🥇Stage 25: An Olympic rush
as the Women's Road Race sees one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history
Hello, how are you doing?
I’m happy to say that I’m out of self-isolation and back in the real world. I didn’t talk to anyone in person for 10 days, so I was starting to go pretty crazy. Unfortunately, I’ve had to pull out of another race because I cannot fly so soon after self-isolation. I’m frustrated, but it’s just the way of the world.
As I wasn’t too badly effected by catching COVID, I have returned to training relatively quickly. While I’m not doing any intervals yet, I did do a 4.5-hour ride to the coast today. After spending so much time in the Andorran mountains, and then a fair amount of time in self-isolation, it was lovely to be back by the sea.
Girona is extraordinarily busy at the moment. I’m writing this on Monday night, and I’ve just arrived home from a walk around town. I’d forgotten that it was a public holiday here, and I couldn’t believe how crazy it was in Old Town.
Tomorrow I’ve got an easy recovery day on the TT bike, so I’ll most probably head to the lake at Banyoles which will be fun.
Have a good week,
Joe
📖 Read
#Olympics
Wow, we’ve been spoiled at the Olympics so far. Richard Carapaz, the Ineos Grenadiers rider who just finished 3rd at the Tour de France, won the men’s road race for Ecuador. On the women’s side, it was one crazy race as Anna Kiesenhofer won from the early breakaway. Away from the road, Tom Pidcock continued to rule the cycling world and took gold for Great Britain in the CX Mountain Bike. It was Jolanda Neff who took gold as the Swiss locked out the women’s podium.
10-minute read
#Olympics
Anna Kiesenhofer doesn’t ride for a professional team, has a master’s degree in maths from Oxford, a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, AND is a lecturer at Lausanne University. She also outfoxed the biggest names in women’s cycling and won the Olympic gold. Her story is one of the biggest ever Olympic upsets. It’s a story that reminds us why we love cycling.
5-minute read
#weird
Have you ever wanted a pro-cyclist to wish you a happy birthday? Well, now you (kinda) can. This article is weird, yet wonderful. You’ve got to read it but I really don’t want to spoil it. Just trust me, it’s good.
3-minute read
#tech
There’s a new bit of cycling tech in town, and it’s not what you’d expect. LoreOne is the world’s first custom, 3D-printed carbon cycling shoe. This piece of tech will be revolutionary. I heard about it a few months back, before the release, from a local pro in Girona. He’s been in the WorldTour for 10 years and couldn’t believe how much of an impact it has made to his riding. What will it cost? A cool $1,900.
5-minute read
#weeklygravel
This newsletter’s ‘Weekly Gravel’ comes at you from Lithuania. The Baika Tour is a 390-km epic event across the Baltic state. I couldn’t tell you too much about Lithuania as a country, but based on this article, it seems they have some pretty cool gravel tracks. Tip: Scroll to the bottom for the best gravel shots!
5-minute read
📱Tweet of the week
It has been a tough week for the Dutch. After messing up the Women’s Road Race and Mathieu van der Poel’s horror crash in the cross-country MTB, this was the icing on the cake…
🎧 Listen
Matt Stephens sits down with three-time Olympic champion (and double World champion) Kristin Armstrong. Armstrong is now coaching athletes going into the Tokyo Games and reveals how she prepares riders for Team Pursuit and Mountain Biking. An insight like no other, from one of the greatest ever female cyclists.
75-minute listen
👀 Watch
In general, the cycling industry isn’t sustainable. Certain companies are, and most are making efforts to become more sustainable. But as a whole, the industry can do better. Check out this documentary from our friends at Velocio.
16-minute watch