Tag Archives: cycling

Riding the Strade Bianche Gran Fondo

March 8, 2016 by Tony Lowe
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What it takes to “Ride into the legend” on the iconic dirt roads of Tuscany… There are a handful of professional cycling one day races that have become true legends of the sport. This is because of their history, their courses and their champions. The most recent event to gain this status is the relatively youthful Strade Bianche run each year in March in the world heritage setting of the medieval city of Siena and the surrounding Tuscan hills. This race involves a tough hilly Continue reading →

How To Cycle Faster Up Big Hills – Don’t Copy The Pros!

August 24, 2015 by Tony Lowe
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The BeFitApps team suggested that I write a post on how to climb cols like a professional cyclist which is a topic frequently covered in magazine articles and online features. As I cycle up large alpine passes regularly, competitively and even for “fun”, they assumed I would have some secret professional tips that I could pass on which would help them to also enjoy this hobby and improve their performance in competitions and sportives. The existing magazine articles are based on the premise that if we Continue reading →

What Do Pro Cyclists Do When They Can’t Ride?

July 21, 2015 by Tony Lowe
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If you’ve been watching this year’s Tour de France you have probably witnessed some of the horrific crashes which have been occurring with spectacular regularity. With only a flimsy piece of lycra for protection, crashes such as these can take a heavy toll on the riders’ bodies resulting in bloody lacerations, painful dislocations and quite often, broken bones . It does seem that professional riders are impervious to pain as many will battle on to finish the stage and even complete the whole Tour in spite of these debilitating Continue reading →

Why Do Cyclists Really Shave Their Legs?

July 7, 2015 by Tony Lowe
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It’s that time of year again when grown men find themselves glued to ITV4 or Eurosport for hours every day watching the world’s biggest bike race unfold over three weeks in July. As the camera pans down the bunch of over 100 brightly coloured riders there is one strange characteristic adopted by these elite athletes (which is even adopted by most amateur cycling enthusiasts) that many non-road cyclists find deeply troubling. They all have shaved legs… As a long term male road cyclist I have Continue reading →

Ten Tips For Your First European Cyclo-Sportive

June 20, 2015 by Tony Lowe
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For most of us riding in a large well organised sportive in the French or Italian Alps is about as close to feeling like a professional cyclist as we are ever going to experience. With superb organisation, fancy starting and finishing set ups, spectators, motor cycle outriders, rolling road closures and incredible roads and scenery, this experience should be on every cyclist’s bucket list. Here are a list of tips for your first cyclo-sportive which I have learnt almost always the hard way! 1. Organise Continue reading →

First sportive of the year – La Petite Bisou

April 15, 2015 by Tony Lowe
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The weather is turning and its time to get out and blow away the cobwebs and start getting seriously fit for the summer. For me the first serious outing is La Petite Bisou sportive which is a fabulous local event with excellent organisation. You really do feel like a professional cyclist with the start/finish gantries, motorbike outriders, roadside spectators and rolling road closures. However, at this time of year even a 75km event is enough to really tire the legs and body which are unaccustomed Continue reading →

Professional cyclists know the importance of core stability – do you?

March 16, 2015 by Tony Lowe
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It seems that professional cyclists are waking up to the benefits of core stability and strength for maximising cycling performance. In this video by the Global Cycling Network we see how the Tinkoff-Saxo team are integrating core strength sessions into their training programme. So, do you want to add a cycling specific core strength session into your cycle training? You are in luck as that is what the team at BeFitApps have developed and it forms a key part of the cycling component of the Continue reading →