World class racing, bitesize summary

Hey there cycling fans, I’m back, Worlds have been and gone and suddenly, the end of the season is looming large – where did that come from?! I know I did say I would return to my usual bi-monthly format having launched a more ‘bitesize’ version of the newsletter, but alas, things got away from me again. At least it’s only been three weeks this time and not like, three months.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who sent an encouraging word or comment last time, I’m glad the new format is working for you, though I do openly admit that I’m somewhat failing in the actual ‘bitesize’ nature of the thing – given the last edition still packed in around 2,500 words – big bites, I guess? Let’s get on with some cycling content…

5 THINGS FROM ME

Thing 1.

The podcast is back! After a longer-than-anticipated hiatus, Sanny and I are back, with all the latest news and race analysis, so if you enjoy On Yer Bike then catch up with the latest episode by clicking the link below or searching for us wherever you get your podcasts - we should hopefully be more regular from here on out.

Thing 2.

A trio of things from the Substack now, the first two of which are my reflections on this year’s Tour of Britain men’s race, in two parts - it’s rare I am able to attend a bike race in person so I had plenty of thoughts, and there are also quotes from a few riders in there too!

Thing 3.

And here is part 2 of that reflection, as the race wrapped up and Geraint Thomas waved goodbye to the professional peloton.

Thing 4.

I also wrote a piece about two races that took place a couple of weeks ago ahead of the World Championships - because it’s always nice to catch up with some racing that at this time of year, sometimes slips between the cracks with everything else that is going on.

Thing 5.

Sanny and I had a great chat with Jeremy Ford of Team Africa Rising for the podcast (more on that in a second) - he was on the ground in Kigali for Worlds and had some really interesting insights so I wrote them up for Domestique to share with a wider audience - check out what he had to say:

Please do consider signing up for the Substack if you want to hear from me more regularly.

4 BITESIZE CHUNKS OF NEWS - YUM!

• Israel-Premier Tech sponsors call for name change as team are banned from upcoming race: The ongoing disruption surrounding the Israel-Premier Tech team has continued since the end of the Vuelta, with title sponsor Premier Tech and bike supplier Factor both calling for the team to remove ‘Israel’ from the team’s name going forward. Following the failure of the UCI to act, despite the UN declaring the actions of Israel in the Gaza Strip as genocide, race organisers are taking matters into their own hands. Both the organisation of next year’s Tour de France Grand Départ in Barcelona and the organisers of the 2026 Vuelta’s final stages in the Canary Islands have expressed their opposition for the inclusion of the team, alongside the O Gran Camiño stage race who have stated they will not invite IPT in 2026. The protests haven’t been limited to Spanish organisers, with this weekend’s Giro dell’Emilia set to take place without the team’s participation following a ban.

• Evenepoel makes history! It’s another day, another title for Remco Evenepoel, as yesterday at the men’s elite individual time trial at the European Championships, he added the continental title to the World title he won for the third time the previous weekend in Kigali, his Olympic title, and the Belgian national title. Holding all four titles at once has never been done before, and Remco continues to dominate the time trial discipline, with an eye on the Hour Record, perhaps as early as 2026 according to his father.

• Juan Ayuso to Lidl-Trek! The ongoing saga surrounding unsettled Spaniard Juan Ayuso was resolved with the news of his transfer from UAE Team Emirates to Lidl-Trek, to begin a five-year contract in 2026. Ayuso will hope to find the support that he has been lacking, as he makes his move to the American team, who have GC leaders in the shape of Matthias Skjelmose, Giulio Ciccone and Tao Geoghegan Hart to work around, but Ayuso will likely become the team’s main Grand Tour leader going forward.

• More transfers! The transfer market has continued to bubble along though outside of Ayuso’s move, arguably the biggest name to make a change is Owain Doull, who moves from EF Education-EasyPost to Visma-Lease A Bike, and at management level, Zak Dempster who transitions from INEOS to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. Plenty more has been going on particularly in relation to younger riders, check out all the latest at Daniel Benson’s Substack and keep up with the headlines at Domestique Cycling.

2 BITES OF FUN

Celebrating the lighter side of the sport…

1. Happy for you, no really

I wrote all about the battle between Paul Magnier and Lukáš Kubiš in my Substack post about the Tour of Slovakia, but Kubiš’ team, the ever-entertaining social media force that is the Unibet Tietema Rockets, definitely had me laughing with their reactions to it (this is just one example).

2. I would normally include more items in this section but I’ve been busy, y’know, and actually not on social media much - I will try to be more vigilant going forward! Having said that, if we cast our minds way back to the end of the Vuelta, which as you’ll remember concluded with a Madrid stage that was greatly disrupted due to protests, then we come with arguably the most wholesome and most ‘cycling’ thing that has happened all year. It’s so great in fact, that I think it makes up for the lack of other content in this section this week.

If you didn’t see, the riders who had won the special jerseys, deprived of a regular podium celebration following the protests, organised an impromptu podium ceremony of their own. Apparently instigated by Tom Pidcock’s mum, a small group of riders and their family and friends made a podium out of cool boxes in a car park near Visma’s hotel to celebrate the four winners, and it was off-the-wall and joyous in equal measure, hasty and hurried but designed to make the best of an imperfect situation, and though it was different to the usual pomp and ceremony, it seems as though it will still have been pretty memorable, for those involved. Here is some video footage from the ‘alternative’ podium.

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4 RACES TO WATCH

It’s been a busy couple of weeks and once again, instead of me trying to tell you EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED, here are a handful of the races that I personally enjoyed the most, if you felt the urge to look up the highlights on YouTube or find replays, if you’re so inclined.

For everything else, there’s FirstCycling.

1. Okolo Slovenska, stage 5 (21 September)

Is it a little bit… left field? Maybe. But the Tour of Slovakia’s final stage saw the GC boys come out to play, after four flat stages saw Paul Magnier win four in a row. It was a race with an interesting composition of riders, and though Visma-Lease A Bike and Team Jayco-AlUla were the primary aggressors throughout the open, attacking final stage, the local hero - aforementioned national champion of Slovakia, riding for the ProConti team Unibet Tietema Rockets, Lukáš Kubiš - launched an audacious attempt to win the GC himself, despite having finished in second place every day behind Magnier. He only cracked a few kilometres from the summit of the final climb, as British rider Paul Double climbed to glory on both the stage and the GC, but it was a day of stories, and one I really enjoyed watching. More on that in the Substack post.

2. Tour of Luxembourg, stage 3 (19 September)

If you like exciting, unpredictable racing, then this stage is one for you. Read more about it in the Substack post or go back and see for yourself, but it was a real humdinger of a race, with a punchy climb in a town centre, a strong ride from Matthias Skjelmose, a late charge from Jordan Jegat, and a change of the race lead. Fun to watch!

3. GP Québec (12 September)

It’s been far too long since I wrote to you - how have I not yet waxed lyrical about the victory of Julian Alaphilippe in Canada?! It was truly a day to remember. With Pogi in he mix, there was every expectation that the Slovenian might race to claim both of the Canadian WorldTour race victories, but though he tried his luck, attacking on the penultimate lap, his teammate Pavel Sivakov would be the man of the day for UAE, contesting the victory as part of a three-man group that broke away late on in the race. Alaphilippe sprinted clear of Sivakov and the final component of the group, Alberto Bettiol of XDS-Astana, and though he looked back over his shoulder about 50 times on the final run-in to the line, he managed to hold off the rest to take his first victory for Tudor Pro Cycling.

4. World Championships road race - U23 Women (26 September)

Of course, I’d say you should watch all of the Worlds road races, because they only happen once a year and they are pretty special, but there was none more special in terms of its significance at least, this year, than the women’s U23 road race. The first of its kind, it separated out the U23s from the elites, giving them their own stage, and marking another important step forward in the ongoing development of the women’s side of the sport. I previewed the race for Domestique - you can read it here, perhaps more with a view to learning about some of the riders than in a preview sense because - y’know - it’s finished now - but though I was wrong about the eventual winner, I correctly predicted it would be a thriller of a competition, and it duly proved to be so.

The repeated ascents of the two climbs that comprised the main launch pads of the Kigali parcours offered multiple opportunities for attacks and though tactics and strategy were important, sheer power and grit won the day, along with some truly selfless teamwork for France. Marion Bunel - favoured by many as France’s leader for the race - poured herself out on the final ascent of the Cote de Kimihurura in service of the stronger rider on the day, Célia Gery, who stormed to victory just ahead of fellow cyclocrosser and future star, Viktoria Chladonova of Slovakia. Catch it if you can.

3 FINAL THOUGHTS

1. Women’s racing favours the bold

It’s difficult to summarise the Worlds road races in just a few sentences or paragraphs, but somehow, once again, expectations were absolutely delivered upon in the men’s race - where Tadej Pogačar won his second consecutive rainbow jersey, following a breakaway 100km from the finish, first alongside his teammate Isaac Del Toro, and later alone - while they were turned upside down in the women’s.

We saw it at the Tokyo Olympics, when Anna Kiesenhofer went solo and somehow made it all the way to the line without being caught, with the disharmonious Dutch team failing to mount a concerted chase behind her, and we saw it again earlier this year at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, when Lotte Claes took an unprecedented win from the breakaway as behind, teams bickered over who’s responsibility it was, to chase them down.

While both these examples spring readily to mind when comparing them with the women’s elite road race, which was won by Canadian outsider Magdeleine Vallieres, neither comes quite close enough in terms of a viable comparison. Vallieres rode smart, she rode hard, and she was the strongest rider who also took a chance. While the favourites behind her kept tabs on one another, she forged clear along with others who were clearly deemed ‘not a threat’ but the unforgiving nature of the relentless Kigali course, combined with the indecision of the top riders, and the sheer tenacity and leg power of Vallieres, conspired to deliver a truly unexpected, and completely deserved, result.

Somehow, while the top men’s races almost always seem to follow a script, or at least stick very close to it, the women’s continue to surprise.

2. Just another one-day race

Following on from the previous thought, this year’s results really illustrate the fact that the world championships is just another one-day race. Yes of course, it’s up there with the most important targets for many riders. But in a sport where victory is so hard to come by, perhaps other goals are prioritised for some, and in the end, it just comes down to who is strongest on the day, with a multitude of factors including travel, altitude, illness and air quality all apparently playing a role. It strikes an interesting contrast to a sport such as athletics, where everything leads up to worlds, for all the athletes, in terms of their goals and preparation, and by the time they arrive, usually it’s the fastest and strongest from the season who triumph.

In the end, only two of the pre-race favourites won from six road races – a pretty high hit rate for surprise outcomes. Though this is perhaps skewed a bit by the fact that junior racing in particular, but also U23, is very hard to predict, it’s still interesting to consider how, if you target this one-day race above all others, and build specifically towards it, as Vallieres did, you just never know what you might be able to achieve.

3. French cycling’s future secure

While Gery and Bunel dominated in the women’s U23 road race, and French women won half the stages and the GC at the Tour de France Femmes this summer, the future of the men’s side of the sport looks to be in safe hands too. With Johan Blanc taking silver in the men’s junior road race, and Maxime Decomble leading the Tour de l’Avenir for a while, there are plenty of strong young Frenchmen rising through the ranks, but perhaps none more so than Paul Seixas. The much-hyped just-turned 19-year-old rode in the elite ranks for the first time in Kigali, finishing 16th in the ITT and 13th in the road race. This latter achievement is worthy of note - just 30 riders finished on an intensely gruelling parcours, and Seixas had never ridden that far competitively before - in fact, he turned out to be France’s highest finisher. Pulling off a performance like this at such a young age is immense. Berating himself for his performance in the ITT, and worrying more about his Strava cutting out in the road race which he described simply as ‘it was long’ (see below), it’s clear that he isn’t overawed by the pressure at the moment and has his head screwed on, and I cannot wait to see what he will do in the future.

THE LAST WORD

Thanks as always for reading, and subscribing to the newsletter. If you would like to support the newsletter, you can buy me a coffee, or sign up to the Substack, for more from me in-between these missives. When I come to you next, the season will basically be over bar the shouting, and we may even be looking ahead to some cyclocross - I know, I’m not ready yet either.

Until next time,

Cheers,

Katy