Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 32 i Cyclist Australia

$1,600, huntwheels.com Gone are the days where tyre pressures would be well into the three-digit figures. Hunt, for example, lists 100psi as the maximum pressure for the 50Carbon Aero – and that’s for a 25mm tyre. The wider you go, the lower it gets. It makes sense, despite what the hardened and weathered racers of old will insist, that more is not always more. For most, the now almost standard “25" ensures you’ll not only go faster – it’s been proven – but you’ll also feel better at the end of the ride. Wider rims like the 50mm tall, 27mm wide 50Carbon Aero allow a more full tyre bag to be created with less pressure thanks to the 21mm internal width. This translates into a faster-rolling and more aerodynamic package.…

From $749, garmin.com.au with each new development, Garmin’s bike computers look a little bit more like its car sat-navs. That has seemingly reached its apogee with the Edge 1030, which is the tech giant’s biggest Edge to date. The 1030’s 3.5in colour touchscreen is significantly bigger than the already-large 3in screen of its predecessor, the Edge 1000, which Garmin has achieved by shunting the Lap and Start/Pause buttons onto the bottom edge of the device (incidentally, that makes the screen bigger than that of Garmin’s first automotive sat-nav, the StreetPilot). Aside from making the unit look a lot cleaner, it maximises the 1030’s navigational capability, which is just about as advanced as you’re going to get on a bike computer. Detailed turn-by-turn maps are preloaded and you can use the…

we’re used to hearing stories of the sacrifices required of professional athletes, which typically include giving up things such as meat, alcohol and sex before a big event. It’s only professional cyclists, however, who regularly sacrifice victory, personal glory and the occasional body part in the name of their team leader. In other team sports, every member gets a medal for winning. But in cycling, only the leader gets the yellow jersey, gold medal or rainbow stripes. Of the 200 riders who will start a Grand Tour, most will be putting their leader before any personal ambitions or UCI WorldTour ranking points, in a way their counterparts in sports such as football would struggle to comprehend (unless you play with Cristiano Ronaldo perhaps). The French have a word for this…

1 In the 1952 Tour, Roy Underwood (the youngest rider in the field at 19) made a £50 bet with his father that he would finish the six days. Each day he would arrive at the finishing towns in the dark long after the other riders had come in. And on the last day, despite a search party being sent to find him in the dark again, he finished that race and won his bet. 2 Even today the Sun Tour is affectionately referred to as the ‘Fun Tour’ by some of the riders and officials, owing to the post-stage gatherings that were common. ‘In the old days everyone would go to the pub, and the riders who were serious about the race would only have 2-3 pots,’ Trevorrow says.…

FLYING Interstate visitors are best to fly in to Avalon, if possible, as the drive is only 75 minutes or so from the airport. It’s almost impossible to get lost, so have no fear about navigating to the destination. ACCOMMODATION Forrest has a multitude of options, many of them located within a very short walk (or ride) from town. Its relatively small size means one can enjoy a few offerings from the brewery and not have to worry about driving home. We did have a resident bush rat the first night in our accommodation; snake sightings are rare, but given the immense surrounds of the state forest, they do happen. And there is always the risk of kangaroos jumping across the road (either riding or driving). The Australian bush –…

‘The first race I did on my road bike in Europe was WorldTour. It was all very quick, very cool. I think a lot of people in Australian cycling have always felt I didn’t do that hard time in Belgium, or that because I wasn’t on a French amateur team I had this easy ride to the WorldTour. But I kind of always want to say, you have no idea how hard it was as a mountain biker, living on no money, spending every last cent saved from working in restaurants for six months every year, not being with a team, travelling on your own. I knew hard! I had my own struggles that were different, and just made it in my own way.‘…

TRAVEL Flights from Australia to Zurich, near Lucerne, start from around $1,200 return. Once on the ground, we hired a car from Hertz (hertz.com), where prices start at around $400 for a week’s rental. ACCOMMODATION The Baeren hotel in Andermatt provided spacious, comfortable rooms with contemporary alpine aplomb. There are many excellent hotels in the area, but the Baeren marks itself out with exceptional food, a fusion of traditional Swiss and classic Italian cooking that takes cues from its surroundings – expect to see deer and marmot on the menu during hunting season in mid-September. The hotel has secure bike storage and parking, and prices start at around $160 per night for a single room. For more details, see baeren-andermatt.ch. DESTINATION The list of paved peaks in the region is…

TRAVEL Flights from Australia to Geneva start at around $1,300 return. On our arrival in Switzerland we hired a van to cart our bikes and gear around from Hertz (hertz.com), which was expertly driven by Mr Jacques Tombet. ACCOMMODATION For our first night we stayed in Lausanne, at the 4-star Hotel Carlton (carltonlausanne.com), then for our second we overnighted in Montreux at the 3-star Tralala Hotel (tralalahotel.ch). Both towns have a vast array of hotels to suit all tastes and budgets, however as a general rule, expect to pay more the closer you are to Lake Geneva. DESTINATION The Lake Geneva Region needs little introduction. One of the largest, most picturesque bodies of water in Europe, Lake Geneva has long been a popular tourist destination thanks to vast waterfronts, superb…

‘I see this as the future for road,’ says Andrew James, head of product for Focus, one of around half a dozen big bike brands that have ventured into the market for road-specific e-bikes. Focus’s Project-Y (left) looks pretty standard, with only the chunky down tube giving away its e-credentials. It weighs 12.5kg, and with the Fazua Evation motor/battery removed it dips below 10kg. Given the low weight and versatility, the Fazua motor has been the popular choice. Pinarello uses it for its new Nytro (12.5kg with 250 watts, approx. $9,500), as does Cube with its Cube Agree Hybrid Electric (13.8kg with 250 watts, approx. $6,500) Cipollini has gone lighter still, with the MCM2 coming in at only 9.5kg. It’s less sophisticated than the Fazua but still produces 240 watts.…

TRAVEL You can fly direct to Ponta Delgada from a number of the major European interchange points. Ryanair flies direct from London Stansted between April and October from around $70 each way – not including additional baggage for a bicycle. ACCOMMODATION Cyclist was a guest of cycling holiday company Saddle Skedaddle (skedaddle.co.uk). Prices start from $1,200pp for an eight-day, self-guided road cycling trip. The trip includes B&B accommodation in four-star hotels in Ponta Delgada and Furnas, airport transfers, luggage transfer, route notes and maps, and local support. Daily departures are available April to October. Saddle Skedaddle also runs guided tours with a support vehicle from $1,400 and an eight-day guided tour with vehicle support from $2,300. Bike hire starts at $300 per week. THANKS Thanks to Saddle Skedaddle's David Hall,…

The road bike market is heavily bound by tradition. People are wary of change, and innovation develops at a glacial pace, so it’s refreshing when a bike appears that flouts the accepted norm of how a road bike should look. One such bike is the new 3T Strada. Created by Gerard Vroomen, the cofounder of Cervélo, the Strada is sleek and aggressively aerodynamic, yet it comes with elements more usually seen on ‘all-road’ bikes: wide 28mm tyres, disc brakes and a 1x drivetrain. It’s a peculiar combination, and Vroomen knows it. ‘I’ll admit the Strada has garnered a mixed reception,’ he says. ‘Although if I wanted a normal reception I’d have made a boring bike.’ The project was conceived when Vroomen realised he didn’t want to choose between aerodynamics or…

‘Oman was the first race we did together, and he’s a very open and straight-shooting guy, which I really appreciate. He’s a rider that came to Katusha because he saw a big opportunity and a supportive team that could commit to one goal. I think that was something he earned in Oman. After Stage 1 and winning Stage 2, there was a distinct change in him, in his mentality of how the team rode for him and also in having confidence that there were six other riders who are fully committed to helping him trying to win another stage, or get on the podium on GC – from the sprinters and the big Classics guys to me and Steff Cras. We all committed to the team and maybe for one…

You need more than just a lovely room when travelling by bike. A secure storage area, laundry and bike repair facilities, a breakfast fit for an athlete to start the day, a packed lunch for when you’re on the road and advice for tours from like-minded individuals – it’s all available in Switzerland. From tranquil, cosy mountain cabins to relaxing wellness oases and family B&B hotels, certified Swiss Bike Hotels know what their cycling guests need, and they provide it. Local tips, maps and route guides are available from the reception desk of every hotel, ensuring every ride will be as smooth as it is challenging, along with recommendations from local guides. For our trip we were lucky enough to be guided around by Dominik Hug from Bikebuebe (bikebuebe.ch), whose…

A biking tour combined with a relaxing cruise? Want to travel by train back to your starting point? Switzerland offers many opportunities for two-wheeled travel combined with boat, bus and train. Bicycles can be handed over and collected at any railway station with a luggage counter. If they are handed over by 7pm they can be collected the next day from 9am onwards, although it’s worth bearing in mind that the opening hours of luggage counters vary, and that groups of 10 or more require an advanced notification of at least five working days prior to travel. In Switzerland, public transport is the perfect partner for all cyclists. At more than 300 train stations throughout the country, Switzerland Mobility’s information panels assist the integration of two-wheel travel routes into the…

The Bosch motor is a complex machine but works in a fairly conventional way: magnetised coils generate a rotating force that is transferred to the internal sprocket, which turns 2.5 times for every rotation of the pedals. The unit is often called mid-drive as it sits in the middle of the frame, and it’s the most common system used on road-specific e-bikes, especially commuter bikes. These motors ‘pedal-assist’, meaning it works synergistically with the inputs from the rider. Bosch’s newer units sample the rider’s movements 1,000 times per second to assist in the most effective way, incorporating gear shifts into its torque calculations to smooth the transition from one gear to another. The Bosch system can offer substantially more torque than most rival systems and, were it not limited to…

The Vivax-Assist is straightforward, using a motor to turn a bevel gear fastened to the crank axle. The Vivax motor only offers around 100 watts of assistance, while a Bosch system can easily deliver 250 watts (far more when unrestricted). As the Vivax-Assist is so discreet, it’s often favoured by riders who want an e-bike that looks like a classic bike. With kits that allow motors to fit inside normal tubes and batteries that can fit inside a bidon, it’s no surprise we’ve seen this system used for mechanical doping in races.…

$679, 175g, nixon.com/au Lug the Mission out of the case and it’s immediately clear the touted ‘action sports smart watch’ means business. Like a heavy speaker designed to pump out bass well into the night, the Mission is built tough enough to do as you wish and with plenty of attitude to back it up. On the road, off-piste or in the surf, the stainless steel and polycarbonate construction will likely come off better than you, in case of incident. Powered by Android Wear, Apple users will be pleased to know they don’t need to acquire a new phone to wear it – unless you spend your afternoons checking the waves with Surfline. While Apple’s sleek offering comes in well under a third of the Mission, this beast packs in…

The 2018 Jayco Herald Sun Tour was the 65th edition of Australia’s oldest elite cycling stage race. Held between January 30 and February 4, it took the riders along some of Victoria’s most beautiful roads, in stages covering the state’s most picturesque countryside. A special feature of this year’s Sun Tour was the inclusion of the first UCI-sanctioned Women's Herald Sun Tour – a two-stage race including a 123.5km Stage 1 from Healesville, followed by an ITT stage from Alexandra Gardens to Southbank in Melbourne’s CBD (held before the men’s prologue ITT on the same 1.6km course). Race Director John Trevorrow was thrilled with the inaugural Women’s Sun Tour, which was won by Brodie Chapman from the KordaMentha Real Estate National Team. ‘I thought the first stage at Healesville, the…

From Forrest, head south onto the C119 Forrest-Apollo Bay Road and continue the ascent for around 18km. Soon after the crest and at around 540m above sea level, take a left-hand turn onto Beech Forest Road and head due east towards Beech Forest. Continue through town and onto the C155 – the same road, just with a new name – and continue along the undulations until Lavers Hill. Take a left turn onto the Great Ocean Road at the 54km point and enjoy the long descent (with one small bump along the way) until you reach the coast at Glenaire. The coastal views continue all the way to Otway Lighthouse Road (81km) where you can decide to detour to the waterfront or continue through to Apollo Bay. Make a left…

Some of you will be undoubtedly thinking, ‘This is all well and good, but I have a partner and children that will be coming along. What about them?’ Never fear. Forrest not only has trails for the little sprouts to bomb, but there’s also a skate park and no shortage of open spaces for running amok. The Otway Fly provides a treetop walk through the rainforest followed by a thrilling zipline ride through the canopy. Then there is e-bike hire in Beech Forest for a trip along the Old Beechy Rail Trail. Kids can either ride along or jump in a tow-along trailer. For something down on the forest floor, Maits Rest and the Californian redwood forest are both stunning – in a way that the ever expanding ‘old man’…

‘I feel cycling has evolved now to the point where we don’t get to be used to anything anymore. The only rhythm we have is a dis-rhythm. It’s kind of funny to think in January we were in Australia, and we were racing days that averaged 46 degrees, then the opening weekend is below zero, and somewhere in between you’ve done either Algarve or you’ve stayed in the hot races in Oman or Abu Dhabi. One of the first things I’ll say is that it’s fantastic that these Middle Eastern races are surviving and actually growing. I’m a big fan. ‘I was speaking to our director Torsten Schmidt in Oman, and he was saying we used to think that races like Oman you come and you spin the legs… but…

‘For me, when I go home to my mum’s house in Canberra, I have almost a spiritual connection to it. It’s still one of my favourite places to ride a bike. There’s a reason that Chloe Hosking, Gracie Elvin, myself, Michael Matthews, Mat Hayman, Rory Sutherland, Mick Rogers all come from there – and that’s just to name the guys and girls who are in the game or just finished. That’s a WorldTour team in seven riders. That team could be in the top five on WorldTour points, right there! Canberra has this incredible pedigree. The culture of cycling in Canberra is really great. There’s a really fun attitude.’…

Head west out of Andermatt along Gotthardstrasse, route 19, through Hospenthal to Realp where the Furka Pass climb begins. From the summit, descend 2.5km to the Hotel Belvedere and the Rhône Glacier. Descend to Obergoms, leaving route 19 for the Leginen road just after the Oberwald train station. At Ulrichen, follow signs for the Nufenenpass, which takes you into the Bedretto Valley. Follow signs for Airolo taking the Via della Stazione into town, pass Airolo train station then turn left onto Via San Gottardo/route 2. Follow route 2 west/northwest, where the road segues from tarmac to cobbles for the Tremola climb. The summit is marked by a car park, restaurants and a series of lakes. Descend on Route 2 north/northeast to Hospental and back to Andermatt.…

TRAVEL The lakes that sandwich Interlaken are encircled by stunning roads, both along the shoreline and higher up. However, the southern side of Lake Brienz can get busy, so we opted for a more scenic, laid-back boat journey to connect our ride. The ferry runs from the Giessbach Falls, near the luxurious Grandhotel Giessbach, to Interlaken Ost. A day pass for the ferries around Lake Brienz and Lake Thun starts from around $40, with bikes an extra $10. See bls.ch for more details. However, if that all sounds a bit sedate then JetBoat Interlaken (jetboat.ch) will pick you up from your hotel and take you on an unforgettable powerboating experience from Bonigen to the Giessbach Falls. ACCOMMODATION We stayed in Hotel Krebs, a spacious, recently renovated four-star hotel in the…

Founded in 1994, BMC quickly established itself as the premium Swiss bike brand, investing heavily in research, development and the sponsorship of a pro team that won the Tour de France in 2011 with Cadel Evans. BMC has also taken team time-trial wins, road race World Championships and numerous mountain bike and Ironman World Championships. The bike featured here is BMC’s redesigned flagship, the Teammachine SLR01 Disc. With the help of a Swiss supercomputer, engineers were able to test 18,000 virtual iterations of the bike in order to dial in the key handling characteristics and low weight of its forebear while incorporating disc brakes, stiffening up the front end and further integrating cables, bars, stem and seat clamp for a cleaner, more aerodynamic form. The Teammachine SLR01 Disc therefore continues…

Q: What is a road e-bike? A: Technically speaking it’s a drop-bar pedelec. In layman’s terms, it’s just a bicycle with an electric motor. Q: That doesn’t sound like a road bike? A: It’s true the e-bike format is most popular in commuter bikes, but increasingly brands are developing road bikes that have a motor as an option. Q: How fast can I go on one? A: As fast as your legs can push you, but the motor will stop assisting you at 25kmh to adhere to laws. Q: How much weight will it add? A: The Vivax-Assist system is probably the lightest at 2kg, added to a normal bike, and generally for a full crank-based motor we’d expect at least 4-5kg of extra weight. Q: Who are they aimed…

Stories of pro riders cheating by using drugs are old news, but in 2016 a new blight arrived in cycling. Belgian cyclocross rider Femke Van den Driessche became the first rider to be charged with mechanical doping after she was found to have a motor concealed in her spare bike at the World Championships. Since then, several incidents of motor doping have been revealed at amateur and international level, and the UCI has been forced to introduce new checks for hidden motors at top events. Van den Driessche allegedly used a Vivax-Assist, and similar systems have been discovered in all verified cases. However, there are rumours that the Vivax-Assist is said to be too old-school for pro riders in the peloton today, with hi-tech cheats moving on to more advanced…

Tucked away at the back of Canyon’s vast assembly plant in Koblenz is a tiny carbon fibre hospital, where the company has its own CT scanner to improve quality control. ‘If you have a handmade process you need to show the process is stable otherwise you need to inspect 100% of the time,’ says Gordon Koenen, Canyon’s head of quality. The CT scanner uses high-resolution x-ray imaging to display the inside of carbon fibre components. ‘It’s much stronger than a hospital x-ray,’ Koenen says. These scans help to prove the effectiveness of Canyon’s production partners in the Far East with in-depth analysis of each carbon fibre component. ‘The main things we focus on here are wall thickness, delamination and wrinkles.’ Customers can also use the scanner. ‘If you crash your…

The Azores may be tiny islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean but their coastal roads and volcanic ridges really pack a punch, with sharp gradients and some sinister leg-busting ramps, so you need a light, comfortable and reliable bike. The Specialized Tarmac SL2 is a universally popular road bike for good reasons: the overall build is light enough for climbing, even at this entry level, and the Shimano 105 components offer functional gear shifting and the kind of adventure-ready reliability you need when taking a bike abroad. The ride feels racy and responsive, but seldom compromises on comfort. I hadn’t ridden this bike before travelling to the Azores but even with minimal personal adjustments it proved to be smooth and stable during a long day in the saddle.…