XDS Astana have announced the signing ofGreek champion Nikiforos Arvanitou in an under-the-radar signing. The 23-year-old officially joins the team after initially coming on board as a trainee in August. Making an impact during his initial signing, he's been rewarded with a two-year deal. A three-t...

Paul Seixas has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months as cycling's hottest prospect is set to confirm his future. With the 20-year-old's contract with Decathlon CMA CGM keeping him with the team until the end of next season, several teams including UAE and Visma have circled. Afte...

The transfer market has already offered some blockbuster moves, surprising twists and intriguing signings ahead of the 2027 season. However, despite perhaps most of the business already being done ahead of the new year, there are some surprising riders still without a confirmed contract. Of course,...

Last week, Bosch eBike Systems announced the next generation of its Active Line Plus drive unit. In its nine-year lifespan, the Active Line Plus has proven to be a popular mid-drive motor for commuter, lifestyle, and recreational electric bicycles. Now, Bosch has managed to reduce its volume, drop over a pound of weight, and make it slightly more powerful at the same time.While the updated Active Line Plus drive unit is the headliner of Boschs new products for fall 2026, theyve also got a few other bits to mention. These include a new Intuvia 200 display, LED Controller, PowerTube 720 battery, and expanded tracking functionality of the ConnectModule. Lets check it all out.Active Line PlusThe previous Active Line Plus drive unit came out in 2017 and has remained mostly unchanged since then. Now its getting a fairly significant update to bring it up to speed and refine its performance. Its still a Class 1, pedal-assist-only motor that tops out at 20 mph, but its slightly more powerful than its predecessor. The new drive unit adds 10 Nm of torque, so riders now have access to up to 60 Nm of torque, 600W peak power, and 340% support for navigating city streets or crushing your daily commute.Bosch says it was able to reduce the overall volume of the Active Line Plus drive unit by 17% and shed ~1.1 pounds of weight compared to its predecessor. They say the new two-stage gearbox allows for this more compact and lighter just 6 pounds form factor. Ultimately, the smaller, lighter motor should integrate more discreetly into bike designs and result in lighter bikes, which should theoretically be easier to handle, too.The brand also tells us that the new drive unit uses an optimized sealing and bearing concept, which should enhance reliability in adverse weather conditions. Additionally, Bosch says that around 40% of the motor housing is recycled aluminum, which reduces CO2 compared to conventional aluminum, and theyve used recycled materials for the plastic parts, too.Bosch also states that the Active Line Plus has improved response behavior to deliver power in a smooth and controlled manner at all times. Its sensors and software respond to every pedal stroke with smooth, natural support that makes riders feel strong and confident. The assist modes are customizable to dial it in to your needs, and the Active Line Plus is also compatible with eShift for automatic electric gear shifting.Specs and FeaturesUp to 60 Nm of torque.600 watts of power.Up to 340% support to ensure agile acceleration allowing riders to master all routes with confidence and ease.Weighs about 6 pounds, about 1 pound lighter than the previous generation.17% smaller volume, thanks to a new two-stage gearbox.About 40% recycled aluminum in the housing; recycled materials also used in plastic components.Customizable riding modes tailored to each riders personal needs.Compatible with eShift electric gear shifting. If desired, the system automatically takes over the gear shifting operation and always ensures the best gear ratio ideal for dynamic city traffic or off-pavement adventures.Compatible with eBikes that have a backpedal brake.Optimized sealing and bearing concept for reliability in all weather.Recycled aluminum in the housing cuts almost half of the CO2 emissions compared with conventional aluminum.Intuvia 200 DisplayBosch also has a new Intuiva 200 display that shows ride information at a glance, with customizable data fields. It mounts in a central location on the handlebar for easy visibility, with a separate control unit. The 2.4-inch display is in a streamlined package thats meant to integrate cleanly with modern bikes.Specs and Features2.4-inch grayscale display.Brightness adjusts automatically up to 1,000 units, adapts to changing conditions.High contrast, deep black values, and strong viewing-angle stability.One-piece housing, permanently mounted on the handlebars.LED ControllerThis new all-in-one control unit is the successor to the LED Remote. According to Bosch, it sets new standards in ergonomics and design, creating an uncluttered, minimalist look on the handlebars.Specs and FeaturesAbout 65% smaller than the LED Remote.Five buttons with tactile and audible feedback.USB-C port with up to 10 watts of charging power.All key functions can be operated safely with the thumb.LED indicators adapt to ambient light and clearly show riding mode and battery level.External devices can be charged on the go.ConnectModuleBosch says they are expanding the function of the ConnectModule to include precise tracking using Bluetooth Low Energy technology (BLE). This forms the basis for digital theft protection in the smart system.Specs and FeaturesLocates a stolen eBike to within a few yards.Combines GPS, cellular and motion sensors.Stays connected through the eBike Flow app wherever the eBike or its owner is.Finds eBikes where GPS alone struggles, such as basements or backyards.Triggers an alarm and sends a notification when a parked eBike detects suspicious activity.The tracking function in conjunction with the ConnectModule is part of the optional Flow+ subscription service.PowerTube 720Bosch is also expanding its battery options with the addition of the new PowerTube 720.Specs and FeaturesWeighs only 8.6 pounds.Energy density of about 185 Wh/kg (84 Wh/lb).Range of up to 115 miles, depending on mode and conditions.Compact, short construction for deeper frame integration.Installed horizontally or vertically; permanently or removable, depending on the manufacturer.Lower center of gravity for more stable handling and better balance, even with heavy saddlebags.Flexible in combination with the Bosch smart system due to it having the same length and mount, making it interchangeable with the PowerTube 800, PowerTube 600, PowerTube 540 and PowerTube 360 (provided the eBike manufacturer has designed the frame for this).Compatible with the PowerMore 250 Range Extender for even more range.Protected with the Battery Lock digital function, meaning the battery will deactivate if stolen, making it useless to thieves.AvailabilityBoschs new Active Line Plus drive unit makes its debut in North America on the latest version of the Trek Marlin+ eBike. You can check that out on the Trek Bikes website. Otherwise, were sure it will make its way onto numerous other electric bike models in the coming months and years. trekbikes.comBosch-ebike.com

CyclistPro Log: Movistar confirm lucrative signing of Paula Blasi; 2027 Tour de France routes revealed; Jolanda Neff signs for WorldTour teamWelcome back to another edition ofPro Log. Heres a rundown of the latest results before we get started:Vuelta a Guatemala, Stage 3, Sun 25th October:1st Wilson Chonay, Hino-One-La Red Suzuki, 4h 19min 59sec; 2nd Alejandro Granados Bonilla, Team Colono Bikestation Klbi, +00sec; 3rd Freddy Toc, ECA Electricidad Ciclismo, +00sec.Vuelta a Guatemala, Stage 2, Sat 24th October:1st Cristian Rico, Nu Colombia, 5h 06min 33sec; 2nd Alejandro Granados Bonilla, Team Colono Bikestation Klbi, +07sec; 3rd Logan Unger, Momen Racing-Aquaroni-Quici, +43sec.Elite Women Individual Time-Trial, Italian National Championships, Sat 24th October: 1st Elisa Longo Borghini, UAE Team LIMAD; 2nd Alessia Vigilia, Uno-X Mobility, +54sec; 3rd Letizia Borghesi, AG Insurance Soudal, +1min 03sec.U23 Men Individual Time-Trial, Italian National Championships, Sat 24th October: 1st Nicolas Milesi, Netcompany Ineos Racing Academy, 20min 53sec; 2nd Davide Basso, Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli, +1min 12sec; 3rd Davide Frigo, Netcompany Ineos Racing Academy, +1min 19sec.U23 Women Individual Time-Trial, Italian National Championships, Sat 24th October: 1st Giada Silo, UAE Development 25min 13sec; 2nd Livielle Ongarato, Horizons Cycling Club Team 1971, +1min 41sec; 3rd N/APaula Blasis Movistar signing officially confirmedA.S.O./Gatan FlammeThe rumour mill has been churning for months surrounding the future of Paula Blasi, arguably the breakout star of the 2026 season and certainly one of the hottest prospects in womens cycling and it has finally been confirmed that she will be making the move from UAE Team LImad to Movistar on a three-year deal. The 23-year-old is leaving before the end of her contract with UAE, the team with whom she started her career just last year, but after winning Amstel Gold Race and La Vuelta Femenina the relationship with the team had seemingly fractured, being sidelined for a domestique role at the Tour de France despite her form.Having only started racing seriously from 2024 shell no doubt continue to grow, and at Movistar she can learn from Marlen Reusser and embrace the Spanish team environment.Mens Tour de France 2027 packs in the time-triallingThe 2027 Tour de France routes were announced last week, with the mens starting in Edinburgh on 2nd July and culminating on 25th July on the Champs-lyses. But while the race traverses the Jura mountains, Alps, Massif Central, Pyrenees, including decisive ascents of the Grand Colombier and Col du Portet, the focus for the next edition seems to be away from the mountains.One of the biggest talking points is the number of time-trial kilometres with total of 71km, the most since 2012, with 38km and 33km individual TTs brought in to try to tip the scales away from another Tadej Pogaar domination. Organisers will be hoping World ITT Champion and this years Tour runner-up Remco Evenepoel can bring the fight to Pogaar, with only three summit finishes and the action spread out to keep things as close as possible until the final week. Can the Belgian take another step in his climbing to truly challenge for the yellow jersey?Another discussion has been around the incredible lacklustre Stage 20. So often a playground for the high mountains and delivering one final blow to shake up the GC, the penultimate stage for the 2027 race will be flat. Probably to make up for the fact that the final stage in Paris will one again focus on Montmartre, with three ascents on the run to the Champs-lyses.Read more: Tour de France 2027 full route revealed with 71km of time-trials and 3 summit finishesRead more: Winners and losers of the 2027 Tour de France routeRead more: Advantage, Evenepoel? The Tour de France 2027 route attempts to stop the inevitableTour de France Femmes 2027 to finish atop Puy de DmeThe Tour de France Femmes 2027 will kick off on 30th July in Leeds, heading to Manchester and Sheffield before a debut for the team time-trial at this incarnation of the race, with a central London course hopefully drawing the crowds before the race returns to France.There are no Alps or Pyrenees on the menu next year, instead the races mountain tests will be in the Massif Central range, with a summit finish on La Loge des Gardes on Stage 7, an undulating Stage 8, and a final day showdown on the legendary Puy de Dme on 7th August. The route is described as bringing a Classic every day and like the mens parcours seems to be prioritising the hills over mountains.That final stage, which will also be 2027s route for Ltape du Tour de France Femmes, packs in over 3,800m of climbing and finishes on the volcano, which has hosted some of the mens Tours most famous moments, though its last inclusion had no fans allowed on the roadside lets hope that isnt the case this time around.Read more: Tour de France Femmes 2027 full route revealed with Puy de Dme set to host explosive finaleElisa Longo Borghini wins eighth Italian ITT ChampionshipA.S.O./Jennifer LindiniDo not adjust your sets. The Italian mens elite time-trial took place in June and was won by Filippo Ganna, however the elite women, U23 and junior events were postponed and relocated, and now we have a womens championUAE Team LImads Elisa Longo Borghini won her eighth Italian ITT Championship. First victorious in 2014, the 34-year-old powered through the 19.7km course, averaging 50.839 kmh for a time of 23min 15sec, 54 seconds ahead of Uno-X Mobilitys Alessia Vigilia, with AG Insurance-Soudal rider Letizia Borghesi completing the podium.Latest transfersSince last week there have been a few more notable transfers in the WorldTour alongside Blasi. The headline moves include Michael Valgren going from EF Education-EasyPost to Netcompany Ineos, former Ineos man Ivan Sosa going from Equipo Kern Pharma to EF, and similarly Netcompany Ineos Racing Academy rider Nicolas Milesi has also signed for EFs pro team. Netcompany are also losing Laurens De Plus, who is going to Decathlon CMA CGM alongside Pavel Sivakov from UAE and Ben OConnor from Jayco AlUla.On the womens side, EF Education-Oatly have signed Bodine Vollering yes, Demis sister from VolkerWessels as well as South African talent Lisa Bone; AG Insurance-Soudal have signed British rider Noemie Thomson from DAS-Hutchinson; and former MTB XCO World and Olympic Champion Jolanda Neff has signed a deal with Fenix-Premier Tech to add another multi-discipline star to the setup.The post Pro Log: Movistar confirm lucrative signing of Paula Blasi; 2027 Tour de France routes revealed; Jolanda Neff signs for WorldTour team appeared first on Cyclist.

CyclistWhat if every rider had a digital clone? The next frontier of scouting, training, racing and recovery using dataIn an ideal world youd have embedded sensors tracking processes in your blood. To really understand a cyclist, a human, to see how they are responding to training, feeding and recovery, you need continuous markers. Were not there yet, but the technology is emerging. Thats Scott Drawer, performance director of Netcompany Ineos. Hes talking about digital twins, which could be the future of cycling. As youll discover in this article, the advent of artificial intelligence and omics could transform what it means to be a world-class riderWhat is a digital twin?IBM describes a digital twin as a dynamic, virtual replica of a physical object, system or process that stays connected to its real-world counterpart through two-way data flows. The idea is that you use real-world data to simulate, monitor and predict how the real-world counterpart behaves via a virtual twin clone.For instance, in healthcare, theres surgical rehearsal where a surgeon can virtually cut a piece of heart tissue or place a catheter to treat an irregular heartbeat. The digital twin instantly simulates how the hearts electrical paths will reroute, showing whether the procedure will cure the arrhythmia or cause a new problem.Then theres drug response testing. If a patient needs a medication that carries a minor risk of a cardiac side-effect, the clinician can apply the drugs chemical profile to the patients digital twin. The twin simulates how the patients specific ion channels will react, flagging whether the drug is safe or likely to trigger a heart attack.Healthcare is driving this to keep people out of hospital, but what has this to do with cycling? Well, sceptics might suggest that history shows therapeutic advancements (eg, the blood booster erythropoietin to treat anaemia) are inevitably rebooted as performance-boosters. But no, this is a legitimate transfer of technology that could cover all areas of performance cycling.Identifying the next FroomeA.S.O/Thomas MaheuxI dropped Drawer a line off the back of a press release from Swansea University earlier this year that announced a collaboration with the Ineos team towards the development of digital twins for efficient talent identification in professional cycling.Its a small project involving one PhD student whos great with data and loves cycling, Drawer says. Theres so much information available publicly these days. People post rides on Strava and results are easier to find. Even at a basic level useful signals are available online. The Swansea project is about developing tools that can gather and analyse that public information to help identify outliers and promising opportunities, although Id call it a lite digital twin.Drawer says that young talent has become increasingly important in professional cycling and, though they were late to the development programme, a team wont survive without that clear pathway from juniors to seniors.Theres huge competition to identify riders with the greatest potential, he says. Of course, scouts and agents have their place and will continue to do so its through them that we discovered Benjamn Noval three years ago. But refining that process is key to progress.In 2025, the team signed Noval Junior at just 16 with the now 18-year-old set to race for the senior team in 2027. In September, Noval won both the junior road race and time-trial at the UCI World Championships in Montreal.The signs are promising that Noval will have an impact at WorldTour level, although Drawer caveats that the relationship between junior joy and senior success is low. A digital twin might reduce the guesswork. As will the teams headline sponsors.The truth-seekersNetcompany IneosBy far the biggest impact for us in this space is our partnership with Netcompany, says Drawer. The technological scale and capability that we can access is unique in this sport and other sports. Netcompany describes itself as the orchestrator, and Id say thats right.Core to the Danishs companys success is Pulse. This is its real-time, AI-driven platform that consolidates massive streams of data from fragmented ecosystems into a single, operational interface.Netcompany made its name in the aviation industry, where the Pulse platform is branded Airhart. It serves as the digital backbone for Heathrow, Munich and Copenhagen airports to orchestrate flights, baggage and passenger tracking.Imagine a flight is delayed by a headwind, says Drawer. The gate it was due to use is occupied, and a large group of passengers is building up in one part of the terminal. That chain of events affects ground staff, catering and passenger communications. Netcompanys software helps coordinate all those moving parts so the airport can operate efficiently.Cycling is drowning in data. You have instrumented cranks, heart rate monitors, head units But in the technological revolution, collecting data is the easy bit. Its making sense of it for positive interventions thats the tricky part. And that covers all areas of a professional team.Look at how much software has evolved and is impacting cycling, says Drawer. A sports director uses VeloViewer, while being fed video images of the race and a live feed from ProCyclingStats. Its a blizzard of information, a blizzard of data, and youre trying to make sense of it all for practical decisions. Its the same with coaches, nutritionists, doctors, aerodynamicists But just because you can measure something doesnt mean it has value. You must organise your data and information for points of truth. Thats what Netcompany is brilliant at and I think well start to see the benefits of our collaboration next season. Ultimately, before you even think about a digital twin, you must have quality data and deep insights.Painting a complete pictureThats also where the likes of Irish outfit Orreco come in. Founded by Dr Brian Moore in 2010, the company uses their proprietary AI and years of sport-science knowledge to accelerate recovery, optimise performance and prolong an athletes career.In the 90s, before launching Orreco, we started with a stopwatch, a lactate sensor, a Polar chest strap and a pencil, says Moore. Now, were using Bayesian inference models, agentic AI, biomarkers and computer vision to track athlete readiness, recovery and injury prevention.Orreco worked with Drawer and the Netcompany Ineos team at altitude camps, and monitored rider response at Grand Tours. It has also collaborated with Newcastle United football team for years, plus the NBAs Dallas Mavericks and the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers.We also worked with Dr Pete Cunningham and the cyclors onboard Team Ineos Brittania in the Americas Cup, says Moore. Those boys were pushing some monstrous numbers as they were providing all the power for the manoeuvres and rigging. They were effectively cycling in a carbon-fibre furnace with tremendous thermal stress given the position in the boat. It was impressive.Orrecos five modules provide a view of athlete health. Biomarkers uses bloodwork to assess stress, inflammation, recovery and readiness, helping staff decide when training changes or assessment may be needed. Medical Notes centralises medical and physiotherapy records, case notes and athlete status, supporting rehabilitation tracking and return-to-play decisions.Then you have Recovery Lab, which combines GPS workload, wellness, sleep, wearable data, biomarkers and testing to personalise recovery. Motion Signal uses computer vision to detect movement changes that may indicate overload and inform conditioning or rehabilitation. Finally, theres Analytics and Reporting, which brings performance data into dashboards to monitor trends, compare athletes and guide coaching and medical decisions.When it comes to the bloodwork, all of this starts with a sample via the vein or a finger-prick. We can then, for instance, track each rider against their own baseline over time, says Moore. If a riders oxidative stress is climbing while their antioxidant levels are dropping, they flag it to the coach. The insights from the biomarkers might mean swapping a planned interval session for an easy spin and focusing on sleep and nutrition for 48 hours.Moore says they worked with one cyclist whose power files looked strong, but their blood showed sharp cellular stress and rising inflammation.They advised the coach to drop a planned three-day hard block and focus on recovery. A few days later, other riders in the training group on that same hard block came down with upper respiratory tract infections, while this athlete stayed healthy and wasback hitting peak numbers the following week.As for digital twins, the thought excites Moore, who highlights that theres already some advanced work on digital twins around aerodynamics and bike fit. But our focus is about the biological digital twin, which is about modelling how the riders body will virtually respond to an intervention, he says. We already work with omics data, like metabolomics, and were using frontier models to help simulate state changes. That level of detail all makes the digital twin more realistic. The goal is simple: if a rider does X on stage 14, what will their recovery state look like the next morning? That allows teams to plan tactics around real physiology rather than guessing.You might have heard of metabolomics. This branch of omics was thrust into the cycling medias consciousness when then UAE Team Emirates head of performance Iigo San Milln (now at Athletic Bilbao FC) revealed hed measured hundreds of thousands of metabolites in Tadej Pogaars blood. The results led to San Millan concluding that elite riders like the Slovenian possess a metabolic signature, a unique phenotype, that means they can absorb huge volumes of training.In the case of Pogaar, specific biomarkers revealed how he not only recovered rapidly between stages but also between surges, explaining his ability to go and go again when climbing. With this metabolomic work, we can see how interventions and personalised intensities of exercise and durations can help a rider, San Milln said.Metabolic interventionsA.S.O./Charly LopezRuben Robberechts is a researcher in exercise physiology at Hasselt University in Limburg. He has led his own metabolomic research that revealed the metabolic response to excessive endurance exercise by studying seven riders at the 2023 Tour de France. That excessiveness comprised 3,404km and 56,482m of climbing, resulting in a total work output of around 75,500kJ.(Note: Robberechts doesnt reveal which team he shadowed but one of the co-authors, Koen Pelgrim, is a trainer at Soudal Quick-Step, so we speculate that the septet profiled included two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe, while the eighth starter, Fabio Jakobsen, withdrew on Stage 12 due to a lingering shoulder injury from Stage 4.)One of the major findings of the study explicitly linked serum L-carnitine status and fatigue, Robberechts says. L-carnitine is a naturally occurring substance made mainly by your liver and kidneys. It helps the body transport fat into cells mitochondria, where it can be used to produce energy. Given our observation, L-carnitine supplementation may be a potent strategy to attenuate fatigue during the Tour de France.Robberechts also revealed significant depletion of numerous amino acids, including cysteine. Cysteine helps to buffer or neutralise excess reactive oxygen species, which you produce in spades when exercising hard. Its why recovery shakes could include elevated levels of cysteine for multi-stage races, he says.Robberechts findings also bridged two spheres: the clinical and the sporting. During the pandemic, it became clear that when a person contracted Covid, levels of the peptide GDF-15 (Growth Differentiation Factor-15) spiked, making it one of the most reliable laboratory indicators for how severe the disease would become.GDF-15 release is a stress reaction, which is why Robberechts monitored its levels during the 2023 study as well as an earlier one in 2019: We noted its rise is a useful biomarker to gauge when overreaching might tip over into overtraining.Interestingly his earlier research also revealed that ketone supplementation blunted the GDF-15 response in the third week of the Tour. As high levels suppress appetite, the riders consumed more calories, which historically drop during the latter stages due to the intense training and fuelling regime. That doesnt signal the green light for recreational riders to whip out their credit cards for a ketone bump, of course, as these GDF-15 levels only remain significantly high after days and days and etc, of hard riding.It does, however, highlight that such detailed biological insight can actually lead to practical interventions: And I feel this is just the start, Robberechts says. We used the dried spot technique for blood collection, which is almost imperceptible, requires just a droplet or two of blood, and doesnt require fridge storage. All reasons why its now used in anti-doping circles.Rise of the biotech bikersMade of Genes is another AI-powered biomedical intelligence company from Spain, who either take a swab or blood sample that contributes to a digital twin that combines what never changes, such as genetics, with what shifts every day: internal biology, training and racing load, heart-rate variability, sleep, nutrition, travel and schedule, says the companys founder Laura Isus.Made of Genes has worked with Spanish UCI ProTeam Equipo Kern Pharma and extensively with Barcelonas womens football team. Earlier this year, both outfits, plus the University of Bonn, announced theyd developed an AI framework to anticipate injuries in elite womens football. Analysing four seasons of data from 34 players, it identifies cumulative fatigue and workload as key risk factors, helping medical and coaching staff personalise rest and improve player availability.Our models are tested retrospectively and then prospectively by making predictions before they happen and checking them against real outcomes and against decisions the staff would have made without the model, Isus explains. In elite football, our injury watchlist flagged more than 70% of non-contact injuries ahead of time, giving medical staff a window to act before injury happened.According to their statistics, they prevented 22.7% of injuries, meaning 20 days greater availability per player per season, which in economic terms saved the club 1.2 million per season.Revived DNA offers a similar service to Made of Genes, which works across most sports and many teams but, in the interests of NDAs, cant say who. Its metric dashboard sucks in genetic, blood and wearables data to generate a dashboard that channels the results into performance, recovery and career longevity.Key to the companys progress is, says founder Mark Notton, understanding the biological pathway: For instance, if you have a blood test and it shows that youre deficient in vitamin C, you might be prescribed more vitamin C. But the bodys not that simple and it could be a different pathway thats causing the problem, which might require a different solution. The body isnt a single root, its a massive tree with multiple different pathways.Another example is an athlete who enjoyed an ice bath after exercise, but when we sequenced his genetics we noticed that he naturally had a hard time dilating his blood vessels. That meant by hitting an ice bath, which constricted his vessels further, it impaired recovery and adaptation. He wanted to bulk up, so the team changed the ice bath to hot-water immersion. That helped with the dilation, he adapted better and piled on four pounds of muscle.Then there was the rugby player with 80 caps to his name who, genetically, was the fastest recoverer wed ever mapped. He said the results matched his experience, as hed hit training the day after a match and could be ready to play full-on again. He recovered so swiftly his teammates said he had Wolverine blood. Its results like this that make the thought of a digital twin exciting.Monitored 24/7But, in Drawers eyes, were not there yet: In an ideal world, youd have embedded sensors tracking the immune system, cardiovascular system, metabolic system Riders have blood taken every quarter or maybe every eight weeks, but these are just snapshots and you dont really know whats happened in between. Constant signals would mean the digital twin would be incredibly accurate and useful.Drawer concedes it sounds a little Big Brother, but is it far-fetched? Maybe ten years ago, but riders already use continuous glucose monitors so that Rubicon has already been crossed. Signals from your body would go up to the cloud where your digital twin is sucking in all those signals to tell you to put in a big effort or ease off, he says.Drawer also says the field of digital twins has potential to sprout from the individual to teams. He directs me to Alex Pentlands book Social Physics, where office workers wore proximity sensors. The field is called sociometry. The sensors monitored how many times and for how long individuals interacted, be it a chat over the printer or while sipping coffee. They showed the quality of connections among a group was a powerful predictor of a teams performance, not necessarily in sport but in other domains, but it reflects that were social creatures.When youre racing, you ride as a team, so cohesion and connection is vital. Its human evolution. Its how we survived as clans and tribes. That psychosocial connection plays out in physiology. If you bond with someone, believe in someone, youll really want to fight for them. That rider would then give that little bit more because theyre more connected to the group. What happens above the neck is untapped. Achieve that with a digital twin and who knows how fast the peloton will ride.Ultimately, the future of pro cycling is less about collecting more data and more about understanding what it all means. From Orrecos AI-powered biomarker analysis to the emerging concept of biological digital twins, technology is bringing teams closer to understanding how riders respond to training, racing and recovery. The goal is not simply to predict when a rider will perform, tire or get injured, but to understand why and what can be done about it. Yet the perfect digital replica remains some way off.Until continuous biological monitoring becomes a reality, snapshots of bloodwork, wearable data and performance metrics can only tell part of the story. The challenge is turning those fragments into meaningful decisions without losing sight of the human being behind the numbers.Get that balance right and digital twins could transform talent identification, recovery and race strategy, potentially changing not just how fast cyclists ride, but how long they can sustain their careers. As Drawer suggests, the next frontier may be understanding not only the individual rider, but also the connections that make a team greater than the sum of its parts.The post What if every rider had a digital clone? The next frontier of scouting, training, racing and recovery using data appeared first on Cyclist.

He said he thought it was tarmacked. He got quite animated and agitated, a former councillor said following the motorists parking mishap

Lidl-Trek will enter 2027 with one of the strongest and most ambitious rosters in its recent history. Juan Ayuso, Felix Gall and Mattias Skjelmose will join a host of other top names, while Mads Pedersen, Jonathan Milan and Filippo Ganna lead the teams ambitions in the Classics, sprints and time tr...

Comment & Analysis / Long read: Dramatic videos shared on social media show two-wheelers zooming by on cycle paths behind bus stops, but when I visit these bus stops, the reality can more often feel as edgy as watching paint dry. How can the contrast be so large?What Im talking about here is where the layout includes a footpath, a cycle path, a bus stop platform area, and then the carriageway. These are sometimes named bus stop bypasses or island bus stop, traffic engineering terms that make the designs sound like a big deal. Some older versions (see first image below) included a level surface with paint or markings, while newer versions generally include kerbs and the cycle path at a different level to the footpath or bus stop platform:IMAGE: An old cycle lane painted at footpath level with red surface treatment.IMAGE: A new cycle path with a raised crossing and zebra on it between the footpath and bus platform.As part of my job looking at cycling infrastructure and how it works, Ive stood around and watched how bus stops and cycle paths work together in Dublin, the Netherlands, and London. Recently, controversy has focused on cycle paths at bus stops in London, with social media posts and articles about them. So when I was travelling through the city in September, I took some time out to look at bus stops, as well as cycle routes more generally.One bus stop that featured heavily in highly edited videos posted mainly by a small UK-based vision impairment advocacy group that spends a lot of time advocating banning cycle paths at bus stops is Blackfriars. In this YouTube clip, I give an overview of whats happening at the location:From watching the videos posted on social media, I thought the bus passengers crossing the cycle path were, in fact, not bus passengers, and visiting the area quickly proved that.Before going on, a lot of the issues shown in the advocacy groups videos, and a very high percentage of the few issues I witnessed, were also not cyclists on bicycles but riders on illegal mopeds/motorcycles (aka bicycle-shaped objects). The point is that not everything is as simple as it seems in videos presented with limited context or understanding of whats going on. But what do I mean by saying the people crossing werent bus passengers? In the times I observed the bus stop platform, most people were crossing it and then crossing the road away from any road crossing. This is perfectly legal in the UK even near a crossing; thats not the issue here.To be clear: While some people were getting off buses and then crossing the road directly from the bus stop platform, most were not near a bus at all. IMAGE: A man crossing from the bus stop platform to the other side of the road.IMAGE: Four people crossing the cycle path away from the zebra crossing after having crossed the road.IMAGE: A person crossing from the bus platform to the pedestrian crossing island. IMAGE: Two men crossing from the bus platform to the pedestrian crossing island. IMAGE: A bus passenger with a walking cane stepping off the bus stop platform behind the bus and crossing the road.The above photos are just examples; I spotted many more.In the image below, the blue arrow superimposed on this image shows the formal crossing point but a good chunk of the people pictured here are crossing largely unaided by the street layout, but helped by the traffic lights (they are on a green man crossing sequence of the main road):People were crossing the road using the bus stop platform at different points along it, including at the northern end away from the crossing:Disabled bus passengers whose destination is across the road but who cannot cross away from the formal crossing currently have to cross the cycle path twice (light blue line). Following international best practice on bus stops and cycle paths by integrating the road crossing and platform, they would not have to cross the cycle path (following the green line in the image below) as the bus platform and traffic island crossing point are joined together or linked. Note: The signalised crossing of the side road (marked with a red traffic light in the image above) is signalised for people exiting into the main carriageway, but there are no traffic lights for visually impaired pedestrians to let them know, for example, a truck is exiting:Pedestrians can also be seen following an unplanned desire line on sections of the Clontarf to City Centre route. The photo below of Amiens Street at the Five Lamps shows bus passengers walking down the cycle path and parking buffer rather than crossing the cycle path twice. Theres a hype focus on bus stops when wider design choices force the most vulnerable road users onto longer routes with more potential conflict points. Meanwhile, back at Blackfriars, theres quite a lot going on for people cycling too south of the bus stop zebra crossing (marked in the below image with a red circle with a pedestrian in it) is quickly followed by three signlised crossings, with the first stop line 20 metres from the zebra.If this layout were for motorists, there would be shouts of blue murder. Of course, the designers were trying to fit everything into an imperfect world with a lot of competing interests, but a zebra crossing this close to traffic lights seems problematic to me. Im not the only one whos been looking at bus stops in the City of London recently. Mark Philpotts, a sustainable mobility design specialist, has a LinkedIn post about cycle paths and bus stops titled Its more complicated than that its worth reading that in full over on LinkedIn.He makes a number of points in the video, including that in the UK pedestrians are expected to put a foot out onto a cycle path or carriageway before getting priority at a zebra (after a law change in recent years, thats not the case in Ireland, where waiting at a zebra gives you priority). Taking this alone into account casts the dramatic videos in a new light.Philpotts also points out that there are layers of social and political issues at play, including:Despite floating bus stops actually being present in the UK for decades, the newer slew of cycling infrastructure projects that started to be delivered over a decade ago (many in London) brought them closer to peoples attention and I would say in part, that was driven by some of the media and certainly some politicians railing against the shift in street space towards what was often seen as an out-group The Cyclists and its an easy bandwagon to joinThe above is the same in Ireland, where not only were main cycle paths built in some areas to go around the back of bus stops, often cycle routes went through bus stops in what effectively were shared areas (see example below), but there was very little about cycle paths and bus stops mentioned in Ireland until it became a cultural issue in the UK and was imported here (although at a lower level). IMAGES: Examples of older Dublin designs where the cycle route went through the bus stop via a shared area or just painted cycle tracks at footpath level.Philpotts also questions the use and placement of zebra crossings at bus stops: The zebra crossing regulates the interactions between the users as I explain above, but the position in the photo and in currently guidance is that the crossing is aligned where the loading doors of the bus will be (rear doors in London) so wheelchair users and others can use the ramp deployed from the bus, rather than any objective thought about the best place (although at some stops there is more than one crossing point identified).Elsewhere online last week, Edward Tissiman, an active travel campaigner, posted a photo of a bus stop in Edinburgh, a design I wouldnt be comfortable advocating. But in a Bluesky post he said:Between 2021 and 2025, around 2 million cyclists passed the floating bus stops on Leith Street, Edinburgh, and around 5 million bus passengers boarded or alighted here. No injuries have been recorded. Over the same period, drivers injured around 600 Edinburgh pedestrians, killing 16.An understandable response might be that some people are not getting injured here as they are avoiding the bus stop because of its cycle path or design.But while I think the issue of avoidance should be looked at, I also have to ask: is it possible that active travel infrastructure has the opposite effect that more vulnerable users start to get around by foot/bike/wheeling/bus rather than driving or being driven?Do active travel projects help enable the most vulnerable road users to move around more safely? A large number of pedestrian crossings have been added where ones were desperately needed because of active travel projects or crossing funding from the active travel budget. Tissiman also pointed to another Bluesky thread he posted earlier this year. He admitted, Too many cyclists show discourtesy to pedestrians at Leith Walk bus stops, but added, Lets not pretend they pose an extraordinary danger drivers injured 240 Edinburgh pedestrians and cyclists in 2024 alone. He said: There is a lot of chat about the danger posed by the introduction of cycle lanes and floating bus stops on Leith Walk from 2021 onward and posted this list of pedestrian casualties on Leith Walk, by year:2015: 152016: 132017: 92018: 102019: 12 (including two fatalities)2020: 32021: 02022: 22023: 02024: 2Since 2015, Ive visited the Netherlands for study tours at least twice a year (more some year and 2020 skipped due to Covid).One of the most surprising things I keep observing (and its not just me) is that there are more white cane users in the Netherlands walking around independently. I mean, Id see 3-4+ in a day in Utrecht, while I might at most only see one in Dublin in the same time. Now, that might be an error in observation, or a case of needing white canes more, or that its just more culturally ingrained to use them; for example, its in traffic law that white canes with red strips are effectively stop signs for all other road users regardless of who normally has priority.And thats one of the weird aspects of the complaints about the combination of cycle paths and bus stops most of the complaints seem to be from people who are non-locals or not regular users of the bus stops. I believe in the right of advocacy groups to fight for their members, but Id just expect more complaints at this point from people who are users of these bus stops.On the other hand, if you Google the name of the guy who posted the Bluesky message, youll find where he was run over while walking to work at a spot where motorists kept making an illegal left turn after the turn was banned. So, hes not coming at this with data just from an abstract position.There are issues with looking at the data he provided or anecdotes like mine or his in isolation, but probably just as bad or worse are highly edited videos from a group that has a weird focus on bus stops and cycle paths.I also think a core issue even if we say, yes, there are both user and design issues is that we need to be careful about looking at some of the busiest locations for cycling in London and then saying we will have the same problems in Dublin or even in suburban Limerick or Castlebar or wherever.But to try to appease some disability advocacy group, the design approach being taken at a national level in Ireland seem to be to treat all contexts the same, to overcomplicate the design and to include elements of pedestrian-hostile infrastructure to try to break pedestrian desire lines.Theres some welcome change in therecently updated Cycle Design Manual, including the guidance on tactile strips from the boundary line to the crossing and from the crossing to the boarding point. But overall the approach seems like it will be counterproductive. As mentioned many times on this website, the narrowing (which is, according to UK experts, associated with more conflicts) and exaggerated bends approaching and following the bus stops will likely create more problems than they solve, especially for the most vulnerable users of cycle paths. The lads speeding along on fat bikes wont mind.The example designs of which there are a few (see the manual) do not show common layouts including bus stop platforms in line with parking and loading.There seem to be all sorts of weird consequences to trying to suit just some disabilities with little or no concern for cycle path users, who can include disabled cyclists, disabled users of cycle paths on a range of mobility devices, elderly cyclists, children on their own or being carried by their parents, etc.Some of the examples of weird designs include road designers trying to fit bends where they dont make any sense (see photo below) Sadly, disabled cycle path users likely need to get together and have their say about designs that will likely end up hurting cycle path users with little or no gain for bus users. They are not currently having their voice heard