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Anja Kallenbach, arenberg, cobble stones, cobbles, france, Hell of the North, Paris-Roubaix, pave, rbx, The Queen of the classics, velodrome, Women -

RBX – On the tracks of the pro riders

The Queen of the classics is the highlight and closing event of the cobbled classics every year. Each cobbled sector is ranked out of five stars for difficulty. History was written, dramas unfolded and heroes were born on the mythical cobbled sectors such as Trouée d’Arenberg, Mons-en-Pévèle and Le Carrefour de l’Arbre. Anja Kallenbach – who has already been to lots of every cyclist’s dream destinations – wanted to explore the spirit and conditions of the “Hell of the North” and rode the course a few days ago including some laps in the Roubaix velodrome and a visit in the historical showers. Who will be Greg Van Avermaet’s successor and lift the prestigious cobble stone trophy this Sunday? Imagery and video: AK21Photography | Anja Kallenbach

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campervan, castelli, challenge, cyclocross, margriet kloppenburg, Women -

February campervan challenge

After I pinched (another!!) nerve back in December and got ill before the national cross championships I did not get selected for the world championships in Valkenburg. With only a few other races in January, I wasn’t sure where to go from there. Even though I wasn’t in good shape I did not feel like ending my season. So together with my partner, I thought up the perfect plan to end the 2017/18 season on a positive note and hungry for a summer of hard work. After a short visit to my family in Denmark, the plan was that I would fly to Spain for a training camp, coming home just in time to drive to Belgium to race the Worlds rematch in Maldegem on the 7th of February. We would then stay until the end of the cyclocross season doing most of the races available which meant racing twice a week. It sounded good to me! One slight concern…. it wasn’t the cheapest plan on the planet. To solve that I could have stayed at home to train or done only 1 or 2 weekends of racing in Belgium. But for some reason, this was the only plan I ...

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dirt roads, gravel, Siena, strade bianche, tuscany, white road, Women -

Strade Bianche recon – The calm before the storm

The Strade Bianche has quickly become one of the most thrilling and prestigious one-day races in the calendar. It is one of the physically most demanding races for riders and a real test for their equipment on the way to Piazza del Campo in Siena. The white roads and Tuscan hills are not a place reserved for professionals alone. When the pro riders will already lick their wounds on Sunday, hundreds of amateurs will fight their own battle on the exact same roads as their heroes the day before. A few days ago Anja Kallenbach brought out her bike for a track recon of what cyclists will be facing this Sunday. The changeable weather was a friendly reminder that one better should be prepared for all kind of conditions and bring – just like the pros – some warmer kit and a Gabba or Perfetto to be protected from the elements. Imagery and video: AK21Photography  |  Anja Kallenbach

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belgium, castelli, castelli women, cx, cyclocross, Denmark, woman, Women -

My favourite training session: 15 – 15 – 15

When I see this on my training schedule, I know it’s going to be one of those days. I will go training for a maximum of two hours and come home broken. Even though it is hard, I also know it is one of my go to sessions to get ready for racing. Due to illness and injury I did not make worlds selection and as it is important to me to end this season on a positive note I decided to skip the January world cups and instead go on a training camp to get fit for the last cyclocross races of the season in Belgium in February. So I did this session twice while in the last block leading up to the races. What does 15-15-15 mean; 15 seconds sprinting, followed by 15 seconds maintaining the speed, followed by a 15 second rest. Do this for 10 minutes, have a 10 minutes break and do it again. I usually do this 4-5 times, so it simulates the length of a cyclocross race. What I like about this session is that it is very versatile and yet very specific. And as a bonus, you can do it both on ...

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Bogense, castelli, castelli women, cx, cx world cup, Denmark, Women -

Road trip to Denmark!

It’s just over two weeks ago that I raced the cyclocross world cup in Bogense, Denmark. Just thinking back to that race is giving me goosebumps. Racing at home with all your friends and family present is pretty special at any time, so a home world cup is something else. I have never seen as much red and white or heard so many people cheering along a cyclocross course! I must admit that I was nervous travelling to Denmark. I drove our camper from Sidmouth in the UK, where I now live, via the channel tunnel, through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany to Bogense. After 1500 km of solo driving, and hours spent staring at the back of trucks, I was not 100% sure how the legs were going to be but as I had arrived 2 days before race day I was hoping for the best. Bogense is a little coast town on the north coast of the island Funen in Denmark, about 150 km from the town where I grew up on Zealand. The course was built right on the coastline and with a strong wind from the north, waves were splashing seawater on some sections of the course. For ...

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