Innehållsförteckning för Issue 17 från Cyclist Australia

Cycling is taking over the world, spreading from nation to nation. Countries that used to have people who rode bicycles are now discovering that they have cyclists – people for whom a bike is more than a mode of transport, and for whom riding is about more than simply getting somewhere. It all started in Europe, where it incubated for decades until a few years ago, when it swept across the world, to places as widespread as Asia, Africa, America, and a particularly far-flung island called Australia. More and more, we’re becoming a land of lycra-clad roadies. Cyclist continues to celebrate this diversity, bringing you features from both home and abroad. In this issue, we head to Queensland for our first Big Ride on the Gold Coast (page 44), taking…

Designed Down Under and constructed by Italian craftsmen, the Race jersey is built to do just that. With seamless tube-style sleeves, low-profile collar, second skin cut and ventilation where you need it most, the premium-made, wind-cheating and breathable fabric will also keep the likes of Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt - who laments the aerodynamic effect of an unzipped jersey - happy, and ensure you're given every chance to aspire for the top step. Paired with the Core bib shorts, you'll be ready for all-day epics or the summer crit season.…

This shot was taken during China's Tour of Qinghai Lake on the 133km stage from Xihaizhen to Gonghe. In what was of the toughest stages of the entire tour, the peloton had little time to soak in the incredible surroundings – luckily, trusty photographers are always on hand to take a few snaps as reminders. The Tour of Qinghai Lake is one of the most well-attended cycling events you're likely to come across outside of Europe, and on this day there were all sorts of onlookers out and enjoying the Chinese sunshine – from a pair of newlyweds (still dressed in their wedding costumes – we kid you not!), to this long-faced spectator at around about the 50km mark. In the end, it was a successful day for Slovenian team…

With the warmer months now firmly ahead, the Rev comes just at the right time. Vents galore, a generous Cinch Pro patented retention system, lightweight straps and antimicrobial padding will leave you riding into the summer pong-free for longer. The choice of Giant-Alpecin for scorching Vuelta stages, riders will be looking forward to winding down the season confident their head and hair will be remain in tip-top condition for extended coffee stops - with thanks to their shared headline sponsor's shower products. Challenge Criterium $107.50, 215g (tyre), $29, 70g (latex tube) challengetech.it Summer is just around the corner and for many of us city dwellers that means criterium season. With high-speed, twisting circuits and only an hour of heart-racing effort involved, every marginal gain makes the difference. A hand-made open…

Tcan’t decide if I feel relieved or short-changed. Andy Blow, founder of Precision Hydration, is preparing me for today’s sweat analysis test and informs me it involves no physical exertion. Usually when Cyclist gets involved in a Lab Rat test, it ends up with us gasping for breath while slumped over a turbo trainer but, as Blow tells me, I can do this test sitting down in my jeans and t-shirt. ‘But surely I need to be sweating?’ I ask, slightly baffled. ‘Don’t worry, you will,’ Blow insists with a smile, as he finishes setting up what looks like a lie detector in front of me. The easy option ‘The test uses a process called iontophoresis,’ Blow says. ‘It’s basically a non-invasive way to get a chemical or a drug…

With the average length of a professional cycling career at just two-and-a-half years, it’s no surprise many riders find themselves quickly standing in the unemployment queue before the glue has cured on their bike’s tubular racing tyres. Sure, there are riders like redeemed doper David Millar (SCO) and uber-popular Jens Voigt (GER), both of whom enjoyed successful 17- and 18-year runs respectively. But for every Tour de France winner like recently retired 16-year veteran Cadel Evans (AUS) or the latest hour record holder Sir Bradley Wiggins (GBR) – who has returned to the velodrome after 14 years on the road to finish his career on the boards in Rio – there are countless pros that never gain solid footing on cycling’s grandest stage. It keeps the WorldTour’s revolving doors perpetually…

Valkenburg has a proud cycling heritage. I’m here on the weekend of the Amstel Gold Race, and this once-fortified town in the south of the Netherlands is decked in flags and banners. Amstel Gold is one of the three annual Ardennes Classics one-day races, despite not actually being in the Ardennes (the other two are La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège), and there is a palpable buzz of anticipation. As we near our hotel, a bronze statue greets us from the centre of a small roundabout. With one hand on the drops, head raised to view us from beneath the peak of his cap, here crouches Gerrie Knetemann. A monument to the double winner of Amstel Gold, the effigy outstretches his left arm as if in welcome. The Netherlands’ Napoleon Dynamite…

Age: 62 Nationality: New Zealander Role: UCI chief commissaire Standing 182cm and weighing 85kg with a chiselled face and a shaved head, 62-year-old John McDonnell is an imposing figure in any walk of life – but never more so than when he's standing through a sunroof of a new Audi S8 as the chief commissaire at a race that's considered professional cycling’s fourth Grand Tour. After a celebrated amateur cycling career, that’s exactly what the Cambridge High School deputy principal (SP) has been doing over a 27-year career while serving in 99 UCI-sanctioned road and track cycling events around the world – including Olympic and Commonwealth Games, as well as world championships and world cups. Cyclist recently caught up with McDonnell more than 4,000 metres above sea level along the…

Sports supplements are big business. The global industry was reportedly worth nearly $152 billion in 2013 – and it wants your cash. There are hundreds of products available that aim to give you energy, boost performance, help you recover and improve all-round health, but do you actually need them when our primary source of nutrients is food? The answer is: yes and no. ‘I’d always advise you to get nutrients from food first. No supplement should ever compensate for a poor diet,’ says Mayur Ranchordas, senior lecturer in sport and exercise nutrition and physiology at UK’s Sheffield Hallam University. ‘But they can definitely enhance performance.’ The key is to manage your expectations. ‘When I say they can enhance performance, it’s never by more than 2-3%,’ Ranchordas adds. ‘There’s proof that…

With more vehicular support than a Team Sky training ride, anything we could need for the day is there We awaken to a frigid-cold and drizzly morning. It’s dire, and the motivation to head out, only to find even fewer mates on the road, is dismally low. On any other day we’d snooze the alarm, skip the bunch and head straight into the office. But today we’re confident things will pick up, because the Gold Coast – our destination just a short flight away – always has a sunny outlook. We get up, systematically throw our bike and kit into their respective bags and make our way to the airport for the sub-hour northbound flight from Sydney to the ‘Goldie’. One road bike, two cycling kits and a few spare…

We’ve arrived in what locals would call the heartland of Italian cycling, the birthplace of the once great and tragically fallen climber Marco Pantani. It’s in the country’s north-east, along the coastal region of Emilia-Romagna and the nearby rolling countryside where the former Giro and Tour winner honed his craft, tested his form on the imposing Monte Carpegna and, later, tragically ended his life at just 34. It’s been more than 11 years since cycling lost such an emphatic figure and yet, as we’ll soon discover, the passion and love for Il Pirata lives on. With a developed coastline as far as the eye can see, fresh sea-plucked cuisine, reliable summer weather and nearly 40 bike-specific hotels with various levels of tailored service, Emilia-Romagna offers something outside the norm. Come…

Women’s-specific bikes have moved beyond ‘shrink it and pink it’ and Specialized is charging into the space. The Amira SL4 – an equivalent to the men’s S-Works Tarmac – is a world title-winning package. Brit Lizzie Armitstead captured the rainbow jersey in Richmond to reinforce its pedigree. For ultimate performance, the Amira is high on the list. On the other end of the spectrum is the Protos. It reputation is built on looks, with it’s huge tubing flaunting an intimidating figure. Italian-made and with a price tag to match, this is one rock-solid package that challenges you to push its limits.…

THE SPEC Model Specialized S-Works Amira SL4 Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 Deviations S-Works FACT carbon crankset Wheels Roval Rapide CLX 40 Finishing kit Specialized Women’s SL Carbon bars, S-Works SL alloy stem, Specialized Body Geometry Oura Pro saddle Weight 6.47kg Price $9,999 Contacts pecialized.com/au There’s no better advertisement for a bike than being ridden to victory by a pro after a long solo breakaway. Lizzie Armitstead did just that when she broke clear on the ascent of the cobbles of Michaelgate in Lincoln to win the National Road Race title last month. The bike was a Specialized S-Works Amira SL4, which makes it kind of a big deal. Specialized’s commitment to women’s cycling is among the best in the business, matched perhaps by only Trek and Giant. The company caters…

Sram has been hinting at launching something a bit special for more than a year, and finally it’s here – the much-anticipated wireless electronic gear shifting system. And while Sram may be the last of the big groupset manufacturers to produce an electronic system, the Red eTap could help the American company to leapfrog some of its rivals. On Shimano’s Di2 or Campgnolo’s EPS electronic systems, you press a button on the shifters that sends a signal down a wire to a motor that makes the front or rear derailleur move. Sram, however, has done away with the wires. ‘We wanted to improve the riding experience, but technology shouldn’t clutter the bike,’ says Sram’s road brand director, Chris Zigmont. ‘A bicycle is supposed to be simple.’ Going wireless removes the…

The Edge 200 was a great little GPS computer. However, for many riders it lacked one crucial thing: connectivity. It was a standalone unit that out on the road only listened to and spoke to itself, with data exchanged only when plugged into a computer. Its new replacement, the Edge 25, adds ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart connectivity, effectively making it a smaller version of the Edge 510. This means that when it’s paired with a smartphone the Edge 25 delivers live tracking (where friends or family can view ride progress online in real time), automatic uploads of ride data to Garmin Connect, and on-screen notifications such as incoming calls or upcoming ride segments to race for. It also has a basic navigation function where pre-planned courses can be uploaded and…

Movistar and Team Katusha hold the top-two places respectively within the 2015 UCI World Tour ranking and are likely to round out the year in the same position. The Spanish-registered and Russian squads share one key element that has undoubtedly assisted in positioning them at the top of the table: they both use Canyon Bikes. So close is their rivalry that the two outfits populate the top-four spots in the individual ranking and, most importantly, with very different riders. For the races that demand wind-slicing aerodynamics, the Aeroad is the weapon of choice, but up until now the brand has been reserved for the professionals and not available to us mere mortals in Australia. However, in the not-too-distant future, a stable of German-engineered bikes, including the Aeroad, will be available…

Sportive season is upon us. You’ve done the base miles over the winter, and put in the interval and hill sessions in the spring, but you want to arrive at the Peaks Challenge / Cadel’s Great Ocean Road Race / L’Etape Australia (delete as applicable) in the best shape possible, so the temptation can be to increase your efforts significantly in the few training days that remain. But hold on, because now might be the time to reduce your training in order to be at your best for the chosen event. Now might be the time for tapering, in other words. ‘Simply put, tapering is the art or science of peaking for a particular event by reducing training load for a certain amount of days,’ says Tejvan Pettinger, who got…

‘If you don’t master the manufacturing, you don’t grow. If you’re just a designer and sending some drawings to a company you’re hardly involved with in the Far East, you lose your soul and lose the reason you are…’ So says Jean-Claude Chrétien, general manager at French bicycle manufacturer Look and part-time philosopher. His profound musings on national identity are lacking a certain gravitas, however, as Cyclist is currently at the Look manufacturing facility in Tunisia, northern Africa. Look, the brand known for its pedals, its Mondrian-inspired team logo and its sinuous frame shapes, resisted the lure of the Far East, but commercial pressures meant it couldn’t stay in the motherland. ‘We needed to find a better price on our product from a manufacturing point of view,’ Chrétien says. ‘I…

It’s my first visit to Boulder, Colorado, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and yet these dirt roads feel strangely familiar. It’s probably the effect of too many cowboy movies. The scene is picture perfect – the crisp blue sky, the rough mountain road, the wooden fences and thick pine forests. This is the real American Frontier, just as I’ve seen it a hundred times on the big screen. All that’s missing is John Wayne. Boulder originally came into being in the midst of the Colorado Gold Rush of the mid-19th century. A little-known fact is that during the Gold Rush it wasn’t miners who got rich, but the multitude of merchants who set up shop catering to the needs of the newly settled gold-hunting populace. So the gold…

THE SPEC Model De Rosa Protos Groupset Campagnolo Super Record Deviations None Wheels Fulcrum Racing Speed (Tubular) Finishing kit 3T Ionic 25 seatpost, 3T Aeronova Team bars, 3T ARX Ltd Stem, Prologo Zero II TiRox Saddle. Weight 6.5kg (inc pedals and cages) Price $6,499 (frameset) Contact derosanews.com I can only speculate as to how the meeting must have gone at De Rosa’s Milan headquarters when Cristiano, son of company founder Ugo, put forth his concept for the latest Protos frame. In my head it went something like this… ‘Just imagine, for a second, what we could achieve in terms of frame stiffness if we doubled – no wait, tripled – the size of the down tube.’ And it would appear the notion got passed. De Rosa himself freely admits the…

I’d been excited about this year’s world championship for a long time. It was a goal I’d been targeting since the beginning of the season after my fifth-place finish in last year’s event. With a combination of a downtown criterium-style circuit and a Belgium spring classic, it was a course suited to my strengths. What made me even more excited was the strength of the Australian team we had lining up for the race. We didn’t necessarily have the strongest rider, but collectively we had a lot of strength between us. With eight riders we were the biggest team to take to the start line, which gave us the advantage of an extra number we could play against the likes of the Dutch and the Italians. The days leading up…