“Who said sprinters can’t climb?”: Cav’s coach shares training footage of Manx Missile powering uphill; Are you a ‘Rapha Paul’?; A classic of the bad bike lane genre; Transfer rumours; Elinor Barker returns to road racing + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
A classic of the bad bike lane genre...one seasider's new favourite Brighton cycle lane
New favourite Brighton bike lane. A classic of the genre. pic.twitter.com/mBxqFMFbpb
— Finn Hopson (@FinnHop) September 20, 2021
Ah yes here we are again. We’ve been here a million times before and will have many more shockers to show you in the future I’m sure.
This one from the south coast seems to ‘helpfully’ link cyclists to what we’re assuming is a new bike lane/shared-use path up on that kerb. But then again, we’re getting mixed messages from that road sign…and the arrow on the fence. Who knows?
Charity hill climb: Kirkley Cycles first event
Team Kirkley Cycles is hosting a hill climb and caught our eye with this professional promo vid. The event is on the 10th October on a brand new course just south of Edmunbyers in County Durham. All proceeds from the £12 entry fee will be shared between two North East charities: the Great North Air Ambulance and mental health charity Heart Wood.
There are prizes to be won, including a bike fit from CJ Performance Cycles, and every rider will get a free buff courtesy of Northern Lights holiday company The Aurora Zone. If you’re in the area and fancy hurting yourself up a hill, you can sign up via Cycling Time Trials…
Olympic medallist Elinor Barker returns to road racing, signs for Uno-X Pro Cycling
An Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion. One of the most decorated riders in British cycling.
Now it is time to unleash her potential on the road.
Welcome Elinor! 👊
🖊 Elinor Barker MBE 🇬🇧 2022-23
🗂 https://t.co/pCVg7DQKGP#development pic.twitter.com/u9QrPqgD2G
— Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (@UnoXteam) September 21, 2021
Having won silver at the Olympic Games in the team pursuit, Elinor Barker is back for another crack at road racing. The 27-year-old has signed with Uno-X Pro Cycling where she’ll compete on the road for the first time since 2019.
Until that year, the five-time world champion rode for Rochelle Gilmore’s Wiggle High5 team, and back in December, Barker delivered a delicious dose of irony by auctioning off her old team kit for the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency…a week after her former team boss had been widely criticised for a tweet describing the person who broke into her car as “#Indigenous”.
On her new move, Barker said: “Will be spending the next two years developing my road career with Uno-X Pro Cycling Team. I can’t thank them enough for this opportunity and for their support so far, looking forward to getting started.”
Egan Bernal linked with move away from Ineos Grenadiers - Israel Start-Up Nation reportedly interested
According to a story in L’Equipe this morning, Egan Bernal could be on his way out of Ineos Grenadiers following a disagreement with the team. Last week, Bernal’s agent denied rumours his rider is unhappy at Ineos Grenadiers, but now the French outlet suggests Bernal may be willing to run down his current deal and leave the team at the end of 2023.
Manuel Martinez of L’Equipe writes that Israel Start-Up Nation would be one of the favourites to sign the Colombian, with Chris Froome’s faltering form likely to nudge team boss Sylvan Adams in the direction of a new star signing. Movistar and Cofidis were two of the other teams mentioned as a possible destination.
Aero infra
Time triallist specific infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/av1WyZweAA
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) September 21, 2021
"If I could climb as slow as Cav, I am sure I would have way more KOMs on Strava": Reader reaction to the Cav climbing clip
Steve K had a nice analogy for Cav’s climbing abilities…”It’s a bit like in football – your average professional centre back could play as a skilful winger in a Sunday league match.” Try telling that to Tottenham fans…
“Or cricket – a test tailender would probably top score for your village team. Professional sportspeople are better at their sport than the rest of us.”
Top marks for mdavidford adding…”Or politics – the worst cabinet member would… oh… never mind.”
billy99whizz saw Cav’s climbing ability first hand: “If you can finish every stage of the Tour de France within the time cut, you can probably climb! I watched Cav chilling his way up the 20 per cent gradients of the Great Orme in the Tour of Britain earlier in the month. According to Strava that was over a minute quicker than my max effort attempt.”
“If I could climb as slow as Cav, I am sure I would have way more KOMs on Strava”…wise words from Pedal those squares.
Who said that sprinters can’t climb?😅 pic.twitter.com/RfdZnT4RkC
— Vasilis Anastopoulos (@vanasto) September 20, 2021
Magnus Bäckstedt commentates on his daughter Zoe Bäckstedt's silver medal performance at the World Championships
“It’s emotional just watching her roll off the line” ❤️
It’s a proud moment for @Maggy_PR as he watches his daughter @Backstedt_Zoe get underway in the Women’s Junior Time Trial at the 2021 World Road Championship 🌈#Flanders2021 pic.twitter.com/Jr2gouGw6A
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) September 21, 2021
Zoe Bäckstedt won silver in the women’s junior time trial at the World Championships this morning. Commentating on the performance was a certain Magnus Bäckstedt – Zoe’s dad. In the end, the rider from Wales was beaten by Russian prospect Alena Ivachenko, but hey, how many people can say they’ve won a silver medal at the World Championships? And, on this performance, there’s plenty still to come…
Rapha-bashing continued...
Poor Rapha taking a kicking today. First, that comedian’s dig at ‘Rapha Paul’…now this. Top comment on Facebook under our story about Rapha partnering with Poc for special edition helmets with SPIN safety technology.
Why painted lines aren't infra...
This is just vile to face every day. Magic paint is totally shit. #cycling in #Sheffield pic.twitter.com/smeOsrhsVD
— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) September 20, 2021
How to hit 136kph on a bike
The other week Adam Blythe shared the proof he’d hit 136kph on a bike at some point in his career. It looks like all you need to get that aero is to slam your stem as far as it will go, and then some more. Editor Jack reckoned that could be why he’s finding riding “more painful” post-retirement. It’s time to let your pro habits go, Adam…
…lovely paintjob though!
21 September 2021, 07:58
21 September 2021, 07:58
21 September 2021, 07:58
21 September 2021, 07:58
21 September 2021, 07:58
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Latest Comments
Re: Oxford Street's increased footfall and sales... Whilst comparisons have been made to the equivalent time period last year... I'm wondering if an "It's new, let's check it out..." effect might be having some influence. Would be good to see ongoing comparison figures for the next few weeks months... Would also be good to see how the pedestrianisation of NYC's Times Square compares... For the record, I'm all for what has been done given the previous situation.
We want to first extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Patrick Turner on his tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of sorrow and mourning Now we are sure where an increasing number of UK forces get their automatic Thoughts and Prayers button (it's the Good Ol' Cyclist-Friendly Trump USA, the spiritual home of BritFilth) deployed on relatives of cyclists killed on the roads. The sincerity involved is demonstrated by the increasingly prevalent official force policies designed to bin all reports of close-passing, no matter how close and no matter how good the evidence. You have seen them in Lancashire and Scotland, in Derbyshire and Gloucestershire, in Kent and Essex... You may be worrying about them coming to a force near you, but they're probably already there!
@jaymack $2.50 a question (with focus could do about 50 questions an hour) helped ease the pain but I won't deny that whisky consumption in the Harris household went up significantly for the duration of that job! Sadly AI has made that sort of easy money job virtually extinct.
@ColdHand Oh completely, increased fines and bans hand in hand and yes, mandatory bans with no exemptions.
Spent all the money, time and effort on aerodynamicson the AM64 just to use another brands fork. An after thought perhaps? Or the frame was designed around the fork? Or maybe, the massive Chinese factory that actually made the frame doesn't handle carbon...
@Steelisreel please can you advise UK companies who do make their own? Enigma I think is one, but who else? And btw, I bought a Gloria as I still think they offer good value (I have no interest/skill in buy a frame and building from scratch), they look great, ride beautifully and had great customer service (they are local to me so I could pop in).
@Rendel Harris -As I said, there needs to be consequences for criminal actions by motorists and I agree banning drivers could be an effective punishment, although the courts at present seem to bend over backwards to avoid handing out a ban, which is proven by all the bad drivers who have got over 12 points yet have avoided a ban on some pretext or other. Maybe a mandatory ban, no "hardship" exception and a financial punishment as well?
@cardch You are right, at least Gloria is more honest than most with their cleverly worded "UK Handmade bikes" like Reilly, Laverack, Ribble et al. The absolute BS that is all over their websites about being titanium experts is appalling. My gripe is how these companies can justify much higher prices than buying direct. A gloria frame will cost them £500 odd (ex VAT) a piece and i'm sure the cafe is making enough to pay their staff and what with Waltly having a margin on that too, there must be some savings being made at some point, especially with the lifetime guarantees thrown around. Let's be honest, these frames appeal to those who want to be able to spend more money on the kit that goes on them than the frame itself. And yeah, I am speaking for myself, I would prefer to put my money to one of a few (3 at last count) that actually do make the things themselves, employ and train people that do too and have experience with the material. I'm sure the mechanic and coffee shop staff pay for themselves.
@Rendel Harris - your pain threshold must be something to behold.
I had a run of several broken spokes on a pair of hunt gravel wheels - the last time it happened the spoke punctured the rim tape and the inner tube I'd already fitted because of 3 x tubeless punctures on the same ride.... which meant a longish walk. Not sure if stronger reinforced rim tape is even a thing but it would have been good to have on the wheels - even at extra cost to the purchaser. Hunt did fix the spoke issue at their cost - and promptly - but I can't help feel like their quality control isn't as good as it could be. I also noticed the quality of factory installed rim tape was a bit "off" i.e. it wasn't installed completely parallel to the hookless side and the end flap wasn't taped down on either wheel.
26 thoughts on ““Who said sprinters can’t climb?”: Cav’s coach shares training footage of Manx Missile powering uphill; Are you a ‘Rapha Paul’?; A classic of the bad bike lane genre; Transfer rumours; Elinor Barker returns to road racing + more on the live blog”
If I could climb as slow as
If I could climb as slow as Cav, I am sure I would have way more Koms on Strava 😉
Why would you waste more
Why would you waste more energy than required trying to push faster up a climb that has zero impact on your particular race when you have a sprint to contend? Same as why GC contenders don’t usually get involved in sprints.
Well, a couple of things
Well, a couple of things really. As fast as required to make the time cut can be pretty damn fast on a short mountain stage when the GC battle kicks off. You need to have trained for that or you ain’t making it to the next day.
On hilly stages or stages with a major climb coming early in the day it can also be beneficial to go deep in the climbs so you can stay in or catch back up to the peloton after the decent. It’s then worth the bigger efforts to get a much easier ride for the rest of the stage. That can also tie into sheer amount of time spent on the bike. Put in the effort to stay with the bunch and you might finish the stage 45 minutes quicker than if you rolled in on minimum effort – so that’s 45 minutes earlier massage, earlier food, more recovery, better sleep.
If you can finish every stage
If you can finish every stage of the TdF within the time cut, you can probably climb! I watched Cav chilling his way up the 20% gradients of the Great Orme in the ToB earlier in the month. According to Strava that was over a minute quicker than my max effort attempt.
Its 2021, arent “Rapha man”
Its 2021, arent “Rapha man” jokes a bit old hat ?
I’m still open to them if
I’m still open to them if they are done well. Unfortunately that wasnt.
Althought it was pretty
Althought it was pretty accurate. Just not funny.
It’s a bit like in football –
It’s a bit like in football – your average professional centre back could play as a skilful winger in a Sunday league match.
Or cricket – a test tailender
Or cricket – a test tailender would probably top score for your village team. Professional sportspeople are better as their sport than the rest of us.
Or politics – the worst
Or politics – the worst cabinet member would… oh… never mind.
mdavidford wrote:
Be better than the best amateur liar?
Steve K wrote:
I think that undersells it. Professional sports people are on another level even to a top end amateur. This is a good article.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44897751
There’s also some stats from this years L’Etape floating about that says (from memory) the fastest amateur on the L’Etape was slower than the slowest pro (I think it was a mountain stage).
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Surely that’s expected. If I found out I was faster than the slowest pro, I’d probably try to become the second slowest pro!
I doubt that. A lot of
I doubt that. A lot of tailenders can’t bat at all as they are selected to be bowlers.
hirsute wrote:
You’d be surprised – I’ve played in several games where former county bowlers with first-class averages in single figures have played for fun so not bowled (or if quicks just bowled spin) but batted and made substantial scores, the difference between first class and even the top of second class is so great they find it easy.
IIRC Elinor Barker rode for
IIRC Elinor Barker rode for Drops Cycling in 2019.
but whilst on the subject of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team, might we also highlight Elinor will be joining Hannah Barnes (currently of Canyon SRAM) who announced a two year contract with the team about a month ago.
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/19592196.banned-gravesend-driver-bragged-social-media-jailed/
Words fail me
“Having been convicted of driving whilst disqualified 12 times previously”
“disqualified from driving mostly since 2006”
“He was sentenced at the same court to 12 weeks’ imprisonment…further disqualified from driving for 21 months”
He should have been jailed for the length of time he was driving whilst disqualified.
He isn’t the smartest clearly
He isn’t the smartest clearly. But it does beg the question as to how people like him, who simply ignore driving bans, can be stopped from driving other than by locking them up.
Crush any car that someone
Crush any car that someone permits them to drive.
If they take a car without permission, lock them up for that.
With the plus point that it
With the plus point that it is one less oversized pollution spewing Chelsea Tractor if they did that action this time around.
True. Happens all the time
True. Happens all the time on Police Super Interceptor Cops. They’ll stop some bloke (and it is usually a bloke) who’s been driving like a twunt. Check their details, discover they were banned from driving etc etc.
The narrator at the end will say something like, ‘the driver who was stopped for driving without a licence or insurance while banned was banned from driving for a further xx months’ and everybody knows that the person was all remorseful in court, and that six weeks later everyone will be going through the whole charade again.
did you have the sound turned
did you have the sound turned down? You can hear the motor in cav’s bike quite clearly on the video
That angry growl is just the
That angry growl is just the sound Cav makes when someone tells him he can’t climb.
WTAF?! Just had a huge
WTAF?! Just had a huge advert blocking 97% of the page. And again, and again. It disappears after maybe five seconds, but hey admin, how about losing it?
eburtthebike wrote:
Yep, I’m getting that too. goes if you refresh
11pm; still not solved then.
11pm; still not solved then.