Vintage Bikes Cycling - VBC

🇨🇭 The Geneva Velodrome 🚴‍♂️⚡The Geneva Velodrome is one of the most unique and impressive velodromes in Europe.Length: ...
13/06/2026

🇨🇭 The Geneva Velodrome 🚴‍♂️⚡

The Geneva Velodrome is one of the most unique and impressive velodromes in Europe.

Length: 166.66 meters
Width: 6.40 meters
Turns: 57°
Surface: Austrian ash wood

Capacity: 2,450 spectators, including 1,850 seated places.

What truly makes this velodrome unique, however, are its extreme characteristics.

🔥 The steepest velodrome in Europe

With banking reaching 57°, the Geneva Velodrome has the steepest track in Europe.

Its dimensions are also much smaller than those of most modern velodromes, forcing riders to negotiate exceptionally tight turns.

Its ash wood surface, renowned for its speed, helps make it one of the fastest tracks in the world.

⚡ Top specialists can reach speeds approaching 75 km/h (47 mph).

Beyond that speed, the banking is no longer sufficient to counteract centrifugal force, and riders risk sliding toward the outside of the track.

In the turns, athletes can experience up to 2 Gs of force, placing tremendous pressure on their arms, hands, and saddle.

This demanding configuration makes the Geneva Velodrome an outstanding training ground for bike-handling skills.

As Loïc Hugentobler (Swiss Elite Manager 🇨🇭) puts it:

“If you can ride in Geneva, you can ride on any velodrome in the world.”

The track also requires a unique tactical approach.

Taking the lead earlier than on a larger velodrome can be an advantage, but staying at the front for too long comes at a high energy cost. Riders sitting behind benefit more from the slipstream and save valuable watts.

With its compact size, vertiginous banking, and ultra-fast surface, the Geneva Velodrome remains one of the most spectacular temples of track cycling today.

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🇫🇷 Tour de France 1989 🚴‍♂️⚡LeMond vs Fignon: the 8 seconds that changed historyOn July 23, 1989, after 87 hours, 38 min...
12/06/2026

🇫🇷 Tour de France 1989 🚴‍♂️⚡

LeMond vs Fignon: the 8 seconds that changed history

On July 23, 1989, after 87 hours, 38 minutes and 35 seconds of racing, the Tour de France entered cycling legend forever.

France was celebrating the bicentennial of the French Revolution, Kaoma’s Lambada was playing constantly on the radio, and on the Champs-Élysées one of the greatest sporting moments in cycling history was about to unfold.

After three weeks of racing, Laurent Fignon was wearing the yellow jersey, with an advantage of 50 seconds ⏱️

That was the gap separating him from Greg LeMond before the final stage, a 24.5 km individual time trial between Versailles and the Champs-Élysées.

Standing in his way was an extraordinary rival.

🇺🇸 Greg LeMond, the most French of Americans, winner of the 1986 Tour de France, who had returned to the highest level after nearly losing his life in a hunting accident in 1987.

Nobody knew then that a historic moment was about to take place.

But what many people also ignored was that Laurent Fignon had been suffering from an injury for several days.

Accounts have varied greatly regarding the exact nature of the injury, but he was suffering from a painful infection in the groin area that prevented him from pedaling normally.

Cyril Guimard would later explain:

“Epididymitis means one of your testicles has tripled in size. The injury was caused by pressure from the saddle.”

A terrible handicap for a rider about to face a maximum-effort race against the clock.

Meanwhile, LeMond arrived with a revolutionary approach: an aerodynamic helmet and triathlon handlebars.

Fignon also had access to aerodynamic extensions, but chose not to use them.

For more than thirty years, many have believed that those famous triathlon bars changed the outcome of the Tour.

The reality is probably more nuanced.

Aerodynamics certainly played a role, but Fignon’s injury, his fatigue, the race conditions and LeMond’s exceptional performance were also major factors.

Kilometer after kilometer, the Frenchman watched his lead shrink.

Then disappear.

And finally…

Greg LeMond won the time trial on the Champs-Élysées at an average speed of over 54 km/h, an exceptional figure for the era.

In the final general classification, after more than 3,200 kilometers of racing, only 8 seconds separated the winner from second place.
The smallest margin in Tour de France history.

(The second-smallest margin came in the 1968 Tour:
🥇 Jan Janssen 🇳🇱
🥈 Herman Van Springel 🇧🇪 by 38 seconds)

The podium of the 1989 Tour was completed by:
🥉 Pedro Delgado 🇪🇸 at 3 min 34 sec

The image of Laurent Fignon sitting at the finish, devastated, has become one of the most iconic moments in French sporting history.

Looking back, however, Fignon had a remarkably lucid perspective on the episode:

“There isn’t a week that goes by without someone bringing it up. It bothered me deeply at first, but losing did more for me than winning would have. Things happen for a reason. It contributed to LeMond’s popularity in the United States, and if I had won, nobody would remember it anymore. Losing by 8 seconds was more important for the rest of my life than winning would have been. Even though I would have preferred to win. Even today.”

Thirty-seven years later, LeMond-Fignon remains perhaps the most famous duel in the history of the Tour de France.

And an eternal place in Tour de France legend for both Fignon and LeMond!…

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Quinn Simmons in Top Form Ahead of the Tour de FranceJune 10, 2026The American champion dominated the sprint to win stag...
11/06/2026

Quinn Simmons in Top Form Ahead of the Tour de France

June 10, 2026

The American champion dominated the sprint to win stage 4 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, confirming that he will be a formidable opponent in the Tour de France.

"Winning here is really special. The six most important weeks of our season are coming up right now, so it's good to have confirmation that I'm in good form," said the Lidl-Trek rider.

The Tour? "I was already pretty sure I'd be there."

"I'd never won a sprint before, so it's really great," said the 25-year-old American, who finished ahead of New Zealander Finn Fisher-Black and Frenchman Matteo Vercher.

This victory should definitively secure him a place on the Tour de France (July 4-26) with the Lidl-Trek team.

-Rhône-Alpes Peace & Ride

🇩🇰 Bjarne Riis 🚴‍♂️“Mr. 60%”Bjarne Riis remains one of the most controversial figures in cycling history.Born on April 3...
11/06/2026

🇩🇰 Bjarne Riis 🚴‍♂️
“Mr. 60%”

Bjarne Riis remains one of the most controversial figures in cycling history.

Born on April 3, 1964, in Herning, Denmark, Riis turned professional in 1986 and steadily built a reputation as a strong stage-race rider before reaching the pinnacle of his career in the mid-1990s.

🔥 1996 was the defining year of his career.

During the 1996 Tour de France, Riis delivered what was then considered one of the most impressive performances of the era.

In both the Pyrenees and the Alps, he dominated his rivals with remarkable ease.

📍 Hautacam — July 17, 1996
Riis attacked and dropped five-time defending Tour champion Miguel Indurain.

📍 Sestriere — July 20, 1996
He confirmed his superiority with another prestigious mountain stage victory.

A few days later, he rode into Paris as the first Danish winner of the Tour de France. 🇩🇰🏆

However, his victory would forever remain surrounded by suspicion.

At the time, Riis earned the nickname “Mr. 60%”, a reference to his alleged hematocrit level. For comparison, riders with a hematocrit above 50% were later deemed medically unfit to race due to the associated health risks.

For years, Riis denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

Then, in May 2007, he publicly admitted that he had used EPO throughout much of the 1990s, including during his victorious 1996 Tour de France campaign.

He famously stated:

“I was doped. Everybody knew it.”

Riis also acknowledged that he had been, in his own words, “completely doped” during that period.

The confession sent shockwaves through the cycling world.

Unlike some other champions of the era, however, his 1996 Tour de France victory was never officially stripped.

🏆 Major victories

🇫🇷 Tour de France — 1996

🇳🇱 Amstel Gold Race — 1997

🇩🇰 Danish National Road Race Champion
• 1992
• 1995
• 1996

🇩🇰 Danish National Time Trial Champion
• 1996

🏆 6 Grand Tour stage victories
• 4 Tour de France stages
• 2 Giro d’Italia stages

After retiring, Riis became one of the most influential team managers in professional cycling.

From 2000 to 2015, he led the CSC, Saxo Bank and Tinkoff-Saxo teams, helping develop riders such as Carlos Sastre, Fabian Cancellara and the Schleck brothers.

Bjarne Riis remains a paradoxical figure in cycling history: a Tour de France winner, a respected strategist, and a symbol of an era deeply marked by doping.



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🇩🇰 Jonas Vingegaard 🚴‍♂️The Master of Grand Tours 👑Quiet, methodical, and formidable in the mountains…In just a few year...
10/06/2026

🇩🇰 Jonas Vingegaard 🚴‍♂️
The Master of Grand Tours 👑

Quiet, methodical, and formidable in the mountains…

In just a few years, Jonas Vingegaard has established himself as one of the greatest stage racers of his generation.

Born on December 10, 1996, in Denmark, the Visma | Lease a Bike leader has built his legend on some of the toughest climbs in the world.

🔥 His rise to the top truly began in 2022.

That year, he dethroned Tadej Pogačar and won his first Tour de France.

He repeated the feat in 2023.

🏆 Tour de France 2022 🇫🇷
🏆 Tour de France 2023 🇫🇷

Then, in 2025, he added a third Grand Tour to his palmarès:

🇪🇸 Vuelta a España 2025 🏆

But 2026 marked a historic turning point.

🇮🇹 Giro d’Italia 2026 🏆

Vingegaard dominated the race, won several mountain stages, and claimed his first Giro d’Italia by more than five minutes ahead of Felix Gall.

With this victory, he became the 8th rider in history to win all three Grand Tours:

🇫🇷 Jacques Anquetil
🇮🇹 Felice Gimondi
🇧🇪 Eddy Merckx
🇫🇷 Bernard Hinault
🇪🇸 Alberto Contador
🇮🇹 Vincenzo Nibali
🇬🇧 Chris Froome
🇩🇰 Jonas Vingegaard

And one achievement still remains out of reach:

👀 No rider has ever won the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta in the same season.

His palmarès:

🏆 Tour de France 2022 & 2023
🏆 Giro d’Italia 2026
🏆 Vuelta a España 2025
🏆 King of the Mountains – Tour de France 2022
🏆 Paris-Nice 2026
🏆 Volta a Catalunya 2026
🏆 Tirreno-Adriatico 2024
🏆 Tour of the Basque Country 2023
🏆 Critérium du Dauphiné 2023
🏆 Tour de Pologne 2024

And the story may not be over yet…

👀 After winning the 2026 Giro, can he now claim a 3rd Tour de France and complete the prestigious Giro–Tour double in the same season?

The debate is open 💬

What do you think?

Can Jonas Vingegaard win the 2026 Tour de France after already winning the Giro? 🇩🇰🏆🚴‍♂️



🤙 🚴‍♂️ Peace & Ride.

👑👑👑 The Triple Crown of CyclingIn road cycling, the Triple Crown is considered one of the most prestigious and difficult...
09/06/2026

👑👑👑 The Triple Crown of Cycling

In road cycling, the Triple Crown is considered one of the most prestigious and difficult achievements a rider can accomplish.

Its most widely accepted definition is winning, in the same season:

🏆 Giro d’Italia
🏆 Tour de France
🏆 UCI Road World Championship

No official trophy is awarded for this achievement, but many consider it the greatest accomplishment a cyclist can achieve in a single season.

To date, only three men have managed to do it:

🇧🇪 Eddy Merckx — 1974
🏆 Giro d’Italia
🏆 Tour de France
🏆 UCI Road World Champion in Montreal

🇮🇪 Stephen Roche — 1987
🏆 Giro d’Italia
🏆 Tour de France
🏆 UCI Road World Champion in Villach (Austria)

🇸🇮 Tadej Pogačar — 2024
🏆 Giro d’Italia
🏆 Tour de France
🏆 UCI Road World Champion in Zurich (Switzerland)

🔥 Pogačar’s 2024 season will go down as one of the most impressive campaigns in modern cycling history.

Already the author of the first Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998, the Slovenian then claimed the rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Zurich on September 29, 2024.

With that victory, he became only the third rider in history to complete the Triple Crown, thirty-seven years after Stephen Roche.

Before that, several cycling giants came very close.

🇫🇷 Bernard Hinault:
In 1980, he won the Giro d’Italia and became World Champion in Sallanches. However, he was forced to abandon the Tour de France while wearing the yellow jersey.

🇪🇸 Miguel Indurain:
Winner of the Giro-Tour double in both 1992 and 1993, he narrowly missed the Triple Crown by finishing second at the 1993 World Championships behind Lance Armstrong.

It is also worth noting that the Vuelta-Giro-Tour treble has never been achieved in the same season.

Among the women, an equivalent feat was achieved by:

🇳🇱 Annemiek van Vleuten — 2022
🏆 Giro Donne
🏆 Tour de France Femmes
🏆 UCI Road World Championship

Today, Pogačar, Merckx and Roche belong to what many consider the most exclusive club in cycling history.

Three names.
Three perfect seasons.
Three legends 🚴‍♂️ 👑



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The Strange Time Trial Helmet of Visma | Lease a Bike 👀Aerodynamic genius or just bizarre and ridiculous? 👀🚴‍♂️During th...
08/06/2026

The Strange Time Trial Helmet of Visma | Lease a Bike 👀

Aerodynamic genius or just bizarre and ridiculous? 👀🚴‍♂️

During the 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico*, Jonas Vingegaard and his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates caught everyone’s attention with a highly unusual time trial helmet.

With its bulky shape, extended integrated visor, and design far removed from conventional standards, the helmet immediately sparked reactions from fans, journalists, and fellow riders alike.

🚀 Some called it futuristic.

😅 Others compared it to something straight out of a science-fiction movie.

One thing is certain:
no one remained indifferent.

Developed with a purely aerodynamic focus, the helmet was the result of countless hours of wind tunnel testing and rider position optimization.

But was it actually faster? 🤔

Visma never released detailed performance figures, but the goal was clearly to gain a measurable aerodynamic advantage.

What we do know is that Visma continued investing heavily in this type of aerodynamic research after 2024, suggesting that the gains were considered significant enough to pursue further.

💬 What do you think?

Aerodynamic genius or just bizarre and ridiculous? 👀🚴‍♂️

* Created in 1966 and held every March, Tirreno-Adriatico is considered one of the most prestigious stage races of the early season. Often referred to as the “Race of the Two Seas,” it also serves as a key preparation race for Milan-San Remo.



Peace & Ride 🚴‍♂️🤙

07/06/2026

DURA-ACE AX 7300
(1980) Brake calipers 🚴‍♂️

Jewelry 💎 ✨

The AX 7300 series featured an aerodynamic design aimed at reducing air resistance, a constant challenge in competitive cycling. Aerodynamics and weight reduction for each component were the subject of extensive research. To optimize the effects of these aerodynamic designs, Shimano even built a large-scale wind tunnel in-house—an exceptionally significant investment at the time. This clearly demonstrated how much importance the company’s management placed on aerodynamics.





Peace & Ride 🚴‍♂️🤙

07/06/2026

🇮🇹 CINELLI LASER RIVOLUZIONE
1987

More than a bicycle… a work of art 🚴‍♂️💎

The rebirth of the historic Cinelli Laser Rivoluzione prototype.

This fully restored frame was astonishingly discovered in a dumpster in Brazil. 👀

Its former owners, unaware of its historical significance and value, had thrown the frame away as scrap metal.

Fortunately, it was rescued just in time and saved from destruction.

Today, this legendary piece of cycling history has been brought back to life through a remarkable restoration.

You can discover the full story of this incredible frame in the fascinating article published by The Radavist.
The Radavist

Full article link in the comments👇

📸 Photo credit: Instagram



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🇧🇷 Ayrton Senna1960 – 1994 🕊️With the Monaco Grand Prix taking place this Sunday, it’s the perfect opportunity to pay tr...
06/06/2026

🇧🇷 Ayrton Senna
1960 – 1994 🕊️

With the Monaco Grand Prix taking place this Sunday, it’s the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to one of the greatest drivers in motorsport history: Ayrton Senna.

These photos show Senna in the environment he knew best — the paddock and the streets of Monaco — but also on two wheels, riding a Cinelli mountain bike and a Bianchi road bike. 🚴‍♂️

Born on March 21, 1960, in São Paulo, Ayrton Senna da Silva became a true icon in Brazil and a global legend of Formula One.

Gifted with extraordinary talent, especially in wet conditions, he was capable of extracting the absolute maximum from a racing car like few drivers before or since.

🏆 Three-time Formula One World Champion
• 1988
• 1990
• 1991

📊 His Formula One statistics:
🏁 161 Grands Prix
🥇 41 victories
🥈 80 podiums
⚡ 65 pole positions

His rivalry with Alain Prost defined an entire era and helped create some of the most memorable chapters in Formula One history.

On May 1, 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna tragically lost his life at the age of 34 following an accident at the Tamburello corner.

More than thirty years after his passing, his legacy remains untouched.

For many, Ayrton Senna is still the ultimate benchmark for pure talent, determination, and passion for competition.

An eternal legend of motorsport. 🇧🇷🏁

R.I.P. Ayrton Senna 🕊️

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