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Stayed in Willunga a couple of days ago, lovely place and will definitely be back.

Rode up the hill, well rode as in drove, and up as in we went down it, but it was enough to absorb the vibe of the ascent. These clowns ride up in 40 degree heat??? Wow.

Having breakfast at a cafe at the foot of the climb, watching the MAMILs puffing away, had to resist calling out "6:39! 6:39!" as they went past. Which was a good call as a couple of them only went up 200m or so and rolled back down to the cafe for a post-hill coffee.
 

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Arkéa Start a Comeback as Cofidis Run into Trouble | March UCI Ranking Analysis - Lanterne Rouge

After the first three months of the season, UAE Team Emirates still dominate the UCI ranking with an incredible Tadej Pogacar, but the trend has changed in the relegation battle. While Astana is still in a deep results crisis, Arkéa is seeing the light by scoring points with its multiple fast...
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Interesting article on how the relegation battle is going. Hard to see Astana surviving for 2024. Cofidus, DSM and Arkea fighting for the bottom 2 spots outside of it seemingly.
 
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In 1978, French professional cyclist Jean-Claude Rude embarked on an ambitious endeavor to set a new world speed record for cycling, targeting a speed of 240 km/h. To accomplish this, Rude utilized the slipstream of a Porsche 935 Turbo. This unique setup included an 800-hp Porsche 935 Turbo equipped with a specially designed roof structure and a trapezoidal screen to maximize slipstream benefits. Rude's bicycle was modified to have an unusually large gear ratio, enabling him to travel up to 27 meters with each rotation of the chain ring.
However, due to the bicycle's inability to generate enough power independently, Rude required assistance from a motorcycle, which used a lance to push him into motion. This collaborative effort between the modified car and the cyclist aimed to achieve a record-breaking speed, demonstrating the potential for bicycles to reach unprecedented velocities under the right conditions.
He blew a rear tyre at 170km/h and managed to keep it upright until stopped.

 
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There are some big sponsors coming into the peleton now, giving massive budget lifts to the teams they're sponsoring.

Red Bull have bought a majority share in the team formerly known as Bora Hansgrohe. Buying the majority share indicates that it's a long-term plan, not just a short-term naming rights sponsorship deal.

Chinese company MDS have bought a stake in Astana, which will now be registered in China (rather than Kazakhstan).

Gone are the days of UK Postal having 2-3 times the budget of the next biggest team in the peleton. From 2025 there will be 5 genuine "super teams", based on their financial resources - UK Postal, UAE, Visma, Red Bull, and MDS.

This has the potential to impact cycling in both good & bad ways. It should make for great racing between the top teams, with multiple teams now able to afford those top domestiques. On the flip side, it leaves fewer crumbs for the teams which don't have these super-budget backers, so it has the potential to create a real "haves and have nots" situation.
 
Vader said:
There are some big sponsors coming into the peleton now, giving massive budget lifts to the teams they're sponsoring.

Red Bull have bought a majority share in the team formerly known as Bora Hansgrohe. Buying the majority share indicates that it's a long-term plan, not just a short-term naming rights sponsorship deal.

Chinese company MDS have bought a stake in Astana, which will now be registered in China (rather than Kazakhstan).

Gone are the days of UK Postal having 2-3 times the budget of the next biggest team in the peleton. From 2025 there will be 5 genuine "super teams", based on their financial resources - UK Postal, UAE, Visma, Red Bull, and MDS.

This has the potential to impact cycling in both good & bad ways. It should make for great racing between the top teams, with multiple teams now able to afford those top domestiques. On the flip side, it leaves fewer crumbs for the teams which don't have these super-budget backers, so it has the potential to create a real "haves and have nots" situation.
Click to expand...
Soudal are pretty big budget too fwiw
 
eth-dog said:
Soudal are pretty big budget too fwiw
Click to expand...
Probably not quite on the same level as the 5 teams I listed - but well ahead of the likes of Jayco, and the rest of the peleton.

I'd suggest that the big 5 (based on 2025 finances) would be in Band 1, Soudal in Band 2, then a bunch of teams in Bands 4 & 5. There's a pretty big gap between Soudal and the rest, hence the lack of a Band 3.
 
Vader said:
Probably not quite on the same level as the 5 teams I listed - but well ahead of the likes of Jayco, and the rest of the peleton.

I'd suggest that the big 5 (based on 2025 finances) would be in Band 1, Soudal in Band 2, then a bunch of teams in Bands 4 & 5. There's a pretty big gap between Soudal and the rest, hence the lack of a Band 3.
Click to expand...
They were the second biggest budget team heading into this year behind UAE according to a few different commentators haha (not just SBS, but the former GCN guys too).

Band 1 would have those 6 I agree.
Band 2 would be Lidl Trek, Bahrain, Alpecin, Jayco, Decathlon AG2R and Israel PT.
Band 3 would have EF, Lotto, FDJ, Movistar and DSM.
Band 4 Intermarche, Cofidis, Arkea, Uno-X, Tudor and Q36.5
 

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