Innehållsförteckning för April 4, 2024 från Cycling Weekly

The weekend just gone was something of a bonanza for cyclists (notwithstanding the weather wherever you are), with the clocks going forward to make the evenings lighter for longer and the four-day Easter weekend both happening together – a boon for those wanting to kick-start their spring riding and enjoy a bit more time in the saddle. I can’t remember the last time that happened. The question is, were you able to take advantage of this double whammy? Looking through posts from those taking on our four Big Ride Challenge distances, lots of you did. Typically, I did not. I had a full Easter schedule planned out in my calendar but it was more slanted toward eating chocolate than it was to riding my bike. And as much as I…

We are right in the thick of Classics season, with big races every few days. This means we are living as a team together at our base in Belgium for the next few weeks. You hear tales of awful cold team houses where you must sleep in some horrific dormitory but thankfully ours is a far cry from that. Its rather idyllic, with home-cooked meals for us every evening and comfy apartments; we even have a little old pony who meanders around the gardens to add to the rural Belgian charm. It’s amazing how quickly you bond when living together – you quickly learn everyone’s eating, sleeping and race-prep habits. Perhaps to aid morale, the lady who runs it leaves out a bowl of mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. During my…

MADS PEDERSEN LIDL-TREK The Dane is in the form of his life, and he will be backed by a strong Lidl-Trek team who got the better of Mathieu van der Poel in Ghent-Wevelgem, where Pedersen won. CW rating ★★★★ MATTEO JORGENSEN VISMA-LEASE A BIKE One of the few riders in the Dutch team who has not been hit by crashes or illness, Jorgensen is on great form, having won Dwars Door Vlaanderen last week. Team-mate Tiesj Benoot will be needed as back-up. CW rating ★★★ MATHIEU VAN DER POEL ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK The favourite looks on fiery form, and at this point he is the rider to beat. Pedersen is the quicker finisher, so he will want to go from far out and lose him before the finish. CW rating ★★★★★ PFEIFFER…

Doctor Hutch (CW 7 March) wrote in his ‘Great Inventions of Cycling 1869: the parcours’ that the first road race was Paris-Rouen in 1869. While this was the first road race in the world, the first cycle race had been held the year previously on a circuit in Paris. Both races were won by Richard Moore, an Englishman living in Paris. The first of the big one-day classic races Bordeaux-Paris (held in 1891) were also won by an English rider, George Mills. Cycle racing on the open roads in mainland Europe went from strength to strength over the ensuing years, but in the British Isles racing was banned on the open roads in 1894, and it was not until 1942 that Percy Stallard formed the British League of Racing Cyclists…

Three of the men’s WorldTour teams are state-run outfits, meaning they receive money from nation states seeking to raise their countries’ profiles. The motivation might be to strengthen the country’s presence in the business market, improve its image globally, or to increase its popularity as a tourist destination. Astana became the first such team in modern cycling when a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan founded the team in 2007, naming it after Astana, the country’s capital since 1997. The team, ever-present in the WorldTour since 2009, has had many successes but has also been beset by doping issues. Historically, 30% of the team has been filled by Kazakh riders. In 2017, two Gulf nations, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, invested substantial sums into creating WorldTour teams. Bahrain Victorious…

Hutchinson is calling the Blackbird its fastest tyre ever, with a claimed 10% less rolling resistance compared with the Fusion 5. Interestingly, the French brand says this improvement in speed doesn’t come at a cost to the tyre’s longevity. In fact, it says the lifespan has increased to over 4,000km of “real world riding”. The new SwiftEasy casing design and Mach Tread 3.0 compound take credit for the reduced rolling resistance and higher mileage. The casing is wrapped around the bead and then bonded to the puncture protection strip rather than the layers being overlapped. The result, according to Hutchinson, is more flexible contact with the road. The weight also drops, with the 28mm tyre weighing 290g. The new compound is said to deliver both an increase in energy return…

Oli Williamson, physiotherapist with Marylebone Health, urges older cyclists to work hard on maintaining strength. “As we age, the natural decline in muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone mineral density (osteopenia or osteoporosis) can profoundly affect cyclists,” says Williamson. Sarcopenia leads to reduced muscle strength and endurance, while decreased bone density increases susceptibility to fractures, particularly in the hip, spine, and wrist. “To mitigate these effects, strength training is crucial. Physiotherapists recommend incorporating strength and conditioning sessions – two or three times weekly – focusing on compound exercises like squats, leg press, and single-leg movements. For bone health, exercises such as bar bell back squats and dynamic movements like box landing and hopping are beneficial.” Williamson’s colleague at Marylebone Health, Dan Guillemette, provides the following advice on optimum nutrition choices for…

It was not the race-winning move – that would come on the Koppenberg about 10km later – but the second time up the Oude Kwaremont where Mathieu van der Poel put in the kind of surge that marked him out as comfortably the strongest rider in the Tour of Flanders last Sunday. As Mads Pedersen’s doomed attack was chased down, Van der Poel calmly put the power down, and moved clear on the rain-soaked cobbles. As the flares went off and the well-oiled crowd cheered, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider picked his line and led from the front. Standing on the muddy verges of the Kwaremont, one got the sense of a rider in total control. The next time he came up the famous cobbled climb, he was alone, and a third…

Before the big show that is the Tour of Flanders on Sunday came Dwars door Vlaanderen last Wednesday, where a crash in the men’s race would prove Classics-defining. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) won after a late attack on the final cobbled sector, after his team-mate Wout van Aert had crashed out of the race and the Classics. Jorgenson, the Paris-Nice winner, has now taken his first WorldTour stage race and one-day wins since joining Visma in the off-season. In the women’s race Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) made it a golden day for the Dutch outfit, taking her first victory in the Flanders warm-up. It was her 250th career victory on the road, and came after she followed an attack from Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) with 12km to go,…

Demi Vollering to leave SD Worx-Protime Demi Vollering, the reigning Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion, is set to leave SD Worx-Protime this year. The 27-year-old is the top-ranked female cyclist by the UCI, and is out of contract at the end of this season. It has been reported that the Dutch superteam cannot afford to keep both her and world champion Lotte Kopecky – who signed a new deal last month – on their books. Franck Bonnamour sacked over “anti-doping violation” French professional cyclist Franck Bonnamour was dismissed by his team, Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, after he was provisionally suspended last month due to “unexplained abnormalities” in his anti-doping record. Last month, Bonnamour was suspended by the UCI for the same reasons in his biological passport. His contract has…

If you’ve been watching professional cycling for years, you’ll have found yourself drawn in by the continual changes of colours and names adorning the riders. The lurid, Liquorice Allsort appearance of the pro peloton is full of surprises each year: what’s that new sponsor? What’s the company behind the name, how do they make their money, and why are they using cycling to market themselves? This year is no different. So if you thought that Visma was a breed of dog or wondered how a Saudi Arabian city came to sponsor a cycling team, this feature is for you. Here’s the lowdown on those strange names and logos to keep you fully informed as you lie back and lap up the action this summer. HANSGROHE A German bathroom and kitchen…

At the top end of UK cycling, the dominant sponsor in recent years was, of course, Sky, the British telecommunications firm now owned by US giant Comcast Corporation. Sky stepped aside in 2019 and was replaced by Ineos, a petrochemical company. The team became Ineos Grenadiers in 2020 – the Grenadier being a 4x4 vehicle built by Jim Ratcliffe’s firm. Rewind to the late 1990s and Britain had another major cycling team, Linda McCartney, but that project lasted only until 2001. Linda McCartney foods specialises in vegetarian and vegan products. These days, British teams at the top level are few and far between. Saint Piran, a UCI Continental team based in Cornwall, is one of the longest-running. The team is named after the patron saint of Cornwall, whose name is…

Rob Hinchliffe is professor of vascular surgery at the University of Bristol. Q: What are the main symptoms? A: Persistent lower leg symptoms of cramp and a loss of power in one or both legs might indicate you have it. Riders can also experience ‘pins and needles’ in the foot. But many people won’t ever get symptoms, and some people are able to continue riding without it worsening. Q: Why is it more common in the left leg? A: We don’t know, but it’s probably related to the fact that the anatomy is slightly different on the left side of the body. Q: Are women more susceptible? A: There have been more high-profile female cyclists with the problem recently, but we can’t say if it’s more common in women. We’d…

You only have to scroll through the spec of the Forerunner 265 to see it has been designed with a broad range of users in mind. It can track your efforts whether you’re cycling on the road, indoors or along the trails, with the seemingly endless list of sporting activities extending to include the likes of paddleboarding and ice hockey. And it doesn’t stop there. Every morning its bright AMOLED display shows your sleep score, Garmin’s overview of how well you slept, your training readiness and your current energy level. It even detects moments of stress and advises you to take some time to wind down, which, in a world where things can be so full on, I found to be very helpful. Similar to the Forerunner 955, the 265…

TIME TRIALS FRI, MARCH 29 CTT Classic Series round two (33 and 22 miles, Buxton CC, Longnor, Staffordshire): Road Bikes: 1. Adam Kenway (Team HUUB) 58.40 2. D. Fellows (Solihull CC) 58.58 3. J. Taylor (Team PB Performance) 1:00.20 4. M. Lovatt (Congleton CC) 1:00.54 5. K. Norris (360VRT) 1:01.02 6. L. Buswell (Manchester BC) 1:02.18 Women: 1. Hayley Simmonds (Doltcini O’Shea Cycle Division) 1:02.04 2. K. Murphy (Doltcini O’Shea Cycle Division) 1:03.19 3. J. Rhodes-Jones (AeroCoach) 1:06.34 4. B. Brooksbank (Trek Sheffield) 1:10.05 5. S. Byrne (Tactic UK WRT) 1:11.47 6. A. Weaver (Team Kirkley Cycles) 1:13.32 Time trial bikes: Alex Hodgkinson (Ilkeston CC) 1:43.19 Junior Boys: Patrick Casey (Team Grenke Auto Eder) 55.59 Junior Girls: Sophie Heighton (Ferryhill Wheelers) 1:28.23 Veterans: Mark Lovatt Veterans on age adjusted time: Karl…

Dear Doc, watching the Classics racing through the villages of Belgium reminded me of a few years ago when my brother and I decided we needed to master the art of bunny-hopping sideways up a kerb – we figured it would be useful next time we raced the Tour of Flanders. On my first attempt, I didn’t hop quite high enough, came down with a bang, and gave my elbow a cut that needed two stitches. Next time we tried it – later that same day after getting back from A&E – my brother managed it first go. He put his arms aloft in celebration and crashed straight into a bus shelter, breaking his elbow. We never did ride the Tour of Flanders. Our mum won’t let us.…

Away from the Mathieu van der Poel show up the road, the battle for second came from a group of 10 behind. There were big names in there, like former winner Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) and Michael Matthews (Jayco Alula), but it was probably the most unheralded of the lot who claimed second, the best of the rest. Luca Mozzato of Arkéa-B&B Hotels launched his sprint ahead of Matthews, and pipped the Australian to the line; the man who finished third was later relegated to 11th for his dangerous sprint. It meant Arkéa’s first ever podium in a Monument, and after such a brutal Tour of Flanders, too. Unheralded he may have been, but now the Italian is a genuine Classics contender. “It’s a result that exceeds my expectations,” Mozzato…

Chris Marshall-Bell steps into a fantasy world of life-defining loyalty to WorldTour cycling sponsors… I decided to build my dream house in France, so first of all I went shopping: I bought kitchen and bathroom appliances from Bora and Hansgrohe, a turbo trainer (for my Trek bike) from Decathlon for my pain cave. The flooring came from Quick-Step. I used my Arkéa bank card for all the purchases, and the overseas shipments were delivered by both EasyPost and PostNL. The floor under the shower started to leak, but I enlisted the help of construction engineering company Wanty, and some silicone from Soudal did the trick. I could eventually shower, and used shampoo and perfumes from DSM-Firmenich and Alpecin. I had to take a personal loan from Cofidis, though, to cover…

Ed Westrop When riding and rating the Temple Adventure Disc 1, my primary aim was to push the boundaries to ascertain what a bike with ‘Adventure’ in its name is really capable of. From a heavily laden tour, spanning two countries from Calais to Rotterdam, and gravel excursions seeking out the muckiest terrain possible, to long-distance road rides and work commutes enduring the worst of the appalling British weather, it’s fair to say I vigorously put this bike through its paces.…

Cycling offers a multitude of benefits for older adults, including bolstering the immune system, maintaining muscle mass and strength, and regulating body fat and cholesterol levels, as revealed by multiple studies. The low-impact nature of the sport makes it ideal for those with joint issues – unlike high-impact exercises such as running. Because it’s so accessible and kind on the body, cycling is easy to take up later in life and to continue for decades. In a society of increasing isolation, the social interaction and camaraderie cycling offers can help combat mental health issues and loneliness too. For many of those who’ve cycled since childhood – progressing to club and elite levels – the positive impact upon their health and wellbeing means they’re still smashing PBs and picking up medals…

It seems incredible that in a long racing career no one ever asked me to do one of those “My Week in Training” features. It’s not as if my career was a total disaster – I fluked a few wins here and there. It’s not as if I didn’t train. It’s not as if no one had my phone number. It’s not as if I’d said no to such a request – it would have been a valuable opportunity to spread disinformation to my rivals. (“I spend an hour every day on the rollers pedalling backwards,” was a decoy I always planned to deploy.) So anyway, better late than never, I thought. Here’s what I did last week, in an important pre-season training block. I have no particular long-term or…