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Ben Oliver secures Modern Adventure's first GC win
29-year-old New Zealander Ben Oliver powered to his second stage win of the week at the Tour de Wallonie on Friday, and with it, he secured the overall victory in the UCI 2.Pro-rated event. That marks a first ever general classification victory for his team, Modern Adventure, in its inaugural season.
Oliver took the lead after winning stage 2 and held on through to the end of the race, winning the fifth and final stage to seal the overall title ahead of NSN's Riley Sheehan and Lotto-Intermarché's Arnaud De Lie.
"We were put in a new position by winning stage two and taking the overall lead, and the guys all stepped up," said team co-founder George Hincapie in a press release. "In fact, not only did they step up, but they took control. Today they rode with confidence, they sat back all day, biding their time for the finish and in the end it paid off."
'Bruises and wounds all over' for Van der Breggen and Guarischi after Giro crash
SD Worx-Protime has released an injury status update on Giro d'Italia overall leader Anna van der Breggen and her teammate Barbara Guarischi after both riders hit the deck in a crash on Friday's stage 7.
"It turned out that Van der Breggen and Guarischi sustained multiple hematomas, bruises and wounds all over their bodies," read a statement from the team. "However, they show no symptoms of a concussion, but it will be a matter of waiting to see how they get through the night for the remainder of the Giro."
Van der Breggen said she she expects to be "feeling very stiff" for the start of Saturday's stage 8, but that she hopes to feel better after a night of rest as she looks to defend her GC lead on the Colle de Finestre.
Andy Bishop has passed away
Longtime former road and mountain bike pro rider Andy Bishop passed away this week after a battle with stomach cancer. Bishop was among the "second wave" of modern American pros to race in Europe, following early pioneers like Jock Boyer and Greg LeMond. A promising amateur racer, he debuted as a pro in 1988 with the powerhouse PDM team and went on to race for 7-Eleven and Motorola before switching to mountain bikes in the 1990s.
Bishop raced four Tours de France and numerous Monuments, won the 1995 Herald Sun Tour, then a two-week stage race, and competed at the World Mountain Bike Championships. He raced for the influential Gary Fisher off-road team alongside luminaries like 1996 Olympic gold medalist Paola Pezzo and Ryder Hesjedal, who would go on to win the Giro d'Italia.
After his racing career, Bishop settled in Vermont and became a highly respected teacher and coach. Among the athletes he mentored is two-time Olympic mountain biker Lea Davison. Bishop passed away June 2 at home in New Hampshire at the age of 61, surrounded by family. Escape Collective extends its sympathies and condolences to Bishop's family and friends.
Almeida still not fully fit, will not race Tour de France
João Almeida and UAE Team Emirates-XRG left room for the Portuguese all-rounder to line up at the Tour de France after he withdrew his name from the Giro d'Italia earlier this season, but the 27-year-old is still not feeling quite himself. Though he will make a long-awaited re-appearance at the Dauphiné this coming week, the Tour is not on the cards at this stage.
"To ride the Tour, you have to be in your very best shape. Otherwise you don't have much to hope for," Almeida told Portuguese sports newspaper O Jogo, though he did leave a crack in the door in case there are "problems in the UAE Tour team".
He went on to describe his return to training after a reported viral infection kept him from his season's main objective in Italy. "Finally I feel a little recovered and I notice that the training is also going better. What I had, I don't know exactly. In the tests I did, different values did emerge, but we never really understood what exactly was going on."
After the Dauphiné, Almeida is expected to race the Clásica San Sebastián and Vuelta a Burgos, both early August, before he heads to his fifth Vuelta later the same month where he will target the red jersey.
"Yes, that's what people are used to by now," Almeida said in response to the question as to his intentions in Spain. "The competition will be fierce, but for me a top-3 or top-5 place is no longer satisfying. After the Vuelta, of course, I also ride the World Championships."
Matthews returns to racing at the Dauphiné three months after disastrous training crash
Michael Matthews is set to return to the peloton this weekend at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, a.k.a. the Dauphiné, a little over four months after his last race and three months since a disastrous crash in training left him with a laundry list of injuries.
Matthews started his season in Mallorca, taking victory on his second race day at the GP Castellón, and third with his Jayco-AlUla teammates at the Trofeo Ses Salinas TTT, but his spring was then interrupted in early march by a crash that left him seriously injured: two broken arms, including an open fracture in his left, a fracture and severed tendons in his right thumb, and a sinus fracture in his face. He required multiple surgeries to fix both arms, and his rehabilitation was expected to be long and challenging.
But three months later, Matthews is ready to return to the bunch, with plans still in place to race his ninth Tour de France this summer.
Unno formally enters North American market
Mountain bike brand Unno announced today that it is formally making its bikes available in North America. The boutique Spanish brand has long been a darling of the sport for its innovative designs and engineering. But outside of a few sporadic dealer arrangements over the years, it's never had a presence in North America.
What form that takes, exactly, isn't quite clear but appears to involve a formal US office with dealer and warranty support. The press release was heavy on vibes and light on specifics, with Unno only saying it's "officially strengthening its presence in the US market." The brand warned not to expect a big rollout, saying if you expect "hundreds of dealers or warehouses full of bikes, you're looking at the wrong brand."
Cary Tatro will head the new office. The first bike available will be the 110 mm travel Horn, in limited numbers. Timing, models and pricing were not immediately available.
Orbea releases its 2027 Oiz XC bike
It’s seemingly a year of new 29er cross-country mountain bikes, and this week, it’s Orbea’s turn. With the model name now celebrating its 21st birthday, the new Oiz is said to offer a focused approach to improving stiffness without weight gain.
Most obvious is the rear shock that’s now tucked into the top tube, not unlike what Specialized did with its Epic World Cup, and more recently, the Epic 9. However, details such as a forged rocker link and stiffening bridge at the seatstays show the focus on stiffness.
Like many bikes in the category, the new Oiz is a touch steeper in the seat tube and slacker in the head angle (now 66.8º). Going against current trends, Orbea has shortened the chainstay length to 430 mm.
Welcomed changes include a move back to a post-mount caliper in the back, an English threaded bottom bracket, and a dropper post with adjustable travel. However, the bike does feature cable routing through the headset, plus a one-piece bar and stem,
Orbea will offer two tiers of carbon frame (OMX and OMR), with the lightest claimed to tip the scales at just 1,700 grams including shock (medium size). The Oiz features 120/120 mm travel front and rear, while customers can also opt for a longer 130mm fork up front. Senior tech editor Dave Rome is expecting to receive the new Oiz OMX for review soon.
Revel overhauls the Ranger
A year on from the return of Revel Bikes under its original owner, the Colorado-based company has overhauled its short-travel trail bike – the Ranger. Compared to the previous Ranger V2, this third-generation version sees a boost to 130 mm travel in the front, and 120 mm in the rear. Meanwhile, the tyre clearance has been bumped up to 29 x 2.6”.
The geometry now offers a slacker head angle (65.7°), steeper seat tube angle, lower bottom bracket, and size-specific chainstay lengths. Revel claims the frame is approximately 200 grams lighter than its predecessor, which should place it around 2,200 grams without shock.
That puts the Ranger outside the realm of pure cross-country race bikes, but so does its focus on the suspension. Here, Revel uses a newly optimised version of its “CBF” short-dual-link design, a system that’s not wholly unlike the DW Link or Santa Cruz’s VPP. The bike offers space for two bottles within the main triangle and has guided internal cable routing.
Complete bikes start from US$5,600, while framesets are available at US$3,700. More at Revel Bikes.
Mountain bike pioneer and innovator, Charlie Cunningham, passes
Charlie Cunningham, an early pioneer of mountain biking, has passed away at the age of 78. Cunningham was instrumental in the early growth of mountain biking and brought countless innovations to the cycling industry.
According to an Instagram post by Scot Nicol, founder of Ibis Cycles, Cunningham was the pioneer of oversized aluminium frame construction, wide-flange hubs, wider dropout spacing, roller-cam brakes, and was seen riding 1x drivetrains back in the 1980s. He co-founded Wilderness Trail Bikes (WTB) with Mark Slate and Steve Potts.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
Lael Wilcox will try to break the overall Around the World record
In 2024, ultracyclist Lael Wilcox set a new Around the World record time for women, riding more than 18,000 miles across North America, Europe and Australia in 108 days. That would probably be enough for most people, but last year Wilcox revealed she was interested in targeting the absolute record, set by Mark Beaumont in 2017. That's more than a wish.
Wilcox announced today she will set out June 17, again from Chicago, Illinois with a goal to finish her ride before August 24. For those doing the math, that's 78 days, a full 30 days faster than her 2024 time. One difference: for the first time, she'll do an ultra-distance ride with full support, which should help speed things up.
But 78 days is still a major step up, and Wilcox will ride a different route. After the start in Chicago, she'll ride east to Halifax, Nova Scotia. After transferring to Lisbon, Portugal she'll push on to Istanbul and across central Asia via Kazakhstan and then southeast to Thailand before another transfer from Singapore takes her to Perth, Australia. She'll continue her eastern progress to Sydney and across to New Zealand before a final transfer to Anchorage, Alaska and the last leg home. To beat Beaumont's record, her goal requires an average pace of 240 miles per day, with an expected 16 hours a day average of saddle time.
Catalan independence groups plan protests for Tour start in Barcelona
The Catalan National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural, two groups that work to promote the cause of Catalan independence from Spain, have released a joint statement announcing their intention to hold pro-independence demonstrations as the Tour de France visits the Catalonia region for the Barcelona Grand Départ of this year's Tour de France.
The planned demonstrations would come less than a year after pro-Palestinian protestors caused significant disruptions at the 2025 Vuelta a España, where multiple stages were either altered or canceled due to the presence of protestors on the course. That said, the joint statement released on Wednesday says that the groups want to "ensure a strong presence of pro-independence symbols during the Catalan stages" and not necessarily that they intend to disrupt the race.
According to that statement, "the objective is to mobilize hundreds of volunteers and activists along the route to fill the roads with Catalan independence Estelada flags, banners, and messages supporting Catalonia’s independence in front of millions of viewers around the world."
Kaden Groves is reportedly heading to Tudor in 2027
According to a L'Equipe report last week and further reporting from Wielerflits on Wednesday, Kaden Groves will join Tudor next season. The 27-year-old Australian sprinter, who has won stages at all three Grand Tours, has spent the last four years with Alpecin-Premier Tech.
Tudor's interest suggests that the team has decided to invest heavily in the sprinting department moving forward, as Arnaud De Lie is also reportedly coming aboard for next season. [Wielerflits]
Ribble expands road range with new Ultra-Road and Allroad Carbon
British brand Ribble has released two new carbon road bikes, the Ultra-Road and Allroad Carbon, building on its established endurance-focused road lineup. The emphasis of both new bikes is on what the brand is calling real-world performance and comfort.
The new Ultra-Road sits at the top of Ribble’s range and is aimed at riders seeking race-bike performance combined with a more relaxed fit that is better suited to many amateur riders.
Ribble says the bike’s geometry features a higher stack and shorter reach than pure race machines, allowing riders to maintain an aerodynamic position and produce power more comfortably over longer rides. The frame includes internal storage, clearance for up to 38 mm tyres, and the top-spec model is claimed to weigh 7.5 kg.
Sitting below the Ultra-Road is the new Allroad Carbon, which replaces the Allroad SL as Ribble’s premium endurance offering. The Allroad Carbon has received design updates, including fully integrated cable routing, a redesigned fork, 35 mm tyre clearance, and claimed weight savings. Ribble says the bike is designed to handle everything from smooth tarmac to rough country lanes, with complete builds starting at 8.1 kg.
Pricing starts at £2,599 for the Ultra-Road and £1,799 for the Allroad Carbon, with full details available on the Ribble website.
Life Time Grand Prix names series wild cards
With the conclusion of last weekend's Unbound Gravel, promoters Life Time have announced the seven riders who won wild card spots to the Grand Prix series.
The three men's wild cards are Martins Blums of Latvia, Skyler Taylor (USA) and New Zealand's Matthew Wilson. The women selected are Americans Jenna Rinehart and Hannah Shell, Danni Shrosbree (UK) and New Zealand's Charlotte Clarke.
Among notable results from the first two rounds of the LTGP were Wilson's 12th place at the Sea Otter Classic and Shrosbree's ninth at Unbound. All seven are now eligible for the Grand Prix series title and the $350,000 series prize purse. They will have to wait a bit for their next opportunity, though; the LTGP is on summer break until the Leadville Trail 100 on August 15, followed a month later by Chequamegon MTB Festival before the series wraps with the October 11/17 brace of Little Sugar MTB and Big Sugar Gravel.
Allert out as CEO as Brailsford returns to Team Principal role at Netcompany-Ineos
Cyclingnews reports that John Allert is no longer CEO at Netcompany-Ineos, and that he in fact left the team "in early May." That marks the end of a tenure that lasted for about two and a half years as Allert took on the job at the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, the team reportedly confirmed that Dave Brailsford is officially Team Principal and Director of Sport, although their website still does not list him on its staff page. Brailsford helmed the team for more than a decade, running the show from its inception as Team Sky and through to its early years with Ineos as a main sponsor, until he took up a post in the wider Ineos Sport project to be part of the Manchester United leadership team. In 2025, Brailsford reportedly returned to overseeing the team now called Netcompany-Ineos, although since then the team has provided little in the way of official statements on its leadership structure. [Cyclingnews]
Caruso will stay with Bahrain as a DS
Damiano Caruso will hang up the proverbial wheels at the end of the 2026 season, but the 38-year-old Italian will stick with Bahrain Victorious, moving into a sports director role after he retires from racing.
"He’s already been mentoring many of our younger riders for a number of years and has become someone they trust and respect," said Bahrain Victorious performance manager Rod Ellingworth. "The big advantage is that he’s coming straight from the peloton. He’s raced alongside this generation of riders, understands how the sport continues to evolve and knows first-hand what is required to compete at the highest level today."
Canyon launches more affordable Tempr road and off-road shoes
Canyon has expanded its footwear range with new, more affordable versions of its Tempr Road and Tempr Off-Road cycling shoes.
The new models sit below the premium Tempr CFR shoes launched in 2024 and claim to combine performance with everyday comfort and usability. Both shoes feature a BOA Li2 closure system with PerformFit wrap construction, knitted tongues, and seamless synthetic uppers designed to improve fit across a wide range of foot shapes.
The Tempr Road uses an 8K woven carbon composite outsole, with Canyon claiming a weight of 285 g in a size 42 shoe.
Meanwhile, the Tempr Off-Road targets gravel riders and uses a glass-fibre reinforced nylon sole with a more flexible forefoot section to improve walkability, alongside a rubber outsole and reinforced toe protection for mixed-terrain riding.
Both models retail for €159.95 and are available in black or white. The shoes are available globally from June 2 through Canyon's direct-to-consumer channels.
Leknessund extends with Uno-X
Andreas Leknessund came up short in his dogged pursuit of a Giro d'Italia stage win this past month in Italy, finishing second on three separate occasions, but he at least managed to impress his team enough to earn himself a contract extension.
Uno-X Mobility announced on Monday that the 27-year-old Norwegian, whose career palmares include an overall win at the Arctic Race of Norway and a stage win at the Tour de Suisse, will ride on with the team through the 2029 season.
Gall will reportedly join Lidl-Trek next season
Rumors of talks between Lidl-Trek and Felix Gall, who just rode to runner-up honors at the Giro d'Italia with Decathlon-CMA CGM, have been heating up in recent weeks, and now Het Laatste Nieuws reports that a move will be happening at the end of the season when Gall's contract is up.
According to the Belgian newspaper, Decathlon tried unsuccessfully to keep Gall on board but the Austrian has decided to accept Lidl-Trek's offer instead, with Gregor Mühlberger also reportedly set to follow him in the transfer to a team that is reportedly undergoing changes behind the scenes as well. [Het Laatste Nieuws]
Visma confident of the Giro-Tour combo as Vingegaard turns attention to July
Along with Jonas Vingegaard's Triple Crown, Visma-Lease a Bike is also celebrating its 10th Grand Tour win in a decade in Rome tonight. But it's not all prosecco and partying; there's another big goal to come in a little over a month's time. Vingegaard will have to quickly put aside his party hat as he goes straight into Tour de France preparation.
"It is the tenth victory in a Grand Tour in a short space of time, so we are very happy," Visma-Lease a Bike's Arthur van Dongen said at the finish. "We rode a fantastic race. Not only with Jonas Vingegaard , but with a very strong team. Even though Wilco Kelderman had to go home early, we have really proven once again that it was truly a team effort."
Many have repeatedly emphasised that Vingegaard is back to his best, even in the form of his life after a couple of seasons punctured by injury – his horror Itzulia Basque Country crash in 2024, then his concussion at Paris-Nice 2025. But the proof of the pudding will come when he faces Tadej Pogačar in France this July.
"I think it is very important that he has demonstrated he is in good form again," Van Dongen went on. "It is now a matter of recovering well and then picking up the right training again. And we have a lot of confidence that this combination could work out very well heading into the Tour.
"We are now heading to the podium with the whole group, to then devour the necessary pizzas and beers together," Van Dongen added, pointing out Visma's victory in the teams classification (by over 40 minutes). "Winning together, celebrating together."
'I’m going to burn all my race numbers' – Pellizzari is ready to put the 2026 Giro behind him
Giulio Pellizzari was one of Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe's co-leaders going into the young Italian's third Giro d'Italia, with the white jersey a highly-realistic goal, but though the team can celebrate Jai Hindley's third overall, Pellizzari himself is ready to put the 2026 edition of his home Grand Tour far behind him.
"I am proud to have arrived here in Rome, especially considering how I was doing these past few days," said Pellizzari, laughing through his relief. "Now I’m giving it all away. I don’t want to keep a single memory of this Giro. I’m going to burn all the race numbers and all the jerseys. After that, we’ll think about the next race.”
It had all been going pretty well for Pellizzari until the end of the first long week. His fourth-place finish on Blockhaus after being the only one to follow Vingegaard launched him into the top five, but he then came down with a bug that plagued the remainder of his race. He clung on through the second week, but even after beginning to feel better, his body had had enough by the Dolomites and the 22-year-old dropped to 21st overall.
"Joy, because it is over," Pellizzari said, answering the question, 'What do you feel now you're here?'. "An end has come to an ordeal, a real ordeal. I think the hardest part begins now: processing everything that has happened and coming to terms with it. But I am glad it is over. Now we start working on the next challenge.”
'A bus in front of him braked' – UAE explains Narváez's Giro DNF
Jhonatan Narváez had been one of the stars of the Giro d'Italia until his participation ended abruptly early on stage 19, following a curious crash the previous afternoon, shortly after his maglia ciclamino challenge had been shut down by stage winner Paul Magnier.
"Thursday, after the Pieve di Soligo stage, Jhonatan [Narváez] was a bit distracted and was checking his computer while returning to the buses," UAE DS Manuele Mori told BiciSport. "A bus in front of him braked, he didn't notice, and the impact occurred. At first, it didn't seem like anything serious, actually, just a few spasms in his neck and back, the kind that comes with a blow."
It was enough to make the Dolomites particularly difficult, and Narváez climbed off early on stage 19.
"He suffered from the start," Mori went on. "I think partly due to the heat and the effort, and he started bleeding from his nose. He felt dizzy, probably a little scared, too, so we decided to stop him, along with the race doctors."
Kooij wins second sprint on comeback, Cosnefroy seals Boucles de la Mayenne overall
Olav Kooij has won his second sprint at the 2.Pro-ranked Boucles de la Mayenne, taking out the fourth and last stage. Winner on day three, Benoît Cosnefroy sealed the overall title, delivering on his status as pre-race favourite four days after his temmate Julius Johansen claimed the opening Prologue.
Kooij's stage wins mark his first in the Decathlon-CMA CGM jersey, his debut delayed by a persistent virus in the first months of the season. These victories, in a field that includes his successor at Visma-Lease a Bike Matthew Brennan, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), John Degenkolb (Picnic-PostNL) and Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
Stage 3 brief results
Olav Kooij (Decathlon-CMA CGM)
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
John Degenkolb (Picnic-PostNL)
Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor)
Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost)
Final GC results
Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ United) +0:07
Noa Isidore (Decathlon-CMA CGM) +0:12
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) +0:13
Clément Izquierdo (Cofidis) +0:15
Visma-Lease a Bike show off new kit in Rome to celebrate Vingegaard's Grand Tour triple crown
Jonas Vingegaard's soon-to-be confirmed Giro d'Italia title will complete his Grand Tour triple crown, after he added the Vuelta a España 2026 to his two Tour de France triumphs. To celebrate this, Visma-Lease a Bike's Giro lineup will race in Rome in a special-edition kit.
The kit includes coloured details that incorporate the yellow, red and pink colours of each Grand Tour on a black background. Each rider has also received silver-pink shoes, as well as helmets and sunglasses with the same or similar design elements as the kit. Every rider's bike was also embellished with pink bar tape and tyres with pink side walls.
SD Worx-Protime plans legal action over Wiebes DQ, amid conflicting reports of the bike's weight
The dust is still settling after Saturday night's bombshell disqualification of Lorena Wiebes from the Giro d'Italia Women, hours after she'd dominated the stage 1 sprint. On Sunday morning, amid conflicting reports as to just how much Wiebes's bike came under the weight requirement, SD Worx-Protime's team manager Erwin Janssen has vowed to make an appeal.
"It will be difficult, but we cannot just let this go," Janssen told NOS. "It is ridiculous that Lorena is being kicked out. This is causing us so much damage.
“We were going for three or four victories. It is sad. These are the bikes we always ride. And we have never had anything like this happen before ... We are going to do everything we can, including legally. But they are unyielding. It will be their no against our yes. They will receive a letter stating that we are going to hold them liable for damages suffered."
The team also questioned the tools and conditions with which the weight was verified, leading to Wiebes's disqualification.
"The first [bike] was 70 grams lighter than allowed," Janssen went on, adding a query as to the calibration of the equipment, i.e. if it had previously been used at altitude, it would need to be recalibrated before use at the finish in Ravenna, which is a few metres above sea level. "That didn't happen, we heard. After the finish, we ourselves came in above 6.83 kilos. But that was indoors, without wind, using our own equipment."
Gee-West finds motivation in finishing the Giro one spot lower than in 2025
Derek Gee-West was one of the animators on the final climb of stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia, going on the attack in an effort to expose fourth-place Thymen Arensman with the goal of moving up to fourth himself, which is where the Canadian finished in last year's Giro.
"It was super hard. Right from the start, the pace was crazy fast, and if I had any hope of moving into fourth, I had to try to attack Arensman," Gee-West said. "Jonas Vingegaard had already done his thing. I tried to go early and was working well with Jai [Hindley]. The Ineos guys were strong and clawed their way back in the end, and I just had to suffer in a sprint."
The 2025 Giro, where Gee-West secured his best-ever Grand Tour GC result, was the Canadian's last appearance with Israel-Premier Tech before his storied separation from the team. Gee-West's rumoured signing to Lidl-Trek was only confirmed on the 6th January – it's not been a conventional build-up to the Italian Grand Tour.
"I think there are two ways to look at it; fourth last year, fifth this year. I'm not stoked on that, but at the same time, I'm grateful to be here," Gee-West went on. "I had a really shit prep. I missed training camp and then, to be honest, after stage 2, after that crash, seeing how a lot of guys came out of that ... just to get through that and finish the race, and chalk up a GC result, even if it's not the one I want, I'm pretty happy with that."
Gee-West has gained a reputation for blossoming late in three-week races, and this Giro was no different.
"I don't know if I always have to wait for the third week to have good legs, but maybe that's something we could work on. Just to get to that level at any point in the race. I'm super happy with that ... I think it's also motivational because to go fourth and then fifth is super frustrating, so it's something to aim for in the future. I was really happy with my level at the end of the race."
Vollering extends with FDJ United-Suez through 2028
Demi Vollering will stick with FDJ United-Suez for a further two seasons. The French outfit announced on Friday that the 2023 Tour de France champ, whose original contract was set to run out at the end of this season, had extended through 2028.
Demi is an extraordinary athlete at the peak of her game," said team manager Stephen Delcourt. "But what moves us and makes us proud goes far beyond her victories. Demi is a woman who is changing our sport. Through her high standards, her sensitivity, her authenticity, and her way of bringing others along with her, she redefines what a modern leader is."
FDJ's recent evolution as a team has reflected that sentiment. Vollering is undoubtedly the headliner and she is currently the world's top-ranked rider, but teammates like Franzi Koch, Juliette Berthet, and Elise Chabbey have also reached new heights of success over the past season, becoming one of the top teams in the sport along the way.
The Whoop UCI MTB World Series launches app
The Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series has launched a new official app, acting as a central hub for news, results, standings, rider profiles, and event information throughout the 2026 season.
Available now on both Apple and Android devices, the app covers all three World Series disciplines, cross-country, downhill, and enduro, and includes race highlights, video content, breaking news, and real-time leaderboard updates.
For fans attending events, the app also provides race schedules, venue maps, ticketing information, and activation timings.
The app also includes several fan-focused features, including personalised notifications, a no-spoiler mode, race reminders, and a ‘Where to Watch’ tool that identifies available broadcasters based on location. Cross-country fans can additionally vote for the “Best XC Riders of the Event”.
Tour's Barcelona TTT will take place in the evening
Tour de France organiser ASO has released the schedule, which includes the news that the stage 1 team time trial in Barcelona will take place in the evening of Saturday, July 4th.
This is not really a surprise, given that opening TTTs often take place late in the day, but we now have confirmation. The first team will role off the ramp at 17:05 local time, and the last will start at 18:55, which means all can be expected to finish the 19 km effort by 19:15.
The last time Barcelona hosted a TTT was in the opening stage of the 2023 Vuelta a España, an organisational faux pas that was subject of some controversy. With a later evening start than this year's Tour, a late-summer rain storm significantly reduced the already lowered visibility, and the organisers came under attack from some of the late-starting teams including reigning champion Remco Evenepoel, whose Soudal-QuickStep team didn't start until 20:19.
Three-time stage winner Narváez abandons Giro
Jhonatan Narváez has abandoned the Giro d'Italia early on stage 19, feeling the effects of a small crash while riding back to the bus after the previous stage, his team reports.
The Ecuadorian national champion has been one of the race's key animators since UAE Team Emirates was eviscerated in the stage 2 crash, losing Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler. With his team's goals turned upside down, Narváez and his four remaining teammates shifted their attention to stage wins. The first to take victory was young Igor Arrieta, but Narváez then racked up no less than three wins of his own by the end of the second week. That hit rate set up one of the storylines of the third week as Narváez posed a threat to the maglia ciclamino, until then dominated by sprinter Paul Magnier. However, that battle seemed to come to a close on stage 18 with Magnier's third victory.
Narváez's departure leaves just four UAE riders in Italy: stage 5-winner Arrieta, Mikkel Bjerg, Jan Christen and António Morgado.
