Stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espaa didn't come to its planned end due to a hail storm that interrupted the race ahead of its final climb. Tadej Pogacar called for the peloton to move out of the road and a hotel was the location where many gathered to protect themselves. From within the peloton, Bastien...

Although the 2026 MADE bike show has wrapped up, we've still got lots more coverage on the way. Part five of our MADE 2026 coverage features a massive collection of finds from Bantam Bicycle Works, Neuhaus Metalworks, Wilde Bicycle Co., Ultradynamico, and more...The post Bikes and Builders of MADE 2026 (Part 5) appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Stans has a new sealant, and it isnt the do-everything bottle for every tire in the garage.Stans Rolled Gold is built specifically for higher-pressure road and gravel tubeless setups, and Stans is calling it its lightest and fastest sealant yet. Please hold your comments till the end. The claim centers on using less sealant per tire while still sealing quickly at pressures where road tubeless can be the most annoying. Like getting a spray of sealant up your backside, or in your ride partners face. Worse yet, the sealants that eventually seal but let enough tire pressure escape that you have to pull over and reinflate. (Photo/Stans)Less Sealant = Less Weight For a 700c x 28mm tire, Stans says Rolled Gold needs just 35ml of sealant. Stans Original calls for 50ml, while Stans lists the competitive average at 50-60ml. That puts Rolled Gold in the save a few grams where they actually spin category, which road riders will absolutely pretend not to care about until race week.(Photo/Stans)Made for 35-100 PSIRolled Gold is optimized for a 35-100 psi pressure range, with primary testing done at 100 psi. Stans says it seals round punctures up to 7.8mm at 100 psi, holding at 97 psi after sealing. Thats pretty damn specific, but were gonna have to test it for ourselves. What is Stans Rolled Gold made from? The formula is water-based, biodegradable, and uses 100% natural latex instead of synthetic latex. Stans says the natural latex gives better adhesion to rubber and casing fibers, greater tensile strength, and less brittleness once cured. It also points to natural latex as a more sustainable option, with EUDR-compliant sourcing.(Photo/BikeRumor)How Does it Work?If youre new to tubeless, or like some of my roadie friends- a total non-believer- let me catch you up. When a tire punctures, Rolled Gold (or any sealant) is pushed toward the hole by the pressure difference inside the tire. Stans says the rapid pressure change causes latex spheres in the new Rolled Gold sealant to burst at the puncture site. Small particles help build the plug. Longer latex polymer chains grab onto the tire casing fibers and cure when exposed to air.The particle size matters for installation, too. Unlike Stans Race Day sealant, Rolled Gold can be injected through the valve using Stans Sealant Injector or the 125ml and 60ml bottles. That means no breaking the bead just to refresh sealant before a race.(Photos/Stans)Stans Rolled Gold vs. Original vs. Race DayStans is not replacing Original or Race Day with Rolled Gold. The new formula lands between them.Original remains the everyday option for riders who want one sealant across multiple disciplines. Race Day is still the bigger-hit option. It uses a higher quantity of larger latex particles for tougher conditions and bigger cuts. The tradeoff is that Race Day cannot be injected through the valve. Rolled Gold is the road and gravel option: less volume, lower weight, high-pressure sealing, and valve injection.Stans also lists Rolled Gold for road, gravel, and XC MTB. The road and gravel use case is obvious. But XC racers running faster tires and higher pressures could see the appeal too.Sizes and Pricing Stand Gold SealantRolled Gold comes in three bottle sizes:500ml: $27 / 27 / 27125ml: $10 / 10 / 1060ml: $5 / 5 / 5.50Like Stans other sealants, Rolled Gold is formulated, produced, and bottled in Big Flats, New York.(Photo/Jordan Villella)What We ThinkRoad tubeless has improved a ton, but sealant is still one of the details that can make or break the setup. A formula that uses less volume, installs through the valve, and is built around higher-pressure puncture behavior makes sense. However, weve seen this before but not from Stans.The big question is how well Rolled Gold performs outside the lab, and on various casings. Stans has the sealant history, and Rolled Gold sounds like a more focused option for the riders who never needed a mountain-bike-first formula in their 28s or 35s. We have some in for review, and it arrived just in time to snap a few photos. But look for a full review coming up soon, and check your local shop for the gold rush.

Armchair cycling fans have already been treated to a standout season of UCI WorldTour action, and La Vuelta a Espaa is currently providing a fitting finale to the Grand Tour action.Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) is already in the famous red jersey as he looks to complete the Grand Tour set by adding the Vuelta a Espaa to his Giro d'Italia and five Tour de France titles.Yesterday's stage three was abandoned after a hailstorm saw Pogaar wave his fellow riders to a halt. Although the stage ended without a winner or the scheduled mountain showdown on Font Romeu, it was exciting viewing all the same.Proton VPN is currently offering incredible deals on two-year plans with savings of up to 70%. If you rely on cycling streaming platforms to watch live racing, including the remaining 18 stages of La Vuelta, then you'll need a dependable VPN, especially if travelling, as access can be blocked due to regional geo-blocks. So if you're looking to lock down your streaming coverage from anywhere, not to mention your internet security, vital when you're accessing unknown Wi-Fi networks in airports or hotelsthen these Proton deals are worth considering.Our tech-savvy colleagues at TechRadar and T3 rate Proton VPN as one of the best VPN services, receiving 4 stars out of 5 on both sites. TechRadar ranks Proton VPN as its 'best VPN service for privacy', while T3 rates it as a 'feature-packed all-rounder VPN'.Save 70%on a 2-year subscription to Proton VPN. Aside from watching what you want, whenever you want, Proton VPN protects your privacy, blocks ads and does much, much more, all in the name of keeping you safe online. There are three plans to choose from: 2-year, 1-year or just 1-month, but the 2-year plan is the best value.Check out thebest VPN plan for you at Proton VPN.View DealIf you're new to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), this handy piece of internet tech lets your devices appear to be in your usual location. So wherever you are in the world, you can access your usual streaming services, allowing uninterrupted coverage of your favourite sports and TV shows.Running a VPN will ensure you don't miss any of the cycling action if you're heading overseas, whether that's for a summer vacation or for work. A VPN also provides essential security benefits for your internet usage, which are very useful when travelling abroad and include safety when using public Wi-Fi and protecting privacy for remote work and financial transactions.If you are unsure about the benefits of a VPN, our deep-dive guide explains why having one of the best VPN services is important Should I use a VPN to watch cycling?Below you'll find all the best Proton VPN deals with pricing relevant to your location and currency.We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Fabio Aru has backed Tadej Pogacar to seize the first real mountain opportunity of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana on terrain that transformed his own race 11 years ago. The 2015 winner returns to Andorra as a Vuelta ambassador with vivid memories of taking the red jersey there, and believes Tuesday's sta...

Bike of the Year is back!Its been another action-packed year in cycling tech, with a raft of exciting developments and design evolution across every category and Bike of the Year celebrates the bikes that embody this, as we deliver our verdict on the best of the bunch.So, let this serve as our opening salvo for the 2026 edition, where we explain everything you need to know about our Bike of the Year format.We'll be sharing our category shortlists over the coming days (look out for a full rundown of each category, and why we've picked each bike for consideration), before we announce the winners from Thursday 27 August.What Bike of the Year categories will there be? Bike of the Year 2026 will feature three categories. Scott Windsor / Our Media This year, were running three drop-bar categories for Bike of the Year. Road race bikes Endurance road bikes Gravel bikesAlongside this, our MTB team has been testing the best eMTBs of the year, with their winner to be announced on Tuesday 1 September.In each of our road and gravel categories, weve seen marked developments in how brands are designing their bikes over the past 12 months.Well delve into the trends that have defined each category in 2026 soon, and reveal the shortlist of bikes weve considered for each crown.How are bikes shortlisted for Bike of the Year in 2026? Last year, the Cannondale Synapse won our overall Bike of the Year award because of its progressive design and performance excellence qualities that will stand contenders in good stead again in 2026. Andy Lloyd / Our Media As we test new bikes year-round, we are always looking for the thing that helps set them apart and most importantly makes them worth your time reading about (or watching, for our YouTube channel subscribers).Every new bike our team of expert testers deems to be influential, important or innovative or part of a defining progressive trend is shortlisted for Bike of the Year.Importantly, bikes must have been tested by our team to be considered for the shortlist, with senior tech editor and stalwart of Bike of the Year Warren Rossiter leading our testing this year.What testing has BikeRadar done for Bike of the Year 2026? We've been testing bikes impartially throughout the year, culminating in Bike of the Year. Since the 2025 edition of Bike of the Year, we have tested dozens of new bikes that we know you, our audience, are interested in.Weve focused on reviewing bikes that have been updated and we know are popular, alongside new bikes that push design in an innovative or interesting way.Good examples are gravel bikes with wider-than-ever tyre clearances, endurance road bikes with aero developments, and race road bikes with modernised geometries (to name a few).Only the bikes we've tested are considered for Bike of the Year entry, and the chance to fight it out with the very best bikes of 2026.What makes a Bike of the Year category contender in 2026? We're looking for bikes that stand out from the crowd for the right reasons not just another cut from the same mould. Andy Lloyd / Ourmedia A Bike of the Year category contender must represent a meaningful step forward in design in the context of its competitors.While progressive designs don't automatically mean a bike is better, they are indicative of the direction of travel in bike design.We also consider a bike's performance compared to its contemporaries speed, handling, practicality, tyre clearance and many other elements are considered when we review bikes.This shortlist is built through our testing year, with the pros and cons of each bike assessed by our expert team.Well reveal what that means for each category soon, and the resulting shortlisted bikes.How will the winners be decided?The shortlist of bikes will be whittled down to a top-three podium. These three bikes are then placed in a shootout test, with each given an opportunity to shine.Their relative merits will be considered, and the winner will be decided by our team, led by Warren, a veteran of 15 years of Bike of the Year testing.

Stage 3 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana was wiped from the race after hail and extreme weather forced the peloton to seek shelter around 15 kilometres from the planned finish at Font Romeu on Monday. But once the bikes had stopped, Peter Kennaugh says the problems for the riders were far from over. The...

The fight for the leading places in the UCI ranking by teams brings few changes this week, with the spotlight on the Renewi Tour and the Deutschland Tour. The one significant shift in the top 10 is the swap between Alpecin-Premier Tech and Soudal Quick-Step, with Jasper Philipsens squad climbing on...

Garmin has updated its flagship outdoor smartwatch with the new Fenix 9 and Fenix 9 Pro bringing brighter displays, faster mapping and new endurance-focused features.The Fenix 9 gets an AMOLED display that Garmin says is twice as bright as its predecessor, while the Fenix 9 Pro adds a titanium case, a display reaching up to 3,000 nits and optional inReach satellite and LTE connectivity.Susan Lyman, Garmin Vice President of Consumer Sales and Marketing, says the watches are "purpose-built for those who want to perform better and venture farther."The watches are aimed squarely at endurance athletes and outdoor adventurers, with features that should appeal to cyclists and runners in particular.The new smartwatches are available in 43mm, 47mm and 51mm case sizes, with the Fenix 9 starting at 859.99 / $999.99 for the 43mm and 47mm variants and topping out at 949.99 / $1,099 for the 51mm size.The Fenix 9 Pro and Fenix 9 Pro Solar are priced at 949.99 / $1,099.99 for the 43mm and 47mm, and the 51mm case size costs 1,029.99 / $1,199.99.Brighter displays and faster maps The new display is much brighter than the previous generation. Garmin The Fenix 9's AMOLED display is designed to improve readability in bright conditions, while Garmin has increased the watch's RAM by 50% compared to the Fenix 8.An updated map engine is claimed to make panning around maps up to 30% faster, with a new perspective view showing more detail both close to the user and further ahead on a route.Storage has also doubled to 64GB, with Garmin saying this should enable users to download twice as many maps and store up to 7,000 songs.The watch also introduces Garmin Epic, which allows users to combine multiple activities into a single story in Garmin Connect.This could be useful for multi-day events, bike tours or training blocks, bringing activities, health data and photos together into what is essentially one activity.Garmin has also introduced new stamina zones and a stamina curve, designed to show how endurance changes over time and help athletes understand the impact of training and fitness gains.Titanium case The Fenix 9 Pro gets a titanium case. Garmin The range-topping Fenix 9 Pro comes with a titanium case, using Garmin's nano-moulding technology to combine metal and plastic.The Pro's AMOLED display reaches up to 3,000 nits, while the 51mm model gets a 1.5-inch display Garmin's largest-ever Fenix screen.The brand says the larger display increases viewing area by 15% without increasing the case size.Solar-charging versions are available, while the integrated LED flashlight gains a green-light mode intended to preserve night vision. The solar model can be identified by the outer ring on the display. Garmin The Pro also introduces built-in inReach connectivity to the Fenix range, with compatible models able to make calls, send messages and trigger SOS alerts without a phone.For the first time, Garmin is offering inReach-enabled versions across all three Pro case sizes.The LTE connectivity can also provide location sharing through Garmin Messenger, while satellite connectivity can deliver weather forecasts directly to the watch.Garmin claims up to 29 days of smartwatch battery life for the largest Fenix 9, while the 51mm Fenix 9 Pro is rated for up to 31 days.Solar versions can stretch this to as much as 57 days under Garmin's specified conditions.

Barely a month after a collision with a car left Primoz Roglic struggling even to ride his bike, the four-time Vuelta a Espana winner is already back inside the top 10 of a Grand Tour. He heads into the first proper mountain test of the 2026 race sitting ninth overall and only 26 seconds behind Tade...