New draft routes for the long-delayed Lucan and Poolbeg Luas tram project are expected to be published by the end of 2026, and early next year, respectively, the Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees heard last week.The delay of the Poolbeg project comes as the new housing it was supposed to serve is at an advanced stage of construction, with many of the new apartments already built.The Lucan Luas is expected to be an extension of the Red Line from the Point Village, while the Lucan Luas has long been planned to be a new route which will share a high-capacity section of the Red Line where it runs between Davitt Road and the Grand Canal before branching in a different direction at both ends of this section.The western end has long been planned to go to Lucan via Liffey Valley, while the eastern section has a number of options into the city centre, as shown in the map below from the 2021 Luas Lucan Feasibility Study.IMAGE: Options for the Lucan Luas in the 2021 Luas Lucan Feasibility Study. Its unclear if any of these options will be used. Lorcan OConnor, chief executive of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), told the committee that the project team are working with the National Transport Authority (NTA) so that the Lucan Luas route does not conflict with the Liffey Valley BusConnects project, which is under construction now or shortly. The original tram route was to run down the Ballymun Road, which is the route that will be dug up by the BusConnects project.The NTA is legally responsible for Luas, and this responsibility is delegated to TII. OConnor said: Turning to light rail, the Luas Finglas railway order has been granted, and the Luas Cork preferred route has been published and is out for public consultation until mid-June. We are working on the emerging preferred routes for Luas Lucan and Luas Poolbeg and expect to bring Lucan to an initial public consultation later this year and Poolbeg early next year.We look forward to commencing planning on further Luas lines as prioritised by the NTA and fulfilling the vision of the NTAs greater Dublin area transport strategy, he said. Shane Moynihan, a Fianna Fail TD for Dublin Mid West, said: I welcome the fact that the Lucan Luas preferred route will be published later on this year. Will Mr OConnor give me a more specific time as to when he thinks we will see that?OConnor replied: Hopefully, before December. I cannot really say more than that, but in the same way we are now at the preferred route status in Cork, that in itself is a very significant milestone because all of a sudden, people can visualise what that might mean broadly speaking, the journey time into the city centre and the connections it creates. We have found, certainly in that initial emerging route consultation, very helpful feedback to allows us to tweak or make changes to enhance the overall project.Giving a broader view of Luas, OConnor said that the use of the tram system in Dublin has grown by nearlu 60% in the last 10 years, and that renewal of the network and trams is needed after over 20 years of service. On the light rail side,Luaspatronage has grown by almost 60% over the past decade, and it continues to grow. TII expects theLuaswill carry approximately 60 million passengers this year, making it the busiest railway in the country. A new timetable was introduced last year, providing much-needed extra capacity on both lines, and further enhancements are planned for next year, said OConnor. In terms of the asset base, TII has been actively strengthening our capability and capacity to deliver a step change in asset investment, which is necessary to protect the performance and reliability of the network, which is now over 20 years old, he said.On this, he continued: TII is working with the NTA to agree increased multi-annual funding and to streamline approval processes for the asset renewal works. There are many benefits, including reduced costs and improved value for money, consequent on evolving to a multi-annual planning and delivery approach for asset management, much like what is in place at the moment for the heavy rail side.He said that the light rail asset base for Luas is valued at approximately 2 billion, and TII is currently spending about 115 million per annum to provide services and maintain the network, and plans to spend another 20 million of capital funding on asset investment and asset renewal works. This compares to ticket revenue in 2026, which is estimated to be in the region of 60 million. OConnor added: Longer-term projections undertaken in 2025 highlight the need for approximately 1.8 billion over the next 20 years in asset life-cycle investment, which equates to about 90 million per annum over the next number of years.Last year, it was revealed that TII has an internal vision for other future Luas routes read more about that here and see the map below. Most of these routes have yet to receive NTA or Government approval.IMAGE: Lucan and Poolbeg Luas routes, along with other possible future Luas routes that have not yet gained NTA or Government approval.

Remco Evenepoels place in the Tour de France hierarchy has become harder to define than it was two years ago, but Michel Wuyts believes the Belgians career is still being judged through an unfairly narrow lens. The former cycling commentator and long-time Belgian analyst has pushed back against th...

Urska Zigarts Grand Tour ambitions no longer feel like a distant projection. As the Giro dItalia Women heads towards its decisive weekend, they are being backed up by results, consistency and another place inside the races top 10. After the race returned to flatter terrain on Stage 6, Zigart rema...

Its a bit of a mouthful, but for the 2026 edition the race formerly called the Critrium du Dauphin becomes the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes. Why? Well, get ready for a geography lesson. Over the years, the Critrium du Dauphin had been the classic warm-up race for contenders in the Tour de France, starting less than a month later. The Tour de Suisse is another popular pre-Tour leg-stretcher, and where Tadej Pogaar, winner of the 2025 Dauphin, will line-up this June. But despite its name, the Critrium du Dauphin had long since spread beyond the historic Dauphin province around Grenoble, with the modern race now traversing a much larger part of south-eastern France. Even the name Critrium du Dauphin was a fairly recent construction, with the race established by the Dauphin Libr regional newspaper in 1947 to promote its circulation, and known by that original name until 2010. We'd all become very familiar with the Critrium du Dauphin, though, and there's no doubt that the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes is a tongue-twister. So what's behind the name change of one of the most prestigious week-long stage races in cycling? Cycling's shameless self-promotion Regardless of the name, the race takes in some of the most spectacular and challenging terrain in France. Getty Images Theres a long history of newspapers and other organisations using bike races to promote themselves. Even the Tour de France was established in 1903 to increase the sales of a newspaper ironically called LAuto and printed on yellow newsprint, which subsequently lent its colour to the race leaders jersey. Meanwhile, the Omloop Nieuwsblad race in Belgium is also named after a newspaper (it dropped the 'Het' from its name this year). It too had previously changed its name, having been called Het Volk from 1947 to 2009, when the Het Volk newspaper, the race's original promoter, ceased publication. Tadej Pogaar won the 2025 race. Getty Images As for the race in question well, France has seen a series of reorganisations of local and regional governments and, in 2014, the Auvergne and Rhne-Alpes regions, where the action takes place, were merged into one: Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes. It's an equivalent administrative level to the Hauts-de-France region that's the title partner of Paris-Roubaix (now known officially as Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France) and the Grand Est region, hugging the border with Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany in north-eastern France, which will host the 2028 Tour de France Grand Dpart. So where is Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes? The race takes place across the mountainous Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes region. A.S.O. The Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes covers a hefty chunk of central and south-eastern France. It's one of 18 administrative 'regions', which are made up of 101 'departments'. Much of the Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes is mountainous, and it includes departments in the Massif Central, along the Rhne valley, including Frances second city Lyon, and the high Alps reaching up to the Swiss and Italian borders. Now you know. Getty Images Its a geographic area that reflects where the modern race takes place, so the new name more accurately represents where the 'Dauphin' goes. Its a new name that fully reflects the race's regional roots, said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme. The Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes region is also now one of the races major partners, giving that financial backing a front-and-centre position among any new fans tuning in to the race although we'd wager that it'll be referred to as 'the Dauphin' by existing fans for some time yet. Who's riding this year's race? Teenage star Paul Seixas has the weight of France building on his young shoulders. With Pogaar, who won last year's race by 59 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard, heading to the Tour de Suisse, all eyes will be on Paul Seixas at the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes. The 19-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame and will use the race to fine-tune his prep for the Tour de France, where he's set to become the youngest starter for 89 years. The Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider has won the Itzulia Basque Country stage race, Faun-Ardche Classic and La Flche Wallonne this season, and finished second behind Pogaar at Strade Bianche and Lige-Bastogne-Lige. If he wins the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, expect the Seixas hype train to go into express mode ahead of the Tour de France Grand Dpart in Barcelona.

Hot (or should I say cool) on the heels of their lightweight Habanero Delta Jersey launch, San Franciscos Ornot is continuing to ramp up for riding in warmer weather. This time, with the launch of their new pro-cut n racey Park Jersey. And, complementing that, is a new Lightweight Wind Vest. And, these new items are available in both mens and womens cuts, while being chock full of stylish performance.(Photos / Ornot)Lets check em out. Park JerseyRetail: $168Ornots Park Jersey is their most fitted cycling jersey, with a very intentional race-fit. The Park Jersey also stays with Ornots ethos of wearing a performance jersey without feeling like a billboard.The pro-cut Park Jersey is a tight-fitting performance jersey thats aerodynamic, compressive, and cut for riders who want to go fast. Every component is made from recycled materials, and the fabric provides UPF 30 sun protection. Sporting three rear pockets plus a zippered side pocket, you can bring all the carbs you can fit in it, Ornot.Features:Recycled Italian-engineered fabricCertified OEKO-TEX 100Performance race-fit. Size up if youre between sizes3 rear pockets plus one rear side zipper pocketRear side zipper pocket for keys and credit cardsMoisture-wicking fabric that keeps up with youRear reflective detailing for low-light visibilityTemp range: 72 and up30+ UPF sun protectionLightweight Wind VestRetail: $118Ornot says their Lightweight Wind Vest is built to keep you warm when you need it, while disappearing when you dont. Its made from ultralight 40 gsm ripstop. And sports Oeko-Tex certified recycled fibers. Its designed for compact performance.Its super breathable with an open-knit back panel that ensures a great fit, while contouring around anything that may be shoved in your back pockets. With a C0 DWR finish on the front, riders will stay dry in case a light rain tries to ruin their ride. The two-way zipper allows for easy venting as well. Riders will be easy to spot in low-light conditions with the vests reflective details. And when the temperature rises, the vest packs down to fit in the palm of your hand, in its own tiny internal pocket. At just 75 grams for a size medium, its pretty dang light. That way, its easy to take on all of your rides, Ornot.Features: Lightweight, packable wind protection.2-way zipper for venting and pocket access.75 grams (size Med).Built-in stash pocket.Reflective details on the shoulder and back.Breathable stretch knit back.Made using Oeko-Tex approved fabric.Check out all of the wicked stuff Ornot has to offer at the link below, Ornot. Ornotbike.comThe post Ornot Drops Park Jerseys and Lightweight Vest to Keep you Cool this Summer appeared first on Bikerumor.

Elisa Balsamo continued her remarkable Giro dItalia Women run on Stage 6, sprinting to victory in Brescello after a flat day that briefly threatened to turn into something far more complicated. The Lidl - Trek sprinter came into the finale with only Lucinda Brand left as her final lead-out rider, b...

A magnificent 12 have been awarded Recommends badges for May, with three products achieving perfection

Lidl-Trek's Italian firmly in control of points competition after another win

Arnaud De Lie won Stage 4 of the 2026 Tour de Wallonie in Eupen, launching his sprint inside the final 500 metres to overhaul Riley Sheehan after a fast, attacking finale. Sheehan had accelerated inside the final 6km and remained at the front into the closing stages, but De Lie came through stronges...