Innehållsförteckning för October 5, 2023 från Cycling Weekly

By the time you read this I’ll (hopefully) be more than halfway across the new Kirkpatrick C2C route in southern Scotland. I say hopefully as I don’t think I’ve ever been this underprepared for a big ride (250 miles!) in my life. I mentioned the ride in an editorial a few weeks ago and said how I was about to embark on some late-season panic training in order to get fit for it. Well, newsflash: for one reason or another the panic training never happened. So while my fitness levels failed to increase through August and September, my anxiety levels shot up. Would I be able to complete the ride? What if I can’t? How would I explain that in the article? Then something dawned on me: why not just…

Mikey Mottram (Ribble Collective) and Ruth Shier (Hutchinson-Brother) are the new national road bike champions, taking the spoils ahead of a field that totalled a huge 180 riders. Both men’s and women’s events were held over the same 18.5-mile course based on Marshfield not far from Bristol. A new course designed for the event, it formed a lopsided square using A and B-roads. Perhaps inspired by Cycling Time Trials’s newly introduced road bike initiatives in 2023, which include road bike category results in all open events, it was a significantly bigger entry than last season’s 103 riders. Thirty-three-year-old Oxfordshire rider Mottram averaged 27.98mph to finish in 39.40, 22 seconds ahead of runner-up Paul Burton (Paceline RT), whose team-mate Guido Blee finished a further eight seconds in arrears in third place.…

Owners should check whether their crank arms are stamped with the following codes. They appear on the inside of the crank near the bottom of the arm. The affected models were manufactured pre July 2019: KF, KG, KH, KI, KJ, KK, KL, LA, LB, LC, LD, LE, LF, LG, LH, LI, LJ, LK, LL, MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, MF, MG, MH, MI, MJ, MK, ML, NA, NB, NC, ND, NE, NF, NG, NH, NI, NJ, NK, NL, OA, OB, OC, OD, OE, OF, OG, OH, OI, OJ, OK, OL, PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, PF, PG, PH, PI, PJ, PK, PL, QA, QB, QC, QD, QE, QF, QG, QH, QI, QJ, QK, QL, RA, RB, RC, RD, RE, and RF. UK HELPINE: 01174 094 110…

So how does the Dogma X ride? The first sensations were positive. Pinarello has struck a fantastic balance between stability and agility. During my ride in Italy I set myself the challenge of finding every pothole I could – a pretty fair test for a bike with 32mm tyres. I found the bike did a great job of soaking up the bigger bumps, which I think cements its capabilities as an all-road offering. The other side of the compliance story is a loss in stiffness – and for me, this is where the Dogma X became slightly unstuck. When really throwing the hammer down on steeper gradients, I did notice a definite lack of stiffness, especially at the bottom bracket area. This is where seatpost compliance systems, like that found…

“At most, I do yoga twice a day – and never go more than two days without it,” says Damien Clayton, 31, who competes internationally with Embark Spirit-BSS Rotor. “It’s the perfect complement to cycling. As a cyclist, I ask so much of my body every day; it’s in a constant fight-or-flight situation. Yoga provides time to thank my body for what I ask of it.” Clayton started yoga in 2017 and it became a regular practice during lockdown, using ‘Yoga with Adriene’ sessions on YouTube. For him, the benefits are both mental and physical. Mentally it provides a ‘reset’ after the demands of heavy training and racing – poses such as Pigeon also help to offset the rigours of riding. “If I don’t practise the discipline, my hips especially…

Not really an act of stupidity, not as such, but that’s what this box is called. On a ride a few weeks ago, I found I was quickly catching up with a group of six or seven middle-aged riders. They were clearly not a club run, or a particularly experienced training group – they were spread out over a lot of road, and some of them were still clearly a bit unsure about riding in a tighter formation. They turned left about 20 yards ahead of me. The two at the front crashed into each other and the rest of the group crashed into them. Within a few seconds they were all on the ground in a (uninjured-looking) heap. What I loved was the whoop of joy as they all…

If Ineos Grenadiers don’t come out of this year’s transfer window with either Remco Evenepoel or Primož Roglič on board, they’ve messed up, it’s as simple as that. The Evenepoel transfer saga has rumbled on for months with Ineos being linked throughout. Will he stay? Will he go? How will he fit in if Jumbo-Visma and Quick Step merge? These are all questions that as of yet remain unanswered. If the reported merger does take place then it’s hard to see him wanting to ride for the proposed ‘superteam’ with the prospect of having to compete with Jonas Vingegaard for leadership of the new project at next year’s Tour de France. Ineos should be taking full advantage of the uncertainty surrounding the merger, making it clear that there’s room for…

Francis Bernstein is a regular cyclist, like many of us, who uses his bike to commute and head out with his club, Dulwich Paragon, at the weekend. However, Bernstein has also discovered that he has the expertise and tenacity to fight a one-man mission against the scourge of many: the pothole. Speaking to Cycling Weekly, the Crystal Palace-based activist explained that you have to be very diligent when reporting a problem with a road surface, or it might not be fixed at all. “Most local authorities take a risk-based approach to potholes, which most people just don’t get,” he said. “They will assess a pothole based on some kind of scoring, and then act or not. Every local authority has a different way of scoring. When you’ve got something that…

It’s typical of this country that it finds money for shiny new projects but not the money to look after them once they’re built. Surely, given the state of our road network, it would be better to divert the vast majority of the annual roads budget to maintaining existing roads rather than building new ones. This would both deal with potholes and keep the road construction industry in work. One problem I have experienced as a cyclist is cheap surface-dressing. Two issues: the potholes and broken roadsides aren’t repaired, so you ride along this new surface and don’t see the pothole until it’s too late. Second, as the dressed surfaces start breaking up, they are a nightmare to cycle on. CORRECTION Last week we printed a letter suggesting local councillors…

BRIXTON CC This south London-based group is open to all London’s riders and is based around the principles of the cooperative movement. They do almost every type of cycling, from BMX to track. Predominantly social, the club has also tried out racing. OUTLIERS.CC This low-key Edinburgh-based outfit does a hills-based ride every Wednesday evening round the Scottish city, which is reportedly brutal and involves cobbles as well as the climb of Arthur’s Seat. CENTURIES.CC Centuries.cc rides in and around Sussex, but its USP is that it is an inclusive cycling group for people affected, directly or indirectly, by mental health challenges. Every month a ride brings people together in a welcoming environment to “connect, share stories, laughs and the road on two wheels”. NEW FOREST OFF-ROAD CLUB The NFORC’s Instagram…

When a decade ago I first started encouraging cyclists to try yoga, most of them raised an eyebrow or humoured me politely. For most riders, the word ‘yoga’ conjured up images of awkward smalltalk in fusty village halls, pretzel poses reserved for the super-bendy, mostly female practitioners, and maybe a bit of obscure chanting. Fast-forward to 2023 and most professional riders factor in a structured stretching session at least a few times a week – and many regularly practise yoga. So what’s changed? Strip away the breathing and meditation elements from a typical yoga session and you have a series of physical postures that systematically work the body through various planes of motion, such as lateral flexion, rotation, and extension (side bending, twists and back bending in yoga speak). This…

OK, you don’t need to avoid these poses completely, but they should be approached with caution. Getting them wrong could heap more tension on areas where cyclists are already tense, such as the lower back, neck and shoulders. DOWNWARD DOG Often prescribed in yoga classes and held for long periods of time, this pose can add tension onto already fatigued shoulders and feel like a plank if the hamstrings are too tight to shift your weight back off your shoulders and onto your heels. Puppy Dog is a great alternative for cyclists, as it moves the spine into gentle extension from the flexed riding position. From all fours, simply lower the forehead towards the floor and straighten the arms overhead. SITTING CROSS-LEGGED If you haven’t sat cross-legged since primary school,…

I have never attempted to coach my friend Bernard. This is because I want to enjoy life, and if I wanted to do something pointless and self-defeating I’d go back to running. That’s not to say he hasn’t asked for advice occasionally. Even more occasionally I’ve offered it unrequested, normally as part of the passive-aggressive war of attrition we’ve been waging in the cycling arena since about eight-speed. I’ve outlined sessions that might address some of his weaknesses, pointed out the need for recovery and suggested that there could be benefits from a season-long plan that takes into account his targets, his holidays and his usually abysmal levels of sustained motivation. In other words, coaching, but for free. The other key difference from real coaching would be the hostility with…

It really feels like they’re going all out to get the Cav-fronted band back together at Astana. Clearly they believe they can relive the highs of the glory years that brought Cav and co multiple Tour de France stage wins and thousands of adoring fans. Alexandre Vinokourov might not possess quite the same swagger as the likes of Liam Gallagher, but Mark Cavendish certainly does. The legendary sprinter is the closest thing we have to a rock star on two wheels, and bringing in Vasilis Anastopoulos to the fold is a shrewd move to get Cavendish firing on all cylinders at the Tour de France next summer once more. Cavendish has previously been very open with just how much of an impact the Greek ex-pro had on him at Quick…

Crank failures have resulted from bonding separation and delamination of the crank arms – with both driveside and non-driveside cranks being affected. It goes without saying that not all incidents will be the same, but when we spoke to UK racer Tom Couzens about his experience with an affected crank, his account showed what can only be described as a catastrophic failure. “There was no warning. There was no time to prepare myself,” Couzens told us when his non-driveside crank failed on a fast group ride known locally as the ‘Buckden Run’ in the north of England. He explained: “Just as the pace started to heat up and I got out of the saddle to put some power down it snapped, clean off,” with “no warning or signals something was…

Ed Laverack (Backpedal) got the better of reigning national hill-climb champion Andrew Feather in the VC Cumbria climb of Whinlatter Pass on Saturday, throwing down the gauntlet ahead of this year’s title race in four weeks. Kieran Wynne-Cattanach (Team Lifting Gear Products) was third in Cumbria, and occupied the same position the following day at the Fibrax-Wrexham RC Horseshoe Pass event where Andy Cunningham (Wheelbase-CabTech) was quickest by just one second from Chris Mann (Velotik RT). Rebecca Richardson (Team Lifting Gear Products) continued her recovery from injury last year with victory in the women’s category on the Horseshoe Pass. Cunningham enjoyed a doublewinning weekend, having also taken victory in the Otley CC two-stage climbs of Guise Cliff and Norwood Edge in West Yorkshire. Ross Howcroft-Jones (High North Performance) was second overall…

Dutch sprinter sets out to break kilo world record Later this month Dutch track sprinter Jeffrey Hoogland will try to break the world record in the one-kilometre time trial. The current best time is 56.303 seconds, held by France’s François Pervis since 2013. It is the longest standing record in track cycling. “It’s the last remaining challenge for him to become the best-ever kilo rider,” coach Mehdi Kordi said of the four-time world champ, who’ll make the attempt at altitude in Aguascalientes in Mexico on 31 October. UK cycle market hits new low The UK cycle industry has hit another new low, according to a Bicycle Association report published last week. The mid-year report found the market fell 8% compared to last year, with mechanical and electric bikes affected. It’s…

STANDING BACKBEND Here’s a pitstop stretch that can be done at the side of the road to ease the spine into extension and relieve an aching back. Extension, or back bending, feels great after hours in the saddle with a flexed spine and helps keep the back comfortable and mobile. ■ Stand with your feet hip-width apart.■ Tuck your backside in.■ Place your palms on your lower back and lean slowly back.■ Hold for a few seconds and then return to standing upright. STANDING FORWARD FOLD An easy and accessible way to stretch the hamstrings, this pose also flexes the whole of the back of the body, including the upper back and neck. The model has her hands flat on the floor but you can also just let the arms…

What exactly is the muscle cramp that affects cyclists? The phenomenon that I study is exercise-associated muscle cramping, AK A exertional or work-related cramping – as distinct from nighttime or pregnancy cramping, etc. It is defined as an involuntary painful contraction of skeletal muscle occurring during or after exercise. Most frequently it affects the working muscles – in runners and cyclists, the calves, quads and hamstrings. Why does it hurt so much? Great question, and I’m not sure we truly know. Presumably it’s because of the constant actin-myosin [muscle filament] interaction squeezing the nerve terminals, not allowing the normal passage of the contractile proteins. In cyclists, why is it usually the hamstrings that cramp? The most cramp-prone muscle groups are those that cross two joints, meaning they have to both…