Innehållsförteckning för October 22, 2020 från Cycling Weekly

The wording of government documents probably isn’t something you spend much time thinking about. But over the next five days I urge you to make an exception. The consultation around the review of the Highway Code is coming to an end, and could, in one fell swoop, bring about the greatest improvements to road safety in our lifetime. Apart from the misstep in wording over Rule 66 (see page 16) the changes are simple, offer clarity and if adopted will make a huge difference. Take the junction priority change. What is currently covered by 14 rules would simply say ‘when you turn, give way to those going straight on.’ So what can you do? Simple, you can add your voice to those supporting the changes (Rule 66 being the exception).…

I’m currently staring down the barrel of the final week here at the Giro. The second week would have finished flawlessly if it wasn’t for a brutal stage to Piancavallo and some time lost to Wilco Kelderman for João. It’s set to be a big showdown now. What’s concerning me beyond the fight for pink is the conditions we’re going to be riding in, what with the Stelvio, Colle dell’Agnello and other climbs looming. We can either pray for amazing weather or that it’s so bad that the stages are re-routed. Anything in between sounds like a nightmare. Last Sunday’s stage to Roccaraso was a grim start, increasingly cold and wet before a few shivery descents before the final climb. Then the stage in Cesenatico was truly something else. When…

Two of Bradley Wiggins’s companies are being wound up with debts in excess of £1m and looks set to leave creditors hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket. Wiggins Rights Limited, the company used to “exploit Bradley Wiggins’s name and image rights”, has entered liquidation with debts in excess of £650,000, while a related company, New Team Cycling Limited, which was used to run the now defunct Team Wiggins, is also being liquidated with debts of £587,008. The statement of affairs filed at Companies House for Wiggins Rights Limited said it expects to get back only £600,695 from a directors loan of £760,373 to help pay the debts. New Team Cycling Limited lists Bradley Wiggins and his wife Cath (from whom he separated earlier this year) as its directors.…

Momentum is building behind a campaign for organisational body Cycling Time Trials to introduce equal prize money for men and women. Currently there are no rules ensuring event organisers have to award the same prize money to the top male and female riders. An open letter published by Team Lifting Gear Products last week suggested instituting a change to the regulations that would mean organisers have to award the same prize money to the top male and female finishers, though they would be free to choose whether to award prizes for the top three or just the winner of each category. At the time of going to press the letter had garnered 570 signatures, including 69 from event organisers themselves. The letter said it was necessary to “align the values…

MAY 2016 Joins Rally Cycling mid-season after a summit stage win at the Redlands Classic and a strong GC performance at the Tour of the Gila, where he was 14th. He debuts for them at the Tour de Beauce, winning a stage and finishing sixth overall. SUMMER 2017 Kuss has three consecutive top 10 finishes in important North American stage races, culminating in second place at the Tour of Albert. AUGUST 2018 He wins three stages and the overall title at the Tour of Utah, his first victories in LottoNL-Jumbo colours. He goes on to make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta. SEPT 2019 Kuss takes his first Grand Tour stage win at the Vuelta, where he also helps team-mate Primož Roglič to the overall crown. AUGUST 2020 Kuss…

It is a fair judgement to say that the Walkers are as good as any family when it comes to criteriums – one just needs to look at their respective palmarès. It’s therefore no surprise then that family’s tips are focused on city centre circuit racing. “Use your head continuously,” Chris says. “Think of your strengths and work out how you’re going to get over the finish line in the best possible position. Go for the prime in the final lap, as it will give you a good idea of wind direction and what gear it is best to be in for the final sprint.” Joey knows the importance of staying at the head of the race. “Because of the amount of corners per lap in a crit, you need…

The concept of the fasted ride is simple. By setting out on a ride with your energy reserves already depleted, you can simulate a much longer ride than the one you actually have time for. This allows you to experience the sort of seeing-stars bonk that normally takes seven hours of badly managed riding to achieve, but in around half the time. It is, therefore, perfect for the time-pressed masochist. Generally the best time for a fasted ride is first thing in the morning, since otherwise you have to avoid eating until you’ve set out. Many proponents of the fasted ride maintain that an exclusively protein breakfast is advisable, so if you’ve been looking for an excuse to start the day with a tin of tuna, here it is. On…

The Giro is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Grand Tours for a long time. And I’ll tempt fate and say I can see Tao Geoghegan Hart come into his own and win this Giro d’Italia. As I write this he’s just one second off the podium and he’s just won a stage. Wilko Kelderman, you would have to say, is in the best place to win it. João Almeida has the jersey and he defended very well given the pressure he was put under but it might be too much to see him survive the brutal final week. What marks Kelderman out as the favourite I think is the strength of his Sunweb team–they were very impressive on Sunday’s summit finish. That’s the question that sits…

Having helped to promote the Tour of Britain’s original plans to finish in Aberdeen this year, ex-pro cyclist and former Tour of Britain winner Pippa York joined the Great Tour for the 16-day Scottish leg after the ToB was cancelled. She rode in support of the Julia’s House children’s hospice near her home in Dorset, and instead of eating into the fundraising by staying in B&Bs she lodged each night with club cyclists living around the route. “I asked on the internet if anyone wanted to put me up for the night,” says York, “so I stayed with local club people most nights. They came and picked me up and took me to their home, and I told them when I’d need to be back the next day. It was…

We’ve all pondered this question at some point: are my sporting capabilities predetermined by my parents? “Absolutely,” says Yannis Pitsiladis, a genetics specialist and professor of sport and exercise science at the University of Brighton. “You inherit your genes from your father and mother, and, while there is an element of luck – you could be the unlucky sibling of three not to inherit the endurance genes – if both parents have excelled in sport, you’re likely to as well.” With that in mind, were Jessie and Joey Walker destined to be elite cyclists? “We can say there was a very good chance of them being good, but equally you can’t say for sure. If two parents are good at endurance sports and have high V02 max, it is very…

Newcomer Jaime Clark took the honours in the women’s race last week (15 October) with a 20-minute power PB. “This wasn’t so much a surprise but more of a ‘finally!’ moment,” she said. “I’ve recently got a coach and have focused on training for a few months. My coach wanted me to do an indoor FTP test. The course was the perfect distance and there were a lot of strong riders for me to chase.” Finishing in a time of 22.37 with an average power of 4.4w/kg, the American looks set to become a regular fixture on our Club 10 page. Clark has two young children, so the majority of her rides are on Zwift – she only gets outdoors when the stars align. “I’ve been racing on Zwift for…

Twenty-five year old British rider Tao Geoghegan Hart was at a “career defining” moment as the Giro d’Italia entered its second rest day after he hauled himself into general classification contention with his first ever Grand Tour stage win on Sunday. The Londoner, who rides for Ineos Grenadiers, put in an impressive and patient display shadowing Sunweb leader Wilco Kelderman and his domestique Jai Hindley all the way up the climb of Piancavallo before outsprinting them both for the line. Averaging 410 watts over the final 3km of the climb, he took his maiden Grand Tour victory in his fourth three-week race. “It’s definitely my biggest win, nothing comes close,” he said. Early promise After two weeks of racing he found himself 2.57 off the lead of João Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick…

Could Cav go back to DQS? Deceuninck-Quick Step boss Patrick Lefevere is not ruling out re-signing Mark Cavendish to his team. “My heart says yes, but right now my mind says no,” is the statement from Lefevere – which appeared in his column in Het Nieuwsblad on Friday. But he has said he won’t rule anything out until he has spoken to the Manxman, who rode for the team from 2013 to 2015. Lefevere has also said the contract would be “free, in a manner of speaking”, suggesting Cavendish may not ask for a wage but would continue to be able to benefit from sponsors. Paule Ka folds Equipe Paule Ka has announced it will not be able to finish the season, as it does not have the financial resources.…

With the rarity of lighthearted news these days, I thought you might be interested in a 300km ride that one of our members (Rory Stuart) of Cardiff University Road Cycling Team completed. Due to the restrictions of Cardiff’s current local lockdown, we are only allowed to stay in our constituency, so one of our members has completed a crazy non-looping ride to maximise the roads in the area and make the most of this. It shows the resilience and determination to make the most out of cycling, no matter the restrictions! Luke Harvey-NguyenPresident, Cardiff University RCC That is some ride by Rory, and not exactly flat, either. We wonder if he spent days working out the route in advance or did it on the hoof.…

A handlebar is a handlebar, right? If you’re Coefficient Cycling, the bar is the key to a ride and as such should fit the rider perfectly. Countless amounts of anthropomorphic and ergonomic research was combined to create the distinct shape of the new AR (All-Road) handlebar. Designed to be as comfortable as possible both on and off-road, it features Coefficient’s unique SWOPE shaping. This combination of sweep and slope aims to put the wrists in the most neutral position. The top part of the bar has pronounced sloped sections that angle 15° towards the outside of the bar, while it also enjoys a 12° backsweep. A notch on both drops is designed to fit your thumb for a more natural grip when descending. Further vital statistics give the bar a…

Garmin HRM-Dual £59.99 Weight 56g The Garmin Edge range is the default choice for a GPS for many cyclists. If you haven’t bought your computer bundled with a heart rate strap and want to add one, the Garmin HRM-Dual is a logical choice. It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that the protocols used to communicate between a heart rate strap and a computer are generic. The Garmin HRM-Dual transmits via both the ANT+ protocol and Bluetooth LE, so you can use it with computers from other makes too. I paired it over both ANT+ and Bluetooth with a Lezyne Super Pro GPS and via Bluetooth with Suunto and Polar smartwatches. The Garmin HRM-Dual has a wide, comfortable, easily adjusted strap, which links up via a hook and loop closure on…

Based on recent form, it seems your training wasn’t too badly affected by lockdown? I’m not so sure – it feels like it’s taken me a long time to crawl back to good shape. I didn’t really do anything in lockdown. I don’t like riding the turbo, and I was pretty pessimistic about the whole situation. I had a bit of a motivation crumble: to be honest, I put on a lot of weight and didn’t actually do very much. What did it take to get the motivation back? It took coming back to the UK and being allowed to ride outside again – prior to that, I hadn’t ridden outside for six or seven weeks, which was pretty demoralising. I like cycling outdoors in the fresh air – that’s…

I think it would be fair to say that Mark Cavendish’s career is on the final approach to retirement. Maybe this year, maybe next year, but already it’s the end that’s defining the present. I think most fans quite enjoy a rider retirement. Not in an unpleasant way. It’s just that there is something about someone with seemingly superhuman abilities finally rejoining the rest of us. It’s a continuation of the way in which one of the greats is never loved as much as they are when their powers begin to fade. It completes the arc of a career. Everyone’s love of a good retirement means that there are probably more, and more strident, opinions about it than almost any other area of cycling other than the UCI’s extensive sock-length…

An account from a former team-mate of mine, of a local spring road race season opener. He relates arriving at the HQ, sorting himself out, and going out for a warm-up ride. He got back a little late, when the race was already preparing to roll out. He dashed back into the HQ for a final toilet stop. While he was in there, the organiser told the hall caretaker that that was it, the race was starting. The caretaker gave the organiser a thumbs-up, locked the building, and headed home for a spot of breakfast. In an attempt to get out, my teammate hit the door of the hall with a fire extinguisher, which covered him in foam. The door remained unmoved till the caretaker returned, to a very angry,…