Category: Cycling

The challenge is set.

Posted in Bikes, Cycling, Fitness, health, Sports, Strava, Training, Turbo Trainers, Wahoo, ZWIFTTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Last night saw the return of something to my life which has been missing for almost a year. Exercise on a bike.

I felt like my legs couldn’t turn the pedal, power was nowhere near what I used to be able to put out and I couldn’t manage very long at all. You can see my sorrowful attempt of a ride here.

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My terrible attempt up the brutal climb at the start of the 2018 World Championships, Innsbruck.

There’s a few reasons why I’ve been off the bike; work, raising a young family (a two year old and a one month old), moving home, laziness… I could go on but this would bore you to tears.

However, this week I signed up to the UCI World Championships Sportive. 100 glorious miles through the Yorkshire countryside, following some of the route which the World Championships will take place. Magic.

So what better time to start getting back to some form of fitness than six months before the big event!

I’ve done century rides before, Sportive’s also, but never with trying to fit in training around family time!

So follow on as I go through the training, riding and equipment which is going to get me there.

Oh and to add to the story, I’m dragging my wife along for the 100mile ride… the poor mite only gave birth last month, has never ridden a sportive before but those that train together, right?!

UCI 2018 Road World Championships
Alejandro Valverde winning the 2018 World Championships in Innsbruck

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Muc-Off launches No Puncture Hassle Tubeless Sealant

Posted in Cleaning, Clothing, Commuting, Cycling, Muc-Off, Safety, SportiveTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Muc-Off, the leading manufacturer of bicycle cleaning and maintenance products worldwide, has announced the launch of their No Puncture Hassle Tubeless Sealant.

‘No Puncture’ has been developed alongside some of the world’s top downhill and pro-peloton teams to give you the finest tyre sealant available. Compatible with tubeless ready and full UST wheels/tyres, the tyre sealants 140ml pouch design fits perfectly over a Presta valve to give mess-free installation. It can also be poured straight into the tyre if you don’t have removable valve cores.

The sealants formula contains cutting-edge microfibre molecules that fill bigger holes and tears, whilst advanced latex clings to the whole tyre inner for maximum protection and forms a tough instant seal over the hole.

‘No Puncture Hassle’ also contains a unique UV detection system that highlights any punctures a rider hasn’t seen during their ride. It’s biodegradable, non-corrosive to your wheels or tyres and easy to wash off with water. The formula also uses C02 compatible latex and is packed with antifreeze to stop it shrivelling up unlike some other sealants that ball up when used with C02.

Muc-Off Managing Director, Alex Trimnell, said: “We have tested ‘No Puncture Hassle’ under the most brutal conditions on the planet with 3 years of deep R&D using a wide group of our pro athletes from around the world. The formula we finally created is a result of 100s of hours of testing, the results of which have taken tyre sealant performance to a new level.

The feedback we’ve had from our professional riders has been awesome! We are really excited to have created one formula which works to the highest performance in all tubeless tyres, from Pro Road Racing to World Cup Downhill and everything in between. Oh and lastly, we really don’t like single-use plastics so would encourage all to use our 1 litre refill to fill up the pouches.”

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For more information on the No Puncture Hassle Tubeless Sealant, and other Muc-Off products, please visit: https://muc-off.com/

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Bioracer Summer 2018 collection

Posted in Bikes, Blog, Blogging, Clothing, Commuting, Cycle To Work, Cycling, Fashion, Fitness, health, SportsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

 

Bioracer new Summer 2018 collection:
73 new items for men & women

New Spitfire and Vesper collections

The Belgian company Bioracer, which develops innovative & tailored sportswear, has shown the world its Summer 2018 designer collections for men (Spitfire) and women (Vesper). 73 new items across different themes mean there’s more than enough colours and styles to choose from.
 
The new collection revolves around 5 themes, and, apparently, ‘reflects the spirit of an optimistic future’ which Bioracer firmly believe in. Its inspiration comes from rideouts in Barcelona, Ibiza and the Canary Islands to name a few. Names like Jungle, Radient, Zebra and Rebel makes one dream about sunny rideouts. Urban fashion, Berlin, London, 80’s skate surf punk and the DIY graphic language of fanzines capture our imagination.
 

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“Every design is a character, just like you”

Sam Ratajczak, Head Innovateer

 
 
 

About BIORACER

 

Established in 1986 and located in Belgium, spiritual home of cycling, BIORACER has always been at the forefront of the design, development and fabrication of cycling speedwear. Our mission is clear and simple: we make you faster. It’s not only about delivering the fastest kit possible. It’s also about giving you all the tools necessary to be the fastest you can be. This philosophy goes far beyond simple clothing. For example, we developed the first modern racing shoe and the first digitized bike fitting systems. These are only some of the innovations we’ve made to improve your comfort on the bike, and therefore ultimately, your speed.
 
Thousands of competitive athletes choose BIORACER because they need the fastest kit available. And they know they will receive just that. Not only do we have the scientific data to prove our claims, but also the proven track record of our medal count. With more than 666 Olympic and World Championship medals, we are the fastest.
 
“We follow one basic principle: our athletes are the measure of all things. Innovations can only lead to a breakthrough when they benefit the athlete. We look at cycling from every angle and try to fit those pieces that make your puzzle complete. And we do this with one aim in mind: to make you faster.”

 

Beet it Sport Nitrate 400 – Disgustingly good

Posted in Bikes, Blog, Blogging, Commuting, Cycle To Work, Cycling, Fitness, Food and Drink, health, Nutrition, SportsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

There’s an ever increasing market of products out there which claim to boost your performance. From energy gels to isotonic drinks and powders. Even beer. However the guys at Beet it have come up with this shot of beetroot which they claim does just that.

Beetroot has long been researched in sports to boost your performance so Beet it aren’t coming out with anything revolutionary more just trying to reinvent the wheel.

Beet it has come up with a new was to harness the purple powers of beetroot and change the way you perform. Developed specifically with the sporting elite in mind, Beet It Sport Nitrate 400 shot provides a natural boost to sporting performance in one quick hit. With a new Nitrate 400 strapline added, the name clearly communicates the optimum amount of natural dietary nitrate contained in each 70ml shot, which is needed to increase sporting performance.

Now I quite like beetroot as a root vegetable, it’s tasty when roasted and delicious in a salad. So beetroot juice must be just as delicious… right? Wrong. Personally I think it just tastes all kind of wrong and half way through drinking it I was really hoping that it did what it said. I had to wash it down with water and it took will power to go back in for a second gulp and finish the bottle off.

Apparently enjoyed (I say apparently because I honestly don’t think anyone looks forward to a shot of this) and revered by many leading international rugby and Premiership football teams, UK Olympic and Pro Tour cycling teams, the Beet It Sport shot is made from 100% natural ingredients, consisting of concentrated beetroot juice (98%) cut with lemon juice (2%).

Another downside to the drink is that for best effects you have to take it 1-4 hours before exercise and continuously for four days before competition or event. If you’re doing that, I hope the taste becomes more palatable!

However, shortly after drinking this purple thing, I started to turn in to what felt like the Incredible Hulk, but purple. My lycra ripped and my muscles bulged as I was able to somehow hold a slightly higher average power.

Now, I’m not saying it was all down to the magical power of beetroots, it may have just been one of those days when the stars aligned. It was strange though that I was feeling so good on my ride. I’m sure one swallow doesn’t make a summer so next time around I tried it again(the taste got better thinking that it could improve my ride). While my performance wasn’t as stand out, to myself anyway, the figures were still there. I was hugely impressed.

Here’s some science bit… Beet It Sport Nitrate 400 shots are the gold standard used by over 200 universities worldwide for medical and sports performance research into the benefits of natural nitrate supplementation. The research has identified that their naturally high dietary nitrate content (400mg per shot) interacts with enzymes in saliva to generate nitric oxide (NO) in the blood system. NO is a vasodilator that increases the flow of blood and oxygen to the muscles, thereby boosting strength and endurance – similar in impact (but legitimate) to blood doping!

One 70ml Beet It Sport Nitrate 400 shot delivers 400mg of natural dietary nitrate, the equivalent of 400ml beetroot juice.  It provides the maximum intake of natural nitrate in the smallest volume of liquid possible, thankfully.

Beet It Sport Nitrate 400 shot is available from Wiggle, Holland & Barrett and Amazon, with an RRP of £2.00 per shot.

For more information on Beet It brand and products, please visit www.beet-it.com

Beet It Sport Nitrate 400 shot

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Hammer Time – The Hammer Series returns

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With four days until the Hammer Series returns, the start list for Hammer Stavanger and Hammer Limburg is taking shape with some big names put forward by the competing teams. 

Racing for Quick-Step Floors in Stavanger and having one of the seasons of his life is former Paris-Roubaix winner and current Tour of Flanders champion Niki Terpstra. With such a strong one-day racing pedigree, the Belgian team will be hoping to add Hammer victory to the successes they have recorded in the opening to their season.

For the following weekend in Limburg, Tom Dumoulin, Team Sunweb, returns, following his defence of the Maglia Rosa at the Giro d’Italia. BMC Racing Team will line up a full-strength squad including Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet and Richie Porte. John Degenkolb will lead Trek-Segafredo.

Roy Hegreberg, Race Director, Hammer Stavanger, said: “The line-up of riders taking part in Hammer Stavanger is fantastic. To have multiple national champions mixing it up with Classics riders in the forms of their lives should make for really exciting racing. I’m confident the riders will enjoy riding on the very best roads Stavanger has to offer and it will make a memorable experience for fans and viewers alike.”

I certainly think so! If you didn’t catch the Hammer Series last time it was awesomely amazing with a nail biting and very close finish which crowns Team Sky champs.

All three races taking place this year will be streamed live on social media, with Facebook, Twitter and DailyMotion all hosting video feeds. This means that unlike other pro-cycling races, fans anywhere in the world will be able to watch the Hammer Series live, on any device and without being charged for access. To watch the action from Hammer Stavanger, the first race in the season, head to https://www.facebook.com/hammerseries/, https://twitter.com/hammerseries and http://www.dailymotion.com/hammerseries

If you’ve never seen the Hammer Series before and want to know how it works.. well, you better get a cup of tea and read the below, if you have and you just want to see some nice photo’s just skip down to the bottom of the page. if all of that is just simply too much, here is a video explaining it all. Believe me, the racing is infinitely better than the video!

Teams are made up of seven riders, but they can field only five riders in each of the three races. While traditional cycling races have individual riders as stage and classification winners, the Hammer Series is all about teams.

The Hammer Climb and Hammer Sprint are points races in which riders will attempt to win points for their team.

Each team’s finishing positions from days one and two are combined to determine their starting place on day three’s Hammer Chase, a team pursuit against the clock.

HAMMER CLIMB

It takes place over multiple laps of a short circuit. On every lap, riders will earn points for their teams depending on their position when they cross the line. The higher the position, the more points. The team with the most points will win the Hammer Climb.

HAMMER SPRINT

Again, it takes place over multiple laps of a short circuit and riders can earn points for their teams by placing as high as possible at the end of each lap. The team with the most points will win the Hammer Sprint.

HAMMER CHASE

This is the decisive race. It is a team pursuit over several laps of a circuit. The participating teams will be ranked by adding together their positions in the first two races, with the lowest total being the top team.

For safety, they will then be split into two groups: the top half will go into Finalist Group, and bottom half will go into Runner-Up Group. Teams in the Finalist Group can challenge for both victory in the Hammer Chase and overall Hammer Series event. Teams in the Runner-Up Group can challenge for the Hammer Chase win, but not overall victory.

Teams in each group will set off at fixed time intervals decided by their ranking.

The team who complete the time trial in the fastest time will be winners of the Hammer Chase.

The team who cross the finish line first in the Finalist Group will be the winner of that Hammer Series event.

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Wahoo and BMC buddy up!

Posted in Bikes, Blog, Blogging, BMC, Cycling, Fitness, GPS, health, Pro Team, WahooTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Wahoo Fitness Announces Official Partnership with BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team

UCI Cross-country World Cup team led by Titouan Carod and Lars Forster will be riding with Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT GPS computers and heart rate monitors for the 2018 racing season

Wahoo Fitness, the leader in connected fitness devices, today announced a new partnership with BMC Mountain Bike Racing team, led by rising talents Titouan Carod of France and Lars Forster of Switzerland. Through the partnership, the BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team will be training and racing with Wahoo’s aerodynamic ELEMNT BOLT GPS cycling computer and the TICKR Heart Rate Monitor throughout the 2018 UCI World Cup race season.

 As an official partner of BMC’s elite cross-country mountain bike team, Wahoo will deploy two foundational elements of its product ecosystem into the team’s world cup-winning strategies: the ELEMNT BOLT – the easiest to use and most feature-rich bike computer on the market, and the TICKR Heart Rate Monitor, for measuring critical race-winning efforts.

With a strategic roster aiming for Tokyo 2020, the BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team heads into the 2018 World Cup season with five straight overall series victories under its belt – a streak which began in 2013. With Wahoo devices measuring rider efforts in 2018, the team will be looking to secure a sixth overall World Cup title, while adding victories at the National, European and World Championship races.

The BMC Mountain Bike Racing team joins pro cycling teams BORA-hansgrohe, Katusha, Team Sky, and JLT-Condor along with professional triathletes Jan Frodeno, Lionel Sanders, and Heather Jackson – all of whom leverage Wahoo’s leading-edge fitness technologies for gains at the highest levels of professional sport.

“The supreme customisability, user-friendliness, and overall reliability of the Wahoo BOLT, along with the easy integration with our training platforms are all features that have been in high demand for our team members,” says BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team founder and director Alex Moos. “We’re proud to partner with a brand who understands these specific needs of elite bike racers while training or competing.”

“Adding podium regulars on the UCI cross-country World Cup circuit to the Wahooligan family has long been a goal of ours,” says Chip Hawkins, CEO of Wahoo Fitness. “And we couldn’t be happier to introduce the BMC Mountain Bike team to our growing stable of the fastest men and women in road cycling and triathlon, all of whom depend on Wahoo devices to measure and plan their race-winning efforts.”

Wahoo Fitness has created a full ecosystem of sensors and devices for the runner, cyclist or general fitness enthusiast. Wahoo Fitness’s award winning line of Bluetooth Smart products include the KICKR and KICKR SNAP indoor bike trainers, the ELEMNT, ELEMNT BOLT, and ELEMNT MINI smart bike computers, the world’s first smartphone connected bike computers, and the TICKR family of chest-based wearables. The TICKR family, composed of the TICKR, TICKR Run and TICKR X, combine heart rate training with advanced motion analytics.

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Red Bull Timelaps

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World’s Longest One Day Cycle Race Returns for 2018  

Following on from the hugely successful first edition in 2017, which saw over 500 cyclists ride in teams of four to see who could complete the most laps within a 25 hour timeframe.The World’s longest one day cycle race, Red Bull Timelaps, is returning for a second year on 27th-28th October and entries are now open. 800 rider entries will be available on May 22 at 10:00 am at Redbull.com.

With only one rider from each team allowed on the course at any point, participants demonstrated a mixture of strategic nous, endurance and determination to overcome the challenge.

In 2017, Wellingborough Cycles – a group of riders from Northamptonshire won the race in an epic battle to the line after 25 hours of hard racing. They completed a staggering 138 laps and clocked a fastest lap of 9:23. They also claimed victory in the U25 category by a staggering nine laps. Full results can be viewed here.

Commenting on the victory team leader Jack Patmore said: “We were ecstatic. We ended up entering the 2017 race as a bit of fun at the end of our season, so it’s really great that we ended up winning the whole event. We didn’t really have a game plan apart from just letting one of the guys hit it really hard! We are looking forward to coming back this year to defend our title”.

This year’s Red Bull Timelaps will take place when the clocks go back on October 27th-28th, and will see riders once again push themselves to their physical and mental limits by tackling the 6.6km closed circuit for a whopping 25 hours.

As it was last year, extra emphasis will be put on the time period between 2 am and 3 am. Fittingly called the ‘Power Hour’, riders will take on a new shorter course where their laps over the following 60 minutes will count double.

This year, more surprises and elements will be included in the Power Hour, ensuring teams choose their riders carefully for this vital hour.

The race will once again be held at the beautiful Windsor Great Park, situated just outside of London. The park’s well-surfaced, undulating and traffic-free roads will provide the perfect location for the race.

 Entries for Red Bull Timelaps will open at 10 am on May 22 with team entry costing £250 and £200 for under 25. There will be 800 entries available (riders will compete in 200 teams of four). To find out more information about the event please visit: www.redbull.com/gb-en/events/timelaps.

 Join the conversation @RedBullUK with the hashtag #RedBullTimelaps

Red Bull Timelaps returns to Great Windsor Park on 27th-28th October, 2018

800 entries

Entries open on May 22 at 10 am

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Muc-Off Announced as new Team Dimension Data Partner

Posted in Cleaning, Cycling, Muc-Off, SportsTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

As of right now Muc-Off, the leading bike and athlete performance brand, have been announced as the latest partner and supplier of World Tour cycling team Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.

Dimension_Data_Launch_MO_Banner

Muc-Off will supply the team with their full range of clean, protect and lube products. More on the bike, more specifically the chain, Dimension Data will also be using the much coveted NTC formula. I guess Cav will have no excuse now to losing a sprint finish, huh?

Scott Mitchell 3
Credit: Scott Mitchel

Along with the cleaning and lubing products, riders will also use Athlete Performance products – meaning their Luxury Chamois Cream, Amino Ultra Endurance, Luxury Moisturiser with spf15, Amino Recovery Balm and more… Who knew Muc-Off had such a range?!

From their  Muc-Off’s entire bike and rider care range will make the life easier for both riders and mechanics.

The team that includes established cycling stars such as Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings and Bernie Eisel very well may be glad of Muc-Off’s revolutionary pink Nano Tech Bike Cleaner and their Athlete Performance Amino Recovery Balm come the end of the season. It will certainly be welcome during The Classics!

Muc-Off Managing Director, Alex Trimnell, said:

“We’re really excited to be working with such an amazing and inspiring team of riders using the very latest in cycling efficiency that we have to offer.

Mechanic and rider feedback make up the heart of Muc-Off’s development roadmap, and to be working with some of the worlds best riders and mechanics at Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka will be a real driving force for us in continuing to develop the worlds best bike and rider care products.”

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka Head of Performance, Rolf Aldag, said:

“Muc-Off has been known to be a leader in the market for a long time now, they are easily one of the most innovative and trendiest brands in cycling. We are not only happy to be using their wide range of products but also confident we have the highest quality products at our disposal. We look forward to working with Muc-Off on the development side too, with our riders and experienced technical staff providing feedback throughout the season.”

Muc-Off will support the teams #BicyclesChangeLives campaign to raise 5000 bicycles for Qhubeka.

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Cafe Du Cyclist comes to London

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Exciting news in the world of cycling clothes, premium cycling brand Cafe Du cyclist will be opening a store here in Spitalfields, London. The only other place you’ll find a Cafe du Cyclist shop is in Nice’s Old Porte on the Cote d’Azur. While Spitalfields is a far cry from the beautiful blue seas and high mountain climbs of the Cote d’Azure, Cafe Du Cyclist obviously sees something in the cycling boom of East London.

The wide-ranging collections, for both men and women, combine cutting edge technical fabrics, performance features and modern Gallic flair. Positioned at the forefront of the ‘new wave’ of contemporary cycling brands, Café du Cycliste has enjoyed rapid growth worldwide. The strength of the brand in the UK made London the natural choice for the next stage of their expansion. Before now the brand had only been available via Condor Cycles, Mr Porter, Matchesfashion, Condor Cycles and cafeducycliste.com. so to say it’s exclusive is a slight understatement.

The spirit of the brand comes from the founders shared love of riding, and its aesthetic combines inspiration from both inside and outside the sport. The outdoors lifestyle influences of Co-founder and Creative Director Remi Clermont’s background in world competition level kayaking are also evident in the DNA of the brand.

“My father was really into road cycling, so I grew up in a family watching the Tour de France around 20 years ago when it wasn’t cool – even in France” he explains “I saw an opportunity to create a brand that was serious about technical excellence but also relaxed enough in approach to capture the pleasure of riding for riding’s sake”

Since launching in 2009 Café du Cycliste has established itself as one of a very few specialist cycling brands able to effortlessly combine both high style and serious performance.

As Clermont says “Our clothing is designed as much to be worn 2,500 metres up, in some beautiful remote places where Le Tour has never been, as on the more familiar strips of kempt tarmac.”

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Bradley Wiggins Motor Home for sale!

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British Car Auctions, later this month, are giving bidders the chance to win Bradley Wiggins former motorhome.

Bradley Wiggins Sporthome for sale at BCAThe coachbuilt Sporthome by McLaren is based on a long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 316 2.1 with manual transmission.  It was commissioned by Sir Bradley in 2014 and while finished in white, has been vinyl wrapped in Team Wiggins colours of blue with chromed wing mirrors and bull bar and 8-spoke alloy wheels AND it’s only covered 5,500 miles!

Wiggo Van 006

The Sporthome features bespoke red, white and blue leather seating with ‘Wiggo’ detail on the headrests.  The custom GB-inspired interior includes a double bed, combined shower/toilet, integrated kitchen area with fridge, cooker and wash basin, overhead lockers and a storage area/repair bay for cycles. It doesn’t finish there either, in the seating area, which has two swivel seats, fold down table and five TV screens (two of which have Sky, obviously).

To say it’s understated on the inside would be an understatement, garish dashboard styling is not one to my taste, but then again who am I to question the king of the cycling mods? If you wanted a motorhome perfect for the cycling get away then what better one to have, you would imagine that there’s everything you would need to make yourself feel like Wiggo himself – minus a few Olympic gold medals…

The Sporthome will be offered for sale at BCA Blackbushe on Thursday 21 September from 11.00 am.  To see the full catalogue listing and images online at bca.co.uk.

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