Just when you thought tires couldn’t get any wider on a road bike, Wilier is premiering its latest Rapida, boasting enough clearance for tires up to a hefty 36mm.

“The Rapida represents the exact point where speed and distance coexist. A precision-engineered balance, where the riding position retains the brand’s racing character without penalising those who love long days out. The stack sits exactly halfway between our pure racing models and our endurance range. The result is a bike that is fast, stable, and accessible. Even after hours in the saddle. With tire clearance of up to 36 mm, you no longer have to choose between smooth tarmac and gravel roads: Rapida adapts to every terrain, providing an unwavering sense of security. It is a bike that enhances and shapes your style, that’s ready to follow you wherever the road takes you,” says Wilier. 

While comfort appears to be foremost, aerodynamics also played a critical role when developing the Rapida, which sees NACA airfoils employed throughout the frame, fork and seatpost, resulting in an aerodynamic signature that puts the bike almost on par with Wilier’s flagship Filante ID2.

Elsewhere, the Rapida is treated to an 86.5mm press fit bottom bracket, along with a future-proof UDH-compatible derailleur hanger and a removable front derailleur hanger, allowing for 1x road configurations.

However, perhaps the Rapida’s most impressive feature is the price, with a complete bike that’s equipped with a Shimano 105 2x groupset starting at a paltry £2,999 – complete with carbon wheels and Wilier’s Z-Bar integrated handlebar and stem.

Wilier 

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A belated happy birthday to Luis Herrera, who was born May 4, 1961.

The Colombian is best known for being only the second rider in history to win the prestigious Mountains Jersey in all three Grand Tours.

Indeed, Herrera claimed the coveted Climber’s Jersey in the 1985 and 1987 Tour de France, the 1989 Giro d’Italia and the 1987 and 1991 Vuelta a España.

Perhaps his greatest achievement, however, was winning the overall title in the 1987 Spanish Grand Tour ahead of Raimund Dietzen of Germany and Laurent Fignon of France.

Born Luis Alberto “Lucho” Herrera, he grew up in the small town of Fusagasugá (Fusa, for short), a few kilometers south-west of Bogota.

Growing up on a farm meant most of Herrera’s daily life involved hard labor, which consisted of everything from tending to livestock to picking coffee alongside his mother. But, the young Herrera found refuge from his arduous daily routine by playing soccer and running track at school.

However, his introduction to cycling came by way of his mother, who bought him a bike to ride back and forth to school in order to alleviate foot pain caused by flat feet.

After finishing school, Herrera opened his own nursery, earning him the nickname “El Jardinerito” (The Little Gardener), which would later stick throughout his cycling career.

According to Herrera, his interest in cycling began after he was encouraged by his brother Rafael to participate in a small race in Fusa.

Yet, despite not finishing very well, the aspiring rider said he fell in love with the sport and, over time, started to take it more seriously.

After further training, Herrera entered his first serious race in 1977, the Colombian Amateur Championship, where he finished 21st.

Two years later, he raced the Vuelta de la Juventud (the amateur version of the Vuelta a Colombia), where he continued to improve his racing skills. 

Herrera continued honing his skills while riding for a number of small amateur teams, finally catching his big break when he was signed by the professional Valyain team in 1981.

With the backing of a pro team, Herrera was eligible to race in the Clásico RCN that year.

The Clasico was Colombia’s most important race next to the Vuelta a Colombia during the 1970s and 1980s, wherein it attracted plenty of international talent and top European teams.

Herrera went on to win a stage in that year’s race, marking his first major victory as a pro rider. Later on in the season, the team brought him to his first Vuelta a Colombia.

This proved to be Herrera’s greatest learning experience, as he took what he had learned from the Vuelta, and returned to the RCN the following year and literally “cleaned house”, winning the King of the Mountains classification, two stages and the overall victory while riding for the bigger Freskola team.

“Beating Pascal Simon, [Robert] Millar and [Fabio] Parra (who had just won the Vuelta a Colombia) was amazing for me. No one knew who I was before the race”, Herrera remarked after winning the Clasico RCN.

As a result of his dominant victory in the Clasico RCN, he caught the attention of Colombia’s National Team coach, who sent him to compete in that year’s Tour de L’Avenir.

Herrera would claim a prophetic victory in the Tour de L’Avenir, after winning the summit finish to Morzine, the same famous mountainous stage that he would win years later in Tour de France while in pursuit of his first Polka Dot Jersey.

1980 marked an epic year for Colombian cycling, as Alfonso Flores won the Tour de l’Avenir, while Patrocinio Jimenez and Cristobal Pérez made the podium in the 1981 and 1982 editions as well. In addition, Jimenez also won the Coors Classic in 1982.  

As a result, cycling had rapidly become a source of pride for the small Latin country, and it wasn’t long before “El Jardinerito” joined the celebrity status of his compatriots.

In 1983, the Colombian team went to the Coors Classic looking to defend the title Jimenez had given them the prior year. This time Herrera was the team leader.

On the toughest stage of the race, with over 6,500 feet of climbing, Herrera and fellow Colombian Israel “Pinocho” Corredor easily left the field behind on the final climb.

“The descent was another story. They went down during a hailstorm so heavy that they had to ride on the tracks left by the cars ahead of them. They held the gap to the chasers, Lucho won the stage, and took the overall lead. The Colombians’ inexperience, however, showed in the last stage in Cheyenne, Wyoming. “We had that race in the pocket,” remembers Herrera, “but we lost it because of our lack of experience. We didn’t control the race in the last stage. Of course, all the other teams ganged up on us and I went from first [in the GC], to third.” The Colombians were not only faced with all the opposing teams’ attacks, but with crosswinds they had never experienced before. Herrera lost over seven minutes”, recounts cycling journalist Mike Spriggs.

Next season saw even greater achievements for Herrera and Colombia.

Herrera once again won the Clasico RCN, this time vanquishing such formidable rivals as Fignon, Simon, LeMond, Madiot and Millar, while also claiming his first Vuelta a Colombia title.

In addition, the young Colombian rider, Martín Ramírez, won the Dauphiné Libéré, beating Bernard Hinault and defending champion Greg LeMond.

Come Tour de France time, Herrera once again found himself leader for the all-Colombian team that was now being sponsored by the German battery company Varta.

“I was very nervous. I was about to participate in the most important race in the world, and to top it off, no one respected us. We had been labeled amateurs, while everyone else was a pro. We suffered a lot, especially at the end of the stages”, said Herrera.

Herrera would go on to win the venerable climb of Alpe d’Huez, dispatching the likes of Phil Anderson, Peter Winnen, Hinault, Fignon and Rafael Acevedo along the famed 21 switchback ascent.

“It was a very tough stage. Two climbs from the end, we were five minutes behind the peloton, but [Rafael] Acevedo and I chased hard. We caught the main field in a feeding zone. The group was beginning to come apart. I ended up with Fignon and Hinault, but I left them behind [on the slopes of the final climb], and went on to win the stage. The last few kilometers, I did all-out. It meant a lot to me, to Latin America and to Colombia”, remembers Herrera.

The following season brought more epic victories for Herrera in the Tour de France, which saw him beat Hinault during a famous head-to-head battle along slopes to Avoriaz.

Hinault would later suggest that he had let his Colombian rival win the stage, but Herrera recalled a different version.

“Hinault told me that he wanted the stage. I told him no, that we’d have to race for it. He was angry, so I attacked him and he asked me to wait, to climb at a steady pace. We did. After a while, I almost lost his wheel, but I kept up. The last 2 kilometers were calm, but a few meters from the line, I left him behind and won. The satisfaction was immense. I had just beaten the leader of the Tour.”

Just two days after his impressive defeat of Hinault on the climb to Lans-en-Vercors, despite crashing along the descent, a tired and bloodied Herrera gave Colombia more to celebrate after he won the stage to Saint-Étienne and captured the prestigious Polka Dot Climber’s Jersey. 

“On that stage I had to chase the break, and caught them, but on the descent [from Croix de Chaubouret] there was mud everywhere. I tried to avoid it, but couldn’t and I crashed”, said Herrera.

Herrera reprised his Clasico RCN victory the following season, again trouncing his arch-rival Hinault in the prologue, the individual time trial and the King of the Mountains and Combined Classifications. 

“It was very rewarding… to beat Hinault both, in the prologue and in the ITT. I won the overall, the KOM and the Combination Jersey. [Hinault] had a tough time, but finished in style, winning the final ITT”, he said.

Illness plagued Herrera for most of 1986, which left him with his first winless season since he was an amateur rider. However, the following year would prove to be his zenith.

Now riding for the Café De Colombia as its captain, Herrera led the Colombian squad to victory in that year’s Vuelta a España, winning both the overall title, as well as the Mountains Classification, while fending off attacks from Pedro Delgado, Fignon and Sean Kelly in all aspects of the race.

For instance, during the first week, Herrera lost almost 3 minutes to provisional leader Sean Kelly in two separate time-trial events, while being forced to chase down repeated attacks throughout all of the mountain stages from riders such as Delgado, Fignon, Jesús Ibañez, Roberto Pagnin, Vicente Belda (the tiny Spanish climber for Kelme), Henry Cárdenas, Patrocinio Jiménez, Laudelino Cubino, Angel Arroyo, Acácio da Silva and the German rider Raimund Dietzen.

Herrera followed up his Vuelta a España triumph with a 5th place finish in that year’s Tour de France, while once again claiming the coveted Polka Dot Climber’s Jersey.

The following seasons saw victories for Herrera in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1988 and 1991), the Mountains Classification in the Giro d’Italia (1989) and the Mountains Classification in the Vuelta a España (1992).

Herrera retired from racing in 1992, having amassed no fewer than 76 victories and, as mentioned, earning the distinction of being one of only two riders to win the King of the Mountains jersey in all three Grand Tours – the first being Federico Bahamontes of Spain.

Feliz cumpleaños, Luis!

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Building on a race-proven, best-selling design that’s stood out for the last five years, British disrupter eyewear brand SunGod has launched its new Velans 2 sunglasses. An evolution of the original Velans, worn to Olympic and World Championship gold as well as Grand Tour podiums, sees a technical and versatile construction with improved stability and universal helmet compatibility.

Already the choice of multiple riders across SunGod’s sponsored teams, including INEOS Grenadiers, SD-Worx ProTime, Unibet Rose Rockets, the Velans 2 model is packed full of innovative technical features that provide fit, function and style all-in-one.

An uncompromising, secure fit on any head shape is achieved thanks to SunGod’s new ergonomically remodelled arm and temple profile, using new stability fins – a feature driven by athlete partners’ feedback and testing. Pop-Lock hinges return to reinforce one of the most vulnerable points in most sunglasses, while all Velans 2 options come with SunGod’s proprietary 8KO nylon-based lenses – providing up to 70% clearer vision than industry standard polycarbonate lenses – with the choice to opt for 8KO IRIS Photochromic lens also available. Furthermore, added vents are integrated into a new lens profile to provide ventilation, helping avoid fogging up and maintaining clear vision.

As with all SunGod products, Velans 2 are Guaranteed for Life, meaning if you ever manage to damage or break them, SunGod will repair or replace them free of charge, forever.

SunGod’s Head of Product, Ed Watkiss, gave further insight into the development of the new Velans 2 model: “We came to cycling with a new benchmark when we released the original Velans sunglasses five years ago, but innovation and improvements never stop. For over a year now, we’ve been working on an evolution of this rider favourite, taking on both athlete and customer feedback to enhance fit both on the face and when “parked” in the helmet too, an important factor to consider given the regularity that riders remove their sunglasses on the go.

“Driven by the goal of helping our customers and athletes see better, the new Velans 2 presents a really exciting piece of equipment with improved performance and comfort, in a look that suits even the most aesthetically-conscious rider.”

Updates to the previous Velans model, which helped Tom Pidcock race with clarity towards MTB gold at the Paris Olympics, see the final design weigh in at a lightweight 26g. This comfortable fit means you’ll hardly know they’re on your head, whilst a wraparound lens shape using 8KO-nylon material reduces distraction and maintains clear vision when you need it most.

The Velans 2 Infinite Recycled Frame material has a carbon footprint seven times lower than virgin plastic used by competitors, continuing SunGod’s commitment to sustainability as one of the few certified B Corps in the cycling industry.

Seven colorways are available – Black Smoke, White Gold, Neon Yellow, Neon Blue, Black, Glacier Blue and Black Forest Green. While a fully customisable option is available to make your own.

The Velans 2 sell for $160, with customization available for an extra $25, or switch to an IRIS Photochromic lens for $210.

Discover the new Velans 2 at https://www.sungod.co/en-eu/shop/sunglasses/velans2

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Santini and Danish champion Mads Pedersen have teamed up to launch the new Mads Pedersen Momentum Series, a technical capsule collection created not only to celebrate the athlete’s talent, but also to offer demanding cyclists the same aerodynamic innovations developed for the Lidl-Trek World Tour team.

“Presented at Velodrom Odeon in Girona, the Mads Pedersen Momentum Series is a collection focused on aerodynamics and speed. The result of the collaboration between us and Mads, the line sees the athlete expressing his determination through an authentic and powerful design, blending his identity with our cutting-edge technology. The synergy between athlete and company originates from the MADSS concept (Mega Aerodynamic Speed Shell), Santini’s 2025 proposal dedicated to maximum aerodynamic performance. Pedersen immediately embraced the concept, appreciating both its identity and its strong connection to the technical development shared with the team,” says the storied Italian brand. 

The collection’s signature feature is a dynamic graphic of arrows pointing in two directions, right and left, symbolizing drive, energy, and speed. The collection includes a jersey—available in two solid-color options and two graphic versions—bib shorts, a road skinsuit, a baselayer, a vest, and a wide range of technical accessories. The offering is completed by casual pieces such as T-shirts and hoodies in mint and grey colorways.

Jersey and Bib Shorts

The Mads Pedersen Momentum Series jersey is inspired by the new Aero Race model and uses Polartec Power Dry with Recycled Carbon fabric, created through an innovative CO₂ capture process that transforms industrial emissions into high-performance recycled polyester yarns.

Weighing 128 g/m², the fabric—composed of 91% recycled carbon content—combines innovation and performance, ensuring optimal breathability and thermoregulation even during intense activity.

Thanks to this technology, Polartec and Santini have reduced the carbon footprint by up to 66% compared to garments made from virgin polyester, without compromising comfort, durability, or technical quality.

The jersey is designed to maximize aerodynamic efficiency: a tight, second-skin fit, strategically placed rear panels, and sleeves with a striped structure that leverages Vortex Generation to reduce air resistance. Additional features include silicone grip, raw-cut sleeves, and three rear pockets. Within the collection, the jersey is available in mint or navy color-block versions, or with arrow graphics in mint or chocolate tones.

The Mads Pedersen Momentum Series bib shorts provide long-lasting comfort, muscle support, and stability. Made from elastic and breathable Italian technical fabric, they promote quick drying and keep the skin dry at all times. Calibrated compression supports muscles without restricting movement, while seamless braces eliminate pressure points, while the C3 chamois, featuring a 3D structure and gel inserts, ensures comfort and shock absorption over long distances. Available in off-white and chocolate.

Skinsuit

The road skinsuit is inspired by the MADSS model and represents excellence in aerodynamic performance for the most demanding cyclists. The upper part, made from lightweight and breathable Lycra, ensures constant freshness, while the ultra-tight fit and low collar enhance the aerodynamic profile. The woven sleeves guarantee a precise fit and optimize airflow thanks to a striped structure that amplifies the vortex effect.

The lower section, made from high-resistance Lycra, features a high-density structure that provides medium compression and muscle support without restricting freedom of movement. Extended legs with raw-cut finishes and internal silicone grip ensure stability and comfort, contributing to aerodynamic efficiency.

The C3 chamois, with anti-shock gel inserts and an ergonomic 3D surface, makes the garment ideal for long distances and demanding competitions. Available with arrow graphics in mint and chocolate colors. 

Aerodynamic Accessories and Lifestyle Pieces

The collection is completed by overshoes, socks, and arm warmers designed to optimize aerodynamic drag during high-intensity efforts. The arm warmers also provide UV protection and consistent thermoregulation. The range also includes an off-white vest and a matching 500 ml water bottle, dishwasher-safe and designed for maximum practicality during training.

To extend the style into everyday life, the collection features lifestyle garments such as T-shirts, long-sleeve tops, hoodies, and a cap.

Santini

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ENVE has launched updated versions of its Sideload C.I.M. bottle cages that are designed for bikes with full-suspension linkages that dictate a sideways bottle entry, or those looking to make their bottle access a little easier from the side.

“The new Sideload C.I.M. bottle cage brings the proven security of the original C.I.M. to a side-entry design. Made from long carbon reinforced polyamide with full 360-degree bottle contact, it prevents creep and ejection on even the roughest of terrain,” says ENVE. 

Available in both right-hand and left-hand versions, the C.I.M. sells for $35.00. 

ENVE

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Muc-Off has expanded its range of saddle packs, offering both small and medium-sized versions that boast improved materials, lighter weight and, best of all, added storage.

“We’ve expanded our Saddle Pack line-up with an all-new, smaller design – compact, lightweight, and built to carry the essentials when you want to ride fast and keep weight down. We’ve also upgraded our original medium-sized Saddle Pack to match, now featuring the same Fitgo dial system to bring you a more secure, micro-adjustable fit with zero rattle on any terrain. Whether it’s a quick spin or a full-day mission, both packs keep your gear protected, organised, and exactly where you need it,” says Muc-Off. 

The size small saddle pack sells for €40,00, while the medium fetches €45,00. Both are available directly from Muc-Off, or through its global retailers. 

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A belated happy birthday to Arie Den Hartog, who was born on April 23, 1941, and died on June 7, 2018.

The Dutch rider is best remembered for winning the prestigious Milan-San Remo Classic in 1965, followed by the Amstel Gold Race in 1967.

During his brief 6-year career, Hartog raced for such well-known teams as Saint-Raphael – Gitane – Dunlop, Ford France – Gitane, Ford France – Hutchinson, Bic, Caballero and Caballero – Laurens.

Other notable triumphs in Hartog’s career included numerous victories in lesser-known races in and around France and the Netherlands, such as the Österreich-Rundfahrt, Omloop van de Baronie, Olympia’s Tour door Nederlands, GP Faber, Tour de l’Herault, Oldenzaal, Paris-Camembert, Trophée Lepetit, GP du Parisien, Bernos-Beaulac, Circuit d’Auvergne, Circuito de Ospedaletti and a few stages in the Volta ao Catalunya.

Perhaps Hartog’s most memorable moment was during the 1965 Milan-San Remo Classic, when the young 23-year-old domestique attacked from out of the peloton to bridge his way to the two leaders, Vittorio Adorni and Franco Balmamion, during the last 21 kilometers.  

From there, Hartog set a ferocious pace along the final climb of the Poggio, leaving his two Italian rivals struggling to stay on terms. 

Coming into the final stretch along the Via Roma, Adorni was the first to open up his sprint. 

However, Hartog countered the Italian rider’s aggressions with a final surge of his own during the closing 300 meters, to easily vanquish his opponent, as he crossed the finish line bike lengths ahead of Adorni with his arms held high in celebration.  

Following his retirement, Hartog occasionally worked as a race commentator for Dutch media, sometimes appearing as a race dignitary as well.

However, over time, Hartog disappeared into relative obscurity.

Gelukkige verjaardag Arie, aan waar u ook bent!

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