Dylan van Baarle, the Paris-Roubaix winner who has left Visma-Lease a Bike for Soudal QuickStep, has said both he and Simon Yates had issues with the training methods at the Dutch team. His comments come just 24 hours after reigning Giro dItalia champion Yates announced his immediate retirement from the sport. He has cut short []

Eddie Dunbar is hoping for a re-set in 2026 after some crashes undermined his bid to repeat his 2024 season when he won two stages at La Vuelta, including the queen stage. And he will certainly look the part in the year ahead. Having moved to a new squad, Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, []

Government and opposition TDs, Senators and councillors have been calling for catering on Irish Rail services to be restored since the pandemic, but Freedom of Information records show that the Department of Transport has vetoed funding requests for the loss-making service, which is understood to cost around 2.1 million per year.The issue of a lack of a catering trolley or shop on board trains to Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Mayo, Kerry, Sligo, and Wexford. has been repeatedly raised in recent years.Rail Users Ireland, a passenger group, said that Darragh OBrien, the Minister for Transport, should decide if we are going to provide nationwide on-train catering or not, and stop wasting the time of transport agencies.The group said that time and resources are being wasted with staff in the Department of Transport, the National Transport Authority (NTA), and Irish Rail dealing with complaints and trying to find a solution which the market has confirmed cant be delivered for the price the Minister is willing to pay.Mark Gleeson, a spokesperson for the group, said: The Minister needs to provide a clear yes or no; the current maybe is eroding customer trust and leading to confusion. While the Department of Transport states it is the NTA and the transport operators who decide, yet the Department holds a veto.He said: While additional outlets at stations are welcome, these are in part eroding the customer base for on-train catering. Gleeson added that CI Group Property a division of CI, the parent company of Irish Rail manages these vending machines at stations, and so any profits earned are not available to Irish Rail to support investment, such as offsetting the cost of on-board catering.A Freedom of Information request made by Rail Users Ireland shows that Jeremy Ryan, director of public transport services at the NTA, emailed Billy Gilpin, director of railway undertaking at Irish Rail, outlining that the Department was unwilling to fund on-train catering services.In the email sent in November 2024, Ryan wrote: Spoke to Cathy in DoT just now. As expected happy to proceed with catering contracts Lot 1 and Lot 2 (Dublin Bestlaft and Dublin Cork), but not Lot 3.Lot 3 refers to the tendering contract for catering services on intercity rail services between Dublin and Limerick, Galway, and Waterford, as well as on national rail services to Mayo, Kerry, Sligo, and Wexford.Senator Mark Duffy, Fine Gaels Seanad spokesperson on transport, told IrishCycle.com that there is strong demand for the service from both a health and customer experience perspective, especially on longer train trips, such as Mayo, where he is based.Senator Duffy said: At the first opportunity I had, I raised it at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transportand the NTA said were not doing it because its too expensive, and I said how much, and they said we dont know. Most carriages are at full capacity, and rail use is much higher than before Covid, when catering was discontinued. So the demand is there.He said representatives across government and non-government parties have raised the issue and that they need to be listened to.It sounds like NTA is saying we can do the catering, but then thered be fewer services, which is a very unfair argument because we shouldnt lower the standards of the commuting experience, he said. Senator Duffy said: We need absolute clarity from the NTA and Irish Rail in terms of the cost, and then its up to the Joint Oireachtas Committee, using their voice along with the Minister, and others, to make their ask to Government on it, he said. At least if we have the full facts and figures, we can see this cost and understand the cost, then we can make it a consideration: Is this value for money? Is it something that we like to support?He added: When I was on the Midwest Radio last year about it, there was a guy who used to work for Irish Rail, and he said the biggest problem they used to have when he worked on the trolley was that theyd run out of tea too early.A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: The Department of Transport is aware from discussions with the NTA and Iarnrd ireann that significant efforts have been made to restore catering services, but costs are now up to four times higher than previously quoted.The Department understands the publics desire to see the return of on-board catering across all rail services. However, where choices must be made, taxpayer funding must be prioritised towards the delivery of core public transport services, the Department said. The Department spokesperson continued: While the Minister sets overall transport policy and funding direction, decisions on operational matters such as on-board catering rest with the transport authorities and operators. The NTA holds statutory responsibility for securing public passenger transport services and allocating funding across those services.The spokesperson added: Iarnrd ireann continues to engage with the NTA and the Department of Transport, but PSO funding must remain focused on investing in our public transport services, and all parties are committed to continue exploring options to expand catering where feasible. It is also important to note the continued investment being made in station facilities across the rail network, enabling passengers to purchase food and beverages prior to boarding.The Departments response said that a full tender process was completed for intercity catering, but to date, catering has been restored on an interim basis on the Dublin to Cork route, and on the DublinBelfast Enterprise service, operated jointly between Irish Rail and Translink, under a separate contract.

Just a day after the first Team Ireland junior selection of the year was named by Cycling Ireland comes the first senior national team of 2026. This time its mixed line-up, of male and female riders, chosen for the senior European Track Championships in Turky in just over three weeks. Two of the big guns []

Jan10th-11th|NationalCyclocrossChampionships Castle Saunderson, Ca Cavan HostedbyBreffniWheelers Senior-JuniorWomen SeniorMen JuniorMen MastersWomen Masters40Men Masters50Men Masters60Men

The year has just turned but already the first Irish national team of 2026 has been selected as our best Irish riders try to emulate the incredible medals haul of last year. From paracycling to elite road and track and junior and U23 road, Ireland scored medals, including golds, at both the World Championships and []

Comment & Analysis: Just before Christmas, a small number of disability campaigners told a joint Oireachtas meeting between the Committee on Disability Matters and the Committee on Transport of their dislike of continuous footpaths, and one mentioned raised crossings. It is worrying that such basic safety and mobility measures are being targeted. As covered in an explainer on continuous footpaths, these are footpaths that continue past a side street and across entrances, such as driveways or entrances to businesses. The path is designed to be at the same level and to match the design of the rest of the footpath.Like raised crossings, which are similar but dont match the design of footpaths, there should be tactile paving where continuous footpaths cross any side street to let people who are visually impaired know its a side street and for the purpose of wayfinding for the same group of people.While the use of continuous footpaths on side streets is relatively new in a widespread way in Ireland, raised crossings have been in use for many, many decades. And raised crossings at side streets are in widespread use. Both measures act as traffic calming as the path is raised up from the carriageway, continuous footpaths signal visually to motorists that the pedestrians have priority, and both are mobility measures because they give users of wheelchairs, a range of mobility devices, prams and people who are unsteady on their feet a level path across side streets.Unfortunately, Dublin City Council implemented continuous footpaths on the Clontarf to City Centre Bus and Cycle route without including tactile paving. But the baby should not be thrown out with the bathwater. The push against these basic pedestrian safety and mobility measures follows on from some of the same disability campaigners importing the push by some in the UK against active travel measures, including wanting to ban cycle paths at bus stops. When streets are being changed, everybody should be included in consultation there should be a particular focus on people with disabilities, and this should not just give weight to the views of Disabled Persons Organisations but also to any disabled person whose life might be affected by, or improved by, the projects. After all, most disabled people are not members of DPOs, whether thats because they dont have the time or energy, or they might not be inclined to join groups. It is a positive that DPOs replace service providers as the voice of people with disabilities, but there is a risk that some DPOs start implying that only DPOs can speak to issues of disabilities. IrishCycle.com has been contacted by people with disabilities who have outlined clearly that they disagree with the views of some DPOs on active travel, but they do not have the time or energy to challenge them often because they are busy looking for basic rights or just busy with life, but also because they dont want or cannot take the backlash. I can more than understand this false and often toxic claims have been made about me, just because I dare to write about the issues around disabilities and active travel.While continuous footpaths are mainly a pedestrian measure, they are often linked with continuous cycle paths crossing side roads. This link seems to be part of the issue. In the UK, the provision for cycling is a culture war issue, and that has seeped into the debate on cycle paths at bus stops.Its a more complicated issue, but the instance that cycle paths which its worth saying are used by people with disabilities both cycling and with mobility devices should be banned near bus stops so that pedestrians never have to cross a cycle path to get to a bus stop is a huge distraction to getting designs right, making the space for better design and avoiding the use of designs which put bus users stright onto cycle tracks.But the whole issue is complicated further by the instance of some disability campaigners that people in their circles are fully representative of disabled people in Ireland, to the point of claims being made by some that disabled people dont cycle. This is clearly not true and falls into the realm of the general anti-cycling claim that there are loads of cycle paths being generally unused (which the data shows is not true). While cycling gets a lot of the attention when active travel funding is mentioned, the National Transport Authority says that active travel funding is split 60/40 in favour of pedestrian infrastructure. This is not surprising given the cost of all of the new crossings, improved and new footpaths, and measures such as front-of-school measures, which are mainly pedestrian-focused. But despite the huge investment in pedestrian infrastructure around the country, which increases safety and mobility, some disability campaigners have been rallying against active travel generally, partly due to the link to cycling. When designed right, both pedestrian and cycling improvements help people with disabilities not only with safety but with accessibility and mobility independence. None of the above is to say that people shouldnt be able to complain about critical issues or imperfect designs (Id be out of business if that were the case), but the call against active travel generally and against basic safety and mobility measures shows that theres more than a few red flags here.For the avoidance of doubt, I should say that while some people dont like the idea of challenging anybody with disabilities, its against my neurodiverse brain to let attacks on key safety and accessibility measures slide.And, because of some of the phrases Ive used above, I should say that, yes, disabled people and groups are just like anybody else in that they can succumb to anti-cycling and culture war nonsense. Of course, watching or hearing the description of highly edited videos from London is going to cause fear. Again: Nothing in this article is to dismiss every complaint about active travel, but the extremes of looking for cycle paths at bus stops or continuous footpaths to be banned make this debate and arriving at better designs harder.

Simon Yates , who won the Giro and Vuelta during a glittering career, has decided to bring his pro racing career to an end. The British rider had another year to run on his contract with Visma-Lease a Bike but has announced his decision to retire immediately. The 33-year-old British rider, who first turned pro []

David Gaffney and Adam Rafferty will both race for the Hagens Berman Jayco UCI Continental U23 development team this year while compatriot, and Irish U23 road race champion, Emma Jeffers, will be part of the Liv AlUla Jayco Womens Continental Team. Both of those teams are feeder squads for the Jayco AlUla mens and womens []

The Irish road scene will have a new team in 2026 after Caldwell Cycles and Powerhouse Sport two prolific winners in their own right for many years have merged. That merger creates a powerful unit of riders for the coming campaign. And given the fire power in the squad, it should have a []