Hi,
I’m coming at you this week from Girona. Yep, I’m back home after a pretty long stint in the UK. The difference between when I left at the start of October and now is crazy. Autumn has well and truly arrived here in Catalonia. The roads are covered with crunchy yellow leaves and it has certainly got colder too!
I’m back into winter training, and this really is my favorite time of year. November and December are all about getting as many kilometers as possible in the bank for me. There’s less emphasis on intensity, so I use it as an opportunity to explore new places and take the road less traveled.
Just as a warning, next week’s newsletter could be slightly delayed as I’m moving into a new apartment.
Have a good week,
Joe
📖 Read
#diversity
Out of 578 riders in the Men’s World Tour, less than 2% of the riders are African. Team Amani are trying to change that and remove the barriers to the top. From acquiring a bike, to finding races, to making the move to Europe, there are plenty of hurdles that African pros face. This is the story of Team Amani and how they’re changing the future.
7-minute read
#bikepacking
Your first bike packing trip is a pilgrimage. You’ll make mistakes but you’ll learn plenty and have fun. There is so much to think about. From training to equipment, the route to the nutrition. GravGrav, a great website for all things off-road, did a handy little guide on preparing for your first bike-packing trip. Where are you going to head?
5-minute read
#HourRecord
Last week, Alex Dowsett attempted to regain the UCI Hour Record in Mexico. The Brit, who rides for Israel Start-Up Nation on the road, self-funded the attempt through personal sponsors. He had two aims, to raise awareness for his charity, and break the record. While he fell an agonising 500 m short of the record, he raised almost £50,000 for his charity. Not a bad day out, Alex.
5-minute read
#tech #OffRoad
There’s a new cyclocross bike from Pinarello. With Tom Pidcock switching across to the Ineos Grenadiers at the start of this season, it was more than likely that we’d see a new bike. While it hasn’t been officially released, Pidcock gave a sneak-peak on his social media. What do you think of the paintjob?
3-minute read
#training #running
In October and November, many pro-cyclists like to take up running in their off-season. Adam Yates of Ineos Grenadiers is one of the best climbers in the pro-peloton, it turns out he’s a pretty handy runner too. He recently completed the Barcelona Marathon in just under 3 hours, with very little training. Cycling Weekly challenged the ‘Running vs Cycling’ debate too. Is it time to dust off the running shoes?
5-minute read
📱Tweet of the week
In case you ever wondered if you could stick with a pro-cyclist while they’re training. This video also caused some controversy. Higuita, the rider in pink, was riding the bike of his 2022 team, which is technically a breach of contract with his current team. Whoops!
🎧 Listen
Tadej Pogacar is currently the best pro-cyclist in the world. The young Slovenian is the back-to-back Tour de France champion, and he’s won countless other races along the way. He joins Geraint Thomas, a Tour de France winner himself, on his own podcast to talk all things cycling. What is the secret to being the world’s best cyclist? Will Pogacar reveal them to one of his biggest rivals?
55-minute listen
👀 Watch
Mexico is a unique place full of crazy sites. Killian Bron and his team spent a month there, travelling across all different landscapes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy these five minutes of pure fun.
5-minute watch