Hctor lvarez took silver in the under-23 road race at the Montral 2026 World Championships. The Spaniard crossed the line second, behind Ashlin Barry, after a race in which he started as one of the prime contenders for gold and where the Spanish team failed to close down the Americans advantage....

Its not the first Dutch-style roundabout in Ireland, but a roundabout on Templeville Road in Dublin is the first Dutch-like design to be retrofitted at an existing busy roundabout. The roundabout is adjacent to Templeogue College, where Templeville Road meets Wainsfort Road and Cypress Grove Road.As reported in 2023, Irelands first Dutch-style roundabout was opened on Church Fields Link Road in Mulhuddart, Dublin 15. Fingal County Council built it as part of a new road supporting housing development.Now, South Dublin County Council has built the new roundabout as part of the Templeville Road Phase 2 Section 38 project. The project links the existing cycle tracks on Templeville Road, and others off it, with the Dodder Greenway.While typically on a Dutch-style roundabout the cycle path is circular, this is not always the case. This can sometimes be by design on green-field sites and at other times due to space restraints on one or more sides of a roundabout. The cycle path on the Templeville Road example is an irregular octagon.The new roundabout is designed to replace the previous setup of unprotected painted lanes on the roundabout and the lack of priority for pedestrians.The new design includes zebra crossings with parallel cycling-priority crossings on raised platforms. The two-lane entry points to the roundabout have also been replaced with single-lane entry points, which is safer for people walking and cycling.IMAGE: The roundabout layout before the changes (Photo: Google).IMAGE: The new roundabout while work was ongoing and before the crossings were painted (Photo: Paving contractor, DM Morris)In a pre-construction statement from South Dublin County Council, officials said: The proposed roundabout will realise significant improvements for vulnerable road users commuting and travelling to schools and other amenities in the area. The existing [layout] allowed for higher speeds and did not provide for vulnerable road users. The area is highlighted as an area with a high incidence of collisions.The council said that the Templeville Wainsfort Roundabout is recorded by the RSA as a significant locus of collisions for cyclists. The map below from collisiontracker.ie shows a large number of collisions at the roundabout (note: coloured entries are manual ones reported by users and can be near misses, while the dark dots represent both minor and serious collisions).After complaints about large vehicles such as trucks and coaches using the roundabout while it was still under construction, some changes were made, including widening some of the exit points and enlarging areas of the large vehicle overspill area at the centre of the carriageway circle.As per the video above, when IrishCycle.com visited the roundabout mid-morning on Friday, motorists generally yielded. This is consistent with motorist behaviour on smaller and non-standard cycle-priority roundabouts in Limerick as well as on an experimental and short-lived roundabout design previously rolled out at the Killiney Towers Roundabout near Dalkey.The newly built roundabout at Templeville Road seems to provide good sightlines between cyclists and motorists entering and exiting the carriageway circle, overcoming one of the main issues at the Killiney Towers Roundabout where the angle at which cycle path and carragway users met often required motorists to make awkward head movements to see the cycle track.The project also includes significant footpath renewal and new raised cycle tracks between the roundabout and the Dodder Greenway at Dodder View Road, just north of the Rathfarnham Shopping Centre.Away from the roundabout, some elements of the project have yet to be finished, including where the route crosses Templeogue Road. The junction at Templeogue Road is not due to be significantly changed, as more major changes there are planned as part of the BusConnect Core Route project that is due to run along that road.Images:Images of the cycle track along Templeville Road and an example of a side road junction treatment:

Last fall, Lazer debuted the new Impala KinetiCore mountain bike helmet. As the brands top-of-the-line half-shell lid, the Impala is packed with unique safety tech, including KinetiCore and DualCore, along with all the features weve come to expect in modern trail-riding helmets. Lazer sent me one to test pre-launch, and I liked nearly everything about it. Except for one glaring issue: a sewn, non-adjustable strap design that made it nearly unwearable for me.The sewn straps were a terrible design choice that Lazer probably regrets making.It seems I wasnt alone. Our Editor-in-Chief Zach Overholt didnt get along with the Impalas straps either. Nearly every other Impala review I read also mentioned this curious design choice causing discomfort and annoyance on an otherwise solid helmet. While the fixed-strap design may work for some helmets, it clearly was not the right choice for the Impala KinetiCore. Its fair to assume the negative reviews and feedback probably resulted in low sales, too.Way back at Sea Otter last April, the Lazer folks told us they heard the criticism, took the feedback to heart, and would be updating the straps. Now, several months later, we just learned that Lazer has finally updated the Impala KinetiCore for 2027 with an adjustable ear cradle strap design.Same helmet, but the adjustable straps on the 2027 version (left) make it waaaayyyyy more comfortable than the 2026 fixed-strap version on the right. Problem SolvedI just received the updated Impala KinetiCore, and Im happy to report that the discomfort issue has been completely resolved. Straight out of the box, the straps are aligned more comfortably, and it no longer forces the chin strap to rest against my throat. Even if it wasnt perfect out of the box, the adjustable ear cradle allows you to reposition it to personalize the fit.A seriously simple fix to a serious comfort issue.Its unfortunate that Lazer didnt use an adjustable ear cradle system to begin with, but Im happy to see they listened to consumer and reviewer feedback and fixed this glaring issue moving forward. With the updated strap design, I can actually wear the Impala KinetiCore without feeling like the straps are trying to choke me. Now, I feel comfortable recommending this helmet to anyone, without needing to say, if the position of the sewn straps works for you.The little plastic slider was a simple fix to a serious comfort issue.Extended Satisfaction GuaranteeThe folks at Lazer also recognize that some people who purchased the 2026 Impala KinetiCore may be dissatisfied with its comfort due to the fixed strap design. For those folks, Lazer is doubling its typical 60-day satisfaction guarantee.Lazer is extending the satisfaction guarantee on MY26 Impala KinetiCore to 120 days in order to give consumers who have made a purchase in recent months an opportunity to switch to the MY27 Impala KinetiCore with the updated strap-slider-equipped product at no charge. Please contact your original point of purchase to make a qualified return.With the new adjustable straps, my initial complaints about discomfort are no longer valid. This is a well-rounded trail riding helmet that checks a lot of boxes and is certainly worthy of consideration. Check it out at Lazersport.com

Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert have spent their careers and then some as each other's biggest rivals, but for the first time, it seems like the greatest of foes could find that working together is their best chance of success. With a climber-heavy list of favourites to win the 2026 World Cha...