“He was able to get going again very quickly”: Shimano mechanic rubbishes Tadej Pogačar claim neutral service bike “a wheelbarrow”; A cassette made of… wood?; Pidcock back from horror crash; How fast can pro cyclists down a beer? + more on the live blog

While Shimano has been quiet on the whole Roubaix neutral service discussion, one of the service’s mechanics has taken issue with Tadej Pogačar’s post-race (probably tongue-in-cheek) remark that the bike rode like a wheelbarrow.

Now, in fairness to Shimano, it has never really been their bike. Some of the components are, naturally, Shimano’s, but the current speculation is that the neutral service ride is actually an older model Canyon Ultimate CF SLX.

With that said, one of the neutral service team’s mechanics couldn’t stand by while the best rider in the world, possibly in cycling history, made some disparaging remarks about the famous blue bikes.

PUNCTURE FOR POGACAR 😱

The world champion is off the back and riding a Shimano neutral service bike! pic.twitter.com/Gyd84WXAlt

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 12, 2026

As a reminder, Pogačar reportedly told the press in his native Slovenia the neutral service bike, which he briefly raced during last Sunday’s second place at Paris-Roubaix, rode like “a wheelbarrow”. Mr Pogačar is yet to respond to road.cc’s request for him to join our review team, fingers crossed he’ll have a bit more time on his hands in years to come.

Anyway, Shimano neutral service mechanic Kévin Poret spoke with French news website Ouest France to defend the bike.

“All our bikes are meticulously prepared, equipped with dropper seatposts for adjustments down to a centimetre or two,” he explained.

“We have our lists and know which pedals, drivetrains, wheel axles, and tyre pressures the teams and their leaders use, so I didn’t hesitate to give him what was best for him, and the world champion was able to get going again very quickly. We didn’t exchange a single word.”

As Poret then pointed out, Pogačar actually only rode it for seven minutes, so it’s unlikely the lack of Y1Rs had any bearing on the result.

“Just before reaching him, I had just changed a wheel for a Visma Lease a Bike rider at the entrance to sector 23, when Radio Tour announced that Tadej Pogacar had a flat tyre,” Poret recalled.

“The repair was quick, which is the most important thing for us; we fulfilled our role. Last year, when he crashed after a corner, we helped him put his chain back on, and then his team car arrived. But whether it’s the world champion or someone else, it’s the same; we’re there to get the rider with a problem back on their bike. We have confidence in our equipment. In 2025, the Spanish rider Hugo De La Calle finished the Tro Bro Leon 14th riding a Shimano bike.”

> Near Miss of the Day 946: £1,000 fine after impatient driver close passes cyclist

This was the moment that yesterday ended Matteo Jorgenson’s Amstel Gold Race and Ardennes campaign.

Vauquelin gaat onderuit in de bocht en neemt Matteo Jorgenson & Huub Artz met zich mee.

Vauquelin goes down in the corner, taking Matteo Jorgenson and Huub Artz with him.#AGR26 #FLCS pic.twitter.com/ddNNUJuRms

— Amstel Gold Race (@Amstelgoldrace) April 19, 2026

Visma-Lease a Bike have since reacted to the injury, sports director Frans Maassen saying, “We had high expectations for this race and were well prepared. Everyone could see that Matteo was in great form, so it’s very frustrating that our race ended this way.

“As a team, we were well positioned throughout. The riders did a great job keeping Matteo in a good position all day. The goal was to be among the first to crest the Gulperberg and the Kruisberg. He looked fresh on those climbs, but unfortunately he crashed shortly afterward. That’s extremely disappointing.”

As mentioned earlier, the team has also since confirmed Jorgenson broke his collarbone in the crash.

> Cyclist runs across finish line following crash to secure qualification at Track World Cup

Tommaso Dati denies Tom Pidcock of the opening stage at the Tour of the Alps after a chaotic sprint! 💪🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/eBs8U89EhX

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 20, 2026

It probably bodes quite well for the week ahead that Tom Pidcock, even with some unexpected crash-induced time off the bike, returned to racing at the Tour of the Alps and was in the mix for the win straight away. Italian Tommaso Dati denied Pidcock however, Team UKYO taking a famous win against the WorldTour pros.

> Scope’s wheels with “Aeroscales”, Felt’s lightweight aero bike plus more cool things from Vision, Scott and Gloria

A busy intersection in Utrecht: a daily reminder that when cycling is safe and convenient, it becomes a natural part of how a city moves.

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— Dutch Cycling Embassy (@dutchcycling.nl) 19 April 2026 at 16:03

 

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It’s good to see Tom Pidcock back racing today at the Tour of the Alps, the British rider making his return after a 60kph crash into a ravine at Volta a Catalunya recently. While he miraculously escaped with just some swelling, we still weren’t expecting to see Pidcock back racing for a little while, considering the severity of the crash, but here he is.

“Recovery has gone super well, so I’m going to race,” he explained. “Tour of the Alps in preparation for Liège. The Ardennes was the biggest goal of this part of the season so I’m happy to be able to still race one of them in whatever shape that may be.”

“Thanks to Pinarello-Q36.5 for getting me back on the bike so quick.”

If like me you were very much checked out from the cycling world this weekend, here’s what you might have missed on road.cc.

Cycling UK revealed the results of some research it commissioned with YouGov. The cycling charity found that more people are turning to active travel as fuel costs soar.

Almost three in 10 drivers said they are cycling or walking as an affordable alternative to driving, according to the survey, while a further 15% said that they are actively considering this option.

Elsewhere, plans for a new £15m regional cycling hub have been approved in Bristol, featuring a 1km closed-loop track for racing and training, a Bikeability area for beginners, a cycling play zone, a car park and a main building with offices and facilities. You can see the plans in full here.

Steve Thomas’s latest piece for the site was this story about his 1995 jaunt across Pakistan, possibly the cycling adventure of his lifetime (which is saying quite a lot for someone who has spent much of their life exploring the world on two wheels). Well worth a read for some Monday morning escapism.

And finally, over in the reviews corner we’ve got a couple of interesting ones just published, including Ribble’s new CGR AL 105, what Stu says is from the brand’s ‘do-a-bit-of-everything’ range of road/all-road/gravel type bikes. We’ve also been testing out the new BBB Signal Radar Rear Light.

Sorry, readers. To think I signed off the Amstel Gold Race round-up without the obligatory podium pint race video. Well, half pint race video…

Two podiums, but cheers all round 😆 pic.twitter.com/TCba1aFqRs

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 19, 2026

The commissaires will need to take a look at Mr Evenepoel’s lack of effort there, much better scenes on the women’s podium.

REMCO EVENEPOEL DOMINATES AMSTEL GOLD ⚡️⚡️⚡️

The Olympic champion out-sprints Mattias Skjelmose to claim his first Amstel Gold victory. pic.twitter.com/Mxr6aMcJqi

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 19, 2026

We’ve got some Tour of the Alps action coming our way later on today, which means the Giro can’t be too far away now. That’s an exciting thought, but first is Ardennes week, Remco Evenepoel kicking off the hilliest week of the spring classics with a sprint victory over Mattias Sjkelmose at Amstel Gold Race.

Skjelmose pulled off one of the shocks of the 2025 season when he beat Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar at this race last year, but the Belgian got his revenge and landed his biggest win for new team Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe so far. It’s a big week for Remco, Flèche Wallonne versus cycling’s newest star Paul Seixas on Wednesday, followed by the big one at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday.

In the women’s race, Paula Blasi earned the biggest win of her career so far, the UAE Team ADQ rider slipping the field and spoiling the party for Vollering, Niewiadoma and many of the other biggest names in the sport. Blasi hasn’t come from nowhere, the Spaniard this season already winning the mountains jersey at the Tour Down Under and recording an impressive top-10 at Brabantse Pijl, however there’s a fair jump from that to winning Amstel. We’ll throw it over to Eurosport’s Spanish comms team for this one.

🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸 ¡QUE SÍ, QUE SÍ! PAULA BLASI ES HISTORIA DEL CICLISMO ESPAÑOL

❤️‍🔥 Tenemos una ciclista española campeona en las Ardenas: la MEJOR VICTORIA de Paula Blasi como profesional en la Amstel Gold Race

🚲 Lo has vivido en Eurosport y @StreamMaxES. #AGRwomen pic.twitter.com/gONXL3Dv7E

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) April 19, 2026

In less positive racing news, Matteo Jorgenson is out of the Ardennes and will face a disrupted Tour de France prep, the American crashing and breaking his collarbone this weekend.