Welcome to Daily News, your roundup of news items from across the world of cycling. We keep this post updated throughout the week so that you can stay informed on all things bike racing, tech, industry, culture, advocacy, and more.
Egan Bernal is a winner again three years after his life-changing crash
Just over three years after a crash during a training ride left him with numerous fractures and a long road to recovery, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) won the time trial at the Colombian national championships on Thursday in Bucaramanga. Although the former Tour de France winner had some strong showings in 2024, the TT victory was his first time climbing to the top step of a race podium since his crash in January of 2022, and indeed his first win since he won the 2021 Giro d’Italia in May of 2021.
“1,347 days and many things happened since my last victory,” he wrote on X of becoming Colombian TT champion for the second time in his career.
“I thought of retiring multiple times but one day I promised that if I won again, the first one would be dedicated to God for giving me a second chance to live. Many people took part in this process and today I only want to say THANKS.”
Bernal’s also marked the first victory for the Ineos Grenadiers since July of last year, when Filippo Ganna won a stage of the Tour of Austria.
Chaos at the Étoile de Bèsseges
More than half of the WorldTour teams at the Étoile de Bèsseges pulled out of the race after a driver drove a car onto the course in stage 3, just a day after several riders crashed avoiding a car on course in stage 2.
The Ineos Grenadiers, Lidl-Trek, Soudal-Quick Step, EF Education-EasyPost, Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and second-division teams Uno-X Mobility and Unibet-Tietema Rockets all quit the UCI 2.1-rated event relatively early on in stage 3.
You can read more about the incident here at Escape Collective.
Berd Peregrine Carbon Aero Wheels are a collaboration with HED Cycling
The new Berd Peregrine wheelset is the brand’s first foray into aero. Berd’s Polylight fabric spokes paired with HED’s aerodynamic Vanquish V62 rim reportedly offer a fast yet comfortable ride quality. According to Berd, the Polylight spokes have “natural vibration-damping properties that balance out the stiffness of aerodynamic carbon rims.”
Peregrine Aero wheels can be ordered with Industry Nine Solix hubs (1,505 g/$2,595), Berd Talon hubs (1,534 g/$2,495), or Onyx Vesper hubs (1,700 g/$2,695). All prices are USD. Rims measure 62 mm deep and feature an internal width of 22.4 mm with a hooked bead for tires from 28-55 mm wide, and at pressures of up to 75 psi. [Berd]
Winner’s Circle: Iván Romeo takes his first pro win in Valencia
Spanish up-and-comer Iván Romeo (Movistar) won stage 3 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, soloing to victory in Alpuente 10 seconds ahead of Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Almeida now leads the GC.
At the UAE Tour Women, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) won for the second straight day, this time besting Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) and Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) in the sprint at the end of stage 2.
The aforementioned stage 3 of the Étoile de Bessèges was won by Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) ahead of Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ), while Rick Pluimers (Tudor) won the Muscat Classic ahead of Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Henok Mulubrhan (XDS Astana).
And in more national championships news, Alan Hatherly (Jayco AlUla) took the South African time trial title while Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Oatly) followed up her TT win at New Zealand nationals with a victory in the road race.