Want to get the inside story on the “jiffy bag”, ask about his appearance on The Jump, or his latest career as a rower? You’ll get your chance to quiz Sir Bradley Wiggins in person as he goes on tour (without his bike) this November.
If you’re anywhere near Manchester, London, Guildford, York, Cardiff or Nottingham, you’ll be able to join the former British professional road and track racing cyclist, along with TV presenter Matt Barbet, for an evening of tales from his fascinating career.
Read MoreAs a former Six-Day racer who rode with Gary Wiggins in the 1970s, Maurice Burton felt that he couldn’t miss the opportunity of seeing Gary’s son, Sir Bradley Wiggins, take part in his last race at Ghent this weekend.
The former national champion and owner of De Ver Cycles in Streatham in South London, said, “I saw an online article about Bradley riding his last Six-Day. He said I’ve trained really hard for this. And it made me think, although I really need to be in the shop selling bikes and trying my best at this time of year, I thought, you know, I better go to Ghent. Because there’s a lot of history behind all of this, and I was there when Bradley won the tour on the Champs Elysées, and I thought I needed to be there.”
Read MoreTomorrow sees the Tour of Britain set off from Glasgow to Port Douglas on the first of eight stages that cross Scotland, the Lake District, Cheshire, Wales, South West England and a finale on the streets of the Capital on 11th September. No less than eight medalists from Rio’s Olympics are taking part, 21 teams, 11 of which are UCI outfits: this is now a highly rated, prestigious and important race in its own right that attracts some of the best cyclists in the world.
It’s come a long way from its humble origins when, in 1945, a group of disgruntled cyclists who’d been banned by the National Cyclists Union set up the Victory Cycling Marathon to celebrate the end of the war. A stage race from Brighton to Glasgow, it was, by all accounts, a disorganised shambles with riders sleeping in barns and sheds in between stages. That first race was very much a French affair: 6 of the top ten finishers were Frenchmen as was its winner, Robert Batot. But it was also hugely popular with as many as 20,000 spectators watching the race set off.
Read MoreOn 13th July 1967, on the 13th stage of that year’s Tour de France, the British rider Tommy Simpson was climbing the dreaded Mont Ventoux when he started to veer from side to side of the road. Insisting that he be “put back on my bike” he continued until he was 1.5 km from the summit when he finally collapsed still clipped into his pedals, and died. A mixture of amphetamines and alcohol were later found in his bloodstream causing heat exhaustion and dehydration. Tomorrow will see this year’s tour pass the memorial which marks that spot where the brave Tommy breathed his last gasp and pedalled his final stroke.
Read MoreAs you’d expect from Sir Paul Smith, one of the great British designers of our age, his Cycling Scrapbook is a beautifully produced volume. The sort of book you savour as you turn each page. A book you’ll treasure and look after and show off to your friends. It’s an eclectic collection of photographs, magazine and newspaper clippings, adverts, cycling jerseys, stunning oil paintings, bicycles and profiles of famous bike riders.
Read MoreWe’ve had the dramatic mountains of the Tour of the Basque Country. Last Sunday saw the Tour of Turkey pedal through that extraordinary meeting point of East and West in Istanbul. I even managed to catch a few km of the Tour of Croatia which looked beautiful and the exotic Tour of Kazakhstan is around the corner. Who else is going to get into the act? Well, today sees the 2nd edition of our very own Tour in God’s own country, the Tour de Yorkshire, from Friday 29th April to Sunday 1st May.
Read MoreLast week Ride Velo profiled Mark Fairhurst who, as well as being one of the most fascinating cycling artists of the moment, also illustrated one of last year’s best cycling books: P is for Peloton.
Read MoreCycling has always inspired artists and photographers to produce some of the most striking images: the noble heroism of the rider, the stunning landscape of the Tour and the Giro, not to mention the sheer elegance of the bicycle itself. No one has captured the essence of the romance of cycling in recent years better than illustrator Mark Fairhurst, so we asked him about his inspiration and how he has become one of the most sought after cycling artists of today.
Read MoreMy New Year's resolution this year was to try out new and different forms of cycling outside my comfort zone. And although I live just a mile away from Herne Hill Velodrome, have watched lots of track racing there, made my kids do holiday training sessions and regularly helped out at the Inter-schools Championships, I'm ashamed to admit that I'd never ridden the track myself.
Read More“It’s just you on that track with 6,000 people who have come to see you succeed or fail.” The Hour Record, dating back to 1893. 60 minutes of individual, lonely effort around a velodrome, lap after lap, counting down each minute until the end, in the vainglorious attempt that you’ve travelled further than anyone else at the end of it all. Just you and a bike. A massive risk. No second place. Simply failure or a place in the record books while the world watches you. The hour record has to be the ultimate do or die sporting event. “My Hour” is Bradley Wiggins’ story of his successful bid to be the fastest cyclist over the course of one hour.
Read MoreI think it's fair to say that all of us who cycle get the same pleasures from the experience (and some of the pains too!) That feeling of freedom, the wind in our hair, being masters of our own destiny - to mention just a few of the positives. Bicycles can be beautiful, sleek and streamlined, or practical utility vehicles, but there is something about their geometry that makes us go weak at the knees and fosters an illogical passion for metal and rubber.
Read More
