Indholdsfortegnelse for August 29, 2019 i Cycling Weekly

Hands up all of you who have at one point or another become too obsessed with your riding? It definitely happened to me, when I was young and full of dreams of winning the Tour de France. If anything got in the way of my training and racing I could sulk for England. I remember once getting over one bug or illness only to immediately get ill again. I barely spoke to my parents for a day or two I was so upset. Of course now I’m older and wiser, with countless other responsibilities, I think I’d never be like that again. Then I set myself a little target to get fit for and I suddenly catch myself slipping back into those old habits of putting my training and diet…

Tour of Almaty (August 30-31) Former JLT-Condor rider Edmund Bradbury (Memil-CCN) will look to test his mettle against some WorldTour riders in Kazakhstan. The Brit has put in some good GC performances this year with a podium at the Tour du Maroc and a top 10 at the Tour of Taiwan. He’ll be grateful that home favourite Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) isn’t on the startlist as he’s won four of the last five editions. Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde Meulebeke (August 31) Tour de l’Alsace winner Tom Pidcock (Wiggins-Le Col) had been down to ride this pan-flat kermesse but his participation is very much in doubt following his crash last week. There will doubtless be some British riders flying the flag in the Wiggins line-up along with that of Canyon-dhb. A sprint finish is…

Froome is officially 2011 Vuelta winner Chris Froome has been officially crowned the winner of the 2011 Vuelta a España, after Juan José Cobo was stripped of the title for doping. Froome, who is still recovering after crashing in June said: “It would have been so different had I actually won it back then, being able to stand on that podium in Madrid, really soak up the feeling of winning my first Grand Tour… but it’s still something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.” ■ MPs say ditch the car A report by the Science and Technology Select Committee says drivers will have to get out of their cars and onto their bikes if Britain is to meet its climate targets. Duncan Dollimore of Cycling UK gave a…

Having read your article last week on riders moving up to WorldTour teams for 2020, plus the piece on the British scene, I went onto the UCI website, and then into the sub-section ‘Road’, which brings up various things such as results and rankings. I went into the individual rankings, then created a search for riders from Great Britain. Outside the top eight, who are all in WorldTour teams, you have Ethan Hayter in ninth — a world-class performance plan rider. The next non-WorldTour rider is James Shaw of SwiftCarbon cycling placed at 12th. The ranking lists around 80 GB riders, with some at WorldTour, having fewer points than UK-based third-division riders. It’s a pity the UK road race calendar does not have more races which carry UCI points. Mick…

It was in 2016 after Dave Coulson lost Envelopemaster as main sponsor of his team that he shifted its focus to a strong local identity. “It’s an idea stolen from Europe,” the team manager says. “It’d been in the back of my mind since I’d stopped racing myself. Then when the company that was our title sponsor was sold, I thought it’d be time to give it a try. “I spent a week on the phone to our existing co-sponsors… and everybody said ‘that’s a brilliant idea; we’re behind you.’ So it gave me the confidence to give it a go.” Cycling Sheffield, then, no longer carries a title sponsor like most cycling teams, but is supported exclusively by a collective of local business who more readily buy into the…

As early as March last year we knew 12-speed was coming to the road and we knew Campagnolo would be the first of the big manufacturers to do it. The following month, sure enough, Record and Super Record, both mechanical, were unveiled with the extra sprocket — but apart from a makeover of the aesthetics that was, admittedly, very cool, it wasn’t groundbreaking. The new cassettes and accompanying derailleurs only went up to 32 teeth from the 11-tooth top gear. Campagnolo’s aim was merely to fill in one of the gaps for a closer-ratio cassette and refine the entire shifting experience with reworked levers. SRAM, however, tore up the rulebook with its new 12-speed Red eTap AXS groupset, launched in February this year. Geared around a 10-tooth sprocket, SRAM reduced…

The mere act of pedalling in the open air helps Tim McKenna, 47, manage his mental health while keeping fit and exploring the world. McKenna, from London, has bipolar disorder, which causes severe fluctuations in mood. Having been a cyclist as a youngster, he returned to the bike in his 30s, on the recommendation of mental health experts. “Getting out in the fresh air and among nature, along with the endorphins released by exercise, made me feel better, and I’d look forward to it more and more. I now go off on long trips with my panniers and a tent, exploring new places. But it’s not about riding distance or looking at data. It’s about the fresh air and feelings — I’m just as happy riding for 20 minutes as…

Almost overnight, Rob Sharland went from being a cat-one racer and holder of one of the most prestigious KOMs in southern England — the mighty Richmond Park lap segment — to barely riding his bike at all. Now, after 15 months away from the sport, Sharland has rediscovered his love of two wheels, is training again and returning to racing. What went wrong, and what got him back on track? In October 2017, a number of significant things changed for Sharland practically all at once. The advertising director, then 28 and living in Kingston-upon-Thames, found himself at the end of a relationship, changing jobs and moving home all in a breathtakingly short space of time. The bombardment of life stresses came at a time when, under normal circumstances, he would…

Cyclassics Hamburg (August 25) Recently-crowned European champion Elia Viviani won the German one-day WorldTour race for the third successive time, beating Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) and compatriot Giacomo Nizzolo (Dimension Data) in a bunch sprint in Hamburg. It was also the Italian winner’s third victory in as many races. Ladies Tour of Norway (August 22-25) Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) retained her title as the Queen of the Norway for the third consecutive year. The Dutch legend won stages two, three and four to seal a convincing GC victory, finishing 29 seconds ahead of Coryn Rivera of Team Sunweb. Young sensation Lorena Wiebes (Parkotel Valkenburg) won the opening stage. Tour of Denmark (August 21-25) Lotto-Soudal dedicated two stage victories to the late Bjorg Lambrecht. Belgians Tiesj Benoot and Jasper de Buyst won stages…

A Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) commissioned survey has shown that budget gaps between teams and squads with a high concentration of quality riders have a negative impact upon fans’ enjoyment of the sport. The survey completed by 22,364 fans from 134 countries found 84 percent said they thought road racing was interesting to watch. However, half agreed with the statement “the outcome of road cycling events is predictable”. Deeper questioning showed that for most, the dominance of a few rich teams was having a negative impact upon their viewing pleasure. Asked what factors limit their enjoyment, 76 percent said that the difference in budgets between “the best and the rest” was a factor and 71 percent pointed to a high concentration of the best riders being in the same team.…

Team Independent Pedaler dominated the National 25-Mile Championships last weekend, taking victory in both the men’s and women’s title races near the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border. Local girl Emily Meakin drew first blood on the Etwall to Uttoxeter course, winning the women’s title in only her second ever 25-mile time trial. She was joined on the podium by team-mate Emma Lewis in second spot. And then 24 hours later Chris Fennell secured another win for the team with victory in the men’s title race, while Phil Williams (Liverpool Phoenix CC) was second. The title race was postponed from earlier in the month because of heavy rain, which meant that defending champion and national record holder Marcin Białobłocki couldn’t ride as he was on a family holiday. So the much-anticipated clash between Fennell…

Launched at the Tour de Yorkshire to coincide with Sky’s rebranding as Ineos, the new Dogma F12 and F12 disc were two years in the making and were designed using “complex studies involving Pinarello’s leading structural and aerodynamic knowledge.” Yes, we also wondered whether passione still played a part in the design of Italian bicycles but it seems that the new bike is, like all modern WorldTour bikes, data driven. Aerodynamics of the new Dogma F12 have been improved by eight watts at 40kph compared to the F10. That has been made possible with the help of a new integrated handlebar and stem from house brand MOST called the Talon Ultra that now hides all the cables, which are routed internally straight into the frame — Pinarello claims a five…

Carbon bikes tend to grab all the headlines but we think Cannondale’s new aluminium frame deserves its own little corner. It’s great to see the CAAD aluminium series still evolving and improving, and the new bike has taken its inspiration from the latest SuperSix Evo, as ridden by the EF Education First team. Gone are the classic oversized round tubes, making way for an aero profile and dropped seatstays; tyre clearances have been increased and there are rim and disc models. The gorgeous Portofino from Battaglin combines a lugged construction with custom modern tubing. According to Giovanni Battaglin, the brand’s founder, ex-pro and winner of the Giro-Vuelta double in 1981, it took over a year to develop the Portofino’s proprietary lug castings, including those for the tapered head tube, the…

Rob Sharland’s long-time training and racing buddy Benoit Ramsay told us why he is optimistic for his friend’s future health and happiness. “Rob is one of those annoyingly talented riders who can, in mere weeks, make gains that would take most people many months. If he approaches his next block of training with the dedication that he applied to drinking over the last months, he’ll soon reach his previous heights!” For Ramsay, the positives in the story aren’t just in Sharland’s being able to step on to race podiums again, but also the fact he’s rediscovered a sense of balance and purpose in his life. “Rob knows better than most that riding is a more sustainable coping mechanism for dealing with life’s ups and downs than some of the other…

The Wiggins Le-Col team will not continue into the 2020 season, ending one of the country’s most successful development pathways to the WorldTour. After five years in the peloton, the British team run by Trinity Sports has successfully moved several riders on to bigger teams, having ridden a European-based programme as well as the bigger domestic races. The team was originally set up as a vehicle for Sir Bradley Wiggins’s run-in to the Rio Olympics after he left Team Sky. Following his retirement it changed into being a team for developing young British talent. Its graduates include Owain Doull, James Knox, Chris Lawless, Scott Davies and this year Gabrial Cullaigh and Mark Donovan. “It’s a pity because obviously that’s such a good pathway in, an easy way for the young…

Age 12, watching the 2006 Tour de France, my father explained blood doping to me. It’s an unfortunate part of the sport’s history that most of us know about but that, at that age, I did not. Here was an opportunity for my dad to talk about the morals and values we all buy into when we enjoy sport. Here was also an opportunity to explain a biological process. He could have done both, but never one to speak too emotively, he only explained the latter and how you could greatly increase your blood’s oxygen carrying capacity. Now, I don’t mean to fault my poor dad (though I definitely can on a wide range of topics if you are interested) because he no doubt believed I was a smart kid…

Lewis Askey continued his stella 2019 season with a win at the coveted Junior Tour of Wales over the bank holiday weekend. Askey (Backstedt Cycling) placed fifth on the opening time trial then made his move on stage two to The Rhigos. Part of a winning four-man break, Askey gained over two minutes on Joseph Pidcock (younger brother of Tom) and Isaac Peatfield. The rest of the field was over three minutes down. Without significant time gaps opening on stages three and four it came down to the final stage and it’s infamous finish atop The Tumble. Victory there went to Peatfield who moved himself up in to fourth place while Askey was able to hold on to the lead finishing in a small group one minute and seven seconds…

While Joey Walker is among the current generation of top-level South Yorkshire cyclists, in his family alone there’s a lineage of local talent that stretches back to the middle of last century. Of his own generation there’s his older sister Jessie, who enjoyed a spell as a professional before retiring to pursue other interests. Both their parents come from a cycling background too: father Chris was the 1991 Milk Race winner and double British criterium champion; mother Lynne rode for Great Britain. While Chris’s own mother and father come from running and climbing backgrounds (Chris took up cycling when his father Keith turned to the bike following a knee injury), Lynne’s father is Sid Wilson, a Tour of Britain rider in the 1950s. Today, in his late 80s, he still…

Calum Brown (Team B38-Cycles in Motion) Powered his way up Fford Pen Lech in August in just 50 seconds to take the win. Last year’s Nationals silver medallist has been focusing his training on longer efforts over the summer. With a one-minute power of circa 1,100 watts, Sheffield-based Brown knows he has to work on extending that effort to be crowned national champion this year on the 3.2-mile Haytor course. Dan Evans (Assos Equipe UK) The two-time national champion will be looking to take his title back after a flying visit to Taiwan last year left him jetlagged and off the pace. A recent third at the short and ultra-steep Fford Pen Lech event in Wales showed the form is there, but it’s worth remembering the long, shallow Haytor Nationals…

With new bikes increasingly designed around disc brakes, the freed-up space between the seatstays and at the fork crown is being greedily gobbled up by bigger tyres which, as everybody knows by now, roll faster, grip better and absorb more vibrations. So this year we’ve seen wider rims become the new normal, with one of the most compelling stories coming from Hunt. The British brand broke the Strava KOM for the Trouée d’Arenberg sector — the most notorious stretch of cobbles in Paris-Roubaix — with its new 48 Limitless Aero Disc wheels that are optimised for 28mm tyres, ridden by Alex Paton of Canyon-dhb. If Hunt’s internal rim width of 22.5mm seemed wide, 3T went even wider with its Discus C45 Wide carbon clincher wheelset. With a 25mm internal and…

OAKLEY SUTRO When we reviewed the latest sunnies from Oakley in April, this is what we said: “These glasses are big and we are talking about face, not just eye, coverage. However, the frame feels large too: no sunglasses should slip or fall but the Sutros did. I found myself constantly adjusting them and even just checking my cycling computer they would slip slightly. They are made for a more casual urban setting where I find myself looking around a lot more due to the hazards of traffic, meaning that these would become even more annoying out in town.” We gave them seven out of 10. Then Egan Bernal won the Tour de France wearing them. BONTRAGER WAVECEL vs MIPS Trek unveiled a new helmet in March that features technology…

Chris Herbert, 33, is an ultra endurance rider whose focus on training and race results took over his life — and posed a risk to his health. In the lead-up to his first major ultra-endurance race, the 2016 Transcontinental Race (TCR), his perfectionist, obsessive character took hold. “I ended up cancelling everything else in my life in the run-up to TCR,” says the Londoner. “I missed out on a lot with my friends. I was just eating, sleeping or riding. I set a ridiculous bar for myself and created unfeasible training plans, and placed ridiculous expectation on myself to achieve them.” Herbert became so obsessed with TCR that he took to the start line despite being in searing pain from a separated shoulder, the consequence of a car collision prior…

TIME TRIALS SUNDAY, AUG 25 Men’s National 25-Mile Championship (Etwall, Derbyshire): 1. Chris Fennell (The Independent Pedaler) 46.07 2. P. Williams (Liverpool Phoenix CC) 46.33 3. A. Wild (GS Metro) 46.47 4. A. Franklin (Portishead Cycling Club) 46.54 5. J. Sandman (CES Sport) 47.24 6. A. Royle (Manchester Bicycle Club) 47.41 7. T. Ward (AeroLab Ward WheelZ) 47.43 8. P. Jones (Transition Race Team) 48.06 9. J. Brown (ActiveEdge Race Team) 48.09 10. W. Bjergfelt (AeroCoach) 48.11 Team: Team Bottrill (Rix, Barnett, Dorling) 2:29.57 Southdown Velo 25 (Walberton, West Sussex): 1. Samuel Wadsley (Primera-TeamJobs) 51.48 2. K. Nelson (Crawley Wheelers) 52.26 3. B. Williams (i-Team Cyclists Club) 52.37 4. G. Parker (Estrella Bikes) 52.57 5. N. Mackley (a3crg) 53.17 6. D. Triska (Team Bottrill) 53.31 7. J. Fawcett (a3crg) 53.46…

I came late to the saga of the Velolife Cafe in Maidenhead. I was kayaking in a Norwegian fjord when the story broke, and I simply assumed that it couldn’t be as ludicrous as it appeared. On the face of it, it was a council taking out an injunction to prevent cyclists going to a cycling cafe. And not just against the cafe, but against a whole pile of local clubs. Amusing though the thought of a whole cycling club going to jail might be, it seemed a bit far-fetched. The injunction appeared so ambiguously worded that there seemed a serious possibility of someone being sent down for meeting a mate to have a flat white and discuss the effect of tubeless tyres on rolling resistance. Clearly, I thought, that’s…

An old-school cycling coach died some years ago, and one of his riders told me about the feeling of release when she heard about his death. She explained that he worked on the basis of total mileage as a key metric. More to the point, if you missed a ride, you were expected to make up for it later. Back in the 1980s, when she missed two weeks’ training due to flu, he demanded that she double the weekly mileage for the following two weeks to make up for it. When she broke down with a knee injury, he just kept accumulating the mileage until at the beginning of December he told her she had 3,000 miles to get through before the end of the year.…