Free solo climber Alex Honnold conquers one of the world’s tallest buildings - Yahoo Sports

As everyone knows, the 2026 elite men’s road race took on a very different feel once we learned the news that defending champ and outright favourite, Tadej Pogačar wasn’t coming. Suddenly, the rainbow jersey was very much up for grabs in Montreal. Of course, it wasn’t a sure thing; stuff happens in bike racing. But it certainly looked like a course where he would dominate all the way to the finish in Granada. But after the medical update we all sort of knew was coming that his Stage 8 crash at the Vuelta a España meant his season was over.

The race was wide open, but in the end victory went to the dominant force of women’s cycling in 2026. On Saturday in Montréal, Canada, Demi Vollering capped an unforgettable season by claiming her first world title on a goosebump-inducing afternoon. The Giro d’Italia Women 2026 winner had to dig deep to add another success to an already remarkable season and career. On the third-to-last ascent of Camilien-Houde, the toughest climb on the course, Vollering launched a powerful attack with 38 km to go. What initially looked like the decisive action was brought back by another queen of the peloton and two-time Corsa Rosa winner, Elisa Longo Borghini who, together with Kasia Niewiadoma, managed to come across before launching a counter-attack that threatened to turn the race on its head. Vollering and Niewiadoma eventually caught and dropped EL, settling the world title in a tense two-up sprint. The Italian fought all the way to the line to take third, while the remarkably consistent Marlen Reusser finished fourth, adding another outstanding result to her time trial gold.

Tilly Boadle has continued Australia’s brilliant campaign at the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, winning the junior women’s downhill title in Italy on Saturday. The 17-year-old from the Mornington Peninsula mastered the tricky conditions to claim the rainbow jersey by a commanding margin over her nearest rival. Boadle qualified second-fastest yesterday, but overnight rain left Val di Sole’s “Black Snake” trail in a treacherous state. The young Victorian was tenth to start the final out of 20 riders. While her run of 4:13.323 was down on yesterday’s time, it was enough to put Boadle into the hot seat to see, nervously, if it would stand up to the rest of the field. “I rode it like it was dry, but I was cautious in the places that mattered,” Boadle said of her run. “It was such a safe, and smart, run. I was so happy with it when I got down. It was difficult conditions today.”Each challenger came and went, and when the final starter, the USA’s Aletha Ostgaard, fell short by over seven seconds, Boadle’s victory was confirmed. “There’s such incredible junior girls that came down and I honestly couldn’t watch,” Boadle said.

Ever since we first saw Peak climb onto PC last year, we have been jonesing for a Switch 2 port. Aggro Crab and Landfall Games have been teasing that something was in the works for a few months, and now we finally know what it was: Peak is coming to Switch 2! The devs revealed that this beloved indie mountain climber will plant its flag on consoles on 22nd October (yep, as in next week), making an already stacked release month even busier.

Castle Peak is the ninth-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains and is known as a 14er. THE TAKEAWAYA climber fell from a 14,000-foot mountain summit over the weekend. It happened in Aspen, which is a vibrant mountain town set in the Rocky Mountains. Nearly two dozen people assisted with rescue operations. ASPEN, COLORADO - A climber has died after falling from a massive mountain summit at a popular hiking destination near Aspen, Colorado, over the weekend. Mountain Rescue Aspen said the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office was notified that a climber had fallen on the north face of Castle Peak around 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office was also called in to help due to the location of the incident. SNOWBOARDER AIRLIFTED AFTER CHALLENGING MOUNTAIN RESCUE IN COLORADO next