Teenage French prodigy Paul Seixas to become youngest Tour de France cyclist for 89 years

  • Home hope will be on the start line in Barcelona

  • Could be first male French winner since Hinault in 1985

The cycling prodigy Paul Seixas will make his Tour de France debut this year, raising hopes of France’s first male homegrown winner since 1985.

The 19-year-old Decathlon-CMA CGM rider has prompted intense debate in France after a dazzling start to 2026 with his team weighing the benefits of early exposure to the Tour against the risk of overburdening a rider still in his first season as a professional.

Continue reading...

Pogacar holds off French teen to claim third straight Liège-Bastogne-Liège title

  • World champion pulls clear of Paul Seixas on final climb

  • ‘It means a lot to win again one of the biggest races’

The world champion, Tadej Pogacar, pulled ahead of the 19-year-old French debutant Paul Seixas in the final climb to secure his third straight Liège-Bastogne-Liège title on Sunday, his fourth overall victory in the race.

Pogacar finished the 259.5km race in five hours, 50 minutes and 28 seconds to win the 13th Monument title of his career and his third of the year after the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo.

Continue reading...

London to host historic first team time trial for Tour de France Femmes in 2027

  • Circuit of approximately 18km to finish on the Mall

  • GB’s Cat Ferguson among favourites for yellow jersey

London will provide the backdrop for a landmark moment in cycling history as it hosts the first team time trial in the women’s Tour de France next year.

The best riders in the women’s peloton will race against the clock as teams, on a central London circuit of approximately 18km, pass the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and Tower Bridge, culminating in a finish on the Mall.

Continue reading...

Wout van Aert outduels Tadej Pogacar to win his first Paris-Roubaix title

  • Belgian ends decade-old run of bad luck in event

  • ‘It’s everything to me … I stopped believing a lot of times’

Wout van Aert shattered a decade-old jinx to win Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, outduelling the world champion, Tadej Pogacar, in a brutal classic race across the cobbles.

The 31-year-old suffered a puncture as did Pogacar and their great rival Mathieu van der Poel, who had two mechanicals and could not contest the final sprint, which went in Van Aert’s favour for his second title in one of the five Monument classics after his Milan-Sanremo victory in 2020.

Continue reading...

Tom Pidcock pulls out of Volta a Catalunya after ‘horror crash’ down ravine

  • British rider went off road after misjudging corner on Friday

  • Bone and ligament damage to his right knee and wrist

Tom Pidcock has been withdrawn from the Volta a Catalunya because of injuries sustained in a crash during the fifth stage on Friday. The British rider went off the road after misjudging a corner, suffering what he described as a “horror” crash down a ravine.

Although the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider was able to get back on his bike and complete the stage, after medical assessments with his team and also at hospital, it was determined Pidcock could not resume the race.

Continue reading...

Debora Silvestri taken to hospital after horror crash at Milano-Sanremo classic

  • Italian tumbles over guardrail down Cipressa climb

  • Tadej Pogacar pips Tom Pidcock in men’s race

The Italian cyclist Debora Silvestri was taken to a hospital after a horrific-looking crash during the Milano-Sanremo one-day classic on Saturday. Several cyclists were caught up in the incident, with Silvestri tumbling over a guardrail as riders tried to avoid the pileup.

Silvestri’s team, Laboral Kutxa, said the 27-year-old was conscious as she was transported and that it would give an update on her condition later. The incident happened on the descent of the famous Cipressa climb, less than 20km (12 miles) from the end of the 156km route.

Continue reading...

Jim Ratcliffe gives up Ineos Grenadiers naming rights in €100m rebrand deal

  • Danish IT supplier Netcompany is new title sponsor

  • Team to be renamed and have a new kit

Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Grenadiers cycling team will be renamed and rebranded with a new lead sponsor and new kit before the start of this year’s Tour de France in Barcelona on 4 July.

The Guardian understands that while Ratcliffe and Ineos head of sport, Dave Brailsford, will retain ownership and management of the team, the new title sponsor of the World Tour cycling team will be the Danish IT supplier Netcompany.

Continue reading...

Pogacar makes it three in a row at Strade Bianche while Chabbey sprints to glory

  • Teenage French sensation Paul Seixas finishes second

  • Swiss wins women’s race in a thrilling finish

Tadej Pogacar won a record fourth Strade Bianche title as he made a triumphant start to his 2026 season, with the teenage French sensation Paul Seixas second. The world champion made a typically devastating long-range break around 80km from the finish, after which it was a procession to the line in Siena for his third win in a row.

In doing so, the four-time Tour de France winner proved once again that his appetite to triumph – and dominantly – has not diminished despite his myriad successes. One of the 27-year-old Slovenian’s main targets for this season comes in a week’s time at the Milan-San Remo one-day classic, one of only two of the five Monument races he is yet to win.

Continue reading...

Australian cyclist Michael Matthews breaks both wrists in horror training crash

  • Jayco AlUla rider’s spring classics campaign ruined by injury

  • 35-year-old returning to racing after break due to pulmonary embolism

Australian cycling ace Michael Matthews has broken both wrists in a training crash and been ruled out of racing for the forseeable future.

Matthews’ season on the World Tour started with victory in the Gran Premio de Castellon in Spain in late January – the 44th win of his decorated 17-year career.

Continue reading...

Jay Vine recovers from kangaroo crash to win Tour Down Under for second time

  • Australian cycling star holds on to lead the hard way

  • Kangaroo caused Vine and others to crash during final stage

The Australian cycling star Jay Vine has survived a race crash caused by a kangaroo to win the Tour Down Under for the second time.

Despite losing two more UAE Team Emirates colleagues on Sunday’s last stage, Vine’s commanding lead was enough of a buffer. He also won the event in 2023.

Continue reading...

Tour de France reveals the six UK stage plans for historic 2027 Grands Départs

  • British roads will host the start of both races next year

  • First time both Grands Départs have been outside France

The men’s Tour de France will start in Scotland for the first time in 2027 and make its first visit to Wales when Britain stages the Grand Départ of the men’s and women’s races in the biggest festival of elite cycling on the isles since London 2012.

Across six days of racing on British roads, the men’s Tour will visit Edinburgh, Carlisle, Keswick, Liverpool, Welshpool and Cardiff, while the Tour de France Femmes races from Leeds to Manchester, then to Sheffield and also includes a central London stage. On Thursday night all host cities were illuminated by yellow beams in recognition of them staging the Tour.

Continue reading...