CyclistWho are the favourites for the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa?The 2024 Vuelta a Espaa starts on Saturday 17th August in Lisbon. A challenging route awaits, with seven uphill finishes including the ferocious Picn Blanco and Lagos de Covadonga.After a rambunctious year, Tadej Pogaar has decided to sit this one out. His fellow podium buddies from the Tour Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel have also passed on the chance to race the Spanish Grand Tour. Regardless of the top dogs absences, the reigning champion Sepp Kuss will attempt to pull off a title defence after his surprising win 12 months ago.Three-time Vuelta winner Primo Rogli will return to racing at the Vuelta with the support of the Red Bull-Bora-Hangrohe squad. Joo Almeida will lead UAE Team Emirates alongside Britains Adam Yates. Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz will be looking to improve on their Tour results. Mikel Landa holds Basque hopes while Carlos Rodrguez will underpin Ineos Grenadiers approach at the final Grand Tour of the season. Related Posts Is it time to swap the dates of the Giro and Vuelta? The Vuelta a Espaa leaders red jersey: Everything you need to know Vuelta a Espaa 2024: Route, start list, how to watch and all you need to know Joo Almeida, UAE Team EmiratesTour de Suisse/Buchli FotografieThe 2024 Vuelta begins in Portugal for the first time in 27 years. Is this an omen for Portugals brightest GC star in decades? Perhaps.After working in support of Pogaar all year, Almeida finally has the support of UAE Team Emirates. At the Tour last month, Almeida finished fourth while on domestique duties. Without those top 3 riders at the Vuelta, Almeida becomes the de facto race favourite.A strong time-triallist, Almeida will relish the chance to gain time against the clock on Stages 1 and 21. The lack of long-form mountain stages should also favour Almeidas loss-limiting style.His UAE Team Emirates squad will strike fear in his opponents. Pavel Sivakov reprises his role from the Tour, while Jay Vine returns alongside early-season star Brandon McNulty and upcoming star Issac del Toro. UAE Team Emirates have nothing to lose, but everything to gain here.Rating: 4/5Primo Rogli, Red Bull-Bora-HansgroheA.S.O./Billy CeustersIts hard to look past Roglis record at this race. He has finished on the podium each time of completion. This, of course, includes his three overall victories between 2019 to 2021. Bluntly, there are few men in the business who can rock a punchy Vuelta finish quite like Primo Rogli.Rogli, however, faced another Tour de France-ending crash last month. The Slovenians injuries seemed pretty serious though. Once he abandoned the race, he took to social media to worryingly document his recovery from broken vertebrae.To support in the mountains, Rogli will have Sasha Vlasov and Dani Martnez by his side. These two riders have finished in the top five of Grand Tours in recent years. After a disappointing Tour, expectations will be high for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohes final Grand Tour of the year.Rating: 4/5Richard Carapaz, EF Education-EasyPostA.S.O./Charly LopezBefore signing with EF Education-First, Carapaz shared a phenomenal Grand Tour stat with Tadej Pogaar. Both riders were the only riders to finish on the podium of a Grand Tour each season since 2019. This stat factors in a very close call at the 2020 Vuelta which saw Carapaz lose out on the overall standings by just a handful of seconds to Primo Rogli.This year will be the first year since 2022 that Carapaz lines up for the Spanish three-weeker. At the 2022 Vuelta, Carapaz rode a similar race to his 2024 Tour de France by raiding breakaways and the polka-dot jersey classification. This year, he could do similar. However, his GC racing has been a big focus for the American teams year-long strategy. After missing the mark in the GC standings at the Tour, much will be expected of Carapaz in the hunt for the maillot rojo.Rating: 3/5Adam Yates, UAE Team EmiratesA.S.O./Charly LopezThird at last years Tour de France, Adam Yates is growing as a GC contender. As UAE Team Emirates third card at the Tour, he finished in 6th place overall.The Brit shines on longer climbs. Therefore, the stage to Lagos de Covadonga and the brutal finale to Cuiti Negru should suit Yates strengths. He has also displayed signs of improvement in the time-trials and hill stages in recent years, so be prepared for Yates to be a sticky opponent for other teams.I dont expect any internal friction between himself and Portuguese Almeida. The two have worked closely this year and tag teamed to victory at the Tour de Suisse in June. With that, dont expect any tactical silliness from UAE Team Emirates.Rating: 3/5Carlos Rodrguez, Ineos GrenadiersA.S.O./Billy CeustersCarlos Rodrguez made his big breakthrough at the 2022 Vuelta. The 23-year-old has since won a Tour stage, finished in the top five there and claimed a number of big UCI WorldTour race wins. This includes a win at the 2024 Dauphin.The Tour didnt quite go to plan for the young Spaniard. Overshadowed by UAE Team Emirates and the GC galacticos, Rodrguez was very much a second-tier contender for the podium. He proved unreliable on mountain stages and dropped earlier than expected a real contrast to his strong 2023 Tour ride. He has also continued an unhelpful knack of crashing in big races.Now back on home roads, Rodrguez can expect a better result in the GC standings. Regardless, a shot at the white jersey seems within his grasp.Rating: 2/5Enric Mas, Movistar TeamA.S.O./Charly LopezA steady Eddie of the Vuelta a Espaa history books, Enric Mas has three Vuelta podium finishes to his name. Never the first to attack, the Catalan will be Movistars top card in their home Grand Tour. A race packed with mountain stages should favour Mas hopes, however, the two time-trials on offer will be an obstacle for the Spanish rider to achieve a fourth Vuelta podium in six years.Mas missed the big GC moves at the Tour de France. Instead, he fought for breakaways in lieu of his dwindling hopes of reaching the top 15.It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Mas bounces back and finishes on the podium. He is, after all, the Vueltas stoic podium contender.Rating: 2/5OutsidersTim de Waele/Getty ImagesThe Vuelta is often the hardest Grand Tour to predict. With riders fighting for last-minute contracts and a final Grand Tour spotlight, anything can happen. Beyond the big riders already listed, look out for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohes Sasha Vlasov and Dani Martnez. Ben OConnor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) will start the Vuelta after finishing in fourth place at the Giro earlier this year. Another Giro star, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) will lead the hopes of his Middle Eastern squad.Mattias Skjelmose skipped the Tour to ride the Vuelta. With this in mind, he might be cooking something up. Similarly, Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) is back to winning ways after a lacklustre year spent as the reigning champion. The 2024 winner will be flanked by Cian Uijtdebroeks who will hope for a strong end to his first year with Visma-Lease a Bike.The Cyclist predictionSPRINT CYCLING AGENCY/UAE Team EmiratesUAE Team Emirates will complete a Grand Tour hat-trick and equal Vismas feat last year. For this, I am going to back Joo Almeida of Portugal.Sometimes fairytales do happen. The race begins in his home nation and the lack of Pogaar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel will give Almeida the chance to flourish after a season spent on lieutenant duties. Yates will join him on the podium in a respectable third while Rogli acts as a caffeinated Red Bull filling to this podium sandwich in second.The post Who are the favourites for the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa? appeared first on Cyclist.

Lidl-Trek will start the Vuelta a Espaa with a team fully focused in the mountains. A strong lineup, not only does Mattias Skjelmose start the race with high GC ambitions but he will also be able to count on the support or perhaps co-leadership of Tao Geoghegan Hart and Giulio Ciccone."Lidl-Trek w...

Equal minimum salaries are a milestone for our sport, however those further down the pyramid are the ones that need help

This latest financial report marks an improvement of sorts for the worlds biggest bike manufacturer after a troubling first quarter saw profits slump by 38 per cent

Carlos Rodrguez faces the Vuelta a Espaa with enthusiasm after a complicated Tour de France in which he finished completely exhausted. After being confirmed by INEOS Grenadiers as one of the leaders of the British squad along with Thymen Arensman, he assures to be recovered to face the challenge....

Adding to their line of suspension stems, the team at Redshift Sports just launched 55mm and 70mm ShockStop Stems, which they say received a ground-up redesign. Take a peek at the updated Redshift Sports ShockStop Stem lengths here...The post Redshift Sports Adds 55 and 70mm ShockStop Stems appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Arka - B&B Hotels have one of the most modest teams at World Tour level and away from France, they arrive at the Vuelta a Espaa with a lineup focused on stage wins. However, they also carry hope of a strong overall classification result with Cristin Rodrguez in his home Grand Tour.Team DS Arnau...

Last week, Rad Power Bikes released the RadKick 7-Speed and RadKick Belt Drive. They say these eBikes are engineered to ride more like a standard bicycle. This new bike was a way for RAD to fill a gap in their line a need expressed by their customers.RadKick 7-speed (Photos / Rad Power Bikes)RadKick Belt DriveAfter compiling that customer feedback, Rad says they designed the RadKick to be a simpler, more intuitive, and lighter-weight eBike. Lightweight is all relative, especially when talking about affordable ebikes. Rad says the claimed weight of the RadKick belt drive is under 55lbs. The RadKick comes in two different drivetrains. They come in a 7-speed chain drive flavor, a first for Rad Power. And a single-speed belt drive flavor.Rad decided to offer a belt-driven bicycle for those riders who want a simple, quiet, low-maintenance drivetrain. With the carbon belt drive, it will allow riders to enjoy longer periods between service intervals. A belt drive also eliminates dealing with the mess that can be chain lube. The RadKick belt drive comes equipped with a responsive torque sensor providing power on request while offering a more natural ride experience. A Word from the CEOSince joining Rad, I have worked closely with our customer service teams, engineers, and quality leaders to reassess our lineup and identify holes that needed to be filled. RadKick was that missing piece, said Phil Molyneux, CEO of Rad Power Bikes. He continues, Designed for riders who want an eBike thats lighter and more affordable, RadKick is a natural extension of our mission to make eBikes accessible to everyone with it affordability and intuitive operation. Weve stayed true to Rad DNA with premium features but kept simplicity. at the core to welcome even more riders to the eBike community. RadKick SpecThe RadKick comes standard with features and specs that make it suitable for a variety of riders with various needs. It sports front suspension, a geared hub motor, twist grip throttle, and pedal assist. It also has full front and rear fenders, along with front and rear mounting points for baskets, racks, or many other accessories. Plus its got a rear rack that can hold up to 55lbs. RadKick Retail & AvailablityRetail: $1199 (Arctic Blue chain drive)Retail: $1399 (Midnight Blue belt drive)the RadKick is now available for pre-order in the US online at the link below or a RadRetail Store. They will begin shipping in early September. RadPowerBikes.comThe post RAD Power Bikes Drops the RadKick, a Belt Driven eBike That is Their Lightest Yet appeared first on Bikerumor.

Stage 2 of the Tour de Pologne will be a key day for the overall classification. The 15-kilometer time-trial is mostly uphill and should create rather meaningful differences on the week-long race. We follow along the events on the day.Follow today's stage in detail with our live blog!

Suspension stems have been around for quite some time. But, Redshift Sports approaches this piece of gear with a well-thought-out design for their version of these cockpit smoother-outers. Today they launch two new lengths of their innovative and popular ShockStop Stem, 55mm and 70mm.55mm (L) and 70mm (R) (Photos / Redshift Sports)A few of us around here have been enjoying the ShockStop Stem for a while. Ive run one for almost a year, and way back in 2017, Tyler reviewed one and liked it a lot. Modern Geo = Shorter StemsRedshifts new stems were designed from the ground up, yet still deliver the same performance as the existing ShockStop stems. Redshift says that these changes translate to the ideal suspension for drop bar road or gravel bikes.55mmRedshift designed these two shorter-length stems with longer top tubes and slacker head tube angles of modern gravel and road bikes in mind. According to Redshift, the 55mm stem is the first sub-70mm suspension stem to be offered hence the completely new engineering and internals needed to make it all work at such a short length. 70mmWith modern geometry becoming standard on gravel bikes, we wanted to continue to provide the most complete suspension stem lineup in the industry. The ShockStop is the only suspension stem available in lengths shorter than 70mm, said Scott Poff, Co-founder of Redshift SportsSleek Design 55mm70mmThe minimalistic design of the Redshift ShockStop stem pairs well with the aesthetics of the newer bikes being produced. I like the minimal design features of the ShockStop Stem, it doesnt look out of place in any bike and it does a great job of reducing rider fatigue and minimizing any hand/wrist pain.The best part is that you can easily customize your suspension feel, to allow the stem to be as firm or as soft as youd like. Which, in turn, will help you maintain control over the rough stuff. ShockStop Stem Retail and Features Retail: $189.99 (lifetime warranty, 90-day risk-free trial, and free shipping)Effective Suspension Travel: Up to 20mmDesigned for Modern GeometryExtremely Light: 55mm stem is only 196 gramsAdjustable Preload: Includes swappable elastomers to fine-tune your riding styleUltra wide range of lengths: New: 55mm, & 70mm // Existing sizes: 80mm, 90mm, 100mm, 110mm, and 120mmSmooth out your ride and check out all of the innovative bike bits by visiting the link below. RedShiftSports.comThe post Redshift Shrinks Down ShockStop, with First Ever Sub-70mm Suspension Stem appeared first on Bikerumor.