Spin Cycle Magazine Issue 7 by SPIN CYCLE MAGAZINE

CYCLE MAGAZINE

ISSUE 07

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Editor James Maloney james@spincyclemag.com Picture Editor Dan Kenyon dan@spincyclemag.com Contributors Joolze Dymond Paul Francis Cooper Jack Chevell Tim Dalton Courtnie Hayes Ali Vermilio Nick Howe Design Uniform www.uniform.net Thanks go to: Wayne Greenhalgh at Champion Systems and the staff at Team Lampre Merida Rachel Heal at UHC Womens Team Peter Hodges and Guy Elliot at Sweetspot David Murphy Bill Soens Ian Pugh Andy Fenn, Rick van Slycke and Alessandro Tegner at Omega Pharma Quickstep

All information contained in Spin Cycle Magazine is for information purposes only and is, to the best of our knowledge, correct at the time of going to press. Spin Cycle Magazine cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies that occur. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Spin Cycle Magazine a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including all licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Spin Cycle Magazine nor its staff, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage. In relation to any medical queries, the advice given is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner and we strongly advise all readers with health problems to consult a doctor.

SPIN 08

Women On Tour

Peak behind the scenes with the first ladies of United Healthcare

Irish Tickled Pink

Giro d’Italia arrives in Ireland

Dirty Pretty Things Mud, glorious mud at the National Cyclocross Championships

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The Stang Why does it always rain on the National Hill Climb Championships?

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Brit Down Under

Omega-Pharma Quickstep’s Andy Fenn chats about racing in Oz

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Long Way To Rome Centurian Ian Pugh’s lone adventure to Rome

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Killer Hill

Bwlch Penbarras - possibly our toughest hill to date

COVER: Women’s Tour by Joolze Dymond LEFT: Giro d’Italia by Jack Chevell

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WOMEN ON TOUR Words & Photography JOOLZE DYMOND

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women on tour

T’S finally happened. Great Britain got it’s Women’s Tour on the UCI calendar. To be honest, it’s been an awful long time coming. Alfonsina Strada made history in the 1924 Giro as the first woman to ride a grand tour alongside the men. Instead of being heralded as a heroine, Strada was sidelined as a novelty act, being dubbed as ‘the devil in a dress’. Now, 90 years later, women’s racing is still largely being treated as a sideshow - an afterthought, run as a support act to men’s races but without the same respect, prize money or equal wages. However, 2014 is the year of change thanks to the vision of Sweetspot and its organiser Guy Elliott. It is the year women’s professional cycling finally had a tour race to equal the men’s.

I was fortunate to attend two stages as the guest of United HealthCare Pro Cycling and witness the changes. It wasn’t seeing Olympians and World Champions rubbed shoulders on the start line, sharing a joke and a laugh. That spirit has always been there. It wasn’t even how approachable the riders were to spectators and media alike. Autograph? No problem, photo? Sure. No, what was new this time was the setup and the organization. I stepped into Stage 2 and felt I had stepped into a stage of the Tour of Britain itself - the pomp, ceremony and, most importantly, the safety. With NEG riders escorting the

women on tour

ABOVE: The weather looks grim during the Women’s Tour RIGHT: Riders from UHC get changed following miserable weather on Stage Two

2014 is the year of change thanks Sweetspot and its organiser Guy Elliott. It is the year women’s professional cycling finally had a tour race to equal the men’s

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race, delivering it from point-topoint, there was a proper race bubble - missing from so much other women’s racing - where the women could attack, defend, ride tactically, chase, sprint, challenge all without worrying about a random car straying into their path. The crowds swelled the route, schools cheered, flags were waved in delight and placards declaring support for favourites - all despite the weather on some stages. All the cheers sent a shiver down my spine that I’d not encountered since the first roll out stage of the Tour of Britain, when Brad, as he was back then, took a victory parade after his historic Tour de France win. Every inch of the streets then, as now, were crammed with folk along the entire route. And now, echoing that sentiment, a victorious celebration of women’s racing was underway and the public loved it, every minute of it. It wasn’t dull. The critics of women’s cycling, who suggested it may well be a dreary and cagey procession from start to finish, were confounded by the opposite. After five days of gritty weather and gritty racing, laced with plenty of attacks and desperate doomed breakaways, Marianne Vos reminded us why she is the reigning Olympic and World champion and the UCI realised that women’s racing had finally been given the safety it needed to shine. No, Vos didn’t dominate as first

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ABOVE: Every team should have a lucky mascot and UHC have a lucky gnome LEFT: In a demostration of equality, riders get changed aboard one of the team buses normally reserved for the men

expected. Home-grown talent flourished and shone through. Every day brought edge of the seat action. Every day brought women’s racing closer to the eyes of the world and proved without doubt they were deserving of much bigger and greater things - the Women’s Tour finally giving them the voice of reason they needed to prove their point. It’s as exciting and unpredictable as the men’s equivalent. They certainly race as hard and deserve the same respect and coverage as the men. More importantly, they deserve to earn a living wage as they pursue sporting excellence in one of the hardest sports out there. One of the stand out teams for the race was the American team United Health Care. For UHC’s two British

riders Hannah Barnes and Sharon Laws, both in their first season with the team, it was a triumph. The riders podiumed together on Stage One with Barnes coming third in the sprint behind the Swede Emma Johannsson and that Dutch girl, while taking the best Under-23 jersey. Laws bagged the Queen of the Mountains jersey - or ‘Queen of the Slopes’ as the peloton called it - as none of the hills were high enough to trouble the talent on show. Hannah went on to have a couple of top five placings and came in eight by the end and, despite a crash on Stage 4, Sharon clung on to hold the jersey all week. Barnes, who had been chosen as leader before the race and she rose

One of the stand out teams for the race was United Health Care. For UHC’s two British riders Hannah Barnes and Sharon Laws, both in their first season with the team, it was a triumph.

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women on tour

ABOVE: Ruth Winder relaxes listening to music and checking her emails while aboard the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s luxury bus

women on tour

There’s been no changing in cramped mini vans and waiting in bus shelters for the Women’s Tour squad either. UHC drove over one of the men’s team buses from Belgium – complete with Luke the driver and the lucky gnome.

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past –women present future on–tour

women on tour

LEFT: Getting ready - once the race numbers are pinned on, a rider checks they’ve everything for the race that they’ll need, including gels

to the responsibility, said: “Being young and new to the team, I really happy they trusted me and have the team working for me.” United Health Care as a company have made an equally big statement since they started the women’s team in 2013. UHC’s last training camp in Scottsdale Arizona saw the women’s team training with the men’s. Barnes added: “We’ve seen the guys a lot this. Half the races have been with the men and it’s been one big

clubs, it’s a strong statement. This first season for UHC has been one of huge personal growth for the team’s DS Rachel Heal as well. Heal raced herself for nine years, competing in the Athens Olympics, World Championships and Commonwealth games, as well as coming second to Nicole Cooke in the National Road Race too many times to reminisce about here. When Heal joined UHC, she understood that she might be gain DS experience by directing a few

There’s been no changing in cramped mini vans and waiting in bus shelters for the Women’s Tour squad either. UHC drove over one of the men’s team buses from Belgium. team. When we’ve come down to breakfast at the hotels and it’s been guys and girls tables they’ve been ‘No no no’ and we’ve all swapped around and mixed together and that’s been so cool.” There’s been no changing in cramped mini vans and waiting in bus shelters for the Women’s Tour squad either. UHC drove over one of the men’s team buses from Belgium – complete with Luke the driver and the lucky gnome. It’s a display of equality with the men’s team that’s been mirrored by the organisation of the race itself with full marshalling, road closures, TV coverage and, most telling of all, the same prize money as the men. In a world that only recently equalised prize money in tennis and still excludes women from some golf

of the men’s US races later in the season. In what you could call ‘fast-track gender blindness mode’ UHC had different expectations of her ability and she found herself successfully directing the men’s team for UHC at this year’s rain-soaked MilanSanRemo. At the end of Stage 2, I sat down with Heal in the glamorous soundings of The Best Western in Colchester while soigneurs rubbed legs, music played and preparations for day two went on in the rooms around us.

JD: The team have come a long way for this race. I’m guessing this is quite important? RH: Having two British riders on our team for the Women’s Tour is a big

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women on tour

BELOW: Looking lean and clean, the ladies of UHC get into some sparkling white kit ready for the start of the next stage RIGHT: Despite at crash on Stage 4, Sharon Laws from UHC held onto the polkadot jersey all week

women on tour

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women on tour

ABOVE: Alone in the woods - with the exception of the TV crew - Ruth Winder looks back in search of a spare wheel while the peloton escapes in the distance

women on tour

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women on tour

deal. The race was always one that I personally wanted to do, but it was the challenge of convincing the management that it was worthwhile for them – spending the money because it’s expensive us coming over here with plane tickets and the bus. We were very much of the mindset that if we were going to do it, we would do it properly, so the bus came over from the Continent. One of the things said at the beginning of the year was that we were going to try to help raise the bar for women’s cycling. The team are treating them the same as the men’s team and hoping if we start doing this then it would encourage other teams to do the same. And with the Women’s Tour being a carbon copy of the mens - in terms of organisation that’s obviously a race we want to support. JD: It’s only Stage 2, but has it lived up to your expectations? RH: Yes. In fact, it’s exceeded them. The public and media interest was big before the race, but then the support out on the road was surprising and huge, as well as the interest in not just the cycle media but mainstream media too. JD: So people are watching this race closely? RH: Women’s racing’s been on the up in the past couple of years. Races like the Olympics and then the US Pro Championships in 2013 were televised. People who previously

women on tour

had not been too impressed have looked again realised that actually it is pretty exciting and this is a good spectator sport, as well as just as exciting – if not more exciting then the men;s. We’ve now been given the big stage and the women’s peloton have to prove they can step up. It’s a business. If it’s not exciting television and the money it brings isn’t going to be there. The Women’s Tour told us that they believe women’s cycling can be interesting and it’s been up to the peloton to prove that. The organisers trusted us to provide and I think we’ve been doing that. So far, it’s been exciting. There’s been nothing predictable about the race. I think Sharon’s been the only jersey not to change hands over the past two days. JD: There was a lot of talk about this being all about Vos, but there’s a lot of other things happening. RH: Vos is an incredible athlete, but there’s a lot of good athletes out there, too. She hasn’t had it all her own way. She’s had to race hard. JD: I’ve been with the team all day. It’s a great atmosphere on board the bus and it seems a tight knit team. RH: Yes but it’s not by accident. In the UHC men’s team that spirit is the big thing they’ve got and, when we hired for the women’s team for this year, we had to create the same emphasis on the whole team. We only hired riders that we knew would buy into that ethic and build

ABOVE: Lauren Tamayo grabs a bidon during a rare quiet moment on one of the stages at the Women’s Tour

that bond. Team results are more important than any individual. JD: You’ve had some goals for Hannah and Sharon for this race, though? RH: Yesterday, I did have to laugh when Hannah said in interviews that I’d said there was ‘no plan’ and ‘just go and have fun’. It sounded like I was a little casual. It was a conscious decision to tell Hannah that to try to diffuse the tension for her, as it was her home stage. She’s had a massive amount of pressure on

her. I know she’s incredibly talented and incredibly fast for someone just 21. For Stage One, my job was to pretend it was like any other bike race. When, of course, it wasn’t. The job was to support her with the team and just keep them around her – almost without her noticing it. For her to come third and win the jersey was just incredible. JD: It’s a good mixture of young and experienced riders.Sharon has been a good signing and brings some age and experience to the team.

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ABOVE: Making a splash - the team cars race through puddles as they hurtle along trying to keep up with peloton

women on tour

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women on tour

RH: Sharon’s a great climber. The climbs here aren’t quite what she’s used to. In the US, the last race she rode had climbs of 6,000 feet. The first stage finished with a seven-mile climb and the last stage with a 13mile climb, so it’s a little bit different to the 1km climbs in this race. But a good climber is a good climber. JD: It’s a US team. Why did you pick Hannah and Sharon? RH: Being British myself, I’ve always kept an eye on British riders. I suppose with Hannah it was the Smithfield nocturne when she won – but then didn’t. Two things stood out for me. First, she beat Laura Trott and then the way she handled the post race situation. Being 19 and winning a race, then having it taken from you for whatever reason it was. She was just incredibly mature about the whole thing and, from what I read, said nothing negative in the press. That struck me almost as much as the race itself. So when we received her CV, I remembered the name and looking at her palmarès, we knew that she knew how to win a race. She has so much potential.

to support Mara on some of the hillier stage races and that’s why we approached her.

JD: And with Sharon? RH: I’m not sure that I ever raced against Sharon. I was on my way out as she was starting. I knew how strong she was and Mara [Abbott], our climber, had been on the receiving end of Sharon’s teamwork with others and knew her as a rider. We were looking for someone

JD: I’ve known Hannah for years and she’s always had a bit of a raw deal. She’s such a talented rider and very mature considering what she’s had to put up with. RH: Since she’s been riding, I’ve been based in the US, so haven’t followed all the news about the UK domestic team. I looked at her palmarès and

ABOVE: Sharon Laws on the front of the group as it whizzes along

thought ‘she’s won a lot of races’. JD: When I met her three years ago, she had 19 nationals title to her name yet she couldn’t get a decent team ride. It didn’t make sense. She was one of those faces that didn’t seem to fit British Cycling, so it’s great to see her flourishing with UHC. RH: She’s like the team’s little sister – to both the women’s and the men’s teams. She is based in Ashville when she’s in the US and we have some of

the guys based there too. They take her out on their rides and like to look out for her. JD: You were a pretty experienced rider yourself. You must recognise the changes in women’s racing recently RH: It’s still a fairly young sport, but developing and learning quickly. It has changed a lot and there are more teams now based within the men teams. We’re using the UHC

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women on tour

ABOVE: Another day, another stage done and dusted LEFT: Rain, rain, go away - UHC’s soigner prepares the feed bags for the stage ahead, probably hoping the weather will improve for the team’s riders

men’s experience to fast-track our learning. Some of the races earlier in the year, the men were racing the same course, so able to offer. I was lucky myself as a rider in the sense that I was on the only women’s team with a bus in 2004. We had Leontien Van Moorsel in the team. She was a huge Dutch star, so that made quite difference. The professionalism of teams is so much better now. It still has some way to go, but it’s getting there. JD: You’re based in the US pretty permanently now? RH: The season is getting longer for sure. I used to be in the US between March and August. Now it’s Jan-Dec and I come back to the UK for three weeks. JD: Are UHC happy with the team so far? RH: I think so. I’m not sure what their expectations were in terms of

race results, but we started the year with Hannah winning the first stage in the San Luis in Argentina and then we went on to win the race as a whole with Alison. We then went to El Salvador and won that race with Mara. We then went and won a fair few races in the US, so it’s been a good year so far. It certainly has. If you visit the United Health Care Team site, you’ll note two score boards side-by-side listing races wins, podiums and top 10 placings. At the time of writing, the women are ahead of the men in every category this season. Not bad for so-called ‘devils in dresses’.

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ABOVE: Time to relax as one of the riders from UHC puts her feet up after another dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard racing at the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tour

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IRISH TICKLED PINK Words PAUL COOPER Photography JACK CHEVELL

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irish tickled pink

HE blades of the TV helicopter whirred above the starting line next to the spectacular Titanic centre on the banks of the River Lagan. Today, it’s the opening stage of the 2014 Giro d’Italia and it is impossible not to recall a Belfast of a bygone era. Like many people in the crowd, I knew Northern Ireland during the days when the penetrating roar of a helicopter meant British Army reconnaissance was above, scanning the area for signs of terrorist activity and when it was commonplace to see fully armed soldiers, faces daubed with military camouflage paint, outside your front door. That was a Belfast of the past. Thankfully, the Good Friday Peace Process has transformed the city and Northern Ireland. Yet its work is not yet complete. Tensions at the arrest

of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, as well as the continuing background presence of men still committed to violence, show that the road to full peace is still a hard one. But, how sweet is it for cycling that the Giro d’Italia in Northern Ireland has shown the world just how far that process has travelled? Dublin-born, 1987 Giro D’Italia winner, Stephen Roche, who was speaking to more than 5,000 enthusiastic spectators on the eve of Stage One at the Giro’s opening ceremony, held at Belfast’s City Hall, said: “Thank you for everyone being here tonight. I am speechless. I was expecting a warm welcome but this is

ABOVE: Crowds gather in the rain to watch the riders for the start of the Giro d’italia RIGHT: What it is all about - the winner’s trophy is shown to the fans in Belfast

How sweet is it for cycling that the Giro d’Italia in Northern Ireland has shown the world just how far that process has travelled?

What we learnt: Most team buses could do with a mop and bucket; lying down on the floor to photograph a rider riding through puddles means you get soaked by the following team car and, finally, the state of the coffee machine at Knowsley TOB press office could well prevent the tour returning next year. Peter Hodges has been informed...

Post race warm down. Ian Stannard bleeds from road rash picked up on course

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irish tickled pink

ABOVE: Riders from Europcar race round the streets of Belfast during the 21.7km team time trial for the 2014 Giro dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Italia

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irish tickled pink

even more than I thought, so thanks again. I was surprised [that the Giro came to Ireland], it’s something I always wanted when I was young. It feels so unreal.” Adding to that sentiment and sense of amazement was Team Sky’s Philip Deignan, who is from Donegal. He told the crowd: “It’s just amazing. I never thought I could start in my own country.” Meanwhile, the cost to Northern Ireland in staging the opening event and the first three stages of the Giro was estimated at £4.2m.But tourism experts calculate that the race generated £2.5m in revenue from visitors coming to watch the race. In the long-term, it is estimated that it will produce over £10m through global publicity. In 2013, the Giro was broadcast to 174 countries and reached a global audience of 775 million. Historically, the Giro always started in Milan. But in 1960, the Grande Partenza moved to other Italian cities. In 1996, it made its debut beyond Italy in Athens. Since then, the Corsa Rosa has started in Nice in 1998, Amsterdam in 2010 and Herning in Denmark in 2012. But the world-travelled and gnarled officials of the race seemed genuinely taken aback by the welcoming warmth and friendliness of a Belfast bathed in pink. Andrei Monti, director of La Gazzetta dello Sport, which has organised the race since the first Giro left Milan at 3.53am on May 13, 1909, described

ABOVE: Team Lampre-Merida’s Damio Cunego rolls out for the opening cermony of the 2014 Giro d’Italia LEFT: Garmin’s Dan Martin chats to the crowds in Belfast

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the opening reception at Belfast City Hall as the start of “a surprising love affair between Belfast and the Giro.” “Belfast, we love you,” he told the crowd. The Giro has a history of going beyond the realms of sport. In 1946, Italy was brutally scarred by the Second World War. That year’s Giro, the first since 1943, was hailed as the ‘Giro of Rebirth’. Starting in Milan, it travelled south to Naples and back via Turin. It passed on its way, bomb-damaged cities and towns. The riders battled over roads which barely justified the name. Every man riding had been affected by the strife

of the War. Some had fought against each other as partisans, communists and fascists. But it was a race that captured the spirit of a nation - looking to the future, intent on rebuilding and reconciliation. It was described as “the flame which lit up the nation” by writer, Bruno Roghi. And, as the helicopter whirred above, on the banks of the Lagan, the riders gliding past towards the cranes of Harland and Wolff, the Giro went far beyond the realms of sport again. Long may it do so for many years yet to come.

Andrei Monti, director of La Gazzetta dello Sport, described the opening reception at Belfast City Hall as the start of “a surprising love affair between Belfast and the Giro.”

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dublin turns pink

irish tickled pink

LEFT: All kitted out, Przemyslaw Niemiec gets ready for action. BELOW: Ancone Gomez and Matteo Bono warm up before the start of the team time trial

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ABOVE: Lampre-Meridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s riders looking cool as ice before the start of the team time trial in Belfast

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dublin turns pink

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irish tickled pink

ABOVE: Lampre-Merida flash past the crowds stood by the roadside in Belfast

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It was a race that captured the spirit of a nation - looking to the future, intent on rebuilding and reconciliation. It was described as “the flame which lit up the nation” by writer, Bruno Roghi.

Nathen Hass limps in after the team time trial in Belfast during the 2014 Giro d’Italia

Post race warm down. Ian Stannard bleeds from road rash picked up on course

Fabien Wegmann and Ryder Hesjedal consol each other after a tough stage for Garmin in Belfast

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dublin turns pink

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LEFT: Nairo Quintana makes his escape on the freshly mopped floor of his hotel before the TTT recon - not sure the staff could believe what he was up to BELOW: Team Lampre-Merida look exhausted after arriving at the finish in Dublin

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ABOVE: Riders huddle together in a group next to the coast as the peloton heads from Armagh to Dublin during Stage 2 of the Giro dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Italia

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true brit

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS Words & Photography JOOLZE DYMOND

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dirty pretty things

OW is the winter of our discontent. It’s CX season and there has been a distinct lack of mud. We need mud. It helps inject a bit of gritty determination to images. CX to the uninitiated is likened to a 50min sprint round a field. For some riders, mud is that extra challenge that just adds to an already spicy mix, while to others it just adds to the overall grind. To the photographer, mud adds a little something to the scene, helps exaggerate the emotions of nature and rider literally combined. We revel in the sheer agony of expressions and athleticism on display, our fingers poised ready to freeze their moment of triumph or defeat. The highs, the lows, the anguish, the exhilaration, the mud...our passion. It’s Nationals day. Champions are to be made, hearts will be broken. A

tight twisty course awaits. Weaving this way and that, off camber, slippery. The weather has been kind to photographers. Wet enough in preceding days to saturate the ground. Leaving swollen puddles carelessly lying around, but dry on the day, protecting your gear. Blue skies streaked with wisps of cloud, a low winter sun, highlighting ribbons of tyre tracks that have carved out little niches. Meanwhile, the pits, the engine room of the race, are quite literally the pits. A Dantesque vision of eternal muddy nightmares. The frisson of endless activity, masked in high pressured water. The too and

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RIGHT: A poignant moment for under 23 winner Grant Ferguson. My favourite type of shot. Catching an unguarded moment. The rider lost in their own thoughts, still bearing the marks of a hard race BELOW: At first glance, you think the rider Thomas Armstrong from Wheelbase is taking the running option on this tricky section. On closer inspection, you might just notice he’s missing his left pedal. You feel for his agony as he’s left to run to the pits which are more than half a lap away

It’s Nationals day. Champions are to be made, hearts will be broken. A tight twisty course awaits. Weaving this way and that, off camber, slippery.

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ABOVE: Hardly anyone was cheering for the riders as they splashed through this enormous puddle. I wanted to portray sense of loneliness, a sense of the training efforts that riders endure to get to race fitness. Training takes place away from the baying crowds and I wanted the race image to portray this too. As luck would have it, eventual title winner Helen Wyman from Kona was perfect for this shot

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Post race warm down. Ian Stannard bleeds from road rash picked up on course

Meanwhile, the pits, the engine room of the race, are quite literally the pits. A Dantesque vision of eternal muddy nightmares. The frisson of endless activity, masked in high pressured water.

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PREVIOUS: A glimpse through the trees at the ‘engine room’ of the race - the pits. An unearthly scene. The sense of eeriness enhanced by the mist of high pressured jet washers ABOVE: I’m as drawn to water nearly as much as I am to mud. I like capturing details, such as the water droplets in this image RIGHT: A runner. Not a cyclist. Not even in the race, but essential all the same. The image sums up the team work that underlines a successful CX race.

dirty pretty things

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dirty pretty things

LEFT: A moment of refection as Thomas Craig takes the win in the junior race. Moments later, he is swamped by reporters and photographers, as well as a whole army of wellwishers BELOW: The concentration on the riderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face makes the image for me. His focus on the clean bike is all encompassing. The rider is Arthur Green from Matlock CC

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ABOVE: The sport is awash with characters - both on and off the bike. I was drawn to this character by his intense concentration topped off by his cracking choice of head wear

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ABOVE: I tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all glamour. Sarah Lomas from Scott Contessa washing off the mud of the day after finishing fourth in the junior womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race. RIGHT: Race over. Happy. Jack Ravenscroft, who was third junior

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This puddle came just a few hundred metres from the start of the races. So after a mad dash down a strip of concrete, the riders are forced to chose a line that in some places are axle deep. I love the movement of water. The explosion as man and bike hit the muddy expanse was worth standing ankle deep to capture, as Dave Collins from Hope Factory Racing demostrates

Spectators. Cheer. Clap. Console. Tears. Happiness. Distraught. Emotion. Mud. Motion. All captured. Another day. Tired. A bag full of memories. A long drive home, pouring over winners and losers.

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fro-ing of bodies, each an essential link to the smooth running of their rider. Ankle deep in mire that has engulfed part of the course, as jet washers add to the misery put in place by nature. The riders hit this particular section at pace, firm ground giving way to axle deep mud. Their speed is scrubbed immediately. They grunt, shove, grind and I’m there waiting, patiently, armed, picking off riders one-by-one as they forge their way through this treacherous section. And so the winter of our discontent has at last delivered a plethora of opportunities ready to be discovered by my lens. The spray of the jet wash, characterful people, wrapped tightly against the cold and the wet as they displace mud with high-powered

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ABOVE: I wanted to capture an essence of a rider at speed lost in their own race, contrasting and framed by the constants. LEFT: A disappointed Abby-Mae Parkinson from RST Racing Team shows me her muddy back. Despite a hard-fought race, she had to concede defeat to Ffion James from Abergavenny RC by just a handful of seconds

spurts of freezing cold water. Soon, the race done. They sit, contemplate, congratulate, ready to serve another rider. The riders themselves are armed against the cold by a sliver of Lycra and their own efforts. Heaving, sprinting, spinning, weaving, slipping and cajoling. A rival in their sights, heartbeat racing. Hurdles to jump or run. To fail or succeed. Flash. A moment of victory or success, frozen. Ready to be relived. Spectators. Cheer. Clap. Console. Tears. Happiness. Distraught. Emotion. Mud. Motion. All

captured. Another day. Tired. A bag full of memories. A long drive home, pouring over winners and losers. Picking and choosing. The ones that make the cut are buffed and polished ready to be displayed. Ready to show my view of their important day. It’s my interpretation and my passion for the beauty of their sport in all it’s sweat stained, muddy glory…

Spectators. Cheer. Clap. Console. Tears. Happiness. Distraught. Emotion. Mud. Motion. All captured. Another day. Tired. A bag full of memories. A long drive home, pouring over winners and losers

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ABOVE: This sums out the great sportmanship in the race. Paul Oldham from Hope Factory Racing was a hot favourite along with Ian Field from Hargroves Cycles to take the senior title. The racing was intense, with Paul taking a decisive lead until an incident with race tape left him running for nearly a lap to change bikes and leaving an opening for Field to grab with both hands. Field went on to take the senior title, with Oldham battling back to finish just out of the medals in fourth. Here Oldham congratulates Field after the race. RIGHT: Proud mum Sarah Craig was in action all weekend as her husband and two sons took part and came home with a bronze and national title

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ABOVE: Amira Mellor leaving everything on the finish line. Exhaustion etched over her face after she rode an incredible race to claim third placed junior and fifth overall

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The change over. More team work. The rider dismounts and throws his dirty bike as simultaneously another team member offers up a clean bike as the riders grabs without missing a heartbeat

A delighted Thomas Craig from Team Scott UK celebrates as he secured his first National Junior title after an intense battle with rival Dylan Kerfoot-Robson from Marsh Tracks Racing

Post race warm down. Ian Stannard bleeds from road rash picked up on course

Picking and choosing. The ones that make the cut are buffed and polished ready to be displayed. Ready to show my view of their important day. It’s my interpretation and my passion for the beauty of their sport in all it’s sweat stained, muddy glory…

MONEY CAN’T BUY YOU LOVE

BUT IT CAN BUY YOU THE ANNUAL Also available from our selected stockists LONDON: Condor Cycles, Magma Books: Clerkenwell and Covent Garden MANCHESTER: Harry Hall Cycles, Eddie McGrath Cycles, Magma Books, Polocini Cafe

true brit

THE STANG

Words & Photography JAMES MALONEY

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the stang

MAGINE winds so fierce that your car shakes from side-toside like a tin can, rain beating down so heavy that visibility is reduced to just a few metres and wipers bouncing up-and-down like newly-weds. Add to that endless switchbacks, desolate moorland roads and enough 20 per cent gradients to make the Shire from Lord of the Rings look positively pan flat and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what it was like just driving to the 2013 National Hill Climb Championships in Arkengarthdale. Now, you’re probably wondering where the devil is Arkengarthdale. Well, you’re in good company, as even my Sat-Nav bleeped out an expletive when I tapped in the postcode for The Stang, a remote slither of asphalt that runs for twoand-a-half miles up towards a

Godforsaken expanse of moorland in County Durham, North Yorkshire. Yet there I was, stood in the rainsodden car-park outside the race’s headquarters at the Charles Bathurst Inn on a soaking Sunday in October thinking “how the bloody hell are the riders going to ride up THAT in THIS?” Truthfully, I still don’t know how they did it - but it makes you proud to be bloody British. Just to clarify, I will be using the word ‘bloody’ at lot throughout this report, as it was bloody soaking wet, bloody freezing and bloody windy. In fact, it couldn’t get more wet if someone had dragged the riders

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ABOVE: First off from the starting line are the female riders RIGHT: A junior rider claws his way up The Stang. Although it looks beautiful, it packs a deadly sting

Just to clarify, I will be using the word ‘bloody’ at lot throughout this report, as it was bloody soaking wet, bloody freezing and bloody windy.

The Stang in all its beauty and horror. What makes this climb so cruel is the fact that there is a descent and another whopper gradient the other side of the summit you see here. Nasty business.

Being right slap bang in the middle of these bleak surroundings, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a surprise that many of the riders were huddled next to cars, vans â&#x20AC;&#x201C; some even in tents, which wobbled in the wind like giant jellies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all desperate for a bit of cover from the constant downpour.

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LEFT/BELOW: Annabel Sill from Clay Cross RT tries to keep as dry as possible on the starting line amid the constant downpour

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ABOVE: Ready to rock ‘n’ roll, Sill gets under starter’s orders at the 2013 National Hill Climb Championships in Yorkshire

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through a river – mainly because that’s exactly what the whopping 18 per cent start of The Stang had become in all that rain, a river. Seriously, you could have fished in it. Being right slap bang in the middle of these bleak surroundings, it wasn’t a surprise that many of the riders were huddled next to cars, vans – some even in tents, which wobbled in the wind like giant jellies – all desperate for a bit of cover from the constant downpour. Each and every one of them were trying in vain to prepare their bodies for the inevitable depressing cocktail of cold, rain, gusts and gradients. Well, it’s not exactly inspiring or motivational trying to haul your body up a hill for two-and-a-half miles in any conditions - let alone those that closely resembled the ‘End of Days’. You just want that type of cruelty to be over – and quickly. Some of the riders abandoned all attempts at using their rollers or turbo trainers in the rain and resorted to just sitting in their cars with the heaters on full blast - hoping the momentary warmth would see them through the worse this bleak part of the countryside had in store for them. Even when it wasn’t chucking it down in biblical proportions, the gust were so comically strong that riders trying to make their way back down the climb - after putting their bodies through hell - were forced to ride so slowly against the gale-

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ABOVE: Young David Murphy was 25th to start at the nationals LEFT: David gets warmed up with The Stang menacingly in the background

force headwind that they practically ended up in reverse. It would have been comical, if it wasn’t so cruel. One-by-one the riders were called up to the starting line, shed their protective layers keeping them warm and surrendered themselves to the cold. It was rather epic, if I am honest. Bloody brilliant, in fact. Obviously, only from a spectator’s point of view. I imagine the riders weren’t having such fun. Near the front of the queue for the wet wall of pain was David Murphy, from Merseyside. He was representing his club, Liverpool Mercury. David is a mere wisp of a lad, but packs a surprisingly big engine that’s also backed up by the ability to climb like a mountain goat. OK, so he’s just 15, but I am very

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jealous of him. Very jealous, indeed. Murphy regularly gives the adult riders from his club a good hiding during the early season chain-gang. More often than not, he is found relaxing at the sign for the sprint, nonchalantly eating a banana as the rest of the group finally catches up. They gave up trying to hold his wheel on the hills in early 2011 and it was a choice of ‘no choice’ really. Murphy’s climbing credentials have been building steadily ever since. He began his build-up for the nationals by tackling Glossop Kinder Velo’s climb of the Snake Pass, where he was best placed junior. He also took the best placed junior result at the ultra-tough North Lancs RC’s hill climb on Nick ‘O’Pendle before grabbing second placed junior over

One-by-one the riders were called up to the starting line, shed their protective layers keeping them warm and surrendered themselves to the cold. It was rather epic, I am honest.

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ABOVE: Gemma Sargent from Dave Hinde RT races past a spectator with his whippet, which didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem too impressed getting dragged up the hill in the bad weather

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ABOVE: Hugh Carthy from Rapha Condor JTL gets a cheer from these animated spectors. Note the sign to the side â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Kenny Van Vlamick Motor Homesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; - genius

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LEFT: Not phased by the pressure one bit, David Murphy from Liverpool Mercury gets ready for his first-ever national championship

at the Cleveland Wheelers hill climb competition on Clay Bank Hill. Equally, his preparation for the 2013 nationals was also thorough. Murphy was the 25th rider out of 180 riders to start on the day, but he’d ridden the hill already in the previous 24 hours. “The day before I did a recce of the climb and it was alright,” explained David in that nonchalant fashion that only teenagers, or the French, can pull off. “It was OK. It was quite a steady

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returned to battle with a large entry of riders wanting to knock him off his throne. The Maxgear rider not only managed to win the Junior title, but also finished 8th overall just ahead of the first Veteran, Pete Tadros of Ingear/Trainsharp. Meanwhile, the Men’s category was the last to be decided with Matthew Pilkington last off the line. With some riders on bikes weighing less than six kilos, the race came down to a fight between two of the best hill climbers in the country, James

We know Tejvan’s secret. Always warm up with a tartan coloured umbrella. I can only imagine how good a time Tejvan could have achieved with a wick away, sponsor backed brollie climb, really. It was just the start that was brutal. “The weather wasn’t great, but I did OK. I am not sure where I finished – I think it was the top 20 – which wasn’t too bad. A lot of the other guys, especially the adults, were hiding in their cars before the start. I didn’t have that luxury. “The climb itself started pretty hard, which I don’t mind. Then there was a downhill bit in the middle. I am not too great going downhill and it was really wet, so I just kept it steady. Then for the long drag to the finish, I just went balls out. “It felt good getting my first national hill climb under my belt – it was good experience. I’ll definitely be having another crack at it this year – that’s for sure.” Defending champion James Knox

Gullen and Tejvan Pettinger. On a course that had everything you’d expect from the moors narrow lanes, cattle grids, sheep, cold, wind, rain, more rain, and no phone signal whatsoever - only two seconds separated the duo. Matt Clinton was only seconds behind Gullen and Pettinger, but the climbing prowess Tejvan was too much and he won with a lightning quick time of 07:57.7. We know Tejvan’s secret, though, and have the photographic proof, too. Do you see it? Yes. That’s it. Always warm up with a tartan coloured umbrella draped over yourself. I can only imagine how good a time Tejvan could have achieved with a wick away, sponsor backed brollie – marginal gains and all that.

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BELOW & RIGHT: Isla Rush from Wyndymilla clears her mind and focuses on the task at hand milliseconds away from starting the 2013 National Hill Climb Championships in a wet and miserable Yorkshire

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ABOVE: Young Lewis Hartley from Velocity WD-40 tries to grab as much advantage as possible by wearing an aero helmet - weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not sure what use it was on the slippey slopes of The Stang, but he certainly looked the part

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ABOVE: Eventual winner Tejvan Pettinger from Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team getting a bit of shelter from his tartan brollie, wielded - apparently - by one of his friends who travelled all the way from Austrialia. Poor bloke

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BRIT DOWN UNDER Words TIM DALTON Photography COURTNIE HAYES

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IVING in Melbourne forces you to go cold turkey when you have an addiction to continental cycling, trust me. It has almost been a year since I left home for a different life Down Under. Moving from Liverpool to Melbourne was a huge decision, especially being a life-long cyclist. Melbourne does ‘do’ cycling, but not in the same way as the Europeans. Some Aussies treat the sport as if it is the ‘new golf’; pedaling upand-down the flat beach roads for espressos on their AUS$15k Italian bikes, complete with deep section carbon wheels and covered head-totoe in Assos kit - all essential for that 20km Saturday ride. Admittedly, the weather is a damn sight better here - but it was all too easy to jump on a cheap flight and go watch some of the big races in Europe. Sometimes, I’d even load up the car with bikes and head to Dover for the Belgium Spring Classics. Here in Australia, the European scene is a 24 hours flight away – and expensive. Luckily, I was off to Adelaide to get my first European cycling ‘fix’ in more than a year the Santos Tour Down Under - but would it be up to scratch? With modest expectations, I grabbed a low cost Friday evening flight - the businessman’s shuttle - for the hourlong journey to South Australia from Adelaide International Airport, where it appears everyone has ‘Tour Down Under Fever’. Now in it’s 16th year, the Santos

Tour Down Under has been picked RIGHT: Andy Fenn amid the pre- up by Eurosport in recent years – race media scrum at this year’s although it has to be viewed on Sky Tour Down Under in the UK - and is more popular than ever. Most of the pro teams have been here for a couple of weeks to escape the clutches of the northern hemisphere’s winter weather. Conditions can still be cruel, though. Poor little Thomas Voeckler, from Europcar, landed, rode for 10 minutes, crashed into a car, broke his collarbone and went straight back to Europe for treatment. That’s a 54-hour round-rip for a 10-minute bike ride. With Europe still locked in cold and wet, South Australia languished under the cosh of a severe heat wave with temperatures hitting 51 degrees. The ranks of the pro peloton were all moaning via Twitter about hitting the road at 6am to get four hours in before the temperatures made training impossible. The race formally kicked off on Tuesday, January 21 before covering a total of 875-kilometers through some of the country’s most beautiful countryside, including the wine regions of the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. Dappled in light, dotted with quaint villages and bustling towns. Acre-

Here in Australia, the European scene is a 24 hours flight away – and expensive. Luckily, I was off to get my first European cycling ‘fix’ in more than a year

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after-acre of vineyards and orchards over gentle rolling hills, with fields full of the prettiest cattle you’ll ever see. Roads are wide, well-surfaced and sparsely populated with traffic. Thankfully, the towns and villages en-route all support the race. No Daily Mail reactionaries here complaining about paying road tax and not having access to the public highway for 15 minutes of the year. Meanwhile, the amount of cycling fans out on the route is amazing - I didn’t think Australia had this many cyclists. Speaking to the roadside tifosi at various points, it is obvious that there are people here from all over this continent-sized country. As you would expect from a country with larger-than-life characters, the Aussie tifosi come in all shapes, sizes and varieties. It’s great to see so many people out on bike. Of course, the Aussies love their sport and they cheer every single pro rider – even the local policemen on bikes guarding the route. It’s a fantastic atmosphere. Admittedly, the hills aren’t in the same league of the Ventoux or Alpe d’Huez, but Willung Hill (3km long), The Corkscrew (2km long) and Menglers Hill (2km long) - nothing more than 600 metres in height here - are effective in splitting the peloton, especially if climbed twice or towards the end of the stage. Before the riders even get a taste of these three monster hills, though, there is the little matter of

LEFT: Time to get ready to roll out as Fenn gets the essentials from the back of a team mini-van

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a very popular stand-alone event – The People’s Choice City Centre Criterium, which is held two days before the start of the main race on Sunday, January 19. Monday is then classed as a day off, so provided the perfect chance of toddling slowly along through the heat of late afternoon to the Hilton Hotel for a chat with Omega-Pharma Quickstep’s Andy Fenn. This is Andy’s first Tour Down Under and he’s quietly confident. Sprinters are normally the exuberant, flamboyant type. Think Mario Cipollini, Mark Cavendish, Tom Steels or Alessandro Petacchi. Andy’s aware of his considerable talent and he’s quietly making his way up the ladder. Winning the 2008 junior Paris Roubaix – just four years after Geraint Thomas - brought a deal with An Post Sean Kelly alongside Spin Cycle’s favourite son, Mark McNally. After been based in Belgium for three years, Andy signed up to become one of the 30-strong squad at Omega Pharma Quickstep. More recently, he moved to Lucca in Italy. Originally from Kent in the UK, Fenn’s apprenticeship was done the hard, old-fashioned way and eventually led to his long-term mentor, friend, ex-professional and 1989 GB Pro road race champion,

Tim Harris, assisting in Andy’s hefty step up to the pro tour. Measuring in at a rangy 6ft1”, Andy seems to have the range for big steps. Decked out in full OPQS casual sportswear, he looks slim and fit but still a little pale after the European winter. As he plonks himself down on the sofa in the hotel reception to chat to me, Fenn doesn’t look a bit out of place - even compare with Marcel Kittle, sporting white sunglasses, holding his own rock star styled interview opposite. Both are sprinters, but Andy is at the TDU to support newly-signed team leader and former TDF maillot jaune wearer, Jan Bakelants. The first cutting question: isn’t the TDU just a Koala-cuddling, glorified pre-season training camp, pitted with corny photo opportunities and where the local Aussie riders humiliate the European pros just awakening from their winter hibernation? Fenn points out this is not the case anymore and that the TDU carries the same amount of UCI points as winning Paris-Roubaix or fifth place in the Tour de France. Teams are here “primed and ready to ride” according to Andy. In addition, the aptly named, old school, ex-pro, no-nonsense Belgium OPQS team manager, Rik van Slycke, is looking

As he plonks himself down on the sofa Fenn doesn’t look a bit out of place - even compare with Marcel Kittle, sporting white sunglasses, holding his own rock star styled interview opposite.

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LEFT: Fenn signs on before the start of Stage 1 at the 2014 Tour Down Under

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at the form of his riders at the race with an eye for the spring classics and the grand tours later this year. Fenn is still primed from the previous days’ prologue around the streets of Adelaide. A late night by all accounts. “There was no massage last night after the crit,” explains Fenn. “It was just eat, that’s it, then get to bed. Well, I tried to. You’re always full of adrenalin after a crit and you have a bit of caffeine before the race, so that doesn’t help trying to get to

“All the team head out and we even bring the bus,” reveals Fenn. “We went out with the guys who head up Australia and also New Zealand’s Specialized. Some of the people who head up the shops and their staff in NZ had flown over, so they all came out with us for a couple of hours. “Most of the teams do it, like Cannondale or BMC. You’ve seen a lot of them out this morning. Our ride was incident free, but I heard one guy broke a collarbone and another his hip, so they’ve had the

You’re always full of adrenalin after a crit and you have a bit of caffeine before the race, so that doesn’t help trying to get to sleep either. I probably didn’t get to sleep until about 12.30am. sleep either. I probably didn’t get to sleep until about 12.30am. I am sure during the stage race, it won’t be like that. Yeah, I’ll maybe have a glass of wine to try to get to sleep, but it’s always difficult.” You may think that rest days for cyclists are all about sitting around drinking espresso, Skype calls to friends and family, updating your Facebook page and then getting a massage before mooching off to bed around 9pm. The reality is a little different. I’m surprised he’s so cheery, as our interview is towards the end of a pretty busy day for Fenn. He’s been up since 6am and his first job of the day was riding out with a peloton of 50 Aussie Specialized dealers for a couple of hours, followed by a meetand-greet to help sell those bikes.

day off work and come home with something broken.” Maybe Specialized have more competent riders working in their retail divisions than the other bike brands? Andy isn’t saying - although he seems to have met a fair few since touch down in Australia. “It’s all part of the job of riding round in sponsors logos,” adds Fenn. “That’s what we do. The last few days, we have been in two different Specialized stores. They do quite a big push when we are in Australia. You have a bike society, a local shop or a ladies group, just doing a few question and answer sessions. There is always something going on.” That was followed by lunch, then the afternoon of team media duties, which included talking to yours truly. After our interview, it’s

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time for him to enjoy an afternoon massage, a racing strategy meeting and then finally an evening meal at 8pm before everyone is ordered up to bed for 10pm sharp – ready for Stage One. “I’ll probably try to eat about three or four hours before the race,” mentions Andy. “So I’ll be up for about 7:45am, I reckon. Depends what time we leave. but you have to leave pretty early and be on time because there is a convoy with like the team cars, police and buses. “Weather looks alright for tomorrow. It was really hot there last week, like 40-odd degrees, but now the race week should be OK. The heat takes a bit of getting use to. “Back home, you ride faster to get warmer. Here, it’s the other way round. The last 20 minutes into the city on training rides, it just gets hotter-and-hotter. In the hills, it’s OK. Here, though, you’d get to a traffic light and just want to jump the red light because it’s so hot – or try to hide in a shadow or bit of shade.” The next day, Andy is up and eating breakfast three hours before the 11am start, where the course is an hour’s drive away. There are none of the new luxury buses so prevalent of racing in Europe these days. At the TDU, its one Skoda estate car and a humble Hyundai mini bus each for all teams - all except Team Sky. They have three Jaguar team cars with them to show Rupert’s Australian links aren’t completely dead.

All riders and teams arrive on the start line at 10am for signing on and the chaos of the daily media scrum. Time for a quick chat and some predictions from Andy. “After the neutralized section, it all depends on what the role of the team is that day,” remarks Fenn. “If you want to get into the break, you’ll have to fight to get to the front. Normally, you’d just wait for the flag to drop and then jostle to get into position. “Obviously, if you’re race starts a bit later, then you’ll just be chatting to some of the other guys or maybe stop for a pee at the side of the road. They don’t actually like that last one here so much, I have noticed. They’ve been fining people, apparently. “It all really depends on the race as well. We’d just roll out and stay relax. Now that we have got race radios in this race, the directeur will have a quick talk and tell us a few more tactics to get us a bit more involved in the race.” With our chat over, the race rolls out at 11am sharp for a few kilometers of neutralized riding, which allows for those final nature stops (and commissaries’ fines) before the race starts proper at the zero km board. Once the neutralized flag is pulled in, it’s the same story every day - the local ‘pro’ outfit go on the attack to gain the vital publicity they need to continue in business. There’s no need to worry, though. That attack won’t last and the Euro pros just keep it in check until they

ABOVE: Fenn fixes his earpiece in correctly before grabbing his last bit of kit and heading off for the starting line

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are ready to reel it in. For Stage One, Andy works tirelessly to help finesse Carlos to the bottom of the final climb before dropping back to the ‘laughing group’ and rolling in with the gruppeto for 86th place 2:21 down on winner Simon Gerrans. Thankfully, all his hard work isn’t in vain and Carlos secures the young

rider’s jersey. “It’s a pretty short race compared to what I am used to,” laughs Fenn. “Especially the first couple race of the year, including here and Qatar. I think Argentina is quite nice, as well. It’s good to ease into the season.” With day one complete, the OPQS rider Carlos Verona Quintanilla is in

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the best young rider jersey. No need for a sprinter over the next few days, so Andy and the team’s work is all about protecting that jersey. What are Andy’s predictions for Stage 2? “You’d expect the Uni SA guys to get in the breakaway,” explains Fenn. “They’ll probably have a few of the other local teams as well. It’s a bit difficult tomorrow, as it’s not a ‘sprint-sprint’ day. “Normally, someone like Lotto or Argus will control that stage, but it’s no so predicable. They’ll still try to control it, though. If the break is a big one, then maybe we would try to get someone into that. The first roads are not too bad, so it might be quite controlled. You might see a break go, but not too big. “Probably fight for position on the climb and whoever makes it to the top of there then I think that will be it for the group finish because it’s so

long to come back.” Stage two sees rising-star Diego Ulissi takes the win with Andy 130th 9:10 down. The following day, Cadel Evans drops the entire peloton on the Corkscrew climb and Andy rolls in 6:55 down in 110th place. Andre Greipel takes stage four, the first of his two TDU stage wins, with the bunch split into two almost equal sized groups on the Myponga climb close to the Victor Harbor finish. Andy is in the second group in 132nd place 13:55 down on Greipel. Stage five sees the race climb the famous Willunga Hill twice with the finish at the summit on the second pass. Richie Porte is a very

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ABOVE: Fenn in the thick of the action RIGHT: Weird cycling fans - you get them everywhere. Even in Oz

Normally, someone like Lotto or Argus will control that stage, but it’s no so predicable. They’ll still try to control it, though.

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convincing winner here with Andy in 110th place 11:32 down on Porte. The final 85km street race in Adelaide, around a 4.5km circuit, sees our first proper bunch sprint with Andy in third place, just behind his team mate Mark Renshaw – possibly Mark Cavendish’s favoured lead out man for the coming Tour de France. It’s a fantastic result. Overall our man Andy is 116th 43:50 down on one-second winner Simon Gerrans from Cadel Evans. Jan Bakalandts has come 16th overall, which the team is happy with for the start of the season. Mr Slyke is happy; Andy is happy and the team is happy. At the finish, it’s time to play ‘Find the Soigner’, while dodging the media – but not us, we like to think - race workers and various hangerson. In true old-school Belgium-style, Rik has the team riding back to the hotel behind the team car. It’s time for much-needed showers, massages, making sure the race kit gets a good wash and then there’s an evening meal at 8pm. “We all eat together or not at all,” adds Andy. “If it’s been a good day, then we might have a glass of red wine. We maybe in bed by 10pm, but often we are awake until midnight catching up on daily life outside of the bubble via the Internet.” Fenn isn’t a massive contributor to Twitter, but loves Instagram - more looking than posting in his case.

Like most riders, Andy is somewhat shy. He prefers to let his legs and his results do the talking. Once primed though, Andy gave me a real insight into his world, which by-and-large isn’t as far removed for our own. He obviously loves his job and is very good at it. If you want to know how good he is, then check out the final stage of the Tour Down Under for yourself on YouTube. Andy is right in there at the finale with Greipel and Renshaw, taking

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ABOVE: Tactics time for Fenn and his team-mates

third place despite been given a really rough ride by Lotto Belisol. “I’m a bit of an all-rounder, maybe more of a sprinter,” reveals Fenn. “I’m not a climber that’s for sure. I’ve got a fast finish and I think that I can do different things in different types of race.”

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Andy’s mother is Scottish, so this summer he’ll be riding for Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. One of his main goals for this season, so I’m guessing that his end-of-year review meeting with his team bosses will have all the ticks in all the right boxes.

Once primed though, Andy gave me a real insight into his world, which by-and-large isn’t as far removed for our own. He obviously loves his job and is very good at it.

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long way to rome

EETING up with Liverpool Century’s Ian Pugh at Billinge’s Fir Tree Farm on a grey and wet Saturday in January, ranks high on my list of this year’s top winter warmer cafe stops. Tea, toast and banter are always welcome diversions to the murky, grey lanes of mid-winter, but Ian’s

recollections of his summer’s solo ride from Calais to Rome made this particular respite the perfect antidote to the season’s monochrome landscape. We had last chatted on a glorious late August morning, as Ian made final preparations for his three week, fund-raising ride in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Destination Rome - his plan was to take in 24

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ABOVE & RIGHT: Ian’s route through Europe to Rome and all the snaps he took along the way

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European cities and towns, cross seven countries, traverse the Alps from Switzerland to Italy via the 48 hairpins of the Stelvio Pass, and, maintaining an average rate of 100 miles per day, wheel up the historic Via del Corso to the centre of the Italian capital inside three-weeks. In the process, he was out to honour more than £2,000 in pledged sponsorships, organised with the help of his work-place colleague, Alice Cavanagh at Premier Foods, Moreton, where Ian works as a fitter. And, in the gloom of a wet Lancashire Saturday, he was happy to reminisce about the high and low points of his successful 1500 mile trip. Starting with the lows, I asked Ian if there were any moments on the road when he seriously doubted the wisdom of his project. “Only once,” he replied without hesitation. “They say that the third day on a trip like this is always the hardest. The first day, you are fresh, and on the second you are still full of adrenalin. “But, by the third, that has worn off and you come mentally to grips with the size of the task ahead. I was heading from Liege to Luxembourg City and started off with a 20 per cent climb in the Ardennes. “The road was busy with lorries and the rain was so bad that there was very low visibility - about 50 metres. The bike felt very heavy and I just stopped at a bus stop, knackered and wet through - I still had 90 miles to do “But I kept going, and, when I arrived at Luxembourg city, which is a wonderful place, I felt that although the day had been hard, it had been a

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long way to rome

really good, solid, character building one for the rest of the ride.” The next early difficulty, he remembers, was a problem of tendonitis. Riding through the Black Forest Hills in Germany, it became so bad that, at times, reaching Rome looked unlikely. But friend and An-Post Chain Reaction rider, Mark McNally, and fellow Century member, Andy Mills, helped him out with instructions and diagrams of stretches on Facebook. “I managed to get over it, but without their help, I don’t think that I could have got through.” For Ian, though, the high points of the trip more than outweighed its challenges. Amongst them was his encounter with a colder and wetter than expected Stelvio Pass. “By the time I reached the Stelvio, I was nine-days into the trip and was feeling fairly fit. Climbing was tough, but I was going well. I overtook 10 cyclists as I made my way up in low visibility and heavy mist. “When I made it to the top, though, in 2 hours 40 minutes, I was high above the clouds. Looking down to the clouds way below me, and knowing that I had ridden all the way from the English Channel, was a wonderful feeling “Though on the descent - as I had deliberately kept my kit light - I was probably as cold as I’ve ever been. I even had to stop under the cover of a mountain tunnel to do press-ups to try to get warm.” But Ian gained some of his greatest satisfactions from being a member

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of the international cycling community. “On my last day, heading into Rome, I was overtaken by an Italian rider who was happy to let me draft behind him until the top of a climb. It was a long haul and so we worked together. He couldn’t speak English, and I was no better at Italian, but we did manage to communicate. “He was fascinated with my trip and persuaded me to take a detour with him. I didn’t fancy going far off my planned route, but he insisted that it would be worth it. I was overwhelmed when we pulled up at his house, where I was treated like one of his family. “Before I left, he insisted on cleaning and oiling my bike for its final ride to Rome. Another time, I punctured outside a house and before I had the tyre off, a cyclist who lived there, came out with a track pump. He even followed me down the road with a spare tube. That’s cycling for you - we can’t speak each other’s language, but people will help each other, like a big family.”

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And on reaching Rome itself - how did he feel? “Well I was glad to do it, but, to be honest, I was gutted really that it had all come to an end. I had loved it so much I could have gone on for another three-weeks, except that I had to get back to work.” When he did get back to work, he was in for quite a surprise. “People at work were fantastic. They had made a wall chart of my progress following my route and using the pictures that I had sent through Facebook. Most important of all, when I set off, my target for fund raising was £2,000, but we more than doubled that, with over £4,000 raised.” So, would he do it again? Well, of course, that’s what his mid-January training was for. “I have signed up to do the Rapha Cent Cols Challenge in June. I’m doing it with my dad. It’s a kind of dad and lad trip. It’s a 100 climbs spread over 10 days, riding from Nice to Annecy and back to Nice again. It will be really tough, but I’m looking forward to it.”

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SPIN CYCLE MAGAZINE PRESENTS

KILLER HILLS

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killer hills

FTER a few Killer Hills in Lancashire, we were thinking it was high time that we left our comfort zone and tackled a genuinely nasty climb. When I say ‘we’, I mean that the editor suddenly had all sorts of pressing engagements on the chosen weekend in December (something about a tree... or hiding behind one) and it was left to muggins to go find something silly to climb. I wasn’t totally daft. I had the bright idea of riding the two chosen climbs in private and then photographing better climbers on them. When the going gets tough, the tough call in women. Heather Bamforth and Joanne Blakeley, who was ninth in last year’s National Hill Climb, were as fit as fleas and eager to star in Killer Hill, so we agreed to meet in Ruthin and climb a couple of legendary routes. The A494 between Ruthin and Mold features a hill. It’s a great big hill, part of the Clwydian range with the whole of Welsh creation - mainly green fields, sheep and craft shops laid out below, as you descend into Ruthin. There’s even a genuine continental style hairpin - just the one mind near the bottom, nestling amongst bungalows named, in that weird Welsh way, after places like ‘Tahiti’ and ‘Tahoma’. Meanwhile, the A494 climb is busy with Bennies in skirted Clio’s

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Nº.07

BWLCH PENBARRAS KILLER HILLS Distance: 3.9 km Average grade: 6% Maximum grade: At least 24.8% Height: 356 m Feet gained: 290 m

and fair few cyclists twiddling their way up the two mile hill - the latter dreaming, no doubt, of longer, warmer and Bennie free cols on the continent. Why did I mention the hairpin earlier? Well, it features a side road to a climb that is one of the top five worst climbs in the UK. Let’s be honest, there’s an awful lot of exaggeration amongst cyclists about the difficulty of climbs. We hold up our hands, too. We’ve been guilty in the past of using too much doom-laden prose and dramatic guff or exaggerating the

RIGHT: Heather Bamforth put herself and her friend, Joanne Blakeley, in the firing line for this edition’s Killer Hill

When I say ‘we’, I mean that the editor suddenly had all sorts of pressing engagements and it was left to muggins to go find something silly to climb.

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killer hills

ABOVE: Heather tackles the first section of the dreaded Bwlch Penbrras, but the worse is still yet to come with a whopping max gradient of 24.8 per cent

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Post race warm down. Ian Stannard bleeds from road rash picked up on course

The sun was out, I had the wind at my back and I was riding my winter bike equipped with a 34:29 ratio group set. I was also sporting my Rapha Pro Team jacket and oversocks. I felt that I looked - to quote the vernacular - â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

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unpleasant experience of having to use bottom gear for more than three minutes into a epic struggle between ego and idiocy. Not this time. All I can do on this occasion is to write down - in clear and unemotional terms - what happened. Think of it as having all the poetic licence of a Police constable consulting his notebook on the witness stand. After a restless night’s sleep, at approximately 8.30am on December 12, 2013, I approached the suspect climb from a westerly direction. I did realise that the two mile ride from Ruthin town centre wasn’t a thorough warm up. However, M’Lud, the sun was out, I had the wind at my back and I was riding my winter bike equipped with a 34:29 ratio group set. I was also sporting my Rapha Pro Team jacket and oversocks. I felt that I looked - to quote the vernacular ‘the business’. I was also working on the assumption that Simon Warren, author of 100 Greatest Cycle Climbs, was just joking when he sent me a tweet consisting mostly of exclamation marks when I told him we were going to take a look at Penbarras. Aren’t all hill climb descriptions 60 per cent accurate information and 40 per cent dramatic varnish? How bad good this climb really be? Turning off the single hairpin on the main road, the route winds past a few houses and a couple of farms. Then it breaks out onto open hillside and winds it’s way up to meet Offa’s

Dyke at the neck of the pass and a Forestry Commission Carpark. According to the statistics, the road gains 853-feet in altitude in just under a mile-and-a-half. Not good, but it gets worse. Most of this gain is front loaded. What started out as a little bimble along a leafy lane for a couple of hundred yards, soon kicked up into a narrow lane with barely a gear to spare and dragged ever upwards, sapping my legs as I went. This lane was costing me dear already and I was in constant fear of meeting a car coming down that would force me to slow down so much I’d have to stop. Around a right hander, there appeared a cattle grid ahead with a fork in the road just after it. The right hand fork dropped off and I thought: “That must be the descent back to the A494 - I’ve done it.” Unfortunately for me, the end was not in sight. The road further ahead was just preposterous - a 200-yard steep ramp with an even steeper left hander and then more steepness. Crossing the cattle grid, I realised the right-hand fork leads to what must be known as ‘Chortle Farm’ and the road ahead is, literally, going to take me - very brutally - to a whole new level of climbing. I’m not sure what the gradient was at this point. It’s said to be ‘approaching 25 per cent’. If so, it’s approaching 25 from the wrong side. After barely two minutes on this climb, I had no gears left, no chance

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ABOVE: Joanne Blakeley, who was ninth in last year’s hill climb champs, makes it look easy climbing Bwlch Penbarras

of sitting down without the front wheel lifting off and I was not going to make the hairpin in front of me – let alone get around it to the top of the climb. Let me be clear here - it is not a hairpin. A hairpin bends back on itself with a wide outer edge you can choose to take as an easy option. I’m sorry, but this corner is a simple 90-degrees. At this point, I could feel both heart and lungs reaching for the big red ‘bail out’ button. Also, I had a newspaper headline flashing

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through my brain saying something along the lines of ‘MAMIL found dead on Welsh Hillside still clipped onto his bike’. I stopped. There you have it, I did the one thing that no cyclists likes to admit. Trust me, if you climb this monster and weight more than eight stone wringing wet, then you’ll stop too. After managing to unclip on the gate entrance right on the corner, my pulse hammered away at shuttle launch velocity and that’s when the good old self justification process

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LEFT: Side-by-side Ruth and Joanne make it up the top of Bwlch Penbarras

kicked in. Of course, I’d had to stop – obviously in order to take a snap for the Twitter feed, to examine the road surface and was that an important text that had pinged in my back pocket? Staring off across the morning mist with the occasional bleat from sheep and a buzzard wheeling over head, I thought, as I have often thought before, ‘Why am I doing this again?’ Would Simon Warren really notice if we just plagiarised his hard work?’ Heart-rate managed, the gate

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There was a patch of steepness at the crest, but it was nothing compared to what I’d just experienced down the road and around the corner. The next day, I managed to get the car up the climb. Near the summit, I waited to see how Jo and Heather managed the climb. Now, here is the thing....Jo, she won’t mind me saying this, makes quite a loud panting noise as she climbs. She’s not in trouble - it’s just her style. I could hear her steady rhythmic breathing long before I saw

Bwlch Penbarras would be difficult for Chris Froome to race up on my winter bike after just a two mile warm up. Ever see Team Sky training on Penbarras? No. There is a good reason for that. entrance gave me just enough launch distance to push on up in bottom gear - from 90rpm to 30rpm in just two metres - and, as the road dropped off to a lame 17 per cent, then a frankly pathetic 15 per cent and finally flat, stage two of denial kicked in. I marshalled all the extras excuses that winter weight and lack of fitness demand - winter bike, gear slippage, wrong time of year, blah-blah-blah. To be honest, I may have to add ‘wrong time of life’ to that. To be fair, I reckon the bottom section of the Bwlch Penbarras would be difficult for Chris Froome to race up on my winter bike after just a two mile warm up. Ever see Team Sky training on Penbarras? No. There is a good reason for that. Thankfully, the remainder of the climb up the valley to the top was fine.

her. Both girls were definitely being tenderised by the pre-climb ‘climb’ up the leafy lane to the cattle grid. Ah yes, both of them seemed to falter slightly over the cattle grid when they saw me up ahead. Damn them though - both were definitely making more speed than I had. Joanne made it first time around the corner, but Heather wasn’t so lucky. A car was making its way down. I made the mistake of suggesting she stopped - so that I didn’t get the car in the frame as well. Heather suggested ‘quite loudly’ that stopping was not an option. I have to say that, for a lady, Heather seems to know an awful lot of swear words and I was impressed that she had enough breath to deliver them all as she passed.