Indholdsfortegnelse for February 10, 2022 i Cycling Weekly

JACOB TIPPER How the new Highway Code has brought out the worst in people No matter how hard we try to avoid social media it’s just impossible. The most recent cycling example of this seems to be the change in the Highway Code, where the comments sections have demonstrated the sheer amount of hate directed at cyclists. It’s normally easy to laugh at the stupid comments around cyclists not paying road tax, and how apparently we all jump red lights. But the more basic the clickbait, the more aggressive the reaction. I regularly see what are essentially death threats, which if it wasn’t for the fact cars do actually kill thousands of people a year might be funny, but it’s not. In a close knit community I think we all…

THE FLAG WAVER LUCIE GALLEN For Lucie Gallen, accredited marshal and member of Team Milton Keynes, volunteering has been crucial to preserving a work-life balance. During the week, Gallen translates technical documents from German, mostly, to English. A lot of her work is for companies in the cycling business. But it’s a solitary existence. “It’s just me and a computer. Lockdown hasn’t affected how I work at all!” she says. “Volunteering means I meet people. It’s different people as well, be it at the race finishes or fellow marshals, people that I would never cross paths with were it not for a shared love of cycling. That’s very important for someone like myself,” she explains. Gallen started volunteering not long after she got into the sport in 2010 when a…

It’s fair to say that the shift to 12-speed has been a long time coming for Dura-Ace. First to the mark for roadspecific groupsets was Campagnolo, offering that extra sprocket as early as April 2018. Back then, even Shimano’s mountain bike groupsets were all still running 11-speed. But although the wait has been long, at least the update hasn’t been just incremental. Beyond just tweaks to the gear ratios, there have been big changes across the groupset: from the braking to the ergonomics to the cable routing. Shimano is still producing a rim-brake version, but it was the hydraulic disc brakes that we had on test. Whether you like it or not, it’s pretty clear that this will be the model you’ll be seeing most of. The shifters Following Shimano’s,…

Cars have very comfortable seats, adjustable in many directions and often with heaters, which the manufacturers install because of the length of time you’ll be sitting stationary and despairing in them. If cars got you places as fast as the adverts claim they do, a few kitchen chairs would be all you’d ever need. It’s for the same reason that cars have entertainment systems and video screens for passengers – it’s so your children in the back seat don’t reach round the headrest and garotte you just to relieve the monotony. At least you’ll have no trouble enjoying the view as it sits motionless before you. The reason cars have such large windows is so that you can see as much as possible. If the view changed in any way…

Frenchwoman Geneviève Gambillon rides to her first World Championship win in Gap, in southern France. Gambillon was a constant presence in the cycling world throughout her career. In that time she won the French national title on the road seven times and a further 15 titles on the track, mostly in the sprint and pursuit. This was her first of two road world titles. On this occasion she bested Soviets Lyubov Zadorozhnaya and Anna Konkina into second and third respectively. She’d go on to reclaim the jersey two years later. In both races Britain’s best woman was the legendary Beryl Burton, who each time finished in fifth place. In 1972 it was Burton who had forced a group away on the hilly course. She was not terribly happy with Gambillon’s…

Fabio Jakobsen made an impressive start to his campaign to be the sprinter that his Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl team take to the Tour de France, winning two stages of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana last week. The young Dutchman is in competition with team-mate Mark Cavendish to be the team’s chosen sprinter at this year’s Tour. “His blistering turn of speed couldn’t be matched” While the Manxman won four stages in 2021 team manager Patrick Lefevere has said he favours the younger rider and in an interview last September said: “I will not go to the Tour with two sprinters next year.” Jakobsen revealed last month that his schedule includes the Tour while Cavendish will head to the Giro d’Italia. But in cycling nothing is for certain until the…

Egan Bernal’s horrific injuries – including almost 20 broken bones and two collapsed lungs – have united Colombia in solidarity as the country’s politicians all dialled down election rhetoric to support the cyclist. At the weekend the reigning Giro d’Italia champion left hospital to continue his recovery at home two weeks after he rode into the back of a bus that had pulled over to allow a passenger to disembark. Reports suggest that Bernal, who was riding his time trial bike with several Ineos Grenadiers team-mates, was travelling between 55 and 65kph. The accident left him with a 95% chance of being paraplegic, but seven successful major surgeries have ensured that he has no spinal cord damage and has not lost his mobility. He has, however, suffered a broken femur,…

Whether you ride road races, time trials, challenge events or simply enjoy club runs, you can bet that volunteers have been a key part of your cycling life – from the gregarious event organiser doing the rounds on race day and making sure everything is running smoothly, to the flag-bearing marshals who stand stoically at junctions and keep the riders safe from traffic. Volunteers are so crucial that it’s no exaggeration to say that grassroots cycle sport would collapse immediately without them. Luckily volunteering can also be a great way to keep up with friends, meet new people and even learn new skills – and what a great way to get back out there after two hit-and-miss years thanks to Covid-19. Over the next couple of months we are going…

REFRESHMENTS We all know that reviewing the race over a cup of tea and a piece of cake at the HQ with friends and clubmates is one of the most enjoyable parts of competitive cycling. So why not be one of the people who makes that possible? MARSHALLING Bread and butter volunteering. It’s not glamorous but it is one of the most important jobs on the race – keeping riders safe and making sure they go the right way. What’s more, nearly all the riders are jealous too, as they come past on the rivet and see you basking comfortably in the sun. RACE DRIVER No, not like Lewis Hamilton… But if you’re lucky you’ll get to mount flashing lights on your car roof and quietly pretend you’re a 25mph…

Canyon has just released a long-awaited update to the affordable end of the Endurace platform. A new Endurace carbon CF and aluminium AL range get the extra comfort and nimbler handling of the flagship Endurace SLX plus all-road extras such as more clearance and bosses on the top tube. Central to the Endurace’s longdistance comfort, according to Canyon, is its Sport Geometry concept – already used by the Endurace CF SLX – which keeps reach shorter and the stack higher compared with its race models such as the Ultimate. The other part of the puzzle – keeping the handling sharp and the ride engaging – is achieved by mimicking aspects of the race bikes’ geometry, according to Canyon: “If we take trail measurement as an indicator of a bike’s agility,…

Realising that I was sometimes under-fuelling on the bike, and finding many energy bars unappetising, I spent lockdown designing my own collection of more than 50 homemade bars. From the comforting taste of sticky toffee pudding to the kick of mango and chili dark chocolate, there is a bar for everyone. Here are two recipes to get you started… PLUM AND PEANUT BUTTER CRUMBLE YOU WILL NEED: • 300g oats • 8 large plums or the equivalent of 300g • 3 tbsp peanut butter • 2 tbsp caster sugar • 7 tbsp golden syrup • 2 tbsp butter Method: • Preheat oven to 180°C. • Roughly chop the plums into small pieces and place into a large pan along with the sugar and cook on a very low heat for…

Russian, or more accurately Eastern Bloc, dominance of the Milk Race was at its peak in the early Eighties as the ‘Red Army’ or USSR took first, second and third this year. They also won the team prize, most aggressive rider award and the points, mountains, combined and under-22 jerseys. Podium ceremonies must have stretched on for hours. All of which makes the award of ‘most unfortunate rider’ to Sergei Kadasty (also USSR) all the more baffling. Should they not have shared the prizes around? A young Malcolm Elliott prevented them from winning everything by taking the hot spot jersey. It was probably as obvious back then as it is now that the USSR riders were part of a states-ponsored doping programme. Each year a new batch of young riders…

The 2023 World Championships, held in Glasgow, will be a will be a chance to make the Scottish city a must-ride place for cyclists, organisers have said. At a press conference on Wednesday, the dates for the inaugural multi-discipline Worlds were revealed as 3-11 August. The events will take place in Glasgow and across Scotland, and will include road, track, BMX, mountain bike and para-cycling alongside others. The new combined Worlds will happen every four years, preceding an Olympic/Paralympic year. Trudy Lindblade, the CEO of the 2023 Worlds, said: “Scotland is a perfect place for riding bikes, from vibrant towns and cities to beautiful coastlines. We want to ensure Scotland as a bucket-list destination for cycling. And we can do that through showcasing this event in venues all around Scotland.”…

Bike thieves are going to love this scheme, loads of people riding around on 3k e-bikes, parking them outside work all day and no police around as a deterrent for the thieves. Mark Sullivan I like old cars. Stop scrapping them! Lewis Gullver Just because, like me, you walk for shorter journeys, or cycle and take the bus when it suits, doesn’t mean you can ditch your car if you use it for other journeys. Scott Gibson Please also put in some bike racks and not just the loops that knock off all the paint on your frame. Roland Lawrence Wonder how many will trade in an old banger, take the money and buy cycles etc, then buy a new car and sell the bikes. Gary Starman Great for those…

Abi Smith has quite a lot going on. When she’s not busy dominating the UK domestic racing calendar as she did in 2021, she’s either playing one of multiple instruments, painting or simply nerding out. Though the 19-year-old’s WorldTour cycling career at EF Education-Tibco is in its first months she’s already drawing up plans for university for when she hangs up her wheels. Maybe her biology A-level will aid a medicine degree. Her overall athletic prowess made PE an obvious A-level, and she links her geography studies to mapping her rides, studying wind direction and being outside. “I’m really nerdy about it. Well I am really nerdy,” Smith laughs when CW speaks with her. She plays piano and viola, and one look at her painting of the Ribblehead Viaduct on…

The world of GPS cycling computers has become something of a two-horse race in recent years, but the new Bryton Rider S500 is aiming to change all that. The Taiwanese brand’s new unit has been developed and tested in the WorldTour by Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, is packed with features including Google voice search and is competitively priced – it could be one to back. With its 2.4in colour touchscreen, it sits right between the Garmin Edge 830 (2.6in) and the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt (2.2in), the two pro-level units Bryton ‘benchmarked’ for the Rider S500. Features include Live Tracking; Climb Challenge; an ambient light sensor; what Bryton describes as “seamless” recording; improved software and hardware; an improved user interface; simultaneous five-satellite connectivity; USB-C compatibility; improved processing power and customisable quick-status menu options in…

Nothing will toughen you up more than the Great British winter. Blistering cold temperatures, howling headwinds and torrential downpours – if you can endure these conditions on the bike, you can endure anything. None of us would choose to ride on roads caked in mud and littered with water-filled craters, but this is Britain, where we live, so we’d best get on with it. After thousands of miles of suffering out in the elements getting the hours in, I’ve had plenty of time to think about crafty ways to make British winter riding just that bit more tolerable. In this feature, I want to share with you some of the ‘hacks’ I’ve tried and tested. They are simple yet effective, and you’ll wish you had tried them out sooner. So…

Sports physio Dan Nicholls (motionphysiotherapy.co.uk) believes that cyclists should take a dynamic approach to their warm-up: “Winter is the ideal time to work on your flexibility and general physical condition. I recommend a dynamic warm-up, a simple sequence of movements, before every ride. “Evidence suggests that dynamic exercises are more beneficial for cyclists than traditional static stretches. This is likely because they raise heart rate, increase blood-flow to muscles and raise muscle temperature – with the added bonus of strength gains. Performing these movements before your ride will also maximise your available flexibility, helping you to maintain a more aero position on the bike.” DEEP SQUAT WITH REACH Do six reps with each arm: • Maintain deep squat position • Rotate and push your right elbow into inside of…