Riders delighted as Belgian team signs zero-alcohol beer brand as sponsor; Top Aussie cop says minimum passing distance hard to enforce; Amsterdam cyclists help improve infra through app; Ride with Lance for $30k + more on live blog on our shiny new site

A Belgian UCI ProTeam has signed up a beer brand as one of its sponsors – nothing to see here, really. Except, the beer in question is alcohol-free, and don’t the Circus-Wanty Gobert-Tormans riders shown above look delighted?

The brew, Bière des Amis 0.0%, 100 per cent blond beer, “will support all convivial moments of the Belgian cycling team in 2020,” according to the press release.

There is good news though, for anyone who prefers a bit more oomph to their beer and who is invited along to hospitality.

“This dealcoholized beer is perfect for the recovery of athletes and will also be shared with friends of the team in a 5.8 per cent version throughout the whole year. With guests, with partners and with fans, Bière des Amis, to share without moderation!

“No matter the time or place, there's always a good opportunity to take some time to share a beer with friends.”

The team’s general manager, Jean-François Bourlart, said: “Our team is always distinguished by its convivial and family aspects. After the first sips of Bière des Amis I knew it was a perfect match.

“It was proven scientifically that beer without alcohol has benefits for the recovery of athletes, because there's a combination of the nutritional qualities of beer and the absence of the negative effects of alcohol.

“The Bière des Amis will be shared throughout the whole year with friends of the team: guests, partners and fans, just like at our team presentation in Spain.”

Founded in a garage in Portland, Oregon in 1995, Chrome is celebrating its 25th birthday this year – and to mark the occasion, it has launched a limited edition BLCKCHRM heritage collection.

“Forged from the toughest and lightest materials Chrome have ever created, new methods of craftmanship have been deployed in the innovative new BLCKCHRM collection to push the limits of mobility and performance in the city,” says the brand.

“Inspired by technical sailcloth material, a Nylon Shell with cordura TPX durable laminate technology with a distinctive diamond embossed finish delivers Chrome’s signature water resistance, toughness and durability to a whole new level.

“Sleek and stealthily constructed, these resourceful urban warriors are sculpted to fit your body and adapt to securely transport a wide range of cargo during your everyday excursions.”

Included in the range are the 3.0 BLCKCHRM edition of the Bravo rolltop (RRP £180) and the Yalta 3.0 daypack (RRP £160). Find out more information plus details of stockists or order online here.

Last year, @amsterdam equipped 700 cyclists with a device that allowed them to "ping" when encountering a complicated, clumsy or unsafe traffic situation.

31,000 events were registered, which will inform upgrades to their bike network in the coming years: https://t.co/JuPbZUkZ3c pic.twitter.com/wr5mFU1l4J

— Dutch Cycling Embassy (@Cycling_Embassy) January 22, 2020

The 700 riders were equiped with devices that allowed them to report cycle infrastructure that wasn't working properly. This will allow the local councils to improve the infrastructure and shape future projects.

What progressive thinking.

To go along with the issues that the domestic race scene is facing, the UK's only UCI one-day race is now looking for a new title sponsor after Prudential announced that they will stop sponsorship after this year's edition.

Ride London race announces it is searching for a new title sponsor, insurer Prudential will stop sponsorship after the 2020 edition. Tour of Britain and Women's Tour races also looking for replacement title sponsors too

— the Inner Ring (@inrng) January 23, 2020

This isn't the first bad news to hit British racing this year. Earlier this month, the owner of the Lincoln Grand Prix blamed Brexit for the financial struggles faced by the elite one-day race.

Naturally, when you have a 3 x World Champion on the bike, and the same on skis, you put them in a studio kitchen to find out which is the better cook.

via GIPHY

Overnight the internet pixies (Dave) transformed the site into this shiny new format.

We think it looks lovely, but we really want to know what you, the reader, thinks of the design.

If you spot any glitches, do let us know. Now, someone get Dave a coffee!

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and its 22nd season as a sponsor in pro cycling, @QuickStepFloor surprised recently the team’s riders with its own mobile coffee bar, which will be found at several races in 2020: https://t.co/Da7Gh4jcGx
Photo: ©https://t.co/R5Vncs3F9X pic.twitter.com/gLmt2La79Y

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) January 21, 2020

Deceuninck-QuickStep have taken their coffee obsession to a whole new level. The Wolfpack now have a coffee machine following them around on group training rides.

Who wants to tell them about the latest invention, cafes?

Richie Porte from Trek Segafredo shows off his climbing legs at Paracombe in @SubaruAustralia Stage 3 #tourdownunder pic.twitter.com/9anRWmD6Lh

— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴‍♀️ (@tourdownunder) 23 January 2020

Richie Porte of Trek-Segafredo didn't take long to throw in a big move up the final climb on stage 3 of the Tour Down Under.

The Tasmanian ended the day with a 6 second lead in the GC over Mitchelton Scott's Daryl Impey. Brit Simon Yates, also of Mitchelton Scott, took 3rd on the stage, 5 seconds down on Porte after doing much of the chasing.