Cycling World April 2016 Sample

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ESTABLISHED 1979

WORLD TRACK SPRING CLASSICS THE PEAK DISTRICT

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April 2016

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SERBIA CYCLING NIRVANA

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April 2016

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Cyclescar

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22 October – 1 November 2016

Madagascar Cycle Challenge This exciting cycle challenge takes us to remote Madagascar, where spectacular scenery and amazing wildlife awaits. Our adventurous route takes us east on a mix of roads and dirt tracks, through highland plains and lush forest to the coast.

After almost 500km of pedalling, we finish by the white sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean, safe in the knowledge that you are helping Macmillan ensure that no one has to face cancer alone.

visit macmillan.org.uk/madagascar or call 020 7840 7875

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Cycling World

21-26 September 2016

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Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604).

Venice to Rome Cycle Challenge Join Team Macmillan for this 620km ride from the canals of Venice to the historic Italian capital of Rome.

Our route is hilly, with some long climbs and takes us south through the rolling hills of Tuscany, passing traditional villages and fruit farms. You’ll feel incredible as you finish in Rome, but most importantly you’ll have done something truly amazing to help people affected by cancer.

visit macmillan.org.uk/venicerome or call 020 7840 7875

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RideLondon-Surrey 100 Sunday 31 July 2016

Paris

London to Paris Cycle Challenge 13–17 July 2016

April 2016

To sign up and for more information visit macmillan.org.uk/findacycle email cycling@macmillan.org.uk or call 020 7840 7875

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Cycling World

NEWS 2016 Track World Championships Volunteers at World Championships New Women's Hour Record Look Ahead to the 2016 Pro Season

E-BIKE FEATURE - 18 20 24 26 28 30

To Bosch, or not to Bosch?

E-bikes: a Dealer’s Insight Illegal Bikes Could Destroy MTB E-Riding New World E-Bike Long Distance Record E-bike Reviews

JERSEY FEATURE 34

The Art of the Jersey: A Celebration of the

Cycling Racing Jersey

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Jerseys: Editor’s Choice

REGULARS Product Reviews: Pick of the Bunch

Brake Callipers

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Film Review: Battle Mountain: Graeme

Obree’s Story

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The Bicycle Diaries: Stage 5 Montenegro

to Kosovo

Book Review: Bells & Bikes Ask Anita: Shall I Get an E-bike?

Training and Nutrition: Effective Training From the Workshop: Customise Your Old

UK CYCLING 44 54

Sustran’s Traffic-free Cycle Ride: Calder

Valley Greenway

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Fat Lads Inspire Riders to Take on Tour

de Yorkshire

The Peak District

April 2016

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CONTENTS

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SPRING CLASSICS FEATURE 68

Tour of Flanders 100: A Celebration

of History

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Taking on the Liege-Bastogne-Liege

OVERSEAS CYCLING 78 90 94

Snow Bike Festival in Switzerland Serbia: A nirvana of cycling exploration The Danube Cycleway Serbia: Surduk to

Belgrade

April 2016

Sportive

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David Robert

ED's LETTER April 2016

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am often taken aback by the ridiculous things motorists shout at me when I am on my bike. “Get on path!” by which they mean the pavement, which is illegal to cycle on, and doing so can incur on-the-spot fines in some areas. I am a vehicle and should not be bothering pedestrians, especially children, pushchairs, dogs, those with mobility issues, or anyone for that matter who is negotiating pavements laden with street furniture.

“At least I pay road tax!” That’s impressive as it was abolished in 1937. Do you mean Vehicle Excise Duty, a tax on the vehicle, not a pot for collecting monies to be spent on road building or road maintenance? These motorists obviously think ‘road tax’ pays for roads so tax-dodging cyclists shouldn’t really be on “their” roads at all. And hey, I have car too and like you, pay my VED. “Get out the middle of the road.” No, I am in the middle of the lane, the correct position for the current road conditions and/or to do the manoeuvre that I have just indicated I intend to make.

I can only conclude that cyclists are the unfortunate targets of general impatience, stress and bad tempers that are directed our way as we are forced to listen, not having the sound protection of car windows around us. It’s very simple: we are slow moving vehicles legally obliged to be on the highway, just like other slow vehicles, namely mobility scooters, horses, tractors, milk floats, none of which seem to get motorists’ pearls of

wisdom hurled at them.

I am ranting to the converted. So what can we do about it? Cycling needs to be a normal, everyday activity so motorists are cyclists too, or at least drivers that have ridden a bike, and are understanding. With more bikes on the road traffic will lessen and perhaps the stress on the roads will decrease.

The process of normalisation has to start young.

Families should be cycling to primary school, children to secondary, students to college and university. This will lead to more people cycling to work if workplaces facilitate this with a cycle to work scheme, storage, showers and lockers. It amazes me that there are many public sector employers, including local authorities and the health sector, that don’t offer this. Surely they should be setting the example for the private sector. Improving all aspects of public transport including the capacity to take bikes would be a real bonus too.

I’ve been thinking about improved public transport recently with the announcement of forthcoming tests of “the driverless car.” It allows drivers to read, watch films and phone fiddle while en route. Sounds like public transport to me, but retaining the single occupancy issue that keeps the roads choc-o-block. The only positive I see is no driver to hurl abuse at me.

Wishing you all tailwinds

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EDITORIAL

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Editor David Robert editor@cyclingworldmag.co.uk

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FRONT COVER DETAILS:

Tel: 01227 750153 Publisher Colin Woolley colin@cyclingworldmag.co.uk

Cycling World

CONTRIBUTORS

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Anita Powell, Reverend Paul Wilson, Mike Wells, Col Williams, Ray Wookey, Gary and Rachel Corbett, Tudor Tamas, Robert Powell, Rebecca Lowe, Simon Postgate, Helen Hill, Scot Christian, Chris Burn, David Robert, Inge van der Hoek, Sarah Roe, Tim Ramsden, Martial Prévalet

ADVERTISING Sales Manager Simon White simon@cyclingworldmagazine.com Sales Executive Ben Emery ben@cplmedia.net Sales Executive Alice Allwright alice@cplmedia.net Sales Executive Declan Wale

Wiggins and Cavendish win the Madison at the UCI World Track Championships in London. Photo by Charlie Forgham-Bailey/SWpix.com Free Cycling World App Subscription for British Cycling Members

For more info visit www.cyclingworldmag.co.uk

dec@cplmedia.net Sales Executive Harry Barrow harry@cplmedia.net

Although every effort is made to ensure the content of features in Cycling World is accurate and correct, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. No guarantees can be made upon the safe return of any unsolicited copy of photographic images. Thepublisher reserves the right to alter or amend any submitted material that is printed in Cycling World. All material in Cycling World is the copyright of the publisher and any reproduction of said material would require written permission from the publisher. ©Cycling World Limited 2015 ISSN: 0143-0238

The Atlas Mountains, Atlantic Coast, Sahara Desert …

Morocco is the ideal place to have an amazing cycling adventure this spring. Hire a bike or bring your own to enjoy the great weather and fantastic landscape of this exotic country on Europe’s doorstep.

visitmorocco.com

muchmorocco

April 2016

CYCLE TOURING FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE

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GB TOP THE MEDAL TABLE

.com SWpix head, White y Alex Trott b

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Laura

Cycling World

AT 2016 TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

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t was one of the most hotly-anticipated international sporting events of the year. The biggest UCI Track World Championships in the modern era certainly didn’t disappoint. With team Great Britain topping the medal table during the five-day adrenaline-fuelled event.

Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins took the world Madison title in a thrilling finale to London’s Lee Valley VeloPark 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships after Laura Trott regained her omnium world title as well as Jason Kenny and Jon Dibben scooping gold in the men’s sprint and the men’s points race.

Director of British Cycling Jonny Clay said: “This year’s UCI Track Cycling World Championships has undoubtedly been the biggest and best event yet.

With more people attending than for London 2012, it is apparent that the appetite for watching live track cycling is greater than ever.

"Sunday night’s Madison win by Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish capped an amazing five days but everyone who came to every session would have been entertained by some of the best sport you’ll see anywhere.

“The support for the Great Britain Cycling Team was phenomenal and undoubtedly played its part in some

great medal successes but I was also thrilled by how riders from every country got great backing from the crowd.

“TV viewing figures were equally impressive with over two million people tuning in to see Thursday night’s men’s team pursuit on BBC2. This was just the boost the Great Britain team needed ahead of Rio and we’re excited about another amazing summer for cycling.”

In front of a raucous sell-out crowd, cycling heavyweights Cavendish and Wiggins amassed an impressive points tally in the early part of the race but early lap gains from France, Switzerland and Colombia meant that the Great Britain duo lay tantalisingly outside of medal contention.

But after 168 laps of the 200-lap event Wiggins launched a searing attack with Spain and the 2008 champion dug deep for an agonising lap gain. Many also believed it was all over after Cavendish fell hard on turn one near the end of the 200 lap race.

However, the talented Manxman quickly re-joined and any final doubts were gone. The British pair had rolled back the clock eight years to Manchester’s 2008 Track World Championships, winning gold to the delight of the capacity crowd.

Jason Kenny wins Sprint by Alex Whitehead, SWpix.com

April 2016

Wiggins and Cavendish win Madison by Charlie Forgham-Bailey, SWpix.com

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YOUNG CYCLISTS VOLUNTEER AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM THE BLOG OF DAVID REDMOND, THANET ROAD CLUB

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hat an experience I had at the London Olympic Velodrome volunteering for the UCI as part of the World Track Championships.

It all began with a training day on 28th February when I went with two other club members, both Megans, to the velodrome for some training to learn the tasks that lay ahead of me. I arrived an hour early and immediately saw things in place: the sponsors banners were up and teams were already training. I then met Alison who would be my guide for the day and my mentor throughout my shifts.

Later in the day I was issued my kit by Janette who also lead the briefing talk which included the history of the championships and the “dos and don’ts” during the competition.

She introduced us to other members of the team and explained to everyone what each role would involve and I learnt I would be on the results team which was vital for the media and the riders.

We were then given a brief tour of the venue and taken to where we would be based, in the track centre which was right next to the start/ finish line!

Cycling World

Finally it was Saturday the 5th March, I got out of bed at 5am ready to catch the 6am train to Stratford International with Megan G. Fortunately I managed to get some sleep on the train. We arrived at the

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venue and already the place was filled with people going about their jobs. We started work on our results and met various people on the way, including a team GB mechanic, two UCI commissaires and members of the Irish team. The rest of the morning went very well and I was very lucky to have been offered a free spectator ticket for that afternoon to see some of the racing which was exhilarating.

Our second day again started early and this time I was teamed up with Megan K to do the results once again. We knew it would be a busy morning as it was the final day of the event and there was lots of pressure to ensure things went smoothly for all who depended on us. During the morning we witnessed two crashes but thankfully the riders involved were not too badly hurt. We also met with the venue commentator and another UCI commissaire who spoke to us about how they deal with replays of foul riding and how they decide what level to punish the rider/riders involved, which was very interesting. The rest of the morning went smoothly before signing out for the last time and wishing good luck to Dan M and Megan G who had to do the last afternoon whilst I once again watched from the stands.

I am honoured to have taken part in this event. I learned a great deal and it illustrates the events you can get invited to having put in so many hours as a British Cycling volunteer at my local club, Thanet R.C.

NEW WOMEN'S HOUR RECORD

Evelyn Stevens sets new benchmark of 47.980 kilometres

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merican Evelyn Stevens has smashed the women's UCI Hour Record with a new benchmark of 47.980 kilometres at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Velodrome.

She held a steady 48 km/h throughout, beating Australian Bridie O’Donnell’s previous record of 46.882km set at the Super-Drome in Adelaide in January. Stevens announced her record attempt at the beginning of February, two weeks after O’Donnell set her record.

She was the second American to attempt the Hour Record after Molly Shaffer Van Houweling broke the long-standing record of 46.065km that Leontien van Moorsel set without aerodynamic gear in Mexico City in 2003. Van Houweling rode 46.273km in September 2015 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, only to be beaten

by O’Donnell four months later. Van Houweling was present at Stevens’ event and provided viewers with commentary about the event.

Stevens started conservatively, riding a 31.4-second opening lap, and then increased the pace to just under 25 seconds per lap, consistently, for the first 15 minutes of her event. She held an on-pace average speed of 48.014 km/h, still maintaining roughly 24 to 25 seconds per lap for the duration of her event.

In her post attempt press conference, organised

by USA Cycling, Evelyn talked about how deep she had to dig:

Cycling World

April 2016

“… of course it was a tonne of suffering. In my head I just kept saying ‘you can do one more lap, you can do one more lap. What’s the worst that can happen… I pass out.’ I’m happy that didn’t happen.”

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LOOK AHEAD TO THE 2016

PRO SEASON

Cycling World

by Tudor Tamas

14 Giro 2015, Stage 2 – by ENGIE Italia, Flickr

An incredible rider with great talent and capacity who, save for his modest climbing skills, would be a real contender for the Tour de France. A super-class and super-strong teammate, if he is to be seen through the eyes of Alberto Contador. The rider that all the cycling enthusiasts are most looking forward to seeing perform this year is World Champion, man of the moment and recentlymarried – Peter Sagan.

We have seen him perform well in early Classics, placing second in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and a top-ten in KuurneBruxelles-Kuurne. Coming up in the series of the most prestigious one-day races will be the cobble-coated Tour of Flanders – at its 100th anniversary edition – on the first Sunday of April, immediately succeeded a week later by its older sister, the mighty Paris-Roubaix. The Ronde van Vlaanderen had initially used the cobbled roads out of necessity but after realising the spectacle it offered, the race organisers decided to stick with the gruesome roads and so it became a tradition. Add a few short steep climbs like the Koppenberg – on which even the legendry Eddy Merckx had to walk up in 1976 – or the Oude Kwaremont, and you’ve got yourself the perfect recipe for fraying cyclists’ nerves. You would expect the riders to take a break after rolling up and down in such a manner through Flanders, but all the race does is to whet their appetite for a Sunday in Hell. Paris-Roubaix comes up next and inevitably restarts the endless debate of which one of the two races takes pride of place for being the hardest. The 27 dusty pavé sectors, ranked from one star (decent) to five stars (inhuman), quake the riders before they even set off in their quest to earn their place in cycling history. Originally created just as a warm-up and advertisement for the newly-resurrected but still testinglylong Bordeaux-Paris race, ParisRoubaix has managed to earn itself the famous nickname ‘The Queen of the Classics.’

Since 2005, two riders have dominated the cobbled Monuments, registering thirteen victories between them and establishing themselves as the very exponents of the term ‘rouleur’: Tom Boonen (EtixxQuick Step) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo). Besides the great success they’ve had in the Classics, the two riders share another similarity as they are both approaching the end of their careers. But their status of famous veterans means little to the other riders hungry for success, like the last winners of the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix, Kristoff and

Degenkolb. The battle for the top places seems to be fiercer than ever before and Cancellara himself feels cycling has changed since he started as a pro: “It is faster and I think there is less respect in the peloton.” Whether or not Spartacus will have a triumphant swansong remains to be seen; early season form with a win in the Spanish one-day race Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana bodes well. Without a doubt the two classics known as Flanders’ Finest and the Hell of the North will give him one last shake-up to remember.

April concludes with the last of the spring Monuments, the oldest and perhaps most chaotic of them all, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, on Sunday 24. A thrilling stage where oneday and Grand Tour riders can compete on relatively equal terms, La Doyenne traditionally accommodates a long series of steep but slightly shorter hills like Stockeu, HauteLevée, Saint-Nicolas and the fearsome La Redoute, with tremendous gradients of over 20%, especially in the second half of the race.

Basically the Ardennes equivalent of the Tour de Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège loops through scenic woods, being the crown jewel of the Ardennes classics, with Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne completing the trio. A mix of riders including Simon Gerrans, Dan Martin, Maxim Iglinsky, Andy Schleck and Philippe Gilbert have won the race in recent years, but champion en titre and the only still active multiple winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is the man to watch, having triumphed three times in the last ten years. He has shown early season form in stage racing, winning the Vuelta a Andalucia, so we await to see him contest for one-day glory.

The last of the Monuments, il Giro di Lombardia, is very similar to the one taking place in the eastern part of the Walloon province. The difference, however, consists in the series of slightly longer and more spread out, sharp climbs, the most famous being the Madonna del Ghisallo. The shrine at the top bears the same name and the legend surrounding it led Pope Pius XII to name Madonna del Ghisallo the patron saint of cyclists. Considered a climbers’ classic, the course of Giro di Lombardia has suffered plenty of adjustments over time, with the finish alternating since 2014 between Bergamo and the traditional end at the shores of Lake Como. This year’s edition takes place on 1 October – easy to see why it is called the Race of the Falling Leaves – with only the World Championships in Doha, which will run later than ever before, following the most important autumn Classic a week later. Il Lombardia tends to gather new faces every year on the podium, with only Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez (Katusha), Alejandro Valverde and Daniel Martin (Etixx) finishing in top three more than once in the last seven years. Champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) will find it hard to defend his title giving the current big pool of gifted climbers with exponents like Fabio Aru (Astana), Rafal Majka (Tinkoff), Mikel Landa (Team Sky) or Esteban Chaves (Orica-Greenedge) to name a few.

April 2016

MONUMENTS

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Cycling World

Tom Boonen, 2015 Het Nieuwsblad by Enrico Seccatore

Chris Froome, TDF 2015 by Gyrostat

Boonen and Thomas, 2014 Paris-Roubaix by Felouch Kotek

GIRO D’ITALIA La corsa più dura del mondo nel Paese più bello del mondo (The toughest race in the world in the most beautiful country in the world.) Il Giro d’Italia has never shied away in the face of any of the other races and its official tagline captures the raunchy sex appeal oozed by the race, while also sticking to the values it promotes: grinta above everything.

Without that true determination, finishing the marvellous but too often hellish mountain stages of the Giro is not possible, let alone winning them.

The tifosi, who seem more passionate than in other races, create a human wall along the sharp roads that snake atop famous climbs like Passo di Mortirolo, Monte Zoncolan or Colle delle Finestre.

Giro d’Italia in a pistachio nutshell.

Having said all that, none of these climbs feature in the 99th edition of Giro d’Italia, as it is going to be one of the most balanced Giro seen for

some time. The Netherlands host the inaugural individual time trial on 6 May together with two flat stages, before the route moves to Italy, vertically traversing Italy from South to North in nine flat or medium mountain sections, as the riders prepare to take on the four high mountain stages in the Dolomites and the French Alps. The Giro ends in the Piedmont capital of Turin on 29 May with a seventh stage for sprinters, who have been so generously awarded quite a few chances to shine. Reigning champion Nibali is expected to make il Giro his primary season objective, trying to become the first rider to successfully defend his title since Miguel Indurain in 1993. Nibali’s teammate Aru, Richie Porte (BMC), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Tom Dumoulin (GiantAlpecin) and Landa (Team Sky) are all likely to target the Italian race as well.

TOUR DE FRANCE Any superlatives describing the oldest and most prestigious stage race are redundant. On 2 July, the whole world will stop and hold its breath for a moment as the peloton departs from Mont Saint-Michel in the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, with Utah Beach – one of the five sectors of the Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy during the Second World War – the first destination.

Describing the expected sprint finish of the day as an assault wouldn’t be inappropriate, given the prize that awaits the winner at Utah Beach – donning the maillot jaune for at least a day.

The phenomenon that is la Grande Boucle goes way beyond statistics and is so utterly enthralling that wearing the yellow jersey is the childhood dream of any cyclist. And this is what le Tour is all about: passion, pride, drama and the small victories that make the history books and have such a huge significance for every rider.

Indurain’s name is well- associated with the Tour de France, not just for being the only cyclist to win five consecutive editions, but also for holding the same record as in Giro: the last rider to successfully defend his title, in 1995. Chris Froome is hunting that feat for himself and although the two individual time trials should play in his advantage, the one in stage 18 is a 17 km uphill race against the clock that will definitely keep both Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in the frame. Six mountain stages that include the fearsome climbs on Col du Tourmalet and Mont Ventoux will ensure some sparks in the peloton. Sagan (Tinkoff), Cavendish (Dimension Data), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and the other sprinters will also get their fair bit of action with eight flat stages potentially the source of super-fast finishes, crowned by the traditional finale on Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The youngest of the three Grand Tours, la Vuelta seems to have found its identity since moving from April to late August and especially after ASO have gained control of it. With a reputation as a race for climbing specialists, it is often overlooked by sprinters who prefer to keep up the level of fitness for the World Championships. After missing out on the Vuelta last year, Galicia – more precisely the province of Ourense – will once again be the starting point of the race on 20 August.

The 2015 edition saw Aru (Astana) pulling off a fantastic performance in the second part of the race to take the lead in the general classification and ruin Rodriguez’s (Katusha) hopes of winning his first ever Vuelta after so many attempts. At 36, el Purito is approaching the end of his career and, unlike his eternal rival Valverde, who snatched the red jersey from el Purito in the final stage is yet to win a Grand Tour. With a victory in the Tour out of discussion, Rodriguez is likely to focus his efforts on the race held in his native Spain.

April 2016

VUELTA A ESPAÑA

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IN DEPTH

E-BIKE FEATURE

Cycling E - Bike World

Welcome to our quarterly in depth e-bike feature. This month we have some great articles, including a new e-bike world record. We help those looking to buy with a dealer’s insight, the latest Bosch motors and our regular e-bike reviews.

Happy e-pedalling.

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April 2016

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