The 2010 Tour of Britain will once again take place over eight days, beginning in Rochdale on Saturday 11th September and finishing at the heart of London on Saturday 18th September.

For the race, we’re due to have a glittering line-up of World, Olympic and Commonwealth Champions, plus a whole host of stage winners from the world’s biggest races.

Leading the way are British Olympians Steve Cummings, Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins, who boast nine Olympic medals between them, with the latter trio all Gold medallists from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The 17 teams taking part in the 2010 Tour of Britain also list a number of World Champions from the road and velodrome among their provisional line-ups. Nine former senior World Champions are currently due to take to the start line in Rochdale, with 25 World titles amassed between them.

Current National Champions are well represented too, with the Road Race Champions jerseys from Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Brazil and Australia all due to be on show in the peloton, while the Time Trial Champions of Australia, Germany and Italy are also riding The Tour of Britain.

A number of former British National Champions will also ride, including former British Road Race Champions Hunt, Matt Stephens, Kristian House and Russell Downing, while Roger Hammond is expected to join this number.

The provisional rider line-up (available here) also boasts stage winners from all three Grand Tours, with HTC – Columbia’s André Greipel the most successful, having won four stages in the Vuelta a España and two in the Giro d’Italia, while Robbie Hunter, Baden Cooke and Heinrich Haussler are all Tour de France stage winners.

Another nine riders have also graced the top step of the podium at a Great Tour, including Britain’s Bradley Wiggins at the Giro d’Italia this May.

The Route:

8 thrilling stages, starting in the North of England and coming round to finish on the streets of London. Last years final stage was a brilliant show for cycling and hopefully this year the sun will be shining and a home rider can bring the peloton over the line.

• Stages 3, 4 and 5 look to be the ‘hilliest’ with nothing in the UK going to challenge the riders quite like a long alpine ascent – The Tour of Britain returns to Wales for the first time since 2004 with what will be an exciting stage that heads south from Newtown to Swansea, with the fearsome Constitution Hill, one of the steepest residential roads in the UK, featuring in the final kilometres.
• Stage 6 looks almost pan flat (anyone who’s ridden the Fens sportive will know that even railway flyovers are a welcome incline!) – Having looped through King’s Lynn, the riders leave the town, heading towards Castle Rising and on to the Sandringham Estate. Sandringham has been home to four generations of monarchs and is the country retreat for Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family. Feel free to bow now!
• The final stage 8 will feature closed central London roads for an amazing spectacle – Once again The Tour of Britain will culminate in a fast-paced action pack stage in the capital, with this year’s final stage being hosted by the Olympic and Para Olympic Borough of Newham. Starting and finishing on Royal Albert Way outside the London Borough of Newham’s offices on Newham Dockside, also the location for a free cycling festival, the stage will then take in eight clockwise laps of the circuit before the final sprint of the 2010 Tour of Britain.

---

---

Latest News:

Team Sky Green ‘save the rainforest’ kit:

Team Sky will be helping to save one billion trees in the Amazon rainforest during the Tour of Britain. Team Sky have 6 riders in the race, Steve Cummings, Russell Downing, Mathew Hayman, Greg Henderson, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins – who will be wearing a unique Sky Rainforest Rescue kit. This includes branded jerseys, glasses, helmets, water bottles, saddles and bikes while Team Sky staff will also be wearing 100% recycled sunglasses.

Haussler gets back on his bike:

Heinrich Haussler will be back in action for the first time since his July knee surgery when he lines up for the Tour of Britain next Saturday. Lets hope he smiles a bit more than he did when we saw him at the Eurobike show!

Haussler has not been selected for the Australian team for the world championships but is looking to get back to racing before the end of the season.

Joining him for the race are Roger Hammond, Jeremy Hunt, Ignatas Konovalovas, Daniel Lloyd and Martin Reimer, who was third overall in last year’s race.

---

Let’s hope then that the weather is good enough for us to ride down and watch the peloton pass. The Forest of Bowland is a beautiful part of Lancashire and maybe the boss will let us have a day off in the week to see some of the other stages. Let us know of any stages you wish they’d included and whether your part of the world deserves a shot at hosting the pro peloton. If you ride out to the race send us your pictures in, prizes for any PBK jerseys at the race!

The heat is on. All over the globe there are professionals hitting the races that their teams have had scheduled for them with all the venom that they can muster.

It’s the build up to the Worlds and in doing so national team managers and selective committies will be following their national riders form very closely. Scrutinising the riders and whittling down the guys with the form from the guys who haven’t.

This year it’s a first, Australia have never held the world championships. Five days of the best riders from the under 23 category, women’s and elite men’s all tearing up the streets of Geelong and Melbourne. What a back drop this is going to be.

This area is well known (in the southern hemisphere) as a great cycling area, with loads of group rides everyday. I’ve been sat at my desk on a damp cold grey day (and that’s just summer) browsing the internet reading about the various club runs up and down the coast roads wishing I was there.

Anyway back to what the blog was all about. The World Road Race Championships.

Only the Tour de France eclipses the worlds in prestige, but only just. You win this event and you’ve got a whole year of wearing the world champs rainbow stripes.

It’s the only race every year that the teams ride under their national colours and due to this; it’s a ferocious battle even before the start line. Every guy and girl wants to be on that team and who wouldn’t this year? It’s in Australia for Pete’s sake, sun, sea, sand and cycling.

Just think what the after race parties are going to be like. Don’t believe the hype that pro’s don’t party either; I’ve seen first hand that they do. There’s definitely going to be some “Tinnies” grabbed out of the “Eskies” and downed “Mate”!

We all know Australia knows how to host a party, sorry sporting event. You guys did a sterling job with the 2000 Olympics, 2006 Commonwealth Games, 2007 World Swimming Championships (even though its not a proper sport, needs wheels for that) and F1 grand Prix. We have faith in you Australia, just look at the Tour Down Under. The pros now have a race that’s not flat and red hot (tour of Qatar) or freezing and dangerous (all of Europe) but hot, hilly and exciting to watch to start the season with.

What is this all building up to? Selection! It’s survival of the fittest, it’s a long season and it’s a long race at 262.7km, so the managers will be looking for the riders who still have the fire power in their legs from the season and the guys who can get through the 262.7km to the finish and still have a chance at taking the title.

Some national teams have already released their rider rosters. Others are still to take shape. So we are asking you who do you thinks up for the job. Who is Paolo Bettini going to be handing the tickets to, are the US team going to rally around Tyler Farrar? Is Farrar going to come up against the 2 time world champ Oscar Freire with his Spanish squad? Were the Australian selectors correct in excluding McEwan? Is Cavandish going to have a hard time with just 2 guys to look out for him? We want to know your views, who do you hope is going to be there and who do you think should be there.

Let us know.

On top of all this, little old me will be attending the worlds. I’m still working on getting that VIP start village pass as well!

Yes Australia, I will be heading Down Under, not just for the worlds where I’ll be posting a few blogs from, but I’m coming to get a kicking from you guys on the club runs and races through out the 2010/11 winter or is that summer?

So come on lets have some tips guys, I’m going to need to know where to head for these club runs and races. I’ve got several months of racing and training and work probably coming up in Oz. Travelling with my bike is what I like to think I do best. So along with your World team predictions I want advice on where to head, where to ride, what coffee shop to stop at and how much sun tan lotion I’ll be needing. I’m a pasty so and so! Oh and if anybody has a dog house, shed, bunker, tepee any other place I can rest my head let me know. I lived in a container unit once….Honest!

With the season slowly coming to a close in the Northern hemisphere and the post-Tour crits having been done and dusted we move onto the Vuelta.

Some like it, some don’t and for many it’s an excuse to watch hours of cycling on TV – which works great on the weekends!

History:

• First held in 1935 and annually since 1955, the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across Spain.
• The inaugural event (1935) saw 50 entrants face a 3,411 km (2,119 mi.) course over only 14 stages.
• In 1997, the Tour started for the first time in a foreign country. The began in Lisbon, on the occasion of Expo ’98.
• The colour of the leader’s jersey of the Vuelta a España has changed several times since the original tour. The organizers who revived the Vuelta following its multiple suspensions since 1936 usually changed the colour of the jersey. The leader’s jersey began as orange in 1935, became white in 1941, then back to orange in 1942.

The route:

• 21 stages over 3352km with many mountains along the way.
• Sevilla city will host on Saturday 28th August the start of the Vuelta Ciclista a España with a special innovation due to the 75th anniversary of the race: the stage on 28th August will be a team time trial and moreover….. at night time. The first team starting will do it at 10 pm and it is foreseen that the race finishes almost at midnight.
• Counting this stage in 2010, this is the 22nd time that the Vuelta Ciclista a España has included a team time trial as one of its stages. This is because this modality is seen by many supporters as a modern discipline.

Full detailed stage maps can be found here:

---

Fränk Schleck has been keen to let us know he’s riding via Twitter (@schleckfrank) – “Got in. the LA VUELTA. Everybody now that its warm in spain but this tops everything 40-42degrees we are going to melt……………”

The current Luxembourg champion will be firing on all cylinders now that his Tour injuries have healed, it will also be his final hurrah for Saxo Bank.

Carlos Sastre has signed for the Geox team in 2011 and at the grand old age of 35 he will be one of the wisest riders in the peloton. His third Grand Tour of the year – if only we could manage that!

---

Other highlights is the inclusion of Mark Cavendish in HTC-Columbia team ranks. Targeting the sprint stages specifically while also going for the mountain stages.

We hope he can shine again, after a good Tour his legs seem to be back.

Also:

• Don’t discount Euskalet who have their typically Spanish contingent who’ll no doubt be at home in the scorching heat.
• Garmin are taking Zabriskie, Millar, Farrar and Dean – a very strong line-up.
• Alle Jet, Alessandro Petacchi will be in town, fighting with Cavendish for the sprint stages.
• Cancellara, both Schlecks and Stuart O’Grady Saxo Bank are certainly finishing the season off strongly.
• The wildcard team has gone to Xacobeo Galicia who are again a majority Spanish team – breakaway favourites?

---

As the final Grand Tour of 2010 the Vuelta may not be high on everyone’s list but an evening TTT to kick things off sounds exciting and if the UK gets its usual bank holiday weather we’re sure to be stuck indoors watching someone else do all the work for a change.

Let us know who you think’s going to excel, can Cavendish keep up his winning streak? Can the Schlecks and Team pull something big off?

Ridiculous and outrageous hair cuts. There’s a few of them in the professional peloton and for some reason, them eastern Europeans seem to be leading the way in this particular field. Just take a look at the Astana roster for this year, a good quarter of them have a dodgy barnet.

It’s not a new thing either, through the years there’s been a few stand out riders with what can only be called “crap cuts”. I feel I’m in a position to write this blog. I myself have had a few dodgy cuts, even now I’m sporting what can only be described as a teen idol Donny Osmond! On top of that I’ve had the rats tail paired with a number one crop and a the rock “n” ride lopsided mohawk.

Let’s have a look at the best of the worst from yesteryear and the present day.

First up its the man who lost the tour by eight seconds in 1989, one of my hero’s a certain Monsieur Laurent Fignon. Considering his nick name was “The professor” he wasn’t to bright when it came to getting his hair cut. Thin hair and then thinning even more so through his careerer didn’t help. From his early days of a cottage thatch held down with a team sweat band, to his pony tail out back and balding/receding upfront look. I’m sure that getting rid of that pony tail and accepting that the baldness was kicking in would have easily saved him the 8 seconds. A bit of an aero head like Marco Pantani wouldn’t have hindered his prospects. Natural aero dynamics!

Next up another Laurent. Mr Brochard is King of the Mullets, looking like a trailer park hic (no offence if you are a trailer park hic), then later on developing the look Jean-Claude Van damme sported in the 80′s.

This man had a long and successful pro career, riding with 5 different professional teams and not one of the managers forcing him to chop the locks.

He had the honour of wearing the world champ rainbow bands and growing up I wasn’t sure if this was down to him winning the world road race or pro mullet championship. Still not sure? Check out a film called Joe Dirt; the first time I watched this I was sure it was Brochard in his first Hollywood flick.

Mario Chipollini, known as “The Lion King” only down to one reason! Check him out in his del Tongo and GB-MG team days. It’s not hair, its a mane. Thing is, this guy is so cool he could carry any thing off…. well almost! In his latter days he discovered hair gel and wasn’t scared to use it….. in abundance. I’m not going to take the mickey too much, as he could still eat me up and spit me out on a 3 speed girls bike.

Lets bring it up to date. Starting with Vladamir Karpets. This guy must idolise Brochard. His hairs almost a carbon copy. There was a period in about 2007 when it wasn’t too bad, but joining Katusha in 2009 he reverted to the mullet again. Just have a look the team picture from the 09 presentation. Now he has a whispy like flick to a shorter cut. An improvement but still dodgy.

Wiggins last year was a wanna be Paul Weller, though to give him his due he had a nice close cut for the tour this year. But I bet you that that Weller cut will reappear come the 2011 team Sky presentation.

Finally it’s the Kings of the crap cuts. Well done Astana. There must be some kind of competition amongst some of the lads in this team, that or they all visit the same butchers, sorry, I mean hair dressers. Roman Kireyev is a particular favourite and if you think I’m jesting, just have a look at the team website, it’s like a who’s who of bad hair cuts.

There’s loads more guys out there, Hausslers another one, but I won’t name too many as all of them could make my legs hurt and I don’t want to have a lynch mob after me. So instead, I’ll let you guys nominate a rogues list.

Who from the world of cycling needs to be named and shamed? Not just pros, but the guys on the café run or that 1^st cat who thinks he’s oh so cool. Come on, send us your pic’s and we’ll put a lovely gallery together. Bad barnets, crap cuts and mad mullets bring em on!

Whether it’s accessories, bib shorts or a full-on waterproof jacket you require, chances are Gore Bike Wear will have a product to suit. There are garments for everyone and if like us you’re heading out into a wet Lake District, a scorcher in Brisbane or temperate San Fran, there is something to keep you comfortable and perform under all that mother nature can throw at you!

“As riders ourselves we understand that you want to enjoy and benefit from riding as much as possible. Whether it’s charging down a sun-baked mountain pass or hopping over knee-deep mud lost in the forest.”

For more than 20 years Gore Bike Wear has stood for high-tech function combined with premium quality. Their products are continuously improved to satisfy the high expectations of ambitious cyclists and offer the best possible comfort and protection.

Developed and rigorously tested to keep out the elements while keeping in comfort, these ingredients are the mainstay of a collection that accepts no compromises in comfort, protection, design or safety and visibility.

Each individual product profits from Gore’s many years of experience in functional apparel design. The expertise in Gore Bike Wear producing high performance garments “for Perfectionists from Specialists” has led to numerous awards for quality, performance and design.

---

Gore Fabrics:

One of the great appeals of Gore Bike Wear is the innovative fabrics which have been developed to meet the needs of today’s cyclists. Each product benefits from their many years of experience and leadership in producing high-performance garments and each features the latest fabric technologies and design styles.

Gore-Tex®

A fully waterproof, windproof and breathable fabric which will keep you dry AND comfortable – guaranteed!

• Could quite literally save your life! This is the jacket you want to be wearing when something does go wrong 40 miles from home.
• Strictly quality controlled before leaving the factory.
• The majority of the items they sell are Gore-Tex Paclite Shell – made from the lightest, most packable fabrics without sacrificing durability, extreme breathability or weather protection.

So I give you the Oxygen jacket: with Gore-Tex Paclite Shell.

• For those not afraid of rain.
• Lightweight, waterproof and with a race cut for great performance.
• Weighs just 230g and has its own stowage bag for when the sun emerges.
• Reflective logos all round (as does most Gore) which keeps you visible around town and is a great little detail.

---

Windstopper® Soft Shell:

Given that most of us will shy away from riding when it is pouring down, the WS Soft Shell is the next best thing. A middle-ground between waterproof performance and comfort. This fabric is wonderfully soft and keeps you comfortable in less than perfect weather conditions.

(If you need convincing I have a Gore long sleeve WS top which I’ve now been wearing for well over 4 years. The reflective trims haven’t washed off and while the back pockets have stretched a bit it’s still my top of choice for an early morning ride when it’s still chilly and rain is never off the radar. A gilet on top adds that extra air layer for the first ten minutes before things really get going.)

The comfort of a soft mid-layer and the water resistance of a shell combined with total windproofness and maximum breathability. Windstopper Soft Shells keep you comfortable with the freedom of movement you need for enhanced performance in a wide range of activities and weather conditions.

For this I’d recommend the Power SO Jacket.

• An ideal 3 season top.
• WS Soft Shell fabric keeps you comfortable with the freedom of movement you need.
• Plenty of reflective logos.
• Long back to keep spray off your back.
• Sleeves cut with the on-bike position in mind – these make it very comfortable while riding with no excess material flapping around.

Not forgetting the range of shorts and tights which can also be found with WS panel to make those winter rides that extra bit comfortable. The bib shorts are true race spec and have chamois to match.

Gore’s ergonomic seat inserts are designed for a perfect fit to ensure comfort and performance on your ride. Each seat insert style offers unique benefits when paired with its accompanying clothing system, from moisture management to precise anatomical support.

The Power bib shorts are the ‘do it all’ short.

These, along with some others feature compression fabrics to help improve the fit of the garment without limiting freedom of movement. The fabrics exert pinpointed pressure on certain parts of the body, thus accelerating blood circulation.

---

While their male specific products are available for all situations Gore have also taken the female market into serious consideration.

Almost all of the jackets and shorts/tights come in a female specific version.

Women’s cycling jackets from Gore feature Windstopper and Gore-Tex fabric technologies, for guaranteed weather protection and enhanced comfort.

Innovative details and cycling specific designs offer freedom of movement and functional fit.

Browse the women’s range here.

---

Gore Accessories:

This is where Gore really appeals to me, the quality and attention to detail put into the accessories makes them well worth the extra purchase price. I’ve seen guys turning up to races in knee warmers bought 2 seasons ago – a testament to the quality.

Complete your road cycling garment system with head-to-toe Gore Bike Wear. Choose from armwarmers, legwarmers, overshoes and socks…All the essential men’s cycling accessories, made with Gore-Tex and Windstopper fabric technologies, as well as other selected technical fabrics.

---

Gore have been in this business for more than 20 years. Gore-Tex is their fabric and many other brands use Gore-Tex (Sidi winter shoes, Castelli winter kit and Shimano use it in their shoes) – surely a sign of its dominance and quality in the waterproof fabric area.

If you can afford to buy the Gore garments they really are worth the outlay for the many years of solid service you’ll get back. Everyone in the office owns at least one item of Gore Bike Wear and although none of us are top to toe ads for Gore, it’s definately a brand we wouldn’t go without.

This weekend we were invited along to the Blackpool Nocturne by the great people at FACE who organise the Nocturne Series around the country and also Revolution at the Manchester Track. Arriving on a fresh breezy night Dave, Bruce (Dave’s Dad) and I found our way to the VIP tent and I began proceedings with a nice cold beer.

After settling in, Dave who was racing in the support race went to warm up and I was persuaded to enter myself for the Cycle Hire Challenge which involved racing around the track on one of the Blackpool City hire bikes.

Now coming from a carbon race bike these are quite something…32mm tyres, a front basket, hub gears and a hub dynamo to run the in-built LED lights not forgetting the centre stand.

Seen here in all their beauty:

After some precise saddle height adjustment of “that’ll do, there’s free beer waiting” (it didn’t really matter as riding a bike like this is just comical with it’s swing back handlebars) and a quick can of Red Bull we lined up for the first qualification race. Luckily my jeans and t-shirt just about cut-it, I’ve never pinned a race number to a t-shirt before! It wasn’t until the final that I was up against a guy in full Italia race kit and a guy who had done this many times before!

6 entrants on bikes that felt 4 foot wide and the first corner being a hairpin corner made for some close action – baskets make great bumpers. The sprint down the back straight was into a headwind so finding cover here was vital, accelerating into it was tough, on a shopper bike even tougher!

Next up was a string of two 90 degree corners, on the first I managed to catch my pedal on the inside while hastily trying to sprint out of it, I don’t know if this put the challengers off but it let me lead into the next one! Into the home straight, slightly uphill and with chasers all over my wheel. The final kink in the track made for single file and if you could get into here first chance are you’d be first over the line.

A race of just one lap (just my sort of thing) I managed to bag first! My first win of the season which I’m most definitely taking and adding to my palmares! Importantly now I had to prepare for the final race which had some of the fastest guys from the other heats in, food and drink was called for…

---

Dave’s race:

The interval to my racing included Dave in the Cycling Weekly support race:

A convincing breakaway from Jamie Shirlaw (Herbalife Team) and Will Penn (Mammoth Lifestyle RT) split the Cycling Weekly Support race, with a lot of the field strung across the circuit. The pair established a good lead and it was Shirlaw who took the victory, proving just a tad too strong for Penn. David Everett (Team ProBikeKit) came in third.

You read it right, another podium for Team PBK, Dave got third with solid support from Richard Wilkinson (with his very nice Marvin watch) who came up to support the team.

Dave’s review of the race: “A rapid, well organised race that has a third of the crowd made up of drunken hen night women screaming in admiration of my skinny legs. The back straight being a street that would challenge any epileptic to last the distance with its disco lights and strobe flashes” – well done Dave (he does have epilepsy).

Results:

Support Race:

1 Jamie Shirlaw Herbalife Team
2 William Penn Mammoth Lifestyle RT
3 David Everett Team Probikekit
4 Matthew Pilkington Dulwich Paragon
5 Bill Nickson Bill Nickson Cycles RT
6 Adam Cairns Chevin Bang & Olufsen RRT
7 Milan Sihelsky Kuota-Spinergy-gsg
8 Richard Wilkinson ProBikeKit.com
9 Tom Armstrong Ribble Valley Juns
10 Dan Evans Rhos on sea C.C.

---

Hire Bike Final:

So now the big race which was to take place just before the main Elite race which had lots of big names entered: Dean Downing, Kristian House, Rob Hayles and Malcolm Elliott to name a few.

The final: “Members of the public qualified over two heats for the Cycle Hire Challenge, celebrating the success of Blackpool’s scheme, which is set to expand to 500 bikes. Chris Johnson was first across the line on his yellow hire bike, with the bright Dynamo-powered lamps lighting up the circuit. ” – From BC.org

Some nervousness on the line had us all lined up touching bars and ready to roll/pile into the first hairpin corner. This is where all my 4th cat and proud experience came in, my strategy was to sit in until the final sprint along the back straight. Slightly unchivalrous, but this is racing after all! With prizes and pride at stake.

Once under-way the events do become a blur and my eagerness to power round in my trainers was taking its toll. The last run down into the headwind was hard going and I somehow ended up in 4th with two 90 degree corners to go! Not what I’d planned, a cheeky pass past Diane Lee (who came close to having me in the first heat) into the first meant I just had two more to pass, being a brave and slightly stupid 4th cat I soon had just one to get around on the final straight. Running through my head were visions of glory and all those miles and efforts I’ve put in chasing tractors and trailers along the lanes, Paul Rowlands was the man to beat and it took every watt I could produce to get around his left hand side. White line fever and a shout of “on your left” through the s-bend led into a barrage of camera flashes and most importantly VICTORY!

Results:

Blackpool Hire Bike Challenge
1 Chris Johnson
2 Paul Rowlands
3 Diane Lee
4 Paul Gaida
5 Ryan Naylor
6 Patrick Moran

I’m now the proud owner of a Kask Sky helmet and more hours than I will ever need for Blackpool cycle hire. So 2010 so far: Wins – 2, Podiums – 1:

Dave managed to catch most of the Champagne that got sprayed his way, we also did quite well in making sure it didn’t go flat or warm in the evening heat – we drank it all before watching in awe, the speed of the Elite riders.

---

The Elite Race.

I thought they were eager to get me off the podium, the reason being that the Elite boys were waiting to start. Dave used to live with Dave Clarke who races for Pendragon Colnago and on the line everyone was having a good chat. Also here racing was Rubens Bertogliati who went backwards in the race but he certainly looked the Pro.

The group of elite cyclists took the mass of spectators by surprise as they hurtled around the streets of Blackpool at phenomenal speeds. It was a fantastic atmosphere further added to by the Brilliance Light and Sound show on Birley Street.

Downing (Rapha Condor Sharp) and Simon Richardson (Sigma Sport Specialized) spent much of the time off the front of the race, with Downing seemingly the only rider able to go with Richardson’s huge attack in the early stages. It was a decisive breakaway and one that even managed to lap some notable contenders over the tight course. Downing’s sprint was too much for Richardson’s endurance-style and it was always going to be likely that the punchy Yorkshire rider was going to be too powerful for Richardson.

“It’s taken me four years to win one of these,” laughed Downing after the finish. He and Richardson worked well, but were kept on their toes throughout the race by an impressive Dave Clarke. Despite Clarke’s best chasing efforts, he was outnumbered by a Rapha Condor Sharp squad looking for another podium position. Kristian House and Dean Windsor kept Clarke company, but it was Windsor who pealed off through the Red Bull chicane to take third.”

---

The Comedown:

After the glory of 2 podiums along with products and prize money we made for the Rapha coffee stand and sampled some of the best coffee I’ve ever tried, made by a chatty Frenchman who took a shine to the nights winnings. After all this excitement and adrenaline we thought we best call it a night.

We have to thank massively James Pope for the invite along with Katy and Bethan who made us feel really welcome  and seemed to bring sunshine with them (plus thanks for allowing the stragglers in). The whole night really was well organised and they had plenty going on for everyone.

These girls actually know what they’re on about when it comes to racing and have even just received their racing licences through – boosting the 4th cat numbers even more, welcome!

Let’s hope Revolution goes well and we’ll hopefully be able to go at watch that too for some more unexpected fun!

The British Cycling Report can be seen here.

The Nocturne Series website is here.

Dave has put together a video of all the clips which we took from the night (Nice one Dave, please excuse the spelling mistakes!):

We had a bit of a reminisce in the office yesterday afternoon about cycling as kids. We all agreed that the carefree nature and lack of hazard awareness made for a blissful time when out cycling with our friends.

Now that the days of 8 week summer holidays have gone, we don’t get much chance to pull big skids (road tyres soon wear through to the canvas, as I’ve expensively found out but still haven’t learnt!) or play ‘foot down’ on the field – essentially who can unknowingly trackstand aged 5!

Soon of course the talk turned to bikes and kit which we had all been given or had passed to us from older cousins. We span a few generations between us in the office and so there was plenty to learn about and plenty of fads which we all took part in!

---

We’ve brought together a collection of our old bikes, the accessories we used to fit and what we used to get up to on them.

The Bikes:

Dave:

Dave was the proud rider of a Giant Stonebreaker bike, his pride and joy for many years. Given that Dave now races around the world and will happily disappear into the distance on climbs it must have had some hidden magic to it – just look at that colour scheme, imagine the team kit that would go with that!

Dave’s honest review: “awesome for endo’s” : Rating:

Chris(me):

My first bike was an Apollo mountain bike from my cousin who’d grown out of it. Sadly I hadn’t yet grown enough to fit it without getting on from the kerbside!

My next bike was a bmx, for racing around the local field which had an almost purpose built bmw track dug into it. My Pro Performer was purple and had a great ability to sit on it’s back wheel for miles and miles with me happily sorting things out with the rear brake.

For it’s wheelie ability: Rating:

Alex:

Alex, one of our Graphic Designers used to cruise around on one of these.

This article wouldn’t be complete without the Raleigh Chopper. Originally from the 70′s it has become an icon of this age, complete with it’s ‘safety issues’ it made for some great fun.

The long seat made ‘backies’ simple, the smaller front wheel made for some massive speed wobbles and the gear shifter could easily put an end to any future development you were hoping for.

“Accidents were not uncommon” therefore: Rating: – you’ve got to learn your bike handling skills at some point!

John:

Way back in John’s day, the Raleigh Tomahawk was the bike to be seen on. Slightly smaller than the chopper and without the hazardous gear shifter this bike was a turning point in his life.

The second hand beauty was John’s first bike and was the one he learnt to ride without stabilisers on, mainly due to the fact that none were available!

“a fantastically cool first bike until you realised that it was a poor relation to the Chopper. Great for skids”: Rating:

---

Here’s what the kids are up to in 2010:

It’s only fair you see this footage we found while “researching”………

---

The add-ons:

As children, bikes weren’t complete without toys or something to make them sound like a motorbike!

Gone are the days of toys in cereal boxes, probably some health and safety rule after a super hero figurine wrapped in plastic was mistaken for a cornflake – very easy to do I’m sure.

These Kellogs Cockerel reflectors will bring back some memories, they even have a facebook ‘like’ button for them!

I wonder how’d they go on bladed spokes? The aero advantage may well be worth trying!

Spokey Dokeys:

After getting some of these on a birthday I vividly remember the painstaking effort it took to fit each and every one. These are coloured plastic balls that you fitted to the spokes of your bike so that when you rode around slowly they would clatter up and down noisily and when you rode fast the centrifugal force would push them all out to the wheel rim and they would just look like a coloured blur.

Everyone must remember the sore fingers after fitting and the knack you needed to take them off again!

It is even possible to fit these to your race bike:

The Card and Peg trick:

We’ve sadly all done it! To re-create that motorbike sound nothing gets further away from it that a card and peg on the seat-stay.

Easy to do and up to a certain speed the card stays nicely intact.

The coolest bike I’ve found today and the one I’d have if I could do it all again (even including the scraped knees, battered elbows and sore chin) would be this:

What did you ride as a child? What cool toys did you manage to fit to your bike? Any great stories? Let us know below:

Avoid them all you like, but iPhones are a very popular and deservedly so piece of kit. There have been over 50 million phones sold with a further 35 million iPod Touches. Chances are then you have one or know someone who has one! Once acquainted with it you can delve into the App Store and the world is your oyster!

In here, you have a gallery of 185,000 Apps which cater for everything from cooking, how to tie a tie and of course our favourite: sports and cycling.

With 4 billion downloads this is big business for developers and consumers alike and here we’ve brought together our favourite 5 which we downloaded and used more than just the once for the novelty value.

---

Tour of Utah 2010:

First up and one which you’ll need to be quick to download is the Tour of Utah App. The race starts on the 17th of August (today) and you’re given a low down of each stage – map, distances and timings complete with a detailed map of the last Km’s.

• Cost: FREE (always good!).
• Features: Photo Feed, Live Dashboard, Stage Information, Team and Rider Information and Live Race News (allowing for a time delay of course).

Overall, a sleek looking App with integration with Flickr and some Youtube videos make it a great way to catch up with the race and how it’s unfolding.

Rating: – free and a nice way of keeping up-to-date. We’ll have to see how it goes this week.

---

EveryTrail GPS Tracking:

With a myriad of GPS Apps, choosing the right one for you can be tricky and could end up costly. I’ve been using EveryTrail since I got my phone and it’s worked fine (I’m really not sure where the bad reviews are coming from).

“Track, Share, Explore…Blaze your own trail with EveryTrail! Track your trips, take photos and add your story. Then share it all with one click at EveryTrail.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Take along over 200,000 trips from other global travelers that will inspire you on your next adventure – and guide you along the way. You can leave those heavy outdated guidebooks at home, because Every Trail maps and travel tips will be right at your fingertips wherever you go.”

• Cost: FREE or £2.39 (cost version allows you to add videos to your trip and upload to YouTube on the go).
• Features: Pretty much as it says – track, share and explore.
• Downsides: It turns every ride into a show – you can’t take it easy with this in your pocket or else everyone will find out!

An easy to use GPS App which hasn’t gone wrong or required a degree in computer science to figure out. If only they could improve battery life on the iPhone! Using the GPS soon runs it down.

There are of course many other (free) GPS Apps out there, it would be great to hear what you use already and how it compares – share the knowledge!

Rating: – free and an easy way of tracking your rides.

---

With our frame extravaganza going on at the minute, we’ve all had a go on the Bike fit App which Nick our Tech guru has.

SizeMyBike:

SizeMyBike computes the optimal geometry of your road or mountain bike’s frame that is ideal to your morphology.

Six body measurements allow for an accurate computation of the best geometry. This information is useful in choosing the right frame size and obtaining an excellent adjustment for your bike.

Ride fast and comfortably thanks to SizeMyBike!

Fairly simple, you just enter your measurements and it suggests what size frame suits you best. It also has a useful help section for getting those measurements just right.

But does it work???

I’m not Greg, seen here on the right, but on putting my measurements in I’m supposed to be riding a bike with:

• BB centre to saddle: 697mm.
• Saddle to Stem drop: 74mm.
• Crank arm length: 167.5mm.

A quick measure this morning reveals I’m actually riding (these are approx!) around 740mm/140mm of drop and 175mm cranks! So all is not as it seems.

It would be very interesting, and require deep pockets to build a bike up to the recommended spec and after a week see how it felt (if there are any money donors feeling generous please get in touch!).

Nick here put his measurements in and was suggested to move up to a 120mm stem for the reach (not quite the Belgian Pro standard of 140mm measurements) and he honestly feels it has improved his position and ability to get his power down on climbs.

It does cost £2.99 which while it seems a lot sat in the office, against the cost of a 2 or 3 thousand pound/dollar frame it’s probably worth purchasing.

Rating: – could help you massively, could add a lot of confusion to your next purchase, or even make you question your existing and previously comfortable bike!

---

Eurosport:

There are two Apps from Eurosport, the first is simply a news reader and includes all the sports you’d expect plus a whole section dedicated to cycling.

Given that their coverage of events is the best we get here in Europe you can be fairly sure that the news feed is up-to-date and accurate. Having a check now we have news of Stefan Schumacher returning to race at the Giro del Veneto and Tylar Farrar’s great win at the Vattenfall Cyclassics which took place on Sunday in Hamburg.

“With Eurosport’s iPhone application, you can stay abreast of all the latest developments in the sporting world.

Read the best articles and keep updated with all the latest sports news.

Cycling: All major events, including the Tour de France, the Vuelta and the Giro.”

- A nice touch is that you can personalise your home screen and select your favourite sports so that cycling is most definitely more important than football.

Eurosport Player:

If you really want to get the best coverage and watch the live Vuelta this could be your best bet. This offers you full Eurosport coverage for a subscription fee – well worth it to be able to watch the Vuelta, in bed, half asleep.

“Eurosport on your iPhone!

The Eurosport Player application gives you unlimited access to the British Eurosport and Eurosport 2 on your iPhone or Touch.

Consult the TV schedule for the channels available through the application.

Available in the UK and Ireland only (sorry if I got your hopes up).

Rating: – Free or cost, Eurosport are without doubt leaders of providing cycling coverage so worth it in our view.

---

Cycling 2010:

Our final choice and one which was bought while I was having a Twitter frenzy, this is basically a collection of Pro Riders’ tweets along with Team and Media tweet feeds.

“Cycling results and Tweets.

Live race updates via Twitter real time tweets – quick access to Tour race updates from major media, team managers in the race, cycling feeds and much more.

Complete race results for every stage of the Grand Tours of Italy and France.

Results by jersey/classification, team, country and contenders.

Cyclists, directors, commentators and team twitter with no Twitter account needed.”

• Just £0.59 gives you a great insight into what’s actually going on, though in the off season it could be a very quiet place!
• You don’t need to have a Twitter account.

Rating: – good if you don’t get chance to catch the TV very often or struggle with the time difference.

---

What Apps have you found useful? What Apps would you like to see? Have we missed a blindingly obvious one?!

Let us know what you use below:

Mention Colnago (not Colango as I’ve narrowly avoided) to anyone over the age of 17 and their reaction will usually be one of glazed eyes and a distinct lack of concentration on what you were about to say.

To say the company has cycling heritage wouldn’t be enough, this company is one of the founders of cycling as we know it today, it has provided the heritage we all talk about.

The frames and accessories Colnago produce are truly beautiful and have just recently been updated to keep them modern and a viable race-bike choice in this ‘ISP and tapered head tube’ world we live  in.

To see what I’m on about, have a quick watch of this: Mr Ernesto Colnago himself talking through a few of the bikes in a museum.

---

A little history for you all:

It all started on the 9th of February 1932 when Ernesto was born in a village near Milan. He soon started riding bikes and his first bike was a 3rd hand bike he named ‘Perla’ – Perla went on to inspire one of the best frame builders the world has ever seen.

As a welding assistant Ernesto was gaining a good education in bike building and also racing, which it soon became apparent he was quite good at!

In 1951 he broke his leg in a crash and while spending lots of time off the bike started to build up wheels, this led to him becoming a mechanic on the Nivea Team in 1954 and them going on to win the Pink jersey in the Giro with Magni. He triumphed as a mechanic for over 10 years, working for the Italian National team for 10 world championships and his frames going on to support champions in all of the classic names.

The Giro D’Italia, Milan SanRemo, Roubaix and the Tours in between have all had wins and winners riding Colnago’s frames.

His early days with Eddy Merckx:

To F1 technology and collaborations with the Ferrari car company:

Just this year Colnago have released a monocoque frame – the M10 which is a mini revolution for them but with the cycling world and technology advancing so far this was a step that had to be taken.

---

One interesting note is the Colnago badge, the distinctive clover leaf wasn’t released until 1970 when his first Milan SanRemo win came. The badge stands for the spring flowers which bloom around Milan SR time and the fact that Ernesto wanted to be the ‘Ace of cycling’:

---

For 2010 Colnago frames are being ridden by the Bbox Bouygues Telecom team, French with a majority French rider list including William Bonnet, Anthony Charteau, Cyril Gautier and Tommy Voeckler.

And just for pure ‘what the…’ factor:

---

The Colnago M10 frame:

Colnago’s new monocoque frame takes the technical advances seen in the highly popular CX-1 to a higher level. The new lamination technology and materials used in the manufacture of the M10 make it lighter than the CX-1 and stiffer laterally thanks to a bigger bottom bracket, but with a little more vertical absorption to provide more comfort without in any way sacrificing performance.

With the C-HS1 tapered headtube and a new fork to accommodate it, the M10 is designed to be precise on descents and smoother through corners. The M10’s classic Colnago looks are complemented by internal brake cable routing for clean lines.

Good looking yes, that’s easy to see, but when you check the spec you see that it’s also a ‘proper’ race bike which while expensive, will definitely deliver on the road.

In PBK colours (Black/Red/White we think this looks brilliant!).

• Alfa carbon 100% monocoque construction.
• Frame weight 850g (manufactures weight).
• Internal cable routing.
• Colnago fully integrated headset system.
• New M10 full carbon fork.

All M10 models are available in a Shimano Di2 specific frame, on this model the cables are routed inside the frame and the battery is fitted at the bottom of the down tube by the bottom bracket shell. By doing this Colnago achieve a sleek, uncluttered look, built on a frame exclusively designed for the Dura-Ace Di2 groupset.

---

The C59 Colnago frame:

The absolute top-end Colnago is the C59 which is still lugged, the consensus of the office being that done right there’s no disadvantage or reason not to (and we’re not going to argue with Mr Colnago!)

Again the range of colours is amazing, you’ll definitely find one to match your team colours here.

Colnago’s new top-of-the-range, custom-made 100% carbon-fibre racing machine, the C59 Italia, was four years in development. Designed, built and painted in Italy and with a frame weighing about one kilo, the C59 Italia features a classic Master-shaped internally ribbed top tube and down tube to maximise stiffness, which is further increased by square chainstays and seatstays.

Colnago invented modern bicycle racing geometry and has refined it to perfection with handling that is unwaveringly accurate but stable at speed, so a long day in the mountains is a battle against the gradient and your rivals, not against a twitchy bicycle.

For the full size image click here – it’s well worth downloading.

• New Made in Italy model for 2011.
• Lugged Omega carbon construction.
• Classic Bi-conical tubes.
• I-beam vertical rib in down tube for increased stiffness.
• Internal cable routing.
• Colnago fully integrated headset system 1″ 1/8 – 1″1/4 tapered increasing the rigidity of the frame by over 20 percent for more precise handling. In a top-quality bicycle, everything turns on the headset. It must be smooth for accurate handling, and it must be durable for thousands upon thousands of hard kilometres.

Note the point about the internal rib, this is an internal piece which adds massive strength to the frame and helps it to resist the twisting forces when riding.

---

The Colnago Super:

For the first time available as frame only the Super, winner of a design award by iconic style magazine Wallpaper and described by Ernesto Colnago as “almost too beautiful for a city bicycle”, the Super is as he says, “the ultimate city bicycle” and can now be purchased from PBK.

Available in head-turning black livery, the Super sets the standard for simple urban bicycles by combining Colnago craftsmanship with street style. The classic lugged steel frame harks back to Colnago’s artisan heritage, while chrome plating highlights the handlebar stem and the head of the straight-bladed fork. Its performance on the road lives up to its spectacular looks and its sure handling and zippy acceleration deals with everything a city’s streets can throw at it.

• New frame only option for 2011.
• Double butted cro-mo frame with chrome head tube lugs and stainless steel drop outs.
• Classic “vintage” styling.
• Track frame drop outs.
• Drilled front and rear for caliper brakes.
• 1″ Thread-less straight bladed fork.

---

The paint work on Colnago frames is one of the attractions:

---

Build options:

Ignore what anyone says about ‘you must build with this and that’, this is your Colnago and it deserves to be built up how you see fit. Campag, Shimano or SRAM will look great on any frame and it’s all completely up to you.

Once built you can go on and relish the ride quality, rarity of the brand and the heritage of a Colnago frame.

Click here to view our Colnago range, which as well as the frames above includes the dedicated Flight TT frame set, which is as fast as it looks:

Also accessories such as saddles, cages and bottles.

Every Colnago bicycle starts with the soul and creativity of Ernesto Colnago and the Colnago family. Since 1954 Colnago’s determination to perfect the competition bicycle has been legendary. Whether you race or simply love the thrill of riding, Colnago has a great Italian bicycle to take you further and faster.

If you build yours up let us see it, it would be a shame not to share!!

Most of us are pleased with ourselves if we manage 80 miles on a Sunday morning ride, however some people like to push themselves further……… much further.

In the first of our epic rides focus, we look at the UK route that anyone wanting cycling bragging rights has to complete – lands End to John o’Groats!

The UK End to End is the ride from the most northerly part of the UK – John o’Groats at the tip of Scotland, to Lands End in Cornwall, the most southerly tip of England. The ride takes you through all the different extremes of the UK, with Scotland’s barren forest roads and southern hills, the Lake District, a bit of suburbia around the Midlands and finally Devon and Cornwall (which are much longer than you expect!)

The ride even has it’s own dedicated website/news site:

Like the RAAM, epic rides are often done only once, but will be remembered forever.

With 4250 miles and multiple routes, riding across an entire continent might be slightly longer than the length of the UK  and with nicer weather (sometimes), but events like this really show just how big the world is and test you to the core.

---

Over the years it’s been walked, cycled, ridden by tandem and driven by many but it has also been done by a Harrier Jump Jet, turbo charged JCB digger, wheelchairs, ‘celebrity cars’ and a motorised bath tub. Someone even posted himself and literally became 1st class mail! Each participant receives a ‘transit verification form’ which is stamped at either end and along the way. It can be done either way, but a lot of people opt for the bottom to top route, as we tend to have a prevailing southerly wind, which can help those tired legs from time to time!

• Men’s record: G Butler in 1 day, 20 hours, 4 minutes and 20 seconds (that’s nearly 19mph!).
• Women’s record: L Taylor in 2 days, 4 hours, 45 minutes and 11 seconds.
• Youngest: Bow Jango Cann (honestly) aged 7 and 9 months.
• Andi Rivett holds the record for running from Land’s End to John o’Groats; he completed the journey in an amazing 9 days and 2 hours knocking a whole day off the record.

---

So who fancies 867 miles in a week? Averaging 124 miles a day is no easy task, in fact just once would be enough for most people!

As it happens PBK.com team manager James Smith and star rider Richard Wilkinson decided to give it a go:

“A phone call from Richard Wilkinson and suddenly I was taking part in the end to end.  Officially it is 867 miles, that’s if you stick to the A roads and take the direct route but being  averse to dual carriageways and certain details we decided to avoid them where we could unfortunately this  added on over 100 miles. Click here for the full report.”

Land’s End is more than just a starting or finishing point, it is a place of  natural beauty and spectacular scenery with fantastic visitor attractions, shops and restaurants, plus of course the famous Land’s End Hotel. Here are the boys ready to begin:

Click here for the full day by day reports and Garmin GPS data.

It went a little something like this:

• Day 1: We arrived nice and early to allow for bike building, preparation and photo shoots for the chosen charity Pancreatic cancer research. Once complete we donned our t shirts for the start and then had a few more photos before handing the t shirts back then we were off.
• Day 2: After a good nights sleep we were up and ready to go from the Travel lodge inn Inverness with another 140 miles to Kinross in front of us. Again we decided not stick to the main roads and quickly found ourselves climbing through an isolated forestry.
• Day 3: So I had already cycled further than I had ever done before and I was not even half way. The other guys were also starting to suffer with each day taking a little longer to get on the road. Today we would cross into England as we approached Carlisle.
• Day 4: Wow this looked tough on paper and it proved to be just as tough in real life.
• Day 5: Finally this should be a flat day but there was no way we could really avoid the busy roads today.
• Day 6: A great day with rolling hills and flat fast sections, now starting to feel better knowing there was only one day to go. This was the nicest Bed and Breakfast by far…
• Day 7: So only 110 miles and we were done. An epic adventure which proved to be more than just a training ride.

The result:

Riding these sort of events isn’t something to do on a whim, you need a great support team and you need some solid miles in your legs. Luckily Team PBK.com have been busy lately and so clocking up miles has been no problem, doing it for a great cause also makes it even more worthwhile.

“An epic adventure which proved to be more than just a training ride.  It was a true character building slog, every day and especially the last I went to new depths of tiredness.”

Let us know if you’re planning an epic ride of your own, it doesn’t have to be a whole island, just something which tests you and pushes you further than you’ve ever been…