The World Championships are fast approaching for some of the big contenders as a a new rainbow jersey is set to be crowned on September 27th. With Tadej Pogacar ruled out, several contenders are now thrust into the battle for victory. One of those could well be Mads Pedersen. The Lidl-Trek classics...

Weve most likely all been there: youre following a strict diet in the pursuit of an improved power-to-weight ratio, but the evening after a ride, you find yourself raiding the cupboards or worse waking up hungry and basking in the glow of a nighttime fridge excursion. As common as this experience is, its likely a symptom of poor nutritional timing, and it can have a bigger impact on performance, recovery, and body composition than many people realise.Post-ride overeating typically happens because you didn't fuel adequately before or during the ride, or because you didn't fuel well right after the session. To understand why, we need to look at a few fundamentals.When we cycle, we use energy. Power through the pedals is the work we produce, but heart rate tells us how hard we had to work internally to produce this. Most training devices and software will tell us the power and kilojoules, or calories, used during a session; heart rate helps give us an indication of what sources of fuel we are using to produce that energy. At lower intensities, we use a higher proportion of fats, and the higher the intensity gets, the more carbohydrates we use. Even after an effort, we use more energy than normal as we recover, including after weve stopped riding altogether. Elements such as high heat, altitude increases, and fatigue can all increase the ratio of carbohydrates we use at a given relative intensity.Many riders make mistakes because they are not aware of the volume of carbohydrates they should be consuming. They may also struggle to get the appropriate volume in, resulting in a debt that needs to be paid later on. An ideal volume would be anywhere from 60 to 120 grams per hour depending upon intensity and nutritional conditioning; pro riders will train themselves to be able to intake on the higher end. Thats between 2 to 4 typical energy gels, or 3 to 6 small bananas. If it sounds like a lot, youre probably underfueling your rides. If youve been underfueling during rides for years, this might sound like a lot of food. If youre heading out for a club ride with friends, you may wonder how you could get through this much food whilst still maintaining a sociable conversation. The answer is practice and planning: itll take time to train your gut to tolerate adequate volume during a ride, but you also need to find foods that work for you.Recommended carb intake during the rideFinding the best fuel source for you will take some work (Image credit: Andy Jones)Volumes are not based upon body weight intentionally, gut length does not change with height, a smaller rider putting out more watts will actually require more input.The upper end of the high intensity bracket would require gut training. IntensityVolumeFuel sourceLow intensity 40-60g/hrGlucose Tempo 60-90g/hr Glucose/FructoseHigh intensity 90-120g/hr 1:0.8 Glucose/Fructose ratioPost-ride, a common guideline is 20-30g of protein, followed by 80-120g of carbs for longer or harder sessions, a 1:4 ratio of protein to carbs. Thats a five-egg omelette and 100-150g of dried white rice; a personal favourite for me was always three eggs, a tin of beans and three slabs of toast. Whilst replacing the carbs hours later, over a pub lunch or large evening meal, may be more inviting, it wont work. For those without insulin irregularities, sugars and simple carbohydrates consumed during exercise and directly after it are processed very differently compared to food consumed hours later. If you consume 100g of sugar at rest, a good amount of this will be deposited as fat stores. If you consume this during exercise, it is prioritised as a fuel source for the work. If it is consumed afterwards, it is generally directed towards replenishing muscle glycogen stores. Consuming the carbohydrates required during and after exercise ensures you have greater performance during the session, replenishes stores ahead of the next session, and avoids the calories input being directed towards fat stores. A bonus is that if you fuel correctly, you should have far fewer cravings later on, which means you avoid large intakes of sugar or rich and processed foods, which have a reduced positive impact on training, and contribute to gains in body fat. So even though refined and processed sugars get a bad rap in the media, when consumed at the correct time, for active athletes these simple sugars are required and highly beneficial. Eating an entire bag of sweets on the sofa at 10pm wont be good, but during a hard session it will likely have a positive impact on performance and recovery, while reducing cravings later. Its about eating the right stuff, at the right time, for the right level of activity. I find many riders I work with are underfuelling until we address the problem, changing these habits tends to have a notable and positive impact on recovery, performance, post-session tiredness and mood in general.

A member of Jonas Vingegaard's Giro d'Italia-winning squad has been handed a contract extension at Visma | Lease a Bike. Tim Rex has been rewarded for his solid season with a new deal that will keep him with the Dutch team until the end of the 2029 season. The 22-year-old Belgian has proved a consis...

More images of Shimanos next-generation Dura-Ace Di2 R9300 groupset have surfaced on the Weight Weenies forum.The images appear to be leaked from US government filings related to the groupsets wireless communications protocols, and potentially confirm which parts will operate wirelessly and which will not.They also offer a closer look at Shimano's new direct-mount cranks and integrated power meter.This latest leak follows our sneak peak at the new groupset at La Vuelta late last month, and adds weight to our suspicions that the groupset we saw there is close to the finished article.Semi-wireless looks increasingly likely This is the wireless part of the new rear derailleur, which communicates with the shifters. Shimano / Weight Weenies forum The main conclusion we can draw from this set of leaked images is Dura-Ace Di2 R9300 will very likely be semi-wireless.Aside from the absence of any images of a wireless front derailleur module, the rear derailleur module shown features both a wire port and a charging port both of which are almost identical to those on the current version, Dura-Ace Di2 R9200.This indicates strongly that Dura-Ace Di2 R9300 will continue with a semi-wireless configuration, with the rear derailleur and front derailleur (where present) wired to a single battery housed within a bike frame. In this system, the rear derailleur acts as the brain of the system, communicating wirelessly with the shifters.Note I say almost identical, though, because it appears Shimano has modified the charging port on the new rear derailleur module. Ports for a new charger head (left) and a wire are present, as expected. Shimano / Weight Weenies forum While the current charger port also uses a four-pin design, the pins are arranged in a horizontal line, rather than grouped into a square as in the leaked images.Hopefully this change is required due to improvements with the internal battery perhaps a higher-capacity or faster-charging model, for example rather than a simple change just to kill off backwards compatibility.Although its not clear whether the filenames were amended by the person who uploaded the images to the Weight Weenies forum, they also appear to confirm the part name will be RD-R9350.Shifters mostly unchanged Shimano looks set to continue with its existing Di2 shifting logic, with two shifter buttons behind each brake lever. Shimano / Weight Weenies forum Another area where it seems therell be little to no change is with the main shifter paddles.Shimano has stuck doggedly to its shifter logic for Di2 ever since its inception back in 2009, with Dura-Ace Di2 7900 with two main buttons on the side of each brake lever.Although now configurable, the typical shifter logic is that the two right-hand buttons control the rear derailleur (shifting up and down the cassette), while the two left-hand buttons control a front derailleur in the same manner.This much was already a fairly safe bet based on what we saw of the new shifters at La Vuelta, but its nevertheless interesting to get a more specific confirmation of the fact. Shimano's first-generation Dura-Ace Di2 7900 shifters debuted the familiar shifting logic back in 2009. James Huang / BikeRadar Of course, its worth noting that there appears to be a larger change coming to the auxiliary button on the top of the brake hoods.Images from La Vuelta show a new larger button placed on the inside of the top part of each brake hood, instead of directly on top, as on the ST-R9270 shifters.As with the rear derailleur module, the filenames of the leaked images appear to confirm the part name for the new shifters will be ST-R9370.A closer look at the new power meter These leaked images confirm the power meter is moving to a direct-mount crankset design. Shimano / Weight Weenies forum In contrast, substantial change looks to be confirmed for the groupsets new power meter crankset.Ever since Shimano began making its own power meters back in 2017 (alongside the launch of Dura-Ace R9100), it has taken its existing integrated crankset design which combines the driveside crank, the chainring spider and a 24mm steel spindle and retrofitted the relevant sensors to each crank arm.Now, though, we have our strongest evidence yet that Shimano is moving to a direct-mount crankset design, with the chainring spider mounting separately via a splined interface.This design is likely borrowed from its mountain bike groupsets, such as XTR Di2 M9200. Sensors are bonded onto each crank arm, with what appears to be a charging port on the base of the driveside crank. Shimano / Weight Weenies forum Instead of a hollow axle, though, it seems almost certain that the power meter battery will be housed in there (as on current Shimano power meter cranksets), because there are now battery ports on the crank arm sensors themselves.What looks like a single, centralised charging port is placed at the base of the driveside crank arm.Somewhat frustratingly, the shape of the port suggests this could require a different charging cable from the Di2 groupset itself. That would represent a change from the current design where the same cable can be used to change both the Di2 R9200 groupset and the power meter (just not concurrently). We suspect the battery will be housed inside the spindle, as on current models. Shimano / Weight Weenies forum Although this is purely speculation, wed suspect this change comes with an eye on improving the performance of Shimanos power meter cranksets which, its fair to say, have garnered a poor reputation for accuracy over the years.Aside from the fact an inaccurate power meter simply doesnt live up to its promises, the UCI is actively exploring the possibility of using rider power data to catch dopers so having a power meter that measures a riders power output both accurately and consistently is a must for the Japanese brand this time round.There have been some suggestions over the years that Shimanos asymmetric crank design has been the root cause of its accuracy problems, which could help explain the move to a more symmetrical design as seen here.As with the other parts, the image filenames suggest the power meter part name will be FC-R9300-P. Could moving to a more symmetrical crankset design help resolve Shimano's long-standing accuracy issues? Shimano / Weight Weenies forum Is Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9300 almost ready?Given the changes between the current-generation Dura-Ace groupset and this upcoming one appear to be fairly small based on what we know so far, at least some have questioned whether what we saw at La Vuelta was simply a work in progress.These leaked images add weight to the idea that its much closer to a finished product, however.Shimano (and other companies) typically make such regulatory fillings for products when they are ready to go, rather than in a prototype phase, after all.Of course, that doesnt mean it will released in the immediate future, and there may well be much that we dont yet know about the new groupset and its functionality.But these leaks, and the recent release of new Dura-Ace R9300 wheels, certainly imply a full launch of the next-generation Dura-Ace groupset isnt too far away.

Two cyclists were killed and a third was taken to hospital with injuries after a car driver hit a group of bike riders on a narrow street in Cobham, near Gravesend, on Sunday morning. Kent police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the horrific incident.Police say a white Ford Focus car being driven along Sole Street towards Meopham collided with three bike riders at 7.47am on Sunday 6 September. Tragically, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s were confirmed dead at the scene, while another woman sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment.Two men aged 21 and 22 were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, and 19-year-old woman was also held on suspicion of assisting an offender. Flowers and tributes have been left at the scene and the local community is said to be in shock after the accident.I was truly devastated by such an accident that took place in Sole Street, Dakota Dibben, Ward councillor for Istead Rise, Cobham and Luddesdown, told Kent Online. A lot of the residents are very, very upset. Sole Street is a very, very small community in Cobham, and they are deeply saddened by the news.It is such a devastating accident. They were cyclists going out on a Sunday morning, enjoying the countryside, and this fatality happened. It is deeply saddening.Last year, Active Travel England (ATE) highlighted that many British roads arent wide enough to be safe for cyclists, and concerns have previously been raised about safety on Sole Street. A 'Pass Wide and Slow ride' had already been planned to take place in the area on 12 September, to raise motorists' awareness about how to safely drive on quiet country lanes shared with other more vulnerable road users, with cyclists, horse riders and walkers due to take part. Local press are reporting that this will still take place, and more people are being encouraged to take part in the light of this tragedy. Cycling Weekly reached out to Kent Police for an update and we were told that one of the men and the woman have subsequently been released on bail, pending further enquiries, while the older man is still being held in custody. Anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has information that might help police, is being urged to call the SCIU appeal line on 01622 798538, or email sciu.td@kent.police.uk, quoting reference RY/KA/072/26. Drivers with dashcam footage can also upload footage.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG team manager Joxean Matxin has proposed a radical change at the Vuelta a Espana to beat the heat as the temperatures sore at the Grand Tour, with many riders voicing their concerns and the extreme heat protocol already used over the weekend. UAE are down to just four riders a...

Soon after having their first child, Kornelia Thrn and Robin Lyne sold nearly everything and traded the typical path for a nomadic life on two wheels. With their young daughter in tow, they first traveled to the ruggedly beautiful Azores, which offered a crash course in parenthood and family bikepacking. Read their story of adapting to a new rhythm hereThe post Learning to Crawl: Family Bikepacking the Azores appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Imagine youre living in an alternate dimension, one in which bicycles make sense. Its 2026, and a mainstream company is introducing a new mountain bike. Here it is:Sadly we dont live in that dimension, we live in this one. Here, bicycles dont make any sense. So Marin made only like 400 of these, and theyre already all gone.But the good news is that the fact it sold out so quickly will send a powerful message to the bicycle industry that people actually want simple, versatile, easy-to-maintain bicycles, so expect to see a sensible bike renaissance and more offerings like this one from a wide variety of mainstream companies in the coming year.Yeah, no, sorry. Id say things will only get worse before they get better, but that would suggest that one day things might actually get better, which is extremely unlikely. In fact Id be surprised if bikes dont move to wireless braking by 2030:That video was simultaneously really cool and abjectly horrifying. If one guy can do all that in his garage its safe to assume all the big companies have had their own versions ready to go for awhile now and are just working on how to convince you and the CSPC and whoever else that theyre safe. This means that someday soon youll go to ride your bike only to find red LEDs blinking on each lever and the brakes locked because the system has gone into safety mode. Youll run a diagnostic on your phone which will give you a code you dont understand, and after making an appointment via the app youll drive it 45 minutes to the nearest service center, where youll leave the bike for a week only to learn that your use of aftermarket Kool Stop brake pads has caused a sensor to fail. Fortunately your bike is only six months old and still under warranty, but unfortunately your use of aftermarket Kool Stop brake pads has voided this warranty. Replacing the sensor will take the tech roughly four and a half minutes and the bill will be $236 plus tax. But youll still post comments online about how much better wireless braking is because of the infinitely tunable lever feel.As for me, Ill keep my mechanical brakes, because single-pivot calipers make me feel alive, goddammit!Thats because you appreciate not crashing into stuff way more when you have to work for it by applying a meaningful amount of force to the leversand no, you dont have to squeeze the hell out of them, its more like giving someone a hardy handshake. Meanwhile, using these newfangled hydrolic dick breaks is more like shaking hands with a Gen Z-er or whatever were up to now, all dainty and wishy-washy. How do you even trust a brake like that? Its the sign of a weak moral character.Of course I did manage to crash the Cervino anyway, but it had nothing to do with the brakes:And the subsequent repairs hastened its evolution from full period-correctness to the chronological mongrel it is now:Then this past weekend I took the extra step of pulling the decals off:I know this will disappoint any Nishiki fans out there, and in fact one of the things that attracted me to the bike in the first place was that people would dismiss it as an old crappy ten speed and not realize it was in fact a fine Italian racing bicycle, sort of like some bad 80s movie where youre not supposed to realize the librarians actually a hot chick because shes wearing glasses.However, after awhile I simply felt the decals werent really adding anything to the bike, which Id go so far as to say is otherwise quite classy and understated, non-period-correct components notwithstanding. Also, while Nishiki does have an interesting historysince 2010 its just been the house bike brand of Dicks Sporting Goods, and while I myself shop there from time to time (though never for bike stuff), this is kind of depressing. Plus, its not like the Nishiki Cervino is an icon of cycling. I mean I wouldnt pull the Huffy decals of a 7-Eleven Serotta:[Via Classic Cycle]But in this case I felt like it was time the librarian took off her glasses and let her hair down, thats all.I only wish that after peeling the Nishiki decals off the Cervino I had thought to put them on the Farbman for maximum irony points:I also wonder if the new David Duchovny movie is about low-normal derailleurs:I may have to go to that Q&A just to ask him what kind of bike this is:Looks pretty nice. Maybe he peeled off the decals.

Follow Stage 16 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana live as the peloton tackles a 181-kilometre route from Cortegana to La Rbida. The final week begins with a surprisingly flat stage, although the many small climbs in the opening half could encourage a strong breakaway to form. The final 95 kilometres are...