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Thibau Nys celebrates with arms outstretched as he soars across the line as new elite European CX champion.
News & Racing

Daily News: Van Empel and Nys headline European CX champs

Also, Chris Froome still has his eye on the Tour de France.

Dane Cash
by Dane Cash and Kit Nicholson 02.11.2024 Photography by
Cor Vos More from Dane +

Welcome to Daily News, your roundup of news items from across the world of cycling. We keep this post updated throughout the week so that you can stay informed on all things bike racing, tech, industry, culture, advocacy, and more.

Here is what is making the headlines this week …

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Chris Froome still has his eye on the Tour de France

Just a few weeks after admitting he could no longer realistically compete for victories, Chris Froome let slip that he would in fact quite like another chance at the Tour de France. Granted, he was speaking at the Saitama Criterium so a Tour-related soundbite would have gone down brilliantly with host ASO, but still, there’s no denying the 39-year-old’s storied relationship with the Tour.

That said, the last time Froome made Israel-Premier Tech’s Tour lineup was in 2022 – he’s not started a Grand Tour since that year’s Vuelta – and four years after his last notable result in 2018, the four-time overall winner finished third behind fellow breakaway rider Tom Pidcock on the Alpe d’Huez, and it’s this sort of endeavour he’s hoping to pursue in 2025: one more stage win for the books. That and/or a domestique role for Derek Gee who finished ninth overall at the 2024 Tour.

Wout van Aert is the first of the ‘Big Three’ to hint at CX season debut

Visma-Lease a Bike’s Jan Boven has indicated that Wout van Aert may begin a minimal cyclocross campaign in late December – last year he commenced his nine-race programme at Exact Cross Essen on 9th December. Speaking at the European CX champs in Pontevedra, Boven ruled out a season debut before the end of team camp on 19th December, making World Cup rounds in Hulst (21st) and Zonhoven (22nd), and Superprestige Mol (23rd) all possible entries for Van Aert as cyclocross hits its busy Kerstperiode.

The Van Aert camp is the first of the ‘Big Three’ to give any hints as to a winter racing programme. Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel are yet to drop any clues, indeed the Dutchman is still being followed around by rumours that he may not race at all and instead focus on more elusive road goals.

Ben O’Connor to build his 2025 season around the Tour

In an interview with Dan Benson, Jayco-AlUla manager Matt White revealed that his team’s new marquee rider will return to the Tour next season in what would be his fourth appearance at the French Grand Tour after skipping the 2024 edition in favour of the Giro and Vuelta – and the birth of his first child.

O’Connor will, though, also target a few hilly classics in the spring, including Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a move prompted by his second-place finish at the World Championships road race despite having invested so little in one-day racing in the past. [Substack]

Fem van Empel and Thibau Nys crowned European CX champs

The Spanish town of Pontevedra hosted a dry and fast European Cyclocross Championships this weekend, with all six individual titles being handed out on Sunday. Early in the day, the sport’s up-and-comers got their chances to shine as Anja Grossman (Switzerland) and Mattia Agostinacchio (Italy) took the gold medals among the juniors, then 18-year-old Célia Gery (France) proved she’s still a force to be reckoned with by beating pre-race favourite Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg) to the line just five races into her under-23 career.

The Belgian delegation took its first title in the U23 men’s race as Jente Michels successfully defended his 2023 title ahead of Filippo Agostinacchio on a great day for the Italian family, while podium contender David Haverdings (Netherlands) had a disaster when his chain came off a few corners from the line. The drama continued in the elite races as the Dutch women battled all race long, Fem van Empel ultimately coming out on top with a perfectly timed sprint. Then to cap off the day, Belgian Thibau Nys was the strongest of the elite men, taking his first elite title ahead of home favourite Felipe Orts who’d launched the pivotal attack in lap five of nine.

Podium results:

Saturday, November 2, 2024

A weary Demi Vollering pictured at the finish of the 2024 road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland.

Demi Vollering on the importance of taking a break

Soon after the long-awaited announcement of her transfer to FDJ-Suez, Demi Vollering has opened up about the difficult period she experienced after the road World Championships where she and her Dutch team were expected to dominate in the country she now calls home.

“After the Worlds Championships I got a little sick, with so much to overwhelm me, and my dreams felt [sic] apart,” Vollering wrote on Instagram about a month after failing to meet the expectations of herself and the world in Zurich. “I felt [like I was] sleepwalking for over a week. I was not here, didn’t feel much. I tried to enjoy my time with family who stayed with me in Switzerland. But it was as if nothing could really reach me. Even though it was very important for me that they were here that time.”

She went on to describe the professional obligations that followed, both ‘sponsor clinics’ for her current team SD Worx and visits to Spain and France for her new team. Then finally it was time for a holiday, somewhere warm (in Turkey) where Vollering could rest and recover – something that was sorely needed.

“As you can see my HRV was for a long period down, and it only started to rise again when I did nothing for so long,” Vollering indicated the heart rate variability graph included in her post. “After a week I slowly did short runs again, just to be happy. We stopped during the run as much as we wanted to, because it wasn’t about the exercise, but more to see and discover while doing a run. You can discover beautiful places on your way and this always brings some adventure with it, something I really need to charge my battery.

“So be aware, resting is a big part of getting better. Just listen to you, the inner you.”

Biniam Girmay *ahem* wins Saitama Criterium

Many of cycling’s biggest male riders are out in Japan this weekend for the Saitama Criterium, one of ASO’s major promotional events for the Tour de France. It’s not really a race, but it is a popular spectacle, and this Saturday saw Primož Roglič – in the Vuelta’s red jersey, obviously – attempting to hold off the galloping pack including green jersey-winner Biniam Girmay, stage win-record holder Mark Cavendish and Jasper Philipsen whose flappy rain cape tells you all you need to know about the value in the sprint.

Along with Girmay’s win, other awards included the points classification for Philipsen, KOM for Romain Bardet and combativity award for Chris Froome. The next stop on the exhibition circuit is next weekend’s Singapore Criterium.

Roglič on the new ‘always on’ era heralded by Pogačar and co.

As the highest-profile GC rider to make the trip to Japan, Roglič enjoyed the attention of the gathered media who were eager to get his opinion on the recently announced Tour route – “It was released on my birthday [his 35th – ed.], so I didn’t really have time to follow it if I’m honest.” – and his compatriot and rival Tadej Pogačar.

“Where he is at the moment, Tadej is really unbeatable, or it’s hard to compete,” Roglič told Cycling Weekly. “Last time I was here [in Saitama], in 2019, it was a completely different way of cycling to how it is nowadays. It’s a challenge to me to keep going with the younger generation, and to adapt to this style of racing … It’s huge. In the past we were just saving, saving, saving, spending energy in the right places. But nowadays, every day is ‘the day’, and it’s from the first day with 100K to go – you are there or you can lose it.

“It’s a completely different way of thinking, a completely different way of racing. I think that’s quite a challenge for us older guys.”

European Cyclo-cross Championships get underway with spurned team relay

The European CX Championships got underway in Pontevedra, Spain, on Saturday with the team relay. It was, though, a quiet first act with only four nations listed to start – CX powerhouses Belgium and the Netherlands opted out despite fielding some of the biggest teams on Sunday – and after a close duel with France, the Italian sextet emerged victorious. Home team Spain finished strong with the joint-fastest lap of the day to take bronze, while Czechia was the only participating team to finish outside the medals.

Patrick Lefevere’s ire is directed – this week – at rival team boss Ralph Denk

Patrick Lefevere might be the manager of one of the most consistently successful teams in the peloton, but he’s also got a reputation for complaining, something he’s made a habit of in his weekly column. The latest victim of his disgruntlement is rival team boss Ralph Denk of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

It’s not wholly unfounded, let’s be honest, after another round of rumours surrounding Lefevere’s golden boy Remco Evenepoel were put to rest. In short, the Belgian is fed up of his rivals’ pursuit of his star rider, and Denk in particular is apparently relentless in his interest.

“Do you know my friend Ralph Denk?” Lefevere said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. “He’s done the same thing twice: he offers a contract with very high bonuses, which is not done with riders under contract,” Lefevere stated. “He did it once four years ago and now again. Last week I heard that he also visited Tom Pidcock. Denk, I don’t like him.”

Friday, November 1, 2024

Eli Iserbyt at Koppenbergcross.

A spectator throws a full beer in Iserbyt’s face at Koppenbergcross

Three weeks after he was ejected from Exact Cross for stomping on a fellow competitor’s bike, Eli Iserbyt had a full glass of beer throw into his face on Friday at Koppenbergcross. A spectator along the race course hurled the substance into Iserbyt’s face as the race was heating up in the second lap.

Police escorted the “fan” out of the premises, and Iserbyt went on to take second place in the race behind Lars van der Haar.

“It is good that the police were able to take the man away immediately,” Iserbyt said. “It did not have a big impact on my race, but I still had to recover for a moment.”

The big story from the women’s Koppenbergcross event was performance of world champ Fem van Empel, who dominated the field after a handful of quieter races recently. The multi-talented 22-year-old topped her Dutch compatriot Lucinda Brand to take a third straight Koppenbergcross title.

Lucas Hamilton signs with the Ineos Grenadiers

Amid a transfer season rife with speculation of potential departures but with relatively few signings so far, the Ineos Grenadiers announced on Friday that Lucas Hamilton will join the team in 2025. The 28-year-old Australian, who has spent his entire WorldTour career with the Jayco-AlUla organization, showed some promise as a younger up-and-comer, with results that included a Tirreno-Adriatico stage win.

He will hope to re-find some of that form as he joins an Ineos team that is itself in need of a turnaround after a disappointing 2024 campaign. In a statement, Ineos Performance Director Scott Drawer said that the team is “confident he will respond to the support we put around him with our new coaching and performance set up.”

Coros introduces Pace Pro with AMOLED display

The Pace Pro, the newest GPS watch from Coros, features a 1.3-inch AMOLED screen, marking the first time the brand is using the display technology. The new watch is packed with plenty of other upgrades, too, including ECG monitoring, enhanced GPS, more processing power, and a new heart rate sensor, as well as GPS battery life for up to 38 hours.

Priced at US$349, the PACE Pro also marks a pricing shift for Coros, positioning it closer to feature-packed models from the likes of Garmin and Polar.

New Esports champ Osborne was happy to leave WorldTour life behind

Now back to focusing full-time on his virtual cycling career, former-rower-turned-cyclist Jason Osborne gave his opinion on the difficulties of life as a WorldTour road pro in a recent appearance on the Virtual Velo podcast. The 30-year-old German won his second Esports world title last weekend, a month and a half after leaving Alpecin-Deceuninck.

“You have to jump whenever they want you to. It always felt like, I wouldn’t say slavery, but like they were in too much control,” Osborne said of WorldTour life just before his world championship win. “It’s at a point where it’s not worth it.”

EF adds Baudin

Up-and-comer Alex Baudin, fresh off a podium performance at the Tour of Guangxi, is leaving Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale to join EF Education-EasyPost. The 23-year-old Frenchman was Decathlon’s third highest UCI points scorer this season, one year after a positive test for tramadol that saw his Giro d’Italia results (such as they were without any high placings) scrubbed from the record. As the drug was only banned in the UCI’s medical rules and not as part of anti-doping regulations, Baudin did not receive a suspension.

“It is really important to get out of your comfort zone and get to know new people, new cultures, new everything,” Baudin said of leaving his French team behind to sign with EF.

Tour of the Battenkill founder launches new event for 2025

As Cyclingnews reports, Tour of the Battenkill founder Dieter Drake is bringing back a road race in the mold of the Spring Classics in 2025. An event that will feature amateur and elite races and a gran fondo is set to take place in New York on May 10 of next year.

“It will be very similar in look and feel to what existed there when we produced the Tour of the Battenkill on many of the same roads years ago: paved and gravel roads, covered bridges, beautiful landscapes,” Dieter said. “Each course will be about 20% gravel.” [Cyclingnews]

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Garmin pedals.

Garmin reports record Q3 revenue

It’s that time of the year when financial reports are out in full force, and in the latest batch, Garmin has announced record revenue for the third quarter of 2024, with a 24% year-on-year increase, reaching $1.59 billion. The success is largely attributed to the strong performance of the Fitness segment – including wearable devices – which experienced a 31 percent revenue growth, reaching $464 million.

Adding to the Fitness segment’s success, its operating income almost doubled compared to the previous year, reaching $148 million, a 98 percent year-on-year growth.

The Outdoor segment, which includes most of Garmin’s cycling products, also achieved a 21 percent year-on-year growth, with the financial report highlighting this as the result of the sales of adventure watches like the Fenix 8 and Enduro 3.

Giro route presentation unexpectedly postponed

The RCS had planned to unveil the route of the upcoming Giro d’Italia on November 12, but the Italian organizer announced on Thursday morning that the presentation was being postponed. No explanation was given in the announcement; rumors point to political issues between Italy and Albania, which had been expected to host the Grande Partenza, as the reason for the delay, but RCS refuted those claims.

“No change of plans, no problem with Albania, the press conference of November 12 in Rome was postponed only and exclusively due to a technical problem of ours,” GM Paolo Bellino told Tuttobiciweb. “I can’t say more, also because we will issue a press release shortly.”

Head coach Xabier Artetxe leaves Ineos

Ineos Grenadiers head coach Xabier Artetxe is moving on, Daniel Benson reports on his Substack. The departure of the Spaniard, who had worked directly with Egan Bernal and others, is just the latest in a string of staffing changes at Ineos. The team has lost several management figures recently, while announcing several new hires earlier this month.

Artetxe’s reasons for leaving and any plan of what he will do now remain, for the moment, unclear. [Substack]

Dennis plea postponed

Rohan Dennis, who is facing charges of “causing death by dangerous driving and driving without due care” for his alleged involvement in the death of his wife Melissa Hoskins, has been granted more time to enter a plea as he negotiates with prosecutors, as The Guardian reports.

Dennis is next due in court on December 10. [The Guardian]

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Mark Cavendish wins stage 5 at the Tour de France.

Cavendish on Tour return: ‘We’ll see’

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) can’t seem to stop dropping hints that he won’t actually be retiring from bike racing this year even as he gears up for what was supposed to a festive farewell at the ASO’s Singapore Criterium. The 39-year-old Manxman, who set a new record for Tour de France stage wins this year, has said that the 2024 race was his last, but he addressed the topic again in an appearance at the Tour route presentation on Tuesday in Paris.

“You finish it and you think, ‘I’m never doing that again,’ and then a couple of days later you miss it and you long for the buzz the year after,” Cavendish said.

When the presenter followed up with a question about returning in 2025, Cavendish played coy, saying simply, “We’ll see.”

As Cyclingnews points out, perhaps it’s all just a PR move to generate hype for the Singapore criterium. Or maybe not.

REI is now an authorized Canyon service center

Direct-to-consumer bike brand Canyon will almost triple the size of its US service network next year by adding outdoor retail giant REI to its roster of trained and certified service partners. The agreement is effective immediately, but initially only 28 select locations in Southern California, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. will be authorized. REI and Canyon plan to expand the partnership to all REI locations in 2025.

Prior to the REI deal, Canyon had a little over 100 shop partners in 24 states, heavily concentrated on the West Coast. At full capacity, REI will add 190 new locations in 41 states total, offering authorized service to Canyon owners who currently are hundreds of miles from a certified shop (sorry Dakotas; you’re still out of luck). REI members will get a 20% discount on shop services.

SD Worx-ProTime is considering Kopecky’s chances for an overall Tour title

Even with former Tour de France winner Demi Vollering moving on this transfer season, SD Worx-ProTime will still be loaded with star power for 2025, with Lotte Kopecky and an un-retiring Anna van der Breggen leading the way for the team. As another season looms, the squad is currently trying to figure out how to draw up Kopecky’s program for the coming year with a possible Tour GC bid in mind.

“We have already talked to Lotte in recent weeks about how we can approach the Tour, because that would mean a change in the build-up of the season and the Tour preparation,” team boss Danny Stam said in an interview with HLN. “Now that the course is there, we will see after her vacation whether it is worth aiming for a classification.” [HLN]

Pogačar expects the Tour and its Col de la Loze stage to be ‘brutal’

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was not on hand for the Tour route presentation but he did give his opinion on the parcours in an interview with L’Equipe. The defending champ seems pleased with the many challenges on tap for next year.

Those challenges include a return to the Col de la Loze, where Pogačar cracked in the 2023 Tour, and he is expecting things to be “pretty brutal” in 2025. Of course, given the way Pogačar rode this season, that brutality could just end up being an opportunity for him to put time into everyone else. [L’Equipe]

OneUp Components has a new SRAM-based dropbar dropper lever

Hacking a left-side SRAM DoubleTap dropbar shifter for use with a dropper post is something that’s been done before, and now OneUp Components has made a product out of the idea.

The new Dropbar paddle remote (US$82) is for fitting into a left-hand SRAM 11-speed Hydro R shifter (mechanical actuation). OneUp’s design offers integrated cable tensioning, is said to have a light feel, and be the most neatly integrated dropper lever option. OneUp has teased that it’s working on a version for 12-speed shifters (Apex). [OneUp]

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Canyon-SRAM adds Zondacrypto as a title sponsor for 2025

A cryptocurrency company will once again be the title sponsor of a top-tier pro cycling team as this year’s Tour de France Femmes-winning squad will become Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto in 2025.

On Tuesday, the team announced a three-year deal with Zondacrypto, a Polish company that touts itself as the “leading regulated cryptocurrency exchange” in Central and Eastern Europe. Tour champ Kasia Niewiadoma was on hand for the announcement in Monaco.

Zondacrypto already has a presence in cycling as a minor sponsor of the women’s Giro d’Italia. Its emphasis on operating within the framework of government licenses may offer some small consolation to those cycling fans wary of cryptocurrency sponsors after the collapse of the NextHash team in 2022.

Climber-friendly Tour routes unveiled

The climbers will like their chances at both the men’s and women’s Tours de France in 2025. The ASO unveiled the routes for both events on Tuesday.

The men will tackle two time trials, but one of them is a steep hill climb to Peyragudes, and there are some major mountain days in the Pyrenees and Alps as well. As for the Tour de France Femmes, none of the nine stages is a TT, and the final three stages all feature serious climbs.

Shimano reports a 29 percent drop in Q3 profits

Shimano has reported declining sales and profits for the first nine months of 2024, with a 29.7 percent drop in its overall operating income – a key measure of profitability. The Japanese component giant’s bicycle segment saw a 29.1 percent operating income decline compared to the same time period in 2023, while the net sales figure also dropped by 12.3 percent.

The company attributes the decline to a number of factors, including global economic uncertainty and an oversupply of fully built bicycles, especially in major markets like Europe and North America. Shimano now projects that its 2024 sales will see an overall decrease of 5.1 percent from 2023 and that its ordinary income, which includes income from investments, will fall by 25 percent.

TrainingPeaks acquires IndieVelo

TrainingPeaks has acquired the indoor cycling app IndieVelo, rebranding it as TrainingPeaks Virtual. IndieVelo, originally developed by George Gilbert with a focus on race integrity and anti-cheating measures, recently reported it’s achieved 40,000 account sign-ups since its inception.

TrainingPeaks Virtual will be free for existing and new users until March 2025, after which it will be accessible exclusively through a TrainingPeaks Premium subscription, the company press release said.

Quick Hits

Óscar Sevilla will ride on for another season with Medellín-EPM … Philipsen ‘enthusiastic’ about first real chance at yellow.

Monday, October 28, 2024

The return of thumb shifters for Campagnolo?

When Campagnolo released its latest flagship groupset, Super Record Wireless, many fans were disappointed that the long-loved thumb shifter had been removed. A patent filed by the brand back in April looks to detail a new electronic thumb paddle reminiscent of the iconic one found on the brand’s mechanical groupsets.

This paddle looks to shift up or down the cassette based on the direction it is pressed, doing away with the shifter behind the brake lever altogether. Although the patent could be a sign of things to come, it by no means guarantees that electronic thumb shifting will return anytime soon.

We could know more when Campagnolo rolls out the next generation of Super Record Wireless; however, this is likely a few years away yet.

FDJ-Suez signs Vollering

After months of rumors, FDJ-Suez has announced the signing of Demi Vollering from SD Worx-ProTime. The 27-year-old Dutchwoman, winner of the 2023 Tour de France, was the world’s top-ranked rider last year and the second biggest points scorer (behind teammate Lotte Kopecky) in 2024.

Abby Mickey has more on what it all means.

Astana-Qazaqstan adds Masnada for 2025

As Astana-Qazaqstan stares down the very real possibility of relegation next year, the team has signed Italian all-rounder Fausto Masnada from Soudal-QuickStep. The 30-year-old has not enjoyed massive success over the past few seasons, but Astana will hope that he can re-find the form that propelled him to some big results in his first few years at QuickStep.

Back in 2021, Masnada secured over 1,000 UCI points on the season, and if Astana can replicate that sort of season with about a dozen riders in 2025, the team might actually stave off demotion.

Giro route rumors: A Strade Bianche day on stage 9

As next week’s official route reveal for the Giro d’Italia looms, rumors of what challenges will feature in the Italian Grand Tour are already circulating, with CicloWeb providing plenty of details on the purported percorso. After the 2024 Giro featured a gravelly stage reminiscent of Strade Bianche, the 2025 race is reportedly set to do one better with a day that will tackle gravel sectors and then finish in Siena itself on stage 9.

CicloWeb also reports that stage 7 will likely be the first summit finish in Marsia, while the San Pelligrino in Alpe climb is set to return on stage 11. [CicloWeb]

Rowe on Ineos decline: ‘Three years where we stood still’

In a GCN video exploring the reasons for the poor performance of the Ineos Grenadiers over the past few years, Luke Rowe has pointed to stagnation in the team as one of several reasons behind the squad’s lack of success.

“There were three years where we stood still,” said Rowe, who is leaving the Ineos organization to become a sports director at Decathlon-AG2R in 2025. [GCN]

Van der Poel hints at Vuelta interest

Mathieu van der Poel has made five Grand Tour starts in his career so far, with stage wins at both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France on his palmares, but he has yet to ride the Vuelta a España. That could change in 2025. While Marca recently reported that Van der Poel is not certain to start the Tour next year, AS reports that he could race the Vuelta.

“This year, we seriously considered it,” Van der Poel said while in Spain for the Critérium de la Nucía, “but with the rest of the objectives I had, the rest of the seasons was difficult for me, so maybe you will see me here next year.” [AS]

Quick Hits

Oliver and Maxwell take repeat wins (and New Zealand marathon MTB titles too) at the Whaka 100 MTB … Viviani is still hoping to ride on in 2025 and maybe beyond … Pogačar does not regret skipping Paris Olympics.

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