Innehållsförteckning för March 25, 2021 från Cycling Weekly

Sunday’s Ghent-Wevelgem is set to be a battle of the Belgians, with last year’s winner Jolien D’hoore hoping to best compatriot Lotte Kopecky to become the first woman to win two editions. In recent seasons D’hoore has been the flag-bearer for the women’s sport in Belgium, but last year Kopecky challenged her supremacy. The younger woman finished second in Wevelgem last year, just weeks after outsprinting the SDWorx rider in the Belgian National Championships. Not only are the two friends, they are also partners in the Madison and are aiming for Olympic glory together later this year, and their close professional relationship adds spice. “It’s a bit weird to race against each other, but I don’t see her as Lotte my team-mate for the Madison, I see her as a…

Eighteen months ago the dream of beginning a career on the Continent in earnest seemed like it was just a step away from fruition for a whole raft of young British hopefuls. But many of those riders didn’t even race last year and now in 2021, with a return to something more normal on the cards, Brexit has battered them from a different angle with its 90-day visitor’s limit. Cycling Weekly spoke to a bunch of young riders funded by the Rayner Foundation and found that even if the red tape isn’t particularly willing, the spirit certainly isn’t weak. Joe Laverick (HAGENS BERMAN-AXEON, SPAIN) Living in Girona, hoping for a residency permit “It’s just a nightmare to be honest. It’s that simple. I am in the process of applying for residency out here.…

Coefficient’s new Road Race handlebar gets around the UCI’s recent ban on the ‘invisible aero-bars’ hand position by incorporating an out-front bridge into its design. This enables the rider to scrunch themselves into a narrower, aerodynamic position, while keeping a firm handhold on the bars at all times. Although it’s called the Road Race, the range of potential applications is significantly wider. Anyone who wants to cover more ground (without reaching for a little e-assistance) can benefit from the option of a more aerodynamic position. That out-front bridge handily doubles as a computer mount, and should you want to record your rides, there’s an option to add a GoPro mount. Flattened tops reduce some of the frontal area, while the seven degrees of flare provide a wider position on the…

In many ways, e-racing has been our saviour over the past year. Having a competitive outlet to replace all the cancelled outdoor events has kept us sane, fit and distracted from lockdown monotony. But anyone who’s developed an e-racing habit will attest that it comes with a certain level of doubt and distrust: are the avatars ahead of mine really putting out more power and deserving their place ahead of me in the results? We decided to conduct a survey to find out how CW readers feel about the state of fair play in the virtual realm (see pie charts). Of the more than 800 who responded, 96 per cent said they doubted e-racing was a level playing field. This was deemed to be no big deal by the 45…

The story of how massed-start road racing eventually came to British roads is one of the most extraordinary, and fractious, in the history of cycling in this country. It still inspires passionate debate. In 1942 things were just getting started, but editor H. H. England, who was against massed-start road races, was worried enough to offer his advice to “the rest of the country” who should “keep a sense of proportion in considering the advent of the Midland League of Racing Cyclists”. They’d held their first meeting with representatives from six or seven clubs, but England thought only four would affiliate. “The fact is this revolt is born of keen enthusiasm, however misguided.” The magazine would cast its vote for the “wise decision that massed-start road racing on the public…

Trek-Segafredo had a lot to celebrate at the weekend as their men’s team captured the first Monument of the year at Milan-San Remo and its women’s squad won Trofeo Binda. At the longest race of the year Jasper Stuyven timed his attack to perfection. The group of favourites including Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) and Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) had just descended the Poggio when the Belgian sprang from the group. With the finish just two kilometres away there was hesitation and reluctance among the chasers with only Søren Kragh Andersen (DSM) bridging across to the Belgian. Van Aert said: “It was a bit hard for me to chase because I didn’t want to waste my chances in the…

Canyon owners affected by the ‘stop ride’ notice issued earlier this month will have to wait until July to get back in the saddle. The German brand asked all owners of the CFR and CF SLX Aeroad bikes to stop riding them on 3 March, after Mathieu van der Poel rolled over the line in Le Samyn the day before with a broken handlebar. The stop ride notice applies only to 2021 CFR and CF SLX Aeroad bikes with CP15 and CP18 cockpits. In a message on the ‘Canyon Aeroad, Ultimate & Endurace’ Facebook group, Canyon said Aeroad owners will receive replacement reinforced bars in July, and asked riders not to use the bike until the new bars have been fitted. The message also said a fix for a seatpost…

WOMEN Hannah Barnes (Canyon-SRAM) Once upon a time the Brit would have been a firm favourite for races like this but recent years have seen her increasingly playing a support role. Until this year. She was fifth at Omloop last month and her finishing kick seems to have got its edge back. CW rating ★★★ Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) The 21-year-old Dane is one of the hottest sprinters in the peloton right now but she is yet to win an international pro race. If you’ve seen her turn of speed, though, you’ll know it’s only a matter of time until she does. Sunday could be that day. CW rating ★★★★ Marta Bastianelli (Alé BTC Ljubljana) Remember the spring of 2019 when the Italian seemed unstoppable? Well, she’s never really recaptured that…

■ Get my favourite thing from the garage, get it cleaned up. Then light it up and have a BBQ. Richard Heaybourne ■ More time sitting in a park with a mate. Drinking! Phil Brookes ■ Looking forward to it as it coincides with CTT allowing TTs to happen. I’ll be doing weekly evening club 5s and 10s and as my work picks up coming out of lockdown it will give me more riding options. Mark Fairhead ■ Cancel my Netflix subscription and get out on the bike! Lilly Burton ■ Spend a little less time in Watopia. Will be back next winter though. Pat Langley ■ Depends if that extra hour coincides with a bit less rain. Henry Sorensen ■ Very excited about getting back to some evening 10s.…

‘Would-be super-rich cycling megastars wanted – apply within.” Oh, you haven’t heard? Cycling e-sports is here to save bike racing and it’s in need of heroes. Big thighs a requirement. OK, so calling cycling e-sports – also known as virtual cycling, e-racing and often, in a Hoover-equals-vacuum type way, Zwifting – the saviour of cycling could be something of a stretch. But anyone who thought Zwift and its fellow virtual cycling platforms were simply a way of passing the time while on lockdown is in for a surprise. It is also a new and exciting blank canvas which carries a fraction of the cost and time commitments of traditional road racing, with endless content opportunities via the social media accounts of young and eager millennials. For teams, sponsors, and riders…

If there’s one thing which remains identical between racing indoors and out, it’s the desire to optimise your equipment for the best possible performance. But just like choosing a bike or a set of wheels, there’s no obvious best choice for every situation – a whole multitude of factors come into play when making the decision one way or another. So, to shine some light on these considerations, we spoke to two eminent Zwift racers from the UK racing scene about their preferred indoor set-ups. But although we’re looking at the most expensive set-ups here, it’s worth remembering that one of the best parts of e-racing is its accessibility. Now, £269.99 certainly isn’t a drop in the ocean, but with that you can get a power-reading Tacx Flow Smart Trainer…

We tried, tested and gave the original Wattbike Atom a grilling to within an inch of its life back in 2018, and it didn’t fold under questioning, earning full marks out of 10 and only causing the slightest of eyebrow raises due to a slight delay in gear transition – which in no way affected the riding or racing experience. It was quiet, smooth and pedalled to perfection, aping an outside ride with uncanny accuracy. So when we heard that the Atom was getting an upgrade which was billed to improve the performance, our interest was officially piqued. But would the new model, or ‘Next Generation’ prove a worthy heir to its predecessor? We slung a leg over the Wattbike Atom Next Generation, which costs £400 more than the original…

ABBY MAE PARKINSON Saluting all the women in the sport It may be a strange thing to say, but I feel ‘lucky’ that my first experience in professional cycling was with a team run by men who I found chauvinistic and sexist. For instance having to put up with male staff getting massages while we’re denied them. It showed me, from the get go, that to survive as a female in a male-dominated sport, you’ve got to be tough. Fortunately since then, I’ve come across a whole host of positive role models within the sport of both genders. However, I currently find myself in a situation where I am surrounded by a group of super-strong female influence. Of course, my main influence into the sport was from my mother, multi…

Did one of the race doctors put his shoulder back in during the race or did he race to the end with a dislocated shoulder? The first seems unlikely because the doctor wouldn’t have let him ride on because you have to keep your arm in a sling afterwards due to the increased risk of it dislocating again through normal use. Next to childbirth, a dislocated shoulder is one of the most painful things a person can have, and structurally his whole arm just wouldn’t have been able to work. Mathilda Jane Regardless of whether you are a fan of him in particular, you’ve got to love the attitude of cyclists in general. The effort and dedication is amazing and as a fan, I’m very grateful. Richard Upton He may…

Hannah Grant’s SHAKSHUKA YOU WILL NEED: ■ 400g large ripe tomatoes (or 1 can)■100g cherry tomatoes, halved■ 1 medium onion, diced■ 2 cloves garlic, sliced■ 1 tbsp olive oil■ 2 sprigs fresh thyme■ 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar + more to taste■ 2 bay leaves■ 1 tbsp tomato paste■ 1 tsp smoked paprika■ 1 pinch chilli Grant says: “This egg and tomato classic makes a hearty breakfast served with fresh or grilled bread. Alternatively, it tastes absolutely amazing cold, served with rice, after a long ride – so make plenty!” Method 1) Warm the olive oil in a thick-bottomed sauté pan. 2) Sauté the onion, garlic and thyme sprigs for about 2min until the onion is tender. Add the diced tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, bay leaves, tomato paste, paprika and chilli powder,…

This box was a toss-up between this one and one called “Great Inventions…. Stuff that doesn’t work as well as modern stuff”. The contents of the box would have been the same. The main object of being old school is to be a lot like your dad but to do it in a cool way. It’s not a very tightly defined concept, but revolves around either trying to keep your cycling authentic and in touch with the culture and the history of the sport and pastime, or behaving like a twit, depending on your point of view. You’ll need a bike made of steel with no more than eight speeds on the cassette. Happily it’s no longer necessary to ride a fixed gear or a bike with lots of hard-to-maintain…

Eileen Sheridan takes a couple of laps around the Herne Hill Velodrome track in preparation for an assault on the Hour record a week later. In 1952 Sheridan was in her pomp, so it’s no surprise she was successful. Cycling wrote: “Four times in four weeks Eileen Sheridan rode in and out of London to smash the road record and at Herne Hill on Wednesday evening of last week, Londoners took the opportunity to go along, partly to pay tribute to those rides of which they had read but not seen, and partly to watch the superb riding qualities of this talented Midland housewife professional, as she added a string of track records to her already long list of achievements on the road.” Her riding that night was, this magazine…