Innehållsförteckning för April 28, 2022 från Cycling Weekly

Bike shows can be hard work for us poor old journalists. (Put those violins away.) Spending all day on our feet, trying to keep track of meeting after meeting, drinking too much coffee and often, shock horror, missing lunch! But I have to say, I genuinely enjoyed my day at the Cycle Show at Ally Pally last week. One of the things the pandemic has reminded me is that you really only realise what you’ve got when you lose it. I haven’t been to a bike show for several years now and although there weren’t any incredible new bikes that haven’t been seen before, catching up with people in the industry was a nice way to spend the day. With economic gloom hanging over us, it was especially pleasing to…

Increasingly disappointing time trial field sizes have led governing body Cycling Time Trials to send a survey to all members in an attempt to get to the bottom of the issue. Even the most popular races appear to be suffering from a dearth in entries, with the evergreen North Road Hardriders 25 only managing 42 starters this year against 80 in 2017 and 76 in 2019. Another legendary early-season hilly test, the East Surrey Hardriders, saw a nearly 50% fall in entries in 2021 from four years ago – 94 in 2017 to 52 last year. This season’s edition was cancelled due to risk of ice. CTT’s Rob Bailey said: “We are aware that there appears to be fewer riders entering time trials this season. Obviously, we are concerned in…

Cafe du Cycliste Adeline Fade Women’s Bib Shorts £209 Weight 191g The Adeline Fade Women’s Bib Shorts are more about styling and comfort than performance; reaching out to those women who don’t want to squeeze into conventional black Lycra, yet still want a supportive and cushioning chamois. Although Cafe du Cycliste’s size chart put me at a medium, there was no compression around the hips or legs whatsoever. The feel was definitely more ‘easy cafe ride’ than racing or hard training. Perhaps choosing to size down would have given more of a snug fit around the legs and thighs, but that would bring its own compromise with the fit of the upper portion of the shorts. Even in the size medium, there was already a tightness along the length of…

There are so many options for your first race. Mine was a cyclo-cross race, but there is no harm in jumping straight to a road race if you feel ready. In road racing, you’ll start as a cat-four and move up the categories as you collect points. This means you’ll only ever be racing against people of similar ability to you. LOCAL CIRCUIT There are many closed racing circuits around the country. This is the best way to get into road racing, as these events are usually about 30 minutes to an hour in duration, with no traffic to worry about. Many circuits, such as Hillingdon in London, hold weekly races throughout the summer. CYCLO-CROSS Cyclo-cross is mainly a winter sport but its rise in popularity led to the setting…

The week: 4-10 April 2022 Location: North Yorkshire & Flanders Training for: Spring Classics Former triathlete Abi Smith was awarded CW’s 2021 Domestic Rider of the Year, an acknowledgment of how, in her first year as a senior, she propelled herself from the novice ranks to taking top-20 results in the WorldTour. She turned 20 on 1 April and, now riding for EF Education-Tibco-SVB, has been focusing on the big Spring Classics – on the day we spoke to her, she had just completed her recon ride ahead of Paris-Roubaix Femmes. Below, Smith talks us through an intense week of riding that included the Flanders Classic Scheldeprijs. You got into cycling via triathlon? Yeah, I really loved triathlon – apart from the early morning swims! In races, I’d be mid-pack in…

For as long as anyone can remember, my friend Bernard has had a bad back. And for just as long I’ve felt that it was his most versatile asset. “Don’t attack me on the climb, not with my back… sorry I missed all those turns, my back, you know… I’d have had you in the sprint, but.” There have been days when I’ve had my doubts about it. I sometimes suspected that the poor performance led to the back issues, rather than the other way around. But not anymore. I’ve got a sore back myself, and I’ve had my eyes opened to my friend’s condition. The most aggravating thing about a bad back is the lack of sympathy. The full list of symptoms of lower back pain is 1) the…

Going two months without a win would have alarm bells ringing for any rider. Any rider except for Annemiek van Vleuten that is. Before Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège win the Dutch Movistar rider had gone almost two months without getting her arms in the air, having been outfoxed and outnumbered in Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders, and outridden up the Cauberg in Amstel Gold and Mur de Huy in Flèche Wallonne. “A win is more beautiful if you fight for it” To make amends she didn’t leave anything to chance in Liège, attacking first on La Redoute to force a group away, then again on the final climb of Roche-aux-Faucons to move clear on her own. Despite the headwind, her rivals couldn’t do anything about her lead, which grew to…

Proving that local knowledge is key Richard Bussell won the third round of the Merlin Cycles Classic Series, admitting that the course has a sentimental feeling for him. The 33-year-old won the Beacon RCC Mountain Time Trial over a gruelling 39-mile course in Worcestershire for the second consecutive season. Despite being a former national 10-mile and hill-climb champion Bussell said that the course doesn’t suit his ability, but living in nearby Bewdley made it a special event. “I don’t go up the hills very fast and you need to hold quite a bit back,” said Bussell. “It’s just a long slog, fairly technical and quite a bit different. In the second half there are a lot of short sprinting climbs.” Bussell had targeted the course record of 1-32-29 held by…

What a great archive photograph of the London-Holyhead race of 1965 in the 7 April issue. It took me back to when I was 14 years old and the Saturday morning of the race. I took my newspapers out early and set out on my Claud Butler Coureur with my cycling mate, John Whitby from Long Eaton Paragon, to cycle to Hinckley to watch the race as it passed by on the A5. Alas, we were behind schedule and missed seeing our cycling idol, Tom Simpson, as the race and team cars had all passed through minutes before. This was compensated for by a trip to Herne Hill with Beeston Road Club the following Easter when Tom raced in his rainbow jersey in the motor-paced event, having just recovered from…

The experiences and perspective gained from their Rwandan trip may be the thing Team GB end up remembering the most, but they were there to race, and despite some tough parcours and some tough competition too, Hayter’s 10th on GC can be regarded as a real success. Team GB set out their stall straight away in the 4km prologue, with Hayter sixth and team-mate Robert Donaldson clocking 10th behind winner Alexandre Geniez (Total Energies). The British pair maintained their top-10 GC placings the following day, and while Donaldson slipped down the rankings after the mountainous stage three to Rubavu, Hayter finished not far back and clung on to 11th on GC, behind eventual winner Natnael Tesfatsion (Drone Hopper). From there, Hayter was always there or thereabouts, managing two further top-10s…

My 2012 Specialized Amira Elite represents much more to me than the sum total of a carbon frame and a decade’s worth of replacement components. Purchasing this bike marked a grudging acceptance that my body was not designed for triathlons; the intoxicating dawn of an assault on the British road racing scene, and a first – rather organic – foray into bike testing. I bought the bike on the Cycle to Work scheme long before I took up residence at Cycling Weekly. I already owned a Specialized Dolce (my first road bike) and I was determined – for no reason other than ‘it would seem boring’ – that my second bike would not bear the name of the same marque. I test rode three bikes, each in two sizes –…

A warm-up of 20-40 minutes before your race start allows you to both physically and mentally prepare for the race ahead. It gets the heart rate up and the whole cardiovascular system primed. Many riders have their own favourite warm-up routine, but this is the standard 20-minute protocol recommended by British Cycling and a good starting point: • 5min easy spinning at 90rpm • 2min at 95rpm • 2min at 100rpm • 2min at 105rpm • 1min 30sec at 110rpm • 30sec at 120-130rpm • 2min at 90rpm • 6sec max sprint • 1min at 90rpm • 6sec max sprint • 1min at 90rpm • 6sec max sprint • 2min 45sec at 90rpm…

In association with TIME TRIALS SUNDAY, 24 APRIL Merlin Cycles Classic Series 39 (Great Witley, Worcs): Time trial bikes: Men: 1. Richard Bussell (AeroCoach) 1:32.58 2. J. Lowden (WattShop) 1:35.22 3. L. Pollard (RAF CA) 1:35.39 4. J. Pittard (Didcot Phoenix CC) 1:38.33 5. R. Hughes (Worcester St Johns CC) 1:52.01 6. C. Leveridge (Team PB Performance) 1:52.53 Women: Emma Bexson (Stratford CC) 2:06.23 Veterans: 1. Paul Pardoe (Peterborough CC) 1:39.06 2. P. Glaze (Stourbridge CC) 1:44.13 3. S. Adcook (Team Echelon) 1:45.15 4. S. Smith (TY Cycles) 1:45.27 5. M. Smith (Peterborough CC) 1:48.12 6. S. Dighton (Beacon Roads CC) 1:52.17 Road bikes: Men: 1. James Foggensteiner (Apus Peak RT) 1:41.50 2. G. Henry (Univ of Warwicks CC) 1:42.03 3. E. Ward (Inflite) 1:42.32 4. C. Doyle (VTTA Wessex)…

Remco Evenepoel saved Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s spring with a lone victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège last weekend. The 22-year-old attacked over the top of the Côte de la Redoute and rode away from the reduced peloton to win by almost a minute. The Belgian team that so regularly dominates the one-day races that define April and hogs the sports pages in Belgian newspapers hadn’t won since Fabio Jackobsen sprinted to victory at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne at the end of February – Milan-Turin, won by Mark Cavendish, is not considered a bona fide Spring Classic. In the three other Monuments ridden so far – Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix – their best placed finisher was Yves Lampaert in 10th at Roubaix. At Flanders, last year’s winner Kasper Asgreen was their best, in…

Thibaut Pinot closed out a 1,007 day winless run with an emotional victory on the final stage of the Tour of the Alps last week. The Frenchman hadn’t won since the 2019 Tour de France on top of the Col du Tourmalet, and had to pick himself from a crushing defeat the previous day in order to stand on the podium again. On Thursday’s stage four to Kals am Grossglockner he’d watched as Miguel Angel López (Astana) rode away in the final metres. Pinot had been in the break all day and gone solo on the final climb, looking good for the win. But in the end he could do nothing as López rode away from him. “I wish life would smile on me for one day, but I have…

Kenny reveals miscarriage heartbreak In a heartfelt social media post Dame Laura Kenny has revealed she has endured a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy in recent months. After winning team pursuit silver at last week’s Track Nations Cup, Kenny wrote on Instagram that “life doesn’t always go to plan”. “I’ve always known I was tough,” she wrote, “but sometimes life pushes you to an unbearable limit. If it wasn’t for [husband] Jason and [son] Albie getting me through the day to day I’d have been broken.” Bäckstedt in style Zoe Bäckstedt won her first international road race in the rainbow jersey at the weekend at the EZP Omloop van Borsele Juniors race. The 17-year-old won two stages of the three-day race, plus the GC. In the opening 14.2km time trial,…

Power meter pedals The pedals are the Favero Assioma Duo-Shi. Since a large part of my job involves regularly switching between different bikes, I am an absolute convert to power meter pedals. These allow me to know that, regardless of which bike I’m on, my power readings are consistent. I’ve tested models from Garmin, Powertap and Favero, and the Favero Assioma is the version I recommend to all of my friends. Bar tape that speaks to you “I can stop any time I like, I’m not going to stop”, “hairpin bend smile”, “mneow, whoosh” – all expressions, slogans, and noises that you’ll find on Kinesis’s Signature bar tape by Jo Burt. A superior saddle The Specialized Romin Evo saddle is a favourite in a long line of test models, adopted…

Sit down the night before your race and make a timetable for the following day. Personally I find this helps to give some structure to the day before the race and helps me begin to get into the zone. Below is a sample race day timetable, the one I follow, and assumes the race starts at noon and is 30 minutes away from home. • 8:30 wake up• 9:00 breakfast – a bowl of overnight carrot cake oats (oats mixed with grated carrot, chia seeds and raisins, mixed with milk or water, and left in the fridge overnight).• 9:30 pack bike and kit into car• 10:00 leave home• 10:30 arrive at race HQ• 10:45 sign in; collect number• 10:50 pin on number and change into kit• 11:00 eat pre-race flapjack•…

Licence: To be permitted to race, you need a race licence. This is easy to obtain from the British Cycling website for £90 (£40 for juniors). It’ll be sent to you in the post and comes with additional benefits such as insurance, depending on the package you choose. Bike: Contrary to what some people will tell you, you don’t need an expensive bike to start racing. Provided it’s roadworthy, safe and everything is working correctly, an entry-level bike will be fine to get you started. You can look to upgrade as you advance through the ranks. Helmet: You will not be allowed to race without one. Glasses: Important for keeping flies, dust and grit out of your eyes. Skinsuit or shorts and jersey: If you ride for a club registered…

Etape du Dales Date: Sunday 15 May This tough Yorkshire outing also features a 78-mile version alongside the 110-mile main event. Best of all, you get to support young British riders abroad, as it is run by the Rayner Foundation. Closing date: n/a Bec CC Road Race Date: Sunday 8 May Bring your best legs for this hilly outing in East Sussex and Kent. Open to E/1/2/3 category riders, this 78-mile race takes in the Crowborough circuit with its 1.4-mile climb, as well as a tough finish on the Ashdown Forest. Closing date: Sat 30 April Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive Date: Saturday 7 May Get a taste of the famous Lincoln Grand Prix road race when you take on the iconic cobbled climb of Michaelgate into the city. Three distances…

An octogenarian friend of my parents recently took his almost equally elderly bike to a bike shop to have a snapped gear cable replaced. “Have you thought about an e-bike?”asked the assistant. He said that he hadn’t. “You really should, not suggesting you’re getting on or anything, but they really make the difficult bits of a ride easier so you get a lot more out of the day. We’ve got one that would fit you perfectly.” “One question,” said my parents’ friend, “and that’s that actually I only ever ride on a turbo trainer these days. I just don’t feel safe on the road, and I only really want to do 20 minutes for the exercise. Would an e-bike be suitable for a turbo trainer?” The assistant didn’t even blink…