Breaking the Cycle - A Sponsors View

With the news that Alberto Contador has this week had a two year ban for contravening regulations around drugs in his bloodstream and former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich now facing a retrospective two year ban (although he is now retired), I found myself driving home the tonight thinking about the potential impact that such news has on sponsorship for the sport.

It's a well known fact that there aren't many big ticket sponsors out there in the world right now, look at how difficult it was for Andy Schlecks Leopard-Trek team to gain a title sponsor - teams requiring millions of dollars a year in sponsorship income are desperate to woo the big brands to the sport.

As a director of a large technology multi-national, I'm forever being approached by a myriad of sporting teams across a wide range of sports for sponsorship.  So, what goes through the mind of a potential sponsor around the pro-cycling opportunity?

Usual things - potential audience, demographic, reach and brand image are key, then there are the drugs, the history, the omerta and the potential for some serious brand damage.

The key issue why many brands don't take the leap is the continuing talk around doping and cheating in the sport which it continues to try and shake, if a rider or team is found to be associated with any kind of doping case then it instantly reflects on the team and the sponsors.  Just think Willy Voet and Festina in 1998 to see how that can unfold.  Therein continues to lie the problem with attracting sponsors to the World Pro Tour scene

Things did seem to be improving from the really terrible times of the 90's when EPO and other substances made all the headlines, when average speeds went superhuman and riders just rode away in questionable circumstances.  New teams with zero tolerance policies like Garmin-Cervelo (now Carmin-Baracuda) and Team Sky are making their stance clear and the talk around the 2011 Tour de France was one of it being the "cleanest ever."

The Contador case puts the sport on the backfoot and in the spotlight for the wrong reasons again. The whole Contador mess has taken far too long to sort out - if there is something amiss a sponsor will want it dealt with quickly.  They won't want to see their name associated in lights over a long period, which is exactly what has happened with Contador. 

Executives at Saxo Bank-Sungard I'm sure will be less than happy, think about T-Mobile when Jan Ulrich was discovered to be doping, they totally pulled out of the sport.  It's taken five years for the ruling on Ullrich to materialise incidentally.


The potential brand damage of a doping cyclist will mean sponsors may wish to distance themselves or to completely discount the whole concept given the potential risks that cycling seem to carry vs. other sports (rightly or wrongly).  Perhaps the authorities need to take some responsibility for this, they need to act swiftly and decisively, think about lifetime bans and create the conditions to bring sponsors in, to finally deal with this once and for all.

At the end of it all, it's part of a vicious cycle (excuse the pun).  Riders want to earn big salaries, so some choose to enhance their performance illegally - ruining it for everyone else when they are discovered and distancing further potential sponsors.  But without those big sponsors, big salaries will be nothing but a dream for all but the very best. 

I think the worst of the days are behind the sport, genuine progress has been made since the days of Pantani et al, however the sport still presents known unknowns to potential sponsors of reputational damage.  Only if a sponsor is a cycling nut can they perhaps know who to back, which riders are suspect, which teams are clean or how to enter the industry in a way which minimises that risk.  One thing I do know is that the cycling authorities have a very big part to play in creating the conditions for this situation to improve.

Andy Tennant's Ticker

Rapha Condor Sharp rider  - Andy Tennant

"What's your heart rate doing Andy?"  As we rode the back ten home of a chilly forty five mile run out yesterday, I glimpsed down at my heart rate monitor to see my ticker beating away at around 155bpm (HRZ4 for me which would be described as an intensive zone). 

"120" came the reply from Andy Tennant, road racing professional for Rapha Condor Sharp, 24 years of age with a heart rate maximum of 210bpm.  Effectively, he was at about 55% of maximum  heart rate, I was nearer 82%.  It gave me a good chuckle as my high intensity workout was Andy's recovery ride!  Let's put it this way, my base mile ride would probably see Andy walking alongside me in his cleats :-)

Preparing for London 2012

Andy is part of the six man squad currently competing for four places in the pursuit team at London 2012.  He's been bouncing back and forth from Majorca over the last couple of months on training camps, working on technique, fitness and strategy to deliver the big prize at London 2012.  Seems all is going to plan and without giving any crown jewels away, the team are performing well and where they need to be at this time.

On our three hour ride out, we talked extensively about training, preparation and rest both in the context of Team GB aswell as Rapha Condor Sharp.  Outside of the glamour of racing, the life of a professional cyclist can be pretty boring when it comes to time off the bike, particularly when considering rest and recovery.

Rest is of critical importance if you are wanting to get stronger on the bike.  Andy Tennant will tell you that when he is declared to "rest" by the coaches at Team GB, they mean total rest.  Not to go shopping, catch up on errands and do some non-bike running about, they mean feet-up plus minimal energy usage to allow the body to repair and renew.

What that means at training camps is long periods in hotel rooms with DVD players, laptops and game consoles, mmm - perhaps it doesn't sound too bad after all!

Translating that to everyday cyclists, what this means is to ensure that you give your body the time to rest and recover if you've had a big day on the bike.  It's always recommended after a long ride to have a recovery drink and a good stretch post-ride but to also flush the legs out with an easy recovery ride the next day.  Don't think that getting on the bike and hammering it, ride after ride will make you a stronger cyclist.  Training + Rest + Recovery will.

Back to tickers (hearts) then.  Clearly, you can't compare a 43 year old businessperson with an interest in cycling to a 24 year old professional and GB squad member.  However, the principles of training are similar.  You need to understand your zones, to understand what intensity to train and recover at.  I'd recommend anyone coming into the sport to buy a trip computer with heart rate monitor in order that you can make the best use of your training, relative to your own body, capability and age.

By getting to know what your ticker is doing, you'll get quicker, stronger and be able to achieve greater things in a shorter period.

January Ride Stats

January started pretty well for me with a 70 mile weekend to kick the new year off - happy days.  It was downhill from there, for a number of reasons my work schedule went through the roof and my evenings became occupied.  I had social commitments on one of the weekends (CTT dinner - see link) and family commitments on the other (priority).

I didn't make it back into the saddle until the 28th of January, where I managed a 55miler to get the legs turning again.  In between, I did four HIIT sessions on the Wattbike (20M per session) when I could grab a spare hour. 

All in all, managed to (kind of) rescue the month, coming in at 204 miles (326KM) for the total.  You can see by my heart rate average (HRZ2 for me) and my speed that is was base mile time (cadence could of been a bit higher), if you want to learn more about base miles, read this.

Month to Date
Mileage- 204 miles
Ride Time - 14hrs 28mins
Climbing - 4,350 ft
Avg. Speed - 14.2 mph
Avg. HR - 122bpm
Avg. Cadence - 79rpm
Calories (estimate) 6,923

Onix Black Range

UK challenger road bike brand - Onix Bikes - today announce two new models for 2012.  

Onix Black RH Bikes - Picture by James Maloney (Merseypics)

Named the Onix "Black" range, both models the RH and the RH Pro are painted in a stealthy black with either blue accents (RH) or red accents (RH Pro).  It's the beginnning of another step in the journey of entrepreneur - Craig Middleton - who started the brand less than two years ago.  Hear more about his story from the video below.




Onix have announced that Former World Champion - Rob Hayles - has agreed to be their chief tester, his signature can be found on the bike, hence the reference to RH.  I think that is a major coup as Rob (also affectionately known as "killer") is one of the most respected guys out there and people value his opinion.  He's got his name on these two framesets, so that's quite an endorsement.

Having seen both bikes in the flesh, I have to say they are both stunning with stealthy black paintjobs, offset by some nice black gloss accents and a either a striking blue (RH) or red (RH Pro) providing the main colour contrast..  Both are aimed at the second bike market, with prices starting from £1649 for a tiagra groupset equipped RH model, Shimano 105 starts from £1849, Ultegra from £2149.

The RH Pro is +£200 more than the RH, as it boasts performance geometry, integrated cabling and carbon drop outs.  A Shimano 105 equipped model starts from £2099, Ultegra equipped from £2349.

Both bikes are very striking, with distinctive two tone paint schemes.  They boast coloured inside forks and rear chainstays, the RH Pro has a distinctive bold red stripe down the toptube which has a lovely sense of modernity to it.  Bikes can be built to specification using the Onix bike builder within the website, so let your imagination run free.

Onix Black RH

Tech Specs - Onix RH Frameset

Toray T700 3k carbon - weight 1030g (490mm frame without paint)
Taller head tube providing a less aggressive, more sportive riding position.
BB30 bottom bracket
Top tube internally cabled
Aluminum rear dropouts
FSA Orbit C40 integrated headset
Straight bladed full carbon fork with carbon steerer & carbon dropouts - weight 380g without paint.

Onix Black RH Pro

Tech Specs - Onix RH Pro Frameset

Toray T800 UDM Carbon. 70g lighter per frame than 12k/3k carbon - weight 960g (485mm frame without paint)
Wider Flow chainstay design. Chainstays flow out side the seat tube and into the down tube giving extra width to the BB area providing stiffness and stability to the ride.
Wider seatstays for extra stability
BB30 bottom bracket
Fully internally cabled
Carbon rear dropouts
FSA Orbit C40 integrated headset
Straight bladed full carbon fork with carbon steerer & carbon dropouts - weight 380g without paint

The bikes will be available from April 2011and Onix are offering a 10% discount for pre-orders, which effectively means you'll be able to get a better groupset if you're prepared to stump up your hard earned now and wait until then for delivery.  Nice idea if you're in the market for a new bike for Spring (reaches for wallet).

I have to say it's hard to pick between them, however the RH Pro is simplicity itself, reminding me of the Specialized Venge in terms of paint job.  Onix Chief tester - Rob Hayles - had nothing but praise for the way it performed in testing, I'm looking forward to riding one.

You can learn more about the whole story by reading the Onix blog here.  As an entrepreneur trying to make it in the market, you have to tip your hat to Craig Middleton.  He's designed a couple of beautiful bikes, got a big name as his front man and a crowd of people supporting him on social media.  I think we'll all see a lot of these bikes in coming weeks and in the spring when deliveries start.  More pics can be seen here.

Base Miles - A Coaches Perspective

Guest Blog by Colin Batchelor of www.totalcyclecoach.com.  Find Colin on Twitter @onthebanking.

 I’ve been following the excellent discussion on base miles and thought it worth putting in my views as a working coach.



As we ride the training effects/adaptations happens at different %’s of our Max’s. (That can be % or Max heart rate, VO2 max, Max minute power etc) Knowing what happens at what % can help us tailor our riding to meet a specific goal. If we get this wrong we can risk failure to develop in areas that need developing. So lets look at base in a little more detail.


Zone 2 – 65-75% of max heart rate


Zone 2 can best be summed up as the ‘improves efficiency’ zone. Here we see the best results for fat burning and the best increase in the ability to use oxygen to produce power. In other words if we ride a lot in zone 2 (and all else is equal) we will lose fat and be able to produce more power with the same level of effort. In Zone 2 the combination of high volume rides and cardiovascular overload provides core development of baseline aerobic endurance and improves biomechanical and physiological efficiency (your cycling will get better/easier).


Zone 2 is where new cyclists should start to train and provide the core endurance base for competitive and sportive riders. At zone 2 you should be able to hold a conversation, but at the same time be able to concentrate on developing your skills, for example cornering and riding close to other riders.


Ideally don’t have more than two zone 2 sessions back to back (Saturday, Sunday and rest on Monday) to allow your body to recover and to build back from your training, remember the holy trinity of training: Ride appropriately, Nutrition and Rest, miss any one of the triangle out and the other two are liable to falter.


Remember as you train more and get fitter your zones will start to slowly move out, so it’s well worth taking a baseline after 4 or 5 months of regular training.

CTT Dinner - Sat 21st Jan 2012

If you're new to road cycling, you may not have heard of the CTT -The National Governing Body for Cycling Time Trials in England & Wales.  They basically oversee the organsing of the hundreds of time-trial events which happen weekly across the UK, you can learn more about them here.   

Last night I attended their annual Champions night where they recognise the best time-triallists, distance cyclists and hill-climbers across multiplie categories and celebrate the best of the best in the sport. 

Around 300 people attended the dinner last night, there wasn't a pointy helmet or skinsuit in sight!  The whole event was masterfully compered by Eurosport commentator - David Harmon, who worked his socks off from the awards ceremony kick off at 5pm, right the way through to the final nightcap at around 3am in the bar!

Graeme Obree

I was invited along as I'd helped to organise Graeme Obree along as their guest speaker on the night, he went down an absolute storm re-counting his past achievements including the two hour records, his traning manual and forthcoming attempt to take the human-powered vehicle land speed record, more about that here.

He bought along one of his bikes (the pink one in the background, made of steel.  It was remarkably light and had a massive front chain-ring on it - Obree style).  You can read my previous interviews with Graeme here and here, only one word for Graeme - legend.

David Harmon interviewing Graeme Obree

Simon Richardson

Also present was Simon Richardson MBE, in his first official function since the horrific collision in 2011 which injured him so badly.  There was tremendous support for Simon amongst all the attendees, the CTT displayed the #SIMONSTRONG bike on a podium in the centre of the stage during dinner.  Simon also addressed the audience during the awards ceremony to thank them for all the messages of support, a very emotional moment.

Graeme Obree generously offered up a signed poster of the Flying Scotsman film for auction, with the proceeds being donated to help Simon buy a new wheelchair.  A very generous bid by David Harmon's wife of over £1000 bagged it, I'm not sure David was expecting that but he dropped the hammer and they became the new owners!  A lovely gesture by all concerned, which will go a long way to helping Simon achieve his aim.

I sat next to Simon over dinner.  Clearly he is still in a great deal of discomfort and it was a big effort for him to undergo the car journey to get there.  Simon is allergic to the bulk of prescribed painkillers, so mostly survives on paracetemol which does nothing to deal with the pain he experiences.  Typical Simon though, he smiled through the discomfort all evening, putting on his face for those present and continuing to be a force of inspiration for those around him and working for his sponsors (see back wheel of the bike!).

Simon Richardson's #SIMONSTRONG themed bike

Now that's quick!

The Champion of Champions awards were dominated by Michael Hutchinson (mens category) for the 25M, 50M, 100M distances, Julia Shaw (womens category) for the 10M, 25M and 50M distances and Ryan Mullen (juniors category) in the 10M and 25M distances.

The Best British all-rounder 2011 was won by Jeff Jones of Chippenham & District Wheelers, if you want to benchmark yourself, here's the times he posted in numerous distances.  50 Miles - 1:39:03, 100 Miles - 3:31:51, 12Hrs - 305.51 miles.  If you think about that for a minute, 100 miles on a bike in just over three and half hours, that's quick, I would cover about 50M in that time!

Signing Off

Graeme Obree was up until the early hours signing copies of his training manual, which was selling like hotcakes.  I'd helped organise a book signing in Manchester that morning and it's amazing how far people will travel to meet Graeme.  One lad cycled over from Sheffield in horrendous conditions, to get a book signed!

Overall it was a terrific evening, a total sell-out, I rolled out the bar around 3am after a really good natter with Graeme Obree's agent.  The CTT celebrates it's 75th anniversary in 2013 and they will no doubt work hard to produce another fantastic evening.  If last night was anything to go by, they'll have their work cut out.

Pedalling Scrape Through

How the pedalling motion feels

 I posted about a month ago about mastering pedalling technique (see here) and a few people have asked me to explain how it feels different to what I was doing before.  I've concoted this little diagram to explain how it feels.

Before this goes global (not) as the very latest in pedalling science, word of caution, It's purely anecdotal with no science behind it, other than trying to visualise the feeling in my legs and feet whilst aligning that with the pedalling output data from the wattbike display to improve my efficiency.

If you imagine the red oval in your head when your cycling, with the large part of the oval being focussed towards the rear of your crank, that's how it should feel in terms of what your feet are doing.  As you come feet move down with the push of the pedal, you should focus on scraping them through the point after 5 'o' clock  (if your crank was a clock) as if the bottom bit of the stroke were flat.  

By doing this, you are ensuring that the energy within the stroke stays fluid and constant.  You are effectively keeping the power applied all the way down, through and up the stroke, rather than relying on just the push downwards of the pedal either side (effectively losing momentum).  As you exit the scrape phase you are then using your uplift to move the pedals between around 9 and 2 on the clock when you're back into power through.

You have to concentrate to get it right.  I'm still jumping on the wattbike and warming up and not really thinking about pedal stroke it, when I look at the data chart there is total power fade in the scrape through phase.

By becoming more aware, I think on the upstroke and downstroke "big smooth circle" - as if I need to optimise its circumference - and when scraping through I imagine the oval out of the back of the stroke.  By doing this, my screen data dramatically improves and consistent power comes back through the stroke.

It should be easy riding a bike.  Sit in the saddle, turn the pedals and go.  If you're a leisure rider, then keep doing what you're doing - just enjoy being in the saddle.  However, if you want to master road cycling and do some longer rides, then your pedalling efficiency will help considerably as you will ultimately put more watts through your stroke and be as energy efficient as possible.

One other tip I can give you is to ride one-legged, either on a turbo trainer or out on a ride (where it's safe to do so).  You'll really feel the importance of scraping through and pulling up with your knees.  If you can repeat that feeling with both legs, you're technique will improve significantly.

Heart to Heart (Base Miles)

My Heart Rate and Cadence from Today's Ride

I wrote last week about heart rate zones and base mile training.  The idea being to draw more on fat than carbohydrates as your fuel for your ride aswell as building an aerobic base.  Ideally your heart rate should not exceed heart rate zone 2 for you to fully benefit.

When I ride base miles, I have a light breakfast like a banana and use water as my fluid, steering away from energy drinks as you don't really need to be inputting carbohydrates into your system.  You're not exerting so much energy by controlling your heart rate through your speed, cadence and gearing (Disclaimer - Our biologies are all different, so please consult a coach if this is something that you want to really drill into).

My maximum heart rate is 184bpm, so my heart rate zone two (HRZ2) - which is 65-75% of your maximum - means that my training zone is between 120bpm - 138bpm.

If you have a look at my heart rate data above, you can see that the pace of today's club ride meant that my heart rate average was 136bpm, however I consistently went above that, particularly in the third quarter of the ride as the ride elevation had a gradual ascent.

My highest recorded heart rate was 173bpm, which puts me right at the top of HRZ5 - which means my system switched to carbohydrate for fuel.  Carbs need to be optimised, so you end up having energy drinks or gels to replace them to keep you going. Ultimately, you end up putting calories in, which reduces your overall calorific reduction/benefit (albeit it delivers other benefits, particularly if you do this as an interval in your ride).

If you compared heart rate zone data from all of the riders our today, it will be different. A young, fit 23 year old may have a completely different maximum.  If their maximum heart rate is 194bpm, then their HRZ2 is 127bpm-146bpm.  What that means if I were to ride with that individual, their HRZ2 median is nearly top of my HRZ2 maximum (my heart will be working harder to ride at the same speed).

Which leads me to my point.  If you want to build your aerobic base, you are probably going to need to ride alone or with someone a relatively comparable heart rate as you.  By riding in a group, you go at the groups speed.  Each rider will be exerting different levels of energy to keep up with the group.  If you're on the front riding the wind, you'll be pushing that little bit harder.  If you're hidden in the group, you'll be pulled along by draft.  It's all a bit unpredictable, as my data shows today.

To do effective base miles, you need to pick a pretty flat route, ride at a higher cadence than normal and wear a heart rate monitor to keep an eye on what your ticker is doing.  As your heart rate increases, either slow down or change gear but reduce the effort.  It takes a bit of doing, but you soon get the hang of it.

Alternatively, you could sit on a turbo trainer.  I'm fortunate enough to have a Wattbike at home which means I can work on my pedal stroke at the same time as sitting in a specific heart rate zone, it's about as good as you can get in terms of accuracy and control.

I'll see if I can get a qualified coach to knock up a blog about base miles to qualify this issue further as it is a key part of a winter training regime.

Base (miles), how slow can you go?

The 2012 mileage account is offcially open. Setting our this morning at 9am, today's ride was all about base miles.  A cold but bright start saw me setting out from home on a loop over to Knutsford.  My ride today was all about staying in heart rate zone one/two (60-75% of my maximum heart rate) in order to fat burn. It's easier said that done.

First things first, I'd got my Garmin set up with an alarm to beep when my heart rate went above 120bpm.  Every time I hit anything with an incline, off it went - bzzz.  A lapse of concentration and you begin to push a bit harder - bzzz, a headwind - bzzzz, a rider in the distance - bzzzz, it felt like I was constantly throttling back. 

It's also difficult to find a route that is pan flat to increase your chances of staying in the zone.  Living in Cheshire, it's perhaps a little easier, so my route today had around 1k of ascent, you can see where those bits were as my heart rate rises.

Overall, my average heart rate was 114bpm, within my target zone for the bulk of the ride, perhaps erring more on a recovery ride than anything.  I also looked to keep my cadence around the 80 mark, so that I could keep a good pedal stroke, getting back my average was 78rpm, so I'll aim for higher next time.

It's funny as people go flying by you as you ride, it's so tempting to turn the gas up, however there is an important principle at stake - go slower, to go faster - don't be tempted to increase your intensity.

By riding in a lower heart rate zone, you are burning more fat as your energy source, ultimately meaning that it can contribute to weight loss, more weight loss with no power loss, means a better power to weight ratio, therefore faster on the bike - bingo, bango, bungo!

It felt good to be out today and get some early miles in, saw a good few cyclists out and about, all smiling and happy.  2012, here we come.....

Welcome to 2012

Reset your mileage clocks everyone, we're starting again.  It's day one of a new year when you can set some new objectives for this year around your bike. Happy New Year!

For lots of people, the key objectives are based upon achieving a certain mileage, me included.  This year however, I'm having a good think about those miles.  Just riding brings it's advantages of course, it keeps your heart fit, helps with the weight and gets you out in the fresh air.

If you want to achieve something more specific, like a power increase, getting better at hill climbing, building a specific aerobic base, completing your first time trial or riding your first century, then it will do you a whole lot of good if you think about what your absolute objective is then plan the type of miles you intend to do around that.  That is, train for what you want to achieve.

To be a better hill climber for example, you'd do well to lose some weight and get your power to weight ratio lower, so a good place to start would be some low heart rate zone rides to burn fat, then to build on your aerobic base and your strength.

I'm not a cycling coach, so please consult one if you have specific goals, my underlying point is that you would do well to get some advice and tailor your training plan accordingly.  Having a quick think about what I'd like to do on the bike this year.

1. I am keen to surpass 4,000 miles, with more emphasis on hillier miles (according to my Garmin log, my ascent was 149K in 2011.  End of year exit at 165K+ would be good - plus 10%).
2. I am keen for my power to weight ratio to be 10% higher than current (so I either need to lose weight or increase power, or both).  Current PWR is 3.35, target 3.70.
3. I'd like to go under 27 minutes for a 10M time trial by the end of the season (I've never done one, so this is a bit of a stab in the dark in terms of a time).

What are your plans?  Feel free to leave a comment and share with the other readers.