Hunt Journal

What you won't do for love... by Gustav Thuesen

What motivates someone to ride 1065 km from Copenhagen to Salzburg? Love. When my girlfriend had the opportunity to work in Salzburg for six months I knew I would come and visit her multiple times – and I had to do the +1000 km trip by bike from Copenhagen once.

I knew it would be long and I knew I wanted to do it fast. Just me, the bike, a sleeping bag and a mat. I had done a 1700 km bikepacking trip before from Copenhagen to Bergen but that was done over a leisurous 15 days. This time I wanted to do it in under 72 hours...

HUNT at the Tour of Britain 2019

Another Tour of Britain done, and another Eisberg Intermediate Sprints jersey in the bag. What an epic ride it was by Rory Townsend to fend off competition from both World Tour & Pro Conti riders, in a week that saw him put world class sprinters away (such as a Matteo Trentin).

We were lucky enough to be on the road for the duration of the race, and were once more reminded of the fact that Canyon dhb are nothing like other race teams...

On The Drops with Ryan Christensen

"My season hasn't gone too badly all be it a broken leg 6 weeks ago... I secured UCI points early on in January back home in New Zealand, and was just starting to come into form for these upcoming European races on the calendar. A forced break for 2 weeks for my leg to heal enough for myself to start riding on the trainer again, so that I can be back racing as soon as possible.

Morale in the team is definitely high, and that shows out on the road. We all are out for individual success but find success comes from winning races as a team. We all know our time will come when Tim will tap us on the shoulder and say, "we are riding for you today". We all bounce off each other and have a lot of good times on and off the bike which makes riding so much easier."

Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes Bike Build Video

Here at HUNT, we absolutely love a build video. There's something therapeutic about watching a rig go together, especially when it's a race bike and especially when it's assembled by master mech of the Canyon dhb team, Lee Askew. Stick the kettle on, and enjoy this one...

Chase The Chaise... An Irishman conquers Kanza

Lloyd Berry did the Dirty Kanza 200 and he did it on his 30 Carbon Gravel Disc wheels!

"We didn’t come all this way for you not to finish!" … the words of 'Butt & Sun Cream Enforcer', as I collapsed in a heap in the shade, wrapped in an iced towel, forcing cold Coke down my throat.

LIGHTING UP LINCOLN

The Lincoln GP is one of our favourite National A races of the calendar. The race can be won or lost on the brutal cobbles of the 16% Michaelgate Climb leading up to Castle Square, where the victor usually barely has time or energy to raise their hands from the bars to celebrate...

RUTLAND CiCLE CLASSIC 2019 - PHOTO GALLERY

Ask any strong domestic racer about the hardest one-day race on the British calendar, and the vast majority will tell you it's the Rutland GP - known now as the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic. Think Tro-Bro Leon crossed with punchy British climbs, and throw in (usually) some naff weather. It's Britain's Belgian Classic, and only the hardest prevail...

CANYON DHB WIN UK OPENER @ PERFS

3 years. 3 wins. 3 riders. We've come to love the Perfs Pedal Race, for obvious reasons. This weekend saw the 54th edition of the race, and another win for the Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homesteam, this time from new signing Jacob Vaughan. Following a successful training camp in Calpe and some racing in Mallorca, this was the ideal way to get their domestic campaign underway.

CANYON DHB P/B BLOOR HOMES - CALPE TRAINING CAMP GALLERY

The boys in blue (minus 5 riders who have other commitments) are out in Calpe for their pre-season training camp this month. Team photographer, Hugh McManus, has been out capturing the whole thing, from candid off-bike moments of relaxation, right through to the most impressive of gurns following hard training efforts. Here's a few of our favourites...

ON THE DROPS WITH STIJN DE BOCK

For this week's insight into the Canyon DHB p/b Bloor Homes training camp & 2019 preparations, we stole some time from one of Tim's new signings, and one of two new Belgian riders bolstering the ranks this season. Whilst Stijn De Bock is pretty handy on a bike, he's actually more famous for being Stijn De Bock. As an Elite (without contract) Belgian National Road Race champion, and a palmares that has seen him put many a World Tour rider away in sprints, we're keen to see what this man will bring to the team for the year ahead...

ON THE DROPS WITH STEVE BATE MBE

This week, we've been catching up with a rider who needs no introduction (mostly because we've already featured loads of his ridiculously epic riding). Steve Bate was a prolific climber, with sights on a solo attempt at the ridiculously tough El Capitamn in Yosemite, until he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa in late 2011. After losing his driving license and ability to independently do the thing he loved, he turned to cycling.

For a hobby taken up as a second choice, Steve happens to be quite handy on a bike. This guy covers ground like carpet, it's absolutely unreal. He recently rode 501km across Scotland in 22hrs and 20mins. Not bad for a guy who's rapidly losing what remaining vision he does have left. He's an inspirational rider and all-round decent bloke, who won't take no for an answer.

GOSSE WINS NATIONAL TROPHY IN SHREWSBURY

We must admit, we were all too aware of our inexperience as 'UCI staff' when working in the pits for Gosse van der Meer yesterday. For a start, it was just Ollie there, as Stan & Dan were both out battling the course and the other riders. You'd think just having a dedicated pit crew, even if just one person, was a pretty special thing (it's certainly something we don't see at the London X League), however Ollie was surrounded by teams with up to 4 pit crew per rider! Paired with the fact that we couldn't get our pressure washer to start, and Ollie was sliding around the washing area in some Adidas Spezials asking to borrow other teams' water... we well and truly took on the role of 'plucky underdog' at the sixth and final round of the National Trophy in Shrewsbury this weekend.

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