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 …
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
- Wærenskjold says he skipped AlUla Tour ‘because of human rights’
- Ritchey WCS components are losing the rainbows
- XDS Astana is following the data in pursuit of all-important UCI points
- Price-Pejtersen awarded Danish TT title seven months after disqualification
- Winner’s Circle: Pidcock takes his first win for Q36.5, Wollaston gets her first win for FDJ-Suez
Wærenskjold says he skipped AlUla Tour ‘because of human rights’
Søren Wærenskjold won stages at the Saudi Tour in 2023 and 2024, but he told TV2 that he asked Uno-X Mobility not to be sent to the rebranded AlUla Tour this year “for my own conscience.”
“There is evidence of people being captured and killed because of their political views,” the 24-year-old Norwegian said. “Gay rights, women’s rights… there are many issues.”
With that in mind, Wærenskjold said that he requested to be left out of his team’s plans to go to the ASO-organized AlUla Tour, and team boss Thor Hushovd granted that request, saying, “I have to respect that athletes have different desires and take a stand on such important issues.” [TV2]
Ritchey WCS components are losing the rainbows
For more than 30 years, Ritchey has used the World Champion Rainbow stripes on its WCS-level components.
As of January 1, 2025, that has come to an end. Expect Ritchey WCS components to transition to a grey graphic instead of the colorful logo. Iain Treloar has more on what actually happened here at Escape Collective.
XDS Astana is following the data in pursuit of all-important UCI points
In the final year of a relegation cycle that currently seems likely to bump his XDS Astana squad down to the second division, team boss Alexandre Vinokourov says that the Kazakhstani outfit has employed a data analyst to help put together a calendar maximizing chances to score UCI points.
“We’ve worked a lot on the question of the most beneficial courses for us thanks to a software program made by our data analyst which tells us to go to such and such a race depending on the depth of the field and the probability of getting more or less points,” Vinokourov told L’Equipe, also saying that the squad must “remain in the WorldTour to continue to survive.” [L’Equipe]
Price-Pejtersen awarded Danish TT title seven months after disqualification
Back in June of 2024, Johan Price-Pejtersen (then riding for Bahrain Victorious, now with Alpecin-Deceuninck) set the fastest mark in the time trial at the Danish national championships, but he was disqualified (and fined) for having briefly ridden on a path beside the road. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) was awarded the victory instead.
Several months after the fact, the Danish cycling federation has decided on appeal to reverse the disqualification, granting Price-Pejtersen the title. Price-Pejtersen told TV2 that he is seeking “compensation” from the federation for the way the situation was handled, noting that “I’ve been in a contract year, and the opportunities I haven’t had because of this are something that will never come back.” [TV2]
Winner’s Circle: Pidcock takes his first win for Q36.5, Wollaston gets her first win for FDJ-Suez
Tom Pidcock wasted little time getting his first win for Q36.5, climbing to victory on stage 2 of the AlUla Tour. It was an unconventional day of racing that saw a stretch of the route removed and racing temporarily neutralized due to issues with the road surface. Racing was restarted for the final 5 km, where riders approached and then tackled a finishing climb. Pidcock attacked inside the final kilometer and held on ahead of Rainer Kepplinger (Bahrain Victorious) and Alan Hatherly (Jayco AlUla) to take the victory.
Over in Mallorca, Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took the win at the Trofeo Calvià, the first race in the Challenge Mallorca series of one-days. The Swiss up-and-comer crossed the line six seconds ahead of Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana) with António Morgado of UAE Team Emirates-XRG in third.
And in Australia, after missing out on sprint chances at the Tour Down Under and the Schwalbe One Day Classic, Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) put it all together at the inaugural Surf Coast Classic. She sprinted to victory in Torquay, ahead of Chloe Dygert and Georgia Baker to claim her first win for her new team.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
- Six German national track team riders injured after being hit by driver
- Eurosport shutting down in the UK and Ireland, cycling coverage moving TNT Sports
- Wolf Tooth adds a third mini pump with internal storage
- Winner’s circle: Merlier wins AlUla opener
Six German national track team riders injured after being hit by driver
Six members of the German national track cycling team were hospitalized after a collision with a car during a training ride in Mallorca.
According to the German Cycling Federation, riders suffered fractures but none of their injuries life threatening. The involved riders, who had just started a training ride from their hotel in Palma before they were hit, were Benjamin Boos, Tobias Buck-Gramcko, Bruno Kessler, Moritz Augenstein, Louis Gentzik, and Max-David Briese.
The driver of the vehicle, an 89-year-old man, apparently failed to see the cyclists, driving into them and causing the crash.
Eurosport shutting down in the UK and Ireland, cycling coverage moving TNT Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to shut down Eurosport in the United Kingdom and Ireland starting on February 28, moving cycling coverage to TNT Sports. Cycling fans who had been paying £6.99 for Eurosport will now be asked to shell out £30.99 a month for the premium sports package.
Jonny Long has more here at Escape Collective.
Wolf Tooth adds a third mini pump with internal storage
Wolf Tooth is expanding (shrinking?) its relatively new mini pump lineup. The new EnCase 30cc is an even smaller version that joins the pre-existing 40 and 85cc options, something we have previously covered.
A key feature of these pumps is the internal storage, with the 30cc version (from US$65) fitting the American company’s Encase Tubeless Tire Plug Tool within. [Wolf Tooth]
Winner’s circle: Merlier wins AlUla opener
Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick Step) sprinted to victory ahead of a strong field on stage 1 of the AlUla Tour. The Belgian took a clear win ahead of Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor) on a stage that started and finished at the Al Manshiyah Train Station.
Monday, January 27, 2025
- Court confirms €662,000 judgment against Wout van Aert in dispute with former team
- Q36.5, Unibet-Tietema Rockets among those invited to Paris-Roubaix
- Yates on changes in nutrition: ‘I enjoy the sport a lot more now’
- Dylan van Baarle is on the trainer again one week after breaking his collarbone
Court confirms €662,000 judgment against Wout van Aert in dispute with former team
Some six years after Wout van Aert broke his contract with Verandas Willems-Crelan to join the team then known as Jumbo-Visma, Belgium’s Court of Cassation has confirmed a previous judgement that ordered him to pay €662,000 to former team boss Nick Nuyens.
Van Aert left Verandas Willems-Crelan (which was run by Nuyens’s company Sniper Cycling) in 2018 and Nuyens sued for €1.1 million. At around the same time, his team folded. A labor court initially ruled against Nuyens in 2019, but an appeals court awarded him €662,000 in 2021.
Van Aert has long since paid that amount to Nuyens, but the case was taken to a higher court as neither party was content with the judgement. More than three years after the previous ruling, the Cort of Cassation ruled on Monday that the payment of €662,000 would stand.
Q36.5, Unibet-Tietema Rockets among those invited to Paris-Roubaix
Parix-Roubaix has unveiled the list of teams that are receiving wildcard invitations to the 2025 edition of the race. On the men’s side, Q36.5, TotalEnergies, Tudor, and the Unibet-Tietema Rockets will join the WorldTour squads along with Lotto, Israel-Premier Tech, and Uno-X Mobility, all three of which receive automatic invitations.
On the women’s side, the nine squads that will be attending on wildcard invitations are Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Cofidis, EF Education-Oatly, St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93, Winspace-Orange Seal, DD Group, Lotto, and Coop-Repsol.
Yates on changes in nutrition: ‘I enjoy the sport a lot more now’
Simon Yates has told Velo that he is a happier pro cyclist now that the sport approaches nutrition differently than when he started his career.
“I enjoy the sport a lot more now,” Yates said. “Before this huge carb boom came around, it was the opposite. It was low-carb, saving your carbs, and that was hard not just on the mind, but on your body.” [Velo]
Dylan van Baarle is on the trainer again one week after breaking his collarbone
Former Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle (Visma-Lease a Bike) is back on the trainer one week after he fractured his collarbone in a crash on the opening stage of the Tour Down Under.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Van Baarle’s partner, posted a video to social media showing the 32-year-old Dutchman riding indoors on Monday. Van Baarle had initially been planning to race next at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad; whether he will be recovered in time for “Opening Weekend” on March 1 remains to be seen.
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