The 2026 Tour of Bruges will be taking place on the 25th of March and is the first of the World Tour Belgian spring classics from the main block. The race formerly known as the Classsic Brugge-De Panne is suited to the sprinters, however usually in a route where the wind also causes chaos. We previe...

On Monday, four riders now known as the "Fab Four" became the first and only two-wheeled finishers of the 2026 Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000. The group spent over 27 frozen days in the Alaskan backcountry, pushing forward even as everyone else turned back. Find a recap from Kari Gibbons of the Wild Winter Women and photos from their incredible ride here...The post Winners of the 2026 Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000: The Fab Four appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

From the cobbles of Montmartre to Gravel Mountain, via a new focus on combining indoor training with outdoor cycling, Zwift is shifting gears this year

Milano-Sanremo is a race that takes place close to Tadej Pogacar's home in Monaco. He lives close to many of the sport's best, and many of the best from other sports as well, in what is often described as a tax haven. At the finale of the Italian monument he was cheered and greeted on by Formula 1 d...

Surly just announced two fresh paint colors for its core rigid dirt-touring bikes. Check out the new Salmon Skin Silver Krampus and Lingering Cranberry Bridge Club here... The post Salmon Skin Silver Surly Krampus and Lingering Cranberry Bridge Club appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Zwift has announced its users will be encouraged to go ride their bikes outside this summer, thanks to updates to the platforms Personalised Recommendations feature. Announced last autumn, Zwifts Personalised Recommendations harness AI to suggest your next activity when you load the app. Now, Zwift says riders will be able to see Outdoor Recommendations suggesting they should close the app and ride in the real world for a change. The announcement comes as part of Zwifts seasonal content reveal (which it dubs this season on Zwift'). It has also teased an expansion to the Paris map, a new gravel-focused world, additions to Zwifts in-game bike shop the Drop Shop and more. Read more: Zwift your complete guide to the world's most popular indoor training app Zwift will now recommend outdoor rides You'll soon be able to complete certain challenges indoors and outdoors. Zwift According to Zwift, the recommendations for outdoor rides will differ from indoor rides, without a specific workout or route to ride. Instead, theyll simply be a basic guide to advise how to get the most from your next activity. Additionally, the brand says it plans to launch in-game challenges that will reward Zwift users for progress completed both indoors and outdoors. Is this a tacit admission that Zwifters are spending too long staring at screens and need to go outside and experience the real world? We suspect it probably has more to do with the brand trying to keep its subscribers engaged over the summer months a time when usage, and perhaps therefore also subscription, rates in the northern hemisphere almost certainly drop significantly. Zwift is already giving riders in-game experience points (XP) for outdoor rides completed on connected devices, for example. These additions are therefore likely designed to help increase retention on the platform during times when people will naturally be less inclined to ride indoors on a smart trainer. Tour fever The Basilique du Sacr-Coeur de Montmartre is coming to Zwift's Paris map this summer. Zwift As the 'official software' for the Tour de France, Zwift is naturally keen to celebrate the sports most important event. With this in mind, Zwift is expanding its Paris map, which currently features the Tours traditional finishing circuit on the Champs-lyses. And with the Tour having added the Montmarte climb to its final stage last year, Zwift is following suit. The iconic cobbled climb, which was added to the Tours finishing circuit last year following its use in the road races at the 2024 Olympic Games, will be incorporated into the games Paris map, adding a tough climb to an otherwise relatively flat parcours. Zwift says the expanded map will be available to ride from 26 June, and will feature the Basilique du Sacr-Coeur de Montmartre at the summit of the climb. We dont yet have details of how closely the virtual climb will match its real-world counterpart, although at only 0.6km in length, with an average gradient of 4.7 per cent, we imagine Zwift will stick closely to the real thing. To mark the 2026 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes, Zwift will be running the Tour Fever Challenge from 2 July to 16 August 2026. There will be both races and group rides to participate in, with five new route badges to collect in the Paris map. Gravel Mountain Zwift's first gravel world is coming in April. Zwift Also coming this Spring is Gravel Mountain a new, event-only map designed specifically for virtual gravel racing. Gravel Mountain, Zwift says, will be the fastest, most exciting way to experience gravel on Zwift. Set in a red rock environment, Zwift says riders can expect dust, speed and loose lines and a distinct handling and racing experience compared to road racing [on Zwift]. Zwift says Gravel Mountain will favour gravel bikes. Zwift Its not clear exactly how these loose lines or handling differences will play out in-game, although Zwift says dedicated gravel bikes will be the optimal pick from a performance perspective. We suspect Zwift is simply trying to sell the vibes of the new world, given how important the spirit of gravel is to that genre of bike racing. You'll be able to unlock this Pas Normal kit by participating in the PAS Racing Series. Zwift In any case, Zwift says the Gravel Mountain world map will launch as part of the PAS Racing Series a four-stage gravel racing series organised in collaboration with the PAS Racing pro team. Races will run hourly from 6 April to 3 May 2026, across routes in Gravel Mountain and the Makuri Islands (another of Zwifts virtual worlds), with a Pas Normal kit to unlock for those who participate. Drop Shop update New bikes are coming to the Drop Shop, potentially including what looks like Specialized's Crux gravel bike. Zwift The Drop Shop is Zwifts in-game shop for bike and wheel upgrades, and the brand says it will be seeing its biggest overhaul yet this year. Specifically, Zwift says 18 new bikes and 13 new wheelsets will land in the shop this spring and summer, with the first two bundles having a gravel focus. Another bundle is slated to arrive around the Tour de France, with (we expect) a focus on the bikes used in that race. This bike appears to be a Canyon Aeroad with a SRAM groupset and Zipp 545 NSW wheels. Zwift Although it hasnt yet revealed details of exactly which bikes and wheels will be coming to the platform, Zwift says they are all from leading brands. As well as releasing new models, the brand also says it will be tidying up the Drop Shop and retiring some outdated bikes. It says users who have already purchased these bikes will still be able to ride them, even once theyve been removed from the Drop Shop, however. Everything else this season on Zwift Scheduling rides and workouts will help Zwift recommend more tailored activities. Zwift Beyond the world and map updates, Zwift has announced a slew of other updates to the platform. Users will now, for example, be able to schedule workouts, routes and events via the Zwift Companion app. Zwift says the personalised recommendations will also take planned events into account, so it wont, for example, suggest a hard workout the day before a race. Data fields in the workout HUD can now be customised. Zwift Youll also now be able to customise the HUD for workouts, with four configurable data fields and 13 different data points to choose from. Zwift says this change will enable riders to focus on whats best for them during workouts. The final themed workouts of the winter season are also coming in April, with Zwift Camp: Breakthrough. Designed to support Zwifters in their transition to the summer season, Zwift says the five workouts will feature pedalling drills to improve technique, stability and control, rather than a singular focus on improving your fitness. Zwift is raising its level cap. Zwift Lastly, with an eye on the platforms most dedicated users, Zwift has announced it will be lifting the rider level cap which currently sits at 100. The new limit has yet to be revealed, but Zwift says riders will have hundreds of new levels to chase. For tips on the fastest ways to level up, check out our Zwift walkthrough guide.

More than a decade on from their greatest triumphs, one is about to retire, while one remains unretired

Welcome to the Liveblog for the 105th edition of the Volta a Catalunya. The organisers have designed this stage for a potential sprint finish, but will that actually happen? The peloton has already shown its strength, and it will be difficult for a breakaway to succeed, but the final part of the day...

For our 239th Collective Reward, were giving one randomly selected Bikepacking Collective member a Restrap Switch Rack and Cagea clever, modular cargo system designed to bring rack functionality to nearly any modern thru-axle bike. Find details here...The post Collective Reward #239: Restrap Switch Rack appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Pirelli has launched the new P Zero Race TLR SL-R, a tyre claimed to be up to 15 watts faster than the P Zero Race TLR RS used by Mathieu van der Poel. Using new patented PAAS (Pirelli Advanced Aerodynamic System) tech, this sees a 'spoiler' built onto the lower sidewall of the tyre, which decreases the effective inward depression caused when fitted to a rim. PAAS is the result of a research project in which the interaction between tyre and rim was studied to improve airflow efficiency over the tyre and outer wheel rim. Pirelli says the P Zero Race TLR SL-R is the most aerodynamically efficient tyre in the world across a +/- 20-degree yaw range, without sacrificing rolling resistance or grip. Read more: Best road bike tyres in 2026 13 of our favourite clincher and tubeless tyres Inspired by the P Zero Race TLR RS The new tyre is claimed to save up to 15 watts compared to the P Zero Race TLR RS. Road Bike Connection Spring - Rupert Fowler The P Zero Race TLR SL-R can be thought of as an evolution of the brands P Zero Race TLR RS lightweight race tyre, which until now has been used by its sponsored pros, including Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen. It uses the same SmartEVO 2 compound, which Pirelli says is based on motorsport-developed polymers, and a 120 TPI (threads-per-inch) carcass construction. Pirelli says this offers high levels of suppleness and grip in both wet and dry conditions. The tyre is also said to maintain aerodynamic performance consistently as it wears and is compatible with wide-profile rims. Pirelli says the new tyre features the same construction as the RS tyre under the skin. Road Bike Connection Spring - Rupert Fowler Pirelli claims the SL-R also improves rolling efficiency compared to the RS, delivering around a 10% reduction in rolling resistance according to its own testing (equating to roughly 2 watts per set). Where pro teams differ is in their usual choice of tyre size. According to Carlo Di Clemente, Pirellis road and gravel product manager, van der Poels Alpecin team will usually opt for a 30mm tyre to better match the teams Shimano wheels, while Pedersens Lidl-Trek teams Bontrager rims are best suited to 28mm tyres. Accordingly, the P Zero Race TLR SL-R is available in both sizes at launch, while a 32mm version is set to follow later in 2026. Pirelli says the 28mm version weighs a claimed 275g, making it the lightest tyre in the current P Zero Race TLR range. Weve weighed our test tyres at 288g apiece, in a 28mm size. The P Zero Race TLR SL-R will be offered in Black-Silver and Black Team Edition colour options, costing 94.99 / $127.90 / 99.90 each. The Team Edition will cost 99.99 in the UK. How does PAAS make the P Zero Race TLR SL-R faster? Pirelli says it has tested prototype tyres ranging from 28-35mm wide. Pirelli The PAAS research project is said to have taken 18 months, incorporating CFD simulations, lab testing, road testing and wind-tunnel validation, with four different wind tunnels used across 10 test sessions. Put simply, PAAS is intended to keep air attached to the tyre and rim for longer across the typical +/- 20-degree range of yaw angles cyclists are exposed to most often. Pirelli says the system is also designed to enhance the so-called 'sailing effect', where aerodynamic lift generated at yaw can contribute a small forward force, reducing overall resistance. In normal circumstances, a typical bike tyre will exhibit a lightbulb effect, whereby the rim grips to the tyre bead and the tyres sidewall expands outwards under pressure. According to Pirelli, this can encourage airflow separation at the tyrerim interface, increasing drag. Pirelli says the SL-R is significantly faster than the existing RS race tyre. Pirelli Alongside this 'standard' tyre profile, Pirelli says it has tested other tyre-profile solutions it has observed from rivals, including a narrow tyre, a pointy tyre and a vortex-generating tyre (such as the Continental Aero 111 front tyre). Pirelli says the PAAS 'geometry construction' optimises the position of the tyres maximum width and smooths the transition between tyre and rim, helping to reduce airflow detachment and therefore drag. This carries a natural small weight penalty given the additional material applied to the tyres sidewall, but Pirelli says this is outweighed by the aerodynamic gains made, especially at racing speeds. The tyre creates a smoother interface with the outer rim wall, but maintains a small gap to aid installation. Pirelli In testing at 45km/h (where Pirelli used a 60mm-deep hooked rim with a 23mm internal width), a 28mm P Zero Race TLR SL-R produced lower drag by 15 watts at certain yaw angles compared to a same-size P Zero Race TLR RS tyre, with smaller but consistent gains compared to other-brand rivals across a broader range of conditions. The brand adds that tyres and the front wheel together can account for up to 5% of total aerodynamic drag, underlining the importance of optimising this interaction. Pirelli says it has applied PAAS to prototype tyres ranging from 28-35mm wide, across a range of contemporary road-racing wheels, and claims PAAS will inform its tyre construction going forward.