Every week I spend an inordinately large amount of time reading cycling news, watching cycling videos, and enjoying cycling memes… oh, and looking at “bike porn”. I’ve decided I ought to share the best of the best, so here we go.
For reference, the post title means ISO week #44, of the year 2023. There are no earlier versions of this post.
Rapha Makes Another Big Loss
In the latest end of year accounts, British cycling brand Rapha has faced financial difficulties for the sixth year in a row, reporting a pre-tax loss of £12 million for the year ending January 29, 2023.
Rapha’s losses have been on the rise since 2018, with a challenging market and concerns about the cost of living impacting consumer confidence.
Despite these setbacks, Rapha’s CEO, Francois Concervey, remains optimistic about the future, focusing on reducing costs and promoting the joy of cycling.
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/rapha-posts-pound12m-loss-marking-six-years-in-the-red
Is Saudi Arabia Buying Cycling?
In the latest GCN Racing News Show, Dan Lloyd delves into the intriguing possibility of a new cycling super league, backed by Saudi Arabian investment.
This development mirrors similar moves in golf, football, and Formula 1, potentially reshaping global cycling racing’s business model.
Dan explores the proposed plans, considers the impact on existing structures, and ponders what it could mean for cycling enthusiasts.
Zone2 101: Everything you ever wanted to know about Zone2
One to read over your dinner hour, this fantastically free and in-depth dive into Zone 2 training was posted to Reddit.
As a quick intro: Zone2 is a form of low-intensity training, often referred to as “endurance pace” or historically as “LSD” (long, slow distance). It involves riding at a sustainable pace for an extended period, as opposed to higher-intensity interval training, which alternates between high-intensity efforts and rest periods.
There’s a ton to learn from that post – it’s better than any book I’ve read on Zone 2 training.
https://reddit.com/r/Zwift/comments/17o93pq/zone2_101_everything_you_ever_wanted_to_know/
Zwift Watopia Expansion & Zwift Academy Launch
For those of us who prefer staying indoors during the cold, grey months (January through December, inclusive, amirite UK folk?) then Zwift is always a good place to be.
October saw the first four stages of the Tour of Watopia 2023 Fall edition (the second Tour of Watopia of 2023) and this past week has seen the fifth and final stage, which coincided neatly with 20km of new roads opening in Southern Watopia.
As the ToW comes to an end, the week ahead sees the launch of the 2023 edition of the Zwift Academy.
No rest for the wicked.
Read the patch notes over at Zwift’s forums:
https://forums.zwift.com/t/game-update-1-51-october-2023/613829
Ed Laverack’s UK National Hill Climb Championships 2023 Video
This one only released yesterday but the event itself ran last weekend.
Ed’s a former pro turned solid YouTuber, and his performances are way beyond the average cyclist.
But it’s still super interesting to get a complete behind the scenes look at everything that goes into preparing for a competition. It’s a long video, but a good one.
Near Miss Of The Week
I hate things like this. Very watchable, but too relatable.
It’s why I prefer to ride indoors lately.
Bike Picture of the Week
With a saddle that looks like it would slice your man’s area in two, this Colnago Master X-Light 5.8kg caught me eye over on Reddit’s /r/BikePorn.