“I thought the Tour of Germany would’ve been my final race”: Geraint Thomas braves eight-hour Ryanair delay due to faulty plane and storm, to make it to Tour of Britain start line with just five hours of sleep + more on the live blog

Chris Froome’s Instagram account has carried a new update on his recovery from last week’s training crash, accompanied by a family photo. Although it appears the caption was written on his behalf — most likely by his wife Michelle Cound — it is the latest communication from the four-time Tour de France winner’s account since the crash.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Chris Froome (@chrisfroome)

“Chris is deeply grateful for all the kind messages of support. He’s still in hospital and focusing on his recovery, so he isn’t able to respond personally for the time being (sorry also to all those that are messaging him on WhatsApp too). Your thoughts and encouragement mean the world to him,” the caption read, with the image noted as being from earlier in the summer.

The 39-year-old remains hospitalised after a heavy fall on a training ride in southern France last week, suffering multiple injuries that required immediate treatment. His team have since then confirmed that he is stable and continuing to recover.

We’ve seen some odd challenges in our time, but this one might take the gâteau. British fitness coach Tom Trotter thought he’d have an easy time of it riding 100km around the Mont Blanc massif, racing ultrarunner and filmmaker James Norbury, who was “just” running 30km straight over the top, crossing from France into Italy.

On paper, it looks simple: bike beats legs. But in reality, the bike came with one small flaw — border control. Trotter, a little too cocky, forgot his passport and had to detour, while Norbury just kept grinding uphill, head down, ticking off the altitude like a metronome.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by TOM TROTTER | ONLINE COACH💻 (@tomtrotter_)

Spoilers for the results: By the time Trotter was pedalling into the Italian town, fuelled by the smell of pizza, Norbury was already across the border and into the restaurant…

Arguably the greatest Welsh cyclist of all time, set to ride his final race and come home to a fervent crowd in Cardiff on the last stage — on a bike this beautiful?! Now that’s what you call finishing in style…

A final race deserves something special 💫

Check out this stunning @Pinarello_com DOGMA F, designed for @GeraintThomas86 at the #TourOfBritain 🔴🟢 pic.twitter.com/1JCoSXwrvP

— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) September 2, 2025

> Teenager stabbed and threatened with plastic handgun during bike robbery attempt on canal towpath

Dutch rider Ide Schelling has revealed he will hang up his WorldTour wheels at just 27, announcing on the De Grote Plaat podcast that this October’s Tour of Holland will be his final race.

“I’m here to announce that I’m retiring as a WorldTour rider. And that I’m no longer as in love with the world and life as I once was,” he said. “For me, this is a very normal and logical decision.”

Schelling admitted the sport had simply become too much to keep up with. “A lot has changed in the peloton since I turned pro in 2020. The overall level has increased so much that sometimes I feel like I can’t compete anymore,” he explained, adding bluntly: “I don’t have a particularly big engine… but you need such a big engine these days to compete in a final. It’s a fast race all the way, from start to finish.”

A tough Vuelta a España last year, where he finished second-to-last overall despite riding “fantastic performances for my standards,” proved to be a turning point. “Then it became clear to me. I didn’t want to do this for the next five to ten years.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ide Schelling (@ideschelling)

The XDS-Astana rider also spoke about the toll the lifestyle takes. “When you have to dedicate so much time to your sport, it’s almost impossible to combine it with a life outside of it,” he said. “I love a lot of things besides cycling. If you only have a few weeks a year to do that, I personally think that’s not enough.”

Schelling has already set out his next chapter with his girlfriend Hannah in Campdorà, Spain, where the couple bought a 17th-century building. He says he’s keen to learn gardening, maybe even create a food forest, and balance that with occasional fixed-gear and gravel racing.

There are still career highlights to reflect on — a stage win at the Itzulia Basque Country in 2023, another in Slovenia, and that stint in the polka dots at the 2021 Tour de France. “When I turned pro, I didn’t necessarily think I would win a race or be a truly great rider,” he said. “But I wondered if I would ever go to the Tour. That happened a year later, with a starring role in the first week. It was truly very, very special.”

Before signing off, Schelling will race the Canadian WorldTour rounds in Quebec and Montreal, potentially the European Championships if selected, before taking a final bow in The Hague at the Tour of Holland in October.

It’s happened, it’s finally happened. The worst-kept secret of this silly season is finally public: Juan Ayuso and UAE Team Emirates have mutually decided to part ways. Yes, while the Vuelta is still on.

As if football’s deadline day drama wasn’t chaotic enough, cycling lobbed in its own plot twist just as Liverpool were splashing £125 million on Alexander Isak and Manchester United were pinning their relegation survival hopes on a young Belgian goalkeeper.

UAE confirmed late last night that the 22-year-old Spaniard’s long-term deal — originally running until 2028 — would be cut short at the end of 2025, citing “differences in the vision of development plans and in the alignment with the team’s sporting philosophy.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by UAE Team Emirates🇦🇪 (@uae_team_emirates)

Team boss Mauro Gianetti said: “Juan has been a valuable talent and we are grateful for what we have built together. At the same time, our sporting project has always been focused on continuity, group harmony, and building a winning team. We believe that, in the best interests of both parties, this decision is the most consistent with the values that define our organisation.”

Ayuso, meanwhile, went full Real Madrid with a Comunicado Oficial.

“After an incredible journey, my path and that of UAE Team Emirates will part ways,” he wrote, thanking the team but adding: “On a personal level, I feel it’s time to find an environment that better aligns with who I am and with my values, a place where I can continue to develop with complete confidence and peace of mind. I feel now is the time to seek new challenges and opportunities, in a place that has the same vision as I do.”

> Derek Gee says “certain issues” made his position at Israel Premier Tech “untenable” after terminating contract with team for “legitimate reasons”

The split comes just 48 hours after a telling Vuelta stage nine, where Ayuso lost more than 21 minutes and openly admitted he saw no point in helping Joāo Almeida chase Jonas Vingegaard. “I was quite tired and couldn’t help the team much,” he shrugged. Almeida, who was left to battle alone on the climb to Valdezcaray, wasn’t impressed, telling reporters that Ayuso’s lack of support had cost him.

It’s been a recurring theme. Ayuso burst onto the scene with third place at the 2022 Vuelta and fourth in 2023, but has found himself squeezed out in UAE’s talent logjam behind Tadej Pogačar, Almeida and rising star Isaac del Toro. This season alone he’s taken stages at the Giro and Vuelta, plus the overall at Tirreno-Adriatico — yet somehow looked more like an awkward extra in the Pogi show than a future team leader.

 

 

 

 

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Fans, predictably, had their knives out and their jokes ready. “Visma has a chance to do the funniest thing,” one quipped. Another sighed: “Happy for the talent to go elsewhere, but sad the drama is about to end.” And plenty zeroed in on the timing: “Announcing this on the first rest day of a Grand Tour he’s still riding is just wild.”

Others were more scathing. “They’re fed up,” one commenter wrote. “Whatever the arrangements were before the Vuelta, I think some line was crossed.” Another added: “The writing was on the wall. If this guy wasn’t going to properly sacrifice himself to pull for Pogačar, why would he do it for Almeida?”

Meanwhile, one person simply said: “He’s really the Garnacho of cycling, isn’t he?” If you didn’t get that reference, well, it’s got to do with Alejandro Garnacho reportedly forcing a move away from Manchester United to Chelsea after falling out of favour with under-fire manager Ruben Amorim.

Some saw Sunday’s stage as the breaking point. “Yesterday falling back before the climb even started was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” one user said. “Ayuso most likely didn’t even want to come to the Vuelta, as that meant another supporting role. And that’s why he’s bailing mid-GT.”

And, summing up the general mood, one fan captured what I assume everyone’s imagining: “With all this drama and staying in the team bus… would love a camera and a documentary after.”

> “Every bike could be another car making congestion worse”: Cyclists fight to save cycle lanes facing removal due to looming deadline to make temporary bollards permanent

A burst water main means that the Tour of Britain has been forced to make a diversion in its route, with the four-man breakaway acting as guinea pigs on the narrow country roads before the peloton makes their way through.

Did anyone pack their gravel wheels? 😅

A burst water main forces us into an early diversion.

Our four-man breakaway still holds a 2 minute advantage over the peloton ✌️

📺 Watch the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men LIVE on ITV4 and YouTube#ToBM | @LloydsBank pic.twitter.com/wUxC1S8qyx

— Lloyds Tour of Britain (@TourofBritain) September 2, 2025

You thought you’d seen it all… until you see a bloke pedalling around on a bike with no front tyres at all, bottle in hand, looking like it’s just another Tuesday commute.

The photo first landed on r/xbiking before being crossposted to r/JustRidingAlong, where the caption simply read: “Literally just riding along.”

Literally just riding along
byu/Natac_orb inJustridingalong

Naturally, the comments section did its thing. “One Secret Trick to Just Ride Along! Continental Hates Him!” one joked. Another deadpanned: “No tyre = No flat.” Someone else pointed out the obvious: “That’s going to void the warranty.”

Others looked at the bright side: “The suspension fork re-adds the lost compliance,” while one user channelled no-seat-riding expert Chad Tavernia with a classic: “Think about the weight savings!”

> Cycling’s newest marginal gain? “You’d be surprised how many watts disadvantage the seatpost actually is,” claims cyclist riding with no saddle

And the winning understatement? “I bet cornering is a lot of fun on that thing.”

Olav Kooij wasted no time reminding everyone who owned the Tour of Britain’s flat finishes last year. The 23-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike sprinter, who rattled off four stage wins in a row here in 2023, opened his 2025 campaign with another victory on the Suffolk coast.

Olav Kooij wins the opening stage of the Tour of Britain! 🙌

A huge effort sees the Visma-Lease a Bike rider prevail in the sprint to the line 🏁 pic.twitter.com/3MybJaPeLu

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) September 2, 2025

The opener from Woodbridge to Southwold always looked destined for a sprint, and the seaside town provided the stage for a drag race into a stiff headwind. Kooij had the benefit of a textbook Visma lead-out, but still had to claw his way past Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s Tord Gudmestad, who launched early and came within metres of spoiling the Dutchman’s party.

 

 

 

 

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The win puts him straight into the first leader’s jersey, meanwhile, for the home crowd, Ineos Grenadiers’ Sam Watson managed sixth on the day.

Yeah, I’m going to need a full documentary about this fallout of gargantuan proportions…

> “They’re trying to damage my reputation”: Juan Ayuso brands UAE Team Emirates “a dictatorship” in extraordinary interview just hours after sudden exit confirmed

Stage one of the Simac Ladies Tour in Leuven had everything — constant attacks, Ellen van Dijk lighting up her farewell race, and a late break from Pfeiffer Georgi and Margaux Vigie that almost stuck. But once the bunch regrouped, the script was inevitable.

Win number 111 🔥 Lorena Wiebes takes 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 victory on the opening stage of the Simac Ladies Tour 👏 pic.twitter.com/rLWjsOn8yY

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) September 2, 2025

European champion Lorena Wiebes launched down Bondgenotenlaan and left Elisa Balsamo and Clara Copponi trailing, bagging the first leader’s jersey with daylight to spare.

For a team that’s been mired in Ayuso drama the whole day, UAE finally got something positive to talk about. Jay Vine took his second stage of this Vuelta with a confident solo on the climb to Larra Belagua, giving the squad a much-needed breather from the headlines swirling around them.

Jay Vine conquers Stage 10 of La Vuelta a España 🚴‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/vgE9NK9jmJ

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) September 2, 2025

The Australian was part of the day’s decisive break and rode clear in the final kilometres, shaking off Movistar’s Pablo Castrillo to cross the line alone.

Behind him, Jonas Vingegaard finished with the favourites and did enough to wrest the red jersey back from Torstein Træen, who cracked and shipped more than a minute to the Dane.

 

 

 

 

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João Almeida tested the waters with late digs but couldn’t shake his rivals, while Tom Pidcock — second behind Vingegaard on Sunday — proved he’s settling into the mountains nicely with another top five on the stage.

> “A lot more serious than some broken bones”: Chris Froome hit road sign at 30mph and suffered life-threatening heart injury, his wife reveals

You’d think a Tour de France winner would glide into his farewell race on a wave of ceremony, but Geraint Thomas’ last week as a pro started the way so many club riders’ trips do: stuck in a Ryanair queue.

The Welshman posted on Instagram that his flight from Nice was delayed by eight hours, sharing a picture of passengers shuffling onto the budget airline in the middle of the night.

“Finally leaving for Stansted… only 8hrs delay. At one stage, I thought the Tour of Germany would have been my final race,” the 2018 Tour de France winner wrote.

By the time his plane finally took off around midnight, he didn’t get to bed until 2am, managing barely five hours’ sleep before lining up at the Tour of Britain start in Woodbridge. But not one to count his losses, G shrugged it off as: “It could be worse, it’s not so bad.”

“I wasn’t sure I was going to get here yesterday with the flights and stuff, but I’m happy to be here now, and I’m buzzing, looking forward to it,” he told reporters at the start line “There was a fault with the plane, and then a storm came in, so the other plane to take us couldn’t get in. There were flights being cancelled all over the place, and I thought it could be tight here, but luckily the flight finally went at around midnight, I think. I got to bed about two o’clock.”

If anyone deserves a smooth ride this week, it’s Thomas; in more ways than one, it’s a special week for him. In fact, even Ineos — who’re happy sending him off in a Ryanair flight (remember when players from Sir Jim’s other team, Manchester United, were flying in easyJet last year?) — have unveiled a gorgeous red jersey emblazoned with Y Ddraig Goch, and an equally gorgeous Pinarello for the man to ride to mark his final race. The organisers have also designed a route that ends with a grand finale in his hometown of Cardiff on Sunday.

 Geraint Thomas’ Cardiff Homecoming after winning 2018 Tour de France, by Charlie Forgham-Bailey/SWpix.com

“It’s pretty mad, the effort the team’s gone to with the bikes and the jersey, and obviously the organiser as well, having the finish in Cardiff. It’s going to be a special week, that’s for sure,” Thomas said.

“The main thing is enjoying it, making the most of it and making it something to remember. Obviously, we’ve got a strong team here and I’ll do my bit for the boys. I’m not really in the shape to win myself, but we’ve got some good guys here to perform.”

He admitted it’s been “a year of lasts” — his last Tour de France in July, his last training blocks, and now his last race week before moving into a management role with Ineos from 2026.

“It’s certainly been a year of lasts, really, now the lasts are getting a bit more significant – last training day, last pre-race ride and this and that,” Thomas said. “It’s like when you’re a kid and Christmas seems so far away. This last race seemed far away, but suddenly it’s here. But it’s the last week of racing, so I’m going to try and enjoy it.

“It feels like the right time anyway, so I’m happy it’s finishing – but it’s also going to be a strange feeling.”