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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, January 3, 2026

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2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made. - Groucho Marx

Les Woodland's book Cycling's 50 Triumphs and Tragedies: The rise and fall of bicycle racing's champions is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• January 17 - 25: Tour Down Under
• January 25: Classica Comunitat Valenciana 1969-GP Valencia
• January 28 - February 1: Challenge Ciclista Mallorca
• February 1: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Latest completed racing:

• January 1: GP Sven Nys
• December 30: Superprestige Diegem
• December 29: Trofee Loenhout-Azencross
• December 26: World Cup Gavere
• December 23: Superprestige Heusden-Zolder
• December 14: World Cup Namur
• November 16: Trofee Hamme-Flandriencross
• November 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
• October 26: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
• October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
• October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland

The team sent me this:

Lotto-Intermarché proudly presents the kit with which it will enter 2026. The bold red-and-black jersey, featuring a unique fingerprint pattern, seals a brand-new project: the tangible, visual translation of a new chapter in the rich history of two teams that are merging.

The 2026 Lotto-Intermarché jersey

After months of intensive sporting and strategic work behind the scenes, the merger of Lotto Cycling Team and Intermarché-Wanty into the brand-new Lotto-Intermarché now also receives a clear visual identity. In terms of colour, both main sponsors, Intermarché and Lotto, were already allies: their brand colours red and black dominate the design. The meaningful, subtle fingerprint pattern further strengthens the bold look. The fingerprint symbolises the unique DNA of Lotto-Intermarché: built from two Belgian teams, each with its own rich legacy, expertise and people, and united as of 1 January into one powerful and ambitious whole. The new kit is the crowning achievement of a joint project and perfectly embodies what the team stands for today: #RisingTogether. Growing together, performing together in the WorldTour.

The production of the kit is handled by Vermarc. The Belgian company stands for high-quality craftsmanship and top-level technical performance. Vermarc has been a loyal partner of Lotto Cycling Team for the past 23 seasons and will remain on board within the new project.

For the design and creative campaign, Lotto-Intermarché joined forces with the creative agency SportPlus Media. The launch presents Lotto-Intermarché as a home. Arnaud De Lie, Taco van der Hoorn, Lea Lin Teutenberg, Jenno Berckmoes, Marieke Meert and Huub Artz proudly showcase their new team kit. Wouter Toussaint and Mauro Cuylits present the Lotto-Groupe Wanty jersey of the development team. Through advanced 3D visualisations and CGI techniques, the new identity is brought to life in an innovative way.

With this new cycling jersey and the tagline #RisingTogether, Lotto-Intermarché shows it is ready for the season: one team, one identity, one clear fingerprint.

The team’s new bike, crafted by the skilled Spanish bike manufacturer Orbea, will be officially unveiled on 13 January.

Here’s the team’s announcement:

Team Bahrain Victorious today presents its new Alé team kit, a design that unites elite performance with a cultural narrative rooted in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of the Two Seas.

The 2026 Bahrain Victorious kit

On the sleeves of the jersey, Bianchi’s iconic Celeste is distinctly featured, perfectly matching the shallow blue waters and teal tones that represent Bahrain’s two seas. The colour reflects the crystal-clear, shallow seabeds that surround the archipelago, formed by the meeting of these seas and long central to Bahrain’s historic pearling trade and maritime economy, shaping the Kingdom’s role as a centre of trade and craftsmanship for centuries.

The Celeste also draws inspiration from the ancient Dilmun civilisation, the early civilisation of the Kingdom that dates back over 5,000 years. Many Dilmun artefacts, weathered by time, display oxidised and rusted tones that soften into pale blues and teal shades, closely resembling Celeste. This subtle reference connects one of cycling’s most iconic colours with one of the world’s oldest civilisations, blending ancient heritage with modern performance.

At the heart of the kit sits a deep navy, a colour that has been part of the team’s identity since its foundation. Subtly woven into the design is a faint “X” that crosses the jersey, the Roman numeral representing ten years in the sport. Established in 2016 and entering its first UCI WorldTour season in 2017, Bahrain Victorious now celebrates a decade competing at the highest level of professional cycling, with new partner OMNIYAT featured on the sleeves and side of the jersey for the 2026 season.

A smaller “X” logo further reinforces this milestone, symbolising the team’s decade-long journey and its evolution through three identities to become Bahrain Victorious today.

Here’s the news from Van Aert’s Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Wout van Aert crashed in the final of the Exact Cross in Mol. In an intense showdown with Mathieu van der Poel, he slipped on the icy course and was forced to abandon the race.

Under snowy conditions, Van Aert immediately positioned himself at the front of the field. The Belgian took the lead in the first lap and quickly set a high pace, creating an early selection. In the third lap, Van Aert broke away together with Van der Poel, but a tricky sand section forced the 31-year-old to let his rival go.

In the following laps, Van Aert fought back through heavy snowfall to catch up with Van der Poel. A duel ensued, showcasing the Belgian’s strengths once again. However, on the slippery course, Van Aert crashed and, unfortunately, had to abandon the race.

“Wout is experiencing pain in his ankle,” sports director Jan Boven said after the race. “We will conduct further examinations before drawing any conclusions. It’s a shame the race had to end this way, because Wout was very strong, and it was a great duel.”

The women's podium, from left: Manon Bakker (2nd), Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (1st), & Julie Brouwers (3rd).

Exact Cross Mol results:

Men:

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 1hr 0min 5sec
2. Toon Aerts (Charles Liégeois-Deschacht) @ 1min 23sec
3. Felipe Orts Lloret (Ridley Racing Team) @ 1min 41sec
4. Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) @ 2min 35sec
5. Thomas Mein (Hope Factory Racing) @ 3min 45sec

Women:

1. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) 46min 2sec
2. Manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon) @ 12sec
3. Julie Brouwers (Charles Liégeois-Deschacht) @ 26sec
4. Fleur Moors (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions) @ 53sec
5. Kristyna Zemanova (Brilon Racing Team MB) @ 1min 14sec

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