Innehållsförteckning för May 30, 2024 från Cycling Weekly

British Cycling’s future has been guaranteed by a “landmark” sponsorship deal with Lloyds Bank, which will see the company become BC’s lead partner, it was announced on Thursday. Lloyds will be the title partner of the Tours of Britain, National Series events, the National Championships, and the brand’s logo will feature on the Great Britain Cycling Team’s kit. Lloyds is the largest retail bank in Britain. BC has been without a lead sponsor since 2021, when HSBC exercised a break clause to end its partnership with BC early, with the body going through financially turbulent times in the interim. This new deal will help to take some of that pressure off. “We’re absolutely delighted, this is a landmark deal for cycling,” BC CEO Jon Dutton said on Thursday. “[It’s] game-changing.…

The new Merckx. And cycling has a new superstar. He can win in every cycling discipline, just waiting for him to win sprint stages as well – well deserved. Hugh Anderson He put the pink shorts on. They had no chance! John Young Pogačar is largely holding back. He has not made any long-range attacks since the second stage and has been waiting until the final climbs to attack. So this will not dramatically tire him out. And he has a month to train and recover for the TDF. Shimizu Randal I stopped watching a few days ago. It would be nice to see some racing, but with the GC done a week ago there’s nothing left to watch the Giro for. Paul Jukes He can rub it in, but…

Sean Yates wins his third and final South-East Divisional Championship in 1980, before embarking on a Continental career that would propel him to the heights of winning Grand Tour stages and leading the Tour de France. The image could not spell out ‘grassroots’ more vividly, finishing in a quiet Kentish village with a smattering of onlookers at the side of the road. Yates, riding for the 34 Nomads CC, is followed by Tony James and Ray Palin in second and third, with Tim Stevens bringing up the rear in fourth place. The following year the Sussex rider joined renowned French club ACBB, gaining attention with 15 victories that netted him a contract with the famous Peugeot team for 1982 – the first of 15 seasons as a professional.…

It was apparently once said that the best Olmo bikes were the equal of Colnago – high praise indeed. This Super Light model, made of Columbus Genius steel, is believed to be from 1990, the start of a decade that was a golden age for Italian cycling. Genius tubes were Columbus’s top tier at the time, with incredibly thin walls that made for a light frame –so thin, they dented a little too easily. This Olmo has many of the hallmarks of an Italian bike from that time: beautiful build quality, a Campagnolo (Veloce) groupset, 3TTT bars and stem, and a Selle San Marco Squadra saddle. Campagnolo Shamals were the wheels to have at the time, but these Gipiemme Tecno 416 were a more affordable option. Aero knowledge was basic…

After securing a crushing Giro d’Italia victory on his debut, Tadej Pogačar will not race again before heading to Florence for the Tour de France Grand Départ in just over four weeks’ time. The Slovenian will now focus on rest and recovery before a final altitude training camp at Isola 2000 in the French Alps. After three weeks in the high mountains, he’ll return to Italy to kickstart phase two of his plan to become the first man to do the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998. It won’t have gone unnoticed by his Tour rivals that the 25-year-old was unmatchable throughout the Giro, winning six stages and giving the impression he could have won more. He ran riot in the mountain stages, prompting his team to ask him…

British pro Lizzy Banks announced her retirement last week, revealing details of a nine-month battle with anti-doping authorities that left her with little faith in the system. The 33-year-old received a landmark “no fault or negligence” ruling from the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UK AD) after she returned two adverse analytical findings last July; one for formoterol, an asthma medication she was already known to be taking, and one for chlortalidone, a diuretic she had never heard of, present only as a small trace. Having previously trained as a doctor, Banks carried out extensive medical research, which she detailed in a 16,000-word blog post on her website. She was able to convince the authorities that her sample had been contaminated, and she was not given a sanction. The process, she said,…

MADS PEDERSEN LIDL-TREK With only two sprint stages on lumpy terrain, and with few pure bunch sprinters present, the race should suit Pedersen, who has not raced since finishing third at Paris-Roubaix. CW rating REMCO EVENEPOEL SOUDAL-QUICK STEP It is difficult to know what form the Belgian will be in, given that he has not raced since breaking his collarbone in Itzulia. When Evenepoel races, he goes for the win. In his last completed stage race, Paris-Nice, he finished second. CW rating PRIMOŽ ROGLIČ BORA-HANSGROHE Roglič has not raced since the Itzulia crash. His Bora-Hansgrohe career is yet to take off, with only 10th place at Paris-Nice. However, he excels at weeklong stage races, so expect more. CW rating SEPP KUSS VISMA-LEASE A BIKE Potentially leading Visma-Lease a Bike in…

I couldn’t resist sending you a photo of me holding a copy of Cycling Weekly while watching stage 14 of the Giro d’Italia. We were on holiday in Garda and I just had to go to the Giro. We travelled by local buses and trains and had a fantastic day. We even stayed for the presentation. It was very relaxed, the locals and restaurants were fantastic with very reasonably priced food. Even the Giro merchandise was very realistic – a T-shirt, hat and bag for €15 euros. We are now looking to go to the Tour de France and the Vuelta. Ed - glad to hear you enjoyed your visit Paul. With much smaller crowds and taking place outside of peak holiday season, the Giro has always been a better…

DISTANCE 124 MILES (200KM) CLIMBING 14,000FT (4,267M) GETTING THERE Where you start and finish is up to you. I started in Conwy, situated at the north of the mountain range, finishing in Machynlleth to the south. Both are served by train stations and are easily accessible by car if you’d prefer. WHERE TO STAY The Hilton Garden Inn near Conwy was a great place to get some shuteye before the start of the trip. Rooms are well provisioned, clean and comfortable at £125 per night with breakfast. A bar and restaurant area downstairs offers the option for preride fuelling or post-ride replenishment. www.hgisnowdonia.com The Wynnstay Hotel in the centre of Machynlleth is metres away from the start/finish point. The rooms have baths and the meals were exceptional. £125 B&B.…

An impressive seventh place at the recent Lincoln Grand Prix suggests that Tom Williams and his Storck Aerfast.4 have a harmonious relationship. The 20-year-old, who rides for the Thriva Scott Redding Cycling Team, notched up the top-10 finish just a week after winning the Yorkshire Under 23 Classic. “The Aerfast is a really nice bike,” Williams tells Cycling Weekly. “It’s one of the most aero on the market. I’m currently running it with Scribe Élan 60 wheels, so paired up it makes for an amazing bike. And while it’s very aero it still only weighs 7.6kg, making it a good all-rounder.” This number is even more impressive given that Williams rides a size large frame. Bike set-up also plays an important part in ensuring Williams gets the most from his…

The Mechanism road shoe is a collaboration between the Danish insta darlings Pas Normal Studios (PNS) and the Italian shoe and saddle brand Fizik. They’ve called it Mechanism because it slots directly into PNS’s performance line of the same name, identifying it as a lightweight racing shoe with a heavyweight price tag. Yes, that price. At a smidgen below £400, this is about as much as you’ll pay for a pair of cycling shoes; a similar amount can bag you some iconic racing footwear, such as the feature-laden Sidi Wire 2S or Shimano’s slightly pricier but battle-proven S-Phyre RC903. Only the handmade in Italy Nimbl Ultimate makes the Mechanism look cheap. The trouble is, Fizik already has a near-identical shoe in its range, the excellent Vento Infinito Carbon 2, that…

Lorena Wiebes proved once again that she is unrivalled as the fastest woman on two wheels, winning all three stages and the overall at last weekend’s Ford RideLondon Classique. The event stirred déjà vu among the spectators in London, as the Dutchwoman repeated the feat she achieved in 2022, sealing a hat-trick of victories at the race. On the final day this year, with Buckingham Palace as a backdrop, she lifted three fingers to the sky as she crossed the line, a simple sign of a job well done. “It’s nice to win on The Mall in central London,” Wiebes said afterwards. “The team acted at a high level this weekend. I am proud to have managed to repeat the hat-trick of 2022.” Wiebes’s bunch sprint victories felt more dominant…

Two months on from being caught up in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) will return to action at this crucial pre-Tour de France preparation race. The pair did not finish stage four of Itzulia, with Evenepoel suffering a broken collarbone in the downhill pile-up, but both are now fit enough to compete again. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike) was also supposed to be competing at the Critérium du Dauphiné, but is yet to have recovered enough from his more serious injuries, which he suffered in the same crash. Along with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the standout winner of the Giro d’Italia, the four are the big favourites for Tour victory next month. The Dauphiné is always a key staging…

The best bike rides, for me, are the ones that you aren’t quite certain of finishing. Your fate is unknown. Getting to the end, if it ever comes, will require a liberal quota of physical and psychological distress. You will sweat, you will toil, you will swear, you might even scream. Finally, after rage, rage raging against the dying of the (day)light, the finishing line miraculously hoves into view. Cue an unrivalled sense of accomplishment, the satisfaction of a job tremendously well done. Well, that’s the best-case scenario anyway – and it’s what I was hoping for when, in mid-April, I set the controls for North Wales. Cycling UK’s latest off-road challenge, the Traws Eryri (pronounced trouse eh-ruhree) – or Trans-Snowdonia, in English – was my first ‘I might not…

Ukrainian cyclist Danylo Chernomortsev had just turned 16 when Russia began its full-scale invasion of his country in February 2022. His hometown, the southern city of Mykolaiv, was battered by the invading force’s artillery from day one. “A lot of Russian machines and tanks came to Mykolaiv, tried to surround the city and take it. We watched so many tanks go past our house,” he says. Russia failed to seize Mykolaiv, but for the past two-and-a-bit years, the city has remained one of Vladimir Putin’s key targets. Ordinary people have paid the price – including one of Chernomortsev’s closest friends Petro Ivanov. “Seven months after the war, my friend, who was 16 like me, was coming back from school when a Russian missile killed him in the centre of the…

The 42 Carbon Disc Ti is one of three wheelsets in Hunt’s new Sustain Phase One range. Designed to reduce the company’s environmental impact, the wheels are made using recycled content in the rims as well as featuring ‘Zero Coat’ spokes and spoke nipples, both of which save energy and chemical usage associated with the anodising process. In the case of the 42 Carbon Ti, this equates to a carbonfibre rim where 10% of the material is from recycled sources. Additionally, the rims are moulded with a wax core mandrel that can be melted down and reused more than 20 times, rather than the single-use silicone or EPS versions. “THE WHEELS ARE MADE USING RECYCLED CONTENT” Created as an all-rounder, the 42 Carbon Disc Ti uses a 42mm deep hooked…

With midsummer – the longest day of the year – less than a month away, the thrill of the long and winding road beckons for many of us. Whether you’re a seasoned cycling aficionado, or an enthusiastic weekend cyclist gearing up for your first epic journey, it’s essential to prepare body, bike and mind for the adventure. That’s why we’ve put together some top tips and invaluable advice to help you achieve your goals and prepare you for your longest ride of the year. BEFORE THE RIDE Train for the distance Training for a long ride, be it an organised event or just a big day out with your friends or club mates, would ideally take place over six to 12 weeks – provided you’re already reasonably fit. This will…

A culture war concerns “social policy wedge issues that are based on abstract arguments about values, morality and lifestyle meant to promote political cleavage in a multicultural society”. Otherwise known as, “Cyclists should have compulsory insurance, licence plates, pay road tax and be followed everywhere by the Daily Mail drone in case they forget to salute any of their betters who have purchased a motor car.” Cyclists have become part of a diversionary skirmish in the culture wars because so many terrible people hate us. They despise us and want us to be horribly mutilated, and they enjoy agreeing on this. In turn, we despise them and want much the same, and can also agree on that. Thus we are safe from anyone having their mind changed about anything, or…