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2015 Tour de France Route Announced

2015 Tour de France

2015 Tour de FranceThe 2015 Tour de France route was revealed this morning at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. The 102nd edition of the TdF will, say organisers, ‘…offers its riders a challenge that invites daring and will leave its television viewers in a state of uncertainty regarding the scenarios to consider.’

 

The race will begin in Utrecht in the Netherlands, the 21st time it has started outside of France and this year will feature just 14k of Individual Time Trial, the shortest distance since the introduction of the ITT in 1947. The only Team Trial will come on Stage 10.

 

The Pyrenees will feature for three days of racing – July 14-16 – and will be followed by a further three days across the southern edge of the Massif Central from July 17 to 19, whilst the penultimate day (a 110k stage) will finish atop the impressive Alpe d’Huez.

 

In total the 21 stages will cover a distance of 3,344km, with seven mountain stages with five summit finishes. There are nine flat stages and three hilly. As always the TdF will conclude on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Further details on the 2015 Tour de France at letour.com

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Astana Licence Under Threat

astanaAstana, home to Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali, is to have its WorldTour Licence reviewed after a third member of the squad, llya Davidenok, failed a doping test. Davidenok tested positive for anabolic steroids following a test on August 27, whilst brothers Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy both tested positive for EPO (erythropoietin) earlier in August.

 

The International Cycling Union’s (UCI) licence commission will review Astana’s anti-doping policies and wider management conduct. In a statement the UCI say the decision to review, ‘follows the serious concerns raised by the fact that two Astana riders Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy recently tested positive for EPO and the notification this week that llya Davidenok has returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for anabolic androgenic steroids in a sample collected at the Tour de l’Avenir on 28th August 2014… The rider has the right to request the analysis of the B sample and in accordance with UCI Anti-doping Rules has been provisionally suspended until the adjudication of the matter.’

 

Astana’s Team Manager, Alexander Vinokourov, completed a two-year bad for doping in 2009 before going on to take Gold in the Men’s Road Race at the London 2012 Olympics.

 

Further information on Astana at proteam-astana.com

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Marcelo Gutierrez Takes Tocancipá Win

Marcelo Gutierrez

Marcelo GutierrezLegend has it that Marcelo Gutierrez first rode a bike at the age of three and was taking part in BMX races by the age of six. Eight years later he had cast aside the humble BMX to immerse himself in the adrenaline-fuelled world of Downhill, making his first big impression at the 2007 UCI MTB World Championships taking 12th place in the Juniors.

 

Thanks to our friends at EpicTV you can watch Gutierrez bag a truly impressive win at the Columbia National Championships at Tocancipá.

 

Hold on and enjoy… (and then head over to epictv.com for more ridiculously exhilarating videos.)

 

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Funked Up Win Accelerator

Funked Up

Funked UpDublin-based custom bike manufacturers Funked Up, who specialise in customisable singlespeeds, have been awarded the prestigious 2014 Propeller Venture Accelerator program. Despite facing stiff competition from five other finalists, shortlisted from hundreds of entrants, the brand’s range of uniquely customisable bikes won the day and will see them benefit from a five-month venture accelerator program based in the heart of Dublin’s Silicon Docks.
 
Funked Up have been in operation since 2011 and have shown strong export potential, with 95% of sales to date outside of Ireland; customers design their bikes using the innovative ‘customiser’ on the funkedUp.com website and the bikes are then assembled in Dublin and shipped within seven days to any destination. The company say they are looking to scale aggressively, expand their product range, and branch out into other areas of the lifestyle market.
 
Commenting on the award Funked Up CEO Olaf O’Moore said: ‘We are delighted to have been chosen as winners of this year’s Propeller program. This offers a great opportunity for our company to move forward and continue to grow, both home and abroad. The Propeller program offers an amazing opportunity for new Irish companies to learn from from some of Ireland’s greatest entrepreneurs. We hope to take this knowledge forward and grow Funked Up into an internationally recognised brand.’
 
Cyclo will be bringing you a review on the Funked Up bikes soon, but in the mean time there is the chance to win one yourself here.
 
Full details on Funked Up at funkedUp.com

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HTC RE to Rival the GoPro?

HTC RE

HTC REThe GoPro range of action cameras have always dominated adventure sports, but HTC have now announced the RE, a waterproof, wide-angled digital camera, aimed at the same market. The cylindrical RE is 9.7cm (3.8in) tall and weighs just 65.5g (2.3oz), making it marginally lighter than the GoPro cameras, which weigh in at around 75g naked and 150g in their protective casing. The RE though is considerably taller and less conventional looking – more of a mini-periscope. Like the GoPro it lacks playback screen but can be paired wirelessly to apps on smartphones and tablets.

 

Commenting on the RE Peter Chou, HTC’s chief executive, said: ‘Combining incredible hardware with unrivalled software, HTC is reinventing the way we think about imaging… We are taking you out from behind the viewfinder and putting you back where you belong, at the heart of the action.’

 

The RE features just two buttons: a short tap on the base button takes a photo, whilst a longer press starts/stops video recording and a side button is used to change functions such as selecting slow-motion and time lapse. The camera is 16MP compared to the GoPro HERO4’s 12MP and is capable of shooting in 1080p high-definition video at normal speed, and 720p in slow-mo.

 

As shipped the RE has a waterproof rating of IPX7 allowing it to be submerged to 1m for 30minutes with an optional casing taking it down to 3m for up to two hours – a limiting factor when you consider the GoPro’s mighty 40m credentials. The initial US release price for the RE is $199 (£124) compared with the HERO4’s heftier price-tag of around £370.00

 

The RE is bound to find a market, but rival the GoPro? That very much remains to be seen.

 

More on the HTC RE at htc.com and on GoPro at GoPro.com

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Farewell Andy Schleck

Andy Schleck

Andy SchleckAfter almost a decade in the sport Trek Factory Racing’s Andy Schleck has announced his retirement at the age of 29. He cited slow recovery from a knee injury sustained during a crash on the third stage of this year’s Tour de France (Cambridge to London) as the deciding factor.

 

Schleck announced: ‘I’m obviously disappointed to end my career like this, I would have liked to keep on fighting but my knee just doesn’t allow it. Since my crash in the UK there has hardly been any progress. While the ligaments have healed, the damaged cartilage is another story. I have been working hard on rehabbing the knee but came to the hard realization that at the risk of irreversibly injuring it, this is the best course of action.’

 

During his career Schleck has taken four Grand Tour Podium places, taking second at the 2007 Giro d’Italia, the 2009 and 2011 Tour de France and having his second-place 2010 TdF upped to first after Albert Contador was stripped of the yellow jersey for doping.

 

His brother Frank Tweeted following the news: ‘Thx to @andy_schleck we spent great time together on the bike… you know memories are forever.be proud. love you bro. Cu’ – Frank will continue to ride for Trek Factory Racing in 2015 having renewed his contract for a further two years.

 

More on Trek Factory Racing at trekfactoryracing.com and you can continue to follow Andy Schleck on Twitter @andy_schleck

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Para-cycling out of Tokyo Games?

Para-cycling

Para-cyclingPara-cycling looks to be in real danger of being left out of the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo as a result of the UCI’s failure to submit the necessary paperwork on schedule; whilst the deadline for the International Paralympic Committee management team was July 28, the UCI only filed last week. The failure leaves para-cycling chasing one of the seven remaining slots for sports available after the IPC confirmed the 16 already guaranteed representation.

 

The blunder comes at a time when there is also potential for the number of sports represented being reduced, IPC president Sir Philip Craven explains: ‘Our aim is to ensure that the final Tokyo 2020 Paralympic sports programme is fresh and features the best Para-sports possible. Although we can have a maximum of 23 sports in six years’ time, we have an option to reduce the number of sports in order to ensure we have a compelling and attractive Para-sports programme.’

 

Jody Cundy, who represented GB at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and broke the world record on the way to winning the gold in the 1km Time Trial, tweeted: ‘(It) sums up how high we appear on the UCI radar. Not surprised at all.’

 

Since para-cycling made its debut at the Seoul Paralympics in 1988, GB has proven to be one of the most successful nations, topping the medal tables at both Beijing and London.

 

More on Jody Cundy at jodycundy.com

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Garmin Reveal the Forerunner 920XT

Forerunner 920XT

Forerunner 920XTGarmin has announced what it is calling ‘its most advanced multisport GPS watch to date’, the Forerunner 920XT. Featuring a far slimmer profile, the Forerunner 920XT is 15 per cent lighter and 18 per cent thinner than its predecessor and records detailed metrics for swimming, cycling and running, making it a true cross-training tool for those you love to crunch the numbers.

 

‘Watch-mode’ and daily activity tracking features on the 920XT, which monitor steps and calories, are aimed at making the device useful beyond just training or racing and because it receives GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals in addition to standard GPS its accuracy and functionality should be increased. If you want more (and who doesn’t these days?) the Forerunner 920XT receives smart notifications, including incoming texts, emails, calls, and calendar reminders on the high-resolution colour display when paired via Bluetooth to a smart phone.

 

For ultra-runners, the Forerunner 920XT offers the ‘UltraTrac’ mode that turns GPS off at certain intervals, extending its GPS mode battery life from 24 hours to up to 40 hours.

 

The 920XT is water proof to 50 meters and offers advanced swim metrics for training in a pool or open water, including drill logging, recording swim distance, pace, stroke type, stroke count and SWOLF score – derived from a combination of time and stroke number.

 

On the bike, the watch has a built-in altimeter for precise ascent, descent and gradient data during training and when paired with compatible ANT+™ power meters, including the Garmin Vector S and the dual-sensing Vector system, the Forerunner 920XT displays power data including average watts, left/right balance5, power zone, and when paired with a heart rate monitor, it can derive users’ VO2 max estimates.

 

The Forerunner 920XT is available in black/blue or red/white, and retails at £389.99 or £419.99 including heart rate monitor.

 

For more information see garmin.co.uk and online purchase for much of the Garmin range at Wiggle.co.uk