XDS Astana are mixing ambition with realism as Lorenzo Fortunato leads their squad at the Vuelta a Espana. The mountains jersey is the big goal for the team as they also bring new signing Victor Langelotti to the race and a Grand Tour debutant. Fortunato leads their lines in search of stage wins and...

The latest episode of the King of the Ride podcast features Alex McCormack, whos made waves in the ultra-endurance and bikepacking scene as of late. In it, he speaks about his recent experiences on the Tour Divide and the Colorado Trail and shares what its like to be part of Canyons factory team. Listen hereThe post Alex McCormack is Smashing the Ultra Scene (Podcast) appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

VecchioJo finally admits hes not very good

Earlier this summer, David Lamb joined Ryan Van Duzer and a group of 25 other riders for a 500-mile journey down the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route between Colorado and New Mexico. His latest video shares an inside look at the one-of-a-kind experience. Watch it here...The post 25 Riders Take on the Great Divide with Ryan Van Duzer (Video) appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Riders, intrigued onlookers and a host of media were drawn to Palmer Park Velodrome in Reading, England, last week to witness four Guinness World Records being broken by riders of the Penny Farthing Club.Club riders made eight record attempts in total, and despite the high-wheeled bikes' 'Old Ordinary' designation, there was nothing ordinary about any of the record attempts, which included 100 kilometres no-handed and setting a new 24-hour benchmark.In the event neither of those was successful, but four others were. The most visually intriguing was surely the tandem penny farthing hour record. Tim Maltin and Rufus Flann propelled their three-wheeled machine to a new mark of 21.97km (13.6 miles). Meanwhile, Guy Banham set a new 100m penny farthing speed record of 42.15kph (26.2mph), while Rolf Woodward rode his machine to a new 100km record of 4hr 55min 54sec.However, the new 'longest ride without dismounting' record set by Richard Thoday dwarfed even Woodward's 100km attempt in the endurance stakes: Thoday, the holder of the penny farthing Land's End to John o' Groats record, completed a record unbroken ride of 382.3km."Richard Thoday was our main star, and he was attempting a 24-hour furthest distance, which is a shockingly long distance that I don't even like to think about," explains Penny Farthing Club founder Neil Laughton. "He did an extraordinary job. He was also after a historic record of staying on the bike for the furthest distance without dismounting. He broke that at 382 kilometres, it took him 17 hours on the bike which is extraordinary. He had a break at that point, and then his body wouldn't allow him to get back on the bike, so he couldn't complete the 24 hours."(Image credit: Rory Hitchens)It was the third such day held by the club, Laughton explained, and its members kicked proceedings off by taking part in a demonstration ride-out through Reading town centre, to pique the interest of locals. It seemed to work, he said.He talked about some of the unique challenges of penny farthing riding, which he said was exacerbated by the windy and hot conditions on the day."The main thing is obviously penny farthings are designed from the 19th century, so it's pretty rudimentary. Generally speaking, you're seven or eight foot up in the air, riding a kind of generally a rather upright riding style. You have a solid rubber tyre, you have no suspension, you have no brakes, no gears. It's one gear, and you know, it's really quite painful sitting on the saddle, let alone riding around in the conditions.""It was well supported," Laughton said of the event. "During the course of the two days, we had a good few hundred people turn up." Mainstream TV news was also in attendance, he said: "It was very much a success from that perspective, given that we're a minority genre of the cycling world. And we were supporting a charity called Keep Me Breathing, and I think they were very happy as well."The new Guinness records are currently being ratified, and the club will probably hold another records day in due course. In the meantime, Thoday intends to climb into the saddle for another go at the 24 hour record and Laughton will re-attempt the 100km no-handed. This time around, he explained, he managed 22km, and in the hot and windy conditions, that was more than enough."I started blacking out from the pain and dehydration, so I had to stop," Laughton said, which seems like a more than sufficient excuse to us. "I will have another go in due course, but probably in cooler conditions."As Laughton emphasises, the Penny Farthing Club is very much that a club. So you're welcome to join and learn how to ride one of its 24 replica machines. Find out more at pennyfarthingclub.com

Jonas Vingegaard has brought his 2026 season to an end, almost a month exactly after his withdrawal from the Tour de France. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider has suffered a fractured collarbone that required surgery but, despite there still being two months of season left, the Dane will stay off...

From soaking in an unbeatable campsite view to successfully improvising a trailside repair, bikepacking is full of simple pleasures and unexpected delights that make it a uniquely rewarding pursuit. In this piece, Lucas highlights a dozen little things that keep him coming back for more. Find his list and share your small bikepacking joys hereThe post Its the Little Things: 12 Small Joys of Bikepacking appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

A fund to help young riders has been created in honour of Finlay Tarling, after he died on stage eight of the Volta a Portugal on Friday 14 August.The 19-year-old Welsh rider, and younger brother of Netcompany Ineos cyclist Josh Tarling, was in a collision with a non-race vehicle and died as a result of his injuries. The vehicle was driven by a member of the public who had got onto the race course and was driving towards the peloton.The fund was launched on GoFundMe by Finlay Tarlings agent, Jamie Barlow, over the weekend. It has already raised more than 40,000.This fund can hopefully serve as part of a legacy project providing an opportunity to help future generations of young Welsh riders discover the freedom and confidence that a bike can give a child, the GoFundMe page reads.The fundraiser says: Finlay was an exceptionally talented cyclist with a bright future ahead of him, as well as a beloved son, brother, grandson, loyal friend and teammate, and an outstanding young man in every respect.Fins happy place was on his bike whether on the track, at a local club 10, on the West Wales home roads, or racing internationally.His smile was known far and wide and always lifted those around him.Tarlings death prompted his NSN Development Team to withdraw from the Volta a Portugal on Saturday. The NSN Pro Cycling WorldTour team continued to race at the Czech Tour and the Arctic Race of Norway.The team said: We will continue to hold Fin in our hearts as we race in his honor, doing what he loved most.We want to thank everyone in the cycling community and beyond for the incredible support at this difficult time.The riders union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associs (CPA), expressed its furyover Tarlings death.We are speechless and filled with anger after the news of Finlay Tarlings death at the Tour of Portugal, the union wrote on social media.It is not right that a young athletes life should end this way, and we are furious that even today it is still not possible to prevent such serious accidents.We share in the grief of his family, friends, team, and everyone who knew Finlay. Rest in peace, young rider; we pray for you, and we will carry you in our hearts.Finlays parents, Michael and Dawn Tarling, shared a message of thanks for the support they have received during the hardest couple of days of our lives.Whilst our broken hearts will never be fixed, he was not only our son and brother but our best mate. Gentle, loving with the driest sense of humour we will miss him terribly.Whilst he was only 19 his short life was packed full of wonderful experiences and achievements and we couldnt be prouder of him.If youre heading out on your bike in the next few days give him a thought as you clip in. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Michael Tarling (@michaeltarling)

A year after breaking his neck, Seb Grindley completed his comeback by taking victory at the North Yorkshire Grand Prix at Ampleforth Abbey. The Lidl-Trek Future Racing rider pointed to his black armband as he crossed the line, and dedicated the win to Finlay Tarling, who was tragically killed over the weekend, and Shane O'Brien, who passed away earlier this year. The race, formerly known as the Ryedale Grand Prix, was contested in a downpour, which made for slippery and challenging conditions. However, Grindley managed to get amongst a nine-rider breakaway, led by the Wheelbase CabTech Castelli pair of Tom Martin and Tom Armstrong, with the latter eyeing overall victory in the both the National Road Series and the Rapha Super-League.The race went in my favour from the beginning, Grindley told Cycling Weekly. I was much happier out the front. The group established itself early maybe a quarter of an hour into the into the race. From there it just made things simple. We kind of just rolled through until the five finishing loops and then it got quite tactical. It was a lot of attacking, chasing, and ultimately, it was just six guys who came down to the finish, and I came out top on in the sprint.Jack Rootkin-Gray and Damien Clayton were second and third, but Grindley has had to overcome major hurdles recently just to get back in the peloton, let alone stand atop the podium.I broke a vertebra in my neck at the 2025 National Champs, which ruled out me out for the rest of that season, he explains. I had a really good winter and came into the season with good form, which kind of trailed off, unfortunately. But I managed to have a couple of weeks off, post-nationals and then a nice training block. And yeah, these two races of the national series that I've done in the past couple of weeks have been good for getting the engine going again.In the wake of two awful recent events that have left the cycling communities of Britain and Ireland in mourning, Grindley paid tribute to Tarling and Shane O'Brien.Obviously there have been a lot of emotions over the last few days, with Fin passing away, he said. He was a good friend of mine. The timing of the win was nice to get a victory I can honour him with. I dedicated it to Fin and also to Shane, the brother of my teammate, Liam O'Brien. He passed away not that long ago as well.

7,049 illegal bikes were confiscated by police in the UK between May 2025 and May 2026, with Labour MP Julie Minns warning that they are the perfect accessory to phone theft, mugging, and drug dealing while endangering pedestrians and drivers