Innehållsförteckning för January 26, 2023 från Cycling Weekly

If there’s one rider that gets our readers talking it’s Mark Cavendish. When he’s in the news the letters flood in and our social media feeds are bombarded with comments. His signing with Astana last week was no different. Having followed his career since he was a junior I have to say it seems like an odd fit, but if it gets him to the Tour de France one last time then why not? It would have been a tragedy had he not got the opportunity to win one more stage of the Tour before retiring. Of course he might not get a record 35th stage win, but he deserves the opportunity, and if there’s one rider who can grab an opportunity, no matter how slim, it’s him. From his…

Boonen considers gravel return Former Classics star Tom Boonen says he is feeling the itch for competition again, and is considering taking up gravel racing. The Belgian has been motor racing since retiring after the 2017 Paris-Roubaix. “I’m still a bit hesitant, but it’s starting to itch again,” said Boonen of bike racing. “I think of something like the Roc du Maroc [mtb race] or some gravel races.” Provence tour cancelled The Tour de la Provence will not go ahead this season, after organisers did not meet the necessary requirements for registration on the calendar. It was due to be held on 9-12 Feb, but the organisation now seems in disarray, with race director Marion Rousse resigning from her role. Previous winners include Nairo Quintana and Rohan Dennis. VDP wins…

ONE DOWN Ribble Gravel 725 Enthusiast £2,399 For a £500 saving you can still enjoy the same steel frameset but with mechanical shifting courtesy of SRAM’s 11-speed Rival 1 groupset. This might be a better for option for bikepacking fans who like to get off-grid, and therefore place a premium on self-reliance. TWO DOWN Ribble Gravel 725 Sport £2,099 The Gravel 725 Sport is great value for money considering the premium Reynolds 725 frame. SRAM’s entrylevel 11-speed Apex 1 includes reliable hydraulic disc brakes and a sturdy rear mech with a handy clutch mechanism.…

Having a target to train for is the easiest way to motivate you to get outside. Here is coach Scott Maclean’s nine must-do steps to creating targets. Have a clear purpose: “People don’t achieve what they set out to do unless they have a clear reason for having the objective in the first place.” Make it attainable: “If the goal is unrealistic, you’re not going to be motivated to push for it.” Set interim goals: “Every workout should have micro-goals to get a physical and behavioural response. Don’t be afraid to measure your power to weight or V02 max frequently for signs of progress.” Stick to a routine: “The biggest obstacle is a lack of consistency. You have to have structure.” Be flexible: “You can’t manage all the variables, such as…

Along time ago, someone asked me if I fancied having a go at something he called, “The straight-out 25 mile record.” I had no idea what he was talking about. It was, however, exactly what it sounded like. Instead of a 25-mile out and back record, it was 25 miles one way. So a plan was hatched. We picked a course between Chelmsford and Colchester, and waited for a southwesterly gale. The other possibility was to go to Scotland and find a long hill to ride down, plus whatever extra we needed at the bottom, but we still needed a gale and Chelmsford was closer. In the end it never happened. The wind never blew. Winter came, and the project was forgotten, although not before I’d commissioned a 76-tooth chainring…

Brian Holm, former Deceuninck-Quick Step sports director, believes that the “strong hand” of the Astana-Qazaqstan boss Alexandre Vinokourov is just what his long-time friend Mark Cavendish needs in the twilight of his career. Last week, the long-running saga of which team Cavendish would ride for in 2023 was concluded with the state-backed Kazakh team signing the Manxman, something which had been widely anticipated for some time. Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Holm explained that while the traditionally GC-leaning team isn’t the perfect set-up for a sprinter, Astana-Qazaqstan can still work for Cavendish as he guns for a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win this July. “I think if anyone can handle Cav then it’s probably Vino,” Holm said. “I think Cav is somebody who needs what we call a strong…

In researching this piece, we looked closely at a select group of teams’ main stakeholders, scrutinising in particular the practices of their naming sponsors and owners. We had hoped to compare these against the UCI’s Code of Ethics, but found the document to be thin on detail. It stipulates that licence-holders should “show commitment to an ethical attitude”, but is focused primarily on conduct within cycling. Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect the UCI to investigate every stakeholder in the sport. So we looked to charities and non-governmental organisations for impartial third-party advice, and put our findings to the teams. Of those contacted, only Bahrain Victorious, UAE Team Emirates, Uno-X and Astana Qazaqstan responded, the latter declining to provide comment. We then rated the teams with our own ethical concern…

Claud Butler was a London-based frame-builder making bikes in Britain during the inter-war period. He formerly worked for the Halford Cycle Company before opening his first bike shop in Clapham Junction and others soon followed across the capital, including in Lewisham. His bikes were known for their bronze weld construction and decorative lugwork and were raced at the 1931 World Championships in Copenhagen and Los Angeles Olympics in 1932. He would come to be known as ‘King of the lightweights’ although business would soon be prematurely curtailed by the beginning of the Second World War. Butler died in 1978, although his legacy in cycling and bicycle manufacture lives on.…

The new Wahoo Elemnt Roam is just a big Bolt. That’s a testament to the amount of features on the Bolt more than anything. The Roam isn’t short on features; if anything it has more useful functions than you can use in any one ride. It costs £349.99 and is competitive at its price point compared with other large head units from brands like Garmin and Bryton – but it’s not clear why it’s almost £100 more than the Bolt. Let’s take a closer look. Look and feel Like the Bolt v2, released in 2021, the Wahoo Elemnt Roam has a contemporary-looking display with 64 colours. The previous version had a black-and-white screen with eight sparingly-used colours. “The 64-colour screen allows for easy on-the-fly navigation” It’s large, and in some…

The week: 10-16 October 2022 Location: Guildford, Surrey Training for: Zwift Academy You’d have been forgiven for not recognising the name Alex Morrice when, shortly before Christmas, she was announced as winner of Zwift Academy 2022. The 22-year-old from Guildford in Surrey had only been racing since the beginning of the year, and until the summer was fitting in training alongside her university studies. As Morrice explains below, the past 12 months have been a whirlwind ascent from fourthcat newbie to WorldTour professional. Speaking to CW from a Canyon-SR AM training camp in Spain, she took us through a week of pre-Academy preparation from the autumn. How did you get into cycling? I’ve always been sporty but didn’t start cycling until two years ago, in my second year of uni.…

The Tour Down Under is learning how to walk again. Broken by two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and Australia’s consequent isolation, the cast came off as the race returned as an international, WorldTour event this month. However, the scars were still visible for all to see. Under new director Stuart O’Grady the race looked and felt very different. “Personally, I spent three years delivering this TDU, which should have been delivered in 2021,” O’Grady said. “All we’ve been doing is planning, planning and re-planning.” The route for the men’s race changed as O’Grady added his flavour to it. With new season excitement at its height, the younger riders clapped back at the peloton patrons, leaving them stunned at the perennial lack of respect in the peloton. Fewer journalists were…

Lancashire legend Peter Graham, who lifted his first RTTC National Hill-climb Championship in 1958 and went on to win nine individual and team medals between then and 1965, died last week, six days short of his 88th birthday. Most of his open wins were on courses familiar to North West cyclists – Nick o’ Pendle, the Rake, Peaslows Hill and Winnats Pass – but he would travel when necessary and won the first of his three national titles in the Chippenham and District event at Bathford, with another in the classic Catford CC event on Yorks Hill. Although best known as a climber during his golden years, when he rode for West Pennine RC, Graham was the complete all-rounder who was at home on the road, in time trials or…

An interesting piece in ‘From the Archive’ (CW 19 Jan). The Cycling report from the 1958 Commonwealth Games helped establish Ray Booty’s credentials, but it’s not quite the story I read in the V-CC (Veteran Cycle Club) mag, which says that Booty punctured when away, alone on the circuit. His GB mates spotted the problem and gave him Mike Gambill’s road bike. Booty used that for one lap, after which he switched back – the ‘tub’ miraculously replaced. Worried about this breach of the regs (you had to mend your own punctures) after the triumphant finish, one of the mechanics hurriedly broke a QR skewer and produced it as one of Booty’s originals. If it was a mechanical outside help was permitted. The Aussies were outraged. But after all, they…

Petrochemicals in cycling Along with the presence of Ineos Grenadiers, there will be two further teams at the Tour de France this July which owe their existence largely to funding from petrochemical companies. Uno-X and TotalEnergies are both primarily known for their petrol stations, the former in Norway and Denmark, and the latter in France, but also across the world. TotalEnergies, the company behind Peter Sagan’s team, is more than this though, as one of the big seven oil and gas companies worldwide; it is the equivalent of a BP or a Shell team. It might only be a ProTeam, but it is promoting a company which is still expanding its production of fossil fuels, with its oil production to peak in this decade before declining, with an increase of…

Now in its ninth year, Velo Retro is the only vintage bicycle and retro fair in the Lake District, and is far more than just a festival of bikes and cycling. Inspired by the Eroica, Italy vintage rides, the organisers of Velo Retro say that first and foremost it’s a “festival of friendship” where “beer and pies take priority instead of chianti and ribollita”. “We’ve worked really hard to create a bit of magic in the whole thing,” organiser Alan Brenton says. “Our magic is that we add camaraderie and friendship to vintage bikes and our fair. There’s no timing to the rides or anything like that. I’ve had people say to me, ‘Am I the first one back?’ and I’ve replied, ‘No idea! I’m not remotely interested. I’d rather…

CYCLO-CROSS SUNDAY, 22 JANUARY Eastern League round 10 (Haughley Park, Bury St Edmunds): Men: 1. Callum Laborde (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) 58.02; 2. K. Jarvis (Brother UK-Orientation Marketing) +0.57; 3. J. Madgwick (All In Racing) +1.08; 4. F. Barker (Hope Factory Racing) +3.31; 5. M. Richards (DAP CC) +4.09; 6. D. Preece (Army Cycling Union) +5.08. Women: 1. Elvita Branch (XRT-Elmy Cycles) 37.51; 2. K. Simcock (Trek BC) +0.08; 3. A. Hogg (unattached) +3.24; 4. J. Newstead (XRT-Elmy Cycles) +3.46; 5. J. Andrews (CC Ashwell) +4.12; 6. K. Scotter (Vicious Velo) +4.24. Wessex League round 12 (Southampton Sports Centre, Hants): Men: 1. Callum Macleod (Pedal On) 59.22; 2. A. Hawkins (Ride Revolution Coaching) +5.41; 3. G. Coppola (Four4th RT) +6.18; 4. N. Charlton-Smith (Nova RC) +1 lap; 5. J. Parker (RC Ravenna);…

The first women’s Road World Championships didn’t happen until 1958, over half a century since the UCI ran the first proper men’s event. That they happened at all was in no small measure due to Eileen Gray (who went on to be president of British Cycling) and the Women’s Cycle Racing Association. The organisers truly entered into the spirit of the new enlightened age by having a dinner to celebrate the new championships. It was men only. That first race was won by Elsy Jacobs of Luxembourg, presumably grateful not to have been weighed down by a lavish dinner.…