It’s a big week in the dot-watching cycling community.
We’re about halfway through the Atlas Mountain Race, one of the toughest ultra-distance races in the world, covering 13,000km over seven days across Morrocco, from Marrakesh to Essaouira.
Crossing the Moroccan Atlas, this endurance epic features some of extremely unforgiving terrain, featuring over 20,000m of elevation and following high-altitude gravel roads and long-forgotten single and double tracks, with barely any tarmac for respite.
And it’s safe to say it’s already taken its fair share of prisoners.
Our very own Matt Page – who seemed to be in good spirits yesterday after being joined by a few locals – appears to have scratched later that afternoon, his dot lingering about 30km off the route near Skoura. Matt’s not the only one to suffer a bit of bad luck, however.
Sofiane Sehili, one of the best off-road long-distance racers on the planet and the winner of the 2020 edition of the Atlas Mountain Race, felt the full force of Morrocco’s unforgiving terrain when he trashed his fancy Shimano GRX rear mech – and had to make do with an on-the-cheap replacement from a local bike shop.
Which, unfortunately for the French ultra-distance legend, means he’s now forced to ride all the way to Essaouira on single speed – putting him, obviously, out of the race.
> Bring on the Atlas Mountains: a beginner's guide to ultra-distance bike racing
Describing his DIY job in an Instagram story, while riding his newly single speed machine, Sehili, who’s also won the Tour Divide and the Silk road mountain race during his illustrious long-ride career, said: “So, I went to this little repair shop and they had chains, six or seven-speed chains, which obviously were too thick for my 12-speed cassette.
“I removed a couple of cogs from the cassette, replaced them with some spacers that were the right size.
“So now I can use one cog! And I added a derailleur, just to have the right tension on the chain. Yeah, so I’m riding single speed on tarmac.
“And if you’re wondering why I’m not back on the course, I honestly think it would be mental to do single speed on that course – though I know one guy who’s doing it!”
Yeah, that sounds fair. I doubt anyone will be shouting ‘one gear is more than enough on those mountain dirt roads!’ as he passes by on the tarmac anyway.
In a longer Instagram post, Sehili – who joked that he was “in the mood for a bike tour anyway” after being forced onto the tarmac – added: “This is how my second attempt at the Atlas Mountain Race ends. Pretty differently from the first one. It was all going well, until it wasn’t anymore. I don’t give up easily but this time there’s nothing I could do but throw in the towel.
“When it happened, I was more than gutted. Now that I have had time to get some sleep and reflect on it, I feel a bit better. Of course I’m disappointed, but if something like that has to happen, I surely prefer it happens during a race I have already finished and won.
“I also take comfort in the fact that I didn’t just come here just for the race but was, beforehand, lucky enough to ride almost a thousand kilometres in this beautiful country that is Morocco.
“It is easy to indulge in self-pity, but in the end it is truly just a bike race and I got to take part in half of it. Some of my mates weren’t as lucky, a good friend is in hospital bed awaiting surgery after a serious accident. So yeah, it’s not the end of the world…
“I’m not gonna complain. Instead, I will look at the bright side of things, which is that I was racing hard and fast in a very competitive field. I was right there in the mix. Well ahead of my 2020 times.
“It feels quite good to actually get better while getting older to be honest. There will be other races. There will be many other opportunities to sing and (hopefully) crack you up.
“Now I'm gonna try to single speed my way to Essaouira.”
I don’t know about you, but that sounds brutal, too. These ultra-distance cyclists, eh?
If a Dutch sprinter continues his flying start to 2025 at a race with barely any roadside fans, and with no TV coverage, did it actually happen?
No, I’m not talking about the existential crisis facing every UK-based cycling fan in next month’s post-apocalyptic – sorry, I mean post-Eurosport world. I’m referring to Olav Kooij’s second stage win at the Tour of Oman this morning, a race where the coverage is so scarce it appears to exist solely as a timely, doom-laden harbinger of bike race viewing to come.
Anyway, according to the handful of wobbly videos and photos uploaded to social media by the race organisers, Visma-Lease a Bike’s Kooij made it two from two in bunch kicks this week, taking advantage of Uno-X’s Erlend Blikra’s decision to launch his sprint early on the drag to the line, coming off his wheel with 200m to go and holding off Giacomo Nizzolo for the victory, as Movistar’s Orluis Aular took third ahead of the fading Blikra.
“It was good for me. We could control the finish with the team, and they helped me very well,” Kooij said after the stage.
“We knew the last kilometre would be important to get in a good position. I could then follow the right wheels to start my sprint at exactly the right moment.
“After coming from the winter in Europe, it takes some time to get used to [racing], but the feelings are good.”
The 23-year-old Dutch sprinter – who once again looks set to miss out on a Tour de France debut this year due to Visma’s GC ambitions – can now bask in the glory of a job well done in Oman, as tomorrow’s summit finish to Green Mountain promises to be an explosive battle between race leader David Gaudu and reigning champion Adam Yates.
If we could see it, that is.
A Conservative MSP has called on Edinburgh City Council to install more secure cycle parking facilities to tackle the city’s “serious” bike theft problem, after new Police Scotland figures revealed that the number of bikes reported as stolen in the Scottish capital have rocketed by almost 20 per cent in 18 months.
According to Police Scotland’s stats, in the 18 months from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2024, there were 1,848 recorded bike thefts in Edinburgh – a jump of 19.5 per cent compared to the previous 18 months.
The figures were published after Lothian MSP Miles Briggs contacted Police Scotland following a wave of complaints from constituents whose bikes were stolen, prompting the Tory politician to urge the local council to do more to reduce the city’s “startling” cycle theft stats.
“These figures are startling and are a serious worry for bike owners in the capital,” Briggs told the Edinburgh Evening News.
“Bike theft is nothing new to Edinburgh and the Edinburgh police division has previously had great success in reducing the number of thefts, but more needs to be done now.
“I welcome the positive work which Police Scotland have undertaken in the past to inform residents on how to keep their bikes safe especially people living in tenements and students coming to study in the capital.”
> Thieves attempting to steal bike using angle grinder thwarted by passing locals
He continued: “An increase in bike storage facilities would be a good way of ensuring that bikes in the city are more secure.
“I have written to Edinburgh City Council to ask what plans are being developed to help provide more safe facilities for bikes to be stored.
“In the meantime, I would ask people to be vigilant and ensure their bikes are not left unattended or unchained in public areas.”
In response to Briggs’ complaints, Edinburgh City Council noted that there are currently 218 secure cycle hangars in operation in Edinburgh, providing space for 1,302 bikes, with 97 per cent of the spaces in use.
The local authority is also progressing the roll-out of the second phase of the project, which will see a further 162 hangars installed over the next year, bringing Edinburgh’s total provision to 380 hangars and 2,260 spaces.
Nevertheless, the council acknowledged that demand was high for spaces, with waiting lists in place for most existing hangars and a long list of requests from residents for hangars in new locations.
Transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson said: “Helping people keep their bikes secure is an essential part of good active travel provision, and our roll-out of hundreds of secure storage units across the city, providing thousands of spaces, has proved extremely popular.
“We’ll also continue working with Police Scotland to explore theft prevention initiatives, like bike marking.”
Ah, Pogi-Roubaix, we hardly knew ye.
Yesterday morning, Tadej Pogačar set the online cycling world alight by mischievously posting a video of himself tearing over the jagged cobbles of the Trouée d'Arenberg, sparking speculation that the world champion is set to make his Paris-Roubaix debut this April.
However, while social media was abuzz with excitement about the prospect of a mouthwatering duel on the cobbles with Van der Poel and Van Aert, Pogačar’s old adage that “Twitter is for trolling” appears to have crept over to Instagram, after his UAE Team Emirates squad were quick to point out that, no, the Hell of the North has not been added to their Slovenian star’s 2025 programme… Yet.
Speaking to Daniel Benson, UAE’s sports manager Matxin Joxean Fernandez claimed that the Arenberg recon was merely part of a wider trip assessing the key sections of Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders, and Roubaix with sports director Fabio Baldato and teammate Tim Wellens, who is pencilled in to race the Hell of the North this year.
“They were in the area and did the recon of the Arenberg. In Tadej’s initial race programme, there’s no Paris-Roubaix this year. He simply did three days looking at the Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem, and then Paris-Roubaix,” Fernandez told Benson.
“He was looking at the materials, the tyres, the bike and was riding with them and looking at the critical moments of those races.
“Tim is racing Paris-Roubaix, and Tadej went with him. At the moment, we’ve not looked at Roubaix for his race programme. Normally, he’ll stop after the Tour of Flanders and prepare for the Ardennes Classics.”
Asked if Pogačar could ultimately add Roubaix to his plans after the Tour of Flanders, Fernandez said: “We can’t speak about this. Maybe after Flanders, he has good confidence, but it all depends on the situation, but at the moment, no.”
So… you’re telling me there’s a chance?
Fernandez was equally vague when pressed about the world champion’s apparent plan to target the Vuelta a España, the only grand tour he’s yet to win, later this year after the Tour.
“We’ll see soon, I think at the UAE Tour, it will be explained and announced by Tadej himself. I know, but the communication will be for the team at that moment,” he said.
So, one more time… Twitter is for trolling, Instagram is for nice photos, and team staff statements are for keeping things vague and the online speculation rolling.
Oh, your morning’s been fine, but it’s still missing a few photos of a mercurial retired French climber hugging a Highland calf, you say? Well, I’ve got just the post for you:
The only thing that could out-Thibaut Pinot this brilliant Insta post is one of the former FDJ star sobbing at the side of the road after going down in a blaze of glory at a grand tour, as baby goats frolic in the field behind him…