The Tour de France will be heading to the countryside of Downton Abby – namely Yorkshire, even if the show isn’t filmed there. And even if you can’t ride with the pros you can get a chance to head out on some of the same roads in a guided tour. Olympic silver medal-winner Lizzie Armistead will be leading tours of the Yorkshire countryside in advance of this year’s race.
[Via BikeRadar: Lizzie Armitstead to lead Tour de France fan rides]
While the Tour de France is notable that most of it takes place in France, there have been several stages across the English Channel in the U.K. Now Ordance Survey has has produced an app to enable cyclists to ride every single meter of road that the Tour de France has covered since it first visited the U.K. in 1974.
This iOS app details the historic U.K. Tour stages from 1974, 1994 and 2007 as well as the routes for the three stages to take place in Yorkshire and South East England this July.
OS Ride Ordnance Survey Limited at the Apple App Store
[Via BikeRadar: Ordnance Survey launch free Tour de France app]
This week Louis Garneau presented his new series of 12 paintings entitled Hope. All the proceeds from the sale of these paintings will be donated to Rwanda’s National Cycling Team. The paintings of the Hope series are sold for $20,000 each, and all in profit of the development of cycling in Rwanda.
“For the rest of my life, I have decided to give all funds generated by the sale of my paintings to causes that I believe in. Team Rwanda is one of those,” declared businessman and artist Louis Garneau. “About 4 years ago, Jonathan (“Jock”) Boyer, the first American to participate in the Tour de France, contacted me asking me to provide assistance to Rwanda’s National Cycling Team, newly created and composed entirely of young survivors of the 1994 genocide. How could I say no to a cause like that? It is why I decided to paint the Hope series, to highlight the extraordinary accomplishments of Mr. Boyer and his riders. I am filled with admiration for these young men who lived the atrocities of the genocide and who, refusing to be taken down, chose to keep living, opting to compete in one of the most demanding sports there is.” Continue reading Artful Inspiration
This month Wahoo Fitness announced that it is now the official supplier of Turbo Trainers to Team Sky, winners of the 2012 and 2013 Tour de France. Through this exclusive partnership Team Sky will be provided with KICKRs for use during the racing season and each rider will be provided with an individual KICKR for “at home” training sessions. Team Sky will use the KICKRs for pre-race warm up and post-race warm downs.
“Wahoo Fitness is a young and innovative company, who has produced a fantastic product in the KICKR which will meet our requirements both in racing and training,” said Tim Kerrison, Team Sky’s head of performance support. “Team Sky and Wahoo share a common approach when it comes to innovation and continuous improvement. We believe they have developed a market-leading product and we are excited about using the KICKR in the team and working with Wahoo to continue to develop and improve their products. We love the wheel-off design and the big fly-wheel which gives an excellent, smooth feel. The ability to precisely control the resistance, whilst retaining the smoothness, gives us the opportunity to do great quality and high intensity training efforts on the KICKR.”
“It is awesome that Team Sky chose us to work with as it further validates our rapid growth and shows the world that Wahoo Fitness has created the best trainer ever,” added Chip Hawkins, CEO of Wahoo Fitness. “This collaboration gives us the opportunity to develop future products while enhancing existing products in cooperation with an organization who understands the kind of training necessary to win. We look forward to a successful 2014 and Wahoo Fitness equipment quickly becoming synonymous with victory.”
The KICKR Power Trainer can connect to smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth 4.0 and ANT+ wireless technology, and offers full resistance during training sessions. While pedaling, users can increase or decrease resistance, structure interval workouts or even simulate real world bike courses all from their smartphone. Resistance adjustments are also instant, making it easy to replicate everything from a flat or rolling hill course, to the coast down a hill after a hard climb. The trainer also features a wheel off design and super flywheel, and the iPhone connected bike trainer is further engineered to provide a more ultra-realistic road feel, which is equivalent to the inertia of an actual rider on the road.
In 2009, Gibney was given unprecedented access to both the Tour de France and Armstrong, one of the most prominent figures in sports, to document the athlete’s return to cycling following his 2005 retirement. However, the story ended up being much more than a comeback tale. After years of denying allegations of doping and condemning ex-cyclists who were guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs, Armstrong became the center of a federal criminal investigation and an investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency. As a result, the “ultimate comeback story” came to a halt.
Given this new information, the filmmakers decided that instead of chronicling the athlete’s comeback, The Armstrong Lie would be filled with new interviews from Armstrong himself, his former teammates, as well as cycling experts, emerging as an insider’s view and chronicle of Armstrong’s collapse.
The Blu-ray and DVD include exclusive commentary from the Director, as well as a Q&A with Gibney, Frank Marshall, Bill Strickland, Jonathan Vaughters and Betsy Andreu. Both releases also come with more than 40 minutes of deleted scenes.
Mark Cavendish is fast. Known as the world’s fastest sprinter he’s penned his second book, At Speed: My Life in the Fast Lane, which chronicles his days as a “fat” kid to his winningest Tour de France sprinter. It also offers up a personal look that at his screaming fights with teammates, his rancorous contract negotiations, crushing disappointments and his often testy relationship with the media. But it also shows that for Cavendish… winning is always the cure.
While many people might not feel comfortable in their skin, who wouldn’t feel good in the Louis Garneau Course Skin Suit, which offers an aerodynamic efficiency for cyclists? The one-piece suit actually resembles a jersey and short but provides the convenience of a full zippered front and three floating back pockets. It has a minimal number of seams, pre-shaped shoulders and lazer-finished transition to the skin.
This suit was worn by Team Europcar in the Tour de France, where it proved aero enough for time trials but breathable enough for the warm mountain stages.
While he might not be in yellow on Saturday, 2006 Tour de France champion Oscar Pereiro will be leading the RTC Viva Bike Vegas 2013 Gran Fondo as Grand Marshal.
“The sheer environment and energy a ride like Viva Bike Vegas offers is impressive,” said Periero. “With my passion for this sport, coupled with a city where the cycling culture is ever-growing, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to ride through the famous Las Vegas Strip and some of the most majestic and unique destinations in the world, such as the Red Rock Conservation Area.”
RTC Viva Bike Vegas 2013 Gran Fondo will occur at the conclusion of this week’s Interbike, and the annual cycling event offers routes for all skill levels, including a 104-mile Gran Fondo, a 61-mile Metric Century, and a 17-mile ride. This year’s RTC Viva Bike Vegas 2013 Gran Fondo will begin under the lights of the famous Las Vegas Strip and go through downtown Las Vegas.
Interbike 2013 started off with a bang as we took in the sights of the show floor. We chatted with 2006 Tour de France winner Oscar Pereito. Continue reading Interbike 2013: Sights From the Show Floor Day 1
While you didn’t ride to victory in the Tour de France (unless you are Chris Froome and we’d be impressed if he were reading this), you can still suit up like this year’s winner. Rapha has released a special edition Team Sky Tour de France victory jersey. Available in September it will feature the team riders’ names are printed on the rear pocket and features sponsor logos, and even a yellow strip on the arm and down the back.
The company is also launching a slim-fitting black cotton victory T-shirt that carries the outline of France (surprisingly doesn’t include Corsica) and includes the names of the nine squad members of Team Sky. Continue reading Tour de Force
The Sky is truly the limit, and while this year’s Tour de France is in the rearview mirror you can now try to take flight with Kask’s new lightweight aero helmet. The Infinity was developed with Team Sky and ridden by the team at this year’s big show in France. It was on the head of Chris Froome when he pushed it to the limit in the two time trials and by the rest of the Sky riders in the team time trial.
The 270-gram helmet, which will be available in two sizes and three colors (for those who don’t like Sky’s blue) combines the aero advantages of Kask’s time trial helmets with the lightness and ventilation of its road racing helmets. The Infinity allows the rider to adjust the vents from open — providing maximum ventilation — to closed for maximum aerodynamics. The adjustment can be made while riding without removing the helmet.
The only downside is that it won’t arrive in the U.S. until January.
The Tour de France is in its final week, but Vive Le Tour until next year. Endurance Conspiracy artist Tony DeBoom has honored the 100th running of the longest race (bicycle or otherwise) in the world with a limited edition print. Each of these posters is signed by the artist and proceeds will be donated to the Bikes Belong Foundation.
Only 50 will be made, so get them while you – but we have to ask… why not 100?
While every rider in the Tour de France may want to be in yellow, the Shimano limited edition R320 cycling shoe may have some feeling the need to be in blue. In fact, a group of selected Tour de France riders, including Edvald Boasson Hagen, Simon Gerrans and Marcel Kittel have been spinning through France in these special blue shoes. These offer the same features and technologies as the high end racing shoe R320, including Custom-Fit and Dynalast but has a special blue design.
These limited edition shoes are not only made for professional riders, but are also available for consumers. Shimano produced a limited number of shoes which are exclusively available in United States, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, Slovakia, Poland and Israel. Race to the shop to pick up a pair.
Shimano Press Release: Shimano launches a limited edition R320 shoe during Tour de France