Table of contents for September 2019 in Cycling Plus

We’ve been up in Yorkshire this month, riding the roads that the 2019 World Championships will be raced on in September, and the sharp climbs, stunning scenery and sense of anticipation in the air has us truly excited. Check out our head to head between Alejandro Valverde and Peter Sagan’s bikes on p102, and look out for more next month. We’re also looking forward to the Cycle Show from 13-15 September at the NEC. Head to p126 to find out how you can get 10 percent off as a Cycling Plus reader. Subscribers should see p76 for 20 percent off! SUBSCRIBE TODAY FOR ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE OFFERS & COMPETITIONS AS PART OF OUR SUBSCRIBER CLUB! HIGHLIGHTS… THE NATION’S FAVOURITES Britishness is a fraught subject in the current political climate, but…

£2675 Bianchi reignite a classic 70s name Bianchi’s original Sprint from the 1970s was renowned as the race machine of choice for the budding competitor. While the original was a slender-tubed, welded steel machine, its reinvention for the 21st century is a full-carbon speedster with aggressive racing geometry and a nod here and there to aerodynamics to keep it fully on trend for a modern race rig. The new Sprint slots into Bianchi’s range below the glorious Specialissima and the WorldTour proven Oltre; so it’s sort of alongside the aero-optimised Aria, which is highly-rated here at Cycling Plus. It’s designed as a racy all-rounder that won’t break the bank (like the premium priced Oltre and Specialissima). It’s the Boxster to the Oltre’s 911. Geometry-wise, our 57cm is pretty sharply aggressive…

The Equilibrium is a fine-looking machine. The traditional frame shape sets it apart from a sea of dropped stayed, aero-tuned machines around this price point (just take a look at every one of its rivals here). It’s also constructed using skinny steel tubes from the Reynolds stable. Now, 725 steel may not be the best known of the Reynolds numbers but, rest assured, it’s a smart choice: it’s stronger than 525 and with a wall thickness greater than more exclusive steels, such as 531 or above. That does mean it’s heavier, but it’s less prone to dents and damage than lightweight, thinner-walled tubes. The frame is well thought out with flat mount disc fittings, internal routing for Di2 and a full suite of mounts for racks and guards (1). Up…

For over 100 years Ribble has been keeping riders in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, and beyond, pedalling. Some of Britain’s greatest ever cyclists have ridden Ribble. Chris Boardman, Sean Yates, Geraint Thomas and Sir Bradley Wiggins among them. The brand changed from being one of the star chassis of the 70s and 80s British road scene to becoming synonymous with great value. Over the last couple of years, a new design and product team has been put in place at Ribble and it’s revamped the road bike range, which now consists of titanium, steel, alloy and carbon models that encompass race, sportive, time trial, gravel, cross and even an e-road bike. All of the models share the same design language (aero-optimised tubing, dropped seatstays, generous tyre clearance) and it shows that…

£1.20 – £2.50 Little bars that pack a punch 01 SiS Go Energy £1.20 CALORIES 139 FAT 2.0g CARBOHYDRATE 26g (12g sugars) PROTEIN 4.5g FIBRE 1.0g SODIUM 0.1g Low fat, high-carb 25g per small 40g/139kcal veggie-friendly bar with a sweet taste and slightly bitter aftertaste. It’s moist and rests easy on the stomach. There are loads of flavours and, if it’s good enough for Team ‘marginal gains’ Ineos and GB Rowing… It’s widely available and, though smaller than most, it works out as very good value. 02 CLIF BAR £1.99 CALORIES 260 FAT 7g CARBOHYDRATE 40g (19g sugars) PROTEIN 11g FIBRE 4g SODIUM 0.23g Peanut butter is the emperor of spreads and Clif’s organic peanut butter bar is a fantastic, flavoursome, energy-filled 229kcal bar with 24g of carbs, 11g of…

Training for a 100-mile sportive is one thing, but how do you prepare to ride across countries and continents? We gathered together the cream of the crop of ultra-distance cyclists to find the secrets to their success… EXPERTS MARK BEAUMONT Adventurer who, in 2018, broke the round-the-world record, riding 18,000 miles in 78 days JAMES HAYDEN Elite road racer and winner of the last two editions of the TransContinental Race JENNY GRAHAM Fastest woman to cycle around the world, completing it in 124 days self-supported SEAN CONWAY Completed fastest self-supported ride across Europe, cycling 3890 miles in 24 days JOE BARR Endurance coach and winner in his age category (60-69) at the 2019 Race Across America bike race PREPARATION MARK BEAUMONT In the good old days, training for endurance cycling…

The busy centre of Leeds is better for a day out shopping and spotting retro hipster bikes than a relaxing ride out, so we start our World Championships route from Otley’s market cross, not Leeds town hall. We haven’t got the luxury of closed roads either, so we divert over the River Wharfe to run parallel with the main road the rainbow jersey contenders will use in September. BACK WITH A VENGE ANCE I want to get as much mileage in as quickly as possibly and the stealth-black Venge is the bike to grab. After the wind tunnel-optimised, humpbacked weirdness of the Venge VIAS, the straighter lines of the new Venge bleed velocity. It looks blisteringly quick. Riding next to it on double-up test rides, the broad, flat-sided 64mm deep…

Think aerodynamics. Think Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, boffins in lab coats and streams of white smoke snaking their way over the contorted body of a cyclist crouched over a £10,000 superbike in a wind tunnel. We’re all subject to the pull of fancy components that promise to make us faster for a given amount of input. Who wouldn’t want to grab that KOM with no extra effort? What companies don’t tell you is that your body is the least aero thing on a bike; surely, if you can adjust your position on a bike just slightly, you can generate ‘free speed’. Working out that fine-tuned position might require a wind tunnel. From around £200 you can do just that at the Boardman Performance Centre in Evesham. This facility includes…

Physically, you must know the demands of the event: how many days is it? What and when are the longest stages? How long are they and the estimated amount of climbing? What will the weather be like? This should influence your training plan but a basic approach to training for a multi-day would be to aim for two to three rides during the week of one to two hours at a higher intensity; also plan longer rides at the weekend and ride on consecutive days to adapt. Remember, the biggest barrier to not completing an event is under-fuelling, so practise eating and drinking at regular intervals during your rides to maximise your optimal fuelling and hydration strategies. Try a variety of products so that you find an energy gel, bar…

By the time this issue hits the shelves, the summer holidays will be in full swing and bikes will have seen plenty of miles since they came out of hibernation. Give yours a more thorough check when you have some time spare of an evening – drop the wheels out and check the state of your brake pads more carefully; check the wear on the chain and inspect all sides of your tyres. DROP THE WHEELS OUT AND CHECK THE STATE OF YOUR BRAKE PADS MORE CAREFULLY LIGHT UP It’s not pleasant to think of winter when the evenings are long and the rides home are lazy, but earlier sunsets are just around the corner, so make sure you know where your lights – and crucially the chargers – are.…

THEN 155kg (24.4st) NOW 120kg (18.8st) HOW WAS LIFE BEFORE THE BIKE? “Years of no exercise, rich food, plenty to drink and a sedentary lifestyle saw my weight rise to just shy of 25 stone. The only sport I did was clay trap shooting. I competed at international level and it engendered a spirit within me that would come in handy with cycling.” HOW DID CYCLING CHANGE YOUR LIFE? “I brought myself a bike for my birthday in May 2018 and went out for a ride. I struggled with a two-mile journey, but that gave me the incentive to build my fitness levels. Two miles became four then six and so on, giving myself challenges to go a bit further every time.” WHAT DID YOU DO TO LOSE WEIGHT? “Along…

This is it. At the time of writing, less than a week separated our Team Alpecin trio with their date of destiny. Little work remains to be done and, if anything, they should have been slowing down, or tapering, their training to ensure they arrived fresh and raring to go. However, there are still things to do to ensure they achieve their Etape aims and high on that list is race-day fuelling. Even the best engines in cycling will crack if there’s nothing left in the tank, as Chris Froome will tell you after his near terminal sugar low on Alpe d’Huez at the 2013 Tour de France. His team-mate Richie Porte dug him out of a hole by giving him a gel, which cost Froome a 20-second penalty. The…

This triple whammy of passes has few equals anywhere in Europe What are we thinking about tomorrow’s route? Do you think it will take us four, five hours?” my colleague asked me, over a pre-dinner pint in early July about the following day’s ride. It would take in the climbs of the Furka, Nufenen and Gotthard passes, one on top the other. Here it’s called the ‘Gotthard Challenge’. I motioned my head upwards, in the universal signal for ‘more’. “I’m just checking Strava and there’s an E Bernal who’s done it in three hours. Have we heard of this guy? Maybe five is doable.” “That’s Egan Bernal. He rides for Team Ineos. He’s quite probably the best climber in the world and is the bookie’s favourite for the Tour de…

We take our testing very seriously at Cycling Plus. For more than 25 years – an age when disc brakes, Di2 and super-wide 1x gearing weren't even a glint in a designer’s eye – we have been putting road cycling products through their paces. Our test team, led by senior technical editor Warren Rossiter, has nearly a century of riding experience between them in just about every discipline. They can separate the great from the also-rans when it comes to bikes, clothing, accessories – and more. If it gets our seal of approval you can be sure that you’ll be bagging a great buy! An old name with a stylish new twist as Bianchi relaunches the Sprint p16 Five great bikes from British brands go head-to-head in our main test…

Celebrating 100 years since the 1919 Rosso Corsa race – the first to take place post WW1, and one that saw multi-nations grace the podium, these special-edition shoes have the weight of history behind them. THEY ARE LIGHTWEIGHT The 1919s are a super-light shoe. With the minimal sculpted UD carbon sole bonded to a laser-perforated Microtex upper, they tip the scales at a scant 289g each for a EU size 45. THEY’RE STIFF The uni-directional carbon fibre sole is shaped and reinforced in key areas to offer superior stiffness, which makes these R1s one of the stiffest shoes Fizik has ever made. Sti ness means optimal power transfer when you’re riding hard. THEY’RE COMFORTABLE Fizik’s latest upper design is all about ‘volume control’. That means the design of the micro-adjusting…

With European, US and Asian companies boasting six-figure development budgets, it’s easy to become consumed by glamour. Once it was UK manufacturing that lead the world of bicycles, with gigantic industries like Raleigh taking charge. While the manufacturing has moved to the Far East, the UK is still full of smart-thinking bike brands and some of the world’s best custom builders. We’re exploring the key price bracket of above two grand, but well below three – the most competitive price range right now. Our five bike selection includes Boardman’s SLR 9.2 disc. The SLR is Boardman’s lightweight all-rounder with a 900g frameset. A tubeset derived from aerodynamic profiles and de rigueur details like dropped stays and an oversized bottom bracket to maximise power transfer. Genesis’ Equilibrium Disc is a Reynolds…

Tifosi is a young brand from an old company. Chicken Cycles is one of the longest-running British importers of bikes and components. It expanded into producing its own, affordable range of bikes under the Tifosi name in 2000. It didn’t take long for it to expand into designing and developing race machines. The Auriga has been the bike of choice for the Spirit Tifosi team and the bike is now in its third generation of development with the team arriving with this disc-specific, race-ready chassis. The Auriga hits all the current trends for frame design with its Kammtail-profiled tubeset. Up front, the head-tube is deep and aerofoil-profiled and into this and the down-tube the fork crown (1) is keyed in with sculpted airflow lines that condition the air around the…

It’s quick to turn and accelerate and it doesn’t beat you up over big distances… and it’s good value All five of our home-grown heroes this issue are great bikes. The Genesis is a love letter to the classic British clubman’s bike and its frameset and ride quality are simply brilliant. Sadly, it can’t match its rivals here for value – but then quality steel doesn’t come cheap. The Tifosi Auriga is a happy marriage between Italian influence and British design, and it’s a very capable race bike that’s obviously been honed by professional racers, which makes it a seriously fun machine to ride hard. British stalwart Dolan, with its DR1, blends the company’s stellar racing heritage and serious sportive chops into what proves to be a prime quality bike.…

With blue skies here it’s time to enjoy summer riding. Once that would have meant wearing any old shorts and jersey but now there’s specific kit designed to function and deliver performance when the mercury rises. Many brands offer jerseys aimed at dedicated styles of riding, whether it’s ripping up the race circuit, climbing mountains, riding a sportive or hitting the gravel. Jerseys today are lighter, cooler, more aerodynamic and better wicking. Many use technologies found on the backs of the pro peloton. Most also offer sun protection – but beware of some open-mesh designs. Shorts are an important investment. When it comes to your rear take it seriously because it’s one of the most crucial contact points with the bike and the difference between happy miles and misery. This…

Not all rides are fuelled the same way, but the chances are if you’re heading out on a four-hour club ride or hitting the road for a full-on race you’re going to want some food to hand. “During a race it’s essential to keep on top of your carbohydrate intake,” says Liam Holohan, ex-pro rider for several UCI teams. While the demands of the ride will determine your nutritional strategy, what you take – in terms of amounts of energy-giving carbs – and how you pack it into your pockets is a skill in itself. “When racing I will often divide each pocket up so that it contains 60g of carbohydrate,” explains Holohan. “When the race is on, sticking to 20g every 20 minutes might not be practical – for…

Now in its 18th year, the Cycle Show at the NEC in Birmingham is the best place to check out the latest bikes and kit from a host of top brands, pick up some expert tips and rub shoulders with some famous faces. Here’s why you should be checking out this year’s event, taking place from 13 to 15 September… 1 HOT TEST NEW BIKES & GEAR Bikes already confirmed include Cannondale’s brand new CAAD13 and SuperSix EVO Hi-MOD and Pinarello’s Dogma F10. Other brands exhibiting are the likes of Colnago, Focus, Ribble, GT, Rose, Condor and Genesis. There’ll be plenty of components (including Campagnolo), clothing and accessories on display – and this year’s Retail Hub will be 20 percent bigger! 2 ROAD TEST TRACK The show has extended the…

PRICE £3400 (FRAMESET) COMPLETE BIKE PRICE APPROX £7000 UPGRADES NONE MILES RIDDEN This bike is no shrinking violet and you have to put the effort in but, my god, does it reward you for your effortsWARREN ROSSITER The Tarmac is a bike that’s always been high on my most wanted list. Earlier this year I was looking for a suitable chassis to hang SRAM’s new wireless Force groupset from and I started thinking about the Tarmac. So, calls were made and arrangements made for me to get my hands on an S-Works frame and smattering of parts to get the build together. I didn’t specify a colour preference around the frame so when it arrived in a pretty loud Acid Pink and Purple Fade colourway I was more than a…

PRICE £1499 UPGRADES £1260 MILES RIDDEN 374 Last year I had three criteria when buying a new bike: carbon frame, disc brakes, tubeless tyres. Well, two out of three wasn’t bad for Meat Loaf… I put in very few miles on the TCR in its 2018 Bike of the Year-winning spec but I have ramped up the mileage hugely testing Halo’s Carbaura wheels and latterly Zipp’s Service Course SL cockpit. The wheels were an immediately noticeable improvement over the stock Giants. Don’t believe deeper-section aero wheels are quicker? Beg, borrow or steal a pair and give them a spin. And if you’ve only ridden first-generation pointy V-profile rims also be prepared to be staggered. The Carbauras withstand the effects of winds, they brake well with SwissStop blocks and, in many…

DISTANCE 102km/63 miles TOTAL ELEVATION 3190m GRADE Hard. Three tough climbs back to back, including the highest road pass in Switzerland DOWNLOAD komoot.com/tour/78273226 GETTING THERE We flew from London Heathrow to Zurich with Swiss. Once there, your options are either to hire a car (two-hour drive) or get the train, which adds another hour. WHERE TO STAY We stayed in the Hirsch Apartments in Andermatt Reuss. Check out andermatt-swissalps.ch for rental options. Also consider the nearby Radisson Blu (at time of writing the best rates were £143 per night). Cheaper options are available in the village. WHERE TO EAT There are a couple of excellent restaurant options in the Reuss area, including Spun in the Radisson Blu and Biselli, a stone’s throw away. On the ride, there are numerous options,…

The OVO Energy Tour of Britain is ranked 2.HC on the UCI calendar. The ‘2’ relates to it being a stage race, while the ‘HC’, hors catégorie, confirms its status as one below the top ‘WorldTour’. WorldTour teams aren’t obliged to enter, with organisers allowing up to 70 percent of the field from the top tier. The rest is made up with Pro Continental, Continental and a Great Britain national squad, the latter primarily formed of youth riders who can’t get a ride elsewhere. Whether a WorldTour team enters depends on several factors, including how relevant the race is to its sponsors and how its committed in other races at the same time. While there are Tour of Britain mainstays such as Team Ineos and EF Education First Pro Cycling…

The 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain ends exactly how it started in 2004-with a finish in Manchester. “It was an educational experience!" says Bennett, of the 2004 opener. "A huge undertaking for a new organisation, with new staff and race officials, and at the time having a race escorted by the police force local to each area, rather than the national Central Escort Group we have now. "This wonderful sport of ours was on the ascendancy, coming off the Athens Olympics and our success on the track and we had Bradley Wiggins riding for Crédit Agricole. I think having the race return was a bit of a positive shock to the system of cycling in the UK in bringing a major road race back to our country, but it…

£2300 New Ultegra-equipped slimline folder Tern’s ‘smallest-ever’ folding bike is no threat to the Brompton – it might pack down small, but not that tiny at 81cm tall, 35cm wide and 52cm deep. With the Metro Transit rear rack and its integrated trolley wheels, it’s easy to move though, even at 13.3kg. You can completely fold the bike down, including the long stem-cum-steerer (or ‘Physis’ handlepost), or leave the bar extended to help manoeuvre when trolleying. The tri-fold system requires unclipping the joints, removing one of the quick-release MKS pedals and hoisting the pedal on to the frame holster. Then fold the bike up and press the anchor bolt (mounted on to the fork) into the rear dropout. It’s a more secure set-up than Tern’s old magnetic clasp, though unlocking…

Climbing steals the spotlight when it comes to riding in the mountains but is descending, with its combination of technique, nerve and confidence, the more valuable skill? In the next issue we head to the Swiss Alps’ Furka Pass, scene of a famous car chase in the Bond film Goldfinger, for one of our own as features editor (and crack climber) John Whitney takes on marketing manager (and demon descender) Steve Fearn, in an attempt to find the answer……

01 PARK TOOLS BX 3 ROLLING TOOL BOX £399.99 Good tools are invaluable, but Park Tool’s BX-3 takes storage and transportation to obsessive levels. Moulded from impact-resistant polypropylene, the box is based on an aluminium frame with large integrated rubber wheels, a tough slide-out handle and three hinged side handles. The bombproof BX-3 fastens airtight with four sprung clips, and is lockable. It measures 59.5x44x23.5cm, weighs 10.32kg empty and is opened by two gas struts. Five bespoke tool boards can be arrayed around the open box, uncovering further storage in the base and lid, giving easy access to any one of potentially hundreds of specific tools. 02 BACKCOUNTRY RESEARCH CAMRAT STRAP £15.95 The CAMRAT strap is a minimal way to carry a couple of spare tubes, levers and a C02…

1 MONTH AWAY 18 AUGUST ORRO GRAVELCAT, THATCHAM British bike brand Orro has put its name to this gravel ride that’ll be a thorough test of its Terra adventure bikes. The ‘Epic’ 55-mile route has 12 off-road sectors totalling 34 miles, largely on the Ridgeway. There’s also a 43-mile route. Entry to either is £40. 17 18 AUGUST EXMOUTH EXODUS, BATH Unlike most sportives, the Exodus is free. Also unlike most sportives, it takes place through the night: (9pm – 7am). Inspired by the south east’s Dunwich Dynamo, it takes up to 300 riders through the Mendips and Blackdown Hills to, you guessed it, Exmouth. 31 AUGUST 1 SEPTEMBER RAPHA LONDON TO MANCHESTER What were we saying about night sportives? Well, here’s another one (it costs £150 to ride solo,…

Set in the Yorkshire Dales, just outside of Reeth, the Dales Bike Centre is much more than a cafe. There’s a bike shop, bike hire, accommodation and guided riding on offer, but if you only come for the cafe you still won’t regret it. Cycling Plus recently spent two days in the area, and we stopped here both days, we were that impressed! On the first day we tucked into fresh baguettes filled with local cheese and apple chutney at lunchtime, returning later for enormous portions of Victoria sponge and almond cake with locally-roasted coffee to wash things down. The cakes are all home-baked (you really are spoilt for choice), and the cafe prides itself on sourcing food locally. The tea is also locally-produced, so if you’re an old-school rider…

Boardman has always been a brand that upsets the apple cart with a range of technically advanced designs that are also very well priced. The latest generation of bikes from Boardman uses knowledge learned from previous SLR designs, as well as the current cutting-edge thinking from the biggest brands – all wrapped up in a package that, while it is the cheapest on test, is not the cheapest equipped. The C10 SLR frameset used here blends a mix of modulus fibres. The stiffest carbon is reserved for the oversized bottom bracket and head-tube to aid with power transfer and handling. The chassis has a purposeful look to it, blending a Kammtail-shaped down-tube (2) and seat-tube like the Tifosi, Ribble and Dolan. A Kammtail shape is a tube with a truncated…

Dolan bikes is a little UK company with a huge presence in racing. While Dolan is still best known for racing machines on the track and for time trials, it’s expanded its range to take in gravel, cross and endurance among other sub-genres of cycle sport. The DR1 comes under its endurance category and the specification of Campagnolo Potenza with an endurance-friendly 50/34, 11-30 gearset certainly bears this out. The geometry, however, is at the much racier end of endurance than most and the low (for an XL) stack of 569.6mm and reach of 395.6mm and parallel 73-degree angles give the DR1 serious handling chops. The DR1 does ride firm when compared to the latest generation of endurance machines like Giant’s Defy or Specialized’s Roubaix, but it’s in no way…

FROM THE EDITOR… As if the chance to save 30 per cent and having every issue of Cycling Plus delivered direct to your door wasn’t enough of an incentive, we’re also giving new subscribers either a Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HP pump worth £55 or a Lezyne M Caddy Sport Kit Saddle Bag worth £50 – the choice is yours! The Micro Floor Drive HP offers floor pump efficiency in a compact size, while the M Caddy Sport Kit Bag includes a multi-tool, tyre levers, a patch kit and mini pump. Paul Robson, Editor PLUS ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE OFFERS & COMPETITIONS AS PART OF OUR SUBSCRIBER CLUB! HURRY OFFER ENDS 12 SEPTEMBER 2019 GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE Choose either a Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HP pump or Lezyne M Caddy…

A poorly adjusted or badly looked-after headset can make a bike feel unstable. When loose, a headset can transfer extra vibrations through the whole bike, while a rusted or over-tightened headset can require more force than necessary to turn the bars, becoming a potential hazard. There are several different types but the principles of maintenance remain the same – whether a traditional external system with cups pressed into the frame, a less-popular internal cup system (where the bearings sit in a cup still pressed into the frame but sitting within the head-tube), or an integrated setup where bearings sit in prepared surfaces in the head-tube itself. There are variations in preload mechanisms – ‘threaded’ headsets use a pair of nuts that thread on to the steerer to lock against each…

1 FIGHT FATS Stick to unsaturated fats as much as you can and include as many Omega 3 foods, such as oily fish, nuts and seeds as possible. (Alan Murchison, The Cycling Chef) 2 ROLL OUT Loosen your hamstrings, glutes and lower back with a foam roller – rolling 30 seconds for each spot – to reduce your risk of back pain after cycling. (Frontiers in Physiology) 3 EYES OF THE PELOTON Visual input is critical in how cyclists position themselves in a pack: individuals subconsciously form a diamond-shaped pattern that optimises their peripheral vision, helping them quickly respond to others’ changes in motion. (Utah State University) 4 PROTEIN CUTS Protein causes the largest rise in metabolic rate (15–30%) compared to carbs (5-10%) and fats (3%). Studies show we’re likely…

NEAT, or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, is essentially all the activity we do outside of exercise. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT When trying to drop body fat and get stronger we may be tracking our calories/food and training a lot, but if we aren’t taking one of the other biggest variables into account we may be losing out! 1000 steps = ~50kcal – depending on how big you are and how fast it’s done. Often, we start off seeing the fat loss we want but then randomly see it plateau; the reason for this may be a reduction in our NEAT levels, which our body does sub-consciously as calories are restricted. You may also see those levels drop as you do a super-tough turbo or go out for a long weekend ride.…

The frame is that elusive, no-compromise blend of responsiveness and comfortRUSSELL BURTON PRICE £2399 UPGRADES NONE MILES RIDDEN 525KM The Fire Road Rage is badged as a gravel bike, but manages to be at once, both swifter and gnarlier than that. Look first to the 29x2-inch mountain bike tyres, which put it at the rugged end of the gravel, and roll happily over most things in their way. They are equally at home on dirt tracks or rocky paths and they have made light work of cross-country trails more regularly ridden on a mountain bike. As easily as they soak up punishment for rougher tracks, back on the hard-packed stuff the wheels roll fast and simply eat up the miles. What really sets this bike apart at its price point,…

01 MVDP THE MVP? The OVO Energy Tour of Britain often attracts top talent - see Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas’s appearances last season. And talent doesn’t come any bigger right now than that of Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, who will come to the race with his Corendon Circus team with a determination to win a stage and a clear focus in becoming World Champion later in the month. “I’m really happy that the organiser gives our team the chance to participate for the first time and at the same time helps me preparing for the Worlds in the best possible way,” he said. Should he win in Yorkshire he’d be the first man to be the reigning road and cyclo-cross world champion, an astonishing feat achieved by his…

It’s a perfect summer’s day when we meet local rider Jake Alderman of the Cornish Saint Piran cycling team at Watergate Bay on the county’s dramatic north coast. The waves that have made this area a surfing hotspot are nowhere to be seen, but the warm sunshine and gentle breeze are magic ingredients when it comes to going for a bike ride. It’s all an extreme contrast from our previous visit back at Easter, when rain and 70mph winds saw the beach red-flagged and put paid to our original plan to check out the sort of riding that lies in wait for the Tour of Britain peloton in 2019. The opening stage of the 2019 Tour of Britain will bring the race to Cornwall for the first time next year,…