Mr Cycling World » Pro Cycling

Paris Roubaix. Queen of the Classics, Hell of the North

mrcyclingworld — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:24:03 +0000

Tonight (Australian-time) is the night of the legendary one day race, Paris-Roubaix. Keeping pace with the best on Paris-Roubaix is not within the reach of just any old rider. The Hell of the North is a race for specialists. It is only tamed by the hard, painless, powerful and skillful, who have pinpointed the event as one of their objectives for the season.

Of course, it wont be a day out for everyone…

Look Out For…

Of course any one of the 27 pave (cobblestoned) sectors of the race are great. The race’s official website has a full preview of each. One of the most famous is the 2.4km long Trouée d’Arenberg at about “only” 100km to go. Coincidentally, the live race coverage tends to start at about then. Typically one of the top 20 riders to come out of that section will be the winner.

Each section has a rating out of 5 for difficulty. Arenberg you ask? Why that’s naturally!

And if you’ve ever had the “pleasure” of riding over a section of pave, you know how hard it can be. And if you haven’t… well you’re missing out!

The race is so high intense even when watching it on TV you feel like there’s no time to get yourself top-up of frites (French-fries) and Westmalle (Belgian beer). Little wonder it’s so popular!

Predictions anyone?

You just need to check out Twitter to see that everyone has their own ideas. Of course Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen remain the outright favourites, but if you like to pick a roughie why not Johan van Summeren. The boy’s got talent, a history of top ten’s and of course he is Belgian – based on history being Belgian is a very important factor in winning this race!

This year the lanky 6ft 5in rider is kitted out by Garmin-Transitions… Keep your eyes and ears open for him.

2010 Paris-Roubaix Preview Video

And in case you can’t wait, here’s a preview of the race to get your blood pumping…

The race will be covered live in Australia from 10pm AEST on SBS. Also check out Steephill.tv for some great live coverage – or at least links to those who do! Enjoy!

Hot Product! Cervelo Team Socks

mrcyclingworld — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:15:30 +0000

Black Cervelo Socks

Clearly one of the favourite teams of modern day professional cycling is Team Cervelo. In the fashion stakes this team has takes the cycling world by storm. No team has generated such a buzz in quite some time. What with their fancy black kit, and turning up to the Tour de France in an impressive all-white kit.

Which brings me to this post. Have you got your Cervelo socks yet? Available in black, white & white/red options, these are another high quality accessory perfect for any Cervelo followers out there.

Cervelo White & Red Socks

You’ll have to excuse our photos – these look a lot better in real life.

Cervelo White & Black Socks

Made in Italy, another fashion accessory to show off to your mates!

What Does it Take to Field a Pro Cycling Team?

mrcyclingworld — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:43:02 +0000

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the world of professional cycling? This is the time of year all the new kits are released, all the fancy gear is finalised as the teams get ready for the first race of the season, the Tour Down Under in Adelaide.

A small selection of kit is organised for the first race of the season in Australia

But well before now things need to be accounted for. Each team water bottle that is thrown in the final kilometres into the crowd to make a souvenir for someone has to be ordered well in advance. But how many does a team go through each year? Well here’s some stats of the 28 strong Garmin-Transitions team, with thanks to a recent article on Velonews…

Hungry anyone? A team of professional cyclists requires enough calories to send a rich man broke!

The team will chew their way through 700 Vittoria tubular tyres in a year (yes that’s about 2 a day!)
100 bikes by Felt
200 Mavic wheels
30000 Clif bars & energy gels
315kg of energy drink powder ( basic maths = approx 1kg per day!)
200 tubes of chamois cream
2500 musettes
22,000 Camelbak Podium water bottles (yep, 785 per rider)

A collection of water bottles, ready for a new season

No wonder the riders throw their bidon out towards the end of each stage of the Tour de France. There’s plenty more where that came from!

As for kit, each rider receives their kit from Pearl Izumi; 12 pair of bib knicks and 6/7 jerseys for the start of the racing season. More kit follows as the team races more and more throughout the season. And don’t forget the winter jackets, tights, gloves, caps, overshoes, helmets, shoes, etc etc.

Logistical nightmare? You bet! Every young cyclists’ dream to be looked after like this? Absolutely!