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Club rider Filippo Conca puts himself in the shop window with Italian national title
The Italian national championship road race is one of the most fiercely sought after on the European circuit, very much not one of the events at which one or two established pros dominate. Several Tour de France-destined elite men lined up for the attritional race in Trieste, but it was 26-year-old amateur/former pro Filippo Conca who took the title ahead of UAE's Alessandro Covi in a five-rider move.
Conca turned pro with Lotto-Soudal in 2021, spending two years with the then-WorldTour team before moving across to Q36.5 Pro Cycling. Alas, his two-year contract was not renewed at the end of 2024, and he has since been racing with the amateur outfit Swatt Club.
This marks his first pro win and perhaps the most impactful result since he left the U23 ranks.
Van Aert pulls out of national champs due to illness a week pre-Tour
Wout van Aert was considered a favourite going into Sunday's Belgian national championship road race, but after first experiencing symptoms on Saturday evening, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider was confirmed as a non-starter this morning due to 'stomach flu'.
"We don't want to take any risks," team coach Maarten Wynants told Het Nieuwsblad at the start in Binche. "Wout wouldn't start ... just to make kilometres, it's win or nothing, knowing that the Tour is coming up."
Van Aert last raced at the Giro d'Italia, in the run-up to which he also struggled with illness that hampered his performance in the opening few stages. The Belgian will now focus on recovering as best he can before joining Jonas Vingegaard et al. for the start of the Tour in Lille in six days' time.
EF Education-Oatly signs Dutch triathlete Maya Kingma, will make debut at Giro
EF Education-Oatly has announced the signing of Dutch triathlete and two-time Olympian Maya Kingma with immediate effect.
"Moving to road cycling has always been in the back of my mind," Kingma said in the team's announcement. "I would like to have more hills and changing dynamics. In road cycling, there are so many different types of races and tactics play a much bigger role. Those are the parts of racing that I really love."
Kingma has competed triathlon competitively for eight years, earning a gold medal at the World Triathlon Series and attaining three top-10 finishes at the World Champs. And now, six months after first joining the American ProTeam at a Mallorca training camp, the 29-year-old is set to make her road racing debut at the upcoming Giro d'Italia Women (6-13 July).
Wiebes and Van Poppel sprint to Dutch national titles
At the Dutch National Championships in Ede, Netherlands, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) delivered on her overwhelming favourite status to out-shine key rival Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) in the expected gallop to the line. 7 km before the finish, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) were among those caught up in a pile-up, but both were able to get up and finish the race relatively unharmed.
In the men's race, a handful of big sprint names turned up to contest the title, but with few boasting significant team support, the result was less of a foregone conclusion than in the earlier women's race. Despite a strong breakaway posing a threat on the run-in, the sprint was hotly contested with Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) and reigning champion Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) looking particularly eager. However, a patient and powerful Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora Hasgrohe) out-punched the both of them to win his first national champ's jersey – which he'll get to wear at the Tour de France in a week's time.
Vollering unhurt and relieved after potentially Tour-threatening crash at Nat Champs
On National Championships weekend, one of the first events to draw international attention was the elite women's race in the Netherlands on Saturday morning. The Ede finale was perfectly suited to a Lorena Wiebes showcase, and sure enough it was the European champion who powered to a dominant win ahead of sprint rival Charlotte Kool.
Earlier in the race, the non-sprinters tried to rip up the script – in vain – including Demi Vollering. But for the FDJ-Suez rider, the foremost feeling post-race was one of relief; Vollering had been caught in a late crash that also took down Marianne Vos, finding herself pinned beneath her bike at the bottom of a pileup, protecting her head and fearing for her condition with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in mind.
Fortunately, the 2023 Tour champ was able to finish and reported only stiffness in her shoulder and hip. With the French stage race still four weeks away and no plans to race next week's Giro d'Italia Women, Vollering will have more than enough time to recover.
Bahrain Victorious to back Buitrago for GC at the Tour de France
Bahrain Victorious is the latest team to confirm its lineup for the upcoming Tour de France, with Santiago Buitrago set to lead a versatile eight-rider squad. The Colombian made his Tour debut in 2024, after multiple appearances at both the Giro and Vuelta, coming away with tenth overall by the race's arrival in Nice. The goal this year is to climb the GC standings, targeting a top-5 finish, or even the podium.
Supporting Buitrago in the mountains will be Jack Haig and youngster Lenny Martinez, the first Frenchman to race the Tour for Bahrain Victorious, while sprinter Phil Bauhaus and opportunist Matej Mohorič will lead the hunt for stage wins.
Santiago Buitrago 🇨🇴
Phil Bauhaus 🇩🇪
Kamil Gradek 🇵🇱
Jack Haig 🇦🇺
Lenny Martinez 🇫🇷
Matej Mohorič 🇸🇮
Robert Stannard 🇦🇺
Fred Wright 🇬🇧
Skjelmose declared 2024 Danish time trial champ just before 2025 race
One day before the time trial at the 2025 Danish national championships, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) was confirmed as last year's champion, finally ending a long-running saga that began when Johan Price-Pejtersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) set the fastest mark in the event but was disqualified by commissaires for riding on a sidewalk.
The Danish cycling federation overruled the race jury, but then the UCI stepped in, ultimately upholding the initial disqualification. According to the Danish cycling federation, the UCI decided that the Danish governing body "did not have the authority to overturn the commissaires' panel's original decision, as national championships are held under the UCI's rules."
A day later, Mads Pedersen took the 2025 title in Aalborg.
Pegoretti goes integrated with the Elio
Officina Dario Pegoretti took a big step last year in creating a new identity with the introduction of the Duende Rock & Roll, its first disc brake-only frameset and its first "all-terrain" model (with tire clearance up to 40 mm it's more all-road than gravel). Today, Pegoretti goes one further with the Elio, a fully modern steel race bike (named for employee Leonardo's son, not the recent Pixar movie).
What does fully modern mean? Full internal cable routing, for one, with a head tube and new fork compatible with Enve's In-Route system (cockpit options include Enve, Deda and Columbus, among others). Add a UDH dropout and clearance for 32 mm tires. Tubing is Columbus XCR stainless steel, with a tapered top tube and Pegoretti's largest-diameter down tube on any bike they've made (including the Big Leg Emma). Framesets start from €5,500 in a single color paint job, but all stock color schemes are available, as is the custom Ciaveté option, like the one shown in the image. [Pegoretti]
Apidura unveils Aero System bags
Apidura has unveiled a new aerodynamically optimised bikepacking system aimed at riders looking for storage without the added aero drag. Called the Aero System, the setup includes a top tube and frame bag designed to hide neatly behind the head tube and stem. Inspired by the Aero Pack System initially developed specifically for the Ridley Kanzo Fast, the Aero System offers broader compatibility and emerges following three years of development, wind tunnel testing, and rider feedback. Apidura claims the system delivers an average saving of 5 watts at typical race speeds. The system features smoother integration with transition panels and a protective fairing to smooth airflow between bag and frame, and a lighter-weight Hexagrid construction.
Available in two sizes (S/M and L/XL), the dual-bag Aero System weighs a claimed 305 grams in its smaller size (335g for L/XL) and will retail for £188 / €218 / US$278 / AU$341 when it goes on sale today.
TotalEnergies and the Ineos Grenadiers announce jersey sponsorship
After months of rumors about a potential partnership, the Ineos Grenadiers and French petroleum company TotalEnergies have announced a sponsorship agreement that will see the TotalEnergies logo added to Ineos kit.
TotalEnergies is, of course, already the sponsor of the UCI ProTeam by that name, but the company also a relationship with Ineos; both energy giants have operated joint ventures and Ineos acquired TotalEnergies' petrochemical assets in 2024. As Escape Collectivereported in March, TotalEnergies has been in negotiations to shift its financial backing to the Ineos Grenadiers. Thursday's announcement confirms that, in the short term, a new partnership will take the form of a jersey sponsorship. What it means for the future of the Ineos Grenadiers and of the TotalEnergies team remains to be seen.
Soudal teams partner with Ghent University for 'safety tracker'
Soudal-Quick-Step and AG Insurance-Soudal are working with Ghent University to trial a "safety tracker" whose functionality "combines real-time rider positioning, incident detection, and two-way communication," according to a joint press release.
Riders from both teams will be involved in out-of-competition development of the device and "real-world testing will begin later this summer," while "the project aims to conclude by summer 2026, with the ultimate goal of bringing the tracker to market soon after."
No Tour for Geoghegan Hart
Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) said on Instagram that he was waylaid by a "mild chest infection" at the Tour de Suisse. As he recovers, he will miss the Tour de France, which he has not raced since 2021.
"At times the body feels like it’s coming back to some semblance of my prior level and I’m definitely seeing glimpses of that, but it’s proving quite tricky to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together at once," he wrote. "Looking forward to a week of rest now and then some consistent training before more racing in August."
DT Swiss launches third-gen ARC wheels
DT Swiss has unveiled its third‑generation ARC wheelset series, boasting a revamped aerodynamic rim profile claimed to enhance performance.
The core upgrade is a new V‑shaped outer rim with a mid‑wall bend, creating an air‑tripping effect that smooths airflow over the tyre–rim junction. The ARC range comprises three rim depths (55 mm, 65 mm, and 85 mm), with a wider 22 mm internal width (up from 20 mm). DT Swiss pairs each depth with matching Continental tyres; the front gets a 29 mm Aero 111 tyre on the 55 mm and 65 mm rims, while the 85 mm wheel is fitted with a 26 mm version to optimise aerodynamics, handling, and tyre contact.
Under controlled conditions (45 kph, yaw ±20°), the range showed reduced steering torque, improved steadiness, and claimed aerodynamic gains over competitors such as Zipp, Campagnolo, and ENVE.
The new 55 mm front wheel also drops from 24 to 20 spokes, saving up to a claimed 0.5 W in drag.
The ARC 1100 range uses the brand's 180 hubs, whilst the ARC 1400 uses its 240 hubs. The ARC 1100 Dicut wheel-tyre system (55 mm) is priced at £2,600 / $3,262 / €2,800 / AU$5,000.00
RockShox updates the SID SL fork
The lightest mountain bike fork in RockShox’s range, the SID SL, has just received a refresh. There’s a new DebonAir+ air spring, a chassis with increased bushing overlap, and more tyre clearance (officially now 29 x 2.4in). Additionally, RockShox recently updated its Flight Attendant system (optional) to work with hardtails.
What hasn’t changed is the 100 or 110 mm travel options, 32 mm stanchions, and sub 1,400 gram weight. The top-tier SID SL Ultimate, with either a three or two-position manual lockout, sells for US$989 / €1,079.
Meanwhile, the more price-focused Reba range has also been updated. Now spanning a 100-130mm travel range, these air-sprung forks feature 35 mm stanchions. A Reba Gold is priced at US$549 / €545.
Uijtdebroeks recovering after being hit by driver during training
Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) said on Instagram that he was hit by a driver during a training ride on Wednesday. He did not provide much detail on the extent of any injuries he might have sustained in the collision, but regardless, the incident marks yet another setback for the 22-year-old, who has battled health issues for the past two seasons.
"Today a car, came out of his parking, crossed the road and hit me hard during training," Uijtdebroeks wrote.
"Pls pay attention for vulnerable road user[s]! If you don’t, you play with lives!" [Instagram]
MotoGP veteran Espargaró will make his pro road debut at the Tour of Austria
Lidl-Trek has announced that Aleix Espargaró, the MotoGP veteran who signed a deal with the organization this season, will make his pro road race debut at the UCI 2.1-rated Tour of Austria next month.
"It’s also going to be cool because the week before racing in Austria, I’ll compete as a wildcard in MotoGP in Holland," he said. "It will be a nice challenge, but I have no expectations for my cycling debut. I’ll try to learn as much as possible, help my teammates, and most importantly, enjoy the suffering!"
Visma links up with Nike for the Tour
As the Tour de France approaches, Wielerflits reports that Nike is partnering with Visma-Lease a Bike to produce leisurewear for the Dutch squad. The American brand's logo can already be seen on team cars at Dutch nationals this week.
The partnership adds Visma to a Nike cycling portfolio currently headlined by FDJ-Suez's Demi Vollering, who signed a deal with the company last year. Following Vollering's move to FDJ-Suez, Nike is also a sponsor of that team. [Wielerflits]
Arkéa and B&B Hotels to both pull out of sponsoring French team
Arkéa-B&B Hotels has been informed by both of its title sponsors that they will not renew their respective contracts when they expire at the end of 2026.
Team boss Emmanuel Hubert has said he is "fully committed to actively seeking new partners".
"In this period of searching for new partners, the structure and its teams are more determined than ever to perform in the various races that will mark the season," the team said in a statement.
Lotto boss gives De Lie a vote of confidence for the Tour: 'He'll be there'
Arnaud De Lie has had a frustrating first half of the 2025 season, but Lotto manager Stéphane Heulot has confirmed to Belgian radio outlet RTBF that his team will be taking the fast-finishing Walloon to the upcoming Tour de France.
"He'll be there," Heulot said. "The timing was tight. There was the false start in Cologne, the setback in Mayenne. But he didn't have a forced break in his training. Otherwise, he would never have finished the Tour de Suisse, given its difficulty. We took advantage of every window of opportunity we had. He's ready for this Tour de France." [RTBF]
Three Grand Tour winners and Vingegaard at the helm: Visma confirms Tour squad
Visma-Lease a Bike has confirmed its roster for the upcoming Tour de France and, as expected, it's a star-studded lineup to support team leader Jonas Vingegaard. The two-time Tour de France winner will have Grand Tour winners Sepp Kuss and Simon Yates as well as Wout van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, Victor Campenaerts, Matteo Jorgenson, and Edoardo Affini for company in the sport's biggest race.
"With these eight very strong riders, we believe in the plan we made for the Tour de France," said Grischa Niermann, Head of Racing, via a press release. "From day one we will have to be there as a team to optimally assist Jonas in the GC. In addition, there will be opportunities for several riders to go for stage wins."
Orbea introduces Terra Race gravel bike
Less than a week after launching its third-generation Terra gravel bike, Orbea has officially revealed a second, racier gravel bike: the Terra Race. As the name suggests, this one is aimed squarely at speed and efficiency.
The Terra Race is built around a new aero-optimised, UDH-compatible frame made with the brand’s top-tier OMX carbon fibre. Orbea claims a frame weight of just 910 g for a size M (unpainted), which would make it roughly 300 g lighter than the previous version.
The official tyre clearance for the Terra Race is 45 mm, though that is with 6 mm clearance on all sides, and as such, Orbea said there is space to fit in 50 mm at a squeeze, as well. The racier bike omits the downtube storage and extra fork mounting points of the Terra, and instead, the frame only gets top tube and standard two bottle mounts. The round 27.2 round seatpost and fully internal cable routing remain, but the front end has got sleeker with a new carbon one-piece cockpit (OC SH-RA10), claimed to weigh 314 g in a 400 mm width with 100 mm stem.
The Terra Race comes in six build options, with Shimano and SRAM drivetrain options, all with the new Oquo RP50 LTD carbon wheels. Prices start at US$4,999 / €4,999 / £4,699 for a Shimano GRX 820 mechanical build with a two-piece cockpit, while the top-spec SRAM Red AXS XPLR version comes in at US$10,499 / €9,999 / £9,899.
Giro d'Italia Women unveils team selection for 2025
Organizers of the Giro d'Italia Women have unveiled the team selection for this year's event, which runs from July 6 to 13.
Joining the 15 WorldTeams in the Italian stage race will be two squads from the ProTeam level, EF Education-Oatly and Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, as well as five Continental outfits: Aromitalia 3T Vaiano, Bepink-Imatra-Bongioanni, Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria, Mendelspeck E-work, and Top Girls Fassa Bortolo.
Alpecin's Oscar Riesebeek is first rider suspended under new yellow card rules
Oscar Riesebeek of Alpecin-Deceuninck has been suspended for seven days in keeping with the UCI's new yellow card framework. Riesebeek was the recipient of two yellow cards in separate incidents at the Baloise Belgium Tour this past week, earning his first on stage 2 and his second on stage 5, both times for the "use of sidewalks/pavements, paths or cycle lanes that do not form part of the race route."
According to the new yellow card framework, a rider who receives two yellow cards in one race is subject to a seven-day suspension. Riesebeek's will bar him from racing the upcoming Dutch national championships.
Wilier unveils new Rave SLR ID2 gravel race bike
Wilier Triestina has announced the launch of the Rave SLR ID2, a redesigned gravel race bike built for riders “seeking speed and competition." Developed in collaboration with elite gravel racers, including Ivar Slik, the ID2 is a performance-focused evolution of the original Rave SLR. Wilier claims aerodynamic refinements developed through wind tunnel testing can save over 50 seconds across a 70 km course at racing speeds (claimed 5.3 watts at 35 km/h). The new design also features clearance for 52 mm tyres, an improved stiffness-to-weight ratio, fully integrated hose routing, UDH dropout, and updated gravel geometry, promising sharp handling and strong acceleration.
Beyond performance, the Rave SLR ID2 is available in four distinct colourways: Pixel Green, Glitch Black, Neon Purple, and Byte Cream, which Wilier says are a nod to underground rave culture and digital design from the 1980s and 90s. Prices start at €4,400 with a GRX build and Miche Graff XL wheelset, and top out at €9,900 with a SRAM Red XPLR AXS 1x13 and Miche Graff Aero 48 wheelset.
“I’m not the new Pogacar,” says Baby Giro champ Ormzel
Slovenian talent Jakob Ormzel claimed the overall win at the Giro Next Gen on Sunday, edging out pre-race favorite Luke Tuckwell in a nail-biting finale. But don’t call him the next Pogacar.
“I’m the young Ormzel,” said the 19-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider, answering cycling journalism's most obvious question of any rising Slovenian talent.
Ormzel sealed his first U23 GC title with help from stage winner Jørgen Nordhagen.
The Norwegian Visma climber, 20, lit up the final climb to win the last stage and finish fourth overall. “This saves the Giro for us,” he said. “Ormzel was with me for the GC—we worked well together. I’m proud of him.”
Ormzel, still recovering from a serious crash earlier this season, said the win hadn’t sunk in yet. “I didn’t expect this. But hard work pays off.”
Ormzel joins a prestigious list of recent Baby Giro winners, including Juan Ayuso, Tom Pidcock, Pavel Sivakov, and Aleksandr Vlasov.
La Planche des Belles Filles wants cyclo-cross in the Winter Olympics
The Haute-Saône region is pushing for La Planche des Belles Filles to host cyclo-cross at the 2030 Winter Games, according to a report in L'Equipe.
The site, made famous by the Tour de France, is backed by ex-pro Lucie Lefèvre and Thibaut Pinot, who joked about a comeback of sorts: “One day in February 2030, I’ll finally win at La Planche.”
Cyclo-cross has support from UCI president David Lappartient and Olympic adviser Michel Barnier.
The IOC will decide in early 2026, ahead of the next Winter Games.
Joao Almeida grabs Suisse win in final TT
UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Joao Almeida snatched the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse from Arkea-Samsic's Kevin Vauquelin, winning a difficult uphill time trial and pulling nearly two minutes out of the Frenchman.
If Vauquelin could have held on to his overnight lead he would have been the first Frenchman to win a World Tour-level stage race since Christophe Moreau won the Criterium du Dauphine in 2007.
Both Vauquelin and Almeida are headed to the Tour de France in two weeks' time. Almeida will be riding in support of his team leader Tadej Pogačar and Vauquelin will seek to repeat his stage win in stage 2 of last year's race.
Oscar Only (Picnic-PostNL) moved up into third overall, with Decathlon-AG2R's Felix Gall behind in 4th.
Skjelmose wins Andorra Clàssica on return from illness
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) won the first edition of the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica on Sunday, his first race since Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The Dane outsprinted Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Enric Mas (Movistar) after 115km of mountainous racing.
The 1.1 event was shortened and moved up an hour due to forecast storms. Despite the changes, riders faced 3,500m of elevation, including the Port d’Envalira and a summit finish on the Coll de la Botella.
Skjelmose attacked with 6km to go, was briefly distanced, but clawed back in the final 2km before winning from a five-man sprint. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) and Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost) also featured in the lead groups.
The return to form is timed well. Skjelmose is slated to start the Tour de France on July 5th, racing alongside Trek's sprinter, Jonathan Milan.
Jordi Meeus (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) took a surprise win at the inaugural Copenhagen Sprint on Sunday, just 24 hours after pulling out of the Tour de Suisse to replace an injured teammate.
The Belgian came through late in a chaotic sprint, beating Alexis Renard (Cofidis) and Emilien Jeannière (TotalEnergies) after a crash inside the final 10km split the peloton and disrupted lead-out trains.
Dylan Groenewegen launched first but faded to seventh. Mads Pedersen and Arnaud Démare also made the final selection in a reduced front group of around 50 riders.
Belgian phenom Jarno Widar crashes out of Giro Next Gen
Belgian climbing talent Jarno Widar (Lotto Dstny) has abandoned the Giro d’Italia Next Gen after crashing hard on Saturday’s stage to Prato Nevoso. The 19-year-old, fourth overall at the start of the day, went down with 33km to go after reporting a flat tire. He remounted and finished, but 26 minutes behind leader Luke Tuckwell.
Lotto confirmed Widar suffered no fractures but has elbow and hip swelling. He will skip Sunday’s final stage and return to Belgium for further checks.
Widar had already won a stage at this year’s race and remains a top prospect, with eyes on the Tour de l’Avenir and a pro debut in 2026.
