š«š·Stage 23: A 'wheelie' good competition
two seemingly impossible chases across France and gravelling in Paris
From Girona, hello! Howās it going?
Yep, Iām back in āG-townā now. Yesterday, I rode from Andorra to Girona with a friend. It was a headwind all the way too, a 205 km headwind. You canāt really make it up.
Iāve had quite the few days. On Sunday, the Tour de France visited Andorra so I went out to watch that, and wow, what a pleasure it was to be on the other side of a bike race and appreciate it from a fanās perspective. After a late-night on Sunday, thanks to the England vs Italy football match (Iām still sad England lost), we set off back to Girona.
It was great to be in Andorra, but equally, Iāve missed Girona so much. I went out for an easy hour on the bike today and then stopped at La Comuna for a flat white. The ride was amazing, and itās so nice to be back at sea level, the altitude in Andorra is tough to deal with.
I have one week in Girona before heading off to the Tour de Wallonie in Belgium. I hope you enjoy this weekās newsletter!
Thanks,
Joe
š Read
#TourdeFrance
Le Tour de France is heading into its final week. At the time of writing, Tadej Pogacar still has a commanding lead of over 5 minutes. All hope is not lost though. The best climberās Polka Dot jersey is still up for grabs, as is the green sprinterās jersey. Can Cav break the all-time record for Tour de France stages? Here are five things to look out for in the coming days.
4-minute read
#bikepacking
Lachlan Morton has beaten the peloton to Paris. Lachlan set off the same day as the peloton and rode every stage, plus every transfer by himself. He rode over 2,000 km more than the official race and climbed 23,000 altitude meters higher. He did it 5 days quicker than the pros and completed much of the distance in Birkenstocks. What a legend.
3-minute read
#epicadventure #amazingchase
Jack āUltra Cyclistā Thompson decided to race the Tour de France. Well, not the actual race, but the same route. Thereās just one catch, he set off ten days after the peloton and is aiming to get there before them. He plans to ride 3,500 km in ten days. Two stages per day, averaging a distance of over 350 km and 6,000 m of climbing ā for 10 days straight.Ā Jack is actually a fellow Girona resident, and I bumped into him doing this challenge when I was riding home from Andorra - heās going unbelievably fast considering how far heās riding each day.
4-minute read
#tech
Pro-cyclists have the best equipment, serviced by the best mechanics. If you watch the races on TV, the bikes are always shining with the latest equipment. Have you ever wondered what the average Tour de France bike costs? Well, our friends at CyclingNews summed it up. Have you got five figures spare?
6-minute read
#gravel
If thereās one thing thatās not traditionally associated with gravel riding, itās a big-city dwelling. Let alone in Paris. Can you really go gravel riding if you live in the middle of Paris, surely not? While there arenāt endless miles of trails, this piece by a Shimano Gravel Alliance rider shows itās not impossibleā¦
4-minute read
š±Tweet of the week
Would you do this to your bike?
š§ Listen
Kiel Reijnen is a pro-cyclist who currently rides for Trek-Segafredo. He has also started competing in gravel races in the last few years, most recently in Unbound happening in June. During that race, an early mechanical failure resulted in him running 18 miles of the course, barefoot. While this generated a considerable amount of press attention he explains to Payson that this wasn't the first time he's found himself running such a long distance in inadequate footwear on short noticeā¦
47-minute listen
š Watch
Have you ever wondered what a pro-cycling training camp looks like? This video gives a behind the scenes look from Alex Dowsettās WorldTour altitude camp.
11-minute watch