Andorra is known in the cycling world to be one of the major hubs for professional cyclists to live. The Vuelta a Espaa today sees the riders fully compete within the European micronation's borders, and almost three dozen riders will effectively be racing at home. Because of the tax benefits and t...

The2026 Vuelta a Espaawill be the third and final Grand Tour of the men's calendar and will take place from the 22nd of August to the 13th of September. Starting in Monaco, the World Tour peloton will travel through the eastern and southern half of Spain for a mountain-packed edition. Below, you...

Tadej Pogacar now officially matches the Tour de France victory record together with several other historic figures in cycling. Lance Armstrong has argued in the past that Pogacar knows what the 'real record' is, whilst Alberto Contador assures that the World Champion does not hold that opinion to a...

Until yesterday afternoon, the Igesa Village Club was just another Pyrenean hotel, welcoming a variety of guests for winter and summer sports.But stage three of the Vuelta a Espaa changed all that, bringing both winter and summer and a whole load of bedraggled bike riders through the doors of this ornate building. These were not holidaymakers, far from it. Instead they were sheltering from a hailstorm of biblical proportions that ultimately led to the abandonment of the stage.But the incident thrust the hotel, situated around 15 kilometres from the intended stage finish near Font Romeu, into the global sporting spotlight. It's newfound fame has been accompanied by a host of affectionate and spoof reviews, many praising it for sheltering the riders or simply joking about their presence.One reviewer suggested it ought to earn the combativity prize, saying, "Vuelta combativity award for this hotel! It must not be easy to accommodate 183 cyclists+ staff without prior notice."Another simply listed the benefits of staying here as: "Warm hospitality - Cycling Friendly - Free towels on arrival," alluding to the towels offered to the riders to dry the freezing hail.More than one review referenced the Vuelta's much-maligned social media influencer Erola Jons, who bemused a raft of riders with her questions, and called Tadej Pogaar as 'Pogacita': "Met a guy named Pogichitar he started hyperventilating for some reason," wrote the reviewer, while another wrote: "Undeniably good experience. However, the weather was not too friendly and some amateur cyclists were in the first floor. I even got to meet a kid who was in red, I think his name was pogachita. Anyways, excellent service."Other 'reviewers' joked about the presence of so many cyclists during their stays, with one writing: "Great hospitality and great service, but it has a serious problem with cyclists," and another saying, "Bad weather but great service! The janitors cleaned a bunch of wet men in leotards. The view was nice."For many of the riders, yesterday's stage ended at the hotel with hail coating the roads outside. There was no result recorded for the stage, which took riders 174km from Gruissan to Font Romeu, with the general classification remaining as it was after stage two, with Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) still wearing the leader's red jersey.Today's stage is held within the Pyrenean country of Andorra, with a 104km mountainous outing based on Andorra La Vella.

Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espaa was a day that few would've expected. Whilst bad weather was in the forecast, the race ended up being cancelled due to the extreme weather conditions that fell upon the riders. As the Vuelta peloton began moving into the Pyrenees, the warning signs were clear. The lac...

Lime apologises and disables e-bikes in Penge after partially sighted residents highlight issues with poor e-bike parking

The Vuelta a Espaa 2026 is underway, although the points earned by riders in the Spanish Grand Tour will not yet be official in the UCI ranking. Well have to wait until the race finishes on Sunday, 13th September, for its results to be added to the standings. As a result, the new weekly update bri...

Good afternoon and welcome to the liveblog of La Vuelta a Espana. Stage 4 starts and finishes in Andorra la Vella and provides the first real test for the climbers and riders with ambitions of challenging for the general classification. Although it is a short stage, it is a demanding one. It will be...

The Scope Artech 4.A wheels are the all-road model in the Artech range, hence the .A label. There are also the .G gravel and .T triathlon lines, as well as the standard Artech. All of the wheels share the same technologies, however. The Scope Artech features quite the unboxing Future - Andy TurnerIt beats the usual plastic wrappingFuture - Andy TurnerInside are some fairly nice quality wheel bagsFuture - Andy TurnerDesign detailsThe wheels are built around a brand new hub, a source of much of the weight trimming. Its made from the Topology Optimised 3D-printed Scalmalloy material. Scalmalloy is primarily composed of aluminum, magnesium, and scandium and is designed to be incredibly lightweight while also being able to be made into highly intricate shapes. This is why the hubs are somewhat reminiscent of bone structures, which are formed by the direction of the stresses applied to them. The principle is applied to the hubs to make them strong against torsional, lateral, and vertical forces, with the aim of offering unparalleled stiffness, something that many of the best road bike wheels look to attain.The 3D printed hub is quite a work of art and takes cues from bone structures and stress structures (Image credit: Future / Andy Turner)Internally, Scope uses its Diamond Ratchet SL, which is made of titanium and uses a diamond-like carbon coating for durability. There's a 36T ratchet with a 10-degree engagement, while the bearings are either standard SKF or CeramicSpeed, available at an additional cost.Carbon spokes claim to drop weight and enhance aero (Image credit: Future / Andy Turner)The reasonably deep Carbonlite Aerospokes provide strength and improved aerodynamics. On the front wheel, there are six radial spokes on the non-rotor side and 12 two-cross spokes on the rotor side, while the rear also uses a 2:1 ratio with 8 one-cross spokes on the non-drive side and 16 two-cross spokes on the drive side to better balance the asymmetric forces through the drivetrain. The fish scale pattern is the calling card of the Artech wheel range (Image credit: Future / Andy Turner)The rims are another unique aspect of Scope's design and stand out from the crowd. Whereas most wheels are smooth or feature dimples like Zipp, Scope has used patented AeroScales. Scope claims they generate velocity streaks travelling at different speeds over our rim surface. This has a stabilising effect on the airflow and reduces drag. The rim profile is also designed using Scopes Algorithm Enhanced Aerodynamics (AEA) to be as aerodynamic as possible. Local Reinforcement carbon technology is then applied around the spoke holes to strengthen those areas, resulting in less carbon required across the entire wheel.All tools and maintenance supplies come in the boxes (Image credit: Future / Andy Turner)This results in a pair of wheels that, with rim tape and valves installed, weigh 1,206g - impressively light for a 45mm rim with 25mm internal width and 33.84mm external width. The rims still use hooks rather than microhooks or hookless; for a wheel this light, they buck the trend by not specifying a weight limit. All standard road hub options are available from Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM, while off-road options such as Shimano Microspline and Campagnolo N3W are also available. White or Black graphic options can be specified upon purchase. The wheels also feature a very smart tool bag and proper wheel bags.PerformanceFitting tyres is always the first part of testing wheels. I personally dont like rim tape as much as solid rim bed profiles. However, this means additional material and external spoke nipples, which can marginally impact aerodynamics. Traditionally, I have found Acope wheels quite tight to get tyres onto, and that remains the case with the Artech. The 25mm internal width also makes fitting standard road tyres, optimised for 21mm internal widths, a bit more challenging.The 25mm internal width on the 4.A. A for All-road (Image credit: Future / Andy Turner)What really does strike you is the weight, or rather lack of. With tyres, rotors and all elements fitted, these are a properly lightweight set of wheels, especially considering their 45mm depth, and out on the road, it makes for a tangible difference. Aerodynamics has taken the market by storm, but unless you go from a round-tubed bike with shallow rims to a full-on hyperbike, I dont find much difference from one product to the next. Thats not to say the benefits dont exist, but 33kph feels very similar to 30kph even if that is 10% faster. What is noticeable, and remains something highly romanticised by cyclists, are lightweight components. Every acceleration away from a junction or traffic lights, every surge up a steep incline, your efforts are rewarded in spades. Combining a very lightweight hub with a lightweight rim, where rotational weight/inertia has a greater effect during changes in velocity, the Artech feels nimble under acceleration. I have noticed a genuine difference accelerating up climbs with these wheels. At a constant pace, the weight does help, but is not as perceivable. However, for crit racing or races with any climbing, these are a superb choice.Ratchet systems have become commonplace since the DW Swiss patent expired (Image credit: Future / Andy Turner)Adding to this accelerative performance is the stiffness. The aforementioned topology-optimised hubs are an interesting design, carefully sculpted to deal with the directional forces that the wheels come under from lateral movements, torsional twisting forces, and the vertical forces from the spoke tension and weight. Even with a relatively low spoke count by disc-brake wheel standards, the wheels are incredibly stiff, reacting well to acceleration, cornering, and braking with no lull. Its not at all jarring, but just makes the wheels feel very connected with the frame and pedalling forces. The Carbonlite spokes may also help with this, given their tensile strength.The Artech range covers 20, 40, and 60mm road options with deeper TT and triathlon depths as well (Image credit: Future - Andy Turner)Aero-bladed spokes also contribute to the aerodynamic performance, as does the rim profile. At 45mm deep, these are not quite a dedicated flat day aero offering, sitting more in the all-round category. However, I feel no discernible difference between these and the Vision Metron 60 SL wheels, which Ive previously reviewed and really liked. I cant tell if the scales help or the AEA rim, but a telling sign is that professional teams use these unmissable wheels even when they're not sponsored by Scope; part of why the road and time trial variants are often out of stock is due to WorldTour purchases. In crosswinds, the 45mm depth, very wide profile, and scales seem to result in a wheel that reacts in a predictable manner. They still feel the forces of the wind, but it has been consistent and reliable, so easily controllable, so much so that I was able to remove a gilet in some crosswinds without too much trouble.Some more of that gorgeous hub detailing, which includes the lightweight rotor mountFuture - Andy TurnerThe hub is designed in a similar way to bones, with reinforcements aimed to complement the direction of forces appliedFuture - Andy TurnerThe hubs look fragile, but offer a very strong platform to resist the high forces put through themFuture - Andy TurnerThe Scalmalloy material can react to rain and water, giving a discolouration and surface texture shift if the wheels are not properly maintained. Scope provides a cleaning spray and a cloth for these wheels and instructs owners to properly clean the hubs after rides in the rain or after cleaning the bike with water. It has no performance impact on the wheels, I have been told; it is purely an aesthetic byproduct of the material, and one the brand will hopefully provide a solution for. However, it does feel a bit odd that wheels this expensive require a special treatment. But then looking after a Ferrari requires a lot of expensive additional specialist care compared to a Honda Jazz - thats the price of performance in some cases. But what a price it is.ValueOn the face of it a 3498 / $4398 for a pair of bicycle wheels is ludicrous. You can buy a reasonable carbon bike, even with electronic gears and carbon wheels, for that amount of money. Its not as extreme as Lightweights Obermayer Evo Disc Carbon Road Wheelset Tubeless Ready Schwartz Ed, which is 7,559/ $8,695. Even the Princeton Carbonworks Peak 4550 Evo starts at around 3,799/ $3,150, while the new ENVE SES 4.5 Pro starts at 4,100/ $3,750. In this context, the Scope actually appears to be good value, as they are lighter and cheaper than the competition, have no weight limit, and are all-road-usable wheelsets.However, compared to the likes of the Vision Metron 60 SL, which are 1,000 / $2,000 cheaper, its hard to say these wheels are that much better. Even more so looking at the likes of the Scribe lan SL 40 wheelset (we've reviewed the SL 50), which is only a claimed 40g heavier but comes in at 1,199 and features ceramic bearings as standard rather than a 500 add-on. Realistically, the Scope Artech 4.A wheels are not good value for money. They are firmly in the halo category, where value for money becomes less of a consideration and people are buying these because they want the best, even if that comes at 1,000 for a watt or 50g saving. However, in raw performance terms, they are exceptional, and I would argue, among premium offerings, potentially the best option available.Tech specsPrice:3,498/ $4,398Weight:1,206gHubset:Artech 3D printedFreehub options:Shimano HG11/12, SRAM XDR, CampagnoloRim depth:45mm front/rearInternal rim width:25mmSpoke count:18/24 front/rearRim:Hooked

Stans claims its new natural-latex sealant can seal punctures up to 7.8mm at 100 psi while using as little as 35ml per 28mm tyre, reducing weight without sacrificing protection