February 2015

Movistar Team leader, Alejandro Valverde, rides a Canyon Aeroad CF SLX. 
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Valverde will be riding a Canyon Aeroad CF SLX in 2015, equipped with a Canyon stem, handlebars and seatpost, plus Campagnolo Bora wheels and a Super Record EPS groupset. 

Music: Caged Animals - All The Beautiful Things In The World (Instrumental): 

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Welcome to the Global Cycling Network | Inside cycling

Alejandro Valverde's Canyon Aeroad CF SLX

Matt Stephens invades the hotel room of Matti Breschel to find out exactly how much kit a pro cyclist owns.
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Many riders have likened it to Christmas day when they were a kid. The day a pro receives their brand new kit for the upcoming season is a special occasion.

Tinkoff-Saxo's clothing sponsor Sportful provide every rider with a full-sized suitcase jammed with a piece of kit for every type of weather or situation, from skinsuits to 'Stelvio' jackets.

Music:
Max Martin - "Barrow Boy"
Roger Roger - "Roger Mambo" 

What's In A Pro Cyclist's Suitcase?

Classics season is finally here! Here are our riders to look out for at Omloop Het Niewsblad and Kuurne-Brussels Kuurne.
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This weekend in late February/early March is considered the 'proper' beginning of the spring classics, and we've got a good couple of months of top one-day action to look forward to.

Omloop & KBK are the traditional openers of the classics season, and it's a great opportunity to see who's showing signs of good form ahead of monuments like Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders. They're big races to win in their own right, however, so expect to see the likes of Tom Boonen, Alexander Kristoff and Niki Terpstra coming to the fore in search of an early season victory.

Who's your favourite? Let us know in the comments section down below.

Top 10 Riders To Watch: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad & Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

How to calculate your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and Functional Threshold Heart Rate (FTHR).
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Whether it's a one-hour test or a 20-min test, using a power meter or just a heart-rate monitor, there are several ways to calculate bio-mechanical data that will allow you to maximize your endurance performance.

How To Calculate Your FTP (Functional Threshold Power)

Chris Froome beat Alberto Contador at the first big showdown of the year, there was drama in the desert at the Tour of Oman, plus tons (or tonnes) of other great features in this week's GCN Show.
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The Tour of Andalucia wasn't expected to be all that dramatic, so it certainly over-delivered. Chris Froome and Alberto Contador traded blows with Froome eventually coming out on top. We caught up with Chris after the race to find out about his early season form, and we also got his thoughts on Dan's 'electrifying' ride on the Col de la Madone.

The Tour of Oman wasn't without drama either. Stage 5 was cancelled due to the extreme heat and race organiser and the greatest cyclist of all time, Eddy Merckx was the opposite of happy. If you want to catch up on all the action, be sure to watch our Tour of Oman race reports: 

Our mate Dom Estique held a Q&A where he dished out some useful advice, alonsgide some that may be potentially less useful . Dom hit over 1000 Twitter followers as a result, and rumour has it he'll do another one when he reaches 2000. So, head over to Twitter when you've finished watching and give him a follow: 

We hope you enjoyed watching the show as much as we enjoyed making it. Don't forget to comment, like and share!

Music:
Roger Roger - Big Bad Bounce
PNFA - Resist 
Roger - 1925 Charly 
Cortex - Sabbat 1ere Partie 
Roger Roger - War Theme 
Jack O'Lantern

Froome Vs. Contador At The Vuelta a Andalucia + Tour Of Oman Stage Cancelled! The GCN Show Ep. 111

Here's our guide to servicing Shimano and Look road pedals. Pedals take a lot of hammering, so it's worth keeping on top of their maintenance.
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Your pedals are really exposed to the elements, perhaps even more so that almost any other component on your bike. So, in this video, Simon takes you through the basics of maintaining Shimano and Look road pedals.

You'll know that your pedals need a bit of TLC if they're creaking or if they're feeling a bit 'dry' when you spin them, and, most of the time, it's a matter of cleaning and re-greasing. You may need a couple of specific tools for this job (links below), but, if you have them, it's a really simple job that you can do at home. 

Click here to find out how to remove your pedals: 

Music:
Oscar Salguero - A City Night Jam (Instrumental): 

How To Service Your Pedals - GCN's Guide To Servicing Look And Shimano Pedals

Stage 6, the final stage of the 2015 Tour of Oman, finished on the Matrah Corniche with a couple of climbs en route.
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The day's breakaway formed after 7km, with the ever-present Jef Van Meirhaeghe (TopSport-Vlaanderen) joined by Iljo Keisse (Etixx-Quickstep) Danny Pate (Team Sky) and Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling). It soon became clear that this quartet were intent on making a serious bid for victory, and their lead stretched out to around 9 minutes with about 70km remaining. Movistar got to work to close the gap, but had they left it too late? Find out here!

Tour Of Oman 2015 - Stage 6 Race Report

Stage 4 of the Tour of Oman saw the riders tackle a hellish summit finish up Green Mountain. Who had the legs? Find out here.
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With more hot weather to contend with as well as 10%+ gradients later in the stage, the peloton took it pretty easy early on, with the tireless Jef Van Meirhaeghe working with points leader Andrea Guardini to grab a few breakaway bonuses.

Along for the ride were Stijn Vandenbergh and Gijs Van Hoecke, who forged on after the 1st intermediate sprint. The peloton upped the pace as they approached the final climb and the attacks began on the lower slopes. Who reigned supreme on Green Mountain? Watch and find out!

Tour Of Oman 2015 - Stage 4 Race Report

Tour of Oman Stage 5 cancelled due to extreme heat and high winds - here's the reaction from the race.
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With sandstorms and temperatures approaching 45ºC, race organisers called stage 5 to halt before it had really begun. After initially being moved to include laps of the final finishing circuit, numerous riders had tyres explode from beneath them on a neutralised descent. The race was stopped and eventually the stage was cancelled after discussions between riders and organisers.

Hear from Fabian Cancellara and organiser Eddy Merckx on the decision. What do you think? Did they make the right move? Let us know in the comments.

Tour Of Oman 2015 - Stage 5 CANCELLED

Philippe Gilbert of Team BMC, former world champion and Ardennes classics legend, rides a BMC Teammachine SLR01 with full Shimano Dura Ace.
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Philippe Gilbert had one of the best classics seasons in memory in 2011 and went on to win the world championships in 2012 after he joined Team BMC.

Gilbert's BMC Teammachine SLR01 is one of the subtler bikes in the peloton, but it's clearly fast. Gilbert has a long, low position on the bike, a custom fi'zi:k Volta saddle, Shimano C35 wheels with Continental pro-only tubular tyres and full Shimano Dura Ace Di2.

Gilbert is one of the 'old school' riders in how he races, but clearly this isn't the case with training. He uses an SRM powermeter with Power Control 7 head unit and he's one of the few guys using carbon fiber bars.

Don't forget to like, share and comment below letting us know your thoughts on this bike.

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Philippe Gilbert's BMC Teammachine SLR01

The Tour de France has never been up the Col de la Madone, but it's an absolute must-ride if you're ever in the south of France.
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Starting right on the coast near Menton, the Col de la Madone is the favoured testing climb for Lance Armstrong and Chris Froome and many of other the professional cyclists who live, or have lived, near Monaco or Nice. 

And, it's an absolutely stunning climb. Starting at the coast, you ride through the town of Menton before beginning the climb proper. The road twists and turns up to the village of Sainte-Agnes where you take a sharp left onto a singletrack road and the views open out down to the sea.

The Col de la Madone is perfectly proportioned - not too long, not too high and never too steep. Once you're at the top, you have a couple of choices for the descent. We'd recommend riding back down the way you came and maybe stopping for a coffee (or wine, or beer) in Sainte-Agnes.

Have you ridden the Madone? Comment below and let us know!

Col De La Madone – GCN's Epic Climbs

A sore butt from cycling could be caused by several things. We try to provide a solution for each ailment in this video.
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Being a bit sore from hours in the saddle, or getting saddle sores happens to all cyclists; from Tour de France racers to everyday cyclists.

The (rather uncomfortable) fact is that, there's probably no avoiding it at some point, but, there are (at least) ten things that you can do to keep pain, irritation and chafing away or down to a minimum.

The thought of pain, irritation and chafing down there should really be enough for you to want to do all ten...

Don't forget to give this one a SHARE (it is useful after all), and a LIKE.

If you want to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link to help out 👍 : 

Music licensed by Cue Songs
John Jackson - Funny Tune: 


Dream Circle - So Many Things (Pherixx Remix Instrumental): 

February 2015

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