🇺🇸Stage 29: The $10,000 handlebars and a crazy world record
plus, Cannondale's new two-in-one off road bike
Hey there!
How are you doing? This week’s newsletter is coming at you from Girona, as per usual. We have a very techy issue this week, with new developments on the velodrome, and on gravel roads.
I shall be jumping back on a plane to Belgium tomorrow afternoon. I’m seriously racking up the air miles at the minute! I’m racing on Thursday, against some of the world’s best riders, including World Champ Julian Alaphillippe. I will then have a rest day, before ANOTHER Belgian one-day race. A busy week coming!
My past week of training has been up and down. I had one incredibly good session but then for the next few days, I felt really awful on the bike. I got quite frustrated at myself, but it served as a good reminder that sometimes you’ve got to rest and recover before you can push on and make more progress!
Have a good week pedalling,
Joe
📖 Read
#recordbreaking #bling
Ashton Lambie did the impossible this past week. From a standing start, he broke the 4-minute barrier for a 4 km individual pursuit on the velodrome. His final time was 3:59.93, a crazy effort, nipping under the 4-minute mark by a whisker. ‘‘What equipment was he using?’’, I hear you ask. Here we have it, the bike used to break the world record, featuring $10k handlebars.
4-minute read
#womenscycling
The Tour de France is legendary. It’s the biggest annual sporting event in the world. Not having a female equivalent has been a contentious topic for numerous years. In 2022, it’s coming. Le Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift will catapult women’s cycling into the future, with the support of cycling’s most revolutionary company for years. But what does it mean for the riders? For long-time pro, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, it’s a breath of fresh air.
10-minute read
#racing #Vuelta
The third and final Grand Tour of the year is currently taking place in Spain. Primoz Roglic is in the driving seat to take consecutive wins, but with two weeks still to go, all is still to play for. The Vuelta has a reputation for being the most laid-back of Grand Tours, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier! Here are five things to look out for in the second week of the race.
5-minute read
#tech
Chris Froome is investing in Factor Bikes. What does that mean for the industry? We’re not too sure, yet. It’s a slightly unexpected move, Froome has been on Pinarello for the majority of his career, and was openly critical of disc brakes at the start of this year. This interview with the Factor CEO, Rob Gitelis, reveals some little bits of info, as well as giving an insight into the bike industry.
10-minute read
#weeklygravel #tech
What is the difference between a Gravel and a CX bike? Trick question, according to Cannondale, there no longer is a difference. Their new SuperSix Evo CX and SuperSix Evo SE, blend the aerodynamic tube shapes, stiffness profile, and low weight of the road-going SuperSix Evo with the geometry and off-road racing purpose of the SuperX. Is this the best of both worlds?
5-minute read
📱Tweet of the week
Pro-cyclists and dodgems, wait what? At least they kept their helmets on.
🎧 Listen
Travis McCabe is an experienced American pro-cyclist who has raced at all levels. McCabe is also a cycling coach for the recently launched Team EF Coaching platform. As a guest on Colby Pearce’s ‘Cycling in Alignment’ podcast, they discuss the different methods to coaching, as well as unpacking the contract of total life load for athletes.
60-minute listen
👀 Watch
Take a peek behind the curtain of the world’s biggest cycling team, in one of the world’s biggest bike races. Featuring the newly crowned Olympic Champions, Richard Carapaz and Tom Pidcock, as well as Tour de France winner Egan Bernal. It’s cycling as you’ve never seen it.
10-minute watch