BEHIND THE LENS | MOUNTAIN BIKE PHOTOGRAPHER THOMAS SANDELL
Thomas is one of the film makers at Darkfest and as riders we wanted to learn more about his unique experience.
PODIUM FOR JOSH AT BIKINGMAN OMAN
After starting his year with a Costa Del Sol epic, our man Josh has put in a solid performance at this year's BikingMan Ultra in Oman. Ahead of his crack at the Tour Divide, we'll be filling you in on how Josh prepares throughout the year. Everything is just training, until then.
To add just that bit more difficulty, Josh decided to fly into Dubai and ride 515km to the race start over two rides. What's more, is he did the first 310km ride at an average speed of over 30kmh... Unreal... Oh and he also bagged the KOM on the brutal Jebel Shams climb during the race itself.
To add just that bit more difficulty, Josh decided to fly into Dubai and ride 515km to the race start over two rides. What's more, is he did the first 310km ride at an average speed of over 30kmh... Unreal... Oh and he also bagged the KOM on the brutal Jebel Shams climb during the race itself.
GROVE GRIND 100
Right then... we've had a couple of sunny days now, so it's time to start fantasizing about summer. Short sleeves, no leg warmers or tights in sight, tan lines a-plenty, maybe even a cold alcoholic beverage or three.
To get you all in the mood, we thought we'd share this video of Grove Bike Co'sinaugural Grove Grind 100 over in Australia - a ride comprising of "100km of rough and raw fireroads around Sydney's Northern Beaches, the home of Grove Bike Co. Scorching temps, pounding sandstone, an arvo storm and locally-brewed beers from Nomad Brewing Co to round it all out - a cracking day indeed."
To get you all in the mood, we thought we'd share this video of Grove Bike Co'sinaugural Grove Grind 100 over in Australia - a ride comprising of "100km of rough and raw fireroads around Sydney's Northern Beaches, the home of Grove Bike Co. Scorching temps, pounding sandstone, an arvo storm and locally-brewed beers from Nomad Brewing Co to round it all out - a cracking day indeed."
N+1 x LINDFIELD COFFEE WORKS R/T
It's one thing being able to develop our wheels to deliver results at World Tour events with the Canyon DHBteam, but it's equally important to look after things locally. We've been working closely with Dan Pullen of the N+1 Shop & Cafefor a couple of years now, from product testing to sales & support. He even raced on the HUNT team that won the Revolve 24-hour endurance race at Brands Hatch back in 2017.
New for 2019, Dan has launched a new team in collaboration with Lindfield Coffee Works, taking amateur local riders with ambitions of racing, and developing their skills. Speaking on the team & development program...
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.
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.
OFF THE DROP WITH BECCI SKELTON
Let us introduce you to Becci Skelton. Bec/Skeldog is riding in 2019 for the Rocky Mountain Enduro team, who we'll be supporting alongside the fine fellows of Peaty's Products. We'll also be supporting another awesome MTB team which we'll be announcing in March. Anyway, back to Bec. She's been involved with the Steve Peat Syndicate since 2016, and competed in Elite & World Cup level downhill racers We caught up with her for an Off The Drop interview, ahead of another year of madness...
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.
ON THE DROPS WITH ALEX PATON
What a season this man has had! Following winning his debut race for the team at the 2018 PERFS down in Portsmouth, Rosie had his fair share of troubles and shunts through the mid-season. Everything came up trumps when he finished the year off with a memorable Sprints Jersey win at the Tour of Britain.
We caught up with the Aldershot-based rider to find out how he keeps ticking over during the off-season, what his targets are for 2019, and his views on Christmas binging...
We caught up with the Aldershot-based rider to find out how he keeps ticking over during the off-season, what his targets are for 2019, and his views on Christmas binging...
"Wild about Argyll" by Steve Bate
It was quite a challenge to convince Ibrahim to head to the south west coast instead of the north west, like we usually do for adventures in Scotland. We’ve shared many outings, climbing and biking in the north west, as it offers endless possibilities for people in search of remote adventures. But heading towards the big city of Glasgow instead of away from it, ran against the grain of our long time adventure history. I’d come across the Bike Packing Scotland website, when they had just released a short film called Wild about Argyll. Apart from getting married on the banks of Loch Lomond six years ago, almost to the day, I hadn’t spent any time in the south west and this little video sparked my interest.