Vingegaard remains on top of the overall classification in the Vuelta and after staying glued to Almeida's back wheel all the way up the climb, on GC he has distanced all of his rivals bar one.

But having failed to launch a single attack on the ultra-steep ascent which theoretically favoured his type of climbing abilities, it's fair to say that Vingegaard's boosted advantage has at least partly come about thanks to being more than able to match his rival's blistering uphill pace - but never to better it.

Second at the summit, just as he was in 2023 behind then-teammate Primoz Roglič, Vingegaard said that he would have liked to have won after all the work his squad did on the long approach to the three final climbs of the day - the Mozqueta, Cordal and above all the Angliru.

But as he said, too, Almeida had amply merited the stage victory for the way he had made the running all the way up the crucial, steeper second half of the climb.

"I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't win because my team worked really hard all day, and also for my family," Vingegaard said afterwards about his failure to add a third stage win to the two he has already taken in the Vuelta.

"But I could also follow João, and a lot of the other guys are now at a bigger distance, so that makes it easier for the coming days. João was super-strong, though, I did what I could but he deserved to win, so I'm a bit disappointed."

On a stage of over 200 kilometres, nearly twice as long as when the Vuelta tackled the Angliru in 2020 and 70 kilometres longer than the same day in 2023, Vingegaard recognised that the final part of the race had been much harder as a result. That was partly thanks to his own Visma-Lease a Bike squad, of course, who had also set down a blisteringly-fast pace on the first 150 kilometres, thanks to teammates Wilco Kelderman and Dylan van Baarle as they fought to keep a massive break of 25 riders within sufficient distance for the stage victory to come down to the GC group.

But as Vingegaard also pointed out, when UAE began to work hard on the front ahead of Visma some two kilometres from the top of the Cordal, the previous climb, the writing was on the wall about what they were planning to do with Almeida as well.

"From the way they raced at that point, I knew he wanted to go for the victory," Vingegaard said. "He did a super-good climb, although I could follow him."

As he later told the Cycling Podcast, Almeida's speed had been notably consistent on the climb, with only a few minor changes of rhythm on the climb.

"He'd only change pace a little bit," Vingegaard said, "maybe once in a while to take a breath. But he'd only take 10 seconds, and then he'd go harder again."

The end result was that while Vingegaard could follow Almeida, unlike at Limone Piemonte where the Dane outsprinted the field for a first stage win and again at Larra-Belagua where he succeeded in surprising Almeida then staying away, this time round it was his rival running the show.

"Now I have to focus more on João than other guys, so to be honest, at the end of the day, that's something to be happy about," he admitted.

"But I would have loved to win today, the Angliru is a very special climb. Everybody would love to win here."

Visma teammate Sepp Kuss was dropped by Almeida on the Angliru with four kilometres to go. "João was very strong, he put down a hellishly hard pace," the climbing ace said afterwards.

"There are lots of hard stages still to come and we'll have to work very hard against him."

More climbing ahead

Vingegaard's advantage remains a comparatively slender 46 seconds on Almeida, and seeing which rider might gain the upper hand on the second, very different, stage in the mountains of Asturias on Saturday will be fascinating to watch.

Stage 14 is 134 kilometres long compared to the 202 kilometres on Friday. While the category 1 Puertu de San Llaurienzu, the second to last climb, is a much more formidable ascent than those which preceded the Angliru, the final summit finish of Farrapona is a much more draggy, less challenging affair that Friday's monster finale.

"We did it also in 2020, I was pulling there if I remember it rightly," Vingegaard said, "although I can't remember too much about it.

"On a climb like today [Friday], you don't get anything much out of being on the wheels. But on the next ones, drafting matters more, so I guess it will be easier to stay on the wheels, too."

The Farrapona was actually one of Vingegaard's most impressive early ascents as a climber, working on the front for kilometre after kilometre on the lower slopes in order to keep teammate and race leader Roglič's rivals under control.

This time round, with Roglič not even present on the Vuelta, all the attention will be focussed on how Vingegaard and Almeida manage what is increasingly looking like a two-rider fight for the Vuelta.

Time-wise, and in terms of experience as a Grand Tour leader, Vingegaard remains a much greater favourite than Almeida. But after he failed to follow Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) on the final slopes of the Alto del Pike last Wednesday in Bilbao, and then did not deliver the much-expected all-out attack on the Angliru, the stakes may well be much higher than he would have liked at this point in the race.

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When he was distanced 5.9km from the top of the steep Asturian icon by most of the remaining GC group, it looked as though his GC bid could be going up in smoke. He admitted that the undying pace set by eventual winner João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was simply too high.

But at no point did the Brit blow up, despite his desperate fight to find his rhythm, but continued to come of age as a GC race, only shelling 1:16 to Almeida and race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), and keeping the best Grand Tour GC performance of his career still alive.

He was exhausted at the line, blasting through the waiting soigneurs and media, and around the barriers where he found a seat in front of the Angliru's monument, which has a list of the former winners on one side and a map of the 12km ascent on the other. His partner and dogs were waiting for him, as were his team, before he debriefed the brutal outing.

"It's a hard climb, innit?" he told reporters, including Cyclingnews. "No, it was super tough, just finding the rhythm there is unforgiving.

"At the start, I was OK, but I knew I couldn't continue that pace all the way to the top. I think everyone slowed down, so I only lost like one minute, 20 seconds. I just tried to do my own pace, but then you can't really – It's like fighting the whole way up and not really getting your rhythm."

"Not bad," is how he rated his own day, finding seventh. "I didn't lose too much time, but I would've liked to be at the front. But you also have to be realistic, I think I did pretty good."

Pidcock, despite missing the chance at a potential stage win into Bilbao as a result of pro-Palestine protests causing a neutralisation, has looked at his very best so far at this Vuelta, which is a statement he confirmed his numbers have backed up.

"I definitely think I did a pretty good effort considering how long it was," he said, when asked if this was the best he's climbed so far in his career. "I've broken numerous power records this Vuelta, so for sure, up to 20 minutes, half an hour."

His coach, Kurt Bogaerts, was waiting at the top to tell him the good news that he'd held onto the podium from a charging Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by 42 seconds. He, too, was impressed, not only for the immediate future, but what Pidcock's continued consistency could mean for his GC potential.

"I think it's a very good performance, seventh on the day. Our initial goal was to be top 10 on the GC, so that's what we tried to do," Bogaerts told Cyclingnews at the finish. "I think seventh on the day and close to the contenders for the podium is a positive result, and we need to be happy with this.

"When you move your limit every day, it's a demand on your body, and now we need to calculate, but I think you also need to look further ahead for this race. It's promising for the future, what he's doing, and whatever happens, we can build with confidence for more future goals like this."

Bogaerts wasn't yet ready to confirm a change in goal of the top 10 to a top five, or even the podium, but was delighted with how Pidcock controlled himself and rode within his limit to ensure the damage was kept to a minimum.

Q36.5 will now reassess and look to defend their place with the Brit, as another brutal mountain test approaches tomorrow to Lagos de Somiedo.

"In the past, he recovered well between stages. Tomorrow is shorter, but it's very intense, so let's see. We'll continue to ride within his limits and control his effort - that's what you see today," said Bogaerts.

"He got dropped, but in the end, he only lost 1:16, so he didn't blow up, which is a positive sign, whereas you can try to hang on longer and lose a lot of time, which we don't want to do.

"When he's prepared and in good shape, one of his strengths is knowing his body and where his limits are and just staying below that. In the last week, maybe we can risk a bit more, but the first goal is to try to get through tomorrow and the week. Then we'll see in the final week if he can take a bit more risk and if a top five is possible."

Pidcock is certainly feeling the effects of racing a second Grand Tour of the season, but his more focused approach has kept him in good stead up to this point, and Angliru was a climb that many would have doubted him for. If he can hold his own up the brutal duo: Puertu de San Llaurienzu (9.9 km at 8.6%) and La Farrapona. Lagos de Somiedo (16.8 km at 6%), a top five certainly, and possibly still the podium, could be well within his grasp.

"I guess today's a little bit of an anomaly, but it tells us there's stuff to come. Hindley's obviously pretty strong, Gall's strong on the climbs," said Pidcock, as he weighed up the opposition closest chasing him and admitted that he was feeling the pain. Tomorrow is the next step in his GC bid.

"I'm recovering pretty well. Obviously, it's getting pretty late in the race, so it's taking its toll."

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On the sun-drenched summit of the Angliru, Almeida and his team were understandably delighted at their latest win of the 2025 Vuelta, their sixth and very arguably their most special to date. After all with two summit victories in this Vuelta alone, on the Angliru, a climb so steep it considerably favoured the lighter climbers, Vingegaard had been widely expected to take a giant leap towards overall victory.

But it didn't happen. Instead it was Almeida who made the running for the entire climb, Vingegaard who did not put in a single attack and Almeida who - albeit by just four seconds time bonus - managed to make a difference on GC.

Both the Dane and the Portuguese riders, number 1 and 2 overall, have managed to gain time on their closest rivals after their mountain top duel, with Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) the closest at the line at 28 seconds. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), after a day where he could not match the top two riders, is still third on GC, but by a considerably increased disadvantage of 2:18.

Almeida, on the other hand, remains at 46 seconds on Vingegaard, a gap that more than maintains his hopes of overall victory. With so much mountain climbing to come, starting on Saturday on the Farrapona, it also puts the Portuguese rider, presumably with hugely boosted motivation after the Angliru, in a pole position to try and oust the Dane from the top spot overall.

Is it more possible now for Almeida to win the Vuelta, the 27-year-old was asked, to which he did not hesitate before replying with a determined "Yes".

"We've done a good job, I'm very pleased with that and without a doubt this has been my best season ever so far. I've been working hard and consistently throughout, so I'm very pleased with that," he said.

"We have to keep our feet on the ground and see what we can do, though. There's still a lot of the Vuelta left to come."

Almeida said that he had been "more or less" expecting to be at around a minute behind Vingegaard at this point in the Vuelta, pointing out that throughout the year he has been very consistent. That is something of an understatement, given that in the 2025 season he has won Itzulia, the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse, and he would likely have been the top support rider for Tadej Pogačar in the Tour de France had he not crashed out in the first week.

On the Angliru, though, Almeida did something which up to now in 2025 only Pogačar in person has proved capable of managing to do: beating Vingegaard in the high mountains, albeit by the bare minimum.

"It's crazy, we had a plan in the bus, we really strongly believed Joao could beat Jonas," Felix Großchartner told Eurosport. "It's crazy that he did it, but he did a fantastic job.

"Our plan was to take control of the race two kilometres from the top on the second last climb [the Cordal] because the descent is complicated, then control the entrance to the Angliru as well.

"Jay [Vine] did an amazing pull, and it was nice see that there weren't so many guys left. It's the second time I've done the Angliru, and today I think it became a bit steeper!"

"The plan was everybody to work for João today," team manager Joxean Fernández Matxin confirmed. "We had Ivo [Oliveira] ahead, but it was always with the idea he'd drop back at some point to help him, which is what he did."

"Up to now we've been looking at breaks, but today everybody was working for the overall. And João definitely deserved the victory. He dominated the climb - and as for winning against Vingegaard, that's really impressive."

Almeida himself confirmed that his teammates had played an instrumental role in toughening up the build-up to the ascent, with Großschartner delivering a devastatingly long turn that left Pidcock up against the ropes.

But then it was Almeida who took over on the steepest part of the ascent, first leaving climbers of the calibre of Hindley and 2023 Vuelta a España winner Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) and then keeping the pressure up on Vingegaard, no matter how steep the climb.

"My teammates were key today, and then I kept my pace from bottom as best I could," Almeida said. "Jonas was always on my wheel, and in the last kilometre I was on my limit, I guess we both were.

"I was waiting for his attack any time, I thought he would pass me at the finish line.

"But I knew it quite well from two years ago, I knew I had to take the last corner in first and then I would be harder to pass. So all in all, it was an amazing day."

As for what this proves in the bigger picture, Großchartner summed it up perfectly: "I think today Joao showed can also beat Jonas, so it's going to be an exciting last ten days in the Vuelta."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

The first week at the UCI MTB World Championships has seen racing in the Enduro, E-MTB, Cross-Country, Pump Track and the start of Downhill disciplines.

This weekend, it's the first of the marquee disciplines, Downhill, with the medals and rainbow jerseys to be decided on Saturday and Sunday, September 6-7, over two days of high-octane racing in Champéry. Cross-country Marathon titles will be decided on September 6.

The following week will see the Cross-country racing take place, culminating with the elite men's and women's XCO races next weekend, September 13-14, taking place in Crans-Montana.

Read on for all the information on how to watch UCI Mountain Bike World Championships live streams and TV broadcasts, wherever you are in the world.

Are there any Mountain Bike World Championships free streams?

The event organisers, the UCI, is providing free live streaming of the Mountain Bike World Championships on its YouTube channel. All the Downhill races this weekend are being streamed live and for free.

The YouTube feed is geo-restricted, so will not be available in those countries that have a TV broadcast deal in place, which includes the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. The UCI has a full list of territories that are excluded, with everywhere else free to watch the feed.

Away from your home country right now? You can still unblock your usual streams with a VPN – more on that below.

Watch Mountain Bike World Championships from anywhere

Travelling outside your home country doesn't mean you have to miss out on the Mountain Bike World Championships. Assistance is on hand in the form of a VPN.

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a piece of software that can alter your device's address to appear as if it’s in a different country. Provided it conforms with your broadcaster’s Ts&Cs, you can therefore unblock the streaming services you usually enjoy back home. It's great for watching cycling on the move and it's also great for your internet security.

Our colleagues over at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN in the world right now.

Watch Mountain Bike World Championships in the UK

In the UK, the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will be broadcast on TNT Sports and Discovery+. This is a familiar port of call for cycling fans in the UK.

Coverage on TNT Sports' 4 TV channels may be limited over the weekends but in any case the Discovery+ streaming platform will have all the action covered.

Discovery+ access costs £30.99 per month.

Where to watch Mountain Bike World Championships in the US

Fans in the US can watch the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships on cycling streaming platform FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes costs $29.99 a month or $149.99 for the year.

Watch MTB Worlds in Canada

As in the US, FloBikes will broadcast the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Canada.

A FloBikes subscription in Canada, which gets you more races than the US, costs CAN$39.99 a month or CAN$203.88 a year.

Mountain Bike World Championships 2025: Schedule, timings

Friday, September 5

• Pump Track: Finals from 18:00 CET / 17:00 BST / 12:00 ET

Saturday, September 6

• Cross-country Marathon: Starts 06:40 CET / 05:40 BST / 00:40 ET
• Downhill - Junior Women: 11:00 CET / 10:00 BST / 05:00 ET
• Downhill - Junior Men: 11:45 CET / 10:45 BST / 05:45 ET

Sunday, September 7

• Downhill - Elite Women: 11:00 CET / 10:00 BST / 05:00 ET
• Downhill - Elite Men: 12:30 CET / 11:30 BST / 6:30 ET

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

The Jayco-AlUla leader was reportedly suffering the consequences of a crash that occurred during the stage to Larra Belagua earlier this week and has been forced to quit in the opening phases of the 202-kilometre stage, before it reaches the high mountains of Asturias later on Friday afternoon.

O'Connor lost over a quarter of an hour on stage 12 winner Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) yesterday and was lying 25th overall, well out of the GC battle, when he quit.

The winner of the Col de la Loze stage in the Tour de France, but unable to fight for the overall, as he had hoped, after a crash on the opening day, the Australian had then come into the Vuelta with serious GC ambitions.

Last year, the 29-year-old finished second overall in the Vuelta, his best GC result to date in a Grand Tour, after a spectacularly successful stage win in the first week and subsequent defence of the overall lead for the best part of a fortnight against lead favourite and eventual winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

O'Connor had already ruled himself out of a return to the World Championships this year, where he formed part of the winning TTT squad and then took second in the elite men's road race behind Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

French newspaper Le Soir revealed that the Israeli team has offered the 2024 Tour de France green jersey winner a three-year contract. However, depending on the finer details of Intermarché-Wanty's reported merger with fellow Belgian squad Lotto, which Cyclingnews understands will go ahead, Girmay may not switch teams until the 2027 season.

The Eritrean rider has a contract with Intermarché-Wanty up until the end of 2028, but the team's merger puts his long-term future with the WorldTour squad in doubt.

Girmay's Intermarché teammate Dion Smith discussed the merger situation with Cyclingnews at the Vuelta a España recently. The Kiwi said: "Honestly, I still have no idea. I still have a contract, but I think there are still quite a lot of things happening behind the scenes."

Girmay, who joined Intermarché in 2021, has yet to pick up a win in 2025, but managed to score a handful of second-place finishes, including on the opening stage of the 2025 Tour de France.

Confirmation of a deal for Girmay to join Israel-Premier Tech has yet to come; however, his agent Alex Carera recently hinted that Girmay's future had been decided upon.

Carera, who is also the agent of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and several other major riders, shared a cryptic Instagram post last week. Pictured having dinner alongside Girmay in Leuven, he stated: "After today, his future is more clear."

Girmay is next scheduled to race in Canada next week, at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec – a race he finished second at last year. However, the poster boy of African cycling has yet to confirm his attendance for the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda later this month.

The team's ongoing participation in La Vuelta has been the subject of several protests, with their team time trial effort on stage 5 in Figeures also being blocked by protesters and Simone Petilli (Intermarché–Wanty) crashing on stage 10 after demonstrators ran into the road.

A statement issued by the team after the dramatic scenes in Bilbao confirmed their commitment to racing on in Spain, due to the 'Dangerous precedent' it might set if they were to leave. The team, while registered in Israel, has no direct links to the Israeli state.

Albares spoke on Radio Nacional de España (RNE), Spain's public radio broadcaster, confirming his support of the team's expulsion on Thursday and discomfort with seeing Israel-Premier Tech continue to feature at the Vuelta.

"I understand it, and I would certainly be in favour of it," Albares said, when asked if he thinks they should be removed from the race, before noting that it's a decision that can only be made by the sport's governing body – the UCI.

"You know that this is not a decision made by the Spanish Government; it is made by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Therefore, the Spanish Government had no say in the participation."

Albares also cited Russia's expulsion from sports competitions after the invasion of Ukraine as he made his points about IPT. In March 2022, the UCI suspended all Russian and Belarusian teams – this decision, made after the International Olympic Committee's recommendation, banned teams such as UCI ProTeam Gazprom-Rusvelo.

"We cannot continue to maintain a normal relationship with Israel as if nothing were happening," said Albares. "Because we have to send a message to Israel, to Israeli society.

"They have to understand that Europe and Israel can only relate – as stated in Article 2 of the Association Agreement – when human rights are respected, because as democratic countries, we base and relate to each other in that way."

Spain is one of the countries in the EU to have officially recognised Palestine as a state, having done so in May 2024. During the first week of the Vuelta, Spanish political party Izquierda Unida called for organisers to remove Israel-Premier Tech from the Vuelta, due to Israel's ongoing armed conflict in Gaza.

While the power to remove Israel-Premier Tech from the Vuelta lies with the UCI, the race organiser has had to comment on the situation, with technical director Kiko García telling media that he hopes whatever decision is taken is that it is done quickly after the neutralised Bilbao stage.

"I would like to think that in this situation a lot of people will react, we've been in contact with the UCI and we told them before the race came to Spain [on stage 5], we knew that some members of the public here were very implicated in the protests," he said.

"But there haven't been any changes up to now of no type, we hope that there will be rapid changes, because time is rolling on.

"We know that if there are no reactions or there are no changes in any way, then the protests will continue," said Garcia. "As we've said, we have no choice but to follow the rules. The team's participation is obligatory, and whoever can decide the opposite - that isn't us.

"Our duty is to protect the race, of course, the riders and the teams - and we're moving on that."

The Angliru was last visited by the Vuelta a España in 2023, the year Kuss won the race outright. And even if he didn't have his best day on the ascent two summers ago, nonetheless, his experiences that day most likely place the summit in his 'unfinished business' category - perhaps one he could resolve this afternoon.

The Angliru is famous for its dense lines of cycling-mad Asturian fans supporting the riders all the way up. Kuss also knows the ascent from the 2020 Vuelta, when it was bereft of any spectators in the pandemic-blighted edition.

But on both occasions, Kuss was on the winning team, in 2020 as support for Primož Roglič and again in 2023, for himself. Will 2025, with Jonas Vingegaard in the lead, be three out of three?

"It's obviously a super hard climb, it's tough to say if [it's the] hardest one I've ever done, but it is incredibly steep," Kuss tells Cyclingnews, "but actually - it's so consistently steep so you can really get into a rhythm. The main thing is about managing that effort."

"It always depends on what comes before on Angliru, too - this time round we have a longer stage than normal" - over 200 kilometres, more than 70 kilometres longer than in 2023, and almost 90 longer than in 2020 - "so whereas on shorter days you arrive relatively fresh, now with that flat section before, and the Cordal climb [preceding it], we'll see if it's different with that different kind of earlier fatigue."

The question of how much support teammates can give you is always a one for debate on the Angliru, with some - like four-times Vuelta winner Roberto Heras - saying that having that extra backing is more important psychologically than physically. But he and Kuss both coincide that teammates can be useful both on the first lower slopes, where it's not such a hard ascent, and then on the last part, where it turns briefly flatter and even downhill for a kilometre.

"I don't think you can get so much support on such a steep climb - like I said, it's about managing your effort, because you're not climbing at a crazy speed when you can get help from drafting," Kuss continues. "In fact, if you follow somebody too long on a climb like that, you'll go too slow, maybe."

"But they are good to have there on the first ramp before that middle section, and again on the end where it's a bit flat. But either way, it's a really brutal effort."

The rider who could perhaps make or break the Vuelta today on the Angliru is race leader and teammate Jonas Vingegaard, who, like Kuss, has raced the Asturian climb back in 2020 and in 2023. Compared to many other riders when the ascent's slopes reach 25% and higher, the Dane will be in a good place, Kuss says.

"He's really light and that is a big advantage on such a steep climb," Kuss tells Cyclingnews. "Up to now, we've had more of the power climbs, suited to the bigger guys, and he's already shown how good he can be there. But then on these really steep climbs, which are really power-to-weight, that's good for him too."

The rain will almost certainly not be putting in an appearance, but it can have a huge effect on the outcome of a climb as steep as the Angliru. In 2013, Vincenzo Nibali's team claimed that one of the reasons they could not close the gap on overall winner Chris Horner was the wetter weather, which made it impossible for Nibali to ascend in the riding style he would have liked.

"If a rider [is] standing a lot, then it's not ideal if it's wet, and a lot depends on a rider's characteristics as a climber," Kuss adds. "But the weather can always change really fast; it can be foggy, too."

Kuss says that his current form is an '8 or 9' out of 10, pointing out that most of the final climbs so far in the Vuelta have been "quite hard for me because they've started off super-fast and you have to pace yourself. But I always feel good after the Tour and I do this year too."

"But in any case, it's one of my favourite climbs, the kind that you live for - the mythical climbs, the big stages.

"I'm a bit scared, but a bit excited too, and I've always had good feelings there."

The R5 has been competitive as one of the best lightweight road bikes for a long time now in various forms, and can trace its roots back to older Cervélo models such as the R2.5. This latest version seems to have had a singular vision in mind: To make the lightest possible race bike that could still deal with the power of a WorldTour athlete. We spotted Matteo Jorgensons then unreleased R5 at the Tour de France back in July.

According to Cervélo, it's easy to make a light bike that's comfortably under the UCI 6.8kg (R5's being raced in UCI races will need to be above the 6.8kg minimum), something that has been relatively easy to do for a while with certain components.

The more difficult bit is ensuring such a lightweight platform can handle the rigours of racing and power from the likes of Wout Van Aert and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who won the recent Tour de France Femmes using this new R5.

As mentioned in the headline of this piece, a size 56cm R5 frame weighs in at a claimed 651 grams, which is very light for a 56cm road frame. The fork, meanwhile, weighs a claimed 298 grams, though we assume for a steerer cut to an appropriate length.

The changes largely focus on dropping weight, which is refreshing in late 2025, given the prominence and popularity of all-out aero race bikes now. The lightest bike possible is still a requirement, it seems, for pro riders on certain terrain and at certain speeds. For the rest of us, aero is nearly always king, but who doesn't find a superlight bike exciting?

The frame and fork together weigh 100g less than the previous generation, and there has been a 326 gram saving in the Cervélo proprietary components over the previous generation bike, which at face value looks very similar to this one, with its easy-to-spot pencil-thin seat stays in particular.

Geometry matches that of the brand's aero race bike, the S5, which also got updated this summer; a point that must make life easier for Team Visma - Lease A Bike riders and mechanics. It may well also save less poring over geo charts for potential customers.

One thing that has changed is a 2mm drop in BB height to account for the 29mm tyres that the team tends to race on. Larger volume tyres will increase a bike's standing height, for want of a better description.

It is worth noting, though, that all bikes will ship with 26mm Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed tyres – smaller-sized tyres, but very fast ones. It may be worth picking up another set of all-rounders and saving the super-fast Pro Speed rubber for best, but we admire the spec choice!

A new UCI legal integrated bar and stem named the HB18 also comes with the R5. Saving 150 grams from the previous and dropping a claimed 2 watts in aero drag. 15 different size options will be available, and Cervélo retailers will help customers choose the correct size for them at no additional cost, a refreshing choice considering the frustration incorrect stem and bar sizing can cause people.

Finally, new Reserve wheels have also been developed for the bike. The Reserve 34 / 37 SL wheelset drops a further 60 grams thanks to a refined layup.

The new R5 will be available as a frameset only or in five separate build options and two paint options: black / bronze and black / silver.

Specs include SRAM Force and Red AXS builds, including a Red 1X version, and Ultegra and Dura-Ace Di2 builds from Shimano.

A frameset will retail at $6,500 / £5,000 / €5,699, and complete bikes will start at $9,950/ £8,500 / €8,999 for an SRAM Force AXS model and rise to $14,250 / £11,000 / €12,999 for an SRAM Red AXS bike.

The Australian, a former Giro d'Italia winner, currently sits eighth overall at 2:30 behind race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 1:34 behind the third spot on the provisional podium, which Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) is occupying for the moment.

Hindley arrived at the Vuelta after only one preparation race, in Burgos, having crashed heavily at the Giro in May leaving him with a concussion and fracture to his back from the fall on the wet approach into Naples. The silver lining is that the extra freshness of fewer race days appears to be holding him in good stead for a strong finish to the Vuelta.

"I mean, the feeling is good, but it's step by step. I also feel like I'm growing into the race," Hindley told Cyclingnews before stage 12 of the Vuelta in Laredo. "So it's also nice – that's why I like Grand Tours so much, I guess.

"I was super fortunate to have great support from the team from the moment I crashed at the Giro. Basically, they really looked after me and, anyway, the focus was always the Vuelta for me.

"I was meant to do the Giro, then have a bit of a break and build up again. It was not ideal to crash and have this injury, but I could, in a way, just stick to the original program. And I think it's not so bad in the end, to arrive here, with fewer race days than others. This can definitely help when you're riding the Vuelta."

Hindley had mixed results on the big climbing days of the first 12 stages, but showed on the neutralised stage to Bilbao that the best form was approaching. He was the third rider to reach the all-important 3km to go mark which became the timing point after pro-Palestine protests in the Basque Country forced organisers to cut the day short and cancel the finale.

Hindley was unfazed by the events of the previous day when asked about it in Laredo. He said that "it was a pretty interesting stage for many reasons, but we're here to do a bike race. Today's another stage. So, we go again."

Protests continued on stage 12 but they were peaceful and the race continued as planned.

Hindley's tilt at the Vuelta is his first as a Grand Tour leader for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe since the 2023 Tour de France, with his last two three-week race appearances being in support of Primož Roglič. The change in role is no stress for the chilled-out Australian, staying at his top level is the simplest solution.

"To be honest, mate, I just try to be as professional as I can throughout the whole season and be in my best shape in the big targets, whether that be supporting others or riding for myself," added Hindley.

But how does he feel he matches up against guys like Vingegaard and Pidcock as the race heads to the iconic Alto de l'Angliru on Friday?

"Not too bad. Like I said, I think I'm growing into the race and feeling good, and there are great vibes within the team, so I can't complain.

"Probably the next two days will be the most important for the GC – or can be the most important for the GC here at the Vuelta," he said on Thursday. "Of course, it's Angliru tomorrow, and also the day after Angliru, I think, will be one of the key stages – that will be really tough."

Hindley has won a stage at the Tour and two at the Giro, but has not yet won one at the Vuelta. A victory on either the Angliru on stage 13 or stage 14's Lagos de Somiedo could be the launchpad for him getting back on a Grand Tour podium, but there's a long way yet before the race reaches Madrid.

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Ahead of the fourth race in the Grand Prix series at Chequamegon on September 13, Otto will represent Team USA at the UCI Marathon MTB World Championships in Switzerland this Saturday. Last year on home soil in West Virginia, Otto was 16th in her first Marathon Worlds appearance.

The reigning US Marathon mountain bike national champion this time, Otto will compete alongside Kate Courtney (She Sends Racing) in a 125km (78-mile) route from Verbier to Grimentz with 5,025 metres (16,486 feet) of elevation gain. That's more climbing than Leadville compacted into a shorter distance. The men's team will feature three-time Grand Prix champion Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz) and men's US marathon MTB winner Cole Paton (Giant Bicycles).

"I'm very impressed with the course they have set up. It's about 80 miles with up to 17,000 feet of climbing. It will be particularly brutal, which I'm quite excited about. I love competing on the world stage," Otto told Cyclingnews.

After a day in the Swiss Alps, she'll fly back to the US for Chequamegon MTB in Wisconsin, looking to boost her placement in the Grand Prix from 10th after three events. Otto is one of the handful of athletes, women and men, who have competed in all four years of the LTGP and finished in the top 10 each of the past three seasons.

"I'm definitely looking to keep that streak alive," she said of targeting a fourth top 10, where riders split a $180,000 cash purse at the end of the season.

"This year does offer a little bit of a different scenario. [The series] started with two gravel races in a row, which put more of the mountain bikers on the back foot. Having reached the halfway point after Leadville, knowing that the next two races are mountain bike races, I think it sets it up to have some pretty nice shifts. It creates a pretty stressful dynamic for all the other events."

Off the beaten path events suit Otto and she considers herself a mountain biker rather than just a gravel racer. From the Mediterranean Epic mountain bike stage race, where she came fourth overall, to a top 20 at Unbound Gravel 200 and a second consecutive podium at the 50-mile Whiskey Offroad, she switches between the disciplines easily. And now she has completed the Moab Triple Crown, a set of non-race efforts for FKT achievements - Whole Enchilada, Kokopelli and White Rim trails in the high desert terrain of Utah.

Otto developed the Triple Crown after she moved from college in Missouri to Salt Lake City area of Utah in 2018 to test her all-around mountain biking skills on three very different trails. She now has set FKT’s for all three trails - the 55-mile Whole Enchilada in 2022, 140-mile Kokopelli in 2024 on her second attempt, and 100-mile White Rim. The 100-mile White Rim trail best time had been 6 hours and 51 minutes and she beat that by 13 minutes on May 2, 2025.

"I wouldn't say that these FKTs are preparation for any of the races. In fact, since we race such long events [in the Grand Prix] we have to be really intelligent about how we use those matches. Because even though people see us racing these events weekend after weekend, the reality of the situation is we're racing the time duration of Ironman [triathlon].

"These are very long, hard events and hard on our bodies, and so we have to be really intelligent about when and how we do these efforts. And so these activities are something that I've definitely fallen in love with."

A former collegiate champion in cyclocross as well as cross-country and short track cross-country in mountain biking, she's now hooked on performances of five to 10 hours. Otto twice won the XTERRA Amateur World Championship in triathlon, so a return to those long efforts was familiar territory.

No race or ride is ever the same twice, even if you reverse the course or return several times to the same path. And that is in complete contrast to her first and last name, a palindrome in both instances. There's no repeatable pattern to her schedule, every effort a new challenge.

"The real challenge for me is figuring out where I can place FKTs in the calendar. And for me, May was a great time, because I was giving off a really big block to train for Unbound, and I also had some time to recover after it.

"The goal that I have in this sport is to demonstrate to people that they are capable of so much more than they imagine. And so I think offering that visual component so people see my struggles, not just my triumphs," she said about her sponsor Competitive Cyclist offering a 20-minute film on their YouTube channel on her achievement.

"Like the first time doing Kokopelli, when I fell short, I think that's really important for people to see and understand that even pros, even the people who put everything into this, still fall short sometimes. That's OK, you just keep going.

"That first attempt on the Kokopelli, it completely changed me. It's the hardest thing I have ever done, and it completely changed my perspective of what hard is, whether it's life hardship or if it's on the race course," she said of missing the best time by 15 minutes as she endured snow and cold temperatures on the first attempt. On the second attempt she crushed the old mark by more than an hour, in 11 hours 53 minutes.

"I have a new barometer that I get to compare to, and it feels a little bit like a super power."

Faulkner won the women's road race and Team Pursuit gold on the track in Paris last August but has struggled for much of the year. First, a concussion sustained in a training crash last December delayed the Alaska native's season debut.

Then, after she won the US Pro Road National Championships in May, her form was on the rise with the Tour de France Femmes a major goal. However, a series of crashes in that race led to Faulkner dropping out on stage 5.

"Kristen injured her shoulder at the Tour," EF Pro Cycling Head Doctor Jon Greenwell said in a team press release. "After she'd had a few days' rest, she noticed that her shoulder was still pretty painful, so we organized an MRI scan that showed some damage to the cartilage, which could potentially cause some shoulder instability."

Faulkner was forced to turn down her position on USA Cycling's team for the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda. Only two of the country's six open positions for the elite women's road race have been filled - Chloé Dygert and Ruth Edwards will represent the country in Rwanda.

Faulkner now faces several weeks of rehabilitation before she can resume training.

"After consulting with USA Cycling and a couple of orthopedic doctors in America, we decided that the best thing to do for her long-term health was an operation to repair the cartilage," Greenwell said.

"We didn't want to leave it and then have her suffer from pain and instability later, so now was the best time to do it. The rehab process will be about six weeks before she can get back on the bike, and then she'll be ready to go for a full preseason to race next year."

Faulkner, 32, is now looking forward to the coming year.

"The surgery was very successful," she said. "I am recovering now, and with the timing of it, I'll be able to start next season on a normal timeline. I'll be healthy and fully recovered going into next season."

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Having likened his soon-to-be former team, UAE, to a 'dictatorship' just days ago, Ayuso ensured his divorce from the team, though already messy, isn't going to be one that ends only on a sour note, but with victories coming with it before he departs at the season's conclusion.

He was at his very best in the breakaway on stage 12, and was led out into a searing attack by Marc Soler, but to defeat Movistar's Javier Romo, who bridged across to his wheel, pulled less in the final run to the line after they'd got away up the final climb, and let him lead out the sprint before charging past him to the line.

"At five kilometres to the finish, I sat up a bit and Javi was getting nervous because he was looking at his first stage in the Vuelta a España," said Ayuso post-stage, confirming it was a call from the car to hold back from pulling.

"After such a hard day, you don't know, and I had to play my cards. I was also a bit nervous, playing the final kilometres, saying that 'I've already won a stage' and telling Romo he had to pull more if he wanted to arrive.

"I was told from the car to play like this. This is not something that I really enjoy – to play a bit and not cooperate fully, but sometimes you have to play smart, and that's what I did in the final."

Romo was left banging his bars at the finish, knowing fully that he'd played up the pressure of a maiden victory at his home Grand Tour looming, allowing Ayuso to power away from him as they reached a two-up sprint that was only ever going one way, given the imbalance in work done.

"I'm sorry I hit the bar like that at the finish, but I was annoyed," said the Movistar rider to Spanish media at the finish. "Juan wasn't just the strongest, he was the most intelligent, he almost didn't want to work in the end."

With all the noise surrounding his announced departure from UAE Team Emirates-XRG and early termination of his planned 2028 contract, Ayuso said he allowed his shape to do the heavy lifting when it came to any response, but that his performance was by no means him trying to send a 'message' to anyone.

"Regarding the rest of the events, I like talking with my legs and I showed that today," said the Spanish rider, but did it bring any feeling of vindication after the past days' events?

"I don't know, I had to face unpleasant things in these last few days and talking on the bike with my legs always the best answer," Ayuso reiterated. "It wasn't a message, but to be able to do it was important."

Aside from having the legs and his team's support on his side, Ayuso had knowledge of the area, having cut his teeth as a junior racer and finished strongly at the Vuelta a Besaya junior race back in 2019. The region, Cantabria, is also home to UAE's Sports Manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez, and where his family – who were waiting for him at the finish – had been on holiday before.

"The sprint, I think I did it quite well. I know this road a lot because it's where the finish is in the juniors as well, so I knew how to time my sprint and it went perfectly," said Ayuso, who confirmed it was a stage he'd been eyeing up even before the Vuelta's start. "This was a stage I had in mind. I told my mother she couldn't miss it, and she turned up at the race.

"I knew it from doing it twice in the Vuelta a Besaya amateur race, and to win here is very nice. I won here as a youngster, and I was here for two summers, so it's nice to win here. I'm not from here, but my family has been up here on holiday."

While today's stage was all about Ayuso, he knows that the remainder of the Vuelta, and more importantly, tomorrow's stage up the iconic Alto de l'Angliru, will be about helping his teammate João Almeida in the fight against Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike, with the Portuguese rider sat 50 seconds down overall with nine stages left to race.

"It'll be an early break, being so long, but definitely a day for the overall. The key thing for João is to be there on the Cordal because the descent will be super important, and then be there for the Angliru, which is terrible," said Ayuso, who tabled any more goals of his own for now, with Almeida's GC being his priority.

"First, some GC days, and I will be with João. Then, in the last week, I'll try and maybe get in some more breaks. It's maybe a good third week to build for the World Championships," his next key objective, "because I won't do anything in the time trial or the sprints. I'll maybe pick and choose a day, but the main priority will be the overall with João.

"It's been a great Vuelta for us with five stage wins, and why can't we win the Vuelta too? We'll have to be up there tomorrow, it's where the real battle for the Vuelta starts."

Ayuso could prove his weight in gold if, and only if, he is able to really help Almeida tomorrow. With all the drama of the first two weeks, the Spanish rider could close out his time at UAE by being the top domestique of the race, as he tried to do on stage 10, but that climb to Larra Belagua wasn't hard enough to make the difference on Vingegaard – tomorrow to Angliru certainly will be.

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"I'm kind of jealous, not that Geraint's retiring but of everything in his career," Michał Kwiatkowski, a teammate of Thomas' for the last decade at Ineos Grenadiers and currently racing in the Vuelta a España, recently told Cyclingnews.

"He's finishing his career on his terms, and I think a lot of riders would be jealous of what he's achieved and the way he's finishing. He should be proud of himself."

"Being his teammate was hugely motivating for me and many others. I was always looking at how he was performing, how he was trying to achieve his bigger goals."

In terms of his own racing, Kwiatkowski had to abandon his home race, the Tour de Pologne, prior to coming to the Vuelta. But he said it had nothing to do with the knee injury from Strade Bianche that plagued the first part of his season.

"I was sick, a lot of guys are this time of year, you see flu and COVID-19 going around, so the best decision was just to stop and quickly recover for the Vuelta," Kwiatkowski explained.

"If I had kept pushing for those last few days in Poland, that would probably have ruled me out of the Vuelta" - a race he led twice, back in 2016 and again in 2018 - "and I really wanted to race here. So here I am.

"It's a shame I was injured earlier this year, though," the 35-year-old continued, "Because otherwise I would have done the Tour and then probably the Tour of Britain" - with Thomas.

"I'm here in the Vuelta and have nothing to complain about that. But it would have been nice to be in Cardiff for the last stage on Sunday with Geraint."

While Kwiatkowski says he is feeling good, despite the lack of race days, it has been something of a hard fight to get back on terms after his injury in the first half of the season.

Helping him stay positive was how he felt - prior to falling sick - during the Tour de Pologne, where he was visibly in the thick of the action, both on the steep Stage 2 ascent to Karpacz and helping lead out stage winner Ben Turner.

As for the Vuelta, one encouraging moment came with being in the breakaway on stage 9, and another major highlight was when he guided Turner through the pack on stage 4 for the victory. Then on stage 12, Kwiatkowski was back in the break again, getting ruled in some five kilometres from the line.

"There's been a great feeling in the team all round in the Vuelta, my day may come or it may not, but either way there'll be no regrets," he says, "because I've been giving it 100% every day."

After the Vuelta, Kwiatkowski says he is weighing up a number of options, with everything possible in a bid to get in as many race days as possible after his difficult first part of the season.

"I'll try to get as many race days as possible….if there are any stage races, I'll probably do it: there's Croatia, Guangxi, there is an Italian block of racing, too, which is massive before Lombardia.

"But first things first, I'll go through the Vuelta and then try to look for as many options as I can."

All but off the table, though, is taking part in the World Championships, with neither Kwiatkowski nor fellow top Polish pro Rafal Majka set to take part, he says.

"I'd achieve many more things if I do other things than the Worlds," Kwiatkowski said. "Participation [purely to take part] is not my thing. If I am part of the race, I want to be there at 100%."

Next week in the Vuelta, though, he will be back on familiar World Championships terrain when stage 17 goes through the city of Ponferrada. That was where Kwiatkowski won the rainbow jersey back in 2014 on a very wet Sunday in September, just a few months before joining Ineos Grenadiers and Geraint Thomas in the team's previous iteration, Team Sky.

"It'll be nice to go through there before we go onto the final climb of the day" - the Alto del Morredero - Kwiatkowski recalled with a smile, "though hopefully it won't be raining this time round!"

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While the violently steep slopes of the Astruian icon strike fear into the hearts of many a bike rider, Poels has embraced them throughout his career, and – even while riding for teammates such as Chris Froome and Mikel Landa – has been at his very best there.

Fourteen years on from when he first raced the Angliru at the Vuelta, at 23 years old and at only his second Grand Tour, Poels is a veteran, currently amid his 25th appearance at one of cycling's prestigious three-week races.

But the memories are still clear from 2011, and with Juan José Cobo subsequently being stripped of his title and win on stage 15 of that Vuelta due to doping charges, Poels was technically the first rider to cross the line that day. He doesn't think of it much as a win, of course, as the result was only changed eight years after the fact, but still, the elite company he was in made it special.

"I remember at one point I looked to the left and it was Bradley Wiggins, then to my right, Froomey and and to my left again, it was [Denis] Menchov," Poels recalled to Cyclingnews before stage 11, with a beaming smile as he reminisced about that day up the Angliru.

"I was like, 'Fucking hell, this is pretty awesome what I'm doing here, as a second-year pro,' and then to finish second, that was almost like a victory for myself, of course.

"It was really nice, because it was only my second Grand Tour – I started that year also in the Tour de France, but I got sick and went home. At the Vuelta, I showed myself to the cycling world, and now, what is it? 14 years later, we are still in the game, so yeah, it was a hell of a ride, I still enjoy it."

After that day as a young GT racer, Poels has returned to the fabled slopes of the Angliru three times, in 2017, 2020 and 2023, with great results of second, eighth and fifth. The former and latter also stand out as special days, as one included guiding Froome up the mountain in red to confirm the overall victory, while Spanish cycling legend Alberto Contador enjoyed his last dance victory up the climb.

Six years later, Poels returned and did a stunning support job again for Landa, with only the Jumbo-Visma trio of Primož Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss bettering the Bahrain-Victorious pair. The Dutchman abandoned his chance at the stage to ride for Landa, another story of Poels' career often as a domestique de luxe, but still, he lit up the steep slopes once again. He's far from his best as he enters the twilight of his career, but he's not ruling out one last magic day up the Angliru on Friday's stage 13.

"I think my worst result there was fifth and two times, second and one time," he said, forgetting the eighth from 2020, understandably, given that it was the rescheduled edition due to COVID-19, with the climb being raced up on November 1.

"Of course, Cobo got disqualified in 2011, but anyway, hopefully this year I can look forward to it again. It's a climb that fits me very well, and I quite like to do well on these historical climbs.

"Hopefully, we can do it well this year again. It's a brutal climb. It's so steep, and I think that's just it when it comes to what makes it difficult –the steepness of it," he added, with the 9.8% average gradient hiding pinches approaching 20% that often make it seem like the riders are climbing in slow motion.

No contract yet for 2026, but not yet thinking of retirement

Poels heads back to one of his favourite climbs, not needing a result, but it certainly wouldn't hurt, given that he is still looking to confirm a place for next season. He only signed a one-year deal on purpose with XDS-Astana, as he considered whether to end his career after 2025, but he's not yet done with the sport.

"No, I'm not sure yet where I'll be next year," he told Cyclingnews. "I signed for one year, and to be honest, how I feel now about it, I think I would like to continue one more year, because I still have the level.

"I won the Tour of Turkey, and the Giro went well. Here at the Vuelta, I also feel good, and it's not that I feel like I'm like just riding in the peloton to finish races.

"I would like to stay with the team – I have a quite nice feeling here. But I don't really have stress with it, and obviously, we'll just see how it goes."

Winning a stage and the overall in Turkey is the highlight of the 37-year-old's season so far, but he's got more opportunities still at the Vuelta, where he last won a stage in 2023 ahead of Remco Evenepoel, and at the World Championships, where he'll return to the Dutch road race squad after a three-year absence.

"The legs are getting there. I felt luckily yesterday better than the first week, so hopefully we can do something here," he said, before commenting on being back at Worlds for Rwanda, where he'll likely make up part of Thymen Arensman's support.

"It's always nice to ride for the Dutch Federation and to represent your country. It's also in a special place to go to," said Poels, admitting that sorting the logistics and vaccinations required for the trip were "a little bit of a pain to arrange, but I managed to get everything done, although it's not always nice to do it in the season."

Wout Poels isn't done yet with his racing career, and another vintage performance from the Dutchman up the iconic Asturian beast could catapult him into an end-of-year run that secures him another season in the peloton.

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Scott continued this tradition with the launch of the sub-6kg (in top spec form) Addict RC late last year, a bike which features on our best road bikes list. It isn't an all-out aero race bike, though and would be a climber's dream.

Now, Scott has released a brand new version of the Addict, and I'm hesitant to call this the 'regular' Addict. This model loses the 'RC', which stands for racing concept and focuses on something different.

This new version of the addict is, in Scott's words, 'built for the spirit of adventure and the love of the riding experience, no matter how fast you are'.

In short, it's been designed to be a more comfortable, versatile and user-friendly road bike designed to tackle pretty much everything, while doubling down on the outgoing model's endurance credentials.

Comfort is a major headline; compliance or comfort boosting appears to have been a focus for Scott, and it claims the new Addict is "twice as comfortable" as the outgoing model, and 25% more comfortable than the Addict RC.

There are also a host of quite clever-looking features that appear to make this a strong do-it-all option that promises to maintain a racy, exciting feel.

Scott says it has reshaped various frame tubes to increase comfort. The seat and top tubes are slimmer to promote vertical compliance. The seatstays have also been dropped more visibly than on the previous Addict model to further dampen buzz.

Tyre clearance has grown by a few millimetres up to 38mm, so riders will be able to fit a wide range of sizes. Scott cites the advantages of larger tyres, boosting comfort and lowering rolling resistance. Something we also found in our CN Labs gravel tyre rolling resistance test.

Geometry has also followed in the same direction of travel; the new Addict is 5mm higher and 5mm shorter than the previous model, and the chainstays have been shortened by 2mm, which should make for a marginally more exciting ride.

For a simple comparison, Scott claims the new Addict with no headset spacers has the same stack height as the Addict RC (quite an aggressive bike) with 35mm of them added.

In a similar way to the Pinarello F series bikes, which also launched this week, the Addict will be available in two different carbon layup versions. A HMF version and a top-tier HMX option, which uses more high-modulus carbon fibres. Despite the focus on comfort, headtube and bottom bracket stiffness are said to be the same as the Addict RC.

Clever new features

Many of the best endurance bikes now have at least one smart feature, typically a frame storage compartment, and the latest Addict is no exception.

The new bike features an integrated repair kit in the down tube, which is accessed via the bottom of the down tube, making for a neat look. There is, of course, a cover, but it's also an area that's going to get covered in muck in bad weather. Its position means added weight is low down on the bike, which should mean handling isn't negatively affected.

There's a medium-sized frame triangle bag, which looks pretty neat, and will surely be handy for stowing all kinds of spares on big days.

Two seatposts can be used; the Addict and the RC share the same seatpost shape, but the Scott 'comfort' seatpost, which features an integrated light, can also be fitted.

A T25 Torx key is also fitted inside the handlebar drop, and allows riders to adjust the majority of key fasteners on the bike. A move that is very similar to the one Canyon made with the latest version of the Aeroad CFR, which also comes with a T25 tool that you can adjust a lot with.

The Addict range is comprised of six models with a mix of Shimano and SRAM componentry. Four feature the HMF carbon frame, and the Addict 10 and Premium feature the high-end HMX carbon fibre.

The base Addict 50 model will start at an accessible €2,599 / $2,799, and the range through Addict models 40, 30, 20 and 10 models up to the top-end Premium model in 'Whale Grey', which comes in at €7,499 / $7,699.

After the chaos of the day in the Basque Country, where organisers took the late call 20km out from the line to cancel the planned finish due to multiple demonstrations, there were more Palestine supporters present with flags in the Cantabrian seaside town, but racing got underway as normal around 14:00.

Israel-PremierTech, whose continued participation is the target of the protests, arrived at the start after releasing a statement late last night that confirmed they would not be pulling out of the Vuelta because of the 'Dangerous precedent' it would set, but with much less police presence and a calmer atmosphere outside their bus.

Still, their riders were not presented on stage, as has been the case throughout the Grand Tour. Two people with large Palestine flags behind the stage stood out, as the other teams and riders signed on and spoke to the media, with many expressing a similar viewpoint of just wanting to race their bikes.

Some 100 pro-Palestine supporters were positioned between the sign-on and the start of the race, chanting loudly and repeatedly for over an hour in the street leading towards the starting arch in favour of expulsion of the Israel-Premier Tech squad from the Vuelta as well as against the Israeli government and its actions in Gaza.

Police kept a close watch on both sides of the roads, but unlike in Bilbao, there seemed to be little tension, and there was no move to break through the barriers as riders and team cars passed by.

Oscar Guerrero, Israel-Premier Tech sports director, spoke to a knot of assembled media during the countdown to the start and reiterated the team's comments from Wednesday night.

"We have no doubt that we are going to continue in the race. We are a sports team," he said. "We can understand that there are protests, but they have to be peaceful."

Guerrero said that during stage 11, he had deliberately taken the team car off route at times on certain climbs because he was scared he would suffer some kind of aggression.

"The riders were generally 'OK', with a few insulting gestures on the very last climb, but that was it."

"The only really hot spot was at the finish, where it was very scary and very dangerous. Guerrero recognised that from the point of certain teams, "I can understand that for them it would certainly be better if we weren't here.

"But I want them to look at things from our point of view too, both the riders with their contracts and families, and the staff.

"If we quit here, we'd be an objective in every race and have to quit everywhere – and it would, being realistic, be the end of the team. What do you do with its 180 employees?"

Stage 12's opening phase of racing has continued without interruption, yet, en route to the first categorised climb, with 130km remaining at the time of writing until the riders reach the finish in Los Corrales de Buelna.

Pre-race favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) started the day in Laredo as the race leader in red, with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) currently occupying the podium spots.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

There are also updates to automatically suggest activities to help Zwifters improve their fitness, an extension to the New York world, and a full Zwift Racing schedule announced.

More Zwift Ready trainer options and a new Zwift Click controller

The updates start with a wider range of Zwift Ready trainers, with 12 models from brands including Wahoo, Elite and JetBlack and prices starting at £279.99 / $299.99 / €250.00. US purchasers can choose a trainer from Tacx, and Zwift is also increasing availability in brick-and-mortar outlets.

All come fitted with Zwift Cog virtual shifting and are shipped ready to ride (after plugging it in and mounting your bike, of course) as well as offering compatibility with the Zwift Ride smart frame.

To complement the trainers, there’s a new version of the Zwift Click controller, which, in addition, replaces the Zwift Play controllers. While the old Zwift Click just provided up and down virtual shifting in one unit, the new controller consists of two units, each with multiple buttons. These offer a greater range of controls from the handlebars, including steering and shortcuts in addition to the virtual shifting.

They’re also designed for easier mounting to tri bars and flat bars, and in multiple positions on drop bars, thanks to configurable buttons.

Also new are Zwift Cog and Click upgrade kits, available for trainers from all the major brands, including Tacx, and with a price drop to £49.99 / $49.99 / €49.99.

These include the new Zwift Click, as well as a Zwift Cog pre-installed on a freehub body, which enables setup without specialist tools.

Along with the hardware updates, Zwift has made it easier to pair your trainer to the device you use to run Zwift by offering a recommended best connection type, rather than a menu of options. It’s also easier to bridge a heart rate monitor to your trainer, should your device be limited on Bluetooth connections.

Better targeted workout recommendations

Zwift says that since it opened up the app to outdoor workouts, 5.3 million activities have been imported from Garmin, Wahoo and Hammerhead cycling computers. That’s been good for riders, helping them to maintain streaks, but also for Zwift, which now has more data on its users’ overall fitness.

Starting in November 2025, that will allow Zwift to provide a variety of personalised workout recommendations, driven by AI, that fit better with a rider’s current level and fitness goals and which auto-adjust weekly.

It also makes choosing what to do a lot easier by narrowing down the options while offering increased variety.

Accompanying this is a new 'Progress Report' screen in Zwift and a 'Review and Celebrate' screen in the Zwift Companion App, also rolling out in November.

Follow Zwift’s recommendations and you might have enough Drops to buy one of the new Canyon Aeroad custom colourways, which mirror Canyon’s latest real-world customisation options. There's new real-world clothing available too, from Australian brand Pedal Mafia.

New roads in New York take to the subways

Zwift has also announced an imminent extension to its New York world. While its routes were previously confined to Central Park landscapes, as of 27 October you’ll be able to ride over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on 31km of new roads.

Plus, there are routes that take you through the New York subway network, which will be the first to include Zwift’s new Power Segments. These are marked by a start arch on a route, and the objective is to push out as many watts as possible until the countdown timer hits zero. Zwift’s leaderboards for power segments will rank your own efforts first.

A full Zwift Racing schedule

Zwift will offer its full Zwift Racing event schedule again in 2025/26, with tighter banding making races more competitive.

It’s introducing a new event series from the 6th of October to the 16th of November called Zwift Unlocked, with five stages, each with new long and short routes. Competing will unlock extra XP.

Team racing options start with Z//Racing in September and roll through to the Zwift Games in February and March 2026. The Zwift Racing League has a parallel series of four rounds of team events from September to April.

Finally, from 17 to 23 November, Zwift will host the online Brompton World Championships on custom London routes, complete with tweed kit in the DropShop.

The announcement follows one of the Grand Tour's most chaotic days in recent times, with pro-Palestine protestors disrupting stage 11 of the race and forcing organisers to neutralise the final 3km.

Protestors have disrupted the race on multiple occasions already this year, including on stage 5 during Israel-Premier Tech's team time trial effort, opposing the squad's continued presence at the race.

However, stage 20's spectator ban follows calls from environmental activists from the Ecologists in Action group to avoid the climb, known officially as Alto de Guarramillas, altogether.

The group believes that the stage 20 finish, along with the crowds, infrastructure, and traffic, will damage the fragile ecosystem of the mountain.

The Bola del Mundo climb, 12.5km at an average gradient of 8.5%, was last used in La Vuelta during the 2012 edition of the race, and first introduced in 2010. Ecologists in Action stated that race organisers failed to follow recommendations when previously visiting the climb and don't believe the race should be allowed to return.

They cited insufficient waste bins, allowing vehicles to drive up Bola del Mundo after the promise that only motorbikes and ambulances would use the road, having advertising banners staked into the ground, and being unable to prevent the crowds from trampling the park's flora as their key reasons.

Keen to find a compromise and avoid further protests at an already heavily-disrupted edition of the race, La Vuelta organisers have announced that spectators will be encouraged to locate themselves on the penultimate Puerto de Navacerrada climb instead.

Those who wish to support from the final climb of the stage will not be allowed past the 1km marker, and are asked to avoid straying from the road and respect the mountain's flora and fauna.

Whether this goes far enough to thwart any potential protests from environmental activists at the race remains to be seen.

Although the bulk of the stage through the Basque Country took place, the last three kilometres were cancelled as protestors rendered it impossible for the race to approach the finish line safely.

Kuss told Spanish television after the stage that he was convinced that the race would reach Madrid, but he said that it was clear that some kind of action had to be taken, given the ongoing tension.

On the racing front, although he pointed out Vingegaard could get some time on João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) in the final ascent of the Pike, after a lot of work by Visma–Lease a Bike, the turmoil at the finish prevented any further time gaps from potentially opening, sparking what Kuss called "a bitter-sweet feeling." But logically, most of the questions centred on the events in Bilbao, in which three protestors were arrested and four police officers were injured.

"We feared this could happen, the first time we rode through the finish" - starting a final hilly circuit round Bilbao - "there was a lot of stuff going on. It's what we expected as well," Kuss said.

"Every day, there have been more and more people [protestors] about the conflict. It's happening everywhere in the world."

Kuss refused to comment on the reports that at the pre-stage meeting between riders and officials, there had been a discussion about whether Israel–Premier Tech, whose presence is sparking the protests, should leave.

Israel–Premier Tech has said they intend to continue, and barring last-minute developments, will be present at today's stage 12 start, while the UCI has limited itself to condemning the elements of the protest that put riders at risk.

"It's not my place to comment on that," Kuss said, "but it's true that there a lot of risks suffered here in the race because lots of people [protestors] want them [Israel–Premier Tech] out. There is that feeling [amongst protestors] against that team."

Amidst speculation that if the protests in the style of those in Bilbao continued, the whole Vuelta might grind to a halt, Kuss said he was convinced that the race would reach Madrid. But he called for renewed safety measures to be boosted as otherwise an actual competition would be impossible – a comment echoed by his team leader Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma–Lease a Bike), who told TV2 that he "didn't know if the race had had its last stage winner."

"Of course, we'll get there, but I hope that people respect us and that some kind of decision is reached," Kuss said, "because we can't go on like this, not knowing if the stage is going to actually be completed, or if the race is safe."

It brings the agreement into line with that of the men's Tour, with a deal penned in 2020 to seal the broadcast rights of that event through to the end of the decade, and SBS have also extended its agreement to broadcast La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es to 2030 as well.

"We always believed the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift would resonate with our audience, and we’re proud to have supported its growth over the past four years," SBS Director of Sport Ken Shipp.

"The way it’s tracking, it’s clear the Tour has enormous potential and is on course for lasting, meaningful success. We’re excited to continue bringing women’s cycling to an appreciative and growing audience.”

Viewer numbers increased significantly in 2025, with over 100 million hours of the 2025 Tour de Frances Femmes watched across 50 European countries – which the release said was an 89% increase year on year – and almost 26 million French viewers for a 42% increase year on year. SBS achieved a Total TV Reach of 1.8 million for the 2025 Tour de France Femmes in Australia, and grew third-party platform views to 11.7 million, a 99% increase year on year.

The increase in viewers came in what was a suspense filled edition of the race, with a long list of favourites – including Australia's Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) – still in contention right up to the second-last stage of racing in the nine day event. The fourth edition of the rebooted version of the women's Tour de France was won by returning road rider Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike).

As many cycling viewers around the world are struggling with increasing subscription prices the agreement the public broadcaster has struck provides a welcome degree of certainty that access to at least two of the women's Grand Tours, along with the men's, will remain free for Australian viewers for at least the next five editions.

SBS also had the rights to the men's Giro d'Italia locked in through to this year, though didn't show the women's edition, but has yet to announce a new agreement for broadcast of the Italian Grand Tour.

The sport governing body released a statement several hours after the race organisers and officials halted the 174.5km race with three kilometres to go due to "incidents" involving protests at the finish line.

"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) firmly condemns the actions that led to the neutralisation of the 11th stage of La Vuelta Ciclista a España," the statement read.

"The UCI reiterates the fundamental importance of the political neutrality of sports organisations within the Olympic Movement, as well as the unifying and pacifying role of sport. Major international sporting events embody a spirit of unity and dialogue, transcending differences and divisions.

"In this sense, the UCI reaffirms its commitment to the political neutrality, independence, and autonomy of sport, in accordance with the founding principles of the Olympic Movement."

Stage 11 was expected to be one of several key stages during the three-week race, set across a challenging route that included seven categorised ascents in and around Bilbao.

Ahead of the race, however, the riders met with organisers and officials from the UCI over concerns of safety amid multiple pro-Palestine protests that have happened during the race so far, including at the stage 5 team time trial in Figueres and a crash caused by demonstrators running onto the course on stage 10 that finished at El Ferial Larra Belagua.

Protests have also included pro-Basque independence demonstrations, with both Palestinian and Basque flags waved across TV footage and event images in demonstrations led throughout the race, so far.

Many of the demonstrations have also targeted Israel-Premier Tech during the race, with organisers, Unipublic, unsure of the team's ongoing participation due to safety concerns, and Technical Director Kiko García telling the media that he hoped a decision would be made quickly.

Although the decision was made to proceed with the stage 11 start on Wednesday, there was an unspoken agreement that if protests turned dangerous, riders could adjust their plans accordingly, with safety as their highest priority. The peloton was then stopped in the neutral zone as police moved protesters off the road, and the race restarted fairly quickly, continuing without incident.

However, with roughly 15km to go, race officials notified teams that, due to incidents involving protests at the finish line, the times would be taken with three kilometres to go, and that there would be no stage winner, effectively neutralizing the end of the stage.

"The UCI would also like to reiterate that sport, and cycling in particular, has a role to play in bringing people together and overcoming barriers between them, and should under no circumstances be used as a tool for punishment," the statement went on.

"The UCI expresses its solidarity and support for the teams and their staff as well as the riders, who should be able to practise their profession and pursue their passion in optimal conditions of safety and serenity."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

Hot on the heels of Assos releasing a winter jersey with a sunglasses holder on the upper arm (no, really), news has come across our desk of British brand Pashley launching (in its own words), a ‘grountain bike’, in the form of its new Wildfinder; a steel, suspension-corrected-frame with 2.4in tyre clearance, and mounting points galore.

There have been several attempts to smash the ‘gr’ from gravel into some ugly portmanteau in the past, with ‘groad’ being the only one that has, to a thankfully lesser degree, stuck. The bicycle industry has sensibly decided to either use ‘gravel’ or ‘all-road’ to describe variations of gravel bike from the road end of the spectrum, all the way through to the gnarly, lumpy bumpy extreme varieties.

Now however, primarily as a result of the likes of Dylan Johnson et. al. fitting drop bars to mountain bikes for the likes of Leadville 100, we are seeing more of these drop bar mountain bikes (no, not ‘grountain bikes’, how many times must I go over this). Lee Cougan has one, as does Ridley, and I’m sure there are plenty more out there, either officially or unofficially.

If it looks like a mountain bike but has drop bars, it’s a drop bar mountain bike. Hell, I’d even be happy to just say it’s a mountain bike and drop the ‘drop bar’ bit. If it was good enough for John Tomac it’s good enough for us.

If I use my cyclocross bike for gravel that doesn’t make it a gryclocross bike, and likewise if I take a gravelly diversion on my commute home my cargo bike doesn’t become a grargo bike (though I will accept gnargo bike, as it’s more audibly appealing).

We can’t just smash the start of gravel onto any bike we choose just because gravel is where the money is right now. While I do lament this ugly nomenclature, I do think we need to start adopting the ATB (all-terrain bike) label to more bikes. It’s far more elegant, and works for basically anything that isn’t a gravel race bike all the way to those machines, like this ‘grountain bike’ that are clearly just mountain bikes retrofitted with drop bars.

Stage 11 of the Vuelta a España in Bilbao was partly suspended, and the last three kilometres of the day's racing were cancelled with no winner after pro-Palestine demonstrators, protesting against the presence of Israel-Premier Tech at the race.

Surrounded by a sizable cluster of journalists, García was unable to say what the future of Israel-Premier Tech would be in the race, but he did make it clear that rapid action was needed given the precarious situation in which the Vuelta now finds itself.

"I would like to think that in this situation a lot of people will react, we've been in contact with the UCI and we told them before the race came to Spain [on stage 5], we knew that some members of the public here were very implicated in the protests.

"But there haven't been any changes up to now of no type, we hope that there will be rapid changes, because time is rolling on."

The Vuelta a España race director, Javier Guillén, had already been very critical of how pro-Palestine protestors had tried to block the road to stop Israel-Premier Tech during the team time trial, promising court action against those involved.

Guillén did not make declarations to the media after the latest protests, although after the stage 5 blocking of the route by protesters, he had pointed out that the team was not a wildcard invitation but was able to take part on its own merits in the UCI ranking system. In 2025, Israel-Premier Tech were automatically invited to every WorldTour race as one of the top two ProTeams, cycling's second-tier league.

However, on this occasion, rather than a single team the entire race has been affected by the protests, sparking a much more lengthy series of answers from García in the area where team buses were parked outside Bilbao's San Mames football stadium.

"The decision was taken to stop the stage at three kilometres to go because the situation was very tense; we either cancelled it completely or did what we could," García said, speaking in English, then French, then Spanish.

"So after talking through it with he team, we opted to end the race where we did. So the official times stand, and we wanted the sporting situation to be the best possible.

"Our objective is to continue, and we hope that after tomorrow [Thursday] things will be calmer. We will do everything we can to continue."

"It's been a very hard day for everybody. I'd like to think today was very complicated. We knew that protests could happen, but really, we've been surprised by the number of protesters there have been at the finish."

When the race went through the finish for the first time at the start of the final circuit round Bilbao, he said, they had seen the situation was "almost out of control and we had to react."

García said that, given it had long been anticipated that the pro-Palestine protests in the Basque Country had been expected to be the biggest, he hoped things would calm down.

"We know that if there are no reactions or there are no changes in any way, then the protests will continue. As we've said, we have no choice but to follow the rules. The team's participation is obligatory, and whoever can decide the opposite - that isn't us.

"Our duty is to protect the race, of course, the riders and the teams - and we're moving on that."

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Vingegaard said he had been unaffected by the demonstrators throughout the 157.4-kilometre stage looping round the Basque seaport of Bilbao, praising police for their efforts to keep the more unruly elements of the roadside protests.

However, he was not happy, either, that the demonstrators were targeting the race, calling it "the wrong place for them to protest."

The most recent partial suspension in the Vuelta of a stage was in 2023, when bad weather in Barcelona saw the GC times taken at nine kilometres to go. However, the race failing to reach the finish is a far more unprecedented event, as seen in nearby San Sebastian in 1978, where the Vuelta had to suspend its final stage completely due to political protests.

"This might be the last time we'll have a stage winner in this Vuelta," Vingegaard openly speculated to Danish TV channel TV2, presumably referring to the previous day's stage finish at Larra Belagua, given there was no winner in Bilbao.

"It's unpredictable what will happen in the coming days. I hope we can keep racing, because this is the wrong place for them to protest. What do they want from us cyclists? I can't do anything."

However, although the protests were clearly visible throughout the stage and at one point Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) had to duck under a banner after protestors ran into the road, Vingegaard said he didn't feel too closely affected.

"To be honest, I think the police did a good job today. The first time we crossed the finish line, we saw protesters trying to get onto the road. The police were able to stop them there. And on the penultimate climb, they (pro-Palestine protesters) tried to stop us, but we were able to get past easily. Other than that, I didn't really feel unsafe."

Rather than reaching the finishing gantry, Vingegaard and fellow-breakaway rider Pidcock simply eased up three kilometres from the line, where times were taken for the GC contenders. There was no stage winner.

Like all the other riders in the peloton, the Dane then rolled through the streets of Bilbao before heading to the team bus and going through the usual post-stage routine: a brief clamber onto the bus, back onto the rollers for a 15-minute warm-down, then talk to the media. The race, even in the most surreal situations, continued.

Directors and riders also spoke to the press as usual. But with roughly 15 armed police, some with riot shields down and helmets down, deployed around the Israel-Premier Tech team bus directly opposite, it was clear this was anything but a normal day.

"The atmosphere is mixed because we really wanted to go for this stage, everybody could see what was happening on the screen, so of course it was mixed," sports director Jesper Morkov told Eurosport afterwards.

"We couldn't race for the win because we could see what was happening on the road, we could also see it in the car, that's how it is."

Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike had put in some notably aggressive racing towards the finale, keeping the break of the day, including UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Marc Soler, under control.

Possibly the most striking aspect of what little racing there was in the finale came when Pidcock (Q36.5) briefly managed to drop Vingegaard on the Alto de Pike, the last of seven climbs.

But in a day where racing was probably the last thing on most riders' minds, the key questions to Morkov were about how the race organisation handled the chaos unfolding in the finish, with the teams and riders out on the road

"The communication from race organisers was really clear, we got clear communication from then, we communicated it to the riders," Morkov said "It is not up to us to say what is wrong and what is right, that is what happened."

Morkov said that the news that the stage had been partly cancelled came through on the race radio on the flat part of the course before the final ascent to the Pike.

"We would have liked to race for the win, but we also saw pictures on the TV," he said drily, "so that's how it is."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

"I’m excited to go back. It looks like it might be a little bit less climbing than before it, so it could fall more towards the sprints this year, but they said that about the last course as well, and it ended up being very open," Powless told Cyclingnews from his home in Houston, Texas.

Powless will line up for Saturday's UCI ProSeries race alongside USPro road race champion Colby Simmons, Trofeo Ses Salines winner Marijn van den Berg, Darren Rafferty, Alastair MacKellar and Alex Baudin. Simmons is the only teammate who has competed at the Maryland Cycling Classic before, finishing 30th for the US national composite team in 2023.

The bulk of the season so far has been another stellar showing for the 29-year-old, with a win at Dwars Door Vlaanderen, which he called "a dream come true", and another at the GP Gippengen. He also scored top 10s at Trofeo Laigueglia, Eschborn-Frankfurt and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Powless has been in the US for several weeks after completing his sixth consecutive Tour de France and going sixth at Donostia San Sebastian, the time in Texas to acclimate to the US time zone, southern climate conditions, spend time with his wife, who is expecting their second child in the fall, and then celebrate his birthday on Wednesday.

"Heat plus humidity makes for a nasty combo. I've been training in very hot weather and I'll be ready for it if it's hot. And if it's not, then I think the heat training will still help. It's always a hot one in Baltimore," he said. The advance weather report for Baltimore calls for a warm 29°C day with rain showers.

"But it's been nice to be back in America for a while and train in some hot, humid environments and spend time with family when I'm not on the bike. It's been a nice recharge."

In the two editions of the Maryland Cycling Classic, Powless was part of front groups that got away on a route that traversed a long section of 144km (90 miles) on rural roads in northern Maryland and then finished with a decisive 12km (7.5-mile) downtown circuit at Baltimore's Inner Harbour.

The first time, Powless was third in a five-rider breakaway, and the second time, he made his way into another five-rider group, this time Mattia Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) attacking solo for the win and Powless best of the chasers in second.

Powless and cobbles

This year the route has been modified - gone is the start in Sparks, Maryland and replaced with a 28.8km (17.9-mile) circuit around Baltimore County, which will be completed six times by the men for a total of 172.8km (107.4 miles). A UCI women's one-day contest has been added, which will complete four laps earlier on the same day.

"So, I haven't gotten the chance to see the course with my own eyes yet, apart from on Veloviewer, but I'm hoping that there's going to be some opportunities to open up the race. With the circuit in the city, I'm pretty excited to have lots of fans out cheering us on. They'll be able to see us a lot, which isn't always normal for cycling," Powless confirmed, adding that he will have family in attendance.

"I've heard a little bit about this pavé section in the race. Not really sure what it's going to look like when I get there, but hopefully it's hard enough to make some separations in the race because there is a bit less elevation gain than the previous course. Hopefully that pavé section will offer up some more excitement."

Cobblestones are something Powless embraces rather than fears, and he showed his versatility on the road at the 2022 Tour de France. Since then, he's achieved most of his goals with one-day European Classics, with a few more milestones left in France and in the US. He came close to putting on the yellow jersey at the Tour de France three years ago, finishing fourth on the cobbled stage 5 to Wallers-Arenberg.

"I’m still chasing a Tour to France win stage win, but that was one of the loftier goals I set for myself. The season's been great so far. Being a part of the Tour de France team when Ben [Healy] went into yellow was really special," Powless told Cyclingnews.

"And then for myself, being able to win my first cobbled classic at Dwars Door Vlaanderen was a dream come true and a goal I've been chasing for quite a while. The last two years, I realized it was a possibility, and I decided that that was going to be my goal as a professional cyclist, to win a cobbled classic or at least one of the main goals. I was able to achieve it this year, so that was incredibly special."

After the Maryland Cycling Classic, Powless plans to compete at the WorldTour races in Canada, Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Montréal, then travel to Italy for the fall Classics, foregoing a spot on Team USA for Road World Championships in Rwanda at the end of September.

"My wife is due with our second child a few weeks after Worlds, and I just didn't feel a trip to Africa was the wisest choice for me, given the travel time it would take to get there. I did get most of the vaccines that I needed if I was going to go, because I wanted to keep the option open. But with my wife’s pregnancy, the races in Canada and the Italian Classics, it was going to be a very tight schedule to make the long travel down to Africa."

The Edge 1040 comes packed with user-friendly functionality, and right now, it's available for just $483.50, a reduction of $116.49 off the RRP of $599.99. It's not quite the lowest the 1040 has ever hit; that was $448 back in June, during the Prime Day sales, but considering Garmin and Walmart are selling it for the full price of $599.99, it's still a more than worthy Garmin deal.

As a deals hunter, I think this is unlikely to go lower anytime soon, perhaps during Black Friday 2025 at the end of November, but if you've had this on your radar, I'd say, why wait? Grab it now before it goes up.

The Garmin Edge 1040 may no longer be the flagship device in Garmin's lineup of GPS computers, as it has recently been succeeded by the Garmin Edge 1050, which comes with a $699.99 price tag. However, the upgrades from the 1040 to the 1050 are fairly minimal considering the price difference. If you are willing to forgo a few of the new features – such as the brighter screen, Garmin Pay, and the digital bell – the 1040 remains a solid choice.

The 1040's battery life is claimed to be 35 hours, which is quite impressive for a non-solar Garmin, with the Garmin 1040 Solar extending its capacity to 45 hours, but the Edge 1040 Solar version will cost you at full price $749.99.

The 3.5-inch colour touchscreen offers numerous features focused on fitness and performance. Key highlights include strength and stamina training, along with a built-in program that reminds you if you miss a workout, simplifying your training schedule planning.

This deal is currently only available in the US, but below are all the best Garmin Edge 1040 deals in your territory.

Despite racing coming to an end before reaching the finish line, and riders all being directed straight to the buses, Pidcock himself still rode to the Gran Vía de Don Diego López de Haro, which was lined with Palestine flags and protestors.

As his team arrived back at the bus, they were unsure where he had gone and why he wasn't yet, but the Brit's comments made it clear why he felt the need to go there. He was outspoken after arriving visibly frustrated and warming down on the trainer before speaking to the media.

"It's hard to describe the disappointment, to be honest. I mean, I felt like today was my day," Pidcock told reporters, including Cyclingnews. "I feel like, yeah, there should always be a finish line. We're not riding a fucking sportive, are we?"

He described his statement of going to the finish line alone as "just doing a Tom Pidcock thing, innit," and confirmed he was aware that the neutralisation was going to come at the 3km to go mark.

"No, I knew the finish line was at 3k, but I actually didn't know when 3k was," he said, admitting he was distracted after showing his best legs of the race and dropping everyone, momentarily, until race leader Jonas Vingegaard (VIsma-Lease a BIke) joined him over the top of the Alto de Pike.

"I was too busy trying to rotate with Jonas, and when we passed through there, I kind of realised that there wasn't going to be a winner.

"It's not easy. I think the Vuelta did what they could for us, the organisation, to keep us safe. I think, you know… I don't want to say anything political; I'm going to get in trouble," was his original stance, but he then decided to weigh in as the questions about the protestors kept coming.

Riders have held back from talking about it, but after protests have occured at the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and now Vuelta a España, with Israel-Premier Tech – whose continued participation is the target of the protests and were partially blocked by protesters during the stage 5 time trial in Figeures – racing on, Pidcock had his say.

"I think a lot of people have held back from talking about it publicly, but it is a bit scary sometimes in the peloton," he said.

"But I think as long as our safety is first, then we can continue racing, and that's what we're here to do. I think, bike racing's got nothing to do with what's happening.

"Putting us in danger isn't going to help your cause. It simply isn't going to help what they're they're protesting. Everyone's got the right to protest, whatever they want, but yeah, putting us in danger is not the way forward."

At the moment Pidcock and Vingegaard were slowed down and stopped racing with 3km to go; they had around a 10-second lead on the likes of João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), but it would've likely given him his first Grand Tour stage win since 2022, as the much more accomplished sprinter. Of course, Vingegaard is no slouch after a hard day, so he wasn't certain, but the frustration came from missing that opportunity.

"I think a lot of people talk about what's on paper, you know? And now I don't have… well, I'm not saying I would have won, but I had a good chance to win," he said. "Disappointing, but I'm not wasting any energy on it. We've got a long a long way to go.

However, he was hopeful that the race was past the worst of it in terms of protest disruption.

"From what I was told, today was gonna be the biggest day of protesters, so I think from now on, it might be better."

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Vuelta organisers announced the measures as the riders raced towards the finish of the hilly 157.4km stage. The decision was taken due to disruption caused by pro-Palestine protesters at the finish.

Riders did not go through the finish to end the stage.

"Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at 3 kilometres before the line," Vuelta organisers announced via race radio.

"We won't have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line."

At the time of writing, heading into the final 10km of the stage, a select group of 13 GC riders, including race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) led the race up the final climb of the Alto de Pike towards Bilbao.

Television pictures at the finish showed multiple police officers stood in the road near the line facing a group of protesters holding Palestine flags held up over the road.

This year's Vuelta has been affected by protests on several previous occasions. The stage 5 team time trial saw Israel-Premier Tech held up by several protesters in the road, while on stage 10, protesters stepped into the road ahead of the peloton, causing Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) to crash.

Stage 11 saw riders meet with organisers and the UCI to discuss ongoing safety concerns as a result of the protests. Rider CPA representative Elia Viviani (Lotto) concluded that the race would continue as normal so long as the protests remain peaceful going forward.

"If it's all peaceful, then there's no problem, so the race will proceed normally. We are dependent on that. On our part, if it's peaceful, then we'll simply restart. If there are falls, danger and so on, then we'll decide what we do, because they [the organisers] don't know what'll happen," he told the Cycling Podcast.

The start of the stage was affected by further protests, however, with the peloton stopping in the neutral zone as police moved protesters out of the road.

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Several senior figures of the peloton and CPA representatives at the Spanish Grand Tour spoke during the meeting, notably Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) – who crashed on stage 10 due to protests and is one of the CPA reps – and Elia Viviani (Lotto).

After the circle of around 20 riders came to a decision, the start in Bilbao was taken, with the unspoken caveat that if protests turned dangerous, riders might have to rethink their decision.

"It was a conversation between us and the organisation. We, the riders, know that in the last few weeks the organisers have been doing as much as they can – so many police, so many," Viviani told Cyclingnews and The Cycling Podcast.

"Obviously, if there’s a situation that is dangerous for the peloton, we should decide something. But as the organisation has said, we don’t know what’s going to happen, we’ll see how it goes.

"If it’s all peaceful, then there’s no problem, so the race will proceed normally. We are dependent on that. On our part, if it’s peaceful, then we’ll simply restart. If there are falls, danger and so on, then we’ll decide what we do, because they [the organisers] don’t know what’ll happen."

Stage 11 was almost immediately affected by a protest, with the peloton being stopped in the neutral zone as police moved protesters off the road. Things restarted fairly quickly, and the stage has continued without incident.

Petilli and others spoke out after his crash on Tuesday, with the Italian rider saying "Please, we are just Cyclists and we are doing our Job, but if it will continue like this our safety is not guaranteed anymore, and we feel in danger! We just want to Race! Please," on his social media.

Whilst the mood was serious, neither Soler and Viviani seemed angry, with Thierry Diederen speaking as the President of the UCI Commissaires and Vuelta technical director Kiko García representing the race. Jake Stewart was the Israel-Premier Tech rider present at the discussion.

It was speculated that the meeting was being held to discuss whether Israel-Premier Tech should continue racing at the Vuelta, but Viviani said this was never the case.

"No, no, not at all on the riders' part, we’ve never wanted that because we’re 100 per cent not going against our fellow riders," he said, when asked if the decision was being taken on whether to ban IPT from racing or not.

Protests against Israel-Premier Tech's inclusion in the race at the Vuelta have followed on from similar incidents in the Vuelta team time trial in Figueres, a stage of the Giro d'Italia in Naples and at the Tour de France in Toulouse.

Israel is currently engaged in armed conflict in Gaza, with the United Nations calling for a ceasefire amidst growing concerns over reports of famine in the territory.

As the protests have continued, Israel-Premier Tech haven't appeared on the podium throughout the Vuelta at the stage start locations and the riders have largely stayed away from the media, aside from stage runner-ups Ethan Vernon and Marco Frigo. Armed police are semi-permanently standing near the Israel-Premier Tech vehicles at the Vuelta starts and finishes, as they have done at other races like the Tour de France.

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Pogačar's race plan, first reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, will mean a crowded September for the four-time Tour de France champion.

He is set to attend the GP Québec and GP Montréal in Canada on September 12 and 14, respectively. He will then fly to Rwanda for the time trial, which takes place on September 21 – coinciding with Pogačar's 27th birthday – before tackling the road race a week later on September 28 as he bids to claim a double World title in 2025.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) was the last rider to secure a men's road race-time trial double title at the World Championships in Wollongong in 2022. He went on to also snatch an Olympic double title in 2024. The Belgian, who is currently racing the Tour of Britain, is the most obvious rival for both titles, in the absence of time trial juggernaut Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).

A win in either discipline would mark an exceptional end of season for the Pogačar, who has dominated events across the season – including the Tour de France – and only failed to win three races that he has started.

The Slovenian's attendance in both events will be a boon for the Rwandan World Championships, the first ever to be held in Africa, in the wake of fears that major names may skip the championships.

It is also understood that Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) will be part of the Slovenian contingent heading to Rwanda in support of Pogačar.

Despite some speculation to the contrary, the brutally mountainous route was not enough to lure Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma–Lease a Bike). He will not race in Kigali but instead target the European Championships in France on October 5, where he will face Pogačar.

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Now, before I get into this brief showcase, I’d like to say that, in general, I love Assos gear, and in particular, its winter kit. They are wordily named, but the Equipe R Habu and Johdah winter jackets are the best I’ve ever tested, and the Equipe R Spring Fall LS Jersey S11 is sensational.

With this in mind, I opened up Assos’ latest collection for the upcoming cold and gloom with some excitement, only to be met with perhaps one of the more bizarre features I’ve seen this year: a sunglasses storage loop on the upper right arm.

I’ve spent ages testing the best cycling glasses on the market, both in high summer and in the grizzly dark months where clear lenses are a must. It’s true that not all of them sit nicely in helmet vents, but there is a hierarchy of places you can put them as an alternative, starting with on the back of your head, then with the arms folded over down the back of your jersey (my preference at all times, as it happens).

I’m yet to find a pair of cycling glasses that can’t be stowed in one of these three ways, so to see a solid loop stitched into a jersey to stow them rather clumsily on the front of the arm, where I suspect they will flap around and are more likely to get covered in detritus from the front wheel if one is riding without mudguards, is quite silly.

In Assos' defence, it doesn't actively promote this stitched loop as a glasses-storage feature beyond the occasional image of its use as one. It instead focused on the products' other innovations, such as the new, highly insulating POLAR textile found in the GT Spring Fall Bib Tights C2 (another mouthful, I know), which uses 50% recycled fibres; and the longer list of available colourways for the GT Spring Fall Jersey C2.

It's also far from the most egregious ‘innovation for the sake of innovation’ that the bike industry has ever seen, and in use, it won't negatively affect the jersey's performance. It will probably just become an unused tab.

Compared to some of the biggest tech flops – the likes of Vittoria’s reversible tyres – it’s pretty tame. It isn’t even the most daft way we’ve seen of storing one's sunglasses.

That particular accolade must go to the Koo Billy Clip, a stem-mounted aftermarket mount that allowed you to store your sunglasses not in a neat, aerodynamic way about your person, but plonked atop your stem.

Early editions of Koo glasses famously didn't fold, but instead rotated about their hinge through 180 degrees. This created a neat closure, but was largely impossible to do quickly, while riding, or one-handed. It's solution, the Billy, never caught on, and thankfully, more recent editions of Koo's cycling glasses have adopted a typical hinge.

The incident was not shown on the TV broadcast, but a video of what happened circulated on social media on Tuesday evening. In the video, a large group of supporters with flags are seen at the side of the road, and a handful then stepped into the road as the peloton approached.

Police officers attempted to tackle the protesters out of the way, but the riders in the peloton had to take evasive action to avoid them. At least one rider, Intermarché-Wanty's Simone Petilli, crashed because of the incident.

This is the second incident of pro-Palestinian protesters directly disrupting the Vuelta, after protesters entered the road in front of Israel-Premier Tech during the team time trial. Israel is currently engaged in armed conflict with Palestine, with the United Nations calling for ceasefire amidst growing concerns over famine in Gaza.

Writing on X on Wednesday morning, Petilli pleaded for protests to not endanger the riders.

"I understand that is not a good situation, but yesterday I crashed because of a Protest on the road," he said. "Please, we are just Cyclists and we are doing our Job, but if it will continue like this our safety is not guaranteed anymore, and we feel in danger! We just want to Race! Please."

Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep) also weighed in, asking for protests to be carried out in a non-disruptive way.

"We fully acknowledge that everyone has the right to protest. However, we kindly ask that this be done in a safe manner," he said on X. "Our focus here is on our sport, not on politics or any particular position in this matter. I respectfully urge you not to endanger either us or yourselves."

The race has not commented on the incident, and it is not clear whether arrests were made on Tuesday.

The Vuelta, and cycling as a whole during recent months, has been a particular target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, likely in part due to the participation of ProTeam Israel-Premier Tech. Though not a state-funded team in the way a team like UAE Team Emirates-XRG is, the team is registered in Israel, has strong connections with the nation, and carries its name.

All throughout the race, many Palestinian flags have been visible at the side of the road, showing support for the nation in a peaceful way, but actions have become disruptive on at least two occasions.

Palestinian flags were also present throughout the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, with disruptive protests attempted at both.

At present, no sanctions have been made against Israel in the cycling world, though there is precedent for this, with the UCI banning Russian teams over the war in Ukraine, and Russian riders to this day not allowed to represent their country.

There are concerns that protests will continue on stage 11 as the race visits Bilbao, the biggest city in the Basque Country, where there has traditionally been strong support for Palestine.

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Confirmation that the 22-year-old would depart the WorldTour's top team and end his contract early arrived on Monday evening during La Vuelta a España's first rest day. The timing upset Ayuso and led to him describing the situation on the team as "like a dictatorship" when speaking to local press at the start of stage 10 of the Vuelta on Tuesday.

"We'd made an agreement that it would come out after the Vuelta was over," Ayuso said, "so it wouldn't affect things in the team at all on a sporting level during the race and not to affect any of the riders.

"The fact that it's come out during the rest day is something that you'll have to ask them [management] about, why they did it so suddenly and without any advance warning.

"I think that it's clear why they've done it, to try and harm my image again."

This response by Ayuso reignited the flames of the saga that has been looming over the UAE squad at La Vuelta for the past week, with two major names from Spanish cycling throwing their thoughts into the mix.

Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Induráin was present on stage 10 of La Vuelta, as Ayuso's teammate Jay Vine stole the headlines with a second stage win of the Grand Tour from the breakaway, and was naturally asked for his thoughts on the topic by local media.

Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena COPE, 'Big Mig' defended Ayuso's decision to leave UAE.

"There has been a bit of a stir among the team for some time now, and it seems that in the end, he made the right decision."

Induráin never switched teams throughout his illustrious career during the 1980s and 1990s, but could empathise with the situation Ayuso found himself in.

"If you have team distractions from other things, you end up not performing, and I think he has to look for that, the peace of mind where he believes he's good and [can] fight on the road.

"In the end, when you want to perform at your best, you have to keep everything calm, just pedal to the metal and worry about that."

Meanwhile, two-time Vuelta a España winner Pedro Delgado was less sympathetic to Ayuso's plight, irked by the youngster's decision to speak out against his team ahead of the stage to El Ferial Larra Belagua.

"Honestly, I don't understand anything. Ayuso wanted the freedom to leave and they gave it to him, so I don't understand the statements. If he's gotten what he wants, why talk about it? Today or tomorrow, it doesn't matter. What he was fighting for was to leave," he said on TVE.

"Why add fuel to the fire when it's not necessary?"

After yesterday's stage, Ayuso categorically rejected the idea that the announcement of his departure from the team would result in him quitting La Vuelta early, too, insisting that he will ride in the service of team leader João Almeida.

While training at altitude, after finishing off his spring racing block with his first victory of the season at Eschborn-Frankfurt, the Australian showed the signs of a pulmonary embolism at a May/June altitude training camp in Italy, prompting his team, Jayco-AlUla, to announce that he would 'refrain from racing' to protect his health and well-being while the extent and cause of the issue was determined.

"I felt like I was trying to breathe underwater. I was trying to still do all my training, but I was thinking it was allergies that were holding me back," Matthews said in an interview with Sophie Smith published on AusCycling.

"Towards the end of the camp, when I had to do my really, really hard efforts, I just couldn’t get through the session. I got through one of the efforts and thought I was going to die."

Things just kept getting worse, as after stopping training on the advice of his coach, even the alternative of a walk through the surrounding town left him with an elevated heart rate, and it was at that point that Matthews went to Switzerland and was checked, with a scan of his lungs revealing blood clots.

"So yeah, it was pretty scary," said Matthews in the AusCycling article. "And then a couple of nights in a Swiss hospital by myself because everyone else was gone - that was also pretty scary, not knowing exactly what was going to happen to me, if I was going to be able to leave the hospital or if I was going to stay there, or die. I didn’t know."

Initially, Matthews was off the bike altogether, but then, by July, he slowly returned. The racing hiatus lasted from his winning effort in Germany on May 1 right through to the Bretagne Classic at the end of August, where he came eighth.

"I'm just super happy to be back and racing with the team and the boys," said Matthews in a team statement after the race. "It's been a great experience today, and it puts a big smile on my face being back in the peloton."

It may not have been the result he was after, but he said there were "good feelings for the next races."

Those next races are expected to include the North American one-day events of the Maryland Classic on September 6 and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Montréal on September 12 and 14 – with Matthews having won in Québec three times and Montréal once. Then there is the UCI Road World Championships from September 15-28, with Australia putting a high priority on defending the mixed team time trial title, which Matthews helped claim last year, and the 34-year-old will also take on the road race as part of a team that will back Jai Hindley.

Matthews has been at every Road World Championships since 2012, although in 2018, he wasn't selected in the Australian team so just took on the team time trial with his trade team, Sunweb.

"I love World Championships, I love being around all the Aussies and obviously representing Australia," Matthews told AusCycling. "But now with the whole season changing, with no Tour de France, with no Tour de Suisse, without all these races, it was definitely something that I could really pin my mind to and focus on."

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"She had hoped for a turnaround in the final weeks, but now she's decided to skip the World Championships because she's not convinced she's 100% ready. It's largely a mental issue," national coach Ludwig Willems told WielerFlits.

"She made it known this week ... As a federation, we're not going to put pressure on Lotte to participate. She's already achieved so much, and we have far too much respect for her."

Although the absence of Kopecky is a loss for the Belgians at this edition of the World Championships, the national team revealed the elite men's roster that will be led by Remco Evenepoel, who won the road race world title in 2022 in Wollongong, and who will be vying for a third consecutive time trial world title having won the rainbow bands in 2023 in Glasgow and 2024 in Zürich.

Kopecky had a standout season in 2024, where she claimed 16 victories, including Paris-Roubaix, road and time trial titles at the Belgian Championships, a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, and a second consecutive elite road race world title in Zürich.

She started her season later than usual at Milan-San Remo, partly to give her more time to recover from an injury at the end of the 2024 season and to allow her the freedom to focus on select races in 2025.

While she won the Tour of Flanders, she later struggled with an ongoing back injury that led to her abandoning the Giro d'Italia and that disrupted much of her summer stage racing season.

She initially targeted a strong GC performance at the Tour de France Femmes, but was unable to meet those expectations early on and switched to a support role for SD Worx-Protime in the nine-day race, where Lorena Wiebes won two stages and the points jersey, and Anna van der Breggen finished 11th overall.

"We're grateful for what Lotte has achieved. But we have to give her time to recharge, rest, and take stock. Then we'll see a better version of Lotte in the foreseeable future," Willems said.

The multi-discipline athlete has not competed on the road since the Tour de France Femmes, but returned to track racing in Prague, where she won the omnium, elimination, and points race during the two-day UCI event.

Willems explained that Kopecky had hoped to wait to make her decision on the World Championships participation after competing at the Tour de l'Ardeche next week, and that it was "a difficult decision" that had come sooner than anticipated.

Kopecky will compete at the Tour de l'Ardeche from September 9-14 and will then turn her attention to track racing and possibly the time trial event at the European Championships on October 1 in Étoile-sur-Rhône, a title she also won last year.

The elite women's team set to compete at the Road Worlds features Marthe Goossens, Julie Van de Velde, Margot Vanpachtenbeke, Marieke Meerts, and Justine Ghekiere.

"We'll have five riders at the start, three of whom were in the breakaway group for the win in Plouay. The medal chances are smaller than with Lotte, but we have five solid riders who can ride a great race. The news will be a huge shock within the group, because the riders don't know yet," Willems said.

Kopecky is one of several riders to opt out of the World Championships this year, with Puck Pieterse, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert among those who will not be in attendance.

Individual time trial

Junior Women: Laura Fivé

Junior Men: Thor Michielsen, Seff van Kerckhove. Reserve: Mats Vanden Eynde

U23 Women: Lore De Schepper, Fleur Moors

U23 Men: Jonathan Vervenne, Jarno Widar

Elite Women: Marthe Goossens

Elite Men: Remco Evenepoel, Ilan van Wilder, Florian Vermeersch. Reserve: Alec Segaert

Mixed Team Relay

Elite Men: Victor Campenaerts, Florian Vermeersch, Jonathan Vervenne. Reserve: Ilan van Wilder

Elite Women: Marthe Goossens, Julie van de Velde, Margot Vanpachtenbeke. Reserve: Marieke Meert

Road Race

Junior Women: Auke de Buysser, Laura Fivé, Sanne Laurijssen

Junior Men: Edouard Claisse, Thor Michielsen, Mats Vanden Eynde, Seff van Kerckhove, Tuur Verbeeck. Reserves: Leander de Gendt, Mathias de Keersmaeker, Jinze Joris

U23 Women: Lore De Schepper, Tess Moerman, Fleur Moors, Xaydée van Sinaey

U23 Men: Aaron Dockx, Kamiel Eeman, Tim Rex, Jasper Schoofs, Jarno Widar. Reserves: Milan Donie, Niels Driesen, Aldo Taillieu

Elite Women: Justine Ghekiere, Marthe Goossens, Marieke Meert, Julie van de Velde, Margot Vanpachtenbeke

Elite Men: Tiesj Benoot, Victor Campenaerts, Remco Evenepoel, Quinten Hermans, Xandro Meurisse, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Ilan van Wilder, Florian Vermeersch

Previous race leader Torsten Træen (Bahrain Victorious) did his utmost to hang onto la roja on the punishing slopes of Larra Belagua, and the Norwegian's time loss of 1:03 on Vingegaard at the finish line was hardly a massive defeat.

But when Træen dropped back halfway up the 9.4-kilometre climb as UAE Team Emirates-XRG piled on the pressure - presumably both to test Vingegaard but also to ensure Visma will now have to have the energy-sapping responsibility for the lead once more - assuming Vingegaard did not crack in his turn, the Dane's taking the red back again was all but a formality.

Already the leader on stages 2 and 3 and again on stage 5, Vingegaard now holds a 26-second advantage on Træen, whilst Joāo Almeida, his main rival, remains at 38 seconds. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) is a more distant challenger, 58 seconds down.

Vingegaard was visibly delighted to have five-time Tour de France winner and local resident Miguel Indurain on the winner's podium at Larra Belagua to help him don the red jersey. But from now on, regardless of which former cycling great is present after each Vuelta stage, the Dane wants to be up there wearing la roja just the same.

"I'm super happy being back in red, it's incredible, and to be on the podium with Miguel Indurain - I've only got good words about him," Vingegaard said. "To be there with him was a really nice experience for me.

"And I'm always happy to be in the leader's jersey, I won't complain at all. It's one of the most beautiful in cycling, and I want to keep it now all the way to Madrid."

Vingegaard said that rather than keeping an eye open for how Træen was doing when he looked back on the climb, he simply wanted to be certain of how much damage UAE and then Visma's steady, but not supersonic, pace was inflicting on the main favourites' group.

The fact that Juan Ayuso was no longer a challenger, he added, was definitely to his advantage, but he did point out that a certain Q36.5 racer, currently having the best ride ever in a GC Grand Tour, could be a major threat in the days to come.

"Just having to watch Almeida is good: for sure, it makes it easier only having to follow one guy," he explained.

"But Pidcock doesn't surprise me, either. He's a super good rider, and the way he's been racing here shows just how good he is. I think he is one of the big rivals for the GC."

While much of the focus in the GC battle was on Træen giving way to Vingegaard after three days in the lead, the ascent to Larra Belagua saw yet more barely noticed changes in favour of Vingegaard, too.

Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) stayed in fourth overall but shed 26 seconds to go to 2:03 down on the Dane, while 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) also had a minor off-day and lost 37 seconds to slide to 2:55, but retained his 11th place on GC.

Vingegaard warned, too, that stage 12's non-stop rollercoaster of minor classified climbs around Bilbao could be an even more important day for GC.

"It's a hard stage and it could be very brutal," he predicted. "It could go both ways, either it could be a break, or it could be a GC day.

"There are lots of small but steep climbs, so it's a very typical Basque stage. But in any case, my mindset here in the Vuelta is not to underestimate any stage at all."

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Before stage 10, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG racer slammed team management for allegedly breaking of an unwritten agreement not to reveal he was ending his contract through to 2028 early and leaving the squad at the end of the year. UAE management have denied his claims.

But after a stage start marked by the massive row that has eclipsed much of the interest in the Vuelta as a race, Ayuso said it had been "business as usual" during the race.

The 22-year-old provided some early mountain support for his teammate Almeida on the final climb and then rode across the line in 87th place, more than 13 minutes down, and calmly talked to reporters for several minutes before heading back to the waiting team bus.

Asked directly if he had thought of quitting the Vuelta given all the external turmoil, Ayuso said that option was never on the table.

"No, never," he said. "That's a discussion that's come through the media. The other day [on stage 9 - Ed.] I wasn't feeling well and when you don't feel well you can't really help."

Ayuso did tell Eurosport, however, that the background tension surrounding his possible exit from UAE Team Emirates-XRG had contributed to his decision not to race as an overall contender in the Vuelta, because it had made it difficult to stay focussed.

After UAE won the TTT on stage 5 Ayuso had come within eight seconds of the leader's jersey, but he then shed nearly eight minutes on top race favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) the following day at Andorra and with it any chance of an overall bid.

“It’s difficult, that's another reason why I’m not doing the GC,” Ayuso said.

“Of course, it’s all come out now, but this has been going on for two months in the background. It’s difficult, but as I said I’m just happy that all the turmoil is over."

The circumstances had made it a "strange day", he recognised, but on the plus side UAE had snapped up their fourth stage win of the race - and second with Jay Vine - and Ayuso said he was glad about that, particularly as Vine is a good friend of his.

Back in the GC group, meanwhile, Ayuso did a medium-sized turn at the bottom of the climb that brought the squad up to breakaway teammate Mikkel Bjerg.

“Without a doubt, I was going much better than I was the stage before the rest day," Ayuso recognised. "João was feeling good, he was asking me to push, and I did. I rode until we caught up to Mikkel Bjerg. We rode well as a team and I think it went pretty well for us.”

While Almeida said afterwards that he had not wanted Vine to drop back too, saying simply "It wasn't worth it", Ayuso said that he would be delighted if he could be part of a victorious Vuelta team with the Portuguese rider.

“It would be great if Almeida could win. With Tadej’s Tour" - in 2024 when Pogačar won for a third time - "I had to pull out and I couldn’t celebrate in Paris, so it would be nice to do that in Madrid."

Given Almeida had just finished a hard mountain stage, he could be forgiven for forgetting that the 2024 Tour actually finished in Nice, not Paris. But in any case, after the news had finally emerged about his leaving UAE, despite the internal and external team ructions, Ayuso said could now concentrate much harder on the Vuelta - and what was to come in 2026.

"It's been hard sometimes to enjoy the race, but we have to keep on going and I'm glad everything is starting to come to an end," he concluded.

"Now I can start focussing on the race, helping my teammates or trying to go for a win and next year will be a new chapter in my life. For sure I will enjoy it."

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Froome crashed after hitting a kerb and smashing head-first into a road sign at 48kph while training near Saint-Raphaël in the south of France and had to be airlifted to the hospital in Toulon.

In addition to the already public broken bones in his spine and ribs, his wife Michelle told The Times that Froome had sustained a rupture of the lining around his heart, the pericardium.

The Sainte-Anne Toulon hospital specialises in thoracic surgery, which Froome underwent last week to repair the injury to his heart.

"It was obviously a lot more serious than some broken bones," Michelle Froome told The Times. "He's fine, but it's going to be a long recovery process. He won't be riding a bike for a while. Chris is happy for you to share this because people need to understand what is going on."

Froome's team, Israel-Premier Tech, listed his injuries as a collapsed lung, five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture. With the potentially fatal pericardial tear, it is unlikely that he will extend his professional cycling career beyond the end of his contract on December 31, 2025.

It is the second major injury the Briton has had in his career. After winning the Tour de France four times between 2013 and 2017, the Vuelta a España twice (2011, 2017), and the 2018 Giro d'Italia, he crashed heavily while previewing the time trial course at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné.

In that incident, Froome fractured his femur, elbow, ribs, and pelvis. While he returned to competition in 2020, he was unable to regain his previous level and left his long-time team, Ineos, for Israel-Premier Tech. His best result since then has been a third place on the 2022 Tour de France stage to Alpe d'Huez, won by Tom Pidcock.

Froome's last race was the Tour de Pologne, where he finished 68th overall.

Almeida had shouted at Pidcock on Sunday, but ensured no further spat developed by walking back his comments after the second week kicked off, with Pidcock holding no grudge and admitting he'd made similar comments in the heat of racing.

"He apologised, he said sorry for his words, but I don't take anything to heart," said Pidcock to the Cycling Podcast's microphone at the finish in Larra Belagua. "It's in the heat of the moment. I've also said stuff to people before, so it's no hard feelings."

Pidcock spoke after he continued his successful GC charge at the Vuelta, and by always staying in contact with the group of favourites and looking among the three strongest with Almeida and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), said his confidence was growing.

Heading into a brutally difficult, punchy 12th stage in Bilbao, that should suit his style as an experienced Ardennes Classics rider, Pidcock still sits fourth overall and one of only three riders within a minute of Vingegaard's lead – 58 seconds down.

"No, I think today I also kind of backed up my ride from the other day, so the more I can do that, the more confidence I can have, to be honest," Pidcock told reporters.

"I feel super good. I think after a performance like I did before the rest day on Sunday, it fills me with confidence, so also today I felt good, so the more it happens, the better I'll feel."

Vingegaard also didn't shy away from admitting how he was recognising Pidcock as a genuine threat to his lead when asked about the Brit in his red jersey press conference, but the Dane was expecting no less from the multi-discipline star.

"To be honest, he doesn't surprise me," said the race leader. "Tom is a super good rider, and that he's up there just shows how good a rider he is, and no, I'm not surprised, and of course I see him as one of the big rivals now for the GC here."

It's Pidcock's second Grand Tour appearance after already racing at the Giro, but having had proper preparation for the Vuelta, he confirmed that it's made a big difference in his feelings after 10 days of racing. Whereas when he arrived in Albania for the start of the Giro, he hadn't been to altitude and had only recently completed a huge block of racing at the Ardennes Classics.

"For sure, we kind of knew the Giro was a probability, but I said I wouldn't change my plans. I'd do the same program with Classics, the Ardennes, and everything, and I didn't want to sacrifice any of that," he said.

"Obviously then, the Giro was too much; I just wasn't fresh, I wasn't ready, but here's different."

The stage in Bilbao on Wednesday presents a great chance for him to gain more time, as he continues to race on terrain which favours his abilities. That is, before his pure climbing and real abilities as a GC racer will be fully tested up the iconic Alto de l'Angliru on Friday and Lagos de Somiedo on Saturday.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

The Welshman has earned respect from cycling fans worldwide during the course of his 19 years as a professional racer, not just for his results, but for his honest riding and sheer grit.

Olympic titles, numerous stage races, a Commonwealth Games road race title and victory at the biggest race on the planet, the Tour de France in 2018, have ensured that Thomas will long be remembered as one of the sport's greats and one of Wales' biggest sports stars.

To celebrate such a successful career, Ineos Grenadiers' bike sponsor Pinarello has created a custom Dogma F bike for Thomas to celebrate the final race.

The custom bike features a white, gold, green, and red colour scheme, and a few custom nods to some of Thomas' biggest wins over the years.

There's just one final race left to ride for Thomas, himself one of the very last of a golden generation of British cyclists; his place amongst cycling's greats, however, is well assured.

On Monday evening, the team sent a press release confirming that Ayuso, 22, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG had reached an agreement to end his contract through to 2028 early, and he would be leaving at the end of the year.

However, speaking at the start of stage 10 of the Vuelta on Tuesday, Ayuso then accused the team management of reneging on an unwritten agreement that the news of his exit would only be made official after the Vuelta ends on September 14.

Talking to reporters assembled outside the UAE team bus, Ayuso said that he had only received half an hour's warning that his departure would be made public, via 'friendly media.'

"We'd made an agreement that it would come out after the Vuelta was over," Ayuso said, "so it wouldn't affect things in the team at all on a sporting level during the race and not to affect any of the riders.

"The fact that it's come out during the rest day is something that you'll have to ask them [management] about, why they did it so suddenly and without any advance warning.

"I think that it's clear why they've done it, to try and harm my image again."

Speaking separately at the start, when asked about Ayuso in general, UAE Team Emirates-XRG manager Joxean Fernández Matxin defended the team's decision to publish the press release, telling the media that "you people were asking the same question [about Ayuso's exit] every day, and every day it came round again, and you are the example. So instead of hiding it all or not saying anything, better to say it and be transparent about it. Nothing more than that."

Matxin pointed out that Ayuso had a contract until the end of the year, and did his best to play down the massive media storm.

"These are circumstances and things that happen in life. You know how much I appreciate Juan but it was organised, talked over and agreed together.

"He's our rider until December, and we'll try and work things out and do things the best we can. I can't do anything but wish him all the best because he's a great rider."

The massive drama follows hard on the heels of the controversy that emerged at the end of stage 9 when Ayuso's teammate João Almeida said he had been isolated during the finale, where he lost time to arch-favourite Jonas Vingegaard when the Visma-Leasa a Bike rider launched a surprise attack.

Ayuso, already dropped when Vingegaard attacked and therefore unable to assist Almeida, also accused the team of "taking advantage of the statement made by Almeida, something for which he's apologized, he agreed with me about what actually happened.

"I wasn't going well that day, and he's understood that. But when lack of respect is shown one time and another by the team. It's very difficult to maintain that union and for things to be completely integrated."

Ayuso said he would continue to race the Vuelta despite the ongoing row.

"But more out of respect for my teammates and because things have been so good with them during all these years, I want to finish this Vuelta a España as best I can, and I'm very happy that you [the media] now know what's going on.

"Next year will be a new start with a new squad, and I'm happy [about that]," he said.

Matxin insisted for his part that, "The atmosphere in the team is good. But this [Almeida's exit] is news, and you have to produce a communiqué at some point, and you have to face up to that.

"But the team is still exactly the same and we're going to continue racing in exactly the same way."

A rider at UAE since 2021, Ayuso started the race as co-GC leader with Almeida. However, he then lost time and all hope of a good overall performance on the stage to Andorra, before bouncing back in spectacular style with a lone win at Cerler.

UAE is now dependent wholly on Almeida, currently 37 seconds down on arch-favourite Vingegaard, for their options in the overall battle for the Vuelta. But the current situation with Ayuso is overshadowing both Almeida's performance and, up to a point, the entire race.

In the two remaining weeks of the Vuelta, Ayuso said, "the relationship with Almeida, and my teammates is good, and he deserves all the support from me that he can get, and the same goes for my six other teammates."

"I'd have liked for things to have ended well with the team, and during all the negotiations before the Vuelta, that's what we tried to do.

"But at times, you can't do that when it's more like a dictatorship and an exercise of power over me.

"I don't understand why they did it like that, and in the half hour I had before the communiqué was published, I said I didn't agree with it, and they said that the first draft of the communiqué they'd done was even worse, and I'd just have to be happy with that."

Matxin meanwhile simply said that they were trying to look ahead at the race, and specifically the stage finish at the Cat.1 summit fin Larra-Belagua. "It could be a day for the break or for the overall or both, but first of all, we need to see what happens with the break, and Visma will decide that."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

To paraphrase, the spokesman explained that the F Series is "not just a Tarmac Expert," elaborating with an explanation that the competitor bike uses the same mould as the top-end S-Works model, but with lower-grade carbon fibre. Instead, the F-Series is "designed with its intended customer in mind."

This means altered geometry compared to the flagship Dogma F, and three different carbon fibre layups that allow the ride quality to adjust from a more forgiving ride at the lower end of the price spectrum, toward a stiffer, snappier feel at the top.

It might not be the Dogma, but it's still designed with racing in mind, Pinarello says, describing it as a "true race machine," and saying it is the "best in class weight to performance ratio at the right market price."

It's only two years since Pinarello last updated the F-Series range, so unsurprisingly, the updates are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and they primarily trickle down from last year's Dogma F launch.

The biggest updates come in the form of a new E-TICR headset, a new fork with a slightly longer rake, a stiffer rear triangle, 32mm tyre clearance up from 30mm before, and the 'Aero Keel' bottom bracket design.

In our review of the 2023 Pinarello F7, one of our biggest complaints was that it needed better wheels and tyres, and it appears the brand has paid attention. The wheels have been upgraded to the Most Ultra Fast 45, and in a Pinarello first, the brand has also launched its own tyres.

Details on those tyres are pretty scarce. We know they were produced by nearby Vittoria, but it appears they're their own thing rather than a rebadged version of one of Vittoria's existing products.

While not the sexiest of updates, the E-TICR headset is a relatively significant change. It allows the bike to become more aerodynamic. Put simply, it uses an elliptical steerer tube and places the cables in front to essentially make the internals as narrow as possible. In turn, this means the head tube is around 8mm narrower than before, and when paired with the forward-protruding nose cone and the additional rearward depth, it adds to the bike's aerodynamic performance.

Aerodynamics continues as a priority through the down tube too, being narrower also, as well as in the fork, which features slimmer legs and, of course, a slimmer crown to marry nicely with the new head tube above.

Another change to the fork comes in the geometry, in that the rake has been increased from 43mm to 47mm. In theory, this should make the bike marginally more stable at speed.

Above this, the F7 and F9 models get the same Most Talon Fast cockpit as found on the Dogma F, while the lower-spec models get a more traditional two-piece bar and stem.

At the back, the seatpost is also the same as the Dogma F, and is topped using a Most 3D-printed titanium saddle clamp. And beneath this, the 'Aero Keel' bottom bracket shell, revealed on the Dogma F, is brought in.

As a reminder, this is essentially Pinarello speak for a slightly rotated down tube, extended near the bottom bracket, which in turn creates a keel shape, as found on boats.

The extra room this creates not only adds to the aerodynamic clout and the stiffness of the bottom bracket, but also creates a handy space for a Di2 battery, which is useful given the narrower seat tube can no longer accommodate one.

Overall, Pinarello says an F9 frame is 100g heavier than a Dogma F, and that a Dura-Ace-equipped F9 is approximately 7.4kg, around 200g lighter than before.

Interestingly, the F9, F7, F5 and F3 are all electronic wireless groupset compatible only, whereas the F1, being equipped with a mechanical groupset, is actually just the old F-Series frame.

Range and pricing

Speaking of the range, let's get into the specs and the prices.

Pinarello's custom 'MyWay' paint program is not available for any F-Series model, so the colours outlined below are the only available options at the time of writing.

The top-tier F9 model, which uses T900 carbon, is available in the Formula Green Matt colour only and is equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, Most Ultra Fast 45 wheels, and the Most Talon Fast cockpit. Pinarello claims a weight of 7.4kg and has priced it at €11,000. No SRAM Red build is available at launch.

The F7 is available in a choice of four colours across either SRAM Force AXS or Shimano Ultegra Di2. Both come with Most Ultra Fast 45 wheels, the Talon Fast cockpit, and are priced at €7,900.

The F5, which uses T700 carbon, is available in one colour again, which is Etna Black Matt and in Shimano 105 Di2 only. This gets a two-piece bar and stem, but retains the Most Ultra Fast 45 wheels at a price of €5,500.

The F3, with the same T700 carbon and 105 Di2 groupset, steps down to DT Swiss P 1800 Spline wheels for a €1000 saving, bringing the price down to €4500. It's available in two colour options.

And the entry-level model, which is the same frame as the outgoing F Series, uses T600 carbon and a mechanical Shimano 105 groupset. This comes with Shimano WH-RS171 wheels, the same Most tyres as all others above, and two colour options. It is priced at €3,400.

All models are available in stores and online as of today.

The 2025 Tour of Britain starts in East Suffolk on Tuesday September 2 and finishes on Sunday September 7 in Cardiff, where huge crowds are expected to celebrate Geraint Thomas' final pedal strokes as a professional rider.

In between, we have a typically undulating British course that takes in a punchy finish at Burton Dassett on stage 4 and a longer summit finish on the Tumble in Wales on stage 5.

Wondering where and how you can tune in? We have you covered right here in this guide, which explains Tour of Britain viewing options across the world, as well as how you can watch for free, and how you can get your usual coverage from anywhere with a VPN.

Can I watch the Tour of Britain for free?

You can watch the Tour of Britain for free in the host country of the UK, where public broadcaster ITV holds rights, and where the race itself is hosting a live stream on YouTube.

► ITV: You can watch the action on ITV4 on terrestrial television, or ITVX if you're streaming online.

► YouTube: Head to the Tour of Britain YouTube channel and hit play.

Coverage is geo-restricted in both cases to the United Kingdom.

Watch the Tour of Britain from anywhere

Away from home during the Tour of Britain? A VPN will ensure you don't miss a moment.

Virtual Private Networks are internet security software that effectively alter your device's location, meaning you can bypass the geo-restrictions you get on most streaming platforms and enjoy your usual coverage no matter where you are. VPNs are great for staying safe online, especially when using unfamiliar WiFi or data connections, and they can also offer better playback speeds.

NordVPN is the best VPN provider out there, according to our office-mates at TechRadar, who love its compatibility, top-notch security, and seamless streaming unblocking.

Where to watch the Tour of Britain in the UK

Fans in the UK face a choice for watching the Tour of Britain: ITV or TNT Sports / Discovery+.

► What's happening to cycling on TV in the UK? Explaining the Eurosport closure, TNT Sports, pricing, and how to watch

Where to watch the Tour of Britain in the US

Fans in the USA can watch the Tour of Britain Men on the streaming service, HBO Max.

All stages are streaming live and plans start from $16.99 for the packages that get you live cycling.

Can I watch the Tour of Britain in Canada?

There is no coverage of the Tour of Britain in Canada. Cycling streaming service FloBikes has almost the entire calendar locked down in Canada, but the Tour of Britain is a rare absentee.

Can I watch the Tour of Britain in Australia?

As with Canada, there is no broadcaster in Australia for the 2025 Tour of Britain.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Ayuso's bombshell exit from the squad was announced late on Monday evening, with Lidl-Trek widely tipped as a possible destination for the 22-year-old Spanish star.

The team's GC leader João Almeida, currently running third overall, complained after stage 9 that during the finale when arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard and top Vuelta favourite attacked he had been lacking in sufficient teammates' support to help him chase down the Visma-Lease a Bike rider.

Almeida finally ceded 24 seconds to Vingegaard, while Ayuso, who had won a tough mountain stage to Cerler 48 hours earlier, was amongst those who dropped back, saying he had been tired. Late on the rest day, it was then announced by UAE that he would be leaving the team at the end of the year because of "differences in vision".

Speaking to AS a few hours before the team confirmed Ayuso's exit at the end of 2025, Matxin told the Spanish newspaper that the 22-year-old's role in the rest of the race would be to support Almeida "as much as possible."

"That's his role, and every rider's role. When Juan's job is to be in the break, we'll make sure he's there, and when it's his turn to work for the team, he'll do that, just as they have done for him," Matxin said. "That's beyond any doubt, for him and for everybody."

Matxin recognised that the team had not been correctly positioned at the foot of the final Valdezcaray climb on stage 9, something which made it much harder for UAE to react when Vingegaard attacked. Almeida received some brief support from teammate Jay Vine, but then had only Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) for company in his pursuit of Vingegaard for the bulk of the ascent.

"Bahrain are the actual leaders, but Visma are in the best position," Matxin recognised to AS. "In Valdezcaray they played it aggressively and they surprised us. We didn't expect Vingegaard to do what he did. We should have been more attentive.

"We normally race well and are more active, but I don't want to blame anybody in the team. They simply surprised us, and they did it well, and we have to recognise that."

Regarding Almeida's comments at the finish that he had been isolated, Matxin said: "If the entire team had been together, as Visma were, we could have reacted. I have no doubt that Jay Vine did a good job, he worked there, and possibly a rider like Ayuso, like [Marc] Soler, like [Felix] Großschartner would have been useful.

"Maybe they thought that the climb was already under control and we would have needed any of them to give Almeida a hand. What Almeida said was not a criticism, it was the reality and you shouldn't take it in a critical way.

"Sometimes we're ahead, covering the race, and this time when it broke apart, we weren't up there. That's the reality."

Almeida now goes into the second week with a 37-second gap on Vingegaard, with the first of three second-week mountain top finishes, to Larra Belagua, on Tuesday's stage 10, a time gap Matxin said is not impossible to bridge, particularly with two thirds of the race and 80% of the toughest terrain yet to come. Stages 13 and 14, to the Angliru and Farrapona, will be critical, he predicted, and in the team, Almeida is expected to get better as the race goes on.

"Almeida is a rider who builds up gradually and who goes from less to more," Matxin said. "We'll hope he goes on doing that. Jonas will have to keep more of an eye on the riders behind him that he usually does – I have no doubt about that."

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Vuelta a España coverage. Our team of journalists are on the ground from the Italian Gran Partida through to Madrid, bringing you breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage of the Grand Tour as it happens. Find out more.

"We've seen a lot of progress in the women's side of the sport. If you compare the data from our early surveys to now, it's really positive the growth that we've seen," said The Cyclists' Alliance president Grace Brown.

"It's really exciting but at the same time, we have to be really wary of the fact that the top level is seeing all this progress, and the Continental level at the bottom is actually really struggling at the moment."

All up the report said that across the tiers, 58% of riders received an income of more than €20,000, the top group of those being the 11% who earned more than €100,000.

While 6% of riders didn't disclose their salary, more than a third of the riders, 36%, who took the survey said they earned less than €20,000. The vast majority of those riders were, of course, from Continental teams given that minimum salaries are in place for the 363 Pro and Women's WorldTour riders, starting at €16,720 for a new ProTeam professionals and €20,000 for others. In a Women's WorldTour team that bar is set at €31,768 and €38,000.

The survey of 202 female professional cyclists from across 43 cycling teams, found that 80% of those outside the two top tiers earned less than €20,000, compared with 64% respondents in 2024. That widening gap has only brought home the increasing divide which also comes at a time when the number of Continental teams, and therefore opportunity, is also plunging.

"This year’s survey results show that the sport is at a critical point," said the report. "There are many signs of progress and professionalisation at the top, but the talent pathway below continues to face challenges and the gaps are widening.

"The poor working conditions and financial instability facing riders at the beginning of their career forces many out of the sport. We risk losing talent before it can come through the pipeline and contribute to the growth of the sport."

Among the riders outside those top two tiers, where the vast majority had an income of under €20,000, 17% of riders received no salary at all while 19% of riders worked a second job alongside racing and 29% were studying.

"While salaries appear to be stabilising overall, riders not covered by mandatory minimums are seeing contract value stagnating or even declining," said the report.

It's probably no surprise then that Continental riders prioritised establishing minimum salaries, followed by expense coverage, as top advocacy issues and cited financial considerations as the number one reason to leave the sport early, with financial instability also the reason why 50% of newer professionals would consider quitting.

Consistent and accessible broadcasts are also high on the agenda, but safety is the biggest overall advocacy concern, and is also the number one reason that those in the Women's WorldTour cite for leaving the sport early.

"Unfortunately, in road cycling, danger will always be a part of the equation. Rider safety can never be guaranteed, but it can be prioritised. The reality is, neglecting road safety is not just gambling with the riders’ careers, it’s gambling with their lives," said a quote from Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) which was included in the report.

"If we want longevity in the sport, road safety needs to be a non-negotiable priority at every race. It’s extremely hard to continue to show up and commit to racing when riders can’t trust race organisers to do everything possible to protect them."

The survey, conducted by the independent group formed to represent professional cyclists from the women's peloton, also found that when it came to the question of safe and fair working conditions the most often mentioned concerns were neglected wellbeing at 14%, unfair selection practices at 12% while 7% of respondents cited pressure to race against medical advice and abuse of authority.

You can find the full results from The Cyclists' Alliance survey here.

Mapei, which began in Italy and grew its reach internationally, has been involved as a main sponsor of the early season one-day race right from the beginning in 2015 but from 2026 the event will be known as the Mapei Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

The extension of the partnership with the former rider that started in Europe – carrying beyond Evans association with the Mapei-QuickStep team and through his career as he trained at the Mapei Sport Research Centre in Italy under Professor Aldo Sassi – is now locked in for another three years as the international brand steps up to the title sponsorship role.

Evans did introduce the announcement by joking that he didn't know whether he should be really happy that Mapei had taken first billing on the title or really disappointed that his name got bumped, was quick to make clear it was the first option he was running with

“I am both honoured and proud that a company like Mapei have decided to increase their already unwavering support for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race," said Evans, "The Mapei brand is a prestigious one in world cycling from their super team to sponsoring the UCI Road World Championships and now, naming rights sponsor of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. With Mapei by our side we look forward to the future of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race with excitement at what we can achieve”.

The Mapei name will be attached to both the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race men's and women's competitions, which in 2026 will run on January 31 and February 1, while the attached mid-week Surf Coast Classic races will take place on January 28 and 29.

The event, which drew 120,000 visitors to the region in 2025, has also been supported by the Victorian Government's major event fund since it began but there is no doubt that in a climate where sponsorship in cycling is hard to come by that the additional sponsor buy-in is welcome, particularly from a partner who has shown a willingness to endure.

"They've been with us as supportive right from the start," Evans told Cyclingnews. "They bring a huge clientele of guests here as part of their corporate hospitality and to have them come forward as a naming sponsor, I think it's what every event wants to go to as obviously running an event costs money and that's just the reality of the world that we live in."

The announcement also comes as the race steps up as a mandatory part of the WorldTour calendar from 2026, meaning the number of top tier teams in attendance will grow. It's a move that Evans hopes will even further elevate the event which has been part of the men's WorldTour from 2017 and Women's WorldTour from 2020.

"That for me is really important – that we increase the quality of the field, the quality of the riders we have, and therefore the quality of the racing," said Evans when asked what his hopes for the race in the seasons ahead were. "Beyond that to continue to be a big part of not just the Australian cycling calendar, but the Australian sporting calendar, promoting our sport for years to come."

He will complete the season with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with whom he is currently racing the Vuelta a España.

The Spaniard's destination is not yet confirmed, with several teams interested in his signature.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG announced Ayuso's departure late on Monday, the Vuelta's rest day, after the two parties mutually agreed to end his contract early.

The Spanish rider was originally set to be under contract until 2028, having extended back in August 2022, but felt this was the right time to leave and look to continue his development elsewhere.

Ayuso is currently racing at the Vuelta a España, but after speculation surrounding his future and a potential move resurfaced, with Lidl-Trek rumoured as a potential landing spot, UAE have confirmed that he will be leaving.

UAE's announcement said the decision came "following differences in the vision of development plans and in the alignment with the team’s sporting philosophy".

"I would like to thank the team for the support and opportunities they have given me over these years," said Ayuso in the press release.

"I have had the chance to grow and to compete alongside the very best, and I know that what I have learned will always remain part of my professional background.
I now feel it is time for me to take a different path, with the same enthusiasm and I wish UAE Team Emirates – XRG success for the future."

Ayuso has raced the entirety of his WorldTour career on UAE, having joined as a teenager midway through the 2021 season from Italian Continental team Colpack.

"Juan has been a valuable talent and we are grateful for what we have built together," said team CEO Mauro Gianetti.

"At the same time, our sporting project has always been focused on continuity, group harmony, and building a winning team. We believe that, in the best interests of both parties, this decision is the most consistent with the values that define our organization.

"UAE Team Emirates – XRG will continue on its path of growth and development, confident that the team’s identity and strength remain our foundation. We wish Juan every success in the future."

Ayuso originally emerged as one of the next super talents on UAE, having finished third and fourth at his home Grand Tour, the Vuelta, on his debut and second appearance. But he's seemingly fallen down the pecking order as a GC leader, with Tadej Pogačar being the team's main focus and João Almeida and Isaac del Toro thriving as the secondary and tertiary options in 2025.

The Spanish rider has faced criticism internally and externally during his time at UAE, including as recently as yesterday, when Almeida complained about his lack of support up the final climb on stage 9 of the Vuelta – where he ceded time to Jonas Vingegaard while the likes of Ayuso offered no help.

Ayuso, despite winning a mountain stage two days prior from the breakaway, lost 21 minutes on GC and rolled up to the ski station in Valdezcaray, as his team leader battled away solo before making his subtle jab. He cited being "quite tired" as the reason he "couldn't help the team much". when he spoke at the finish.

At still only 22, Ayuso has lots of room to develop and find his way as a leader on a new team, but he will need a big reset in 2026 after ending his contract early and failing to make the planned long-term partnership with UAE work out.

His resilience has been paramount on the road to wearing the red jersey at the ongoing Vuelta, best shown in how he rode the entirety of his first Grand Tour with a broken elbow, just a year after doctors discovered he had testicular cancer, and he was cleared to ride again after recovering from surgery.

Træen opened up about how mentally tough his various issues have been in recent years, speaking to the media on the race's first rest day, with the concussion driving him to extreme thoughts and leaving him contemplating what lay ahead in his future.

His mentality is remarkable to say the least, but even as resilient as someone like cancer survivor Træen is, the time alone and internal struggle of not knowing when or whether you will recover presented by a brain injury led the Norwegian to a dark place.

"When I found out it was cancer, it was obviously hard, but it was mentally hard – not like physically hard," Træen told Cyclingnews, as he fielded questions from the team hotel in Calahorra. "You can't really do anything, I learned about it, you just have to basically just go with the flow.

"When I broke my elbow [in January 2024], it was also five weeks of the bike, and I still had a bit of the same feeling like when I had cancer – you didn't really know when it was going to get good, but hopefully it will, and everything will be fine.

"Then, when I had a concussion, I was so mentally broken, because I didn't feel like it would go well. I talked to the doctor and he said, 'Normally it should be two weeks', and then after two weeks, I was lying and watching the ceiling.

"I basically called him and said, 'I'm ready to jump off the balcony… but it's not high enough, so it won't make any difference'."

Træen's comments were serious, of course, though said with a deadpan tone on the severity of the subject, with several other riders talking of similarly serious struggles with concussion in recent seasons, such as Quinn Simmons and Taco van der Hoorn. Knowing that things had gone too far, Træen sought help in his home country and went to see specialists to find out exactly what was going on, which ended up in him finally getting back on track and racing at Eschborn-Frankfurt on May 5.

"I was really unsure if I ever would feel good again. Then I was quite lucky, I went to the Olympic centre in Norway, and then they sent me to an ear specialist. When everything was sorted, I figured out it was not only a concussion, and then everything again felt pretty normal."

Leading the Vuelta into the second week

When what Træen has endured in just the past three years is laid out as simply as that, it's no surprise that he's been able to defend the maillot rojo after earning a stint in it on stage 6, having finished second out of the breakaway and overtaken Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

This is the first time in his career he's led any stage race, let alone a Grand Tour, and he's relishing the days he's had in red, knowing that Vingegaard will likely retake red in the coming days. He could lose it on Tuesday, with another uphill finale to El Ferial Larra Belagua, but isn't stressed by any means.

"I'm just looking a bit day by day, and then we just have to see, you know, like I was not expecting Jonas to go that early yesterday, for example," admitted Træen. "So if he does this tomorrow, also, I don't think 37 seconds is enough to keep up with him.

"It's the first time I'm leading a stage race, so it's pretty fun just running around and enjoying red. The pressure and attention are OK to be honest, because you know that you will not have it for 21 days, then you can enjoy it a bit more than maybe Jonas does, for example."

This Vuelta is far and away Træen's best Grand Tour performance of the four he's started, with his first at the Tour de France in 2023 becoming 21 days of struggle due to fracturing his elbow on the first stage, his second at the Giro d'Italia ending in a DNF after four days and his most recent, at last year's Vuelta, seeing a best stage placing of 34th across the three weeks.

He knew his form was strong, having bounced back after his concussion recovery, but this first week in Italy and Spain has all been a bonus. It's fair to say the Norwegian is just going to take it as it comes, though a top 10 on GC does certainly look doable now.

"Already after the Dauphiné, I was in pretty good shape, and then I went to altitude again and I realised my shape was coming along really well," he added. "So it's going where I knew it was going, which is, in general, pretty great now.

"I didn't really think about being in red after the first week of Vuelta. It was obviously not an easy season this year with the concussion and so, obviously, I put quite a lot of work into getting back fit again. Also, maybe I'm a bit mentally fresher still at this point in the season, because I didn't do much racing for the start."

That being said, and despite all of Træen's early success and great signs of top shape in the opening nine stages, he is still without a contract for the moment, confirming that it will be something for his agent to mostly figure out, while he concentrates on the Vuelta.

"To be honest, I'm not really focusing on the contract yet," said Træen. "I think my agent will handle everything. We haven't signed anything yet, but yeah, it will probably happen at one point, and until then, I'll just focus on riding my bike."

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The Slovenian selection has not been officially revealed, but Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Monday that their sources indicate that Roglič will be part of it, with Pogačar's intention to race the Worlds already well known.

Roglič rode both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this year, but hasn't raced since the Clásica San Sebastián at the start of August, and it was not previously clear how he was going to round out his 2025 season, understandably skipping the Vuelta a España despite winning four editions of the Spanish race.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, Roglič will not race the time trial in Rwanda, opting just for the road race. With Pogačar the defending champion and hoping to take a second title – especially in the absence of Jonas Vingegaard – Slovenia will likely be assembling their strongest riders in pursuit of that goal.

HLN also report that Roglič will not be doing any warm-up races in the lead-up to the Worlds, opting to skip the GP Québec and Montréal in Canada, where Pogačar will return to racing.

Many big names have chosen to skip the Worlds in Rwanda, with Vingegaard joining Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in the list of riders who would usually be contenders in a Worlds road race but aren't going to be on the start line in Kigali in four weeks' time.

However, with Roglič, the start list has added another Grand Tour champion, with him, Pogačar, and Remco Evenepoel some of the biggest names set to compete in the road race.

The rest of the Slovenian lineup is yet to be confirmed. As the second-ranked nation on the UCI rankings at the end of the qualification period, Slovenia can field the maximum of eight riders in their team.

Other riders likely to be selected alongside Pogačar and Roglič include Matej Mohorič, Jan Tratnik, Luka Mezgec, Domen Novak and Gal Glivar.

They may also enter two riders into the elite time trial. The women's road race team is likely to be spearheaded by Urška Žigart, with full team announcements expected to be made in the coming weeks ahead of the Championships.