Its hot and the air is thick with the smoke of Canadian wildfires (as well as the usual smugness that wafts in from up there), so instead of doing anything interesting Im just grabbing the closest Fred bike and sweating on it:Did I mention its hot?So hot in fact that there was a large snake basking on the path, which had vanished by the time I circled back to photograph it, though fortunately it did not end up in my drivetrain:Apparently thats the worlds second most venomous snake:Eastern brown snakesare highly venomousand have beendubbed the worlds second most venomous snake. They are generally a medium-sized species found across eastern Australia in a wide stretch from northern Queensland to South Australia. Although brown snakes are themost common causeof fatal snake bites in the country, deaths by bites from any species of snake are rare.So basically its the Jonas Vingegaard of snakes.Anyway, the situation was obviously dire, and so they had to call in a Snake Frederica:The snake catcher Sarah Mailey, who was called to the scene, said freeing the snake from the bike chain was highly challenging because its upper body remained completely free.Its head wasnt in the chain so it was free to be able to strike her leg, she said.Unfortunately, individuals who can not only handle snakes but are also proficient in modern gravel drivetrains are quite rare, and so bystanders had to step in to help with that second part:Mailey was eventually able to pin the snakes head while bystanders assisted in disentangling the chain. Police also attended the scene at the request of paramedics to ensure public safety in the area.The snake was euthanised due to injuries sustained in the ordeal, Mailey said.Wait a minute.So Australia mandates helments for all bicycle riders but doesnt require internally geared hubs or, at the very least, quick links to protect its serpentine wildlife from rapacious derailleur systems?!?Appalling.Anyway, fortunately for the rider, the snake did not manage to get any venom in her when biting her, but if it had of course someone would have had to suck out the poison:Just like Tour de France riders are sucking down lactate gels:Hey, did somebody say lactate???Apparently that jersey was ahead of its time.Some speculate that drugs are the only reasonable explanation for Pogaars otherworldly performance, but perhaps hes just lactating:Secrecy fuels rumours, including that one Tour team has invested heavily for exclusive access to the ExoLactate Gel. Its been mooted by some that the team in question are UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who reportedly tested it at the Tour de Suisse. Theres also grainy footage doing the rounds of Tadej Pogaar consuming a gel with similar packaging on the 2026 Tours Stage 6 descent of the Col du Tourmalet earlier this week, though that turned out to be an Enervit prototype.Heres a still from that grainy footage:In any case, while some people are impressed by a bunch of professional athletes riding around France for three weeks, thats nothing compared to riding from India to Sweden just to get some:Heres the preview for the film:If only hed had access to a proper gravel bike

Jonas Vingegaard is racing the Tour de France without Grischa Niermann for the first time in almost a decade as Team Visma | Lease a Bike begin an accelerated transition at the top of their sporting operation. Niermann helped mastermind the tactics behind Vingegaards victories in 2022 and 2023 alon...

The Trickstuff Maxima has earned an almost mythical reputation among mountain bikers, pairing eye-watering pricing with claims of unrivaled braking performance. After two years of testing them on the steep descents in Oaxaca, Mexico, Logan weighs in on whether they're simply boutique bling or genuinely in a class of their own. Find his full Trickstuff Maxima Review hereThe post Trickstuff Maxima Brake Review: The Ways of the Force appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

A bike rider in New South Wales, Australia, has been bitten on the thigh by a deadly eastern brown snake after accidently running over the highly venomous serpent, which was sunbathing on the trail. The two-metre-long snake became entangled in the drivetrain of the womans bike after she ran it over while riding the Northern Rivers Rail Trail near Burringbar, in northern New South Wales. Terrified, it lashed out and landed a bite on the womans leg. Eastern browns are widely considered to be the second-most poisonous land snake on the planet (after the taipan), and the woman, reported to be in her 60s, was fortunate in that she received a dry bite which means no venom was injected into her system.Paramedics attended the incident, which happened around lunchtime on Wednesday 15 July, and the cyclist was taken to Tweed Valley hospital, where she is believed to be in a stable condition. Unfortunately, it was a less happy ending for the snake. Local snake catcher Sarah Mailey was called in to disentangle the snake from the bike. "It had its full head swinging around, able to bite and there were a few people standing around just watching," she told ABC News. After some time, she was able to pin the snake's head, to stop it biting anyone else, while police officers and some bystanders extracted the rest of the animal from the bike. Sadly, the snake was subsequently euthanised, because it was deemed too severely injured to recover. Mailey told reporters that the snake was not in prime condition even before the accident, with a pre-existing eye injury that likely contributed to its slow reaction as the bike approached.She probably just thought it was a stick or a shadow and given that the snakes blind in that eye, its obviously not seen the shadow coming towards it and given it enough time to move, Mailey told The Guardian. Its mid winter in Australia, and being cold-blooded creatures, snakes move slower in cooler weather, when theyre often seen trying to absorb heat from the dark tarmacked roads and trails. If it was any other time of year and the snake wasnt blind, it would have had energy and seen her coming and got out of the way, Mailey explained. So its just a mixture of the time of the year, it being a blind snake, and its just part of life, unfortunately.

Olav Kooij narrowly missed a second Tour de France stage win in Nevers, but former British champion and TNT Sports pundit Adam Blythe believes the decisive moment came before the Dutchman had launched his sprint. In Blythes analysis, Kooij surrendered Cees Bols slipstream and gave Soren Waerenskjo...

Four Tour de France victories once made Chris Froome the dominant Grand Tour rider of his generation. Tadej Pogacars latest assault on the yellow jersey has nevertheless prompted a striking admission from the recently retired Briton: he is relieved that he never had to face the Slovenian while both...

As a young sports fan, I perhaps went against the grain by embracing events that spanned days, even weeks.Test cricket (five days) and the snooker World Championships (the longest matches span three days) were regular TV marathons in my house growing up.This love of slow sport continued into adulthood when I became hooked on bike racing, and in particular, the Tour de France. Three weeks, 21 stages and around five hours a day of racing its a classic of the genre.There has been much handwringing in recent years about how events like Test cricket and Grand Tour bike racing fit in the modern era, and how theyll attract younger fans in a world of diminished attention spans and expectation for instant gratification.Shortened versions of cricket (The Hundred, T20) and cycling (Hammer Series) have popped up and in the case of the latter, already disappeared.T20 has proven popular with a different crowd, but will never create the drama and ratcheting tension that the best Test series will.The same applies to the Tour de France. Yes, you may have to sit through plenty of racing for meaningful action to happen, but when it does it makes the drama even more powerful as these images demonstrate. Alberto Contador took exception to this fan dressed as a doctor in 2011, in the aftermath of his positive test for banned asthma medication clenbuterol. Getty Images Reporters werent merely documenting the race in 1935. Here one attends to stricken German racer Georg Umbenhauer during stage 16. Getty Images Five-time champ Bernard Hinault, here in 2009, became something of a minder during podium presentations, dispatching intruders if they disrupted proceedings. Getty Images When youre on top, nothing can stop you. Lance Armstrong rides through a field in 2003 to successfully avoid a crash involving rival Joseba Beloki. Getty Images Scenes you never want to see at the Tour de France, as riders gathered in Carpentras to mourn the unfathomable passing of Tom Simpson during the 1967 race. Getty Images The Orica-Greenedge team bus was a key protagonist of the opening stage of 2013 when it got stuck on the finish line as the peloton approached. Getty Images Johnny Hoogerland was lacerated by barbed wire during a nightmarish crash while in the break at the 2011 race. Getty Images Hoogerland's breakaway companion, Juan Antonio Flecha, was sideswiped by a France Tlvisions car, causing the Dutchman to crash into the fence. Little remained of his bib shorts. Getty Images Despite being torn to shreds and later requiring 33 stitches Hoogerland finished the stage... and went on to finish 74th overall in the race. Getty Images Bernard Hinault leads the peloton over the finish line in 1978, as they protest the staging of two stages on the same day. Getty Images Marco Pantani blitzes Alpe dHuez in 1997 in a record 37 minutes, 35 seconds a time that, despite all the advances in training and equipment, still stands today. Getty Images Ferdi Kubler is sprayed with water during sweltering conditions in 1947. Getty Images Pioneering first director of the Tour, Henri Desgrange, keeps a watchful eye over Belgiums Sylvere Maes, the eventual winner, as he repairs a puncture in 1939. Getty Images Philippe Gilbert is pulled from a ravine while leading the race in 2018, a shocking crash that later saw him abandon with a broken kneecap. Getty Images Yellow jersey Geraint Thomas rubs his tear gas-strewn eyes in 2018 as police sought to disperse a farmers protest. Getty Images File this under could have been much worse. As Adam Yates headed towards the finish, the 1km to go banner fell onto him as he passed under it. He escaped with only minor cuts and grazes in the high-speed smash. Getty Images Level crossings are a feature of the race and not heeding the warnings of barriers has been a trait through generations. Getty Images The appropriately named Tino Tabak smokes a pipe prior to the fifth stage of the 1971 race. Sports science has moved on somewhat since. Getty Images Much is made in 2026 of whether gravel belongs in the Tour de France. Riders of the 1957 race, seen here crossing a rocky road in the Alps on stage 10, would have the definitive opinion. Uneven surfaces were the nature of the beast back then. Getty Images Jan Ullrich undergoes pre-race health tests in 2006, shortly before being booted off the race in doping disgrace. Getty Images Race leader Michael Rasmussen is flanked by police in 2007, as deep suspicion about the legitimacy of his performances reached fever pitch. Getty Images Echelons! This elusive and sought-after phenomenon, seen here in 2013, sees the peloton blown apart by the wind and split into groups. It can turn benign stages into battles for the ages. Getty Images The army of fans that flocked to the Yorkshire Grand Depart in 2014 marked the high point of the cycling boom in Britain. Getty Images In the heat of the moment near the finish, tensions mount in the peloton. In Gueugnon in 2010 they boiled over, when Carlos Barredo came at Rui Costa with his bikes front wheel before it turned into a fist fight. Getty Images