Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
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2025 Tour de France | 2025 Giro d'Italia
The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live. - George Carlin
Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2019: A Year of New Faces is available in both Kindle eBook and 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
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News posted this sad news:
(BRAIN) — In what seems to be a sad streak of industry deaths, innovator Jim Blackburn passed away Sunday. Blackburn was a major figure in the industry in the 1970s and 1980s and his name lives on in the industry as a brand now owned by Revelyst. We will post a story on the website when we learn more details.
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Here’s the team’s announcement:
From 2026 onwards, Michelin will become an Official Technical Partner of cycling team Team Picnic PostNL. The partnership marks Michelin’s return to top-level road cycling and reflects a shared ambition of Team Picnic PostNL and Michelin to push the limits of performance through innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Michelin is now on the team jersey.
Far beyond the supply of tyres, this partnership is built on close technical collaboration between Michelin’s teams and the performance experts from Team Picnic PostNL. Together, they will demonstrate tyre performance in the most demanding racing conditions and co-develop technologies and products for the future. In line with both organizations’ philosophies, competition will be a spotlight for innovation, with insights directly benefiting both the team and future consumer products. Feedback from the Men’s, Women’s and Development programs will play a central role in optimizing performance, supporting the team’s sporting ambitions while accelerating innovation for future consumer products.
Team Picnic PostNL will be equipped with the latest cutting-edge products, which the team have developed together in close cooperation with Michelin, making their race debut in February.
Michelin’s Racing Program Director Bicycles, Vincent Ledieu: “By partnering with Team Picnic PostNL, Michelin is excited to support top-level road cycling. Working closely with the team’s riders and performance staff allows us to better understand the demands of racing at the highest level. This collaboration helps us continue developing innovative tire technologies while supporting the team’s ambitions in WorldTour competition.”
Team Picnic PostNL R&D Expert Piet Rooijakkers: “Our partnership with Michelin gives us access to high-quality equipment that supports our race ambitions. Collaborating with their team helps ensure that we are fully equipped and ready to perform at our best, with the confidence that our tyres meet the demands of the WorldTour. By working closely with their engineers, we can translate rider feedback and performance data directly into concrete improvements. That process of continuous learning and optimization is central to how we operate as Team Picnic PostNL, and we see this collaboration as an important step in pushing performance to the next level.”
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Here’s the post from Landa’s Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Between two training sessions in Calpe, the Basque climber talked about his love for the sport and hopes going into his third year with Soudal Quick-Step.
2026 will be Mikel Landa’s 16th consecutive season in the pro ranks, something the 36-year-old would have never dreamed of in February 2011, when he pinned on a number for his first race in the peloton, the Trofeo Palma de Mallorca. Fifteen years later, he boasts an impressive palmares and holds a special place in the hearts of cycling’s fans: climbing out of the saddle and on the drops, Mikel remains as popular as when he took the 2015 Giro d’Italia by storm, winning two stages and finishing third overall.
Mikel Landa before the start of stage 3 of the 2025 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo
“Despite this, I keep enjoying what I’m doing and have the same passion as on my first day in the bunch. Now I’m about to start my 16th year in a row, something I would have never imagined when I turned pro. It’s been quite the journey and I’m confident I can still fight for some good results”, said Mikel in Calpe, where he is currently attending the team’s second training camp of the winter.
Last season was his second in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey – a season of highs and lows, where the dream of fighting for a Giro d’Italia overall podium vanished in a couple of seconds on the very first day of the race, when a crash put an end to what had been a solid first part of the year. But staying true to his nature, the Basque came back in the summer and ended up being one of the most combative riders of La Vuelta.
“It’s true, last year was a difficult one. Everything was very good before the Giro, I had a perfect shape and felt really great. I was prepared to fight for a good general classification, as I felt things really clicked going into the Giro. Then that crash happened and it all went up in smoke. Fortunately, I could come back in August and ended up fighting for a stage at the Vuelta, where I came really close to getting a victory. I’m happy to have finished that season on the bike, it’s something that gave me a lot of confidence.”
Mikel’s first goals of the season will come in the spring, at two iconic races, both close to his heart: “I look forward to getting things underway. I hope for a good start and a strong form for Catalunya and the Basque Country. I love those races and I hope to get a stage victory there.”
For Mikel, for us, and for the Landistas – the many fans of one of cycling’s last romantic riders – these races can’t come soon enough.
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The team posted this:
The Chinese brand Magene is becoming a new partner of the WorldTour team XDS Astana Team starting from January 1, 2026. In the new season, Magene will provide the team with Smart GPS Bike Computers, Heart Rate Monitors, Smart Radar Tail Lights and Smart Trainers.
Founded in 2015, Magene specializes in intelligent cycling solutions and offers a comprehensive product portfolio that includes smart GPS bike computers, smart trainers, high-precision power meters, smart sensors, and smart lights. Its integrated ecosystem supports training in both indoor and outdoor cycling environments.
Over the past decade, Magene has experienced rapid growth, with its products now available in more than 100 countries and regions worldwide. Today, Magene has established itself as a globally recognized professional brand in the smart cycling industry.
“We are very pleased to welcome Magene as a new partner of XDS Astana Team. It is a young but fast-growing brand, ready to step onto the WorldTour stage and demonstrate its strong potential. I believe that opening new horizons through a partnership with a WorldTour team will make this collaboration not only productive, but truly successful. I am grateful to Magene for their trust in our project and hope that together we will enjoy a great 2026 season”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of XDS Astana Team.
“XDS Astana Team is a world-class team defined by determination and a strong competitive spirit. We are honored to become an official partner of the team, providing a wide range of products and technical support. This partnership represents strong recognition of Magene’s technological capabilities and product performance. In the upcoming season, we will work closely with the team, using top-level professional racing environments to continuously refine and innovate our products, helping riders achieve even stronger results. Through this collaboration, Magene aims to strengthen its presence at the highest level of global cycling, promote the professionalization of power-based training, and deliver smarter, more precise, and more efficient cycling experiences to riders worldwide through innovative smart cycling solutions”, – said Sam Li, Vice President of Global Marketing at Magene.
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