The world's first trail centre embraces gravel.

Looking to become the first man since Marco Pantani back in 1998 to complete a Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double in the same season, Tadej Pogacar already has the first of the Grand Tours in his bag. As such, the excitement is growing within UAE Team Emirates.Were halfway there, now we just nee...

Transport emissions are only projected to fall by half of the target. Governments aspirations are not backed up with concrete action plans, group says. Opposition needs to hold Government to account, says Friends of the Earth.Climate action law obliges Minister Eamon Ryan to present corrective measures to the Oireachtas Committee on Climate that would close the emissions gap after the EPA research found that Ireland would fail even to reach a 30% carbon emissions reduction by 2030 when the target is 51% reduction compared to 2018.The EPA said last night that almost all sectors are on a trajectory to exceed their national sectoral emissions ceilings for 2025 and 2030, including Agriculture, Electricity and Transport. The EPA published a detailed report on the issue, Irelands Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections 2023-2050.On transport, a summary of the EPA assessment said: Emissions from the sector are projected to reduce by 26% over the period 2022 to 2030 if the measures set out in plans and policies are implemented. These include over 940,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030, increased biofuel blend rates and measures to support more sustainable transport.It added: Road freight is projected to be the biggest source of road transport greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.Commenting on the news this morning, Brian Caulfield, a Professor in transportation at Trinity College Dublin, said: The analysis from the EPA today shows that even with additional measure we are predicted to hit a 26% reduction in transport emissions not the 50% set out in the carbon budgets. Also it is not certain we will even reach the targets of the additional measures.Oisn Coghlan, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said: Todays projected pollution numbers from the EPA are alarming and very disappointing. For the third year running the EPA says that planned Government action will cut emissions by less than 30% by 2030 when the benchmark in the climate law is a 51% reduction.Coghlan said that Irelands climate law is very clear what happens next and that once the Climate Advisory Council has published its review and recommendations, Minister Ryan should present corrective measures to the Oireachtas Committee on Climate. The biggest problem seems to be that some of the Governments flagship policies are not backed up with detailed implementation plans, so the EPA cannot include them in the figures, he said. Examples include the demand management strategy for transport, the renewable heat policy for industry and the ambition to diversify agriculture away from over-reliance on beef and dairy. As yet, the EPA has judged that these aspirations are not backed up with concrete action plans to achieve them so they cant count them yet.He said that a silver lining is that the Government knows what to do, it just has to get on with it faster.Coghlan said: This is the litmus test for this Governments commitment to climate action. Theyve adopted the legal framework, theyve adopted many of the headline policies, but are they going to take the concrete actions needed to reduce emissions in line with the binding limits set by the Dil?He added: Its also a test for all seven political parties that voted for the climate law and the binding national limits on polluting emissions, the Carbon Budgets. Will they hold the Government to account for the emissions gap, and crucially, will they present their own proposals to do things faster or to cut emissions differently? They have a responsibility to do that under the climate law, and, as citizens, we all have an interest in them doing that before the General Election.The EPA report outlined how the transport emissions counted are mainly from road use and that the main policy instruments for transport emissions are the electrification of the vehicle fleet, an increase in the mix of renewable fuels in petrol and diesel at the pumps and avoid and shift measures as detailed in the Climate Action Plan 2024.The electrification includes having 945,000 vehicles, including 845,000 private electric vehicles, by 2023. The number of new electric cars registered in 2023 was 22,789, up 45% since the previous year, but in the first few months of the year, sales of electric cars declined to around half of the level in the comparable months in 2023.The EPA also said that its protected with additional measures scenario also includes a reduction in total vehicle kilometers to be achieved by behavioural and sustainable transport measures outlined in the Climate Action Plan 2024, such as a 50% increase in daily active travel journeys and a 130% increase in daily public transport journeys. But it notes: one of the modelled measures relating to fuel price increase as part of this behavioural change approach has no supporting policy and is not included in the EPA projections.

The 90ft gaps should be a doddle on the moto, but the tech sections... we're not so sureRed Bull Hardline is nearly here, and to celebrate 10 years of the most bonkers downhill track in the sport Continue reading

Back with an entirely new design, the Esker Lorax Ti is a titanium drop-bar mountain bike capable of running 29 x 2.6" tires and a 120mm travel fork. Find everything you need to know about what looks to be a promising new bikepacking platform here...The post (Re)introducing the Esker Lorax Ti: Tour Divide Bike? appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Its starting to look like well see a big new road bike launch before the Tour de France

After making a long-awaited return to racing at the Tour of Norway last week, Wout van Aert showed plenty of positive signs, coming close to victories in the bunch sprints of stages 3 and 4. Whether the Tour de France now follows however, remains unclear.With an Olympic Games and a World Championsh...

The Italian press described a rider "reborn with determination from his ashes [...] returning stronger than before", something anti-doping authorities now believe they probably have an explanation for

Despite seemingly riding within himself, Tadej Pogacar leaves the 2024 Giro d'Italia with six stage wins, the King of the Mountains jersey and the Maglia Rosa by a dominant and comprehensive margin of just under ten minutes from second placed Daniel Martinez."Pogacar came to the start as the stand o...

Rapha's new women's bike apparel launch includes the brand's first range of modest wear developed in collaboration with Cycle Sisters, a London-based organization that inspires and enables Muslim women to ride. Find details on the full spring/summer 2024 line here...The post Rapha Launches Most Inclusive Womens Apparel Range to Date appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.