Daniel Benson's Cycling Substack

Daniel Benson's Cycling Substack

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Still Climbing: Mikel Landa eyes Giro redemption and another year in the peloton 🇪🇸

Eleven years after his breakthrough Giro, and one year on from a brutal exit, Mikel Landa is back with Soudal Quick-Step - older, wiser, and still quietly ambitious
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Race Analysis

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Still Climbing: Mikel Landa eyes Giro redemption and another year in the peloton 🇪🇸
Eleven years after his breakthrough Giro, and one year on from a brutal exit, Mikel Landa is back with Soudal Quick-Step - older, wiser, and still…
 • Daniel Benson
Gee-West confirms Giro d'Italia challenge as he leaves the past behind 🇨🇦
Canadian rider still has room to grow at Lidl-Trek as he aims for GC podium in May
 • Daniel Benson
Cole Kessler: I know a personal result on paper might be a big ask, but can't a kid dream? 🇺🇸
Dispatches are back with the Modern Adventure Pro Cycling rider setting the scene for 2026
 • Cole Kessler
Opinion: Jonas Vingegaard and the art of picking your battles 🇩🇰
The Dane will aim to win the Giro d'Italia and then head to the Tour de France but has he made the right decision?
 • Daniel Benson
Analysis: What does the relationship between Ineos Grenadiers and camsmajaco mean for the future?
It's an arms race in the junior ranks, and the British WorldTour team have stepped up
 • Daniel Benson
The sudden retirement: How will Simon Yates be remembered?
Andy McGrath analyses the two-time Grand Tour winner's career
 • Andy McGrath
Luke Plapp: It's time to have that real breakout year in 2026 🇦🇺
The Australian shares his race programme and his hopes of testing himself on GC at the Vuelta a España
 • Daniel Benson
Variety is the spice of life as Tadej Pogačar's individuality shines through
The door remains open for a possible tilt at the Vuelta, as the Classics and Tour take centre stage
 • Daniel Benson

Transfer mechanics

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Patrick Eddy: I couldn't turn down a contract at the top of the sport and in the WorldTour 🇦🇺
Recently crowned champion heads to the Tour Down Under as a possible transfer target
 • Daniel Benson
Kevin Vermaerke: UAE wanted me as much as I wanted them
The American rider talks Picnic, where he 'maxed out' and his new challenge on Tadej Pogačar's all-star team
 • Daniel Benson
Dylan van Baarle on Soudal transfer: You do some speed dating, and if you find the one, then you ask for a relationship 💍
Dutch rider opens up about losing faith in Visma-Lease a Bike’s training methods, and why he needed to change teams
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling transfers: Inside the deal that took Derek Gee-West to Lidl-Trek 🇨🇦
Behind the scenes on how the story broke in December and how the transfer took place
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling Transfers: Demi Vollering once again the central figure on the women's market 🛒
Get set for the busiest transfer window we’ve ever seen in the WWT, with over 120 riders out of contract
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling Transfers: Ranking the men's WorldTour teams based on their transfer activity 📈
We look at every men's WorldTour squad, the major ins and outs, and rank every team from 18 to 1
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling Transfers: What does losing Oscar Onley mean for Picnic PostNL?
The Dutch team received a financial offer they couldn't refuse, and have shown how a transfer system can help teams punch above their weight
 • Daniel Benson
Stuart O'Grady: The teams I could have raced for 🇦🇺
The Tour Down Under race director shares his story on the teams he could have raced for but didn’t during his career
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling Transfers: Oscar Onley's move to Ineos Grenadiers nears completion 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Sources say the move could be agreed in the next 24-48 hours
 • Daniel Benson
Top posts

Spring Classics

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Team-by-team ranking for the 2025 Spring Classics 🧱 🚴‍♂️
A comprehensive ranking of men's teams by their performances and results in the 2025 Spring Classics
 • Joseph Lycett
6 conclusions from Liège-Bastogne-Liège 🇧🇪
Analysing key performances from Tadej Pogačar, his rivals, Le Court, Fenix and how the UCI points system helps the Slovenian world champion
 • Daniel Benson
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2025 Race Preview 🇧🇪 🚴‍♂️
Joe Morgan is back with a preview of the men's edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where world champion Tadej Pogačar aims to defend his crown
 • Joe Morgan
Inside WorldTour scouting at the junior E3 Saxo Classic 🕵️
On the ground at the Spring Classics as teams, agents, scouts, and riders discuss the nature of talent identification in modern cycling
 • Daniel Benson
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado set for Ardennes and Vuelta debut 🇳🇱
Star cyclo-cross rider kicks off her road season at Amstel as she looks to develop into a complete all-rounder
 • Daniel Benson
Amstel Gold Race 2025 Race Preview 🇳🇱 🚴‍♂️
A preview for the 59th edition of Amstel Gold Race, as the Ardennes Classics get underway in the Limburg region of the Netherlands
 • Joseph Lycett
10 major Ardennes narratives to follow 🍺🏹 👵
From a possible alliance against Pogačar, to course changes, transfers, wildcard picks and the dynamics within the women's peloton
 • Daniel Benson
Mathew Hayman: The teams I could have raced for
The Australian shares his story on teams he could have raced for and why he stayed at Rabobank and Team Sky for multiple contracts
 • Daniel Benson

Training Camps

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Still Climbing: Mikel Landa eyes Giro redemption and another year in the peloton 🇪🇸
Eleven years after his breakthrough Giro, and one year on from a brutal exit, Mikel Landa is back with Soudal Quick-Step - older, wiser, and still…
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling transfers: Inside Soudal Quick-Step's recruitment strategy 🇧🇪
Exclusive in-depth interview with Jurgen Foré on how the team identify riders on the transfer market and builds their roster
 • Daniel Benson
Kevin Vermaerke: UAE wanted me as much as I wanted them
The American rider talks Picnic, where he 'maxed out' and his new challenge on Tadej Pogačar's all-star team
 • Daniel Benson
Fabio Jakobsen: No results, one win, it's not why I came here
Can the Dutch sprinter revive his career after two dismal years hit by injury, bad luck and a loss of form?
 • Daniel Benson
Dylan van Baarle on Soudal transfer: You do some speed dating, and if you find the one, then you ask for a relationship 💍
Dutch rider opens up about losing faith in Visma-Lease a Bike’s training methods, and why he needed to change teams
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling transfers: Inside the deal that took Derek Gee-West to Lidl-Trek 🇨🇦
Behind the scenes on how the story broke in December and how the transfer took place
 • Daniel Benson
Jai Hindley on his future: I'm not stressing but it's definitely something that I'm thinking about
The Australian talks about contracts, his Giro leadership aims and the increased performance levels in the peloton
 • Daniel Benson
Harry Hudson and Lidl-Trek's development pathway
We talk to the junior world champion and the man who scouted him, Markel Irizar, about the athlete's bright future and Lidl-Trek's continued progress
 • Daniel Benson

Women's Cycling

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Jeremy Whittle: Super Grand Départ is a jaw-dropping undertaking 🇬🇧 🇫🇷
An overview of the men's and women's opening stages, a look at the legacy hopes, and what's missing from the routes
 • 5K2GO with Jeremy Whittle
Ella Wyllie: I'm just hungry to become a more consistent rider 🇳🇿
Liv AlUla Jayco rider had a solid 2025 but could be a breakout star this season
 • Daniel Benson
Cycling Transfers: Demi Vollering once again the central figure on the women's market 🛒
Get set for the busiest transfer window we’ve ever seen in the WWT, with over 120 riders out of contract
 • Daniel Benson
Back from the brink with Ricarda Bauernfeind
The German rider has a new team as she looks to continue rebuilding her career following double knee surgery
 • Daniel Benson
🚨 Cycling Transfers: Grading the latest moves from inside the WorldTour 📝
Featuring Poels, Jackson, Svestad-Bårdseng, Charmig, and Rex 🇳🇱 🇨🇦 🇳🇴 🇩🇰 🇧🇪
 • Daniel Benson
🚨 Cycling Transfers: Grading the latest moves from inside the WorldTour 📝
Featuring Vauquelin, Clay, Uijtdebroeks, Jastrab, and Mühlberger 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇧🇪 🇺🇸 🇦🇹
 • Daniel Benson
6 conclusions from the European Championships elite women's road race 🇪🇺
Lessons learned from Worlds, Dutch domination, and assessing the season for Vollering and others
 • Daniel Benson
🇪🇺 Benson Bulletin: Pogačar on his Evenepoel rematch, Chladoňová and Ganna exclusives
Ganna would like to know what bike he's racing on in 2026 and Chladoňová aims at GC and white jersey progress next season
 • Daniel Benson

UCI Road World Championships

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6 conclusions from the Worlds elite men's road race 🌈
Pogačar analysis, Evenepoel the entertainer, Healy shines, Del Toro shows his inexperience and where the race was won and lost
 • Daniel Benson
Magdeleine Vallieres: Making dreams come true, the Canadian way 🌈 🇨🇦
A look back and analysis of the elite women's road race at the World Championships
 • Lukas Knöfler
Exclusive: The inside story on how Lidl-Trek signed junior world champ Harry Hudson 🌈
How Cat Ferguson's dad, the best junior climbing numbers and beating Ineos and others to the punch landed Lidl-Trek the new world champion
 • Daniel Benson
6 conclusions from the women's U23 road race at Worlds 🌈
Analysing the key performances from France, and Chladoňová, looking at the course, and how the rest of the road races could pan out
 • Daniel Benson
The new UCI tech rulings: What do they actually mean and are they beneficial? ⚙️
There are new regulations for helmets, handlebars and price caps
 • Andy Turner
Next rider up: Beckam Drake 🌈 🇺🇸
American 17-year-old Beckam Drake was a surprise fourth in the junior TT at Worlds. We caught up with him to talk about his ride, his pathway into the…
 • Daniel Benson
What's next for the top 10s in the U23 men's and women’s TTs at Worlds? 🌈
We look at where the stars of the future are going next after their performances in Rwanda
 • Daniel Benson
🌈 UCI World Championships 2025 - Elite Women's Individual Time Trial Preview
Chloé Dygert, Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser compete for the rainbow bands in the race against the clock
 • Joseph Lycett
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