Ed Clancy warms up ahead of a silver medal winning performance with Great Britain's team pursuit squad. Photo: British Cycling

A “dog fight” between Great Britain and Australia’s team pursuit squads could be decided by as little as one tenth of a second at this summer’s Olympic Games in London.

That’s the prediction of Beijing gold medalist, Ed Clancy, a member of the team pursuit quartet beaten to gold by Australia at last Sunday’s closing round of the UCI Track World Cup.

Clancy told RoadCyclingUK that Great Britain’s men’s team pursuit squad was “in a good place” despite their disappointment at finishing nearly two seconds behind the Australian team at last Sunday’s Olympic test event.

“We moved a big step in the right direction. In the last Olympic cycle, that would have got us a world record. We’re in a good place,” said Clancy.

“We can’t deny the Australians have got a great team. They’re a team of superstars and they will only get stronger,” he added.

“But Geraint Thomas has a bit more to go and Burkey (Steven Burke) had just come back from illness.”

Ed Clancy leads the line for Great Britain's team pursuit squad. Photo: British Cycling

“It will be tough this time,” he warned.

“It’s going to go down to a ‘tenth’. It’s going to be a proper dog fight. We will give 100 per cent.”

Sir Chris Hoy was among a number of Team GB riders to have praised the overwhelming support of the 6,000-strong crowd at the London velodrome. Clancy said the atmosphere in the velodrome was “like a football stadium”.

“There was a wall of noise. It doesn’t change what we do: we’d still give 100 per cent even if there was only one guy cheering. But it gives you a confidence boost before and afterwards. Even though we lost out to the Aussies, we still got a huge cheer. It makes you feel good about yourself. You feel that it matters. That’s what we’ll take away with us,” he said.

Great Britain’s performance at the world cup – the team topped the medal table and won gold medals with Hoy, Joanna Rowsell, and the women’s team pursuit and team sprint squads – had been the team’s best for years, said Clancy.

“The team performed really well at the world cup. Sir Chris led the way, and we saw good things from women’s cycling in the sprint and the pursuit.

Team GB's cyclists will have received a confidence boost from their best world cup in years, says Clancy. Photo: British Cycling

“They are all on target to get gold. There’s been a certain level of disappointment in ourselves with performances at world cups and world championships in the last couple of years. This has been our best performance in a while. We can take confidence from that. It lifts the spirits,” he said.

Clancy said the level of expectation had increased since Beijing, but insisted external pressure had no bearing on the team’s performance.

“It’s only a problem if you make it a problem. You turn it into a bonus,” he said. “The cycling world is bigger. There’s more people who care about it. The general public is right behind it. People just expect [a gold medal]. Your neighbour expects, your friend expects, your family says, ‘another Olympics, another gold medal’ but it doesn’t work like that,” he said.

Clancy will soon fly to Mallorca with Geraint Thomas and Andy Tennant for 10-day block of road training. He will then return to the Manchester velodrome to train on the track for up to two weeks before travelling to Melbourne for the UCI Track World Championships in April. “That’s when we start to taper and get quicker,” he said.

Ed Clancy was talking at a briefing to unveil the 2012 Rapha Condor Sharp squad. Check back for a full report on the team launch.

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These are women’s socks, so they have a female-specific fit, with a reduced cuff circumference, narrower heel and tapered toe which all make for a comfortable fit, while the foot is well supported by the reinforced arch band.

The eVapor8 polyester fabric, as the name suggests, is very effective at wicking sweat away from the skin and the socks are very quick drying.

The socks are available in two weights – light and ultra-light – and two lengths – micro and minicrew – and we tested the ultra-light minicrew version. As you’d expect, it’s very thin, which means it’s not the warmest sock out there but it feels like a second skin, while the lack of cushioning means no pressure points develop while riding.

Three colours are available – foxglove (pictured), white and ice – and all that makes for an excellent sock which, while not the cheapest at £9.95 a pair, offers a comfortable fit which is soft next to the skin to keep you feet cosy while cycling.

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The Gemini Xera has a maximum output of 800 Lumens

i-ride will be stocking the 800-Lumen Xera, which is powered by a Cree XM-L LED. Two packages are available with the £129.99 option powered by a  two-cell 2,600mAh battery with a two-hour run-time on the highest setting, while the 5,200mAh four-cell battery offers four hours on full beam with a price tag of £149.99.

The Xera unit weighs just 52g, while a helmet mount, bar mount and head strap are all included in the box. Meanwhile, the 1,700-Lumen triple LED Olympia is due to be launched later this year.

Gemini’s ethos is based around creating high-end products which are value for money, according to Gemini director and founder Christopher Lai.

“Our promise is to give you the best products without the premium price tag,” he said. “Currently, our customers encompass regular commuters who ride to work daily and adrenaline junkies who trail-blaze in the mountains in the dead of night. Whoever you might be, there’s a Gemini Light for each of you.”

Tom Marchment of i-ride added: “We have been really impressed with the performance of Gemini Lights on our night rides. Plus, we are amazed at just how much is included for you money; bar, mount, head mount, helmet mount, spare lenses and extension cables are all in the box.”

We’ve got a sample on its way. First ride soon.

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www.gemini-lights.com

The LongLeg Sportive will take place on Sunday May 6, starting from the Albury, near Guildford, with 72km and 113km routes following the rolling roads of Surrey and Sussex.

The event, in its second year, “prides itself on using a route that takes in some of the lesser-known climbs and roads of the Surrey hills, avoiding the temptation to take the ride up Box Hill, the location for the Olympic road race,” according to the organisers, allabouttriathlons, who have experience in delivering a range of mass-participation events in cycling, cross-country running, triathlon, and swimming.

Meanwhile, the Arrow Sportive will head out from Berrington Hall, Herefordshire, on Sunday June 17, exploring the country roads and hills of the England-Wales border. Riders will have two route options, with details to be announced soon.

Entry costs £20 for the short course or £25 for the long course, while riders entering both events will receive a 10% discount. Both events will feature feed stations stocked with GU Energy products, free on-site parking, rider timing, mechanical support and homemade cake at the finish line.

“We’re delighted to be supporting the GB Sportive series,” said Cat Sutherland, from Scott Sports UK, who will be providing spot prizes and on the day village support.

“These two fantastic events will give riders the chance to take in some superb scenery while having the opportunity to try out our range of road bikes on the course.”

For more information and to enter, visit www.gbsportive.co.uk

So new is Deda’s Carbon Blast min-aerobar that there’s next to no information about it on the company’s website. But, with a sample in our grubby hands, we can allow our imagination to wander…

At the front of the extensions lies an ITU standard front link bridge; what this means is that the Carbon Blast is suitable for use in triathlons where “drafting” – or sitting on a wheel – is permitted. Seems that having anything extending beyond the brake levers is considered hazardous, which explains their stumpy proportions. The bridge ensures that the extensions don’t conclude as a small-diameter bar but as a wide plastic strip that may well be less prone to cause injury. Although bar end plugs do the job well enough on the road.

For most RCUK readers, the bars’ suitability for draft-legal triathlons will be of less interest than their suitability for – what? Not road racing, where they are not allowed. Sportives? Despite their unsuitability for bunch riding, full-on elbow-rest tribars are  increasingly to be seen in British events, so maybe. Touring? They’ll get in the way of a handlebar bag – or front light. Same goes for commuting, in winter at least.

Maybe their true vocation will become clearer out on the road. They are almost a doddle to fit to the bulge of dropped handlebars, only the need to keep the loose-fitting threaded barrels from falling out incurring any irritation. Brake and gear cables may need moving to clear the oversized clamp brackets.

The design incorporates rest plates. Given the 180mm length of the extensions, these are better described as wrist rests than arm rests, but in any case they are topped with nice, soft foam rubber pads for comfort. The extensions themselves bear a satin finish over unidirectional carbon fibre and are comfortable to hold.

So, first long stretch of road; down onto the extensions we go. A simultaneous comparison between arms in the two positions says the trunk angle is the same using either the extensions or the “drops”. What isn’t the same is the degree of control, the Blast bars offering less leverage. There is a fair bit of instability to the steering when resting on them, although this could be expected to diminish with experience and practice.

As stated, the length of the extensions means that the wrists – or at least the forward section of the forearms - rest on the pads. This puts a high loading on the triceps muscle, which has to counter the tendency of the elbow to drop under body weight. Treading hard on the pedals eases this, as does pulling upwards with the hands; in any case, the bars are tolerable rather than relaxing to use.

What is impressive is the reduction in air drag compared with riding on the drops. With the forearms placed horizontal and, as are the upper arms, brought inside the body’s frontal area, the rider goes appreciably faster for the same effort. If not as biomechanically effective as full aerobars, which by supporting the rear of the forearms and taking the weight of the upper body with minimal muscular effort permit a more forward riding position, the Blast bars are reasonable performers through the air.

For anyone thinking of taking up time trialling but not wanting to shell out on a dedicated TT bike – at least in the short term – Deda’s Blast Carbon mini aerobars fitted to a road bike would make a credible alternative – for shorter events at least.

That’s what we are going to try out; report in due course

Deda Elementi Carbon Blast mini aero bars £199.99; 31.7mm clamp

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According to Vittoria, the Diamante is “the tyre for real-world racing” on account of its affable, easy-going and yet somehow spritely personality  – sorry, affordable, easy-rolling and yet speedy construction.  The Radiale is one of two models in the current, slimmed-down Diamante range, the other being the super-svelte Pro Light.

The difference? Quite a lot, as it happens: there’s the slick tread and minimal weight of the Pro Light, which has a puncture resistant belt under the tread in place of the bead-to-bead protection of the Radiale; there’s the choice of 23c and 25c widths for the former and 22c or 24c for the latter; and there’s the Radiale’s, er, radial carcass construction.

The actual thread count for the two tyres is the same at 220tpi, but whereas the threads for the Pro Light are in two layers overlaid at 45degrees to the tyre’s direction of rotation, those of the Radiale more closely follow motor vehicle practice by aligning the majority of the threads in layers at 85deg to the direction of rotation. These therefore cross each other at 10deg.   

The effect, according to Vittoria and in line with the theory as applied to motor vehicle tyres, is to reduce the interference between the two layers – or plies, allowing them to deform more easily when passing over obstacles and reducing the amount of heat generated by internal friction as the plies move relative to each other.

So, that should mean greater ride comfort and lower rolling resistance for a given tyre cross-section, which is surely why Vittoria has reduced that of the two Pro Radiale sizes by 1mm each compared to the Pro Light.

Ride impressions on their way

Vittoria Diamante Pro Radiale clincher £39.99; sizes 700x22c, 700x24c; 195/210g

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The Gage is “race-bred”, according to Bell, with 26 vents to help you keep a cool head in the heat of battle, while the helmet also utilises a number of Bell technologies, including the TAG Fit System and X-Static Padding.

The helmet itself is based around a Fusion In-Mould microshell, with lightweight Internal Reinforcement helping to keep the weight down. It’s not the lightest helmet out there, however,  with the Limar Ultralight – “the world’s lightest helmet” – hitting the scales at a mere 170g.

The Gage will be available in a range of colours, including a limited edition model in the colours of Cadel Evans’ BMC Racing team.

Expect the Gage to be available in the summer for £159.99, while we’ll be taking a closer look at the helmet at Madison’s iceBike trade show later this week.

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www.madison.co.uk

Cannondale Synapse Carbon 6 Apex

The Synapse frameset is available in a range of builds, based around three frame materials – aluminium alloy (Shimano Sora, Tiagra and 105), regular carbon fibre (SRAM Apex, and Shimano 105 and Ultegra) and high-modulus carbon fibre (Shimano Ultegra and Dura-Ace). Our machine is the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 6 Apex, which retails at £1,799.99.

Comfort is the Synapse Carbon’s chief claim, with the frame employing Cannondale’s SAVE technology – or Synapse Active Vibration Elimination – which is designed to make the ride as smooth as possible. So much so that some Liquigas-Cannondale riders ditched the top-of-the-range SuperSix Evo for the Synapse for the cobbled Classics, including the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

What’s SAVE? It starts up front with the fork, which, through a combination of its unique carbon lay up and offset dropouts, results in “increased vertical deflection and vibration absorption with no loss in steering precision”. Meanwhile, the Multiflex seatpost starts with an aero profile, mirroring that of the seat tube, before tapering to add flex. And finally, the chain stays have what Cannondale call a “redesigned micro suspension system” which features a flattened area that absorbs road buzz.

So the Synapse looks to offer a comfortable ride thanks to its frame technology, combined with an upright geometry (our 56cm model has an 18cm headtube), while the build of our machine, the cheapest in the carbon range, further ticks the sportive-friendly box thanks to SRAM’s Apex groupset.

The combination of a 11-32t cassette and compact chainset offers a huge range of gears

The Apex groupset was unveiled in February 2010 and is aimed to make life a whole lot easier on the hills. The oversized cassette borrows heavily from SRAM’

s XX 2×10 mountain bike technology, with the biggest cassette a whopping 11-32t. Apex was spotted on some pro bikes during last year’s Giro d’Italia when the race headed into the super-steep Dolomites. So the Apex groupset, combined with the compact FSA Omega chainset (50-34t), offers a huge range of gears which will see you up any incline. That will, however, leave a pretty big gap between sprockets and we’ll report back on that, and how the bike rides, in our review.

Anything else to note? Shimano’s entry-level RS10 wheels are wrapped in Schwalbe Lugano tyres, while Cannondale provide the handlebars, stem and saddle and the weight of our test ride is 8.20kg (without pedals). As for the finish, that’s best described as sportive bling, with the white/black paint job complemented by white bar tape and the white Apex groupset, which was new for 2011.

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www.cannondale.com

www.cyclingsportsgroup.co.uk

LOOK

The LOOK X85 cross bike. To be sold as a frameset initially, expect to see it in shops this summer

New from LOOK, and not expected in the shops until late summer, is the X85 carbon cyclo-cross bike. Equipped with heavily shaped chain stays and a wishbone seat stay cunningly dished on the inner plane for “optimal mud evacuation”, it will be sold as a frameset for around £2500. The show bike was kitted out with a SRAM Rival groupset, Avid cable operated disc brakes, and a 3T cockpit. Suitable for use with a 135mm rear axle, it can accommodate 29 inch mountain bike wheels. The show bike sported a Fulcrum Mistral wheelset.

The LOOK 695 in stunning black and gold - reminiscent of Senna's 1986 JPS-liveried Lotus Renault 98T

Not new, but still stunning, this LOOK 695 in naked carbon with gold pin stripes is reminiscent of the late Ayrton Senna’s 1986 JPS-liveried Lotus Renault 98T. LOOK’s bulky but beautiful C-Stem has been updated, while the ZED2 chainset, a one-piece carbon unit, hints at what a BMX crank would look like if Adrian Newey was given a hand in its design.

The LOOK 586 UD has a slight makeover for 2012, with Ultegra being replaced by SRAM Force

The 586 UD has been given a slight makeover and from April will be sold with a SRAM Force groupset, replacing the Ultegra componentry of its predecessor. Expect a penny change from £3,000.

Eastway

The prototype Eastway CX1

New for 2012 is Eastway, a UK-designed, in-house brand for distributor, Fisher Outdoor Leisure. Named after the London cycle circuit of legend and built with a ‘this could be your only bike’ philosophy across the range to appeal to the growing full-time commuter/part-time racer market, two models caught our attention. The CX 1.0 cyclo-cross bike looks like a well-timed addition to a market responding to the growth in popularity of cyclo-cross racing and sportives. Still at the prototype stage, we hope the colour scheme, erring on the green side of Bianchi’s signature celeste, survives to production.

The Eastway RD1 - a road bike with disc brakes

Eastway may well have stolen a march on the competition by producing a disc brake compatible road bike, the RD1. None of the big three component manufacturers has publically committed to a hydraulic disc brake yet, perhaps awaiting a definitive statement from the UCI on their competitive use, but it has the feeling of the inevitable about it, even though many, your correspondent included, baulk at the aesthetics. On trend in all other aspects (Far Eastern carbon frame, tapered head tube, broad bottom bracket shell) the distinguishing feature of (for now at least) cable-operated disc brakes may help it stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

It’s very early days for the brand, and the two-man team that has brought it from drawing board to launch in mere months admits that bench marking is difficult, but a place in the market alongside Boardman, Cube, and Focus seems likely.

Zipp

The brand new Zipp SL Speed carbon seat post. In the shops in April.

Brand new from Zipp, and due in the shops this April, is the 185 gram, Speed SL carbon seatpost, with a clamp profile designed to offer maximum fore and aft adjustment.For those seeking a super lightweight finishing kit, it can be matched with the Speed SL handlebar stem, the world’s lightest mass produced unit, which tips the scales at 102 grams.

The Zipp SL Speed stem: 102 grams

Tacx

The new team replica bottle range from Tacx includes Saxo Bank and Europcar among others

Tacx displayed a new turbo trainer, the Genius Multiplayer, which adds and reduces resistance in synch with the virtual course displayed on a computer display with which it communicates wirelessly. The virtual ‘rider’ on screen responds to pedaling and steering inputs from you, the real rider. Several courses are available, including stages of the Tour De France, or you can upload any favourite local rides from your GPS device. Tacx also have a new range of team replica water bottles from Europcar, Lotto Belisol, Omega Pharma-Quikstep, Rabobank, and Saxobank.

LOOK Keo Power pedal

The LOOK Keo Power pedal

Earlier this month, we brought you a first look at LOOK’s new Keo Power pedal from its presentation at Freiburg University’s Radlabor Laboratory. Here it is in the less high-tech surroundings of a hotel in St Albans.

Santini

We also brought you news of Santini’s team and standard editions of the GreenEDGE kit. On display at the Expo was a jersey signed by members of the WorldTour team. 

Santini's GreenEDGE jersey, signed by members of the WorldTour team

How well do Nalini’s Midi bib-tights with chamois fit? In this case at least, like a glove… Or should that be a pair of Nalini Midi bib-tights? Tailored using multi-panel construction and cut from Nalini’s Thermomoa Gavia fabric, they are somehow snug yet ample, offering a ride sensation free of both unwanted excess and any hint of constriction.

The fabric is impressively stretchy. So are most Lycra-type cloths; maybe the trick Nalini has mastered is to cut the various panels so that in each case the fabric stretches in the right plane. It sure does around the lower leg; despite the provision of silicon gripper bands around the hems, I was able to pull both on over my feet without undoing the CamBlock zips and only noticed their existence when later removing the tights. That said, the zips do make removal easier, so they are certainly worth having.

That’s about it in terms of exciting technical features until you get to the STP chamois. The letters stand for Stretch Technical [Gel-In] Pad and indicate a combination of carefully positioned gel pads and a highly absorbent, breathable fabric. It must work; there was nothing to notice about its performance while riding. That said, it seemed to bunch a little when off the bike, feeling somehow prominent despite its largely concealed location. Maybe it’s the thickness of the gel pads.

The shoulder straps are just the right length for support without impeding hedge stop access. Decorative panels on the sides of the thighs complete a very pleasing design that lacks for nothing when it comes to providing sublime riding comfort on days where the air temperature stays at least a couple of degrees above freezing. And the tights feel very well made. More miles will tell, for sure.

Nalini Midi Bib-tights £84.99; sizes S-XXXL

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