UK bike sales plummet
Discussion
YorkshireStu said:
No shame in getting dropped. I'm used to it. Always someone stronger about.
I was dropped by a young lady from the Human Powered Health Team two years ago on the climb to Foia in the Algarve. We were riding with her boyfriend, Ivar Slik, the Dutch gravel Pro who won Unbound two years ago. I was dropped first by Ivar and my Coach and she then slowed to keep pace with another friend. I lost sight of her behind me and got into a nice rhythm, felt great, climbing well...and she suddenly appears and blows past me like I was going backwards!
I did beat Ivar in a best of 5 sprints though and won't let him forget it!
Does you good to get dropped every now and again, shows you have improvements in grasp.I was dropped by a young lady from the Human Powered Health Team two years ago on the climb to Foia in the Algarve. We were riding with her boyfriend, Ivar Slik, the Dutch gravel Pro who won Unbound two years ago. I was dropped first by Ivar and my Coach and she then slowed to keep pace with another friend. I lost sight of her behind me and got into a nice rhythm, felt great, climbing well...and she suddenly appears and blows past me like I was going backwards!
I did beat Ivar in a best of 5 sprints though and won't let him forget it!
I often lead our shop ride, especially the faster groups, and usually sit on the front for at least 80% of the ride.....but last Sunday with a smattering of World Champs, Nat Champs, Paralympian, World Tour coach, BC Academy riders and ex-Pros, all 20-30yrs my junior. I blew up twice, worst was on a steady climb, 8km, 350m climb, averages only c4%, nothing harder than 7% - the kind of hill I always think are my strong point. I held on for 6km, but as my HR topped 185bpm, I had to ease, ended up 2m30 down on the front, but still faster than my previous PR.
It's made me tweak my training plan though
Julian Scott said:
Does you good to get dropped every now and again, shows you have improvements in grasp.
I often lead our shop ride, especially the faster groups, and usually sit on the front for at least 80% of the ride.....but last Sunday with a smattering of World Champs, Nat Champs, Paralympian, World Tour coach, BC Academy riders and ex-Pros, all 20-30yrs my junior. I blew up twice, worst was on a steady climb, 8km, 350m climb, averages only c4%, nothing harder than 7% - the kind of hill I always think are my strong point. I held on for 6km, but as my HR topped 185bpm, I had to ease, ended up 2m30 down on the front, but still faster than my previous PR.
It's made me tweak my training plan though
I was going very well a couple of seasons a go, winter of coaching amd some decent races I often lead our shop ride, especially the faster groups, and usually sit on the front for at least 80% of the ride.....but last Sunday with a smattering of World Champs, Nat Champs, Paralympian, World Tour coach, BC Academy riders and ex-Pros, all 20-30yrs my junior. I blew up twice, worst was on a steady climb, 8km, 350m climb, averages only c4%, nothing harder than 7% - the kind of hill I always think are my strong point. I held on for 6km, but as my HR topped 185bpm, I had to ease, ended up 2m30 down on the front, but still faster than my previous PR.
It's made me tweak my training plan though
I was passed on a regional 10 by Sarah Storey, 5 miles out. She was my 2 minute man.
Passed me like I was riding an Islabike.
Castrol for a knave said:
I was going very well a couple of seasons a go, winter of coaching amd some decent races
I was passed on a regional 10 by Sarah Storey, 5 miles out. She was my 2 minute man.
Passed me like I was riding an Islabike.
She's training on Zwift pretty much every single day...I was passed on a regional 10 by Sarah Storey, 5 miles out. She was my 2 minute man.
Passed me like I was riding an Islabike.
Castrol for a knave said:
I was going very well a couple of seasons a go, winter of coaching amd some decent races
I was passed on a regional 10 by Sarah Storey, 5 miles out. She was my 2 minute man.
Passed me like I was riding an Islabike.
Given her PB appears to be a mid 21 I’m not sure how much we can take from that I was passed on a regional 10 by Sarah Storey, 5 miles out. She was my 2 minute man.
Passed me like I was riding an Islabike.
There’s always someone quicker after all. Usually people that do nothing else all day have a much better shot at finding their limits than the rest of us.
Brutal sport though, the vast majority use their best years racing before the tv camera comes on and then get spat out in their late twenties with little way of making much of a living outside of cycling related activities. Hard way to make a living. Certainly the case of a few UK pro’s I know.
Possible sale of Wiggle/CRC brands but the report says mass redundancy of the remaining staff
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/wiggle-chain-reacti...
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/wiggle-chain-reacti...
Classic Ashley. Guy owns an extensive distribution system feeding a network of hgh street stores & a long history of hoovering up brands. All he needs is the IP in them, sub out whatever manufacturing that isn't already & pump it out from Shirebrook to Evans & Sports Direct. He can't lose. Shame about all the jobs though.
defblade said:
Castrol for a knave said:
I was going very well a couple of seasons a go, winter of coaching amd some decent races
I was passed on a regional 10 by Sarah Storey, 5 miles out. She was my 2 minute man.
Passed me like I was riding an Islabike.
She's training on Zwift pretty much every single day...I was passed on a regional 10 by Sarah Storey, 5 miles out. She was my 2 minute man.
Passed me like I was riding an Islabike.
dave123456 said:
Interesting. When I raced mountain bikes as a junior the best females were around the same speed as the best juniors, normally both 2/3 distance of the elite so comparable. It shows how training has evolved, as I pretty much lost motivation when I turned 18 and was struggling to make top 20 in expert fields.
They are talking road though. Watts wise pro women used to come in around the top end of 2nd into 1st category men. I think it’s skewed a bit as men have so much more raw power that across short durations it’s very different, and you’d likely find a decent 3-4 cat sprinter could do women’s pro numbers. But over an hour the data points to women getting the upper hand again as aerobic plays more of a part. Time trials (Storey) a bit different due to aerodynamics but she’s never been close to troubling those who win open events on the men’s side, who mostly if they raced road would be decent 2nd/1st cat level.
I’m sure Ashley will make Wiggle work, better than nothing.
Edited by okgo on Thursday 22 February 09:31
YorkshireStu said:
427 KOM's since July 2019 when I joined Strava and counting....
But it's true that Strava KOM's whilst they are good fun and good training motivation tools, aren't a good measure of whether someone can win a race or not. I've won several Cat 1 road races in my past and recently a fair number of MTB XC races for my age category in recent years.
I guess I like getting KOM's nowadays because I'm 55 soon and still beating younger lads; for me that's a personal achievement given knee injuries threatened to end my cycling altogether, so, yeah, I have an ego about that. When I was in my 20's/30's I couldn't imagine being dropped by a 50 yr old!
Can’t find a doffing cap emoji, that is impressive But it's true that Strava KOM's whilst they are good fun and good training motivation tools, aren't a good measure of whether someone can win a race or not. I've won several Cat 1 road races in my past and recently a fair number of MTB XC races for my age category in recent years.
I guess I like getting KOM's nowadays because I'm 55 soon and still beating younger lads; for me that's a personal achievement given knee injuries threatened to end my cycling altogether, so, yeah, I have an ego about that. When I was in my 20's/30's I couldn't imagine being dropped by a 50 yr old!
Edited by YorkshireStu on Saturday 3rd February 10:17
okgo said:
dave123456 said:
Interesting. When I raced mountain bikes as a junior the best females were around the same speed as the best juniors, normally both 2/3 distance of the elite so comparable. It shows how training has evolved, as I pretty much lost motivation when I turned 18 and was struggling to make top 20 in expert fields.
They are talking road though. Watts wise pro women used to come in around the top end of 2nd into 1st category men. I think it’s skewed a bit as men have so much more raw power that across short durations it’s very different, and you’d likely find a decent 3-4 cat sprinter could do women’s pro numbers. But over an hour the data points to women getting the upper hand again as aerobic plays more of a part. Time trials (Storey) a bit different due to aerodynamics but she’s never been close to troubling those who win open events on the men’s side, who mostly if they raced road would be decent 2nd/1st cat level.
I’m sure Ashley will make Wiggle work, better than nothing.
Edited by okgo on Thursday 22 February 09:31
Harpoon said:
Yeah, I’ve read that too.It seems that he’s got rid of most of the staff with a skeleton crew left until the last of the stock is shifted then it looks like Wiggle / CRC are gone. He’ll keep the IP for Nukeproof, Vitus etc and destroy the brands slapping their name on any old BSO to be sold cheaply. That’ll be a shame because CRC did a good job of bring those brands back.
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