Indholdsfortegnelse for October 26, 2023 i Cycling Weekly

Ultracycling is thriving. There are any number of very, very long bike rides and races available for anyone wishing to test themselves to the limit, from longer standing events such as the Majorca 312 to newer endeavours such as the mixed terrain GB Duro. Conversely, though, the venerable 12-hour time trial could be sliding into oblivion. With just three events run this year the once much-revered ‘half-day’ looks in danger of dying out. A key facet to the ‘12’ is the part it plays in the British Best All-Rounder competition, started by CW and run by Cycling Time Trials (CTT). The competition, inaugurated by this magazine in 1930, features three distances: the 12-hour, 100 miles, and 50 miles. But with so few 12-hour rides around, and the challenge they involve…

Zwift has been the only virtual player in town for most cyclists until now. But gatecrashing the party, and already disrupting the scene by snapping up former Zwift employees and hosting rights, is MyWhoosh. To eagle-eyed readers, MyWhoosh will be a familiar name: a UAEbased company, it has sponsored the UAE Team Emirates cycling team since 2021, its logo occupying very prominent positions on the jerseys and shorts of none other than serial race winner Tadej Pogačar. Founded in 2019 by Akhtar Hashmi, a businessman from the United Arab Emirates, the free-to-use app is headed by Jacob Fraser, a former manager at Zwift who developed its esports programme. Kevin Poulton, a former Zwift lead coach, is tasked with creating its highly acclaimed training plans. Recently, MyWhoosh was awarded the platform…

Indoor training used to be little more than a painful sweat-filled monotony that put fitness well and truly in front of engagement. However, in today’s increasingly virtual world, the grey image of a person training in a dark garage is much more colourful. Zwift, RGT and other platforms have all helped bring a level of gamification to training, and hardware manufacturers have been busy facilitating the new software, whether it’s moving turbo trainers or full-blown smart bikes. The latter is a category mostly aimed at indoor enthusiasts. Costing anywhere from £1,000 to more than £3,000, these pimped-out exercise bikes offer all the functionality you get from the best smart turbo trainers and controllers rolled into one. Premium priced, smart bikes really do need to offer the full package – quality,…

You to cycling? were an Olympic medallist rower – how did you transition I was already using Zwift as a training platform, and cycling was an important form of cross-training as a rower. It was fun too, to go for KOMs, do a race or meet up with rowing team-mates in the virtual world. It was my plan to move into road cycling, so I targeted the 2020 UCI Esports World Championships to try to attract the attention of some of the bigger teams [he won and was signed by Deceuninck-Quick-Step as a stagiaire]. You’ve been on the podium in every Esports World Champs – what makes you such a great indoor racer? First of all, I have a big engine, but e-racing takes away most of the parts that…

The first roads that cyclists rode on were, in the modern nomenclature, unmade. Back then, of course, they were just roads. They were muddy, rutted, if you were lucky they might have some sporadic gravel on them. Despite these features, early riders failed to appreciate them. Cyclists then spent the next 200 years campaigning to make roads better. They demanded Macadam surfaces, the filling in of potholes, the eradication of mud and the installation of proper drainage. In the 1890s some riders in Surrey even started a charity to feed road menders so they’d work harder. (If you’ve ridden in Surrey lately you’ll appreciate this irony.) “Peak smooth” happened in 2007, just before the first edition of the Strade Bianche race over Tuscany’s “white roads”. The instant-classic nature of this…

In among the race motos, the diminutive figure of Jean Robic leads a four-man group up the lower slopes of the Col du Tourmalet on stage 11 of the 1953 Tour de France. The riders had started the stage in nearby Cauterets and would have started climbing the western side of the mountain soon after. It’s hard to tell exactly where they are on the climb, but the topography suggests they are near, or perhaps slightly above, the small town of Barèges from where there is just over 10km to go to the Restaurant du Col du Tourmalet that sits at the mountain’s summit. Robic, nicknamed Le Biquet (kid goat), stood just five feet three inches tall and was therefore in his element on the climbs. Winner of the 1947…

British Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy has said that he sees the emergence of a new golden generation of British female track sprinters. The six-time Olympic gold medallist has been impressed by the nascent squad, which won a gold and a silver medal at the recent World Championships in Glasgow, and now sees them among the favourites going into the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I think the women’s side of things is really, really encouraging,” Hoy told CW at the first round of the UCI Track Champions League in Majorca, Spain, where Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant were all competing. “I think they’ve always had potential, and they’ve always had a big squad, but they’ve lacked one or two stars to sort of break through and be the leaders.”…

Abi Plowman sent a clear message to her rivals for the National Hill-Climb Championships this weekend by smashing the women’s course record on the iconic Nick O’ Pendle climb in Lancashire. The 24-year-old from Lancaster will be on local roads in Sunday’s title race on the Struggle, and heads to the Lake District unbeaten in hill-climbs this season. At just 1.32 kilometres, the Nick O’ Pendle climb has a maximum gradient of 16% as it climbs away from the village of Sabden in the Ribble Valley. The Jadan-Vive le Velo rider took advantage of good conditions and posted a new benchmark time of 4-47. Veteran Victoria Wilkinson (Kendal CC) was second woman, almost a minute behind in 5-44, while Joanna Cebrat (360Cycling) finished third. “The only time I’d been up…

Two former British professionals have called for someone within the UK cycling scene to step in to organise the Perfs Pedal race after it was cancelled last week. Organiser Mick Waite said on Thursday that this year’s 58th edition would be the final time the Hampshirebased National B race was held. The 77-year-old told Cycling Weekly that he was having to retire from his role due to age-related reasons. Waite was clear that the decision was not due to a lack of external funding and that the only other factor was the poor road conditions on the circuit used for the race near to Portsmouth. First held in the 1960s, the race has been won by many prominent riders over the years, including Sean Yates and Alex Dowsett. Yanto Barker,…

The only people that need to be more inclusive when it comes to cycling are drivers. This has always been the most inclusive community. Phil Barletto Perception is often different from reality. Cycling for me has always been very accessible and can be enjoyed by all. Edward Wrench The problem with cycling is that too many people view it as a sport. It’s a low-carbon healthy form of transport. It should be second nature to jump on a bike and commute. Drew Jones We could probably all be a little more inviting at times, but there is one huge factor that is rarely mentioned. That’s the danger of riding on the road. In a dangerous situation someone might need to shout. Also, everyone is worried to some degree about being…

While most indoor riding has never been the greatest spectator sport, roller racing is an exception. A pair of riders – and sometimes more – going hell for leather, legs a blur, for up to a minute is a sight to behold. And with roller races sometimes held in tournament fashion with knockout rounds and culminating in a final, the spectacle only intensifies. The set-up involves two or more sets of rollers arranged side by side and connected to a large dial, positioned either in front of or behind the riders so that the crowd can see their progress. Each of the dial’s hands represents a rider, who are held steady either by a volunteer or a frame attached to the bike. On the ‘go’ signal all hell is let…

Anyone who spends time on a turbo trainer will know the feeling of numb glutes, a stiff lower back or other aches and pains that aren’t there after a bike ride out on the road. Riding an unmoving bike, clamped into a static machine, sees us use our muscles in a subtly different way. And with the growing popularity of indoor training, turbo-related injuries have become ever more widespread. This has been witnessed by former British Cycling physiotherapist Phil Burt, now owner of cycle training and bike-fit company, Phil Burt Innovation. “In the pandemic, indoor cycling just went bonkers,” Burt recalls. “People who had been cycling for 20-plus years were all of a sudden having knee issues and saddle sores. It’s because of how different the loading profile of indoor…

The Neo Bike Plus is Tacx’s first headline product created with new parent company Garmin. It mimics the good looks of the Neo smart trainer line-up. The step-through frame is familiar, stiff and easy to use. The bike comes with two USB ports for charging phones and other devices while you ride – handy if virtual riding or streaming motivational videos. The Neo Bike Plus shares the same internals as the Neo 2t smart trainer with the same Bluetooth, ANT+, and ANT+ FEC connectivity as Neo 2t, as well as the same claimed +/-1% power accuracy, and 2,200W max power output. Its main party piece, however, is the drivetrain system which uses a ‘virtual flywheel’. This allows for both realistic gear change feedback, and feel on virtual descents, and with…

The words ‘crazy’, ‘indoor’ and ‘cyclist’ are commonly found furnishing the same sentence, forming questions like: how does anyone sit on a static bike for hour upon hour without once breaching the four walls of their garage or utility room? For those of us not yet bitten by the indoor cycling bug, it’s tempting to assume that these cycling shut-ins have had a screw come loose. But with smart-trainers gracing more and more homes, it’s apparent that riding indoors is not only acceptable these days but quite the norm. In Cycling Weekly’s recent reader survey, 70% said they train or race indoors at least occasionally. But as we’re about to find out, some riders take virtual reality riding to a level far beyond dodging a drenching outdoors. We speak to…

Team GB’s men’s sprint squad, led by Sir Chris Hoy a decade ago, has found medals harder to come by at major events during this Olympic cycle. Since retiring after Tokyo, seven-time gold medallist Jason Kenny has been at the helm of the team, which took away one bronze medal from the Glasgow World Championships, thanks to Jack Carlin in the match sprint. Success at British Cycling has long been measured by medal tally, but Hoy believes Kenny will not be feeling pressure from his bosses. “He’s not the kind of person that would lie awake at night worrying about anything,” the Scot said of his old team-mate. “In terms of cycling, I think he’s very good at compartmentalising it and turning up and doing the job, and switching off…

Employees at cycling retail giants Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles are “terrified” about the future of their jobs, a source has told Cycling Weekly. The two online brands are understood to be at severe risk of insolvency, after their parent company, Signa Sports United (SSU), lost significant funding this month. Hundreds of employees are now facing redundancy. Last week, SSU’s holding company, Signa Holdings, terminated €150 million of financing guarantees. This blow came after SSU announced its plans to delist from the New York Stock Exchange amid “severe liquidity and profitability challenges”. The Berlin-based company’s portfolio counts more than 80 sites and partners, including big cycling brands like Wiggle, Chain Reaction Cycles, Vitus, Nukeproof and Probikeshop. Since its financing was cut, SSU has closed its bike division offices in the…

While turbo trainers trod their own quiet (or not so quiet) path to popularity and smartness, the good old exercise bike had been lurking in the background and looking on resentfully. Designed for fans of gyms and cardio, the cheaper versions were barely fit for purpose and made even the earliest turbos look wholly inviting. Even the expensive gym versions generally featured an enormous padded seat the size of a bedside table, with an ungainly bolt-upright position. Spin bikes were a natural evolution, geared towards riders who wanted a more classical cycling position. Spin is still hugely popular – but that’s another story. But then came the Wattbike in 2008. A spin bike on steroids, it could accurately measure power and analyse performance. In fact it did it so well…

The Wahoo Kickr Bike Shift is the more wallet-friendly brother of the Wahoo Kickr Bike V2. Its £2,699 price tag makes it £800 cheaper than the Tacx Neo Bike Plus – so has Wahoo cut the right corners? Money saving measures start with the stripping out of the gradient simulation tilting system seen on the Kickr Bike V2, which probably isn’t something anyone will particularly miss. The other big change is a revised drivetrain system which uses an electromagnetic brake alongside an aluminium flywheel, all hidden away in the rear of the bike. Beyond that, the Kickr Bike Shift uses a less expensive steel framework which, as a product that you don’t want to be moving around too much anyway, isn’t something you’ll often notice. What will make itself known,…

Inspired by our interviewees, I decided take on a challenge of my own – a virtual Everesting, eight times up and down Alp du Zwift, to join the hallowed 8,850-metre club. So buoyed up by my chats with bona fide Zwifting fanatics, I could barely imagine breaking a sweat, let alone failing to achieve my goal. What could possible go wrong? My first ascent of the virtual Alp, however, did not paint a promising picture of things to come. The unrelenting nature of climbing (particularly indoors) was something that, after a spring and summer’s worth of unstructured gravel riding, my quadriceps were not prepared for. With a time of 75 minutes, my first ascent was lacklustre, spinning within the 2-3W/kg bracket, keeping a steady heart rate. Using the 12-minute descent…

Ernesto Colnago had already won some of cycling’s biggest prizes: he built Eddy Merckx’s 1972 Hour Record bike and in 1982 Giuseppe Saronni won the World Championships at Goodwood on a Colnago. But when he launched the Master in 1983, the stars quite literally aligned. Can it be pure serendipity that the Master’s steel tubing with its star profile echoes Colnago’s ‘ace of clubs’ logo? The engineering explanation is that in pursuit of stiffer tubing that didn’t incur a weight penalty, Colnago collaborated with Gilberto Colombo, renowned race car chassis designer who had worked with Ferrari, Maserati and Lancia. The resulting ribbed, fluted ‘Gilco’ tubing was claimed to be stiffer along both its vertical and horizontal axes. “Like the tubular body of the automobile, bicycle frames are latticework structures that…