From the 26th to the 30th of June the peloton will tackle the Tour of Slovakia. The parcours of the race traditionally see attackive racing and this year's edition should be no different in that regard. Decisive for the GC will be the 30 km TTT on second day and then final stage with triple ascent t...

GC favourite has made a 'step forward' since the Giro d'Italia, he says, but expects rivals to be on 'top form'

The governing body also says that 600 blood and urine samples will be taken during the Tour, with 400 collected in the month leading up to the race, in one of the most comprehensive anti-doping programmes to date

The national championships were the great highlight of the past week in the world of cycling but besides handing out new and special jerseys; these one-day races also offer up a lot of UCI points and one team in particular took the biggest slice of cake: EF Education-EasyPost.It was Lidl-Trek who h...

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This update of the UCI Rankings from the riders includes the results of the national championships. There have only been minor changes at an individual level, and we have got 12 out of the Top13 riders all racing the Tour de France which starts this Saturday already. Tadej Pogacar continues to be in...

A look at the points competition in the Tour de France, the contenders for the green jersey and a wider preview of the sprinters.Learn to countPoints are awarded at the finish line and at one intermediate point in the stage:Flat stages (Stages 2,3,5,6,8,9,10,12,13,16) 50-30-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-7-6-5-4-3 and 2 points for the first 15 ridersHilly finish / Medium mountain stages (Stages 1,11,17,18): 30-25-22-19-17-15-13-11-9-7-6- 5-4-3-2 pointsMountain Stages + individual TT (Stages 4,7,14,15,19,20,21) : 20-17-15-13-11- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 pointsIntermediate sprints: 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 pointsAs said here before the pedant knows its not the sprinters jersey, its the points competition but the expert knows the flatter stages offer more points.The past two winners of the competition are Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen. They make for instructive case studies. Philipsen won four stages last year which delivered him 200 points and placing on further days helped him score more, his winning streak meant the jersey followed as a consequence.In 2022 Van Aert took three stage wins, one solo, one uphill sprint and a time trial and placed in some of the sprint stages, he built a commanding lead across the three weeks and was scoring on days when the pure sprinters were not.These two techniques need not be exclusive paths. The dream scenario is the jersey changing shoulders regularly with every sprint and intermediate sprint contested.This years route serves up more sprint finishes than last so it suits a pure sprinter even more than a baroudeur. Also the placing of the intermediate sprints tends to suits a pure sprinter, there are only a handful of stages where it is placed after a hard climb so the sprinters teams can hope to filter the breakaway most days and control who gets to contest the intermediate sprint.Also talking of mountain stages, the old maxim of to finish first, first finish as the Tour has tight time cuts and this is a mountainous edition with days that could see sprinters lose beaucoup time early. The commissaires can reinstate riders in exceptional circumstances but if this happens they forfeit all of the points earned so far so adieu the green jersey.Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won green last year and four stages. At first glance he doesnt look like such an easy pick for a repeat because hes been beaten in sprints recently, whether the Belgium championships or the Belgium Tour but this happened last year too. Philipsen is more than a dragster sprinter as he can handle short climbs that other sprinters cannot and hes now going to have Mathieu van der Poel as a leadout man who supplies a ferocious finish. Van der Poel could be crucial here as there days when he could have won for himself last year, like Limoges where Pedersen won, but he helped Philipsen try to win and place instead. Will this happen again? The Dutchman has an eye on Olympics just as he did the Worlds last year.Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) has the potential to win but does he have the freedom? He can win days when other sprinters cannot and even harvest points from the time trials. Yet he could be on team duty for Jonas Vingegaard if the Dane is in the mix for the overall win which ought to be the case. With the team weakened by injury and illness hes no longer a joker card but crucial in support. Plus his goal is the Olympics and just as he left the race last year to attend the birth of his child, he could have plans to leave here as well or at least back off the racing.Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) isnt a sprinter but he won a stage of the Dauphin and many other bunch sprints and hes got the versatility to win more. Hell find faster riders ahead of him here for the flat finishes and his comparative advantage comes in an uphill sprint but there are few of these, only really Stage 8 to Colombey so hell have to hustle and bustle for it in the bunch sprints and breakaways alike.Is Arnaud De Lie a sprinter? After a big crash in the Four Days of Dunkerque last year Lotto-Dstny have tried to take him away from the bunch sprints but its risk vs reward, no more tangling for points in 1.1 race but at the Tour de France? He needs a hillier, harder day and there are not many but hes sometimes so powerful he can win on the flat by brute force.Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco) is the form pick having just won the Dutch national championships but he hasnt won a top-level sprint for a while, take your pick between the 2023 UAE Tour before that the 2022 Tour de France. Team mate Michael Matthews is likely to be stage-hunting but can contribute while Luka Mezec is a solid leadoutFabio Jakobsen (DSM Firmenich-PostNL) was rivalling Jasper Philipsen for the title of best sprinter but hes a case study for the volatile hierarchy among the sprinters today. Adrift in Paris-Nice and the Giro alike but comes with a strong leadout with Bram Welten and Nils Eekhoff which shows the team are backing him.Not long ago Fernando Gavira (Movistar) was hot property among the sprinters, now hes making a name for himself by launching early and averaging 1-2 wins a season so a win at the Tour would be a big turn around. Movistar are points hunting but UCI ranking points, not the green ones and 8th on a stage is 40 points.Mark Cavendish (Astana) was the points winner in 2021 but all he wants is one more win to surpass Eddy Merckx as the rider with the most Tour stage win, Project 35. Of course if he gets into a winning streak then green follows but the central question here is whether he can get that first win. To achieve this he may sit out some intermediate sprints in order to boost his chances at the finish. Can he win a stage? Yes it is possible but the debate is whether it is probable. There six goes at a sprint finish where needs to find a way past the names cited already. The team are all in and have recruited sprint whisperer Michael Mrkv to boost the chances.Another sprinter who finds age just a number is Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) although hes not won a World Tour sprint since 2020 when he took the opening stage of the Tour in Nice and works as a valuable leader for the team. Sren Wrenskjold is a great leadout rider who can win sprints but not quite at this level, likewise Jonas Abrahamsen.Intermarch-Wanty are struggling this season. Once upstarts whod try longshot breakaway moves, theyve sharpened their focus with the likes of Biniam Girmay but hes an infrequent winner who hasnt show the same form of the 2022 Giro when he was outsmarting Van der Poel. He can win bunch sprints and so can team mate Gerben Thijssen so itll be interesting to see how they ride although weve seen the team before happy to have multiple riders in the mix rather than back one.Once a green jersey winner, Sam Bennett is back to winning ways with Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale but he and the team would surely sign today for a stage win, as we saw recently its one thing to storm to wins in Dunkerque, another in the Dauphin. Likewise Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) who has been through some introspection lately about his career and goals and seems to have come out with more wins but how to land a stage here, it would probably be his crowning triumph, topping his recent Suisse stage win. Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-Easypost) is another versatile sprinter who can win on hard days but risks being swamped by faster sprinters as his team dont bring a big train in support. Arnaud Dmare (Arka-Samsic) was losing speed at Groupama-FDJ before his transfer last summer and his best result is a fifth place this year after illness spoilt his spring. Likewise for Pascal Ackermann (IPT) who has moved teams but hasnt won for a year now both are not easy picks for a stage win but will hope for an opening.As for Tadej Pogaar (UAE)? Hes good, but surely not that good? He was fourth in the points competition last year so he can be up there if no one sprinter wins multiple stages but the system is tilted to the sprinters so hed have to have a superb Tour just to be in the mix. Well get more into his chances soonThe post The Green Jersey Contenders first appeared on The Inner Ring.

CyclistBy cyclists, for cyclists: How Laka is redefining insuranceInsurance is sometimes seen as a dirty word, one more associated with the outgoings involved than with the benefits it is supposedto bring. Laka is trying to break that cycle. The specialist cycling insurance providers prides itself on being a team of cyclists first and insurers second, and tries to promote the freedom that good insurance can bring especially for cyclists.Founded in 2017, Lakas collective-driven approach quickly set the company apart from the crowd, with cyclists bills covering the collectives previous months claims, meaning customers money goes directly to getting other people back on their bikes. As a company it is proud to be building a cycling community and building rider confidence. And its still evolving.Laka has just launched some key updates to its insurance product to help make it even more worthwhile for the collective.We really want to make sure that we are fairer than ever, explains Lakas head of commercial, Grace Pyne (pictured). Gone are the days of people saying, Im just paying for the racing snakes, and paying for bad behaviour is a thing of the past too. All of our customers will be contributing fairly to the pool based on the risks that they bring.The new setup consists of several tiers. First theres theft-only coverage, then theres Laka Complete, which is theft and damage protection, and then theres a racing and travel add-on. And Laka has kept its terms flexible. You can get the right cover when you need it with a 30-day minimum term, so if youre only racing or travelling for a short time you wont need to pay for it all year long.Lucy RoweWe iterate and adapt to riders needs and styles, says Grace. For example, when it comes to Europe, travel cover will likely be included in the standard product unless youre getting on an aeroplane. Theres an understanding that if you live in the Netherlands, for example, goingto Belgium is technically international travel, but youre not getting on a plane, so the risk is reduced.Grace says Lakas mission is to keep people moving and riding, whether its racing or just on the school run, and the companys mottos Live. Love. Laka and Shit happens reflect that emphasis on being stress-free, not worrying as much about crashing or bikes getting stolen or damaged in transit. We want to create this idea of cycling freedom, she explains.Community peopleGrace understands the benefits of that cycling freedom more than most. Shes an avid cyclist herself, and holds a role within the cycling community beyond Laka as a mentor for Uplift is a new mentoring program designed to pair experienced female leaders in the cycling industry with emerging talent, providing access to insight, guidance, and advice.My dad used to drag me and my sister out around the countryside as a child. I had no idea then what cycling would bring me, but Ive ridden pretty consistently since I was five or six, Grace says. I also owe a lot to Herne Hill Velodrome in London for building my confidence and getting me into track riding.Lucy RoweAnd whats her relationship with the bike now? I was out on a road bike this morning, then I took my child to nursery on a cargo bike. Im going for a gravel ride after work, then Ill pick my child back up on the cargo bike. I just see being out in the countryside as really nice, and I enjoy exploring with friends or colleagues. I make sure to take my team out on a bike ride at least once a month, and if I know someones having a hard time, lets go and get on a bike. I have a road bike, a gravel bike and a cargo bike, and I can definitely see a mountain bike in my future.Grace was also an early Laka customer before she joined the team and so she understands first hand the security that having insurance brings.Im really small, so actually just finding a bike I find comfortable and easy to ride isnt the easiest thing. So I dont have a commuter, I just ride whatever bike I feel like riding, lock it up and dont worry about it. My experience navigating the city would be really different if I didnt have Laka.Cycling is quite emotive. None of us can pretend we dont care about our bikes. No, theyre not a child, or a pet, but theyre probably third in line. Thankfully I know Laka has our back. We have a huge industry network so we can source bikes and find stock to replace bikes quickly, even when local stock levels are low.Thats why Laka does what it does, and why it continues to evolve: to adapt to the needs of the collective and to make cycling easier, safer and less stressful. At a time where anti-cyclist rhetoric is an unfortunate reality, and the cost of living crisis is ever-present, to be able to cycle freely, knowing that Laka is right behind you if your bike is damaged or stolen, has never felt more possible. Find out more about LakaThe post By cyclists, for cyclists: How Laka is redefining insurance appeared first on Cyclist.