Cyclist Australia

Far out, what a race. It may have arrived a couple of months later than expected, but the 2020 Tour de France was more than worth the wait. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and his last-ditch victory over compatriot Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma)

We no longer have to make a choice between having the fastest bike or the lightest bike, says Specialized. We can now have both. ‘Our sponsored pros used to have to choose on race day whether to ride the aero race bike [Venge] or the lighter climber’

RRP $549.95, shimano.com.au Ridden to countless victories in the world’s highest-level bike races since entering the crowded shoe market, Shimano’s S-Phyre Road Competition racing shoe is for those who value performance over all else. Available in bl

RRP $89.95, lustyindustries.com Think Maxxis is purely a mountain bike brand? Think again. Its newest road tyre, the High Road SL, is used by Israel Start-Up Nation, Chris Froome’s team for 2021. According to Maxxis, the all-new High Road SL was crea

RRP $699.95, fizik.com Wow, it’s pricy, but it sure is pretty. The evolution of 3D digital printing has allowed Fizik to develop a new saddle without the constraints or limitations of traditional production methods and materials. The Adaptive saddle

$28 (approx.), campagnolo.com Here’s a cap every hardcore cycling fan needs in their collection. Made in Italy with silkscreen printing and available in four different colours including yellow, black, burgundy and blue, the Campagnolo cap has been wo

RRP $149.95, bontcycling.com Here’s something new from revered shoemaker, Bont. Delivering comfort, anatomical efficiency and improved usability, Bont’s new Motion is the perfect entry-level cycling shoe. The Australian company’s most accessible mode

$39, premax.co/au Premax began 12 years ago in the physio treatment rooms of the Australian Winter Olympic Team and Hawthorn Football Club. Founder Randall Cooper, a physio by trade, noticed that athletes were complaining that the massage oils and wa

Goodyear recently launched its expanded range of Ultra High-Performance and High-Performance road tyres and has offered up three sets to give away to three lucky Cyclist readers! See the bottom of this page for more information on what, and how, you

Plenty of fans and pundits are saying the 2020 Tour de France was the best and most exciting in living memory. Debutant Tadej Pogačar’s time trial on the penultimate day dethroned his Slovenian compatriot, Primož Roglič, in a performance that had to

KOEN DE KORT Age: 38 Nationality: Dutch Current team: Trek-Segafredo Biggest win: Paris-Roubaix Espoirs (under-23) 2004 Highest position at the Tour de France: 70th (2017) Cyclist: You’ve been a pro for 18 years, predominantly as a domestique for the

A season delayed but with few cancellations means there is a lot of bike racing from August to November. As always, there’s a large contingent of Australians taking on the world’s best on the men’s and women’s circuit. Australia was represented by on

In all the confusion and fear of the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis, one alarming revelation – at least from a cycling fan’s point of view – was that several WorldTour teams might not survive. ‘Pro cycling managers are worried that the coronav

As the third stage of the 1924 Tour de France was about to get under way, Albert Londres, who was covering the race for the French daily Le Petit Parisien, decided to drive ahead of the peloton. The riders were due to leave Cherbourg at 2am, bound fo

Are you taking on enough sodium during your rides? Probably not, according to a study published in the Journal Of The International Society Of Sports Nutrition. In the study, a group of 15 athletes were given either a ‘prescription hydration plan’ (P

Exercise is hard work. It’s E meant to be hard work. So unless you’re a professional cyclist it’s okay to allow yourself a treat every now and then. You just have to factor them into the bigger picture. Booze and fatty meals slow recovery, which isn’

If Keith Bontrager made this curry, he would probably declare, ‘Low in fat, high in flavour, inexpensive, vegan… pick four.’ And he’d be right, because this tikka-spiced cauliflower, broccoli and chickpea curry is less than 5g fat per serving and pac

What is it? This one is pretty simple to start with – it’s your average power output across a ride, expressed in watts. Why does it matter? Average power (AP) is not actually that useful in itself because it doesn’t take into account your body compos

Brazil is big. Today it is also cold. Really, really frost-on-grass-tips cold. Condensation on the bikes, which we left outside overnight, has turned to a coating of miniature stalagmites, crystallised by temperatures that have brought snow to parts

To download this route go to komoot.com/tour/173678770. This ride starts in the town of Lauro Müller in the south of Brazil. Head north out of town on the SC-390 and climb for the next 26km. Keep an eye out for the Bugio Da Serra at 16km, the last co

89 Length of ride in kilometres 13 Length of Big Concrete in kilometres 9.2 Average gradient of Big Concrete in per cent 17.1 Max gradient in per cent 8 Price in Aussie dollars of all-you-can-eat buffet post-ride 40,000 Square metres per person in Br

As race bikes go this is up there with the best, but for all the RaceVox’s mean aero-looks, the initial feel of the bike is one of ‘cruisiness’ – smooth and comfortable but not specifically punchy. As I discovered, however, putting the power down eli

We flew to Florianopolis (with stops in Santiago and São Paulo) followed by a three-hour drive to get to the Serra do Rio do Rastro. Travel in Brazil’s shoulder season – September to November – and not only will you find good weather and fewer people

The bicycle is a vehicle with two wheels of equal diameter. The front is steerable, the rear is driven through a system comprising pedals and a chain. So sayeth Article 1, Sub-section 3.007 of the Union Cycliste Internationale’s technical regulations

There’s a philosophical quandary attributed to 18th century thinker George Berkeley that asks, ‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’ Similarly, if a rider crosses a finish line that they don’t realise th

Watching the first WorldTour race since March, you’d be forgiven for thinking that all the masks were protection from the dust, and the lack of roadside fans a reflection on the fierce Italian heat. In reality, these idiosyncrasies of a unique 14th e

At 90kg I’m a long way from the ideal build for climbing, let alone so much in such a condensed manner, so thank heavens for this dream machine. The Factor O2 VAM is the quintessential climbing bike – its name even comes from the climber’s favourite

What Mill Hill Climb Where Brockweir, Gloucestershire, Wales Distance 1.08km Elevation 94m Average gradient 8.5% Max gradient 11.7%

Believe me, if the Transalpina was a climb in France you’d have heard of it. Pro riders would fight to be first over its summit, each of its numerous switchbacks would be named after a former winner, and every year thousands of amateur riders would f

Poenari Castle is the former residence of 15th century ruler Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula. The castle’s remains sit on a cliff above the Transfăgărășan Pass, about 75km to the east of the Transalpina, which is ano

To download this route, go to komoot.com/tour/173731337. For the full Transalpina challenge, you could aim to ride the entirety of the DN67C between Sebeş in the north and Novaci in the south, a distance of 135km. From Sebeş the climb is actually gen

Remember the days when bikes had skinny, rounded tubes and horizontal top tubes? The traditional frame shape of this 2019 SuperSix Evo already looks outdated in these days of razor-sharp aero bikes, yet the bike’s performance remains thoroughly up-to

Pre-COVID, Cyclist made its merry way to London with Qantas and then flew with Hungarian airline WizzAir from Luton to Bucharest Otopeni for £165 (approx. $300) return (although our luggage went on a separate ride to Skopje and Hannover – cheers for

NEXT ISSUEON SALE 10 DEC ■

The TCR is a piece of cycling history. In 1997 it was the first to adopt the concept of the ‘compact’ frame – the brainchild of British engineer Mike Burrows – with a sloped top tube that increased stiffness, improved aerodynamics and reduced weight.

1 Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc p118 The original TCR changed the way bikes were made as far back as 1997. The new model has impressive stats, but a lot to live up to on the road. 2 Cervélo Caledonia-5 p122 A fresh bike in Cervélo’s line-up designed f

Until about three years ago, Merida’s drop bar road bikes fell under three product lines: the Reacto (aero race), Scultura (lightweight race), and Ride (endurance). The brand then discontinued the Ride series bikes around the launch of the Silex grav

When Cervélo created a bike for racing the cobbled Spring Classics in 2011, little did it know it was designing the bike of the future. Garmin-Cervélo’s Johan Vansummeren rode to victory at Paris-Roubaix that year on board what Cervélo called the R3

Track cyclist Emily Kay recently tweeted, ‘Hot guy passed me on a climb today and can’t tell if my heart rate went up because I fancied him or because I started doing 400W to chase him.’ Which reminded me of a similar encounter of my own, recounted b