Mick van Dijke has won Stage 3 of the 2026 Eneco Tour after beating Victor Campenaerts in a two-man sprint at the end of a heavily fragmented finale. The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider came past Campenaerts inside the final few hundred metres to take victory after 2:25:52, with the Belgian crossi...

This weeks Debrief features steel-frame-specific bag mounts, the Monochrome Holt 2.0, a SuperSomething Bike Check, Brody Leven's Flaanimal, fresh videos, multiple events to follow live, and much more. Find it all hereThe post Friday Debrief: SuperSomething Bike Check, Omata Returns, Brody Levens Flaanimal, Quatre Stem, and More appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Christophe Bassons has questioned whether professional cycling can truly be considered clean, singling out the people around Tadej Pogacar at UAE Team Emirates XRG and warning that the sports old culture of omert has not disappeared. Bassons, famously ostracised within the peloton after speaking p...

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fredline is upon us:Thats right, no more submissions after 12pm EST EDT PTSD my time, which is whatever time it is in New York, and if you want to know what time it is in New York then visit your search engine of choice and type in the words, What the hell goddmamn time is it in New York?I just tried it and it works.So go ahead and enter, but Im warning you, the competition is pretty stiffor should that be laterally stiff yet vertically compliant?And yes, thats a steelCervlo:Remember when Cervelo made steel bikes? Almost nobody does, but it happened! I picked up this lightly used 2003 Superprodigy in 2009 and have been enjoying it ever since. It came with a period correct and meh roica compliant Ultegra 29 group I hope youll forgive the upgrade to Force 210 in light of the extremely tight rear tire clearance (which barely even fits a 23mm) and the dainty 1 headset.Youre damn right I remember! In fact, while I could be getting this wrong, my recollection is that Cervlo may have been the last professional team to field a steel bike at Paris-Roubaix:This is highly ironic, since Cervlo were otherwise wanton envelope-pushers, and one could argue that the Soloist is singlehandedly responsible for the state of Fred Sleds today:Speaking of steel hold-outs, no mainstream bicycle company hung on to it longer than Trek:And speaking of irony, Trek eventually killed LeMond (the bike line, they didnt actually kill Greg LeMond) because they were all-in on this guy:Its all enough to make your head spinbut not your legs, because you wont be doing much spinning on this bike given the gearing (DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE?):Lemond Zurich circa 2000 Reynolds 853, Trek Air Rail fork (see below)9 speed Dura Ace levers beautiful mechanics, pitiful ergonomics, mediocre brakingMixed Dura Ace/ Ultegra drivetrain Anti compact, massive in fact. Im not sure how I ever made it up hills. The most aesthetically pleasing groupset of all time, SILENT, works 100%Hmmm, I never had an issue with either the ergonomics or braking with 9-speed Dura-Ace levers, but there is much that is subjective in the Meh-roica-verse. As for the fork, here is what the owner is alluding to in his notes:Its true, fellow Meh-roica enthusiasts, our bikes are getting rather oldas are weso be sure to inspect those components.This has been a public service announcement from the Old Fred Preservation Society (OFPS).Heres another fork-centric submission:Wait, I had a bike porn contest?Attached is my entry for this meh-pic contest.The bike should be disqualified however, because of its checkered past. The fork has a history in the porn industry, having posed for a winning photo in your very own bike porn contest some hundred years or so ago. She doesnt like to talk about it.Oh yeah, I did have a bike porn contest!Though if you find this pornographic that says more about your own depraved mind, because maybe the steel fork is simply examining the crabon one for signs of imminent failure.As for the contest, I now remember that the whole point was to parody the photography of Andy White of Fyxomatosis:See, back then I used to call those Knog lightsoh, never mind, you had to be there.By the way, Knog enjoyed the whole Hipster Cyst thing so much they even had me write their catalog, which I also hardly remember, though the Internet tells me it was 2010. Did making fun of Knog and then writing for them make me a shill? Perhaps. But its not like I was selling tobacco products:Wow, thats good copy:Its so good it makes me want to take up smoking again:Say what you will about smoking, but I couldnt have been more than 14 in that photo, and you do have to admit I looked both cool and matureand you cant say that about vaping, which does the exact opposite. Also, smoking was very handy in social situations, since its a great way to meet people and make small talk, plus you always have something to do even when theres a lull in the conversation. Its just an all-around win, really, and I dont see the downsidewell, apart from the cost and the lung cancer, but we all know the second thing isnt from the cigarettes, its from the chemtrails.No, you really shouldnt smoke, its bad for you, etc., and this has been a public service message from the Old Fred Preservation Society (OFPS).Moving on, heres a submission from noted commenter sbarner:Hey, look at that, more fork stuff!Heres my submission for an ideal Meh-roica mehchine. Its a 2004 Lemond Zurich that has led a very hard life. It formerly belonged to a friend of mine who was riding it through a local park some years ago when a hapless squirrel tried to leap through its paired-spoke front wheel. The critter got halfway through when the fork blades got in its way and it lost its nuts. Both carbon fork blades snapped and the rodent went to the Great Hollow Tree in the Sky. Luckily, my friend was unscathed and he later showed me a picture holding up the bike in one hand, the front wheel in the other, him wearing quite the nonplussed countenance, and the dead squirrel laying in the grass at his feet.The spine bikes were proof that crabon had already begun to devour those steel LeMonds even before Armstrong put a hit on them:I think this bike ticks all the boxes to be UCI (Uninspired Cycles Internationale) compliant. What could be more spineless in design than a spine bike, with its indecisive, part-steel/part-carbon construction, yet result in a more vivid marketing copy authors dream? I may be presumptuous, but in the slim chance that this entry rises near the top of the tremendous number of submissions Im sure youll receive, I will plead that it not be allowed to win. I find myself to have collected at least 50 gallons of various oils and lubes and would no doubt misplace the Dumonde and find myself back to dousing chains with Ford automatic tranny fluid just to try to get rid of the stuff. Award the boutique lube to someone more deserving and, most of all, better organized. No Dumonde for the LeMond.As for not wanting to win, I always welcome preemptive forfeiture, it saves me the work.And maybe when Don Draper is finished writing copy for cigarettes and spine bikes he can get to work on this baby:Because clearly they need help:Technically speaking, the device is a mechatronic cycling computer, meaning it combines a digital device with a mechanical display. It only displays speed, elapsed time, and elevation climbed, letting you access these key stats at a glance while riding, without bombarding you with page after page of stats and metrics. Its like glancing at your wristwatch for the time instead of pulling out your phone and instantly getting distracted.Okay, why cant cyclists use stuff in a way that makes sense? Electronic drivetrains basically offer nothing except having to charge them, whereas an analog (sorry mechatronic) computer has a mere fraction of the functionality of a much cheaper electronic one. Somewhere someone is riding around with one of these computers and a wireless electronic drivetrain, which is just crazy. Also, why is an electronic computer more distracting than this thing that looks like it should be attached to a propane tank and not a bicycle? Cant you just customize the display on an electronic GPS thingy to show you only what you want? If its like glancing at your wristwatch, why not justI dunno, wear a nice wristwatch?IT JUST DOESNT MAKE SENSE.Okay, I give up, Im going back to the fork porn:Thats a pretty nice color. IF I GOT IT Id probably choose something similar. View this post on Instagram Just needs an analog computer.

Richard Carapaz has broken his EF Education-EasyPost contract to sign for NSN Cycling, bringing an end to his four years at the American team.The Ecuadorian, the winner of the King of the Mountains competition at the Tour de France this year, and a former winner of the Giro d'Italia and the Olympic road race, has signed for NSN for three years, it was revealed on Friday afternoon."Signing Richard Carapaz is a significant moment for our team and an important milestone in the development of our sporting project," the team's general manager, Kjell Carlstrm, said. "Richard is a proven champion. His achievements speak for themselves, but what makes him particularly special is his mentality.""For me, it's a tremendous opportunity as a rider to be part of this project and, above all, to be one of the team's leaders, Carapaz said. "Im simply very excited."I'm really looking forward to it, and to be honest, this reminds me a lot of when I signed my first professional contract, when I was incredibly excited about being in the WorldTour. I still have the same motivation as I did that day and thats really an incredible feeling."The 33-year-old was contracted to EF until 2028, but has moved to boost the team, both as a general classification leader and helping the next generation through. This season, Carapaz won two stages at the Tour and finished eighth overall, before going on to finish fourth overall at the Vuelta a Espaa. The aggressive climber is a fan-favourite for his attacking style."He is one of those riders whose passion for cycling is so evident and we believe he still has some of his best performances ahead of him," Carlstrm added. "His experience and leadership will be extremely valuable, not only in helping us achieve our sporting objectives but also in developing the next generation of talent within the team."Richard is someone our young riders can look up to, and I have no doubt he will fit in perfectly in our team culture. Were excited for Richards next chapter at NSN Cycling."Carapaz said: "Ifind the NSN project really interesting and after our first conversations, I was convinced this would be the right place for me. Im a rider who has achieved great results throughout my career, many of which were in the Grand Tours, and that fits very well with what NSN was looking for."The team has big ambitions to keep growing and already in my conversations with the performance team, it was clear we share the same desire to keep improving and achieve big things together. I think the team has a lot of potential to develop and Im excited to be part of that in the next three years."Carapaz joins Santiago Buitrago, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Kasper Asgreen, Artem Shmidt and Cedric Beullens as new arrivals for 2027 at NSN, as the team formerly known as Israel-Premier Tech continues its overhaul.Discover the full breakdown of WorldTour transfers with our guide.

The employees past and present also criticised the leadership as removed faceless entities, and the cooperative as a front for "one man and his ego".

Richard Carapazs surprise move to NSN Cycling Team has now been officially confirmed. After reports emerged that the Olympic champion and former Giro dItalia winner was set to leave EF Education-EasyPost a year before the end of his contract, NSN have announced Carapaz on a three-year deal running...

Giulio Ciccone has revealed that his long-standing attachment to Marco Pantani became a point of discussion behind the scenes at Lidl-Trek before the Italian brought his eight-year spell with the team to an end. Ciccone will join Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team on a three-year deal from 2027 after...

The fallout from the bombshell investigation into Picnic PostNL has now reached inside the current team, with Frank van den Broek admitting that parts of the picture painted by former riders and staff are recognisable. While several members of the present set-up have pushed back strongly against sug...

Just a couple of weeks ago, we got a sneak peek at this all-new Avona Callis 32 gravel race bike at Sea Otter Europe, where it was ridden to a UCI World Series race win. About the same time, I was also able to throw a leg over a stock, consumer-friendly spec, then head out of Gironas city center for a couple of quick rides over two days. And now, it is available to buy, making this the first proper production carbon gravel bike to market on 32 wheels.Lets break down the details. Whats new, how it rides, and how you can get your own 32 carbon gravel race bike nowAvona Callis 32 is the first 32 gravel race bike you can buy(Photos/Cory Benson)We all knew 32 gravel bikes were coming. Theyve been popping up all year, winning pro gravel races. Then, back in Girona, Avona made it clear that the big Callis 32 gravel bike would go on sale on October 15th. So, now we have the full details.From a starting point, the Avona Callis 32 follows the same ethos of the original Callis they debuted just last year. Avona aims to develop high-performance bikes for everyday riders. And even though this bike was ridden to a pro-level gravel win, it was created for all gravel riders looking to go fast. Now, much of the tech in the new bike is the same as the 700c/29 wheeled Callis gravel bike that I rode last year. But Avona didnt simply scale it up and slap bigger wheels on the Callis 32. Instead, they describe their bike development process more as being holistic. In fact, they too were a bit skeptical of the jump to 32 at first, so it was digging into all of the data that convinced them to push on.Holistic bike development was ideally suited for the shift to 32 wheels To Avona, holistic design means, instead of just making a bike to be aerodynamic or lightweight or to fit bigger tires & wheels, they strive to look at all performance characteristics and even component specs together.Aero gains are great, until the point they make a bike too stiff to ride for several hours. Light bikes are nice for big mountain days, but have less of an impact if your climbing is limited. And wider tires and bigger diameter wheels can boost comfort, control, and even lower rolling resistance, as long as they dont become heavy, sluggish, or unintentionally introduce extra drag.(Studio images/Avona)When considering the jump to 32 wheels for gravel, Avona first pooled available data, and realized 32 rolling resistance gains would probably outweigh any aerodynamic losses. So once they had a design and could prototype, they built up identical 700c & 32 bikes and ran a Virtual Elevation Method rolling resistance simulation on a real-world, out-and-back section of rough gravel track to determine how much energy the bigger wheels could save by smoothing those bumps out. Their findings showed that switching to the bigger wheels saves 11.7W in rolling resistance at 35kph. Then, in the wind tunnel, the aero drag would only add an extra 1-3W penalty.32 vs. 700c in the GST wind tunnel (Composite photo/Avona)(Avona share a Whitepaper of their data analysis for those that like to nerd out on the numbers. Plus, theres also a deep look at Avonas 32 pros & cons that led to the development of the Callis 32 in the first place.)OK, so what all is new? Back in Girona, I was able to suss out pretty much all the technical similarities with its smaller 700c sibling. But really, a lot of what makes this new 32 gravel bike work is Avonas attention to refining agile big-wheel geometry. They worked hard on refining the big bikes geometry and making sure to develop light & responsive 32 wheels for it to be sure to create a proper gravel race bike without compromise on the bigger wheels.Lets talk 32 gravel race-tuned geometrySo, contrary to the recent trend of making gravel bikes slacker to go faster off road, the Callis 32 has decidedly steep angles a 70 headtube and 74 effective seattube angle. Of course to fit that big wheel in front of you with acceptable toe overlap, frame reach is a bit longer, although the 398mm of my size Large test bike wasnt extreme. Then, it was a relatively long 60mm fork offset that kept fork Trail in check. And Avona still managed to keep chainstay length surprisingly short at just 440mm thanks to a dramatically curved seattube, super thin chainstays, and 1x only compatibility.Avona admits that they couldnt really build a 32 gravel bike smaller than a size Medium frame without compromising handling, so they didnt. The Callis 32 comes in just three sizes: M-XL. But since they started with a 30mm offset seatpost and conventional stem lengths, there is still quite a bit of room for adjustment to fit smaller riders. I saw a rider less than 165cm tall test the size M with a 0mm offset post and a slammed 75mm stem, and both her and I were surprised with how well it fit, and how well the bike handled.It clear that getting bigger riders on 32 bikes is always going to make the most sense. But Avonas sharp handling and tight clearances approach proves smaller riders have a chance, too.Tech detailsBeyond the big wheels and properly tuned geometry, the Avona includes a lot of other lightweight gravel race bike technologies.lightweight carbon frameinternal frame storage & mounts to fit 2 full-size water bottles55mm max tire, with 6mm clearance (not enough for the 2.4 Aspens on adventure focused 32 bikes, but yes to the 2.15 Aspen ST)1x and electronic shift only; max 50T chainringBoost chainline, Boost rear axle spacing (12x148mm) & Road Boost front (12x110mm)UDHthreaded BSA bottom bracketproprietary D-shaped aero seatpost with hidden wedge-style clampfully integrated cable routing through the sealed headsetFM160 flat mount rear brake (160 or 180mm rotors)898g claimed frame weight (size M painted, but without any hardware like the storage door, seatpost clamp, axle, or hanger)409g claimed fork weight, painted & uncutOK, so how does it ride?Fit & First ImpressionsAt 185cm tall (+/-61), its not really a stretch to fit me on bigger wheels (like on the 750D Jumbo). Avona has me on a Large with a middle-of-the-road fit stem & seatpost wise. But still, about half of the 32 bikes I have ridden so far (~75% being mountain bikes) could be described as muted, if not specifically sluggish even if ride data suggests most were actually quicker than comparable 29ers. So, I was cautiously optimistic to try out my first carbon 32 bike, and the first real production 32 gravel bike.Even though Im quite tall, I most often size down to a Medium on dropbar bikes. But even with that in mind, I didnt feel stretched out on the Large Callis 32. The 398mm Reach isnt much more than most L gravel bikes these days, and the 598mm Stack is actually lower than almost all other gravel bikes Ive ridden this year. Chainstay length is even the same as a fast-feeling 700c gravel bike Ive been riding lately, just 10-15mm longer than most other 700c gravel bikes Ive been testing lately.Out on gravel road & trail?I had the chance to put in two different rides on the new 32 Callis during my limited time with it. First, was a pretty chill late afternoon ride, mixing city tarmac and fast, smooth gravel roads. The second, a morning ride on a mix of gravel Champagne hardpack, some choppy car-induced brake bumps & soft deep gravel outside of the center of Girona, plus a bit of bumpy singletrack along the river resulting from the remnants of muddy MTB ruts.My immediate feeling on the road then hardpack was how effortlessly the bike was to ride quickly. I cruised along the streets, drafting roadies with seemingly no effort even rolling on 50mm gravel tires. In the dirt, the wheels spun up quickly when I stomped on the pedals. And it required seemingly little effort to maintain speed. When riding gravel roads, I didnt feel like it required any additional effort to change directions. But when I ended up on twisty singletrack, it did feel like I probably had to work a little harder through the turns. That feeling was a bit more exaggerated on tight ups and downs that robbed my momentum, where I could feel it took more effort to re-accelerate and tuck through low-speed turns at the same time.But notably, I barely felt the brake bumps and just rolled over dried-out ruts & ridges. Maintaining speed on smooth tracks was nice. But the slightly rougher ones were where it felt like the bigger wheels and lower tire pressure (~5psi less than usual) really shone. And I think credit is due here for the Faserwerk wheels too, which thankfully didnt feel overly stiff (an issue I personally notice with many deeper aero gravel race wheels).Why does it feel so quick, even with bigger wheels?Avonas 32 frame at a claimed 898g (M, painted) is actually lighter than their 700c version, offsetting about +100-200g extra weight in the wheels, so their complete Callis 700 & Callis 32 bikes are effectively the same total weight. So the whole 32 bike is as light as many 700c bikes.Plus, Ive ridden 32 XC bikes with >2500g wheelsets with 1700g of additional tire weight. Avonas own Faserwerk Kornkreis 32 wheels on DT 350 hubs like I rode are said to weigh just 1567g, making them no heavier really than many aero 700c gravel wheelsets. And the 50mm Schwalbe tires add about 1300g on top of that, maybe 100g more than a 700c setup.Really, it all adds up light overall bike weight, especially light wheels, light and not too wide tires, reduced Trail, steep head angle, and a forward-leaning rider weight balance.To me the Avona Callis 32 simply felt quick, not really possessing any of the sluggishness I had felt when riding more adventure- or XC-focused 32 bikes on gravel roads. Several pro cyclists I have discussed 32 wheels with told me that the bigger-wheeled bikes felt slower, but measured faster lap times without fail. As someone not racing, that doesnt really sound appealing to me. But riding the Callis 32, which actually feels faster to my amateur rider brain, now Im coming around to the idea that 32 wheels could appeal to the average gravel bike rider, too. Not just the gravel racer. Looks like Im going to need to spend a lot more time riding 32 bikes to keep building a larger baseline of comparison. In the meantime, this new carbon Callis 32 gravel bike seems like a solid starting point for production 32 gravel bikes.Avona Callis 32 gravel bike Pricing, options & availability(Photo Lukas Ittenbach/Avona)The new Avona Callis 32 is actually available now, making it the first production carbon gravel bike you can buy on 32 wheels as far as I know. Three complete bike specs are available, in three paint colors clear over carbon, Deep Olive green, Ultra Violet purple, or primed ready-to-paint. As well as a rolling chassis frame kit that includes frame, fork, headset, seatpost, 1-piece integrated cockpit, and a set of 32 wheels starting at 4800 for you to build up with the drivetrain of your choice.SRAM Rival specSRAM Red PM w/ Newmen upgradeComplete builds start at 5800 with SRAM Rival AXS Xplr or 6600 for Force. The SRAM Red AXS Xplr build starts at 9000 including a power meter. (A GRX 1x Di2 build will come in 2027, as well.) All feature the 45mm deep Faserwerk Kornkreis wheels on DT 240 hubs standard. But can be upgraded to stiffer 62mm deep Newmen wheels with steel (+120) or carbon (+470) spokes for a bit more. All Avona builds are semi-custom, letting you choose post offset, bar width, stem & crank length, chainring size, cassette spread, and tires to get your perfectly dialed setup. Plus, all include CeramicSpeed UFO waxed chains out of the box,Order your now to either pick it up from an Avona dealer bikeshop, or to have it shipped directly to you throughout Europe, the US, and South Africa.Avona.cc