“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
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
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.