Hola!
How’re you doing today? I’m back at you with another weekly newsletter from N+1. Did you see that we’re hosting a pop-up in Barcelona? Between 6th and 13th October, we’ll be at L’Eroica Cafe, so be sure to come along.
I’ve had another busy week personally. I tied up my final races in mainland Europe with the team. There were no results to write home about. I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled to find my race fitness a touch after contracting COVID six weeks ago. But I am starting to see some improvements.
I’m in Girona for another ten days before heading back to the UK for around a month. British National Championships are just around the corner, and they’re only a stone’s throw away from where I grew up, so I’m going to be competing there.
Until I head home, I’ll be heading into a good training block here in Girona. You can really tell that the seasons are starting to turn. It’s out with summer, and into autumn. It’s actually quite nice for training, although there’s currently a big storm brewing which I’m not ecstatic about!
Catch you next week,
Joe
📖 Read
#racing
The 100th edition of the Road World Championships kicked off in Belgium this weekend. At the time of writing this, only the Men’s Elite Time Trial has finished, with Filippo Ganna breaking Belgian hearts by stealing the win at the final moment. The Road World Champs are happening all week, with the Grand Finale of the road races coming this weekend.
5-minute read
#racing
The US Criterium scene has a new and very lucrative event. On 30th October, Sacramento in California will play host to Into the Lion’s Den powered by SRAM, which will be the richest crit in US history. With a $100,000 prize pot split between two races. The L39ION of Los Angeles team are the organisers, so we guess there will be a good party too!
5-minute read
#tech
The World’s Fastest Chain Lube (apparently). Muc Off have released their new ‘Ludicrous AF’ lube, which claims to consume 195% less power than Ceramic Speed’s equivalent. Do we really need this? Not really. But still, it’s kinda cool. Oh, and it’s £50 for 50 ml.
2-minute read
#weeklygravel
There has been some controversy at the front end of gravel events for not following the ‘spirit of the sport’. As Gravel gains popularity, more are taking it seriously and money is flooding in. The beauty of gravel events is that they are mass participation, and therefore often don’t have rules. This interview shows that Gravel organisers don’t want to change their events to cater to the elites. They’re intent on staying as they are to benefit the experience of the masses. We like Gravel culture.
4-minute read
#training
It’s been compared to altitude training for its capacity to boost cycling performance. And the best thing is, you can do it at home. Heat training can be done with just a bike and turbo trainer, and studies show a two-week block boosts athletic performance. Will you be giving it a go?
6-minute read
📱Tweet of the week
Filippo Ganna broke Belgian hearts this weekend after beating Wout van Aert by 5 seconds to win the World TT Championships. Watch Belgian fans in this video encouraging the Italian to slow down!
🎧 Listen
A couple of weeks ago, we covered the release of Shimano’s hotly-anticipated Dura Ace groupset. This podcast takes you inside the minds of the people at Shimano. You’ll learn what goes into making the groupset, and the story of making a product as seamless as Dura Ace.
71-minute listen
👀 Watch
Jack Thompson set out to ride the 2021 Tour de France route as fast as he could. 3,552 km divided over 21 stages, chasing down the pros on his way to Paris. Thompson gave the pros a week's head start, and often covered three stages per day.
33-minute watch