Road
Irish cyclists racing abroad in 2015
Here's a list of Irish riders racing abroad next year, and the teams they will be racing for. Let us know if you know of anybody else to be added to the list. You can contact us at: press@thebikecomesfirst.com
Sam Bennett’s new team bike
For the 2015 season, Sam Bennett's team will be riding the Canadian bike Argon 18, who will be co-sponsor of the Bora team. Argon 18 are a Montreal-based company, founded back in 1989 by Gervais Rioux. They have previously supplied by the Spidertech and Jelly Belly teams. Last year, Bennett's team rode Fuji bikes.
Woman paralysed after Vansummeren accident
Sad news emerged today that the woman who was hit by Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Sharp) earlier this year in the Tour of Flanders remains paralysed. It was reported in HLN.BE that Marie-Claire Moreels (66) will remain in a wheelchair for the rest of her life as the right side of her body is paralysed. She has also lost the...
Sep Vanmarcke takes on the cobbles (in a different way)
Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin Pro Cycling) has an impressive record in cobbled races. He won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2012, and has finished on the podium in Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders and Ghent-Wevelgem. It seems he can't get enough of pavé though, as even in the off-season, he's taking on the cobbles. He tweeted a photo of himself over the...
Dan Martin and his team mates go sailing
Following on from a visit to Cannondale's headquarters in Wilton Connecticut, Dan Martin and his team mates are heading to the British Virgin Islands for a team building exercise. There will be big changes for the team this year, as they merge with the Cannondale team. The team will consist of sixteen riders from Garmin's team with eight riders coming...
Marianne Vos wins Momentum 947 Cycle Challenge
The Momentum 947 Cycle Challenge which took place in Johannesburg today is the second largest mass participation time cycling event in the world after the Cape Argus race also in South Africa. The event covers 94.7 kilometres, as it is sponsored by a local radio station called 94.7fm. 35,000 cyclists took part this morning and Marianne Vos was the fastest woman,...
Brian Cooksons talks about a minimum wage for woman cyclists
Speaking at an event last month Cookson said that introducing a minimum wage was a complicated process and that bringing it in could actually have a negative impact on the women’s sport.
BMC testing new equipment for Paris-Roubaix
Five riders from the BMC team spent yesterday testing new equipment to be used for Paris-Roubaix next year. Greg Van Avermaet, Marcus Burghardt, Michael Schar, Jean-Pierre Drucker and Silvan Dillier tested new bikes and tyres on five sections of pavé yesterday Directeur Sportif Allan Peiper told Belgium's Sportwereld, "Near the Carrefour de l'Arbre we rode four laps of cobbled sections. For...
Sam Bennetts new team jersey for the 2015 season revealed
Sam Bennetts team Bora-Argon 18 is the latest team to get its Professional Continental licence for the 2015 season. Known as NetApp-Endura in the previous season it has officially announced its new name for the coming year and released the team jersey. "As in every year of the team's history to date, we also received the license for 2015 at...
Wanty-Groupe Gobert will ride CUBE bikes in 2015
German bike brand CUBE will be the new bike sponsor of Wanty-Groupe Gobert cycling team in 2015. Together with CUBE bikes, the Belgian Pro Continental team will race iconic Spring Classics like the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège as well as world class stage races around Europe and Asia. “I am very happy with this new...
Tinkoff-Saxo 2014 Expedition To Mount Kilimanjaro Summit
The full 2015 roster of Tinkoff-Saxo and Tinkoff Sport embarked on a six-day team-building at the end of October. The 80-strong group took the challenge and climbed to the top of Africa’s highest mountain, which at 5,895 meters is also the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
MARTYN IRVINE SIGNS FOR MADISON-GENESIS
Following on from his departure from United Healthcare, it has been announced today that Martyn Irvine is joining the UK-based Madison Genesis team. Also signing for the team is former An Post-Chain Reaction rider Mark McNally who won the 2014 Tour of Britain mountains classification, while Dominic Jelfs has been retained by the team. Irvine has endured a difficult season,...
Race around Ireland – New Film
Check out this video of German cyclist Michi Hange as he took on the Race around Ireland earlier this year. It is one of Europe's toughest challenges as the cyclists have to cover 2,157 kilometres around the circumference of the island. The film shows the effort that each cyclist has to put in and the pain that they suffer.
Teams withdraw from the Tour of Rwanda due to Ebola fears – despite no recorded cases in the country
The New Times in Rwanda have reported that the organisers of the Tour of Rwanda are very disappointed with the news that three teams scheduled to start the race this weekend have cried off due to fears of the Ebola virus. This is despite the fact that there have not been any recorded cases of Ebola in the country. The...
Land of Second Chances – The Impossible Rise of Rwanda’s Cycling Team
This weekend will see the start of the Tour of Rwanda. It's 25 years since the first running of the event which grows from strength to strength. Despite the atrocities the country suffered in the Civil War in 1994, the race re-emerged afterwards as a uniting force for the divided country. International teams started travelling to take part in the hilly...
Peter Sagan video highlights of 2014 season
Sagan started the 2014 season at the Tour de San Luis, where he finished second on the final stage. Then he competed at Dubai Tour, where he took second and third place stage finishes; he lost out to Marcel Kittel on both occasions. He finished second at Strade Bianche again, this time he was defeated by Michał Kwiatkowski. The...