Hi everyone. Another week, another newsletter.
Iām coming at you this week from El Tarter, a very small town on the side of a mountain in Andorra. Thereās not too much to do up here apart from ride my bike, so if Iām honest, itās getting a tad boring.
Each day starts the same, Iāll have my bowl of porridge while looking over the mountains outside my window. Iāll then kit up, and head out training at around 10:30. Iām training for anything between three and five hours. The roads here are exceptional, the scenery is breathtaking. Itās also breathtaking due to the altitude Iām staying at where oxygen isnāt as readily available as at sea level. After my ride, Iāll come home and spend the rest of the day watching the Tour de France with my feet up.
The life of a pro-cyclist isnāt always glamorous, especially when youāre on a solo training camp!
This weekās newsletter mainly revolves around Le Tour de France. As per every July, the cycling world shuts down and focuses completely on Le Tour. Thereās bits of gravel news in there, but the Tour rules the roost.
I hope you all have a good week riding,
Joe
š Read
#TourdeFrance
Iām like a kid at Christmas when it comes to the Tour de France, forgive me if I talk a lot about it over the next three newsletters. As I write this, the third stage has just finished and the main talking point has been the crashes. There have been countless big crashes over the last few days, each taking down big-name riders. One man who navigated all the crashes was Mathieu van der Poel, who clinched the yellow jersey on Stage 2. His story is special and his custom bike is beautiful.
4-minute read
#TourdeFrance #WithATwist
Lachlan Morton is famous for being a part of pro-team EFās āAlternate Programmeā. Heās the face of the āaltā plan which includes epic events such as Unbound Gravel. This month, he has one-upped himself and is tackling his biggest challenge ever. Lachlan will be riding the ENTIRE Tour de France by himself. There will be no hotels, no planes or cars to get between stages. Heāll complete 2,000 km and 20,000 m of elevation more than the pro-race, crazy.
2-minute read
#gravel #adventure
With gravel riding booming across the world, purpose-built trails are becoming ever more popular. Almost too popular. When somebody queries āWhy?ā, cyclists often reply āWhy not?ā This gravel-venture is the ultimate āWhy notā, as the writer takes us for a tour of the forgotten industrial area around Durham in the UK. This piece serves as a reminder to take the road, or trail less travelled.
7-minute read
#tech
The Pinarello Dogma series of bikes is arguably the most successful ever. It has won eleven Grand Tours in the past decade and has become synonymous with Team Sky/Ineos. Pinarello have recently added a new Dogma to the collection. Moving away from the numbered issues, theyāve released the Dogma F. I ride the Dogma F12 myself, which is a stunning bike, so I guess the Dogma F is quite spectacular
4-minute read
#procycling #behindthescenes
Pro-cycling is a sport that is won and lost in preparation. As fans, we only see the tip of the iceberg in a riderās journey. Iām lucky that a lot of my friends are pro-cyclists, so I get to see first-hand what the worldās best do in training. However, nobody has greater access than a Grand-Tour winnerās wife. Here, Primož RogliÄ's partner Lora Klinc talks about family life inside the peloton. Take a look behind the curtain of one of the worldās best riders.
7-minute read
#road #training
Didnāt manage to make the Tour de France selection this year? Yeah, me neither. Luckily, FasCat coaching, a company based out in the States have devised a three-week training plan to mimic the Tour de France, and help you get fit along the way. Itās free to download and will make you feel a part of the pack.
5-minute read and 3 weeks of pain
š±Tweet of the week
The Tour de France is the biggest annual sporting event in the world. Itās also the most nervous race of the year. Stakes are high, a good result could be life-changing for a rider. Crashes are inevitable. Remember, if youāre going to watch a race, respect the riders.
š§ Listen
I think Ian Boswell has just set the record for the most featured rider in the N+1 newsletter. Iām not even sorry about it, this guy is awesome. This week, Boswell sits down with The Gravel Ride podcast. They unpack his big win at Unbound, as well as looking towards a new partnership between Wahoo and The Migration Gravel Race / Team Amani in Kenya. As always, Boswell offers an interesting insight into the gravel world. This podcast kept me company around the Andorran mountains, trust me, itās well worth your time.
43-minute listen
š Watch
Kenya Migration Gravel is an epic stage race across some of the harshest terrain. Finley Newmark, a mate of mine from junior racing, had the pleasure of being able to compete in this race for his team. Finley walks us through all the equipment he takes to Kenya and shows us exactly what you need for a gravel epic.
7-minute watch