The 2026 Giro d'Italia will take place from the 8th to the 31st of May. It is the first Grand Tour of the season, and there are 21 stages that will take the riders through many of Italy's iconic cities, the mythical Alps, and many treacherous stages - each one can end the climber's chances of winnin...

Paul Magnier underlined his growing status as one of cyclings most explosive finishers by claiming a third stage victory at the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, mastering a selective finale in Stage 18 to outsprint a reduced peloton in Pieve di Soligo. The young Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step delivered...

On its Instagram page yesterday, KHS Bicycles posted a message informing the public that it will close its U.S. distribution business after 50 years. Founded in 1974 by Wen and Susan Hsieh, KHS Bicycles, known primarily for its mountain bikes, will officially cease operations on May 31, 2026. This announcement does not affect KHS Taiwan, which will reportedly continue to operate as normal. View this post on Instagram This news comes roughly eight months after Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) reported that KHSs U.S. distribution would close in early 2026, unless they found a buyer to take over the business. At the time, KHSs U.S. vice president, Wayne D. Gray, said they were talking to several entities interested in buying the distribution business, the U.S. distribution rights to the bike brands, or both, as reported by BRAIN. Given the closure announcement, it appears no deal was ever reached. The past few years have been anything but easy for the cycling industry, and like many other brands, its fair to assume that recent economic challenges likely played a role in this decision. But, it was reported that the brands founders were also looking forward to retirement after 50 years of running the family business. Gray said he has plans to retire and ride his bike every day, too. The 2025 KHS 7500 enduro bike. (photo/KHS)Based in the U.S. with factories in Taiwan, KHS has produced and distributed a large range of bicycles for decades. This includes those from its subsidiary brands, Free Agent BMX bikes and Manhattan Beach Cruisers.Additionally, along with QBP, KHS was one of only two distributors wholesaling Shimano parts in the U.S. market.Although KHS never seemed to achieve mainstream popularity, that also never really appeared to be the goal. KHS had many patents and accomplishments to its name, and the brand even earned numerous Bike of the Year awards from various publications over the years. Still, KHS always seemed focused on providing value to consumers, rather than competing with the big brands. In addition to mountain bikers, KHS supported road racers, too.KHS has been a long-standing supporter of up-and-coming domestic racers in both mountain and road cycling. The KHS Pro MTB team was a constant threat in gravity disciplines on the North American downhill, enduro, and dual slalom circuits for years, with numerous National Championship Titles to its name.Were sad to see another cycling industry staple shut its doors. We wish all the best to the KHS team and all of the individuals affected by the brands closure.The post KHS Bicycles is Shutting Down U.S. Operations After 50 Years appeared first on Bikerumor.

The eighteenth stage of Giro d'Italia had a relatively unexpected development. What seemed like a breakaway stage ended up as a bonus chance for sprinters... providing they'd survive the extremely steep Muro Ca' del Poggio. Jonathan Milan did not manage that with the first group, but crossed the top...

Team Bahrain - Victorious is enjoying a surprisingly decent Giro d'Italia. Even though their main star Santiago Buitrago withdrew following stage 2 crash, the remaining group of riders put out great performances, especially Afonso Eullio. The Portuguese man was again in the spotlight during stage 1...

The bikes appear new but so do the CADEX wheels and cockpit and 55mm Maxxis tyres

The 2026 Giro d'Italia Women will have a large absentee in Sarah Gigante. Despite the best efforts of her and AG Insurance - Soudal Team doctors, the podium finisher of last year's edition was not cleared to participate due to an injury suffered nine months ago. This has been confirmed by the team's...

The Queen Stage? Yes, but at 151km todays stage is minor royalty. Itll still be entertaining and scenic too.Tri-Paul: an impromptu sprint stage. With few obvious sprint stages to start with and some of those leaving the sprinters thwarted and even sore, several teams conspired to keep a lid on the days modest breakaway and then deter further attacks with Lidl-Trek, NSN and UAE all active here and the field split under the pressure and regrouped. The climbs along the day saw other moves contained; plus a crash for Afonso Eulalio but no injury give he attacked on the Ca del Poggio climb but couldnt get a gap but this helped condense the bunch down to about 60 riders.If yesterdays preview did not consider a bunch sprint outcome mea culpa the finish did not seemed designed for it either. But this allowed Jasper Stuyven to lead out Paul Magnier and force Jonathan Milan again to find another route around riders. Magnier was clear and takes back the points jersey with a 37 point advantage. There are 12-8-5-3-1 at the intermediate sprint today and tomorrow and 15-12-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 so Narvaez needs to score big and then hope Magnier fumbles the sprint in Rome; in practical terms this is unlikely but Magniers biggest challenge is the next two stages and the time limit. He said he did not think of the sprint yesterday because hes so tired.The Route: 151km and 4,800m of vertical gain. Theres a hilly 45km to the first pass on a small backroad, terrain for the breakaway to form but their challenge is to stay away for the day.The Passo Duran marks the start of the climbing and its hard at the start, plenty of 10-12% for the first two thirds before easing. The final 100km have almost no flat roads except for a brief moment before the final climb. The descents matter today too, theyre frequently steep and with tight, irregular corners.The Passo Giau is long and steep, 10km at almost 10% and with its 29 hairpins hard for anyone struggling to follow the pace as they can get shaken off on these bends.The Finish: not a famous pass or anything like that, this is a small road to a ski lift in winter and the start of hiking trails in summer, all below the cragged peaks of Monte Civetta. Its consistently steep.The Contenders: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-LAB) is the easy pick, hes out-climbing everyone so why turn down another stage win? But this all hangs on whether his team will work all day because theres little point in Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe or Netcompany-Ineos mowing down the breakaway today as theyd just gift the win to Vingegaard; but little rather than zero given Red Bull might want to soften up Arensman on the climbs. Several teams might also see if they can test Felix Gall on the descents.Breakaway picks are Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) but he might be caught between sprinting for mountains points and the stage. Hes 81 points behind Vingegaard for the blue mountains jersey and if theres 50 for Cima Coppi, hell need the 40 pointer Duran early on too as the others offer 18 points. He can do it today, the trick will be to score tomorrow too.Einer Rubio (Movistar) is climbing well. Will Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull) go clear again? Hes been making moves but not looked incisive yet, instead team mate Giulio Pellizzari might try and grab a consolatory stage win now that hes 20th overall and almost 37 minutes down so a new name to watch for the breakaway but does he try today or save it for tomorrow which might suit the breakaway more?VingegaardCiccone, Rubio, PellizzariWeather: sunny but cooler, 23C at the start and then mid-way in between the climbs.TV: KM0 is at 12.20pm, the Passo Giau begins around 3.20pm and the finish is forecast for 5.15pm CEST.Postcard from AllegheTodays finish is deserving of its own postcard, a wish-you-were-here paean to the Dolomites and the Giro because this is a picture-postcard scenery, a finish above Alleghe with its blue lake, and with Monte Civetta towering above.If yesterdays postcard touched on the origins of the Dolomites, its not all about events from millions of years ago. The lake near the finish today only appeared in the late 18th century following a giant rockfall. If this happened, what could happen next?Theres probably more chance lakes are formed today by human actions like the construction of hydroelectric dams. The nearby Vajont disaster in 1963 commemorated by the 2013 Giro saw a huge block of rock slide into the newly filled lake following the construction of a giant dam, causing a massive wave that flooded the area below killing around 2,000 people. It happened because the faults and geology were poorly understand at the time, and also ignored in part too.Natural phenomenons occur too. A year ago yesterday in Switzerland a glacier fell apart, causing a huge landslide with three million cubic metres of rock, ice, water and mud coming down the mountain to bury much of the village of Blatten. Fortunately this had been predicted and the locals evacuated a week before but that counts as a narrow escape. Alas one shepherd died but things could have been a lot worse.These events are likely to become more frequent. Dramatic events like the Swiss one grab the headlines but its the smaller rockfalls that are proliferating. The Alps are warming up about twice as fast as the surrounding area. Rock and ice that is habitually frozen at high altitude all year is now subject to more frequent cycles of melting and freezing and so the mountains are at risk of falling apart faster. The Dolomites are especially prone with their softer limestone rock according to Professor Nicolas Casagli, a specialist in geo-engineering from Florence University who studies the mountains and is a media-go to in Italy for these events.Roads here are regularly being closed because of landslides and the repairs are expensive. This is forcing local authorities to review the costs and benefits: is it worth clearing a road if it will be buried again soon? Should tens of millions be spent securing the roads with coverings and other fortifications to keep them open as important traffic arteries? If so, then who pays locals, the region or the country?The Alps took millions of years to form and theyll be there for millions more. The forces that made them are still pushing the peaks upwards rather than making them collapse. Any change in the rate of erosion is tiny in relative terms. But it is a noticeable pre-occupation of residents, the local newspapers as well as geologists, hydrologists and public safety officials alike. If the Giro organisers are worried about snowfall affecting the race in the Alps every year, in the near future rockfall could become a similar concern too.The post Giro dItalia Stage 19 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.