In The News

A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant.

• Jan Heine recently tested a number of tires in an effort to explore whether wide tires are faster or slower than skinny tires.  The simple answer is neither, but the results of the different casing, etc are interesting.  Explore Tire Test Results
• Grounded by the pandemic, a travel photographer spent the year pedaling the roads around his home, resulting in a series of poetic self-portraits. View A Cyclist In The English Landscape
• A study of European cities adds to a growing body of evidence that investments in cycling infrastructure can encourage bike commuting, which helps cut greenhouse gas emissions. Read: If You Build It, They Will Bike: Pop-Up Lanes Increased Cycling During Pandemic
• Soignuer Magazine’s Keir Place reflects on “A Classic”
• Genevieve Jeanson, a former Canadian Cyclist won the Junior World Championships in 1999 and later dropped out of the sport after testing positive for EPO and being slapped with a 10 year suspension.  While serving her suspension, she opened up about being abused by her coach, Andre Aubut since she was 13 years old. Genevieve, recently wrote an open letter to the UCI about abuse in Women’s Cycling. In it, she notes that the UCI and federations are not doing enough to penalize abusers. Since Genevieve retired, many more abuse cases have come public. In her letter, she expresses concern regarding the UCI Disciplinary Commission’s recent decision to give Health Mate-Cyclelive team manager Patrick Van Gansen a partially retroactive suspension of two years and seven months, after he was found guilty by the UCI Ethics Commission in a multi-complaint abuse case. Jeanson believes that he was given an inappropriately light sentence given the severity of his offences toward multiple riders on his former team.
• Chris DiStefano, a cycling industry veteran since 1996, was planning on visiting Bentonville, Arkansas in May to check out the burgeoning cycling scene and was even considering relocating there. Then three anti-LGBTQ pieces of state legislation came to the fore, and DiStefano, a father of a transgender child, changed his plans. One Arkansas policy bans transgender women and girls from competing in school sports teams consistent with their gender identity.  After posting his thoughts on Instagram, DiStefano has become a bellwether and an advisor of sorts for the bike industry, where many people are advocating boycotting upcoming events in Arkansas like the UCI Cyclocross World Championship. Velonews recently interviewed Chris and he shared his thoughts on what actions need to be taken.  Read The intersection of cycling, anti-LGBTQ legislation, and parenthood.
• The photograph above is Mont Tiede, a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic.   It is where many European based professional cyclists go for altitude training.  Captured by Michael Blann, it is one of the many beautiful photos in his Mountains: Epic Cycling Climbs book.  Although most of us cannot travel yet, with the vaccines now in circulation, it’s looking like Fall travel might be considered safe. Now’s a great time to start building your bucket list of cycling’s iconic climbs with Blann’s book.