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, April 13, 2025
- Fan who threw a full water bottle at Van der Poel may face legal action
- Van der Poel handed hefty fine for late feed
- UAE gains confidence after Pogačar’s runner-up Roubaix finish: ’We know he can win it’
- Blevins and Rissveds win second Brazil round of XCO World Cup, as Maxwell holds firm
- Winner’s circle: Van der Poel headlines big day in Northern France
Fan who threw a full water bottle at Van der Poel may face legal action
Amid all the fanfare for his third Paris-Roubaix win, Mathieu van der Poel had something rather more unsavoury on his mind. While riding solo on the Templeuve sector, a few kilometres after Tadej Pogačar mistook a corner and slid out of contention, Van der Poel received a heavy blow to the face as a roadside fan flung what looked like a Visma-Lease a Bike team bidon into his path.
Van der Poel flinched away but seemed relatively unfazed, but at the finish, he described the feeling of what he was sure was a full bottle, weighing around 500 grams, even telling Sporza, “This is attempted manslaughter.”
He went on to say he hopes the culprit will be identifiable in order to face prosecution. “Please! If the UCI doesn't do it, I think we'll do it with the team.”
Van der Poel handed hefty fine for late feed
To add insult to – well – insult, Mathieu van der Poel was handed a hefty fine for actions late in Paris-Roubaix. The commissaires had stipulated that riders would not be allowed to take a feed within the last 14 km of the 260-kilometre Monument, but Van der Poel needed sustenance, which he duly received from Alpecin-Deceuninck team boss Christoph Roodhooft.
Both then became subjects of the race juries ministrations, receiving 1,000 CHF fines for unauthorised feeding – not that they’re likely to mind amid celebrations for a third-consecutive victory at the ‘Hell of the North’.
The race jury was busy at Paris-Roubaix, also handing out a few yellow cards, fines, and even a disqualification for former pro Marcel Seiberg, now Tudor Pro Cycling DS, for “breach of regulations concerning vehicle movements during the race.”
UAE gains confidence after Pogačar’s runner-up Roubaix finish: ’We know he can win it’
It’s been the story of the spring so far, the will he, won’t he of whether Tadej Pogačar might make a debut appearance at Paris-Roubaix, considered by many as unwise given he’s still in the thick of his Grand Tour racing era. Team boss Mauro Gianetti has seemed extra keen to dampen expectations, but he’s now down a complete 180 – obviously.
“It’s an incredible feeling. I think he was surprised, he enjoyed the spectacle, he raced well, and he looked comfortable on the cobbles,” Gianetti said at the finish. “People said we didn’t want him to do Paris-Roubaix, but honestly, if he wanted to race it, we were all for it – because we know he can win it. He proved that today, and it was important to realize that, to have that confidence.”
Blevins and Rissveds win second Brazil round of XCO World Cup, as Maxwell holds firm
The second round of the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series took place this weekend, closing out the Brazilian double header that opened the series. Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) was on top form once again, this time taking both short-track and XCO titles to move firmly into the series lead.
On the women’s side, Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli), like Blevins, continued her domination of the XCC category, while Jenny Rissveds (Canyon-CLLCTV) scored a solo victory in Saturday’s XCO event. Kiwi rider Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford), meanwhile, consolidated the lead established in her round one XCO victory with second behind Rissveds. [Pink Bike]
The next round of the World Cup will take place in Nové Město, Czechia, 23-25 May.
Winner’s circle: Van der Poel headlines big day in Northern France
While Mathieu van der Poel scored a history-making third-consecutive victory in the elite men’s Paris-Roubaix – which you can read about here at Escape Collective – the junior and under-23 men’s editions also unfolded earlier in the day.
The junior race was won by Dutch 18-year-old Michiel Mouris of Team Grenke-Auto Eder, part of the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe development pathway, 12 seconds ahead of a group led by American up-and-comer Ashlin Barry. Later on, the under-23 event was dominated by Lidl-Trek Future Racing with Albert Withen Philipsen leading teammate Jakob Söderqvist across the line arm in arm. Alpecin-Deceuninck devo rider Senna Remijn led a team three-four 16 seconds later.
About 200 kilometres south-east of Roubaix, the 2.2-ranked Circuit des Ardennes wrapped up with 23-year-old Australian Brady Gilmore (Israel Premier Tech Academy) securing the overall and points classifications on top of his stage 3 win earlier in the week.
Staying with Australia, the 2025 AusCycling Esports National Championships live final took place on MyWhoosh at The Cube, located on the Queensland University of Technology’s Gardens Point campus, as part of the Brisbane Cycling Festival. Josh Harris claimed the men’s title, while Tilly Field earned the women’s national championship crown and the coveted green-and-gold jersey of Australian champion. [Chris Schwenker]
Saturday, April 12, 2025
- Van der Poel not yet fully recovered from pre-Flanders illness
- Echoes of 2024 misfortune for Visma as Campenaerts ruled out for several weeks
- Van Aert bracing himself for media storm
- Winner’s Circle: Ferrand-Prévot wins Paris-Roubaix and Almeida seals Basque Country victory
Van der Poel not yet fully recovered from pre-Flanders illness
Alpecin-Deceuninck team boss Christoph Roodhooft revealed after the Tour of Flanders that Mathieu van der Poel, who finished second to Tadej Pogacar, had been sick in the week between his victorious E3 Saxo Classic and the Flandrian Monument, which had required a few days of antibiotics as he continued training.
Then on Friday, Roodhooft told Het Nieuwsblad that his totemic rider is not yet fully recovered, 48 hours before Paris-Roubaix.
“Mathieu stayed in Belgium, trained normally, but his recovery was not yet optimal,” Roodhooft said. “Probably also because of that Tour of Flanders. If you have just been ill, it stays with your body for longer. But anyway: Roubaix on Sunday. A new chance.”
Echoes of 2024 misfortune for Visma as Campenaerts ruled out for several weeks
Victor Campenaerts is one of a growing number of Visma-Lease a Bike riders who are currently sidelined, adding volume to the echoes of the team’s disastrous spring in 2024. The Belgian was racing Itzulia Basque Country when at the end of stage 2, he hit the ground hard in a late crash, sustaining a small shoulder fracture which made it impossible for him to start the following stage.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to ride the classics I had planned,” Campenaerts said in a team statement released following assessments at Gent’s AZ Maria Middelares hospital once he’d returned to Belgium. “The upcoming weeks will be focused on recovery. Following the doctor’s advice, I’m not allowed to train outdoors for now.”
Campenaerts was a notable transfer to Visma this winter, not necessarily as a prolific winner – though he does have a sturdy palmarès on and off the TT bike – but as a highly dependable domestique on all terrains. He happens to ride the same sized frame as Jonas Vingegaard too, which won’t have harmed his selection chances for the Tour de France, which he is slated to race after the Dauphiné this summer.
Van Aert bracing himself for media storm
One of Belgium’s favourite sons, Wout van Aert elevated himself to more solid favourite status for Paris-Roubaix a week after his performance at the Tour of Flanders, and yet the 30-year-old is bracing himself for a media frenzy win or lose – perhaps especially the latter.
“I can’t escape it,” Van Aert told Het Laatste Nieuws. “After a defeat, I can get stuck in my disappointment for a few days and have trouble getting over it, especially in one-day races.”
He went on to explain that the media exposure is one of the reasons he is more relaxed at a Grand Tour where its presence, the criticism, the discourse is easier to ignore, but during the Spring Classics, the news is everywhere: “literally everywhere I go, the baker or a friend’s, they will start talking about it.”
Winner’s Circle: Ferrand-Prévot wins Paris-Roubaix and Almeida seals Basque Country victory
As Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) was riding to a renaissance victory at Paris-Roubaix Femmes Avec Zwift – read our race report here at Escape Collective – the men’s WorldTour stage race of Itzulia Basque Country wrapped up with a punchy finale in Eibar and its hilly environs.
In miserable weather, a large breakaway got away early on, including the previous stage’s winner Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), but despite holding firm when the GC riders bridged up, even the Irishman could not stop race leader João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) from taking a second stage win and sealing the overall win by almost two minutes. Enric Mas (Movistar) scooped up second place by gluing himself to his rival’s wheel, which meant the Spaniard leapfrogged five other riders to finish second overall, Max Schachmann (Soudal-QuickStep) dropping to third.
Friday, April 11, 2025
- Healy goes solo for more than 50 km to win Basque Country stage 5
- The Gravel World Championships will be in South Limburg
- Swenson and Batten take Sea Otter Gravel victories
- Winner's Circle: Vauquelin claims Région Pays de la Loire Tour
Healy goes solo for more than 50 km to win Basque Country stage 5
Ban Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) nabbed his first WorldTour win since 2023 after a massive solo ride on stage 5 of the Itzulia Basque Country.
The 24-year-old Irishman was one of several big names in the break on a lumpy stage tailor-made for the attackers, but he left the likes of Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) behind with a solo strike on an uncategorized but steep ascent with some 55 km still to race. The other breakaway riders attempted to chase for a while before the elastic snapped, and Healy held on out front to finish nearly two minutes ahead Axel Laurence (Ineos Grenadiers) in second with Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana) taking third on the day.
Stage 4 winner João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) continues to lead the general classification heading into stage 6.
The Gravel World Championships will be in South Limburg
The Netherlands will host the Gravel World Championships after plans to hold the event in Nice, France, were called off.
The altered plan will see gravel racers descend on South Limburg for events on October 11 and 12.
Swenson and Batten take Sea Otter Gravel victories
Keegan Swenson kept his Sea Otter win streak alive for a third year, while Olympic XCO silver medalist Haley Batten showed her cross-discipline versatility with a dominant win in the women’s event at the opening round of the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix. Swenson has won the past two Sea Otter Fuego XL mountain bike races, and Life Time’s switch to a 90-mile gravel event as the first of its six-race GP series didn’t slow him at all. A sharp attack on the final climb led Swenson to solo home nine seconds clear of Matthew Beers, with Alexey Vermeulen half a minute back in third (virtual podium for Sir Willie the Wiener), in a reverse of Vermeulen’s and Beers’ finish order last year. Swenson, the defending GP champion, also takes top points in round one.
Batten, meanwhile, sparked her winning move almost 50 miles from the finish and cruised home a comfortable five minutes ahead of last year’s winner and GP overall champion Sofia Gómez Villafañe. Batten is not in the overall GP field, so Gómez Villafañe still takes top series points, with Cecily Decker just behind. But the big story was Batten, who opted to open her 2025 season at Sea Otter rather than travel to Brazil for the opening rounds of the Mountain Bike World Cup.
“This was my first gravel race so I had no real plan,” she said, but opted to take advantage of disorganization in the women’s field with her long-range move. “I had hoped a rider or two would come with me so there would be more chance of making the move stick. I pushed really hard though, and knew if anyone hesitated for a second behind that I could get away, and I just kept going.” Round two of the Grand Prix is Unbound Gravel on May 31.
Winner's Circle: Vauquelin claims Région Pays de la Loire Tour
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) built on his strong record in French stage races this year with an overall victory at the Région Pays de la Loire Tour on Friday. The up-and-coming Frenchman won a hilly fourth and final stage in the UCI 2.1-rated event ahead of James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) and Alexandre Delettre (TotalEnerges), thus securing the top step on the final podium over Delettre in second and Shaw in third.
At the Tour of Hainan, Kyrylo Tsarenko (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini) took the overall win ahead of Cristian Raileanu (Li Ning Star) and Aaron Gate (XDS-Astana). Alexander Salby (Li Ning Star) sprinted to victory in the fifth and final stage ahead of Manuel Peñalver (Polti-VisitMalta) with Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana) in third.
Thursday, April 10, 2025
- Brennan called up for Roubaix
- A million feet of elevation in 100 days
- Vittoria overhauls its gravel tire lineup
- DT Swiss 350 DEG hubs released
- Winner's Circle: Almeida takes the win and the lead on Basque Country stage 4
Brennan called up for Roubaix
Matthew Brennan, the 19-year-old Brit who took his first two WorldTour wins at the Volta a Catalunya last month, has received a late call-up to join Visma-Lease a Bike's Paris-Roubaix squad.
"I keep surprising myself week after week in my first pro season – not just in results, but also in the races I’m doing. Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was my first real classic, and it left me wanting more," Brennan said in a statement from Visma. "I was blown away. GP Denain was my next race, and to win there straight away was really special.
"I’m massively looking forward to Sunday. Paris-Roubaix is the kind of race young riders dream about. To be starting it already feels like an incredibly valuable investment in my future."
Brennan will be expected to lend support to team leader Wout van Aert on the Roubaix cobbles, with former winner Dylan van Baarle as well as Niklas Behrens, Edoardo Affini, Julien Vermote, and Per Strand Hagenes rounding out the team roster.
A million feet of elevation in 100 days
Ben Hildred, a mountain biker based in New Zealand, started the year with an ambitious goal of one million feet of elevation (304,800 meters) in 100 days, all on a mountain bike. Now, Hildred has accomplished that mission, having completed those hundred days and met the goal by averaging 10,000 feet (nearly 3,050 meters) per day.
Well done, and ouch.
Vittoria overhauls its gravel tire lineup
Vittoria is renaming its entire gravel tire range using a new Terrain Score system intended to simplify tire choice. Old names like Terreno Zero and Mezcal will be replaced by a “T-Score” number ranging from 10 to 90 – T10 for hardpack, T90 for mud – based on the surfaces they’re built for.
The first tire to adopt the new system is the all-new T50, designed for mixed terrain. It has a V-shaped tread, reinforced casing, and comes in three widths: 40, 45 and 50 mm. The T50 is available now at €59 per tire, with the rest of the range to follow later this year. [Vittoria]
DT Swiss 350 DEG hubs released
DT Swiss' range of hubs has ballooned in recent years. The newest option is the DEG system, an oversized version of the company's original Star Ratchet system that's intended to bring higher engagement points to mountain bikes.
We previously reviewed the 240 DEG hub last year, with the 350 version being a lower cost and heavier option that features a reduced tooth count (72 versus 90T in the 240 DEG) and larger bearings.
The hubs are available to suit J-Bend spokes (28 or 32 hole) and both Boost and SuperBoost wheel spacing. In addition to the regular black/white option, DT Swiss has released the new 350 DEG with limited edition options in pink, blue, and green (just 350 of each). A rear hub is priced at US$380 / €280. [DT Swiss]
Winner's Circle: Almeida takes the win and the lead on Basque Country stage 4
Joǎo Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) soloed to victory on stage 4 of the Itzulia Basque Country, attacking out of the peloton on the final climb of the day.
The Portuguese all-rounder crossed the line 28 seconds ahead of a bunch led by his UAE teammate Isaac del Toro, with Max Schachmann (Soudal-Quick-Step) taking third on the day. With his stage win, Almeida also took the leader's jersey off of Shachmann's shoulders.
At the Tour of Hainan, Kiwi veteran Aaron Gate (XDS-Astana) took stage 4 ahead of Petr Rikunov (Chengdu DYC) and Luia Carlos Chia (Huansheng-Vonoa-Taishan Sport).
And at the Région Pays de la Loire Tour, Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) took his second win of the race on stage 3, out-sprinting Henri Uhlig (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
- Aranburu un-relegated as commissaires confirm his Basque Country stage 3 win
- Allied Cycle Works overhauls the Able
- OneUp Components overhauls handlebar with V2 Carbon
- Niner unveils new ORE 9 RDO gravel bike
- Winner's Circle: Merlier and Balsamo win at Scheldeprijs
Aranburu un-relegated as commissaires confirm his Basque Country stage 3 win
Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) was the first rider across the finish line in Beasain on stage 3 of the Itzulia Basque Country, but he was at first denied a win on home roads when the race jury decided to relegate him for going on the right side of a roundabout when signage on the road pointed to the left. Commissaires later went back on that decision, however, awarding him the win.
Aranburu soloed away late on in the lumpy stage and veered right at a roundabout where signs and officials were pointing him to the left; the official roadbook, however, appeared to show the course taking the right side of the roundabout. The race jury originally relegated Aranburu and gave the victory to the next rider across the line, Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), but upon further review, Aranburu was reinstated as the victor.
Grégoire thus took second on the day with race leader Max Schachmann (Soudal-Quick-Step) in third.
Allied Cycle Works overhauls the Able
Made with gravel racing in mind, Allied's new Able moves to a dropped chainstay design with relatively massive tire clearance at 57 mm (29 x 2.25in mountain bike tire).
There are tweaks to the geometry, with the wheelbase notably growing by approximately 30 mm across each of the five available frame sizes. Meanwhile, the bottom bracket height has been dropped with bigger tires in mind.
Other details include a downtube storage hatch and suspension fork compatibility. The frame is only compatible with 1x drivetrains (50T max chainring) and electronic shifting.
Expect to pay US$4,500 for a frameset in a standard color, with complete builds and custom paint available beyond that. While Allied’s included stem and custom paints are still done in-house, the manufacturing of the new Able frameset is done in Taiwan. Expect to learn more about this one soon. [Allied Cycle Works]
OneUp Components overhauls handlebar with V2 Carbon
OneUp has overhauled its original controlled flex mountain bike handlebar, with the new V2 version claiming to offer up to a third more compliance via a refined oval shaping.
The V2 bar now introduces two width options (760 and 800 mm) to ensure the complaint benefits aren’t lost to those trimming bar widths (down to 720 mm). Plus, there are now more rise options.
The bars are for 35 mm diameter stems, weights start at 220 grams, and they're priced at US$160. [OneUp Components]
Niner unveils new ORE 9 RDO gravel bike
An early mover in the gravel space, Niner is back with a new carbon fibre gravel bike. The new ORE 9 RDO is an adventure-type bike with suspension-corrected geometry (40 mm travel forks). Similiar to the BMC URS and Santa Cruz Stigmata, there’s a longer and slacker front centre designed to be matched with a shorter stem.
Tire clearance is quoted at 700 x 50 mm and cable routing is external of the headset (and then guided through the downtube). A frameset with fork is priced at US$3,000, with complete bikes starting from US$4,300. [Niner Bikes]
Winner's Circle: Merlier and Balsamo win at Scheldeprijs
Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) took a repeat win in the men's race at Scheldeprijs, claiming a convincing sprint win ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the Belgian one-day, with Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5) taking third on the day. On the women's side, Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) proved fastest in a sprint ahead of Charlotte Kool (Picnic PostNL) and Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM).
In China, Kyrylo Tsarenko (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini) pipped Cristian Raileanu (Li Ning Star) in a two-rider move to win stage 3 of the Tour of Hainan, with XDS-Astana's Henok Mulubrhan taking third 47 seconds later.
And at the Région Pays de la Loire Tour, Victor Guernalec delivered the stage 2 win for Arkéa-B&B Hotels ahead of Sakarias Koller Løland (Uno-X Mobility) and Noah Hobbs (EF Education-EasyPost).
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
- Ewan cruises to his first WorldTour win in three years
- Pogačar and Žigart cause a stir at a Monaco tennis match
- Wahoo updates Roam and Bolt and introduces first-ever rear radar
- UCI XC World Cup racing kicks off in Brazil
- Winner's Circle: Bennett makes a show of form ahead of the Giro
Ewan cruises to his first WorldTour win in three years
Caleb Ewan is off to a strong start in his first few appearances with the Ineos Grenadiers. After taking a win in his first race with the squad in the opening stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, the 30-year-old Australian stormed to his first WorldTour in three years on Tuesday's stage 2 of the Itzulia Basque Country.
The stage came down to a sprint after the peloton – with Ineos making a big contribution – caught the day's break inside the last few kilometers, which also featured a crash that saw Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) and others hit the deck. Ewan and his lead-out riders navigated the hectic approach and were in excellent position for the final push, where Ewan proved fastest ahead of Luca Van Boven (Intermarché-Wanty) and Bastien Tronchon (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale).
The win is Ewan's first at the WorldTour level since he won a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico all the way back in 2022. It is also the Ineos Grenadiers' fourth in a top-division race this season, and all of those victories have come from different riders so far.
Pogačar and Žigart cause a stir at a Monaco tennis match
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) might have expected to draw the attention of the television cameras when they took in a tennis match at the Monte Carlo Masters, but they probably did not expect to draw the ire of the umpire and a few fans – which is exactly what happened on Monday in Monaco.
The chair umpire waited to start play between Yunchaokete Bu and Lorenzo Musetti as Pogačar and Zigart found their seats, and the umpire ultimately let the couple know that the stadium was waiting for them, drawing a response from a few spectators who did not seem pleased with the delay. [X]
Wahoo updates Roam and Bolt and introduces first-ever rear radar
Wahoo has announced updated versions of its Elemnt Roam and Bolt bike computers and introduced its first rear-facing radar light – though none of these products are available for consumers to buy until May 6.
The new Elemnt Roam 3 updates include a 2.8" touchscreen, improved navigation with POIs and voice prompts, and a redesigned interface. Battery life is now rated up to 25 hours. It will retail for £400 / US$450 / €450 / AU$750.
The smaller Elemnt Bolt 3 stays compact but upgrades to a 2.3" high-resolution screen and the same revamped software. Wahoo claims up to 20 hours of battery life. It’s priced at £300 / $330 / €330 / AU$550.
The Trackr Radar marks Wahoo’s entry into the rear radar category and combines vehicle detection with reactive lighting and brake light functionality. It pairs with Wahoo and other ANT+/Bluetooth head units, and battery life is listed at up to 20 hours. Pricing is set at £180 / $200 / €200 / AU$350. [Wahoo Fitness]
UCI XC World Cup racing kicks off in Brazil
Araxá, Brazil, held the first round of the UCI XC World Cup this past weekend. In the men's events, it was pure domination by Specialized Factory Racing. In the short track event, Christopher Blevins and Victor Koretzky went one-two with Mathis Azzaro rounding out the top three.
The Olympic distance event would see a role reversal for the Specialized duo. After they stamped their authority on the race right from the first lap, Koretzky would take the win with Blevins comfortably in second. Martin Vidaurre took third, securing a Specialized Factory Racing clean sweep of the new three-person podium, although this did not stop them from ignoring the new framework as fourth- and fifth-place finishers Lars Forster and Nino Schurter were called onto the podium too.
In the women's race, short track world champion Evie Richards got proceedings underway with a win in the short track after a last-lap attack that distanced all of her rivals except Samara Maxwell of Decathlon Ford Racing Team. Next to cross the line was last year's overall leader Alessandra Keller.
On Sunday, Maxwell went one further and claimed her first XCO win, and the first for Decathlon Ford, ahead of Nicole Koller. With Decathlon Ford's Savilia Blunk also taking third on the day, it was a season opener of dreams for the team.
Winner's Circle: Bennett makes a show of form ahead of the Giro
As a planned start at the Giro d'Italia looms, Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) took the opening stage of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour, out-sprinting Giovanni Lonardi (Polti-VisitMalta) and Dillon Corkery (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) in northwestern France.
And in yet more sprinting news, Dušan Rajović (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini) won stage 2 of the Tour of Hainan, besting Luis Carlos Chia (Huansheng-Vonoa-Taishan Sport) and Norman Vahtra (China Glory-Mentech).
Monday, April 7, 2025
- Longo Borghini out of the hospital after Flanders concussion
- Degenkolb out of Roubaix with multiple fractures
- Stinner Frameworks expands to offer domestic OEM frame production
- Winner's Circle: Schachmann takes Itzulia TT by a razor-thin margin
Longo Borghini out of the hospital after Flanders concussion
A bad crash ended Elisa Longo Borghini's attempt to defend her title at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday and left her with a concussion. On Monday, her UAE Team ADQ provided an update on her condition, saying that the 33-year-old Italian "has been discharged from the hospital."
"She's stable and will take a few days of rest before gradually returning to training," the team wrote on social media.
That timeline would seem to make a return in time for the Ardennes Classics questionable at best; Longo Borghini would have about two weeks to recover before the Amstel Gold Race, with La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège the following week.
Degenkolb out of Roubaix with multiple fractures
In other Flanders crash news, John Degenkolb (Picnic-PostNL) broke his collarbone, an elbow, and a wrist in his crash at the Tour of Flanders. The former Paris-Roubaix winner will thus miss Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.
"He will undergo surgery on his wrist, before a period of recovery," team doctor Camiel Aldershof said in a team statement. "Timelines can often change but we expect him to be out of competition for two months."
Stinner Frameworks expands to offer domestic OEM frame production
California-based bike builder Stinner Frameworks has announced the launch of Stinner Manufacturing, aimed at supplying OEM bike production to other brands. Based at its existing facility in Santa Barbara, the company said it can currently make 3,000 complete bikes annually, with room to scale production.
The move comes as supply chain disruption and shifting tariff structures are expected to affect the global bike industry. Stinner has built custom and stock bikes in the US for over a decade and said it has utilized automation and lean manufacturing techniques to close the cost gap with overseas production.
Several brands are already working with Stinner, including Zink Bikes, Sklar Bikes, Rouge Fitness, and Old Man Mountain Racks. [Stinner]
Winner's Circle: Schachmann takes Itzulia TT by a razor-thin margin
Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal-QuickStep) won a hotly contested opening time trial of the Itzulia Basque Country on Monday, narrowly besting João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
The 31-year-old German covered the 16.5 km against the clock in 18:37, and Almeida was just 0.54 seconds off his mark, with Lipowitz 0.76 seconds slower. The other big news from the time trial was that Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) took a wrong turn at one point, following a diversion intended for cars, and thus lost several seconds shortly before the finish.
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