Indholdsfortegnelse for March 24, 2022 i Cycling Weekly

When a landslide in the Peak District rendered the famous Snake Pass unsafe for cars it instantly created a cyclist’s paradise, but it also kicked off a battle over its use. Now Cycling UK is threatening to take legal action against Derbyshire Council if it doesn’t produce an explanation as to why the road has been closed off to cyclists and walkers as well as motor vehicles. On 21 February heavy rain caused a series of landslips, forcing the council to shut the road for four weeks. News of this almost traffic-free road (local residents were still allowed to use it) spread among cyclists who came to ride the long, twisting road that is usually too busy to enjoy. CW contributor Simon Warren was among those who had enjoyed the…

Yep. Living in London, each year I’d expect at least two bicycles to get stolen. Still cheaper than the tube. Alas, the stunning lack of giving a s**t by the police was to be expected. Roland Lawrence Maybe 30 years ago, staying at a hotel in downtown Chicago, I saw a nice bike securely chained to a post. One of those Kryptonite locks or something bulletproof. A little while later I walked past again and the seat was gone. Then the wheels. Then the bars. By the end of the day, it was just the frame – not a single component left. Paul Gallagher In a city, buy a cheap supermarket bike that’s not worth stealing. With a battery grinder you will cut through a chain in less than a…

On a stormy February day in Lancashire, I’m riding back to the future with a peloton of Olympians, world and national champions. They all rode the original women’s Tour de France which ran concurrently with the men’s Tour for six years in the 1980s. Between them they have 16 finishers’ medals and one white jersey. While some believe this year’s Tour de France Femmes, due to start in Paris on the day the men’s race finishes, will be the first ever, the women I’m riding with know differently. Until CW organised today’s reunion, they believed their achievements from almost 40 years ago had been largely forgotten. Their medals, road books, race numbers and other memorabilia had remained neglected in attics or at the back of cupboards. “I’m proud of what…

Specialized has reimagined and relaunched the Allez as the world’s first aluminium superbike. The name goes back 41 years and the Allez has been through various iterations, but for 2022 the US brand has completely recast the aluminium-framed platform using tech and geometry from its flagship carbon race bikes. However, despite the similarities, the Allez Sprint’s frame costs £1,500 compared to £3,750 for the SL7. By no means a ‘budget’ bike, then, but certainly an affordable race machine. “It’s touted as the world’s first alloy superbike” So what’s changed and how much are the builds? Let’s jump straight into the first of those questions. PERFORMANCE GAINS Aero updates Specialized is claiming the Allez Sprint as the “fastest alloy road bike in history” after applying lessons learned from the Tarmac SL7’s…

It has never been harder to make it to the top level in women’s cycling. The number of Women’s World Tour (WWT) events has doubled over the past decade – there are 25 this year, including the inaugural Tour de France Femmes. To get into the WWT peloton, never mind win races, a rider needs to be truly exceptional. So how did Anna van der Breggen rack up no fewer than 62 professional wins over her career? The Dutch rider, who retired last year, is one of the most decorated riders of her generation – twice world champion on the road and Olympic road race champion in 2016. Van der Breggen’s career developed in parallel with the women’s peloton; as the competition grew fiercer, she just kept winning. She is,…

Ask any cycling fan who was going to win the 2022 edition of Milan-San Remo in the days before the race and it’s a safe bet many would have picked a Slovenian – Tadej Pogačar, or maybe even Primož Roglič. They would have been proven half-right on Saturday afternoon, as lesser-fancied Slovenian national champion Matej Mohorič outfoxed them all to take his first Monument win. It was a victory built on the famously twisty descent of the Poggio towards San Remo, where Mohorič used every centimetre of the road, and some of the gutter beyond, to build a gap to his rivals just big enough to make them hesitate to commit fully to the chase. Not only did he create an instant legacy as the first Slovenian to win but…

Phil Williams and Tamsin Miller were crowned winners at the inaugural Road Bike Time Trial National Championships in Nottinghamshire on Sunday morning. Miller, the 22-year-old from Taunton in Somerset who rides for Bianchi Hunt Morvélo, made a great start to only her second season of bike racing with victory in the women’s event by around two and a half minutes. Third in the BUCS 25 Championships last season in her first ever time trial, Miller showed great form by winning the women’s road bike title by a good margin from prolific time trial winner Alice Lethbridge (Drag2Zero), while third place went to Banbury Star CC rider Naomi de Pennington. “Being so close to a sub-hour ride is frustrating, but I’ve got to be happy with the win,” said Miller. “I…

Tifosi, the North American eyewear brand, has just launched its first rimless sunglasses, seeking to combine stylish looks with unobstructed vision. The pricing is designed to be competitive, too, with the RRP starting at £79.99, compared to £135.99 for the Smith Reverb, which offers a similar package. With a fashionably oversized lens, the Rail promises maximum protection, while the increased airflow should serve to limit fogging – at least when clipped in and riding. The lens itself is made from a shatterproof and scratch resistant polycarbonate which has been “optically decentred for optimal clarity”. The Rail sunglasses are available in two formats: Interchange and Fototec. The former comes with three lenses supplied, which can be swapped in and out for “bright-, low- and no-light conditions” – to put it simply:…

Former Dutch champion Jan Janssen flies around a corner on stage 11a of the Tour de France in Divonne-les-Bains, with Lac de Divonne in the background. We don’t think we’ve ever had a more stylish picture in this slot in the magazine. From the sublime and subtle colour coordination of his team bike and jersey to his shades, to the classic team car with his DS perched out of the top, everything about it is pure class. You can tell that he’s riding at pace too by the way the car, complete with stylish Janssen name plate, is rolled hard over onto its left wheels. Janssen, said to be a businesslike and straightforward kind of man, had won the Tour two years prior to this picture being taken. But by…

Elisa Balsamo took her first home win in the rainbow jersey at the Trofeo Binda on Sunday, winning the sprint from a group of around 20 women. It was an imperious finish from the Italian, who was hidden by her team for the entire race. After her Trek-Segafredo team-mates had brought her back to the front group in the closing eight kilometres, she was around 10th wheel in the final bend, about 250m from the line. After the tactical masterclass from her team, the 24-year-old put on a sprinting masterclass, staying hidden until she started her sprint about 100 metres later, powering over the top with apparent ease. It was an all-Italian podium, with Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) finishing around two bike lengths down in second, and Soraya Paladin…

“Don’t chase the pain” were the wise words of those who’d gone before him ringing in junior rider Fred Meredith’s ears as he rode to a new junior British Hour Record of 49.184km last week at the Geraint Thomas Velodrome in Newport, Wales. “It was partly from [British Hour record holder] Dan [Bigham] and something I heard on Alex Dowsett’s record; don’t chase the pain. Let it come to you,” said Meredith, whose ride also ranks as an unofficial world record for his age group. “Which was massive. If you chase the pain to the end then you’re just suffering.” Bigham had in fact been key in Meredith’s attempt, to the extent that the 17-year-old from Welshpool was actually riding Bigham’s own Hour record bike. “I saw Dan smash the…

The 2023 Glasgow UCI World Championships celebrated 500 days to go last week by naming Sir Chris Hoy as official ambassador and launching a ‘Champions of the Worlds’ initiative that’s sure to intrigue wannabe volunteers. The event is looking to recruit ‘Champions’ from cycling clubs and communities all over the UK to help spread the word and get people interested in the Worlds, which will run from 3-13 August next year and include road, track and BMX events. “Register to help in delivering something truly groundbreaking” Hoy, along with fellow ambassador, former Olympian and team sprint world champion Shanaze Reade, met the first three ‘Champions of the Worlds’ last week at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow – representatives of three of the city’s cycling clubs and organisations, Soul…

When the Kuota Kebel was issued to me circa 2007, it wasn’t met with the excitement that you might expect. I had made it as a pro-am rider and this was a free team bike – it should have been happy days, right? I was apprehensive to enter into another relationship when I had just started going steady with another bike brand, having recently experienced the heartbreak of having my previous race bike driven into a low barrier while on the top of a car. I remember asking a friend, at that time a professional cyclist in Belgium: “What if I don’t like the bike?” His response made reference to “opportunity and being grateful” albeit wrapped in slightly more colourful language. My concerns proved completely unfounded. The Kuota Kebel is…

Wahoo Kickr Headwind £199.99 A penny under £200 is a lot of money to pay for a fan, but the Wahoo Kickr Headwind isn’t just any old fan – it’s the world’s first smart fan. What makes it smart is its ability to pair with sensors and the Wahoo app so that you can set the level of airflow to change automatically according to how fast you’re going (in the virtual world) or how many bpm your heart is doing. Alternatively, you can control it remotely using your smartphone or manually on the front of the unit. Wahoo says the fan can mimic speeds of over 30mph and that it has a ‘Targeted Airflow Pattern’ that mirrors the shape of a cyclist’s body while riding. Pairing the Headwind with a…

The readers of Cycling were no doubt breathing a collective sigh of relief as the end of the war signalled the end to years of pain, suffering, food shortages and more. But it seemed like they all had just one thing on their mind. When could they finally buy themselves a new bike?! “Be patient a little longer,” the editorial team wrote on their points of view page. “Better bicycles are on the way. This is news that those who have been without new bicycles for six years will be delighted to know.” Not only would there have been material shortages through the war, but many manufacturers had adapted their production lines to build weaponry and equipment needed for war, meaning bike production dropped off. You only have to look…