July 2014

Whether they're racing or travelling between races, pro cyclists spend their life on the road. We asked them what they couldn't travel without.
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

What does Bradley Wiggins pack for every race? How about Tom Boonen? At the 2014 Tour of California, we asked the peloton what they need to have with them at each race they go to.

To start off, they all said their phone, so we had to change the question a bit to get some more better answers.

What do you always take to a race? Did any of the answers surprise you? Let us know below.

The Global Cycling Network puts you in the centre of the action: from the iconic summit of the Stelvio to the epic trails of Fort William, Scotland, everywhere there is pavé or dirt, world-class racing, and pro riders, we will be there bringing you all the action, essential analysis and unparalleled access every week, every month, and every year.

Welcome to the Global Cycling Network | Inside cycling

Ask The Pros - What Do You Always Travel With?

Being great at cornering will save energy and help you to maintain your speed. Here are our tips to help you to corner as safely and as quickly as possible.
Subscribe to GCN: 

Whether you're descending or riding on the flat, we can all gain a little from improving our cornering. Being smooth, relaxed and fast on your bike through corners doesn't just look good, it's key to staying safe, maintaining your speed and saving energy.

If you want to drop your training partners on a downhill, feel more confident on a bike or improve your placing in a local crit, check out these tips see how you could improve your cornering.

Got any other tips? Let us know in the comments below?

Want to see the bit where Contador grounds his pedal again? Click here: 

Check out our full How To Improve... playlist: 

How To Improve Your Cornering

Racesmart is a series in partnership with British Cycling aimed at racing cyclists.

Before you start a race, you need to know that your bike is in working, or even racing order. Here are some checks to perform.
Subscribe to GCN: 

No matter how fit you are and how good your form is, if your bike isn't mechanically sound, you're not going to get too far in a race. It isn't about having the best or most up to date bike, it's about making sure that your bike is safe (both for your benefit and the benefit of those around you), and that nothing is going to go wrong with it.

In this video, Daniel Lloyd runs through the basic checks that you should perform before you start a race.


Music: Kid British - Until Monday (Instrumental): 

How To Check Your Bike Is Race Ready | Racesmart

In the GCN News Show this week, Dan Lloyd and Simon Richardson recap a brilliant Tour de France and La Course, plus an irreverant look at the rest of the cycling news from the week. 
Subscribe to GCN: 

You may remember our Tour de France preview show. Yes? Well, Simon is still paying for his woeful prediction. Still at least he's not in a neck brace any more. Dan's stolen that. 

In more serious news, we look back at a great Tour de France with confirmation of several great talents. 

It was also the inaugural "La Course", won by Marianne Vos in a dramatic bunch sprint. 

Finally, we touch on all our usual favourites, including Strava Club, Tech of the Week, Tweet of the Week, and Captions. 

MUSIC: COTTON CANDY BY PNFA
CLIMB FIGHT BY PNFA
RIGHT NOW BY UGLY DUCKLING
RED BIKINI BY REG TILSEY
LOW DOWN BARITONE BY ATMOSPHERE

Tour De France Highlights + Simon's Epic Fail - GCN Cycling News Show Ep. 82

A guide to unboxing, building and safety checking your new bike from Chain Reaction Cycles.
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

If you're buying a bike online, you may well be buying it from 

 This video takes you through unpacking, unwrapping, building and safety checking your new bike.

You'll just need some allen keys to attach the bars and adjust your saddle height, your clipless pedals and a pedal spanner.

With all that fitted, you're almost ready to go. These bikes come very well built, but you should always perform your own safety checks. Check out the video to find out the basics.  

How To Build A Bike From Chain Reaction Cycles

Learn how to corner in a bunch of riders in a race or on a group ride.
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

Racing or riding in a bunch will often mean that you enter a corner alongside other riders. Cornering in a group might seem more difficult at first, but, to be competitive you need to be comfortable riding alongside other riders.

Check out our tips and let us know if there's anything you'd add!

Music: Tree Star Moon - Hearts (Instrumental): 

How To Corner In A Bunch | Racesmart

This is the bike of the fastest sprinter in the world right now.
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

Marcel Kittel has cemented his place as the fastest man in the world at the 2014 Tour de France and he's done it all aboard this bike.

He uses a Giant Propel, but, surprisingly for a massively powerful sprinter such as Kittel, he runs a 53 tooth chainring, instead of a 54. Kittel has Dura Ace Di2 sprint satellite shifters fitted to his drops, and runs what looks like a 14cm Pro Vibe stem.

This is probably the fastest road bike in the peloton - we can't see Kittel losing his sprint crown anytime soon. Can you? Let us know below.

Marcel Kittel's Giant Propel

Adam Hansen gave us a tour of Lotto-Belisol's luxurious (cough) Hotel Campanile.
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

The team hotels on the Tour de France are surprisingly budget. We visited the Lotto-Belisol Hotel Campanile where Adam Hansen, who we probably spends more time in cheap hotels than he does at home, gave us a tour of his room and explained how things work.

Inside A Tour De France Team Hotel With Lotto-Belisol And Sky

Why are the majority of the professional peloton still using aluminium handlebars?
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

We reckon that 60-70% of pro cyclists are using aluminium handlebars on their racing bikes. Why is this? We took a look around the pits and asked the experts why the use of alloy handlebars persists when carbon fiber is everywhere else on pro bikes.

Do you use alloy or carbon? Let us know in the comments below!

Carbon Fiber Or Aluminium Handlebars? | Tour De France 2014

Here are our top 10 tips for travelling abroad for a cycling holiday.
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

If you're planning a cycling holiday, check out this video!

Whether you're arranging your own trip, or joining up with a guided tour, we've got 10 tips that will help you to get the most out of your cycling tour.

Got a cycling trip coming up? Let us know in the comments below.

Top 10 Tips For Cycling Tours & Holidays

Stage 18 is the final mountain stage of the 2014 Tour de France.
Subscribe to GCN on YouTube: 

With the legendary Col du Tourmalet followed the summit finish at Hautacam, the riders will be glad to finish stage 18 of the Tour.

Expect some incredibly aggressive racing early on - it's the last seriously hard day of the race, so it's the probably the final opportunity for any riders hoping to win from an attack.

Tour De France 2014 Stage 18 Route

Team Sky have a brand new, custom Jaguar F-Series.
Subscribe to GCN: 

Designed specifically for time trials, Team Sky's new Jaguar F-Type Coupé sees Jaguar apply all their knowledge as innovation partner of the team. With a 5 liter engine and 550bhp, we don't think it'll have any trouble keeping up with Froome or Wiggins. There's carbon fiber everywhere including the 30-piece carbon fiber roof-rack, which holds two time trial bikes.

July 2014

Subscribe to the GCN Newsletter