🪵Stage 49: Cyclo-cross lessons from van der Poel

plus cyber-crime and sex toys - the weirdest cycling sponsor story there is

Hello,

Welcome to another newsletter. I’m coming at you from a rest day in Girona. Last week, I clocked one of my biggest ever weeks on the bike, completing around 32.5 hours in the saddle - it’s safe to say I’m a little tired.

We have a bit of everything in this week’s newsletter. We finally have road racing back, with the Australian Road Nationals taking place this last week. There’s also the contentious Gravel Hall of Fame and one of the best articles I’ve ever read - a behind-the-scenes look into the downfall of Qhubeka-NextHash. It’s really not to be missed.

Finally, all the way to the bottom we introduce Von Brokk, one of the newest editions to our N+1 family. It’s rare that I get excited about cycling brands, but Von Brokk are cool, seriously cool. Go and check them out, you won’t be disappointed.

Keep 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.

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📖 Read

#roadracing

The road racing season has kicked off Down Under. It was the Aussie National Road Champs this past week in Buninyong and Rohan Dennis and Grace Brown took the time-trial crowns. The road races saw hotly (excuse the pun) contested battles. Jimmy Whelan, an all-round top-bloke and fellow Girona resident was caught by Luke Plapp, who eventually took the green and gold stripes. In the women’s event, it was Nicole Frain who just held off a charging Grace Brown.

10-minute read

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#gravel

As the sport of gravel cycling continues to evolve and expand, one group is launching a project to commemorate the people and places that make up its origin story - The Gravel Hall of Fame. This isn’t focussed on Gravel pros or influencers, but people who have helped to grow the sport into what it is today. Who would your vote be?

5-minute read

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#photography

The Mark Gunter Photographer of the Year Awards. In the craziness of the past year, it was clear from the entries just how much freedom the bicycle (and the camera) have granted. The photos always bring up a sense of nostalgia for the previous year and capture moments from every part of the sport.

11-minute read

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#roadcycling #sponsorship

Cycling is a strange sport. The world’s biggest teams are sponsored by anything from construction companies to oil-rich states. While many sponsors have stayed in the sport for decades, there are some which are *questionable* and depart quickly. Sex toys, cyber-crime and cycling sponsorship, the story of the demise of Qhubeka-NextHash. It’s only January, but this is already a contender for the best piece of the year.

23-minute read

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#training

Training is a contentious subject and there isn’t one magic formula. However, there are certain schools of thought that believe ‘sweet spot’ training is the biggest bang for your buck. Sweetspot training is the top of Z3 and the bottom end of Z4, it’s not easy, but it’s also not impossibly hard either. If you’re limited on time, it’s the best direction to go.

6-minute read

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📱Tweet of the week

AlecBriggs/ Pedaler @Alec_Pedaler

So @iamspecialized really sent me the all new ALL WHITE s works lace ups and let me paint them 🦖🎨 For more: specialized.com/gb/en/s-works-… Video by @lexcarthur

January 14th 2022

4 Retweets102 Likes

Specialized have some new dancing shoes, and they’re cool. They’re even cooler when Alec Briggs paints them in Tekkerz colors.

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🎧 Listen

Ashleigh Moolman Pasio is the multiple National Road and TT Champion of South Africa. She was also the first ever E-Sports World Champion. In this podcast, she speaks about everything from training on Zwift to empowering women in cycling and the opportunity to race the Tour de France Femmes.

68-minute listen

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👀 Watch

Cyclocross, Mathieu van der Poel and a lot of laughs. This is one of my favourite videos on the internet.

12-minute watch

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👋🏻 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… VON BROKK

Nature lovers with a sense of aesthetics and a demand for functional, sustainable design. Von Brokk are a German apparel brand with a difference. A quick scroll through their website makes me want to buy one of their hats and also their barista station. Their Deputy General Manager is a very cool doggo called Rudi-Hermann too.

Be sure to download our app and browse their collection!