Cycling Weekly | 16 May, 2024 | 51 Tom Davidson is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and features writer E:[email protected] @t_davidson t.davidson 7Cornering is king I’ll be honest, in all my years riding, I’ve never really figured out how to corner smoothly on a bike. I’ve always proceeded through sweeping bends like a robot moving around a square. My brother likes to ridicule me for it – either I’ll lose three bike lengths to him ahead of me, or I’ll hear him behind me cackling at my line. To this day, he maintains that he learnt how to corner from playing first-person car video games as a kid. I, on the other hand, was more of a Guitar Hero guy. Since my crash, I’ve become a keen student of the art of cornering. I’ve watched videos of the great masters and sought to replicate their technique. The general rule is to come into the corner wide, hit the apex, and come out of it wide as well. Leaning into the bend, you should lift up your inside knee and stretch out the other leg, pushing down on the outside pedal for balance. Don’t look down at the road in front of you. Instead, look out of the corner, towards the patch of road where you want to end up. Do all of that, and you’ll look like a pro. Alternatively, you could just do what I do, which is slow down, roll through at a comfortable speed, and lap up my brother’s laughing behind me.
52 | 16 May, 2024 | Cycling Weekly Gut health F I T N E S S I s exercise such as cycling good for the gut? It is excellent for gut microbiome diversity. Regular exercise improves the good bacteria in the gut and reduces the bad bacteria, which is associated with better health outcomes. Exercise improves the motility of the gut, meaning you’ll feel less bloated. It also improves digestion and helps ensure regular bowel movements, as well as reducing the risk of liver and bowel cancer. The list goes on. Can long bouts of high-intensity exercise cause gut problems? Yes, strenuous exercise can cause gut symptoms such as acid reflux and may upset the digestive system. This is because, during strenuous exercise, blood supply to the muscles is prioritised, taking blood away from the gut. As a result, the gut effectively goes to sleep and food takes much longer to digest. Cyclists are especially prone to reflux and heartburn because of being in a leant-forward position. How long before riding should a cyclist eat? Ideally three to four hours, as that’s how long it takes to digest a meal. Obviously you may need to refuel during a ride by consuming low-volume, high-calorie foods. After exercise, you need a cooldown period of half an hour to an hour, to allow blood supply to the gut to normalise. Are high-sugar energy products bad for the gut? There is no evidence of any serious harm to gut health from these products, provided their use is limited to during exercise. It is better for gut health to take on some food, rather than none, during prolonged exercise. What are the key markers of poor gut health? Symptoms such as persistent diarrhoea, blood in the stool, nausea, vomiting, food getting stuck when you eat or recurring stomach pains may indicate an underlying medical condition and should be investigated by a doctor. Milder symptoms such as heartburn, indigestion, bloating, inconsistent stool, etc, may indicate poor gut health rather than disease, and tests may be needed. Is there any value in paying for a microbiome test? At this stage, there is no practical value. I have not tested my own microbiome, and I’m a gut doctor. If someone has an unhealthy lifestyle, their microbiome is likely to be in a poor state, but the solution is to change theirlifestyle. Are probiotic products beneficial? In patients with symptoms, I recommend probiotics for three months to see if they help. In people with no symptoms and A gastroenterologist’s advice on limiting gut distress and improving your microbiome who have a healthy lifestyle, no, there is little evidence of any benefit. What about fermented foods, are they worth the cash? There is evidence that the prebiotics in fermented foods may be beneficial by improving microbiome diversity. Even better is a Mediterranean diet, which is excellent for the gut microbiome. What are your top diet tips for good gut health? Everyone needs a healthy source of protein every day, ideally from fish or plant sources. Minimise your intake “Exercise improves the motility of the gut, meaning you’ll feel less bloated, less uncomfortably full” Adoptthe Mediterranean diet to give healthy gut bacteria a boost A S K T H E E X P E R T
Cycling Weekly | 16 May, 2024 | 53 Words David Bradford Photo Alamy of red meat. Olive oil has many health benefits. Include wholegrain, healthy carbs: wild rice, wholegrain bread, oats, etc. Then you need your fibre: plentiful fruit and veg, as well as nuts and seeds. What is the gut-brain axis all about? If you are stressed or nervous in your life, your body releases stress hormones and neurotransmitters that can make the gut more sensitive, such as in IBS, which is now referred to as a disorder or gut-brain interaction. The worry can exacerbate the symptoms and it becomes a vicious cycle. Meditation, yoga and CBT can help in these circumstances. W E T R I E D I T CW takes the biome test Dr Sarmed Sami Dr Sarmed Sami is a consultant gastroenterologist for the London Digestive Centre at The Princess Grace Hospital (part of HCA UK). Late last year, I started experiencing some bothersome gut symptoms, writes David Bradford. Nothing alarming, but a level of gassiness, gurgling and discomfort that just wasn’t normal for me. My GP ran blood and stool tests, which found nought untoward. So when I noticed that gut health brand Chuckling Goat was offering a microbiome test (£295), I decided to post off some poo, hoping for helpful insight. About four weeks later, my results were in. Overall, my microbiome wellness was rated 8/10, with good microbial diversity and no nasty pathogens detected, but my pro-, pre- and post-biotics were rated only 6/10. So what now? Chuckling Goat’s “action plan” recommended that I start eating fermented foods alongside taking their Complete Prebiotic, as well as their Tummy Tea to help settle my stomach. But did my (apparently inconclusive) results really explain my symptoms, and would the proposed solutions actually help? I turned to NHS gut specialist Dr Andrew Goddard. “Your scores are a bit arbitrary, as scoring microbial health isn’t simple,” said Goddard. “Having said that, you do have a reasonably diverse microbiome with lots of ‘good’ bacteria. You must be eating a reasonably balanced diet.” What about the action plan? “It is mostly reasonable,” replied Goddard. “There is good evidence that fermented foods can change your microbiome and reduce some markers of inflammation, provided you keep eating them long-term. “There is some sense in the advice,” he concluded, “but little evidence for the expensive supplements recommended. You’d have to repeat the microbiome test after making the changes, and even then, no one knows what those results really mean.” MEET THE EXPERT
54 | 16 May, 2024 | Cycling Weekly 2. L. Dewhurst (Ride Revolution Coaching) 1:14.26 3. D. Moss (Springfield Financial Racing Team) 1:14.31 North Road CC 25 (Wrestlingworth, Bedfordshire): 1. Alex Pickering (Elysium Kalas Race Team) 54.16 2. L. Clarke (TMG Horizon Cycling Team) 54.32 3. R. Clarke (TMG Horizon Cycling Team) 54.52 4. O. Mytton (Verulam CC) 55.19 5. M. Debney (Verulam Really Moving) 56.11 6. M. Rowe (Hitchin Nomads CC) 58.17 Women: 1. Lauren Creamer (Velo Fixer) 59.48 2. E. Grace (Cambridge CC) 1:04.26 3. E. Young (Willesden Triathlon Club) 1:05.35 4. I. Prokopova (North Road CC) 1:10.25 5. A. Tryssesoone (Stevenage CC) 1:12.00 6. S. Tophill (Team Trident) 1:19.13 Ferryhill Wheelers 20 (North Cowton, North Yorkshire): 1. Marcel Schubert (Zurburan Racing) 43.02 2. S. Tyson (Protech Velo) 44.02 3. S. Smales (Harrogate Nova) 44.04 T I M E T R I A L S SUN, MAY 12 Dukinfield CC 50 (Cranage, Cheshire): 1. David Parkin (Velotik Racing Team) 1:46.23 2. A. Royle (Manchester Bicycle Club) 1:47.01 3. B. Akin (Tri Central UK) 1:49.13 4. L. Eccleston (Manchester Triathlon Club) 1:49.31 5. B. Murphy (Chorlton Velo) 1:51.10 6. M. Dewhurst (Tri Central UK) 1:53.12 Women: 1. Jasmine Holmes (Total Tri Training) 2:05.33 2. L. Astles (Congleton CC–MyWindsock) 2:20.55 3. J. De Winton (Manchester Triathlon Club) 2:21.40 Mid-Shropshire Wheelers 50 (Prees, Shropshire): 1. George Elliott (Liverpool Century RC) 1:51.53 2. A. Whiteley (Team Lifting Gear Products) 1:52.06 3. T. Cullen (Tri Central UK) 1:52.29 4. V. Pickering (St Christopher’s CC) 1:54.29 5. S. Romei (Paramount CRT) 1:54.33 6. A. Broadbent (Graham Weigh Racing-Deeside Olympic) 1:55.56 R A C I N G R E S U L T S D O M E S T I C R E S U LT S East Midlands and West Midlands Championships Where: Leicestershire When: 2 June The regional championships for the East and West Midlands takes place close to Melton Mowbray at the beginning of June. The women’s race takes place over 54 miles/87km, with the open equivalent 90 miles/145km around the Hose course. Entries are £35 on the BC website. The Great Escape Where: London When: 2 June This reliability ride organised by Islington CC sees riders going on a rolling route through Essex after leaving King’s Cross, with 1,789m of elevation across vits 210km. There are multiple options for cafe stops en route. Tickets are £15 through BC. C O M I N G U P Women: 1. Hayley Wells (Wrekinsport CC) 2:06.08 2. R. Holland (Chester RC) 2:24.10 3. H. Tudor (Oswestry Paragon CC) 2:31.19 Newbury Road Club 25 (Aldermaston, Berkshire): 1. Hadyn James (BPC Bioflow RT) 49.15 2. P. Allan (Team Velo Sportif) 50.19 3. H. Bayley (a3crg) 51.14 4. K. Norris (360 VRT) 51.43 5. T. Clements (Poole Wheelers) 51.44 6. J. Redford (Army Cycling) 52.24 Women: 1. Selina Clifford (London Dynamo) 59.10 2. S. Matthews (a3crg) 1:00.00 3. K. Hickson (Newbury Velo) 1:00.24 4. A. Reeder (Pronto Bikes) 1:01.09 5. J. Wilkie (Cheltenham & County CC) 1:01.38 6. T. Robbins (Reading CC) 1:04.04 Team Milton Keynes 20 (Astwood, Buckinghamshire): 1. David Mead (Team Enable-MI Racing) 42.14 2. R. Witchell (Royal Leamington Spa CC) 43.14 3. M. Debney (Verulam-Really Moving) 44.29 4. B. Farrer (Bedfordshire Road CC) 45.37 5. S. Law (Team Enable-MI Racing) 45.41 6. L. Schvartz (PDQ Cycle Coaching) 45.48 Women: 1. Zoe Shepherd (Team Enable-MI Racing) 58.27 2. L. Archer (Ride Revolution Coaching) 1:02.03 3. L. Scofield (Rockingham Forest Wheelers) 1:07.47 SAT, MAY 11 Cardiff 100 Miles RCC 50 (Abergavenny, Monmouthshire): 1. Jake Sargent (Team Bottrill) 1:38.29 2. M. Cox (FTP Fulfil the Potential Race Team) 1:41.58 3. C. Gibbard (FTP Fulfil the Potential Race Team) 1:42.44 4. D. Sage (Evolution Racing Academy) 1:43.15 5. R. Llewellyn (Imperial Racing Team) 1:43.39 6. D. James Williams (Velotik Racing Team) 1:44.15 Female: 1. Gretchen Zoeller (Born to Bike-Bridgtown Cycles) 2:08.11 2. E. Bexson (Stratford Cycling Club) 2:08.30 3. M. Lindley (Poole Wheelers Cycling Club) 2:13.20 4. L. Borradaile (CC Weymouth) 2:15.57 Leo 30 (Six Mile Bottom, Cambridgeshire): Open: 1. Paul Pardoe (Peterborough CC) 1:02.58 2. M. Smith (DRAG2ZERO) 1:03.17 3. J. Levick (Rose Race Team) 1:03.53 4. S. McDoald (St Neots CC) 1:04.10 5. M. Hamer (Legato Racing Team LRT) 1:05.53 6. S. Smart (DRAG2ZERO) 1:06.18 Women: 1. Hayley Simmonds (Doltcini O’Shea Cycle Division) 1:12.52
Cycling Weekly | 16 May, 2024 | 55 4. M. Hill (Zurburan Racing) 44.18 5. R. Lilleker (Cleveland Wheelers CC) 44.41 6. J. Hewison (Zurburan Racing) 45.13 Women: 1. Kate Sanderson (Cleveland Wheelers CC) 55.35 2. S. Heighton (Ferryhill Wheelers) 56.22 3. J. Scott (Darlington Cycling Club) 58.16 4. D. Jeffries (Manilla Cycling) 1:02.42 West CheshireTTCA 10 (Farndon, Cheshire): 1. Ben Goodwin (Fibrax Fenwicks Wrexham CC) 19.57 2. A. Broadbent (Graham Weigh Racing Deeside Olympic) 21.38 3. P. Land (Velo6 Racing) 21.41 4. J. Smith (Chester RC) 22.09 5. J. Griffiths (Velotik Racing Team) 22.17 6. N. Buckley (Port Sunlight Wheelers) 22.25 Women: 1. Deb Hutson-Lumb (Wrekinsport CC) 24.20 2. S. Howard (Mersey Tri) 24.42 3. S. Cunliffe (Velotik Racing Team) 26.47 4. S. Williams (AeroCoach) 26.54 VC Venta 10 (Alresford, Hampshire): Open: 1. Bobby Buenfeld (Velo Club Venta) 21.04 2. A. Murphy (Velo Club Venta) 21.08 3. M. Buckley (Velo Club St Raphael) 21.18 4. P. Allan (Team Velo Sportif) 21.54 5. A. Rivett (Velo Club Raphael) 21.57 6. A. Gardner (Velo Club Venta) 22.05 10. Jake Prior (Velo Club St Raphael) 23.25 Women: 1. Danielle Forshaw (Velo Club Venta) 26.38 2. R. Waite (Andover Wheelers) 29.03 3. K. Mcseveney (a3crg) 29.32 Jamie Pleavin pushes hard atthe Mid ShropshireWheelers‘50’ E V E N T # 1 9 9 C O U R S E : B O L O G N A T T W E D N E S D AY 8 M AY Z W I F T R E S U LT S C YC L I N G W E E K LY C LU B 1 0 T T Words Snowdon Sports Photo Brian Jones/Kimroy MEN 3 3 V I S I T S T O T H I S C O U R S E F A S T E S T M A N Ed Laverack 22:43 (Week 6) F A S T E S T W O M A N Naomi de Pennington 26:47 (Week 20) C L U B 1 0 A T B O L O G N A T T Do n ’t m iss n e x t we e k ’s e v e n t, We d n e s d a y 2 2 M a y o n t h e T i c k To c k c o u rs e C Y C L I N G W E E K LY S T R A V A C L U B Join the club at www.bit.ly/cwstravaclub week ending 5 May; UK/Ireland riders only Most miles 1 Cat Allen 575 2 Paul Willcox 513 3 Tyler Hannay 496 Longestrides(mi) 1 Mike Churcher 439 2 Mark Harding 255 3 Richard Lake 254 Most elevation gain (ft) 1 Neal Humphries 47,322 2 James Boyle 35,220 3 Alan Gunner 31,618 WOMEN 1 Hywel Davies Wahoo Le Col 24:58 4.9w/kg 311w 2 Daniel Pink Team Vegan 25:56 4.8w/kg 278w 3 Nicky Manson Vision 26:42 4.3w/kg 361w 4 Andrew Lambe ZSUNR 28:02 3.9w/kg 284w 5 Carl Raynham BAKPDL 28:22 3.9w/kg 278w 6 The Bridge - 31:04 3.4w/kg 250w 7 Jeremy Tanguay Apres Velo RT 31:12 3.5w/kg 241w 8 JD Bergkamp LEVEL Esports 31:28 3.4w/kg 187w 9 Luigi Bianchi - 32:37 3.4w/kg 314w 10 Kris Beattie - 34:04 3.0w/kg 227w 1 JD Bergkamp LEVEL Esports 31:28 3.4w/kg 187w 2 R. Avigail - 35:31 2.7w/kg 181w
56 | 16 May, 2024 | Cycling Weekly R A C I N G R E S U L T S Y O U R R A C E B I K E Underneath the custom paintjob hides a Scott Plasma. It belongs to James Lowden, who has built it up with 11-speed SRAM eTap with a Quark power meter and Revolver and Lightweight wheels, as well as exotic kit from Wattshop, Ceramic Speed and TriRig. Photo Andy Jones WANT US TO F EATURE YO UR R ACE B IKE? S E N D A PIC AN D I N FO RM AT I O N TO CYCL I N G@FUTURE N E T.COM R O A D R A C I N G SUN, MAY 12 Rapha LincolnGrand Prix (Lincoln, Lincolnshire): Men E, 1, 2: Matthew Holmes (unattached) 3:51.44; 2. A. Lewis (Team Skyline) +0.04; 3. M. King (XSpeed United Continental) +0.09; 4. G. Kimber (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling) +0.15; 5. A. Richardson (Saint Piran) +0.25; 6. D. Hird (Cycling Sheffield) +0.38. National Road Series overall (after two rounds): 1. Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) 78 pts; 2. D. Clayton (Le Col Race Team) 76; 3. R. Baker (Saint Piran) 73; 4. O. Rees (Sabgal/Anicolor) 70; 5. A. Lewis (Team Skyline) 67; 6. G. Kimber (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling) 61. Women E, 1, 2: 1. Kate Richardson (Lifeplus Wahoo) 2:39.16; 2. C. Ferguson (Shibden Apex RT) +0.13; 3. I. Wolff (Shibden Apex RT) +0.19; 4. E. Wong (Shibden Apex RT) +0.24; 5. M. Apolonia vant Geloof (Hess Cycling Team) +0.26; 6. E. King (Lifeplus Wahoo) same time. National Road Series overall (after three rounds): 1. Lucy Harris (Loughborough Lightning) 104 pts; 2. C. Ferguson (Shibden Apex RT) 98; 3. E. Shaw (Alba Development Road Team) 96; 4. O. Wolff (Shibden Apex RT) 92; 5. E. King (Lifeplus Wahoo) 90; 6. A. McWilliam (Hess Cycling Team) 86. Bec CC Road Race (Groombridge, Kent): E, 1, 2, 3: 1. Gabriel Dellar (Stolen Goat RT) 2:58.00; 2. T. Dahlhaus (Foran CT) +0.14; 3. J. Adlam-Cook (Cambridge University CC) +0.20; 4. C. McNamara (Sigma Sports Race Team) +0.34; 5. J. Brookes (Halesowen A&CC) same time; 6. A. Speirs (TAAP Kalas) +0.42. Halesowen A&C Road Race (Great Witley, Worcestershire): 2, 3, 4: 1. Lau Wan Yau Vincent (unattached) 2:18.42; 2. O. Snodden (SN Vitae HUUB); 3. B. Pierce (Bridgnorth CC) all same time; 4. J. Satoor (Bridgnorth CC) +0.20; 5. W. Haynes (Cheltenham & County CC) st; 6. W. Scott (Richardsons-Trek DAS) +0.22. Plymouth Corinthian Spring Road Race (Brentor,Devon): Men 3, 4: 1. Charlie Meredith (Mid-Devon CC); 2. C. Bale (BGE); 3. T. Scorer (Royal Navy Cycling); 4. H. Thomas (Steele Davis via Roma); 5. G. Watch (Mid-Devon CC); 6. P. Collings (unattached). FullGas Spring Cup Seriesround four (Hillingdon, Middlesex): Men 2, 3, 4: 1. Mohammad Ganjkhanlou (Reading CC); 2. D. Egan (Kingston Wheelers); 3. A. Stanley (VC Meudon); 4. R. Stovold (Knight’s London); 5. T. Mann (Knight’s London); 6. A. Wylie (Amersham RCC). Masters 40: 1. Gavin Howell (Ride Revolution Coaching); 2. G. Ryan (Chaingain RT); 3. K. Argent (Sigma Sports Race Team); 4. A. Hastings (Haste CC); 5. P. Glowinski (VC Londres); 6. A. Harvey (Trash Mile). Masters 50: 1. Marc Lovis (CC London); 2. J. Harding (Haste CC); 3. S. Norman (Ride Revolution Coaching); 4. P. O’Clery (Forge London CC); 5. N. Pearson (Gemini BC); 6. N. Beale (Pronto Bikes). SAT, MAY 11 Matlock CC Circuit Racesround two (Darley Moor circuit,Derbyshire): Men 2, 3, 4: 1. Sam Walsham (Beeston CC); 2. M. Higgins (Derby Mercury RC); 3. G. Safranauskas (HIVEW Racing); 4. A. Montero (Lee Velo); 5. A. Cutts (Team Bottrill); 6. T. Hill (unattached). Women 2, 3, 4: 1. Alice O’Neill (Velo Bavarian RT); 2. C. Greaves (Lichfield City CC); 3. O. Channon (unattached); 4. L. Turan (unattached); 5. C. Spencer (unattached); 6. E. McDonagh (Matlock CC). Men Fourth Cat:1. Fraser Cummings (Matlock CC); 2. B. Rawsthorne (Waldy Wheelers); 3. P. Molloy (Dolan Ellesse); 4. D. Shaw (Velo Bavarian RT); 5. Z. Gregory (unattached); 6. M. Heathcote (Velo Bavarian RT).
58 | 16 May, 2024 | Cycling Weekly If you are fond of setting yourself significant cycling challenges, it is essential you master forgetting. If you attempt a gold-standard ride at a big sportive, or try to ride 200 miles in a day, you will not want to remember the bad bits because if you do you’ll probably never ride again. It helps that you tend to forget anyway. Even the most horrific experiences on a bike tend to fade within a few days into something you can deal with. The easiest way to help this process along is to turn the bad bits into entertaining little anecdotes. “I was such a wreck! I couldn’t keep food down! I kept vomiting on my Garmin, my left knee swelled up so my leg looked like a snake that had swallowed a football, and I got so lost that a Dutch couple in a campervan had to rescue me!” If you can put it like that, it stops you actually thinking about the reality. Instead you have a story you can use to defeat your friends’ stories, and all of a sudden you’re winning again. If you can’t forget and are damned to remember the real version, your anecdotes will turn out like something from an Afghan veteran’s therapy session and before you know where you are your family will have sold all your bikes to protect you from yourself. Note that if you literally can’t remember anything whatsoever, that’s probably concussion, and is an altogether more serious problem. The Doc untangles cyclists’ love-hate relationship with their sport and concludes it reaches its bittersweet apogee with the pros I was out for a ride recently with my friend Bernard. The conversation turned to Sir Bradley Wiggins, a rider whom Bernard has always admired, all the way back to his junior pursuit world title in 1998. Sadly, he’s a bit less of a fan these days. “He says he hates cycling now,” said Bernard grumpily. “Can you imagine, hating cycling? You look at him riding a bike, the grace, the power. How could he hate that? He says he hated winning the Tour.” My first thought was that Wiggins has had quite a lot to go through and process in recent years and I’d be first in line to let him do that. I think there’s a lot of pressure on pro riders that it’s easy to overlook in a raging jealousy that they’re getting paid a fortune to ride their bikes, have fun, and live in Girona. But there’s a long history of fans and media asking riders if they enjoy cycling, mainly so they can target anyone with the temerity to say anything other than yes. Chris Boardman had to clarify an interview where he said he didn’t like cycling as much as he liked winning. And I once watched a French reporter have the following exchange with Mark Cavendish: Reporter: “Do you like cycling?” Cavendish: “Like it, how?” Reporter: “Do you ride your bike to do the shopping?” All the blood drained out of my head in terror, and I was only standing next to her. My enthusiasm for an escape meant I became the first person ever to summon the willpower required to teleport. Throws of love It’s a curious demand to place on a pro rider, because there are plenty of amateurs whose relationship with cycling is less than simple. I asked Bernard to reminisce about his love of cycling at the moment a couple of years earlier when he had hurled his bike over a How to… Forget doc [email protected] Lostmemories are your brain sparing you trauma
Cycling Weekly | 16 May, 2024 | 59 hedge into a field and implored a flock of sheep to come and trample on it. “I was loving it, mate,” he said. The time he gave up for two years and sold all his kit? “Never loved cycling more,” he said. (Only afterwards did it strike me that this might be exactly the case.) Hobby worth hating Another friend describes cycling as, “It’s my ’obby and I ’ates it,” which is playing for laughs but expresses a worldview that I tend to associate with time triallists above other disciplines. (Time triallists set themselves targets based on fantasy conjectures about their training and the efficacy of their latest shopping spree, and are disappointed when it does not come to pass. Time trialling is a rollercoaster ride of optimism and crushing letdown.) My affection for the sport has had ups and downs too. I’ve had weeks and months where I’ve had enough of it but kept doing it anyway. I once defined a cyclist as “someone who goes cycling even when they don’t want to,” which is glib, but does say something about commitment, and about the fact that if you keep going things more often than not get better. And when they’ve got better you will want to be fit, will you not? It’s natural that anything that plays a large role in your life will bring with it both good times and bad. If you’ve ever taken refuge from your job in your cycling, imagine what it would be like if they were both the same thing. (And if your pro team is your ‘family’ for a lot of the year, it’s even more prone to difficulties.) In the end I often think about an old friend of mine – he died a few years ago. He hated cycling with a true passion for over 60 years. But, as he put it himself, he hated it fractionally less than he hated everything else in the world. A reader got in touch with a story from his childhood. Dan says that in the early 2000s he was a keen but mediocre junior road racer. His father was his mechanic, driver, coach and, alarmingly, pharmacist. “He used to give me EPO tablets,” Dan recalls. “I used to get two every night before bed. He told me under no circumstances to tell anyone.” Years later he challenged his dad about this. “Don’t be stupid,” said his dad. “There’s no such thing as an EPO tablet – you have to take it intravenously. I was just trying to create a placebo effect so you’d think you were doping and you’d go faster.” Well, that’s all right then. Just a perfectly normal example of child-rearing from the early 2000s. A C T S O F C Y C L I N G S T U P I D I T Y WhenCav gets asked if he rides a shopper, it’stime to dematerialise Photos Getty Images, Shutterstock
60 | 16 May, 2024 | Cycling Weekly F R O M T H E A R C H I V E Photo Getty Images Cyclists in the 1955 Tour de Suisse ignore the danger and duck under the barrier at a level crossing, determined to keep racing. Level crossings have long been the nemesis of bike riders, especially for a breakaway, whose advantage may legitimately be all but wiped out by the fall of the red-and-white scythe. The UCI was forced to change its regulations in 2015 after riders in Paris-Roubaix streamed through a closed crossing, provoking alarm and outrage from the authorities. The rules now say riders must stop if the barriers are closing, or a warning alarm is ringing. The gap to any breakaway is preserved, but only if it is caught by the bunch at the crossing – if its lead is merely wiped out by, say, 75%, well that’s just tough luck. Tour de Suisse June 1955
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62 | 16 May, 2024 | Cycling Weekly C L A S S I C B I K E A British shop brand that backed two ofthe greats oftime trialling I f ever there was a bike to typify the British time trialling scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s, this is it – a hand-built British frame with simplicity at its core and a name on the down tube that graced the bikes of some of the best in the business. The Bullhorn bars with bolt-on Syntace extensions are the best clue to this bike’s age, as the latter started showing up on the scene as first triathletes then, more famously, Greg LeMond proved their aero credentials in the late ’80s. The single 48t chainring is paired with a close-ratio five-speed block – ideal for dragstrip courses – with a Suntour Superbe Pro rear mech alongside. The Mavic Helium front wheel might be a late addition, as these famously light wheels weren’t released until 1995. Born in 1917, Alan Shorter was a keen racer until a broken leg forced him to stop competing. Instead, he decided to move into coaching and found a promising young junior rider called Alf Engers. Within four years, Engers had become the 25-mile competition record holder and would go on to earn himself the nickname ‘the King’. Alan was a respected frame maker, working with several builders over the years, but was closely associated with Alf’s lightened bikes which used extensive fluting and drilled – ‘drillium’, as it was known colloquially – parts. It is reported that it was not uncommon for Engers to arrive at an event with a Shorter frame still unpainted, as it had been built the night before. In 1993, Shorter Rochford Cycles backed the Leo RC team that achieved widespread success in time trials, in no small part thanks to Graeme Obree. An innovator like Engers, Obree went on to international success, claiming the Hour record and world titles on the track. The Shorter Rochford shop in Potters Bar closed in late 2022. Shorter TT bike Words Paul Grêlé Photo Richard Butcher/Future Publishing N EXT WE EK’S I S SUE ON SALE EVERY THURSDAY Romain Bardet’s big plans for cycling Is sleep tracking worthwhile? Giant Revolt gravel bike on test S C A N T O SU B S C R I B E ! SUBSCRI B E SU B SC R I B E AN D GE T CW DE L I V E R ED T O YO U R D O O R M AG A Z I N E SDI R ECT.C O M/D32D FRE E M UC- O F F E S S E N T I A L S KI T WO R T H O V E R £20
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