“The things we’ll do to avoid changing bar tape once a year”: Mechanics horrified (and a little bit impressed) by cyclist whose sweat-corroded handlebar completely snapped mid-ride, but he somehow walked away uninjured + more on the live blog

Rebecca and Liam are over at Eurobike, checking out the tech worth telling you about, including BMC’s all-new lighter, “faster” Teammachine SLR 01, the 5th generation of BMC’s Teammachine which the Swiss brand says hones in on climbing ability without sacrificing stiffness or speed, and borrows aero features from the TeamMachine R 01 aero road bike. Check it out here…

 

 

 

 

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Some tough news for ultra-cyclist Robin Gemperle this morning, the organiser of the Tour Divide ruling his effort “unsuccessful” because of a reroute due to a fire. It takes nothing away from Gemperle’s incredible ride, last year’s Transcontinental winner covering 2,750 miles from Canada to the Mexican border unsupported in under 12 days.

Gemperle’s time of 11 days, 19 hours, and 14 minutes saw him become the first ever ride to complete the route in under 12 days, beating Justinas Leveika’s previous record, set last year, by just over seven hours.

However, the good people at DotWatcher contacted race organiser Matt Lee to see if his time would be verified, the doubt due to “the Trout fire reroute”.

In reply, DotWatcher got the following statement:

#1 rule of divide racing is to ride the whole route. Period. Small changes in routing aside. For this objective, Robin was unsuccessful. Not his fault at all. And that seems so cruel. Indeed the Tour Divide record is a cruel jewel! And such a fast course this year! Zero snow. The heartbreaking part is if you want ultimate speed, you’re playing with fire, so to speak.

 It is understood organiser Lee reached out to Gemperle before making the statement public, a decision the rider accepted in a “graceful” manner.

DotWatcher concluded: “Robin came out with a solid win, there is daylight between him and the chasing pack, it will be a race we remember for sure. Let’s again wish Robin a huge congratulation on an incredible race, proving that a sub-12-day is possible on the Tour Divide and if anything, many riders will be chasing this time for years to come.”

 

 

 

 

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We’re a bit late to the party on this one, Ollie White having been uploading videos on his Instagram for a few weeks now, all documenting his journey from Madrid to Glastonbury by bike. 

 

 

 

 

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> Councillor accuses “unelected” cycling lobby of “bullying and intimidation” over bike track row

Cyclists in Leicester will soon have to pay a membership charge to leave bikes in a secure parking facility at Leicester Town Hall. The charge was scrapped during the Covid pandemic, but is coming back now, users told they’ll have to pay £10 annually from 7 July.

Assistant city mayor Geoff Whittle says the facility represents “excellent” value for money at £10 a year, 83p a month, 19p a week, or 2.7p a day.

“Secure and reliable bike parking is a really important element of encouraging more people to cycle into the city centre,” he commented. “The new membership scheme will make parking quicker and easier.”

ASO/Pauline Ballet

Soudal Quick-Step and AG Insurance-Soudal have been working with Ghent University’s Internet and Data Science Lab on an “innovative” new safety tracker for riders to wear in races. It combines real-time rider positioning, incident detection, and two-way communication, marking a “significant evolution” from current GPS-based solutions.

The two teams will “play an active role” in testing the tracker in real-world racing and training environments, the hope that the device could ultimately be rolled out by race organisers. The team and researchers believe it can close “one critical gap” that remains in races, namely the lack of “real-time insight during a race”.

“The UGent tracker aims to close that gap by providing automated alerts, proximity detection, incident reporting, and instant communication between riders, teams, and race officials,” a Soudal Quick-Step spokesperson suggested.

And it’s not just safety that could be boosted, the team pointing out that its use could also help bring better race data for fans and broadcasters, clearer communication for team cars, smarter tools for commissaires, and deeper post-race analysis for teams and media.

ASO/Billy Ceusters

The project has already produced a working prototype and monitoring dashboard, developed in collaboration with a hardware partner. A large-scale survey with over 500 respondents from across the cycling community – run in partnership with Belgian Cycling and Cycling Vlaanderen – has helped shape its next development phases.

At the end of June, selected riders and staff from both Soudal Quick-Step and AG Insurance – Soudal will join a dedicated workshop to test and provide feedback on the device’s design, features, and communication capabilities.

Speaking of the project, Soudal Quick-Step and AG Insurance – Soudal CEO Jurgen Foré said: “The management of both our high-profile teams takes rider safety and wellbeing extremely seriously. We actively collaborate across the cycling ecosystem – with race organisers, federations such as the UCI and Belgian Cycling, and fellow teams – to drive meaningful progress on safety.

“At the same time, we focus on what we can do internally: from increasing rider visibility with high-visibility kit, to testing protective gear and airbags during training, and now supporting the development of UGent’s safety tracker. Our goal is clear: to help create a safer, more responsible sport and to protect the health and integrity of our riders.”

Prof. Dr. Steven Verstockt of Ghent University added: “Technology isn’t the barrier – it’s the key. The future of cycling relies on smart, integrated solutions developed hand-in-hand with riders and teams. That’s how we make the sport safer, fairer, and better for everyone. We’re especially grateful for the time and input that Soudal Quick-Step and AG Insurance-Soudal have committed to this project – it’s a vital part of turning ideas into real-world impact.”

> “You’re playing with lives!” Visma-Lease a Bike pro “hit hard” by driver during training ride

Nipping out for an early lunch spin paid off, there were some very dark clouds chasing me home. Anyway, the heat will be back with a vengence next week for most of us here in the UK. Some more pleasant weather coming our way this weekend, although things look a bit hot for my liking if you skip the forecast to the start of next week.

Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Zoe Bäckstedt doesn’t turn 21 until September but has just won her first elite British national time trial title. The Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto rider beat Olympic medallist Anna Henderson by 20 seconds on a challenging course on home roads in Wales. A certain Josh Tarling will be hoping to make it 2/2 for the Welsh riders later this afternoon.

But before that was the storming ride from Bäckstedt, a performance so impressive and at such an early stage of her career, that it makes you wonder how many of these she could have racked up in a few years’ time. It’s not like there was no competition, second-placed Henderson having won a memorable silver at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, while third-placed Pfeiffer Georgi has impressed in WorldTour TTs too.

In 27km, Bäckstedt put almost a minute and a half into Georgi, the gap to Henderson slighter at 20 seconds. Regardless, it’s a coronation, an incredibly talented 20-year-old delivering on her promise and taking the TT throne from far more experienced elders, all at an age where she’d still be able to compete in the U23 category. Most importantly it gave us a finish-line shot for the ages…

Talking of the U23s, Callum Thornley, himself a year older than Bäckstedt, took the men’s U23 TT title, beating Ben Wiggins, the son of British cycling great, Bradley. 

> Giant and Liv launch new Seek road bikes for kids (and leak a potential unreleased Microshift electronic groupset)

We get tens of press releases from across the cycling industry every day, most of the time communicating new product launches or exciting updates. The ‘pick of the bunch’ today comes from Colnago who have made the bold claim… that both of Pogačar’s bikes for the Tour are really good.

It apparently warranted a 1,300-word email, which can essentially be shorted into a single sentence of one per cent of the length: Our really expensive bikes are good and Tadej Pogačar likes them.

It’s all an excuse to dig up all those aero, lightness and stiffness claims from the product launches. The Y1Rs is, of course, the new aero bike launched at the end of last year, while the V5Rs is the updated version of the old favourite that Pogačar’s ridden to victory plenty.

“On flat terrain, the Y1Rs is unquestionably faster thanks to its optimized aerodynamics,” David Herrero, UAE Team Emirates XRG Performance Manager concludes the email. “The energy savings at high and very high speeds is about 4 per cent compared to the V5Rs — an impressive figure when you consider the hours spent racing. The V5Rs, in contrast, delivers greater agility and superior control, especially on technical climbs and descents. As for comfort: on rough or irregular surfaces, the V5Rs is generally more comfortable, while the Y1Rs, with its aerodynamic focus, can be more demanding on cobblestones or uneven roads.”

So there you go, they’re both alright…

> Cyclist pelted with egg by passing car passenger in “unprovoked assault” – but gets accused of “riding in the middle of the road” on social media

Another jersey for the collection! 🇬🇧

Ethan Hayter wins the Lloyds National Road Championships Men’s TT with a time of 0:54:08.98, ahead of his road race title defence on Sunday!

🥈 Sam Watson (+28.33)
🥉 Oliver Knight (+46.15) pic.twitter.com/Yu2sOtFEPq

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) June 26, 2025

TT champ in 2021, TT champ in 2022, road race champ in 2024, and now TT champ once again in 2025. Ethan Hayter loves a national championship performance, today beating Sam Watson and Oliver Knight to the bands in Wales. 

> No plans to ban bikes from Mountain Road, insists Isle of Man government – after petition urging authorities to stop cyclists using “perilous route” attracts whopping 339 signatures

Brace yourselves. We’ve found our latest mechanical nightmare of the internet.

Reddit user ‘thebeekeeperson’ shared it in a thread which mainly appears to be a safe space for bike shop mechanics from around the world to scream into the void after yet another patience-testing day on the tools. 

In this case, it’s a public service announcement to change your bar tape regularly, especially if you’re doing a lot of home training on the turbo and sweating non-stop over your front end.

While the bike was titanium, those aluminium handlebars would be, as one user put it, “the anode to that humongous titanium cathode”. These bars snapped mid-ride, the sweaty spinner responsible fortunate to avoid crashing. He’s not the only person to have managed it, however, numerous replies in the comments nominating buddies, colleagues and customers who’d managed the dubious honour of corroding a handlebar with their own sweat.

I see a brake pad shame board, how about corroded handlebars?
byu/thebeekeeperson inJustridingalong

One mechanic commented: “I had a customer that would burn through bars every few months. He was a super heavy sweater and clearly there was something special that made it burn through aluminium. When good carbon bars came out it was a game-changer for him. Suddenly bars would last for years and we just had to replace his tape every couple of months.”

“A guy I’m buddies with who’s super sweaty had a bar collapse just like this on a ride we were on,” someone else added.

There was less sympathy from the reply that simply stated: “Put some damn gloves on.”

It’s apparently all down to the individual, one mechanic explaining they’ve over 30 years’ experience and they can get away with not changing tape regularly.

“My bars look like they did when I wrapped them when I change my tape,” they explained. “Some customers have the same experience as me, some have powdered handlebar sweat.” 

Anyway, the discussion moved on from the handlebars when someone spotted just how gigantic that headtube is, suggesting the bike shop should slap their customer… but they’d probably need a ladder. In another fun detail to the story, the original poster then explained the bike belonged to a former NBA player Andrew DeClercq, who, at 6″ 10, rode a 64cm Seven frame. 

Poor Andrew’s not the first handlebar-corroder to make the live blog…

> “This needs an exorcist, not a mechanic”: You’ll never train indoors without a towel again