#gravel-cycling

#gravel-cycling

King of the Hammers, now in its 20th year, has evolved from a small contest among friends to a major off-road racing event, drawing over 80,000 attendees.

Even before I ever came to the U.S., I'd heard the legends of the White Rim Trail. It's not only an iconic mountain bike adventure, but also a route with a deep history of FKT attempts that I've followed throughout my career. It's incredibly special to see my name alongside, and ahead of, some amazing athletes. Next time, though, I'd like to slow things down a bit and take in the views.

Lucien Epiney from Switzerland won the Ultra Trail Men's race in Spain with a time of 6:57, followed by Alexis Martín and Manuel Mesa from Spain finishing in 7:10 and 7:51 respectively.

The Millenium 4.0 features a concave platform with an ultra-low profile to minimize pedal strikes, measuring 12mm at the center and 14mm at the edge.

Pogacar made his decisive move just as he had done two years ago on the Monte Sante Marie gravel section. His UAE Team Emirates colleagues had put the hammer down heading into that section and once Pogacar attacked on a tough climb, he quickly distanced everyone else. Seixas was the rider who resisted the longest even briefly dragging back Pogacar before the world champion accelerated again and disappeared over the horizon for good.

Transition has increased the rear travel to 211mm, which translates to more traction and control when charging downhill. This straightforward approach enhances the riding experience significantly.

Mass dampers help with vibration damping by using a weight suspended between two springs, which absorbs vibrations and reduces the transfer to the rider.

The Roval Terra CLX III weighs just 1,079g for the set, making it the lightest, most compliant gravel race wheels ever made, including tubeless rim tape and valve stems.

The special build also included a custom Bike Ahead cockpit and the latest Shimano groupset offerings, showcasing the innovative approach to gravel bike design.

The Trek-Unbroken prototype is a clear signal that the '80mm of travel is enough' era of cross-country racing has officially been put to pasture.

Pinion Smart-Shift is an electronic shifting system that draws power from the e-bike battery and reduces additional wiring. The Smart-Shift integration enables automatic shifting features, too, like the pre-select and start-select modes. These two modes can automatically shift to your preferred gear when stopping. You can't use this system on Viral's non-electric models due to the absence of speed sensors.

That's right, you read it correctly. Minnesota's Surly Bicycles wants you to up your daily fiber as they join the masses, and spec some carbon bits on the new 700c Black Cherry Fizz Midnight Special. Don't worry, if you prefer your Midnight Special with a steel fork and trusty aluminum hoops, come this Spring you can get that if you want. But, more on that at a later date.

I had trained for a full year to complete a self-supported bicycle tour from San Diego to Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was meant to be the next-to-last chapter in my coast-to-coast cycling journey - one more long stretch of road before the final piece fell into place. Thirty-four miles into the ride, it was over. A microfiber towel caught in my derailleur. A fluke. One of those things you never plan for and still struggle to explain afterward.

While most modern competitions recruit riders with similar skillsets and design courses to suit them, Natural Selection flips the script. By drawing riders from a wide range of backgrounds, NST creates a format that values creativity and individuality as much as technical execution. It is one of the few competitions where the structure of the contest comes secondary to the riders themselves.

Drop bars on mountain bikes aren't exactly new. People have been experimenting with curly bars on mountain bikes since the 1980s, but in 2025, they saw a major resurgence in popularity. With high-profile racers like Keegan Swenson - among many others - modifying XC race bikes with drop bars for events like Leadville, the drop-bar MTB became a much-hyped and frequently discussed topic for the first time in many years.