Tucked away in the southern French Alps, the ski resort of Orcires-Merlette doesn't enjoy the renown of fabled summits like Mont Ventoux, Alpe d'Huez, or the Col du Galibier. Nevertheless the eyes of the cycling world will be directed towards it today, with Tadej Pogaar and his Tour de France rivals finishing stage 18 on its category-one slopes.The personal goals of each rider today will be many and varied, from winning at the top to simply making the time cut. And while you might imagine Pogaar has little left to prove in this year's Tour de France, he has unfinished business at today's destination. Last time the race finished here was his Tour debut in 2020, on stage four. The young pretender was beaten to the punch by countryman, rival and old-hand Primo Rogli, riding then for Jumbo-Visma.Rogli, who was on his way to coming as close as he ever had to winning cycling's biggest prize two-and-a-half weeks later, sprinted home at the front of a 20-strong elite front group, with Pogaar latching on to finish second the dynamic riding style we've all become so used to already plain to see.As you might remember, being during Covid-era, that stage took place in September in front of a restrained though still surprisingly big crowd.Still only 21 then, Pogaar ultimately had the last laugh in that race, taking his debut Tour victory on the penultimate day's time trial at Planche de Belles Filles. But Pogi likes to win, and at Orcires-Merlettes he has yet to do that. It would be no surprise to see him correct the record today.The 185.3km stage begins where yesterday left off with a Jasper Philipsen win in Voiron, well to the north-west. From here the peloton makes its way over the numerous climbs that fringe the Alps, starting with the the cat-one Cte d'Engins, which, at 11.5km, 5.4% and topping out at 854 metres, must surely be on the borders of the Cte / Col definition. The riders crest this at just 35km, and it's followed mid-stage by the Cte Monteyard (cat-two) and the Cte des Terrasses (cat-three), which comes just before the intermediate sprint.This takes place at the ominously named Corps, and both Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will do all they can to get the points here and boost them at the top of the green jersey classification.From here the road trends upwards for the next 55km or so, all the way to Orcires-Merlettes, although there is a cat-three to deal with at 166km, the Cte de Saint-Leger-les-Mlzes. The final climb proper starts at around seven kilometres to go, with a shallower first kilometre segueing to a gradient of around 7% all the way to the line.

Tadej Pogacar may have seen his 2026 Tour de France dreams flash right before his eyes on Wednesday. A new video has emerged of a crash that took place early in stage 17's breakaway day to Voiron as it appears that the yellow jersey came close to being involved and potentially hitting the deck. Earl...

Eddy Merckx. The Cannibal. The GOAT. As with Muhammad Ali in boxing or Pel in football, if people only knew one cyclist around the time of the moon landings, it was that BelgianLike Novak Djokovic on any surface of tennis court, or Michael Phelps in any swimming discipline, Merckx won across every type of race. Track, cobbles, mountains, sprints. Hour, day, week, fortnight or longer. The lot.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Merckx, now 81, conquered all. Sometimes by, literally, miles. Five Tours, five Giros, an Espaa. All five Monuments (Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Lige-Bastogne-Lige, Giro di Lombardia). Countless records. He won almost everything every Classic race except Paris-Tours.Why is Tadej Pogaar compared to Eddy Merckx? Tadej Pogaar leads the 2026 Tour de France by more than four minutes. Getty Images The only rider to come close to replicating that all-conquering dominance, at least on the road, is a certain Tadej Pogaar. Ultimately, comparisons between riders who plied their trade nearly 60 years apart are nigh-on impossible that won't stop us, though but Pogaar's insatiable appetite for victory is reminiscent of that of Merckx.Pogaar is currently cantering to a fifth Tour de France victory (that would draw him alongside Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurin) at 27 years old.The Slovenian has also won 13 Monuments (to Merckx's 19) and only Paris-Roubaix evades Pogaar if he is to join Belgian trio Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck as the riders to have won all five of cycling's biggest one-day races.In terms of total victories, however, there's a clear winner Merckx finished his career with 525 wins, while Pogaar sits on 125 (at the time of writing). Read more: The 10 greatest Tour de France riders of all time, ranked Eddy Merckx's wins, in numbers: Total victories: 525 Tour de France overall wins: 5 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974) Tour de France individual stage wins: 34 Giro d'Italia overall wins: 5 (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974) Giro d'Italia individual stage wins: 24 Vuelta a Espana overall wins: 1 (1973) Vuelta a Espana individual stage wins: 6 Momument wins: 19 Milan-San Remo 7 (1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976) Tour of Flanders 2 (1968, 1975) Paris-Roubaix 3 (1968, 1970, 1973) LigeBastogneLige 5 (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975) Giro di Lombardia 2 (1971, 1972) Elite World Championship road race wins: 3 (1967, 1971, 1974) Why was his nickname 'The Cannibal'? "Me again?" Getty Images Merckx's Cannibal tag came from his all-consuming competitiveness. No following the unwritten rules by letting someone else win a stage if he was ahead.If he had a beef with other cyclists, the press or race organisers (most notoriously at the 1969 Giro dItalia, when he was banned following a dubious drug test result he was later cleared) his legs usually did the talking.The Merckx of vintage race photos is aloof, focused. On the podium, hes nonchalant, with a told-you-so smile. Those to whom he has granted rare interviews report an affable man, quick to laugh, always in control.When did Merckx retire, and what happened next? Merckx, pictured here with Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme in 2023, has remained highly influential. Getty Images Merckx retired at only 32 in 1978, having made modest earnings compared to todays riders a fact that he is keenly aware of, but has evidently coped with.Since then, he has stayed in cycling. In 1980, he formed Eddy Merckx Cycles, making bikes that were used in pro races, but he sold his majority share in 2008 (the brand survives today thanks to a buyout by Belgian Cycling Factory, Ridleys parent company, in 2017). He coached various teams and is still one of cycling's most influential figures. Read more: The Eddy Merckx 525R is the best aero road bike Ive ever riddenMerckx grew up speaking French and Dutch his parents ran a grocery shop in Brabant and is popular in both Flanders and Wallonia, his countrys two sometimes-adversarial main parts. So, we might add social unifier to his achievements.Sorry Adolphe Sax, Audrey Hepburn, Jacques Brel, Ren Magritte et al Eddy Merckx might just be the worlds most famous Belgian, too.So, a victory machine who conquered all on every surface and a voracious appetite that could not be sated, no matter how many wins he racked up. Thats why Eddy Merckx is held in such regard. More Tour de France questions answered How much money does Pogaar earn, and how does that compare to other sports top stars? What does a Tour de France rider do if they need to poo? How dangerous is the Tour de France? Why is the Tour de France not on ITV? 3,302km in 76 hours: how fast is the Tour de France? What is the Tour de France caravan, and why does everyone love it so much? Tour de France jargon buster: all the cycling terms you need to know to understand the race

The International Testing Agency has been active at the Tour de France, but the difference in testing schedules has risen a debate about specific possibility of it bringing advantage to certain riders. The ITA has dismissed the idea that it has not been impartial during the race. Overnight from sta...

As one of cyclings preeminent retrogrouches, it is recumbent upon me to rail againstwell, everything.That is the AIs take on A pennyfarthing rider ranting about how safety bicycles are ruining cycling and Id say it really nailed the assignment, right down to the notch cut into the cardboard sign to provide adequate tire clearance. (Granted, I did imagine the scene taking place in the late 19th century, not today, but still.)But theres more to retrogrouchery than just rejecting stuff. Theres also embracing old stuff that you would have railed against when it was new. Then theres the most important aspect of all, which is creating an entire identity around that old stuff.What do I mean by that? Well, consider yesterdays ride:Which was downright bucolic, right down to this deer doing the whole Homer-Simpson-receding-into-the-background thing:See?And yes, I am making good on my non-promise to ride only this bike forevermore:Or at least Ive ridden it twice in a row.Anyway, Ive had the Roaduno for a little under two years now, having received it in September-ish of Two Thousand and Twenty-Four. I that time, I have ridden it more or less as it came out of the boxthat is to say singlespeed, with Choco bars:I have ridden it as a double:Then a as a double with drop bars:Then as a triple with drop bars:And now Ive batted around the order and turned it back into a singlespeed (though the drop bars are staying):While the fact that the bike is so easy to tinker with virtually guarantees Ill continue to do so, I really shouldnt, because Id say that as of now its as close to ideal as I could possibly get it, and the key to it all can be expressed in three words:BuyOhPaceIm only three-quarters joking, too, because Im now convinced that the Bee-oh-pa-chay chainring really does meaningfully improve the singlespeeding experience:Ill leave the technical justification to fellow Biopace apologist Sheldon Brown, but I think the Pace is particularly well-suited to pushing too big of a gear, which you invariably find yourself doing on a road-oriented singlespeed bicycle anyplace that isnt completely flat.And yes, there was a time when I was ashamed of Biopace:In fact, back in the 20th century, I quickly de-Biopaced my Trek 1200 (the original one I had backk then, not its Normcore Doppelgnger), not because I didnt like the way it worked, but because it was clear to me it was completely uncool, and if I had a blog when Biopace was introduced Im sure I would have roundly (well, not roundly, theyre not round, are they?) mocked it.Even today Biopace remains uncooleven though the gravelistas are all over it:But todays oval chainrings are totally different from Biopace!, cry the Gravel Freds.Yeah, keep telling yourself that. If your chainring is lumpy, its Biopace. I dont care if the lumps are oriented differently or not. Saying these arent Biopace is like saying youre not a carnivore because you only eat your hamburger for dessert.All of this is to say that the so-called alt cyclists are constantly reclaiming old stuff (how alt can you be when you look just as alike as the Freds do?), leaving the rest of us with next to nothingand so Im planting my flag in Biopace, damn it!Never mind, Im too late, someones already selling stickers.Okay, fine, then Im planting my flag in bonded aluminum Treks:[Wait, wheres the Biopace???]And 23mm tires.But yes, I do think the Biopace works well for a singlespeed. The only issues are aesthetic: the chainring itself looks wonky, and theres a little extra slack in the chainring, though the chain stays on just fine and most people tension their chains way too much anyway. And speaking of singlespeeds, could there be better terrain for one than this?I can even get up most of my usual paved climbs on the one-speed Roaduno just fine, though I do have to plan my route so that Im going down this sort of thing and not up it:And no, I did not drop my chain.Finally, further to yesterdays post, while the most dangerous thing about cycling may be the drivers, the second-most dangerous thing is losing your own mind:Yes, every once in awhile a cyclist completely snaps:Caught on camera blocking a stream of cars in Brighton, the helmeted cyclist could be heard yelling, This lanes closed, sorry. This lanes closed, per avideo clipposted to social media by digital creator Paul Pasquarosa.Asked why he was blocking traffic, the cyclist gestured angrily at the bike lane, where a truck appeared to be parked.A wise person once wrote about this phenomenon, and his point is an important one, because you really dont want to wind up like this:If nothing else, the fact hes standing safely in the middle of the street does undermine his message somewhat.

Juan Ayuso tackles stage 18 of the Tour de France 2026 convinced that the high mountains can still flip the general classification. The Spanish rider said that both he and Mattias Skjelmose are in a position where they must take risks to try to move up, though he knows legs will decide the outcome....

As the Tour de France heads into its finale weekend and exciting back-to-back days on the legendary Alpe d'Huez, Tadej Pogaar holds a fairly unassailable lead over Remco Evenepoel and his UAE Emirates teammate Isaac del Toro.As mere mortals, we can only dream of riding like the multiple TDF winner and reigning World Champion. However, if you want to channel your inner Pogi and recreate his iconic hair tuffs, then his MET helmets of choice, which are some of the best road bike helmets, are currently on sale at Sigma Sports.Shop Tadej Pogaar's MET Helmets at Sigma Sports and save up to 42%.The Slovenian can most often be seen riding in the MET Trenta 3K Carbon MIPS, but occasionally the MET Manta MIPS, and both have up to 42% off, making them bargain buys for anyone looking for a new helmet this summer.Best lightweight helmetSave 23% The MET Trenta 3K Carbon MIPS helmet is engineered to be one of the most advanced road cycling helmets on the market, loaded with enhanced safety and performance features. It's available in four colours, but the Glossy Grey has the best discount of 26%. There are various sizes from S-L depending on the colour chosen.Read our MET Trenta 3K Carbon MIPS review.View DealSave 22%. The MET Trenta Airframe 3k Carbon MIPS helmet comes in this stunning Pogaar Limited Edition colourway. It also features the MET 3K Airframe: integrated carbon wing structure for what they claim is superior performance with uncompromised ventilation and protection. This unique helmet is available in sizes S-L.View DealSave 42%. The MET Manta MIPS is a streamlined aerodynamic road helmet designed for speed. This highly aerodynamic helmet is wind-tunnel-developed to reduce aerodynamic drag at high speed. It also looks stunning and is lightweight, well ventilated and has the MIPS-C2 crash protection system. It comes in seven colour selections with discounts of up to 42% depending on the colour chosen.Read our MET Manta MIPS Helmet review.View DealSave 22%. The MET Manta MIPS helmet comes in this stunning Tadej Pogacar Pearl White Limited Edition version. It features the same aerodynamics and safety as the standard version above, but you pay a bit more for the very appealing colour. It's only available in sizes M-L.View DealThe MET Trenta 3K Carbon MIPS is also our choice for the best lightweight helmet and earned an impressive 4.5-star review from expert tester Aaron Borrill. It's also my own helmet of choice, but sadly that's where the similarities end between myself and Pogaar. In our MET Manta MIPS review, the highlights included its aero performance and, even at full price, its value for money. The latest version is an improvement over our review lid and has improved safety updates.Unfortunately, these specific deals apply only to UK shoppers; below you'll find the best MET helmet deals relevant to your location and currency.

Good morning and welcome to the liveblog of Stage 18 of the Tour de France. Today's stage takes the peloton over a demanding route, culminating with the summit finish at Orcires-Merlette. It could be the perfect opportunity for a strong breakaway to fight for victory, while we should also expect an...

As he prepared for a quick getaway last weekend, Lucas found himself struggling to come up with fresh ideas for lunch and dinner. Seeking inspiration, hes now turning to the community for help compiling a list of easy recipes. Have a favorite bikepacking meal? Share it here...The post Whats Your Go-To Bikepacking Meal? appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Heres some news for all the cargo bike lovers out there. Urban Arrow, the cargo bike company thats known for its front-load cargo bikes, is stepping into new territory with the launch of the new Breeze. The Breeze is the brands first longtail eBike. And, after 14 years of building front-loader cargo bikes, they use the same focus on family utility in a format that works well for everyday suburban riding.(Photos / Urban Arrow)The Breeze is designed for families who want the carrying capacity of a cargo bike without the larger footprint of a traditional front-loader. The Breeze uses 24-inch wheels to offer a more controlled and stable ride when carrying passengers or riding at higher speeds. Under the hood, Urban Arrow pairs a Bosch Cargo Line motor with an Enviolo hub and Gates Carbon belt drive. This drivetrain will keep things quiet while staying relatively low-maintenance over the years. First Timer? Urban Arrows goal with the Breeze Longtail is to design a bike that feels approachable from day one. Especially for riders who havent spent much time on cargo bikes before.To help families get set up with a Breeze for themselves, Urban Arrow is launching the Breeze with a limited-time bundle. The bundle includes a protection bar, footrests, a front rack, and two seat cushions. Thats a $700 value. Its a practical way to hit the ground running without having to source passenger gear separately after purchase.Carry it AllDispite its smaller size, the Breeze can do more than its size suggests. It features an extended rear rack that supports up to 176 pounds. That puts the total payload capacity at 440 pounds. So, you can easily carry two children, groceries, or gear, making it especially well-suited for growing families. The Breeze is perfect for kids as young as one, all the way to the older kids who can hop on and off without assistance. The Breezes frame features a very low step-through frame, ensuring an accessible get-on-and-go experience for both seasoned riders and those just getting started. The integrated MIK HD system on both the front and rear allows accessories to be switched out in seconds. This means that you can easily swap between hauling passengers and hauling cargo.Urban Arrow Breeze Retail & DetailRetail: $6,999Stable Kickstand:For secure loading and unloading of precious cargo.Integrated Protection:Spoke and belt guards to keep little fingers and legs safe.High-Capacity Rear Rack:Designed to carry two passengers comfortably.Tool-Free Flexibility:The MIK HD system for instant accessory changes.Security:Built-in front lock and dedicated secure storage for a chain lock.Intuitive Control:Fixed Purion 200 display for simple, seamless operation.For anyone weighing whether a cargo bike fits their lifestyle, the Breeze positions itself as a sweet middle ground. Its more nimble than a front-loader, but still built with the carrying capacity and durability that families need. Check out the link below for more details. UrbanArrow.com