By Michael Barry The group settles into formation meters after leaving the café. Like the table manners learned as children the formation is innate to us. Two abreast, tight against…
Riding to survive: Tales from the gruppetto
By Michael Barry We are no longer racing. The lead group has left us and is up the road, under the gaze of the cameras. For now, I ride alone…
An ex-pro asks: What’s the future of gravel racing?
By Michael Barry We can talk about ”the spirit’ but what actually lies ahead When gravel racing began to grow in popularity across North America a decade ago, and as…
How a Tour de France rider prepares for the worst
What a professional cyclist has in the team car for every emergency on the road During the Tour de France, as in every professional bike race, the team cars will…
Winning UCI Gravel On A Steel Frame
You don’t expect steel bikes to be ridden to the top steps of the podium in international races any longer these days, but that’s exactly what happened last weekend when…
A rider’s long wait for the Grand Départ at the Tour
A professional cyclist’s longest days of the season are often the few days before a Grand Tour, where they sit around a hotel, often in a sleepy suburb or business…
UCI Blue Mountain Gravel World Championship Qualifier
At the top of the Niagara Escarpment, the peloton was corralled on the startline with Georgian Bay behind, a chairlift to the side and a gravel road that cut through…
Pinarello x Mariposa
In the early 1970’s, few bike shops in Canada were importing proper European racing bicycles and equipment. When my father, who was a passionate cyclist from England, arrived in Canada,…
Performance and the Power meter
How the advances of data analysis have helped…and hindered the sport Bike racers at every level of the sport are now breaking records in all disciplines whether the track, road…
Beyond watts: Decoding the hidden strategies of being a good bike racer
A former WorldTour racer weighs in on the importance of unmeasurable data in cycling The complexities of a bicycle race are what makes it intriguing to the spectator and a…
Why time trial bikes should be banned for junior races
By Michael Barry A well-engineered and properly fit time trial bicycle can make the difference between a rider finishing first in a race or twentieth. Aerodynamics and other technical…
Training: The Importance of Being Open to New Ideas and Methods
By Michael Barry Sport science, training techniques, aerodynamics, and our understanding of a multitude of variables in relation to a cyclist’s performance have evolved, or been debunked, yet absolutists remain…