rapha super cross

keeping with the cyclocross theme rapha super cross is a series of three cyclocross races that took place in the uk and was sponsored by those purveyors of bicycle wear finery rapha.  each event not only gave the pro's a chance to race but amateurs too, including my friend james anderson who took part in his first ever race.  this particular race took place in the grounds of alexandra palace and was the last in a series of three.  many thanks to james who shares his experience on what was a warm dry autumn day in north london.

well, i know jason will have been sorry to miss that, it was a cracking event, really well done.  well organised, well marshaled and well attended.  there was a cracking atmosphere around the course with lots of hecklers and supporters banging their cowbells and cheering everyone on.  there was also marshmallow pelting and even a tequila shortcut!

somewhat cheekily i had entered the novice category, well, i have never ridden cross before…  sorry, raced cross… my friend Jon owns two wheels good, a bike shop in crouch end london, and i got roped into racing for his shop.  there were four of us in total sporting twg kit, matt and alec who work in the shop joined me in the novice category and another james ended up in the veterans category.

james was off first so we had the pleasure of hanging around track side ringing cowbells as he went past and shouting words of encouragement.  he looked pretty knackered by the end, but it is a race right?  just before the pro’s took to the circuit i got the chance to get in a quick banker lap.  Ah.  that is why he looked so done in.  the start of the lap featured a short steep climb followed by a fast descent back towards the start/finish arena.  a nasty off camber descent led into a short complex which contained a set of hurdles.    from here the course started to climb and climb it did!  all the way up from the base of the hill through a piece of singletrack onto the grass slopes of the park and up to alexandra palace itself.  then you got to run up a flight of steps!!  one of the more evil and sadistic course features.  i am sure if i had not have been breathing out my arse by that point I would have enjoyed the panoramic views across the city…  luckily all the effort was rewarded with a nice descent down into the start/finish arena which was finished off with another piece of singletrack.

the pro race was excellent, it was great to see them tackle the course, especially nick craig, a mbt hero of mine for many years!  it all seemed to be over very quickly with paul oldham, current british champion, taking the honours.  then it was my turn.  now i normally do endurance events, very little sprinting, mostly pacing oneself to the finish over a 100 odd miles.  this was a bit of a departure from the usual.  still, i was raring to go and sprinted off with everyone else at the start.  the first lap passed very quickly, i even managed a perfect dismount to clear the hurdles!  i was in about 10th spot when I charged to get ahead of a slower rider into the singletrack before the long climb.  next thing i knew i was on the floor!  ouch!!

i think i hit a stump in the undergrowth, whatever it was the result was a full on faceplant.  i got back on my bike and rejoined the race.  unfortunately CX is so fast that anything like that can leave you well out of position.  i spent the next few laps frantically trying to catch back up.  i pushed as hard as i could.  it was carnage.  i have no idea where i finished or no idea where anyone finished.  the tequila shortcut mixed up the order so much that the race became complete chaos.  guys i had passed the lap before were in front of me again without having passed me on course!  i did not take the shortcut, i could not see it due to focusing so hard!  thankfully there was a lot of support out on course with many friends and family out to watch so i got cajoled and heckled the whole way round.  some friends even stood at the top of the steps to shout encouragement/abuse and take pictures as they sipped their pints, bastards!!

alec did very well finishing somewhere in the top five. matt clipped the hurdles and came down hard, i am not sure where he finished.  overall it was a blast, an excellent though tough course, a cracking atmosphere and just lots of fun.  despite hurting so much, i am sitting here with bruises and a very sore neck.  i have heard rumours it will be running again next year it was so popular.  i do hope so, though i will not get away with the novice category again!

rapha super cross

moots psychlo-x di2

if i was only able to buy only one more bicycle during my life then a moots psychlo-x with shimano di2 groupset would certainly be near the top of the list. no matter how hard i try i cannot get away from favouring the north american bike builders and with names like sacha white at vanilla and andy hampsten it is easy to see the appeal or at least it is to me.

i would choose the psychlo-x is because i do not think i have ever seen a better looking utility bike. that is what it would be for me, a utility bike rather than just a pure cross racer. i reckon it would service me equally well thrashing around a muddy cross circuit as it would me fitting a child seat on the back and taking my daughter for a leisurely ride down the local cycle path.  it would be one hell of an expensive utility bike but hey you got to aim high.

speaking of cycle path, that is the name of the bike shop in portland oregon who have built and photographed their version of what a psychlo-x should be. hats off to them for doing an incredible job, it is certainly a version close to the build i would specify. the psychlo-x features beautiful titanium tubed geometry with a mudfree chainstay design and wishbone seatstay configuration for superior lateral stiffness, plus super clean internal cable routing all covered by moots lifetime warranty on craftsmanship and materials. also as i mentioned this version features shimano’s electronic di2 shifting which i have been told is absolutely precise.  this might be a group set too far for the non-pro though so i think i would switch it over to analogue with dura-ace.  and yes i would stay with shimano rather than sram or campagnolo on this occasion because i think shimano fits the moots ethic in terms of fucntionality.

there is only one thing stopping me from having this bike built for me and that is of course the price. the frame and forks sell in the uk for around £3265, wheels (reynolds cyclocross forty six tubulars) £1300, groupset £2600 and lets say finishing kit will come to another £500. even with slightly cheaper modifications such as changes to groupset and wheels that makes a total cost of somewhere in the region of £7000 or just over $11,000 usd. for the moment at least i guess i will just have to stick with window shopping.

moots

bella and i

via betty bhandari photography blog

forza italia

the 2012 giro d'italia route was unveiled in milan a few days back and like the 2012 tour de france route it appears to be less hilly than in previous years.  that said both races visit some infamous climbs with the french race climbing such classics as the col de la madeleine and col de la croix de fer in the 11th stage from albertville to la toussuire les sybelles in the french alps.  the only thing is at only 140km it is a rather short length to be considered a truly epic stage.

whereas the tour finishes with a champagne procession into paris followed by the usual sprinters finale, the giro looks to me like it could be far more exciting.  the final 21st stage will be a 31.5km tt through the streets of milan in northern italy.  i think a tt is a fine way to finish a grand tour.  one only has to think back to 89 and laurent fignon losing to greg lemond by eight seconds to know how captivating this type of finish can be.

however, expect to see slow times in the milan tt.  not only will the riders have had to battle through three weeks of racing but the previous days stage will really show who the riders are with the greatest powers of recovery. you see stage 20, the penultimate stage, should be a cima coppi par excellence.  nestled up against the swiss border and with a finish atop the mythical 2757 metre high passo dello stelvio and all it's 48 hair pin turn finery, that is 27 hair pins turns more than that most famous of cols the alpe d'huez, the stelvio will pose a great test.  not only that but the riders will first face a 1883 metre climb up the passo del tonale before they get punched in the ribs by the infamous mortirolo at 1718 metres.  by the time the riders reach the base of the stelvio many of them will already be in tears.  what then follows is a 40km plus climb to the highest mountain top finish in italian cycling and chances are it will be snowing.

the tour may have stole a march on the giro in terms of leaks and presentation pizazz but when it comes down to the nitty gritty i reckon the giro will be the most exciting grand tour in 2012 with stage 20 and 21 providing a finish worthy of a grand tour finale.

2012 tour de france route map

so the leaked route was correct.

jean metzinger, at the cycle race track, 1914

via kraftgenie

giro di lombardia 2011

yesterday's giro di lombardia in northern italy was the last of the monument classics to happen in the 2011 professional road race calender and thus marked the end of what has been a fantastically entertaining season. if you missed the live coverage as i did you can see the final 10km or so below courtesy of belgian tv station sporza. i am going to keep this as a non-spoiler version so all i will say is that i doubt anyone would have predicted the winner of the race.

le coq sportif - l'eroica

Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 1) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.


Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 2) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.


Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 3) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.


Le Coq Sportif - L'Eroica (pt. 4) from EXCEPT VideoMusic Production on Vimeo.

2012 world tour calender

1	January 17-22, 2012: Tour Down Under
2	March 4-11, 2012: Paris-Nice
3	March 7-13, 2012: Tirreno-Adriatico
4	March 17, 2012: Milano-Sanremo
5	March 19-25, 2012: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
6	March 23, 2012: E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke
7	March 25, 2012: Gent-Wevelgem
8	April 1, 2012: Ronde van Vlaanderen
9	April 2-7, 2012: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
10	April 8, 2012: Paris-Roubaix
11	April 15, 2012: Amstel Gold Race
12	April 18, 2012: La Flèche Wallonne
13	April 22, 2012: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
14	April 24-29, 2012: Tour de Romandie
15	May 5-27, 2012: Giro d'Italia
16	June 3-10, 2012: Critérium du Dauphiné
17	June 9-17, 2012: Tour de Suisse
18	June 30-July 22, 2012: Tour de France
19	July 10-17, 2012: Tour de Pologne
20	August 6-12, 2012: Eneco Tour
21	August 14, 2012: Clásica Ciclista San Sebastian
22	August 18-September 9, 2012: Vuelta a España
23	August 19, 2012: Vattenfall Cyclassics
24	August 26, 2012: GP Ouest France-Plouay
25	September 7, 2012: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
26	September 9, 2012: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
27	September 29, 2012: Il Lombardia
28	October 10-14, 2012: Tour of Beijing

leaked 2012 tour de france route

the aso published the 2012 tour de france route mistakenly (or so it seems).  anyway needless to say it was caught before being taken down again.  it looks like a very bradley wiggins friendly route on the face of it.

P Prologue Sat 30 June Liège > Liège 6.1 km

1 Road stage Sun 1 July Liège > Seraing 198 km

2 Road stage Mon 2 July Visé > Tournai 207 km

3 Road stage Tues 3 July Orchies > Boulogne-sur-Mer 197 km

4 Road stage Weds 4 July Abbeville > Rouen 214 km

5 Road stage Thurs 5 July Rouen > Saint-Quentin 197 km

6 Road stage Fri 6 July Épernay > Metz 210 km

7 Road stage Sat 7 July Tomblaine > La Planche des Belles Filles 199 km

8 Road stage Sun 8 July Belfort > Porrentruy 154 km

9 Time trial Mon 9 July Arc-et-Senans > Besançon 38 km

10 Road stage Weds 11 July Mâcon > Bellegarde-sur-Valserine 194 km

11 Mountains Thurs 12 July Albertville > La Toussuire – Les Sybelles 140 km

12 Mountains Fri 13 July Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Annonay 220 km

13 Road stage Sat 14 July Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Le Cap d’Agde 215 km

14 Road stage Sun 15 July Limoux > Foix 192 km

15 Road stage Mon 16 July Samatan > Pau 160 km

16 Mountains Weds 18 July Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon 197 km

17 Mountains Thurs 19 July Bagnères-de-Luchon > Peyragudes 144 km

18 Road stage Fri 20 July Blagnac > Brive-la-Gaillarde 215 km

19 Time trial Sat 21 July Bonneval > Chartres 52 km

20 Road stage Sun 22 July Rambouillet > Paris Champs-Élysées 130 km

a ride through shenandoah national park

my friend james anderson, of kielder 100 fame, recently flew over to rural virginia in the usa with his family to visit friends.  he took with him his canyon ultimate six road bike which he had the pleasure to ride in the hills of the shenandoah national park.  below is jame's travel log giving a flavour of his cycling experience in virginia's wilderness.

the usa is rather big I have decided. this summer i took a trip over there with my family (and bike!) to stay with friends in rural virginia. travelling with a toddler and a bike box was always going to be difficult, but british airways were excellent. an obvious reflection on the growing popularity of our sport - i was not the only idiot struggling through the terminal with an over sized piece of luggage and a copy of the comic sticking out my back pocket! i am happy to say though that getting the bike out to the states was relatively easy and once you’re there the average sized american car can swallow a bike box with room to spare which was fortunate as my wife and daughter wanted to bring some luggage with them too.

the first thing i noticed on arrival was the heat. it was easily up around 90f most days – sometimes nudging 95f and humid to boot. this is not weather i am accustomed to (i am scottish after all) so i decided to take it easy the first few days and let my body adapt to the heat. luckily where we were staying was fairly flat so i could just roll along and acclimatise, or so i thought. unfortunately rural virginia is home to the unchained hound most of which gave up chasing cars a long time ago. bicycles on the other hand… sprinting away from an angry dog in 90f heat is hard work!

on the whole the roads were excellent, wide, smooth and relatively traffic free. most drivers were courteous, slowed down to pass and gave me plenty of room as they did so. i sensed this was perhaps due to the novelty of encountering a cyclist more than anything else, but it made a pleasant change from the attitudes of some drivers here in the uk. the other bonus was the sheer amount of space. i was regularly doing 40+ mile rides without having to stop once at a junction or traffic lights. it was a revelation and my average speeds were well over 20mph.

the whole reason i had bargained with my wife to take my bike on this trip was to ride the skyline drive in the shenandoah national park.

http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/upload/whole_park.pdf

when we were researching what to do in the area i came across numerous write ups of this road and every single one of them praised it highly. officially coming in at 105 miles it climbs up to the ridge line of the mountains and then tracks along the top, offering spectacular views of the surrounding forested peaks. i had to ride it. the plan was for me to be dropped off at the southernmost ranger station at rockfish gap and then ride north along skyline drive to front royal, the family would follow a little later in the car picking me up at the end.

the climbing starts right at the beginning, gradually ramping up to a steady 4-6%, peaking at 8% at it’s steepest. this meant i could happily sit and spin up the climbs without burying myself in the red all day – well, it was meant to be a holiday! despite following the ridge line the road was constantly dropping down then climbing back up again, never flat. at two points it dropped significantly to a pass between the mountains, thus splitting the road into three sections which were roughly one big long climb followed by one big long descent each and what descents they were! lots of wonderful left/right corner combinations, long looping hairpins all topped off by what i can only describe as one of the best road surfaces I have ever ridden on, smooth black tarmac that you can normally only dream of, it was excellent. in addition traffic on the route is limited to 35mph, this gave me the whole road to myself on descents which was a joy. 

the scenery was phenomenal, every so often the road opened out on a vista across the rest of the shenandoah national park which happened to be perfect spots to catch my breath and take in the views. as i was on a bike as well and not in a noisy car i was encountering a lot of the local wildlife. i came close to lots of deer, almost rode over a snake (not my favourite experience) and sat at one look out point with an inquisitive hummingbird for company. 

despite the gradient not being steep the length of the climbs was something i wasn’t used to. after crossing swift run entrance gap the road cranked up for what seemed like an eternity to the big meadow visitor centre. as i rounded one corner i was met by a family crossing the road on one of the hiking trails. one of them exclaimed as i passed ‘well i never, there’s a man on a bicycle! keep going buddy, only a few more hills to go!’

whilst it wasn’t as hot as in the valley below i was still having to take care to remain properly hydrated and fuelled. i had a strict regime i was following. energy bar every 20 odd miles and drink a bottle per hour. luckily the route is peppered with places to stop and refuel. it worked well, no cramp and no flagging, despite being in the saddle for 7 hours (hey – I was on holiday…) 

i’d thoroughly recommend riding the skyline drive if you ever get the opportunity, it’s fantastic. on the whole I’d say that about riding in the states in general. all the people I encountered were friendly and courteous and with the states being what it is, post ride refuelling was amazing. all you can eat? yes please!

kit recommendations: I rode my canyon ultimate slx with mavic ksyrium elite sl wheels and full ultegra, which is a wonderful bike. i had a compact up front and a 11-23 out back. normally I quite like this gearing, but I felt decidedly under-geared out there, if I go back I’d consider a 53/39 over the compact with perhaps a 11-25 cassette. clothing wise I decided to use an assos summer cap turned around so the peak was covering the back of my neck to protect me from the sun. i am Scottish, I don’t tan, I burn. this also stopped sweat from getting in my eyes. the summer cap has a cool mesh section which was perfect in the heat, good for indian summers in the uk too! the final kit recommendation is a rapha lightweight jersey. full zip so good for cooling on long climbs plus a phenomenal cargo capacity – it has a zipped rear pocket which will swallow just about anything. i actually lost my phone in there…

thanks to james for guest writing this post for velorunner.  he will be back again soon to report on his experiences at the upcoming rapha super cross which he will be racing in and which takes place on sunday 23 october at london's alexandra palace.

vc walcot hill climb tt

(double click table to see larger)

as i mentioned a few days back last sunday i rode what was my first ever hill climb time trial organised by my local cycling club velo club walcot and sponsored by my local bike shop cadence.

tis the tradition for most cycling clubs to bookend the season with a hill climb time trial but unlike most early october hill climbs held in the uk this one took place in unseasonably warm weather with sun beating down and temperatures reaching 26 celcius.  that is hot for us brits who have been used to brief spells of occasional sunshine in what has been a below average summer.

thirteen riders took part in the hill climb which started in claverton village, here in bath, and worked it’s up the avenue roughly 900 metres with a rise of 81 metres.  Each rider set off one at a time with a gap of one minute between each start.  i was fourth to start and with a minute to go i was called to the start line.  The adrenaline pumped around by body in anticipation then with thirty seconds to go and my bike frame being held by a marshal i clipped into my pedals, held the brakes and took in my final few deep breaths.  I released my brakes.  Five, four, three, two, one, go!

what happened over the next three minutes and fifty one seconds was the most physically difficult challenge i have undertaken over such a brief period of time.   I did a reconnaissance of the course a few days previously so knew where the hardest sections of the climb were.  In reality the first fifth of the course had the easiest gradient and thereafter it would be a world of pain as the gradient ramped up and the lactic acid built in my legs.  Knowing what was about to take place i started off fairly easily until the first right hand turn.  My aim was to sit in the saddle as much as possible peddling at a high cadence rather than blowing up by pushing too hard out of the saddle.  I achieved this apart from at that first right hander and then again for a few moments in the final third where I have to get out of the saddle otherwise I would have come to a standstill!

after a minute i felt like i was peddling in treacle or peddling squares as the saying goes.  this feeling did not leave me but gradually gained a hold of me as i slowly progressed up the hill.  All the time my brain was saying stop.  riding a hill climb is not like riding a hill on a sunday ride or at least not my sunday rides.  apart from the easy start this was a give it all you have got effort.  my favourite moment, if i could call it that, was in the final third when somebody ran alongside me for a good 20 metres shouting at me to push harder, this certainly gave me the boost i needed as i crossed the line a very relieved man.

once i had crossed the line it took me the best part of five minutes to recover myself before i was able to speak again.  I surprised myself at how long it took me to compose after what was a relatively short distance but i suppose when one goes all out and applies all the power they have it is bound to hurt.  to top off the punishment i finished with a sore throat brought on by the hot dry air.  once i had recovered i realised i had not started my garmin so unfortunately do not have a record of heart rate, speed etc from the race day which is a bit of a shame.

on a more organised note vc walcot managed the event very well, many thanks to them for making it happen as well as all the marshals and smattering of spectators who took time out from what was a beautifully sunny sunday afternoon.

the winning time for the day went to defending champion and current record holder for the course Robert gough of adeo cadence rt.   i will be back again next year for another go with the goal of beating my modest time from this year of 3 minutes 51 seconds .24.  i will also be aiming to help defend the team prize which i helped to win for vc walcot along with fellow cohorts paul and andy.  well done lads.

regarding eddy merckx

via nick rearden 34x26

jacques anquetil, the man, mystery, legend

i have been on the look out for this documentary about five time tour de france winner jacques anquetil for at least a year.  narrated by phil liggett, who else, the film can be seen below in it's entirety but broken down into six parts.  please raise a glass to master jacques and enjoy.