Pedaling like a Tour de France winner is a losing strategy for most of us

Pedalling like Chris Froome or Alberto Contador might seem appealing, but Oxford University researchers have found that for most of us it's likely to reduce rather than improve our performance. A team from Oxford's Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences looked at a common measure of aerobic fitness called VO2 max. While it can be measured accurately in a laboratory, it...

How not to ride in a group on the road

This club were out for a group ride and everything was going smoothly until they approached this junction. The problems started when the first rider in the group decided to go through the amber light closely followed by the rest of the riders. The last rider in the group was obviously getting anxious as he approached the junction as...

Researchers discover a completely legal performance enhancer

Athletes have always looked for ways to go harder for longer.  Often spending  time alone training to try and push their bodies that extra mile.  Recent research shows that exercising together brings us closer to one another, while exercising with those close to us improves our performance. Those are the conclusions of an Oxford University study published this Friday in...

When cavalcades go wrong – Confusion at the Tour of Britain

There was a bit of mix-up on Saturday's stage at the Tour of Britain. The team car from Tinkoff-Saxo missed the turn at a roundabout and went straight on instead. The other team cars in the cavalcade behind the Tinkoff car also went straight on, as well as some cyclists. They all soon realised their mistake though, but it was...

Ouch.. The dreaded touching of wheels

We've all done it. Took our eyes off the road ahead for a second to check your GPS or just put the head down for a second. That moment when you touch the rider in front's back wheel and you face the 50/50 chance of staying upright or falling down. When you manage to stay upright, the rush of...

Sam Bennett and Conor Dunne selected for Ireland for World RR Champs team

Cycling Ireland have named the 13 riders that will represent Ireland at the UCI World Road Championships in Virginia, USA later this month. The squad, supported by the Armor-Lux clothing brand, includes six Juniors, two Under-23 riders and five Elite riders for the flagship end of season road racing event on the UCI calendar. Fresh from some very impressive international performances...

Nicolas Roche inches closer to Sean Kelly’s Grand Tour Record

By finishing the Vuelta a Espana today, Nicolas Roche has taken a step closer to becoming the Irish rider with the most Grand Tour finishes. Roche has now finished 15 Grand Tours and remarkably enough, he has never pulled out of the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France or Vuelta a Espana. The current record for Grand Tour finishes for an...

Andre Greipel relegated from Tour of Britain victory (VIDEO)

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) has been relegated from first place on the final stage of the Tour of Britain, after being deemed to have pushed Elia Viviani (Team Sky) into the barriers. The race jury viewed the footage and made the decision to relegate Greipel as they felt that he had deviated from his line. The German explained afterwards that he had...

“I kept on fighting for the podium but there was nothing left in the tank” Tom Dumoulin

Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) has described his disappointment at losing the red jersey of the Vuelta on the penultimate stage of the race. The Dutchman was devastated to have lost the lead after putting in an incredible performance during the race. After the stage, he explained on the team's website: “It was too much today. I fought for all I was...

Ben Foster doped to research playing Lance Armstrong

Ben Foster has admitted that he took performance-enhancing drugs to play disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong for the upcoming film The Program. The 34-year-old has admitted to doping in order to 'infect' himself with the athlete. In an interview with The Guardian, Foster explained why he went to such extremes. He said: 'The word I'm leaning toward is "infected". I tried...

Vuelta jury to decide if Fabio Aru got an unfair helping hand

The jury of the Vuelta are set to review television footage this morning from yesterday's stage to determine if second-placed rider Fabio Aru (Astana) received an unfair helping hand from his team mate Luis León Sánchez. Aru was struggling to keep up with race leader Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) on the cobbled climb to the finish in Avila, and Dumoulin's team...

Free Movies @ The Great Dublin Bike Ride Registration

On Saturday from 4:30pm-6:00pm The Bike Comes First will be showing a selection of short films at the registration and expo at the Great Dublin Bike Ride.  We will be screening them in the movie room in the splendid Generator Hostel in Smithfield in Dublin. We've put together a broad ranging playlist with something to suit everyone and with films ranging in...