Indholdsfortegnelse for August 29, 2024 i Cycling Weekly

REMCO EVENEPOEL Soudal-Quick Step, Bel, 24 ToB starts: 0 The Olympic road race and time trial gold medallist competes in Britain for the first time since becoming time trial world champion in Glasgow last August. Still only 24, Evenepoel is the outstanding favourite to triumph in what will be his first ever participation in the Tour of Britain. As well as aiming for overall victory, the Tour de France’s third-placed finisher and best young rider will also be targeting stage wins along the way. Stages two and three seem primed for one of his trademark solo attacks in the final hour of racing, especially with bonus seconds available for the first three riders to summit the last climb on each day. Supported by a very strong Soudal-Quick Step team, Evenepoel,…

The second stage is set to be another one for the climbers as the race heads into the North York Moors National Park and takes on a handful of ascents around the coastline surrounding Whitby, before the finish in Redcar. After the riders roll out of Darlington, the race travels through Middleton St George, Eaglescliffe, Yarm and Stokesley on the way to the moors. With the day’s first intermediate sprint out of the way at Stokesley, the peloton travels east to take on several unclassified climbs around the villages of Commondale, Castleton and Danby, before reaching the first categorised King of the Mountains climb at Ugglebarnby, a short, sharp 1km ascent averaging 8% gradient. The race then heads down to sea level at Robin Hood’s Bay, before climbing up Raw…

The penultimate stage sees the men’s race visit West Northamptonshire for the first time as the town of Northampton gets to play host to both the start and finish of stage five. Even though it will be the first time the Tour of Britain Men has visited the county, the Women’s Tour has visited on three previous occasions – once in May 2014, and then again in 2017 and 2018. Two categorised climbs feature on the route, Bullshill and Newnham Hill, which are both category-three ascents, and they are the final climbing tests of the 2024 edition of the race. Fans heading to Northamptonshire to catch the race in person will find that the day is ideally suited to spectators, with minimal travel needed between the start and finish locations.…

When the latest Liv Langma debuted in mid-June, I recognised it would become one of the most attractive bikes in the pro peloton. It was ridden by the Liv Alula Jayco team at the Giro d’Italia Women, with a handful of top-10 finishes by Mavi Garcia helping to secure the overall team victory. It’s time to take a deep dive into the climbing bike’s DNA – how it’s made, and, most importantly, how it rides. CONSTRUCTION The third generation of the Liv Langma – first released in 2017 – mirrors many of the construction techniques and materials from the latest Giant TCR. There have been no changes to the racing geometry and the small Liv Langma Advanced Pro 0 used in this review has a 524mm top tube length, 377mm…

Wet and windy conditions made for tough going for some TT events over the weekend. Saturday saw some races cancelled, while other riders saw their times impacted by gusty winds. Veteran rider Conrad Moss (Nopinz) described conditions in Cornwall as “horrible” on Sunday after he took victory in the Giant Helston/Tri Logic event over 50 miles. The 49-year-old finished over two minutes clear of his nearest opponent after clocking 1-42-26 over an undulating course through Bodmin Moor, while Rose Willis (St Austell Wh) was quickest woman. Conditions were also gusty at the North Shropshire Wheelers 25 where Deb Hutson-Lumb (Wrekinsport CC) and David Griffiths (Oswestry Paragon CC) battled to victories. Despite the tough conditions and undulating course, road bike competitor Mark Lovatt (Congleton CC) clocked a time of 56-56 to…

Very early bike racing was more often than not decided by large margins, because in a whole new sport the spread of ability was very large indeed. The earliest close finish I could find in the records was a track race in London in 1872. Two riders (J.G. Smith and P.R. Robertson) could not be separated at the finish of a five-mile race, “despite both men valiantly spurting the full length of the final straight,” as the report described it. They were awarded first and second by the drawing of lots, and good luck selling that at a blanket Milan-San Remo finish. Other early track racing ‘dead heats’ came about when the rider in a marginal second place was the one the punters had their money on. In these cases,…

In the pantheon of classic British frame-builders, Claud Butler arguably sits front and centre. The self-proclaimed ‘king of the lightweights’ started making frames in South London some time in the late 1920s. By the 1930s his machines were being ridden to success at the Olympics and the Worlds, with his Olympic Sprint and Path models offered to the public throughout the ’40s and ’50s. However, Butler fell into debt and the receivers were eventually called in. In 1958, sniffing an opportunity, Holdsworth, another London frame builder, bought three Claud Butler trademarks – the head badge, the monogram and the signature. As a result the marque lived on, with Holdsworth savvy enough to continue to use Butler’s Olympic pedigree as a marketing tool. For a decade this meant the Olympic Sprint…

Photos: Ed Sykes/SWpix.com Next please The peloton goes shopping at the start of stage six of the Vuelta a España, with the race beginning inside a Carrefour in Jerez. Apparently, it is the first time a race has started within a supermarket, but that feels hard to prove. Into the light Jonas Iversby Hvideberg rides past a Gothic arch during stage one of the Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The Norwegian finished 46th; his team-mate, Fredrik Dversnes, finished first. Track reflection The Chinese junior team seem in contemplative mood during a training session at the Junior Track World Championships at the Luoyang Velodrome in Henan Province, China. Shadowy figure Can you guess who it is from the silhouette? Primož Roglič is cast in shadow as he waits for the red jersey…

For the first time in its 60-year history, the men’s Tour de l’Avenir was won by a British rider last weekend, with Joe Blackmore donning the winner’s yellow jersey. The 21-year-old, who rides professionally for Israel-Premier Tech, took yellow on a tough stage three to La Rosière, lost it on stage four, before claiming it back on the fifth day. He clung on to the race lead on the final stage by just 12 seconds, as Spain’s Pablo Torres launched a solo attack which took 3:43 back on the young Brit. He also won the green jersey in the six-stage race. “It was super close, but I’m so happy,” Blackmore said. “It was a great team effort.” John Herety, GB’s sports director at the race, told CW, “We’re really pleased…

PELLO BILBAO Bahrain-Victorious, Esp, 34 The Basque hasn’t been at his brilliant best this season, but on his day he can get up and down climbs faster than most, and will fancy himself on the more demanding days of this year’s route. He is one of three cards that Bahrain-Victorious have to play. WOUT POELS Bahrain-Victorious, Ned, 36 The veteran Dutchman is one of the Tour of Britain’s modern-day legends, having won a stage in each of the four editions he has ridden, his first victory being all the way back in 2010. In 2018, he narrowly missed out on overall victory. JONAS ABRAHAMSEN Uno-X Mobility, Nor, 28 Previously little known, Abrahamsen became a cult hero during the Tour de France for his regular presence in breakaways and for wearing…

The third stage of this year’s race will provide yet another tough climbing test, with more than 2,700m of elevation gain across a series of punchy climbs. The riders face three main King of the Mountains ascents at Loxley, Oughtibridge and Hound Hill on the outskirts of the finish in Barnsley. Starting from Arundel Gate in Sheffield city centre, the race heads north to Barnsley via Rotherham and Doncaster. The climbing kicks off almost immediately in the heart of the Peak District. The first climb, Long Lane near Loxley, comes after just 20km of racing. Despite being just 1km in length, Long Lane packs a punch with an average gradient of 9%. A descent follows before Jawbone Hill, near Oughtibridge, which at 1.7km with an average gradient of 9%, is…

After hosting an actionpacked stage last year, won by Wout van Aert, the coastal Suffolk town of Felixstowe will mark the finale of this year’s race. While there will be just 817m of climbing, it doesn’t mean there is no threat of losing time on the final day. The coastal roads that feature are bound to provide plenty of North Sea wind for the peloton to contend with. As well as the risk of crosswinds developing, the three intermediate sprints at Beccles, Aldeburgh and Grundisburgh all offer bonus seconds, which may prove invaluable if the time gaps are still close. The stage starts on Lowestoft promenade, and then heads inland via Beccles and Bungay before reaching some of the county’s best-known villages and market towns. It’s then out through Halesworth,…

All-road wheels are nothing new, and we’ve seen both Zipp and Princeton test the waters with wavy wheelsets in the past – most notably Zipp with its NSW range and Princeton with pretty much every wheel in its line-up. The wonderfully evocatively named Sharq – think speed, menace, juvenile hijinks – is, however, a double-first for Fulcrum. The Sharq sits between the brand’s road Speed and gravel Rapid Red product categories while borrowing inspiration from its aero Wind line, too. It’s the first time Fulcrum has produced an all-road wheel, let alone an aero one with a squiggly rim. This is a wheelset for rapid rides down wind-blown, pothole-pocked rural lanes, farm tracks and fast gravel. The fun stuff. New wave Fulcrum says that the aero, wavy rim is 21%…

Location: Birmingham Website: bmcycling. jimdofree.com The story of the jersey The jersey takes its design cues from the two clubs it was formed from – Team Midland Racing and Birmingham CC, featuring both clubs’ logos. The club submitted rough drawings to Endura, who refined them ready to produce. The story of the club BMC was formed in 2014 via the amalgamation of Birmingham CC and Team Midland Racing. The former had been set up in the 1960s by Olympic medallist Tommy Godwin and was based at the now-defunct Salford Velodrome, while the advent of TMR was much more recent – formed in 1999 to facilitate “hassle-free time trial events”. As well as promoting their own summer time trial series, they take part in Audax rides, sportives and gravel rides. The…

Sam Barrow uses his Factor Ostro in road races, criteriums and road bike time trials – including the Buxton Mountain TT where we took this image. “That was quite the day of racing,” he says. “Horizontal hail over the tops was probably the highlight!” The bike features Shimano Ultegra Di2 12-speed and Enve SES 5.6 wheels with GP5000s set up tubeless. Want us to feature your race bike? Send a pic and information to cycling@futurenet.com…

Track sprinter Matthew Richardson is looking forward to “living out his dream” and working with one of his heroes, Jason Kenny, after swapping his nationality from Australia to Great Britain. The 25-year-old, who was born in Kent but moved to Australia with his family when he was nine, announced a shock allegiance switch last week, after winning three medals at the Paris Olympics dressed in green and gold. Considered to be one of the two best track sprinters in the world, alongside the Netherlands’ Harrie Lavreysen, he will now join the GB cycling team and prepare under the tutelage of seven-time Olympic champion Kenny towards the LA Olympics in 2028. “It’s amazing,” Richardson told CW. “I just sit back, pinch myself and think, ‘What is my life? It’s going to…

Welsh road racing ‘unsustainable’ Road racing in Wales is in an “unsustainable” situation, its governing body has said. Beicio Cymru used data to show the sharp drop off in people taking part in road events, putting them in a troubling state. La Vuelta on X Stage seven of the Vuelta a España had an interesting start, as it began in a Carrefour in Jerez. Sadly, the riders didn’t go through the self checkouts 7 Months that Visma-Lease a Bike’s Michel Hessmann has been banned from cycling for an antidoping rule violation, meaning that the German will never ride for the squad again. “When I look back at it, I realise that I don’t think the professional lifestyle suits me that much, and it’s such a dangerous sport. Nowadays, if you’re…

The UK’s premier elite men’s race returns in a new format this September, now run by British Cycling. The Tour of Britain Men looked like it could be in doubt at times over the past year, but it is now back, with news sponsorship too, from Lloyds Bank. A familiar, tough route, which takes place over six stages from Kelso in Scotland to Felixstowe in Suffolk, beginning on 3 September, will see riders tackle a variety of terrain, from lumpy courses in the opening days, to a final fast sprint stage, all on Britain’s grippy roads. The race has lost two stages, and is now a six-day affair, to make it equal with the Tour of Britain Women, which was held in June. Four major WorldTour teams are set to…

The first two stages of the Tour of Britain Men are, according to British Cycling, set to be the hardest in the race’s history with more than 5,000m of elevation gain on the menu as the race kicks off in the Scottish borders before moving into northern England. Stage one takes place solely in the Scottish borders, starting and finishing in the town of Kelso. Once under way, the riders will travel through Coldstream, Melrose, Denholm, Jedburgh and St Boswells on the way back to the finish. The course features three categorised climbs – Scott’s View, Dingleton and Dunion Hill – with the riders tackling the first two twice as part of two loops making up the wider course. Scott’s View is 2.5km in length with a relatively easy average…

The fourth stage sees the Tour of Britain return to Derbyshire for the first time since 2015, and includes a stage start for Derby for the first time in the modern race’s history. As the race heads from Derby to Newark-on-Trent, those who aren’t climbing specialists can enjoy a day of relative respite, with just 1,229m of elevation gain on the menu. The stage features no categorised climbs. After starting outside the Derby track cycling arena, the race passes through an array of local villages and towns, including Elvaston, Borrowash, West Hallam and Heanor, before crossing the county border into Nottinghamshire. Once into Robin Hood county, the race snakes its way through Eastwood, Hucknall, Ravenshead, Blidworth, Southwell and Tuxford, before crossing over the River Trent and continuing southward towards the…

1 It’s more versatile When the original URS was launched five years ago, it was positioned as an adventure gravel bike, rather than a performance gravel bike. This latest iteration builds on that foundation. It’s a machine for bikepacking, exploration, time spent in nature and for having fun hooning about off-road, rather than a performance bike. BMC likes to call it ‘Unrestricted’. The URS is now more versatile than ever, with slacker geometry, more generous tyre clearances and even an electric version to carry you further, faster. There are four distinct model lines: the URS, URS 01, URS 01 LT and electric URS AMP LT, with all but the latter available in a variety of different builds. It’s easiest to think of the URS as the base model and the…

Francesco Moser speeds through the 20km mark in a new record time, at Mexico City’s Olympic Velodrome in January 1984. The Italian, who would go on to win the Giro d’Italia overall that year, had set out to take the five, 10 and 20km records belonging to Eddy Merckx and recorded at the same track, with a view to continuing on for a tilt at the Hour record if he felt good. He clearly did, as he went on to ride 50.808km in the 60 minutes – more than 1.3km further than Merckx’s mark, set in 1972. Four days later Moser tried again, bumping the distance up again to 51.151 at the high-altitude, concrete velodrome. In retrospect it wasn’t a huge surprise, given the aerodynamic nature of his bike, which…