February 2018

This week on the GCN Tech show we're asking why the pros aren't using disc brakes at the cobbled classics.

We've also got a brand new gravel bike from Trek, discuss cable weights, and we've got a clarification on the bike vault.

Keep your nominations for the wall of fame, and your bike vault pics coming in to the email address 

If you'd like to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link 👍

Watch more on GCN Tech...
Abu Dhabi TT Tech  📹 

Photos: © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Bettiniphoto / 

Brought to you by the world’s biggest cycling channel, the Global Cycling Network (GCN), GCN Tech goes deeper into the bikes, kit and technology stories that matter.

GCN Tech is utterly obsessed with seeking out and showcasing the best in bikes, tech, products and upgrades. Everywhere. Every week. From news and rumours, first ride exclusives, how-tos, the weekly GCN Tech Show, pro bikes, set-up tips and more, we geek out over the tiny details that can make the big differences to you. 

With years of racing and industry expertise, we also bring you instructive maintenance videos to hone your mechanical skills, as well as behind the scenes factory tours and in-depth analysis of kit chosen by the pro peloton to keep your finger on the pulse of cycling’s latest technological innovations.

Engage with us every week on the channel and across social media – we’re here to answer every question you’ve got on mountain biking tech.

What Tech Are The Pros Using At The Modern Classics? | The GCN Tech Show Ep. 9

We've actually got some "proper" winter conditions this week in the UK. So we asked you for your tips and hacks for what to wear and do to keep warm when you're riding in the cold.


Register your interest in the GCN Club: 


Get exclusive GCN gear in the GCN shop! 

From old school classics like a newspaper up your jersey, to out there hacks (or bodges) like putting an empty bag of crisps around your toes, our amazing viewers have come up with some awesome tips to keep warm when riding outside in the cold.

Let us know if there are any hacks you use that you think we've missed.

If you'd like to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link 👍 

Watch more on GCN...
7 Winter Cycling Mistakes 

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

9 Winter Cycling Hacks | Your Tips To Beat The Cold On The Bike

Do you want the lightest bike possible? Or are you only interested in aerodynamics? We asked the pros at the Dubai Tour what they look for in a bike, and found out the average bike weights for the teams racing.

At a flat race like the Dubai Tour, aero bikes are par for the course these days, so we wanted to find out what the weight penalty of these bikes is, and whether that actually matters to the professionals.

Let us know whether you love a super light bike, or if you're more than happy with a bit of extra weight to be more aerodynamic.

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Adam Blythe's 3T Strada 

Music: Head Nod Supreme 5 (Scratch Version) - Jack Elphick

Bike Weight Vs Aerodynamics | What Do Pro Cyclists Choose?

Do you climb like Chris Froome? Are you the local Mark Cavendish? Or do you power over the short climbs like Greg Van Avermaet? Find out what your cycling strength is using these tests.

To find out what your strengths and weaknesses are as a cyclist, you will need to cause yourself some pain! After performing 5 second, 1 minute, 5 minute, and 20 minute power tests, you will be able to see you're strongest, and where you need to put in training. 

Let us know what kind of rider you are in the comments down below 👇

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Types of cyclist we all know 

Let The Games Begin 3 - Björn Skogsberg


Photos: © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Bettiniphoto / 

Cycling Strengths: How To Create Your Rider Power Profile

We're doing some science to work out the answer to one of cycling's biggest questions, peak up or peak down? Plus news of team rivalry,  and racing round up and a brand new Cannondale at the Abu Dhabi Tour.

Welcome to the GCN Show.
This week we settle cycling’s greatest debate once and for all… Peak up? Or Peak down? We also have a way to measure your bum... for saddle fitting... a new Cannondale in tech of the week, and among other things the defection of Tom Boonen and a bikepacking race across New Zealand in cycling shorts. This week in the world of cycling we learned that Giro champ Tom Dumoulin isn’t always Mr Cool, not when he has his second mechanical in two days anyway. 

And we also learned of a new winter hack. Or possibly bodge. Pro racers were contending with such cold weather at the weekend that some put vaseline on their FACES to keep warm. That sounds…. a bit disgusting to be honest. But more of that later. The other week, Emma and I were over in Milan at the Politecnico Milano wind tunnel. You’ve seen the results of one of our extensive research projects already. The scientific paper is currently being peer reviewed by the way. Don’t get your hopes up there Si. Anyway, we also had time to squeeze in another very important test, finding an answer to one of cycling’s oldest questions… 

Okay, so in a nutshell, the results are kind of inconclusive there. 
No they’re not Emma, why would you say that? 10 watts is 10 watts. 
No, seriously, it does illustrate very neatly just how difficult wind tunnel testing can be. Even quite significant changes in aerodynamics can be completely offset or distorted by the addition of a rider. Although we tracked Si’s position really carefully, some small shift is likely to have caused that difference of 10 watts. 
Yeah, jokes aside, it doesn’t mean that aerodynamic optimisation is a myth, it’s very real and it does make a significant difference, it just brings home the fact that body position is the most important factor, and by some margin. 

I have to say that even while we were running the test, I did suspect that the results might be skewed by the fact that Si had a massive grin with peak up, and was pretty stony faced with peak down… 
Back to the matter of hats, I have to make a bit of a confession here in that until a few years ago I really didn’t see the point of cycling caps. To be honest I thought they looked kind of ridiculous.

Watch more on GCN...
5 Dominant Cycling Teams 📹 

Music: 
Viper Creek Club - Because I Know (Instrumental)
Jonas Elander - Afternoon Swing 3
Hakan Eriksson - Sneaky Cats 5
Magnus Ringblom - Latin Quarters Jazz Band 2
Magnus Ringblom - Farmers Lunchbreak 1
Anders Bothen - Wah Wah What's Up 2

Free Speed? Peak Up Vs Peak Down | The GCN Show Ep. 268

2018 was the first year a time trial was raced at the Abu Dhabi tour, and it was our first chance to get a look at the cutting edge time trial tech the pros will be using this season.

The middle eastern race bringing in a time trial led to a number of logistical challenges for the professional mechanics. Dan found out how they dealt with getting bikes to Abu Dhabi, and spotted a load of cutting edge and custom time trial tech as well.

Watch more on GCN Tech...
Abu Dhabi Tour Custom Tech 

Pro Cycling Time Trial Tech | Abu Dhabi Tour 2018

The freezing temperatures currently hitting the UK have made us realise that winter is definitely not over. So here are some top tips to keep your bike working throughout the rest of winter, and hopefully save you some money when spring comes around.

There are a number of parts on a road bike that can take a battering throughout the winter, and if you're not careful could end up costing you a lot of money. So here are a couple of simple tips to keep your bike in top working condition throughout the last bit of winter.

Watch more on GCN Tech...
Disc Brake TLC 

6 Essential Winter Road Bike Maintenance Tips

Welcome to the GCN Racing News Show - this week, we celebrate the return of the cobbles! That’s right, men;s and women’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and men’s Kuurne Brussels Kuurne. Plus, middle eastern racing concludes in Abu Dhabi.

We always look forward to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and this year did not disappoint. But the big news in the build up this year was that the races used the iconic combination of the climbs of the Kapelmuur and Bosberg in the finale, a nod to the heritage of the Tour of Flanders.  

The women's race came down to a 30 rider bunch sprint. Leading the charge was young Christina Siggaard, who unleashed a devastating seated sprint to take the first win of her career, and what a race to do it in.  In 2nd was friend of the channel Alexis Ryan, herself still just 23 years of age, and they left some very big names in their wake.

The following day saw the men move on to Kuurne Brussels Kuurne, a semi classic that often ends in a reduced bunch sprint despite a smattering of cobbled climbs, and that’s exactly what we got.  Dylan Groenewegen timed things perfectly to take arguably his biggest one day win to date.  There was heartbreak, though, for Team Dimension Data’s Julien Vermote who finished 9th, having been part of a late 3 man breakaway that was caught inside the last 100m. 

We’re going to finish with the results of the legendary Iditasport event in Alaska. That’s right, Alaska. In February. In fact this race was the reason the fat bikes were invented. Bike riders race against skiers who race against runners over 281km of snow, rolling hills, frozen lakes and rivers. 

Watch more on GCN...
Emma Pooley Profile 

The Cycling Race News Show: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne & Abu Dhabi Tour

All set up for a final stage where anything could happen - the final day of the Abu Dhabi Tour has a sting in the tail at the end of 199km on stage 5. The Jebel Hafeet mountain road will offer another chance for the climbers to claw back time on overnight leader Rohan Dennis.

We saw a 9 rider break get away early on a showery morning in Abu Dhabi, which included Gazprom-Rusvelo’s  Nikolay Trusov in the black jersey as leader of the intermediate sprints competition. He had to wait until the 143rd kilometre to finally secure enough points to guarantee the win in that classification.

The break had been enjoying a lead near 10 minutes for most of the day, but the deficit to the peloton was rapidly decreasing as we headed towards the final climb - plenty of motivated climbers looking for a good result today.

AG2R La Mondiale’s Rudy Barbier won the 2nd intermediate sprint at km185, just a short stretch away from the foot of Jebel Hafeet. The race started to break up as soon as the road tilted upwards, with Astana were pushing the pace to try and set up their main GC threat, Miguel Angel Lopez.

Back up front, all that was left of that original 9 man break was unlikely duo of Andre Greipel and Lawson Craddock. They wouldn’t stay away for long - attacks were flying back in the main group, instigated my Alejandro Valverde, just 24 seconds down on GC at the start of the day. This was dangerous move for race leader Rohan Dennis, but he was starting to find the pace a little too hot to handle. Tom Dumoulin also began to fade, but Sunweb still had Wilco Kelderman up at the head of the race, which now featured a selection of 7 riders. Lopez made his move, while Dumoulin was having a terrible time, with more mechanical issues further down the mountain. Valverde bridged to the young Colombian, and the pair stayed away to the finish. Valverde managed to get ahead on the final left hand corner and held it until the line, taking the stage and 10 crucial bonus seconds.

Julian Alaphilippe led Rafal Maka and Wilco Kelderman home 15 seconds later, which meant that Valverde had indeed done enough to clinch the leader’s red jersey.

Abu Dhabi Tour 2018 | Stage 5 Race Report

What bars do the best pro cyclists choose and why? GCN's Dan Lloyd finds out at the Abu Dhabi Tour.

Why do pro cyclists use narrow handlebars? In fact as  the answer is that not all of them do, as Dan found out at the Abu Dhabi Tour.

Let us know your thoughts down in the comments and don't forget to like and share this video!

What Handlebars Do Pro Cyclists Use? | Abu Dhabi Tour 2018

Eager to learn more about GCN's new presenter Emma Pooley? Here's some of the highs and lows of her pro cycling career, as well as what to look forward to next...

If you wanted to know a little more about GCN's latest recruit, you've come to the right place. Emma Pooley is a former pro cyclist with an impressive palmares with nothing less than World Champion rainbow stripes to show for it - yet it doesn't stop there.

Emma retired from her prolific pro cycling career to focus on her love for climbing and mountains - going on to become a World Champion duathlete. Oh and if that's not enough, she's a PhD level Engineer too. 

I think the boys had better scrub up their act, eh? 

Watch more on GCN...
Commutearo Challenge 📹 

Music: Atmospherica - Squiid
Put The Place Up - Niklas Gustavsson
Psychadelic Background - Merlean
All In - Niklas Ahlström

Introducing Emma Pooley | GCN's New Presenter

Dan Lloyd is in Abu Dhabi checking out the new Time Trial tech for the 2018 season - and where better to start than the reigning World Champion of Team Sunweb Tom Dumoulin? 

Dutchman Tom Dumoulin took his World Champion title in the Time Trial last year in Bergen, and this is the first glimpse we've had of his rainbow stripes custom Giant Trinity bike. 

It's first outing is the short 12km individual Time Trial at the Abu Dhabi Tour. 

What do you think of it? Fit for a World Champ?

Music:
Messed Up Kids, Dress Code Black - Oomiee

February 2018

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