Castelli | InsiderNews – Tagged "cycling" – Page 2

castelli, cycling, Epic Climbs, koppenberg, riding, ronde van vlaanderen, tour of flanders - April 2, 2019

The Koppenberg: It’s steep, cobbled and mythical in nature

There are very few climbs in modern bike racing that can bring a pro racer to his knees. With the evolution of intelligent gearing, the steepest climbs have been tamed. However, defying all technological advances, the Koppenberg takes us back to a time when plodding upward on foot was just as common a means of forward movement as pedaling. It’s steep, cobbled and mythical in nature. A magnificent setting for many of the photos used in our catalogs. We’ve always felt a tie to Belgium, cycling’s other heartland. When it comes to cobbled climbs, few can compare to the Koppenberg for difficulty. It’s not massively long, and the stats are nothing to go home crying about, but with gradients of up to 22 percent and an average of just under 12 percent over 600 meters, it’s an incredibly challenging climb, even for the professionals. There’s only one ascent of the Koppenberg in the Tour of Flanders, but it comes 224 kilometers into what many would say is the most difficult one-day race of the year, and with just 46 kilometers to go, so no one can afford to take it easy. There’s no real run-up to the Koppenberg. When you ...

Behind the Scenes: A Day at Team Sky’s Team House

There are many reasons why so many pro riders are based on the Côte d’Azur. It’s fabulously beautiful, with a warm climate, but it also offers world-class climbing within a very short distance from the crowded coast and Monaco. The pros can often be found on the famous cols, such as Col de la Madone, Col de Vence, and Col d’Eze. After meeting up with the riders ahead of the 2018 edition of Milan–San Remo for product feedback and interviews, we follow along in the team car to the finish line in San Remo, and then all the way to their team house along the Moyenne Corniche on the Côte d’Azur. Sneak Peek, behind the scenes with Team Sky. You can find the rider interviews at the end of the blog post. The team house is located on one of the main roads that tumble down the slope into the principality of Monaco. The house is near the town of Beausoleil, on the French side of the border. There are predictably jaw-dropping views from the terrace. The many villas, the enormous Odeon skyscraper, and the Mediterranean sea dotted with white boats here and there take away your breath. The morning ...

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CHPT3, cycling, merckx, racing, shorts, sixdayr - October 31, 2018

CHPT3 take to London Six Day

The Spirit of the Six Day – written and photographed by CHPT3 Ambassador, @garethwinter It’s been 40 years since the iconic Molteni jersey raced professionally, ridden to fame on the back of the greatest cyclist of all time – Eddy Merckx (AKA The Cannibal, as he ‘ate’ his competition). Why is Merckx the G.O.A.T? His versatility… no other rider in history can boast Eddy’s palmarès. Merckx won all three Grand Tours, all five Monuments, World Championships, track events, held the Hour Record, and he dominated 6 Day events with his partner Patrick Sercu. The iconic burnt orange jersey sponsored by Molteni – an Italian Salami factory – was resurrected for the London 6 Day at Lee Valley Velodrome. The Velodrome is built on top of the old Eastway Cycle Circuit, which Merckx himself raced on during the Glenryck Cup – 11th June 1977. Fellow CHPT3 Ambassador Adam Blythe (AKA The Captain) and 6-day partner, Jon Dibben of Team Sky, had the honour – and responsibility – of racing in the Molteni colours, bringing Ghent to London. However there was no pressure to perform like the Cannibal, and Sercu, this was about honoring and celebrating history, not repeating it. Adam channeling ...

The Pros Backyard

With the onset of Autumn and the racing season coming to a close the attention of the professionals turns to training. After a few weeks of rest, they’re soon back on their bikes, embarking on long training rides to build their base km’s ahead of the new season. Perhaps putting volume of training aside, it’s a similar story for us non-competitive folk, too. The Autumn season paints our well-known local routes in a new, softer light, our bodies adapt to cooler temperatures and our minds race to the snug post-ride warmth that only an open fireplace can provide Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees, Girona is the perfect location for these long training rides – nicknamed ‘the pros backyard’ – thanks to a selection of idilic routes ridden religiously by over 100 resident professionals. We asked Girona local man and CHPT3 ambassador, Ramon Lozano to head out and ride his favourite Autumn routes, sharing them with us as he went. This, his first and much-loved training ride, is famed for its traffic-free roads which makes for the calmest start possible to the cooler seasons. Riding south from our medieval home of Girona, Ramon winds steadily along quiet roads to ...

Video: Davide Cassani’s plan for the road world championships

The race in Innsbruck is on such a difficult circuit that the tactics is more difficult than ever to be put in place. Nevertheless, each National team’s sport director has got one plan in the pocket to try and conquer the rainbow. Here’s Davide Cassani’s one. The Italian Team might not approach the race with the best preparation possible due to Nibali and Moscon troubles, but Cassani will try to play the best possible with the cards he has in his hands. Let’s see what he thinks about Sunday and what are the riders to watch out.