From Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe to amateur gaffes at local races, bike racing has a rich history for leaving would-be winners red-faced

Cyclist FiftyOne’s first stock design, the Sika, is a road bike for ‘real riders’ Irish custom bike specialist FiftyOne Bikes has announced the Sika, which it says is a race bike designed for everyday riders, with a more comfortable ride position but without being an endurance bike. There’s 40mm tyre clearance, aero profiles and a one-piece bar/stem, but also a 27.2mm round seapost and external clamp designed for comfort and ease of use. The Sika is priced at £3,950 in the UK with deliveries from June 2024. Related Posts FiftyOne Assassin review Ex-pro bike: Nicolas Roche’s custom geometry FiftyOne Best lightweight road bikes reviewed Insider: Custom carbon bike maker FiftyOne Bikes A bike for real riders FiftyOne claims that the Sika is ‘a cutting-edge road bike that delivers top-level performance for real riders, not the pros’. It says that it’s not an endurance bike, but a modern performance road bike. That’s despite a pretty huge 40mm tyre clearance, a more relaxed riding position and what FiftyOne calls ‘confident handling’. At the same time, the Sika has NACA truncated aerofoil frame profiles, a low weight and high stiffness – and a UCI approval sticker.  The brand reckons that the Sika is for riders who want all-day comfort on mixed road surfaces, without the fussiness of bikes designed for racing.  FiftyOne says it developed the Sika based on its experience building over 500 custom frames and data provided by its clients’ bike-fitters, giving it insight into the needs and desires of real riders.  FiftyOne founder and MD Aidan Duff says, ‘I’ve long thought that the current model is a little broken – producing bikes for the world’s best athletes and then selling them to consumers. It never made sense to me.’ So the Sika is claimed to be comfortable for the majority of riders, without having to resort to a large spacer stack under the stem. The size M frame has a reach of 380mm and a stack of 555mm. It’s a similar argument to that of Pearson Cycles when it developed its Forge. FiftyOne says the Sika is precise, stable and planted, thanks to a short trail and longer chainstays – 420mm for a size M. The 40mm clearance lets you fit tyres appropriate for poor road surfaces, cobbles or gravel.  Aero cockpit but a round seatpost The Sika has a claimed frame weight of 690g for a size medium, which FiftyOne says is one of the lowest frame weights for a bike with the Sika’s tyre clearance. At the same time, it says that the Sika offers high frame stiffness thanks to its high grade Toray carbon fibre mix. It uses the increasingly popular T47 pressed/threaded bottom bracket standard. FiftyOne has developed its own one-piece cockpit for the Sika. Alongside full internal routing, this has NACA aero profile bar tops with three degrees of sweepback for a comfortable hand hold. There’s a standard 27.2mm seatpost with an external clamp – so there should be no slipping seatposts or frozen clamps and it’s a lot easier to remove the post and saddle for travel. FiftyOne says that a round seatpost also flexes more than an aero post for added saddle comfort, which it reckons trumps the small aero gain from going aero. The low frame weight is claimed to allow a fairly standard top tier build to tip the scales at under 7kg, pitching it against the best lightweight road bikes. Despite not being designed for racing, the Sika frame is UCI-approved and covered by a lifetime warranty. Sika frameset price and availability You can buy the FiftyOne Bikes Sika frameset for £3,950 / €4,500 / $4,500, which includes the single-piece integrated cockpit and Sika seatpost. It’s available in six sizes from XS to XXL. Deliveries are slated from June 2024 with a Black Ops Evo the only colour at launch: raw carbon with an iridescent keyline and clear coat finish. FiftyOne promises a second colour option later in 2024. Read our review of the FiftyOne Custom Disc road bike or the FiftyOne Assassin gravel bike The post FiftyOne’s first stock design, the Sika, is a road bike for ‘real riders’ appeared first on Cyclist.

This Wednesday, the peloton will tackle the infamous Mur de Huy as La Fleche Wallonne takes place. One of those teams hoping to challenge for victory will be Lidl-Trek.As such, the team has taken to the brutal climb for some reconnaissance. Included in a strong Lidl-Trek lineup for the traditional L...

Replica of the Van Rysel RCR Pro used by Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale opened for preorders on Tuesday, but has already sold out

In a warm-up for the Giro d'Italia, Geraint Thomas has elected to race the Tour of the Alps. On the opening stage, the Welshman looked bright too, getting himself in a late move and helping teammate, Tobias Foss to the stage win.During the stage however, Thomas and Foss came under fire from their br...

After being hospitalized for 12 days at the Txagorritxu Hospital in Vitoria after his serious fall in the Itzulia Basque Country, Jonas Vingegaard has been discharged around 12:00h this morning, as confirmed by Team Visma | Lease a Bike.  The initial idea was to travel to France. However, considerin...

The 2024 edition of the Rás Tailteann will take place from Wednesday, May 22nd to Sunday, May 26th. This is the 69th edition of the race. This year, the event will kick off from Tullamore, County Offaly in Ireland’s Midlands, where the first stage finish will be in Kilmallock. This will be the first-ever Rás Tailteann stage to finish in the County Limerick town. The 2024 edition will also have finishes in Sneem, County Kerry on the famous ‘Ring of Kerry’, Cahir, County Tipperary which will see the first finish there since 1967 and Kildare Town, County Kildare with the fifth and final stage of the 2024 Rás Tailteann finishing in Bective, County Meath where the race will take in three laps of a 14.1KM spectator-friendly finishing circuit. 784.8KM of Irish roads awaits this year’s entrants with a total of eighteen categorised climbs over the five stages, including two x category one climbs on stages two and four. Sponsor 2 – Yellow Jersey – Bective Stud, Apartments and Tea Rooms Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our second sponsor of the 2024 event: Bective Stud, Apartments and Tea Rooms. For the second year, they are the official sponsor of the coveted yellow jersey. In 2016, Noel and Valerie Moran bought Bective House. They fell in love with the Estate at first sight and bought it on a whim of excitement. Even with its ruined state and unkept grounds, the place oozed potential and had a rich history that epitomised the 19th-century lifestyle. The Estate still had the remnants of what was once a beautiful place. Since 2016, Noel and Valerie have tried to bring Bective House and Estate back to its former glory and beauty again. A new project began to restore the courtyard stables into modern accommodation with self-catering facilities. The original stables were refurbished and developed into an Equestrian Centre, and Bective Stud was born. Today, the stables are proud to house some of Ireland’s most famous thoroughbred racehorses as residents, including ‘Better Days Ahead’ who was the winner of the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at the recent Cheltenham festival. The future of Bective House is to restore the period house and build a Five-Star Hotel. This project will see the old building joined by a new extension. In addition, Bective Tea Rooms opened on the estate in April 2022. This is Noel, Valerie, and Bective Stud, Apartment and Tea Rooms third year involved with the Rás Tailteann. In 2022, they sponsored the Blue County Rider jersey, while in 2023, they sponsored the most famous jersey of them all—the Rás Tailteann yellow jersey. We are delighted that they have continued their support and sponsorship of the yellow jersey again for this year’s edition. Along with sponsoring the yellow jersey, Bective will host the finale of this year’s race, with the final finishing line and podium overlooking the beautiful grounds of Bective Stud. Stage five will make its way from Maynooth through Dunboyne, Ratoath, Ashbourne, Stamullen, Julianstown and onto the coast at Laytown, before swinging back inland via Donore, Garlow Cross and finishing at Bective Stud on the banks of the River Boyne. At Bective, parking and refreshments will be available, and spectators can watch the riders do three laps of the final 14.1KM circuit. There are two category three climbs along the way before a super-fast circuit awaits in Bective for this year’s final hour of racing, where the 2024 Rás Tailteann winner will get their hands on the famous George Plant trophy. Speaking at the launch of Bective Stud’s sponsorship of the yellow jersey and hosting of the final race finish, Noel Moran, Owner of Bective Stud Apartments and Tea Rooms said, “We are delighted that Rás Tailteann will be finishing at Bective and so pleased to be the main sponsor of the coveted yellow jersey. We look forward to welcoming visitors for what will be a fantastic event and to enjoy the finish right opposite Bective Stud, on the Trim Road. We wish the very best of luck to everyone competing in the Rás.” Ger Campbell, Race Director of Rás Tailteann, said: “We are extremely thankful to Noel, Valerie and the entire team at Bective Stud Apartments and Tea Rooms, for their support of Rás Tailteann 2024. Noel and Valerie first joined the race as a commercial partner back in 2022 and have been incredibly supportive of our efforts, including hosting this year’s race finish in Bective on Sunday, May 26th. We cannot wait to welcome everyone to Bective for what promises to be a really special day”. Also present at the launch in Bective Stud, Apartments and Tea Rooms were Meath County Council representatives who are also offering generous support towards the finish in Bective. Speaking about the finish of the Rás in the Royal County, Kieran Kehoe, Chief Executive of Meath County Council said “We are really excited to welcome the 69th edition of the Rás Tailteann to the Boyne Valley and support the final stage in Meath. The Boyne Valley is known for its stunning landscape, so it will be a fitting environment for the final stage of the Rás. We look forward to welcoming cyclists and spectators to towns and villages right across Meath on Sunday, 26th May, for what will be a fantastic event.” Ger Campbell, Race Director of Rás Tailteann, added to Mr Kehoe’s remarks by thanking Meath County Council: “A huge thanks must go to Meath County Council for their support of the race. Many Rás legends have hailed from Meath, and indeed from the Bective Area, so it’s great to be able to bring the finish of the Rás Tailteann to Meath”. Des Foley Meath Co.Council, Noel and Valerie Moran, Cllr. Tommy Reilly, Ger Campbell race director and Martin Murray Meath Co.Council. Picture 2: At the launch of the Bective Stud’s sponsorship of the yellow jersey and final finish of Rás Tailteann 2024 (from left) were Des Foley (Director of Services, Meath County Council), Noel Moran (Owner, Bective Stud, Apartment and Tea Rooms), Valerie Moran (Owner, Bective Stud, Apartment and Tea Rooms), Cllr. Tommy Reilly (Cathaoirleach, Meath County Council), Ger Campbell (Race Director, Rás Tailteann) and Martin Murray (Director of Services, Meath County Council). Picture 3: Noel Moran (Owner, Bective Stud, Apartment and Tea Rooms) speaking at the launch. Picture 4: Ger Campbell (Race Director, Rás Tailteann) speaking at the launch.   Picture 5: Team Bodywrap at the recent Tour of Mersin in Turkey. (Picture: Simon Cope) Visiting Team 3 – Team Bodywrap – China Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our third visiting team of the 2024 event: Team Bodywrap, who will make their debut in the event in 2024. Team Bodywrap is a new team that has been set up in China in preparation for the 2025 China Games. Speaking about the team’s ambitions for the Rás, team manager Simon Cope said, “The team’s aim is to gain as much experience outside of the Chinese domestic cycling calendar.” Most of the team will be coming to Ireland after competing in a UCI-ranked event in China, and they certainly look like a team to watch in this year’s event. Welcoming them to the event, Race Director Ger Campbell said, “We are delighted to welcome Team Bodywrap to this year’s race. Each and every year, the interest from international teams grows, and we are really excited to see top talent from China taking on the Irish roads”. Team Manager, Simon Cope, who is a former triple-stage winner at the Rás Tailteann, says his team “Can’t wait to see what elite European racing has to offer”. Ras Tailteann Stage 1, Navan – Birr 17/5/2023 Conor McGoldrick of the UK Richardsons Trek Team wins todays stage and also takes the race leaders yellow jersey Pic : Lorraine O’Sullivan Visiting Team 4 – Richardsons Trek DAS – United Kingdom Cairde Rás Tailteann is delighted to announce our fourth visiting team of the 2024 event: Richardsons Trek DAS, who return after their debut in the race in 2023. Richardsons Trek DAS had an incredible start to the Rás in 2023 with Conor McGoldrick winning the opening stage into Birr, Co Offaly. McGoldrick managed to hold on to the yellow jersey until the dying kilometres of the event, where it was taken over by Dillon Corkery on the final stage into Blackrock. McGoldrick managed to hold on for third place overall and was the winner of the KOH jersey. Talking ahead of this year’s event, Team Manager Andy Lyons said, “This year we will be looking to see if Conor can improve on his 2023 overall result, particularly as the race has a strong family relevance with both his parents hailing from Dublin and his grandparents proudly out at roadside to watch him race on Irish roads”. Speaking about the team lineup for 2024, Mr Lyons said, “We will be bringing our strongest team in support of Conor, and the hope is to include an experienced ‘Man of the Rás’ in Alex Peters, who was also a yellow jersey wearer in the Rás back in 2014. He rode in support of Conor in 2023, but he will also offer the team another potential leader as the race develops.” Welcoming Richardsons Trek DAS back to the event, Ger Campbell, Race Director of Rás Tailteann, said “Last year, it looked like Richardsons Trek DAS and Conor McGoldrick were going to complete a dream debut when they started in yellow on the final day. Unfortunately for Richardsons Trek DAS, it didn’t finish that way but that’s the joys of bike racing. We cannot wait to see this team take on the tougher route of 2024 and they will certainly be one of the favourites to bring home the George Plant trophy”. The post Rás Tailteann 2024 : Update appeared first on IrishCyclingNews.com | Irish Cycling News | IrishCycling.

The Pipedream Moxie wasn’t necessarily on our list of bikes to review this year. However, after a couple of forest gnomes told Logan about its carefully conceived angles, interesting measurements, and unwavering confidence, he decided to give it a shot. Find his detailed Pipedream Moxie Mx3 review here, and learn why it’s the best rugged trail hardtail he’s tried to date… The post Pipedream Moxie Review: Checks You Can Cash appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Danish rider underwent surgery to repair broken collarbone; too early to know whether Tour de France return will be possible