I recently realised that I’ve been running a version of Zwift that was so old, the on-screen wildlife accompanying me in Watopia should have been 100% dinosaur . I’ve had a pretty solid inkling that my indoor training app was living in a bygone era for some time, so it wasn’t a big surprise when the software finally informed me that I needed to sort my set up the hell out. Now, I’ve got the keys to Makuri Islands and the ‘Back to Fitness’ training plan I quite obviously needed around a year ago, so order is restored.
Sometimes - or indeed, quite often - life gets in the way of our becoming the cycling legend we imagine we could be (given limitless resources and a giant injection of actual talent).
In my case, bimbling around in the app store wasn’t top of my agenda whilst sneaking in an hour between settling the baby at 5 a.m. and her waking up for proper at 7 a.m. And it’s those busy times in life where we might need a hand up from the fitness gurus - I was pretty pleased to see ‘How to get back into cycling after an unplanned break’ pop up in our editorial planner.
A new patent filed by Zwift implies that the brand has set its sights on making access even easier for those of us who just don’t have (or, make) the time to be rattling around with cassette changes between rides - via a single sprocket system - though I’m not sure I’ll be putting my hand up to ride Alpe du Zwift on a singlespeed, anytime soon.
Of course, I could always go wild with my indoor set up and explore the lesser known new hosts of the UCI eSports World Championships, MyWhoosh. Or, I could get outside and make the most of the final weeks of summer - perhaps even ride up some climbs and make like I'm racing the Vuelta a España.
We’ll see, but at least now, my Avatar is less likely to be attacked by a rampant dinosaur.
This week we've been writing...
Opinion: Why we will likely never know which rider Richard Freeman ordered doping products for
Illegal Racing Expose: 'It's not meant to be illegal, that's just how it is': Alleycat racer speaks about the culture behind fixed city racing
Tech Question: Where do things now stand on press-fit bottom brackets? Good or bad?
Vuelta a España snub: 'I thought I was more in the door than I was' - Luke Rowe bares all
Most Unexpected Story of the Week: Strava used to ‘identify’ cyclist who burned down Donald Trump supporter’s sign
News in Brief
NIBs. I kid you not, when on my first work experience placement at a magazine (more years ago than I care to admit), I emailed the Editor with a selection of 'NIPs'. Be they NIBs or NIPs, here are a few snippets that got us chatting, but didn't make it into a new URL.
> Allan Davis is "no longer employed at Lotto Dstny", the team said in a statement on Tuesday. The Sports Director missed the Tour de France earlier this year, after he was alleged to have sent an unsolicited image to a woman on social media. The team followed up with an internal investigation, and announced this week that its collaboration with Davis had been "recently terminated". CEO Stephane Heulot said: "Lotto Dstny has its own values and standards which we apply in our daily work and in the team."
> Lidl-Trek has launched a development team, with the first eight riders confirmed on Tuesday. The operation will be headed up by former pro Markel Irizar, and the Continental squad will be based out of Deinze, Belgium. The eight riders on the initial roster are Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany, 20), Mats Wenzel (Luxembourg, 20), Axandre Van Petegem (Belgium, 21), Kristian Egholm (Denmark, 19), Nils Aebersold (Switzerland, 20), Louis Leidert (Germany, 18), Liam O’Brien (Ireland, 18), Patrick Frydkjaer (Denmark, 18).
> Autotrader now lists eBikes, Car Dealer Magazine informed us. Apparently, an Autotrader survey found that 24% of visitors to its marketplace said they were interested in eBikes, leading the 'automotive giant' to make the decision to diversify; it already lists 1,500 eBikes from 45 brands.
> Cycling UK's new Traws Eryri trail has had us planning end-of-season adventures. News Writer Adam Becket got the itch to ride the 200km trail when he saw this Guardian write-up, but with her bikepacking background - and being based in Wales - my money's on Fitness Features Writer Anna Abram getting out the door and completing it first (not that it's a race, mind).
> A nice story about a dog named Rapha - and his owner, Sean. The Eastern Daily Press reported that Sean had to sell four bikes to pay for over £6,000 worth of vet fees for poor Rapha. However, a friend purchased one bike to gift back to him, then a local store stepped in to provide him with a second. The human race is actually alright, it turns out.
With the final grand tour kicking off tomorrow - and the Vuelta a España 2023 route promising absolute fireworks in the mountains, there's loads to look forward to over the weekend and in the coming three weeks - we're looking forward to bringing you all the news when the GC battle begins to hot up.
