Indholdsfortegnelse for November-December 2019 i Bicycling Australia

THE FUTURE ...IT’S HERE AND NOW. Inside this latest edition of Bicycling Australia there’s quite possibly the largest single feature to ever grace our trusted pages. Peter Maniaty has compiled the editorial equivalent of a Grand Tour - page after page of interviews with the biggest names from many aspects of the sport. The topic? Their vision for 2020 in the world of cycling. From young riders to watch, to trends in technology, to the latest in drivetrains, components and equipment right through to where and what we’ll be riding - we sure are living through one of the most progressive and exciting eras in cycling. We trust you’ll enjoy & get a lot out of Peter’s impressive article. ‘Vision 2020’ is the pinpoint theme right through this edition -…

NOSTRADAMUS WAS NOT A CYCLIST. But imagine if he was. What might the famed French astrologer make of the next twelve months in cycling? Can Chris Froome make a successful return from devastating injuries? Is women’s cycling set to take a major leap forward? Who will seize Olympic gold in Tokyo? Will Julian Alaphilippe deliver a Tour de France encore? Or will Team Ineos reassert its stranglehold on the Grande Boucle? Looking at cycling tech, how many rear sprockets is enough? Will 2020 be the year rim braking descends into its final commercial death spiral? And how much further will e-cycling grow? Of course, the answers depend largely on who you ask. Alas, Nostradamus was unavailable. But plenty of eminent cycling folks were. From commentators, manufacturers and race organisers, to…

WHY CYCLING IS SO GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH: • Vigorous exercise increases feel-good chemicals in our brains • Cycling and other forms of exercise leads to better sleep and more regular sleep patterns which is very important for good mental health • Sunlight has been shown to be effective in improving mood and wellbeing and riding a bike gets you outdoors • Social contact is a key element in treating depression and cycling can be highly social, particularly those post-ride cafe visits • Goal setting is a highly important element in building our confidence and wellbeing, whether it be local club racing or challenging yourself to complete a long ride All of this can improve self-confidence and self-esteem which is a key indicator of good mental health.…

SKETCHING PROTOTYPES AND visiting local production facilities in his spare time, it provided a unique opportunity to establish relationships that, today, underscore Bossi Bicycles, the burgeoning business he owns with his father, John-Paul, in Sydney’s inner west. Articulate and approachable, the 29-year-old explains he first came to cycling when a serious leg injury halted a promising soccer career. “I actually broke my knee in year twelve and got into cycling through the rehab,” he says. “I just fell in love with it, the riding but also the design. I started sketching triangles when I was studying at UTS and I’ve been doing it ever since!” While it would be almost a decade before Bossi’s twin passions of design and bicycles converged, the idea of was always in the back of…

SOME OF THE MOST successful pros of all time swear by them, the science backs it up, the numbers are clear…so why do oval chainrings remain a topic of debate and division in the cycling world? Real life results speak for themselves with thousands of amateurs right through to some of the biggest names of the sport – none other than Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins – choosing oval chainrings over round. In essence the theory is this – elliptical chainrings help smooth out the pedal stroke, eliminate dead spots and offer a marginally longer (therefore more powerful and efficient) down stroke. A leader in oval chainring technology, AbsoluteBlack worked with the University of Primorska in Slovenia to record and compare differences between oval chainrings compared to round. The results…up…

IT’S UP THERE (NO PUN) AS ONE OF the ultimate destinations on earth, an absolute bucket list climb and one of the peak personal challenges for any keen road cyclists. Yes, it’s the Stelvio Pass, or ‘Passo dello Stelvio’ in Italian, and it’s located in Europe’s Central Alps on the Italian/Swiss border. Like many addicts of the sport, the author’s personal journey to this high-altitude heartland began many years before ultimate arrival. The climb is etched in bike racing folklore, has been freshly ridden by seemingly every rider ‘just back from Europe’, and was made famous when named as ‘the world’s greatest road’ by Top Gear over a decade ago. So when the opportunity to spend a week in nearby Bormio came up at the end of August – the…

THE BIANCHI ARIA E-ROAD IS part of a new era in road cycling – the electric assistance era. Some call it cheating, while others are in favour of a bike category that allows more people to enjoy road riding. Either way, the Aria E-Road is an impressive machine with plenty of Bianchi’s street cred, with the added bonus of some electronic assistance. When I arrived at my local cafe to meet up with my usual riding bunch, they flocked around to admire the glossy Celeste Bianchi paint job, and then one by one realised that this bike had something they weren’t expecting. The first question was unsurprising – how much does it weigh? In response, I invited them to pick it up and see for themselves. They were universally impressed…

I’M NOT PARANOID BUT…. I’m pretty sure the powers-that-be in the mountain bike world are infiltrating the road market with some tempting offerings to lure riders off the tarmac on to dirt. They may look like road bikes and they are increasing in number, but be careful…slippery slopes abound. These “gravel” bikes may just tempt you onto some literal slippery slopes, but the mountain bike head honchos are banking on you also finding yourself on a figurative slope and sliding uncontrollably towards hairy legs, full suspension, long-fingered gloves and 26-inch tyres. In search of truth, I have put the New Giant Revolt Advanced 1 through its paces. The Revolt Advanced is the latest gravel bike from Giant. The new range is an attempt to create a bike that is truly…

CYCLISTS, WE ARE AN ODD BUNCH, A PECULIAR social subset. We are those oddities that enjoy the feeling of general fatigue that long hours in the saddle create. We rise before the sun to train and, at times, spend hard-earned cash on equipment to make very marginal gains. This peculiar peloton is growing in size across our country, despite the odd bit of media-induced persecution. The enjoyment and benefits of our sport are such that events like Gran Fondos continue to rise in popularity. In Australia there is a growing number of Fondo events and an increasing range in the style of mass-participation rides on offer. 2019 delivered the second running of the Noosa Classic, the fourth Bowral Classic and the announcement of two others. There has also been exciting…

TO MOST CYCLISTS, THE IDEA OF PRESCRIBING cycling to improve mental health and wellbeing is pretty obvious really. People who ride regularly usually don’t visit their GP as often as others, and when they do they are congratulated for their active lifestyle. And in Wales, there’s a program being trialled to actually prescribe cycling for improved mental and physical health. The pilot program, the first such initiative in Britain, according to the health board that is leading it, reflects an effort by medical professionals around the world to give patients alternatives to drugs, in order to avoid side effects and improve cost efficiency. Patients at two medical centres in the Welsh capital Cardiff are offered six-month subscriptions to a bike-rental service that allows them to take unlimited free rides of…

THE TEMPERATURE IS 30 DEGREES AND I AM GRINDING up a four kilometre climb. Having lived in London for too long, I’d forgotten what heat feels like. Sweat dripped along the helmet straps gathering at the buckle and the Lycra is beginning to stick to my skin. The temptation to give up at this mid-way point was strong. “C’mon!” shouts my new-found friend back at me, “You are a better climber than you think!” The ego boost was all I needed to keep going, after all, I am chasing former professional cyclist and Canadian National Champion Alison Testroete around the hills of Tuscany. If she says I am a good climber, then I wasn’t going to show any weaknesses. Most come to this region to visit Renaissance cities Florence and…

WHO? FIVE GOOD MATES WHERE? SYDNEY’S NORTHERN BEACHES POST-RIDE? 8 KNOTS CAFE, PITTWATER RIDER: Greg Doherty LIVES: Wahroonga RIDES: S-Works Tarmac OCCUPATION: Mechanic (soon to be ‘retired mechanic’) RIDER: Mark Chaffe LIVES: Elanora Heights RIDES: Cannondale R1000 OCCUPATION: School Principal RIDER: Dave Sheppard LIVES: Narraweena RIDES: Giant TCR Pro 0 OCCUPATION: Physiotherapist RIDER: Warrick Nicholson LIVES: Newport RIDES: Specialized Tarmac Di2 Disc OCCUPATION: Production Director RIDER: David Martin LIVES: Warriewood RIDES: Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1 OCCUPATION: School Psychologist TO SOME, IT’S THE ‘INSULAR Peninsula’. But to Northern Beaches locals, this part of the world is nothing short of cycling nirvana. Based on personal experience, past and present, it’s hard to argue with them – especially gazing out from my current waterfront surroundings on a glorious morning in early spring.…

THEY SAY IMITATION IS THE sincerest form of flattery, but what happens when imitator becomes governor? In 2015, when Team LottoNL-Jumbo took over naming rights from the Belkin-Pro Cycling Team, they had fairly modest expectations. The previous season wasn't a complete write-off – four WorldTour stage wins including Lars Boom's memorable victory on the pavé at the Tour de France – but as far as stage races were concerned there were no GC triumphs at WorldTour-level races and just two podiums – at the ENECO Tour and Tour de Suisse. This was a team born from the ashes of the Rabobank pro cycling team who competed (and indulged) at the height of the EPO era. Their claim to infamy culminated in Michael Rasmussen being kicked out of the 2007 Tour…