From the 12th to 18th August the Tour de France Femmes 2024 will be on the road. After it's return, it has quickly become one of women's cycling most important and attractive events, and the 2024 edition promises to deliver with a route that is packed with surprises.We preview stage 3.The second st...

Charlotte Kool had a complicated season but it is all coming together at the Tour de France Femmes. Today Lorena Wiebes was in front and at her best, but the yellow jersey Kool has won yet again with an impressive sprint, consolidating her race lead.Today is an important day in the race, with two s...

The Vuelta a Espana starts on the 17th of August and finishes on the 8th of September. It is the final Grand Tour of the season and, like every year, it will feature a luxurious startlist packed with climbers, sprinters and classics riders looking for their final opportunity to win big in a Grand To...

Darren Rafferty already has form proper form as a general classification rider. In his second year at U23 level he won Giro Ciclistico della Valle dAosta-Mont Blanc(2.2U), one of the hardest and most prestigious races on the international U23 scene. That victory followed a 2nd place overall finish at the Baby Giro just []The post Analysis | How Darren Raffertys GC rider journey will start at La Vuelta appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

Comment & Analysis: Business journalist Ian Guiders column in this weeks Business Post newspaper is yet another example of journalists willing to cover the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan without carrying out basic research and flinging around reductive arguments.The Business Posts coverage of the traffic plan under its new editor,Daniel McConnell, has been a little too quick to favour the retailers (mainly those with car park interests) who are complaining. But Guiders article on Sunday may be the worst coverage of the plan across all media, and theres been quite a lot of dreadful coverage.There has been much misreporting about the transport plan amounting to a city centre car ban when its not its not even a ban on through traffic across the core city centre, never mind the wider city centre, which is defined as within the canals.At most, the first phase of the plan this year bans cars from a few metres on one street. Cars transport around 2% of the people around OConnell Bridge, and in that context, there will still be a high level of access for car users.Guider claims: Brown Thomas on Grafton Street in central Dublin surely makes for the most unusual location for a protest about climate change. But he doesnt really explain why he thinks thats the case. The company even before it was one company has a long history of objecting to the smallest of sustainable transport measures.Right now, Brown Thomas-Arnotts (directly or via the Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance) opposes the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan, a Pathfinder project that aims to accelerate climate action by prioritising sustainable transport and reducing emissions.If a company opposes a plan to accelerate climate action, it is basically opposing climate action. If a journalist is calling for a delay to such a plan, they are looking to delay climate action at a time when climate experts are (again) calling for that action to start to materialise. Guider said: It [Brown Thomas-Arnotts] is within its rights, alongside others affected, to highlight the potential for the proposal to remove private vehicles from stretches of the quays during the daytime for the inconvenience it will cause on its deliveries and from getting people into its store on Grafton Street, where it operates a car park, and on Arnotts across on Henry Street, which also has parking facilities.Theres so much wrong here.The restrictions to enable bus priority on the quays will not stop access to the Arnotts car park or loading areas. Looking at Google Maps, I also cannot find any route where the bus gates along the quays at OConnell Bridge will affect travel to any car park or on-street parking near Brown Thomas on Grafton Street. Maybe there are some fringe examples, but there are plenty of different options.Dublin City Council has said that 60% of traffic in the core city centre is through traffic that does not stop to spend money at shops, etc. The plan is targeting that traffic. There will still be access to car parks.As a side note: Brown Thomas has been at pains for years to highlight that it does not operate the Grafton Car Park, which formally used its name.Guider then said that the economic arguments in a report for traders by economist Pat McCloughan [not McLoughlin as Guider wrote] were widely dismissed by those who are in favour of the ban. He said I suspect the consequences may not be as severe as traders fear, but later in his article, he wrote: The fallacy of the protestors outside Brown Thomas and the councillors who so blithely dismiss the economic concerns is believing that the transport plan in isolation is all that matters. However, Guider does not attempt to deal with McCloughans now well-trashed report and its economic concerns. Every journalist worth their salt who has written about it seems to have seen a copy of it. Did Guider not read it? Could he not form his own view of it? Could he not see how flawed it is? Or is he even talking about the outlandish economic concerns highlighted in the report? Maybe hes referring to whispers of economic concerns from unnamed retailers? Maybe the same retailers who have always said transport changes will kill Dublin.The idea that anybody supporting the plan thinks the transport plan in isolation is all that matters, as Guider put it, is just not based on any facts. Its just another reductive argument that doesnt stack up. Guider adds: however, they clearly will have some negative impact from those who wont or cant abandon their cars and will decide to go to suburban shopping centres. If there is a huge decrease in car-based shoppers accessing city-centre car parks, it will be more likely a classic case of retailers and journalists over-egging traffic restrictions and scaring those car-based customers away.As said, access to car parks will be maintained. The vast majority of car parks will see little or no change in their access arrangements.Guider said that his conversations with many [unnamed] retailers and hospitality venue operators indicate theres been a slowdown in trading in the city centre in recent months. The good news is that not only is access to car parks being maintained and improved for the majority of retail customers coming by bus, but international evidence shows that improving sustainable transport and the public realm is good for business. Guider said he thinks the traffic plan should still go ahead, just not the immediate implementation of the plan, and then goes on to explain why he thinks the city should first wait for a national government task force headed by An Post chief executive David McRedmond, which was set up in the aftermath of the riot last year.I mean, he spends a number of paragraphs outlining this but somehow does not deal with the fact that city councillors have twice, at council meetings, heavily debated delaying the rollout of the plan and rebuffed two attempts by a minority of councillors to delay the project. When Dublin City Councils chief executive, Richard Shakespeare, was weighing up the pros and cons of going ahead with the plan or delaying it, an apparent even larger majority of councillors were represented in a letter to him which said that the plan should not be delayed. The business lobby group, Dublin Chamber, as well as groups advocating for public transport users, active travel users and a climate campaign group, also said that the plan should not be delayed.Instead of dealing with the reality of the plan, Guider dives into a raft of truisms and more reductive arguments.He wrote: Theres little to be gained and were not going to solve Irelands climate commitments with a traffic ban on quays alone by not holding off for a few months.This is the problem with climate action and journalists who claim to be supportive but are acting clueless climate action is needed now; it was really needed decades ago, and no one action is going to solve Irelands climate commitments. If you want a truism: We know delay often is followed by further delay or another reason for delay.Dismissing or calling for a delay in climate action is the new climate denial. This is well documented by Irish and international experts. The reality is Dublin needs buses and active travel to function well in the city centre, and making the networks of both functions better in key locations such as on the quays has a wider network effect.Guider asks: Where are the extra buses and the increased Luas and Dart frequencies? Well, we could have focused more on the practical details, such as this, if retailers had not gone nuclear, putting across blanket opposition and threatening court action (and, of course, painting a more reasonable picture for sympathetic journalists).The first phase of the traffic plan is the bus gate at OConnell Bridge, which prevents cars from going straight on Bachelors Walk to Eden Quay (~200 private vehicles per hour) or from Burgh Quay to Aston Quay (~390 private vehicles per hour).The passenger carrying capacity of a single green line tram is 408 people or 80-100 people on most Dublin Bus vehicles. Combine the number of car users split across public transport across the day (trains, for example, are still not all full at peak times), the expanded BusConnects services coming within a month or two, the extra intercity and long-ranger commuter train capacity coming on stream, the fact some motorists will divert rather than switch modes and the ability of some to switch to cycling, were not talking about huge numbers across an hour. The fact is that in addition to the above-mentioned contained BusConnects rollout and extra train capacity, extra priority is needed now for existing buses. Buses are unduly being held up in the city centre, especially in core areas on the main bus routes. As usual, were speeding along with no clear destination in mind, Guider said, but this is also total nonsense. The Dublin City Transport Plan is derived from targets in the wide-ranging Dublin City Development Plan, which was debated and voted on by councillors. It is needed to support BusConnects and the active travel network and to allow the city to grow sustainably.For good measure, he adds in a few reductive arguments, such as asking if buses being 10 minutes quicker will see people flock into the city centre (also kind of as to imply its empty now when its not) and saying we need much more to rebuild the capital.Guider ends his article by saying a delay is what the people of Dublin deserve. But Dublin deserves no more delay in the transport plan because of journalists or others who cannot or refuse to do even a basic level of research on the plan, how it was formed, and why councillors have said no three times to delaying it.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike doesn't arrive at the Vuelta a Espaa 2024 with the great team that dominated the race in 2023, but with the man who won it, Sepp Kuss, is back and will be putting in the number 1 bib alongside Wout van Aert.The great novelty in the Dutch '8' in the Spanish rae is the pres...

Australian startup Pademelon reanimates the steering damper concept with a new, more sophisticated CS.1 hydraulic damper offering more user-adjustability to fine-tune trail stability. This new steering damper takes decades-old Hopey tech and modernizes with unique position-sensitive damping that only stabilizes steering when you need it, allows navigation of steep turns without resistance, and lets you fine-tune just how much damping tension is preferred for your individual style of ridingPademelon CS.1 smart, adjustable hydraulic steering damper(Photos/Pademelon)The new Pademelon CS.1 steering damper promises to stabilize your handlebar, so wheel impacts and shifts in balance or rider input dont know your steering off track.Imperfections are everywhere on the trail in line choice, during pedaling, or in the grip of fatigue.The general steering damper concept is simple by filtering out irregular or unexpected steering inputs, the device helps keep your bar straight, and your bike headed in the right direction. But at the same time, direct and intentional steering inputs are still possible to change direction when you want it.Whether to help you maintain your line riding downhill over rough terrain, or to keep your front wheel from drifting off track on steep climbs.Interestingly, weve seen a recent boost in discussions on steering dampers with the advent of the Syntace/Canyon/Liteville K.I.S. system. KIS isnt really a damper, but offers a different solution for assisted straightening of your bar. Most recently, Canyon decided that every new Spectral trail bike would include the stabilizer, and looks to put KIS on more bikes in the near future.Hopey historyThose who know about Tim Hopey and his hydraulic steering damper will remember that it had its fervent fans for two and a half decades from DH racers to tandem riders to triathletes, ultra-endurance racers, and especially those with otherwise limiting physical disabilities. But having not seen any real update in a decade since their DH-specific damper, and really having the same core design for more than 24 years, Hopey officially closed its doors at the start of this year. At that time Hopey directed bicycle steering damper fans to Pademelon, who was still only working on their new damper.Founded by longtime bike industry veteran Jeremiah Boobar who weve known from his suspension development roles at Cannondale & SRAM/RockShox for more than 20 years Pademelon has been a long-running passion project, now finally made real. Boobar knew he could improve on the Hopey design, and now has finally released his reimagined steering damper.So, whats new?This new Pademelon CS.1 essentially adds two updates to the long-running hydraulic damper design. Position-Sensitive DampingFirst, the CS (Constant Stability) 1 damper newly features position-sensitive damping. That means that in delivers the same level of stabilizing impact damping in the middle 70 of steering (35 to the left, plus 35 to the right), while having no damping effect from 35 to 90 in either direction. That ensures that unwanted steering influences are filtered out while you are trying to ride straight ahead, or slightly turning. But when turning the bars a steeper angle to navigate tight turns at slow speeds, there is no damping resistance to fight against. Then, the damping resistance doesnt reengage until you get back to center, so its smooth and easy to come out of those tighter turns and get back on track.User-Adjustable Damping SupportThe other big update is more precise fine-tuning control over how much resistance the damper imparts on your steering. With a few rotations of the simple knob on top, the rider can adjust from almost no damping to a high level, far beyond what most riders will want.How does it work?The Pademelon damper works by replacing your upper headset cup with a fixed lower plate, pressed into your frame. Then, the damper body itself slips into your steerer tube, replacing the starnut. An arm extends from the damper body, out around your stem, and connects to a post extending up from the base plate. (There is a solution for traditional press-in headset cups, for zero stack (ZS) headsets, and even integrated (IS) headsets that just drop the upper bearing directly into your frame.)That connects the damper to the fork steerer from the inside, and to your frame under the headset. As you rotate the bar away from the centerline of the frame, the devices arm twists the internal mechanism of the damper cartridge. And the CS.1 resists that input, whether it is coming from the rider through the bar, or irregularities at the front tire through the fork.Pademelon doesnt elaborate on the mechanics or hydraulics that go on inside its damper body to make it work. But suffice it to say, it is the controlled movement of oil inside the sealed hydraulic cartridge through damping circuits, not so dissimilar to what happened inside your fork or shock. Pademelon does say that it does not require complex servicing. So it is likely well-sealed and will offer many years/seasons of steering damping smoothness.Pademelon CS.1 steering damper Pricing, options & availabilityThe Pademelon CS.1 steering damper doesnt come cheap, but it does promise a smoother ride, improved traction, and reduced fatigue.The damper unit itself sells for $541 / 492 in either a regular single crown or a special dual crown version. Plus itll cost you another $108 / 98 for the mounting kit that fits under your upper headset bearing in different versions to fit pretty much all headset types and sizes. All Pademelon steering dampers are available now, assembled by hand in Tasmania, and shipped globally.Pademelon.ccThe post Pademelon Brings Back the Steering Damper, Now Adjustable w/ Position-Specific Support appeared first on Bikerumor.

The Vuelta a Espana starts on the 17th of August and finishes on the 8th of September. It is the final Grand Tour of the season and, like every year, it will feature a luxurious startlist packed with climbers, sprinters and classics riders looking for their final opportunity to win big in a Grand To...

Patrick OSullivan (Orwell Wheelers) has hit the target in Co Kildare this evening, taking victory at round 6 of the Mondello Series in Co Kildare. More to come, Tues, Aug 13th: Mondello Series Mondello Park, Co Kildare Promoted by Usher Irish Road Club Leading Woman Unplaced Junior Unplaced A2 Unplaced A3 Unplaced A4The post Junior Patrick OSullivan best at Mondello Series, Co Kildare appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost) may be noted for his climbing prowess, rather than his TT abilities, but the Irish rider has put in a more than solid performance on stage 2 at Tour de Pologne racing against the watch. And that performance comes as the next chance looms for him and his team mates, who []The post Archie Ryan puts in strong TT at Tour de Pologne as next chance looms appeared first on Sticky Bottle.