At this point, in the tail-end of November, is it fair to say we’re in the run-up to Christmas? I found myself gently humming along to ‘Jingle Bells’ in the supermarket yesterday before clocking the festive earworm that had entered my subconscious, catching me off-guard.
Whether you are brimming with festive-fever or not, the Cycling Weekly instagram feed has been coloured by a cold-snap induced snowscape, as Demi Vollering and Michał Kwiatkowski ride out into the snow. But it’s turned up some golden nuggets too – could 2026 be the year we see Mathieu van der Poel pick up another cycling discipline? And what role did bikes play in the fight for women’s freedom?
1. John Lewis Christmas advert eat your heart out! Demi Vollering partners with Gobik in this winter tale of a chilly cyclist turned cosy snow-rider.
2. Polish rider Michał Kwiatkowski too tackles snowy training roads on Continental Terra Speed tyres.
Time to turn winter into my training partner ❄️ @INEOSGrenadiers pic.twitter.com/yfOnaFs4k5November 24, 2025
3. It’s confirmed: Mathieu van der Poel will be doing an Ironman. At least, that’s what he promised his followers he’d do if this reel reached 100,000 likes. It’s just passed 101k.
4. UAE Team Emirates are testing their speed on the ‘Dubai auto drome.’ But who is fastest on four wheels?
5. There is a sleepy theme among athletes this week – but just remember folks: even when you’re relaxing, don’t forget to do it in full cycling kit.
6. If you don’t have a freshly unboxed mattress to chill out on, fear not! You can do it on a sofa instead! ‘Off-season mode ON: fewer pedals, more couch.’
Off-season mode ON: fewer pedals, more couch 😴
Off season mode ON: menos pedales, más sofá 😴— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-11-30T15:11:24.968Z
7. Daisy Adams, aka the seven-year-old ‘pint size cyclist’ races up the Cobble Wobble in Frome after winning the afternoon’s cross race. After this effort, she finished third in the under 16 girls – well done Daisy!
8. What is the bicycle’s role in women’s empowerment? From the evolution of the hoop skirt to the “less cumbersome clothing” that enabled women to cycle more freely, the bicycle was deemed a “dangerous technology,” but one that “released the human spirit in tangible ways.”
9. How long can you hold a wheelie for? In my dreams, I pop my front wheel up effortlessly – it doesn’t matter what bike I’m riding: my full suspension mountain bike or a Santander city bike, I’m that skilled. In reality my skills, unlike Oscar Delaite, who just wheelied for a record-breaking 93.4 miles, are non-existent.
10. America’s favourite bike-bus leader, Sam Balto, has just partnered with Stranger Things and Netflix to put on a themed bike bus. He spoke to Anne-Marije Rook last month about how he rallied hundreds of kids, Justin Timberlake and Benson Boone to bike to school.
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