Last year, Australia enjoyed an excellent Road World Championships, securing silver with Neve Bradbury in the women's U23 road race category, gold in the mixed team time trial event, and again in the elite women's time trial with Grace Brown. Ben O'Connor rounded out the week with a notably surprising silver medal in the elite men’s road race.

While the West Australian has a much more uneven track record in one-day racing than in multi-day events, he came through strongly in the raggedly fought late battle to stand next to winner Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) on the podium.

O'Connor is not taking part in this year's race "for various reasons", as he told Cyclingnews during the Vuelta a España, but Australia are nonetheless fielding a well-rounded eight-man elite squad both for the time trial - where Luke Plapp and Jay Vine will be gunning for top results - as well as the road race.

"We're an under-the-radar team, if I'm honest, but it's just like in the Worlds last year, where we had a really strong team and we got a guy on the podium at the end," Jai Hindley told reporters whilst en route to fourth overall in the recent Vuelta a España.

"So that was not too bad for little old Oz, eh?

"I think we have a really great team, with some guys who are really in form," continued Hindley, who is slated as a likely co-leader for the elite men's event where he took 18th last year.

"Hopefully I can come out of the Vuelta in pretty good nick, and it's always special to race for the Aussie team, when you get the opportunity. This year, the Worlds on paper is a super-hard course, and I think it'll be a pretty interesting one."

The Rwanda elite men's course itself, with 5,475 metres of vertical climbing, will make for an exceptional event, Callum Scotson, also part of the Australian lineup, told Cyclingnews during the Vuelta.

"For me at least, it's a bit unique, normally when there are so many climbing metres, you think more about a mountain stage," added Scotson, making his debut in the elite men's squad.

"It's certainly tougher than a usual World Championships, and that's where it's a little bit of an unknown, particularly coming so late in the season.

"It's interesting, because no one really knows how it can pan out, with so many climbing metres, some cobbles… everyone will be interested in what the course is really like."

The benefits of three weeks of hard racing in the Vuelta are something Scotson, for one, hoped he would feel.

"Sometimes coming off the Vuelta can be a great thing when you've got those tough legs," as he put it, whilst the effect of the high altitude at Kigali will also play a part, Scotson said.

"I think everyone going for the Worlds will have done something at altitude, whether it's immediately before that," - with Plapp, who has done through August training specifically at the same altitude in the Pyrenees as the Rwanda course - “or even if you're doing the Vuelta, directly before that, so they'll have the benefits of that. But the altitude in itself will only make the racing harder.

"I don't know who Australia is thinking of as their leader for the road race, but I imagine there are maybe three or so guys who can play their cards, and at least here on the Vuelta, we've seen that Jay Vine and Jai Hindley are in great form. There could be one or two others, too, who could turn up and are ready to fight for a result."

Scotson himself is simply pleased to be there after missing out last year due to sickness, and with a fifth in the U23 Time Trial in the 2017 Elite World Championships as his best personal performance.

"It would have been my first time in the elite, so it's nice to be selected again, and I'm really looking forward to it. We have quite a strong team, a lot of strong climbers, and you can see that already here," he said, during the Vuelta.

"So I'm looking forward to going there and just supporting whoever my leaders are, do whatever I can in the early and middle part of the race.”

He agreed with Hindley, too, that Australia were fielding a powerful squad, and that while there were some top standout favourites, 'under-the-radar' squads can always impact in a race as unpredictable as the World Championships.

"With what Ben O'Connor did last year, it just shows - he also wasn't a favourite to make the podium but anything can happen if you arrive with good form.

"This late in the season, you really never know. And I just want to try to assist those guys with whatever they need to get there."

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SRAM argues that there is no sound evidence that higher rollout rations (harder gears, in common parlance) relate to an increased risk of crashing.

The US component rans made their challenge via the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA). The BCA said the "investigation will seek to determine whether the adoption of the ‘Maximum Gearing’ technical standard by the UCI amounts to an anticompetitive decision."

SRAM said it made multiple attempts to engage the UCI and raise concerns about the impact of the gear restriction test and rules but UCI leadership declined to engage in meaningful dialogue.

“This protocol penalizes and discourages innovation and puts our
riders and teams at a competitive disadvantage," SRAM CEO Ken Lousberg said in a statement sent to Cyclingnews.

The new UCI rules on gears are part of a package of measures that the governing body has either imposed or is set to trial, with the aim of improving rider safety primarily by means of reducing overall velocity. The measures include rim depth restrictions and handlebar width restrictions that have drawn the ire of bike fitters and female athletes.

The impending gear restriction rules effectively outlaw anything equivalent to or exceeding a 54x10t drivetrain.

SRAM is the only groupset manufacturer to offer a 10-tooth sprocket, so is the only brand affected by these new rules, which in turn will impact the teams it sponsors, including Lidl-Trek, Visma-Lease A Bike, and Movistar.

Sram and the teams will allegedly suffer a significant disadvantage compared to Shimano and Campagnolo, and their teams.

Here at Cyclingnews we speculated on how SRAM teams will get around these rules given that development of new components takes significant time and investment.

We assumed that mechanics would simply use a longer limit screw to physically prevent the derailleur from accessing the 10t sprocket, in much the same way as we saw from Lidl-Trek at Paris-Roubaix this year with their 13sp to 12sp hack for tighter gear spacing.

This, it seems, is also SRAM’s solution:

“SRAM is the only company, at scale, equipping teams and riders across the world with drivetrains that exceed the rollout limit. The protocol forces SRAM to mechanically disable its 10-tooth cog, reducing gear options and placing SRAM-equipped riders at a competitive disadvantage.”

Beyond simply disadvantaging its athletes, SRAM is also claiming these new rules will cause reputational damage and potential civil liability (presumably from the implication that its systems are somehow less ‘safe’ than compliant ones), loss of retailer and OEM support, erosion of global market share, and ‘up to a decade of reinvestment to recover’.

"Although the UCI refers to the Maximum Gearing Protocol as a “test,” its implementation has already caused tangible harm," the statement read.

"SRAM’s gearing has been publicly labeled as non-compliant, creating reputational damage, market confusion, team and athlete anxiety, and potential legal exposure."

SRAM explained that the company will attempt to use legal action to stop the gearing restrictions from coming into force.

"It is for these reasons SRAM has also sought immediate injunctive relief, halting the gearing restriction requirement at the Guangxi event and any future events," the statement continued.

Gearing and safety

Will forcing SRAM riders to disable their smallest sprocket make them safer? SRAM certainly doesn’t believe so.

This sentiment is mirrored by many pro riders, with the likes of Tom Pidcock being openly critical of many of the new rules.

It must be said that the new rules to try to improve rider safety have been, from an outside perspective at least, imposed in what appears to be a reactionary and haphazard way, with little effort gone into improving things like course design and crowd management.

Likewise, if reducing race speeds is the overall goal, perhaps changing the rules in recent years to make bikes significantly more aerodynamic might not have been conducive to that end, something we pointed out following the results of our recent wind tunnel testing.

Speaking at a press conference before heading to Africa, Murn admitted that Slovenia are the favourites to take home the elite men's rainbow jersey once again, with Pogačar top of the favourites list.

Murn also named Primož Roglič, who arrives in Rwanda off the back of a two-week altitude training camp, will be another rider to watch at the 267.5km race on September 28.

"We are the favourites. The first favourite is the defending champion Pogačar, but I also count on Roglič to turn the tables in Slovenia's favour in the end," Murn said, according to RTV.slo.

"Roglič will join us directly from the high-altitude preparation. He went to Sierra Nevada for 14 days on his own initiative, and we all know how prepared he is when he comes straight to the races."

Murn said he hopes that Roglič will be on hand in the final of the race in Kigali, with the 35-year-old able to "mix things up", even if Pogačar is the team's outright leader.

Roglič's most recent outing came at the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa last month, where he finished 22nd. Meanwhile, Pogačar took second place behind UAE teammate Brandon McNulty at the recent GP Montréal.

"I believe that Primož will be perfectly prepared, so that he can mix things up in the final and ensure the outcome," Murn said.

"But the first favourite is definitely Tadej, who has now proven his strength in the races in Canada, just like last year.

"There will be no hiding places for us in these Championships. Everyone will race against us. I expect some individual escapes from the start, and then an attempt by those in the stronger group to break away somewhere two-thirds of the way."

Murn also talked about team strategy ahead of the race. He said that he expects his team to go on the attack less than they did in Zürich. Instead, they'll hope to cover moves and aim to place a rider in an early breakaway.

"I don't think we will attack, just like we didn't last year. The main thing is to cover the escape of good cyclists like last year," he said.

"I expect a similar story this year, that one of our riders will be there. I expect that he will be well prepared, certainly better than last year, Domen Novak, as well as Gal Glivar. Both of them successfully completed the Vuelta.

"We saw that Matej Mohorič is good, probably in the best condition this year. I would say that we have an almost better prepared national team than last year. It's a shame that Jan Tratnik is not there."

Before tackling the road race, however, attention will first turn to the individual time trial on Sunday, September 21.

Defending champion Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) is the top favourite for glory once again, but Pogačar also has a chance on the 40.6km route, which features 680 metres of climbing.

"When he saw the time trial route, he immediately knew he had a chance to win," Murn said. "I think we will be watching a duel between Belgian Remco Evenepoel and Pogačar."

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The valuation of the company is currently estimated at $2.2bn, thanks to an active user base of 150 million, based on a funding round completed in May of this year. It is unclear at this time how much the San Francisco-based company hopes to raise from this IPO and the valuation it will seek.

What is an IPO?

Strava is currently a private company, meaning ownership of the brand and the profits from it are kept to a small group of individuals, usually the founders and private investors who come aboard as shareholders during rounds of funding, as occurred in May.

An initial public offering is the official launch of the company to the general public on the stock exchange, meaning that if this reporting is true, then members of the public will be able to buy or sell shares in Strava on the stock exchange (which particular exchange is unclear), and the value of the company is more greatly affected by market sentiment.

Signs this was coming?

In 2023, co-founder and outgoing CEO Michael Horvath suggested that an IPO is something the business would consider at the right time. Hovarth subsequently suggested the business needed a CEO with experience to "make the most of this next chapter", before Strava went on to appoint Michael Martin, an ex-Google executive, as its new CEO.

Before this, in 2020, Strava made its leaderboards for KOM/QOM segments available only to paid subscribers, which could be taken as a slow move towards making the app more financially viable, too.

Last year, however, the platform brought out a slew of new updates, from night mode to aid its users in running or cycling on safe routes after dark to AI integration in the flagging of dodgy segment times. AI has become something of a buzzword with all tech platforms, but combined with the integration of Oakley’s Meta-enabled AI sunglasses, Strava's deployment of it certainly paints a picture of a forward-looking brand with an eye on creating a diverse value package for investors to see.

What will this mean for users?

It’s hard to say at this stage what Strava's going public will mean, but once brands (and especially apps) go public, there is often a concurrent push to create more shareholder value (i.e. extract more value from the customers).

Whether Strava's shareholder accountability would see more monetisation creep in is impossible to tell, but it wouldn’t be out of the question to suggest it will likely have a bigger push to vie for your time in the attention economy for both paid and free users, one way or another. It is for many users already as much a social media app as it is an activity tracker.

Given that the platform is such an ingrained part of not just cycling but more or less any endurance sport at this point, we hope that it doesn’t succumb to platform decay, whereby initially engaging, free platforms (free, such that they draw a critical mass of users) slowly degrade in quality as they seek to claw back money for their investors.

While it didn’t follow an IPO, Komoot drew the ire of many when its founders sold the brand to private equity firm, Bending Spoons, with users lamenting not only the axing of most of the staff but also the continued ‘enshitification’ of the platform with key features like Garmin and Wahoo integration and being paywalled for new users. A cautionary tale, perhaps.

Rotor first launched the hydraulic Uno groupset back in 2015; for the most part, it seems to have remained an interesting, alternate option rather than properly challenging offerings from the likes of Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo, but never really took off. Rotor's key offerings currently are its cranksets and aftermarket drivetrain parts.

Things may be about to change, though, as the Spanish brand has kept the Uno name and relaunched new gravel and MTB electronic, wireless groupsets today.

There's another key factor in this development, which is the fact that Chinese OEM manufacturer WheelTop acquired a majority stake in Rotor around this time last year.

WheelTop already produces and offers electronic road and gravel shifters, derailleurs and brakes. Now, perhaps the marriage of the two companies will help bring the Rotor offering to the mass market at scale.

We don't currently have a full pricing breakdown for the Uno groupset or any of its components, but Rotor tells us MSRP will be less than €700 for the MTB groupset and around €800 for the gravel option.

Gravel and MTB offerings, with road on the way.

Currently, the Uno electronic groupset will be offered in Gravel and MTB variants, with a full road offering reportedly on the way.

The system is comprised of a rear derailleur, brake levers, brake callipers, and Rotor's existing cassette and cranksets can also be brought into the mix. Rotor cites a wide range of cassette compatibility across different brands as a strength.

Both groupsets focus on 1X, single-ring offerings currently. There is already a range of rotor crankset options to pair the systems with, such as the Rotor Aldhu carbon fibre cranks, but other cranksets could be used.

Both groupsets share the same rear derailleur design generally, but with a few tweaks for larger MTB cassettes. It also appears that the rear derailleur can be configured to work with 10-13 cassettes, potentially offering an advantage over current electronic rear mechs.

The brake levers, which look similar to SRAM units, feature carbon fibre lever blades, titanium handlebar clamps and run on CR1632 batteries. They also claim to feature a horizontal master brake cylinder to facilitate braking with one finger, something the latest SRAM equipment also offers.

The flat mount brake callipers use a monobloc design and ceramic pistons, whilst the system itself runs on mineral oil. Shimano pads and BH90 hydraulic hoses are compatible, which should make things user-friendly for owners and shops.

Weight-wise, Rotor claims the system is in line with its closest competitors, though no weights are given in the attached press material. However, the Madrid-based brand explains that the addition of the brand's already light CNC-machined cassettes and carbon Aldhu cranks provides an advantage weight-wise over competitors' components.

There will also be a Rotor Uno app, available for iOS and Android users, to allow owners to pair and customise the groupset. Metrics from the existing Rotor Power app will also be incorporated into the system in the future.

It's an interesting development, but pricing, accessibility and most importantly, performance, will dictate whether or not the latest incarnation of the Uno groupset sinks or swims.

The president of the Gran Canaria council has warned that the Spanish island would not host the expected final stages of the 2026 Vuelta if Israel-Premier Tech takes part in the race, and the Barcelona Sports councillor has said the city does not want the team at next year's Tour de France Grand Depart in the city.

Israel-Premier Tech is expected to secure a WorldTour licence in 2026 and so will have automatic invitations to the sport's biggest races. However, smaller non-WorldTour races like O Gran Camiño and other Spanish early-season races are able to choose which team they invite.

The five-stage O Gran Camiño is held in Galicia, in northern Spain. The 2025 edition of the race was held in late February and won by Israel-Premier Tech's Derek Gee, but race organiser Ezequiel Mosquera made it clear he does want the team to defend their victory in 2026. Gee has not raced for Israel-Premier Tech since the summer and has unilaterally terminated his contract.

"Right now, any organisation where they competed last year will be asking themselves the same questions we are," Mosquera, the head of the company that runs O Gran Camiño, told the Spanish EFE news agency.

Mosquera attended the Vuelta a España, when Pro-Palestine protesters disrupted the race and even sparked the early end of several stages, including on the final day in central Madrid.

The Spanish Prime Minister publicly supported the protests and has called for Israel to be banned from global sport. Protesters were already present at this year's O Gran Camiño, but didn't disturb the racing.

In October 2023, a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, sparked Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza. So far, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 64,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, with much of Gaza being destroyed.

"It's not an easy situation for anyone," Mosquera said, describing the Vuelta protests as "extremely tense" and "very difficult to manage" for riders, directors, and the organisation. He intends to apply "rigour" and "maximum objectivity" in his decision.

O Gran Camiño could change dates for 2026 and be promoted to the ProSeries category, which would award more ranking points and attract bigger teams.

"We want to continue protecting what we have; we're proud of what we've built in just four years," he said as the UCI prepares to reveal the 2026 race calendars at the Road World Championships in Rwanda.

All riders in all categories will be equipped with a GPS tracking device at every event at the Worlds, with the tracking system enabling full monitoring of rider positions and speeds.

The system will hopefully avoid a repeat of Muriel Furrer's tragic death at the 2024 World Championships in Switzerland after she crashed into trees and was not seen by race officials or medical services.

The GPS tracking system will be in place in all road races, individual time trials, and team time trials in both men's and women's pelotons at the elite, under-23 and junior levels of racing in Rwanda.

The UCI has previously tested the system at the Tour de Romandie Féminin in August with one rider per team equipped with the device. However, the test didn't go fully to plan after five teams were disqualified on the first day of racing following a dispute over the GPS devices.

Visma-Lease a Bike, Canyon-Sram Zondacrypto, EF Education-Oatly, Picnic-PostNL, and Lidl-Trek were disqualified from the race after they disagreed with the UCI over various aspects of the system's implementation – including safety, consent, and liability.

The implementation of the technology is expected to go ahead without any similar disputes in Rwanda, however, as the races are managed by the UCI and will be contested by national federations rather than professional teams.

"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has confirmed it will deploy a GPS rider tracking system to enhance rider safety at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, which will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 21 to 28 September," the UCI announced as the first riders arrived in the Rwanda capital Kigali for Sunday's opening time trials.

"This initiative is part of ongoing efforts of the UCI and SafeR to enhance the safety of professional road cyclists. The GPS safety tracking technology to be used in Rwanda was tested during the three stages of the Tour de Romandie Féminin, in Switzerland, which enabled it to be refined."

The system will allow the UCI to fully monitor riders across all races in Rwanda, allowing for swift reaction in the event of a crash.

"This system, operated from the UCI Road World Championships control centre, will enable real-time monitoring of data regarding the position and speed of the entire peloton, thus allowing for immediate identification of any unusual situations, such as a rider suddenly stopping on the course," the UCI stated.

"In such a case, the rider's exact position will be transmitted to the relevant parties in the convoy – organisers, UCI Commissaires, medical and security services – so that appropriate measures can be taken without delay."

UCI President David Lappartient hailed the introduction of the system and thanked those who have contributed to its development.

"The UCI, together with SafeR and in close collaboration with all stakeholders of professional road cycling, is constantly working to improve the safety of riders. The introduction of a GPS safety tracking system for riders is important and necessary progress in this regard," Lappartient said.

"Thanks to this system, any incident or accident that might have gone unnoticed can be quickly identified, and it will be possible to assist the person concerned as quickly as possible by mobilising those already on the ground and the emergency services.

"I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the development of this new safety device, as well as the National Federations that will inaugurate it during the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews to unlock unlimited access to our coverage of the first-ever UCI Road World Championships on African soil. Our team of journalists will bring you all the major storylines, in-depth analysis, and more directly from the action in Rwanda as the next rainbow jerseys are decided. Find out more.

USA Cycling confirmed that TrainingPeaks Virtual would serve as the new virtual platform for the both the Echelon Racing League and Esports Nationals, with a commitment through 2028 for the national championships.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to continue our partnership with Echelon Racing League for this due to their commitment to hosting premier esports races. By having these events hosted on TrainingPeaks Virtual, we have the ability to create real-life courses and let our members race some of the most historic road events that the US has ever had in real life," said Kyle Knott, national events director for USA Cycling.

The governing body also announced that TrainingPeaks Virtual could be used on Thursday, September 18 for a preview of the 31-mile USA Cycling Gravel Nationals route, which will showcase more than 40 divisions of competitors on Saturday, September 20, in La Crescent, Minnesota for 2025 titles.

TrainingPeaks Virtual offers GPXplore as a new feature to allow individuals to see routes virtually from their own GPX files. TrainingPeaks Virtual also offers realistic racing engagement bringing drafting and cornering to life, which made it a good fit for the Echelon Racing League, which serves as the national calendar for qualification at US Esports Nationals.

“This season, we’re excited to return to our roots by collaborating with USA Cycling and ERL race promoters, showcasing longer-format races, and emphasizing accessibility, all while competing on a platform recognized as the most true-to-life virtual racing experience with uncompromising standards for fair play," said Eric Hill, president of the Project Echelon Promotions, which organises the League. Hill also directs the UCI Continental team Project Echelon Racing, which endorses the League.

Founded in 2020, the Echelon Racing League held five races across two months last season using MyWhoosh as the virtual racing platform, culminating in January 2025 with league championships and a final payout of a $10,000 elite prize purse. This year sponsor merchandise will replace a cash purse.

Like last year, riders wanting to participate in the US Esports National Championships will be required to have competed in at least one race in the Echelon Racing League. This year's league will offer omnium scoring for one-day races, and points after each three-day stage race.

Last year's winners of the Echelon Racing League were USA's Hayden Pucker for elite men and Lisa Hermansson of Sweden for elite women.

The first year of the Echelon Racing League was 2020 and used the RGT Cycling platform. Both the league and USA Cycling moved to Zwift in 2023, which had been used for the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships for several seasons.

Halt for Zwift Academy

Zwift, which continues as a leading platform for indoor training and virtual experiences, recently produced its own elite series with a broadcast and prize purse, and also supported a development academy.

However, ZwiftInsider disclosed in July that Zwift would not continue hosting the Elite Zwift World Series this fall. Then it was confirmed by Escape Collective this week that the business would end their elite esports programmes, including the global talent ID competition for road cyclists.

In March, the Zwift Academy launched pro careers for Emily Dixon, a 19-year-old from Australia for a place with Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, and Noah Ramsay, a 22-year-old Canadian with a spot on Alpecin-Deceuninck's development squad.

The most successful Zwift Academy winners so far are Jay Vine (now with UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), who both won their spots into the WorldTour in the COVID-19-affected finals in 2020.

Echelon Racing League 2025-2026 calendar

• November 1-2, 2025 - One Day Classics
• November 14-16, 2025 - Stage Race
• November 29-30, 2025 - One Day Classics
• December 12-14, 2025 - Stage Race
• December 27-28, 2025 - One Day Classics
• January 9-11, 2026 - Stage Race
• January 31-February 1, 2026 - USA Cycling National Championships

It's been a steady reconnection to cycling, through gravel, mountain and 'cross, for the two-time US U23 cyclocross national champion since illness and injuries left her struggling.

"I came out of retirement, or whatever you want to call it, because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I wanted to prove that I was still tough and capable and powerful. And I have this belief in myself again that I maybe have never had," Noble told Cyclingnews.

"So I realized recently that I already accomplished the thing that I came here to do, but I don't feel done. I feel like I'm just getting started. So I guess the goal is to take it as far as I can go, but with my time off and the healing and growth that I did in the interim, there's part of me that wonders if I can be the best I've ever been."

As a junior and under-23 rider, Noble hit the spotlight as a rising talent during eight seasons on the cyclocross circuit in the US and then in international competition. By 2013, she had won her first junior national title at in cyclocross and the next year won mountain bike titles in Super Downhill and short track cross-country, before winning her first elite women's UCI races as a junior.

After back-to-back US U23 national titles in 2016 and 2017, plus her first of two Pan-American Cyclocross wins, she then earned a silver medal for U23 women at the World Championships in Bieles, Luxembourg. She was set to make waves as an elite rider, or so it seemed.

In 2018 she earned a bronze medal in XCO at US MTB Nationals and then lined up for the 2018-2019 'cross season, taking eight wins and six more podiums before some tough rounds at World Cup races. However, after finishing outside the top 20 at Cyclocross Worlds in February 2019, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and told Cyclingnews previously that her "drive to win was gone, my energy was gone".

"When I was super young, I always raced mountain [bikes]. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I started doing 'cross. I was really just starting to do what I wanted to do when I stopped racing."

She continued with some mountain bike events and in the spring of 2021 she crashed in a US Pro Cup mountain bike race in Arkansas, suffering three fractures in her spine. She announced several months later that it was time for an "indefinite" break from racing. That break lasted three long years, when she made a return at a couple of US cyclocross races on the east coast last year.

"It feels crazy to say, I'm almost 30 and I didn't race for three years. But I don't know what's stopping me," she declared. "At the moment, I feel like I've found a lot of strategies that are working for me to keep it at bay.

"I'm so in awe of the sport as a whole. But during my hiatus, I started doing enduro and downhill racing, so it's really helped the confidence factor, wow. So maybe that's the New England mountain bike tie, that is the gravity component."

She's also mixed gravel into her repertoire. She began her full-time job as a digital specialist with marketing agency Q+M at the start of 2025, which included client work for SBT GRVL. In June, Noble completed the 79-mile SBT GRVL amateur race while serving as a mentor with the GRVL Femmes Team Challenge.

"When the Gravel Femmes started, obviously Q+M part of that process, I was asked if I want to do [ride] the event, and I said the only way that I would really want to do it would be if I could lead a team. That's where the mentorship component started," Noble told Cyclingnews in June at SBT GRVL.

"It's been cool to see the Gravel Femme initiative evolve, from how do we get more women on the start line all the way to where we are now."

Gravel Femmes teams included three or more riders, opening registrations to an otherwise sold out event, and providing captains - Noble, former pros Alison Tetrick and Christie Tracy among them - to nurture a new experience of building to complete a gravel race. Noble said her team had riders doing their longest ride ever as well as making comebacks from injuries, so their goal was to "finish and be happy".

Based in Massachusetts, Noble spent much of her summer on long gravel rides in New England, and supporting the JAM Fund with their Grand Fundo Charity Gravel Bike Ride. She stepped into 'cross racing for just four races last year, but now has made the switch back for a dedicated fall campaign.

She last won the C1 race in Rochester in 2017, finishing that season as the elite women's silver medalist at CX nationals in Reno, Nevada. She'll line up with new sponsor Salsa Cycles on Saturday at Rochester Cyclocross, a course at Genesee Valley Park packed with obstacles, include a modified cobbled section and technical climbing features at Double-Trouble and The Wall.

Lining up in Rochester alongside Noble are four riders at the top of the USCX standings after the opening C1/C2 weekend at GO Cross - Maghalie Rochette (SRAM-Seeker), Manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon), Sidney McGill (Lastig Off-road Racing) and Caroline Mani (Velomafia).

On a recent Instagram post, she emphasised that the feeling she gets at the start line makes her happy to race again: "Racing has always been the reward. Love the opportunity to play and let the hard work run wild. I love to remind myself that I choose to do this. I’m grateful for every opportunity to go deep in this wonderful sport."

The first World Championships held in Africa comes with its own challenges, all outlined by the Belgian team doctor Kris Van der Mieren, who has said, "We started preparing for this World Championships a year ago."

Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Van der Mieren outlined the range of measures the Belgian squad will be taking in Rwanda as they aim to challenge for more rainbow jerseys with Remco Evenepoel.

"Vaccination isn't mandatory, but it is strongly recommended. There's been little discussion; there are no anti-vaxxers among them," Van der Mieren said.

Team members have taken a range of vaccinations, including for hepatitis A, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, typhoid, Het Laatste Nieuws reports.

Evenepoel was vaccinated last winter in order to avoid any potential side effects interfering with his racing calendar, while he and his teammates – and the team staff – will also be taking malaria pills every night and for a week after the competition ends.

"Most tropical diseases are spread by mosquitoes. Prevention is key," Van der Mieren said.

"It's spraying and applying sunscreen 24/7. I'll also advise everyone to wear light-coloured clothing: it's supposed to deter mosquitoes more than dark clothing."

The precautions don't stop with vaccines and tablets, however. Extra measures to prevent any possible spread of illnesses will be taken too, including a no shaking hands rule and Van der Mieren bringing double the usual amount of hand sanitiser.

The team's caution also extends to avoiding relying on local tap water. There'll be plenty of bottled water to hand, while they'll also make extensive use of boiled water – for cooking, to wash vegetables, and for ice, too.

"The [water] quality isn't guaranteed. So, we're not taking any risks. Washing is fine, but for everything else, we'll use bottled water or boil the water first," Van der Mieren said.

"One of our soigneurs, Andy Heindryckx, runs his own catering business at home and is obsessed with hygiene. A refrigerator left open too long, a buffet that's no longer the right temperature, vegetables or fruit that haven't been washed properly: Andy keeps an eye on it all."

Van der Mieren's biggest fear is rabies, even if the chances of anyone contracting the deadly virus next week would seem to be minimal.

"That's my biggest fear. My only real fear, actually," he said. "The chance of someone being bitten by a dog with rabies is minimal, but if it happens, and it's a serious bite, the emergency response is on. Then it's immediate repatriation.

"An untreated infection is always fatal, but if you catch it quickly and treat it intensively with the right medication and wound care, it doesn't have to be fatal. But that's specialist work."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews to unlock unlimited access to our coverage of the first-ever UCI Road World Championships on African soil. Our team of journalists will bring you all the major storylines, in-depth analysis, and more directly from the action in Rwanda as the next rainbow jerseys are decided. Find out more.

But until now, there hasn't been a dedicated electric gravel bike - something many brands now offer - in its lineup.

That changes today, as the Wisconsin brand has launched its first-ever e-gravel bike in the form of the Checkpoint+ SL.

Whilst Trek offered its popular Domane, one of the best endurance bikes, in an electronic form with clearance for up to 38mm tyres, the Checkpoint+SL offers a dedicated e-gravel platform.

We don't cover too many electric bikes here at Cyclingnews, but I've ridden three electric gravel bikes in recent times, most recently the monster Canyon Grizl: ON. All three have slapped a big smile on my face as they ate up the rough stuff.

Many roadies are still a little funny about e-bikes, in my opinion, but the best line I've heard yet on them so far is this: "Do you ever see a rider step off an e-bike without a smile on their face? No."

I tend to agree, a good e-bike will put a grin on your face, and this looks like another good option.

The Checkpoint is Trek's all-rounder, adventure gravel bike, and it sits alongside the racier Checkmate.

Trek claims the Checkpoint+ SL electric version offers the same gravel credentials and comfort, only equipped with a TQ HPR60 mid-mounted motor, which is located at the bottom bracket area of the bike.

The neat TQ motor means this bike, at a glance, looks pretty close to your standard non-electric gravel or road bike, something that seems to be a key selling point these past few years.

The TQ HPR60 is said to provide a range of up to 50 miles paired with a 360Wh battery and 60Nm of torque, as well as a 350-watt max power output. There's a neat top tube-mounted digital display and mode shift buttons at the levers for a seamless e-experience.

The battery itself weighs a claimed 1.835kg and, like most sleek drop bar e-bikes, is located in the down tube of the bike; an additional bottle cage-mounted range extender is also available.

Trek says the bike should let riders say yes to the group ride, and just generally venture into unfamiliar or unknown terrain more easily. Speaking from my own experience, it's easier to see 'what's down that road' when you have the zip of a motor to lend a hand.

Comfort is never a bad thing off-road, and Trek cites a comfortable gravel endurance geometry as well as smoothing from the Isospeed rear suspension system to smooth out rough chatter. The 50mm tyre clearance will also help riders add speed and comfort, as we found in our CN Labs gravel tyre rolling resistance test.

Elsewhere, there are various mounts for frame bags, fenders and a rear rack, dropper and RockShox Rudy suspension fork compatibility, with one model coming equipped with a RockShox Rudy fork.

The frame is also UDH hanger compatible, which should save effort should you ever need to replace it.

Checkpoint+ SL bikes will be available in three model tiers and three colours. There will be SRAM Force and Rival mullet builds alongside a Shimano GRX-equipped SL5 model. The SL 7 AXS bike will come with a suspension fork as standard.

Checkpoint+ SL 7 AXS - $7,999 / £6,500 / €5,999
Checkpoint+ SL 6 AXS - $6,599 / £5,000 / €5,999
Checkpoint+ SL 5 - $5,999/ £4,500 / €4,999

The 33-year-old French rider recently trained for three weeks at altitude in Andorra and feels fresh and motivated despite her intense first season of WorldTour racing with Visma-Lease a Bike.

"I feel good. I'm happy to finish the season in this state of mind and in this physical shape," Ferrand-Prévot said during a sponsor event, according to L'Equipe.

Last year, after the Olympic Games, I was mentally and physically tired. It was hard to keep going, whereas now, I feel like I'm still good despite the victories in Roubaix and the Tour de France."

The women's 164.6km road race course includes 11 laps of the hilly Kigali course and so an elevation gain of 3,350 metres, but the women will not race over the Mur du Kigali.

It should suit a climber like Ferrand-Prévot, who also has excellent bike handling skills. Her major rivals include Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy), Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands), Kasia Niewiadoma (Poland) and perhaps Ashleigh Moolman (South Africa).

"I have nothing to lose at the World Championships. It's a bonus. If I perform, it's great. If I'm not so good, it's not the end of the world. I'm going with the ambition of doing the best possible; there's no pressure.

In 2024, Ferrand-Prévôt took time away from the sport after winning a gold medal in the mountain bike race at the Paris Olympics. She has only raced for 26 days on the road in 2025 and so is still mentally and physically fresh.

"I was a little doubtful, thinking that it's weird to still feel good now," she said.

Last year, I put a lot of pressure on myself for the Games, where, for me, there was no other option than to win. This year, the goal was more to prepare for the Tour as well as possible and to be more mentally free.

"I managed the aftermath well because the before and during were a little more liberating. Then I also went to the altitude in Andorra on my own for three weeks. It also did me good to be able to spend that time alone to finish my preparation."

Ferrand-Prévôt will enjoy two days at home in Monte Carlo and then travel to Rwanda with the French team on Saturday. Athletes competing in the time trials are already in Rwanda, with other riders arriving early next week.

"These two days at home will do me good. My coach told me to unplug and enjoy a more normal life," Ferrand-Prévôt said.

Ferrand-Prévôt is part of a strong French team that includes Léa Curinier, Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Labous, Marie Le Net, Evita Muzic, and Maëva Squiban.

"When you see the names, it's clear that I think we have the strongest team. That's also why I decided to participate. The girls are all at the very highest world level. It's going to be interesting to see what we can all do together.

"It's not just about me, and it will be interesting to see how the Dutch race. Obviously, there will be a little more marking, but that might give us the opportunity to send someone else up front."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews to unlock unlimited access to our coverage of the first-ever UCI Road World Championships on African soil. Our team of journalists will bring you all the major storylines, in-depth analysis, and more directly from the action in Rwanda as the next rainbow jerseys are decided. Find out more.

The 2025 UCI Road World Championships take place in Kigali, Rwanda, starting on Sunday September 21 and finishing a week later on Sunday September 28.

There will be a total of 13 events, with time trials and road races across the men’s and women’s categories and the Elite, U23, and Junior age groups, plus the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay.

As well as being the first Road Worlds to take place in Africa, it’s also the first time there’ll be a dedicated U23 Women’s category – for the past three years a winner was selected from the Elite field.

There are a couple of high-profile absentees, including former Elite World Champions Mathieu van der Poel and Lotte Kopecky, but otherwise, there’s a stellar cast of names eyeing up the iconic rainbow bands that the world champions wear for the following 12 months.

Reigning road race world champion and four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar is there alongside Remco Evenepoel, who has won both the road race and time trial in the past. On the women’s side, former road race world champ Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is looking to add to her astonishing rainbow collection, while the woman she beat to the Tour de France Femmes crown, Demi Vollering, will be a key rival for the ever-strong Dutch squad.

Wondering how you can tune in? Read on for all the information on how to watch the cycling World Championships online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Can I watch the World Championships for free?

As ever, the cycling 2025 UCI Road World Championships are free to watch in numerous countries.

The UCI is offering free live streaming of all events on its YouTube channel. This is geo-restricted in those countries that have a dedicated broadcaster for the event, which includes the UK, US, Canada, and Australia.

In the UK, public broadcaster the BBC continues its commitment to showing cycling’s various World Champs for free, with live coverage spread across BBC TV channels, the red button, and the BBC iPlayer streaming service.

Additionally, numerous free-to-air broadcasters, including Sporza in Belgium and RAI in Italy, will be showing the action in Kigali.

Watch Road Worlds from anywhere

Travelling outside your home country this week? Don't worry about the geo-restrictions most streaming platforms use. You can always employ a VPN for a safe way to access your streaming accounts from another country.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock your usual streaming services from anywhere in the world. What's more, it helps with playback speeds and is a huge boost for your general internet security.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar say NordVPN is the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

Watch the 2025 Road World Championships in the UK

Fans in the UK have a choice then it comes to watching the cycling World Championships, the BBC or TNT Sports via Discovery+.

The BBC is the UK’s public service broadcaster and consistently shows World Championships across cycling’s various disciplines.

The biggest events may make it to the main BBC One and BBC Two channels on terrestrial TV, while the more minor events can be found on the red button and the BBC iPlayer streaming service.

Watch the 2025 Road World Championships in the US

Fans in the USA can watch the 2025 UCI Road World Championships on the Flobikes streaming platform.

Flobikes has a more limited offering for US customers compared to those in Canada but it’s the broadcast partner for UCI events.

You can take out a subscription for $29.99 for the month, or $150 for a whole year.

Watch the 2025 Road World Championships in Canada

As in the US, fans north of the border in Canada will find the cycling Road Worlds action live on Flobikes.

In Canada, a monthly sub is CA$39.99, while an annual pass costs $203.88 and includes most races you could want to watch through the season.

Watch the 2025 Road World Championships in Australia

Stan Sport will be broadcasting all the UCI Road World Championships action in Australia.

Standard plans start at AU$12/month but you will need the AU$20 sports add-on to watch the cycling.

2025 UCI Road World Championships: Schedule

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

The "Comisión Estatal contra la Violencia, el Racismo, la Xenofobia y la Intolerancia en el Deporte - the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance in Sport - proposed the sanctions after reports by the Spanish police after stage 12 to Los Corrales de Buelna, stage 14 to La Farrapona (stage 14) and stage 15 to Monforte de Lemos.

It appears the commission has still to consider protests that occurred later in the Vuelta a especially during the final stage to Madrid, when protesters invaded the roads in central Madrid, forcing organisers to end the stage prematurely.

The Commission focuses on the prevention of violence in sporting events and more usually deals with acts of violence and abuse in Spanish football stadiums.

The Commission said that 17 people face fines of between € 3, 000 and 4,000 and six-month bans from attending sporting events.

This year's Vuelta was hit by a growing number of Pro-Palestine protests, with many contesting the presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team in the Spanish Grand Tour.

Stage 11 to Bilbao was neutralised with three kilometres to go due to protests, and then stage 16 was indeed at the foot of the final climb after protestors invaded the road with three kilometres to go.

Riders voted to neutralise the racing if there were more protests. The time trial was shortened as a precaution, and then the Madrid stage ended early to avoid the mass protest in the Spanish capital.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez publicly supported the Vuelta protests in support of Palestine and then called for Israel to be banned from competing in international sports, like Russia was after it invaded Ukraine.

In October 2023, a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, sparked Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza. So far, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 64,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, with much of Gaza being destroyed.

The protests in Madrid turned violent, with barriers piled up on the road and scuffles with police. So far, there have not been similar violent protests at other professional races, but protests are expected as the situation in Gaza worsens.

"I've never experienced so much hatred. There was absolutely no attention being paid to anything. It was all about destroying things," Visma-Lease a Bike team manager Richard Plugge said after his team celebrated Jonas Vingegaard's overall victory at their service course in the Netherlands on Tuesday.

"I thought it was really intense. Riders were being attacked. At one point, someone was pulled off their bike. As far as I'm concerned, the UCI should have given the Vuelta more support much earlier.

"This is almost something that transcended the sport. Something was happening in Spain. Normally, there are always demonstrations with respect for the sport. I expect that will continue in the final races of the season."

Evenepoel, who has won the time trial world title in each of the past two seasons, is the favourites to do so again this weekend, and he'll also compete for a second road race title in the Rwanda capital Kigali on the following Sunday.

After that, he will quickly travel to France, where he'll take on the UEC Road European Championships, where he'll bid for a second time trial title and a first elite road title.

Evenepoel told Sporza from Brussels airport that he's well up for the challenge of winning "as many jerseys as possible", having recently spent time at a post-Tour of Britain training camp in Calpe, Spain.

"I was able to do everything I needed to do perfectly. It was a relaxing ten days. I trained well and have a good feeling about it. I'm ready to go," Evenepoel said, travelling with Belgian coach Serge Pauwels and his time trial teammates, Florian Vermeersch and Ilan Van Wilder.

"We can use today as a recovery day and then fit in two more good training days. Then we should be fine.

"Rwanda is going to be a unique experience. I'm really curious about what the crowds and the course will be like. I'm pretty open-minded, so I'm not stressed about that."

With no Filippo Ganna on the start list for Sunday's hilly time trial, Tadej Pogačar will line up as Evenepoel's main challenger on the hilly 40.6km route in Kigali.

Evenepoel said that he's anticipating the battle for the rainbow jersey and also singled out Pogačar's trade teammate Jay Vine as one to watch, with the Australian recently finishing second at the Vuelta a España stage 18 time trial.

"When Pogacar sets his mind on something, it's a sign that he feels ready for it. I'm looking forward to the battle. Hopefully, it won't be a close one, but he's a nice extra challenger," Evenepoel said.

"There are other strong men, of course. Jay Vine, for example, is in good shape. But it's up to me to defend my rainbow jersey."

A win on Sunday and a third time trial world title would represent a perfect start to Evenepoel's championships challenge, with the 267.5km road race and then two days of racing in the Drôme-Ardèche region of France up next.

"I won't be home right away, because I'm still racing the European Championships, which immediately follow the World Championships. I'm just going to try to give my best in every race and hopefully come home with as many jerseys as possible.

"Of course, there may be the occasional bad day, but I have prepared well enough to be ready for two weeks of competition.

"I won't be doing much training in between, either. That makes sense, to be in the best possible position at the start of each race. The plan that has been drawn up is well structured."

Today is one of those days, because in just a few short days, Swiss cross-country mountain bike legend Nino Schurter will race his final ever World Cup XC event in his native Switzerland. His bike sponsor, Scott, has created a seriously special custom bike to honour the former Olympic XC and 10-time world champion.

Scott is calling this bike the Spark RC X N1NO. The Spark is a full suspension XC bike that's all about speed. Schurter has raced on Scott bikes for the entirety of his career, and the brand, plus long-time sponsors SRAM, have teamed up to create a custom bike to honour Schurter's final race.

Like Geraint Thomas' final custom-painted Pinarello Dogma F that we covered recently, there are nods to Schurter's biggest wins, and there are a lot of them. The Swiss rider has Olympic medals in all three colours, ten world championships, nine overall world cup titles, 36 individual world cup wins, seven national championships and a European title to his name. You have a palmares like that, you get off the charts custom bikes to ride.

Schurter rides his last World Cup XC race in Lenzerheide this Sunday, after competing in his final ever World Championships last weekend. We don't know yet whether he will continue to race outside of World Cups, but the legacy he leaves in MTB XC racing is assured forever.

While many brands start out by creating an all-round gravel bike before producing a race model, Factor has taken the opposite approach, but hopes the Aluto will have a broader appeal, covering racing, training, exploratory gravel riding and endurance riding.

More stable, but still lively

The Aluto isn’t simply a slimmed-down Ostro Gravel, but has a geometry of its own that, while derived from the Ostro Gravel, is distinct. The head tube angle is a hair slacker by 0.3º, and the bottom bracket drop has been increased by 4mm in a size 56. This, combined with identical length chainstays to keep the rear end feel the same, gives a longer wheelbase by 6mm. Small changes, but these should make the bike feel more planted and stable at higher speeds, and a slightly higher stack at the front end by 5mm should mean it’s easier to fit a broader range of riders.

The frame itself also takes its design cues from various models across the Factor range. The top tube is derived from the lightweight O2 VAM, though in this case it has a set of bosses built in for a bento box. The seat stay insertions, suitably dropped down the seat tube, mirror those of both the new Monza and that wild prototype that hasn’t been released yet, but that we’ve already tested in the wind tunnel.

Like the Monza, it also features a downtube storage box in the slender downtube, and on the underside, another pair of bosses are in evidence for those who need additional water or tool storage. While it certainly isn’t as aero-optimised as the Ostro Gravel, the head tube is still a slight hourglass shape, whilst still allowing room for full internal cable routing and a traditional round steerer, and the tube shapes still exhibit the classic truncated aerofoil cross sections that have become the norm in bike design in the last decade or so.

Tyre capacity has also been increased over the Ostro Gravel. The Aluto has been optimised for a 45mm tyre, but the fork can fit a 52mm, and a 47mm can be crammed into the rear triangle for those subscribing to the ‘wider is faster’ doctrine.

An all-new cockpit and dropper compatibility

The Aluto will also ship with an all-new cockpit from in-house component brand Black Inc. The HB05 follows the same design language as the HB04 that appears on the Monza, but adds 14mm of flare, reduces the drop to 115mm, and reduces the reach to offset the increasing reach of modern shifter hoods.

Interestingly, despite the growing trend on almost all new bikes of ditching the round seaport, the Aluto has a traditional setup with an external clamp. This should help with rear-end compliance as well as being easier to live with and less likely to slip, but it also makes the bike dropper-post compatible, which will be a boon to those prone to technical descending or cosplaying as Matej Mohorič.

Personally, I'm a big fan of this move. Yes, there will be some aero downsides, but for the generalist, it's great. It's less prone to gumming up with muck, and opens up the possibility of suspension seatpost use, too, for really rough terrain.

SRAM UDH compatibility is confirmed, and the frame is electronic and hydraulic only, though it does retain 2x compatibility, which is an increasingly uncommon sight in modern gravel bikes. Factor says it’s to allow customers to choose their ideal setup, whatever it may be.

Finally, the paint, which is offered in two guises inspired by Open Class Dakar vehicles, Raptor Blue and Quattro Grey.

The bike will be available as a frameset in sizes 49-61 for $3,999/€4,699/£3,999, or as a full package with Black Inc. Thirty Four wheels, 45c Goodyear Connector tyres and SRAM Force XPLR for $6,999/€8,399/£6,999 or Red XPLR for $8,699/€10,499/£8,699.

Luckily for you, I have had an advanced copy of the new Aluto already and have given it a couple of decent rides so far. Not enough to bring you a full review just yet, but watch this space.

Despite being up against tough opposition in Jonas Vingegaard, João Almeida and Jai Hindley, and being a relative newcomer to serious Grand Tour GC campaigns, Pidcock defied even his own expectations to finish third, his best overall across three weeks.

Top 10 or, ideally, top five had been Pidcock's goal at the start in Turin, trying to make improvements after an abortive GC attempt at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, where he finished 16th, but his new team were Q36.5 instead rewarded with a podium, a rare achievement for a ProTeam.

Only in the first year of their partnership after Pidcock's move from Ineos Grenadiers, the new environment is clearly working for the Brit, and his team are already thinking about how they can turn third into a win.

"This is only the Vuelta, but it’s a step in the right direction for Tom with the numbers he was doing," Pidcock's long-term coach Kurt Bogaerts told The Cycling Podcast. "I think his body got a signal that it can recover during stages."

A former winner atop Alpe d'Huez, Pidcock has long been a proven climber, but with more focus on one-day races and mountain biking in recent years, his abilities across three weeks of racing were not well-studied until this Vuelta.

However, based on this early podium, Bogaerts thinks the 26-year-old has Grand Tour winning potential, though recognises there still is a gap to close.

"We are three minutes from the winner," he said, referencing Pidcock's deficit to Jonas Vingegaard. "And now we know that if we will potentially win a Grand Tour one of these days, we need to close a minimum of three to four minutes. I think that’s an achievable gap."

That is a belief Pidcock himself shares, too, unlocking whatever wasn't working for him previously at Ineos Grenadiers.

"The work we've done and the shape the team has got me in gives me more confidence than ever that I can win a Grand Tour," he said.

"It’s probably the biggest achievement of my career so far… this third place feels like a win. But it also makes me believe I could fight for more in the future."

With the positive signs, clear belief and growing expectations all there, the question for Pidcock is what's next.

Q36.5 have already made significant investment in his Grand Tour support for the future, bringing riders like Chris Harper and Eddie Dunbar on board for 2026, plus signing Classics riders like Fred Wright to ease the pressure on Pidcock during the Spring.

For Pidcock, his team, and every other rider, the Tour de France may be an ultimate goal, but Q36.5 certainly aren't going to rush towards that, and aren't even guaranteed an invite in 2026, given their status as a ProTeam.

"I don’t think we need to go next year to try to win it, or only to go for the podium," Bogaerts said about the Tour.

Instead, Pidcock and co.'s post-Vuelta path will be about harnessing what went right at the Spanish Grand Tour, and how they can harness that to close the gap to the top.

"I think we will try to copy this and analyze this event in detail. What can we do better? And what do we do well already?" Bogaerts said. "Let’s make it achievable, the progression."

Vingegaard rode to the entrance of the service course in 's-Hertogenbosch, wearing his red race leader's jersey and riding his special red Cervélo bike. Team staff held flares and congratulated the Dane on securing the team's third Grand Tour victory after Simon Yates won the Giro d'Italia and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the Tour de France Femmes.

No official celebrations are planned in Denmark and Vingegaard is expected to spend time at home before riding the road race at the European Championships in France on October 5 and then Il Lombardia on October 11. Like his Vuelta rival João Almeida, he has opted not to ride the World Championships in Rwanda.

Vingegaard is already harnessing his success of 2025 as motivation for 2026.

He has hinted he would like to ride the Giro d'Italia at some point to complete his Grand Tour triptych but seems keen to take on Tadej Pogačar yet again in the 2026 Tour de France.

Pogačar dominated this year's Tour but Vingegaard hopes to build on some improvements. from the Vuelta.

"I believe that when I was at my level in the Vuelta, I also demonstrated a really high quality of racing," Vingegaard told Feltet.dk after the improvised Vuelta podium ceremony in Madrid on Sunday night, which was suggested by Tom Pidcock's family, with other teams then invited and the makeshift podium created with a race backdrop and cooler boxes as the podium steps.

"It's clear that I had some bad days in the Tour, which I still struggle to explain. However, when I was on my game, he couldn't ride away from me, so I feel I've closed the gap to him from last year."

Vingegaard rode the Tour-Vuelta double for the second time in his career this year and seems to have fully recovered from his terrible crash injuries of 2024. He now has more confidence for the future.

"Yes, I think so. I also believe the Tour de France gave me some belief and hope," he said.

Vingegaard won the Vuelta as the pro-Palestine protests intensified. The final stage was ended before riders could reach central Madrid after the final kilometres was invaded by protesters.

Vingegaard has always shown understanding for the position of the protesters but wanted the Vuelta to fish safely.

"At no point was I really in danger. I also didn't see them run into the road in front of me. The organisers did a good job," Vingegaaard told Dutch television channel NOS, refusing to enter the political debate that exploded due to the protests.

"Everyone has the right to demonstrate. I hope everyone got away unscathed, because it looked quite violent," he told Sporza.

"I do hope we can continue to do our job in the future. Teams and organizers invest a lot of time and money in it, so it would be a shame if we couldn't finish the races. For now, it seems to be limited to Spain."

Twenty-three-year-old Piganzoli will step-up to WorldTour level in 2026 after three seasons with Polti VisitMalta. Piganzoli is part of the same generation as Giulio Pellizzari and finished third in the Tour de L'Avenir behind Isaac del Toro and Pellizzari in 2023.

Piganzoli won the Tour of Antalya in 2024 and was second in this year's O Gran Camiño and the La Route d'Occitanie in the French Pyrenees. He finished 13th in the 2024 Giro d'Italia and 14th this year. He was third in last year's Giro dell'Emilia behind Tadej Pogačar and Tom Pidcock.

"This is a big step in my career,” Piganzoli said when Visma announced his signing.

I’m excited to race for a new team and to meet all the new teammates and staff. I was really drawn to the project at Visma-Lease a Bike because I believe I can truly continue developing here as a GC rider.

"There’s so much expertise in this team: experienced riders, top equipment, strong support staff, and more. Step by step, I want to keep growing as a general classification rider."

He will join Visma-Lease a Bike's development group within the WorldTour set-up, that includes Cian Uijtdebroeks, British sprinter Matthew Brennan, Jørgen Nordhagen, and Niklas Behrens. Piganzoli will eventually play a role alongside Grand Tour leaders Jonas Vingegaard and Matteo Jorgenson.

"Davide is a rider in whom we see a lot of potential,” said Head of Racing Grischa Niermann.

"He will initially strengthen our Grand Tour squad in a supporting role, but he will definitely have opportunities of his own as well. We want to grow with him to the next level as a GC rider, and we’re happy he chose us and our project."

Visma have also signed French rouleur and national time trial champion Bruno Armirail from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Filippo Fiorelli from VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè and Timo Kielich from Alpecin-Deceuninck.

The team has lost sprinter Olav Kooij to Decathlon, while Dylan van Baarle will move to Soudal-QuickStep and Tiesj Benoot to also goes to Decathlon in 2026.

Cyclingnews will cover all of the 2026 cycling transfers from around the men's and women's pelotons with news, analysis, and an updated transfer index, to make sure you don't miss a thing this transfer season.

It's true that when Pogačar attacked last year with 100 kilometres to go in Zurich, that was effectively his Slovenian teammates' job done for the day. They could easily have climbed off and gone to watch him ride to victory from the comfort of the Slovenian team bus.

Novak points out that defending a title, rather than going for it the first time, will make for a fresh series of challenges. So, too will the demanding Rwanda course and racing at altitude.

For Pogačar, there is the added sense of responsibility that riding for the number one rider in the world automatically brings. Particularly when that rider has been wearing a rainbow jersey for the last 12 months.

"Last year it was like that," Novak told Cyclingnews about his 'easy' role in Zurich as Pogačar completed his solo attack.

"But this year, we will see how it's going. I think the course is pretty good for him, so we will try our best to win it again.

"It's hard to say if the course will be more difficult, really it's the riders who make a race hard. There's certainly a lot of climbing, like in a Classic, and by the end in those races, after 200 kilometres not a lot of riders still have the legs."

In any case, as Novak says, a rider as versatile and powerful as Pogačar - and who showed excellent form in Canada - can shine on any kind of terrain, regardless of where the race takes place.

"When Tadej plans to be ready, he's ready," Novak said. "I think he needs a few race days and that pace to open up the engine, and then we'll see.

"You know Tadej, he can win almost every day, and I think he will come in the best shape. We have quite a good team, and we'll try to bring him into the best place possible so he can go for the win."

Novak is not totally certain of where he'll fit in the Slovenian order of battle on Sunday, 28, in Rwanda.

Given the absence in Africa of Slovenian stalwart Jan Tratnik - the last teammate to stay with Pogačar in Zurich before he blasted off and who has something of a team captain's role in the squad - there may need to be some alterations.

Primož Roglič, Matej Mohorič, Luka Mezgec, Gal Glivar, Matevž Govekar, Jaka Primožič and Matic Žumer will also compete in the road race.

"I don't know specifically what my job is but I think I'll start pulling after 150 kilometres and try to make some selection and then we will see," he said.

"We've lost a lot with no Jan Tratnik because he's a strong rider and he's got some problems with injuries right now. But we will see how the race is going. Maybe I will need to take his place. In any case, everybody will try their best and we'll try to win."

Apart from his own talents, Novak has the advantage in a World's team of being a trade teammate at UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

"I know Tadej very well, especially in the races, what he likes to do and when and how he works best.

"It's special to race at Worlds because with the National team it's always a bit different. In UAE, we know each other, and in the National team there are other riders you don't know so well."

Discussions to finalize the details of the Slovenian strategy, such as the role to be played by Roglič, will be made "once we get there."

"We haven't talked about that yet," Novak said.

After an exceptionally hard Vuelta, Novak admitted that he is not in as good shape as last year, but he's confident that, as he puts it, "I'll step up for the Worlds.

"It'll be special to be racing in Africa, but also it's special racing for Tadej in these kinds of events too. I'll try to do as much as possible for him, and that's what matters."

Last year, after victory in the World Championships, he said, while Pogačar was logically given a hero's welcome on returning to Slovenia, for him, it was back to business as usual in other races. But that didn't - and doesn't - alter the sense of achievement at being part of a massive success for his country's cycling, he added.

"For me, it was normal, but with Tadej it's very different. I went directly to a race in Croatia, and when you don't go home directly, it's always a bit of a comedown.

"But for me, racing with Tadej is a dream situation - always. It's sometimes more pressure when you race, but you also feel very proud."

Team GB are fielding selections in almost every category, but will not be represented in either the elite women's road race or the elite or U23 men's time trials.

In the men's road race, Pidcock and Onley come fresh from their respective third at the Vuelta a España and fourth at the Tour de France, and will be among the contenders on the tough, climb-filled course in Kigali.

They'll be joined by Mark Donovan, Oliver Knight, James Knox, Bjorn Koerdt, Fred Wright, and former Tour du Rwanda winner Joe Blackmore. None of those riders has opted to also ride the TT, with GB's foremost time trialist, Josh Tarling, still recovering from a back injury.

Anna Henderson is the only elite woman Great Britain is sending to Rwanda, where she will be a medal favourite for Sunday's time trial, after her silver medal at the Paris Olympics last summer.

With the likes of Pfeiffer Georgi out injured and a particularly hard course in Kigali, GB won't be on the start line of the women's road race, with several other nations also sending reduced selections to Rwanda.

However, GB are sending full teams in many of the other age categories, with serious medal hopes, particularly in the newly-separated U23 women's category, where junior world champion Cat Ferguson will be a top favourite for the road race, whilst Zoe Bäckstedt could take home the rainbow jersey in the time trial.

Ferguson will be supported by fellow WorldTour riders Imogen Wolff, Flora Perkins, and Millie Couzens, and UAE Team ADQ Development rider Eilidh Shaw.

Despite the UCI ruling this year that WorldTour and ProTeam riders could no longer race in the men's U23 categories at Worlds, this doesn't apply to the women's races – run separately for the first time in 2025 – so many Women's WorldTour riders will be in action.

In the junior road races and time trials, junior world TT champion Dylan Sage and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Juniors winner Harry Hudson lead the men's selection, whilst the women will be led by Erin Boothman and Arabella Blackburn.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies rider Callum Thornley will be the sole U23 men's rider in the selection, riding the road race.

GB will also not compete in the mixed relay TTT, an event they took bronze in in 2019.

"The event provides a tough course that will ask a lot from our riders, but I am confident that, as ever, they are up to the task and will bring home some fantastic results," said performance director Stephen Park.

Park pointed to busy racing schedules as a reason some categories had not been filled, but praised the opportunity for GB to send strong teams for the younger age categories, where they will hope to be amongst the medals.

"The event in Rwanda offers huge development opportunities for our younger riders to get a taste of racing at this level, while pushing our elite riders to their limits, and I have no doubt these championships will deliver a true spectacle that will showcase bike racing at its best."

Great Britain selection for Worlds 2025

Elite men

• Joe Blackmore 
• Mark Donovan 
• Oliver Knight 
• James Knox 
• Bjorn Koerdt 
• Oscar Onley 
• Tom Pidcock 
• Fred Wright 

Elite women

• Anna Henderson (TT only) 

U23 men

• Callum Thornley (road race only)

U23 women

• Zoe Backstedt (TT only) 
• Millie Couzens (TT and RR) 
• Cat Ferguson 
• Flora Perkins 
• Eilidh Shaw 
• Imogen Wolff 

Junior men

• Max Hinds (TT and RR) 
• Harry Hudson 
• Matthew Peace 
• Dylan Sage (TT and RR) 

Junior women

• Arabella Blackburn  
• Erin Boothman (TT and RR) 
• Gabriella McHugh  
• Abi Miller (TT and RR) 
• Mabli Phillips 

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Pogačar will target the elite men's time trial on Sunday, with Remco Evenepoel his biggest rival, before staying in Rwanda for the elite men's road race on Sunday September 28.

Pogačar won the road race world title in Zurich last year with a long solo breakaway and a dominant performance. Slovenian national coach Uroš Murn is quietly hoping Pogačar can complete a rare double in Rwanda, with the tough circuits for both races expected to suit him.

"Our first goal is of course to repeat last year's success. Everything that comes along will just be an addition, we mustn't be greedy," Murn told Slovenian television before preparing to travel to Rwanda on Wednesday.

"This year will be harder than last year, because all the national teams will be attacking only us."

Pogačar arguably faces a difficult task to retain his road race title in the 267.5km, 5,400m elevation gain race.

The likes of Tom Pidcock (Great Britain), Giulio Ciccone and Giulio Pellizzari (Italy) and Juan Ayuso (Spain) all showed their form at the Vuelta a España, while Julian Alaphilippe (France) impressed by winning the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Evenepoel showed some form at the Tour of Britain.

Pogačar also faces' internal' rivalry from his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates such as Jay Vine (Australia), Pavel Sivakov (France) and especially Isaac del Toro (Mexico).

Before the Canadian WorldTour races, Pogačar hadn't raced since the Tour de France and so was looking for answers about his end of season form.

"I want to peak for the World Championships," he said before the races, using the days in Canada before the races to complete an extra block of training.

Pogačar was only 29th at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec after he and the peloton failed to catch Alaphilippe and a few others who attacked with 75km to go in order to anticipate any late attacks from the Slovenian.

It was Pogačar's worst result in a one-day race this year and he and UAE Team Emirates-XRG raced hard in Montréal to ensure they were in the thick of the action. Pogačar attacked with 35km to go, waited for Brandon McNulty, and then generously gifted the American victory. For Pogačar it was more important to have regained his form.

"It was a fantastic day, as always here in Canada. I love racing here. I'm happy that I'm in great shape, and I'm even happier that Brandon won," he said, admitting he

“Before coming to Canada, I was a bit worried that my form wasn't great, because I was sick all week leading up to it. I couldn't do all the training as planned. That's why I was a bit apprehensive about this.

"In Quebec, my legs weren't great, but I raced well there and found some rhythm. In training and in Quebec, I regained my motivation and confidence. Looking back, I'm glad I went to Canada.”

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"Philadelphia is proud to welcome back one of the world's greatest sporting events," Mayor Parker said. "Get excited, everyone – the Philadelphia Cycling Classic is back! This world-class event will again put Philadelphia on the global stage in 2026, and it will go well beyond next year's celebration.

"An exceptional, experienced team is in place to build on the legacy of this event for many years to come. To the people of Philadelphia and the region: this race belongs to you. Whether you're a cyclist, a neighbor, a business owner, or a fan, this event is for you, and it's going to be extraordinary!"

The race, due to take place on August 30, 2026, is sponsored by AmeriGas Propane and owned by Race Street Partners, whose organisation includes former Michael Nutter, the city's former mayor, along with Eric Robbins and Carlos Rogers, with Robin Morton returning as race director.

"This is Philadelphia's race; it is the people's race. It is open and free for all to engage with and enjoy. We are grateful to our friends at AmeriGas, who embraced this vision wholeheartedly and joined us as the title sponsor. There are so many Philadelphians who remember growing up with this race, and we are beyond excited to be bringing it back in spectacular fashion for generations to come."

The race's first edition came in 1985, and for 30 years, 'Philly' - and its companion women's race, the Liberty Classic, were a mainstay for North American riders and international competitors alike. The Liberty Classic came in 1994 and ran through 2012.

Starting on Logan Circle in the shadow of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art made famous in the movie "Rocky", the Philadelphia Classic ran the length of Kelly Drive into Manayunk, where riders tackled a brutal ascent of the Manayunk Wall with pitches up to 17% before returning via Lemon Hill.

The climbs served as natural amphitheatres for watching the race and turned into massive parties during the day-long event.

Eric Heiden won the inaugural race, which also served as a de facto US Pro national championship for the men. Often confusing for fans when a non-US rider won the race, the national championships were separated from the race in 2006.

Winners included stars like Lance Armstrong, Sean Yates, George Hincapie, Fred Rodriguez, and André Greipel, along with women's winners such as Petra Rossner (six editions) and Ina Teutenberg (five wins).

In 2013, the race changed hands and finished atop the Manayunk Wall, but it only lasted three more years before the organisation was unable to secure enough funding.

USA Cycling CEO Brendan Quirk expressed excitement at the race's return.

"We are delighted that this storied race is making its comeback," Quirk said. "Its return says so much about America's longstanding connection to world-class road racing. Philadelphia holds a special place in cycling history in this country – the caliber of athletes from all over the world who competed there is legendary. So, welcome back, Philadelphia. We can't wait to be there with you in August 2026."

The veteran Bahrain Victorious rider has a 'Stop Genocide on Gaza' post pinned to his Instagram account and admits he is 'quite radical' on the issue, but believes many others think the same in the professional peloton.

"I don't know what we're waiting for to get a clear name for it. What's happening in Gaza is genocide, and I've considered it that way for a long time," Bilbao told Spanish newspaper El Periódico during an interview.

"Now, fortunately, people are becoming convinced of it. The Spanish government was one of the first to take the step and report it to the European Union. It seems that some effective measures are now beginning to be taken."

In October 2023, a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, sparked Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza. So far, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 64,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, with much of Gaza being destroyed.

On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be banned from competing in international sports, like Russia was after its invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Bilbao agrees with Sánchez's position and questions the UCI's hypocrisy, while sharing his feelings for the riders and staff at the Israel-Premier Tech team.

"It's not easy for me to give my opinion on this issue and say I want Israel Premier Tech out of the peloton when I have former teammates and acquaintances there with whom I get along well and know who work hard for the team," Bilbao explained.

"It's a very complicated situation, and they're also suffering. But, at the same time, I don't understand the UCI's hypocrisy when they made a different decision with the Russian Gazprom. I don't understand the difference. Why some and not others? I don't know if they think the problem will be solved if Israel and Sylvan Adams leave the team and Premier Tech remains as the Canadian squad. Maybe it's a compromise. But I repeat: I don't understand the UCI's hypocrisy."

Bilbao rode the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Montréal at the weekend and rode this year's Vuelta a España. He is supportive of the Pro-Palestinian protests that blocked the race on several occasions, and meant that stage 21 failed to finish in central Madrid.

"We need to make a noise and thank the people who take to the streets or embark on flotillas and risk their lives to deliver food and break the blockade of Palestine. Let's hope this opens the eyes of the general population," Bilbao said.

"If a decision had been made before starting the Vuelta, the protests could have been avoided. But those who had the power to do it should have done it.

"I understand that Unipublic, as an organiser, is not the entity that should do it. It could have been decided by the race judges, the UCI, or the Government."

Riders at the Vuelta voted to neutralise the racing if the protests stopped the racing and put the riders at risk.

Michal Kwiatkowski was one of only a few riders to speak out, warning that "from now on, it’s clear for everyone that a cycling race can be used as an effective stage for protests and next time it will only get worse, because someone allowed it to happen and looked the other way."

Bilbao believes other riders share his opinions but are afraid to speak out.

"Maybe they are not as radical as I am, but in the peloton, there are many comrades who think the same. I would say it's the majority, but no one says it as clearly as I do," he said.

"Everything that's happened at the Vuelta serves to show the weakness of cycling. We race on open roads, and it's impossible to control a race that covers kilometres and kilometres, so it's very easy to boycott it.

"The UCI and the government should have anticipated this, and none of what happened at the Vuelta would have happened. The more time that has passed, the more general awareness there has been that what happened in Gaza is a genocide."

In a carefully worded press release late on Monday, the UCI suggested that Sánchez's position is "contradictory to the Olympic values of unity, mutual respect, and peace" and said it even "calls into question Spain's ability to host major international sporting events, ensuring that they take place in safe conditions and in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter."

"The UCI strongly condemns the exploitation of sport for political purposes in general, and especially coming from a government.

"Sport must remain autonomous to fulfill its role as a tool for peace. It is unacceptable and counterproductive for our sport to be diverted from its universal mission. Moreover, there are dedicated platforms where countries can discuss their differences."

Spanish politicians have become deeply divided and vocal about Israel and the growing protests in Spain against Israel's actions in Gaza. The protests at the Vuelta were centred on the presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team in the race.

On Monday, Sánchez called for Israel to be banned from competing in sports, like Russia was after its invasion of Ukraine.

The Spanish government responded to UCI President David Lappartient via the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), the governing body for Sport in Spain that is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

"In Spain, as in all democratic societies, the right to demonstrate freely and peacefully is a fundamental right, enshrined in our 1978 Constitution. If the cause is also a just and noble one in defense of Human Rights, such free and peaceful expression acquires the status of a moral obligation," the CSD letter to Lappartient reads.

"With the deepest admiration and respect for our athletes and, as we have always done, expressing our rejection of any type of violent behavior, we believe that sport cannot remain indifferent to what is happening in the world, much less remain oblivious to serious human rights violations.

"There is no peace without justice, and using sport to 'whitewash' a genocide like the one being committed in Gaza, with thousands of deaths, innocent children, and a famine already declared by the United Nations, is a political position that contravenes the Olympic Charter and the most basic values ​​of sport."

On Tuesday morning, the United Nations commission of inquiry also said that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.

The CSD called out Lappartient for not making an explicit request to the Netanyahu government to stop the massacre and barbarity the Palestinian people are suffering.

"This reality should compel them to act with the same forcefulness they [did] in 2022 in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the CSD continued. It also refuted the suggestions in the UCI statement that Sánchez's comments had somehow called into question Spain's ability to host major international sporting events.

"Without a doubt, dialogue and understanding, sport as a bridge of communication between nations that fosters unity rather than division, is a goal we share," the CSD letter said, citing Kant in a final phrase.

"But don't forget that, as Kant said, 'peace without justice is the peace of cemeteries."

Magner crashed along with Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) and Fien Van Eynde (Fenix-Deceuninck) in the final corner, striking a post, leaving her with a collapsed lung, several broken ribs, multiple fractures in her left scapula and a broken sternum.

"All my fractures are healing pretty well, and my mobility is getting a lot better. It was really bad," Magner said.

"The day that I was discharged from the hospital was the day that I signed my contract with EF Education-Oatly. That was a wild experience. Mentally, I needed it at the moment. It was like, 'I have to get better because I have this thing to look forward to.' Joining this team is the best motivation for my recovery."

The contract comes as her current team, Cynisca Cycling, are struggling to find funding for the coming season, and EF Education-Oatly are almost certain to jump to the WorldTour. Magner previously raced six seasons with Canyon-SRAM, winning the Drentse Acht van Westerveld in 2018 and coming second in Omloop het Nieuwsblad and the Ronde van Drenthe.

However, she stopped with Canyon-SRAM in 2021 and stepped back to racing the domestic circuit with L39ION of Los Angeles until this season, when she felt ready to return to Europe.

"I was really burned out when I left the WorldTour, so I stepped back to just find myself again," Magner said. "But last year I decided that I wanted to come back and I wanted to strive for that place in the peloton that I know I'm capable of holding. Being older and having that experience, I want to give back to the younger riders coming up.

"My motivation to come back has two parts: to reach the level that I know I'm capable of and also to pass on everything that I've learned over the course of my career. My time is limited, and I want to make sure that with all the lessons I've learned and the mistakes that I've made, I can teach the younger generation to hopefully guide them.

"It's not lost on me that it's going to be a very hard road to be at the pointy end of the race and competitive at the WorldTour level. I know it's going to take some time, but just having the opportunity to be there, giving my best in every race, and being a super supportive teammate to all these talented riders on the squad is incredibly exciting."

Despite some high-profile drop-outs in recent weeks, and riders like Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel and Lotte Kopecky skipping the Rwanda Worlds, many of the biggest cycling nations are still assembling strong teams, with Grand Tour winners and stage winners among those lining up for next weekend's road races.

For Spain, Vuelta a España stage winners Juan Ayuso and Marc Soler will lead the eight-man selection for the elite men's road race, taking on their UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Tadej Pogačar on the climber-friendly course in Kigali.

They'll be joined by Abel Balderstone, Iván Romeo, Carlos Verona, Carlos Canal, Roger Adrià and Raúl García Pierna in what is shaping up to be a strong team for the nation that last won a men's road race title in 2018 – with Alejandro Valverde, who is now the national coach. Mikel Landa, still recovering from a back injury, is absent from the selection.

García Pierna and last year's under-23 time trial world champion Romeo will line up for Spain in Sunday's elite time trial.

Ayuso has never previously ridden a World Championships as an elite rider, but will immediately be on the list of potential winners alongside Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, given his recent successes at the Vuelta and the volume of climbing in Kigali.

The women's road race team will be led by Mavi García, whilst Mireia Benito is selected for the women's elite time trial.

France also announced their strong team on Monday, with GP Québec winner Julian Alaphilippe and Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot spearheading their road race squads.

In the men's race, Alaphilippe – back-to-back world champion in 2020 and 2021 – will be flanked by a team that includes the young phenom Paul Seixas, who just won the Tour de l'Avenir. Despite still only being 18, the UCI have reverted to the rule that WorldTour riders may not race the under-23 events at Worlds, so Seixas will ride in the elite category, racing both the road race and TT.

Bruno Armirail will also ride the TT for France, though he isn't part of the road race selection.

Ferrand-Prévot, also a former world champion on the road, will count on the likes of Juliette Labous, Évita Muzic and double Tour stage winner Maëva Squiban for support on a course that is well-suited to her abilities, with Labous and Cédrine Kerbaol representing France in the women's time trial.

With Belgium, Australia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the USA and Germany all now confirming their elite line-ups, the provisional start lists for the biggest World Championship races are beginning to come together, with nations like Italy and Great Britain among the countries still yet to announce their selections.

France selection for Worlds 2025

Elite women TT

• Cédrine Kerbaol
• Juliette Labous

Elite women road race

• Léa Curinier
• Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
• Cédrine Kerbaol
• Juliette Labous
• Marie Le Net
• Évita Muzic
• Maëva Squiban

Elite men TT

• Bruno Armirail
• Paul Seixas

Elite men road race

• Julian Alaphilippe
• Louis Barré
• Julien Bernard
• Jordan Jegat
• Valentin Madouas
• Valentin Paret-Peintre
• Paul Seixas
• Pavel Sivakov

Mixed relay TTT

• Bruno Armirail
• Paul Seixas
• Pavel Sivakov
• Cédrine Kerbaol
• Juliette Labous
• Maëva Squiban

Spain selection for Worlds 2025

Elite women TT

• Mireia Benito

Elite women road race

• Alicia González
• Usoa Ostolaza
• Ane Santesteban
• Sara Martín
• Mireia Benito
• Mavi García

Elite men TT

• Iván Romeo
• Raúl García Pierna

Elite men road race

• Juan Ayuso
• Abel Balderstone
• Marc Soler
• Ivan Roméo
• Carlos Verona
• Carlos Canal
• Roger Adrià
• Raúl García Pierna

Mixed relay TTT

TBC

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The last stage of the Vuelta a España ended early after a huge number of pro-Palestine protesters took to the stress, with some invading the road and even throwing barriers at police. Others tried to stop the riders as they neared the city centre finishing circuit. With no hope of controlling the crowds, Spanish police stopped the race when the riders were about to enter the circuit.

"For security reasons, stage 21 of La Vuelta has been ended early. There will be no podium ceremony," the Vuelta organisers confirmed on Sunday. As spectators, VIP and riders' families tried to avoid the protests, the riders were transported to their hotels, where an improvised podium ceremony was held in the dark to celebrate Jonas Vingegaard's victory and the other jersey winners.

The protests and the ending of the Vuelta was headline news around the world and sparked a huge debate in Spain, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has backed peaceful protests against Israel's action in Gaza. On Monday, Sánchez called for the exclusion of Israel from international sporting competitions due to the invasion of Gaza.

“We are a cycling race, we are a sport and that's what we want to be," Guillén said in a special press conference in Madrid on Monday.

"I want to condemn what happened in the final kilometre. Now comments are necessary regarding what we saw yesterday; the images speak for themselves. What happened is unacceptable.

"We think it's OK that everyone takes advantage of the platform the Vuelta offers to demand whatever they want but just as we ask for respect for the demonstrations, we ask for respect for the race and for our athletes."

Pro-Palestine protests grew during the three weeks of the Vuelta. Race organisers tried to convince Israel-Premier Tech to leave the race but team owner Sylvan Adams refused and had the support of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. UCI rules allowed the team to stay in the race.

"We are guided by the regulations of the UCI. The UCI sets the rules. It's up to them to establish the right to sanction or exclude a team during races. We have always adhered to that legal framework. We have not wanted to enter into any further debate."

UCI President David Lappartient did not attend the Vuelta. The UCI issued a statement at the time this article was published, stating, "The UCI strongly condemns the exploitation of sport for political purposes in general, and especially coming from a government.

"Sport must remain autonomous to fulfill its role as a tool for peace. It is unacceptable and counterproductive for our sport to be fun from its universal mission. Furthermore, there are dedicated platforms where countries can discuss their differences."

Guillén said that the UCI had a firm stance on the situation during the race.

"We spoke with them to explain the events we were experiencing here and to get them to take a position. And yes, the UCI did take a position: it issued a statement to keep the Israel-Premier Tech team in the race," Guillén said.

"We have always been guided by what they have told us. Any action without their consent would have led to a series of very negative legal consequences, something that would have affected Spain in the context of international sport."

Michał Kwiatkowski, one of the peloton's most experienced riders, wrote on Instagram that "if the UCI and the responsible bodies couldn’t make the right decisions early enough, then long-term it’s very bad for cycling that the protesters managed to get what they wanted.

"From now on, it’s clear for everyone that a cycling race can be used as an effective stage for protests and next time it will only get worse, because someone allowed it to happen and looked the other way," Kwiatkowski said.

The 2026 Tour de France is due to start in Barcelona next July, with local protest groups already telling Les Temps that they are ready to protest.

The 2026 Vuelta is due to start in Monte Carlo and likely end on the island of Gran Canaria. However, on Monday Antonio Morales, the president of the Gran Canaria council spoke out about the presence of Israel-Premier Tech in the race next year.

Israel-Premier Tech is expected to secure a place in the 2026 WorldTour and would have an automatic invitation to all WorldTour races.

"I have to say with absolute conviction that if Israel is a participant, Gran Canaria is not willing to whitewash genocide and Israel through sport or any other means," Spanish sports website AS reported Morales as saying.

"We will see what will happen in the coming months but certainly with Israel's participation, Gran Canaria will not host La Vuelta a España."

Guillén refused to be drawn on what the protests could mean for the future of professional cycling and the 2026 Tour de France Grand Depart in Spain. Unipublic, that organises the Vuela, is owned by ASO, who also organise the Tour de France.

“After this Vuelta, international bodies will have to make decisions but I'm sure Barcelona will have its start and will have a great Tour de France," Guillén said.

"I hope that when that time comes, everything will be resolved and the conflict in Gaza will be over."

The UCI, however, called into question Spain's ability to host major international sporting events in the future, blaming the country's government.

"We also regret the fact that the Spanish Prime Minister and his government have supported actions that could hinder the smooth running of a sporting competition and, in some cases, expressed their admiration for the demonstrators.

"This position is contradictory to the Olympic values ​​of unity, mutual respect, and peace. It also calls into question Spain's ability to host major international sporting events, ensuring that they take place in safe conditions and in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter."

At the same time, the UCI statement praised the organisers and security forces, stating, "we commend the exemplary work of the Spanish law enforcement agencies at the Vuelta, who acted with professionalism in extremely tense conditions.

"We also thank the organizers of the Vuelta for their commitment and resilience in the face of an unprecedented situation."

The 23-year-old American finished fifth at the Vuelta a España and won the best young rider classification as he continued to show his climbing and Grand Tour talents.

The Israel-Premier Tech squad was in the spotlight at the Vuelta due to the Pro-Palestine protests but Riccitelli raced on to make a breakthrough result in Spain.

The Decathlon team has new sponsorship from shipping giant CMA CGM for 2026 and intends to become one of the sports super teams in the years to come. The strengthened 2026 roster includes Kooij, a solid lead out train, fellow sprinter, Classics veteran Tiesj Benoot and now Riccitello.

They will join Felix Gall and French talents Léo Bisiaux and Seixas. Decathlon CMA CGM are hoping to win the Tour de France with Seixas in the years to come.

Riccitello signed a three-year contract with Decathlon CMA CGM.

“I’m very excited to be joining Decathlon CMA CGM in 2026. I admire the team’s ambition and progress over the last few years. I want to continue to progress as a rider in stage races and Grand Tours," Riccitello said in a statement by the French team.

"I’m convinced that this team will push me to reach my full potential. I’m motivated to make the most of this new chapter and confident that this is the right environment to continue to grow, both as a rider and as a person."

Riccitello is the latest big-name rider to leave Israel-Premier Tech, with reports the team may drop the Israel name to avoid further protests. Derek Gee has unilaterally terminated his contract with the team, while Michael Woods and Simon Clarke have announced their retirements, leaving Israel-Premier Tech with just 17 confirmed riders for 2026.

Riccitello turned professional with Israel-Premier Tech in 2023 after developing with Axel Merckx's Hagens Berman Axeon team.

He impressed on his Grand Tour debut in the 2023 Giro d'Italia and was fourth in the 2023 Tour de l'Avenir won by Isaac del Toro.

He was fifth overall at the 2024 Tour de Suisse and won a stage and overall victory at the Sibiu Tour in Romania in early July.

We’ve been interested in Matthew Riccitello’s profile for several seasons now," Decathlon directeur sportif Sébastien Joly said.

"He’s an excellent climber, as he showed again at the Vuelta, where his consistency over three weeks enabled him to win a fine white jersey and fifth place overall.

“We think he has plenty of room for improvement. Matthew strengthens the group for stage races and general classifications, and is a real asset to the team. After strengthening our sprint pole, we’re now strengthening our mountain group."

The final stage of the Vuelta was stopped by pro-Palestine protests in Madrid. Spanish police were unable to control the protesters as they invaded the city circuit and so the stage was ended before the finishing circuits and the podium ceremony was also cancelled.

Vingegaard had shown his understanding for the pro-Palestine protests but, like many riders, had called for peaceful protest.

The improvised podium ceremony came about after Visma-Lease a Bike, Q36.5, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Lidl-Trek wondered how to celebrate their Vuelta success in the absence of the traditional podium ceremony in central Madrid.

A race back drop was found and a podium created out of cooler boxes, with music played, and team staff congratulated the riders.

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) joined Vingegaard on the 'podium' with other moments of celebration for green points jersey winner Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), king of the mountains Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and best young rider white jersey Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech).

The UAE celebrated winning the team classification and the Visma riders and staff posed for a group photograph as usually happens for a Grand Tour podium ceremony.

There was a clear feeling of disappointment for Vingegaard as he took his maiden Vuelta victory, but he also found fun in the riders' salvaged celebrations.

“It’s a pity that such a moment of eternity was taken from us. I was looking forward to celebrating this overall win with my team and the fans," the Dane said in a statement via his Visma team.

"Everyone has the right to protest, but it’s a shame that it has to happen here and prevents us from finishing the race."

"It's a fun podium and in a way probably more special than anything else I've tried. The whole day has been surreal," Vingegaard told Danish television channel TV2 who captured the moment of the improvised podium.

"It's a shame that it's under these circumstances, but it's great that we could still do just a little bit."

Visma was keen to celebrate their latest Grand Tour success. They won the Giro d'Italia with Simon Yates, the Tour de France Femmes with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and Vingegaard was also second to Tadej Pogačar in the Tour de France after another intense battle between the two.

"I’m super proud of this overall win, my first Vuelta and the third Grand Tour of my career," Vingegaard said.

"It’s been three tough weeks. I felt very strong in the first week and managed to win twice. Afterwards I had a more difficult phase, but luckily I came back during the final weekend. My stage win on Bola del Mundo gave me great satisfaction. It was a beautiful way to crown this Vuelta.”

Visma team manager Richard Plugge was in Madrid to see Vingegaard and his teammates win the Vuelta. The Dutch team has now nine Grand Tours and five of the last seven editions of the men's Vuelta.

Plugge celebrated, but called for the riders to be protected when there are protests like the ones that disrupted multiple days of the Vuelta.

"Above all, I am very happy with and proud of this overall win. It’s sad that we and the fans were denied a beautiful finale in the heart of Madrid. We will celebrate the red jersey with our team in our own way and honour this fantastic achievement," Plugge said.

"Nowadays, sport is increasingly being used as a platform to address social issues.

"We must realize that sport is essentially about connection. It can build bridges and foster mutual understanding. But the participants must be protected: they cannot become victims of this societal debate. That debate must always remain outside the athletes’ arena.

"Athletes should be free to fight their battles on the field of play, in our case, on the road. Otherwise, the very essence of sport as a unifying force is at risk."

After three weeks of protests and several stages being disrupted, diverted or cancelled, the Vuelta attempted to continue to its finale in Madrid. The stage became untenable when thousands of protesters invaded the roads of the city centre circuit.

With police unable to control the situation, despite additional personnel drafted to the capital, stage 21 was called off before the riders reached Madrid, and the podium ceremonies cancelled. There were reports of violent clashes between police and protesters.

Despite the protests being well anticipated by the organisers and local authorities, the decision to stop was only made on the road, which prompted rider criticism.

"If the UCI and the responsible bodies couldn’t make the right decisions early enough, then long-term it’s very bad for cycling that the protesters managed to get what they wanted," Michal Kwiatkowski, one of the peloton's most experienced riders, wrote on Instagram.

"You can’t just pretend nothing is happening," he said.

The protests at the Vuelta, which are among the largest sport-related protests Europe has seen since the conflict began, have made headlines around the world, on publications from the BBC to The Washington Post as well as TV news.

They were even mentioned on the red carpet of the Emmys in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, as Spanish actor Javier Bardem affirmed his pro-Palestine position.

Due to widespread attention that the disruptive protests received, there is a fear that such acts will only increase at races to come, with activists now keenly aware that cycling events held on the open roads are particularly vulnerable to disruption.

"From now on, it’s clear for everyone that a cycling race can be used as an effective stage for protests and next time it will only get worse, because someone allowed it to happen and looked the other way," Kwiatkowski said.

He also criticised the late cancellation of the stage.

"It’s a shame for the fans who came here to watch a great event. Personally, I would have preferred to know in advance that the race was cancelled rather than being led to believe everything was going to be fine."

Kwiatkowski's post garnered support for other riders and figures in cycling, with Demi Vollering commenting "Well said" whilst other commenters accused the UCI of having their "head in the sand".

At the same time, many were supportive of the protests, praising the fact the conversation was continuing, with one commenter saying "La Vuelta is not the most important thing in the world. Unfortunately there are things bigger than this".

Overall winner Jonas Vingegaard and his team manager Richard Plugge also added their voices to the conversation on Sunday.

On the issue of Israel-Premier Tech's inclusion in races, organisers are obliged to invite the team as one of the top-ranked ProTeams, as mandated by the UCI.

Any change to that would have to come from the UCI, who traditionally follow the lead of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who have not made any suggestion of banning or sanctioning Israeli teams.

Throughout the race, riders have offered varied opinions on the protests – from supportive of the right to protest, to critical of their actions – but the peloton has always been clear: whatever happens on the side of the road, they want to be able to race safely and unaffected by protests.

Many people protested at the Vuelta completely peacefully, with Palestine flags by the roadside every day, but on several occasions the protests purposefully disrupted the race, or demonstrators clashed with police.

There has been no official comment from the UCI after Sunday's events. It is not yet clear where professional cycling will go from here and how race organisers and governing bodies can avoid further disruption from activists in the final weeks of the 2025 season and in 2026, when the Tour de France is due to start in Barcelona, Spain.

Cavalli was given an emotional send-off by her fellow riders at the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche and confirmed her decision in an emotional post on Instagram.

"Another season has ended, but the flavour it leaves is slightly different," said Cavalli in a translated post on Instagram.

"I can feel the years and years spent chasing dreams and goals and after pouring litres of sweat, grinding kilometres and exceeding my limits over and over, I feel exhausted."

"The last few years have been very difficult due to continuous ups and downs, I have been chasing a condition (fitness) for a long time it has never returned. My legs aren't spinning as hard as I would like them to and the motivation has faded away."

Cavalli was one of the most closely watched riders in the peloton as she headed into the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, as after a season where she won Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and was runner-up at the Giro d'Italia. Her talent was clear to see but a horrible crash on stage 2 brought both her race and run of results to a halt.

Cavalli came back from that injury late in the season but was uncomfortable in the peloton for some time afterwards, and then took some more time away from racing in 2023 to recover from lingering injuries before working her way back to winning form at the CIC-Tour Feminin International des Pyrenees and Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche.

They proved to be the last UCI wins on her palmares as 2024 again delivered considerable challenges. In February she crashed at a training camp and in July she was hit by a car. She raced for just five days that season but was willing to pick herself up and start over again in 2025 as she moved from FDJ-SUEZ to Post Picnic NL.

"I've faced a crossroads many times, but I always chose to stay and get back on the game because giving up never liked me," said Cavalli.

Cavalli started the 2025 season with Setmana Valenciana, and a run of Spring Classics, including Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne. While her form of 2022 wasn't on show, there was certainly promise with a 13th at Milan-San Remo Women.

That turned out to be the top result of the season with the latter half of the year giving way to a series of stage races where she struggled to finish.

"After a year with peace of mind I can say I don’t feel part of this world anymore and it’s time to say goodbye to the group because here my work is done," Cavalli wrote on Instagram.

"I don't hide the sadness, but it's that time when it's better to loosen the grip and go chase for more dreams that I have in my drawer."

To make sure the evening kicked off in the right way – with colourful jerseys awarded atop podium steps and ample quantities of sparkling wine to spray – what appeared to be a parking lot was quickly transformed. A makeshift backdrop hung haphazardly as race winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) stood in his red jersey with the trophy proudly on display on top of a drink cooler with a number one scrawled on it in black marker. Runner-up Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and third-placed Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) took their places on the slightly smaller cool boxes alongside, with the British rider even squeezing a couple of curious pooches onto the makeshift step with him.

The improvised podium of ice chests – or what Australian Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) may have well referred to as eskys when he climbed atop one to celebrate winning the climbers jersey – also welcomed the full spectrum of classification winners, including youth category victor Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in green along with the polka-dot jersey clad Vine.

The usual formal ceremony may have been replaced with a cobbled-together podium that perhaps would have even the smallest grassroots race organisers hanging their heads in shame, but the images and videos shared liberally on social media by Visma-Lease a Bike revealed an atmosphere that belied the surroundings.

"This is why we love cycling," said Visma-Lease a Bike on one of the posts. "An intimate, well-deserved ceremony for all the winners of this Vuelta a España!

The smiles were wide and the celebrations uninhibited, with the post-race party – otherwise known at stage 22 – seemingly perfectly at home kicking off in a car park. In fact, such was the atmosphere conveyed by the snippets of the impromptu ceremony that it seems the key protagonists in the 2025 Vuelta a España may have just had one of the most memorable podium celebrations in the history of the race.

In scenes never seen before in the modern-day final stage of a Grand Tour - and rarely in any race - thousands of demonstrators tore down barricades, burst onto the roads and forced its cancellation.

The Vuelta had already been hit by four different alterations to stages because of the pro-Palestine protests, some being partly suspended like in Bilbao on stage 11 and Castro de Herville on stage 16, and others having last-minute route changes like the stage 18 time trial and the stage 20 summit finish at Bola del Mundo.

However, nothing compared with the drama, size and scale of the protests in Madrid, with police carrying out multiple charges, facing off lines of demonstrators and firing warning rounds during occasional running street battles that extended into the evening.

More than 2,200 police had been drafted in specially for a stage that had been widely predicted to be one of the most conflictive, given Madrid's size and status, as well as being the last chance to stop the race.

Given the scale of the protests and risks involved in continuing, the organisation had no choice but to formally announce the cancellation of the stage, with riders initially stopped about 60 kilometres to go, then finally climbing into their team cars in a park a few kilometres further on.

The virtual winner of the race, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) could be seen talking to team sports director Grischa Niermann. Vingegaard had previously said that he understood why protests were taking place, but did not condone in any way an actual disruption of the race.

High tension in Madrid

The main focus of the protest centred initially on where the 103-kilometre stage was due to head into central Madrid and the usual nine finishing laps. A knot of some 50 protestors ran onto the road, blocking the peloton, which at that point was riding all together in preparation for the final kilometres of the race.

The next development came as protestors tore down the barriers surrounding almost all of the 6.2 kilometres circuit, with state television RTVE saying that two demonstrators in one street jumped over at the same time and began pushing the barriers down in a "clearly coordinated action".

Local dignitaries and other figures like Prince Albert of Monaco could be seen being rushed away from the finish, while TV images also showed a visibly furious mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Almeida, talking to police as events mutated from being a simple bike race into a major political demonstration.

The main centre of the demonstrations remained focused on the start/finish area, with demonstrators jumping over barricades and moving towards the winner's podium. At one point there was a moment of high tension as masked individuals began throwing objects at police, but the situation then eased slightly as demonstrators then began staging a sit-in. Others simply walked repeatedly across the finishing line as if to emphasise that they had achieved their objective of stopping the Vuelta.

Further afield, the situation teetered on turning into a riot as police charged the demonstrators in the Plaza de Callao square three times as bottles and objects were thrown and firing warning shots into the ground. Near Atocha railway station, too, there were multiple moments of high tension.

In others areas of the circuit, in sharp contrast, the events seemed much more like a normal political protest, albeit a very noisy one involving thousands of demonstrators of all ages against the presence of Israel-Premier Tech in the race and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In October 2023 a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, sparked Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza. So far, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 64,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks, with much of Gaza being destroyed.

Despite multiple requests for comment by media, race organisers limited themselves to promising to give interviews later in the evening. TV stations cut from live coverage of the race to live coverage of the unfolding protests.

"They say that they are not going to move," one reporter for Spanish public broadcaster RTVE said. "This is going to go on for a long time."

"We want to be peaceful, it's a mutiny against what's happening in Gaza, Madrid is rising up against that," one demonstrator told RTVE.

This is the first time a Grand Tour has been stopped before its final stage by political demonstrators since the Vuelta a España in 1978 in San Sebastian.

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In five previous participations, Pidcock's previous best was 13th in the 2023 Tour de France, although his most memorable moment in earlier Grand Tours undoubtably remains the stage victory on Alpe d'Huez in 2022.

Fourth on the final summit finish of La Bola del Mundo sealed Pidcock's success today in Madrid. Although there were narrow misses on stage wins in finishes like Bilbao - where he had a real chance of victory before the finale was suspended three kilometres from the line - the overall battle remained the big target.

Pidcock recognised that the Bilbao stage, that wasn't, represented a big blow to him psychologically, saying it was both his best and worst day in the Vuelta.

But he managed to bounce back, big time, and his reward this evening will be his first-ever Grand Tour podium and Britain's first in the Vuelta a España since Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) took third in 2020. As Pidcock put it, third "definitely marked a turning point, that's for sure" in his relationship with Grand Tours.

"Before, I didn't enjoy Grand Tours, it was not so much fun. So it [third in Madrid] is definitely something that has changed that perspective and showed me I can achieve what people closest to me believe I can and my team believes I can. It's a relief, almost - a weight off my shoulders."

Most riders when asked will not put their best day and their worst day as one and the same. But for Pidcock, having briefly gapped overall leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) on the Alto del Pike in the Bilbao stage and then joined forces with the Dane to move ahead, the sudden cancellation of the last three kilometres hit him badly on multiple fronts.

"It was my best day, the day when I had my best feelings, but also the worst day because that was a fantastic opportunity. I believed I had a good shot at winning that stage.

"I lost the most that day, mentally I had the most to deal with, so that definitely affected me for the rest of the second week."

Nor has it all been moments of drama and possible wins in Bilbao. Hugh Carthy once told Cyclingnews that racing for GC in Grand Tours can at times - on the flat stages or where there is little GC action - be boring given the constant demand to stay safe and say out of trouble. Pidcock re-qualified that slightly, but he recognised it was part of the requirements and learning curve for a Grand Tour contender as well.

"I wouldn't say boring, but it can be tedious, yeah, and monotonous. You have to play safe, and do the boring option, kind of. It's not as spontaneous and erratic, which is a more enjoyable way to race, so it's kind of [about] racing safe."

Third in Madrid will mark a milestone for Pidcock's team, Q36.5 Pro Cycling, being their first-ever podium finish in a Grand Tour and coming off the back of a wildcard invitation to the race. Once again, the arrival of the Briton in the team has proved critical to their significant upturn in fortunes.

"Doug [Ryder, team owner] just told me that since 2000, we're the only ProConti [non-WorldTour - Ed.] team to stand on the podium in a Grand Tour, so it's a big deal.

"And to be a guest team, the 23rd team in the race, it's a big deal for sure."

Looking ahead, Pidcock said he will go to the UCI Road World Championships before finishing off his season at Giro dell'Emillia (October 4), Tre Valli Varesine (October 7) and Il Lombardia (October 11).

"I think I have good shape, I can hopefully recover from this and my last race will be the Gravel Worlds (October 12 in Limburg) after Lombardia." He didn't yet know, he added, if he will return to cyclocross in the future.

Having made third in the Vuelta a España and in a sense made his peace with Grand Tours as well, Pidcock recognised this does allow him to look forwards as well.

"I think there's been so much kind of talk around what I can do in Grand Tours and expectation, not really coming from myself to be honest, more from other people that - this is a big deal, that I've shown that I can perform.

"OK, I'm a way off winning" - in Spain he was projected Sunday morning to finish 3:11 off overall Vuelta champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) - "But that doesn't mean I won't be closer in the future.

"I think in such a short time period, what we've achieved as a team, is evident now I'm on the podium. So I can only be happy and positive and look forward to what I will do in the future."

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"The crash in the Ardèche race has had more serious consequences than initially thought," said her SD Worx-Protime team in a statement. "She has suffered a vertebral fracture following her crash in the third stage of the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche."

The scenario continues the tumultuous pattern of 2025 for Kopecky. The Belgian had already had to abandon the Giro d'Italia with severe back pain and then had her run at the Tour de France Femmes – where she was had been expected to be one of the top contenders – curtailed as well before deciding that with the way things had been going she would not attempt to defend her road world title in Rwanda, instead opting to look ahead to the possibility of a start at Track World Championships in Chile from October 22 to October 26.

It had looked like the road through the rest of the season had finally hit a smooth run when Kopecky went from claiming victories at three events at the Prague Summer Track meeting at the end of August to a winning start at Tour de l'Ardèche – even though she rocked up to stage 1 with seven stitches in her knee because of a crash while our for a spin the day before the race .

The victory in stage 1 put her in the overall leaders jersey, though stage 2 of what was set to be Kopecky's final road race of the season was cancelled because of protests. Then there was the early crash on stage 3, where the team said "she immediately realised that her back was in a lot of pain and had to abandon the race".

"Initial examinations at a French hospital revealed no broken bones," said SD Worx-Protime. "However, due to persistent pain, Lotte travelled home this morning to have further tests done in Belgium.

"It is unclear what this means for the rest of the 2025 season."

Even before the fracture was revealed, Kopecky, who said her back "hurts like hell", had expressed doubt in an Instagram post over whether or not Track Worlds would be an option.

"I did not have an exact plan for after Ardeche although Track worlds were in my head. Now it’s even more unsure," she said.

Subsequent to the discovery of the fracture SD Worx-Protime outlined that time was needed before a decision could be made on Track Worlds.

"Kopecky will have to rest for the next few days," said the team. "After that, the progress of the fracture will be assessed. Only then will it be possible to say when she will be able to cycle again and how long her rehabilitation will take."•

Six months later, what that looks like has now been revealed. The return to racing will be on the road on Sunday at La Choralis Fourmies, however, the three-time cyclocross world champion has decided it is the discipline where she wears the rainbow stripes that is going to be her focus. Llining up in France is just a means to regain her race rhythm as the 23-year-old will be letting go of road racing where she had taken on a substantial calendar with Visma-Lease a Bike through 2023 and 2024 before stepping away after taking on just Strade Bianche and Trofeo Alfredo Binda early this season.

“My motivation and enjoyment on the road were less strong than for cyclocross," said Van Empel in a media release from Visma-Lease a Bike, where the rider is contracted to through to the end of 2027. "Once I made the choice, it immediately felt right. I fully stand behind my decision.”

“What I enjoy the most is the constant variety," said Van Empel of her chosen discipline. "No race is ever the same: everything is constantly changing. That makes it both challenging and beautiful. You have to be very flexible, switch quickly, and keep making decisions throughout the race. In cyclocross, I have more control over how the race unfolds, and that really suits me.”

There are a number of women in the road peloton that race across disciplines at the highest level, fellow podium placers at this year's cyclocross World Championships Lucinda Brand and Puck Peterse being just two examples while Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Marianne Vos is another. There is, however, no question that it can be a challenging juggle as the off-season of road racing does not result in some much needed time to ease off but instead a packed calendar in the mud, rain and sometimes even snow of the winter sport.

The decision to keep the attention on cyclocross should leave the Dutch rider who started racing at eight more time to focus on things outside the sport after confessing that there was a point where, “I didn’t really know who I was outside of racing anymore.”

That, however, has changed through the last six months, when she said the team gave her the peace of mind and freedom to set her own course so she could ultimately follow the path that gave her most joy.

“I’ve learned to value myself more as a person, independent of results. In the end, I’ve mostly found myself again and that makes me very happy," said Van Empel.

The UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup calendar begins on November 23 at Tabor, running through to Hoogerheide on Saturday January 25 while the elite women's World Championships, where Van Empel will be targeting a fourth title in a row, will be held in Hulst on Saturday January 31.

“The most important thing is that I’m incredibly excited," said Van Empel. "I’m just going to dive in and do what I love most.”

The 27-year-old has been suffering from an influenza virus and, as he told reporters after stage 20, that illness had "limited me a lot".

That didn't stop him and UAE Team Emirates-XRG from doing the utmost to test Vingegaard on the last stage, notably not placing a rider in the break of the day - as they have done on almost every previous mountain stage - and opting instead to go full throttle all the way to the final climb in the main peloton.

Mountains classification leader Jay Vine provided the final acceleration onto the steep, higher slopes of the Bola del Mundo, but Almeida was unable use his teammate's effort to lift off in the way he did to such devastating effect in the Angliru.

Instead, Almeida was pushed to his limit by the top, finally crossing the finish line in fifth place, 22 seconds behind, after the Visma-Lease a Bike stage winner had attacked in the last kilometre.

It was a disappointing finale, but as Almeida pointed out afterwards, it had been a hard final week because of his illness, and he simply had to make do with what he had.

"It was super hard, I was on the limit for the whole stage, but we had to try, we had nothing to lose," Almeida said.

"We went all out for it, we tried, and we gave it everything, but Jonas was stronger."

On the plus side, this was his best result in a Grand Tour, after his third place overall and Best Young Rider's achievement in the 2023 GIro d'Italia. It comes in a year of runaway success on a personal level, too, with wins in Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse.

Only the Tour de France went seriously wrong for Almeida after he crashed at the end of the first week. But being able to turn things around to such great effect in the Vuelta - where he had unfinished business after abandoning with COVID-19 in 2024, too - meant that he was able to challenge no less a figure than Vingegaard for the win.

"Unfortunatey I've been sick this week, with flu and a sore throat, although that's the same for a lot of guys in the peloton. So my feelings were not the best, but we tried and that's what matters, so I have no regrets," Almeida said. "I just have to keep pushing forwards."

UAE Team Emirates can also pat themselves on their collective back for the jaw-droppingly high number of stage wins they have taken - seven, including one by Almeida on the most prestigious climb of the entire race, the Angliru - as well as the King of the Mountains and the Teams prizes. All in all, even if the red jersey remains beyond them, they will be climbing onto the final winner's podium in Cibeles on Sunday in Madrid for multiple good reasons.

For Almeida, a runner's-up spot in the Vuelta is another big milestone in his career too.

"My congrats to Jonas," Almeida concluded, "he was super-strong and being second behind him - that's not so bad."

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The Dane's two Tour de France wins in 2022 and 2023, not to mention his second place in the Vuelta a España, have been followed by two successive, categorical defeats in July by Tadej Pogačar.

But the Vuelta a España has ended exactly as Vingegaard would have liked when he came into the race as top favourite, with an impressive defeat of his rivals on the last summit finish of La Bola del Mundo and the red jersey securely in his possession.

Victorious on stage 2 of the Vuelta and again on stage 9 when he surprised João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at the end of the first week, Vingegaard looked destined to cruise to a straightforward triumph.

However, things went awry both for Vingegaard and the Vuelta in general in the second week, as pro-Palestinian protests severely disrupted multiple stages and the Dane fell ill, too. An unexpected defeat by Almeida on the summit of the Angliru made it look even tougher for him to come through to the finale.

But as Almeida, also ill, faded in the third week, Vingegaard regained some much-needed momentum and his final victory on the Bola de Mundo showed he was ending the race on a high note. The last stage into Madrid still remains to be tackled.

There may well yet be last-minute disruption of the kind that came within a whisker of causing stage 20 to be aborted when protestors invaded again, but whatever happens, Vingegaard can nonetheless feel fully justified in having a sense of 'mission accomplished'.

"It's one of the biggest races in the world, something I've always dreamed of winning, so to be able to do that and take the win is a dream come true for me," VIngegaard said on Saturday evening in his final full press conference of the race and prior to Sunday's largely ceremonial, and hopefully uneventful, stage.

"Of course, there is still tomorrow [Sunday]. But to win the stage today, on such a special mountain, that was incredible, too."

Having racked up his third stage win in the Vuelta, and being on the point of taking Visma's fifth Vuelta victory in seven years, Vingegaard said that he had been in good shape throughout the race, but that he had suffered from sickness over the last two weeks.

"Obviously, it's not something you want to say out loud, but at that moment, it doesn't help you to be at your best," he explained.

Another stressful element has been handling the constant series of pro-Palestine protests, one of which came close to completely blocking the Vuelta's key final mountain stage when demonstrators broke onto the road with 20 kilometres to go.

However, Vingegaard both defended people's rights to demonstrate and said that while it was a shame the protests had to happen at the Vuelta "but as I said, people are allowed to do them, and I also understand why they do it".

"I think after that second rest day everybody was not so sure if the race would continue and luckily the police did a great job to make us able to race."

As for how it actually affected the race, Vingegaard agreed that he could have lost some more time had the Valladolid time trial, shortened for security reasons, been held at its full distance. But he also pointed out that on the Bilbao stage, partly suspended, he was ahead when the race was partly cancelled, and he could have taken more time there.

Regarding stage 20's disruption at the foot of the Bola del Mundo, he said "Today was a bit of a close call, it was pretty close, but luckily we could just go around it, and the police and organisers again did a super good job to keep us safe, and make us able to keep riding. Of course we had to do a small detour, but I still felt safe."

The future and the Giro d'Italia?

As important as success in the Vuelta has been for Vingegaard, rather than being the breakthrough race of his career or the final touch prior to retirement, it represents something rather different - a valuable triumph to add to his palmares, but one which leads to other opportunities.

Vingegaard's immediate goal is the European Championships, his last race of the season, and he said he hasn't had time to reflect on what he might have learned for future reference in Grand Tours.

But even so, the next opportunities await, and VIngegaard said he is keen to get to grips with a possible appearance at the Giro d'Italia, the only Grand Tour he hasn't won, next year.

"For sure it's a really important victory, it's one of the three Grand Tours so to do that is something incredible. I've won two Tours and now here, it's special.

"It's probably bigger [in sporting terms] than coming second in the Tour last year, but after everything that happened, I think coming second last year is still my biggest achievement after my [2024 Itzulia Basque Country] crash."

Vingegaard fought back from that life-threatening accident in 2024 to finish as a runner-up to Pogačar in July in the Tour de France, of course, and beating the Slovenian in cycling's biggest bike race likely remains an overiding goal. But he hasn't ruled out having a crack at the Giro d'Italia.

"Obviously, it's something I'd like to do, but it depends on what the program will be. But the Tour is the Tour and probably I'll have to do the Tour again."

For now, in any case, Vingegaard has conquered the Vuelta, and apart from becoming the first Dane to do so, he's also been able to go one better than his second place behind teammate Sepp Kuss in 2023.

"Of course, when you haven't won a Grand Tour you want to try and win it, and that's also why I came back. Now I have three stage wins and I'll be going into Madrid in the red jersey, too."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

Kuss and Vingegaard hugged, with the Dane saying "thank you Seppy" before they posed for celebratory photographs beyond the finish line. Kuss then joined in the team celebrations with fellow US rider Matteo Jorgenson and admitted he was ready for a celebratory beer.

After three weeks of racing, Vingegaard has now won three stages and will ride into Madrid with a lead of 1:16 on João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

"It was a great stage, a super-hard last stage as we expected," Kuss said of Visma-Lease a Bike's strategy.

"We knew that UAE would go for it and they set a really strong pace all day but Jonas was really good on the last part of the course. We still had a lot of guys in that select group, so it was really nice for the whole team, everyone contributed so much.

"You always have some hard moments out there, when you feel the legs more than usual but with a stage like this, it comes down the last steep climb. We didn't expect anyone to do anything out of the box."

Thanks to his second place on the stage, Kuss moved up to seventh overall, at 7:45, and appeared to get stronger in the final week of the Vuelta.

On stage 20 he was able to watch Vingegaard's attack with admiration and then protect him by marking and dissuading the Dane's GC rivals.

"It was really steep and a really rough road. It was hard to climb out of the saddle in parts, you feel the steepness more, when it's so rough," Kuss said of the narrow, concrete road to the Bola del Mundo summit.

"Jonas chose a good moment to go and I just tried to slow things down behind. It was impressive to see."

The Visma-Lease a Bike riders and staff hugged in celebration at the Bola del Mundo summit and at the team bus parked a few kilometres below. They have been locked in a tense battle with UAE Team Emirates-XRG battle but finally secured overall success.

Kuss also rode with Vingegaard at the Tour de France and so is ready to celebrate in Madrid with more than just a glass of champagne.

"I need a beer, champagne doesn't sound good," the American joked. "I just a good Estrella with some chips."

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Pidcock was sometimes seemingly struggling on the rough cement upper slopes of the Bola del Mundo, but he was nonetheless able to hold on despite Hindley's repeated application of the pressure at the front of the red jersey group.

He finally crossed the finish line just five seconds adrift of the Australian as the group chasing stage winner - and now all but certain Vuelta a España outright champion Jonas Vingegaard - finally splintered.

The seven-second time loss with Hindley only slightly dented Pidcock's advantage on the podium, and barring major disaster, he will finish tomorrow's stage on Sunday as the first Briton since Hugh Carthy in 2020 to land on the Vuelta a España podium.

"To be honest, I'm really proud of myself, it's the biggest performance of my career," Pidcock told Eurosport and Vuelta a España TV.

"It's maybe not my biggest single win, I'm bit exhausted, so I can't find any words, but the best thing is now I can just relax."

Pidcock came into the race looking for stage wins as well as overall success, and he came within a whisker of taking a Vuelta stage victory at Bilbao, only for the day's finish to be brought forward by three kilometres because of pro-Palestine protests, with no winner declared on the day.

However, as he continued to remain in contention for the podium, if the top two spots seemed destined to go to either João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) or Vingegaard, he came through each day's racing looking more and more on track for third.

The final day's racing was not easy, Pidcock said, but despite looking and feeling drained of energy - like all the riders - at the summit, his sense of making a major breakthrough was clear.

"I'm just more tired than anything, this morning I was super up for today. I'd had two easier days - well a TT's not easy but short, and then it [stage 20] was a one-day race which is what I'm good at," Pidcock recounted.

"I think it was hard to find a rhythm on such steep climbs, with that surface, but I knew I was still in control. I didn't want to go over the limit, all I had to do was stay within that."

Pidcock has one day's racing remaining, but he is already logically moving towards celebration mode. As he said, now was an opportunity to relax a little.

"All day you're so focussed, so switched on for the race, now can I just enjoy myself. I don't need to put this bloody jacket on and drink cherry juice."

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At the last possible moment, the main peloton of around 30 favourites was able to ride around the blockade and continue, but all the team cars and many riders behind the principal chase group were blocked behind.

After roughly 10 minutes, the route was cleared and the team cars were once again able to proceed.

The 164-kilometre route had already suffered a minor change after protesters flooded onto the road at the small town of Cercedilla on the descent off the Navacerrada, preventing riders from going through an intermediate sprint. Police diverted the route around the town without further consequences.

The stage is due to finish at the summit of La Bola del Mundo, the last mountain top finish of the race. The public are barred from the final kilometres for environmental reasons, but there are numerous spectators and protesters on the last 11-kilometre climb of the 2025 Vuelta.

More to come...

The 21-year-old Del Toro has made huge waves in Mexico's cycling landscape. His historic second-place finish at the 2025 Giro d'Italia, where he became the first Mexican to wear the maglia rosa and podium at a Grand Tour, was a landmark moment. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly praised his achievement, calling him "a source of pride for Mexico".

His meteoric rise began with a victory at the 2023 Tour de l'Avenir, where he became the first-ever Mexican winner of the U23 stage race. His WorldTour debut at the 2024 Tour Down Under saw him claim a stage victory, cementing his status as a genuine star. This year, his wins at GP Industria & Artigianato, Giro della Toscana, and Coppa Sabatini have further fuelled enthusiasm at home.

This surge in Mexican cycling enthusiasm would offer a ripe opportunity for Arsenault's new race. Mexico currently lacks any UCI-level road races, with he last significant event, the Vuelta Mexico Telmex, concluding its UCI America Tour 2.2 run in 2015, leaving Mexican fans without top-level domestic racing.

Arsenault brings proven credentials to any Mexican venture. The Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, established in 2010, have become flagship one-day WorldTour events, consistently attracting cycling's biggest names – drawing Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling), amongst a host of other big names, to this year's race.

The potential Mexican race would face unique challenges, however. The country's national cycling federation has been suspended by the UCI since 2021 due to governance violations.

Professional cycling has long struggled with geographic concentration in Europe, limiting its global growth potential. This year's UCI World Championships in Rwanda is one example of a broad eagerness to expand cycling's footprint. In recent years, professional road racing has been in stark decline in the USA specifically, despite the success of a new generation of US riders.

For Arsenault, the Mexican opportunity is overt. His Canadian events prove that passionate local audiences can sustain WorldTour racing outside traditional European markets. Mexico's 130 million population and growing cycling culture present a vast new audience and potential for commercial growth.

The four-time Tour de France winner was unable to make any decisive impact despite launching several attacks on the punchy Canadian circuit. He finished in the chase group, trailing the lead trio and fragments of the earlier breakaway, despite bridging efforts on the Côte de la Montagne.

Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) claimed a brilliant solo victory, while Pogačar finished 26 seconds back in the chase group, his lowest placing in a one-day race since 2022.

The result comes as Pogačar targets the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda later this month, where he aims to defend his road race title and attempt an ambitious double by also vying for time trial victory.

In Friday's race, though, it was his teammate Pavel Sivakov who came closest to toppling Alaphilippe, securing second place from a lead group of three. However, positioning Pogačar for the race win was clearly the team's focus even into the final kilometres despite the gap to the lead group.

"We wanted to open the race up quite early today, so we tried to attack," Sivakov explained in an interview following his podium finish. "On the last lap, I knew that Pogačar was getting closer, and he wanted the victory. But Julian was the best today."

“I was thinking the group behind could come back and I was ready to do the job for the boys, but then with 3km to go I realised that we were going to play the win.

“In the last lap, I was not pulling with the group and saving the legs for the last climb, but unfortunately, I could not follow Alaphilippe in the last steep kicker."

Despite failing to deliver a win for Pogačar or the team, the race still largely went to plan for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Sivakov said.

"I would say it went to plan, and then behind it basically didn’t come back. We were expecting it to come back and then probably sprint with the boys, but it was a change this year, and I think it did [change it] for sure."

Speaking about Sunday's race at Grand Prix de Montréal, he added, "We have the favourite and probably the strongest team here. So it will be up to us to really make it hard and go for it.”

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix de Montréal, while not major season targets in themselves, represent a key building block to the World Championship Road Race in Rwanda.

"Of course, I want to peak at the World Championships. That's the main goal for this final stretch of the season," Pogačar said in his pre-race press conference. "I also want to use these races as good training and hope I'll be ready."

Pogačar's post-Tour preparation has reflected a less form-focused training block where he has prioritised personal time. Rather than attending a traditional altitude camp, the reigning World Champion opted for a complete break followed by home training in Slovenia.

"After the Tour, I took a break, followed Urška at her races, and did some good training at home," he revealed. "I couldn't squeeze another big training block at altitude into my summer."

With Rwanda's World Championships just nine days away, Pogačar has confirmed his intention to race both the road race on September 28th and the time trial a week earlier, where he plans to challenge Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) for the rainbow jersey.

"Do I really want to challenge Remco? Of course, that's the goal," Pogačar stated in his pre-race press conference ahead of Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. "I want to put him and the other strong specialists to the test. The course should suit me, although I'll need a very good day. I've always been a fan of the discipline and have been on my time trial bike more than usual this time."

Alaphilippe's striking victory, meanwhile, reflected the former World Champion returning to his very best form.

"Honestly, I need some time to realise what I have done today," said the Frenchman after his emotional win.

Pogačar will have another chance to test his form at Sunday's Grand Prix de Montréal before departing for Rwanda.

On stage 19's largely uneventful sprint stage to Guijuelo, even at this late point in the Vuelta game, Vingegaard showed his race sharpness remained more than intact when he snatched a four-second time bonus at an intermediate sprint in Salamanca.

But that unexpected time gain only served to managed to amplify his perilously narrow GC advantage to 44 seconds on runner-up João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and talking afterwards Vingegaard made it clear the margins are simply too tight to be looking to finish off the Vuelta with a mountaintop flourish.

Nor was it ever in his pre-stage calculations, he said, to go for the bonus seconds, but there was no point in ignoring such low-hanging fruit. Furthermore, he dismissed the idea that he was playing mind games with Almeida by grabbing the seconds with a categorical "No."

"It was not the plan, to be honest, to go for the bonus seconds it was just more we were on the front for possible echelons and we saw the opportunity to take those four seconds.

"So, it made for a pretty good day. Of course, four seconds will never decide the Vuelta, but you never know."

Vingegaard says he watched the last ascent back in 2012 of the crunch stage 20 Bola del Mundo summit finish on television and recognised it was a "pretty iconic climb." But it seemed that the emblematic status of Bola del Mundo, nor the fact that he had not won on the Angliru - as he had wanted- were not enough to convince him, it seemed, to change his strategy for Saturday's final mountain stage.

"Actually, I think the last week we've been more defensive, and obviously we're in the red jersey and we want to keep it. So I think tomorrow [Saturday], initially, we'll think more defensively. But of course, if we are fighting for the stage win, then we'll go for it."

Another indication that Vingegaard will likely to play it conservatively came when he said, "Tomorrow will tell us if my advantage now is time enough. Hopefully I have great legs like I had on stage 9" - where he won at Valdezcaray - "again, and I can keep the red jersey."

Defeated by Almeida on the Angliru, Vingegaard recognised that the Portuguese racer was a formidable opponent, particularly given his ability to "keep going hard for a very long time and he doesn't slow down and that's tough to stay on his wheel." He also agreed that the ongoing battle between Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.59 might well have collateral effects on his own duel with Almeida.

However, while also fully aware - he said - of the previous occasions in the Vuelta a España where the race had been won and lost in the sierras of Madrid on the last or second-to-last stage, Vingegaard remained adamant that he has enough fuel left in the tank to take the red jersey all the way to the finish in the Paseo de la Castellana on Sunday.

"Of course, that has happened before, but I will do everything I can to be sure that that doesn't happen tomorrow. I have the red jersey and I have good support from the team, and we'll do everything we can to keep it."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

Rewind 12 months, and Dunbar had already broken a longstanding drought on top-level success with his first Grand Tour stage win in the second week of the Vuelta. But if his win from a break in Padron in Galicia had much of opportunism in his lengthy last-kilometre sprint for the line on a hilly stage, his victory at Picón Blanco ten days later was a much more textbook high mountains lone charge away from the main pack of GC contenders.

The key difference with 2025 is that at Picón Blanco last year, the 29-year-old points out to Cyclingnews, the overall classification was virtually settled. On this occasion, and despite the early climbs on the stage favouring a mountain specialist like Dunbar when it comes to getting in the break, Dunbar believes the narrow gap between the top GC favourites will render it much harder for any long-distance moves to go the distance.

"I don't think the break is going to stay away to be honest, it's a tough stage and the GC is pretty close, and there are bonus seconds which might make a difference," Dunbar told Cyclingnews. "There will be a break, of course, but I'll be very surprised if it makes it to the finish."

Neither race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) nor his closest pursuer, João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) is in top climbing form. However, as Dunbar sees it, the opportunity to round off the Vuelta with a stage win is too good for them to want to miss.

"One of them will want to win the stage for sure. Red Bull-Bora, too, have shown [on stage 17 to Alto de El Morredero] they are on the way up with two guys on GC as well, so maybe they'll want to win a stage as well.

"Then you have [Tom] Pidcock (Q36.5) in there too, who hasn't won a stage yet, and for sure he's been building to win one. So I don't think any of them are going to throw away that chance."

On the plus side, personally, Dunbar says, he has managed to reset and re-mentalize himself after his bad crash at the Tour in the first week forced him to abandon, and that was despite getting sick and not being able to train properly after the Tour of Norway. His next target, forming part of the Irish team for the upcoming UCI Road World Championships to support Ben Healy, remains more than on track.

"I'm definitely coming out of the eulta in better condition than I came in anyway," Dunbar says. "I haven't hit the heights of last year's race, I think that was obvious. Also, I have not had the condition I had at the start of the Tour, which was a bit disappointing, but again that's out of my control."

" I came here, the team sent me here, we rolled the dice and hoped I'd come round. I've kind of had glimpses of it, but I'm not really yet at my level."

Next up will be the World Championships road race, where Dunbar hopes to benefit from the hard haul he's had in the Vuelta to raise his game, and where the Irish team's goal is "to have numbers in the final."

"Obviously, we'll be working for someone like Ben [Healy], who's a leader of EF in one-day races, and he's one of the favourites for this one, too," Dunbar said. "And if he wants to make the race hard, you have to be there to support him for that, and that's my next goal."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

The action kicks off with the GP de Québec on Friday, September 12, followed two days later by the GP de Montréal on Sunday, September 14, with both events producing thrilling circuit-based racing on undulating courses.

While Québec often finishes in a group sprint, Montréal is more selective and was won last year by four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar, who's back for more this week ahead of his World Championships defence. Wout van Aert and three-time Québec winner Michael Matthews add star quality.

The races will be available to watch on several platforms across the world, with free coverage in Canada, so read on for all the details on how to watch the GPs of Québec and Montréal online, on TV, and from anywhere.

Watch GP Québec & Montréal for FREE in Canada

Our readers in Canada will be glad to know they can watch the GP de Québec and GP de Montréal for free.

CBC Gem is streaming both races live on its streaming platform and its website player. Here's the link for the GP de Montréal live stream.

Additionally, French speakers will be able to stream both races via TVA+.

Away from Canada right now? Geo-restrictions apply, but you can still access your usual streaming services using a VPN - more on that below.

How to watch GP Québec & Montréal from anywhere

Travelling outside your home country this week? Don't worry about the geo-restrictions most streaming platforms use. You can always employ a VPN for a safe way to access your streaming accounts from another country.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock your usual streaming services from anywhere in the world. What's more, it helps with playback speeds and is a huge boost for your general internet security.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar say NordVPN is the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

How to watch GP Québec & Montréal in the USA

Cycling fans in the USA can watch the GP Québec and GP de Montréal via HBO Max.

HBO Max – formerly Max – is the broadcaster with the most cycling rights for US viewers. Prices start from $16.99 for plans that include live cycling.

How to watch GP Québec & Montréal in the UK

In the UK, TNT Sports and Discovery+ hold the exclusive rights to both the GP de Québec and GP de Montréal.

TNT Sports 3 is the channel linear TV customers will need on both Friday and Sunday. Live streams for both races will be hosted at Discovery+, where subscriptions cost £30.99 a month.

See also ► What's happening to cycling on TV in the UK? Explaining the Eurosport closure, TNT Sports, pricing, and how to watch

Can I watch GP Québec & Montréal in Australia?

Fans in Australia can watch both the GP de Québec and GP de Montréal on Stayliv

Staylive is a streaming distribution service with a smattering of rights throughout the season for viewers down under. Plans start from $5.999 per month.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Now, the 35-year-old from Michigan will race for a further two years after a successful 2025 season with Tudor Pro Cycling.

Tudor announced on Friday that Warbasse and young German teammate Hannes Wilksch signed two-year contract extensions with the team.

Warbasse and Wilksch finished seventh and 15th, respectively, in the Maryland Cycling Classic and will toe the line in the GP de Québec on Friday and GP de Montréal on Sunday.

Tudor described Warbasse as their 'experienced mentor' and 'an American who has made France his adopted home, Larry has long been recognised as a climbing specialist and invaluable teammate in the mountains." 

"I am thankful to the team for the trust they've put in me for another two years," Warbasse said.

"My integration went really well - both in my role of sharing experience with younger riders and in supporting our leaders in big races.

"A highlight this season was the Tour de Suisse. That race holds a special place in my heart - not only because I won a stage in 2017, but because it's our home race and I shared it with a strong group of teammates. I'm excited to continue this journey and, personally, my dream will be to line up at the Tour de France someday."

Lining up at the 2026 Tour de France is almost a certainty for Tudor. While not meeting the top 18 in the three-year UCI Team Rankings required to be promoted to the WorldTour, Tudor are the third-best ranked ProTeam of 2025.

Israel-Premier Tech, who are the second-best, are in line for promotion to the WorldTour, which would leave Tudor in second, which would earn the team an automatic invitation to the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España as well as all WorldTour one-day races and stage races.

Wilksch, 23, has been with the team since being brought up from their under-23 development programme in 2023.

He said: "I'm really happy to have the trust of the team for two more years. The team is growing, and I feel I'm growing alongside it - not just as a rider, but as a person. My past seasons have been about development: I've made physical steps forward and feel stronger month by month.

"Racing some of the sport's biggest events alongside champions like Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi is an incredible learning experience. Looking ahead, my goals are clear: to make my debut in a Grand Tour, to help my teammates win the biggest races, and to continue stepping up."

The Visma-Lease a Bike leader will ride Friday's Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec in Canada, Sunday's Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, and then end his road season on home roads at the Super 8 Classic next Saturday.

Van Aert will have raced a total of 65 days in 2025 but it has been a bruising season. It started with a comeback from a nasty Vuelta crash injury during the winter, included a few cyclocross races and then he endured a consistent but disappointing Classics campaign, where he was outshone by Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar.

Van Aert fell ill before the Giro d'Italia but eventually found some form, won the gravel stage to Siena and helped Simon Yates snatch overall victory. The Tour de France was similarly frustrating but Van Aert won the final stage in Paris after an attack on the streets of Montmartre.

His end of season race programme began with the Hamburg ADAC Cyclassics and the Deutschland Tour before this week's trip to Canada, which will give him a chance to see the roads of the 2026 UCI Road World Championships.

Van Aert confirmed he will not ride this year's Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands and has already booked his holidays for October.

"I can assure people that I'll race cyclocross in the winter but before that, the bike will be out of service for about three to four weeks, after which we'll have to put the pieces together in November," he explained to Sporza and then other media in Canada.

"I want to start to prepare for 2026 with a better winter. I can't forget that I started training very late last year. I lost a lot of time and energy to rehab after my crash in the Vuelta. Even if you reach a good level, you still feel the details here and there that you had to skip in preparation. I think that's where the margin lies."

Win or lose, Van Aert is always in the spotlight, with the Flemish media reporting every moment of his life and highlighting when he fails to live up to the high standards he sets himself and that the public and media expect.

Van Aert is one of the biggest sports stars in Belgium and empathises with Tadej Pogačar, who discussed the mental and physical fatigue of his intense 2025 spring campaign and Tour de France after his fourth Tour victory.

"I understand what Pogacar is saying. Being a cyclist also means carrying a lot of expectations. I can understand how difficult it is to always have to perform," Van Aert said.

"You shouldn't underestimate how tough it is when everyone expects you to win wherever you start. I'm no longer in that position. But you really shouldn't let anyone talk you into anything. Outside expectations aren't the right motivation. I try to stay away from that."

Looking back and looking forward

Van Aert takes a balanced look back at his 2025 results. He is neither overjoyed nor disappointed.

"This was a season of trying new things. There weren't many successes, but on those few good days, I was able to achieve some amazing victories. I know I have to keep believing in myself and trusting myself and my body," he said.

"It was only after the classics that things became a bit more difficult due to illness and minor problems. It became a struggle to get results. I would have preferred to see things go a bit more smoothly.

"There were races where there was much more potential to do well, but the results were a fair reflection. I reached my desired level; there were others who were better."

Van Aert's goals for 2026 will surely include the cobbled Classics once again, but perhaps with more spring races alongside a key block at altitude. He could again ride two Grand Tours before targeting the World Championships in Canada.

"There have been so many tough World Championships in recent years. I can't skip them every year," he joked.

“The World Championships in Montreal is already something I'm thinking about. We'll take that into account in the build-up. I wouldn't rule out riding two Grand Tours again. I like the dynamic, with new opportunities every day."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews to unlock unlimited access to our coverage of the first-ever UCI Road World Championships on African soil. Our team of journalists will bring you all the major storylines, in-depth analysis, and more directly from the action in Rwanda as the next rainbow jerseys are decided. Find out more.