The Olympic Games has reminded us all that Great Britain is a bona fide cycling super power.
Sir Chris Hoy’s British record-beating sixth Olympic gold medal was the final achievement of a team who, against the public statements of their coaches, equalled the success of Beijing.
Bradley Wiggins’ gold in the men’s time trial made him Great Britain’s most decorated Olympian (later equaled by the unstoppable Hoy), while Lizzie Armitstead rode a thrilling women’s road race for silver.
Laura Trott and Jason Kenny became double Olympic champions in a single Games (Kenny adding a third Olympic title to his palmares), Victoria Pendleton, Ed Clancy, and Geraint Thomas won second career golds (Clancy also picking up bronze in the omnium for good measure), while Steven Burke, Philip Hindes, Peter Kennaugh, Dani King and Jo Rowsell won Olympic medals for the first time, all of them gold.
We’ll be celebrating British cycling throughout the month: our competitive success, and some of the machinery starting its life on British drawing boards.
Our test fleet this month will come from Forme, a Derby-based firm using the Peak District as a test lab, from Boardman, a British success story within a British success story, and from Pearson, a brand run from the world’s oldest bike shop.
We’re at the mid-way point in our summer clothing special and still have plenty to bring you from Assos, Café du Cyclist, Craft, Exte Ondo, RH+ and Vermarc.
If the number of posts in our forum from newcomers to cycling seeking advice is a guide, cycling’s popularity continues to soar. We’ll be publishing buyer’s guides throughout the month with general advice on what you should receive for your money.
The Olympics had dominated our racing coverage so far this month, but later the third of the season’s Grand Tours begins before September: the Vuelta a Espana. The 2011 Vuelta provided a foretaste of this year’s Tour de France with two British riders on the podium in the form of Wiggins and Froome. Interestingly, Froome finished above Wiggins. Will he be given the chance to lead the team this year? Or has earned a break after his superb efforts in the Tour and Olympic selection? We’ll let you know with our preview, reports, and daily photo galleries from official UCI WorldTour photographer, Stefano Sirotti.
At the end of the month, Europe’s biggest bike show opens it’s doors. We’ll be at Eurobike, a vast expo with hundreds of exhibitors, including some of the world’s best-known manufacturers, who will be unveiling their wares for model year 2013.
There’s plenty to look forward to in what we’re hoping will be a month of sustained good weather and the start of an Indian summer. Here’s hoping!
