This article was originally published in issue 77 of Cyclist magazine

Words Hannah Troop Photography Lisa Stonehouse

There are rumours of hauntings in the Brownsover Hall Hotel in Warwickshire. It’s the evening before the third stage of the 2018 Women’s Tour – 151km from Atherstone to Royal Leamington Spa – and when I mention the spooky reputation of the grand Victorian mansion hotel to Beth Duryea, co-owner of women’s racing team Canyon-Sram, she raises an eyebrow.

‘Really?’ she responds, before requesting that I don’t mention it to the riders on the team. The night is needed for sleep and recovery, she says, not for anxiety over unwanted ghostly visitors.

It’s not quite time for bed yet so, while the riders recuperate after Stage 2, Cyclist heads out to the hotel courtyard, which seems to be where all the action is happening.

Mechanics and soigneurs roam around, busying themselves with their post-race routines. They are the unseen worker bees of the team, always the first up and the last to bed.

Mechanics Joe and Falk are washing and checking bikes while soigneurs Alessandra and Lars are prepping and washing bottles in the team camper before heading off to do three hours of massage with the riders.

For them this is the business end of the day, hence the strong espressos being handed out at 5pm. It can be the start of a gruelling evening shift, especially if there has been a long transfer after the stage.

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Sometimes Joe and Falk will still be tending bikes at 10pm, quite often not eating at all or devouring plates of hotel buffet food – if the soigneurs have time to get it for them.

The atmosphere in the courtyard this evening is relaxed, even though the day’s stage didn’t go exactly to plan.

Canyon-Sram failed to make an impact at the sprint into Daventry, with Pauline Ferrand-Prevot their top-placed rider in sixth.

Dealing with the frustrations of the riders is another job the soigneurs perform.

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‘Alessandra is a good soul – she tries to make the riders happy,’ Lars says, looking up from his bottles.

And does it work? ‘Pah, you’re dealing with women,’ he laughs, as Alessandra rolls her eyes.

Luckily this evening there has only been an hour’s transfer from the finish of the stage.

In a world where many women’s races are poorly organised and poorly supported, the British-based Women’s Tour is gaining a reputation as the benchmark for how a women’s race should be run.

Growing pains

Now in its fifth year, but already punching above its weight in terms of how it’s perceived, the Women’s Tour is a five-day stage race that is constantly pushing against cycling’s governing bodies for permission to expand further. As yet to no avail.

Prior to this year’s event there was talk about the lack of ‘big names’ showing up, with the likes of Anna van der Breggen, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Annemiek van Vleuten absent. But does that make it any easier to win?

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Not according to defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma, who joined Canyon-Sram at the start of this season.

‘A few years ago I would have said, “OK, there is no Anna, no Ashleigh”, but that just means every other rider has more potential to win, especially in the UK where you have a lot of opportunities to make a break.

‘It’s not just stages aimed at sprinters or climbers. There are equal chances for everyone.’

Despite her victory last year, Niewiadoma isn’t Canyon-Sram’s team leader here but will instead work for teammates Ferrand-Prevot and Hannah Barnes.

Ferrand-Prevot has been chosen for her breakaway threat, while Barnes has been picked for her sprint, which means hypothetically the team has all bases covered.

Before its current incarnation, Canyon-Sram went through several guises, having been known at various points as HTC-Highroad Women, Specialized Lululemon and most recently Velocio-Sram.

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It was only after the demise of that team that manager and part-owner Ronny Lauke secured backing from Canyon and Rapha to launch his new team in 2016.

The impact was immediate, leading many people in the sport to sit up and take note of how much potential there is for women’s cycling to grow.

Rapha did what it does best – produce a team kit that made all the other teams jealous.

After the kit was revealed, men were tweeting the team demanding to know why there was no men’s version. Surely this was plain sexism?

For this year’s Women’s Tour, Rapha has done it again by designing a whole new kit to publicise its Women’s 100, a celebration event that will encourage more women to get out on their bikes.

Canyon has also got on board and made a new set of bike frames – some of which are women-specific – with paintwork to match. 

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Partners in climb

As well as attracting big hitters such as Canyon, Sram and Rapha, the team has also broken new ground with its recruitment programme thanks to another of its partners: Zwift.

The online training platform has provided a new way for Canyon-Sram to spot talent. ‘We wanted to use modern thinking and try different things,’ says Duryea.

‘The Zwift Academy was based on a similar concept in Formula 1 – they had a gaming system and there was someone who was amazing at it, who was then put on a development programme.

‘I think Ronny had heard about that and thought why couldn’t we do something along the same lines with Zwift?

‘Ronny had a conversation with [Zwift CEO] Eric Min about doing a talent identification programme through Zwift, and Eric loved the idea – he’d actually already had the idea of doing something similar but hadn’t been able to convince a men’s pro team to get on board.’

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In 2016 Zwift hosted a competition between 1,200 talented amateurs and the winner, 37-year-old American Leah Thorvilson, found herself on the Canyon-Sram roster despite having never raced a bike before.

It was a bold move, and one that wasn’t universally well received elsewhere in the peloton.

‘I think Leah herself said that there was some “feedback” from other riders,’ says Duryea diplomatically.

‘But at the same time there was also a huge amount of positive backing and motivation for her.’

Now into its third year, the Zwift talent programme is still going strong, with Canyon-Sram signing German rider Tanja Erath in 2017.

For Duryea, the programme is exciting not just for the opportunity to find new riders, but for the wider impact on women’s cycling.

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‘The number of women who made it to the finals having had no previous ambitions to race was incredible,' she says.

‘To give them a programme to follow for the six weeks, and see how they reacted, was phenomenal and inspiring to see.’ 

By the numbers

In the hotel dining hall the riders are sat together at one table, tucking into the buffet of meats and pasta.

On the opposite side of the room, former multiple world champion Marianne Vos is doing likewise with her team, Woaw Deals.

There’s little interaction between the rival outfits. They mainly keep themselves to themselves – riders, soigneurs and mechanics alike.

After dinner there’s a talk from Ben Samuels of SiS, the team’s nutrition sponsor. He seems happy to have given the riders a platform to discuss their eating strategies.

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‘Just getting them to talk about it and really think about what they’re putting inside their bodies is sometimes the biggest challenge,’ he says.

By 9pm the riders have retired to their rooms to relax. The rest of the team is in the hotel bar, scavenging leftovers of Ceasar salads while watching the highlights from the day’s stage on TV.

Barry Austin, Canyon-Sram’s directeur sportif, is doing his rounds, speaking to the riders about performance and tactics for the following day, making sure everyone is happy with what they’ve got to do.

Eventually he makes it down to the bar at 9.45pm and conducts a quick staff meeting before settling down for a chat with Cyclist.

He expands on his unusual approach to measuring the best efforts of his riders without using technology, teaching them instead how to better communicate with their bodies.

‘I try not to use a power meter to restrict someone,’ he says. ‘I try to use a power meter to show someone what has happened.

‘I say, “Don’t let it rule you, let it inform you.” I would never find interest in knowing everyone’s numbers during the race.

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‘I get personal satisfaction when we look back at a rider’s race and they already know how they’ve done without having to really look at the data.

‘Numbers and science are justification for feelings or inklings that I have,’ he adds.

‘I was motor-pacing an athlete last week and I was looking at her face. I hadn’t even seen her numbers and I said, “You went past your best there,” and she had done.’

In Austin’s mind, the use of technology isn’t in making life easier, it’s in freeing up more brain space so you can focus and have time to dig deeper into other things.

But what those other things are will have to wait till another time. We have an early start in the morning and it’s getting late. Time to retire. 

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Race day

The next morning we’re in the team car rolling out behind the race at the start of Stage 3.

Fans line the streets of Atherstone, and it’s the same in all the Warwickshire villages and towns we pass through – crowds of supporters cheering on the riders.

‘Where are the sandwiches?’ Joe the team mechanic asks from the back seat, where he sits surrounded by bike wheels.

Mild panic ensues at the perceived lack of a lunch. There is relief when the musette is eventually found buried under bags, but it’s short lived when the sandwich offering is revealed.

‘Prawn again!’ comes the groan from the back seat.

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In the early stages of the race there’s little to occupy the support team, so a certain amount of innovation is required to fight off the boredom and fatigue of long days spent in the team car.

‘Lars buys three coffees and places them in different locations around the car,’ Austin says. ‘He just keeps sipping from them all because he says it makes the experience last longer.’

Once the important topics of sandwiches and coffee are exhausted, conversation moves on to the growth of the women’s sport, which Austin believes is at a pivotal moment.

‘If we work it really well we won’t be controlled by just one event,’ he says. ‘Men’s cycling is controlled by one event.

‘The alpha and omega is the Tour de France and whether you get a budget or not is down to whether you race the Tour or not.

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‘That’s it. That’s the business concept, and it just doesn’t make sense. Whereas women’s cycling, proper elite women’s cycling, is only 20 years old, which means there’s more opportunity to shape it.’

It’s clear, though, that the people responsible for developing women’s cycling aren’t all on the same page.

There’s a tug-of-war between those who want the same as the men have, and those who want to create something unique.

‘People say we need to make the races longer, and when you ask why, no one knows,’ says Austin. ‘It’s just because that’s the way it’s done with the men.

‘My hope is that not everyone falls into that trap. As a team, we have quite a lot to do with mountain biking [Ferrand-Prevot is a former mountain biking world champion], and because it’s a young sport they are constantly trying new things.

‘You’re able to ask the athletes what they want, what they want to see, instead of just following what the men do.’

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As we get towards the pointy end of the race, the last few climbs split the bunch into several groups.

We’re quite far back in the convoy and Austin isn’t sure if his radio communications are getting through to the riders.

‘We could be out of radio range we’re so far back. They need to let us past.’ He gestures agitatedly at the commissaire’s car.

‘Eventually, after some tough negotiation, the commissaires allow us to drive past the group of riders towards the back of the race.

Austin is on the radio: ‘Stay together. Find security in each other,’ he tells his riders.

The attacks for the Queen of the Mountain points are causing erratic behaviour in the bunch and the finish line is in view.

But today, like yesterday, isn’t their day. The stage comes down to a bunch sprint, with Sarah Roy of Mitchelton-Scott taking the win.

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The best placed of the Canyon-Sram team, Alice Barnes, can only manage 15th place.

‘It was quite messy and there was a bit of poor communication between us I guess,’ says Barnes back at the camper.

‘We need to get better at it. It’s something that’s happening a bit too much. Hopefully we can speak about it and improve it and get the results I think we deserve.’

It feels as though Canyon-Sram is a team that really does deserve to get the results.

It’s one that Niewiadoma commends as being multinational and not ‘judgey’; one that Ferrand-Prevot credits for helping bring her back from the edge of quitting her cycling career.

It’s a team where sponsors strive to do things differently, which in the minds of the management and riders is key to the future growth and success of women’s cycling.

This weekend, the nation’s top mudpluggers will descend on Cyclopark in Kent, to battle it out at the National Cyclocross Championships. No fewer than 10 titles will be contested at this new venue, making it the first time that a National Cyclocross Championships have been held in the South East since the 1990s.

Those of a certain age may remember seeing Roger Hammond winning the National Junior Cyclocross Championships at Harlow in 1991 and 1992, or Mick Ives (Team Jewson-M.I.Racing-Polypipe) winning the Vets title at Alexandra Palace in 1987, while others may remember international races at Shirley Hills, Croydon, featuring Hammond and a young Nick Craig (Scott Racing) in the 1990s.

So the organisers are very pleased to finally be staging the National Championships in the South East region after years of preparing for this event.

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Roger Hammond at the Shirley Hills Cyclocross. Photo: Veloklubhaus/Stuart Kinnon

The four year road to the Nationals

It started when Cyclopark hosted local league events, regional championships and a successful National Trophy Series race in 2017 when riders and officials were impressed with the course and the features incorporated from around the venue.

'Hosting the National Cyclocross Championships at Cyclopark has been huge in terms of enhancing the reputation of the venue. We are hoping to build a legacy off the back of this event,' said a very satisfied Kyle Borley, General Manager of Cyclopark. 

'The National Trophy series was awarded on the back of great support from the local British Cycling officers in the South East Region, and special mention goes to Luke Anderson who strongly believed that Cyclopark was a unique venue to host a National round for this up and coming cycling discipline.'

Former London Cyclocross Association committee member John Mullineaux, an active member in cyclocross for over 20 years, was also very pleased to finally see the day when these Championships (as well as the National Trophy race at Ardingly, Sussex) would come to the South East.

'This was the result of four years of effort by promoters, committees and individuals pressing buttons, turning handles and generally taking the time to communicate,' said Mullineaux.

'Hopefully both events will help in the development of cyclocross and cycling to a wider public, and allow a stepping stone for all "Weekend Warriors" of all ages to dream of international participation.'

With each race that has been staged at Cyclopark the course has been modified, making it increasingly technical. Initially the local race contained classic features such as steep bankings, tight bends, and off-camber stretches.

Then progressively additional obstacles such as a sandpit and hurdles were added, leading to what is now, the most technical course yet for this weekend’s race.

Getting technical

Top riders will be treated to the features that they negotiated last season at the National Trophy round. However, they will also need to come ready to tackle the flyover, a BMX pump track and berms, all in rapid succession, as well as a technical run-in to the finish line.

Huw Williams, a member of the course design team, wanted to make the best use of the limited space available at Cyclopark while including features that would test riders physically, technically and psychologically. Ideally, this would be a course that would not look out-of-place at a race in Belgium or the Netherlands.

'At cyclopark we haven’t got any of that wide open space, as it’s a very long narrow venue. What we do have is a series of very technical off-camber banks, short bank run-ups, and very tight turns, all packed into a really narrow strip,' Williams explained.

'I call it a Fisher-Price activity centre, a bit like when you were a kid and you had all those fun elements packed into a really small space.

'There’s a really high mental aspect to it because all of these things are coming at you so quick and you’re trying to think about where you are in the race, and what you need to do to be competitive.

'As a National Championships status race we’d suggest it should be a really hard challenge, and anyone who wants to win a jersey should really deserve it!'

This edition of the championships has proven to be popular with riders, since around 750 competitors have signed up - 100 more than last year. Clearly a number of people fancy their chances at gaining glory on the terrain at Gravesend.

What type of rider would do well at this race?

According to Williams, the winner would be someone who can hold their nerve, particularly in that final technical run-in to the finish.

'Because it’s a long, narrow venue there’s a lot of places where you are riding one way, riders you are racing against are going the other way. So you can look into the eyes of the person who is about 10 or 15 seconds behind you. It’s all about keeping tactically aware and being psychologically very cool,' he advised.

'You can see the finishing straight 350m up the road, but you’re coming through this really large bank run-up with an off-camber at the top before you make this descent onto the finishing straight. It’s going to be all about who’s prepared to take the risk over where they get on the bike and where they get off it, and who can handle the pressure best.'

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Nick Craig at the Shirley Hills Cyclocross. Photo: Veloklubhaus/Stuart Kinnon

Feast your eyes on this

A course with so much action will provide ample fodder for the spectators who will have a lot to feast their eyes on, with the main spectator area being centrally located where they can see the bank run-up, the sandpit, the hurdles, and the off-camber capers as well as any action in the pits.

National Championship races generally attract large crowds and this would be no exception, with around 3,000 people expected to cheer, jeer, and ring cowbells over the two days of high quality racing.

With Eurosport filming the race for a highlights show, and media promotion by British Cycling, there has been a real buzz about the weekend.

According to Borley, 'We are having more and more people getting in touch via our social media pages or ringing up to ask about tickets for the weekend. This weekend’s events are free to spectate, and a large live screen will also be in situ around the venue.'

As well as top riders who race in Europe such as Helen Wyman, Nikki Brammeier, Ben Tulett and Tom Pidcock, people will also see close contests involving domestic racers like Ian Field, Nick Craig, Paul Oldham, Cameron Mason, Bethany Crumpton, Anna Kay and Ffion James.

One notable absence will be under-23 National Champion Evie Richards, who is currently out of action due to knee surgery.

Feedback from riders who contested the National Trophy has been positive and it seems they are relishing the chance to race at Cyclopark, although the beady eyed among you may have noticed that recent dry weather now means there won’t be any mud-plugging, just fast and furious racing, which will still make for an exciting spectacle.

Pre-race talk

What the racers say about racing the National Cyclocross Championships this weekend

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Photo: VeloUK

Ben Tulett (IKO-Beobank), Cyclopark Ambassador – Junior Men

'It’s been such a dry year that the course is incredibly firm and there’s not a lot of ruts forming so I think it will be a very fast race. It won’t be one for your mud tyres on Sunday!

'I’m looking forward to racing, it’ll be good fun. Of course I want to win. It’s an important race in the year and I feel like I’m in really good shape now coming back well after injury. I only live 15 miles away from the venue, so it’s really nice to have a local race.

'Normally we have to go abroad to race every weekend, so it’s nice to have a race that feels like it’s close to home. In my lifetime I don’t think the Nationals have ever been held in the South East.

'I think for a spectator, the best place to watch will be on the short steep climb up to the BMX track and that’s a really brutal climb. I think the encouragement up there will be very nice.'

Ian Field (Neon-Velo Cycling Team) – Elite Men

'I can’t believe how dry it is. You wouldn’t need a jet wash. I did three or four laps and you can almost not tell I rode cyclocross.

'The course has all the cambers and all the features it had previously, but we were just racing across the cambers like they weren’t there. On some of the cambers you’re almost riding them like in a velodrome; you are flying round.

'But the speed definitely adds a technical element to it because you are going that much faster, and so what looks like a fairly innocuous turn could be quite tricky just because of the speed you are carrying, going through the sections.

'There’s quite a hard section through the finish area. I think that could be the deciding section of the course.

'I am looking forward to racing there. It’s gonna be completely different to Nationals we’ve had, so we should expect some fast group racing, but at the same time it’s so twisty and turny that it’s quite difficult to hold the wheel round there as such.

'So although it’s superfast I’m not expecting huge groups going round.'

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Photo: VeloUK

Ffion James (Storey Racing) – Elite Women (Under-23)

'I raced there [at Cyclopark] last year in one of the rounds of the National Trophy Series and actually managed to get my first ever Elite Women’s Trophy win!

'So as you can probably guess I love the course and have good memories from there. Last year it was dry and fast, but technical at the same time. The more technical a course the better for me.

'I hear the course has changed since last year, but as long as it keeps the general theme of being twisty and technical with plenty of steep banks and off-cambers then I’m happy. I think it will make for some exciting racing.

'Looking at the weather it’s likely to be dry for the race, so being able to ride the off-cambers and corners at high speed is probably going to be key.

'It could also result in quite close and tactical racing, so knowing when to put the power down and make your move could be important.

'I love racing in front of big crowds, and on a tight circuit with a lot of spectators expected, the atmosphere should hopefully be awesome.'

Annie Simpson (Hope Factory Racing) – Elite Women

'I’m looking forward to racing the Nationals at the Cyclopark. I’ve never ridden at the venue before but I’ve done my research and it looks a real contrast to the muddy, slow and sloggy conditions of last year’s Championships at Hetton-le-Hole.

'I think it’s important to change up the types of venues for National Championships, as certain courses are suited better to different riders, so the variation can certainly make it more interesting.

'The strength and depth of the women’s racing is improving each year, so hopefully this year there will be some new names knocking on the doors of the usual suspects.

'I’m just hoping for a clean race, no mistakes and getting my best effort on the day out.'

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Photo: Simon Pattinson

Helen Pattinson (Hargroves-Montezuma’s) – Veteran Women (Vet 45-49)

'I am really looking forward to the Nationals at Cyclopark this weekend. Racing always makes me ridiculously nervous but this will be my fifth Nationals and I feel like I’m finally getting to grips with coping with the build-up.

'Being part of the Hargroves Montezuma’s race team, made up mostly of juniors, I do feel like I have to put a brave face on it to show them that being overwhelmed by nerves is not the best way to start a race! Having said that, I have raced at Cyclopark twice now and this always helps.

'I have worked a lot on my technical skills and racing in the wet and mud over the last year, so I’m a bit disappointed that it’s looking like a very dry course.

'I like the course. It’s set on a hill and this suits me; I am learning to love off-cambers too.

'I am feeling fitter after a poor summer and early season, with some family illness and a lot going on in the business.

'The Trophy series win has also given me a lot more confidence so maybe this year is my year, but I would never rule out Maddi Smith, Alison Kinloch and Lucy Siddle. They’re all on good form and could easily pull it out of the bag – and with cyclocross, almost anything could happen on the day!'

Dougie Fox (Crawley Wheelers) – Veteran 60+ Men (Vet 60-64)

'Having the National Championships close by is a great opportunity for the South East, so I was definitely going to ride.

'Having ridden the course at a wet Regional Championships I was expecting the worst. However, now with a dry course in January it will require a different choice of equipment.

'The course has some great technical bits and should flow nicely but with the lack of rain it may well suit the more road orientated riders.

'The start/finish straight is long and kicks up at the top so maybe there will be some drafting tactics deployed there. I hope my cold has disappeared by the weekend!'

The Tour Down Under gets the WorldTour circus up and running next Tuesday with a rolling 132.4km Stage 1 around the Australian city of Adelaide.

It will be the first opportunity of 2019 to see some of the world's biggest and brightest stars pinning on a number and starting yet another season in the professional peloton.

Among those will be Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) who begins a season focused around Milan-San Remo success and Richie Porte who will be looking for a change of fortunes at new team Trek-Segafredo. 

The Tour Down Under will also represent the first chance to see all of the new gear being used in the WorldTour in the same place.

It will be the first chance to see the new Cervelo S5 in action, thanks to Team Sunweb, while the eagle-eyed among you will notice that some unreleased kit will also be in use, most notably Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed EPS.

Luckily, Cyclist had photographer Chris Auld on the ground in Adelaide to snap this tech for your viewing pleasure.

A selection of 2019 WordTour bikes at the Tour Down Under

Team Sky: Pinarello Dogma F10

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A modern-day classic of the pro peloton, the Pinarello Dogma has been a loyal sidekick of Team Sky for the best part of a decade and will stay with the team as they ride off into the sunset at the end of the year.*

Little has changed for the team in regards to the set up of the bike with Shimano providing its Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and Dura-Ace wheels while Pinarello's own subsidiary brand Most provides finishing components such as the aero cockpit.

The bike has a new lick of paint to reflect the navy in the jersey while it is interesting to see that the team is still fighting against the ubiquitous use of disc brakes unlike many of its opponents.

*If they are not purchased by a Canadian-Israeli billionaire or Comcast.

CCC Team: Giant Defy 

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New kids on the block CCC Team have brought some colour into the peloton with orange jerseys but not with the all-black Giant bikes, as the Taiwanese brand moves away from its former partnership with Team Sunweb. 

That's not a problem, mind. The Giant Defy looks to be one of the cleanest bikes in the peloton with its own brand wheels - complete with a slightly comical hashtag decal - and a set of clean Vittoria tan wall tyres to match. 

CCC, like Team Sky will also opt for Shimano groupsets in 2019, along with Giant's own finishing kit and GPS computer.

Beyond the Defy, riders will also have use of Giant's aero Propel bike which we are likely to see on Stage 1 considering the race's sprint finish.

Team Sunweb: Cervelo S5

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Image 51 of 239

Tom Dumoulin, Michael Matthews and the Team Sunweb gang will now be riding Cervelo instead of Giant for 2019 including the brand new Cervelo S5. 

With a gaudy paint job and a funky split stem, the team will be hoping the bike's technical prowess, as opposed to its stunning looks, will be getting it across the line first. 

The V-shaped stem promises to allow a cleaner flow of air through the bike although can be converted to a traditional set up if preferred by the rider.

Like CCC and Team Sky, Team Sunweb have also dressed their bikes with Shimano Dura-Ace but with disc brakes, as the Cervelo S5 only allows for this. The team will also use Shimano wheels and Continental Competition tubular tyres.

Lotto Soudal: Ridley Noah Fast

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Image 81 of 239

Belgian team Lotto Soudal proved busy in the transfer market this year bringing in sprinter Caleb Ewan and lead-out men Adam Blythe and Roger Kluge. Apt considering bike provider Ridley released its updated Noah Fast aero bike late last year.

The frame is claimed to be 10% faster in the wind tunnel than its previous iteration and should propel the team to further wins in the next 12 months.

It's also worth noting that Lotto Soudal, alongside Movistar, will also be riding the unreleased Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed EPS, the electronic version of the new groupset launched this time last year.

What this likely means is that we can expect the EPS 12-speed to be on shelves in the not too distant future.

To match the Campagnolo groupset are Bora Ultra wheels and Deda components. 

Groupama-FDJ: Lapierre Aircode

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Quietly bubbling along as one of the best looking bikes in the pro peloton, the Lapierre Aircode will be the aerodynamic weapon of choice for French team Groupama-FDJ. 

Not just because of its appealing red, white and blue colour scheme but its effortlessly clean design for an aero bike that matches traditional geometries and more advanced tube shapes.

Like the majority of WorldTour teams, Groupama-FDJ have opted for Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets and Dura-Ace wheels although interestingly with rim brakes, bucking the trend for discs.

Shimano also provides its Pro components for the stem and handlebars.

Bora-Hansgrohe: Specialized S-Works Venge 

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Image 144 of 239

The bike of Peter the Great, the S-Works Venge propelled both Bora-Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors to a mountain of wins last season and should do yet again. 

Shedding weight from the previous edition of this bike, don't be surprised to see the Venge used at the Cobbled Classics as riders like Sagan try to take advantage of its aero capabilities in the race's final kilometres. 

Specialized has also provided its Roval wheels, saddles and aero handlebar/stem combination to the Bora team while Shimano, yet again, gets its Dura-Ace Di2 disc groupset on show. 

Also, notice that Sagan has opted for a sprint shifter inside the bars to make it easier to change gear when riding full gas towards the line. 

Bahrain-Merida: Merida Reacto

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The Bahraini team take to the Tour Down Under with the Merida Reacto, the aero bike that guided Vincenzo Nibali to a memorable victory at Milan-San Remo in 2018. 

New signings Phil Bauhaus and Rohan Dennis will be hoping that the Reacto's low weight will be enough to guide them across the rolling sprint days early in the week before likely switching to the climbing Scultura for the stage on Willunga Hill. 

Again, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 disc is in use with the addition of an SRM power meter to the crankset. Wheels are provided by Fulcrum while the cockpit is Vision's one-piece Metron combination. 

Movistar: Canyon Ultimate CF SLX

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Image 227 of 239

One of the few teams to stick by Campagnolo in the WorldTour, Movistar will also be using the unreleased Super Record 12-speed EPS at the Tour Down Under, the first time the groupset has been used in cycling's top flight.

Like Lotto Soudal, Movistar will also be partnering this groupset with a set of Bora Ultra wheels to bring an Italian vibe to this thoroughly German bike. 

The frame is the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX, the climbing bike in the brand's range, which has recently been given some aero optimisation to improve efficiency on the flat roads.

Canyon also provides the seatpost and its one-piece aerocockpit to finish the bike in a sleek manner. 

Paris-Roubaix 2019: Key information

Date: Sunday 14th April
Start: Compiègne, north of Paris
Finish: Vélodrome André-Pétrieux, Roubaix
Distance: 257km
Cobbles: 29 secteurs of pave covering 52.8km
UK live TV coverage: The 2018 Paris-Rooubaix was shown live from start to finish on Eurosport, so here's hoping for the same in 2019
Race report 2018:Peter Sagan wins an enthralling Paris-Roubaix   
Gallery: Paris-Roubaix 2018 in photos  

All information is subject to change as more details are released by the race organiser

Paris-Roubaix was inaugurated in 1896, making it one of the oldest bike races in the world. Born of a familiar story involving entrepreneurial types, newspapers, and money-making schemes, in time the race has come to adopt monikers like the 'Queen of the Classics' and 'Hell of the North', and remains one of the most prestigious victories to take in pro bike racing.

Its place on the calendar marks the end of the Cobbled Classics season, coming as a climactic end after races such as the Tour of Flanders, E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem.

Paris-Roubaix 2018: Sagan wins

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) won the 2018 Paris-Roubaix by outsprinting Silvain Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale), who had managed to cling on from the day's original break. Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors) rolled in alone to complete the podium.

Sagan made the winning move from an astonishing 53km out, dropping a group containing most of the day's favourites. He caught the remnants of the day's break and from that group only Dillier could hang on.

Read the full race report here: Peter Sagan wins an enthralling Paris-Roubaix   

Paris-Roubaix 2019 preview

The 2019 Paris-Roubaix route will go largely unchanged from 2017 and 2018. The course will have 29 secteurs of cobblestones covering 52km, including the new section of Saint-Hilaire, over the course of the 257km race.

The race will also see a return of the Saint-Python secteur for the first time since 2016, although the riders will be hitting the cobbles from the opposite direction as raced previously.

As usual, attention will centre around the three toughest sections of pave - Tranchée d’Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l’Arbre - which often prove pivotal to the outcome of the race. 

Although the Arenberg Trench is tackled at almost 100km from the finishing line, it often causes many problems for the peloton splintering the bunch into smaller groups.

Carrefour de l'Arbre is the last major test for any rider in with a chance for victory. This 2.1km section has been used as a springboard for many attacks in the past thanks to its tough cobbles and close proximity to the finish.

Paris-Roubaix route 2019

Map of the 2018 Paris-Roubaix, which is expected to be unchanged for 2019

Paris-Roubaix 2019: The cobbled secteurs

Paris-Roubaix 2018: Top 10

1. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) BMC Racing, in 5:41:07
2. Zdenek Stybar (CZE) Quick-Step Floors, at same time
3. Sebastian Lageveld (NED) Cannondale-Drapac, st
4. Jasper Stuyven (BEL) Trek-Segafredo, st
5. Gianni Moscon (ITA) Team Sky, st
6. Arnaud Demare (FRA) FDJ, at 0:12
7. Andre Greipel (GER) Lotto-Soudal, st
8. Edward Theuns (BEL) Trek-Segafredo, st
9. Adrien Petit (FRA) Direct-Energie, st
10. John Degenkolb (GER) Trek-Segafredo, st

Paris-Roubaix: Previous recent winners 

2018: Peter Sagan (SVK) Bora-Hansgrohe
2017: Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) BMC Racing
2016: Matt Hayman, (AUS) Mitchelton-Scott
2015: John Degenkolb (GER), Giant-Alpecin
2014: Niki Terpstra (NED), Etixx-QuickStep
2013: Fabian Cancellara (SUI), RadioShack
2012: Tom Boonen (BEL), Omega Pharma-QuickStep
2011: Johann Vansummeren (BEL), Garmin-Cervelo
2010: Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
2009: Tom Boonen (BEL), Quckstep
2008: Tom Boonen (BEL), Quickstep

Click through to the pages below for more on about Paris-Roubaix:
The history of Paris-Roubaix     
Famous editions of Paris-Roubaix  
Riding the Paris-Roubaix Challenge sportive  
Paris-Roubaix 2018  
Paris-Roubiax 2017     

Paris-Roubaix: History

Paris-Roubaix was born in 1896, making it one of the very oldest bike races around. A tenuous claim puts Liege-Bastogne-Liege as being older, and therefore the oldest race that's still alive today, but the only other recognisable events to precede the birth of Roubaix are the long-deceased relics of former classics such as Paris-Rouen and Paris-Brest-Paris.

Rewind to 1895, and to two entrepreneurial types from Roubaix who had just built a velodrome in the small northern town, which had already hosted a meet with the dominant track star of the time, American Major Taylor.

But the duo wanted more publicity for their venture, and so approached Parisian sports newspaper Le Velo to enquire about the possibility of their involvement in a race to start in Paris and end in the new velodrome in Roubaix. It was pitched as a warm-up race to the mighty Bordeux-Paris classic.

The newspaper director, Paul Rousseau, duly gave his approval. But the first edition proved difficult to get off the ground, amid concerns of it being held on Easter Sunday: How would the riders attend mass? Would spectators not rather go to church than the velodrome?

The date was presumably moved in accordance, and it was the German Josef Fischer who came out victorious, putting Maurice Garin - who would go on to win the first ever Tour de France - into third.

Every edition until that of 1919 would finish at this original velodrome, at which point began years of the race finishing at various locations around Roubaix, until it found its current home at the Roubaix Velodrome in 1943.

Of course, road conditions in 1896 were hardly of an immaculate standard, and rather than today's need for organisers to go in search of cobbled sectors, in days of old there was no choice in the matter - roads that weren't horrendously paved, cobbled, cindered or just plain dirt, were the exception. 

Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking that it was these horrendous surfaces, as well as other hazards and a generally harsh crack of the organiser's whip, that earned the race the title the 'Hell of the North'.

But in sobering fact, it was the devastating effects of the world at war that gave Paris-Roubaix this timeless moniker - coined by journalists as they inspected the route prior to the race's revival after World War One.

But as Nord pas de Calais recovered from the battles fought out on its open wastes; as the French economy recovered and roads gradually began to improve, the race director's found that they had to actively search out cobbled sectors to maintain the spirit of the race.

A period of dominance from Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser and 'Mr. Paris-Roubaix' Roger De Vlaeminck in the 60s and 70s preceded the formation of Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix though.

In an effort to restore the spirit of the Queen of the Classics came this thousands-strong group, which was founded in 1983.

Their aim of discovering and restoring cobbled roads to be used in the race has been appreciated ever since, as well as their maintenance of current ones - the merciless Forest of Arenberg, Carrefour de l'Arbre and Mons-en-Pevele sectors included. 

Famous editions of Paris-Roubaix

1927 - A controversial victory

21-year-old Belgian George Ronsse had attacked early and built up a solo lead, but was caught by a 16-man chase group on the run in to Roubaix. Present in the group were French duo Charles Pellisier (younger brother of the more famous Henri), and Joseph Curtel, with the former a known sprinter and - once the junction was made - the expected winner. 

But it was Curtel and the former soloist Ronsse who battled to the line, with Curtel (left in the picture) supposedly winning the sprint. He was carried off by French supporters while the band began playing the French national anthem, until the formal results were read out, declaring Ronsse the winner.

Rider protests were denied, accusations of shady dealings were made against Ronsse's Automoto team, but the result still stands. 

1943 - The race enters the velodrome

A landmark year for Paris-Roubaix, as 1943 was the first year that the famous Roubaix Velodrome was used as the finish line. Although the initial editions of the race were held with the finish at a velodrome, it was located on a different site, and while some alternate locations around Roubaix have been used sporadically since, it is the one first used in 1943 that has retained the finish to this day - along with the fabled post-race shower block in the adjacent changing rooms. 

1988 - The early breakaway survives

While an early breakaway always goes in Paris-Roubaix, it is not common for it to hang on until the end, such is the fatiguing nature of the course. But in 1988, a breakaway went after 27km, and the finish was contested between two of its original protagonists after attacking their companions in the  finale and holding off the remnants of the peloton behind. 

Dirk Demol of Belgium and Thomas Wegmuller of Switzerland were those two riders, but in a cruel twist of fate for Wegmuller, a plastic bag became entangled with his rear derailleur with just a handful of kilometres left.

Efforts to remove it were unsuccessful, and a bike change at that stage of the race would have been suicidal, so Wegmuller was left to contest the finish in a gear unbefitting of an all-out sprint. Unsurprisingly, it was Demol who came out as the victor. 

1996, 1998 & 2001 - Mapei and Domo 1,2,3

In 1996 the Mapei-GB team provided a rarely-achieved feat by completing the podium. Johan Museeuw, Gianluca Bortalami and Andrea Tafi crossed the line arm in arm, finishing 2 minutes and 38 seconds ahead of 4th place.

In 1998 they did it again, with Franco Ballerini, Andrea Tafi and Wilfried Peeters all finishing by themselves, but nonetheless ahead of everyone else.

For a third time in six years, Domo - Farm Frites unbelievably were able to do the same, with the winner Servais Knaven and Johan Museeuw - after having almost lost his leg to gangrene after a crash in '98 - in second, and Latvian Romans Vainsteins in third. 

2006 - Train stops play

While 2006 was also the year that Fabian Cancellara took his first of three victories to date, and when pre-race favourite and long-time Roubaix aspirant George Hincapie was befallen by a snapped steerer and subsequent broken collarbone, it as also a year of disqualifications.

While Cancellara had already attacked and left his companions with 20km to go on the Camphin-en-Pevele sector, those in pursuit (Vladimir Gusev, Leif Hoste and Peter Van Petegem) crossed a level crossing while the barriers were down.

Although the three would place 2nd, 3rd and 4th on the day, they were disqualified for their earlier infringements. 

2012 - Boonen makes it four

If Roger De Vlaeminck is 'Mr Paris Roubaix' with his four victories, then Tom Boonen surely became a modern day equivalent when he matched his Belgian predecessor in the win tally.

In a year where his long-time rival Fabian Cancellara was ruled out after crashing in the Tour of Flanders, Boonen escaped with his teammate Niki Terpstra, before dropping the Dutchman and soloing to victory, over a minute and a half in front of second place Sebastian Turgot. 

The 2016 edition should hopefully see Boonen on the start line again, as well as Fabian Cancellara, who with three Roubaix victories already, will be hoping to reach the head of the Roubaix table along with Boonen and De Vlaeminck. 

Paris-Roubaix Challenge Sportive

A pain more engulfing than the one endured on the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix will not be experienced while riding a bicycle. This is a fact that I am now certain of.

I’m negotiating one, for it could be any, of the 28 cobbled sectors that make up the 170km route of the Paris-Roubaix Challenge, and the unrelenting punishment has turned my face into a grimace – a teeth-baring contortion akin to an old English gurning competition – and my hands are clamping the bars tighter than a pair of mole grips.

For one embarrassing moment I hear a small groan escape the gaps between my grinding teeth, and I feel a dollop of something – it could be sweat, it could be saliva or snot – land firmly on my dust-encrusted thigh.

None of this matters, though. Any ideals of maintaining style were abandoned some time ago, along with the ability to stick to a chosen line or resist the temptation to ride in the gutter.

The only thing I can think about is the banner I can see through the dusty haze, hung across the road to mark the end of this clattering torment and the start of the tarmac-smooth salvation that lies ahead. 

The history of Paris-Roubaix needs no retelling. The name alone conjures images of dust-caked faces and bone-shattering crashes from down the years. The race is almost as old as cycling itself, and it is always one of the most exciting spectacles of the pro calendar, but it is hard for the armchair viewer to understand exactly what the riders are going through when they blast onto the cobbles.

This is why I’m here – for enlightenment, to experience the reality of trying to pedal across roads that are entirely unsuited to bicycles, and to comprehend the pain, fear and exhaustion that riding on cobbles inflicts. I’m learning quickly. 

Dawn of the dead

The day begins at 5.45am, at a hotel breakfast buffet being rapidly harvested of carbohydrates by a marauding bunch of MAMILs.

The gates of the Challenge officially open at 7am, so after filling my stomach to just the right side of uncomfortable, I give my bike a once-over and make the early morning dash from my hotel in St Quentin to the start in Busigny.

The 170km route all but follows the pro race’s parcours inch for inch (albeit without the preceding 100km), but there are 140km and 70km options too, both of which start from the Roubaix velodrome. 

A misty and cold scene greets us upon arrival. Gaggles of riders sit perched on their car boots and point us in the direction of the sign-on.

The foggy shroud allows no more than a dozen metres of visibility, but gradually some sort of communal village building comes into view under an inflatable gantry.

It spills out groups of riders, tottering around in cleats and clasping steaming polystyrene cups of watery coffee, before joining the masses in their uncomfortable wait for one of the precious few Port-a-loos to become vacant.

I receive my entry pack along with a handful of sweets, then proceed to attach the number to my bars and ‘sector guide’ to my Pinarello’s top tube – while trying not to pay too much attention to the length, frequency and severity of the cobbled sectors it cruelly details. 

I’m feeling anxious, although I can’t pinpoint exactly why. A glance around the bustling street confirms I’m not alone, as I catch the eyes of a few riders, momentarily detached from their bantering circle of Lycra-clad friends and alone with their thoughts. Their faces reveal underlying doubts about our impending ride.

It’s not the 170km length: I’m sure I can handle that. It’s not the bike either: the same Pinarello DogmaK will be ridden by Team Sky in the pro race tomorrow. It’s not even the legs: they’ve served me well so far.

No, it must be those sinister cobbles – the reason we’re all here – that are fuelling our communal sense of apprehension, and I get the feeling it’s a suspicion that’s going to be painfully justified. 

I scramble to join a mass of riders about to leave, preferring the shelter of wheels to ease myself through the first few undulating kilometres.

It’s a little before 8am, with the temperature still low, and my gilet is proving of little hindrance to the cold morning haze as we coast out of Busigny into the unknown. 

Stoned to death

Despite this not being a race, there is a definite change of pace as we near the first cobbled section, and the drop-off in conversation only confirms that things are about to get serious. 

To avoid potential collisions I make my way to the front of the group as a banner looms overhead, signifying the start of ‘Sector 28 – Troisvilles à Inchy’, and no sooner have we passed under it than the first thundering
waves of stone break under our front wheels. 

The craggy shards have more in common with a rock garden than a road, with an intertwining maze of crevices vanishing into muddy, tyre-swallowing depths that are all but unavoidable.

I try to steer my line towards the smoother central crown of the road, a meager channel of reprieve wide enough for just one rider, before it falls away on either side into two parallel seas of jumbled stonework.

Once over the initial shock, I find some space, some rhythm, and start to negotiate my way forwards, trying desperately to keep the all-important momentum going. 

Maintaining speed over the cobbles is essential; without it every separate stone becomes a tyre-impeding obstacle. So I adopt a gung-ho approach, stomping on the pedals, following the direction my bike dictates, and hoping for the best.

Successfully negotiating a chosen line through this carnage borders on miraculous, and changing gear is nigh-on impossible. But by the end of the 2.2km induction I’m amid a small bunch of cyclocross riders (why am I not surprised to see this lot revelling in the ordeal?), and if it weren’t for my severe oxygen debt I’d be inclined to breathe a long sigh of relief. 

The ensuing succession of sectors passes by in a similar fashion. They are all harsh and exhausting, but the excitement, novelty and hardships of each installment leave me craving the next as soon as I have recovered from the last.

Most riders seem to have found themselves in groups of ten to 15; either cooperatively going through-and-off, or letting a couple of rampaging pedal-bashers lead from the front.

My own company has the sportive demographic well represented, with road bikes, cyclocross bikes, mountain bikes, carbon, steel and aluminium all contributing to an eclectic mix of styles rolling through to poke their noses into the wind.

We even pass one heroic individual aboard a wooden velocipede, swinging his legs nonchalantly while clattering over the cobbles, with nether-regional consequences I dread to even think about. 

The first food station appears in a petite village square, and all but a determined few stop to gorge on the various forms of sugar-laden fodder and fill up their bidons from industrial irrigation containers.

There’s even a mechanic sheltering under a gazebo, puffing on a cigar and dressed in blue overalls naturally, but also on hand to deal with any non-terminal bike injuries the conditions may have inflicted.

As for fixing morale, I bump into Cyclist’s photographer Geoff taking a few snaps: ‘Those cobbles look brutal,’ he chuckles through the car window. ‘Because they bloody are!’ I bleat, while rolling off into the mist.

After the stop I notice that the number of groups has dwindled, and more and more riders are resigned to riding alone at their own manageable pace as fatigue kicks in. We’re no more than a third of the way through the distance, and yet the ride has already become a game of survival.

Trench town rock

Paris-Roubaix wasn’t always like this. When the race started it was indeed a fearsome endeavour, as the road quality was shambolic, whether on cobbles or not.

But after the First World War, from which the race picked up its ‘Hell of the North’ nickname owing to the apocalyptic scenes the battles left in their wake, the roads were repaved to a substantial quality.

As a result, Paris-Roubaix lost its attraction, and the routes we pass over today are those which organisers were forced to go in search of, in a bid to reinvigorate the perilous heart of the race.

More sectors pass. I’m aware they have names, but by now they are starting to blend into one, possibly because the rattling of my brain within my skull has rendered me incapable of distinguishing between them.

The misty shroud has lost none of its opacity either, and as I trundle on alone, through grassy fields and past dilapidated red-brick farm buildings, a positively Dickensian air descends upon the landscape.

A ghostly apparition ahead morphs into the hunched figure of a fellow rider who looks up briefly from his own suffering to bear witness to mine. Having exchanged weary glances, we drift silently apart until he is lost again in the mist and I continue on alone down the grey roads, past the brown fields.

Soon enough I find myself surrounded by derelict mining machinery, and my brain is still alert enough to inform me that we must be in the Arenberg Forest.

As I ride through the wastelands of abandoned rust-green metal and occasional piles of slag, I begin to call up memories of old Roubaix stories.

For it was in these mines, under the Arenberg trench itself if the legend is to be believed, that Jean Stablinski laboured before turning professional as a cyclist, and who eventually went on to become a key initiator of the Trouee d’Arenberg’s maiden inclusion to the race in 1968.

‘Paris-Roubaix is not won in Arenberg,’ he once said, ‘but from there the winning group is selected.’ Gulp. 

The Arenberg trench, or simply ‘The Trench’, is 2,400m of bike riding that no one can prepare themselves for. Its brutality is unparalleled in any of the 28 sectors of Paris-Roubaix. If there was a competition for the least bike-friendly surface imaginable, then this would be on the shortlist. 

The bunch in which I enter The Trench immediately thins to one solitary line of riders, jostling for position on the central crown once again.

My handlebars ricochet back into my palms relentlessly, like some sort of crazed pneumatic drill, while my glasses slip closer to the end of my nose, obscuring my vision slightly, but there’s little I can do about it as it’s impossible to remove a hand from the bars. 

The pain is exhaustive, absolute, and one I’m not used to dealing with. We all know what oxygen debt feels like, what lactic acid feels like, what bonking feels like, and can for the most part deal with them accordingly.

But the searing, breathtaking pain currently being doled out to my arms and hands by the incessant blows is quite simply unbearable. I’m not in control – I am a passenger at the mercy of my bike, and of the road – if you can call it that. 

We soldier on, and after five minutes eventually reach the end of our affliction, grovelling over the final few yards before emerging out of the forested nightmare into a vivid picture of the devastation it’s caused.

Some riders collapse over their bars as soon as they reach tarmac, before being nursed out of the way by a team of marshals. Others muster the energy to find a small patch of seclusion in which to dismount and lie star-fished next to their steeds.

Upturned, broken bikes stand in the middle of groups of concerned, head-shaking riders, and the surrounding bins spill out as many inner tubes as they do energy gels.

It’s like the aftermath of a battle – something that this area has more experience of than most, dotted as it is by the graves of soldiers who fought over these muddy fields during the First World War. 

The good news is that the sun has burnt through the remaining wisps of fog, and with the Arenberg Trench behind me I tell myself that things can only get better from now on.

Maybe it’s just a trick of the mind, but improve they do, and with the sun high in the sky, the cobbles pass under my wheels with a relative sense of serenity, and my legs rejoice in a second wind of enthusiasm.

I feel that Roubaix’s back has been broken. Or then again, maybe I’m just delirious from the continual pummelling my body is undergoing.

The brief lull in suffering allows for some sightseeing though, and I notice the famous abattoir the route passes through at the start of the Orchies sector like some twisted omen, as well as the graffitied bridge over the ‘Pont Gibus’ cobbles – newly reinstalled as of 2013 thanks to the restorative labour of Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix, the group of fans who keep the roads of Roubaix in their hellish state.

Yet the respite is short lived and my exuberance is deflated – along with my back tyre, forcing me to reluctantly pull over and change the pinch-punctured tube.

It’s now that it becomes apparent just how pitiful my dexterity has become as a result of the day’s exertions, as I painfully fumble around with tyre levers and valves, my throbbing, swollen fingers barely able to unfurl from their petrified, bar-gripping state.

It’s then like salt in the wounds as I clamber back on to my bike, only to realise I’m about to encounter the day’s second, and final, five-starred sector: Le Carrefour de l’Arbre. 

Out of the frying pan…

This section is one of the timed primes, but no sooner do I apply the power than my head hangs back between my shoulders and I, along with the masses, head for the gutter in tired desperation.

The dirt is the dry, billowing dust synonymous with Roubaix editions of recent years. It cakes my bike and body, tickling the back of my throat as I gasp for air, and turns into viscous channels of muddy slime as the sweat runs off my face.

The pain has reached a climax and, despite what I’ve been told about staying loose while riding cobbles, I find myself gripping harder and harder, my knuckles turning white in a bid to somehow squeeze out the pain.

It’s a futile struggle, and I’m spat out the end of the Carrefour de l’Arbre barely able to release the strangle I have on my garroted handlebars; my hands either scared or rattled stiff. 

The remaining three sectors are a tiresome drag. They’re not hard enough to warrant excitement, but not easy enough to be insignificant; they are a necessary evil, and for that very reason seem almost representative of the day’s struggles.

The final, ceremonious sector that precedes the velodrome is sporadically pavéd with smooth plaques, nestled between the cobbles and adorning the names of Paris-Roubaix victors past.

So it’s in the company of Lapize, Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Moser and Boonen that I make my modest entry onto the fabled track, and while my name will not be joining theirs on the stones of Roubaix, at least I’m a little closer to appreciating the mettle required to gain such an honour. 

sport.be/parisroubaix

Paris-Roubaix 2018: Key information

Date: Sunday 8th April
Start: Compiègne, north of Paris
Finish: Vélodrome André-Pétrieux, Roubaix
Distance: 257km
Cobbles: 29 secteurs of pave covering 52.8km
UK live TV coverage: 10:00-16:15 - The 2018 Paris-Rooubaix will be shown live from start to finish on Eurosport
Race report 2018:Peter Sagan wins an enthralling Paris-Roubaix   
Gallery: Paris-Roubaix 2018 in photos  

Paris-Roubaix 2018: Sagan wins

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) won the 2018 Paris-Roubaix by outsprinting Silvain Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale), who had managed to cling on from the day's original break. Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors) rolled in alone to complete the podium.

Sagan made the winning move from an astonishing 53km out, dropping a group containing most of the day's favourites. He caught the remnants of the day's break and from that group only Dillier could hang on.

Read the full race report here: Peter Sagan wins an enthralling Paris-Roubaix   

Paris-Roubaix 2018 preview

The 2018 Paris-Roubaix route will go largely unchanged from 2017. The course will have 29 secteurs of cobblestones covering 52km, including the new section of Saint-Hilaire, over the course of the 257km race.

The race will also see a return of the Saint-Python secteur for the first time since 2016, although the riders will be hitting the cobbles from the opposite direction as raced previously.

As usual, attention will centre around the three toughest sections of pave - Tranchée d’Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l’Arbre - which often prove pivotal to the outcome of the race. 

Although the Arenberg Trench is tackled at almost 100km from the finishing line, it often causes many problems for the peloton splintering the bunch into smaller groups.

Carrefour de l'Arbre is the last major test for any rider in with a chance for victory. This 2.1km section has been used as a springboard for many attacks in the past thanks to its tough cobbles and close proximity to the finish.

Paris-Roubaix route 2018

Paris Roubaix 2018 start list and teams

WorldTour teams

AG2R La Mondiale (FRA)

Oliver Naesen (FRA)
Nico Denz (GER)
Gediminas Bagdonas (LTH)
Silvain Dillier (SUI)
Julien Duval (FRA)
Tony Gallopin (FRA)
Stijn Vandenbergh(BEL)

Astana Pro Team (KAZ)

Truis Korsaeth (NOR)
Hugo Houle (CAN)
Laurens De Vreese (BEL)
Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ)
Magnus Cort Nielsen (DEN)
Ruslan Tleubayev (KAZ)
Oscar Gatto (ITA)

Bahrain-Merida (BHR)

Heinrich Haussler (AUS)
Borut Bozic (SLO)
Ivan Cortina (ESP)
Kristijan Koren (SLO)
David Per (SLO)
Luka Pibernik (SLO)
Meiyin Wang (CHN)

BMC Racing Team (USA)

Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)
Jean-Pierre Drucker (LUX)
Stefan Kung (SUI)
Jurgen Roelandts (BEL)
Michael Schar (SUI) 
Nathan Van Hooydonck (BEL)
Francisco Ventoso (ESP)

Bora-Hansgrohe (GER)

Peter Sagan (SLO)
Daniel Oss (ITA)
Marcus Burghardt (GER)
Rudiger Selig (GER)
Maciej Bodnar (POL)
Juraj Sagan (SLO)
Andreas Schillinger (GER)

EF-Drapac (USA)

Taylor Phinney (USA)
Sep Vanmarcke (BEL)
Matti Breschel (DEN)
Mitch Docker (AUS)
Sebastian Langeveld (NED)
Tom Van Asbroeck (BEL)
Thomas Scully (NZL)

Groupama-FDJ (FRA)

Arnaud Demare (FRA)
Mickeal Delage (FRA)
Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA)
Ignatas Konovalovas (LTH)
Olivier Le Gac (FRA)
Marc Sarreau (FRA)
Ramon Sinkeldam (NED)
Antoine Duchesne (CAN)

Lotto Soudal (BEL)

Jens Debusschere (BEL)
Lars Yitting Bak (DEN)
Frederik Frison (BEL)
Jens Keukeleire (BEL)
Nikolas Maes (BEL)
Marcel Sieberg (GER)
Jelle Wallays (BEL)

Movistar (ESP)

Marc Soler (ESP)
Imanol Erviti (ESP)
Nuno Bico (POR)
Hector Carretero (ESP)
Nelson Oliveira (POR)
Jasha Sutterlin (GER)
Carlos Barbero (ESP)

Mitchelton-Scott (AUS)

Mat Hayman (AUS)
Jack Bauer (NZL)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Matteo Trentin (ITA)
Luka Mezgec (SLO)
Alexander Edmondson (AUS)
Roger Kluge (GER)

Quick-Step Floors (BEL)

Philippe Gilbert (BEL)
Niki Terpstra (NED)
Yves Lampaert (BEL)
Tim Declercq (BEL)
Iljo Keisse (BEL)
Florian Senechal (FRA)
Zdenek Stybar (CZE)

Dimension Data (RSA)

Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR)
Jay Thomson (RSA)
Nick Dougall (RSA)
Ryan Gibbons (RSA)
Johan van Zyl (RSA)
Jaco Venter (RSA)
Julien Vermote (BEL)

Katusha-Alpecin (SUI)

Marcel Kittel (GER)
Tony Martin (GER)
Mads Wurtz Schmidt (DEN)
Rick Zabel (GER)
Jenthe Biermans (BEL)
Marco Haller (AUS)
Nils Politt (GER)

LottoNL-Jumbo (NED)

Dylan Groenewegen (NED)
Amund Jansen (NOR)
Bram Tankink (NED)
Tom Leezer (NED)
Timo Roosen (NED)
Jos van Emden (NED)
Pascal Eenkhoorn (NED) 

Team Sky (GBR)

Gianni Moscon (ITA)
Ian Stannard (GBR)
Geraint Thomas (GBR)
Owain Doull (GBR)
Christian Knees (GER)
Luke Rowe (GBR)
Dylan van Baarle (NED)

Team Sunweb (GER)

Edward Theuns (BEL)
Max Walscheid (GER)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Nikias Arndt (GER)
Lennard Hofstede (NED)
Soren Kragh Andersen (NOR)
Mike Teunissen (NED)

Trek-Segafredo (USA)

Jasper Stuyven (BEL)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Koen De Kort (NED)
Ryan Mullen (IRL)
Mads Pedersen (DEN)
Gregory Rast (SUI)
Boy van Poppel (NED)

UAE Team Emirates (UAE)

Alexander Kristoff (NOR)
Sven Erik Bystrom (NOR)
Simone Consonni (ITA)
Roberto Ferrari (ITA)
Flippo Ganna (ITA)
Marco Marcato (ITA)
Oliviero Troia (ITA)

ProContinental wildcard teams

Cofidis (FRA)

Christophe Laporte (FRA)
Dorian Godon (FRA)
Hugo Hofstetter (FRA)
Cyril Lemoine (FRA)
Jimmy Turgis (FRA)
Bert Van Lerberghe (BEL)
Kenneth Vanbilsen (BEL)

Delko Marseille Provence KTM (Fra)

Yannick Martinez (FRA)
Iuri Filosi (ITA)
Brenton Jones (AUS)
Przdmyslaw Kasperkiewicz (POL)
Evaldas Siskevicius (LTH)
Gatis Smukulis (LAT)
Julien Trarieux (FRA)

Direct Energie (FRA)

Damien Gaudin (FRA)
Adrien Petit (FRA)
Romain Cardis (FRA)
Sylvain Chavanel (FRA)
Yohann Gene (FRA)
Alexandre Pichot (FRA)
Simon Sellier (FRA)

Fortuneo-Samsic (FRA)

Michael Carbel (DEN)
Pierre-Luc Perichon (FRA)
Maxime Daniel (FRA)
Brice Feillu (FRA)
Benoit Jarrier (FRA)
Romain Le Roux (FRA)
Bram Welten (NED)

Verandas-Willems (BEL)

Wout van Aert (BEL)
Michael Goolaerts (BEL)
Stijn Devolder (BEL)
Huub Duijn (NED)
Aidis Kruopis (LTH)
Senne Leysen (BEL)
Stijn Steels (BEL)

Vital Concet (FRA)

Bert De Backer (BEL)
Johsn Le Bon (FRA)
Kris Boeckmans (BEL)
Jeremy Lecroq (FRA)
Julien Morice (FRA)
Patrick Muller (SUI)
Jonas Van Genechten (BEL) 

WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic (BEL)

Alex Kirsch (LUX)
Kenny Dehaes (BEL)
Jimmy Duquennoy (BEL)
Ludovic Robeet (BEL)
Franklin Six (BEL)
Lukas Spengler (SUI)
Julien Stassen (BEL)

Paris-Roubaix 2018: The cobbled secteurs

Paris-Roubaix 2017: Top 10

1. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) BMC Racing, in 5:41:07
2. Zdenek Stybar (CZE) Quick-Step Floors, at same time
3. Sebastian Lageveld (NED) Cannondale-Drapac, st
4. Jasper Stuyven (BEL) Trek-Segafredo, st
5. Gianni Moscon (ITA) Team Sky, st
6. Arnaud Demare (FRA) FDJ, at 0:12
7. Andre Greipel (GER) Lotto-Soudal, st
8. Edward Theuns (BEL) Trek-Segafredo, st
9. Adrien Petit (FRA) Direct-Energie, st
10. John Degenkolb (GER) Trek-Segafredo, st

Paris-Roubaix: Previous 10 winners 

2017: Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) BMC Racing
2016: Matt Hayman, (AUS) Mitchelton-Scott
2015: John Degenkolb (GER), Giant-Alpecin
2014: Niki Terpstra (NED), Etixx-QuickStep
2013: Fabian Cancellara (SUI), RadioShack
2012: Tom Boonen (BEL), Omega Pharma-QuickStep
2011: Johann Vansummeren (BEL), Garmin-Cervelo
2010: Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
2009: Tom Boonen (BEL), Quckstep
2008: Tom Boonen (BEL), Quickstep

Click through to the pages below for more on about Paris-Roubaix:
The history of Paris-Roubaix   
Famous editions of Paris-Roubaix  
Riding the Paris-Roubaix Challenge sportive  
Paris-Roubiax 2017     

Paris-Roubaix 2017 route

The 2017 Paris-Roubaix route has been confirmed and this year will contain 29 cobbled sectors totalling 55km, over a total race distance of 257km. 

The three most anticipated sectors  - the Tranchée d’Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l’Arbre - are all included. However, there are also changes from previous years in that two new additions, Briastre and Solesmes, will appear as sector 25 and 26 near the start of the race. It is the first time they have been used since 1987.

'The first is three kilometres long, it is actually being renovated but it is one of the difficult sectors,' said route designer Thierry Gouvenou of Briastre.

'The next is a lot shorter, however it is uphill. It is not our wish to make the race harder at this stage, but to find more diversity between the cobblestone sectors and make sure these areas continue to feed the legend.'

Paris-Roubaix 2017: The cobbled sectors

The details are open to change and confirmation by the organisers

Riders to watch at Paris-Roubaix 2017

Tom Boonen

Second place to Mat Hayman in 2016, Tom Boonen is on a mission to take a record fifth Paris-Roubaix victory in this, his final year as a pro. Early season signs are good for Boonen, with the Belgian already having taken victory in some sprints, and with no opportunities beyond 2017 to seal the Roubaix record, many will be rooting for 'Tomekke'. 

He was unlucky at the Tour of Flanders when an ill-timed double mechanical took him out of the reckoning, so expect to see him all the more determined at Paris-Roubaix.

Peter Sagan

A rider you can never write off. More suited to the punchy climbs of the Tour of Flanders, the World Champion will nontheless be a force to be reckoned with at Roubaix.

He too fell foul of bad luck at the Ronde, getting tangled in a barrier on the Oude Kwaremont which caused him to crash heavily and break his bike. Ater a crash also counted him out of the lead group at last year's Paris-Roubaix, this year will surely go the way of the Slovak.

Philippe Gilbert

His place in the Quick-Step Floors team hasn't been confirmed but after putting in one of the best winning rides in Tour of Flanders history it will be a surprise if he's left at home.

Better known for his wins in the Ardennes where he's suited to the punchy climbs, it would still be foolish to write-off his chances on the flat cobbled sectors of Roubaix.

Sep Vanmarcke

Having made a return to the Cannondale-Drapac team (after having left it in its Garmin days), Vanmarcke has proved his pedigree on the cobbles time and again - but without ever winning much. He will be there or thereabouts, perhaps even on the top step.

However, he's another who found himself unlucky at the Tour of Flanders when he crashed out of a chasing group. He lost a lot of skin and has since reported that he broke a finger; his attendance of Paris-Roubaix is TBC.

John Degenkolb

Degenkolb took an emphatic win at Paris-Roubaix in 2015, dictacting the race in the final kilometres before winning the sprint from the lead group. A terrible crash put him out of competition for much of 2016, but after showing clear signs to a full return to form with his new Trek-Segafredo team, things are looking good for the German.

He looked strong early on at the Tour of Flanders but was nowhere to be seen when things really got going. Better suited to Roubaix anyway, he should be a contender.

Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe

Ian Stannard has won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad twice, and finished on the podium at Paris-Roubaix in 2016. His strength is clear, and his tactics can't be faulted, but he comes as part of a Team Sky set up that has always lacked a clear leader in the Classics, and so whether he ends up in the position he needs to be is uncertain.

So far this season Luke Rowe has been the British squad's strongest rider in many of the one day races, but neither of this duo has recorded a victory yet this year.

They'll need to be stronger and wiser than they've looked over the last few weeks if they're to trouble to podium.

Paris Roubaix 2017: The teams

WorldTour teams

A2gr La Mondiale (Fra)
Astana Pro Team (Kaz)
Bahrain-Merida (Bhr)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)
Cannondale-Drapac (USA)
FDJ (Fra)
Lotto Soudal (Bel)
Movistar (Esp)
Orica-Scott (Aus)
Quick-Step Floors (Bel)
Dimension Data (RSA)
Katusha-Alpecin (Sui)
LottoNL-Jumbo (Ned)
Team Sky (GBr)
Team Sunweb (Ger)
Trek-Segafredo (USA)
UAE Abu Dhabi (UAE)

Pro Continental wildcard teams

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits (Fra)
Delko Marseille Provence KTM (Fra)
Direct Energie (Fra)
Fortuneo-Vital Concept (Fra)
Roompot Nederlandse Loterij (Ned)
Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise (Bel)
Wanty-Groupe Gobert (Bel)

Paris-Roubaix 2016: Race report

Orica-Greenedge's Mat Hayman won a vintage edition of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, in a career-defining moment for the 37 year old, participating in his 15th Paris-Roubaix, and only a matter of weeks on from breaking his arm at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.  

The early breakaway took a long time to form, with a furious opening couple of hours full of attacks and counter attacks, which consistently pulled back those trying to escape. But after 60km a move eventually went clear, and it contained none other than eventual winner Hayman.

Team Sky and Etixx-QuickStep led the damage limitation behind, and it was due to their being at the front of the peloton that left them better off after a succession of crashes during the early sectors. Better off than Cancellara and Sagan, that is, as both were held up and were destined never to see the front.

Crashes and attacks in the lead group saw it split and regroup, until eventually a quintet of Ian Stannard, Tom Boonen, Sep Vanmarcke, Mat Hayman and Edvald Boasson Hagen formed on the Camphin-en-Pevele sector. Vanmarcke tried to go clear on the Carrefour de l'Arbre - the last five-star instalment - but was slowly towed back by Stannard and Boonen.

Attack after attack in the closing stages showed nothing more than the fact that nobody had an ounce of strength left, with each hauling effort as slow-motion and ineffective as the next. Hayman and Boonen looked to have a reasonable gap, but Vanmarcke appeared as they entered the velodrome, and in the end it was Hayman who triumphed in an excruciating 5-up sprint to the line.

Boonen was denied his record 5th win, and Australia rejoiced in the delirium of Hayman's unbelievable victory.  

Orica-Greenedge Backstage Pass

This article was originally published in Issue 78 of Cyclist Magazine

Words Jack Elton-Walters Photography Lars Wehrmann

In an age of marginal gains, when every aspect of training and racing is dissected in detail to gain tiny advantages, the technology around races needs to be able to keep track of events in ever more precise detail.

Split-second timing, finish line cameras and results factored down to below a millimetre – modern race timing is at the cutting edge and can show the winner of a stage down to the tread of a tyre after 200km in the saddle.

The job of tracking every second of the Tour de France falls to Swiss watchmaker Tissot.

The company returned to the Tour de France in 2016 after having taken charge of timekeeping at the race from 1988 to 1992, but even before that it had a pedigree in cycling timing that stretches back over five decades.

‘The history of Tissot in cycling is longstanding,’ says Alain Zobrist, CEO of Tissot Timing.

‘We’ve had a partnership with the UCI since 1995 and it became obvious at some point that Tissot had to go back to the Tour de France as official timekeeper, which we did.’

Timing has come a long way from a starter’s pistol and someone with quick thumbs pressing the buttons on a stopwatch.

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Image 2 of 9

Equally important these days are the cameras that stalk the finish line awaiting the bike throw of a rider desperate for stage glory.

‘The cameras are capable of taking 10,000 pictures per second, which allows us to have a very clear understanding of what’s happening on the finish line,’ says Zobrist.

‘Even the narrowest of differences between the first and second rider, the cameras are able to capture. There are differences that aren’t visible to the naked eye.’

At the 2017 Tour, local favourite Warren Barguil lunged for the finish line of Stage 9 and raised his arms in celebration.

Next to him was Colombian Rigoberto Uran, who had ridden the last part of the stage stuck in his hardest gear and had been forced to wind up his sprint from a long way out.

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Image 4 of 9

Beaming into the camera of a local French television station, Barguil was talking of his joy at winning when he was interrupted – during a live broadcast – to be told he’d actually been beaten by the smallest of margins and the win was Uran’s.

Behind this result was Tissot – its timers and finish line cameras. Capturing those 10,000 frames per second, the images sent from the cameras to the timing computers showed it was the finest outer edge of Uran’s front tyre that had breached the finish line first – just.

Heartbreak for Barguil but a win not just for Uran but for the Tour de France’s timing technology.

‘The finish line camera has become a very important piece of equipment, if not the most important,’ Zobrist adds.

Sum of many parts

While Tissot may be charged with providing the times and finishing positions of the riders, it doesn’t make the final decision on who the winner is. That job remains the remit of the race commissaires.

‘We work hand-in-hand with the officials, who are the ones validating the results,’ Zobrist says.

‘So there are a couple of pairs of eyes to make sure the result is correct.’

With a case like Barguil’s, it might be expected that a team could contest a result when the outcome is that close, but this isn’t something the timers experience on a regular basis, and Zobrist has a fair idea of why.

‘The riders and the teams know the technology that we employ, so they trust that. We’re not alone in our timekeeping – we work with officials since they’re the ones deciding the race’s outcome from the results we generate.

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Image 7 of 9

‘If there are any questions, the finish line picture is available but usually the results are clear and uncontested.’

The Tour de France is a huge sink of resources, from the fuel in all the vehicles to the food served in the finish line areas to the power supply needed to broadcast the race around the world.

Within all that, Tissot’s equipment and small finish line hut must have a secure and uninterrupted electricity supply, which it gets from a power source that’s independent of the rest of the race village. What if, even with its own electricity supply, the finish line camera breaks down?

‘Everything is backed up,’ says Zobrist. ‘We’re not working with one camera but three, and we have a main timing system with a back-up timing system.’

Human input is another resource that’s needed in abundance for the operation to run correctly, and that’s no truer than on a time-trial stage.

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Image 9 of 9

Eight timekeepers are needed on a standard road stage and twice that when the riders are pitted against the clock on a TT.

Every timekeeper has their own role that they perform on every stage. Each position in the process is highly specialised and must be performed consistently, ‘to provide the perfect service’ to the race.

‘Whether it’s the head timekeeper, the person in charge of the finish line cameras, the one checking the transponders on the bikes or the person running the data handling, all of them have an important duty,’ says Zobrist.

‘The quality of the service is only there if they work as an integrated team and perform every single task to the very best of their ability.’

This article was originally published in issue 79 of Cyclist magazine

Words Trevor Ward Photography Geoff Waugh

They suffered unimaginable hardship, regularly ran out of food, endured catastrophic weather and often arrived home hollow-cheeked and wide-eyed. And none of them was a cyclist.

The heroes of Portugal’s golden age of discovery are celebrated with monuments, statues and sarcophagi in Belem, a dockside district of Lisbon where electric trams glide past 600-year-old churches and monasteries.

If suffering is a USP of cycling, it’s heartening to see so many riders at the start of the inaugural Gran Fondo Lisboa paying their silent respects to those who experienced real hardship.

There’s time for photographs in front of the giant Monument to the Discoveries – even if it does mean click-clacking down a subway under the dual carriageway and railway line to Lisbon – and outside the ornamental stone façade of the Monastery of San Jeronimo.

I myself have slipped into the chapel of Santa Maria to pay my respects to Vasco da Gama, his carved granite tomb bathed in milky light from the stained glass windows above.

My lycra, helmet (removed, obviously) and cleats seem at odds with the wooden pews and soaring stone archways.

Da Gama’s journeys lasted months at a time. He pioneered the trade route between Europe and India on board a cramped wooden galleon. Modern container ships follow in his wake 500 years later.

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Image 3 of 20

My own journey will be considerably shorter – just a morning’s ride of 144km up and down some steep hills in and around Lisbon.

I step outside to take my place among 1,200 riders lining up beneath leaden skies. I feel the sting of rain and dig out my gilet.

A rumble of thunder reverberates around the handsome surroundings of the Praca de Monastero, the very place where Da Gama brought his crew on the eve of his first voyage.

I wonder if the omens were as portentous for him as they appear to be for me. Then I remember he was sailing across unchartered seas with no guarantee he would ever make land.

All I have to worry about is whether there’ll be any cake left by the time I arrive at the feed stations. 

A big, adrenaline-fuelled bunch

The race will be neutralised for the first 28km until it has left the outskirts of Lisbon.

On the one hand this means a chance to enjoy some of the extraordinary landmarks and architecture Lisbon has to offer – both historic and contemporary – ranging from the 25 de Abril suspension bridge that stretches across the Tagus on our right to the yellow wooden trams that date back almost 150 years.

On the other, it means 28km of being confined to one big, adrenaline-fuelled bunch raring to be let off the leash.

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Image 4 of 20

This requires a constant state of nervous vigilance – the combination of all that repressed testosterone and those aforementioned tramlines leads to a couple of early tumbles as we negotiate the narrow streets of the Baixa district.

Baixa means ‘Lower’ in Portuguese, a realisation that rings alarm bells when I consider there’s probably an ‘Upper’ district too.

Sure enough, the road soon starts rising at a stiff but constant gradient towards the rows of apartment blocks that make up Lisbon’s modern quarter.

We’re being shepherded along by a phalanx of police outriders, with uniformed officers ensuring we have priority at every junction.

This continues for the entire 144km, even when we are out in the quieter, rural lanes. Later, organiser António Queiroz will tell me that 300 police officers were involved in the operation.

It’s a quite phenomenal achievement. We’re waved across dual carriageways and, at one point, we even have a few kilometres of motorway exclusively to ourselves.

It’s the slickest and most unobtrusive rolling road closure I’ve ever witnessed as a participant.

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Image 5 of 20

We’re filtered across a flyover and past the distinctive green and white exterior of Sporting Lisbon’s football stadium before we enter a succession of suburbs.

Here, the police outriders have brought traffic, including local buses, to a standstill until we have passed.

Yet as I scan the faces of passengers on one bus that has become trapped in a sea of gaudy polyester billboards for assorted Portuguese small businesses, I see only smiles.

There’s no hint that anyone hates me for making them a few minutes late for church, work or the shops.

We finally wrestle free from the last traces of suburbia and are on the first of the route’s three classified climbs. These, it turns out, will be the least of my worries.

Varying from five to seven kilometres in length, and from three to five per cent in average gradient, they will hardly trouble my small ring.

No, the real challenges of this gran fondo – the bits that will have me thinking about the grit and courage of Vasco da Gama and his men – are the little lumps in between. They are short, evil and relentless.

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Image 6 of 20

But I won’t discover this until later. For now, I’m lulled into a false sense of confidence by how relatively straightforward this first classified climb is.

The neutralised rollout has officially ended and I settle into a rhythm with a big group of local riders. I’m curious about the knee-high compression socks most of them are wearing.

There’s obviously some science behind their fashion choice, although I personally think it’s a waste of smoothly shaven shins.

It’s at the 50km mark that I’m jolted from my reverie (and any hopes of finishing in time for an early lunch).

In what will become the routine for the rest of the route, I’ve crested a testy little climb and am confronted by a long, inviting descent to the foot of the next one.

But I can tell the next slope must be a brute because there’s a swarm of tightly packed coloured specks upon it, seemingly stationary, like insects caught on flypaper.

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Image 8 of 20

In anticipation of my imminent deployment of the small ring, I crouch as low as possible in a bid to muster every bit of free speed from the downhill.

I profit to the tune of about 10 metres up the climb. That’s all it takes before I find myself stuck on the flypaper with all the other struggling victims.

It’s a drag rather than a wall, but it spikes at nearly 15%, and that comes after nearly three kilometres of effort.

As I finally reach the top to the applause and encouragement of a small group of spectators, I imagine Senhor Queiroz sitting at the head of the race convoy in his white Kia with a satisfied smile on his face as he zooms in on my pain via a remote drone camera.

Low cloud has limited the views of the rolling green countryside, but the location of the first feed station remains defiantly spectacular.

It’s in the shadow of the enormous Palace of Mafra, an 18th century yellow and cream confection of clock towers, columns and domes.

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Image 7 of 20

It’s so vast it takes a couple of minutes to cycle its length, and my attempts to photograph it on the move are not helped by that ubiquitous feature of most Portuguese town centres, cobbles. I choose not to stop at the feed station.

My hydration strategy is to stick with just two bottles until the next refuelling stop, at 99km. Little do I know that Portugal’s cobbles will soon scupper my plans.

Back out in the countryside the route resumes its rollercoaster profile. Peak follows trough follows peak.

While the long, straight descents allow us to accumulate free speed in preparation for the climb that immediately follows, the technical downhills are frustrating in their own right.

By the time you reach the foot of the next climb, you’ve scrubbed off all your speed from braking at the sharp bends. The fearless descenders have a big advantage over us more cautious types.

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Image 9 of 20

From hero to zero

On one sweeping descent my speed peaks at 80kmh. But within a few pedal strokes of starting the next climb, it has withered away to single figures. From hero to zero in one cruel crinkle of the Earth’s surface.

We reach the Atlantic coast at the fishing village of Ericeira. Instead of sticking to the asphalted road, the route plunges down into a labyrinth of cobbled streets squeezed between whitewashed buildings.

I try to take some photos but the results look like I’m trapped inside a spin dryer with my smalls.

Then the cobbles tilt upwards and I gingerly change down a gear, hoping my chain doesn’t come flying off in the process.

We emerge onto a promenade overlooking a beach buffeted by huge Atlantic rollers.

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Image 10 of 20

A bit further along is the harbour, looking suitably picture postcard-ish with its gallery of gnarled-looking locals and colourful fishing boats.

The road twists inland before depositing us back onto smooth tarmac. With the next feed station 25km away it’s time for a swig from my remaining full water bottle, but when I reach down I discover an empty bottle cage.

Its contents obviously went flying on the cobbles and I didn’t hear it over the rattling of my own teeth.

I reach for my other, empty bottle and suck out the plastic-tasting dregs of what had been ice-cold water when I nicked it from a jug at my hotel’s breakfast buffet.

I’m filled with dread. It’s been getting warmer all morning and there’s still the second classified climb to come – albeit a minnow at just 5km in length at an average gradient of 3% – not to mention the inevitable succession of unchartered lumps.

I greedily eye the bidons of the group I’m with, most of whom seem to be compensating for the slightly comical appearance of their compression socks with the pro look of carrying just one bottle. I will just have to conserve my energy as best as I can.

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Image 11 of 20

Inevitably it’s the two shorter but steeper climbs following the classified one that give me the most grief.

I manage to garner some momentum from the descents immediately preceding each, but it’s still torture to watch the kilometres tick over so slowly on my Garmin.

Coke and cakes ahoy

Finally I can see the feed station ahead of me. Of course, it’s mobbed. But this being a race, the volunteers are on the ball and are running out to meet riders with bottles of water, cups of Coke and plates of cakes.

I proffer my empty bidon and grab a handful of something moist and sweet-looking.

The young volunteer seems almost disappointed that I don’t immediately clip back in and start chasing after the group in front.

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Image 12 of 20

Instead I wheel my bike away from the throng and sit down to enjoy my liquid and solids at a leisurely pace in the shade of a tree.

The last classified climb of the day takes its toll, due to a combination of the 100km already in my legs and the several Cokes and almond cakes that are now in my stomach.

The climb is a 7km drag that skirts the fairytale chateaux of Sintra – you can make out their turrets jutting above the treeline if you look hard enough – before a descent back down to the coast at the beach resort of Estoril.

From here on the road is largely flat, but the coastal stretch back to Lisbon is into a strengthening headwind and collaborations with other riders are required.

I catch up with one or two solo riders but decide they’re too slow so continue past them. Up ahead I see two female riders working well together so I tag on. When one of them looks back, I make it clear with a circular motion with my finger that I’ll take my turn.

They each do a long pull at the front before I slide through just as the road starts to rise.

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Image 14 of 20

At the same time a fast group of about half a dozen riders overtakes us. I make no attempt to catch them, instead keeping tempo for my two companions.

About halfway up the climb, I glance back to make sure they’re still on my wheel but there’s no sign of them. I must have been going too fast.

But then I look back up towards the rapidly disappearing group of riders, and notice that they have two additional members among their wheels. It seems I have been well and truly dropped.

I eventually join forces with a burly-looking rider. We work well together and cover the remaining 20km at a brisk pace.

This entire side of the main dual carriageway to Lisbon has been closed off for us, and it’s not long before the towers of the Monastery of San Jeronimo come into view.

The finish line is just a bidon’s throw from the chapel where Vasco da Gama lays.

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Image 16 of 20

At the food tent, I load my tray with pasta, cakes and beer. As I sit down, a beefy paw grabs my shoulder and I’m greeted by the beaming face of the rider I’d worked with for the last half hour.

His name is Gonçalo and he’s an investment banker who has sailed his own yacht here from his home in the Azores.

‘Hey man, I just want to thank you for that last stretch,’ he says in perfect English. ‘I was at my limit and you really helped me. Thanks.’

I’m blushing with pride, but quickly regain my perspective when I consider what put me in the position to help him in the first place.

Instead I look towards the façade of the Monastery, now bathed in rosy sunlight, and raise my beer to the real-life hero and adventurer who rests inside.

Image 17 of 20

Image 17 of 20

The details

What Gran Fondo Lisboa
Where Lisbon, Portugal
How far 144km
Next one Sunday 7th April 2019
Price€60. Includes jersey, goody bag, medal and hot food and beer at the finish
More info granfondolisboa.com

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Image 18 of 20

The rider’s ride

Fuji Gran Fondo 2.1, £2,300, hotlines-uk.com

This bike ticks off the prerequisites for a sportive-friendly machine – relaxed geometry, generous gearing – but with one extra I was eager to test on Portugal’s cobbles.

The C5 carbon frame and FC-440 full carbon fork come with ‘VRTech’ (Vibration Reduction Technology), which maker Fuji claims reduces road vibration by ‘24.6%’ compared to a frame without it.

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Image 20 of 20

Yes, that is an oddly specific figure, and no, I had no method for testing its veracity during my 144km rollercoaster ride around Lisbon.

What I can say is that my forays onto Portugal’s fearsome cobbles were nowhere as uncomfortable as expected. Result.

Do it yourself

Travel and accommodation

Lisbon is widely served by several airlines from various UK airports. We stayed at the Hotel Vila Galé Ópera, which is a €15 cab ride from the airport.

It’s in the shadow of the 25 de Abril suspension bridge and is equidistant between the city centre and Belem. The ride to the start takes less than 10 minutes.

The hotel has spacious rooms and a massive breakfast buffet. A double room costs around €128 (£115) per night. Visit vilagale.com for more info.

Bike

We hired our bike from Cycling Rentals (cycling-rentals.com), which will deliver a road bike to any hotel in Spain or Portugal. Prices range from €60 for three days for an aluminium frame to €114 for a carbon equivalent.

Thanks

Many thanks to António Queiroz for organising our entry, accommodation and transport for our photographer. Thanks also to Catherine Deffense at Cycling Rentals for providing our bike.

This article was originally published in issue 80 of Cyclist magazine

Words Trevor Ward

There is a certain time of the year, around the end of the summer, when certain cyclists start acting a little strangely. They will stop consuming cakes, crisps, beer and anything else containing more calorific content than a pea.

They won’t be happy with their body shape until they make Chris Froome look lardy. They will obsess over the weight of their kit. They will opt for thin, single layers even though there’s a distinct autumn chill in the air.

They won’t carry anything in their jersey pockets. They may even unstitch and remove their jersey pockets.

Their shoes will be fastened so tight their toes will go numb. When it comes to the bike, they will examine every detail and component with forensic vigour.

Bottle cages and bar tape will be condemned as superfluous fripperies and removed. A single chainring will be favoured.

Wheels and tyres will push parameters of rigidity and grip to extremes, with lightness and thinness suddenly being more urgent. Brake blocks will be filed down to the minimum.

Holes may be drilled where the amount of metal is considered excessive. A fine line will be drawn between structural integrity and weight-saving efficiency. They will obsess over torque, power-to-weight ratios and VAMs (vertical metres climbed per hour).

Frankly, they are not the kind of people you’d want to be stuck in a lift with. But it’s all for a good cause, even if it’s one that usually lasts no more than a few minutes. It's the start of hill climb season.

Anyone expecting a first person account of how I struggled to keep my eyeballs in my head as I ground my way up a double-digit slope in front of a baying crowd of sadists should look elsewhere.

My first-hand experience of this ancient and noble tradition is limited to no more than a couple of club-confined events where I was berated for not vomiting at the finish.

But hill climbs aren’t for normal, adult-sized riders such as me anyway. As one fellow club member put it, ‘In a pub with your mates I’m sure you look one of the fittest. But out here with us you look a right freak.’

Hill climbs – the organised, competitive variety – are for the lean and wiry, the type of rider who’s as useful for drafting behind as an Easter egg in a sauna. (Although this month’s Hill Climb World Championships in California features a ‘Clydesdale’ category for men over 90kg…)

Hill climbs are embedded in British cycling history because we are a nation blessed with lots of hills that are ideal for climbing. They don’t need to be mountains.

They don’t even need to be long. They just need to be steep, ideally with a pub and a car park at the top.

Monsal Head in the Peak District fits the bill perfectly, though the pub was closed on the rainy December day I climbed it in the company of Olympic medallist and former national road champion Rob Hayles.

‘It’s quite a constant gradient, but it’s still a bugger,’ was his technical assessment of the compact 470m route that averages 14%.

Other adjectives beloved of hill climbers include, but are not limited to: ‘testing’, ‘tough’, ‘challenging’, ‘stiff’, ‘severe’, ‘savage’, ‘brutal’, ‘vicious’, ‘monstrous’ and even, worryingly, ‘murderous’.

Catford CC’s Hill Climb – ‘brutal’ – dates back to 1887 and claims to be the oldest surviving bike race in the world, predating all the Monuments.

It takes place on Yorks Hill near Sevenoaks, Kent, and hits a maximum gradient of 20% near the end of its 640m course.

North of the border, hill climbs are a special case. Ever since David Maxwell of Gilbertfield Wheelers won Scotland’s first national hill climb championship in 1946, riders here have had to contend with more than mere topography.

Although Scotland’s mountains may be smaller than their continental counterparts, political necessity required many of the roads traversing them to be knee-crunchingly steep.

Their no-nonsense trajectories are the work of Generals Wade and Caulfeild, despatched by the English government in the mid-1700s to build a network of roads that could transport troops as quickly as possible from one Jacobite uprising to another.

They opted to build their roads over-the-top rather than around-the-bottom, producing notorious climbs such as the Lecht that resemble walls rather than roads.

Of course, not everyone treats these climbs with the reverence history and geology have bestowed upon them.

Aberdeen Wheelers’ kilometre-long, 11% club hill climb last month included ‘Lord and Lady of the Pies’ titles for those riders who, having completed the climb and eaten the reward of a complimentary pie, freewheeled back down the hill the furthest without stopping or falling over.

For all the talk of records and suffering, the hill climb represents cycling at its most democratic. It doesn’t matter how big or small you are, or how fast or slow your time is, everyone finishes with the bitter tang of blood in his or her mouth.

Everyone feels a sense of triumph and achievement, whether they won a trophy or not.

‘It’s a raw, brutal effort that requires you to take your body to its limit, then slightly beyond and then hold it there until you get to the top,’ says 2017 national hill climb champ Dan Evans, a man so obsessed with detail he was drafted in by wheel manufacturer Hunt to help design their latest ultra-light set of hill climb-specific hoops.

‘How well you can do that, how badly you can suffer and how much you want it can really tell you a lot about yourself.’

Cyclist is sponsor of this year’s Catford Hill Climb, so look out for an account of the race in the next issue.

The National Hill Climb Championships take place at the Shelsley Walsh motor circuit in Worcestershire on Sunday 28th October.

A week before that, Matlock CC hosts its Riber and Bank Road Hill Climb ‘Double Header’

This article was originally published in Issue 81 of Cyclist Magazine

Words Joe Robinson Photography Mike Massaro

'The only other sportsperson I’m aware of who has a similar collection to me is Roger Federer with his tennis memorabilia, but there is no one else with something like this in cycling,’ says Bradley Wiggins as he neatly folds Fausto Coppi’s 1949 Tour de France yellow jersey back into a plastic container.

It sits next to Jacques Anquetil’s France Ford Hutchinson jersey from the 1966 Tour and Francesco Moser’s Supermercati Brianzoli skinsuit.

Considering the controversy that has surrounded him over the past 18 months, it would be easy to understand if Wiggins no longer wanted to talk about cycling, but his enthusiasm for the sport remains undiminished. At heart he’s still just a fan.

Wiggins has invited Cyclist for an exclusive look through his collection of famous jerseys and bikes that he keeps safely stored in a lock-up in Lancashire.

As he pulls out item after item, he relates the stories behind them and how he came to own them.

We have long over-shot our allotted time, but Wiggins is on a roll, enthusing about his collection, which he believes is the largest of its kind in the world.

‘I have a book coming out about it, called Icons. It’s there to pay homage really and thank these riders,’ he says.

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Image 3 of 27

Many of the jerseys that Wiggins reveals are yellow. This, he says, is not simply because he is himself a Tour de France champion, but because he has been entrusted with protecting the memories and heritage of the sport that made him famous.

‘I’m part of a special club,’ Wiggins says. ‘Only 68 riders have won the Tour, which isn’t that many when you think about it.

‘It allows me access to these things that I otherwise wouldn’t have. Like recently this lady got in touch with me.

‘It turns out Tom Simpson had been best man at her dad’s wedding and she had the bowler hat he wore on the day. She wanted to give it to me because she knew I’d look after it.’

Wiggins sees himself as a custodian of cycling’s past, and not just of legends such as Merckx, Coppi and Armstrong, but also of lesser-known names such as Phil Edwards, Jose Manuel Fuente and Hugo Koblet.

‘That’s Gastone Nencini’s yellow jersey from the 1960 Tour. Not many people would even know who he is. He’s famous for lighting a fag on the Champs-Élysées after winning that Tour.

‘His son found out that I was in possession of his father’s jersey and contacted me crying, relieved that it was in good hands,’ Wiggins says. ‘I feel like a guardian.’

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Image 5 of 27

Miguel Indurain's Tour de Romandie Pinarello time-trial bike

‘When I was between the ages of 11 and 15, Miguel Indurain won every Tour. Every summer, I watched him dominate the race,’ says Wiggins.

Some may find the metronomic style of ‘Big Mig’ less glamorous than that of riders more known for their flair and panache, but not Wiggins, who shares several similarities with the most dominant cyclist of the 1990s.

‘Like me, he won the Olympic gold in the time-trial and both of us have broken the Hour record. He even came to watch me at my Hour attempt, which was a special moment.

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Image 6 of 27

‘Mig keeps all of his own stuff. He still has all of his Tour and Giro bikes and his Hour record bike. Only one or two are in the hands of others.

‘I had to buy this off a Spanish guy and it was tough to come by, but I’m so proud to own it.

‘It’s from his time-trial victory at the 1992 Tour de Romandie, which means a lot as it’s a race I also managed to win in my career.

‘This bike came just after the LeMond era introduced dedicated aero bars, and you’ll notice he rode 180mm cranks, which Campagnolo had to make especially for him. The bike was ahead of its time.’ 

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Image 7 of 27

Fausto Coppi's 1949 Tour de France yellow jersey

‘Elvis Presley was huge in the 1950s and Fausto Coppi was the same in the 40s. He rode in a time before live television and social media, but when he came to town everybody would go out to catch a glimpse of him in yellow or pink. Somehow, they knew Fausto was coming.’

Wiggins is pretty clear in his opinion of Coppi. For him, no rider was ever as stylish. For him, Coppi is the biggest name in the sport.

The legend is partly enhanced by the Italian’s tragic death at the age of just 40, leading Wiggins to liken him to Jimi Hendrix and James Dean, but also by the myth that surrounds the period in which he rode.

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Image 9 of 27

‘It’s difficult to comprehend how tough cycling was in his era,’ says Wiggins. ‘The penultimate stage of the 1949 Tour was a 150km individual time-trial on the Saturday.

‘Then, to finish the race, they had a 350km stage from Nancy to Paris.’

This was Coppi’s first Tour victory. He beat compatriot and rival Gino Bartali by more than 10 minutes, winning three stages en route. Having won the Giro d’Italia earlier that year, Coppi also became the first rider to ever manage the Giro/Tour double.

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Image 10 of 27

Sean Yates' 1994 Tour de France yellow jersey

‘If I was forced into giving up my collection, the Yates yellow jersey would be the one thing I’d keep,’ says Wiggins.

Stage 7 of the 1994 Tour de France was the only day in Sean Yates’ career that he got to wear cycling’s most famous jersey.

He lost it again the next day to another of Wiggins’ heroes, Johan Museeuw. But that was enough for Wiggins to become star-struck.

‘I was 14 years old when Yates wore yellow. That same year the Tour headed through Yates’ hometown in the Ashdown Forest and they let him off the front so he could stop and hug his family.

‘I saw this Brit on telly with his hooped earring and he had this hard man reputation. I just loved him to bits.’

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Image 12 of 27

Wiggins even went to the extent of piercing his own ear that summer to emulate his idol. The love affair went one step further in 2012.

When Wiggins made British history by winning the Tour, it was Yates who sat in the team car behind as Team Sky’s directeur sportif.

However, despite this close bond, adding his hero’s jersey to the collection was not as straightforward as you might expect:

‘I asked Sean if I could have his yellow jersey and he said no. Eventually I got it off of him, but only after paying for it.’ 

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Image 13 of 27

Bradley Wiggins' 2016 Six Days of Ghent Pinarello MAAT

Among piles and piles of jerseys belonging to other riders, and tucked behind a BMC Teammachine that guided Philippe Gilbert to one of his four Amstel Gold Classic titles, is one of the few items in the collection from Wiggins’ own career.

‘This is the bike from my last ever race. It was the Six Days of Ghent in 2016. I was born there and spent much of my childhood at that track watching my dad race so I knew this was where I wanted to end it,’ Wiggins remembers.

To Wiggins, the claustrophobic track of Ghent holds an atmosphere that very few venues in sport, let alone cycling, can contest with.

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Image 14 of 27

‘It’s like Anfield. It’s so small and hasn’t been changed much since it was first built. The track’s only 166m long, tiny compared to London or Manchester.

‘The venue has history woven into its fabric.’ The perfect place to call time on a career.

‘I got to race it with Mark [Cavendish], and we were World Champions at the time. We won and became the first combination of Tour yellow and green jersey winners since Merckx and [Patrick] Sercu to take Ghent.

‘Merckx’s last victory was also in the Six Days. To do that – yeah, it was special.’

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Image 16 of 27

Franco Ballerini's 1994 Colnago Titanio Bittan

'Colnago was the biggest bike manufacturer in the world in the 1990s,’ says Wiggins.

‘Today, everybody wants to own a Pinarello because of Sky, or a Specialized because of Peter Sagan, but 25 years ago everyone wanted to own a Colnago. They were the best bikes you could get.’

This particular bike was double Paris-Roubaix winner Franco Ballerini’s 1994 Colnago Titanio Bittan, named after its distinctive titanium frame with a split down tube.

It was a bike that also piloted Tony Rominger to a Vuelta a España title and Abraham Olano to the 1995 World Championships road race crown.

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Image 17 of 27

This was all achieved by Mapei, a team that ruled the landscape of professional cycling in the 1990s.

The squad was composed of talented Italians, Spaniards and Belgians and at one point almost counted one plucky young Brit among its roster of superstars.

‘You know, I could have raced for Mapei when I was 19. Their manager Marc Sargeant offered me a contract at the 1999 World Championships when I was racing as a junior.

‘They also signed Fabian Cancellara, Pippo Pozzatto and Bernie Eisel at that Worlds,’ recalls Wiggins.

‘I turned them down because they were not going to let me race at the Olympics, and said I had to focus fully on the road.

‘Could have been a lot different if I’d signed.’ 

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Image 18 of 27

Tom Simpson's 1966 World Champion's jersey

‘Others may feel differently, but I personally feel as if I owe a lot to Tom Simpson. If it wasn’t for what he did, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have done.’

Simpson blazed a trail for British cycling back in the 1960s. He beat the Belgians in Belgium to claim Britain’s only success to date in the Tour of Flanders before taking on the Italians in Italy to win Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia.

Then in 1965, he became Britain’s first-ever road race World Champion. Less than two years later he would die on the slopes of Mont Ventoux while racing the 1967 Tour de France.

Forty-two years on, in 2009, Wiggins found himself at the scene of this tragedy, fighting an almost identical cause.

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Image 19 of 27

‘It was the first time in my career I had ridden for the General Classification at the Tour. We were heading up Ventoux so I asked for a picture of him on my top tube.

That day, I was fighting for a similar position on GC as he had the day he died and I feel that he gave me what I needed to reach the summit.’

Three years later, Wiggins achieved something Simpson never did, becoming the first British rider to win the Tour.

Shortly after his victory, Simpson’s daughter contacted Wiggins to tell him that she had visited her father’s grave with a picture of Wiggins in yellow, in Paris, to show him someone had done what he had died trying to do.

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Image 21 of 27

Bradley Wiggins' 2014 Paris-Roubaix Pinarello Dogma K

With 6km remaining of the 2014 Paris-Roubaix, Dutchman Niki Terpstra attacked out of a group that included Fabian Cancellara, Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb, Tom Boonen, Geraint Thomas and Wiggins to win the race and take home the coveted cobble trophy.

Any of those riders were potentially strong enough to have closed him down, but none of them did. Even Wiggins isn’t sure why.

‘I know, it’s the one that got away. I was strong enough to go with him but I hesitated,’ he admits.

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Image 20 of 27

‘I had the legs, even after Geraint and I raced back across to that lead group with Tom [Boonen].’

That year in 2014 was the closest Wiggins ever came to winning Paris-Roubaix. The next year he would manage just 18th, and he plainly has a pang of regret that he left it so late in his career to target that race.

‘Still, it was quite some group to come into the velodrome with. Five of the top 10 that day have won Paris-Roubaix so it was quite some company to be in.’

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Image 22 of 27

Lance Armstrong's 1995 Tour de France Motorola jersey

‘About two years ago Lance Armstrong got in contact with me and asked if I wanted a load of his old jerseys,’ Wiggins says, pointing to a box filled to the brim with Lycra and polyester jerseys.

A quick glimpse shows a few Tour yellows, an American national champs strip and even a World Champs jersey. One of the jerseys is not folded in the box, however, but is instead framed.

‘In 1995, Fabio Casartelli died tragically at the Tour de France descending the Portet d’Aspet. Three days later, Armstrong, who was Casartelli’s teammate, and maybe even his roommate, won the stage into Limoges. This was the jersey he wore that day.’

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Image 23 of 27

Just above the rainbow bands, a small square of black cloth is attached to the left arm, commemorating the events of just 72 hours previous.

This jersey was also from a time in the Lance Armstrong timeline before US Postal, before cancer survival, before seven consecutive Tour victories and before the doping scandal. Although that’s of little concern to Wiggins.

‘Between 1993 and 2010, Armstrong won so much and I wasn’t sitting there as a teen thinking, “Is this guy cheating?”

‘I will never forget the guy who didn’t give a shit, jumping the likes of Indurain and Museeuw to the world title. These memories will not be taken away from me.’

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Image 25 of 27

Eddy Merckx's 1972 Tour de France yellow jersey

With so many fakes out there, how do you prove that your Merckx yellow jersey is genuine? The answer is to ask his wife.

‘Back then, they would hand-stitch the team logo onto the leader’s jersey. Eddy would have his wife, Claudine, do it for him and she had a particular way of stitching,’ Wiggins says. ‘She can tell if it was her work and she verified for me that it was. I even have a video as proof.’

In 1972 Merckx was at the peak of his powers, and it was arguably his greatest year. He took the Tour/Giro double as well as Milan-San Remo, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia.

It was also the year in which he took the Hour record. So a yellow jersey from this year is a particular vintage.

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Image 27 of 27

Or as Wiggins puts it, ‘Owning a Merckx ’72 yellow is like owning a Pele shirt from the 1970 World Cup final.’

Victory in 1972 also helps play to a theory that Wiggins has been working on.

‘So I worked out that every 10 years somebody incredible wins the Tour, and it just so happens to be on years that end with a two.

‘So, 1952 was Coppi; ’62 was Anquetil; ’72 Merckx; ’82 Hinault; ’92 Indurain; and ’02 was Lance. And then in 2012, me.’

• Icons: My Inspiration. My Motivation. My Obsession by Bradley Wiggins is published by HarperCollins, priced £25 hardback and is available now from the Cyclist Shop

This article was originally published in issue 78 of Cyclist magazine

Words Stu Bowers Photography Patrik Lundin

‘If it rains, that bottom bend is going to be lethal,’ I remark to my teammate, Rich, as we roll around a few sighting laps of the street circuit.

We’ll have plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with the course over the next day or so, as we are limbering up for the start of the Castelli24h criterium race in Feltre, northern Italy.

Currently it’s dry and abnormally warm at this dusk hour, but my weather app suggests there’s a 67% chance of a downpour later tonight, which is the reason for my concern.

Rich, though, is quick to put my mind at ease. ‘Oh, don’t worry,’ he says. ‘They stop the race if it rains, and everyone goes for a beer while they wait for it to dry up.

‘Then they send out a racing driver in a Lamborghini onto the circuit to blast around a few laps, just to help dry the track out faster.’

No one does flamboyance quite like the Italians. Now I’m actually hoping it does rain.

Feltre, on any normal day, is a quintessential Italian town, with a historic walled centre, Roman architecture and a hilltop location that affords delightful views of the Dolomites to the north. Today, though, the ambience is very different.

So far this event looks to be as much an excuse for a day-long party as it is a serious bike race.

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Image 2 of 24

There’s a real festival vibe. The town is completely closed off to traffic, and its many bars are spilling customers onto the streets as crowds pack themselves densely along the barriers lining the entire course.

Music from the DJ pumps around the circuit, culminating in a crescendo of Euro-techno as we enter the start-finish straight where above our heads the red digits on the gantry’s large digital display prominently read 24:00:00 in readiness for the start.

I wonder how I’ll be feeling by the time that clock has ticked round to single digits. 

There’s no I in team

Here’s how it works. Teams of 12 riders compete on a feature-packed, 1.5km street circuit that includes a nasty drag, a fast S-bend descent and even a cobbled sector.

Only one rider from the team is permitted in the race at any one time, and the team should ideally have a rider on the course at all times.

It’s up to you to decide tactically how best to use your team members and how long their respective stints are, as long as everyone is used at least once.

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Image 4 of 24

Riders make rolling changeovers, to keep the flow of the race and allow teams to maintain their position in a group.

This is achieved with a pit lane handover system in which the active rider signals to their replacement their intent to leave the circuit at the end of the following lap.

Then, as the rider peels off into one end of the pit lane the incoming rider is permitted a rolling start out of the far end, so they’re up to speed by the time the group reaches them. That’s the theory, at least.

Other than that the only real rule is race as hard as you can to accumulate as many laps as possible in the 24 hours.

I’m to take the first shift, and I’m not sure if that’s a privilege or a bum deal. On the plus side the atmosphere will be electric and at least it means I’m getting a turn done as early as possible.

On the other hand, these opening laps are the most likely to be filled with carnage. Either way, I burrow myself into the mass of 100 or so other riders under the gantry.

The music fades as the announcer introduces dignitaries and special guests including two-time World Champion Paolo Bettini, who says a few words of encouragement.

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Image 6 of 24

I’m not really listening, though – I’m too busy checking out the riders around me. They tap their feet, shake their legs and perform last-minute stretches.

Above me to the left overhangs a large, ornate stone balcony, and I half expect a Roman Emperor to appear to begin the games.

Certainly, what lies ahead for the next 1,440 minutes will be a battle of gladiatorial proportions. 

24 hours and counting

It’s 9pm. It’s still incredibly warm, but thankfully there’s no sign of that rain. The countdown begins, 10-9-8…, the adrenaline in my body spikes and the hairs on my arms and neck stand on end.

One final deep breath, 4-3-2-1, and in a wave of colour we surge forward to the cacophony of cleats striking pedals.

The first lap flashes past in a blur, a frenzied melee of riders fighting for position, trying to stay safe and keep the front of the race in sight.

Already the pack has been decimated, blown to smithereens by a frenetic pace set by the teams intent on going flat-out from the gun.

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Image 7 of 24

There may be 24 hours to go, but many of the riders are racing like it’s an ordinary one-hour crit.

Tactics soon come into play. As I come around to complete only my second lap, riders are now already peeling into the pit lane for an early change.

As more fresh legs join the race, the pace ramps up again and again.

Our team plan is to divide the stints fairly. We’ll split our 12 riders into four groups, with each sub-team of three rotating out on course for three hours. That divides into roughly 20-

minute stints for each rider, with three outings each per session. Each group will then do two of these three-hour sessions, effectively split by (assuming all goes to plan) a nine-hour rest period while the other groups take charge.

The spirit of the event is as much about the social side as it is the riding. The racing is full bore, but this format allows a generous amount of downtime in which to kick back, grab a beer and some food and soak up the atmosphere.

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Image 8 of 24

If you’re lucky you can even grab some sleep.

It’s been such a chaotic start I’ve completely forgotten to check my watch while I ride, and when I do I find I’ve overrun.

When I pass the pits again I raise my finger in the air to signal to our next man, Steve, who I’ve kept waiting in the pit lane for an additional five minutes, that this next lap will be my last for this shift.

As I pull off the circuit, I can just about squint through the haze of sweat pouring into my eyes and make out Steve successfully reconnecting with the race at the exit of the pit lane.

Finally I can take stock of what’s been a crazy but hugely enjoyable opening half hour.

Rehydrating and refuelling is the priority for me now, as I’ll need to be ready to be back out on course in around 40 minutes’ time. I check my watch: 23 hours 30 minutes and counting. 

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Image 12 of 24

Best laid plans…

Fast forward 22.5 hours and the plan has gone completely out the window. The BBC’s weather app was a way off with its forecast.

It hasn’t rained a drop and yesterday’s heatwave has returned today with even more ferocity.

Even without temperatures in the high 20s, the Castelli24h is a race of attrition, but the heat and length, not to mention sleep deprivation, have taken their toll.

We’re not alone. Riders are slumped seeking shade under awnings, exhausted and simply unable to face another turn.

We’ve got one man in the local A&E having a wrist X-rayed after a fall, and by the time the last hour rolls around it’s basically a case of whoever’s left standing.

That unfortunately means me pulling on well used (and really quite sweaty) kit to get out there one last time.

It’s hard to motivate myself for this final push, but at least there’s plenty of encouragement from the spectators. With the end in sight, the crowds have swelled again and their cheering and banging on the boards means the noise levels have skyrocketed once more. 

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Image 13 of 24

By now I know every inch of the circuit. I have no idea how many laps I’ve completed but it’s more than enough to have a mental map of every blemish in the tarmac.

Road furniture and painted lines are now burned on my brain to maximise every ounce of speed.

Pass the last lamppost on the right, aim for the gap between the two drain covers, then brake hard at the end of the yellow lines. Tip the bike in, inside pedal up, outside pedal fully weighted, let it drift all the way to the barriers on the exit, stand up and sprint flat-out to the first speed bump.

And so it goes on. Hypnotised by the repetition, laps pass almost unnoticed now. Some riders are crawling around the course, just willing the final minutes to pass.

Other teams have left something in the tank and are making up large numbers of laps on those flagging.

I’m exhausted, yet also elated. Who knew racing round in circles for 24 hours could be this much fun?

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Image 15 of 24

Steve is out on the circuit when the clock at last ticks over to zero, and as he pulls back into the pits for the final time our team has racked up a highly respectable 472 laps, totalling 873.2km. That’s a tidy 36.32kmh average.

Impressively, the winners have managed 521 laps with an average speed of over 40kmh. But hey, we can always try again next year.

Who knows? Maybe it will rain and they’ll need someone to drive the Lamborghini.

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Image 11 of 24

Details 

What: Castelli24h
Where: Feltre, Italy
How far: As far as you can manage
Next one: 7th-8th June 2019
Price:€400 per team (max 12 people)
More info:24orefeltre.it 

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Image 17 of 24

The rider’s ride (part 1)

Condor Italia RC, £799 (frameset), approx £4,000 (as tested), condorcycles.com

Racing the Condor Italia RC in northern Italy couldn’t be more appropriate. Not only is the bike returning to its birthplace, with Condor’s factory just a short hop down the road in Vicenza, but it’s exactly the kind of event the bike was built for.

The RC stands for ‘race competition’ so makes no secret of the fact this bike was intended to be put through its paces with a number pinned on your jersey.

And it didn’t disappoint. The 7000 series alloy triple-butted frame might not be the lightest at a claimed 1,600g, but it stands resolutely firm in every situation, helping it to retain a snappy feel.

The wheels also helped a lot in this regard – Hunt’s Team 45 carbon wheels shod with Vittoria Corsa 25mm tubs were superbly suited to the demands of the event and really complemented the attributes of the frame.

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Image 21 of 24

The rider’s ride (part 2)

Trek Émonda ALR 6, £2,000, trekbikes.com

The Émonda ALR 6 is literally a carbon copy. Made from hydroformed aluminium, it aims to mimic the performance of Trek’s top-end race-ready carbon rigs of the same name.

With invisible weld technology you could easily be duped into thinking it was carbon, especially in this anodised black finish.

It’s Trek’s lightest aluminium frame and, paired with 50mm Bontrager Aeolus 5 Comp wheels and a Shimano Ultegra groupset, it proved to be the perfect companion for crit racing.

The frame’s stiffness was perceptible (and appreciated) up that 400m climb and during the innumerable accelerations and surges in pace.

It handled adeptly too, feeling planted through tricky high-speed corners and sticking resolutely to line choices while being nimble enough to make a last-minute switch to navigate its way through a group.

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Image 10 of 24

Do it yourself

Travel

There are plenty of flights from all major UK airports to Venice Marco Polo, which is the easiest option for travel, although Treviso and Veneto are alternative options for airports.

From Venice, it’s about 1hr 30min drive to Feltre. Cyclist flew with BA from London Heathrow for around £300 return.

Budget airlines may come in cheaper for the flights but be aware they usually charge more for bike transport.

Accommodation

We stayed at the Hotel Casagrande (hotelcasagrande.it) on the outskirts of Feltre, about a 1.5km ride from the course.

The hotel was extremely bike friendly, even having its own workshop with a workstand, basic tools and a track pump.

Its restaurant also served up some delicious meals although, let’s face it, most Italian food is pretty great.

Thanks

Big thanks go to everyone at Castelli, both on the Italian side and at UK distributor Saddleback, for allowing Cyclist to join a team and for their superb hospitality throughout the event.

A special mention goes to Camilla, without whom we may never have retrieved our lost bikes.

The 1922 Tour de France was a tale of the tortoise and several hares that pulled up lame. Philippe Thys won five stages but broke a wheel. Eugéne Christophe led until his front forks collapsed. Jean Alavoine won three stages in a row but lost 76 minutes with a string of punctures, leaving Hector Heusghem wearing yellow – until he picked up a one-hour penalty for swapping a damaged bike that could have been repaired. And so Firmin Lambot, at 36, became the Tour’s oldest winner.

The record still stands, despite advances in sports science theoretically extending the careers of the very best riders. So what is the ideal age at which to be a winning pro cyclist – or, for that matter, a winning club rider?

'The standard thinking is that in most sports athletes peak physiologically at around 27,' says British Cycling coach Will Newton.

'It’s not quite as simple as that because there has to be a window, and for most pros that can be a broad range between the mid-twenties and mid-thirties. But it has a basis in fact.'

Statistics don’t lie. The average age of the winner of the Tour de France currently stands at 28.5, and research by ProCyclingStats reveals similar statistics across all pro races.

It analysed all of the results from UCI road races from 1995 to 2016 (male and female) and found that the most points were scored by riders aged 26, spiking up at the age of 25 and declining steadily from the age of 28.

It then went a step further and analysed the results of all riders whose careers spanned more than 10 years, and in this case the most points were scored at 28, spiking up at 26 and declining steadily from the age of 30.

'There are a lot of influencing factors,' says ProCyclingStats director Bert Lip. 'There could be fewer older riders or maybe they ride fewer races, or perhaps talented riders' careers get cut short by injury.

'Those factors are mostly filtered out by the 10-year limit so that’s a better representation of the peak age.'

There can be exceptions to the norm, but in broad terms physiology doesn’t lie either. 'Muscle mass peaks at around 24,' says Newton.

'VO2 max declines by around 15% per decade and muscular strength declines steadily past the age of 30.'

In fact, it’s your twenties when your body is at its peak in each of the 10 key facets of fitness: endurance, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, body composition and anaerobic capacity. 

'Sprinters tend to peak slightly younger, when the body is at its strongest,' says former pro Axel Merckx, director of the UCI Continental team Hagens Berman Axeon that works with under-23s – including now Team Sky rider Tao Geoghegan Hart –  in the US.

The fast-twitch muscle fibres needed for intense bursts of speed decline before the cardiovascular ability needed to succeed in the General Classification, and this is borne out by the fact that Mark Cavendish’s best year, results-wise, came in 2011 when he won the points classification in the Tour de France and the World Road Race Championships at the age of 26.

By the end of that Tour he had won 20 stages in four years. In the six Tours de France since he has won half as many.

The problem is that there will always be someone younger and fitter coming along behind you. ProCyclingStats also calculated when other pros were at their best in terms of results, revealing that the likes of Axel’s dad, Eddy, and Fabian Cancellara peaked at 26-27, Miguel Indurain, Stephen Roche and Classics legend Roger De Vlaeminck at 27-28.

This shows there isn’t any significant difference between the peak ages of Classics and Grand Tour winners, which is almost certainly because there’s another factor that comes into play: experience.

'Your knowledge of the past helps you change your preparation for your goals,' says Axel Merckx. 'You gain knowledge year after year and you need to be in the right place – in life, in your team – to reach your peak.'

Newton agrees: 'Teamwork and tactics make such a difference compared to individual sports. Experience, motivation, confidence and even luck – being in the right team at the right time – are crucial.

'Cycling is one of the few sports where your physical peak is relatively unimportant, because there are so many other factors involved.'

Late bloomers

Lambot isn’t the oldest Grand Tour winner, of course. That honour went to Chris Horner when he won the 2013 Vuelta a Espana at the sprightly age of 41, but he is the exception rather than the rule.

'There will always be an outlier here and there – someone who defies all logic,' says Newton.

And yet there’s as much hope for you as there was for Horner in Spain that year. The inevitable declines in fitness relate to your maximum exercise capacity, rather than your current fitness level.

Unless you’re already at your maximum, you still have room for improvement.

'The more you ride, the better you get,' says Merckx. 'If you’ve never ridden a bike you’ll progress massively over two months at any age, but after two years it becomes harder to go faster.'

Newton draws attention to the 10,000 hours theory, which surmises that this is the amount of time you have to spend doing an activity to reach your peak.

'If you start young and become a pro, it might take you 15 years. If you start later and you’re not a pro you might never get there, but there’s no reason why you can’t keep improving into your forties.

'Even after that there’s hope – if you go to a sprint session at the Manchester Velodrome there are always races at the end, and they’re usually won by guys in their sixties.

'That’s because they have the experience. They’re not stronger than the guys in their forties, but they know how to race.'

For most of us, though, aerobic fitness declines at a much slower rate than anaerobic fitness, which means you may want to up the distances you race as you get older, so you’re less likely to get burned off by youngsters.

'Older riders rarely lack endurance – in fact you can often turn into a "diesel engine",' says former pro Daniel Lloyd.

So enjoy finding your own peak, and remember that even if you’re older than the pros there is no reason to stop trying to get better.

The 2019 edition of the Hell of the Ashdown is just a month away. Registration is also open for the 2019 edition here.

My cadence can be no higher than 50rpm and my speed has dropped well below 10kmh. I can see a car edging its way down at the ridge of the climb with cyclists dismounting because the combination of the steep gradient, narrow lane and steel obstacle has become too much.

Before I have time to assess how I will avoid the oncoming car the gradient hits 20%. I grit my teeth, push myself back in the saddle and squeeze tightly on the bars.

I try and ride out of the saddle but I can feel my rear wheel losing traction, spinning faster than Malcolm Tucker dealing with a leadership contest.

Luckily, I reach the car at a natural lay-by and paperboy myself around but this doesn't stop me from getting the taste of blood in the back of my throat as I reach far into my reserves. 

I eventually get to the summit of the climb with my Garmin ticking my altitude gain to the 2,000m after just 102km. Never have I gone so hard in February but I guess that's what gives this season starting sportive its name, the Hell of the Ashdown.

A bumpy start

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Image 5 of 8

The Hell of the Ashdown has always served the same purpose. Be the hardest early season sportive in the south of England with the aim of forcing its plucky entrants into finding that much needed early season fitness.

Organised by one of the oldest cycling club's in Britain, Catford CC - who will also vehemently argue they host the world's oldest continuous bike race with the late season hill climb - the Hell of Ashdown tackles 107km of Kent and Sussex's most challenging roads, navigating 11 of the area's toughest climbs and taking in 2,100m of leg-sapping elevation in the process.

Part of me was excited when I reached the sportive start at a local school in the Orpington area, a town that conflicts itself between being London and being Kent (it's been in Greater London since 1965 but memories are long).

The weather was unusually balmy for a February morning, so much so that I had left the gloves in the car. Ahead of me was a challenging but fully achievable day that I knew I could conquer. I mean, I'd even done a turbo session in preparation.

However, this naive optimism was quickly quashed.

'Local residents in the Hever area have removed our signage so you may need to consult your phones when you get there,' shouts Catford CC's Mike Morgan over a large megaphone.

'Oh and also, there is a massive pothole right at the start so don't fall down it, ok?'

I've suddenly become all tense about the big day of riding ahead and the fact that I'm the first person who will have to roll out of this sportive and avoid the 'massive pothole' has done my nerves no favours.

The idea of 2,000m of climbing in February is quite absurd. It barely feels like I've finished the leftover turkey from Christmas and I am already dragging myself up some of Kent and East Sussex's toughest climbs, but it's all for the love of cycling, I guess.

Rather cruelly, the climbing starts just 2km after I have got going. Descending down a lonely lane flanked with empty farms, a left and right later, I hit Church Hill.

Immediately ramping up into double figures, the climb is only 200m at most but its enough to get the blood pumping.

The next few kilometres continue uphill south towards the Kentish Downs before we reach the first major descent of the day, Brasted Hill.

This particular lump in the road hosted the first ever National Hill Climb Championships in 1944 and helps me hit 60km/h as I plummet down to the next climb of the day.

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Image 7 of 8

With just 8km in the bank, I hit the base of the longest ascent today has to offer, Toy's Hill. At a smidge under 3km, it bears little comparison to the Alps or Pyrenees in difficulty but it does in feel.

Rumbling along at 5% the gradient is always manageable and its winding nature means that you can never see beyond the next 100m of road.

The beginning of the climb is claustrophobic at first as you find yourself surrounded by typical Kentish detached houses with gravel driveways and house names such as 'Rose Cottage' and 'Runnymead'.

Rumbling along I find a comfortable rhythm joining another rider to which I quip 'I hear this is as easy as today gets.'

'Does it? I'm not local, I don't really know the course,' he exhales back at me. At this point, I'm unsure whether I pity or envy his obliviousness to what's ahead.

Warning: Bears in woods

This long ascent helps thin out the field and settle the pace of those around me. A fast descent is followed by 10km of rolling, tree-lined roads in which I pass by Hever Castle, the childhood home of the beheaded Anne Boleyn, in a shot.

The trees either side of me become denser as we speed into Sussex. Such is the nature of the terrain, you never know if you are on a true climb or whether the road is just cruelly rising for it only to drop again a few hundred metres later.

The reason for the thick woodland surrounding me is because I have now entered the Ashdown Forest, the area of land that lends its name to sportive I am riding.

It's pretty indistinguishable from many other local wooded areas with its only physical note being that the hanging trees trap moisture on to the road surface.

What does set this forest apart is that it probably played a part in all of our childhoods. You probably know it by its fictional name, Hundred Acre Wood. 

AA Milne used the Ashdown Forest as his setting for Winnie-the-Pooh. Within the actual wood, you can find the actual Pooh Corner and an actual river and bridge to play Pooh sticks.

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Image 3 of 8

While the nostalgia helps me over the next few lumps and bumps I soon realise what's next on the agenda. Kidd's Hill, or 'The Wall' as it is often referred to, is billed as the toughest hill en route.

In terms of numbers, it doesn't tackle as much vertical gain as Toy's Hill and its average gradient is shallower than Hogtrough Hill yet it poses a challenge that very few climbs in the area can match.

The first few hundred metres of the climb takes you through some blind bends, hiding how steep the gradient truly is. Then with three-quarters of the climb to go, you learn why locals have given Kidd's Hill its nickname. 

The final kilometre of the climb is as straight as an arrow. Ahead of me, I can see bodies littered across the road, grinding their way to the top that seems to simultaneously be in touching distance and a million miles away.

This climb is so tough that when the Tour de France visited this neck of the woods in 1994, it caused outrage in the peloton.

Race organisers suggested the peloton, which included a young Marco Pantani, tackle the climb but such was the backlash it was avoided.

The suffering to reach the peak of this nasty hill is eased when you see the view from the top. Over the other side, the hill drops off suddenly presenting an amber landscape that rolls for miles with a gentle hue that sculps the countryside back north to Kent and beyond.

A quick descent follows as you re-enter the Ashdown Forest. Riding back through Forest Row, I shoot past the TrainSharp store, home to hardman Sean Yates.

The Sussex local grew up on these roads, using them to train in his professional days with Peugeot, 7-Eleven and Motorola. 

In his days with the latter, Yates formed a bond with young American Lance Armstrong who once visited Yates at his Sussex home.

The two would ride around training together in leafy England with Armstrong learning from the experienced Yates.

Riding around the lanes, Big Tex is said to have been struck by the mansion-like houses dotted around the countryside, pointing out the big houses en route stating that he would, one day, own a house like that. True to his word, he does. 

Return to Kent

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Image 8 of 8

I can feel the lactic acid building in my legs over the next 30km as I roll over lumpy terrain back into Kent. The speed of those around me begins to slow as we begin a long drag towards the penultimate climb of the day, Hubbard's Hill. 

A climb I have tackled countless time, Hubbard's Hill is unglamorous and uncompromising. The steepest prolonged section at 15% takes you across an exposed motorway bridge which funnels a constant crosswind, and the steepest pitch comes towards the very end.

I battle through the shallower slopes towards the bottom, finding myself soon alone. As I reach the bridge my legs begin to feel dense.

I bob in and out the saddle to alleviate the gradient, quickly catching the coattails of those who have begun the climb before cresting the top after nine minutes of huffing and puffing.

Turning off the climb, I meander through yet more lanes lined with beautiful homes until I descend back down to the base of Toy's Hill, onto the Pilgrim's Way and onto the lower slopes of the final climb of the day to Hogtrough Hill. 

I allow myself one final look at the sweeping farms that patchwork the area together before turning instantly into a wall. 

Hogtrough takes you immediately into the red as the gradient starts in double figures. I can barely muster the energy to turn the pedals as I drag myself further and further towards the summit. 

My speed is close to stationary as a mandatory car attempts to pass me on its way down. I crawl around him, also negotiating the 20% gradient while many others unclip and are forced into walking.

Eventually, I am at the top. The day's climbing is done and my legs are empty. I cruise to the finish, failing to care about my overall time and more minded to let my body recover and consider the food about to devour when I arrive back at the sportive HQ. 

I roll over the line 4 hours 30 minutes after leaving with empty legs and cold hands but to a warm plate of chilli, a hot coffee, and a day's worth of hard training.

Key information:

Date -  Sunday 17th February 2019
Start - Charles Darwin School, Biggin Hill
Finish - Charles Darwin School, Biggin Hill
Distance - 107km
Cost - £35
Website - http://hellgb.co.uk/

This article was originally published in issue 80 of Cyclist magazine

Words James Witts Photography Juan Trujillo Andrades

‘We still have our full quota of eight riders, and not many teams can say that,’ says Jan-Niklas Droste, doctor to Germany’s one and only WorldTour team. It’s 11am on Wednesday 25th July 2018 and Cyclist is embedded with Bora-Hansgrohe at Stage 17 of the Tour de France.

Today’s stage is a short one, only 65km, but it includes a lot of climbing. ‘So far we’ve been lucky with crashes,’ Droste adds as we jump into a team car to follow the race. ‘Let’s hope that carries on until Paris.’

Fast forward to 3.38pm, and a voice crackles over the in-car radio: ‘Peter has crashed. Peter has crashed…’ The team’s star rider, Peter Sagan, has gone down hard on the sketchy descent of the Col de Val Louron-Azet.

It seems Droste had tempted fate, but the Slovakian World Champion is made of hard stuff. He’s bruised, scarred and his kit is ripped to shreds, but he’s riding on.

Still, every cloud – Sagan’s fall will turn out to provide a free taxi ride for Cyclist later in the day…

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Image 2 of 28

Building a reputation

Bora-Hansgrohe, as we now know them, appeared on the WorldTour in 2017, but the seeds for the team were sown more than 15 years ago.

‘Back in 2001, we were a mountain bike team,’ says team manager Ralph Denk. And a good one – Denk’s Giant Racing team won the 2006 World Cup.

‘But then I stopped the team and started a junior road team in 2007 with sponsorship from the federation,’ he adds.

‘Although road cycling, especially in Germany, was having a bad time of it I had a feeling, like you would with the stock exchange, that it was worth investing in the bad times to benefit when the good times return. But it’s been hard.’

Hard, but not impossible. Denk persuaded US IT company NetApp to support his dream. ‘The increased resources saw us race Continental in 2010, moving to ProContinental a year later.’

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Image 5 of 28

In 2012 Team NetApp completed their first Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia, and also won a stage of the Tour of Britain thanks to Leopold Konig.

The upward trajectory continued at the 2013 Vuelta a España, where they justified a wildcard slot with a stage victory by Konig.

‘But it was 2015 where things moved on apace thanks to Bora [cookers] replacing NetApp,’ says Denk. ‘Then, in 2017, Hansgrohe [showers and taps] joined our project. That gave us the resources to achieve WorldTour status.’

That ‘project’ is about putting Germany back on the cycling map after a series of doping scandals, including that of Jan Ullrich, left the sport if not in terminal decline then at least in need of CPR. But despite its Teutonic roots, it’s arguably thanks to a Russian that Bora’s progress accelerated so rapidly.

‘F*** all of them!’ Oleg Tinkov exclaimed after his frustration with cycling’s sponsorship-heavy business model saw him withdraw from the sport.

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Image 4 of 28

That was December 2015. His Tinkoff team would cease to exist 10 months later. It meant that nearly 30 world-class riders hit the market at the end of 2016, including Sagan.

Denk, buoyed by millions from Bora, snapped up the Slovakian and climber Rafal Majka, as well as Tinkoff teammates Maciej Bodnar, Michael Kolar, Erik Baska plus Sagan’s brother Juraj.

Action not talk

The 2018 Tour de France is the team’s second, and has been far more successful than 2017. Twelve months earlier, Sagan had been thrown out of the Tour after a clash with Mark Cavendish during the final sprint on Stage 4, and that was followed by Majka crashing out on Stage 9.

But things are different this year, and by Stage 17 Sagan has an unassailable lead in the points classification and has won three stages.

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Image 9 of 28

Not that he’s shouting about it. While the Slovakian may be big on entertainment, he’s low on words. In response to the question, ‘Can you tell us one highlight from your career?’ he replies, ‘I have many highlights.’

We try again with, ‘Have you undergone scientific bike fitting to acclimatise to your bike?’ He replies, ‘It’s just a bike at the end of the day.’ In desperation: ‘Favourite foods?’ ‘I have no favourite foods.’

‘Yes, people complain about his short answers but he’s an unbelievable professional,’ says the team’s press officer, Ralph Scherzer.

‘You just need to understand his position. He’s travelling 300 days a year; fans run at him for his autograph; even yesterday people were knocking on his hotel door.

‘So to cope with the constant attention of media and fans – especially after racing hard for 200km – sometimes he’ll just answer yes or no. People must understand that.’

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Image 8 of 28

Kitchen envy

Sagan’s conciseness is initially matched by team chef Silvio Clinker – understandably so as the team’s kitchen truck is a magnet for curious onlookers.

Back when they were Bora-Argon 18, the kitchen was a glass cube where fans could view the chef – and, importantly, the Bora air extractor – producing the riders’ meals.

It was a little too zoo-like, so the team’s new kitchen truck is lower in profile but still sumptuously appointed with a designer wooden dining table.

‘The founder of Bora [Willi Bruckbauer] is a carpenter by trade and designed this truck,’ says Clinker. ‘It’s magnificent.’

Clinker is one of three chefs employed by the team. ‘I ran my own restaurant in Switzerland for a few years before moving to London,’ he says.

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Image 10 of 28

‘I then went to cooking for Audi in motorsport before working with Bora. I’m freelance, though, so recently worked for the Foo Fighters on their European tour.’

The Foo’s leader, Dave Grohl, reportedly loves sausages and beans. That won’t work for professional cyclists, however.

Instead, the team’s nutritionist advises red meat for iron and its oxygen-carrying capabilities – useful at altitude – while cow’s milk is replaced by rice and almond milk.

‘Because of today’s late start, in essence they’re having two breakfasts – one at the normal time and one at 12 o’clock,’ says Clinker.

‘It’s a short, intense day in the mountains so it’s all about the carbs: rice and pasta with some parmesan thrown in.

‘At this point in the race it’s arguably more important to focus on hygiene. Your body’s on the limit and the immune system is suppressed. You can also easily pass on infections as we’re so close to each other.’

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Image 13 of 28

Taking Sagan’s seat

For Bora-Hansgrohe, on paper the day should be about Majka. In actual fact the spotlight fixes on Sagan once again. The descent of Col de Val Louron-Azet is steep and frightening enough for those of us in a car, but for the riders it’s potentially lethal.

Despite his renowned bike-skills, Sagan overcooks one of the corners and goes off the road and into the trees.

‘I made a mistake,’ a bruised Sagan tells the scrum of reporters at the finish. ‘I flew through the forest and hit a big rock with my ass.’

Sagan’s loss proves to be Cyclist’s gain. His injuries are severe enough to require an X-ray at the local hospital, so he’s whisked off in a team car, opening up a Sagan-sized space on the team bus.

With shuttle buses cancelled and no taxis available, we have no way of getting back to our hotel – unless some kind soul offers us a lift.

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Image 17 of 28

After much badgering, press officer Scherzer agrees we can ride in the team bus and they will drop us in Tarbes on the way to their own hotel.

‘That’s where Sagan usually sits,’ Scherzer says, pointing to my seat. I acknowledge the privilege bestowed upon me, and remain respectfully quiet so as not to break the silence. No one speaks as we drive through the Pyrenees. The riders are plainly exhausted.

Eventually domestique Pawel Poljanski recovers enough to tell us about the day. ‘It was a tough stage from start to finish,’ he says.

‘We really tried and Rafal was close but we didn’t create a large enough gap. Nairo [Quintana] caught him with around 5km to go and caught the others with 2km left.

‘I just hope all of us – and Peter – can recover for tomorrow.’

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Image 18 of 28

The silence descends again, and my mind drifts to a conversation I’d had with founder Denk earlier in the day about the age-old problem of instability in cycling.

‘Bora is with us until the end of 2021 and Hansgrohe the end of 2020, so we’re not in a bad place, but this sport remains too reliant on sponsorship,’ he said.

‘Around 95% of our income comes from sponsors but, if we’re to develop, that needs to drop to 50%.

‘If we want to create a real culture and real story – run an amateur club and development team, have a permanent base like a football club – we need a new business model.

‘The current model means money is always focused on the present rather than the future – you’d rather spend millions on a rider to win races than invest in a wind-tunnel or find out more about altitude training.

‘If I have a 10-year project, I can invest more into that. It’s partly why Team Sky are so successful.’

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Image 19 of 28

It’s a subject that’s playing on the minds of a growing number of team managers.

‘For now, though,’ says Denk, ‘this team is all about improving the image of road cycling in Germany. I feel it’s something we are achieving.’

This article was originally published in issue 79 of Cyclist magazine

The bicycle saddle is an easy component to adjust. By just loosening a couple of bolts you can change the height, tilt and fore/aft placement – also known as setback. For this reason, it’s often the first thing that riders tweak in the search for improved comfort or more power. What isn’t always fully understood, though, is how best to adjust the seat.

‘There’s no actual ideal position,’ says Phil Burt, leading figure on all matters of bike fit and founder of Phil Burt Innovation.

‘I like to refer to a bike fit “window”. But if you were to ask me what’s the most important part of bike fit, I’d always say saddle position: setback, height and tilt.

‘Those points are interrelated and absolutely critical. If you get those wrong everything else becomes a bit of a bodge job.’

New thinking

It’s time for an art class. ‘If you drew a box around the saddle, force generation will typically be lower and comfort easier to find in the bottom right-hand corner – in other words the point that’s lowest and furthest back,’ says Burt.

‘Conversely, the upper left-hand corner will bring benefits in terms of power output but may not be a position you can sit in comfortably all day.’

So, as is often the case with bike fit, much will depend on the individual case relative to what your body can cope with and what your chosen discipline is.

‘Seat setback obviously affects reach,’ Burt adds. ‘I see a lot of people who have their seat too low and too far back and they can’t ride comfortably on the hoods.

‘But it’s mad to run the seat right back. If you look at the evidence you want the seat as high and as far forward as possible for power delivery.

‘The UCI has its “five behind” rule [the seat nose must be a minimum of 5cm further back than the centre of the bottom bracket], and if you want to be more powerful you want to run right up to that line where possible. And not just forward, but higher too, to open up the hip angle.

‘I regularly see riders who have their seat setback at around 80mm behind the BB, but they’re struggling to reach the bars so they go and buy a shorter stem.

‘In most cases what they actually need to do is run the seat much further forward. The result is a better position with your weight further forward over the front, which will benefit handling as well as power generation from your legs.

‘Think about this: if you try to stamp on something that’s directly by your foot, you can crush down on it with a lot more force than if the object is half a metre in front of you.

‘You’re just way more powerful when you’re applying force directly underneath you, and it’s the same with pedalling.’

Saddle up

So why aren’t we seeing all the top riders perched on the noses of their saddles, and the saddles all the way forward on the rails?

It turns out we probably are, it’s just we might not have noticed due to the latest saddle designs.

‘If you look back at pictures of the older generations of pros generally the trend was to sit lower amd further back,’ says Burt.

‘That mentality is changing now, especially with the newer types of saddles. Shorter, snub-nosed saddles allow you to bring the support you need from the saddle further forward [within the rules].

‘The saddle also has to be at the correct tilt, to get that position to work. For me a saddle should never be nose up. That will stop the pelvis rotating forward which would mean doing all your reaching from the lumbar spine, which is not ideal.’

If you intend to reposition your seat, you need to be clear about what your goals are. ‘If it’s purely a “more power” thing there’s a position for that.

‘But if it’s a case of needing to be comfortable for a five-hour ride we’d need to make a different call.’

Burt has one final piece of advice: ‘Remember, bike fit is evolution not revolution. You can adjust the bike instantaneously but your body will not do the same.

‘If you want to find out whether your body will accept a new position, the best way is to make adjustments in little chunks, and that way work out what the sweet spot is for you.’

Patrick Lefevere personally introduced each and every one of his riders at the Deceuninck-Quick Step team presentation earlier this month. When it came to 22-year-old Fabio Jakobsen, Lefevere regaled a quick anecdote from his neo-pro season last year.

'When Fabio won Scheldeprijs last year he came up to me in the team bus and told me how he was disappointed that Marcel Kittel punctured before the finish,' Lefevere said. 

'He was upset because he knew he would have beaten Marcel that day and he wants to beat the best sprinters. I like that.' 

You could mistake this confidence for arrogance, wishing a 19-time Grand Tour stage winner had made it to the finish so you could beat him.

You could also mistake this as arrogance considering the success Jakobsen experienced in his first season in the WorldTour.

With victory at Scheldeprijs came two WorldTour victories at the Tour of Guangxi later in the season, a stage of the Binckbank Tour, stage of the Tour des Fjords and the Nokere Koerse. Seven in total that made him 2018's most successful neo-pro. 

So when Cyclist got the opportunity to chat to this young talent, we thought we'd ask him about a few things to see which side of confident and arrogant he was currently on, or whether he was just a young guy with a lot of talent.

Jakobsen on being 2018's most successful neo-pro

'I'm a confident guy but I'm also confident I don't know everything. I know what I want but I also know that I'm only 22-years-old. I know I have to listen to teammates and coaches and I have to learn.

'Honestly, sometimes I have to pinch myself to realise it's all happening. I had a 10/10 season. I won seven races and the Scheldeprijs, the big one, just look at the list of names to have won there. Kittel, Cavendish, Boonen. Win there and you are a big name.

'The pressure was already on last year, also. Not in all the races but some like Nokere Koerse, for example,' Jakobsen explained. 

'It was decided before the race that I was the leader. My first race in Belgium with the team, full pressure. Although I think that helped me focus, the pressure. It's good for a sprinter, it helps you focus and prepare the mind'

Jakobsen on the season ahead

'A stage in Paris-Nice would complete my season. Riders go there in good shape, racing hard to prepare for the Classics, so I would love to go and win there. I would also like to win early, at the Tour of Algarve or even Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, that would confirm a good winter.

'I may do the Vuelta a Espana, too, if the team decide I'm ready but that's their decision. Grand Tours may be for the future as at the moment my engine is still too small, I think.

'But wherever I race I want to win, I'm a sprinter.'

Jakobsen on a sprinter's ambitions

'There are five races sprinters have to win: Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Scheldeprijs because it's the unofficial sprint World Championships, Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem and then, of course, the Champs-Elysees at the Tour,' lists Jakobsen. 

'You win all those and then your career is perfect. Luckily, I've already won one.'

Jakobsen on Patrick Lefevere

'He is literally the Godfather. He takes care of all his children, we are his riders. He will protect us, he will say if something is wrong, he will be honest and keep control making sure everything runs like clockwork.

'He knows everything. He doesn't always have an opinion on everything but he will know what's happening and will step in when he needs to.'

Jakobsen on his heroes

'I wasn't the biggest cycling fan as a kid but my love grew once I started riding at like 10-years-old. I looked up to guys like Tom Boonen because they were so strong in the Classics but my real hero was Nikie Terpstra.

'He was an outcast because he didn't race for Rabobank, he did his own thing. He went the Quick-Step and then won Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders.

'It was so cool being his teammate. We even shared a room at the National Championships last year, it was like I dream. I really learned a lot from him, he was a mentor to me.'

Jakobsen on cycling in the Netherlands

With myself, Dylan Groenewegen, Tom Dumoulin, it is a really good time for cycling in Holland although there is a downside. The public only really pays attention to the Tour de France,'

'There's so much more than just the Tour and Dutch cycling will likely win so much this year but it only matters if you win at the Tour. It can actually be quite shit but it is what it is.'

Jakobsen on the gym

'I'm definitely the strongest rider in the team, but I'm also the heaviest.'

(At this moment, I ask whether he is heavier than Tim Declercq)

'Ok, maybe second heaviest after Tim but I'm the strongest in the gym. I could do a 140kg back squat if I needed to but I don't because I may get injured.'

Riders are starting to want more than your usual one-day sportive events as more and more look to emulate the pros. This means that multi-day sportive events are all the rage at the moment.

You only have to look at market leaders Haute Route to see the meteoric rise. As of 2018, the Haute Route series will have grown to 13 events across the world from Italy and France to more far-flung destinations such as Oman and Mexico, giving amateurs the chance to ride iconic and challenging routes over a series of days.

It's a chance to saddle up for more than a day, pushing your body to a limit you are unlikely to in your regular sportive or cycling holiday, as you subconsciously watch the clock from start to finish while also riding across some of the world's most interesting yet challenging terrain.

It's become such a success that others are trying to get in on the act.

One of those is the Golden Tour, a five-day sportive centring itself in the beach town of Cambrils before rolling around the Priorat Hills of southern Catalonia. 

Around the corner from Salou, this area has a reputation for cheap all-inclusive deals and drunk university students but it's desperately trying to shake that, attempting to become a hub for cycling to rival more popular destinations like Girona or the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

Using the El Dorado resort as its base, all riders will be provided with a week's worth of accommodation for the event including breakfasts and dinners before the five stages.

Accommodation is also guaranteed for family members with the resort closed to those outside of the event. 

Each of the five stages takes off from the resort which will also provide maintenance and post-ride recovery although that's not the real attraction of the event. Instead, it's the rugged terrain of the local hills that lay host to some of Spain's most respected wineries. 

The Golden Tour invited Cyclist to the Costa Daurada for a taste of what will be in store later this year.

Wine ride taster

I'll be straight with you. I never had much interest in visiting Spain before working for Cyclist. I was partially interested in the Basque County but the rest of the country held little appeal for me.  

What used to come to my mind first when thinking about Spain was cheap, all-inclusive holidays on the Costa Blanca. British sunseekers escaping home for two weeks in summer for the sunny climates of towns like Benidorm but taking all their home comforts with them.

Streets would be filled with cafes serving all-day English breakfasts intertwined with Irish bars named after Kelly that served pints of Stella and five shots for €5. Head out at night and a scene no different to a Friday night in Newcastle is laid before you. 

Image 1 of 19

Image 1 of 19

Thankfully, my naive opinion of this Iberian beauty has been shifted this summer with three separate trips in two months, but it's in large part thanks to the taster ride I participated on to promote the Golden Tour.

The Golden Tour takes advantage of the Priorat hills that rear up from the Costa Daurada coastline. Our day's ride starts in the small coastal town of Cambrils.

From the hotels and beach bars of the coast, it's only five minutes of riding before we are on the first climb of the day, a 'mise en jambe' climbing for a steady 15km without putting us in trouble, averaging just 4%. 

This climb is typical of the area, winding constantly through the hillside with a constant overhang of tree cover keeping you away from the direct, beating sun. After 40 minutes of steady climbing and brazen discussion about Catalonian football, we reach the summit to a picture worthy of a postcard.

Small in stature, with only summits few peaking over 1,000m, the Priorat mountains hardly lack beauty thanks to region's greatest export, wine. 

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Image 12 of 19

An area of 1,700 hectares of vineyards has transformed the hillside into a rippled flow of rows that give depth and character to an area that would otherwise be scorched and yellow.

The steep hillsides and permanent sunshine make the area perfect for the growing of grapes and with particular attention for winemakers in the last decade, Priorat has become internationally recognised for its powerful reds.  

We begin our descent into the heart of the vineyards towards the small village of Porrera but before long find ourselves stopping roadside. 

It's September, grape picking season, meaning that the vines are spoiled with plump, ripe fruit, a perfect mid-ride snack. I pick off a small bunch and tuck in. They're sweeter than expected but delicious, exploding with juice as you bite down. 

I end up eating 15 or so before remounting the bike and rolling down the valley towards Porrera. 

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Image 13 of 19

We reach Porrera at around midday prompting an order of coffee and colas at a local cafe frequented by the town's ageing population. Relaxing on plastic tables and chairs outside, they are in no rush and sit quietly reading the newspaper or just watching the world pass by. 

Sipping the coffee, my eye is caught by a large set of doors open wide from which comes a large thudding noise. Poking my head around, I see it's a winery, sorting the day's collection of grapes through an industrial machine which an American student, whose spending her summer grape picking, explains is the very beginning of the winemaking process.

She gives me a few more grapes to enjoy and I'm back on the bike. 

The grapes and coffee help for the next leg of the ride, 7km of exposed hillside that accounts for the day's last climb. It's only 4% like the previous climb but the heat adds a few degrees to the gradient making it a slower, more measured slog to the summit. 

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Image 16 of 19

I sit back on the climb with Bernat Manzano, a Spanish colleague working for Volata magazine. A Catalonian by birth and residence, he explains the difficulties the area has faced in the past year, the complexities surrounding the calls for independence and criticised actions of the Spanish government that followed.

Honestly, it's too complex to try to explain here but from speaking to Bernat and many of the area's local residents, you are shown just a glimpse of how important an issue this is for Catalonia and how it's so far from an agreeable conclusion.  

Bernat's words give me plenty to ponder as we crest the climb and begin the final descent back into Cambrils and to the town's harbour.

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Image 18 of 19

Our arrival coincides with the town's fisherman who are just docking after a day at sea. They unload crate after crate of fish from the trawler into polystyrene cases that are then filled with ice to keep the catch from turning.  

There's everything from squid to prawns, sea bass to octopus, proving just how fruitful the surrounding Mediterranian sea is. The fish is immediately whisked away from under our noses and into auction where local restauranteurs buy the evening's specials.

Later that night I find myself tucking into some squid and whitebait that was sold at that auction just hours earlier, chatting Barcelona football club and drinking a few glasses of wine. 

My experience was just the one day but for those there for the Golden Tour, that will be the evening's plan for the entire week.

For information on how to enter the Golden Tour, visit the official website here. 

Mindfulness is not new, but in 2016 you’re more likely to know someone who actually incorporates the practice into their life than, say, 10 years ago.

It’s a meditative technique that involves focusing on the present moment, and the concept really took off in 2012 with the arrival of the hugely successful mindfulness app Headspace, a 10-minute online routine practised by an estimated six million people worldwide.

Loved by celebs and stressed-out execs alike, it’s a phenomenon that has made its British, Buddhist monk creator Andy Puddicombe a multi-millionaire.

It may be tempting to dismiss mindfulness as hippy claptrap, but there’s evidence that it not only helps make you feel less stressed, but could actually improve performance on the bike.

That’s why I decided to put my natural cynicism to one side and see if I could use mindful techniques to get faster.

Back to basics

Before rushing off to buy an orange robe and some grown-up colouring books, though, I thought it would be useful to understand a bit more about the principles involved.

Professor Mark Williams, emeritus professor of clinical psychology at Oxford University and former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, says that mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.

‘It’s easy to stop noticing the world around us,’ Williams says. ‘It’s also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living “in our heads” – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour.’

For cyclists this can be interpreted in myriad ways, from noticing how your feet feel when you’re pedalling, to the heaviness of your breath on a climb, to controlling your nerves at the start of an event.

Performance gains

In 2015 one of the first studies to use mindfulness techniques with cyclists focused on an area of the sport known more for demanding confidence than deep thinking – BMX.

Watching one of their top riders hesitate at the start gate of a race set the USA BMX coaching team on a journey of discovery.

They wanted to know how their athletes could better handle the anxiety and psychological rigours of competition, and to do this they turned to the Center for Mindfulness at the University of California, San Diego.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers In Behavioral Neuroscience, set out to test how well the athletes responded to stress-related signals.

The stressor in this case was a mask that restricted the riders’ breathing. Breathing is a vital human function and any interference with it can produce an aversive reaction – usually people become anxious and stressed.

Each time the riders were shown a specific visual cue, the mask was tightened and their breathing was restricted even more.

Tactical training

After the initial tests the seven riders were given seven weeks of ‘tactical training’ (‘The athletes rolled their eyes if we called it mindfulness,’ said Lori Haase, who led the study) during which they focused intently on their bodies, consciously ignoring distractions from outside and practising breathing through straws to mimic the mask.

On repeating the breathing exercise the scientists noted that they were not only better able to recognise the potentially stressful situation, but also better able to control their physiological panic.

The conclusion, although it hasn’t been proven in competition, was that when athletes learn how to be more aware of their bodies they may also change the workings of their brains to become more resilient to stress.

All in the mind

But is deep thinking really going to make me, a recreational and occasional competitive cyclist, a better athlete? To work this out, I needed to dig deeper into the world of mindfulness for road riders.

‘Three key elements of mindfulness are moment-by-moment awareness, awareness of bodily and emotional sensations, and the acceptance of, or not being judgmental about, these sensations,’ says sports psychologist and cycling coach Tim Harkness.

Relating these ideas to our everyday lives is supposedly one way to lead a more balanced life but I wonder how this can help my cycling?

To elaborate, Harkness proposes a ride, but first there’s a pep talk: ‘An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience.

Ride in the present

It’s about freeing yourself from the past and future, allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly, such as enjoying the ride – the sensation of the wind on your face, smelling the flowers and handling the bike better on a descent because we are aware of balance and speed.’

We also discuss the way many cyclists now rely on technology rather than feeling to judge a ride. I, like many of my peers, am guilty of at times fixating on power, average speed or heart rate.

As a cycling coach, Harkness acknowledges that there is certainly a place for this kind of specific training, but by doing an impression of Chris Froome and staring at the monitor on your stem, it’s easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling when we ride.

Living by the numbers rather than noticing the physiological sensations we’re experiencing can produce a very different outcome.

To experience the concept on the bike, Harkness proposes a week of mindfulness training. Coming back from injury I feel unfit and untrained, so I’m uncertain how I might perform.

A new approach

As a rider I am admittedly a bit all-or-nothing – a touch ‘go hard or go home’. To me, I’ve failed if my average speed on a long ride is under 28kmh, but I haven’t ridden a bike for two months on account of injury and I’m intrigued to take a new approach.

With around 15 years of high-level training under my belt I can quote my power zones and heart rate zone off by heart.

I know my sweet spot from my anaerobic threshold but, as Harkness points out, to ride mindfully is to be in tune with your body, not your cycling gadgets.

He first asks me to elaborate on the physical indications associated with riding aerobically and at threshold – my maximum sustainable pace.

We discuss heart rate (but as a feeling rather than a number), the sensation of different volumes of lactic acid in my muscles and even how my facial expression changes as I work harder – the grimace is an obvious giveaway that the going is getting tough.

Data denial

The plan is that I use my Garmin bike computer to gather all the usual data, but that I don’t look at it during the ride. Instead I will attempt to ride on feel alone, judging my pace and effort with a view to better understanding how my body responds to different situations.

Never before have I ridden with my Garmin wrapped up in gaffer tape but this is how we are going to begin my week of mindfulness training.

Following Harkness’s instructions, I head to my local park to complete three laps of an 11km circuit, with the purpose of recognising the sensations associated with riding a bike.

I must focus on the feelings in my body, the forces in my muscles, the depth of my breathing, my connection with the bike.

It’s a test of my awareness and demands a stoic approach – I must not judge my performance or myself.

Keep cool

So, when I get overtaken by a guy with a bad attitude and the bike-handling skills of a wombat, I must avoid all temptation to blast past him making a two-fingered salute.

Why? Because this is not a mindful or clever way to ride – the effort will deplete my glycogen reserves, which is likely to mean I’ll bail early and not complete the session. I’ll also find it hard to recover quickly, which will impact on the rest of my week.

I concentrate hard on trying to relax and enjoy the ride but it’s hard to fight the urge to push myself. With my power output hidden from view I guestimate that I’ll average between 150-160 watts.

The ride includes a few short full-bore efforts and on a good day, when I’m fit, I’d expect to see something around 800W for these kind of five-second bursts, but given my two months off I reckon anything over 500W is good.

After I finish the ride, the unveiling reveals an average of 146W and a max of 556W. Not too far off my guesses and, according to Harkness, a sign that I’m pretty in tune with my body.

Climbs and punishment

For the second session I head to the hills for three repeats of a six-minute ramp.

Instead of smashing myself up the first one and then making two more slow, exhausted attempts (as I would usually do) I must pace myself, using my knowledge of my own body to ride consistently within my threshold.

Harkness advises noting markers along the route – a house, a hairpin bend, a particular tree – with the aim of perceiving the same physical feelings on each occasion.

I know I have to hold something back early in the ride in order to compete the three repeats at a consistent effort – but how much? ‘More than you think,’ says Harkness.

Each time I pass a route marker I try to unpick how I feel, how I’m breathing and the sensations in my legs.

I check in again at the same point on each lap to make sure the experience matches up, and largely it does.

Checking my Strava account I find out that the last time I rode this hill I smashed my way up at an average of 215W.

This time I see that I’m hovering around between 160W at the start and 190W at the top, which seems low, but I need to finish relatively fresh and looking forward to the week ahead, rather than knackered and declaring my lack of fitness as terminal.

I do this and feel pleased that I have something left in the tank.

Pushing the limits

The third session of the week is about threshold pushing – trying to increase the amount of time that I can ride before lactic acid floods into my system.

This is a good example of how to combine numbers with deep thinking. I ride until my legs start to burn, then back off and maintain the effort until the burn becomes unbearable.

I’m forced to engage with the physiological sensations I experience but at the same time work within set parameters. As the session progresses I feel smugly in tune with my body.

Unfortunately the numbers I’m producing are pretty awful. It ultimately turns out that I’m a good 30W off where I’d hope to be and I get increasingly cross and frustrated, forgetting the whole mindfulness principle of not judging myself. As such, I jack the session in early, feeling like a failure.

‘This is a good example of where mindfulness can be really useful,’ says Harkness.

If I’d accepted I was coming back from injury, that realistically I could never hit the numbers I used to and that I should therefore reassess the goal, the outcome of this session would have been very different.

I plainly still have a way to go before I can declare myself a mindfulness grand master.

Lessons learned

The last day is a revelation – I ride for fun, something I rarely do.

It’s easy to get caught up in the bravado of cycling and to live for the superlative – faster, harder, longer, better – but this is a punishing way to ride.

Instead I switch off the monitor, tell myself I have no time or distance targets, and just enjoy the sensation of turning the pedals. It’s something of a revelation.

I’d almost forgotten how pleasant it is to ride a bike without the need to punish myself or try to beat my previous best. I promise myself that I will do this more often and stop being a slave to the numbers.

Ultimately, my mindful riding experience didn’t make me instantly faster, but I did become aware that by riding mindfully I can be a calmer, happier, more clever cyclist.

And there’s a lot to be said for that. But I can also see how the techniques could be used to improve performance.

By raising your awareness of how you ride, how you use your muscles, of what’s achievable, and not being afraid to shift your expectations, even mid-ride, you will become a more efficient rider.

It’s a marginal gain that I’m certain Dave Brailsford would approve of.

What is mindfulness?

It may be the fashionable trend among stressed executives in the West, but the origins of mindfulness can be traced to the ancient meditative practices of Eastern religions such as Buddhism.

The emphasis is on taking the time to be aware of the present moment without judgement or further commentary.

This heightened awareness is said to reveal the ‘truth’ of the world around us and keep the practitioner more firmly grounded in this reality.

Various studies have noted the efficacy of mindfulness in reducing anxiety and depression, as well as improving general physical health.

Mindfulness in sport can be closely linked to the concept of a flow state – a psychological experience many describe as being ‘in the zone’.

It was first documented in 1990 by Hungarian scientist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who identified that an athlete’s peak performance can often occur when they focus on the performing of an activity itself, rather than the wider context surrounding the activity.

Take for example Chris Froome’s unique descent of the Col de Peyresourde at this year’s Tour de France.

In post-stage interviews Froome remarked that his method of pedalling while on sitting on the top tube was a technique that Team Sky had been experimenting with, and as such he was focused solely on his position on the bike and the sensation of descending, rather than worrying about time gaps to his rivals or its overall effect on the race.

Froome’s mindful riding helped put him into the yellow jersey, so who knows? Perhaps we’ll soon see teams hiring Buddhist monks alongside the nutritionists and sports scientists.

Mindful training plan

Ride 1: Focus on feeling

Warm up for 10 minutes, then ride a favourite route. Take time to be aware of sensations of breathing, pedal pressure, cadence, balance, muscle strength and muscle ‘warmth’.

For some time in this ride, seek to experience power and speed. Don’t look at your ride computer at any stage of the ride, but when you’re done have a good look at the data and compare it to previous rides.

Ride 2: Six-minute hill

Warm up with a progressive effort for 20 minutes, then do a strong effort up a six-minute hill.

Pace it so that you’re working hard at the end but have enough in the tank to repeat the hill twice more at the same effort. On all three ascents, pay attention to how you feel at set points on the hill.

Ride 3: Aerobic intervals

Ride easy for five minutes. Spend three minutes ramping up to the point where you’re breathing hard but can still talk in complete sentences.

For the next three minutes gradually increase the power until your legs begin to feel a slight burn.

Drop the power a bit and maintain this effort until the burn in your legs increases to the point where it hurts. At this point stop the interval and recover until your breathing slows enough for you to talk in complete sentences again.

Repeat until you get to 55 minutes, then warm down for the final five minutes.

Ride 4: Freestyle fun

Ride wherever, however and as far as you want. Just have fun taking in the scenery, feeling the bike beneath you and reminding yourself why you came to love cycling in the first place.

This article first appeared on Cyclist.co.uk in December 2016

If you’re knocking on the door of middle age and your Sunday rides are getting slower and slower, it’s easy to blame your age. But before you book into a geriatric nursing home consider this – the effect that age has on your cycling performance is actually pretty small when you start looking at the type of training you do, your diet, your lifestyle and even the effect of your mates repeatedly calling you ‘Grandad’.

Pros like Chris Horner and the retired Jens Voigt are proof that age can have the upper hand on the road with both riders racing successfully well into their 40s.

What’s more, British pro Malcolm Elliott, who retired in 1997 aged 36, made a come back five years later at 41 and won a round of the Tour Series a month short of his 49th birthday.

So before you swap your cycling shoes for your slippers, how about working out what else it could be that’s slowing you down. 

The Science bit

The brutal truth is that as you get older you’ll probably experience a steady decline in your ability to kick your mates’ backsides. Your biological and physical peak is usually reached between ages 20 and 35 (supposedly - but more on that here), but when you look at the facts, the decline you experience is actually pretty slender. 

Estimates vary but scientists in New Zealand found that for trained cyclists, maximum power declined on average by just 0.048 watts per kilo per year from the age of 35 onwards. Other studies show a loss of between 1-3 watts per kilo.

Tim Harkness, cycle coach and sports psychologist explains, ‘Take a typical 45-year-old man who is 8kg overweight. If he loses the weight through structured training, he could gain around 30 watts. Take away the 10 watts he has lost in the ageing process and he’s still up by 20 watts.’

So it’s far from doom and gloom, especially when you consider that a study by Dr Roy Shepherd at Toronto University discovered in 2008 that as you reach middle age, regular outings on your bike can actually turn back your biological clock by up to 12 years as you get older.

Findings that are seemingly backed up by a 2015 study at King’s College London, which examined a  group of seasoned cyclists aged between 55 and 79, and discovered that they displayed significantly fewer signs of ageing compared to non-cyclists.

Making that bike of yours is the key to a long and healthy life. And if you still don’t believe us, here’s even more evidence…

Push yourself

Telomeres are the tips of your chromosomes and as you grow older they get shorter. Author and coach Joe Friel explains, ‘The length of telomeres is directly related to aerobic capacity (VO2max) and therefore endurance performance.’

Friel quotes a study by scientists at the University of Colorado, which compared the telomere length of young (18-32 years) and older (55-72 years) subjects, half of which were ‘sedentary’ and the other half ‘endurance-trained’. 

The results showed that telomere length in the older, endurance-trained subjects was only 7% shorter than the endurance-trained youngsters (compared to 13% difference in the sedentary groups).

What’s more, the higher the subject's VO2max, the longer their telomeres were. VO2max increases if you do endurance sports, but it does so even more with interval training.

So you should incorporate some explosive efforts into your training to stay young.

Recover properly

If you’ve lived a life of hard knocks, it’s easy to think that your aches and pains are caused by your increasing maturity. But old injuries are just that, old injuries to cartilage or muscle.

‘There is not a direct correlation between age and injury. Train properly, stay flexible and look after yourself and you’re less likely to get injured,’ says Tim Harkness.

He adds, ‘Professional athletes work harder when they are injured than when they are fit.’ So, if you attempt Alpe D’Huez after six months off the bike and you get injured, it’s not because you’re old, it’s because you’re daft.

Lose your spare tyre

Visceral fat is the fat that’s laid down in your abdominal cavity around your organs. As we grow older, our metabolism changes and many of us are more inclined to put on fat around our middle.

But rather than accepting that looking like Michelin man is an inevitable part of ageing, you need to take steps to manage it.

Excess body weight ‘wastes energy, slows you down [and] affects performance and stresses joints,’ says Matt Fitzgerald, author of Racing Weight: How To Get Lean For Peak Performance (VeloPress, £14.99). 

But cyclists need to keep muscle and lose fat and to do that means incorporating weight-bearing exercise and fast, vigorous, riding into your training.  

Stay motivated

Remember those teenage years when you did something once and instantly got better? Well, we’re sorry to say it, but they’ve gone. Progress comes more slowly as we get older, which can make it hard to feel motivated.

‘Seeing instant and progressive results gives you confidence,’ says Harkness, ‘and with confidence comes motivation.’ 

But rather than chuck your bike in a hedge when it starts getting hard (and then endure the embarrassment of having to retrieve it), it’s time to reassess – being as fit as you can be, given your work and lifestyle, is a more realistic goal than completing the Étape in the top 50.

You can always look to race against people in a similar age bracket to yourself as you get older.

The League of Veteran Racing Cyclists specifically caters for cyclists over 40, organising loads of great events throughout the year – see lvrc.org.uk for details.

Don’t worry, be happy

‘The notion of mortality can make people exercise inappropriately,’ says Harkness. The worrywarts among us can develop a fear of pushing too hard, or being out of breath in case we end up injured or in cardiac arrest.

Sport scientist Joe Friel in his book, Faster at Fifty: How To Race Strong For The Rest Of Your Life (VeloPress, £15.99) explains that while it does take us a little longer to warm up as we age, we’re still capable of training hard. 

What’s more, if you’ve been cycling or exercising for most of your life, then the chances of having a heart attack during a hard effort, or long ride, are actually pretty slim.

By the time you’ve hit your 40s, you’ve usually proved that your heart can cope with most efforts that you throw at it. Although it’s always a good idea to regularly check your blood pressure and to listen to your body. 

Make a point of mixing up your rides

Training is about challenging your body to do something new. Weekend warriors who ride the same route every week should think about doing something novel or new.

‘Changing the stimulus – the route, the intensity or the duration is an effective way of shocking your body and you may be quietly surprised by the effect,’ says Harkness. 

Get enough rest

If you feel like you’ve been run over by a truck after every event you do you can, to some degree, legitimately blame your age. 

Muscle soreness, fatigue and the ability to get back on the bike all take a hit as you get older, but that’s where resting properly can help.

Australian scientists asked ‘veterans’ (aged on average 45) and younger cyclists (with an average age of 24) to perform a 30-minute time trial at high intensity on three consecutive days.

Surprisingly, there was no decrease in their performance over the three days but the veterans complained of greater muscle soreness, and found it harder to recover. Which is why a proper recovery routine is important.

That means getting your carbs and protein in within 20 minutes of a 90-plus minute ride – a banana blended in half a litre of full fat milk will do; making sure you warm down with an appropriate set of stretches, and then make sure you get some proper sleep.

Massage, baths and compression tights as well as just putting your feet up (literally) are all other simple ways to aid recovery. 

Remember, you’re as old as you think you are

Implicit association describes the attitudes and beliefs that you uphold. Being ‘old’ is, for many people, associated with being slow or ill.

A study in the mid-90s, by researchers at New York University, asked 30 participants to unscramble sentences that were either made up of words stereotypically associated with age (for example, frail, ill etc) or with more youth-related words.

They were then asked to walk down a corridor. Those who were given the age-related words walked more slowly than the comparison group. 

Conversely, in the 80s Dr Ellen Langer, a Harvard Professor, took a group of men in their 70s and 80s to a monastery that had been decorated as if it was 1959. There was a black and white television, they listened to songs from the era and discussed the events of the time.

They were also asked to act 20 years younger. After two weeks they reported better flexibility, strength and some even claimed to have better eyesight and hearing. The conclusion? That our mind-set is a lot to do with how we age. Think young to be young.

Get a Bike Fit

Feeling uncomfortable on your bike, or getting pain on long rides, can make cycling seem like hard work.

Mark Murphy, an expert bike-fitter at Specialized UK says, ‘Proper position on the bike is critical for all levels of cyclists. For a novice rider, a bike fit ensures maximum comfort and cycling ease. Experienced riders will find that a good fit increases efficiency, power, and comfort.

'Cyclists of all levels will reduce their chance of cycling-related injuries by having a bike fit.’ 

A good bike fit that pays attention to your shoes and cleats as well as the bike, can in some cases increase your power output.

If you’re a bit one-sided and your left-right balance is askew, adjusting your saddle height and adding shims, like the ones used by Specialized, under your cleats can even things out and make your pedalling more efficient.

Indulge yourself

Now, here is one where it definitely does pay to be more mature! Assuming that as you get older you usually get wealthier, then the 40-year-old you can usually afford something better than a Raleigh Grifter. 

Good kit makes bike riding easier. So, if the odds are against you in other ways, time to spend some of that hard-earned cash on yourself for once, because that sub 7kg bike is going to make cycling a whole lot easier.

WordsPeter Stuart Photography Juan Trujillo Andrades

The Mallorcans call the Cap de Formentor the meeting point of the four winds. Sitting on the most northerly tip of the biggest of the Balearic Islands, the winds that blow from the Spanish mainland, the European Alps, the Atlantic Ocean and North Africa meet here, and each seems to have left an impression on this tiny outpost.

With alpine-esque hairpins overlooking a crystal blue Mediterranean Sea, beating against a shore of jagged limestone rock, it’s no wonder that the road to Formentor has become an icon of European cycling.

While Formentor may be today’s destination, it’s only one piece in Mallorca’s astounding repertoire of climbs.

Indeed, at times the island feels like a custom-built theme park for cyclists, with dinner conversation animated by excited discussion of which ride will be on tomorrow’s agenda – be it the rollercoaster hairpins of Sa Calobra, the dizzying heights of the Puig Major or the more coastal roads of Alcudia.

The wealth of options means that Mallorca can become swamped by cyclists during the peak seasons – the island welcomes around 40,000 cycle tourists each year – so it comes as a relief when Martin Birney of SportActive assures me he can take us on some of the finest roads but keep us away from the crowds.

Image 14 of 21

Image 14 of 21

‘The Germans like to be queuing for the buffet by 6pm,’ Martin laughs, as we set off on a crisp morning from Port de Pollença.

He suggests that if we take the road north to the lighthouse at Cap de Formentor in the late afternoon there will be fewer cars and cyclists to contend with, so we’ll begin our ride by heading south to the mountains of the Tramuntana range.

We start on small roads, making our way through farmland towards the town of Campanet. The sky is mercifully overcast, which means we have mild temperatures to warm us into the day’s riding.

I need to warm up fast, though, as Martin doesn’t hang around. He’s sticking religiously to the figures on his SRM power meter, which are rather intimidating considering Martin’s slight frame and the fact he is two or three decades my senior.

Martin is Irish, and lives here in Mallorca throughout the spring. Perhaps with his Irish blood, his determination on the bike is no surprise, especially given the company he keeps.

‘Sean Kelly stays with us six weeks of the year,’ he tells me. ‘He’s a very courteous rider, always happy to stick to the pace of the group, but let me tell you he’s still got legs on him.’

I don’t doubt that, and some of it has clearly rubbed off.

Coffee in Caimari

The plan for today is to do a loop of around 60km from Port de Pollença to Campanet, then across to Caimari where we will make an ascent towards the Lluc monastery, before descending via the stunning sweeping bends of the Col de Femenina back to our start point.

From there, we’ll add on another 40km with an undulating journey to Mallorca’s most northerly point, the Cap de Formentor, before returning again to Port de Pollença.

Image 9 of 21

Image 9 of 21

As rides in Mallorca go, it’s not too brutal, but while plotting the route last night I noted the substantial elevation gain of 1,900m over only 105km against a forecast of strong wind.

That makes for a ride tough enough to keep things interesting, but hopefully mild enough to soak up some scenery, and perhaps a couple of coffee stops, along the way.

We emerge from Campanet on small roads hemmed in by hedgerows, but occasional gaps in the foliage reveal the mountains that we’re heading to, with a hint of grey cloud hovering over them.

On this flat stretch the scenery is a peculiar mixture of fields and hillocks that reminds me of the Yorkshire Dales, combined with chalky roads lined with olive trees that feel like an Arabian desert.

We’re approaching the first climb of the day, the Col de sa Batalla, which will take us up nearly 400m over 7.8km into the Tramuntana range, and promises to electrify our morning legs.

With the summit at 570m, it will put us in proper mountain territory. The ride from Pollença has soaked up 25km already and, with the prospect of a long day ahead, I convince Martin that a stop for coffee would be a good idea.

As it happens he has the perfect place in mind.

We pull into a cafe in Caimari called Sa Ruta Verde, and like many on these roads it is finely tuned to cyclists, with a track pump beneath our well-shaded table and a selection of tools to put a pro workshop to shame.

We settle down for a couple of cappuccinos, but owner Lennart insists on feeding us some homemade cake too.

It’s unnecessary weight for the climb ahead, and so Martin sensibly refuses. I waste no time working through both slices.

By the time I’ve hoovered up the last crumbs, Martin is already remounting his bike, and so I hurry to join him and prepare for the climb towards the Lluc monastery. It’s a favourite training climb of many pros in this area. 

‘Fabian Cancellara overtook me on the Col de sa Batalla,’ Martin says. ‘He was behind a motorbike, but he was riding like he was on the flat.’

It’s got quite the leaderboard on Strava – even 2014 World Champion Michal Kwiatkowski falls outside of the top 10. 

Climb to the monastery

We tackle the incline confidently on fresh legs, striding through each hairpin. This sort of climb tantalises rather than torments.

Hovering around the 6% mark, it enables me to put my head down and grind out a healthy cadence that neatly extracts a threshold effort from my legs.

I certainly feel a lot fresher than on my first visit to Mallorca a few years ago, when I experienced one of the most excruciating rides of my cycling life – a 312km sportive around the island called the Mallorca 312. 

‘I loved it!’ Martin exclaims to my utter shock when I mention the event. As it emerges, Martin is a fanatic of masochistic ultra-endurance events.

‘I’ve done the Mont Blanc sportive five times,’ he adds. Mont Blanc boasts a distance of 330km and over 8,000m of climbing.

With that in mind, I decide to nestle behind his wheel and let him do the work, but true to his guide experience he keeps an eye on me with a mirror on his drop bar, to check that he’s not pushing me into the red.

Having taken on the first batch of hairpins the road flattens out and gives way to a stunning view of inland Mallorca to our right. The rocky limestone mountains create a complex and striking landscape, dotted with fig and olive trees that cling to the mountainside.

It’s no wonder the mountain range has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status.

We roll along through a passage carved into the cliffs, with 10m walls of rock on either side. As we emerge on the other side, we stop by the edge of the road to take in the views, but the peace of the moment is shattered by a shriek from behind us: ‘Out the way!’ 

Three cyclists sprint past us, clearly upset that we are blocking the racing line up the slope and potentially adding fractions of a second to their Strava times. 

‘Sometimes I worry cycling here is wasted on cyclists,’ Martin laughs.

We watch them disappear up the road, heads down, oblivious to the beauty around them. I don’t fancy their chances of topping Kwiatkowski.

Image 11 of 21

Image 11 of 21

At the top of Col de sa Batalla is a Repsol petrol station that has become a famous haunt for cyclists.

Instead of queues of cars, the forecourt is littered with high-end custom frames and deep-section carbon wheels.

Inside the shop are racks of gels, flapjacks and inner tubes where usually there would be car polish and engine oil. This truly is a cycling haven.

We’re not far from the major attraction of the area – the Santuari de Lluc. It’s a monastery that was founded in the 13th century when a Moorish shepherd happened upon a statue of the Virgin Mary on the spot where it currently stands.

A quick diversion from our route could take us down a single-track road to the monastery itself but, with the knowledge that a steep descent down means a steep climb back up, we decide to save this particular tourist attraction for another day.

Our descent is on an open and wide road with a mirror-smooth surface. Some steep 10% sections project me close to 80kmh.

Martin sticks with me, but on a shallower stretch gives me a quick warning: ‘I’ve slowed down a lot these last few years. I’ve met a few too many tour buses coming up the other way.’ 

He follows the example of Sean Kelly, who rolls down the descent at the back of the group.

‘They’re fantastic roads, but it’s easy to get carried away,’ he adds.

With that in mind I rein in my speed and, sure enough, around one bend I meet a family of sheep wandering lethargically into the road, and with a screech of brakes on carbon wheels I manage to come to a stop as they complete their crossing without looking up.

It takes no time to roll into the bustling town of Pollença. It’s approaching lunchtime, so we plot a course for the coast in search of some seafood.

In Port de Pollença we order some mixed paella at the Marina restaurant.

It’s a heavy meal, but we can see light seeping through the cloud, and we’re eager to take on the best of today’s riding under the warmth of the spring sun, so we’re happy to wait while the Germans clear the roads en route to the buffet.

Finding Formentor

Formentor, the meeting point of winds, is certainly living up to its name today, with a headwind roaring at us from the coast.

The journey to the first climb is a short one from Port de Pollença, and as we ride towards it a thin streak of tarmac slowly starts to form into view on the mountain up ahead, glinting in the sunlight and spurring us on into the headwind.

The climb, often called the Coll de sa Creueta for the viewpoint at the summit, is surprisingly persistent.

It starts with grades of 7% or 8%, and rises to an elevation gain of 223m over 3.3km, and the wind is fighting us.

It doesn’t seem like a chore though, as each hairpin treats us to a view over Port de Pollença, with the sun breaking through cloud onto the beachfront and the yachts and stony white buildings that crowd the coast.

With burning quads I roll up to the viewpoint at El Mirador de sa Creueta and gaze out at the towering rock structures that poke out of the sea off the coast.

El Colomer, a little island, and El Galerot, a rocky peak that overhangs it, dominate the landscape ahead. The last time I came here I fell off my bike trying to take a picture of it on the fly.

The road from this point onwards is a display of architectural brilliance. The lighthouse at the edge of Formentor was built in 1863, and it was once accessible only by boat or by a mule track.

If that were still the case it would make the mountain bike fraternity gleeful, but a road was built to reach the lighthouse, and we couldn’t be happier for it.

It’s the work of architect Antonio Parietti, who built the road in the 1930s. He was also the mind behind Sa Calobra, the infamous twisting climb from the northern coast into the Tramuntana mountain range.

His place in the history books seems well justified given the jagged and gigantic rock structures he needed to build over to create this road.

Image 10 of 21

Image 10 of 21

Dropping down through the first hairpins from the Coll de sa Creueta, it’s easy to see the similarities between this road and the Sa Calobra.

We don’t descend for long, however, and soon we are climbing up through forests and fields crowded with goats. 

Soon the greenery gives way to dry and rugged terrain that reminds me of the Rocky Mountains. We’re quickly on the coast again and on our left is the Cala Figuera, a beach where crystal blue water sits neatly in a cove.

I’d like to stop and soak in the view, or indeed in the water, but not today.

A tunnel cutting through the mountainside leaves us in darkness for 300m. It’s a refreshing break from the sun, with cool air blowing through and the noise of our deep breathing echoing against the walls.

Emerging from the tunnel, we climb back into the forested inland of the peninsula, carving around the twists in the road.

As the sea appears to our right, it’s a crystal-clear day and Martin points to the island of Menorca in the distance.

The undulations in the road, combined with the wind, are starting to drain my legs, and I peer up the road in the hope of seeing the lighthouse that marks the end point.

We cross from one side of the mountain to the other, and as we sweep through a bend Parietti’s finest work emerges.

A set of hairpins crosses back and forth ahead, like a framework holding the lighthouse atop the horizon. It’s a strangely grand view for such a humble building.

We slice down the descent towards a tiny valley in the limestone rock. The wind batters us and we can hear the sea roaring against the rocks below.

Then we begin to ascend a set of stunning switchbacks and, set against mountains and clear blue waters, it feels as if we’re in a painting of how cycling should look.

Last light at the lighthouse

‘Who would have thought a lighthouse would become such a moneymaker,’ Martin puzzles while we queue for a coffee to enjoy out on the terrace in front of the structure.

Although this is our third stop in less than 100km, Martin explains that island etiquette dictates we must stop here, and I’m not about to argue with him. 

Outside we’re greeted by a goat, which prods us eagerly for some leftovers.

‘That goat really knows how to work the crowd,’ Martin laughs. ‘He’s here every day, I swear. I’ve seen a thousand selfies with him.’ 

True to Martin’s prediction, as the early evening sets in, the lighthouse becomes deserted, as do the roads, giving us a free run back to Port de Pollença.

The road ahead winds and weaves in front of us like a convoluted junction, and even with tired legs it couldn’t look more inviting.

The rapid descent we enjoyed to the lighthouse is now a climb going the other way, and rises 90m in less than a kilometre, with several spikes of 15%.

It warms up our increasingly lethargic legs, and thankfully the wind is behind us. We round back towards the mainland, and make a nerve-tingling dash through the pitch-black tunnel.

Our final challenge is the 3.4km climb back to El Mirador de sa Creueta, with its winding maze of hairpins.

It proves to be punishing for tired legs, but from the top we are treated to more views of Formentor and the rocky structures of Galerot and Colomer in the evening light. 

As we begin the descent back to Port de Pollença, I’m left feeling that there’s something very special about Formentor, a fusion of stunning scenery, testing rocky inclines and masterful modern architecture.

It’s a road I’m eager to return to, even though my legs are still throbbing from the 1,000m of elevation gained in the 40km stretch. 

I consider my schedule for the following morning, and with a few hours spare before my flight home, I know exactly where I’ll be heading.

The rider’s ride

Ritchey Break-Away Carbon, £2,475 frame only, approx £5,900 as tested, paligap.cc

Image 21 of 21

Image 21 of 21

A week in Mallorca was the perfect test for the Ritchey Break-Away, a carbon frame that can be split in half for easy travel, with cunning joins in the seat tube and down tube.

Travelling with the bike was a dream, as it fits into a normal-sized suitcase and was thus cheaper to transport by plane. It was also easier to fit in trains, cars and hotel rooms, greatly easing the logistics of travelling.

When it came to the ride, it was light enough to do me good service on Mallorca’s toughest inclines, and sharp enough to push my limits on the descents.

The build came in at a respectable 7.35kg, which was suitably feathery for the steepest hairpins of Col de Sa Batalla.

It lacked a little stiffness on the undulations of Formentor, but for a bike that could split in two it was astoundingly capable.

The Campagnolo Chorus groupset also performed with clockwork efficiency. I was a big fan of the Challenge Criterium Open Tubular tyres, which were perfect for the smooth and debris-free roads of Mallorca.

How we got there

Travel

Cyclist flew to Palma, which is operated by several low-cost airlines as well as British Airways – which can be cheaper when travelling with a bike.

We rented a car to make the short drive over to Port de Pollença. SportActive offers a transfer to Port de Pollença, or a free shuttle service when booking one of the company’s trips.

Accommodation

SportActive works with the four-star Hotel Viva Tropic in Port de Alcudia, which even boasts a workshop for cyclists.

Half-board accommodation is included in SportActive’s package rate, which starts at €630 for seven nights for a shared studio room in March.

Thanks

Many thanks to Flora and Martin from SportActive for supporting our ride, creating our route and offering advice on the region.

As well as packages, SportActive offers bike rental from €155 for a range of carbon bikes, with cheaper prices for aluminium builds.

Throughout April and for a few weeks in October, Sean Kelly rides with the group. Visit sportactive.net for more details.

Depression is a very real illness – a struggle for the millions of people who live with it every day. Depression is also a particular problem among men.

Suicide is the biggest killer of British males under the age of 50, with 4,382 male suicides registered in the UK in 2017, compared to 1,439 for women. That means more than 80 men take their own lives every week in the UK.

‘Young men are three times more likely than women to commit suicide, whereas girls are more likely to self harm,’ says Dr Gemma Trainor, a lecturer at King’s College London and consultant nurse who’s spent more than 30 years working with young people battling mental health problems.

‘And there’s a growing problem among men aged 40 to 50,’ she adds. ‘Maybe their wives have lost interest, their children have grown up and left home, and they feel as if they’ve gone as far as they can in their careers.

‘Depression is a big risk factor.’

Thankfully, cycling can help – whether you’re male or female, old or young.

The science of depression

In a raft of studies, exercise has been shown to have several effects on the brain. It leads to the release of neurotransmitters that alleviate pain, both physical and mental.

Depression is related to low levels of neurotransmitters such as seratonin and norepinephrine, both of which can be stimulated by exercise.

Also important are endorphins, chemicals released by the pituitary gland in response to stress or pain, which inhibit pain and promote feelings of euphoria in the brain.

Another side effect of exercise is a process called neurogenesis – the creation of new neurons in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls learning and memory.

At a cellular level, it is possible that the mild stress caused by exercise stimulates an influx of calcium, which promotes neurogenesis. This process is believed to help depression.

Cycling, therefore, can help fight the chemical imbalances that cause depression, a serious illness that can result in low mood, feelings of helplessness, self harm and even suicide.

But there’s even more to it than that.

‘Depression can manifest itself in physical ways,’ says Trainor. 'You can suffer loss of energy, headaches, agitation or anxiety, and nutrition often suffers.

‘There are also cognitive changes – loss of concentration, focus and confidence. Exercise can challenge all of these.

‘Research has found that in cases of mild or moderate depression exercise is at least as effective as, if not more useful than, medication.

‘It’s in severe cases of depression that medication may be required, day to day. But cycling can give you a sense of purpose and allow you to take control of your life.’

How cycling can help

‘Cycling gets you out and into nature, and there are proven benefits of this for mental health, even if you do as little as go for a walk,’ says coach Will Newton.

‘Cycling also puts you into a meditative state without you having to make a conscious decision to sit down and meditate. It’s rhythmic, but you need enough focus on what you’re doing to block out your worries.

‘You can’t think too deeply about your problems when you’re trying to ride in a straight line and avoid traffic, or making sure you maintain a pace that isn’t too hard or too easy.

‘You might notice a thought, but you can’t focus too hard on paying the mortgage before you have to react to the next set of traffic lights.’

The key for beginners is not to overdo it. ‘If you’re unfit, even cycling slowly is intense,’ says Andy Lane, professor of sports psychology at the University of Wolverhampton.

‘Unfit people tend to start at a high intensity and don’t enjoy it. Intense exercise associates with the brain sending a signal that says, “Careful, we can’t keep this up,” and that message comes in the form of negative emotions: feeling miserable, sad and tired.’

Let’s go back to those endorphins, which are responsible for giving people a mental boost known as the ‘runner’s high’.

Running – for reasons that are not yet fully understood – appears to give the greatest benefit in terms of those feelgood chemicals, yet that doesn’t mean cycling is a waste of time. In fact, it may be better than running for beginners.

‘Running may be more beneficial, and I always say that everyone should run,’ says Newton. ‘But not everyone should run now.

‘If you’re out of shape or two stone overweight, running is not something you should do.

‘Cycling allows you to get out there for longer, at a more manageable pace, so you get the physical and mental benefits without such a great injury risk.

‘Moderately intense exercise – of any kind – associates with positive mood,’ says Lane. ‘But once you reach a certain level, doing intervals or completing a hard session can bring a tremendous sense of achievement.

‘Overcoming doubts and fears that you can’t cope builds resilience, and this can raise self-esteem.’

It can also take time.

‘High-intensity work needs to be part of a long-term plan,’ says Newton. ‘There’s a positive aspect to hitting targets and seeing yourself improve, and you do get an acute benefit from high-intensity exercise.

‘There’s a greater release of endorphins so the euphoria is greater – the short-term benefit is a bigger kick from doing something hard.

‘But there’s a downside: you’re significantly more likely to get injured, which will stop you doing something you’ve just realised you love doing.

‘There’s no point cycling to beat depression if you go too hard, can’t train and get more depressed. High-intensity work is for speed, and you need to have an endurance base first.

‘Speedwork is a condiment, like seasoning, and you don’t need much of it.’

Kit yourself out

The benefits of cycling extend beyond the chemical reactions in your brain. It can help change bad habits and give a sense of achievement.

‘Sticking to a training programme is a form of exercising self-control, and self-control is a variable linked with a number positive attributes,’ says Lane.

‘Good self-control helps diet management, job success, sticking to timetables and so on. Poor self-control is associated with a large number of societal problems such as anger and violence.’ 

‘There’s a positive effect from identifying with something bigger than yourself, which in this case may be wearing GB or Team Sky kit,’ says Newton.

‘And cycling can be an investment, in terms of both time and money. For some people cleaning a bike is a hassle, but for others it’s another meditative process you can get lost in. It’s something else to focus on, and there can be pride in maintaining your bike.

‘Likewise, some people buy cheap kit without thinking about it, while others really invest in it. Why not reward yourself? Buy yourself a new gilet or a new set of wheels if you hit that target.

‘Do whatever you need to do if it helps you.’

There’s just one word of warning: if you’re taking medication, don’t bin it simply because you’ve bought a bike. You should never come off medication without talking to your GP first.

‘Depression is complex,’ says Lane. ‘The causal link between exercise and mental health is not completely established.

‘Exercise has shown very positive effects on changing mood, but whether it works in the same way as medicine is not clear.’

Lots of snow around this week. Now, the white stuff has turned to just miserable, old rain. Pretty grim especially for us cyclists who thrive on sunshine and warm weather.

Although it doesn't have to be that way. Not if you prepare correctly for wet weather riding. If you do, it can be quite a bearable experience, even enjoyable!

So below, Cyclist has compiled the ultimate guide to wet weather riding.

Keep it slick for more grip

Unlike car tyres, there’s no danger of aquaplaning on wet roads when cycling due to the more rounded profile of bike tyres, which easily displace water.

Therefore, there’s no need to fit tyres with a grooved tread – in fact, a slick tread is much better in all conditions, since it means there’s more rubber in contact with the tarmac and thus grip is better.

Another thing you can do to improve grip is let a little air out of your tyres (reduce the pressure by as much as 15-20psi), which provides a larger contact patch on the road, and therefore more rubber in contact with the tarmac at all times, even on rough road surfaces.

Another option is tubeless tyres which we discuss below.

Watch out for your feet

There are many reasons to invest in a decent pair of overshoes for riding in wet weather.

It’s practically impossible to keep all of the rain out when cycling, but a pair of overshoes made of neoprene (the same material used in making wetsuits for divers) will at least keep your feet partially dry and stop you developing a nasty case of trench foot.

Among our favourites are Gore Windstopper overshoes (£49.99, goreapparel.co.uk) which are also available in a high-viz fluoro yellow for added visibility on grey days.

Preparation is key

British weather being what it is, even if you set out in glorious sunshine, there’s no guarantee it won’t be pouring down before you finish.

This is why it’s always a good idea to pack a lightweight rain jacket in your pocket– they may not protect you from the heaviest downpours but they will fend off showers.

We’re big fans of the Sportful Hot Pack Ultralight jacket (£125, sportful.com) – made from wind-resistant nylon with a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment, it weighs a mere 56g and packs down into a tiny bundle so won’t take up much space in your pocket when not being worn.

Care for your shoes

Your cycling shoes are especially vulnerable to the damaging effects of road spray, being right in the line of fire behind your tyres.

Overshoes can keep off the worst of the grit, grime and oil thrown up from the road, but if you’re caught in a shower, always clean your shoes properly when you get home – get stuck in with an old toothbrush.

It’s also a good idea to dry them out properly – but don’t put them on a radiator, as the heat can damage the synthetic fabrics and glues. Instead, stuff them with scrunched up newspaper to absorb the moisture.

Protect your head

In summer, a helmet with lots of vents will keep you cool, but it won’t do much to keep the rain out.

A traditional cycling cap under the helmet can be handy in wet weather, as the peak will deflect the rain away from your eyes.

A helmet with a built-in visor will do the same job, although these are more common on MTB designs than on helmets aimed at road cyclists.

You could also get a waterproof helmet cover that fits over your lid with an elasticated hem – or opt for a helmet such as Bollé’s The One (£109.99, bolle-europe.co.uk), which comes with clip-in panels to cover up the vents when you want to be more aero or keep the rain out.

Consider going tubeless

Once the preserve of mountain bikers, tubeless tyres are increasingly popular with road cyclists, especially with the fashion for go-anywhere adventure bikes.

Their main advantage in wet weather is the sealant which means any small holes in the tyre are filled almost instantly, preventing air escaping.

Another advantage is that they can be run at much lower pressures than conventional clinchers, giving you a larger contact patch which is a real help on slippery roads.

Use your brakes wisely

In normal riding conditions, most of your stopping should be done with the front brake. However, this changes when there’s water on the road.

The reduced grip makes it far more likely that you’ll lock up the front wheel if you brake hard, and once your front wheel loses traction, it’s almost impossible to stay upright on a bike.

Try to ‘feather’ your brakes to slow down gradually, and make more use of the rear brake, which lacks the stopping power of the front brake but is useful for scrubbing off excess speed.

Watch out for punctures

It’s no surprise that cyclists suffer a lot more punctures in wet weather. This is for two reasons. First, the rain washes all the debris out of the gutter and into the road.

Secondly, water acts as a lubricant, so those flints and glass shards cut through far more easily than in dry conditions.

This is why it’s a good idea to look for tyres with extra puncture protection in autumn and winter, when rain is likely – we like Vee Tire Co’s Rain Runners (£32.99, veetireco.co.uk) – available in 23 or 25mm options, these are supple, high-performance tyre for fast riding, offering impressive levels of grip on wet roads, and featuring rugged sidewalls for added puncture protection.

Look after your eyes

Sunglasses may not be the most obvious thing to wear when dark clouds loom overhead but some form of eye protection is always a good idea.

Shades with a wraparound design will help keep stinging rain out of the eyes, and many designs come with changeable lenses for different conditions.

Endura’s Char glasses (£59.99, endurasport.com) come with two sets – light-reactive photochromic lenses that adjust to variable light conditions, and a clear set with an anti-fog finish and super-hydrophobic coating to repel water, which makes them ideal for riding in all weather, all year round.

Get a proper waterproof jacket

For heavy rain, only a fully waterproof jacket will do. There are certain key features to look for when choosing a jacket.

First, a high collar will keep rain from dripping down inside at the top, and a long tail to fend off any spray from the road, while extra-long sleeves will ensure there’s no wrist gap between cuffs and gloves.

If you’re putting in some effort on the bike, breathability is vital to ensure you don’t get soaked from the inside with sweat.

Altura’s Nightvision Evo 3 Jacket (£99.99, altura.eu) fits the bill, being rated to 15k waterproofing, with pit and yoke vents to let moisture out, and incorporates Darkproof technology for added visibility.

Clean your bike

While components such as the chain and brakes require special attention after a wet ride, it’s a good idea to clean your whole bike as soon as you get home – if you get into the habit, it won’t take long.

After cleaning, dry the bike off as thoroughly as possible with a clean cloth, then use Muc-Off MO94 spray (£5.99 for 400ml, muc-off.com) to lubricate moving parts such as brake pivots and derailleurs, and Muc-Off Silicon Shine spray (£9.99 for 500ml) on the frame – this will also help repel water and grime next time you’re riding in the rain.

Steady in the corners

Grit washed into the road by rain doesn’t just cause punctures – loose material on the road surface can significantly reduce grip when cornering.

In fact, cornering is perhaps the biggest challenge for cyclists in wet conditions. The key to cornering safely in the rain is to take it steady as you approach the bend – do your braking before you start turning, and stay away from the edge of the road where you’ll find the worst of the debris.

Also look out for painted road markings, which can be slippery when wet, while in autumn, fallen leaves are a major hazard.

Keep your hands warm

Most gloves are not properly waterproof, even if they are made with waterproof fabrics.

This is because they have lots of seams – necessary to make sure they fit well – which can let water in, and being stuck out on the front of your bike, they bear the full brunt of any wind and rain you encounter.

Neoprene gloves such as Endura FS260 Pro Nemo (£29.99, endurasport.com) have bonded seams so are completely waterproof. Their thin material and snug, stretchy fit also means they won’t interfere with braking or gear shifting.

Lube your chain

Among bike components, your chain is one of the most vulnerable to wet conditions. Riding in a shower will see much of the vital lubricant being washed off, which leaves your chain prone to becoming rusty and seizing up later.

Especially in winter, use a lubricant specifically designed for wet conditions such as Shimano Wet Lube (£6.99 for 100ml, madison.co.uk), which is made with high-viscosity synthetic oils for optimum chain performance in all weather conditions and great durability.

Also remember to clean your chain after every ride to remove the grime that accumulates on the outside – over time, this will work its way into the links and cause premature wear.

Be seen – fit some lights

When skies overhead fill with heavy clouds, it can get a bit gloomy out there, so do your bit to ensure your visibility by using lights at all times, not just at night.

Avoid puddles

When you were a kid, popping on a pair of wellies and jumping in puddles was the height of fun, but puddles are a hazard when you’re on a bike.

The simple reason for this is that you don’t know what’s lurking beneath that murky water – it could be a puncture-causing stone or worse, a deep pothole or drain cover that could wreck your wheels or send you flying when you hit it at speed.

The same rule applies to metal manhole covers, which are treacherously slippy when wet.

Fit some mudguards

Many clubs make mudguards obligatory on winter rides, for obvious reasons. If your bike has the necessary mounting points, a set of full-length mudguards are always the best option.

Otherwise, fit a set of clip-on guards such as SKS Raceblade Pro XL (£44.99, zyrofisher.co.uk) – with their quick-release fittings, these are compatible with most road bikes, even ones with aero forks.

As an emergency measure, the SKS S-Guard (£7.99, zyrofisher.co.uk) will clip under your saddle and keep the worst of the road spray off your backside, though it won’t protect following riders.

Dress like a pro

Even the most breathable waterproof jacket won’t be permeable enough to let water vapour out fast enough when you’re riding hard, but fortunately there are other solutions.

A few years ago, Castelli’s Gabba made a name for itself when it was worn by the pros in cold, wet, early-season races.

This softshell jersey is made with Gore’s Windstopper X-Lite Plus fabric for a combination of superb breathability with warmth and protection from wind and rain.

\We’re big fans of the long-sleeve version, called the Perfetto (£175, castellicafe.co.uk) which uses the same tech, and even has holes in the rear pockets to let any collected water drain out.

Check your brake blocks

Riding in the rain can leave your wheels coated with water and grime, which will eat through brake blocks and wheel rims very quickly, as well as reducing their stopping performance.

Feathering your brakes while riding will also help keep your rims relatively clean and make braking safer and more effective. After your ride, be sure to wipe down your wheel rims and inspect the brake blocks for any embedded grit.

Also consider fitting brake blocks made with a compound designed for all-weather riding, such as Kool Stop Dura 2 Salmon (£8.99 a pair, i-ride.co.uk).

Adjust your attitude

Also known as ‘HTFU’ or ‘harden the flip up’. This is all about embracing the weather rather than being afraid of it.

If you’re kitted out sensibly with the right gear, there’s no reason to be afraid of the rain – in fact, it can be fun to be out on the bike when the skies open, safe in the knowledge that there’s a warm shower and hot coffee waiting for you at home.

Once out there, you’ll often find conditions aren’t as bad as you feared, and it’s got to be preferable to sitting on the turbo trainer staring at the garage wall, right?

This feature originally appeared in BikesEtc