Innehållsförteckning för July 23, 2020 från Cycling Weekly

It’s a long time since I’ve ridden a 10-mile time trial. Might even be two years. This thought dawned on me as I sat on my turbo waiting to start our virtual club 10 on Zwift last Wednesday evening. It might have only been a virtual event, and a bit of fun, but my competitive nature is still alive and well, and the butterflies always come back. It was then with a growing sense of tightness in the pit of my stomach that I remembered how much the next 24 minutes was going to hurt. Funny how you block out those memories right up until your start time. At the start I was right at the front, and before I knew it I was off, trying not to get carried…

Today, the one-year countdown to the Olympic Games in Tokyo begins and it’s a cause for us to look forward and use this landmark to reignite the momentum we had built up prior to lockdown. While the sporting landscape is still constantly changing and there is still a lot of uncertainty around what the Great Britain Cycling Team’s journey will look like between now and the Olympic Games, one thing I am certain of is that, whenever the time comes to race, we’ll be ready. The renowned resilience of the GBCT, along with our knowledge and experience of peaking at the right time, means that no matter what obstacles may arise over the next 12 months, we’ll be ready to perform at our best when the time comes. The lockdown…

Stiffer, lighter, faster! It seems nearly every newly launched model aims for the superlative in the bike builder’s holy trinity. Weight is easily quantifiable, aerodynamics ditto – but stiffness is more difficult. Instead, we often hear the frame is ‘15 per cent stiffer’ or has a ‘better stiffness to weight ratio’. A bit like the ‘mine goes to 11’ method of indexing shoe stiffness, the claims coming from assorted brands aren’t comparable. The numbers don’t compare Stiffness tests are completed by hanging weights from a frame and measuring flexion in millimetres. There are industry standard tests, which frames have to pass. But many brands have their own additional measures. “We load areas that represent real-world riding experiences,” explains Doug Russell, engineer at Specialized. “We got there over years of research,…

Michell Arthurs-Brennan, tech editor Amid the busy launch season, with the Cycling Weekly office full of £10,000 superbikes with integrated everything, the simplicity of the Ribble R872 was quite a breath of fresh air. The ride quality had me grinning on every ride; the balance between stiffness and compliance is nicely tuned and I could happily ride this bike all day. My enjoyment was tempered by the pads specced to the Tiagra rim brakes but swapping these out is not a big or expensive switch to make.…

How has lockdown been for you, based at home in Colorado? Here in the US, we’ve been able to ride outside the whole time, so that’s been an advantage over the guys who are stuck on their trainers in Europe. Nothing much has really changed for me. Back in March, I took some time off the bike, just to reset the brain, and came back as though it was November. I had three pretty solid months of low intensity, high volume, and now building the intensity again, as we’re hopefully racing in August. How have you kept the motivation up? The first month was really hard, from coming into peak form for the Classics to having to come home and restart mentally – because training’s the hard part of the…

I had to go to a meeting last week. This was a major event. Other than training rides and going to the supermarket, it’s the first time I’ve been anywhere since March. I put on some bike kit, since the meeting was only 10 miles away and was with some bike-industry types who would not be shocked (and might even be a little impressed) with the muscle tone of my calves after four months of consistent riding. But when I went to get on my bike, I realised something. My lockdown calves would be fine. My lockdown bike most certainly would not. I don’t command a great deal of respect in the world of cycling, but it was suddenly clear that what little there was left depended upon me getting…

Tour de France champion Egan Bernal, Esteban Chaves and Nairo Quintana were among over 100 Colombian athletes who were flown from the country to Madrid on Monday amid coronavirus protocols. International flights in and out of Colombia are still banned but the riders were given special dispensation to fly to Europe so they can compete in the upcoming season. The riders were pictured washing their hands multiple times and were given several coronavirus tests in the days running up to the flight, meaning they will be allowed to eschew quarantine on arrival. Also on board the flight were Miguel Angel López, Rigoberto Urán, Fernando Gaviria and Carlos Betancur. Regular flights in and out of the country are not set to restart until the end of August, which would have made…

Andy Turner and Caroline Whittaker take victory in the first Cycling Weekly TT The first ever CW virtual time trial saw some outstanding performances, with victory going to Andy Turner and Caroline Whittaker. Teaming up with online training platform Zwift, CW has organised a series of 10-mile time trials to help readers hone their competitive edge. Turner, who rides for SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling on the road, took the overall win by holding 436 watts (5.9 watts per kilogram) to ride a 20.03. Turn to p54 for more. Fans banned from first post-lockdown WorldTour stage race The Tour of Poland, the first WorldTour stage race back after the coronavirus break, will be held behind closed doors with strict coronavirus measures in place. Fans will be banned from the start and finish,…

“I was called Mrs Consistent in the peloton,” remembers Johansson, of a deserving moniker that was the product of a lifestyle dedicated to cycle racing. “I was always a hard worker, I never skipped training, and I was one of those riders who was trying the most. “I didn’t accept anything else from myself and I was hard on myself. I loved racing hard, being in the mix, being good, it was all worth it. Probably my secret weapon was that I never let loose. Maybe it looked like I didn’t relax, eat waffles or drink wine. I was always strict in training throughout my career. I would give myself treats and say, ‘After this period I will go to a spa or for dinner.’ If I won the double…

Bontrager’s take on the knitted race shoe sits on the second rung of its road bike range and has all the attributes to make it a very desirable shoe for the rider wanting all-out performance. That knitted upper endows the Ballista Knit with an incredibly light and breathable construction that’s perfect for riding in the warmer months without the risk of overheating. It also provides a more flexible fit, ensuring further increased comfort. But despite its appearance, it’s actually highly durable and the addition of a DWR coating actually makes the Ballista Knit pretty weatherproof. To further extend the range of the shoe, Bontrager supplies it with a set of shoe covers to protect against the rain. “THE KNITTED UPPER IS PERFECT FOR THE WARMER MONTHS” The single BOA dial…

ONE UP Ribble R872 Disc, Shimano 105, £1,499 There’s a lot of customisation available within Ribble’s stable, but if we were to recommend a build, we’d go for a disc brake model with Shimano 105 as it’s very much seen as the entry point into the more performance-orientated groupsets, and discs offer reliable stopping in the wet as well as reducing wear on rims. This build comes with the Mavic Aksium rims as standard. ONE DOWN Ribble R872, Tiagra, £1,099 Our Ribble R872 came with an upgraded set of hoops in the shape of the Mavic Aksium rims and this is mirrored in a £100 price hike, taking the test model to £1,199. The standard build comes with Raleigh Mach 1 CFX wheels, taking the price point down, and you…

As soon as I got into a European pro team, I got the talk: “This is your job now, you have to look after yourself medically.” Immediately you start thinking about the darker side of that. But it wasn’t all about doping. I remember being given 11 syringes and told when to use them. I didn’t use them; I was doing races like Paris-Nice in freezing cold and taking a Berocca tablet, while the others were having vitamin injections. Anyway, later in the year I asked British Cycling to test the syringes, and 10 of them were legitimate, vitamins and minerals. There was only one they weren’t sure about. You picked up the knowledge by listening to the older guys around the meal table. When guys like Fons De Wolf…

The inaugural Cycling Weekly Club 10 TT on Zwift took place last Wednesday (15 July), with 193 finishers – and no shortage of quality at the top end. Winning by a convincing margin of 15 seconds, Andy Turner (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) clocked 20.03, averaging a mighty 436 watts. Second place was taken by George Mills-Keeling (Ribble-Weldtite), and amateur Kieran Savage completed the podium in third, in 20.28. Turner has been racing regularly on Zwift as he prepares for a return to outdoor racing. “The National 10 [on 6 September] is being held on one of my local courses,” said the 25-year-old, who lives in Rosson-Wye, Herefordshire. His performance in the CW ‘10’ was a power personal best by two watts. “I had pre-race nerves just like it was a road…

There is a particular sort of cyclist whose main pleasure in life is complaining about the price of cycling-related items and services. It’s worth learning how to do this – after all, it’s a very cheap aspect of the sport and it’s never going to stop being relevant. It’s important to note that it doesn’t matter whether you had any thought of buying any of the things you’re complaining about. Other than maybe spares for something you already own, no one is forcing anyone to buy anything. Make sure to recall a time when, through the twin miracles of inflation and exaggeration, you could buy the item in question for 10 per cent of its current price. Remember to add, “And they lasted a lifetime in those days, too.” Note…

CW: What keeps you sane at the moment? DT: It was mentally quite hard to stop, because I was in great shape and building up for the Classics. The first few weeks remained hard, but twice a week I’ve been helping my friend who is a farmer. I have been on the fields driving the tractor. It’s something I do after every season as it’s relaxing and it freshens up my mind. I have also been working on my garden. CW: How is your current training? DT: My training has been good during lockdown with a lot of endurance rides. The base is already there from the beginning of lockdown and I picked up the intensity in the last week of May. Recently, I’ve been taking the car to the…

1 Who was the first rider to win a race in a Team Sky jersey? 2 And what race was it? 3 Which of Rupert Murdoch’s sons was key to Sky sponsoring the team? 4 The current roster contains three riders who have been on the team continuously since 2010. Who are they? 5 How many riders have been British National Road Race champion while on the team? 6 Which rider, now at Bora-Hansgrohe, is the only Czech rider to ever ride for the squad? 7 How many Grand Tours has the team won? 8 Only one of the major equipment sponsors of the team has been with it since 2010. Which company is it? 9 Who was the first person to win a Monument for the team? 10 What…

I am so incensed at the behaviour of cyclists I saw today – maybe you should consider publishing something on the subject. Today, while running in some narrow lanes in Lichfield, a car approached me slowly and I stood to one side to give it more room to pass. What I didn’t expect was the eight or nine cyclists right behind the car calling the driver a “t**t” and that he should get his foot down as he was impeding their progress. The cyclists were like a bunch of hooligans and were intimidating, laughing and baying at the driver. I have been cycling for over 50 years and quite frankly this behaviour, which I am seeing more of, disgusts me. It cannot be doing our sport any favours. Rob Satherley…

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I think the old rules pro cyclists lived by, whether they were of physical benefit to them or not, were a very powerful psychological tool – one that could make a difference, owing to belief and the placebo effect. There was a study with weightlifters that demonstrated the effect of belief. A group of weightlifters were lied to about the weight they were being asked to lift. They were told it was a weight they’d lifted before, but that was a lie – it was actually heavier. They all lifted it successfully, but when they were told the truth, they couldn’t lift it again. Cyclists are always looking for an edge. Imagine a young rider joining a team; he or she is suddenly among riders who have won big races…

I use insoles in my day-to-day shoes and for running, but they don’t seem to work as effectively when I cycle – why not? Most off-bike (i.e. walking/running) insoles are rear-foot-only – they’re only half an insole. Cycling is a forefoot sport – as we pedal, the force is transmitted through the forefoot to the shoe, then the pedal. A heel-only insole can’t control the forefoot as much as a full-length insole, which is what I recommend for cycling. I get really tight hip flexors after riding, as well as low back pain. Are these related, and what can I do to alleviate them? Constant treatment does not seem to help. They are related, yes. We don’t use our hip flexors very much in cycling, but we do sit in…

Word reaches us of a rider heading off on a cycling trip for the first time. He carefully packed his bike into his new bike box. To do this he had to slide the seatpost all the way into the frame to make the bike small enough. “Be sure to mark the height of your saddle by putting a small mark on the seatpost,” said the advice for packing a bike. Our hero almost managed to implement this instruction. He did indeed put a mark. Unfortunately, he put it on the top of the frame where it met the seatpost. Not, critically, the other way around. He spent a week riding round the Alps stopping to adjust it every half an hour. When he got home and checked it properly,…