The BIKEChannel Canyon team were pushing hard at one of the largest meetings on the British domestic racing calendar The Road Race National Championships. Thursday included a individual time trial looping from St Johns to Kirk Michael. Harry Tanfield finished with a 5th place in the elite TT, even managing to finish ahead of a number of world tour pro from Sky and was very close to the lead testers Alex Dowsett of Movistar and creditable winner Steve Cumming from Dimension Data.

There is no shame in us admitting that a good proportion of us here at HUNT | TheRiderFirm and you the HUNT riders/customers are suckers for road racing. With the Tour starting tomorrow and the British Road Champs just passed, it is no coincidence that we'll all be pouring over stage profiles and making office predictions before each stage. We were also at the British National Champs with the BIKE Channel Canyon Team to work closely with them on new wheel ideas, feedback and do our soigneur duties with bottles & gel hand-ups at the feed zone.

Sunday was a serious test for all the the riders who had to take on one of the hardest courses in British Nat Champs history. The 193.7km road race route took inspiration from the famous Isle of Man TT as well as the iconic Snaefell mountain climb with nearly 1500ft of ascent on just this climb, plus many other lumps around the course. Youngster Harry Tanfield made it into the early break and held this own in the fast-paced dozen or so riders. Dexter Gardias from BIKE Channel Canyon also mixed it in the leading groups with Cav and other World Tour riders as the race progressed with constant attacking and finished a very creditable 16th in the Elite men's which included at least 10 world tour riders (that we could count anyway). The BIKEChannel Canyon team once again put in a stunning effort.

See below a photo journal of how things went down on the Isle of Man. Check out the shot when Alex Dowsett's bike hits the timing board!

Roman is one of our latest additions to the Hunt OpenDev Team. Hailing from the Big Apple, Roman can be found blasting through traffic, passing over Brooklyn Bridge and heading into the woods aboard his ‘cross bicycle. When the snow melts and the temperature rises Roman takes to the tarmac aboard his road bicycle to discover the ever-changing New York City. With a clear talent for photography which document his rides, Roman’s Instagram page (which can be found here) is one of the most stunning pages out! Capturing the city from a cyclist’s perspective his distinct style shows that his talents extend well beyond the bicycle.

Roman is extremely valuable to HUNT to help move forward how we can develop our wheels. Putting in huge efforts on his 38Carbon Gravel Disc equipped 'cross machine and his road steed rolling on 50Carbon Wide Aero wheels, Roman pushes his equipment to the absolute limit. His crazy effort in last year's festive 500 saw him push through snow blizzards, rain and extremely cold temperatures. You can rest assure he is putting in hard miles in tough conditions, giving us invaluable feedback. 50Carbon Wide Aero Wheels are Roman's road weapon of choice.

Roman is extremely valuable to HUNT to help move forward how we can develop our wheels. Putting in huge efforts on his 30Carbon Gravel Disc equipped 'cross machine and his road steed rolling on 50Carbon Wide Aero wheels, Roman pushes his equipment to the absolute limit. His crazy effort in last year's festive 500 saw him push through snow blizzards, rain and extremely cold temperatures. You can rest assure he is putting in hard miles in tough conditions, giving us invaluable feedback.

The Ras is a uniquely Iirish race. Passing through the narrow shop lined streets, out into the open fields and across seaboard boulevards bordering the Atlantic, the race attracts some of the most promising up and coming riders to the emerald isle. The Ras is no ordinary contest. Not by a long chalk. Capping teams with five man limit forces riders to attack with an all or nothing attitude. The European formula is tossed out and leaves riders constantly fighting for position across the entire eight days of racing.

A huge effort was made by the BIKEChannel Canyon team. Esspecially considering that five riders were reduced to four after Max Stedman was forced to abandon the race due to a fever. Dexter Gardias managed to take home two top ten finishes. A race well spent from the young BIKEChannel Canyon Team.  

Please enjoy this photo gallery from the Ras.

First thing that came into my mind when I woke up this morning.

“I’m going riding.”

Second thing that came into my mind;

“My medical insurance probably doesn’t cover this, best not crash!”

I had only made contact with Himalayan Singletrack the day before I left the UK so I was really pleased that they managed to come up with a single day trip for me to get out of the city and see some of Nepal from a bike. Expecting the terrain to be somewhat mountainous I also tentatively asked if it could not be too gnarly as I had a course to teach the following week!

ROB HARWOOD has been a rider for the Hunt Open Dev Team since it was first announced. Hailing from the lanes and b-roads of Essex, UK, there is nothing more Rob likes than a long day spent out on the bicycle (and finished off with a few beers). Until recently, Rob has been keeping things on the tarmac, however, the draw of gravel has brought this roadie to enjoy the adventure that venturing off the beaten path offers. Spending weekends in Scotland and Wales, as well as being co-founder of a bunch of great guys as ColVelo Collective (read below for more) - Rob sets a bench march for being an ambassador for not only Hunt Wheels but the wider cycling community in general. 

We managed to wrangle in Rob to answer a few questions for the latest edition of On The Drops. Enjoy.

Early this morning in Australia, Hamish, our Hunt Australia and NZ Manager was meant to meet the highly respected Ultra Endurance Cyclist Mike Hall for a rolling interview for Kinesis UK as he raced the Indian Pacific Wheel Race. As you can see from his Instagram feed below, tragedy had struck Mike Hall's ride.

RideInPeace Mike Hall, an inspiration to us all.

Delving into the hardest hitting debates circulating around cycling (such as Jersey Pockets or Saddlebag and C02 versus hand pump) our latest semi-regular segment "On The Drops" will focus upon the slightly more light hearted side to cycling presenting riders from all circles of life. Enjoy the grill sessions!

Mitchell Webber is one of BikeCannel Canyon's youngest rider, but that certainly does not mean he lacks in ability. Alongside wheel choice, we find out what the Hampshire local enjoys about racing and where we might see him in the future.  

Hunt supported BikeChannel Canyon have kicked off their first race of the season with a spectacular win coming from Chris Opie at the 52nd PERFS Pedal Race. Tom and Ollie from Hunt Wheels were there to capture all of the action, so we have put together a photographic journal to show all of the excitement which took place. 

Starting on Friday December 16th, I am attempting to cycle 107 kilometres a day, every day, until Saturday April 1st. 107 days in total.

That's 11,449km - or the equivalent of cycling from London to Geneva, Switzerland, every week for 15 weeks in a row.

8 days 15 hours 2 minutes. That is the winning time for the 2016 Trans Continental Race by returning 2 times winner Kristof Allegaert of Belgium. But what happened to the 2015 winner our Hunt Wheels Brand Manager Josh Ibbett? Read on to find out.

170 miles. Not quite the impressive trip across Europe that I had anticipated when I set out from Geraadsbergen 12hours earlier but my body still feels battered as a slouch against a grey wall in the small French town of Romilly-Sur- Sienne. Fatigue feels so much heavier when you know you are beaten. I’ve eaten all my food, drunk my rehydration drink, even drunk another recovery drink yet still the cramps are there.

The human body is a fickle thing. It can be pushed hard by the mind, beyond what even seems feasible yet sometimes it just says no, or non as they say in France. As I sit there weighing up my options my mind begins to run over the past few years. Suddenly the feats of the past 2 Transcontinental races seem ridiculous. How on earth did I push that hard? How did I force myself to carry on riding single speed when I was injured in 2014? How on earth did I force my self-awake and onto my bike every morning in 2015? It all seems so easy when you are on top of your game yet here I am unable to ride without cramping whilst the leaders ride off into the day, the first day at that!

The truth is I am not strong enough. I already knew deep down, but I’ve learnt to override body with mind. Just keep pedalling it will feel better soon, just eat some food and it’ll be fine, just have a quick nap and carry on. These are the things I normally tell myself to keep myself moving, however this time I know it just won’t work.

580km around the beautiful Tuscan hills and mountains in the early June sunshine. That’s what I imagined when I entered the Tuscany Trail and I wasn’t far wrong. There was certainly hills and mountains, mainly of the super steep variety, the trail was indeed 580km long and the Tuscan countryside is fantastic. However, as one might expect, it rained! Not a gentle shower, this was full on biblical rain.

I lined up at the start in the Piazza in Massa alongside over 500 other riders to tackle the Tuscany Trail. The rain had momentarily paused to at least allow the spectators a dry experience however normal service was assumed as soon as the race started.

My race tactics were to pedal and not stop. As obvious as that might seem not many people generally try and complete the trail in one hit with no sleep. I had pretty much ruled out any sleep with my light equipment and bike setup. My brand new Mason Titanium prototype was packed with the bare essentials, warms layers, a rain jacket, a stash of Torq energy products and (much to my annoyance) a pair of shorts and a tee shirt I had to carry so I could wear something clean at the finish and on the flight home. I had deemed by Bivvi bag as too much extra weight so had decided to leave it at home, my compromise was a Gore rain jacket with a hood that I could sleep in if required.