♻Stage 114: Steel IS NOT Real
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♻Stage 114: Steel IS NOT Real
caffeine, the best cycling documentaries and everything about Giro d'Italia
Hello,
We’re up in the Andorran mountains for this stage of the N+1 newsletter. Every time I come to this place, I love it. The riding is hard, but the views are spectacular. Do you know the old saying “what goes up, must come down”? In Andorra, it feels the other way around, you’re always climbing!
This past week, I competed in my first-ever gravel race, the Traka 200. I had a day full of mechanicals and issues, but I still managed to salvage a half-decent result and finished just outside of the Top 30.
I’m up here in Andorra for a week, before my epic month of racing starts. Call it the final prep, or simply me getting out of Girona for some mountain air.
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.
N+Read 🗞
Made from scraps
EF Pro Cycling always makes cool custom kits. Whether that be a crazy collab with Palace Skateboards or making a kit from scraps…
For the 2023 Giro, EF will be rocking a multi-colour kit with 72% of it being made from excess kit. It’s an interesting, eye-catching design and hopefully the way the industry is going.
⏱ 3-minute read
The Traka 200
As mentioned in the intro, this past weekend I took part in my first gravel race, the Traka 200. It was epic, it was fun and it was bloody hard. Here’s my account of the day.
Here is a round-up of the weekend racing as records tumbled across Girona.
⏱ 3-minute read
Steel IS NOT real
Steel bikes get a lot of praise. They’re timeless beauties. They look great, they ride great and they're a nod to the golden olden days when cycling was that little bit simpler. But, what if that all isn’t true?
In this article, Cyclist magazine argues against the mythical steel frames. What’re your thoughts?
⏱ 5-minute read
The Giro is coming!
The first Grand Tour of the season is coming up with the Giro d’Italia taking place this weekend. The Giro is always crazy, you never know where someone will attack, or where a late contender will emerge from. It’s secretly many people’s favourite Grand Tour of the year.
Here’s everything you need to know.
⏱ 4-minute read
Cycling’s best documentaries
If you’ve finished your ride, watched the day’s racing and now aren’t too sure what to do with yourself. Why not load up a documentary?
From the fall of Lance Armstrong to Bradley Wiggins's climb to the top. These are cycling’s best documentaries.
⏱ 4-minute read
How does caffeine impact performance?
There’s a well-known link between caffeine consumption and cyclists, but to what degree does it actually impact performance?
⏱ 4-minute read
N+Tweet 🎲
https://twitter.com/velopack/status/1653343333299761153
Paul Voß was the winner of the men’s Traka 200, with enough time to *checks notes* run the final kilometre as his tyre came off the wheel…
ㅤ
N+Listen 🎧
Marginal gravel gains
Unbound Gravel is the biggest event on the American if not the world calendar. It attracts riders from all over the world, and it’s the unofficial World Champs. The race is 200 miles, or 320 km long, so there are plenty of places where ‘marginal gains’, can become pretty maximal.
This podcast dives into everything you need to know, and more.
⏱ 56-minute listen
N+Watch 👀
You’ll need subtitles unless you speak Dutch, but this behind-the-scenes video from the CiCle Classic cannot be missed. Tour de Tietema tackled the UK’s toughest road race. It’s a course that covers gravel, farm roads and much more. It’s chaos!
⏱ 24-minute watch
N+Introducing
This week, we’re introducing… No Logo
No Logo’s claim is pretty simple: they make the finest cycling socks. Made in the EU, and designed for both comfort and performance, No Logo pride themselves on a simple and classy design. Everyone loves new sock day, so why not check them out on nplus1.cc?