Rose Bikes has begun its return to the UK market, launching a new website for UK consumers offering a single model for the first time since exiting the country in 2020.
The German direct-to-consumer brand is currently selling its Backroad FF gravel bike via the UK-specific site. The bike is priced at £3,500 and is equipped with a SRAM XPLR AXS groupset, along with Rose’s own-brand wheels and finishing kit.
No other bikes are currently listed on the UK site. A link through to Rose’s international website still displays the same Brexit-related notice that has been visible to UK users since 2020, stating that shipments to the UK have ceased.
At the time of publication, the website lists a single bike. Rose Bikes
Elsewhere on the Rose UK site, listings are also live for a small selection of branded kit, including a jersey, bib shorts, socks and glasses.
Rose previously exited the UK market in December 2020, citing Brexit-related trade complications and the UK’s legal requirement for bikes to be sold with right-hand front brake configuration.
Rose has been contacted for comment.
Why did Rose leave the UK market?
Rose Bikes left the UK market in 2020. Rose Bikes
In 2020, Rose said changes to its internal manufacturing processes meant it was no longer feasible to supply bikes to the UK in a UK-legal configuration.
UK law requires complete bicycles to be sold with the front brake operated by the right-hand lever.
At the time, Rose was transitioning away from its build-to-order model and towards serial production, significantly reducing customer customisation.
Rose said that while accommodating UK-specific brake configurations had previously been simple when building bikes to order, doing so within a serial production model would be prohibitively complex and expensive.
While Rose initially continued shipping parts and accessories, all UK orders were later suspended as Brexit-related trade complications intensified.
Contemporary Rose Bikes continue with the brand’s history of good value. Jack Luke / Our Media
In the years since leaving the UK, Rose has grown significantly across Europe and its domestic German market, expanding its range of road, gravel and mountain bikes.
Its gravel bikes, including the Backroad FF, in particular have become increasingly popular, with the brand’s Classified x Rose team highly visible on the gravel racing circuit.
Rose Bikes have historically performed well in BikeRadar testing. The Rose Pro SL 105 won our sub-£1,000 Bike of the Year category in 2018 and 2019.
Its return to the UK direct-to-consumer market could see Rose re-enter as a credible competitor in a sector currently dominated by brands such as Canyon and Ribble.
Editor’s note: this story has been updated to include details of the Rose Bikes UK website and available products.
Until recently, I used exclusively top-end all-round race and all-season tyres on my own bikes.
The formula will be familiar to many – during the heady summer months, only the fastest, most supple tyres will do, and in the winter, the reassurance of tougher boots is essential.
A broadly warm and dry 2025 notwithstanding, in the UK that generally means I spend most of my riding time using top-spec all-season tyres. But my recent test of four second-tier options from major tyre players has got me thinking: maybe I need to reconsider how much money I’m spending on my tyres.
The bottom line is, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the best mid-priced road tyres – they’re not the waste of time I’ve heard many decry them to be, and given you can get a set for far less than their RRPs would state, I reckon they’re a great-value alternative.
Tyre tech, such as ‘BlackChili’, will likely mean something to you if you use Continental’s faster tyres – you get it in the Grand Prix TR. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media
A tyre’s compound forms the contact interface with the ground, so of course it’s vital for grip and a great deal of confidence building. Thankfully, corners aren’t cut here.
The Continental Grand Prix TR, Pirelli P Zero Road TLR and Vittoria Rubino all include compounds derived from their flagship siblings.
Of course, while the branding is on point – tyre aficionados will be buoyed by the BlackChili, SmartEVO and Graphene + Silica monikers, respectively – none are truly identical to the flagship tyres. Each tyre has been modified to suit the conditions it is designed for, namely: a mix of dry and wet, and perhaps some winter use.
Even Continental’s raciest tyres use the BlackChili compound, but usually with some modifications. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media
This means they’re not quite as tacky-feeling when you’re pushing hard in the best conditions, but you often get a good balance of performance when you’re not going to be pushing the limits of grip and talent.
Given this is an accurate representation of almost all of us, almost all of the time, why should you spend more on higher-performance tyres when in reality, mid-priced options will do adequately?
What’s a few watts between friends?
The Michelin Pro5 Competition Line produces competitively low rolling resistance according to bicyclerollingresistance.com – once the releasing agent has worn away, of course. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media
Similarly, who really cares about a few watts of rolling resistance?
Some of us do, of course, and we always like to check the excellent resource Bicyclerollingresistance.com for its expert take, as well as dabble in our own experiments from time to time.
And, in fairness, rolling resistance matters whether you’re riding quickly or not. In fact, it can save you more time if you’re a slower rider than if you’re a faster one, all things being equal, because there’s greater opportunity to save time for the longer duration of your ride.
But do you really need the absolute lowest rolling resistance, as these riders? I’d argue not.
So I shall rephrase: do you care enough about how efficient your tyres are to warrant spending more on top-spec models? I did once, but now I realise, like most other riders I encounter, I just want to enjoy the ride – and it doesn’t matter if I’m a few minutes slower to the coffee stop or getting home.
Plus, the gaps are almost unnoticeable anyway – a mere 3-5 watts separates the Michelin Pro5 Competition Line from the fastest all-round race tyres available, and that’s something I can only sense when I’m really paying attention.
How I tested
I tested the four sets of tyres on a set of Hunt 50 Carbon Disc wheels, chosen for their established performance benchmark. The rims have a 22mm internal width and a hooked bead, enabling me to test the 28mm-wide tyres on rims that should make the most of the nominal size.
I ran an initial tubeless-installation test for each tyre, before installing each set in turn for testing (totalling three setups). I recorded weights and inflated widths at 80psi / 5.5 BAR.
The carcass underpins the tyre’s construction, impacting how it behaves more than almost any other factor. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media
Generally, a tyre’s carcass (the underpinning construction on which the compound is layered) is the most important contributor to suppleness.
This carcass is made of a woven material – typically nylon, but sometimes cotton – and the higher number of threads per inch (TPI), the more supple the tyre will be. You’ll find three to four layers of this material forming the carcass.
Essentially, suppleness enables the tyre to deform and mould itself to the road under you, conferring a tangible sensation of the grip the compound is offering up, plus a level of road-smoothing comfort.
Higher thread counts (such as the 320 TPI count featured in the Corsa Pro Control all-season tyre) can also impact weight. Simon von Bromley / Our Media
In times gone by, many lower-tier tyres would feature lower thread counts than their racier counterparts – but here that isn’t necessarily true.
Vittoria doesn’t include its venerable 320 TPI cotton casing in the Rubino, but a still-decent 100 TPI nylon casing remains in its place – while the Michelin has a 120 TPI casing (perhaps a driver of its impressive rolling resistance), as does the Pirelli.
Interestingly, the Continental Grand Prix TR proves you don’t necessarily need this – it manages to deliver good road feel, but bear in mind that’s because it doesn’t feature a puncture-protection layer (relying on an extra layer of its carcass to achieve this instead).
Essential puncture protection
Brands test their tyres in the lab for puncture resistance – I’m glad I haven’t been unlucky enough to go beyond their limits this year. Sophie Gateau / Hutchinson
While a certain degree of luck is always part of the equation, I suffered no punctures during my initial 12-week test period, and haven’t suffered any in the two months that have followed.
I like to pick my line carefully and, in my own time at least, purposefully choose cleaner routes. These are behaviours that I’m sure will resonate with many reading this.
This is an experience we all want to avoid. ASO
However, I’ve been left far more confident in these mid-level tyres than I was when I started testing – so confident that, bearing in mind my previous points, I‘m very content to use up these tyres’ life before I consider moving back to higher-spec rubber.
Of course, part of their resilience could be down to their tubeless construction, which by definition is thicker than a general clincher alternative, even before any sealant has been called into action.
Which is why…
Tubeless is a good thing… even if you don’t want it
Tubeless setups remain messy (and wasteful) affairs at times, which is why I try to avoid them outside of my core testing. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media
I’m convinced that even if you don’t want to run your tyres tubeless, you should still buy tubeless tyres (even though clincher versions still exist).
With most tyre development now directed towards the tech (I can barely remember the last time a brand made any noise about a new clincher tyre, or indeed a clincher variant of a tubeless tyre), it’s logical to think that the drawbacks of running a tube inside a tubeless tyre have now been – at least partially – mitigated as the technology improves.
I prefer to run TPU inner tubes for my testing after I’ve done my test tubeless setup, while many are converted to running a tubeless set up, and others prefer to stick to standard butyl inner tubes.
Latex, butyl and TPU inner tubes are all options – I prefer TPU tubes for their weight and performance benefits, but also for their small size. Simon von Bromley / Our Media
Whatever your flavour, any one of these tubeless tyres offers enough performance to not feel unduly hamstrung by a tubed installation. Previously, you either didn’t have the option to go tubeless, or the level of the technology in the design was such that if you added a tube, the setup would feel like the proverbial Wellington Boot.
All in, I’m pleased that tyre brands have now ported some of their learnings from their greatest offerings to their more cost-effective options. In short, you no longer have to choose between a racy tyre and a conservative winter tyre – the compromises you do make are now worth it.
There are lots of popular, long, or otherwise unique events happening this weekend as Rapha’s Festive 500 gets underway and riders are indoor in earnest. So many events, in fact, that I had to choose 10 instead of my regular 5! See them all below…
Rapha Festive 500
Popular Kit Unlock Unique Event
Zwift has organized a set of RoboPacer-led rides throughout the Festive 500. Rides alternate between “long” 50km rides on Triple Flat Loops at the top of each hour and “short” 25km rides on Watopia’s Waistband at the half hour.
Cycling Time Trials – the national governing body for time trials in England, Scotland, and Wales – is holding a slightly crazy special event this weekend, in two different timeslots.
Your experience will vary significantly depending on the category you join, so choose carefully:
Category A is a drafting-enabled ride with powerups enabled
Category B has drafting disabled and no powerups
Both categories allow riders to choose any bike, including a TT bike. (So I’d recommend choosing a TT bike!) Late starts are allowed for up to 30 minutes.
Back for another year, it’s “the toughest and longest Zwift race of the year”, TFC’s epic Christmas race on Watopia’s The Uber Pretzel! At 128.8km with 2381 of elevation, this route is a tough one… especially the finish up Alpe du Zwift!
There are always a few teams crazy enough to plan full 500km events during the Festive 500, but this weekend I only see one. It’s an open-paced ride on Tempus Fugit with the FAAST crew, and the sparse event notes says, “Bring your big boy pants!”
Stay for the full ride, or just see how long you can go. This will be a challenge no matter how you slice it!
Sunday has been declared Global vEveresting Days, and The Torturefest Club, in collaboration with Everesting.com, are holding a series of virtual Everesting events on Zwift on December 29, 2025.
Galaxy Cycling Club -– Fundraiser Ride for Simon Richardson MBE
Banded Good Cause
Join the Galaxy squad for a social banded ride and fundraiser to raise £2500 towards a specialist, lightweight wheelchair for Paralympian Simon Richardson MBE.
Simon is a valued member of club, offering helpful advice and inspiration to many. Read his story here.
The Cheesecake Crew is holding a 161km ride with two pace options on the France Classic Fondo route this Sunday. To help pass the time and make the ride unique, they hold a live Zoom call during the event (details in event description).
One last crazy event to finish off our weekend list. How about 100+ laps of Downtown Dolphin? This is a 200km group ride with open pacing, and since the laps are so short, you’ll always be able to find a wheel to draft, or push hard to bridge up to someone new!
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!
If yesterday’s indulgence has got you in the mood to repent, there’s no better way to build and maintain your fitness than by settling into an indoor training routine until the outdoor cycling season starts again.
Indoor training is the best way to keep your fitness journey on track through the winter months, and with modern smart trainers, it doesn’t have to be a bore.
If you’re yet to pick up a smart trainer or looking to upgrade your existing setup, be sure to make use of Zwift’s Big New Year Sale, where the brand is offering great savings.
Running from 26 December to 5 January, the Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE 2 is now only £899.99 – a huge £200 off the regular price.
US consumers can also take advantage of a huge $450 saving, bringing one of Wahoo’s best ever trainers down to $599.99.
And, unlike other items in the sales this time of year, this deal comes at a great time, with plenty of winter left to make good use of it.
Zwift Ride enables you to replicate your ‘outdoor’ bike’s real setup. Zwift
Zwift Ride is the brand’s all-in-one indoor cycling setup, which combines the excellent Wahoo KICKR CORE 2 with Zwift’s Ride Smart Frame to create an indoor smart bike.
The Ride Smart Frame enables you to adjust its fit so you can replicate your real-world setup, and is for those serious about training.
With a Zwift Cog replacing a traditional cassette, virtual shifting is controlled from the Smart Handlebar, which also provides full control of the Zwift in-game experience.
With £200 off, Zwift says it represents the deepest discount it has ever provided in the UK.
Buy the Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE 2 from Zwift for £899.99 / $999.99 / €999.99
For 11 days, the Wahoo KICKR V6 has $450 off and includes the Zwift Cog and Click. This adds an extra $49.99 in value, while enabling easier setup and virtual shifting right out of the box.
This offer is exclusive to Zwift.com – marking not only the lowest price ever for this trainer, but the first time it has been bundled with Zwift Cog and Click.
The trainer features a high level of connectivity, including Wi-Fi, and boasts performance-oriented tech, such as +/- 1% power accuracy, side-to-side movement, auto-calibration and firmware updates.
We gave it a 4.5-star rating when we tested it, praising its excellent ride feel and build quality, accurate data with reliable automatic calibration and quiet operation.
Buy the Wahoo KICKR V6 2 from Zwift for $599.99, saving $450
Wahoo KICKR CORE V2 with Zwift Cog and Click – £449.99 / €449.99
We’re big fans of the KICKR CORE V2. Simon von Bromley / Our Media
The original KICKR CORE quickly became a benchmark in the smart trainer boom, delivering a great ride experience, reliable accuracy and sturdy construction without a premium price tag.
Its successor, released earlier this year, stays true to that formula, while adding modern connectivity upgrades and refining its performance even further.
Zwift just launched what they’re calling a “Big New Year Sale” running through January 5, while Wahoo has launched Boxing Day discounts.
Some of these sale prices match what we recently saw for Cyber Weekend, but we’re also seeing the lowest price ever in the UK for the Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE 2, and the lowest price ever on the Wahoo KICKR V6. See below for details!
Note: shopping links in this post are affiliate links to Zwift and Wahoo. Your purchase through these links helps support Zwift Insider, so thank you in advance!
Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE 2
This weekend Zwift repeats their big discounts on the Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE 2 from Cyber Weekend, except they’re lowering the price even more in the UK, to the lowest price I’ve ever seen.
This is Wahoo’s flagship trainer, and my go-to for personal Zwifting sessions when I’m not testing other trainers. It does everything the KICKR CORE 2 can do, only better, including strong +/-1% power accuracy, a beefy flywheel for a realistic ride feel, WiFi connectivity, Zwift virtual shifting capability, and much more.
I’ve never seen it on sale for such a low price (42.9% off)… get it while you can!
Note: Zwift’s sale applies to the KICKR with Zwift Cog & Click, while Wahoo is offering the same pricing for the KICKR with a standard cassette.
Wahoo’s newest trainer is on sale in the UK and EU. The KICKR CORE 2 builds on the strong reputation of the original KICKR CORE by adding WiFi, Race Mode, Bluetooth Bridging of other sensors, and more.
UK: £399.99 (Regularly £499.99)
EU: €399.99 (Regularly €549.99)
US: $549.99 (No Discount)
Price includes 1 free month of Zwift ($20 value) for new subscribers only.
Wahoo’s “budget” smartbike shares many features with the fully-loaded Pro model, including virtually silent operation, customizable electronic shifting, easy adjustability, and WiFi connectivity. (It only lacks the Climb gradient simulator, which many riders turn off anyway.) Available this weekend at a strong discount.
Wahoo’s cutting-edge smart treadmill has taken the industry by storm with its RunFree Mode, which uses advanced sensors to automatically adjust the belt speed to match your pace, eliminating the need for manual controls. The responsive surface, grade simulation, and lateral tilt all mimic outdoor running conditions, challenging stabilizer muscles while providing dynamic movement.
This week, Zwift launched a highly requested feature: the draft indicator. In this week’s top video, learn everything you need to know about it!
Also included in this week’s picks are videos about the Zwift Camp: Baseline program, a race between the GCN presenters, training for an FTP increase, and climbing Alpe du Zwift.
I Can’t Believe Zwift Has Actually Done It
Adam from Road to A shares the details on the new Draft Indicator, which Zwift sneakily added to their game release earlier this week.
I went to Zwift Boot Camp
How well does Zwift Camp: Build really work? Liam Shaw puts it to the test by comparing his initial power numbers to his new power numbers after 5 weeks of training.
Who’s Really The Fastest GCN Presenter? | International Zwift Race
GCN presenters from all parts of the world gather on Zwift to crown the fastest presenter.
Is 4.5 w/kg FTP possible? | Zwift Race Cat A
Matt from The Watt Life shares his ambitious goal of reaching a 4.5 w/kg FTP and provides an inside look at how he is training to reach that goal.
Humbled by Alpe du Zwift
Laportss takes advantage of the rainy weather and uses it as an opportunity to achieve his goal of climbing Alpe du Zwift in under an hour. Watch as he climbs Alpe du Zwift.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Today, we’re releasing the second of three special “full map” Rebel Routes. These routes cover every road on their respective maps, and I’m releasing them in the hope that Zwift will adopt them as new fondo routes. (It’s been way too long since we’ve had new fondo routes, and there are so many great new roads that fondos could use!)
But first, once again, credit where credit is due: Zwifter Ole Eichhorn gets the kudos for putting in the work to come up with this route and even test ride it. Finding the shortest route covering all roads on a complex map is known as “the postman problem”, and Ole wrote a program to solve it.
This New York route would make a great new Bambino Fondo. (The first route we released, The Full Makuri, would make a great Medio Fondo.) The third route we’ll release, The Full Watopia, will make an epic Gran Fondo route. Stay tuned for that!
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! Rebel Routes are also included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
A complete turn-by-turn tour of this route would take much too much space. So I’ll summarize it instead.
The route begins in Central Park, which is fitting, since this was the first set of roads on Zwift’s New York map in October 2018. (For the shortest possible route, start by picking “The Highline” from Zwift’s route picker, which starts you on the glass roads.)
You’ll hit the NY KOM early, come down to Central Park’s paved roads, head back up to the glass roads to cover a few final bits, then return to ground level to finish out Central Park.
Then it’s time to head south on the new roads launched in October 2025. You’ll travel through the first of three subways, then around Zwift’s reimagined Times Square. Then you’ll enter the brick-lined City Hall Station subway before climbing up and out to cross the East River via the Manhattan Bridge.
After descending from the bridge, you’ll loop around and cross back over the river via the Brooklyn Bridge, before coming across once more on the Manhattan Bridge.
Whew. That’s a lot of bridges. But we’re in Brooklyn now, and almost finished!
Head through our final subway, then up to Grand Army Plaza before entering Prospect Park. You’ll ride a figure 8 of the park, then come out and ride around Grand Army Plaza to cover the last little bit of missed pavement on the Plaza’s roundabout.
At this point, you’ve covered all of NYC’s roads. But we like to end these routes at a defined waypoint, so travel back into Prospect Park and turn left to ride through the KOM banner. That’s the official finish line for the Strava segment.
New York actually already has a “full map” route. Well, almost. Fuhgeddaboudit covers every bit of road on the map… except for Prospect Park’s Central Drive. My hunch is this is actually a bug in the route design, and the intention was to cover every road. They just missed one turn near the end of the route!
Besides the Central Drive problem, Fuhgeddaboudit has another issue: at 79km, it’s much longer than it needs to be if your goal is to ride every bit of road in the shortest ride possible.
Rebel Route Suggestions
Got an idea for a great Rebel Route? Share it below and maybe we’ll publish a post about it!
“Spartacus was an ancient Roman slave and gladiator who led a rebellion against the Roman Republic, and thus has long served as an inspiration to those seeking to revolt against oppressive rule. He was considered a brave and able leader who fought against tremendous odds with remarkable success. “
The Warrior Games has announced the return of Tour de Spartacus, a Men’s 3-Day stage race running alongside the popular women’s Tour de Boudicca. See below for our summary of the event, and read the full race document for details.
Schedule and Route Details
Stage 1: Friday, January 2, 19:00 GMT/ 14:00 ET/ 11:00 PT/ 06:00 +1 AUS
Extra time slot for this race only, starting at 16:00 PT/19:00 ET
“We’re launching the Tour de Spartacus with a high-energy scratch race to get you fired up for the ride ahead! Feel those coastal beach vibes as you sprint to the finish and grab an early lead in the Individual General Classification.”
Stage 2: Saturday, January 3, 19:00 GMT/ 14:00 ET/ 11:00 PT/ 06:00 +1 AUS
“Get ready for three mini races through the heart of the Big Apple, a thrilling mix of sweat, grit, and pure fun! Teams of warriors will join forces to rack up valuable points for the Team GC, while the Individual GC heats up, based on cumulative time from Stage 1 + Stage 2. Can you survive the chaos and come out on top?”
Mini Race 1 ( 19:00 GMT) Avon Flyer (1 Lap) Total distance: 5.2 km
Mini Race 2 (19:15GMT) The 6 Train (1 Lap) Total distance: 6.6 km
Mini Race 3 (19:35 GMT) Spinfinity (1 Lap) Total distance: 20.1km
Stage 3: Sunday, January 4, 19:00 GMT/ 14:00 ET/ 11:00 PT/ 06:00+1 AUS
“Get ready for the ultimate showdown! The Gladiator’s Stage has arrived—the grand finale of the weekend! We’re taking you on an unforgettable journey through the Makuri Islands in pursuit of towering climbs. Pick your ideal bike and wheels, step up to the line, and prepare to dominate the streets.
You’ll take on one intense lap of Temple and Towers, pushing your limits as you battle alongside the fiercest competitors. Feel the electric atmosphere, soak in the city vibes, and leave it all on the course. Good luck, warriors—the crown is yours to claim!”
Zwift awards badges for a wide variety of achievements including riding 100km, hitting 800 watts, or climbing Alpe du Zwift in under an hour. For added incentive, each badge includes an XP bonus, with the tougher badges awarding bigger bonuses.
Here’s a complete list of Zwift’s achievement badges, including bonus XP awarded and tips for unlocking the badge.
First, a Note About Badge Counts
Zwift has changed how they display the count of available and earned achievements over the years. Here’s how it currently works:
For cyclists, the number shown at the top of the achievements screen is the sum of your Career Achievements, Cycling Achievements, and Extra Credit (sans Repack Ridge, we think).
For runners, the number shown at the top of the achievements screen is the sum of your Career Achievements, Running Achievements, and Extra Credit.
The total possible route achievements listed does not include event-only routes you haven’t yet achieved.
The total possible “Extra Credit” badges does not include unearned badges, making these effectively “hidden” achievements.
Career Achievements (12)
Habitual: “Ride a lap for 3 days in a row”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: ride or run at least 5km, 3 days in a row.
Tips: your badge is unlocked at the start of your first activity after the one which achieved the goal. Read more about this badge >
Addicted: “Ride a lap for 7 days in a row”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: ride or run at least 5km, 7 days in a row.
Tips: your badge is unlocked at the start of your first activity after the one which achieved the goal. Read more about this badge >
Work from Home: “Ride a lap for 14 days in a row”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: ride or run at least 5km, 14 days in a row.
Tips: your badge is unlocked at the start of your first activity after the one which achieved the goal. Read more about this badge >
You’re Popular: “Receive 10 Ride Ons in one ride!”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: receive at least 10 Ride Ons from other Zwifters during a single ride or run.
Tips: ride with the larger RoboPacer groups to receive lots of Ride Ons from others.
Ride On: “Give 3 Ride Ons”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: give at least 3 Ride-Ons during a single ride or run activity.
Tips: use the Companion app and/or Zwift Play controllers to easily give 5 Rides Ons to nearby riders every few seconds. This is especially easy in busy groups like big events or RoboPacer packs.
Big Fan: “Give 30 Ride Ons”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: give at least 30 Ride-Ons during a single ride or run activity.
Tips: use the Companion app and/or Zwift Play controllers to easily give 5 Rides Ons to nearby riders every few seconds. This is especially easy in busy groups like big events or RoboPacer packs.
Fan Club: “Give 100 Ride Ons”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: give at least 100 Ride Ons during a single ride or run activity.
Tips: use the Companion app and/or Zwift Play controllers to easily give 5 Rides Ons to nearby riders every few seconds. This is especially easy in busy groups like big events or RoboPacer packs.
Paparazzi: “Fan view for 15 minutes”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: watching another Zwifter while they’re active in game for at least 15 minutes.
Tips: click a rider’s name in the “Riders Nearby” list to fan view, or tap “Fan View” in the Companion app when viewing the rider’s profile. Fan viewing is most fun when you’re watching someone race! Read How to Watch Another Rider In a Zwift Race for details.
Into the Wind: “Do a U-Turn”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: do a u-turn while riding or running.
Tips: you can do a u-turn using your keyboard (down arrow), Companion app, Play Controllers, or the in-game action bar.
Statistician: “Connect your Strava account”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: connect your Strava account to Zwift, then do an activity.
Tips: this can be done via the Companion app or by logging into my.zwift.com and going to Account>Connections. Linking your Strava account also unlocks the in-game Strava kit(s)!
Paired: “Pair a phone through Zwift Companion”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: install Zwift Companion on your phone, open the app and sign into your Zwift account.
Tips: use the Companion app to browse events or clubs when you’re not Zwifting, and to perform various in-game functions while riding or running.
Sweat!: “Complete a workout”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: complete a structured workout on Zwift. This can be a group event or an individual on-demand workout.
Tips: workouts typically use ERG mode. If you don’t know how this works, check out “All About ERG Mode on Zwift” before you jump in, as ERG mode is very different from free riding!
Cycling Achievements (21)
Can’t Stop Now: “Ride 10 miles”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: ride at least 10 miles in one session.
Tips: struggling to go the distance? Join a RoboPacer pack so you benefit from the draft and get more mileage for your effort.
Marathoner: “Ride 40km”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: ride at least 40 kilometers in one session.
Tips: struggling to go the distance? Join a RoboPacer pack so you benefit from the draft and get more mileage for your effort.
100 Clicks: “Ride 100km”
Bonus: 500XP + Metric Century Kit
How it’s earned: ride at least 100 kilometers (a metric century!) in one session.
Tips: struggling to go the distance? Join a RoboPacer pack so you benefit from the draft and get more mileage for your effort.
No Big Deal: “Ride 100 miles”
Bonus: 750XP + Century Kit
How it’s earned: ride at least 100 miles in one session.
Tips: struggling to go the distance? Join a RoboPacer pack so you benefit from the draft and get more mileage for your effort. Earning this badge also unlocks the coveted black “Century Kit” in Zwift.
Whoa Nelly: “Ride 30mph”
Bonus: 250XP
How it’s earned: ride at 30mph or more.
Tips: struggling to go fast? Try a climbing route, which will always include a descent!
Speed Demon: “Ride 40mph”
Bonus:500XP
How it’s earned: ride at 40mph or more.
Tips: struggling to go fast? Try a climbing route, which will always include a descent!
How it’s earned: put out 500 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
Lit: “Hit 600 watts”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: put out 600 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
Circuit Breaker: “Hit 700 watts”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: put out 700 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
Master Draftsman: “Draft another rider for 15 seconds”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: ride in the draft of another rider for 15 seconds or more.
Tips: drafting in Zwift takes practice, but it’s crucial if you want to have the strength to win a race. Learn all about drafting on Zwift.
Jelly: “Hold over 500 watts for 10 seconds”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: hold 500 watts or more for at least 10 seconds.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
Warmed Up: “Complete 5 laps of the Volcano Circuit”
Bonus: 1000XP
How it’s earned: ride 5 laps of the Volcano Circuit (in either direction) in one activity.
Party On!: “Received a confetti RideOn from a level 100 Zwifter”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned:receiving a Ride On from a Zwifter who is wearing the confetti socks which are unlocked at level 100.
Tips: riding in groups is the best way to stumble across this achievement. Or just ask a favor from a level 100 friend!
Portal Climber: “Complete Climb Portal Once”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: finish one of the climbs in the Climb Portal.
Tips: the climb of the day is easily reached by clicking the first card under “Just Ride” near the bottom of the homescreen. See the Climb Portal Schedule to find out when climbs are scheduled.
Climb Portal Pro: “Complete Climb Portal Ten Times”
Bonus: 500XP
How it’s earned:finish 10 Climb Portal climbs (any combination counts, it doesn’t have to be 10 different climbs).
Tips: the climb of the day is easily reached by clicking the first card under “Just Ride” near the bottom of the homescreen. See the Climb Portal Schedule to find out when climbs are scheduled.
Legs of Steel: “Complete Climb Portal 25 Times”
Bonus: 1000XP
How it’s earned:finish 25 Climb Portal climbs (any combination counts, it doesn’t have to be 25 different climbs).
Tips: the climb of the day is easily reached by clicking the first card under “Just Ride” near the bottom of the homescreen. See the Climb Portal Schedule to find out when climbs are scheduled.
Running Achievements (11)
Hot Off the Line: “Run a mile in a single session”
Bonus: 250XP
How it’s earned: run 1 mile in a single session.
First Five: “Run 5km in a single session”
Bonus: 500XP
How it’s earned: run 5km in a single session.
Gimmie Ten: “Run 10km in a single session”
Bonus: 1000XP
How it’s earned: run 10km in a single session.
Runners Dozen: “Run 13.1 miles in a single session”
Bonus: 1500XP
How it’s earned: run 13.1 miles (a half marathon) in a single session.
Centurion: “Run a total distance of 100 miles”
Bonus: 500XP
How it’s earned: accumulate 100 miles of runs across multiple sessions (or do it all in one session if you’re crazy).
Street Cred: “Run a total distance of 500 miles”
Bonus: 1500XP
How it’s earned: accumulate 500 miles of runs across multiple sessions.
Pursuit of Happiness: “Run a total distance of 1000 miles”
Bonus: 2500XP
How it’s earned: accumulate 1000 miles of runs across multiple sessions.
Earning the Donuts: “Run a mile in under 9 minutes”
Bonus: 300XP
How it’s earned: run a mile in under 9 minutes.
Leg Warmer: “Run a mile in under 8 minutes”
Bonus: 400XP
How it’s earned: run a mile in under 8 minutes.
Like the Wind: “Run a mile in under 7 minutes”
Bonus: 500XP
How it’s earned: run a mile in under 7 minutes.
Engines Are Go: “Run a mile in under 6 minutes”
Bonus: 600XP
How it’s earned: run a mile in under 6 minutes.
Extra Credit (13)
The following badges are not shown in the achievements list until you’ve earned them, effectively making them “hidden” achievements.
How it’s earned: put out 800 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
The Blowdrier: “Hit 900 watts”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: put out 900 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
Premier Power: “Hit 1000 watts”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: put out 1000 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
Off the Rocks: “Hit 1100 watts”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: put out 1100 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
1.21 Gigawatts: “Hit 1200 watts”
Bonus: 100XP
How it’s earned: put out 1200 watts or more during your ride.
Tips: struggling to get this badge? Work on your sprint form, remembering that power is torque x cadence. Increase either and you increase your sprint power!
You’re Famous: “Receive 30 Ride Ons in one ride”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: receive at least 30 Ride Ons in a single ride or run.
Tips: ride with the larger RoboPacer groups to receive lots of Ride Ons from others.
Bigger Than Jensie!: “Receive 100 Ride Ons in one ride”
Bonus: 50XP
How it’s earned: receive at least 100 Ride Ons in a single ride or run.
Tips: ride with the larger RoboPacer groups to receive lots of Ride Ons from others. Stay with a large pack for a couple of hours or more and you should be able to get this badge!
Everested!: “Climb 29,029 ft in one activity”
Bonus: 5000XP
How it’s earned: accumulate 29,029′ of climbing in one ride or run.
Tips: this is no small achievement! To truly “Everest” on a bike (indoors or out) you must follow a set of rules, as explained on the official Everesting website.
Liftoff!: “Climb Alpe du Zwift in under an hour”
Bonus: 250XP
How it’s earned: summit Alpe du Zwift in under 60 minutes.
How it’s earned: finish the Repack Rush route (steering required)
Tips: hit the blue boost strips, steer around the red hazards, and grab those time bonuses to get the shortest course time possible!
Going the Distance: “Run 26.2 miles”
Bonus: 2500XP
How it’s earned: run a marathon (26.2 miles) on Zwift.
Olympian: “Run a mile in under 5 minutes”
Bonus: 700XP
How it’s earned: run a mile in under 5 minutes.
Route Achievements
Most routes in Zwift award an achievement badge upon first completion as a cyclist. The game maintains a separate list for routes that award a completion badge for runners.
When you earn a route achievement badge you also receive a one-time XP bonus for completing that route. For riders, this bonus is typically equal to the XP you already earned for the route (20XP per km), so you effectively double your XPearning rate when riding routes for the first time, helping you level up faster.
Zwift has held “Mission” events over the years which typically require Zwifters to achieve a certain goal within a particular month. Mission badges are grouped by year and listed at the bottom of your achievements list.
Completed Training Plans
Whenever you complete a Zwift Training Plan, its badge is added to your achievements list.
The days of all electric bikes being heavy, with a big, ugly battery bolted onto the outside of the frame, are gone. Many ebikes are now difficult to distinguish from regular pedal-only bikes.
At the same time, motor systems are more sophisticated, enabling you to tailor the assistance you need when you need it, rather than pulling you along. You’ll usually get longer range, too.
So maybe it’s time to think about buying an electric bike. We asked Eva Lutz, senior product manager for e-bikes at Cannondale for her take on why an electric bike is a great purchase for urban and extra-urban leisure use.
An electric bike will help you keep up a higher average speed. Russell Burton / Our Media
“With an ebike, you are often faster than in a car. The biggest gains can be found in-city, but this is usually also true for commutes between 20-30km/12-18miles,” says Lutz.
“You can pass the traffic jam, you can ride the fun way across the fields, and enjoy a breeze (or even a few raindrops) in your face, before you arrive refreshed in the office, ready to tackle the day.”
Even in Europe and Australia, where the motor assistance is limited to 25km/h, fitter ebike riders, who might be able to keep up speed above this, should be able to get there faster and maintain it over steeper routes.
For US riders of Class 3 ebikes, the 28mph cut-off for the motor is likely to be significantly greater than you could achieve under your own power, and even the lower 20mph cut-off for Class 1 and 2 ebikes will enable you to get around faster.
Ride further
An ebike makes long rides feel shorter. Giant
That should enable you to ride further, too. Many ebikes will provide support for between 50 and 100km. You can often add a range extender battery if you want to go further.
“An ebike ultimately makes distance feel shorter, whether it’s your daily commute or running errands. You become faster than you would be on your analogue bike and reach your goal/destination with less effort,” Lutz adds.
Ride easier
An electric mountain bike will help you get over obstacles and climb more quickly. Scott Windsor / Our Media
An electric mountain bike will make it quicker and easier to get back to the top of the hill, so you can spend more time vertical in a session. If you’re on the road, an electric road bike will make hills less of a strain and leave you fresher to carry on once you reach the top.
Meanwhile, for commuters, an electric commuter bike will level out hilly routes or those with lots of starts and stops, and help you to arrive at your destination less hot, less tired and more comfortable.
“An ebike turns your commute into a fun recovery ride and boosts your fitness,” says Lutz. “With an ebike, you can spend your daily commutes on your bike and still have enough energy for long weekend rides.”
Stay with your mates
The motor may help you avoid being dropped on the climbs. Orbea
There’s always someone faster than you – unless you’re Tadej Pogačar. If you ride in a group, an electric bike can help you to keep up with fitter riders and will make it feel less of an ordeal to do so.
They’ll probably enjoy riding with you more, too, if they don’t have to wait for you at the top of every hill.
Tailor your exercise level
An electric bike can add to your cycling enjoyment. Ribble
Not everyone wants to go hard every ride – and maybe you don’t either. If you want to keep your exertion levels down, an ebike can keep you riding at 25km/h (or even 28mph for US riders) with lower input, so you can take in the surroundings and enjoy the ride, while still getting exercise in the fresh air.
Mahle’s motor system enables you to link the motor’s output to a heart-rate strap, so your heart rate is kept within your pre-defined limits, and most ebikes will measure your own power output and match that to their motor output.
If you do want to put in more effort, you can dial down the assistance level, or even turn the motor off.
An electric bike offers some future-proofing of your rides as well, providing extra assistance to help you get back again if you’re injured or have a longer period off the bike that affects your fitness.
Greater versatility
An electric cargo bike can be a substitute for a car for many journeys. Trek
A motor enables you to do more things on your bike, whatever you plan to use it for.
“An ebike can help you ditch your car. The regular riding boosts your fitness. No matter if you follow a training plan or simply want to add more movement into your day. With an ebike, you can easily adjust the effort you put into your commute,” Lutz points out.
If you’re using your ebike to carry loads, it will make it easier, so you can do your shopping and get it home more easily. Choose an electric cargo bike and you can carry even more around, use it for deliveries or carry the kids to school, making it a viable replacement for a car for many shorter journeys. As noted above, it will probably be quicker too, particularly if you need to park.
Rider-tuned assistance
Top-spec electric road bikes can now weigh under 10kg. Liam Cahill / Our Media
Whether you want a bike that provides plenty of grunt to get you around or you’d just like some gentle extra support to help you get up hills more easily, there’s an electric bike for you.
A more powerful motor in general means a heavier bike with a larger battery, which can be great for mountain bikes where you want to get up steeply pitched off-road climbs or urban hybrids where you want to be able to keep up with traffic.
If you don’t need so much assistance, a bike such as the Scott Fastlane or the Canyon Endurace:ON fly can weigh under 10kg. Scott likens the assistance provided by the Fastlane’s TQ HPR40 motor to a gentle push in the back, which sounds ideal. The TQ motor system also learns from your riding style to determine how much assistance to provide and when.
Many electric bikes don’t feel that different from riding a non-assisted bike, if you dial down the assistance level. They may not weigh a lot more, but you’ve still got the extra assistance on tap if you need it.
An ebike’s battery can power lights and more. Russell Burton / Our Media
Since you’re carrying a battery around, it can be put to other uses, not only moving you and the bike.
Many electric bikes have built-in lights powered by the central battery. It’s a lot easier than buying add-ons separately, is one less thing to remember to charge, will keep the lights on for longer and with higher output without the risk of them going flat, and should save some cash on buying bike lights, too.
Some ebikes have gears powered by the battery, while you may get USB ports to charge your phone or cycling computer as you ride, so the proliferation of batteries on modern bikes can be avoided.
So, no matter what your ride style, an electric bike can add enjoyment, practicality and a host of benefits. You should be able to ride faster and more easily, making it a perfect addition to your bike stable.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 2 laps of Innsbruckring…
This festive season is not just about family and feasting…. with GTR’s (Good Time Riders) 12 Races of Christmas series, it’s also about having some fast and furious racing fun during the holidays!
About the Series
Running from 26 December through to 6 January, the race series is loosely themed on the “12 days of Christmas” carol.
With routes ranging from 10-25km, it’s been designed to give racers something to get their teeth into whilst acknowledging it’s a busy time of year. While there we 12 races, the series rankings will be based on your best 9 results according to the points structure listed on ZwiftPower, with individual and team leaderboards available. So, if family, work, or social engagements crop up, you don’t have to worry about missing a day or two.
Race Times and Basic Rules
Three times are available for each race:
12:30pm UTC/7:30am ET/4:30am PT
6:30pm UTC/1:30pm ET/10:30am PT
12:30am UTC/7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
Entry into any of the race times will count as your result for the day. Races are mass start, but five categories are available, split by Zwift Racing Score. A ZwiftPower account and heart rate monitor will be required to appear on the leaderboard.
And best of all, there’s no complicated rules around the races – just a straight scratch race to the finish.
Route Schedule
26th December: “And a Partridge in a Pear Tree” – Makuri, Spirit Forest – 1 lap, 12.6km
Today, we’re releasing the first of three special “full map” Rebel Routes. Unlike the very small Summit City Velodrome, the last Rebel Route we released, these routes are very long, covering every single road on their respective maps.
But first, credit where credit is due: Zwifter Ole Eichhorn gets the kudos for putting in the work to come up with this route. And it was no small job! Finding the shortest route covering all roads on a complex map is known as “the postman problem”, and Ole wrote a program to solve it, telling me that “the Internet knows a lot of tricks.”
Ole went on to say, “The program uses Hierholtzer’s algorithm to find a Eulerian path, the Floyd-Warshall algorithm to pair odd nodes, and Djikstra’s algorithm to find minimum node pairings. (Yeah, just typing that makes my head hurt.)”
Not only did Ole find the shortest route – he went and rode it! Fine work, sir.
Second: I’m releasing these three Rebel Routes in hopes that Zwift will adopt them as new fondo routes. It’s been way too long since we’ve had new fondo routes, and there are so many great new roads that fondos could use! (All three routes are from Ole, and all three are “full map” routes.)
This route in particular would make a great Medio Fondo route, and the next two routes released will make good Bambino and Gran routes, respectively. Stay tuned for those.
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! Rebel Routes are also included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
A complete turn-by-turn tour of this route would take much too much space. So I’ll summarize it instead.
The route begins in the Yumezi countryside, which is fitting since this is where it all began! When the Makuri Islands map launched in May of 2021, these were the only roads it had.
You’ll cover nearly all the Yumezi roads in the first 26km of your ride, but will return at the end to cover a final bit in the Castle area.
From Yumezi, we make our way over to urban Neokyo, which was the next section of Makuri Islands to launch, in November 2021. Neokyo is all bright lights and city streets, and the lights feel especially bright because it’s always night time in Neokyo. We’ll cover all of Neokyo roads here, before heading descending down Pain Cavern to Urukazi.
Urukazi is the tropical island portion of the Makuri Islands, and we’ll ride around it clockwise, doing two loops to cover all the roads. The first loop covers the inner roads, while the second loop covers the outer roads.
Then it’s up the Slot Canyon and back into Yumezi for the last bit of the route. You’ll ride through the lap banner once again and into the Castle area, covering a few internal roads. We finish our last bit of unridden pavement here as we ride through the Village Sprint, but we might as well carry on downhill for another 1.5km to finish up at the lap banner where we began.
Turn By Turn Directions
Be warned: this route has a lot of turns. Way more than any other Rebel Route we’ve ever done. You may want to print out a cue sheet.
Begin by choosing the Two Village Loop route, which starts you near the Yumezi lap banner, heading in the right direction for the first few turns.
Anyone who has really pushed their limits on a bike during an event will have experienced burning thighs, screaming lungs, a pounding heart and oceans of sweat.
But have you ever wondered what is happening to your body when you pedal? And how you can energise it to ensure you arrive at the finish line in the most efficient way?
We lift the lid on the physiology and psychology involved so you can leave the competition wheezing in your wake.
Riders wait nervously on the start line of the 2025 L’Etape du Tour. A.S.O./Bastien Séon
You’re lined up on the start line. The nerves are cranked up, meaning your kidneys’ adrenal medulla is stimulated into action and secreting adrenaline.
It’s the hormonal cause of that ‘flight or flight’ mechanism and results in a cascade of cardio repercussions before you’ve even set off.
“These include an increase in heart rate and cardiac output,” says cardiologist Andre La Gerche. “It also leads to a rise in blood pressure and metabolism.”
Further adrenaline-fuelled physiological changes include the relaxation of the smooth muscle in the wall of the bronchioles, which leads to a better supply of air to the alveoli; an increase in respiration rate; and dilation of coronary blood vessels and those of skeletal muscle, thus providing increased blood supply to those areas.
So, your body’s started to prepare for the physical challenge ahead. But it’s still a shock to the system when you pedal, especially if your ride opens with a high mountain pass.
This is where ‘oxygen uptake kinetics’ comes into play. Essentially, this is the speed at which your body can deliver oxygen to working muscles from a state of rest and so click swiftly into a steady state.
Not surprisingly, the fitter you are, the more proficient your system is at flicking the switch from one to the other, with distance runner Paula Radcliffe reportedly having the fastest VO2 kinetics of all time at 8-9 seconds.
You can train your body to better combat immediate aerobic stress. A.S.O./Bastien Séon
However, one study showed that recreational endurance athletes improved theirs by 30% after only six weeks of training. For this brief period, you’re leaning heavily on the anaerobic system to generate energy without oxygen.
When the oxygen supply meets demand, your aerobic system can sustainably power the effort at a constant rate (up to around 70% of your maximum heart rate).
“The speed at which your heart beats is no different between elites and recreational riders,” says La Gerche.
“No matter how hard you train, you can’t change that. But you can change its size. In general terms, the fitter you get, the bigger your heart is. A normal heart is around 300g – the size of a fist – while a Tour de France rider’s is up to a kilogram.”
Consistent training thickens the heart walls and increases chamber size. This is important during your sportive adventure due to stroke volume, which is the volume of blood pumped from the heart with each beat.
“During exercise your heart has about a 70% efficiency rate at pumping out blood. A 400g heart can accommodate around 200ml of blood, which means you’re pumping out around 140ml of blood with every beat,” says La Gerche.
“Professional cyclists’ chambers fill with around 400ml of blood. Apply that 70% figure and that’s 280ml of blood with every beat.”
Its importance becomes clear when you apply it to cardiac output, which is the amount of blood pumped out each minute.
If both our recreational and elite examples are riding at 135bpm, the former’s sending out 27l of blood each minute, while the latter’s pumping out 54l.
And as blood carries the oxygen and nutrients to serve your working muscles, you can see how a bigger, stronger heart can boost cycling performance.
This benefits higher-intensity efforts, too, because that greater blood flow also means swifter recovery between efforts, such as when the ascent undulates.
Which begs the question: during a tough ride, does your heart fatigue? “After five or six hours of intense exercise, we can put an ultrasound on the heart and see that the heart is fatigued,” says La Gerche.
“It’s easy to squeeze your leg muscles and see that they’re sore. But the effect on your heart is underestimated because it’s a silent partner. Just respect the challenge.”
Your heart can fatigue during a long, difficult ride. A.S.O./Jennifer Lindini
As the day rolls on, your muscular system also suffers, especially if you push it well beyond what you manage in training.
This is down partly to increasing the production of reactive oxygen species, or ROS, that results in oxidative stress in the blood and skeletal muscle itself.
Essentially, it’s down to the huge number of muscular contractions required to send you sky-rocketing over the next mountain and has been associated with accelerating muscle fatigue.
It’s also mooted to be one of the reasons behind delayed onset muscle soreness (aka DOMS). If you haven’t trained as much as you’d hoped, a well-balanced post-event diet, including antioxidant-rich fruit and veg, will help.
Power carbs
Porridge is a shrewd choice on the morning of a big ride. Getty Images
Why did our early ancestors eat each other? Because they saw each other as a nutritious snack, according to a 2017 study by James Cole, an archaeologist at Brighton University.
According to Cole’s calculations, the average human body contained 125,822cals. Much of that figure is down to fat’s high calorie content, with 1g furnishing 9cals. Even a WorldTour rider, who weighs only 60kg and has 7% body fat, has more than 37,000 stored fat calories.
So why do we bonk in a sportive? Well, that’s down to exercise intensity and the fact that you’re burning predominantly carbohydrates to avoid being swept up by the broom wagon.
“Your most readily accessed carbohydrate store is muscle glycogen, which is mooted at around 500g or 2,000cals,” says Tim Podlogar, nutritionist at Tudor Pro Cycling. “Riding at a high intensity, you can burn through this in two-and-a-half hours.”
This is why Podlogar recommends filling up your glycogen stores the day before. “That means multiple meals that are high in carbohydrate and low in fibre,” he says, “easy-to-digest foods such as white rice, white pasta and even Haribos.”
Also, avoid a gentle ride late on the eve of your big day because that’ll eat into your glycogen levels.
When it comes to race day, a high-carb breakfast further boosts glycogen stocks. Porridge, a buttered bagel or white toast and jam are popular.
And then it’s riding time. Many of you will already consume gels, bars and energy drinks in search of glucose replenishment, following a traditional 60-to-90g-an-hour strategy. You might be capable of more, however, especially if you’re one of the fitter cyclists out there.
“Our research shows that many amateur riders can handle 120g carbohydrate an hour,” he says, which goes some way to compensating for the 6,000cals-plus burned during a long day in the saddle. “At an elite level, we had many riders at last year’s Giro d’Italia who were consuming way more than that.”
Feeding should start from your first pedal stroke and, according to Podlogar, comprise sugar from solids only, keeping fluids to water because separating makes it easier to monitor how much sugar and fluid you’re consuming. You can go for an electrolyte drink, albeit Podlogar says you can tick this off from most gels.
But when should you feed to optimise the sugar hit? “I recommend to my riders that they fuel well downhill.
“You’re not pedalling so it’s easier to digest; the bloodflow to the intestines increases and so absorption improves.”
Three energy hits per hour – one bar and two gels, for instance – will boost your muscle glycogen levels. Not only should this prevent a sugar low, it could prevent muscle degradation, too.
“We know that your muscle is damaged if there’s insufficient glycogen around it; it’ll break down protein to a higher degree from the muscle itself in search of energy.”
There can be little opportunity to cool down during a ride such as L’Etape du Tour. A.S.O./Bastien Séon
Should your event be one of the big Alpine challenges, you could well be enduring temperatures over 30°C.
That means you’ll heat up like a nuclear reactor, which isn’t great because a swathe of biochemical reactions and nerve conductivity are optimised at around the 37°C mark.
But you can’t argue with science or, more precisely, the body’s inefficiency. “It’s around 20% efficient at generating energy,” says Chris Jones of body-temperature sensor outfit Core.
“That means for every 5cals of energy you burn, only 1cal is used for mechanical work. The remaining 4cals are released as heat energy.”
This means you’re almost combustible on steep ascents. Take WorldTour rider Simon Clarke, who Core monitored on stage 14 of the 2021 Tour de France, specifically a 100km stretch that included the ascent of the Col de Montségur: 4.2km at an average gradient of 8.7%.
“This section and the following ascent up the Col de la Croix de Morts saw the fastest increase in Clarke’s core body temperature, where it hit 39.2°C,” says Jones.
“The steeper the ascent, the faster the increase in core body temperature. This is because of the increased physical intensity and because there is less cooling from the wind at slower speeds.”
On the flipside, the rapid descent of Col de Montségur saw Clarke’s core drop to 38.1°C, which was below what it was when he started the climb.
This highlights that pacing is even more integral to reaching your goals when it’s hot, although your body will try its best to lose heat via the same way it gains it, namely radiation, convection and conduction.
Sweating is key to maintaining balance in the body. Around 580cals per litre of heat energy is needed to turn water from liquid to gas so it can evaporate from your skin (or your breath).
So, whenever water leaves your body via evaporation, a corresponding amount of heat also leaves your body into the surrounding air, helping you cool down. So, it’s great for cooling but clearly not wonderful for your water stores.
You can sweat over 1.5l an hour on a sweltering Alpine sportive. Covering those losses is difficult on two fronts: the practical side of drinking from a water bottle and the physical side of absorbing so much fluid.
It might be manageable for an hour, but the deeper a rider digs into a ride, the more uncomfortable the gut becomes. If you can manage 750ml an hour, that’s a good start.
Again, training will help cool your engine because low aerobic fitness makes you more susceptible to heat illness.
There’s a strong correlation between an individual’s aerobic capacity and their ability to offload heat. Studies show that if someone’s working at half their aerobic capacity, their core temperature reaches around 38°C.
If you and I do the same amount of work and you’re twice as fit as me, your core temperature will be lower and you’ll suffer less.
Beyond training, acclimatise from home by having a 15-minute hot bath after a ride. Doing this five or six times in the final two or three weeks before your event will really help.
“Dressing lightly will also help,” says Jones. “And keep it old-school by pouring water over your body and head. That can change your perception of the pain.”
Mental maths
Mental fatigue can harm physical performance. A.S.O./Jennifer Lindini
It’s not just your body that suffers during a sportive – your mind does, too, and you can be on the back foot from the start, according to a 2017 study, The Effects of Mental Fatigue on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review.
The authors showed that seven of eight key studies “reported that endurance performance was negatively affected by mental fatigue, which was evidenced by a decrease in time to exhaustion”. In short, don’t cause yourself unnecessary pre-race stress or you’ll be drained before the off.
Of course, even the most diligent planner can see motivation drop when they’re halfway up a mountain, miles from the finish line.
This, according to round-the-world record-holder Mark Beaumont, is to be expected and he calls it the ‘psychological arc’.
“You start fresh, dig deep at the end and finish strongly but there’s that bit in the middle where you’re far from starting and, in your head, far from finishing,” he told us. This is true whether you’re riding 50 miles or 500 miles.
To ride the arc rather than sink in, try some psychological games. Chunking is one of the most common and involves breaking the event down into smaller, more mentally manageable chunks.
If your next ascent features 10 hairpins, for example, tick off each hairpin. Many events supply a route sticker to smooth onto your top tube that can show natural chunks.
Ultimately, the biggest driver of your mental state is motivation. Take a 2008 study by Professor Samuele Marcora that involved 10 rugby players cycling at a fixed power output based on 90% of their VO2 max.
When they could no longer maintain that wattage, he had them ride as hard as they could for five extra seconds.
From an average power output of 242 watts in the test, despite apparent fatigue, they generated 731 watts.
The results convinced Marcora that fatigue is no physical phenomenon – if it was, how could the cyclists generate such power when they’d slowed down?
Instead, Marcora says your decision to slow or quit stems from two key areas – motivation and perception – and lays the foundations for his psychobiological model of fatigue.
When effort is perceived as maximal or when effort required eclipses the amount of effort you’re willing to exert, then you stop. In essence, fatigue is an increase in time of perception of effort.
Whether you agree with Marcora or not, one thing’s clear: despite your body’s suffering, it’s the mind that’ll often decide whether you reach the finish line or not.
Considering adding a Zwift Ride to your indoor setup? In this week’s top video, one Zwifter shares his experience with the setup after one week of use.
I Finally Bought Zwift Ride and This Happened to Me…
Adam from Road to A shares his thoughts on the Zwift Ride after his first week of riding with it. Does it meet his expectations?
Unboxing my new trainer!
Casual Creations unboxes his new trainer and does his first race with it. Hear from him as he explains why he decided to upgrade and what his experience has been so far.
Can I Help A ‘Newbie’ Win A Zwift Race?
Zwifter Ryan Condon teams up with Jessica Strange and coaches her through a Zwift race. Can he guide her to a win?
This is insane! – Zwift London PRL Full Route
Patrick Lino tackles the PRL Full – the longest route on Zwift. Watch as he talks through pacing, nutrition, and more.
Indoor Cycling Felt Wrong… Until I Tried a Rocker Plate
As a long-time indoor cyclist, Bike Bonk Biff tries a rocker plate for the first time and shares his thoughts on the experience.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
British titanium specialist Sturdy has unveiled a new off-the-peg road bike that follows in the footsteps of the SC-G, which launched earlier this year.
The SC-R is aimed at riders looking for a versatile, precision-built road bike, but without the long wait times (and additional expense) of full-custom.
The new titanium road bike features Sturdy’s signature blend of precision CNC-machined and 3D-printed parts, along with custom-butted titanium tubing.
With more than 35mm of tyre clearance and mounts for mudguards, along with a threaded bottom bracket and UDH rear dropout, the SC-R looks as though it could be a superbike for all seasons, especially for UK riders.
The SC-R frame is available in four sizes. Sturdy Cycles
Although the SC-R comes in four set sizes, there is still plenty of scope for custom finishing.
The SC-R has a raw titanium shot-peened finish, with a choice of finish for the logo – either brushed, polished or one of eight Cerakote colours. Cerakote is a thin-film ceramic coating known for its toughness and resistance to corrosion.
Each SC-R frame is handmade and finished to order at Sturdy’s workshop in Frome, Somerset, with delivery in six to eight weeks.
Sturdy tells us every element of its titanium frames is produced in-house under one roof. Sturdy also offers workshop visits for customers, so you can see your new dream machine being created.
Endurance-race geometry
The 3D-printed junctions are CNC-finished before welding. Sturdy Cycles
Sturdy says the SC-R’s geometry comes from the culmination of hundreds of client fits and preferences. All of those details have been distilled into geometry that’s finely balanced between speed and a more relaxed endurance-friendly ride position, according to the brand.
Sturdy Cycles
The SC-R can be paired with up to 35mm road tyres. Hence, the bottom bracket height is reduced to compensate and keep the race-bike agility in its handling.
UDH dropouts are intended to future-proof the SC-R. Sturdy Cycles
Sturdy SC-R spec details
Headset: Deda DCR or FSA ACR (1.5in upper and lower bearings), Deda DCR headset included
Rear axle: 142x12mm, titanium rear thru-axle included
Derailleur hanger: Titanium UDH included
Brake mount: Flat mount 140mm (160mm with adaptor)
Cable routing: via DCR headset system, electronic only. Wire exit points for Shimano Di2 added by request or left blank for wireless derailleur systems
Bosses: 2x bottle cage mounts in front triangle, mudguard mounts on dropouts and seat tube – titanium bottle boss bolts included
Tyre clearance: 35mm maximum
Options and prices
The attention to detail on Sturdy frames is stunning. Sturdy Cycles
Sturdy offers the SC-R as a frame only with an ENVE build kit, or a complete bike built with ENVE parts, SRAM Force AXS and Sturdy’s own 50mm-deep carbon wheelset.
Frame only
Titanium UDH
Titanium thru-axle
Deda DCR headset
Titanium bottle boss bolts
£4,800 (inc VAT), including a choice of logo finishes
ENVE component bundle
ENVE Road In-Route fork
ENVE In-Route stem
ENVE integrated handlebar
ENVE aero stem computer and camera mount
ENVE seatpost
Sturdy Cycles titanium headset cap
£1,200 (inc VAT), available with frame as an additional purchase
Full build – ENVE/AXS Force/Sturdy
The complete-bike option is built with SRAM Force AXS. Sturdy Cycles
After 10 years of testing and reviewing bikes for MBUK and BikeRadar, I’m going to be starting a new chapter in the mountain bike industry.
That decade of testing has taught me a thing or two about what to look for in bikes and products.
Whether that’s specific components that do their jobs very well or a bike that blows everything else out of the water, it’s exciting for me and consumers when something amazing comes along.
But there are a few things that you should pay particular attention to, whether that’s when you’re looking for a new steed or just thinking about how to improve your day-to-day life on bikes.
The Geometron famously has adjustable and progressive geometry. Geometron
Getting the right geometry for the bike’s intended use seems unbelievably obvious, but many manufacturers get it horribly wrong.
Slack seat tube angles, short reach figures, steep head angles or a stack figure to bottom bracket height that just feels wrong; these are some of the most obvious ways to ruin how a bike rides.
But dial in the magic formula of numbers and something transformative happens. It makes the bike easy and fun to ride, not awkward and unamenable.
The harder you’ve got to work to make a bike feel good, the worse it is.
It’s not a cookie-cutter recipe, though – different disciplines require varied approaches to frame design, blurring the lines for some brands.
The Orbea Wild’s geometry is seriously sorted. Scott Windsor / Our Media
Factor in multiple and overlapping categories, plus specific market needs, and it’s never going to be possible to please every customer.
But a theme has emerged; bikes that ride well have balanced front-to-rear ratios, reach figures within a certain bracket for each size, and head angles that make sense for its intended speed and capabilities.
The general trend here is bikes becoming longer, lower and slacker. While this might not please the few people who download (take the gondola down the mountain instead of riding), it benefits everyone else.
Geometry like this leads to calmer handling and easier-to-ride, faster bikes; even an XC race bike with a long reach figure, (relatively) slack head angle and long wheelbase is going to be better than a nervous, twitchy and hard-to-ride one.
As a consumer, you’ve got the power to influence change – vote with your wallets.
You want your bike to be as reliable as possible when riding terrain like this. Mountain Bike Connection Winter / Rupert Fowler
Most modern mountain bikes are seriously reliable, needing only routine maintenance; bearings barely ever slop out, pivots remain tight even when they’re neglected, suspension dampers rarely blow and brakes need infrequent bleeding.
Nothing beats putting your bike down after a ride, knowing it’ll be ready to go next time with no maintenance.
While things have come on in leaps and bounds since the old days – I remember changing pivot bearings more regularly than I would a gear cable, and having my multi-tool jammed permanently in certain bolt heads because they wouldn’t stay tight – it’s not always rosy.
Light weight isn’t everything – prioritise reliability. Alex Evans / Our Media
Derailleurs often break and I have a track record of ruining wheels and tyres, but there are exceptions to these rules.
If, like me, you’re hard on kit, it’s worth sacrificing other areas in the name of reliability.
Those things are always going to be weight and cost; heavy kit will be reliable, but most likely affordable. Light, reliable kit is more likely to be costly.
A few extra grams bolted to your bike isn’t going to make a massive difference to the system weight, so replacing your EXO tyres for weightier DoubleDown (or equivalent) models is going to lessen the chances of mishaps without really impacting the ride elsewhere.
The same can be applied to other parts and even frames – I’d take a weightier, more reliable frame over a lighter one with a penchant for misbehaving.
If you’re anything like me and want kit that doesn’t need fixing, changing or constantly fettling, you’ll be a much happier person.
The range of adjustment on the Charger 3.1 damper is impressive. Alex Evans / Our Media
This is a potentially unpopular one with suspension manufacturers, but as an 80kg-ish kitted-up rider who is probably somewhere in the large, middle part of the skills bell curve, I shouldn’t have to run my fork and shock damper adjusters fully open to get them feeling good.
And if I’m having to run everything basically fully open before the bike feels good and not choked up, lighter riders and beginners are going to struggle to get their suspension feeling good.
RockShox has recently addressed this with its Charger 3.1 forks, offering different compression and rebound tunes that are installed post-purchase. The stock compression settings are much lighter, but I’m still running my rebound fully open and would like it to go faster.
The Podium is an outlier in Fox’s GRIPX2 damper setup. Scott Windsor / Our Media
Fox forks can also be tuned, but there’s no a la carte option – you’ll have to speak to your local suspension tuner to find out what options are available. Generally speaking – bar the Podium inverted fork – Fox’s dampers, even the newest ones, need to be run fully open to feel good.
The situation could be better for rear shocks – because damper retunes are more common and bike brands claim they spend a long time perfecting custom tunes for their frames – but that’s not always the case.
On almost every test bike I’ve ridden in the last decade, bar a few exceptions, I’ve had to fully open the shock’s external rebound and high-speed compression adjusters. The low-speed adjuster position has been a mixed bag, with some needing to be fully open and others closer to halfway.
The Vivid is a gravity-focused air-sprung shock, but are even the lightest tunes too hard? Ian Linton / Our Media
And yes, before you ask, I am running the correct spring pressures/weight coil springs for the bike, my riding style and body weight.
But the point still stands; as an average-weight guy with average skills, to get the bike feeling good, I should be exactly in the middle of the shock’s damper tune rather than fully open.
I think everyone is running too much compression and rebound damping on their bikes and would benefit from lighter setups.
If you think this is something that blights you, speak to your local suspension tuner to get your bike’s dampers opened up – the difference in performance will be night and day.
Try a rear mudguard – it’s a revelation
On the trail, other riders were quite vocal about its looks. Ian Linton / Our Media
It’s rare that a product does exactly what it’s claimed to and then receives a wave of negativity, both from reviewers and the general riding scene.
The rear MTB mudguard is one of those things.
They’re exceptional at keeping your backside, legs and back spotless, yet almost entirely disliked, smirked at and generally pooh-poohed.
Spot a rider with one on a trail, and no matter how hard they’re shredding – or not – it’s going to spark negative comments. I know this because I’ve taken the brunt of some of them when testing Mudhugger’s rear guard.
While the model I tested wasn’t perfect – there was a good chunk of loud tyre slap when riding fast – it kept me so clean and dry that any foibles were basically forgiven.
Atherton’s belt-drive enabled A.200.G. Scott Windsor / Our Media
There’s space in mountain biking for ultra-high-tech bikes such as Atherton’s A.200.G gearbox six-bar suspension DH bike, and lowly single-pivot suspension systems with derailleurs seen on bikes made by Orange and others.
Just because you like one doesn’t mean you need to dislike the other.
They’re going to ride in disparate ways, and each will have its benefits for a certain type of person.
This rang true when I tested Atherton’s A.150 and Starling’s Murmur back-to-back; the upshot of my testing was that both bikes are very good indeed, but they have different personalities.
The Murmur embraces simplicity to its benefit. Ian Linton / Our Media
Regardless of which camp you’re in, don’t discount the other – innovation and pushing the limits are the basis for moving our sport forwards, and simplicity forms the foundations that innovation is built on.
The best approach I’ve found is to keep your eyes and mind open to new ideas and innovation – don’t be afraid to try a bike with wild geometry or brand-new tech, because there’s a chance it’ll be awesome.
This weekend’s picks are all group rides, but they vary in length and pace. We’ve got a sweet spot ride from the inventor of sweet spot training, a kit unlock ride in NYC from Dadbod Cycling, two very different 100km rides, and the good ol’ BMTR Flat 100! See below for details…
FasCat’s Sweet Spot Saturdays, #2 of 7
Sweet Spot Coach Frank Popular
Ever heard of “Sweet Spot” training? It’s a staple for many riders, since it lets you accumulate a lot of training stress in relatively little time without suffering at or above threshold.
The guy who created the sweet spot concept – coach Frank Overton of FasCat – is one of the leaders on these rides. There’s even a Discord channel so you can chat directly with him. Pretty cool!
Everyone will be on Big Foot Hills (69.9km, 712m) for this ride, doing “freestyle sweetspot,” and groups will naturally form around each rider’s sweet spot zone.
Makesi from DadBod Cycling is hosting a holiday ride on one of New York’s newer routes this Saturday. It’s your chance to hang with Makesi (super cool dude) and also unlock the exclusive DBC Jersey in Zwift- see it on his Insta post.
This is an open-paced group ride on Double Parked (42.2km, 329m).
I’m not sure what the folks at OUTLYR are up to, but this ride has more signups than any other heading into the weekend! For that reason alone, I’m including it in this list. They’ve earned it.
It’s a 100km event on Watopia’s Triple Flat Loops, led at a pace of 2.7 W/kg.
Want to accumulate lots of miles quickly? Join this growing group ride, which puts everyone on the fastest TT bike in game (Cadex Tri) with drafting enabled. It’s 100km, but it’ll be a fast 100km!
Riders are on Tempus Fugit, the flattest route in Zwift. Three different pace groups, released so the faster groups catch the slower groups over time.
Bike upgrading hack: on rides with forced bikes, whatever bike you’re on when you join the event is the bike that accumulates the distance/elevation/time. So, for example, you could accumulate lots of distance toward a road bike upgrade, while riding the Cadex Tri in this event.
Popular Ride Legacy Leader Endurance Challenge Kit Unlock
A regularly featured event here on Zwift Insider, the BMTR Flat 100 always gets lots of joiners because it’s well-led and run consistently week after week, year after year.
This week’s ride is on Watopia’s Big Flat 8, with three pace groups to choose from.
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!
If you’ve been on Zwift in the past few days, you probably noticed Christmas is in the air. Santa is flying around Watopia, the trees are decorated, and ugly Christmas sweater kits are showing up in the peloton!
Christmas Sweater kitThe blimp is now Santa’s sleighHQ has been working overtime hanging lights…
Finding Your Ugly Christmas Sweater
Everyone has the ugly sweater kit in their Zwift closet–it’s just hidden behind the default grey Zwift kit! While Zwifting, hit “T” on the keyboard (or visit Menu>Garage), then click “Jersey” to change your top.
Click the default Zwift kit (grey with orange Z), then dash away, dash away, dash away down the road!
Cycling and sponsors have a history almost as long as the sport itself.
In fact, the biggest events on the annual calendar were created as a form of advertisement, with newspapers L’Auto, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Informaciones responsible for founding the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and La Vuelta a España, respectively.
Bike brands followed, setting up their own teams from the 1920s.
Companies from outside of cycling got in on the act in the 1950s, and today, the professional peloton’s team names are a smorgasbord of supermarket chains, bike brands, gambling companies and a couple of caffeine-filled concoctions (one of which you put on your hair…).
But, unlike most sports, team names change as sponsors come and go, with most big-money switches made during the off-season.
As big news as the signings of the transfer window, they determine the team-name tongue-twisters that fans and commentators will have to contend with the following season, while providing outfits with injections of cash that are more important to the future of a team than any rider.
From mergers and swaps to complete rebrands, here is a summary of the key sponsor swaps to get your head around before the 2026 road cycling season.
Every 2026 Men’s WorldTour team title sponsor swap
Alpecin–Deceuninck → Alpecin–Premier Tech
Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale → Decathlon CMA CGM
Groupama–FDJ → Groupama–FDJ United
Intermarché–Wanty → Lotto Intermarché
Israel–Premier Tech → NSN Cycling Team
Alpecin – Deceuninck becomes Alpecin – Premier Tech
Premier Tech joins as co-sponsor of the team formerly known as Alpecin – Deceuninck. ON SACRE (Photo by TOON SACRE / BELGA MAG / Belga / AFP via Getty Images
The Belgian outfit behind Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen embarks on its fourth WorldTour season with German caffeine-containing shampoo Alpecin joined by new co-title sponsor, Premier Tech.
It takes over from the Belgian window and door company, Deceuninck.
The Canadian machinery and equipment manufacturer had been a co-title sponsor of Israel – Premier Tech, but stepped away after the negative publicity surrounding the team’s Israeli identity, relentless protests at 2025’s La Vuelta, and the war in Gaza.
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team becomes Decathlon CMA CGM Team
CMA CGM describes itself as “a global player in sea, land, air, and logistics solutions”. Gautier Demouveaux/NurPhoto via Getty Images
After almost three decades in the sport, insurance company AG2R La Mondiale is stepping down as co-title sponsor of France’s biggest team.
It’s set to be replaced by another French company – shipping and logistics specialist CMA CGM.
Decathlon remains the driving force behind the team, which has competed on the brand’s Van Rysel range since the retail-park behemoth came on board in 2024.
Groupama – FDJ becomes Groupama – FDJ United
Groupama – FDJ has a small name change for 2026. Groupama – FDJ United
The other big French team of the WorldTour peloton, Groupama – FDJ, gets a minor name change for 2026, adding ‘United’ to its title after France’s national lottery rebranded to FDJ United in 2025.
Israel – Premier Tech becomes NSN Cycling Team
Biniam Girmay is NSN Cycling’s big-name signing for 2026. Manaure Quintero / AFP via Getty Images
The beleaguered Israel – Premier Tech team has new title sponsors, a new registered location and a fresh look to its rider line-up for 2026, with Biniam Girmay the biggest signing of the off-season.
While you may have never heard of NSN Cycling, it’s the cycling arm of NSN (the ‘international sports and entertainment company’ co-founded by Spanish football World Cup winner, Andreas Iniesta).
The team is backed by Swiss-Spanish investment platform Stoneweg and will ride Scott bikes in the pro peloton.
The involvement of the controversial former team owner, Sylvan Adams, remains unclear.
Intermarché – Wanty and Lotto have merged. Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
Belgian team Lotto returns to the WorldTour in 2026 with a new co-title sponsor, the French supermarket chain Intermarché.
The company had previously sponsored Girmay’s old team, Intermarché – Wanty, but made the switch with the merging of the teams at the end of the 2025 season.
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team becomes Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro Cycling
Although not in the WorldTour, Tom Pidcock’s Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is getting an additional co-title sponsor for the 2026 season, with Italian bike manufacturer Pinarello stepping up as a key backer and replacing Scott as the team’s bike supplier.
Both Pinarello and Q36.5 are owned by South African billionaire and former mining firm boss Ivan Glasenberg, who co-owns the Swiss team alongside Q36.5 co-founder Luigi Bergamo and manager Doug Ryder.
With a raft of signings including Fred Wright, Sam Bennett and Thomas Gloag, expect the team to be knocking on the door of the WorldTour very soon.
Rapha Festive 500
Popular 
Fun Ton and Serious Century
FasCat’s Sweet Spot Saturdays, #2 of 7
Sweet Spot 
