Innehållsförteckning för April 23, 2020 från Cycling Weekly

Congratulations to Ross Duncan, who recently became the first person in the CW5000 challenge to cover 5,000 miles in 2020. When we first set this challenge I predicted someone (not a pro, or full-time rider) would hit 5,000 miles at some point in May – Ross did it in early April. Ross, who hails from Dunfermline, chalked up 750 miles in one week this February when taking part in the Wounded Lions 500 charity ride, riding from Edinburgh to Harrogate and then London to Edinburgh. He’s still racking up massive miles on Zwift and Sufferfest. All of which puts my riding to shame. But the good news is my enthusiasm for riding is coming back, partly thanks to the sunshine and partly thanks to a gravel bike I’m reviewing at…

THE RACE BRITISH CYCLING RACE SERIES A fairly short 18km race with men’s and women’s fields. It’s just for fun, no ranking points on offer, but it’s sure to get you working hard. Tues 28 April, 12:20 THE WORKOUT TEAM BREEZE WORKOUT Join British Cycling’s contingent of female riders for the one-hour “increase the intensity” workout that they describe as “uncomfortable” with constant pressure on the pedals. Fri 24 April, 12:00 THE CAFE RIDE ISRAEL START-UP NATION MEDIAL AID RIDE Led by Alex Dowsett, Dan Martin and André Greipel, there will be three different pace groups so you don’t need to smash yourself – until near the end when it’ll be the usual town-sign shenanigans. Sat 25 April, 15:00…

I was excited to open up your latest issue, with its teasing, leading question on the cover: “How good are you?” We all want to know how our numbers stack up against clubmates, pros, and of course, the wider cycling population. But for cyclists of a certain age (ahem), these comparisons are difficult to make, owing to a lack of available data. With so much more opportunity to compete in age-defined categories, what we’re missing is comparative statistics within our own cohort. We’ve seen the Coggan watts per kilo table in various forums, but it only feels relevant to the young riders whose best cycling years are ahead, not behind them. What I would like to see is a comparison of statistics such as W/kg by age group and gender,…

Gut bacteria: Introducing more onions, artichokes, bananas and foods rich in prebiotics to the diet means the good bacteria in the gut will begin to thrive, but this can result in you feeling a bit more ‘gassy’. Reducing your intake of processed foods, often packed with excess salt, should help normalise water retention levels, reducing puffiness and bloating. Iron: Low iron is the most common deficiency. The heme form of the mineral is found only in meat and fish; non-heme iron (found in plants) is less easily absorbed. Vegans may require up to 1.8 times more iron, so it is important to eat iron-rich plant foods (e.g. soybeans, lentils, spinach) and consider the occasional blood test. Vitamins: In theory, when you start including more fruit and vegetables into your diet,…

The sports nutrition market is awash with tablets, powders and potions promising performance gains. Some of them are very eye-catching; a nutritional improvement, if it works, is a relatively easy gain – no extra work required, just a small financial outlay. But most of us also realise that many, if not most, supplements overpromise and under-deliver. There’s no replacement for a varied, well-balanced diet and strategic nutrient timing around training. Nonetheless, sports supplements are widely used by cyclists at every level of the sport. According to a recent consensus statement by the International Olympic Committee, the majority of these products have little evidence to back them up. At best, they are unnecessary and, at worst, are harmful or prohibited. That said, there are a few products that are supported by…

There’s no need to bulk buy, but having some of these non-perishables in stock means you will never be short of basic ingredients to whip up a huge range of dishes CARBS ■ Oats ■ Rice – any type ■ Grains – can’t get your usual? No problem, just go for bulgur wheat, pearl barley or, instead, freekeh PROTEIN ■ Tinned fish ■ Tinned pulses – kidney beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, sweetcorn, whatever ■ Baked beans ■ Dried lentils or split peas VEGETABLES ■ Frozen fruit, beans and veg ■ Tinned tomatoes or cartons of passata SPICES/SEASONING ■ Stock pots/cubes ■ Seasoning mixes – e.g. BBQ/cajun/Moroccan ■ Soy sauce ■ Sweet chilli sauce ■ Thai fish sauce ■ Lazy garlic/chilli…

There comes a point in lockdown when you’ve done everything there is available to you. After you’ve cleaned the inside of your second-choice winter bike’s mudguards, flossed inside the frame tubes of your mtb with a dressing-gown cord and finally and half-heartedly done those hamstring stretches you’ve been putting off since 2005, you can get a bit desperate. Thus it came to pass that I watched the Team Ineos virtual race on Zwift last week. I’m glad I did. But not, I suspect, for the reason I was supposed to be. What I liked was not the virtual graphics of video-game cyclists riding through a generic landscape, even if in this case the generic landscape included the interior of a volcano. I’ve seen it before, and it’s imaginative but unengaging.…

How are you doing? Like everyone I am in a sort of neutral zone. I have, however, worked from home for 20 years so that is not such a change as it is for some. I am the president of Scottish Cycling and am aware of the great disruption to all racing and social riding just now. But it is also very clear that there is a strong sense of community and belonging across the varying strands of cycling that prevails despite the current situation. How are you keep yourself motivated to ride right now? One of my clubmates is an ICU nurse and I see what they face in the NHS. I am inspired and motivated to improve my resilience, health and get fitter. How did you get into…

“When I took this shot of three Gewiss riders escaping in the 1994 Flèche Wallonne, I hadn’t a clue it would prove to be controversial – it was just a nice shot of an amazing moment in the race. Moreno Argentin (Ita), Evgeni Berzin (Rus) and Giorgio Furlan (Ita) had attacked on the Mur de Huy with about 40 kilometres to race, dropping Lance Armstrong, who’d had his eyes on winning as the reigning world champion. Lance was furious, he couldn’t understand why the Gewiss trio were so strong as a unit. “Just what the f… are those guys on?!” he shouted as I drew alongside to photograph him chasing. In the next day’s paper came journalists’ accusations of doping, someone called Doctor Ferrari, and something called EPO, but I…

I eased into veganism: removed meat first, then fish, then dairy, over the course of a couple of weeks. Making the change was quite easy, once I’d stocked up on non-dairy milk – except for removing eggs, which was harder. Not only are eggs an ingredient in many meals, but omelette or poached eggs had been my go-to post-ride dish. I was fully vegan for about six weeks. For the first three weeks, I felt fine. It was at the end of the fourth week – I’d had quite a good week on the bike and training was going well – when I started to struggle. I’d go out and complete maybe two or three of a 10-rep session, then feel completely dead. I didn’t panic but I knew something…

Supplements are the biggest cause of inadvertent doping in the UK. Unlike prescription medicines, there is no systematic regulation of supplements, which means there’s no official check on safety, quality or if they are free from prohibited substances. British Cycling has a policy of strict liability, which means you take supplements at your own risk – you cannot retrospectively claim you didn’t know what you were taking. Not only could you risk failing a doping test, but also doing serious harm to your health. You can cut this risk by making sure your supplement comes from a reputable company that has strict manufacturing controls and provides a certificate to prove it has been batch-tested for banned contaminants by a recognised anti-doping lab. Look for the Informed Sport logo on the…

The P2 pedals from PowerTap – the brand now owned by SRAM and its sister company Quarq – are not new, but this is the first time we’ve had a set in to test. Power meter pedals, if effective, could be the best solution for riders who own multiple bikes (and riders whose job it is to review multiple bikes!) – but we’ve had issues with pairs from competitor brands in the past and we’re keen to see if PowerTap has really nailed it with the P2. In this newer design, PowerTap has increased the battery life to 80 hours. Like the previous iteration, these run off AAA Lithium batteries. The accuracy is +/-1.5 per cent, and when paired with the mobile app there’s plenty of pedal metrics offering insight…

A number of different suggestions for livening up pro cycling have been made over the years, and almost always ignored. Cycling does not implement change for its own sake. Or for the sake of logic, commercial reality, or even the benefit of the riders and fans. Suggestions have included: better women’s races, fewer drugs, less time trialling, banning power meters, banning team radios, more climbing, less climbing, smaller teams, cheaper teams, more Colombians and, of course, banning any team managed by Sir Dave Brailsford. This year, in a change to the decades of stasis, the coronavirus has enforced significant changes to pro cycling. For a start, we have very little certain idea when any of the events will take place and in what order. The Grand Tours might be three…

CW news editor This will be a Tour unlike any other. Obviously the race running in the Vuelta a España’s usual slot will make a difference, as will the ability of riders to arrive in peak form – even with the Dauphiné expected to take place before the Tour. What will likely be more noticeable will be the crowds. While it seems reasonable to think the worst of the coronavirus crisis will have passed by the time the riders roll out of Nice, only last week health secretary Matt Hancock was warning that British life is unlikely to return to normal in a hurry. That is just as relevant in France as it is here. A slow, steady easing of lockdown measures across the western world is much more likely.…

Victor Campenaerts calls foul over Hour record attempt Victor Campenaerts has claimed the UCI blocked him undertaking another Hour record attempt that was set to take place at the London Olympic velodrome during lockdown. “Some critics said I only broke Bradley Wiggins’s Hour record because it was at high altitude; I wanted to beat it at sea level and on the same track,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. But he said that despite assurances regarding social distancing, the UCI wouldn’t green light the attempt. Huub releases NHS charity cycling jersey Multi-sport clothing brand Huub is the latest brand to launch a jersey to help raise money for charities that support the NHS. The jersey promotes the government’s plea to stay home amid the crisis to help protect the NHS and save…

PEDAL ME Formerly a cargo bike taxi and delivery firm, Pedal Me has now found itself delivering 10 tons of food a day around Lambeth. Founded in May 2017 Pedal Me set out with the not too modest aim of changing the way people and things moved around cities. Their three-metre long, Dutch built electric bikes can carry two people (sat in front of the rider), or 150kg worth of cargo. Add the self-designed trailer and that goes up to 300kg worth of cargo. “Previously we mainly carried people and deliveries to restaurants and bars, plus some business-to-business deliveries. That market then disappeared,” explained founder and chief executive Ben Knowles. “We’re actually still carrying some passengers. People undergoing cancer treatment have been using us to get to their appointments. As…

CAMERON MASON: CYCLO-CROSS WUNDERKIND ‘It’s about being the best version of myself’ Rising young cyclo-cross star Cameron Mason, 19, on his motivations for going vegan in his mid-teens When did you go vegan, and why? I went veggie when I was 13 or 14, about six years ago, after a close friend had gone vegan. I was still eating eggs, cheese and dairy until three or four years ago, when I started to subconsciously reduce the amount of dairy in my diet, after seeing things about the environmental impact. Doing more research opened my eyes up to the fact the problems go beyond just meat – it’s the whole industry. I realised that if I wanted to be the best version of myself, in terms of the environment and being…

How are you coping with lockdown life? It’s not too bad, eh? Granted, the supermarkets are struggling to keep their shelves full, owing to a surge in demand, but that needn’t stop you preparing delicious meals and fuelling your training as well as ever – and I’m going to show you how. Let’s start with some myth-busting tips… Don’t sweat the details Firstly, you need to remember that 90 per cent of cooking instructions in normal recipe books are irrelevant – whether you use parsnips, carrots or butternut squash in your broth really doesn’t matter. There are key techniques that can make anything taste good – but exactly which root vegetable you use isn’t important. What matters is taking the time to caramelise and cook your veggies properly, for flavour.…

Barry Hoban, who won eight stages of the Tour de France in the Sixties and Seventies, talked us through his dietary regime from back in the day: “After each season ended, I would purge my system – I’d have a week where I would refresh my liver and my kidneys. For the first three days, I ate nothing and I drank a kind of Alka-Seltzer, a really alkaline water. I didn’t do anything physical at all, just lounged around and relaxed. “On the fourth day, I started eating fruit: oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes, that type of thing. You could also drink certain herb teas. I drank cherry leaf, and blackcurrant leaf tea. By the end of the week, I was eating salads of grated carrots with celery, but no fancy dressings…

At an event last year, I watched a rider remove his shoes at a food stop. The sheer relief on his face as he took them off and massaged his agonised feet was quite something. “Rubbing?” I asked. “No,” he said. “It’s just wearing shoes that are so small all day. It’s really uncomfortable.” “Perhaps some bigger shoes might help?” I suggested. “I want to keep them as small as possible,” he said. “They’re more aerodynamic.” This is nonsense, of course. Oddly enough, I also spent two years in the 1990s wearing tortuous shoes that were two sizes too small. But that was to ensure better power transfer. That’s a different thing entirely.…