Innehållsförteckning för September 19, 2024 från Cycling Weekly

Tour of Britain winner Stevie Williams will be hoping that a DNF in Montréal won’t impact his potential Worlds selection for Great Britain. The 28-year-old winner of Flèche Wallonne was expected to contest for the podium in Canada, but was unable to finish the race. Nevertheless, Williams told CW pre-race that he hoped to be considered by GB after winning two WorldTour races this year. “I’ve put it out there that I’d like to go there and be competitive,” he said. “But I’m under no illusion that it’s one of the hardest races of the year. “But if I have a good day, I’ll certainly give it a good shot. I mean it’s the World Championships, so if you can’t get motivated for something like that then what can you…

LOTTE KOPECKY Bel World Ranking: 1 Since winning last year’s Worlds road race in Glasgow, Lotte Kopecky has honoured the rainbow jersey in style, discovering new-found skills as a climber to make the podium at the Giro d’Italia, yet losing none of her edge in the Classics; triumphing at Paris-Roubaix and Strade Bianche. She’ll be a marked woman, and her Belgian team face a challenge to protect her from attacks, but she’ll be desperate to make amends for her Paris 2024 campaign that yielded only a bronze medal from the road race, and none from the track events. DEMI VOLLERING Ned World Ranking: 2 Following her crash-induced defeat at the Tour de France Femmes by an agonising four seconds, Demi Vollering will be itching to bounce back. Though she’s cleaned…

BMC’s pleasingly simple range of road bikes lists just the Teammachine under ‘racing’. The Roadmachine is listed as endurance. The Teammachine range is then split into three groups, the R 01, SLR 01, and the SLR, each available with different builds and specs. BMC describes the R 01 as ‘the most complete race bike we’ve ever made’ and there is no doubt this Teammachine, with its genealogy stretching back to 2002, is designed purely for racing. Every part of the bike has been streamlined and the attention to detail throughout is impressive. CONSTRUCTION While a considerable amount of effort, experience, and knowledge went into building this frame - BMC designs, builds, and tests all its prototype frames in its Grenchen HQ in Switzerland - it was the out-front head unit…

Club: Beaconsfield CC Location: Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire Web: Beaconsfield.cc The story of the jersey The original jersey design came about after the club invited a local women’s cycling group to join forces with it, not long after its formation 10 years ago. The club adopted the striking pink, black and white that the women used, and they became the club colours. “They’re highly visible and now very well recognised in the area,” says Alistair Beveridge, one of the club’s founding members. The jersey was updated to its current version a couple of years later, he says, adding: “Rather than being designed by a couple of ageing cyclists with crayons, it was finely crafted by someone who knew what they were doing.” It is supplied by Endura. The story of the club…

Beryl Burton leads her rivals up a cobbled climb in the 1960 World Championship road race in East Germany. It was only the third time the event had been run, and although the young Burton – she was only 23 in this picture – had finished fifth the year before, this was the first time she had won the race. She wasn’t a complete stranger to international gold medals though, having won her first individual pursuit World Championship the previous year. When this image was taken she had also won her second, having triumphed again in the 3,000m event just days before in nearby Leipzig. Along with her road win it was the start of a long and illustrious World Championship career for Burton, who took the silver medal on…

Canadian class The peloton passes in front of the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec during the GP of the same name last week. The five-star hotel was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company in 1893. Hill climb This is a road race, not a hill-climb, but the winning breakaway at the Beaumont Trophy is about to crest one of the many punchy rises on the lumpy course. Oliver Rees, on the front, would go on to win. Training ride Dawid Godziek of Poland jumps on a moving train. It’s not drop bars, but it is apparently the first time this kind of thing has ever happened on the back of a locomotive, cannily called the Red Bull Bike Express. Wiebes power No one looks close to beating Lorena…

“It’s very upsetting, I have just got into cycling because of this event,” one rider commented on Instagram. “Very disappointing,” another added. “It’s the only motivation of thousands of cyclists every year to train. Basically they are pushing us to go to other countries for a closed-road cycling event.” “There goes my London trip for 2025. Was really looking forward to this,” another participant said. This was the reaction to the news last week that RideLondon would not happen in 2025, officially for a “pause”, for a strategic review. All early entrants will be fully refunded. It will mark the first time that the mass-participation bike ride has skipped a year – apart from during the Covid pandemic – since its inception in 2013. The RideLondon Classique, the Women’s WorldTour…

The Cycling Time Trials (CTT) Classic Series is to be run as a road bike-only competition next year, the sport’s UK governing body has revealed. The switch comes off the back of figures for the first half of 2024 that show road bikes are proving far more popular with riders new to time trialling: there has been a 60% increase in newly registered riders using road bikes, and a 54% drop in those opting for low-pro time trial machines. The figures are stark and paint a clear picture. They should be viewed with caution though, given that 2024 has been the first full year in which road bikes have enjoyed their own dedicated category. The six-round Classic Series is run throughout spring and summer – from March to June –…

Every “strategic pause” has led to a “permanent ending”. Amgen said that the Tour of California was being paused. That was four years ago. This is just one example of cycling races that have been “paused”. Tim Garvin Leighton The original Olympic route in Surrey was far better. Phil Crow This is because local councils were bellyaching about roads being closed for the events. And stopping their residents from getting to Tesco. Tom Newman I suspect the UCI screwing the organisers with a forced date change that could not be accommodated for the three-day women’s race was a factor. Lee Wood Anti-cycling rhetoric in this country is shocking. Rich Bachman UK bike racing calendar is being hit by problems from all sides. Meanwhile, BC thinks the future is bright because…

1 A new look Immediately obvious to the naked eye, is the new matt black finish. It remains in line with ‘traditional Campagnolo aesthetics’, while offering consumers a slightly more understated look than the gloss black Super Record Wireless. We think the cranks in particular are a real head-turner. 2 Matching Wheels Alongside the groupset, Campagnolo has announced the release of two special-edition wheelsets to match the silky, dark palette of Super Record S wireless. Campagnolo is offering both its range-topping Bora Ultra WTO and second-tier Bora WTO wheelsets in a matt finish, with subdued branding to match. The wheels feature their own special-edition hubs too, complete with satin-striped flashes. 3 New gearing options Campagnolo has updated Super Record S Wireless to feature a whole host of new gearing options.…

Favero’s Assioma PRO MX-2 pedals have been developed for cyclists requiring accurate power data to inform their off-road rides, using a solution that can be swapped across multiple bikes. While the ‘PRO’ in the nomenclature identifies the structure of the power spindle and internals, the ‘MX’ indicates the disciplines Favero expect them to be used for – MTB, CX and, of course gravel, where our review pair spent their time. Other than a couple of flat, knurled sections at either end of the body, these pedals look much the same as regular Shimano SPD pedals. The aluminium mechanism includes tension-release adjustment screws. According to Favero, this is the first pedal where all the electronics, including the rechargeable battery, are housed in the spindle, protecting them from knocks, water and dust…

Back in 2024, many cyclists felt pressurised by social media into undertaking long and demanding rides which they were either not fit enough to do, didn’t have time to do, or couldn’t be bothered with. To solve this problem, they could pay another rider – a Strava mule – to undertake the ride for them. So if they wanted their Strava followers to give them kudos for a 100-mile ride round Cumbria at an average speed of 30kph, instead of suffering the inconvenience and discomfort of a nice long day on their bike in the lovely hills, they found someone to go and do it for them. Their friends were impressed, and in an attempt to keep up with the first idiot, paid another Strava mule to go and do…

This Peugeot looks at first glance to have been picked up at a French flea market, sans front basket. A closer inspection tells a very different story indeed. While most Peugeot step-throughs were made from steel, this model – likely a prototype that never went into production - is aluminium. And Duralinox aluminium at that. Bonded alloy frames surfaced in the 1970s, when French and Italian engineers sought to make lightweight alloy racing frames. In Italy, Alan led the charge. In France, it was Vitus. Through its collaboration with Angenieux-CLB, Péchiney and the 3M Company (the former a French alloy tube maker, the latter an American adhesives expert) it created prototype frames that eschewed additional screws or pins. Made by frame builder Roger Roche, these efforts would eventually evolve into…

As he so often does, Tadej Pogačar ripped up the script in another WorldTour race as he stormed to victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal ahead of the upcoming World Championships in Switzerland. It is rare that a solo move from range on the Parc du Mont-Royal circuit sticks. But on a scorching hot day in the North American city, Pogačar launched an unanswerable attack 20 kilometres from the finish on the penultimate ascent of the steep Côte Camillien Houde climb. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step) both briefly tried to follow the Slovenian, although their attempt to stay with him was short-lived and neither rider saw him again until the finish. It wasn’t quite Strade Bianche distance, but this was Pogačar at his…

British Cycling was among more than five different teams and nations that attempted to sign top British aerodynamicist Dan Bigham following his departure from Ineos Grenadiers, the engineer has revealed. Speaking to Cycling Weekly fresh from claiming an Olympic silver medal, Bigham said BC “enquired” about his services as “more than a handful” of organisations attempted to get him on board before he opted to join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Bigham said: “I wanted to find a team that felt the same way about performance that I did and how to move the needle not an insignificant amount. The approach from Red Bull, and especially their ambition and how clear they were and how they wanted to go about it in performance was like night and day compared to the other conversations…

TADEJ POGAČAR, Slo World ranking: 1 Can the incomparable Tadej Pogačar complete what has already been one of the all-time great seasons, and follow Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche to become only the third man in history to achieve the triple crown of winning the Giro, Tour and Worlds road race in one season? The Worlds is a trickier race for him, given the superior strength of his rivals’ teams. He missed the Olympics to recover after the Tour and has 21 wins under his belt this season. If he’s still on that form, he is nigh-on unbeatable. REMCO EVENEPOEL, Bel World ranking: 2 Having been crowned Olympic champion in both the road race and time trial in Paris last month, Remco Evenepoel now has his sights set on recapturing…

FILIPPO GANNA, ITA 2024 TT wins: 2 The two-time world champion of 2020 and 2021 has since been supplanted by Remco Evenepoel as the best time triallist in the world, and had to settle for a silver medal behind him both at the Olympics this year and the Worlds last year. He’ll be desperate to reclaim his title in Zurich. However, the undulating route is not ideal for the world Hour record holder’s large, powerful physique which is more suited to steady but substantial watts. JOSH TARLING, GBr 2024 TT wins: 2 Were it not for an unfortunate puncture, Josh Tarling would almost certainly have won an Olympic medal in the time trial. While the Welshman was left frustrated with a fourth-place finish, the performance proved he has stepped up…

The phrase core training is ubiquitous across the fitness industry, tripping off the tongue all too easily as the solution to almost every problem. Lower back hurts on a ride: ‘Have you done your core training?’ Struggling to push higher peak power: ‘Have you done your core training?’ Whether you’re not aero enough in your time trial position, your neck aches on long rides, your knee twinges or you get saddle sores, at some point someone will tell you the problem lies with your core. Before we assess whether they’re right or wrong, let’s define our terms: what is your core and what is core training? Physiotherapist and bikefit expert Phil Burt, author of Bike Fit and Strength and Conditioning for Cyclists, has worked with many of Britain’s top professionals…

Kieran Wynne-Cattanach (Team Lifting Gear Products) grabbed a weekend double of hill-climb wins, while his rivals for next month’s National Championships were also in good form. Wynne-Cattanach tasted victory at Saturday’s Protech Velo event on Paradise Bank in County Durham before tackling Sunday’s Birdwell Wheelers climb of Green Moor near Stocksbridge. Meanwhile, Andy Cunningham (Ilkley CC) won the Yorkshire Road Club climb of Cragg Vale in West Yorkshire, and reigning national champion Andrew Feather (HuntBikeWheels.com) edged to victory in the Cheshire Maverick climb of Bakestonedale Road near Pott Shrigley on Saturday. In-form Musselburgh Roads CC ace Madeleine Bell was fastest female at the Protech Velo event, making it five wins in a row, while Olivia French (Stolen Goat RT) is also in good form with wins at the Cheshire Maverick…

Kieran Wynne-Cattanach bought his Giant TCR Advanced SL with a little help from Llandudno store WeCycle after his original climbing bike got into an altercation with another competitor’s machine. It features a rim-brake set-up and is built up with 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, Bontrager Aeolus wheels with 28mm Pirelli and 25mm Maxxis tubular tyres. It is, he says, a “hill-climber’s dream bike”. Want us to feature your race bike? Send a pic and information to cycling@futurenet.com…