November 2009

Here come the Belgians

30
Nov

Here come the Belgians

If you thought that the season ended when the Alberto Contador sprayed Champagne on Lance then think again. The weekend saw one of the biggest spectator events in the calendar. Saturday played host to the Koksijde world cup cyclo-cross race and just down the road in Ghent was the penultimate night of six-day track event.
We got up at the crack of dawn to load our bikes into Dave Arthur's car (RCUK) and hot-foot it down into the Chunnel.

Thousands of people crammed on to a tiny piece of land squashed between a military base and a caravan park to watch the best cross riders in the world battle through thick sand and over 45-degree dunes.
It really is an incredibly nondescript scrap of land, but the Belgians' love of cross, and the fact it's about 30 minutes from Calais, mean it's a must destination for any cycling fan.

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We saw the very cream of cyclo cross tackle the exhuasting sand-duned course. The lead group containing the Belgian favourites cut their bikes through the deep sand mind-blowing fast as if it was butter.
Not wanting to leave it there, we then drove down to Ghent for an evening at the Ghent Six. At 2am we left the stadium satisfied we had watched approximately 9 hours of elite cycling.

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Sunday morning - we wiped the 5 hours sleep from the eyes, pulled on our cycling outfits to face the typical cold, bleek Belgian countryside. After Saturday evening and perhaps taking advantage of the cheap Primus at the six-day some of us were having second thoughts as we stood in the carpark with our bikes the next morning. The wind blew and the rain lashed. Several last minute clothing changes were made out of the boot of the car, but to no avail. Rapha Condor team mechanic Andy Verral and Rouleurs Jon Cannings led a group of natives and Brits on a typical Belgian training route alongside the canal towards the famous Molenberg, a twisting wall of cobbles, known most for being the first sector of Pave on the Tour of Flanders.

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Noted photographer Kristof Ramon ambushed the ride in several locations cpautring us in an epic style. His pictures are stunning and it was a great round up to a weekend of cycling.

We shall return like a pilgrimage next year.
Dave Arthur recounts the weekend on his blog too
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Penshurst Off Road Club

23
Nov

Penshurst Off Road Club 1

Biblical weather on the drive down to Penshurst delayed my arrival as my little car aquaplaned (when it wasn't at a standstill) it's way down the roads. Massive queues at sign-on left me with time enough just to get numbered up, on my bike and ride up to the start...


Penshurst Off Road Club is, as the name suggests, a MTB venue with the emphasis on downhill/freeride. The 'cross' course runs off down one of the descents, wends it's way up and down a bit and then comes back up another downhill. If Andy's blog is to be believed then this is actually closer to an original cross course than we have grown used to.

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Picture courtesy of London Cycle Sport
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Fixed - Andrew Edwards and Max Leonard

21
Nov

Fixed Andrew Edwards and Max Leonard

Fixed: global fixed-gear bike culture (£17.95) documents the global culture of fixed gear riding covering the workhorse notion to aesthetic choice for a street rider. The balance between text and images is spot on, with the quality of images being high throughout the 300 odd pages. Each section is an insightful and interesting exploration of the history, context, and culture of fixed gear cycling. Comments and interviews have been taken from luminaries from the cycling world from Chris Boardman, Eddie Merckx, MashSF and actual manufacturers.

"In 1984, Nelson Vails, a former New York City messenger, won silver in the indivdual sprint at the Los Angeles Olympics. Street riding had completed the circle and returned to the track, but first track had to transition to the street."

Fixed does a great job of joining the dots and re-writing any misgivings about where and who rides a fixed, why and why its so universal. It not just covers cities messengers but all the associations with it from Alley Cats to the re-surgence in bicycle polo, design and trends.
Perfect rainy day book to get inspired about your next build

Price: £17.95

Fixed Andrew Edwards and Max Leonard 2

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Mud bath, wrecked mechs

18
Nov

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Mallory Park hosted the fourth round of the National Cyclo-cross Trophy series. Three of us made the journey to the race where jet washing was the order of the day. The mud was thick and wet, as the day continued the sun crept out drying the mud turning it to claggy gloop. Cycling in custard sprung to mind. With the mud grabbing at every working component it wasn't long before it all got caught up. Konrad was riding well in the vets race before the curse of the custard hit him. Reaching for his rear mech and ripping it up.

In the seniors Ben started well before a jockey wheel seized and pulled his rear mech a chain reaction (excuse the pun) resulted in a snapped the drop out.

The day belong to Jody Crawford who rode away from the seniors. Even the mud couldn't hold him back and he broke his bike on the warm up lap.

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Konrad - racing ended prematurly

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Ben's broken bike

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Wet wash mayhem
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Track Centre

17
Nov

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Revolution Season 7 got underway at the Manchester Velodrome on Saturday night and we were track centre. Craig Maclean turned out a powerful display. Thanks to everyone who came down to the centre of the track to take a look at the 2010 Condor Cycles range. The atmosphere was fantastic and like the crowd we couldn't wait to watch the racing. 6 day rider Iljo Keisse pulled on a Rollers jersey and pulled out a performance to lead home Rollers captain Geraint Thomas. If you making your way to the Revolution events on the 5 Dec, 16 Jan, 27 Feb drop by track centre where you can meet the stars, get autographs and see our latest bikes.

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Vive la Revolution

08
Nov

Vive la Revolution

Now entering its seventh year, Revolution is a track series hosted at Manchester velodrome. Revolution  is back. The series attracts more than 15,000 fans and its a great place to see future stars and current stars of cycling. Condor are delighted to support the series. Condor's roots line in track bikes. Our team will be captained by super-star trackie Chris Newton. On rival team 'The Flyers' is Dean Downing. If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, other riders scheduled to appear include multiple Olympic champions Sir Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins and seasoned road pros David Millar and Stuart O’Grady.


Get behind our Revolution track team 'The Rollers' and come visit us in track centre.

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White Christmas

04
Nov

While the winter isn't that exciting for cyclist as the light fades early and it gets a touch cooler. It does mean that Christmas is on the horizon and thats something to get excited about. We set about installing the White Christmas windows. Making a starring roll is Dean Downing decked out in White on a White Leggero road bike - as well as some other white edition road bikes. In our smaller window we've put together top Christmas gift ideas once again all available in white.

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White Christmas

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