Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2021 i Cyclist

Spoke too soon. In last month’s Ed’s Letter I got all excited about the lifting of travel restrictions, just to discover that the only places on the ‘green list’ were the likes of Brunei and the Falkland Islands. Tempting as it is to plan a riding holiday on a windswept rock in the southern Atlantic just as it enters its coldest winter months, I have decided instead to get excited about something else: the impending Tour de France, which I confidently predict will be the greatest edition… ever. It has all the best elements of last year – two mega-teams in Ineos and Jumbo-Visma slugging it out like a cycling version of Godzilla vs King Kong – with the added twist of an in-form Tadej Pogačar returning to defend his…

Out of the box, the new Wahoo Elemnt Bolt II looks much the same as its predecessor, retaining the small size and aerodynamic shape that made this bike computer popular with road riders. But look closer and you’ll notice a change. The three buttons on the front were previously concave, which made them quite difficult to press, especially with gloves. Now these buttons are convex, protruding above the screen, making them much easier to use on the fly. Turn on the Bolt II and you’ll notice an even bigger change. The screen is now colour, and this is not the eight-colour screen of the larger Elemnt Roam bike computer but a 64-colour screen to offer incredible detail on maps and colour-coded zones on the training data pages. The new Bolt…

As you’d expect from a brand that names its components after bones, THM’s full-carbon crankset has not a speck of meat on it. The SE – which stands for sine exceptione, ‘without exception’ – only serves to reinforce that point. Not for the first time in its 25-year history, the German manufacturer says it has made the lightest power meter on the market, with the compact model weighing a claimed 320g. That’s more than 200g lighter than its predecessor. Built with Danish power meter specialist Sensitivus Gauge, the Clavicula’s carbon axle accommodates strain gauges, a small electronic module and a lightweight rechargeable battery, which provides 150 hours of running time. Despite all that, the crankset is only 27g heavier than its power meter-free sibling. Paired with the Team Zwatt app,…

Pete Alfano was working at the University of Leicester when one of his two projects had its funding cut. He found himself with half of each week spare, in his thirties and with a huge expanse of working life ahead of him. ‘I needed to find something I liked doing and wondered if I could do something with bikes,’ he said. ‘I used to ride, nothing competitive or anything, but I have loved cycling since watching Indurain and Pantani. The height of my early prowess was pretending I was in the Tour on my paper round.’ That initial thought led him to the bikebuilding course at Downland Cycles in Canterbury, where for 18 months he spent his weekends learning the trade with Bryan and Julie Jackson. However, Alfano says starting…

The relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions is opening the door to cycling holidays – but what sort of shape are you in? With forward planning so difficult, any trip abroad is likely to be slightly lastminute, and there’s a fair chance your fitness will be too, given that the various lockdowns have turned so many people’s lives upside down. That doesn’t mean you have to suffer in the saddle once you do get away. ‘Depending on your current fitness level, it’s entirely possible to make decent gains in four weeks,’ says coach Ric Stern. ‘If you put in some good training you could improve your FTP – functional threshold power, the maximum average speed you can maintain for one hour – and fatigue resistance significantly in that time. I’ve seen…

This particular white rectangle has a red stripe through it like a Napoleonic sash. The words ‘Bourg-d’Oisans’ are firmly crossed out. You have reached the town limits and it won’t be long until you’ve waved goodbye to flat roads too. As towns go, Bourg is pleasant but was never going to make the headlines on its own. For that it needed an accomplice, and that accomplice is Alpe d’Huez, the most famous set of hairpins in France, if not the cycling world. So famous that despite getting up with the dawn there is already a loose string of cyclists, from whippets to loaded tourers, filing up the road. The edge of town is bordered by the Romanche River, which flows a pale grey that perfectly matches the peaks of the…

Alpe d’Huez. World debut 1952. First rider over: Fausto Coppi, 45min 22sec. Twenty-one infamous bends, 32 immortal appearances and counting at the Tour. Featured twice in back-toback stages in 1979 and climbed twice in one stage in 2013. Fastest rider over (notwithstanding certain kinds of ‘help’ and contentions over the climb’s true length): Marco Pantani, 36min 50sec. However you cut it, this is one legendary climb, and any rider about to attempt it can expect the following: the start is at the EDF building outside Bourg d’Oisans, the finish at the main car park in Alpe d’Huez town. The first six hairpins are considered the hardest, although this is actually a pretty consistent climb with few surprises – even in the apexes of switchbacks the gradient rarely troubles 15%. It’s…

To download this route go to cyclist.co.uk/115newforest. Starting in Ringwood, take Moortown Lane and follow it until you spot the opportunity to dive onto a trail just before Burley. Head south then west once you’ve crossed Pound Lane to pick up the Castleman Trailway. Aim for Roydon Woods nature reserve just south of Brockenhurst to reach RAF Beaulieu. Cut across the airfield to get to Hatchet Pond. At Furzey Lodge, pick up the New Forest cycleways heading northwest to Lyndhurst. Go under Allum Green but over Bolderwood to cross under the A35 and follow paths onto Hampton Ridge for a while before dipping left towards Blissford. Ride through Furze Hill and Mockbeggar, pick up the Smuggler’s Trail past Linford and under the A31, then it’s south back onto Moortown Lane.…

Traditionally a brand’s carbon road bike portfolio consists of three categories: endurance, lightweight race and aero race. We’ve seen significant flux in the definitions of lightweight race and aero race recently, with both borrowing attributes from each other or in some cases blending entirely into one. Yet while there has been some lineblurring at the gravel end of the endurance bike spectrum, from a road perspective the endurance niche has remained fairly static. Cube’s road range defies tradition. Instead of those three distinct lines it has a two-pronged attack, using the Litening bike to cover both the lightweight and aero race niches and the Agree to hit the endurance mark, but with some interesting concessions to aerodynamics. The brand’s business model is similarly divergent. While it is a German direct-sales…

French-Italian by name, British-made by nature. Velobici has just released the star of its summer show, the Monti jersey. Made from a ‘revolutionary lightweight performance fabric’, or in other words a high-stretch yarn knitted in a honeycomb-like way, the Monti is designed to increase surface area and thereby improve moisture-wicking and temperature regulation on hot days. Pairing up with the jersey are Velobici’s Monti bibshorts (£190), whose compressive weave is designed to promote muscle support, while a ‘bioceramic’ seat pad boasts ergonomic, antimicrobial properties.…

Having first been tested in secret by EF Pro Cycling at last year’s Tour de France, Vittoria’s new Air-Liner tyre inserts have now been revealed as a failsafe against tubeless punctures. The liner’s closed cell foam doesn’t absorb sealant and each one weighs just 24g. While it fills most of the rimtyre void at ambient pressure, pumping the tyre up squishes the foam down against the rim channel to retain tubeless tyres’ low rolling resistance. Vittoria says that if tyre pressure is lost the insert will expand again, acting as a pseudobeadlock to allow you to pedal up to 50km at 20kmh without too much risk of rim damage or the tyre peeling off the rim.…

Unless you don’t mind testing your jersey’s stitching integrity to its limits on every ride, it’s necessary to have some form of carrying capacity beyond what jersey pockets offer on their own. Until recently, more often than not the extra space came courtesy of a saddlebag, but this humble accessory has taken more than its fair share of flak over the years. For a long while it was deemed ‘unpro’, and was branded by the Velominati as a ‘European Posterior Man-Satchel’ (Rule #29). Things have changed, however, and the saddlebag is once again becoming a valued addition to the road cyclist’s kit list. ‘Saddlebags are out of the way, using traditionally “dead” space,’ says Apidura’s Chris Herbert. ‘They’re easy to forget about until you need them and can stay permanently…

You probably guessed there’s no right or wrong answer to this, so first let’s look at the pros and cons of each. Sitting is more aerodynamic and efficient – it uses less muscle mass and requires less core activation – while standing can produce more power but at a greater energy cost. I say ‘can’ because it’s not a given. A rider with poor core activation will ‘spill’ potential power output everywhere but into the pedals. Most pros ride seated unless attacking, but there are examples of riders who spend most of their time standing. Richard Virenque, for instance, seemingly never sat down. There are a number of external factors that will influence your decision. Your fitness, including power output and cadence, is a big one, but also the gradient,…

German carbon fibre specialist AX Lightness has undergone some re-jigging of late, and its bikes now appear under the name Benotti. However the model families endure, so while this particular Vial Evo is now discontinued, a revised Benotti Vial Evo Ultra 2 exists in its place. What unites Vial Evo bikes is a pursuit of the light weight, hence the eschewing of disc brakes (although disc brake versions do exist) and a 700g frame at the Vial’s heart. Here that frame is built up with Sram Red into a 5.8kg bike – not bad considering these Mavic Cosmic SSC wheels weigh north of 1,650g, albeit what they lose out on in weight they make up for in aluminium brake track reliability, all the better to cope with reining in your…

TRAVEL The greenest way to travel to Bourg d’Oisans is via train, taking the Eurostar from London to Paris then the TGV direct to Grenoble. From Grenoble it’s a case of an hour’s bus or car journey, or private pick-up. See alp-venture.com for some competitive transfer rates. Flying is the other option, with Lyon and Geneva airports a 2h and 2h 45min car journey away respectively. ACCOMMODATION We stayed with cyclotour operator Cycling Ascents, which offers self-catered and B&B accommodation in a beautifully converted old schoolhouse in Bourg d’Oisans, itself the perfect base for tackling a host of other mountains in the area, from the Galibier to the Croix de Fer. Prices start from €126pn in a chalet sleeping up to six. See cyclingascents.com. THANKS Our warmest thanks to Kevin…

Genesis’s Croix de Fer Ti bike is just about the ideal machine for long days in the New Forest, regardless of whether you are riding on or offroad. At once it captures titanium’s zingy ride feel on tarmac but is sturdy enough to cope with the rock strikes and jarring roots of the area’s bridleways and trails. Mounting points aplenty give the committed gravel rider the option to load up with an array of bikepacking bags, yet shorn of all that luggage the bike is a handsome beast to behold because Genesis has been tastefully restrained with its branding. A few understated logos are all that interrupts the silvery lustre of the frame’s exposed titanium tubing. It looks great and rides engagingly, and the best thing is that it will…

A five-time winner’s only maglia rosa There are winners, and then there’s Alfredo Binda. The most dominant rider of his age, he was a three-time World Champion and a five-time Giro d’Italia winner. When he raced in his native Lombardy, people joked that he could win, shower and get the train home before the last rider crossed the line. At the Giro he was particularly ruthless, winning the first edition he took part in and only getting more dominant from there. In 1927 he won 12 stages and led the GC from the first stage to the last. Such dominance didn’t make him overly popular, and after he took his fourth Giro title in five attempts in 1929, the race’s organisers were desperate, so the following year they paid him…

The Autograph 74-4 motorhome is the perfect vehicle for such an ambitious undertaking as our JOGLE ride, especially off the back of lockdown and in a continuing pandemic. It not only gave us a safe, self-contained bubble in which to travel, eat, wash and sleep, but it meant that no matter where a stage ended we had a base for the night. With enough space for a family of four, this model includes driver’s and passenger seats that rotate to become part of a lounge/dining area, which can also become a double bed. There’s a permanent bed at the other end of the motorhome, along with a bathroom, fitted kitchen and a remarkable amount of storage space. Plus it’s all done out with plush carpets and stylish woodwork. Towards the…

Its said that life begins at 40. I’ll admit I’m not exactly sure who said that but having had the opportunity to put Moots’ new Vamoots RCS through its paces, it’s not an adage I’m about to dispute. Moots is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and I’d be inclined to say the RCS might be one of the best applications of titanium Moots has produced in its long history. Of course, Moots already has a comprehensive range of unquestionably accomplished bikes, but I’d say the characteristics of titanium align so perfectly with the remit of the RCS that it might just be the best of the lot. Titanium is about timeless appeal. Titanium is about investment. Titanium is about ride and construction quality. The Vamoots RCS ticks every box.…

1 CONDOR PRO SOCKS £14.99, condorcycles.com What kind of dog can do magic tricks? Paul Spaniels. And what kind of birds can make socks? Condor of course. The London stalwart of bicycle making and bicycle shopping has added to its in-house range these luxurious Pro Socks, made with silver yarns for antimicrobial properties and boasting an eight-inch cuff and a host of colours. 2 HUTCHINSON TYRE ACCESSORIES From £4.95, windwave.co.uk Explaining a joke is a lot like dissecting a frog: you understand it better but it dies in the process. And it’s similar trying to explain Hutchinson’s new tyre accessories with words alone, as their function is best understood by the eye. That said, it is worth noting the French company has all bases covered, from tyre removal to patches…

There was a hint of what was to come at the Jumbo-Visma training camp in Alicante in January. It was there that Primož Roglič’s coach, looking ahead to the 2021 season and thinking about how to avenge Roglič’s traumatic defeat at last year’s Tour de France, suggested that professional cycling might be changing from a ‘racing sport’ to a ‘training sport’. Several weeks later, when Roglič’s race programme building up to this year’s Tour was confirmed, the idea was put into practice. Following Liège-Bastogne-Liège in late April the Slovenian would not race again before Stage 1 of the Tour in Brittany in late June. For Roglič it meant a full two months of not pinning on a number and racing for a finish line – something that seems to come…

The list of riders to have claimed both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same season is a short one. Until 1998 it contained just six names, unsurprisingly all giants of the sport: Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, Roche. No need for first names. Then in July 1998 came a seventh rider: Pantani. Born in 1970 in Cesena, Pantani had risen steadily through the Italian amateur ranks. He won the Baby Giro in 1992 and turned professional with Carrera. Two years later he broke into the Grand Tour elite when he won back-to-back stages at the Giro on two monstrous days in the Dolomites, riding impressively over such feared climbs as the Stelvio and Mortirolo and finishing the race second overall. ‘A 24-year-old boy, born in…

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To download this route go to cyclist.co. uk/115bourg or scan the QR code. From Bourg d’Oisans cross the Romanche river and pick up signs to Alpe d’Huez. Ride the first five hairpins then at the sixth take the road to the right, D211A, through La Garde and on towards Le Freney d’Oisans. Head to Lac du Chambon then pick up the D25 at Mizoën, heading north. When prompted fork left, signed D25A, then follow signs for Col de Sarenne. Take this pass up and over to Alpe d’Huez, ride down the top hairpins looking out for the sign just after the seventh for Villard-Reculas. Follow the road to Lac du Verney then follow signs to Vaujany and on up to Col du Sabot. When the road ends, turn tail, descend…

Back when such things were allowed, the New Forest was a mecca for mass-participation cycling events. There would be a well-attended sportive running on most weekends from April to September. On any given day, any time of the year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more cyclists than cars on its roads. It isn’t hard to see why. The New Forest is blessed with vistas across beautiful, diverse landscapes, and you’re never more than 15 minutes’ ride away from a quaint village harbouring a characterful pub. There are even wild ponies. Perhaps most importantly, the roads are both charming and flattering: rolling and winding without ever being too difficult. Which is why my first taste of the gravel riding in the New Forest comes as something of a shock. Almost…

TRAVEL The tranquility of the New Forest seems a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but by train Brockenhurst can be reached from London Waterloo in less than 90 minutes. The forest is readily accessible by car too. ACCOMMODATION Brockenhurst, Burley and Lyndhurst all offer a variety of accommodation options, be that hotels, B&Bs, self-catered cottages and campsites. There are several nice options in Lymington and Beaulieu too if you want to take in the New Forest coastline. FOOD The New Forest is equally well-catered for in terms of food and drink - it’s said that you are never more than 15 minutes away from a good pub. For nutritious and delicious mid-ride lunch stops, try the Mad Hatter Tea Rooms in Lyndhurst or the…

‘Keep them legs turning, the worst is still ahead,’ comes the laconic warning from the farmer leaning on his stick. It’s a surprise to see anyone standing beside this road, given how remote it is, but the words are not encouraging. Twice already I’ve been convinced I’m at the summit of the climb only for hidden sweeps of taunting tarmac to reveal themselves, extinguishing my advancing optimism. I puff past the farmer without responding, my face contorted with pain. This is now Day Ten of my ride from one end of the country to the other, and in the past 100km I have racked up more than 3,000m of ascent, every metre of which I can now feel in my legs as I grind upwards into the hills of central…

I’m sitting here and I can feel the mud drying and cracking on my face. I’ve just come back from blasting around the London Olympic Park mountain bike course, and the words of Darron Coppin are turning over in my head: ‘I wish I had one of these when I was racing World Cups back in the 1980s.’ ‘One of these’ is the Pathfinder, which Coppin builds under the name Sven Cycles in Weymouth, and while I was probably no more than five when the Grundig MTB World Cup was in full swing, I now know what he meant. Because how I wish I had a Pathfinder of my own when I was in my 1990s mountain bike phase. Back when I were a lad, all that mattered were anodised…