Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. Here’s a rundown of the latest results before we get started:
Women’s Tour Down Under, Overall, Mon 19th January: 1st Noemi Rüegg, EF Education-Oatly, 10h 27min 36sec; 2nd Mavi García, UAE Team ADQ, +11sec; 3rd Paula Blasi, UAE Team ADQ, +14sec.
Women’s Tour Down Under, Stage 3, Mon 19th January: 1st Noemi Rüegg, EF Education-Oatly, 3h 24min 02sec; 2nd Mavi García, UAE Team ADQ, +01sec; 3rd Paula Blasi, UAE Team ADQ, +01sec.
Women’s Tour Down Under, Stage 2, Sun 18th January: 1st Ally Wollaston, FDJ United-Suez, 3h 35min 20sec; 2nd Noemi Rüegg, EF Education-Oatly, +00sec; 3rd Josie Nelson, Picnic PostNL, +00sec.
Elite Men, Cyclocross World Cup, Benidorm, Sun 18th January: 1st Mathieu van der Poel, 1h 01min 04sec; 2nd Thibau Nys, +28sec; 3rd Felipe Orts, +32sec.
Elite Women, Cyclocross World Cup, Benidorm, Sun 18th January: 1st Lucinda Brand, 52min 01sec; 2nd Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, +10sec; 3rd Amandine Fouquenet, +12sec.
2027 UK Grand Départs announced
The stages have been revealed for the 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Grand Départs in 2027. The men kick things off first from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th July, with Stage 1 departing Edinburgh for Carlisle over 184km; followed by Stage 2 covering 223km from Keswick to Liverpool; and Stage 3 also 223km from Welshpool to Cardiff.
The Tour de France Femmes begins in Leeds on Saturday 30th July and heads to Manchester for Stage 1. The next day starts in Manchester and finishes in Sheffield, and Stage 3 will be centred in London.
Noemi Ruegg goes back-to-back
Con Chronis/Getty Images
EF Education-Oatly’s Noemi Rüegg successfully defended her title at the Women’s Tour Down Under, pouncing on the final day to secure overall victory. After the first two stages saw dominance from FDJ United-Suez and Ally Wollaston, Rüegg was able to light up the final few hundred metres for glory. A strong pull from World Champion Magdeleine Vallieres put the 21-year-old in a perfect position, and Rüegg fought off three UAE Team ADQ riders – Mavi García, Paula Blasi and Dominika Wlodarczyk – with an unbeatable sprint to victory.
The men’s Tour Down Under begins on Tuesday 20th January, where 2025 champion Jhonatan Narváez is hoping to emulate Rüegg’s defence.
Men’s UAE Tour gets a new super-steep 17% climb
The UAE Tour is a race commonly associated with big bunch sprints and the two summit finishes on Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet, but a new mountain is coming to the fore in 2026. The men’s race, which runs from 16th-22nd February, will see Jebel Jais ditched in favour of a summit finish on Jebel Mobrah on Stage 3. The climb is a two-parter, stretching just over 14.9km with a slight downhill after 6km of climbing. The final 6.5km averages a brutal 12% with a maximum gradient of 17% to bring the climb’s total average to 8.6%.
The women’s race precedes this from 5th-8th February but does not go up Jebel Mobrah, instead sticking with a sole summit finish on Jabel Hafeet to conclude the four-day race.
Double Dutch delight in Benidorm
UCI CX
It was a familiar scene in Benidorm for the latest round of the Cyclocross World Cup as both Mathieu van der Poel and Lucinda Brand did what they have been doing throughout this cyclocross season: winning.
Van der Poel went into the week not intending to race in Benidorm but his U-turn proved fruitful. Despite a strong start from Tibor Del Grosso, Van der Poel was alone after one lap and stayed away until the finish, where he could wheelie across the line for his tenth consecutive win. Thibau Nys would finish second while local boy Felipe Orts came in third.
Brand also soloed her way to her 18th win of the season in the final three laps in Benidorm to take the crown of 2025/26 UCI Women Elite champion. Dutch National Champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado raced to second behind with French rider Amandine Fouquenet in third.
Rapha x USA Cycling
Caroline Tompkins
Rapha has unveiled its first collaboration with the USA Cycling team to kick off a four-year partnership that will carry through the LA Olympics in 2028. There’s no brash stars and stripes, rather lighter and softer lines of red, white and blue for the jerseys and clean dark blue bib shorts with white and lined details.
Riders across the Olympic, Paralympic and National squads will wear the new design as Rapha ventures into new territory of track cycling, BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle. The collection is inspired by the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Rapha says the design is meant to evoke ‘the lightness and grace of a rider in full flight’, mirroring the ‘explosive energy of a new generation of American talent’.
