🍿Stage 113: Tour de France on Netflix

cycling for all shapes and sizes and how to be a gravel pro

Welcome to this week’s newsletter,

I’m a little scared this week, I’ll be taking part in my first-ever gravel race. It is the Traka 200 here in Girona, perhaps Europe’s biggest gravel race and I feel mightily unprepared. There are so many different bits to crossing a new discipline.

From equipment choice to riding styles and nutrition, there seems to be a never-ending list of things that you need to buy or have on your bike. Honestly, it’s quite overwhelming!

What’re my expectations for the race? I honestly don’t know, that’s the beauty. I want to learn, I want to have fun. I have so much room for improvement off-road that I’m just looking forward to getting going.

Happy pedalling,

Joe

Feel free to email me at joe@nplus1.cc if you have any questions, or feel I’ve missed something worth putting in the Newsletter.

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N+Read 🗞

The collapse of a women’s cycling team

Sometimes you read a rumour and hope it isn’t true. Sometimes you want to believe that the reporting is false. In the case of Zaaf Cycling, a Spanish women’s pro team, all of the rumours were true.

From not paying riders, making sexist comments and hiring staff with no background in the sport. The team was doomed. Here is the inside story.

⏱ 10-minute read

Riding to Sea Otter

Sea Otter is one of the biggest cycling shows in the world. There are around 900 exhibitors and seemingly someone from every corner of the cycling world. While most people drive or fly to the race. What about riding?

Across three days, the “Kinda Dirt Ride” was a bicycling adventure to a bicycling show.

⏱ 4-minute read

The best Sea Otter finds

So, after riding to Sea Otter (see above!), it’s time to explore. There are so many things to see at the show it can be hard to know where to start.

In this article, Cycling Weekly take a look at the 10 best “things” at the show.

⏱ 3-minute read

“It’s character, not numbers”

Egan Bernal has won two Grand Tours, including the Tour de France. He has also had a string of shocking injuries that have put him on the back foot.

Perhaps due to his injuries, the Colombian rider has a completely different outlook on life. It’s rare to hear a Tour de France winner, especially one who rides to Ineos, not talk about numbers. It’s also refreshing.

⏱ 4-minute read

How to be a gravel pro

As I say, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my head in the gravel world this week. I’ve come across seemingly endless articles from the past couple of years. One of my favourites is “How to be a Gravel Pro”.

It looks at the full picture from business to equipment and tactics. It’s a must-read.

⏱ 4-minute read

Size-inclusive cycling

Whatever your body shape or size, there is a place for you in cycling. Although sometimes it can feel the other way. “I’m fat, and I’m okay with that”, says Marley Blonsky.

After struggling to find a riding kit in her size, she made it her life’s mission to make cycling more accessible and welcoming to riders of all shapes and sizes.

⏱ 3-minute read

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N+Tweet 🎲

https://twitter.com/TotalMTB_/status/1483839878030925824

I’ve been doing a lot of gravel research this week. So, while this isn’t necessarily a new video, it’s one I’ve seen a lot and it’s one of my favourites.

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N+Listen 🎧

A look into sport’s dark side

Not quite cycling, but triathlon. Collin Chartier was one of the most promising triathletes in the sport. The American had multiple wins and was, for many, backed as one of the ‘next big things’. That was until he tested positive for EPO.

This is his tell-all interview.

⏱ 38-minute listen

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N+Watch 👀

It’s finally here, the official teaser to the Netflix Tour de France documentary. It’s going to be a good one.

⏱ 1-minute watch