The young Alpecin-Premier Tech rider opens his road campaign on the white roads of Tuscany after a winter in cyclocross, but admits he still needs racing rhythm to reach his best level. Tibor del Grosso will begin his road season this Saturday at the Strade Bianche, carrying the momentum of a busy w...

Paris-Nice starts this Sunday. Heres a look at the GC contenders with Jonas Vingegaard and Juan Ayuso at the top of the bill but can their teams control things once the race heads into the hills?Route RecapParis to Nice via the Loire and Rhone valleys. Decembers stage-by-stage post looks in more detail. Monday is the only pure sprint stage. Tuesdays team time trial stage is crucial in a race often decided by seconds. Wednesdays finish in Uchon is tricky, gaps can open up on the steep slopes but attack too early and a rider risks being ridden down and overhauled. Saturdays finish in Auron is a ski station summit finish with 7km at 7% and no surprises. Sundays conclusion has a new route in the hills behind Nice before a different finish and so is an unknown quantity for the peloton.There are time bonuses of 10-6-4 seconds.The ContendersJonas Vingegaard (Visma-LAB) has been third here before and was leading the race last year when he crashed out. This is his first race of the season and a late addition to his schedule. Presumably hes only starting if he and his team think he can win; last years winner and team mate Matteo Jorgenson doesnt start. His team need the win more than he does as they search for a replacement title sponsor. The squad can put him in the lead from Tuesdays team time trial onwards and hes capable of defending and extending his lead but more in the sense of him being able to ride away rather than hustle for time bonuses.Embed from Getty ImagesJuan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) can almost do it all, there are still questions about his abilities and limits in the high mountains. So Paris-Nice suits him well and the form is there too. If he wants to win the big races, a triumph here ahead of Vingegaard wouldnt justify his recruitment but it would signal that everything is going to plan. The squad look like contenders to win the team time trial which helps but are without Mattias Skjelmose who could have been a useful second foil as the Dane is out with a wrist injury.Embed from Getty ImagesUAE come with Brandon McNulty as leader because Joo Almeida is out with illness. The American gets the keys to the car for the week but how to win? Hes often triumphed thanks to the strength of his team and when rivals have marked others. He saw up close last year how UAE lost time in the team time trial and McNulty isnt the first choice to snipe time bonuses either. A year ago Pavel Sivakov was co-leader but ended up ill but even in peak form and healthy a win would be a surprise.Embed from Getty ImagesIneos come with a trident of Oscar Onley (pictured), Kvin Vauquelin and Carlos Rodriguez but the first two prongs are likely to be the sharpest for the relatively short climbs next week and sprints for time bonuses. Both Onley and Vauquelin look like one week stage race specialists who can extend their range to grand tours and have a strong chance of the win here. Both riders are new signings and keen to establish themselves with Vauquelin on home roads for the finish as hes a Nice resident.A stage winner last year, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain) said he broke all his power records over the winter and has shown good form so far. Normally this would mean big pressure but Paul Seixas now shoulders the weight of French expectations. But how to win overall? He can play the stage winner gadfly role, buzzing and stinging here and there but the GC looks elusive.Second here in 2021, Aleksandr Vlasov (RedBull) was on the up then but has stalled and become more of a mountain helper. Still one rare win since then was a Paris-Nice stage in 2024. Dani Martinez has been even more discreet but it was in this race that he got his first big win.Embed from Getty ImagesIvan Romeo (Movistar) could win but it would require circumstances to go his way. Movistar did finish second in the Trofeo Majorcas team time trial and Romeo climbs surprisingly well but its hard to see the team winning or Romeo riding away. But if others hesitate hell grab the chance.David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) has been second in 2023 when only Tadej Pogaar could beat him but hes never quite reached those heights since and the form is short this season. He might not gladly sign today for a top-10 in Nice but its a result he ought to aim for.Mathys Rondel (Tudor) is worth watching as a GC contender too as he can climb with the best on good days. Even longer shots include Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon-CMA CGM) and and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QS) who could benefit from a decent team time trial but Vingegaard and Ayuso should still be ahead. Torstein Tren (Uno-X) Harald Tejada (XDS-Astana) and Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello-Q36.5) can play roles too.Jonas VingegaardJuan AyusoOnley, VauquelinVlasov, Rodriguez, McNultyCommentTheres often little in it and weve seen riders like Jorgenson jostling for intermediate time bonuses on the opening day to get an option on team leadership and the yellow jersey alike.This years route looks simpler: escape trouble on the first two days then the team time trial will propel a rider from the strongest team in the lead and they can defend from here on. Easy? Only any team loaded with rouleurs to win Stage 3 will struggle to control things thereafter when the race heads for the hills and squads with multiple options like Ineos can try to find openings in the hilly finishes before the set-piece finish to Auron and the final stage on Sunday is a blank canvas to exploit.TV: France3 for locals and VPN users (email sign-up required) and Eurosport in many other locations. Most stages finish around 5.00pm CET except for Stage 7s finish in Auron around 3.00pm.Weather: 20C this Sunday and staying mild with the chance of rain showers mid-week but all with gentle temperatures and no strong winds forecast.The post Paris-Nice Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.

30mph on the flat on a bicycle is Tour de France stuff These campaigns always demonise speeding cyclists, the former Top Gear host said

UAE Team Emirates - XRG has had plenty injuries in its roster throughout the opening month and a half of the season which have hampered it, but nevertheless they go into most races with winning ambitions. At Tirreno-Adriatico, it could be the case that Isaac del Toro will be the winner; and he has b...

UPDATED March 6, 2026 BY Shanny Hill IN Places to Ride, The Road to Shangri-La no comments Scouting China & Laos On The Road to Shangri-LaAfter leading the Golden Buddha Ride participants from Hanoi to Bangkok this past fall and scouting new routes for us in Laos and China, Tour Leader Andreas Pakenham sat down with us to talk about what people can expect when cycling in China and Southeast Asia on our newest tour The Road to Shangri-La.How many times/how many countries have you visited now in Southeast Asia?For TDA, Ive traveled to SE Asia 7 times, and visited Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.Can you describe the scouting/research you have done as we prepare for the first Road to Shangri-La tour?Beginning in 2023, I revisited some of the planned routes which were shared with the Golden Buddha Ride, rechecking them by motorcycle and making some small changes in Vietnam and Laos. (In 2027, The Road to Shangri-La is replacing the Golden Buddha Ride on our tour calendar)In 2025, we made further changes in Vietnam and significant changes in Laos, including an amazing stage which splits the day into two spectacular rides, separated by a boat ride of 7 km through a rugged limestone cave (See video below). I also had a chance to check the section of the tour through Yunnan, China. A lot has changed since the original scout in 2019. (The tour was first announced in August 2019)What have been the biggest challenges to overcome in terms of route planning? The biggest challenge in South East Asia is the pace of development. Car ownership is increasing and there are new factories, ports and gated communities. Largely, its made scouting a quiet route much more difficult, but at the same time its allowed me to discover truly special routes.What are the roads like especially in China. Is there a lot of traffic, a lot of scooters? Is it very urban or mostly rural? The roads in China are fairly quiet for the most part. Were lucky to be visiting one of the slowest parts of the country from an economic perspective, so despite there being a few big factories along the way, were mostly able to skirt around businesses and industry.What are 1 or 2 unexpected highlights riders can look forward to that you discovered during the tour? The cave boat ride day in Laos I mentioned earlier is a highlight, not just for this tour. Its a TDA scouting highlight for me (See Andreas video highlights from his scouting below). Theres always a special feeling to piece together an amazing ride in place of a monotonous one, but this one feels like putting the riders in a nature documentary half way through the stage.Another highlight will be Northeastern Vietnam. Inadvertently, on the way to start scouting from the Laos border, we discovered some amazing roads through coffee plantations and dense jungle that ended up being more scenic and interesting than the planned route. After we realized this, we made our way back, and figured out how to roll that into the tour.RELATEDTOURThe Road to Shangri-La Shangri-La, an earthly paradise cut off from the world in a hidden Himalayan valley, a place where there is no war or suffering and where people live... Related Posts:Leave a Comment for "Scouting China & Laos On The Road to Shangri-La" Cancel reply

The best bike computers will guide through unchartered kilometers this summer, and the Karoo is our overall top choice, currently at its best price of the year

Paris-Nice is having Jonas Vingegaard as its headliner, a rider who was not initially schedule to be racing in France this spring. However, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike will not have as much competition as initially expected, as both Joo Almeida and Mattias Skjelmose have been confirmed to be abse...

This weeks Debrief features new 53mm Ultradynamico tires, a mechanic's top-tube caddy, fresh Sea to Summit fork bags, Nobl's ultralight wheel lineup, an inexpensive top-opening bag, events to follow live, and much more. Find it all hereThe post Friday Debrief: New 53mm Ultradynamico Tires, Sea to Summit Fork Bags, StemFCKR, and More appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

The white roads and settings are beautiful, but don't let your focus slip

In 2025 Jonas Vingegaard had his spring campaign ended due to a crash at Paris-Nice. It wasn't in the Dane's plan to race it this year; but after another injury hampered his preparation this winter, the change was made. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader begins the race as its main headliner. His...