CyclistThe 8 young riders to watch at the Vuelta a EspaaThe Vuelta a Espaa is underway, running from 17th August to 8th September 2024. The young talent is aplenty, among a the start list packed with National Champions and former stage winners at the race.We look at eight young riders that should already be on your radar. Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers): 20 years oldA.S.O./Billy CeustersDespite being only 20 years of age, Josh Tarlings palmars include being a two-time British ITT Champion, the European ITT Champion and joint-youngest winner of a WorldTour race. Hes a phenomenal force to watch on the bike and is making his debut at the Vuelta a Espaa, which is also his first Grand Tour.The race is bookended with time-trials and Ineos Grenadiers will be looking for Tarling to make a mark on the Stage 21 time-trial trip around Madrid after he finished sixth on the opening stage. He has already been fighting on the front, making an early move on Stage 4 too. Best result so far: 6th, Stage 1. Related Posts Lads on (Grand) Tour: The 6 British riders at the Vuelta a Espaa 2024 How to watch and live stream the Vuelta a Espaa 2024 Vuelta a Espaa 2024: Route, start list, how to watch and all you need to know Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates): 20 years oldTour de l'AvenirAnother exciting youngster, Isaac del Toro won the Tour de lAvenir last year and swept all the classifications in the process while racing for AR Monex Pro Cycling Team. He caught the eye of many, including UAE Team Emirates, who he signed a three-year contract with.Del Toro made an immediate impact this season with his WorldTour debut at the Tour Down Under, winning Stage 2, the best young rider jersey and finishing third overall. Such is his pedigree, UAE Team Emirates then added another three years onto his contract, taking him to the end of 2029. Like many on this list, hes racing his Grand Tour debut and is working to help leaders Joo Almeida and Adam Yates.Best result so far: 9th, Stage 6.Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost): 21 years oldDario Belingheri/Getty ImagesIrish road race champion Darren Raffery rode his way to a comfortable second place at the Giro Next Gen last season for Hagens Berman Axeon, being the only rider within two minutes of winner Johannes Staune-Mittet (riding at the time for the Jumbo-Visma Development Team) and turning professional with EF Education-EasyPost for 2024.Prior to his debut at this Vuelta, Rafferty said that he sees himself as a GC rider in the future, so these three weeks will be a useful experience for him to build on as he races in support of Richard Carapaz, especially with former co-leader Rigoberto Urn now out of the race. The team has been one to light up many a race this season with some freedom given to riders to go up the road in breakaways, which is a thriving environment for any youngster to find themselves in.Best result so far: 37th, Stage 1.Max Poole (DSM-Firmenich PostNL): 21 years oldA.S.O./Billy CeustersThis is not Max Pooles first rodeo here, having finished second on the opening stage TTT last year. He arrives to the Vuelta having taken second on GC at the Vuelta a Burgos behind Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), who is the defending champion of the Spanish Grand Tour.Poole is thrust into an important role at DSM-Firmenich PostNL with the squad supporting him as he tests himself for the first time in the GC at a Grand Tour, a huge responsibility for a 21-year-old but one that holds limited pressure, this doubling as an important learning experience for the man from Scunthorpe.Best result so far: 31st, Stage 1.Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike): 21 years oldDario Belingheri/Getty ImagesCian Uijtdebroeks enjoyed a brilliant debut Vuelta last year, highlighted by a strong fifth place on the Col du Tourmalet stage that boosted him into the top 10 on GC. He would end the race in eighth place overall and second in the youth classification, before departing Bora-Hansgrohe for Visma-Lease a Bike for 2024.The young Belgian has free reign to tackle GC this year while Visma-Lease a Bike work to support Sepp Kuss in his defence of the title.Best result so far: 29th, Stage 4.Pavel Bittner (DSM-Firmenich PostNL): 21 years oldUnipublic/Cxcling/Naike EreozagaPavel Bittner has had himself some Vuelta already, and were not even a week in. The 21-year-old shocked the cycling world when he beat none other than Wout van Aert in a sprint finish on Stage 5 in Seville. Van Aert might have misjudged where the finish line was but take nothing away from Bittner, who won his first Grand Tour stage victory in brilliant fashion.Hes part of the DSM-Firmenich PostNL team supporting Max Poole on GC, but as we can see, they have some free reign to hunt for stage victories wherever possible.Best result so far: 1st, Stage 5.Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek): 22 years old Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesThe Czech ITT Champion came punishingly close to victory on the very first stage of his Vuelta debut, ultimately being pushed off the hot seat by winner Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) by just two seconds over the 12km time-trial.Hell have another shot in Madrid on the final stage, a flat 24.5km ITT. But between those time-trials, hell be helping co-leaders Tao Geoghegan Hart and Mattias Skjelmose.Best result so far: 2nd, Stage 1 & Stage 7Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny): 23 years oldUnipublic/Sprint Cycling AgencyThe UAE Tour winner is another young star that has narrowly missed winning a stage at the Vuelta. A strong sprint finish on Stage 2 resulted in a fifth place for the Belgian but it was just two days later that he would find himself in even more of a winning position on the road. Immersed in the leading group in the final kilometres, he chased down Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and powered to the line on Pico Villuercas. He raised his arm in premature celebration, only to fall victim to another example of Roglification in which Primo Rogli snatches victory at the line. Its a painful loss but it has happened to a few throughout the years. Still, Van Eetvelt has the potential to go one better over the rest of the three weeks to Madrid. Theres also the bonus that he wont make the same mistake twice.Teammate Thomas de Gendt knew his potential, tweeting before the race that Van Eetvelt would win a stage later quoting this to add he needs to keep sprinting till the line.Best result so far: 2nd, Stage 4.For more news, visit our Vuelta a Espaa hub page.The post The 8 young riders to watch at the Vuelta a Espaa appeared first on Cyclist.

Wout van Aert took his second win at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana on stage 7 after a chaotic and frantic finale. Cool, calm and collected amongst the chaos however, Sepp Kuss was arguably the key factor in his teammate's victory."We always had this stage in mind for Wout, but we knew it would be hard,...

Irelands Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost) has put in a fantastic performance of the final 50km at stage 2 of Lidl Deutschland Tour (2.Pro) today, with an onslaught of aggressive racing that shed the field several times. While Visma-Lease a Bike were the first squad to really try and shake it up, Ryan simply moved them []The post Archie Ryan lights it up with relentless final 50km to stake a claim | Video appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

Stage 8 is the third consecutive hilly day at the Vuelta a Espaa. In Andaluzia, the riders find a few hills in the day and a tricky explosive summit finish in Cazorla. Ben O'Connor will have his first real test when it comes to the overall classification on this difficult day.Stage 8 sees the ride...

CyclistPromotions and relegations: which teams are in danger in the UCI rankings?Like professional football, cycling now uses a promotion and relegation system to decide who receives licences for the top division of pro cycling. The relegation and promotion system is calculated over a three-year period. The current cycle has been running from the beginning of 2023 and will conclude at the end of 2025. Over the three seasons, every teams UCI points are added together into a rolling leaderboard which will eventually dictate the future makeup of the UCI WorldTour.All races in the UCI calendar receive a points classification, from the Tour de France to the Olympics, Paris-Nice and the San Marinese national championships. The points are then dished out based on stage results, general classification and secondary prizes such as the points jersey.At the end of the three-year window, the top 18 teams in the UCI rankings will receive a licence for the UCI WorldTour, the top division of professional cycling. The teams placed 19th and below will compete as UCI ProTeams in the second division of pro cycling. At the end of the last relegation cycle, Lotto and Israel-Premier Tech were relegated after having accumulated fewer points than UCI ProTeams Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arka-Samsic.Were now over halfway through the current three-year cycle. Some teams have already emerged as contenders for relegation, while some have surfaced as candidates to receive a pass into the worlds biggest races.Who is in danger of relegation?Astana QazaqstanARN/Aurlien VialatteAstana Qazaqstan have won Grand Tours and Monuments in the past decade. Recently though, the Kazakh team have fallen behind their rivals. After two seasons, Astana sit deep within the relegation zone.In 2024, the team have moved down a place in the rankings and now seem swamped by new competitors from the UCI ProTeam division. In reality, Astanas poor results in 2023 and 2024 place the squad in a sticky situation.Currently in 21st place in the 2023-25 UCI rankings, Astana are the team most likely to lose their place in the UCI WorldTour. Second-division Lotto-Dstny, Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X Mobility are placed above them in the league table.StrengthsAstana Qazaqstan have some nifty talents and mature riders. The likes of Cees Bol, Davide Ballerini and Gleb Syritsa provide coverage in the sprints while Harold Tejada and Lorenzo Fortunato can climb into the top ten of mountain stages. The squad dont shy away from targeting breakaways, a lucrative tactic for scoring points if they make it all the way.The team also have a strong pedigree behind them and staff who know how to win big races. The problem is that this has not materialised recently, apart from the exploits of Mark Cavendish.Bluntly put though, this team are about to receive a lot of cash from XDS, the Chinese carbon fibre manufacturer that is soon set to invest in the squad. XDS CEO pointed out that he wants to pump significant cash into the project with a multi-year focus. The signing of Alberto Bettiol, Wout Poels and Nicola Conci demonstrates an intent to improve on the teams poor results. Bettiol in particular will help the squad fill their Classics void.WeaknessesAstana Qazaqstan have brought in a lot of resources to support Mark Cavendish. After bagging the history-making 35th Tour de France stage win, Cavendish bows out of the sport alongside current Astana rider Michael Mrkv. Vinokourovs team will also lose Alexey Lutsenko, the highest Astana points scorer over the past two seasons. Astana also need to start participating in smaller stage races. Events like the Czech Tour, the Tour of Britain and Tour de lAin provide some big opportunities to score points. Throw in the smaller French stage races and early season one-day Classics, and Astana could have a pathway out of the danger zone. That said, the team have been in this situation for a while and nothing has changed. Maybe with a Chinese sponsor, the team may field squads to more Asian races that sit under the radar of most top teams.Relegation risk level: 5/5 Related Posts Every mens UCI WorldTour race ranked: From the Tour de France to the Tour Down Under Pro cycling transfers 2024/2025: Alaphilippe signs for Tudor, Hayter to Quickstep and Markus to Lidl-Trek What is the UCI points system and how do teams get relegated? Arka-B&B HotelsA.S.O./Billy CeustersCurrently sitting within the relegation zone, Arka B&B Hotels may have one of the shortest stints in the UCI WorldTour after their promotion at the start of last season.Arka were among the poorest performers in the 2023 rankings, finishing in 19th place, only ahead of Astana Qazaqstan. The squad have climbed up the rankings slightly in 2024, however, the compiled standings over the three-year-long cycle would currently see the French team relegated. StrengthsArka have been efficient at taking points in smaller races. The French team field competitive line-ups for French one-day races and smaller stage races that yield a large amount of UCI points.Signing Luca Mozzatto and Arnaud Dmare proved fruitful. Mozzatto had a strong one-day campaign culminating in a podium at the Tour of Flanders. Dmare has also snatched a whole host of points in French circuit races and Grand Tour sprints.The squad is packed with riders capable of mid-table finishes in one-day races from Jenthe Biermans to Vincenzo Albanese and David Dekker. The wins have been few and far between outside of France, but the squad have now finally taken a Grand Tour stage win courtesy of Kevin Vauquelin at the Tour.WeaknessesThe Breton team have a long-term focus on nurturing talent. The squad have a development team which has been fertile ground for transfers. This is good in the long run, but they need short-term answers to stay away from relegation.Similarly, Arka are fairly absent in Grand Tours and bigger UCI WorldTour stage races. The team have only claimed victory once at a WorldTour race. This is a smaller return than some second-division rivals including Tudor Pro Cycling, TotalEnergies, Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X Mobility.In order to gain more points in the next year, Arka need to sign a big-name climber. The ship has sailed for Guillaume Martin and Lenny Martinez who have already signed contracts elsewhere for 2025. Now only a few riders remain on the market such as Rafa Majka and Esteban Chaves. The squad also lack a real puncheur to help out in the Ardennes Classics.Relegation risk level: 4/5CofidisA.S.O./Charly LopezCofidis have been kicking about for a while. For a long time, the team were a tried-and-tested fixture of cyclings second division. In 2020, the French squad received a UCI WorldTour licence and duly moved up to the top flight.Since their promotion which was decided before the current points system Cofidis have floated around the bottom quartile of the UCI rankings and currently sit in 17th place after the first season and half of the cycle. They survived the last cull, but the French team have since lost their mojo and face a difficult season ahead.Strengths: Cofidis have brought in some important point-scorers for next season. They have been very astute with their transfers, even if they have lost a key figure in Guillaume Martin.Alex Aranburu seems like a fantastic signing for Cofidis UCI WorldTour status. He should be able to scoop up some big results in French one-day races and smaller stage races. Hell come into the squad from next year and could prove to be a saviour. Likewise, Dylan Teuns should haul some crucial points in the Ardennes. Hes a former winner of La FlcheWallonne and has the ability to win another Grand Tour stage.Cofidis also benefit from being French, as the Lille-based team are invited to a plethora of French races. As mentioned, this circuit offers a huge haul of points to be scored. With consistent results in French races, Cofidis could keep their WorldTour aspirations alive.Weaknesses:Like their northern French colleagues at Arka, Cofidis lack that star power. The squad has decent talent but their race results have been a mixed bag over the past two years. They have missed the mark at Grand Tours, relying on Guillaume Martin to secure a top 15 finish and sprint top tens from Bryan Coquard.Relegation risk level: 3/5Team DSM-Firmenich PostNLA.S.O./Billy CeustersTeam DSM overperformed in the previous UCI rankings cycle, managing to climb up into the top five after the Covid-struck season in 2020. Since 2023, however, the team have struggled to keep up this form. Over the past two seasons, DSM have fallen into the bottom five of the UCI rankings each year.The Dutch team might harbour a mixed approach involving a blend of young and old talents, but they currently sit in 17th place in the rolling standings. On their current trajectory, they would stay in the UCI WorldTour by the skin of their teeth.Strengths:Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL have a strong contingent of young riders. Oscar Onley, Max Poole, Casper van Uden and Pavel Bittner have succeeded at the top level in 2024. After a slow start to the cycle in 2023, the Dutch team have managed to gain momentum and return to winning ways. Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale have managed to keep their chances alive with a strong season this year, and DSM has the possibility to do that next year with their young guns.To their benefit, DSM have a wide array of talents across different terrains. The squad boast time-triallists, Classics riders, climbers and importantly sprinters. A lot of their key riders are also locked in on long-term contracts. This gives the team some security in the seasons to come.Unlike the other teams on this list, DSM have succeeded at Grand Tours, winning stages and finishing in the top 15 overall. This is crucial for the relegation battle, especially if they stay ahead of the French teams and Astana.Weaknesses:Romain Bardet will leave the squad next year after the Dauphin. DSM have also suffered a number of big-name departures as their young stars seek alternative teams elsewhere. In the past, riders have managed to break out of the team before their contract expires.Fabio Jakobsen has not been delivering since arriving at the team, only taking only a couple of wins at the Tour of Turkey. He was a big-budget signing and seems to have been a disappointing investment.With the young nature of this team, the squad are relatively inexperienced in parts. They are often outmuscled by the super-teams and lack the vast race schedule like the aforementioned French teams. The results from the development team dont get funneled into the UCI rankings for the WorldTour squad, however. With this, they need to up their level in 2025 to stay alive.Relegation risk level: 1/5Who is likely to be promoted?Lotto-DstnyARN/Billy CeustersIts fair to say that Lotto-Dstny made a hash of the last relegation cycle. In 2022, a teenage Arnaud de Lie was responsible for a huge share of the teams UCI points. Elsewhere, the rest of the squad struggled to score wins at the UCI WorldTour level.This time, Lotto-Dstny are very comfortable. After a season and a half, the Belgian team sit in ninth place in the UCI rankings. This places them in a very cushy position.Lotto have won UCI WorldTour races this year, including an overall win at the UAE Tour. The squad have also tied down star De Lie and Lennart van Eetvelt on long-term contracts. Jarno Widar, the next big thing in Belgian cycling, is also contracted with the team until the end of the next relegation cycle. In short, its looking good at Lotto-Dstny.Promotion likelihood: 5/5Israel-Premier TechA.S.O./Billy CeustersUnlucky for some, Israel-Premier Tech are in 13th place in the UCI rankings. After a relegation at the beginning of 2023, they have a very strong chance of making it back into the UCI WorldTour.The squad have a strong field of young talents as well as older stars. Stephen Williams injected hope into this squad at the start of 2024, and the whole team followed suit with a spring spent towards the top half of the standings.Lutsenko will join the project next year which will also aid the teams aspirations of returning to UCI WorldTour level.Promotion likelihood: 5/5Uno-X MobilityARN/Aurlien VialatteThe optimists will be backing Uno-X Mobility to make it into the UCI WorldTour. The Norwegian team is relatively fresh-faced. They emerged after the pandemic as a competitive squad and have made it to the Tour startline in the two recent editions. Their mission statement was initially to make it up onto the WorldTour by 2025. This might be a bridge too far, but the Norwegian team is only a handful of points away from making it to the top division.More Scandinavian talents have joined the project. Magnus Cort has added a heap of points to their tally in his debut season while Kasper Asgreen is rumoured to be joining the squad in 2025, adding extra firepower to their Classics squad. The team also benefit from a deep pool of young talent in their development squad.If the French teams really waver in 2025, Uno-X could see the door open to promotion. They currently sit in 20th place within touching distance of the WorldTour stragglers.Promotion likelihood: 2/5The post Promotions and relegations: which teams are in danger in the UCI rankings? appeared first on Cyclist.

Supposed to be Team Visma | Lease a Bike's general classification plan-B at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, Cian Uijtdebroeks was one of the surprising GC casualties on stage 7, losing more than 8 minutes, leaving the Belgian incredibly confused afterwards.I rode as hard as I can, but I still have a num...

Ben OConnors Grand Tour career has often been a story ofwhat could have been. His moments of brilliance, such as powerful solo attacks,have often been undone by one too many bad days where his legs failed him. Despite his immense potential, O'Connor has had a tendencyto fall just short when it...

Oregon-based bikepacking and bike rack specialists, Old Man Mountain (OMM) have turned to their local landscape for inspiration on their latest limited edition color. OMM is local to Central Oregon and that area is home to the Painted Hills. The area is a beautiful geological feature consisting of mineral-rich soils compacted to form layers of vibrant colors. OMM has launched a limited edition selection of Axle Packs, Baskets, and Astral Outback wheelsets beaming with the colors of the Painted Hills.Central Oregons Painted HillsSuper Limited(Photos / Ron Frazelle)These beautiful bike bits are limited to 12 sets of Axle Pack, 12 baskets, and 10 wheelsets, all with a unique anodized finish. So, if any of these parts strike your fancy, you will need to act fast. A few of each of these are available online here, but the rest of these beauties will be available at MADE this year. There will be no increase in price, OMM just thought it would be fun to try the colors. Lets talk a little bit about the partsAxle PackRetail: $60The Old Man Mountain is a unique fork mount adaptor. Instead of clamping to round or tapered surfaces and hoping it holds, the Axle Pack is axle mounted. This makes it impossible to slip or spin and makes it easy to add 3-pack mounts to any fork.BasketRetail: $80The coveted OMM Basket simply and securely bolts directly to racks for a stable and silent ride. The basket pattern is Molle compatible which makes it easy to attach some of your favorite accessory pouches. The best part? Its compatible with all 137-sized basket bags like this one. Astral Outback WheelsetsRetail: $These Astral wheelsets are Outback 700c rims that are made in Eugene, Oregon from start to finish and laced to White Industries CLD hubs. These wheels are designed for long-distance travel on dirt. The rims sport a 25mm internal width thats built for adventuring on endless gravel roads.OldManMountain.comThe post Old Man Mountian Turns to Central Oregon for Limited Edition Color for MADE appeared first on Bikerumor.

The heat has been absolutely blistering at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana over the course of the first 7 stages, with a number of riders beginning to feel the affects. On stage 7, one of those was the INEOS Grenadiers' Thymen Arensman.A former top 5 finisher at the Spanish Grand Tour, Arensman surprising...

Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) has put in a very solid finish on stage 7 of La Vuelta, placing 14th in the final dash to the line after the field split to pieces during attacking over late lumpy terrain. At the end of 180.5km of racing to Cordoba it was Wout van Aert who took []The post Eddie Dunbar strong in Vuelta final, Wout van Aert wins again | Video appeared first on Sticky Bottle.