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Australia’s Spoken show to remain in Sydney for 2026
Previously known as the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, Spoken expanded its scope to become Australia’s boutique cycling show, all while still centred around Australia's builders and small brands. See our previous coverage of this event here.
The show moved from Melbourne to Sydney in 2025 and has now been confirmed to remain at Sydney’s Carriageworks venue in 2026. The show will run from the 19th to the 21st of June. More information at Spoken.
Segaert strikes back at GP Denain
One day after he was caught in sight of the finish line at Nokere Koerse, Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious) flipped the script at the GP Denain. The 23-year-old Belgian was away with Per Strand Hagenes (Visma-Lease a Bike) and then left the Norwegian behind. This time, Segaert held off a charging group of chasers to take a narrow win.
Milan Menten (Lotto-Intermarché) took runner-up honors two seconds later ahead of Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies).
Ornot pullover collection
Apparel brand Ornot has updated its catalog with new pullover options for shoulder season riding. Designed to work on and off the bike, the Alpha Sweater and Micro Grid Gravel Sweater are both part of Ornot's "Secret Projects" program. At a cost of US$148, the Alpha Sweater is claimed to be 50% lighter than traditional fleece and ideal for, according to Ornot, when "you need to dump heat quickly" because the material's "lofted fibers sit on a breathable mesh core, keeping you warm without weighing you down." Priced at US$128, the Micro Grid Gravel Sweater is made from gridded dead-stock fabric that's said to "trap air to insulate without bulk, dries quickly after big efforts." [Ornot]
BTCHN’ Bikes Alpina 32" hardtail is batch-made in CA
The flood of 32" MTB news is upon us. In the run up to Sea Otter Classic next month, expect to be seeing much more. Smaller brands seem to be the first to make bikes around the new wheel size available, including the production batch of Neuhaus Nova rigid MTBs released just last week. Following that news, another California brand has announced its 32" MTB platform – the BTCHN' Bikes Alpina is a 130mm suspension-corrected hardtail.
Made in-house, the Alpina is available in three sizes - Medium, Large, and XL - and is said to fit riders from 5'7" (170 cm) to 6'4" (193 cm). Aplinas are being sold as complete builds, which include the Wern 32" inverted fork, Astral Jester alloy wheelset, Madrone Jab rear mech with SRAM Eagle 90 shifter, code Ultimate brakes, and more for US$6,800. Some parts upgrades are available from BTCHN' for an additional cost. [BTCHN' Bikes]
32" wheels get first race win with Cape Epic stage
A year ago, 32" wheels were barely on the radar for most mountain bikers as Maxxis had not yet released the first performance 32" tire, the Aspen. And while production bikes and equipment are still rare, the first major race win on 32" wheels is already in the bag as Swiss rider Felix Stehli won stage 2 of the Absa Cape Epic.
Stehli, who rides for the team Honeycomb 226ers, was aboard a Stoll P32, a carbon fiber flexstay design that uses an Intend inverted suspension fork. The bike is in limited production now but it'll cost you. Framesets run CHF5,000 (plus another CHF1,500 for the fork), and complete bikes start at CHF9,500, with a lead time of 3-4 months.
Pidcock triumphs at Milano-Torino as Sanremo looms
Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) stormed to his first one-day win of the season at Milano-Torino on Wednesday, putting on a show of form ahead of Saturay's Milan-San Remo.
The 26-year-old Brit left the field behind on the decisive Superga finishing climb, where Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) settled for runner-up honors with 2021 winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) securing third on the day.
Segaert's hopes dashed as Philipsen wins Nokere Koerse
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) took his first victory of 2026 on Belgian roads at Wednesday's Nokere Koerse, though the day very nearly went to breakaway rider Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious).
After a furious chase in the closing kilometers, Segaert was caught on the finishing straight, where Philipsen outkicked Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates XRG) to get the win.
Lycra Company files for bankruptcy to cut US$1.2b debt
The Lycra Company – whose spandex fibres are widely used in cycling apparel – has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, aiming to eliminate roughly US$1.2 billion in debt through lender-backed restructuring.
The US-based company said it has already secured US$75 million in new financing and expects to complete the restructuring in 45 days while continuing to operate as normal.
The Chapter 11 filing follows the company's 2019 acquisition by Shandong Ruyi, a Chinese multinational textile and apparel conglomerate. The ownership change left Lycra in deep debt, and lenders first took control of the company in 2022 when it continued to struggle with low demand, increased competition from cheaper products, US tariffs and legal disputes with its former Chinese owners.
Lycra was founded in 1958 as part of DuPont, and employs some 2,000 people globally across its eight manufacturing facilities, three labs and 11 offices.
Lotte Kopecky takes first win of 2026 at Nokere Koerse
Mathieu van der Poel spotted riding an unreleased Canyon cockpit
Former world champion and Classics specialist Mathieu van der Poel has posted an Instagram story that appears to reveal an unreleased cockpit.
Fresh off a successful Tirreno–Adriatico campaign, where he took two stage wins, van der Poel has been enjoying some relaxed riding on the cycle paths of northern Europe before heading to Italy to defend his Milan–San Remo title this weekend.
Front and centre in the story is what appears to be a new cockpit, presumably from Canyon. The handlebar features a noticeably deeper profile than the adjustable CP0048 cockpit currently found on the Aeroad CFR that van der Poel has raced for the past few seasons. The bar also appears to have a pronounced forward sweep, something new for the brand.
Whether this is simply a prototype handlebar or part of a wider update remains unclear.
Look X-One-G, a gravel-specific range of SPD-compatible pedals
Taking cues from Look’s pre-existing X-Track SPD-compatible pedal range, the new X-One G is a one-sided version with gravel racing in mind. In a similar vein to the Wolf Tooth DEL one-sided SPD pedals, these aim to increase the contact area of the shoe (650 mm² claimed), improve cornering clearance, and reduce weight.
There are two versions of the one-sided pedal. The top-tier X-One-G Ti (US$€300 / £275 / US$365) features a titanium spindle and has a claimed weight of 240 g a pair. Meanwhile, the X-One-G Max (€179 / £165 / US$225) features a chromoly axle and a claimed weight of 290 grams per pair. Both offer a fixed 53 mm Q-Factor.
Meanwhile, the French pedal company has also updated its X-Venture models, which offer an SPD on one side and a pinned flat pedal on the other. Made with trekking and mixed-use riding in mind, these pedals start from just €45 / £45 / US$60 for the composite version.
Canyon ends 2025 with 34% drop in profitability
Canyon's revenue fell to €738 million in 2025, down some 6% year-on-year, while its profitability declined more steeply, with adjusted EBITDA dropping 34%, according to results published by its majority owner Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL).
GBL said that the German direct-to-consumer brand continued to face a tough market last year, plagued by oversupply and discounting, particularly in mountain and urban bikes. Europe remained relatively resilient, but demand in the US and Asia was weaker amid tariff uncertainty.
The 2025 results mark the third consecutive year of losses. In January 2026, the company announced it was laying off a fifth of its HQ staff.
CPSC fines Shimano US$11.5 million in crankarm recall
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a substantial fine on components brand Shimano on Monday over its massive recall of certain HollowTech II crankarms. The civil penalty, US$11.5 million, is substantial by CPSC standards and one of the largest ever for a fitness-related company; the agency levied a $19 million fine on Peloton in 2023 for defects on its Tread treadmill that ranks among its steepest penalties of all time.
Financial penalties are often used by the CPSC to effectively punish companies for failing to act quickly on product safety issues. In announcing the recall, the CPSC specifically noted that Shimano "knowingly failed to immediately report to CPSC, as required by law," that some of its 11-speed HollowTech cranksets had a defect that posed a serious material injury risk to owners.
The CPSC noted that Shimano received failure reports on the crankarms as far back as 2013 and made nine discrete design and manufacturing changes intended in part or whole to address the failures. "Despite possessing information that reasonably supported the conclusion that the bicycle cranksets contained a defect which could create a substantial product hazard or created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, Shimano did not immediately report to the Commission," the fine notice states.
The Shimano recall is one of the largest in recent memory, comprising more than three quarters of a million units in the US and Canada alone, and came after the company received more than 4,500 reports of failures. A settlement in a civil class-action lawsuit over the failures and recall was reached in late 2025 and was approved by a court last month. [CPSC]
Kern Pharma's title sponsor is out at the end of the year
The Kern Pharma brand will end its sponsorship of Equipo Kern Pharma at the end of the season, the team announced on Monday. The Spanish pharmaceutical company has been title sponsor of the squad since its launch as a Continental team in 2020.
The news puts the team, which enjoyed some success in 2024 but has not won a WorldTour race since taking three stages at that year's Vuelta a España, into the unenviable position of hunting for a new backer at a challenging time; French squad Arkéa-B&B Hotels shut down at the end of last year after their own sponsor search failed to turn up results.
Lidl-Trek adds a junior team
Lidl-Trek announced on Monday that it has launched a junior team "in partnership with the German regional team of Baden-Württemberg." The new squad adds a contingent of even younger prospects to an organization that already has an under-23 development team.
"Creating Lidl-Trek Junior Racing gives us a level of structure in our scouting process that we haven’t had before — one that allows us to detect talent earlier and give young riders a clear, supported pathway toward the development team," said Josu Larrazabal, Lidl-Treak's head scout. "Because the team is registered as a Club Team it doesn’t conflict with races where national federations take part, which means we can build the best possible race programme around each rider."
Milan wins crash-affected stage 7 of Tirreno-Adriatico, Del Toro seals GC
Stage 8 of Tirreno-Adriatico was anything but a simple sprint stage, but the finale at least unfolded as expected, and Jonathan Milan galloped to a hard-fought victory having survived the drama early in the stage, and the late crash that took out Jasper Philipsen and Paul Magnier a few kilometres from the finish.
Isaac Del Toro, meanwhile, was able to seal the overall title, only his second WorldTour GC win after taking the UAE Tour last month.
Mathieu van der Poel had ripped up the rulebook on the only classified climb of the stage, splitting the bunch with almost 100 km remaining and dropping almost all the sprinters, including his teammate Philipsen. Rival sprint teams were able eventually to neutralise the curious threat about 25 km later, but the drama did not end there. At the end of the second of five finishing laps, the GC contenders lined up for a bonus sprint, with Visma-Lease a Bike conducting a full leadout for Matteo Jorgenson, who successfully nabbed the maximum of 3 seconds and Giulio Pellizzari took none, meaning the American leapfrogged the young Italian who'd started the day one second ahead.
Jonas Abrahamsen tried a late flier in the last 10 km and his 10-second gap had barely suffered a dent by the time the bunch arrived at a dangerous righthand turn just inside the 3km-to-go mark. The tight squeeze dealt one final blow to some of the favourites including Philipsen and Magnier who hit the ground hard, leaving a much-reduced bunch to contest the finale. Milan's win is his third in a row in the Tirreno-Adriatico finale.
Trofeo Alfredo Binda course adjusted after snowfall, final circuits unaffected
Sunday's Women's WorldTour one-day race has not escaped recent adverse weather, with the Trofeo Alfredo Binda organisers forced to slightly amend the course.
Snowfall during the night before the race has made the day's first classified climb and its environs too dangerous, so the peloton will be diverted at the 25 km mark, rejoining the original route about 15 km later. The finishing circuit (of approx. 18 km taken five times) in and around Cittiglio is unaffected.
Decathlon-CMA CGM is going after Sivakov and Jegat to bolster climbing squad
It's still very early to be talking about end-of-season transfers, but with Paul Seixas's signature already a key storyline so far in 2026 – despite his contract running through 2027 – Decathlon-CMA CGM is staying in the apex of the discourse as L'Équipe reports the French WorldTeam's interest in Pavel Sivakov and Jordan Jegat, two French climbers who would bolster the blossoming super-team's climbing squad.
Sivakov is in the third year of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG tenure where he's grown used to working as a domestique, after the now-28-year-old launched his career with Team Sky in 2018. The Italian-born Frenchman – who spent his first few pro years on a Russian license – is reportedly being presented as part of the incentive package to persuade Paul Seixas to stick around, while Sivakov would also get some of his own opportunities, something he hasn't often enjoyed in a UAE jersey.
The French team is also interested in bringing Jegat onboard, the surprise 10th-place finisher at the 2025 Tour de France. A good climber, the 26-year-old Frenchman only turned pro in 2024, and with his current team TotalEnergies facing an uncertain future past 2026, Jegat would make a good addition to the climbing talent at Decathlon.
Race leader Del Toro finally gets a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico
After two runner-up finishes earlier in the race, Isaac Del Toro finally took a stage win on the penultimate day of Tirreno-Adriatico, strengthening his overall lead with one likely sprint stage to go. Stage 6 paid a visit to the home roads of second-overall Giulio Pellizzari who was determined to reward his fans on the short climb into Camerino, but the 22-year-old was gathered up in the last kilometre, where Matteo Jorgenson led Del Toro out for the stage.
Many others tried to spoil UAE's control over the race, including Richard Carapaz with a characteristic long-range attack with about 60 km to go, then a forceful Visma-Lease a Bike in the run-in to the finale, but Del Toro and his cronies were cool and calm in the face of repeated attacks.
With one stage to go, Del Toro leads the race by 42 seconds over Pellizzari, and Jorgenson is third just one second further back, having lost out on a couple of bonus seconds to a fast-finishing Tobias Halland Johannessen who's up to fourth.
Dorian Godon took the win, his first with Ineos Grenadiers, on the shortened stage 7 of Paris-Nice at Isola just 47 km after the flag dropped – the stage significantly reduced due to adverse weather that saw the riders start in torrential rain and end in snow.
A one-man breakaway of Tim Marsman (Alpecin-Premier Tech) led the way for much of the steady climb that filled the stage profile, but the peloton had his number and Godon led the bunch home at the head of a results sheet that says plenty about the difficulty of the ramp to the finish, with Biniam Girmay, Cees Bol, Laurence Pithie and Luke Lamperti filling out the top five.
Mark Beaumont and rugby stars lead 700-mile ride from Scotland to Ireland, raising over a million for MND research
Amid the ongoing Six Nations rugby tournament, a crowd of over 300 cyclists have completed a ride of more than 700 miles in four days (10-13 March), from Melrose in Scotland to Dublin, Ireland, led by a core team that includes Mark Beaumont and former Scotland rugby captain Rob Wainwright – also on the team were retired Irish rugby player Gordon D'Arcy and GCN's James "Hank" Lowsley-Williams.
The concept of the ride was to carry the match ball from the home of Scottish rugby (or nearby) to its Irish equivalent, Dublin's Aviva Stadium, in time for the Triple Crown finale between the two nations on Saturday afternoon. But the true purpose of the mammoth ride is to raise awareness and funds for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, a charity founded by Scottish and Lions rugby legend Doddie Weir who died from MND in late 2022.
Now in its sixth year, the annual ride has raised several million in the quest to support research into MND. By the time this year's parade of riders arrived at their destination overnight, following days of truly miserable weather and a delayed ferry crossing, the funds raised already exceeded £1.2 million, and counting.
Paris-Nice Queen Stage further shortened to just 47km due to adverse weather
Hours before the start of stage 7 of Paris-Nice, which was meant to be the Queen Stage with a summit finish at Auron, the race organisers announced a further reduction of the day's course: the peloton would now complete only the last 47 km of the already shortened parcours finishing at Isola.
"Due to the weather conditions, and to ensure the safety of the race, the route of Stage 7 has once again been modified," the Paris-Nice organisers announced on social media.
"We will depart in a convoy at 12:00 PM to head to a new starting point 47 km from the finish line," the organiser added in a separate post. "We will start the race again at 1:45 PM from this location for the final 47 km of the race. Finish line at Isola."
Tejada wins Paris-Nice stage 6 with a late attack
Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana) soloed away from a select group to take his first ever WorldTour win on stage 6 of Paris-Nice on Friday.
The 28-year-old Colombian overcame a late mechanical and attacked on the day's final climb with around 5 km to go. He held off a chase group comprising most of the GC riders to take the win six seconds ahead of Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) and Lewis Askey (NSN). Race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) finished safely with the chasers to retain his huge GC advantage heading into the weekend.
Giant's year on year revenue drops to a decade low
Giant Group has reported a 40% revenue decline in February 2026 compared to the same month in 2025, its worst monthly result in a decade, as the US Withhold Release Order (WRO) blocking Giant Taiwan's shipments continues to take its toll.
The latest figures follow a 26% drop in January 2026 and marks 12 consecutive months of negative growth for the Taiwanese company. Full-year revenue for 2025 was down 15.5% from 2024. The last positive month was February 2025, when the company's revenue increased by 30.9%.
Some progress is being made on resolving the ban. Giant met with US Customs and Border Protection's Forced Labour Division last week, with CBP indicating the case remains "one of its priority matters" and that it is working to accelerate its review. Giant described the meeting as "constructive and productive."
Until the WRO is lifted, Giant's US-bound product will come from its factory in Vietnam.
Paris-Nice organisers shorten queen stage due to weather
Paris-Nice has already been dramatically affected by weather this week, just as it has in recent editions, and that will continue into the weekend as wintery conditions threaten the Auron summit finish (1,600 m altitude) of Saturday's queen stage.
"Canceling the stage is not an option," ASO's Thierry Gouvenou told Sporza. "Plan B is probably to shorten the stage and look for an arrival location that is slightly lower."
The new profile for a shortened stage 7 of Paris-Nice
And Friday evening, the organisers announced that the stage would shorten to 120.3 km – specifically the first part of the stage, with a finish at Isola Village, elevation 858 metres. That designation is not by accident. "The latest forecasts make an arrival in the Auron resort inconceivable, with the rain-snow line estimated to be around 1,100 metres altitude," organisers wrote in announcing the change. They noted that conditions did not allow consideration of another mountaintop as a finish.
While technically an uphill finish, the climb is long and gradual and likely won't trouble the GC candidates much. It's yet another reminder that Paris-Nice is the race to the sun, not of the sun, an old chestnut that's never been more true than this year.
Muc-Off joins the drip-wax chain lube game
Muc-Off has long and publicly resisted the shift toward wax-based chain lubes. Now the British bike maintenance company is joining the well-established party.
Designed for dry to damp conditions on road and off-road, the new Dark Energy chain lube is said to have been developed over four years. Like other drip-on wax lubes in this category, Muc-Off's is also PFAS-free and claims to stay clean, reduce component wear, and remain smooth. Meanwhile, Muc-Off states its Ludicrous oil lube remains its top choice for racing in wet conditions.
In order to prep the chain for the new wax lube, Muc-off has released a matching Chain Wax Cleaner degreaser. Dark Energy Chain Wax is offered in 50ml and 120ml bottles, priced at £15 / €20 / US$18 and £23 / €30 / US$25 respectively. A 500ml bottle of the cleaner is priced at £22 / €25 / US$25.
We only just received samples, time will tell how this one stacks up against favoured drip waxes such as CeramicSpeed UFO All Conditions, Silca Super Secret, Smoove, and Rex Black Magik.
Wolf Tooth adds semi-internal headset options
Already offering a range of fully integrated and standard headsets, Wolf Tooth has now added semi-internal options for bikes with cables running through the headset but external to the stem.
In addition to Wolf Tooth’s usual advanced sealing and use of Enduro stainless steel bearings, these new headsets feature a custom seal for the cable entry point in the headset topcap. The headsets, available in IS52 and EC44 variants, are offered in seven colours at US$180 each.
This headset offering follows closely behind Cane Creek's HCR system, bringing a similar-quality upgrade option to the market, versus the many poorly sealed, largely plastic headsets found on countless bikes. More info here.
Swiss Side refreshes Gravon Carbon 500 gravel wheels with 50 mm rims and lower price
Swiss Side has announced its new Gravon Carbon 500 V2, an updated version of its aero-focused gravel wheelset that combines a claimed 126 gram saving with a more accessible price point.
The wheelset uses a 50 mm deep hooked carbon rim with a 24 mm internal width and 36.5 mm external width, a configuration it says is aero-optimised for 40-45 mm tyres but balancing aerodynamic efficiency with gravel durability and tyre compatibility ranging from 35 mm to 65 mm. Built around DT Swiss 350 Spline hubs and laced with DT Aerolite and Aero Comp straightpull spokes, the updated design reduces claimed weight to 1,620 g.
Swiss Side says the hooked tubeless design aims to improve tyre security and allow higher pressure limits compared with hookless systems, while maintaining crosswind stability and responsiveness on rough terrain. The GRAVON Carbon 500 V2 will be available worldwide via Swiss Side’s website and retail partners, with pricing set at €1,199 direct or €1,499 MSRP, which converts to approximately £884 direct (£1,105 MSRP) / US$1,295 direct (US$1,620 MSRP) / CHF 1,132 direct (CHF 1,416 MSRP).
Trek share details on prototype race bike, that may never make it to production
The Trek-Unbroken XC team have anounced that they will race the 2026 cross-country season aboard a prototype bike, with the season forming part of a development project to "create the fastest possible XC race platform for modern World Cup courses."
The unreleased bike represents a significant departure from Trek’s current cross-country models, the Supercaliber and Top Fuel. Trek's engineers and riders tested multiple suspension layouts before settling on a flex-stay design paired with a linkage-driven shock system mounted to the top tube.
The prototype delivers 115 mm of rear travel, a figure Trek says offered the best balance of pedalling efficiency, suspension performance, and weight for modern XC racing.
Despite being raced at the highest level, Trek says the prototype itself may never become a production bike. Instead, it serves as a rolling test platform that allows engineers to gather race-level data and refine ideas that will influence future Trek mountain bikes.
The company says lessons learned from the prototype project are already shaping the next generation of its XC lineup.
Scope introduces more affordable R4.G gravel wheel
Scope has expanded its gravel wheel line with a new set of hoops aimed squarely at a more price-conscious audience. The R4.G follows much of the design language of the Artech 4.G, but is less than half the cost.
The new wheels feature the same rim profile as the Artech – with a 45 mm section and 38/28 mm external/internal width, but are molded without the Aeroscale textured surface. The tubeless straight side (hookless) rims are compatible with tires from 35-65 mm. The R-Series hubs are conventionally made rather than the 3D-printed versions on the Artech, but feature labyrinth seals and the same 36-tooth ratchet design. Sapim CX-Ray steel spokes replace the carbon versions on the Artech.
The final tally is a competitive 1,439 grams per pair (the Artech 4.Gs are 1,150 g by comparison) and a retail price of €1,698 or US$1,798. [Scope Cycling]
