The Vuelta Femenina will reach it's climax today in the mountains around Madrid. On the eighth day of racing, the peloton will find it's hardest climbs and a summit finish that could determine the overall winner; and Demi Vollering has not let down her guard yet."I think the stage suits me well. I...

Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) has suffered a crash on stage 2 of the Giro dItalia, where he was among a number of fallers in a spill with just over 60km to go to the finish. Dunbar and Visma-Lease-a-Bikes Olav Kooij were the most shook after the crash and remained by the roadside for a []The post Eddie Dunbar crashes on Giro stage 2 but continues in race | Video appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

The Sunday didn't take off well for Visma | Lease a Bike who lost Robert Gesink who did not start to stage 2 after a crash the previous day. Luckily Cian Uijtdebroeks was able to raise the Dutch team's flat on an ascent toSantuario di Oropa while supported by Attila Valter, among others."I was able...

The cycling spring of 2024 was one of the heavy falls. But fortunately the road to the top seems to have been set for all involved. Wout van Aert and Steff Cras were among the biggest victims, but were able to complete a solid training activity together on Saturday.On Strava they could see the fun i...

The first of three consecutive sprint stages, each day has a climb towards the finish to derail sprint trains.Oropa Express: there was a fight to get in the doomed breakaway with Ineos and UAE filtering the riders trying to go clear and then leading the chase. After Filippo Fiorelli did enough to defend his ciclamino points jersey. Andrea Piccolo took off solo but was caught at the foot of the Oropa climb.If Ineos pulled for most of the day, UAE had taken over late in the stage but Tadej Pogaar punctured, then crashed and chased to get back. It was all rather reminiscent of Pantani in 1999 with the team time trial chase before the solo effort up the climb.Sure enough Majka pulled over and Pogaar launched with 3.5km to go and Ben OConnor went with him. It wasnt that mad for the Australian as the slope would ease and if he could have followed hed have got a first class ticket to the finish. Only couldnt hold the wheel and alas the OConnors epitaph for the day was tried to follow Pogaar and hed lose a minute.Pogaar was clear and once again left everyone thumbing their thesaurus in search of new superlatives.Dani Martinez was the best of the rest, led in by work from a sparkling Florian Lipowitz with Geraint Thomas pacing himself in a way that OConnor had not. Only ten riders were within a minute of Pogaar.Is the Giro over? RAIs pundits were asking this aloud on TV. In one weekend the likes of Arensman, Dunbar, Bardet, Tiberi and Plapp have lost minutes. Each an individual setback, collectively a change in the balance of the race already.The Route: 166km across the plains. Theres not a lot to write home about here but lets note the intermediate sprint in Masio of all places. A bend in the road, a sprint point today but also where RCS boss Urbano Cairo, introduced on Stage 1, grew up. A coincidence? Probably not.The Finish: Fossano isnt really a hilltop town but the race crosses the Stura river and then starts climbing for 1.5km at around 5%. Its all on a wide road, this is no charge through the medieval ramparts. This can still cause problems for some sprinters. Once in town theres a 270 bend which leads to the final straight on a big wide road.The Contenders: there are so many sprinters its hard to pick between them but the climb before the finish can help with the triage. Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease A Bike) has the sprint and the athleticism; but he crashed yesterday. As we saw in Paris-Nice a few hills dont trouble him and his speed on the flat can rival anyone. Hes also got a very solid lead out train which should help but todays climb will cause problems for all, this is where the likes of Christophe Laporte comes in as normally hell survive the climb, indeed hes a sprint option of Kooij is done for.Still this is an open finish, run the stage again and again and there would be several winners. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceunink) has won uphill sprints. At his best Caleb Ewan (Jayco) can thrive in a finish like this. Biniam Girmay (Intermarch-Wanty) was beating Mathieu van der Poel at his own game two years ago. A year ago Ethan Vernon (IPT) was winning sprints in Romandie when many sprinters were dropped.On paper Fabio Jakobsen (DSM Firmenich-PostNL) could the fastest rider in a normal sprint but he was going backwards on the climbs of Turkey 10 days ago; team mate Tobias Lund Andresen was both quick and at ease on the climbs.Its a test for Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) as they pack the speed but their build is a penalty for the climb. And there are many more sprinters in the race today.Kooij, Ewan, Groves, MilanVernon, Milan, Merlier, Lund, GirmayWeather: some sunshine, 20C.TV: KM0 is at 1.25pm CEST and the finish is forecast for 5.15pm CEST. Tune in for the finish to see trains jostle for position ahead of the climb into town.Postcard from AlbaPlaces like Monferrato and Asti are on the route today and on wine menus all year. The race also passes through Cinzano which shares its name with the vermouth drink but this brand was first produced by the Cinzano brothers of Turin. Theres a cycling connection of sorts as the brand features in the 1979 film Breaking Away as the sponsor of an Italian cycling team.Vermouth is produced with wine as the main ingredient and then blended with alcohol and various herbs and spices including wormwood, Wermut in German, from which the drink gets its name. Its been a way, whisper it, to get rid of unwanted wine, a technique used in many places.Now winegrowers in the region are uprooting vines to plant hazelnut groves. Its all because of demand from the confectioner Ferrero, whose HQ is in Alba on todays route. It makes Nutella and other delights where hazelnuts are the key ingredient. Demand for Nutella has gone global and while the company sources a lot of nuts from Turkey, the effect on the countryside today is notable, look for the rows of young trees. Ferrero used to be a big sponsor of Italian cycling, and the Giro, too.The post Giro Stage 3 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.

Ineos Grenadiers has responded to criticism of its coaching from the father of its Dutch rider Thymen Arensman, saying it would continue to back and support the Dutchman after his under par showing on the opening weekend of the Giro. While the 24-year-old, who won a brilliant stage on the 2022 Vuelta on his way []The post Ineos responds after Thymen Arensmans father criticises coach appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

The Irish national junior team has rounded out its effort the Peace Race in Czechia with a strong effort on the final stage today, when they tried to set up Seth Dunwoody for a second stage victory. And while it wasnt to be for the men in green, with Dunwoody having to be content with []The post Irish juniors round off Czechia with strong effort, Casey best on GC appeared first on Sticky Bottle.

Group with strong car park interests looks to challenge Dublin City Centre Transport Plan. Plan part of Pathfinder programme aimed at accelerating climate action in terms of transport.A group which was set up by property developer and solicitor Noel Smyth to oppose previous traffic changes in Dublin City is fundraising for a legal challenge against the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan.The Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance seems to carry out no other public activity other than opposing a number of sustainable transport projects in the city centre. It has no known website or social media presence. The group is heavily linked to businesses with interests in car parks.It was set up in 2016 to campaign against the proposed College Green Plaza and has only had public mentions since then internment against sustainable transport and public space measures. Councillors, in a recent special meeting of Dublin City Council, directed officials to go ahead with the plan while engaging in further and continuing consultation with disabled persons groups. The plan includes bus gates on the quays to prioritise buses by blocking through traffic while still allowing car traffic.Unless legal action blocks the plan, measures are expected to start being rolled out in August. A key element of the plan is to give more space to pedestrians, cyclists, public space, and greenery. At one point, Smyth, as director of the group, threatened legal action against the Liffey Cycle Route and Covid measures to give people more space on streets but never carried through. This time, Smyth is actively seeking businesses to join his efforts against the plan.The Business Post yesterday reported that Smyth has written to businesses asking them to pony up between 10,000 and 20,000 for appropriate legal, engineering consultancy and PR services against the City Centre plan.The Business Post reported that existing members of the group, namely Arnotts, Brown Thomas, Jervis Shopping Centre and Smyths Fitzwilliam Real Estate, had already contributed around 20,000 each.The newspaper said that the Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance is holding an invite-only briefing this Wednesday, May 8th, to discuss the traffic plan and rally businesses to join the group.The Business Post quotes Smyth as writing: Our hope is that after the meeting the invitees will agree to join the DCCTA and progress with our strategy of seeking legal recourse to stop the proposed scheme.The newspaper reported that the letter outlines how Ronan Hannigan, a solicitor at law firm Clark Hill, will provide details on the dynamics, options, and prospects of legal action against the councils plan.Hannigan is a partner at the US legal firms Irish operation, which was formed after they acquired HBMO Solicitors, formerly Noel Smyth and Partners.In addition to the recent vote by councillors on the plan going ahead, the car-reduction goals in the transport plan were backed by another vote by councillors to approve measures in the Dublin City Development Plan.READ MORE: Councillors vote for Dublin City Centre Transport Plan to go ahead with greater consultation with disabled groupsTraffic plan key to getting public transport moving says councillors echoing Dublin Bus CEO Lets be honest: People can disagree with Dublins traffic plan, but anybody who didnt hear about it was living under a rockDublin City councillors challenge fellow councillors on why they didnt tell constituents about Transport Plan public consultation

Alexander Kristoff has taken his first victory of 2024. The Norwegian from Uno-X Mobility raced to victory in the Elfstedenronde Brugge. That is a huge relief for the experienced Norwegian who had to wait a bit to raise hands in new colours, he admitted in the flash interview afterwards."I had to wa...

You don't have to be a racing cyclist with 'all the gear' to benefit from a bike fit, as Ellie Donnell discovers