Innehållsförteckning för December 14, 2017 från Cycling Weekly

The array of cycling kit on offer can be quite baffling. A new clothing company seems to pop up each week while the range of bikes across the disc/non-disc aero/climbing/ endurance variations can make it difficult to make sense of the ranges and how models compare. So we’ve simplified all of that for you, by picking the best. Everything in our Editor’s Choice selection has been tested during the year and has passed with flying colours. If you see it on the following pages, it has our seal of approval. The full selection is on our website. This week we’ve also had to select the big news stories of 2017 and the photos that stopped us in our tracks. For that second feature we started with well over 100 photos…

As cyclists we’re all acutely aware of how vulnerable on the road we are. So statistics released last month showing that there has been a marked downturn in the number of convictions for serious driving offences should be welcome news as they seem to indicate the streets are getting safer for vulnerable road users. But is that the case? What has happened? Figures released by the Department for Transport last month showed a 35 per cent drop in the number of motorists convicted of 28 different types of dangerous, careless, or drunken driving offences between 2011 and 2016. The annual number of convictions fell from 276,000 to 179,000 over the period. What’s bad about it? It depends on whether this is an accurate reflection of life on the road and…

Froome doubles up Masterclass in peak fitness utilisation Chris Froome knew that he had it in him to become the first man to double up at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España in the modern era. His rivals, and cycling fans, knew he had it in him too. It wasn’t a total surprise that he did it, but that doesn’t make his 2017 season any less remarkable. It was a masterclass in managing peak physical condition. It now makes perfect sense that Froome didn’t win a race in the lead-up to the Tour. He and the boffins at Team Sky — led by his coach Tim Kerrison — precisely timed his physical peak to start in Düsseldorf on July 1, giving his rivals a false sense that the…

Bad boy Moscon Sky rider Gianni Moscon made a good case for being bad boy of the year first by being suspended for six weeks for racist comments towards Kévin Reza (FDJ) during the Tour de Romandie. Then he got disqualified for holding onto a team car at the World Championships. Białobłocki DQ’d The Polish time trial rider and national record holder looked to have had a storming ride to lower his own national record in August, but he was promptly disqualified for not sticking to the left of the road when pictures showed him in the middle of the dual carriageway. Sagan out of the Tour First he was second, then he was relegated, then he was disqualified — that was the steady fall of Peter Sagan within hours…

■ BIKE Wilier Cento 10 NDR — features rear suspension for cushioning those extra Xmas pounds. Or how about an Orbea Gain D30 electric road bike? 4nM torque motor will get you up any hill. ■ SHADES Oakley Radar Pace talking shades — produce “personalised and actionable encouragement” if you’re a bit short on motivation in January. ■ STOPPERS Campag disc brakes — Super Record down to Potenza. Brilliant braking for winter’s damp roads. ■ SHOES Northwave Flash TH — like a summer shoe, but insulated and waterproof. Perfect! ■ SUBCOMPACT CHAINSETS Even lower ratios for easier climbing, or Wahoo Climb front elevator — changes the angle of your bike on the turbo so it reflects the gradient of a climb. ■ ILLUMINATION Light and Motion Vibe auto-on lights. Another…

Someone’s enjoying their Australian training camp James Gullen @James_Gullen Jan 12 Solid 173k in the chair today with the @teamjltcondor lads. Enjoy the snow and gales back home #getemin Four years on, Orica still haven’t lived it down Jens Voigt @thejensie Jul 3 Time for my standard joke every year — never gets old. We are safe, the @OricaScott teambus successfully made it through the finishline. Haha Dave and Ned get doubly political over Sagan’s DQ David Millar @millarmind Jul 5 QOTD: @nedboulting regards Sagan, “It’s like BREXIT; just a s**t decision and nobody knows how to correct it.”…

In contrast to the swashbuckling way in which he has raced throughout his 15-year career — not to mention the churning waves of controversy he rode — Alberto Contador slipped away from pro cycling quietly and without fanfare. It may have been something to do with the ‘will he retire or won’t he?’ nature of the last two years, or perhaps the fact he only announced his retirement a month before he called it a day, which he did at the end of the Vuelta a España. But the Spaniard is a naturally quiet character who preferred to let his legs do the talking, and his departure from the sport reflected that. His racing style over seven Grand Tour wins — two Tours, two Giri and three Vuelta — will…

Nationality: Austrian Age: 30 Cycling background: Originally a mountain biker, Deniflmoved to road and turned professional with Team Volksbank in 2004, subsequently spending time with Cervélo Test Team, Leopard Trek, Vacansoleil-DCM and IAM Cycling. Why he joined Aqua Blue Sport: “Because the team believed in me and their project sounded super-exciting. With a new team you can also grow and contribute your experience.” His impression of the team? “Having only 16 riders is different. Bigger teams tend to have cliques: specialists like the sprinters or the climbers and so on. At Aqua Blue Sport we all support each other and have fun. I had my best season ever with them.” His view of Tim Barry as a directeur sportif: “He needed the early races to settle into the role. He is…

Campagnolo Super Record H11 disc brake groupset It may have taken a while to get its disc brakes to market, but we’ve had a couple of bikes in recently equipped with Campagnolo’s top-of-the-line disc brakeequipped mechanical groupset. Watch out for a rather special Festka specced with it. www.chickencyclekit.co.uk Price: £2,507.00 Review: February Giro Empire E70 Knit shoes Giro says its new knitted lace-ups offer unparalleled comfort and breathability. We’re all for the former, but the latter may be a bit much until things warm up a bit or we head to a launch somewhere a bit warmer. www.zyrofisher.co.uk Price: £199.99 Review: January Santini H Way Windstopper jacket It missed our winter jackets test this issue but we’ll definitely be donning Santini’s new model next month, which the Italian brand says is good…

AS RIDER 1988 1st Stage 6 Tour de France 1st Stage 12 Vuelta a España 1989 1st overall Tour of Belgium 1992 1st road race, National Road Championships 1994 Tour de France — held yellow jersey after stage six 1997 1st National 50-mile Championship 2000 1st World Masters Pursuit Championship AS DIRECTEUR SPORTIF 2005 Giro d’Italia, with Discovery Channel — Paolo Salvoldelli 1st 2008 Giro d’Italia, with Astana — Alberto Contador 1st 2012 Tour de France, with Sky — Bradley Wiggins 1st…

SPONSORED BY Oh, not again,” mutters Tony Milsom, one of Brighton Mitre CC’s social secretaries, on the steep ascent of Chilling Street, as he comes to a halt. As the rest of us regroup after suffering to the top of the climb, with the steam train of the Bluebell Railway chugging along in the distance, it becomes clear that Milsom’s crank has broken. Before his ride-ending mechanical, Milsom had been telling me all about the activities the club are involved in organising. Day trips across to France are a regular occurrence, as are club runs followed by an afternoon in a cafe watching Tour de France stages, and every spring there is a training week in Denia, Spain. “We also have the standard AGM and the club awards night —…

doctorhutch_cycling@timeinc.com I remember pro team jerseys from the 1990s. They were brilliant, by which I mean they were terrible. The best, by which I mean the worst, were a random collage of sponsors’ logos, apparently assembled by an especially ungifted four-year-old who was in a hurry. The worst, by which I mean you honestly wouldn’t have believed them if you’d seen them, were generally the same but with an attempt at humour. My favourite was the Castorama kit that was designed to look like a pair of dungarees, because Castorama was a DIY store. (Don’t worry that you haven’t got the joke, you have, or at least you’ve got all the joke there actually is.) Kit has changed, though. Back then the idea was to get you to notice the…

STAR LETTER Keep on rolling I was thrilled when noticing the old picture on roller racing in your December 12 magazine to recognise the photograph and some of the people. I am the junior on the left roller. Mick Ives and Rick Stanforth are near the blackboard. Also to Mick’s right is Charlie Viner (laughing) a prolific promoter of road, track and time trial events in the 60s and 70s. This event took place on a Coventry CC club night. I am a little sceptical of the date as I was 20 years old in 1967 and believe this to be at least five years earlier. This is not a criticism merely an observation. Keep the old pics coming. Geoff Tatton, email Put a lid on it Having just read…

Many said Chantal Blaak’s rainbow jersey victory was the best race of the Bergen World Championships. By the time she made her decisive move we had already witnessed a fascinating race. Weeks before, those watching La Course witnessed a different but equally impressive event, and stage four of the Ladies Tour of Norway was as good a day’s racing as you are likely to see. These races provide an entertaining insight, but the peloton does not just up their game for the sake of television. In an era when women’s racing is still struggling with issues of equality, anyone who has watched a Women’s WorldTour race will surely agree that they are punching well above their weight. However, until they are broadcast more widely, spectacles like Blaak’s Bergen victory and…

Sagan & co. jacket crash at Flanders Riding in the gutter at the Classics is always a gamble and Sagan found out in spectacular style when, travelling at full clip up the Oude Kwaremont in the Tour of Flanders, his handlebar caught a jacket and sent him tumbling to the floor. Fellow chasers Greg Van Avermaet and Oliver Naesen had nowhere to go but onto the deck. Sky’s TT wheels collapse Gianni Moscon got little warning when his wheel collapsed mid-team time trial on the opening day of Tirreno-Adriatico. Luckily he wasn’t in the middle of the line or it could have been much worse. His team-mates Mikel Landa and Diego Rosa also had similar, but less catastrophic, problems, so in some respects this was a near-miss for the team.…

After the UCI abandoned its disc brake trial midway through 2016, it returned once again in 2017 with mixed success. Tom Boonen took the opportunity in his farewell season to become the first ever rider to win a professional race on disc brakes, at the Vuelta a San Juan in January. That was before his Quick Step Floors team-mate Marcel Kittel created history on stage two of the Tour de France by becoming the first rider to win a Grand Tour stage on disc brakes. However, a crash at the Abu Dhabi Tour led to the suggestion that the disc on Kittel’s bike cut through Sky’s Owain Doull’s shoe. On closer analysis it looked more likely that a rusty barrier, not a disc, had caused the cut.…

1 One Pro rider Hayden McCormick toasted rival Dan Fleeman’s win at CiCLE classic in unusual style. What did he do? 2 Why was Peter Sagan’s sprint win on stage three of the Tour de France particularly impressive? 3 Who was the first British rider to get an international win in 2017? 4 What is the name of Jason and Laura Kenny’s son who was born in August? 5 How many Dutch winners of the Giro have there been? 6 Who won the Ride London- Surrey Classic? 7 Who won the Tour of Britain? 8 Who was the highest finishing British woman in the Worlds road race this year and where did she finish? 9 Luke Rowe finished lanterne rouge at the Tour de France, but which fellow Brit was…

Dan Bigham dominated the CTT National Championship. In June he picked up his first title at the National Circuit Time Trial Championships, then went on to claim the team prize the following weekend alongside Charlie Tanfield and Simon Wilson. The weekend after that, he won the National 50, and went on to take the ‘25’ and ‘10’ titles a month later. In the women’s side of the sport Hayley Simmonds (WNT) successfully defended her 10 and 25-mile titles, and claimed the circuit championships, while Kate Allen (Drag2Zero) claimed the 50. Alice Lethbridge (Drag2Zero) won the 100-mile and 12-hour champs — the latter beating Beryl Burton’s record — while Jasmijn Muller (Born to Bike) won the National 24.…

By the time Lizzie Deignan had won the 2016 Tour of Flanders they had five Women’s WorldTour successes and three other wins under their belt. But this year team manager Danny Stam was biding his time. Boels Rental sponsors all three Ardennes Classics, and along with Dolmans Landscaping is based in the area. Those races would be the targets. Their 11 women duly obliged, Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen expertly bagging all three, with Deignan second in each. Van der Breggen won both the Tour of California and the Giro Rosa, and while victory in the Vårgårda team time trial did not bring a second successive World Championship in the discipline, they won the WorldTour individual and team rankings at a canter. Tweets of the year Even the greatest…

MAKE THE MOST OF WINTER What The classic softshell winter jacket prioritises staying warm on cold, dry midwinter days. It will generally have windproof panels on the outside and be insulating on the inside. Gore Windstopper fabric or similar is often used for the wind and weather-facing areas of a softshell jacket: it has a fleecy lining, a windproof membrane in the middle and a breathable outer layer that is also water-resistant but not waterproof, often treated with a DWR (durable water repellent) coating. Commonly the fabrics used for the areas of the softshell jacket not directly exposed to the wind — such as on the back — are soft, stretchy and not waterresistant. If you want a jacket that copes with all weather conditions you’ll likely need to pay more…

“He has always been late, disorganised and forgetful,” says Mary Whitaker, turning to her husband Richard Fried, “and we love you for it.” Mary is explaining how Richard’s lapses, initially attributed to his lovably laid-back character, steadily became more serious. “He would leave me standing on platforms and would forget to pick the kids up; he seemed disengaged from us... Every attempt to leave the house would take half an hour because Richard had lost his keys, wallet or bag.” I want to know from Richard himself: had he recognised these changes? He takes his time, shaping his reply slowly but precisely. “It is difficult to pin down, but yes, my ability to recall was faltering. I’d know I was supposed to be doing something but would find myself distracted,…

65 MILES 1 Bluebell Railway It’s not guaranteed that you’ll spot the steam trains running locally while cycling through the area, but you may see the steam rising on the horizon. 2 Kidds Hill Known locally as ‘The Wall’, this climb features in the 100 Greatest Climbs book, and is brutal. But the view from the top is breathtaking — literally! 3 Ditchling Beacon Famous for past appearances in the Tour de France (1994) and Tour of Britain (2014). Don’t expect a KOM as Lars Petter Nordhaug, then of Sky, took it in 2014 (3.57). Favourite cafe Stan’s Bike Shack is a rest-stop and meeting place for cyclists and ramblers (not visited on this ride), located in West Sussex. It has a great range of tea, speciality coffee, hot chocolate…

In the early days of cycling, with roads that were frequently impassable for months due to bad weather, most clubs decided that they needed something a bit more than just a meeting place and a time. So they hired clubrooms. Sometimes above a shop, or behind a pub, they were just places where they could go to socialise and discuss cycling. Most of them had newspapers. Often they had other Victorian sporting pastimes available, like a boxing ring or some swords for a bit of casual fencing. Many clubs found their clubrooms so convivial that they almost abandoned actual cycling in favour of reading the paper and occasionally attempting to run their friends through with a borrowed sabre. Some modern clubs have retained clubrooms, in the form of huts, rented…

“Even the time we spent avoiding ice at the top of Mount Tiede, staying in the middle of nowhere and not getting home until December 23, was fantastic” This week I’m on a training camp with my British Cycling team-mates in Portugal. It’s fantastic. Not Portugal per se, or even this particular camp; all camps, ever, are fantastic. Even the fortnight we spent avoiding ice at the top of Mount Tiede in 2014, riding stupid-long days, staying in the middle of nowhere and not getting home until December 23, was fantastic. I remember being very upset at losing 4kg and feeling sure I had spent two weeks getting slow (for I had spent two weeks going slow). I would not recommend such a camp and never plan to return myself.…

Insult to injury Alex Dowsett @alexdowsett Jan 31 The nose of my saddle felt like it entered my bum today in a crash near miss, defi- nitely in no rush for that to happen again. Peace out Peto Peter Sagan @petosagan March 21 People in the Netherlands go to work in a peloton... Maybe more people should be doing it around the world #CycleToWork Mothers can be sensitive about these things Daan Olivier @DaanOlivier June 14 Think I’d better not tell my mom that I went 119kph downhill in today’s stage in @tds...…

Toilet hacks no.838 Joe Dombrowski @JoeDombro June 17 There was beer in the anti-doping tent yesterday after the stage and I drank it. Had to pee instantly. Guess that’s the trick! Should’ve read Joe’s tweet! Owain Doull @owaindoull June 27 Another crazy night, sat watching Love Island with Anti Doping because I can’t pee National pride Geraint Thomas @GeraintThomas86 June 26 No other country can queue like the Brits. Makes me proud and totally p***ed off in equal measure…

■ Serge Baguet (47) — Belgian TdF stage winner with Lotto ■ Charlie Craig (15) — U16 National Trophy champion and Team GB apprentice ■ Phil Edwards (67) — domestique for Francesco Moser, influential distributor ■ Dmitriy Grabovskyy (31) — Ukrainian former Quick Step rider ■ Mike Hall (35) — prolific ultraendurance racer ■ Ken Russell (87) — Tour of Britain winner 1952 ■ Pete Ryalls (79) — pioneering British Tour de France rider ■ Michele Scarponi (37) — pro rider for Astana ■ Steve Tilford (57) — US mtb and cyclo-cross legend ■ Bjarne Vanacker (20) — Belgian pro at EFC-L&R-Vulsteke ■ Hein Verbruggen (75) — former UCI president ■ Roger Walkowiak (89) — French Tour de France winner 1956 ■ Graham Webb (73) — amateur world road race…

Hmm — we’ll keep an eye out for these... Katie Archibald @_katiearchibald Nov 13 Train to Glasgow heavy delayed but it’s all good cause I’ve bashed out like 12 “I’m just sat on a train...” emergency CW columns. My apologies if any of these get printed. Doing porridge Conor Dunne @conordunnealot October 10 Happy world porridge day! May the oats be strong and your toppings plentiful. Tentatively looking forward to the Binckbank Tour Marcel Kittel @marcelkittel Aug 5 Time to get some pain again in the legs! Not sure where I stand condition-wise.…

Beryl Burton dominated the sport during a career spanning four decades. Especially effective against the clock, she amassed numerous records, but also two world road race and five individual pursuit World Championships. After 50 years, arguably the country’s most accomplished cyclist lost her last remaining record. In 1967 she beat the 12-hour standard she set eight years earlier, posting a distance of 277.25 miles. This August, Alice Lethbridge (Drag2Zero) beat that distance, riding 285.64 miles. Burton’s monumental ride overshadowed the men’s record also set that day, and it took her male contemporaries two years to overtake her. All this without the technological advantages available to Lethbridge. Hers, though, is a notable achievement. While Burton was hugely experienced in the event, it was Lethbridge’s first ‘12’, and though Burton had been…

There are not many riders who could have the year that Peter Sagan had and still look back with regret and wonder ‘what if?’ Winning the World Championship for a third time put Sagan into a league of his own in terms of results, although the fun-loving rock ‘n’ roll star of professional cycling was already there in terms of his character and celebrity. With a bit more good luck Sagan could have been looking at an annus mirabilis. He was narrowly pipped to second place in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Milan- San Remo, and was brought down by a spectator’s stray jacket in the Tour of Flanders. “Destiny didn’t want it,” the Slovak said afterwards. Destiny, it seems, is often the only thing that can get in the way…

Aveteran of 12 Tours de France and having presided over Bradley Wiggins’s Tour win as Team Sky’s directeur sportif, there are few better British cyclists with as much riding and coaching knowledge as Sean Yates. Winner of both a Tour and a Vuelta a España stage, Yates raced professionally from 1982 to 1996, and was the 1992 British road race champion. Since hanging up his wheels, he has been a directeur sportif at eight teams, latterly Tinkoff for two years from 2015. Back home in the UK, Yates is a coach at the popular and highly regarded TrainSharp outfit, which is used and trusted by local time triallists to WorldTour riders. Here, Yates dips into his four decades of knowledge to give CW 14 fitness tips to aid every rider.…

The couple’s bikes were built by their son, Felix Fried, who has evidently inherited their passion for cycling and design. “I’d started cycling to school, just to save money on train fares,” says the 27-year-old Design and Craft student. “I borrowed Dad’s old road bike, tarted it up, tweaked the gears, and got into the mechanics of it. Dad was always very encouraging, gently pointing me in the right direction.” Seeing his parents’ stress and worry over Richard’s symptoms motivated Felix to craft two special gifts. “My sister and I had just left home, and they were kicking around not really knowing what to do with themselves. I thought they should pick up where they left off and crack on with the cycling holidays, but the bikes they had weren’t…

Snowdon Sports Braam Merlier returned to the UK and gave his world ranking a boost with a convincing victory at Bradford’s Peel Park. The 24-year-old Belgian, who is ranked 92nd in the world, also won the previous National Series round in Kent but was faced with a more technical and muddy course on this occasion. Merlier was brought down on the opening bends after American Jeremy Durrin (Neon Velo) came down. Series leader Ian Field (Hargroves-Ridley) also hit the deck and would eventually finish fourth; enough to secure the overall series win with one round remaining. Once the favourites re-formed at the front, only Wheelbase-Altura-MGD rider Lewis Craven could live with the power of the Belgian. That was until the mid-way point when Merlier pulled out a gap which he…