Chris Marshall-Bell

🔋Ghost in the Machine 7⃣Ep 7: We will catch you UCI pres David Lappartient says he's "not afraid to catch a top rider" motor doping, adding the UCI will pay informants for tip-offs. I'm also shown the backscatter device and a special bike from 2016... lnk.to/GhostInTheMach…

Update on Ineos-TotalEnergies 🇫🇷A French UCI licence? 🚵‍♂️Two French riders lined up ✍️But wait: no signings being completed because... 😬 Ineos-TotalEnergies is not a guarantee ✖️until a new co-sponsor is found, everything's paralysed 😴Ineos "sleep too much" And much more!

Rouleur’s Chris Marshall-Bell explores the roads, culture and politics of the first-ever Grande Partenza taking place across the Adriatic Sea in Albania. Listen here: l8r.it/jwpT

Start of stage three of the Giro d'Italia is delayed because Primoz Roglič has gone missing. And, well, obviously, the race can't start without its leader. "Primoz, please come to the start, please," calls the PA announcer - again. #WheresRoglic

The Giro is not going to be won in the next week but in the final week, so why make his team defend the maglia rosa now? But last year's Vuelta should serve as a lesson: if you gift the jersey to another team, you might never get it back. What does Roglič do?

@Lawton_Times writes that TotalEnergies close to title sponsorship with Ineos - as I reported in March: escapecollective.com/exclusive-tota…. I hear negotiations haven't been easy, with TotalEnergies wanting certain conditions (such as a French UCI licence) that Ineos were unhappy with.

I like Albania and its imperfections. But the Giro d'Italia doesn't. Traffic, stray dogs, potholes. Publicly there's been no criticism of the host country, but privately there has been. The crashes and stress on stage one were entirely predictable. rouleur.cc/blogs/the-roul…

Momentum is a powerful thing. Once the ideal condition is reached and then sharpened, the form is there and then maintained, and rivals sense superiority and then fear, it’s hard to stop momentum from doing its thing. And so it’s proving again: Mads Pedersen remains on top.

Just rode the finishing loop of Giro stage one in Tirana. Very green, beautiful, forested, with the city sitting in the valley bowl - visually reminded me of Bilbao. The climb's too hard for the sprinters, but too easy for GC lot. My bet: Pidcock.

Mads Pedersen can always be relied upon for a good quote: "Other riders switch off, but they’re actually still on their computers looking into details, while I’m watching Sex and the City for the fifth time with my wife because she likes to watch it."

Spoke with UAE manager Matxin - they're convinced that they will defend Tadej Pogačar's pink jersey with Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard has everything required to win a three week race - will he come good on the hype?

When I spoke with Astana I was taken back by their confidence. They really think they're going to pull off the great escape - and the points they're hovering up each week suggests they will. Quite the turnaround.

@nbleeks Thank you Niall!

@cmbreports More great work Chris

🚨Big One Cycling update, inc. lots of info previously not reported. 📅June launch is looking unlikely 🏎️ the ex-F1 executive impressing everyone 🇮🇹RCS is IN 🇨🇳Guangxi moved to Feb 📈 Revenue forecasts revealed 🚴‍♂️Latest on UAE and Alpecin 🌈The UCI isn't best pleased

💶Revealed: Cycling's top-10 highest earners. 🇸🇮 Pogačar earns more than what seven WT teams spent on entire rider salaries 🇬🇧Pidcock is still paid by Ineos 🍒Lidl-Trek's highest earners might surprise 🟡former TdF winners still earning big bucks 🇦🇺the rich Aussies

Please consider signing up to Escape Collective to read this article. Producing stories like this takes weeks, and is only made possible by years of building trust between contacts and sources. A lot more to come on this topic in the ensuing weeks and months.

#Bikepacking query. Has anyone ever crossed from Kosovo into North Macedonia with their bike? A lot of conflicting accounts online on whether it's possible or not. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Wondering who Kim Le Court is? And how a MTBer from Mauritius ended up in the women's WorldTour in her late 20s? Here's my profile int. with her from last spring. Chatted again with her recently where she correctly predicted she'd do well in the Ardennes. rouleur.cc/blogs/the-roul…

Pools’ legend @ritchiehumphs with a classic from the 2005 play-off final for #FootballShirtFriday. 👕 @BobbyMooreFund 🤝 #HUFC | @Official_HUFC

This is a very powerful, honest and moving read from Luca Guercilena. "I was almost yellow like a Simpson... I was allowed home for one week at Christmas, but it was more like, ‘Luca, this will be your last time with your family’... I'm lucky I am still here to tell this story."

Cycling has entered the era of super-agents. 💯Some have over 100 riders 💰They're among the richest people in the sport 💪Their influence is growing every year 🚵‍♂️Teams are becoming ever more reliant on them 🧑‍⚖️Agents employ lawyers, tax experts, etc – they're huge operations.