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Other members of the Trek-Volkswagen Racing Team will also be at the UCI MTB World Cup at the end of the month, boosting the event's salivation factor.

The UK IBD organisation accuses the under-pressure Halfords of being "under stocked" and "poorly merchandised". This impacts on IBDs and is not good for the industry, says the ACT. Halfords and Bikehut (the Halfords attempt to muscle in on the high-end market) have shed key staff, and are rapidly losing others as morale drops through the sales floor. Come clean, urges the ACT, tell IBDs and suppliers where your future lies, the current instability benefits no-one...

CTC has launched a government-funded guide on how to set up and run cycle training schemes for adults and teenagers

A Scottish climate research scientist based in Japan has stirred up a hornet's nest of a safety topic. James Annan claims quick release skewers are no longer 'fit for purpose' on disc-brake equipped bikes. They can and do come undone, says Annan. Riders have so far put this down to their own sloppiness but a recent crash, which left an English rider disabled, has brought the issue into sharp focus. Manufacturers have been dismissive of Annan's emails to date but a growing number of engineering-trained bike experts are lining up behind Annan's theories. Cigarette companies, aware of tobacco-related illnesses since the 1950s onwards, were successfully sued in group actions because of the wilful disregard of evidence that tobacco harms. If the QR problem is ignored, could the bike trade be crippled by similar lawsuits?

The German manufacturer of children's bikes and go-carts was formerly represented by John Candler of Shelly UK but is now seeking an agency "interested to represent us in the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland on commission basis."