May 2015

Colombian climber Julian Arredondo rides a Trek Speed Concept with 650c wheels.
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This is an unusual bike. Julian Arredondo, Grand Tour stage winner and Trek Factory Racing's climbing ace, rides a Trek Speed Concept with smaller-than-standard, 650cc wheels.

This causes the team to look outside their usual suppliers to find wheels and other components to fit. Take a closer look in this pro bike profile and let us know your thoughts...

Music: Kowalski - Forfey (Instrumental): 

The Global Cycling Network puts you in the centre of the action: from the iconic climbs of Alpe D’Huez and Mont Ventoux to the cobbles of Flanders, everywhere there is road or pavé, world-class racing and pro riders, we will be there bringing you action, analysis and unparalleled access every week, every month, and every year. We show you how to be a better cyclist with our bike maintenance videos, tips for improving your cycling, cycling top tens, and not forgetting the weekly GCN Show. Join us on YouTube’s biggest and best cycling channel to get closer to the action and improve your riding!

Welcome to the Global Cycling Network | Inside cycling

Julian Arredondo's Trek Speed Concept Time Trial Bike

The chain on your bike wears out over time and eventually you'll have to replace it. Fortunately, the process is pretty simple - Simon shows you how.
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First thing to do is find out whether your chain is joined together with a pin or with a quick link. If you have a quick link then technically you can remove the chain with your bare hands. Bear in mind though that when it comes to re-sizing your chain, you can only cut it down to the right size with the use of a chain tool.

If you don't have your old chain to hand, or if you've changed your gear ratios and need a new size of chain, we've also got a failsafe way of finding the correct chain length for your bike!

It's best to check for chain wear on a regular basis - leave it to long and it will damage your whole drivetrain.

Music - licensed by Cue Songs
IO - Chocolate

How To Replace A Bicycle Chain

This is the bike that Philippe Gilbert rides when flat-out speed and aerodynamics are the order of the day.
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Philippe Gilbert's BMC Timemachine TMR01 looks strikingly like his TT bike – except for the drop handlebars... When it's pan-flat, Gilbert is one of the riders who goes for aerodynamic over low weight. There's no concessions on this bike; everything looks fast, everything is aerodynamic, all chosen with speed in mind.

Don't forget to like and share this video and subscribe to GCN!

Philippe Gilbert's BMC Timemachine TMR01 | Giro D'Italia 2015

Sculpted for optimum aerodynamics, the Nuke is Team Axeon's bike of choice when it comes to time trials.
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While we were out at the Tour of California, we chatted to Tao about his TT rig. It's SRAM and Zipp all the way for this team, with a full Red 22 groupset and disc wheels among the highlights.

The riders love it because it's fast, and the mechanics love it because it's easy to access the internals - Cipollini have installed access points on the bike to make threading internal cables so much easier.

Aero and practical? What do you think? Let us know down in the comments.

Tao Geoghegan Hart's Cipollini Nuke

How much of a difference does having a light bike actually make? We put it to the test on the climb to Sestriere.
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What do you think the difference will be? Let us know in the comments before you see the results!

A light bike always feels faster than a heavy bike on the climbs, but, is the difference as big in the real world as our perception?

We wanted to find out. So, Simon and Matt climbed to Sestriere twice; once on a light bike, once on the same bike weighed down with ballast. Simon recorded his power data, while Matt went for perception, because, after all, a lot of racing, and riding fast is about your mentality.

Do you notice the difference with a light bike? Let us know in the comments.

Music:
Inf - Power Moves B Boy
The Lower 48 - Long Time Coming (Instr)
The Lower 48 - Rabbit Hole (Instr)

Light Bike Vs. Heavy Bike – What's The Difference On A Climb? GCN Does Science

Save money and eat like a pro cyclist with Hannah Grant of Tinkoff-Saxo.
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Buy Hannah's 'Grand Tour Cook Book', now available in English: 

Homemade energy bars are a great, healthy alternative to buying your own. We teamed up with Hannah Grant, chef to Alberto Contador and Tinkoff-Saxo to get some pro energy bar recipes.

First up, here's one she made just for you, the GCN viewers. It's the GCN-Ergy Bar Number 2.


You will need:
Ripe bananas - 1.5 cups
Pumpkin seeds - 0.5 cups
Mixed dried fruit - 0.75 cups
Oats - 2.0 cups
Flax seeds - 0.5 cups
Sunflower seeds - 0.5 cups
Chopped almonds - 0.5 cups
Chopped pecans - 0.5 cups
Cinnamon and salt to taste

Blend the bananas, mix it all up and cook at 170ºC for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool for ten or so minutes and the cut into bite/ride sized chunks.

How To Make Your Own Energy Bars – 'GCN-Energy Bar 2' With Hannah Grant

The epic gravel climb of the Colle Delle Finestre is the crown on the Queen stage of the 2015 Giro.
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The Giro returns the the gravel roads for the penultimate stage of the 2015 race. The Colle delle Finestre is one of the hardest climbs in the Alps, made no easier by the fact that the final 7km are on loose, rough, gravel.

Simon and Matt took on the challenge. But, the stage doesn't end of the Finestre; after a rapid descent, the riders face a third category (it's tougher than a 3rd cat) drag all the way in to Sestriere.

Let us know your predictions for the stage and don't forget to like and share this video!

Giro D'Italia Stage 20 Preview – Climbing The Colle Delle Finestre | Giro D'Italia 2015

Make everything click and have an awesome bike ride, every ride, with these tips.
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Cycling is great. But, sometimes, for whatever reason, riding your bike can feel like a bit of a drag. Despite that, there are things that great bike rides have in common. We put our heads together and thought of the ten defining features of some of our best-ever days on the bike – here they are. Try them and enjoy!

Comment with you best ever day on the bike!

Ten Ways To Make Every Bike Ride A Great Bike Ride

It's the newest, the biggest and the orange-est. Here's our CCC Pro Cycling Team bus tour!
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CCC have a brand new team bus that they got just in time for the 2015 Giro d'Italia where they were one of the wildcard teams selected by the race organisers.

The newness shows. It's definitely one of the nicest, best finished team busses out there. Every possible detail is on-brand orange – even the 'press' buttons on the safety belts. As you'd expect, there's a coffee machine, although CCC one-up every other team by having ceramic cups. Nice!

The fridge is well stocked, as you'd expect. Only milk alternatives here though. No milk from cows.

The storage throughout is barely visible – utterly seamless. And, really showing the newness of this vehicle, many of the storage cupboards are empty; yet to be filled with the relics from time on the road.

CCC Pro Cycling Team Bus Tour | Giro D'Italia 2015

Nailing a time trial is a great feeling. Here are our tips for training for TTs.
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Riding a great time trial isn't as simple as just riding hard from start to finish. Strategy, pacing and your position on the bike all play a part.

To ride time trials fast, you need to work on your pacing. Some pro cyclists even ride negative splits; they start slow and finish fast.

Specificity rules when it comes to time trialling. Train, and train hard, on your time trial bike in your aero position. This familiarity will pay off. Do as Chris Boardman did and try riding micro-intervals; 10 seconds in your time trial position flat out. It's all about getting good at riding fast on a bike that's vastly different to your regular road bike.

Have you got anything that you'd like to add? What are your tips for time trial training? Let us know in the comments and don't forget to like, share and subscribe.

How To Train For Time Trials – Time Trial Like A Pro

We go inside the BMC Racing Team mechanics truck. It's crammed with top tech and carbon fiber – nice!
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BMC Racing Team have some gorgeous kit at their disposal. Like every other pro cycling team, they travel to races with a mechanics' truck. This is where all the bikes, spares, wheels, and tools live during a three week race like the Giro. Not the mechanics though, they get hotel rooms.

The BMC truck was, basically, incredible; storage was sorted, there were hidden compartments to explore, new (yet to be released) parts hiding in drawers and plenty of pro stuff.

BMC Racing Team Mechanics' Truck Tour | Giro D'Italia 2015

It's been an eventful week at the Giro; Porte's wheel change, Contador out of the jersey, Aru out of the jersey... What next?
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The Giro is always unpredictable. We thought that 2015, with three strong favourites would at least be more... controlled. That wasn't to be. Richie Porte was penalised following an illegal wheel change (who knew?). Alberto Contador crashed again, losing the Maglia Rosa to Fabio Aru – notably the FIRST time that Contador has lost a leader's jersey in a Grand Tour. Following the TT, Contador got back in the pink jersey.

Let us know your thoughts – who's going to win?

We spotted a really interesting article on 

 about dehydration and performance. Turns out, it could be thirst rather than dehydration that affects performance. Find out more here: 

Mark Beaumont has taken yet another record; this time he's broken the record for cycling the length of Africa.

As always, we've got caption of the week. Comment below and see if you can beat Dan's umm... average effort.

May 2015

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