“Why lower your stem when you can flip your handlebar”: Cyclists confused by ‘café racer’-style bars, but some claim it’s “probably” aero, comfortable and cool; “Tadej is our Messi”, says teammate; Blind pizza-making with Evenepoel + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tadej Pogačar and Lorena Wiebes crowned King and Queen of the Spring 2025
Who else? The Slovenian who lit up every race he participated with his never-say-die attitude and unmatched riding style (ask Geraint Thomas about it), and the Dutch rider who kicked off the season with a bang and continued to deliver and always stayed in the mix for podiums and wins — UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Tadej Pogačar and Team SD Worx-Protime’s Lorena Wiebes have been crowned the King and Queen of the Spring 2025 after finishing with the highest UCI points as we prep for the first Grand Tour of the season.
The Spring Classic Season 2025 is over
Congratulations @TamauPogi @TeamEmiratesUAE and @lorenawiebes @teamsdworx for being King and Queen of the Spring 2025https://t.co/gLVouvv7ub pic.twitter.com/HltPAIlhbC
— ProCyclingStats.com (@ProCyclingStats) May 1, 2025
“Messi makes it look easy… in cycling, Tadej is our Messi”: Juan Ayuso lauds teammate Tadej Pogačar as the “benchmark” for pros, says it’s “not normal for someone to be that good”
Juan Ayuso has been full of praise for Tadej Pogačar ahead of the Giro d’Italia, calling his teammate “the benchmark” and saying what Pogačar does on a bike is like watching Lionel Messi at his best.
Speaking to Wieler Revue, Ayuso explained: “Messi makes it look easy — and in cycling, Tadej is our Messi.” He added that friends outside of the sport sometimes ask him if it’s normal for someone to be that good. “It’s not,” Ayuso said. “He’s simply the best rider in the world and he makes it all look so effortless.”
The 22-year-old Spaniard is building his own ambitions for the future, with a Grand Tour win in his sights — but when he rattled off the riders he’s targeting, Pogačar wasn’t on the list.
“I actually see myself more as a climber. Time trials are crucial for a general classification rider, because in the mountains it’s harder to gain back one or two minutes,” he said, highlighting Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič as the key benchmarks.
Pressed on why he left Pogačar out, Ayuso laughed: “No, I’m not mentioning Pogačar. If I say I want to be better than him, it turns into a media circus. But of course, my dream is to become the best rider in the world. To be like him someday. Still, let’s be clear — I don’t see him as a rival. He’s the benchmark, the one every rider wants to reach.”
Ayuso admitted that missing his chance to support Pogačar at last year’s Tour de France after being diagnosed with Covid-19 came as a blow. “Not being able to support him in last year’s Tour de France was tough,” he said. “But our relationship is totally fine. We’ve talked about it privately, and he understood.”
He also shed a little light on the team environment at UAE Team Emirates: “It’s true we’re one of the best teams in the world, and that means I’ve got a lot of strong teammates. If you want an opportunity, you have to prove yourself. If someone else is better, then you help them. That pushes everyone to perform at a higher level. Only Tadej is the undisputed team leader. Everything is a little easier for him, haha.”
Blind pizza-making with Remco Evenepoel
Tomato sauce, cheese, sweet peppers, mushrooms and chillies — at least he avoided the pineapples… I would say this is perfectly fine by me and definitely nowhere near as bad as something Mathieu van der Poel would have come up without the blindfold…
Remco garoto propaganda da Pizza Hut belga pic.twitter.com/NLng9oKAyN
— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) May 1, 2025
Does this mean there’s a chance he could be riding the Giro? It’s time for me to take my wishful thinking somewhere else…
Audience opinion sought on a couple of divisive paintjobs… a Canyon Grail CFR inspired by WRC Subaru, and a Trek Project ONE Serpentine, for all the Slytherins
The road.cc news team seems to be divided on these two bike’s custom paintjob schemes, so the easiest way to settle this would be a poll, right?
First up is Alec Pedaler’s Canyon Grail CFR with a custom paintjob inspired by World Rally Championship team Subaru’s colour scheme. “My spirit of gravel is subi blue with fluro branding and gold wheeled Grail CFR, piloted foot out flat out over crest putting on a show, win or crash,” he wrote.
And then we have Trek’s interesting take on a snakeskin-like paintjob. “Meet Serpentine—Project One’s newest ICON paint scheme, inspired by heritage, mythology, and nature’s most misunderstood creature,” the team said.
There you go, vote and help us decide which paintjob you’re vibing with more.
Could Olav Kooij be on the move? Elite Dutch sprinter close to leaving Visma-Lease a Bike and singing multi-million deal with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
Olav Kooij looks set to swap Visma-Lease a Bike for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at the end of the season — and the deal sounds huge.
According to WielerFlits, Kooij is on the verge of agreeing to a three-year contract with the French team, with only a few final details still to be sorted. The 23-year-old will reportedly earn a multimillion salary and, crucially, be given full backing both as a lead sprinter and a classics contender.
Kooij’s start to 2025 has already underlined his value: two stage wins at the Tour of Oman, a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico, second at Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, eighth at Milan-Sanremo… and a promising Gent–Wevelgem ride alongside Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen, before crashing out and breaking his collarbone.
Visma are reportedly interested in keeping him, but could find it difficult to match the offer or the sporting freedom. Team boss Richard Plugge would have needed Kooij to continue juggling priorities, while Decathlon AG2R are handing him the sprint leadership on a plate.
At the moment, Sam Bennett is the team’s sprint option, but his contract expires this year. It’s unclear if he’ll stay — although there’s already talk he could become lead-out man for Kooij if he does extend.
Right now, Kooij would be heading into the Giro d’Italia still racing in Visma colours, tasked with leading the team’s sprint efforts in the coming weeks.
British cycling clothing brand Fat Lad At The Back set to close – despite owners saying business is “doing well”
Bernal and Arensman to lead INEOS Grenadiers at the Giro d’Italia, backed by “dynamic” eight-man squad
INEOS Grenadiers have confirmed their lineup for the 2025 Giro d’Italia, with former winner Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman set to lead a team with GC and stage-hunting ambitions.
Bernal, who lifted the Trofeo Senza Fine back in 2021, said: “The Giro holds a special place in my heart. It’s where I reached one of my greatest milestones in my career.”
After a disrupted start to 2025 with a broken collarbone in February, Bernal says his training block has gone well. “I feel strong heading to the Giro,” he added. “The team is hungry and we are going to be coming out fighting every day.”
Arensman, who finished sixth overall last year, is also eyeing another step forward. “The Giro has been a big goal for me since the winter,” he said. “I feel stronger and more consistent in races, and I’m really looking forward to racing alongside Egan and such a strong group of riders.”
The full squad heading to Albania for the Grande Partenza next Friday includes Brandon Rivera, Lucas Hamilton, Josh Tarling, Jonathan Castroviejo, Ben Turner and Kim Heiduk — a mix of climbing strength, time trial power and experienced support.
Performance Director Dr. Scott Drawer called the team a “strong blend of experience and emerging talent” and said INEOS will race “with a bit more freedom, creativity and adaptability” this year.
“Egan and Thymen give us real depth and leadership in the GC battle,” he said. “Josh [Tarling] will be targeting strong performances in the time trials, Castro will be invaluable in the high mountains and riders like Lucas, Brandon, Kim and Ben will be crucial in the key transitional stages.”
The 2025 Giro d’Italia features two individual time trials, multiple high-altitude summit finishes, and a punchy mix of transition stages — a parcours tailor-made for teams that can balance GC leadership with stage-hunting aggression. INEOS look set to try and do both.
Tour de France 2025 Grand Départ under threat from protesting steelworkers, warns France’s second largest trade union
The Grand Départ of the 2025 Tour de France could be facing potential disruption, with France’s second-largest trade union, the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail), threatening to block the event unless urgent talks over the future of the country’s steel industry take place.
The race is scheduled to begin in Lille on 5 July, but local newspaper La Voix du Nord reported that the CGT is planning major protests in response to job cuts announced by steel company ArcelorMittal. The firm revealed plans last week to cut 600 jobs at sites across northern France, including Dunkirk, which is set to host the finish of stage three.
The announcement has already triggered significant unrest. On Thursday, around 1,500 steelworkers demonstrated in Dunkirk against the proposed layoffs.
Jean-Paul Delescaut, general secretary of the CGT for the Nord department, warned that if the government did not enter discussions regarding the nationalisation of the steel industry before 7 July, the Tour’s third stage could be prevented from taking place.
“If we don’t sit down before July 7 to discuss the nationalisation of the steel industry, there will be no yellow jersey in Dunkirk,” Delescaut said. “I respect the Tour de France and the people who love it, but this is an economic and social emergency. Metal affects everyone. Including cycling.”
Delescaut added that the scale of disruption being planned could be significant, highlighting the logistical challenges authorities would face in trying to secure the route.
“Unless the Ministers of the Interior and Justice are capable of putting a CRS [riot police] officer every 20 metres, there are 178 kilometres of route between Valenciennes and Dunkirk. If we put 1,000 to 2,000 comrades, that’s one comrade every 100 metres. They will have to bring back all the CRS companies from France so that the third stage can take place.”
> UCI Cycling World Championships road race stopped as protester reportedly “cements hand to road”
The Tour de France has a long history of protests, with farmers, workers, and activists having blocked stages in previous editions. The most notable recent example came in 2022, when climate activists from Dernière Rénovation staged a roadblock during two stages.
On stage 13, EF Education-EasyPost’s Alberto Bettiol was stopped in his tracks by a group of protesters who sat tied to each other across the road, blocking the race’s path, while setting off flares.
The protest, which forced the stage to be paused for over ten minutes, with the group saying: “Non-violent disruption is our last chance to be heard and avoid the worst consequences of global warming.”
And at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland, the men’s road race was brought to a standstill for nearly an hour after environmental activists blocked the route between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Protesters halted the race eighty kilometres into the course, with one reportedly cementing their hand to the road surface to delay police removal.
The group This Is Rigged claimed responsibility for the action. Police Scotland confirmed five arrests, while images showed the complexity of the situation, with authorities taking over half an hour to clear the protesters.
The protest, which criticised team sponsor Ineos for its links to fossil fuel production, underlined how high-profile cycling events can become flashpoints for broader political and environmental movements.
“We had to push nearly 400 watts to reach him”: Jonas Vingegaard gives young amateurs the ride of a lifetime during Pyrenees training camp (and sways them from Tadej to Jonas fanclub)
Not every day do you push 400 watts up the Col du Soulor — and end up riding alongside a two-time Tour de France winner.
That’s exactly what happened to 19-year-old Paul Capelle and his two friends, who were out training in the Pyrenees when they spotted a Team Visma-Lease a Bike vehicle pulled over halfway up the climb. Grischa Niermann, one of the team’s directors, leaned out and gave them a heads-up: Jonas Vingegaard was just two minutes up the road, riding at an easy pace.
“We had to push nearly 400 watts to reach him,” Capelle told TV2 afterwards. “When we caught up, I told him it was amazing to see him and asked — if it wasn’t a problem — whether we could ride with him. He said yes, and we ended up doing nearly his entire training ride together.”
The group followed Vingegaard from the Soulor across to Hautacam, where the Dane was doing a quiet recon session ahead of this summer’s Tour. For the French teenagers, it quickly turned into something far more special than a training ride.
“He was genuinely interested in me too,” Capelle said. “He asked what I do in the sport and if I race. We talked about all kinds of things — it was really cool.”
Staying on Vingegaard’s wheel wasn’t exactly easy. “He wasn’t riding that hard, but we still had to fight to stay on his wheel,” Capelle laughed. “It was incredible. First of all, he was incredibly kind. He didn’t act like a superstar — just a normal person.”
More than just the experience of riding with one of the sport’s biggest stars, the encounter seems to have shifted a few allegiances as well. “Everyone knows the rivalry between him and Pogačar, and I used to be more of a Pogačar fan,” Capelle admitted. “But since the start of this season, and with Pogačar winning everything, I think I’ve switched over to Vingegaard.”
He added: “We feel incredibly lucky. Something like this will probably never happen again. Unless I win the lottery. For him, it was just a training ride — for us, it was unforgettable.”
road.cc Podcast: Bikehangar inventor on theft, the need for safe cycle storage, and why “there are too many cars on our streets”
Racing roundup: Jay Vine takes victory at Tour de Romandie, Martín López and Wout Poels give XDS Astana Team 1-2 finish at Tour of Türkiye, and Alison Jackson wins Gracia–Orlová stage two
UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Jay Vine produced a perfectly executed late attack to win stage 3 of the 2025 Tour de Romandie, crossing the line solo in Cossonay after a rolling 165km stage.
On a day when the breakaway was kept on a tight leash, Vine saved his effort until the final ramp, accelerating away inside the last kilometre. The Australian, who has already picked up two wins earlier this season at Coppi e Bartali, timed his move brilliantly, opening a small but decisive gap over the chasing group.
Bahrain Victorious’ Lenny Martinez and Vine’s teammate João Almeida finished two seconds behind Vine, as well as the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Alberto Bettiol. General classification leader Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) finished safely in the bunch, preserving his overall lead.
Meanwhile, at the Tour of Türikye, Martin López of XDS Astana Team claimed victory on the summit finish at Meryem Ana, marking his second professional win. López led a 1-2 finish for his team, with Wout Poels taking second place. Johannes Kulset of Uno-X Mobility completed the podium.
XDS ASTANA CAN’T STOP WINNING! 🏆
Harold Martín López takes the team’s fourth win in as many days, with team-mate Wout Poels in second at the Tour of Türkiye. pic.twitter.com/6amLuam1KR
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) May 2, 2025
“Why lower your stem when you can just flip your handlebar”: Cyclists confused by “café racer” upside-down bars on quill stem, but some claim it’s “probably” aero, comfortable… and even “cool”
I’ll be honest, we’ve seen far worse bike mods here at road.cc, but this one’s still worth looking at for a hot minute.
It would seem that the troubles here arose out of a quill stem bottoming out and the rider still not getting their desired height of the handlebars. Lo and behold, a genius innovation: flip them upside down.
The result? While it’s egregious and confusing to some, others have claimed that it looks like a “completely reasonable” adjustment to make. Some even cheekily suggested if it could make the bike more aero and comfortable.
“Don’t make fun of my drop bars, I’m aero now,” wrote one person. Now that I think about it, what’s stopping someone from throwing on a couple of bar ends and making them actual drop bars? Alright, alright, I won’t be giving out any more ideas…
Why lower your stem when you can just flip your handlebar
byu/ManonMasse inJustridingalong
Another person joked: “They’re probably way more comfortable like this,” while one level-headed Reddit user pointed out: “Stem’s as low as it goes… both the quill and the adjustment.”
Meanwhile, a few people said that this evoked the café racer bikes of the 60s, complete with the low-mounted clip-on or ‘Ace’ handlebars. “That’s what cafe racers used to do to their motorcycles. Don’t see why it wouldn’t work,” said one person.
Another person commented: “Yeah, this is unusual but not entirely unreasonable, and let’s be honest, by far not the worst thing we’ve seen on here.”
They wouldn’t be wrong, because this subreddit is a minefield of head-churning, brain-melting bike usage (read: damage); case in point being the “mummified” cassette we showcased on the blog yesterday…
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Latest Comments
@PeterF01 - not clear if your beef is with 'Taiwanese' or just 'cheap' so, just to be clear, is it ok if my "decent, quality brand" manufactures in Taiwan? Like, say, DT Swiss or Ere? Or in China, like Reynolds?
@mdavidford : ) but is Strava included in the proposed social media ban law?
@mdavidford Maybe road.cc should have an article with the actual official/legal definitions? So often they are simply assumed or are american specific e.g. 'right of way' “cycle track” means a way constituting or comprised in a highway, being a way over which the public have the following, but no other, rights of way, that is to say, a right of way on pedal cycles [F3(other than pedal cycles which are motor vehicles within the meaning of [F4the Road Traffic Act 1988]] with or without a right of way on foot;
I've never commented on a review, but in this case I need to. This light is phenomenally effective for what it is designed to do. Avoid close passes. I've cycled about 20 years through central London traffic doing 3-5K miles a year and nothing beats this in terms of almost completely eliminating close passes. Makes no sense to compare it to a normal light and for the amount of product you get, it is very cheap. I have 6-7 other rear lights incl. a Garmin radar light, but I would never compare them to this. The weight also has no relevance for most commuters. Yes I would not put it on my light aero optimised road bike. Likewise I'm not even slightly annoyed that my cargo bike would not ride well with 25mm tires. Anyway, love Road.cc. Brilliant normally.
I have this, but no longer use it as the light had a habit of falling off it's magnetic mount when going over more aggressive speed bumps
I'm not sure there is much value in recycling these Bookface comments. Most people won't cycle on an A-road if there's no protected infrastructure, so if you want people to use the route of course you have to build a cycle track.
@PeterF01 I have a pair of their cheap alloy wheels on my winter bike so they see the worst of the weather and get minimal tlc and they have been perfect for the last four winters so I would be willing to give any of their products a chance if they fitted my requirements.
Looks good, but only seems to be available from their website, and they want £5 postage, which is a bit strong.
It seems a little slow... but at 12mph you're exceeding the average traffic speed for central London, and only just slower than the average for Bristol or Edinburgh (apparently 14 / 13.6 mph, but slower at busy times of course). I presume the idea is to protect the 8-80 casual(-ish) cyclists (many on robust Dutch bikes). And that this is in an extremely densely populated capital city, full of people walking, cycling, driving, on trams... Also it's hard for current UK cyclists - for whom the norm is "ride like a car" eg. sprint between lots of long waits at junctions or traffic lights - to appreciate how the Dutch system facilitates good average speed via steady but continuous progress. That involves "network-level route planning" / "disentangling of modes" and better junction design. And indeed where there are traffic lights those make much more use of detection of approaching cyclists and variable phases. There's also the fact that cyclists rarely have to stop for *pedestrian* crossings (those are informal across most cycle paths) and sometimes can ignore motor vehicle traffic lights completely. Personally I suspect that this may be the wrong tool for what they're trying to achieve. But then again perhaps "if you have enough people doing something unfortunately you may get more than enough people doing it badly"?
I've been using a Magene C506 for the past 10 or so months and I've got to say I've been pretty impressed. Does essentially everything I could want a computer to do, never seems to glitch or error, the only thing I wish it could do (or does and I haven't figured out how to) is display a map of where you are without needing to have a preset route loaded in.For the price it's been pretty amazing, and the 606 seems to be equally ideal for the average rider.
21 thoughts on ““Why lower your stem when you can flip your handlebar”: Cyclists confused by ‘café racer’-style bars, but some claim it’s “probably” aero, comfortable and cool; “Tadej is our Messi”, says teammate; Blind pizza-making with Evenepoel + more on the live blog”
Judging by the height of the
Judging by the height of the saddle on the “café racer” somebody’s purchased or been given a bike that is too big for them and so has come up with an ingenious way of dropping the bar height without having to buy any new parts. I do think it’s quite a cool look; as the article says, wouldn’t have looked out of place at the old Ace café in the 1950s!
Given the saddle height and
Given the saddle height and the length of the top tube it must still be uncomfortable to ride. It might make sense for the particular rider to reverse the stem altogether so that it faces backwards to avoid being stretched out.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qnv5zpp3eo.amp
Yep I’m sure it was pedal bikes with limited electric assist. Did Adrian Chiles write this piece?
Meh. The BBC house style on
Meh. The BBC house style on this is irritating, but in reality I don’t think anybody reading that article is going to be picturing an EAPC doing that damage.
I don’t know, something
I don’t know, something similar happened locally a couple of winters back in some open NT owned ground where there are a couple of MTB trails & where there are a lot of bridle paths & tracks used by gravel riders (and families it should be said).The local anti MTB sentiment went off the chart for a good while. The local stick man moved on to rocks & logs & there was a noticeable uptick in interactions with a particular type of ped/dog walker (the ones that seem to be spoiling for some sort of conflict).
Just motorbikes. It is
Just motorbikes. It is somewhat irrelevant whether the engine was electric or internal combustion in terms of the damage, but it is in that the problem is that electric motorbikes can be sold without registration. It would be “nice” if this loophole were closed.
I thought you could also buy
I thought you could also buy an ICE bike (for off-road use) without registration?
quiff wrote:
It’s certainly bizarre that people are trying to restrict sale/modification of e-motorbikes whilst completely ignoring ICE motorbikes which are often unrestricted for off-road use.
Why on earth should I have to
Why on earth should I have to register my farm motorcycle when it will never be ridden on public roads?
My neighbour has a fairly presentable (from the outside, at least) Fiat estate car that hasn’t turned a wheel in five years and is used as a chicken coop; should he, I wonder, register that too?
I think your neighbour should
I think your neighbour should have made a SORN declaration on that Fiat. Legally stating that it’s kept off the public highway and won’t be going on the public highway.
Why would you think that shouldn’t also be the case for your “farm motorbike”?
mike the bike wrote:
So if you own a shotgun, why should you have to get a licence for and register it if you promise that it will never be used anywhere but on your own property? You have to get a licence and register it in case it is stolen and used illegally or you decide to break your promise, to help police to trace it and solve any crimes in which it has been used. Why doesn’t the same apply to a motorcycle? I’m sure you’ll be responsible and keep your promise that it will never be ridden on public roads but it’s perfectly clear that a substantial number of people don’t keep that promise when they buy off-road motorcycles. You won’t have to pay excise duty, it can be treated exactly the same as any other SORN vehicle, you’ll just have to fill in a quick form so that it can be traced if it is used in an illegal manner, not going to do you any harm.
That Canyon paint job would
That Canyon paint job would be fine, but the wheels look horrendous. Like something a fixie-riding hipster would own.
“Could Olav Kooij be on the
“Could Olav Kooij be on the move? Elite Dutch sprinter close to leaving Visma-Lease a Bike and singing multi-million deal with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale”
Singing!!?? Not another one of those dodgy new ride reveal videos please?
These ‘confused cyclists …
These ‘confused’ cyclists … guess they weren’t around in the 70s and 80s.
Handlebars were regularly flipped – except for Choppers.
The old hoods and bars levers used to make rotating racing [sorry, drop] bars an absolute doddle, even if they did look somewhat twattish like that.
There was a kid at my school
There was a kid at my school who had a 5-speed Raleigh Arena with flipped bars. His particular skill was to be able to pull a wheelie the length of the cricket field.
The flipped bar grips in the photo above are facing forwards which must feel weird to ride. It would only take “5 minutes” more work to remove the bars, grips, shifters and levers, swap left to right and put the whole lot back together again cafe racer style.
OK, own up. Who here did this
OK, own up. Who here did this…?
“Hundreds of cars get flat tyres after truck spills scrap metal“
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwynzw3dxego
Depest sympathies to wtjs who
Deepest sympathies to wtjs who has not only to endure Lancs Police but now has Reform running the county ! Say goodbye to traffic calming, cycle lanes and LTNs !!
But “common sense” is back
But “common sense” is back apparently and “making Britain how it used to be” (presumably MakeTheGreatBritishEmpireGreatAgain?) – so that’s (checks notes) er… none of this wokery or environmental concern and the end of the War on the Motorist.
TBH I can’t see the Reform
TBH I can’t see the Reform administration in these areas lasting a full term if they behave like their MAGA freinds in the US. They’ve no experience of public administration and their madcap policies aren’t just unworkable, in may cases they’re illegal. The most likely outcome is complete chaos and the Government putting in commissioners in to run these authorities.
The most likely outcome is
The most likely outcome is them failing to do much of anything, but blaming nasty central government for preventing them from doing things they knew full well were never in their power to deliver to start with – that kind of messaging was already being rolled out in their first responses to the results.
TBF councils have been saying
TBF councils have been saying for ages “we’re struggling to do this because central government policy” (e.g. they got responsibilities but didn’t get enough money to fulfil them all).
… but there does seem to be a populist playbook of breaking things (by design or by “accident” – but the latter probably “foreseeable”) then blaming that on obstruction by “the deep state” / “self-serving bureaucrats” / “failing mainstream parties” for not letting them go far enough.
Of course such tactics aren’t necessarily limited to the newer or smaller parties – cf. reforms of Liz Truss…