Paris-Roubaix takes place on the 7th of April this year and it is the grand climax of the cobbled classics. This will be the final and ultimate one, the third monument of the season features 55 kilometers of cobbled roads and every single year it is a highlight of the season.In this article you can...

For nearly 20 years, Sam Allison of Singular Cycles in the UK has been designing forward-thinking bicycles built for adventure. We sent photographer Tom Powell to Sam's cozy workshop just outside of London to learn more about his trendsetting steel and titanium frames and the inspiration behind them. Find a short video portrait and a look inside Singular Cycles here... The post Inside Singular Cycles: A Story of Elegance and Innovation appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

World champion plays down significance of adding further Monument victories in 2024

With strong results already in the cobbled Classics this season Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale will be looking to continue their run of impressive performances at Paris-Roubaix this weekend.They are set to be led by Oliver Naesen and Dries De Bondt in the Hell of the North on Sunday, with the experience...

Hard Miles is a 2024 film about the true story of a group of juvenile delinquents who are coached into a peloton by Greg Townsend (Matthew Modine) and make the journey by bike from Denver to the Grand Canyon.

Cyclist Where Paris-Roubaix 2024 will be decided, part 4: Roubaix Velodrome The Champs-Elysées, Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux… all iconic places, although often for their associations with the Tour de France. There are few events outside of the Tour that can compete, but the venue that hosts the finale of Paris-Roubaix – the men’s race first run in 1896, making it seven years older than the Tour – certainly comes close. Roubaix’s velodrome is also known as the Vélodrome André Pétrieux and apparently got its name from a local Roubaix father and son, who shared the same name and were ambassadors for sport in the area. Outside of that one special weekend in April, it is a somewhat desolate-looking place: the empty grandstands, the faded painted lines, the old shower block. Kevin Faingnaert But once the tell-tale chop-chop-chop of the approaching helicopter blades signifies the imminent arrival of the leading riders, the packed-out velodrome suddenly rumbles and bubbles into life. All at once, the images everyone has been watching on the velodrome’s big TV screen is now something visible with their own eyes: cyclists riding straight onto the hallowed track surface. The track has hosted the denouement of every men’s Paris-Roubaix since 1943, save for the three editions between 1986 and 1988 when it was being resurfaced, and has been the finale setting of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes since its inaugural edition in 2021. Of course, while the pavé sectors are the stars (literally, ranked) of the Roubaix show, the velodrome has the honour of always being the site of the victory. Related Posts The edge of glory: Does history predict a win for Mathieu van der Poel at Paris-Roubaix 2024? How to watch Paris-Roubaix 2024 Where Paris-Roubaix 2024 will be decided, part 2: Mons-en-Pévèle Where Paris-Roubaix 2024 will be decided, part 3: Carrefour de l’Arbre Where Paris-Roubaix 2024 will be decided, part 1: The Arenberg Forest Paris-Roubaix 2024: Routes, start lists, history and all you need to know Paris-Roubaix: Agony or ecstasy ASO/Pauline Ballet Whether solo or fought out between small groups, the finish protocol is always the same after the leaders emerge onto the track: one-and-a-half laps of euphoric or agonising track racing after 260km on the very worst roads northern France can muster. The closest finish came in 1990 when Canada’s Steve Bauer and Belgian Eddy Planckaert were eventually separated by a single centimetre – in Planckaert’s favour. ‘The velodrome is a really special place for me, because the first time I finished there was the time I finished second in 1994,’ says UAE Team Emirates sports director Fabio Baldato, who used to race for Italian team MG Maglificio. ‘That was amazing – unbelievable – because there had been mud and cold and snow for the first 100km, and then rain. It was a really epic race. I finished Roubaix more than 10 times, but my favourite memory is when in 2008, aged nearly 40, I finished 10th. ‘I was thrilled to still be there at the end with the best riders. After I had a bad crash in the Arenberg Forest in 1998, there was a period when I hated the race and didn’t want to do it. It took another three or four years before I got my confidence back, which did return, and finishing Roubaix at the velodrome has given me some wonderful memories.’ The race isn’t over in the velodrome, with the 2021 men’s race being a prime showing of this. A three-rider sprint saw Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) take the biggest win of his career in an all-time epic edition after beating Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Soudal) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix). In the 2023 women’s race the breakaway held on into the velodrome and contested the sprint, with EF’s Alison Jackson coming out on top and dancing her way to the podium. Read our full Paris-Roubaix guide for course details, start lists and more The post Where Paris-Roubaix 2024 will be decided, part 4: Roubaix Velodrome appeared first on Cyclist.

Thursday's stage of the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country was rocked by a massive crash. First reports suggested youngster, Markel Beloki had been caught up in the incident although that wasn't the case.This news was fully confirmed by Beloki's father, former star of the peloton in his own right, Joseba B...

The scenes of riders laying strewn across the floor following the mass crash on stage 4 of the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country are images that will live long in the memory of all who witnessed them. Belgian cycling expert, Michel Wuyts was one of those watching on and was horrified by what he saw. "You...

With the ROAD2 pedals, Austrian brand Magped promise to offer the first viable alternative to clipless road bike pedals, relying on powerful magnets to replace the standard clipless mechanism. The ROAD2 has remained true to Magped’s basic design, looking like a refined version of the ROAD. We put them to the test to find out how they perform on the road. Mapped ROAD2 | Weight: 215 g | Price: € 189 | Tester: Christoph | Duration: 4 weeks | Intended use: road cycling, indoor training, clipless pedal newbies | Website Cycling, and especially road cycling, is a very tradition-conscious sport. We want products that have stood the test of time, knowing we can rely on them for thousands of kilometres. Especially with components as important as the pedals, you might ask why you should switch from proven clipless or flat pedals to a magnetic alternative. So what advantages do the Magped pedals offer, and are there any disadvantages? We put the Austrian brand’s ROAD2 pedals to the test in THE LAB to find out. The ROAD2 come with everything you need to get started. In addition to the pedals, Magped include the corresponding steel plates for the shoes and various spacers to adjust the freedom of movement of your feet, or simply float. Excellent! That way the pedals can be adjusted to suit your preferences. In contrast, you’ll have to buy different cleats to adjust the float on SPD SL pedals from Shimano, for example. The ROAD2 pedals themselves are pleasantly light thanks to a carbon body and titanium spindle. Our pair tipped the scales at 215 g, just 1g heavier than Magped’s claimed weight of 214 g. Besides being light, the choice of materials should provide optimal stiffness. The carbon and titanium materials serve several functions in this case: they make the pedals stiff and durable, and they compensate for the added weight of the magnets, steel plates, and screws. The complete system weight of the ROAD2 including the cleats and screws is 325 g, making them just a little heavier than the similarly priced Shimano DURA-ACE pedals, which come in at 306 g in total. Exquisite materialsCarbon and titanium minimise the pedals’ weight. The cleat consists of two parts, a steel plate and a plastic bracket. The steel plate attaches to the shoe via the standard three bolt pattern found on clipless road bike shoes. The plates are shaped to fit the soles of most road bike shoes, which they did in our case, more or less. Another four screws are used to attach the plastic bracket to the steel plate. The plastic bracket serves two purposes: the cutout aligns the magnet, ensuring that your feet always remain in the same place, and a tab at the front allows you to limit the float. Therefore, attaching the cleats to the shoes is somewhat more complex than with conventional clipless pedals. However, since the cleats showed minimal wear during our long-term review, you’ll very rarely have to do anything with them once they’re properly adjusted. Form fittingThe steel plate is shaped to fit the contours of most shoes. Easy going The cleat protrudes about 10 mm from the sole of the shoe at the highest point, so it’s about as tall as a Shimano SPD SL cleat. Because the plastic bracket follows the contour of the steel plate and thus the sole of the shoe, this results in a more pleasant feeling when walking compared to other road bike cleats. So you’ll look a lot better than your friends waddling behind you on SPD SL cleats when making a stop at a cafe. We would have preferred the plastic plates to have a little more grip, but that would probably come at the cost of durability. Just walk it offSince the plastic bracket follows the contour of the steel plate and thus the sole of the shoe, it makes walking comparatively comfortable. Before hitting the road, you must adjust the height of the magnet on the pedals. This allows for a secure footing on the pedals and maximises the magnetic force of the magnets. Adjusting the magnet height is relatively quick with the help of two screws. Unfortunately, the force needed to unclick is not adjustable, though unclicking works really well. If you find that the pre-fitted spacers provide too much or too little float, you can swap them with one of the supplied alternatives. You get a total of three sets of spacers of different widths, and you can even make the float angle asymmetrical by combining two different spacers. With all that done, you’re ready to go! Too tight for a sheet of paperThe correct height setting is essential for maximising force of the magnet, and ensuring a secure footing. When it clicks! If you’re used to clipless pedals, you’ll find clicking into the ROAD2 pedals very easy, which is confirmed with a solid click as the pedal engages with the shoe. The connection between your feet and the pedals is clearly perceptible and comparable to other clipless systems. You can rotate your feet quite easily on the pedals within the set float range. For those of you who are new to clipless pedals, the easy freedom of movement can be quite pleasant, though this is entirely up to personal preference, of course. First the steel plate (left), then the plastic plate (right) Coming undone To release your foot from the pedal, you must simply twist it away from the bike. Doing so requires little force and makes the panicked effort of getting a foot on the ground before you tip over a thing of the past. This removes the fear that beginners often associate with the use of clipless pedals, and prevents embarrassing situations and bruises. However, the easy release also has disadvantages. Due to the lack of a mechanical connection, you can unclick by pulling up too hard on the pedal. Magped claim that the pedals have a magnetic force of 310 N. That’s roughly equivalent to picking up 31 kg with your foot. We never came unclicked unintentionally while riding, but we didn’t want to provoke a loss of control over our bike either. However, we were able to release the shoe from the pedal by simply pulling up on the indoor trainer. Unfortunately, that means that we can’t recommend the ROAD2 pedals for racing, because they just pose too much of a risk of crashing when putting in a hard effort. Our conclusion on the Magped ROAD2 Thanks to high-quality materials and good workmanship, the Magped ROAD2 are quality pedals that will also appeal to ambitious riders thanks to their low weight. Thanks to the easy release process, allowing you to unclick your shoes by pulling in any direction, the ROAD2 is a good alternative for those who are new to clipless pedals and afraid they might fall over with conventional models. Topshigh-quality materialslightweightcompact cleatseasy unclickingFlopscan come loose when pulling up Der Beitrag THE LAB – Magped ROAD2 – The magnetic alternative to clipless pedals erschien zuerst auf GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine.