Indholdsfortegnelse for October 17, 2019 i Cycling Weekly

I’ve been waiting for this issue to come out since May. That’s when I was lucky enough to snare a trip to ride my bike in Portugal (see p28) on the same roads the British team train on. Ever since, I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen what a great place it is to ride — and it had been totally unknown to me until I saw some images on social media and asked one of the team where they had been. Now you too can see this, along with the Dolomites and Canary Islands where my colleagues jetted off to. What makes a good cycling holiday? Well, there’s the views, the weather, the iconic or hidden climbs that are conquered and of course there’s the company. On previous trips, not…

Despite having a three-week-old baby at home, reigning national hill-climb champion Andrew Feather travelled hundreds of miles across the country to refine his form in a bid to defend the title in two weeks. The 35-year-old from Bath drove around 600 miles between three events last weekend, winning on Mam Nick in the Peak District and Holme Moss in Yorkshire on Saturday. And he was back in action the following day, sending a clear message to his National Championships rivals by winning on the Tumble in South Wales. Despite having tired legs from his previous day’s efforts, Feather clocked a winning time of 12 minutes and 11 seconds to clinch the Welsh Championship. “The Tumble is steep, and I prefer that” He beat last year’s winner on the Tumble, Ed…

Nibali sets sights on Giro and Olympics for 2020 Vincenzo Nibali is set to miss the 2020 Tour de France to focus on his home Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia, and claiming Olympic gold in Tokyo. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Nibali’s desire for an Olympic gold medal will mean he will miss out on a ninth Tour de France appearance, as the French Grand Tour finishes only six days before the men’s Olympic road race in Japan. Health scare for Raymond Poulidor Raymond Poulidor’s condition has “improved significantly”, says a close friend of the revered Tour de France star, who was admitted to hospital last week. The 83-year-old is now recovering from treatment according to Bernard Verret, a journalist and long-time friend of Poulidor. Poulidor suffers from heart…

I really think this last week of racing shows why the UCI needs to reform the global cycling calendar. In Italy we’ve had race after race of the same main contenders, all in good form, going toe-to-toe for the win. It has truly been very exciting to watch. One day it’s Michael Woods, then Egan Bernal then Primoz Roglic before Bauke Mollema caught them all napping at the weekend. And it’s all played out as chapters of an on-going story. It’s what the rest of the season lacks and what sports like F1 and, to a lesser degree Premier League football, all do well. You could do the same with the cobbled Classics with just a bit of tweaking. And although it’s clearly difficult to do it the Grand Tours,…

GETTING THERE We flew to Venice and it’s a three-hour drive from there; alternatives are flying to Bolzano which is nearer but more expensive, or Innsbruck, Verona, Treviso, Bergamo and Milan. BEST TIME TO GO From May to October. I was lucky with the weather but you do need to keep an eye on the conditions before going. The road surfaces are at their best and patched up before the Giro and the Maratona which is on July 5 2020, with entries having just opened. If you can’t get onto that why not consider one of the Bike Days when some roads are closed to motor vehicles. WHERE TO EAT Restaurants are plentiful, as are natural springs to fill your bidons. If you are going to eat a main meal…

MOROCCO While the red dusty landscapes of this north African country aren’t what you typically think of when you think of a cycling holiday the country has a lot to offer. The Atlas mountains are the big attraction for those on two wheels, with heights reaching 2,500m. Probably the most well-known climb in the region is Montée Jebel Oukaïmeden, as it features on the Atlas Etape course. There are plenty more modest climbs in the foothills and an abundance of gravel tracks should a bit of rough stuff be your thing. Nearby Marrakech is very accessible and acts as a gateway to the other attractions. Flights can be had for as little as £70 return. Unsurprisingly it can be pretty hot so it’s best visited over the spring or autumn…

Inspired by a love of outdoors adventure, Outdoor Provisions energy bars are the brainchild of friends Luke Douglas and Christian Smith, who, after a particularly tough mountain bike racing season and epic energy bar consumption, decided that they could do much better themselves. “We started mixing up prototypes in my kitchen in Salford,” says Smith. “I had a solid idea of what the base or chassis of the product should be, but it took a moment of inspiration and a prod from my better half to come up with the National Park flavour portfolio we have now.” Each bar is vegan, uses organic ingredients where possible, contains no refined sugars and aims to deliver a balanced release of energy. Cherry Bakewell (Peak District National Park) and Choc Kendal Mint Cake…

Light technology has come a long way in a very short space of time and almost all of the lights in the test feature lumen output and smart tech that have made commuting by bicycle an infinitely safer proposition. Both Knog’s Mid Cobber and See.Sense’s Ace lights show just how much visibility can be built into small packages with the See.Sense lights offering a staggering amount of intelligence including self-adjusting brightness and the ability to sense a crash and communicate with emergency contacts. The other four sets feature front lights that are capable of not just being seen but can also light the way on unlit roads. CatEye’s Sync set can be controlled cleverly using your phone and automatically turn on and off when riding, making them simple to live…

C2C This British classic starts on the Cumbrian coast, wends its way through the Lake District and the Pennines before concluding on the railway paths of County Durham. The route, which is best tackled from west to east due to prevailing winds, is 136 miles long and comprises both on and off-road sections. THE WEST COUNTRY WAY The jagged Ardennes-style terrain of the West Country is challenging to ride but offers some of the best scenery in Britain. The West Country Way covers 240 miles and links the Bristol and Bath railway path, the Avon Cycleway and the Tarka and Camel Trails over its 240-mile length, taking in Glastonbury, the Mendips and Exmoor as it meanders over and around the region’s contours. The route begins in Padstow Harbour and ends…

CYCLO-CROSS SUN, OCTOBER 13 Central League round five (Stanborough Park, Herts): Seniors: 1. Joshua Jones (ZeroBC) 1:02.53; 2. N. Blackmore (Flamme Rouge CT) +0.42; 3. J. Bennett (Flamme Rouge CT) +1.33; 4. C. Davies (Finchley RC) +1.34; 5. W. Weatherill (Hope Factory Racing) +2.23; 6. K. Jarvis (Cycle Team OnForm) +2.54; 7. M. Humpage (Flamme Rouge CT) + 2.58; 8. A. Briggs (Tekkerz); 9. N. Drew (Dyson Cycles); 10. L. Smith (JCA-Equipe Velo). Women: 1. Ffion James (Hope Factory Racing) 44.15; 2. K. Simcock (Trek BC) +0.30; 3. E. Bennett (Welwyn Wheelers) +0.46. Veterans: 1. Neil Ellison (Specialized-Ruipslip) 48.28; 2. J. Allaway (Pedalon.co.uk) +1.31; 3. P. Elcock (ZeroBC) +1.52. Yorkshire Points Series round two (Temple Newsam Park, Leeds): Seniors: 1. Jenson Young (Garden Shed UK) 57.24; 2. J. Scott (Albion…

A few months ago, I arrived home from a ride in a buoyant mood. “Good ride?” said Mrs. Doc. “Excellent,” I said. “I gave it some welly on Chapel Hill because there was another rider in front of me, and I caught him just as we crested the top. And he said, ‘Hey, mate, is that one of those e-bikes?’ To put that another way, I’ve still got it, baby.” “Let me help you out with this,” she said. “That didn’t mean he was astonished at your speed. He was astonished at your speed, all things considered.” “What things?” “I’ll tell you if you want, but it’ll spoil your ride.” I’ve always been a bit suspicious of e-bikes. I struggle to get past the idea that somehow it’s cheating. Not…

You may recall the American team’s pursuit bikes with the left-handed transmission, designed to be more aerodynamic on a left-handed track. A friend of a friend who rides Masters’ track events decided to emulate this. It’s not all that hard to do on a track bike. As long as you find a lockring to stop the sprocket unscrewing from the rear wheel, you can just swap a square-taper chainset round. However, there is one detail he overlooked, and which only became apparent nine laps into a pursuit effort. Pedals are threaded in opposite directions on each side of the bike to stop them from coming unscrewed under load. Which they did. With spectacular (and not very aero) results.…

“Blood, sweat and glory,” ran the front-page headline of the Colombian daily El Tiempo on Sunday July 14, 1985. Alongside the headline was a close-up of Café de Colombia’s Lucho Herrera’s badly bloodied face. The previous day Herrera had ridden away from the Tour de France peloton 30km from the stage finish in Saint-Etienne to record a 47-second win. Herrera had fallen on the final descent and after remounting and crossing the line first, had ended the day in an ambulance. “The price of boldness,” was El Tiempo’s verdict. Herrera’s win in Saint-Etienne had capped an incredible few days for the rider and his Café de Colombia team. The Colombian had already won the stage to Morzine-Avoriaz four days earlier and the next day had followed his team-mate Fabio Parra…

My first outing in British kit was at the 2013 European track champs, in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. I was an off-programme rider and had gone to Manchester for the two weeks prior to train and trial for the squad. The championships were my third trial. My two previous forays south had gone well and left me enthusiastic for more improvements in my performance, but ultimately I was still an amateur cyclist. A year and a half prior, in 2012, I had left school with a plan to spend a year working abroad before going to university. Three months in I canned the whole project and came home. See, 2012 was also the year the Glasgow velodrome opened its doors, and waiting inside was the springboard that would send me on…

Intrepid hill-climb ace Calum Brown continued his build-up to the National Championships with winning rides in the Bec CC and Catford CC events in Surrey and Kent on Sunday. The Sheffield-based Cycles in Motion rider notched up two more victories, adding to a long list of 2019 wins which have included events on the isles of Scotland and across the country as well as this weekend’s journey south. Both climbs are short, sharp and ideal for Brown at just 700 yards each. With the Haytor course for this year’s National Championship being significantly longer, Brown is targeting the team prize instead of a solo win, with Cycles in Motion boasting several quality climbers. But his victories last weekend almost didn’t happen. “I’m gobsmacked to have won, because I’ve had flu-like…

The UCI has released the full calendar for the new ProSeries races, as the governing body redesigns the lower division of professional cycling. From January 1, 2020, men’s professional cycling will operate under a new structure, aimed at “improving the narrative” of the cycling season. The current HC class of races will disappear and will be replaced by a new collection of races called the UCI ProSeries, which is one level below the WorldTour calendar and above the UCI Continental Circuits. Notable inclusions in the ProSeries include the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in February, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in March, the Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain. Included in the changes for 2020, the UCI also plans to introduce a controversial Classics Series of events, and will be changing Pro…

Tour of Guangxi (October 17-22) Enric Mas (Deceunick-Quick Step), David de la Cruz (Ineos) and Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) will be among the GC contenders in the six-stage race. Sprint stages will excite Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Chris Lawless (Team Ineos). The women’s single-day race, on October 20, sees Hannah Barnes lead Canyon-SRAM. Telenet Superprestige De Schorre Boom (October 19) In the second-round of the series, Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) appears to be the man to beat at present. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Corendon-Circus) tops the women’s category. Japan Cup (October 20) Bauke Mollema will be looking for one more end-of-season victory to go alongside his Il Lombardia triumph. The Trek-Segafredo man won this race in 2015, but to do so again he will have to fend off…

BEST TIME TO GO It gets very hot during the summer so February to May is best, or September to November. GETTING THERE Miranda is almost smack bang between Porto and Lisbon with a drive of around two hours from each. You can fly to both Porto and Lisbon with a variety of budget airlines from host of UK airports from prices starting as low as £35 each way. WHERE TO STAY We stayed as guests of the Delucci Retreat, which is perfectly placed to explore the area and has two very comfortable rooms for 80 euros a night including breakfast (based on two people sharing). If a larger group of you is going the Park Hotel in the town of Miranda do Corvo has rooms from £71 a night.…

BEST TIME TO GO The temperatures range from 12°C to 28°C for most of the year but the winter months are wetter. GETTING THERE To get to La Palma we flew into Tenerife and took the ferry from Los Cristianos to Santa Cruz de la La Palma. There are some interconnecting flights but the ferry is much more convenient. You can see the schedule here. www.directferries.co.uk WHERE TO STAY On La Palma we stayed in an apartment we found on booking.com, but it was a bit small for three. There are plenty other places to stay, the further from the shore the quieter they will be, but also the steeper the climb at the end of the day. WHERE TO EAT There are loads of restaurants and bars in the…

With all the strength training and conditioning required for these events, you’ll never get a more effective training session than riding your bike on the type of terrain your chosen event takes in. Even if you live in a heavily urbanised area, with the use of an OS map or apps like Komoot, a route can be custom-designed to give you the experience and fitness you need. As Bill Balding says of his training for the South Downs Double: “Pedalling up steep, loose and rocky hills on a bloody heavy bike gives you some strong legs.”…

The week: September 9-15, 2019 Location: Sheffield Training for: Monsal Hill-Climb (October 6) Scotsman Calum Brown raced his first hill-climb merely three years ago, yet he is already carving out a name for himself as one of the greatest riders in the history of the discipline. Formerly a track-and-field athlete, Brown represented Scotland in decathlon until injuries forced his retirement from the sport in 2014. Initially cycling just to commute to work, he was encouraged by his girlfriend, the elite hill-climber Rebecca Goodson, to try his hand at racing. Since making his debut in 2016, the 28-year-old hasn’t looked back, racking up more than 20 course records, including nine this year alone. Now studying for a degree in sports science, Brown takes a forensic approach to training and performance. How…

Tre Valli Varesine (October 8) It was win number 13 of the season for Primož Roglič, the Jumbo-Visma man powering away from an elite group within the final kilometre. Team Ineos’s Tao Geoghegan Hart rode to eighth. Milano-Torino (October 9) An ever-attacking Michael Woods (EF-Education First) got his reward on the final, punishing climb, beating Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde to take the win. Britain’s Adam Yates (Mitchelon-Scott) was five seconds adrift in third. Gran Piemonte (October 10) Tour de France victor Egan Bernal won his first European one-day race, beating Ineos team-mate and fellow Colombian Ivan Sosa by six seconds. Paris-Tours (October 13) Jelle Wallays’s superb solo attack on a gravel sector 50km from the finish line proved too strong for an uncooperative chase group. The Lotto-Soudal rider also won the…

There is a theory that an hour’s training in November is worth two in May. This is true, but only if you’re planning to cash in that hour’s training at an event in December. If you’re planning to use it next June, it’s probably worth about a third. There are many reasons riders insist on training all winter. It’s an excuse to buy another bike — and remember that the extra bike is a nice new summer bike, and your former best (or only) bike becomes your winter bike. Then there is the pleasure of taking 20 minutes to get dressed before going for a ride, and still finding that your head is boiling while your hands have gone blue. And the simple joy of trying to clean brown gloop…