Latest news with #MountainBike
BBC News
13-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
GB's Pidcock wins cross-country World Cup race in Andorra
Great Britain's Tom Pidcock won gold in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country race in Andorra as fellow Briton Charlie Aldridge clinched Olympic champion Pidcock started from the fourth row on the grid in Pal Arinsal but quickly moved into the lead group on lap former world champion then led from the halfway stage after overtaking French champion Luca Martin, whose mechanical fault further widened the gap between the returning to mountain biking for the first time since he won bronze at last year's World Championships having focused on the road this season, claimed his eighth World Cup XCO, external win as he crossed the line in one hour, 20 minutes and 30 came second, 21 seconds behind Pidcock, with Aldridge, 24, in third."It's super nice to finally win here - kind of a home race - after a few years coming here," said 25-year-old Pidcock, who lives in Andorra. "Not an easy place to race, that's for sure. Racing at this height [Pal Arinsal village sits at 1,550m altitude], it's not like you can find more oxygen anywhere."The lack of experience in the races this year certainly played in my favour. I didn't puncture, I didn't have any problems."I was most nervous about the start, obviously if I went backwards from the fourth row, I would have been really far back."Pidcock is not likely to race in any more Mountain Bike World Cups this year or September's World Championships, which take place at the same time as the final Grand Tour of the season on the road, the Vuelta a Espana, where he has said he will race for the overall Britain's former world champion Evie Richards came sixth in the women's race.
The Verge
04-07-2025
- The Verge
The Loop Micro is my new favorite bicycle phone mount
Bicycle phone mounts have been a regular part of my life in bike-obsessed Amsterdam ever since 2008, when I got my first phone with built-in GPS and turn-by-turn navigation. I've used dozens of mounts since, until they were either lost, broken, or stolen, or something better emerged. I could have saved a ton of money and annoyance had the $49.95 Loop Micro Mount been available all those years ago. For the last few weeks, I've been testing the ultra-compact Micro Mount. It took all of three minutes to unbox and screw into my bike's stem cap. Then it just sits there discreetly, out of the way until I expand its jaws to help guide me into places unknown. It held my iPhone 15 Pro securely on all types of on- and off-road terrain, with or without my existing phone case. 9 Verge Score I attached the Loop Micro Mount to my mountain bike to test its limits. It's designed and recommended for road use, but even commuters have to scale the occasional curb or survive a pothole. The mount never lost grip when heading down rough single-track trails rutted with tree roots. I did manage to literally kick my phone into the dirt once when I got knocked off my bike. Those spring-loaded rubber-lined jaws will hold your device securely on tarmac, cobblestones, and brickwork, but they're no match for the protection you get from something like a Quad Lock case and mount. The Loop Micro Mount is designed to be installed semipermanently on a stem cap, and it comes with an extra long bolt in the box for that purpose. I like that the mount can be installed in either portrait or landscape orientations. I don't like that placing the phone into the holder requires two hands to pry those jaws apart. I also like that you can't see the removable bolt when the mount is closed and that the entire assembly disappears into the lines of the bike. This not only looks great aesthetically, but it helps to avoid the attention of thieves. Many city and commuter bikes and e-bikes — but certainly not all — are fitted with these standard stem caps. Otherwise, the Micro Mount can be attached to the handlebar with a removable O-ring kit. Loop says the Micro Mount 'fits all major phones,' including the current crop of heavy ultra-max phones. The spec sheet says it supports phone and case widths up to 85mm and depths up to 14.5mm, which should make it suitable for the biggest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S series. My only concern is how well those spring-loaded jaws will work over time. The metal mount is heavy in the hand and doesn't feel cheap, but we Amsterdammers leave our bicycles parked outside year round, where they're exposed to rain, sun, and ice, and suffer lots of abuse when stuffed into parking racks. Loop says the mount is 'built to withstand the elements, ensuring durability and reliability in any weather condition.' The Loop Micro Mount is surprisingly capable for its size and has become my new favorite install-it-and-forget-it bike mount for road use. Its inconspicuous design avoids the attention of thieves, and the mount disappears into the bike's silhouette until needed. The Micro Mount is available in black or silver and costs $49.95 / €44.95 / £39.95. Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
NZ's Sammie Maxwell carries top seeding as MTB World Series heads to Europe
Sammie Maxwell. Photo: Noam Meresse New Zealand's Sammie Maxwell is on top of the Mountain Bike World Series standings heading into the first cross-country competition in Europe for 2025. The next World Cup round is at the famed course in Nové Mĕsto na Moravé, a mountain sports resort in the Czech Republic. Samara Maxwell has won the UCI mountain bike cross-country World Cup event in Araxa, Brazil. 7 April, 2025. Photo: Supplied / Noam Meresse After a double round in Brazil, the cross-country competition heads back to Europe with cool conditions and some rain forecast. It also begins six rounds in Europe, followed by two in North America, with Maxwell at the top of the World Cup rankings. After her win in the opening round and podium in Brazil, Maxwell is at the top of the series points, although the Decathlon Ford professional is in a confident mood. "Coming into that first World Cup in Brazil if I was told I would win it, I would not have believed them. To get your biggest dream in the first world cup race was pretty incredible," Maxwell said. "I want to keep my No 1 plate at Nove Mesto," said the Decathlon Ford professional. "I want to win but if not, then I have faith in my ability to kind of look at what is happening and with the team to support me, that we can get back to the top eventually." Maxwell, eighth in her Olympic debut in Paris, recently competed in a Shimano Super Cup series race in Spain. "I felt I had good legs in Spain so I did an extra lap to simulate more of a World Cup race. I had some good feelings on the bike - I was composed and hit my lines." Maxwell will be joined by fellow New Zealand pro riders, Sam Gaze and Anton Cooper in the elite field. Sam Gaze at the Paris Olympics. Photo: DPPI / Federico Pestellini Gaze, sixth in the Paris Olympics, is not placing too much expectation in his mountain bike season debut after spending the early months this year on the road with his Alpecin- Deceuninck pro team before being sidelined with illness. "I've had a slower start after falling ill following the Tirreno Adriatico World Tour road race and as a result I could not return to the level needed to race in the Classics," Gaze said. "It has been a slow recovery physically and to also mentally refresh. I've had a stable build up and I can take confidence into my first World Cup of the season. "Realistically I would like a nice result but the primary goal is to produce a performance pressure-free and leaving the weekend with some momentum behind me." He is joined by Cooper, who is making a long awaited European return to the world series after illness sidelined him for much of 2024. Now with the much-vaunted Lapierre Racing United pro team, Cooper had two mid-field finishes in Brazil after starting near the back of the field, with limited ranking points after his significant time out last year. Cooper is looking to consistently move up the rankings, and accordingly improve his start position, which is a vital to running a competitive race. "I would like to think I can push up into the top 20 this weekend," he said of a course which has been one of his favourites, finishing second in 2017, seventh in 2020 and eighth in 2021. The short-track races are on Saturday from 8pm (NZT), and cross-country races on Sunday with the elite women from 8pm (NZT) through to under-23 men from 2am Monday (NZT). Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
