Indholdsfortegnelse for September 28, 2023 i Cycling Weekly

Amaster cyclo-cross rider who won over 250 races during a lifetime of racing died while out training recently. Steve Knight was known as the ‘King of Sutton Park’ after winning the 1999 CX National Championships on his home turf. Knight started winning CX races as a youth at his home Manor Stadium course in Halesowen, going on to win national honours and countless regional accolades. The current British masters cyclo-cross champion was preparing for another season of defending his West Midlands CX League title when he suffered a medical incident while out training. Knight came to prominence on the elite stage and medalled in the National Champs twice behind Barrie Clarke and Nick Craig in 1997 and 1998 respectively. The amateur rider, who often worked six days a week, had…

David Lappartient bangs his fist on the table. The president of the UCI, the sport’s governing body, wants to hammer home his message. “We have a green tool: the bicycle,” he says. “We have to be green ourselves.” As the world grapples with the climate crisis, cycle racing – like every other aspect of life – is caught in its crosshairs. Racing in summer is becoming so hot that this August a stage of the Tour de l’Avenir was forced to start in the morning for riders’ safety. Other races have been affected by flooding, landslides and high winds that seem certain to be a direct consequence of a changing climate. Yet with this as the backdrop, cycling continues to regularly fly its riders around the world, let teams double…

Let’s imagine international bike racing gets its own end-of-season school report this year. For physical endeavour: A+. For spectacular scenery: A+. But when it comes to being eco-friendly, international bike racing would probably rather feed its report to the dog – it would almost certainly be issued with the dreaded ‘could do better’ in angry red capitals. In fairness to the WorldTour, for example, its very nature means its sizeable carbon footprint is not the easiest thing to tackle right now, though the UCI has decreed that it must be carbon neutral by 2030. The Transcontinental Race (TCR), however, is a different beast. Occupying a small corner of cycle sport, along with other ultra-distance unsupported events, it has begun to take overt steps to reduce its effect on the environment…

“It’s over for me now; I’m going on the piss for the next two months,” Geraint Thomas joked at the end of this year’s Giro d’Italia. OK, that wasn’t really the Welshman’s plan for the rest of the summer, but there was a kernel of truth underlying his comment: once the last big race is out of the way, many elite riders have a lay-off period, when they let cut loose and catch up on the rest and leisure they’ve missed out on. “These guys have been under a huge amount of stress, both physiological and psychological during the whole season,” explains Vasilis Anastopoulos, team coach with Soudal-Quick Step who works with the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe. “Many have been away from their families for close to…

There’s a new British cycling star appearing on the scene – and he has quite the sporting surname. Nineteen-year-old Lukas Nerurkar, a stage winner at the Baby Giro this June, is the son of Richard, Britain’s best marathon runner in the 1990s. Now 59, Richard finished fifth at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, aged 32, and his time of 2:08:36 at the London Marathon the following year remains the sixth-fastest time by a Briton. In this new ‘Meet the Maker’ series, we get to know both the sporty parent and their pro cyclist child – to assess the extent to which the maker passed on, by nature and nurture, the ingredients of success. But first, a brief introduction: born in Wolverhampton to an Indian father and English mother, Richard was a…

“Aresponsive machine with a new frame design” was how Cycling’s reviewer ‘Nimrod’ described the Thanet Silverlight in 1948. L. C. Cassell, proprietor of Thanet Cycles of Bristol, based his ideas for his newly registered frame design on a study of crashed aircraft parts during the war, according to this publication. He had observed how aero engines, weighing upwards of a ton, were supported by “comparatively fraillooking” chassis made from light alloy metal and how they not only carried the weight but also resisted the strains imposed by vibration. He set about importing this tech to the standard bicycle frame which, in his opinion, left room for improvement. Cassell believed he could eliminate the whip caused by the standard ‘slung’ bottom bracket shell that’s joined to the down tube, seat tube…

Britain topped the medal table at the European Road Championships as Josh Tarling and Zoe Bäckstedt both claimed European titles. Three of Britain’s four medals came in the time trials. Bäckstedt was the first to claim gold for GB in the Netherlands, winning the under-23 women’s time trial title. The Welshwoman, who has recently joined the Canyon-SR AM squad in a midseason transfer, did it in style, putting nearly a minute into the runner-up, Germany’s Antonia Niedermaier. The daughter of Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Bäckstedt said the course was “very much a power course” with “hardly any technical parts”. Praising the pacing information she received from the team car, she said: “At the first time check, I got the news that I was 15 seconds up and then 30 seconds at…

Giles Drake overcame four years of bad luck to take his maiden win at the Three Peaks this weekend. The prolific cyclo-cross rider had a nearperfect ride to win the 59th edition of the classic 38-mile event that takes in the climbs of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent. Two years ago the Wheelbase CabTech Castelli rider got lost on Ingleborough, losing 12 minutes in the process, prompting him to write ‘don’t get lost’ on his hand when he returned in 2022. While he stayed on course last year he suffered three punctures which saw him drop through the field to finish fourth. But the 39-year-old used the experience gained in previous years to win the iconic event by more than three minutes this year. “I’m absolutely over the moon, it has…

I’ve gone back to riding on my own, just too much like hard work arranging group rides and keeping everyone happy. I’d forgotten the simple pleasure of just getting out on my bike, experiencing the countryside and taking it all in. Nothing beats the solitude – just me, my bike and the road. Chris Pople When I first moved to my new city I did not know anyone or any routes, so I joined a group. It was too slow (the other group was too fast), and some riders were just dangerous. I decided I was better off alone. Marion Rea Hate solo cycling. Company. Laughs. Banter and a connection builds a feel-good factor. A sense of belonging. Weegie Wheeler I am solo 99.9% of the time. The three races…

It will be mandatory for WorldTour teams and races to reduce their carbon emissions by 50% and be carbon neutral by 2030, UCI president David Lappartient told Cycling Weekly earlier this year. If they are not, they will lose their top-tier licence. He said: “Today, the licence commission has to verify if they [teams] have a pay guarantee, have enough money to pay [riders and staff], the sporting level of the team is good enough, if their anti-doping measures are strong, and [in 2030] they will have to reduce their emissions by 50% and be carbon neutral. This will be another mandatory point on the specifications to be a WorldTour team in 2030.” To help teams in this quest, in August the UCI introduced a sustainability impact tracker that measures…

Vasilis Anastopoulos, team coach with Soudal-Quick Step, flags up the key signs that you are in need of a rest from cycling Persistent fatigue: “If you start feeling unusually tired or weak for more than a couple of days, it’s a clear sign that your body needs a break. This fatigue could be physical, mental, or both.” Decreased performance: “Slower times, reduced power output, or struggling to complete your usual routes – any of these may be a sign that your body needs a break to recover and rebuild strength.” Recurrent pain or discomfort: “Frequent aches and pains, especially in the knees, hips, lower back, or neck, can be indicative of overuse injuries. A break can help alleviate these issues and prevent them from becoming chronic.” Mood swings: “Overtraining can…

Bryony Halcrow clinched her first women’s Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross victory at just the second time of trying. Second on her debut last year, the fell runner took a step up the podium at the weekend with a winning time of three hours, 49 minutes and 38 seconds over the gruelling Yorkshire Dales course. Over 10 minutes back was veteran rider Helen Jackson (Kendal Cycle Club) in second, while Hannah Saville (Cyclocrossrider.com) finished third. “I was hungry to come back and win this year,” said Halcrow. “I did the event for the first time last year, but hadn’t really been riding long off-road. “Last year I had a fall on Whernside where I went over the bars and broke the levers on my bike. I had to stop and screw them…

Alice McWilliam, 28, rides for Luxembourg UCI team Hess Cycling. We asked her about the benefits of an end-of-season break CW: How welcome is this year’s endof-season break for you? “Incredibly important, not just to physically recuperate but also mentally. Racing seasons are long, hard and fatiguing. You sacrifice a lot, and so it’s really important to have time to take stock of the season, process and learn from it so you can progress, come back stronger and better the following year – or at least that’s the plan!” CW: What will you do during that downtime? “Party, party, party… only kidding! I really miss my friends during the season so I’ll try and see as many of them as possible and try to visit a new place without lugging…

CYCLO-CROSS SUNDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 59th Three Peaks (Helwith Bridge, North Yorkshire): Men: 1. Giles Drake (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) 3:06.12; 2. O. Dawson (Wolf Cycles) +3.06; 3. T. Simpson (Ratio Technology) +3.07; 4. D. Mirfield (Hope Factory Racing) +3.37; 5. R. Jebb (Hope Factory Racing) +4.46; 6. S. Stephenson (Lakes RC) +11.48. Women: 1. Bryony Halcrow (Hope Factory Racing) 3:49.38; 2. H. Jackson (Kendal CC) +10.36; 3. H. Saville (Cyclocrossrider.com) +31.27; 4. G. Dillon (Shibden CC) +36.00; 5. V. Appleyard (Velofixers) +44.18; 6. B. Jenkinson (Clwb Beicio Egni Eryri) +52.12. Eastern League round two (Neil Pears Memorial, Colchester, Essex): Men: 1. Callum Laborde (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) 55.33; 2. K. Jarvis (Brother UK) +1.10; 3. M. Bolton (Oxford Univ CC) +1.43; 4. C. Hurst (Velo Schils-Interbike) +2.19; 5. T. Lewis (ROTOR Race…

Acompetitor takes on the 20% plus gradients of Brasted Hill near Sevenoaks in Kent. Neither date nor the competitor’s name is captured in the image information but we believe this is from 1944 and the first running of the British National Hill-Climb Championships. A men-only affair back then – in fact it was until 1998 – the inaugural title was won by Frank Worthen of the Manchester Clarion C & AC. The 650-yard course on the southern slopes of the North Downs was brought back into use recently by the Westerham CC, and their 2023 event took place last Sunday. While Brasted Hill was the site of the first hill-climb championships, Yorks Hill, just a few miles to the east, hosts the Catford hill-climb which is the oldest continuing bike…