Condor: Past Present Future

It’s not often I get the chance to attend a glitzy book launch. In fact, I never get the chance to attend a glitzy book launch. So it was with shameless enthusiasm that I leapt at the chance to loiter around at Condor Cycles as they unveiled their new book ‘Past Present Future’.

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London Smithfield Nocturne. Photo by Ben Ingham/Rapha

…a good selection of pubs on the course has helped make the London Nocturne a popular cycling spectacle. Taking over Smithfield Market for the evening, the main attraction sees the likes of Cameron Myer (Garmin Cervelo) and Russell Downing (Sky) challenge the cream of our domestic talent. Local racers get their opportunity to race the technical circuit cheered/heckled on by enthusiastic crowds in the women’s and support races. Motorpoint and Horizon Fitness look like the teams to watch in the women’s event, while young talents Germain Burton and Tao Geogan Hart look good bets in the 2nd cat support race – although the London Dynamos have strength in numbers and will be looking to gang up on the young lads and spoil their evening…

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…last summer I had a great week riding in southern France with Tarik Djeddour as part of a test run for his new Étape Reine Cycling training camps. Part of the week was taking on the Cinglés du Mont Ventoux challenge, and you can read my account of that hot day in the saddle here. Tarik is now ready to take bookings for the coming year, running a programme of camps that will appeal to both sportivists and racers alike, giving you a chance to take on Ventoux and ride the route of the The Tour du Mont Aigoual (the race featured in Tim Krabbé’s ‘The Rider’). Check out his new website, or visit his stand at the TCR Show which runs from this Friday 11th until Sunday 13th February…

…it appears all the speculation was right – the Olympic 2012 road race route will pass through Surrey and wind its way up the iconic Col de Box Hill. Not much of a challenge for these finely honed Olympic athletes, admittedly. Even Cav should get up it without too much problem. Aside from the novelty and convenience for local cyclists to have the race passing their doorstep, it might also mean some of the roads used will get a much needed makeover. The challenge of ascending Box Hill is currently more about the road surface than it is the gradient. Let’s hope they do something about the quality of the cakes too. You can see the full route here…

…the UCI has announced a new series of races for amateur riders. The UCI World Cycling Tour will consist of fifteen events that will offer the chance to qualify for the UWCT final. So in future if you see someone lapping Richmond Park in a World Champion’s jersey think, before you start tutting, that they may actually have earned those stripes…

…the excellent blog The Inner Ring has moved home, had a bit of a tidy up, and is now at a new address – www.inrng.com. The blog has gone from strength to strength over the past year,  quickly establishing itself as the best source for pro cycling news, insight and analysis out there – mainstream press included. So update your bookmarks!…

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Photograph Sarah Reed, Adelaide Advertiser

…January really doesn’t seem to be a good month to start the year with (it’s mid-winter, cold, dark and there’s not much pro racing to follow) and if to reinforce the point, cyclists seem to be baring the brunt of it. A couple of weeks ago the whole of London seemed to be caught out by an unexpected overnight frost which saw many aborted club runs, though obviously not before many had slipped and crashed on the icy ungritted roads. Many have had to put up with dozy drivers, still seemingly in the midst of their winter hibernation. I’ve come a cropper on one of the many new and gaping potholes that have sprung up all over the place. And the first race of the year the Tour Down Under has also seen its fair share of crashes, with Mark Cavendish (above) being one of the race’s losers so far. But on a sader note, this week has seen the deaths of two young riders: Carla Swart had recently signed with HTC, and Lewis Balyckyi was a member of the British Cycling Talent Team. Both were killed whilst out training on the roads. So be careful out there everyone…

…as mentioned earlier this week, the London Women’s Cycle Racing League has announced its 2011 race calendar. It’s a great initiative that supports women’s racing around London and the south east. They’ll be organising a series of informal rides for any women who are interested in racing and would like to give it a try. Contact the league for more info…

…it almost pains me to include this, but Rapha are holding another of their infamous sample sales next week (28-30th January) in London’s Spitalfields. I’ve picked up some great bargains in the past, so I’m hoping you all do the recent thing and wait for me to visit before going ahead and snapping up all the decent gear. More info here…

…in case you missed it, the Real Peloton podcasts are back again after an intermittent winter of broadcasting. Matt Rendell and Ned Boulting are still communicating via unreliable technology (Matt is currently in Columbia, the country he made his second home after writing about its national cycling heroes in his book Kings of the Mountains) which makes for some frustrating listening as telephone lines are dropped and wires become crossed. Hopefully normal service will resume shortly…

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…the moustache is not an accoutrement common in the modern day peloton. In fact, it was last seen winning a race whilst adorning Kevin Costner’s upper lip in the (seminal, defining, pioneering, pinnacle of artistic expression!) cycling film, American Flyers. However, during Movember, the cycling world is doing its bit to raise awareness of the men’s health charity. Dan Craven is just one pro taking on the challenge of growing a ‘tache for the good cause, and the organisers of the annual gentlemanly Tweed Run are offering the chance to bid on some rather bling 24ct Moustache handlebars.  The auction is being run in conjunction with Going Going Bike, and the bars are on display to view at our favourite London cafe Look Mum No Hands…

…speaking of American Flyers, the very pleasant blog Domestique satisfies those longings for naff retro cycling Americana with its regular Flyer Fridays instalments. Their collection of iPhone and desktop wallpapers are worth checking out too…

…despite its gritty realism and faithful recreation of professional cycle racing, Costner and co are still not able to get you into the thick of the action in the same way a remote control helicopter can. This footage of the (pretty obscure) Amstel Curacao race was shot using a drone-like chopper by Aerialtake, and possibly hints towards new ways of shooting the big pro races, getting us closer to the action than even motorbikes currently can. The big question would be how these little aircraft cope when buffeted by winds such as those experienced during this year’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne…

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…veteran cycling photographer Graham Watson managed to land himself in a bit of hot water this week when he was caught out describing images of Greg Lemond on his website with the tag ‘fool’. Meanwhile a new generation of photographers are quickly making a name for themselves. I’ve mentioned Tim Kölln on this blog before, and his forthcoming book The Peloton is now available to pre-order. A collection of intimate portraits of the peloton captured over the past five years, each shot catches the riders immediately post race, and are accompanied by interviews that delve into the life of a professional cyclist…

…Sunday sees the 2010 National Hill Climb Championships take place on Dover’s Hill in Gloucestershire, with last year’s winner Dan Fleeman favourite for the title. He’ll have stiff competition however from Robert Gough who beat Fleeman earlier in the month at the Catford event, and from previous National Champion James Dobbin. Also riding are Kingston Wheeler clubmates Steve Irwin, John Storms and Maryka Semmena. Maryka, who was fastest woman on both the Catford and Bec this year should be one of the favourites, so good luck to her and to everyone else taking part…

…if riding in London sometimes feels like an infuriating mix of wanton masochism and aggressive self righteousness, then Matt Seaton’s description of riding in New York will make you feel happy for the tenuous grip our city still has on traffic regulations…

…it’s getting to that time of year again when that contraption of pain, the turbo trainer, is dusted off and long hard training sessions of cycling nowhere begins. I’ve mentioned them before, but the Sufferfest videos really are the best way to stay motivated to do these workouts, with a good mix of interval workouts set to pro race footage and up-tempo music. Their latest release, The Hunted, is set for release early November, and in the meantime you can watch the trailer here…

…the latest ill-informed car manufacturer/bicycle collaboration comes from Maserati and Montane. As with any ‘statement’ bicycle it has the obligatory impractical gimmicks and stylings – curved tubing, impossibly aggressive saddle-handle bar drop – not least the single front disc brake. As ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I can certainly think of better ways of spending 3,000 Euros…