Indholdsfortegnelse for October 3, 2019 i Cycling Weekly

Last Friday I had the pleasure of spending a day with the Pidcock family as their undoubtedly talented elder son Tom attempted to claim the U23 rainbow jersey on home roads (see p18). It is easy to forget that when you watch a bike race there are around 200 riders in the peloton but there is more than double that number of people who have played a crucial role in getting them to that point. That’s something we all intuitively know but to see it up close really brings home the commitment required. Those people live it just as much as those on the bikes, and certainly in the case of the U23 British men’s squad, they all know each other, creating a huge web of support that stretches far…

According to Brian Askvig, journalist for Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet, Mads Pedersen is a likable and straight-talking character. “He said ahead of this race that he had had a ‘sh**ty season’. You don’t have to wrap it up in a bow.” Pedersen is an instinctive rider, rarely looking at his power meter or overthinking races. He also isn’t very interested in the technical side of the sport. “He’s like, ‘I’ve got my bike. If I feel comfortable on the bike, I’m going to go fast. I don’t care if my saddle is three millimetres too high. Because my legs are this length or because of this or because of that,’” says Askvig. The Dane grew up in the same village as former pro Michael Rasmussen and ended up staying with…

Nikki Juniper “I wasn’t expecting to make the finish but to do three laps of Harrogate was pretty special, I was getting quite emotional. It was just amazing. It was like do I ride my bike or do I get off and hug them [the crowd]? Yorkshire really made you feel like they were your family. It was just overwhelming. “It was a bloody hard course. It wasn’t just the Dutch [who were strong], we have some Dutch in our group and they’re a force to be reckoned with, but there’s a lot of strong individual riders. We had Lizzie, she’s here a year out of having a baby. She’s absolutely phenomenal to come and to have that amount of pressure and perform. We couldn’t go anywhere this week without…

What a week in Yorkshire. A once in a lifetime experience for the British riders! Unless they also compete in the 2023 World Championships, in Glasgow. For those riders, well, a home Worlds might be a twice in a lifetime experience. Am I explicitly speaking to Scottish rider John Archibald who was gushing in interviews about his “once in a lifetime” opportunity? It’s very possible. Twice in a lifetime is still pretty rare, though, so I give a respectful nod to the sentiment. What the two events will have in common, besides taking place in Britain, is their inclusion of para-cycling. The Glasgow Worlds will be a slightly different beast (in 2023, the World Championships of 13 different cycling disciplines will be held in one city over two and a…

In my early teens I rode for a club called Gemini BC in London. After a lay-off of some 34 years I got back on the bike in 2012. As a child, my local bike shop, which was run by a guy called Fred Elliot, was the meeting place for the club runs etc. I revisited the shop in 2012 to find that Fred’s son Peter now runs Welling Cycles. I rejoined the Gemini so that I could ride the track in their colours, and now use the shop on a regular basis. Fred still helps out with bike repairs and is in the shop daily. He is now the ripe old age of 92 and has been involved in the cycling scene most if not all of his life.…

What to do if a fellow rider has hit their head Make them stop: concussion is an evolving condition and the symptoms can take time to display themselves. In addition, the person affected may be confused and/or may downplay their symptoms. Given this difficulty in identifying concussion and the risks of continuing with activity, it’s important to take an ‘if in doubt, sit it out’ approach. That means getting them off the bike if you suspect concussion, and making sure they don’t get back on until cleared by a medical expert. Checking for symptoms of concussion Loss of consciousness happens in only around 10 percent of reported concussions, so it is important not to rely solely on this as an indicator. More common signs to look out for include dizziness,…

GP Festa del Perdono (September 24) Italian Nicola Venchiarutti showcased his burgeoning talent, sprinting to victory from a large group in the Italian race. The 20-year-old, who is a stagiaire for Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, is highly rated following a year of impressive performances that includes a stage win at the Baby Giro. Omloop van het Houtland Lichtervelde (September 26) In what is likely to be his last race in Team Sunweb colours ahead of an off-season move to Team NTT (currently known as Dimension Data), German Max Walscheid was the fastest among a group of five in the one-day race, held in Lichtervelde. It was the 26-year-old’s first victory in 2019. Paris-Chauny (September 29) French rider Anthony Turgis won a three-man battle to win the long-running classic, the Total Direct Energie…

Münsterland Giro (October 3) This German race is typically dominated by its home riders, with seven of the 13 winners hailing from the country. John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo), Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) will be hoping to continue home success. Tour de Vendée (October 6) Ag2r La Mondiale’s Benoît Cosnefroy, 23, will go into the race as favourite, the sprinter having performed well in the past two months. He will, however, have the likes of Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie) and Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) to better. Il Piccolo Lombardia (October 6) The Baby Il Lombardia pits the best U23 one-day racers against one another. Rarely does the outcome get settled by a large bunch, but that’s what happened last time around when Australian Rob Stannard proved fastest in a…

Cycling helmets are currently tested for their ability to protect by absorbing impact energy — rather than reducing rotational forces, which experts say can be the cause of concussion. “I don’t think there’s much debate on whether wearing a helmet is a good thing or bad thing,” says brain doctor Richard Sylvester, “but whether they are actually protective for concussion is a different question. It’s not the direct impact that’s the issue, it is shearing force from the rotation, which a standard helmet cannot protect you from, because it’s taking place inside the skull.” Wearing a helmet is worthwhile, but can’t be relied on to prevent the sudden rotational movement (and force) that causes concussion. “At the moment, most people wear standard helmets — which is a good thing,” continues…

Olympic pursuit champion Elinor Barker, who sustained a concussion at the RideLondon Classique women’s race in August, believes awareness is growing among the pro peloton. “I’ve been a bike rider for about 15 years, so I’ve hit my head a few times! I remember coming back from a race when I was about 14 years old. I’d hit my head quite hard, and I was being sick. I remember saying, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it, it’s just a bit of concussion’. That was a really daft thing to say. “Things are changing now. We’ve got concussion protocol posters up everywhere at the velodrome, so this time around I knew to be cautious. Initially after the RideLondon crash, I didn’t know what had happened. “I also had some lingering symptoms: a…

I’ve done a couple of long rides recently. I rode over 200km round the Yorkshire World Champs course, and I rode 800km from one end of Portugal to the other. The first conclusion from these is that it’s amazing how far you can ride if you go slowly enough. Slow riding is so effective that it has all the basic hallmarks of cheating. Try it. Ride 10 percent slower. It’s so easy it’s like being on drugs. The second observation is that if you can ride with a well-disciplined group, it’s easier again. I promise you that riding slowly with a group is essentially indistinguishable from being wheeled along in a four-poster bed while someone hands you peeled grapes one at a time. So just think what you could achieve…

Britain’s Alex Dowsett scored his best ever World Championship result when he finished fifth in the elite men’s time trial between Northallerton and Harrogate. He was a whisper over two minutes down on the Aussie Rohan Dennis, who was last seen stamping out of the Tour de France in a dispute over the quality of his team-issue TT equipment, but who returned to defend his 2018 title with a ride so controlled that he never even looked like he was in a hurry. Dennis crossed the line pointing at his head — a statement about his mental strength or a comment on his preferred helmet brand, depending on whom you believe. For Dowsett, it was an overdue return to his top time trial form, and his best result on the…

Experienced rider Aoife Doherty, 35, was cycling on holiday in Colombia in January when she hit a cat’s eye on a descent and crashed — sustaining a head injury from which she is still recovering now. “My memory is so bad now that I’ve had to learn to take notes on everything and use my calendar religiously. Memories from the three months around the accident are just starting to come back. “Recovery varies — it was one thing the experts could never give me an answer on. The brain is such an unknown. Everyone recovers at different rates. After being discharged from the Homerton Transitional Neurological Rehabilitation Unit [in London], I was referred to an adult community team, and the support has been amazing. Since my accident a lot of…

CYCLO-CROSS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 Western League round four (Netham Park, Bristol): Seniors: 1. Aled Jones (VC Equipe) 59.56; 2. J. Linden (73 Degrees Bicycles) +1.13; 3. S. Holder (DAS RAD KLUB) +2.51; 4. L. Cahill (Reflex Racing) +3.02; 5. C. Parker (VC St Raphael) +3.39; 6. D. Janes (Swift Performance Coaching) +3.40; 7. T. Brumhead (Bristol South CC); +4.16; 8. J. Whateley (unattached) + 1 lap; 9. W. Haynes (Cheltenham & County CC); 10. B. Clement (Bristol CX). Women: 1. Joanne Jago (Performance Cycles) 40.14; 2. M. Lawrence (73 Degrees Bicycles) +0.32; 3. M. Whitehurst (Somer Valley CC) +1.21. Veterans: 1. Glyn Griffths (73 Degrees Bicycles) 1:02.14; 2. S. Burgess (Bristol CX) +0.22; 3. P. Kench (ASE Racing) +2.20. London League round four (Leeds Castle, Kent): Seniors: 1. Joshua Jones…

A few weeks ago, I rode round the World Champs route. The bridge at Grinton Moor had been washed away, and the temporary arrangement involved clambering over a steep muddy bank. This clogged my cleats with especially claggy Yorkshire mud. It was exceptionally difficult to clip into my pedals on the far side. To compensate, it was utterly impossible to clip out when I reached a junction in Leyburn a few kilometres later. I did not discover this until I was committed to stopping and putting a foot down. Happily I was able to compensate by grabbing the post of a ‘Give Way’ sign with both arms in a hug. And waiting till a volunteer helped me take my shoes off.…