by Simon Crisp
Things got off to a bad start pretty quickly. As my virtual Trek Emonda made that famous arcing left turn onto the first slopes of Alpe d'Zwift, the online program's perfect representation of the "Hollywood climb" of the Tour de France, Alpe d'Huez, the gradient began to bite, and I began to drop down the... Continue Reading →
In a social media savvy world, cycling teams have become increasingly slick in maximising the publicity out of what they have now decided must be designated "#NewKitDay." Sadly, as chronicled many times on this blog, the standard of designs has slipped in recent years, with corporate-friendly, non-quirky designs being the norm as one block of... Continue Reading →
My favourite conversation on the 2016 Haute Route Alps was on the final day, as the front group, which had spent the past six days trying to bash seven shades of hell out of one another, called a truce and decided to ride at a comparatively gentle pace for a while down a peaceful valley.... Continue Reading →
Every year, I tell myself I'm not going to do the Cyclone this time around. It's too long, I tell myself, too hard, and frankly, I don't like the pressure of trying to match/better my own times. But inevitably, some combination of ego, peer pressure and the reminder that 100 miles of peacefully deserted Northumbrian... Continue Reading →
On the 19th of July, I completed my 4th Etape du Tour, with this year's route mirroring the 19th stage from Saint Jean de Maurienne to the ski town of La Toussuire. I thought I'd take a look back at the Etape's I've done and do a little comparison in order to help those considering... Continue Reading →
In July 2013, I foolishly decided that a great way to celebrate the Tour de France’s centenary would be to ride La Marmotte, the self-appointed ‘hardest sportive in the world.’ This was quite a challenge in itself – the Marmotte is a 109 mile circuit around four of the most famed and brutal climbs the... Continue Reading →
10. Marco Marcarto, Paris-ToursParis-Tours was good fun as usual this year as the breakaway dueled with the sprinters, before John Deglenkob left the sprinter camp and broke away single handedly, but failed to catch the break. Ahead, the break was busy messing around and trying to get each other disqualified. General all round fun for... Continue Reading →
So it would seem that Leeds will be the Grand Depart city of the 2014 Tour de France, beating off Edinburgh, Florence et all to take the crown jewel position.Unfortunately, they didn't discover my idea for a Northumberland Grand Depart (https://sicycle.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/an-alternative-british-bid-for-the-tour-de-france-northumberlandnewcastle-upon-tyne/) so we'll have to make do with Leeds. Of course, we should be happy... Continue Reading →
Amazingly, the other day, I received an email. Yes, one. This was a truely great occasion. It was one of those emails that said they liked what I was doing in the blog (Hurray!) until it came to the largest paragraph, which of course began with 'but' (boo).' Aside from the usual complaints, which... Continue Reading →
Sa Calobra is the big climb in Majorca. That's actually a bit of a lie - it's not the longest, as that honour falls to the climb from Soller to Puig Major (which doesn't actually go to Puig Major, but that's another story), but it is the one you simply have to do. Unlike many... Continue Reading →
Sicycle 