CyclistWho are the favourites for the Vuelta Femenina 2024?The first Grand Tour in the womens calendar kicks off this weekend at the Vuelta Feminina. This tour around Spain will get underway on Sunday 28th April in the city of Valencia over on the Mediterranean coast. From there, the race will snake around Spain before arriving in Madrid-ish a week later with a final hurrah in the mountains on Sunday 5th May.The reigning champion, Annemiek van Vleueten, has retired since winning this race in the rainbow jersey last year. This means that the race for red will have a new leader. Last year, Demi Vollering of SD Worx took the second spot on the podium, ahead of Gaia Realini of Trek.The field this year is wide open, with riders forms oscillating after an opening foray in the spring stage races and one-day Classics. However, a lengthened route and a tougher set of profiles will make the 2024 edition the toughest battle for the maillot rojo to date. Related Posts Opinion: Mens cycling has never been more bleak for fans Pro cycling transfer rumours 2024/2025: Vollering, Philipsen and Alaphilippe considering moves I hate racing for second: Elisa Longo Borghini profile La Vuelta Femenina 2024: Route, how to watch, start list and everything you need to know Giro dItalia 2024: Stage-by-stage preview and how to watch Demi VolleringA.S.O./Billy CeustersLast years runner-up Demi Vollering has had a tough season so far. A transfer fiasco, inter-team tension and lacklustre results have followed her Tour de France win last year.This years parcours will favour Vollering. A longer route and added mountain stages will favour the reigning Dutch champion. After taking a big bite into her contenders in the high mountains last year, its likely that her grand comeback will come on the roads of Spain.In all fairness, she has made the podium in Strade Bianche, the Brabantse Pijl, Flche Wallonne and LigeBastogneLige this spring. She admits it herself, she needs to do better. For now, shell still be the most marked woman given her pedigree in Grand Tours.Rating: 4/5Elisa Longo BorghiniA.S.O./Billy CeustersOn the other end of the spectrum, Longo Borghini has been a reliable force this year so far. A win at the Tour of Flanders and the Brabantse Pijl highlighted her strength in the Classics. A podium finish at this race in 2022 and 2020 also demonstrates a strong sign of things to come at this years Vuelta Femenina. The tough stage to Jaca will suit her strengths, but the longer summit finish in the Madrid periphery on Stage 8 could be her undoing.Her Lidl-Trek squad has been improving race by race and with the support of Italian youngster Gaia Realini more on her later the squad has a real chance to claim their first Grand Tour in years. At age 32, Longo Borghinis time may finally have come.Rating: 4/5Kasia Niewiadoma Luc Claessen/Getty ImagesThe nearly woman of post-pandemic cycling, Kasia Niewiadoma has stepped up this year. In a much-celebrated effort at Flche Wallonne, the Pole has returned to winning ways in 2024. These results werent a fluke, they were, in fact, backed up by a 2nd place at the Tour of Valencia and the Tour of Flanders respectively.After two hard-fought Tour de France podiums over the past two seasons, Niewiadoma has it in her to shine at a Grand Tour. With the support of the steadfast Ricarda Bauernfeind who herself has a good shout of a top ten here at the Vuelta Canyon-SRAM have a real possibility of making the final podium. Their TTT pedigree will help them in the opening stage (as will the crazy Giro helmets), and Kasias mountain legs should translate into tip-top performances on the three mountain stages to come in this race.Rating: 4/5Juliette LabousA.S.O./Thomas MaheuxFinishing in the top ten of every Grand Tour she has finished since 2021, Labous will go into this race as DSM-Firmenich-PostNLs out-and-out GC leader. The Frenchwoman cracked new heights last year with a silver medal at the Giro Donne before a solid top five finish at the Tour de France and Tour de Romandie.Riding on this wave of solid GC results, 2024 has been equally successful and consistent. A top five in Valencia and a top ten in the Ardennes Classics give us a glimpse of some pre-Grand Tour form.A victory might be a bridge too far, but a podium or top five should certainly be in DSMs crosshairs. Along with a strong sprint train, the Dutch squad could come out of this race with plenty of podium visits.Rating: 3/5Gaia RealiniLuc Claessen/Getty ImagesThird last year behind the juggernauts of Vollering and Van Vleuten, Realini has grown in confidence. Although not on the scintillating form we saw 12 months ago, her added maturity should be rewarded at the Vuelta this year.A fourth place at the UAE Tour and a silver medal overall at the Vuelta Extremadura at the dawn of the 2024 calendar suggest some signs of form in her legs.Like Vollering, the high mountains will benefit the chances of Realini. This may even give her the chance to take team leadership of Lidl-Trek if Longo Borghini is scared of the heights of Stage 8s mountain affair.Rating: 3/5Ashleigh Moolman-PasioDario Belingheri/Getty ImagesAt age 38, South Africas Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio is the oldest favourite to make this list. The veteran, riding for AG Insurance-Soudal, has a reliable reputation in the Grand Tours. A flurry of top tens overall at the Giro and a sixth place at last years Tour de France support this claim. So far in 2024, Moolman-Pasio has been off to a steady start, with another string of top ten results in major races. Without any stage races in her legs, it will be interesting to see how she goes in this Vuelta.Sarah Gigante will provide stellar support, however. The youngster has already taken the Womens WorldTour-level Tour Down Under this year. That said, results in Australia can sometimes be misleading in gauging form for the Grand Tour season. Gigante has been making waves in 2024, and with a new contract needing to be signed this year, she should be motivated to leave her mark on the Vuelta.Rating: 2/5The OutsidersA.S.O./SprintCyclingMavi Garca will hold the hopes of the home crowds for Liv-AlUla-Jayco. Her form this year has been hit or miss, but a third place at the UAE Tour cant go unnoticed. The 22-year-old Neve Bradbury will star in a strong Canyon-SRAM squad while Riejanne Markus will lead Vismas line-up, but she may come unstuck in the high mountains.Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) deserves a shout-out too.As for breakout Grand Tours, I expect to hear Evita Muzics (FDJ-Suez) name on blast throughout the Vuelta Femenina. Also, keep an eye out for Nienke Vinke (DSM-Firmenich-PostNL), who is making her Grand Tour debut at the age of 19.TheCyclistprediction-Flanders-ClassicsLidl-Trek will control this race throughout la Jumbo-Visma Tour de France 2020, only to lose it on the final mountain stage around Madrid. Here, we will see Demi Vollering return to form and take a valiant win on Stage 8 to claim the race on the final day of racing. As for the podium, itll be between Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma. Want to know more about the Vuelta Femenina 2024? Where to watch, where its going? Read our full preview avilable here. Related Posts Opinion: Mens cycling has never been more bleak for fans Pro cycling transfer rumours 2024/2025: Vollering, Philipsen and Alaphilippe considering moves I hate racing for second: Elisa Longo Borghini profile La Vuelta Femenina 2024: Route, how to watch, start list and everything you need to know Giro dItalia 2024: Stage-by-stage preview and how to watch The post Who are the favourites for the Vuelta Femenina 2024? appeared first on Cyclist.

UAE Team Emirates came to the Tour de Romandie with plenty GC contenders. Brandon McNulty was one of them, the American failed to show his best level early in the race but due to his poor place in the standings, he benefited from the good weather to win today's time-trial.It was almost all uphill,...

The overall classification of the Tour de Romandie was flipped on it's head completely after the time-trial on stage 3. Here is how the new GC looks like, featuring Juan Ayuso in the lead.The Spaniard now leads a group of riders at close range into the queen stage. Former Top3 Thibau Nys, Andrea Ve...

In this article, you will find frequent updates on some of the events that happen throughout the 2024 Tour de Romandie. In the medical report we gather the list of riders that abandon the race as well as information from the race's official press releases.PrologueNothing to note.Stage 1Astana have...

Light trail bikes are getting more burly, so hlins has updated its lightweight RXF34 m.2 fork with a new longer 140mm travel option. And since enduro, gravity, and downhill riders are always looking to get more out of their suspension, hlins has more new upgrade options for them too. New coil spring cartridge kits make the switch from air to coil suspension easier than ever for riders with RXF38 m.2 enduro or DH38 m.1 downhill forks.hlins RXF34 m.2 140mm fork brings more travel to trail bikes(Photos/hlins)hlins Racing calls the longer RXF34 an expansion of its footprint in the short-travel trail category. Its based on the success of the downcountry 120/130mm RXF34 m.2 that we reviewed two seasons ago. You get that same stiffness and plush ride, bringing the same performance upgrade to short-travel trail bikes. hlins already called the 2nd-gen RXF34 a trail-ready fork. Now, theyre backing that up with proper trail-ready travel.What carries over and whats new in the 140mm RXF34 m.2?Tech-wise, the longer travel variant is pretty much the same as 2022s RXF34 m.2 that we covered in detail, here. It gets the same 34mm stanchions, same trail-optimized OTX18 damper, and easy volume-adjustable 2xAir 31 air spring with self-balancing positive & negative pressure chambers. It keeps the floating Boost axle, 44mm offset, and max 29 x 2.6 tire clearance.Whats new is of course the extra travel, bumped up to 140mm. With that is an updated crown and steerer tube combo thats a bit beefier to handle the longer travel, and more aggressive riding that comes with it. That also means that you cant simply upgrade the previous forks to 140mm with a simple air cartridge swap like you could between 120 or 130mm. But you will be able to downsize this new 140mm fork to 120/130mm in the future, if needed. Weight-wise, the new 140mm fork is just over 50g heavier than its shorter predecessors. Now, the hlins RXF34 m.2 140mm hits a new claimed 1752g. Pricing is officially the same as the shorter variants. But it has increased a bit since we last checked, now selling for 1450. While its officially available now, we havent yet seen it in stock in Europe direct from hlins.hlins RXF38 enduro & DH38 downhill fork coil kits, and coil forksThe new cartridge-based spring kits make upgrading from the stock RXF38 m.2 & DH38 m.1 air forks a simpler proposition. But it also means gravity racers can easily swap back and forth between coil and air springs. So, racers get the suspension ride characteristics they prefer for different tracks.The theory behind going from air to coil springs is often a smoother, more linear performance from the suspension, with improved small bump sensitivity. Plus, improved durability from the simpler coil spring, and consistent performance in changing temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions. But with the already wide air spring tuning range in hlins 38mm fork platform, this is also about just giving racers more easy tuning possibilities. And helping riders balance fork performance with the coil rear shocks they often have on their big travel bikes.At hlins, our mission has always been to push the boundaries of suspension performance and provide riders with the game-changing technology they need to elevate their riding experience With the introduction of these new coil options, were delivering on that promise. Were offering riders a seamless solution to achieve the smooth, consistent ride feel they crave, whether theyre tackling long technical descents or enjoying a session at the bike park. Thomas Westfeldt, hlins Racing MTB Senior ManagerRXF38 m.2 coil kit (top) & DH38 m.1 coil kit (bottom)Two new separate coil kits are available for $180 / 182 to fit the latest RXF38 m.2 and DH38 m.1 forks. Plus, another $58 / 59 to get the springs to match your weight. The new coil kits are also now offered as a stock build option on the 170mm travel RXF38 m.2 Coil TTX18 enduro fork for $1675 / 1689. Or on the complete 200mm travel DH38 m.1 Coil TTX18 29er downhill fork for $1395 / 1407. Get them all now, from your local hlins MTB dealer.Ohlins.comThe post hlins Updates Longer 140mm RXF34 Fork, Adds Coil Swap For Enduro RXF38 & DH38 appeared first on Bikerumor.

Stage 4 of the Tour de Romandie is without a doubt the hardest of the week. With a lot of climbing on the menu and a summit finish atop a long ascent, UAE Team Emirates will be tasked with defending Juan Ayuso's race lead.The queen stage perhaps? That argument definitely holds up when we see the am...

Juan Ayuso has really developed his time-trialing over the past year and it's giving big fruits. He didn't manage to do a lot of damage at today's time-trial at the Tour de Romandie, but despite the bad day he managed to take over the race lead.Everyone has given up [on the stage win]. All my team...

CyclistHow to watch the Vuelta Femenina 2024The womens Grand Tour cycle commences at the 2024 Vuelta Femenina. The race will offer the first top-tier stage race showdown this year for the women, with a difficult week of racing in Spain on the agenda.The route has been expanded to eight stages in 2024. The race will begin in Valencia with a team time-trial on Sunday 28th April and will conclude with a mountain stage to Valdesqu on Sunday 5th May. The race will feature three mountain stages, some signature punchy Vuelta finishes and a healthy sprinkling of sprints.The race boasts a startlist including GC contenders Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini, Kasia Niewiadoma among others. The sprinters include Charlotte Kool and Marianne Vos, and expect a whole host of names to emerge among the greats at the womens Vuelta. Related Posts Who are the favourites for the Vuelta Femenina 2024? Opinion: Mens cycling has never been more bleak for fans La Vuelta Femenina 2024: Route, how to watch, start list and everything you need to know Giro dItalia 2024: Stage-by-stage preview and how to watch How to watch the Vuelta Femenina 2024A.S.O.The Vuelta Femenina 2024 will be available to watch in the UK on Eurosport andDiscovery+for 6.99 per month with the basic package, which includes cycling and all other Eurosport programmes.Stages 1 to 6 will also be shown live in the UK on the TV channel Eurosport 2. Highlights packages of Stages 7 and 8 will be shown on Eurosport 1 after the opening stages of the mens Giro dItalia.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.Read more:How to watch cycling post-GCN La Vuelta Femenina 2024 TV and streaming timesA.S.O./SprintCyclingAll times BST and subject to change by broadcasters Stage 1: Valencia Valencia, 16km (TTT)Sunday 28th AprilDiscovery+: 14:30 16:15Eurosport 2: 15:00 16:30Stage 2: Buol/Bunyol Moncofa, 118.5kMonday 29th AprilDiscovery+: 14:30 16:15Eurosport 2: 14:30 16:30Stage 3: Lucena/Llucena Teruel, 130.5kmTuesday 30th AprilDiscovery+: 14:30 16:30Eurosport 2: 14:30 16:30Stage 4: Molina de Aragn Zaragoza, 142.5kmWednesday 1st MayDiscovery+: 14:30 16:15Eurosport 2: 14:30 16:30Stage 5: Huesca Jaca, 114kmThursday 2nd MayDiscovery+: 14:30 16:15Eurosport 2: 14:30 16:30Stage 6: Tarazona La Laguna Negra (Vinuesa), 132.5kmFriday 3rd MayDiscovery+: 13:30 15:30Eurosport 2: 13:30 15:30Stage 7: San Esteban de Gormaz Sigenza, 139kmSaturday 4th MayDiscovery+: 13:00 15:00Eurosport 1: 16:45 17:45*Stage 8: Distrito Telefnica Valdesqu, 89.5kmSunday 5th MayDiscovery+: 11:00 13:00Eurosport 1: 16:45 17:45** Highlights to be shown directly after coverage of mens Giro dItalia on Eurosport 1Full list of broadcastersRafa Gomez/SprintCyclingAustralia: SBSBelgium: RTBFCanada: FloBikesColombia: RTVC SealDenmark: TV2Europe: Discovery+, EurosportJapan: JSportsLatin America and Caribbean: ESPNMiddle East and North Africa: SSCNetherlands: NOSNorway: TV2New Zealand: Sky SportSouth East Asia & Pacific: Eurosport AsiaSpain: RTVESubsaharan Africa: SupersportUnited States: PeacockWant to know more about the Vuelta Femenina 2024? Read our full preview available here. Related Posts Who are the favourites for the Vuelta Femenina 2024? Opinion: Mens cycling has never been more bleak for fans La Vuelta Femenina 2024: Route, how to watch, start list and everything you need to know Giro dItalia 2024: Stage-by-stage preview and how to watch The post How to watch the Vuelta Femenina 2024 appeared first on Cyclist.

The Tour de Romandie saw a very important day today, as the rainy time-trial created meaningful differences in the overall classification. Thibau Nys couldn't defend the race lead, which passes on to Juan Ayuso; as Brandon McNulty took the stage win.The 15.5-kilometer long time-trial could be a key...

INEOS Grenadiers were the first team to reveal their lineup for the Giro d'Italia and they consist on a group of riders set to support Geraint Thomas. However, many others can also fight for stage wins in their own right.In Geraint, we have one of the most experienced riders in the peloton to lead...