Cyclist sends internet into frenzy with makeshift bar grips… made out of socks; “I’m going to go full for GC”: Tom Pidcock declares Vuelta top 10 ambitions; Triple Everesting world record broken; Vingegaard to skip worlds… again + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Jonas Vingegaard rules out world championships in Rwanda, instead targeting Europeans after Vuelta as season finale, as former Vuelta winner Fabio Aru urges him to move beyond ‘Tour-centric’ rivalry with Pogačar
After weeks of speculation and strong indications that Vingegaard is setting the stage for his world championship debut in Rwanda and face-off with Pogačar, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider has announced that he will in fact, not be on the start line at Kigali.
Vingegaard confirmed in his pre-Vuelta press conference that, after three weeks of chasing red in Spain, he’ll close out his season with the European Championships road race in France on October 5 — where he’s likely to face Tadej Pogačar once again.
“We decided not to go to the Worlds. It doesn’t really fit into the plans,” said Vingegaard over a video call. “We have decided, though, that we want to go for the Europeans instead. Of course, you need to be really fresh and everything to go to the World Championships this year – it really requires a lot from the rider who’s participating.
“With not knowing how I’m going to come out of this Vuelta, and with how I experience it now, then we decided that it was better to not do it and then say ‘I still want to do the European Championships and that I can do that instead’, then I’ll have some time after the Vuelta to focus on that.”
That means no tilt at the time trial either, nor Il Lombardia, with the Dane’s final race of 2025 set to be the Europeans in Drôme. Pogačar will not be racing the Vuelta, choosing instead to focus on Kigali and later Lombardia, but Vingegaard admitted beating him always carries extra weight.
He added: “I mean, of course it’s always nice to race against Tadej on one hand, but also on the other hand, it’s also nice to race where he’s not sometimes. Of course, you want to win no matter if he’s there or not. But, of course, it makes it nicer to win when he’s in the race as well.
“To be honest, I had a good training period. I did almost everything I wanted. I just had a small, small setback, but that was really a really minor one, and yeah, I feel like the shape is good and I’m ready for the next three weeks of racing. I had a small, small sickness. But, as I said, it was very, very minor, and I don’t feel like it affected me.”
He also brushed off suggestions that the Vuelta brings extra stress after two consecutive Tour defeats to Pogačar. “No, to be honest, I don’t feel like there’s more pressure. Because I think if you see it, the Tour de France is the race with the most media, the most everything, where there’s actually the most pressure.
“So compared to the Tour de France and what I’ve experienced there, it doesn’t really feel like there’s more pressure. Of course, I’m one of the big favourites here, so there is some pressure, but I’m just happy to be here and to go for the win. I came here to win the Vuelta – that’s pretty clear. That’s going to be my goal, of course there can be different scenarios, but my goal and the team’s goal is to win the Vuelta. If I do that, then it will be a success.”
The two-time Tour winner will have no shortage of support: Visma bring Matteo Jorgenson and defending champion Sepp Kuss, setting up another three weeks of battle with UAE’s João Almeida and Juan Ayuso.
And in the wider peloton, there’s already been a big vote of confidence — yesterday, Alberto Contador said: “It’s clear that Vingegaard is the favourite, and for me, the clear favourite… I think that if he doesn’t win the Vuelta it would be quite surprising, but at the same time I don’t think he has anything to prove because of what he has done at the Tour de France in previous years.”
One man who thinks Vingegaard should be looking even further afield is Fabio Aru. Speaking to TuttoBiciWeb, the 2015 Vuelta champion suggested that Jonas risks being trapped in a “Tour-centric” career defined only by his rivalry with Pogačar.
“Winning the Vuelta could be a way for him to relieve some of that pressure and to break free from the Tour-centric narrative,” Aru said. “He should start targeting other goals — Liège, the Giro, for example — and let go of the constant rivalry with Pogacar.”
For now, though, the focus is squarely on Spain. Vingegaard has made his intentions clear: win the Vuelta, recover, and then take on one last showdown in France before the season finally closes.
“Make England Clean Again”: Cyclist embarks on “Lu-Crusade” — a 1,000-mile litter picking ride shaped like a giant Lucozade bottle
Forget Strava KOMs, Everesting or whatever the latest gravel challenge is — Damien Gabet has set off on something far sillier, far nobler, and possibly far stickier: a 1,000-mile litter-picking ride around the UK… in the shape of a Lucozade bottle.
“700,000 bottles are littered around the UK — every single day. That’s a quarter of a billion a year. So what are we going to do about it?” he asks in the campaign launching video on Instagram, before delivering the punchline: “How about a 1,000-mile litter-picking cycle around England in the shape of a massive Lucozade bottle.”
Lucozade, he points out, is the “most frequently found branded item on UK trails”, which is why this whole odyssey has been christened the Lu-Crusade. Twenty-two days of pedalling, “illegal wild camping and non-stop litter picking on my trash-tracking interceptor cycle,” as he puts it.
“Mad Max meets Captain Planet… I’m going to set the record for the most plastic bottles collected on a bike in 24 hours. From dustbin till dawn!” And if that wasn’t enough: “More importantly though, I’m going to raise some money for Trash Free Trails. They’re the not-for-profit pioneers who are turning rage against the unclean into positive action.”
Day One has already brought highlights. Speaking to his ‘Trash Cam’, he says: “It’s my daily diary of making plastic prey and slaying it with this f****** picker-upper,”, adding that he wasn’t even supposed to be collecting cans — “but there is so much!”
On his JustGiving page, where he’s raised £935 towards a £5,000 target, to raise money for Trash Free Trails, the charity working on education, youth programmes and research into single-use pollution. Donations unlock rewards ranging from stickers and reusable coffee cups to backpacks and, for anyone particularly brave, a ride-along at £500 or “official Lu-Crusade supporter” status at £1,000.
So there you have it. A man on a bike, a picker-upper in hand, a GPS route shaped like a fizzy drink, and a cap declaring “Make England Clean Again.” Forget the Holy Sepulchre, this is a pilgrimage armed not with sword and shield, but with a trailer and a litter picker, riding forth against the heresy of Lucozade bottles. For this knight from the Order of the Bin-Templars, the spoils might be half-crushed cans and empty energy drink bottles…
Derek Gee issues “notice of termination” to Israel-Premier Tech amidst exclusion from Vuelta squad, as Canadian tipped to move to Ineos Grenadiers
In a statement released this morning, Israel-Premier Tech have revealed they were “unexpectedly issued a notice of termination” from lawyers representing Derek Gee on Friday, August 9 — despite the Canadian having signed a five-year extension in 2023 that ties him to the squad until the end of 2028.
The ProTeam insists the contract remains valid and confirmed that it is already in talks with both Gee’s representatives and the UCI in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
“Israel-Premier Tech firmly believes that Gee’s contract is valid until 2028 and is engaged in continued discussions with Gee’s representatives and the UCI to resolve the situation and uphold the respective contract,” the statement read.
The 28-year-old Ottawa native has become one of IPT’s most marketable riders since his breakthrough rides at the 2023 Giro d’Italia and his Dauphiné stage win last year.
According to journalist Daniel Benson, Gee was left out of the team’s Vuelta a España squad, and is tipped for a move to Ineos Grenadiers. If confirmed, it would be one of the summer’s most dramatic transfers, with a long legal battle potentially looming if IPT hold their ground.
Gee’s dispute arrives at a turbulent moment for Israel-Premier Tech. Retiring veteran Jakob Fuglsang recently said it was “definitely nicer to ride without an Israel logo than with it,” reflecting on his departure after protests at major races this summer targeted the team’s presence in the peloton.
Alessandro De Marchi, also retiring at season’s end, similarly told The Observer he was “happy and relieved” not to represent the squad, calling on cycling’s governing body to “show that as a cycling world we care about human rights and international law violations.”
“We need to see real action from our governing body to position the cycling world on the right side and to show awareness of what’s going on in Gaza,” he said.
Cyclist secures settlement from Network Rail after dangerous gap at level crossing "catapulted her over the handlebars"
“He looked like a zombie at 2am”: Austrian ultra rider Max Riese conquers triple Everesting world record with 93 laps of Gaisberg — 37 hours, 26,553 metres, and almost three hours faster
Everesting once is bad enough. Twice is deranged. Triple? That takes a special kind of madness. Austrian ultra rider Max Riese has just set a new benchmark for human stubbornness, riding his home climb of Gaisberg 93 times in succession for a total of 26,553 metres of elevation, 37 hours in the saddle, and a world record almost three hours faster than the old mark.
“This isn’t about proving anything, it’s crazy, yes, but this was personal,” Riese said afterwards. Starting at 1,000 VAM in the early hours, he settled into a steady 750 VAM through the night, fending off fatigue, darkness and creeping hallucinations. “He looked like a zombie at 2am,” admitted the crew from Czech saddle brand Posedla, who were filming on site — but somehow he rallied, pushing on through the night.
By dawn reinforcements had arrived: friends joining him on the climb, pacing him back up to 1,000 VAM. Just as the record loomed into reach, the skies opened. The final three hours were a soaking, nerve-jangling descent-fest in torrential rain. Yet soaked to the bone, Riese powered through and stopped the clock 2 hours 50 minutes faster than Jakob Wagenhofer’s previous triple Everesting record.
His setup? A lightweight Cervélo climbing bike, 7mesh kit, Quoc shoes, a Coros bike computer, and the all-important custom-fit Posedla Joyseat Ultra saddle, which somehow kept him going through a day and a half of climbing. His only complaint at the end were some sore knees. I bet…
Final tally: 37 hours 37 minutes, 93 ascents, 26,553 metres. Triple Everesting has a new standard, and if anyone else is tempted to try, maybe don’t check how fresh Riese looked after his shower. It’ll only make you feel worse.
THAT speed!
Next, they’ll be admonishing the riders for treating the bike lane like it’s the Tour de France, or, *checks notes* the Renewi Tour…
“I’m going to go full for the GC”: After Giro fatigue and Tour absence, “really refreshed” Tom Pidcock is ready to “let the legs do the talking” as Brit eyes first top 10 finish at Vuelta a España
Tom Pidcock says he’s finally ready to have a proper crack at a Grand Tour general classification, and it’s happening at the Vuelta. After slogging through a brutal spring campaign and finishing 16th at the Giro d’Italia, the 26-year-old admitted he was “tired” and “not really in the best preparation” back in May.
This time? No Tour de France distractions, a quieter summer, and, in his own words, a chance to “go full” for the GC.
“I think [La Vuelta] will help me move on as a rider perhaps,” he told TNT Sports. “I’ve had a pretty nice summer. [I’ve had] not so many races, Norway most recently. So I feel really refreshed actually, a lot more refreshed than I was a year ago. Hopefully we’ll see some difference from me. I’m going to go full for the GC. We’re going to do the best in the GC as possible. Shorter climbs, so we’ll see.”
Pidcock’s summer included gold at the European Mountain Bike Championships — reclaiming his 2022 crown — and a second place overall at the Arctic Race of Norway, where he won the longest stage of the four-day event. Those might not scream Grand Tour readiness, but they do hint at the kind of sharpness and freshness he lacked in the Giro, when Simon Yates and co. put nearly 45 minutes into him.
“I was tired in the Giro to be honest. It was not really the best preparation for a Grand Tour. I hope this time it will be different,” he admitted.
Different it will be. This Vuelta is loaded with short, explosive climbs and technical finishes, the sort of terrain that might actually suit a puncheur and chaos merchant like Pidcock. The field, of course, is stacked: Jonas Vingegaard, João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, and former teammate Egan Bernal are all lining up, with Contador already anointing Vingegaard the “clear favourite.”
Stage 1 in Turin tomorrow already has him interested. “There’s another shortish climb at the finish,” he said. “I think it will already be a test, and normally I take a bit of time to enjoy the races, so we’ll see. But of course it’s another opportunity to let the legs do the talking.”
Top 10 at a Grand Tour is the declared goal. Whether his “refreshed” legs can actually carry him into the GC conversation alongside Vingegaard and Ayuso is another matter…
Ever wanted to suffer up the Angliru without leaving your living room?
Bkool reckon they’ve got you covered. Their Made in Spain: Best Routes Challenge runs alongside La Vuelta (23 August to 14 September) and lets you ride some of the race’s most iconic routes from the safety of your turbo trainer.
The company, which was acquired by the Rouvy Group last month, said: “The selection of virtual stages offers an itinerary through Spain’s great cycling temples, with routes in the Basque Country, Andorra, Catalonia and the city of Madrid. In addition, participants will face the dreaded slopes of Angliru, which have so often been decisive in the Spanish Grand Tour.
“And finally, in a clear nod to the end of La Vuelta 2026, BKOOL has included a stage in the Canary Islands, a territory often chosen by professional cyclists for their pre-season training.”
All you need is a smart trainer or smart bike, a Bkool subscription (there’s a one week free trial if you’re new), and a high tolerance for staring at a screen while pretending you’re in Asturias. Complete all the stages and you’ll unlock virtual kit for your avatar and get entered into a prize draw — mats, bottles, T-shirts, the works.
It’s billed as the “most realistic indoor cycling simulator,” which might just be true — as long you can ignore the washing machine spins in the background.
22-year-old Brit Finlay Pickering to replace Damiano Caruso at Vuelta a España as Bahrain Victorious veteran fractures hand after slipping on floor
Bahrain Victorious have been forced into a last-minute reshuffle on the eve of La Vuelta, with 37-year-old Damiano Caruso fracturing his right hand after what the team described as “accidentally slipping on the floor” on Thursday evening.
The Italian, a two-time Giro d’Italia podium finisher and one of the squad’s most experienced Grand Tour riders, will not be at the start line in Turin tomorrow.
In his place comes 22-year-old Brit Finlay Pickering, who suddenly finds himself making his Grand Tour debut. The Yorkshireman has already shown flashes of climbing pedigree, with a GC win at the 2022 Tour Alsace, the mountains classification at the 2023 Alpes Isère Tour, and this year’s KOM jersey at the Tour of the Alps.
Earlier this month he also finished 10th in the youth classification at the Vuelta a Burgos. Now he’s been handed the biggest chance of his career — a three-week Grand Tour in support of Bahrain’s GC ambitions.
Those ambitions rest largely on the shoulders of Antonio Tiberi, who at 24 is targeting the podium. “I will have the same aim as at the Giro d’Italia: to target the final podium,” the Italian said ahead of the race. “The whole team believes in me, and that gives me a lot of confidence. The course suits me better this time, with longer climbs instead of the short, steep ones of the past. If I feel good on a mountain stage, I’ll be ready to attack.”
Backing him up is one of the strongest climbing lineups in the race. Santiago Buitrago has already talked up his dream of conquering the Angliru or Bola del Mundo — “the hardest climb I’ve ever done,” he said — while Jack Haig and Torstein Træen provide proven Grand Tour support and stage-hunting options.
For Caruso, it’s a cruel twist of fate to miss the season’s final Grand Tour through something as mundane as a household slip. For Pickering, it’s a golden opportunity to learn the rhythms of a three-week race and test himself on the toughest terrain Spain has to offer.
"Just not true": Council rubbishes anti-cycle lane backlash and urges residents "not to be misled" by online claims
“Don’t try this at home”: Nils Politt’s dance with the devil in trying to help teammate remove debris from wheel
Just a day after we showcased what could go wrong if you stoop more than you should while riding a bike (hint: it’s a lot).
“I don’t want to know what’s covering the saddle then”: Cyclist sends internet into frenzy with makeshift bar grips… made out of socks
How does that Eminem song go? Palms are sweaty, grips were sticky, arms are heavy… now it’s socks on the bars already.
Yes, really. A post on r/JustRidingAlong titled “Socks for grips” has done the rounds this week after a resourceful (or possibly desperate) rider decided to slide a pair of socks over their bars instead of using tape or grips. And Reddit, naturally, had thoughts.
“‘Grips’ is generous,” wrote one user, summing up the mood. Another joked: “I don’t want to know what is covering the saddle then…” Someone else chipped in with: “I’m getting psych ward vibes.”
Some got philosophical, writing strangely heartfelt odes to beaten-up bikes: “That whip is whooped. That bicycle will end up in a landfill one day, and that’s a crime. That machine was loyal to probably a few people at this point and may be ridden by a couple more. What an incredible machine. The bikes Pogačar rode in the TdF last a couple of years, this thing is eternal.”
As for why socks? The cyclist eventually explained: “The grips were sticky and gross.” Which, fair enough, but it didn’t stop another commenter taking a swipe at the “big handlebar grip industrial complex” by praising the hack: “Great way to recycle those socks without a pair I have lying around!”
So there you have it: add “sock bar grips” to the long list of bizarre cycling hacks the internet has served up — joining recent classics like cable ties as broken spoke replacements…
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Latest Comments
@Rendel Harris - perhaps there is a gap in the market for hyadrationpak.com?
@kingleo I'm sure they may be but Lime's UK profits last year were around £4M; a standard 27-bike docking station costs around £100,000 installed and they have around 50,000 bikes in the capital. £185M would be a big ask for a £4M p.a. operation, even if you could find 1800+ suitable sites, which would be next to impossible.
@belugabob At a certain Scottish branch that shall remain nameless just in case any of Premier's brass are reading we turned up shattered with filthy bikes, when we asked the manager if there was somewhere we could clean them he said, "Ach it's just mud, it'll hoover off in the morning, up ye go!"
@Rendel Harris, I would have thought that the e-bike companies' owners are mega rich; they can afford to put lots of e-bike docks in place. The problem is that they are an outstanding business success; they are too successful, from nothing a few years ago to what we see now.
With reference to a hotel where " You can take your bike right into your room" ... Premier Inn have been doing this for years and therefore have had lots of our custom, on multi-day trips. Not once has any member of staff batted an eyelid - in fact, on one occasion we asked if they had paper towels to clean our bikes before we took them inside, and they shrugged then gave us 2 enormous fluffy white bath towels (needless to say, they weren't white for long.
I thought the 5 highlights show was alright, and for the first time there was no strange missing shows, for the tour or vuelta, which there was when it was on dmax or quest. I did cough up for the month of July, which I will do again next year, I always take off the week of my birthday so I want full day coverage on my hols.
@cmedred I can't find anything online with the name of the suspect or about her being charged - do Canadian police maybe have the same rules as the UK where only age and gender is released until a charge is preferred? Admittedly four months seems a long time between arrest and charge but there can be legitimate reasons for that.
"Last January, a discovery+ subscription to watch Eurosport’s cycling coverage, including all three Grand Tours and major races, cost £6.99." £6.99 a month, surely? The TNT price hike is bad enough as it is, there's no need to exaggerate it.
Indeed, the dim americans who control so much sports coverage just don't get that 'more' is not always 'better'. There's a limit to how many hours a day even fanatics can watch any sport yet TNT continue to spout that Eurosport at £8/mth didn't include crap like fighting, football, 'American whatever' bow provided for "only" £32 with the bonus of endless idiotic adverts. Well , Scottie, say bye bye to a few million other niche sport fans! Phew, and relax!!!sorry for the rant
@Rendel Harris Theoretically, you have to do that (take a photo and upload it to an app) with Dott and Voi as well, and probably all the operators. In practice, the operators don't have (won't pay for) enough staff to check every photo, and whatever algorithms they have to check the photos are inefficient. It's just possible Lime, uniquely, are properly checking and enforcing all photos; but I find it unlikely, from what I say of other operators and from having spoken to some of their employees.
18 thoughts on “Cyclist sends internet into frenzy with makeshift bar grips… made out of socks; “I’m going to go full for GC”: Tom Pidcock declares Vuelta top 10 ambitions; Triple Everesting world record broken; Vingegaard to skip worlds… again + more on the live blog”
Good Guy and a good ‘silly’
Good Guy and a good ‘silly’ idea. Good Luck!
Well done to Damien.
Well done to Damien.
I completed the Rebellion Way in Norfolk over 4 days last week – I was astonished each day by the amount of litter especially on the back roads. That and the sheer volume of road kill!!
Bgiz78 wrote:
You need red kites, like we have along the Chilterns. They really keep the roads clean of small dead things.
Cyclists! Save money on
Cyclists! Save money on expensive funerals by leaving yourself to the red kites, buzzards and kestrels (all much appreciated by passing motorists).
It’s Red Bull cans in Cumbria
It’s Red Bull cans in Cumbria! Regularly see 20+ on varied short rides. Best day was about 50 when I stopped counting.
Quote:
Isn’t a large part of the point of Bkool and the like that they give you something to stare at other than the wall?
A short notice for pro riders
A short notice for pro riders who are thinking of joining IPT : the State of Israel was founded in 1948. If they have a political consciousness, they have to do some reading and analysing, and may think twice before signing up a contract. Others who don’t, take the money, zip it up and enjoy the ride!
MaxiMinimalist wrote:
Short notice to you. As much as you would like to conflate it IPT is not the state of Israel. Mixing the the two is lazy and disengenous.
They are about as Israeli as Ineos are British and Lidl-Trek German. They are just another corporate entity.
But they’re no Great British
But they’re no Great British Inios, tax dodging arse, or Deutschland Lidl trek, maybe about a us postal, but not quite a middle eastern petrol state.
Except the others you
Except the others you mentioned weren’t literally set up to promote a country. This ‘ITP aren’t Israel’ argument always falls apart after even the tiniest bit of googling.
Slartibartfast wrote:
uae & bahrain on the other hand were set up to promote countries with shocking human rights records. People standing next to the road (TdF) shouting encouragement for uae. How is that good?
The list of atrocities
The list of atrocities committed by Isreal on Palestinians stretching back over 70 years is unparalleled in modern history. What Isreal is doing now in Gaza is inhumane, brutal, immoral, cruel and also illegal and criminal. And it’s not me saying that – it’s every credible international institution and human rights organistaion and government. Only Trump is openly supporting the genocide in Palestine. International media is benned from Gaza – by Isreal. Local journalists are targeted and murdered by Isreal. Isreal is trying to hide the genocide just as all previous genocidal governments have. They dehumanise the victims, lie and obfuscate to the international community and then ban free reporting and journalism. Isreal is committing a text book genocide.
Rome73 wrote:
It really, and sadly, isn’t. Apart from the unimaginable slaughter of European Jewry by the Nazis one can pick similar or worse examples from every decade of modern history, however you wish to define that. 800,000 Tutsis slaughtered by Rwandan government forces and militias in 1994, two million by the Khymer Rouge in 1970s, 200,000 in Darfur from 2003-2005…the list is tragically endless. One can vehemently oppose the actions of Israel (please can you stop the childish deliberate misspelling?) without resorting to hyperbole which undermines the legitimate and justified case against its actions.
Rome73 wrote:
sounds about right, but (depressingly)
seems quite wide of the mark. Humans sadly demonstrate this kind of behaviour all too often – it’s just that usually the world tends to ignore them. Just as a current example, it’s hard to look at what’s going on in Sudan at the moment and think that it’s any less inhumane, brutal, immoral, and cruel (as well as illegal and criminal).
You are just being anti
You are just being anti-semitic *.
* as defined as any criticism of Israel is by definition anti-semitic.
Funny how they never allow journalists in to verify any claims they make.
The war on motorists
The war on motorists continues !
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ypej14j2xo
“The reforms would allow courts imposing non-custodial terms to have the power to hand out driving and travel bans too, and order offenders to remain in specific areas.”
It’s against my human rights ! (Although I also oppose the ECHR – but not for this !)
The reforms would allow
The reforms would allow courts imposing non-custodial terms to have the power to hand out driving and travel bans too, and order offenders to remain in specific areas
The judge who commented quickly identified the flaw which makes this just another way of awarding offenders minimal penalties that don’t trouble them too much: there won’t be any enforcement of these new restrictions – if the police are too busy to bother with red light infractions, illegal phone use while driving, years without VED or MOT or insurance or all three etc. what makes anybody think that people can be stopped from driving in certain areas, or going into different pubs?!
Hirsute wrote:
This is what Piers Corbyn, Laurence Fox and Right Said Fred were trying to warn you about!