Table of contents for December 2016 in Cyclist

Owain Doull  Age: 23 Nationality: British Honours: 2016 2nd, World Track Championships, Team Pursuit 1st, Olympic Games, Team Pursuit 2015 3rd overall, Tour of Britain, points classification winner 2013 1st, European Track Championships, Team Pursuit 2012 1st, National Track Championships, Individual Pursuit Cyclist: How does it feel to be joining a cycling powerhouse like Team Sky? Owain Doull: It is unbelievable. I’m riding as a stagiaire this year to get a taste of things before I join fully next year. The most exciting bit so far has been picking up my Team Sky bike and kit. It was a bit surreal to see my name on a team jersey with the little Welsh flag. For the past year I’ve been focusing on the team pursuit with British Cycling ahead…

Two minutes is a very short amount of time. It’s less time than it takes to boil a kettle for a cup of tea, or to watch a commercial break on TV, but if you choose instead to spend those two minutes racing up a 900m incline in north London, it can feel like an eternity. In October the annual Urban Hill Climb returned to the refined streets of Highgate, where once a year the residents of Swain’s Lane can peer from their multi-million-pound homes to see strange men and women in Lycra turn red, then green, as they attempt to time-trial up a slope that maxes out at 20%. It’s a lung-heaving, cramp-inducing festival of pain, which rather begs the question: what’s the appeal? ‘Hill climbs are a quirky,…

At a time when every new bike that comes out seems to have vast, angular tubes, with hydraulic discs and integrated aero cockpits, the Addict looks quaintly traditional. Its silhouette reveals slender, gently tapering round tubes, making it look elegant and refined next to some of the more boxy modern offerings. It also eschews any fiddly components, opting for a standard seat clamp, headset and brakes – all of which I was thankful for on this trip. The bike is easy to set up and adjust, and during my time on it there were no clicks, grinds or creaks, leaving me to simply enjoy the ride (the smooth efficiency of the Shimano Dura-Ace groupset helped a lot). And what a ride it is. The Addict is exceptionally light, which is…

Twelve members of the public, twelve walks of life, but one thing unites them. A single word: apprehension. ‘That’s the best way to describe it,’ says Nicola Noble over her 4am coffee. At 29, Nicola’s a seasoned duathlete, but along with her fellow athletes is struggling to remember why she’s about to run 54km, pedal 1,309km and ascend 10,568m in a bid to get from Buckingham Palace to Edinburgh Castle and back in 50 hours. To put that into perspective, it’s the equivalent of running one and a quarter marathons, climbing the Eiffel Tower and cycling 12 times around the Isle of Wight while riding up Everest with Ben Nevis for dessert. To put that into words? That’s the Fitbit Fifty, and today is the first time this challenge will…

To download this route, go to cyclist.co.uk/55chilterns . Head west out of Redbourn and take the right fork at Church End. Follow the road as it bends north through Clement’s End and Whipsnade, up onto the Dunstable Downs. Once you reach the B489 turn left then take the next right out towards Eaton Bray. Head for Ivinghoe Aston via Northall and Slapton to reach Ivinghoe Beacon. At Ringshall, turn left to circle through the Ashridge Estate, exiting via Church End. Ride along Lower then Upper Icknield Way, turning right at Butler’s Cross. Head for Hughenden Valley, then hit Winchmore Hill and Little Chalfont underneath Amersham. Ride north to Berkhamsted then head northeast until you pick up your earlier route from Redbourn.…

Trek really made waves when it launched its latest Madone 9 Series, with its engineers displaying some unconventional thinking for system integration. Most obvious is the front brake, fitted neatly into the front fork such that it requires a pair of hinged flaps at the front of the head tube (which Trek calls Vector Wings) to enable the bike to turn. The upshot of such outlandish design is a seriously fast bike, which Trek says it couldn’t have achieved without being able to take a more holistic approach, for example by producing more components such as its bar/stem combo in-house to maximise the performance benefits.…

Cast your mind back to 27 pages ago and you will remember how we discussed the growing trend among manufacturers for creating bespoke components in order to make their bikes smoother, sleeker, faster and generally more desirable. Well, there are two perfect examples coming up in the Wilier Cento10Air and BMC Roadmachine 01. As for the DeAnima Unblended #1, it goes one better – every part of the frame is custom-built for the individual rider. It’s a thoroughly modern line-up.…

THE SPEC Model BMC Roadmachine 01 Groupset Dura-Ace Di2 9070 Deviations Shimano R785 shifters, RS805 disc brake callipers Wheels DT Swiss Spline RC38 Carbon Finishing kit 3T Ergonova Team handlebar, BMC ICS 01 stem, BMC D-Premium seatpost, Fizik Aliante R5 saddle Weight 7.8kg (56cm) Price £8,799 Contact evanscycles.com There’s no doubt that with the Roadmachine 01 BMC has produced one of the cleanest-looking road bikes out there. All the usual cable clutter has been neatly tucked away, with a cunningly designed cockpit that allows the cables to disappear into the stem before running down inside the head tube thanks to a fork steerer with flattened sides, which leaves space for the cables. The frame’s tube shapes and components just seem to flow seamlessly into one another, and I especially like…

Lock a bunch of pro cyclists in a room and they’ll struggle to agree on much – but there is one subject on which they will stand united: roads. ‘All pros say the UK’s roads are gritty and hard to ride on, whereas in France, Mallorca or Lanzarote they’re smooth and easy to ride on,’ says British Cycling coach Will Newton. ‘At one point Lanzarote’s roads were worse than the UK’s, but they had local elections coming up and all the roads were resurfaced with beautifully smooth tarmac. They deteriorate with the sand and wind, but you can guarantee that every time local elections are due they’ll be resurfaced.’ Surely the state of European roads doesn’t come down to politics? You wouldn’t get that here because… oh, wait. Howard Robinson,…

The road tilts upwards and I slam the chain onto the small ring, where it will stay for the next couple of hours The perfect way to begin any ride is with a few kilometres of flat road to gently warm up the muscles, loosen the limbs and get the blood flowing in preparation for the harder sections to come. This is not that ride. Within a few pedal strokes of leaving the carpark in the town of Susa, a sign points away from the main road towards the Colle delle Finestre, with the ominous adjunct that the summit is another 19km from this lowest point. I’ve barely had time to secure my cleats in my pedals before the road tilts upwards and I slam the chain onto the small…

ASSOS T.CENTO_S7 BIBSHORTS Innovative bibshorts feature the KuKuPenthouse (a privates pouch) and GoldenGate, a semi-floating pad that reduced friction. £210, assos.com OAKLEY JAWBREAKER PRIZM SUNGLASSES The design harks back to Oakley’s classic Eyeshades, updated to accommodate its Prizm road lens, which offers exceptional clarity. £175, uk.oakley.com SHIMANO R321 SHOES Incredibly stiff, yet the customisable insole and comfortable fit ensured they didn’t need adjusting once all day. £249.99, madison.co.uk…

It wasn’t long ago that a dream road bike started life as a frame in your hands. You would then pick the parts – wheels, groupset, bars, seatpost, saddle – that best suited your preferences and wallet. While this is still entirely possible today, at the top end of the market it’s a lot trickier, as brands design their own components to function with the frame. Take the latest Trek Madone – it will only work with the supplied cockpit, seatpost and brakes. All that’s really left to play with are the wheels and drivetrain. Specialized’s Venge ViAS, Canyon’s Endurace and BMC’s Roadmachine are similar stories. The result is that the consumer is required to stay within the manufacturer’s walled garden as the industry pursues its latest goal: system integration.…

Look was an early pioneer of system integration. A decade ago it created its own hollow carbon crankset and integrated bottom bracket system, plus its E-Post seat mast on its 595 model. More recently, in 2014, its 795 Aerolight took integration to a whole new level. With fully integrated brakes, a proprietary stem plus the ZED cranks and integrated E-post, Look claimed it was the world’s most aerodynamic road bike. Its appearance was divisive, though – the market simply wasn’t accustomed to such unorthodox designs.…

The start of the La Indomable Gran Fondo in the shadow of Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains is really the end. It’s the start of a 200km sportive, but for me it’s the end of six months of training and sacrifice. Over the course of a Scottish winter, I’ve logged 7,000km and 60,000m of elevation in wind, rain and temperatures that rarely reached double figures. So as the countdown begins in the pretty Alpujarran town of Berja, I can’t help thinking that whatever happens during the next few hours, whether I finish in the top 100 or in the back of the broom wagon, I’ve already achieved my goal just by getting to the start. At least that’s what I keep telling myself as it dawns on me in the cold…

THE SPEC Model Wilier Cento10Air Groupset Shimano Ultegra 6800 Deviations Shimano Ultegra 6810 direct mount brakes Wheels Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon Exalith Finishing kit Wilier Alabarda integrated bar and stem, Ritchey Cento10Air custom seatpost, Selle Italia SLS carbon saddle Weight 7.51kg (L) Price £4,999 Contact wilier.com I always think there’s something reassuring about a bike that’s had many before it bear its name. Specialized has the Allez, Cannondale the CAAD series, Trek the Madone, Giant the TCR, and Wilier the Cento. It speaks of consideration, faith and solid reputation. Consideration that a manufacturer has tried to create lineage and pedigree; faith that each iteration will be better than the generation before; and solid reputation that if a name has lasted long enough, a bike must be doing something right. After…

1 HACKNEY GT SOCKS £10, hackneygt.com Nothing says ‘I love you’ at Christmas more than a diamond ring. Or a puppy. Or a puppy carrying a diamond ring upon a tiny velveteen saddle tied to its back. Socks, though, come pretty darned close, and these funky pairs from Hackney GT possibly closest of all. Each pair is woven from a super-stretchy, highly durable cotton mix whose colours will keep on poppin’ long into the New Year. 2 BOOT BANANAS £13, bootbananas.com Perhaps the most versatile of all the fruits, suitable for making milkshakes, simple hilarious traps and even boats, the humble banana has now lent itself to keeping your cycling shoes tickety-boo. Each Boot Banana is stuffed with a special mixture of absorbent salts and sweet-smelling plant extracts that absorb…

To download this route, go to cyclist.co.uk/55finestre. From the town of Susa, about 50km west of Turin, head southeast on the SP24 for a short distance before turning right onto the SP172 at a sign for the Colle delle Finestre. Follow this road upwards for the next 19km to the summit. Dive down the other side (possibly stopping at Il Baretto in Pragelato for a coffee) and follow the SP23R up the 10km climb to Sestriere. Go straight through the town and descend to Cesana Torinese, then follow signs for Torino to get onto the SS24 that will take you all the way back to Susa.…

‘I left Rio the day after I finished racing as I’d been away for so long and I just wanted to get back to the dogs and get the house sorted’ From the cheery opening ‘Hi-ya’ to the friendly farewell ‘Ta-ra’, Bolton’s famously down-to-earth track cyclist Jason Kenny shows no sign during our interview that his new status as the joint most successful British Olympian in history will trigger a cataclysmic change in his character or ego. Kenny is not an athlete you will find mingling with luvvies on the A-list party circuit or aping Cristiano Ronaldo by commissioning a life-size wax statue of himself for his bedroom. Despite owning six Olympic gold medals, he remains happy to spend his days tinkering with motorbikes in his garage or rustling up…

London isn’t well known for its areas of outstanding natural beauty. With nine million people crammed into an area of 1,700 square kilometres, the city’s road bike riders have a choice between doing endless laps of Richmond Park while being shouted at by Range Rover drivers, or getting out beyond the Greater London boundary in search of solitude. The latter is exactly what Cyclist is attempting today, and our escape plan is taking us to the Chiltern Hills. The Chilterns stretch diagonally southwest to northeast from Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire to near Hitchin in Hertfordshire – a 74km long, 18km wide forward slash of wooded inclines and expansive countryside through the heart of the northeastern home counties. Built-up areas comprise only 5% of the land area so the quiet, meandering roads…

Gravel grinder, adventure bike… call it what you will, but the C5 is Cervélo’s answer to the demand for an ‘all-road’ machine. However, keeping it true to the brand’s racing heritage, Cervélo designed the C5 to be less pack horse, more thoroughbred, making it perfect for the Chilterns’ undulating tarmac. ‘The C5 is as stiff as our R5 but more comfortable,’ says brand manager Jürgen Kallnbach. That racy stiffness is evident both when you cast an eye over the huge bottom bracket shell, which houses Cervélo’s proprietary BBright bottom bracket system, and when you put power into the pedals. The lower half of the bike is unwavering under hard efforts, so I was able to shoot forward on the flat and could rest assured that none of my energy was…

With its own wind-tunnel in its Californian headquarters, an already established working relationship with the McLaren Formula One team and a penchant for producing seriously fast bikes (such as its Shiv TT bike), Specialized was perfectly poised to pounce on performance gains through integration. The Venge ViAS is the consummate example of system integration, thanks to Specialized having total control over virtually every component on the bike. Only the derailleurs, shifters, disc brakes, chain and cassette are not made in-house. The result is a bike that, Specialized claims, will be 116 seconds faster than a standard road bike over 40km. That’s a saving not to be sniffed at, and depending on your tastes this is a seriously cool looking bike.…

‘Sometimes, a new fabric will lead us to a new idea,’ says Steve Smith, brand manager for Italian clothing company Castelli. ‘The designers will take the lead on the process and a lot of cool stuff can come about in this way. But sometimes we like to start with a problem and then go in search of the best way to solve it.’ It’s February, and Cyclist is here in Fonzaso, northern Italy, at Castelli HQ, because we are keen to understand the motivation, inspiration and processes required to create a new product. We’re fortunate to be here to witness the final moments of the birth of a new type of winter bibshort, the Omloop, which has been gestating for almost two years. ‘Soren Jensen [Castelli’s global marketing manager] had…

THE SPEC Model DeAnima Unblended #1 Groupset Campagnolo Chorus EPS Deviations None Wheels Campagnolo Bora 50 One clincher Finishing kit Deda Superleggero RS handlebar, stem and seatpost, Selle Italia Flite Flow saddle Weight 7.1kg (56cm) Price Approx £2,927 (€3,350) frame only, £6,272 as built Contact deanima.it When it comes to handbuilt custom frames, Italy is a true superpower. The country has always had a wealth of artisans, creating masterpieces in steel and titanium, and while the carbon curves of the DeAnima Unblended #1 may not make us nostalgic for the glory days of Italian bikes, it does represent Italian framebuilding getting back to its roots. ‘We’re a company about passion and we’re doing this because we like making bikes,’ says co-founder Matt Cazzaniga. DeAnima produces its frames entirely in-house, and…