“An ordinary mafia”: Fans slam “thieves” at UCI for slapping Van der Poel with £928 fine for “unauthorised feeding” in Paris-Roubaix; Mohorič fan club helped identify bottle throwing spectator; Cycling UK rebrand; Evenepoel comeback + more on the blog

While there was one instance of Richard Mille’s Paris-Roubaix ad campaign not going to plan, as the bulky watch drew blood from Pogačar’s wrist on the ruthless cobbles and quickly became the talking point, with cycling fans saying how they’re “never buying” the £250,000 watch — this one’s an easy win for the Alpecin marketing team.

 

 

 

 

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Another week, another Peter Sagan’s post-retirement shenanigans on Let’s Dance — Slovakia’s version of Strictly Come Dancing.

And while there has been enough drama around the former world champion’s dancing escapades, with fans accusing the show of “favouritism” by keeping him on and eliminating “more deserving” candidates, some might say that it’s been all worth it for yet another topless contemporary performance, after he previously went bare-chested during his Ken outing in the Barbie cha-cha-cha.

> “My dancing idol is Patrick Swayze”: Peter Sagan signs up for Strictly Slovakia – but how have other pro cyclists who swapped their bikes for the ballroom fared?

 

 

 

 

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Moreover, this time fans seemed to have on board with the decision, many claiming that this was “his performance yet” — despite the Slovak former pro scoring the least points from the judges out of all the participants — jive once again turning out to be his Achilles’ heel after the somewhat lacklustre dance to Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog a few weeks ago.

Some notes from Ryan, who might as well be the fifth judge of the show at this point: “The performance was great, a real spectacle — and he definitely bought into the character. But needs to be smoother. I suppose it resembles his riding style, brutally effective.”

Cycling UK, the UK’s leading cycling charity, has today unveiled a refreshed brand identity aimed at reinforcing its charitable mission and broadening its appeal to new audiences. The rebrand, developed in close collaboration with creative agency elvis, is designed to help the charity inspire and enable people from all backgrounds to discover the benefits and joys of cycling.

The updated visual identity, which includes a new logo mark and colour palette, represents a significant milestone for the 147-year-old organisation. The charity said that the new logo combines a cycle cog and a horizon line, symbolising what the charity calls a “new dawn” for Cycling UK, and that the warm orange tones seeks to evoke optimism and inclusivity, reflecting its evolving role in promoting cycling as a tool for healthier, greener and more connected communities.

The rebrand follows extensive engagement with Cycling UK’s members, supporters, trustees and staff. Feedback was gathered through focus groups and online surveys involving both members and non-members to ensure the new identity honours the charity’s heritage while aligning with its ambition to increase the visibility of its charitable work.

Sarah Mitchell, CEO of Cycling UK, said: “We’re thrilled to introduce our new brand, which reflects both our history and our ambitious vision for the future. For almost 150 years, Cycling UK has worked tirelessly to champion the benefits of cycling, and as we continue to evolve, this new brand will help us reach even more people. We’re about creating a world where cycling is part of everyday life for all of us, contributing to a healthier, greener and more connected society.”

The charity hopes the rebrand will help challenge outdated perceptions and showcase cycling not only as a form of transport or leisure but as a charitable cause with wide-ranging societal impact. This includes improving public health, supporting environmental goals, and fostering inclusive communities.

“Cycling UK’s new brand is designed to engage people across all walks of life and to help them see how cycling can make a real difference in their lives and communities,” Mitchell added. “We want to show how cycling can boost our economy, improve our wellbeing, support environmental sustainability, and create safer, more connected communities.”

The rebrand also supports the charity’s five-year strategy, announced last year, which aims to increase cycling participation and make cycling a mainstream choice for more people across the UK.

New Cycling UK Banner, unveiled by Vaughan Gething at the Welsh Parliament

Tanya Whitehouse, CEO at elvis, praised the collaborative process behind the rebrand “This brand refresh was a true collaboration, with every decision—whether shaping the tone, refining the visuals, or nailing the colour palette—rooted in something real. Working closely with Cycling UK, we’ve created a brand that honours the organisation’s history while setting a bold vision for what’s to come. It’s all about inspiring more people to see cycling as an easy, sustainable, and fun way to get around.”

The new tagline, “ride with us”, invites people from all walks of life to be part of the cycling movement, underscoring the charity’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility.

Cycling UK’s new brand identity will be rolled out across all of its digital platforms, printed materials, and events, with the goal of amplifying its impact and visibility within both the cycling and wider charitable sectors.

After a lengthy absence from the pro peloton, Olympic double champion Remco Evenepoel is ready to make a comeback — starting with this Friday’s Flemish classic Brabantse Pijl, and the Belgian has shed some light on his tough six months away from racing via an Instagram post.

“Finally my comeback week has arrived. After days, weeks, months of waiting and waiting, I can finally look towards my first races,” Evenepoel wrote. “The way to where I am now has been very hard and challenging. Definitely the hardest battle of my life so far. Mentally and physically, I can honestly say that I have been under the ground and really doubted a lot of my future. Loads of tears and frustration were present in our life. But, for this reason I want to show you all who really has been there for me.

“In first place (ofcourse) my lovely wife Oumi! Passing this whole dark period with me has not been easy. The way you worked hard to pass all your exams, was unseen! That combined with me being injured and mentally down, I can only say: thank you so much for everything habiba.

“Every day you came up with a lesson. You have been teaching me so much stuff, on all aspects in life! How to get through hard periods, how to stay focussed, how to be happy while it is difficult. We had and will still have loads of prayers together, which is such an incredible thing you taught me. And which is such an incredible feeling to share with you!”

“I just want to tell, that without you, I would probably have stopped my career. That is from where you helped me crawling back up. I can only say that I love you so much and thank you for who you are. You are the most beautiful person (inside and outside) in the whole universe. And I am so incredibly proud to be you husband and to be able to fight for us and our future.”

 

 

 

 

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The world time trial champion added: “I definitely have to thank my parents as well for always being there for me. And helping me with whatever it can be! Since I was a very young kid you guys have been doing everything for me, and I will for sure never forget that!”

He also continued to thank his family members and close friends, as well as the medial staff who looked after him during his rehabilitation phase.

According to his racing programme on Pro Cycling Stats, Evenepoel is scheduled to race the next Ardennes classics — Amstel Gold and La Flèche Wallonne, before competing in the oldest monument of all, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, a race he won in 2022 and 2023, and finished second in 2024.

Evenepoel will also be making a return to the Grand Tour, taking to the biggest stage of them all by going against Jonas Vingegaard and the reigning champion Tadej Pogačar at the Tour de France, with the Soudal Quick-Step rider also expected to compete in two stage races prior, the Tour de Romandie and Critérium du Dauphiné.

> Bikes stolen from Jasper Stuyven’s wife during Paris-Roubaix trip, but dismissive police say: “Welcome to Roubaix”

Cyclists passing through Haddington now have one more reason to keep rolling, thanks to a newly installed bicycle repair station outside the town’s Aubigny Sports Centre. Complete with Allen keys, spanners and screwdrivers, the repair station is designed to provide cyclists with the tools they need for on-the-go maintenance.

The installation comes alongside wider improvements to the Aubigny facility, including an upgraded gym and expanded bicycle storage. The car park outside the Mill Wynd site was also resurfaced last month, continuing the broader upgrade of the area’s active travel and leisure infrastructure.

East Lothian Council says the new repair station forms part of a county-wide push to support sustainable transport and make cycling a more accessible and practical option for residents and visitors alike.

A council spokesperson said: “During the gym extension project at the Aubigny Sports Centre, a bicycle repair station was installed along with additional cycle parking and shelters.

“We also fitted a repair station and bike racks at Yellowcraig during the recent improvement works to its toilet facilities.

“The provision of these repair stations forms part of the council’s ongoing commitment to delivering active and sustainable travel options around the county.”

A similar repair station and pump was recently installed at Yellowcraig, with the project costing around £2,600, reports East Lothian Courier.

As local authorities across the UK look to make everyday cycling easier and more appealing, these low-cost, high-impact upgrades are expected to go a long way in removing small but frustrating barriers, like a flat tyre or wobbly handlebars.

While initial reaction online swayed towards the Dutch rider and against the UCI, road.cc readers seem to have taken an alternative stance and backed the sport’s governing body in saying the fine was fair, justified and spot-on as per the rules. Here’s a roundup of all the reactions to this morning’s story:

Rendel Harris: “No particular sympathy for MvdP, he knew the rules and chose to break them and so gets the punishment. However, isn’t it time that we did away with this ridiculousness of banning feeding in the last however many kilometres (seems to be arbitrary depending upon the whims of the race organisers) and substituted it with penalties for dangerous feeding? There is no danger of any sort in someone with a lead of over a minute taking a gel from their team car, so why ban it? It has unpleasant echoes of the Vueltas of the 1930s where riders were forbidden from taking on any liquids at all, smacks more of commissaires enjoying the exercise of their authority rather than any real safety issue.

“Mind you, whilst the rules are in place it’s difficult to see why the team bosses didn’t, in between handing out the doubtless essential advice (“Keep on riding faster than the other chap if you can”), just say we are coming up to the feeding ban so just shove these gels in your pockets in case you need anything.”

quiff: “You can criticise the fine for being ineffective, but don’t see how you can criticise UCI for handing it out. The teams know the rules. Indeed, in the commentary there was a suggestion that there was a heated debate at the team car with the team mentioning the feeding rules and MVDP insisting they give him something.”

> “Careless” driver banned for a year after breaking cyclist’s leg in bike lane crash

In a surprising turn of events, Bahrain Victorious rider Matej Mohorič’s fan club has emerged at the centre of the ‘bidongate’.

The spectator responsible for throwing the water bottle at the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider who would eventually go on to win Paris-Roubaix for the third time, had travelled with the Slovenian cyclist’s fan club — a concept that’d be more familiar to fans of gravel and cyclocross than road cycling.

The yet-to-be-identified person has now handed himself over to the police — but only when the fan group, called ‘Matej Matjes’, reached out to him and threatened to report him to the police.

“Yesterday, our fan club organised a bus trip to Paris-Roubaix. There were 46 people on the bus, including both members and non-members,” the group said in a statement, adding that it did so as it’s not financially viable to organise a members-only trip.

> Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw bottle at Mathieu van der Poel hands himself in to the police

They added: “During the cycling race, a terrible incident occurred where someone threw a bottle at Mathieu Van Der Poel.

“In the footage, a few of our members can be seen clearly cheering for Van Der Poel. Our members are wearing red t-shirts and/or red and white caps — the perpetrator clearly is not. We want to be very clear: the perpetrator is NOT a member of our fan club.

“After returning home, we, as the board, investigated the incident yesterday evening. Based on the footage and fragments of witness statements, we were able to piece the puzzle together. Last night, we managed to reach out to the perpetrator via mutual contacts (as we did not have his contact details ourselves) and told him he needed to report himself to the police — otherwise, we would do it today.

“The perpetrator contacted us himself during the night, informing us that he did report himself and deeply regrets his actions. As far as we know, the perpetrator was not identifiable in any footage, so we did everything we could to identify the right person.

“We are, like everyone else, disgusted by this act and want to distance ourselves from it in every possible way. We are a fan club FOR a rider, not AGAINST any rider(s).

The group said that the person has now been informed that he is “no longer welcome at any future activities or bus trips organised by Matej Matjes”.

“Anyone who has ever encountered us knows that we are the first to stand and applaud for any rider who delivers a performance,” the group added. “Our respect for a true champion like Van Der Poel is immense.

“Beyond this, we leave it to the police and the justice system to do their job, and we do not believe it is our place to mention names here or in the press.

“We hope the perpetrator is punished appropriately and that this incident will not be associated with our fan club in the future.”

 

 

 

 

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> Halfords cycling sales grow in boost for bike industry

> “I had too much to drink”: Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw bottle at Mathieu van der Poel apologises and “will take legal responsibility”

Imagine becoming only the third cyclist ever to achieve a hat-trick of wins at Paris-Roubaix, while also dispatching the best rider of your generation in doing so, however, the UCI finds a way to rain on your parade…

Mathieu van der Poel, after soloing to his third victory in as many years over the brutal cobbles of northern France, took home more than just the hallowed block of pavé and perhaps a sore chin from the water bottle tossed at him by a ‘fan’ — he was also handed a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs (£928) for grabbing a bite from his team car within the last 14 kilometres.

> Paris-Roubaix spectator who threw bottle at Mathieu van der Poel hands himself in to the police

As the dust settled over a race for-the-ages, the UCI released its jury report, including the list of fines coming the way of riders and teams for flagrancy of cycling’s governing body’s rules, which also included a fine of 1,000 CHF for Christoph Roodhooft, team boss at Alpecin-Deceuninck, responsible for handing out the gel to his star rider in the midst of earfuls of coaching to keep him riding on, and even a fist bump before entering the velodrome, once the victory was all but secured.

“Couldn’t wait for the Haribos, Mathieu?” – UCI, probably (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Based on the social media reaction, fans are somewhat divided. Many pointed out the silly nature of the fine, with one person claiming: “What’s the point of a fine to a multi-millionaire?”

Joe, meanwhile, dryly pointed out the incident of Van der Poel getting hit with the bottle: “Is the unauthorised feeding him taking a bidon to the face?”. Another fan wrote: “Van der Poel gets another 1000 CHF fine for unauthorised heading a drink bottle.”

Others didn’t mince their words when attacking the sport’s governing body. “UCI proves again they are an ordinary mafia,” wrote one fan, while another said: “UCI are thieves thinking only about themselves. As are all sports associations.”

This is, of course, far from the first time fans have turned on the UCI for imposing fines on riders, with many still seething from the committee’s decision to fine 21-year-old Isaac del Toro for celebrating his victory at Milano-Torino with an unzipped jersey.

Speaking in his post-race interview, Van der Poel had admitted he had been struggling hard in the last 20-30 kilometres. He said: “I really suffered in the last 30 kilometres, especially because I ended up alone after Tadej’s mistake.

“Otherwise, it would have been very difficult to drop each other. Now I had to go solo from far out, and that cost a lot of energy.”

> Get to grips with the new UCI rules — changes to look out for in this year’s Tour de France

Some were sceptical whether it was this illegal feeding that kept the Dutchman going without bonking in the final kilometres. One person wrote: “Surely the penalty should be worse for MVDP. Could’ve bonked and lost the race without it?”

Another said: “So it’s authorised then. A meaningless fine. If it’s unauthorised then it should be a DQ,” while yet another joked: “I’ve seen enough. Overturn the victory and give to Pogi!”

But Alpecin-Deceuninck weren’t the only ones in the firing line — several teams joined the post-race penalty party. Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Intermarché-Wanty, and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale all picked up fines after riders were spotted going off course. No word yet on whether they were simply trying to avoid potholes or stray bidons, but either way, 200CHF per team boss: Sébastien Hinault, Aike Visbeek, and Julien Jurdie.

Tudor’s sports director Marcel Sieberg fared even worse — booted from the race entirely and fined 500CHF for mysterious infractions involving the team car. And just to cap things off, Intermarché-Wanty also got dinged another 200 francs because a staff member handed a feed improperly to a rider. If you thought the cobbles were unforgiving, try handing out a gel the wrong way.