CyclistParis 2024 Olympics Cycling: Events, schedule, TV guide and everything you need to knowIt calls itself the greatest show on earth. After a shorter wait of just three years, the Olympic Games are back. Its time to brush off your armchair knowledge of taekwondo and diving and embrace new sports such as climbing and breakdancing, which will make its Olympic debut this year.Paris is hosting the Games, so for the road riders fresh from the Tour de France, this will be an easy transition. The cycling events will span the entire length of the games including road racing, mountain biking, BMX and track cycling.The 33rd Olympic Games will kick off on Friday 26th July with an opening ceremony on the River Seine in the French capital. Theres no time to waste as the time-trial events will take place the following day on the 27th July 2024. The track racing will round out the cycling at Paris 2024 on Sunday 11th August.Paris 2024 Olympics: Key informationTim de Waele/Getty ImagesDate: 27th July-11th August (cycling events)Location: Paris (road cycling), Vlodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (track cycling and BMX), lancourt (mountain biking), Place de la Concorde (BMX)Number of cycling events: 22Live UK TV coverage: BBC, Discovery+ Related Posts The 21 best photos from the Tour de France 2024 Who won the most prize money at the 2024 Tour de France? Does cycling have a problem with over-the-counter medication? Part 1 Who are Britains future Tour de France stars? Paris 2024 Olympics: Discipline-by-discipline previewTim de Waele/Getty ImagesThe Paris 2024 Olympics will be the big goal for many riders looking to enter the exclusive club of Olympic champions. In total, 512 athletes will compete across all cycling disciplines during the 2024 Games with 66 medals up for grabs.At the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, Great Britain topped the medal table with six golds. The Netherlands came in second with five golds and Switzerland finished in third with one gold medal (and six medals across the board).Road cycling: Mens and womens road race and time-trial GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty ImagesRoad racing is an old stalwart of the Olympics schedule. The road races are often hard to predict, but it will give us a chance to see the riders in their national colours instead of their trade kits. There are four gold medals on offer for road racers at Paris 2024. The road schedule kicks off with the time-trials during the opening weekend of the Games.At Tokyo 2020, Richard Carapaz of Ecuador took the gold medal in the mens road race and Primo Rogli secured a surprise gold medal in the mens time-trial. No surprise was bigger than Anna Kiesenhofers win in the womens road race though. Annemiek van Vleuten thought shed won the road race, but she had to settle for silver and a win in the womens time-trial instead.A.S.O./Paris 2024The men and women will tackle the same 32.4km route. Along the way, the race will move eastwards, passing through the Bois de Valenciennes. This park used to host the Tours arrival back in the days of Eddy Merckx in the 1960s and 70s. From here, the race moves into the city centre again., The course will pass through Place de la Bastille towards the finishing line outside Les Invalides, an old military hospital that now hosts the Muse de lArme. The profile is pan-flat and should favour the purists.A.S.O./Paris 2024The road racing will take place on the streets of central Paris. The focal point of both mens and womens road races will be the cobbled climb to Montmartre (1km at 6.5%), the much-photographed neighbourhood formerly of French impressionists. The men will take this climb on three occasions over the 273km-long route. The mens race clocks up a total elevation gain of 2,800m, similar to the Tour of Flanders. The favourites for the mens race will include the Netherlands Mathieu van der Poel, who will be looking to improve his relationship with the Olympics after crashing out of Tokyo 2020. Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen have specifically targeted the Olympics, but their preparation has been altered due to injury and a lack of form. Elsewhere, Tadej Pogaar has revealed that he will not compete in Paris.A.S.O./Paris 2024The womens road race will consist of a shorter route of 158km. The women will also negotiate the climb to Montmartre three times. In total, the womens race takes in 1,700m of altitude gain, similar to their Tour of Flanders. Both races will end just across the river from the iconic Eiffel Tower at Trocadro. For Tour de France purists, this will be a wildly different arrival to the Tours Champs-Elyses finale.For the blue ribbon womens event, Lotte Kopecky will start as the favourite. GC riders Elisa Longo Borghini and Demi Vollering will be co-favourites. Looking beyond these galacticos, Grace Brown and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig have a solid chance of winning a medal in the road race. Dates of road cycling eventsWomens time-trial: Saturday 27th JulyMens time-trial: Saturday 27th JulyMens road race: Saturday 3rd AugustWomens road race: Sunday 4th AugustTrack cycling: Mens and womens team pursuit, sprint, madison, keirin and omniumTim de Waele/Getty ImagesTrack cycling will take place from Monday 5th August to Sunday 11th August. The programme spans 12 events and will take place at the Vlodrome National in the Parisian suburb of Yvelines. This track was opened in 2015 and has previously hosted the 2022 UCI Track World Championships.The events on offer span a smaller amount of races than a typical track programme. Sprint, keirin and the omnium (the cycling equivalent to the decathlon) will be available for individual riders. For teams, the team sprint, pursuit and madison events will offer a chance for collective glory. Track racing often entails a knockout process that includes quarter-finals and semi-finals, so its important to follow the track events over the course of the week.Madison will continue its Olympic comeback in 2024 after a successful reintroduction at Tokyo 2020. The main event will be the sprint and keirin events. These races will see some of the highest speeds on the boards at this years Olympics.After a close battle at the last Olympics, the mens team pursuit will be closely watched. Denmark and Italy will reopen their rivalry in this four-kilometre-long team effort against the clock.Dates of track cycling events*Womens team sprint: Monday 5th AugustMens team sprint: Tuesday 6th AugustWomens team pursuit: Wednesday 7th AugustMens team pursuit: Wednesday 7th AugustMens omnium: Thursday 8th AugustWomens keirin: Thursday 8th AugustMens sprint: Friday 9th AugustWomens madison: Friday 9th AugustMens madison: Saturday 10th AugustMens keirin: Sunday 11th AugustWomens sprint: Sunday 11th AugustWomens omnium: Sunday 11th August*Dates listed are for the gold medal races (some events span multiple days)Mountain biking: mens and womens cross-country Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesThe Olympics offer a stripped-back mountain biking schedule. After being added to the Olympics in 1996, mountain biking at the 2024 Games only comprises one race: the cross-country. There will be no downhill events at Paris 2024.In this race, the competitors will ride circuits around lancourt south of Paris. The details of the course are unknown, but the race should take around 90 minutes to complete.The reigning champion of the mens race is Tom Pidcock of Great Britain. He will be there to retain his title, however, the Yorkshireman suffered a Covid contraction during the Tour de France earlier this month. The gold medalist for the women from Tokyo 2020 was Jolanda Neff of Switzerland. She is also scheduled to compete at Paris 2024.Dates of mountain biking eventsWomens cross-country: Sunday 28th JulyMens cross-country: Monday 29th JulyBMX: mens and womens freestyle and raceEzra Shaw/Getty ImagesBMX is the newest cycling discipline to enter the Olympics. It has only been a part of the Olympic cycle since Beijing 2008. In Paris, the BMX events will take place outside the Vlodrome National in Yvelines.The BMX events at Paris 2024 cover two different race types. The first of these, the freestyle, is all about showing off. Riders will roll around a skate park-style stage in an attempt to wow the judges with their jumps and tricks. The event made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Olympics and will be one of the more extreme Olympic events at the 2024 Games.Later in the week, the BMX schedule will focus on the race event. The premise for this is simple. Riders will race head-to-head around a short track filled with steep corners and bumps. Its a high-adrenaline event filled with tricks and spills. Theres a demanding technical nature to this event which will only last around one minute.Last time, Great Britain swept the golds in the womens events courtesy of Beth Shriever and Charlotte Worthington. For the men, Dutchman Niek Kimmann won the mens race and Australias Logan Martin won gold in the freestyle.Dates of track cycling events*Mens freestyle: Wednesday 31st JulyWomens freestyle: Wednesday 31st JulyMens race: Friday 2nd AugustWomens race: Friday 2nd August* Dates listed are for the gold medal races (some events span multiple days)Where to watch the cycling at Paris 2024Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesThe Olympics will be available on free-to-air television across the world. In the UK, this is provided by the BBC. RT will be showing the cycling at Paris 2024 over in Ireland. NBC will broadcast the Olympics as usual in the US.Throughout Europe, Discovery and Eurosport will host live coverage of every event. This will be available online through the Discovery+ streaming service, which offers uninterrupted live coverage. This currently costs 6.99 per month.If its not being shown in your country, you may be able to watch coverage using a VPN Virtual Private Network which allows users to mask their IP address and watch geo-blocked content, provided they dont need to pay for a subscription. This is also helpful for watching paid-for coverage while abroad in countries without access. One such example isExpressVPN, which is verywell reviewed, helps users to find a way to watch cycling without having to pay for broadcasters services, and costs 5.36 per month, with three months free.Other options includeNordVPN,SurfsharkandKapersky. Related Posts The 21 best photos from the Tour de France 2024 Who won the most prize money at the 2024 Tour de France? Does cycling have a problem with over-the-counter medication? Part 1 Who are Britains future Tour de France stars? The post Paris 2024 Olympics Cycling: Events, schedule, TV guide and everything you need to know appeared first on Cyclist.

In a frantic finale to the opening stage of the 2024Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Team Jayco AlUla's Caleb Ewan has powered to the sprint victory and into the early overall lead.With four riders attacking and forming the breakaway of the day, including three Spaniards and a Frenchman. The last survivor...

Race Face has released a newly redesigned version of its popular Chester Pedal. This time around, the new pedal features more grip, more sizes, and now sports a lifetime warranty. Seems like some nice changes to a staple in the Race Face line of components.(Photos / Race Face)The new Chester Pedal is still made with the same tough composite build and still carries a price tag that any rider can get behind. It has fully serviceable internals, comes in eight colors, and carries a lifetime warranty that is inclusive of crashes. Refreshing an IconRace Faces Chester pedals have been a staple in the Race Face lineup with a leading reputation as the high quality, composite pedal at a reasonable price. After years of being the pedal choice for riders of all levels, Chester was ready for an update. The feedback from their community of riders told them that they wanted a pedal with a more concave feel and improved grip. The riders also said they wanted the pedal available in multiple sizes Race Face listened. They addressed these pain points and made additional improvements by considering the following factors; pedal shape, platform size, pins, and Q-factor. The result? The best darn composite pedal ever made by Race Face.Whats New with Chester? Pedal Shape:Our previous iteration had a bulge in the center of the pedal platform to house the pedal spindle. Many composite pedals need more material in this area to achieve the desired strength (aluminum is stronger and requires less metal to achieve the same strength). The drawback of the bulge is an insecure, convex feel. With the new Chester, we slimmed down the spindle housing without compromising strength, almost eliminating the bulge entirely and resulting in a more concave and secure feel.Platform Size:We made the new Chester in two sizes, Small (105 x 100mm) and Large (115 x 110mm) to better suit the needs of all riders. Platform size is largely a matter of rider preference, but we found a rough correlation to shoe size.Pin Placement, Size and Quantity:Chester now has nine metal pins and two molded plastic pins for a total of 11 pins per pedal side (three more than the previous model). The pins were strategically placed for a more consistent grip around the entire pedal circumference and a more concave feel. The metal pins also have smaller, threadless tips, which improve grip and let riders reposition their feet as needed. Threadless pin tips also make pin removal easier for when riders inevitably replace them, as well as making the pins less damaging to the skin in the event of a shinner.Q-Factor:We eliminated the wrench flats from the pedal spindle to reduce Q-factor, meaning the riders feet will sit closer to the cranks. Riders can now improve ride ergonomics with a simple pedal swap.Chester Retails and FeaturesRetail: $55 (small or large)Updated pedal shape for better shoe-pedal contact, and a secure concave feelBetter pins, 11 pins per side improved placement, better grip, easy foot adjust, less shin-damageAvailable in Small and Large platform sizes: Small 105 x 100mm // Large 115 x 110mm 16mm platform height Fully rebuildable and serviceable internalsEight color options: Black / Red / Orange / Green / Turquoise / Blue / Purple / MagentaLightweight: Small 345g // Large 355gRaceFace.comThe post New Race Face Chester Pedal Means More Grip, New Sizes, & Lifetime Warranty appeared first on Bikerumor.

CyclistNine of the best moments from the Tour de France 2024Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates) reclaimed the yellow jersey that has eluded him for the last two years at the 2024 Tour de France, winning six stages in total, finishing 6min 17sec ahead of nearest rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and completing the famed Giro-Tour double.Despite not being able to reclaim his crown, Vingegaard still had a mightily impressive Tour considering his horrific crash at the Itzulia Basque Country race earlier in the season. He held onto the podium second spot and won a stage in dramatic fashion. Tour debutant Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) completed the podium, also winning a stage and becoming the first Belgian to take home the best young riders jersey.But beyond the fight for the GC, this years Tour de France threw up numerous historical firsts, exciting tales and heart-stopping moments. Here are nine of our favourites.Stage 1: A daring duo breakaway thrusts Romain Bardet into yellowA.S.O./Billy CeustersThe Tour de France began with a bang as the peloton departed Florence for Rimini, the first Grand Dpart in Italy in the races history. Frank van den Broek (DSM-Firmenich-PostNL) made his way into the days breakaway on his debut and was later joined by teammate Romain Bardet the fan-favourite Frenchman riding in his home race for the last time after the latters attack from the peloton on the Cte de San Leo.Bardet was dreaming of his first yellow jersey after having competed in 196 stages, but as the duo rode together the final kilometres, it looked like that dream could be cruelly snatched away by a marauding peloton. Thanks greatly to Van den Broeks efforts, the pair managed to hold off the pack by just a few metres, with Bardet crossing the line first, pointing at his heroic teammate. It was the perfect start for France, and as Bardet pulled on the maillot jaune he described it as the ultimate dream. Related Posts The 21 best photos from the Tour de France 2024 Who won the most prize money at the 2024 Tour de France? How to fix the Tour de France King of the Mountains classification Is this the end of Tour de France breakaways? Stage 3: Biniam Girmay makes historyA.S.O./Charly LopezFirst he made history, then he did it again and again. Biniam Girmay (Intermarch-Wanty) won Stage 3s sprint finish in Turin, sending his home nation of Eritrea into jubilation. He had become the first Black rider and first Eritrean to win a stage at the Tour, but it wasnt to end there.In the form of his life, Girmay then took sprint victories on Stages 8 and 12, putting himself into the green points jersey at the same time another first. And he held the jersey all the way to the finish, despite an almost costly crash on Stage 16 the final sprint stage of the Tour and seeing off stiff competition from Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the process. Stepping onto the podium at the end of the race, Girmay was draped in the Eritrean flag as he also became the first African and first Black rider to win the green jersey. Stage 5: Mark Cavendish wins record-breaking #35A.S.O./Charly LopezThe Tour de France could not have begun any worse for Mark Cavendish. On Stage 1s hilly parcours, and in sweltering temperatures, he was quickly dropped while vomiting on the bike. He was shepherded to the finish by his teammates and managed to make the time cut, but questions swirled as to whether he would be able to continue at all, let alone contest for victories.Just last year, he had abandoned the Tour with a broken collarbone. He then delayed retirement to re-sign for Astana Qazaqstan to have another shot at breaking the Tour de France stage wins record he shared with Eddy Merckx. Many thought he simply didnt have the speed to compete with younger sprinters, but he wouldnt give up.Having just about recovered from Stage 1, Cavendishs first sprint opportunity came on Stage 3, where he finished unscathed but ultimately unsuccessful. His next chance came on Stage 5, a 177km day from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas. Astana Qazaqstan were present in the final kilometres but became separated under the flamme rouge.Cavendish went solo, latching onto the wheel of Philipsen before swooping behind Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech). He launched his sprint in the final 150m and no one could come close. To rapturous cheers, he roared across the line with his arms spread, and when he finally came to a halt swathes of riders queued up to congratulate him.Finally he had done it, and now stands alone as the rider with the most stage victories in Tour history.Stage 7: Julien Bernard damages image of cycling, would do it again @JulienBernard17 on home roads! @JulienBernard17 la maison !#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/I42jlmEc7e Tour de France (@LeTour) July 5, 2024 >/div>It must be a dream for pro cyclists the chance to race on home roads and see your family and friends out supporting you in the biggest race on the calendar. For Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), thats exactly what happened during the Stage 7 individual time-trial. As he rode through a mass of supporters holding up T-shirts and posters with his face on, he stopped to kiss his wife and child before continuing on his way.After the stage, it was revealed Bernard was fined 200 Swiss francs (approx 174) for unseemly or inappropriate behaviour during the race and damage to the image of the sport. Bernard responded on social media by apologising, but saying he would pay the fine every day to experience that moment again.Stage 9: Gravel stage chaosA.S.O./Charly LopezGravel is a divisive subject in Grand Tours. However, its inclusion on Stage 9 certainly produced one of the most entertaining days of racing. Splits formed, riders were forced to run with their bikes, and some were forced to stand still as bottlenecks formed heading into secteurs. Primo Rogli (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was dropped. Vingegaard spent half the day on teammate Jan Tratniks bike. Evenepoel tried to attack and Pogaar countered. It was utter chaos.A day of brutal fighting on the gravel roads ended with TotalEnergies Anthony Turgis winning. It was brilliant.Stage 11: Jonas Vingegaard out-sprints Tadej PogaarA.S.O./Billy CeustersHeading into the Massif Central on a day backloaded with climbs, Pogaar attacked towards the summit of the Col de Pertus and looked for a while as if he would simply soar to an easy stage victory. Vingegaard and Rogli initially teamed up to chase him down as Evenepoel lost some time, but eventually the Dane shed Rogli and slowly began to reel in Pogaar. You could almost hear the Jaws music in the background, building to its crescendo as the fisherman slowly closed in and made the catch.Just months after his horrendous crash at the Itzulia Basque Country, Vingegaard wound up to sprint against Pogaar at the finish as the heavy underdog, with Pogaar typically the best in two-up sprints. However Vingegaard refused to be passed, cementing his stage victory with a bike throw. What a comeback.Stage 17: Richard Carapaz completes Grand Tour setA.S.O./Charly LopezIt was a race for making history. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) became the first Ecuadorian to win an individual Tour de France stage on the summit finish on SuperDvoluy. He bridged across to leader Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) on the penultimate climb and promptly left him behind. Carapaz, who will not be at the Olympics to defend his road race gold medal, won the stage and completed his set of stage victories at all three Grand Tours. On Stage 20, Carapaz, now in the polka dot jersey, made sure to be at the front for two of the climbs, taking maximum points to gain an unassailable lead in the mountains classification another moment of history for his nation. He won the Tours overall most combative rider prize too.Stage 18: Blue skies for Victor CampenaertsTim de Waele via GettyA memorable win and an interview for the ages. Its easy to describe Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) as a fan favourite his big personality, his humour, his ease in front of the camera (and daily vlogs). He had labelled Stage 18 as a target for months, its hilly parcours too much for sprinters but not too tough as to form any major gaps on general classification.He managed to form a breakaway trio with Micha Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) and Matto Vercher (TotalEnergies), and when they arrived together in the final few hundred metres it was Vercher who kicked first and Kwiatkowski who brought them back together. Campenaerts launched his sprint from the back in the last 200m, his head bobbing and weaving with his efforts, and he crossed the line first, mouth wide in amazement.It wasnt only his victory that became a standout moment, but his celebration and interview afterwards. He immediately asked for someone to call his girlfriend and she soon appeared on video call with their young child. Campenaerts voice cracked saying that he had won, and he simply said his sons name over and over: Gustaaf GustaafWinning a stage in the Tour de France is everybodys dream, he said in his post-race interview. Im not a neo-pro, Ive been dreaming about this for a very long time. After the Classics, I had a verbal agreement with the team about extending the contract. I got ignored for a long time. It was very difficult.My girlfriend was there [at altitude camp]. She supported me every day, highly pregnant. The support I have [from her] is incredible. Shes always there for me. She gave birth to our son at the bottom of the climb. She is the hero in this story. I have a bright future I became a father it was like blue skies. Only blue skies. I started to feel very good on the bike.Stage 21: Tadej Pogaar becomes first man in 26 years to complete Giro-Tour doubleA.S.O./Billy CeustersWith decisive victories at both the Giro dItalia and Tour de France this year, Pogaar became the first man to complete the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998. The Slovenian won six stages at both Grand Tours and finished with a dramatic flourish by crushing everyone on the Stage 21 time-trial in Nice.His winning margin at the Tour was 6min 17sec, while at the Giro it was 9min 56sec. Such was his dominance that he wore the pink jersey at the Giro for 20 days out of 21, and yellow at the Tour for 19 days out of 21. Only three other riders have worn a Grand Tour leaders jersey at all this season, each of them for one day only.Pogaars double marks another historic moment for the 2024 Tour and lays the foundation for a mouth-watering rematch with a fully fit Vingegaard next year. Related Posts The 21 best photos from the Tour de France 2024 Who won the most prize money at the 2024 Tour de France? How to fix the Tour de France King of the Mountains classification Is this the end of Tour de France breakaways? The post Nine of the best moments from the Tour de France 2024 appeared first on Cyclist.

Neither Tadej Pogacar or Urska Zigart will be representing Slovenia at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. Can the controversial absence of Zigart from the women's team be correlated with Pogacar's last-minute withdrawal though? In Jens Voigt opinion, it sure could.His girlfriend Urska won the na...

Last week, April Drage became the first person to finish the 2024 Race to the Rock, a challenging ride across the Australian Outback. In this piece, April recounts her incredible 2,750-kilometer ride and the challenges that make this event the quintessential Australian bikepacking raceThe post 2024 Race to the Rock Recap by April Drage appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

These speed freaks make the rest of us good guys look bad they tarnish the cyclist brand and take away from all the wonderful things about biking

CyclistClassic climb: Kitzbheler Horn, the Austrian climb that dishes out painA horn can be a musical instrument that emits a clarion call of joy or a warning to all around. Or a horn can be a weapon used by bulls and goats to gore their enemies. Or, if youre a cyclist, a horn can be a climb so steep, so unrelenting, that it feels like a stab to the legs and a klaxon to the self-esteem.The Kitzbheler Horn in the Austrian Tyrol is just such a climb. It may not look too threatening from the chocolate box town of Kitzbhel that lies at its foot, but the bucolic scenery hides a collection of unrelenting switchbacks that wind upwards for nearly 10km at an average gradient of over 12%, with spikes at over 20%, to just shy of 2,000m.Its a profile to strike fear into the hearts of amateurs and pros alike, and the Horns dead-end setup makes it perfect for a gruelling stage finale. The Tour of Austria has visited numerous times, with climbing grandee and Tour de France champion Cadel Evans winning the mountain stage here in both 2001 and 2004, while Alexander Vlasov, currently with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, was quickest to the top in 2019. The finish line in these races is the Alpenhaus restaurant after 7km. Beyond this point the road narrows so significantly that taking a pro race up there would be foolhardy. But for the lone amateur rider, once past the Alpenhaus theres another 2.4km of torture to go.The writing is on the road, in case youve forgotten where you are as you near the summit.Alice GoughHorn through the agesHaving completed the climb and made your way back to the Alpenhaus, youll be able to soak up some of the history comprehensively detailed on the record board. It lists Anna Plattner as having set the womens QoM time of 35min 27sec in 2022, while the first man to set a KoM was Swiss rider Beat Breu in 1983, who flew up the climb at 14kmh in 29min 1sec. A new course record was set in 2007 by Austrian pro Thomas Rohregger, who beat Beats time by half a minute to stop the clock at 28min 24sec.The cable cars hint at why the Kitzbheler Horn is closed for six months of the year.Alice GoughFurther back in time in the 1970s, sworn Austrian rivals Wolfgang Steinmayr and Rudi Mitteregger waged thigh-powered war on one another, each winning The Mountain Grand Prix of Europe, which took place here between 1971 and 1995 and was contested by both pros and amateurs.Lucien Van Impe, who took the Tour de France mountains jersey six times, was challenged by Steinmayr to a duel up the Horn on 15th August 1975. In what must have been punishing summer heat, Steinmayr came up short, leaving Van Impe to set a then course record time of 30min 3sec. If riding it wasnt bad enough, since 1979 it has also been used as a mountain run course. In 2000 Kiwi Jonathan Wyatt ran up it in 55min 58sec just remember that when youre watching your own time tick towards the hour mark.Despite that you will feel the heat as the treeline recedes and the gradient ramps up.Alice GoughHorn to be wildHaving left Kitzbhel and bridged the Walsenbach river, dont be distracted by the almost Dolomitic grandeur of the Wilder Kaiser mountain range that lies due north. Instead, the road takes a hard right and heads eastwards into what looks like rolling green fields. Its nigh-on impossible to miss the official start thanks to the presence of a large start sign that includes a map and a small electronic device that will give you a ticket when you hit the button, allowing you to record your official time. Its Strava in physical form.The Horn is only open from May to November, so depending on the time of day you choose to ride there is a good chance you will spend the start of the ride in deep shade as the sun is hidden behind the hills. Even in summer you can expect a slight shiver whipping round the ankles.The views of the Kitzbhel Alps and Leukental Valley are spectacular so long as you have the energy to look up from your stem.Alice GoughBy the time you arrive at the wooden tollbooth after almost 2km (cars have to pay the princely sum of 25) youll already be feeling the steepness, but the truth is that the easy bit is over and you wont be seeing single-digit gradients again for a long time. The next section provides some of the most brutal ascending in Europe. To compare, the last 6km of Spains notorious Angliru averages just below 13%. Here you have the same gradients but for nearly 8km. Enjoy.To start with, there isnt an awful lot to focus on apart from the heavenly smoothness of the tarmac, the lush greenery and the hush of the forest as your pedals try to tap into a rhythm on what is, mercifully, a predictable slope. Its not until the road peeks its head out of the forest, emerging above the treeline after 5km, that the splendour of Ellmauer Halt reveals itself at 2,344m the highest peak in its range.Alice GoughPlunging back into tree cover, the hillside envelops you for the most brutal kilometre of the climb, averaging 15% with jabs of over 20%. Once out of the trees, views of the Kitzbhel Alps and the Leukental Valley open up, although at this point you may have trouble appreciating them fully through the fog of pain that will have almost certainly descended.The sight of the Alpenhaus cafe is good for morale. It feels so close, but like steam dancing above a coffee it will disappear if you reach out to touch it. If you need motivation, its worth remembering that since 2021 the 216km Kitzbhel Cycling Marathon including 4,600m of climbing has had its final sprint at the Alpenhaus. For you, however, arrival at the cafe is merely a chance to regroup, enjoy the relative holiday of an 11% gradient, ignore the scent of strudel and suck in whats left of the oxygen at 1,650m. Theres still 2.4km to the top.Beware slow-moving tourists the cross near the summit is popular with sightseers as well as cyclists.Alice GoughStrictly forbidden to all but the most official cars, the road goes through a gate, becomes a tarmacked path and is now reserved for walkers, riders, marmots and goats. Be proud that only the true masochists/heroes haul themselves beyond the shade, shelter, coffee and beer on offer in the Alpenhaus.Aint no stopping nowWith another 300 vertical metres to climb, this is no final yodel; legs will be dripping with what looks like sweat but might actually be lactate; heart rate will be peaking and you will be pretty far along in the divorce proceedings with your cassette. But if cycling is ever worth the effort, then surely an empty road with almost 360 views of mountainous Austrian landscape is the best reason of all.Alice GoughBeneath the rumble of cable cars, the sound of livestock tinkling away will be filling your ears, just as that odd taste of sucking a penny will be filling your lungs and mouth. Keep your eyes peeled for marmots burying themselves in holes and a rather ominous giant cross, which will be surrounded by walkers enjoying a view you are still suffering towards. Mercifully, climbing the Horn is so ludicrous that the final 500m at 8% feels pretty much like a false flat.Once you and your bike crest the summit, set it down somewhere, hunker down in the shade or do a lethargic loop on foot, soaking in the panoramic views. Theres a cafe up here too, but the smart money is down at the Alpenhaus with its colossal hovering sun terrace: One strudel and a cappuccino, danke herr.Youve conquered the Kitzbheler Horn, and now its time to blow your own trumpet. This article originally appeared in issue 155 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribeThe post Classic climb: Kitzbheler Horn, the Austrian climb that dishes out pain appeared first on Cyclist.

In a frantic finale to the 2024Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Team Jayco AlUla's Caleb Ewan has powered to the sprint victory.With four riders attacking and forming the breakaway of the day, including three Spaniards and a Frenchman. The last survivor of the break turned out to be Carlos Garcia Pierna,...

The winning moment? If Tadej Pogaar took the yellow jersey after just Stage 4, hopes of a contest were rekindled on Stage 11 Le Lioran when Jonas Vingegaard won. They were calmed on the first day in the Pyrenees to the Pla dAdet, then extinguished the next day on the climb the Plateau de Beille. If not the winning moment this second day in the Pyrenees set up a dominant victory.Pogaars imperious results will wow some and bore others and thats fine, there are different ways to enjoy the sport. If the final result lacked suspense the daily battles to slip the UAE teams stranglehold were gripping and many stages offered some of the best racing so far this season.We cant start the review in Rimini, well go to Nice instead. Because in March both Primo Rogli and Remco Evenepoel were both caught out by Matteo Jorgenson, two invincibles undone in Paris-Nice.Weeks later came disaster in the collective crashes in the Basque Country and Dwars Door Vlaanderen that left many injured and in rehab, but not Pogaar because he preparing for the Giro. Crashes like this make you wonder if teams only satisfied by major wins will retain stars for the grand tours and monuments even more.It was in spring that the sounds from Pogaars entourage changed, the Giro was no longer the prime mission with anything in July as a bonus. Instead Giro-Tour double talk got loud, and long before the Trofeo Senza Fine was raised. Pogaar breezed the Giro, the route was eased and nobody apart from Antonio Tiberi could or would attack him. The result was six stages and almost ten minutes on the next rider.With hindsight June counted too. Rogli won the Critrium du Dauphin, just. We didnt see it but Covid was back in bunch. Pogaar mentioned he caught it in June. Evenepoel didnt mention it but apparently he was in his pre-Tour camp hotel room for days after the Dauphin. Perhaps this gave them added immunity for July, or just meant their Covid karma was used up in June rather than July?Heres the chart of the GC standings over the 21 stages. Sometimes this can look like tangled wiring but 2024s version has just four lines because the others in the top-10 were racing hard yet never weighing on the race. The lines hardly overlap and fall away from Pogaar at every big rendez-vous, Remco Evenepoels Beaujolais time trial win a rare inflection.Rogli is included if only to show that finishes where he might have hoped to pick up bonuses saw him lose out so we can only speculate as to what might have been if it wasnt for Alexey Lutsenko and that traffic divider in La Sauvetat-sur-Lede. A contest for the third place perhaps but to ask for more feels greedy.Le Lioran saw the tipping point theory gain traction: Pogaar would start to fade and Vingegaard was on the up. Pogaars attack on the Puy Mary saw him away although never alone given the crowds. Only Vingegaard floated across on the next climb and then won the stage. The turning point? Pogaar looked pale and it seemed less a reversal of fortunes and more a quirk to see him lose a sprint. Vingegaard needed more than the four second time bonus advantage.The hypothesis took a hit on the first day in the Pyrenees when Pogaar took 39 seconds on the climb to Pla dAdet. Still subscribers could claim the upper slopes were not so steep and that Vingegaard maybe just had a bad day.The Plateau de Beille settled things. Visma-LAB worked hard all day and you could tell a Vingegaard attack was coming. Once Matteo Jorgenson could do no more the Dane went with 10km to go, standing on the pedals for 18 strokes. Pogaar followed, seated. The others were gone, as if written out of the script. Vingegaard hardly asked Pogaar for a turn and this had the effect of keeping Evenepoel at bay. With 5km to to Pogaar made a quick acceleration and was gone, taking a minute by the finish line. Goodbye and goodnight.The hierarchy established it was then entrenched. Superdvoluy was the exception that proved the rule, a judder as here Evenepoel took time on Pogaar and Vingegaard but just ten seconds. This was no roller coaster contest of ups and downs.The dominance continued. Vismas plans for Vingegaard over the Bonette pivoted to a Jorgenson stage win but they were caught trying to ride two horses and Pogaar rode down a four minute lead on the climb to Isola 2000. The next day to La Couillole saw Pogaar broadcast UAE would take it easier, only for Soudal-Quickstep to chase and so what else could Pogaar do but out-sprint Vingegaard? The gaps only widened in the final time trial where the 1-2-3 results on the day reflected the podium, a sixth stage win for Pogaar and a six minute winning margin.The VerdictA dominant performance where Pogaar has improved after his sacking in Combloux and the Col de la Loze last year, such that even a fully fit Vingegaard must find it hard to plot a path to victory next July. Hes bound to try and Evenepoel is keen to return too but all the rest must be wondering what to do.Fourth place went to Joo Almeida, the first of four sherpas in the top-10 and he was 10 minutes behind Evenepoel. The best challenger was Carlos Rodriguez, six minutes down on Almeida and 7th overall.This edition doesnt pass the DVD test where once upon a time youd buy the video highlights and even a DVD player to soak it up again and again over winter. This time things worked out so one way and there was little contest on the GC. The podium order was settled and the rest of the top-10 felt incidental.Yet it was full of blockbuster moments and for hours at a time. This was a rewarding race to watch live in full rather than the evening highlights because the action came in the duration, hours of relentless battle to get into the breakaways.The daily battle for many of the stages was great. Who had Agen-Pau down as a barnstormer when the route came out? We got romance and pathos, Romain Bardet taking the yellow jersey in his last Tour, Biniam Girmays first Tour win, Vingegaard in tears at his come-back stage win, and Mark Cavendish of course. The Tour is obviously the biggest bike race going, its what this brings that makes it the best. Most of the top riders are there, theyre in peak shape and racing hard just to get in the breakaway.Not every day was a barnstormer. The sprint stages are becoming a structural problem if nobody attacks. The race can still satisfy roadside crowds and these off-days allow riders to regenerate, reculer pour mieux sauter but an active recovery ride does not make for great viewing. This blogs daily previews gently steer readers to tune in late but thats hardly something the organisers and participants can suggest.Its not easy to remedy, Frances geography means everything to the left of the line traced from from Biarritz to Strasbourg is more or less flat. The Troyes gravel worked, the GC contenders taking part in the action only to leave the win to the break. France has plenty of other off-road options if the organisers need them.The 2025 Tour de France starts in the North and should visit Brittany meaning they might employ pavs or ribins, and maybe a team time trial with Paris-Nice rules with an uphill finish at, say, Mr-de-Bretagne.Reprising the DVD test again, to rewatch is to know Pogaar keeps winning but each day this wasnt a given. Four minutes starting the climb to Isola 2000? It was only well into the climb that the result started to feel inevitable with Pogaar harvesting riders up the road like some demented threshing machine. Still most mountain stages often lacked the two for the price of one contests with the breakaway reeled in. UAE went in looking very strong, a podium clean sweep was possible but instead they finished fourth and sixth, in part because Adam Yates and Joo Almeida were always riding for their leader and not themselves.The Tour had its annual doping hearings. Each July the best rider has to account for their performances as parts of the the media evoke doubts and questions, but little else. The questions are formulaic, seem to be happen every July and come in particular once the GC hierarchy is established and are inevitably directed at the race leader, anyone else with a transformational performance during the race seems spared. As such it feels like ritual rather than enquiry. Yes record performances and 7W/kg for 40 minutes ought to invite questions and debate but its almost a Rorschach test where what people see can inform us more about their state than the sport. Your blogger is left guessing rather than sitting in fist-clenched certainty.Talking of spoilsports and uncertainty, Covid. To labour the point made before, its no longer a health emergency but it is contagious and can be ruinous for athletes, a Damoclean protein spike waiting to fall at random. In the end it didnt reshape the race but it did contribute to Ineos and others having a discreet time.The mountains competition was the opposite of recent years where wed seen a lively contest between riders quashed late in the third week by a GC rider taking the jersey on their way to the overall win. This time Richard Carapaz took the jersey off Tadej Pogaar, no mean feat and he ends up as a worthy winner who thrived this Tour and aided by clever team work. Jonas Abrahamsen needs to be mentioned too for his indefatigable antics in the first half of the race, Uno-X are still the only team in the race without a stage win but they brought plenty by trying.Carapaz makes for an instructive exemplar, a grand tour contender now almost in a cameo role. Bardet pulled this off too. Simon Yates, Enric Mas and Jai Hindley are similar but without a result which shows even this class of rider cant guarantee results.For all the dominance by UAE there was still room for surprise and the little guys. Anthony Turgis won a stage, Arka-B&B Hotels got their first ever too thanks to Kvin Vauquelin. Biniam Girmay was no revelation but he himself said he started out as Gerben Thijssens leadout but a mix-up in the approach to Turin saw him grab the opportunity to win. He took two more and with it the green jersey in a contest that was validated by Jasper Philipsens late challenge and given a scare by Girmays crash in Nmes. The sprint shock was Mark Cavendish in Saint-Vulbas but the result was convincing, if it was hard to see him doing it suddenly with 200m to it seemed irresistible.For Pogaar what next? The Worlds and no Vuelta, no Olympics either. He and his team are in search of new challenges, winning Milan-Sanremo is one but famously elusive and Paris-Roubaix features too but not yet as his team will want him back at the Tour and without too many extra kilos please. Peter Sagans career is interesting, the thrill of fresh challenges soon gave way to delivering for sponsors, with each passing year you could see him turn from thrill seeker to corporate mannequin as sponsors expected a cobbled classic and the green jersey. Mondays Le Monde suggests Pogaar has 12 million reasons a year not to retire yet but even that may not retain him if the fun fades.Was Vingegaard missing form? He said he was producing some of his best numbers although this was at the finish line, informed by saccadic glances from his bike computer rather than poring over power files. His team said he was lacking some muscle which made him less explosive when he needed to jump. He is bound to want to come back and with a stronger team in support too given all their bad luck must be used up soon.Can Evenepoel improve on his third place? To ask this is to set a new question no sooner after he answered the one about being able to handle multiple mountain stages in the third week. Beating both Pogaar and Vingegaard looks out of reach today but hes now able to look ahead and imagine what a perfect preparation would look like. No crash in April, no crash-diet in June, no Covid, stronger team mates and he can hope for more.Finally while its all done and dusted, the sense of wanting it all to start again. The 2025 Tour de France route presentation is on Tuesday 29 October but before then the Olympics and the Tour de France Femmes. A long summer in France will do instead.The post The Moment The Tour de France Was Won first appeared on The Inner Ring.