Indholdsfortegnelse for May 29, 2025 i Cycling Weekly

Teams don’t often win six stages of one Grand Tour. Tadej Pogačar might have done it on his own for UAE Team Emirates last year, but that feels different. At this Giro d’Italia, as of Sunday’s stage 15, Lidl-Trek had won six times through three different riders – that’s 40% of all stages possible so far. It is one of the stories of the race, with Mads Pedersen kicking it off with two stages in three days during the Grande Partenza in Albania, but keeping his winning form going to take two more. Add in Daan Hoole’s time trial win in Pisa last week, and Carlos Verona’s remarkable triumph from the breakaway in Asiago on Sunday, and the team are flying. Even if they were not to win once more…

This year’s resurrected National 24-hour Championship time trial looks to be healthier than ever, says new organiser Tim Smith. Smith, who is a Cycling TIme Trials (CTT) director and secretary for the CTT’s Manchester District, stepped up last autumn after the longtime previous organisers, Jon and Sam Williams, stepped down from the role. Since then, Smith has registered the event, held on the roads of Cheshire over the weekend of 26-27 July, as a qualifier for ultra-racing’s blue riband Race Across America. The event will also mark the final ever race for ultra-riding legend Chris ‘Hoppo’ Hopkinson. It will be the 51st 24-hour race for the former British Best All-Rounder, who has won many national medals both in CTT events and under the World Ultra Cycling Association (WUCA) banner over…

What a legend. I’ve done a JOGLE, and it took me longer than this. I remember the feeling of arriving at Land’s End to finish. I wouldn’t have been keen to turn around and head straight back, but I do remember the feeling of ecstasy when I finished. I was almost feeling that again as she arrived back in John o’ Groats. Michael Brown This is incredible, and for those men on [the internet] doubting that it is real, why not head over to her Instagram where she was tracked the whole way on the posts. They added photos and stats all the time and showed the absolute brutality of the ride. Hollie Labunsky It’s an incredible achievement. I’ve thought about doing Land’s End to John o’ Groats non-stop many…

Riding 100 miles is no joke. It takes stringent planning, fuelling, resilience – and, for most of us, a good lie-down afterwards. Even 100km can feel like a stretch if your training hasn’t gone to plan. So why on earth would anyone want to go further? And yet, a growing number of cyclists are doing exactly that – not in spite of the suffering, but because of it. These are the ultra riders: the ones for whom a mere century ride barely registers as a warm-up. They chase distances most of us would balk at tackling by car – 300km, 1,500km, even 5,000km across America. Sleep is rationed. Sanity is optional. For Cycling Weekly’s ‘Going Long’ podcast, we spoke to some of the people who live at the limits of…

When we find a good helmet, we tend to stick with it, and for many of us, if a helmet doesn’t show obvious signs of wear, it might be some time before we get around to replacing it. But how long should we use one for? Bike helmets are a single-use safety item. Every manufacturer will tell you to retire a helmet straight after an accident. Sometimes, the damage won’t be obvious, but the advice remains the same. If you crash your helmet, get a new one. Giro, the helmet manufacturer, agrees: “If you fall and the helmet is impacted, you should have the helmet inspected or replace it immediately, even if no damage is visible,” said Cam Price, Giro’s Marketing Manager. “Helmet liners are made to absorb energy from…

Chorlton Velo’s Elliott Joseph powered to his first ever win in the RTTC Classic Series as Border City Wheelers staged the sixth and final round of the national series in Cumbria on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, Deborah Moss (Springfield Financial RT) was fastest female over the 26-mile Circuit of Greystoke Forest course to clinch overall victory in the female veterans category. Joseph clocked 1-12-46 to win by 2-17 from Dean Newton (VC Cumbria), while Philip Gleave (Congleton CC) was third. “It was a hard race and really windy,” said Moss. “I never feel confident and you never know how you feel on the day. “I was last lady off which was an advantage, the road was straight and I could see the lights so it helped having a target in front…

Built by Ken Ellerker, this bike from Dave Marsh’s collection was ridden by Ken Cowdell to win five National Grass Track Championships over distances ranging from 800 metres to 8km. Both men ran bike shops in Yorkshire: Cowdell in Castleford and Ellerker in Hull. The frame uses Reynolds 531 doublebutted tubing, while the fork is built using Columbus tubing, selected because the wider blades are lighter than the traditional 531 option. The lugs and wrap-over seatstay junction add an elegance to the frame. Grass tracks have their peculiarities and Ellerker built the frame with a bracket height of 11 x 1/4” to provide Cowdell with greater clearance when banking over on the grass bends. Both the frame and fork also have greater clearance than a typical track bike, allowing for…

Reusser on the rise Marlen Reusser climbs to victory on stage three of the Vuelta a Burgos. The solo win atop Picón Blanco put the Movistar rider in the leader’s jersey, which she sealed with a TT win the following day. Aero Asgreen EF Education EasyPost’s Kasper Asgreen outsmarted a select lead group in the final stages of stage 14 to take the win. Dressed in full aero gear, the Dane had clearly targeted this Giro stage. Eyes on the prize Displayed on every stage, the Giro’s Trofeo Senza Fine finds the perfect pink backdrop at the stage start in Treviso. Unflappable Isaac Cycling’s new GC star Isaac del Toro shows no signs of being overwhelmed by the level of attention now on him at the Giro d’Italia. The Mexican…

In the last few years Britain has produced a glut of women’s junior cycling stars. Throughout 2021 and 2022 Zoe Bäckstedt won multiple junior road, track and cyclo-cross world titles. She was followed by Izzy Sharp, then the trio of Cat Ferguson, Imogen Wolff and Carys Lloyd, who starred at junior level and have already impressed in WorldTour races. All five are still 20 or under. These are hard shoes to fill. However, British Cycling’s development pathway continues to find and develop riders that are impressing on the world stage. So far in 2025 British junior women have won two Nations Cup races – the Clásica Jaén through Erin Boothman and a stage of the Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie femmes through Abigail Miller – with Boothman also winning Ghent-Wevelgem. “I…

1 AXS Wheel Sensor Two of Zipp’s latest new wheelsets feature an integrated tyre pressure sensor, giving the rider real-time pressure readings as they ride. The 353 NSWs and 303 SWs are built with the AXS Wheel Sensor situated next to the valve. A small LED light shines green when pressure matches the preset levels, then turns to red if the pressure drops. Built to work with a tubeless set-up, it can also work with a specific ‘smart tube’ that comes with the wheels and is sold separately. The battery powered sensor works with SRAM’s tech suite, pairing with the AXS phone app and will connect to head units to give live pressure readings during your ride. 2 All-road The 353 NSW wheelset has been designed for all-round road use.…

All too often in life, you will find yourself trapped in a conversation with someone who wants to talk about something other than, say, the Giro d’Italia. They might not want to talk about cycling at all. You can make things easier for yourself by translating into cycling. Say you’ve been summoned to talk to your child’s teacher about the fact your child is copying all of their homework from other children and denying it. Simple. Just imagine your child is a bike rider sneakily hanging onto the team car, the rest of the class is the peloton, and the teacher is the head UCI commissaire. A 200 Swiss franc fine and relegation to the back of the day’s stage is the appropriate punishment and you’re going to have to…

Will the sprinters make it to the Champs-Élysées? That’s the question that will linger throughout this July’s Tour de France after a final day shake-up was unveiled by the organiser, ASO. Mirroring the Olympic road race route, the riders will head to Paris’s northern district for three ascents of the Butte Montmartre – 1.1km at 5.9%. The climb isn’t particularly punishing, but its cobbles and width could split the field. It will be crested for the final time 6km from the finish in its usual place before the Arc de Triomphe. The change marks the 50th anniversary of the first Tour finish on the Champs-Élysées. During the Olympic road race last summer, more than half a million fans lined the course in Montmartre, a scene that “inspired” ASO’s Tour route…

Church Flatts Farm is a mostly unremarkable place. Nestled among lines of shrubbery and expansive green fields, it lies just one mile south-east of the Derbyshire village of Coton in the Elms, on the edge of the Peak District. Its entrance is marked by a big metal gate, from which a crumbly track leads to its buildings. Sheep and cattle roam around. In almost every sense, then, Church Flatts is like any other farm – except in one unique detail. According to the Ordnance Survey, it lies at precisely the furthest point from the sea in the whole of the UK. When I heard Cycling Weekly was publishing an endurancethemed issue, Church Flatts Farm came immediately to mind. My proposal: to ride from the UK’s furthest point from the coast…

Readers of a certain vintage might remember the Capri-Sonne team from the 1980s. In 1982, the Belgian squad rode Eddy Merckx bikes, and now the two brands – Merckx and Capri-Sun – have joined forces again. The Capri-Sun x Eddy Merckx Pévèle C is made in limited numbers, with proceeds going to War Child, the organisation that supports children affected by war, providing education, protection, and psychological care in regions like Ukraine, the Middle East, and Western Europe. The bike is designed as an all-road offering with a carbon frameset, relaxed geometry, and clearance for 38mm tyres, decked out in a design inspired by the drink brand’s iconic colours. It comes equipped with Shimano’s 12-speed 105 Di2 groupset and can be customised with an online bike configurator. Priced at €5,575,…

Every long or ultra-distance ride is like a game of chess: you must think first before you move. Unlike shorter events where your physiology reigns supreme, ultra and multiday events need to be intricately choreographed in order to, well, survive. Off-the-bike planning and preparation can start months before the riding is due to begin. From sleep and nutrition, to training and pacing strategies, this feature aims to help you piece together the logistical puzzle of long-distance riding and make your next event your best yet. How to train for it? Once you have planned a monumentally long ride or event, it can be difficult to know where to start with the training. Do you simply embark on three months of long endurance miles, or should you take a more calculated…

Federico Bahamontes climbs through an Italian village in the 1956 Giro d’Italia as eager fans look on. While the image imparts the feel of a summery scene, helped somehow by the monochromatic finish, the race that year was remembered for its awful conditions. Several stages saw the riders subjected to very cold weather, and it took its toll. The 242km stage 18 from Merano to Monte Bondone was especially gruelling. Many retired, including the ‘Eagle of Toledo’ Bahamontes, who was already suffering. When the race finally reached its Milan finish just two days later, the winner was Luxembourg’s Charly Gaul, who was known, not by coincidence, for thriving in poor conditions.…