“At least try to make it less obvious”: Fans blast UAE Team Emirates’ new sponsor — a UAE-based AI startup with 37 followers; Cyclists horrified by “haunting” image of kid’s bike “vaporised” on driveway during Los Angeles wildfires + more on the live blog

UAE Team Emirates’ latest sponsor has drummed up a fair bit of chatter on social media, with fans accusing the team of “sportswashing” by having a UAE-based artificial intelligence startup with a social media account with 37 followers (at the time of writing), and apparently, just 14 when the announcement was made, onboard as a sponsor.

“14 followers, can they stop acting like this isn’t just another branch of the UAE Team? This is why budget caps will never work in cycling,” wrote Elias on Twitter, while another fan account noted: “19-follower AI business, at least TRY to make it less obvious.”

Andreas Hedensted, meanwhile, commented: “Just buy some fake followers to make it more believable.”

The company in question is called Analog AI, launched during the Davos Forum 2023 by Abu Dhabi-based Brazilian engineer Alex Kipman. It received an undisclosed amount of funding from another UAE-based AI and cloud computing giant G42 last year, with the latter also sponsoring F1 team Mercedes-AMG Petronas.

> Is Tadej Pogačar’s new contract with UAE Team Emirates the latest in a long line of cycling sportswashing, indicating the Slovenian “lacks morals”? Or is it justified for him to stay loyal to his team (and does the sport need to look inwards?)

Analog AI wrote on LinkedIn: “At Analog, we are driven by the belief that technology should amplify human potential. We’re honoured to join forces with UAE Team Emirates as their Official Technology Sponsor.

“With Analog Sports, our all-in-one platform, we’re not just managing data—we’re transforming it into insights that elevate team strategy, foster unity, and unlock untapped possibilities.

“This partnership represents a shared vision of reimagining what’s possible in cycling and beyond. The future of the sport is here — and we’re building it together.”

Analog AI is also behind the pro cycling outfit’s AI data bot ‘Ana’, which is helping them craft “artificial intelligence solutions centred around human needs, effectively narrowing the gap between potential and reality,” with insiders believing it can transform the team’s performance future and give them an edge in the “artificial intelligence arms race”.

Speaking to Velo, UAE Team Emirates’ performance co-ordinator Jeroen Swart said: “The capabilities [of AI] are crazy. That’s where we’re heading at the moment. It’s in the process of being transformative. So we have to work out how best to utilise that technology and where to get the benefits. That is a very key area that we’re working on.”

It’s all kicking off at the Dutch team, with several new and exciting info coming from the Dutch team’s camp. Besides Vingegaard confirming Vuelta a España as part of his 2025 programme, another news cycling fans can get excited about is that the ever-affable Belgian rider Victor Campenaerts, will be going to the Tour de France for the first time in yellow and black.

But despite securing a stage win last time around in the most dramatic of circumstances, this time, the 33-year-old will be playing the role of a domestique and aiming to help team leader Vingegaard win the Tour.

Victor Campenaerts wins stage 18 at 2024 Tour de France (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

However, even Campenaerts was surprised when he found out that he would be included in the Tour squad. “I actually asked them. Why me as the last man?” he asked the team, according to the Sporza.

Well, there were a number of reasons — with one of them rather amusing but also quite practical.

"One of the most important things is that I can also hold my own in hectic conditions,” he explained. “I have proven that in the classics, often in the service of De Lie. With many riders who can ride uphill, that is a bit more difficult.”

“I am also a strong rider who can ride at the front and I can also climb a mountain.”

“Another advantage is that I have the same bike size as Jonas. That can come in handy. Just look at Jan Tratnik last year. He rode a great Tour, but his most valuable contribution was without a doubt when he gave his bike to Jonas.”

I assume all of us would be frantically trying to find this live blog post when Vingegaard eventually gets a mechanical on Hautacam and Campenaerts comes out of the shadows to lend him his bike… 

A whirlwind of thrills on this continually developing story from Bournemouth, in which a flurry of general anti-cycling nonsense in the form of letters to the editor of Daily Echo has not gone unnoticed by some perky locals and cyclists.

Yesterday on the live blog, we reported one local driver submitted a rather bizarre anti-cycling plea to the paper, arguing that children, especially those with disabilities or in need of special education were at risk because Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council was “wasting millions on underused, unwanted cycle infrastructure”.

Thankfully, Susan Stockwell of Britannia Road, Poole, has taken it upon herself to set the record straight and hit back, claiming that “there is no battle between children and cyclists”, further adding a comprehensive list of reasons explaining “why spending on road safety helps children”. The pointers include:

A) Cycle lanes help keep children alive, something most parents and grandparents are quite keen on.

B) School streets, which dramatically reduce vehicle traffic at school pick up and drop off times are hugely popular all over the country and BCP schools are queuing up for them.

C) 20mph limits are overwhelmingly welcomed for streets near schools, because most people support preventing injuries to children.

D) Child obesity levels currently run at levels which not only harm the children but also contribute to BCP’s SEND [Special Education Needs and Disabilities] requirement. Driving a child to school may make them less vulnerable in a road accident, but more vulnerable to mental as well as physical health problems through lack on exercise, especially boys.

E) Developing ADHD has been closely linked to early years exposure to air pollution.

> “Children should be a greater priority than empty bike lanes”: Driver calls for “unwanted” cycling infrastructure funding to be diverted to “pot dedicated for our children’s futures” in bizarre anti-cycling plea

She concludes the letter by saying: “In countries with much higher rates of safer cycling cyclists don't have to be covered in yellow hi-viz and helmets because driving dangerously around cyclists is punished by fines and driving bans, speed limits are sensible for town driving and segregated cycle infrastructure is provided.

“There is no battle between children and cyclists. Most adults cycling today started as children and many children are cyclists. Don't threaten to steal road safety projects from children because the government hasn't funded SEND adequately.”

Whitelegg Way cycle lanes, Bournemouth (Credit - BCP Council)

Just last week, another bizarre letter in the same online publication had seen a driver furiously claiming that cyclists are conspiring to “control the roads”, calling for cycling insurance, number plates, and bike inspections, all the while asking: “What right does a cyclist have to tell anyone what to do?” (Maybe this statement alone demanded another letter in response, with the inverse question posed.)

̶2̶0̶2̶4̶ ➟ 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!

We want to create some sports history once again. 🐝

📺 Curious about our plans? Check them out now! 👉🏼 https://t.co/2bB6IidmxB pic.twitter.com/i8FcBhJx3S

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) January 14, 2025

I reckon road.cc isn’t the first place that you’d come to read about the wildfires that are unleashing unseen horrors in Greater Los Angeles, however, there’s always an intersection of climate change and the people affected by it.

While several pictures of the monstrous wildfires in Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst have been taken, perhaps a minimal and personal vignette of the horrors unfolding in the area and the wreckage left in their wake can be summed by this picture shared by Seamus Blackley on the social media platform Bluesky, writing: “My co-founder Josh Weinsch took this photo of his little daughter’s bike, which was in their driveway when they evacuated. Their neighbourhood was vaporised.”

My Co-founder Josh Weinsch took this photo of his little daughter’s bike, which was in their driveway when they evacuated. Their neighborhood was vaporized.

[image or embed]

— Seamus Blackley (@seamus.bsky.social) 12 January 2025 at 18:33

Cyclists have been left horrified at the temperatures reached by the fires to completely eviscerate a bike most probably made out of aluminium (which melts at 660C), some even describing the situation as a “21st-century Pompeii”, and comparing the image with shadow imprints left after the nuclear explosions in Hiroshima.

One person said: “Dear lord... to see the metal gone (all but the hardest bits) is just crazy. The heat must have been incredibly intense.”

Shana Bright commented: “I saw your post earlier this morning and I just can't get this image out of my head. Thank you for sharing. I hope your friend and his family are safe and supported. My friend lost her home. It's been a nightmare for all,” while Nicki Stephens wrote: “A single image conveys the insane power of wildfires, the undeniable power of climate change and the dangers of belligerent inaction.”

The 2025 road season is just one week away, and fans’ anticipation for what’s to come might just skyrocket with the confirmation that two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vinegegaard is going to ride Tour and the Vuelta a España this year. With early rumours indicating that Pogačar will also ride the Vuelta beside the Grand Boucle, fans might get a chance to see the two GC titans go toe to toe at two different Grand Tours this year.

But this also means that Vingegaard won’t be taking part in the Giro d’Italia, quashing any rumours of the Dane having a tilt at the Giro-Tour double, achieved by Pogačar last year.

> “Are the days of the pure sprinter dead?”: Cycling fans react to 2025 Vuelta a España route, with only one flat stage and four “very likely” to have bunch sprint finish

In an interview released by Visma-Lease a Bike, Vingegaard said: “In 2025, my biggest goal will of course be the Tour de France, to try to win it for the third time. Then in the spring, I will do Paris-Nice, Catalunya and then also later on the Vuelta a España.

“I’m really motivated for all of these races. I've not won Paris-Nice yet, I was there two years ago but couldn't win. But of course, I'm eager to come back and go for the victory.

“Also in Catalunya, I want to go for the victory. I’ve never done it before but I'm very happy to be there at the start line. And the Vuelta – it’s a special race, one of the biggest in the world. I’ve always been watching it on TV and I would love to win it as well.”

 

 

 

 

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Visma-Lease a Bike has also revealed the goals for its other riders, with Wout van Aert aiming for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, along with Giro and Tour stages. Meanwhile, Adam Yates will aim to be the Dutch team’s main general classification threat at the Giro d’Italia, while riding the Tour de France as a domestique. Finally, Olav Kooij’s targets include Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem, and Giro d’Italia stages.

In the women’s peloton, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will return to road racing, riding for the first time in yellow and black. The 32-year-old former world champion’s targets are Strade Bianche and Tour de France Femmes. Marianne Vos, the team’s most senior and decorated rider, meanwhile, will aim for Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, and the green jersey at the Tour de France Femmes.

At the Visma press conference, where the leitmotif seemed to be “unfinished business”, with both Wout van Aert and Vingegaard’s 2024 goals being jeopardised due to crashes at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Tour of Basque respectively, team CEO Richard Plugge added: “We want to become number 1 again for men, and We want to grow towards that position for women.”

A US-based bike shop has stepped up in efforts to assist the local Californian cycling community in “rebuilding their lives and returning to the sport they love” after the devastating impact of the wildfires that have destroyed several neighbourhoods and killed 25 people so far.

Cycle Limited said in a press release: “As a company founded on the belief that cycling brings communities together, we've witnessed the profound impact these fires have had on our extended cycling family. The loss of homes, businesses, and cherished bikes has deeply affected the California cycling community, and we're committed to playing our part in the recovery process.”

Danny Israelian, Founder of Cycle Limited, added: “The cycling community has always shown remarkable resilience and unity in challenging times. When cyclists face hardship, we ride together toward recovery.”

The bike shop is launching a comprehensive support initiative for the month of January, including a special bike donation programme on their Instagram, where they are collecting stories and gifting bikes to those most impacted by the fires, along with a $350 discount on all bike purchases and free shipping on all bikes and components for California addresses.

 

 

 

 

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