“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
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
26 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Another perhaps more extreme example of this is in athletics. Despite improvements in training and nutrition, shoes and kit, faster tracks, more nations taking part, increased funding and increased financial rewards the following world records still exist : Women's 100m & 200m (Florence Griffith-Joiner, 1988), Women's 400m (Marita Koch, 1985), Women's 800m (Martina Kratochvilova, 1983).
It is shocking how desperately stupid drivers can be. I've seen someone try to go around police blocking the road to drive up the highway towards where it was clearly blocked by multiple fire trucks filling bambi buckets on hovering helicopters. I've seen drivers (plural) who can't understand how to get around a collision blocking the road ahead where all they have to do is go around the block. Pit cones out to block a lane? Better make sure no one can squeeze their car between them because they will.
@Rendel Harris I'm frankly astounded that its taken this long to break many of the records and its just a testament to how ridiculous doping was. - training properly from a young age - diet changes - no long off season and "racing yourself back to fitness" - bike tech, aero bikes, better tyres, aero socks, skin suits etc - fuelling up to 3x the amount on the bike vs what they used to do - Recovery after rides - Training understanding/advancements Its amazing that we have had to change all this before we are beating guys who were doped up to the gills.
I tend to judge people by their actions rather than their words. At least he cycles and is not, to my knowledge, a die-hard vehicular cyclist nutter. Whatever happens he would struggle to be a worse candidate than Shaun Bailey. That was the chap who was caught campaigning in Brentwood, yes, the one in Essex where no one had the vote. Oh, and do we know if this will be a FPTP election or has it been rolled back to transferable vote?
@chrisonabike There seem to be three frameworks when it comes to speed limits. Framework 1 is the approach introduced in 1934. It doesn't see speed limits as traffic-calming measures, but as a legal tool for identifying and dealing with reckless drivers. You measure traffic speeds to establish what constitutes normal driving behaviour, assume most drivers are reasonable and have an aversion to crashing or running someone over, and set the limit accordingly. Exceptions should genuinely be exceptional, so that drivers take them seriously when the do differ from the norm. Framework 2 is closer to the approach that existed before 1930: you simply set a speed and expect everyone to drive at it. This seems to be the framework the Welsh Government claims to favour, set a lower limit and expect compliance, often without changing the road or substantially increasing enforcement. The WG guidelines actually said don't take any account of traffic speeds as a variable when it comes to making exceptions, if you like to link me to a study that says that's a good idea, I'd like to read it. This is also how I used to assume speed limits work, as something you just *set*. Framework 3 recognises that Framework 1 falls apart when you use Framework 2, but argues that this is acceptable as long as the average speed falls somewhat. This seems to be the reality of what is being used today: high, sometimes extremely high, non-compliance is considered an acceptable price for a marginal reduction in average speeds. The problem is what happens in the long term when non-compliance is effectively designed into the system: speed limits become useless for identifying genuinely dangerous drivers, speeding becomes normalised and more socially acceptable, and pedestrians are given signs telling them to expect speeds that drivers are routinely travelling above.
@Bill H ".....but he is a genuine utility cyclist." That's good to hear, but telling two different groups things that are diametrically opposed doesn't do much for his credibility or honesty.
I think Andy Burnham has offered some hope in the last few weeks by threatening renationalisation of some industries, highlighting Brexit's disastrous effects on trade and public funding and calling out the downside of Thatcherism (if that viewpoint becomes more widely acknowledged most senior Tory politicians will have no clothes). And to Kier Starmer's credit he did take steps to improve the relationship and trade with the EU. But let's not get too excited too soon. The big problem is that lots of things need fixing but many aren't prepared to pay more towards it or can't afford to pay more towards it. Incidentally, I was discussing modern politicians with my wife this morning. They often seem to be self seeking, uninterested in detail, not very capable and mainly focussed on soundbites and their careers. Has it always been like this? Or is it just that we are older? It always seemed that politicians of the 70's, 80's and 90's had a deeper sense of responsibility and obligations of duty towards the electorate. But maybe they didn't. Discuss.
I met James Cleverly on a ‘Movers and Shakers’ ride organised by the Redbridge LCC. The ride ended at the then new Hogs Hill race track, which was replacing the lost East Way track in Hackney Wick. My main recollection was JC being angry with Lord Victor Adebowale for being allowed to ride the circuit sans helmet. The rest of us had to borrow lids but the good Lord got an exemption for his hair. JC otherwise came across as perfectly pleasant and he has lived an interesting life. Whether that qualifies him to be mayor I don’t know, but he is a genuine utility cyclist.
@Itsumishi Thanks for the reminder, have added that in - promise I meant it's the first custom bike that Canyon has made for him, although I certainly misremembered that DirtySixer made quite a few huge bikes for basketball players when writing this article :)
Re alleged doping, just like everyone else I can't say for certain it isn't happening, I just hope as a fan that it isn't. However, it seems that many, many people who pontificate about doping simply don't take into account dietary improvements. Of course every rider now has significant advantages over their predecessors in terms of being able to absorb two or three times more carbohydrate per hour than was previously thought possible, something which of itself is sufficient to explain much of the improvements in times and stamina. However, there are other dietary elements, for example during the Tour de France Robbie McEwen was talking about a new lactate gel that could enable riders to absorb up to 5 g of lactate per hour rather than the previous comfortable limit of around 0.5 g. Apparently production was limited and one team had purchased the entire available supply, no prizes for guessing who. Perfectly legal and sufficient largely to explain significant advantages but of course not as exciting as claiming that you know the top riders are on dope.
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.