Hello and welcome to Stage 44 of the N+1 newsletter, did you miss us?
My apologies that we skipped last week. It was my 21st birthday, so we celebrated accordingly here in Girona. I took a week away from all of my writing work, and just rode my bike and enjoyed hanging out with friends.
We’re back to normal now and we’ll have weekly newsletters as per usual. This is the final entry from Girona for a few weeks as I’m heading back to the UK for Christmas. I’m not sure how I’m going to cope, we’re having a mini heatwave here in Catalonia, I even trained in shorts this afternoon.
So here it is, all of the best news from the past couple of weeks.
Happy pedalling,
Joe
Feel free to email me at joe@nplus1.cc if you have any questions, or feel I’ve missed something that is worth putting in the Newsletter.
📖 Read
#cyclocross
The joy of bike racing is that it never truly goes away. Although the road-racing season is in full hibernation, the cyclocross season is starting to build. There’s only Mathieu van der Poel out of the ‘Big 3’ (Tom Pidcock, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel) who hasn’t started yet. The last round in Val di Sole was quite simply, epic.
4-minute read
#weird
Burger King are sponsoring a cycling team next year. No, it’s not April 1st. After spending a day with the Italian pro-tour team, EOLO-Kometa at the Giro this year, Burger King’s Italian CEO decided to get involved. The famous logo will appear on the team’s jerseys. What other big brands would you like to see get involved in cycling?
4-minute read
#adventure
Have you ever considered Armenia for a bike-packing trip? No, me neither. Armenia has got a complicated political history and isn’t high on the to-visit list even for more outlandish travelers. Evan Christenson wrote this reflection on how even a 60-day touring pace was far too quick to soak in the country’s warm hospitality and staggering landscapes. Is Armenia another one to add to the list?
5-minute read
#procycling #culture
Every top-level cycling team is different. Some take a laissez-faire attitude and leave the rider be, others take charge of a rider’s nutrition or coaching. Team DSM are one of those who lean towards the stricter end of the spectrum. An unnamed rider recently compared them to a ‘‘Soviet Regime’’ and they’ve had countless big-name riders leave over the years. It’s certainly a strange case…
7-minute read
#training
Whether it’s at the end of the race, or just to beat your mates, a strong sprint is a great thing to have in your back pocket. It doesn’t matter what type of cyclist you are -even as a climber- a handy sprint will give you ultimate bragging rights. Here, VeloNews give four workouts to improve your sprint, and what better time to start than winter?
6-minute read
📱Tweet of the week
Cyclocross is back.
🎧 Listen
Taylor Phinney is a character. Once hailed as America’s next big hope for cycling, a devastating crash, and a complicated leg-break meant he was never the same. Phinney retired at the end of 2019 and has been in ‘funemployment’ ever since. He’s living the dream, riding whatever kind of bike he wants, whenever he wants, and pursuing his art career. He’s one of the most eccentric characters to grace cycling - this podcast had it all.
64-minute listen
👀 Watch
Rapha Gone Racing, Cape Epic, and Lachlan Morton. This video is epic, I need to say no more.
23-minute watch
👋🏻 Introducing
In this new part of the Newsletter, each week we’re going to introduce one of the brands that we work with at N+1.
Introducing… Dyed in the Wool
Dyed in the Wool creates hand-crafted, bespoke bicycle luggage. Born from commuting around London during the week and adventures on the weekends, DITW grew out of the love of bikes travel.
Be sure to download our app and browse their collection!