Thread: Competitive Cycling

'The contract was ready' - Remco Evenepoel was reportedly offered multi-million euro contract by Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe

Remco Evenepoel was reportedly offered a multi-million euro contract to join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in the summer according to HLN columnist and former Sporza commentator Michel Wuyts.

Evenepoel ultimately decided to remain at Soudal-QuickStep for 2025, telling Cyclingnews during the Zurich World Championships: "I'll stay where I am, that's pretty clear. No transfers." He has always avoided talking about his contract.

Wuyts suggested that Red Bull was ready to offer Evenepoel €10 million per season.

"The contract was indeed ready for Evenepoel. €10 million per year plus three [helpers] including coach [Klaas] Lodewyck," wrote Wuyts in Het Laatste Nieuws.

Wuyts added that "Lefevere set up obstacles for the transfer of the sidekicks and glued Evenepoel on for the duration of his contract. He partly closed the financial gap with the decisive input of COO Jurgen Foré. Evenepoel now earns €5 million."

Wuyts claim was headline news in the Flemish media but Cyclingnews understands the €10 million per year is more likely for a two-year contract. Tadej Pogačar reportedly earns €8 million per year after signing a new contract with UAE Team Emirates and is understandably the highest-paid rider in the sport.

One well-informed source told Cyclingnews the idea that Red Bull would pay Evenepoel €10 million per year was 'fake news'.

Hellman Foundation Awards $2.5 Million Grant to the USA… | USA Cycling

The Hellman Foundation’s long-term investment aims to strengthen and elevate women’s Olympic cycling programs for years to come.

The Hellman Foundation has awarded a $2.5 million grant to the USA Cycling Foundation to fund its women’s programs, marking a groundbreaking investment in the growth and development of women’s cycling across the United States.

This grant will increase resources to USA Cycling programs and operations for women’s high performance across the Olympic cycling disciplines of Road, Mountain Bike, Track, BMX Racing, and BMX Freestyle, as well as the Paralympic cycling disciplines of Road and Track.

The grant will have two components: First is $1 million specifically intended to support women’s programs delivered in the years 2025-2028 to maximize success at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Second is an additional $1.5 million that will go to create a long-term Women’s Cycling Fund that will support USA Cycling women’s programs from the years 2029-2043. The grant for the Women’s Cycling Fund will require a 1:1 match, which will ultimately result in a $3 million fund to support women’s high performance programs.

Julian Alaphilippe parts ways with Soudal Quick-Step, moving to Tudor Pro Cycling

Two-time world champion and Classics specialist Julian Alaphilippe will leave Soudal Quick-Step, the team he has raced for since the age of 17, at the end of the 2024 season. The Belgian squad, known as the 'Wolfpack', released a documentary celebrating his time with the team at the end of his 11-year stint on the roster. The Frenchman will join Tudor Pro Cycling for the 2025 season.

Team boss Patrick Lefevere, who Alaphilippe has had a fractious relationship with, revealed the news in August, with the team officially confirming his departure on Saturday.

Negotiations over a potential one-year contract extension broke down earlier this year and instead the former world champion will join Tudor Pro Cycling for the 2025 season.

Julian Alaphilippe parts ways with Soudal Quick-Step, moving to Tudor Pro Cycling

No more track world championships for Filippo Ganna as focus turns entirely on road racing

After winning fourteen track medals between 2016 and 2023, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) will forego track racing starting in 2025, in order to focus entirely on road racing.

Ganna told Adnkronos during an event at the Technical University of Milan that the progressive shift towards the road resulted from his racing schedule.

“If you look at the list, the time spent on the track is less than the many events. In my case, it will mean no longer participating in World Championships and World Cups on the track and maybe doing some more training to improve on the road,” Ganna said.

Ganna has achieved significant success on the track, including an Olympic gold medal in the team pursuit in 2021, and 2022 and setting the hour record, by riding a stunning 56.792km in one hour.

Christian Prudhomme endorses the concept of team budget caps

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme offered words of support for the concept of budget caps within the WorldTour this week at a meeting of the Association Internationale des Organisateurs de Courses Cyclistes (AIOCC), the organisation of race promoters.

An AIOCC press release about its annual general meeting, held Friday, included a section quoting Prudhomme, who is also the organisation’s president; among topics like safety and anti-doping, he spoke favorably about proposals to level the playing field. “As with our society, the gap is widening between the most well-financed teams and those who fear for their future,” the Tour director said. “The overwhelming financial superiority of some teams compared to the others does not lead us towards an ever more attractive cycling spectacle.”

This comes after Escape Collective broke the news that it could be as soon as 2026 that some form of team budget cap or financial fairness initiative could be introduced. The rationale behind the idea is to create a more level playing field where so-called super teams cannot simply buy up all of the talent. The current system, according to proponents of a cap, allows a few select teams to flourish whilst others struggle to gain noteworthy results.

Christian Prudhomme endorses the concept of team budget caps - Escape Collective

Ivar Slik rallies six months after horrific crash to return to Unbound Gravel 200 in 2025

On November 21, former Unbound Gravel 200 champion Ivar Slik (Wilier Triestina), allowed himself a moment to acknowledge a six-month anniversary. The date was exactly half a year since his 2024 season ended abruptly on a training ride in the US. He was 11 days away from competing for a fourth time in Emporia, Kansas at Unbound 200, but instead, ended up in a hospital with a long road to recovery.

"It took a really long time and the last weeks I can say it's back to normal," the multi-discipline Dutch racer told Cyclingnews. "I am super motivated for next year and I am full of ambition. I want to at least equal my 2022 season and the prospects are good. This year was a big setback but I have been working very hard since then and I am looking forward to next year with great confidence."

This past Thursday also marked the day thousands of elite and amateur riders around the world received lottery confirmations for Unbound entries from event owner/producer Life Time. Since Slik was not able to ride this year, he said he will be there May 31, 2025 on the start line.

"Unbound is the ultimate gravel race of the year. Now, the World Championships are also there, but Unbound, it's higher than the Worlds," assessed Slik, having competed for the Netherlands twice at the UCI Gravel World Championships, but missed the 2024 edition due to the May 21 crash.

The 31-year-old made history in 2022 as the first non-US rider to win the epic off-road race. He transitioned in 2021 from a 10-year pro road career and beach racing with some mountain bike and gravel racing, finishing 14th in his inaugural appearance in Kansas for the 200-mile assault in the Flint Hills.

Covered in mud the next year, he won a sprint against defending champion Ian Boswell, Keegan Swenson and Laurens ten Dam to claim just the second gravel race victory of his career. His first victory came in Spain at The Traka 200 earlier in May. He took second at Gravel Locos in Texas leading to his dash in Kansas. He added second place later in the season in a muddy edition of Gravel One Fifty in the Netherlands, which qualified him for his first UCI Gravel World Championships.

The next year he kept his momentum going with a win at Gravelicious in Arkansas, second at The Rift, third at Gravel Locos and fifth at The Traka 200. He finished Unbound 200, but had several mechanical issues in the thick mud and finished 36th.

USA Cycling unveils 2025 National Championship schedule with 17 chances to claim the Stars and Stripes jersey

Starting in February with the esports championships, USA Cycling's 2025 lineup of national championship eventswill be held for 10 different disciplines and in 12 different states.

The full lineup includes 17 different championship events across the road, mountain, track, cyclocross, gravel, BMX, Gran Fondo and esports cycling disciplines at the elite, junior, collegiate, para and masters levels.

“We’re still on Cloud 9 from the record-breaking performances of Team USA cyclists at the Paris 2024 Olympics. That spirit of dreaming big is what makes our National Championships so meaningful,” said Brendan Quirk, USA Cycling's President and CEO, in a statement.

“For some, it’s about winning a title and qualifying for the World Championships. And for others, it’s about having the courage to sign up and test themselves for the first time against national-caliber competition. There’s something for everyone, and we welcome all our members to pick a National Championship and set their own personal goals.”

The 2025 season sees a slew of new hosts and venues.

For the first time, the eSports championships will be held on the UCI-approved MyWhoosh virtual cycling platform. Madison, Wisconsin-based Trek Bicycle will host the Collegiate Road Nationals at its grounds. The Masters and Junior Road Nationals will also take place in Wisconsin in conjunction with the multi-day Tour of America’s Dairylands.

Following an exciting showcasing in which the EF Education teams won big, the Elite-level criterium, time trial and road race championships will again be held in Charleston, West Virginia. The EF Education men's and women's teams walked away with three national titles and six medals, with Kristen Faulkner and Sean Quinn victorious in the road races and recently retired Coryn Labecki secured her 74th national title by winning the criterium race,

The Under-23, Junior 17-18, and para-cycling riders will be vying for the coveted Stars and Stripes in Charleston as well.

The Elite, Masters, and Para-cycling Track Nationals will be held at the recently reopened Colorado Springs Velodrome.

And, after spending its inaugural years in Gering, Nebraska, the U.S. Gravel National Championships will move north to La Crescent, Minnesota, in 2025 and 2026.

The cyclocross championship event will return to the site of the 2022 UCI Cyclocross World Championships: Fayetteville, Arkansas.

USA Cycling unveils 2025 National Championship schedule with 17 chances to claim the Stars and Stripes jersey | Cycling Weekly

'To win the Tour de France, that is the main goal' - Ferrand-Prévot aims high as she returns to the road with Visma-Lease a Bike

During her first media engagement with her new team, Visma-Lease a Bike, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has outlined her biggest goal on her return to the tarmac - to win the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The 32-year-old Frenchwoman hasn’t raced on the road since 2018, winning four XCO world titles as well as Olympic gold in Paris during her time away. Ferrand-Prévot has signed a three-year deal with Visma-Lease a Bike ahead of the 2025 season.

“I signed here for three years and I want to bring out the best version of myself, to see if I can try to win the Tour de France . That is the main goal for those three seasons,” she told Wielerflits and other assembled press during the team’s first off-season camp.

"If I wasn't convinced that I could do it, I wouldn't have taken this step," she added.

The women’s WorldTour has moved an awfully long way since Ferrand-Prévot raced La Course by Le Tour in July 2018, her last UCI event on the road. However, she is confident that she still has the ability required to compete at the very top level after a period of re-familiarisation in the peloton.

The 2014 world champion decided to compete in the elite women’s road race at the recent Zürich world championships. She failed to finish, pulling out early on Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) stormed to her second consecutive rainbow jersey.

It was her first taste of how the level of competition has developed during the last few years. Although she struggled, Ferrand-Prévot will use the event as a measure of where she needs to get to in the coming months.

Team GB track cyclist Katy Marchant taken to hospital after dramatic crash | Cycling | The Guardian
Team GB track cyclist Katy Marchant taken to hospital after dramatic crash

The British cyclist Katy Marchant has reportedly suffered a broken arm after a dramatic crash at the UCI Track Champions League meeting in London, which led to the remainder of Saturday’s races being suspended.

Marchant was involved in a collision with the German rider Alessa-Catriona Pröpster during the first round of the women’s keirin competition. Pröpster and Marchant veered to the right together on the approach to a left-hand turn and both were flipped over the barriers at Lee Valley VeloPark.

The race was suspended while both women received medical treatment, along with four spectators. Eurosport’s trackside reporter, Adam Blythe, was able to confirm that although the cyclists had fallen into an area of seating, there were no serious injuries.

“The good news is that the GB rider [Marchant] is OK,” Blythe said. “She has got a broken forearm, but seems to be in a stable condition. There were a couple of members from the crowd that were involved and they seem to be OK as well. Everyone’s in a good condition, although Katy Marchant has broken her forearm.”

Tom Pidcock signs with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team for 3 years - "It’s the start of something special"

It is official! Perhaps the most important and controversial signing of the entire cycling season. Tom Pidcock was officially confirmed to leave INEOS Grenadiers this Wednesday; now Friday morning he has been confirmed to sign a three-year contract with the Swiss ProTeam Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.

Pidcock has had tensions within INEOS Grenadiers, mainly with DS Steve Cummings who was also let go from the team. Pidcock, on a millionaire contract, won the Olympic Games MTB race this summer but on the road greatly struggled and only managed to win at Amstel Gold Race.

However the final dig was at the end of the season, as he showed good form by finishing second at the Giro dell'Emilia, but was removed from the lineup for Il Lombardia with no reason being given other than it being a management decision. It had been rumoured the previous days that he was in contact with the Swiss team. The rumours faded, but surged again in late November, and with the departure confirmed two days ago, it was evident that a move was about to be agreed on.

Tom Pidcock signs with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team for 3 years - "It’s the start of something special"

"WADA should invoke an emergency procedure" to combat rising Carbon Monoxide inhalation according to anti-doping organization

The controversial usage of Carbon Monoxide inhalation by riders in the peloton has been a hot topic of discussion in the cycling world of late. After the UCI recently advised teams against using the method, the MPCC has now demanded WADA take action.

The MPCC (Movement for a Credible Cycling ed.) have addressed the recent comment of the sports governing body and the slow call to action from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA ed.) in a press release on their official website.

"The MPCC is delighted that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has reacted to the alarming issue of carbon monoxide inhalation by some riders, in agreement with their respective teams. However, the movement deplores the slowness of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s procedures, even when athletes’ health is at risk," begins the MPCC statement. "The MPCC Board believes that in the context of such reckless behaviour as the repeated use of a toxic gas or a powerful opioid, WADA should invoke an emergency procedure to enforce the precautionary principle when a potentially dangerous practice or drug emerges."

"The MPCC also warns riders to the fact that a substance that is not on the list of banned products is not a sufficient reason for riders and their teams to allow themselves to use it," continue the anti-doping organisation. "More generally, the MPCC deplores the development of these ‘grey areas’ in medicinal practices and encourages all governing bodies to create a favourable framework to limit the medicalisation of our sport to the strict minimum."

Given the past and ongoing slow reactions WADA in regards to things such as Tramadol and Ketones, the MPCC don't sound too hopeful of a quick resolution though, and with notable teams such as UAE Team Emirates and Team Visma Lease a Bike using Carbon Monoxide inhalation over recent years, it remains to be seen if the UCI's message to stop will be heeded.

"WADA should invoke an emergency procedure" to combat rising Carbon Monoxide inhalation according to anti-doping organisation

Taco van der Hoorn inks two-year extension with Intermarche-Wanty

Intermarché-Wanty announced a two-year extension with popular Dutch rider Taco van der Hoorn on Wednesday.

Van der Hoorn, winner of a stage in the Giro d'Italia and one-day races such as Omloop van het Houtland and the Brussels Cycling Classic, will remain with the team through 2026.

The 31-year-old has spent 16 months on the sidelines recovering from a severe concussion sustained in the 2023 Tour of Flanders and finally returned to racing this August. He claimed his first victory since his brain injury in the Betcity Elfstedenrace in October from a breakaway.

The team's Performance Manager Aike Visbeek said the group missed him during his extended absence.

"Taco van der Hoorn is one of our most popular personalities, a rider who is admired by the fans for his aggressive racing style," Visbeek said. "Together with Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes, Simone Petilli, Lorenzo Rota and Georg Zimmermann, he forms the core of the team on which we build our identity since our accession to the World Tour in 2021.

"Taco sets an example, he inspires his teammates with his temperament and good mood, which is why we missed him so much during his long absence. Upon his return in August, he was immediately ready to perform and managed to maintain this level until the end of the season. We are very happy to be able to count on him again in the coming seasons. Together, we will continue hunting victories, especially in the classics."

Van der Hoorn was a relative latecomer to the WorldTour, signing with Jumbo-Visma in 2019 at the age of 25, following a successful season with Roompot that included a stage win in the BinckBank Tour.