Innehållsförteckning för January 31, 2019 från Cycling Weekly

This week’s magazine features our last Ride With article, in which we head down to Kent to go out with the Rye and District Wheelers. Ride With has been running since early February 2015 — that’s four years of getting out and riding with you. Almost 200 clubs have welcomed us on their weekly club runs and we’ve had a great time exploring new routes across the country. Even those cold, wet days in the depth of winter when we probably would have otherwise stayed in bed were worth it. Our writers have been out with clubs from Devon to Orkney, from the furthest corner of Kent to Northern Ireland. We’ve been taken on many beautiful routes and enjoyed tea and cake at some of the country’s best cafes. One…

Joe Truman Claimed quite a scalp in the sprint, beating Jason Kenny in the gold medal match in two straight rides. Jason Kenny Despite finishing second best in the sprint and having to race the repêchage in the keirin after thinking he’d won his heat at the bell, he recovered to win the keirin title. He also wrapped up the team sprint title. Laura Kenny A cool, calm and collected Kenny bided her time until just the right moment in the scratch race, hanging GB team-mate Katie Archibald out to dry. She wasn’t as successful in the points race though, where she finished off the podium. Matt Rotherham The sprinting stalwart claimed his first national kilo title since 2011, on top of beating para-cycling tandem records with partner Neil Fachie.…

This weekend the Cyclo-Cross World Championships visits Denmark for only the second time in the event’s 69-year history. Just a few kilometres from the 1998 championships, the course at Bogense was used for a round of the World Cup last season, and has received some minor tweaks following complaints. Riders had protested some sections were unrideable; however, the course retains its character as one for the all-rounder. While the Dutch look set to dominate, with Mathieu van der Poel the favourite for the elite men and a host of Dutchwomen possible winners in the women’s race, British success is possible. European under-23 champion Tom Pidcock is nailed-on favourite for Saturday’s race but missed the final World Cup event in Holland last Sunday where Ben Turner carried the flag, battling to…

Challenge Majorca (January 31-February 3) The traditional start of the European season sees four separate one-day races held on concurrent days on the island of Majorca. The first and last race are tailored towards sprinters and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) won both in 2018. Races two and three, however, are for punchy riders, such as Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), who will be hoping to add to his collection of three victories while Canyon-dhb will carry British hopes. GP La Marseillaise (February 3) The one-day race in the south of France is always an intriguing affair, with the ascent of five cols, the last one topping out 10km from the end. Alexandre Geniez (Ag2r-La Mondiale) is attempting to defend his victory from 12 months ago, but Lilian Calmejane will be one of several…

Easy choice: the EF Education First Pro Cycling kit. It’s different, it stands out and it is just classy. Second choice would be the new Sunweb kit. Tom Mansfield I have the blue Movistar kit, it looks and feels great when riding. I was very happy when I heard they were keeping it for 2019. Craig Sutcliffe Got to be Team Sky. The end of an era and an iconic kit, changed cycling for the better in my opinion; haters will always hate. Andrew Trainor Any pro kit if it comes with a pro contract. Mike Lister My favourite kit is the EF Education First kit but I couldn’t wear it! I would love to ride in the full CCC kit! It’s a classy looking kit! That or the Lotto-Visma…

(BTC City Ljubljana) A month training in the sun “On February 3 I’m flying to Slovenia and we have a couple of days of team launch. I’m not 100 per cent sure that the roads in Slovenia are currently good for riding because they’ve been having some snow, but we’re heading back to Croatia until the 17th for a final team training camp in Poreč. It’s a two-hour drive from Ljubljana and it’s significantly better weather for riding in winter. “Then our plan is that we’re going to try and go to the south of France or Spain for a week pretty much as soon as I get back from Slovenia. “My husband Mark will come with me so he gets a little bit of sun and on my rest…

Now in it’s seventh year, this challenging pedal around the Surrey Hills will show who’s put enough hours in over the winter… This early season hit out is designed to blow away the cobwebs of winter and with a few testing climbs to prime the body for longer rides as the weather starts to improve. As the name suggests the routes twist and turn through the lanes of Surrey, round and round, back and forth and the Epic distance ticks off some serious ascents as it ventures into the wonderful Surrey Hills. All three rides start with a shock as they head skywards after just 10 kilometres with the twin pronged, yet short climb of Hascombe Hill. Following this rude awakening they rise and fall continuously all the way to…

Look’s first dedicated climbing bike was launched on top of its namesake mountain, Alpe d’Huez, just before the 2017 Tour de France. There was so much interest in it that the French brand ran out of demo bikes for foreign journalists to test and I instead grovelled up the 21 famous hairpins — twice — on a spare 765, Look’s entry-level sportive bike, which weighed at least 2kg more than the 5.9kg 785 Huez RS. However, I did get to test the 785 in the UK later that year, and to make up for it I did multiple ascents of Box Hill (which fortunately has only a seventh the number of hairpins) and relished every single one. With its 730g frame, SRAM eTap groupset and Corima 32 MCC S+ wheels,…

DISSENT 133 GLOVE LAYERING SYSTEM £95 Four pairs of gloves of different weight to tailor to the conditions, however wet or cold. NORTHWAVE FLASH TH SHOES £139.99 The Flash has the look of a summer shoe, but is fully enclosed and insulated, so is comfortable in wintry conditions. SPORTFUL FIANDRE CABRIO JACKET £200 The warm, water-resistant Cabrio has a zip-out flap covering the mid-back to add extra warmth.…

1. Enter an event Get a date in the diary for an early season event as a motivator and kick-starter. You will likely not be in peak form, but starting early will help get you fit and sharp quicker. 2. Race on Zwift During the winter, you can forget how tough racing is, so what better way to compete and get that first big race effort done than from the safety of your own garage? 3. Make a plan Plan out your training, and as you start to ramp up your training load, have a rest period pencilled — it’s great to have a rest to look forward to. 4. Book a training camp It’s amazing what a bit of sun can do! If you can afford it, head to…

Cycling Weekly: How long have you been with the club? David Greenwood: I joined in 2015. This is my first proper club. I came down here after I left the army and this is my first real involvement in a club. I got ‘Clubman of the Year’ when I joined, and then I became ride captain in 2017. CW: What does your role involve? DG: Overseeing the rides, checking up on all the ride groups. We have a few rides out in the week so I touch base with them to see how rides are going — general chivvying up of getting people out on club runs, and organising the Captain’s Ride. That involves three rides a year, where we get the weekday and weekend riders out together on the…

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo (January 21-27) André Greipel scored his first victory for his new team Arkéa-Samsic on stage six of the race in Equatorial Guinea. Niccolò Bonifazio (Direct Energie) triumphed in three stages and topped the general classification, too. New Zealand Cycle Classic (January 23-27) British New Zealand-based rider Daniel Whitehouse (EvoPro Racing) finished fourth overall at the five-stage race, which takes place in the Waipa region, was won by his team-mate and former Aqua Blue man Aaron Gate. Cyclo-Cross World Cup Hoogerheide (January 27) Toon Aerts now tops the World Cup standings after finishing second in Holland behind winner Mathieu van der Poel. Lucinda Brand won the women’s race while Brit Ben Turner came third in the U23 race, which was won by Belgian Eli Iserbyt.…

Any idiot can ride into a pothole. But the experienced rider can do it with much more flair, and much greater consequence. Make sure you sight your pothole from as far away as possible. Local councils have helped in many areas of the country by painting a bright yellow ring around the potholes of which they are most proud. (One pothole in Surrey has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and receives annual funding from the EU.) Hit the pothole square on, across its widest practical dimension. You have an important decision to make just before you hit it. If you hold the bars firmly, with full weight on the front end of the bike, you can almost guarantee at least a pinch puncture. With full commitment you…

While I was at home over Christmas I delivered, to the usual appreciation, my annual, “Dad, you really need to clean the chain on your bike” lecture. “I wasn’t going to bother,” he said. “You kind of have to,” I said. “There’s a fellow in the village who has just let his rust. Still seems to work all right.” “Um…” “In fact I asked him about it. He says rust is an almost perfect natural lubricant — in fact that’s why things rust, it’s the best thing for them. You shouldn’t interfere with nature.” I think he was just trying to annoy me. He succeeded.…

Elite men Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Having won all but two of his races this year, it’s hard to see past Van der Poel, but we’ve said that each championships since he won the rainbow jersey in 2015. CW rating: ★★★★★ Wout van Aert (Bel) World champion for the last three years, his recent French World Cup race win shows a return to form in a less than stellar season. CW rating: ★★★★ Toon Aerts (Bel) Beating van Aert at the Belgian Nationals, 25-year-old Aerts is close behind his compatriot in the World Cup standings. CW rating: ★★★ Elite women Marianne Vos (Ned) Back near her best, the six-time world champion has paced her season well, winning the World Cup overall with one race to spare, limiting her racing wisely and only…

Watopia always open Indoor riding platform Zwift has introduced a new feature allowing users to choose the ‘world’ they ride in each time they log on. It’s a move that has been much called for by users; previously they were restricted to the world that was on the calendar that day. From now on Watopia will always be available to ride in, with a choice of another ‘guest’ world each day. Triathlete fined for horse collision A bike rider has been fined for hitting a horse during the cycling leg of last summer’s Royal Windsor Triathlon. Iain Plumb, 32, was found guilty of riding without reasonable consideration for others after he skimmed the horse, causing it to bolt. He was ordered to pay a total of £926, and has been…

The illusion of e-bikes getting lighter is only by giving them lower capacity batteries, which equals less range. The Ribble SLe and Bianchi Aria e-Road come with 250W, 7Ah batteries, good for about one hour at full chat. Even low-end e-bikes come with 10Ah batteries. As a guide, the lightest Cyclotek 250W motor weighs 2.7kg. The largest capacity V-Fiets 36V, 17.5Ah, 630W battery is about 3.8kg and the cabling, controller and display add another 1.5kg. So all up an extra 8kg. It’s not difficult to build your own e-bike. My e-bike is based on a full carbon bike weighing originally about 8kg, with two 17.5Ah batteries giving 1,260W. All up it weighs about 20kg, but good for five hours of ride time at full power. T. Hackwood, email WIN Letter…

Simon Richardson’s advice “For me, the key to getting out the door in winter is taking away the excuses and reasons not to. When I want to make sure of a ride I start preparations the night before: filling my bottles, putting food (bars, bananas, etc) by the bike ready to grab, and laying out clothes on the spare bed. Just knowing that I can get straight out of bed and into my kit, then grab my food before heading out the door is enough to get me out even in bad weather. By making those simple preparations, I’ve committed to the ride. I’m not waking up thinking ‘Hmmm, shall I go out today?’ The decision has already been made. If you want to make your commitment public, post a…

Do the higher levels of fibre in 1 plant-based protein make it less bio-available? Adam Cole (@adamcol02411621) Wholefood plant-based proteins tend to contain lots of fibre, which, if consumed in large quantities, can affect the absorption of energy and minerals. Eating lots of fibre can also affect the excretion of nitrogen from the body, an element involved in protein metabolism, though this isn’t a major concern for most people. Plant-based proteins are less digestible than animal proteins, and some contain anti-nutrients that reduce nutrient absorption from food. Those who eat only plant-based proteins may need to eat a little more protein to offset this reduced digestibility; you also need to make sure your food is cooked well. What is the best 2 way to get all the essential amino acids…

Para-cycling world records were smashed on the boards of the Manchester velodrome on Sunday. Three new marks were set with the para-cycling tandem time trial duo of Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham recording a time of 59.278, while Paralympic champion Jody Cundy broke his own C4 flying 200m record with a mark of 10.485 and Jon-Allan Butterworth set a C5 world record of 10.673 in the same event. Cundy said it was “probably the most perfect 200m,” he’d ever done. He added: “My personal best is from about two years ago and I didn’t think I had any of that speed. We’ve been working on speed in training but it’s not come out. I came round and my coach looked at me like ‘what was that?’” The attention of all…

I’ve spent the last three days at the HSBC UK Track Cycling National Championships. I raced four events and left with four medals, though only one gold. You can assume that any time someone is ‘really happy to medal’ they were third, much like being ‘really happy with a top 12’ means they were 12th. I was really happy to medal in the sprint, the scratch race and the points race, I won the individual pursuit, and I got a top 12 in the race to pee quickest at doping control. This time last year I’d raced five events, won three, and was sat in a toilet cubicle uncontrollably shaking and sobbing. The 2019 Nationals haven’t reaped as good results but I certainly feel a lot better. It was a…

“If you can’t go fast, go stylish,” has been a personal maxim/excuse of mine for years. That might not be a bad motto for amateur riders like me, but it’s not a luxury pros can afford. Nor is it one they get any say in — if they did we can’t imagine some of the abominations featured here would exist. Every season you can spot a dominant trend in pro kit design (do they meet up and the Tour de France and agree all this?). In 2015 it was every colour as long as it was black, 2016 was the dawn of fluoro, which bled over into 2017, which in turn we can see now was the year the beginning of 2019’s big trend started to take hold: the fade.…

Etoile de Bessèges (Feb 6-10) This four-day race has stood the test of time, seeing off races in the Middle East taking riders away, thieves taking bikes away and bad weather forcing cancellations. Based just north of Montpellier, it remains a very French affair. 2018 winner: Tony Gallopin Tour of Oman (Feb 16-21) Only seven WorldTour teams compete this year and few of those are bringing their big-name riders as this six-stage race struggles to stay relevant. Green Mountain features on stage six and will once again decide the GC. 2018 winner: Alexey Lutsenko Volta ao Algarve (Feb 20-24) Team Sky has dominated this race over the last six years and this year all eyes will be on two-time winner Geraint Thomas, who is set to make his return to…

In Finland winter is a way of life. Up in Lapland, the northern third of the country, it officially lasts seven months of the year. Across the whole country, the average temperature in March is just-4.8°C. Even in Helsinki, Finland’s capital on the south coast, there is an average of 98 days’ uninterrupted snow cover each winter. Yet cyclists plough on regardless, often in numbers that put the UK to shame. To find out how they keep their motivation going, and how they keep training, we solicited tips from some of the country’s foremost riders and associations. Matti Koistinen, executive director of the Finnish Cyclists’ Federation “Riding on winter mornings when the sky is clear and the temperature goes down to-15°C is actually a really great experience. White snow lightens…

CYCLO-CROSS SATURDAY, JANUARY 26 North West League (Blakemere Village, Northwich): Senior men: 1. Dave Powell (Horwich CC) 44.58; 2. M. Woffindin (Secret-training.cc) +1.29; 3. R. Rowson (Macclesfield Wheelers) +2.06; 4. T. Koch (Mossley CRT) +3.11: 5. J. McCracken (Salt Ayre Cog Set) +3.20; 6. P. Upton (unattached) +3.34; 7. B. Goodfellow (Wrexham CC) +3.50; 8. E. Gough (Southport CC) +4.25; 9. L. Spreckley (Element Cycling Team) +6.35; 10. J. Peatfield (Horwich CC) +18.3. Women: 1. Nicole Clarke (Birkenhead North End CC) 36.32; 2. A. Rushton (Ribble Valley Juniors) +0.30; 3. K. Poole (Sportstest RT) +1.36. Veterans: 1. James Dalton (Pedalsport CC) 41.33; 2. I. Rutherford (Edge Cycleworks) +1.13; 3. A. Brindle (unattached) +1.14. Notts and Derby League round 11 (Chetwynd Barracks, Nottingham): Senior men: 1. Jonathan Brain (unattached) 46.49; 2.…

I was out for a ride last week with my good friend Bernard, when coming towards us we saw a member of the local university club. He waved. One of us waved back. A few moments later, the same thing happened, with a different member of the club. This is a regular occurrence — there are apparently dozens of members, all out training hard, seemingly all the time, but all doing it alone. Or perhaps they do not like each other very much. Or perhaps they suffer from the sort of social awkwardness that was very much the stock in trade of the club when I was a student, and the most normal member was a guy who’d arrived at the university aged about 14 as a maths prodigy and…