West Cork Bike Fest

The UCI Road World Championships 2015 are going to be held in Richmond next year. But USA Cycling and Richmond 2015 organizing committee have recently announced that a training camp will be held for around two days for the top cyclists of America so that the cyclists can get acquainted with the cycling routes of the championships and train together efficiently in Richmond.
The training camp is going to take place on the 22nd and 23rd of October, 2014 and top American female and male riders such as Ben King, Andrea Dvorak, Joe Dombrowski, Evelyn Stevens, Taylor Phinney etc. are going to participate in the training camp. All these riders are going to get the first opportunity to witness the courses of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.
During the two-day camp, strategy sessions and team meetings are going to be held in order to help the riders. Along with that, the riders will ride through certain portions of the road and time trial courses. Team USA’s cyclists will also be a part of the community outreach programs and visit other special places in Richmond.
Steve Johnson (CEO and President of USA Cycling) is of the opinion that the training camp will help the Team USA’s riders to get mentally prepared for the 2015 Worlds and also give them a chance to get close to the hearts of the Richmond residents in the best possible manner.
Richmond 2015’s Chief Operating Officer- Tim Miller said that they are excited to showcase the 2015 Worlds courses to USA’s cycling team and are also thrilled to introduce the Team USA to Central Virginia and Richmond.
The UCI Road World Championships 2015 are going to take place from the 19th to 27th of September, 2015 and around thousand cyclist representing about seventy-five countries are going to compete in the championships.

Top British female cycling ace Joanna Rowsell has reportedly joined up with Pearl Izumi Sports Tour International recently. Her present contact is with Wiggle Honda that would terminate this season.

Joanna has signed up a 2-year contract deal with Izumi.

The 25-year-old Brit rider has been one among the founding members of Wiggle Honda while the team was launched a couple of years back. She won the Brit national 2013 time trial in Wiggle colors.

Pearl Izumi is a recently formed group established this year only Dame Storey & her husband Barney. The team mainly competes in the UK races – yet travels across Europe for high profile UCI events as well. Rowsell is hopeful that her join up with the UK-based new team would help to prepare better for the Rio 2016 Olympic.

“I am really excited”, stated Joanna. “I’ve been with Honda for a couple of seasons, a great UCI squad- & whilst Pearl Izumi are not any UCI squad, they are still into some UCI championships. Thus, I hope that there would be good opportunities both here & abroad for me. I am thrilled about being part of a Britain-based squad & achieve support of UK races. Most important thing to me now is that we have Rio in just couple of years & it would be great to relish that backing.”

Joanna was convinced to get down from UCI-stature squad to some domestic team given empowerment of female cycling in UK throughout the last few years.

“The greatest thing to me is the massive progress of womenfolk in UK cycling over the past few years”, she added in. “In my younger days when I initiated racing, we had to move to Belgium for racing given the absence of proper races here. But it’s different now.”

The race organisers have both listed Froome and Cavendish for competing the Grand Tour final season at the tournament of Spain. Unfortunately both of them had bowed out of the Tour de France as Cavendish’s shoulder was dislocated when he was in Yorkshire, in the opening stage of the final straight.
Froome’s defence ended at the fifth stage while fracturing his hand and wrist. For Cavendish, it would be the first time he would appear at the tour of Spain. It will be Tour del’ Ain which will form an important part of the training. For the tour Cavendish is going to miss The Ride London classic tournament. The rest of the season will be approached by the coaches’ consideration.
He had the wish of participating in the Ride London cycle tournament but because of the same schedule clashing together it is becoming problematic for him. But it is yet not confirmed whether he would be riding for Vuelta but he can also switch the race with Tour of Britain. Froome is training in California. The line up of Vuelta is a strong one.
On 23rd August the race will begin. Both were in agony beforehand when they had the training session going on. In the list the name has been given in the preliminary of both the riders. The participation still hangs in the air. Contador will not be competing in the race. Cavendish on the other hand is still back with riding but his shoulder pain does not even heal up and he has problem in lifting up his own daughter. Lot of certainities and uncertainities of the players is felt so when the race begins then the actual turnout will be seen and witnessed before that the confirmation is yet to be approved.

Following the path of champions of Britain like Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins, have given the tournament of cycling a boost. In fact the means of cycling taken as a sport has also received acclaim form the Britons.

The obsession has become such that the new tribe MAMILS are shaving off their legs in order to maintain the resistance of wind. They are continuously working on their cycles, checking the GPS, the handbrakes and the latest handlebars. Cyclists appear to be nerds when it comes to playing with their toy and the latest toy being the cycle they are learning to maintain the art of keeping it intact. The developments in the cycle and its equipment are also up dated regularly by the cyclists.

The hobby sounds a bit expensive with the change of tools and the maintenance of it but then it is worth the effort as the joy that the MAMILS receive is indescribable. In this way the cyclists tend to maintain good networks too.
Cycling has become the new golfing where there is opportunity for business. Books have also been written on Tour de France. The culture of cycling varies from one nation to another and in fact it is different from France, Spain Italy and others which are typical traditional cyclist countries. The difference is that in these countries the sport emerges as more of working class rather than as a hobby which is felt in Britain.

Most people are against the word MAMIL. In fact for some the term is proving to be a mockery and an insult. Many cycle addicts are taking part in the Tour de France from Yorkshire. For many keeping a cycle is less expensive when compared to owning a mistress and also less dangerous.

The Anti- Doping agency of the USA is all set to reveal the list of the 37 redacted individuals included in the investigation of cyclist Lance Armstrong to an independent commission which is formed to look into the tarnished past of the sport.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart was the main man behind the investigation of Lance Armstrong and he was instrumental in convicting and punishing the cyclist accused of doping and cheating. Mr. Tygart revealed that the Cycling Independent Reform Commission has been holding talks with major officials over sharing the information from his inquiry and also in order to identify the riders and support staff that is linked to the doping scandals.

Brian Cookson was responsible for the setting up of the CIRC which was created after he removes Pat McQuaid as the president of the governing body UCI in September. The body was responsible for the inquiry and reporting of the dope related cases as it aimed at making the sport clean of the cheaters and mal practitioners. Tygart has always believed that doping is an imminent threat to the sport and the Lance Armstrong case has made it the talk of the town.

Lance Armstrong has the subject of a major controversy following his confession that he has used drugs for enhancing his performances. The former Tour De France winner has been under inquiry for quite some time and the report can be devastating for the cyclist as he faces life long ban, stripping of his medals and also monetary fines.

The CIRC is very strict about its doping regulations and Travis Tygart’s report will be very important as it contains 37 major names who can be convicted of mal practices.

Thus, suspense remains at the moment and the report can be a major talking point for the days to come.

Marcel Kittel, the back-to-back Tour of Dubai stage winner, has downplayed the disputes of his arch rivalry with top sprinters, especially Mark Cavendish.

Leading Brit cyclist Cavendish was hailed as the best sprinter of Tour France by renowned French daily L’Equipe two years back – after he came up as the 1st rider to win on the most prestigious cycling championship of the world for 4 years in a row.

However, it was Kittel who upstaged the Omega Pharma rider last year at the Tour France finale that denied the champion to stretch his record further. In 2014 Dubai Tour sprint stage last Thursday, Cavendish was waiting in the 4th position during the final 10 kilometers.

But a last burst from the Giant Shimano rider brought the winning glory to the German cyclist ahead of Peter Sagan. Kittel repeated similar trick next day as well during Nature Stage & this time Cavendish was simply nowhere around.

“I am fighting in my very own ways in the pursuit of my typical goals which I share with my team as well. Then we’ve to focus on who to beat down to accomplish those goals”, stated Kittel. “Here it’s Mark & I cannot deny that this very championship is significant since it renders a chance to ride against him. At 1.5k we rode up just next to Mark’s team & he was still posted there. I did not see what actually happened- I have not got eye on my back- but personally it is really satisfying when you are able to beat down a sprinter riding next to one another, when you are able to battle it out & you are able to see them. This gets very interesting for the crowd. It is battling for win which offers great deal of excitement & I love that.”

British Cycling has now come up with grading systems for sportives. With this new system, cyclists who enter sportives from the next year will have a method to judge their comparative degrees of difficulty. The base of the grading system, as announced by the Governing body of British Cycling, will be on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5.

The difficulty scale has been devised with the help of IMG Challenger World who were the organizers of the Marie Curie Etape Series. This difficulty scale will enable prospective participants to measure the scale of the challenge that they are going to take up. They will also be able to compare one event against the other, for all events.

This scale will not only be useful for prospective entrants, but also hold benefits for the organizers. It will help organizers while planning routes that are focussed on cyclists of different abilities. This will help in reflecting the fact that many sportives involve a longer and tougher course, and a shorter and easier one.

This scale will be implemented in all the events that will be held in the year 2014. British Cycling has also said that there will be icons on the event listings on the website that will denote the grading of the event.

The working of the scale involves the combination of distance and climb to produce the required grading (more information on the working would be available in the British Cycling website).

The organisation’s Cycle Sport Events Manager, Jonathan Day, said about the scale that, “We are delighted to get this system up and running for 2014”. Day also added that every participant of the sportives should also enjoy the experience and this will help riders to get a better understanding of the physical demands of the events they participate in.

Chris Froome, the current Tour de France looks all the more confident post his amazing victory in the world’s most prestigious cycling championship. After his Tour France win, the ace Brit rider is now aiming for World Championship Jersey. The 2013 World Championship is scheduled to be held in September in Florence.

The 2013 Tour France hero has already explored the Florence track and assured that the tough 272.5 kilometer road race track is pretty compatible with his own climbing caliber. Froome was a member of Great Britain group that helped another Brit rider Mark Cavendish to pull up a sprint victory in 2011, in Copenhagen. “It was certainly a big thing for Brit cycling for Mark to achieve the honorary World Championship jersey & it would my utmost honor to sport the very jersey myself”, stated the Sky ace.

While asked to speak about the elite Florence event, Froome looked ecstatic to be a part of the distinguished championship. In his own verse- “The Florence track looks really tough. The trail finishes with hard circuit- considering it’s 280 kilometer & more than 4 hundred kilometers of climbing. Hence it seems somewhat like gamble”. He further emphasized-“I feel either a true pure climber or punchier climber would be able to crack it. But that’s what makes the event all the more exciting. I would love to try hard for it.”

Froome has admitted that the upcoming World Championship is going to be a tough competition given its high profile roster packed by many talented climbers, other than himself.

Before participating in the World championships, the Brit rider will be seen competing in the soon to start USA Pro Challenge 2013, another most sought after cycling event.
He is also hopeful about duly defending his Tour de France title in the 2014 season.

Geraint Thomas is a name to reckon with in the international cycling circuits and his victories are legendary. He has survived many injuries and has yet come out the winner in the lot. When he was riding for the Tour de France, he fractured his pelvis and still finished the tour because of his fighting spirits.

This tour would become the most memorable one for a long time to come for him. Though he had a fracture in his pelvis right in the first stage of the race, he still managed to fight till the finish and stay with the team.

He says that the riding was a tough one because of the fracture, but the pain was worth the win and this made his day. The pain of the fractured pelvis carries him through the tour and his decision to stay in the race shows his fighting spirits.

With great fan following, he made it through in the race and did not let his team down. He remained stuck with his team and this ensured that he give his hundred percent to the team in its winning streak. He has to be a great bet for the future.

Winning the tour has been his dream and his broken pelvis never did come in the way of the win. His spirit to bounce back from the pain made him the winner without any question. He says that the pain of the fracture was washed out with the thrill of the victory.

From one challenge to the next, Geraint Thomas has been taking them up and winning them. As this is a team work, it does ensure that the contribution of each player is important; but Geraint Thomas has a special role in the team. His injuries, however minor or major are of no importance when team work is concerned. This attitude takes him a long way in the winning process.

Women’s Cycling Association is all set hold their official launch party on 24th August, Saturday, at Fort Collins in Colorado. There the organization will unveil their official logo and its website.

Earlier in June, a small bunch of pro women cycle riders met to discuss how to bring equality in women’s cycling via media exposure, equal prize kitty as well as a minimum salary structure that would let the women to concentrate on this sport as a viable career. After the June meeting, a strong bunch of women from pro peloton have put their team commitment behind them and they joined forces to motivate women’s cycling with the creation of Women’s Cycling Association.

US National Road 2011 Champion as well as Women’s Cycling Association President Robin Farina said that it was time for a positive switch in Women’s Professional Cycling. The new association was created to help increase the sport of cycling as well as ensure sustainability in women’s cycling for the future.

Women’s Cycling Association’s Media Director and 2011 NRC Champion Janel Holcomb told that the time is right for all women cyclists and women’s cycling supporters to join together and work towards equality in this sport. The association would work to bring about alteration on a global level.

The Women’s Cycling Association’s goal is to maintain, support and develop a network of women cyclists as well as its supporters. The association will work to progress the interests of women cyclists by advancing and developing policies with governing bodies as well as engaging in media outreach. WCA’s vision is for pro women cyclists to have a career with fiscal security, advancement opportunities and recognition to support women cycle riders of all ability levels as well as to show grassroots programs so that it can help to develop new and young riders.