Innehållsförteckning för Issue 30 från Cyclist Australia

This is the big one. After five years spent scouring the planet for the most exciting and challenging routes, Cyclist has finally found – and ridden – the mother of all climbs. Forget the rest, this is the big kahuna, the grand fromage, the numero uno. We're talking about Mauna Kea on the American island of Hawaii. You may not have heard of it, and you may initially think that a paradise island in the Pacific doesn't sound like the kind of place that would be home to the toughest climb on earth (after all, it's best known for beaches and Magnum, P.I. – it's hardly the Alps or the Rockies), but its stats alone are enough to give the average cyclist sleepless nights. Taking Cyclist's route to the summit…

Never one to neglect the younger of the two performance-level siblings, Shimano has always ensured Ultegra gets the goodies. It might not ever reach the WorldTour heights of Dura-Ace – it’s always been the bigger and badder of the two – but the latest R8000 iteration isn’t too far off. As is classic form for Shimano, R8000 has received plenty of attention in the design and function department, with a few material and design features to ensure there’s just enough reason for many to cough up for the weight savings of Dura-Ace. Slot the latest R9100 ensemble next to Ultegra and plenty of similarities become apparent. From the revised four-arm crankset, with a singular BCD (bolt circle diameter) platform for multiple rider-tuned chainring options, through to the low-profile Shadow rear…

Energy gels are something of a miracle food. They pick you up when you’re flagging, increasing blood sugar levels and helping prevent muscle damage and fatigue. But it’s not all good news: they can also cause upset stomachs, and once you’ve started taking them you might not be able to stop. Judging how to use them and when to take them is a fine, if slightly wobbly, line. So how do they actually work? In the interests of not needing an energy gel to read this, we’ll keep it simple: amylase, an enzyme in the mouth, starts breaking down the starch and the gel then moves into the small intestine where another enzyme, pancreatic amylase, finishes the job. Transporter proteins in the gut cells absorb the glucose molecules, allowing the…

My Stinner Gilbraltar - much like Hungary - is a terrific mix of ‘old’ and ‘new’. Modern steel road bike construction with a customised selection from 99-year-old steel manufacturer Columbus. With a Columbus carbon fork and painted in the scheme of my team – the Men of Steel – it was constructed around custom geometry and specifically to run the latest SRAM eTap ensemble. Wheels are HED Ardennes, sporting 25mm Specialized Roubaix Pro tyres. Perfect for a trip that saw everything from perfectly sealed roads to broken chip seal to gravel and ancient cobbles. All my bikes have a Power2max power meter, with no exception. At a touch under 8kg it’s an impressive weight for a steel bike and, as you come to expect from steel, never leaves you beaten…

While the last dregs of festive bevvies are still coursing through your veins, you’ll no doubt turn your thoughts to 2018 and your cycling goals for the year ahead. Is this the year to conquer a Peaks Challenge? Perhaps venture into the wilderness for Gravel Grit Central Coast? Or tame L’Etape Australia? Whatever your plans, now’s the time to lay the fitness foundations so that you’re at your peak come the day of the big event. But where do you start? A one-size-fits-all plan rarely fits anyone perfectly, so we consulted the experts to help you better understand the principles that will guide your training. The first step is to assess your current level – from there you can structure a plan that’s right for you and work out the…

Once upon a time it was easy. We’d wander into a bike shop, seize a bike by its top tube and lift it up. If it weighed less than a hardback book we’d hand over our cash. These days, being light is great, but it’s not enough. We also want our bikes to be super-stiff for snappy performance, slice through the wind like an F-22 Raptor and fl oat across the tarmac as comfy as an old armchair. The two on test claim to appease some of these demands, but which one is right for you? Well, that’s the tough bit.…

With their bulky jerseys, caps, goggles and spare tubes wrapped around their shoulders, riders in the earliest Tours often resembled beasts of burden, which was appropriate as the canvas bag they also carried took its name from the nose-bag more commonly seen around the necks of farm horses – musette. Feed zones in these Tours were usually bars or cafes, where riders would down bottles of beer and plates of food – leaving the bill to be settled by the race organisers – or trestle tables heaving with glass bottles of water or something stronger. Peruvian coca soaked in port wine was given to the top riders during the 1914 Tour because of its ‘extraordinary stimulating properties’, according to an advertorial in French newspaper L’Auto. Formal feed zones weren’t introduced…

Sit in the warm carriage. The clackedy-clack of the wheels over the train lines echoes through the underground walls and back through the open windows. The breeze is warm with an oily undertone. It’s loud. As well it should be. Opened in 1896, the Budapest underground is the oldest electrified underground in mainland Europe and the second oldest in the world. Back home, my girlfriend lives in a house half the age and yet Heritage Listed, draft-riddled and the truest definition of a ‘renovator’s delight’. In Hungary, I’m travelling on a completely functional – and for its age, very comfortable – rail system that pre-dates most buildings in Australia. I was informed before arrival that Budapest is a beautiful and ancient city (Celts settled well before Roman arrival), but the…

‘He’s pretending not to listen, but he can hear alright,’ says Roger Hammond, directeur sportif of Team Dimension Data. I’ve just brought up the topic of Peter Sagan, and Dimension Data’s head of performance, Rolf Aldag, has buried his head in invisible paperwork. ‘Er, I’m just planning the, er, bus schedule for the day,’ Aldag laughs. ‘When he hears “Sagan”, he tends to turn away,’ smiles Hammond. ‘We’ve moved on, but it’s still the first thought when we wake up.’ It’s 8.30am on Wednesday, July 12 in the Hotel Kyriad in Bergerac, which is situated – as so many Tour abodes are – in a grey industrial hinterland. More than a week has passed since the African team’s talismanic sprinter, Mark Cavendish, saw his dreams of breaking Eddy Merckx’s record…

I spent quite some time considering which bike would actually get me up Mauna Kea. It had to be very light, sufficiently stiff, and capable of running wide tyres for the gravel sector. The Scott Addict, newly equipped with disc brakes, came to mind for several reasons. Firstly, it’s well regarded as a lightweight climber, being one of the very first frames to dip below the 1kg mark on its release in 2007. Even with disc brakes the frame and fork add up to just 1,050g. I was grateful for a thru-axle option, too, as this removed the demoralising disc rub that can occur with a less rigid quick-release alternative.While the disc groupset adds weight, the wider clearance afforded by the removal of the rim brake bridge means the bike…

For some, Canyon is a devil, killing off distributors and independent bike shops with its direct-to-consumer sales strategy. For others, Canyon is an angel, with a business model that allows it to offer good bikes at great value in a heavily price-driven market. What your own view is rather depends on where you stand in the whole bike retail system. What’s not up for dispute is the quality of Canyon’s bikes. The latest addition to the range is the Aeroad CF SLX Disc, which is a re-engineered version of its previous aero road bike to accommodate the addition of disc brakes. The addition of discs appears to be mainly because it completes the set – all of Canyon’s other top-end road models already offer a disc version – but the…

While race leader Jan Ullrich cracked in the cold, wet weather, Marco Pantani appeared galvanised. This was Stage 15 of the troubled 1998 Tour de France, between Grenoble and Les Deux Alpes, which Pantani had started with a three-minute deficit to the German. It would require an explosive effort on his part to get back on terms. And so when he attacked on the Col du Galibier, Pantani gave it everything. The Italian’s on-the-drops climbing style mimicked the way the sprinters grip their handlebars, and he wouldn’t have been far off them speed-wise, either. On such a damp and grey day, Ullrich’s equally grey pallor contrasted with Pantani’s glowing, glistening tan, and the pops of blue and yellow of his matching bike, team kit, glasses and bandana. ‘Il Pirata’ would…

Tracing many of the same roads as featured in this year’s Tour de Hongrie, our global crew of cycling journos arrived in Budapest ahead of a planned eight-day cycling tour around the country. Included in the initial brief from tour organisers Ride Hard was the chance to soak up the breathtaking views from a two-wheeled perspective. Many of the days would include a recuperation session in one of the famous healing spas in Heviz Lake, Zalakaros or Budapest while also getting the chance to see the professionals first-hand at the Tour de Hongrie. Upon landing in the country’s capital, we spent the afternoon on city bikes exploring a number of the key sites before taking the train down to Zalakaros – where the real cycling would begin. While not overly…

On most mornings, for just a few minutes after sunrise, you can make out the top of Mauna Kea from the western shores of Hawaii, the grand volcanic peak hanging over the island like some prehistoric monster, blotting out the sun. Then it’s gone – concealed by a mist that turns the sky into an orange haze. That briefly glimpsed summit is where I am heading today. It’s the crack of dawn and I’m ankle deep in sea water on the beach of Waikoloa. Ahead of me Mauna Kea, technically the tallest mountain on earth, stands over 10,000m tall when measured from its true base in the ocean. From the water’s edge the summit is 4,192m above me, and the road to it is considered to be the hardest cycling…

I’m seeing more and more Ridley bikes on the roads when I go out riding. Thanks in part to its connection with WorldTour team Lotto Soudal, the Belgian brand is constantly expanding its presence outside of its home market, not least on weekend bunch rides where riders looking for high-end machines are increasingly willing to pay premium prices. Ridley’s popularity is also down to the fact that it makes extremely good bicycles. I tried out the slightly lower-spec Helium X earlier this year, and became rather attached to it when it carried me through a gruelling day of low temperatures and driving rain at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège sportive. So when the top-of-the-range Helium SLX landed in the Cyclist office I made sure to be first in the queue to give it…

That bloody Mawson! He was a …’Already out-of-breath, the outburst from the portly, Belgian-born, middle-aged cyclist is delivered with a red-faced smirk. The man’s name being taken in vain is Sir Douglas Mawson, explorer, geologist. You might know him as the bloke with the woolly balaclava that used to be on the Aussie $100 note. Now we’re the intrepid explorers, on wheels, commencing the 900km Mawson Trail north through South Australia, from Adelaide to the remote township of Blinman, in the Flinders Ranges. And as we confront our first test, a series of steep hills on dirt taking us out of Adelaide, our new Belgian acquaintance is cursing Sir Douglas for not choosing an easier route. But this is the adventure we’ve all come looking for. The challenge. The freedom.…