Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i Bicycling South Africa

I WANT TO STAND UP AND PEDAL LIKE THE PROS DO. HOW DO I DO IT SMOOTHLY, WITHOUT FALLING OVER? The key to staying balanced is a smooth pedal stroke. To practise this, ride indoors on a trainer at least once a week, spending 20 to 30 minutes of an hour session out of the saddle. Wrap your thumbs around the brake hoods, with your arms slightly bent and your hands and shoulders relaxed. Start in a harder gear, with your cadence in the 50- to 60rpm range – your pedal stroke should feel like a walking motion. Now use the extra resistance from the hard gear to push yourself off the saddle. Then focus on one foot at a time, until you’re moving smoothly. Switch to an easier resistance…

If you’ve been priced out of the bike-computer market, then Cyclemeter is the smartphone app you want. Exclusive to Apple devices, it tracks your ride, lets you analyse your training, and gives you stats summaries. You don’t need to log into a third-party website – everything lives on your phone. It records heart rate, speed, cadence and wattage using third-party devices, and will incorporate the readings into your training report. And on top of that, it reads your stats to you while you’re riding! FREE (IN-APP UPGRADES AT VARIOUS PRICES) AVAILABLE ON ITUNES ABVIO.COM…

PLAN AHEAD Make health and medication info easy to find. You can set up a Medical ID on an iPhone and make it available from the lock screen. Other options: IceID.co.za , dog tags, or you can get a family locator app that shares your location with family and friends so they can find you if you get into trouble. HEAD You don’t want to mess with a possible concussion or bleeding on the brain. Get checked out if you have a cracked helmet, headache (even if it comes on later), confusion, vision changes, or if you lose consciousness. CHEST If it hurts to breathe deeply, you might have a broken rib and should see a doctor. “Cracked ribs can have sharp edges,” Martin says, “and if…

The Queen Stage will be Stage 6, which is later than usual. What was the thinking behind that? “Groenlandberg is kind of a fixed location, and we didn’t know how to move it to Hermanus (laughs). Jokes aside, we work with what we have to provide the best ride experience in the location we’re at. So we don’t add mileage just for the sake of adding mileage, and we don’t cut out awesome stuff just to make it easier. The general guideline is to have a winning time of 3.5 to 5 hours, which translates into a riding time of 7 to 10 hours for those at the back of the field. “Having the Queen Stage late keeps the race for the leader jerseys, and the podium open until the…

ROBBIE HUNTER: “Train harder!” Pros ride on average between 25 and 30 hours a week. They can put in these hours because they have the time, can recover between sessions, and importantly, have been riding hours like that for years. And it’s not only about the time; it’s about making sure those hours are productive. Many amateurs do too many ‘junk miles’ – rides that aren’t hard enough for them to improve, and not easy enough for them to recover. You may not be able to put in the long hours, but you can focus on the intensity of your rides. ANDREW ‘NEEDLES’ NEETHLING: “Put good structures in place, get the right coaches, put your head down and be single-minded. Enjoy the process – and don’t be too hard on…

In 2012, my best friend encouraged me to try an amateur downhill race. I was hesitant, but I won. And I fell in love with the ticking clock and its pressure. I decided right then that I was going to become a professional downhill mountain biker. I signed up for every race I could find within a 750-kay radius. And I bought an R80 000 carbon GT Fury with a sweet ENVE and Chris King build. I suppose it may have been rash and unwise to invest so heavily in a sport in which I didn’t really know whether or not I could excel. But the money never seemed like too much when I was riding the bike. It was a risk, but one I was taking for myself. And…

My Juliana Joplin hums over the dusty Namibian singletrack. In this heat, sweat evaporates instantly, leaving me crusted with salt. Whenever the trail kicks up, I choke back the metallic taste of blood. My contact lenses feel as if they’re about to crumble out of my eyes. But I can’t stop smiling. IS THIS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO FLY? I’d just spent two and half years finding out how it feels to crash my life, pouring all my sanity and money into a start-up apparel brand that fell apart just seven months after finally going live. By then, I’d gained 7kg and couldn’t shop for groceries without worrying that my card would be declined. So I did whatever it took to buy the Joplin, travel to Namibia and South…

FEATURED RACE THE MPUMALANGA TOUR SIX DAYS OF CLIMBING As the only six-day road race in the country, this one holds a special appeal. And Mpumalanga promises its best challenges and scenery over 749km. The 11 500m of total ascents includes the famous Robbers Pass and Kowyn’s Pass, among a host of climbs aimed at testing the climbing mettle of the riders participating. However, the race is still set up so that riders of all skill levels and ages can experience the thrills and spills that Mpumalanga has to offer . 12 -17 JANUARY, LOSKOP DAM, MPUMALANGA GAUTENG ROAD 8 JANUARY POWERADE SUMMER CHALLENGE 70km, 40km, 10km Stonehaven on Vaal, Vanderbijlpark Contact Wimpie van Niekerk 083 460 9338 Online Entries cyclelab.com 29 JANUARY VALUE LOGISTICS FAST ONE 96km, 49km Midvaal…

“You’ll note that the answer to these questions is invariably ‘yes’...,, II HAD A LIGHTBULB MOMENT, READING THROUGH OUR BUMPER 37-PAGE BIKE BUYER’S GUIDE IN THIS ISSUE (THE DROOLFEST STARTS ON PAGE 48). I now know the answer to the one question that vexes cyclists the world over: What bike am I going to buy next? No matter where you are in your cycling evolution, your next bike is always in the back of your mind. Sometimes I catch myself, mid-work day, trolling through bike reviews just to dream – even if a purchase isn’t imminent, or even practical. I’ll vacillate between upgrading, re-selling and just plain buying, internally negotiating my own finances to pin down my next investment exactly. Buying a new bike is not a matter to be…

While doing research for his book, The Blue Zone: Lessons For Living Longer From The People Who Have Lived The Longest , Dan Buettner of National Geographic found that one key habit of people who lived to be 100 was that they had a glass or two of red wine each day. Nutritionist Megan Pentz-Kluyts takes us through the four ways red wine could help you live – and ride – for longer. A STRONGER HEART Moderate consumption of alcohol, or more precisely ethanol, reduces the chances of death by cardiovascular disease. “Red wine in particular is thought to be more effective for this,” she says. Red wine also keeps arteries healthy by increasing the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol level, positively affecting the inner…

Based in London, where the roads are chokingly busy and dangerous to cyclists, Blaze have reimagined the cycling light. Their answer is the LaserLight, a sturdy, handlebar-mounted bike light that combines a traditional white-light LED (which offers a constant or flashing 300-lumen beam) with a green laser beam that projects the image of a bicycle up to six metres ahead of you, enhancing your footprint on the road by making motorists and pedestrians more aware of your presence.…

“I also suffered several strokes, due to lack of blood circulation...” One Sunday afternoon in June 2016, at the Coppa Della Pace in Italy, South African-born racer Keagan Girdlestone was chasing down the peloton. As he weaved through the convoy of team cars, his own slowed down in front of him. He ploughed straight into the back of it, crashing through the rear window. Girdlestone suffered serious neck injuries, severing his carotid artery and jugular vein - which starved the right side of his brain of blood, causing several other complications, including paralysis on one side of his body. He is lucky to be alive. He's since been through a tough rehabilitation programme, determined to get himself back to normal. In November, five months after his horrific crash, he rode…

WE BOUGHT THE BIKE! Five riders share stories about buying bikes that they just HAD to have: there’s a bike so beautiful, the rider couldn’t take his eyes off it, and a bike that helped another develop much-needed ‘badass confidence’. Bikes make you happy, change your life and inspire you to become the rider you want to be.…

EARNING ITS REPUTATION IN THE FASTEST PELOTONS IN THE WORLD, CANNONDALE’S SUPERSIX EVO HAS A RACING PEDIGREE SECOND TO NONE. Like all Liv bikes, the Avail Advanced 2 is built from the ground up to take care of the specific needs of women – this is not a Giant that’s had its handlebars narrowed, frame painted differently, or seat swopped. Despite the Avail Advanced 2’s geometry being more focused on endurance than racing (think more upright, with less-twitchy front end), Bicycling believes it’s the perfect package for getting into racing, as the Avail has the pedigree for speed, but with more stability and control to calm your nerves in the bunch. The victories earned on the UCI Pro Tour over the past few seasons reaffirm the capabilities of the…

Developed in conjunction with Jaguar, the Dogma F8 – Pinarello’s flagship racing frame – has become synonymous with success, thanks largely to Chris Froome (with the help of his Team Sky teammates) winning three consecutive Tours de France aboard this masterpiece of engineering. To celebrate 20 years of building some of the most revered road bikes on the planet, Pinarello have released this limited-edition ‘La Ventesima’ (meaning ‘The Twentieth’), which is decked out with SRAM’s e-Tap drivetrain for an electrifying ride experience. While there are many characteristics and qualities that contribute to a bike reaching ‘dream bike’ status, a fully personalised, one-of-a-kind frameset made to fit you, and you only, is the ultimate factor in determining your dream bike – one you won’t find riding up alongside you while you’re…

It was my first, a black Schwinn Typhoon, one that my parents presented to me on my fifth birthday. After a short, unhappy stint with training wheels, I gained my balance and developed a head-cocked, crazy-eyed, hellion-rider demeanour; and proceeded to beat the grease out of that bike, ramrodding around town, hitting potholes on purpose, mistiming curb jumps to amuse myself with the subsequent crash. Or I would ride full blast toward the steep embankments of the nearby stream, and at the last second jump off the bike and let it tumble down the rocks and into the water; where, even though I was undoubtedly laughing too loudly to hear, the bicycle cried out for better treatment and an easier, more sustainable life. Three full years I flailed on that…

SETTING THE STANDARD About 10 years ago I was having lower back problems, and my physio recommended cycling to strengthen my core. After one ride, I was hooked – especially by the mechanics of the machine. I often messed around with my bike in my garage. I was working at the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) at the time, and had been involved in training in some form or another for most of my adult life. So after establishing that there were no formalised training standards for bike-mechanic training in South Africa, I offered to help develop them. After that, it didn’t take much for my current business partner to convince me to open South Africa’s first bicycle training centre of excellence. GRAEME STICKELLS / 43 / CO-FOUNDER OF TORQ…

“Blindly following a static training programme has less chance of success.,, Q I’m following a programme from my coach. It contains prescribed workouts for each day, based on an upcoming goal event – but I’ve simply been left to my own devices with it. Is this the right approach, or should I be concerned? – Clyde, Rondebosch A training programme is just the starting point of coaching. It’s obviously important that the programme follows a sound training philosophy – a periodised structure (changes in training volume and intensity over successive cycles of training), and scientifically validated principles. But the more important aspect of coaching involves adequate monitoring of the athlete’s response to training – and where indicated, appropriate intervention. All athletes respond differently to training loads. This depends on various…

As a cyclist, it’s likely you or someone you know has suffered a broken collarbone. “It has to do with the way cyclists fall,” says orthopaedic trauma specialist Dr Brian Cunningham. “When you fall directly onto your shoulder, your collarbone – which has an S-shape – compresses, and can break.” While this break won’t impair your longterm function if it heals correctly, that doesn’t always happen. “If it heals in a position where it doesn’t reach the shoulder joint, there may be some weakness,” says Cunningham. This weakness could lead to repeat injuries – often from less serious mishaps. That’s why it’s essential to seek medical attention. A break is easy to detect: you’ll hear a crack as you hit the ground, and moving your arm will hurt. Doctors will…

STYLEMAN MACHO, MACHO MAN Q WHY ARE THERE NO OPENLY GAY PRO RIDERS? IS A SPORT IN WHICH MEN SHAVE THEIR LEGS AND WEAR THE TIGHTEST OF TIGHT CLOTHES STILL TOO MACHO FOR ITS OWN GOOD? – Leigh-Ann, Kensington THERE IS ONE CYCLIST I KNOW WHO HAS COME OUT AS GAY. Graeme Obree, the Scot who held the hour record, and a two-time world champion, came out in 2011. He said being in the closet had tormented him for years, and was perhaps one of the reasons he once tried to take his own life. Professional cycling has not even come close to evolving into a sport for all. As the very wise people at inrng.com wrote: “There are Catholics, Muslims, Protestants in the bunch, and their faith…

I used to work at a shop. When new cyclists would come in looking for a bike, I’d tell them that instead of buying the most inexpensive option, they should try to envision where they would be in one or two years of riding. Buy a bicycle that can evolve with you, I’d say, because you have no idea how far it’s going to take you. This was not some pitch designed just for the up-sell. I was speaking from experience. When I first purchased a road bike more than 10 years ago, all I wanted was to ride around my neighborhood and maybe lose a few kilos. A buddy advised me to spend triple the R5 000 I had budgeted. That R15 000 seemed insane – and I didn’t…

THE MOST NOTABLE CHANGE IS THE ORIENTATION OF THE REAR SHOCK, WHICH IS NOW VERTICALLY MOUNTED AND USES A ROCKER WITH A PIVOTLESS SWING-ARM. Last year Cannondale unveiled an all-new Scalpel, revealing a frame that had been on the receiving end of a surgeon’s scalpel. The new Scalpel Si has benefited from enhanced construction techniques that saw frame weight drop to 2 118g. Handling has been refined through revised geometry in the form of shorter chainstays and a slacker head angle, as well as a longer reach and longer fork-offset combination. The Scalpel Si’s new suspension layout has opened up the front triangle, allowing two water bottles to be stored. Despite being around for many years, the current incarnation of Specialized’s marathon/XC race weapon, the S-Works Epic FSR 29,…

We all rationalise the need to spend thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) of rands on a bike. If you’re like me, the process goes something like this: Read about a new breakthrough material/technology/geometry/rubber compound; start to second-guess current set-up. Blame current set-up for anything less than flawless performance. Buy new stuff. After 20 years of doing this for every major purchase – from downhill race bikes to carbon tubular cyclocross wheels to fixie commuters – I’ve realised that this rationalisation is actually irrational. Because the most important thing to consider when you’re buying a new bike is... colour. I’m serious. There are very few BAD bikes on the market today. If you have 25 or 30k, you can choose from dozens of great bikes. If you want to spend two…