Spin Cycle Magazine Issue 7

CYCLE MAGAZINE ISSUE 07

Editor James Maloney [email protected] Editor Dan Kenyon [email protected] Joolze DymondPaul Francis CooperJack ChevellTim DaltonCourtnie Hayes Ali Vermilio Nick HoweDesign Uniform www.uniform.netThanks go to: Wayne Greenhalgh at Champion Systems and the staff at Team Lampre MeridaRachel Heal at UHC Womens Team Peter Hodges and Guy Elliot at Sweetspot David MurphyBill SoensIan PughAndy Fenn, Rick van Slycke and Alessandro Tegner at Omega Pharma Quickstep

All information contained in Spin Cycle Magazine is for information purposes only and is, to the best of our knowledge, correct at the time of going to press. Spin Cycle Magazine cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies that occur. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Spin Cycle Magazine a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including all licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Spin Cycle Magazine nor its staff, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage. In relation to any medical queries, the advice given is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner and we strongly advise all readers with health problems to consult a doctor.

spin cycle magazine

08 Women On Tour Peak behind the scenes with the

first ladies of United Healthcare

44 Irish Tickled Pink Giro d’Italia arrives in Ireland

74 Dirty Pretty Things Mud, glorious mud at

the National Cyclocross

Championships

108 The Stang Why does it always rain

on the National Hill Climb

Championships?

138 Brit Down Under Omega-Pharma Quickstep’s Andy

Fenn chats about racing in Oz

154 Long Way To Rome Centurian Ian Pugh’s lone

adventure to Rome

164issu Killer Hill Bwlch Penbarras - possibly our

toughest hill to date

1 2 3

4

5 6 7

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SPIN

COVER: Women’s Tour by Joolze DymondLEFT: Giro d’Italia by Jack Chevell

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WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

9

WOMENON

TOUR

Words & Photography JOOLZE DYMOND

pro rider

IT’S finally happened. Great

Britain got it’s Women’s Tour

on the UCI calendar. To be

honest, it’s been an awful long

time coming.

Alfonsina Strada made history in

the 1924 Giro as the first woman to

ride a grand tour alongside the men.

Instead of being heralded as a

heroine, Strada was sidelined as

a novelty act, being dubbed as ‘the

devil in a dress’.

Now, 90 years later, women’s

racing is still largely being treated

as a sideshow - an afterthought,

run as a support act to men’s races

but without the same respect, prize

money or equal wages.

However, 2014 is the year of change

thanks to the vision of Sweetspot

and its organiser Guy Elliott. It is the

year women’s professional cycling

finally had a tour race to equal the

men’s.

2014 is the year of change thanks Sweetspot and its organiser Guy Elliott. It is the year women’s professional cycling finally had a tour race to equal the men’s

I was fortunate to attend two stages

as the guest of United HealthCare Pro

Cycling and witness the changes. It

wasn’t seeing Olympians and World

Champions rubbed shoulders on the

start line, sharing a joke and a laugh.

That spirit has always been there. It

wasn’t even how approachable the

riders were to spectators and media

alike. Autograph? No problem,

photo? Sure.

No, what was new this time was the

setup and the organization. I stepped

into Stage 2 and felt I had stepped

into a stage of the Tour of Britain

itself - the pomp, ceremony and,

most importantly, the safety.

With NEG riders escorting the

ABOVE: The weather looks grim during the Women’s TourRIGHT: Riders from UHC get changed following miserable weather on Stage Two

women on tourspin cycle magazine women on tour

race, delivering it from point-to-

point, there was a proper race

bubble - missing from so much other

women’s racing - where the women

could attack, defend, ride tactically,

chase, sprint, challenge all without

worrying about a random car straying

into their path.

The crowds swelled the route,

schools cheered, flags were waved

in delight and placards declaring

support for favourites - all despite

the weather on some stages.

All the cheers sent a shiver down my

spine that I’d not encountered since

the first roll out stage of the Tour of

Britain, when Brad, as he was back

then, took a victory parade after his

historic Tour de France win.

Every inch of the streets then,

as now, were crammed with folk

along the entire route. And now,

echoing that sentiment, a victorious

celebration of women’s racing was

underway and the public loved it,

every minute of it.

It wasn’t dull. The critics of women’s

cycling, who suggested it may well

be a dreary and cagey procession

from start to finish, were confounded

by the opposite.

After five days of gritty weather and

gritty racing, laced with plenty of

attacks and desperate doomed break-

aways, Marianne Vos reminded us

why she is the reigning Olympic

and World champion and the UCI

realised that women’s racing had

finally been given the safety it

needed to shine.

No, Vos didn’t dominate as first

expected. Home-grown talent

flourished and shone through. Every

day brought edge of the seat action.

Every day brought women’s racing

closer to the eyes of the world and

proved without doubt they were

deserving of much bigger and greater

things - the Women’s Tour finally

giving them the voice of reason they

needed to prove their point.

It’s as exciting and unpredictable as

the men’s equivalent. They certainly

race as hard and deserve the same

respect and coverage as the men.

More importantly, they deserve to

earn a living wage as they pursue

sporting excellence in one of the

hardest sports out there.

One of the stand out teams for the

race was the American team United

Health Care. For UHC’s two British

One of the stand out teams for the race was United Health Care. For UHC’s two British riders Hannah Barnes and Sharon Laws, both in their first season with the team, it was a triumph.

riders Hannah Barnes and Sharon

Laws, both in their first season with

the team, it was a triumph.

The riders podiumed together on

Stage One with Barnes coming third

in the sprint behind the Swede

Emma Johannsson and that Dutch

girl, while taking the best Under-23

jersey.

Laws bagged the Queen of the

Mountains jersey - or ‘Queen of the

Slopes’ as the peloton called it - as

none of the hills were high enough

to trouble the talent on show.

Hannah went on to have a couple of

top five placings and came in eight

by the end and, despite a crash on

Stage 4, Sharon clung on to hold the

jersey all week.

Barnes, who had been chosen as

leader before the race and she rose

ABOVE: Every team should have a lucky mascot and UHC have a lucky gnomeLEFT: In a demostration of equality, riders get changed aboard one of the team buses normally reserved for the men

women on tourspin cycle magazine women on tour 17


ABOVE: Ruth Winder relaxes listening to music and checking her emails while aboard the team’s luxury bus

19

There’s been no changing in cramped mini vans and waiting in bus shelters for the Women’s Tour squad either. UHC drove over one of the men’s team buses from Belgium – complete with Luke the driver and the lucky gnome.

past – present – futurespin cycle magazine

to the responsibility, said: “Being

young and new to the team, I really

happy they trusted me and have the

team working for me.”

United Health Care as a company

have made an equally big statement

since they started the women’s team

in 2013.

UHC’s last training camp in

Scottsdale Arizona saw the women’s

team training with the men’s.

Barnes added: “We’ve seen the guys

a lot this. Half the races have been

with the men and it’s been one big

team. When we’ve come down to

breakfast at the hotels and it’s been

guys and girls tables they’ve been

‘No no no’ and we’ve all swapped

around and mixed together and

that’s been so cool.”

There’s been no changing in

cramped mini vans and waiting in

bus shelters for the Women’s Tour

squad either. UHC drove over one of

the men’s team buses from Belgium

– complete with Luke the driver and

the lucky gnome.

It’s a display of equality with the

men’s team that’s been mirrored by

the organisation of the race itself

with full marshalling, road closures,

TV coverage and, most telling of all,

the same prize money as the men.

In a world that only recently

equalised prize money in tennis and

still excludes women from some golf

clubs, it’s a strong statement. This

first season for UHC has been one of

huge personal growth for the team’s

DS Rachel Heal as well. Heal raced

herself for nine years, competing

in the Athens Olympics, World

Championships and Commonwealth

games, as well as coming second to

Nicole Cooke in the National Road

Race too many times to reminisce

about here.

When Heal joined UHC, she

understood that she might be gain

DS experience by directing a few

of the men’s US races later in the

season.

In what you could call ‘fast-track

gender blindness mode’ UHC had

different expectations of her ability

and she found herself successfully

directing the men’s team for UHC

at this year’s rain-soaked Milan-

SanRemo.

At the end of Stage 2, I sat down with

Heal in the glamorous soundings

of The Best Western in Colchester

while soigneurs rubbed legs, music

played and preparations for day two

went on in the rooms around us.

JD: The team have come a long way

for this race. I’m guessing this is

quite important?

RH: Having two British riders on our

team for the Women’s Tour is a big

There’s been no changing in cramped mini vans and waiting in bus shelters for the Women’s Tour squad either. UHC drove over one of the men’s team buses from Belgium.

LEFT: Getting ready - once the race numbers are pinned on, a rider checks they’ve everything for the race that they’ll need, including gels


BELOW: Looking lean and clean, the ladies of UHC get into some sparkling white kit ready for the start of the next stage

RIGHT: Despite at crash on Stage 4, Sharon Laws from UHC held onto the polkadot jersey all week


ABOVE: Alone in the woods - with the exception of the TV crew - Ruth Winder looks back in search of a spare wheel while the peloton escapes in the distance


deal. The race was always one that

I personally wanted to do, but it

was the challenge of convincing the

management that it was worthwhile

for them – spending the money -

because it’s expensive us coming

over here with plane tickets and

the bus. We were very much of the

mindset that if we were going to do

it, we would do it properly, so the bus

came over from the Continent. One

of the things said at the beginning of

the year was that we were going to

try to help raise the bar for women’s

cycling. The team are treating them

the same as the men’s team and

hoping if we start doing this then it

would encourage other teams to do

the same. And with the Women’s

Tour being a carbon copy of the

mens - in terms of organisation -

that’s obviously a race we want to

support.

JD: It’s only Stage 2, but has it lived

up to your expectations?

RH: Yes. In fact, it’s exceeded them.

The public and media interest

was big before the race, but then

the support out on the road was

surprising and huge, as well as the

interest in not just the cycle media

but mainstream media too.

JD: So people are watching this race

closely?

RH: Women’s racing’s been on the

up in the past couple of years. Races

like the Olympics and then the US

Pro Championships in 2013 were

televised. People who previously

had not been too impressed have

looked again realised that actually

it is pretty exciting and this is a

good spectator sport, as well as just

as exciting – if not more exciting -

then the men;s. We’ve now been

given the big stage and the women’s

peloton have to prove they can step

up. It’s a business. If it’s not exciting

television and the money it brings

isn’t going to be there. The Women’s

Tour told us that they believe

women’s cycling can be interesting

and it’s been up to the peloton to

prove that. The organisers trusted

us to provide and I think we’ve been

doing that. So far, it’s been exciting.

There’s been nothing predictable

about the race. I think Sharon’s been

the only jersey not to change hands

over the past two days.

JD: There was a lot of talk about this

being all about Vos, but there’s a lot

of other things happening.

RH: Vos is an incredible athlete,

but there’s a lot of good athletes out

there, too. She hasn’t had it all her

own way. She’s had to race hard.

JD: I’ve been with the team all day.

It’s a great atmosphere on board the

bus and it seems a tight knit team.

RH: Yes but it’s not by accident. In

the UHC men’s team that spirit is

the big thing they’ve got and, when

we hired for the women’s team

for this year, we had to create the

same emphasis on the whole team.

We only hired riders that we knew

would buy into that ethic and build

that bond. Team results are more

important than any individual.

JD: You’ve had some goals for

Hannah and Sharon for this race,

though?

RH: Yesterday, I did have to laugh

when Hannah said in interviews

that I’d said there was ‘no plan’ and

‘just go and have fun’. It sounded

like I was a little casual. It was a

conscious decision to tell Hannah

that to try to diffuse the tension for

her, as it was her home stage. She’s

had a massive amount of pressure on

her. I know she’s incredibly talented

and incredibly fast for someone just

21. For Stage One, my job was to

pretend it was like any other bike

race. When, of course, it wasn’t.

The job was to support her with the

team and just keep them around her

– almost without her noticing it. For

her to come third and win the jersey

was just incredible.

JD: It’s a good mixture of young and

experienced riders.Sharon has been

a good signing and brings some age

and experience to the team.

ABOVE: Lauren Tamayo grabs a bi-don during a rare quiet moment on one of the stages at the Women’s Tour


ABOVE: Making a splash - the team cars race through puddles as they hurtle along trying to keep up with peloton


RH: Sharon’s a great climber. The

climbs here aren’t quite what she’s

used to. In the US, the last race she

rode had climbs of 6,000 feet. The

first stage finished with a seven-mile

climb and the last stage with a 13-

mile climb, so it’s a little bit different

to the 1km climbs in this race. But a

good climber is a good climber.

JD: It’s a US team. Why did you pick

Hannah and Sharon?

RH: Being British myself, I’ve

always kept an eye on British riders.

I suppose with Hannah it was the

Smithfield nocturne when she won

– but then didn’t. Two things stood

out for me. First, she beat Laura Trott

and then the way she handled the

post race situation. Being 19 and

winning a race, then having it taken

from you for whatever reason it

was. She was just incredibly mature

about the whole thing and, from

what I read, said nothing negative in

the press. That struck me almost as

much as the race itself. So when we

received her CV, I remembered the

name and looking at her palmarès,

we knew that she knew how to win a

race. She has so much potential.

JD: And with Sharon?

RH: I’m not sure that I ever raced

against Sharon. I was on my way

out as she was starting. I knew how

strong she was and Mara [Abbott],

our climber, had been on the

receiving end of Sharon’s teamwork

with others and knew her as a

rider. We were looking for someone

to support Mara on some of the

hillier stage races and that’s why we

approached her.

JD: I’ve known Hannah for years and

she’s always had a bit of a raw deal.

She’s such a talented rider and very

mature considering what she’s had

to put up with.

RH: Since she’s been riding, I’ve been

based in the US, so haven’t followed

all the news about the UK domestic

team. I looked at her palmarès and

thought ‘she’s won a lot of races’.

JD: When I met her three years ago,

she had 19 nationals title to her name

yet she couldn’t get a decent team

ride. It didn’t make sense. She was

one of those faces that didn’t seem to

fit British Cycling, so it’s great to see

her flourishing with UHC.

RH: She’s like the team’s little sister

– to both the women’s and the men’s

teams. She is based in Ashville when

she’s in the US and we have some of

the guys based there too. They take

her out on their rides and like to look

out for her.

JD: You were a pretty experienced

rider yourself. You must recognise

the changes in women’s racing

recently

RH: It’s still a fairly young sport, but

developing and learning quickly.

It has changed a lot and there are

more teams now based within the

men teams. We’re using the UHC

ABOVE: Sharon Laws on the front of the group as it whizzes along


men’s experience to fast-track our

learning. Some of the races earlier

in the year, the men were racing the

same course, so able to offer. I was

lucky myself as a rider in the sense

that I was on the only women’s team

with a bus in 2004. We had Leontien

Van Moorsel in the team. She was a

huge Dutch star, so that made quite

difference. The professionalism of

teams is so much better now. It still

has some way to go, but it’s getting

there.

JD: You’re based in the US pretty

permanently now?

RH: The season is getting longer for

sure. I used to be in the US between

March and August. Now it’s Jan-Dec

and I come back to the UK for three

weeks.

JD: Are UHC happy with the team so

far?

RH: I think so. I’m not sure what

their expectations were in terms of

race results, but we started the year

with Hannah winning the first stage

in the San Luis in Argentina and

then we went on to win the race as a

whole with Alison. We then went to

El Salvador and won that race with

Mara. We then went and won a fair

few races in the US, so it’s been a

good year so far.

It certainly has. If you visit the

United Health Care Team site, you’ll

note two score boards side-by-side

listing races wins, podiums and top

10 placings. At the time of writing,

the women are ahead of the men in

every category this season. Not bad

for so-called ‘devils in dresses’.

ABOVE: Another day, another stage done and dustedLEFT: Rain, rain, go away - UHC’s soigner prepares the feed bags for the stage ahead, probably hoping the weather will improve for the team’s riders


ABOVE: Time to relax as one of the riders from UHC puts her feet up after another day’s hard racing at the Women’s Tour


GO ONYOU KNOW

THAT

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2

IRISHTICKLED

PINK

Words PAUL COOPER Photography JACK CHEVELL

pro rider47

irish tickled pinkspin cycle magazine

THE blades of the TV

helicopter whirred

above the starting line

next to the spectacular

Titanic centre on the

banks of the River Lagan.

Today, it’s the opening stage of the

2014 Giro d’Italia and it is impossible

not to recall a Belfast of a bygone era.

Like many people in the crowd, I

knew Northern Ireland during the

days when the penetrating roar of

a helicopter meant British Army

reconnaissance was above, scanning

the area for signs of terrorist activity

and when it was commonplace

to see fully armed soldiers, faces

daubed with military camouflage

paint, outside your front door.

That was a Belfast of the past.

Thankfully, the Good Friday Peace

Process has transformed the city and

Northern Ireland. Yet its work is not

yet complete. Tensions at the arrest

How sweet is it for cycling that the Giro d’Italia in Northern Ireland has shown the world just how far that process has travelled?

of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, as

well as the continuing background

presence of men still committed to

violence, show that the road to full

peace is still a hard one.

But, how sweet is it for cycling that

the Giro d’Italia in Northern Ireland

has shown the world just how far

that process has travelled?

Dublin-born, 1987 Giro D’Italia

winner, Stephen Roche, who

was speaking to more than 5,000

enthusiastic spectators on the eve

of Stage One at the Giro’s opening

ceremony, held at Belfast’s City Hall,

said: “Thank you for everyone being

here tonight. I am speechless. I was

expecting a warm welcome but this is

ABOVE: Crowds gather in the rain to watch the riders for the start of the Giro d’italiaRIGHT: What it is all about - the winner’s trophy is shown to the fans in Belfast

Post race warm down. Ian Stannard bleeds from road rash picked up on course

What we learnt: Most team buses could do with a mop and bucket; lying down on the floor to photograph a rider riding through puddles means you get soaked by the following team car and, finally, the state of the coffee machine at Knowsley TOB press office could well prevent the tour returning next year. Peter Hodges has been informed...


ABOVE: Riders from Europcar race round the streets of Belfast during the 21.7km team time trial for the 2014 Giro d’Italia

irish tickled pink 53

even more than I thought, so thanks

again. I was surprised [that the Giro

came to Ireland], it’s something I

always wanted when I was young. It

feels so unreal.”

Adding to that sentiment and sense

of amazement was Team Sky’s Philip

Deignan, who is from Donegal. He

told the crowd: “It’s just amazing.

I never thought I could start in my

own country.”

Meanwhile, the cost to Northern

Ireland in staging the opening event

and the first three stages of the Giro

was estimated at £4.2m.But tourism

experts calculate that the race

generated £2.5m in revenue from

visitors coming to watch the race.

In the long-term, it is estimated that

it will produce over £10m through

global publicity. In 2013, the Giro

was broadcast to 174 countries and

reached a global audience of 775

million.

Historically, the Giro always started

in Milan. But in 1960, the Grande

Partenza moved to other Italian

cities. In 1996, it made its debut

beyond Italy in Athens. Since then,

the Corsa Rosa has started in Nice

in 1998, Amsterdam in 2010 and

Herning in Denmark in 2012.

But the world-travelled and gnarled

officials of the race seemed genuinely

taken aback by the welcoming

warmth and friendliness of a Belfast

bathed in pink.

Andrei Monti, director of La Gazzetta

dello Sport, which has organised the

race since the first Giro left Milan at

3.53am on May 13, 1909, described


the opening reception at Belfast City

Hall as the start of “a surprising love

affair between Belfast and the Giro.”

“Belfast, we love you,” he told the

crowd. The Giro has a history of

going beyond the realms of sport. In

1946, Italy was brutally scarred by

the Second World War. That year’s

Giro, the first since 1943, was hailed

as the ‘Giro of Rebirth’.

Starting in Milan, it travelled south

to Naples and back via Turin. It

passed on its way, bomb-damaged

cities and towns.

The riders battled over roads which

barely justified the name. Every man

riding had been affected by the strife

Andrei Monti, director of La Gazzetta dello Sport, described the opening reception at Belfast City Hall as the start of “a surprising love affair between Belfast and the Giro.”

of the War. Some had fought against

each other as partisans, communists

and fascists.

But it was a race that captured the

spirit of a nation - looking to the

future, intent on rebuilding and

reconciliation. It was described as

“the flame which lit up the nation”

by writer, Bruno Roghi.

And, as the helicopter whirred

above, on the banks of the Lagan,

the riders gliding past towards the

cranes of Harland and Wolff, the

Giro went far beyond the realms of

sport again. Long may it do so for

many years yet to come.

ABOVE: Team Lampre-Merida’s Damio Cunego rolls out for the opening cermony of the 2014 Giro d’ItaliaLEFT: Garmin’s Dan Martin chats to the crowds in Belfast


dublin turns pinkspin cycle magazine

LEFT: All kitted out, Przemyslaw Niemiec gets ready for action.

BELOW: Ancone Gomez and Matteo Bono warm up before the start of the team time trial


ABOVE: Lampre-Merida’s riders looking cool as ice before the start of the team time trial in Belfast

irish tickled pinkspin cycle magazine irish tickled pink 59

irish tickled pinkspin cycle magazine dublin turns pink

ABOVE: Lampre-Merida flash past the crowds stood by the roadside in Belfast


Nathen Hass limps in after the team time trial in Belfast during the 2014 Giro d’Italia

It was a race that captured the spirit of a nation - looking to the future, intent on rebuilding and reconciliation. It was described as “the flame which lit up the nation” by writer, Bruno Roghi.


Fabien Wegmann and Ryder Hesjedal consol each other after a tough stage for Garmin in Belfast

dublin turns pinkspin cycle magazine

LEFT: Nairo Quintana makes his escape on the freshly mopped floor of his hotel before the TTT recon - not sure the staff could believe what he was up toBELOW: Team Lampre-Merida look exhausted after arriving at the finish in Dublin


ABOVE: Riders huddle together in a group next to the coast as the peloton heads from Armagh to Dublin during Stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia


375

DIRTYPRETTYTHINGS

Words & Photography JOOLZE DYMOND

true brit

NOW is the winter of

our discontent. It’s

CX season and there

has been a distinct

lack of mud. We

need mud. It helps inject a bit of

gritty determination to images.

CX to the uninitiated is likened to a

50min sprint round a field. For some

riders, mud is that extra challenge

that just adds to an already spicy

mix, while to others it just adds to

the overall grind.

To the photographer, mud adds a

little something to the scene, helps

exaggerate the emotions of nature and

rider literally combined. We revel in

the sheer agony of expressions and

athleticism on display, our fingers

poised ready to freeze their moment

of triumph or defeat. The highs, the

lows, the anguish, the exhilaration,

the mud...our passion.

It’s Nationals day. Champions are

to be made, hearts will be broken. A

It’s Nationals day. Champions are to be made, hearts will be broken. A tight twisty course awaits. Weaving this way and that, off camber, slippery.

tight twisty course awaits. Weaving

this way and that, off camber,

slippery.

The weather has been kind to

photographers. Wet enough in

preceding days to saturate the

ground. Leaving swollen puddles

carelessly lying around, but dry on

the day, protecting your gear. Blue

skies streaked with wisps of cloud, a

low winter sun, highlighting ribbons

of tyre tracks that have carved out

little niches.

Meanwhile, the pits, the engine

room of the race, are quite literally

the pits. A Dantesque vision of

eternal muddy nightmares. The

frisson of endless activity, masked

in high pressured water. The too and

RIGHT: A poignant moment for un-der 23 winner Grant Ferguson. My favourite type of shot. Catching an unguarded moment. The rider lost in their own thoughts, still bearing the marks of a hard raceBELOW: At first glance, you think the rider Thomas Armstrong from Wheelbase is taking the running option on this tricky section. On closer inspection, you might just notice he’s missing his left pedal. You feel for his agony as he’s left to run to the pits which are more than half a lap away

dirty pretty thingsspin cycle magazine dirty pretty things


ABOVE: Hardly anyone was cheering for the riders as they splashed through this enormous puddle. I wanted to portray sense of loneliness, a sense of the training efforts that riders endure to get to race fitness. Training takes place away from the baying crowds and I wanted the race image to portray this too. As luck would have it, eventual title winner Helen Wyman from Kona was perfect for this shot

81


Meanwhile, the pits, the engine room of the race, are quite literally the pits. A Dantesque vision of eternal muddy nightmares. The frisson of endless activity, masked in high pressured water.


PREVIOUS: A glimpse through the trees at the ‘engine room’ of the race - the pits. An un-earthly scene. The sense of eeriness enhanced by the mist of high pressured jet washersABOVE: I’m as drawn to water nearly as much as I am to mud. I like capturing details, such as the water droplets in this imageRIGHT: A runner. Not a cyclist. Not even in the race, but essential all the same. The image sums up the team work that underlines a successful CX race.


LEFT: A moment of refection as Thomas Craig takes the win in the junior race. Moments lat-er, he is swamped by reporters and photogra-phers, as well as a whole army of wellwishersBELOW: The concentration on the rider’s face makes the image for me. His focus on the clean bike is all encompassing. The rider is Arthur Green from Matlock CC

87


ABOVE: The sport is awash with characters - both on and off the bike. I was drawn to this character by his intense concentration topped off by his cracking choice of head wear

89


ABOVE: It’s all glamour. Sarah Lomas from Scott Contessa washing off the mud of the day after finishing fourth in the junior women’s race.

RIGHT: Race over. Happy. Jack Ravenscroft, who was third junior

91

Spectators. Cheer. Clap. Console. Tears. Happiness. Distraught. Emotion. Mud. Motion. All captured. Another day. Tired. A bag full of memories. A long drive home, pouring over winners and losers.

This puddle came just a few hundred metres from the start of the races. So after a mad dash down a strip of concrete, the riders are forced to chose a line that in some places are axle deep. I love the movement of water. The explosion as man and bike hit the muddy expanse was worth standing ankle deep to capture, as Dave Collins from Hope Factory Racing demostrates

fro-ing of bodies, each an essential

link to the smooth running of their

rider. Ankle deep in mire that has

engulfed part of the course, as jet

washers add to the misery put in

place by nature.

The riders hit this particular section

at pace, firm ground giving way

to axle deep mud. Their speed is

scrubbed immediately. They grunt,

shove, grind and I’m there waiting,

patiently, armed, picking off riders

one-by-one as they forge their way

through this treacherous section.

And so the winter of our discontent

has at last delivered a plethora of

opportunities ready to be discovered

by my lens. The spray of the jet wash,

characterful people, wrapped tightly

against the cold and the wet as they

displace mud with high-powered

dirty pretty thingsspin cycle magazine

spurts of freezing cold water. Soon,

the race done. They sit, contemplate,

congratulate, ready to serve another

rider. The riders themselves are

armed against the cold by a sliver of

Lycra and their own efforts.

Heaving, sprinting, spinning,

weaving, slipping and cajoling.

A rival in their sights, heartbeat

racing. Hurdles to jump or run. To

fail or succeed. Flash. A moment of

victory or success, frozen. Ready to

be relived.

Spectators. Cheer. Clap. Console.

Tears. Happiness. Distraught.

Emotion. Mud. Motion. All

Spectators. Cheer. Clap. Console. Tears. Happiness. Distraught. Emotion. Mud. Motion. All captured. Another day. Tired. A bag full of memories. A long drive home, pouring over winners and losers

captured. Another day. Tired. A bag

full of memories. A long drive home,

pouring over winners and losers.

Picking and choosing. The ones that

make the cut are buffed and polished

ready to be displayed. Ready to show

my view of their important day. It’s

my interpretation and my passion

for the beauty of their sport in all it’s

sweat stained, muddy glory…

ABOVE: I wanted to capture an essence of a rider at speed lost in their own race, contrasting and framed by the constants.LEFT: A disap-pointed Abby-Mae Parkinson from RST Racing Team shows me her muddy back. Despite a hard-fought race, she had to concede defeat to Ffion James from Abergavenny RC by just a handful of seconds

dirty pretty things 95

ABOVE: This sums out the great sportmanship in the race. Paul Oldham from Hope Factory Racing was a hot favourite along with Ian Field from Hargroves Cycles to take the senior title. The racing was intense, with Paul taking a decisive lead until an incident with race tape left him running for nearly a lap to change bikes and leaving an opening for Field to grab with both hands. Field went on to take the senior title, with Oldham battling back to finish just out of the medals in fourth. Here Oldham congratulates Field after the race.RIGHT: Proud mum Sarah Craig was in action all weekend as her husband and two sons took part and came home with a bronze and national title


ABOVE: Amira Mellor leaving everything on the finish line. Exhaustion etched over her face after she rode an incredible race to claim third placed junior and fifth overall

dirty pretty thingsspin cycle magazine dirty pretty things 99

The change over. More team work. The rider dismounts and throws his dirty bike as simultaneously another team member offers up a clean bike as the riders grabs without missing a heartbeat


Picking and choosing. The ones that make the cut are buffed and polished ready to be displayed. Ready to show my view of their important day. It’s my interpretation and my passion for the beauty of their sport in all it’s sweat stained, muddy glory…

A delighted Thomas Craig from Team Scott UK celebrates as he secured his first National Junior title after an in-tense battle with rival Dylan Kerfoot-Robson from Marsh Tracks Racing

MONEYCAN’T

BUY YOULOVE



BUT ITCAN BUYYOU THEANNUAL

4

THESTANG

Words & Photography JAMES MALONEY

true brit

IMAGINE winds so fierce that

your car shakes from side-to-

side like a tin can, rain beating

down so heavy that visibility

is reduced to just a few metres

and wipers bouncing up-and-down

like newly-weds.

Add to that endless switchbacks,

desolate moorland roads and enough

20 per cent gradients to make the

Shire from Lord of the Rings look

positively pan flat and you’ve got a

pretty good idea of what it was like

just driving to the 2013 National

Hill Climb Championships in

Arkengarthdale.

Now, you’re probably wondering

where the devil is Arkengarthdale.

Well, you’re in good company, as

even my Sat-Nav bleeped out an

expletive when I tapped in the

postcode for The Stang, a remote

slither of asphalt that runs for two-

and-a-half miles up towards a

Just to clarify, I will be using the word ‘bloody’ at lot throughout this report, as it was bloody soaking wet, bloody freezing and bloody windy.

Godforsaken expanse of moorland in

County Durham, North Yorkshire.

Yet there I was, stood in the rain-

sodden car-park outside the race’s

headquarters at the Charles Bathurst

Inn on a soaking Sunday in October

thinking “how the bloody hell are

the riders going to ride up THAT in

THIS?”

Truthfully, I still don’t know how

they did it - but it makes you proud

to be bloody British. Just to clarify,

I will be using the word ‘bloody’ at

lot throughout this report, as it was

bloody soaking wet, bloody freezing

and bloody windy.

In fact, it couldn’t get more wet if

someone had dragged the riders

ABOVE: First off from the starting line are the female ridersRIGHT: A junior rider claws his way up The Stang. Although it looks beautiful, it packs a deadly sting

the stangspin cycle magazine climbing in the rain

The Stang in all its beauty and horror. What makes this climb so cruel is the fact that there is a descent and another whopper gradient the other side of the summit you see here. Nasty business.

Being right slap bang in the middle of these bleak surroundings, it wasn’t a surprise that many of the riders were huddled next to cars, vans – some even in tents, which wobbled in the wind like giant jellies – all desperate for a bit of cover from the constant downpour.

climbing in the rainspin cycle magazine

LEFT/BELOW: Annabel Sill from Clay Cross RT tries to keep as dry as possible on the starting line amid the constant downpour

the stang 117

ABOVE: Ready to rock ‘n’ roll, Sill gets under starter’s orders at the 2013 National Hill Climb Championships in Yorkshire

the stangspin cycle magazine the stang 119

through a river – mainly because

that’s exactly what the whopping

18 per cent start of The Stang had

become in all that rain, a river.

Seriously, you could have fished in

it.

Being right slap bang in the middle

of these bleak surroundings, it wasn’t

a surprise that many of the riders

were huddled next to cars, vans –

some even in tents, which wobbled

in the wind like giant jellies – all

desperate for a bit of cover from the

constant downpour.

Each and every one of them were

trying in vain to prepare their bodies

for the inevitable depressing cocktail

of cold, rain, gusts and gradients.

Well, it’s not exactly inspiring or

motivational trying to haul your body

up a hill for two-and-a-half miles in

any conditions - let alone those that

closely resembled the ‘End of Days’.

You just want that type of cruelty to

be over – and quickly.

Some of the riders abandoned all

attempts at using their rollers or

turbo trainers in the rain and resorted

to just sitting in their cars with the

heaters on full blast - hoping the

momentary warmth would see them

through the worse this bleak part

of the countryside had in store for

them.

Even when it wasn’t chucking it

down in biblical proportions, the

gust were so comically strong that

riders trying to make their way back

down the climb - after putting their

bodies through hell - were forced

to ride so slowly against the gale-

force headwind that they practically

ended up in reverse. It would have

been comical, if it wasn’t so cruel.

One-by-one the riders were called

up to the starting line, shed their

protective layers keeping them

warm and surrendered themselves

to the cold. It was rather epic, if I

am honest. Bloody brilliant, in fact.

Obviously, only from a spectator’s

point of view. I imagine the riders

weren’t having such fun.

Near the front of the queue for

the wet wall of pain was David

Murphy, from Merseyside. He was

representing his club, Liverpool

Mercury. David is a mere wisp of

a lad, but packs a surprisingly big

engine that’s also backed up by the

ability to climb like a mountain goat.

OK, so he’s just 15, but I am very

One-by-one the riders were called up to the starting line, shed their protective layers keeping them warm and surrendered themselves to the cold. It was rather epic, I am honest.

jealous of him. Very jealous, indeed.

Murphy regularly gives the adult

riders from his club a good hiding

during the early season chain-gang.

More often than not, he is found

relaxing at the sign for the sprint,

nonchalantly eating a banana as the

rest of the group finally catches up.

They gave up trying to hold his

wheel on the hills in early 2011 and

it was a choice of ‘no choice’ really.

Murphy’s climbing credentials have

been building steadily ever since. He

began his build-up for the nationals

by tackling Glossop Kinder Velo’s

climb of the Snake Pass, where

he was best placed junior. He also

took the best placed junior result

at the ultra-tough North Lancs RC’s

hill climb on Nick ‘O’Pendle before

grabbing second placed junior over

ABOVE: Young David Murphy was 25th to start at the nationalsLEFT: David gets warmed up with The Stang menacingly in the background


ABOVE: Gemma Sargent from Dave Hinde RT races past a spectator with his whippet, which didn’t seem too impressed getting dragged up the hill in the bad weather


ABOVE: Hugh Carthy from Rapha Condor JTL gets a cheer from these animated spec-tors. Note the sign to the side ‘Kenny Van Vlamick Motor Homes’ - genius


tears in the rainspin cycle magazine

at the Cleveland Wheelers hill climb

competition on Clay Bank Hill.

Equally, his preparation for the 2013

nationals was also thorough. Murphy

was the 25th rider out of 180 riders

to start on the day, but he’d ridden

the hill already in the previous 24

hours.

“The day before I did a recce of the

climb and it was alright,” explained

David in that nonchalant fashion

that only teenagers, or the French,

can pull off.

“It was OK. It was quite a steady

climb, really. It was just the start that

was brutal.

“The weather wasn’t great, but I did

OK. I am not sure where I finished

– I think it was the top 20 – which

wasn’t too bad. A lot of the other

guys, especially the adults, were

hiding in their cars before the start.

I didn’t have that luxury.

“The climb itself started pretty hard,

which I don’t mind. Then there was

a downhill bit in the middle. I am

not too great going downhill and

it was really wet, so I just kept it

steady. Then for the long drag to the

finish, I just went balls out.

“It felt good getting my first national

hill climb under my belt – it was

good experience. I’ll definitely be

having another crack at it this year –

that’s for sure.”

Defending champion James Knox

returned to battle with a large entry

of riders wanting to knock him off

his throne. The Maxgear rider not

only managed to win the Junior

title, but also finished 8th overall

just ahead of the first Veteran, Pete

Tadros of Ingear/Trainsharp.

Meanwhile, the Men’s category was

the last to be decided with Matthew

Pilkington last off the line. With

some riders on bikes weighing less

than six kilos, the race came down

to a fight between two of the best

hill climbers in the country, James

Gullen and Tejvan Pettinger.

On a course that had everything

you’d expect from the moors -

narrow lanes, cattle grids, sheep,

cold, wind, rain, more rain, and no

phone signal whatsoever - only two

seconds separated the duo.

Matt Clinton was only seconds

behind Gullen and Pettinger, but the

climbing prowess Tejvan was too

much and he won with a lightning

quick time of 07:57.7.

We know Tejvan’s secret, though,

and have the photographic proof, too.

Do you see it? Yes. That’s it. Always

warm up with a tartan coloured

umbrella draped over yourself. I

can only imagine how good a time

Tejvan could have achieved with a

wick away, sponsor backed brollie –

marginal gains and all that.

We know Tejvan’s secret. Always warm up with a tartan coloured umbrella. I can only imagine how good a time Tejvan could have achieved with a wick away, sponsor backed brollie

LEFT: Not phased by the pressure one bit, David Murphy from Liv-erpool Mercury gets ready for his first-ever national championship


BELOW & RIGHT: Isla Rush from Wyndymilla clears her mind and focuses on the task at hand milliseconds away from starting the 2013 National Hill Climb Championships in a wet and miserable Yorkshire

tears in the rainthe stangspin cycle magazine the stang

ABOVE: Young Lewis Hartley from Velocity WD-40 tries to grab as much advantage as possible by wearing an aero helmet - we’re not sure what use it was on the slippey slopes of The Stang, but he certainly looked the part


ABOVE: Eventual winner Tejvan Pettinger from Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team getting a bit of shelter from his tartan brollie, wielded - apparently - by one of his friends who travelled all the way from Austrialia. Poor bloke


5139

BRITDOWN UNDER

Words TIM DALTON Photography COURTNIE HAYES

pro rider

LIVING in Melbourne

forces you to go cold

turkey when you

have an addiction to

continental cycling,

trust me. It has almost been a year

since I left home for a different life

Down Under. Moving from Liverpool

to Melbourne was a huge decision,

especially being a life-long cyclist.

Melbourne does ‘do’ cycling, but not

in the same way as the Europeans.

Some Aussies treat the sport as if

it is the ‘new golf’; pedaling up-

and-down the flat beach roads for

espressos on their AUS$15k Italian

bikes, complete with deep section

carbon wheels and covered head-to-

toe in Assos kit - all essential for that

20km Saturday ride.

Admittedly, the weather is a damn

sight better here - but it was all too

easy to jump on a cheap flight and

go watch some of the big races in

Europe. Sometimes, I’d even load up

the car with bikes and head to Dover

for the Belgium Spring Classics.

Here in Australia, the European

scene is a 24 hours flight away –

and expensive. Luckily, I was off to

Adelaide to get my first European

cycling ‘fix’ in more than a year -

the Santos Tour Down Under - but

would it be up to scratch?

With modest expectations, I grabbed

a low cost Friday evening flight - the

businessman’s shuttle - for the hour-

long journey to South Australia

from Adelaide International Airport,

where it appears everyone has ‘Tour

Down Under Fever’.

Now in it’s 16th year, the Santos

Here in Australia, the European scene is a 24 hours flight away – and expensive. Luckily, I was off to get my first European cycling ‘fix’ in more than a year

Tour Down Under has been picked

up by Eurosport in recent years –

although it has to be viewed on Sky

in the UK - and is more popular than

ever.

Most of the pro teams have been

here for a couple of weeks to

escape the clutches of the northern

hemisphere’s winter weather.

Conditions can still be cruel, though.

Poor little Thomas Voeckler, from

Europcar, landed, rode for 10

minutes, crashed into a car, broke

his collarbone and went straight

back to Europe for treatment. That’s

a 54-hour round-rip for a 10-minute

bike ride.

With Europe still locked in cold

and wet, South Australia languished

under the cosh of a severe heat

wave with temperatures hitting 51

degrees. The ranks of the pro peloton

were all moaning via Twitter about

hitting the road at 6am to get four

hours in before the temperatures

made training impossible.

The race formally kicked off on

Tuesday, January 21 before covering

a total of 875-kilometers through

some of the country’s most beautiful

countryside, including the wine

regions of the Barossa Valley,

McLaren Vale and the Adelaide

Hills.

Dappled in light, dotted with quaint

villages and bustling towns. Acre-

RIGHT: Andy Fenn amid the pre- race media scrum at this year’s Tour Down Under

brit down underspin cycle magazine brit down under

after-acre of vineyards and orchards

over gentle rolling hills, with fields

full of the prettiest cattle you’ll ever

see.

Roads are wide, well-surfaced and

sparsely populated with traffic.

Thankfully, the towns and villages

en-route all support the race.

No Daily Mail reactionaries here

complaining about paying road tax

and not having access to the public

highway for 15 minutes of the year.

Meanwhile, the amount of cycling

fans out on the route is amazing - I

didn’t think Australia had this many

cyclists. Speaking to the roadside

tifosi at various points, it is obvious

that there are people here from all

over this continent-sized country.

As you would expect from a country

with larger-than-life characters, the

Aussie tifosi come in all shapes,

sizes and varieties. It’s great to see so

many people out on bike.

Of course, the Aussies love their

sport and they cheer every single

pro rider – even the local policemen

on bikes guarding the route. It’s a

fantastic atmosphere.

Admittedly, the hills aren’t in the

same league of the Ventoux or Alpe

d’Huez, but Willung Hill (3km long),

The Corkscrew (2km long) and

Menglers Hill (2km long) - nothing

more than 600 metres in height

here - are effective in splitting the

peloton, especially if climbed twice

or towards the end of the stage.

Before the riders even get a taste

of these three monster hills,

though, there is the little matter of

brit down underspin cycle magazine

a very popular stand-alone event

– The People’s Choice City Centre

Criterium, which is held two days

before the start of the main race on

Sunday, January 19.

Monday is then classed as a day off,

so provided the perfect chance of

toddling slowly along through the

heat of late afternoon to the Hilton

Hotel for a chat with Omega-Pharma

Quickstep’s Andy Fenn.

This is Andy’s first Tour Down

Under and he’s quietly confident.

Sprinters are normally the

exuberant, flamboyant type. Think

Mario Cipollini, Mark Cavendish,

Tom Steels or Alessandro Petacchi.

Andy’s aware of his considerable

talent and he’s quietly making his

way up the ladder.

Winning the 2008 junior Paris

Roubaix – just four years after

Geraint Thomas - brought a deal with

An Post Sean Kelly alongside Spin

Cycle’s favourite son, Mark McNally.

After been based in Belgium for

three years, Andy signed up to

become one of the 30-strong squad

at Omega Pharma Quickstep. More

recently, he moved to Lucca in Italy.

Originally from Kent in the UK,

Fenn’s apprenticeship was done

the hard, old-fashioned way and

eventually led to his long-term

mentor, friend, ex-professional and

1989 GB Pro road race champion,

As he plonks himself down on the sofa Fenn doesn’t look a bit out of place - even compare with Marcel Kittle, sporting white sunglasses, holding his own rock star styled interview opposite.

Tim Harris, assisting in Andy’s hefty

step up to the pro tour.

Measuring in at a rangy 6ft1”, Andy

seems to have the range for big steps.

Decked out in full OPQS casual

sportswear, he looks slim and fit but

still a little pale after the European

winter.

As he plonks himself down on the

sofa in the hotel reception to chat to

me, Fenn doesn’t look a bit out of

place - even compare with Marcel

Kittle, sporting white sunglasses,

holding his own rock star styled

interview opposite.

Both are sprinters, but Andy is at

the TDU to support newly-signed

team leader and former TDF maillot

jaune wearer, Jan Bakelants.

The first cutting question: isn’t the

TDU just a Koala-cuddling, glorified

pre-season training camp, pitted with

corny photo opportunities and where

the local Aussie riders humiliate the

European pros just awakening from

their winter hibernation?

Fenn points out this is not the case

anymore and that the TDU carries

the same amount of UCI points as

winning Paris-Roubaix or fifth place

in the Tour de France.

Teams are here “primed and ready to

ride” according to Andy. In addition,

the aptly named, old school, ex-pro,

no-nonsense Belgium OPQS team

manager, Rik van Slycke, is looking

LEFT: Time to get ready to roll out as Fenn gets the essentials from the back of a team mini-van

brit down under 145


at the form of his riders at the race

with an eye for the spring classics

and the grand tours later this year.

Fenn is still primed from the

previous days’ prologue around the

streets of Adelaide. A late night by

all accounts.

“There was no massage last night

after the crit,” explains Fenn. “It

was just eat, that’s it, then get to

bed. Well, I tried to. You’re always

full of adrenalin after a crit and you

have a bit of caffeine before the race,

so that doesn’t help trying to get to

sleep either. I probably didn’t get to

sleep until about 12.30am. I am sure

during the stage race, it won’t be like

that. Yeah, I’ll maybe have a glass

of wine to try to get to sleep, but it’s

always difficult.”

You may think that rest days for

cyclists are all about sitting around

drinking espresso, Skype calls to

friends and family, updating your

Facebook page and then getting a

massage before mooching off to bed

around 9pm.

The reality is a little different. I’m

surprised he’s so cheery, as our

interview is towards the end of a

pretty busy day for Fenn. He’s been

up since 6am and his first job of the

day was riding out with a peloton of

50 Aussie Specialized dealers for a

couple of hours, followed by a meet-

and-greet to help sell those bikes.

“All the team head out and we even

bring the bus,” reveals Fenn. “We

went out with the guys who head

up Australia and also New Zealand’s

Specialized. Some of the people who

head up the shops and their staff in

NZ had flown over, so they all came

out with us for a couple of hours.

“Most of the teams do it, like

Cannondale or BMC. You’ve seen

a lot of them out this morning. Our

ride was incident free, but I heard

one guy broke a collarbone and

another his hip, so they’ve had the

day off work and come home with

something broken.”

Maybe Specialized have more

competent riders working in their

retail divisions than the other bike

brands? Andy isn’t saying - although

he seems to have met a fair few since

touch down in Australia.

“It’s all part of the job of riding

round in sponsors logos,” adds Fenn.

“That’s what we do. The last few

days, we have been in two different

Specialized stores. They do quite a

big push when we are in Australia.

You have a bike society, a local shop

or a ladies group, just doing a few

question and answer sessions. There

is always something going on.”

That was followed by lunch,

then the afternoon of team media

duties, which included talking to

yours truly. After our interview, it’s

LEFT: Fenn signs on before the start of Stage 1 at the 2014 Tour Down Under

brit down under

You’re always full of adrenalin after a crit and you have a bit of caffeine before the race, so that doesn’t help trying to get to sleep either. I probably didn’t get to sleep until about 12.30am.

147

time for him to enjoy an afternoon

massage, a racing strategy meeting

and then finally an evening meal at

8pm before everyone is ordered up

to bed for 10pm sharp – ready for

Stage One.

“I’ll probably try to eat about three

or four hours before the race,”

mentions Andy. “So I’ll be up for

about 7:45am, I reckon. Depends

what time we leave. but you have

to leave pretty early and be on time

because there is a convoy with like

the team cars, police and buses.

“Weather looks alright for tomorrow.

It was really hot there last week, like

40-odd degrees, but now the race

week should be OK. The heat takes

a bit of getting use to.

“Back home, you ride faster to get

warmer. Here, it’s the other way

round. The last 20 minutes into the

city on training rides, it just gets

hotter-and-hotter. In the hills, it’s

OK. Here, though, you’d get to a

traffic light and just want to jump the

red light because it’s so hot – or try

to hide in a shadow or bit of shade.”

The next day, Andy is up and

eating breakfast three hours before

the 11am start, where the course is

an hour’s drive away. There are none

of the new luxury buses so prevalent

of racing in Europe these days.

At the TDU, its one Skoda estate

car and a humble Hyundai mini bus

each for all teams - all except Team

Sky. They have three Jaguar team

cars with them to show Rupert’s

Australian links aren’t completely

dead.

All riders and teams arrive on the

start line at 10am for signing on and

the chaos of the daily media scrum.

Time for a quick chat and some

predictions from Andy.

“After the neutralized section, it

all depends on what the role of the

team is that day,” remarks Fenn.

“If you want to get into the break,

you’ll have to fight to get to the front.

Normally, you’d just wait for the flag

to drop and then jostle to get into

position.

“Obviously, if you’re race starts a bit

later, then you’ll just be chatting to

some of the other guys or maybe stop

for a pee at the side of the road. They

don’t actually like that last one here

so much, I have noticed. They’ve

been fining people, apparently.

“It all really depends on the race

as well. We’d just roll out and stay

relax. Now that we have got race

radios in this race, the directeur

will have a quick talk and tell us a

few more tactics to get us a bit more

involved in the race.”

With our chat over, the race rolls out

at 11am sharp for a few kilometers

of neutralized riding, which allows

for those final nature stops (and

commissaries’ fines) before the race

starts proper at the zero km board.

Once the neutralized flag is pulled

in, it’s the same story every day - the

local ‘pro’ outfit go on the attack to

gain the vital publicity they need to

continue in business.

There’s no need to worry, though.

That attack won’t last and the Euro

pros just keep it in check until they


are ready to reel it in. For Stage

One, Andy works tirelessly to help

finesse Carlos to the bottom of the

final climb before dropping back to

the ‘laughing group’ and rolling in

with the gruppeto for 86th place 2:21

down on winner Simon Gerrans.

Thankfully, all his hard work isn’t

in vain and Carlos secures the young

rider’s jersey.

“It’s a pretty short race compared

to what I am used to,” laughs Fenn.

“Especially the first couple race of

the year, including here and Qatar. I

think Argentina is quite nice, as well.

It’s good to ease into the season.”

With day one complete, the OPQS

rider Carlos Verona Quintanilla is in

ABOVE: Fenn fixes his earpiece in correctly before grabbing his last bit of kit and heading off for the starting line

brit down under 149

the best young rider jersey. No need

for a sprinter over the next few days,

so Andy and the team’s work is all

about protecting that jersey. What

are Andy’s predictions for Stage 2?

“You’d expect the Uni SA guys to

get in the breakaway,” explains

Fenn. “They’ll probably have a few

of the other local teams as well. It’s

a bit difficult tomorrow, as it’s not a

‘sprint-sprint’ day.

“Normally, someone like Lotto or

Argus will control that stage, but it’s

no so predicable. They’ll still try to

control it, though. If the break is a

big one, then maybe we would try to

get someone into that. The first roads

are not too bad, so it might be quite

controlled. You might see a break go,

but not too big.

“Probably fight for position on the

climb and whoever makes it to the

top of there then I think that will be

it for the group finish because it’s so

Normally, someone like Lotto or Argus will control that stage, but it’s no so predicable. They’ll still try to control it, though.

long to come back.”

Stage two sees rising-star Diego

Ulissi takes the win with Andy

130th 9:10 down. The following day,

Cadel Evans drops the entire peloton

on the Corkscrew climb and Andy

rolls in 6:55 down in 110th place.

Andre Greipel takes stage four, the

first of his two TDU stage wins, with

the bunch split into two almost equal

sized groups on the Myponga climb

close to the Victor Harbor finish.

Andy is in the second group in

132nd place 13:55 down on Greipel.

Stage five sees the race climb the

famous Willunga Hill twice with

the finish at the summit on the

second pass. Richie Porte is a very

ABOVE: Fenn in the thick of the actionRIGHT: Weird cycling fans - you get them everywhere. Even in Oz

brit down underspin cycle magazine brit down under

convincing winner here with Andy

in 110th place 11:32 down on Porte.

The final 85km street race in

Adelaide, around a 4.5km circuit,

sees our first proper bunch sprint

with Andy in third place, just behind

his team mate Mark Renshaw –

possibly Mark Cavendish’s favoured

lead out man for the coming Tour de

France.

It’s a fantastic result. Overall our

man Andy is 116th 43:50 down on

one-second winner Simon Gerrans

from Cadel Evans. Jan Bakalandts

has come 16th overall, which the

team is happy with for the start of

the season.

Mr Slyke is happy; Andy is happy

and the team is happy.

At the finish, it’s time to play ‘Find

the Soigner’, while dodging the

media – but not us, we like to think

- race workers and various hangers-

on.

In true old-school Belgium-style,

Rik has the team riding back to the

hotel behind the team car. It’s time

for much-needed showers, massages,

making sure the race kit gets a good

wash and then there’s an evening

meal at 8pm.

“We all eat together or not at all,”

adds Andy. “If it’s been a good day,

then we might have a glass of red

wine. We maybe in bed by 10pm, but

often we are awake until midnight

catching up on daily life outside of

the bubble via the Internet.”

Fenn isn’t a massive contributor to

Twitter, but loves Instagram - more

looking than posting in his case.

Like most riders, Andy is somewhat

shy. He prefers to let his legs and his

results do the talking.

Once primed though, Andy gave me

a real insight into his world, which

by-and-large isn’t as far removed for

our own. He obviously loves his job

and is very good at it. If you want to

know how good he is, then check

out the final stage of the Tour Down

Under for yourself on YouTube.

Andy is right in there at the finale

with Greipel and Renshaw, taking


third place despite been given a really

rough ride by Lotto Belisol.

“I’m a bit of an all-rounder, maybe

more of a sprinter,” reveals Fenn. “I’m

not a climber that’s for sure. I’ve got

a fast finish and I think that I can do

different things in different types of

race.”

Once primed though, Andy gave me a real insight into his world, which by-and-large isn’t as far removed for our own. He obviously loves his job and is very good at it.

Andy’s mother is Scottish, so this

summer he’ll be riding for Scotland

at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

in Glasgow. One of his main goals for

this season, so I’m guessing that his

end-of-year review meeting with his

team bosses will have all the ticks in

all the right boxes.

ABOVE: Tactics time for Fenn and his team-mates

brit down under 153

6155

MEETING up

with Liverpool

Century’s Ian

Pugh at Billinge’s

Fir Tree Farm on

a grey and wet Saturday in January,

ranks high on my list of this year’s

top winter warmer cafe stops.

Tea, toast and banter are always

welcome diversions to the murky,

grey lanes of mid-winter, but Ian’s

recollections of his summer’s solo

ride from Calais to Rome made

this particular respite the perfect

antidote to the season’s monochrome

landscape.

We had last chatted on a glorious

late August morning, as Ian made

final preparations for his three week,

fund-raising ride in aid of Macmillan

Cancer Support. Destination

Rome - his plan was to take in 24

long way to romespin cycle magazine

ABOVE & RIGHT: Ian’s route through Europe to Rome and all the snaps he took along the way

long way to rome

European cities and towns, cross

seven countries, traverse the Alps

from Switzerland to Italy via the 48

hairpins of the Stelvio Pass, and,

maintaining an average rate of 100

miles per day, wheel up the historic

Via del Corso to the centre of the

Italian capital inside three-weeks.

In the process, he was out to

honour more than £2,000 in pledged

sponsorships, organised with the

help of his work-place colleague,

Alice Cavanagh at Premier Foods,

Moreton, where Ian works as a fitter.

And, in the gloom of a wet Lancashire

Saturday, he was happy to reminisce

about the high and low points of his

successful 1500 mile trip.

Starting with the lows, I asked Ian

if there were any moments on the

road when he seriously doubted the

wisdom of his project.

“Only once,” he replied without

hesitation. “They say that the third

day on a trip like this is always the

hardest. The first day, you are fresh,

and on the second you are still full

of adrenalin.

“But, by the third, that has worn

off and you come mentally to grips

with the size of the task ahead. I was

heading from Liege to Luxembourg

City and started off with a 20 per

cent climb in the Ardennes.

“The road was busy with lorries and

the rain was so bad that there was

very low visibility - about 50 metres.

The bike felt very heavy and I just

stopped at a bus stop, knackered and

wet through - I still had 90 miles to

do

“But I kept going, and, when I

arrived at Luxembourg city, which is

a wonderful place, I felt that although

the day had been hard, it had been a

157

really good, solid, character building

one for the rest of the ride.”

The next early difficulty, he

remembers, was a problem of

tendonitis. Riding through the Black

Forest Hills in Germany, it became

so bad that, at times, reaching Rome

looked unlikely.

But friend and An-Post Chain

Reaction rider, Mark McNally, and

fellow Century member, Andy Mills,

helped him out with instructions and

diagrams of stretches on Facebook.

“I managed to get over it, but without

their help, I don’t think that I could

have got through.”

For Ian, though, the high points of

the trip more than outweighed its

challenges. Amongst them was his

encounter with a colder and wetter

than expected Stelvio Pass.

“By the time I reached the Stelvio, I

was nine-days into the trip and was

feeling fairly fit. Climbing was tough,

but I was going well. I overtook 10

cyclists as I made my way up in low

visibility and heavy mist.

“When I made it to the top, though,

in 2 hours 40 minutes, I was high

above the clouds. Looking down

to the clouds way below me, and

knowing that I had ridden all the

way from the English Channel, was

a wonderful feeling

“Though on the descent - as I had

deliberately kept my kit light - I was

probably as cold as I’ve ever been. I

even had to stop under the cover of

a mountain tunnel to do press-ups to

try to get warm.”

But Ian gained some of his greatest

satisfactions from being a member

long way to romespin cycle magazine

of the international cycling

community.

“On my last day, heading into

Rome, I was overtaken by an Italian

rider who was happy to let me draft

behind him until the top of a climb.

It was a long haul and so we worked

together. He couldn’t speak English,

and I was no better at Italian, but we

did manage to communicate.

“He was fascinated with my trip

and persuaded me to take a detour

with him. I didn’t fancy going far off

my planned route, but he insisted

that it would be worth it. I was

overwhelmed when we pulled up at

his house, where I was treated like

one of his family.

“Before I left, he insisted on cleaning

and oiling my bike for its final ride

to Rome. Another time, I punctured

outside a house and before I had the

tyre off, a cyclist who lived there,

came out with a track pump. He

even followed me down the road

with a spare tube. That’s cycling for

you - we can’t speak each other’s

language, but people will help each

other, like a big family.”

And on reaching Rome itself - how

did he feel?

“Well I was glad to do it, but, to be

honest, I was gutted really that it

had all come to an end. I had loved

it so much I could have gone on for

another three-weeks, except that I

had to get back to work.”

When he did get back to work, he

was in for quite a surprise. “People at

work were fantastic. They had made

a wall chart of my progress following

my route and using the pictures that

I had sent through Facebook. Most

important of all, when I set off, my

target for fund raising was £2,000,

but we more than doubled that, with

over £4,000 raised.”

So, would he do it again? Well, of

course, that’s what his mid-January

training was for. “I have signed up to

do the Rapha Cent Cols Challenge in

June. I’m doing it with my dad. It’s

a kind of dad and lad trip. It’s a 100

climbs spread over 10 days, riding

from Nice to Annecy and back to

Nice again. It will be really tough,

but I’m looking forward to it.”

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USE INCASE OFA FLAT...



OPEN & READ WHILE

WAITING FORYOUR LIFTBUY THE LIMITED EDITION ‘01’ ANNUAL

SPINCYCLEMAG.COM

7165

KILLER HILLSSPIN CYCLE MAGAZINE PRESENTS

Distance: 3.9 kmAverage grade: 6%

Maximum grade: At least 24.8% Height: 356 m

Feet gained: 290 m

Nº.07

BWLCHPENBARRAS

KILLER HILLS

AFTER a few Killer

Hills in Lancashire,

we were thinking it

was high time that

we left our comfort

zone and tackled a genuinely nasty

climb.

When I say ‘we’, I mean that the

editor suddenly had all sorts of

pressing engagements on the chosen

weekend in December (something

about a tree... or hiding behind one)

and it was left to muggins to go find

something silly to climb.

I wasn’t totally daft. I had the bright

idea of riding the two chosen climbs

in private and then photographing

better climbers on them. When the

going gets tough, the tough call in

women.

Heather Bamforth and Joanne

Blakeley, who was ninth in last

year’s National Hill Climb, were as

fit as fleas and eager to star in Killer

Hill, so we agreed to meet in Ruthin

and climb a couple of legendary

routes.

The A494 between Ruthin and

Mold features a hill. It’s a great big

hill, part of the Clwydian range with

the whole of Welsh creation - mainly

green fields, sheep and craft shops -

laid out below, as you descend into

Ruthin.

There’s even a genuine continental

style hairpin - just the one mind -

near the bottom, nestling amongst

bungalows named, in that weird

Welsh way, after places like ‘Tahiti’

and ‘Tahoma’.

Meanwhile, the A494 climb is

busy with Bennies in skirted Clio’s

When I say ‘we’, I mean that the editor suddenly had all sorts of pressing engagements and it was left to muggins to go find something silly to climb.

and fair few cyclists twiddling

their way up the two mile hill - the

latter dreaming, no doubt, of longer,

warmer and Bennie free cols on the

continent.

Why did I mention the hairpin

earlier? Well, it features a side road

to a climb that is one of the top

five worst climbs in the UK. Let’s

be honest, there’s an awful lot of

exaggeration amongst cyclists about

the difficulty of climbs.

We hold up our hands, too. We’ve

been guilty in the past of using

too much doom-laden prose and

dramatic guff or exaggerating the

RIGHT: Heather Bamforth put herself and her friend, Joanne Blakeley, in the firing line for this edition’s Killer Hill

killer hillsspin cycle magazine killer hills

ABOVE: Heather tackles the first section of the dreaded Bwlch Penbrras, but the worse is still yet to come with a whopping max gradient of 24.8 per cent

killer hillsspin cycle magazine killer hills 171

Post race warm down. Ian Stannard bleeds from road rash picked up on course The sun was out, I had the wind at my

back and I was riding my winter bike equipped with a 34:29 ratio group set. I was also sporting my Rapha Pro Team jacket and oversocks. I felt that I looked - to quote the vernacular - ‘the business’.

unpleasant experience of having to

use bottom gear for more than three

minutes into a epic struggle between

ego and idiocy. Not this time. All I

can do on this occasion is to write

down - in clear and unemotional

terms - what happened. Think of it

as having all the poetic licence of

a Police constable consulting his

notebook on the witness stand.

After a restless night’s sleep, at

approximately 8.30am on December

12, 2013, I approached the suspect

climb from a westerly direction.

I did realise that the two mile ride

from Ruthin town centre wasn’t

a thorough warm up. However,

M’Lud, the sun was out, I had the

wind at my back and I was riding my

winter bike equipped with a 34:29

ratio group set.

I was also sporting my Rapha Pro

Team jacket and oversocks. I felt that

I looked - to quote the vernacular -

‘the business’.

I was also working on the assumption

that Simon Warren, author of 100

Greatest Cycle Climbs, was just

joking when he sent me a tweet

consisting mostly of exclamation

marks when I told him we were

going to take a look at Penbarras.

Aren’t all hill climb descriptions 60

per cent accurate information and

40 per cent dramatic varnish? How

bad good this climb really be?

Turning off the single hairpin on

the main road, the route winds past

a few houses and a couple of farms.

Then it breaks out onto open hillside

and winds it’s way up to meet Offa’s

Dyke at the neck of the pass and a

Forestry Commission Carpark.

According to the statistics, the road

gains 853-feet in altitude in just

under a mile-and-a-half. Not good,

but it gets worse. Most of this gain is

front loaded.

What started out as a little bimble

along a leafy lane for a couple of

hundred yards, soon kicked up into

a narrow lane with barely a gear to

spare and dragged ever upwards,

sapping my legs as I went.

This lane was costing me dear

already and I was in constant fear

of meeting a car coming down that

would force me to slow down so

much I’d have to stop.

Around a right hander, there

appeared a cattle grid ahead with

a fork in the road just after it. The

right hand fork dropped off and I

thought: “That must be the descent

back to the A494 - I’ve done it.”

Unfortunately for me, the end was

not in sight. The road further ahead

was just preposterous - a 200-yard

steep ramp with an even steeper left

hander and then more steepness.

Crossing the cattle grid, I realised

the right-hand fork leads to what

must be known as ‘Chortle Farm’

and the road ahead is, literally, going

to take me - very brutally - to a whole

new level of climbing. I’m not sure

what the gradient was at this point.

It’s said to be ‘approaching 25 per

cent’. If so, it’s approaching 25 from

the wrong side.

After barely two minutes on this

climb, I had no gears left, no chance

killer hillsspin cycle magazine

of sitting down without the front

wheel lifting off and I was not going

to make the hairpin in front of me –

let alone get around it to the top of

the climb.

Let me be clear here - it is not a

hairpin. A hairpin bends back on

itself with a wide outer edge you

can choose to take as an easy option.

I’m sorry, but this corner is a simple

90-degrees.

At this point, I could feel both

heart and lungs reaching for the

big red ‘bail out’ button. Also, I

had a newspaper headline flashing

through my brain saying something

along the lines of ‘MAMIL found

dead on Welsh Hillside still clipped

onto his bike’.

I stopped. There you have it, I did

the one thing that no cyclists likes

to admit. Trust me, if you climb this

monster and weight more than eight

stone wringing wet, then you’ll stop

too.

After managing to unclip on the

gate entrance right on the corner,

my pulse hammered away at shuttle

launch velocity and that’s when the

good old self justification process

ABOVE: Joanne Blakeley, who was ninth in last year’s hill climb champs, makes it look easy climbing Bwlch Penbarras

killer hills 175

killer hillsspin cycle magazine

kicked in. Of course, I’d had to stop

– obviously in order to take a snap

for the Twitter feed, to examine

the road surface and was that an

important text that had pinged in my

back pocket?

Staring off across the morning mist

with the occasional bleat from sheep

and a buzzard wheeling over head,

I thought, as I have often thought

before, ‘Why am I doing this again?’

Would Simon Warren really notice if

we just plagiarised his hard work?’

Heart-rate managed, the gate

entrance gave me just enough launch

distance to push on up in bottom gear

- from 90rpm to 30rpm in just two

metres - and, as the road dropped off

to a lame 17 per cent, then a frankly

pathetic 15 per cent and finally flat,

stage two of denial kicked in.

I marshalled all the extras excuses

that winter weight and lack of fitness

demand - winter bike, gear slippage,

wrong time of year, blah-blah-blah.

To be honest, I may have to add

‘wrong time of life’ to that.

To be fair, I reckon the bottom

section of the Bwlch Penbarras

would be difficult for Chris Froome

to race up on my winter bike after

just a two mile warm up. Ever see

Team Sky training on Penbarras? No.

There is a good reason for that.

Thankfully, the remainder of the

climb up the valley to the top was fine.

There was a patch of steepness at the

crest, but it was nothing compared to

what I’d just experienced down the

road and around the corner.

The next day, I managed to get the

car up the climb. Near the summit,

I waited to see how Jo and Heather

managed the climb.

Now, here is the thing....Jo, she

won’t mind me saying this, makes

quite a loud panting noise as she

climbs. She’s not in trouble - it’s just

her style. I could hear her steady

rhythmic breathing long before I saw

her. Both girls were definitely being

tenderised by the pre-climb ‘climb’

up the leafy lane to the cattle grid.

Ah yes, both of them seemed to falter

slightly over the cattle grid when

they saw me up ahead. Damn them

though - both were definitely making

more speed than I had.

Joanne made it first time around the

corner, but Heather wasn’t so lucky.

A car was making its way down. I

made the mistake of suggesting she

stopped - so that I didn’t get the car

in the frame as well.

Heather suggested ‘quite loudly’

that stopping was not an option. I

have to say that, for a lady, Heather

seems to know an awful lot of swear

words and I was impressed that she

had enough breath to deliver them

all as she passed.

LEFT: Side-by-side Ruth and Joanne make it up the top of Bwlch Penbarras

killer hills

Bwlch Penbarras would be difficult for Chris Froome to race up on my winter bike after just a two mile warm up. Ever see Team Sky training on Penbarras? No. There is a good reason for that.

177

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