Zoe Bckstedt will be heading to her first Tour de France Femmes next month after being selected to help support Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinneys bid for a second Tour title. The decision to take the Welshwoman comes after she has emerged as one of Canyon-SRAMs strongest riders in recent months. Bckstedt claimed dual British road race and time trial titles in June. Then on Sunday she won her second Baloise Ladies Tour title making it back-to-back wins in the Belgian race. The Welshwomans performance against the watch was what secured her the win. She took the win in the 3.9km prologue and although she relinquished the leaders jersey briefly on stage two she stormed to victory in the 8km time trial on stage 3a. On her Tour selection the 21 year-old said: It's exciting, it's really cool. Ive dreamt a little bit about being selected for the Tour in the last years. She added: Time trialling is the one thing that suits me the most so its really exciting to have a TT in there. Since the course was released last year, knowing that it had a time trial, there was maybe a little bit of a shift to focus on the Tour to really do some prep and dial everything in so I could hopefully be selected. Now, I'm on the list to go and it's super exciting. I think the time trial is going to be my favourite stage of the whole race, and it's where I want to shine. Bckstedt, turned pro in 2023 straight from the junior ranks, has only raced one grand tour before, the Vuelta Femenina in 2024. She said: I genuinely don't know how it's going to be. At La Vuelta, I was not in my best form and I fell sick halfway through, so therell be a lot of new things at the Tour this year. Although the time trial will be her primary focus she said shes also hopeful of putting in a strong performance on one of the races tough road stage. She said: I've looked at the route and there are a few other stages that I think could be okay for me if I can make it to the final, but the standout one is obviously the time trial. When I look back at the end of it, hopefully Ive learned a lot. I think it's going to be one of those races where every day is a learning day. I would obviously love to go for a result in the time trial, but I can't put too big an expectation on it because its my first Tour and my first time against actually all of the big riders. Obviously, Marlen [Reusser] was in Tour de Suisse, so that was a good first experience, but having a good time trial, maybe one good road stage and doing a lot of team-work will be satisfying. Reflecting on her own goals, team leader Niewiadoma-Phinney said: "Coming into this year's Tour, I would definitely say that I'm richer in experience and have more knowledge of the Tour in general, which definitely gives me a little advantage. Because of that, I feel a bit calmer, and I also know what it takes to prepare perfectly for the race. "This year is just a new opportunity. You're only as good as your last race."It's great to have a Tour victory on my palmares, but I definitely come in with a fresh mind and body ready to go after new experiences and, of course, the victory."Aside from GC hopeful Niewiadoma-Phinney, Canyon-SRAM have a team that includes several other riders that could hope for a result. Antonia Niedermaier was runner up at the Giro dItalia Women in May and will be a potential GC threat alongside the teams Polish leader.Chiara Consonni can lay claim to her chances in sprint stages too. Theyll be ably supported by Rosa Klser, Soraya Paladin and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sjka.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG has lost Brandon McNulty, their first rider at the Tour de France to withdraw from the race. The illness that is moving through the UAE team is currently one of the main points at the Grand Boucle; and the American has written about his decision to abandon the race. Whilst t...

Lactate was long considered the enemy of cyclists, blamed for the burning sensation in our legs and a loss of power. But lactate is really a fuel source for muscles, and Tadej Pogaar has been drinking it as he dominates the 2026 Tour de France.Pogaar and his UAE Team Emirates XRG teammates have been exclusively using a new lactate gel mix from Enervit in this years race, while another team is using ExoLactate, a similar product developed by Aitor Viribay, a former physiologist at Netcompany-Ineos.Enervit says its C2:1PRO Lactate Gel Mix is built on decades of research led by Professor George A. Brooks of the University of California.Once regarded simply as a by-product of fatigue, Brooks research demonstrated that lactate is in fact one of the bodys natural energy sources, continuously produced and used by the muscles, heart and brain during exercise, Enervit says.The new product combines 90g of carbohydrate, using a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose, with 10g of lactate. This is said to provide riders such as Pogaar with an additional energy source in the final and most demanding phases of a race.The project to develop the lactate gel mix has been years in the making, according to Enervit, with testing conducted throughout the 2024 and 2025 cycling seasons. Its now almost ready for release, and should be available to buy after La Vuelta Espaa in September.How do lactate gels work? The Enervit C2:1PRO Lactate Gel Mix is a 'breakthrough' according to Professor George A. Brooks. Enervit In extreme endurance tests such as the Tour de France, the cyclists use more energy than they can feasibly take on. And despite cyclists consuming up to 120g of carbohydrate per hour at the Tour, the race is on to make energy absorption as effective as possible.According to Enervit, modern sports nutrition can be described as the progressive opening of successive absorption pathways.Athletes have long relied on glucose, but the benefits of this fuel increase up to roughly 60g per hour. After this point, additional intake provides no extra benefit because, according to Enervit, the intestine has a single transporter that allows only a limited amount of glucose into the bloodstream.The addition of fructose can increase your energy intake because it uses a separate intestinal transporter.Enervit says that by combining glucose and fructose in a 2:1 ratio, as in the companys C2:1 Pro range, absorption can reach 90g of carbohydrates per hour or beyond, depending on the individual.This is where lactate comes in. Brooks' work revealed the body uses lactate as a fuel that is oxidised quickly. It is also absorbed through its own transport, independently of the glucose and fructose pathways.An athlete can effectively increase their carbohydrate ceiling and get an energy boost by consuming lactate directly rather than waiting for their body to produce it as it breaks down carbohydrates for energy.Enervit adds that alongside this energy boost, lactate reduces acidity rather than increasing it, as commonly assumed. It adds that researchers are investigating whether lactate may reduce perception of fatigue.A new era, or is it?If lactate gels are giving pro cyclists an extra energy boost, it might not come as a surprise that theyre being heralded as groundbreaking.Brooks says: This new product, the new Enervit C2:1PRO Lactate Gel Mix, is a breakthrough that initiates a new era in sports nutrition. However, others are less certain.The sports nutrition company Styrkr highlighted several studies into lactate consumption. One from 2024 looked at the effects of lactate and revealed a 4% increase in watts and a lower perceived effort at the same power output.A 2025 study showed the body does use exogenous (meaning, from outside the body) lactate, but that it stopped short of demonstrating a performance breakthrough".Put together, the most consistent finding across this small body of research is that exogenous lactate behaves like a mild acid-base buffer: it can lower how hard an effort feels and shift blood chemistry, similar in character to sodium bicarbonate loading, without reliably making athletes faster, Styrkr said.Meanwhile, Uno-X Mobilitys head of performance, Olav Bu, told Cyclist he is sceptical of ingesting lactate. According to Bu, lactate produces less energy than glucose for the same energy cost. Added to that, Bu said lactate can increase the complexity of absorption in the gut.Bu said that in the teams research, they havent found a hard ceiling for exogenous carbohydrate oxidation. Until thats established, lactate will remain a less efficient fuel source.So, for now, the jury might be out on lactate gels. But considering how the Tour de France is often decided by seconds, were sure this development in nutrition will remain in the spotlight.

The need to go faster has turned gravel racing into an arms race, with everything from helmets and clothing to frames and components undergoing extensive R&D and wind-tunnel testing to improve overall speed. One of the easiest and cost-effective ways to unlock performance is upgrading to a set of the best gravel bike wheels, and this applies to all disciplines - even gravel riding. While several companies, such as Zipp and Parcours, have been early adopters of the aero gravel wheel concept with their respective 303 XPLR SW and FKT, West Sussex-based Strada Wheels has also jumped on the aero gravel bandwagon and developed a go-faster gravel wheelset - the Strada Gravel Aero Plus 2.The Strada Gravel Aero Plus 2 has been designed to provide a reliable gravel wheel at an affordable price, with myriad build options and weights available. I say developed because these are not generic, open-mould wheels but rather designed and built in-house by Strada, to improve speed, control and comfort on technically demanding, rough terrain. Weve been using the Gravel Aero Plus 2 wheels in all manner of terrain and weather, including traditional gravel and mountain bike trails, and the results have been mighty impressive.The wheels feature a mixed front/rear rim height of 40/45mm and matched to a 30mm internal rim width (Image credit: Aaron Borrill)Technical detailsThe Strada Gravel Aero Plus 2 wheels are constructed from unidirectional carbon fibre and built to modern standards, featuring a mixed front/rear rim height of 40/45mm and matched to a 30mm internal rim width, positioning it squarely between the Parcours FKT (27mm) and Zipp 303 XPLR SW (32mm) wheelsets. Owing to the nature of gravel terrain and the reality of bottoming out tyres at lower pressures, the wheels have been constructed with hookless uprights and a 3.5mm impact zone. Like the Parcours Alta and FKT gravel wheels, the flatter rim edge has been raised and reinforced to reduce stress concentrations around the rim, improving impact protection and compliance.The front and rear wheels utilise tailored rim profiles and layups, as the air path, rim impacts, and applied forces differ greatly between the front and rear. As a result, while both wheels employ the same internal width and 36.5mm external width, the front rim is constructed from T700 fibres, while the rear rim is made from T800-grade carbon. The big party trick here, however, comes from resin used in the layup to bind the fibres, something Strada calls advanced viscoelastic resin matrix, which is claimed to absorb vibration, increase durability, and enhance overall ride feel. (Image credit: Aaron Borrill)In terms of tyres, the Gravel Aero Plus 2 was optimised around 40-45mm tyres, but is compatible with widths spanning everything from 35mm to a gargantuan 62mm (2.4-inches), so it will play nicely with a slew of recently launched wide-tyre gravel bikes such as the BMC Kaius, Factor Sarana and Open Wi.De 2.0. Both wheels are laced using 24 aero-bladed Alpina spokes: Ultralite at the front and Extralite at the rear. The wheels can be built to your personal specifications and needs, with hub options from Hope, DT Swiss, ExtraLite, and Tactic. Our test pair came with DT Swiss 240 EXP hubs featuring a 36T ratchet that provides a 10-degree engagement angle.Visually, the wheels are stealthy yet striking and should complement most gravel bike colour schemes and design themes. Our test pair came with black-on-black decals, but if you require a bolder visual impact, a white decal kit is included in the box.While system weight was not the chief focus of this wheelset, the Strada Gravel Aero Plus 2 tipped our scales at 1,465g (680g/785g front/rear with rim tape and valves fitted) for the pair - a little heavier than the claimed 1,426g but still lighter than both the Parcours FKT (1,500g) and Zipp 303 XPLR SW (1,496g) wheels.The Strada Gravel Aero Plus 2 tipped our scales at 1,465g (680g/785g front/rear with rim tape and valves fitted) for the pair (Image credit: Aaron Borrill)PerformanceWhile the Strada Gravel Aero 2 has some stiff competition, they dont feel inferior in any way. In fact, out in the real world, they feel as controlled and fast as rivals from Zipp and Parcours, maybe even better on lumpier terrain and in windy conditions.At just under 62kg, I paired the Stradas with 45mm Vittoria Terreno T30 rubber, set at 25psi all round a little lower than I usually ride but, considering my tyre inserts ( a non-negotiable for me since Gravel Burn), wide internal rim width and tall hookless beads, I felt confident with the setup throughout my testing period. The front-end control on my Cannondale SuperX Lab71 was sublime, allowing me to eke out maximum traction around fast, washed-out corners, and the ride quality was plush yet communicative.While I can't say I actively felt the effects of the viscoelastic resin matrix, it didn't feel like I was wrestling with the bike or bouncing off the pedals when the terrain was choppy and corrugated, unlike with other wheels Ive sampled. Of course, this reduction in upper-body fatigue can be attributed to the low tyre pressures, but theres only so much pressure manipulation can do to nullify high-frequency vibrations, and I never felt that the wheels slowed me down during these situations.I paired the Stradas with 45mm Vittoria Terreno T30 rubber, set at 25psi all round (Image credit: Aaron Borrill)I feel the 40/45mm rim depth is a sweet spot for gravel riding and racing. This height is deep enough to improve aerodynamics and shallow enough to stave off crosswinds. Throughout the test period, the wheels tracked accurately on high-speed descents and provided the confidence needed for off-road riding.Climbing is a breeze, too. Theyre not the lightest wheels around, but are far from the heaviest either, so you can wind them up pretty quickly and sail over rolling terrain. The rear hub engages quickly and helps keep progress swift and hesitation-free. Its only on super-steep pitches where youll need to summon your skills to ensure weight is evenly distributed over both axles to avoid wheelspinning and coming to a halt.I also tested the wheels on some mountain bike singletrack that comprises sections of my gravel test routes. These trails are notably technical, with small drops and very sandy corners, but the Stradas managed comfortably and, dare I say, even smoothed off some of the step-downs and bumps. Very impressive indeed.Our test wheels came with DT Swiss 240 EXP hubs featuring a 36T ratchet that provides a 10-degree engagement angle (Image credit: Aaron Borrill)ValueWith such quality options among the best aero gravel wheelsets, its going to come down to preference and brand loyalty, but its hard not to recommend the Strada Gravel Aero 2 wheels. While the Strada Gravel Aero 2 wheels are 250 pricier than the Parcours FKT in base spec, theyre 100 cheaper than the Zipp 303 XPLR SW, trumping both when it comes to weight and spread of compatible tyre widths. (Pricing creeps up depending on hub choice).As someone who considers themselves neutral and objective, I was pleasantly surprised by the performance and stability afforded by the Strada Gravel Aero 2 wheel platform - not only do they feel fast on all terrain, they are super-reliable and durable, and thats what you want on technically demanding gravel events and even stage races. They comfortably dismissed washboard surfaces and ensured average speeds on flat gravel roads were high. While its hard to quantify whether theyre better than their rivals, based on the ability to run super-wide tyres alone, Im inclined to say the Strada Aero Gravel 2 wheels will stay relevant for the next couple of years. Well, at least until we know where the whole 32-inch wheel agenda is headedThe wheels are optimised around 40-45mm tyres, but is compatible with widths spanning everything from 35mm to a gargantuan 62mm (2.4-inches) (Image credit: Aaron Borrill)Tech specsPrice: 1,499 / $2,020 / 1,750Weight: 1,465g (actual)Hubset: DT Swiss 240 EXPFreehub options: Shimano HG11/12, SRAM XDR, CampagnoloRim depth: 40mm front, 45mm rearRim width: 30mm internal, 36.5mm externalSpoke count: 24 front/rearRim: Hookless

The last Friday of the Tour de France is normally a final chance for the race leader to stick the boot into their rivals, but is the yellow jersey more vulnerable than previously thought? Callum's here and can't wait to found out

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In this video, Simon von Bromley explains all you need to know about the blue Shimano road bikes you see at pro bike races.We got up-close with a Shimano Neutral Service bike at this years Tour de France and in the video Simon uncovers what bike model it really is, why it has a dropper post and what it weighs.Simon also explains why, despite its top Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, no pro wants to ride one of these bikes, except in an emergency. Read our in-depth bike check: Shimano's neutral service bike has a ten-year-old frame and a dropper post

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