Innehållsförteckning för February 22, 2018 från Cycling Weekly

This week’s Big Question on page 16 asks if cycling has ever introduced you to someone who then changed your life. Unsurprisingly, there are some great stories of people who have gone above and beyond to help others. I say unsurprisingly because of the number of people I’ve met through cycling, many of whom have done something kind to help out a fellow rider. All sports promote camaraderie, but there’s something about cycling that encourages it more than most. Maybe it’s the vulnerability of a stranded cyclist tired and far from home. We’ve all been in that situation and so all know how essential a helping hand can be. I met someone who shaped my cycling life when I first joined the Norwood Paragon nearly 22 years ago. He took…

British rider Dani Rowe is hoping that being on the same team as cycling legend Marianne Vos will help her improve her tactical thinking as she heads into her first season with new team Woawdeals. Rowe joined the Dutch squad over the winter and attended her first training camp with the team in Calpe, Spain, last week. Speaking ahead of the camp she said: “Sometimes last year I felt that my strength was there but I’m struggling with what to do in this or that situation.” She added: “What I’m looking to learn is bike craft and tactical nous to really take a step up. Marianne Vos is clearly one of the most incredible women to come out of pro cycling, not just road but every discipline so if I…

Up-and-coming British road star James Shaw has criticised the UCI for cutting the numbers of riders that each team can field in Grand Tours to eight, claiming it will have a negative impact on young riders making their way in the sport. The 22-year-old Lotto-Soudal rider claims that the ruling, which reduces teams by one rider, means established riders will take the places while others miss out. “I’m obviously at the age where I’d like to think I could make a Grand Tour debut,” said the Nottingham born rider, “but it’s all a bit up in the air. “It’s something that’s on my mind, and that I’d like to do, but the UCI bringing the number down to eight riders for the Grand Tours hasn’t helped at all. I don’t…

1 Teams reduced to eight in Grand Tours and seven in one-day and stage races. This is the big one, with the potential to add a new dynamic to some of the biggest races by making them more difficult to control for the biggest teams. 2 Inflatables will require two generators and two blowers, and will be banned from 2022. With a collapsed flamme rouge having caused a crash for Adam Yates in the 2016 Tour, the UCI has tightened the regulations on large inflatables, before phasing them out completely in 2022. 3 Harsher penalties for ‘sticky bottles’. The timeworn bottle-based tug-of-war between rider and soigneur just got riskier, with new fines of up to £3,900 and a potential monthly ban. These penalties will also apply to riders who jump…

Salvatore Puccio, Team Sky Coming close in the past with top-five finishes at the Giro, Vuelta and Tirreno-Adriatico, the Italian rider is locked into once again riding his home Grand Tour, where an opportunity may well arise for him to showcase his talents and break his race-win duck. Scott Thwaites, Dimension Data Going into his second year on the WorldTour, Thwaites will be looking to build on his respectable results in the Classics, where he collected a 10th place finish in Strade Bianche and a top-20 finish in Tour of Flanders last year. Ian Boswell, Katusha-Alpecin Top-10 finishes haven’t been hard to come by for Boswell over the last few years, but the 26-year old American — now free from the shackles of Team Sky — will be keen to…

Bont Helix The Australian brand’s new shoe uses a reimagined closure system that routes the cables all the way around and underneath the foot to avoid localised pressure points. It’s also super-light with a carbon ‘chassis’ from Toray. Price: £324.99 Contact: www.bontcycling.com Review: April Specialized S-Works Evade II The new version of Specialized’s aero road helmet is not only six seconds faster than the original but is also claimed to be as cool as a bare head. It also weighs 15-20g less despite a new easy-to-use magnetic closure. Price: £200 Contact: www.specialized.com Review: April Dare2b AEP Chase Out jersey The Dare2b logo has been spotted on some high-profile athletes at Pyeongchang; 2006 Tour winner Oscar Pereiro is the brand ambassador for its cycling range. If spring ever arrives we’ll head out…

How do you spot the only vegan in the room? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you... Or so the joke goes. But veganism seems to be everywhere these days. It’s clearly become trendy, and judging from social media, there’s plenty of interest among cyclists too. To find out what all the fuss is about, I decided to go vegan for the whole of January. I wanted to see whether it would be possible to combine a vegan diet with improving — or at least maintaining — my fitness as an amateur cyclist. David Zabriske and Simon Geschke are notable pro riders who have competed at the highest level on a vegan diet, but they represent a tiny minority among the sport’s top echelon. How would I fare? Would I lose weight,…

1 Don’t preach. No one likes being preached at about what they should and shouldn’t eat. 2 Plan ahead. Reactive eating of any type is not optimal for performance. I made sure I had meal plans in place for two to three days at a time to make sure I was hitting daily calorie and macro-nutrient requirements. 3 Employ a phased approach if you are serious about this as a long-term project. Take meat out of your diet, then fish, i.e. go veggie, then gradually reduce dairy intake until you go full vegan — it takes time to adapt. 4 Use good-quality vegan protein supplements to ensure you get enough protein without unnecessary calories and can recover properly between workouts. 5 Stock up your kitchen. This is key to getting…

What is your favourite training session? I really like long-distance unstructured training rides: not a cafe ride, because I don’t like to stop, but something like six or seven hours at a low intensity. What is your least favourite training session? When I have to train on an indoor trainer, I hate it. I’d rather do nothing — or go out in the rain. How do you stay motivated to train? I don’t have any big problems with motivation to train. It is sometimes hard when the weather is bad and you know you have to do your workout regardless. But on the other hand, I always go out, even when I don’t have great morale, because once I am riding a bike, I like it. What has been your…

The manner of Greg van Avermaet’s victory in stage three of the Tour of Oman last week showed the Olympic champion is ready for the upcoming races of the European spring. Not only was he able to power away from his rivals on the technical, uphill finish to Wadi Dayqah Dam, his BMC team-mates positioned him perfectly, showing they are also prepared for battle. The Belgian had even been leading the GC until Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) snatched overall victory on the decisive Green Mountain summit finish. Van Avermaet will return to Europe this week, taking a couple of easy days to acclimatise after the Middle Eastern heat before Het Nieuwsblad this Saturday. Last year was his second consecutive victory at the event, setting him on course for an extraordinary spring…

Laura Kenny made a victorious return to the track at the weekend, securing the national omnium title in Derby. Kenny, riding for Matrix Pro Cycling, was riding her first competitive race since giving birth to son Albert in August last year. However, it was clear that the time away from competition hadn’t slowed her down as she secured victory in dominant fashion. The four-time Olympic gold medallist racked up 166 points, comfortably beating Jessica Roberts’s total of 132 points and Neah Evans, who accrued 120. Matthew Walls took the men’s crown at the Derby velodrome, beating Team KGF’s Harry Tanfield and fellow 100% Me team-mate Joe Holt. Tanfield’s brother Charlie will be joining Kenny in the British team at the Track World Championships, which start next week in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.…

George Jary, 21 Eiser Hirumet, Durango, Spain Back in Spain? Yes, for my third season. I feel like I have invested so much time into learning Spanish — which I’m pretty fluent in now — and also understanding the races, teams and riders that to change countries would be a needless risk. Different team? Last year’s team offered me another place, but racing for them involved a lot of travelling and staying over in Madrid, whereas my new team are based in the Basque Country. They have also put me up in their team house and let me stay there over the winter, which is a lot better than going home to London. Good winter’s training? It went to plan, there were no setbacks, and I feel really good. Where…

STAR LETTER The saviour of squirrels Last Sunday morning, I was cycling towards Richmond Park along a wide path shared by joggers, cyclists and squirrels. I saw a young lady stooped down with her bike and naturally assumed she had a mechanical. Dutiful, caring chap that I am, I stopped and enquired. It turned out there was no mechanical, instead she had just collided with a squirrel and was busy tending to the stunned creature. I guess most of us would have cycled on but not this tenderhearted young lady! She had packed up the injured squirrel and was heading to the vets to ensure said squirrel had the best possible treatment. How wonderful. Just goes to show how caring we cycling folk really are. Well done to the young…

MEN'S WORLDTOUR &. HC JANUARY 16-21 Santos Tour Down Under AUS 28 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race AUS FEBRUARY 6-10 Dubai Tour UAE 11 Trofeo Laigueglia ESP 11 Clásica de Almería ESP 13-18 Tour of Oman OMA 14-18 Ruta del Sol ESP 14-18 Volta ao Algarve POR 21-25 Abu Dhabi Tour UAE 24 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad BEL 25 Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne BEL MARCH 3 Strade Bianche ITA 4-11 Paris-Nice FRA 4 GP Industria e Artigianato ITA 7-13 Tirreno-Adriatico ITA 11 Ronde van Drenthe NED 14 Danilith Nokere Koerse BEL 16 Hanzarne Classic BEL 17 Milan-San Remo ITA 18 GP de Denain-Porte du Hainaut FRA 18-25 Tour of Langkawi MAS 19-25 Tour of Catalonia ESP 21 Three Days of De Panne BEL 23 Record Bank E3 Harelbeke BEL 25 Ghent-Wevelgem BEL 28…

Cervélo’s engineers wanted to create a bike that would make riders really feel the ride as well as exploring how a bike could feel fast and responsive without being uncomfortable. This they aptly named “the psychology of the ride”, and the R5 frame’s carbon layup lets just enough road resonance through to make the ride feel quick and lively without being jarring. Frame The R5’s geometry chart is really a long list of developments that make it an all-round more aggressive beast, the most drastic of which is the drop in the head tube height from the previous model down to 151mm — an adjustment made for the company’s sponsored pro riders, according to Cervélo, which include Dimension Data. That lowering of the head tube partnered with a lower bottom…

“During 'Veganuary' I made a concerted effort to eat lots of fruit and vegetables, so felt confident I was getting all the minerals and vitamins I needed. However, I am a stickler for eating plentiful protein to aid recovery, and vegans are often advised to take vitamin B12 too — so I took the precaution of ordering some supplements. “Some of the protein powders I tried were not to my taste, but I found some great products too, some of which I will continue to use. Healthspan Complete Vegan Protein (£24.99 per 1kg, healthspan.co.uk) is made from a mixture of pea, pumpkin and organic brown rice proteins. It contains all the amino acids in addition to vitamins (including B12). Crucially, it tastes neutral and mixes well. Healthspan also offers flavour…

For a rider who won the Cyclo-cross World Championship title three times before transitioning to the road, Zdenek Stybar is perhaps underrated on the WorldTour stage. He won Strade Bianche in 2015, a year in which he also took a Tour de France stage win. Since that breakthrough year, Stybar has been striving to break his Monument duck, with a second place result at Paris-Roubaix last year (matching his 2015 finish). In 2018 the 32-year-old Czech national champion will be looking to stand on the top step of a podium, with the cobbled Classics bringing his best opportunities. M Easy ride I just went out for an easy hour ride on New Year’s Day. I didn’t do anything crazy the night before; I was just alone with my wife, enjoying…

You know you are heading somewhere with deep connections to cycling when the road leading to your meeting point at Aldersley Leisure Village is named Hugh Porter Way. The stalwart of 60s track cycling, better known nowadays for his TV commentary, is still a local lad and a life-long member of the Wheelers. We’re met by Robin Kyte, the current chairman, who beckons us inside to the cafe as it’s frankly freezing outside. Kyte tells us, “It’s not just a position but a privilege to look after this club. I’ve been a member for more years than I care to remember and I’m so pleased to see the growth and high standards we produce bring such results and camaraderie among the club’s members.” The cafe area is starting to fill…

Saturday February 17 Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) completed his near-domination of this season’s Superprestige Trophy, winning the eighth and final round in Middelkerke — his sixth victory in the competition this campaign and with it wrapping up the overall series for a third time. In the U23 race, Briton Tom Pidcock (Telenet-Fidea Lions) soloed to success, winning by 13 seconds. Sanne Cant (Corendon-Circus) won the women’s race. Sunday, February 18 Direct Energie’s Jonathan Hivert swept all before him to win both stages and the overall classification at the Tour du Haut Var Matin. The Frenchman, 32, already has two top-10 GC placings in 2018, and he topped the leader board in southern France courtesy of narrowly winning the first stage and winning from a three-man break on stage…

Geraint Thomas showed blistering early-season form at the Volta ao Algarve last week despite losing out on the overall win to team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski. Thomas had captured the race’s yellow jersey with an impressive ride in the stage-three individual time trial. The Welshman won the 20km time trial in 24.09, 22 seconds ahead of Kwiatkowski and 27 ahead of former time trial world champion Tony Martin. At the time Thomas was clearly surprised by how well he had done, tweeting, “I didn’t expect this.” But on the final stage a large break of 31 riders, including Kwiatkowski, escaped up the road and built up a substantial lead. Stuck in the peloton and unable to catch the group, Thomas had to settle for second on GC after his team-mate attacked with…

“When I want to meet up with my mother I’ll text her and say, ‘Want to cook me dinner tonight?’ And she continually puts up with it — it’s outrageous” When I want to meet up with a friend I’ll text them and say, “Want to go get Thai food tonight?” When I want to meet up with my mother I’ll text her and say, “Want to cook me dinner tonight?” And she continually puts up with it — it’s outrageous. I remember one such night when my dad (who didn’t live with us) had used this same meet-up method (“Shall we do dinner tonight?” meaning, “I’m coming round at 7pm for you to feed me”) and brought his godson. Once they had arrived and sat nibbling cashews at the…

Chris Froome, Team Sky rider “David Rozman, the Slovenian soigneur I work with most of time. He is a magician, you can get off the bike as if your legs are in several different pieces and after a two-hour session on the massage table everything works again.” Chris Opie, Canyon-Eisberg rider “Long days of racing fuelled at times by gloopy energy products, coupled with long transfers and little spare time, one thing I can’t survive without is my electric toothbrush and my bizzare love for experimenting with every different type of toothpaste I can find.” Max Sciandri, BMC directeur sportif “Chewing gum. Always mint, not too strong. I’m not like a lot of guys with the ipads and stuff; I’m not a massive fan of that kind of thing, I…

What Thermal shorts are made from a thicker Lycra than standard bibshorts, often using a fleece-backed Roubaix-style fabric. Some are windproof and have a DWR coating to keep out spray. Often the body or ‘bib’ will be higher than that of regular summer shorts to eliminate draughty gaps. The Endura shorts in this test feature a bibtights-style zip up the front of their higher body. Some manufacturers take an original approach: Castelli’s thermal shorts are longer on the fronts than the backs to give extra protection down to the knee. Why Paired with decent leg-warmers, there’s nothing snugger than thermal bibshorts in the cold and we would often choose them over a pair of regular bibtights. Especially for fast-paced winter rides, thermal shorts and leg-warmers can give you that perfect…

What level do you ride at? I'm going into my third year as an under-23, and was racing with Neon Velo until the end of last year [when the road team disbanded]. I’m currently at university, so aiming to get a pro contract for 2019. Why did you go vegan? For environmental rather than nutritional reasons. I'm studying climate change, and learning that if everyone followed a plant-based diet we’d be able to feed hundreds of millions more people was enough to convince me. Was it challenging? At first, yes, as I’d grown up going to training camps and paying attention to what professional cyclists were eating — loads of eggs and dairy. It was a gradual transition. First I cut out cow’s milk, then realised there were loads of…

53 MILES 1 Boscobel and Royal Oak After the urban sprawl of Wolverhampton comes the rolling countryside of Staffordshire and Boscobel House. In the grounds are the Royal Oak, where King Charles II hid during the Civil War. 2 Badger Dipping into the third county of the day, you will pass through one of the most picturesque villages in Shropshire, with its large thatched house and pond in the front as you sweep through. 3 Aldersley Velodrome In keeping with the racing heritage of the club, the ride ends with a lap or two of the velodrome, a chance for those with a little bit left to outsprint their mates for bragging rights. Favourite cafe Although the Spider’s Web cafe isn’t quite as old as the Wheelers, it has been…

doctorhutch_cycling@timeinc.com It is reliability trial season. If you’re unclear on what a reliability trial is, you are not alone. I’ve done at least a dozen over the years, and I’m still hazy on the matter. I know they’re supposed to be a chance to demonstrate your reliability. There is meant to be some stuff about checkpoints and target average speeds. But most of the ones I’ve ever done were just a burn-up — an unlicensed race with no marshals, no commissaires and, practically speaking, no rules. They’re not all like that. Some are worse. Some are there to simply make you unhappy through whatever means necessary. It’s the “trial” bit you need to worry about, not the “reliability” bit. My friend Bernard was once permitted to organise a reliability trial.…