The UCI has said that the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s support for the pro-Palestine protests at the Vuelta a España “calls into question Spain’s ability to host major international sporting events”. 

In a statement released last night, the UCI, cycling’s international governing body, added that Sánchez’s position on the protests is “contradictory to the Olympic values of unity, mutual respect, and peace”.

After continued protests against Israel–Premier Tech’s participation in La Vuelta, Sunday’s final stage was cut short due to pro-Palestine demonstrators flooding the finish line in Madrid. Race winner Jonas Vingegaard and the peloton were forced to turn back from the city centre with 55km of the stage remaining, and race organisers said there would be no podium ceremony.

There were reportedly 3,000 protestors at the finish in Madrid and an estimated 100,000 demonstrators continued to protest after the race had ended. Spanish authorities brought in extra police to Madrid, making it the largest security operation since the 2022 NATO summit in the city. 

Speaking before the final stage, Sánchez said: “We would like to express our gratitude and absolute respect for the athletes but also our admiration for the Spanish people who mobilise for just causes, such as Palestine.”

His words were criticised by opponents, including Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar, who said on X that the Spanish prime minister “encouraged demonstrators to take to the streets” and that the “pro-Palestinian mob heard the incitement messages”. 

On Monday, a day after the protests, Sánchez said he had a “deep admiration” for those who protested peacefully against Israel–Premier Tech.

Sánchez also called for Israel to be barred from international sporting events for as long as its “barbarism” in Gaza continued. The Spanish prime minister also said he hoped the protests in Madrid would lead others to reconsider the country’s participation in sporting events. 

“I think that debate that’s begun after what happened here in Madrid yesterday should widen and spread to all corners of the world,” Sánchez said. 

“It’s already happening in some parts of the world and we’ve seen how European governments are saying that as long as the barbarism continues, Israel can’t use any international platform to whitewash its presence.

“And I think that sports organisations need to ask themselves whether it’s ethical for Israel to keep taking part in international competitions.”

Stephanie Adam, of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, which called for the protests, told BikeRadar that the Israel–Premier Tech’s participation at the race was “sportswashing pure and simple”.

The UCI said it “strongly condemns the exploitation of sport for political purposes in general, and especially coming from a government.” 

“Sport must remain autonomous to fulfill its role as a tool for peace. It is unacceptable and counterproductive for our sport to be diverted from its universal mission,” the UCI added. 

In a letter addressed to the UCI’s president David Lappartient, of the Consejo Superior de Deportes, the Spanish government’s autonomous agency for the promotion of sport, said: “In Spain, as in all democratic societies, the right to demonstrate freely and peacefully is a fundamental right, enshrined in our 1978 Constitution.” 

 “We believe that sport cannot remain indifferent to what is happening in the world, much less remain oblivious to serious human rights violations,” the letter continued.

“There is no peace without justice, and using sport to “whitewash” a genocide like the one being committed in Gaza, with thousands of deaths, innocent children, and a famine already declared by the United Nations, is a political position that contravenes the Olympic Charter and the most basic values ​​of sport.”

Many riders voiced concern for their safety at La Vuelta and there were several crashes due to protests. Israel–Premier Tech began riding in jerseys without its team name, citing safety concerns. 

As protests mounted at La Vuelta, the team, owned by Canadian–Israeli businessman Sylan Adams, was endorsed by Benjamin Netanyahu, who said: “Great job to Sylvan and Israel’s cycling team for not giving in to hatred and intimidation. You make Israel proud!”

The UCI will host its annual congress next week, which it says will be attended by representatives from Palestinian, Israeli, Russian and Ukrainian National Federations.  

Virtual shifting is arguably the biggest innovation Zwift has brought to the indoor cycling scene in recent years.

What’s so great about it, how does it work, and what hardware is required? Let’s dive in…

Virtual Shifting Basics

Unless you ride a single-speed bike, you’re using physical gears to make your riding more enjoyable. You’ll typically shift to an easier (lower) gear when riding uphill so you aren’t grinding away, and you may shift to a higher gear on a descent so you don’t spin out.

With virtual shifting, your chain doesn’t move between different front chainrings or rear cassette cogs when you shift. Instead, when you make a virtual shift, the resistance of your smart trainer changes so it feels like you’ve changed gears.

Virtual Shifting Benefits

Why do Zwifters like virtual shifting? Because it beats mechanical shifting in many ways:

1. Smooth and quiet: with no chains skipping between cogs, your shifts are completely silent, perfectly smooth, and fast.
2. Reduced drivetrain wear: your chain won’t wear out as quickly, and neither will your chainrings or cassette, since you’re reducing the damaging stresses of shifting.
3. Shift under full load: no need to ease off the pedals when shifting under big power, as your chain isn’t going to “skip” with virtual shifting like it can with mechanical shifting.
4. Shift under zero load: have you ever stopped riding, especially on a climb, then found it really hard to get going again because you’re in the wrong gear? With virtual shifting, you can shift to an easier gear without pedaling.
5. Compatible across many bikes: no more spinning out on your low-geared mountain bike, or wanting to swap trainer cassettes when you swap bikes. Virtual shifting works with almost any 8-12 speed bike and auto-calibrates to your physical gearing (more on this below).
6. Expanded gear range: Zwift’s virtual shifting currently supports a virtual 24-speed setup, which is more gears than most riders have on their outdoor setups. Additionally, the gear ratio range is very wide (from .75 to 5.49), meaning virtual shifting offers more high and low gears than your mechanical setup.
7. In-game visualization: with Zwift’s virtual shifting, you can always see what gear you’re in on screen.
8. No more fine-tuning: many riders have to adjust their physical shifting when moving between outdoor and indoor riding, since the cassette on their trainer isn’t positioned exactly like the cassette on their rear wheel. If you’re using the Zwift Cog (see below) you don’t need to do any such fine-tuning… just shift to a physical gear that has your chain lined up straight on the Cog and you’re ready to ride.

In-Game Usage and Settings

Watch a quick video showing how Zwift’s virtual shifting works in game using the Play or Click controllers:

This video is a bit outdated here in 2025, but it gives you a basic idea of how virtual shifting works in game, so we’ve included it here…

Virtual Shifting Hardware: Smart Trainers

Thanks to the popularity of Zwift’s virtual shifting, basically all new trainer models since 2024 have supported it, and some companies have updated firmware for older trainers to roll out virtual shifting support.

Currently, the following smart trainer models support virtual shifting:

Note: you must connect your trainer via Bluetooth, WiFi, or a direct ethernet connection in order to use Zwift’s virtual shifting. It is not supported over ANT+.

Virtual Shifting Hardware: Play vs Ride vs Click

Interested in getting virtual shifting, but aren’t sure if you should buy the affordable Click v2, get a whole Zwift Ride Smart Bike, or something else? Here’s a rundown of features and specs for all the virtual shifting hardware Zwift has ever made:

	Play	Ride	Click	Click v2
Virtual Shifting
Steering + Braking
Powerup Trigger
Ride On Bomb button
Game Navigation buttons
Drop bar compatible
Flat bar compatible		n/a
TT bar compatible		n/a
Sequential Shifting
SRAM-Style Shifting
Shimano-Style Shifting
Cog Included
Power Source	USB Rechargeable	USB Rechargeable	Coin cell (CR2032)	Coin cell (CR2032)
Battery Life	~20 hours	~20 hours	>100 hours	>100 hours
BLE Connections*	2	1	1	1
Price	Discontinued	$1300 (frame + trainer) or $800 (frame only)	Discontinued	$50US

*If you’re an Apple TV user, it’s worth noting that the Click and Ride controllers use just one Bluetooth connection, while Play requires two. Apple TV limits users to two Bluetooth connections, which means Play users on Apple TV must pair all devices through the Companion app (since you must also connect your smart trainer, which would make three connections if you add Play into the mix). The only way around this is via a smart trainer that can connect using WiFi (read more).

But if you use Click or Ride, you may still be able to pair directly through Apple TV, as long as you aren’t pairing a heart rate monitor as a separate device.

Virtual Shifting Hardware: Zwift Cog

First released in October 2023, the Zwift Cog is a single-cog replacement for a standard rear cassette. It was initially sold with the Zwift Hub One smart trainer, and the latest version is now sold with various trainers, the Zwift Ride, and as a package with the Click v2.

While you’ll need virtual shifting to use the Cog, you definitely do not need to have the Cog in order to use virtual shifting! Virtual shifting works just fine on a standard bike drivetrain with multiple front chainrings and a standard rear cassette.

The Cog was created by Zwift to simplify setups, as it eliminates the need to adjust your trainer’s cassette or fine-tune your bike’s shifting when placing your bike on the trainer. Just shift to a gear where your chain is lined up nicely on the Cog, and you’re ready to go!

If you have a trainer that supports virtual shifting, you can buy the Zwift Cog + Click Upgrade Kit ($49.99 US) and get the easy compatibility of the Cog with the simple shifting of the Click.

Gearing Details

By default, Zwift gives you 24 virtual gears ranging from a gear ratio of 0.75 to 5.49:

This is more than enough gears for any rider. By comparison, typical mid-compact road bike gearing with an 11-28 cassette offers a much narrower range of gear ratios (1.29 to 4.73), and some of those gears will overlap. In fact, using bike gear calculators, we can see that you’d have to run 30t and 60t chainrings paired with an 11-40 cassette to match the gear ratio range of Zwift’s virtual shifting!

Because Zwift’s virtual gears don’t overlap, they’re able to space the gear ratios so the resistance change between each gear isn’t too large or too small. For us, it feels just right.

Customizing Your Shifting

If you’d like your shifting to better mimic mechanical shifting on your IRL bike, there are shift style options if you’re using Zwift Ride or Play:

Under Settings>Hardware, there are two settings to modify your virtual shifting experience:

• Shift Style: choose how your shifting buttons behave. Options are Sequential, Shimano Style A, Shimano Style B, and SRAM Style. Shimano styles are only available for Zwift Ride users, since you need two shift buttons on each controller.
• Gear Range: change the gearing range of your virtual shifting. Options are Mixed Terrain (1×24), Flat (53/39, 10-28), All-Arounder (43-35, 10-33), and Climbing (43/30, 10-36).

You can also completely disable virtual shifting from this same settings screen.

Virtual Gearing Meets Physical Bikes

One of the beautiful things about virtual shifting is that it works with whatever physical gearing your bike has. Are you on a road bike with a wide range of gears? A mountain bike with a lower gear range? A city bike with a limited gear range? No matter. If you have virtual shifting enabled, Zwift automatically detects your physical gearing in the first few seconds of pedaling after you enter the game. It then sets up your virtual gearing to match the table above, using whatever physical gear you are currently in.

Because of this, you’ll want to be in the right physical gear before you start riding in game. Which gear should you be in? Zwift recommends the small ring in front, and a lower gear on your cassette (perhaps 3rd or 4th) which gives you a decently straight chain line.

(Of course, if you have the single-cog Zwift Cog, you don’t need to worry about which gear you’re in on the back.)

Personally, we prefer the inertial feel of the big ring in front, and 4th gear or thereabouts on the cassette. This feels more like riding on flat ground – where you don’t have to push across the top and bottom of the pedal stroke – vs climbing in the small ring. And it puts less of a strain on your trainer.

Try different physical gears and see which feels best to you. If you want to force Zwift to re-detect your physical gearing and thus recompute the feel of virtual shifting, you’ll need to do one of the following:

• Disconnect and reconnect your trainer
• Power cycle your trainer
• Restart the Zwift game

Questions or Comments?

Are you using Zwift’s virtual shifting? What do you think of it? Got questions? Share below!

AeroCoach has announced the Thunderbolt tri-spoke, which is the “fastest non-disc” road bike wheel available, according to its wind tunnel data.

The result of almost two years of development, AeroCoach’s Dr Xavier Disley said the British brand set out to “push the boat out in terms of time trial performance, without having to resort to a front disc wheel”.

Featuring a 90mm-deep rim and three aero-profiled composite spokes, the Thunderbolt is said to be optimised around “modern wider tyres”, so that there’s “no compromise between rolling resistance and aerodynamics”.

The AeroCoach Thunderbolt launches alongside the Bolt tri-spoke, which features a similar tri-spoke design paired to a shallower rim, for improved handling in windy conditions.

• Read more: Best road bike wheels in 2025

Return of the tri-spoke

Most commonly seen on time trial and triathlon bikes, tri-spoke wheels have waxed and waned in popularity over the years.

Scotland’s Graeme Obree used a set for his iconic UCI Hour Record aboard ‘Old Faithful’, while HED’s H3 had a resurgence during the Team Sky era when the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome dominated Grand Tour time trials.

According to Disley, AeroCoach has received “a lot of questions from riders” about whether tri-spokes perform better than traditionally spoked wheels, either in terms of aerodynamic efficiency or handling.

The answer, Disley says, is to “ignore what the wheel looks like and go on each wheel’s individual performance.”

There are “tri-spokes that handle terribly in the wind and have bad aero performance, same with some deep-sections, and there are also tri-spokes that handle amazingly in the wind and have equally exceptional performance.”

Unsurprisingly, Disley says the Thunderbolt and Bolt are the latter.

According to the brand’s wind tunnel data, both wheels beat a number of competitor options used in the WorldTour, including Princeton CarbonWorks, Reserve, Zipp, Vision, DT Swiss and Cadex.

Disley notes “the margins are quite tight, as you’d expect”, but every watt counts to those competing at the pointy end of the sport.

The only wheel amongst the cohort to beat the Thunderbolt is AeroCoach’s AEOX front disc wheel.

Despite incoming changes to the UCI’s technical regulations limiting rim depth in mass start road races to 65mm, front disc wheels remain a UCI-legal option for time trials.

Beyond Wout Van Aert using front and rear disc wheels at the Paris Olympics, however, front discs have seen scant use at the highest level of the sport in recent years (presumably due to concerns about handling).

The Bolt tri-spoke trails just behind the Thunderbolt in the wind tunnel data, but only by an average of 0.5 watts at 45kph.

Thanks to its shallower rim, though, AeroCoach says the Bolt is a “versatile option for challenging wind conditions.”

Hooked versus hookless development

Notably, Disley says AeroCoach tested versions of the Thunderbolt wheel with both hooked and hookless rims during development.

As their wind tunnel testing showed no significant difference in performance between the two rim styles, Disley says the brand opted for hooked rims to allow greater tyre compatibility and a wider range of safe tyre pressures.

This was important, Disley says, because tyre choice is critical when it comes to wheel performance.

“Some wheels change handling characteristics depending on the tyres you put on them, and some are extremely sensitive to tyre changes for aero too.”

Both wheels are optimised around 25 and 28mm-wide tyres – specifically Vittoria’s Corsa Pro Speed and Continental’s GP5000 TT TR – although the brand says both can “accommodate tyres from different manufacturers without large changes in aero drag”.

AeroCoach Thunderbolt and Bolt prices and specifications

The AeroCoach Thunderbolt and Bolt tri-spoke wheels cost £1,195 and £995 respectively. Both are available as front or rear wheels, with rear wheels costing an additional £100.

• Rim depth: 90 / 60mm
• Rim internal width: 21mm
• Claimed weight: 900 / 795g
• Material: Carbon fibre with aluminium hub
• Weight limit: 100kg

Voting in our Rider of the Year awards, presented by Lezyne, is now open after our judges sifted through hundreds of your nominations.

Now it’s time to cast your vote for your favoured candidates in our Rider of the Year and Newcomer of the Year categories. The winners of our Lifetime Achievement awards will be decided by our expert panel.

Voting is open until 15 October. The results will be announced at an exclusive awards ceremony at our Bristol HQ, with the road and gravel winners featured in issue 440 of Cycling Plus, out on 19 December, and the mountain bikers in issue 454 of MBUK, out on 2 December.

All of those who’ve made the cut in our mountain bike awards are truly deserving of recognition, from young rippers setting the scene alight to racers at the top of their game and veterans who’ve helped make our sport what it is today.

Lifetime Achievement (chosen by our panel)

• Scott Beaumont
• Josh Bryceland
• Brendan Fairclough
• Hattie Harnden
• Matt Jones
• Tracy Moseley
• Steve Peat
• Evie Richards
• Tahnee Seagrave

The shortlisted riders in our road and gravel awards are equally worthy, whether for their WorldTour success or their fundraising efforts, their feats of endurance or their contribution to the wider world of cycling. They’ve all helped make our sport what it is today.

Lifetime Achievement (chosen by our panel)

• Wout Van Aert
• Chris Boardman
• Lizzie Deignan
• Chris Froome
• Gary Imlach
• Geraint Thomas
• Bonnie Tu

Route-planning platform Komoot has undergone a refresh, featuring a new design that’s intended to simplify navigation and route discovery, while increasing the emphasis on photo content.

It’s the first major change to the app’s look and feel since its acquisition in March by Bending Spoons – an Italian private equity investor whose portfolio includes web apps WeTransfer, Evernote and Vimeo.

There have been significant changes to the Komoot team too, with up to 85 per cent of staff reportedly laid off.

Through its restructuring, Komoot has moved to “smaller, autonomous teams” that a spokesperson said have enabled the brand to plan out an ambitious development roadmap that’s “unburdened by bureaucracy and excessive managerial layers that are typical of larger organisations”.

• Read more: Komoot acquired by tech firm, with expected mass layoffs leaving future of 150 staff in doubt

New look, new team

Going live today for the web app and at the end of September for the mobile app, Komoot now has a refreshed look, and easier site navigation and searching.

There’s also a stronger emphasis on photos, Komoot states. It says this will provide better background information to help users choose and build their routes.

The increased emphasis on visual material mirrors Strava, which has increasingly prioritised its social content, supporting photos and videos alongside its leaderboards and other virtual competition.

In April, Strava added ‘sticker stats’, which you can post to Instagram and other social media apps.

Komoot is keen to stress that, even though the new look is the first major change to the user interface since the sale, it has been busy in the background and has made more than 50 changes to the app since March.

Its roadmap for development promises an update to the web route planner, designed to improve route discovery and planning. It also intends to enhance route descriptions and make route searches easier.

Other updates in the works in 2025 include user heatmaps – again mirroring functionality in Strava, where it’s part of the paid-for route-planning functionality.

Heatmaps are also part of Garmin Connect, where it’s currently free to use – although Garmin has put once-free elements of its app behind a paywall with the launch of Connect+, which provides deeper performance analysis.

Further out, Komoot plans to add badges and more waypoint functionality, as well as overhauling its navigation and adding a dark mode to reduce battery drain when navigating.

Significant staff changes

The new developments come against a backdrop of significant change at the brand.

At the time of the sale to Bending Spoons, Komoot’s CEO and co-founder, Markus Hallermann, stated that: “What got us here won’t take us to the next level. Scaling a company requires a different mindset and skill set than building one. That’s why we believe Bending Spoons, with its unique expertise in driving innovation and scaling platforms, is the perfect partner to lead Komoot into the future.”

Hallermann and the rest of the founding team are no longer involved with Komoot, its media manager Eva Kuprella confirms.

There have also been significant lay-offs in the Komoot development team, reported at 85 per cent of the pre-purchase staff of 150. 

Asked about the scale of the layoffs, Kuprella said: “We can’t comment on the scale of the layoff, but one did occur”, adding that “it wasn’t a decision taken lightly.”

“We acquired Komoot with the ambition of driving further growth – both by expanding into new markets and by reaching additional segments in established ones such as Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and France.

“To support this vision, we reorganised the team accordingly. Counterintuitive as it may seem, our experience has shown that smaller, autonomous teams… tend to operate with greater speed and efficiency.”

Kuprella says that Bending Spoons has also injected its own staff into Komoot: “The current Komoot team is a blend of pre-acquisition team members and new additions from Bending Spoons. The team combines historical knowledge of the product, market, and industry with a fresh perspective and experience from other successful products of the Bending Spoons portfolio.”

Komoot was famed in the outdoors industry for its family-like working culture and in-person team-building events.

Kuprella says Komoot’s pre-sale culture of remote working, flexible working hours and other benefits will continue under its new ownership: “[Komoot] employees have also enjoyed flexible working hours, a generous personal development budget, and other benefits.

“All of these policies will continue – not just for the sake of continuity, but because Bending Spoons shares and upholds similar initiatives and values as well.”

Price increases for users

Komoot’s business model was previously to provide mapping in one region – typically a county in the UK – for free, with other regions purchased at extra cost, or a one-off payment to open up indefinite access to maps of the world.

There is also a premium monthly subscription, currently €6.99 per month – up from €4.99 before the purchase – which enables users to download maps for offline use and plan multi-day ‘Tours’ as well as offering other functionality.

But since March, new users have had to be signed up to Komoot Premium to be able to sync routes from Komoot to cycling computers, smartwatches or other devices. 

Komoot is also looking to expand into new markets and segments from its established base, primarily in Europe. 

Vitus has re-emerged quietly from the collapse and eventual acquisition of Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles, with the launch of two new budget-friendly hardtails – the Nucleus and the Sentier. 

Appearing on the Chain Reaction Cycles site without fanfare, the Nucleus returns as Vitus’s entry-level mountain bike, now with a modernised frame that features a UDH hanger, Boost spacing and dropper-post compatibility, plus a refreshed spec aimed squarely at first-time trail riders. 

Sitting above it, the Sentier offers a burlier package with a longer-travel fork and upgraded components designed for more aggressive trail riding.

The move comes less than two years after Wiggle CRC entered administration – a process that saw “almost everyone… within the organisation” lose their jobs, according to sources who spoke to BikeRadar in February 2024. 

• Read more: Mass redundancies at Wiggle Chain Reaction after ‘brands sold’, according to sources

At the time, the future of Vitus and sister brand Nukeproof – which has since been acquired by Ridley owner, Belgian Cycling Factory – looked uncertain. 

Insolvency filings showed Wiggle owed brands and distributors £26.7 million, with administrators later confirming the sale of intellectual property tied up in its in-house labels.

Chain Reaction Cycles, Wiggle and its sub-brands were eventually sold to the Frasers Group. Owned by Mike Ashley, the group includes Sports Direct, ProBikeKit, Evans Cycles and other brands.

The Nucleus – improved with key upgrades

The Nucleus continues to target entry-level riders.

The latest frame adds several modern standards that were absent from the previous generation, including a UDH hanger and 148mm thru-axles.

These updates bring the Nucleus in line with most modern mountain bikes. A 120mm air-sprung Suntour Raidon fork handles suspension duties, with Shimano’s recent Cues 1×10 drivetrain – an increasingly common sight on entry-level bikes – and an 11-46t cassette providing gearing. 

Stopping power comes from Tektro hydraulic brakes, while own-brand 30mm-wide rims are wrapped in 2.4in Maxxis Forekaster tyres.

The bike is priced at £949 at RRP, but is already ‘reduced’ to £649. Take that pricing with a pinch of salt, however. As Which? reported in June, the Frasers Group is known to use questionable pricing tactics. 

When we last reviewed the Nucleus in 2021, we found the bike’s stiff rear end and XC-leaning geometry limited its descending potential, even if the drivetrain and overall build represented excellent value. 

The new frame looks like a significant step forward, with modern standards making it a more upgradeable package overall. 

Sentier – burlier and more capable

Positioned above the Nucleus, the Sentier is intended for harder rides.

Like the Nucleus, the Sentier’s alloy frame now features a UDH hanger, Boost spacing and thru-axles. 

Suspension is handled by a 130mm RockShox Judy Silver TK fork, with a higher-spec Shimano Cues 1×11 drivetrain fitted.

A KS dropper post, Shimano MT201 brakes and tubeless-ready wheels come as stock, along with Maxxis Forekaster and Minion DHF tyres.

As with the Nucleus, the bike is priced at £1,099 at RRP, but is already ‘reduced’ to £849. Suspect pricing aside, that’s a high-value package on paper. 

In our 2023 review, BikeRadar described the Sentier as “a great all-round performer with quality components and up-to-date geometry”, awarding it 4.5 stars. The new bike looks to build on that.

What next for Vitus?

There is no confirmation yet on whether Vitus’ road, gravel or enduro platforms will return, nor whether its premium carbon bikes will reappear in the line-up. 

For now, the Nucleus and Sentier mark the first step in the brand’s re-emergence – albeit a subtle one that came without press release or fanfare. We have contacted Vitus for comment.

Sadly, the days are starting to get shorter and colder. But that’s when it’s a good time to be a Zwifter! As we near the first day of fall, Zwift has announced major features and events coming to the game over the next few months. In this week’s videos, learn more about what’s coming up on Zwift!

Catch reviews of the new Zwift Clicks, rundowns of more new features, a guide to ZRL 2025/2026, and a review of the Zwift Ride.

Got a Great Zwift Video?

Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!

Everyone’s life has moved increasingly online, and for cyclists, that creates unique problems.

Sharing rides and photos can be motivating and fun, but it risks revealing far more than you intend – from the exact location of your garage to details thieves could use, not to mention often highly personal data. 

With so many connected apps, it’s not always clear who can see what.

Here are seven common ways you might be compromising your cycling privacy online, and what you can do to stay safe.

• Read more: The complete guide to Strava, the world’s biggest fitness tracking app

1. Think about your Strava settings

Strava calls itself “the social network for athletes”, and much of its appeal comes from sharing rides, cheering friends on, and posting photos or videos. But by default, that also means your activities reveal where you’ve been, when, and potentially even where you live.

• Read more: The one benefit of Strava that nobody is talking about (and why it could make you happier)

The most important step is setting up privacy zones around your home, work or any other sensitive location.

Be strategic here – a small circle drawn just a couple of hundred metres from your house can still make it obvious which property is yours, especially if you live in a rural area. A zone set further away gives you more protection.

Even then, be cautious about what you post. An image taken outside your front door or garage can be just as revealing as a GPS trace.

From there, Strava’s layered privacy tools enable you to control who sees what: you can share with everyone, with followers only or lock rides down completely. 

Another setting to check is Flyby, which enables other riders to see when and where you crossed paths. 

It’s disabled by default, but if you switch it on, your rides must be publicly visible. Make sure you’re comfortable with that before enabling it.

Finally, consider the global heatmap, which aggregates millions of rides to show popular routes. 

Strava does apply your privacy settings here, but if your rides are public, others could zoom in close to your start and end points. You can opt out entirely if you’d prefer not to appear.

• Read more: Strava’s Heatmap reveals military bases and more

It’s not only your location you need to consider. If your ride starts with a run over to your mate’s house to meet up, it’s another frequently visited place that’s likely to contain bikes. 

Your Strava trace – or trace on any other app, for that matter – will most likely flag it up with a wiggly GPS trace and a speed drop to zero as you wait around for them to get ready.

Set privacy zones for friends’ houses and other locations you visit frequently, that snoopers may want to know about.  

2. Watch where your Garmin courses start

Garmin Connect provides a great tool for ride planning. 

You can map out a route (or Course in Garmin speak) and Garmin will use its own popularity routing to send you via routes most used by cyclists. 

It’s similar to the route planning offered by Strava, but unlike Strava, it’s free to use.

You can choose your basemap to plot your route. The most detailed basemap is OpenStreetMap – but there’s a privacy catch if you use it.

While routes plotted in Garmin’s base map, Google Maps or Here Maps can be kept private, those plotted on OpenStreetMap are always public. 

This opens up the same issues of identifiable start and end locations as with rides on Strava. 

Either start your planned route a couple of kilometres down the road, when Garmin will direct you to the start, or delete your course once you’ve ridden it.

It won’t always be this way – speaking to BikeRadar, a Garmin spokesperson said it is “in the process of making courses created with OSM private by default”, adding “we expect that update to take place later this year”.

3. Don’t be too social

Social media sites are another source of info on where you are and where you ride. 

Instagram has recently introduced optional location sharing, which provides your location to contacts in near real-time.

Snapchat, too, has a location heatmap, which could show where you and your bikes are located.

If you want to be really safe, it’s probably not a good idea to boast online about that new Pinarello you’ve just bought, either. 

There’ve been cases of riders being followed and their bikes hijacked.

4. Make sure your photo sharing doesn’t share more than you thought

Another opportunity to reveal your location is provided by sharing photos. 

Be mindful of the background of your shots. Does it show your house, garage or other distinctive features that could reveal where you live? 

It’s relatively easy to use Google Street View and satellite images to establish where a particular shot was taken if you know the rough area. 

Some photo-sharing apps will retain the metadata for posted shots, too. This might include the GPS coordinates showing where they were taken. 

Check that your preferred photo-sharing app strips your metadata, or remove it yourself before posting a shot.

5. Check who you share your real-time location with

Most GPS cycling computers offer real-time location sharing via their apps if you carry your phone with you. 

It’s another potentially leaky source of location info, although by default your ride is shared with named contacts only. 

But Garmin Connect, for example, enables you to share to other apps too, so you could potentially leak your location into apps where you haven’t set such tight privacy. 

6. Consider your indoor rides

Indoor cycling apps enable you to ride your outdoor routes on your trainer. It’s yet another potential source of data leakage if you share your indoor workouts, particularly if you upload video footage to accompany your ride’s GPS file.

Again, consider who can see what in Rouvy, Bkool or your other preferred indoor training app. 

7. Check your shared apps

There’s a whole network of cycling apps that you can link together. 

Your ride might be logged in Garmin Connect, uploaded to Strava, pushed out to Komoot and fed through to training apps, brands’ sites and more. 

Before you know it, you could have a web of a dozen linked accounts, all seeing some or all of your data and potentially sharing it. 

Most apps will have robust privacy policies, but those policies can change, and lesser-known apps may take a more lax approach.

Proceed cautiously and check that any historical links are disabled if you stop using an app.

This weekend’s big event is the Rapha Women’s 100, and there are lots of events from Zwift, as well as community members, to help riders reach that 100km mark to celebrate women’s cycling. See below for more on these rides, plus other special events this weekend!

Rapha Women’s 100

Zwift Racing League Recon Rides – Southern Coast Cruise TTT

Team CLS Base ‘n’ Banter

CRYO-GEN Sunday Endurance Ride (C or D)

Tiny Races Return to 5 Categories

How We Make Our Picks

We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:

• Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
• Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
• Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
• Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
• Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
• Is it for a good cause?
• Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
• Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?

In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!

The Namibian bicycle company Onguza has launched its new Bliksem gravel bike, which you can customise to your heart’s content, specifying everything from cable routing to frame graphics. 

Former professional cyclist Dan Craven set up Onguza in 2021 in his home country of Namibia, and it released its first bike in 2022, the Gravel Model 1. 

Now, after three years of development, Onguza says the Bliksem is introducing a new way for you to design and order handmade steel bicycles. 

“The business model we’ve always aimed for”

Onguza’s factory is in-house, making it “uniquely able to offer truly customisable, handmade framesets at a price much closer to mass-produced brands”. 

As with the Gravel Model 1, Onguza’s frames have standardised geometry, but beyond that you can customise almost everything on the Bliksem gravel bike. 

“This is the business model we’ve always aimed for, and finally we’re in a place to bring it to life,” says Onguza. 

“The customer can select which of three different cable routing options they want installed on their frame, extra bottle and luggage bosses add-ons, all before your choice of paints and special graphics go on,” the brand says. 

There are 18 frame colours and 10 graphics colours to choose from, inspired by Namibia’s landscape and culture. 

A fast and responsive gravel bike 

Taking its name from the Afrikaans word for ‘lightning’, Onguza says the Bliksem is its most responsive, fast gravel bike. 

The steel gravel bike is said to have a “subtly aggressive geometry”, which avoids going too low on the stack figures for “all-round great riding capabilities”. 

It also has clearance for 50mm gravel tyres, which is said to suit “high-paced training and racing, while keeping the adventure fun on brutal terrain”. 

This reflects how gravel tyre widths have grown. When Onguza launched the Gravel Model 1, it had clearance for 700x42c gravel tyres. Craven told BikeRadar this was because it was the most popular width he saw while riding in the UK, Girona and elsewhere. Fast forward three years, and brands and riders are running wider tyres. 

Elsewhere, the Bliksem has a T47 bottom bracket shell, which means Onguza can offer three cable-routing options, while using the same chassis. 

The frames are hand-mitred and fillet brazed with Columbus Life and Zone tubes, and feature stainless flat mount bosses for durability. 

How much does the Onguza Bliksem cost? 

Onguza says the Bliksem frameset pricing starts at £2,390 / $3,032 / €2,890. The price includes shipping, duties and taxes.

The US price excludes state sales taxes. “With current international duties and shipping challenges, we believe this is a necessary step to ensure bikes arrive with no hassle,” says Onguza.

Onguza has also updated its website with a frameset-building feature. Once you place an order, you will receive an estimate of the final cost, along with an image of your selected paint choices and a confirmation of your chosen specification. 

“[W]e believe more people should have access to the truly special experience of riding a customized, hand-made bike, so for us, we see this new model as our future,” says Onguza. 

We can expect to see more models from Onguza in the future, including a gravel adventure bike and two road bikes. 

Two years ago, we collaborated with Verge Sport to develop the most advanced indoor cycling kit on the market (read more).

Since that time, numerous Zwift teams have created their own indoor kits with Verge, printing their custom designs on the Pain Cave jersey and bib shorts. With hundreds of riders putting the kit through its paces across countless hard indoor sessions, the original design has proven itself. But perfection is an endless pursuit, so the original Pain Cave kit has become Pain Cave 2.0 due to three modifications:

• Jersey switched from bonded to stitched sleeve ends for durability
• Bib straps upgraded for better breathability
• Bib lycra on front (below belly button) raised a bit for more compression

Today, we’ve re-opened our Team Store, allowing Zwift Insider fans to purchase our custom kit. All orders from our store are custom-made on demand using Verge’s innovative manufacturing methods, which means you’ll receive your kit within 3-4 weeks of ordering, and you can place your order whenever you’d like.

A quote from Nathan Guerra after testing the original Pain Cave kit: “The first time I rode in this Verge kit, I rode I think for almost 8 hours. And I was like… ok… didn’t even notice it was there. Definitely had no problems. Eight hours of riding indoors can cause problems, I don’t know if anyone’s noticed…”

Here’s a gallery showing images of the original Zwift Insider Pain Cave kit, so you can get an idea how it looks in real life. (To read the full story on the development of the kit, as well as a review, visit Review: Pain Cave Indoor Cycling Kit from Verge Sport.)

The Zwift Insider kit from Verge Sport matches Zwift Insider’s in-game kit, including the “Ride Smarter / Rider Harder” text on the legs:

Our team store includes the indoor “Pain Cave 2.0” version of our kit, as well as an outdoor-friendly “Strike” jersey+bibs and base layers, all in men’s and women’s versions. And new this year, we’ve got Zwift Insider aero socks!

Questions or Comments?

Share below!

Lazer’s VeloVox brings pro-peloton race radios to your group rides, enabling you to taunt those you’ve dropped hands-free.

The new two-part communication device attaches to your helmet straps and features an open-ear design that should keep you aware of your surroundings.

Lazer says you can use the device to communicate with up to 30 riders, and it enables you to listen to music or take phone calls when on the road.

SQUIRREL_TEXT_13327677

Noise cancelling

While the VeloVox shares a similar sideburn appearance to the gimmicky Cat-Ears noise-reducing strap add-ons from the early 2010s, Lazer’s noise-reduction claims are about the microphone, not the earpiece.

The microphone is said to deliver crystal-clear audio with advanced wind and noise cancellation, ensuring your voice comes through clearly, no matter the pace or weather.

Lazer has developed the VeloVox in partnership with Cardo, which is well-known for making Bluetooth communication devices for motorbikes.

The VeloVox is controlled via the Cardo Connect app, which is available from the App Store and Google Play Store.

The two-part device is secured to each of your helmet straps. Lazer says it’s compatible with most helmet and eyewear combinations.

Sitting on both sides of the helmet, the left-hand unit controls group communications, while the right-hand side houses music and call control.

There is also Shimano integration for riders who like to keep their hands on the bar, with the ability to use Di2 shifters and STEPS ebike systems to control the device.

Lazer says the VeloVox has 11 hours of battery life and weighs 19g per side.

If you’re worried about wet rides, the device is IP54-rated and has a two-year warranty.

The VeloVox charges via USB-C.

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See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.

Cycling memorabilia hunters will be devastated to hear they’ve missed a roaring bargain, with Bradley Wiggins’ 2000 Sydney Olympics bike, raced at the Madison event, selling for only £515 on eBay.

However, it will be of some comfort to hear it went to someone with a direct connection to the bike.

The bike in question is a Terry Dolan track machine in size 62cm to suit the lofty 6ft 3in Wiggins.

• Read more: Geraint Thomas’ race bike* sells for £50 on eBay

Speaking to BikeRadar, the seller said the bike was originally passed down through a family in Torquay, with the legend being that it had once been raced by a young Wiggins.

Dolan frames were a common sight beneath British Cycling riders in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Although better known for his time aboard Pinarello bikes at Team Sky, Wiggins – and his contemporary, Mark Cavendish – was still riding Dolan bikes at least as late as 2007 at Six Day events. 

This bike is likely a much earlier model, however – but exactly how old? 

We spoke to Stephen Dolan – CEO of Dolan Bikes and son of the eponymous Terry – who confirmed the bike was “Brad’s spare bike from the Sydney Olympics in 2000”.

“We supplied custom-built aluminium frames to both Brad and Rob Hayles to ride in the Madison event at the Olympics, where they finished 4th,” he added.

Indeed, a search of the Getty Images library unearthed a photo of the young Wiggins riding the bike at the gold-medal event. The race – the first time the Madison was contested at the Olympics – was won by Australia’s Scott McGrory and Brett Aitken.

The frame is typical of the time, constructed using chunky 7003 Dedacciai alloy tubing. It’s paired with an Alpina fork and Campagnolo headset. The alloy Campagnolo Pista wheels and finishing kit look to be later additions.

Described by the seller as having only cosmetic marks, the bike still looks resplendent in a handsome shade of blue, with cream panels bearing the Dolan name.

After confirming the frame’s provenance, Dolan decided to buy it back for himself: “I have Rob Hayles’ frame here, so I bought it to match the bikes up.”

Dolan intends to source the original parts and will renovate the bike for display at the brand’s showroom in Burscough, Lancashire.

This humble frame will be in good company, sitting along bikes from “Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Chris Hoy, David Millar and Chris Boardman also currently on display.”

The first race of Zwift Racing League 2025/26 Round 1 happens Tuesday, September 16, and we’ll be in Watopia for a TTT lap of the never-before-raced Southern Coast Cruise route.

This route keeps us on Watopia’s southern coast for the entirety of the TTT, which is a nice change of pace. And yes, that pun is intended, because the rollers throughout this route will keep racers on their toes! Let’s discuss route details, bike choice, and all things TTT…

Looking at the Route: Southern Coast Cruise

Watopia’s new Southern Coast Cruise is an out-and-back (and out?) route that is 26.3km long, with 147m of elevation gain. The lap profile below makes it look quite pitchy, until you realize each climb or descent is only changing elevation by 5-12 meters! This course is best described as fast, but constantly rolling.

This route doesn’t have any particular features like long climbs or descents worth calling out. Or perhaps the better way to say it is: this route is full of short climbs and descents, and your team must remain constantly vigilant to maintain the ideal power levels to maximize speeds! (See TTTips below for more pointers.)

Read more about the Southern Coast Cruise route >

Speed Upgrades: Frame, Wheels, and More

This week, bike choice is easy: grab your most aero TT setup! The CADEX Tri is the fastest frame in game by a solid margin, and the new DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc wheels are the fastest wheels. If you don’t have access to that setup (level 40+) then see this post to determine the fastest TT setup available at your level.

Whatever you do, do not use a road frame. Because just like in real life, even a “slow” TT frame is much more aero than a road frame.

This round, for the first time in ZRL history, riders have access to two different speed-boosting upgrades. You’ll want to take maximum advantage of both, because your competitors will.

• Bike Upgrades: A fully upgraded TT bike will be ~50 seconds faster across an hour of flat riding vs the non-upgraded version. Yes, this race will be closer to a half-hour effort, and anyone who has raced a TTT knows that’s a huge margin. Read more on this topic >
• Lightning Aero Socks: These socks are unlocked by completing the Factory Tour Challenge, which was introduced in March 2025. Finishing it takes a lot of work, but the prize, the Aero Lightning Socks, will trim another ~12 seconds off an hour of riding. Read more on this topic >

Route Recon Videos and Resources

At the time this post was composed (Wednesday, September 10), the Zwift community hadn’t published any recon videos. Hard to blame them – the route wasn’t even in game until yesterday’s update, and it’s still event only.

I’ll share any recon videos or other resources here as I get them. Share in the comments section if you find or create anything useful!

TTTips

Successful team time trialing on Zwift requires a challenging combination of physical strength, proper pacing, and Zwift minutiae like picking a fast bike, understanding drafting in a TTT context, and getting your frame fully upgraded.

Flatter courses like this week give valuable seconds to teams with big pure-power riders who can keep their power high on the front while staying in single-file formation to conserve in the draft behind. Extra seconds can also be gained by pacing smartly, ramping up the effort on short climbs and recovering a bit once you’re up to speed on the short descents.

On a course like this week’s, I highly recommend all team members set their Trainer Difficulty to the same value so you’re all feeling the gradient changes similarly. (When one rider has it set to 100% and another 25%, the first rider may ramp up power much more than the second when a climb hits, tearing your group apart.)

Your goal in a ZRL TTT is to get four riders across the line in the shortest time possible. That means every team’s pace plan will differ based on the abilities of each rider. We highly recommend having an experienced DS on Discord directing your team, especially if your team contains some inexperienced TTT riders.

If you want to go further down the TTT rabbit hole, I highly recommend Dave Edmond’s Zwift TTT Calculator tool.

Your Thoughts

Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!

The Spanish authorities will deploy 1,100 officers and 400 members of the Guardia Civil this weekend in Madrid to ensure the safety of riders in the Vuelta a España amid ongoing protests against the participation of Israel–Premier Tech in the race. 

The Governmental Delegation in Madrid announced the “extraordinary” reinforcement in a statement, which was agreed upon yesterday, according to AS. 

Saturday’s stage 20 from Robledo de Chavela to Alto de la Bola del Mundo takes on the mountains near Madrid, and will see 400 civil guards mobilised. 

On Sunday, the final stage of this year’s race from Alalpardo to Madrid will be secured by 1,100 national police officers, in what is the largest mobilisation of police since the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid.  

According to AS, the Delegation emphasised the right to protest is a fundamental right that cannot be limited, and therefore the right to peaceful demonstration will be guaranteed throughout stages 20 and 21. 

The police and Guardia Civil make up the police forces for the stages throughout La Vuelta, except for those in the Basque Country and Catalonia, where security is provided by local police. 

The regular security operation for this year’s La Vuelta has consisted of 132 civil guards and more than 70 national police officers. 

Protestors have been demonstrating at the race against the participation of Israel–Premier Tech, which is co-owned by Canadian–Israeli businessman Sylvan Adams, who is a vocal supporter of the state of Israel. 

Stephanie Adam, a campaigner for the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, which called for the protests, described the team’s participation at the race as “sportswashing pure and simple”. 

Many riders have voiced concern for their safety at the race and there have been several crashes due to protests. 

Yesterday, the riders’ union voted to neutralise stage 17 if there were protests and race organisers have shortened today’s individual time trial due to planned protests.

See zwiftinsider.com/route/jarvis-seaside-sprint/

Argon 18 has launched its new Nitrogen Pro aero bike, which is designed for real-world riding rather than wind-tunnel performance at all costs.

“We’re not designing a bike for the wind tunnel – I couldn’t care less where it would rank in a wind tunnel test,” says Alexandre Côté, Argon 18’s product manager.

“It would be nice to be top of the list, and it might be close to that, but the real performance comes in [the] real world – crosswinds, headwinds, rain, crappy weather.

“We all know what we ride in, and it’s not [a] pristine tarmac-controlled, resurfaced road in the south of France for the Tour de France in July. We’re riding in real-world conditions, and we have a bike that performs well in those conditions.”

• Read more: Best aero road bike 2025 | 20 top-rated aero bikes and buyer’s guide

‘This is where most brands get it wrong’

The Canadian brand has done this by designing an aero platform from the bottom up – or rather front to back, starting with 30c tyres.

“It’s what the pros and amateurs ride up out there,” says Côte. “Why make something in the lab in isolation, where the reality is different? This is where most of the brands get it wrong at the moment – optimising for a test instead of real applications.”

Argon 18 hasn’t eschewed wind tunnels completely, and undertook three rounds of testing at the Silverstone wind tunnel during the bike’s development, but tested with a rider in place and focusing on wind-averaged drag (an average of all the yaw angles you’d experience in the real world).

In its pursuit of the perfect bike, Argon 18 seemingly left no stone unturned – including the designing of a proprietary cockpit, bottle cages and a bespoke Artech 6.A wheelset collaboration with Scope.

Although an aero platform, Côte explains that Argon 18 also wanted the Nitrogen Pro to be optimised as a complete system – meaning it’s also lightweight, with a good fit and ride feel.

The result is a frameset that comes in at 950g and a complete bike that, in its range-topping Red AXS setup, weighs 6.95kg (including power meter, bottle cages and a computer mount) in medium.

It is also 24 watts faster than the SUM Pro, making it the brand’s fastest ever bike.

Development of the bike

The Nitrogen Pro has been almost three years in the making, with the brand’s product and R&D team taking a ground-up approach to the complete bike’s design process.

Rather than coming up with a frameset in isolation and not having any control over its integration and aerodynamic interaction with components and finishing kit, Argon 18 started with “the best all-round high-performance tyre” – Vittoria’s Corsa Pro in 30c – as the first component to encounter aerodynamic resistance, and continuously analysed the downstream impact each choice would have on the next.

This philosophy is how it ended up collaborating with Scope on a bespoke version of the Dutch brand’s Artech 6.A wheelset. They weren’t optimised for a 30c Corsa Pro, which measured at 31.4mm when fitted, so the brands set to work on developing a version that was.

The result has a proprietary rim shape, 65mm-deep rims, and 3D-printed hubs that contribute to a 1,320g wheelset weight.

From here, the frame and fork were optimised to interact with the wheelset, which involved 130 different frame tube profiles and 25 fork prototypes, to find the combination that performed best.

The carbon layup was also fine-tuned to keep the weight down, with the stiffness – which is 18.5 per cent stiffer than the SUM Pro, according to Argon18 – arising from the profiles and shape.

Atten-tion to detail

Argon 18 says the componentry available on the market wasn’t up to scratch, so it decided to design its own.

“The way this industry is structured is everybody does their own thing and tries to put it together and see if it fits,” says Côte. “For us, it’s unacceptable, moving forward. It’s something we won’t be doing, if we can do better.”

The brand’s new component line is labelled Atten – the Danish word for 18 – and its most noticeable inclusion on the Nitrogen Pro is the one-piece cockpit.

Arrow-shaped to “limit the stagnation point along the leading edge”, it includes a 3° inward flair off the drops to create an ergonomically optimised setup that avoids riders needing to twist the hoods inwards.

The brand’s testing also showed that it saved 3.2 watts compared to the Vision Metron 5D ACR Evo.

The attention to detail doesn’t end there. All of the aero testing took place with bottle mounts in place – “people need to carry water, so why not optimise around that?” – and the bike is faster with bottle cages than without them as a result.

And if you only ride with one bottle on the down tube, the brand recommends keeping the seat tube one in place, with a vented design enabling air to pass through unimpeded.

All of this comes with a serious price tag – the Nitrogen Pro SRAM Red AXS will set you back £13,000 / $13,500 / €13,995 when it becomes available in February 2026. 

But the brand has also created a standard Nitrogen line-up, which features the same frame design, albeit with a different carbon layup. This starts at a more reasonable £5,200 / $5,400 / €5,995 for the 105 Di2 version. This includes the Atten cockpit, bottle cages and 42mm Atten wheels.

The riders at the Vuelta a España have voted to neutralise the race if there are further protests during today’s stage 17. 

Bahrain Victorious’s Jack Haig spoke to the media ahead of today’s stage on behalf of the riders’ union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA).

“We decided that if there is an incident, we would try to neutralise the race and then that would be it because in the end racing to an undefined finish line is not really fair sport,” said Haig, as reported by Cycling News. 

“Unfortunately, we’re being caught in the middle of something that maybe doesn’t even really involve us and at the moment we are kind of just the pawns in a very large chess game that unfortunately is affecting us,” the Australian said. 

Haig explained that the riders’ decision was only for stage 17, and we can expect further daily votes. 

Yesterday’s stage 16 saw pro-Palestine demonstrators blocking the course with 3km to go, with race organisers deciding to curtail the stage, which finished under the 8km-to-go banner. Egan Bernal won the stage. 

There has been ongoing concern from riders regarding their safety, and several riders have crashed due to the protests. 

Regarding stage 16, Haig said: “Yesterday it started to become a little bit uncomfortable because there were some acts to maybe deliberately try and harm the riders by cutting down trees, by putting the thumb [tacks] on the ground, to deliberately light fires.” 

Cycling journalist Daniel Friebes wrote on X that there is: “General dismay growing among riders that they are (main?) decision-makers in this process. They have no appetite to race for improvised finish-lines like yesterday’s.”

Haig added that riders want to end the race in Madrid on Sunday, but that it needs to happen in a “fair way where riders are safe”. 

The protests at La Vuelta are primarily against the participation of Israel–Premier Tech. The team is co-owned by Canadian–Israeli businessman Sylvan Adams, who has said Israel–Premier Tech’s riders are ambassadors for Israel.  

In a bid to aid safety, Israel–Premier Tech removed ‘Israel’ from its kit on Saturday.

The protests at La Vuelta were called for by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). Stephanie Adam, a campaigner for PACBI, told BikeRadar that Israel–Premier Tech’s presence at La Vuelta is “sportswashing pure and simple”.

Adam said that protests at La Vuelta will continue at La Vuelta, and until Israel–Premier Tech is excluded from UCI races and events.

See zwiftinsider.com/route/southern-coast-cruise/