luke Lamperti's haul for EF Education-EasyPost.

However, between Paul Magnier and Tim Merlier, the team softened the blow, holding onto the top 10 in the team rankings.

Lotto-Intermarché suffered by losing Girmay, winner of the Clásica Almeria, a stage of the Belgium Tour and third in the Tour de France points classification with five top-10 finishes in stages. Their story is complicated by the fact that Lotto and Intermarché merged before 2026, so their departing riders' total is inflated as half the team left.

But Picnic-PostNL's total is not. They lost Lund, Onley and Kevin Vermaerke and only picked up a significant number of points from bringing Biesterbos in from the BEAT Continental team. The 24-year-old was their second-top scorer behind Pavel Bittner, who is leaving for Pinarello-Q36.5 in 2027.

There were also a few transfers that didn't quite work out as expected - with Juan Ayuso most notably struggling to match his 2025 performance with UAE Team Emirates and ending up with almost 900 fewer points than last year, but it could have been much higher had it not been for bad luck.

Ayuso abandoned after a crash in Paris-Nice, dropped out of the Itzulia Basque Country, and a viral infection forced him to miss the Ardennes Classics. He finished seventh in the Tour de France, but his problems in the early season heavily impacted his tally.

Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin's totals were even more significantly lower at 1,545 and 1,409 less, respectively.

Onley traded a fourth place overall in the Tour de France last year for sixth place overall after an early crash and illness in the Vuelta. He missed the Tour because he injured his shoulder in a crash in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Vauquelin finished fourth in Paris-Nice but had an unremarkable Tour de France.

Fred Wright took a while to get going after switching from Bahrain Victorious to Pinarello-Q36.5 after suffering a bizarre infection due to a thorn getting stuck in his knee during a training camp in Chile but ended the season with some solid one-day race results including the British road title.

Coming next: A thorough look at the 2025-2026 UCI Women's WorldTour and ProTeams and an analysis of the 2026-2027 transfer market.

The road season might be at an end, but Cyclingnews isn't slowing down. Subscribe for unlimited access to our comprehensive news coverage, industry-leading CN Labs testing, expert columnists, and so much more. Plus, the Cyclingnews app means you can stay up-to-date wherever you go! Join today.

US road veterans Stephen Bassett and Caleb Classen headline seven new signings in 2027 for Chaney Windows and Doors as the domestic elite team postures for a more versatile roster on a "crit-heavy race schedule".

The duo competed the last three seasons for Project Echelon Racing and will anchor an 11-rider roster. Former rider Owen Gillott, who won the American Criterium Cup sprint classification title the last two years, will move into the role of director sportif.

"Stephen and Caleb bring the experience and race sense to lead us in the criteriums that define our 2027 calendar," said Nick Hand, general manager of Chaney Windows and Doors.

"Stephen knows what it takes to win, and we’re excited to bring that championship experience into our 2027 campaign. With experience competing against some of the strongest fields in North America and Europe, Caleb brings another level of depth and versatility to our squad."

Bassett joins the team with 14 years of racing experience, including a signature title in 2024 as the USPro Criterium National Champion. Last year he had two stage podiums at the Tour de Bloom, GC second place at the Tucson Bicycle Classic and won the one-day Café Hollander Tosa Village Classic.

Classen built his 10-year career in stage racing, where he finished fifth on GC at both Joe Martin Stage Race and Tour of the Gila. In 2025, he placed second on a stage at Volta a Portugal. He brings power to one-day races, showcasing his talent with a win at Colorado's iconic Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.

Cameron Adams, 24, was a guest rider last year who scored top-10s at both pro races at the Salt Lake Criterium. Originally from Guatemala, Demsy Cifuentes, 23, joins from Parks Law Firm, where he won Hotter 'n Hell last year.

Under-23 riders include Carlos Perez Calzada of Spain and US duo Jake Zyromski (19) and Tyler Mlujeak (22). Perez, 21, moves from Savannah College of Art and Design where he a trio of collegiate podiums in 2026, including Sunny King Criterium.

Riders returning to the squad include US Masters criterium champion Tim Smith, former track rider Lance Abshire, crit specialist Gabe Porterfield, and 22-year-old Jura Gerlach, who was fourth for Milligan University at the USA Cycling Gravel National Championships in the men's open category.

Based out of St. Louis, Missouri, the team begins a third season with a focus on domestic road and track racing with plans to add a gravel programme. Equipment partner State Bicycle Company will provide new aero gravel frames for the new calendar of off-road.

"Our goal has always been to be a multi-disciplined team," said Scott Chaney, team owner. "We began as an international track squad before branching off into racing crits. State is very invested in the gravel world, and we wanted to have riders who could showcase their amazing products."

Hand told Cyclingnews that Classen and Bassett will be supplied State gravel bikes and take part in a few events, but Gerlach will be the "official" gravel rider next year. Gerlach has competed three times at Unbound Gravel 200, his best finish fourth in 2025 in the open category.

The squad will have a small camp in Phoenix, Arizona in the winter, then focus on a full training camp in Austin, Texas to coincide with Pace Bend weekend, March 13-14, and then launch the season officially in April at Sunny King Criterium in Alabama.

"We are focused on getting everyone vibing together and making sure management is getting all the kinks out, whether that's equipment, support, or whatever. We just want to ensure these guys have everything they need to be as successful as possible," Hand said.

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Chaney Windows and Doors roster 2027

• Lance Abshire (USA)
• Cameron Adams (USA)
• Stephen Bassett (USA)
• Demsy Cifuentes (GUA)
• Caleb Classen (USA)
• Jura Gerlach (USA)
• Tyler Mlujeak (USA)
• Carlos Perez Calzada (ESP)
• Gabe Porterfield (USA)
• Tim Smith (USA)
• Jake Zyromski (USA)

A record $800,000 will be offered across seven individual races and the overall prize payout for the Life Time Grand Prix in 2027, organisers of the off-road series confirmed Thursday. This reflects a 36% increase from this past season, and is more than triple the original prize purse from the inaugural 2022 season.

The overall series purse jumps from $350,000 in 2026 to $400,000, while the other $400,000 will be spread across each stop on the calendar, spread across April to October, an increase from $240,000 last season. All prizes are paid for the top 10 in races and the series, split eventually between the men's and women's pro fields.

"It just continues to elevate the standard. And we think we've seen great success. We want to elevate the stature and the attraction to the Life Time Grand Prix and the individual events. We've been able to do that with continuing to increase the prize purse for both the individual events and the Grand Prix as a whole," Kimo Seymour, president of Events and Media at Life Time, told Cyclingnews.

Life Time launched the invitation-only series in 2022 as the popularity of gravel and endurance mountain bike races surged. Specialized Off-road duo Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe have won the overall pro titles four times each across the first five years. Swenson won $25,000 for first place in the inaugural year, while Villafañe earned the same amount with her first title in 2023.

In October, they earned $50,000 each for first place. However, next year whoever lands on the top steps will earn $40,000 each. The pool of money now distributes payouts more evenly across the rest of the top 10, with riders going seventh through 10th now receiving $10,000 or more each. Life Time says restructuring the purse was about "incentivizing season-long competition".

"If we want professional off-road cycling to grow, we have to get serious about how athletes make a living. As the Series becomes more successful, the athletes should share in that success. By putting more money into every race and spreading those dollars deeper into the field, we're creating more opportunities for more riders, not just the handful at the very top," Michelle Duff, co-director of the Life Time Grand Prix, stated in a press release.

Emphasis on events

Maybe more significant are the individual race payouts, now equal to the series itself in total money and moving from just the top five to the top 10. A total of $80,000 will be on offer at Unbound Gravel 200, Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Life Time Big Sugar Classic.

Last year, the purses at Unbound Gravel and Leadville Trail 100 MTB were $60,000 each, and Big Sugar was $30,000. In fact, Unbound and Leadville did not offer prize money for pro fields until two years ago.

The other four events - Sea Otter Classic, Chequamegon MTB Festival, The Rad Dirt Fest and Little Sugar MTB - will pay out $40,000 each. That is a 33% increase for three of the races, while The Rad Dirt Fest has an enormous boost from a previous payout of $2,5000, since it was last part of the series in 2024. And, those US dollars are for any athlete who finishes in the top 10, not just the Grand Prix riders.

"I have to give a lot of the credit to the athletes. You know, we spend so much time with athletes, hearing feedback and getting advice and guidance and suggestions. One of the suggestions was about offerings at individual events, not so much on the Grand Prix. So that's why we've chosen to split it equitably between the Grand Prix and the individual events. It's significant enough that big-name athletes are starting to show up," Seymour explained to Cyclingnews.

"There needs to be better opportunities for the athletes to make money. I think with the new distribution this year will continue to draw some of those big international names as well, which only brings more eyeballs, more viewership, more fan engagement, and hopefully more, you know, more sponsor investment."

Where does the money come from for the $800,000? Life Time owns all the races in the series, so has complete control of not just logistics but broadcast rights and sponsorships. Seymour said that an emphasis on social media engagement was the biggest component of their portfolio, which includes the robust live stream shown on the YouTube channel.

"It's not a sponsor-specific prize purse. It just comes out of our overall budget for the Grand Prix. We're able to monetize the series more and more each year, as it's grown overall. So, primarily YouTube engagement, we're able to drive more sponsorship or advertising dollars against the series," Seymour said.

"Probably more than anything, it's been our YouTube views. I think we're over five million views this year on Life Time specific [channel] and Grand Prix content that we've put out."

Seymour confirmed to Cyclingnews that they planned to offer live broadcasts for five of the seven events in 2027, the elements to bring video from mountain bike events at Chequamegon and Little Sugar still being worked out.

The Life Time Grand Prix will continue as an invitation-only field of 50 riders, the rules for participation also evolving to a more performance-driven pathway. The compensation portion of the series extends beyond the podium, and for a second year, athletes who complete the series and finish 11th through 25th will receive a $2,500 finisher bonus, which is outside the primary prize purse. Introduced in 2026, this structure rewards the riders who race all season.

The opening round of the 2027 Life Time Grand Prix will be Thursday, April 15 in Monterey, California, for Life Time Sea Otter Classic Gravel.

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Prize Purse Components for 2027

Life Time Grand Prix series 2027

• First: $40,000
• Second: $30,000
• Third: $24,000
• Fourth: $21,000
• Fifth: $19,000
• Sixth: $17,000
• Seventh: $15,000
• Eighth: $13,000
• Ninth: $11,000
• Tenth: $10,000

Unbound Gravel 200, Leadville Trail 100 MTB, Big Sugar Classic payouts 2027

• First: $10,000
• Second: $7,000
• Third: $6,000
• Fourth: $5,000
• Fifth: $4,000
• Sixth: $3,000
• Seventh: $2,000
• Eighth: $1,500
• Ninth: $1,000
• Tenth: $500

Sea Otter Classic, Chequamegon MTB, The Rad Dirt Fest, Little Sugar MTB payouts 2027

• First: $5,000
• Second: $3,500
• Third: $3,000
• Fourth: $2,500
• Fifth: $2,000
• Sixth: $1,500
• Seventh: $1,000
• Eighth: $750
• Ninth: $500
• Tenth: $250

Van Rysel has announced two new additions to its range today in the form of new RCR-R Pro and RCR-R models.

The RCR-R Pro is an existing model in the brand's range, but this updated version offers the same frame design in two carbon fibre layup specs and build ranges.

If this news jogs your memory to chatter about Van Rysel prototypes from the summer, you would be right. We first spotted a prototype being raced by Paul Seixas at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes back in June.

We also got another good luck at said bike at the Tour de France in July, before Seixas took a thunderous solo win on it at Il Lombardia later in the year.

The time is now seemingly right to unveil the bike officially, coinciding with the bike going on show at Rouleur Live, which takes place in London this weekend.

All bikes will be available to buy from the 5th of January 2027, and Van Rysel says it will be providing a white paper between now and then with more technical details on the bike; here's what we have so far.

Van Rysel has an aero bike in the form of the RCR-F Pro and categorises the RCR-R Pro as a lightweight aerodynamic road bike. The brand says it's been developed to be fast across a range of terrains.

Development has taken place over a span of two and a half years with feedback from the Decathlon CMA CGM team, and as is often the case, the brand says that CFD (computational fluid dynamics), wind tunnel testing, and pro feedback have gone into the development.

Both bike models share the same frame design, but vary in their weights and carbon layups.

The RCR-R Pro uses a mix of super high modulus and high modulus carbon fibre. It weighs a claimed 705 grams for a size medium and is, according to the brand, Van Rysel's lightest ever frame.

The RCR-R frame uses high-modulus carbon and weighs in at a claimed 883 grams for a size medium. The frames both use the same 360-gram fork.

As is the case with most bikes, a blend of features has been sought; Van Rysel says it has looked to combine front-end stiffness with rear-end flex.

Van Rysel tested 13 CFD prototypes, five wind tunnel prototypes and seven frame lay ups before arriving at the bike's final form.

A new aerodynamic water bottle and cage has also been developed, the aero bottles will be released seperately from the bike, but the brand is claiming up to a 6.3 watt saving at 45km/h compared to the previous generation in testing with 'turning legs and turbulence.'

Some WorldTour teams have aero bottles and cages at their disposal but are limited by sponsorship agreements, it remains to be seen whether the team will race with the new components.

Van Rysel says Decathlon CMA CGM riders tested the bike in training and competition this year, with at least Paul Seixas, Nicolas Prodhomme and Matthew Riccitello testing RCR-R PRO prototypes, with Seixas himself saying:

"The bike is lighter, more aerodynamic and, above all, more stable on descents. When you’re travelling at over 100 km/h, confidence in your kit is paramount.

"I clocked up the kilometres in training and worked closely with the Van Rysel engineers to fine-tune the final settings before switching to race mode for the second half of the season. Winning a Monument on this bike is the ultimate validation."

We got a look at one of Seixas' prototypes before the Tour de France kicked off in Barcelona earlier in the year. It was a good chance to take a look at the bike's curved seat tube and profiled stem cover and spacers.

The frame design looks largely the same, but Seixas appeared to ride a raw, unpainted version, which must have saved some extra weight over a painted model.

RCR-R Pro bikes will be available in Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Ultegra Di2 builds, as well as SRAM Red and Force.

Complete weights for a medium are a claimed 6.6kg for a SRAM Red build, 6.8kg for a Dura-Ace, and 7.1kg for both Ultegra and Force options.

RCR-R builds will be available in SRAM Force and Rival, as well as Shimano Ultegra and 105 Di2.

Complete weights for a medium are claimed at 7.4 kg for a Shimano Ultegra build, 7.5kg for Force, 7.8kg for 105 and 7.9kg for Rival.

Bikes will range from €3,299 to €8,499, but we don't have any model-specific pricing right now.

Gaia Realini has announced that she's departing Lidl-Trek for a move to Picnic-PostNL next season.

The Italian had spent the past four seasons with Lidl-Trek, with both her and the German team agreeing to end her contract a year early this winter. Now, she's on the move to Dutch squad Picnic-PostNL, she announced in an Instagram post.

"After four years with Lidl-Trek, it's time to start a new chapter. Thank you for all the experiences and moments we shared," Realini wrote.

"I'm happy to announce that I will join Picnic-PostNL for next season, a team that has believed in me from the very beginning and our first conversations.

"New colours, new goals, and plenty of motivation to give my best. Ready for this new adventure!"

After joining Lidl-Trek from Italian squad Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria, Realini had impressed during her first two seasons with the team. She emerged as a top climber, taking podium finishes at the UAE Tour, La Flèche Wallonne, La Vuelta Femenina, and Giro d'Italia in 2023.

Meanwhile, a fifth place at the Tour de France Femmes was her highlight of 2024. She hasn't hit those heights in the past two seasons, however, after suffering a fractured elbow in early 2025.

Her top stage race result of the past two seasons came this September with a 10th-place finish at the Faun Tour Femmes.

Realini is the sixth rider to leave Lidl-Trek for 2027, joining cyclo-cross world champion Lucinda Brand and under-23 world time trial champion Felicity Wilson-Haffenden among notable names on the outgoing list as former Tour de France Femmes champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney heads their incoming transfers.

She is, to date, the only confirmed addition for Picnic-PostNL this off-season, while Pfeiffer Georgi, Megan Arens, Rachele Barbieri, and Elise Uijen are on the way out.

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Netcompany Ineos will race on Pirelli tyres from 2027 onwards, bringing an end to a a long-term partnership with Continental.

Launching as Sky Procycling in 2010, the British team used a range of tyres from manufacturers like Veloflex, FMB, and Vittoria in their early years, but have consistently used Continental for more than a decade now.

However, a new three-year agreement with Pirelli was. announced on Thursday.

"Pirelli bring a huge amount of technical expertise and a real commitment to innovation, so it's exciting to have them working closely with our riders and performance team," said the team's Director of Racing, Geraint Thomas.

"It's not just about the equipment we race on, but how we can work together to keep developing, so we're really looking forward to building that relationship and seeing what we can achieve together."

Netcompany Ineos will make their racing debut on Pirelli rubber at the Santos Tour Down Under in January.

'Marginal gains' is still a phrase that's closely linked to Netcompany Ineos, and there is some mention of that philosophy in the Pirelli press release.

Pirelli says the partnership will focus on developing 'technical solutions' to the demands of WorldTour cycling. There's also a mention of 'technical assessment' being a key step in the development of the partnership.

In simple language, this could point to the team testing the Pirelli tyres against the Continental GP 5000 S TR and TT TR tyres they have been racing on until now.

Pirelli already supplies two WorldTour teams: Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Premier Tech.

It sounds like Netcompany Ineos will primarily use the Pirelli P Zero Race SL-R tyre as well as the P Zero Race RS model.

The team also switched wheels at the start of this year, moving from Shimano Dura-Ace wheels to Scope models. Perhaps the Scope wheels and Pirelli tyre combination has proven to be faster.

We tested road tyres in our CN Labs tyre test in 2024, testing both Continental and Pirelli models, but that test didn't include the then unreleased P Zero Race SL-R.

Pirelli launched its flagship P Zero Race SL-R tyre in March this year. The tyres use PAAS (Pirelli Advanced Aerodynamic System technology), which adds material to the sidewalls of the slick tyre to improve aerodynamic performance when mounted to a rim. Pirelli claimed rolling resistance and aero performance had improved considerably compared to its P Zero RACE RS model.

Geraint Thomas recently discussed the team's mixed 2026 season, saying, 'purely from results, I'd say it definitely wasn't good'. Can this equipment switch be a marginal gain that helps them turn things around in 2027?

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After recently announcing that it will support Bahrain Victorious for 2027 and beyond, Factor Bikes is extending its presence in the pro peloton by becoming a title sponsor for Team Amani.

The team will be known as Team Amani Factor Racing from 2027 until the end of 2029, with Factor’s founder, Rob Gitelis, convinced the team can reach the highest levels of the women’s sport.

Factor and Amani have worked together for four years, but the new deal will not only include the bike brand in the team’s name, but also bring the team into Factor's performance programme, as they do with their other pro teams. As such, they will ride the company’s Ostro VAM and Ostro Gravel frames rolling on Black Inc wheels.

The partnership will include not only the Women’s Continental road team, but also their off-road programme and the Black Mamba Development squad.

Amani is a proudly African team, competing with a roster comprised entirely of women from the continent. While they’ve been around as a club-level team for a few years, they graduated to UCI level only at the start of the 2026 season.

During that time, they took three wins, all at fourth-tier .2 level races in Africa, though they showed real promise on European roads, especially at the Volta Ciclista Catalunya, where Haftu Eyerusalem Reda finished 20th in the general classification in the mountainous three-day race.

Despite their status as one of the youngest teams in the bunch, Amani have stated their ambition to ride the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2028. However, with UCI Regulations as they currently are, achieving that is likely to require the team to shift up a level from Women’s Continental to ProTeam to guarantee a start at the biggest race on the calendar.

"Of everything we’re doing in racing, Amani is the project I feel most personally invested in," Gitelis said. "We’re back in the men’s WorldTour and expanding our racing programme, which is exciting, but I want to devote real time and resources to this over the next three years. I believe this team can compete at the sharp end of the women’s WorldTour with the right support, experience and time.

"Beyond racing, I believe the opportunities that it creates can change the lives of the women involved. That’s why Amani belongs within Factor Racing."

Mikel Delagrange, Amani’s founder, welcomed Factor’s extended commitment, saying: "What has impressed me most about Factor is that when they say they’re going to do something, they do it. Every commitment they’ve made to this team over the past four years has been planned carefully and delivered in full.

"That’s rare in this world, and it’s exactly what a team like ours needs. Taking on title sponsorship is the biggest step yet, and I trust it completely because I’ve seen how Factor works. We have a clear goal for 2028, and the right partner to help us get there."

The team recently recruited retired South African pro rider Ashleigh Moolman Pasio as General Manager, and with Factor on board, they have a stronger foundation on which to build.

Cyclists have been applying lubricants to their bicycle chains for well over a century. From the invention of 3-in-1 oil in 1894 to condition-specific wet and dry formulations, through to hot waxing and the performance-focused, watt-saving lubricants we have today.

There are now countless products promising an increase in speed, quietness and longevity. Currently, no industry-standard test procedures exist for chain lubricants and waxes, and what is the best thing to test? There are established big names, but how can you tell an effective product from one that might actually do your drivetrain harm?

CeramicSpeed is one brand that formulates and tests all of its own chain waxes and lubricants in-house. A fact which possibly draws less attention than the brand's more visible high-end ceramic bearings and OSPW pulley wheel systems.

I visited the CeramicSpeed headquarters in Holstebro, Denmark, where the brand has dedicated chain-lubricant formulation and test labs in an attempt to answer a few of the questions the chain lube nerd in me had, and to learn more about how you go about formulating an effective chain lubricant or wax, testing it and bringing it to market.

The origins of the modern-day chain waxing revolution lie with Jason Smith’s Friction Facts chain lubricant and testing business, which carried out some of the very first, if not the first, dedicated drivetrain friction testing over a decade ago.

CeramicSpeed acquired FrictionFacts in 2016, including at least one of its test machines, and then built on Smith’s original UFO product foundation. Smith joined the business as well, and later worked on the Driven chainless drivetrain project, but is no longer involved.

Product development and rigorous testing are a cornerstone of the CeramicSpeed product philosophy. The brand commits plenty of time to formulating and testing chain products.

Various brands carry out their own lubricant testing; some do none. It varies, and more than one brand markets its products as the fastest. ZeroFriction, an Australian independent testing company, is a reference point for many who are interested in lubricants and testing, but a lot happens behind closed doors.

The formulation lab

CeramicSpeed chain products begin life in the brand's lab. Glass flasks line a wall, and at the end of a workbench topped with several machines that look a bit like microscopes, there’s a cabinet full of the base ingredients used to produce chain lubes and wax. This being Denmark early in the year, the carpet of snow on the ground outside matches the colour of the product in some of the bottles today.

Lina Søbjerg Madsen, a PHD chemist, and Michael Pedersen, Development Engineer, have both been with CeramicSpeed for the best part of a decade and form the backbone of the brand's wax and lubricant development and testing programme. If you have used a CeramicSpeed lube or wax product in that time, they will have developed and tested it.

CeramicSpeed wax and lube products are both wax-based. Hot melt wax is a blend of pure waxes, including what Søbjerg Madsen tells me, with a grin, is her 'secret ingredient'.

When it comes to a drip chain lubricant in a bottle, Ceramicspeed uses wax, emulsifiers, a corrosion inhibitor to protect the chain, which it claims not every brand uses, and demineralised water as the carrier, which is what, as the name suggests, helps carry the wax lubricant itself deep into your chain links, where it can do its work and protect the chain.

Drip lubricants are mixed thoroughly using machines, heated, and then cooled. Today's formulations are water-based, but the original carrier fluid for the first UFO Drip was kerosene, which was known to melt bottle nozzles over time due to its aggressive nature.

The water-based carrier evaporates, leaving behind the wax. Oil-based drip lubricants tend to become dirtier in use because contamination is suspended within the oil, which remains on the chain.

Charged with developing CeramicSpeed’s chain lube offerings, Søbjerg Madsen begins by explaining that it’s not possible to have one product that’s the best at everything.

“What people need to understand is that there are over 1000 different waxes; there are synthetic and natural products, and each of them has different properties. She explains.

“So when sales suggests a new lubricant or a new product, my main goal is to ask, 'What kind of properties do you want?’, because you can't have everything.

“The first part is getting the wax composition with the properties that I would like, and once that's done, then I need to find a way to keep it in this water solution, and also get the shelf life correct, and that's a really difficult task.” Søbjerg Madsen explains.

A product's composition depends on the desired properties. Is longevity the priority, or is all-out efficiency the goal? Something that lasts for a thousand kilometres may very well not be the fastest option.

CeramicSpeed's approach is that a one-size-fits-all product isn't ideal for chain treatments. The first wet lube, for instance, went through 300 experiments to arrive at the desired composition.

Cyclists, or at least road cyclists with a focus on performance, often look for what's fastest, or what saves watts, but there's more to it than that. Making a quality product that performs for the most amount of riders, across different regions, climates and weather systems is a tricky ask.

CeramicSpeed offers three drip products: All Conditions, Wet, and Indoor and the range was overhauled this year and given a new look.

All Conditions and Speed Wax are the best bet for speed; Wet lasts longer and protects your chain in the rain, and Indoor doesn't shed like a regular wax, making it useful for the velodrome or home training. The new Ultra Endurance Wax doesn't focus on low friction, a first for the brand; its priority is high durability and consistent performance over hundreds of kilometres.

It is 'stickier'. It might not be the quickest option for a road race, but it will protect a chain for hundreds of kilometres off-road in a gravel race, for example. A super-fast chain wax or lube's benefits will be null and void if it's gone after 2 hours of hard use.

The brand's chain lubricants are developed in small batches in the lab and produced in volumes of up to two litres. These samples are used for the brand's testing and by test riders.

The brand now also has an in-house production facility where it can produce 50- 300 kg of drip product in a batch, allowing them to control the process.

Søbjerg Madsen explains that this close proximity means it can be easy to address issues that may arise from production at scale.

“Sometimes, because it's chemistry, and chemistry can be unpredictable when you scale up, we'll see some issues where I have to correct something, then when they say go, they are ready to produce and put it in bottles,” she explains.

Shelf life is another factor when it comes to our chain lubricant; top tip: don’t leave the cap off your water-based drip chain wax, as the water will evaporate over time.

CeramicSpeed aims for a two-year product shelf life, and needs to ensure a product doesn't solidify in the bottle. Søbjerg Madsen explains that a drip lube which separates in the bottle is a poor sign, something to look for when you are next in the bike shop buying chain lube.

"That's a very poor sign; it's a sign that it's unstable, and the product development didn't do a good enough job.

"Every time I make the sample, I put it in the incubator at 40 degrees. It stays there for three months, and if it doesn't solidify or separate, then we say we have a shelf life of two years," she says.

After nearly a decade, it's clear the pair have a strong feel for what's needed, but verification from the test lab's machines and Pedersen's experience and feel inform the direction Søbjerg Madsen needs to take at times.

"When I make the first wax compositions, and I think 'Okay, this might be interesting,' then I'll make a test chain for Michael and ask him to do an experiment to measure the watts, because then I have an idea. If it's really high, then I need to do something to make it lower," she explains.

The testing lab and three different kinds of sand

The lubricant and wax formulations are designed, and then the testing phase takes around six months on average, though the brand is always busy testing different things, including the competition, and running experiments.

Engineer Pedersen has tested a lot of products in general in the lab, including over 800 chains; the 11-speed Shimano Dura-Ace chain is held in particularly high regard. If you are running 11-speed Shimano, buy yourself a Dura-Ace chain.

CeramicSpeed uses a combination of internal and external test riders. This includes company founder and CEO Jacob Csizmadia himself; we pass a few of his stealth all-black bikes in the corridor on our way to the lab.

The test lab is a fairly small, brightly lit room that is lined with workbenches. Many of which are topped with testing machines, which in different ways all vaguely resemble a bicycle drivetrain.

There are five chain testing machines, which all serve a different purpose; There's the original Friction Facts testing machine, a clean conditions test machine, a wet conditions test machine, a machine to add water and sand contaminants together and the brand's latest baby, the Full Load Watt Tester machine (FLWT); a larger unit, which runs as a complete drivetrain, whilst adding sand and water and measuring friction. This machine has been designed to take the brand's testing to the next level.

CeramicSpeed measures friction in watts by using torque sensors. The durability of the chain treatment is also monitored, but chain wear specifically is not, though it can be as part of a specific extra-long extreme test.

The Friction Facts test machine was the original, weighting a single-speed arrangement at 250 watts of load in a clean environment. It's a style of machine being used by other brands to test as well, but it isn't a full drivetrain and can skew results because the chain is in tension pretty much the whole time due to there being no derailleur.

A Tribology test for friction rates called a Pin and Disc test also exists, and whilst it can be performed to an ISO standard, it isn't specific to bicycle drivetrains or modern wax formulas. CeramicSpeed don't consider it to be a worthwhile testing avenue to go down.

For years, only clean-conditions testing could be done, but as Søbjerg Madsen points out, unless you are riding in a velodrome environment, "we all know even on a hot summer day, it's not completely clean conditions," meaning dust and other contaminants are still present.

A machine that could add contamination was required to mimic real-world conditions. The wet conditions test machine was also developed, but adding only water could only tell so much.

"We could only add water, and a lot of water, and what does that really simulate in the real world?" Søbjerg Madsen says. Every cyclist knows a wet, rainy day comes with all sorts of grit, dirt, and mud that also interact with a chain.

CeramicSpeed has now developed a machine capable of adding contamination and water. The FLWT machine is run using four different protocols that simulate different conditions over five hours; to standardise things, because, as the pair point out, you could end up just testing forever.

These test protocols are as follows:

- Clean test without contamination.
- Tests with water added every five minutes.
- Dry test with sand added every five minutes.
- Extreme test with water and sand added every 15 minutes.

The brand also uses three different types of sand from around the world in testing because, naturally, it varies all over the world. Sand from Australia, Denmark and America is used. The sands all differ; the one from Colorado in the US is very fine and dusty, the sample from Australia has more clay, and the Danish sand has more 'fine particles'; using it consistently allows for repeatable testing.

The FLWT machine uses a motor to power a drivetrain at a load of 250 watts (though this can be altered) and advanced torque sensors on the input and output axles to measure the wattage difference; custom test software has also been written in-house to calculate the test results.

CeramicSpeed runs various tests, and the brand was careful not to give me everything; it's a competitive area, so we couldn't dive into all of the test data, graphs and findings. The brand has published some test results on its site for its chain lubricants.

Generally, though, tests last five hours, and multiple runs of each test are completed for validation. When test graphs are produced, they show a break in time, an optimal running period and a decline in performance due to wear and/or abrasion from the test contaminants.

The FLWT can also be remotely controlled and has a built-in horn to warn colleagues that a test is about to start when the engineers are working remotely.

There is even a microphone to monitor the changing sound of a chain's treatment as testing progresses and a lubricant 'wears in'. The sound a chain is making can tell the engineers a lot, and plenty of riders recognise a change in sound as a reminder to re-lube or re-wax their chains.

Apparatus in workshops to break in freshly waxed chains is also getting more complex; the brand's advice: re-install your freshly waxed chain, work it by hand a little if needed and go ride it; it will settle down and go quiet soon enough.

"We know from the industry that there are a lot of people who are looking into this (an FLWT-style machine), but we have also realised that the problem is getting reproducible data. says Søbjerg Madsen.

"We really need to be sure that what we are measuring is correct,"

The team admit that they are still learning the machine, and are aiming to measure very fine differences consistently in order to be as accurate as possible, in part because differences between competitor products are very small.

No lubricant test standard exists in the bike industry, and you can't really just go and buy a test machine. This means brands are free to present their testing in whichever way suits them best.

"Customers and the companies are saying, 'Well, of course, you're just designing your test to make yours look best,' and that's what everybody is doing, because there is no standard.

"That's what everybody is doing; they are making their own test, and then, of course, they look best, but what Michael and I are really doing, and it's easy for us to say, is that we are really trying to make tests that mimic the real world. It's much easier to optimise something if you have a standard test to do it," says Søbjerg Madsen

The brand is comparing against the competition, but appears to be doing it fairly, setting up and testing competitor products to spec, as Søbjerg Madsen explains.

"If we're doing comparison tests on one of our competitors, we do a lot of work to test it at what they recommend.

"We are not just trying to make it look awful. Sometimes we find that, well, this lubricant is actually really good under these conditions, and then, of course, as a chemist and scientist, I'm thinking, 'okay, what do they do that's really good, and how can I optimise mine to get the same performance?"

The clue is in the name: with CeramicSpeed, the brand is all about speed and low friction; however, its efforts with chain treatments, drip and hot wax go beyond being able to say 'ours is fastest'. It's a statement the engineers do not make themselves during my visit.

Cyclists can make an informed decision on what they might think the best chain product for them is. The brand of drivetrain you run will affect efficiency, as will how well a lubricant is applied and maintained. If you want to maintain the best possible performance, don't skip the re-waxing, cleaning or reapplication, and if that isn't for you, find something that lasts a long time.

Though no official industry test standards exist, inter-brand chain lube test result announcements can feel like a fight for supremacy at times.

It's clear CeramicSpeed is committed to testing and developing the best possible product. Whilst its product has competitive low-friction or speed levels, there's more to a good chain lube or wax than just being quick.

The MET Manta 3 helmet is not strictly a new helmet. It first broke cover in early 2026 when it was worn on debut by Tadej Pogačar to win yet another monument at Milan-San Remo.

Since then, it has been used nearly exclusively by Team UAE-Emirates-XRG, taking the Tour de France yet again, more Monuments, and another men’s World Title this time for Brandon McNulty.

Today, however, the helmet officially launches, which means we get to learn a little more about it. We have been testing it on the road in the run-up to launch to see how it performs.

Designed using MET’s own wind tunnel, The Tube, with a tagline of ‘Aero is Proven', takes the approach of tangible performance gains, from decreased drag to increased ventilation and reduced weight, all while maintaining safety thanks to in-depth analysis of over 140 crashed helmets.

However, the price has also increased, and we have yet to test it ourselves in the wind tunnel to see how it stacks up against the best aero helmets, but initial real-world testing of the helmet so far has been mostly very promising.

Design and specifications

The main design point of the new MET Menta 3 places a heavy focus on aerodynamics. To do this, MET uses its own proprietary wind tunnel, The Tube.

This is also the wind tunnel that sponsored teams use for testing new road and time trial helmets with riders to ensure there is good correlation between CFD modelling and then actual on-person testing, something we’ve seen the importance of with our own wind tunnel helmet testing.

MET has shared one test figure: 6 watts faster than the old Manta 2, but does not state at what speed this is. Likely 45-50kph given the speeds of WorldTour road races, and these speeds tend to give larger watt differences.

MET states that the Manta 3 topped the testing against benchmark competitors. This figure is a reasonable one for those speeds, based on our CN Labs helmet testing as well, and certainly it features a host of design features that lend themselves to strong aero performance. The helmet is narrower and longer than the previous version, and more contoured to divert airflow down the back of the rider rather than create low-pressure turbulence at the rear of the helmet.

The helmet looks similar to the likes of the Trek Ballista and Oakley Velo Mach, both helmets that did well in our testing especially when fitted to a rider model in a more aggressive breakaway position.

However, this helmet features noticeably more vents than these options. Ventilation was another key target for MET; it states the new Manta has 10% better ventilation than the predecessor.

Apparantly this was tested using a thermal viewer and capture system with a copper-coated head model. No further details were provided, as that likely covers some trade secrets.

This increased ventilation comes from more frontal vents, the new brow vent borrowed from the Trenta Gen 2, and greater channelling internally into exhausts. This is a similar system to the POC Procen Air, which I find very well-vented at speed thanks to inlets and large channels inside.

MET uses a double deck at the rear of the helmet, both to increase the airflow and heat exhaustion, and to help channel that air over the back of the rider.

Safety is also key here, with the helmet getting a 5-star Virginia Tech Helmet Lab rating. MIPS Air Node Pro is used inside for rotational impact protection, and it also helps keep the weight low at 250g claimed for a medium, 249g on our scales.

All the EPS foam is also wrapped and protected by the polycarbonate shell, while the Safe-T fit system ensures a secure fit around the head and across the cradle and straps. To test the safety of the helmet, 142 crashed helmets from sponsored teams were analysed, along with 745 test impacts across different angles and velocities, and counting.

At present, colour options include matte back, absolute white, gloss red, and team colourways. Sizes are S, M and L. DualGel front pad and USB LED light are additional accessories that can be purchased separately.

Performance

Something I really wasn’t a fan of with the previous generation Manta was that the helmet felt to be rather tight on the sides of my head. I also found this on the first-generation Trenta.

With the latest Manta, I am glad to say that the fit has been greatly improved, and it is a lot less narrow on the sides relative to the length. It does this while still incorporating MIPS technology in the form of Air Node. This is widely used across a lot of road helmets now and has a good reputation for getting a good score in the Virginia Tech Helmet Safety Rating. Indeed, the new Trenta helmet is one of the highest-scoring road helmets that has been tested there and features similar technology.

Testing the helmet, the hot weather of the summer has gone, but there have still been a few days with low 20°C temperatures to test out the ventilation. Having had a helmet sent to test in the matte Black colour, there is a degree of heat radiation absorption, and the helmet does get warm to the touch in indirect sunlight.

I much prefer helmets in light colour options for this reason. However, the ventilation is greatly improved compared to the previous helmet. The front vents are larger, while the internal channelling is deeper to allow for a greater degree of movement of air within the helmet.

This also means that at speed there is a good amount of hot air that exits the rear in the exhaust vents. This effect is most felt at speeds above 35 km an hour, though, with professional road racing speeds of 45 km an hour making this helmet incredibly airy.

However, at lower speeds with reduced airflow, the lack of vents on the top of the helmet does mean that it can get quite stuffy, especially when climbing at low speeds and high outputs. This is a helmet designed to go fast.

Another new feature is the brow venting, as seen on the new Trenta helmet. It does a good job at reducing the amount of heat buildup around your forehead, but being someone who runs quite warm, I still found the over longer rides I had sweat dripping into my eyes.

At present, the only helmets that have eliminated this are the Giro Eclipse Pro and Aries, as the brow pad padding features a silicone bead which diverts the sweat to the side of your face.

However, MET does state that a MET DualGel front pad is available; I have not tested this yet, but a gel design may help disperse sweat to the side of the brow and away from the eyes.

In terms of the aerodynamic performance, it is difficult to say, as we have yet to test this helmet in the wind tunnel. Going off the features that have been implemented, these are designed methodologies that have been used across a broad array of different aero helmets that have tested well.

Featuring large vents at the front combined with deep channels internally towards the exhausts has tended to reduce the pressure drag off the back of the rider’s helmet. Another feature that tends to work well is a fairly narrow profile, especially for riders who ride with their head in a more upright position, as it reduces the frontal area. The shape of the helmet and the venting is also similar to the Trek Ballista, with the rear vents positioned in a way that should help direct airflow over the back when in a more aggressive position.

Certainly, the performance of the helmet has not slowed down the professional riders who have been using it, but that is not a very good judge of performance given that Pogačar could probably be in a commuter helmet and still win.

The helmet has been designed using MET’s in-house wind tunnel, The Tube. Personally, I have no reason to doubt that the helmet is a strong performer. But as we have seen in our own testing, the performance of the helmet will likely vary compared to others based on the position of the rider using it.

For a more subjective measurement, the helmet is impressively light. It’s not as light as the POC Cytal Lite, but it does compare very favourably to many other aero helmets. For those wanting to reduce total system weight by as much as possible while maintaining aerodynamic performance, this helmet is a very strong contender.

I have also been using it for very long days in the saddle, and it’s been exceptionally comfortable. The padding is well distributed throughout, and the straps have a good range of adjustment.

The rear cradle adjustment is also very welcome, and the dial is easy to use. There are vents at the side that are designed to be able to house glasses when not wearing them; however, I found that not many glasses worked with these helmets.

Quite often the arm was a bit too thick and wouldn’t lodge into them. Scicon glasses, coincidentally used alongside MET by sponsored WorldTour teams, do fit well because they have very slim arms. POC, Oakley, and AlbaOptics fitted less well.

Value

Unfortunately, with all these new aero features, reduced weight, and increased ventilation, the price of the helmet has now jumped up.

The previous helmet was £229.99 at RRP, often dipping into the £150 region online; the new helmet starts at £299.99 / $375 and places it in the same ballpark as the Giro Eclipse Pro, Specialized Evade 4, Fizik Kudo, Oakley Velo Mach, Sweet Protection Tucker III 2Vi and Ekoi R-Aero.

There are of course cheaper offerings, with the Trek Ballista and HJC Furion 3 being closer to the £200 /$250 bracket, while the Van Rysel RCR-F helmet remains a relative outlier at £129.99. But that shouldn’t be an outlier, and hopefully pressure brands to stop pushing prices higher and higher. Yes, wind tunnel testing and development is not cheap, but the RCR-F is a strong aero performer, so we know good aero helmets can be made and sold for less.

Compared to the competition, until we test the Manta 3 in the tunnel, we can’t categorically say how it compares. I can say from my own testing that ventilation is better than the Sweet Protection, and at speed, better than the Giro.

However, the Giro brow padding prevents sweat from getting into my eyes. The MET, though, is lighter. It really balances out somewhat evenly between the MET and the Giro for me, but I lean towards the Giro in warmer weather for the brow padding and white colour, while I lean towards the MET in cooler conditions and when speed is the focus.

If I were buying on a budget, I would still go for the Van Rysel and recommend that helmet to anyone who wants the best value-for-money aero helmet.

Verdict

The MET Menta 3 is a full revolution of the previous Manta, while adding some fantastic features from the featherweight, airy Trenta Gen 2.

The new helmet is lighter, far better ventilated, and promises to be more aerodynamic as well. I can’t categorically comment on that last one, but many of the designed features implemented suggest it is a faster helmet for racing speeds.

It still relies on high speeds and more airflow for peak ventilation, so low-speed climbing can get more stuffy. While the glasses docking is not the best, it is also not necessary.

It does, however, cost a lot; I would have liked to see the inclusion of the gel padding, as well as a rear light as standard, to help justify a price hike of nearly 30% over the previous version.

There is still a sense of mystery surrounding Mathieu van der Poel's cyclo-cross season, with the Dutch national coach saying he still doesn't know whether the star man will compete this winter and that Van der Poel's father doesn't, either.

Van der Poel has been a dominant force in cyclo-cross over the course of his career, winning eight world titles, but he has not yet committed to returning to the discipline this winter.

He is due to become a father in January, which is clearly a factor, and while he has not yet ruled out racing, he has not confirmed any plans so far, with the World Cup series starting in two weeks' time.

"I’m curious too," Van der Poel's national coach for cyclo-cross and mountain bike, Gerben de Knegt said this week on the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast of fellow Dutchmen Laurens ten Dam and Stefan Bolt.

"I’ve even asked [Van der Poel's father] Adrie about it, but he doesn’t know either."

Bolt, seeing the funny side, then chimed in: "Adrie is just as in the dark as the rest of us. It’s quite funny, really. People interview Adrie as if he has some special insight into Mathieu’s life."

De Knegt also highlighted Van der Poel's impending fatherhood, which is set to come in the middle of the season, in the same month as the World Championships, which take place right at the end of January.

"Of course, there’s the family aspect, when it comes to the idea of not doing any 'cross this winter. Well, given that he’s going to be a dad around January, this is actually the ideal winter to skip it," De Knegt said.

As for the possibility of dropping in just for the World Championships, he said: "I’ve discussed that with him often in the past. But it's not really an option. We’ve always preferred to do more races."

Van der Poel himself has hinted in the past that he could skip cyclo-cross entirely one winter.

After collecting his eighth world title in February earlier this year, he said: "Maybe it's not a bad idea to skip one winter because to be here it's the first peak of my season always, not only physically, but also mentally.

"This is a day when I want to be in top shape, 90% is not enough or would not be enough for me to be at the start line here."

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Hosting of the 2027 UEC Road European Championships has been awarded to Denmark, with Silkeborg hosting the time trials and Herning hosting the road races.

It's the first time the nation has hosted a major road championship since the 2017 European Championships, also held in Herning, when Alexander Kristoff and Marianne Vos raced to glory in the road races while Victor Campenaerts and Ellen van Dijk won the time trials.

Previously, the Road World Championships were held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2011, while the Road Worlds will head back to the nation in 2029.

Previous major championships held in Denmark have ended with mass sprint finishes, and the 2027 European Championships are also expected to favour sprinters after hilly editions in Slovenia and France in the last two years.

The 2027 UEC Road European Championships will run between September 28 and October 3, and while the exact dates of each event are not yet known, that creates a clash with La Vuelta Femenina, which begins on October 3.

"We are thrilled to be returning to Denmark after ten years. In 2017, this country hosted the second edition of the Road European Championships open to the Elite category, believing from the outset in a project that was then in its infancy," said UEC president Enrico Della Casa.

"Today, we are returning with an event that has grown considerably and has become a world-class occasion, capable of attracting the attention of the media and cycling enthusiasts from all over the world."

Hosting of the European Championships is now set for the next three years, with trips to Denmark, the North Brabant region of the Netherlands, and Abruzzo in Italy on the way.

"With Denmark in 2027, the Netherlands in 2028 and Italy, specifically the Abruzzo region, in 2029, the next three years promise to be highly prestigious for the UEC Road European Championships. These three countries, each with a deeply rooted cycling culture, demonstrate the appeal our event has gained and allow us to look to the future with great ambition," said Della Casa.

"I would like to thank the cities of Herning and Silkeborg, Sport Event Denmark, the Danish government and the Danish Cycling Federation and its President, Morten Anderson, for the trust, enthusiasm and commitment they have shown.

"Ten years ago, Denmark helped to write an important chapter in the history of our European Championships, and I am convinced that in 2027, together we will write another equally memorable one."

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After initially fearing the worst, Lucinda Brand was not seriously injured when she hit the barrier during the Superprestige Jaarmarktcross cyclo-cross race at Niel on Wednesday.

Early on during round three of the season-long Superprestige series, World Champion Brand briefly lost control of her bike, hitting the barrier and twisting her ankle as she put her foot down.

Despite what was apparently an innocuous incident, her discomfort was clear immediately; the 37-year-old first grimaced, then fell into tears, before abandoning the race she had hoped to win for a fifth time.

After the incident, her Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions team manager, former World Champion Sven Nys, was fearful Brand had suffered a severe injury, telling Play Sport: "If Lucinda has tears in her eyes, that is usually not a good sign. She is quite a tough cookie, which is why I am a bit worried now."

Then, in a post on the team’s Instagram account, he added: "She can’t put force on her foot right now, so I think it’s important that we monitor that and make sure that nothing was damaged.

"Hoping we won’t lose her for the rest of the season."

However, Nys has since been reassured. "Everything is okay. No serious damage was detected; she just needs to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Taping the foot is important now, though," he told Belgian paper Het Laatste Nieuws.

The season continues apace this weekend, and Brand would have been expected to start round four of the Superprestige at Merkplas on Saturday and Sunday’s Bollekesccross, the second round of the X2O Badkamers Trofee, a series she leads, after winning the Koppenbergcross, and which she has won on four previous occasions. However, following her injury, Brand’s participation is yet to be confirmed.

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Tadej Pogačar has no shortage of highlights from his eight years so far as a professional bike racer but he has picked out a teammate’s victory as "one of the best days of my career".

In a new film from UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s bike sponsor, Colnago – the second Pogačar-based documentary release in the space of a week – Pogačar describes Isaac del Toro’s victory on stage 2 of this year’s Tour de France as a career highlight.

Pogačar selflessly dominated the final kick to the line in Montjuic Park back in July, managing the scene so that Del Toro would cross the line before him to collect his first Tour de France stage win. He then proceeded to pick up Del Toro and hoist him into the air in scenes of wild celebration.

In the new film, titled ‘POG1 – The Making of a Legend’ and premiering on YouTube on Friday, Pogačar touches on how special that day was.

"The first stages, nine, was really nice," Pogačar says from a massage table, presumably after stage nine as he talks about it being “super hot” and references "three victories" taken by the team.

"I think the one that Isaac wins, in Barcelona, I got also really emotional, and I don’t get often very emotional," Pogačar says.

"So, one of the best days of my career," he adds.

The comments are brief but striking in the context of all that Pogačar has won, including five Tour de France titles, 26 Tour de France stages of his own, 13 Monument Classics, and two world titles.

For all the talk of his insatiable appetite for victory, he seemingly took just as much joy in sacrificing the chance of another one and helping someone else, who may one day come to rival him.

And it wasn’t just that day in Barcelona; with a commanding lead in the yellow jersey Pogačar went on to effectively work as a domestique for Del Toro again and again in the second half of the Tour de France, notably on the stage 15 summit finish at Plateau de Solaison and on the penultimate day to Alpe d’Huez when Del Toro’s podium position came under fire from Paul Seixas.

"You try to be the best version of yourself but we don’t know how we are perceived in the third person," Del Toro said in a recent interview with Spanish newspaper Marca in reference to Pogačar’s treatment of him.

"That he can see something that maybe I’m not seeing is flattering, but also quite something. He wants to be part of my process and support me in each opportunity. It’s something very beautiful and I feel very privileged."

'POG1 – The Making of a Legend', made by Colnago Cultura, premieres on Friday November 13 at 3pm GMT / 10am ET on Colnago's YouTube channel, where it will be available to watch worldwide for free.

Bristol-based bike maker Temple Cycles is set to close after more than 12 years in business, with its two shops also shutting down.

The company specialises in manufacturing steel-framed bikes, selling them either online or from its Bristol- and London-based shops, but will close down, with all its premises already listed as closed online.

However, the company’s website and social media accounts are still live, and though most models are listed as sold out, orders for frame sets, parts and accessories are invited in a Facebook post as recently as Tuesday, November 10.

That was the same day local news site, Bristol 24/7, reported that the company’s owner, Matt Mears, had emailed investors that their money would not be returned and the business would be winding down.

The closure follows two crowdfunding campaigns, first in 2017 and again in 2022.

"You put your money and trust into Temple, and I’m very sorry that the business hasn’t delivered the outcome we hoped for. I know this is disappointing news," Mears wrote, according to Bristol 24/7.

In the email, Mears explained the company had experienced issues with their supply chain along with rising costs for materials and energy, saying: "It’s an exceptionally difficult time to run a bicycle business."

"We’ve worked hard to turn the business around while managing persistent pressure on cash flow. We substantially reduced overheads, launched new products, relocated our headquarters and opened a new showroom.

"Our electric bike performed well, but this was offset by weaker sales elsewhere.

"The business also has existing debt commitments, and I don’t see a realistic route to generating the profits and cash reserves needed to meet them. Taken together, I no longer believe the current model offers a realistic route to a sustainable business," Mears said in his email.

Bristol 24/7 also reports that Mears hopes to continue in the bicycle industry, using his experience in another business focussed on parts and accessories.

Mears launched Temple in 2014 while still an engineering student at Bristol University, the business making a variety of steel-framed bikes, mostly using tubes from compatriot company, Birmingham-based Reynolds. Their range includes regular road bikes, gravel, hybrid and city bikes, alongside E-bikes and even step-through frames. As recently as April 2026, Temple opened a new workshop and retail on the outskirts of Bristol.

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Cyclo-cross World Champion Lucinda Brand season could be in doubt, after she was forced out of the Superprestige race at Niel in tears following an opening-lap crash that left her in tears.

Brand arrived for the Jaarmarktcross hoping to take her fifth win in the event, which formed the third round of the season-long Superprestige series, but the most innocuous of crashes left her barely able to walk.

She started the race on the back foot, trying to make up time on Amandine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw), who had blazed her way through the sand pit to build an early lead. However, as Brand set off in pursuit in the muddy conditions, she was pushed into the barrier on a small climb, apparently twisting her ankle as her foot hit the ground.

While she carried on for a few seconds, riding through the pit area, she then abandoned and was barely able to stand as she dismounted. Though she was seen riding off, her Baloise-Poetsbureau team manager Sven Nys has cast doubt on the rest of her season.

"Lucinda twisted her ankle in the first round, where she made a misstep," Nys said in a statement from the team.

"She lost her line, she can’t put force on her foot right now, so I think it’s important that we monitor that and make sure that nothing was damaged. Hoping we won’t lose her for the rest of the season."

Nys also spoke with the host broadcaster Play Sports immediately after the race, saying: "She told me that she went off the track and wanted to put her foot down, but she twisted it, she couldn't put any weight on it anymore. I told her she needs to have everything checked to make sure no ligaments were damaged," Sporza reported him as saying.

"But if Lucinda has tears in her eyes, that is usually not a good sign. She is quite a tough cookie, which is why I am a bit worried now."

Brand has been the dominant force in cyclo-cross in recent seasons, winning the rainbow jersey twice, the World Cup and X2O Badkamers Trofee four times and the Superprestige on three occasions, as well as taking a total of 89 career wins.

At the weekend, she won her second European title after Luxembourgish rider Marie Schreiber was relegated for an irregular sprint.

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Cameron Mason (777TV) soloed to the biggest win of his career in the third round of the 2026-27 Superprestige, the Jaarmarktcross in Niel. The British champion got the better of Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) in a two-man battle over the final laps of the race.

The pair were the last men standing from a four-rider leading group after both Kevin Kuhn (Heizomat-Cube) and Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Atlez Industriebouw) dropped away due to a puncture and a fall earlier on.

In the end, Mason carried a small gap into the closing eighth lap and pulled out a winning advantage in the sandpit before carrying a 20-second lead to the line to celebrate victory.

Joris Nieuwenhuis (Heizomat-Cube) grabbed the final podium spot, having been chasing the leaders alone since lap five. The Dutchman ended the race 27 seconds down on Mason and 12 seconds up on fourth-placed Felipe Orts (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

Mason now leads the Superprestige overall rankings, his 15-point haul taking him to 39 in three races, one better than Wyseure. Vanthourenhout is third overall on 37 points, having picked up just eight points here after finishing down in eighth place.

It was Kuhn who led from the start, with Vanthourenhout and Kuhn's teammate Nieuwenhuis getting separation from the rest to lead the chase. Further back, Wyseure and Niels Vendeputte were the best of the rest but over 10 seconds down.

Vanthourenhout left Nieuwenhuis behind on lap two to get across to Kuhn. Cameron Mason made it three up front on lap three, while Nieuwenhuis and Wyseure also came back as Kuhn continued to lead.

On lap four, Vanthourenhout took the lead, a second up on Kuhn, with the other three all within five seconds of him. Up front, the Belgian was beginning to pull away, however. Kuhn, Mason, and Nieuwenhuis dropped away, leaving Wyseure as the main chaser behind the leader, eight seconds back at the start of the fifth lap.

Vanthourenhout's spell out front wouldn't last long as Wyseure, Kuhn, and Mason all came back partway through the lap. The quartet were inseparable heading into lap six as Nieuwenhuis chased alone at 11 seconds down.

Kuhn, suffering a possible front puncture, was the first to drop from the lead group, losing contact with the front of the race and dropping back to Nieuwenhuis.

Wyseure took over the top spot heading into the latter part of the lap, though Vanthourenhout and Mason stuck with him into lap seven, the penultimate lap of the race. A Wyseure bike change to start the lap left him with a few seconds to make up, but he quickly came back to once again make it three up front.

Drama struck midway through the lap as Vanthourenhout fell while carrying his bike through a section of deep mud. He lost all momentum in pursuit of his fifth win of the season as a result, losing 20 seconds and dropping out of contention.

Up front, Mason and Wyseure continued in the lead with Nieuwenhuis chasing 10 seconds back. Mason had the advantage, though, leading the way and then pulling out a gap late in the lap to start the final lap four seconds up on Wyseure.

Mason's ability to ride through the sandpit made all the difference on the final lap, with Wyseure having to dismount in the chase. That meant Mason pulled out a 13-second gap and some breathing space heading into the latter part of the lap.

Mason kept pushing and made no mistakes through the mid-section of the lap, pulling out a 20-second gap to Wyseure, who was now only a handful of seconds up on Nieuwenhuis.

The Superprestige competition continues with round four on Sunday, November 11, at the Aardbiencross in Merksplace.

Results

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The spotlight of gravel and mountain bike racing always shines on familiar performers like Keegan Swenson, Sofia Gomez Villafañe, Mads Würtz Schmidt, Kate Courtney and two-time gravel world champion Marianne Vos. They line up at an off-road race, and people pay attention.

However, deeper fields around the world now challenge these proven winners, coming from various backgrounds and fresh talent has made impressive moves to grab attention, especially at events in the UCI Gravel World Series, Gravel Earth Series and Life Time Grand Prix.

This year's UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, the first time in five years rainbow stripes were decided outside Europe, saw a gravel specialist win the men's race, Magnus Bak Klaris of Denmark. Of course, Vos reigns on all surfaces, but she was put to the test by Rosa Klöser, Larissa Hartog and Nele Laing, women who focus on dirt racing.

Because of the distance and cost to travel to Western Australia, as well as a conflict with Little Sugar MTB in Arkansas for many Life Time Grand Prix riders, some of the breakout rides happened long before races for rainbow stripes. The Traka continued to provide a platform for new stars, while Unbound Gravel always has storylines, during the mudfest itself and in the days following, like riders jumping into iconic US one-day races like Tulsa Tough or winning an unexpected US road title.

Who went from a supporting role to a leading role this season? Who was able to score a career-defining victory or podium?

Here is a collection of notable athletes we noticed from the 2026 calendar of off-road racing.

Magnus Bak Klaris

Magnus Bak Klaris certainly wasn't a rider off the gravel radar before 2026, with multiple Danish National Gravel Championships wins plus victories that included Santa Vall, The Rift and the UCI World Series race Wörthersee Gravel. However, at races like The Traka and Unbound, where the prestige and attention hit another level, Bak Klaris hadn't cut through to the podium step, plus his early-season results in 2026 weren't quite what they had been last season.

The 30-year-old rider, however, had certainly turned that around before 2026 was over. The signs of the building form were on display in September, when the previously missing season win tally started to build at Falling Leaves Lahti and then continued to roll on at Gravel Grit n' Grind. Still, even though he had finished in the top 10 at the UCI Gravel World Series in 2026, that was not enough to make him among the heavily marked men of the rainbow jersey race, which worked to his advantage.

"I didn't come in as one of the favourites, so I could maybe save some more energy than some of the others and hide a little bit," he told a small group of media, including Cyclingnews, following the event. That 'little bit' was enough to help propel him in the four-man sprint and claim a win that means he'll not be able to hide in the pack through 2027, not with the rainbow jersey on his back. (SG)

Nele Laing

A one-time Zwift Academy finalist, Nele Laing entered the 2026 season with some promising gravel results after stepping into a few races in the UCI Gravel World Series and coming just off the podium at two of them. Though when she ventured over to the United States, now with the Canyon-DT Swiss squad, to try her hand at Sea Otter, she was definitely the wild card in the leading group of four that charged toward the line.

Impressive enough was her presence in Monterey alongside three-time US gravel champion Lauren Stephens (Aegis x Land of Enchantment), 2025 Traka 360 and Unbound 200 winner Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) and the now four-time Life Time Grand Prix series winner Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road). However, she wasn't just holding on but was the first of the four to put on the pressure through the crucial final section, and dropped Migoń as a result. Villafañe may have ultimately come over the top with Stephens following, but third at that early-season US race was more than enough to make sure she wouldn't be able to go unnoticed.

The 27-year-old then clearly showed that this was more than a one-off with third at The Traka, wins at UCI series events Hegau and 3Rides, plus a fourth at the UCI Gravel World Championships. Then, in a result that will help ensure she is keenly watched by rivals in 2027, she finished off the season by winning Nedbank Gravel Burn. (SG)

Bradyn Lange

Victories define seasons for athletes, and one win stands out the most in 2026 for Bradyn Lange. Yes, he did win Sea Otter Classic Gravel in the stars-and-stripes jersey to take the top spot in the opening round of the Life Time Grand Prix. But it was how he won, out-sprinting four-time race winner Keegan Swenson with a crafty move on the final corner.

Lange proved his decision in 2025 to focus solely on gravel, or "try to be one of the best at one thing instead of good at multiple", was working. He won his first US national title in any discipline on the gravel roads of Minnesota. He moved to Canyon x DT Swiss ATR for the new year and won The Hills, a UCI Gravel World Series event in Italy, then finished second at The Traka 200 in Spain, and beat the best off-road rider in California.

The Oregon native still exhibited his mountain bike prowess with podiums at Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Chequamegon MTB, boosting him to his best finish in the Grand Prix across five years, finishing fifth on the elite men's leaderboard. He had the unique distinction of being the youngest rider in the Grand Prix field back in 2022 at age 21. Now at 27, he's got an early invitation to return for a sixth season, and he can no longer ride under the radar. (JT)

Kylee Hanel

"A surreal experience" is how Kylee Hanel described making the main chase group at Big Sugar Gravel to finish fourth overall. While Stella Hobbs rode away with the solo victory, the 20-year-old held her own against the most dominant riders in off-road racing, Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Hayley Preen taking the final podium spots, while Hanel held off a charging Karolina Migoń.

She sealed the women's U23 title in the Life Time Grand Prix with top series points in all the races except Leadville Trail 100 MTB, where she finished second in the category. In between Sea Otter Gravel and the overall win at Unbound Gravel 100, she went back on the road with Aegis x LOE and went fourth overall at Tour of the Gila, with a stage win and youth classification title.

The multi-talented rider from Oregon competed for the first time at national events last year, where she had top 10s at US road and gravel nationals. Then this summer, she won the USPro U23 women's time trial national championship by 36 seconds over her closest competitor. She didn't realise at the time that it qualified her for Road Worlds, but knew it was a great opportunity for experience and to ride for Team USA in Montreal, even with two more Grand Prix races to follow in October.

"I'm the only one putting pressure on myself," she admitted to Cyclingnews at the UCI Road World Championships, finishing 21st in the U23 time trial and 29th in the road race. The pressure was off when she landed on the wide-angle podium at Big Sugar. (JT)

Matthew Wilson

Matthew Wilson may have been in the Life Time Grand Prix in 2025, but he walked away from last year with 'unfinished business' after not delivering the hoped-for results. With a new team in 2026, Scott Sports USA-Shimano, and determination to show what he was really capable of, Wilson went all out in pursuit of a wild card spot this year. The rider from New Zealand gained that spot, with 12th at Sea Otter Gravel and 28th at Unbound, but this time the best was yet to come.

Some indication of his early season form was already on display when the multi-discipline rider, who had come third at the New Zealand National Championships road race at the start of the year, washed off the mud of Kansas, borrowed a mate's road wheels and went straight to the top of a criterium podium at Tulsa Tough. Then, when he shifted into his mountain bike comfort zone at Leadville, his LifeTime journey all of a sudden took on a whole new complexion.

Wilson went from fighting for a start in the series to fighting for the top spots with his Leadville Trail 100 MTB runner-up spot and then a win at Chequamegon. Fifth at the season-ending Big Sugar Gravel was enough for a third-place overall and to clinch a guaranteed spot in 2026. There is now no doubting what the 25-year-old is truly capable of. (SG)

Mārtiņš Blūms

Martins Blums gained entry into this year's Life Time Grand Prix as a wild card with top finishes at Sea Otter Gravel and Unbound Gravel 200. A 12-time mountain champion of Latvia, including the 2024 Marathon MTB national title, Blums was in the chase group behind winner Matthew Wilsom at Chequamegon MTB and finished eighth. He then surprised the field in second overall at Big Sugar Gravel, where he surged from 12th to seventh overall in the final series standings.

Big Sugar was indeed big for his 31st birthday, racing with bib number 31. He made a breakaway group after backtracking from a wrong turn, finished on the podium in second place, and, with a series top-10 finish, earned his ticket to return in 2027.

He had limited gravel racing in his legs when he started at Sea Otter Gravel in California, but had support for his solo season from Scott Sport USA. Unbound was unfamiliar territory, which he said made him nervous, "but at the same time, it will be a cool challenge," he admitted on a social post. A knee injury at a World Cup mountain bike race in Switzerland kept him away from Leadville Trail 100 MTB, so we'll have to wait another year to see if his precision on a mountain bike can give Keegan Swenson a run for his money. (JT)

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Manon Bakker took her first Superrestige series win on Wednesday, the Velosport Veluwe rider dominating the race, riding alone to take the victory at the Jaarmarktcross in Niel.

Bakker escaped on the second of the five laps of the muddy course, eking out a lead and holding it. She eventually crossed the line 14 seconds ahead of Italian champion Sara Casasola (Crelan-Corendon) in second, with Denise Betsema (De Ceuster Bouwkranen) third.

The race was notable for the abandon of World Champion Lucinda Brand, the Baloise-Poetsbureau Lions rider crashing out on the opening lap.

With Bakker well ahead early on in the race, the day became a huge battle for the podium places, with Betsema edging clear first before Casasola launched her bid to close down Bakker late in the piece.

Bakker has had an excellent start to the year, opening her 2026/27 by winning six North American races from eight starts before returning to Europe for her first season riding as a privateer, running her own team.

In conditions which suited her to the ground, Bakker rode an almost flawless race, building her advantage quickly and defending brilliantly, slipping over only once, in the thick mud.

The third round of the season-long Superprestige series, the annual Jaarmarktcross in Niel, was held over five laps of a varied course, with plenty of sand, a series of what look like moguls, short sharp climbs, run-ups and plenty of mud.

The first sand pit came early in the lap, and, with none of the riders able to ride it, the bunch was spread in the first few hundred metres. Amandine Fouquenet (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) exited in first place, and with teammate Leonie Bentveld behind her, the French rider quickly had a gap.

After winning the European title in controversial circumstances, Brand set off in pursuit. However, on one of the many short climbs she hit the barrier and was forced to retire from the race with an injury to her ankle.

As Brand rode back to her team camper, Fouquenet was caught, with Aniek van Alphen (777TV) and Bakker briefly gapping the two Pauwels Sauzen riders.

However, as the second lap wore on, the in-form Bakker, fresh from a clutch of race victories in North America, rode clear, taking a lead of 18 seconds into lap three ahead of an expanded six-woman chasing group.

At the end of the third lap, she had lost only one second of that advantage, with Betsema and Casasola beginning to eat away at the lead.

On the final lap, Casasola dropped Betsema and began to pressure Bakker, closing in, almost to within touching distance, but the Dutch rider held her nerve and form to take the win.

Results

Bike tech company Garmin has announced a partnership with the user-based navigation app, Waze, to provide drivers using the app with real-time locations of riders.

It’s hoped the collaboration will increase rider safety, with drivers alerted to the presence of cyclists and better informed to slow down and take appropriate action. "By bringing Live Cycling Alerts to Waze, we’re giving drivers a helpful heads-up so they can slow down, stay aware and safely share the road," said Waze VP and GM, Gai Berkovich.

The system works when riders using one of Garmin’s compatible bike computers, like the new suite of Edge devices, or smartwatches activate the LiveTrack feature, using the Garmin Connect app on a smartphone. While this was created to allow riders the ability to share location, planned route and other features with family and friends, this now extends to the partnership with Waze.

"This collaboration brings greater peace of mind to cyclists by extending the benefit of LiveTrack to motorists using Waze for greater awareness of their surroundings," read the Garmin press release.

"Location sharing is temporary and session-based, and the cyclist’s personal information will not be shared or displayed in Waze." It also applies only to outdoor cycling activities.

Instead, what Waze users will see are 'Live Cycling Alerts' informing drivers of the cyclist’s presence on the road, with rider icons moving on the road in their vicinity.

"Garmin is well-known in the cycling industry for its safety-focused products and features, and we are excited to work with Waze to bring this unique feature to cyclists and drivers alike," said Garmin’s Vice President of Consumer Sales and Marketing, Susan Lyman.

"By increasing awareness between cyclists and motorists, this new tool is designed to foster a safer riding environment for Garmin customers by giving drivers valuable real-time visibility to their whereabouts, helping to create a more connected experience for everyone on the road."

Waze was created in 2009 as a community-based navigation application, which employs its users' generated travel information to provide the best navigation options.

What do you think? Will you activate this feature on your Garmin, can it really make your ride safer? Let us know in the comments.

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Five years ago, Johan Price-Pejtersen looked to be on the verge of a highly successful career as a professional cyclist, but it is now fizzling out at the age of just 27.

The Danish rider claimed the U23 time trial world champion in Bruges in 2021, to go alongside his Danish and European titles. Beating Luke Plapp and Florian Vermeersch in Bruges, he announced himself as a future star and, though he did already have a professional contract with Uno-X, earned a move to the WorldTour with Bahrain Victorious.

After three years with that team, Price-Pejtesen spent the past two years with Alpecin-Premier Tech, but has decided to hang up his wheels at the end of 2026.

"It's an upheaval, but it's also a decision I made quite a long time ago," the 27-year-old said on the Danish Forhjulslir podcast.

"When you've been in cycling for a long time, you gain some experience. I've always said: 'I'll keep going until I don't think it's fun anymore'. Some things sound noble in the moment. The fact is that I continued riding my bike even after I thought it was fun."

As well as losing the passion for the sport, Price-Pejtersen also suggested he encountered physical problems that held him back.

"I had a period of two months where every time I went out to train, I felt like I had eaten something bad for breakfast, like I was going to throw up," he said.

"It's strange, but also true. I've spent some time thinking about it and getting used to it."

No pro win, controversially

Price-Pejtersen has raced sparingly since making his first and only Grand Tour appearance at this year's Giro d'Italia, where he placed a notable seventh in the time trial.

Since May he has only completed 10 race days, all on Danish soil, winding down his career with a final pro-level appearance at the Tour of Denmark followed by two criterium races.

Price-Pejtersen largely slotted into a domestique role over the years, and while he did achieve some strong results against the clock – including podiums at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Chrono des Nations – he never managed to win a race during his career.

That last fact is mired in dispute and controversy, however, after Price-Pejtersen thought he'd won the Danish national time trial title in 2024 before having the title taken away not once but twice in a bizarre string of events.

He set the fastest time but was soon disqualified for riding on a pavement and despite the Danish Cycling Union (DCU) reinstating him as the winner seven months later, after another five months the UCI ruled that the DCU had no power to do that and reversed the decision once more.

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Sven Nys' cyclo-cross team will be searching for a new title sponsor as Glowi, owner of cleaning agency Het Poetsbureau, is set to withdraw from its sponsorship deal at the end of this year.

Glowi took up a multi-year co-sponsorship of the team at the start of 2025, but the company had an option to withdraw at the end of each year.

"That option has now been exercised," Sven Nys, who runs the Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions team, told Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

The team currently have eight riders on their roster across the men's and women's elite and under-23 ranks, including recently-crowned European champions Thibau Nys and Lucinda Brand, and Annemarie Worst and Pim Ronhaar.

Thibau's father Sven said Glowi's decision to withdraw from sponsorship is unrelated to team results. Het Laatste Nieuws reports that the company is facing its own difficulties.

"We built an incredibly good relationship with the people from Glowi and Het Poetsbureau, where I myself used to give cycling clinics to cleaning staff in all provinces. They were happy with our performance, and we gave them enormous visibility," Nys said.

"[The decision] is also completely unrelated to our team. They made a decision, and we respect it."

A mid-season distraction

The team will continue with Baloise on board until the end of the 2027-28 cyclo-cross season, though they're now searching for a new co-title sponsor, with a contract set to begin mid-season.

"At a more difficult time for us than for a road team. Because we are in the middle of a cyclo-cross season and the contracts run until January 1. That leaves us in a tight spot," Nys said.

"In 2026, that applies to cycling in general and to every team looking for potential new partners. Unfortunately, in this sport, you are never all set.

"Companies that believe in us and 'want' to invest are our only income. It is a constant matter of keeping your feelers out. Discussions are ongoing. But you don't get something like this arranged in a few months."

'Not doomed'

Nys said that the team isn't in danger of disappearing from the cyclo-cross peloton this season.

He also denied that sports marketing and event company Golazo, which runs several cyclo-cross races and contributes to the team's youth structure and Sven Nys Academy, will step up to contribute to the senior squad.

"That is not true. We are part of 'the house', and they will of course continue to support us. But not in the way it is being suggested. No extra money will certainly need to be injected. In that respect, everything is covered for next year," he said.

"In the meantime, we have already found several additional shirt partners, who will be announced in the coming weeks. This means that we are already making concrete future plans.

"We are certainly not doomed. And we are diligently continuing our search... with the strong relationship with Golazo as a reliable foundation."

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Puck Pieterse folds a slice of pizza the way New Yorkers do, and her very first slice was plain cheese, nothing else. She doesn't usually order it that way, she told me later; she just wanted to taste the basic version first.

That was lunch. For breakfast, she had a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Somewhere along the way, she hit the M&M's store in Times Square and went to town picking up every flavour she can't buy in the Netherlands. She ate enough that it made her feel sick. "It made me fly on the bike," she laughed. "I'm on holiday," she shrugged. Once her stomach settled, the leftovers became her post-ride recovery snack.

It was 24-year-old Pieterse's first time in New York, and she told a small crowd of fans that evening that it was a lot to take in: the noise, the lights, the sheer scale of it. "It's just so much bigger than my European mind can comprehend," she said.

She'd been to a Knicks game the night before. She was still processing the soundtrack: the organ, the sound effects narrating every possession, and an arena that left no doubt which side it was on, with ominous cues when the visitors had the ball and "crazy TikTok songs" when the Knicks did. You would never have guessed that from watching her ride on 8th Avenue at the start of rush hour earlier that day, or from how smoothly she handled clueless onlookers and city vehicles in a bustling Central Park just days before marathon weekend.

Later that evening, at Roberta's Pizza in Midtown Manhattan, I had a little over 20 minutes and three slices of cake to win her trust. We were both speaking our second language, and we were both frazzled by the room, but the sweets helped break the ice.

Pieterse rides for Fenix-Premier Tech, and everyone asks her the same question: how does she do it all? She races cyclo-cross in winter, the Classics in spring, and mountain bikes and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in summer, and she has won at the highest level in all three disciplines.

"It's definitely getting harder to combine everything because every discipline is getting way more specific," she told me. Her 2026 season showed the cost: podiums at Flanders, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour's polka-dot jersey and a third straight bronze at the cyclo-cross Worlds, but not the one standout victory she said she wanted.

The more interesting question is how she keeps her head clear while doing it, how a rider pulled in so many directions stays steady in each one. She came to New York between the road and CX seasons, for a community ride and pizza night hosted by Canyon and Zwift, and I spent the day trying to find out to that question. The answer, it turned out, involved circles. And not just riding around in them.

Protecting the circle

The question came from the crowd gathered on Roberta's rooftop, read aloud by the evening's host, Matt Stephens: did she have a mantra, or any trick for staying focused under pressure?

She has circles, Pieterse explained. Circle one is the race and only the race: your line, your effort, what you are doing right now. Circle two sits a little wider; it can be your mom or dad shouting from the tape, and they are allowed in briefly, but then you go back to circle one.

The danger is drifting further out. "On a bad day, you start hearing people talking about you, or your own head joins in with the negativity," she noted. She recognizes it happening and steps back inside.

Her race mornings are built to keep the first circle uncluttered. At a cyclo-cross race, her father prepares her pre-race meal, she rides two or three laps of the course, then tries to visualize it back at the camper, with Dutch rap in her headphones. Nothing superstitious, she insisted.

Back on 8th Avenue at peak time, circle one is a cab door, a delivery cyclist salmoning against the flow, a pedestrian stepping off the curb mid-text. Pieterse slid through the chaos without appearing to think. When I asked how she made urban survival look so effortless, she gave me a look that suggested it was not much of a question.

To her, it is simply second nature. "If you race a lot, you get a bit of awareness about what others are going to do, but of course you can never be one hundred per cent sure," she said. At home in the Netherlands, she rides through a city centre every day to reach her group ride meeting point. Dutch cities are smaller, she notes, but there are more of them, so traffic is woven into every training ride. She knows her routes, including – she admits with a grin – when she might sneak through a red light.

"I think if you're less into cycling and you're a tourist here, it's really dangerous actually with all the cars."

Still, she'd love to ride an alleycat race in New York, she said, before thinking better of it: it wouldn't be safe. NYC drivers, though, got a good review. "They know there are cyclists around, so that's nice."

I watched most of it from a few bike lengths back, on a Canyon Aeroad borrowed from her sponsor. I chased her through Midtown and into Central Park, where about 40 riders had turned out for the Canyon and Zwift community ride, on a loop already crowded with marathon-weekend runners and visitors. Over three laps, Pieterse found her way to the wheel of nearly every rider, chatting and making jokes as she went.

'Cross, Classics, and cake

Most fans on the ride wanted to know when her cyclo-cross season will start. Pieterse, who is still working out her 'cross schedule, was more curious about them: why they took up cycling in a city with so little room for it, and whether they only ride in the park or live somewhere with better roads. She was struck by how big the local community is, given how few bike shops she had spotted while walking around.

I'd heard Pieterse plans rides around bakery stops, so she didn't argue when I told her we would do a cake tasting while we talked. Cakes and sweets are part of the programme. At her local coffee stop back home, she orders apple pie in slices so massive they are meant to be shared.

She took the tasting seriously. The tiramisu was "surprisingly marshmallowy… when it should have been more mascarpone and alcohol," while the red velvet cake had the texture the tiramisu missed. "I know my cakes," she said. The key lime cake, airy and bright, ended up being her favourite.

Between bites, I asked how she manages to switch between disciplines. She splits her year into blocks: road, mountain bike, with the Tour de France sandwiched in between, then back to the mountain bike. 'Cross fills the winter, and by January, she is deep into the intense CX calendar. By the end of February, she has pivoted back to the road for the Classics.

The switch itself is smaller than people think, she insists. She trains on both bikes at home. She sees the Spring Classics and cross-country mountain biking as requiring the same type of explosive effort. The Classics are simply far longer, demanding deeper fatigue resistance.

The hard part is accepting what she has to give up. Her Classics rivals spend an entire winter preparing only for those races, while she is racing 'cross. Before mountain bike Worlds, she notes, she could have been at an altitude camp instead of racing the Tour.

"I'm fully committed to cycling and to becoming the best cyclist I can be," she said. She accepts the trade-offs because variety gives her so much. Pressed by the crowd that night to choose just one discipline or bike, she called herself an all-rounder, then picked the mountain bike. "For now," she added.

It circles back to her mental framework. The ground beneath her keeps changing, from mud to cobbles to singletrack, and her job is to keep circle one steady.

Her record explains why people keep asking about her ability to do it all. In 2024, she won the elite cross-country mountain bike world title, then a stage of the Tour de France Femmes on her first attempt, along with the young rider's white jersey. In 2025, she won La Flèche Wallonne, then five MTB World Cup races in a row.

Then came 2026. Before the Ardennes, she told her team she would "rather have one real stand-out result than three podiums." She got the podiums instead: third at Flanders, second at Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, no win.

When asked which win she would relive, she chose the 2024 Tour stage from Valkenburg to Liège over the closing climbs of La Doyenne. That day, on rain-soaked roads, at just 22, she beat race leader Demi Vollering in a photo finish, with Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney third.

"I had, in the evening before, in the night, I woke up... I dreamed that I was winning today," she told the room. "And then in the end, the final, I just knew what was going to happen. It was super weird."

There is one major title still on her radar. She has stood on the elite cyclo-cross Worlds podium four years running, silver in 2023 and bronze in each of the three years since, but never on the top step. The next chance comes in Oostende, Belgium, at the end of January. A few moments after we talked about it, a stray balloon shaped like a number one drifted up over us and into the black-blue evening sky.

'It's sad that we don't have the US World Cups anymore'

Pieterse knows North American 'cross better than most Europeans. She won the under-23 world title in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 2022, and has raced World Cups in Iowa and Wisconsin. No World Cup has come back since the 2023/24 season. The 2026/27 series has 12 rounds, including Glasgow on December 13, but none in North America.

When I told her that American cyclo-cross has struggled to regain its momentum in recent years, and asked what the US could learn from Europe, she was frank. "It's a very Belgian sport," she said. In Belgium, a fan can reach most races in about half an hour by car; here, she pointed out, it can take a seven-hour flight. What she liked about the American 'cross races she has done was the weekend format, with amateur and kids' races building to the World Cup on Sunday. She also wondered whether a late-season slot on the 'cross calendar might make the trip across the Atlantic easier on riders. Mountain biking, she noted, wrestles with the same question of where to put its World Cups.

"I think it's sad that we don't have the US World Cups anymore," she said. For riders, those races were a lot of fun, and though getting here is a long trip, "once you're here it's always been worth it." When the biggest names come, the public follows. Several people on the Central Park ride had told her they had watched her race 'cross here.

The other fix, she thinks, is online. "I think being present on social media can play a big role as well," she said, though geo-restrictions make races harder to watch in the US. And 'cross suits a screen: at "only fifty minutes to an hour," she said, a CX race is easier to watch than a mountain bike race.

Back to reality and racing

Whilst New York is something of a holiday, her next big trips away will be for racing. The 2027 Tour de France Femmes starts in Leeds on July 30, the race's first Grand Départ in the UK. She missed the big-name climbs of recent editions and sees chances for herself and Fenix-Premier Tech on a route with shorter climbs. "I think it will only make maybe even a more exciting Tour."

Home is Amersfoort, in the middle of the Netherlands, where she grew up and still lives. She started riding because her father came home muddy from weekend mountain bike rides with friends, and she wanted that too.

As a kid, she said, announcing she would turn pro was like saying "you wanted to be a police officer or a firefighter," something you say without really meaning it. Then, as a first-year junior, she had a good enough season to earn a spot at the Worlds in cyclo-cross and mountain biking. By the time she was under-23 and had signed with Alpecin-Deceuninck, she was suddenly sharing a roster with Mathieu van der Poel.

When things get heavy, she doesn't call cycling insiders. She calls a high school friend, a student whose life looks nothing like hers, whenever their schedules line up. And she calls Mischa Bredewold, who grew up two kilometres away. Bredewold is two years older and rode in the same club as Pieterse's sister, which made Puck the tag-along little sister for years. Now, both are professionals, and over the last couple of years they have grown close. Bredewold, Pieterse said, has a view on most things. "And it's usually a good opinion."

New York is a city built on excess, and hers was a bag of M&M's. From there, she headed to a short team camp in Lisbon, with rides on city bikes, more pastries, and surfing lessons. Then it was back to the Netherlands, back to the mud, and back to Moncler, her pet chicken who terrorises the neighbourhood. "She attacks cats, ducks, dogs," Pieterse said. "Nothing is safe." That includes her mother.

"I don't think I could do just one discipline," she said. "I would go out of my mind." She needs the change of scenery, and believes the variety makes her "a more whole cyclist." After a day with her, I'd put it a little differently. The mud and the cobbles, the cakes, the surfboard, the friend who has nothing to do with bikes: none of it pulls her away from the racing. It's what keeps her whole enough to do it.

Back to when the number-one balloon drifted above us, she didn't look up at it for long. A team camp was waiting, then a cyclo-cross season with the Worlds in Oostende at the end, and a rogue chicken at home in need of supervision. The city had been loud all day. As far as I could tell, circle one had stayed quiet.

Organisers of The Traka World Series, formerly Gravel Earth Series, announced the ranking procedures to determine overall winners for 2027, with balanced points for the top 25 riders in pro divisions at each of the seven races, and a new system for riders to earn entry into the pro category as well.

There will be no enhanced scores for individual events, which had been the case in the past at The Traka 360 and the series finale, The River. At Traka Girona and the final series stop, now The Last Dance, points will be the same as other events.

In the past, riders could compete at either The Traka 200 or The Traka 360, or both, which was rare, with more points on the line in the longer distance. This year, pro fields will be consolidated in the reworked 300km distance on May 1, which will offer points and recognise clear winners in the big tune-up before Unbound Gravel.

There are new criteria for riders to line up in the pro division for the popular Girona race, which prioritise results from last year. Riders having finished within 5% of the winning time in their gender category can race as pros. Top finish times from the year before also apply from The Traka 200, Santa Vall, and the longer distances from Ranxo Gravel, Gravel Desert and The River 160.

And at the first three series races in 2027, the same 5% margin will apply for riders to gain pro status, including a new event in late spring referred to as 'The Traka in the Americas'. Organisers added that a limited number of wild card entries would be considered, "assessed on the sporting information provided and the eligibility criteria of each application".

There will be no minimum number of events required in the series, however, athletes must start the season finale in October, The Last Dance. Once the seventh and final event has been completed, the final standings will be decided from points earned after dropping the two lowest scores in the calendar.

The final top 10 in The Traka World Series pro leaderboards, men and women, will share a €20,000 overall prize purse. At each event, the top five pro riders, men and women, will have another €8,000 on offer, with CORE4's purse double that amount.

The Rift seeks more women to register for 200km distance

The Rift gravel race in Iceland is officially sold out for 2027, but organisers announced a few days ago that they are keeping a limited number of entries open for women in the 200-kilometre distance. They want 200 women on the July 24 start line for the 200km distance.

Started in 2019, The Rift offers routes from 60km to 330km from Hvolsvöllur, Iceland across the rough volcanic highlands, marked by multiple icy-cold water crossings. The 200km distance is considered the main event, won last year by Anton Stensby and Haley Smith.

Registration for The Rift 200k is $320. For any rider, male or female, who wishes to compete in shorter categories - 140km or 60km - opportunities are still available to join the waitlist. The long-distance 'Abyss' event is closed.

Valley of Tears expands racing for US Collegiate Gravel Championships

Valley of Tears returns next year for a fourth year, March 5-6, with two days of racing in Turkey, Texas. Organisers announced they will expand the number of titles on offer for the USA Cycling Collegiate Gravel National Championships, with four stars-and-stripes jerseys up for grabs in 2027.

A star-studded elite field is expected to compete for a $45,000 prize purse, split evenly between pro women and pro men. The first payouts are at Friday's Dirt Crit presented by QTS with $10,000 for pro/open competitors. The balance is shared on Saturday for the 93-mile main event, with chunky gravel, old rail trail, sand and singletrack that passes through Caprock Canyons State Park.

In 2026, Valley of Tears hosted the inaugural nationals for collegiate riders, won by Nate Meister (Fort Lewis) and Emma Kasza-James (Midwestern State). Fort Lewis College took the team title. This year, four categories will be offered - Varsity Men, Varsity Women, Club Men and Club Women.

The event offers three ride distances - 20 miles, 50 miles and 93 miles. Registration is limited to 1,000 riders across all fields and opens with discounted rates at 7:00 a.m. CDT on December 1, 2026.

Last year, Sofia Gomez Villafane (Specialized Off-road) captured her third consecutive victory at Valley of Tears, holding off Paige Onweller (Trek Driftless), while Alexey Vermeulen (ENVE) won from a three-rider sprint among the elite men.

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Canyon-SRAM have announced an AI research and development partner for the remainder of 2026, with the German squad working with FasCat Coaching as they prepare for the 2027 season.

In what looks to be a first in the women's peloton, Canyon-SRAM will use FasCat's CoachCat AI coaching platform to run an "AI-powered season review" on their riders to help prepare for the new season.

The team say that CoachCat can analyse riders' performance history throughout their career "to identify patterns and insights that might otherwise go unnoticed." The system is said to be capable of examining the effectiveness of training blocks based on several metrics, including heat, altitude, training load, heart rate, and sleep monitoring.

Canyon-SRAM worked with FasCat in the lead-up to this year's Tour de France Femmes, with the company analysing their riders' historical data to generate predictions for the race itself and training and preparation beyond.

"WorldTour teams are sitting on a wealth of untapped data that could tell them exactly why a rider won or lost, and what to change. CoachCat finds that in minutes, not months. Working with Canyon-SRAM lets us prove at the highest level of the sport what our AI does every day for the athletes on our platform," said Frank Overton, founder and CEO of FasCat coaching, which has been in business since 2003.

The team will take on a new look for 2027 as leader and Tour de France Femmes runner-up Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney leaves for Lidl-Trek. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Tiffany Cromwell are also among the notable departures.

Lucinda Brand, Steffi Häberlin, and Georgia Baker lead the incoming list, while young German talent Antonia Niedermaier will take Niewiadoma-Phinney's leadership role at the year's biggest races.

"We are always looking for new ways to understand performance, and AI analysis of a rider’s full history is a natural next step," said Canyon-SRAM performance director Dan Fleeman.

"FasCat’s AI analytics give our performance staff a fresh, objective look at what has driven each rider’s best results and where we can build for 2027. We have enjoyed exploring this together.”

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Welcome to the first edition of Ask CN, a new AMA-style series on Cyclingnews where our readers get the chance to put their questions to us, our columnists, and more.

For the inaugural episode, we're shining a light on CN Labs, the longstanding series of wind tunnel tests, rolling resistance tests and other empirical inquisitions into bikes, gear and industry trends.

Over the course of the past week, subscribers, readers and followers have been submitting questions to Josh, Will and Tom - the CN tech team responsible for the aforementioned tests. Today, subscribers alone will get to read their answers.

So whether you're curious about the technical details of our wind tunnel protocol, want to know what future tests we have in mind, or even the bike we'd choose for Roubaix, you'll find it below.

And if you're not yet subscribed, then there's no better time to join our ever-growing community that gets unlimited access to all our industry-leading tests, expert tech insight, comprehensive race coverage, and plenty of subscriber-exclusive articles, like our AskCN Q&As! Click here to subscribe.

I trusted this was a solid theory, but we verified it in 2025 when we did our 12 aero bikes test. We not only took along the Emonda, but also the Scott Foil we'd also tested in 2024 as a second 'baseline'.

Using the same protocols, both bikes were around six watts faster than the previous year. If we didn't take a baseline at all, we'd have just concluded that everything tested in 2025 was a similar amount (six watts) faster than the bikes we tested in 2024, even if they were actually equivalent.

The difference between the two baselines (the Foil was around 35 watts faster) changed by just 0.65w across the two tests.

We found 18 watts between the fastest and slowest options, but perhaps most interesting was that there was as much variance between the different high end options as there was between cheap and expensive. This, we believe, is because when you get into the high-end options, fabric choice is tailored to speed.

How about a handlebar showdown? As this is a leading edge, what about exposed cables versus internal routing for the same bars / one piece vs. aero bar and stem etc. It seems like this could be a good place to find some speed without changing one's whole bike (older frames unite LOL) (btlrck)

Would a 35mm tyre fitted to a rim optimised for 35mm tyres be as aero as a 28mm tyre on a rim optimised for 28mm tyres? (tc_fair_weather_rides)

As tyre width grows, so does aero drag. A 32mm tyre on the Zipp 303 XPLR wheel is faster than a 28mm tyre on the Hunt CGR 40, but this will mostly be because the Zipp wheel is 14mm deeper.

Remember, though, speed isn't only made up of aerodynamics. I implore you to read our test on 40mm tyres, as we tackled this question fairly head-on. On rougher surfaces, a 35mm tyre is 13 watts faster (per tyre) than a 28mm tyre. When we swapped to a different rim optimised for wider tyres, that saving grew to around 55w per tyre.

However, on smooth tarmac, the benefit of going wider was actually negative. Rolling resistance didn't change with any significance, and the aero got marginally worse.

So the real trade-off is aero versus rolling resistance on the surface you ride, plus a little bit of weight, cornering and acceleration peppered into the equation too. And you'll probably find that the lower tyre pressure of wider tyres means more comfort, better grip, and less chance of a puncture too.

But even if the wind is coming at you from 90° to the right, the actual experienced yaw angle will be less than this, because you're creating your own headwind by moving through air.

There are a few mathematical models that have calculated - in extreme detail - the likelihood of experiencing any given wind angle at any given time, taking into account ambient wind conditions, average riding speeds and so on.

To solve for watts, we calculate a weighted average based on the weightings supplied by one of these mathematical models.

The models all create a bell curve that centres around 0°, and in all cases, the probability of experiencing anything beyond 15° on either side is so small that it doesn't make any difference to the results when we calculate that average, and thus it would be a waste of time to test it.

Next up is Will Jones, who has fronted the Cyclingnews Tech YouTube channel since its launch in Spring, during which time he's ridden and reviewed over two dozen flagship race bikes.

And finally, me (Josh Croxton).

That's all for today, folks. With so many questions still to answer, I've convinced my colleagues to let me do a second part in the coming weeks. Feel free to drop any new questions into the comments of this article, and I'll endeavour to get to them.

And with that, thanks for reading!

A late crash during Saturday’s UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships not only prevented Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado from fighting for the win, but has forced the Fenix-Premier Tech rider out of this week's racing.

Alvarado had been in a with a shout of winning the elite women’s race in Zeddam on Saturday, but was gapped on the final ascent of the punishing 99-step run up. Then, while battling to return to the leading duo of Marie Schreiber and Lucinda Brand, she crashed, injuring her hand.

After the crash Alvarado could be seen shaking the injured hand, and by the time she crossed the line in third place, she was unable to hold the handlebars.

Medical examinations since the incident have revealed Alvarado had sustained a ligament tear to her right thumb, and a date for her return to competition is uncertain.

"She will wear a custom-made brace, and her return to cyclocross racing will depend on how her recovery progresses. We wish her a speedy recovery!" read a post on both Alvarado's and her team's Instagram account.

Alvarado had been scheduled to race this Wednesday, November 11, at the third round of the Superprestige at Niel, but that is now out of the question, with this weekend’s Merksplas round and the X2O Trofee race at Hamme-Zogge also looking unlikely.

With Alvarado out of contention following her crash, the race was notable for the controversial relegation of Luxembourgish rider Marie Schreiber. Though she crossed the line in first place, the victory was awarded to Brand after Schreiber's sprint was judged as irregular, the 23-year-old later accusing the commissaires of stealing the biggest moment of her career.

Alvarado is one of the sport’s leading lights and has won almost every honour in the sport. She is the current Dutch national champion and won both the World and European Championships in 2020, as well as the season-long World Cup in 2024. She is yet to hit the heights this season, though her third place at the Euros was an indication she was progressing towards her best form.

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There are just 70 days to go until WorldTour racing resumes at the Tour Down Under in Australia, but as the anticipation builds for the 2027 season, the first big-name rider on the start list has already been announced: former Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley.

It will mark 10 years since he made his debut riding for the national team UniSA-Australia at the Tour Down Under, and will be his first start since 2023. Despite his GC talents, Hindley has never won his home race, with overall results of 16th, 18th, 18th, and 25th from his four appearances, also taking the start in 2019 and 2020.

The 30-year-old will lead Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in South Australia, having extended his contract with the German team through 2028 back in July. Also already confirmed alongside him will be New Zealand teammate Laurence Pithie, a former Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race winner making his fifth appearance in a row.

"I haven’t raced the Tour Down Under since 2023, so I’m really looking forward to returning," said Hindley. "It’s a great way to kick off the season, racing in the Australian summer and on home roads in front of the Aussie fans.

"The support for the Australian riders is always fantastic, and there’s such a great atmosphere around the race. It’s always a fun event to be part of, and I’m excited to get the 2027 season under way with what I’m sure will be a strong team."

Racing at the men's Tour Down Under will kick off on January 19 in Henley Beach, with six days of action via the Mount Lofty, Corkscrew Road, and Willunga Hill climbs set to decide the next Ochre jersey.

Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) is the defending champion, and while there has been speculation that his teammate and the sport's top rider Tadej Pogačar will make his return from injury in Australia, only Hindley has been confirmed as a headline starter so far.

If Vine returns to defend the jersey, he will be one of the heavy favourites alongside Hindley. Despite his lack of a GC win or podium in the TDU, the latter had a stellar 2026 season for Red Bull, riding to a third-place finish overall at the Giro d'Italia, and taking 15th on GC at the Tour de France while supporting overall runner-up Remco Evenepoel.

"We are thrilled to welcome Jai back to the Santos Tour Down Under and I’m sure all cycling fans will be excited to watch him in action on South Australian roads," said race director Stuart O'Grady.

"He holds a significant place in Australian cycling history as a Grand Tour winner, and at the age of 30 he remains in the prime of his career so we are getting to see the best of him. The course suits his characteristics with his all-round ability complemented nicely by his ability to climb with the best in the peloton.

"I’m sure Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will again field a strong team to open the UCI WorldTour season, and having Jai here along with New Zealander Laurence Pithie brings some real quality to the peloton."

It will be a history-making edition of the Tour Down Under, as the first-ever WorldTour race to hold men’s and women’s racing over the same distance on the same days. After the first three days of action in the men's event, the women's will run concurrently from January 22-24 across three identical routes from Glenelg to Victor Harbor, Christies Beach to Willunga Hill, and Norwood to Stirling.

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The future of Jean-René Bernaudeau’s historic French team is secure, with the outfit currently known as TotalEnergies unveiling a new title sponsor in the form of XEFI, a French IT firm.

The team, which started out as the Vendée youth squad in 1991, has been in the professional peloton since 2000, with the likes of Thomas Voeckler and Pierre Rolland making their mark on the Tour de France over the years, but the threat of its disappearance has loomed large all season.

However, on November 9, three weeks after the initial deadline for UCI licence applications, the team announced a new sponsorship agreement with XEFI, on a three-year agreement.

From 2027, the team will simply be named XEFI.

"I am particularly delighted to see XEFI join forces with Vendée Cyclisme, a company with which we share much more than ambition: a genuine vision of people and the future," said Bernaudeau.

"Personal fulfilment, kindness, high standards, dedication to a job well done and training are at the heart of our shared values."

What is XEFI?

XEFI is a French company based in Lyon that provides ‘a complete and integrated suite of IT services’ to some 25,000 small and medium-sized businesses. 

The firm has been involved with cycling before as a sponsor of the VC Villefranche-Beaujolais amateur team in France. 

"I never thought one day we’d have a partner that resembles us this much," said Bernaudeau in a video message that preceded the announcement. 

The announcement went on to liken the team’s development pathway – which includes its sports-study program for juniors (CREF) and its Vendée U development squad – with XEFI’s training apprenticeship schemes. It also detailed XEFI’s commitment to sport, through the VC Villefranche-Beaujolais team and the company’s employee sports-health program. 

"This project is not about blindly pushing forward, but about restoring meaning to elite sport while remaining true to our beliefs and our commitment to transparency," said Bernaudeau.

"We firmly believe that success begins with developing and supporting the women and men of tomorrow. Since the creation of CREF in 1991, followed by Vendée U – Primeo Energie, our ambition has remained unchanged: to give young people from our region the same opportunities that I was fortunate enough to have. To develop athletes, but above all, to help shape individuals,"

"Selflessness, courage and solidarity are values we have always stood for. This partnership with XEFI allows us to uphold these values and take them to a new level through a medium-term project that we are all incredibly excited about."

Where does this leave the team? 

The financial value of XEFI’s three-year sponsorship was not disclosed, so it is not clear how the team’s budget will compare to the years of TotalEnergies’ title sponsorship. 

However, the team appear confident of continuing along their current tracks, even if they have lost a number of their best riders amid the uncertainty surrounding the team’s future.