“When Wiggle launches an 80% off sale, we can’t compete”: British cycling brand highlights knock-on effect of retailer’s demise; Bonkers crash on Paris-Roubaix cobbles; Cavendish’s Tour de France shot in disarray due to illness + more on the live blog

Ah Wiggle, even in death, your presence lingers over us.

The news of Wiggle Chain Reaction’s demise and the imminent buyout by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, first reported by road.cc, is a well-known story now. But as the beleagured retailer enters the liquidation process and prepares for one last, final clear out sale to get rid of remaining warehouse stock, Lusso, the Manchester-based cycling clothing and accessories manufacturer has spoken out about their modus operandi, and juxtaposed it with other sellers.

In a blog piece titled “Our thoughts on the WiggleCRC takeover”, Lusso CEO Jake Wright writes: “Everyone in the cycling trade seems to be talking about a certain Sports Direct owner taking over Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles, and it’s not hard to see why.”

John Harrison, who co-founded of Lusso back in 1982, also offers his insight on how Covid changed things, and why the British brand has opted to stay away from third-party retailers and middle-men, but only selling directly to customers and local bike shops.

“Listening to our customers has been the key to our success,” he says. “Lusso doesn’t just buy and sell finished goods, we batch produce from raw rolls of fabric so we can be more flexible and inclusive of what we choose to make.”

Wright then goes into detail of how their operation differs from other manufacturers and retailers. He says: “We don’t over produce and discount our stock massively to get rid of it at the end of the season. We certainly don’t artificially inflate our prices so our kit always appears to be on sale either. We batch produce our gear.

“Unlike other brands who are forced to commit to extensive stock purchases from their manufacturers, we are our own manufacturer and only make what we need. That’s why we can offer premium garments at reasonable prices. We are also looking to move some of our products onto a pre-order model, minimising waste.

“But when Wiggle launches an 80 per cent off sale we can’t compete, and buying British goes out the window. We have seen a slight drop in sales this quarter compared to last year, but speaking to other brands this seems to be normal. The Wiggle closing down sale might have something to do with it, but it would be unfair to hold it fully accountable.”

> “The assumption was Wiggle Chain Reaction wasn’t going anywhere”: Ex-employee talks “shock” at retail giant’s demise

WiggleCRC, which has so far been one of the biggest mainstays of many British cyclists, going down in flames has surely been not the most gracious thing to watch. But will its demise give us an opportunity to reshape our retailing model, grease the cogs which have been left to rust for so long, and tighten the screws that hold the industry together? Will we see Wiggle rise from the ashes, or is the future way murkier than it already looks?

Feel free to discuss in the comments…

The controversial Soudal Quick-Step team boss will be required to make a public statement apologising or pay a fine of 20,000 Swiss francs (£17,800)

> Patrick Lefevere sanctioned by UCI for "disparaging" comments "towards women"

We all know it, we all are waiting for it. Number 35. He’s back for a third time, will this time be the charm?

Unfortunately, Mark Cavendish’s hopes for the record-breaking win at Tour de France are not going as he would have hoped. Despite rip-roaring to an early win in the year at the Tour Colombia, spring hasn’t quite brought the joy for Cav yet, with fever and illness pestering the Manx missile and rendering him out of form.

Since then, he’s recorded a DNS at the UAE Tour in February, and then an OTL at Tirreno-Adriatico and a DNF at Milan-Torino this month.

#Infirmerie 🚑 / 🇬🇧 Mark Cavendish (AST), malgré une victoire en Colombie, reste sur triste lancée :

▪ 🇮🇹 Milano Torino : DNF
▪ 🇮🇹 Tirreno-Adriatico St. 5 : OTL
▪ 🇦🇪 UAE Tour St. 6 : DNS https://t.co/CLGZfWlHhk

— Renaud Breban (@RenaudB31) March 13, 2024

Now, Team Astana Qazaqstan are playing a “wait and see” game before deciding what’s next. A team representative told Velo after Milan-Torino: “At the moment we are not ready to confirm his exact programme. He had a small gastrointestinal discomfort today, but it should not be a problem for his next races.”

> “Just one more year”: Mark Cavendish to continue racing in 2024 and target Tour de France record

The 38-year-old is next slated to race Scheldeprijs — a classic he won three times at the turn of last decade — on April 4, before he tries to build his Tour de France form at the Tour of Hungary in May.

Altitude camps are likely to fall either side of the Hungarian stage-race as Cavendish and his recently reinstated trainer Vasilis Anastopoulos will aim to implement their winning framework from their four-win Tour with Deceuninck Quick-Step in 2021, the duo reunited with former leadout king Michael Mørkøv at Astana.

Remember last year’s Giro d’Italia? Rampaging rains, loose dogs, loose chains, a bout of Covid in the peloton, and obviously, those enthralling last two stages, with a penultimate-day maglia rosa-deciding time trial and a spectacular Cav sprint win through the streets of Rome on the final stage.

Mark Cavendish wins stage 21 of the 2023 Giro d’Italia (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

All this seems ages ago, but a viewing of Amazon Prime Video’s documentary throwing a spotlight on the insides of arguably the strongest team cycling has ever seen, Jumbo Visma (now Visma Lease-a-Bike; guess we can just use Visma), brings back the memories just like it was yesterday.

The second season of All-In (not very original, considering Prime has football show called All or Nothing), obviously focuses on the Grand Tour sweeping season of the Dutch team and is aptly titled The Trilogy. And to go toe-to-toe against its competitor Netflix’s own cycling show, Tour de France Unchained, the show needed some drama, whether organic or manufactured. And drama it did get at last year’s Giro.

At stage 5, with the torrential rain lashing down upon Italy, Primož Roglič, Visma’s leader for the Grand Tour, went down. And at that moment, or at least according to the show’s narrative, Remco Evenepoel and the Quick-Step team take position at the front of the peloton and start pacing everyone else, leading to some not-very kind words from Marc Reef, Visma’s sports director: “Goddamn, what a*******, ” he says (based on a very liberal translation). “Well, this is sporting. It’s not necessary at all.”

> Chaos! Rain-soaked Giro d'Italia stage five marred by crashes as Evenepoel, Cavendish, Roglič, Leknessund, Groves, all go down

And then later, when Evenepoel went down himself for a second time (the first time was, bizarrely, after a stray dog ran across the peloton), Reef comments: “This is just, really, really karma!”

Oooh, spicy stuff! I would’ve liked to hear Reef’s thoughts when Evenepoel eventually left the race, after being diagnosed with Covid.

And to add to your dismay, no, we also do not get the team conversation regarding their Vuelta a España leader, between Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič. Almost like these shows are tailored and strictly filmed and edited with the team’s consent!

Now, off to waiting for Netflix’s second season of its Tour de France documentary, so I can come back you you all and complain about why this modern trend of sort-of Americanised sports documentaries, while sometimes entertaining, are a complete farcical show and not worth anyone’s time! *throws grenade and rushes back*

More than a month after an unexpected surgery to remove a perineal cyst halted his plans for a season debut, Giulio Ciccone has resumed training once again after being given the green light by the doctors.

However, his team Lidl-Trek announced today that the Italian rider, who won the mountains classification last year at Tour de France, will have to miss the Giro d’Italia in May.

More than one month after the surgery, @giuliocicco1 is back in training 💪

His new racing calendar will be announced in April, but a first decision (with big disappointment) has been taken: no @giroditalia 😞

📰 Read the news 👇https://t.co/TqTlAWwyiU pic.twitter.com/gJjctU3Jlw

— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) March 14, 2024

The team said: “Unfortunately, reaching the ideal form in the time required to pursue the goal of the GC or, at the very least, to race the Giro as a main protagonist, does not align with the delicacy of his recovery. Considering the long period of inactivity and the need for a gradual approach to training to avoid further problems, it was decided, by mutual agreement, to shift his focus to goals further ahead in the season.”

As of now, this is the only decision that’s been taken regarding his schedule. Lidl-Trek added that if everything goes well in training, there’s a good chance that we’ll see Cicco back in action in May, with his new racing calendar expected to be revealed by April.

Taiwan-based bike brand saw pre-tax profits fall 45% in 2023, but remains "optimistic" with long-term prospects and believes e-bikes are key opportunity to "broaden global cycling population"...

> Giant predicts continued short-term "challenge" for bike industry as profits almost halved and sales down 16% last year

“I think they got off lightly, and I’m not even sure which rule of the Highway Code applies here. I have a feeling that the educational course will have little effect”, the cyclist said.

> “Arrogant” driver who reversed into cyclist on protected bike lane, before accusing him of trying to “break” his car, offered educational course